Reviews

When Cartoon Network's new line of programming is brought up, people think of the following: Adventure Time for its unbridled imagery, Regular Show for its surrealism intertwined with realism and Steven Universe for its world-building and thematic storytelling/writing.

The Amazing World of Gumball, courtesy of Cartoon Network Studios Europe, is a show that can be classified in any of the categories alongside its American contemporaries. What started as a charming project between the UK and America that was rough around the edges eventually blossomed into a show that is on the same league as the above mentioned shows.

Helmed by former in-house development artist Ben Bocquelet, Gumball chronicles the escapades of the titular blue cat, Gumball Watterson, and his chaotic yet still close-knit family; pet-goldfish-turned-brother Darwin, child prodigy youngest sister Anais, overbearing and overworked mother Nicole and deadbeat, stay-at-home father Richard. They're admittedly character archetypes that we've seen many times in the past, but the way these archetypes are played with is what makes them truly memorable.

Right off the bat, the most obvious draw to the show is its art style, which is undoubtedly one of the most creative in recent memory. It's a hodgepodge of individual styles put together (hand-drawn, claymation, 8-bit, stop-motion, live-action, CGI, puppets, and so forth) to create the vibrant and illustrious town of Elmore, the show's setting, as well as the vastly diverse cast of characters. And in an odd yet refreshing way, these styles manage to compliment each other and not look like a slapdash college project.

Speaking of the characters, Elmore is inhabited by a very charming ensemble with their own separate quirks to distinguish themselves from each other. This is aided by the fact that many of them get their own time in the spotlight as opposed to just being an afterthought.

Gumball's comedy is the deal-breaker here. Is it funny? Yes. Yes, it is. As is the standard fare for Western Animation, the humor has something for every age bracket. The show still retains a family-oriented atmosphere, but it's not afraid to throw in the occasional joke that flies over kids' heads but adults will completely understand. Season 2's "The Job" and "The Storm" have two fantastic examples that I'll let you see for yourself; it's too good to just tell you.

Bolstering the humor are the solid writing and voice work. Jacob Hopkins (Gumball) and Terrell Ransem Jr. (Darwin), and their predecessors before them, Logan Grove and Kwesi Boyake, bring the youthful energy that you can expect from their characters' ages. The rest of the main cast (Teresa Gallagher as Nicole, Kyla Rae Kowaleski as Anais and Dan Russell as Richard) also do a bang-up job with their roles.

Now, when I say that the show was initially rough around the edges, that applies more to the first season, which was definitely a good outing for Mr. Bocquelet. However, it's set back by some tired and quite frankly annoying characterization, mainly from the protagonist, Gumball. Depending on the writer, he's either helplessly idiotic, not-as-idiotic but still something of a loser, or an outright punching bag, physically and emotionally. Not helped is the frequency of mean-spirited episodes in the first season such as "The Gi", "The Robot" and (arguably) "The Curse", or episodes with mind-numbing plots like "The Picnic" and "The Genius".

And that's not to say that the rest of Elmore leaves scott-free. Elmore as a whole is usually the biggest contributor to the mean-spiritedness that I mentioned. Richard Watterson, however, is arguably the worst of them all. He's more or less Homer Simpson if he were an overgrown pink bunny rabbit, except with NONE of Homer's endearing qualities.

Thankfully, the second season on-wards have seen a tremendous improvement in the show's quality, the writing more competent, the characters more consistent, the plots more engaging and mature, and the art style cleaner. And the show has only seen improvement since then.

The point about the art style is kind of subjective in the fandom. A handful of fans preferred the less-defined, less-shadowed and swifter animation from season one, which gave it a rugged appeal, while another school of thought prefer the subsequent 'cleaner' style with more defined shapes, thicker lines, shadows and slower, slightly-stilted movement. I personally go with the latter.

And that is all I have to say about The Amazing World of Gumball. It's an amazing (redundancy not intended) cartoon series that will appeal to a wide demographic much like its contemporaries and predecessors before them, thanks to its writing, its art and its characters. As of late, I actually hold both Gumball and Steven Universe in higher regard than any other show in Cartoon Network's new line-up, and that includes the other two powerhouses Adventure Time and Regular Show.

For new viewers getting into Gumball, I'd recommend the following: "The Painting", "The Meddler", "The Job", "The Third"

This show gets a ten out of ten from me, and damn right is it deserving of it.

Thank you, Ben Bocquelet, for this marvel of a show, and thank you, Cartoon Network, for your continued support of the show.

