It may be based an old idea, but ‘V’ is the best new science fiction show I’ve seen since Stargate Universe. Maybe it’s my lady-crush on the lovely (and in this case horrifying) Morena Baccarin of ‘Firefly’ fame, but mostly it’s just great television. If you haven’t had the chance to catch an episode of ‘V’, which has just wrapped up it’s second season, you are missing out. So what’s the deal with ‘V’?

Visitors have arrived on earth, professing to be of peace and bearing gifts of advanced medicine and technology. It all seems too good to be true, and it is. The visitors want something from us, and it is up to FBI Agent Erica Evans (played by the ever-talented Elizabeth Mitchell, best known for her role as Dr. Juliet Burke on Lost) to figure out what the V’s want with humanity…and with her son, Tyler. As it turns out, they want everything. But it’s a little bit more complicated than just a mere invasion…

Unfortunately, like most good sci-fi that makes its way onto prime time tv, ‘V’ is in danger of not being renewed for a third season. Though the first season did do better than the second in terms of ratings, ‘V’ has always attracted at least 5 million viewers per episode. The second season of ‘V’ was cut down by ABC to only ten episodes after an original order of thirteen episodes,  further adding to the feeling I have that ABC will not allow this show to last much longer.

Hopefully ‘V’ will be renewed for a third season, as producer Scott Rosenbaum promised in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly that the best is yet to come in season three. For those currently watching the show, it is clear that Erica will be mighty upset when she realizes what has happened on the New York mothership during the season two finale. Season three of ‘V’ promises to deliver the all-out conflict that we have been waiting for since the show began, which would make it even more tragic if this show were to be cancelled now.

When I first found out that Stephen King was working on an original comic series, I could not wait to get my hands on it. Though some of King’s work (such as the Dark Tower series) has been adapted into comics, this is indeed his first foray into writing specifically for the medium. ‘American Vampire’ was created by Scott Snyder, who has worked for Marvel and DC, but it is his first creator-owned series – making it somewhat of a career landmark for both authors.

The first volume of ‘American Vampire’ (issues 1-5) absolutely blew me away. King tells the old west origin story of the first American Vampire, Skinner Sweet, while Snyder’s story catches up with Sweet in 1920’s Los Angeles. Set against the backdrop of various iconic times and places in U.S history, this comic must have been a playground for all involved in its creation – and it is an equally fun read. Both story lines are equally compelling, and if you are a fan of comics and/or horror Skinner Sweet will rock your world.

Skinner is not your average vampire. For reasons you will have to read the comic to find out, Skinner

Visually, ‘American Vampire’ leaves nothing to be desired, and features some of my favorite cover art ever – Rafael Albuquerque is truly a master of his medium. It’s also a worthy side note that 1920’s Sweet also slightly resembles a certain hobo cowboy from a certain comic strip on the Website of Doom – if he were an evil vampire, that is. is transformed into a new kind of vampire that can walk in the sunlight. He also takes a very different form than the traditional European vampires, who also have a place in this tale of greed, revenge and power.

Fellow constant readers: we’re not in Salem’s Lot anymore. Despite the physical evolution of the classic vampire in this original comic series from Vertigo, Snyder and King have resuscitated the badass attitude and killer instincts which made vampires scary in the first place – and their timing could not have been more perfect. After all, we still have at least two more installments of the Twilight saga to endure.

-Mary Hoffman

The original Dead Rising game was nothing short of a masterpiece of the horror genre. If you’ve never played, it’s essentially like being dropped into George A. Romero’s classic zombie flick, Dawn of the
Dead. You play the role of Frank West, a reporter trying to uncover the truth about the outbreak as well as saving as many survivors as he can along the way. It’s fun, the story is compelling, and best of all
there are thousands of zombies to be killed. In a mall.

The only issue with the game is that it is extremely difficult for non-hardcore gamers to complete
the ‘true ending’, and saving all of the survivors is next to impossible. If you’ve done either of these
things, I salute you. Personally, it took myself and two friends a sleepless weekend, various internet
guides and a lot of patience to complete these tasks.

