Blade Runner {1982 Theatrical Cut}
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Great story, great acting, interesting setting, great design and special effects
Cons: Slow moving, slow pace, no real philosophical or idealogical point until the end
I got the ultimate five disc collection of this movie just today and watched the original movie that was released in 1982. I had heard about Blade Runner years before and was yearning to watch it, seeing as how it was considered the definitive cyberpunk film for decades and inspired countless other movies, including The Matrix (Of which I am a huge fan).
Well, I have to say that I was not disappointed. The movie was awesome and completely lived up to its hype. It also lived up to being a great adaptation of Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, even if it does leave out some of the animal themes and a lot of the dialogue having to do with philosophy and trying to figure out what exactly is happening to Deckard.
The fact that the movie is awesome is really just all I can say about how good the movie is. However, there are a few issues that I have with it. First off, it is extremely slow and plodding for most of the movie, and it really doesn't have the philosophical point that Philip K. Dick's books had until the very end. And as far as this version of the film goes, the narration is cheesy and really just sucks. The movie is great, but the narration just isn't all that good and really degrades the quality of this version of the movie as a whole.
Now, one last point: This movie is interesting in that it does not exist at all to have any major idea or philosophy behind it. It exists simply to tell a good story, and that is something that everyone can and should be able to appreciate.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Movie Review #11: The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Interesting story and characters, less of a focus on massive amounts of action and more of a focus on story
Cons: Somewhat slow and a little hard to understand
I watched this (Finally) after much prodding and poking from my sister. I had always thought the movies featuring the character Jason Bourne looked interesting, but they also looked a lot like your average action movie. Well, I was wrong about that. This movie (And presumably the other two, which I haven't seen) actually have an idea behind them, making them a set of "smart" action movies.
The character of Jason Bourne and all of his abilities as well as his past and life are extremely interesting and make for a great movie. Matt Damon is perfectly cast as Jason Bourne, and he really helps to bring the character to life. The supporting cast is also great, and they also help to flesh out the movie as a whole, making it much more than your traditional action thriller.
The story is great and the whole premise is very cool, and that combined with the execution of the movie makes it a real joy to watch and experience, and I really hope that everyone out there watches it and loves it like I did.
However, I do have a few problems with the story's pacing, as well as the fact that you really need to think about everything that is said in order to figure out what really went down in the life of Jason Bourne. That's good because it keeps the audience thinking, but it's bad because it forces you to think through and figure out something that should have been explained better.
The movie is great, though, and I hope that everyone out there goes and sees it.
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Interesting story and characters, less of a focus on massive amounts of action and more of a focus on story
Cons: Somewhat slow and a little hard to understand
I watched this (Finally) after much prodding and poking from my sister. I had always thought the movies featuring the character Jason Bourne looked interesting, but they also looked a lot like your average action movie. Well, I was wrong about that. This movie (And presumably the other two, which I haven't seen) actually have an idea behind them, making them a set of "smart" action movies.
The character of Jason Bourne and all of his abilities as well as his past and life are extremely interesting and make for a great movie. Matt Damon is perfectly cast as Jason Bourne, and he really helps to bring the character to life. The supporting cast is also great, and they also help to flesh out the movie as a whole, making it much more than your traditional action thriller.
The story is great and the whole premise is very cool, and that combined with the execution of the movie makes it a real joy to watch and experience, and I really hope that everyone out there watches it and loves it like I did.
However, I do have a few problems with the story's pacing, as well as the fact that you really need to think about everything that is said in order to figure out what really went down in the life of Jason Bourne. That's good because it keeps the audience thinking, but it's bad because it forces you to think through and figure out something that should have been explained better.
The movie is great, though, and I hope that everyone out there goes and sees it.
Movie Review #10: Big
First off, Merry Christmas to everyone out there, I hope that you had a good holiday.
Big
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Funny, interesting characters, good execution
Cons: It isn't really that funny for a comedy
I first heard about this movie a few years ago when I looked up Tom Hanks and all of the different movies that he has done. Big was one of those that was considered one of his better ones, and so I mentally filed away the title, meaning to eventually watch it.
This Christmas, my older sister bought it for me and I watched it, loving every minute. Tom Hanks is completely convincing in the role and is really good at it. I totally believed that he was the character for most of the film, which helped in terms of immersion and enjoyment. The rest of the cast is just as great and memorable, and I really loved everyone in their respective roles.
Now, onto the one complaint that I have: for a comedy, it really isn't that funny. It is funny, with several quite hilarious moments, but overall I found that it was much more of a drama than a comedy. It's a minor complaint, but still, I thought that I should say it.
Overall the movie is great and pretty funny, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in a comedy with a smattering of drama thrown in for a great mix.
Big
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Funny, interesting characters, good execution
Cons: It isn't really that funny for a comedy
I first heard about this movie a few years ago when I looked up Tom Hanks and all of the different movies that he has done. Big was one of those that was considered one of his better ones, and so I mentally filed away the title, meaning to eventually watch it.
This Christmas, my older sister bought it for me and I watched it, loving every minute. Tom Hanks is completely convincing in the role and is really good at it. I totally believed that he was the character for most of the film, which helped in terms of immersion and enjoyment. The rest of the cast is just as great and memorable, and I really loved everyone in their respective roles.
Now, onto the one complaint that I have: for a comedy, it really isn't that funny. It is funny, with several quite hilarious moments, but overall I found that it was much more of a drama than a comedy. It's a minor complaint, but still, I thought that I should say it.
Overall the movie is great and pretty funny, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in a comedy with a smattering of drama thrown in for a great mix.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Book Review: Clans of the Alphane Moon by Philip K. Dick
Overall: 3/4 Stars
This is yet again, another great Philip K. Dick novel. It is witty and funny and smart and extremely well thought through. The characters are well-developed and memorable, and the technologies in the book are flawlessly integrated and thought out.
The setting...well, call me stupid but I was sort of confused on that point so I never really got the actual setting, but that doesn't matter, at least overall, as long as you realize about the two different planets or moons that are the major areas of debate throughout the whole book.
The main characters of the book are extremely memorable and human, and the secondary characters are also some of my favorite in literature as a whole. I especially loved the slime character and the comedian Bunny Hentman.
Now, I do have to say that I really didn't understand the philosophical or intellectual reason behind this book. Unlike other PKD books that have a clear philosophical message or idea that they want to get across, this one seems to have a lot more to do with political messages, such as things like class and mental classifications and all sorts of social messages like that. However, the book was extremely detailed and thought out and wonderfully implemented. It was truly absoluteley perfect.
Overall, I can't say that this is one of PKD's best novels, and it isn't even one of his better ones, but it is still worth a read if you are a PKD fan, or if you like good science fiction.
This is yet again, another great Philip K. Dick novel. It is witty and funny and smart and extremely well thought through. The characters are well-developed and memorable, and the technologies in the book are flawlessly integrated and thought out.
The setting...well, call me stupid but I was sort of confused on that point so I never really got the actual setting, but that doesn't matter, at least overall, as long as you realize about the two different planets or moons that are the major areas of debate throughout the whole book.
The main characters of the book are extremely memorable and human, and the secondary characters are also some of my favorite in literature as a whole. I especially loved the slime character and the comedian Bunny Hentman.
Now, I do have to say that I really didn't understand the philosophical or intellectual reason behind this book. Unlike other PKD books that have a clear philosophical message or idea that they want to get across, this one seems to have a lot more to do with political messages, such as things like class and mental classifications and all sorts of social messages like that. However, the book was extremely detailed and thought out and wonderfully implemented. It was truly absoluteley perfect.
Overall, I can't say that this is one of PKD's best novels, and it isn't even one of his better ones, but it is still worth a read if you are a PKD fan, or if you like good science fiction.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Book Review: Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick
Overall: 3/4 Stars
I have not read very many of Philip K. Dick's books (3 of them) but I am quite familiar with who Philip K. Dick was. I know all about his methamphetamine addictions and his writings while on them, I know all about his religious visions and those correspondences with VALIS, and I honestly would pay practically anything to read the Exegesis, his eight thousand page journal that details his multitude of religious experiences and visions.
This book, which was only published posthumously and was originally the first draft of the book that became VALIS. I read the book in about six or seven hours, and I have to say, for a short book (214 Pages) it is extremely complex and interesting and in some cases downright hard to understand.
It takes place in three parts, the first and third being narrated in first person by Philip K. Dick himself as he observes and talks to his friend Nicholas, who basically experiences everything that Philip K. Dick himself experienced. Every religious vision, every prophetic occurence, everything that PKD went through, Nicholas goes through. The middle part is perhaps the most interesting of the whole book, because it is told from Nicholas' point of view, and has to do with his involvement with a satellite overhead known as VALIS A. This satellite gives him these visions and these pieces of information that lead him to discover his purpose within a corporation known as Aramcham.
Throughout the book there is a multitude of religious imagery and allegory, and in fact the story of Nicholas as a whole is really a lot like the story of Jesus, showing how knowledgeable PKD really was about Christianity. Anyways, the book also offers what I believe is a completely interesting and unique science fiction views of humans extraterrestial origins and alien contacts and their role in shaping what has now become human religion. For instance, it shows that these aliens, who were really the forerunners to humans, were once all together with humans. Then, when the humans did something (I can't remember exactly what), they were seperated from the aliens in much the same way that Adam and Eve and all of humanity were seperated from God.
My only complaint with this book is that sometimes it is extremely hard to understand. Especially when Nicholas converses with VALIS himself, where most of the religious aspects and philosophical elements are discussed. That can get a little tough to understand, but eventually I can pretty much guarantee that you will understand it and understand both the religious elements and the plot elements perfectly, and when you do, you'll realize that this is a near perfect novel.
I have not read very many of Philip K. Dick's books (3 of them) but I am quite familiar with who Philip K. Dick was. I know all about his methamphetamine addictions and his writings while on them, I know all about his religious visions and those correspondences with VALIS, and I honestly would pay practically anything to read the Exegesis, his eight thousand page journal that details his multitude of religious experiences and visions.
This book, which was only published posthumously and was originally the first draft of the book that became VALIS. I read the book in about six or seven hours, and I have to say, for a short book (214 Pages) it is extremely complex and interesting and in some cases downright hard to understand.
It takes place in three parts, the first and third being narrated in first person by Philip K. Dick himself as he observes and talks to his friend Nicholas, who basically experiences everything that Philip K. Dick himself experienced. Every religious vision, every prophetic occurence, everything that PKD went through, Nicholas goes through. The middle part is perhaps the most interesting of the whole book, because it is told from Nicholas' point of view, and has to do with his involvement with a satellite overhead known as VALIS A. This satellite gives him these visions and these pieces of information that lead him to discover his purpose within a corporation known as Aramcham.
Throughout the book there is a multitude of religious imagery and allegory, and in fact the story of Nicholas as a whole is really a lot like the story of Jesus, showing how knowledgeable PKD really was about Christianity. Anyways, the book also offers what I believe is a completely interesting and unique science fiction views of humans extraterrestial origins and alien contacts and their role in shaping what has now become human religion. For instance, it shows that these aliens, who were really the forerunners to humans, were once all together with humans. Then, when the humans did something (I can't remember exactly what), they were seperated from the aliens in much the same way that Adam and Eve and all of humanity were seperated from God.
My only complaint with this book is that sometimes it is extremely hard to understand. Especially when Nicholas converses with VALIS himself, where most of the religious aspects and philosophical elements are discussed. That can get a little tough to understand, but eventually I can pretty much guarantee that you will understand it and understand both the religious elements and the plot elements perfectly, and when you do, you'll realize that this is a near perfect novel.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Book Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Overall: 4/4 Stars
I bought this book because I plan on buying the amazingly awesome and spectacularly cool 5-Disc set of the movie Blade Runner, which was based on the Philip K. Dick book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I bought the book for $5 at the store and read it in two days, loving and savoring every single moment.
First off, the setting and characters are pure Philip K. Dick. It takes place in a sort of bombed out future where human barely exist on Earth, and most have migrated to colony planets. The main character is Rick Deckard, who hunts down androids who have illegally returned to Earth, and then he kills them or 'retires' them. He also uses the money that he gets from retiring them to buy a real animal, which is both regarded as a social status thing and a way to cope with what he does.
What I mean by the characters being pure Philip K. Dick is that they are, in essence, losers who really don't aspire to anything except purely human desires, including social status symbols (such as a real sheep) and all sorts of things like that while also being extremely smart and analytical. They sort of talk scientifically and philosophically just in everyday speech, which (And I don't know about you) is something that usually doesn't happen to me. This sort of speech sounds completely natural even though the setting for it is strange, and it's just that kind of oddness and indirect humor that I love about the book.
The story definitely has a theme, which is (I think) all about emotions and the way that humans form attachments to things. It is also an interesting novel in that it features what I believe to be a Philip K. Dick trademark in at least two of his books that I have read (This and, The Man in the High Castle), and by that I mean an ending that really isn't an ending.
Anyways, I highly recommend the book to science fiction readers, and I just cannot say enough about how awesome and interesting it really is. Oh, and by the way, when you're done reading the book, go watch all of the many cuts of Blade Runner. I've never seen it, but I will soon!
I bought this book because I plan on buying the amazingly awesome and spectacularly cool 5-Disc set of the movie Blade Runner, which was based on the Philip K. Dick book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I bought the book for $5 at the store and read it in two days, loving and savoring every single moment.
First off, the setting and characters are pure Philip K. Dick. It takes place in a sort of bombed out future where human barely exist on Earth, and most have migrated to colony planets. The main character is Rick Deckard, who hunts down androids who have illegally returned to Earth, and then he kills them or 'retires' them. He also uses the money that he gets from retiring them to buy a real animal, which is both regarded as a social status thing and a way to cope with what he does.
What I mean by the characters being pure Philip K. Dick is that they are, in essence, losers who really don't aspire to anything except purely human desires, including social status symbols (such as a real sheep) and all sorts of things like that while also being extremely smart and analytical. They sort of talk scientifically and philosophically just in everyday speech, which (And I don't know about you) is something that usually doesn't happen to me. This sort of speech sounds completely natural even though the setting for it is strange, and it's just that kind of oddness and indirect humor that I love about the book.
The story definitely has a theme, which is (I think) all about emotions and the way that humans form attachments to things. It is also an interesting novel in that it features what I believe to be a Philip K. Dick trademark in at least two of his books that I have read (This and, The Man in the High Castle), and by that I mean an ending that really isn't an ending.
Anyways, I highly recommend the book to science fiction readers, and I just cannot say enough about how awesome and interesting it really is. Oh, and by the way, when you're done reading the book, go watch all of the many cuts of Blade Runner. I've never seen it, but I will soon!
Movie Review #9: Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition
Overall: 9/10
Pros: Great story, action, adventure, character, writing, imagery...
Cons: Nothing major, except that it is a little slow at the start
I first heard of Road to Perdition by reading the phenomenal graphic novel that was held in my local library. The book was amazing, filled with a great story, amazing characters, awe inspiring visuals, and stark graphic moments. The thing was truly a piece of amazing work, and I still love rereading it to this day.
I wasn't sure about the movie. I had heard that it was good, but I was worried because I loved the book so much, and what I really wanted from the movie was a complete and faithful adaptation of the book. And that's exactly what I got.
The cast is the first major part of the movie that I love. Everyone was perfectly cast, and each actor fully embodies their character, making them into living, breathing people on the screen. The writing is also excellent, faithfully translating the core of the graphic novel while also adding a whole other level of emotion and back story to the story, as well as a new character whom I absolutely love.
Overall, the film wasn't perfect. It was a little bit slow at times, especially in the beginning, but the story as a whole as well as the execution of that story more than made up for the whole thing. My one other complaint is that in the graphic novel the kid narrates the story as an adult after he became a priest, and in the movie he narrates it as a child while talking about events that happen in his future. It works but it just seem sorts of stupid to me.
