Welcome to the second part in this series, part one can be found here (http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9073622) – go take a quick look and come back, I’ll still be here for when you come back…… All done? Good now we shall continue with:
Send in the clones
Hands up, who’s played a sports game – you know the ones I mean Tiger Woods, Madden, NHL, FIFA, NBA … the list goes on! Ok not a sports fan how about a game like Battlefield, Unreal Tournament, Street Fighter, Tony Hawk, Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider, Soul Caliber, Super Mario Brothers, Sonic Adventures, or Guitar Hero? You must have played at least one of those?
Each of these games has a sequel to it and in most cases follows the law of diminishing returns (see here for technical definition). Many of these games developers feel it a must that they put out a new version of these games at least once a year with some minor updates. With many games now being connected to the internet via some service or another, games can be very easily patched on a console or even added to with downloadable content.
Each new version try’s to improve on where the other version failed, and from time to time we see improvements with updated graphics or new control elements, for example when moving to a new console. But with the current console cycle being the longest yet these improvements are becoming fewer and fewer and the publishers are asking consumers to pay £40 / $60 for a few tweaks to a game they already have and could be done just as easy through downloadable content.
Beyond the non-obvious clones in the form of sequels we also have the real clones or knock-off’s, you know the ones I mean. The review refers to it all the time in ways such as “like God of War but …” or “like GTA but …” or even “this is clearly inspired by Crackdown.” These are the games that the developers were either playing and thought “I could make a tonne of money off this,” or some executive at the developer we “we can make a tonne of money off this idea”.
Examples of this type of game can be seen all the time in clear poor games which enter the bargin bucket quicker than a piece of chicken that ended up on the floor. Occasionally there is a half decent attempt at a knock off and they create their own clones sorry I mean sequels, case in point Saints Row (GTA), Prototype (Crackdown), and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (God of War) (I credit Yahtzee Croshaw with this one). The last one is in fact a sequel, or is it a prequel? (a sequel in disguise).
Right now the consoles and pc gamers are all going to die a death of boredom if they don’t get some new game ideas flowing soon. We have seen this happen with some nice new shiny games come our way but those damn executives get a dollar sign in their eyes and BANG we have a sequel with Multiplayer on its way!
Yet fear not, there is a light being seen and you’re not going to like me for saying this – social gaming. Now don’t hit me (yet), hear me out first. Social gaming (in my world) includes all of the iPhone / mobile games that we have seen pop up with the age of the smart phone in the last few years. Take a look at some of the games that we have been given – Game Dev Story, Angry Birds, Broken Sword, and to some extent Farmville (ok you can punch me for that last one).
Each of these games has taken something simple and made something of it. Game Dev Story is one such example, where they have taken the management sim (a long forgotten genre of game) and added a new touch to the game by making a game where you have to make games to succeed. The game is simple in concept, clearly aimed at a target market and is a solid game.
So why have these games been missed or over looked? Well (I’ve done it again) that brings me to a new point:
She’s goin’a blow!
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Bulletstorm
Hands up when you saw the trailer for the next Epic studio game who else thought “What the hell is this?”
Bulletstorm is from People Can Fly and Epic Games (Published by EA) and see you play as Gray an ex-mercenary now turned drunken pirate who’s hell bent on revenge against the general that double crossed him. The game takes place on a planet where you’ve crashed not only your own ship but the General’s ship. Now that’s it for plot for the game – there’s development and curveballs through the seven chapters but really that’s the bones.
If you’ve played the demo, the game starts off at a snail’s pace compared to the fast pumping action that you did in the demo. You slowly wind into the mechanics and the story and it’s only in about chapter two when you’re let loose with your leash (that cool whip looking thing) that you really kick up the pace.
The game rewards you for killing in unique and varied ways. For example the sniper rifle has some of the best kills as you take control of the bullet (eventually times slows down into bullet-time – I couldn’t resist!) and move in for the kill. The thing is the enemy realise this could be his last breath so he dodges, turning his back on me – my thoughts “You cheeky S.O.B I’m going to stick this bullet where the sun doesn’t shine bucko!” So I aim the bullet down and the up into his arse and what do you know I get Hotshot +100, Rear Entry +100 all for doing that.