These issues have all been perfectly remedied in Dead Rising 2. Set in Fortune City (which is New Vegas
but I guess that title was already taken) you play the role of Chuck Green, a motocross-racing single
dad. Also, your daughter is infected and you have to give her Zombrex every 24 hours to keep her from
turning. I don’t want to say any more about plot in this game, because frankly it’s as good if not better
than the original and should be experienced firsthand.

Tons of improvements have been made in terms of gameplay, the key one being a far easier schedule to keep in terms of completing all of the cases to reveal the main plot. The levelling system is also much quicker due to the PP boosting addition of combo weapons – pretty much the best part of the game. Fifty unlockable weapons are available, which are assembled by Chuck out of various objects. From nail- embellished boxing gloves to dynamite laden arrows, the zombie killing possibilities are nearly endless.

Unlike the original, the use of quickstep drinks is not mandatory in order to complete the plot on time –
though it does help tremendously while attempting to rescue all possible survivors, including Snowflake,
a 3 year old Bengal Tiger. Many walkthroughs and achievement guides are available online for this
game, but the following tips I will provide are a good spoiler-free introduction to DR2.

1. Easy quickstep – You can make quickstep drinks (which make you run faster as well as restoring five bars of health) at the bar in the Americana Casino. Just pick up some wine at the bar, which is of unlimited supply, and place two in the blender on the counter. You can make as many of these as you can carry, and they come in quite handy – especially later in the game.
2. Books worth grabbing – There are a few choice books you can find at various locations within Fortune City. For saving survivors, the leadership book located on the desk in ‘One Little Duck Bingo’ on the Silver Strip is indispensable. It increases the speed of survivors being led by Chuck, as well as improving their skill with weapons. If you plan on gambling, getting all three gambling books dramatically increases your winnings. The first is located on the second floor of Royal Flush Plaza, on the floor in ‘Ragazines’. The second is in ‘Stan’s’ on the second floor of Palisades Mall, and the third is behind the desk at the back of the Shamrock Casino on the Silver Strip.
3. Getting backup – Arming your companions is all well and good, but taming Snowflake is an excellent way to get backup as well as a really cool, though completely irresponsible gift you can give your daughter. Snowflake is located in the Atlantica Casino. After dealing with the psycho she is with, all you have to do is get Snowflake to eat three pieces of steak. You can bring these with you, or get them in and around her pen. Take care not to hit her, as you are attempting to refill her health bar. This takes a bit of patience, but as long as you clear out the distracting zombies around her pen and place the steaks where they are easy to see, it is not too difficult to accomplish. Once you have backup, always keep their health up by giving them healing items – this will keep them from defecting and attacking you.
4. Combat – The best weapons for fighting Psychopaths are Claws (boxing gloves + bowie knife) and Tenderizers (MMA gloves + box of nails), though pretty much any fast weapon will do once you are a high enough level. For large hoards of zombies, the Paddlesaw (chainsaw + kayak paddle) or the Defiler (fire axe + sledgehammer) are great.

-Mary Hoffman

When I talk about Stargate, there are always a lot of mixed reactions. As a series with a fifteen plus year history, most science fiction buffs have had ample time to form an opinion about the franchise in general based on Stargate SG 1 and Atlantis – which makes sense. But something fundamental has changed with Stargate Universe (SGU) that makes it more akin, at least in my mind, to one other show in particular: LOST. Blending science fiction and character-driven drama is a clearly winning combination, and I applaud the writers for taking SGU to a place that I never thought it would go as well as telling the story in a way I never would have expected. If you didn’t catch the first season of SGU (now available) let me give you a taste of what this series is all about…

Fleeing an attack, a group of survivors end up on the Destiny – an unmanned Ancient ship that they have absolutely no control over. Though the ship makes short stops allowing the crew to explore planets for much needed resources, every time a crew member leaves the relative safety of Destiny they risk being left behind. Long gone are the days of well-equipped SG teams, MALPs, UAVs and Jumpers to scout new planets. The personnel aboard Destiny have only limited weapons and flying cameras dubbed ‘Kenos’ to inform them of any impending danger or inhospitable conditions on these distant planets.

