p l a s t i c h e - Issue One

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Garth
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Postp l a s t i c h e - Issue One
by Garth » Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:39 pm

plasticcoated wrote:Image

Enter the Maelstrom…

Once upon a time in an alternate time and place, there was an internet forum and of the many members there was one who had a mission. The forumite known as ‘polymer_surround’ personal mission was to develop a magazine of sorts for the forum. A videogame based magazine for a videogame forum. Was ‘polymer_surround’ preaching to the converted? Perhaps she was. Informing and entertaining fellow forum dwellers? Indeed, or at least that was part of her plan.
Skip to the time known as Now. In a place known as Here – gameradar- the same thing is happening. One ‘plasticcoated’ and a few special friends have put it to themselves to create a videogame magazine type entity for consumption by fellow GR forumites. The same questions that were, unbeknown to ‘plasticcoated’, asked of his female alter-ego’s efforts can be applied to his creation ‘plastiche’. Another question that can be asked is why? What’s the point? Well frankly the answers are conclusive, it seems, like ‘polymer_surround’, plastic and his band of special buddies just plain wanted to do it… for fun of all things. Fun, something that at the end of the day all videogames should be.
So what does this, the first ‘issue’ of plastiche have in store for you, the curious (and probably enraged due to some shoddy hype) forum reader? There seems to be a theme this issue that questions the meaning of Hardcore. This is apparent in the Hardcore? Article, as well as looking at some of the games that the so-called hardcore adore and even a brief look at Otaku favourite developer Treasure Videogames. So read on and please enjoy it.


Contents of plastiche issue one:

Feature: Hardcore?
Feature: Shmup-osity
Developer Quick Look: Treasure Videogames
Review: Gradius V (PS2)
Retro Review: Gunstar Heroes (Mega-Drive)
Feature: Legendary
Feature: Mining for Gems
me-ni-A
First Look: Initial D Fourth Stage
Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Review: Spirited Away


Credits:
Supreme Overlord of All That is Well & Good – plasticcoated, Project Designer – plasticcoated’s invisible friend, Writers – plasticcoated & Christopher James Bruce Fletcher, Distrubution handled by – plasticcoated’s other invisible friend, Marketing – A Cabbage.



Feature
Hardcore? An Investigation

What is it to be "Hardcore"?
What is its definition? What criteria have to be fulfilled to attain hardcore status?
Does it even matter?
That's a lot of questions... Here's another: Can these questions be answered in a matter of fact manner?

This editorial could, in all honesty, consist entirely of questions much like the above. And it could only hint at their answers and still prove a success - an interesting, thought provoking read. But it would be merely a collection of idle musings from someone who believes 'Hardcore' is a myth, a dream that can never be achieved.

Hardcore. Hard + Core = Hardcore 1337.
1337? Now then, not being of the mythical hardcore fraternity, this number is alien to me. A brief investigation and an assumption found that it is part of an uber language and can be translated as follows: 1337>leet>elite? Is it a hardcore trait to use this sort of language? Probably as it is a computer based language, by which I mean folk who use computers particularly the internet use this term and many others. It’s sort of a hardcore code that gamers, who may or not be hardcore, use when messaging each other in Online Multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and the like. Basically it’s quicker to bash a quick abbreviated message mid frag-fest than type it out in full with correct spelling and grammar.
This brings onto another bunch of questions. Is Online games playing a hardcore quality? Again, probably. And the reason, without trying to sound offensive is this: Online gaming and indeed computing inmost fashions is considered ‘geeky’ by some. Videogame enthusiasts could quite easily be attributed with the ‘geek’ tagline. This begs the question: Does being hardcore make you a geek? Are you more hardcore for being proud (or at least un-offended) by your ‘geekiness’? I suppose the biggest question of all is: Do the hardcore think of themselves as hardcore? Probably not, it’s just too egotistical, and what if in the eyes of someone who is more hardcore than you, you are not hardcore? Going about claiming to be Hardcore could be an embarrassment and ‘uncool’.

