Michael Lau in Los Angeles! - A 1UP classic from October 2, 2009

Hello friends, super-busy over here. I will comment on your replies to yesterday's blog on Juri later. Right now I wanted to recap the first day of the Michael Lau exhibition in Los Angeles.

My friend Victor, the webmaster of CrazyToyzLife.com flew in from Canada for the show. Actually he flew to Japan, then Hong Kong and then LA for the show. He was really tired that day but super excited. Here he is pointing out Gardner street.

Victor brought me a present from Hong Kong. A heart-shaped figure that Michael did for the new Jan Lam album. The LA Fat figure on the right was the exclusive figure for the show. It came with a tee shirt and little spray cans. There are 100 in the world and I was lucky enough to score one.

After years of following his work I finally got a chance to meet the man himself. Victor had met Michael at a previous show in Hong Kong. Michael commented that I was really tall. I told him that I get that a lot. He wasn't supposed to sign autographs or make drawings until tonight (Friday) but was kind enough to oblige me with a giant illustration on the inside cover of the hardcover retrospective book. I wonder why people always draw me without a neck?

Here Michael is with that old issue of Ollie where I first discovered his work. Both he and his wife Florance, noted that he looked like a kid back then. I don't think he's aged at all. Okay, maybe some facial hair. On the right I'm hiding behind my illustration and paragraph that appears in the book itself. I'm a published writer and artist now!!!

The figures themselves were dressed in exactly the same clothes that they had 10 years ago. In previous exhibitions Michael had given them wardrobe changes. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary they were back to normal. The amount of detail from the figures was obscene. The photos simply do not do them justice. It was amazing seeing them in person and absorbing all the details. I could spend days just looking them over.

My favorite figures were even better than I remembered them. Michael made sure to include his earliest sketches and illustrations from the pages of East Touch magazine.

The gallery walls were adorned with some new and rare pieces. I even pointed out an unpublished comic that had been faintly superimposed on the back of a page. Michael said I had a very good eye to have caught that.

Could this be a hint as to Michael's next collaboration?

There were a few artists and celebs walking the floor. Here are Joe Hahn of Linkin Park and artist Gary Baseman. I wish you were here! Tomorrow I'm going with the g/f and her daughter to Disneyland. On Sunday she meets my mom. Things should be good. I hope you have a great weekend! Let me know what you are up to. EDIT: I created a fan page dedicated to the Art of Michael Lau in the early 2000's. I let the domain expire in the mid 2010's because I no longer had time, or money to keep it going. Although it will no longer be getting updates I have restored it on my personal server for people that want to find out about the Urban Vinyl movement. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Michael Lau is Urban Vinyl - A 1UP classic from July 13, 2005

Those vinyl figures are everywhere today. When you go to a toy store you notice how they have influenced the design of current figures. You can't walk through a Tower Records without seeing the figures patterend after rock artists like Metallica and the Insane Clown Posse. Maybe it's an odd teddy bear, a robot duck or an oblong monster taking up shelf space.

Why is there a club dedicated to the figures at 1UP? How did 1UP's own SuperJenn get involved in her own collection? I don't know how other 1UPpers got started with their collection. I know where I was the moment that Urban Vinyl first hit on the old Action-Figure website.

I wasn't keeping a pulse on street culture. I wasn't seeking out the next big thing. Six years ago I was flipping through a Japanese magazine when I saw the first "gallery art" that spoke to me.

An artist out of Hong Kong named Michael Lau was exhibiting at PARCO in Japan. His medium was unique. Hand-crafted plastic and resin figures that captured a slice of street culture. It all started with Maxx.

I've heard people comment on the attitude, the clothes, the detail... I was impressed by the whole. These weren't just cool figures, they looked like people I knew, they spoke more about the culture I followed than any picture or article ever had. Michael had crafted 99 figures each one as impressive as the last. Each one telling a story.

I wanted to know more.

Like how Michael created a comic strip in the magazine East Touch.

Eventually he modeled several 12" figures on the same characters he featured in the strips. These predated the 1/6 scale figures wearing street fashion that would explode in the 2000's.