If you’ve never watched a Stargate series, the chaos and tension aboard Destiny is obvious. If you’re a Stargate fan, the chaos and tension aboard Destiny is almost unbearable. Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper and other longtime Stargate writers have always been great at what they do, but with the science and mythology of the Stargate world already established they have been able to do something totally unique with SGU. They have also succeded in taking longtime fans like myself out of our comfort zone and forcing us to leave all expectations of what a Stargate series ‘should be’ at the door. LOST forced television in general out of this comfort zone by being the most daring, intelligent and downright cinematic series to date. SGU, particularly now in it’s second season, has proven it is also willing to take huge risks and trust its audiences’ intelligence such as LOST did.

Though I do not intend to draw direct parallels between two shows which are obviously miles apart, watching SGU has been a similar experience to that of watching LOST – and even surpasses it in some ways. I say this because SGU has struck a far better balance between character development and plot advancement – something that in hindsight is one of the few weaknesses of the first season of LOST, especially when compared to later seasons.

Partially, this was due to the ambitious nature of LOST, but in most part it was due to the fact that LOST was a new show, with new rules as well as characters to be established. Stargate, as I mentioned earlier, has had ample time to hash out these rules. Herein lies the magic of SGU for longtime Stargate fans: right from the first episode SGU is jam packed with references, callbacks and appearances by some of the most notable Stargate characters including Jack O’Neill, Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson. It has also been confirmed that there will be an Atlantis/SGU crossover episode later in season two featuring Richard Woolsey, played by Robert Picardo and Dr. Rodney “Difficult? Seconds. Impossible? Minutes.” McKay, one of my favorite Stargate characters of all time.

The newly introduced SGU characters are something different altogether, bringing me back to the LOST paralell. Unlike their heroic predecessors, the vast majority of this crew is far from qualified to be in the extraordinary circumstances they find themselves in – just like our beloved Oceanic 815 survivors. Everybody is flawed in some way, and quite a few characters have pretty severe daddy issues – but even the least likeable characters have redeeming qualities.

The ship itself is absolutely stunning, and for me the Destiny has already taken a spot next to the U.S.S Enterprise, Serenity and the Millenium Falcon as one of the greatest spaceships ever featured in popular culture. All of these ships are instantly recognizable, and are characters in their own right – especially when they start venting atmosphere or change course for no apparent reason.

Everything about the way SGU is filmed adds to the tension and drama – most notably the unique, and impressive, filming style. Very few fixed shots are used on SGU, a major feat when you consider the amount of visual effects that go into just one episode. The lighting is fabulous, the acting is fantastic, and the sets are divine.This is top-notch science fiction, people…and great drama is great drama no matter where it takes place.

Season two of Stargate Universe is currently airing, go check it out! For the web-inclined, it is also available on iTunes.

– Mary Hoffman

Turns out, you can’t have too much of a good thing when it comes to the Fallout series. When I first heard about the latest installment, New Vegas, I really wasn’t sure if I had 100 plus hours to spend completing another game as immersive as this. After all, I’d spent countless (well, not countless seeing as the game keeps track, but too many hours to admit anyway) playing both Oblivion and Fallout 3. This being said, my initial reservations were quickly cast aside as more information became available about what Fallout: New Vegas had to offer – and having now played it let me assure you that it is fantastic.

Right from the beginning, New Vegas sucks you in with an intriguing plot line and *spoiler alert!* your character – known at this point only as ‘Courier’ – being shot in the head, buried, and exhumed by a robot. You are then taken to a Doctor – at which point you are able to create your character. In New Vegas, the leveling system is slightly different from Fallout 3 as you select your traits right at the beginning and earn perks every two levels. All in all, the tutorial is a lot quicker and gets you into the game a lot faster than the Vault 101 ordeal in Fallout 3 – or the even more painstaking dungeon escape in Oblivion. Another major difference in New Vegas is the role of karma, which though still present is not nearly as important as reputation. If you earn a high reputation in a town, you will get perks such as receiving gifts from townsfolk. If you earn a bad reputation in a town…I’m sure you can guess what happens.

