As for the gameplay, I have to say that Yuri has to be the most difficult main character to get a grip on, at least compared to Lloyd (Symphonia, who was easy to learn) and Luke (Abyss, a little more to learn, but still easy). It mostly has to do with the timing of his attacks, and that sword-flip thing he does that tends to leave him wide open to attack. But, once again, it's early in the game for me, and I'm sure once I get the battle system for this game down, it will be a lot of fun to play as Yuri. As far as other characters are concerned, Repede has got to be the coolest non-human RPG character ever. And I love how the skits have voice-overs now, something that was only in the Japanese versions previously. It just helps bring new life to the characters.

And as a side note, that opening song is incredible. I bought it on iTunes and I haven't been able to stop listening to it.

Oh... my... god...

The second album will be a compilation album of all of Crush 40's Sonic related music, tentatively titled "Crush 40 : Works 1998-2008". I almost forgot they have been around that long. Hopefully, that album will feature some nice bonus and previously unreleased tracks.

Also, so true...

- Word is there is going to be a new FullMetal Alchemist anime on the way sometime in the near future. Possibly a sequel? Or a complete restart that follows the original manga more closely? Who knows?

- Speaking of new anime, a complete TV series based on TALES OF THE ABYSS is in the works. It will run 26 episodes, which is great, because previous TALES OF ....... animes were only given the OVA treatment (only a handful of episodes). Although, the TALES OF SYMPHONIA anime (which I've have only seen the first episode of so far) is still ongoing, supposedly.

- And speaking of TALES... I found out there was a Special Edition version of Tales Of Vesperia being released online. So I immediately got my down payment on the regular edition cancelled and ordered that one instead. The only downside is I'll have to wait a day or two more to play it with shipping. The Special Edition comes with a tin-casing and a CD featuring music from many Tales games of the past as well as from Vesperia. I wonder if that will include any vocal songs? Probably not.

I'm hoping to get some work done to either the AMV TKO website or AMV TKO Round 5 today, or maybe even both. Round 5 is looking really good so far, at least compared to the previous rounds, so I can't wait to finish it. But I will take my time on this one and make sure everything is as good as can be.

I mean, The Simpsons Movie doesn't belong within 10 miles of that list. That whole list could have been made up of Disney classics alone and I wouldn't mind. But some of them on that list are just wrong. South Park The Movie is greater than DUMBO, and Toy Story as #1? I'm gonna be sick. I must be the only person on the planet who thinks that Toy Story and it's sequel are Pixar's weakest outings. Monsters Inc. is a far superior movie and isn't even on the list. The Incredibles was good, but not TOP 5 good (not even TOP 10 or probably even higher good). At least they got Iron Giant on there. That movie is a true classic. But no Lilo & Stitch? Come on. I think I'm gonna make my own list up at some point about MY Top Animated Movies Of All-Time.

Speaking of animated shows I like... after going years without a true hit, Cartoon Network may have finally found a show that stands above and beyond the rest. While we were getting snore-fests like Camp Lazlo, a little show was being created called The Marvelous Mis-adventures Of Flap Jack (ADVENTURE!!!).

This show caught me completely off-guard when it first aired and I honestly thought that they were trying to do some sort of SpongeBob clone show. But in reality, this show may be far better. It isn't always laugh-out-loud funny, but it isn't what is said or how it's said, it's just the way everything is presented that makes it funny. I personally love all the stop-motion (or is it CG?) bits like in the show's great intro. And I almost die every time I hear that laugh. It's cute, funny, clever and just a boatload of (candy) fun. I pray this show lasts a long time, because it's continually making me smile from ear to ear.

During an era where someone at Cartoon Network thinks we want to watch crappy live-action movies, it's good to see at least one breathe of fresh, hand-drawn, air is still around.

And speaking of hand-drawn animation, it's nice to see Disney finally returning to it's roots.

