Almost six years
ago our video game collections were graced with one of the greatest works of
modern gaming, Bioshock. A game with such immersive story and hauntingly beautiful
atmosphere it redefined the first person shooter genre. Not sense
Half Life 2 had we seen such an incredible FPS experience, and we haven't had
one of such magnitude since; until now. After years in development, delays, and
teasers, Bioshock Infinite has finally arrived. And not
only has it met our expectations, but surpassed them in every single way. The most discernible difference between Infinite and the previous two
games is the setting. While the first two take place in the underwater city of
rapture, this game takes place in the mysterious flying city of Columbia. It
was designed by a man named Comstock and was revealed at the 1893 world’s fair.
Comstock is a religious fanatic who has formed his own religion. It's
a strange combination of Christianity and American history where the founding
fathers have been elevated to Gods as well as naming himself a prophet. He aims
to make Columbia more American than America. The city is looked at as a utopia,
but you soon learn it's nothing more than a hell above the clouds. Just like
the rest of the United States at the time the city is extremely racist, with
whites at the top and people of color as well as the Irish at
the bottom. And these people can only get work as servants or in hard
labor. The racism is so extreme, most look at Abraham Lincoln as
a heretic and John Wilkes Booth as a hero. The city became
the pride of the United States, but after outrage over Columbia's involvement
in ending the Boxer Rebellion Comstock decided to secede from the
Union. And after that they just disappear. The game takes place in 1912
and follows a man named Booker DeWitt, a former soldier who has gambled himself
into unimaginable debt. He is sent to a lighthouse off the coast and is told
"bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." He is then
transported to Columbia and is amazed at what he sees. But when he arrives he
is labeled a false shepherd and is persecuted by
the people. Not even ten minutes and the people wanted his head on a pike.
After making his way to the monument of Columbia he finds what he's looking
for, a young girl named Elizabeth who has been kept locked up for as long
as she can remember. He learns that she has some unique abilities and is
initially freaked out. All he knows is that he need to get her out of Columbia
and into the hands of the people he owes money to, but Comstock refuses to let
her go without a fight. To put it lightly, Bioshock Infinite is one
of the most astounding games I've ever had the pleasure of playing.
Not since Red Dead Redemption have I seen a game with such rich and deep
characters and I don't think I've seen a game come close to the thematic
elements seen here. The game takes a critical look at society and what we've
done. It's not a game about choice, but about the choices we make as people. As
far as the technical aspects go I can't think of a game on the same level. The
graphics, the game play, and the environment work in such
perfect sync it's beautiful. The thing that originally
intrigued me about the game was the setting. Was Columbia going to be as
amazing as Rapture, fortunately it is. While Columbia lacks the creep factor
that made Rapture so appealing, it did bring a level of ingenuity and design that
works incredibly well. From the beautiful walkways to
the disgusting slums, Columbia never gets old. One of the biggest
problems people had with the original Bioshock was that it was too easy, but
Infinite manages to be challenging without aggravating the
player. The new powers are awesome and the new weapons are simplistic in their
design but fantastic in their execution. You can now use your powers in
combination like hurling a flock of crows at an enemy then setting the crows on
fire to do more damage. One of the coolest new aspects of the game is the
addition of the skylines, long rails suspended in the air that you can hook
onto at any time. They allow for fast paced and varied combat, as well as
helping you gain better vantage points and getting away from the fight in a
pinch if you need it. Also the addition of several new enemies is welcome, and
often they will appear in the middle of a fight and cause you to change
priorities. The often long combat sequences never get tiring. The
most drastic and biggest change in the game would be the addition of an
AI partner, Elizabeth. And I have never liked a computer controlled
partner so much. Not only is her character likable but she is very useful.
She never gets in your way, she can throw you ammo and health in the middle of
a fight, and collect money you don't find. And after a while you really start
to care for her and want to help try and figure out what she wants to know.
Bioshock Infinite is truly amazing; it hits the nail on the head in
every single aspect. My one complaint about the game would be that you can
carry only two weapons at a time, compared to the first two games when you can
carry all the weapons at once. But in the game you can upgrade your weapons,
and since you can only carry two it really makes you think about which upgrades
you get and what weapons you use most. But that's just a little thing and is by
no means a deal breaker. That one little thing aside I really can’t think
of any other criticisms about the game, it truly is perfect. It's not
just the best game I've played this year or even in the last couple years, it
is truly one of the greatest games I've ever played. 5/5
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Bioshock Infinite Review
Note: At this point in time I have not yet finished the game, if something here on out changes my opinion I will talk about it.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Croods Review
Well
it’s sure as hell better than yesterday’s movie. The Croods is a new
animated feature by DreamWorks (the company who brought us Shrek, Madagascar,
and How to Train Your Dragon). The movie follows a family called the Croods,
the last of the Neanderthals (cave men). The family spends 9 out of 10 days of
the year hiding in their cave because they are afraid of what's out in the
world could kill them. The dad of the family is super over protective and only
let's them venture out every few days to hunt. The daughter named Eep hates her
life; she just wants to be free. One night she manages to get out of the cave
and meets a homo sapien named Guy. He tells her that the world is going to
end and that he's heading to safety, soon after he disappears. When
heading back to the cave after being found by her dad, an earthquake hits and
destroys the families cave. But it opens up a path to a jungle they've never
seen before and they decide to venture into it. They later meet up with Guy who
convinces them that the only safe place is a mountain several miles away. While
the father is reluctant, they decide to trust Guy in the hopes of finding a new
home. To be honest, I really enjoyed The Croods. The movie had some funny
moments, it was pretty heartfelt at times, and the voice acting was well
done. Visually the movie is quite beautiful, the world is busting
with color and detail. In the close ups you can see individual hairs on the
characters heads. While the movie had many aspects I really liked, I can't
shake the feeling that it’s missing something. But the thing that
bothers me the most is that it's not really special. The Croods isn't on the
same level as a movie like Up, we're not going to be talking about it five
years from now. After it's done in the theaters we'll see a couple commercials for the DVD
and then The Croods will vanish into obscurity. While The Croods did some
things right, it's not that special of an animated movie and will soon be gone
from our memories. 3.5/5
Friday, March 22, 2013
Spring Breakers Review
I'll
give Spring Breakers this, it sure was...unique. Spring Breakers is a crime
thriller (I guess) about the classic college kids dream, going on spring break.
The movie stars four friends who are tired of their
boring routine and just want to go out and let loose. They want to go
party down in Florida during spring break but they don't even have the cash for
a hotel. So two of the girls get an idea, they decide to rob a diner.
Afterwards they have all the money they need and the go on the vacation they'll
never forget. Once down there they just party, drink, and get high.
Unfortunately they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and they end up
getting arrested. They then get bailed out by a local rapper and drug dealer
named Alien (played by James Franco). And after that it's just a crazy downhill
ride from there. When I first saw the trailer for Spring Breakers I thought it
looked like the worst thing in the history of mankind, but I was surprised that
the movie wasn't terrible. Was it good? Hell no, but it was better than I
thought it would be. Really there were two things I liked about this movie, its
style and James Franco. Franco really throws himself into this role and his
character is absolutely ridiculous and over the top. His character was easily
the best in the entire movie. But what I enjoyed most about the movie was its
artistic style. The unique cinematography, the contrast of colors and
light and dark, use of close ups, and more jump cuts than any movie I've seen
since Crank. But unfortunately this movie was all about the style with very
little substance. Other than Franco the rest of the characters were bland and
uninteresting, some pretty bad writing at times, they would take an
audio clip and play it over and over, and the ending is pretty ridiculous
and unbelievable. Surprisingly one of the main criticisms of
the movie is that it is trashy (and it really is, there were some scenes where
I felt I was watching a porno). I read a review where they gave the
movie their lowest rating because they said the movie lacked morals
and was unethical. I don't like it when critics do stiff like this; movies are
art and more importantly entertainment. And you shouldn’t penalize them because
of your opinions on what is socially acceptable and what isn’t. I know some
people won't share my opinion, but if you ask me there is no place for morals
in entertainment. Spring Breakers was not as bad as I thought it was going be,
there were even a couple things I liked about it. But at the end of the day
they chose style over substance, and while that can work it didn't for Spring
Breakers. 2/5
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Veronica Mars Series Review
If
you were to go back in time and tell me one of my favorite shows of all time
would be about a smart and savvy teenage girl detective solving crimes
and surviving high school, I'd tell you to go f*ck yourself. But boy would I be
wrong. Veronica Mars is about just what I said, a high
school detective. The show premiered back in 2004 and ran for three seasons; it
was well received by critics and loved by its fan base. Much of
the acclaim came from Kristen Bell's performance as the shows protagonist,
I couldn't think of a better actress to play the part. One problem with shows
about teens is that so often they get actors who don't look like teens.
Fortunately Kristen isn't just a good actress, but with a little make up and
the right lighting she really did look like a teenager. While Kristen had the
stand out performance, all the supporting actors where well cast and brought a
unique and interesting spin to their characters. From the over protective
ex-cop father to the damaged street kid who always gets into trouble, they all
work great. The show follows a young girl named Veronica; she ends up doing
detective work for her father who is a private investigator. She's kind of a
loner and is just a lot more mature than the rest of her class mates. She used
to be one of the popular kids but falls out of that group after her lifelong
best friend, and the queen of the school, is murdered. And right after that the
girl’s brother, who was dating Veronica, breaks it off and just ignores her. So
throughout the first season she sets out to find out who killed her friend.
Each season shows a huge leap forward for veronica and what type of cases she
takes on. So often we see strong and empowered female characters come
of really annoying, but you don't get that with Veronica. She has a
surprisingly deep with some heart breaking back story. Her best friend was
murdered, she was raped before the events of the show, and she finds out her
father might not be her actual father. It's just nice to see a really damaged
character come out of these terrible situations and use them to make her
stronger. The one thing that really drew me to the show was
the writing. It's the perfect amount of comedy and drama mixed up in
a very smart mystery. I can't think of a show that combined comedy and drama as
well as Veronica Mars did. So let's get to my final thoughts, I absolutely love
this show. Alongside Firefly, it's one of my all time favorite shows. The
writing, acting, and just about everything else was fantastic. While I was sad
to see it go, I am ecstatic that the movie is being made. While it has some
huge expectations to live up to, this is a project that the creators are
very passionate about and have been working on for years; so I have
faith. If the show seems appealing at all I would highly
suggest checking it out, I believe the whole series on Netflix.
From beginning to end the show is great, and it's finally getting the movie it
deserves.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
5 Movies to Watch for in 2013
Note: These are some movies that may be on the down low but have a lot of potential.
Honorable Mention: Evil Dead
5. Kick-Ass 2
Back
in 2010, every moviegoer who went to see Kick-Ass was surprised that they
didn't have to sit through a terrible movie. From the trailers it looked really
stupid, but what we got was a funny and surprisingly heartfelt action
movie. The story is simple, a nerdy kid wants to make a difference so he puts
on a costume and fights crime. Along the way he meets some people like him, and
people who would like to kill him. It's a fun movie that everyone loved, but we
weren't sure if we were going to see a sequel. Fortunately the movie has been
confirmed for release later this year, it has a lot to live up to but it can be
done.
4. Elysium
There
are a dozen or two sci-fi movies slated for release the rest of 2013, Elysium
is one of the most entreating. Other than the basic plot, not a lot is
known about this movie. Little press coverage, no trailer, the official poster
hasn't even been released yet; in a world where every detail about a movie
comes out before it's released, we don't often see movies stay
so inconspicuous. It's direct by the guy who made "District 9,"
which gives this movie some serious credibility right there. Add what's shaping
up to be a pretty impressive cast and we got a recipe for a movie that could be
great.