While this may feel good after a while you start to look at the guide and almost see how can I kill someone to earn more points? This is where the challenge and uniqueness of the game comes into its own ... for a while. Towards the end of the game you find that the enemies up in difficulty (as they tend to do) and the skills shots just don’t feel as rewarding as they first did – this may have something to do with beginning to think with more strategy on pulling them off as you face a horde of un-knock-down-able enemies who have specific kill spots?
The single player can be completed in a single day with a good sitting and has enough challenges to keep you there for 8 – 10 hours. However this game tag’s you bag in with Echo mode which is like a time + skill-kill mode which seems you replaying small portions of the game in timed modes for as many points as possible, which creates leader boards and competition amongst your friends list – that is if you have friends on there who are playing this mode
As for multiplayer Epic games bolted in a sort of horde mode called Anarchy mode with wave, after wave, after wave of ever increasing enemies. Now I’ve not tried this yet but I can imagine its fun with a close group of friends over live as you try to stay alive as a unit of four. When being interviewed about the game’s lack of real multiplayer Cliff Bleszinski told The Telegraph
“It was in there at one point and it actually worked, but we found that the game shifted from being this kind of puzzle-shooter into essentially this downhill skiing simulator, where people were seeing how fast they could get to the bottom of the mountain,”
Having played the game I can see his point but then again I really wouldn’t mind perhaps a Left for Dead style 4 vs. 4 multiplayer which would make for an interesting game as you could see people trying some real interesting scenarios with some of these enemies.
All in all this is a good quality game which is truly a child of its predecessors. It takes the intensity and looks of Gears of War and then throws into the mix the speed of Unreal Tournament. My only gripes about the game is that it’s really too short, it’s a bit too over simplified and the ending feels kind of cheap. I mean clearly there is going to be a squeal to this game from the ending, but having the whole final fight devolve into a Quick-Time event? That’s just wrong and belongs in a class of lower game.
This game is a good solid attempt at something new and fresh in a genera that is running low on ideas. But, and this is a big BUT I think many people will only be buying this game for access to the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta – which if you ask me feels like you’re short changing this game. It has a great sense of humour (even if the language is over the top at times but well suited), it looks good, plays well, and is something that would suit well as maybe a two week loaner and you’re done.
Give it a whirl and go kill with some skill!
Bulletstorm is from People Can Fly and Epic Games (Published by EA) and see you play as Gray an ex-mercenary now turned drunken pirate who’s hell bent on revenge against the general that double crossed him. The game takes place on a planet where you’ve crashed not only your own ship but the General’s ship. Now that’s it for plot for the game – there’s development and curveballs through the seven chapters but really that’s the bones.
If you’ve played the demo, the game starts off at a snail’s pace compared to the fast pumping action that you did in the demo. You slowly wind into the mechanics and the story and it’s only in about chapter two when you’re let loose with your leash (that cool whip looking thing) that you really kick up the pace.
The game rewards you for killing in unique and varied ways. For example the sniper rifle has some of the best kills as you take control of the bullet (eventually times slows down into bullet-time – I couldn’t resist!) and move in for the kill. The thing is the enemy realise this could be his last breath so he dodges, turning his back on me – my thoughts “You cheeky S.O.B I’m going to stick this bullet where the sun doesn’t shine bucko!” So I aim the bullet down and the up into his arse and what do you know I get Hotshot +100, Rear Entry +100 all for doing that.
While this may feel good after a while you start to look at the guide and almost see how can I kill someone to earn more points? This is where the challenge and uniqueness of the game comes into its own ... for a while. Towards the end of the game you find that the enemies up in difficulty (as they tend to do) and the skills shots just don’t feel as rewarding as they first did – this may have something to do with beginning to think with more strategy on pulling them off as you face a horde of un-knock-down-able enemies who have specific kill spots?
