RealViews

Oh, man, is this song going to divide people. The signature yelling or chugging guitars of the old Linkin Park (which they’ve already started to depart from on Minutes to Midnight) are non-existent on this track. Hopefully, people will appreciate that Linkin Park are branching out their sound and showing a new side and damn is it intriguing. “The Catalyst” starts off with a synth texture, Mr. Hahn scratches, and a basic electronic drum beat that gets louder as the song progresses. Mike, whose known for rapping, starts things off with singing a very catchy melody. Chester then harmonizes with him and then breaks off into what is the closest thing to a chorus the song has. The two alternate throughout and it’s a good sound. The song’s structure is pretty unpredictable. New layers are being constantly added (synths, quiet electric guitars, and even tempo changes are all present) and, for the outro portion of the song, the tempo is slowed as a piano plays over Rob drumming better than he usually does (i.e., he’s actually doing drum rolls). The vocals have around 4 to 5 layers and it all sounds fantastic. “The Catalyst”, for sure, will probably feed the haters more and probably turn off many existing LP fans, but for those who can appreciate Linkin Park flexing their creative muscles, you’re in for a real treat.

Report Card

Instruments: B-
Production: A+
Lyrics: A-
Vocals: A+

Overall
B+

Blizzard did a hell of a job making this sequel even though it is difficult to compete with a legend. When StarCraft first came out in 1998, it was well received, and sold around 1.5 million in its first year- a respectable number. Somewhere along the way, the sci-fi real time strategy game managed to transcend the realm of average and become something different- just ask gamers in Korea, where the StarCraft brand has generated nationally televised competitions, a professional league complete with large cash prizes and even a television station.  The game has gained a cult following, in the most extreme way possible.

So while a sequel seemed inevitable, it also seemed problematic. With millions of fans that have been playing for over a decade, the scrutiny heaped upon StarCraft II has been nothing short of intense, and in order to satiate fans, the game would need to be better than good- better than great. It would need to be epic. And in almost every way it succeeds. It isn’t perfect, but StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty offers one of the best games in the real-time strategy genre ever made.

The time is now

Campaign

The campaign follows the Terrans through a series of branching storylines that allow you to choose which order you want to play them, as well as giving you the occasional choice that will force you to side with one group or another. Despite the options, the game still follows a  mostly linear story, but it is engrossing enough that most will be happy to watch the scripted plot unfold.

Once you have taken control, the game plays out like many real-time strategy games, but it does so with a polish and finesse. Rather than reinventing the genre, Blizzard wisely takes what works, tightens it up, and streamlines the rest. The result is a gameplay style that will immediately feel familiar to fans of the genre, and yet still feel fresh and new as well. Players who aren’t familiar with the genre will still have some troubles at first, but should be able to stumble their way through until they get the hang of things.  RTS games are inherently difficult to master, but StarCraft II manages to balance complex, but intuitive controls against an ever increasing level of difficulty that eases you into using the full control scheme. It is a fine balancing act, but one that works.

After playing a few maps, you will quickly see the level of thought that went into the gameplay. Frequently in RTS games, gamers will find something- usually just a minor thing or two- that they wish they could do but can’t. Sometimes it is just a simple matter of wishing they could see where a certain unit is, or that there were simpler ways to do a particular chain of commands. It is inevitable with the genre, and usually more to do with the gamer’s individual style than anything. In StarCraft II, you will frequently start to  wish Blizzard had done this or that, then see that there is a way to do exactly what you hoped for. Some games spend years on exacting and detailed graphics. Blizzard spent years on exacting and detailed controls. With games like these, you can’t please everyone- there are so many personal preferences to deal with- but no matter what, you cannot fault Blizzard for the time and thought they put into the controls.

Campaign

StarCraft II could be as long or as short as you want it to be. The campaign missions each feature multiple achievements that require you to go above and beyond just completing the mission requirements. Many of these achievements are only pointed out after the mission ends, which might have some people hitting the replay button right away, but usually you can guess what the achievement might be from the in-game communications.

But even if the achievements don’t appeal to you, the game is still difficult to put a time frame to because there are so many ways to play, and while they might be radically different, there is no wrong way. Some players might be offensively-minded and want to rush out and take the fight to the enemy, while others might set up defenses and let the enemy come to them. It can be the difference between a 20-minute game and an hour long game, and neither is wrong. A balanced player might be able to beat the campaign in 20 hours or so, while an achievement driven player could easily double that time.

