Reviews – Retrenders

PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist (Android) Mini Review

October 1, 2015 by Ramon Angel Leave a Comment

So this past week I was browsing the ‘Play Store’ on my phone for something new to play. I needed something new to play that would keep me busy until Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection comes out next week. Enter PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist by Outerminds Inc. It is a cute little 8-bit platformer. The game is something like a Mario… or Adams Family for the SNES, except with a bit wonkier controls. You may find it a bit difficult to control your character while jumping in the air. The touch-screen is a little sensitive, or at least it was for me.

It’s a short game, something that you could probably beat in one day; if you play on easy mode that is. Now I’m not a big PewDiePie fan, I’ll admit that I have watched a good number of his videos, however in this game there seems to be references to his videos that only loyal fans will understand. Friends of his are also in this game as playable characters; if you’re not a fan of playing as PewDiePie, then maybe you’ll like playing as Markiplier… or how about CinnamonToastKen… or Cry? Personally, I played JackSepticEye all the way through the game once I unlocked him. Speaking of all these YouTubers, there is also voice acting in this game, which means you get to hear these YouTubers give out some cringe worthy performances.

I know it sounds like I am bashing the game, and that is not what I want to do. I actually really liked this game. It’s really really tough on the harder difficulties. I’ve only beat the first two levels on lvl. 2 difficulty; don’t judge. If you have $5 to spare, I would recommend this game, and you don’t even have to be a fan of Felix or his friends to enjoy this game. If you’re looking for a mobile game to pass the time, then this one is for you. So try it out, have fun, and go ahead and rage while you play it on the harder difficulties.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Android, Bro, Brofist, CinnamonToastKen, Cry, Felix, gaming, indie, iPhone, JackSepticEye, Markiplier, mobile, PewDiePie, platformer, retro, YouTube

A Guide To Being A Vampire Slayer

October 1, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

Even after lasting 7 season’s and 144 episodes on air, Joss Whedon’s cult hit TV show Buffy, The Vampire Slayer remains popular with fans today. Do you also want to be like Buffy? Do you want to be a Vampire Slayer? Well, now’s your chance, as Buffy’s mentor Rupert Giles offers up his book: Demons of the Hellmouth – A Guide for Slayers, basically a Who’s Who’s list and character guides of the many vampires, demons, and other players they’ve meet along the way in the TV show.

Fallout Shelter (Android) Mini Review

September 1, 2015 by Ramon Angel Leave a Comment

This game has only been out for about three weeks, on Android, and it doesn’t seem that I’ll stop playing it anytime soon. When Bethesda announced this game back during E3, I was excited to play something new that was Fallout related; though I would have to wait two months to get my hands on the Android version, but it was worth the wait. Not a day has passed since I haven’t been on this game; leveling up their abilities or sending them out in the Wasteland.

The game is simple enough. You are the Overseer or your own Vault, sort of like the big boss, and your job is to build your Vault while making sure the people that live in your vault don’t die. You’ll have to build water treatment plants, diners and power plants to be able to keep your Vault up and running. While running your Vault, you’re also going to have to deal with fires breaking out, Radroach and Mole Rat infestations, Raider invasions, and the scariest of all… Deathclaw invasions. I’ve had two Deathclaw invasions in a row and let me tell you, it is the worst thing that can happen to you. Your power, water and food storage goes down quickly and they can (and will) kill your Vault dwellers so fast that you had better equip every dweller with good weapons to defend themselves.

I really don’t know how long this game lasts. Is it never ending? Will it game over once you reach your 1000th vault dweller? I’m not sure if I’ll ever find out that answer because once Fallout 4 comes out this November, like so many others, I will probably be playing this game a whole lot less. It’s a fun game. Even if you are not a fan of the Fallout series you can still have fun, trying to see how big you can make your Vault. Thank you Bethesda, for such a simple yet addictive and fun game; I can’t wait to see how your main title is going to turn out.

