Sunday, December 27, 2009
Moving
This blog is moving to Wordpress due to that site's better interface and options. Check it out here
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Avatar review
So, I saw Avatar last night.
Now, this is a movie that people have apparently been looking forward to for a long time, one that's been hyped to the heavens as an experience that's going to "change the way we watch movies" or some other nonsense. I didn't even know it existed until last year and it wasn't on my radar as anything worth watching until I saw the trailer. And I have to admit, part of the reason I even bothered to see it is because I really liked watching Up in 3D and was anxious to go back for more. So keep in mind that this review is the opinion of a guy whose anticipation level going in was somehwere along the lines of "this looks pretty neat" as opposed to someone who's been waiting for this for 15 years.
(Spoiler free)
Now, this is a movie that people have apparently been looking forward to for a long time, one that's been hyped to the heavens as an experience that's going to "change the way we watch movies" or some other nonsense. I didn't even know it existed until last year and it wasn't on my radar as anything worth watching until I saw the trailer. And I have to admit, part of the reason I even bothered to see it is because I really liked watching Up in 3D and was anxious to go back for more. So keep in mind that this review is the opinion of a guy whose anticipation level going in was somehwere along the lines of "this looks pretty neat" as opposed to someone who's been waiting for this for 15 years.
(Spoiler free)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Upcoming anime comments
Hey, a post about anime! Fancy that.
I'm not going to do one of those winter anime season previews, mostly because nearly all of the shows coming out these days are totally indistinguishable moe/harem comedies, but there are a few upcoming series that stand out from the pack, some for better reasons than others.
I'm not going to do one of those winter anime season previews, mostly because nearly all of the shows coming out these days are totally indistinguishable moe/harem comedies, but there are a few upcoming series that stand out from the pack, some for better reasons than others.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Spike VGA awards part 02
There were two announcements at the Spike VGA event I forgot to comment on last time:
Spec Ops: The Line
Now here's something interesting- a military shooter set in what appears to be a deserted, sand-covered Dubai. According to the developers, the game "challenges players' morality by putting them in the middle of unspeakable situations where unimaginative choices affecting human life must be made."
I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be "unimaginable choices" but whatever. Hopefully it won't fall into the usual gimmicks associated with morality choices in video games, and at least they're doing something interesting, as opposed to the likes of Medal of Honour.
Halo: Reach
I didn't think it was possible for me to be any more apathetic about the Halo series, but Bungie achieved the impossible by focusing on a squad for their prequel and predictably stocking it with the usual walking cliches we've come to expect from FPS games- there's the player-insertion main character, the gruff commander, the black guy (here doubling for the crazy guy), the woman and the hispanic guy. So basically it's Crysis.... IN SPACE.
Is it really that hard to mix things up a little? How about a female commander, or no black guys, or two hispanic guys? Or maybe the main character could be specifically identified as not white. I don't know why developers feel the need to be politically correct with these games- do they actually think people are going to be offended if the team doesn't contain a character of their ethincity?- but that would be one way to do it that would be fresh and original.
Spec Ops: The Line
Now here's something interesting- a military shooter set in what appears to be a deserted, sand-covered Dubai. According to the developers, the game "challenges players' morality by putting them in the middle of unspeakable situations where unimaginative choices affecting human life must be made."
I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be "unimaginable choices" but whatever. Hopefully it won't fall into the usual gimmicks associated with morality choices in video games, and at least they're doing something interesting, as opposed to the likes of Medal of Honour.
Halo: Reach
I didn't think it was possible for me to be any more apathetic about the Halo series, but Bungie achieved the impossible by focusing on a squad for their prequel and predictably stocking it with the usual walking cliches we've come to expect from FPS games- there's the player-insertion main character, the gruff commander, the black guy (here doubling for the crazy guy), the woman and the hispanic guy. So basically it's Crysis.... IN SPACE.
Is it really that hard to mix things up a little? How about a female commander, or no black guys, or two hispanic guys? Or maybe the main character could be specifically identified as not white. I don't know why developers feel the need to be politically correct with these games- do they actually think people are going to be offended if the team doesn't contain a character of their ethincity?- but that would be one way to do it that would be fresh and original.
Spike VGA announcements
There's been a flurry of game announcements coming from the Spike Video Game Awards, an event I was only barely aware of this time last year. Maybe developers don't want to wait until E3 any more. Here are my thoughts on some of the more interesting stuff:
Prince of Persia: The Lost Sands
Yay, a new Prince of Persia game! And it's..... not a sequel to the last one. Huh.
While Ubisoft's latest PoP game may have had some serious flaws, I still enjoyed it, so this is a bit dissapointing. A lot of people are speculating that a return to the original franchise is being driven by the upcoming movie, a theory that gains some credence when you consider that they're coming out around the same time. The trailer even feels like an attempt at copying a movie teaser, with the gravelly-voiced narrator going on about the stregnth of stonn (he actually says it like that).
