So for this special webcomic review I'll be reviewing two webcomics, one that I despise and one that I love. We'll be starting with the one I hate first.
Art: OoTS's entire gimmick is that all the characters are stick figures. You can guess what this means for the art quality. Yeah, OoTS definitely loses points right out of the gate for looking like crap. I understand it's a gimmick, but it's a horrible gimmick and no matter how often the comic lampshades it the characters still look like they were drawn by a freakin' 3 year old. But hey, I've always said that bad art doesn't get in the way of good characters so there's that.
Characters: Except all the characters are either idiotic clich és or unlikeable jerks, sometimes both. Seriously, I hate the cast of this comic. Maybe it's just me but the overused character traits and awful overly long dialog is just a pain to read. It seems like a bad version of 8-Bit Theater with the characters being mostly over the top, but unlike 8-Bit Theater OoTS doesn't really go too crazy(and thus is less funny for it) and the characters don't bounce off each other at all. Also, like 8-Bit Theater there's lots of talking, but unlike it's superior counterpart OoTS makes the mistake of not peppering the dialog with lots of small jokes.
Plot: The plot to OoTS is the standard fantasy type plot taken strait from any game ever. It's nothing new and it's not played up for laughs so there's really nothing to comment on.
Overall OoTS is not the worst webcomic ever, but it is still crap in my opinion. It's a Dungeons and Dragons parody though, so it could be that i'm just not really getting all the "in" jokes so if you're a D and D fan and you can stand looking at stick figures then you might want to check it out.
Now onto a review where I try to not be an insane fanboy for a few minutes.
Art: Art wise Homestuck is a big upgrade from Problem Sleuth, now featuring full color even when the characters are in their "basic" state. It's still pretty stylized, but the main cast is noticeably more human looking. Homestuck's most noticeable art feature is it's shifting art style. Most of the time the characters are drawn in a basic style, allowing for quick updates and such. It's not bad to look at, but it's not really the most actiony looking art. So as the comic progresses the art tends to shift at times mostly changing with the tone of any given moment. It can be simplistic and fun looking during the more adventure type bits or dark and stylized during dramatic moments. The shifting style is actually a very good idea given that it really gets a reader used to seeing different styles during the comic, so when the author enlists the help of other artist for the bombastic video moments, the different styles mesh better than they would if the comic had one big consistent style.
Characters: Homestuck starts out with a relatively small cast that grows quite a bit as the comic goes, so there's a lot of versatility in the cast. Some characters are fun and likable, some are honestly horribly unlikable, and some seem to be just pure joke characters. Really, there's a character for everyone and there's not much to complain about, except for the fact that some characters do get ignored development wise while others that are not very likable(one character in particular comes to mind) are developed quite a bit more. It's important to note that the characters actually "talk" in Homestuck unlike the silent protagonists from Problem Sleuth. They talk via chat logs, so understanding the characters requires reading a lot of text. Overall I'd say it's well worth it, but if you're the sort that dislikes large amounts of text, this may be a big blaring issue that could honestly ruin the comic.
Plot: The plot to Homestuck is an ever expanding mass that I can't even begin to explain without spoiling the whole thing. It's an interesting story to say the least and is one of the few plots I've seen the balances comedy and drama rather well.
Homestuck is a very good comic, but it definitely has it's issues that could be real breakers for possible readers. There's a large amount of text even without the character conversations, and while it is peppered with lots of humor it's still a lot of reading. The first act is big on this, and some latter acts really go crazy with this at times. The comedy, when present is mostly the silly fun kind of comedy and thus really doesn't click with everyone. All I can really say recommendation wise is that if you can get through the first act of Homestuck, then you should be able to enjoy the comic.
Oh and both these comics have huge achieves, so yeah, there's that for both of them.
Hello and welcome to webcomic reviews with Decoy Elite, today's webcomic: Phoenix Requiem
Art: Art wise Phoenix Requiem is very, very well done. The characters look great, the backgrounds are detailed and it's everything thing is well colored. The lighting also plays a part, adding a great amount of atmosphere to the story that really helps draw you in. Art wise this comic comes off as down right professional and even better than some professional comics I've read.
