Rants and Reviews

The Rise and Fall... and Fall of Sonic The Hedgehog - A Personal Retrospective ( Part One )

2011-03-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

Sonic Colours was a nice return to form for Sonic, still not perfect but it was the closest any of the recent Sonic Team releases have come to being to Sonic game people have been begging Sega to make. I think it was pretty clear in the review that I am a big Sonic The Hedgehog fan. Always have been and always will be. Mario is great but when it comes to platforming I will happily pick up Sonic 3 and Knuckles then Super Mario World. With that said I think it's time to take you all on the journey of my personal experiences with Sonic The Hedgehog.

The odd thing is my first trip into Mobius was actually with Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and not the first in the series. Of course I did play the first game probably within the same year, and yeah, it was a great platformer but it was it's sequel that really drew me in to the franchise. The game not only had, in my opinion, better level design and the introduction of Sonic's side kick, because every hero needs one, Miles "Tails" Prower but also had some of the greatest retro music I have ever heard. The music during The Chemical Plant Zone was not only so good that it made the Zone my favourite out of all the Sonic games to date but also keeps implanting itself in my head. I could be doing anything at any time and this tune will come crashing in to my head. And I never complain.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was such a huge part of my gaming childhood that I was beyond excited when Sega released Sonic The Hedgehog 3 as well as Sonic and Knuckles. I played those games endlessly. The additional gameplay mechanics such as the various shields and upgrades through out the levels, Knuckles ability to glide, climb and smash through new areas unavailable to Sonic or Tails made both games almost twice as long. These games came with graphical and musical improvements as well as a huge handful of beautifully designed levels and possible, considered by many to best Sonic game to date.

Then however, came one of my favourite Sonic games of all time; Sonic CD. Starting up this game and my young eyes were treated to an amazing animated short introduction that blew my mind. The anime style cut scene featuring Sonic running across Mobius towards a tiny planet encased in a metal casing, which is anchored to Mobius with huge chains, which Sonic proceeds to run up towards the tiny planet and begin his adventure.

This game also introduced the character Amy Rose and despite coming to regret that in just a few games time she filled the role of "damsel in distress" rather well even though rescuing her isn't Sonic's main goal in this game it's a nice change in the usual narrative of Dr Robotnik has done something evil now go fix it. This game also introduced the greatest Sonic villain of all time, Metal Sonic. This guy was unbelievable sinister with his glowing eyes, his spiky design and strange mechanical and electronic sounds he made doing the game. Thankfully he returns later in many other games in the franchise, and in some as a playable character.

Sonic CD also included a new aspect to the gameplay and that was time travel. Yes that's right Sonic can travel through time in this game to three specific time zones in each stage; The Past, The Present and The Future. The Present is the world we know and love in every Sonic game, bright colours, interesting level designs and a different theme per act. The Past takes Sonic in to a time period before civilisation. Most stages in the past are rich, dense forests and jungles with very green and yellow colours. The Future is a dystopian landscape in which Dr Robotnik has taken over the world and everything is dark and mechanical.

This new time travel game mechanic comes from the plot. Metal Sonic was created by Dr Robotnik to go back in time and change history in order to create an alternate dimension in which Dr Robotnik rules the world. Sonic must therefore travel through the various stages, collect the seven Time Stones and repair the time stream back to normal. It's as if Back to the Future had Sonic instead of Marty Mcfly. An interesting mechanic about the time travel system is that if you travel to the past and destroy the Robot Generation Machine hidden in each stage then if you travel to the future, instead of the dark and evil future you get the 'true' future in which all is happy and free from Dr Robotnik's tyranny. I think after all that it is clear to see why Sonic CD is such a great, and underrated, addition to the series.

That ends part one of my personal retrospective. Make sure you keep an eye out for part two where we follow Sonic in to the pool of 3D mediocrity...

Thanks for Reading

EpicFlyFire

And We'll Blast Off At The Speed Of Sound!

2011-02-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

When it comes to gaming, I tend to like sequels - in fact, if I'm being honest, most sequels in gaming generally seem to be an improvement over the previous. Unlike movies, games tend to advance with each new installment; Mass Effect 2 for example is, in my eyes, far superior to the first Mass Effect, so much in fact that I gave up on the first game only a couple of hours in, whereas the sequel? I'm hooked! Of course, there are exceptions to every rule - Final Fantasy being the first one that springs to mind - but that's for another rant and review. Keep your eyes peeled for that one!

My review today is, in my opinion, one of the best examples in which you ask yourself the all-important question: is this new addition to an infamous series an all-new disappointment, or a phoenix rising from the ashes? Let's find out.

Sonic's latest attempt to reclaim his platform-jumping crown is Sonic Colours - an attempt to move far, far away from the pile of disappointing console games Sega have been 'gifting' us over the last few years. Sonic has been treated very well on the hand-held systems recently with the likes of Sonic Rush, but honestly, these days? That's about as good as you're gonna get. The bigger consoles haven't really offered a Sonic game that I've enjoyed since his debut appearance on the Dreamcast in Sonic Adventure, as well as it's sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, but it seems that after those two Sonic seemed to lose track of what he was meant to be doing in his games and the developers seemed to be just as clueless as how to handle the blue hedgehog when given a third dimension to run around in.

Disagree? Read on and see if I can change your mind.

Let's be honest - it's pretty fair to say that Mario is the only one able to cope with platforming in 3D; he seemed to make the transition perfectly and is still reigning supreme in the ever-awesome Mario Galaxy games. It seems to me that Sega have been watching Mario closely - like the short Italian plumber we've all grown to know and love, Sonic seems to be doing a whole lot of planet hopping in Sonic Colours, as well as the addition of collectable power-ups very similar to those found in Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.

The basic plot of Sonic's new adventure: Dr. Eggman has built an Amusement Park in outer space by chaining six planets together.