Games wise being Hardcore is difficult to determine. What games do hardcore folk play? Rephrase that as what games can I play to make me hardcore? Shmups? 2D beat-em-ups? MMORPGS? PC FPS’s? Is there such thing has a hardcore genre? Or is there an exotic fruit basket of genres that the hardcore like to suck the juice from and make frozen desert from the pulp? It seems there are several qualities that can be exhibited which could be considered hardcore:
Relishing the past. This is quite possibly a case of being opinionated to the point of stupidity just to exhibit hardcore qualities. For example to prefer retro games over new ones. This is for multiple reasons: the opinion that new games are too commercialized, that older games are purer – built on solid gameplay rather than being sullied with massively funded graphical power.
Knowledge is power too. Having a vast wealth of knowledge of all games past is a key hardcore quality.
Having an obsession with Japanese games, is that too a hardcore attribute? This one is an easy answer YES. Why Yes? Because it’s down to importing. Importing games apparently makes you hardcore due to the perceived cost of buying from outside your own country, the language barrier, the fact that Japan is the homeland – the Mecca- of videogame society. Except if you are Japanese and live in Japan. Does this automatically make you hardcore, being Japanese?

Regardless, to be hardcore is the opinion of others, and as is the case with all opinions, they are neither right nor wrong merely different and as such are conflicting. Being Hardcore is a dream that is unobtainable. If other people don’t think of you as a hardcore gamer then you aren’t. Considering yourself hardcore is something that makes your hardcore-ness redundant. So even if everyone and his dog thinks you’re some hardcore gaming legend, you are not, because you yourself HAVE to refute any claims as not to accidentally admit to thinking of yourself as hardcore.

Are you hardcore? Don’t answer that; just be content with who you are. There is no need to have a superiority complex based on the games you play, where you get them from, on what console you play them, how long you play them for or whatever. Be content.


Feature:
Shmup-osity

Left, right, shoot, die. That’s a Shoot-em-up for you. A peach of a genre, sadly though said peach is drying up and fermenting becoming a shriveled, drunken dinosaur of videogame society. If and when one such is released in this the UK it usually comes at a knock down price - it's a system which benefits no-one but the shmup fan to be perfectly honest. They pay less for what they want. You can’t argue with that, except for the fact that a Shmup rarely gets a release here budget price or no.
So where can the shmupper go to get a fix akin to the one they value so much in the shoot-em-up genre? Run and Gun FPS’s offer some cathartic thrills… Doom 3, Serious Sam and Halo on its easier settings (The Library despite the general consensus that it’s a pants level is a particular mention) to name some. These offer some strong and shooting-reflex-survival action. And exhibit one of the main shmup qualities: Intensity. Non-stop relentless, concentration soaked, explosion filled action.
Back in the summer of 2002, whilst awaiting the release of Ikaruga on the Gamecube, what game filled that reflex-action void? Burnout 2: Point of Impact. It may be a racing game and on the face of it nothing like a shmup. Left, right, boost, crash. That’s not too dissimilar from a shooter such as Ikaruga or Gradius. Yet that is all there is to Burnout 2. The Burnout series is littered with viable comparisons to any number of shmups so much so that you could go so far as to say Burnout 1,2 and 3 ARE shmups, albeit 3D, in cars, and without any kind of shooting. Maybe you can’t go on to call Burnout a shmup, but still it isn’t far off.
The near misses in Burnout are echoes of Psyvariar’s Buzz System (and Shikigami No Shiro’s similar ‘closer to bullet you are the more points you get’ system). This is more elaborated on by Near Misses filling your boost meter; in Psyvariar grazing enemy bullets upgrades your ship. The meat may be different, but the bones make up the same structure of Risk/Reward. The build-up of a boost is akin to Ikaruga’s Energy Release – build it up and use it to gain an advantage. Another Ikaruga trait in Burnout, particularly 2 is the Chains. Ikaruga has a chain system, whereby building up a chain of kills (3 of each Polarity in a row) spills vast amounts of points upon the players score. Burnout 2 has Burnout chains, spend your entire boost meter to earn a Burnout, perform enough boost grabbing tactics during a burnout to fill your boost meter again. Which in turn opens up the possibility for another burnout (a burnout x2) the more burnouts you string together, the more points you get. And being a racing game, boosting continuously as Burnout Chaining allows means you’ll get decent Time Trial times and win more races. The bottom line is both games use chaining as a way that rewards the player depending on their skill level of chaining stuff together.
Fancy a shmup, but don’t want the immense difficulty that usually is included as standard? Get Burnout 2: Point of Impact.
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Developer Quick look:
Treasure Videogames
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Treasure is a cult favourite amongst gamers. They only a small developer yet have produced 23 games in their career. Many of them are household names amongst non-casual gamers such as eBay king Radiant Silvergun for the Sega Saturn. They are synonymous with 2D games, basically because they are limited by their size. Three dimensional games take more staff and time to develop, staff and time that Treasure don’t have. Their debut was perfection, Gunstar Heroes (Reviewed in this very issue of plastiche) and they have gone onto produce many other truly wonderful games (Saturn Guardian Heroes, Dreamcast/Gamecube Ikaruga) and some not so wonderful ones too (Gamecube Dragon Shot). They’ve done work with other company’s property too. Wario World on the Gamecube is a piece of Treasures handy work, and shows that when they do it, they aren’t bad at 3D games. And Gradius V (also reviewed this issue) is a Treasure game made for Konami using their heavy hitting Gradius franchise as a base for a top notch side scrolling shmup.
All in all, as long as Treasure stays in business and release the occasional gem in PAL territories then the games industry will still have some dignity left.