The single player can be completed in a single day with a good sitting and has enough challenges to keep you there for 8 – 10 hours. However this game tag’s you bag in with Echo mode which is like a time + skill-kill mode which seems you replaying small portions of the game in timed modes for as many points as possible, which creates leader boards and competition amongst your friends list – that is if you have friends on there who are playing this mode
As for multiplayer Epic games bolted in a sort of horde mode called Anarchy mode with wave, after wave, after wave of ever increasing enemies. Now I’ve not tried this yet but I can imagine its fun with a close group of friends over live as you try to stay alive as a unit of four. When being interviewed about the game’s lack of real multiplayer Cliff Bleszinski told The Telegraph
“It was in there at one point and it actually worked, but we found that the game shifted from being this kind of puzzle-shooter into essentially this downhill skiing simulator, where people were seeing how fast they could get to the bottom of the mountain,”
Having played the game I can see his point but then again I really wouldn’t mind perhaps a Left for Dead style 4 vs. 4 multiplayer which would make for an interesting game as you could see people trying some real interesting scenarios with some of these enemies.
All in all this is a good quality game which is truly a child of its predecessors. It takes the intensity and looks of Gears of War and then throws into the mix the speed of Unreal Tournament. My only gripes about the game is that it’s really too short, it’s a bit too over simplified and the ending feels kind of cheap. I mean clearly there is going to be a squeal to this game from the ending, but having the whole final fight devolve into a Quick-Time event? That’s just wrong and belongs in a class of lower game.
This game is a good solid attempt at something new and fresh in a genera that is running low on ideas. But, and this is a big BUT I think many people will only be buying this game for access to the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta – which if you ask me feels like you’re short changing this game. It has a great sense of humour (even if the language is over the top at times but well suited), it looks good, plays well, and is something that would suit well as maybe a two week loaner and you’re done.
Give it a whirl and go kill with some skill!
Sunday, 27 February 2011
2011 Oscar Predicitons
So tonight is the 2011 Academy Awards, or Oscars to you and me - so what movie commentator is worth his salt by not making a comment on who will win what. Before you go on please note I've not seen many of the nominees this year (I managed to see 8/10 of last years best picture nominees) so some are based on opinions and others guesses from what I hear / see / feel about the film.
Best Picture – The Kings Speech - This is a close race between The Kings Speech and Social Network. Kings has the momentum but the academy may vote for their countrymen. Don’t count out Black Swan as the underdog here though
Directing - Darren Aronofsky - I’m going with the left field choice here as I feel many of the judges may just want to balance the books out here
Actor in a Leading Role - Colin Firth - This man has the shortest odds to win this accodlade and the only close challenger in my opinion is James Franco – acting on your own to camera is hard and this should at least be acknowledged
Actor in a Supporting Role – Christian Bale - From what I hear Bale goes above and beyond what any normal actor should have to do for a role and completely imitate the guy. Don’t be surprised if the vote swings to Geoffy Rush though
Actress in a Leading Role – Natalie Portman - This really is looking like a dead cert here – not a strong category for competition
Actress in a Supporting Role – Helena Bonham Carter - Ah now this is a good mixed back here, while Helen has the talk here I would say keep an eye out for the young gun who could sweep in here in the form of Hailee Steinfeld
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – The Social Network - An interesting tale and well told
Writing (Original Screenplay) – Inception - Of all the nominees I feel this is clearly a winner as its not based on a book or actual event but made up which makes the best film
Animated Feature Film – Toy Story 3 - I would say a close 2 horse race between How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story but for me it just has that little extra point to win this one
Art Direction – Inception - This is a truly stunning piece of art and should be acknowledged as such
Cinematography - The Social Network - From what I’ve seen this is a well shot and edited piece of work
Costume Design – True Grit - Again from what I’ve seen the film does have stunningly accurate costumes here
Music (Original Score) – Hanz Zimmer – Inception - I listened to this outside of the movie and it just gets me. Clearly Zimmer has it here
Music (Original Song) – “We Belong Together” – Toy Story 3 - Come on, have a heart!
Sound Editing - Inception - See below
Sound Mixing - Inception - The whole sound feel adds to the movie and makes it a whole
Visual Effects – Iron Man 2 - Come on did you see Whiplash? And the armour effects? But could lose out to Alice in Wonderland
Documentary (Feature) – Exit through the gift shop - Clearly this one has taken the movie industry by storm and is a good piece
Film Editing - The Social Network - Again well shot and edited
Foreign Language Film “Biutiful” - It’s the only one I’ve heard of!
