Samurai Pizza Cats - Maxi Geek Review

If you were a child of the 90's there is a chance that you watched many classic shows, but one of them stands above the rest. Samurai Pizza Cats, its a show about three cats that deliver pizza and also battle a murder of evil ninja crows. And now thanks to Madman Entertainment, you can now purchase this show on DVD for the first time.

The show takes itself about as serious as a clown, with the show being full of really bad puns and lots of rhymes. However that is the charm of the show. The three cats are named Speedy Cerviche, Polly Esther and Guido Anchovy and when not fighting giant Sushi robots and crow powered dragons, they work in a pizza shop, where Francine runs the shop and sends the cats out on their mission. And she does this by shooting them out of a giant gun located on top of the shop.

Of course, for each hero there must be a villain, one of complete evil, one devoid of morality and this show does not contain anything remotely close to that. Instead we get The Big Cheese, a rat that leads the crows in ever fanciful schemes to take control of Little Tokyo. Thankfully, when he is defeated he loses his temper and blows up, and this serves as the comic relief to the end of each episode. 

The show is a product of the 90’s in almost every way. The character design is that of anthropomorphic animals, with cybernetic implants. Each main character does have a very unique look that means you won’t be able to confuse them, and the voices that each character has are also as unique. While some of the secondary characters change their base appearance each episode, they still maintain a common look.

Sadly the animation does not hold today as it would have back when it was made. The shows level of detail would not have been an issue when it was made, but today, with the clarity that DVD allows, you notice lots of artifacts on the screen, repeating of animation frames, and even the same shots being used in different episodes with a small change in dialogue. 

Madman have done a great job with the presentation of the collection, with a reversible cover to hide the over-sized rating logo, but sadly that's about all that comes with it

This show was part of my childhood, and growing up I remember watching it each and every day. The theme song is still something that is in my head, and it’s as catchy as ever. If you watched this when it first came out, nostalgia might be enough for the investment, but for new viewers, the 90’s pop culture references, old animation and bad audio quality might not be enough to convince you to get them.

© SOTSU • Tatsunoko Production

Maxi-Geek Review - Killzone Mercenary

Killzone Mercenary is the next game in the series between the war of the Helghan and the Sol, and while the story does not take the scope of a major war, what it does provide is a great experience for any who jump in and play it.

Taking the role of Danner a mercenary for hire who is happy to take money from anyone for any job. The game starts you off with a rescue mission, it is here where you meet some major players and I won’t say anything more than that because the story is quite fun. So ruining it won’t happen here.

The characters that you interact with are not really special in a sense that each game these days seems to have them all, the surly guy, the shady guy, the guy who makes jokes. But it’s the way that Danner interacts with that, that your character actually has, what feels like, a proper personality that makes them feel alive.

The game is running on the engine used from the PS3 games, all be it slightly modified and it does look stunning, with the levels having an absurd level of detail in them. Shadows play off the water in a way that I have never seen before, and the fact that this is a handheld game system, well that makes it even more impressive. The character models are detailed enough, that when you get in close for a kill, you will see details on them you could not imagine seeing before.

While the level of detail is nothing short of outstanding, it is just a shame that the level design does not match up, in terms of quality. While a lot of the levels contain multiple planes where you can flank your enemies, it’s the spaces that are meant to feel open that let you down. Paths are so easy to spot, that having an on screen indicator just feels pointless. And it’s not because they are colour coded or such, it’s just obvious.

Thankfully, that is a minor issue, and one that does not impact the actual game itself. Playing this game I kept thinking that I am not supposed to be this happy. Games of this quality are not found on handhelds, but no matter how I look back at my time playing the game, I keep coming to the same conclusion, that this game plays amazingly well.

Now you would think that a game that requires touch screen prompts would be a little hard to work, more so when you are taking on multiple bad guys at once and moving from place to place. But the team at Guerilla Cambridge have made once simple decision that changes this from being tedious to being second nature. Each button that you can interact with can be done so by either touching the screen or simply pressing the Triangle button.