*Sigh* After roughly a decade of development hell, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was finally announced first quarter of 2010. Capcom had showcased a major overhaul in practically every field that the "Versus" series was known and loved for, from design aesthetics to gameplay, while at the same time, giving fanservice to long-time fans. Over the course of 2010, Capcom did everything in their promotional power to hype up this new installment that has existed for 15 years, with periodical revelations of characters to be included to the roster, the seasonal trailers that built up much anticipation for a so-called "deep and complex" storyline, play-testing and the official GameSpot tournament early this year.

Sadly, the terms "Wasted Potential" and "Broken Promises" fit into context with a game like this, especially considering the amount of time spent on development.

To begin with, the overall design themes look very crisp and clean - favoring 3D models over the trademark 2D drawn sprites from previous incarnations. This means smoother, less-choppy animation from the characters. Rendered using cel-shading to give each model a hand-drawn look, as though they had come from comic book pages, this works for the most part, coupled with a comic book font for on-screen text. And I see this as a vast improvement in the design department. Although the menus have been ignored, what with their bland layout and lack of inspiration.

The character cast has a love-hate relationship with the audience, some being considered as "wastes of character slots" (M.O.D.O.K, Crimson Viper), clones of their more recognizable counterparts (X-23, She-Hulk) or fodder for the competitive scene (the ever-infamous Magneto, Storm and Sentinel). And the roster being reduced by 20 from the massive 56 in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Yes, the character choices can be questionable. But the cast stands out for being far more diverse and allowing less-recognized characters into the spotlight. This is pretty much a quantity vs quality issue, with the development team striving for the latter. Made more obvious with the excellent casting (Maria Canals, Jennifer Hale, Tom Kane, JYB, Steven Blum, Tara Strong)

The sound of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is what the series should have always had, with two sound effects sets categorized as Classic and Dynamic, featuring semi-realistic hitting sounds, a "choral" clip for the more powerful maneuvers and many more. Fanservice defines what the music is - theme songs either remixes of music from the characters' original games or remixes of the themes used in past Vs. series games, and the infamous "Take You For a Ride" from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Just like the sound effects, the music is categorized as Classic and Dynamic, the latter consisting of enriching, orchestral and atmospheric background music.

Gameplay is without a doubt the most changed element in this long-running crossover. MvC3 utilizes the same engine used in the highly-successful 2008 anime and video game character crossover, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, consisting of the borrowed button scheme (taken from games such as Guilty Gear and BlazBlue) and two assist buttons, all while maintaining the deviation between Normal, Special and Hyper Combo attacks. When considering the numerous bugs and glitches (which are still existent in this installment) that defined the competitive scene, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is one of the most technical and unbalanced fighting games of all time. TvC's engine is a much more simplified take on the crossover fighting, which in turn means that MvC3 is more casual-gamer friendly, perhaps even more so than Tatsunoko itself, especially with the inclusion of Simple Mode, allowing for easier execution in a matter of nanoseconds. Nonetheless, the emphasis on high-adrenaline, fast-paced, combo-based, three-character-team combat is still present. One particular drawback in gameplay is the X-Factor mechanic. Staying true to the original idea behind the term, this gives players a temporary, one-use-per-battle enhancement in strength, speed and health regeneration. Strengthened by every defeated teammate, the odds of making a comeback are increased greatly, to the point where it ruins the game and gives players something to complain about. The gameplay is more balanced than MvC2 in the sense that all characters have a fighting chance, but still unbalanced nonetheless in terms of how quickly the tide of battle can and will be turned.

Now what exactly leaves many a player disappointed with MvC3 besides the X-Factor? With the fighting game staples, arcade, versus, practice and mission modes, this game is fine, right? Unfortunately, no. Those are the only things available for you to do. Not acceptable in today's day and age. Looking back at the analogy I've made between the game and the terms I've described above ("Wasted Potential" and "Broken Promises"), one sees that the game is unfinished, either purposefully or out of sheer laziness, in terms of content. The so-called unlockables only take roughly 3 hours or less to obtain, with hidden characters unlocked in less than an hour. Most likely this is just Capcom's flawed business ploy put into action, i.e. taking as much money from its demographic through downloadable content (i.e. Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath) and rehashes. And God forbid we mention the promise of a deep and complex storyline involving Albert Wesker and Doctor Doom conquering both their respective home realms. No. Simple, two-page, no-dialog endings do not equal deep and complex, let alone what the endings themselves are about. Again, acceptable back then, but not today.

MvC3 is by no means a bad game. But it is also by no means "Game of the Year". Besides the presentation, sound, voice acting and gameplay, the lack of content, the trademark gameplay imbalances and glitches, Capcom's flawed business ploy, the fanboy following and the elitist competitive fools all bring the game down severely. I've been meaning to move on to Mortal Kombat, but Australia's Classification System is also flawed. How disappointing... All of it.