Makeup – The Wolfman - Clearly this one needs a nod for the hard work put into it – even if the movie did suck
Best Picture – The Kings Speech - This is a close race between The Kings Speech and Social Network. Kings has the momentum but the academy may vote for their countrymen. Don’t count out Black Swan as the underdog here though
Directing - Darren Aronofsky - I’m going with the left field choice here as I feel many of the judges may just want to balance the books out here
Actor in a Leading Role - Colin Firth - This man has the shortest odds to win this accodlade and the only close challenger in my opinion is James Franco – acting on your own to camera is hard and this should at least be acknowledged
Actor in a Supporting Role – Christian Bale - From what I hear Bale goes above and beyond what any normal actor should have to do for a role and completely imitate the guy. Don’t be surprised if the vote swings to Geoffy Rush though
Actress in a Leading Role – Natalie Portman - This really is looking like a dead cert here – not a strong category for competition
Actress in a Supporting Role – Helena Bonham Carter - Ah now this is a good mixed back here, while Helen has the talk here I would say keep an eye out for the young gun who could sweep in here in the form of Hailee Steinfeld
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – The Social Network - An interesting tale and well told
Writing (Original Screenplay) – Inception - Of all the nominees I feel this is clearly a winner as its not based on a book or actual event but made up which makes the best film
Animated Feature Film – Toy Story 3 - I would say a close 2 horse race between How To Train Your Dragon and Toy Story but for me it just has that little extra point to win this one
Art Direction – Inception - This is a truly stunning piece of art and should be acknowledged as such
Cinematography - The Social Network - From what I’ve seen this is a well shot and edited piece of work
Costume Design – True Grit - Again from what I’ve seen the film does have stunningly accurate costumes here
Music (Original Score) – Hanz Zimmer – Inception - I listened to this outside of the movie and it just gets me. Clearly Zimmer has it here
Music (Original Song) – “We Belong Together” – Toy Story 3 - Come on, have a heart!
Sound Editing - Inception - See below
Sound Mixing - Inception - The whole sound feel adds to the movie and makes it a whole
Visual Effects – Iron Man 2 - Come on did you see Whiplash? And the armour effects? But could lose out to Alice in Wonderland
Documentary (Feature) – Exit through the gift shop - Clearly this one has taken the movie industry by storm and is a good piece
Film Editing - The Social Network - Again well shot and edited
Foreign Language Film “Biutiful” - It’s the only one I’ve heard of!
Makeup – The Wolfman - Clearly this one needs a nod for the hard work put into it – even if the movie did suck
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
The problem with modern gaming - part 1
Gaming is going to die soon …
Yup according to people gaming as we know it will soon be dead. Gone will the days be where you could simply pick up a controller and toil away for hours exploring the galaxy’s furthest reaches, or driving from one point in a city covered in crime as you find yourself taking people out to rise to power.
But what will you have instead? I mean there cannot be video games, surely? Life would become grey and boring. No they will be replaced by multiplayer games in which you find yourself being blown apart by people who play this game every day, as a 12 year old screams down your ear “suck it noob, you totally suck at this!” Or if you’re not into shooters, well then you can play with real people across the internet while you all try to decide which way to go, like some big road trip to the black gates.
Yes believe it or not gaming has reached a point now where it is faced with a Darwinian issue (note not the game but the Scientist) – evolve or die. But what’s the big deal surely we are in a golden age of games with many new games being seen in 2010 and making so much money, read on and I shall enlighten you into what I think are the main issues with video games.
The dead art form
In late 2010 EA Games' label president Frank Gibeau stated that single player only games were dead and that multiplayer is where it was all at in terms of the innovation of games. While this is partial true that innovation is being seen in the USE of online FEATURES and FUNCTIONS within games pure multiplayer games have proven to be a bit of bust.