A lot of people are making predictions about movie tie-ins, but given how good the Prince of Persia games are I'm going to give Ubisoft the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
The first Force Unleashed was one of those mystifying cases where I seem to have been playing a different game from the majority of fans and critics. The general consensus seems to be that it was a good idea that fell short- an "ok" game that could have been great. A lot of people just straight up hated it.
I thoroughly enjoyed Force Unleashed and thought it surpassed it's potential, which is saying something since hack and slash games usually bore me to tears after the first five minutes. I really don't see why everyone was so dissapointed with it. (See also: Superman Returns (the movie), Silent Hill Homecoming and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Halo and all of the Grand Theft Auto games except the fourth one are examples of this in reverse).
I'm happy that they're making a sequel that can hopefully iron out the first game's few flaws (no more goddamn quick time events), but how can this work story-wise? As everyone who played the original knows, it ended pretty conclusively.
Medal of Honour
This game looks stupid.
In an effort to revitalize the franchise, EA have moved it from the tired, over-used setting of World War 2 to the tired, over-used setting of the Middle East. It's essentially a more gung-ho Modern Warfare rip-off (did you catch that aerial bombardment scene?) with a stupid looking main character. And no, the fact that he's apparently based on a real person doesn't excuse that.
Nice graphics, though. It's cool that they went for a slightly less realistic style.
Batman Sequel
An Arkham Asylum sequel? Yes please!
After playing the original I really wanted a free-roaming Batman game set in Gotham, following Batman as he goes about his day to day crime fighting duties. That doesn't seem to have happened, but the action is moving to the streets of Gotham at least. I'll be keeping an eye on this.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Sands
Yay, a new Prince of Persia game! And it's..... not a sequel to the last one. Huh.
While Ubisoft's latest PoP game may have had some serious flaws, I still enjoyed it, so this is a bit dissapointing. A lot of people are speculating that a return to the original franchise is being driven by the upcoming movie, a theory that gains some credence when you consider that they're coming out around the same time. The trailer even feels like an attempt at copying a movie teaser, with the gravelly-voiced narrator going on about the stregnth of stonn (he actually says it like that).
A lot of people are making predictions about movie tie-ins, but given how good the Prince of Persia games are I'm going to give Ubisoft the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
The first Force Unleashed was one of those mystifying cases where I seem to have been playing a different game from the majority of fans and critics. The general consensus seems to be that it was a good idea that fell short- an "ok" game that could have been great. A lot of people just straight up hated it.
I thoroughly enjoyed Force Unleashed and thought it surpassed it's potential, which is saying something since hack and slash games usually bore me to tears after the first five minutes. I really don't see why everyone was so dissapointed with it. (See also: Superman Returns (the movie), Silent Hill Homecoming and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Halo and all of the Grand Theft Auto games except the fourth one are examples of this in reverse).
I'm happy that they're making a sequel that can hopefully iron out the first game's few flaws (no more goddamn quick time events), but how can this work story-wise? As everyone who played the original knows, it ended pretty conclusively.
Medal of Honour
This game looks stupid.
In an effort to revitalize the franchise, EA have moved it from the tired, over-used setting of World War 2 to the tired, over-used setting of the Middle East. It's essentially a more gung-ho Modern Warfare rip-off (did you catch that aerial bombardment scene?) with a stupid looking main character. And no, the fact that he's apparently based on a real person doesn't excuse that.
Nice graphics, though. It's cool that they went for a slightly less realistic style.
Batman Sequel
An Arkham Asylum sequel? Yes please!
After playing the original I really wanted a free-roaming Batman game set in Gotham, following Batman as he goes about his day to day crime fighting duties. That doesn't seem to have happened, but the action is moving to the streets of Gotham at least. I'll be keeping an eye on this.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Silent Hill Shattered Memories review (spoiler-free)
And it's done.
I've been eagerly- no, desperately- waiting to play Climax's reimagining of Silent Hill ever since it was announced, pouring over every screenshot and video, discussing (and often defending) the game endlessly with fellow fans on forums. I modded my Wii and payed outrageous import costs to play the game early. Two days ago I recieved and finished it. Did it live up to the hype?
Let me put it this way: as far as I'm concerned, Climax is the new Team Silent.
I've been eagerly- no, desperately- waiting to play Climax's reimagining of Silent Hill ever since it was announced, pouring over every screenshot and video, discussing (and often defending) the game endlessly with fellow fans on forums. I modded my Wii and payed outrageous import costs to play the game early. Two days ago I recieved and finished it. Did it live up to the hype?
Let me put it this way: as far as I'm concerned, Climax is the new Team Silent.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
World of Minecraft
I was wandering around the interwebs bored earlier today, waiting for the glorious hour when my copy of Silent Hill Shattered Memories arrives (and if you're enjoying this blog in any capacity get your fill now, because you won't be seeing me for awhile when that happens) when I stumbled across Minecraft, an intruiging little indie MMO.