The missions themselves are interesting and varied, and each new setting offers something different. Some levels will have you simply clear an area or defend a base- standard RTS stuff- while others will give you time based events that require you to react to the situation, which then changes and forces you to adapt. One early level has you under attack by the Zerg at night which forces you into a defensive posture until the sun rises, which then puts you on the offensive as you hunt the Zerg bases until the sun sets again.  Another level has you gathering materials in a lava bed, then quickly retreating and waiting as lava flows in, then back out and the countdown begins again.

In general RTS games can rarely illicit emotion from players.  They are a thinking person’s game, and as such you focus more on the next several moves than the mission itself- unless of course you count frustration as an emotion-  but seldom do you play a strategy game that has you nervous and wondering how you can possibly survive. Several of the missions in StarCraft II do just that, and you will find yourself keenly aware of everything happening on the board as you fight to survive and alter your tactics on the fly. It is an impressive feat for a game in the genre.

Starcraft 2 Gameplay

Ok I did not buy Starcraft 2 for its campaign, I bought it for the new multiplayer expirence!

The multiplayer aspect of the game is an incredibly well honed experience, and one of the best online games ever made. While the campaign might look great, and the cinematics are what you will see in the ads, it is really the multiplayer that will make this game a worthy successor. In truth, only time will tell if players fully accept StarCraft II. The original became something of a phenomenon that took on a life of its own, but Blizzard has made sure to do their part and offer the tools to make this game the new “go to” game for RTS fans.

The first thing people will notice is that despite the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each of the three playable races, they are all well balanced, and there is no one particular strategy that will dominate the others. Each race plays differently. The Terrans are a balanced group, the Zerg are an overwhelming swarm, and the Protoss are the most technologically advanced. But no matter who you play as, you will find a strategy that works, and a counter strategy to that. If you aren’t familiar with the RTS genre, you might overlook the detail in the multiplayer, but after you play a few games and begin to see the way the matches can turn into battles of ebb and flow, you will realize that Blizzard spent a LOT of time fine tuning the multiplayer aspect of the game. There will be a steep learning curve for players unfamiliar with the genre, but most will quickly learn and adapt.

Terran

Terran Information:

The Terran Thor has had a few changes since last seen by the public. Now, Thors can be transported by the Medivac Dropship. Currently, only one Thor can be transported per Medivac Dropship. When attaching, the Thor’s body transforms, pulling its arms and legs inside, becoming a more cube-like shape, and attaching to the bottom of the Medivac Dropship, which will then be able to fly the Thor wherever its needed. Despite the work put into this, the development team is still working on the Thor’s aerial transportation.

Zerg Information:

The Zerg Infestor has three abilities: the Neural Parasite, Plague, and Spawn Infested Terrans. The Neural Parasite acts as a short term mind control over a single unit, whether it’s a mighty Battlecruiser or a lowly SCV. Should a Protoss Probe be controlled, a Zerg player could warp in a Nexus if there were sufficient resources. Even after the Probe’s control reverts back to its original owner, the incoming Nexus will belong to the Zerg player that paid for it. Similarly, the same can be done with a Terran SCV. However, since the SCV must be present and controlled by the Zerg player during the entire duration of the Command Center’s build cycle, the Zerg player would have to use the Neural Parasite ability on the SCV at least six times before the Command Center’s building can be completed. Should an enemy Zerg Drone be targeted with the Neural Parasite, the controlling Zerg player could use the drone to morph into a building, and the building will be permanently controlled by the owner of the Infestor. Whether the control of the drone would remain with the Infester’s owner if the building morph were cancelled early has yet to be seen or tested.

The Plague ability, formerly of the Zerg Defiler, was given to the Infestor. The third ability allows the Infestor to spawn five Infested Terran. The Infested Terran start out as sacs that grow on the Infestor’s back before falling to the ground and hatching. The Infested Terrans attack using their gauss rifles, and will only stay alive for a short period of time before dying, if they’re not slain in battle already.