This, of course, IS Dr. Eggman that we're talking about, so the Amusement Park is a HUGE COVER UP (bet you didn't see that coming) whilst he 'secretly' captures a unique race of aliens composed entirely of energy, using them to take over the world. Sonic, being the ridiculous hero he is, goes to investigate. Luckily for Sonic, the exact same 'energy creatures' Eggman is trying to capture can also give Sonic special abilities, ranging from turning into a laser beam (always fun) and bounce around the stage or become a rather overwhelmingly flourescent pink ball of spikes that allow him to roll up the walls and along ceilings. (If you hadn't caught on, these are the power-ups mentioned earlier.)

A lot of people may consider these to be annoying gimmicks that will ruin the game just like the Werehog did in Sonic Unleashed, but is that the case here? In a way, if I'm honest, it can be. Some of the powers just slow the game down to a stand still; the main power that causes this is known as "Float". This power-up transforms Sonic in to a green blimp (really, I'm not kidding), allowing him to float for short periods of time. This 'floating' is incredibly slow and, in a Sonic game, slow is the last thing you want to be. Come on, it's Sonic! We want speed!

The control is hit and miss. At times you feel in perfect control of Sonic as you race through stages at high speed, knocking down enemies and jumping between walls and platforms... unfortunately, it isn't always that responsive. Occasionally, specifically when you need to be precise with your movements, Sonic can feel a bit too 'floaty', for lack of a better word. His jumps sometimes take forever to land, turning feels sluggish and navigating narrow walk ways and jumps can easily get frustrating. Having said that, it is still a huge improvement over previous 3D Sonic titles.

This game, being such an improvement on the other console titles, seems to take this 'promotion' from the new approach to the entire franchise itself. Sonic has a new voice actor - true, he still sounds like he fell out of the early 90's but hey, at least it's slightly less annoying now! The writing, too, seems to have improved - not by much, but enough that you notice the difference. Ever a risk-taker, Sonic also breaks the fourth wall from time to time by directly addressing the screen or calling bosses "boss battles". This kind of behaviour is exactly how Sonic should be acting - it's why we love him! His general attitude towards what he's doing, the enemies and, at times, the plot itself makes this game feel like a parody of itself, like it's poking fun at all of the other 3D Sonic games that preceded it. It was nice to actually enjoy a cut scene in a Sonic game for a change...

The game play looks and feels great. Graphically, it's everything that should be found in a Sonic game of this console generation, even considering it's a Nintendo Wii title and not one of the graphical power houses such as the X-Box 360 and Playstation 3. There is so much happening in the stages, so many bright and colourful backdrops that you kind of want to slow down and take them all in, take your time playing the game; thankfully, there are screen shots like the one above that really let you see the beauty of the stage designs.

Where this really shines is in the Starlight Carnival stages, which feature Sonic running along a walkway made of light - through space - as brightly-lit space cruisers fly around you. In this stage there's a particular bit I loved where Sonic is thrown upwards into space and then, as nature takes its course, begins to descend; as this happens you see starships coming out at hyper-speed and below Sonic are an armada of ships. Sonic eventually falls into one through an open hatch in it's deck and, predictably, the level continues inside of it. It's moments like this in the game that really show off what this game is capable of.

Overall? Sonic Colours is a very good addition to the Sonic franchise. It's a fun, colourful and fast-paced platformer, which is exactly what a Sonic game should be! There are one or two control issues and I did find myself completing the game far too quickly... maybe with the addition of a better-developed multiplayer instead of the hastily put together co-op/competitive set across (very few) basic and simple stages it would have a longer play-value, but to be completely honest, once you've finished the game there's very little left to enjoy which devalues it somewhat.

It's a worthy rental and hopefully a step in the right direction for Sonic games in the future. So what are you waiting for? Go rent it!

Thanks For Reading

EpicFlyFire

The King Has Returned!

2010-11-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

That's right it's time to have a look at the third installment in Peter Molyneux's epic fantasy series Fable.

Fable 3

Like many of the big releases this time of year many people have an opinion of the game before they even play the game. I know i did with this game. I knew i was going to love it! I played Fable 2 and it was one of my favorite fantasy games i've ever played. In fact it has been one of my favorite games played on the next generation consoles. It was a perfect blend of epic fantasy action, plot and design mixed with razor sharp british comedy. Sure it wasn't perfect. Sure i had a few problems with it but the positive aspects of the game vastly outweighed the problems. So obviously when Lionhead Studios announced the third game in the series i was all for it.

However the game began to fall to the classic Molyneux sales pitch. He began making huge claims about the game such as being able to lead a revolution against a corrupt tyrant and then lead the country either fulfilling promises or breaking them, your choices during the game having a direct effect of the community and aesthetic of the whole region of Albion, having moral grey areas and weapons that evolved as you used them depending on your play style.

Did the game live up to the hype it received?

In short, no.

As always Molyneux had promised much much more then he delivered and the game that was released was in fact terribly mediocre and incredibly lacking in many areas. Leading the revolution is there as the first half of the game and to be honest that is where the fun stopped for me. Doing quests to gather followers and completing challenges to impress key characters to have them join the fight against the king. Some side quests are brilliantly written and executed, one example is when the hero is shrunk down in order to participate in a table top role playing game similar to Dungeons and Dragons, which features a lot of parody about not only table top gaming but fantasy gaming in general and you can tell that the jokes had been written by people who loved the subject matter and more then willing to point out the stereotypical aspects of the genre.

