Blood Stone is the most accurate recreation of a Bond film in a video game format. It captures everything that made the films so popular - the tongue in cheek humour, the over-the-top chases and the international plot that takes us all over the world.
The environments and graphics in the game are the first thing that caught my attention. The landscapes that make up the 5 levels of the game are split into different chapters, each diverse and unique - Istanbul, Siberia and Burma to name but a few. The attention to detail in each is fantastic. Even though you'll only catch a glimpse of some areas as you zoom past at 100mph you can tell that Bizzare Creations put a lot of care into creating a realistic, engrossing Bond experience.
The gameplay mirrors Gears of War in many ways. The crouch-poke out to shoot-crouch back gameplay is widely in use here. There's an emphasis placed on slow and steady gameplay. And it suits Bond well. The running-and-gunning approch that made up most past games doesn't feel quite as right as being stealthy, assessing the area and picking guys off one at a time. The controls work well and I think they improve on GoW in some ways. When behind cover, B is vault over and A is go round a corner. Assigning both abilities to one button in GoW leads to mistakes, here, it works well. The car sections, which are numerous, control very well and were enjoyable - to be expected as Bizarre mastered the MSR and PGR series. The guns are typical and most of the time you'll be using either a pistol or a machine gun, some more variety would have een nice.
The gun sounds are accurate and realistic, but don't quite pack a punch or feel like powerful machines. The sound accurately reflects the situations in the game and definitely add to the experience - during fast-paced driving sequences the music is up-tempo and dramatic, and during stealth missions it is suitably slow and tense.
There are many collectables, and, also like GoW or Left 4 Dead, achievement criteria pop-up and update as you play. There is one for meleeing 150 people, and you'll see your progression as you go through the game - a nice touch that keeps you playing. The collectables in the levels come in the forum of intelligence, and thankfully you can see how many you've collected per level, so you can go back and try and find them all. Add on the achievements that reward different play-styles and there's a fair amount of reasons to play through again. Not to mention the extra-hard 007 difficulty you unlock upon completion.
I couldn't try out the multiplayer as only me and one other guy were online! It's a shame that game communities deteriority so quickly nowadays.
Blood Stone is one of the best, if not the best Bond game since...guess when. The graphics and sound material are fantastic and the gameplay works well. The only downsides are the lack of variety in the gameplay, the shortness of the campaign, and the absence of any playable multiplayer..!
Presentation - 7
Gameplay - 8
Longevity - 6
Originality - 6
Multiplayer - N/A
Overall - 7
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Another film update
Another work-hectic month. Revision and report-writing are my life right now!
Still, here's a list of the films i've seen over the past few weeks:
No Strings Attached was surprisingly good. I genuinely lol'ed a few times and it breaks the mold of rom-coms, somewhat.
Severance wasn't as good as i'd remembered it being. I really wanted to like it, with it being a British horror film. But it did nothing unique, and what it did do wasn't spectacular.
Old School as well was sort of like a poor man's American Pie. Still an enjoyable film but don't feel the need to really watch it again.
I think by the third film the Austin Powers team had run out of jokes. Still a few gems hidden in the film but its a bit mundane really.
Pineapple Express continues to be awesome, as good as i'd remembered it being and still a clever, clever film.
I'd never heard of Extract, not even sure how I stumbled across it. Still, it's smart, funny, unique (I hate to use the word again but it's true ;) and has Jason Bateman in it. All good.
I should probably explain my choice of Friday the 13th: Part 5...I love long-running horror series. So i'm watching all of the Friday the 13th, i've seen odd ones here and there but I'm slowly working my way through chronologically. This has the lowest score of the month as it's not really scary, not really gorey, and the story takes a bit of a weird twist away from what the series has traditionally been about. I'm hoping Part 6 is a bit more enjoyable, but still, i'm sticking it out to Part X (which i've seen before, and was truely terrible :D)
Still, here's a list of the films i've seen over the past few weeks:
| No Strings Attached | 02-Mar | 7 |
| Severance (2) | 10-Mar | 6 |
| Old School (2) | 18-Mar | 6 |
| Austin Powers: Goldmember (2) | 20-Mar | 6 |
| Pineapple Express (2) | 20-Mar | 8 |
| Extract | 21-Mar | 7 |
| Friday the 13th: Part 5 | 22-Mar | 5 |
No Strings Attached was surprisingly good. I genuinely lol'ed a few times and it breaks the mold of rom-coms, somewhat.
Severance wasn't as good as i'd remembered it being. I really wanted to like it, with it being a British horror film. But it did nothing unique, and what it did do wasn't spectacular.
Old School as well was sort of like a poor man's American Pie. Still an enjoyable film but don't feel the need to really watch it again.
I think by the third film the Austin Powers team had run out of jokes. Still a few gems hidden in the film but its a bit mundane really.
Pineapple Express continues to be awesome, as good as i'd remembered it being and still a clever, clever film.
I'd never heard of Extract, not even sure how I stumbled across it. Still, it's smart, funny, unique (I hate to use the word again but it's true ;) and has Jason Bateman in it. All good.
I should probably explain my choice of Friday the 13th: Part 5...I love long-running horror series. So i'm watching all of the Friday the 13th, i've seen odd ones here and there but I'm slowly working my way through chronologically. This has the lowest score of the month as it's not really scary, not really gorey, and the story takes a bit of a weird twist away from what the series has traditionally been about. I'm hoping Part 6 is a bit more enjoyable, but still, i'm sticking it out to Part X (which i've seen before, and was truely terrible :D)
Monday, 28 February 2011
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.
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 .
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 .
Thursday, 10 February 2011
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
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
Monday, 7 February 2011
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 :)
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 :)
Sunday, 6 February 2011
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
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
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
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