My first intimate encounter with zombies will always be the Resident Evil series of games. For me, it's the best way to experience zombie-horror. I was 8 or 9 and hadn't seen Night of the Living Dead, wasn't aware of Peter Jackson's Brain Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Dead 3 (ummm yeah...), Zombi, and 28 Days Later hadn't been made yet. My first memory of Resident Evil was back in the late 90s. I went over to my cousin's house and he had just gotten Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. I remember him starting it up and it saying something to the effect of: "this game has tons of violence and gore." I--being a TV-raised 9 year old model American--couldn't have been more excited. I remember rewinding the scene where Luke Skywalker slices off the Wampa's arm in Empire Strikes Back over and over again... Blood, violence, gore. Yes.
But my first experience with RE wasn't a good one. I wasn't ready. The lumbering zombies were eerie, ever present, and evil. They tore at my flesh, caught me from behind, and sometimes even surprised me by gnawed at my legs. My pistol constantly ran out of ammo, recovery items were far and in between, and that wasn't even the beginning of my nightmare.
The first time I was chased by Nemesis I had to quit the game and play something else. He was just too menacing. The behemoth took bullet after bullet. Stalking me around the front of the police station until I either died or manage to get inside. He had one creepy whited-out eye and a big skin graft sewn over the other one and was a good 3 feet taller than poor Jill Valentine. It was incredible. "Am I even supposed to beat this thing?" I asked myself. I had to let my cousin keep playing because I just didn't have the courage.
But even though it had scared the pants off of me two years or so prior, I bought a copy of Resident Evil 2 (I couldn't find RE1). I was a that much older and that much braver.
I'll never forget the first time your character walks into the police station and goes into that first room with the Item Box. There's an unsettling silence. And right when you go around the corner to go up the staircase, you see some creature scurry across the window briefly. Immediately, I went into fight/flight mode: pulse quickened, muscles tensed... That's the first time you encounter the Licker: by far my favorite Resident Evil B.O.W. (Bio-Organic Weapon). Odds are, I don't have to explain to you what he looks like: it's an image burned into our collective gamer-consciousness.
Resident Evil holds a lot of memories for me. I remember getting used to the "tank" controls, learning how to manage items, Umbrella, ink ribbons and typewriters (and the annoying trek back to the item box because you forgot the take the said ribbons out of your inventory before leaving the safe room...), the T-Virus, the simple one-word names for all your enemies: Tyrant, Licker, Hunter, etc., the red zombie, S.T.A.R.S., all the opening doors and going up staircases/ladders screens, the zombies, the bio-weapons, the ridiculous dialogue in RE1 (MASTER OF UNLOCKING!), the player characters (Jill, Chris, Claire, Leon, Ada, HUNK, Rebecca, Billy, Sheva, and of course... Tofu), the mansion, Raccoon city, the "the B1 key is useless now. Discard?" prompts. And of course that feeling of sheer dread and terror that always finds you when you're up at 2AM wandering through Raccoon City.
I hold the old games so dear that whenever I read a file on a computer in RE5 that vaguely referred to the Licker my heart literally jumped out of my chest. It did so again when I actually encountered one. Even through I played the original three games in reverse, I went back and played each one in sequence. I can't count how many times I've cleared them.