I give this mobile game an 8/10. So long from Vault 47.

Filed Under: Games, Reviews Tagged With: Android, Apple, Bethesda, fallout, Fallout 4, Fallout Shelter, iPhone, mobile, phone

Batman: Arkham Knight – The Novel

August 27, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

One of the most popular video games of the year for 2015 is Batman: Arkham Knight and if you haven’t gotten around to playing the game just yet, why not read the official novelization by writer Marv Wolfman to get your Batman fix? Batman: Arkham Knight – the official novel follows the same story-line as the video game with some extra background information and spicy tidbits for DC/Batman comic book lore.

It’s been a year since the Joker has died and a relative calm has presided over Gotham City, but all that is about to change as the Scarecrow unleashes a new fear toxin in a diner, causing everybody to kill each other. The Scarecrow gives an ultimatum to the citizens of Gotham that he will unleash the fear toxin all over Gotham City in a few hours. Now it’s up to Batman and his team to stop Scarecrow’s plan, while all this is happening a new player gets involved. Like in the DC Universe and Jim Lee’s Batman run “Hush” story-line, this new protagonist, the Arkham Knight knows Batman and his allies inside and out. In this fight against Scarecrow, we find that Batman has been exposed to Joker’s “blood” and as he carries on the fight to save Gotham City and his friends, Batman will be tested mentally and physically.

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Filed Under: Comics, Featured, Games, Geeky, Reviews, Series Tagged With: Arkham Knight, Batman, Bruce Wayne, DC Comics, DCU, Knightfall, Marv Wolfman, PS4, Red Hood, Rocksteady, Titan Books, WB

Vinyl Pulp #5: SDCC 2015 SF Dark Sakura

August 24, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

Vinyl Pulp host “The Eddie” does a quick review of the SDCC 2015 Exclusive Street Fighter Dark Sakura figure. He gives his pros and cons of this BAIT Dark Sakura release.

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Filed Under: Collectibles, Featured, Geeky, Reviews, Series, Shows, Toys, Vinyl Pulp Tagged With: BAIT, Capcom, Dark Sakura, KidRobot, KR, Sakura, SDCC, SDCC Exclusive, SF, Street Fighter, vinyl

Doctor Who: Four Doctors Collide!

August 12, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

If you’re a comic book reader veteran, then you’re probably familiar with the usual once-a-year mega cross-over event like in the DC and Marvel Universe. Well, this summer 2015, Titan Comics will mix-it up with 4 Doctors and 3 companions meeting up in this 5-issue mini-series. Doctor Who: Four Doctors #1 (1-5) follows the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors and their companions on a mission against an unknown foe. The epic crossover-event is written by Paul Cornell (Wolverine) and illustrated by Neil Edwards
(Assassin’s Creed).

The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road

June 1, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

Before I get down to reviewing Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road, I’ve watched Mad Max: Fury Road twice already. I was a little cynical at first, when I heard the news that creator/director George Miller was going to re-make Mad Max, when his 1979 Mad Max film starring Mel Gibson was already a masterpiece. So, as I sat in the multiplex dreading it would not be a Kevin Costner “Waterworld”, the movie came on-screen and within a few minutes I was blown away by not just the action and acting, but Miller’s incredible cinematography, the colors and the amazing world-building. Now to the meat of this article, taking a look at Titan Book’s The Art of Mad Max: Fury Road by Abbie Bernstein with a Foreward by the man himself, the master George Miller.

Scarlett Couture Issue #1

April 29, 2015 by Stephen Jang 1 Comment

Then’s been lots of HYPE over this new comic book mini-series Scarlett Couture by Des Taylor, so as it hits the comic book racks today, does it live up to the HYPE? The four-issue mini-series focuses on new spy-heroine Scarlett Couture created, written and illustrated all by Des Taylor.