Overall: 9/10
Pros: Great story, action, adventure, character, writing, imagery...
Cons: Nothing major, except that it is a little slow at the start
I first heard of Road to Perdition by reading the phenomenal graphic novel that was held in my local library. The book was amazing, filled with a great story, amazing characters, awe inspiring visuals, and stark graphic moments. The thing was truly a piece of amazing work, and I still love rereading it to this day.
I wasn't sure about the movie. I had heard that it was good, but I was worried because I loved the book so much, and what I really wanted from the movie was a complete and faithful adaptation of the book. And that's exactly what I got.
The cast is the first major part of the movie that I love. Everyone was perfectly cast, and each actor fully embodies their character, making them into living, breathing people on the screen. The writing is also excellent, faithfully translating the core of the graphic novel while also adding a whole other level of emotion and back story to the story, as well as a new character whom I absolutely love.
Overall, the film wasn't perfect. It was a little bit slow at times, especially in the beginning, but the story as a whole as well as the execution of that story more than made up for the whole thing. My one other complaint is that in the graphic novel the kid narrates the story as an adult after he became a priest, and in the movie he narrates it as a child while talking about events that happen in his future. It works but it just seem sorts of stupid to me.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Movie Review #8: Paycheck
Paycheck
Overall: 7/10
Pros: Okay action, okay story...
Cons: Everything else
When I heard of this movie I thought that it looked all right at best, and filed the title away as a movie to eventually watch in the future. Then I heard it was based on a Philip K. Dick short story and I got a whole lot more interested.
The movie was simply adequate. The acting was okay, the action was okay, and the story was okay, but it all seemed cheap and stupid looking. I mean, the story was great (It was based on the work of Philip K. Dick-Hello!) but it was implemented stupidly.
Overall the movie was just okay. It didn't stand out to me in any way, and it didn't seem spectacular at all. It was an all right movie, but that was it.
Overall: 7/10
Pros: Okay action, okay story...
Cons: Everything else
When I heard of this movie I thought that it looked all right at best, and filed the title away as a movie to eventually watch in the future. Then I heard it was based on a Philip K. Dick short story and I got a whole lot more interested.
The movie was simply adequate. The acting was okay, the action was okay, and the story was okay, but it all seemed cheap and stupid looking. I mean, the story was great (It was based on the work of Philip K. Dick-Hello!) but it was implemented stupidly.
Overall the movie was just okay. It didn't stand out to me in any way, and it didn't seem spectacular at all. It was an all right movie, but that was it.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Game Review: Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Overall: 9.5/10
Pros: Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, amazing story, really great conversations...and graphics...and did I mention the awesome story?
Cons: Elevators, some combat situations, and your squadmates-sometimes.
The first time I saw this game I practically freaked-Bioware, the makers of the greatest Star Wars game ever, creating their own IP with their own ideas and story and characters. Add that scenario in with absolutely brilliant graphics, interesting characters, a unique and revolutionary conversation system, and your own starship, and you have a recipe for science fiction greatness.
I ordered the Limited Edition of the game off of Gamestop.com on Thanksgiving night, and when it arrived on Teusday, I couldn't stop playing. My final playthrough logged in at around 11 hours (I hated the fact that the game didn't outright tell you how long you played it once you beat it) and I didn't even crack the surface of what was possible in the game. I simply followed the story quest, pursuing two or three optional assignments maximum.
First off: the story and setting. The setting in the twenty-third century is superb, and is highly enhanced by the awesome art style and graphics. The environments everywhere are breathtaking and amazingly inhabited by the aliens within them. These environments and inhabitants help to give the story a breath of fresh air, as it simply provides context to everything that you do, and every situation that you find yourself in. The story itself is amazing, spanning several planets and situations to find yourself in, and the scale is just awe inspiring.
I just traveled laong the main pathway this time around, sticking to those planets that you absolutely need to go to in order to complete the game, and sticking to the order that you are supposedly supposed to visit those planets. That main quest alone took eleven hours of my time, and that eleven hours in four days was completely worth it.
I just loved the exploration and main quests that you have to partake, even though on some planets there are extended sequences where you just run from person to person until you can progress in some other way. This was sort of annoying, but in the end it just didn't matter because it always made you feel like you were progressing, which is the most important thing. Then, when you started to get going and really progress in a visible and quick manner, then you just love it even more.
The combat was extremely smooth and easy, playing a lot like many FPS games, albeit from a third-person perspective, and it was really, really fun and cool. The actual encounters, except for a few that I can think of, were extremely easy and simple to get through. However, that only strengthens the game. The combat, really, if you think about it, is simply overlaid over top of an epic and amazing story. It just doesn't matter in the long run. It is simply a vehicle to get you from place to place in order to progress the story-and that's what I really liked about it. Plus, even though you do level up, it doesn't feel like you absolutely need to spend hours and hours in order to upgrade your character, which is something that I hate about most RPG's. It really plays well in that you can simply play the game like a shooter-going from place to place doing what you need to do in order to get the game over with, and you can beat the game that way. That is very unlike most RPG's where you have to spend a massive amount of time leveling and working towards beating the game, leveling up every character that you could possibly have in your party, keeping everyone balanced. Also of note-you didn't have to keep switching characters in order to get certain things done. I beat the entire game using only two characters in my party: Ashley and Liara. Obviously Liara came into the game late, but after I acquired her, she was the only character that I used along with Ashley and myself-Commander Shephard.
This idea of using only two characters was interesting in that it provided me with insight into two interesting things: what makes a great game brilliant, and what makes a great game simple while at the same time being complex. What I thought was brilliant was that using this constant party, my Tech powers were never leveld up at all. That meant that I never got to hack into many of the crates and lockers and supply-giving areas in the game. This meant that except for around 5-10 crates maximum, I didn't pick up any new equipment or powers or items. I also only visited one store in my entire playthrough-and I still beat the game! I think that all games, not just RPG's need to be made like this. They need to be made while giving you the ability to beat the game with a minimal amount of work. You don't need to collect everything to get through the game, you just need to work at it minimally. You don't need to be an expert, you just ned to be a fan. And as for what makes a great game simple while at the same time being complex: guided freedom. I'm not a big fan of the sandbox genre, and I hate that 'go anywhere do anything' mantra. It just annoys me. I like to finish games and get a complete understanding of the story. If that takes me forty hours because I wasn't sure what was really going to progress the plot or help me out, then that sort of dampens the experience. The ability to visit literally dozens of worlds in Mass Effect is very cool and unique, and eventually I'd like to visit many of those optional worlds and discover what they have to offer, but if you really just want to get through the main plot and understand that aspect of it completely, than you can and it is extremely easy and fun to do so.
The conclusion, however, is just a little bit odd. It does leave room for the rest of the planned trilogy, albeit a little bit wierdly, but really it just makes me want to play throug the game all over again.
Now, onto the only three bad things that I can think of.
#1: Combat and Squad
Sometimes the combat is a little unbalanced and difficult. I mean it is fun and easy to play with, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming and odd. Now, in terms of the squad, this was my one major complaint. Your squad, while most of the time helpful, can at times be extremely stupid. One particular incident comes to mind where I realized that one of my squadmates was way, way behind me and wasn't moving at all. I had to go backtrack all the way back over there to get to Liara, the squadmate in question, and then I had to screw around for another five minutes until I finally got her to come with me and help to finish the mission.
#2: Odd Dialog Choices
The dialog is my absolute favorite part of the game. I could sit for hours on end and just go through the many sorts of conversations in the game. My major complaints with this system isn't with the system itself, its more with the delivery. Some of the lines are delivered in a sort of sarcastic or serious or even angry manner when they are supposedly the 'nice' lines. The characters react in the desired way, but the delivery is just a little bit wierd. At the end, one of the dialog choices suddenly makes you like whip around in another direction and walk off while spouting a few more lines. It isn't bad or game killing, it's just a little odd.
#3: Bugs
I don't play games to find bugs. With Halo 3 and the Forge, yes, I do screw around some and try to find glitches and things like that that help to make the game fun in a different kind of way, but with Mass Effect, my entire desire in playing the game was just to do that: Unfortuantely, my experience was marred by two bugs that I found while just doing what any player would normally do. The first one was me just simply walking along a walkway right next to the railing, and all of a sudden I was stuck and couldn't move at all in any direction whatsoever. It would play walking animations, but I couldn't move. I couldn't figure out any way to get out of there, and so I had to load my last save point and do about fifteen minutes worth of playing over again. The second bug happened while I was in the Mako. I went over a rock and flipped the thing. The Mako ended up falling through the geometry of the level and then ended up hung from its cannon. I could move the cannon, but the Mako itself was still stuck underneath. While these bugs were technically game killing, and I was mad about them, I didn't mind them overall, because the rest of the game was so good that it just didn't matter.
Overall, if you love either shooters or RPG's, get this game and play it to its full extent. It is amazing and extremely fun to play. I really loved the game and can't wait to continue on with the story.
Concept: Create an amazing RPG, and an amazing science fiction universe while incorporating amazing tactical gameplay and an awesome conversation system to create one of the greatest video games ever overall.
Graphics: The in-game environments are amazingly beautiful and detailed, and the character models are awesome. However, the character models that are used during the conversations and cinematics are the true show-stealers, showing off nearly five million polygons at once. They are amazingly detailed and show of the real power of the Xbox 360 and next generation machines as a whole.
Sound: The main draw for sound-the voice acting, is absolutely perfect and exquisetly superb-mostly. See my section up above for the full story. The music was also really, really amazing. I didn't expect it to be as good as it really was, but it was amazing-inspired by the electronic soundtracks of the 70's and 80's. It was one of my favorite features of the game in the end-and I wasn't even expecting it. What a pleasant surprise it was.
Playability: Combat is awesome and smooth. Exploration is fun, although a bit jumpy, and conversations play like video games were invented just for that system.
Entertainment: It is extremely fun and offers a massive amount of entertainment, and you don't really have to look for it. It is all right out there on the surface and aching for you to come in and play with it.
Replay Value: So high it is impossible to come up with any kind of words to describe how high the replay value is.
Overall: 9.5/10
Pros: Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, amazing story, really great conversations...and graphics...and did I mention the awesome story?
Cons: Elevators, some combat situations, and your squadmates-sometimes.
The first time I saw this game I practically freaked-Bioware, the makers of the greatest Star Wars game ever, creating their own IP with their own ideas and story and characters. Add that scenario in with absolutely brilliant graphics, interesting characters, a unique and revolutionary conversation system, and your own starship, and you have a recipe for science fiction greatness.
I ordered the Limited Edition of the game off of Gamestop.com on Thanksgiving night, and when it arrived on Teusday, I couldn't stop playing. My final playthrough logged in at around 11 hours (I hated the fact that the game didn't outright tell you how long you played it once you beat it) and I didn't even crack the surface of what was possible in the game. I simply followed the story quest, pursuing two or three optional assignments maximum.
First off: the story and setting. The setting in the twenty-third century is superb, and is highly enhanced by the awesome art style and graphics. The environments everywhere are breathtaking and amazingly inhabited by the aliens within them. These environments and inhabitants help to give the story a breath of fresh air, as it simply provides context to everything that you do, and every situation that you find yourself in. The story itself is amazing, spanning several planets and situations to find yourself in, and the scale is just awe inspiring.
I just traveled laong the main pathway this time around, sticking to those planets that you absolutely need to go to in order to complete the game, and sticking to the order that you are supposedly supposed to visit those planets. That main quest alone took eleven hours of my time, and that eleven hours in four days was completely worth it.
I just loved the exploration and main quests that you have to partake, even though on some planets there are extended sequences where you just run from person to person until you can progress in some other way. This was sort of annoying, but in the end it just didn't matter because it always made you feel like you were progressing, which is the most important thing. Then, when you started to get going and really progress in a visible and quick manner, then you just love it even more.
The combat was extremely smooth and easy, playing a lot like many FPS games, albeit from a third-person perspective, and it was really, really fun and cool. The actual encounters, except for a few that I can think of, were extremely easy and simple to get through. However, that only strengthens the game. The combat, really, if you think about it, is simply overlaid over top of an epic and amazing story. It just doesn't matter in the long run. It is simply a vehicle to get you from place to place in order to progress the story-and that's what I really liked about it. Plus, even though you do level up, it doesn't feel like you absolutely need to spend hours and hours in order to upgrade your character, which is something that I hate about most RPG's. It really plays well in that you can simply play the game like a shooter-going from place to place doing what you need to do in order to get the game over with, and you can beat the game that way. That is very unlike most RPG's where you have to spend a massive amount of time leveling and working towards beating the game, leveling up every character that you could possibly have in your party, keeping everyone balanced. Also of note-you didn't have to keep switching characters in order to get certain things done. I beat the entire game using only two characters in my party: Ashley and Liara. Obviously Liara came into the game late, but after I acquired her, she was the only character that I used along with Ashley and myself-Commander Shephard.
This idea of using only two characters was interesting in that it provided me with insight into two interesting things: what makes a great game brilliant, and what makes a great game simple while at the same time being complex. What I thought was brilliant was that using this constant party, my Tech powers were never leveld up at all. That meant that I never got to hack into many of the crates and lockers and supply-giving areas in the game. This meant that except for around 5-10 crates maximum, I didn't pick up any new equipment or powers or items. I also only visited one store in my entire playthrough-and I still beat the game! I think that all games, not just RPG's need to be made like this. They need to be made while giving you the ability to beat the game with a minimal amount of work. You don't need to collect everything to get through the game, you just need to work at it minimally. You don't need to be an expert, you just ned to be a fan. And as for what makes a great game simple while at the same time being complex: guided freedom. I'm not a big fan of the sandbox genre, and I hate that 'go anywhere do anything' mantra. It just annoys me. I like to finish games and get a complete understanding of the story. If that takes me forty hours because I wasn't sure what was really going to progress the plot or help me out, then that sort of dampens the experience. The ability to visit literally dozens of worlds in Mass Effect is very cool and unique, and eventually I'd like to visit many of those optional worlds and discover what they have to offer, but if you really just want to get through the main plot and understand that aspect of it completely, than you can and it is extremely easy and fun to do so.
The conclusion, however, is just a little bit odd. It does leave room for the rest of the planned trilogy, albeit a little bit wierdly, but really it just makes me want to play throug the game all over again.
Now, onto the only three bad things that I can think of.
#1: Combat and Squad
Sometimes the combat is a little unbalanced and difficult. I mean it is fun and easy to play with, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming and odd. Now, in terms of the squad, this was my one major complaint. Your squad, while most of the time helpful, can at times be extremely stupid. One particular incident comes to mind where I realized that one of my squadmates was way, way behind me and wasn't moving at all. I had to go backtrack all the way back over there to get to Liara, the squadmate in question, and then I had to screw around for another five minutes until I finally got her to come with me and help to finish the mission.
#2: Odd Dialog Choices
The dialog is my absolute favorite part of the game. I could sit for hours on end and just go through the many sorts of conversations in the game. My major complaints with this system isn't with the system itself, its more with the delivery. Some of the lines are delivered in a sort of sarcastic or serious or even angry manner when they are supposedly the 'nice' lines. The characters react in the desired way, but the delivery is just a little bit wierd. At the end, one of the dialog choices suddenly makes you like whip around in another direction and walk off while spouting a few more lines. It isn't bad or game killing, it's just a little odd.
#3: Bugs
I don't play games to find bugs. With Halo 3 and the Forge, yes, I do screw around some and try to find glitches and things like that that help to make the game fun in a different kind of way, but with Mass Effect, my entire desire in playing the game was just to do that: Unfortuantely, my experience was marred by two bugs that I found while just doing what any player would normally do. The first one was me just simply walking along a walkway right next to the railing, and all of a sudden I was stuck and couldn't move at all in any direction whatsoever. It would play walking animations, but I couldn't move. I couldn't figure out any way to get out of there, and so I had to load my last save point and do about fifteen minutes worth of playing over again. The second bug happened while I was in the Mako. I went over a rock and flipped the thing. The Mako ended up falling through the geometry of the level and then ended up hung from its cannon. I could move the cannon, but the Mako itself was still stuck underneath. While these bugs were technically game killing, and I was mad about them, I didn't mind them overall, because the rest of the game was so good that it just didn't matter.