Once the revolution is one however the game grinds to a slow agonizing crawl as the count down begins to the big finale. During this section of the game all the player has to do is decide to be evil or good and try to make money. This part of the game just drags on. If you try to be good by building schools and saving the environment you'll make no money and in the end the entire population of Albion will be killed. However if you choose to be evil and raise taxes and ruin the country side in order to improve industry everyone will survive, even if everyone hates you for it. This section of the game seems to rip itself away from the fantasy action adventure genre the previous two games of the series settled in. Instead it seems more aimed for people who love to farm gold in RPGs or manage business finances. I really found myself struggling to get through this part of the game and I know of others who did as well.

Apart from the very rare entertaining side quests the things to do outside of the main plot was also very disappointing. Mostly consisted of fetch quests or delivery quests. Neither of which really make me feel like a hero battling to save the entire world but instead they make me think I'm playing the role as village handyman which is not the reason I got the game. One of the reasons I did buy the game however was for the huge cast of amazingly talented british actors such as Stephen Fry (reprising his role as the charismatic Reaver), John Cleese (as your ever loyal butler Jasper) and Ben Kingsley (taking the role of the hilarious tribal leader Sabine) just to name a few.

With actors like this voicing the cutscenes really helps bring out the humour that has been laid both subtly and right up in front of the quests, conversations and general characterizations. This is specifically found in the gnomes throughout the game. Much like in Fable 2 with it's gargoyles, Fable 3 has given itself a very large collection quest in which you must go around, find and shoot every single gnome hidden throughout the game. Unlike the gargoyles however the gnomes have some hilarious one liners they throw at you, favorites include; "You know what I like most about people? They die!" and "You know you're quite funny. To bad looks aren't everything!" When I heard these lines I found myself chuckling and just staring at the gnomes waiting to see what else they'd say.

Once you've reached the throne however the only real reason you'd carry on playing is to see the end of the game. Apart from a few highlights early on in the game and the odd interesting side quest the game is incredibly average. With gameplay copied from Fable 2, an over top complicated menu screen, despite being simplified like they claimed it was just a different realm the hero would walk around in and look at things instead of just having a normal inventory or equipment set up. Even the overly hyped evolving weaponry was just a case of as you upgrade your melee or ranged skill the weapon would change colour or shape depending on how many hollow-men you killed or how often you drank a potion.

I can only really recommend this to people who played Fable 2 and wanted less of the fantasy adventure and more of the tedious simple life simulator. It's fun for a while but in the end has just had too much taken out of it and not enough put back in. If not then just as a rental to play over a free weekend, or a week if you are a completionist, but over that and you'll find yourself getting bored of how standard the whole experience is with no significant high points except for the cast and the rare burst of well written puns.

Thanks for reading.

EpicFlyFire

Finally Back (in Black)...

2010-05-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to apologies firstly for not having posted in a long time. I had a lot of personal things to sort out. Not to worry as now everything is sorted and I'm ready to get back to my Rants and Reviews and what better way to welcome myself back to my own blog then with a double review... kind of.

The reason I am looking at both of these movies together, aside from the obvious reason, is that I only just saw them both recently. I was invited to see Iron Man 2 with some friends only to be told that I must see the first one, unlike when we saw Transformers. So the night before we went out to see the sequel I sat down and watched the first one. So here we have my opinions and views on the first Iron Man movie. I won't be talking about it too much because what I really want to get on to is the sequel, Iron Man 2.

Iron Man has never been a comic book hero I've been interested in. In fact the most attention I ever gave the character was when playing Marvel Verses Capcom 2 so not complain at me if I saw something that goes against any of the many different comic book canons.

Well here it is...

Iron Man

Firstly we have to look at the character Tony Stark, played by Robert Downy Jr. Let me just say, he blew me out of the water. His performance was so powerful, from the cocky young millionaire who has no care in the world to the broken man returning after being a prisoner of war, with a new revelation on his weapons company. I can't help but feel like Tony Stark is what Bruce Wayne is trying to act like when he's not being batman. Robert Downy Jr manages to pull this character off so well it's so unbelievable that he is also a genius and willing to endanger himself as Iron Man. I also very much enjoyed the flirtatious banter between himself and his personal assistant, Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. The two of them have such a wonderful chemistry that is clear what they feel about each other but at the same time it's different enough for the tired cliche that their romance never seems to truly kick off during the entire movie. In an odd way I prefer this way of writing and acting, maybe just because it felt so different.

Now... Iron Man himself. Sadly I felt he should have had more screen time but this movie was mainly about his origin so we had lots of comical experimentations as Tony Stark attempted to get the technology right. The Iron Man Mark One Suit, during the escape scene was built up so well that I was genuinely more excited to see Tony Stark jump around in that suit then i was about the final Iron Man suit, in fact I spent that entire section of the movie with a huge grin on my face wishing I had seen it in the cinema instead of on my home television.

The villain, Obadiah Stane, was the standard style villain for a comic book movie I felt. But being played by Jeff Bridges means that every line was delivered with such awesome power that you can't help but secretly hope he wins in the final fight. His huge, Hulk like, suit seemed so intimidating in front of Iron Man's own you actually sense the threat even though we know how powerful and awesome he is. Especially when Obadiah Stane launches Iron Man through a bus in one blow.

Overall the action was entertaining and the characters were well cast and directed. I never showed an interest in Iron Man before but now I think I might. To be honest this has been one of the best comic movies I have seen in recent years and I highly recommend it to any fan of Iron Man, comic books films or just good old fashion action movies. Definitely one to watch if you haven't yet.

Iron Man 2

Let's start with the obvious, Iron Man is still awesome, Tony Stark is some how more awesome and having War Machine in it teamed up with Iron Man is so awesome that I wanted the final action scene to last longer, much much longer. In fact, and I am being serious now, the final fight scene between Iron Man, War Machine and the Hammer Drones did not go on for long enough. Sure it made Iron Man look epic compared to anyone else who even attempted to make their own suit look like a foolish idiot. Which he does, on several occasions. Even when he's pissed out of his skull at his own Birthday party he manages to kick War Machine in to yesterday.... that is until the Dragonball Z style energy attack explosion. This does bring up another interesting point that Rhodey does pretty well considering it's his first time to use a suit. I can only assume he either has great natural talent for it or there is a lot of AI assistance.

