If you want to contribute to the blog with your general ideas, improved layout, or become a contributing writer, e-mail me at redskyy@mediaspecblog.com vocalizing your interest and what you can bring to the site. I hope to have the new media spec up by the new year, so keep a look out.

Cheers,
Redskyy

Ain’t It Cool News reader Don reports having supposedly viewed an early release of the movie before special effects and score. His writing style and lack of sources doesn’t lend him much credibility, but they are interesting looks into what the movie could turn out. You can click the link for the full story, but here are some interesting tidbits. Just as a warning, there is a bit of cursing present.

Action – I wasn’t expecting the action scenes to be as awesome as they were. Simply put the best thing about this movie. The last action scene of Goku vs. Picollo are simply amazing and when picollo takes out his huge fucking ass sword with weird rectangle shape tablet attached it at the tip of sword and slamming it on goku was fucking awesome. Lot of blowing shit up, super cool flying scenes, awesome ki blasts. This fight scene was around 13-15 minutes long. There are other small action scenes that are fun and entertaining with slo mo but nowhere as good as the picollo vs. goku scene.

Justin Chatwin as Goku. This guy surprised me a lot. I really didn’t like him when they casted him as goku but he did a damn good job in the acting department and he nailed the KAMEHAMEHA line.

Story – Dragonball fans will be dissapointed with some of the changes they have made with stories and characters etc. Krillin isn’t in the movie, Tien isn’t in the movie too. High school setting for the first 22-23 minutes was so not needed but ah well typical hollywood garbage of adding bullshit like that.

Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi – I was dissapointed with this. I wanted the fucking perverted roshi who fucking grabs breasts and asses like in the anime but alas all of that is fucking gone. Also he acted like Mr. Kesuke Miyagi. You know what I mean. The lines he spoke were fine but I felt he was uncomfortable in the movie. Very dissapointed.

Full Review…

It’s hard to discern if this review is authentic or not, as many of these points could be easily made up. It sounds like they’re trying to keep the spirit of Dragonball while modernizing the story and keeping it relevant to Hollywood standards. A big focus seems to be on the action, so hopefully it will maintain that high energy while still feeling like a DB fight. Some of the things he points out sounds a bit superficial, but he does seem to be a Dragonball fan.

Overall, it’s still too early to tell how the movie will turn out. It hasn’t exactly been receiving positive press, but maybe this review is an indication that it won’t be a complete disaster. The reception the film receives both Japan and North America should be very interesting to see.

Metallica has improved their reputation with their album, Death Magnetic as well as trying to embrace the web community after the fallout from the Napster incident. Some fans still refuse to be swayed, citing the band’s greed overpowering the love and passion for the music and its fans. Metallica has since divorced itself from Harmonix and Rock Band, going exclusive with Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise. The reviews for Guitar Hero World Tour show the game is a little rough around the edges, but it still provides that full-band fun. If this new game is anything like World Tour, it should be a blast. The argument of DLC vs. single band titles can be disputed, but Guitar Hero: Metallica should be big.

I still think Activision has a long way to go to catch up with Harmonix in terms of content, note charts, and overall presentation. I have yet to play GHWT, but many critics cite Rock Band as having a better grasp of the genre despite both being great games. Harmonix is also partnering with AC/DC and Wal-Mart to put out an exclusive band game of its own, entitled AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack. With Konami’s Rock Revolution panned as a failure, the competition for plastic instrument supremacy continues on.

* The 88 – “Sons and Daughters”
* Authority Zero – “No Regrets”
* Between the Buried and Me – “Prequel To The Sequel”
* The Cab – “Bounce”
* The Chevelles – “Get It On”
* The Cocktail Slippers – “Give It To Me”
* Dealership – “Database Corrupted”
* Endeverafter – “I Wanna Be Your Man”
* The Ghost Hounds – “Ashes To Fire”
* Hollywood Undead – “Young”
* Kutless – “The Feeling”
* The Len Price 3 – “If I Ain’t Got You”
* Lesley Roy – “I’m Gone, I’m Going”
* Opiate for the Masses – “Burn You Down”
* Semi-Precious Weapons – “Magnetic Baby”
* Shaimus – “Like a Fool”
* Thenewno2 – “Crazy Tuesday”
* Tickle Me Pink – “The Time Is Wrong”
* Underoath – “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures”
* X Japan – “I.V.”

