Welcome to Subculture Times: a small-group operation hellbent on bringing you news, reviews, comedy, critiques and commentaries. We here at Subculture Times want to cover movies, video games, comics, and anything else newsworthy.
Keep up with the crew and Stay tuned for Subculture!
New podcast, for all your podcasting needs. This week: Zombies
Zombie-cast! No, the cast are not zombies, but we do talk about zombies. In this episode, we discuss The Walking Dead, find out that Frank has a weird taste in literature, and we figure out what would happen if the zombie apocalypse starts while we record the podcast.
We also have Production Value! And better quality audio! We are getting the hang of podcasting.
Give it a listen! and let us know what you think.
Tuesday, October 30: Star Wars is now owned by Disney.
Just like Pixar and Marvel, Lucasfilm has now joined the Disney entertainment family. What does this mean? Disney CEO Robert Iger says that they will expand on the franchise, aggressively. We can expect a new Star Wars film to be released every two or three years, starting with Star Wars Episode VII in 2015.
Yeah, thats right: Episode VII!
Now, before you get your jimmies all rustled, lets think about what happened when Disney bought Marvel. Everyone was saying how bad it would be, they will make them more childish, its gonna suck, blablabla. Well that was not the case. In fact we got Avengers! How great was that huh.
Yes, Star Wars is one of those things that many of us hold dear to our hearts, and any change is met with resistance, but I say we sit back and see what happens. I for one am waiting for the screening of all Star Wars Movies leading up to the Premier of VII, 12+ of sitting in a theater watching awesome movies.
Here is the video announcement, hearing it from George Lucas himself might help you guys take in the news.
Long time running G4TVgaming-staples Attack of the Show and fan-favorite X-play are set to cease their reign of "nerdom" by the end of 2012.
In an attempt to recapture the long-standing influence of these shows, G4TV plans to air rerun episodes of this years of AOTS and X-play, building up and showcasing "memorable moments" until the final episodes.
The official G4TV Facebook stated,"Both long-running shows helped define, as well as expand, the pop culture and gaming TV experience for a generation."
Attack of the Show debuted in 2005, catering to news about tech, video games and pop-culture, while X-play broke the gaming scene in 2003 and successfully infused the offbeat, sometimes dry, sometimes surreal humor into video game news, previews, and reviews.
Through these shows, G4TV has spawned cultural personas within the gaming culture. This nuance is very important as video games are often thought of as a second-hand medium.
Ultimate co-hosts in crime Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb
Adam Sessler, who has time and again proved the relevance of games in art and narrative through Sessler's Soapbox, and Morgan Webb, a "gaming goddess" who destroys the male-dominated gaming-image of the industry, are two concrete personalities that establish video games as a possibility among mainstream climates.
Attack of the Show and X-play have over a thousand episodes each, according to the G4TV Facebook and the company hopes "you've had as much fun watching them as we have had making them, and sincerely hope you join us in bidding a fond farewell to Attack of the Show and X-Play's as we look back over the next two months and head towards each series' finale."
Ladies and gentlemen, let us remember them.
For more culture, stay tuned for Subculture!
Xαίρετε! Yes, rejoice, Ladies, gentlemen, comic nerds, gaming geeks and the Subculture'd for the Long Beach Comic and Horror Con shall grace LB shores on November 3 and 4 with its convention presence. This year's convention list of artists, actors, and internet personalities span over 100 guests including Angus Oblong, creator of Adult Swim's dysfunctional mutant family The Oblongs, The Guild'sSandeep Parikh, and Barbara Randall Kesel, a comic writer who's worked on the infamous Watchmen comic.
From a Battlestar Galactica Fan club to a Suicide Girls table to artist corners, the show floor features over 100 different booths. (Click here to see the entire list)
Mike Scigliano, who's in charge of the convention's floor management, logistics and guest relations, said, "We look to keep our guest list fresh from year to year as to have new guests and attendees to be excited about."
