The rockn' keeps on coming. Similar to the 80's Encore that was released way back in the Guitar Hero 2 era, the Aerosmith edition takes the body of Guitar Hero 3 and gives it a new skin and setlist. Is this a bad thing? Half and half. While I would have never said I was an Aerosmith fan before, I can now say I have a fair respect for their music. But that's the great thing about these games, you get to hear music you probably never would under normal circumstances, or at least my circumstances. You get what you would expect. Great songs, decent multiplayer, and a les paul if you buy the pack. Not too bad, but...
This is just a skin of Guitar Hero 3. Don't expect to see anything new gameplay wise like you will in World Tour later this year. Also..since this is the Aerosmith edition, the majority of the songs do come from that band with some light others (Stone Temple Pilots..<3 style="font-style: italic;"> This post is in loving memory to my old x-plorer guitar that was broken during a game of Rock Band..damn you Metallica..u.u
Oh Hancock, what a great movie you could have been. Your star actor Will Smith is always so charismatic in every movie he's been in and we know he can do action movies. Bad Boys 1 and 2, I Am Legend, I Robot? All great action movies (alright I Am Legend was at least half decent..), so we know it isn't your fault. How about your co-star? Jason Batemon? No of course it's not your fault, you know how to play the straight man, just look at Arrested Development (a favorite show of mine.) Who could have possibly made a great idea like Hancock into such a disappointment? The female role played by Charlize Theron! You ruined this perfectly good summer blockbuster with your sappy drama!..Oh God! How could you?!
... ...
Alright alright, obviously it wasn't her fault. She was just filling the female role, and for most of the scenes she was in she did a very good job. But of course this was all in the first half of the movie. The first half of this movie is exactly what you would expect from what the trailers (up to a week before they showed the new ones) were showing. I didn't even mind getting lied to in the movie. In the trailer you see a great scene where Hancock tosses a beached whale back into the ocean. A noble act..had it not hit a boat on it's way there. Now I thought this scene was going to be one out of many of Will Smith's antics as the once drunk superhero. But no, it's not. Instead the director Peter Berg (who made The Kingdom..a pretty good movie) decided that he would reveal these antics to Hollywood's new best friend...Youtube. God how I'm sick of Youtube or Myspace or Facebook or whatever showing up in movies. Har har. I get it. You know what idiots are into these days. Get over yourself and show me some good actions scenes.
Other than that little complaint the movie up until Hancock shows up as a sober superhero is just awesome. Everyone is doing their job great. That is..until the plot twist. Yes, the little twist that took Hancock and turned it into another wannabe movie. The audience finds out that Jason's movie wife Charlize has the same powers (if not greater) than Hancock. The movie's reason for this? Well you see, they were both Angels created long ago with many others, built in pairs to be complete soul mates. But you see, it isn't such a happy situation as it would sound. Because when the two are together they are no more powerful than any mere mortal. Leading to problems with people in society and after one such incident, Hancock was left half dead in Florida with the storytellers best friend, amnesia. The only way for Mary Embry (Charlize Theron)to save her destined love was to go as far away from him as possible. Maybe it wouldn't have been as bad in another movie, but this wasn't what I expected out of Hancock. The finale, for instance, isn't this big extravaganza that every other superhero movie has had already this summer. It's instead a weak showdown with the main villain (I guess..) of the movie, Red Parker (Eddie Marsan), who is just a normal bank robber that Hancock foils after he becomes sober(and he also takes his hand in a hilarious scene.)
This is probably the worst sin this movie could have pulled. Not having a main villain that is worthy of the superhero you're rooting for. Where is my Obadiah Stane from Iron Man? Where is my Abomination from The Incredible Hulk? Where is my Joker from Batman?!..
Sidd: "Where is my Lex Luther?!"
Sigh..this is sadly just half a movie and I can really say I only half enjoyed it.
Rating: 2/5 Pros: Great lead actor, some good action scenes, funny if anything else. Cons: The entire second half of the movie. Lack of super villain.
“Tomorrow, the day after today, what is in store for me, who will I interact with, what is going to happen, when will the event go for, how will it affect my life in the long run, where will it take me? The answer is simple, it’s the same as what I did yesturday and the day before that. What is the point of living a re-run for the next fifty years until death. Doesn’t anybody trapped in this cycle wish to be just a little…different? You go by, day by day, wishing for a change, an escape from this normal bullshit of a life.” ~ Sidd
Wanted, a film directed by Timur Bekmambetov. The story about a normal average grown up sucker by the name of Wesley Gibson who is played by James McAvoy.He has all the bad things pouring down on him due to his incapability to fight for himself. His job is frustrating to the edge of his insanity because of his boss, Janice. His beautiful girlfriend uses him to live in his apartment while his best friend has sex with her. The life of a true sucker, being pushed around and taken advantage of by anybody.