His friends pushed Michael into doing something with his figures. Michael didn't realize there was anything to it. Eventually he began working on the original "Gardeners" all 99 figures at about the same time he began sculpting smaller figures and producing them in limited runs out of vinyl... the rest as they say is history.

Michael was too far ahead of the curve. Most of the news I found out about him was either in Chinese or Japanese. So I set about making a webpage for my friends in the hopes that they could help me track down his art.

People that saw Michael's work longed to have a 12" Gardener of their very own. Michael did appease the patrons by offering scaled-down 6" figures based on early Gardeners. It was these 6" figures that are directly responsible for the look, style and craze behind present urban vinyl art. Michael's ambition is to have figures made of the now 103-deep gallery figures.

The secret was out. My page was getting more visits from strangers than friends. Urban vinyl was slowly seeping into our culture.

But Michael is and always will be in a league of his own.

His designs are the most unique of all the figure artists. That's possibly because he was the first one out there and his style was not influenced by any other artist. His figures lend themselves to comic strips as easily as they do animation.

He has been approached time and time again by studios, producers and game publishers about licensing his characters. He has turned down 99.9% of these people (including EA) because they aren't willing to properly represent his art and his characters. He is more protective of his characters than most Hollywood parents are of their children. The man cannot be bought!

Nike has sponsored his last two gallery shows. At the same time he denied the request of an executive at Nike to buy an original 12" Gardener. Sure Michael could always sculpt a new figure but then again it's the principle of the art. Michael Lau don't mess around!

Michael had quickly found himself ranked among the elite artists with street roots. Futura2000, James Lavelle and Hardy Blechman were some of the friends and contemporaries that Michael had made. Michael used the exposure as did other artists to send a message to the leaders of the allied nations before they invaded Iraq. His 103rd Gardener figure was named No War.

Every time Michael produces a new figure or gallery piece he tries to reinvent himself. At the same time he is always on top of the quickly evolving street world. Only Michael could make sneaker heads flip out over a Nike with an Ice Cream pattern.

If you remember my blog post a few weeks back, Ice Cream's are the hottest property on the sneaker scene. Created by N.E.R.D.'s Pharrell and Reebok. Michael turned the sneaker scene on end when he used the art on one of his Nike figures. "Can it be done?... Oops, it has!"

Michael Lau gives me a reason to collect. No other figure artist can claim that they have influenced my collection.

Michael Lau e-mailed to say thanks for creating the web page... That was crazy! Michael Lau is Urban Vinyl.

EDIT: I created a fan page dedicated to the Art of Michael Lau in the early 2000's. I let the domain expire in the mid 2010's because I no longer had time, or money to keep it going. Although it will no longer be getting updates I have restored it on my personal server for people that want to find out about the Urban Vinyl movement. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Remembering some rare fighting game news in Arcadia

A couple of weeks ago I talked about bringing my Arcadia magazines out of the garage, and into the house. I’ve been flipping through them, and remembered that many of the games featured within never came to the USA. Not only that, but even Japanese audiences didn’t always get a chance to play some of these games, as they were only in location tests, or never saw a wider release. If you follow this blog you’ll remember that I talked about Psy-Phi that last two Fridays. It was a touch screen arcade game made by Sega.

In addition to being a touch screen game, it was also notable because the mechanic was an evolved version of Psychic Force. Psychic Force was a Taito fighter from 1995. Its sequel Psychic Force 2012 came out in 1998, and was published on multiple consoles including the Sega Dreamcast. Those games featured a cast of psychic powered characters that could float, and battled in the sky using their mental powers. I could imagine that arcade visitors didn’t like the touch mechanic, despite the buzz it generated at the AOU trade show. After 2005 nothing came from it.

It wasn’t the only rare fighting game immortalized in the pages of Arcadia. There was also Ken-Ju. The 3D fighting game had a lot of unique things going for it, including online matchmaking, and character customization when these things weren’t even available in the biggest titles of the time. I was able to do a deep dive on Ken-Ju on the blog. I was thankful that I held onto these issues, and share them here.

Possibly the most important cancelled fighting game that was covered was War of the Grail. It was a fantasy-strategy-fighting game from Capcom. Kinu Nishimura created some fantastic designs for the game, and it would get a limited location test in a few arcades. Sadly the project was scrapped, and very little on the game was released after this issue came out.

