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2009-06-06 09:49:26
Defence Grid: The Awakening (PC game review):
Talk about finding the proverbial diamond in the rough. Defence Grid: The Awakening (yes, I’m using the British/Canadian way of spelling “defence”) was on sale on Steam a few weeks ago for $5. Personally, I wouldn’t have even spent that much on this game, had it not gotten a 90% review from PC Gamer magazine. But, after beating the main game, I can safely say that this game was worth every penny, and then some.
There’s no real story here. Basically, each mission in the game has you trying to prevent an alien swarm from stealing all the power cores on the map. This is done by setting up defence towers at locations along the path of the aliens. There are different types of tower (e.g. Guns, laser, cannon, missile, etc.), and different types of aliens (from small easily kill-able swarmers, to flying mantas, and heavily armoured juggernauts). It’s the setting up of different towers at strategic locations to counter wave after wave of aliens that make up the bulk of the game. However, as simple as it sounds, it can get extremely hectic and intense (but in a good way). The later missions of this game are especially tough, and having to restart a mission multiple times is not an uncommon occurrence.
The look and design of the game is fairly simple, but that’s fine with me. I never expected this game to look like Starcraft II. I will say though, that I really liked the voice acting of your computer assistant. Hearing it talking about itself in a British accent was actually quite enjoyable. In the end, Defence Grid: The Awakening was a fun experience, and if you’re a fan of strategy games (particularly of the “tower defence” variety), then definitely give it a try.
I give Defence Grid: The Awakening 4/5 stars.
Up (movie review):
I really, really enjoyed this movie! But not for the reasons that I thought I would. Based on the trailer, I pretty much assumed that this would be primarily a laugh-out-loud comedy. While Up has plenty of hilarious moments, it’s the more dramatic and sombre moments that really sold me on this movie.
Honestly, I have to give it up to the writers for crafting such a great story and characters. From the opening montage showing the life of Carl Fredricksen and his late wife Ellie, and all the good, bad, and really bad events that happened in their lives, I could tell that Up wasn’t going to be your typical “kids” movie. The personalities and motivations of the characters in this movie feel very realistic (which is an odd thing to say considering it’s an animated movie). Carl in particular (voiced by Ed Asner) is someone whom you wish wouldn’t be so cranky, yet you can sympathize with his desire to visit South America in memory of his wife. Even Russell, the happy-go-lucky kid who tags along, turns into a character that you can more easily feel for when he opens up to Carl about issues at home. It’s great character development like this that puts Up above your standard Disney fare.
I also want to say that I really enjoyed the look of the movie. It has a very colourful and vibrant appearance, and the floating balloon house looks really well done. I should note that I saw Up in 3D, but I have a feeling that it was not built from the ground up to be a 3D movie, and I doubt that I would have felt differently about this movie if I saw it in normal 2D. The voice acting in this movie was great as well, with Ed Asner in particular doing a great job as Carl. Honestly, I don’t think anyone else could have pulled off the part as well as he did.
Oh, and before I forget, I just want to say that despite the fact that Up is an animated movie from Disney and Pixar, I don’t think that really young kids will enjoy it as much as an older audience. As I said before, it’s the more sombre moments (of which there are many) that really made this movie for me, and all the young kids around me got really bored and fidgety during these moments.
Up is a movie that I had a feeling was good, but I had no idea it would be that good. It’s one of those rare movies that strikes the perfect balance between comedy and drama. If you haven’t seen it yet, then I highly recommend you go check it out.
I give Up 5/5 stars. -
My latest video
2009-05-28 17:31:03
Hope you like it!
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=94581 -
2009-05-27 00:52:07
The Last Remnant (PC game review):
I am probably one of the only dozen JRPG fans in the world that does not currently own either an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. As such, until recently I haven’t played a modern JRPG (or a RPG from Square Enix for that matter) in a while. When I first heard that The Last Remnant was coming to the PC, I was instantly interested. I never really thought that Square Enix would release any of its new RPGs on the PC (although I’m aware that Square released FF7 and FF8 on the PC in the past). After completing The Last Remnant, I can say that my JRPG cravings were more than adequately satisfied.
The story of the game revolves around mysterious objects called remnants, each of which possesses magical powers that can be used by their wielders. The main protagonist of the game is Rush Sykes, and I guess you could say he’s your typical JRPG (or even anime) hero: He’s a young, upbeat person with hidden powers who gets embroiled in world changing events. Without spoiling the game’s plot, I did enjoy the story of the game (and I especially appreciated the option to use the original Japanese voice actors for the characters), however it’s nothing you haven’t seen in other similar games.
The game's graphics are pretty decent, but considering that it uses the Unreal 3 engine, I thought that it could have been better. Now, I read several reviews of the Xbox 360 version of the game, and its many technical issues, particularly with stuttering graphics and inconsistent framerates. The PC version of the game has very little of this, and it ran pretty smoothly for me. The only thing I found somewhat annoying were the load screens that occur when travelling between areas or loading a battle.