Overall, if you love either shooters or RPG's, get this game and play it to its full extent. It is amazing and extremely fun to play. I really loved the game and can't wait to continue on with the story.
Concept: Create an amazing RPG, and an amazing science fiction universe while incorporating amazing tactical gameplay and an awesome conversation system to create one of the greatest video games ever overall.
Graphics: The in-game environments are amazingly beautiful and detailed, and the character models are awesome. However, the character models that are used during the conversations and cinematics are the true show-stealers, showing off nearly five million polygons at once. They are amazingly detailed and show of the real power of the Xbox 360 and next generation machines as a whole.
Sound: The main draw for sound-the voice acting, is absolutely perfect and exquisetly superb-mostly. See my section up above for the full story. The music was also really, really amazing. I didn't expect it to be as good as it really was, but it was amazing-inspired by the electronic soundtracks of the 70's and 80's. It was one of my favorite features of the game in the end-and I wasn't even expecting it. What a pleasant surprise it was.
Playability: Combat is awesome and smooth. Exploration is fun, although a bit jumpy, and conversations play like video games were invented just for that system.
Entertainment: It is extremely fun and offers a massive amount of entertainment, and you don't really have to look for it. It is all right out there on the surface and aching for you to come in and play with it.
Replay Value: So high it is impossible to come up with any kind of words to describe how high the replay value is.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
First Impressions: Oblivion and Mass Effect
Yesterday I bought The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Collector's Edition from my local Gamecrazy for $25 (Plust tax). Today I received in the mail a game that I ordered on Thanksgiving day: the Mass Effect Limited Edition.
Now, I'm not great at RPG's, even though I love them, and I have to say-so far, I love both of these games a phenomenal amount. So here is what I think of them so far:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360)
I was very nervous about buying this game. First off, the world of Tamriel is a world that will take anyone literally hundreds of hours to explore to its full extent like I am so fond of doing, and second off, I was extremely worried about how first-person sword combat would work.
The world is so beautiful that the first part is something that I shouldn't be worried about; it's begging to be explored. As far as the side missions go...they look cool, but I doubt that I'll complete very many of them, I'm just going to stick to the main quest. But everything, and I mean everything, is rendered in such beautiful detail that the exploration parts of the game, or the optional exploration parts, are actually incredibly fun.
And the sword combat works surprisingly well. I was primarily worried that they had only made one attack animation for the sword combat, but thankfully they've made a really cool system with numerous animations and combos and all sorts of things like that. It's really just awesome.
The game overall so far (About an hour of playing) has been extremely fun and detailed and I can't wait to invest more time into it.
The Collector's Edition special features are brief, but nice. The trailer is awesome, and what is really the only other major feature on it: a 45-minute documentary about the making of the game, is extremely well done and it is really fun to watch. The packaging for the Collector's Edition is awesome, and the book that comes with it is really cool to read and just look at, beign exquisetly designed and crafted.
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
This is the one game that I really, really wanted this year. In all the trailers it just looked absolutely spectacular and like it was going to be something amazing to experience, and so far (About 3 hours) it has been one of the most amazing RPG experiences ever.
The combat, while not perfect, is really more fun than I thought that it would be, and the laser pistols and weapons really feel a lot like normal FPS and 3PS weapons, which is something that I really appreciate. The squad controls are nice, especially with the allies that you meet up with, and the graphics make the whole thing just a joy to experience.
However, the thing that I mostly have to commend in the game is its conversation interface. Really, it sounds stupid, but that is really one of my favorite parts of the game. The usually tedious task of conversations and information finding are replaced with something that is a joy to experience in every single way possible. It is just awesome.
The Limited Edition is really, really spectacular. It is in a Gears of War-style case, and the bonus features and bonus books are just really fun to watch and read. They had a whole ton of information to the game world and just make an already spectacular game even more immersive than it already is.
Overall
Overall...I have to pick out Mass Effect as the better game so far. But that is not to say that I don't like Oblivion, its just that I've had more time to play Mass Effect and more time to see what it really has to offer. That's something I haven't done with Oblivion so far, so...my opinion on that matter doesn't really count.
Three days till my birthday!
Now, I'm not great at RPG's, even though I love them, and I have to say-so far, I love both of these games a phenomenal amount. So here is what I think of them so far:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360)
I was very nervous about buying this game. First off, the world of Tamriel is a world that will take anyone literally hundreds of hours to explore to its full extent like I am so fond of doing, and second off, I was extremely worried about how first-person sword combat would work.
The world is so beautiful that the first part is something that I shouldn't be worried about; it's begging to be explored. As far as the side missions go...they look cool, but I doubt that I'll complete very many of them, I'm just going to stick to the main quest. But everything, and I mean everything, is rendered in such beautiful detail that the exploration parts of the game, or the optional exploration parts, are actually incredibly fun.
And the sword combat works surprisingly well. I was primarily worried that they had only made one attack animation for the sword combat, but thankfully they've made a really cool system with numerous animations and combos and all sorts of things like that. It's really just awesome.
The game overall so far (About an hour of playing) has been extremely fun and detailed and I can't wait to invest more time into it.
The Collector's Edition special features are brief, but nice. The trailer is awesome, and what is really the only other major feature on it: a 45-minute documentary about the making of the game, is extremely well done and it is really fun to watch. The packaging for the Collector's Edition is awesome, and the book that comes with it is really cool to read and just look at, beign exquisetly designed and crafted.
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
This is the one game that I really, really wanted this year. In all the trailers it just looked absolutely spectacular and like it was going to be something amazing to experience, and so far (About 3 hours) it has been one of the most amazing RPG experiences ever.
The combat, while not perfect, is really more fun than I thought that it would be, and the laser pistols and weapons really feel a lot like normal FPS and 3PS weapons, which is something that I really appreciate. The squad controls are nice, especially with the allies that you meet up with, and the graphics make the whole thing just a joy to experience.
However, the thing that I mostly have to commend in the game is its conversation interface. Really, it sounds stupid, but that is really one of my favorite parts of the game. The usually tedious task of conversations and information finding are replaced with something that is a joy to experience in every single way possible. It is just awesome.
The Limited Edition is really, really spectacular. It is in a Gears of War-style case, and the bonus features and bonus books are just really fun to watch and read. They had a whole ton of information to the game world and just make an already spectacular game even more immersive than it already is.
Overall
Overall...I have to pick out Mass Effect as the better game so far. But that is not to say that I don't like Oblivion, its just that I've had more time to play Mass Effect and more time to see what it really has to offer. That's something I haven't done with Oblivion so far, so...my opinion on that matter doesn't really count.
Three days till my birthday!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
First Impressions: F.E.A.R.; Quake IV; Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
So, on Black Friday I took some money and went down to the local Gamestop, where they were having a 'Buy Two Get One Free' sale, and so I bought three games. These are my impressions of them.
F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360)
Okay, so far, this is probably my favorite of the three games. It has solid FPS action, a creepy atmosphere, and so far, a good story. Now, that is not to say that it is without faults. It is definitely a little bit repetitive, having you basically traverse through a little bit of a maze, just killing the guys that come at you while simply trying to progress to the next story point. So, that kind of gets old. As far as everything else goes...I can't really complain. The graphics are nice, although a little lo-res or low detail at some points, and the enemy AI is a joy to fight against, especially with the slow motion. The horror moments are cool, albeit not very scary, and so far the story has been brief and spread thin but still enjoyable.
My favorite part of the whole package for this game so far has been the slow motion ability. First off, it's just a cool feature on paper, but the way that it is implemented, with all of the visual effects and super cool filters, make it just plain awesome. The best part about the slow motion: the blood sprays. The blood is just streaked across the screen, and it just looks awesome. The best gameplay addition to the slow motion: the shotgun. It is just absolutely amazing to see an enemy cut in half using that powerful shotgun, showering the area in a massive amount of blood and what is left of the enemy's body. There are very few greater feelings in video games today.
Overall 1st Impression: 8.5/10
Quake IV (Xbox 360)
I bought this title simply because I absolutely love id Software. All of their games have been groundbreaking and have pushed the industry forward as a whole, especially in the graphics department, and Doom 3 and Quake IV were no different. Sure, Quake IV wasn't developed by id, but it was made using the Doom 3 engine, and so I think that that sort of links them together in a way, and if they aren't linked by graphics then they are sure linked by gameplay.
I beat Doom 3 on the Xbox (I'll have to post a review some time) and that was a very fun game. It wasn't great, but it was good, with solid action, albeit sucky level design, and interesting creatures. The game delivered, even with an extremely weak story. So far, Quake IV looks to be the exact same thing. The levels seem very industrial and Doom 3-esque, and all of them are cramped and while they are interesting to fight in, they just get a little old after a little bit. Now I know that you get to fight outdoors and that you are eventually transformed into a Strogg, but from what I've seen so far, the game isn't all that spectacular.
Now, my favorite part of the game so far has to be the opening sequence. It opens on a marine that looks like he's floating through space. It looks like it could be a dream, but then the camera pulls back and shows you that he is floating through space, and that his body has been ripped in half and is showering the space around it in blood. It is just awesome.
Also, I love the fact that id and Activision included a bonus disc with the game. It's got a few cool documentary things, but the coolest part is definitely the inclusion of Quake II. That game was just awesome (It wasn't my era but I've played it) and it's really a blast using a gamepad, since I really don't like PC controls.
Overall 1st Impression: 7/10
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360)
I bought this game mostly just because of how awesome it looked. The graphics are just absolutely beautiful. Now, playing it on the other hand is a little wierd. The controls are fine, and everything about it is great except for two major things:
1) The aim speed. It would be really hard to play this as anything other than a really slow tactical shooter. The look speeds are just so slow it's unbelievable, and every single encounter practically turns into a sniping encounter whereas they might have been a really awesome assault encounter.
2) Why can I not save when I want too!? Why!? I absolutely hate this. Especially when I get called away and I don't have time to finish what I'm doing. I had to do most of one mission twice before I got a message that saved "Saving..." and then I shut the game off. Still, I'm not even sure it actaully saved it.
My favorite part so far...........I dont' know, I'm still looking for one.
Overall 1st Impression: 7/10
So there you have it!
F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360)
Okay, so far, this is probably my favorite of the three games. It has solid FPS action, a creepy atmosphere, and so far, a good story. Now, that is not to say that it is without faults. It is definitely a little bit repetitive, having you basically traverse through a little bit of a maze, just killing the guys that come at you while simply trying to progress to the next story point. So, that kind of gets old. As far as everything else goes...I can't really complain. The graphics are nice, although a little lo-res or low detail at some points, and the enemy AI is a joy to fight against, especially with the slow motion. The horror moments are cool, albeit not very scary, and so far the story has been brief and spread thin but still enjoyable.
My favorite part of the whole package for this game so far has been the slow motion ability. First off, it's just a cool feature on paper, but the way that it is implemented, with all of the visual effects and super cool filters, make it just plain awesome. The best part about the slow motion: the blood sprays. The blood is just streaked across the screen, and it just looks awesome. The best gameplay addition to the slow motion: the shotgun. It is just absolutely amazing to see an enemy cut in half using that powerful shotgun, showering the area in a massive amount of blood and what is left of the enemy's body. There are very few greater feelings in video games today.
Overall 1st Impression: 8.5/10
Quake IV (Xbox 360)
I bought this title simply because I absolutely love id Software. All of their games have been groundbreaking and have pushed the industry forward as a whole, especially in the graphics department, and Doom 3 and Quake IV were no different. Sure, Quake IV wasn't developed by id, but it was made using the Doom 3 engine, and so I think that that sort of links them together in a way, and if they aren't linked by graphics then they are sure linked by gameplay.
I beat Doom 3 on the Xbox (I'll have to post a review some time) and that was a very fun game. It wasn't great, but it was good, with solid action, albeit sucky level design, and interesting creatures. The game delivered, even with an extremely weak story. So far, Quake IV looks to be the exact same thing. The levels seem very industrial and Doom 3-esque, and all of them are cramped and while they are interesting to fight in, they just get a little old after a little bit. Now I know that you get to fight outdoors and that you are eventually transformed into a Strogg, but from what I've seen so far, the game isn't all that spectacular.
Now, my favorite part of the game so far has to be the opening sequence. It opens on a marine that looks like he's floating through space. It looks like it could be a dream, but then the camera pulls back and shows you that he is floating through space, and that his body has been ripped in half and is showering the space around it in blood. It is just awesome.
Also, I love the fact that id and Activision included a bonus disc with the game. It's got a few cool documentary things, but the coolest part is definitely the inclusion of Quake II. That game was just awesome (It wasn't my era but I've played it) and it's really a blast using a gamepad, since I really don't like PC controls.
Overall 1st Impression: 7/10
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Xbox 360)
I bought this game mostly just because of how awesome it looked. The graphics are just absolutely beautiful. Now, playing it on the other hand is a little wierd. The controls are fine, and everything about it is great except for two major things:
1) The aim speed. It would be really hard to play this as anything other than a really slow tactical shooter. The look speeds are just so slow it's unbelievable, and every single encounter practically turns into a sniping encounter whereas they might have been a really awesome assault encounter.
2) Why can I not save when I want too!? Why!? I absolutely hate this. Especially when I get called away and I don't have time to finish what I'm doing. I had to do most of one mission twice before I got a message that saved "Saving..." and then I shut the game off. Still, I'm not even sure it actaully saved it.
My favorite part so far...........I dont' know, I'm still looking for one.
Overall 1st Impression: 7/10
So there you have it!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
This Holiday's Video Game Dilemma
In just four days (and counting) many of us will be sitting down to Thanksgiving, a celebration of friends and family and (some would say most importantly) good food. That day is the day that I will be celebrating my 15th birthday, even if the real thing isn't for another week, and so I think that I'll have the money to go and buy one game. The trouble is, I can't pick between Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty 4. So, I've decided to rate them by their own merits.
Mass Effect
Pros: Awesome story, amazing graphics, cool gameplay
Cons: I suck at RPG's, heavily stat based
Concept: Take the team that made one of the best Star Wars games ever and let them make their own amazing idea. Also, start amazing trilogy of games.
Graphics: Right up there with the best of the best. Especially great facial animations and things like that.
Sound: Well, I'm not sure about all of this, especially the music. But right now it looks like it will have hours and hours of voice acting that is going to be just absolutely spectacular, so...
Playibility: RPG's are always a little hard to control, and from what I've seen it appears that combat is somewhat squad based, albeit real-time, so...I'm not sure how that's gonna play out.
Entertainment: Oh the entertainment will be there, just hopefully you won't have to level an insane amount to get at it.
Replay Value: Hopefully high, but then if it takes 200 hours to get through, do you really want to have to do that all over again?
Assassin's Creed
Pros: It looks like it'll have a great story, interesting characters, interesting gameplay.
Cons: It looks a little to sandbox and open-ended for me.
Concept: Prince of Persia for the next generation with a better plot and all that.
Graphics: Well, the environments look really amazing so far, but they really haven't showcased what they are doing about the nitty gritty details yet, so I'm not sure how it looks at street level so to speak.
Sound: I don't really know. They haven't really talked about that all that much and I haven't really experienced anything that gives me an impression of what the sound will be like, so I can't really tell. What I do know is that it looks like the sound, music, and acting will be pretty good.
Playibility: From what I've heard, the controls are great and work well, but are kind of hard to learn.
Entertainment: It looks like a great adventure that will last for hours on end. The trouble is, Im not sure if I want to invest that many hours into it. I'm sure it'll be great and spectacular, but will it be fun?
