Oblivion was my first experience with a 1st-person RPG, my strong preference then being 3rd person, and it took me two attempts before I could adjust. But once I did I discovered a gaming experience nearly without equal. For months I've waited in eager anticipation for the next game in the Elder Scrolls series, and Skyrim does everything but disappoint. My first five impressions of any game's first five hours have almost always been an accurate summary of my thoughts on the game even after I finally play through the whole thing. So here are my first five impressions of the first five hours of "Skyrim". (Well, actually I've played twelve hours so far.) 1. The visual design has gotten a very nice upgrade. I was very impressed with the look of "Oblivion", but the new spell animations and gritty textures of "Skyrim" take the experience even further. (And people don't look weird anymore!) There is something strangely "Fallout 3...

An evil King leads an army across the land on a quest to retrieve an ancient weapon and awaken an evil power that will destroy the world. It falls to a man named Theseus, battle trained by Zeus himself, to lead the forces of good and fight for humanity's survival. "The producers of '300'" were heavily marketed as being behind this flick, and between that, the cool slow-mo action trailers and the plot description, you're probably thinking this movie sounds like the stuff the best brutal, fantasy action flicks are made of, right? Unfortunately, this one was mostly knock-off style with little depth or substance. Director Tarsem Singh is best known for his trippy visual style, as showcased in movies like "The Cell". And he brings those sensibilities to "Immortals" as well, though I'm not sure they're always the best fit. There is a lot of green screen going on here, but it didn't bother me too much. I even got used to ...

Friday is the big day. If you're an RPG video game fan, then by now you've seen the trailers and game play footage. You're probably even watering at the mouth as much as I am, while also making a point to not schedule social activities for at least the next 2-3 weeks. I've been between games again for a little while now, play testing my card game and playing "filler video games" for the last couple of months. But as the anticipation builds I find that the filler games just aren't scratching that nerdy itch like they used to. And more and more I'm itching for the kinda stuff that only Skyrim is likely to provide anytime soon. The last time I was this excited about a game was for the release of "Dragon Age 2". Of course, Bethesda won't disappoint me like Bioware did, will they? Please? (Sigh) Let's face it. The more we nerds let things like this build in our minds, the more likely they are to disappoint. There's an elusive...

In 1986, DC published Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns", which arguably re-established Batman as a grim and gritty character and influenced the way Batman stories were told forever after. One year later, DC hired Miller to retell Batman's origin in a story entitled "Batman: Year One". Unlike "The Dark Knight Returns", this story was part of official DC Universe continuity, and even further established the dark tone that this well-known character is defined by. "Year One" served as source material for a number of great comic book stories, and was drawn from heavily in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" movie. Now, the DC animated studios have turned their attention to "Batman: Year One" and set out to create an animated version of this iconic story. I'm pleased to report they succeeded wonderfully. The character driven story is what really sells this movie so well. Surprisingly, for those who...

I'm a big fan of monster movies. And the more creative the monster, the better. I'm a sucker for that tried and true formula of mysterious frightening deaths, followed by glimpses of a creature, followed by progressively revealing looks and information about the creature and culminating in a terrible, expansive revelation of the creature in the climax. It worked in Jeepers Creepers, Alien, Predator and my choice for "King Of All Monster Movies", John Carpenter's The Thing (a 1982 pseudo remake of 1951's "The Thing From Another World"). This awesome flick was unfortunately in theaters at the same time as E.T. and was essentially a box office failure. But it has gained a wild cult following on television and home video and you can consider me a card carrying member of that cult. What I love about the 1982 film is the great character performances and use of suspense and paranoia to carry the film, rather than the creature effects. But the cre...

Given my disappointment over Superman, I wanted to give Batman, another DC icon, a shot at hooking me in with a fresh take. I hate pretty much everything Grant Morrison did with Batman. All the Damien stuff and Batman Incorporated just seemed a far cry from the brooding loner version of Batman that I think works best. But seeing that some of that stuff is being carried over into the new DC, i decided to give the Batman books one last chance to make these ideas work for me. Although I wanted to read Detective Comics #1, local stores were sold out, so I'll have to wait for the reprint. But I did manage to snag all of the others. My first stop was Batman and Robin. Batman and Robin Again, more wrong turns, in my opinion. As a "new" reader again to the Batman books, i kept asking myself, why is this guy taking his 10-year old son out to fight crime with him? I don't care how well his son is trained. Granted, Bruce is a screwed up guy, but his decision t...

The Savage Hawkman I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The creator's compared it to Indiana Jones fighting aliens, and the first issue delivers on the concept. I'm also encouraged by the revamp of Hawkman's powers that seems to be going on, centering them even more fully on the mysterious properties of the Nth metal. There's great potential for the concept of Hawkman to get a fresh new take. What i would have liked was a slight retracing of Hawkman's origin story, so I know whether or not it's the same as it has been. But hopefully they will take the opportunity to re-establish that at some point in the first story arc. I wasn't blown away, but this book will bring me back for at least one more issue. Aquaman I admit. I doubted. I hoped, but I doubted that Geoff Johns could work his magic on Aquaman and for the first time create a book that would have me genuinely invested in this character, and not just wanting him t...