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Lost Girl Season 2 Review

Lost Girl Season 2
Studios: Prodigy Pictures and Shaw Media
Publisher: FUNimation
Release Date: November 13th, 2012
Format: DVD
Price: $64.98 – Available Here

Overview: 
With a company as known for anime and Japanese movies as FUNimation it is interesting to see them releasing a live action series coming from any country except for Japan.  But, perhaps FUNimation is trying to move in some more directions or maybe this Lost Girl series is something they didn’t want to pass up?  The second season of the Canadian supernatural series, that has been coming to the SyFy (Sci Fi) channel in a number of countries is a curious release by FUNimation.  The first season was well put together for a premier, so will season 2 keep it up or let it down?

Story: 
As this is the Second Season there are obviously spoilers galore, so those unknown to the series may be better off reading up on Season 1 HERE, instead of jumping into Season 2.  When the series left Bo, her mother had just tried to give her own little spin to ending the division between the Light and Dark Fae.  Which, being a psycho succubus, meant killing a whole lot of Light Fae Elders to  restart the war, but that was just one part as Trick used his old Blood King powers to save Bo knowing it would come at a future cost.

Where Season 1 was just a small taste of what the universe Lost Girl holds is like, Season 2 plunges in to show it off even deeper and broader.  One could look at the first season as being a kind of case of the week kind of show with a little overarching plot stemming through the episodes.  This is not the case with Season 2 however, with almost twice as many episodes there is not only more plot to be found, but even more to learn about all the favorite characters.

Needless to say the events at the end of Season 1 play a mighty big part of the plot, the vast majority of it comes in the form of dealing with the consequences of Trick using his powers, while because of Bo’s mother they also have to deal with a new boss for the Light Fae. With a lot more episodes in this season there turns out to be less filler and more plot, which is really great to see in a show as well written as this.  Characters are explored in more detail than before as well as adding in even more characters to get to know.  Though adding in as many as they do seems a little too much, becoming a slight negative, but luckily the show finds its way to balance it out again.

There is also a lot more backstory for multiple characters as well as the Fae itself, from Trick to his days as the Blood King, to a few different views into Kenzi’s childhood, to what brought Lauren to the Ash.  Even more interesting are the glimpses that we get to see of the war that happened between the Light and the Dark, so much more information that was simply mentioned in the first season.  They manage to not only build up more of the world of Lost Girl without accidentally stepping on their own toes and ruining it with retcons.

Visuals: 
Just being in its second season could be seen as a good thing in terms of visuals as the majority of everything has already been decided from character design to special effects, though with so many episodes some might worry that a budget divided amongst so many.  But, Lost Girl handles itself quite well not only does it keep up the quality of the first season, but for the most part the average seems better across the episodes.  While the vast majority of style for the characters seems to be pretty Gothic, it varies enough to keep it interesting.  The creature effects also seem to look better across the board and with the variety it doesn’t come from just reusing a lot of the same.

Audio: 
With each season actors are expected to get more used to the characters that they play and so far the main cast seem to have a great handle on exactly who each of them is.  While there is less bad deliveries, there is still a lot of the same cheesy and racy dialogue.  In a show based around a succubus, the show doesn’t seem to try and avoid innuendo at all instead going straight for it.  On one hand it certainly fits, though sometimes the situation to use specific lines will occasionally seem forced.  These being few and far between however, makes for a pretty nice job.

The music also continues to keep up the standards, which is good with the number of just mood music.  While shows in the same genre go for recognizable songs, it’s great the show focusing on original music instead.  While none of the pieces really stands out as one that will find viewers committing to memory, they do an excellent job fitting whatever the current situation the characters are facing.

