A new animation...?

Here's a little sample pic from the same animation the last one was from. Fans of the DCAU might notice that the last picture was certainly not from the DCAU's style, but It's all one massive doodle, to me. It'll make sense in the context of the finished project. The scene itself is not finished. I'm missing the background and the cane is silhouette.

Still can't figure out why the computer discolours the images, though.

My Top Five Favourite Films...

Try saying that five times fast. Alright, I've had my fun. I want to try something different to day, spurred on by a conversation I had the other day. My top five movies. Everybody has them, well, anyone who's seen fifteen movies. I Have, too. I grew up in the 90's. Things ran different here. People were trying new things, media was being made more accessible to kids, and envelopes were being pushed. I doubt my list will compose of many of those, but It's time I came out and just listed, from least to most, my favourite pieces of cinema.

5. - Transformers: The Movie (2007)

This movie was huge for me. Transformers is my life. It's nearly as crucial to my survival as my own blood. Ever since I was little Transformers has remained a constant in my life, from the acclaimed Beast Wars series to the highly criticized "Unicron Trilogy," I've been there. So naturally, I was amazed that a big part of my life would become a household name in 2007. Many people were unhappy with the choice of director and early designs of the robots, but eventually most people grew into it and accepted it for what it was: A new take on Transformers. That said I think the movie sort of gets a free pass because it's the first Live-action Transformers movie, which is why it's sequel; Revenge of the Fallen, is not on this list. Consider it number 6.

4. - Back to the Future

I missed this (obviously) when if first came out in theatres, but nonetheless, my parents owned the VHS tape and it quickly became one of my favourite films. It's funny, engaging but takes itself seriously when it has too. I would've put the sequels on this list. Back to the Future 2 is considered by some to be superior to the original, while Back to the Future 3 is regarded well on it's own, but I enjoy them all the same. The level of cleverness in dialogue and staging is brilliant, but the leads really make the performances timeless, while the movies themselves are still somewhat dated.

3. Iron Man

This movie was just, cool. Everything about it was stylish and hardcore in visuals and presentation. I've never been a big Iron Man fan, in fact a barely knew about him before the film. I vaguely recall a so-so TV series from my childhood, but not enough to compare. The casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is brilliant. Industrial Lights and Magic set the bar time and again with this movie and Transformers, and the movie, to me, is absolutely flawless... until the climax, which, in my humble opinion, is the most anti-climactic climax in recent film history. The story clogs, the acting evaporates, and the visuals look impressively unrealistic compared to everything before. Amazingly everything recovers for the falling action, which is still good enough to get me in a good mood for the kickass credits.

2. - The Dark Knight

If you didn't see this coming, then you obviously don't read the blog, in which case, Hi, I'm Nigel! Now it may seem unfair to list such a highly regarded movie so high on my list, but I really do like this movie a lot, but it has it's flwas. The storyline is unfairly depressing, in a movie about a guy dressed up as a flying rat. The third act freaks out and doesn't put on the brakes until the credits roll, and God dammit I never thought I'd miss Katie Holmes. Christian Bale continues to be a good Bruce Wayne if only an acceptable Batman, while Heath Ledger delivers a solid Joker performance. Though I must say, I didn't find Heath Ledger's Joker to be all that astounding. He was good at being scary, but I felt I should've been laughing a lot more around him. That's the best part of the character, he's sick, devious and disturbing, but also strangely humorous. But that's what I don't like, so consider everything I didn't mention to be aces. (Thanks for getting rid of Rachael, too)

1. - Batman Begins

Some of you may be rolling your eyes, but seriously, look at this. They took a concept of a dude who beats up crooks wearing long underwear and a bed sheet around his neck, and made it not only plausible, but understandable. Batman himself didn't even show up until about halfway through the movie. But more than that, while it took itself seriously, but it wasn't off it's anti-depressants like TDK was. The bland performance from Katie Holmes was easily outmatched by the always enjoyable Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. (in fact, almost suspiciously so) Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul was probably the best casting decision since Robert Downey Jr. for Tony Stark. The visuals were astounding, and even though between the two films, BB's oranges and browns against TDK's blues and greys I must prefer the cooler blue, every scene looked stylized and could be presented as a still image and be admired. And on a less artsy-fartsy note, how friggin' cool was the Tumbler chase scene? I know, it kicked ass!

Preview.

Here's a quick, not so finished screen shot from an upcoming project. Not much to say that the picture can't.

This is why I need a planner...

So... I haven't updated in a while. There are several reasons why some people might not do that. Not enough things to write about, less free time to spend on Blogger and stuff, real world distractions, etc. Never would I find a combination of the latter mixed with the simple fact that I have too much to write about I can't decide what to do.

Simultaneously I have Batman; Arkham Asylum left to review, as well as the recently released Halo 3: ODST. (Notable for being the first Halo game with substance :O) I also have animation projects progressing and action figure and collectibles I want to review. My first thought was to finish the Batman AA review, but because of the obnoxiously stupid format I set myself out to review it in it will probably take no less than little under two months to complete in it's entirety. Long story short, I'll just do a shorter, less descriptive review and if you really need a walk through, you can do a hell of a lot worse than me. Well, we live and learn.

The second thing was ODST, which just came out and has been taking up most of my free time. Again, something else I want to review. Nevertheless, I will work towards getting more stuff onto this blog.

In Retrospect: Transformers Animated

Note: First off, yes, I am still reviewing Batman: Arkham Asylum. You may see this more often with multi-part reviews here. I will finish it. I offer this retrospective as a sort of tribute the Transformers: Animated and it's (to many) untimely demise.

Back in 2007 toy-manufacturer giant Hasbro first introduced it's fans to a re imagining of it's ever-popular Transformers line. Following a soon-to-be summer blockbuster under the same brand name that was already a drastic deviation from the traditional appearance of the Transformers characters. The fans and followers of the Transformers franchise were taken off-guard by the revealing of Transformers: Animated. A new series separate but partially inspired by the coming live-action film.

First reactions were largely negative. people dismissed the early designs as childish, ugly and uninspired. This was before the movie actually hit theatres, and many fans were not a fan of either style choices. However, this quickly changed when the following San Diego Comic Con, where fan were exposed to concept drawings and character models, along with prototypes of the coming series of action figures. This was around when the toys for the movie were being released and selling very well. Too well, as I'll get into in a moment.

Though some fans still weren't sold on the design of the cartoon or the toys, but there was a third "Universe" series that was combining the classic characters of the 80's with modern toy engineering, though it didn't have any widely-available associated media. Transformers Animated, or TFA as it would be abbreviated, did, and when first footage leaked responses were largely positive. The show was a massive throwback to the characters and concepts of the 80's cartoon. Opinions would be cemented when the show actually began to air. The characters were three-dimensional, the voice acting was top-notch, and the stories were intricate. This was a massive step up from the past "Unicron Trilogy" of imported Japanese cartoons with flat and interchangeable characters, poor vocal performances even from stellar voice talent, and contrived and nonsensical story lines typical of low-budget Japanese animated shows.

There was just one problem: where were the highly-anticipated toys the show was promoting? prerelease samples and test-shots of the first 'wave" of figures had already been streaming off of eBay at a steady rate, and impressions were largely positive, but toy shelves still only gave shelter to movie figures. While never outright stated by Hasbro or retailers, the commonly accepted cause was that the hugely successful live-action film toys were more popular, and retailers didn't want to put a "nobody" line on the shelves while the movie toys were so popular.

While the Animated toys did eventually hit stores about a month after the show aired, this would prove damaging later-on. But the fanbase wasn't concerned at that point. The figures were excellent quality. detailed yet streamlined and clean sculpts in both modes that followed the on-screen depictions of characters almost bizarrely. The show was increasing in quality and popularity, and by the time the second season had ended, a fair chunk of the figures were out. Unfortunately, the gap between the shows premiere and the toys' release meant that most of the characters who showed up in the show weren't available until much later. This was damaging to line as a whole, and on top of that, there was a significant, but not unusually large gap between the second and third seasons, and the toys only barely caught up.

However, somewhere around the beginning of 2009, it was decided that with a sequel to 2007's live-action movie on it's way the coming summer, Animated would be cancelled. The show completed it's third season, and the last toys were designed. (set for a 2010 release) A series that for over a year had given the fans almost everything they wanted had been discontinued before it could finish the last leg of the course. But fans remember it fondly and while it's not truely over, with a few more figures on the way, (and possibly, however slim the chance, a comic) it is certainly not Hasbro's main focus any longer.

And so, my first retrospective. I hope you found the reading insightful, even if it's more like a cliffnotes version.

Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum for the Xbox 360, Part 2

And we're back! I'm trying to compose these reviews as I actually play the game, so I don't miss anything. That said, I'm doing a pretty poor job. I've already played far past since I left off and am now typing off memory. (luckily, this is the second time I've played through, so I have a better idea of when events occurred) But hey, let's give it my best shot.

Part 1: Intensive Treatment part II

As the player makes his way through the smiley face door, a cutscene begins and Batman encounters the Joker standing on top of a metal cage hanging above a pit. In the brief cutscene Batman attempts to stop the Joker before a dis-proportioned monster climbs out of the cell. This is the first time players are shown how to defeat a "Titan": mutated inmates that have grown to grotesque sizes due to Joker's "experiments". Naturally, Joker isn't much of a chemist, so this battle is short, as the titan only has a few moves that a steady hand and quick eye will be able to counter. When the beast roars, you can quick throw a batarang to it's face by tapping the left trigger (LT) this will stun it and throw the battle into slow motion long enough for you to evade (double tap the "A" button) it's charge attack following the roar. It will seem a little distraught, swinging it's arms violently and grasping it's face. It may try to throw a dead guard at you but another batarang to the face when it charges will finish it off.

I originally was let down, as I didn't even break a sweat on this big, scary boss-fight. But in the cutscene the titan appears to suffer either a heart-attack or a stroke and swiftly expires, while Joker makes a mental note to use stronger test patients. Obviously, it wasn't supposed to be so easy. Slight tension follows as Joker gives Batman a chance to "end it all" and knock him off the cell into the pit below. Batman, of course, won't, and Joker laughs at his predictability. We are returned to the game and then literally three more steps into a guard box and we get another cutscene. Here, Frank Boles, a guard we met earlier, kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. We are then instructed by Batman to return him to the place where Joker first escaped and set up a crime scene. This is done by pressing the left button (LB) to take you into "Detective mode." This puts you into a sort of "see-everything" mode. The world goes blue, usable items and objects turn a sort of amber copper colour, you are able to track the heart rates, locations (since everybody shows up as a skeleton visable through solid walls and objects) and conditions of everyone and evidence is pointed out with little pop-up boxes. This adds a great "CSI" element to the game. Setting up a crime scene switches the perspective to first-person and key pieces of evidence in the crime scene are able to be scanned. One such instance is where you scan a flask belonging to Frank Boles and follow the trail alcohol in the air.

Following this trail with take you to the elevator you once rode earlier, only this time, Harley Quinn is there to send it plummeting down to crush you. She fails, and now you must grapple and shimmy your way to the top. Nothing new is learned here, but there is a sort of amusing commentary by the Joker and Harley over the loud-speaker. Once you get to the top, you're going to need to fend off a few thugs before finding both doors locked. However, breaking into a vent on the wall will deliver you to the right path. Here we find Our next little tutorial: dealing with thugs with firearms. These men appear as all-red in detective mode and can't be approached directly, or else they'd merely shoot you down before you could prime a batarang. Instead, you must negotiate over and around them via the many gargoyles that little the ceilings. You can drop down silently from them and approach them from behind, holding RT to crouch. pressing "Y" when prompted will perform a "silent takedown" which basically removes them without alerting anyone who's not looking. Do this three times (or beat up the last guy if you're cheeky) and you can continue following Franky's trail.

Well, not completely. Batman doesn't have the proper tools to open security-locked doors (yet) so you have to sneak him into the small room to the door's right, and silently send another hapless thug to dreamland. After that, Joker makes a joke about your pointy ears and you must climb into another vent on the walls. Good thing Arkham's not bat-proof. Here we are dumped into our first "silent predator" area. This is not a tutorial, but the point where the game just sits back, kicks up it's feet and lets you go nuts. All three henchmen are armed, and you have an obscene amount of options to take them out. Another option is to take out maybe two and just screw around with the last guy, but there's only two waves of thugs, and once they're gone, a guard comes to free you. You exchange a few words, and them proceed down a back hallway, a few vents, and eventually emerge into the open world of Arkham Island, which I will cover next.

That's all for today, stay tuned. Hopefully I can wrap the rest of the chapters up a lot quicker. Maybe just summaries instead of play-by plays, but I want to stay in-depth. Check back, because there's a lot more to this game.

Review: Batman: Arkham Asylum for the Xbox 360, Part 1

This is the first of a few parts of my in-depth review and walkthrough of Batman: Arkham Asylum. It is an action/adventure game with a hint of detective-novel storytelling and true epic-ness so many times lost on other games of today. Here I will post my journey and impressions as I get behind the Bat and dive in the the virtual world of Gotham city's criminally insane. Now lets waste no more time.

Part 1: Intensive Treatment

The game itself is split into three main parts: the story, the challenge mode, and the amusing little side-quests in the form of riddles. I will first review the story aspect. This is the "main" part of the game. The story starts off simple enough. The Joker, Batman's arch nemesis, has been captured by the Batman and is returned to Arkham Asylum, a large house for the criminally insane situated on a large island. The game starts off with a sort of cinematic game play of you controlling Batman as he merely escorts the Joker strapped to a gurney being transported through the halls of the intensive treatment ward. Nothing action-y or physical happens here, but it is a great moment to let the player sink into the game. It lets you take in the atmosphere in a controlled environment, without having to worry about the next bad guy to beat up. It works great, especially considering the game is third-person based (the term meaning the 'camera" is situated behind the character, rather than literally viewing the game through their eyes) as far as immersing the player in the game, and the graphics and level-design are top-notch, if a little dull in the colours department. (we'll get to that shortly)

The first thing fans of Batman: The Animated Series will notice is Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy reprising their roles as the Joker and Batman respectively. They hits their notes perfectly, and some of the lines Joker is given are downright hilarious at times. After the "tutorial" level there's another cutscene. Here, it is explained that Joker surrendered without a fight, and not long before, a fire was started at Black gate prison, where most of the Joker's "sane" crew was incarcerated. After that, Joker escapes, and we are given our first shot at combat. The controls for combat are quite simple. The "X" button on the 360 controller is the strike move, while "Y" counters oncoming attacks. (indicated by little warnings above the attacker's head) When an opponent is down (on the floor with little starts spinning 'round their head) you can preform a ground take-down, holding the right trigger down and pressing "Y" near an opponent. the controls are smooth, and the game is pretty forgiving if your reflexes aren't lightning quick. Average console gamers or newcomers to video games should be able to grasp the basic controls.

After that combat introduction the game fully starts. The Joker invites Batman to come find him, and the chase is on. On the way, however, you find your path blocked and are alerted to an escaped patient who is holding a guard hostage. It is hear we first get to try out Batman's ability to grapple up to and perch on gargoyles mounted near the ceiling. (well, technically they would be grotesques, since they're... well, never mind) While up on one of these gargoyles, Batman can perform a gliding kick, where he uses his cape to glide down to the ground and kick an unsuspecting inmate onto the ground and take them down. Pressing "X" will execute this move. After that we get another brief cutscene, introducing Harley Quinn. (who is, like Joker and Batman, voiced by Arleen Sorken, her voice actor from the animated cartoon) She basically tells Batman that Arkahm island belongs to the Joker now, shows off her new outfit, and locks him in the room. To escape you merely have to travel to your left to a small ventilation cover on the wall, and use the "A" button to open it. Holding the right trigger (RT) will have Batman crouch, and be able to fit into vents.

Whilst crawling through the you will find a green "?" icon. This is a Riddler Trophy, left by, well, the Riddler. There are many of these scattered all over the island, but more on them in future installments. When you reach the end of the vent you will find yourself at the previously blocked door, however a guard has managed to unlock it and rushes over to find the decontamination room is filled with Joker gas. A toxic arisol poison that sends the guards and patients inside into helpless fits of laughter, and eventually dieing. Your job is to grapple up into an opening in the ceiling and work your way to the vents, into the room. Here, you have to amke your way to the end of the room, rescuing guards and inmates along the way. Holding down "A" will make Batman run, and when he gets to a ledge, he'll jump off. Continuing to hold "A" will make his cape flare out and allow him to glide. Once at the end of the room, hold the left trigger to ready a batarang, target the control panel on the wall, and pull RT to throw it. doing so with cause the control panel to malfunction and start the fans, clearing the room of gas.

After that, you get to a door with a sinister smiling face painted on it with green paint. The mystery and mayhem beyond that door will be covered in my Part 2 walkthrough, so check back within the next few days. Same bat-time, same bat-blog.

Incoming! Video Game review one the way...

With less than 24 hours away before the highly anticipated Batman: Arkham Asylum video game is released, it is taking every last sub-atomic particle of will to contain my excitement, and from what I've heard I'm not the only one. The game has already gotten higher than positive reviews from video game websites and the demo, released not long ago on Xbox Live and PSN, is regarded by most to be, quote: "F*cking awesome!" Quite.

Myself? Well, I have taken the initiative to pre-order my copy. But being the bat-whore that I am, I secured a copy of the collector's edition from my local EB Games. In doing so, I have not only guaranteed I will be able to play the game first-thing after I wake up at 2:00 in the afternoon, but I will get a bonus map (the virtual area of play in a 3D video game) but yet another bonus map included with the collector's edition, along side a bonus disk of extras, a leather cover journal and a full-sized batarang replica based off the game. (which has been revealed to not be metal as advertised, but plastic. I am displeased)

So by the end of this week, if I can tear myself away from the game itself at any point, I will be doing a full review of the collector's edition set as well as the game itself. Remember this page and check back after Wednesday!

Quick update: Holy crap this game is fun.

Second update: After playing a while, this review may take a little longer to get done.

And then there was light, and the Lord saw that it was good...

I'm not a religious man, but I do paraphrase the bible when I'm happy. And today I am. I've recovered most of my essential files from the Hard drive crash through and old backup. The upside is, I now have Macromedia Flash again. The downside, the Animation is gone. But, that can be replaced, and I can make it better. Maybe it won't take that long for the reveals to start trickling in, after all.

Review (Fancy imported variety): Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Clock King"

Note: When I wrote this review, it was not with this blog in mind. I was in a more aloof state of mind in a more casual environment. I assure, feature reviews dedicated to this page will be more professional. Though I may, at my discretion, repost more reviews from my forums site at a later date. With that in mind, enjoy the following.

The episode starts off innocently enough, people in a subway, standing around waiting for the train and a rather impatient looking man remarks the trains arrival. This gentleman, Temple Fugate, is justly bothered by Ma- I'm sorry, Attorney Hamilton Hill not remembering his name after taking the same train everyday for *ahem* one year, seven months and thirteen days. Seriously, Hammy. Fugate is a stickler for time and promptness. Apparently Fugate is further bothered by a very important court hearing today concerning his company. Hill suggests taking his coffee break *GASP* fifteen minutes later.

Still a little uptight, Fugate takes Ham's advice and goes outside, much to his secretary's surprise OHMYGODHISPAPERS!!! Those punk kids, I can't watch. After fishing his papers and himself out of the pond, Fugate arrives at court, late, to find the hearing over. As if the poor guy hasn't been through enough, loosing his company and ruining his career, the Judge remarks "Perhaps this will teach you to be on time for a change."