It would be the first game directed by Yoshinori Ono, who had moved up from sound production in the studio. When he was appearing in his first San Diego Comic Con in 2008 I brought my issue with me for him to autograph. He was blown away that there were people in the US had been following his career. It wouldn’t be the only time I surprised him with these rare issues. When he did another signing to celebrate the release of Super Street Fighter IV I brought out two more Arcadia issues to autograph. I remember him asking his translator where I was getting these issues, and telling him that I had a subscription to the magazine.

Some of the games featured in Arcadia were unique. Although I was getting the issues mostly for info on fighters, it was nice to see those characters pop up in other games. The Korean title Perfect K.O. for example featured Ken, and Chun-Li from Street Fighter. It was neat seeing how they would fare in 3D combat. It wasn’t the only unique cameo. This was the case for Guilty Gear, when it crossed over with Lost Saga, the free-to-play game developed by I.O. Entertainment in 2009. The game was brawling chaos, like many other games in that vein.

Were there any fighting games you wished you had played, or you wished had been published? I’d like to read about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Motorcity, a show to watch, a game to play - A 1UP classic from April 20, 2012

Hello friends, I'm happy to see you at the end of another week. I normally don't talk about web based games but this is a preview for an article I'm doing at Jim Hill Media. In order to get into the E3 I have to have at least two game-related pieces posted at his site within a few months of the show. Besides that the game and show I'm mentioning today is pretty cool.

Visitors to the Disney websites have probably noticed that the "Games" button is listed prominently next to "Stars and Characters." No longer considered a passing trend online gaming is a billion dollar industry that has caught the eye of Disney. The company has done well targeting younger gamers and families through the Club Penguin online community but has found it a little harder to find a game that caters to the larger gaming public. Previous efforts to tie in characters and games online have fallen a little flat among visitors. The Tron Legacy Lightcycle game was good visually if a little limited in the control arena. Fans of the arcade original could always try the Classic Tron game online as well. The introduction of Marvel characters has helped slightly, see Spider-Man in the Iron Spider for proof, however Disney’s finally hit their stride with a new game titled Drive. The game is actually available for both online and mobile (iPad / iPhone) devices.

Drive is based on the new Disney XD series titled Motorcity. The series follows the adventures of a motor gang named the Burners fighting against an evil industrialist named Abraham Kane. Lead by Mike Chillton and his friends, Julie, Dutch, Texas and Chuck the Burners drive all over a futuristic version of Detroit in high-powered hot rods. The character and vehicle designs are reminiscent of Genndy "Samurai Jack" Tartakovsky with a sprinkling of Duncan Roleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly and Steven T. Seagle's "Ben 10" series. I would even venture to say that I see some influences from Jaimie Hewlett (Tank Girl / Gorillaz) as well. The animation featured in Motorcity is a mix of 2D and 3D. The game has some 2D cut scenes but the gameplay is entirely 3D based. The world of Motorcity appears part futuristic and part modern urban, with beams of light outlining the edges of the buildings and graffiti filling in the cracks. Players might be surprised as to how great the game looks and plays for a browser title.

Players are introduced into the world of Motorcity when starting the game. In particular they meet Mike and his car, a highly stylized muscle-car-meets-import monstrosity appropriately titled "the Mutt." The Mutt is reminiscent of the Barracuda / Challenger clone featured in Ben 10, aka Kevin's car There is even a cartoonish Ed "Big Daddy" Roth-styled dog driving a hot rod painted on the car door. The show and game are clearly made for and by gearheads. Boys who might be fans of the Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 series will be paying particular attention to this title. Battle Force 5 ran on Cartoon Network and featured a bunch of high tech cars and multi-ethnic teens. That series had a moderately successful toy and videogame line.

Motorcity was undoubtedly Disney's answer to the Hot Wheels show but not a direct copy. Car-based cartoon shows were nothing new to television but seem to skip a generation. Speed Racer captured the imagination of boys in Japan and North America in the late 1960's. The Mach 5 was a dream machine for many young men but there really wasn't another show featuring a high tech car in the spotlight until the 80's. Car-based animated shows really took off in 1984 when the Transformers hit the airwaves. The heroic robots were known as Autobots and transformed into all sorts of vehicles. Since then there were many variations on the theme. Turbo Teen (1984), Pole Position (1984), M.A.S.K (1985), Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines (1985), Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (1989) were some of the shows that had toy tie-ins as well as decently written episodes. Some of the Jayce shows were written by award winning author J. Michael Straczynski.