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Filed Under: Comics, Featured, Reviews Tagged With: 007, Chase Couture, CIA, Couture, Des Taylor, James Bond, Scarlett, secret agent, spy, thriller, Titan Comics

The Art & Making of Penny Dreadful

April 24, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

I have to admit I only started watching this hit Showtime series only for Eva Green (Casino Royale, 300: Rise of an Empire), but I stayed for for the story and characters driving the “Penny Dreadful” program. We are already knee-deep into the second season and Titan Books has just released “The Art and Making of Penny Dreadful”, the official companion book to the program.

Graphic & Logo Design: Hanzi.Kanji.Hanja

April 1, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

Designers and artists interested in how to use contemporary Chinese characters in design, art and logo pieces, may want to check out this reference book from publisher Viction:ary, Hanzi.Kanji.Hanja: Graphic & Logo Design with Contemporary Chinese Characters.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Collector’s Edition Review

March 31, 2015 by Ramon Angel Leave a Comment

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD had me right from the get-go. Even thought the beginning was more cutscenes than it was gameplay, it was the cutscenes with the Chocobo that probably stayed with everybody in the beginning. Watching a Chocobo die was kind of strange. The only other time I remember seeing Chocobos dying was probably in Final Fantasy X, and even then they, and their riders, just disintegrated. In this game we had to sit through it and a human bleeding out… it was kinda dark. Well, what do you expect from an M-rated game. Yes that’s right, an M-rated Final Fantasy game.

When I started playing the game, it took a while for me to get used to the controls. I played on a PlayStation, so the square button was used to do the normal attacks, but it was also used to pick up something called ‘Phantoma’. Now that wasn’t that bad, but you had to wait a second of not attacking to pick it up, you couldn’t just kill the monster and pick it up right as it died. So watch out if you still have a Behemoth to kill and you’re trying to pick up the other dead Behemoth’s Phantoma. You might as well just let the Behemoth disappear and focus on grabbing the other Behemoth’s Phantoma. Another thing that annoyed me was the camera movement; it was too fast. In big open spaces like the overworld map it was fine, it moved at a decent pace; however, places like in a city you were fighting in, small spaces, the camera would move faster than it should sometimes. I’ll admit I got disoriented a few times, but nothing too major. It was just something that annoyed me, and there was nothing I could do about the speed.

Chappie: The Art of the Movie

March 27, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

The film Chappie, like previous Neill Blomkamp films’ District 9 and Elysium may have a science-fiction spin, but also speaks to the larger issues of society and “real world” problems. This Titan Books release, Chappie: The Art of the Movie delves into the background developing and creating the world of Chappie by Neill Blomkamp, concept artists and production team.

Arrow: Heroes & Villains

February 27, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

Even though I grew up as a Marvel fanboy, I did buy my fair share of DC Comics, but I was never a fan of the Green Arrow. That all changed when I watched the first episode of Arrow; now I’m addicted to all things Green Arrow. I’ve actually made trips to comic book stores and bought many of Mike Grell’s legendary Green Arrow run and picked up the underrated trade paperback Green Arrow: Year One by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock. Already knee-deep into Arrow’s 3rd Season, this Titan Book’s Arrow: Heroes & Villains release comes in at the right time.

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Filed Under: Books, Comics, Entertainment, Featured, Geeky, Reviews, TV Tagged With: Arrow, Black Canary, CW, DC Comics, Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, Suicide Squad, TV show, Warner Bros

Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight

February 11, 2015 by kellyannbrooke Leave a Comment

I recently had spare time to review a bunch of books and stuff, and one on the list is from Disney Worldwide Publishing, Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. What a novel approach to this book project, take the original Star Wars concept art from Ralph McQuarrie and tie-in the 3 movies: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi into one book.

Elementary: The Ghost Line

February 10, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

A MTA worker is found dead in his very own apartment. What can you say, it’s New York City’s toughest area, Hell’s Kitchen. Well, it’s present day, so it’s more urban hipster living in the area and coffee shops with Wi-Fi access, but Daredevil won’t come to the rescue. Instead, enter Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson! Based on the CBS hit TV show Elementary, which is a modern day twist of the famous literary detective Sherlock Holmes set in present-day New York City. “The Ghost Line” story by Adam Christopher takes place around the 3rd TV season of Elementary.