Replay Value: Hopefully high, but it looks kind of medium to me.
Call of Duty 4
Pros: Graphics that make my jaw drop, perfect FPS action, fun to play.
Cons: Since I'm primarily a Campaign player, the six hour long campaign that many gaming magazines report makes me want to cry.
Concept: Take Call of Duty is a whole new direction and make it absolutely awesome and perfect.
Graphics: The best that we've seen so far in this generation. Seriously, it makes me think that in the next generation of game consoles we will see truly photorealistic graphics. Meanwhile, this is as close as we're gonna get...maybe.
Sound: From what I hear, awesome. Sound effects look to be awesome, and most war games have really great orchestrated music, and hopefully this one does too.
Playibility: The controls are great, supposedly, and the 360's controller is great for FPS games, so that combined with a Halo 3-esque control scheme will have me smiling from ear to ear.
Entertainment: Supposedly non-stop thrills and amazing experiences, this game has it all. Trouble is, it looks to be too short to play through more than a handful of times, so...I'm not sure if that is something I'll really like.
Replay Value: I want to say high, just because the game looks so awesome, but with a really short campaign mode, it looks to gravitate more towards medium.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the latest and greatest console video games. The trouble is I have my thoughts down...and I still don't know which one I'm going to buy.
Mass Effect
Pros: Awesome story, amazing graphics, cool gameplay
Cons: I suck at RPG's, heavily stat based
Concept: Take the team that made one of the best Star Wars games ever and let them make their own amazing idea. Also, start amazing trilogy of games.
Graphics: Right up there with the best of the best. Especially great facial animations and things like that.
Sound: Well, I'm not sure about all of this, especially the music. But right now it looks like it will have hours and hours of voice acting that is going to be just absolutely spectacular, so...
Playibility: RPG's are always a little hard to control, and from what I've seen it appears that combat is somewhat squad based, albeit real-time, so...I'm not sure how that's gonna play out.
Entertainment: Oh the entertainment will be there, just hopefully you won't have to level an insane amount to get at it.
Replay Value: Hopefully high, but then if it takes 200 hours to get through, do you really want to have to do that all over again?
Assassin's Creed
Pros: It looks like it'll have a great story, interesting characters, interesting gameplay.
Cons: It looks a little to sandbox and open-ended for me.
Concept: Prince of Persia for the next generation with a better plot and all that.
Graphics: Well, the environments look really amazing so far, but they really haven't showcased what they are doing about the nitty gritty details yet, so I'm not sure how it looks at street level so to speak.
Sound: I don't really know. They haven't really talked about that all that much and I haven't really experienced anything that gives me an impression of what the sound will be like, so I can't really tell. What I do know is that it looks like the sound, music, and acting will be pretty good.
Playibility: From what I've heard, the controls are great and work well, but are kind of hard to learn.
Entertainment: It looks like a great adventure that will last for hours on end. The trouble is, Im not sure if I want to invest that many hours into it. I'm sure it'll be great and spectacular, but will it be fun?
Replay Value: Hopefully high, but it looks kind of medium to me.
Call of Duty 4
Pros: Graphics that make my jaw drop, perfect FPS action, fun to play.
Cons: Since I'm primarily a Campaign player, the six hour long campaign that many gaming magazines report makes me want to cry.
Concept: Take Call of Duty is a whole new direction and make it absolutely awesome and perfect.
Graphics: The best that we've seen so far in this generation. Seriously, it makes me think that in the next generation of game consoles we will see truly photorealistic graphics. Meanwhile, this is as close as we're gonna get...maybe.
Sound: From what I hear, awesome. Sound effects look to be awesome, and most war games have really great orchestrated music, and hopefully this one does too.
Playibility: The controls are great, supposedly, and the 360's controller is great for FPS games, so that combined with a Halo 3-esque control scheme will have me smiling from ear to ear.
Entertainment: Supposedly non-stop thrills and amazing experiences, this game has it all. Trouble is, it looks to be too short to play through more than a handful of times, so...I'm not sure if that is something I'll really like.
Replay Value: I want to say high, just because the game looks so awesome, but with a really short campaign mode, it looks to gravitate more towards medium.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the latest and greatest console video games. The trouble is I have my thoughts down...and I still don't know which one I'm going to buy.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Movie Review #7: Next
Next
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Great story, great action, great movie overall.
Cons: Some bad writing and horrible special effects.
Please don't take this score wrong. This has absolutely become one of my favorite movies ever. Based on a short story by one of my favorite authors Philip K. Dick, the movie plays out the basic idea of the story in a grand fashion, showing off all of the smarts and style that Mr. Dick had while changing the setting and making it more relatable to the viewer.
My favorite parts of the movie were those involving looking ahead. There was just something about those sequences that made you feel like you knew something special. You knew that everyone else who was watching the movie knew the exact same thing, but for some reason, you just felt like you knew the main character's secret, and then when you found out that you didn't know the secret, that you didn't really know what was going on, you weren't mad or anything like that, you were amazed and enthused at the new direction the movie was going. The acting was pretty good, and that combined with the story and script just made the whole thing a joy to watch. However, it wasn't without it's faults.
The writing, while good on a technical and story level, was at times a little wierd on the personal level. There are a few lines that just seem to stick out as a little strange or awkward, and while it doesn't make the movie stink, it just seems a little odd. The other thing that brought me out of the movie were the special effects. They looked good, but you don't even have to concentrate on them very hard to see that they don't really hold up all that well. Everything that was digital just looked digital. It looked like early 90's films or budget TV films today, where it looks good, but it just doesn't look great.
So, really, my complaints were small and overall insignificant. However, they do make the film a little bit worse than it would have been otherwise. Still, I recommend this movie to anyone interested in science fiction and looking for a good, twist-filled plot.
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Great story, great action, great movie overall.
Cons: Some bad writing and horrible special effects.
Please don't take this score wrong. This has absolutely become one of my favorite movies ever. Based on a short story by one of my favorite authors Philip K. Dick, the movie plays out the basic idea of the story in a grand fashion, showing off all of the smarts and style that Mr. Dick had while changing the setting and making it more relatable to the viewer.
My favorite parts of the movie were those involving looking ahead. There was just something about those sequences that made you feel like you knew something special. You knew that everyone else who was watching the movie knew the exact same thing, but for some reason, you just felt like you knew the main character's secret, and then when you found out that you didn't know the secret, that you didn't really know what was going on, you weren't mad or anything like that, you were amazed and enthused at the new direction the movie was going. The acting was pretty good, and that combined with the story and script just made the whole thing a joy to watch. However, it wasn't without it's faults.
The writing, while good on a technical and story level, was at times a little wierd on the personal level. There are a few lines that just seem to stick out as a little strange or awkward, and while it doesn't make the movie stink, it just seems a little odd. The other thing that brought me out of the movie were the special effects. They looked good, but you don't even have to concentrate on them very hard to see that they don't really hold up all that well. Everything that was digital just looked digital. It looked like early 90's films or budget TV films today, where it looks good, but it just doesn't look great.
So, really, my complaints were small and overall insignificant. However, they do make the film a little bit worse than it would have been otherwise. Still, I recommend this movie to anyone interested in science fiction and looking for a good, twist-filled plot.
Movie Review #6: Gone in 60 Seconds
Gone in 60 Seconds
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Good action, pretty fast paced.
Cons: Cheesy at times, just really not that good.
So, I watched this movie simply because it didn't look too bad. It looked all right. I wasn't very excited to see the movie, and I didn't have high expectations. Thank goodness, because otherwise I would have been disappointed.
To be fair, the movie isn't bad. It's actually pretty good. It's good everything a good drama needs, a good story, interesting characters, tons of action, but then it also has some things that no good drama should ever have: sometimes lame and way too spectacular special effects, gimmicks, and just some dumb elements overall.
So, I know that this review is kind of short, but that's all I really have to say about the movie. It just wasn't spectacular or amazing in any way. It was just...adequate.
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Good action, pretty fast paced.
Cons: Cheesy at times, just really not that good.
So, I watched this movie simply because it didn't look too bad. It looked all right. I wasn't very excited to see the movie, and I didn't have high expectations. Thank goodness, because otherwise I would have been disappointed.
To be fair, the movie isn't bad. It's actually pretty good. It's good everything a good drama needs, a good story, interesting characters, tons of action, but then it also has some things that no good drama should ever have: sometimes lame and way too spectacular special effects, gimmicks, and just some dumb elements overall.
So, I know that this review is kind of short, but that's all I really have to say about the movie. It just wasn't spectacular or amazing in any way. It was just...adequate.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Game Review: BioShock (Xbox 360)
BioShock (Xbox 360)
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great story, art style, graphics, gameplay, pretty much everything.
Cons: You really got to pay attention, and sometimes it gets a little bit slow.
This game had a lot of hype before it was released, and then there was a lot of hype when it was released due to the high review scores that it got, including a 10/10 in Game Informer, my favorite gaming magazine.
First off I'll list the high points. I absolutely loved this game and had a massive amount of fun playing it. The world of Rapture is practically living on this box of circuitry in my living room, showing everyone who picks it up what is truly possible with next generation technology. Everything about this game screams "next-gen". The graphics are absolutely stunning, and the art deco art style prefectly fits the world and gives it a unique look compared to other games of this era, although my game actually froze once and there were some frame rate issues towards the end, but nothing major.
Combat is super smooth, playing just like any other FPS. I was worried initially that the game would be awesome but the actual gunplay would suck. Well, it plays just as smoothly as Halo 3 or any other FPS game that you can think of. The encounters are intense and play out just like any other game, though the simple depth and detail of the world of Rapture help to add a little bit of extra "oomph" to each encounter, making it feel somewhat different from other shooters while feeling the same. The Big Daddies are absolutely awesome, both from an artistic side and a gameplay side. They look completely stunning, with either their really cool drills and multi-bubble helmet or their rivet guns. And like one review said, you have never been punched in a video game until you've been punched by a Big Daddy. They are super hard every time that you fight them, and defeating them is one of the most satisfying experiences of any game I've ever played.
The whole world of Rapture is breathtaking. Everything about the world seems perfectly sculpted and placed, and it really seems like it could be a real city underwater. I cannot describe enough how amazing the world of Rapture feels. The Audio Logs lying about add a whole other layer of immersiveness to the world, eschewing the needs for actual cutscenes, and the few cutscenes that do appear are absolutely awesome. Then we get into the actual ecology of the world, with the Little Sisters, Big Daddies, and Splicers. Each enemy in the game feels unique and their unique places in Rapture's halls is clear. The Splicers feel really screwed up and destroyed, the Little Sisters feel weak and weary while at the same time being completely creepy, and the Big Daddies appear as freaky and awesome as you think they can be.
Also, deserving of special mention is the Plasmid system. When I read about the game and how you could use telekenis and differeny powers like that, I was honestly a little worried. Usually when you think of powers like that you think of a traditional RPG where you are leveling up and stuff like that, and so it uses menus heavily. Thankfully I was surprised with the menu and control system for the plasmids, making them one of my absolute favorite elements of the game.
Now, onto the negative aspects of BioShock. First off, the story, while completely interesting and awesome, did have some annoying goals to it. I didn't like having to complete the 'find the item' quests, where you just walk around and look for a number of items until you've found all of the required ones. That kind of annoyed me.
Another thing was that at times it didn't feel paced right. I would be walking around and exploring and then there would be a string of action and then another exploring part, which is really quite normal for any game, but for some reason it didn't feel natural, it felt just a little off beat at some times.
The final thing is the endings. Both of them are pretty interesting, but they just end really, really quickly and don't really give an ending to the story in the traditional sense. I don't know, I just felt like I wanted more from the story. Oh, well, here's hoping for a sequel!
Really, these are minor complaints, and the score that I gave the game reflects that. I really liked the game, and it is definitely on my favorites list, but I don't think that it was perfect.
Now, even though this is a review, I have to broadcast my hopes for a sequel, a quality sequel. The world of Rapture is so huge and so detailed that it is just begging to be explored, and that is something that I just can't get out of my system, the want and need to explore that world. It is just so awesome and I know that there are probably a thousand other stories that you could tell within that setting. I just hope that Irrational Games, or 2K Boston, goes on to make an absolutely awesome sequel with a story just as awesome as this first game.
Concept: Make a living, breathing world in a video game and make a killer video game overall. Oh yeah, and tell an awesome story and have an awesome art style and all that stuff.
Graphics: The art deco style that everything has gives the world of Rapture a perfect 1940's nostalgic vibe that I, 1) really like, and 2) just can't get over.
Sound: The music is pretty good, although no theme really stands out, but the voice acting is what you really look forward to. With over 100 audio logs, as well as actual characters in the game world, you'll hear plenty of awesome voice acting. The Little Sisters are particularly creepy.
Playibility: Plays just as smoothly and great as any other FPS, but perhaps it plays even better overall considering it gives you Plasmids and guns to fight with.
Entertainment: Trust me, the entertainment is there, you just have to look in all the right places. Completing the game and really getting a sense of what went on beneath the sea can be a little bit challenging, with all of the audio logs and piecing together information, but that just adds to the experience.
Replay Value: Very, very, very high.
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great story, art style, graphics, gameplay, pretty much everything.
Cons: You really got to pay attention, and sometimes it gets a little bit slow.
This game had a lot of hype before it was released, and then there was a lot of hype when it was released due to the high review scores that it got, including a 10/10 in Game Informer, my favorite gaming magazine.
First off I'll list the high points. I absolutely loved this game and had a massive amount of fun playing it. The world of Rapture is practically living on this box of circuitry in my living room, showing everyone who picks it up what is truly possible with next generation technology. Everything about this game screams "next-gen". The graphics are absolutely stunning, and the art deco art style prefectly fits the world and gives it a unique look compared to other games of this era, although my game actually froze once and there were some frame rate issues towards the end, but nothing major.
Combat is super smooth, playing just like any other FPS. I was worried initially that the game would be awesome but the actual gunplay would suck. Well, it plays just as smoothly as Halo 3 or any other FPS game that you can think of. The encounters are intense and play out just like any other game, though the simple depth and detail of the world of Rapture help to add a little bit of extra "oomph" to each encounter, making it feel somewhat different from other shooters while feeling the same. The Big Daddies are absolutely awesome, both from an artistic side and a gameplay side. They look completely stunning, with either their really cool drills and multi-bubble helmet or their rivet guns. And like one review said, you have never been punched in a video game until you've been punched by a Big Daddy. They are super hard every time that you fight them, and defeating them is one of the most satisfying experiences of any game I've ever played.
The whole world of Rapture is breathtaking. Everything about the world seems perfectly sculpted and placed, and it really seems like it could be a real city underwater. I cannot describe enough how amazing the world of Rapture feels. The Audio Logs lying about add a whole other layer of immersiveness to the world, eschewing the needs for actual cutscenes, and the few cutscenes that do appear are absolutely awesome. Then we get into the actual ecology of the world, with the Little Sisters, Big Daddies, and Splicers. Each enemy in the game feels unique and their unique places in Rapture's halls is clear. The Splicers feel really screwed up and destroyed, the Little Sisters feel weak and weary while at the same time being completely creepy, and the Big Daddies appear as freaky and awesome as you think they can be.
Also, deserving of special mention is the Plasmid system. When I read about the game and how you could use telekenis and differeny powers like that, I was honestly a little worried. Usually when you think of powers like that you think of a traditional RPG where you are leveling up and stuff like that, and so it uses menus heavily. Thankfully I was surprised with the menu and control system for the plasmids, making them one of my absolute favorite elements of the game.
Now, onto the negative aspects of BioShock. First off, the story, while completely interesting and awesome, did have some annoying goals to it. I didn't like having to complete the 'find the item' quests, where you just walk around and look for a number of items until you've found all of the required ones. That kind of annoyed me.
Another thing was that at times it didn't feel paced right. I would be walking around and exploring and then there would be a string of action and then another exploring part, which is really quite normal for any game, but for some reason it didn't feel natural, it felt just a little off beat at some times.