The musical genres range from metal to alternative to a little bit of rap rock and christian rock. While these artists may not have the notoriety and name recognition, many of the songs I sampled sounded fun to play. Songs like Semi-Precious Weapons’ Magnetic Baby were very catchy and brings a lot of good exposure to these groups. The addition of X Japan was a pleasant surprise, although it probably helps that their latest track was sung in English. With news on the Japanese version of Rock Band remaining stagnant since its announcement, bringing over a famed Japanese artist is a good sign for possibly more Japanese music to come either as DLC or progress on Rock Band Japan. I’m a little disappointed they didn’t bring over a couple of tracks that had more artist recognition, but fans of these indie groups should be delighted. And given that all of these songs are free, it’s hard to be upset.

As the October 26 release date of Guitar Hero World Tour grows closer, it looks like both Harmonix and Activision are looking for ways to one-up each other. Both games are similar on the surface, but they take different approaches when it comes to releasing content. But the value of Rock Band 2 will be hard to beat, with over 100 songs available in the game alone and most RB1 disc songs and all DLC compatible with the title. The Wal-Mart exclusive release of the AC/DC Live Track Pack carries controversy over its bare-bones content, short song list, and $30/$40 price tag for Wii/PS2 and 360/PS3, but the game also allows for a one-time only export of songs for an additional 18 songs. With Guitar Hero focusing more on their GH Tunes platform, it’ll be interesting to see how the sales for both games pan out.

Goku is played by Justin Chatwin, mostly known for his role as Robbie in War of the Worlds.

This trailer doesn’t answer many of the questions people have, but it is one of the first solid looks at the treatment and style outside of leaked set pictures. The questionable changes remain intact, like Goku’s (Justin Chatwin) ethnicity, him starting out in high school, and the more serious atmosphere. One of the first things I gained from the trailer was the tone and attitude director James Wong was trying to achieve. While the original Dragonball series was lighthearted and had a distinct Asian style, the movie goes in the opposite direction. The trailer comes off as serious and very Americanized. I was hoping for something along the lines of producer Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle instead of a modern day version of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li team-up flick, Forbidden Kingdom. The setting doesn’t sit well with me, especially with scenes that show a little too much of its modern day trappings. Perhaps the CGI effects can help with blending the ancient and futuristic environments, but the atmosphere doesn’t feel quite right. Since Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) received a large spotlight, that helped show the changes made to the character. While his perverted nature may not sit well with families, he appears far too serious and a little too young for the role. The look of Lord Piccolo is an interesting take, but I will reserve judgment until there is a full image of him.

Lord Piccolo is played by James Marsters, who appeared as the evil Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

It is evident which audience they are trying to appeal to with this movie. Many DB fans will watch it regardless of its quality, but it will be a harder sell to non-fans. The Dragonball series has gained a somewhat poor reputation in the US for its drawn out storylines, long fight scenes, and at times, lack of substance. Many had generalized anime as being just like Dragonball Z. Although DB is more of a comedy/adventure and much different than its successor, it was probably wise for them to take a mainstream standpoint with the movie. The music score has been a controversial subject with DBZ’s localization, but the film score is looking positive. Composer Brian Tyler (Rambo, Eagle Eye) is apparently a big fan of the series and looks to capture the sweeping, epic, fantasy feel of the original anime and of Wong’s adaptation. The official teaser trailer was supposed to premiere alongside Max Payne on October 17th, but has since been pushed back to later this year to allow for more editing and special effects.

There are still a lot of unknown details, but dbthemovie.com is a great source for cast and crew information, news, and an informative FAQ. With the movie releasing in North America on April 10, 2009, there is still over six months to finalize and polish. The internet community has been very vocal in its opinion of the Dragonball movie, but perhaps they can pull out a few surprises in this first iteration of their planned trilogy.

