Fantastic 4 Video Game Review for the Playstation 2 (PS2), XBox, Gamecube, and PC

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Fantastic 4 is a high-speed action game loosely based off the recently released movie starring Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as the superheroes. These actors also perform the voice overs for the game, along with Julian McMahon who plays Victor Von Doom, the primary villain for both the game and the movie. The Fantastic 4 originally started as a comic book about five people that were changed biologically by a blast of cosmic radiation. One of those characters turned evil due to his selfish nature, but the other four decided to use their powers for the betterment of the world. This is why they are called the Fantastic Four.

Fantastic 4 Video Game Review for the Playstation 2 (PS2), XBox, Gamecube, and PC

The game begins with an animated clip depicting how the five characters got their powers. The video clip could have been done much better, it is very grainy and the sound is choppy. The characters hardly look anything like the actors that they represent. The clips that are shown throughout the game are pretty similar in that respect also. After this video clip you begin to play the game as Mr. Fantastic, the stretchy man, who pretty much leads the group. At this time none of the characters are sure what has happened to them and what is going on with their bodies. Mr. Fantastic awakes to find himself locked in a room while total chaos ensues outside his door. He needs to find someway to get out of these confines to see if his friends are alright so he picks the lock to his door. When he is released he finds a robot to help him fight his way to free his friends and to free himself. If you are playing in cooperative mode the second player will use the robot character.

The second character that you will use is the Human Torch, whose body is on fire throughout the entire game. When playing in cooperative mode it is easy to tell one character from the other due to the vast differences in looks. The Human Torch must also learn about his new powers while fighting the evil robots that are trying to kill him. His main goal, as is Mr. Fantastic's, is to find and help his sister Sue; also known as the Invisible Woman.

The Invisible Woman is the cause of much jealousy between Von Doom and Mr. Fantastic who have both had strong feelings for her for a long while now. Her and Mr. Fantastic were in a long-term relationship a few years back, but he put his work ahead of her so she had to leave him. Of course she still has feelings for him even though she was working towards a relationship with Von Doom; at least that is what Von Doom thought. The Invisible Woman is a strong character in this game; however her hand to hand combat is a little weak.

The Thing changed more than anyone else and he did not take it as well as the others. He has a beautiful wife that he doesn't want to lose because of his deformity. Unfortunately he does lose her, she couldn't deal with the drastic change in his appearance. So the Thing ends up on the bridge looking into the water when a hapless stranger wanders over to him, thinking he is a regular Joe, to offer some advice why life is not so bad. The stranger takes one look at him and freaks out which is how you come to the next part of the game; saving people on a bridge. Each character has their own signature color and when you see the glowing, circular color it will indicate which character is needed to perform that task. You just set the character on the circle and follow the directions so that the hero can do their special move.

The game is not exactly like the movie, more villains were needed to make the game last longer. For instance, another comic book character, Nick Fury, was added into the mix. Nick Fury captures the Fantastic 4 and keeps them captive because of all the destruction they cause when trying to save people. Of course they escape from there too and strike a deal with Nick so that they will not be captured again. The deal is that the Fantastic 4 must undertake a mission for him, a dangerous one. There are also gang members for them to fight, dinosaurs, and lot of robotic creatures.

For those of you video game fans that like some substance in your games, keep on looking because your not going to find it here. On the other hand, if you are missing the old games like the ones for the original Nintendo console, look no further. The Fantastic 4 is your typical beat-em'-up and fly through game. This game can be beaten with relative ease, the character's moves are not hard to master at all, and the boss characters go down easy, even Von Doom. The graphics are rather drab and the dialogue between the characters is difficult to hear over all the other noise. The only thing that saved this game from getting a total splat is the cooperative mode which turned out to be really fun. The way the camera is set up it is easy to maneuver your characters even when you have two people trying to be the boss. Really there isn't a lot of choice on where to go, the path is already set for you. It is also very easy to distinguish one character from another which lessens the confusion of which little person is yours. So my recommendation is if you are going to rent or buy this game plan on making it a game for two, you will get a lot more out of it.