Costumers with Seth Green at LBCC 2011
"Some factors," Scigliano said, "we need to consider is the location of where a potential guest lives, what sort of travel needs they have . . . We also keep tabs on who the attendees are looking for. Each of these factors weigh in when building our guest list."
Guests and attendees may also look forward to panels and workshops galore. These activities range from topics such as graphic horror to podcasting 101 and from a workshop about comic and manga production to womanthology.
The programming schedule shows the many different workshops running from 11 a.m. through 5 a.m. on both November 3 and 4.
Cerritos tattoo artist Makoto Faller said, "Last years comic con was very enjoyable." The frantic chaos of the convention, the Long Beach Zombie Walk, the Wall Street protesters and, of course, the free comics, the hot chicks "and Felicia Day" proved a very fun scene for the Cerritos resident.
In regards to this year's Long Beach comic con, Faller said, "I'm not too hyped about it since I 'm too sidetracked on going to [the] San Diego Comic Con. He added, however, he would go to the 2012 LBC&HC if his friends were going.
The Guild's Vince Caso and Felicia Day at LBCC 2011
Fernando Shackeford, who attended the 2011 LBCC and is looking forward to next week, said, "The atmosphere was great. Everyone was so excited to be there [and] it just felt awesome."
With the Long Beach Comic and Horror Convention just a week away, Scigliano stated that he looks forward to seeing his many friends and convention fans who attend year after year.
Scigliano said, "For all of us, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing happy people leave the convention center each night. And who doesn't love Long Beach? It's gorgeous."
Tickets for next week's convention are still available for purchase at the official Long Beach Comic Con website. Future attendees may purchase Saturday and Sunday tickets for $25 and $20 respectively. Several weekend deluxe packages are also available. These deals come with specific goodies, such as signed comic prints from various authors and artists.
For more information on ticket sales, programming schedules, artists and other convention news feel free to visit and browse the LBCC website.
And for more culture, stay tuned for Subculture! Also, help us represent the underground rhythm of this blog by commenting, sharing and subscribing. The Subculture thanks you!
The White House officially denied the New York Times article that reported one-on-one negotiations with Iran, revolving around their nuclear program, is true, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei courtesy of NYTimes.com
Both the U.S. and Iranian governments, according to a New York Times article posted earlier today, agreed to negotiations. It was also reported that Iranian officials insisted these meetings would only take place after the November presidential election.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Tommy Vietor, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement, "It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meetings after the American elections. We continue to work with the P5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally."
The P5+1, according to the Arms Control Association, is a group, comprised of several major world powers, including France, Russia, China and the United States, on a diplomatic mission to deal with Iran and its nuclear program.
"Despite unprecedented global penalties," as reported by the the Wall Street Journal, "Iran's nuclear program is advancing. Western nations fear the Islamic republic is determined to develop nuclear weapons and fundamentally reshape the balance of power in the Middle East."
The WSJ also reports Iran stating its nuclear program was designed for "peaceful energy" and to further progress their research.
For more information on anything, stay tuned for Subculture!
"[These Bioshock Infinite collector's editions] aren't worth towing it with no Big Daddy!"
That is a reference from the first game....yeah. Okay, so there are two available collector's editions for the long-awaited Bioshock Infinite.
Oh, yeah!
The Premium Edition, going for pre-order at $79.99, comes with a copy of Bioshock Infinite, duh, a 64-
page art book published by Dark Horse Books, a Handyman figurine, a digital version of the game's soundtrack, a Bioshock Infinite propaganda lithograph, three exclusive in-game power-ups, and a really cool-looking Murder of the Crows vigor bottle keychain!
He looks excited for the Collector's Edition!
For the Ultimate Songbird Edition, coming in at a whopping $149.99, collectors can look forward to getting everything mentioned above plus a 9.75" statute of Columbia's lonely antagonist, Songbird.
Platform specific digital content also grace both editions. "Xbox 360 players," according to the Bioshock Infinite website, "receive Booker and Elizabeth costumes, Playstation 3 and PC players get Bioshock Infinite Themes."