Plot wise it's a great advancement on the establishment from the first Iron Man movie and carries on practically exactly where it left off. Tony Stark is being demanded by the government to had over his Iron Man suits to the military, to which he really doesn't want to as they will just be used in wars taking thousands of lives. Also giving a comedic moment when Tony Stark manages to highjack a television screen and show evidence of how other arms developers are still years behind developing their own suits meaning there is no possible threat. He does this using his mobile phone... yeah, that's right, just his mobile phone! What more can I say?

I really don't want to give too much away in terms of spoilers but Tony Stark is being poisoned because the element used to power his heart magnet, i don't know what it's actually called, is leaking in to his blood stream. Ouch. Either way he is trying to find a cure as well as deal with Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, as well as Justin Hammer, another weapons manufacturer who is trying to create a new weapon to completely surpass the Iron Man suit. He's got a lot of stuff to deal with here. It doesn't help that Nick Fury, Samuel L Jackson for anyone counting the amount of films he's been in, keeps popping up trying to recruit him in to the Avengers. This may seem like a lot is going on but the film constructs itself very well around the various plot points. As I said before, the only thing that felt rushed was the final fight sequence.

Once again, Iron Man has shown me the potential of how good comic movies can be. Unlike the two recent Batman movies, which both are fantastic I'm not denying that, they don't feel like comic book films. Both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 both do. I'm not sure what it is about them but they both are incredibly entertaining and with rumors of a third one being made I can honestly say it will be considered as one of the best comic book trilogies made.

Thanks for Reading,

EpicFlyFire

Sunbathing on the Plastic Beach

2010-03-27T18:05:00.001-07:00

Look out guys it's a music review, yes I know it's crazy but we all need a change of pace every now and then. First I want to point out that I know very little about music. Sure I listen to it all the time, have a nice collection of CDs and play guitar when it comes to talking about it technically... well I'm pretty much lost at sea.

One of the main reasons I am reviewing this album is that this band is pretty different from my usual taste in music but since the first time I heard a song by them way back in the day I have been hooked. I have no idea what it is but... anyway we are focusing on their new album so lets dig in to...

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

When I first heard this was being released I have no shame in saying I got excited. Very rarely do I get excited about new bands albums. There are about three bands that I will go out and buy the album as soon as it came out and I was surprised this album turned out to be one of them. This review layout might be similar to ones you've seen in the past, broken down track by track. Lets get started...

1. Orchestral Intro

This track is fairly obvious what its all about. The intro, simple enough surprisingly slips well in to...

2. Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach

Okay instantly this song stood out for me but I think that's mainly because Snoop Dogg was a guest vocalist. His voice and style, in my opinion, is very unique and after the strings of the intro the thick beat and bass combined with the almost jazz like horns really stirs you up for the rest of the album.

3. White Flag

This song to me seemed slightly standard. That might seem odd if you have ever heard it but for the Gorillaz it felt like a slight disappointment, almost like they forgot to finish it.

4. Rhinestone Eyes

When this song started I thought that maybe the singer was bored. But as the song progressed and slowly built up it almost felt like a bizarre drug induced love song. This song definitely made me feel like I was listening to a Gorillaz album.

5. Stylo

This is the first single of this album and part of me feels like it was an odd choice compared to the rest of the album. However the electric bass line and the addition of Bobby Womack's amazing vocals, sadly I've never heard of him before this album and he's in it twice, make this song a staple of the already astounding Gorillaz track list.

6. Superstar Jellyfish

Firstly, this is the best song title of the whole album. Secondly, the intro and verse vocals by De La Soul and Gruff Rhys are hilarious and just musically pleasing at the same time. It all fits so well together and then you throw in an outstanding chorus and you make my favorite track from the first half of the album.

7. Empire Ants

8. Glitter Freeze

I'm going to quickly go over these tracks because they both feel a little bit like generic album fillers. They are interesting to listen to but not enough to make them really stand out amongst the other tracks. More like background music during an interlude while you wait for the next half of the album.

9. Some Kind of Nature

This song is hard to describe for me. It's easily my favorite track on the album and I'm not sure why. It might be the simple beat and looping riff. It might be the way the way that Lou Reed's voice seems to bounce so well off Damon Albarn's. Either way I found that this track instantly grabbed me, drilled in to my head and claimed to be my favorite. Closely followed by...

10. On Melancholy Hill

For a title describing a sad piece of land it's surprisingly upbeat. The lyrics, chirpy electric beeps and a nicely paced drums make this track a fantastic way to follow up from the track before it. It's almost a shame the album couldn't keep this standard in the next few tracks.

11. Broken

12. Sweepstakes

13. Plastic Beach

14. To Binge

15. Cloud of Unknowing

I didn't want to just breeze over all these tracks but like before these seem like album filler.s I can tell they aren't but after hearing some of the great tracks that came before it I just feel like we are sliding down the slope to the end of the album. Even the odd beats of Sweepstake, which always end up in my head, or the return of Bobby Womack in Cloud of Unknowing really made my ears perk up.

16. Pirate Jet

Just when I thought the album was over this track came flying out of left field and really made me happy I bought this album. This track seems so odd and different to the tracks before it I was worried I'd some how changed CD without realizing it. The choice of instruments and the way the different sounds come together in to what sounds like a mess at first quickly slip in to an easily recognizable beat will have anyone nodding along. Once again Damon Albarn's vocals really make the song complete. I guess it helps that I also happen to be a big fan of Blur, Damon Albarn's previous band from those who don't know. An amazing way to end the album.

