At least in Japanese. I admit, I'm getting a little stir crazy waiting for Kingdom Hearts II to get here, were I slightly less stable, I may take a note out of Ethan's book and storm the SquareEnix US offices in order to secure myself a copy a little bit early.
So, the Oscars didn't actually suck last week (although Crash for best picture was a complete crock), and a large part of that was due to John Stewart, you can check out his best moments here.
Ever since going cold turkey on World of Warcraft a couple of months ago, I've been pretty anxious to also jump back into the mmo world, but only for something that offers a really different experience. I actually nearly picked up City of Heroes today. The new Dungeons and Dragons MMO looks really enticing, and instantly adresses one of my major issues with WOW. making travel a quick and painless thing rather than really long and tedious. On the other hand, it's completely dependent on getting a good cooperative group of people together for an instance, which can be incredibly hard in an MMO. Either way, I've decided to wait til my plate is a little less full, as I'm not quite done with Granda III, Oblivion is only 9 days away, and Kingdom Hearts II is only a week after that. But APril on looks pretty slim for games in general, so that may be time to start diving back in.
And finally, this coming week, Sony is apparently going to make a "BIG" announcement concenring the PS3. I'm sure the Sony faithful are waiting for them to announce that they are indeed launching in Spring and will crush all opposers (which given the 360s are stil pretty hard to find, and the Revolution is still months away, would be easy). Of course the big announcement could also be absolutely nothing, which is pretty much what I'm betting on (something along the lines of they are announcing that they will soon annoucne details of the PS3 launch and price, probably at E3). Regardless, they are still pretty much in the driver's seat. Nintendo is a nonfactor til we see something concrete, and the 360 launch has pretty much been a disaster at best. Sure, demand is ridiculously high, but that doesn't matter if no one can find any; and it's only in high demand here. Overseas they can't give it away. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see if Sony actually finally shows their hand in a few days.
And don't think I forgot about the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Armor Heroes
3/09/2006
Good for what ails ya...
So this weeknd we have three major releases, two which are crappy remakes that nobody asked for, and a comedy that everyone swaers is a remake of just about every other formulaic romantic comedy out there.
Seriously, why would anybody even want to remake The Shaggy Dog? The original was awful. Disney actually has a large number of classic hits they could remake, this isn't one of them. Plus, Tim Allen as the dog is fairly reminiscent of the nightmarish Mike Myers as The Cat in the Hat. And there should be a moratorium on playing "Who let the dogs out" for at least 50 years.
Then there's The Hills Have Eyes, which had some value as a chessy B-movie and a commentary on nuclear testing during it's day, but now only exists as a crappy quick cash-in remake much like the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre a few years ago.
And finally, we have Failure to Launch, about a slacker who still lives with his parents event though he is in his nid-30s, apparently a growing trend these days. That may be so, but it still seems like every other comedy about unlikely couples made in the last 15 years.
Honestly, just thinking about going to see any of those terrible movies is making me ill. How about a potion?
Yup, in order to promote the release of Final Fantasy XII in Japan (which should be out there next week, lucky bastards), Squarenix is releasing an energy drink called "Final Fantasy XII Potion". No word on if the energy drink's "mythical" blend, which includes several herbs such as chamomile, rosemary and elder flower, actually does anything, but reportedly only 3 million are being made, so expect these suckers to be fetching high prices on Ebay real soon. Check out the ad as well, very weird but cool.
Seriously, why would anybody even want to remake The Shaggy Dog? The original was awful. Disney actually has a large number of classic hits they could remake, this isn't one of them. Plus, Tim Allen as the dog is fairly reminiscent of the nightmarish Mike Myers as The Cat in the Hat. And there should be a moratorium on playing "Who let the dogs out" for at least 50 years.
Then there's The Hills Have Eyes, which had some value as a chessy B-movie and a commentary on nuclear testing during it's day, but now only exists as a crappy quick cash-in remake much like the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre a few years ago.
And finally, we have Failure to Launch, about a slacker who still lives with his parents event though he is in his nid-30s, apparently a growing trend these days. That may be so, but it still seems like every other comedy about unlikely couples made in the last 15 years.
Honestly, just thinking about going to see any of those terrible movies is making me ill. How about a potion?
Yup, in order to promote the release of Final Fantasy XII in Japan (which should be out there next week, lucky bastards), Squarenix is releasing an energy drink called "Final Fantasy XII Potion". No word on if the energy drink's "mythical" blend, which includes several herbs such as chamomile, rosemary and elder flower, actually does anything, but reportedly only 3 million are being made, so expect these suckers to be fetching high prices on Ebay real soon. Check out the ad as well, very weird but cool.
3/05/2006
John Stewart can't make eveything funny...
I just got back from seeing 16 Blocks, and I thought it was a very solid and fun action thriller, a much needed rebound for Willis from last year's atrocious Hostage.
And I gave in and bought Grandia III yesterday. I'm about 7 hours in so it's obviously an involving game. The battle system is still excellent, arguably the best in all of rpgdom, though it's not nearly as easy to cancel or counter attacks as it has been in previous games. My only real complaint is that the characters (aside from the main protagonist's mother, who is easily the coolest videogame mom ever) are pretty much stock j-rpg with fairly mediocre voice acting and dialgogue, not making the story too great overall. It's good filler, but still filler.
Got about 35 minutes to kill? Check out this amazing footage of Will Wright's next masterpiece, Spore,this will either be the biggest game of all time, or the biggest flop of all time, should be fascinationg either way.
Finally, tonight is the Emmy awards with host John Stewart. I've paid loose attention to the nominees, but I'll only be watching tonight because nothing else is on, and as Johnny Carson once said, it's 2 hours of entertainment stretched into a four hour show, and he was being very generous about it even being 2 hours of actual entertainment. When the academy starts considering animated films as good as real films and gives comedic performances, which are so much more difficult than dramatic ones, their due, I'll actually consider them worthwhile.
And I didn't forget about the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Aliens from Planet Dave-An amusing choose-your-own-adventure style game.
And I gave in and bought Grandia III yesterday. I'm about 7 hours in so it's obviously an involving game. The battle system is still excellent, arguably the best in all of rpgdom, though it's not nearly as easy to cancel or counter attacks as it has been in previous games. My only real complaint is that the characters (aside from the main protagonist's mother, who is easily the coolest videogame mom ever) are pretty much stock j-rpg with fairly mediocre voice acting and dialgogue, not making the story too great overall. It's good filler, but still filler.
Got about 35 minutes to kill? Check out this amazing footage of Will Wright's next masterpiece, Spore,this will either be the biggest game of all time, or the biggest flop of all time, should be fascinationg either way.
Finally, tonight is the Emmy awards with host John Stewart. I've paid loose attention to the nominees, but I'll only be watching tonight because nothing else is on, and as Johnny Carson once said, it's 2 hours of entertainment stretched into a four hour show, and he was being very generous about it even being 2 hours of actual entertainment. When the academy starts considering animated films as good as real films and gives comedic performances, which are so much more difficult than dramatic ones, their due, I'll actually consider them worthwhile.
And I didn't forget about the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Aliens from Planet Dave-An amusing choose-your-own-adventure style game.
3/03/2006
No way I'm walking that far....
