Latest Films

I've been busy lately but below are the most recent films i've watched since Paranormal Activity 2 and the scores i've given them!

I'd have liked to have written a review for all of them but uni work gets in the way! None of them were stand-out exceptional films, American Psycho is a favourite of mine, but a few hinderences keep it from recieving a higher rating IMO.

I Spit On Your Grave (2010)	09-Feb	6
Friends With Money	12-Feb	5
American Psycho (2)	14-Feb	8
The Switch	17-Feb	6
Case 39 (2)	18-Feb	7
Fracture (2)	20-Feb	6
Paul	24-Feb	7
Due Date (2)	27-Feb	7
In Good Company	27-Feb	7

The 2 in brackets means it's the second time i've seen the film. I'm curious to look back and see if I rate films higher or lower upon multiple viewings.

I hadn't started recording my ratings when I first saw American Psycho or Fracture, altlhough I think I probably would've given them a 9 and 8 respectively.

I gave Case 39 a 8 the first time I saw it, and Due Date an 8 as well. So it appears I don't like films as much if it is a repeat watch :P .

Medal of Honour (2010)

The new Medal of Honour was hyped and expectations for it were high. The classic series that began on the Playstation was one that I grew up with. And like many other people, I was hoping for an explosive return to a franchise that has become dull in recent years.

Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed. What the new game offers is a solid rental title. It's fun, but doesn't merit a full purchase.

The graphics are exceptional and the lighting is some of the best I've seen (especially in the night time levels). The environments are realistically set in the middle east, and somewhat varied. You fight from anywhere inbetween a mountain top to a small village. Likewise the sound is spot on - atmospheric and immersive at the right times, with the gun shots having adequate realistic weight to them.

In spite of these promising elements the campaign gameplay dynamics remain locked in the era of the old games. It feels like a glorified version of duck hunt...(i'll explain that!). Aside from some truly impressive set pieces where you have to call in air strikes, or snipe from a distance, the gameplay follows this exact dyamic -> you come across a clearing or a section of a level, and enemies pop out from windows, from behind cars, from behind walls and so forth. Once 10 or so enemies have been killed, your squad calls that all clear, and you move on to the next section. Rinse and repeat.

Now, I realise you may think 'but you've just described every shooter'. But, there is no variety here, an aspect that other shooters demonstrate so well. There are a lack of guns to pick from, I think I used 3 core guns the whole game. And you literally just keep shooting enemies from a distance out of windows or from behind rocks. It gets stale, and in this era of FPS games, where we see expansive environments, exciting stories, imaginative scenarios, this just doesn't cut it!

Another issue was the ease of the game, I personally didn't find it challenging. I played on 'Hard' but only died a few times. Also the game is short, about 4-5 hours long.

On the multiplayer front, the game shines in comparison to the single-player. The modes are a combination of COD and Battlefield. You have the close-quarter, fast-paced side of COD, with the rush/conquest game modes of Battlefield which see you fighting across an expanding level area. The game is solid, though again, nothing original. Other games have done it better, like the two aforementioned titles. There are three standard classes - Soldier, Special Ops, Sniper. You level up as you use each, which lets you unlock more weapons and upgrades.

There are a relatively small number of players, though jumping into games was never an issue for me. The game is however dominated by Snipers. It has not been adequately balanced and there are far too many hiding places for Snipers.

A word of warning - IMPORTANT - dont buy the map pack. EA have taken down the servers as no-one bought it/played it. It will be a useless purchase.

It's a solid reboot of the series, but some old gameplay mechanics keep it from being exceptional. And the multiplayer potential was there, but was not realised. Worth a rent.

Presentation - 7
Gameplay - 7
Longevity - 5
Originality - 5
Multiplayer - 7

Overall - 7

Amazon's fluctuating prices

Over the past few weeks I've noticed prices of video-game products on Amazon.co.uk changing.

Obviously we'd expect over time games to slowly decrease in price - traditionally a third off after a month or two, followed by halve off after several months.

But i've noticed they have been increasing the price of games lately. Maybe this has been happening for years and its simply a supply-demand model, but i've never noticed it before. And frankly I find it a bit unfair. It catches naive consumers off balance and it's put me off shopping there.