Conclusion

It's right to see what Damon Albarn meant when he stated this was the most commercial / pop record he has made. Some tracks feel generic while others are pushing speakers to their limit. Sadly I think when compared to the previous albums from the Gorillaz there may be a slight disappointment amongst fans and not the first to get from new comers.

Must Hear

Some Kind of Nature

On Melancholy Hill

Plastic Beach

Listen to before this

Gorillaz - Gorillaz

Listen to after this

Demon Days - Gorillaz

Hope my first music review was a success and you all enjoyed it and helped some people with their thoughts on the album.

Thanks for Reading

EpicFlyFire

Are Gamers Really That Lonely?

2010-03-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Okay what the hell happened to co-op play in video games? And before anyone talks about online play they can stop right there. I'm talking about sitting in the same room, two controllers, split-screen CO-OP!

The amount of times if been looking with friends at latest game releases think to myself, which game will be good for us to get and play together, only to see that little symbol on the back of the cover.... 1 Player. Oh sure they say co-op but that is only online. I understand that online play is a great step in gaming and that it is making games worth a lot more if you can battle / race / adventure / or in some why challenge each other no matter how far away you may be but.... what if we are in the same room? Surely games today can handle a simple request like that? Right?

Wrong. I am sick of looking at new releases, discovering the great features they have only to discover that if I own it and take it round to a friends house to play we can't enjoy it because it's only single player offline. One game in particular that I have noticed this with is...

(Verses Marines...)

...

I was looking forward to playing this multiplayer with a friend. There is a specific game mode in which you get to play as a group of marines trying to battle against wave after wave of aliens and see how long you can survive. This sounds like so much fun, specifically as my friend and I both love this type of game mode, which we have previously played in Gears of War (Horde) and Halo: ODST (Firefight). However I pick up the game and what do I find? That those modes, in fact all the multiplayer modes, and only available when playing online.

What does it take for developers to have a split-screen co-op mode in video games these days? I know there is a great list of games in the last year or so that have offline co-op such as Halo, Gears of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Resident Evil 5, Left for Dead but.... I hear great things about these new releases and am just disappointed that I have to sit at home alone in my room just to play them with a friend.

I think what makes this worse is how online works with modern consoles; Xbox 360 doesn't have a built in wireless adaptor and you have to pay a monthly fee to play online (come on Microsoft get it together!), the Playstation 3 apparently has some difficulty sometimes when trying to get games set up with others online, can't say i've experienced this much myself as I haven't played much on the PS3 and even then not many times online - but hey atleast it's built in wireless and no fees - and the Nintendo Wii... sure it can get online and it has some fantastic multiplayer games but since its been marketed as a fashion accessory not many people I know have one anymore.

I can understand that maybe some developers make games look so good and run so well that they can't cope with adding multiplayer for fear of frame rate issues or the console may overheat and explode but it pains me when I see a list of get games coming out in the future only to know that I can't play them in the company of some good friends. It doesn't help that video game companies are so willingly to screw over gamers to get more money these days, like charging £60 for a wireless internet adaptor (Xbox 360) or making you play with the Gameboy Advance as controllers, meaning if you want full co-op you need to first make sure everyone has a Gameboy Advance and then you need four specific cables to connect it to the console... Thanks Nintendo for that great idea for games like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Legend of Zelda: Four Swords... Great move... You do realize that is the big reason those games weren't as popular as they should have been, right?

I hope when you read this you agree with me. This is an issue that has been plaguing my mind for a while now. I can kick and scream all I want but I know eventually I'll have to settle with just sitting alone as I play with a friend instead of making a good night in with it, which quite frankly makes me feel a little like the gaming companies are now just assuming all it's customers are sad loners with no social life except when they are blowing peoples heads off or leveling their wizard online... For an industry that insists on growing they are treating their audience the same way they did make in the 80s.

Thanks for Reading

EpicFlyFire

Nails in Knees and Shuriken Bullet Time

2010-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Okay people lets get started here because I want to talk about two movies that I have seen recently. One was a new release and one was an older movie rented on DVD. One of these movies was brilliant and the other... well lets just say it was such a disappointment not even the pizza afterwards could raise my spirits as they tail spun in to the mountain of awful media waste. Anyway, lets not delay anymore...

Taken

Okay lets start with the obvious. This movie was rented and recommended by a good friend of mine stating it was "like a traditional action movie". This interested me almost instantly as action movies have taken quite a painful dip in to the river of grit and realism, heros are real people and struggle through their hardships to the glorious end scene where some people are dead and some people are alive but the audience understand that this was the triumph of a regular person. Don't get me wrong I love that aspect of many action movies but it does get a bit boring after a while. Taken on the other hand, this guy is almost invincible, taking no hits and never missing. He easily cons his way in to a room of criminals and proceeds to take out every single one of them, well except the one guy he captures to interrogate, and we'll talk about that scene later.

Now another major aspect of this movie that really made me enjoy it is simply the lead actor. Liam Neeson is superb. I've never seen him in a movie that I didn't like, in fact he is one of the reasons I enjoyed the movie Love Actually. He is a retired undisclosed government institute agent, divorced and overly protective of his daughter. Can you guess the plot yet? That's right! His daughter is kidnapped. Kidnapped by the french criminal underworld no less. Which Liam Neeson learns of while on the phone to his daughter as she is kidnapped resulting in one of the greatest phone calls ever captured on film.

Liam Neeson:

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

Holy crap was that not the coolest thing to say to the guys who just kidnapped your daughter? Of course Liam Neeson's voice makes it. This guy has just found out his daughter has been kidnapped and he comes out with this? The guy is so cool, calm and collected that it just tells to audience one thing and one thing only...

Don't. Mess. With. Liam. Neeson.

