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Reviews
Birds of Prey (2002)
Destroying classic superheroes...
The WB's latest incarnation of taking famous superheroes and rewriting the plots to the writers' own amusement, Birds Of Prey, is just plain disappointing. I caught the pilot episode and must say, the dialogue is awful. The scenes with Dinah are brought down to formula speaking. The plot is plain irritating. The loveable Catwoman dies. Batman goes bonkers and disappears. It does not say whether Bruce Wayne disappears as well. I think someone would notice the head of a mult-billion dollar corporation disappearing the same time as the world's leading superhero does. And Alfred makes an appearance. You figure since Batman and Batgirl were so tight, that Alfred would mention something to her. HE DOESN'T! He just serves her for no reason.
My greatest beef with the show is the inclusion of superheroes with pointless superpowers. The appeal of Batman and Batgirl is that they are regular human beings (except really rich and computer literate). Dinah sports the ability to read peoples' futures, much like Bruce Willis in Unbreakable. Of course the writers mention that (in the overused "mutation" explaination) she can use 50% of her brain! 50%! Somehow that gives her the ability to view the future arrangement of matter (which through quantum physics has shown the unpredictability of particles).
And the Huntress is just as bad. She's somehow had a mutation in her body that lets her defy the physical rules of air currents and gravity. She's just superman with breasts. And she does not mask herself. The detective that sees her would have been able to find her identity using the FACES program within minutes. Within the confines of the world of (New?) Gotham, Dinah and the Huntress are a poorly written stretch in the show.
Batgirl is the only one that makes sense. Dina Meyer's acting and portrayal of Batgirl is the only redeeming part of the show. Meyer can overcome a horrible script and shine through in this series.
And Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn) as the main enemy? From what I remember, she was never a random psycho. Her lust for crime stemmed from her infatuation with The Joker, not because she likes killing. And most criminals, even in the batman series, did not consider themselves deranged. The Joker wanted laughs. The Penguin wanted high social standing and merchandise. They all also wanted Batman dead for interfering. They had a REASON. And why would The Huntress visit her? She works at Arkham. The Huntress did not seem straight jacket material.
This series may not follow the comics or animated series. If you take away past knowledge of the Batman series, you're left with a simplistic script, incredulous super powers, and a feeling of emptiness after watching this show. WB jumps on any chance they can get to involve superheroes in their teen years and create heavy inconsistency to the legendary stories that acted as precursors to their shows. This is not one of their successes in doing so.
Mother 2: Gîgu no gyakushuu (1994)
Incredible adventure, a must play for RPG fans
EarthBound is one of those games you finish playing and feel good about. The game takes place in an everyday town. A young boy named Ness (in the original Mother game, also called EarthBound Zero, the boy's name was Ninten). Ness meets a girl, a nerd, and a ninja. The take an amazing adventure across the world collecting pieces of songs to be able to stop an alien invasion from Giygas. Instead of swords and shields, you get frying pans, yo-yos, bats, and bottle rockets. Instead of earning gold, your dad puts money on your ATM card. Instead of monsters, you fight dogs, hippies, crazy shopping ladies, barf, and cavemen.
The music is memorable. I found myself leaving the game on just to listen to the music in Ness's house. The backgrounds during fights are trippy and amazing to watch, especially toward the end of the game. The fighting system is not too easy and not too hard. It's perfect for an RPG. SNES RPGs were known for excellent battle systems.
The main highlight of the game is the humor. The game gets ridiculous at times, with people telling you they farted, crazy enemies. It's fun to call your mom on the phone and listen to her talk about giving the dog a flea bath. You never see your dad in the game. You just talk to him on the phone. My favorite part of the game is when the owl takes your picture and says "say 'fuzzy pickles.'"
Simply put, this game is fun for all ages, especially adults. I'm about 20 years old and I found this game to be extremely enjoyable. This game has great moments that you don't soon forget. So go to the Onett library, pick up a map, and ZOOM great distances in the world of EarthBound. Very few RPGs out today are as enjoyable as this game. Even if you're not into role-playing games, you might just find yourself talking to a Mr. Saturn after popping this into the SNES.