The final thing is the endings. Both of them are pretty interesting, but they just end really, really quickly and don't really give an ending to the story in the traditional sense. I don't know, I just felt like I wanted more from the story. Oh, well, here's hoping for a sequel!
Really, these are minor complaints, and the score that I gave the game reflects that. I really liked the game, and it is definitely on my favorites list, but I don't think that it was perfect.
Now, even though this is a review, I have to broadcast my hopes for a sequel, a quality sequel. The world of Rapture is so huge and so detailed that it is just begging to be explored, and that is something that I just can't get out of my system, the want and need to explore that world. It is just so awesome and I know that there are probably a thousand other stories that you could tell within that setting. I just hope that Irrational Games, or 2K Boston, goes on to make an absolutely awesome sequel with a story just as awesome as this first game.
Concept: Make a living, breathing world in a video game and make a killer video game overall. Oh yeah, and tell an awesome story and have an awesome art style and all that stuff.
Graphics: The art deco style that everything has gives the world of Rapture a perfect 1940's nostalgic vibe that I, 1) really like, and 2) just can't get over.
Sound: The music is pretty good, although no theme really stands out, but the voice acting is what you really look forward to. With over 100 audio logs, as well as actual characters in the game world, you'll hear plenty of awesome voice acting. The Little Sisters are particularly creepy.
Playibility: Plays just as smoothly and great as any other FPS, but perhaps it plays even better overall considering it gives you Plasmids and guns to fight with.
Entertainment: Trust me, the entertainment is there, you just have to look in all the right places. Completing the game and really getting a sense of what went on beneath the sea can be a little bit challenging, with all of the audio logs and piecing together information, but that just adds to the experience.
Replay Value: Very, very, very high.
Movie Review #5: Edward Scissorhands
Okay, it's been awhile since I've done this but here we go. Today I'm going to do a movie review and a video game review.
Edward Scissorhands
Overall: 9/10
Pros: Quirky characters, good music, great stylistic design and good acting.
Cons: The ending sucks.
This was one of those movies that I heard about when I started to get into the genius of Tim Burton. I rented it and watched it several months ago, and just recently I bought it and watched it again. My thoughts and impressions haven't changed: this is one good movie. The acting is superb, the storyline is awesome, and it is just really cool over all. The musical score by Danny Elfman is another element that I really liked about the film.
What I loved about this movie was that it was a comedy overall. As a little kid looking at the cover to this movie in the store or at Blockbuster, I could admit that I was a little frightened. I probably thought it was some movie about a killer or something. But now, having seen it and read about it and experienced it, I can truly say that it is one of my favorite films of all time.
The only downside is the ending. The whole movie used Frankenstein kind of as a motif or even a basic outline for the plot, and so the workup to the ending isn't very surprising at all, and really what actually happens isn't a surprise either, it is simply following the logical arc of the story. But, no matter what, the ending stinks, it's simply too short and too dumb. The rest of the movie awesome, and it more than makes up for a lackluster ending, but still, come on...
Also, for a little bit of movie trivia, my uncle was actually an extra in the movie. He's in the garden sequence.
Edward Scissorhands
Overall: 9/10
Pros: Quirky characters, good music, great stylistic design and good acting.
Cons: The ending sucks.
This was one of those movies that I heard about when I started to get into the genius of Tim Burton. I rented it and watched it several months ago, and just recently I bought it and watched it again. My thoughts and impressions haven't changed: this is one good movie. The acting is superb, the storyline is awesome, and it is just really cool over all. The musical score by Danny Elfman is another element that I really liked about the film.
What I loved about this movie was that it was a comedy overall. As a little kid looking at the cover to this movie in the store or at Blockbuster, I could admit that I was a little frightened. I probably thought it was some movie about a killer or something. But now, having seen it and read about it and experienced it, I can truly say that it is one of my favorite films of all time.
The only downside is the ending. The whole movie used Frankenstein kind of as a motif or even a basic outline for the plot, and so the workup to the ending isn't very surprising at all, and really what actually happens isn't a surprise either, it is simply following the logical arc of the story. But, no matter what, the ending stinks, it's simply too short and too dumb. The rest of the movie awesome, and it more than makes up for a lackluster ending, but still, come on...
Also, for a little bit of movie trivia, my uncle was actually an extra in the movie. He's in the garden sequence.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The First 30 Minutes of BioShock
Today I finally purchased BioShock for my brand new Xbox 360, and so far I have only gotten to play around thirty minutes of it, but even in those thirty minutes, the game has left a huge impression on me.
Graphics
Okay, the most obvious amazing thing about the game is its graphics. The whole art deco art style is absolutely amazing, giving the game a very unique look compared to other titles, and the water effects are absolutely amazing, although Halo 3 gives the game a run for its money. The enemies look extremely cool, and their deaths are pretty cool too.
Sound
The voice overs are absolutely perfect, and even the enemies have good VO that is creepy and awesome at the same time. The music, which is licensed tracks from the 40's, is perfect for the title and make it absolutely chilling. The sound effects are awesome too.
Gameplay
So far, the gameplay is smooth and overall awesome. It controls like a dream, making the enemies a blast to fight, and it is extremely easy to pick up items and do different things. The scripted sequences that open the game and then take place throughout are absolutely perfect, and I really don't even miss cutscenes, which I usually love to death.
Overall
So far, the game lives up to its 10/10 rating by Game Informer. Now, would you kindly go buy it?
Graphics
Okay, the most obvious amazing thing about the game is its graphics. The whole art deco art style is absolutely amazing, giving the game a very unique look compared to other titles, and the water effects are absolutely amazing, although Halo 3 gives the game a run for its money. The enemies look extremely cool, and their deaths are pretty cool too.
Sound
The voice overs are absolutely perfect, and even the enemies have good VO that is creepy and awesome at the same time. The music, which is licensed tracks from the 40's, is perfect for the title and make it absolutely chilling. The sound effects are awesome too.
Gameplay
So far, the gameplay is smooth and overall awesome. It controls like a dream, making the enemies a blast to fight, and it is extremely easy to pick up items and do different things. The scripted sequences that open the game and then take place throughout are absolutely perfect, and I really don't even miss cutscenes, which I usually love to death.
Overall
So far, the game lives up to its 10/10 rating by Game Informer. Now, would you kindly go buy it?
Monday, October 1, 2007
First Impressions: Blue Dragon (Xbox 360)
Technically, Gears of War was my first Xbox 360 game, but I got Blue Dragon the next day, and really it was meant to be the first game that I got.
Now, I'm around three hours into the game and I have to say, it is freaking awesome for three reasons:
1) The graphics just blow my mind, even on an SDTV. Everything looks vibrant and perfect and amazing. It looks like stylized Japanese clay characters running around a practically photrealistic, but still stylized, environment. It is truly an amazing thing.
2) The music is awesome. Every place in the game world is really just amazingly enhanced by the beautiful and completely memorable music. The boss them sucks beyond belief, but that's a different story...
3) It is a blast to play. To be honest, I'm not that good at RPG's, really I just stink. I love them, but I'm not really good and I usually end up dying and it ends up being that I didn't level up enough so now I'm a really low level character that can't beat any monster anywhere. This game has a little bit of that attached to it, but really, I'm having so much fun leveling up that it doesn't matter. Combat doesn't get at all repetitive, or at least it hasn't yet, and the usually tedious task of leveling has become a lot easier and more fun.
There you go, my first impressions of a game that I probably will not beat for a long, long time. Now I"m gonna go play some Gears of War, so until next time...
Now, I'm around three hours into the game and I have to say, it is freaking awesome for three reasons:
1) The graphics just blow my mind, even on an SDTV. Everything looks vibrant and perfect and amazing. It looks like stylized Japanese clay characters running around a practically photrealistic, but still stylized, environment. It is truly an amazing thing.
2) The music is awesome. Every place in the game world is really just amazingly enhanced by the beautiful and completely memorable music. The boss them sucks beyond belief, but that's a different story...
3) It is a blast to play. To be honest, I'm not that good at RPG's, really I just stink. I love them, but I'm not really good and I usually end up dying and it ends up being that I didn't level up enough so now I'm a really low level character that can't beat any monster anywhere. This game has a little bit of that attached to it, but really, I'm having so much fun leveling up that it doesn't matter. Combat doesn't get at all repetitive, or at least it hasn't yet, and the usually tedious task of leveling has become a lot easier and more fun.
There you go, my first impressions of a game that I probably will not beat for a long, long time. Now I"m gonna go play some Gears of War, so until next time...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Game Review: Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
The conclusion to this epic trilogy....and I finished it!
Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Overall Score: 10/10
Pros: Great graphics even on an SDTV, great story, super fun gameplay, best campaign mode ever.
Cons: Some points are a little confusing, and it spoils you for other games.
Halo 1 was perfect, Halo 2 was near perfect, and Halo 3 helps the series regain its jeweled crown of perfection. First off, no, the graphics aren't super high detail, super high textures, super high everything. They are subtle and stylized and overall much more beautiful. The sound design is perfect, with everything sounding as realistic as is possible, and the music is to die for. And the main reason that I play, the campaign, is the best part of the whole package. The story is downright awesome. Even though some points are a little fuzzy and will require a couple more playthroughs, I felt like I understood everything in the big picture. The story itself is really tied neck and neck with the gameplay as my favorite part of the game. Everything in the game feels like it was structured and paced perfectly. The entire game was absolutely a blast to play from beginning to end, and I can't wait to play it again, in fact, I might just do that once I'm done posting this. It is super amazingly fun, and it is highly recommended to anyone who likes good stories and fun gameplay.
NOTE: I didn't really get a chance to screw around with multiplayer stuff, but from what I have experimented with, I can say that Forge is pretty easy to use, though not perfect, and that Saved Films are a blast, but I'm still trying to figure a couple of things out concerning it.
Concept: Make the ending of the Halo trilogy the best possible game that it could be.
Graphics: Extremely good on an SDTV. They aren't the sharpest things in the world, but the overall Halo style and feel are presented perfectly. Real fans won't be disappointed.
Sound: Mary O'Donnell's music mixes in perfectly with the rest of the sound in the game, making the whole thing just absolutely perfect.
Playibility: The perfect Halo gameplay isn't gone. This game is more fun than Halo 2, and just as fun as the first game. I gave it a 10/10 score, so that's gotta tell you something about how fun it was.
Entertainment: Perfect from start to finish, this game is great for everyone who loves good stories and good gameplay.
Replay Value: Very High.
Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Overall Score: 10/10
Pros: Great graphics even on an SDTV, great story, super fun gameplay, best campaign mode ever.
Cons: Some points are a little confusing, and it spoils you for other games.
Halo 1 was perfect, Halo 2 was near perfect, and Halo 3 helps the series regain its jeweled crown of perfection. First off, no, the graphics aren't super high detail, super high textures, super high everything. They are subtle and stylized and overall much more beautiful. The sound design is perfect, with everything sounding as realistic as is possible, and the music is to die for. And the main reason that I play, the campaign, is the best part of the whole package. The story is downright awesome. Even though some points are a little fuzzy and will require a couple more playthroughs, I felt like I understood everything in the big picture. The story itself is really tied neck and neck with the gameplay as my favorite part of the game. Everything in the game feels like it was structured and paced perfectly. The entire game was absolutely a blast to play from beginning to end, and I can't wait to play it again, in fact, I might just do that once I'm done posting this. It is super amazingly fun, and it is highly recommended to anyone who likes good stories and fun gameplay.
NOTE: I didn't really get a chance to screw around with multiplayer stuff, but from what I have experimented with, I can say that Forge is pretty easy to use, though not perfect, and that Saved Films are a blast, but I'm still trying to figure a couple of things out concerning it.
Concept: Make the ending of the Halo trilogy the best possible game that it could be.
Graphics: Extremely good on an SDTV. They aren't the sharpest things in the world, but the overall Halo style and feel are presented perfectly. Real fans won't be disappointed.
Sound: Mary O'Donnell's music mixes in perfectly with the rest of the sound in the game, making the whole thing just absolutely perfect.
Playibility: The perfect Halo gameplay isn't gone. This game is more fun than Halo 2, and just as fun as the first game. I gave it a 10/10 score, so that's gotta tell you something about how fun it was.
Entertainment: Perfect from start to finish, this game is great for everyone who loves good stories and good gameplay.
Replay Value: Very High.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Game Review: Halo 2
Halo 2 (Xbox)
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great graphics, voice acting and story, as well as sweet new weapons. And the gameplay is as good as ever.
Cons: A lot of times I just didn't feel like it was very much fun. Sometimes it felt like a shooting gallery instead of a living world.
Halo 1 was awesome, and so Halo 2 had a massive reputation to live up to. I like to say that it delivered, but to be honest, I don't think it was as good as the first game. Since most people know how awesome the game was, I'm just going to focus on the points that I felt were negative.
First off, some of the levels were just really too long for their own good. They just didn't feel fun. Sure, there was a lot of good stuff there, but it just wasn't fun. Okay, I have to be honest, that's my only complaint, but it was enough to drop the game down to a 9/10, so....
Concept: Make an awesome sequel that almost lives up to the hype.
Graphics: Pretty darn good, even if there are a few switching textures.
Sound: Halo in 5.1 is always a good thing, and the score is just as truly amazing and beautiful.
Playability: Gameplay hasn't changed much, just level design has, making the game slightly less fun than its predecessor.
Entertainment: If you're looking for an awesome FPS, even one that isn't quite perfect, Halo 2 fits the bill.
Replay Value: High.
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great graphics, voice acting and story, as well as sweet new weapons. And the gameplay is as good as ever.
Cons: A lot of times I just didn't feel like it was very much fun. Sometimes it felt like a shooting gallery instead of a living world.
Halo 1 was awesome, and so Halo 2 had a massive reputation to live up to. I like to say that it delivered, but to be honest, I don't think it was as good as the first game. Since most people know how awesome the game was, I'm just going to focus on the points that I felt were negative.
First off, some of the levels were just really too long for their own good. They just didn't feel fun. Sure, there was a lot of good stuff there, but it just wasn't fun. Okay, I have to be honest, that's my only complaint, but it was enough to drop the game down to a 9/10, so....
Concept: Make an awesome sequel that almost lives up to the hype.
Graphics: Pretty darn good, even if there are a few switching textures.
Sound: Halo in 5.1 is always a good thing, and the score is just as truly amazing and beautiful.
Playability: Gameplay hasn't changed much, just level design has, making the game slightly less fun than its predecessor.
Entertainment: If you're looking for an awesome FPS, even one that isn't quite perfect, Halo 2 fits the bill.
Replay Value: High.
Game Review: Halo-Combat Evolved (Xbox)
In preperation for Halo 3's historic launch tomorrow, I thought that I would review the first two games in the series, starting with number one.
Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
Overall Score: 10/10
Pros: Epic and awesome story, great voice acting, great gameplay and controls, super amazing multiplayer.
Cons: Thehuman character models really don't hold up that well, but the rest of the environments do so amazingly.
Halo was really the first 'hardcore' game that I played. All other video games that I had played were casual games like Tetris and stuff like that, and I gotta say, even now, years after having played it for the first time, I still love it just as much.
By now, everyone who is going to play it has already played it, and even if they haven't, they know a lot about what goes on, so I'm not going to worry about spoilers here. The story starts off in a very interesting way, giving you very little information about exactly what went on. Sure the manual clued you in a little bit, but definitely not a ton. Then, you go on to play through nine of the greatest video game levels of all time, in the process viewing and experiencing one of the best video game stories of all time. This is interesting to me now, because replaying through Halo and Halo 2, its amazing how simple the story is, especially in Halo 1, and yet the first time you played it, and even now replaying it, you feel like you're in on some big secret. You feel like you know something other people don't know. That kind of feeling is a tribute to how good a game this really is.