Now remember that interrogation scene I mention earlier? Well this is what makes it so good. Neeson has the guy tied to a chair. He then proceeds to stab 6 inch nails in to this guys knees with his bare hands, nooks them up to the electrical mains and turns it on. The whole time he does this he explains how it's so much easier to do this now then when he was still an active member of the undisclosed government institution. He keeps doing this till the guy finally tells Neeson all he needs to know. But does Neeson let him go after being so 'cooprative'? Of course not! He just turns the power and just walks out and leaves the guy lit up like Christmas. Once again everyone...

Don't. Mess. With. Liam. Neeson.

Now Liam Neeson doen't take a single wound for the entire movie until it's climax when he has his final battle where he is shot in the arm, slashed once across the back and again on his arm all while fighting this criminal leader. He does all this without sleeping or resting. He leaves the US, goes directly to France and where his daughter went missing and does not stop until he is done. The man is a machine in this movie bent on getting his daughter back, which of course he does.

This movies action was not only fun and entertaining but kind of smart too. The ways Neeson gets around finding information and taking out these kidnappers is just an awesome thing to behold on screen and in some cases hilarious to witness. This movie was entertaining and the action drew me in so much my eyes were glued to the screen, the whole experienced by Liam Neeson's performance. I would recommend this film to anyone anytime. Just remember...

Don't. Mess. With. Liam. Neeson.

Ninja Assassin

Here we go people, as by now you may have guessed this is the movie that I hated and was also one I saw in the cinema. That's right I paid to see this at a cinema. I saw the poster above and instantly thought, that will be awful but how can you mess up ninjas killing each other? I wish that thought had never entered my head because it made me somehow hype this film up as being a fantastic martial arts movie with ninjas fighting it out with other ninjas. How wrong I was...

But wait... Ninjas did fight each other and there was a lot of violence involving ninjas. But it was so bland and disappointing. How can someone make Ninjas boring? I didn't understand it. But there I was a few days ago looking up at the end credits to an awesome film, turning to me ninja loving friend thinking... How did they mess that up so badly? Seriously how?

I will admit there was two specific parts of this film I did enjoy, three if you count finally seeing the end credits. The first was... well the opening. We see some guy getting a tattoo. He is clearly a moron but we move on. He starts acting all tough to the guy giving him a tattoo for 'disrespecting him' and suddenly the lights going out. The old guy gets scared and tells the moron and his followers of other morons about how he survived a ninja attack then guess what happens.... I surprised me anyway. This guys head is cut in two, and I don't mean vertically. It was cut just under his nose so as the body hit the floor his tongue flapped out everywhere. This is where the awesomeness stopped...

That is until the other scene I enjoyed. In a flash back we see the main character making his first kill as a member of the clan. He doesn't seem to like it however and he explains this to the leader of the ninja clan. You can't leave the clan though and our hero must now fight a bunch of fully trained ninjas on a rooftop in the rain. Cliche setting but looked fantastic.

I don't know what it was about this movie but it kept reminding me of other, much better films. There was one moment of the film that looked like it was trying to mimic 300 with a long shot entirely in slow-motion. Another part of the movie reminded me of Lord of the Rings. How you ask? Well let me explain... The ninjas for some reason love to whisper random stuff as they sneak about, which for starters is a bad idea but anyway. Then they were sneaking in to a room where they were going to kill someone who was asleep in bed. Remember when the Ringwraiths did the EXACT same thing in Fellowship of the Ring? Then there was the way they showed people getting hit with shurikens in slow-motion that reminded me of The Matrix. Even the final confrontation between the master ninja and the hero ninja reminded of something else. The hero's final finishing blow looked like a slightly darker version of Cloud's Omnislash from Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children. I don't know what they were trying to do but I left the cinema wanting to see all those movies instead of the one I had just paid to see.

Ninja Assassins was an awful movie. It has killed everything about the ninja that made ninjas so awesome. The plot was weak, the acting terrible and the action left a lot to be desired. Never see this film, ever. I mean it. This film needed Liam Neeson in it because as well all should know by now...

Don't. Mess. With. Liam. Neeson.

Thanks for Reading!

EpicFlyFire

Dealing With Darksiders

2010-01-28T06:52:00.000-08:00

Okay here we go, a game I was really looking forward to that get a bunch of mixed reviews. I was really looking forward to it when I first saw an advertisement on the television while watching Stargate Universe (we'll cover that show sometime later). What they showed us actually got me excited. It looked epic with huge style in the character and creature designs and when I found out you'd play as one of the four horseman during the apocalypse I was sold. Would it live up to all the hype I built up in my excited little head?

Darksiders

Turns out.... Kind of. Darksiders is such a difficult game to talk about because when you first look at it you instantly see influences from games such as God of War or Devil May Cry. You play as War the first horseman of the apocalypse so it's already set an idea in the players head what you'll be doing most of the time... Then you notice he has a sword on his back that'll make Cloud Strife jealous. It's well established from the get go that you, as War, will be killing things. A lot. And it's the apocalypse after all so there are legions of demons, monsters, zombies and angels to hack and slash your way through.

But don't just dismiss this as a simple God of War clone. This game actually has more in common with adventure games like The Legend of Zelda or Okami then God of War. Believe it or not Darksiders actually has dungeons for you to explore with puzzles, items, keys, maps and a final boss at the end, which in typical Zelda fashion requires you to us whatever new item you have in order to defeat it.

Speaking of items you might find, they are heavily influenced, and by influenced I mean borrowed from, other games. You get a giant shuriken which essentially acts as Link's boomerang. You also get a hook shot like Link which works in a very similar way. You even get a horse later on in the game which lets you fight on horse back, let's see Link do that...

...Oh yeah... However what Link never got that War does is a gun. Yes, War is given a gun eventually and you know what that means? Smash an enemy up in the air and then pin them in mid air with a hail of bullets. Now where have I done that before? Oh yes Devil May Cry.

