You Eff See De Mo

I really didn't care for fighting games until recently outside the odd WWE game or two because I like the create-a-character section of it (wrestling as an entertainment form bores the hell out of me now that I'm no longer fifteen). But I started playing Soul Calibur IV and fell in love with the new Street Fighter but now is another WWE-ish (but way-the-hell better) fighting game that I scored a demo code to.

UFC 2009 Undisputed Demo codes were granted to people who pre-ordered it at GameStop, and I love swag. So, in preparation for my UFC 97: Redemption shindig I have going on, I played the hell out of it. The demo is a lot like a Fight Night demo: tutorials and an exhibition option where you can play as one of two fighters and beat the hell out of the person you didn't pick. In this demo, it's Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell--a fight that is actually happening TONIGHT. I was looking for a real reason to buy this game, and I think I just got it with this demo.

Firstly: the control. I was worried the controls wouldn't work very well, with the history of UFC games that came out. The controls are complicated, but work really well once you get the hang of it. The face buttons are kicks and punches. Heavier punches and kicks are done by pressing the left stick forward, as if leaning in to the punch. The D-Pad is used for taunting. Blocking is done with the right bumpers and triggers, bumper for face and trigger for body. To strike the head exclusively, press the left bumper. For the body, left trigger. To grapple in a clinch or on the ground, use the right stick. The most complicated part is how you have to do Skate-like flicks of the right stick to change position while on the ground, but they are easy to do once you watch the tutorial--something I didn't do until I had already played for about an hour. I would suggest doing the tutorial first.

Second: the fights. I was concerned the fights wouldn't make sense. Chuck Liddell sure as hell better not try to submit me, and if I can't throw a well-timed and well-placed superman punch right out the bell and knock some out there is some unrealistic issues to be dealt with. But what do you know, I could go a round and rock them (Fight Night slow time style), knock them down, knock them out, submit them (after I watched the tutorial) and even knocked out Rua with a single counter-kick to the head. I was so pleasantly surprised, it's almost unfair.

I fought several fights as both characters, knocking out, submitting, and being knocked out for a few hours and I didn't even get bored. The submitting is a bit difficult from what I can tell as I couldn't actually win in the first round with a submission, but I'm pretty sure it's actually harder to submit someone than it is to knock their teeth in. I am looking forward to the full game, the actual fights taking place tonight, and having my little party of fighting, beer, and video games. Word.

-Evan "Dez" O'Connor

The Desert of the Formerly Living

Happy Easter, review-readers. I don't know about you, but I have been eagerly awaiting the latest Doctor Who Easter Special, and today I got my hands on it. I have recently been buying the seasons of DVDs for the series, opting to not have to rely on the internet and often-failing hard drive space I find myself owning as of late. It seems to be a good investment, despite the fact that British-import DVDs are about as cheap as you would expect Christ's frozen saliva to be: too goddamn much.

The Planet of the Dead is the latest of the specials to air in between season four and five of the relaunched Doctor Who series. Personally, I'm really hating the plan of having five specials as opposed to a full season, but I'm just complaining because I want more Doctor Who, goddamnit. This particular special, being on Easter, does make mention, but not nearly as much as the Christmas episodes tend to. It involves an antiquity thief, a London bus, a wormhole, and creatures that kind of look like the things from Pitch Black, but they're mostly in the light. Lots of sand, too. And dead things, apparently.

As with every special, it was written by Russell T Davies, this time with the help of Gareth Roberts--great for his episodes with Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. It was directed by James Strong, who also directed "The Impossible Planet"/"Satan Pit" arch as well as the balls-tight 2007 Christmas episode, "Voyage of the Damned". All in all, a fantastic team Davies had put together--only missing Steven Moffat as the undeniably best writer for the series so far. The team did a good job, especially the creepy piece of foreshadowing at the end (seriously, watch it only for that if you're a fan of the series), and the fact that it was shot in Dubai instead of on a sound stage definitely adds something to the episode.