Bruce Willis is back with Richard Donner for his latest film, 16 Blocks. Granted, it's been a little while since Willis has pulled off a really solid film, but with Mos Def and David Morris starring along with Donnner's usual knack for solid big action flicks that Michael Bay only wishes he do could half as well is should be at least a fun way to kill and hour and 40 minutes.
On the other hand Ultraviolet, this week's other big action film is possibly the most generic-looking futuristic thriller I have ever seen. It literally looks like they took Aeon Flux, the Matrix, and Kill Bill and just threw them into some sort of blender in order to make the blandest film possible. Milla Jovovich's careerr was actually of to a fairly promising start when she first got into films, but with her lastest releases being such pure garbage(i.e. Resident Evil: Apocalypse), she should probably just go back to modeling.
There's a reason nobody's done a live-action mermaid fild since Splash, and yet over 20 years later, here we are with Aquamarine (out this weekend), which is about a mermaid who comes to shore in order to find love. Really, the only difference is that it's set in high school, they might as well have gotten Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah's kids to do the film as a joke to admit how much they are directly rippping off here.
But the most well-recieved film opening this weekend is Dave Chapelle's Block Party, a concert film that is essentially a huge party thrown by Dave Chapelle, a few friends and a tom of hip-hop artists. But at it's core, it's still a concert film. Not something I would actually pay to see, but maybe if I can check ot out for free I'll give a shot somewhere dow the line.
So, apparently Microsoft's suppossed new portable console isn't actually a console at all, just another tablet PC currently known as "Origami". Not a huge suprise, but sort of dissapointing tho get all hyped-up about it only to learn the next day that the product is nothing like what you were hoping for. Odds are that MS will give the handheld market a shot sooner or later, but this isn't it.
Well, I've been talking about either picking up Grandia III or Shadow Hearts: Dark Covenant, but since Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has finally gotten a solid release date of March 21st, I'll probably just hold off and wait to pick that up. I can wait a little over two more weeks. I hope.
Finally a really interesting tidbit was released fron THQ about their latest game, which is based on the upcoming Pixar film, Cars. Most could care less about the alsmot certain to be crappy movies based on the game, but the interesting bit is that it is for the Nintendo revolution and expected to be out in Novemeber, so odds are Nintendo's next console should be out by then.
On the other hand Ultraviolet, this week's other big action film is possibly the most generic-looking futuristic thriller I have ever seen. It literally looks like they took Aeon Flux, the Matrix, and Kill Bill and just threw them into some sort of blender in order to make the blandest film possible. Milla Jovovich's careerr was actually of to a fairly promising start when she first got into films, but with her lastest releases being such pure garbage(i.e. Resident Evil: Apocalypse), she should probably just go back to modeling.
There's a reason nobody's done a live-action mermaid fild since Splash, and yet over 20 years later, here we are with Aquamarine (out this weekend), which is about a mermaid who comes to shore in order to find love. Really, the only difference is that it's set in high school, they might as well have gotten Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah's kids to do the film as a joke to admit how much they are directly rippping off here.
But the most well-recieved film opening this weekend is Dave Chapelle's Block Party, a concert film that is essentially a huge party thrown by Dave Chapelle, a few friends and a tom of hip-hop artists. But at it's core, it's still a concert film. Not something I would actually pay to see, but maybe if I can check ot out for free I'll give a shot somewhere dow the line.
So, apparently Microsoft's suppossed new portable console isn't actually a console at all, just another tablet PC currently known as "Origami". Not a huge suprise, but sort of dissapointing tho get all hyped-up about it only to learn the next day that the product is nothing like what you were hoping for. Odds are that MS will give the handheld market a shot sooner or later, but this isn't it.
Well, I've been talking about either picking up Grandia III or Shadow Hearts: Dark Covenant, but since Elder Scrolls: Oblivion has finally gotten a solid release date of March 21st, I'll probably just hold off and wait to pick that up. I can wait a little over two more weeks. I hope.
Finally a really interesting tidbit was released fron THQ about their latest game, which is based on the upcoming Pixar film, Cars. Most could care less about the alsmot certain to be crappy movies based on the game, but the interesting bit is that it is for the Nintendo revolution and expected to be out in Novemeber, so odds are Nintendo's next console should be out by then.
2/28/2006
Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're fucking dead."
With the release of 24: The Game out this week and 2 full hours of 24 next monday, it's a good time for Jack Bauer fans. All I will say about this season so far is that it has had some high points and low points. Not the pure adrenalin rush season 4 was, but with all hell about to break loose, the season should really pick up. How is the game? Probably a tad underwhelming since all I've seen so far is mildly decent magazine scores and no early website reviews as of yet (meaning 2K games may not have wanted word to get out before the game was actually out).
But also finally out this week is EA's Black, which their PR department has come up with the term "gun porn" to describe it. Several reviews mention the coolness of the levels of destruction, and apparently, somebody figured out that a shotgun is the ultimate key, since you can use that to open locked doors. The reviews have been solid, but it's a universal agreeement that the game is too short and could've been so much more (i.e. no multi-player).
Finally got through Tales of Legendia's character quests today. It was a somewhat exhausting but fun 50+ hours overall. Still have about a month til Kingdom Hearts II hits, so I'll need something to keep me busy, and although I haven't been that impressed by previews, both Grandia III & Shadow Hearts: The New World seem like good filler. I'll probably also try to go through the original Kingdom Hearts for the umpteenth time, but that shoudln't take more than a week.
A little while ago, I mentioned Microsoft may be making a portable console, and apparently it's more of a reality and coming sooner than anyone would've guessed. An official annoucnement is suppsoedly coming out this week, but reportedly the system is essentially a portable Xbox that you can also play music and watch movies on. There is a heavy rumor circulating that MS is launching their own music system to compete with Apple, I'd be willing to bet this new portable launches with the service. Here's a supposed ad for the system. Halo 2 on the go does sound pretty friggin sweet.
Moving on from games, plenty of great stuff out on DVD this week, namely Walk the Line, which was a pretty superb movie in my humble opinion, worthy of every nomination it got. But I'm much more excited about Newsradio: Season 3. The late great Phil Hartman, Dave Foley, and Andy Dick are just an unbeatable comedic trio. You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick up all 3 seasons currently out and the 4th when it comes out.
Want to direct a movie commercial? Well Universal Pictures is giving amatuers a shot at the big time by holding a contest for their upcoming release Slither. The movie already looks like plenty of fun, should be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Dead or Alive stills have been posted, I can smell the oscar already:
And finally, thank god the olympics are over, now I can get back to Scrubs, which is actually on right now. Until next time...
But also finally out this week is EA's Black, which their PR department has come up with the term "gun porn" to describe it. Several reviews mention the coolness of the levels of destruction, and apparently, somebody figured out that a shotgun is the ultimate key, since you can use that to open locked doors. The reviews have been solid, but it's a universal agreeement that the game is too short and could've been so much more (i.e. no multi-player).
Finally got through Tales of Legendia's character quests today. It was a somewhat exhausting but fun 50+ hours overall. Still have about a month til Kingdom Hearts II hits, so I'll need something to keep me busy, and although I haven't been that impressed by previews, both Grandia III & Shadow Hearts: The New World seem like good filler. I'll probably also try to go through the original Kingdom Hearts for the umpteenth time, but that shoudln't take more than a week.
