Cameron's pro-strats for monster fighting

City Shrouded in Shadow is slated for release very soon, and it seems poised to send us scurrying through a ruined Japan like so many frightened cockroaches before titanic terrors and gargantuan….big….things.

Yeah, things like that.

But these dudes and dudettes aren't invincible invaders, they're clearly bosses. And if there’s one thing 27 years worth of video games has taught me, it’s that no boss is unbeatable, not even the unbeatable ones!

Remember us?

“But cameron!” you say, “How can we beat Godzilla? He’s not Kong, we can’t just shoot him a bunch.” Well, quit yer belly-achin’, because, like always, I have the perfect solution.

Over my long illustrious career of boss-fighting, I’ve honed four immortal techniques that can flatten even the most fearsome mutated and/or genetically engineered critter. So gather ‘round and I’ll show you how to Batman this Justice League.

That's him. That's Batman.

Technique the first!

The Loki

The thing most of these big baddies have on us is size (and lasers). The one thing we have on them is our size. I give you…

Big stupid idiot

...the tried and true method of tricking the boss into slamming his own head into a wall! This method is tricky, and requires precise timing. It usually involves baiting your adversary into committing to an attack, then dodging out of the way, causing the enemy to beat the eff out of themselves by slamming into some kind of environmental hazard. Kind of like the Kraken in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, who you have to trick into bashing his brain box into pillars, or the Barroth in the Monster Hunter games, who runs his big, dumb face into walls if you can dodge out of the way in time.

Technique the second!

The Trap

This one is sometimes a variation of the Loki, but not always. This one use the environment, and sometimes means using yourself as bait, but rather than relying on momentum to push the monster into something hard and hurty, the Trap lures the baddy into a prepared hazard. Sometimes this hurts the monster directly, sometimes it just exposes their big glowing weak spot. Like Gordon Freeman luring the Gargantua into a generator and flicking the switch to pump it full of juice in Half Life, or the Stone Golem fight (which also uses lightning) in the first Witcher game.

RIght this way.

Technique the third!

The Coup de Grace

Where the last two we’re all about positioning, this one takes a little more initiative. It’s common knowledge that anything over eight feet tall has, somewhere on its body, a glowing weak point.

I wonder where my bullets go...)

The coup de grace involves laying into this weak point with one big, big strike, for big, big damage. Usually it’s in plain view, like Poison Ivy’s big Biollante knock off from Arkham Asylum. Its invincible, until Ivy herself pops out to laugh at you and you throw a baterang at her head.

Sometimes, its hidden behind inexplicably thin armor, i.e. the ice monster from Metroid Prime. It’s glowy bits are hidden under ice, but you have rockets, so that doesn’t matter.

ChIlL OuT!!!1

Technique the fourth!

The Flea

This! This is my favorite! I can’t believe no one’s tried this on Goji, it’s so simple and elegant. Step one! Hop on the beast, preferably on some conveniently placed stair-shaped wreckage. Step two! Climb the beast using its hair/craggy skin, making your way to its glowing weak point. Step Three! Stab. With gusto. The only problem with this move is the dismount.

I had examples of all my other techniques but...I dunno I can’t really….recall….

There was….what was that one game…

Its right on the tip of my tongue…

Oh well.

Of course if all these fail due to physical limitations or you know, the core gameplay, you can use my second favorite technique: Bail And Let Ultraman Take Care Of It.

Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Gonna try and port the Master Sword into the game? Let me know in the comments, brave hunters.

Tokyo Destroyed?!?! - Episode 29 Delayed And Changed!

Hello everyone! Today I bring some sad news, as it seems an unruly Mothra larva chewed on our audio cables and ruined the recently recorded episode of Tokyo Lives. Godzilla seems to be wrangling the insect but that means we are gonna have to change some things around.

He's trying his best!

We have figured out the technical issues that plagued our recording and instead of trying to retread the episode we just recorded we are going to push forward and just record the next episode of Tokyo Lives this week! Time for us to talk about 'Gamera 2: Attack of Legion'!

Sorry that we are changing things up like this but we really don't want to try to recapture the magic of that first recording and give you guys a subpar episode. Look forward to us talking about Godzilla and Mothra at a later date but for now it's time to check in on that crazy terrapin kaiju we all love. See you early next week!

Coming Next Week - Episode 9: Daikaiju Gamera

This was an episode I was really looking forward to, as I really haven't seen that many of the Gamera films and have been dying to jump into them. We had a lot of fun discussing this introductory film to such an iconic giant monster and I think it's a great episode whether you're a longtime fan, or like me, want to jump into the series for the first time.

We also had a chance in this episode to discuss what became a pretty heated topic on the site last week: how should a website like ours that writes about entertainment news handle rumors and speculation? We also discuss all the upcoming 4K releases of giant monster films, many which are seeing their first modern American release. All of that along with our main topic of the night should keep you waiting for us to drop the episode as soon as possible, and we'll let you know the minute it goes up.

What do you think our reaction to Gamera's first film will be? Let us know in the comments and maybe we'll jump in and get a discussion going.

Heisei Gamera Series Gets The Definitive 4K Blu-ray Set In Japan

Japan always gets the nicest kaiju things. There is a new blu-ray box set for the Heisei Gamera series comes out on July 22nd in Japan and it looks to be a pretty awesome collection. The movies in the box-set have been fully remastered in 4K resolution and have a ton of never before released special features for the films.

The set includes a total of four films, three of them being the Gamera trilogy from the 90's ('Guardian of the Universe,' 'Assault of Legion,' and 'Revenge of Iris') and the last film being 'Gamera The Brave' (2006). 

The collection also includes two separate discs full of special features including the thirty-second teaser for the proposed Gamera revival and a documentary that was aired on TV during the release window of 'Assault of Legion.' The discs also contain features that were limited to the previously released VHS and Laserdisc versions of the films until now. Rounding out the set are a couple of exclusive booklets; one of them having nearly 750 unpublished photos from the making of the Gamera Trilogy. The set will cost you a pretty penny though since it is priced at  ¥38000 ($349.00). 

'Gamera The Brave' being included is actually a bit strange since it has absolutely no connection to the previous three films, but I suppose it technically is part of the Heisei era.  The Shûsuke Kaneko Gamera trilogy from the 90's are still some of the best giant monster films in existence and I would be extremely excited to see these movies again in the super detailed 4K resolution. 'Gamera The Brave' however is kind of the black sheep of the more recent Gamera films, opting to go back to the silly kid rescuing creature of the 60's instead of sticking with the violent tone of the 90's films. 'Gamera The Brave' was not very well received in Japan (or by fans everywhere for that matter) and unfortunately caused the studio to put the creature back into hibernation. This does mark the first domestic blu-ray release of 'Gamera The Brave' film in Japan though.

Now for the million dollar question: do I think we will see the 4K restoration box-set in some form pop up in America? I wish we would, but unfortunately I really wouldn't count on it. There have been restorations of the Godzilla films in Japan that have never made the trip out of the country and I think this will end up being a similar situation. Gamera doesn't have much appeal stateside anymore unfortunately, and nostalgia alone does not warrant such a high price tag for most fans. Maybe we will get lucky and get just the 4K blu-rays released separately at a way later date.

Will you import this box-set from Japan? What are your thoughts on the Gamera trilogy and/or 'Gamera: the Brave'?