Characters: This is probably the low point of the comic. The characters aren't really unlikeable, they just feel kind of bland. They're unmemorable even when they're fleshed out as the comic goes on. Don't get me wrong, they're not badly written, they're just stale. It's hard to explain. Just don't expect to get blown away by the great characters.
Plot: The plot for this comic is great, it pulls you in and really makes you want to keep reading(helped by the atmosphere the comic generates). Admitting the story comes across as a love story at first(and I hate love stories) but it turns into what I feel is a much more legitimate story. The romance stuff doesn't bog down the story and actually adds to it, and is used to help reveal new plot points and such(makes sense in context). Really, the story is just great, full of surprises, and will keep you guessing all the way through(well at least so far, the comic is still ongoing)
Bob and George is a Megaman Sprite comic, doesn't sound like mind screwing material right?
Yeah this is actually from one of the more normal parts You know everything insane about super hero comics? Yeah, Bob and George has all that stuff in spades. Time travel, alternate dimensions, ninjas, robots, giant monsters, and even Superheroes at one point. And it all takes place in the Megaman universe to boot. To give you a tiny bit of just what Bob and George brings to the table you need look no further than Ran Cossack. Ran is a robot who's whole thing is that he's made out of such cheap Soviet parts that he literally dies whenever he touches almost anything. No joke, poking him will kill him. To make up for this he has a machine that constantly creates Ran bodies to replace the latest dead Ran. And yes, this does often lead to rooms fill to the brim with dead Rans.
In case you think I was exaggerating. And that's just one character. The story itself is so full of insane amounts of time travel and dimension jumping it's hard to believe that there's not really any plot holes. Oh yeah, did I mention that the author made all this crap up off the top of his head and still tied it all together with almost no plot holes? Go check how big the achieve is for Bob and George. Yeah, now it's sort of impressive that he did that.
4.8-Bit Theater
Okay this one is sort of cheating (but it still counts darn it!) 8-Bit Theater's plot mostly follows the plot of the game where it gained most of it's sprites came from. Yes, 8-Bit Theater follows FF1 almost all the way through....I say almost because there is one little plot devise that makes the mind blowing FF1 story goes even father into orbit.
That plot devises name is Sarda Sarda is a night omnipotent mage who mostly exists to send the Light Warriors to gather the 4 orbs, oh and to violently rape reality. I'm not kidding, Sarda seems to exist solely to rape all logic. At one point he makes gravity stop working for the Light Warriors, why? Because he's Sarda he feels like doing it. I know what you're thinking, one little insane mage could make the plot even more insane. Well, at one point someone tires to mess with Sarda and well....this happens: Yeah, you don't mess with Sarda. Outside of Sarda 8-Bit Theater tends to just be insane for the sake of being insane. I could fill this entire list alone with all the mind boggling stuff that's happened in this comic. So take my word for it that this comic's plot is pretty crazy, but not as crazy as video game based plots get, not that honor goes to...
3.The Last Days of Foxhound
The Last Days of Foxhound is a Metal Gear Solid fan comic. I think I could end there is everyone who's ever tried to understand MGS's plot would understand just how batsh!t this comic's plot is. But no, The Last Days of Foxhound gets even more insane than the games it's based off of. Why? Because, it actually tries to explain the plot of MGS. Worth mentioned that it tries to do so before MGS4 came out. I don't know what's worse that this comic tries to fix the insane tale of MGS or that it does a better job then actually MGS cannon. For those that haven't played MGS please go look it up on Wikipedia. Okay, read all that stuff? Okay you know what kind of crazy we're dealing with hear. This insanity only multiplied by the fact that the story is told from the point of view the Foxhound group. You know, the villains from the first game? Yeah. Really there's not much to say other than this an MGS comic and it shows. Oh and at one point someone's shot so they go in his mind and watch memories of him acting like a cat. Can't say the author didn't give this comics plot an MGS feel.