These are all things I have noticed in other reviews. Constantly stating how Darksiders borrows everything about it from other games. And I can see what they are saying but this is the exact same argument the plagues MMO reviews. Any new MMO that is released 'borrows' a mountain of ideas from World of Warcraft. The argument here is that since WOW is so popular that taking aspects of that gold mine of a game can result in shared success in other MMOs. Darksiders is doing the same. Using aspects of existing games to use in their own. However Darksiders may do this a little too much. After all War does get a Portal gun.... and even a master sword! (Play the game to see what I mean).

One aspect of the game I enjoyed was the art design and the style of the whole game. Each enemy, character and location has been beautifully designed. War himself looks like he's stepped out of a Warhammer 40k book but that seems to suit the character. When the apocalypse comes I can imagine War riding through the streets on his horse, Ruin, with the other horsemen close behind. The lead artist for this games art design was Joe Madureira, a comic artist and writer. From what I've seen of his work after playing Darksiders I feel that his creative influences in the style of this game give it that step up it needs so it stands out amongst the other games released around the same time as this one, such as Bayonetta or Dante's Inferno.

After playing through the entire game I can say that it was a fun, enjoyable experience. I love the gameplay, despite having just one attack button, maybe a second would help to allow better combos, and I loved the art design. What's more is I loved watching the cutscenes. In some games I find myself getting bored of the cut scenes and wanting to just carry on playing. I recently watched a friend playing Bayonetta and got fed up of watching her flip around in the cut scenes doing things that you'd never do in the actual game. I felt that same when I first played Devil May Cry. Also with an ending that opens up for a sequel that I desperately hope they make, with the hint at there being four player co-op... what can I say, this game would be the great way to start a series of games based around the four horseman.

Thanks for Reading

EpicFlyFire

Elementary my dear Wats- No I'm not making that kind of joke...

2010-01-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Firstly let me wish a Happy New Year to everyone and Happy Holidays to you all!

Now on with what I really want to talk about.

Sherlock Holmes

I recently went to see the new Sherlock Holmes and I have just a few things to say about it. Firstly, I loved it. It was an entertaining film taking an already famous character, concept and plot and making it a hit movie for 2009... not that there wasn't enough of them already. Secondly, it's a classic British tale that was beautifully told with style and elegance. Don't get me wrong though I know people are going to be upset with how much "Hollywood" has been injected in to it but i don't think people can hold that against the film. If that was true you'd have to hate a lot of really good movies that are out there.

This problem may all come from the original material. The first time Sherlock Holmes entered our lives on the paper in the wonderful classics. Sadly, I have never read them but don't hold that against me! I know how most people view the character of Sherlock Holmes. I know the whole picture. The hat, the pipe, the coat, the voice and the manners. I must stress this to anyone and everyone.... Don't think about that version of the character as you enter the cinema to see this film. You will be surprised and in some cases, stupid narrow minded cases, disappointed. In my head Sherlock Holmes is the smart detective who walks in to a crime scene, finds the clues, does some science back at home, doesn't say a thing to Watson, calls the police on the suspect, tells everyone what happened, everyone is amazed, Holmes goes home and drinks tea. Well in this version that plot is only half true.

Holmes is unmistakably a genius. He can estimate recovery times, he knows chemicals and their effects as well conduct experiments to advance man kinds scientific advancement. In an early scene Holmes is trying to build the first every silencer; which unfortunately fails resulting in him blasting a series of holes in his wall and upsetting his Watson and his visitors.

But don't mistake Holmes to be all brain and no brawn. Holmes is an expert in hand to hand combat, I was told shortly after coming out of the cinema that in the original novels Watson states that as far as he is aware Holmes is undefeated in a fist fight. Which is displayed fantastically in in movie in a scene in which Holmes takes part in a bare-fist boxing match, which he wins.

The combat brings me to another aspect of this film that I loved. One a few occasions the audience is given an insight in to how Holmes' brain works. The action slows, which some people may say causes the flow of the movie to be ruined but i disagree as i think it happens perfectly in the flow of the action, therefore allowing the audience to see the details that Holmes picks up on instantly. Holmes supplies a narration as to what he plans to do, what will happen and how he will react to it. I'm not sure what it is but seeing how Holmes plans everything and then seeing it all unfold in real-time has something wonderful about it. Like when you are trying to draw something and you step back and see the finished picture. You feel proud of what you've done. It's the same with these parts of the movie. There is something joyous about seeing Holmes' plans come together.

Watson is also, for lack of a better word, revamped. Watson is also much more, again for lack of a better word, streetwise. Which is a Godsend. If Watson was still a bumbling side-kick who is only around for comic relief or so Holmes has some one to explain things to. Instead in this depiction of the characters it seems more like Holmes needs Watson much more then Watson needs Holmes. Opening up millions of slash fanfiction writers potential squee-fest.

Moving off that unwanted train of thought... (I'm not homophobic just don't want to picture Robert Downy Jr and Jude Law... you know...) This movie is defiantly one of the highlights, movie-wise, of last year. There were a lot of good films made but there was something about it that I found entertaining, almost too entertaining in some moments. I left the cinema deeply entertained...

However, yes unfortunately it wasn't perfect, I did have some issues with the presentation of this movie. There was a lot to go through. The plot as full of important sections, be it character development, plot advancement or and action scene. I didn't think any of it was unnecessary. Sadly all these things were rushed. It felt as though we were on a light speed tour of Sherlock Holmes and his story. It was a long film but at the same time I wanted it to be longer. I wanted more build up to the climax, I wanted more witty banter between Holmes and Watson and I wanted more action. Sadly, as i previously experienced when watching the film 9, films can never be as long as I want them to be. The same goes with Sherlock Holmes.