The first episodes of Motorcity have yet to hit the airwaves so audiences playing the game have a preview to the world. Hopefully the other vehicles featured in Motorcity are as mind numbingly awesome as the Mutt. I can almost see the toys on the shelves right next to the Pixar Car's, both sets putting the squeeze on Mattel. I'm not too proud to admit that I might be picking some Motorcity cars myself when and if they do come out. Of course some adults are too proud to admit that this show seems genuinely interesting. Those viewers might want to check out the Japanese animé titled Redline which shows that cars and stylized animation can be cutting edge and entertaining. But again I digress...

The game itself is an interesting combination of driving and shooting. The play mechanics featured in Motorcity Drive have a classic arcade feel. Night Stocker and Night Striker introduced the mechanics of driving and shooting to arcade goers over 25 years ago. In Drive gamers can use the mouse to steer and shoot at robot targets using the keyboard. The setup is a little harder on mobile devices but the experience is the same. Players do not have to worry about running off the track as they are automatically guided around and over the futuristic world. Players do have to actively steer out of the way of giant electric pylons and laser blasts from flying robots. The shooting mechanic is fairly straightforward, simply move the crosshairs over an opponent and shoot. Players can earn upgrades to their weapons and switch between different types of lasers. The gameplay is reminiscent of the classic on-rails shooter Panzer Dragoon by Sega.

Gamers don't have unlimited energy. If the Mutt takes too much damage then it's game over. To help players out the car has a couple of limited use weapons that can clear all opponents off the screen. Saving this weapon until it is absolutely necessary can make all the difference between reaching the next level and having to start all over. Drive is possibly the best free game on the Disney site and far superior to Cars 2 World Rally. Players can post high scores on the online leaderboard and even unlock Achievements for each level similar to an Xbox 360 title. Hopefully we'll be seeing more online games from Disney that has this level of polish and presentation, at the very least expect to see this game available for download on Xbox Live or Playstation's Network with some more cars and features to round out the experience if Disney Interactive does not develop a fully-realized console experience. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Oswald art for your walls - A 1UP classic from March 8, 2013

A year ago I had attended the Epic Mickey 2 press junket as the guest of Jim Hill. We were treated to a fantastic breakfast and presentation by Warren Spector and Peter Ong after which we got some hands on time with the game on all the platforms. Afterwards the editors of various game sites were taken on a tour of Disneyland where we got to eat at the exclusive Club 33. I ended up winning an Oswald sketch by Disney artist Stacia Martin.

All of the journalists were promised a limited edition print for visiting the junket. Due to problems in production the painting was not available right away. A few months later Disney honored their promise. They sent out copies of an amazing painting by Shawn Melchor which was also autographed by Warren Spector. All of the major characters from Epic Mickey 2 were featured including Prescott the Gremlin and the Mad Doctor. Each painting came with a certificate of authenticity which was also signed. As the man that writes most of the articles and owns the domain Jim Hill received the painting but decided to send it to me instead. He knew how crazy I was about the rabbit and would proudly display the painting at home with the rest of my Oswald figures.

Over 85 years Oswald had his ups and downs. He was transferred to new owners twice after being created. He contributed greatly to the golden age of animation before falling out of the spotlight. He even made it through many historic events. Oswald survived through the Great Depression, the second World War, 14 US presidents and Duke Nukem. Oswald was absent for the rise of the video generation, cable, satellite, DVD and HD. He also missed the rise and fall of the arcade, the console wars and the transition to 3D gaming. With a Masters in Animation Warren Spector made sure to help make the character memorable to modern gamers while creating the next chapter in his history.

It was not easy to decipher the motivations of the character, especially since both Walt Disney and Walter Lantz weren't around to answer questions. Thanks to Junction Point and writers Marv Wolfman and Peter David the Disney Studios had a greater understanding of the character. They now knew more about him than the ratios and proportions scribbled on a design sheet. They learned what made the him unique, his temperament and personality. They learned why audiences fell for him in 1927. Only when the notes were compiled for Epic Mickey did the studio realize what a great influence Oswald was on his little brother.

