Orange Box Rulez

So I'm sure everyone has heard all the buzz that's happening around Valve Software's new bundle of games called the Orange Box. It's a collection of the new episode of Half Life 2, a short first person puzzle/strategy game called Portal, and a multiplayer team-based fps called Team Fortress 2. I was a little hesitant to pick this game up because I didn't think my computer was going to be able to run it but boy am I glad I did. It's honestly the best deal in gaming to come along in recent memory. All the games are AAA titles in my opinion and I've been playing them non-stop for a couple of weeks now.

I'd like to stress to console owners that they should pick this package up. It might not have the name recognition that it has in the pc world but if you have never played Half Life 2 the price of admission is worth it for that game alone. It deserves your time and money. I can't imagine anyone regretting the decision to buy it after spending a little quality time with these games.

Special mention to Team Fortress 2, possibly my favorite game out of the package. The art style is freakin amazing, I would describe it as playing a Pixar animated movie. This comes across a little in screen shots but the game must be seen in motion with sound to fully appreciate. Everything just has so much personality it's a joy to play even if you are getting blown to smithereens just so you can run around and look at stuff and laugh. If other games had a fraction of this style the gaming world would be a better place.

Sunshine

Went to this movie over the weekend. It's Danny Boyle's latest and I loved it. It's getting a lot of negative reviews because of something that happens toward's the last part of the movie but I can't really say anything about that or it would totally spoil it. It didn't ruin it for me, although I do agree that it might have even been better if the movie just stuck with what it had going up to that point. The visual effects were awesome and it definitely had it's own unique style going for it. I didn't know going in but one of my favorite bands, Underworld, is featured prominently on the soundtrack. Kind of a nice surprise because I haven't heard much out of them recently. Overall, if you are a fan of sci-fi I would recommend this movie highly. It tries a lot of original things. Some work, some don't but it's a highly entertaining ride along the way.

Upcoming Films

So I spent some time last night watching trailers on the Apple Web site, and there were a bunch of new ones since I had last visited. I noticed quite a few that looked good, most notably Sunshine, 3:10 to Yuma, and Into the Wild. I'm psyched to see Sunshine. It's been a while since a good sci-fi movie has come out. I love the director, Danny Boyle, and Cillian Murphy is in it. He's always good. 3:10 to Yuma just looks like a good violent western starring Christian Bale and Russel Crowe. I'll watch anything Christian Bale is in, Russel Crowe has had some stinkers lately but it looks like he might be good in this one. Don't know much about Into the Wild. I think it's directed by Sean Penn. I guess it's based on a good book but I've never read it. I thought the trailer just looked cool. Keep an eye out for these films and if you see them let me know if they are any good.

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is the new movie directed by Guillermo Del Toro, also the director of such films as Devil's Backbone, Blade 2, and Hellboy. I've seen all the previous mentioned films and I think this is his best to date. The movie just feels tighter than his previous efforts and I really can't think of anything to criticize here. I think if you are going into it expecting a light fairytale type movie you will be dissapointed. What we have here is a mashup of a few different genres. Fantasy, political drama/war movie and horror all get mixed together but it works surprisingly well. It has a lot of cringe inducing scenes but they are all used carefully to support characters in the movie and not just for shock value. The movie is very intense throughout and I would not recommend taking the kiddies to it.

The acting in the movie is top notch by the whole cast. One standout is the evil captain who is so despicable he will make your skin crawl by the end of the movie. All the other actors are great and for a fantastical movie I was never distracted by the acting.

Speaking of distracted I want to mention the special effects here as well. A lot of the time with this kind of movie I will be taken out of it because I'll be thinking about how phony the effects are. This never happened while I was watching this film. All the effects, and there are quite a few fx shots, are blended expertly with the rest of the movie. There are some CG elements but it was never overused and it seemed like they did most of the main fantastical creatures using more traditional fx techniques. The faun and the crazy pale thing with eyes in it's hands are so well done and creepy that they might just be visiting you at night for a while.