New characters, such as Lee Evans' Dr. Malcolm Taylor and Michelle Ryan's Lady Christina de Souza add a lot to the episode and hopefully the series in the long run. I'm still pissed at the lack of River Song; how the hell did she recognize David Tennant as the Doctor in the "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" arch? Tennant only has three or four episodes left, so what the hell? The series has been pretty good with continuity, don't mess it up now. Tennant's acting in this episode, oddly enough, did not seem up to par as to how he has been for the past three years. This may be from over-stretching his acting on the Shakespearean stage and his life-long love for the role of The Doctor, so I'm not jumping to hang him quite yet for it.

As with last time, all I want to do now is wait until the next episode comes out so I can rant about Doctor Who some more. These specials are far too spread out to give any semblance or meaning--or so I thought, until the eerie foreshadowing at the end of "Planet of the Dead". As a hint, it is (partly) a repeat of something one of the Ood said in "Planet of the Ood", and someone who has been reported to be coming back in the next special, "The Waters of Mars." In short: Give me more Doctor Who!

-Evan "Dez" O'Connor

Kegel Rock

For the first time in what seems like forever, I am finally in a romantic relationship. This is awesome, for a lot of reasons--the best being the story behind it. Foxglove (the girl) and I pulled a relatively poorly thought out April Fool's joke where we were going to pretend I had gotten her pregnant after an intoxicated night of foolishness, and seeming as I am not a dickhead we would proceed in trying to be together and etc etc. It was not well received as it was horribly thought out, but now that the fallout is over everything seems to be okay now. While we were having "important talks" at my apartment, we would really just be chilling and watching my TV shows on DVD until we actually decided "Hey, this pretend dating thing is fun" and it turned into not-so-pretend dating.

Fraggle Rock is a Jim Henson program that ran from 1983 to 1987, so the series was actually over by the time I was born. It didn't stop it from being one of my favorite shows as a child or from eventually purchasing season one on DVD when I was eighteen (more seasons have since been released, but I haven't bought them--yet). Watching them again with clear eyes has been quite a treat, as I have recently aged to the number twenty-two and was able to do so in the company of someone who had never seen it before despite being only two years younger than me.

Fraggles are eighteen-inch tall humanoids with tails and fur with generally kind dispositions, with the exception of Marlon who has ideas of behavioral modifications. They live in a series of tunnels in a rock creatively named Fraggle Rock that apparently connects our real world to a magical world of giant, hairy, retarded creatures called Gorgs believe themselves to be the rulers of the universe despite the fact that there are only three of them and has trash heaps that sing and are apparently hailed as oracles (in the words of my brother upon seeing it for the first time: "Evan...the trash heap is singing...and I am unsure of things"). Fraggle Rock is also the home of Doozers, six-inch tall pudgy little people who like building things, which the Fraggles in turn eat because the structures are made of sugar or cocaine or something.

The premise of the series is that Uncle Traveling Matt has left into a journey for Outer Space (read: the real world) and sends his nephew Gobo postcards that he must retrieve from the room at the end of the tunnel, in habited by the only human character in the series, Doc--who also played a bartender with tourettes by the same name in the film Boondock Saints--and the "ferocious beast," his Muppet dog Sprocket. In every episode Gobo goes to the room, gets the postcard, and then has adventures with his friends that usually mirrors what's going on with Doc and his dog and the postcard is at times reminiscent of what's going on, but sometimes just reminds them of how hopeless it all is.

Each of the five main Fraggles, being Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, and Red have their own very distinctive personalities which make them believable as characters. Gobo is a skeptical leader-type; Mokey is a hippie chick; Wembley is indecisive to an infuriating degree; Boober--one of the most interesting characters--is paranoid, depressed, OCD about cleanliness, and has an overwhelming fear of everything; and Red is a stuck up bitch who thinks she's better than everyone else. For a kid's show, the characters are very well formed and even well introduced as the first few episodes makes very sure to focus on one person each time and reveal their personalities. Continuity are issues between episodes, albeit minor ones, and the continuity held within each episode is atypically well done.