Treasures Back Catalogue:
Wario World (Nintendo Gamecube)
Silpheed: The Lost Planet (Sega Mega-CD & Sony Playstation 2)
Radiant Silvergun (Sega Saturn)
Freak Out (Sony Playstation 2)
Guardian Heroes (Sega Saturn)
Astro Boy (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
Alien Soldier (Sega Mega-Drive)
Gunstar Heroes (Sega Mega-Drive)
Mischief Makers (Nintendo 64)
Gradius V (Sony Playstation 2)
Dragon Shot: D Master Drive (Nintendo Gamecube)
Light Crusader (Sega Mega-Drive)
Ikaruga (Sega Dreamcast & Nintendo Gamecube)
Tiny Toons: Busters Bad Dream (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
Bangai-o (Sega Dreamcast & Nintendo 64)
Guardian Heroes Advance (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
Rakugaki Showtime (Sony Playstation)
Sin & Punishment (Nintendo 64)
McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure (Sega Mega-Drive)
Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen (Sega Mega-Drive)
Silhouette Mirage (Sega Saturn & Sony Playstation)



Review:
Gradius V (Sony Playstation 2)

Gradius is one those franchises, it has a heritage, own that has to upheld for the sake of video gaming and maybe even…humanity. This, the fifth in the series (although there have been more) has been developed by shooter gurus Treasure and is both old and new simultaneously.
There's not much of a market these days for a side scrolling shoot em up, especially in the UK. What with football updates, crime em ups and other such wares that are so much more preferred by the UK gaming public.
But the eponymous hardcore and shooter fans (and Gradius fans) will lap it up... And with an RRP of a slender £24.99 some of the bargain hunters and impulse buyers may take lick of this sweet gaming candy.
And they all will be blown away once their PS2 boots up and loads the shiny blue disc. Although the first thing that is noticeable is the complete and utter lack of mention of Treasure. But so what.
Anyway, Gradius is a shmup, a horizontal left to right one at that. It’s handed t you the player to control the Vic Viper, a fighter craft of great efficiency, and fight off the destructive life form known as the Zelos. But as with any shooter of this nature, the story is pretty much irrelevant and unnecessary – merely an explanation for your actions. Basically use the Vic Viper to apply red hot laser death to anything that moves. Gradius is as much about survival as it is about blowing everything up. The Vic is actually impervious to damage except for the sweet spot that is the cockpit, this allows for it to squeeze into gaps that otherwise would be impossible.
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All shmups have a ‘thing’ something that distinguishes them from all the other shmups out there, Gradius’ thing has always been its Options. The Options are little blobs that surround your ship and deal out more death to your foes. But they have to be obtained first, by collecting enough power ups dropped by particular downed enemies. Gradius has a very special way of upgrading your ship: it gives you a degree of choice. Along the bottom of the screen is a bar, collecting one power up icon will highlight the first of six boxes within the bar, collecting a second will highlight the second box and so one. Pushing the O button when the box you want is highlighted will give you the ship/weapon upgrade it states. You can upgrade the speed of the Vic, give it missiles, double your firepower, upgrade from a blaster to a laser, add an Option (known as Multiples in the PAL release) or initiate a Shield around the Vic’s hull.
The controls are functional the only problem with them isn’t them as such, but the PS2’s Dual Shock2 pad; the Analogue sticks are too inaccurate and twitchy. Best stick with the superior D-Pad then.
Graphically though, Treasure have squeezed a lot of juice from the PS2 despite the game being played on a 2D plane. Everything is just so detailed it’s unbelievable and truly brings Gradius into the current generation of gaming. But in a shmup such as this, the game play is key and here Treasure has set a true benchmark for the genre. Incredible. But Gradius V is hard and as such, a lot of people won’t get to the 2nd level anytime soon. Practice makes perfect though, and like Treasure’s own Ikaruga before it, committing the levels and enemy formations to memory is all part of the gun. Buy it now.