Overall I would say this the best movie I have seen for a long time. It has a lot going against it (it's in Spanish, limited release, limited marketing) but I hope people turn out for it and make it a success. Interesting movies like this that do new things and push filmmaking deserve to be rewarded. So, this weekend when you are torn between watching the umpteenth movie starring Eddie Murphy in a fat suit or Pan's Labyrinth, please make the right choice and support this film. It's up for a couple of Oscars, I hope it takes some of them home.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Alright. So, this game was cool. Having played the first Fire Emblem on the gba a few years ago, I knew what I was getting into. To be honest, I skipped through most of the dialogue, so I can't speak for the story. Something about betrayal and/or heirs to a throne of somesort. I think a little bit of intrugue too......and maybe a Demon Lord.

This woman has a problem with stabbing people.

Most of the story in the game is revealed through characters conversing thusly above. The character designs in this game are really well handled, and the 2-D sprites are animated smoothly during fight scenes.



The gameplay is what Fire Emblem is all about. You command a squad of characters, each with their own unique abilities, on a quest. Combat takes place on a grid, similar somewhat to chess, and you take turns moving your men around and attacking the opposing forces. If one of your characters should die, they cannot return, and are gone from the game for good. This has pissed me off more times than I care to say. After spending alot of time leveling up your characters into the ultimate baddasses, it sucks to lose any of them. The only way to get that character back is to restart the chapter you are on, at the beginning. So every time one of my characters fell, I had to weigh the cost of starting over vs. is he worth it? IS MY WIZARD WORTH IT...?



I can't really think of anything bad to say about this game, except for that the story was kind of long winded and text heavy. So if you are okay with all that, you would like this game. Four Pistolwips, okay?

World of Warcraft

So Joel calls me up last nite and wants to know if I want to play World of Warcraft. I'm not too into online games, nor RPG's (strategy RPG's notwithstanding), but seeing as how i was watching LOTR and playing Fire Emblem when he called, i figured I'd give it a shot. After downloading the ten day trial game and creating our characters, we were off.

There were several classes of races that you could choose to be. We both settled on Night Elves; I named my character IamDaWizard. Joel made a comment early on, that when we start playing, i needed to "get into character" and really be an elf. I almost stopped playing right there. But...I'm glad I didn't because its actually kind of fun to play. I dont really care for the art style of the characters, but it didn't really matter once I started running around the world itself.



Basically, you choose a server on which to play, and everyone on the same server is in the same world. You embark on short fetch quests and earn experience points and gear for your trouble, and you can do the quests alone, or join up with other online players. Of course, being online, you have your share of asses that enhabit the realm. One guy kept running up on us and wanting to fight. We'd see him every once in a while running around, dancing, and bothering other players. I should have acted like an elf and popped an arrow in his ass or whatever it is elves do. They do that, don't they?

It was weird playing with a keyboard and mouse, because i never do. Alot of the time I'd just be walking into trees or falling off cliffs, but i started to get the hang of it after a while. Eventually we met up with Joel's brother Jon-Mark and off we went to get some more missions, when suddenly Joel's real life intervened and he had to go eat dinner. That was fine with me, because i was getting hungry at the time too. I ran around with Jon-Mark for a bit, killing all the animals we could fine, but soon after, I logged off and made a pizza.

Overall, I'd play it again.

I like Guild Wars

I've been playing Guild Wars now for quite a long time. I never thought I would get into paying MMO's because I always viewed them as a major time-suck and to be honest I really don't have tons of time to play games. I was in the mood for a new fantasy RPG one day after playing nothing but first person shooters for awhile so I decided to give it a try. I was always kind of intrigued by the screenshots and I really liked the fact that there is no monthly fee so I went to the local Fred Meyer and picked it up.

So now, after over 100 hours put into it I'm close to finishing my second (technically the third) campaign "Nightfall". I have to say that I've had tons of fun playing this game it's probably the best value for money that I've ever had from a computer game. I go through periods where I don't play that much but I always seem to go back when I have a minute and get sucked back into the world. I've found a really cool guild but I mostly just solo which is also a lot of fun. It is a really nice change of pace from playing shooters all the time. I was really tired of the time wasted trying to get those to run on my computer. There is always a new shooter coming out that has the latest and greatest graphics but it's getting to the point where I can barely run them on my rig. I liked Guild Wars because I can run it smoothly, it looks great, and it's stable for the most part. I don't have to mess around with my computer setting every time I want to play.