A little while ago, I mentioned Microsoft may be making a portable console, and apparently it's more of a reality and coming sooner than anyone would've guessed. An official annoucnement is suppsoedly coming out this week, but reportedly the system is essentially a portable Xbox that you can also play music and watch movies on. There is a heavy rumor circulating that MS is launching their own music system to compete with Apple, I'd be willing to bet this new portable launches with the service. Here's a supposed ad for the system. Halo 2 on the go does sound pretty friggin sweet.
Moving on from games, plenty of great stuff out on DVD this week, namely Walk the Line, which was a pretty superb movie in my humble opinion, worthy of every nomination it got. But I'm much more excited about Newsradio: Season 3. The late great Phil Hartman, Dave Foley, and Andy Dick are just an unbeatable comedic trio. You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick up all 3 seasons currently out and the 4th when it comes out.
Want to direct a movie commercial? Well Universal Pictures is giving amatuers a shot at the big time by holding a contest for their upcoming release Slither. The movie already looks like plenty of fun, should be interesting to see what comes out of this.
Dead or Alive stills have been posted, I can smell the oscar already:
And finally, thank god the olympics are over, now I can get back to Scrubs, which is actually on right now. Until next time...
2/25/2006
Procrastination is teh ghey
I was really hoping something interesting would break this week, but it hasn't. A crappy movie with Paul Walker (Running Scared) is all that's even been screened for critics this week, and not suprisingly, it's getting enough bad reviews that hopefully it's the bullet that kills Paul Walker's career (but odds are it won't).
And the only newsworthy item is something that I somehow forgot to mention last week: Seems that UMD movie sales for the PSP are majorly sucking ass. Apparently, people don't want to pay for the same movie more than once (ok, except for diehard fans of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Evil Dead, but they're nuts). What is Sony's solution? Sell you a fucking TV adapter. BRILLIANT! Now I can pay for a stripped-down UMD version of a film what I would pay for a normal DVD version, but also buy a pricey adapter so I can play it on my TV!
Ok, that's it for today, but to make up for my lack of posting, how about 101 FREE GAMES! That's right, the 101 best free computer games as chosen by Computer Gaming World. Should be at least a few decent ones in there, right?????
And the only newsworthy item is something that I somehow forgot to mention last week: Seems that UMD movie sales for the PSP are majorly sucking ass. Apparently, people don't want to pay for the same movie more than once (ok, except for diehard fans of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Evil Dead, but they're nuts). What is Sony's solution? Sell you a fucking TV adapter. BRILLIANT! Now I can pay for a stripped-down UMD version of a film what I would pay for a normal DVD version, but also buy a pricey adapter so I can play it on my TV!
Ok, that's it for today, but to make up for my lack of posting, how about 101 FREE GAMES! That's right, the 101 best free computer games as chosen by Computer Gaming World. Should be at least a few decent ones in there, right?????
2/17/2006
What's that? YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN SERENITY?
Well now you have no excuse, cause youtube has it for free, no strings attached, you just stream it. Certainly a better option than the tripe in theaters this weekend. I suffered through Date Movie earlier today, and it was a total mess. Not one good thing I can say about it. Eight Below is a movie with Paul Walker who is playing second fiddle to a dog sled team (just look at the wonders the did for Cuba Gooding JR.'s career...) regardless of how many positive reviews it gets. And Freedomland is another movie that obviously can't decide what it wants to be (is it a mystery, a horror movie, or statement on bad race relations? Oh wait, it's a horrid combination of all 3).
One game I forgot to talk about last time that came out this week was Mark Ecko's Getting Up : Contents Under Pressure-This has raised a big stir because it basically endorses graffiti, but Sega beat them to the punch on that years ago with Jet Set Radio. I'm not too interested in some flash in the pan clothes designer's idea of a game.
And before I go, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: No Action Jackson-Classic Sierra-style adventure.
One game I forgot to talk about last time that came out this week was Mark Ecko's Getting Up : Contents Under Pressure-This has raised a big stir because it basically endorses graffiti, but Sega beat them to the punch on that years ago with Jet Set Radio. I'm not too interested in some flash in the pan clothes designer's idea of a game.
And before I go, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: No Action Jackson-Classic Sierra-style adventure.
2/15/2006
Jack Thompson has a new ally in his fight against Rockstar...
Just who? HOOKERS! That's right, hookers are stepping up and protesting Grand Theft Auto for it's "encouragement" of violence against hookers. It's a proud day in the Thompson household....
Even better news: Uwe Boll has threatened to stop making movies! I love how he basically takes swipes at Doom which wasn't a huge hit but grossed more money in it's opening weekend than all his films combined, and how he thinks the way he makes movies is a good thing and we should be grateful they are getting made at all. Yeah, everyone was just waiting for a fucking Postal movie.....
I'm almost done with the main game of Tales of Legendia, but there are also personal quests for each of the characters after the end, so hopefully that'll keep me busy a little bit longer. Which means I'll most likely be picking up either Grandia III or Shadow Hearts: FTNW soon, need something to keep me busy till Kingdom Hearts 2.
Sony's online strategy has finally been revealed. Sounds like they are basically copying MS' setup, which certainly isn't a bad plan, but you're gonna want to be able to offer something different if you want converts or people to choose you over the competition, plus they don't have nearly the experinece MS has, I'm sure the first year or so of this service will be pretty bumbpy, just like it was for MS.
Ever wonder what Sci-Fi crew you would be the best fit for? Take this fun little quiz. I got the crew of DS9, which is fine by me as it was easily my favorite Trek show.
In all honesty, it's a good thing that Xbox 360s are still ridiculously scarce right now, because with Full Auto finally out, I'd be heavily tempted to go out and buy one. Something about the blending of Twisted Metal and Burnout along with online play just really appeals to me even though I'm not into cars at all.
And that's really about it for today, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow or Friday.
Even better news: Uwe Boll has threatened to stop making movies! I love how he basically takes swipes at Doom which wasn't a huge hit but grossed more money in it's opening weekend than all his films combined, and how he thinks the way he makes movies is a good thing and we should be grateful they are getting made at all. Yeah, everyone was just waiting for a fucking Postal movie.....
I'm almost done with the main game of Tales of Legendia, but there are also personal quests for each of the characters after the end, so hopefully that'll keep me busy a little bit longer. Which means I'll most likely be picking up either Grandia III or Shadow Hearts: FTNW soon, need something to keep me busy till Kingdom Hearts 2.
Sony's online strategy has finally been revealed. Sounds like they are basically copying MS' setup, which certainly isn't a bad plan, but you're gonna want to be able to offer something different if you want converts or people to choose you over the competition, plus they don't have nearly the experinece MS has, I'm sure the first year or so of this service will be pretty bumbpy, just like it was for MS.
Ever wonder what Sci-Fi crew you would be the best fit for? Take this fun little quiz. I got the crew of DS9, which is fine by me as it was easily my favorite Trek show.
In all honesty, it's a good thing that Xbox 360s are still ridiculously scarce right now, because with Full Auto finally out, I'd be heavily tempted to go out and buy one. Something about the blending of Twisted Metal and Burnout along with online play just really appeals to me even though I'm not into cars at all.
And that's really about it for today, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow or Friday.