2.Axe Cop
Right now you're probably thinking that Video games are pretty crazy, but you know what's crazier than any game based plot? A comic written by a child. This is Axe Cop's entire gimmick, that it's written by a 5 year old. A five year old on LSD based on some of the insane characters, settings, and story arcs Axe Cop brings to the table. At one point it has, I sh!t you not, Super Vampire Werewolf Ninjas from the moon. Yeah. This is only made more insane by the art style which isn't exactly what you'd expect from a 5 year old.
Then again the artist is 29 To understand how insane this really gets (because the Moon Warriors didn't give you enough of a hint) you need to look at that picture above. Every single think that is on that pic appears in the comic. EVER SINGLE THING.
1.Goats
Okay at this point you're thinking nothing can beat Axe Cop. Nothing could be that insane. But you forget the one thing that's more insane than a child, an adult. And thus we find ourself reading Goats, which ironically isn't about Goats. No, Goats are waaaaaaaay to normal for this comic. And did I say read? I actually meant, try and comprehend before your mind explodes. Goats actually starts out as a rather mundane webcomic with a few talking animals here and there, nothing too weird. And then the chicken makes it's own child out of science. Yeah, this is just the start. In a spiral of insane events it's revealed that the Goats Multi-verse had no God. Oh, not because it's an Atheistic Multi-verse, no it's because the main characters ate him.
And yes, they actually show this "movie" You see, at one point in the Goats-Verse God got drunk and decided to turn into a cow, which was turned into food, which the two main characters(the two above that aren't fish) ate. But the universe can't really work without a God so it was fixed in the most logical way possible. The entire Goats-Verse runs off a labtop. The labtop is of course guarded by God's old lackeys who help create the stories of the Multi-verse. These lackeys being blue monkeys on typewriters. I could really say more about Goats(like how there's computers made out of animals leading to a Lol Cat being one of the most dangerous weapons in existence) but I think you all get the picture.
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This is where I'm going to toss my ideas for stories, characters and such. If you see one you like, you can use it just warn me before you do. Warning the follow will look like insane ramblings.
ToD: Set up stories around Valiarian solider trying to take down god king. Make out god king to be a monster, reveal Valir's intentions are actually noble(wanting to save his people from tyranny) but keep him as the villain anyway.
Make Nictal brag about manipulating people while still manipulating them, reveal he had the rune of Knowledge an another rune (for combat.) Possible runes: light, illusions, death, life, madness, fire, skill....
Dark Knight, evil version of Gladius, uses same armor but corrupted by darkness.
Alpha, ability to see any way to kill someone in a given situation. One who wounded S(need a new name fore him) but is now a hero(sort of) trying to take down Plan C (or Advent depending if I keep in community with other story ideas)
Alternate Rot who had the rune of life. Creates armies out of his dead foes, give him his own universe to fight IDF in.
Need more IDF foes, get ideas from others.
Short story about world of commercials where everything is insane and runs on advertisement logic. Needless to say it's a comedy for everyone else and a horror story for me.
Ah Romantically Apocalyptic, you have so much going against you and yet so much going for you. RA is a sort of hybrid comic that's actually quite common (although I've never really reviewed one before) half the time it's just your classic joke a day comic except in an apocalyptic setting, the other half of the time it has a plot. The plot, when it shows up, is actually quite funny and has a glimmer of interesting complexity when it comes to characters. Sadly, the plot is often tossed away in favor of small, one time jokes.
The characters are fun, if a little one dimensional and really besides that there’s nothing more to say about this webcomic………….okay, okay fine I’ll mention it.
HOLY CRAP THIS IS THE BEST ART EVER! I mean, seriously this art is just great. Every comic is well done, featuring beautiful backgrounds and easily identified characters. Sadly the great art causes slow updates, so if you do enjoy the comic you’ll be in for quite a bit of waiting.
Overall, RA is a webomic with great art and lots of potential and I recommend checking out. But in the overall scheme of things it gets a 3 out of 5.
Okay, yeah little warning here, this one contains some boobage. It's not really porn, it's just kind of there for a bit and then it's not. Basically if you're not mature enough to see boobs without flipping out then don't read this webcomic.