When you are able to sneak up on an enemy, and you start the process of a take down, you will notice a rather large arrow being displayed, telling you to swipe your finger in that direction. Now some games have done a similar thing, but here you don’t have to do the motion on the giant arrow. Nope in fact you can do it in any part of the screen and in any size you want. I found myself sticking to the bottom right corner and doing just small motions. This to me made me think that these guys know how to make the controls work for the player, rather than against them.

This game has a great soundtrack, and I don’t just mean the music. The voice acting is great, the sound effects sound sublime too. And while your machine is capable of playing those sounds, you will want to stick in some headphones.

Oh and don't forget that this game has online multiplayer, which I was not able to get onto as I played this at 32,000 feet. If you want to learn more about how that goes, I have to point you away from my site. 

I have heard people explain that this is the game that defines the PS Vita, and while I can agree with them that it is a great game, and if you own a Vita, you need to get this game. This is not the game to get a Vita for, but don’t worry, if you do go that route, your money will be well spent. Killzone Mercenary is a game that feels big, big story, big scope and big action, the fun comes from remembering that it’s just on a handheld. 

Total War Rome II - MAxi Geek Review

The Total War series is known for being a little on the punishing side of things, but if you take the time to learn the game you are rewarded with an experience unlike any other. Rome II takes that fact to heart, that if you know the game you will be granted an amazing time. But is that enough?

Gameplay

So, when you get down to brass tacks, Rome II is very much part RTS and part Turn based games. With the RTS parts taking place in the battles, and the Turn based when you’re at the world map level. Each part has a pro and a con that don’t hurt the game, but if addressed could have made it so much better.

When viewing the world map, you are shown the Italian country side, with various towns and cities around as well. Looking at the mini map, you can see which regions are led by which faction, and while you do get a sense of this when you approach the border for your lands, you need to check the mini map to see if others have changed. Having this feature outside of the main view is a little distracting, but it does not break the game.

Controlling the camera of the RTS portion of the game is a little confusing to begin with, but after almost no time at all it becomes second nature. However, playing on multiscreen does pose a slight problem as there are no boundaries for the mouse to stop, which loses your ability to use the sides of the screen. Controlling multiple units is easy, using the common word, or text document shortcuts, and getting the units to move is just like other RTS games, which is good.

As this was my first ever play with the Total War Series, I was impressed at the simplicity of the unit controls, however there are so many facets to the gameplay, including micro army management, city reconstruction, upgrading cities, units and your generals that the game does a pretty bad job of explain most of it. There are in depth tutorials in there, however they are not presented at the time of each introduction to a new element. You are presented with a synopsis of each function, but anything other than that requires you to look it up yourself.

There was one moment, where I was feeling quite cocky and thought that I would be able to swamp the opposing army, so I sent some units to the right, some to the left and the bulk up the middle. However, the Fog of War kicked in and I was shown the error of my decision. The opposing army was massive. Thankfully, I was able to split some horse units away and send them around the back and managed to take the city, but it was that moment that I realized I can’t take this game lightly.

Presentation

Graphics in any RTS to me have always been hit or miss. Sadly in Rome II they are both. In the overview map, the graphics are quite beautiful, with lots of detail on the cities and world map. It is in the battle maps that the graphics suffer. And I know what you’re thinking, who really cares. Looking at the battle from the highest point and you will see some fine textures and some great lighting effects, however zooming all the way in shows some spotty textures as well as some really bad animations, in that they are almost identical between the armies.

Of course, this does not distract from the overall gameplay, but as you can zoom all the way down to the battlegrounds, it’s a real shame that they did not put more effort into that part of the presentation. The detail on the actual characters is quite plentiful, but again suffers when you’re watching them fight.

Thankfully the sounds fares a lot better than the graphics, and should you have a very nice sound system, zooming all the way in, allows you the chance to hear the battle raging all around as if you were right there. The world effects are quite great, in one level the storm raged and the sound of the rain and thunder sound great, and the whole thing is brought to life by the advice and shouts of your advisers and generals. However a downside to that is all the voices are British. And while that’s not a complaint on the voice of the British people, it does irk me that in almost all of the historical games the people are British.

Overall

Is this game worth your time… Yes. Without a doubt this game is worth it whether you’re like me in hat you don’t play RTS games, or you do and you’re looking for the new thing. While playing it I was finding surprising moments that made me smile, and that’s the point of a good game.  