2/12/2006
Demo Disc Day
Ok as I said I was going to do, I played through the PSM demo disc (although after some thought, this probably won't be a regular thing, there's a good reason I rarely buy these types of mags-the extra content rarely justifies the price). I didn't check out every single demo, but here's some observations on what I did try out:
Shadowhearts: The New World-Oh dear god what have they done to my beloved underground franchise? The classic ring-based battle system is still there, but half the reason the first two games were so good were the great characters that weren't your usual bratty underage youths and great dialogue and voice acting. This demo shows the hero, a 16-year old bratty rich kid who fancies himself a detective, and his Lurch-like bodyguard, both with laughably awful voices and dialogue. I might give a rent, but at this point no way I'm purchasing Shadow Hearts unless I hear of a drastic voice overhaul.
Sonic Riders: If I had any doubt left that Sonic needs to either be drastically revamped or killed off completely, this "extreme" title is it. Not only are the controls horrible, but does anybody give a rat's ass that anybody other than Sonic is even in this game? Time to go back to the drawing board guys.
Teen Titans: I like the show, so I had an outside hope that this would be different from the other licensed crap out there. It shows some potential, but it's choppy and why the hell can't I turn into a T-rex (or several other animals) as Beast Boy? In fact, all the characters abilities seem to be rather limited, which is just lazy on the developers'part.
State of Emergency 2: You know, the first game was a fucking pile of shit, and admittedly, this seems a slight step up from that, but only slightly. It's still the same redundant crap, except no there seems to be no lame escort missions.
Drakengard 2: I wasn't too impressed by the first title, and the 2nd one isn't much of an improvement quite frankly. It's trying to be Panzer Dragoon, but it's just not nearly as good, and realyl, if you can't at least match that level of excellence why bother?
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams: I love how they said that the last Onimusha game was actually going to be the last one, yet here we are less than 2 years later with another game on the same platform. And it still plays like crap.
And there wasn't a playable demo, but a video of the making of Grandia III that was none too reassuring either. I was seriously excited about this game until I heard the developers trying to explain their concept. Luckily the reviews have been really solid, so it'll probably be the perfect thing to pick up right after I'm done with Tales of Legendia and will hopefully keep me busy until Kingdom Hearts II is out.
Ok, that's all for today. FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Alien Hominid-A classic shooter
Shadowhearts: The New World-Oh dear god what have they done to my beloved underground franchise? The classic ring-based battle system is still there, but half the reason the first two games were so good were the great characters that weren't your usual bratty underage youths and great dialogue and voice acting. This demo shows the hero, a 16-year old bratty rich kid who fancies himself a detective, and his Lurch-like bodyguard, both with laughably awful voices and dialogue. I might give a rent, but at this point no way I'm purchasing Shadow Hearts unless I hear of a drastic voice overhaul.
Sonic Riders: If I had any doubt left that Sonic needs to either be drastically revamped or killed off completely, this "extreme" title is it. Not only are the controls horrible, but does anybody give a rat's ass that anybody other than Sonic is even in this game? Time to go back to the drawing board guys.
Teen Titans: I like the show, so I had an outside hope that this would be different from the other licensed crap out there. It shows some potential, but it's choppy and why the hell can't I turn into a T-rex (or several other animals) as Beast Boy? In fact, all the characters abilities seem to be rather limited, which is just lazy on the developers'part.
State of Emergency 2: You know, the first game was a fucking pile of shit, and admittedly, this seems a slight step up from that, but only slightly. It's still the same redundant crap, except no there seems to be no lame escort missions.
Drakengard 2: I wasn't too impressed by the first title, and the 2nd one isn't much of an improvement quite frankly. It's trying to be Panzer Dragoon, but it's just not nearly as good, and realyl, if you can't at least match that level of excellence why bother?
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams: I love how they said that the last Onimusha game was actually going to be the last one, yet here we are less than 2 years later with another game on the same platform. And it still plays like crap.
And there wasn't a playable demo, but a video of the making of Grandia III that was none too reassuring either. I was seriously excited about this game until I heard the developers trying to explain their concept. Luckily the reviews have been really solid, so it'll probably be the perfect thing to pick up right after I'm done with Tales of Legendia and will hopefully keep me busy until Kingdom Hearts II is out.
Ok, that's all for today. FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Alien Hominid-A classic shooter
2/11/2006
Arresting Finale
Hoped you watched the last 2 hours of Arrested Development tonight, may be a while before you see any more, assuming they finalize a deal with ABC or Showtime (for the record, Showtime sounds like a better deal, less episodes, but more years and don't have to worry about ratings, though they should keep bleeping swear words, it's funnier that way.)
I saw Final Destination 3 today, seemed like the only semi-noteworthy flick opening this weekend. Pink Panther smells desperate as hell (and I wasn't a big fan of the original). I was initially excited about Firewall, but i realized not only has Harrison Ford done this quite a few times before, this is essentially the same as Hostage, which was also extremely crappy. And Curious George seems fine for the kids, but I'll at least pass til video. Anyways, FD 3 was exactly what you expected it to be-Gruesome, campy, and a lot of fun. First enjoyable horror film I've seen in quite awhile.
Start the countdown, the official Kingdom Hearts 2 website is up. This is easily my most anticipated game of the last few years, my copy is all paid for and I can't wait to start kicking some Heartless ass all over the Magic Kingdom.
Finally, I'm about 11 hours in on Tales of Legendia, and it's pretty fun. It's not much of a change from previous titles in the series (and actually a step back since it loses the psuedo-3D fighting from Tales of Symphonia). The real key is the great humor, lot's of very funny dialogue and interesting characters along with a damn evil and worthy main villain. Highly reccomended for any action rpg fans.
Taht's it for today, but worry not, I'll be back Sunday with some impressions on the latest PSM demo disc (which may become a regular thing) and the game of the week along with probably a couple other observations. In the mean time, get hyped for Disgaea 2 by checking out the trailer.
I saw Final Destination 3 today, seemed like the only semi-noteworthy flick opening this weekend. Pink Panther smells desperate as hell (and I wasn't a big fan of the original). I was initially excited about Firewall, but i realized not only has Harrison Ford done this quite a few times before, this is essentially the same as Hostage, which was also extremely crappy. And Curious George seems fine for the kids, but I'll at least pass til video. Anyways, FD 3 was exactly what you expected it to be-Gruesome, campy, and a lot of fun. First enjoyable horror film I've seen in quite awhile.
Start the countdown, the official Kingdom Hearts 2 website is up. This is easily my most anticipated game of the last few years, my copy is all paid for and I can't wait to start kicking some Heartless ass all over the Magic Kingdom.
Finally, I'm about 11 hours in on Tales of Legendia, and it's pretty fun. It's not much of a change from previous titles in the series (and actually a step back since it loses the psuedo-3D fighting from Tales of Symphonia). The real key is the great humor, lot's of very funny dialogue and interesting characters along with a damn evil and worthy main villain. Highly reccomended for any action rpg fans.
Taht's it for today, but worry not, I'll be back Sunday with some impressions on the latest PSM demo disc (which may become a regular thing) and the game of the week along with probably a couple other observations. In the mean time, get hyped for Disgaea 2 by checking out the trailer.
2/09/2006
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port, aboard this not so tiny ship.