The original, arguably, created the entire genre of survival horror. It was a revolutionary concept. Years later, Resident Evil 4 would mimic its progenitor and turn the gaming world on its head again. Your enemies this time were parasites that turned the peaceful Spanish locals into deadly, pitchfork wielding zombies under the control of Lord Saddler. 4 had a high focus on action and shooting. It introduced an over-the-shoulder perspective and manual aim so you could shoot enemies wherever you wanted. No longer were spectacular gory headshots only restricted to the magnum! Other additions include a QTE system (quick time events) that allowed you to melee stunned enemies and dodge. You couldn't put the controller down during cut scenes because often you would have to input commands to continue (i.e. survive) the game. However, half the fun was watching Leon die: impaled by wooden stake after falling down into pit, eaten by a giant, mutated mud-puppy, ripped in half by a boss, decapitated by a chainsaw wielding zombie. Delicious violence. However, a lot of RE hallmarks were abandoned. Ink ribbons were done away with; a change that I'm sure didn't upset a lot of people. The traditional lumbering zombies were gone; replaced by the smarter, agile, and weapon-wielding Ganados. Albert Wesker and Umbrella were conspicuously absent from center stage. The game relied on the ol' "The Presidents daughter has been kidnaped. Rescue her" plot. By far the single biggest change was the gameplay. RE4 played out as more of an action-adventure game than a horror game with Leon blasting through hordes of zombies, running from boulders and giant statues, and leaping out of mine cart moments before it plunges off a cliff. Even with all these improvements and changes, 4 still had the Resident Evil atmosphere: you still faced mutated abominations in combat and inventory management was still key. It was an incredible leap forward. Resident Evil had evolved into a new kind of hideous beast. These changes were universally welcomed, but I get the feeling that I wasn't the only one that was a bit disappointed. Resident Evil 5 took us to where it all started: Africa. Our dream of cooperative play was also made reality. A new player character was introduced, Sheva Alomar. Wesker and Umbrella was back and many of the series secrets and questions were answered. It retained the same shooting mechanics and an improved QTE system that allowed a larger variety of melee attacks. It also continued the action-adventure style of 4. For me, it was a dream come true.
However, the series is not wholly without dark moments. Much like the mutated William Birkin, games like Gun Survivor popped up every now and then to assault the high standards we held the RE series to. These games aren't so much poorly made as just experiments gone wrong. Perhaps Capcom thought that by releasing these abominations, they were--in a kind of post-modern/existential way--creating literal monsters to hunt us down and destroy us. I don't think its too big of a stretch to say that they were.
Curiously, RE is called Biohazard in Japan. Biohazard is the original name of the series. What does Resident Evil even mean? Was it a translation error? like: "Residence of Evil"? The first game takes place entirely in a mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City so that's a maybe. Perhaps its referring to the zombies and B.O.W's: Resident referring to their status as tenets in this mansion; and Evil because they want to eat your flesh. The game's creator, Shinji Mikami, created another horror franchise: Dino Crisis. Was that games name changed in America too? I don't know. Dino Crisis is similar to Biohazard because a "hazard" and a "crisis" are both conditions while "bio" and "dino" are both modifiers to these conditions. Resident Evil can be interpreted the same way (like I said above: evil residents) but it isn't as clear as Biohazard. That's like calling Dino Crisis "Jungle Evil".
In closing, thank you Shinji Mikami and Capcom for bring Resident Evil to the world. Thank you for scaring the hell out of me over and over again.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Jennifer's Body
I'll deliver my verdict with one quote:
"Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days? There are so many of us, and we're all so cute and it's like if you don't get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you're screwed, okay? Satan is our only hope."
Thank you, Diablo Cody. (**)
"Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days? There are so many of us, and we're all so cute and it's like if you don't get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you're screwed, okay? Satan is our only hope."
Thank you, Diablo Cody. (**)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Is Damnation that bad?!
I bet you've heard a lot about Codemaster's Damnation. I bet you've heard it's bad... really bad. And you of course know that you shouldn't always listen to the masses and give this game a chance, right? It certainly can't be as bad as everyone says it is, right?
Wrong.
Damnation is a bad game. They're not lying. A friend and I rented it just to see if it was really that bad. I'll give you my unedited notes, right after playing this game:
1. The shooting system is awful and clunky.
2. Melee attacks are almost useless. You swing your arms clumsily, barely damaging anything. I feel like I'm attacking with Edward in FFIV...
3. There's plenty of dropped frames.
4. The environments are confusing, and you're given no waypoints of any kind that I could discern. This wouldn't be a problem if the environments weren't so fucking bland and boring.
5. The AI enemies are ridiculously powerful and they will obliterate you... or you'll just tear through them because they're also very stupid. Where is the balance?
6. The voice-acting is very bad. I gurantee you'll often you'll spend a lot of time simply laughing at the things these characters say. For example... wait until you meet the quasi-hispanic sounding character dressed in red...
7. You can press a button (Circle) to crouch. You can crouch behind cover to avoid damage... however, don't try to fire from cover because you can't do that. You'll simply blow the shit out of the object in front of you.
8. There's platforming elements that are anything but elegant. Once again, they're clunky and just not fun to look at after the first few backflips.
9. Your characters move so awkwardly it is often hilarious. For example, try shimming on a ledge...
10. If you're playing co-op one of the early game hints on the second players screen will not disappear... I'm not kidding.