While Konami’s new IP, Rock Revolution is looking very poor against Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Genius, Genco, and 7 Studios looks to really stand out against its predecessors and create a legitimate contender. Beatmania had a steep learning curve and limited library of electronic music, but Scratch will blaze its own path with a large hip hop influence. The developers are collaborating with famous hip hop producer Quincy Jones III and his QD3 Entertainment studio, who produced tracks for Tupac Shakur, LL Cool J, and even the score for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Based on released comments, QD3 sounds dedicated to utilize their experience in the music industry and hip hop to make the experience as authentic as possible. Although no specific names were revealed, the developer promises “original recordings from the catalogs of many top urban artists”. The game looks to have a unique cel-shaded look with nightclubs, dancers, and b-boys creating a vibrant atmosphere along with other urban environments. Current titles have done a great job of representing rock music and its style, but Scratch sounds like a great chance to truly bring hip hop culture to life.

The ‘Scratch Deck’ turntable controller will be created by Numark, manufacturer of a variety of real-life DJ equipment. Based on screenshots, the controller should at least contain the familiar five colored buttons along with the turntable. What sets the gameplay apart from previous music/rhythm games is the ability to alter music tracks in real-time. The game will include the trademark rhythm patterns, but also allows you to “re-imagine songs on the fly and add [your] own creativity”. Specifics have not been named, but hopefully it will be more than a simple freestyle section seen in older music/rhythm games. There appears to be some sort of career or story mode, as you choose a DJ personality and rise up from working garages to the biggest nightclubs.

There have been attempts to integrate hip hop culture into video games, but never quite like this. Get On Da Mic poorly attempted to do karaoke while the Def Jam series presented a very solid wrestling/fighter. The continued rise of hip hop music is a great opportunity to show gamers what the genre really has to offer in terms of interactive entertainment. With Activision trademarking ‘DJ Hero’ earlier this year for a possible new title, let’s see if Harmonix or Konami provide any response.

The Impact of Piracy

The music industry has constantly been battling piracy since the early days of the Napster file sharing service. Artists like Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich are notoriously known for crusading against fans that pirate their music, which eventually forced Napster into a legitimate music store and other peer-to-peer file sharing services like Kazaa, LimeWire, and BitTorrent taking its place. The large movement towards digital music and the wider expanse of broadband internet has only compounded the issue. The availability of online digital music stores has helped alleviate the problem, but this has been gradually eating away at physical album sales. While piracy isn’t as big of an issue with less tech-savvy consumers, the subsequent creation of digital music offerings has had a similar effect. Streaming video and music websites such as imeem, last.fm, Pandora, and YouTube have also shown the need for a new business model for the music industry. Record labels and indie artists need to build around online distribution to supplement physical distribution. Supporting services like last.fm and iTunes will hopefully diminish the desire for piracy and motivate consumers to purchase a physical or digital copy if the music warrants it.

The Restrictions of DRM

DRM stands for digital rights management and is a broad term to describe access control technology and measures companies take to limit the usage on media devices. Piracy sprung up from preventative action such as this, challenging media content holders for personal gain or mere principle. Although it sounds good in theory, DRM ends up being more restrictive than helpful. It did not really catch on in audio CDS, although Sony BMG was involved in a large scandal and lawsuit over its DRM software and the installation of vulnerable rootkit virus on PCs. Its use on audio CDs have passed, but it more recently was a seemingly insurmountable issue with digitally released music. Almost every major digital music store offered music with their own DRM software, which limited the amount of devices it was compatible with and how many PCs you could put it on. Most of the music purchased on rivaling services were not cross-compatible. Only in the last couple years has the call for DRM-free music been answered. As increasing pressure was placed on digital music stores, major services like iTunes and Napster finally offered non-DRM music while others like eMusic and Amazon have been showing the success that can be had without these security measures.

Personal Preference and Convenience

With digital music players like iPods or Zunes becoming the de facto standard for listening and portability, handling a large amount of CDs becomes more of a hassle. Windows Media Player and iTunes are great examples of convenient music organization and storage tools. Having easy access to your entire music collection with just a few keystrokes is a huge benefit instead of switching out albums. Being able to more easily purchase a couple of songs or an entire album in your living room rather than going to a retail store is another benefit. However, there are still those that prefer owning physical copies of music. Having a tangible back-up is more reassurance and security in case of hard drive failure or a misplaced iPod. Owning the physical CD also creates a nice visual collection rather than merely browsing through a digital library. Personally, I think listening to each CD individually adds to the music experience and prevents distractions and temptation to constantly change track and artist.