3. Oldboy
This is not a poster for
Oldboy (2013); it's the poster for Oldboy (2003). The original Oldboy was
praised by critics and was mentioned on several best of the decade lists. And
it has become a cult classic with the help Netflix. I was rather
shocked once the American remake was announced; I wouldn't touch the project
with a ten foot poll. The problem is there is no way it can live up to the original;
many believe Oldboy is the best movie that South Korea has ever produced. Spike
Lee will be directing the remake and this worries me. As good as he is he wouldn't have been my first choice to make it. I'll keep an open mind about
this movie, but I'm very skeptical.
2. 42
42
is the story of the legendary Jackie Robinson. Robinson is known for being the
player that broke the collar barrier. He's not just one of the greatest
athletes to compete in American sports, but maybe the most important. Like
Oldboy this is a risky movie, they need to make sure that they do Robinson
justice. But after seeing the trailer, I got chills. It looks like a powerful
and emotional film of a man’s struggle not just for his own acceptance but the
acceptance for his people. I am a little skeptical because the
director is more known for his writing than his directing, but he also wrote the
movie so I'll give it a chance. I'm not really a baseball fan, I'm not really a
fan of baseball movies, but this looks good.
1. The Place Beyond the Pines
The
Place Beyond the Pines first debuted last year at the Toronto International
Film Festival; the reception was nothing short amazing. The movie is set to be
released later this month and I couldn't be more excited. It looks like it's
going to be the first real good movie released this year. The movie gained a lot
of attention through the popular YouTube movie reviewer Chris Stuckmann who saw
the original screening, he raved about the movie giving it his highest score
an A+. The movie stars Ryan Gosling who has quickly become one of the most
respected actors in Hollywood, he reminds me of a young Marlon Brando. I
believe that The Place Beyond the Pines won't just be a great movie, but one of
the best of the year.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Oz the Great and Powerful Review
It's
been over 70 years since we've seen the Land of Oz; but now we're back in this
magical world with the new movie, "Oz the Great and Powerful." Now
before we start I need to get a very important thing across, this is not a
remake of the 1939 movie we all know and love. This is the prequel, it shows
what happens before Dorothy puts on the ruby slippers. The movie
stars Oscar Diggs, a carnie magician and a con-man. After attempting to flee
from a disgruntled coworker in a hot air balloon Oscar is
wisped away in a tornado and is taken to the Land of Oz.
After arriving he is greeted by Theodora the good
witch, one of three sisters and daughter of the late king. Theodora believes
that Oscar is the wizard from a prophecy who is supposed to take his rightful
place on the throne. Oscar learns that one of Theodora's sisters poisoned their
father to take power, but she was vanquished. After making their way to the
Emerald City Oscar meets the third sister Evanora, who explains that he can
only become king if he defeats the wicked witch. So Oscar sets off to defeat her, but he soon learns that everything is not as it appears. Now the question
that you might be wondering, is it as good as the 1939 Wizard of Oz? Short
answer, no. Long answer, it's not even on the same playing field. Oz Great and
Powerful is OK but it won't be remembered by the end of the year.
Many people have compared this to the Alice in Wonderland that came out a few
years ago; I can assure you that this movie is better. I may sound harsh but
there were several things about this movie I enjoyed. I thought there were some
very funny lines, the movies visuals are beautiful, and I enjoyed many of the
new characters. The acting and writing aren't bad but they're nothing special.
The movie is also unknowingly silly. They'll try and make something very
serious but it comes out ridiculous. Another thing that bothered me is how
Theodora becomes the Wicked Witch of the West (this isn't really a spoiler
since the WWW was known to be Theodora). The way they did it seemed kind of
lazy and half assed. But above all else I wished this movie had
more references to the original movie, or even use the original score.
