Comics Bundle: 11.04.09 Pt. 2

2nd installment of my bundle. Part 1 and all Marvel books can be found here.

Fables #89
9.3 of 10
One thing I really love about Fables is that the series doesn't have any shortage of heroes and interesting characters. The writer, Bill Willingham, can take out any character from any folk or fairy tale -even the most boring ones- and revise them to become heroes. First there was Bigby Wolf, then Boy Blue and as well as others. Now Willingham turns his attention to Bufkin (a flying monkey taken from the Oz tales) as he comes up with a plan to defeat a malevolent witch, Baba Yaga, and a very powerful genie. Bufkin is only a support character in the series. So he was the least person I've expected to go toe-to-toe with Baba Yaga, and I guess that made all his efforts to defeat the two villains even more entertaining.

Cinderella: From Fabletown With love #1
8.6 of 10
Like I said on my review of Fables #89 (above this one), the series have tons of interesting characters. A lot, in fact, that they hardly fit in one series. That's why they have to kick Jack (of "and the Beanstalk") out and start his own spin-off. I'm also glad that they've decided to start a Cinderella mini-series, which she deserves. The story is pretty well done -think James Bond with magic involved- and interacts well with the main series, even though it wasn't written by Bill Willingham. Overall, I really enjoyed this issue.

Chew #5
8.9 of 10
I've probably mentioned this one to many times, but Chew is really one of the best comic book title that came out this year. The alternate reality setting -avian flu epidemic, the outlaw of chicken, FDA as a gun-totting authority, detectives with weird powers- is way humorous and, in our current circumstances, terrifying. Beyond the disgusting gimmicks of eating human flesh and decomposing body parts, there's an underlying conspiracy theory going on. But that didn't really surface up until this issue. I guess they want to sell the comics first by introducing the fun characters with gross powers. Now that the title has finally established itself as fun and gross, the real story finally begins. I'm looking forward to next issue.

The Walking Dead #66
9.0 of 10
This issue concludes the "Fear The Hunters" storyline, which is probably one of the best story arcs. There's also a major leap in character development here, mainly in Rick and Carl. If you've read the earlier issues, you'll definitely see the change in Rick. He's become more determined and single-minded, stopping at nothing and doing what's necessary when it comes to protecting his "herd". As for Carl, well let's just say that, with all the horrors he had witnessed during his stay in Zombie land, he'd finally lost his marbles. Now I'm really dying to see what happens on the next issue.

DMZ #46
8.8 of 10
I remember Brian Wood wishing -on an interview- to see DMZ reach at least its 60th issue. Well, the series is almost getting to 50, and the current storyline seems to be building up something really big. Older characters are coming out from the woodwork and getting into the frame, taking sides and questioning Parco's "endgame". Matty Roth too, who has become a really strong character, seems to have made up his mind and adamantly supports whatever Parco is planning. But really, there's a lot tension in this story arc and the title has become really really exciting because of it. If you stopped reading DMZ, I suggest you get back to it because you're missing out.

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Comics Bundle: 11.04.09 Pt. 1

It's been a while since I've picked up my bundle of comics again. But, hey, what's new? It was busy month of October -both at work and as well as gaming- and I don't see any respite in the near future since it's the holidays. Holidays = Crazy Shopping + Crazy Parties + Crazy Overtime. So I'll do what I can to spend time with my comics.

Psylocke #1
8.2 of 10
I'm a big fan of Psylocke. But, for many years now, I haven't been happy with the direction of her character. Constant changes in her personality, mutant powers and life had left her damaged. So when they finally brought her back into the main X-book, she had so much excess baggage. It's a good thing that her new mini-series takes her back to her roots: Japan and The Hand. The book is filled with Kill Bill-like action and, hopefully, this might bring Betsy back to her old self as a royal, ass-kicking ninja. The only problem is that you need to know Psylocke intimately since there are a lot of reference from the character's old lore that aren't explained in this book.

Deadpool #900
8.4 of 10
The number 900 pretty much sums up how crazy this issue is. I honestly don't have the foggiest idea of why it's #900, when Deadpool only started out in the 90's. I assume -due to the thickness of the book- it's an annual issue. But since it's Deadpool, it's best if we don't ponder about it. The book contains a lot of short stories with Pool involved in an alien abduction, a fight with pantomimes, a ping-pong against Doctor Octopus during a cruise vacation and other wacky stuff. Some stories are good, some are mediocre and some are just insane. Overall, however, this book is pretty hilarious.

Thor #603
9.0 of 10
With writer J.M. Straczynski at its helm, Thor has become my favorite book from Marvel. That's why I'm a little bit anxious now that I know he'll be departing from the book. I'm not so sure if anyone is capable to continue his excellent work in Thor. But JMS did went out with a bang in this issue and left us great moments like the reunion of Thor and Sif and the Warriors Three running Bill's diner. He also set up the stage nicely for his successor by revealing the insidious plan of Dr. Doom and Loki for the Asgardians living in Latveria. I just hope that whoever takes over Thor will be able use the foundation that Straczynski's has built for the title.