In lieu of seeing Good Night & Good luck this weekend, I decided to concentrate on Dragon Quest VIII, which paid off since I beat it Monday night. The boss was pretty easy and the end was kind of predicatble and lame, but it was overall a satisfying 75 hours and 24 minutes I spent. And since Tales of Legendia has been getting mostly pretty solid reviews, I picked it up, I'll let you know my early impressions in the next post. The story takes place upon a giant continent that is in reality, a ship, hence today's header.
Probably the best news of the last month: Uwe Boll is definitely not going to be directing the Metal Gear Solid movie. Straight from Kojima's mouth:
"Absolutely not! I don't know why Uwe Boll is even talking about this kind of thing. We've never talked to him. It's impossible that we'd ever do a movie with him."
Now, I've always found the storylines in the MGS games to be really bizarre and nonsensical, but at least with Boll definitely having no hand in the project, it won't be complete gutter trash with shit production values like all of his films are.
Finally, Kingdom Hearts II has a solid release date of March 28th, but more awesome is the mostly stellar cast. Some great heavy hitters like Christopher Lee and James Woods, but seriously, Jesse McCartney as one of the lead characters? That's almost as bad as having Lance Bass as Sepiroth.
Probably the best news of the last month: Uwe Boll is definitely not going to be directing the Metal Gear Solid movie. Straight from Kojima's mouth:
"Absolutely not! I don't know why Uwe Boll is even talking about this kind of thing. We've never talked to him. It's impossible that we'd ever do a movie with him."
Now, I've always found the storylines in the MGS games to be really bizarre and nonsensical, but at least with Boll definitely having no hand in the project, it won't be complete gutter trash with shit production values like all of his films are.
Finally, Kingdom Hearts II has a solid release date of March 28th, but more awesome is the mostly stellar cast. Some great heavy hitters like Christopher Lee and James Woods, but seriously, Jesse McCartney as one of the lead characters? That's almost as bad as having Lance Bass as Sepiroth.
2/03/2006
I'm sorry, you've got the wrong number...
Is probably the first thing I'd say When a Stranger Calls, the only film even opening this weekend that was obviously so bad it was not screened for critics.
Not really much else going on this week (apparently, Superbowl sunday has killed off all other happenings), but I did watch Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit, and it was excellent, very clever and funny. And thankfully, Good Night and Good Luck is finally opening this weekend at my local theatre, so I'll probably check that out tommorow.
I'm nearly at the end of Dragon Quest VIII, which will be just in time for Tales of Legendia , from the same team that made the spectacular Tales of Symphonia. Then, only a week later, Grandia III hits the shelves. My PS2 is going to be very busy this month (and most likely next month as well, assuming a couple key releases stay on schedule).
And of course-FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Zef's Underwater Adventure
Not really much else going on this week (apparently, Superbowl sunday has killed off all other happenings), but I did watch Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit, and it was excellent, very clever and funny. And thankfully, Good Night and Good Luck is finally opening this weekend at my local theatre, so I'll probably check that out tommorow.
I'm nearly at the end of Dragon Quest VIII, which will be just in time for Tales of Legendia , from the same team that made the spectacular Tales of Symphonia. Then, only a week later, Grandia III hits the shelves. My PS2 is going to be very busy this month (and most likely next month as well, assuming a couple key releases stay on schedule).
And of course-FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Zef's Underwater Adventure
1/26/2006
Congratulations, it's an Xboy!
Is Microsoft coming out with their own portable? Just maybe, according to IGN. It's probably inevitable, as just about everybody has at least once tried the handheld market. Whether or not it will be a huge flop is anybody's guess, although my bet is if they can put Xbox live on it, it will be awesome.
I realized last week I talked about Love Monkey, but haven't really given my thoughts now that two episodes have aired. I really like it. It's got great music, and is one of the better "dramadies" to come along in awhile, there's certianly nothing else good at 10 pm on Tuesdays.
Season 2 of Firefly?-You can help make it happen, just click on the link and fill out the survey. I think the show continuing in any form is a great idea, and if it takes off, could lead to a whole new choice for shows not wanting to deal with the pain of being on a network.
Bubble, the first movie ever to be released on DVD roughly the same time its in theatres (should be out on DVD Tuesday) is out this weekend, but apparently a large number of theatre chains refuse to carry it cause they feel this kind of idea will hurt their already shrinking bottom line (you know, instead of trying things like quality releases and lowering prices so you don't have to take out a mortgage if you want soda and popcorn...) I don't have high hopes for this, but it'll be interesting to see if it succeeds.
I am sure glad The Matador is playing at my cineplex this weekend, the other choices just seem ridiculously dismal.
First, there's Big Momma's House 2-Which just seems to further justify that Martin Lawrence shouldn't even have a career. Seriously, when the last entertaining thing you pulled off was Bad Boy (and your co-star has managed quite a few hits since then) over a decade ago, you either need to reinvent yourself or just quit. I used to cinsider him the poor man's Eddie Murphy back in his early years, now he's more like the poor man's Tim Meadows.
Then there's Annapolis, which just looks like an awful remake of Officer and a gentleman, and also has an inspitring %6 rating at rottentomatoes.
And Nanny Mcphee, which looks perfectly all right for the kids, but seems to hold no adult appeal whatsoever.
And finally, FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Duckhunt 1945-A fun (but challenging) little mix of Duckhunt and Call of Duty!
I realized last week I talked about Love Monkey, but haven't really given my thoughts now that two episodes have aired. I really like it. It's got great music, and is one of the better "dramadies" to come along in awhile, there's certianly nothing else good at 10 pm on Tuesdays.
Season 2 of Firefly?-You can help make it happen, just click on the link and fill out the survey. I think the show continuing in any form is a great idea, and if it takes off, could lead to a whole new choice for shows not wanting to deal with the pain of being on a network.
Bubble, the first movie ever to be released on DVD roughly the same time its in theatres (should be out on DVD Tuesday) is out this weekend, but apparently a large number of theatre chains refuse to carry it cause they feel this kind of idea will hurt their already shrinking bottom line (you know, instead of trying things like quality releases and lowering prices so you don't have to take out a mortgage if you want soda and popcorn...) I don't have high hopes for this, but it'll be interesting to see if it succeeds.
I am sure glad The Matador is playing at my cineplex this weekend, the other choices just seem ridiculously dismal.
First, there's Big Momma's House 2-Which just seems to further justify that Martin Lawrence shouldn't even have a career. Seriously, when the last entertaining thing you pulled off was Bad Boy (and your co-star has managed quite a few hits since then) over a decade ago, you either need to reinvent yourself or just quit. I used to cinsider him the poor man's Eddie Murphy back in his early years, now he's more like the poor man's Tim Meadows.
Then there's Annapolis, which just looks like an awful remake of Officer and a gentleman, and also has an inspitring %6 rating at rottentomatoes.
And Nanny Mcphee, which looks perfectly all right for the kids, but seems to hold no adult appeal whatsoever.
And finally, FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Duckhunt 1945-A fun (but challenging) little mix of Duckhunt and Call of Duty!
1/24/2006
Mergers, mergers everywhere!
Well, it wasn't too unexpected, but Disney now owns Pixar. Which is awesome, especially with Eisner out of the way, this will hopefully mean that all the upcoming sequels to Pixar's previous efforts won't suck.