However, there is always a chance for every sucker to take a stand and do something for once. Wesley was given an opportunity to get control of his life back, but in a very dangerous way to which reveals his father’s identity as a great assassin that has ever lived. His father was in an organization of assassins, The Fraternity, the weapons of fate.
Wesley was picking up his medication as usual to notice a man lurking near the end cap of an aisle. He looks as the man clears himself from view, and pops out the lovely assassin, Fox, who is played by Angelina Jolie, reveals how his father died, who he was, and who killed him. Wesley smiled and took it as a joke and then directed her to where the liquor was.
Fox continued to explain the situation and announced that the man that killed Wesley’s father was right behind him, she pushes Wesley to aim and fire a gun at Cross, the villain of the story, who is played by Thomas Kretschmann.
And so after the incident at the store, he is taken to the Textile Factory, the hideout for The Fraternity, where he was told he has super natural abilities and is born to be a true assassin like his father, they also mentioned everything his father owned is now his. Wesley was afraid of what he was being told; he threatens everybody to stay away from him and to leave him alone. The next morning he wakes up to think everything was a dream, but ends up dropping a gun that belonged to his father. He checks his balance at the bank to reveal 3 million dollars.
At work he acts like a changed man. For once he feels he is in control. He snaps at Janice and tell her to go fuck herself and takes a keyboard and smacks his best friend in the face. Walks out the door and sees wanted ads of him and Fox. He looks up to see Fox waiting for him and he gets into the car and drive off back to the Textile Factory.
The story continues from there, don’t want to spoil the surprises in the film, its worth watching, not for children however, mature audience only. The reason for that is because some people may feel offended by the ending, but the message clearly states your status of where and who you are as a person. I personally thought it was hilarious. All in all, 5 of 5 stars. Action, Story, Suspense, Twists, Great Acting, and most of all, a message to the audience to make us think after the movie.
Just released over the past weeks is my now favorite console racing game, if not my favorite all time racing game, Grid. The guys over at Codemasters aren't new to the racing scene with past titles like TOCA Touring Car Series and last years DiRT (graphics engine used for Grid), but this new title just blows away their previous games. With different events (Pro Tune, Touring, Le Mans, Drifting,..), fantastic courses in North America, Europe, and Japan, and the most beautiful cars to grace the streets, Grid leaves you with the satisfaction of great arcade street racing with just a touch of simulation. You never feel like you have to slow down to 40 mph just to make a turn without going off the course and even if you did the game doesn't take away it's satisfying feel of speed. Little add-on's like the style of the instant replay and the damage that can be caused to your car, all bring out the life of Grid.
After giving your driver a bit of information (such as the nickname he'll be called whenever you start the game), you're thrown right into the drivers seat of a Dodge Viper and off to a few start up races. No tutorial whatsoever, and thank god for that. Do you really need to be told how to drive? I'm glad to see Codemasters is actually evolving the styles of games. If it's something as simple as driving I doubt you really need that much of a crash course (they left that for the demolition courses :D.) You start off with driver offers to help you start your team and get great choices in cars such as the Nissan 350z for one of your many rivals Team Orange. After giving your team a name, you're off to win a few matches until the Le Mans Challenge comes around noting the end of the season. (If this map lags for you by the 18:00 mark you need to update DirectX, or if you have stuttering issues.) The categories for the races are placed under countries and their licenses. The more respect you have in a certain country the more licenses you can get and when you win all the courses for a license you get to challenge the top team Ravenwest in a one-on-one challenge. (Very VERY fun. First one I did was a Pro Touge at night. <33) Of course this is just the main career mode and you can always play a quick race if you're like me and you feel like putting off the Le Mans Challenge for just a bit. You never really feel like Grid is pushing you for the positions but rather by how much money and respect you feel like earning. The game does make it easier for you with their instant replays acting like a Prince of Persia rewind, allowing you to start a time before the crash (but you do have to make sure you don't make the same mistake, or that you might be a little too late to find a point before the crash..x.x; )
Though it wouldn't be life if this masterpiece didn't have at least a few problems. Your allowed to give your driver a nickname that your female manager, spotter, and teammate (hire after a few races in career mode) can call you by. While this is an awesome addition, the actual AI voices often become an annoyance. I don't always feel like being reminded to add sponsers for my team after the 11th season. Also your main spotter will often give you good information about where you are leading, which helps in the Le Mans at the early stages, but when it comes time to call out crashes ahead of you (and often enough they only happen infront of you) the spotter is late with the call and you're already going for the instant replay. The car selection is good, but at times feels really limited. Why is it their are no Mitsubshi cars in this title and yet in DiRT it was one of the first choices? Why can't I tune any of the cars? Why do I get limited choices on how the car should look while my oppenents can have their names branded on their cars? Great track courses again, but you normally feel like you've raced it way too often. Not enough variety between the courses and the actual race type. But that's not saying what is here is bad whatsoever. Race Driver Grid is the first racing game besides the first Burnout that I felt like the game really just wanted me to get on the track and burn rubber and that's exactly what I do. From drifting to touge to touring cars, they're all just great events. I really hope their is a Grid 2 in production with a few of these fixes.