The Value of Physical Albums

Although the price of physical albums may be more than purchasing a digital copy, it is not by much. For just a couple dollars more you could own the actual CD with artwork, liner notes, or bonus content. While many artists host exclusive iTunes store tracks, they sometimes create special packaging or content with specific retail stores like Target or Best Buy. Tool’s 2006 release, 10,000 Days was released with cardboard packaging and built-in stereoscopic glasses to view the booklet and artwork with the illusion of depth and three-dimensions. But oftentimes, the parity in physical and digital music pricing is too close. Owning the CD still allows the creation of digital copies in any desired format, although digital music is usually in the widespread mp3 format. Audio quality is usually superior on the physical album, but the gap is gradually decreasing.

Overall, the market is looking strong for both distribution methods. While some artists or labels may be slow to change from the old ways, many are coming around and embracing digital services and methods. Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor is a great example of this, becoming an independent artist and offering not only a wide span of distribution methods but free songs and entire albums to the public. Record companies take a large stake of the profts from artists, and digital distribution can be the answer to these problems for bands both large and small.

Dolly B’s idea includes a New Year’s style party in Times Square with a Voltage bottle taking place of the ball and AC/DC performing “High Voltage” as the theme song.

The contest officially launched on September 17th, but I have seen very little promotion or hype about it. Since voting ended, it seems like they haven’t done much press to announce Voltage’s win and upcoming introduction to market. The idea of allowing consumers to pick the kick-off event is fun, but ideas thus far either sound a little weak or very generic. Given the image and background of Mountain Dew, the winner will most likely include some sort of huge launch party with live bands, extreme sports, and celebrity endorsements. Browsing through the submissions, the list was fairly short. While there were a handful of “featured” ideas, there were hardly any others to be found. Browsing by state had very little to offer, but the contest only did just start. Although video submissions are encouraged, many of the ideas simply show a picture with their idea. Hopefully the volume of ideas increases before the contest ends.

When Mountain Dew originally announced a forthcoming contest to help introduce Voltage to the people, I was expecting it be more than a simple picture/video submission with description. I like that the contest is open-ended, which leaves much potential without restriction. The lack of promotion is a little worrying, with only a small volume of submissions viewable on the site more than a week after launching. But with two weeks still left to go, there’s still plenty of time for fun and unique kick-off event ideas.

The Destruct Code, usually a dull, black color, has a mysterious reaction to Kylie.

World Destruction is based upon the Nintendo DS RPG of the same name. The world is ruled by the beastmen and humans serve as slaves and inferior beings. The mysterious Morte, wielding a large blade and an orb called the Destruct Code, solely makes up the World Destruction Committee as Kylie and Toppi get caught up in her affairs and reluctantly joins the journey to find a way to activate the Destruct Code. The strong characters and the adversarial relationship between most humans and beastmen is immediately evident. Morte has a troubled past, which shows in her somber demeanor and direct attitude. Kylie, initially shown disguising himself as a beastman, is more care-free and his clueless behavior is what makes him likable and often the crutch of the comedy. But perhaps one of the most fun characters seen thus far is Toppi. A wise, bear-like beastman that includes the word “kuma” (bear) after every sentence, he adamantly denies being a bear and takes things very seriously. Lia and Naja are two part-beastmen that make up the World Salvation Committee. Although the group sounds very upstanding, their portrayal looks more villainous compared to the WDC. The setting is pure fantasy, and it works. Small villages, large, bustling cities, and ships both large and small are just a few places that make up the journey. The main plot follows Morte’s past, the nature and story behind the orb-like Destruct Code, and the true intentions of the World Destruction Committee, but there are still plenty of side-plots that show the adventurous atmosphere and fantasy trappings that make the show fun.

The team of Kylie and Toppi create many of the fun moments in World Destruction.

