Watchmen (film) Review
The graphic novel, “Watchmen”, released in 1986 has not only been called the best comic book of all time, but “Time” magazine has called it one of the most important and influential novels of the 20th century. The “Watchmen” film has been in the works since around 1987 or 1988, and nearly every attempt at bringing the celebrated novel to the silver-screen has ended in failure, and at one point in the development history it was considered to be “unfilmable”. However, director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300) decided to take up the project and has succeeded in bringing Watchmen to movie theaters. The biggest question most were asking themselves when the movie received a release date was if it would indeed live up to its comic book counterpart, and would it ultimately be loyal to the original. I must warn any hardcore Watchmen fans who might be reading this review, that I did not read the novel, and I have yet to do so. I did however, read a plot summary of the novel before seeing the movie so, long story short I was aware of the main plot, but didn’t know much about the epic back story…
Watchmen is set in an alternate timeline in the year 1985 during the Cold War, and the U.S. and the Soviet Union are incredibly close to blowing each other away in what seems to be the ever looming, World War III. The Watchmen themselves, were a team of superheroes whom have all retired after the U.S. government makes all costumed vigilantes illegal unless they are working for the government. The film opens with one of these former “heroes”, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) being thrown out of his apartment window to his death by an unknown assassin in the middle of the night. Another member of the group, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) tries to investigate, and comes up with a theory that someone is trying to kill superheroes so they won’t be able to stop the impending nuclear war. The other heroes helping Rorschach throughout the film are: Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode). The performances in the film are by no means Oscar worthy, but they aren’t even close to being bad. Watchmen’s special effects aren’t quite as epic or groundbreaking as Transformers, but they are still very well done, especially Dr. Manhattan, who is a character made almost entirely out of CG animation. Taking a cue from The Dark Knight, Watchmen is a very dark and complex superhero film. At first glance, it might seem like DC Comics equivalent of X-Men or Fantastic Four, but Snyder’s adaptation proves looks can be deceiving. In terms of subject matter, this movie makes The Dark Knight look like Spy Kids. Watchmen contains scenes of absolute gratuitous violence, and has a fair amount of sexual content. In fact, Watchmen isn’t really a super-hero movie at all… it is more of a action/thriller that just happens to have super-heroes in it.
If I had any problems with this movie, it would be the fact that there are parts when it moves far too slowly (the run-time is about 2hrs. and 45min.). Unlike The Dark Knight, which was able to justify its length, Watchmen has some scenes that in the end, just seem like filler, and the film’s plot could of progressed without them. Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen isn’t quite as good as The Dark Knight, but it definitely comes pretty close to its quality, with an excellent storyline that might actually make you think (which is something you don’t get often with “super-hero” movies), and attractive action sequences/special effects. I don’t know what the fanboys will think about how it holds up with the original, but I believe it held up well and lived up to the expectations that most people had for it, even though it took about 20 years to make.
The Verdict: 5/5
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Review
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Review
“The Lost and Damned” GTA IV’s first expansion pack is finally here after being delayed in August of 2008. Needless to say, it is one of the most anticipated pieces of downloadable content ever released partly because of how big it is (the only other DLC featured on Xbox Live that could be around this size if not bigger would be “Shivering Isles”). Microsoft paid Rockstar a load of money to make this DLC exclusive to the Xbox 360, and this deal, while not entirely responsible, was definitely a factor when it came to what console to get GTA IV on. Since the 360 version outsold the PS3 version partly because of this selective content, many fans were hoping that it was worth the wait, and the 1600 Microsoft points to download ($20).
Let’s begin with “The Lost and Damned’s” storyline, which I’m happy to say is very well done. The expansion’s storyline is set parallel to the events of the original game, and a few times both stories intersect, and even certain things that weren’t fully explained in Niko’s story are explained here. The main character in this epic side story is Johnny Klebitz. If you played through the original game’s story, you might remember this biker dude since he helped Niko a couple of times in the story. Johnny and his gang , The Lost are stuck in a turf war with another biker gang known as The Angels of Death. Even more chaos breaks loose when The Lost’s leader Billy Grey is released from prison, and escalates the war, and his actions threaten to bring down The Lost. The story, like its predecessor, is very well done for an 7-8 hour expansion pack, although it isn’t quite as deep as GTA IV’s story, and the new character’s aren’t quite as memorable, or as likeable as the characters from Niko’s story.
Some of the gameplay mechanics have changed a little with the DLC as well. Johnny’s primary transportation is his bike, and the game forces you to ride the bike during most missions which feels weird, since this sort of destroys the spirit of GTA (although you can still steal cars when you aren’t on missions). A few new weapons have also been introduced with the expansion such as the grenade launcher, an automatic pistol, and a type of automatic shotgun. The new weapons are definitely a welcome addition to the game and they are really fun. Another thing added to the game are new tracks to the soundtrack. The only radio stations that have been updated are Liberty Rock, The Beat, Radio Broker, and LCHC. Some of the additional artists include: Rod Stewart, AC/DC, John Legend, Andre 3000, and Cannibal Corpse. The new tracks are great, but I did think they could have added a little more to the soundtrack. The gang wars from San Andreas have also made a return appearance for TLAD, but they aren’t as addictive as they were in San Andreas, then again, simply having gang wars is better than having none at all like the original GTA IV. Last but not least, TLAD adds new multiplayer modes, including motorcycle races where you can knock off other racers using a baseball bat , and “Chopper vs. Chopper” which has one player riding a bike, while the other is in a helicopter that tries to kill the biker. Multiplayer has pretty decent additions and they are worth playing.