The combat system is very unique and interesting. To be honest, I've personally haven't seen anything like it. When you enter a battle, instead of controlling individual characters, you'll instead control several "unions" which are essentially squads of up to five characters. One of the things that took me a while to get used to is the fact that you can only give general commands to your unions, instead of specific ones. For example, you can tell union A to attack enemy B with "magic arts", but you can't specify which spells to use. As you can probably guess, this combat system does have a bit of a learning curve to it, and I could write an essay describing how it works. Suffice it to say, it took me a long while to get a real handle on the system. However, once I learned how to use this system, I found it to be very enjoyable, and mastering this system is necessary when you face tougher enemies late in the game.
It took me quite a while to finish this game, but that’s probably because I spent hours doing as many side quests as possible. In the end, The Last Remnant is not the best JRPG I’ve played, but it is still one that I enjoyed playing.
I give The Last Remnant 4/5 stars.
Terminator Salvation (movie review):
I honestly didn’t think I was going to like this movie. The critics had generally negative reactions to it, and despite having Christian Bale on board, I had little confidence in McG as a director (I thought his Charlie’s Angels movie was pretty bad). So imagine my surprise that after the credits started rolling, I thought to myself “that wasn’t bad.”
Taking place after the events of the third Terminator movie, Salvation shows John Connor’s early days with the human resistance, and the ware against Skynet. As such, this makes the movie both a sequel and prequel to the other movies in the franchise. Christian Bale does a decent job as John Connor, and Sam Worthington puts in a good performance as Marcus Wright, a mysterious death row inmate who wakes up in a desolate future.
As you would expect (or probably demand) from a Terminator movie, the action in this movie is great. The fights against T-600s, a battle against a giant laser shooting robot, and car chase scenes featuring some cool motorcycle robots, were all cool to watch. In fact, there was so much stuff blowing up, that one could mistake Salvation for a Michael Bay movie.
However, despite the fact I enjoyed the action scenes, it also forms main the problem I had with this movie. One of the things I enjoyed about the first two Terminator movies was its strong emphasis on character development. You really got to know what made the characters tick (even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s non-human Terminator), and why you should care what happens to them. Salvation does try to flesh out the character of John Connor a bit, but it’s nowhere to the extent we see in Terminator 2, or The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series.
Terminator Salvation works as a pure popcorn movie. I didn’t like it as much as the first two Terminators, but I thought it was better than the third one. I hear that a sequel to Salvation may be made, and if so, I’ll probably check it out. However, I hope that any future movies will delve more deeply into John Connor’s persona.
I give Terminator Salvation 3.5/5 stars.
Commentary on the Terminator franchise:
A couple of Terminator related items occurred in the past couple of weeks. One of them being (of course) the release of Salvation, and the other was the cancellation of The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series. I was really disappointed with the cancellation of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, although I wasn’t surprised due to its low viewership. I honestly feel that SCC right up there with the recent Battlestar Galactica in terms of story quality.
The first two Terminator movies struck the perfect balance between action and character. Salvation seems to be taking the franchise in a more action oriented direction, while SCC was going for a more character driven drama (of course, since it can afford to do a lot of action every week). Personally, I would rather see more of SCC than Salvation, since big budget action movies are all too common these days. Also, Summer Glau plays the most interesting Terminator I’ve seen since Schwarzenegger’s original T-800. Still, two great seasons of The Sarah Connor Chronicles are better than no seasons at all. -
2009-05-22 19:10:40
Star Trek (movie review):
I love the Star Trek universe. It’s the first sci-fi franchise that I really got into. Admittedly, I’m much more familiar with The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, since I’ve only seen a few episodes of the Original Series (there’s only so much 1960’s cheese I can take). That being said, I was absolutely stoked when first I heard that a new Trek movie would be coming out, and that it would give a fresh new coat of paint to the old series. Suffice it to say, this new Star Trek movie is simply one of the best sci-fi movies I have seen in recent memory!
Without spoiling too much of the story, this Trek movie is essentially a retelling of how the original Enterprise crew first met, and their first real mission together. Chris Pine does an admirable job of channelling Kirk, but in my opinion, the best actor in this movie is Zachary Quinto as Spock. Not only does he look the part, but he really does a great job presenting Spock’s struggle with his Vulcan and Human heritage. The rivalry between Kirk and Spock is definitely one of the highlights of the movie.
Star Trek in general had never really been about action, but this new Trek movie seems to want to change that. From the opening 10 minutes, you can tell that there will be more phasers firing than average. Personally, I think that more action combined with Trek’s usual space opera drama is a good way to go, because when Trek does space battles, it’s really cool to watch (such as the battles during the Dominion War story arc in Deep Sapce Nine).
Despite the new, flashier effects, Star Trek does still keep the overall feel of the Original Series. The dialogue and mannerisms are what you would expect from the characters, from Spock’s “Live long, and prosper”, to Dr. McCoy’s “Damnit Jim! I'm a doctor, not a physicist!” I’m still a little surprised that they kept the look of the old costumes though (not that I mind watching female officers in miniskirts).