Seriously, I was able to write that in about five minutes. 10 complaints in 5 minutes. That is unacceptable. Blue Omega Entertainment, the developer, was fired shortly after this games release. (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/100/1000397p1.html) The quality of the game may or may not be completely responsible for all those people losing their jobs, but I can't feel very sorry for them. They'll find work again and, hopefully, develop some better games.
It wasn't completely bad. Maybe like 97% bad. The opening cutscene was interesting and I think steampunk is just awesome and--it seems--tragically under-used. So, just for that, Damnation can be appreciated.
Nah, I'm kidding. This game is horrible. (null)
Wrong.
Damnation is a bad game. They're not lying. A friend and I rented it just to see if it was really that bad. I'll give you my unedited notes, right after playing this game:
1. The shooting system is awful and clunky.
2. Melee attacks are almost useless. You swing your arms clumsily, barely damaging anything. I feel like I'm attacking with Edward in FFIV...
3. There's plenty of dropped frames.
4. The environments are confusing, and you're given no waypoints of any kind that I could discern. This wouldn't be a problem if the environments weren't so fucking bland and boring.
5. The AI enemies are ridiculously powerful and they will obliterate you... or you'll just tear through them because they're also very stupid. Where is the balance?
6. The voice-acting is very bad. I gurantee you'll often you'll spend a lot of time simply laughing at the things these characters say. For example... wait until you meet the quasi-hispanic sounding character dressed in red...
7. You can press a button (Circle) to crouch. You can crouch behind cover to avoid damage... however, don't try to fire from cover because you can't do that. You'll simply blow the shit out of the object in front of you.
8. There's platforming elements that are anything but elegant. Once again, they're clunky and just not fun to look at after the first few backflips.
9. Your characters move so awkwardly it is often hilarious. For example, try shimming on a ledge...
10. If you're playing co-op one of the early game hints on the second players screen will not disappear... I'm not kidding.
Seriously, I was able to write that in about five minutes. 10 complaints in 5 minutes. That is unacceptable. Blue Omega Entertainment, the developer, was fired shortly after this games release. (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/100/1000397p1.html) The quality of the game may or may not be completely responsible for all those people losing their jobs, but I can't feel very sorry for them. They'll find work again and, hopefully, develop some better games.
It wasn't completely bad. Maybe like 97% bad. The opening cutscene was interesting and I think steampunk is just awesome and--it seems--tragically under-used. So, just for that, Damnation can be appreciated.
Nah, I'm kidding. This game is horrible. (null)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Knowing
Note: as it is my style, it should be noted that my comments usually throughly discuss imagery, plot points, twists, and the like. There may be spoilers.
Austrailian filmmaker Alex Proyas is one of my favorite directors. I cherish his Dark City greatly (Ya know, I need to write something about it...). I am still looking for a copy of his first film Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds in any format. And yes, I mean ANY format: I'd take a roughed up VHS at this point. Don't know either of those films? Not surprising. Dark City wasn't a hit financially and--obviously--Spirits probably isn't sitting on a Blockbuster shelf. However, Proyas did direct The Crow and I haven't met many people with bad things to say about that one. His previous effort I, Robot saw commercial success and re-affirmed that the Converse sneaker is the ultimate footwear. At this point I'm wondering why this post isn't called "All About Alex Proyas". Let me get to the point.
Knowing is his latest film and it seems like just another Nicholas Cage star vehicle. Well, that's right and wrong. The film opens at an elementary school in 1959. We meet Lucidna, a strange young girl who apparently hears voices. In the next scene, students draw their visions of the future to be placed into a time capsule and reopened 50 years later by a group of students. We come to find the tortured young girl has written on a piece of paper the date, death toll, and location of every major disaster to come. In the present day, we meet astrophysicist John Koestler: our hero. He and his obviously intelligent son enjoy an evening of stargazing. Caleb gets Lucidna's paper and sneaks it home where his father discovers it and becomes tangled up in the world's destiny.
The movie certainly has plenty of your typical thriller-type moments and dialogue. But behind the hum-drum, the visionary Proyas is at work. Consider a scene from the trailer: a jumbo-jet crashes violently near our hero. In one long, continous take John approaches the wreckage and attempts to save a few survivors. It's a moment that can't really be described easily. The unbroken shot recreates deftly the intensity of such a dire situation. You feel the urgency. There isn't any relief. The final scene of the film are companion pieces of destruction and new life. They also can only be experienced.