Having a unique piece of art related to the Epic Mickey series was something I would cherish. Of course not everyone was lucky enough to win a painting like that and chances were a copy would never turn up on eBay. However fans of Oswald that would like to decorate their walls were still in luck. Disney had been making inexpensive prints featuring the rabbit for a few years. Most recently they had added a tin sign, available at Oswald's Service Station in Disney California Adventure and a print ready for framing in Disneyland. Either of these pieces would be great buys and would be perfect to hang over a fireplace or even garage. Now if only I could get one of the gas pumps from DCA to go along with it...

I hope you have enjoyed this look at rare Oswald merchandise and as always please leave a comment or question. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

What about touch-based fighting games? - A 1UP Classic from April 7, 2011

Since fighting games are on the mind right now and the GDC had recently past I was reminded of an arcade fighter that came and went. SegaNerds covered Yu Suzuki talking about a cancelled fighting game project called Psy Phi. The veteran game designer and godfather of 3D fighters was trying to bring entirely new mechanics to the arcade with a touch screen based fighter. 

I mentioned this game years ago here and was not impressed when 1UP declared it the best game of the 2005 JAMMA show. I have tremendous respect for Mr. Suzuki but the game did not have groundbreaking gameplay elements. The idea of warriors with awesome psychic powers, or at the very least fighters that could fly are nothing new in gaming. These genres were done before the Dragon Ball Z series went 3D. The two best console standouts in the genre were Bastard! on the Super Famicom and Psychic Force on the Dreamcast.

 

I was never sold on the concept of a fighting game using touch screen controls. Requiring gamers to move and activate special moves by sliding their hands all over the screen seemed to make the game more complex than it had to be. Yu was trying to make a fighting game more accessible to gamers but I felt his control scheme was far too cumbersome. It would be easy to lose an opponent if they moved behind an arm as it crossed the screen. Plus most fighting games require quick reflexes and reaction times, having to move by clicking the corners of the screen would have slowed down the gameplay tremendously. Who wants to play a sluggish fighter after all?

   

What do you think of touch based gaming? Does it work on the small screen of the DS or iPad but lose it's practicality on a larger scale? I know my wife would love a MS Surface but what types of games work best on touch-based TV-sized displays? Perhaps a strategy game, StarCraft or the like would make more sense than a fighter. I know a Dawn of War on a table-sized monitor would be mad fun. What do you think? As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Play this before you die - A 1UP classic from August 10, 2006

That's right true believers. This is the game that you can enjoy best after beating Shadow of the Colossus. You see, I got my friends to play SotC recently, I was pushing the game quite hard. Why shouldn't I? It was an exceptional game, an award winner, art on the plasma screen... but my friends recently beat it. The ending was melancholy, it didn't settle with some of them.

The ending was the reason I didn't touch the game again for months after beating it. I wasn't sure my heart take that type of punishment again. I don't mean the stress of fighting wave after wave of enemies in Ninja Gaiden. Or the pressure of entering a FPS match for big money. The punishment I mention was the emotional kind.

I'm a big guy as you may know. But I'm also a kid at heart, a big softy, I fall for the stories. The game I could beat without breaking a sweat. Anyone that knows their videogames and has played adventure titles could beat it too. The story got to me. It was the ending that beat me.

It wasn't a bad ending, but very melancholy. I wouldn't say bittersweet because you've just been had. A trick by Fumito Ueda to get you into his world. Subtle with his use of everything that goes into a great design, so subtle you don't even realize he's playing you, not the other way around. You fall for the game hook, line and sinker. At least I did.

Jane Pinckard asked a long time ago when games would be able to disturb us. I never posted a comment on her blog. Shadow of the Colossus disturbed me, in the way she mentions. How could we keep playing a game if it was no longer "fun?" (ask GH about his Resident Evil 4 experiences). Take a step back and look at the themes that SotC conveys.

Wander is hurt for every colossus he defeats. The scars are quite visible by the end of the game. Is the life of Mono, the girl worth it? What about his self-sacrificing horse Agro? Was it his love or something else that kept us pushing forward? Maybe we just wanted to see what happens at the end. It is our own morbid curiosity that takes us there. It was then that I was unsettled by the outcome, when I was disturbed just a little.

