In this edition of The Clairvoyant: *** THERE’S STILL TIME to get our Who Gives a Hoot assortment before Valentine’s Day — plus get 15% Off on all our other items! *** read on below to find out more.
Our “Who Gives a Hoot” Valentine’s assortment (an almost $50 value for $35) is available and ready to ship right now to your Valentine — click here to get it right now and look below to save when you do!
Did someone mention 15% Off???… Finneas says Cupid whispered in his ear… “Wands and Wizard Wears for everyone”. Visit alivans.com and save 15% on all wands and Wizard Wears right now. Just enter coupon code HOTHOTHOT in the redeem box during checkout and we will automatically deduct 15% off of your order (good through 2/7/11).
Magically,
Finneas Alivan
P.S. Super cool house pins and patches make wonderful additions to jackets, bags, shirts and more. See them in many styles and all house colors by clicking here!
VIZ Media will release the 50th volume of the Naruto manga (graphic novel) series on February 1st. The newest adventure of the bestselling series — Water Prison Death Match — will be published under the company’s Shonen Jump imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 / $12.99 CAN.
Killer Bee vs. Kisame! Plus, the realization of Naruto’s worst nightmare seems inevitable as the war he’s tried to stop for so long looms on the horizon. And Sakura corners Naruto with a reveal that’s going knock him for a serious loop. Then, a truth behind the modern ninja world sheds new light on Naruto’s true role in the fate of his universe.
Created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto was first introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens and has sold more than 85 million copies to-date. The manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens) and animated counterpart (Naruto rated ‘T’ for Teens, and Naruto: Shippuden rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) are among VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North America, Europe and South America.
Naruto: Shippuden anime episodes are also currently available for free at Naruto.com and through a variety of other web-based, video streaming outlets that have partnered with VIZ Media, including iTunes, Joost and Hulu.
For more information on Naruto please visit the official website at Naruto.com.
Universal Monsters are very popular amongst sci-fi afficionados, and there have always been Universal Monsters-based toys that have allowed them to share that interest with their sons, but, until recently, their daughters have been largely left out. The launch of Mattel’s Monster High franchise gives the classic screen icons a “freakishly fabulous” make-over that finally welcomes girls into the monster club. Monster High’s characters are the trendy teenage offspring of monster legends, and attend a school full of students whose supernatural heritage has resulted in such unusual physical traits as green skin, fur, fangs, and pointed ears.
The highlight of the Monster High toy line is a collection of plush dolls, its first and second waves including a selection of the most popular Monster High students:
Lagoona Blue, daughter of the Creature from the Black Lagoon
The dolls come in “Friends” box sets with their signature pets: Frankie Stein & Watzit (franken-dog), Draculaura & Count Fabulous (bat), Clawdeen Wolf & Crescent (kitten), Cleo De Nile & Hissette (Egyptian cobra), Deuce Gorgon & Perseus (two-tailed rat), and Lagoona Blue & Neptuna (piranha). Cute profiles on the boxes’ back panels give background info on each of the pets, written from the pets’ point of view.
If you’ve read Coraline, Neil Gaiman’s creepy children’s novel, then the Monster High plush dolls, with their big button eyes, will immediately remind you of the book. Their sewn-on eyes are friendly looking, though, unlike the Other Mother’s sinister black buttons. Also, instead of being made of hard and shiny plastic, they’re sculptured on with soft, embroidered thread, as are the entire faces of all the dolls and pets. The embroidery adds to the folksy charm of these ragdoll-style toys, and the stitched-together look seems appropriate to monsters, especially since one of them is a Frankenstein’s Monster. While traditional ragdolls are usually fairly basic in design, the Monster High dolls are lavished with detail. They have full heads of thick, multicoloured yarn, the strands tacked into place for some of the more elaborate hairdos. Their outfits, which look like miniaturized sets of real clothes, are made of a variety of materals, trimmed with fur and other accents. Clawdeen Wolf even has tiny loops of ribbon sewn into the edges of her ears to recreate her gold hoop earrings. These dolls are almost as enjoyable to touch as they are to look at, and the only real complaint to be made is that Deuce Gorgon’s snake-hair is reduced to a tuft of green yarn instead of recognizable snakes. (Granted, plush micro-snakes are probably difficult to produce.) At ten inches high, the dolls are big enough to be huggable, yet still small enough to be easily toted around. The pets are a fair size, but if you’re giving the toys to younger children, you may want to tether the pets to their friends with a yarn leash so that they don’t go astray.
In addition to the plush dolls, Monster High features a line of fashion dolls that are similar in appearance to Bratz dolls, their articulated limbs removable to allow for quick and easy fashion changes. Each doll comes with a plastic pet figurine, spooky fashion accessory, skull hairbrush, doll stand for posing and display, and a diary written by the character. Wave 1 consists of the same six monsters that appear in plush form, with couple Cleo De Nile and Deuce Gorgon paired together in a gift set. Wave 2 adds two new characters: Ghoulia Yelps (daughter of Zombies) & Sir Hoots A Lot (owl), and Holt Hyde (son of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/alter ego of Jackson Jekyll) & Crossfade (chameleon). As in all fashion doll lines, there are themed variants, such as “Dawn of the Dance” (Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo De Nile) and “Gloom Beach” (Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura, Cleo De Nile, Jackson Jekyll); separate fashion packs, such as the “School Spirit Uniforms” (Clawdeen Wolf — soccer, Deuce Gorgon — casketball, Frankie Stein — fearleading, Lagoona Blue — surfing); and playsets, like Frankie Stein’s Mirror Bed and Draculaura’s Jewelry Box Coffin. Every bit as detailed and elaborately dressed as their plush versions, the Monster High fashion dolls will appeal to both adult collectors and mini-geeks.
In the age of the Internet, Monster High isn’t just about the toys, of course. An immersive, sign-up website at monsterhigh.com allows junior monsters to register at Monster High, meet and interact with its famous students, explore the campus, participate in school activities, play several games, and download music, wallpapers, buddy icons, and a ringtone. Special codes, obtained from toy packaging or hidden locations on the website, unlock even more content. Best of all, the website hosts an animated Monster High web series. The webisodes are brief but very entertaining, and can be viewed on the Monster High YouTube Channel, as well. Of higher quality than a lot of cartoons on TV, this is a show that parents can actually enjoy watching with their little ghouls. (Episode 1 is “Jaundice Brothers”.) The Monster High Fright Song music video is also posted on YouTube, its upbeat lyrics encouraging everyone to embrace their “freaky chic ‘n’ fly” differences.
Perhaps of greatest importance to geek parents is that Monster High promotes reading, with a tie-in series of novels that’s fun and prepares geeks-in-training for when they’re old enough to read Dracula and Frankenstein. The debut book, simply titled Monster High, deviates somewhat from the web series, but since it’s a prequel of sorts, chronicling Frankie Stein’s creation and arrival at school, it may eventually synch up with the web series in future volumes. The book’s reading level is aimed more at teens than the tweens that the toys are primarily targeted at, so it’s recommended that you preview it before giving it to young readers, to make sure that it’s appropriate for them. Monster High: The Ghoul Next Door continues right where the original story paused at a frightful cliffhanger, and is set to be published on April 5.
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will delight shojo manga (graphic novel) fans with the release of Arina Tanemura’s Mistress Fortune on February 1st. The new single-volume story will be published under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.
Fourteen-year-old Kisaki Tachibana has psychic powers. She works for PSI, a secret government agency that fights aliens. She’s in love with her partner Giniro, but PSI won’t allow operatives to get involved. Just when Kisaki thinks she may be getting closer to Giniro, she finds out she’s going to be transferred to California!
“We’re excited to release Mistress Fortune for current and new fans alike,” says Nancy Thistlethwaite, Editor. “Arina Tanemura pulled from her experience of visiting San Francisco, the home of VIZ Media, as well as San Diego Comic-Con for this manga. Her huge following of readers here will have fun with this story that takes place in both Japan and the United States.”
Arina Tanemura began her manga career in 1996 when her short stories debuted in Ribon magazine. She gained fame with the 1997 publication of I.O.N, and ever since her debut, Tanemura has remained a major force in shojo manga with popular series Time Stranger Kyoko, Full Moon, and The Gentlemen’s Alliance † (all published by VIZ Media). Full Moon and another Tanemura manga, Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne, have also been adapted into animated TV series.
For more information on Mistress Fortune, please visit ShojoBeat.com.
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the North American debut of the Japanese sci-fi novel, Mardock Scramble, on January 18th. The novel, written by Tow Ubukata, will be published under the company’s Haikasoru imprint and will carry an MSRP of $17.99 U.S. / $21.00 CAN.
Haikasoru is VIZ Media’s unique literary imprint with a dedicated focus on publishing some of the most compelling contemporary Japanese science fiction and fantasy for English-speaking audiences.
Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Rune-Balot, would ever have… as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for the self-aware All-Purpose Tool (and little yellow mouse) known as Oeufcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot is not only nigh-invulnerable, but has the ability to disrupt electrical systems of all sorts. But even these powers may not be enough for Balot to deal with Shell, who offloads his memories to remain above the law, the immense assassin Dimsdale-Boiled, or the neon-noir streets of Mardock City itself.
“Author Tow Ubukata won the prestigious Japan SF Award for Mardock Scramble in 2003, and the book also inspired an acclaimed feature-length animated film by director Susumu Kudo,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru’s editor. “We’re very excited to kick off 2011 with this cyberpunk epic that has has sold over half a million copies to-date in Japan.”
Born in Gifu prefecture in 1977, Tow Ubukata was exposed to a blend of cultures from early childhood until the age of fourteen, having lived in Singapore and Nepal because of his father’s work. In 1996, while still in college, Ubukata won the first Sneaker Taisho Gold Prize for his light novel Black Season. In 2003, he won the Nihon SF Taisho Award for Mardock Scramble, originally published as a three-volume series. He has also been involved in a wide range of projects including anime production for Fafner, video game production, and original content writing for comics such as Le Chevalier D’Eon. His other published works include the Bye-Bye Earth and Spiegel novel series. In 2009, he published his first historical novel, Tenchi Meisatsu, which focused on a mathematician of the Edo period.
For more information on Haikasoru, please visit the dedicated website at Haikasoru.com.
Don’t miss the very special one-night-only screening of Gantz, premiering at 333 theatres across the U.S. and presented by NCM Fathom and NEW PEOPLE, on Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. MT / 8:30 p.m. PT (tape delayed). The sci-fi thriller, which is based on a hit anime/manga series, is opening in the U.S. nine days ahead of its wide release in Japan on January 29th.
Tickets (for all locations except Hollywood, CA) are available at participating theater box offices and online at FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit the web site (theaters and participants are subject to change).
As part of the release, NEW PEOPLE will welcome Gantz lead actors Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City), for an in-person appearance for the premiere of the film at the Mann’s Chinese 6 in Hollywood, CA. Immediately following the Gantz screening, Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias will conduct a live interview session with Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama that will be telecast to theatres across the country. Fans have the opportunity to submit questions for the actors at GantzMovies.com.
Kazunari Ninomiya, best known in America for his role in Clint Eastwood’s 2006 blockbuster, Letters from Iwo Jima, is both an actor and a singer. He is also world-renowned as a member of the Japanese boy band “Arashi,” which topped Japan’s music charts in 2009 with the three best-selling singles. Kenichi Matsuyama is currently one of the most sought-after actors in Japanese film and he has won several awards including Japanese Academy Awards Best New Actor (2007) and Most Popular Actor (2009). Matsuyama is widely recognized for his part as L in Death Note (2006), Death Note II: the Last Name (2006) and Death Note: L, change the WorLd (2008) and also for his portrayal of Johannes Krauser II in the outlandish rock and roll comedy, Detroit Metal City (2009).
Gantz (English dubbed) is based on a hit manga series created by Hiroya Oku and tells the story of childhood friends Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, who are accidentally killed while trying to save another man’s life. Rather than find themselves in the hereafter, however, they awaken in a strange apartment in which they find a mysterious black orb they come to know as “GANTZ.” Along with similar abductees, they are provided with equipment and weaponry and manipulated into playing a kind of game in which they are sent back out to the greater world to do battle with alien beings, all while never quite knowing whether this game is an illusion or their new reality.
VIZ Media announces the launch of MÄR (rated ‘T’ for Teens) available on VIZAnime.com, the company’s premier website for anime, as well as the streaming content provider Hulu (Hulu.com), starting on Monday January 17th.
VIZAnime.com and Hulu will stream for FREE episodes 1-5 of MÄR (subtitled). Two additional FREE new episodes will launch each Monday.
MÄR is based on the hit manga series by Nobuyuki Anzai (creator also of Flame of Recca), published in North America by VIZ Media. An ordinary middle-school boy with an overactive imagination, Ginta Toramizu dreams about fairy tales and make-believe lands. One day at school, a gate appears and he enters the World of MÄR, the world of his dreams. Within the World of MÄR exist ÄRM: accessories with unique powers. Soon, Ginta stumbles upon Babbo, an ÄRM that can speak, and learns that he has been summoned to this mythical world to stop the Chess Pieces, a group of rogue soldiers, from destroying the World of MÄR. Now part of Team MÄR, Ginta and Babbo fight in War Games against the Chess Pieces to save the MÄR World. But will Ginta’s mission be compromised by his ally’s secrets?
To learn more about MÄR anime and manga series, please visit VIZAnime.com or ShonenSunday.com (free Chapter 1 manga preview available).
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, is proud to announce that ten of its manga (graphic novel) titles have been selected by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) as among 2011’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens. The annual list highlights titles that exemplify the quality and range of graphic novels appropriate for teen audiences. The books, recommended by the association for those aged 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.
Among these, Saturn Apartments, which is published by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint, was ranked among YALSA’s 2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens. For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the U.S. leader in selecting books, videos and audio books for teens.
VIZ Media titles featured on the 2011 YALSA Graphic Novel list include:
Afterschool Charisma Vol. 1 by Kumiko Sukane
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
At St. Kleio Academy, all of the students are clones of famous historical figures. Are the clones doomed to repeat the fate of their genetic progenitors, or can they create their own destinies?
Biomega Vol. 1 by Tsutomu Nihei
Rated ‘M’ for Mature
In a nightmare vision of the future, the N5S virus has swept across the earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like drones! Zoichi Kanoe is humanity’s last hope, and he’s not even human!
Bokurano: Ours Vol. 1 by Mohiro Kitoh
Rated ‘M’ for Mature
Saving the world is hard. Saving yourself is even harder.
Cross Game Vol. 1 by Mitsuru Adachi
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
A poignant coming-of-age centered around a boy named Ko, the family of four sisters who live down the street, and the game of baseball!
House of Five Leaves Vol. 1 by Natsume Ono
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
An out-of-work samurai finds himself drawn into a mysterious gang known as the Five Leaves.
Library Wars: Love & War Vol. 1
Original concept by Hiro Arikawa; manga story and art by Kiiro Yumi
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and form a military group to defend themselves — the Library Forces!
Maou: Juvenile Remix Vol. 1
Original story by Kotara Isaka; manga story and art by Megumi Osuga
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
What do you do when the city’s savior is actually a devil in disguise…?
Natsume’s Book of Friends Vol. 1 by Yuki Midorikawa
Rated ‘T’ for Teens
Natsume can see the spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. Moving to the small town where his grandmother grew up, he discovers that he has inherited more than just the Sight from the mysterious Rieko.
not simple by Natsume Ono
Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
A young man with a fractured family history travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister.
Saturn Apartments Vol. 1 by Hisae Iwaoka
Rated ‘T’ for Teens A Top 10 Selection
A touching, character-rich vision of an intriguing new world. Mitsu takes on his late father’s dangerous job as a window washer on the Ring circling the earth where all humans have been relocated…
“YALSA is the leader in recommending high-quality literature, including books and media, and we are very gratified to have so many of our titles featured on the organization’s latest list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens,” says Brian Piech, Senior Director, Marketing, VIZ Media. “Millions of teens read manga from their local school and public libraries each week, and we hope these selections give librarians and their patrons a trusted resource for some of the best and latest from the exciting world of manga.”
For more information on these and other VIZ Media manga titles, please visit: viz.com.
Greetings, friends… Didn’t get everything you wanted from Alivan’s this Christmas? Get it now PLUS A FREE GIFT when you do (read on to find out more) — Click here to shop now.
We want to be sure you get everything you wanted (and with no thank you notes to write). Visit us at alivans.com, spend $30, enter coupon code FREEGRYFF in the Redeem box during checkout… and receive a FREE Gryffindor POA House scarf. That’s right… spend just $30 and receive a FREE GRYFFINDOR SCARF (now through 1/18/11).
And don’t forget any time you order 2 or more of our magic wands you get completely FREE SHIPPING. That is in addition to the FREE SCARF you receive when you use the coupon code above.
Magically,
Finneas Alivan
P.S. Embroidered house patches (and pins) make great additions to robes, sweaters, and more. They are available in all four houses and Hogwarts as well!
VIZ Media rings in 2011 and expands its current anime promotion on iTunes in the U.S. (iTunes.com) to include the premieres of Buso Renkin and Vampire Knight Guilty. To celebrate the debuts, you can download the first full episode of both series for FREE from now thru February 1st. All subsequent episodes are available to rent for only $0.99 each, or to own for only $1.99 each.
Buso Renkin (rated TV-14) is based on a popular 10-volume manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin) and introduces audiences to Kazuki Muto, a high school student who thinks he’s saving a girl from a monster, but it turns out that he’s the one who needs saving! Kazuki is stabbed and killed while fighting a homunculus, a malevolent creature that feeds on humans. A girl, Tokiko Tsumura, revives him by replacing his heart with an alchemical device called a kakugane. With this device, Kazuki can create his own Buso Renkin, a powerful alchemical weapon in the form of a huge lance, capable of destroying homunculi. With his new weapon, Kazuki decides to join forces with Tokiko to eliminate the evil homunculi and destroy their master, the strange and eccentric Papillon Masked Creator!
Vampire Knight Guilty (rated TV-14) is the second season of the hit gothic romance based on the bestselling manga series about a high school populated by a class of vampires. Yuki is torn between the two people she cares for most when Zero is accused of Shizuka Hio’s murder and Kaname refuses to attest to his innocence. Drawn deeper into the world of vampires, Yuki struggles to recall the events of ten years earlier but fails time and again. Kaname evades Yuki’s questions about the past, but when her visions of blood grow more frequent and intense, the past may come to light whether she wants it to or not!
For more information on these and other animated titles from VIZ Media, please visit VIZAnime.com.
VIZ Media has announced the release of the final installment of Rumiko Takahashi’s longtime bestselling manga (graphic novel) series, InuYasha, on January 11th. Fans won’t want to miss even a single page of the action in Volume 56, Curtain of Time, which is rated “T+” for Older Teens and carries an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. InuYasha is published under VIZ Media’s Shonen Sunday imprint.