A nice addition feature to the model of the Infestor is the slime trail that is left behind as it moves, sliming the ground for a short while before disappearing. As for the Infestor’s unique ability to move while burrowed in the ground, it wasn’t confirmed, but assumed that the enemy could not see the burrowed, moving Infestor without some form of detection.

In this build, the Brood Lord remains as the Zerg force’s siege air unit over the old Swarm Guardian. Although the Brood Lord and its predecessor both function similar in the broodling-sprouting ground attack, the Brood Lord is morphed from Corruptors rather than Mutalisks. Brood Lords didn’t see a lot of action in the matches at the press event, since the idea of morphing Zerg air units feels foreign when they’re not being morphed from the Mutalisk, although Overseers are an exception since they’ve been around for some time now.

One bad mofo!

Protoss Information:

Both the Lenassa and Zer’atai Dark Templar models have been implemented into the game. When calling forth a Dark Templar from the Protoss Gateway or Warp Gate, one of the two models will randomly spawn. From the default view, the two models look very similar aside from some minor details and the weapons they possess. Currently, the models look similar enough that Protoss players should not be distracted or confused by seeing these two different Dark Templar models.

Archons haven’t changed since the last few public showings of StarCraft II. They are still made from fusing any combination of High Templar or Dark Templar, and do a great deal of damage against ground or air units. Currently, Archons are still lacking any special abilities.

_______________________________________________________________

Overall this game is definitely a buy! Get off your ass and go buy this if you haven’t already!

REPORT CARD

Story: A

Graphics: A+

Audio: A+

Gameplay: A+

Lasting Appeal: A+

OVERALL:

A+

A Man with a hair stylized in the fashion of ‘Flat Top’ opens up the scene with his monotone pre-puberty voice proclaiming the upcoming Resi movie Resident Evil: After life. After his announcement of the movie, he continues to make a slew of wildly absurd claims about the series something reminiscent of “Wildly successful movie franchise based off of a wildly successful game franchise.” This is in no way supported by the number crunch I made up in my head.  He then continues to lie his mouth off with “Footage no one has seen”. Then how was it put together Ralph? Check-Mate. The crowd is of course going nuts due to the fact of increased drug intake before the Comic-Con panel and is in no way excited about things happening in front of them, but rather the unicorns they see floating around the overly large room. He continues to point out obvious things Companies do at a panel. Such as talk about the movie, bring out people who decided to take a shit in a bag, film it, then call it a movie, the writers responsible for letting these people take that shit and of course some big wig who has zero involvement in the entire process.

To my dismay he calls out the director/producer/writer, Paul Anderson, an over zealous douche with apparently TWO yes TWO MASSIVE sunglass hung around his ‘Bro’ t-shirt. He smiles like a pompous prick, and sits down with lights flashing, no doubt in an attempt to capture his soul and stop him from haunting Comic-Con further more. To my dismay Paul is not sucked into a camera with screams of a world that betrayed him. The show continues on. Then Ralph calls out two more people, both chicks, who are mildly attractive, who play parts in the ‘movie’. They’re solely there for looks, in an attempt to counter balance the ugliness possessed by Paul and Ralph. Fuck his flat top. Ralph calls out some other ‘Bro’ who plays Chris Redfield in the movie, not a fuck was given about this man. Ralph with a boner the size of a small guitar pick tells the audience that it is time to see the new trailer in 3D. My heart rate stayed the same, an abysmal 3 beats per minuet. It’s now when I am hit with this clever message: “I’m sorry; we can’t show what’s on screen due to restrictions enforced by Comic-Con”. It’s at this moment I decided to boycott the new resident evil movie. Ralph shits brix after an alleged Resident Evil 3D footage is shown, and asks Bro Paul about why he chose to do 3D. And instead of being honest “I’m jumping on the bandwagon of the worst movie of the year Avatar” He goes into some nostalgia recollection about how he always wanted to do it since he was a kid. Sure you did Paul, right after your shot of tequila and you went to play football shirtless. Paul continues on saying this is the most successful game to movie bull shit, and pretty much tells the audience the size of his dick. I am for one, not impressed, with the size or the content. The girl (insert bitch tits name) quotes every girl actor who ever had the audacity to say anything “We are just so lucky to do this, they are putting in their heart and soul into this and its just fantastic to work with them blah blah blah I’m at the Oscars except I’m less drunk and less people care about what I am saying”.