Unfortunately MGM still owns the rights to the original movie, so this one was
very limited in what they could do. Oz the Great and Powerful is an alright
movie, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. If you really want to see it I
would recommend it as a dollar movie. But above all else it
is nice to return to Oz. 3/5
Monday, March 4, 2013
Movies I Love #6
The Host
Going
international for this one, The Host is the greatest in a long line on South
Korean horror movies. I actually had this as my number 5 movie of the year back
in 2006, and it's probably my favorite horror movie ever (even above 28 Days
Later, which I praise so highly). The Host is a monster movie, but it brings
the monster movie into the 21'st century. The movie starts out with some
doctors, or scientists, or whatever pouring chemicals down a drain.
You then see a compilation of sightings of some sort of creature in a major
canal in South Korea. The movie follows the story of a family who owns a little
shop by the canal (which has become a hot spot to hang out). There's a
grandfather who owns the shop, his son (a layer), the daughter (a professional
archer), a dead beat son (who works at the shop), and his daughter. One
afternoon some people at the canal notice something hanging from a nearby
bridge, it soon drops into the water. Moments later it attacks everyone by the
canal, and it takes the daughter. The government declares a state of emergency
and starts quarantine because it is believed that anyone who comes in contact
with the monster is infected with some sort of disease. The family is thrown
into disarray, but after the father gets a call from the daughter saying that
she is in a sewer, the family gains an ounce of hope. After escaping the
quarantine the family sets out to find the daughter and kill the monster. I
have a problem with horror movies now a days, people don't try. Horror movies
tend to be made with a low budget and designed to do nothing but make money,
but you can tell they really tried with this movie. Another great aspect about
is the acting, so many modern horror movies have terrible acting but in The
Host it's actually good. Later on in the movie the father pours his heart and soul into this one scene. But the best thing going for it is that movie unique;
it's different than your traditional monster movie. The Host is a fantastic film;
I put it in my top 15 of the decade. And it being my favorite horror movie, I
make it a habit to watch it every Halloween. It's a great movie in every way, and it may be
my favorite foreign movie as well.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Movies I Love #5
Grindhouse
Released
in 2007, Grindhouse is actually made up of two movies. It is made up of Robert
Rodriguez's zombie horror movie "Planet Terror," and Quentin
Tarantino's thriller "Death Proof." I'm fairly certain Grindhouse is
like the first double feature down in like 20 years, I really wish their where
more. Two movies for the price of one is a great deal for unemployed people
like me. Planet Terror is a traditional zombie movie, but apparently physics
aren't a thing in this universe and a body is just made of skin filled with
blood. Death Proof is about a serial killer who lour’s young women into his
stunt car and kills them by driving crazy and having them die of trauma after
being thrashed around. But after a girl is killed her friends decide to give
him a taste of his own medicine. Now the 64 thousand dollar question is whether
these movies any good... they're a lot of fun. To be honest PT may be
in Rodriguez's top 5 movies and DP may be Tarantino's
weakest movie. Unfortunately Grindhouse was a commercial failure, but the game
made quite a bit of money off of DVD sales. Personally I bought the
Blu-ray. Grindhouse was made for movie lovers; it is an homage to the old
school exploitation/B movies and old Grindhouse cinemas. Probably one of
the coolest aspects of Grindhouse was that it came with several fake trailers,
a couple of which were actually made into real movies. Machete and Hobo with a
Shotgun where both released a couple years later. Grindhouse isn't a tour de
force, it won't be remembered as the Rodriguez and Tarantino’s finest
hour, but they're two fun movies made for cinema freaks like me.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
My 5 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2013
Honorable Mention: Watch Dogs
5. Killzone: Shadow Fall
4. Infamous: Second Son
3. The Last of Us
A lot of people complain of the number of zombie games on the market, but no one seems to be complaining about this one. Set to be released in a couple months, the game is the first new project from Naughty Dog since their completion of the award winning series Uncharted. Set in a post apocalyptic future where some sort of spore has started infecting and turned them into what are essentially zombies. You follow the story of an old man and a young girl as they travel cross country to escape the harsh regime of the US military who keep non-infected under their thumb. The game combines action and survival horror elements in an interesting way. But what I'm most interested in is the enemy AI. People who have played the demo have said that the game has some of the smartest enemies they've ever seen in a video game. Like enemies who know their out gunned will run away, one enemy will distract you while another flanks you, even the little things like the enemy giving orders to each other and coming up with strategies while in a fight. The game looks amazing and I can't wait to play it.