Rating: 5/5 Pros: Racing game that actually wants you to race, stylish instant replay and menus, great looking graphics, good selection of cars and tracks, great gameplay overall. Cons: LIMITED! Limited tracks, cars and voices. Please somehow update this game and make it perfect. <3
I made a video with a few of my favorite cars and tracks. The first Respawn Point Blog video. Enjoy. (For High Res please go to youtube.com via the video.)
Since Sidd talked about his new favorite show I thought I would talk about a favorite show of mine called Burn Notice.
Enter Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), a covert operative who finds out during a mission in Nigeria that he has just been "burned." After fleeing Nigeria he ends up blacking out on the plane and awakening in his hometown of Miami, Florida with his ex-girlfriend Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar)watching over him.
A spy who gets a burn notice isn't exactly fired. You can't make them forget what they've learned to do their jobs, but you can take away the tools they use to do it. Or at least that is the way Michael Westen explains it in one of the many monologues he has during each episode. These are often high points as he presents simple ways of solving problems with the criminals or people he needs to influence. Such as the first episode where he creates a fake pipe bomb to get in touch with an old co-worker.
Left with no money to his name and under continuous surveillance, Michael is left doing odd jobs for the underdogs (an immigrant who was falsely accused or an old woman who was conned) and is usually working for free to show the lite side of the main character. Teaming up with the few people he can still trust like his ex-girlfriend, his old friend Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) and his mother Madeline Westen (Sharon Gless), who he tries not to stay in contact with. All for the purpose of finding out why he's been burned.
All and all I really think this show has some style, good action, and at times is just amazingly funny. I recommend any of the original shows from USA like their new show "In Plain Sight."
Burn Notice season 1 is already out on DVD and season 2 will start on July 10th on USA, so don't miss it.
So it’s a normal day, got places to run, people to meet, time is money, the dull society we live in today. Oh how will we survive in the world with all the chaos. Here we are in the airplane, listening to music, eating peanuts, somehow sleeping on board, or hell going to the bathroom. Suddenly…BAM! Airplane turbulence, fasten your seat belts quickly; we may die! Black out to wake up on an island, confused on how survival was a possibility. Aimlessly moving through the wreckage of a plane crash on the island beach. This is where it all begins, the story of LOST.
Basically, if you ever seen any survival movies about being trapped on an island like Cast Away, you will notice the basic and most obvious things happen. Organize, gather food, create shelter, survive until rescued. However, in the series LOST, we are taken on an unknown island filled with many surprises as the story unfolds. I would tell you those twists, but that will just spoil the show.
First few episodes seems to be about the island and the people struggling to get into living matter. Then it goes in depth and focuses on one main character per episode, as well as see the progress of survival on the island. Personally I think the series had a good start on getting the attention out with all the cliffhangers and twists. And finally, seeing the end result in every episode makes me want to watch the next one immediately.
Good series to watch, Sidd approves. :D
Watch it now at http://abc.go.com/player/ in high definition video quality.
TF2 players got a treat this past Thursday with the new achievement based update for everyone's favorite crazed mute the Pyro. Unlike the last update that gave the medic more playability, the Pyro's achievements seem much easier to achieve, but it comes with a slight price. You only have to unlock 20 of the achievements but the weapons you get don't seem as benifical as the medic's new equipment. My dislike mostly surrounds The Flare Gun which acts like a long distance weapon for the Pyro...or at least it would if it wasn't just a flimsy pea shooter. It is fun to use against a sniper or scout on the run, but you just can't replace the power you get with the shotgun. Also The Axtinguisher is only really effective against burning oppenents (I just see this as a problem because I would rather take them down with a shotgun. ) On the other hand though, The Backburner, is an awesome weapon. Hunting down an enemy from behind with this flamethrower will cause instant critical hits as well as a bonus 50 hp. Not to say though you should replace your old trusty flamethrower, since the new update has added the compression deflect which allows you to launch projectiles back at your oppenents (D: take that soldier/demoman!) And if that wasn't enough to get you to play as the Pyro, then how about the haduken taunt actually causing damage? :D
Along with the Pyro Update was the addition of ctf_turbine and cp_fastlane as default maps. These once custom created maps (as well as one of my favorite maps [ctf_turbine]) have been hand picked by Valve out of the many other great maps and really brings to life the map creater sdk for everyone. Who knows what map will be added next (cp_wolf please <3!) The maps cp_well and ctf_well have also had big modifications. The total size of the map has been reduced with the removal of the middle building and instead replaced with a few open trailers (trains still remaint though.) It doesn't make the map less fun, just really unfamiliar, and a much harder job for snipers to pick off people. =/
If you want to see other updates or just read up on what's going on in other games then hit up the following link: http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=posts
Thanks Valve for the continuing love for your players. <3 Happy Fragging!
