Well kids, I hope by now you have picked up your copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2. It is a ton of fun to play, and you can catch my full and detailed review at Gear Patrol. The comparison between BC2 and Modern Warfare 2 continues to rage on. Truth be told, they are quite different games, but as two FPS giants in the gaming world competition arises. BC2 threw in a few subtle jabs throughout the first person campaign. References to snowmobile races as well as this quote:
They [Military] are just going to send those Special Forces douche bags with heart beat sensors on their rifles.
The newest stab at MW2 has materialized in the form of a new PSA against grenade spamming.
Alright, so I know I pooh pooh'd District 9 in the past, but after all the critics championed this film I had to see it. Despite what you may have heard, D9 is about illegal aliens from space that are leeching the tax payers for health care stuck here on Earth.
There is a pretty major plot point to that is unveiled in the first 20 minutes of the film. I wouldn't call it a "twist" but it something that is best discovered while watching the film not by my, or any, review. Yes the film has some political overtones (apartheid), but they aren't so bad that they detract for the film.
The movie starts with a mini non funny version of an office style documentary catching up the viewers on what is happening. A large alien space ship coasted to a halt above Johannesburg (thankfully not LA or NY; we have enough aliens in the states) 20 years ago. The aliens are stranded here and housed in a fenced off area. The aliens live in slum like conditions and are seen savaging through garbage and eating cat food (no relation to Alf).
The locals affectionately refer to the aliens as "prawns" because of their lobster like bodies. No one really wants them in Africa, and they become kind of an eyesore that needs to be dealt with. A man is sent in on behalf of the MNU (think UN, but with the addition of private military contractors) to move the prawns to a different part of town with a new FEMA-esce camp setup.
The aliens have some pretty bad ass energy weapons that cause people to explode. The film has some fairly graphic moments with guts and innards flying through the air. The action is quite good and to quote a friend of mine:
The explosions in D9 aren't necessary to the advancement of the storyline.
That being said the action is great, but unlike a Michael Bay film it really is necessary to make the film watchable.
My only complaint is regards to the amount of prawns. In the beginning of the film you see tons of them running around. The CG is great, and you can completely buy their "real-ness". Near the end of the film when a BUNCH of crap is going down in the District (sorry, keeping this spoiler free), the prawns are gone. You know they are around, but they aren't on screen at all. My only thought is that because of budget constraints they weren't able to add as many prawns because they are expensive to animate.
I recommend that you go see D9 because it is refreshingly different. The story and action are fantastic, and the film is quite entertaining. I'm somewhat handicapped in giving the full scoop without giving away a massive spoiler, but I'm telling you this film is worth your time. If you want a little taste before you go you can see the short film "Alive in Joburg" that the film is based on.
I recently trekked out to the local art house theater to free my mind from the horrors of Transformers 2. I had heard a few reviews about the new film Hurt Locker, and I my curiosity was peaked. Hurt Locker had some unique features that were quite surprising.
Hurt Locker is about an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Team disarming bombs in Iraq. Despite what you may have learned via Couterstrike, a booming voice does not state "Bomb Diffused" and "Counter Terrorist Win" after each successful disarming. The film follows Jeremy Renner who is an adrenaline junkie looking for any chance to flirt with death to the tune of a 155 shell. He often dons the protective explosives suit and looks an olive drab Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
The film follows the EOD unit as they go to a variety of scenarios that require bombs to be "handled." Despite the fact that each scenario is basically the same (a different wrapper for each IED), it held my attention quite well and had some great action sequences. I'm not really familiar at all with the ins and outs of EOD, so I can't tell you how "real" it looks. The firearms sequences were good, with one small exception; a terrorist shoulders an AK47 from about 150+ yards away and takes a single shot into a gas tank of a car. The car burst into flames and has a giant IED in the trunk. AK's aren't that accurate, and shooting into a gas tank (despite what Hollywood will tell you) won't set a car on fire. In fact (besides the engine block) it is one of the safer places to stand as the bullet's energy will disperse in the liquid. Anywho, the other action scenes were great, and the explosions in the film are top notch.