Kagome, a modern-day high school girl, is pulled into Japan’s ancient past! There, her destiny is linked to a dog-eared half demon named InuYasha. Together, they battle evil demons who seek to acquire the shards of the legendary Shikon Jewel and wield its incredible power. But can Kagome and InuYasha stop feuding with each other long enough to save the feudal or modern world — let alone both?
In the climactic showdown, the demon Naraku’s true intentions are finally revealed! Then, Kagome is swallowed up by the Meido. Is she finally beyond her friends’ reach? And will the final battle over the Shikon Jewel draw InuYasha and Kagome together… or pull them apart forever?! Find out in the exciting concluding volume!
The spotlight on manga creator Rumiko Takahashi began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan’s annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another — Maison Ikkoku ran from 1980 to 1987, Ranma ½ from 1987 to 1996, and InuYasha from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include Mermaid Saga, Rumic Theater, and One-Pound Gospel. These, as well as her newest manga series, Rin-ne, are also published in North America by VIZ Media.
Also catch InuYasha anime episodes — for free — on VIZAnime.com.
More information on InuYasha, or other Shonen Sunday titles from VIZ Media, is available at ShonenSunday.com.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) fans (or MSTies for short) have been waiting a long time for this game, and I think I speak for all of them when I say it was well worth the wait. When J. Allen Williams first came up with the idea of creating a game, he called in his friends and started the decade-long labor of love that is DARKSTAR. It’s not just a game though, it’s an interactive movie, with your decisions leading to various outcomes, some continuing the story and others bringing you to a dead end (sometimes literally).
As Captain O’Neil, you’ve just awoken from a 312-year sleep that has robbed you of all of your memories, including your identity. You immediately discover a gruesome murder, a sleeping beauty and a missing shipmate. As you begin to explore your surroundings, you discover things about yourself, your crewmates and your mission. You also discover something has gone very, very wrong.
DARKSTAR is similar to the King’s Quest or Myst games in feel and style of play, and features high-quality graphics and textures. There is a mixture of interactive environments, exploration and puzzles, but it’s the video that really sets it apart from traditional adventure games of this style. Hours of video woven throughout turn it from a game into an interactive movie. One of the key parts of the story is a series of short, historical films that have been created for your mission, to be presented at your final destination. These films document the reason for your mission and stress the importance of your success. I can’t give much more information than that without providing spoilers, but I can say that the films are broken up into pieces and you can only access it as you unlock different parts of the game, typically by activating or restoring power to a part of the ship. Each of these, if you pay close attention, will provide hints and clues that will help you with the next step of your exploration.
At first, I found myself spending a lot of time exploring, but not accomplishing much. Then I realized I wasn’t looking hard enough. There are many hidden items, hidden clues and hidden panels. Once you find a few, you start to know where to look and will progress faster. Because there are so many variable outcomes of the game, based on where you explore and in what order, you may miss a large amount of the game without realizing it the first time around. I took a look at the All Revealed Guide (which is in PDF format) and realized that there are several videos I missed out on, especially relating to SIMON, the ship’s smarmy maintenance robot. I was having a bit of a problem with my video being choppy (more on that later) and at one key point, I missed out on an interaction with SIMON that affects his appearances throughout the game. The lesson I learned was that if the game seems to pause, don’t start clicking right away; give it a moment just in case it’s changing from a stationary scene to an animated one.