Seven years later- Oh, and it's 8:57, BTW- malfunctioning lights cause a fender-bender and traffic to clog up, including Bruce and now-Mayor Hammy. I must point out how no matter where he is, Bruce always talks in his Batman voice when speaking privately with Alfred. I love this little added touch in the series. Bruce smells trouble, and a big Ham-tastic campaign poster drops down on a building, and oh how they laugh at Mayor Over-the-Hill. (not my words) Batman races up the building and lo and behold: it's Fugate! I love this dude, he tosses an exploding pocket watch at Batman, clearly not even aiming for him, then walks away. His style is showcased even more after he does a delightful flip off the building, landing on the 9:15 train he just mentioned was always six minutes early. Yeah, he's better than you.

Alfred drives Batman to the Traffic Light headquarters. (I dunno what it's called, and this sounds cooler) I guess the Batmobile wouldn't be to discreet, would it? He finds a very expensive watch was used on an explosive. After some smooth detective work, Batman checks out Fugate's house, and man, that's a lot of clocks. Wait! The time locks on a bank have lost power. Fugate! Batman investigates, but gets caught in a clever trap. A timed pump is removing all the air from the bank vault, he can't cut through the door, and the box is rigged to blow if bothered. Pretty smart, I mean, for a villain.

Elsewhere, Hammy's little train opening is fubar. TWO trains come, and collide in the station. Hamster is shanghaied. Using the tape from a taunting recorder, BatGuyver winches the box to the door, and throws a batarang at it with the remainder of his strength, and is free. At the tower, Hill is strapped to the hour hand of Gotham clock tower. At 3:15, the time Ham-man suggested Fugate take his coffee break, the hands of the tower will crush Hillton Haming. Bats show up and a classic rumble-in-a-clock tower fights breaks out, and Fugate actually fairs pretty well against Batman. But The Dark Knight tricks Fugate into jamming the clock's gears with his sword/cane. Fugate is lost, but Batman manages to save Hammy from the hands falling. Batman laments that it's only a matter of time the Fugate returns.

My final thoughts: CLOCK PUNS! CLOCK PUNS EVERYWHERE! I can stand them up until the last one by Batman. That just, I dunno, breaks the cogs in my head. Anyway, I must say I do enjoy the Clock King. He's one of my favourite villains and the way he fights Batman, by knowing exactly how long each of his moves take and matching/dodging them, is pretty cool considering most villains in shows nowadays are savages from outer space that shoot concentrated kill-beams from their nipples. And Fugate was really not even a criminal like Batman's other rouges, just a mentally broken man out for revenge after his life was ruined. Hamarama is kinda a jerk, too.

Unexpected setback...

Well, my computer died, the Hard drive fried, and a lengthy animation I had been working on is gone. It was so near completion, and it's all gone. That was (hopefully) to be my first reveal.

However, that's not the worst part. I can always redo the animation, unfortunately I lack the means to do so, now. I do have the program on another computer, a much older, decrepit one, but this will be a monumental setback as far as the Reveals category is concerned. More reviews are on the way, however. Stay tuned.

Review: Batman: The Animated Series Complete Box Set.

My first review, and how fitting it should be my most prized collection of videos. This is the review for the DVD Box set of Batman: The Animated Series (Or Batman: TAS, or even simpler; BTAS) released by Warner Bros. Home Video in 2008. The set includes two DVD cases, each with eight (8) disks, each containing either seven (7) or eight (8) of the 109 episodes of the series, as well as an exclusive bonus disk.

The box: The packaging on the set, at first glance, is quite nice. The first thing you see is the caped crusader himself swinging into the foreground, with a large "BATMAN" in shiny silver against a matte black background with "The Animated Series" underneath. It is as if to say "Yeah, this is Batman. That's all the incentive you need." This title is repeated on the top and bottom, minus the Batman. On the back is a page quite effectively pimping the series and the box set. It shows everything you get, but rather than round it off now, I'll save it for when I go into detail. After you remove the plastic wrap, you'll find the back paper is just that, paper over the back, and another drawing of Batman against the moon surrounded by his little winged friends graces the rear of the box. Further, the Batman drawings and title are on a removable clear plastic slip cover, the real box is much nicer.