But the big suprise is the sudden merger of WB and the UPN, apparently broadcast TV ain't big enough for two godawful networks. The new channel, CW will debut in the fall, the obvious hits will stay-Which means Everybody Hates Chris, Veronica Mars and Smackdown will stick around, so I'm satisfied. but seriously, the general lineup of both channels is horrendous, I don't think a merger will help all that much.
Did you know Rick Moranis has a website? Did you know Rick Moranis was even alive? Better yet, did you know Rick Moranis recently released a Country Album? You can get it either via itunes or his website. It's just very odd that after so many years of obscurity this is how he tries to make a comeback. It is also suppossedly out in actual stores Febuary 7th.
Think Xbox live is successful with a little over 1 million users? Nintendo has 3 million using their wifi service for the DS, even though it's only been active since November and currently only has 3 titles (Mario Kart, Tony Hawk and Animal Crossing). Hopefully Nintendo realizes the way to keep this up is to realize a good variety of compatible titles. They seemed to have missed the boat on obvious ones like bomberman, let's hope upcoming titles like Worms and the rumored DS version of FF Chronicles really take advantage of it.
And finally the 100th Episode of Scrubs is on tonight. The 100th episode is landmark because it essentially means that you were at least for some time a succesful series, and for shows that seem to struggle to stay on the air like Scrubs despite their brilliance, it means that much more that they made it to this landmark, Here's hoping there's plenty more great episodes on the way....
But the big suprise is the sudden merger of WB and the UPN, apparently broadcast TV ain't big enough for two godawful networks. The new channel, CW will debut in the fall, the obvious hits will stay-Which means Everybody Hates Chris, Veronica Mars and Smackdown will stick around, so I'm satisfied. but seriously, the general lineup of both channels is horrendous, I don't think a merger will help all that much.
Did you know Rick Moranis has a website? Did you know Rick Moranis was even alive? Better yet, did you know Rick Moranis recently released a Country Album? You can get it either via itunes or his website. It's just very odd that after so many years of obscurity this is how he tries to make a comeback. It is also suppossedly out in actual stores Febuary 7th.
Think Xbox live is successful with a little over 1 million users? Nintendo has 3 million using their wifi service for the DS, even though it's only been active since November and currently only has 3 titles (Mario Kart, Tony Hawk and Animal Crossing). Hopefully Nintendo realizes the way to keep this up is to realize a good variety of compatible titles. They seemed to have missed the boat on obvious ones like bomberman, let's hope upcoming titles like Worms and the rumored DS version of FF Chronicles really take advantage of it.
And finally the 100th Episode of Scrubs is on tonight. The 100th episode is landmark because it essentially means that you were at least for some time a succesful series, and for shows that seem to struggle to stay on the air like Scrubs despite their brilliance, it means that much more that they made it to this landmark, Here's hoping there's plenty more great episodes on the way....
1/20/2006
Truly Sucktackular
Pretty accurately describing the only new big release out this weekend, Underworld: Evolution. I mean, c'mon, the original was not only a box office flop, but one of the worst pieces of trash I've seen in the last few years. Plus, they essentially stole the plot from Blade: Trinity and threw in werewolves. Real original. Brokeback Mountain is finally opening in town this week, so I'll probably catch that if I'm up for it.
Seems Sony is finally getting at least a little interested in a universal online system as they are taking polls to see what the actual interest is. Thing is, MS has way too big of a head start in this area. They have plenty of experience and time to fix out most bugs, it'll take Sony years to get to this point, so they may as well hold off til the next generation and introduce smething really spectacular.
Finally, I am really getting into Mario Kart Wifi matches, playing several a week, but it seems at least the Japanese gamers have found a really cheap little glitch on the rainbow road track-this is a track you can fall off, which obviouly puts you way behind, but I've seen several Japanese players deliberately fall off, get plucked back off, and end up well ahead of everyone else. Just a word of warning if someone seems to keep inexcplicably getting ahead even though they should be dead last...
Seems Sony is finally getting at least a little interested in a universal online system as they are taking polls to see what the actual interest is. Thing is, MS has way too big of a head start in this area. They have plenty of experience and time to fix out most bugs, it'll take Sony years to get to this point, so they may as well hold off til the next generation and introduce smething really spectacular.
Finally, I am really getting into Mario Kart Wifi matches, playing several a week, but it seems at least the Japanese gamers have found a really cheap little glitch on the rainbow road track-this is a track you can fall off, which obviouly puts you way behind, but I've seen several Japanese players deliberately fall off, get plucked back off, and end up well ahead of everyone else. Just a word of warning if someone seems to keep inexcplicably getting ahead even though they should be dead last...
1/17/2006
ROCKSTAR! ALL YOUR GAMES ARE BELONG TO JACK THOMPSON....NOT!
Recall Demanded
January 16, 2006
by: Matt Saunderson
Action will be taken against Take-Two unless The Warrors, Manhunt, and GTA are removed from stores by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday.
Miami, Florida-based Attorney Jack Thompson has demanded that Take-Two Interactive announce a recall of all copies of The Warriors, Manhunt, and Grand Theft Auto (all versions, all platforms) from all retailers by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday. The demand was issued in a letter to Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler.
In the letter Thompson mentioned the beating of three homeless men in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last week by two teenagers who may have been inspired by games featuring baseball bat beatings such as Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, and The Warriors. In the attacks, one victim was killed by the teenagers.
In the letter, Thompson stated the following:
Your company has made and distributed the most popular violent video game series of all time: the Grand Theft Auto games. In these GTA games, beating innocent people to death with baseball bats is a featured entertainment activity. our company has also distributed Manhunt which features the same kind of virtual reality baseball bat beatings. This game is so sociopathic that it has been banned from certain countries. Additionally, your company, during this past holiday buying season, launched the incredibly brutal "brawler" game called The Warriors, which also features death by baseball bat. The Warriors is based upon the 1979 movie of the same name that was yanked, in effect, by Paramount Pictures because of all the copycat violence it was spawning.
You also know, Mr. Eibeler, that huge numbers of academic, scientific, and medical studies prove that violent video games like this, when played by teens, lead to specific acts of teen violence. There are no studies that rebut these findings. You also know that your company has designed and marketed the aforementioned violent games for sale to minors. Your company even went so far as to embed explicit sex scenes in the GTA: San Andreas game which criminal deception resulted in a vote of 355-21 by the US House of Representatives to condemn your company's acts. That also garnered you the "Worst American CEO of 2005 Award" by MediaWatch.
Thompson has threatened to "proceed to secure appropriate remedies against" Take-Two if the games are not recalled by 5:00 PM tomorrow. Given Take-Two's past failures to stop the release of violent games, it is unlikely that they will follow Thompson's advice and recall any of the three games in question. We'll keep you updated.
source: Jack Thompson
Well seeing as it's now roughly 7:40 pm on the West Coast and there's been no breaking story, I'd say your BS bluff has been called Mr. Thompson. Jesus fucking christ, I gotta admire the guy's tenacity, but at some point someone has to sit him down and show him just how much of ass he's making of himself.
And Thompson's new favorite title. 25 to Life hits stores today, but judging by the rather harsh reviews, I daresay it'll be a flash in the pan at best, just like most other crappy "urban" titles
Did you miss the best 4 hours of television this weekend? Then do yourself and favor and find a good place to download the premiere of the 5th season of 24 so you can catch up for next week. I keep thinking they really can't keep the quality up, but it gets better every season, and you never see any of it coming.