Can you believe it's only been about two weeks since AMV TKO Round 4 was released and I'm already working on Round 5? And it's shaping up to be the best yet (by what I've finished so far). I'm actually trying to not be lazy for once when editing clips, trying to make it as perfect as possible.

I'm totally sick of this song by now, but damn that's still funny.

Also, this was a blast to watch. Wish I could do them that well.

I'm sure I'll get used to the new voices, but I am going to miss yelling (in my mind) "TITANS GO!!!" every time Lloyd goes into battle (Lloyd was voiced by the same voice actor who played Robin in the recent TEEN TITANS animated series on Cartoon Network).

Also, "IT'S A FRICK'N SSSSSSWWWWOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRR-DUH."

1. Heath Ledger, being deceased, can't return as the Joker. Seriously, never has a villain been played more perfectly. I'm sorry Mr. Nicholson, but you've been out-Jokered. The "nurse" scene was gold, by the way.

2. The simple fact that I'm gonna have to wait two years minimum for a sequel. Just the way they ended it (I won't give it away) just set up a sequel even better than "Begins" did. I have a feeling the third film is gonna be epic (as if this one wasn't epic enough).

I also have Tales Of Vesperia on reserve for my 360. I haven't bought a 360 game in a long while. Not that I haven't wanted to (Devil May Cry 4 is still on my to buy list), it's just my money is focused on other useless forms of entertainment at the moment. That and I've been buying some Rock Band tracks.

I know I said I would have the AMV TKO website up along with the video, but you'll have to make due with a preview page. I still have some work to do on the site before I feel it's good enough to open up. I just figured I'd get the video up and have that over with.

AMV TKO Round 4 is done, for the most part. But I still keep finding little things here and there I want to tweak. I'm already planning out Round 5, which is scary because I usually don't even want to look at any of my AMVs for months after I finish a round. Oh well... the AMV TKO website is also coming along (somewhat) nicely. Much like Round 4, I keep finding little things to tweak here and there.

My local GameStop had a buy 2 get 3 DVDs free deal and they just happened to have a bunch of Buffy The Vampire Slayer DVD boxsets. I almost forgot how much I loved this show. I had Season 1 already, but never got around to getting the rest. Now, after taking advantage of GameStops deal, I have all but Season 4. It came out to about $10 a boxset for me, so that worked out really nice. Now I just need to find a good deal on the ANGEL series boxsets.

I also picked up the first two season boxsets of Harvey Birdman : Attorney At Law at FYE (buy 1 get 1 free). Damn, this show never gets old. HA HA!... Funny.

Going to my second Phillies game in as many months this weekend. Go PHILS!

EDIT:
What an amazing day at Citizens Bank Park. First, I got to meet just about all the Phillies during a Meet The Fans kind of deal (sure, it was mostly just handshakes, but still awesome) and got my picture taken with Shane Victorino and Brett Myers. I'm a big fan of both, especially Shane, so that was a big thrill. Getting to stand on the field was pretty cool, as well.

Then, in the game itself, the Phils go down 9-3, only to come back and win it 10-9. Awesome game and day all around. Keep an eye on my MySpace for pics of the day including the pics with Victorino and Myers (they're on my cousin's camera).

EDIT #2:

Myself with Phillies outfielder Shane "The Flyin' Hawaiian" Victorino.

Myself with Phillies pitcher Brett Myers.

But best of all, JUN SENOUE IS COMPOSING THE MUSIC. Consider me a happy person. He hasn't done a Sonic game since Shadow The Hedgehog, which I though was one of his best works. I'll be buying this and the soundtrack in the future (looks like a Spring 2009 release).

Giving it the benefit of the doubt, if the image is any indication, this will probably be a Wii-motion type of game with a lot of hack-n-slash sword action, which should be... interesting (to say the least). Without the emphasis on speed (possibly) and more attention to battle (again, possibly), I doubt many Sonic faithful will be happy about this. But we'll just have to see...