On the technical side, the game is pretty solid. The gameplay, which was truly revolutionary, still proves that even years after the initial innovation, it still feels and plays just as good as any of the competition. The graphics are pretty nice, although the actual character models don't exactly look breathtaking, and the enemies are just plain cool. The AI works well, and the game is truly just a blast to play.
Concept: The first FPS on a console that replicates the PC experience perfectly.
Graphics: The environments and weapons look really, really cool, even after several years. The human character models are the main bad part when it comes to graphics, and the enemy models hold up fairly well, especially the Hunter.
Sound: This is one of the first games to really get voice acting right. Other then that, the weapons and enemies and allies all sound great, and the music is practically Oscar-quality. Marty O'Donnell is truly amazing.
Playability: The controls and gameplay are awesome to begin with. Then you add vehicles like the warthog into the mix and it just gets better and better.
Entertainment: Even if you are playing on easy, you get an amazing story, amazing gameplay, and the start of an epic trilogy all wrapped into one.
Replay Value: Super High.
Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
Overall Score: 10/10
Pros: Epic and awesome story, great voice acting, great gameplay and controls, super amazing multiplayer.
Cons: Thehuman character models really don't hold up that well, but the rest of the environments do so amazingly.
Halo was really the first 'hardcore' game that I played. All other video games that I had played were casual games like Tetris and stuff like that, and I gotta say, even now, years after having played it for the first time, I still love it just as much.
By now, everyone who is going to play it has already played it, and even if they haven't, they know a lot about what goes on, so I'm not going to worry about spoilers here. The story starts off in a very interesting way, giving you very little information about exactly what went on. Sure the manual clued you in a little bit, but definitely not a ton. Then, you go on to play through nine of the greatest video game levels of all time, in the process viewing and experiencing one of the best video game stories of all time. This is interesting to me now, because replaying through Halo and Halo 2, its amazing how simple the story is, especially in Halo 1, and yet the first time you played it, and even now replaying it, you feel like you're in on some big secret. You feel like you know something other people don't know. That kind of feeling is a tribute to how good a game this really is.
On the technical side, the game is pretty solid. The gameplay, which was truly revolutionary, still proves that even years after the initial innovation, it still feels and plays just as good as any of the competition. The graphics are pretty nice, although the actual character models don't exactly look breathtaking, and the enemies are just plain cool. The AI works well, and the game is truly just a blast to play.
Concept: The first FPS on a console that replicates the PC experience perfectly.
Graphics: The environments and weapons look really, really cool, even after several years. The human character models are the main bad part when it comes to graphics, and the enemy models hold up fairly well, especially the Hunter.
Sound: This is one of the first games to really get voice acting right. Other then that, the weapons and enemies and allies all sound great, and the music is practically Oscar-quality. Marty O'Donnell is truly amazing.
Playability: The controls and gameplay are awesome to begin with. Then you add vehicles like the warthog into the mix and it just gets better and better.
Entertainment: Even if you are playing on easy, you get an amazing story, amazing gameplay, and the start of an epic trilogy all wrapped into one.
Replay Value: Super High.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Book Review: 2010-Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke
Overall: 3 and a half/4 Stars
2001: A Space Odyssey the film was an epic film that captured the imagination and the mind. The movie was just awesome, filled with mind-blowing imagery and great music to top it all off. But, to be honest, it was just a little bit wierd, and the ending didn't really bring everything to a conclusion.
Now, we must thank Arthur C. Clarke, famed British author and inventor, for continuing the story of the space shuttle Discovery and making everything that was once so confusing much easier to understand while still expanding upon the already established universe that the books take place in.
First off, the book is super easy to read, and even if you didn't get 2001 the movie, you'll pretty much immediately understand everything in the book and the movie, and maybe you'll even understand the movie better then you did originally. I know that's what happened to me. The entire story is very interesting because unlike a lot of novels, there really isn't any action, just a lot of internal and external observations that take place onboard a space ship. There really aren't even that many dramatic moments, really, between the crew on the space ship, even in a book that you would expect to have lots of them (I mean eight people onboard one ship for a matter of years, come on). Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the entire book's structure and narrative, and now I can't wait to go to my local library to pick up 2061: Odyssey Three, the third book in the series.
Overall, if you like science fiction in general or maybe you just liked the movie 2001, this is a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone.
2001: A Space Odyssey the film was an epic film that captured the imagination and the mind. The movie was just awesome, filled with mind-blowing imagery and great music to top it all off. But, to be honest, it was just a little bit wierd, and the ending didn't really bring everything to a conclusion.
Now, we must thank Arthur C. Clarke, famed British author and inventor, for continuing the story of the space shuttle Discovery and making everything that was once so confusing much easier to understand while still expanding upon the already established universe that the books take place in.
First off, the book is super easy to read, and even if you didn't get 2001 the movie, you'll pretty much immediately understand everything in the book and the movie, and maybe you'll even understand the movie better then you did originally. I know that's what happened to me. The entire story is very interesting because unlike a lot of novels, there really isn't any action, just a lot of internal and external observations that take place onboard a space ship. There really aren't even that many dramatic moments, really, between the crew on the space ship, even in a book that you would expect to have lots of them (I mean eight people onboard one ship for a matter of years, come on). Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the entire book's structure and narrative, and now I can't wait to go to my local library to pick up 2061: Odyssey Three, the third book in the series.
Overall, if you like science fiction in general or maybe you just liked the movie 2001, this is a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone.
Monday, September 17, 2007
World War II Video Games
Okay, so in the video game industry, there is a huge amount of titles that aim at depicting the action and heroism of soldiers in World War II. For the sake of this post, towards the end I'm going to only focus on the main WWII games.
First off, I don' t think that video games that seek to emulate real wars and situations are disrespectful. If they are taken wrong then they can be, because they make light of a situatin in which thousands of people lost lives, but in general I don't think that is a real problem. If you play a World War II game just to have fun instead of intending on being wrapped up in the story and drama of the war, then you may just be missing the point. I think that these games should be made to tell real and accurate stories, not just to run and gun through a historically based mission.
Now, I'm going to look at a few series of WWII games and say my thoughst about each.
Medal of Honor
As I have said, I don't think that World War II games are bad or wrong. The one thing that I have a problem with in the Medal of Honor series, is that they glorify things and tone things down. There isn't any blood flying everywhere, there aren't swear words being spewed out of every mouth, and it just doesn't do any justice to what real veterans really experienced. To be honest, the MoH games are engrossing and epic experiences, but they still aren't my favorite.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty games suffer from the exact same thing as the MoH games. They glorify everything, making it seem much more heroic then it really was. Sure, the soldiers helped to define history as we know it, but really a lot of them were just trying to stay alive, they weren't doing certain actions with the whole situation of the war in mind. Then, they tone everything down, with no or very little blood. I'm not saying that you need to make everything bloody and gory to the endth degree, but at least make it accurate to some degree.
Brothers in Arms
This is my favorite series of WWII games. It is brutally and horribly accurate in its depiction of combat situations and the real drama between soldiers and enemies. I think that this is the series that does the best job in depicting what it was like to fight in World War II, and I hope that Gearbox Studios, the series' developer, keeps on doing this kind of job, giving gamers and people everywhere who couldn't have experienced WWII to at least get a little taste of what it must have been like.
Also, for those of you interested in World War II, there is a documentary called The War that looks very interesting that is set to air on PBS on the 23rd.
First off, I don' t think that video games that seek to emulate real wars and situations are disrespectful. If they are taken wrong then they can be, because they make light of a situatin in which thousands of people lost lives, but in general I don't think that is a real problem. If you play a World War II game just to have fun instead of intending on being wrapped up in the story and drama of the war, then you may just be missing the point. I think that these games should be made to tell real and accurate stories, not just to run and gun through a historically based mission.
Now, I'm going to look at a few series of WWII games and say my thoughst about each.
Medal of Honor
As I have said, I don't think that World War II games are bad or wrong. The one thing that I have a problem with in the Medal of Honor series, is that they glorify things and tone things down. There isn't any blood flying everywhere, there aren't swear words being spewed out of every mouth, and it just doesn't do any justice to what real veterans really experienced. To be honest, the MoH games are engrossing and epic experiences, but they still aren't my favorite.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty games suffer from the exact same thing as the MoH games. They glorify everything, making it seem much more heroic then it really was. Sure, the soldiers helped to define history as we know it, but really a lot of them were just trying to stay alive, they weren't doing certain actions with the whole situation of the war in mind. Then, they tone everything down, with no or very little blood. I'm not saying that you need to make everything bloody and gory to the endth degree, but at least make it accurate to some degree.
Brothers in Arms
This is my favorite series of WWII games. It is brutally and horribly accurate in its depiction of combat situations and the real drama between soldiers and enemies. I think that this is the series that does the best job in depicting what it was like to fight in World War II, and I hope that Gearbox Studios, the series' developer, keeps on doing this kind of job, giving gamers and people everywhere who couldn't have experienced WWII to at least get a little taste of what it must have been like.
Also, for those of you interested in World War II, there is a documentary called The War that looks very interesting that is set to air on PBS on the 23rd.
Movie Review #4: Saving Private Ryan
Overall: 4/4 Stars
Pros: Great visual style, battle scenes, pretty much everything.
Cons: Musical score.
First off, I'll get the obvious out of the way. This movie was amazingly beautiful to watch. The cinematography was brilliant and the battle scenes were amazing. Yes, the movie was bloody and full of swearing, but that really didn't bother me at all. The movie was amazingly well written, and each and every one of the characters was someone that I could relate to and I was interested in their well-being. Corporal Upham's story in particular was just something that I really felt rooted in across the entire movie.
Now, on to the part of the movie that really impacted me: the emotion. This is truly one of the first movies in a long time to make me cry, and it made me cry a lot. The ending is one of the most powerful endings I have seen in a movie ever, and it just touched me in a way that I didn't think was possible. Also, the battle scenes stirred something in me. I think it would be disrespectful to call them 'cool' or 'awesome', but what they really did is show the true atrocity and brutality of war. The shot in which the one soldier is blown to pieces by a sticky bomb is one particular image that has just stuck with me. Most people called this a bloody movie, but to be honest, it didn't really impact me like I thought it would. I came into the movie expecting a massive bloodbath, but it wasn't really like that, it was more subdued and a lot of little bits of blood to add up to a larger amount of blood total. There were a few moments that were quite gruesome, such as one man picking up his own arm that had just been blown off, or another where a man literally holds his own guts inside his body, but those kinds of moments were far and few between. The main thing thta this movie made me do was reflect. My grandfather served in World War II, and just thinking about that makes me realize what a brave man my grandfather was, and how much honor he really deserves. That was the real success of Saving Private Ryan.
I think right after this I'll write down my thoughts on WWII video games...
Pros: Great visual style, battle scenes, pretty much everything.
Cons: Musical score.
First off, I'll get the obvious out of the way. This movie was amazingly beautiful to watch. The cinematography was brilliant and the battle scenes were amazing. Yes, the movie was bloody and full of swearing, but that really didn't bother me at all. The movie was amazingly well written, and each and every one of the characters was someone that I could relate to and I was interested in their well-being. Corporal Upham's story in particular was just something that I really felt rooted in across the entire movie.
Now, on to the part of the movie that really impacted me: the emotion. This is truly one of the first movies in a long time to make me cry, and it made me cry a lot. The ending is one of the most powerful endings I have seen in a movie ever, and it just touched me in a way that I didn't think was possible. Also, the battle scenes stirred something in me. I think it would be disrespectful to call them 'cool' or 'awesome', but what they really did is show the true atrocity and brutality of war. The shot in which the one soldier is blown to pieces by a sticky bomb is one particular image that has just stuck with me. Most people called this a bloody movie, but to be honest, it didn't really impact me like I thought it would. I came into the movie expecting a massive bloodbath, but it wasn't really like that, it was more subdued and a lot of little bits of blood to add up to a larger amount of blood total. There were a few moments that were quite gruesome, such as one man picking up his own arm that had just been blown off, or another where a man literally holds his own guts inside his body, but those kinds of moments were far and few between. The main thing thta this movie made me do was reflect. My grandfather served in World War II, and just thinking about that makes me realize what a brave man my grandfather was, and how much honor he really deserves. That was the real success of Saving Private Ryan.
I think right after this I'll write down my thoughts on WWII video games...
Sunday, September 16, 2007
My Fascination With the Unknown
Without any doubt, 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest films ever made, and really, its one that I very much enjoyed. Right now, I'm reading 2010: The Second Odyseey, a continuation of the movies that was written by Arthur C. Clarke, the original book's author and co-author of the screenplay. There are also two other books, 2061 and 3001.
To be honest, I didn't really get the movie when I saw it for the first time. It was just too wierd, and the plot wasn't really expressed or told to the viewer, they really had to look and find it for themselves. I guess that was what really threw me off the first time through. Now, watching it again, I realize just how awesome it really is. I don't really have the time or the ability to write down every single thing that I find awesome about the movie, but I do have to say, it is just awesome. Maybe sometime I'll get around to writing a review of it...
To be honest, I didn't really get the movie when I saw it for the first time. It was just too wierd, and the plot wasn't really expressed or told to the viewer, they really had to look and find it for themselves. I guess that was what really threw me off the first time through. Now, watching it again, I realize just how awesome it really is. I don't really have the time or the ability to write down every single thing that I find awesome about the movie, but I do have to say, it is just awesome. Maybe sometime I'll get around to writing a review of it...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Movie Review #3 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
The third part of a trilogy.
Overall: 2/4 Stars
Pros: Witty dialogue, okay music, some good battles, and great special effects.
Cons: Stupid story, some pretty boring characters, unbelievable and impractical battles and situations.
So, really, I loved the first two Pirates movies, and so I had high expectations for this third one. Boy was I let down. First off, lets start with my chief complaint, the story. The first two movies did an admirable job of mixing the supernatural and pirate themes together, while this one focuses almost exclusively on the former, making the entire movie more about mythology and pirate lords and pirate legends and stuff like that. The movie concentrated more on becoming a spectacle unto itself instead of fitting in with the other two movies and becoming an awesome and epic trilogy. The music for this entry was done by Hans Zimmer, who composed the music for the second movie as well, and really I was quite disappointed. Really, I only heard the main Pirates themes that I know and love about 10 times in the whole movie, mostly in the background so that you could barely hear them. That was a major disappointment to me. The visual effects are as good as ever, and I really admire what ILM has done, but they can't help save an overall disappointing movie experience.
Overall: 2/4 Stars
Pros: Witty dialogue, okay music, some good battles, and great special effects.
Cons: Stupid story, some pretty boring characters, unbelievable and impractical battles and situations.
So, really, I loved the first two Pirates movies, and so I had high expectations for this third one. Boy was I let down. First off, lets start with my chief complaint, the story. The first two movies did an admirable job of mixing the supernatural and pirate themes together, while this one focuses almost exclusively on the former, making the entire movie more about mythology and pirate lords and pirate legends and stuff like that. The movie concentrated more on becoming a spectacle unto itself instead of fitting in with the other two movies and becoming an awesome and epic trilogy. The music for this entry was done by Hans Zimmer, who composed the music for the second movie as well, and really I was quite disappointed. Really, I only heard the main Pirates themes that I know and love about 10 times in the whole movie, mostly in the background so that you could barely hear them. That was a major disappointment to me. The visual effects are as good as ever, and I really admire what ILM has done, but they can't help save an overall disappointing movie experience.
Movie Review #2 - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Here's the second movie...
Overall: 3/4 Stars
Pros: Still great and witty dialogue, truly breathtaking special effects, and an interesting if not awesome plot still add up to a quality movie experience.
Cons: It's a little drawn out, and it just isn't as good as the first one.