Right then this is webcomic reviews with Decoy Elite. Today's webcomic is The Meek.
First off the artwork for this one is quite good. The coloring is well done and the characters are all rather easy to identify and there's no real worry of mixing characters up. The characters personality wise have a nice range of characteristics that makes them interesting, although the minor characters are noticeably minor (with no real personalities in most cases), still you none of the characters are cringe worthy or annoying. The plot is rather interesting, if a little fractured. So far the story has been told though 3 characters in seemingly unconnected situations, but it's clear that at some point the stories should connect.
This one is a nice little webcomic to check out if you've got a bit of spare time. The achieve is quite small compared to most webcomics, so it's easy to catch up on.
I give The Meek a solid 3 out of 5. Although the nice little archive is worth noting if you want something quick to read.
Hello and welcome to webcomic reviews with Decoy Elite. Today's webcomic: Dead Winter.
Dead Winter is kind of like what would happen if you mixed The Walking Dead and Scott Pilgrim. It's a surprisingly good combination, that leads to a fun little zombie webcomic that's almost sure to entertain. Characters: Character wise I must admit Dead Winter is rather hit or miss, which most characters being quite forgettable. The main character is noticeably bland at first, but does get better as the webcomic goes on. Her blandness is also made up for with the introduction of one of the cooler characters I've seen, Black Monday Blues. Some of the other characters can get annoying, but not to the point that the comic is unreadable.
Art: The art for Dead winter is rather unrealistic, but well done. The comic is mostly black and white with the only objects shown in color being red. This makes the comic seem rather stylized and allows certain scenes to pop out well. The characters are all rather unique looking, so mixing up characters isn't much of a problem. Overall the art is rather good, above average webcomic wise.
Story: The story isn't too complex, although some mishandled flash backs do cause some issues and some action scenes end up rather muffled and hard to define(mostly because of the mass of zombies involved). The story isn't really likely to suck yo in, so the only reason to keep reading is to see what happens to the characters next. It's a basic zombie plot, although it does start off rather fast paced it slows down later on. Overall the story is the weakest part of the comic.
Overall Dead Winter is a fun zombie comic and a fun little read. If you're looking for something realistic and full of drama then avoid it. But if you just want to have some fun, check it out. I personally give it a 3.5 out of 5.
This sucker is from one of the most bad arse things ever. There will be Brawl This 10 episode mini web series that takes all you know about the cast of Super Smash Brothers Brawl and turns it upside down by making everything darker and edgier. At first glance this sounds like a horrible idea, but it turns into one of the greatest dark parodies I've ever seen. The plot is actually a well done drama with a huge amount of dark humor and great references stuff in, so if you go in with the right mind set then you'll find it hilarious and mind crushingly creepy at the same time. The whole story keeps you guessing till the very end and the effects are the best I've seen in an internet series.
I highly recommend this series to any Nintendo fans over the age of 17(the recommended age group for the series, although younger people might like it, it does have some adult themes and horrifying scenes. But it never becomes outright NSFW)
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Hello and welcome this is Things I don't hate, with Decoy Elite. The premise is simple, instead of ranting about stuff I hate, I'm going to talk about those few gems in the world that I actually like. You things that don't make me want to kill the world. Anyway, let's start this show off with one of my favorite game of all time. What is there to say about this game? Nothing really, except it's f#@$ing awesome! Blaster Master is one of the coolest games for the NES. In it you control some random kid who's trying to rescue his frog from a huge cave or something like that. Why is this awesome? Because you're trying to rescue the frog by blasting your way through the cave with your bad arse tank! The tank is just fun to use, it shoots in every direction except down and a huge assortment of power ups can be found to make it even more bad arse. How do you find these upgrades? By going in lots of mini caves on foot of course! That's right this game has two types of playing, one is a action platformer with your tank and the other is an awesome top down shooter with the main character on foot.
This game is awesome and while it's very unlikely you'll beat it(the game is long as hell due to the maze like maps) you should still enjoy it. Which is why Master Blaster is something that I don't actually hate.
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