2. Grand Theft Auto 5
1. Bioshock Infinite
5. Killzone: Shadow Fall
Back in 2006/2007 we saw a trailer for Killzone 2 that looked too
good to be true, but the game blew us away. The next installment was
good but not on the same level, so hopefully Shadow Fall will take the series
back to its former glory. Shadow Fall has been confirmed as a launch game for
the recently reviled PS4. The first game play was shown
not long ago and the game looks absolutely beautiful, especially for a console game.
Killzone has become the staple FPS game for Playstation and has always managed
to get the job done, but I'm interested to see if Shadow Fall takes the series
to the next level.
Second
Son will be the third installment of the Infamous franchise and like
Shadow Fall it will be the first of the series to make it to the next
generation. The two previous games starred a man named Cole as
the protagonist, but this game will have a new hero. I am
interest to see how Second Son is related to the other games. It is supposed to
take place after Infamous 2 but I'm not sure how that's possible. There are two
possible endings in Infamous 2; neither would allow a any further games. But
I'm still interested in Second Son and especially with the new character and
the new powers we haven't seen before.
3. The Last of Us
A lot of people complain of the number of zombie games on the market, but no one seems to be complaining about this one. Set to be released in a couple months, the game is the first new project from Naughty Dog since their completion of the award winning series Uncharted. Set in a post apocalyptic future where some sort of spore has started infecting and turned them into what are essentially zombies. You follow the story of an old man and a young girl as they travel cross country to escape the harsh regime of the US military who keep non-infected under their thumb. The game combines action and survival horror elements in an interesting way. But what I'm most interested in is the enemy AI. People who have played the demo have said that the game has some of the smartest enemies they've ever seen in a video game. Like enemies who know their out gunned will run away, one enemy will distract you while another flanks you, even the little things like the enemy giving orders to each other and coming up with strategies while in a fight. The game looks amazing and I can't wait to play it.
2. Grand Theft Auto 5
Grand
Theft Auto is one of the longest running, most critically acclaimed,
and controversial video game series of all time. GTA is an open world sand box
game that has drawn fire many times for the fact that your character is usually
a criminal and that you are given full power in killing innocent civilians.
The previous installment in the main series (GTA4) became one of
the most critically praised and highest selling games in modern gaming. What
makes GTA5 interesting is that you will actually play as three different
characters involved in an intertwined story. I'm interested in seeing how they
will get this to work seamlessly with the game play. Set to be
released in September, I have no doubt GTA5 will be one of the best
games of the year.
1. Bioshock Infinite
Not
much of a question it, this is by far the game I am most excited
for. After being delayed about three or four times, the game finally has an
official release date of March 26. Infinite will be the third game in the
series, but for the first time it will not take place in the underwater city of
Rapture. This time it will take place in the flying city of Columbia. The first
Bioshock is one of my all time favorite games, I loved the setting,
aesthetics, game play, story, and just about everything else. It
won dozens of game of the year awards and was mentioned on several top ten of
the decade lists. The second game was very good and made several needed
improvement, but lacked the magic we got with the first one. People who have
gotten their hands on the game have praised it for its combat along with the
attention to detail of the world. I don't buy a whole lot of new video games,
they're just too expensive. I usually get two or three a year, I'm probably not
even going to get all the games on this list. But I assure you that of all the
games coming out in 2013, I will be getting Bioshock Infinite.
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