The story is very light and comedic given the darker implications of its title. The WDC usually gets caught up in the affairs of others while the combination of Kylie’s lighthearted nature and Toppi’s serious manner create many funny moments. Kylie’s cluelessness often creates problems for the WDC while Toppi’s wise sayings and pride in his race leads to a little teasing. The world feels alive and its RPG roots is noticeable. The run-and-chase method between the WDC and WSC is slightly reminiscent of Lupin III. The aggressive Lia and cool-headed Naja of the WSC act as a nice foil to the WDC. The mystery of the Destruct Code is like a dangling carrot while they get ever closer to the answer throughout the series. Many video game to anime adaptations can be hit or miss, but World Destruction stands on its own very well.

The story and fantasy setting may sound a little cliche, but the strong characters and unique role reversal make World Destruction fun. It feels like an RPG while maintaining its own identity. There is plenty of adventure and comedy to be found while the bigger story slowly unravels. It may not quite compare to predecessors such as the classic Slayers, but World Destruction has its own charm that makes it worth watching.

The Game Space will contain online bowling, pool, and arcade games to play and meet others with.

At first glance, PlayStation Home looks very similar to The Sims. You create a very customizable 3D avatar and have a virtual apartment you can take friends to and hang out. There are multiple places to travel to, including the Central Plaza, the Game Space, mall, a movie theater, and more on its way. Some may ask how any of this is relevant to playing games online, but PlayStation Home director, Jack Buser describes it perfectly.

“It’s all about expanding the game experience. Expanding the gamer community. Every time we do anything, the first thing we ask ourselves is ‘How does this expand the game experience? How does this enhance gameplay? How does it enhance existing or upcoming games?’ That’s our ‘laser focus’ with Home.”

With this simple intention, the online console experience can change instantly. The success of the Wii’s Mii avatars and the Xbox 360′s upcoming avatars in the New Xbox Experience has shown that having a more tangible, virtual identity can really add to gaming, both online and offline. Home creates an avenue to easily connect with other PS3 users and communicate via voice headsets, keyboard, pre-programmed messages, or just simple emotive gestures. Initially planned with a focus on product placements, advertisements, and commercialism, Sony revamped Home’s direction to focus more on game-related features. The service offers a multitude of areas to meet other users, view content, play arcade games, and more easily form online matches. The Game Space offers games such as online pool, bowling, or virtual arcade machines to more easily break the ice with other users and get to know them better rather than trying to gauge friendship only through brief gameplay interaction. The Central Plaza serves as the main hub of activity where many can come and socialize. The movie theater will screen various trailers with the possibility of longer content being displayed. Perhaps one of the more unique aspects of Home is that all sound is proximity-based. All voice conversations, music, video, or any other audio can be conducted without disturbance and feels more natural when moving through any area. The amount of personality and emotives available for each avatar could really add another layer of immersion and identity similar to other online communities or forums.

Multiple apartments will available with balconies and different views.

The idea of a virtual apartment and a mall to purchase clothing could be a fun distraction. Simply having a space to invite friends over for a more private discussion or to simply hang out in a more personal setting adds the social experience of MMO games. Navigation is streamlined via a virtual PSP that contains any contextual actions and a world map to warp to any location. A 2D world map will also be available that will show any expanded locations. But the ease of game launching and finding other online gamers is the main attraction. Rather than waiting in a game-specific lobby, online match settings can be set prior to launching the game and the avatar can seek other desired players or wait in exclusive third-party game areas. Titles such as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Warhawk contain spaces created by the game developers themselves to allow fans to more easily meet others and discuss strategies or plans prior to playing. This pulls many of the community and gameplay aspects of titles like World of Warcraft to the PS3. Pulling together a group of people to play is now more than just a random name and picture within the game. Seeing a physical avatar attached to the voice or message and communicating strategy or other conversation outside of the game can make gameplay more enjoyable and help create a more robust list of true online friends.

PlayStation Home is currently in an extended closed beta phase, but it will still be hard to gauge how the general PS3 user base will react to the service. With the ‘Web 2.0′ initiative creating many social community websites such as MySpace or Facebook, Home looks like a great service that brings the same feel to the online gaming arena. The fact that it will remain free means users have nothing to lose by trying it. While some may not be looking for anything else beyond strictly playing games online, Home can be great for others looking for a little more to the experience.