One of the other sweet improvements in New Vegas is the ability to mod your weapons. Each weapon you own (other than unique weapons) can have up to 3 mods – such as increased damage, extended mags, and scopes. The melee and unarmed attacks have also been improved by way of unique moves that are unlocked as you level up – and for a gore lover they are pure win. Combat with a companion is also much easier in New Vegas as they have added a ‘companion wheel’ which though lame sounding is useful as it allows you to easily tell your companion to attack or retreat as well as heal or swap items very easily. Different companions will also have different strengths and weaknesses – such as certain weapons they are proficient with…and other weapons they are not so proficient with.

Here in Ontario, some retail stores were giving away copies of Mad Max on DVD with the pre-order of Fallout: New Vegas. At the time of purchase, I noticed this and scoffed – wondering if it was some misguided ploy to restore Mel Gibson’s tarnished reputation by reminding us young folks of the good old days (well, 1979) when Mel was on top of the world – albeit a lawless, post-apocalyptic one. After playing New Vegas and meeting some of the various factions such as the good guys: The New California Republic (NCR) and the bad guys: Caesar’s Legion…the Mad Max connection became much more clear – though to some degree I am sure it was just a good way for these stores to blow out DVD copies of Mad Max which I’m sure are in abundance right now. Either way, I didn’t get a free DVD.

Gambling is another new feature of the game, no surprise – and though caravan is no liar’s dice (Red Dead Redemption) it is pretty fun, and you can also play old standards such as roulette and blackjack. Oh, and did I mention it looks completely awesome? Though it is run on the same engine and is in the same style as Fallout 3, New Vegas is just easier on the eyes and has a lot of great landmarks – my favorite being a store in the shape of a giant T-Rex. The improved landscape and the presence of plant life brings back the survivalist element to the Fallout series…it’s no longer just scavenging (though theres plenty of scavenging to be had). Everything is useful. You can even make stimpaks by combining the necessary ingredients (One broc flower, one xander root, and an empty syringe) at a workbench (there’s one in the basement of the Repcon Test Facility in the Mojave Wasteland).

You’re going to need a few of those stimpaks if you decide to play New Vegas on hardcore mode. In this mode, you will face dehydration, starvation and sleep deprivation (and their consequences) if you do not attend to your characters’ basic needs. You can still quick travel, but not if you will die in the time it would take you to reach your destination. Stimpaks and radaway work over time as opposed to instantly. Otherwise weightless ammo has mass, and otherwise immortal companions can die. Oh, yeah…you also can’t heal crippled limbs yourself – you need a doctor.

Though it sounds like a bitch, this is a really great way to up the difficulty of a game. After all most games just add more, tougher enemies to accomplish this. More complex games may even have a timed element. Ever get the Mile High Club achievement (or trophy, whatever) for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare? If you haven’t attempted it, it is for beating the final level on the highest difficulty, Veteran in about 24 seconds – a nearly impossible task that takes even the best gamers quite a few tries to complete. Hardcore mode in New Vegas is a totally different approach that requires thinking, planning and strategizing on a level far beyond any other game out there.

Many of the developers other than those at Bethesda had had prior experience with the Fallout series at some point or another. New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, founded by Chris Avellone and Feargus Urquhart – who both worked on Fallout 2. The development of New Vegas was led by J.E. Sawyer who was also the lead designer of Van Buren, a cancelled version of Fallout 3, set in the American Southwest. It was made by Black Isle Studios, and cancelled in 2003.

If you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy of New Vegas yet (sorry, Europe…and Japan) you should definitely check out the developer diaries for New Vegas, available on Bethesda’s YouTube Channel. The Vault is also a great resource for all things Fallout. I also highly suggest reading the Fallout timeline.

– Mary Hoffman