Guardians of Middle Earth PC Review - Maxi Geek Review

Guardians of Middle Earth is a MOBA, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, think PvP only. Other games that have come before this include the super popular League of Legends, and while you may not want to think another game can compete against the behemoth that is LoL Guardians has the potential to thrive on PC.

Guardians of Middle Earth started its life as a console game, and while it saw success there, MOBA's are better suited for the PC realm. It's here where GoME shines over its console counterpart. The over controls are much more responsive, and the game feels at home with them. Moving you character around happens just like it does on any RTS game, and moving the camera around to survey the battle is as simple as moving your mouse to the edge and watching the map scroll.

Each battle takes place on a map with 5v5, should you be short a player or two, Bots will fill in. Before the battle commences you can select your character and assign attributes depending on your play style. Each character has a base skill level in areas such as Basic Damage, Survivability and more. Choosing Gandalf does not mean you can cast super powerful spells as soon as the first match begins, but it does allow you to attack foes without having to step right next to them.

The biggest problem with the PC version of the game is that as its a port of the Console version, there does not appear to be a huge amount of changes, and while that's to be expected with a port of a game, that is the same as saying coke made a super hot version for Alaska, to warm people up and now they are going to sell it in the desert without making a change, it works but not as well.

Restricting players abilities by throwing cool-downs on attacks, rather than a mana limit means that if you get a good rhythm going, you can just hit the buttons in order to attack. So there is a level of knowledge you need to have, for your attacks to work, but outside of that its basically a button masher.

As far as ports go, this is pretty standard. With no new features to be seen, it makes you wonder why the game took as long as it did. The main drawback with this version of the game is it will be seen to compete against LoL and other MOBA's and thats where people will loose hope. The game is not a competitor to LoL or some of the others, but a game in its own right, and should you take the time to learn the game and avoid the comparisons you will find a great gem that you can sink hours into.

Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple - Maxi Geek Review

Kenichi The mightiest Disciple Review

Story

The story follows Kenichi Shirahama, an average 17 year old high school student, who despite his good intentions, always ends up running away from almost everything. However on the first day of the new school year he meets a girl, Miu Furinji and decides after seeing her protect someone from some street thugs, he wants to be stronger to protect her.

Over the course of the series, Kenichi learns various styles of martial arts from his masters at Ryozanpaku, who instruct him using some extremely odd techniques as well as some very harsh and punishing ones. Throughout the series, Kenichi is pitted against stronger and stronger opponents and even manages to make others see that there is more than just being a street thug. Kenichi takes his training a whole new level when he moves to the Dojo, but his reasons for moving in are not exactly martial arts reasons, more like marital ones.

But Kenichi soon learns the hard way that getting close to a girl who has studied martial arts all her life is easier said than done.

Quality

The overall quality of the animation is very clean, but it can be rough at parts. As the original series aired in Japan back in 2006-2007 It was created before the tools became wholly digital. As such there are some odd occurrences of artifacts on the screen. Sometimes they are just an odd line, other times they are the old gaffe of having a character hold something, it gone in the next shot and then back again. These minor quirks do not subtract from the overall viewing experience.

The fight scenes are also something to behold. Thankfully they do not go the Dragonball route and make them super fantastically, but base those in reality that shows it would be possible to fight with the same moves. Of course they do add in a level of fantasy to the fights so people don’t get the idea of actually attempting them. The character design is taken from the anime, and each main character has a unique look that if silhouetted would still make it easy to distinguish the characters.

Sound

Here is where the sound experience can vary. Because this show was created in Japan first, there are two audio tracks and it depends on your millage where you want to listen, but in both cases the Japanese and English audio tracks are sublime. With both casts putting in a lot of effort into making sure that the characters come alive. The effects for the fight scenes, or Kenichi’s training are also quite impressive.

If you listen to the Japanese soundtrack there are more examples of the transition period it was made it, with some parts being quite clear and others not, but for the most part the audio is just as awesome as the visuals that accompany it.

Packaging & Extras

Madman have over the years been able to perfect their packaging of the DVD’s they release, and Kenichi is no exception. While the collection is 8 discs in total, they take up no more room on a book case than 2 standard DVD’s. There are however some downsides to this collection. First up is that this is a repackaging of the volumes that were released earlier, and as such there are no new extras. In the original run you got 4 discs in a set, and the final disc contained all the extras, and as such those are the only ones you get here as well.