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Date Night Movie Review - Date Night (2010) Staring Steve Carell and Tina Fey

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Steve Carell and Tina Fey exhibit an excellent chemistry in this comedy about a couple looking to reignite the spark in their marriage. Phil Foster (Carell) and his wife Claire (Fey) plan a date night to try to add a little magic into a boring, monotonous marriage. When they try to get a table at a fancy restaurant in Manhattan, they are unable to get seated. Phil decides to take a reservation for a no-show, a couple named the Tripplehorns.

Date Night Movie Review - Date Night (2010) Staring Steve Carell and Tina Fey

Date Night Movie Review - Confrontation

As they're eating they are approached by a couple of men who question them about a flash drive they are believed to have stolen from a mob boss name Joe Miletto (Ray Liota). After trying to explain how they're not the Tripplehorns, they are threatened at gunpoint, so Phil tells the men it's in a boat house in Central Park.

The movie continues with the Fosters figuring out that the Tripplehorns are actually Taste and Whippit Felton, a married couple played by James Franco and Mila Kunis. The exchanges between Carell and Franco in this scene are fantastic. The awkward insults delivered in a cumbersome style make for spit-take laughter. After realizing they may be in harm's way, the Feltons give the Fosters the flash drive and take off.

Date Night Movie Review - The plot thickens...

After discovering incriminating photos on the drive of a public figure and prostitutes, the Fosters find themselves in the middle of a mob cover up and crooked cops.

The plot of this movie isn't fantastic, but the way these characters gel together in their comedic performances allows the story moves along very well. As the title describes, this is a great date night movie that's full of laughs, and has a tender ending.

Date Night Movie Review Final Rating: 8/10

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Create Free Look-Alike Cartoon Avatar Pictures - Website Review

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Creating an avatar can be fun. Many people find that making a cartoon form of yourself, or one that looks like one of your friends is fun and amusing but avatars are becoming so popular these days that you are unlikely to surf the internet without seeing one.

Create Free Look-Alike Cartoon Avatar Pictures - Website Review

A free avatar maker called Create My Picture can offer many different options available to creating your desired look. Here is a look at the various options you have when creating an avatar with this kind of website

Skin

Choose from 20 different skin types. Pick your desired skin color from the huge range, starting from the more traditional colors to the more outrageous - green and purple! It's fun!

Chin

With a range of different 5chins, you can choose a square chin or a round chin, the choice is yours!

Eye Shape

With a massive 59 different eye shapes to choose from you can create whatever look you want your avatar to have!

Eye Color

24 different eye colors choose from. Combine this with almost 60 eye shapes to choose from and you can see that you have a great deal of possibilities with this free avatar marker

Hair Styles

There are over 80 lovely hair styles to choose from. Ranging from the simple "bob" look, to the more out there styles there is everything you could be need when you come to create avatars.

Also an additional 14 extra styles to choose from you can have the extra long hair if you desire!

Hair colors

Choose from a massive range of 24 colors.

Mouth shape

70 different mouth shapes to choose from. Whether you want bright, puckered up lips or a big wide open mouth there is the style you would want!

Facial Hair

Choose from a mixture of 10 moustaches or 6 different beards to add the facial hair shape that you want to your free avatar.

You can also add some extras to your cartoon picture with this free avatar maker.

Ear-Rings

Choose from a massive range of ear-rings, headsets and ear cuffs. There are over 50 to choose from which all add their own style and look to your avatar

Glasses

There are also over 4 pages of glasses to choose from. Ranging from either the more stylish, fashion orientated sun glasses to the more prescription looking glasses.

Skin Accessories

With 2 pages to choose from, you can add an extra touch to your avatar with facial tattoos etc.

Hair Accessories

Last choice on this list is your choice of hair accessories - Ranging from clips and bobbles you can add some extra when creating your avatar.