The film has most everything a decent thriller should, including the key elements tension and mystery. Unfortunetly, it doesn't rise above most genre cliches. You've heard the dialogue before; you've seen some of the situations before. However, it is commendable for pushing some boundries and possesses an obvious wit. It plays on contemporary paranoia of terrorist attacks and plots in such a fascinating way. We are to believe that a terrorist bombing, or the like, will probably occur in New York City. The film displays newscasts that claim the terror threat level is elevated and John even pinpoints the location of the eventual destruction at the corner of a New York street. One chaotic chase scene later, our expectations are completely defeated. No terror bombing occurs and the suspicious man at the subway was simply a petty shoplifter.
Another one of my favorite parts lies near the end of the film. Caleb and the granddaughter of the opening scenes prophet, Lucidna, carry white rabbits given to them by the strange "whisper men" that appear throughout the movie. The rabbits may represent a wish of good luck on the pair's new beginning. Or maybe they represent the uncertainity of traveling down the rabbit hole, into the unknown. I'd like to think that the rabbits represent both. Or perhaps Proyas just likes white rabbits. (**)
Austrailian filmmaker Alex Proyas is one of my favorite directors. I cherish his Dark City greatly (Ya know, I need to write something about it...). I am still looking for a copy of his first film Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds in any format. And yes, I mean ANY format: I'd take a roughed up VHS at this point. Don't know either of those films? Not surprising. Dark City wasn't a hit financially and--obviously--Spirits probably isn't sitting on a Blockbuster shelf. However, Proyas did direct The Crow and I haven't met many people with bad things to say about that one. His previous effort I, Robot saw commercial success and re-affirmed that the Converse sneaker is the ultimate footwear. At this point I'm wondering why this post isn't called "All About Alex Proyas". Let me get to the point.
Knowing is his latest film and it seems like just another Nicholas Cage star vehicle. Well, that's right and wrong. The film opens at an elementary school in 1959. We meet Lucidna, a strange young girl who apparently hears voices. In the next scene, students draw their visions of the future to be placed into a time capsule and reopened 50 years later by a group of students. We come to find the tortured young girl has written on a piece of paper the date, death toll, and location of every major disaster to come. In the present day, we meet astrophysicist John Koestler: our hero. He and his obviously intelligent son enjoy an evening of stargazing. Caleb gets Lucidna's paper and sneaks it home where his father discovers it and becomes tangled up in the world's destiny.
The movie certainly has plenty of your typical thriller-type moments and dialogue. But behind the hum-drum, the visionary Proyas is at work. Consider a scene from the trailer: a jumbo-jet crashes violently near our hero. In one long, continous take John approaches the wreckage and attempts to save a few survivors. It's a moment that can't really be described easily. The unbroken shot recreates deftly the intensity of such a dire situation. You feel the urgency. There isn't any relief. The final scene of the film are companion pieces of destruction and new life. They also can only be experienced.
The film has most everything a decent thriller should, including the key elements tension and mystery. Unfortunetly, it doesn't rise above most genre cliches. You've heard the dialogue before; you've seen some of the situations before. However, it is commendable for pushing some boundries and possesses an obvious wit. It plays on contemporary paranoia of terrorist attacks and plots in such a fascinating way. We are to believe that a terrorist bombing, or the like, will probably occur in New York City. The film displays newscasts that claim the terror threat level is elevated and John even pinpoints the location of the eventual destruction at the corner of a New York street. One chaotic chase scene later, our expectations are completely defeated. No terror bombing occurs and the suspicious man at the subway was simply a petty shoplifter.
Another one of my favorite parts lies near the end of the film. Caleb and the granddaughter of the opening scenes prophet, Lucidna, carry white rabbits given to them by the strange "whisper men" that appear throughout the movie. The rabbits may represent a wish of good luck on the pair's new beginning. Or maybe they represent the uncertainity of traveling down the rabbit hole, into the unknown. I'd like to think that the rabbits represent both. Or perhaps Proyas just likes white rabbits. (**)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
How I do things.
I've decided that I want to change the way I do things. Since this blog is young and doesn't have any readers I think I can get away with that.
I comment on video games, movies, books, etc. with a focus on gaming (since it's my precious...). Any of your comments, observations, flames, will be appreciated.
All reviews will now follow this scale:
*** = I loved it. A wonderful piece of work.
** = I liked it. Has some great things and some stuff that holds it back.
* = I didn't like it. Probably a waste of time.
Anything below "*" is, I think, garbage: "null"
My ultimate goal is to have the reader actually read my entire comments about the subject. That's what really counts. Star ratings are just too vague.
Expect several new updates soon! I'm working on quite a few varied essays. :)
I comment on video games, movies, books, etc. with a focus on gaming (since it's my precious...). Any of your comments, observations, flames, will be appreciated.
All reviews will now follow this scale:
*** = I loved it. A wonderful piece of work.
** = I liked it. Has some great things and some stuff that holds it back.
* = I didn't like it. Probably a waste of time.
Anything below "*" is, I think, garbage: "null"
My ultimate goal is to have the reader actually read my entire comments about the subject. That's what really counts. Star ratings are just too vague.
Expect several new updates soon! I'm working on quite a few varied essays. :)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Demo Impressions)
We live in an age of superheroes. Comic books have always been the way to live the lives of fantastic men and women. However in the wake of the first X-Men film a renewed interest of comic book heroes and villains was apparent. It seems that film studios are buying up the rights to every superhero and every comic book there is. I think that, in ways, lead to the development of the latest Batman video game "Batman: Arkham Asylum".
If you're played any Batman video games you know one thing: There are some bad ones and there are some good ones. The NES one was good, the Batman: The Animated Series game for the SNES was also good. Batman Forever for the SNES broke me as a child... I spent hours trying to figure it out. It didn't make any sense. Not a very good experience to say the least. I remember playing a PS2 Batman game a long time ago. It wasn't bad, but it surely wasn't very memorable. "Batman Begins" for the PS2 was one that sticks out in my memory. It had a some neat ideas--intimidation of enemies for one--but it was woefully forgettable. Needless to say, Arkham Asylum blows all of these games out of the water.
Well, I just played the demo and already it's better than any other game carrying the name of Batman to date. Here's why:
1.) Combat. Batman kicks ass left and right. The combat system (dubbed "free-flow combat") lets Batman tear through baddies like a warm batrang through butter (don't you love Bat-puns? forgive me). I can't really explain it too well with words. Batman is able to seemlessly strike, counter, and throw. He can also switch targets mid-combo. The sound effects are great, really letting you hear the heft of the strikes.
2.) Stealth. For me, this is the most exciting aspect. Batman has a variety of ways to subdue foes. If unseen, he can silently incapitate his enemies. I also saw some shots in the trailer of him using batarangs, his grappling hook, and other gadgets. He can sneak on the ground, crouch behind a corner (in MGS fashion), lurk in the shadows high above by swinging and hanging from the decorate gargoyles, and glide gracefully down. If you knock out an enemy and someone finds them they'll begin to search for the Batman. They may also begin to behave nervously if they keep finding their comrades lying on the floor. Just imagine if Solid Snake had a grappling gun and you get the picture.
3.) Service to the fans. There are plenty of extras: character bios, trophies, even patient tapes that let you hear psychiatric sessions with the Joker (I'm sure they have them for other characters... but I'm just playing the demo). This is the best Batman experience to date.
"Batman: Arkham Asylum" is one of those rare demos that get you so incredibly stocked for the full product that you may drool all over your t-shirt. Welcome to the madhouse.
If you're played any Batman video games you know one thing: There are some bad ones and there are some good ones. The NES one was good, the Batman: The Animated Series game for the SNES was also good. Batman Forever for the SNES broke me as a child... I spent hours trying to figure it out. It didn't make any sense. Not a very good experience to say the least. I remember playing a PS2 Batman game a long time ago. It wasn't bad, but it surely wasn't very memorable. "Batman Begins" for the PS2 was one that sticks out in my memory. It had a some neat ideas--intimidation of enemies for one--but it was woefully forgettable. Needless to say, Arkham Asylum blows all of these games out of the water.