The other issue is that as a collection, you would expect a certain level of pack ins, but this is not the case. It does not draw away from the awesome series that you would actually buy it for, but it is a shame that nothing extra is provided.

Overall

In short, Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple is a great series, it shows that through hard work anyone can accomplish anything they truly desire. The quality of the show is amazingly detailed, and apart from a slight lack of extras is exceptional viewing no matter who the audience is.

Original Comic Books Created by Syun Matsuena © Syun Matsuena・Shogakukan/KenIchi Project All Rights Reserved Under License to MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT Pty. Ltd. Produced by TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.

Freedom Fall - Maxi Geek Review

What does it take to make a great game? Amazing and super fancy graphics? A complicated story? The answer is no. A great game is made by a great idea and that feeling you get when you beat a hard part or realize something that has had you stuck. And Freedom Fall is just that game.

Freedom Fall has you take on the role of Marsh, a prisoner of the tower that was designed by the Princess. Yes in this platformer you’re not out to save the Princess, but to save yourself from her. The Princess has taken over the tower and has left heaps of art and scribbles to help explain why she did it, and what she expects of you. Of course in between all that are giant spinning blades, fire pits, spikes and more.

As far as stories go, this one is easy to get and makes sense for the content of the game. It’s just a shame that it’s not expanded more throughout. As Marsh makes his way down, you will learn more about the world of Freedom Fall, including other members of the Royal family, even if they never make an appearance. In fact there are only 4 characters in the game, and one of them is a shark.

Sadly there is a downside to the game, at least on PC and that’s the default controls. Using a keyboard for a game that requires a higher level of control than most platformers is just not possible. Even if the standard navigation was ok, adding in item throwing elements makes this impossible. Thankfully the game supports gamepad and once I hooked it up I was jumping blades and dodging bursts of fire like a pro. 

Freedom Fall takes a good look at platformers and adds a whole new experience to it, by switching it from a top to bottom look rather than left to right. It adds some Super Meat Boy style elements, but thankfully does not take the difficulty as well. It does run a little on the short side, but thankfully there is enough replay to keep you coming back again and again.

Otterbox Mobile Phone Case Review

Whenever you buy a new mobile phone there are usually a few questions that run through your mind. What apps should I get, what music should I place onto it and finally do i get a case or not.

Now if you're like me, when you first get your phone you are paranoid about it falling out of your pocket, hitting the ground and scratching that shiny new screen, of course if you have a case on it, the worry is less. That’s where Otterbox come in.

New to the Australian scene, Otterbox have been making cases for over 10 years, and it shows in the quality of the design and the fantastic nature of the build. Holding the case in your hand shows that these guys know what they are doing and that it’s not a case for the sake of a quick buck.

The case that i was able to review was from their defender series and it has exceeded all my expectations that I had for it. To start off the case has hardened plastic around almost the entire frame of the case, the only space where its soft is where the buttons are and all the corners of the case are hard to help protect your phone from any drops.

The other great design aspect is that there is a large ridge around the top of the case that actual gives a small gap between the screen and whatever surface you might drop it on. Now at first I thought this might be an issue, but after a few days with it, the case never got in my way.

If you are looking for a case for your new phone, no matter what phone you have then you must look at Otterbox. They carry a range of cases that suit almost all models of phones, so check out their website for more details.

The Last of Us - Maxi Geek Review

The Last of Us is a strange game, one where the world and tone sets up a wonderful story and characters that are very convincing that you can’t help but feel connected to them by the end, but it suffers from some odd choices.

The story of The Last of Us takes place in the future where the world has been overrun by a plague of sorts. You play as Joel, a man who has survived for 20 years since the emergence of the plague and are now living in a quarantine zone, whilst trying to eek a living out as a smuggler of certain items. It is here that Joel is introduced to Ellie, through a series of events, which ends up with them on a road trip of sorts across the United States.

While the first few hours of the game feel like they are dragging, they are paced in a way that you are sucked into the world, and it makes you feel like there is very little hope. Over the course of the game I found my attachment to Joel growing stronger, not because of who he is, but over what he does to protect Ellie.