Minecraft is as far as I can tell somewhat similar to Love, only less stylish- you build things in tandem with other players and, when the survival mode is finished, you'll be able to fend off hoards of enemies together.
At the moment I'm sticking to the single player game and basically treating it like virtual lego. Upon seeing that there were wood and bookcase blocks (which I will insist in referring to as "build grist") in the menu I set about constructing a little log cabin. I think it was around the time I glanced at the clock and realised I had spent the last 15 minutes working out how to make a sloping roof that I realised this concept might be a good one.
I'm currently raising a Dread Tower of obsidian build grist with which to survey the domain I plan on building. I'll let you know how it goes.
Minecraft is as far as I can tell somewhat similar to Love, only less stylish- you build things in tandem with other players and, when the survival mode is finished, you'll be able to fend off hoards of enemies together.
At the moment I'm sticking to the single player game and basically treating it like virtual lego. Upon seeing that there were wood and bookcase blocks (which I will insist in referring to as "build grist") in the menu I set about constructing a little log cabin. I think it was around the time I glanced at the clock and realised I had spent the last 15 minutes working out how to make a sloping roof that I realised this concept might be a good one.
I'm currently raising a Dread Tower of obsidian build grist with which to survey the domain I plan on building. I'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Modern Warfare- Reflex thoughts
I recently got to play around with the inanely titled Modern Warfare- Reflex for the Wii.
Modern Warfare was a huge blockbuster of a game designed to push the envelope in terms of graphics and presentation, so the decision to port it the Wii was a tad odd. On the face of it, it seems as if quite a lot of effort went into this- everything that was in the original PC/PS3/360 release is here, including all of the multiplayer. How, then did Infinity Ward botch the controls so badly?
It's not that they're really bad or anything. You get a large number of preset options (why do developers insist on labelling the Red Steel control method "beginner" when it makes games almost impossible to play?) and The Conduit's ability to tweak everything to you heart's content. But it still feels off. Your aim frequently spazzes out and swings wildly when looking down the scope, and circle strafing feels stiff. The game gives you the option to lean around corners by tilting the nunchuck, which works quite well, but your movement speed slows to a crawl while leaning and it's easy to do by accident in the middle of a firefight.
Again, the controls aren't bad, they're just not as good as what's come before. When your game doesn't match the fluidity and ease of play of a game that came out almost three years ago, you've got a problem.
Also, a word must be said about the graphics, which also aren't as good as Metroid Prime 3's. Environments are frequently muddy and the whole thing has the squinty feel of playing a HD game on an SD TV. Enemies also have a distracting tendency to suffer from jerky animations and delayed reactions.
And of course, there's the writing and voice acting, with the British troops coming across as vaguely evil and sinister and the Americans being portrayed as grunting meat-headed frat boys. Since the game is supposedly gritty and realistic and all that Infinity Ward was probably trying to make some sort of point, but it's diluted somewhat bu the fact that every other military FPS ever made in the history of the Universe does the exact same thing.
Despite all this, Modern Warfare- Reflex isn't a bad game. I'm going to go play it again after finishing this post, in fact. I'm just glad I rented it instead of buying it at full price.
Modern Warfare was a huge blockbuster of a game designed to push the envelope in terms of graphics and presentation, so the decision to port it the Wii was a tad odd. On the face of it, it seems as if quite a lot of effort went into this- everything that was in the original PC/PS3/360 release is here, including all of the multiplayer. How, then did Infinity Ward botch the controls so badly?
It's not that they're really bad or anything. You get a large number of preset options (why do developers insist on labelling the Red Steel control method "beginner" when it makes games almost impossible to play?) and The Conduit's ability to tweak everything to you heart's content. But it still feels off. Your aim frequently spazzes out and swings wildly when looking down the scope, and circle strafing feels stiff. The game gives you the option to lean around corners by tilting the nunchuck, which works quite well, but your movement speed slows to a crawl while leaning and it's easy to do by accident in the middle of a firefight.
Again, the controls aren't bad, they're just not as good as what's come before. When your game doesn't match the fluidity and ease of play of a game that came out almost three years ago, you've got a problem.
Also, a word must be said about the graphics, which also aren't as good as Metroid Prime 3's. Environments are frequently muddy and the whole thing has the squinty feel of playing a HD game on an SD TV. Enemies also have a distracting tendency to suffer from jerky animations and delayed reactions.
And of course, there's the writing and voice acting, with the British troops coming across as vaguely evil and sinister and the Americans being portrayed as grunting meat-headed frat boys. Since the game is supposedly gritty and realistic and all that Infinity Ward was probably trying to make some sort of point, but it's diluted somewhat bu the fact that every other military FPS ever made in the history of the Universe does the exact same thing.
Despite all this, Modern Warfare- Reflex isn't a bad game. I'm going to go play it again after finishing this post, in fact. I'm just glad I rented it instead of buying it at full price.
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