Now don’t going and start with your hate mail about MMO’s, I’m getting there. Right now let’s take a look at some multiplayer only games. Shadowrun, Quake III, and who can forget Quake Wars: Enemy Territory – each of these games had a heck of backing be it through its innovation such as Shadowrun by getting PC and 360 games to play together at the same time in the same game, or through boasting about the next big sequel in Quake Wars: Enemy Territory. But they all flopped.
Now to MMO’s – beyond World of Warcraft which is really taking the world by storm with the latest expansion pack, there really hasn’t been a commercially successful challenger to this title, and we have had some big names throw their hats into the ring – Star Trek, Lord of the Rings (recently went free to play), and Conan the Barbarian all tried to have a go at getting people into the game and taking over some of that title of number 1 MMO. These are all multiplayer only and there failing maybe doesn’t lie with the users breaking Wheaton’s law but more in the fact they have the attention span of goldfish or the game is just bad.
Single-player only games have shown that they don’t need a multiplayer to be successful with the many games proving that you can make good money and a good game with games such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, Fallout 3, Dead Space, Assassins Creed 2 , Bioshock, Heavy Rain, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and Mass Effect 2 to name but a few.
These games all don’t have a multiplayer mode in them and are fantastic games, truth be told they all have other great elements which makes them great games such as fantastic writing, atmospheric settings, compelling stories, beautiful soundtracks and fantastic voice acting. So why is it that some people think that in a sequel we need multiplayer adding?
The case in view here is Bioshock, a sequel in itself to System Shock. To preface this next bit I am going to say that I have not played Bioshock 2 but I have played the original, Bioshock on the 360. Bioshock was one of those rare games that came along and really made a name for its self by being pretty damn good as well as just a bit creepy in points with things such as would you like to kill or save the little girls? Overall the game was well written, created a fantastic atmosphere, and brought a unique twist to another wise bloated market, making it a well worthy game of the year.
Roll on a few years and we were treated to Bioshock 2 – Now with added multiplayer! Oh how the internet groaned! Like many people I was intrigued by just how this worked since at the end of the first game we got a very definitive ending, either way you played the game. It turned out that the single player element would have you play as a big daddy in the return to rapture while the multiplayer would be set before Bioshock 1 and was all about the splicers knocking the living daylights out of one another for the sheer hell of it.
Here lies the issue, and one the internet loved to point out – we have given the multiplayer a story – it’s not big and it’s not clever so please why do we do this? Don’t these developers recall what it was like to play a game like Goldeneye on the N64? We didn’t need to know why James Bond was suddenly shooting (a very blocky and manly looking) Natalia we just got on with it.
ARGH! I hear you cry I can counter you what about the Battlefield series? Or how about your beloved Assassins Creed series in the form of Assassins Creed Brotherhood? Yes they have shown to work in some of their iterations, however this (very nicely – almost planned like) leads me onto my next point.
Yup according to people gaming as we know it will soon be dead. Gone will the days be where you could simply pick up a controller and toil away for hours exploring the galaxy’s furthest reaches, or driving from one point in a city covered in crime as you find yourself taking people out to rise to power.
But what will you have instead? I mean there cannot be video games, surely? Life would become grey and boring. No they will be replaced by multiplayer games in which you find yourself being blown apart by people who play this game every day, as a 12 year old screams down your ear “suck it noob, you totally suck at this!” Or if you’re not into shooters, well then you can play with real people across the internet while you all try to decide which way to go, like some big road trip to the black gates.
Yes believe it or not gaming has reached a point now where it is faced with a Darwinian issue (note not the game but the Scientist) – evolve or die. But what’s the big deal surely we are in a golden age of games with many new games being seen in 2010 and making so much money, read on and I shall enlighten you into what I think are the main issues with video games.
The dead art form
In late 2010 EA Games' label president Frank Gibeau stated that single player only games were dead and that multiplayer is where it was all at in terms of the innovation of games. While this is partial true that innovation is being seen in the USE of online FEATURES and FUNCTIONS within games pure multiplayer games have proven to be a bit of bust.