In addition to my regularly highly acticiapted new Scrubs episodes tonight, I am also very interested to see Tom Cavanagh's new show, Love Monkey. Anything Tom does is pretty brilliant, I'm sure this show will be no different.
Word is Johnny Depp is being considered for the role of the Joker in the highly anticipated Batman Begins sequel. While Depp is an amazing performer, I just don't think he's right for the Joker. The Mad Hatter or the Riddler maybe, but I think Adrien Brody would make a far better choice, and his name has come up in previous casting rumors. Course, nobody can really touch Jack Nicholson's original portrayal, it'd be awesome if the could just cast him again, but I don't think he's physically capable of that kind of role anymore.
Ok finally, a new feature that I came up with over the weekend, FREE GAME OF THE Week: Fire Man-Incoming Storm: A very awesome clone of the old school Mega Man games.
January 16, 2006
by: Matt Saunderson
Action will be taken against Take-Two unless The Warrors, Manhunt, and GTA are removed from stores by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday.
Miami, Florida-based Attorney Jack Thompson has demanded that Take-Two Interactive announce a recall of all copies of The Warriors, Manhunt, and Grand Theft Auto (all versions, all platforms) from all retailers by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday. The demand was issued in a letter to Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler.
In the letter Thompson mentioned the beating of three homeless men in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida last week by two teenagers who may have been inspired by games featuring baseball bat beatings such as Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, and The Warriors. In the attacks, one victim was killed by the teenagers.
In the letter, Thompson stated the following:
Your company has made and distributed the most popular violent video game series of all time: the Grand Theft Auto games. In these GTA games, beating innocent people to death with baseball bats is a featured entertainment activity. our company has also distributed Manhunt which features the same kind of virtual reality baseball bat beatings. This game is so sociopathic that it has been banned from certain countries. Additionally, your company, during this past holiday buying season, launched the incredibly brutal "brawler" game called The Warriors, which also features death by baseball bat. The Warriors is based upon the 1979 movie of the same name that was yanked, in effect, by Paramount Pictures because of all the copycat violence it was spawning.
You also know, Mr. Eibeler, that huge numbers of academic, scientific, and medical studies prove that violent video games like this, when played by teens, lead to specific acts of teen violence. There are no studies that rebut these findings. You also know that your company has designed and marketed the aforementioned violent games for sale to minors. Your company even went so far as to embed explicit sex scenes in the GTA: San Andreas game which criminal deception resulted in a vote of 355-21 by the US House of Representatives to condemn your company's acts. That also garnered you the "Worst American CEO of 2005 Award" by MediaWatch.
Thompson has threatened to "proceed to secure appropriate remedies against" Take-Two if the games are not recalled by 5:00 PM tomorrow. Given Take-Two's past failures to stop the release of violent games, it is unlikely that they will follow Thompson's advice and recall any of the three games in question. We'll keep you updated.
source: Jack Thompson
Well seeing as it's now roughly 7:40 pm on the West Coast and there's been no breaking story, I'd say your BS bluff has been called Mr. Thompson. Jesus fucking christ, I gotta admire the guy's tenacity, but at some point someone has to sit him down and show him just how much of ass he's making of himself.
And Thompson's new favorite title. 25 to Life hits stores today, but judging by the rather harsh reviews, I daresay it'll be a flash in the pan at best, just like most other crappy "urban" titles
Did you miss the best 4 hours of television this weekend? Then do yourself and favor and find a good place to download the premiere of the 5th season of 24 so you can catch up for next week. I keep thinking they really can't keep the quality up, but it gets better every season, and you never see any of it coming.
In addition to my regularly highly acticiapted new Scrubs episodes tonight, I am also very interested to see Tom Cavanagh's new show, Love Monkey. Anything Tom does is pretty brilliant, I'm sure this show will be no different.
Word is Johnny Depp is being considered for the role of the Joker in the highly anticipated Batman Begins sequel. While Depp is an amazing performer, I just don't think he's right for the Joker. The Mad Hatter or the Riddler maybe, but I think Adrien Brody would make a far better choice, and his name has come up in previous casting rumors. Course, nobody can really touch Jack Nicholson's original portrayal, it'd be awesome if the could just cast him again, but I don't think he's physically capable of that kind of role anymore.
Ok finally, a new feature that I came up with over the weekend, FREE GAME OF THE Week: Fire Man-Incoming Storm: A very awesome clone of the old school Mega Man games.
1/13/2006
More wacky Thompson antics
You know, you give somebody enough rope and they usually hang themselves, and how Jack Thompson can be taken seriously after his most recent antics is anybody's fucking guess.
In a recent inerview, Thompson compares himself to Eliot Ness, and then calls the industry itself worse than Al Capone, because they "target" children. Of course, because advertising to kids is far worse than mass murdering & racketeering...
Oh but there's more! 25 to Life, the latest GTA clone, hit stores next week, and Thompson is telling California authorities to not only seize all copies of the game, but also to destroy them, like any good book burning.
The penal code he mentions in the letter goes as follows: "Any person may abate a public nuisance which is specially injurious to him by removing, or, if necessary, destroying the thing which constitutes the same, without committing a breach of the peace, or doing unnecessary injury."
Under Thompson's interpretation, he could personally walk into a store and destroy these games since he considers them so dangerous to himself and the public at large, you know why he won't? Cause He's actually a fucking coward and a hypocrite and knows he will be called on his bullshit if he tries it.
Moving on to happier news, I did initially think after a few months I may not have much reason to hold onto my DS, with not a whole lot on the horizon but IGN has a great preview of one of my favorite game series coming to the system : WORMS!. Seriously, if this game isn't Wifi when it comes out, Nintendo needs to pull its head out of its ass. It's bad enough that Bomberman is available for the system and doesn't support it. Then again it goes hand in hand with Nintendo giving half-assed support to all of their potentially cool add-ons.
Despite the fact the Uwe Boll's latest tour de force, Bloodrayne, amassed a whopping 1.5 (and that's being optimistic) million opening weekend, he just keeps chugging along. Word is he is currently reading through the script for the Metal Gear Solid movie in the works and is on the list of potential directors. Now, I'll grant you that the dialogue and acting in a MGS game is actually probably on par with any of Boll's films, but that doesn't mean he should do a film adaptattion of it....
And finally some quick earlu summations of this weekend's releases:
Glory Road: Have you seen ANY sports film ever? Then you've seen this.
Tristan & Isolode: Is it a bad sign that every time I've seen the trailer for this "tearjerking" period love story, I laughed my ass off?
Last Holiday: I'll admit, when I saw the initial previews, I was ready to right this seemingly hokey comedy off as pure trash, but it's getting a fair amount of solid reviews, so I won't go right out and say skip it, but I'll probably wait for video all the same.
That's it for today, I will definitely update these weekend as there are at least a couple other things that have happened this week I want to get into.
In a recent inerview, Thompson compares himself to Eliot Ness, and then calls the industry itself worse than Al Capone, because they "target" children. Of course, because advertising to kids is far worse than mass murdering & racketeering...
Oh but there's more! 25 to Life, the latest GTA clone, hit stores next week, and Thompson is telling California authorities to not only seize all copies of the game, but also to destroy them, like any good book burning.