Even though it will probably be a long time before we see this on store shelves, it seems a little too soon for talk of another Sonic game when "Unleashed" hasn't even gotten past pre-production yet, and not to mention the upcoming Nintendo DS game as well.

AMV TKO Round 4 is all but finished, I just have to make a few final tweaks. Plus, as stated before, I want to have the AMV TKO website up and going to coincide with Round 4's release.

Also, ROCK BAND 2 is being released this fall. Sorry Guitar Hero, but Rock Band is the way to go according to everything that's been announced so far.

Other E3 news... if Resident Evil 4 was any indication, Resident Evil 5 is looking like the best game EVER. Also, possible hard-drive support for Xbox 360 games, as in you can play disc games from the hard drive instead off from the disc (you still need the disc to do it though) which could highly decrease loading times. That might even make Sonic 06 somewhat enjoyable, since loading times were my main gripe with the game.

Such a tiger in looks AND personality.

Also threw together a quick links page.

Among the other titles I'm happy about their return is SHAKUGAN NO SHANA. While a complete boxset of season 1 has been announced for release, season 2 (as well as the OVAs), haven't been mentioned yet, but it's a safe bet they will be in the future at some point. Here's just hoping they release the box for the box set seperately for the devoted fans who bought season 1 during it's initial DVD release.

Here's also hoping for a STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW OVA release in the U.S.

I watched Vol. 2 of Lucky Star today. After eight episodes, I can honestly say I'm enjoying the show, but I still have yet to see what made the show so immensely popular. I'm beginning to believe it's opening title sequence is the sole reason the show gained such high reguard from it's fans. Although, I will admit, it has other amusing moments. SPARKING!

Speaking of which, it's coming along nicely, although it's turning out much different than I originally planned it out. By no means is that a bad thing, it's just a little different than the previous rounds. I'm sure you'll see when I finish it.

Got to spend more time with the ToV demo and I have to say that the battle system does not favor the player that much. You get in your hack n' slash attacks in and you are pretty much left wide open for being attacked by the enemy. And that boss is just downright hard. Not Ninja Gaiden hard... but hard enough. Here's hoping the final product is more player friendly... like Symphonia (original), which was one thing that made Symphonia so great.

I still have to finish Tales Of The Abyss...

Anyway, the game has a definite TALES OF THE ABYSS feel to it, moreso than TALES OF SYMPHONIA, which is by no means a bad thing. Let's just hope SYMPHONIA II plays like it's predecessor. One of the interesting parts of playing the TALES games is that they tweak the battle system with every new game, so learning how to battle effectively is always an interesting journey. And the fact that you can play as a wolf is just downright awesome.

To see a TALES game in high-def just makes the fanboy in my go crazy. Not only does the game look phenomenal, but the sound is top-notch as well, with another great soundtrack (from what I've heard so far) by Motoi Sakuraba. You can definitely hear some of feel of his past works, such as SYMPHONIA and Eternal Sonata (Trusty Bell in Japan).

All I can say is that I'm definitely looking forward to this game and it can't come out fast enough.

I'm going to see the Phillies play today and it'll be the first time I'm going to their new stadium. Should be a blast. Hopefully, I'll have some good pics up on my MySpace later tonight.

Also, (Ninja) Awesome Gaiden. So true on EVERY level.

I got around to beating SONIC And The Secret Rings for the Wii today. Got to say, I didn't have my hopes to high for the game, but it soundly surprised me. The controls were a bit iffy at times, but overall, I really enjoyed it and it's got me looking forward to SONIC UNLEASHED (which btw, is it's final name and not SONIC WORLD ADVENTURE as previously stated here).

Not too long ago, I bought a subscription to NEWTYPE USA, an anime magazine released in America based on the NEWTYPE magazine from JAPAN. Needless to say, this magazine was awesome. It had the look and feel of the original magazine and it had more anime and videogame info than you could ask for. Unfortunately, due to multiple issues (that mostly surrounded around money), the magazine folded and was replaced by a magazine called PiQ. It had the same staff as Newtype USA working on it, so I was hopeful (along with the two-issues for every issue left in my subscription) that I'd still get some great anime and videogame info.