Fumito Ueda is no fool. I've already said that he's carrying the Prince of Persia torch for Michael Ancel. There was a reason for his design, his plot and the outcome of the game. Shadow of the Colossus is not the end but rather the beginning of the legacy. It is supposed to be the prequel to Ico.

Although Ico doesn't immediately follow SotC in continuity it could be interpreted as such. Is there a relationship between the protagonists in Ico and SotC? There is one! In fact Ueda has said that both games are open to many possible interpretations. The themes of both games are universal. They cross ethnic, political and religious borders. They are games based on good versus evil, right and wrong. Ico frames that better than any puzzle game to date.

Ico is a child sent to a prison because he was born with horns. In the opening moments of the game you really feel sorry for the kid. He is a sympathetic character with wide eyes and a simple way about him. If and when the opportunity to escape arrives you are ready to lead him out of danger. That is until you realize that the mysterious castle in which you are trapped also has another prisoner, a princess named Yorda. In order to escape you have to take Yorda with you. Not that many a gamer would choose to be selfish and escape by themselves. In pursuit of Yorda are some shadowy monsters, sent to recapture her by Yorda's own mother, the Queen.

Talk about an epic adventure!

Ico is a puzzle game, practically a three dimensional retelling of Prince of Persia. You can see exactly where the SotC team learned their chops. You can see where other games like PoP the Sands of Time and God of War took some inspiration. The control in Ico is simple and intuitive, the puzzles are very clever, the graphics amazing and a straightforward plot that beats all. Ico is nothing short of a perfect game, it becomes epic when played right after SotC and not the other way around. Go on and play it again if you have it, pick it up if you don't.

The environments will absorb you. This is part of the world that was on the other side of the forbidden valley in SotC. A castle built on an island, apart from an unseen kingdom in the woods. A giant stone monolith that was built ages ago, with some of the castle lying in ruin. You can tell that Ueda and his team were thinking of a fully-realized world when they began work on Ico.

As far as the eye can see there are details. Birds in the distance, the sound of crickets and frogs. Flowing water, an ocean, clouds and fog to change the mood of the level. All the while you lead Yorda, taking her hand and helping her through the labyrinth of a castle. Ueda says that holding hands is a very powerful symbol of affection in Japan, more so than in any other culture. Most couples just do not do that in Japan. So when Ico first takes Yorda's hand we see the beginnings of a romance. As gamers we have to do our best to get both characters away from the castle and the Queen. To see if they are given the chance to live their lives together, a fate complicated to Wander and Mono in SotC.

Ico teaches us to be brave in the face of adversity. To take a risk and yet always be mindful of using your brain. Every puzzle has a solution and we have to look and listen for the clues. Sometimes we have to leave Yorda behind to figure out how to escape a room, those few moments apart feel like an eternity. Will she be okay? Will the shadow monsters come for her in Ico's absence? Why should we care? After all she is just a polygon model, a device to get us from point-a to point-b.

If that's the case then we are playing games for all the wrong reasons.

Nintendo fanboys have nothing to get worked up over because Link will always save Zelda, whether they play the game or not. Gears of War is not really a battle to save humanity. The zombies aren't really killing people in Dead Rising. This is not really the Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto is not about the GT or the A.

Ueda is no fool. He plays with our emotions in Ico just as easily as he did in SotC and does so masterfully. Ico has an ending, something unique. While open to interpretation it is less melancholy than SotC.

For the scope of both games Ueda delivers a story that is the videogame equivalent to the Star Wars trilogies. What unsettled me in SotC was what could have been in the turn of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. What worked in Ico was the redemption of Luke and his father. Had Lucas done it right the Anakin to Vader story should have disturbed audiences. Fortunately Ueda doesn't fall for the same traps, there are no Jar-Jar's, CGI does not replace plot and Han always shoots first.

The US version of Ico doesn't have the secrets found in the European and Japanese versions. It still delivers one hell of an experience. Ico is a game that everyone should play before they die, especially if they have just finished Shadow of the Colossus.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lawn to mow and work to catch up on. Peace. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!