Ralph does not heed my pleas for her to stop instead he encourages her, into some alleged ‘character development’ that has happened in the series, which basically means the writers do whatever they want to fit the story even if they turn a scarred girl into a zombie fighting machine, and they pass that as ‘character development’. The other chick butts in and continues the degradation of the series and the movie. How 3D some how opens up the series. They continue to talk about the Resident Evil series with clever ‘train’ metaphors. Typical actors being ass holes about how they are so humbled to get paid millions of dollars. Some brief mention of insurance companies (don’t ask because I don’t know). And we’re back to 3D being the best thing since. . . . nothing because no one cares. People are just getting used to HD now you throw 3D into the mix, and the common mindless masses cannot handle this rapid advancement of movie technology. Then Paul continues to boast how the series has not even tried to leave its beaten path of zombie movie formula by talking about a character called ‘The Executioner’ my mind is blown by the seemingly complex emotions Paul has, to be able to act like he has a straight face after saying it. Again hit with the message that I’m not allowed to view it. So I’m just going to have to ASSUME it took place. But also make wild allegations to how the fight scene just shown was un-choreographed and played Spongebob Squarpants theme song in the back ground. Slightly dismayed with this viewing of the fight scene in 3D (that completely took place in my head) I continued watching, hoping Ralph will be able to turn this whole thing around and revolutionize SOMETHING. It cuts back to the chick that plays Alice, who goes on a drunken intoxicated rant about how she thought it was going to be a different fight scene. Ralph is not discouraged by this outburst and proceeds to ask the audience for questions. Where a virgin teen gets up to the microphone and shouts something incoherent to the panel about if they did anything that was so difficult they didn’t think it was going to work. I answered her question before it was done being asked. The acting was probably the hardest part for the panel, since most of them are high out of their minds already, I doubt they where able to act in a high budget B rated horror ‘franchise that is wildly successful’. BUT the intoxicated ‘Alice’ says that nothing is impossible with a Resident Evil movie and that the 3D proved challenging, even though they are using James Cameron’s cameras. *Insert rant about how the weather affected the filming, and how it was fun but challenging*.

The other girl points out that ‘Alice’ is intoxicated all the time, because apparently she shot a gun with blanks into the camera and blew it apart. ‘ALICE’ no doubt lol’s and said ‘ill pay for that million dollar camera’ and then went to her trailer. The two guys, who come after the obviously virgin chick, talk like they are as slow as this series makes my heart pace. Another man comes up to ask a question, who has seemingly been air dropped out of the 50’s and has no idea what the fuck is going on. He asks ‘Alice’ if zombies are becoming more popular like vampires. She basically has no idea how to respond to this, and makes up some bull shit about zombie history going back to folklore in African countries. Wikipedia told me otherwise, but was able to dismiss these claims under the assumption that “Alice’ has no idea what’s up or down, and that she can talk to ghosts. As I’m about to close the window to this seemingly useless Comic-Con panel, a young boy who doesn’t know what the word penis is, gets in front of the Mic, and actually asks a good question. Too bad all of his facts are wrong. He says that the first two movies where slightly based of the games, and the third goes in a completely different direction. Is the fourth Resi movie going to be based off of resident evil 5? Paul quickly undress’s the pre-adolescent with his eyes before deciding to answer the question. He goes on a further ego boast about how resident evil 5 had great imagery and tone, and he loved loved loved it. He loved it like his money was coming from the people who made the game. The next questionnaire’s question gives me a tingling in my pants. Could it be? Jill Valentine in the move? The thought almost made me want to turn this whole review upside down like Inception. He also asks if Leon is going to be in it. The mindless audience seemingly distracted by a unicorn back flipping, applaud wildly. Then return to their stupor of over intoxication. Paul claims to not be doing Leon until the next movie, but as to Miss Valentine, ‘We’ll wait and see’ the man Paul dares to tease me with this information. It’s almost as if he knows the only way to get me to watch it is with the prospect of Valentine being in it. I curse him and his family as I continue to watch the growing stupidity of costumes the questionnaires wear.

Image as Unrelated as this Panel was.