Avatars are a fun way to express yourself online. Many people use them for fun or to replace an existing picture. An avatar is an expression of a person but in fantasy, children and adults alike use these symbols and they will be around for a long while to come. I think the internet has brought these designs along and has made avatars what they are today.

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Book in Review: Alien Hunter, Star Trooper by David K Scholes

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When I was a kid, I read my fair share of science-fiction. As an adult, I still ingest a decent amount of sci-fi in other media, but when it comes to the written word, I tend to lean more towards what can best be called "non-genre fiction", political diatribes and biographies of musicians. Comic books aside, I don't read an awful lot of sci-fi (and most of the comics I read aren't really sci-fi, either, unless you consider super-hero stories a subset of science-fiction). With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was drawn in by "Alien Hunter, Star Trooper".

Book in Review: Alien Hunter, Star Trooper by David K Scholes

This book, by Australian author David K. Scholes, follows an alien known only as Earle (previous appearances of the character sometimes use the spelling Urrle, suggesting that the rather Earthly name is probably just the best translation available to us) after he is mysteriously deposited on Earth by an arbitrary universal force known as the Hand of God effect. Having read previous short stories featuring the character, most notably in the "Essential Reading in Science Fiction" compilation, I wasn't entirely unfamiliar with Scholes' work, or with Earle. This novella, however, collected from a 12-part serial that ran in Golden Visions Science Fiction magazine, gave a more complete and compelling look at the character and his adventures.

In this book, Earle is transported to Earth from a distant corner of the Universe by a random universal effect known as the Hand of God. We learn a bit about his past accomplishments and the hardships he's endured. A hard man, renowned throughout the universe as the best of the best amongst Alien Hunters and Starship Troopers, Earle has also been subject to terrible tragedy. It is outside of his considerable powers to return from whence he came until such time as the Hand of God decides to take him back. So, what does an incredibly formidable warrior from an advanced civilization do when he finds himself trapped on a backwater world like ours for an indefinite period of time? Earle decides to get involved and take a proactive role in the affairs of his temporary home. What that means exactly, I'll leave for you to discover for yourself, as I recommend picking up a copy of this book.

Along the way, you'll meet or learn about a lot of the alien forces in our universe, some benevolent, some benign. The Tolden, the Brell, Shifters, Super-Shifters, the Drealth and others complicate Earle's life and that of the Earth. Most importantly, Earle will meet Chris McInnes, a remarkable earth woman who works as a Detective for the Chicago Police Department. Chris, too, has recently endured terrible personal tragedy, but like Earle she is strong and has an uncommon well of determination to draw from. As we learn more about Chris, she turns out to be full of surprises and secrets. Her role on her home world and her growing relationship with Earle turn out to be things that even the mysterious forces that run the cosmos will respect.

There's a lot to enjoy here. The main characters are interesting and enigmatic, there is a credible element of romance mixed in with the action and suspense. If I had any criticisms, the first would be fairly pedestrian. A more thorough editing, or rather proofreading, job would be helpful as there are a few grammatical errors and such along the way that don't detract from the experience much and are likely to occur during the writing process but which should be caught by a good proofreader. The second would be that many of Earle's fights sometimes go a tad too easily, though in some cases it's to be expected considering who he is and who some of his foes are. Which is not to say that he is never challenged. In fact - oh, but that would be telling. At any rate, these are relatively minor quibbles. The story itself is extremely engrossing, the characters are compelling and make you want to learn more about them, and the universe Mr. Scholes creates is a rich and complex one, full of mighty star faring races, mysterious cosmic forces and, at the eye of the storm, two people trying to make some kind of difference, Earle and Chris.

If I read more science-fiction books that were this much fun, I might spend more of my reading hours with the genre again. It reminds me of the feel some classic sci-fi had, such as Bradbury or Heinlein, in the sense that you tend to lose yourself in the world Scholes has created. Isn't that what sci-fi is supposed to do?

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