This was on the top of my list of movies to see when it first came out, then when I saw it I was utterly confused about everything in it up until I saw it again, at which point I understood everything in it. However, even then I wasn't pleased with the movie as a whole. First off, this time, they didn't really concentrate on making it just one self contained movie, they had to make it this big thing where there would be a third movie that would finish it all off, and really I didn't like that all that much. Add in the fact that you really had to pay attention to every single thing going on around you in order to understand it completely makes it hard for a person to enjoy it within a casual and simplistic context. The music was good, though not as good as the first movie's, and everything really added up to make the movie a great one, but still, great music, dialogue and visual effects doesn't make up for a confusing plot.
One facet of this movie deserves special mention: the visual effects. Ever since the original Star Wars, everyoen has known what ILM could do, but up until now, they haven't done as good a job as they did on this movie. To be honest, the first time that I saw it, I thought that Davy Jones was simply a guy in a suit with a few special effects touch ups, it was that detailed and realistic. The guys there simply create some of the best visual and special effects ever, hands down, and this movie really shows the quality of work that they can do.
Overall: 3/4 Stars
Pros: Still great and witty dialogue, truly breathtaking special effects, and an interesting if not awesome plot still add up to a quality movie experience.
Cons: It's a little drawn out, and it just isn't as good as the first one.
This was on the top of my list of movies to see when it first came out, then when I saw it I was utterly confused about everything in it up until I saw it again, at which point I understood everything in it. However, even then I wasn't pleased with the movie as a whole. First off, this time, they didn't really concentrate on making it just one self contained movie, they had to make it this big thing where there would be a third movie that would finish it all off, and really I didn't like that all that much. Add in the fact that you really had to pay attention to every single thing going on around you in order to understand it completely makes it hard for a person to enjoy it within a casual and simplistic context. The music was good, though not as good as the first movie's, and everything really added up to make the movie a great one, but still, great music, dialogue and visual effects doesn't make up for a confusing plot.
One facet of this movie deserves special mention: the visual effects. Ever since the original Star Wars, everyoen has known what ILM could do, but up until now, they haven't done as good a job as they did on this movie. To be honest, the first time that I saw it, I thought that Davy Jones was simply a guy in a suit with a few special effects touch ups, it was that detailed and realistic. The guys there simply create some of the best visual and special effects ever, hands down, and this movie really shows the quality of work that they can do.
Movie Review #1 - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
So today I thought I would mix it up and review all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. This here is the first one!
Overall: 4/4 Stars
Pros: Great story, witty dialogue, and some of the best movie music ever combine to create a really awesome time.
Cons: Does it really have to end?
The first time I saw this movie, it was instantly my favorite movie. Everything in it was amazing, the visual effects, the swordplay, the dialogue, the story...everything. It made for a really entertaining two hours, and it is a surprisingly good film to watch over again several times. The whole supernatural element mixed in with the whole pirate theme is one that just gives me goosebumps because it usually wouldn't work, but in this case they made it work in such a way that almost as soon as the wierd things started happening, I was hooked and lost all doubts about the movie.
There is a part of this movie that deserves special mention here: the music. Klaus Badelt, a little known German composer working in Hans Zimmer's studio, has composed here one of the absolute best soundtrack's of all time, rivaling Star Wars to such a degree that I really cannot pick a favorite. I have the soundtrack, and I listen to it as often as I can. There's something about it that just excites me and energizes me, why, I don't know, but it does. Really, if you consider yourself to be a movie lover, go see this movie if you haven't already, and if you consider yourself a lover of 'modern' classical music, i. e. movie soundtracks, then go out and get this music immediately.
Overall: 4/4 Stars
Pros: Great story, witty dialogue, and some of the best movie music ever combine to create a really awesome time.
Cons: Does it really have to end?
The first time I saw this movie, it was instantly my favorite movie. Everything in it was amazing, the visual effects, the swordplay, the dialogue, the story...everything. It made for a really entertaining two hours, and it is a surprisingly good film to watch over again several times. The whole supernatural element mixed in with the whole pirate theme is one that just gives me goosebumps because it usually wouldn't work, but in this case they made it work in such a way that almost as soon as the wierd things started happening, I was hooked and lost all doubts about the movie.
There is a part of this movie that deserves special mention here: the music. Klaus Badelt, a little known German composer working in Hans Zimmer's studio, has composed here one of the absolute best soundtrack's of all time, rivaling Star Wars to such a degree that I really cannot pick a favorite. I have the soundtrack, and I listen to it as often as I can. There's something about it that just excites me and energizes me, why, I don't know, but it does. Really, if you consider yourself to be a movie lover, go see this movie if you haven't already, and if you consider yourself a lover of 'modern' classical music, i. e. movie soundtracks, then go out and get this music immediately.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Video Game Laws
I know that I've posted three times today, which is kind of a lot, but I really want to write this stuff down instead of waiting for a later date.
When I was at Wal*Mart buying my copy of GUN, probably sometime in December, I went up to the counter with my mom because I am under 17. I was going to pay for the game, and my mom was going to give permission for me to buy it. The lady wouldn't allow it. She said that store policy was no sales of M-rated games to minors at all. I tried to give my money to my mom so that she could buy it, and the lady said no again. I was still paying for it. My mom said that she would pay for it herself, and the lady said that she needed to hold the game so that someone could take it back to the shelf.
I went all the way back to the back of the store and picked up another copy of the game, gave it to my mom, went in a different isle and my mom bought the game for me. I paid her back, but still, both of us were kind of angry about it.
To clarify: the only law about the sale of M-rated video games to minors is that they must have the permission of an accompanying parent or adult. Whether or not it is legal or whatever for stores to have their own policies like that is something that I do not know. What I do know, is that it is annoying.
When I was at Wal*Mart buying my copy of GUN, probably sometime in December, I went up to the counter with my mom because I am under 17. I was going to pay for the game, and my mom was going to give permission for me to buy it. The lady wouldn't allow it. She said that store policy was no sales of M-rated games to minors at all. I tried to give my money to my mom so that she could buy it, and the lady said no again. I was still paying for it. My mom said that she would pay for it herself, and the lady said that she needed to hold the game so that someone could take it back to the shelf.
I went all the way back to the back of the store and picked up another copy of the game, gave it to my mom, went in a different isle and my mom bought the game for me. I paid her back, but still, both of us were kind of angry about it.
To clarify: the only law about the sale of M-rated video games to minors is that they must have the permission of an accompanying parent or adult. Whether or not it is legal or whatever for stores to have their own policies like that is something that I do not know. What I do know, is that it is annoying.
Game Review: GUN (Xbox)
Today I thought that I would post again, and so I decided to do another game review. Here you go...
GUN (Xbox)
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Pros: Quickdraw mode is awesome, super great voice acting and story, silky controls
Cons: Graphics ain't exactly the greatest, but that's okay, and it felt less open-ended and more simplistic and linear
I have wanted this game forever, and so when I finally picked it up (The lady at Wal*Mart was mean, maybe I'll write about that later tonight), I was instantly immersed in the game. Then, after awhile, I got stuck with one of the bosses and put the game to the side. Later on, probably two months later, I picked the game back up, sat down, and played. Two days later, I was done with the game, having probably played it for nearly eight hours total over those two days. The story that the writers at Neversoft have penned is amazing, and is perfectly complemented by the amazing voice cast. The in-engine cut-scenes were always amazing to look at, even though the game's ending left off at a wierd point. The gameplay is great, and the third person perspective works in a way that I didn't think it would. It feels like a first person shooter when you're playing it, giving you total control over Colton throughout the game. Quickdraw Mode is especially fun, and I was absolutely delighted one time when I entered into Quickdraw Mode, shot an enemy in the right side of his head, and then watched chunks of his skull fly off, only on that side just as his head whipped around in that direction. Now that's good graphics, animation, and physics all rolled into one. Overall, if you're a first or third person shooter fan, snatch this game up right away, it is just that good. If you're not a shooter fan but you really like good stories, still buy the game, because 1) the story will hook you in, 2) the shooting is simple and easy, and may just suck you into the genre as a whole, and 3) the game is not very hard and not very long, which makes it a great find for gamers who don't have a lot of time to invest in a title.
Concept: A video game spaghetti western that is practically perfect.
Graphics: The in-game cutscenes are really good and show off an impressive use of motion capture and key-frame animation. The graphics as a whole, however, are very detailed for an open world game, but still not the prettiest.
Sound: The music fits in perfectly, and is really just as good as any hollywood movie that you go see today. If you really want to get a taste for it, just sit and let the game idle at its title screen just to listen to the music. I did this a number of times.
Playability: The camera works perfectly most of the time, the AI is pretty smart, the controls are great, and the Quickdraw Mode is one of my favorite video game features ever.
Entertainment: The game is pretty easy, and the story alone makes it worth picking up over and over again, or at least once a year for a complete playthrough.
Replay Value: High.
GUN (Xbox)
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Pros: Quickdraw mode is awesome, super great voice acting and story, silky controls
Cons: Graphics ain't exactly the greatest, but that's okay, and it felt less open-ended and more simplistic and linear
I have wanted this game forever, and so when I finally picked it up (The lady at Wal*Mart was mean, maybe I'll write about that later tonight), I was instantly immersed in the game. Then, after awhile, I got stuck with one of the bosses and put the game to the side. Later on, probably two months later, I picked the game back up, sat down, and played. Two days later, I was done with the game, having probably played it for nearly eight hours total over those two days. The story that the writers at Neversoft have penned is amazing, and is perfectly complemented by the amazing voice cast. The in-engine cut-scenes were always amazing to look at, even though the game's ending left off at a wierd point. The gameplay is great, and the third person perspective works in a way that I didn't think it would. It feels like a first person shooter when you're playing it, giving you total control over Colton throughout the game. Quickdraw Mode is especially fun, and I was absolutely delighted one time when I entered into Quickdraw Mode, shot an enemy in the right side of his head, and then watched chunks of his skull fly off, only on that side just as his head whipped around in that direction. Now that's good graphics, animation, and physics all rolled into one. Overall, if you're a first or third person shooter fan, snatch this game up right away, it is just that good. If you're not a shooter fan but you really like good stories, still buy the game, because 1) the story will hook you in, 2) the shooting is simple and easy, and may just suck you into the genre as a whole, and 3) the game is not very hard and not very long, which makes it a great find for gamers who don't have a lot of time to invest in a title.
Concept: A video game spaghetti western that is practically perfect.
Graphics: The in-game cutscenes are really good and show off an impressive use of motion capture and key-frame animation. The graphics as a whole, however, are very detailed for an open world game, but still not the prettiest.
Sound: The music fits in perfectly, and is really just as good as any hollywood movie that you go see today. If you really want to get a taste for it, just sit and let the game idle at its title screen just to listen to the music. I did this a number of times.
Playability: The camera works perfectly most of the time, the AI is pretty smart, the controls are great, and the Quickdraw Mode is one of my favorite video game features ever.
Entertainment: The game is pretty easy, and the story alone makes it worth picking up over and over again, or at least once a year for a complete playthrough.
Replay Value: High.
Fun in Games, and my Awful RPG Skills
Fun in video games is something that is rarely championed anymore. If you look at any video game magazine's coverage of upcoming or even already released games, what they mainly champion are the graphics, sound, and sometimes the gameplay. While this isn't expressly wrong, it is also not expressly right.
What people, and I'm including consumers, developers, and reviewers, need to concentrate on is something that has been around since the beginning of gaming: fun. Today, I was playing through the original Splinter Cell. I had only gotten through the first two levels before, and today I started really getting into it and am now on the CIA headquarters level. I'm making good progress in the game, but what I'm really doing is having fun!
Now sure, I get frustrated from time to time in the game, mostly just because I keep getting caught, but I'm having fun nonetheless. The same is true about when I recently played through Ninja Gaiden. Now I'm not saying that developers don't concentrate on fun when they are making the game, because I am sure that they do, but really what I'm getting at is that they don't champion the fact that their game is fun. You don't see previews of major games that concentrate on what a gas the game is to play, you see them talking technical specifications for the visuals, new gameplay gimmicks, and new characters. What I really want in a game preview, is all of that stuff, plus a report on how fun the game actually is!
Now, recently I read an interview (I can't remember where, might have been on Game Informer's website) where some game designer, I think it was Denis Dyack, said that previews shouldn't be opinionated. I think that they should be! I think that previewers should give the gamers their honest opinion of a game, from the visuals to the gameplay and everything inbetween, including how fun the game is! Sure, it may hurt the developer in the long run, but what it does is it just makes them do a better job at making an awesome game, and it gives gamers an honest opinion on what a game is like. That way, they don't feel gipped when they buy a game that a reviewer said was great and then they hate it. Instead, they can decide from the beginning about whether or not they want the game.
But hey, that's just my opinion.
Onto other matters...
Now I love RPG's. I love the stories, the visuals and the gameplay. The one thing that I do not like, is the fact that I will rapidly progress through a game, and then come upon a boss that requires me to go back and level up for a ridiculous amount of time before I can defeat him and continue to progress in the game.
That being said, it is easy to see that I am not that great at RPG's. I love the, but unfortunately I have never beaten any real RPG (I've beaten Fable, but that debate is for another time). What I want, is an RPG that is as great and as immersive as Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XII, but with gameplay that literally progresses just as I do, so that enemies only get stronger when I level up, and that bosses are tuned to the level that I am on, so that you don't have one big hulking boss that you can' t get past until you've gone back and fought enemy after enemy over and over again to get to the next level!
Sure, this may sound simplistic and 'stupid' to big RPG nerds, but for those of us who love game stories and RPG's, and yet aren't good at them, this would be one of the most awesome games ever! Maybe Blue Dragon, which I just picked up, is like this somewhat. I sure hope so, because I really want to beat this one.
What people, and I'm including consumers, developers, and reviewers, need to concentrate on is something that has been around since the beginning of gaming: fun. Today, I was playing through the original Splinter Cell. I had only gotten through the first two levels before, and today I started really getting into it and am now on the CIA headquarters level. I'm making good progress in the game, but what I'm really doing is having fun!
Now sure, I get frustrated from time to time in the game, mostly just because I keep getting caught, but I'm having fun nonetheless. The same is true about when I recently played through Ninja Gaiden. Now I'm not saying that developers don't concentrate on fun when they are making the game, because I am sure that they do, but really what I'm getting at is that they don't champion the fact that their game is fun. You don't see previews of major games that concentrate on what a gas the game is to play, you see them talking technical specifications for the visuals, new gameplay gimmicks, and new characters. What I really want in a game preview, is all of that stuff, plus a report on how fun the game actually is!
Now, recently I read an interview (I can't remember where, might have been on Game Informer's website) where some game designer, I think it was Denis Dyack, said that previews shouldn't be opinionated. I think that they should be! I think that previewers should give the gamers their honest opinion of a game, from the visuals to the gameplay and everything inbetween, including how fun the game is! Sure, it may hurt the developer in the long run, but what it does is it just makes them do a better job at making an awesome game, and it gives gamers an honest opinion on what a game is like. That way, they don't feel gipped when they buy a game that a reviewer said was great and then they hate it. Instead, they can decide from the beginning about whether or not they want the game.
But hey, that's just my opinion.
Onto other matters...
Now I love RPG's. I love the stories, the visuals and the gameplay. The one thing that I do not like, is the fact that I will rapidly progress through a game, and then come upon a boss that requires me to go back and level up for a ridiculous amount of time before I can defeat him and continue to progress in the game.
That being said, it is easy to see that I am not that great at RPG's. I love the, but unfortunately I have never beaten any real RPG (I've beaten Fable, but that debate is for another time). What I want, is an RPG that is as great and as immersive as Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XII, but with gameplay that literally progresses just as I do, so that enemies only get stronger when I level up, and that bosses are tuned to the level that I am on, so that you don't have one big hulking boss that you can' t get past until you've gone back and fought enemy after enemy over and over again to get to the next level!
Sure, this may sound simplistic and 'stupid' to big RPG nerds, but for those of us who love game stories and RPG's, and yet aren't good at them, this would be one of the most awesome games ever! Maybe Blue Dragon, which I just picked up, is like this somewhat. I sure hope so, because I really want to beat this one.