On that note, I should point out my video-related issues with the game. Here’s my specs:
Windows XP Pro, Service Pack 3
NVidia GeForce 8200 Motherboard with integrated graphics
AMD Athlon 64×2 Dual Core 5000+ (2.6Ghz)
3.25 GB RAM (XPs limit)
When I first installed the game, I couldn’t play it. I would receive an error message during the splash screen that informed me that iShell had crashed. I tried visiting the website for help but, at the time, there wasn’t any information there or patches available to fix the issue. I spent a few days off doing some web searches and the best suggestion I found was to roll back Quicktime. I uninstalled Quicktime (I was running 7.6.8) and reinstalled 6.0, and then installed updates up to version 7.6.5. The game finally ran properly but still had a few hesitations when switching to a video or animated scene. I saved the game frequently and it helped relieve the stress of lost progress in case of game crashing. I did discover that Quicktime tries to automatically update to the newest version, so while you are playing the game, it may interfere with your iTunes account. Hopefully they will be able to patch this soon, as I did have to go through the process of rolling back Quicktime several times because I had other multimedia programs that required the latest version.
Other than the video issue, which I finally figured out, I had no problems with the game and truly enjoyed playing it. It took me a little longer than I thought it would, but part of that is because I took the time to zoom in on what I’d consider Easter Eggs in the game, such as the bookshelves and personal items in the crew’s cabins. While SIMON’s room is blatantly an homage to MST3K, as is SIMON himself, there are lots of other more subtle touches throughout the game, but if you have no previous knowledge of the MST3K universe, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. Well, maybe you will a little bit, but hopefully that will just encourage you to learn more about the DARKSTAR folks and their previous and current projects.
In addition to the 13 hours of video, the soundtrack includes 38 compositions featuring several genres of music. Much of the music is ambient with a dark, brooding and ominous feel, but you’ll also find classical piano scores in a few “scenes”, and the battles and other action sequences are backed by high-power rock. As my cohort here at ÜberSciFiGeek said, “The soundtrack is great! It has a hint of heavy metal sound that gets the adrenaline pumping, without being distracting.”
DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie for PC and Macintosh
2-disc Sountrack Album with 38 songs by Progressive Sound and MetalWorx
PDF downloads of the All Revealed Guide and DARKSTAR Coffee Table Book
Pre-printed (not hand-signed) Cast Glossy
XL DARKSTAR T-Shirt
The All Revealed Guide definitely came in handy. While I tried playing most of the game without it, I did have to check through it a few times to see what I was doing wrong. It listed events out of the order in which I explored the ship, so I did get a few spoilers that I wasn’t looking for. Since it’s a PDF picture format, you can’t search for keywords, so be careful because you may see something you don’t want to know yet! If you stumble through DARKSTAR the first time around without the guide, check it out for your second round of gameplay to make sure you get to see all the cool death scenes and Easter Eggs you may have missed.
The DARKSTAR Coffee Table Book may be a PDF file, but it looks like one of those “The Art of…” movie books you see for Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of DARKSTAR and includes some beautiful images that I can imagine on high-gloss, archive quality paper. I think some of them should be available as prints, they are so impressive. In addition to images of the creation process, you’ll find information about the cast and crew and all the hard work that went into creating DARKSTAR. I think maybe they should make this available on Amazon or some other Print-on-Demand service. It’s really a gorgeous book and, as much as I love my computer, nothing beats holding a real book in your hands.
The Cast Glossy and T-Shirt are a nice bonus. The photos are high-quality photos printed on heavy card stock and the black t-shirt is made of 100% cotton, nice and thick — not the flimsy stuff you often find printed shirts made of. It’s sure to stand up to lots of wear and washing.
The only thing about DARKSTAR that needs improvement, as my cohort pointed out, is that the game is packaged in a large, bulky case with both discs on one side, resting directly on each other, instead of a 2-disc streamline case. While most games include printed material, and the larger case would be perfect for holding that stuff, everything is digital with this game so it takes up more space on your bookshelf than it really needs to and you have to be a bit more careful not to scratch a disc while removing one to get to the other.
Overall, DARKSTAR is a fun and funny game, and a fabulous addition to any adventure gamer or sci-fi geek’s collection. Unlike most games where, once you play it, you put it away, the film-like aspect, hours of footage, and multiple outcomes, death scenes and other scenarios ensure that you’ll most likely play this game several times and, rather than give it away, tell your friends to get their own copy.