Secret Warriors #9
7.9 of 10
I mentioned before that Secret Warriors is an audacious title with an audacious plot during its early issues. It still is, mind you. Except that from issues #1 to #9 there have been speed bumps that slowed the title down a little bit. This issue is one of those speed bumps since its pages are filled with mindless action. The only consolation here is watching Norman Osborn going slap happy by killing Nick Fury's life decoys and the little conversation between Garrett and Seth Waters at the end of the issue.

Necrosha #1
8.2 of 10
Necrosha is the next event to hit the X-Universe. I kinda like the whole idea of the event just because it's pretty "black metal". But Necrosha's idea -of dead heroes rising up to fight the living ones- is a little bit late since DC's Blackest Night have already been running for months now. Nonetheless, I'm considering to get all the books. I just love how they brought back Selene (Black Queen) into the fold again. I also like her new posse who, with the exception of Blink, also possess some sort of death-based and vampiric powers like hers.

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A Comparison Guide: Direct2Drive vs. Steam

I used to reprove of any kind of digital distribution. But when I was forced to buy a digital game through Steam, after being snowed in last winter, my opinions of it have drastically changed. I must admit that getting games this way has made my life a bit easier. I don't have to waste gas, space and time anymore. Now, most of my games are acquired electronically.

There are plenty of digital game distributors online, including the EA store and GameStop. But two of the largest distributors right now are definitely Steam and Direct2Drive (D2D). I have used both services to buy my games online and I'm generally pleased with them. While both services have their own pros and cons, I have a much better experience using one of them. So which one do I think is better? Is it Steam or Direct2Drive? Read on.

Vs.

User Interface
Steam have a better interface than D2D, hands down. Its downloadable client have a lot of nice features such as gameplay stats, leaderboards and an achievements system that will enhance your gaming experience. A friends list is also available and it allows you to keep track of what your friends are playing or if they're online. The only thing I don't like about the client is that it's a bit of a resource hog (it's eating up 25 Mb of memory while I'm writing this post).

On the other hand, D2D only have a download manager. While it's not a resource hog like the Steam client, it is also featureless and as flat as a board. D2D, however, has a much better organization of their games catalog. Not only you can browse by genre, like Steam, but you can also browse by price -a nice thing for frugal gamers. Games with recently dropped prices are also highlighted on their website.

Value
When it comes to pricing, I think both services are tied. I've used both Steam and Direct2Drive and have bought games from either services. They always have some insane deals going on, cutting the prices of their games up to 50% off or even 75% off. Depending on the deals, sometimes a game would be much cheaper in Steam than D2D and vice versa. They also carry cheap bundle deals, which I really like a lot. So I suggest visiting both sites to compare prices before buying a game.

Catalog
Having been in the digital distribution gig for 5 years, D2D definitely have a slight advantage over Steam when it comes to a larger catalog. In addition to its huge library of PC games, D2D also carries Mac games, game guides by Prima and the ever popular Girls of Gaming magazine. But that doesn't mean Steam have an unimpressive games library. In fact, some games that I wanted to buy are only exclusive on Steam (Valve games such as Portal, Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2). As far as I know, the only games available on D2D that I couldn't find on Steam are World of Warcraft, Ultima Online, Neverwinter Nights 2, pre-order of Champions Online and some rated A (adult) games.

Acquisition
I've never had any problems getting games from Steam and D2D since both services have a speedy and reliable checkout process. As for downloading the games, I have a much better experience with Direct2Drive than Steam. I always have a steady speed that averages at 2 Mb/sec on Direct2Drive. However, my Steam download speed only averages at 1 Mb/sec. I've even seen speeds as slow as 300 Kb/sec. But after downloading, you get to play the game right away on Steam. Using D2D, you have yet to install the game before you can even play it.

Conclusion
With all said and done, I prefer using Steam over Direct2Drive. It maybe a resource hog or even download games slower than D2D. But my experience with its features have been really enjoyable and outweighs its misgivings. While I will continue to use D2D, I will always go to Steam first to check out if the game is available, if it includes a "Steam Achievements" feature (like with Empire: Total War and Defense Grid) or if it's much cheaper. As for the games library, with the continuing support of publishers, I don't doubt that Steam will overtake D2D sometime soon.

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First Impressions: Borderlands

I just wasted 12 hours of my time playing Risen. So I thought I'd take a break from it and give Borderlands -a game which I've neglected since its release last Monday- a spin. Borderlands is a shooter/action-rpg that is set in a post-apocalyptic world. The first thing I noticed about the game is definitely its visuals. The art direction and the cell-shaded graphics just rocks, it's like a comic book in motion. The gameplay, however, is pretty much what I've expected it to be: quests, kill, reward. It would've been nice if they added some dialogue options. But, I guess, this is better than playing a standard shooter game. I hope the game gets better in its later levels. For the meantime, I have to finish Risen and then Dragon Age before I let this game entertain me.

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