Essentially, I think they're lowering product's prices, letting those products go up in the sales charts, and then they upping the price to maximise profit.

An example is this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-month-membership-Microsoft-Points/dp/B004HB2WUE/ref=pd_ts_zgc_vg_h__video_games_display_on_website_4?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=468277213&pf_rd_s=right-7&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=300703&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0BMXHCXDZAKTQPDS2VMA

It's a 12-month Gold membership for Live, with an additional 800ms points. This was £35 the other day and now it is £40.

Fifa has moved between £30, to £21, to £24 at the moment.

Likewise the 3DS price keeps changing, although I understand they offer money back if you can find a cheaper pre-order price so I don't understand why they keep adjusting the price.

Anyway, I found this interesting and thought i'd throw up a post here :)

Paranormal Activity 2

This will likely be a short review, because on the surface, the film is fairly simple.

I enjoyed the first film. I'm a fan of low-budget, indie, films - especially those which use handheld cameras to capture 'true' mysterious events in people's life. There's something particularly harrowing about this style. For me, it comes across as more real, and more horrific.

Though many, myself included, were nervous about the sequel becoming more 'Hollywood' (given it's much bigger budget), nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the problem with the sequel is that it is too mundane.

The film revolves around the lives of a typical family, Ali, Daniel, and their children Kristi and Hunter (a newborn baby). The first issue I had with the film was that I never felt particularly attached to any character. I don't want this to be a comparative review, but ultimately the first film was much stronger in its willingness to convey the relationship, and characterisation's, of the couple Katie and Brad (who make an appearance in this film - the timelines of both films crossover).

Without giving too much away, strange things start to happen to the Rey family, leading up to an increasingly tense and climactic finale - the last 10 minutes are tense, exciting, and worth watching the film for. But the sense of dread that is supposed to be developed throughout the first hour of the film just isn't here. The scares are few and far between. I understand the concept of creating a scary atmosphere without directly showing us that which we are supposed to fear - and I support it, of course it is scary for our minds to conjour up images than it is to show us fake blood and lame scares. But this film doesn't get the balance right, save for a few expertly crafted moments. By and large, you spend half the film staring at a surveillance camera waiting for that scare, and waiting, and waiting, until the superb ending.

I enjoyed Paranormal Activity 2, don't get me wrong. If you enjoyed the first film, you should watch this one as well. I just think that the potential was there for so much more, hopefully the inevitable third installment will take on some of the complaints aimed at the sequel and take them into account.

Story - 7
Sound - 6
Acting - 7
Immersive - 6

Overall - 6

Black Swan

Black Swan was a heavy hitter at award ceremonies this year, and with good reason. Originally, I was sceptical about it. The trailers were poor in my opinion, and they didn't sell the film to me. I assumed it was another pretentious film, shot at strange angles, with colour playing a big role. Something we have seen many times before, and something that doesn't particularly strike me as innovative, immersive, or memorable in any light. How wrong I was.

On a basic level, the plot revolves around the life of a determined, single-minded ballet dancer Nina (played expertly by Natalie Portman). She wants to move up in the ranks of her ballet company, become a key performer in plays, and be renowned for her dancing prowess and ability.

I cannot praise her enough. All preconceptions I had about her performances were blown away, this is the defining role of her career. If she tops this, it will be outstandingly brilliant. Not once in the duration of the film was I not transfixed on the story, the character, and ultimately, eagerly awaiting the conclusion.

Likewise, other actors and actresses played impressive roles. The story predominantly revolved around 4 persons, Nina, Nina's mother, Lily, and Thomas. I thought having Lily played by Mila Kunis was a strange decision at first. But again, the casting was spot on here. She perfectly balanced her role between suspicion and innocence, rather like Portman. Every notion and idea we have of Lily changes from one scene to the next. The complexity of the film is shown in its ability to constantly change and adapt our conception of character's personas. Thomas, as well, played by Vincet Cassel, is a magnificantly engrossing, compelx character.