Now don’t going and start with your hate mail about MMO’s, I’m getting there. Right now let’s take a look at some multiplayer only games. Shadowrun, Quake III, and who can forget Quake Wars: Enemy Territory – each of these games had a heck of backing be it through its innovation such as Shadowrun by getting PC and 360 games to play together at the same time in the same game, or through boasting about the next big sequel in Quake Wars: Enemy Territory. But they all flopped.
Now to MMO’s – beyond World of Warcraft which is really taking the world by storm with the latest expansion pack, there really hasn’t been a commercially successful challenger to this title, and we have had some big names throw their hats into the ring – Star Trek, Lord of the Rings (recently went free to play), and Conan the Barbarian all tried to have a go at getting people into the game and taking over some of that title of number 1 MMO. These are all multiplayer only and there failing maybe doesn’t lie with the users breaking Wheaton’s law but more in the fact they have the attention span of goldfish or the game is just bad.
Single-player only games have shown that they don’t need a multiplayer to be successful with the many games proving that you can make good money and a good game with games such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, Fallout 3, Dead Space, Assassins Creed 2 , Bioshock, Heavy Rain, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and Mass Effect 2 to name but a few.
These games all don’t have a multiplayer mode in them and are fantastic games, truth be told they all have other great elements which makes them great games such as fantastic writing, atmospheric settings, compelling stories, beautiful soundtracks and fantastic voice acting. So why is it that some people think that in a sequel we need multiplayer adding?
The case in view here is Bioshock, a sequel in itself to System Shock. To preface this next bit I am going to say that I have not played Bioshock 2 but I have played the original, Bioshock on the 360. Bioshock was one of those rare games that came along and really made a name for its self by being pretty damn good as well as just a bit creepy in points with things such as would you like to kill or save the little girls? Overall the game was well written, created a fantastic atmosphere, and brought a unique twist to another wise bloated market, making it a well worthy game of the year.
Roll on a few years and we were treated to Bioshock 2 – Now with added multiplayer! Oh how the internet groaned! Like many people I was intrigued by just how this worked since at the end of the first game we got a very definitive ending, either way you played the game. It turned out that the single player element would have you play as a big daddy in the return to rapture while the multiplayer would be set before Bioshock 1 and was all about the splicers knocking the living daylights out of one another for the sheer hell of it.
Here lies the issue, and one the internet loved to point out – we have given the multiplayer a story – it’s not big and it’s not clever so please why do we do this? Don’t these developers recall what it was like to play a game like Goldeneye on the N64? We didn’t need to know why James Bond was suddenly shooting (a very blocky and manly looking) Natalia we just got on with it.
ARGH! I hear you cry I can counter you what about the Battlefield series? Or how about your beloved Assassins Creed series in the form of Assassins Creed Brotherhood? Yes they have shown to work in some of their iterations, however this (very nicely – almost planned like) leads me onto my next point.
Monday, 10 January 2011
TRON: Legacy - all flash but no substance?
So if you’ve lived under a rock for the last few years, a sequel to the 1982 (yup it’s that old!) ground-breaking film Tron. This film is now set 25 years after the original film took place and we have Flynn’s son as the main character of the film now while his dad went missing back in 1989. Encom (the company in the film) has fallen under the control of an evil bored which pokes fun at Apple and Microsoft (more the latter) while the son of Flynn is the majority shareholder and more of a wild child rebelling against what this company stands for.
Now I saw this film in IMAX 3D so I had the giant 3D glasses on which bug me, and I’m not going to get into this because I can and will jump up and down for hours on this! The film looks amazing and with the digital shooting of this film it looks superb and this is in part thanks to the use of the same visual effects studio as Avatar. This takes what Avatar had and moves it forward and creates a stunning look with a heavy black and sharp stand out colour such as Orange, Yellow, or White.
Beyond the visual look, the film’s story is … erm ….. oh boy …. mediocre at best as explore themes such as creationism, the god complex, perfection, abandonment, and life in general. I can’t really say this is a film that would have me on the edge of my seat and feels at times like it bumbles along for a while we are waiting for the next sequence or an explanation about a plot point that may be of some use to the audience in this (or the next film). There are a few twists to be played in this (and the following films / TV series) which are predictable but will be good in the end.