Extras: 
The extras for this season are still on the slight side there actually being fewer than last time, with the only ones being behind the scenes videos, interviews, and a blooper reel.  Though this is more due to the interviews being condensed into single videos per actor instead of by question, so there is an increase in quality.  The majority of the extras though are the behind the scenes, which cover almost every aspect of the show from stunts, to makeup, to props.  The most interesting one is about the props as there is actually a lot more work into it than one would expect.  Even better since weapons are just a specific type of prop, there is a good amount of detail put into that, which is great to see with all the different kinds of weapons they use on the show.  For the most part the behind the scenes give a much better understanding of all the other people making the show besides just the actors.  Bloopers are more about the personality of the actors as they goof around, flub lines, and accidentally hit each other.  Though as fun as these are to see, most of them are good for a smile and small laugh, but not much more than that.

Overall:
In the end, Lost Girl Season 2 adds even more to the story and takes it in some really good directions as the characters all start to find out where they all belong in their own world.  With more focus on the main plot and far less just world building episodes, the amount of episodes really adds a lot to those that enjoyed Season 1.  Visually continuing to excel at handling exactly what the show needs and solid sound to accompany, the only pratfall is the extras, but with as much content as the season proper gives I give Lost Girl Season 2

8-5-capsules-out-of-10

Randy Pitchford explains why Borderlands 2 is not on the Wii U

While a lot of games in the Wii U’s launch line-up were titles that have already been released on other consoles earlier in the year, some less than two weeks before the Wii U’s release, fans should not expect Borderlands 2 to show up on the Wii U anytime in the future.

Now before you get too upset, it Randy Pitchford explained Gearbox’s decision to not put the title on the Wii U simply because they couldn’t think of a way to put a “OMG” feature that would make the Wii U experience unique.

In the latest issue of GamesMaster magazine acquired by Nintendo Everything he stated: “We get asked if there is going to be a Wii U version of Borderlands, and the reason why there’s not is because we couldn’t think of a natural, obvious, ‘OMG, I want that for what the Wii U brings to the table’ feature.”

Ultimately this is a smart move for Gearbox and it shows a lot of respect for fans who may have been disappointed with Borderlands 2’s lack of Wii U functionality.

Gamer’s petition for GTA V on PC exceeds 44k

If you’re a PC gamer and a lover of all things chaos, it may be time to make your voice heard by signing a petition to bring GTA V to the PC here.

Rockstar are notorious with releasing PC ports late; GTA IV was released for PC almost eight months after it came to the Xbox 360 and Playstation. And Red Dead Redemption is still yet to the see the light of day on PC. While Rockstar has stated that GTA V is destined for the current generation of consoles, in much the same fashion that San Andreas was released at the end of the Playstation 2’s life-cycle.

It will be interesting to see Rockstar’s response to this petition, which is gaining a massive amount of support from the gaming community. Stay tuned!

New Max Payne 3 DLC Revealed

Rockstar Games have announced that there will be another DLC pack for Max Payne 3, coming December 5. The Painful Memories Pack will include four new multiplayer maps to tear through: Roscoe Street Subway, Marty’s Bar, Shoot First and Canal De Panamá. The Painful Memories Pack also includes the IMG 5.56 and UAR-21 assault rifles, new avatars, items and the Hangover Burst, which causes enemies to respawn with blurred vision, reduced stamina and health. It will be available for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE and $15.95AUD/$18.90NZD on PlayStation Network and PC. If you hold the Rockstar Pass, Painful Memories will be available for free.

Rockstar is also making available the Roscoe Street Subway station artwork (above) as PC wallpapers and avatars at rockstargames.com/downloads, along with a pair of original illustrations from the Hostage Negotiation Pack featuring the Filhos De Ogum wielding the IA2 Assault Rifle and other weaponry as they attempt to dominate the Estádio Do Galatians and O Palácio Strip Club multiplayer maps. For some screenshots of the DLC pack, check out our gallery below.

 

7th Dragon 2020-II’s Idol Class shown off in latest screens

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Today Sega released a number of screenshots for 7th Dragon 2020-II, their recently announced RPG currently being developed exclusively for the PSP. The game is the sequel to 7th Dragon 2020 and in it dragons are invading Japan once again in the year 2021.