The man asks if there are any stunts the actors do where they almost hurt themselves. So uncaring about the actors’ safety, I instantly tune out, and begin to wonder what my girlfriend is wearing. I’m jumped back to reality like a ‘kick’ used to get me out of a dream. Where I get slapped in the face by another awkward team gushing over ‘Alice’s’ perfection, when all I can see is her eyes lolling about because she’s in a dazed stupor, she takes the compliment well, almost as if she knew that the guttural sounds coming out of the un-fornicated teen was positive, and shouts multi-pass at the teen referencing her play in the fifth element, where fortunately Bruce Willis is able to overcome her many faults and still make the movie work. The teen is stunned and unable to talk for a brief period of time. Spacing out wondering why my viewing of this Panel isn’t interrupted by the old spice guy, I notice the limited amount of time left for the panel, and am greatly relieved. So I turn back to what is going on, and decided to pay attention the last few minuets. Blondie is going on a rant about the 3D camera they stole out of the ‘Shit Avatar’ Warehouse. The problem was that the overpriced view of the world object, was heating up too bad, so they where only able to film in 23 second bursts. But she does say the quality is amazing. I would show you my impressed face if I had one. Ralph wraps up the show by making more bold faced claims about how this movie takes the series to a whole new level, let us hope that the level they get to, doesn’t have to reach up to hit rock bottom.

MEMENTO

“I have this condition.” Leonard (Guy Pearce) starts most of his conversations with other people like this. Leonard has the condition where he has short term memory loss. Every couple hours he completely forgets everything after his wife’s death. He keeps Polaroid pictures of people and places, and makes notes on them. So every time his mind ‘refreshes’ he pulls all of the pictures out of his pocket and goes through them. Leonard is on one mission. To find the Man who raped and killed his wife. Leonard is able to remind himself of this and who the man he is looking for by tattoos on his body. He has a few people helping him, a Teddy and Natalie. Both seemingly with alterer motives of their own.

Memento is a mind trip from beginning to end. Never before have i seen a movie where its filmed literally backwards. It starts with the end and ends with the beginning. It shows the end. Then shows a part maybe a day before what you just saw, and then leads up to that part. Then jumps before where you just started then leads up to that part. All the way till you get to the beginning of the movie. I’ve already watched this 3 times since first watching it. . . . . in a row. It was spectacular, and gets better every time. If you’ve seen Inception and want more, go out and pick up Nolan’s unnoticed masterpiece Memento. You will never look at movies the same way again.

To try and describe this movie is almost impossible. So the suggestion to just go out and watch it is all i can say. YOU MUST watch this movie before you die.

Leonard Shelby: “If we talk for too long, I’ll forget how we started. Next time I see you, I’m not gonna remember this conversation. I don’t even know if I’ve met you before. [pause] I’ve told you this before, haven’t I?”

Memento overall score

Grade

A

“Don’t let me see Charlie again Daddy, please don’t” Dakota’s urgent please don’t go unnoticed to her father played by Robert DeNiro. Hide and Seek is a clever suspense thriller that keeps your heart pace at a steady hummingbird beat. It starts off with David’s (DeNiro) wife committing suicide by slitting her wrists in the bath tub. Emily (Fanning) is David’s daughter, and she see’s the corpse of her mother in the tub. David feels the need to move away since Emily is acting distant. David is a psychiatrist, and feels getting away from the the memories her mother will help her forget. David picks a house in the somewhat country area surrounded by woods. Emily investigates around the house and finds a cave. Where we later find out she meets her imaginary friend Charlie.

David is convinced that Emily has created this imaginary friend Charlie as an emotional outlet for her mothers suicide. It’s not long before ‘Charlie’ seems to start taunting David with ‘blood’ writings in the bathroom saying ‘You Let Her Die’. David thinks that Emily holds David responsible for his wifes death, and he should have seen the signs and been able to stop her. The movie proceeds with increasingly disturbing events created by ‘Charlie’ through Emily.

The plot twist was actually unexpected when i watched it. But wasn’t a mind rape. The actors played their parts beautifully DeNiro is able to capture his character with perfection. The DVD of Hide and Seek is released with multiple different endings. But out of ALL of them, the theatrical version is the one i liked best. Im in a constant search for a good thriller, or suspense movie. If you think you have one that’s the movie im looking for, do not be afraid to suggest it. Hide and Seek was good, and worth the watch, but wasn’t what i was looking for.

Hide and Seek overall review:

Grade

B