The film switches from a comedy, with the audience laughing several times, to a horror, with a women in the audience literally screaming at a scene. Remarkable. You just don't know what to expect. As the film decendes into madness, it is so gripping and so evocatively conveyed by the imagery of differing amounts of black and white surrounding characters and environments, that you simply cannot look away.

I really didn't want to give any of the plot away in this review, so I hope it isn't too brief. I just want to convince whoever reads this to watch the film - now.

Story - 10
Sound - 8
Acting - 10
Immersive - 9

Overall - 9

Thoughts on the 3DS launch

So I caved in, and i've decided to put down a preorder for a 3DS at Shopto.net (currently the cheapest place to pre-order at £199.99).

I was mostly fixated on the cost before I preordered. The 3DS' actual RRP is £230, but in reality it seems to be going for around £200. That is higher than I, and I think most people, had anticipated it would be.

We in Britain always get royally screwed with currency conversions and the alike when it comes to technology. It costs a lot, lot less elsewhere in the world (although I think Australia tend to be worst off in this area).

In spite of the high price, I chose to preorder. Why?

Firstly, it dawned on me that the technology behind the 3DS is top-rate. It's argued it will be able to rival some current-generation titles in the graphics department - and you have to give it some leeway as it is rendering the image twice. And if we look at the current console generation, they all still cost around £200, because of slim models, etc. So the 3DS isn't really that excessively priced.

Secondly, I don't own a Wii (I used too but that's another story!). So as a gamer, i'm missing out on classic Nintendo gameplay - I'm thinking of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Smash Bros, and others atm. I'm also experiencing a big shortage of some key genre's on the 360 (my main gaming platform) - like platformers, adventure games, and RPG's. The 3DS will plug this gap.

Lastly, I'm a bit of an early-adopter with new technology. I bought a Kinect and Move as soon as they came out. I love trying out new innovations in gaming - and the 3DS is but another one.

As far as launch games go, I'm finding it fairly hard to find out exactly what the European games will be. Going off what Game says, they should (might) be the following:

• Three 'different' Nintendogs and Cats (shocking) games - I'll pass on all three.

• Super Street Fighter IV - Played the 360 version but couldn't get into it, not a fighter fan.

• Pro Evo Soccer 3D - Intrigued by how this will pan out, might look into it thought typically i'm more of a FIFA Fan.

• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars - I was shocked to find out it is in fact a strategy game?! I enjoyed Metal Gear Acid though so i'm keeping my eye on this.

• Super Monkey Ball 3D - Always enjoyed the series, good fun. If it's got a compelling online mode I might buy it.

• Asphalt 3D - Eh.

• Rayman 3D - Will it be anything new? Or just Rayman in...3D.

• Dead or Alive 3D - See SSFIV ^

I'm anticipating Pilot Wings (N64 game was AWESOME) and Splinter Cell predominantely. And from what I can gather they're both coming out within the 'launch window', so within a month or so after March (I think).

Looking forward to it all anyway. I have had a DS and PSP in the past but was never a huge portable gamer - I think this will change once the 3DS is released.

Left 4 Dead 2 (360)

More of the same from the zombie-killing-kings at Valve.

Positives - Superb gameplay; deep and thoughtful. Large variety of online game modes.

Negatives - Lackluster graphics. Tough learning curve online. Lack of offline modes.

Valve has once again coded a uniquely refreshing game. For many of us the thought of beheading, frying, slashing, shooting, *insert standard killing technique*, zombies is an appealing one. From films to books to video games, there's something about the post-apocolyptic state of a zombie-filled world that appeals to us. The Darwinian survival instinct kicks in, the search for food and nutrition is again a basic aim for us, and we always fear what could be behind the next corner or door. Value have undoubtedly greated this unique experience in Left 4 Dead 2.

For those new to the series, there are a few different modes in Left 4 Dead 2 to get to grips with:

• Campaign: Play through the story offline or online with 3 other people.
• Versus: Play through the campaign, but in a 4 v 4 mode. 4 humans take on the campaign, as survivors, while 4 humans play as 'special' (powerful) zombies, trying to stop the humans progressing.
• Survival: Survive in an enclosed space with 3 friends against increasingly difficult waves of zombies for as long as you can.
  
