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2009-03-18 17:02:03
Thanks to everybody who voted for my Clan Warfare! Pwnage? AMV in the VCAs. I’m still a little stunned that it made it to the finals, and to have it compete in the same categories as Koop and Nostromo is really cool. However, I’m fairly certain that this is the end of the line for my video. Considering the awesome AMVs that I’m up against, I can say with no exaggeration that Hell has a better chance of freezing over than my video winning anything.
There were a few other videos that I was hoping would make the finals that did not, but to be honest, considering how many really good videos there were last year, I don’t think it was an easy decision for anybody to decide who to vote for. So, congratulations to every editor who made it to the finals! I’m really looking forward to seeing the final results. -
Vote for “Trapped” by » AceMan
2009-03-15 18:11:35
Considering how close it is to the end of semi-finalist voting, I probably should have put this up a lot sooner.
There is one video from 2008 that I really want everyone to give a chance, and that’s “Trapped” by » AceMan:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=159172
This video is currently a semi-finalist for a few categories, including Best Action and Video of the Year. I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve re-watched this video. It is one of the most addictive AMVs I’ve seen in a while, with some really tight, fast-paced editing. Definitely check it out! -
2009-03-11 01:07:54
First off, thanks to everybody who voted for my Clan Warfare! Pwnage? video. I really, really appreciate every single vote that this video receives.
Keeping with the AMV theme, there is a video that came out recently that I want to help pimp:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=93215
It’s a really surreal and dreamy video to watch. Definitely give it a look.
On another note, I recently got the chance to see the Watchmen in IMAX. Visually, it’s a fascinating movie to watch, heightened by the fact that I saw it on such a large screen. Even the opening credits were a joy to watch (you’d have to see it to understand what I mean). Also, all the actors and actresses involved did a great job portraying each of the heroes, with (in my opinion) the stand out being Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Director Zack Snyder did superb work in capturing the foreboding, “end of the world” atmosphere of the graphic novels. Honestly, the mood of the movie is very dark, almost to the point of depressing. The only real flaw I found with the movie is that I had the feeling, coming out of the theatre, that the plot might have been a bit confusing to me had I not read the graphic novel first. Still, I would have to say that this is one of the best comic book movies I’ve seen since The Dark Knight. I’d give it 4.5/5 stars.
Until next time! -
2009-03-03 21:30:21
Phew. I just finished putting up my VCA choices in the forums for each single category. I’ve never put a choice in each category in the forums before, but it was fun to revisit the videos I downloaded in 2008. I kind of wanted to get it all posted prior to the video nominations getting started but, you know what laziness does to people. I should probably go and actually vote now ;)
Also, I like the new layout of the site. The collapsible menus are a great idea.
So...on to gaming...
FEAR 2: Project Origin
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I really enjoyed the first FEAR when it was released back in late 2005. It was a game with fantastic graphics, a dark and creepy atmosphere, and some of the coolest slow-mo bullet time gunfights. It was one of the best action games of the year. FEAR 2 on the other hand, while still a competent shooter, does nothing to push forward the genre like the first game did.
The story of the FEAR 2 starts just before the end of the first FEAR game. However, instead of playing the same character in the first game, you’re playing as a Delta Force soldier named Michael Becket. That disturbing little psychic girl Alma is still after you, and it’s the brief encounters with her, as well as other eerie characters such as the Remnants (mini-bosses who can send dead corpses to attack you), and the overall creepy atmosphere of FEAR 2 that kept me playing the game. But, if you take that all away, you’re left with a fairly straight-forward shooter. There is really only one way to go from beginning to end, and even the ability to slow down time has lost its appeal.
Graphically, FEAR 2 is a huge step up from the first game, but again, when compared to other recent games like Far Cry 2, the graphics engine starts to show its age. There is also a multiplayer component to the game, but it primarily consists of the usual modes you find in most shooters (i.e. deathmatch, capture the flag, etc.). There is one mode that allows two teams to take control of power armour, but I can never find enough players online to try that mode out properly.
Overall, FEAR 2 is not a bad game by any means, and can even be an intense shooter at times. My problem is that the game does nothing to push the series forward, and just sticks to the same formula as the first game. I’m hoping that the guys at Monolith do something to really turn the series on the head if/when FEAR 3 starts development.
