Art for April - "Terror Sprite"

It has been a while since I shared any of my own art with my readers. The truth is I don't draw as often as I once did, and have only recently picked up pen & paper to make some creations of my own. Before I share this latest little horror/fantasy creature though I'd like to give you a little background on my talents as an artist ... Like most aspiring artists I did have had an influence in my life, growing up. My biological mother was an artist, and nurtured my creativity from behind-the-scenes after I was adopted at a young age, and further on as I grew up out of her care. In school, particularly the middle school, and high school years I began to get serious about my talents, and took some art classes to better understand the field of art. Despite learning the basics, and being taught that art is governed by guidelines I went astray, and created my own unique style. This style, for the most part included a more dark, and sinister tone filled with Hellraiser-like monstrosities. Keep in mind though that I hadn't watched a single Hellraiser film until recently. My hellish creations were definitely my own in that sense. I particularly enjoyed dabbling in pen & ink with added red ink highlights for the blood, and gore effects. One subject that really captured my attention, and inspired me throughout my artistic growth was the female body. I drew a lot of female creatures, and characters leaving the male figure to be my weak point in the field of anatomy ...

Shovel Knight (PS3/PS4/PS VITA)

Imagine, if you will a game that takes everything that was great in the 8-Bit glory days including the chiptune music, the 8-Bit 2D graphics, and the puzzle platforming greatness from a few well known series. Put it all together in a virtual rock tumbler, and out pours "Shovel Knight". This game, which obviously takes tribute material from games like 'Castlevania', 'Mega Man', The Legend of Zelda II: A Link to the Past', and 'Super Mario Bros. 3' presents it's gameplay in an innovative yet comparative new way. You'll find in place a map not unlike the one in 'Super Mario Bros. 3', towns with vendors like those found in 'Legend of Zelda II', and platforming level designs that are a mixture of the 'Castlevania' series, and the 'Mega Man' series combined. Outside of all of those similarities lies a simple yet engaging story that features a protagonist known simply as, "Shovel Knight'. After an adventuring mishap with his female companion, 'Shield Knight' this treasure hunter of sorts finds himself at a crossroads of choices that is abruptly interrupted by the invasion of an Enchantress, and her knights of the "Order of no quarter". Once again, as the hero of his own tale the valiant knight takes up his trusty shovel, and sets out on an adventure of a lifetime in order to find out what happened to his partner while dealing with the threat of his newly found adversaries.

MTG Legacy Collection - Chandra Nalaar (FUNKO)

Funko toys have been super busy branching out, and capturing various video game, film, and book related characters with their noteworthy toy molds. This ever growing list of quality toys includes, but is not limited to "The Ghostbusters", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Diablo", and "Magic the Gathering" amongst many others. It's hard to keep up with all that's offered, but there is definitely a lot to choose from in regards to standard, and limited edition variations. As for me I've picked up a figure here, and there that interest me. I've bought Batman POP! Vinyls, Attack on Titan POP! Vinyls, and even have some Hatsune Miku POP! Vinyls. Upon seeing the MTG Funko POPs, and their action figure spin-offs in the Funko Legacy Collection though I knew I eventually wanted to pick up some up for my growing collection as that is collectible that greatly accents a game I love. For those of you who do not know of the "Legacy Collection" figures they are basically Funko's answer to the McFarlane line of toys. They are well crafted, and usually sport a decent paint job. While the figures don't span as many subjects, or characters as McFarlane's has Funko is building upon what they have to offer, and will no doubt be a mainstream action figure brand in no time. Currently I know of the "Game of Thrones" figures, and the "Magic the Gathering" series which features well known Planeswalkers.

Let's Talk - "Mortal Kombat X"

I had a lot of hopes riding on the release of 'Mortal Kombat X'. I hoped that it's new character variation system would be a blessing to the fighting game genre, and I hoped that it would revive my faith in the gaming genre that I grew up loving. Unfortunately as I poured hours of time into back to back playthroughs experiencing all that the game had to offer it became evident that MKX was to be another casualty in the growing trend of development half-assery. Everything from the story, to the actual kombat in the offline, and online scenarios suffered a fate worse than death. It was obvious that despite the effort put forth to push the graphics, and to make the variation system work that the game was lacking in so many ways. The roster, for one was so unbalanced with characters doing different amounts of damage per attacks, and throws that it made for a less than fair fight. That coupled with the button input delays in both the offline, and online environments only acted to add salt to the growing wound.

Omega Quintet (PS4)

When I first caught word of this PS4 exclusive I was truly excited. It marked the first time an Idea Factory Intl./Compile Heart game would be coming to new-gen consoles, specifically the PS4. I immediately looked up the game's trailer to see what it was about, and the intro sequence that was shown really captured my attention. I liked the darker appearance of the enemies, and the unique concept that girls with pop idol talents would be the heroines to take on the ominous threat. At the time I had no idea how things would play out regarding the story, and battle, but once I got my hands on a review copy of the game It all began to make sense, in a wacky RPG sort of way.