Probably the most fun for watching the series again with someone who has never seen it is making up answers to her questions. "How did the tunnels get there?" "Uh, the Doozers built them" (which was awesome, because I was proven right in the next goddamn episode, hah). "Why are there only three Gorgs and they think they're the rulers of the universe?" "There was a great war between the Fraggles and the Gorgs, which is why the Fraggles fortified in the rock." It's all very silly and amusing to me.

I intend on continue my viewing of the series, and even see the new Fraggle Rock film coming out this year (!). In the future, when/if I ever have kids, they will be raised on Fraggle Rock, M*A*S*H, and--when they're old enough--Doctor Who.

-Evan "Dez" O'Connor

Geococcyx Records

I am into music the same way I am into movies, if not more. If you've read my film reviews, you may notice I go very far to point out the director, the writer, all the actors, the company who published the film, and even the cinematographer just so I can talk about who did such an amazing job--or, alternatively, who owes me $10 and two hours of my life back. The same is true with music, though the only people responsible for the music on the album outside of the actual members of the band is the record label and (on occasion) the notable producer.

Roadrunner Records is one of those labels I've always been able to get behind. Starting as a US-to-Europe import label for metal bands in 1980, they have been one of my favorite labels for years now, something it at one time would have been in contention with Victory Records for if they didn't turn pussy on everyone and signed Hawthorne Heights. In fact, I was a crew member for Roadrunner Records for about two years, promoting shows and seeing some of my favorite acts for free for the cost of passing out some swag. Recently though, my love for Roadrunner has been fading a bit--though not enough to make me stop buying their records--and I feel like I should take issue with it first here.

When Roadrunner Records signed The Dresden Dolls, I was ecstatic. I had met Amanda and Brian at the WBCN River Rave in 2003 and went on to be the founder of the very first Dresden Dolls fan community on the web. I have since met both of them on several occasions and have even walked around my hometown of Gloucester, MA with Amanda Palmer, so while I would not go so far as to say that they are good friends of mine I do have an interest in their dealings. When The Dresden Dolls broke up, I was a saddened by it, I will admit, but at the same time, I was excited for Amanda Palmer's solo album. Now that it's been out for about a year and she is still touring on its success, she is growing tired of Roadrunner Records pushing her around and not letting her continue her artistic career--one that even I will admit does not really fit the Roadrunner image--the way she wants. Luckily, Amanda is a strong-willed woman and she does what she damn well wants with damn good reason, but Roadrunner is holding onto her and still holding her back. The contract she signed with the Dolls set up for a certain number of records to be released with the option to drop her after each. She has asked several times to be dropped (I believe she may have one more record to put out with them, but I could be mistaken) and they have met her requests with constant "no"s and not taking her seriously.

Now, I can appreciate from the company's point of view as to how losing a member of their roster is a bad thing, but Amanda constantly pisses them off by not following their request to re-cut the Leeds United video to show less of Amanda's stomach because she "looked fat", or by making a "commercially useless album" for a solo career. Not only that, but she isn't making them any money. Her only purpose to the label, as far as I can tell, is to draw the crowds they wouldn't be getting for all their metal acts. Amanda went so far as to write an entire song and perform it live about the tale of how she wants to be let go.

As far as their metal acts go, Roadrunner Records could not do any better: Killswitch Engage is one of my all time favorites, Slipknot, Cradle of Filth, Dragonforce, Black Stone Cherry, DevilDriver, Megadeth, Within Temptations. And that's not even mentioning the bands that aren't on the label anymore with 36 Crazyfists, Black Label Society, Coal Chamber, The Misfits, Spineshank, Visions of Disorder, Type O Negative, and other genres like Madina Lake and The Cult. Plus all the others I haven't heard or don't like--but someone out there has and does.

So, minus a few dickhead dealings, the label is pretty solid, and you can't really blame businessmen acting like businessmen.

-Evan "Dez" O'Connor