Retro Review:
Gunstar Heroes (Sega Mega-Drive)

Many things in life can be considered perfect; Gunstar Heroes is just one of those perfect things. To be perfect is to be at the top of your game and in no conceivable way be outperformed. Gunstar Heroes can not be outperformed for what it is. There is no other game on Sega’s Mega-Drive let alone a side scrolling shooter one that is as at the top of its game as Gunstar is.
Super simple, yet lavishly deep, relentless and swift. And to think this was the first game Treasure made, and it has got better with age like fine wine allegedly does. Gunstar’s control/offensive interface is supreme in its execution. You choose a player: Red or Blue, each with there own slight nuance. Choose a weapon and away you go. At its heart it’s a simple shooter; run from left to right finger permanently stuck down on the B button killing anything that moves occasionally using the C button and Down to Jump and Duck respectively.
Then comes the more advanced stuff; attacking close up performs a melee attack and you have two guns which can be exchanged for other by picking up power up icons when available. Having two guns serves a purpose and a big one at that. A tap of the A button switches to your secondary gun and lo you can deal out two types of death of destruction. Or can you? A second tap of the A button selects both weapons simultaneously combining their effects which can be very useful. This essentially gives you access to three completely different guns at any one time and as such enables you to handle any situation where firepower is needed and being a shooter firepower is of the highest importance.
That’s the thing with Gunstar Heroes is that it’s all a matter of choice, and not just with the weaponry. The mission structure allows you to choose which levels to attack. It’s something that in a genre that’s so linear, you can experience all levels in some way even if you aren’t up to the challenge. Speaking of challenge Gunstar Heroes is just that, it is difficult, but only to begin with. Knowing the intricacies of the weapons allows for a greater success rate. The level design is a joy to behold, always surprising and ingenious.
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The Visual style of the whole package is relatively unique 9only Treasure’s own Guardian Heroes games come close to its anime styling. Everything is so lush and colourful and is literally dripping in pixel detail. And Gunstar is one the only Mega-Drive games that springs to memory that used some kind of 3D effects (discounting ‘special’ games like Virtua Racing), and rotating 3D effects too.
It comes highly recommended.