• Sabotage: Like versus, a 4 v 4 game mode. The survivor's have a timer that ticks down, they need to gather gas canisters and refuel at their base to increase their time. Whichever team secures the most gas canisters wins.

Graphics: The graphics show some slight improvements over Left 4 Dead. The game looks a bit more realistic, the zombies have had revamps and come in greater variety. The environments are brighter and much more varied than in Left 4 Dead. For instance, we move from a mall, to a swamp, to an industrial park. However, when we hold the graphics up to compare them to other top games, they pale in comparisons. They look severely dated compared to titles such as Gears of War 2, Halo ODST, Call of Duty: MW2, Assassin's Creed 2. All these top rated titles share superb graphics throughout. Unfortunately, Left 4 Dead 2 cannot match them in this department.

Gameplay: This is where the game shines. The unique necessity for teamwork is essential in play. There is no rambo-ing. There is no lone-wolf style play. If you fall behind or don't stick together, you lose. This style of gameplay is very refreshing to me. The teamwork that you need to use in this game is completely unique when compared to other online shooters. Especially on the harder difficulties, communication and watching your friend's backs are essential.

Each mode requires slightly different rules and methods of play. In the interest of just giving you an overview, I will just cover the campaign. Essentially the Campaign is split into 5 different scenarios. Within each scenarios, there is between 4-5 acts. To progress from one act to the next, you need to move from one 'safehouse' to the next, from A to B.

On your way there you will encounter random zombies stumbling around, 'hordes' of zombies (massive waves of dozens of insane brain-munchers), and the 'special' zombies. Think of these as the name suggests. There are several. For example, the Boomer throws up his goo on you, the survivors, or, if killed to close to you, explodes and covers you in goo. This goo attracts a 'horde'.

The Spitter can use his ridiculously long tongue to suck in a survivor dozens of feet into him. The Hunter pounces on a survivor attacking him, leaving him helpless; other survivors must then shoot the Hunter off. Other special zombies are the Spitter (like the boomer but with acid), the Wretch (jumps on survivors backs and steers them into danger), and, one more uniquely terrifying enemy..the Tank. He takes a lot of firepower to kill, while chucking cars and pounding survivors to the ground. Fear him.

The variety in enemies adds an extra element of strategy to the game. Each enemy requires a different approach and strategy. Each can also be played in Versus mode.

There are several core guns in the game. A submachine gun, a sniper and a rifle are a few examples. This sequel also introduces melee weapons, be it baseball bat, a chainsaw or a frying pan, all are fun to handle. Though there is little variety they are perfectly balanced. The emphasis is on tactics rather than brute firepower. There are also a variety of other throwable items, such as Pipe Bombs (a beebing device which draws in zombies before exploding them all.

At the end of each scenario is a situation whereby you must stay in one area, awaiting rescue while zombies and special zombies charge at you from all concievable directions. These situations are a blast to play, and require a lot of thought and planning on harder diffculties.

Longevity and Online:

The community for this game is dedicated and plentiful. On the harder difficulties the game takes a lot of work and strategy and there are many people online trying to do this. As with any game, there are jerks in the community, but it's just a fact of life that they will pop up. In my experience, there are a lot of good people online just trying to work together to conquer this tough game that Valve has created.

In conclusion:

All in all, this game can be found fairly cheap nowdays, and is without a doubt worth looking at. Watch a few videos and trailers, read a few more reviews, decide if its for you. In essence, if you want a fun, tactical, engrossing, zombie-killing game, and you're happy to play online, this is where it's at.

Introduction to the blog

Hello to whoever may be reading this!

I thought i'd jump on the blog bandwagon (albeit a tiny bit late...). Mainly, I see this blog as a place where I can:

• Post up reviews of games i've played
• Review movies that i've (for better or worse) seen
• Share thoughts I have on, mainly, U.K politics and other such news
• Comment on sports results, mostly Premier League football
• Share science stories and news that I find interesting

I think that's about it! The blog may change form over time or focus on one issue more so than others, but for now i'll focus predominantly on the above topics.

Tony.