The Art of Total War

February 9, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

The Total War series has been around for years, it wasn’t until Rome: Total War that it garnered mass-appeal and sales. Videogame journalist Martin Robinson takes us on ride from the very humble beginnings of The Creative Assembly studio, the rise of Total War series and glimpses into the future for the Total War franchise with Total War: Attila dropping on February 17, 2015. This is The Art of Total War published by Titan Books.

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Filed Under: Books, Featured, Games, Reviews Tagged With: CA, Command & Conquer, Creative Assembly, Martin Robinson, Rome, Sega, Shogun, strategy, Tim Ansell, Total War, War

Lenore: Pink Bellies

February 3, 2015 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

She is not Eternity Comics’ sexy Lady Death or Vertigo Comics’ hipster Death, but she’s the cute little dead girl Lenore, created the wildly imaginative Roman Dirge. This is the latest Titan Comic’s trade release of issues #8-11 entitled Lenore: Pink Bellies.

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Filed Under: Books, Comics, Geeky, Reviews Tagged With: dead girl, death, graphic novel, Lenore, Pink Bellies, Roman Dirge, Titan Comics, trade paperback

Comic Review: Mono # 2 (of 4)

January 17, 2015 by Ramon Angel Leave a Comment

A book set in World War II, following the title character, Mono, an Ape-Human hybrid. With the first few pages following Mono as he takes out Nazi after Nazi, the last ten or so pages is just a small dinner with a Nazi General, Heinrich Eberbach. This issue had a lot of text in it, though that’s not a bad thing. You get to learn a bit about what the General thinks will happen during the war and about his upbringing; and even though it is a slow build up, it seems to lead up to a confrontation between the two characters in the next issue as the General tells his four wolves (Odin, Loki, Baldor and Fenrir) to “Attack” an unknown enemy.

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Filed Under: Comics, Reviews Tagged With: Baldor, Fenrir, Loki, Mono, Nazi, Odin, Titan, Titan Comics, WWII

Comic Review: Doctor Who (12th Doctor) #4

January 16, 2015 by Edward Ballar Leave a Comment

Previously on Doctor Who, The Doctor and Clara get a distress call from an old friend, Tiger Mathara so they head to India 2315 but by the time they got to him it’s too late and they find him dead at the hands of a Thugee. While investigating Maratha’s death, they meet Maratha’s daughter Priyanka and find out that Scindia, an organization that worships the deity Kali, are behind everything. The last we see our beloved character, The Doctor gets sent back in time to India 1825 where he is saved by a renegade amazon named Rani Jhulka while Clara and Priyanka are trapped in 2315 surrounded by a horde of Thugee.

Issue 4 starts with the Doctor and Rani, a female bodyguard to the daughter of a spice merchant. She tells the story of how she fell in love with the daughter and how she loses her. You then find that her lover was also killed by the Thugee. After giving her back story to the Doctor, they are ambushed by the Thugee.

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Filed Under: Comics, Reviews Tagged With: 12th Doctor, Doctor Who, Titan Books, Titan Comics, Twelfth Doctor

Dragon Age Inquisition Review

November 26, 2014 by Ramon Angel Leave a Comment

Picked up Dragon Age Inquisition for my PS4 on the day of its release, hoping that this game would make up for the faults of its predecessor, and, well, I can’t stop playing it. So much so, I haven’t even touched my Far Cry 4 yet. Currently, I’ve already clocked over 35 hours into the game – eating up most of my playing time are all the side quests, such as, picking up herbs and materials to craft new items. I haven’t even gone through half of the main story, which i have to say is a pretty decent story, but far from perfect.