There is a small saving point to this film and that lies in its soundtrack, done by the electronic legends Daft Punk. It is fantastic to listen to on its own, but put it with this film it adds another level to the film with an electronic tone being created within the film and should be a must buy for any fan of soundtrack music in general – never mind a fan of Daft Punk
Really TRON: Legacy in summary is all flash and no substance, as it looks good but just really lacks that killer punch. Personally I would say that this is a film that I will buy on HD as many stores will use this as the HD demo as it really does show what HD can do (you can go and blow the 3D element out you’re blow hole!!)
Now I saw this film in IMAX 3D so I had the giant 3D glasses on which bug me, and I’m not going to get into this because I can and will jump up and down for hours on this! The film looks amazing and with the digital shooting of this film it looks superb and this is in part thanks to the use of the same visual effects studio as Avatar. This takes what Avatar had and moves it forward and creates a stunning look with a heavy black and sharp stand out colour such as Orange, Yellow, or White.
Beyond the visual look, the film’s story is … erm ….. oh boy …. mediocre at best as explore themes such as creationism, the god complex, perfection, abandonment, and life in general. I can’t really say this is a film that would have me on the edge of my seat and feels at times like it bumbles along for a while we are waiting for the next sequence or an explanation about a plot point that may be of some use to the audience in this (or the next film). There are a few twists to be played in this (and the following films / TV series) which are predictable but will be good in the end.
There is a small saving point to this film and that lies in its soundtrack, done by the electronic legends Daft Punk. It is fantastic to listen to on its own, but put it with this film it adds another level to the film with an electronic tone being created within the film and should be a must buy for any fan of soundtrack music in general – never mind a fan of Daft Punk
Really TRON: Legacy in summary is all flash and no substance, as it looks good but just really lacks that killer punch. Personally I would say that this is a film that I will buy on HD as many stores will use this as the HD demo as it really does show what HD can do (you can go and blow the 3D element out you’re blow hole!!)
Sherlock Homes - A bit late but, better than never
A bit late to the party with this one since it came out back in summer of 2009, but thanks to 2009 being a good year for movies I kind of missed this one. Anyway, this is the Guy Richie take on the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr taking the parts of Dr Watson and Sherlock Homes respectively.
The film is a good action movie which takes place in the 1800’s and is a good hoot! However within about 30 seconds into the opening scenes I wanted the throw the remote at the TV, why? Well the sets looked terrible (I was watching it in HD), it was an outside scene in London at night – and clearly the buildings looked like painted walls while you could clearly see that the place had a ceiling! So after giving the film a break (and putting down the remote) it flowed very well and did get a lot better with some decent action sequences and a well-acted piece of work.
Downey Jr plays Sherlock as the drug addled troubled genius while Watson is the man who keeps Sherlock on the rails. I believed Jude Law as Dr Watson, while Downey Jr? Well I see him more as Tony Stark, but I guess that’s a testament to Iron Man as being such a great film. The film’s twists were predictable and able to be explained by logic and some science – but that may just be me with my obsession with the CSI series?
Overall this film is able to sustain an audience for a few hours and with the original source material being so in depth and these movies being so close (so I’m told) to the books then it’s a decent movie, and something that should be at least watched once by people, as for DVD? Maybe crack it out every once in about 5 years if you’re bored.
The film is a good action movie which takes place in the 1800’s and is a good hoot! However within about 30 seconds into the opening scenes I wanted the throw the remote at the TV, why? Well the sets looked terrible (I was watching it in HD), it was an outside scene in London at night – and clearly the buildings looked like painted walls while you could clearly see that the place had a ceiling! So after giving the film a break (and putting down the remote) it flowed very well and did get a lot better with some decent action sequences and a well-acted piece of work.
Downey Jr plays Sherlock as the drug addled troubled genius while Watson is the man who keeps Sherlock on the rails. I believed Jude Law as Dr Watson, while Downey Jr? Well I see him more as Tony Stark, but I guess that’s a testament to Iron Man as being such a great film. The film’s twists were predictable and able to be explained by logic and some science – but that may just be me with my obsession with the CSI series?