Anyhow, if you have any kind of curiosity about this genre of game I suggest you try Guild Wars out. It is however my first MMO and I have plans to try out the uber-popular World of Warcraft in the next week or so. I'll be back with my impressions of that game but it's going to take a lot to pull me away from the GW universe.

DS Lite shortage

I just got off the phone with two Fred Meyers, a Best Buy, EB Games, Gamestop, and our local Gamecrazy and all of them have been out of DS Lite's since Christmas. I sold my original DS brick several months ago, and have yet to replace it with the Lite; so here i am with about 8 DS games and no hardware to play it on. I guess they got snatched up by all the good looking people in the picture above. Why would you take your shirt off to play video games?? And plus, the girl on the right looks like she escaped from a mental hospital. Girl, snap out of it...!! I will trade you precious medical treatment for your DS Lite...!

Mouse Guard - A Return to Honor

Writer/Artist: David Peterson

(Spoilers within)

I only bought two things at the comic book shop this week, Astonishing Xmen and Mouse Guard. And although i love the former, it was the latter that i was excited for.

This issue concludes David Peterson's six issue miniseries, and is by far the best of the bunch. The three Mouse Guard are finally reunited, as Black Axe begins his attack on Lockhaven. The art in this series has always had a cineramic quality to it, and more than once i found myself staring at the panels, soaking up all the details. The fight scenes, in particular, are very kinetic.

There is a panel midway through the book, where a mouse is conversing with a bumblebee. In his hand he holds an urn, from which churns smoke that has a very faint impression of the artist's fingerprints. As if he smudged the ink with his fingers to create the effect of smoke. You can almost picture David Peterson hunched at his drawing table churning out each page of this comic.

Overall, this series has one of enjoyable things I've read all year. Five Pistolwips.

Pick up the trade when it drops in April, and pick up the next Mouse Guard series beginning in July.

Best Movie of 2006 that Nobody Saw?

Did anybody see this movie? If you haven't I suggest you go rent it cause it's good.

I really wasn't going into it with any expectations and it didn't sound all that interesting to me when I added it to my Netflix queue but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's about a struggling businessman played by Greg Kinnear who has a chance meeting with a washed up hitman playd by Pierce Brosnan. They meet at a hotel bar in Mexico over drinks and form an unlikely friendship. Of course Greg Kinnear has no idea what this guy does but eventually finds out and the plot, which I won't spoil, thickens.

The writing and diologue throughout is top notch. Even as I write this it's hard to make it sound all that appealing but there is something about the way it's written that is highly entertaining. I found it really interesting how the story was based on these two guys that have gone through similar struggles in their lives but chosen to deal with them in completely different ways. There is something about the relationship for them that keeps them in each others lives even though they get into some pretty hairy situations. It's a neat contrast and statement about how even though people choose to live their lives in extremely different ways, we are all human and go through a lot of the same issues.

I also thought the direction was great as well as the music in it. The acting deserves a special mention as well as it was excellent throughout. Pierce Brosnan was especially good in a wildly divergent character from what you are used to seeing him playing. He obviously had fun with this role and it shows on screen.

Even though you might not have heard anything about this movie I would recommend it highly as it is a quality production throughout and I think it deserves a little more pub.

Castlevania

The Castlevania movie is underway, with Paul W.S. Anderson at the directors helm. You might recognize him for his other video game movie "masterpieces" Resident Evil and its subsequent sequel Resident Evil: Apocalypse. (A third in the series is on the way, entitled RE: Extinction). If it werent for Uwe Boll, this man would get my vote as the corniest director ever. Granted, I don't expect much from his movies, so therefore I am never let down. It wasn't until i saw Alien Vs. Predator that i started to get upset. I couldnt help but wonder how good that movie would have turned out if James Cameron had been director.