The penal code he mentions in the letter goes as follows: "Any person may abate a public nuisance which is specially injurious to him by removing, or, if necessary, destroying the thing which constitutes the same, without committing a breach of the peace, or doing unnecessary injury."
Under Thompson's interpretation, he could personally walk into a store and destroy these games since he considers them so dangerous to himself and the public at large, you know why he won't? Cause He's actually a fucking coward and a hypocrite and knows he will be called on his bullshit if he tries it.
Moving on to happier news, I did initially think after a few months I may not have much reason to hold onto my DS, with not a whole lot on the horizon but IGN has a great preview of one of my favorite game series coming to the system : WORMS!. Seriously, if this game isn't Wifi when it comes out, Nintendo needs to pull its head out of its ass. It's bad enough that Bomberman is available for the system and doesn't support it. Then again it goes hand in hand with Nintendo giving half-assed support to all of their potentially cool add-ons.
Despite the fact the Uwe Boll's latest tour de force, Bloodrayne, amassed a whopping 1.5 (and that's being optimistic) million opening weekend, he just keeps chugging along. Word is he is currently reading through the script for the Metal Gear Solid movie in the works and is on the list of potential directors. Now, I'll grant you that the dialogue and acting in a MGS game is actually probably on par with any of Boll's films, but that doesn't mean he should do a film adaptattion of it....
And finally some quick earlu summations of this weekend's releases:
Glory Road: Have you seen ANY sports film ever? Then you've seen this.
Tristan & Isolode: Is it a bad sign that every time I've seen the trailer for this "tearjerking" period love story, I laughed my ass off?
Last Holiday: I'll admit, when I saw the initial previews, I was ready to right this seemingly hokey comedy off as pure trash, but it's getting a fair amount of solid reviews, so I won't go right out and say skip it, but I'll probably wait for video all the same.
That's it for today, I will definitely update these weekend as there are at least a couple other things that have happened this week I want to get into.
1/09/2006
Wifi Madness
So I did pick up the Nintendo Wifi adapter today and while the setup was a tad frustrating, I was able to fully enjoy getting my ass whopped by some Brit across the pond in Mario Kart. Now I just have to figure out what other games to get to really take advantage of this (I swear I'd stay away from Animal Crossing after it sucked away over 6 months of my life on the Cube, but the new one for DS looks very tempting, and there's always Bomberman if it's got a solid amount of users...)
I've spent the last few days getting torrents of Scrubs seasons 3 & 4 on my computer(I will buy the DVDs once they are available) and it's really in my opinion the best show on TV. It manages to have complex characters and deftly handle great zany comedy and drama like no other show currently on TV. Which leads into my next subject-Why the hell isn't NBC putting this brilliant show in its highly promoted new Thursday night lineup? Nothing is wrong with putting both The Office and My Name is Earl in there, both brilliant comedies, and Four Kings shows potential, but if they don't move it when Will & Grace makes its long overdue exit this May, the execs are seriously smoking something.
Since there were no good movies this week, I checked out Hustle & Flow, which was a really amazing movie with great all around performances and I very highly reccomend that you check it out on Tuesday.
Finally, it seems that the real attraction for the 360 is Live Arcade, with all the great classics its offering with online play-Joust, Gauntlet and now Street Fighter II. If I do get one any time soon, I may just get the online arcade stuff rather than the mostly unimpressive overpriced selection they currently have.
I've spent the last few days getting torrents of Scrubs seasons 3 & 4 on my computer(I will buy the DVDs once they are available) and it's really in my opinion the best show on TV. It manages to have complex characters and deftly handle great zany comedy and drama like no other show currently on TV. Which leads into my next subject-Why the hell isn't NBC putting this brilliant show in its highly promoted new Thursday night lineup? Nothing is wrong with putting both The Office and My Name is Earl in there, both brilliant comedies, and Four Kings shows potential, but if they don't move it when Will & Grace makes its long overdue exit this May, the execs are seriously smoking something.
Since there were no good movies this week, I checked out Hustle & Flow, which was a really amazing movie with great all around performances and I very highly reccomend that you check it out on Tuesday.
Finally, it seems that the real attraction for the 360 is Live Arcade, with all the great classics its offering with online play-Joust, Gauntlet and now Street Fighter II. If I do get one any time soon, I may just get the online arcade stuff rather than the mostly unimpressive overpriced selection they currently have.
1/06/2006
You just don't hassle the Hoff!
Yeah, David Hasslehoff has nothing to do with my post, but I thought him actually sporting that shirt was a riot and far more interesting than this fairly dead week in entertainment.
CES-The Consumer Electronics show is going on right now, but probably the biggest news is the fact of no news on the PS3 from Sony. Although it's hardly the big event it used to be, CES is still the last major expo before Sony's suppossed spring launch, and there has not been word one about PS3. This is making a 2007 US launch seem all the more likely (although I'm willing to be they will rush it ot in time for the holidays, bugs and all).
Things have slowed to a crawl on the videogame release front as well-Dead or Alive 4 is pretty much the only noteworthy game out at the moment. All reports are that it's a very solid on-line fighter with stunning graphics, but I personally will probably be waiting for the next Virtua Fighter game before I jump back into the fighting genre (or Super Smash Bros. for the Revolution, whichever comes out first).
And once again, we are in the bleak winter months for movies. Hostel looks promising enough, with a stamp of approval by Tarantino, but that smells like just a bad publicity stunt. Gamers get their first movie in awhile in Grandma's Boy, which looks incredibly horrid with all the bad obvious jokes thrown in (like old people getting high, gee that's new...).
But of course the true cream of the crop is obviously going to be the latest from cinematic auteur Uwe Boll-Bloodrayne, which looks like it was shot in the local park with about $200 budgeted for effects. I know this guy exploits tax loopholes in order to get movies made, but how he keeps attracting anything other than E list talent (namely Ben Kingsley for this one) is beyond human comprehension.
Ok, that's it for today, I'll update again this weekend, hopefully.
1/01/2006
I wanna know Japanese and I wanna know it now!
Why, you ask? Because those lucky bastards in Japan are playing Kingdom Hearts 2 right now. This is easily my most anitciapted game of the last few years, and to know that it's finally at least out in some form in a huge source of joy. But of course, that leaves the question of when the hell is it coming out here? Hopefully summer at the latest. I may be putting a lot more playtime into Kingdom Hearts now in preperation.
The only other thing of note is that it seems NBC has finally gotten a little smart with its schedule and is moving two of their best shows to its formerly unbeatable Thursday night-The Office and My Name Is Earl. Both Excellent shows and a wise decision. But of course NBC snubs the best show they have-Scrubs. This easily deserves a prime Thursday night slot along with the other shows. Hopefully when Will & Grace ends this season (which is long overdue, that show has been awful for years now), NBC will wise up and give that slot to Scrubs next season.
That's all for today, Happy new year!
The only other thing of note is that it seems NBC has finally gotten a little smart with its schedule and is moving two of their best shows to its formerly unbeatable Thursday night-The Office and My Name Is Earl. Both Excellent shows and a wise decision. But of course NBC snubs the best show they have-Scrubs. This easily deserves a prime Thursday night slot along with the other shows. Hopefully when Will & Grace ends this season (which is long overdue, that show has been awful for years now), NBC will wise up and give that slot to Scrubs next season.
That's all for today, Happy new year!
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