The game itself is a pretty standard over the shoulder game, with some survival horror moments, and some stealth segments. It’s in these moments that the game struggles to find what it wants to be. Whether you are attempting to avoid fellow humans, or the infected or worse, you are strongly advised to approach each encounter with stealth in mind. However the game fails to take into account the fact that once you’re spotted your stealth options are gone.

It then turns from stealth to shooter, just like the Uncharted games, which is not an issue, the shooting mechanics are very solid and I never had issues shooting the enemies, however the lack of ammunition and other vital supplies mean that taking the shooting route is something that is best avoided at all costs, no matter the scenario.

It is in this space that the game takes an odd approach, it allows for stealth, promotes stealth, but fails to allow full stealth. The other issue that is found in the game, is one of debate across the internet, and that is how Ellie handles in those stealth segments. Now obviously there are times where you do not want enemies seeing her, and for the most part, she does remain out of sight, however she will always try to keep up with you, causing her to run out into plain sight and yet no enemies notice her.

The game also takes a unique approach to the world design in that, as man has been forced into small camps, nature has reclaimed the cities, which is nice to see that in this post-apocalyptic world. However I did notice some very odd issues with the graphics, but they are not enough to detract from the fantastic design that Naughty Dog have done.

The sounds of the game also needs a special mention, in that while there is a musical score, it does not appear very often, even in the mix of a lot of combat, while its there, you very rarely notice it and that’s a great way for the game to work. Too many games throw a massive score in your face when the enemies are around, but thankfully ND have taken the other approach where less is more. When you do hear some of the fantastic music in cutscenes you will be blown away.

The sound design for the enemies, the non-human ones is also superbly designed. The infected people sound terrific, with the clickers and others sound just as creepy as some Hollywood classics do. The human enemies also have a great sound setup in that they will taunt if you run from the fight, you will hear fear in their voice if you take out others in their group without being seen. The only complaint with the sound, is that it was mixed for a 5.1 setup, and even if you select stereo in the options, you will get muffled voices until you’re facing the person your listen. In the 5.1 setup you hear it clear as day.

The Last of Us, as I have said has some questionable design moments, but as a whole the game is enjoyable, the story is one that has been done many times, but the characters of Joel and Ellie make you want to invest in it more than most Hollywood movies. 

Lego Batman 2 DC Super Heroes - Maxi Geek Review

Lego Batman 2 continues the fantastic growth the Lego games, whilst retaining the charm of the originals, adding voice to the mix makes the world come alive even more.

While playing the game you will find yourself experiencing moments that are quite funny, and others that are a little less so, but it’s during these moments that you see the charm that underlies all parts of the game. Taking place in Gotham City, which has an odd style of Tim Burton’s original Batman look, but legoized, you assume the mantle of the Dark Knight and team up with a bevy of superheroes in order to stop the rampage of destruction by the Joker and Lex Luthor.

The gameplay does not stray too far from the formula that was set down with the very first Lego game all those years ago, so people who have played at least one game will be able to jump straight in here with very little issues. Where the gameplay changes up is with the power of the suits that Batman and Robin have access to. Equipping the Electricity Suit allows Batman to interactive with units that contain live wires without taking damage. Robin can clean up chemical spills when he dons the hazard suit.

Taking control of Superman, Wonder Woman or any of the other heroes gives you access to a variety of powers, with only a few, such as Green Lanterns ability to construct anything out of the semi clear green blocks, exclusive to the character, for the most part the powers are pretty similar across the board.

The games great moments come in when you hit a cut scene and get to take in the banter between the heroes, or even the villains. While Batman is usually quite serious, they have taken the character to whole new extremes here, and having him play off Superman results in some humorous moments. For me however the voice work takes second place to the score, while the general score is pretty standard, it’s the moments when the main theme from Tim Burton’s Batman film take over that I smile more than anything. And even flying as Superman results in the classic score from John Williams coming through.