Well, I just played the demo and already it's better than any other game carrying the name of Batman to date. Here's why:
1.) Combat. Batman kicks ass left and right. The combat system (dubbed "free-flow combat") lets Batman tear through baddies like a warm batrang through butter (don't you love Bat-puns? forgive me). I can't really explain it too well with words. Batman is able to seemlessly strike, counter, and throw. He can also switch targets mid-combo. The sound effects are great, really letting you hear the heft of the strikes.
2.) Stealth. For me, this is the most exciting aspect. Batman has a variety of ways to subdue foes. If unseen, he can silently incapitate his enemies. I also saw some shots in the trailer of him using batarangs, his grappling hook, and other gadgets. He can sneak on the ground, crouch behind a corner (in MGS fashion), lurk in the shadows high above by swinging and hanging from the decorate gargoyles, and glide gracefully down. If you knock out an enemy and someone finds them they'll begin to search for the Batman. They may also begin to behave nervously if they keep finding their comrades lying on the floor. Just imagine if Solid Snake had a grappling gun and you get the picture.
3.) Service to the fans. There are plenty of extras: character bios, trophies, even patient tapes that let you hear psychiatric sessions with the Joker (I'm sure they have them for other characters... but I'm just playing the demo). This is the best Batman experience to date.
"Batman: Arkham Asylum" is one of those rare demos that get you so incredibly stocked for the full product that you may drool all over your t-shirt. Welcome to the madhouse.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
District 9
A few years ago a lot of fuss was raised about a film adaptation of Bungie's Halo video game franchise. Peter Jackson was to have... something to do with it. Now, I've heard people say that he was attached to direct but that was probably a rumor. He was certainly to produce the film. Enter Neill Blomkamp, director of short-films and commercials. He made a trilogy of shorts set in the Halo universe known as Landfall, mostly to promote the release of Halo 3.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxdvGO1oOF0]
It's hard not to get excited for a Halo movie after watching that, right? They are truly great pieces of film-making. However, I find my self satisfied that the Halo film failed. Why? Because Jackson moved on to produce Blomkamp's first feature: District 9.
District 9, I found out, is an expansion of one of Blomkamp's previous short films Alive in Joburg. It explores the same themes and uses the same documentary style for some of the film.
http://www.spyfilms.com/#neill_blomkamp/alive_in_joburg
D9 is a fantastic film. It is smart, emotionally involving, stylish, and well-executed by wonderful actors. Technically, it is an astounding achievement. With a budget of only $30 million it pulls off some of the most impressive CGI and special effects I've seen this year. Compare that too Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's overbloated $200 million budget.
Sharlto Copley deftly portrays hero Wikus. The plot involves alien refugees (bug-like humanoids) that are segregated from society. Wikus is chosen to lead an effort to relocate the aliens due to growing public fears. Things turn awry when Wikus is exposed to an alien substance and I'll let you figure out the rest. The film shifts from a documentary perspective to a more traditional third-person perspective. Blomkamp handles this with great precision and it is never a distraction.
Perhaps Halo will one day get its film made. But until then, I'm sure everyone short of the uber-fans will not be disappointed at the turn of events. This is the best film I've seen this year. Go watch it: 5/5
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxdvGO1oOF0]
It's hard not to get excited for a Halo movie after watching that, right? They are truly great pieces of film-making. However, I find my self satisfied that the Halo film failed. Why? Because Jackson moved on to produce Blomkamp's first feature: District 9.
District 9, I found out, is an expansion of one of Blomkamp's previous short films Alive in Joburg. It explores the same themes and uses the same documentary style for some of the film.
http://www.spyfilms.com/#neill_blomkamp/alive_in_joburg
D9 is a fantastic film. It is smart, emotionally involving, stylish, and well-executed by wonderful actors. Technically, it is an astounding achievement. With a budget of only $30 million it pulls off some of the most impressive CGI and special effects I've seen this year. Compare that too Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's overbloated $200 million budget.
Sharlto Copley deftly portrays hero Wikus. The plot involves alien refugees (bug-like humanoids) that are segregated from society. Wikus is chosen to lead an effort to relocate the aliens due to growing public fears. Things turn awry when Wikus is exposed to an alien substance and I'll let you figure out the rest. The film shifts from a documentary perspective to a more traditional third-person perspective. Blomkamp handles this with great precision and it is never a distraction.