A recent article from the game's website states, "Both Collector's Editions will be available in limited quantities, so yadda yadda yadda, sign your life away right now!"
Pre-orders may also be made through other retail stores such as Gamestop, Best Buy and Amazon.com.
I have to say, I am excited about this reveal. There are plenty of goodies in both editions, but none beat the cool-factor of the ten inch Songbird statue! I bet it'd look great next to that Alduin bust that shipped with Skyrim's collector's edition.
The Soul of the streets can only be seen by the few...
Given the re-emergence of Sega's Jet Set Radio on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store, I felt it extremely important that someone somewhere follows up with its ever so highly stylized, vibrant soundtrack'd sequel: Jet Set Radio Future (JSRF).
Neon streets, bus terminals, shanty-river towns and looping, skyscraper-suspended amusement parks are the impossible-homes of the aggressive-inliners called Rudies: the rollerblade gangs hellbent in covering Future Tokyo through the soul of graffiti.
Originally released in 2002, Jet Set Radio Future grinds players into the turbo-infused blades of various members of the GG's and take the streets, fighting for turf with other gangs and eventually crossing ideals against the oppressive, corporate shadow of the Rokakku Group.
The one and only Shibuya Terminal!
Jet Set Radio Future, even today, holds standards high for videogames.
Controlling your GG's member is seamless because of the basic 5-button control layout: grinding automatically occurs when you jump on a rail, tricks, both grinds and air tricks, are performed with either the X or Y buttons, the B-button initiates the boost and tagging is performed by hitting the right trigger when your character passes buy a graffiti marker.
Because the simplicity results in fluidity, JSRF can settle dozens of awe-inspiring, death-defying moments of stylized bliss.
In a few seconds, you may find yourself starting a grind on a normal rail, only to jump and grind onto a brightly lighted decorative dragon, from tail to head mind you, which also ascends several stories high and wraps around a building. And just when you think you finished the grind, your character shoots from the dragon's neon flamethroer onto a telephone wire. Oh, yeah!
Levels are structured to cater arcade-y moments like these. Grinding on a street lights or wall-riding from billboard to billboard, among the endless skyscrapers, are just normal moments in an extraordinary game.
Of course, extraordinary games demand extraordinary ambiance. Two major games of this generation that define ambiance are easily Bioshock and Skyrim. Even though this game is a decade-old Xbox original, I can absolutely say Jet Set Radio Future is a king amongst men in regards to ambiance and a strong contender even against the latter two video games.
Soul.
Much of JSRF's tunes are original songs composed specifically to represent the feel of the Tokyo streets. And by doing so, Sega has created one hell of a powerful, vibrant and memorable soundtrack. The sounds of Jet Set Radio Future are so amazing, I've purchased the soundtrack and continue to listen to the music even today.
Like the soundtrack, the art of the JSRF reverberate street culture. Developers collaborated with graffiti artists, such as Eric Haze, and successfully transform this fictional world into a living beast of rebellion.
Understand the Concept of Love!
The cel-shaded graphics are a marvel to behold, especially in juxtaposition to the upbeat, neo-electronic, DJ, hip-hop and funk soundtrack that perfectly constitute the youth culture vibe of a lightning fast Tokyo.
For those who have never followed the series, JSRF rehashes the story of youth culture in an adult world. That archetype, however, is not what makes this game fantastic. The element of what little story this game carries, enhances the already amazing music, the beautiful, cel-shaded graphics, the fluid controls and innovative gameplay.
Jet Set Radio Future gets a Retro Review score of a 4/5
I'll see you on the neon streets, so stay tuned for Subculture!
Dead or Alive 5 is back with even more brawn, brass and bounce....well, actually the bounce has been toned down, but there's still plenty of it.
This isn't your grandma's fighter!
First thing players may notice are the overhauled graphics. Dead or Alive 5 drops the cartoony, anime-style character designs of past games and introduces a rougher, realistic look to DOA 5's colorful cast.