3.5/5 stars.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II
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I’ve been playing the tabletop 40K game for close to a decade now, and I really enjoyed playing the first Dawn of War game, so of course I would be getting this game too.
Now, I’ve read some comments regarding DoW II, about how it’s not a true Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game due to having no base building. For me, this is exactly why I enjoyed the game. It gets right down to the action, which is a truly fast-paced and bloody affair. If I could describe the single-player campaign of DoW II, I would consider it a cross between Starcraft and Diablo. You control a squad of several Blood Ravens Space Marines over a campaign spanning several worlds. But for each creature you kill, and mission you complete, your squads earn experience to level up and get stronger. Also, when you kill an enemy, they may drop random items/loot/wargear to outfit your marines. It’s this loot dropping feature that has me scouring each map for enemies in the hopes of finding rare power armour.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is also addictive as hell, since you get access to all four races (i.e. Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, and the Tyranids). Also, in multiplayer mode, the main way to beat the other team is to capture control points. Each team starts out with 500 points, and if you’ve captured more control points, the other team’s score will slowly drop down from 500. The first team to reach zero points loses. I tend to play the 3vs3 mode most often, and I love how a team can come back from the brink of defeat. I’ve had more than a few matches when our team had less than 100 points left, and the other team had 400 points, and we still fought back and won (granted I’ve had the reverse happen to me also).
The character modelling and design are really well done, particularly the “finishing blow” animations. It was fun to see my Force Commander take a sword and jam it into an Ork enemy to finish them off. So what are the downsides to this game? Well, admittedly the story of the single player campaign is just your run of the mill alien invasion plot. Also, there were a couple of big bugs when the game was first released. For example, up until recently, if I wanted to play more than one multiplayer match, I would have to first exit the game and restart it. Otherwise the game would crash since my settings were put at high or ultra. This has since been patched.
Some RTS purists may say that they’ll wait for Starcraft II to play a “real” RTS game. I’m also eagerly awaiting that game, and who knows, maybe Starcraft II will turn out to be the “better” game. But in terms of innovation, and really trying to push a series to new territory, I have to give credit to Dawn of War II and its developers, Relic. Dawn of War II is a solid PC game, and one that all strategy fans should give a chance.
4.5/5 stars.
Other gaming stuff
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I’ve been downloading a few demos recently. The Empire: Total War demo showed me only a glimpse of the full game, but it shows the Total War series is still as epic as ever. The land combat is still fun to play, but the new sea combat mode is an interesting feature that I really want to try more of, and hopefully I will when the game is released this week.
The demo for Tom Clancy’s HAWX also provided a fun time, blasting enemies in my F-16. I’ve always preferred the more arcade style flying games (such as the Ace Combat series), rather than the more realistic flight sims you tend to find on the PC. HAWX seems like a fun game, but I’ll probably wait and see what the reviews say about the game as a whole before deciding whether to get it.
Lastly, the demo for the PC version of The Last Remnant came out recently, and it’s the first Japanese RPG I’ve tried in a really long time. I’ve heard there were a lot of technical issues with the game on the Xbox 360, but I was able to max out most of the graphical settings, and the game plays fine on my PC. On a related note, since Square Enix is bringing The Last Remnant out to the PC, could it be possible that they may bring Final Fantasy XIII to the PC as well? Hey, no one thought that FF: XIII would be released for the 360 in addition to the PS3, so who knows? I’ll just keep my fingers crossed.
That’s all for today! Until next time! -
2009-02-19 19:56:19
So first off, yay for Obama coming up here to Canada today! It was fun to watch the crowd on TV go absolutely ballistic when he waved to them (if only for a few seconds) in front of our Parliament.
Also, yay for VCAs starting up again! I haven’t been a part of this community for that long, but I’m always excited when the VCAs come around. I’m currently going through my hard drive for videos I downloaded in 2008, and I’m making a list of videos I think should get into the finals in each category. I say who I think should get into the “finals”, instead of who should “win”, because I haven’t made my decision on that...yet.
Regarding my Clan Warfare video, due to the fact that the Org servers are not 100% up, and also for all those people who can’t play the mp4 version of this video, I decided to add some indirect links to the video info page here (yeah, I know, shameless self promotion):
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=164801
Admittedly, I’m hoping that this video can get into the semi-finals in a couple of categories, but I am under no illusion that it will, because of the number of great videos released this year.
Anyways, back to watching more AMVs! Until next time!
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