Feature:
Legendary
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Is there ever a time when our beloved plastic doesn't mention it? Halo. Cue rolly eyed smily’s by all who look upon this. But wait, read on and hear is out. Following this issues theme of the so-called Hardcore. Legendary IS hardcore. It’s just so tough. Yet a thoroughly and truly rewarding experience. An experience from which you learn many things. The importance of sticking a Plasma grenade to an Elite. The extreme power of the lowly Pistol. Rationing the Medi-Packs. Effective use of the Plasma Pistol’s charge shot that can completely wipe out an Elite’s shield. Taking your time, using stealthy tactics as opposed to going in guns a blazing. All lessons learned in Halo on Legendary. Things are different, you can’t afford to be Rambo or to take your time, and you have to be steady. Steady but not slow. Access the situation quickly, choose the best weapons available to you and deal with the situation in a calm manner.
It’s perfectly pitched – immensely hard with Covenant who could out think Mensa members, massive damage from enemy fire and enemies that are stronger than normal, but all the while it is never unfair. You, as the player, The Master Chief, will die on many occasions over and over, but the “just one more go, I’ll get ‘em this time” mentality takes affect. The hours will fly by like minutes, but after all those hours, you will have made progress, perhaps even got to The Silent Cartographer. Switching the Xbox off, will leave you trembling from the adrenaline, but in your head you feel like you could take on a Covenant army and come out the victor. It feels better than on Normal or even Heroic. The difficulty is not a limit or a restriction to hold you back it’s a goal to achieve, something to better yourself and become a Legend. A lot of people haven’t even tried Halo on Legendary, so if your one of the many who have and maybe have gone on to conquer it in it’s entirety then pull up a pew and sit with me while I bask in bliss.
Halo 2 on Legendary is another matter, it’s still good – very good in fact but as with Halo 2 in general, the balance is upset. The advanced intelligence of the enemy AI means you have to work even harder than Halo 1. Duel Wielding is a God send depending on the situation. The Plasma Sword helps but in confined environments is more trouble than it’s worth. And the difference in strength of you The Master Chief and your enemies, specifically the Elites is frustrating – Halo 2 borders on the unfair. For example, unless you attack their backs, it takes at least two swipes (one to disarm their shield another to turn them into mincemeat) of the powerful Plasma Sword to kill an Elite, but that same Elite need only give you a single whack from the butt of it’s Plasma Rifle (or Plasma Sword if they’re up for duel) to kill regardless of your shields strength. See, it’s a little unfair isn’t it?
Still though, Halo 1 on Legendary is indeed Legendary and Halo 2 on Legendary is merely Heroic.

Feature:
Mining for Gems

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Gems, those special games that aren’t big name brands that sell buy the truckload to the gaming masses and end up in a bargain bin somewhere despite high originality and astounding quality. It’s a shame but if enough people bought into such gems early on then they wouldn’t suffer they indignity of being in some bargain bin. But it has an upside – they’re in a bargain bin! – and by nature are a bargain, especially so seeing as they are great games. But what games are these so-called gems? What should you be looking out for on the cheap?
Look at that little montage above, all of them are such gems:
(From left to right)

Beyond Good & Evil (Multiformat) – this game is one of the most lovable charming games this generation and deserves two things; recognition as one of the best games this generation and a decent sequel. It reminds of the N64 era, after all it is a Zelda style adventure, set in a Jak & Daxter style world. All in all a special gem. Get it and love it.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System – A truly special game. It’s big too and has a decent stab at the replay value thing. A 3rd person blaster with a hint of Halo about it starring a bunch of cute little robots at war. A nice comedy script adds to the character of the whole package. Any version will do but this is one game that needs to be in your collection.

Freedom Fighters - A change of pace for developers IO Interactive the brains behind all three super stealthy Hitman games. This is pure action. Control Chris, a plumber and fight your way to freedom through a snowy guerilla warfare ravaged New York. Truly wonderful music ups the atmosphere and plenty of gunplay make it hugely enjoyable. One of the only games that successfully manages to string levels together in a manner whereby what you do in one mission affects the events of another. A little short, but track it down.

Viewtiful Joe – One of the best and most original not to mention weird games of this generation. Guide Joe through Movie land to save his girlfriend. Snappy 2.5D visuals – 3D cell shading comic book style on a 2D scrolling beat up (that has shoot-em-up sections). Superb. Although despite the easier difficulty and appearance of Devil May Cry’s Dante, the Gamecube version is better as the Dual Shock 2 is wrong for this game.

The Mark of Kri – Cartoon violence at its best. Clearly as violent as Manhunt, but the Disney-esque visual styling hide a blood thirsty killer. A little clunky, but makes great use of the PS2’s button layout with a highly intuitive combat system. And a simple mission structure of accepting whatever’s going from the central hub which happens to be a bar makes life a little easier. Stick it your pipe and smoke it.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – An obvious choice as an underrated gem, although not by the gaming media. It got awards across the board… only Joe Public didn’t buy it during the Christmas rush of 2003 what with the likes of Need for Speed Underground causing a stir. Sublime blurry visuals, atmospheric music (unlike its sequel), utterly sublime controls and a great use of rewinding time to have second attempts at the acrobatic platforming. Great combat too, but some fights are way too long for some peoples liking.