If “The Lost and Damned” were a full game, and was on the market for a full $60 price tag, it would only be worth a rental at best, but it isn’t it is an add-on to a game that is already incredibly large, and immersive. It builds on something that is already nearly flawless, and brings it closer to achieving absolute perfection, and with Rockstar in talks of making a second expansion, it looks like GTA IV will be spinning in our consoles (well, our 360’s any way!) for quite longer than GTA III, Vice City, or San Andreas ever दीद.
The Verdict:5/5
“The Lost and Damned” GTA IV’s first expansion pack is finally here after being delayed in August of 2008. Needless to say, it is one of the most anticipated pieces of downloadable content ever released partly because of how big it is (the only other DLC featured on Xbox Live that could be around this size if not bigger would be “Shivering Isles”). Microsoft paid Rockstar a load of money to make this DLC exclusive to the Xbox 360, and this deal, while not entirely responsible, was definitely a factor when it came to what console to get GTA IV on. Since the 360 version outsold the PS3 version partly because of this selective content, many fans were hoping that it was worth the wait, and the 1600 Microsoft points to download ($20).
Let’s begin with “The Lost and Damned’s” storyline, which I’m happy to say is very well done. The expansion’s storyline is set parallel to the events of the original game, and a few times both stories intersect, and even certain things that weren’t fully explained in Niko’s story are explained here. The main character in this epic side story is Johnny Klebitz. If you played through the original game’s story, you might remember this biker dude since he helped Niko a couple of times in the story. Johnny and his gang , The Lost are stuck in a turf war with another biker gang known as The Angels of Death. Even more chaos breaks loose when The Lost’s leader Billy Grey is released from prison, and escalates the war, and his actions threaten to bring down The Lost. The story, like its predecessor, is very well done for an 7-8 hour expansion pack, although it isn’t quite as deep as GTA IV’s story, and the new character’s aren’t quite as memorable, or as likeable as the characters from Niko’s story.
Some of the gameplay mechanics have changed a little with the DLC as well. Johnny’s primary transportation is his bike, and the game forces you to ride the bike during most missions which feels weird, since this sort of destroys the spirit of GTA (although you can still steal cars when you aren’t on missions). A few new weapons have also been introduced with the expansion such as the grenade launcher, an automatic pistol, and a type of automatic shotgun. The new weapons are definitely a welcome addition to the game and they are really fun. Another thing added to the game are new tracks to the soundtrack. The only radio stations that have been updated are Liberty Rock, The Beat, Radio Broker, and LCHC. Some of the additional artists include: Rod Stewart, AC/DC, John Legend, Andre 3000, and Cannibal Corpse. The new tracks are great, but I did think they could have added a little more to the soundtrack. The gang wars from San Andreas have also made a return appearance for TLAD, but they aren’t as addictive as they were in San Andreas, then again, simply having gang wars is better than having none at all like the original GTA IV. Last but not least, TLAD adds new multiplayer modes, including motorcycle races where you can knock off other racers using a baseball bat , and “Chopper vs. Chopper” which has one player riding a bike, while the other is in a helicopter that tries to kill the biker. Multiplayer has pretty decent additions and they are worth playing.
If “The Lost and Damned” were a full game, and was on the market for a full $60 price tag, it would only be worth a rental at best, but it isn’t it is an add-on to a game that is already incredibly large, and immersive. It builds on something that is already nearly flawless, and brings it closer to achieving absolute perfection, and with Rockstar in talks of making a second expansion, it looks like GTA IV will be spinning in our consoles (well, our 360’s any way!) for quite longer than GTA III, Vice City, or San Andreas ever दीद.