Of course seeing as this is about the Wii U version of the game, most people would be keen to see what is new in this version. While the main content of the game is unchanged, and even the moments of adding the map to the over world are welcome, it’s not a game changer. The best use of the gamepad comes in the form of the 2 player co-op. One person using a Wii Remote and Nunchuck takes the TV screen, while the player using the gamepad can have their experience on the screen there. It takes the multiplayer to a whole new level as your no longer fighting for screen space.

If you have a Wii U and want something to get stuck into, you cannot go wrong with this game, it offers a massive amount of collectibles to keep you going back time and time again, and with the special touches of John Williams and Danny Elfman’s scores seeping into every moment of the game you will find yourself being sucked into this world. 

Maxi Geek's Review - Microsoft Surface Pro

The Surface Pro from Microsoft has been a device I have been waiting some time to go hands on with since its official announcement last year. Does the final product live up to the hype?

Let’s talk about the specs inside of the Surface Pro.

Containing a Core i5 1.7 GHz with 4gig of ram, the pro is no slouch in the power department. Also sporting a full size USB 3.0 port for all those accessories you can add. The pro also comes with a digital pen, which is quite useful with writing, or if you want to keep your screen free of fingerprints. 

The only real down side is the graphics processor. While the Intel 4000 is no slouch, it can struggle with some more modern games. That’s not saying it’s not good at getting games going. 

Side view showing Usb port and volume controls

The Pro also comes with the Micro SD port on the side of the device, unlike the RT where its hidden behind the stand. And finally you will notice an adaptor port on the side of the device, where you can plug in some adaptors for HDMI, VGA, Ethernet options.

But how can I use it as a laptop?

Simple, buy one of the available covers; You can get two different types of covers for the Surface, a Touch Cover and the Type Cover. While both offer the same layout, the keyboards are different in their feel. The type cover is more like your traditional laptop layout with a solid click of the keys; the touch cover is squishier and will take some getting used to.

The Type and Touch covers

Outside of that, you do have the option to plug-in any usb keyboard you desire through that port located on the side of the device. Simply kick out the stand at the back, plug in your keyboard of choice and your done. Being that the Pro will also allow you to install any of your standard windows programs, you won’t have any issue installing office or whatever word processor you like.

Will it play the latest games?

Having spent the better part of a week throwing every game I can at the pro, I can say that I have had mixed results. Some games, like Prince of Persia Sands of Time ran beautifully, even with the game telling me it might not look right due to the unsupported graphics chip. Then I tried GRID, and while playable, without any real hassles, of course lowering the details helped, it did struggle with the amount of cars on the track. Then I tried Battlefield 3, and while it loaded fine, even at minimal settings the game struggled to run.

Now with all that in mind, there are people that are spending time finding that sweet spot, sometimes changing the resolution is enough to help bolster some extra frames. So as a gaming device, you experience on the more graphic intensive games will vary. Of course there are also the games located in the Windows Store. Games such as Angry Birds: Star Wars or Rayman Jungle Run look amazing on the large screen.

The one game that I have been able to get running without any real issues is Skyrim. Now it might sound a little funny, skyrim on a tablet, but thanks to some mod’s and some lowering of the details the game runs at a solid frame rate, and while up close you might notice some odd details, it still looks amazing. Check out the screens below to see for yourself.

 

                               

How solid is the device?

Well this is where opinions will vary.. a lot.  The build of the Pro is very solid, and you can feel the weight in the device the moment you pick it up. The kickstand on the device is made out of the same material as the entire shell, and thankfully does not feel cheap. You do need to give it a solid nudge to get it to go back into itself.

Surface's kickstand in action

Located the entire way around the device is a small vent strip, which allows for any heat to escape from the device. The keyboard covers also snap onto the device with a great crunch noise, and is so solid that you can hang the Surface upside down, holding onto the keyboard cover alone. It also requires a little effort to remove the cover.

Final thoughts.

The Surface Pro is a fantastic device, what shortcomings it has are more around making an affordable device that suits a wide range of users than it failing to be a powerhouse pc. While the hardcore gamers might feel the lack of a standard graphics chip is a let down, what power you are provided is more than enough for playing all but the most super demanding games; if you have the time to set things up.

As a laptop replacement, the Pro will provide all the functions that you would expect a standard laptop to provide. While its specs may leave some people wanting more, for what your paying and the form factor you are choosing, the Pro is worth your money.