Perhaps Halo will one day get its film made. But until then, I'm sure everyone short of the uber-fans will not be disappointed at the turn of events. This is the best film I've seen this year. Go watch it: 5/5
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Dark Sector
Back in '08 I downloaded the Dark Sector demo on the PSN. I played it a few times and forgot about it. Little did I know we would meet again... I just picked up a copy of it for $9.97 at my local Walmart. It was quite the "wow" moment.
Dark Sector is an entertaining and violent-limb-severing third-person shooter. You play as CIA agent Hayden Tenno. Threatened with a massive and deadly outbreak of the "technocyte" virus (think of it as a cooler T-virus), he is sent in to clean up the mess. Hayden suffers from congenital analgia: A (real) condition that doesn't allow him to feel pain. After the prologue, Hayden is infected by a bio-weapon--that reminds me of an metallic Arthurian knight--controlled by Robert Mezner; the antagonist. Hayden is able to reap the benefits of the infection. So instead of being driven to rage by the extreme pain of the strange virus, he gains the ability to use the "glaive": a three-pronged chakram. It's a part of Hayden's body and is very useful at maiming enemies.
The game is an over-the-shoulder type shooter. Hayden can shoot from the hip or aim for more precise attacks. He can take over behind obstacles, dodge, melee up close, perform "finishers" and do pretty much anything else you'd expect from a third person shooting game. The glaive is what brings the spice. It's damaging and can be charged up and even be controlled manually after being throwed (think of Heavenly Sword's "aftertouch"). You gradually gain these glaive powers in the beginning of the game.
Another interesting gameplay mechanic: after the prologue you cannot pick up enemy weapons anymore without them eventually just disappearing in a flash of light. This is due to an infection countermeasure. This is neat because when you find yourself running low on ammo for your trusty pistol you can use the glaive to snag a dropped weapon on the ground and use it for 15 or so seconds. Although, eventually you gain access to the "black market". You can purchase and upgrade weapons there.
However the game is held back by a few things. The voice acting is usually solid but sometimes goofy. There are also graphical glitches here and there that don't necessarily take away from the experience but certainly annoy. Also, enemy AI could use refinement. They're not dumb, but often rely on the same tactics.
Dark Sector is a great game to pick up if you can't afford Resident Evil 5 right now. It's sure to be sitting in a game store somewhere for around or less than 20 bucks. VERDICT: [3.5/5]
Dark Sector is an entertaining and violent-limb-severing third-person shooter. You play as CIA agent Hayden Tenno. Threatened with a massive and deadly outbreak of the "technocyte" virus (think of it as a cooler T-virus), he is sent in to clean up the mess. Hayden suffers from congenital analgia: A (real) condition that doesn't allow him to feel pain. After the prologue, Hayden is infected by a bio-weapon--that reminds me of an metallic Arthurian knight--controlled by Robert Mezner; the antagonist. Hayden is able to reap the benefits of the infection. So instead of being driven to rage by the extreme pain of the strange virus, he gains the ability to use the "glaive": a three-pronged chakram. It's a part of Hayden's body and is very useful at maiming enemies.
The game is an over-the-shoulder type shooter. Hayden can shoot from the hip or aim for more precise attacks. He can take over behind obstacles, dodge, melee up close, perform "finishers" and do pretty much anything else you'd expect from a third person shooting game. The glaive is what brings the spice. It's damaging and can be charged up and even be controlled manually after being throwed (think of Heavenly Sword's "aftertouch"). You gradually gain these glaive powers in the beginning of the game.
Another interesting gameplay mechanic: after the prologue you cannot pick up enemy weapons anymore without them eventually just disappearing in a flash of light. This is due to an infection countermeasure. This is neat because when you find yourself running low on ammo for your trusty pistol you can use the glaive to snag a dropped weapon on the ground and use it for 15 or so seconds. Although, eventually you gain access to the "black market". You can purchase and upgrade weapons there.
However the game is held back by a few things. The voice acting is usually solid but sometimes goofy. There are also graphical glitches here and there that don't necessarily take away from the experience but certainly annoy. Also, enemy AI could use refinement. They're not dumb, but often rely on the same tactics.
Dark Sector is a great game to pick up if you can't afford Resident Evil 5 right now. It's sure to be sitting in a game store somewhere for around or less than 20 bucks. VERDICT: [3.5/5]
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