The interior box is all black, but it two different shades. The base colour is matte black with glossy details. Either side features a single glossy black bat-symbol, while the top has very eye-pleasing display of a silhouetted Batman with the title raised and in matter black in the bottom left corner. The box has weight, even empty, but it is just cardboard. I accidentally dropped mine and an unsightly tear has plagued the bottom left corner of the box. Additionally, if you are reading this and have not purchased or recently purchased this item, take heed that the matte black shows any dirt or dust, and it will stain if you drop water or any beverage on it, so be careful. That being said, lets open it up.

What you get: The first thing you notice when you open it is the two amazing pictures that are inside. One is the cover of booklet, the other is another embossed picture on the inside of the lid. The artist behind these drawings is character designer and director of Batman: TAS Bruce Timm, and his artwork is truly eye-catching with it's dynamics and simplicity of design. The lid art is of Batman soaring across a bird's eye view of Gotham, again with raised/lowered and gloss/matte finish. If I truly must criticize I'd say that the manner of which the lid was constructed is unfortunate for the art. When the edges of the paper were folded in around the cardboard to round the edges, no piece of paper was put in to even the inside out. So when the paper with the actual artwork was glued on, there are slight ridges around the border. This is extremely small and I really just noticed it as of this review. (I've owned the set for some time, now)

The other thing to notice are the actual contents of the box. The (hopefully) main reason you bought the set if you did. The DVDs. But first, the little book. It's 42 pages and consists mainly of Background cels from the series and episode lists. The format is nice, the cover is the exact some image from the plastic sleeve, and inside is an introduction by Alan Burnett, a Writer and Producer from the show. He details his experience re-imagining the concept of the Dark knight and working on the show with the many talented people involved. Quite an interesting read. Turning the page you get two full-page drawings. One in black and white with batman leaping off of a gargoyle, the other in partial colour of him on top of a car driven by one of his enemies, Two-Face with "VOLUME ONE" along the side. This is standard for each of the four volumes. Two images with the volume number, followed by a two-page breakdown of the volume with vectored character sketches below. V1 is Penguin, V2 is Catwoman, V3 is Harley Quinn, and V4 is the Joker. Each volume breakdown lists each episode, numbered for the volume, and which disk to find it on. This is invaluable when you are trying to find a specific episode to watch quickly and without hassle. The pictures are very nice, too. (Especially of Harley)

After the volume lists we have more original artwork from the animation vault (as described on the first page) and such nice artwork it is, too. After that you have scans on storyboards from the first episode. Unfortunately, they're only partial scans of storyboards in a pile, and only bits an pieces are visible. As if that wasn't enough, there are more pages with character theories on how to draw Batman, his cape, hands and notes for storyboarding. Very interesting. And yes, this is all perfectly visible.

The Show: The actual series is even better than I remember from my childhood. The thing to remember is: each volume was assembled and released separately some time ago on DVD, and they have simply been packaged together for this release. That said, I have not purchased those, and will be reviewing these together. We'll start with Volume one. The menu is very simple. A back fade effect over an image of Batman, his villains or whatever as backgrounds, and simple lists of options in columns.
Volume one has a total of 28 episodes and 2 commentaries. Considering these were all released separately, I would've liked to see a few more. Maybe four, but it's minor. V2 also consists of 28 episodes and goes beyond with four commentaries, while V3 has 29 episodes but only three commentaries. V4 has a mere 24 episodes and three commentaries again, but more on it later.

Each episode is in crisp colour and perfect sound. They have not done any obvious remastering. Flecks of dust still show up, but in a series like this I cannot count it as a true negative. In my opinion, these are perfect. they look great, they sounds great and the stories and characters are every bit as three-dimensional and well-done as I remember. More so even. It's a shame cartoons of this level were only a short lived phenomenon. But I digress, the show is dark, both visually and emotionally, complex, engaging and entertaining. The mood is awesome. While pretty much every TV show now sets it's stories in the present, distant past or near future, Batman is a cool, downplayed retro look at the 90's with a 1940's/1930's design to the buildings, cars and people. Often times shows with over-hyped main characters fall flat, often spending more time analyzing the supporting cast instead of the star, but Batman is by far the strongest character in this show, which is saying something considering every character is endearing and fun to watch.