Well, unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I got four issues of PiQ so far, and all I can say is that this is a sad magazine for an anime fan. I'd say barely 10% of PiQ is based around anime and the rest is based on comic books, novels, British television and a whole bunch of other media I couldn't give a damn about. I'm sure I wasn't the only former Newtype subscriber who was a little ticked off.

So it came as no surprise to me when I learned that PiQ had folded. Seriously, I paid for anime... I want anime. Nothing more, nothing less. Was that so difficult for them to understand? Well, good riddance I say, but I better be getting a refund of some sort.

SONIC UNLEASHED is supposedly going through a name change. Can't say I'm all shocked, but... SONIC WORLD ADVENTURE? Hmm...

Speaking of changes, I've decided to cut back on some of my projects here on my site. I just put way to much on my plate, so to speak. AMV TKO ROUND 4 is underway in production, though, and I hope to have that finished before the end of summer.

On another note, I'm loving my Wii. I picked up a few games, including HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2&3. Loads of fun and it brings back some memories. The only bad thing about the Wii? So many classic games to download, so little money to spend. I'm still waiting on RBI Baseball and Yoshi's Island to be released.

In other news:
IRON MAN : Awesome.

TALES OF... : Looking forward to two new TALES OF ... games coming out (now that I have a Wii), one being a direct sequel to one of my all-time favorite games, TALES OF SYMPHONIA (Wii) and one for the 360, TALES OF VESPERIA. It will be interesting to see how a TALES games looks in high def.

BAND HERO : At least, that's what I would call it now. Guitar Hero will be adding drums and a microphone, following after the success of ROCK BAND. The drum set looks sweet. And then there is Guitar Hero Aerosmith, which I'm actually looking forward to.

LUCKY STAR : Fun anime show (after 4 episodes), but I have yet to see what the fuss is all about.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

You can pretty much thank EgoRaptor, the creator of those hilarious METAL GEAR AWESOME flash movies for making me finally get into METAL GEAR, if only to get all the jokes in his movies.

Also, Disturbed has announced that they have two songs up for Rock Band in the near future to coincide with their new album coming out this June. All I can say is that it's about damn time. I'm gonna rock the drums on those tracks.

Little by little, SEGA is releasing more information and media on the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog game, which appears to have settled on "SONIC Unleashed" as it's final title afterall, due out this winter for all three major systems and the PS2 as well. With only this and a short gameplay video to go on, I have to say I haven't seen enough to make judgment on it, but my interest is definitely peaked. Will they finally get it right this time? As a true Sonic fan, I do hope so.

More than enough reason to own Rock Band now in my opinion.

Thought of the moment : "Well, that took long enough."

EDIT: OMG, video:

I picked up SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS, as well. It's definitely a fan-service tsunami as far as SEGA related stuff goes. It covers just about everything... except SAKURA WARS. But seeing how this is a SEGA of AMERICA game, that's to be expected. I'm still hoping that SAKURA WARS will get it's day in the States some day, but I'm not getting my hopes that high. Back to the game, it's actually a lot of fun, at least much more fun than the DOA X-Treme Volleyball games (but then again, what isn't?). Worth checking out if you're a SEGA fan like me.

AMV TKO Round 3 is pretty much done, just need to fix a few things here and there and I'll have it up on YouTube soon.

Thought of the moment : "Please be good, please be good, please be good..."

Oh, and this will be the first of the three rounds that will be made entirely in ADOBE PREMIERE. The first two were made in Windows Movie Maker, and all I can say is Premiere makes a HUUUUUUUGE difference in quality. Plus, it's much more hands on, so editing is easier. Everything is looking good so far, so here's hoping I can get that done soon and then get to work on the AMV TKO section of the site.