Reader Challenge:
Names Taken, Commence Ass-Kicking… But Only if you Want it

During plastiche’s development, a little hype inducing “Coming Soon” campaign as done. It took the form of a thread in Reader Reviews, in this thread many people posted due to their inexplicable curiosity towards the Secret Writing Project No. 666. It is now put to those forum members to do the following:
- Write a review or article that is videogame related.
- It must be approximately 500 words in size.
- And be PM’ed to plasticcoated within the next 3 weeks.

Was you’re name taken? Check below:
PR3DAT0R – Psycho Preist – toxic – spikey – rinks – Falcon – SillySprout – Parksey – E.Peterus Umum – TekaOtaku – da_mighty_lizzimba – Nex Gen Games – Thanatos – Raze – Spindash – Big Frank – TheTurnipKing – Foolish_Mortal – the_nine – the-elbo – Gamesmasta – Dante Sigona – junkid – Crimson Reaper – gafgalash – melatonin – Stormcaller – starfox – Doubleokevin – Omo – neo-cypher

Sadly, though this is voluntary, I can’t force you to do it… at least not yet anyway.


me-ni-A!

Yes, folks, it isn’t all just games in this magazine. There’s Anime too. Anime – pronounced by us here at plastiche as “An– e–may” and that’s where the name comes from me-ni-A! – say the syllables as they are said in Anime and you’re there “May – ne – a” (mania). Clever, no?
The me-ni-A! section wont be as big as the games bit – this is a videogame mag for a videogame forum after all. But it will something that little bit different to get your teeth into. Read on.


First Look:
Initial D Fourth Stage

Anime, what subject material is most commonly associated with it? Heavily chest laden girls? Mecha? Exactly. So it’s good to watch something that focuses on neither of the above topics.
Initial D as a franchise is massive, with a bunch off Animated Series’ (this being the fourth, obviously), Movies, Manga and Games (both Arcade and Console) etc. And its subject matter you ask? Cars. It’s like a Japanese equivalent of The Fast & the Furious only much much better and more concerned with tuning and racing on mountain passes rather than 10 seconds on ‘the blacktop’ in a defaced garish mess of a car.
Basically, the series follows the strange Project D racing team. They’re a newly formed but very skilled team made up of characters from previous series’. The exceptionally intelligent and composed Ryosuke as their leader, the golden boy Takumi Fujiwara and his mysterious 86 (A Toyota Trueno) as the Downhill ace and Keisuke, equally as skilled as Takumi but more aggressive as the uphill ace in his Mazda RX-7. Project D move around from region to region ‘battling’ with other teams native to each region.
The animation is superb; the people are all drawn in decent but seemingly simple way. But the cars and the races are a done with a combination of animation and computers. The result being exceptionally realistic motion but with a hint of cell-shading about it.
The Japanese/Euro-style rock/pop/dance/techno soundtrack is very absorbing and is indeed charming. It may be a bit weird for some and over-used during races, but it compliments the on-screen action surprisingly well and as such the race scenes are all the better for it. As with most music in most films and games and such, the music adds to the atmosphere. And this series is steeped in atmosphere. Serious car tuning, professional racing techniques, overly grim characters, edge-of-your-seat races with some hidden tactic or amazing spectacle of driving skill. All give a superb sense of mystery to all of the proceedings. As does the drip feeding of details regarding Project D’s members’ past (despite the fact they return from previous series’). And the fact that everyone underestimates the 86, and its high level of tuning (not to mention Takumi’s ability) makes it a strangely fast and agile car.
The only critical point that is both this series’ greatest strength and greatest weakness is its pacing. It usually takes two Episodes to get through a single battle and even then it revolves around Takumi’s downhill driving and the techniques he has to put forth.
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All in all, it comes recommended but with a warning: If you don’t like cars, particularly Japanese ones, then steer clear of this one. All it is is stylish car based fan service interspersed with a lot of drawn out talk… about cars. But that’s nice, it’s different – no big-eyed, big breasted ladies, no gun/sword battles, no giant robots, no futuristic setting. In that sense, it’s fresh and has that wonderful new car smell about it when watching.