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Filed Under: Featured, Games, Reviews Tagged With: BioWare, Dragon Age, Inquisition, Playstation, PS3, PS4, RPG, Xbox 360, Xbox One

I’d Love to Draw! by Andrew Loomis

November 10, 2014 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

In my generation, my comic book idols weren’t just the superheroes on the printed pages, but the artists who drew them. And as an amateur wannabe artist, I tried drawing like Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri and Todd McFarlane. As you can see below, I’m not a very good artist.

If you want to learn how to draw, like everybody, you have to learn the basics. One of those legendary art teachers in American history is Andrew Loomis. He published several drawing books in 1930s-1940s that influenced many artists of today. Thanks to Titan Books who have been republishing many of Andrew Loomis’ drawing books like this one, “I’d Love to Draw!”

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Filed Under: Art, Books, Comics, Reviews Tagged With: Alex Ross, Andrew Loomis, art book, comic books, drawing, how to draw, Jim Lee, marvel, painting, Titan Books, tutorial

Charley’s War: A Boy Soldier in the Great War

October 13, 2014 by Stephen Jang 2 Comments

War is neither romantic or fun. Some of the greatest anti-war movies are films about war like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Born on the Fourth of July, and in the comic medium, two British comic legends, author Pat Mills (Marshal Law) and artist Joe Colquhoun (Johnny Red) detailed the heroic and horrific realities of World War I in Charley’s War, a comic strip that started its run on September 1979 and up to January of 1985. This newly released collection by Titan Books, Charley’s War: A Boy Soldier in the Great War collects the first 4 volumes of the strip.

The Art of Jim Burns: Hyperluminal

October 9, 2014 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

If there’s a mention of Ridley Scott’s iconic film “Bladerunner” anywhere, I’m usually there in a heartbeat. The early concept art and ideas of Bladerunner began with this man – Jim Burns. The British award winning artist has the distinction of winning 3 Hugo awards and creating science fiction book covers for authors like George RR Martin, Peter F Hamilton and Anne McCaffrey.

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Filed Under: Art, Books, Reviews Tagged With: artwork, Bladerunner, Book Covers, George RR Martin, Hugo, Jim Burns, paintings, sci-fi, Science Fiction, Titan Books

The Art of Greg Spalenka

October 9, 2014 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

If you ever watch the animated movies like The Ant Bully (2006) or Escape From Planet Earth (2013), one of the concept artist behind it was Greg Spalenka. The Art of Greg Spalenka: Visions From The Mind’s Eye by Titan Books showcases Spalenka’s artistic career over the years in the many art mediums he uses, from paintings, drawings, sketches and photography.

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“Here was art with a purpose – communicating issues about humanity, from gun violence and racism to social welfare. These images were speaking to thousands, and in some cases, millions of people. I learned that the publishing world could be a powerful platform as well as an industry to work in.” – Greg Spalenka

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Filed Under: Art, Books, Design, Photos, Reviews Tagged With: 1800s art, animation, Ant Bully, artists, gothic, Greg Spalenka, photographer, Renaissance, surreal, Titan Books

ALIEN: Seas of Sorrow by James A. Moore

September 8, 2014 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

The ALIEN movie franchise has been a fan-favorite over the years and fans today still want more facehuggers! 20th Century FOX hopes to wet your appetite with 3 “official” novels based on the ALIEN and ALIENS films. The first novel “Out of the Shadows” takes place at the end of first ALIEN movie and becomes the prequel to ALIENS. Now, the stage is set for the second book by James A. Moore with ALIEN: Sea of Sorrows.

The year is 2497, “Black Sand” is discovered on planet LV178 aka New Galveston and the Interstellar Commerce Commission (ICC) lead by Deputy Commissioner Alan Decker is on the scene. The ICC is a governmental organization that provides rules and regulations for corporations terraforming planets for humans to live. “Black Sand” aka Sea of Sorrows is a term used when a planet can’t be terraformed and somehow “Black Sand” has appeared on a build site.

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