All in all Sherlock Holmes was a fantastic movie. I would recommend it to fans of action, mystery and movies in general. It's funny, smart, full of action and fantastic dialogue. If you haven't seen it yet then it's a must.

Thanks for reading.

EpicFlyFire

"I just used my violence on them!"

2009-12-22T13:49:00.001-08:00

It's my first review everyone!

To start this review off I want to say that I'm not a huge comic book fan. Sure there are a few I really enjoyed reading, there's a couple of Star Wars graphic novels I loved and I am currently waiting for the next Stephen King's The Dark Tower graphic novel to be released. I've also read a very small amount of Marvel and DC comics but not enough to call myself an expert. I think the clear thing to say that the comics I read come from a previous interest in the subject matter in some other medium. Star Wars obviously from the movies and for The Dark Tower comics, well I picked them up after finishing the series of novels with the same name. So now we turn our attention to what I am talking about today....

Atomic Robo

If we take a peek at Volume One of this comic series, created by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, we instantly get an idea of what we can expect from this imaginative series. The blurb itself just paints the picture of how amazing this graphic novel is going to be.

"In 1923, Nikola Tesla's career is in its twilight until he unveils a robot with automatic intelligence - - ATOMIC ROBO!"

The premise is simply this. Atomic Robo creates TESLADYNE, a company dedicated to researching the very edge of scientific development be from earth of further. They are now considered the leading force in defense against the unexplained, the weird and the down right crazy. I hope you starting to understand why I love this comic. Of course being a sucker for quick witted comedy is also a contributing factor. Atomic Robo is full of fantastic pieces of dialogue between characters that come off the page in such away that sometimes feels more like its a parody of the science fiction genre. For example look at what Atomic Robo says in reply to "Are we not men of SCIENCE?"

See what I mean?

This example helps with the next point I want to make. The art work. It just seems the fit so well with the style of writing and plot. The character designs fit well with not only the stereotypes of the genre but also in a satirical way to make them both comical but also new and interesting characters, ranging from Jenkins, the hardened veteran who Robo found fighting single handed in the Vampire Dimension (which is explained in one of the B-stories in the back of Volume One, or like James Milligan, the Scottish one man army who saves Atomic Robo during World War Two. All these characters featured in both Volume One and Two are well thought out, even if they appear in only a few pages. The most entertaining of all the characters is by far Atomic Robo and his enemies.

Atomic Robo always is first to point out scientific inaccuracies or problems with enemies plans or claims. In the above example, taken from a short comic featuring a dinosaur who can talk claiming to be a time traveling genius dinosaur. Atomic Robo however finds this impossible to believe and spends the entire short arguing over what really happened. I won't reveal what the punch line to the short is but I will admit it was the first comic longer then three panels that had me laughing so hard.

Don't think this is all humour though. The actions comes thick and fast from battling giant ants to taking on Nazis on a train through the mountain. Atomic Robo is super strong and durable which is why he is selected for most of his missions. A joke I found in both Volumes is that Atomic Robo is impervious to bullets and people seem to be constantly forgetting this and firing at him only to get injured themselves. But it's not just bullets. On several occasions Atomic Robo has withstood explosive blasts from simple grenades to whole factories detonating around him.

I really want to talk more about how entertaining this series is but I don't want to go in to spoilers and ruin your own experience. All I can say is that I highly recommend Atomic Robo to anyone who enjoys science fiction and a good laugh. So far I have read only the first two Volumes and eagerly await the release of the third. Hopefully it won't disappoint. If it does then expect to see a rant on here shortly after I get it.

Also visit the creators website www.nuklearpower.com

Thanks for reading and in the words of Atomic Robo "You must be the mook I'm about to punch through a wall."

EpicFlyFire

It's all down hill from here...

2009-12-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

EpicFlyFire here welcoming you to Rants and Reviews, my very own little slice of the Internet where I will be discussing, however one sided this discussion will be, anything from movies, books, comics and video games... or in fact whatever is in my head at the time...

Enough of that, don't worry people this won't just be me going on and on about things that piss me off. In fact I do plan to keep the reviews flowing. Fair reviews of course. The good, the bad and unfortunately the ugly will all be appearing here, as long as I can get my greasy hands on them. Feel free to comment on anything I say here and hopefully I'll get my first big review up here soon...

Now on to something actually entertaining!

So recently I've been playing back through the first two halo games. I know, I know, but before you say anything I'm not some hopeless Master Chief fan boy... They are genuinely fun games. With friends anyway. Seriously playing this game again has made me realize the only reason I enjoyed it in the first place was because every time I played them was in co-op with friends. In fact, playing this by yourself I'm just finding myself getting bored way too easily. I could be in the middle of facing off a group of elites on legendary and I still find myself glancing over at my games thinking what else I could be playing.

When playing both Halo and Halo 2 I'm starting to fear that when I first played them, way back on a friends Xbox on the campaign and just being blown away by how entertaining the concept, the controls, the combat and the plot was. Now I'm just thinking "Okay MC time to kill some more aliens... oh they're all dead, where's the next bunch..." And I guess when you break it down that's all it really is.

Know at this point some of you may be thinking "Hey EFF, Surely you feel this way because you have played the sequels and many other similar shooters?" And yes in a way you are right... So lets consider Halo 3 and Halo3: ODST.

Halo 3... Not long enough.... Copy paste of the first two but a little shinier

Halo 3:ODST.... Not what I was expecting from the build up.... God they give the alien a cigar at the end for Christ sake!

I'm sure I'll cover them both in more depth at a later date but now I feel this welcome has gone on for long enough. I think this has given you a little taster in to the Rant side of this more then anything else. If this isn't your thing then stick around because my actual reviews will be a lot more formally written and thought out instead of just what pops out of my head.

Thanks for reading.

EpicFlyFire.