Cats Like Playing DS Too!

Hahahahahahah! Saw this pic going around online today and just thought I'd share it. Points for anyone who can name the breed!

Spiderman 3

I'm really looking forward to the third Spiderman movie. Even though I was somewhat let down by last year's X-Men 3, I have high hopes for Spiderman. I thought the first two were entertaining and judging by the pics I found online, I'm expecting the third to be great as well.


Here we see Spiderman lurking in the shadows.



Tobey McGuire plays young peter parker.



Spiderman in his new black suit.



Here, Spiderman takes time out to stretch.


Spiderman 3 opens May 4th.

Heroes, Yay or Nay?

Heroes is a relatively new show on NBC that is getting all sorts of attention lately and seems to be one of the networks bigger successes of the new season. It revolves around a group of young people who are discovering that they have unique abilities such as time warping, flying, mind reading, among a host of others. These people are all connected in some way but don't really know it and will need to band together to fight the forces of evil of course. Kind of like the X-Men.

I've been watching the show from the beginning but was thinking about it and I don't really know why? I guess it's because the subject matter is kind of interesting to me and pretty different from other shows on tv. Unique enough to get me to still tune in and suffer through some really painful diologue and acting. Actually the plot is fairly contrived as well and I will often guess exactly what will happen after the first 5 minutes of the show. So what is it that keeps me coming back? Does anybody else out there feel this way? Let me know what you think. . .

Loki

Writer: Robert Rodi
Artist: Esad Ribic


It's about damn time Loki got his own book.

I'm a Thor fan all the way, but there's just something inherently cool about a god as corrupt as Loki. The God of Mischief. The Prince of Lies. Overlooked by Odin and overshadowed by Thor.

As the title suggests, Rodi thrusts Loki in the limelight here, telling a tale of Loki's victory over the Heroes of Asgard. Not only has he defeated his half-brother, but all the gods who mocked him as a child. But what happens to someone who's achieved all he's wished for? Where does he go from there?



Rodi manages to craft believable dialog between all of the story's main characters and the Asgard-Speak is handled deftly. I found myself re-reading certain long winded speeches to understand their meaning.

"I see now your intent, fool. Why gloat over one whose spirit cannot be broken when you can boast and trumpet to one whose manhood is already yours?"

What the hell does that mean??

Each page of this book is masterfully painted by Esad Ribic. This is the first I've seen of his work and it is stunning. Some of the images of Loki, crazed and mad with power, are downright unsettling. The lady Sif, although bound by chains, appears deadly despite her dark surroundings. Thor and Odin held prisoner look every part father and son. Asgard itself looks as if built stone by stone.



This is a book worthy of anyone's collection. (Originally published as a four issue miniseries, Loki is also available as a graphic novel.)

Guitar Hero 2 Roxxorz

I'm assuming by now most everyone has heard about a little game that came out last year that took the industry by storm called Guitar Hero. If you haven't you should have cause it's fun as hell. Anyhow, I'm here to give you the scoop on the second version of the game not surprisingly titled "Guitar Hero 2".

If you haven't played the game before it's a rhythm game that you play using a controller shaped as a small guitar (pictured above) that has a strum device and 4 or 5 fret buttons, each a different color. As you play a song, circles that have a color corresponding to one of the fret buttons scroll down the screen and as they hit a line you have to hold down that color fret button and strum at the same time to hit the note. It's kind of tough to explain but really intuitive if you pick it up to play. It's super fun and really gives you the feeling that you are playing guitar. On the expert difficulty I think actually playing the real guitar might be a tad easier.

I thought the first one was totally unique and a whole lot of fun and so did the rest of the video game buying public, hence guitar hero 2. This new one improves on the first in a few key ways. Most notably is the expansion of the multiplayer. The first GH had the potential for some really fun multiplayer but didn't quite hit it on the head. If you wanted to play two at a time the song would be played in alternating sections by each player, never both players at the same time. Fun but not ideal. GH 2 has changed this for the better by included seperate tracks for the other player to play such as bass line or rhythm guitar while the other person plays the lead guitar part. You can also choose your difficulty individually when choosing the part you want to play making it still a blast for a novice to play alongside of someone who has a lot of experience.