Speaking of the site, I'm messing around with the HTML and stuff, so expect things to move around a lot over the next few weeks.

P.S. If you are interested in seeing Rounds 1 and 2, please check out my YouTube page or just scroll down this page and you'll see some embedded videos from YouTube of them.

1. CLOVERFIELD. Loved it. Thought it was awesome and I feel bad for initially bashing it when I first learned of it. Not a bad birthday gift to have, seeing that movie on opening night. Although, I highly doubt it's the type of movie that will have the same effect the second time seeing it and any times thereafter.

2. SONIC TRUE BLUE. Another solid release in the SONIC The Hedgehog soundtrack series. The bonus tracks are awesome, especially Crush 40's SEVEN RINGS IN HAND cover and the Bentley Jones remix of OPEN YOUR HEART can't even be put into words of it's greatness. You just have to hear it for yourself. Plus the new mixes of LIVE & LEARN and WHAT I'M MADE OF... were a pleasant surprise. They just sound cleaner now, if that makes any sense. Definitely worth picking up.

3. WARTECH. My sister sent me this fun little gem in the mail for my birthday. It's a XBox 360 game that has kind of a GUNDAM type of feel to it... if GUNDAM were on crack! I had never even heard of the game before, but it apparently has a cheap price tag on it, so that just about anyone could get it. And I suggest you do, because you definitely get your money's worth and then some. So thank you to my sister and congratulations on your wedding as well. Sorry I can't do much about that new last name, though. :D

4. ROCK BAND. I had to send back my Rock Band guitar (like many others that I've heard), due to the strum bar generating a double-strum every time I strummed. It didn't do it at first, but even before then, I didn't give the guitar much of a chance. I was too much in love with my Gibson Les Paul guitar from Guitar Hero III. But now that I've got a working Rock Band guitar, I actually am starting to like it a lot. The fast fret buttons always come in hand during those songs that have a "big finish".

5. ANIME. Just started watching "KAMICHU!". I've been wanting to see it for a while, and thanks to some Best Buy gift cards, that's become possible. It's about a young Japanese girl who becomes a god. Yes, a god. And now she helps out people in her town all the while interacting with countless other gods that appear in all shapes, colors and sizes. I've only gotten through the first volume, but it is definitely interesting to say the least. Episode 4 was a little weird, though, with the arrival of a Martian of all things, but after dealing with some weird gods in the earlier episodes, it wasn't that big of a stretch for the storyline. I'm enjoying the series and can't wait to see where it's going.

And that about wraps up what's going on in my world of entertainment...

01. LIVE & LEARN
02. IT DOESN'T MATTER (SA2 Version)
03. ESCAPE FROM THE CITY
04. HIS WORLD
05. SUPER SONIC RACING
06. SONIC - YOU CAN DO ANYTHING
07. SONIC BOOM
08. SONIC SPEED RIDERS
09. RACE TO WIN
10 SONIC X THEME
11. RIGHT THERE and RIDE ON
12. SONIC HEROES
13 WHAT I'M MADE OF...
14. SEVEN RINGS IN HAND
15. HIS WORLD (Zebrahead Version)
16 IT DOESN'T MATTER (SA1 Version)
17. OPEN YOUR HEART
- Bonus Tracks -
18 A NEW VENTURE (Surfin' S.R.A. Remix)
19. ANGEL ISLAND ZONE (SSBB Remix)
20. SEVEN RINGS IN HAND (Crush 40 Version)
21. OPEN YOUR HEART (Crush 40 vs. Bentley Jones Remix)

All I can say is I have got to hear that Crush 40 version of "SEVEN RINGS IN HAND", which was originally done by Steve Conte for SONIC And The Secret Rings (Wii). I'm actually surprised that music from both the Japanese and English versions of SONIC CD (SEGA CD) are there.

