Welcome to the first annual Club Ninja Year-In-Review for 2007! I'm your webmaster and host Mani, and joining me is my co-host, Leo the Rat. We are coming at you from sunny Margalisse in the southern Illordian province of Crescent for today's festivities!
It's been an interesting twelve months, to say the least. There have been many ups and downs for all of us, but we're here to bring you the random odds and ends that have affected us over at Club Ninja for 2007
And now, without further ado, we bring you the Club Ninja Year-In-Review for 2007! Let's get to it, Leo!
"Wait a sec...
what exactly am I getting out of this again?"
Let's see, as per our contract, you get to raid my kitchen, as well as that bottle of Pepe' Lopez Tequila that's sitting in my cabinet. Also, I owe you a picture of, and I quote, "some anthropomorphic bitch" at some point.
"And my
interview?"
I just heard back from Natalie, and she says that she can get you on The Firebrand Files, no problem.
"Keh, hells yeah.
Let's do this thing!"
Game of the Year: Guitar Hero III
One simply cannot deny the sheer joy that comes from rocking out to Guitar
Hero III. This game broke records and destroyed boundaries, as even the
most die-hard non-gamers took interest in the franchise. I had dabbled with
the games a bit in the past, but it wasn't until #3 where I found myself
hooked. Who knew that trying to perfect the riffs to Barracuda and
facing off against Heaven's most infamous fallen angel in a rock rendition of The
Devil Went Down to Georgia would be so addictive?
Oh, and Judy Nails is hot. You know this to be true.
Runner Up: Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I found myself playing this more than
THQ's latest WWE offering. By far the deepest wrestling game in the history
of, well, history, you could easily be playing this one for years to come.
It's a little difficult to track down, but if you're a fan, I highly recommend
checking it out. And a price tag of less than $20? Go get it, and start
body-slamming suckers.
Movie of the Year: '300'
"SPARTANS! Prepare for glory!"
After reading the graphic novel, and especially after seeing the first trailer, I knew that this movie had a lot to live up to. I mean, A LOT. Hype was at obscene levels, and deep down inside, I think everyone had to wonder, could this movie deliver?
Oh. Hell. Yes.
This may be the manliest movie ever made. Even with that distinction, 300 manages to deliver an epic story that, despite us knowing exactly how it's going to turn out, we can't help but hang on every scene and hope that maybe, just maybe, they'll pull out of this. It has managed to achieve, in my eyes, that perfect balance between an engaging story and balls-to-the-wall action that makes you want to run out into the parking lot and start flipping cars over the moment the movie is over. And I also can't think of the last movie to encourage a generation of men to get into the best shape of their natural lives, because dammit if them jokers weren't ripped.
Runner Up: 'Transformers'
It was a good year for living up to the hype. Transformers had set
a new benchmark for high expectations, as they were not only trying to please
the summer blockbuster crowd, but AN ENTIRE FREAKING GENERATION of fans. And
good God, did it deliver. What is the sound of a hundred geeks having an
orgasm? Just hang around a theater and listen the first time we catch a
glimpse of Optimus Prime.
Also, this was the first appearance of the infamous Cloverfield trailer. And truly, who can deny the coolness of that?
Sports Shock Of The Year: Chris
Benoit
I don't think that there's anything else that needs to be
said about this one.
Runner Up: Michael Vick's Fall From Grace
Leo?
"I swear to
goodness, I'd bite you right square on the nads if I still had rabies. And Leo
don't go near nobody's nads. You should write a book- 'How To Piss Away A
Fortune By Being A Dumb Ass'. And anybody that claims that they didn't know
that this was wrong needs to be made to knife-fight in Tijuana for room and
board. Jackass."
Thank you, Leo!
Biggest Gaming News: Capcom Learns
To Count To 4
Street Fighter 4 is formally announced. In a totally unrelated news
story, several million 2D fanatics begin touching themselves in an
inappropriate manner. It's been way too long since Capcom has put out a new
fighting game, but to finally hear the news that SF4 is on the way brought a
tear to the eyes of an entire generation. We've still got some time before it
comes out, seeing as it's only 2% complete right now. But man oh man, that 2%
looks sweet...
Runner Up: Soul Calibur 4 Is Announced.
Apparently '4' was a popular number this year. Of course the announcement that Yoda and Darth Vader would be selectable
characters almost pushed this to the top spot, but even so, we can't deny the
awesomeness of Street Fighter 4 being confirmed. That being said, I
certainly can't wait to unleash horrible amounts of Voldo-related suffering
upon my fellow man (and woman!) in a few months.
Biggest Personal News: Mani's
Getting Married!
And hell gets just a teensy bit colder! Well, it's not like
I totally ruled out the possibility of marriage in my life, but I'm glad to have finally
been able to find The One (TM). It's still pretty surreal to me, but I find
myself getting more and more excited as June approaches.
"In the time that
I've known this bastard, I can't say that I've seen him this happy. It's a
little scary at times. Cristi's good for him, and has to be a freakin' saint
to put up with his rampant nerdiness. She went to friggin' Dragon*Con with the
man, for the love of humanity! If that's not love, then I really wanna know
what love is. And if any of you start singing that damned song, I swear to
goodness, I'm gonna shank somebody. Bite me, 'Foreigner'..."
Er, thank you, Leo!
Runner Up: Getting back to work on Glenshire
Abbey.
Oh sure, I could talk about getting promoted at work, which, don't
get me wrong, is a pretty big deal to me. Even so, I'd be remiss if I didn't
mention my newly-rekindled vigor for Glenshire Abbey. It's been on the
backburner a bit for these past few months, but thanks to a little
brainstorming with some of the guys, I haven't been this excited about the
project in a loooong time. There's been a huge change in the system, and I
can't wait until we finally are able to bring this to the masses. Expect some
announcements in the very near future!
Favorite New Picture: Fae
I have to say that I've been very pleased with my progression as an artist over the past year. I'm proud of everything that I've managed to create over these past twelve months, but there's a special place in my heart for this one. To me, Fae physically represents the changes I've gone through as an artist over the years. To me, this was the sort of picture that I would have taken a look at years ago, and hope that one day I'd be able to do something like it. I don't know if it was the colors, the usage of the entire field, the creation of several background elements purely in Photoshop, or what... the bottom line is that I consider this to be my most complete picture to date, and I most certainly plan to use this as my springboard for future works.
Runner
Up: Deliah
Man, it was tough trying to choose my favorite runner-up, as I've got love for all of them! Nonetheless, I've taken quite a liking to this particular one, not specificially for Deliah (though I am quite pleased with her skin tone), but for a lot of the surrounding elements. This was probably the first time I really tried to concern myself with everything around a character, really thinking about the piece as a product of its various parts. I certainly thought that it brought a little more personality to the table, so to speak. Also, I still think that texture I did on the wood table kicks a whole lotta ass.
"I'm quite
partial to Fae myself, since she's about my height. That, and those
fairy-ladies are some serious freaks. You ever had one do a 'Tinkerbell
Surprise' to you? "
Er, I can't say that I have, actually...
"Basically, she
blindfolds you, sprinkles some fairy-dust on ya', and when you're floating to
the ceiling, she takes a bunch of your sh*t and runs away. F#@K YOU,
TINKERBELL! You stole my copy of 'Half-Baked', you winged little whore!!"
Wow...
Well, er... well, that seems to be everything that we have! Thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time!