I should note that when I went to see this movie, I went with a friend who was not into Star Trek. Still, even he thought that it was a really good movie. This mood is further reflected in the large box office receipts, showing that both Trekkies and non-Trek fans are going to see this movie. Whether you love the Star Trek franchise or not, if you haven’t seen this movie then go see it now! This truly is Trek for a new generation.
I give Star Trek 5/5 stars.
Anime and AMVs:
I’m putting the final tweaks on my latest AMV, which I plan to release sometime early next week. I hope you’ll all check it out then. Also, I’ve now got my Gurren Lagann DVDs, so now I’m going to finally see what all the fuss is about. Lastly, I just remembered that the Monday of the previous week marked my third year being on the Org. I’ve said this last year, but it still rings true now: I really enjoy being a part of this community, and I hope to still be making AMVs for years to come. -
2009-05-12 17:43:37
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion season one (anime review)
**Warning: Some minor spoilers ahead**
I finally finished the DVD set for the first season of Code Geass, and all I can say is that the hype surrounding this series is absolutely warranted. Not only is this one of the best action-packed mecha animes I’ve watched, it is also a very engrossing story of betrayal and revenge.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Code Geass centres on the character of Lelouch, an exiled Britannian prince living in Japan, which was conquered by the Holy Britannian Empire and renamed as Area 11. Lelouch acquires an ability called the Geass, which allows him to control the minds of other people. With this power, he leads a resistance in Japan in order to get revenge on his father, the Emporer of Britannia, and provide a better world for his sister, Nunnally.
The character of Lelouch is an intriguing one to watch. He has to lead a secret life as Zero, the leader of the Japanese resistance (despite the fact he’s Britannian), and keep this secret from everyone, and still maintain his “normal” life as a student, and Nunnally’s care-giver. Lelouch is also a brilliant military tactician, and it’s cool to watch his plans come to fruition.
The other main character in the series is Lelouch’s long time friend Suzaku Kururugi. He is an “Eleven” who is also a soldier in the Britannian military, who struggles to find his place in Britannian society due to his Japanese heritage. It’s this struggle, and his continued fight against Zero’s rebellion that form one of the highlights of the series.
The mecha battles are superbly well done, and I particularly liked the more (for lack of a better term) low-tech design of many of the mecha in the series. I will admit however, it took a few episodes to get used to the art style used for the human characters (i.e. the elongated arms and legs of the characters).
This is definitely a fantastic series to watch, and one that I think anime fans of all kinds will enjoy. With the cliff-hanger ending of the first season, I am absolutely stoked for the DVD release of the second season.
I give the first season of Code Geass 5/5 stars.
Mirror’s Edge (PC game review)
Prior to the game’s release late in 2008, the trailers and previews I saw of the game made me very interested in getting it. It was essentially a “parkour” game, allowing you to jump, climb, slide under, and wall-run past obstacles to get from point A to B. However, when the reviews said that the single player campaign would only last six or seven hours, I decided it wasn’t worth dropping $50 over, and decided to wait for the price to come down. Well, recently I bought the game $20, and for that price, I’d have to say that the game was worth it.
In Mirror’s Edge, you play as Faith, a “Runner” in an unnamed city who couriers information under the radar of the city’s totalitarian regime, and later gets caught up in a murder conspiracy. The focus of the game is for you to use Faith’s athletic abilities to get you around the game environment. The game is at its best when it allows you to just run through the rooftops to get to the next area, while successfully pull off acrobatic manoeuvres. Also, the sequences when you are chasing someone, or when you are being chased, provide some truly heart pounding moments. It’s this kind of visceral experience that truly makes the game fun to play. Visual cues such as objects (like boxes, pipes, doors, etc.) highlighted in red (a.k.a. “Runner’s vision), and a “hint” button can help point you in the right direction, which sometimes isn’t always obvious.
Graphically, the design of the city is very plain and sterile, but that’s actually a plus for the game, as it gives off a very serene atmosphere. I also enjoyed the soundtrack of the game, particularly Lisa Miskovsky’s “Still Alive”, which is played at the end credits. However, this game is not without its flaws. For example, this game is played from a first person perspective, which can sometimes make the acrobatic moves feel a little disorienting. Also, the fast pace of the game is often broken up by long elevator rides to the next level, or puzzle solving areas. The animated cutscenes in the game were not as bad as some reviewers say, but I do believe that using the actual in game graphics to tell the story would have been better. Lastly, once the single player story is finished, the only other thing to do is time trials or speed runs. But, unless you care about those modes, there is little replay value in this game.
In the end, Mirror’s Edge is a pretty enjoyable game with several flaws that hold it back from greatness. The parkour style gameplay help to separate it from other first person action games. I will admit that the final score of my game does reflect the fact I paid only $20 for the game, but the effect of this price is minor, and the score does reflect my overall impression of the game itself. The fact is, if you can find this game for a decent price, you should give it a try.
I give Mirror’s Edge 3.5/5 stars.
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