And what's up with "SONIC X THEME"? Is that the theme from the (HORRID!) English version? If it was the Japanese version, wouldn't they list it as "SONIC DRIVE"? And I'm assuming that track 21 is the REMIX FACTORY remix that a sample of has been floating around for a while. The SMASH BROS. BRAWL track (19) is a nice bonus, too, since I thought this would be an all vocal CD. All in all, I'm very pleased with this list.

In related news, I found out that my order for the SONIC RIDERS ZERO GRAVITY CD had been shipped out today as well. Happy birthday to me, indeed.

I added a few new links to the right that should give you some idea of what's on the horizon with my site. Of course, there's only some "COMING SOON" pages to show off, but I can promise you that they will be up and going once I can decide on a design for each of them. I don't want all of them to just look the same with just a different color scheme. I want them all to have their own personality and identity.

Looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me...

Still waiting on info on the tracklist for the new Sonic Vocal CD "True Blue" and not long before that, the Sonic Riders : Zero Gravity soundtrack will be released. Oh yeah, SRZG (the videogame) will be shipped out on Tuesday. I think I'll download the PS2 version and then buy the Wii version whenever I can get my hands on a Wii. And did you know there is going to be a SONIC Team tennis game featuring SONIC Team characters coming out later this year for all the major systems? Don't know what to think about that one.

Sounds like a good year to be a Sonic fan. Here's hoping they can overturn their run of bad luck with some of their recent games.

In a completely unrelated story, I'm really looking forward to CLOVERFIELD, a movie I was bashing upon it's announcement. They have done a beautiful job with it's viral advertising campaign (another thing I usually frown upon) with all the fake blogs, myspaces and webpages. I'm constantly looking up all the fansites like CLOVERFIELD CLUES and PROJECT CLOVERFIELD for all the newest clues and insights on the whole big picture of the movie's storyline. I still have worries that I'm going to be disapointed by the movie, but I just really want to see the monster.

In my dreams...

DO WANT NOW. According to Jun Senoue (SEGA Music Producer), it will have 21 tracks of some of the best Sonic music over his entire 15 year run, as well as remixes and new tracks. Sounds pretty good to me.

And yes, I have the soundtrack (and soon the game) preordered.

Look back on fifteen years of "Sonic the Hedgehog" with the best vocal songs from each of the previously released "Sonic" games. Includes unreleased tracks, CD debuts, the latest remixes, and even bonus tracks from some of today's hottest artists!

That's HOT.

Here's hoping for the following:
- Remix Factory's remix of "Open Your Heart"
- "Sweet Sweet Sweet" & "Sweet Dream" AKON 06 Remixes from Sonic 360/PS3
- Any unreleased remixes of "Dreams Of An Absolution" from Sonic 360/PS3
- And above all else, anything new from Crush 40

If those are involved as well as some other surprises, this could end up being the best Sonic soundtrack release ever.

And who knew that Wendee Lee could sing? :P

* Tales Of The Abyss (currently playing)
* Tales Of Legendia (not sure if I want to play it because it looks like ass next to Abyss (and even Symphonia))
* Guitar Hero II (yes, I still play the hell out of that. FREE BIRD!)
* Fullmetal Alchemist 1 & 2 (kind of started playing 1, but haven't touched it much since I got...)
* Eternal Sonata (absolutely beautiful game, but hasn't quite hooked me in yet. I blame ToAbyss)
* Naruto : Ultimate Ninja 2 (just haven't had much time to play it with all the above)

And on the import front:

* Sakura Wars V (LOVE SW and everything about it. It's only a matter of time before I get into that)

It's funny, I swore to never own a PS2 and now that I do own one, it's consuming my gaming time. Dammit, I knew that system was evil...

And don't even get me started on how far behind I am with my anime...

P.S. Hey, look... a new look. :P

That didn't take long, now did it?

(9/1/07)***UPDATED VERSION****(9/1/07)

Oh yeah, and I guess The Kremlin isn't totally dead after all... whatever.