The Verdict:5/5
Grand Theft Auto IV Review
Grand Theft Auto IV Review
Rockstar Games has returned with their incredibly addictive, controversial franchise! Grand Theft Auto IV is technically the 6th GTA in the main series (the 9th if you include the PSP and Game Boy spin-offs)but for whatever reason, Rockstar decided that this one should be called “IV” as opposed to “Vice City”, which was the REAL “IV”. Anyway GTA IV is quite possibly the best game to come out not just in 2008, but really in the last couple of years! The game’s storyline is set in the present day (which is the first time it ever has been since GTA III) and it is once again set in Liberty City. The story this time around follows Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant who has come to America to live with his cousin, who has told him that he is very wealthy, however Niko soon finds out that his cousin, Roman lied to him, and that instead he is in debt to the Russian mob. Unlike previous characters in the series, who were all really just cheap stereotypes, Niko actually feels like a real person, and has guilt, and all of the other normal things that come with being a human. All of the characters are VERY memorable, and most are likeable, including the evil ones. The voice actors are all amazing, especially considering that most of them are unknowns compared to the celebrities that lent their voices to characters in the previous games. The games soundtrack is also back with a contemporary vibe since the game is set in the present, and consists of Contemporary Hip-Hop, Old School Hip-Hop, Techno, Funk, Jazz, Classical, Disco, Heavy Metal, Classic Rock, Dancehall, Alternative Rock, Reggae, and R&B. The soundtrack isn’t as impressive as Vice City, or San Andreas, but it is still great and worth listening to, and even if you don’t think so, you can always listen to your own music library when cruising down the streets of Liberty City! GTA IV’s combat system has been greatly revised from its predecessors, and the combat borrows heavily from Gears of War. Niko can hide behind any object in the area (including cars) and pop-out and shoot. The drive-by’s have also been improved, allowing Niko to shoot anywhere you aim as opposed to previous entries where you would only be allowed to shoot on the side. The combat is heavily improved but it still has problems, such as getting stuck when hiding on walls, and a somewhat unresponsive targeting reticule that can be either too sensitive, or too sticky. Niko’s cellphone is also much more detailed than it was in previous games. It is now fully customizable, and it can be used to call the friends that you meet in the game and call for help, or just hang out. You can even call 911 and summon the police, the fire department, or the medical units! GTA IV also adds something that has never been used in the console versions of the series: online multiplayer! The online play includes multiple modes: Deathmatch, Team Mafiya, Cops & Crooks, Bomb da Base, and Free Mode, which allows players to run around doing whatever they want in the city together. The online is fun, but unlike Halo 3, you will probably find the single player game to be a bit more satisfying, especially considering that the online has MANY technical difficulties, and glitches, like players not being able to take damage, people getting stuck, LONG waits in lobbies, and a lagging frame rate as well. Hopefully Rockstar can fix the online in future titles. Rockstar has really outdone themselves with Grand Theft Auto IV. They have succeeded in perfecting the amazing interactive experience that they tried to achieve with Grand Theft Auto III back in 2001, and it will only get better with the future entries in the series (assuming that there will be more) but after this game, Rockstar would be fools not to continue what incredible work and progress they have made with this game, and this series as a whole.
The Verdict:5/5
Mass Effect Review
Mass Effect Review
The creators of some of the most popular RPGs in recent history (KOTOR, and Jade Empire) are back with their own space opera for the Xbox 360 known as Mass Effect. The game plays like a combination of both of the aforementioned games: The combat is in real-time like Jade Empire, but is set in a more Star Wars like setting similar to KOTOR. The game’s storyline is set in the 22nd century, and it follows Commander Shepard, and his team, as they follow a rogue alien named Saren before he destroys the galaxy by unleashing a long forgotten species of monstrosities known as the Reapers.
The storyline is pretty well executed, with top-notch voice-acting, and an interesting plot. At certain points in the game you will even be able to choose which one of your teammates will die, and this makes the story all the more dramatic. My only beef with the story is that it isn’t quite as interesting as its predecessor, KOTOR. As for the gameplay, picking what to say to people is a little different than it was before. Instead of just choosing what to say, you must choose a certain approach you want to take when answering questions, and your character will (with his/her own voice) take care of the rest. The combat system is very similar to Gears of War, and it involves you having to take cover, and pop-out to shoot, but it isn’t quite as polished as Gears, and you will often find you character not dropping down when he/she needs to, or getting stuck on walls. The friendly A.I. isn’t all that smart either (like it ever is!) but luckily your allies won’t be affected by your gunfire, so it doesn’t matter as much when they get in your line of fire. The games weapons all work well, and as a plus they never run out of ammo!
Mass Effect is a very well polished RPG, and definitely one of the more memorable ones in recent history. If you are sick of all of these JRPGs flooding the market with the same premise that they always have, this is a GREAT choice.
The Verdict: 5/5
The storyline is pretty well executed, with top-notch voice-acting, and an interesting plot. At certain points in the game you will even be able to choose which one of your teammates will die, and this makes the story all the more dramatic. My only beef with the story is that it isn’t quite as interesting as its predecessor, KOTOR. As for the gameplay, picking what to say to people is a little different than it was before. Instead of just choosing what to say, you must choose a certain approach you want to take when answering questions, and your character will (with his/her own voice) take care of the rest. The combat system is very similar to Gears of War, and it involves you having to take cover, and pop-out to shoot, but it isn’t quite as polished as Gears, and you will often find you character not dropping down when he/she needs to, or getting stuck on walls. The friendly A.I. isn’t all that smart either (like it ever is!) but luckily your allies won’t be affected by your gunfire, so it doesn’t matter as much when they get in your line of fire. The games weapons all work well, and as a plus they never run out of ammo!
Mass Effect is a very well polished RPG, and definitely one of the more memorable ones in recent history. If you are sick of all of these JRPGs flooding the market with the same premise that they always have, this is a GREAT choice.
The Verdict: 5/5
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