Even Seth Green probably won't make you care about Dragonquest IX

At least if you aren't already a fan of the series. Despite it being around as long as the venerable Final Fantasy franchise and being an international phenomenon to the point where Japan virtually shuts down when a new one is released. But here, it's relegated to a small but fiercely dedicated fanbase. I wouldn't count myself as fiercely loyal, but I have enjoyed the majority of the series entries, I especially invested plenty of time in the last couple entries. It's kind of hard to describe why it's got such a huge following, as it's been extremely slow to change with the times (i.e. the seventh installment, a Playstation title looked like it could've easily been done on a Super Nintendo). But hey, Pokemon's barely changed in over 20 years and its still huge. The series has always maintained a huge charm factor, possibly because it's so simple when other rpgs get more and more complex (hell I had to buy a strategy guide just to understand most of FFXIII). The ninth installment is a true divergence for the series, adding a huge multi-player component that while I'd like to advantage of, nearly nobody out here in the midwest seems to have both a ds and an appetite for old school rpgs, but the single-player component should be enough to keep me busy for quite awhile, and I happily anticipate the next chapter, apparently due out for the Wii.

Not much else to comment on, except that I managed to catch Despicable Me earlier today, and it was a very charming film. It's probably not what you would expect, but it's very funny and manages to not overdo it with the syrupy sentimental stuff and it's nice to see a non-pixar production that is actually good every once and awhile. I would say that I would've preferred either a pure villain vs. villain movie or Gru keeping to his evil ways and teaching the kids, but obviously that probably wouldn't go over so well with the mainstream audiences. Still, a high reccomendation from me.

Well, that's really it for today, but I should be back early next week with DQ IX impressions and whatever else happens to break. In the mean time here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Looming