Overall this film is able to sustain an audience for a few hours and with the original source material being so in depth and these movies being so close (so I’m told) to the books then it’s a decent movie, and something that should be at least watched once by people, as for DVD? Maybe crack it out every once in about 5 years if you’re bored.
Monday, 3 January 2011
NFL 2011 Play off predictions - round 1
Ok so this is a little different to my usual posts, this one is going to be about SPORTS! Yes shock horror this is all about sports, more narrowly the NFL 2011 play off predictions - which I do every year and manage to get wrong oh so many times.
So here's the simple play, no scores (too difficult to predict) just the game and who will win the game with a brief bit about the game. So here we go:
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts - Colts to win
So this is a tough one to call. The Colts are not my favourite team and I can say that the Jets are not too high up in my all time team list either. While the Colts have had some injury issues this season and the Jets took a couple of pounding's towards the end of the season which makes this a tasty game. I'm going to go against my gut and say the Colts to win purely on the basis of they are an experienced team with a QB (P.Manning) who is lethal!
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs = Ravens to win
The Ravens are a team who can bring a surprise to any game and this is the play off's so the Chiefs are in for a torrid time here. I can see this game being good for about 3 or the 4 quarters with one of these quarters to just be a blow out and this is where I think that Ravens will run over the Chiefs with about 2 or 3 touchdowns depending on if they push for the turnovers
Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles - Eagles to win
Another interesting game here. In week 17 the Packers beat the Bears and the Eagles lost to the Cowboys, but the things is that the Packers HAD to beat the bears to get a play off place while the Eagles already had the place and so took a chance to rest a few key players ready for this big first round game. I would say that this is going to be a close game and a lower score game but it could be a very interesting game
Seattle Seahawks @ New Orleans Saints - Saints to win
So in the big final game of the year the Seahawks (finally) clinched a place in the play off's thanks to a win against the Rams (which I did think would happen in part to the weather). As for their opponents they are the defending champions and they are playing in the first round. Some people would think that they wouldn't be here. So the game - this is either going to go two ways - 1) The Saints steam roller the Seahawks into some form of Seahawk pie (most likely scenario) or 2) The Seahawks pull off a play off magic moment and beat the Saints in a hard fought battle.
So there it is my predictions for round 1 - Colts, Ravens, Eagles, and Saints all to progress - but don't forget that phrase "anything can happen on any given Sunday"
So here's the simple play, no scores (too difficult to predict) just the game and who will win the game with a brief bit about the game. So here we go:
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts - Colts to win
So this is a tough one to call. The Colts are not my favourite team and I can say that the Jets are not too high up in my all time team list either. While the Colts have had some injury issues this season and the Jets took a couple of pounding's towards the end of the season which makes this a tasty game. I'm going to go against my gut and say the Colts to win purely on the basis of they are an experienced team with a QB (P.Manning) who is lethal!
Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs = Ravens to win
The Ravens are a team who can bring a surprise to any game and this is the play off's so the Chiefs are in for a torrid time here. I can see this game being good for about 3 or the 4 quarters with one of these quarters to just be a blow out and this is where I think that Ravens will run over the Chiefs with about 2 or 3 touchdowns depending on if they push for the turnovers
Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles - Eagles to win
Another interesting game here. In week 17 the Packers beat the Bears and the Eagles lost to the Cowboys, but the things is that the Packers HAD to beat the bears to get a play off place while the Eagles already had the place and so took a chance to rest a few key players ready for this big first round game. I would say that this is going to be a close game and a lower score game but it could be a very interesting game
Seattle Seahawks @ New Orleans Saints - Saints to win
So in the big final game of the year the Seahawks (finally) clinched a place in the play off's thanks to a win against the Rams (which I did think would happen in part to the weather). As for their opponents they are the defending champions and they are playing in the first round. Some people would think that they wouldn't be here. So the game - this is either going to go two ways - 1) The Saints steam roller the Seahawks into some form of Seahawk pie (most likely scenario) or 2) The Seahawks pull off a play off magic moment and beat the Saints in a hard fought battle.
So there it is my predictions for round 1 - Colts, Ravens, Eagles, and Saints all to progress - but don't forget that phrase "anything can happen on any given Sunday"
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