Now one of the new additions to 7th Dragon 2020-II is the fact that players will not only have access to over forty different female and male character voices but also a brand new Idol Class, the male and female forms versions of the class can be seen below alongside an image of a strange looking dragon.

Halo 4 map pack release dates leaked

If the above dashboard image is to be beleived, all three release dates for the Halo 4 map packs have been leaked out long before Microsoft would have wanted them to. HaloCouncil discovered this image via a German dashboard ad and on it we see that the Crimson Map Pack will drop on December 10th, the Majestic Map Pack is coming February 25th, and the Castle Map Pack will be released on April 1st.

It is worth noting that each of these map packs will come with three playable maps and you can actually purchase the DLC ahead of time via a 2,000 MSP season pass. Currently Microsoft nor 343 Studios have made a statement regarding this information leak.

Shonen Jump Alpha finally becomes simultaneous in 2013

Shonen Jump fans have long lambasted Viz Media’s Shonen Jump Alpha digital manga reader application as inconsequential due to the fact that it is usually 2 weeks behind the Japanese release and features far less series than it’s Japanese counter-part.

Finally Viz along with Shueisha have answered the prayers of manga fans across the US with the announcements that Shonen Jump Alpha will be going simultaneous starting on January 21st, 2013.

Currently it is not known what the extent of this simultaneous release will be. We do know that all currently serialised manga in Alpha will continue and it is said that there will be more series added. It is unknown whether SJAlpha will ever feature all of the same series as Weekly Jump but there is still hope.

Weekly Shonen Jump’s Sasaki Hisashi broke the news through his twitter:

Sasaki Hisashi further went on to quell the frustration of international fans who miss out on the service as it is restricted to North America only. Hisashi made it clear that they aspire to one day bring this service world wide:

What do you think of Shonen Jump Alpha finally becoming simultaneously released in America? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Mass Effect 3 Omega DLC Launch Trailer Released

This week more Mass Effect 3 DLC will be available for purchase and this time around it is single-player oriented and focuses around Omega. Players will be working alongside the woman once known as the Pirate Queen of Omega, Aria T’loak as they try and return to the station and reclaim it from the Cerberus forces which have taken it.

To commemorate the release of this DLC the company released a launch trailer showing off plenty of dramatic action set to an impressive background track. Check it out below and pick up the DLC for $9.99 or 800 MSP this week depending on the console of your choice.

Dragon’s Dogma to receive free Hard and Challenge mode DLC in December

Today it was revealed that Capcom of Japan is planning on releasing a free pack of downloadable content for Dragon’s Dogma on December 4th and considering the Western versions of Capcom have promised that the DLC would be released sometime this year one would expect a worldwide release of this content on the same date.

The free DLC will unlock a special Hard Mode that is designed for anyone that has beaten Dragon’s Dogma and wants to face off against harder enemies while the Time Attack mode is self explanatory. It is worth noting that those who finish the game on Hard will receive a special Edmun Dragonsbane costume and those who manage to beat the Time Attack mode will receive Selene and Barnaby costumes.

Hollywood Monsters Adventure Game Coming December

BulkyPix, the publisher behind Evofish, and Pendulo Studios, the developer behind Yesterday, are excited to announce the next game that they will be releasing.  Hollywood Monsters is an adventure game in the same vein as those funny adventures of the past.  And what better subject matter than the golden age of Hollywood monsters?

In a world where those Hollywood monsters weren’t just special effects, but honest to goodness real monsters playing the roles, journalist Liz Allaire and macho Dan Murray have an adventure to go on putting the monsters back in their place.  After the monsters got sick of having to put up with the less than desirable aspects of Hollywood living.

Featuring plenty of fun characters and Hollywood monster legends, tip-top quality visuals and audio, and languages for English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian Hollywood Monsters hopes to live up to being The Next Big Thing.  Be sure to check out the screenshot gallery just below, and the teaser trailer embedded below that, and look for Hollywood Monsters on the iOS App Store for iPad and iPhone on December 6th, 2012.