Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
TF Bias...
Yes. I am a die-hard Transformers fan. I grew up with them. It was Optimus Prime who shaped my morals and beliefs at the age of four and five and some of that has stuck with me as geeky as it sounds. What is funny about it is that when I watch the show now, much of the magic is gone. It is hard as an adult to get past the finger smudges, animator hair, and plain old mess-ups that made the original cartoon. It is, however, a classic and is still my favorite show.
Tonight, I saw the new movie Transformers. Before I give my unbiased review of it, I would like to say a few things. Firstly, there are Transformers fans that will tell you that the movie is ridiculous because there is very little that coincides with the original cartoon. I would like to point out that this is not true. There is much of the movie that does coincide with the original and tries to stick to what it can. I say "what it can" because the cartoon was a myriad of logical issues and stupid mistakes. So, as a movie producer, do you stick to many of those mistakes or do you try to salvage what you can? I think the answer here is clear based on the fact that the movie is made to make money.
Secondly, I do think the movie addressed the main issue of taking the franchise seriously. This wasn't a child's movie. It was directed towards my generation as it should have been. That, in my mind, is a huge victory.
Thirdly, there was a complaint that many of the famed robots were missing from the movie. Yes. This is true. But, this is a re-invention of the franchise. Again, we already have the original Transformers Movie to look to for all the hard-core non-deviation. This, like Batman Begins, is a retelling of a story from the beginning, only this time, it makes more sense.
I loved this movie. It was exactly what I was hoping for and delivered in every way.
Now for the unbiased section. The effects were amazing, the robots were put together beautifully, and while it took some time to get to the good stuff, the movie is act one in at least a three act play. Like my opinion of Batman Begins, I will always deal with less action if there is character development happening. That being said, every other scene in this movie was action, and artfully done action. The story was lacking. This is to be expected in a Michael Bay film. He has always opted for basic story and epic action. This was no different. I didn't mind seeing as the focus should be on massive robots fighting. All-in-all, it was good and I look forward to the sequel.
Remember, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
Tonight, I saw the new movie Transformers. Before I give my unbiased review of it, I would like to say a few things. Firstly, there are Transformers fans that will tell you that the movie is ridiculous because there is very little that coincides with the original cartoon. I would like to point out that this is not true. There is much of the movie that does coincide with the original and tries to stick to what it can. I say "what it can" because the cartoon was a myriad of logical issues and stupid mistakes. So, as a movie producer, do you stick to many of those mistakes or do you try to salvage what you can? I think the answer here is clear based on the fact that the movie is made to make money.
Secondly, I do think the movie addressed the main issue of taking the franchise seriously. This wasn't a child's movie. It was directed towards my generation as it should have been. That, in my mind, is a huge victory.
Thirdly, there was a complaint that many of the famed robots were missing from the movie. Yes. This is true. But, this is a re-invention of the franchise. Again, we already have the original Transformers Movie to look to for all the hard-core non-deviation. This, like Batman Begins, is a retelling of a story from the beginning, only this time, it makes more sense.
I loved this movie. It was exactly what I was hoping for and delivered in every way.
Now for the unbiased section. The effects were amazing, the robots were put together beautifully, and while it took some time to get to the good stuff, the movie is act one in at least a three act play. Like my opinion of Batman Begins, I will always deal with less action if there is character development happening. That being said, every other scene in this movie was action, and artfully done action. The story was lacking. This is to be expected in a Michael Bay film. He has always opted for basic story and epic action. This was no different. I didn't mind seeing as the focus should be on massive robots fighting. All-in-all, it was good and I look forward to the sequel.
Remember, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Roll out!
Let the war begin! I cannot wait for this movie.
Check out the new trailer at this web site.
Unbelievable.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Saturday, June 02, 2007
HOUNDS...
"Chrome Hounds" to be exact. I bought this game awhile ago for my Xbox 360. When I bought it, I was hoping for a high-action tactical Mech game. As I began to play, I was excited by the set-up of the game. Single-player, while having an almost paper-thin "story-line", was more a set of training missions than anything else. It was very obvious at that point the game was more focused on Xbox Live.
So, I ventured head-first into the war for Neroimus, signing into Xbox Live. This war takes place on a large map with many territories. Three countries, the Democratic Republic of Tarakia, the Republic of Morskoj, and the Kingdom of Sal Kar, fight for control of the resource infested area. You, as a pilot of what is called a HOUND (a walking variable Mech), choose which of the three nations you would like to side with in the war. Once the nation has been chosen, you must then look through a list of squads employed by that nation and send your application to join one. Members of the squad then must make a decision to add you to their ranks or decline. Finally, you then begin building you HOUND with bought/acquired parts.
I began the war with a few friends. We created our own squad in the Republic of Morskoj and began to make our contribution to the war. This is where the game's learning curve became extremely apparent. Every battle our squad fought in against other people we lost. We figured it was because we didn't have a whole lot of money and were working with crappy parts to build our HOUNDS. That was only part of it. The thing about this game is that you have to have it explained to you. If you don't, it is very frustrating and a pain in the ass.