Review:
Neon Genesis Evangelion

Plastic’s favourite, it seems that our slave driving leader loves this more than Halo, which is saying something as he sure does love Halo. It is really great though. The world has been attacked by a strange alien race known as the Angels and the population has suffered. A secret agency called Nerv is in charge of defending what’s left of humanity from the Angels. The thing is though, the enigmatic Angels are impervious to conventional weaponry thanks to their AT (Absolute Terror) Fields , so how do you defend against something so unstoppable? The Evangelions, that’s how. The Eva’s are Nerv’s ace in the hole – giant bio-mechanical beasts strong enough to go into hand-hand combat with the Angels and win. The Eva’s are piloted by mere teenagers, born 9 months from the Angels first attack. The series follows these children, namely Shinji, Rei and Asuka, as they fight the Angels.
The characters make this series what it is: Shinji with his estranged relationship with his father Gendo who just happens to be the Commander of Nerv. Rei with her chilling emotionless life and her strange relationship with Shinji’s father. The aggressive Asuka and her superiority complex and love/hate ‘thing’ with Shinji. Misato, A Captain at Nerv, who is Shinji’s guardian and provides plenty of fan service. There are many other standout characters too.
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The battle sequences are epic and utterly spectacular and with some truly awesome animation and captivating musical score, the series is a true audio-visual treat. Story wise, everything is good and you will ask questions: What or who are the Angels? What exactly are the Eva’s?, but the answers make the plot twists and turns towards the end, so much so that it’s impossible to understand. I kid thee not, the ending is so way out west, that a new ending was made in the form of Death & Rebirth/The End of Evangelion, although do correct me if I’m wrong. And even then, further different endings were released in the form of Director’s Cuts. But it’s all enjoyable regardless of your confusion levels.
And it’s funny too. Shinji and Asuka’s arguments cause a few laughs as does Shinji’s embarrassment during any incident involving the ladies and their curvy bits. It is one the benchmarks for Anime series’ and as a result is essential viewing.


DVD Review:
Spirited Away
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Speechless, that’s what you will be when Spirited Away ends and the credits roll.
Another spectacular piece of animated film outputted by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, responsible for such other delights as Kiki’s Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke. Spirited Away is exactly that – a delight from start to finish.
It’s like a cross between off the wall Japanese fantasy, The Wizard of Oz, and the Tatooine sequence from Star Wars: A New Hope. It’s a magical tale of Chihiro, a young girl who gets whisked away to a strange land The Land of Spirits and must work for sorceress Yubaba in a bathhouse whose clientele consists of Gods and weirdo’s. She must try to rescue her parents who have been turned into pigs, with the help of a young dragon spirit Haku and eventually find a way home. It’s all so wonderful. Everything is beautiful, the visuals and animation are gorgeous, the music is truly awe-inspiring and even the Western voice over is good. It’s so joyous; you may even shed a tear when it’s over.
As ever with a lot of Anime DVD’s it contains the original Japanese dubbing with English subtitles which is the way some people prefer to watch stuff of this calibre. A second disc contains heaps of extras such as behind the scenes/making of stuff that is really quite interesting while it lasts. A very nice little extra on the first disc is a storyboard to scene comparison whereby the film can be watched in it’s original storyboard format But (dependant on your hardware) be sure to alter your DVD players settings regarding multiple angles or else you’ll have to endure constant prompting to change angles to the storyboards as opposed to the actual scenes. Buy it now, and if you’ve got Sky, it’s on over Christmas so be sure to watch, but buy it anyway. It deserves a place in anyone’s DVD collection.


Next Issue:
The Issue of the Xbox
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End
There it is, the end of the first issue of plastiche and what a chore that has been, 85.7% of this was written on this: Image
Needless to say the screen took a beating from typing on a software keyboard. If it was a person there is a high probability it fill phone in with a sick note for Issue 2 (if that ever happens – it’s been planned, but whether or not it will be implemented is open to debate).
It is hoped that Issue one fulfilled it’s objectives of informing/entertaining without ruffling to many feathers – the awful hype machine has no doubt caused this to be a disappointment, and it is not trying to ‘compete’ with other forum publications *cough* The GR Gazette * cough*. Well see y’all next issue, I’m off to get some Hall’s Soothers for this cough I’m developing.

Goodbye… for now.

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