The second key improvement is the addition of a practice mode, something the first one totally left out. As anyone who has played this game knows, on the higher difficulty levels it gets really hard. I'm talking so hard you might as well spend the time to learn how to play the real guitar. I don't know how people got these songs down in the first one but in GH 2 the option is there to practice whole songs or you can work on specific problem sections such as the solo or intro. While practicing you have the option to slow down the song so it is easy to figure out the fingering. It's a simple addition but it's well implemented and will make a world of difference for players.

The only minor gripe about the second one is the song selection which I don't feel is as strong as the first. Don't get me wrong as there are some top notch songs to play but for some reason the selection in the first one just felt a little better to me. There are still some notable omitions like Iron Maiden and Metallica but they need to leave something for GH 3 right?

In summary I would urge any of you who haven't played this game and own a ps2 to go out at get GH 2 right away. Xbox 360 owners will also get their chance at it when it comes out for that system on 4/15/07. Get a few beers, a couple good friends and Guitar Hero 2 and that should be all you need for a very entertaining evening.

Mouse Guard

Writer/Artist: David Petersen


Mouse Guard is my comic book store's best kept secret. i stumbled upon the first issue while perusing the independent publisher rack one day. every week as other customers discuss topics such as Civil War, Infinite Crisis or the latest comic book movie, i quietly make my way to the indie rack to see if the latest issue of Mouse Guard is out.

the story follows the exploits of three Mice Guard dispatched to find a missing grain peddler, but quickly turns to a mystery surrounded by jeopardy and betrayal. danger looms around each shrub in the form of snakes, crabs, and the villainous threat of a masked warrior known only as The Axe. Great acts of heroism are committed, and brave mice live and die.

i like everything about this book. i like the fact that it's published from a small company, i like the imaginative story, i like that the characters are cute little mice that speak ye old tongue and wield swords, staffs, axes, and could just as easily exist in my front lawn than on the pages of this comic. i don't even mind that its published in an odd shape (8"x8"), and wont fit into my comic boxes correctly.

to date, only issues one thru five (of six) have been released. there is also talk of a collected hard copy of these issues, as well as more Mouse Guard stories next year.

pick up this book.

Green Lantern: Rebirth

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver

i'll be honest....i dont keep up with whats going on within the Green Lantern universe. i do know there exists a Green Lantern Corps, encompassing many green lanterns. but the only green lantern that matters to me is the one from the Superfriends' cartoon i used to watch as a kid. the OG Green Lantern. Hal Jordan.

according to my local comic book store owner (who recommended the book), things have gotten a little rough since i last heard from Hal. apparently he'd gone insane, murdered fellow green lanterns, destroyed the Central Power Battery, and was stripped of his power and rank. oh, and on top of all that, he sacrificed himself to save the earth's dying sun.

This is a great book for people who want to jump into reading the Green Lantern but don't have much knowledge on the character. Johns crafts a story that brings Hal Jordan back from the dead in a believable manner and also reminded me why the Green Lantern is one of the baddest superheroes around. not only does he have the coolest mask, but he weilds the most powerful weapon in the universe, Green Lantern's Power Ring.

Sciver's art here is a pleasure to look at. neither flashy nor over the top, the pencils deliver the story beautifully, and the battle between Sinestro and Green Lantern is worth the purchase alone.

Blades of Glory

So Will Ferrell and Jon Heder have this new movie coming out and it looks hilarious. I'm not a huge comedy fan but I really enjoyed Taladega Nights so I'm looking forward to this one. Check out the trailer here.

My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps. . . .

Introduction

Hey everybody, just wanted to let ya'll know what's going on with this blog. Hai and I thought it would be fun to do a collaborative blog for our take on video games, movies, and comics so if you are interested in any of that stuff please keep checking this space for reviews. Also, please feel free to add comments to our posts and participate along with us. I can't speak for Hai but I'll try my best to post frequently so check back often for new content. Welcome!

Joel