Let me explain. When people think of Mechs, there are some universal ideas that go along with them. The cockpit is in the middle or in the head, the weapons are on the sides or on top in groups, it has a general humanoid form. There are always exceptions to these, but in general, these are the usual. If you think of this game's HOUNDS that way, which is how the computer builds them and how all the pictures and art are, YOU WILL GET SLAUGHTERED. Because this game is EXTREMELY customizable (you build your HOUND completely even down to what control chips it has) people exploit everything they can to get an edge. Some of the designs on the battlefield were strange at the least. It made me very sad at first. It was hard to get used to or build in the way that these people could with their gobs of cash.
I stopped playing.
That was all about three months ago. A couple days ago, I picked it back up. I jumped back in and dropped out of the squad I helped create and applied for a squad on the rise. Since I last played, there has been a patch that, while not changing how people build or play per se, it has made many of the exploits invalid. The combination of this patch and my new squad has made this game one of the best Xbox 360 games I have ever played. It is truly a tactical Mech game that is squad based and is action-packed. All it took was some explaining from someone.
On top of that, there are still a lot of people playing the game so the war is thriving and it is easy to get even free battles going strong. It is a blast to contribute to the war and once this war is over, it will be fun to switch countries with this squad.
It is also so much fun to mess with weapons and parts configurations. Testing this and testing that. Good times. Choosing the right weapons and the right configuration is very important in this game.
The action in this game outdoes any Mechwarrior game I have played. It is insanely tactical. Terrain is important and depending on your weapons and armor you must use it correctly. There is nothing like seeing massive quantities of howitzer rounds in the air as you come over a hill or cannon blasts against the ground or rockets slamming into armor. The graphics are amazing and bring a new life to Mech combat. Combine this with some good tunes like Metallica, Joe Satriani, or Chevelle and you have yourself a good day.
Check out the videos and see what you think.
Make sure to watch past the crappy scout HOUND dying and saying "Oops!"
Night missions are a blast. Unless you don't have night-vision, that is.
So, I ventured head-first into the war for Neroimus, signing into Xbox Live. This war takes place on a large map with many territories. Three countries, the Democratic Republic of Tarakia, the Republic of Morskoj, and the Kingdom of Sal Kar, fight for control of the resource infested area. You, as a pilot of what is called a HOUND (a walking variable Mech), choose which of the three nations you would like to side with in the war. Once the nation has been chosen, you must then look through a list of squads employed by that nation and send your application to join one. Members of the squad then must make a decision to add you to their ranks or decline. Finally, you then begin building you HOUND with bought/acquired parts.
I began the war with a few friends. We created our own squad in the Republic of Morskoj and began to make our contribution to the war. This is where the game's learning curve became extremely apparent. Every battle our squad fought in against other people we lost. We figured it was because we didn't have a whole lot of money and were working with crappy parts to build our HOUNDS. That was only part of it. The thing about this game is that you have to have it explained to you. If you don't, it is very frustrating and a pain in the ass.
Let me explain. When people think of Mechs, there are some universal ideas that go along with them. The cockpit is in the middle or in the head, the weapons are on the sides or on top in groups, it has a general humanoid form. There are always exceptions to these, but in general, these are the usual. If you think of this game's HOUNDS that way, which is how the computer builds them and how all the pictures and art are, YOU WILL GET SLAUGHTERED. Because this game is EXTREMELY customizable (you build your HOUND completely even down to what control chips it has) people exploit everything they can to get an edge. Some of the designs on the battlefield were strange at the least. It made me very sad at first. It was hard to get used to or build in the way that these people could with their gobs of cash.
I stopped playing.
That was all about three months ago. A couple days ago, I picked it back up. I jumped back in and dropped out of the squad I helped create and applied for a squad on the rise. Since I last played, there has been a patch that, while not changing how people build or play per se, it has made many of the exploits invalid. The combination of this patch and my new squad has made this game one of the best Xbox 360 games I have ever played. It is truly a tactical Mech game that is squad based and is action-packed. All it took was some explaining from someone.
On top of that, there are still a lot of people playing the game so the war is thriving and it is easy to get even free battles going strong. It is a blast to contribute to the war and once this war is over, it will be fun to switch countries with this squad.
It is also so much fun to mess with weapons and parts configurations. Testing this and testing that. Good times. Choosing the right weapons and the right configuration is very important in this game.
The action in this game outdoes any Mechwarrior game I have played. It is insanely tactical. Terrain is important and depending on your weapons and armor you must use it correctly. There is nothing like seeing massive quantities of howitzer rounds in the air as you come over a hill or cannon blasts against the ground or rockets slamming into armor. The graphics are amazing and bring a new life to Mech combat. Combine this with some good tunes like Metallica, Joe Satriani, or Chevelle and you have yourself a good day.
Check out the videos and see what you think.
Make sure to watch past the crappy scout HOUND dying and saying "Oops!"
Night missions are a blast. Unless you don't have night-vision, that is.
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