In my opinion, the episodes that Feature the Joker and Harley Quinn are usually the best. The main reason is they both blend in with the serious and dangerous mood of the show while also contrasting. The Joker is loud and hilarious, and Harley is adorable, totally contrasting Batman's dark and quite nature. The big break in the series came with volume 4, which contains all the episodes from "The New Batman Adventures" the point where the show underwent a revamp. The core voice actors remained, as well as the dark style and deep stories, but the characters underwent a design change and more of Batman's sidekicks and allies were featured, earning the semi-official title: "Gotham Knights"

This is where controversy started among fans of the show. The designs for all characters were simplified or changed in hopes of getting more of the personality out of the animation. Characters like Batman, his loyal butler Alfred, Joker and others received relatively minor redesigns that were mostly or totally cosmetic, while the "physical" properties remained the same. Characters like the Scarecrow were heavily modified. He in particular went from looking like an over-grown trick-or-treater to a walking corpse that looked like something an evil Tim Burton would draw. While in contrast characters like Two-Face, Clayface or the ever-jubilant Harley Quinn received no redesign and were merely "redrawn" in the cleaner style. This revamped look would be used for "Superman: The Animated Series" and the Batman/Superman spinoffs Batman Beyond, Justice league, and Justice League Unlimited. Personally, I find some of these redesigns improvements, while others leave little impression.

In short, the series itself is fantastic. It's a great experience and the stories told are amazing for a children's show. (though in all fairness, this show was meant to be targeted at the older audiences as well)

Special features: I will be covering theses in a future review. Stay tuned!

Value: I purchased this series online for $90 Canadian. I have seen it go for as much as $114 American on other sites. When it comes down to it, this particular Box Set is worthwhile only to a certain crowd. If you love this timeless series or are a fan of Batman in general, and don't own the individual volumes already (or have been wanting to get them all at a lower price) this is definitely for you. If you do own the volumes and aren't a Batman memorabilia collector I would say enjoy what you have but save your money unless you absolutely must have the extras. (or would sell your volumes) I highly recommend this series to everyone, though.

Conclusion: This series is just fantastic, and the Box set does it justice. This is a show that even if I never saw it until today I would watch every episode. It is unlike any other show. It's timeless and engaging in the best kind of way. Some people Love the Tim Burton movies, others are comic-only fans, while some others are fans of the Christian Bale films, but in my humble opinion, this is the Dark Knight at his purest. This is Batman.

List of possible reviews to come:

Yes, I have decided to start reviewing as I planned, and here's a list, to whomever is interested, of what's to come:

Batman: The Animated Series Boxset review. (as well as episode reviews to follow later-on)
Mattel DC Universe Classics figures.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen figure reviews. (undetermined)
Video Game Review. (undetermined)

That should be more-or-less the first reviews I do, not specifically in that order. Stay tuned.

Reviews, Retorts and Reveals...

My name is Nigel. Now that we're on a first name basis, let me clue you in as to just what will be taking place here.

Since I really have no good reason for creating a blog, (seeing as only a very select few would even have interest in it) and having just created a blog I feel obligated to post some sort of introduction into my whimsical machinations, that may or may not transgress here, as fair warning to the faint of heart, I feel obliged to at least give some form of list to what I have in store for my future blogging endeavours:

Reviews: I review all kinds of stuff. I'm a collector, and I review collectibles, movies, games, toys, TV shows, cartoons and other hobbies and means of escape.

Retorts: Because I'm such a huge intarwebs fan boy my views will no doubt contrast with someone at some point. For those who are protective of their E-peen, fear not, for I will only post mild, off-hand remarks and comments at worst, and mostly offer my own opinion on current events and pop-culture, if I feel the need is great enough. The last thing I want is to make this a troll blog.

Reveals: I'm also an aspiring writer, visual artist and animator, but I pride myself on being anything but inexperienced in these fields. I will, on occasion, be posting samples of my writing and animation, as well as sketches, drafts and finished artwork as a sort of public portfolio.

But of course, this is my blog and I may just post whatever I find particularly interesting or worthy of mention to anyone outside my social life. And with those as my closing words, to the possible three individuals who may ever see this blog, I bid good day.