Character faces are sharper and no longer doll-like. Environments look dazzling and very crisp. Fighters also suffer the wear and tear of combat and, like Mortal Kombat, players are able to finally see that grime within the fight. Patches of dirt collect and spread as characters are beaten down on dingy streets and rough dirt, blotches of snow stick to clothes for ground fighters and characters even sweat ( sweat equaling a total plus considering one of Hitomi's costumes consist of jeans and a thin tank top!)
Yup...
Among the new content, several new faces high-kick their way into Dead or Alive 5. This contemporary cast of 24 characters include Akira, Pai Chan, and Sarah Bryant, all three guest-starring from the Virtua Fighter series, and two new characters exclusive to the DOA franchise.
The first new DOA character is Rig, the foreman on an offshore DOATEC oil-rig whose fighting style harnesses raw elements of Taekwondo. He favors strong kicks that seamlessly stream from one combo to another. While the second new face, and my personal favorite and main character now, is Mila, a mixed martial artist whose moves transcend the kick and punch game into grabs that bring her opponents to the mat and delivers a flurry of knee strikes and holds. And even though Rig and Sarah Bryant essentially share the same fighting style as one another, just like Akira and Kokoro do, these new additions to the DOA roster are welcomed. They add a greater variety of character selection and help expand the DOA universe.
Mila! Mila!
Though new characters are introduced and graphics were upgraded, the triangle-system combat basically remains the same. This "triangle" form of combat is broken down into strikes, holds/counters, and grabs. Like rock, paper, scissors, DOA 5 follows a similar guessing game style. Strikes beat grabs, grabs beat holds, and holds beat strikes. It's a very simple system. Of course, this is a good thing because DOA 5 remains a methodical, albeit a slower-paced, fighter that can cater to casual, button-mashing players, but still have enough depth for the hardcore audience.
As always, and like the lovey ladies of this series, the environments are as beautiful and as destructive. DOA relishes in the infamy of its stages and their exploits. An endless, white arctic mountain, a New York rooftop adjacent to runaway trains and an unfinished skyscraper are just some of the dangerous playgrounds fighters can punch, throw or crash each other into. These moments are not just action sequences tacked on, as any DOA veteran knows, but the control of environment is pivotal for strategy as it can be the source of a comeback for the losing player or the pitfall for the winning fighter. (Check out the mayhem and destruction for yourself in the video below beginning around 1:25)
The biggest difference in combat this time around revolves around the addition of critical bursts and power blows. Each character has at least one critical burst and one power blow. A critical burst is essentially a charge move, used after a combo, that will stun an opponent, rendering them completely defenseless and open to a second combo. A power blow, like the name implies, is a power attack that can only be executed when a player's health bar has been diminished in half. What separates this move from any other strike is the attacker who lands a power blow delivers a cinematic onslaught. (Think super moves in the Marvel vs. Capcom and the Street Fighter games)
Dead or Alive 5 is packed with content. Players have the laughable story-mode, that amazingly clocks in around two or three hours, survival mode, arcade mode, time attack mode, offline versus mode and, the caveat of any fighting games in this generation, online mode. Unfortunately, the latter is where DOA is marred as "could have been" fighting game. Players who can connect to others using decent internet will find no fault in its online aspects, save for the frustration of losing battles you know you could have won. However, that is not the case.
Hadouken!
Lag seems very frequent in Dead or Alive 5. I have had many matches where bouts ran as smooth as butter on a marble floor, but if you are unlucky enough to run into another player with lag, matches can jitter so slowy, a ninety-second round may last as long two or even three minutes because the game fails to catch up. During these moments, DOA 5 feels completely unplayable. The controls during lag are unresponsive, jagged, and outright frustrating.
Nonetheless, I still have to give my hats off to Dead or Alive 5. It's a fun fighter with deep mechanics that's still as accessible as the previous entries.Team Ninja delivers a solid game with its fifth rendition of the fighting series. But however strong Dead or Alive 5 may come across as a fighter, the lag issues of online play leave a blemish nastier than the perverts who play this game only to ogle digital women.