Monday, September 10, 2007
My Newfound Love of the The Sims
I am not much of a casual gamer. Really, I am a hardcore gamer. I buy the games that you need to buy the whole series to get any of the games, and then I play them through, memorizing every story detail, and everything about the game (Maybe not to the biggest fanboy degree, but still...), so that I am practically and authority on it.
That being said, it is easy to see that I rarely play casual games. Usually they don't do anything for me, and the only casual game that I play anymore is Rollercoaster Tycoon for the PC, which I only play sporadically (But when I do play it, I play it a lot). Now, add The Sims to that list.
I don't know what it is about playing with your created characters, but it is super fun to run their lives. I'm kind of new to it all, so I don't really get everything about the interface and the objectives, but I'm still having a fun time.
If you haven't played The Sims or Rollercoaster Tycoon, go out and buy them, because they are awesome games.
That being said, it is easy to see that I rarely play casual games. Usually they don't do anything for me, and the only casual game that I play anymore is Rollercoaster Tycoon for the PC, which I only play sporadically (But when I do play it, I play it a lot). Now, add The Sims to that list.
I don't know what it is about playing with your created characters, but it is super fun to run their lives. I'm kind of new to it all, so I don't really get everything about the interface and the objectives, but I'm still having a fun time.
If you haven't played The Sims or Rollercoaster Tycoon, go out and buy them, because they are awesome games.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
If you have been reading my blog at all, you know that I am a big Halo fan. However, I have to admit one thing:
If I were to have only one video game series that I had to play for the rest of my life, I would choose Splinter Cell.
Why? Well, here, I'll spell it out for you. I love Halo, and have probably beaten the first game at least forty times. I've also beaten Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory around eight times. Each time that I replayed Chaos Theory, I have felt that it was like a totally new experience, because the AI is always adapting, and you are always discovering new things in the game world. Each time that I have replayed Halo, it has been simple and pretty much the same every single time that you play.
Plus, I have to admit, the Splinter Cell series has some of the best graphics, sound, gameplay, voice acting, and stories of any video game ever. Everything is just awesome. Michael Ironside is awesome, and the supporting cast works out well. The graphics really help to immerse you in the game, and it just makes everything so more visceral.
Today, I went to the store and bought the Splinter Cell: Double Agent Collector's Edition for the Xbox 360. It was $29.99 new, while it used to be $69.99. Anyways, this entry in the series brings the level of graphical quality and gameplay quality up to amazing heights. Anyone seen the screenshots in Game Informer? The game looks amazing. I'm not sure if it really holds up that well while you're playing it, but...man does it look sweet.
Overall, if you haven't played Splinter Cell yet, buy one of every game in the series and then go crazy. The gameplay is awesome, although you do have to have some patience, and it just makes for a superlative gaming experience.
(Also, if you can, get the collector's editions of Chaos Theory and Double Agent, because they are worth it, especially the Chaos Theory one)
If I were to have only one video game series that I had to play for the rest of my life, I would choose Splinter Cell.
Why? Well, here, I'll spell it out for you. I love Halo, and have probably beaten the first game at least forty times. I've also beaten Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory around eight times. Each time that I replayed Chaos Theory, I have felt that it was like a totally new experience, because the AI is always adapting, and you are always discovering new things in the game world. Each time that I have replayed Halo, it has been simple and pretty much the same every single time that you play.
Plus, I have to admit, the Splinter Cell series has some of the best graphics, sound, gameplay, voice acting, and stories of any video game ever. Everything is just awesome. Michael Ironside is awesome, and the supporting cast works out well. The graphics really help to immerse you in the game, and it just makes everything so more visceral.
Today, I went to the store and bought the Splinter Cell: Double Agent Collector's Edition for the Xbox 360. It was $29.99 new, while it used to be $69.99. Anyways, this entry in the series brings the level of graphical quality and gameplay quality up to amazing heights. Anyone seen the screenshots in Game Informer? The game looks amazing. I'm not sure if it really holds up that well while you're playing it, but...man does it look sweet.
Overall, if you haven't played Splinter Cell yet, buy one of every game in the series and then go crazy. The gameplay is awesome, although you do have to have some patience, and it just makes for a superlative gaming experience.
(Also, if you can, get the collector's editions of Chaos Theory and Double Agent, because they are worth it, especially the Chaos Theory one)
Friday, September 7, 2007
The Greatest Game Ever Played-One of the Greatest Movies Ever Made
As I write this, I am sitting near my television, watching the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played, starring Shia Labeouf. Really, I hadn't even heard of the movie until one day when my mom picked it up from the library. I didn't have anything to do, and so I threw the movie in. I watched it, and was totally amazed.
First off, sure, the movie is about golf, but you know what, it is just awesome. The acting is superb, the cinematography is beautiful, and the visual effects blend in perfectly. People that I have showed the movie to are amazed, because initially they think that a movie about gold would be boring. Then, when I showed it to them, they were amazed, because it was really filmed more like an action film then anything. Really, the movie is just amazing, and I wish that it had had a better reception, because it really deserves a huge, massive, wide audience.
If you have not seen this movie, than what are you doing at your computer? Go see it!
First off, sure, the movie is about golf, but you know what, it is just awesome. The acting is superb, the cinematography is beautiful, and the visual effects blend in perfectly. People that I have showed the movie to are amazed, because initially they think that a movie about gold would be boring. Then, when I showed it to them, they were amazed, because it was really filmed more like an action film then anything. Really, the movie is just amazing, and I wish that it had had a better reception, because it really deserves a huge, massive, wide audience.
If you have not seen this movie, than what are you doing at your computer? Go see it!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe
The Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite series of books. I like them so much that I ended up buying the 50th Anniversary Edition of the books, setting me back nearly $100. Then, one day, The Chronicles of Narnia book series was recommended to me. I bought all seven of them in one big collection and started to read. Instead of the hard read that I expected, since they were supposedly similair to the Lord of the Rings, they were extremely easy to read, and I got through them rather quickly. Just that first impression made them into some of my favorite books ever, so much, in fact, that my first ever attempts at writing a script was an adaptation of the books, because I believed that they needed to be made into a series of films that did them justice (Not those stupid TV movies).
Then, I heard about the film. I was worried, as any fan of any book is, that they would just ruin it through the process of Hollywood-ization. My family doesn't usually go to the movies, at least not when movies first come out (We usually go to the dollar theater), but ther was no option this time, we were going to go. The first thing that hit me about the movie was the opening sequence with the bombing planes. That was awesome, and one of the things that made me go back and re-read the books, because I didn't remember anything about the war being mentioned in the book. The second thing that hit me was the music. As I said before in my post about music, I loved this soundtrack, and it wsa really the first movie that really grabbed ahold of me, just through the music. The third thing that hit was the pacing. Really, it was a pretty slow movie if you look at it, but when you're watching it, you just don't realize that. The next thing that hit me ws the battle sequence at the end. Even watching it again now just on its own without watching any of the movie beforehand, I feel a wierd feeling of pride and joy at the sequence. Then, when you mix in the awesoem visuals with the music, it is movie heaven. The last and most important thing that hit me was the fact that the movie stuck close to the book, even sacrificing the quality of the movie for it. That is what I loved and what stuck with me. Now, I can't wait for the next one, Andrew Adamson better do a good job.
I actually bought the Extended Edition of the movie when it came out, and I have to say, anyone who liked the movie and hasn't seen the extended cut, look on eBay, because what little they add to the movie is worth it, and the special features are really cool too.
Then, I heard about the film. I was worried, as any fan of any book is, that they would just ruin it through the process of Hollywood-ization. My family doesn't usually go to the movies, at least not when movies first come out (We usually go to the dollar theater), but ther was no option this time, we were going to go. The first thing that hit me about the movie was the opening sequence with the bombing planes. That was awesome, and one of the things that made me go back and re-read the books, because I didn't remember anything about the war being mentioned in the book. The second thing that hit me was the music. As I said before in my post about music, I loved this soundtrack, and it wsa really the first movie that really grabbed ahold of me, just through the music. The third thing that hit was the pacing. Really, it was a pretty slow movie if you look at it, but when you're watching it, you just don't realize that. The next thing that hit me ws the battle sequence at the end. Even watching it again now just on its own without watching any of the movie beforehand, I feel a wierd feeling of pride and joy at the sequence. Then, when you mix in the awesoem visuals with the music, it is movie heaven. The last and most important thing that hit me was the fact that the movie stuck close to the book, even sacrificing the quality of the movie for it. That is what I loved and what stuck with me. Now, I can't wait for the next one, Andrew Adamson better do a good job.
I actually bought the Extended Edition of the movie when it came out, and I have to say, anyone who liked the movie and hasn't seen the extended cut, look on eBay, because what little they add to the movie is worth it, and the special features are really cool too.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Game Review: Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)
The last game that I played and finished was Ninja Gaiden Black, and several video game magazines have suggested that those wanting to get into the video game industry should maybe write some game reviews, so here goes...
Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great graphics, engaging combat
Cons: Crappy story, stupid save points, sometimes just gets too dang frustrating
Okay, so I picked this game up awhile ago, and then one day I decided to actually play it. First off, the game is awesome. The combat is buttery smooth, the graphics are great, especially the pre-rendered cutscenes, and it is just awesome altogether. However, there are a few drawbacks. One, the combat, while awesome, is super ridiculously hard against a lot of the enemies, and while that is good and engaging, sometimes it just becomes ridiculous, specifically if you don't have a lot of time to play. The same goes for the puzzles, which are brilliant, don't get me wrong, but maddening. Sometimes, I just wanted it to be a tad easier, and then when I finally solved the puzzle, I felt a lot better and happy that I had solved it. Even then, that feeling of anger stayed with me. Once, I was so frustrated that I slammed my Xbox controller into the ground, and now I have to hang onto it very tightly, because otherwise it buzzes uncontrollably whenever a game vibrates.
So overall, if you have some patience and some skill, go ahead and buy the game if you're intereested, otherwise, stay very far away.
Concept: Ninjas, cool creatures, and awesome girl characters make for ultimate gaming awesomeness.
Graphics: Super smooth and great. The character models look great, although some of them look a little shiny at times, and the pre-rendered cutscenes are to die for.
Sound: The music is pretty good most of the time, the sound effects are nice, so overal not too bad.
Playability: Pretty good, if not challenging AI, and pretty awesome controls, except maybe for the camera at times.
Entertainment: Perfect the first time you get through it, but I personally am not sure if I really want to play through it again.
Replay Value: Moderate.
Okay, so now every time that I beat a game, or anytime that I feel like review a game that I previously beat, I will do.
Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)
Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: Great graphics, engaging combat
Cons: Crappy story, stupid save points, sometimes just gets too dang frustrating
Okay, so I picked this game up awhile ago, and then one day I decided to actually play it. First off, the game is awesome. The combat is buttery smooth, the graphics are great, especially the pre-rendered cutscenes, and it is just awesome altogether. However, there are a few drawbacks. One, the combat, while awesome, is super ridiculously hard against a lot of the enemies, and while that is good and engaging, sometimes it just becomes ridiculous, specifically if you don't have a lot of time to play. The same goes for the puzzles, which are brilliant, don't get me wrong, but maddening. Sometimes, I just wanted it to be a tad easier, and then when I finally solved the puzzle, I felt a lot better and happy that I had solved it. Even then, that feeling of anger stayed with me. Once, I was so frustrated that I slammed my Xbox controller into the ground, and now I have to hang onto it very tightly, because otherwise it buzzes uncontrollably whenever a game vibrates.
So overall, if you have some patience and some skill, go ahead and buy the game if you're intereested, otherwise, stay very far away.
Concept: Ninjas, cool creatures, and awesome girl characters make for ultimate gaming awesomeness.
Graphics: Super smooth and great. The character models look great, although some of them look a little shiny at times, and the pre-rendered cutscenes are to die for.
Sound: The music is pretty good most of the time, the sound effects are nice, so overal not too bad.
Playability: Pretty good, if not challenging AI, and pretty awesome controls, except maybe for the camera at times.
Entertainment: Perfect the first time you get through it, but I personally am not sure if I really want to play through it again.
Replay Value: Moderate.
Okay, so now every time that I beat a game, or anytime that I feel like review a game that I previously beat, I will do.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Film and Video Game Music
Today, I decided to write an article about something that I have very little expertise in: music. This year in high school (Ninth grade) I am taking music as my elective. However, instead of choosing an instrument (I play guitar, violin, viola, cello) I decided that I would do music composition. It's going all right, but not spectacular, but what I really want to write about now is how important music in film and video games, and tell you who my favorites are.
Okay, first off, games and films suck without the right music. Would Star Wars Episode III even be cool if it weren't for the music? Sure it had Darth Vader, but not until the end...okay, back on subject, music adds a whole other layer of interactivity between the audience and whatever is being played/watched. Sure, you don't really interact with it, but it just makes it seem more visceral. Right now I'm playing through The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on my Xbox, and when that battle music comes up, man I'm humming along and I can't get it out of my head. What I really hate, however, is when I see interviews with composers and they're like, "Oh yes, we talk in colors, we just decide the color of the scene and I compose music to go with that color." Yeah right. I hate it when filmmakers talk like that. "Yes, we just had to get into character and get into everything." Whatever. You're making a movie. You're standing in front of a camera and delivering lines. Sure there is a little bit of skill involved, but not enough to give me that artsy fartsy junk.
Okay...way off track. Anyways, these are my favorite composers.
John Williams - If you've seen Star Wars, you know why
Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings is awesome in all respects, and Into the West practically makes me cry.
James Newton Howard - King Kong and Shattered Glass have some really awesome music.
Klaus Badelt - If you don't know who this is, look him up now.
Hans Zimmer - Sure he steals credit (Look up Klaus Badelt again, I seriously didn't know that it was he who did Pirates of the Caribbean until I bought the soundtrack), but he's pretty darn good.
And finally...
Harry Gregson-Williams - The Chronicles of Narnia was the first film that had music that really 'spoke' to me or hooked me. Also, Metal Gear Solid's 2 and 3 have some of the best music ever. I think that they should release yet another enhanced edition of MGS 1 just so that he oculd compose the music for it and make it truly even more amazing than it already is.
Okay, first off, games and films suck without the right music. Would Star Wars Episode III even be cool if it weren't for the music? Sure it had Darth Vader, but not until the end...okay, back on subject, music adds a whole other layer of interactivity between the audience and whatever is being played/watched. Sure, you don't really interact with it, but it just makes it seem more visceral. Right now I'm playing through The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on my Xbox, and when that battle music comes up, man I'm humming along and I can't get it out of my head. What I really hate, however, is when I see interviews with composers and they're like, "Oh yes, we talk in colors, we just decide the color of the scene and I compose music to go with that color." Yeah right. I hate it when filmmakers talk like that. "Yes, we just had to get into character and get into everything." Whatever. You're making a movie. You're standing in front of a camera and delivering lines. Sure there is a little bit of skill involved, but not enough to give me that artsy fartsy junk.
Okay...way off track. Anyways, these are my favorite composers.
John Williams - If you've seen Star Wars, you know why
Howard Shore - Lord of the Rings is awesome in all respects, and Into the West practically makes me cry.
James Newton Howard - King Kong and Shattered Glass have some really awesome music.
Klaus Badelt - If you don't know who this is, look him up now.
Hans Zimmer - Sure he steals credit (Look up Klaus Badelt again, I seriously didn't know that it was he who did Pirates of the Caribbean until I bought the soundtrack), but he's pretty darn good.
And finally...
Harry Gregson-Williams - The Chronicles of Narnia was the first film that had music that really 'spoke' to me or hooked me. Also, Metal Gear Solid's 2 and 3 have some of the best music ever. I think that they should release yet another enhanced edition of MGS 1 just so that he oculd compose the music for it and make it truly even more amazing than it already is.
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