My biggest complaint about Hurt Locker was it really dragged out in through the mid second act to the end of the film. I'm not sure if this is because the action scenes take the film up to "11" and if falls back to normal speeds after that, or it is a writing/story issue. The ending also felt a little lack luster, and for "freedom of spoiler" sake I'll spare you the details. All that being said, the first half of the film is much tighter and entertaining than the latter half.
What I really enjoyed about this film is how refreshingly different it felt. The lack of big name actors (although there is some familiar cameos, like Evangeline Lilly), the independent feel(still with good explosions), and creative subject matter contributed to my enjoyment. Despite every other Iraq war film I've seen in the past few years, there is no political agenda or heavy hearted liberal message in Hurt Locker. Odd as it may sound, it is 100% truth. Regardless of your opinions on the war in Iraq, a politically neutral story that is simply about the soldiers is really what makes this film stand out.
In closing, I recommended that you see Hurt Locker. It is different, refreshing, and entertaining. I would say the film is not cinema gold but when it comes down it to, I give it a 7.5 out of 10. Much more than I can say for Transformers 2 :(
Tired of playing your old boring video games? Want a new video game paid for by your precious tax dollars? America's Army 3 is for you!
I recently downloaded the newest America's Army 3 game via Steam. I had played the America's Army 2, and found it to be quite a hassle. Gigantic files that needed to be downloaded from crowded servers all over the net as well as very comprehensive training program killed the excitement of free game. AA3 has removed the hassle downloads through the one stop shop that is Steam. The extensive training (that included quizzes on identifying helicopters via silhouettes) is now gone, and a much more streamlined version has filled its place.
When I first opened up the game I headed over to the training sequences. A quick run through an obstacle course pointed out there is no jump feature. Really? No jump? How am I supposed to break the bricks and get mushrooms and fire flowers? Instead of jump you can vault over objects not jump in the open :( AA3 did add a pretty sweet slide tackle maneuver as well as a tactical barrel roll.
After the obstacle course I moved on to the weapons training, which is about what you'd expect. You get a few mags for practice and then qualify with the M16 and iron sights. Targets pop up at different distances and you shoot for prone, crouch, and off hand (standing); pretty straight forward.
After the rifle qualification, you move on to heavy weapons training which consists of grenade launcher, SAW, and grenades (frag, smoke, and flash bang). Same thing, practice then qualify and this is where I ran into some problems. I screwed around a bit with the grenades and didn't pass the qualify. I realized this happened and when I went to retake the test I passed with 100% but I didn't get credit for it. I fought my way through the wonky menus and redid all the heavy weapons training for a third time with no luck. I quit the program and called a night.
The next morning I opened my account and it said I had passed the heavy weapons qualify as well as the medical section which I had never even touched... WTF? At this point I completed the killhouse training (shooting wooden targets and clearing rooms) and watched the cheesy chalk drawing video presentation of graduation from basic training.
Lastly, I played the multi-player, which in all honesty wasn't anything too amazing. I was only able to try out a few maps, but I did enjoy the squad based aspect of game play which was similar to BF2. Unlike BF2 the maps are much smaller and accomplishing a mission with squads (with team members who work together) was easily and effectively accomplished.
Is this game worth your time? Yes, simply because you already paid for it. It isn't nearly as good as Call of Duty or Left 4 Dead but it is okay, and a good time waster until Bioshock 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 come out. If you're playing AA3 hit me up on twitter and we'll pwn some n00bs.
Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 8:17AM 
Well kids, I hope by now you have picked up your copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2. It is a ton of fun to play, and you can catch my full and detailed review at Gear Patrol. The comparison between BC2 and Modern Warfare 2 continues to rage on. Truth be told, they are quite different games, but as two FPS giants in the gaming world competition arises. BC2 threw in a few subtle jabs throughout the first person campaign. References to snowmobile races as well as this quote:
