Tainted Publications

I really think so…

Let’s talk about Halo: Legends. It’s available on dvd and blu-ray. AND OnDemand. AND Itunes. AND Digital download. So pretty much anywhere.

I have read some other reviews on this film. I love how some “journalists” think it’s part of journalism to be snarky and jaded. I don’t get that. So, I do my best to tell it like it is.

Halo: Legends is a compilation of short films that revolve around the Spartan v. Covenant war from the Halo series. Each of the shorts was directed by fairly well known anime directors. The don’t really have anything to do with eachother other than the war, or the fact that they have a spartan or 2 in them. Personally, I like that. I love being told a good story. Kudos if you can get the story of an epic 3 hour movie out in 30 mins.

As a fan of the series, there is something for everyone. Weather it’s something that’s visually stunning, a different way of story telling, or something funny. Halo: Legends, in my mind delivers.

What I dislike is the price point. For me, it’s a bit too high. Also it does not include a digital copy version. If it did, I would say that the price point was just right. However, there are a TON of extras. There is a “making of” each of the episodes. Yeah… lots of extra time.

All in all, it was fun and interesting view through the eyes of different story tellers into a universe I have grown to love. Refreshing and poignant, this is a must see for Halo fans. For average Joe; he might dig it too.

Verdict: Fans= buy Non-fans= rent

Yup, you guessed it. I’m going to talk about one of the biggest movies of the year “Avatar”.

What do you get when you combine “The Smurfs”, “Dances with Wolves”, and “Robotech”. You get James Camron’s “Avatar”.
So lets get down to it, shall we? We live in a time where action films are getting bigger. I mean, huge. Not only in terms of scope, but in budget. But, does just throwing money at an intellectual property make it better? or even worth an audience seeing it? No. Just because you throw money at something does not mean that it WILL be good. In this case, the added budget made for a good film.

Yup, Avatar was good. Very good.
Now, I’ll tell you why. My suspension of disbelief (”The temporary acceptance as believable of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible. This is usually to allow an audience to appreciate works of literature or drama that are exploring unusual ideas.” -http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/suspension-of-disbelief.html) didn’t falter. Which is rather hard for me, being a trained actor.

I generally try to keep these review spoiler free. Now will be no different. However, there are themes in this film that are similar to our own American history, and our own imperialism. Now mix in a helping of inredible CGI, giant smurfs, “Ferngully”, and robots; you get a pretty interesting film. As it sounds original, it really isn’t. But, then again, most things that are done in this day and age aren’t new. However we have to realize that sometimes, different people tell the story better. When you put a different angle on something, and the perspective is slightly scewed, it can open a whole new range of feeling and emotion not found in the original work.
In this case, it takes a concept from history and puts it in a truly amazing world where anything is possible. This is why I love sci-fi.

Verdict: Avatar is awesome, see it on a big screen. The bigger the better.

P.S. If i did include spoilers this review would last at least 10 pages.

So today I’m talking about a game that hit the shelves not too long ago, Dragon Age: Origins.

The holiday season is quickly approaching so fast in fact, that the retail overlords are forcing it upon us so early that we are nearly going to miss the only true traditional American holiday. No, not the superbowl; Thanksgiving. That Wonderful holiday marked with feasting, parading, and booze.
Why is this important? Wouldn’t I like to see the shelves full of games for people to play? No. Sweet god no. I would rather see one quality game on the shelf than three hundred copies of various “That’s So Raven vs. Hannah Montana featuring the Jonas Brothers pretending to be characters from Twilight”. The video game industry has always made games that suck to pander to younger demographics and to parents that want to satiate their kids with something that resembles television but isn’t, so they can tell other parents at PTA meetings, “My children never watch television.”

As gamers are getting older, we are looking for content that engages us. Sometimes it’s a solid combat system. Sometimes it’s big bouncing boobs, i.e. the DOA series. Other times it’s really good story. DAo, has all that and more. I mean come on, it’s bioware. At this point if bioware comes out with a game that truly sucks, the world will in fact end. I’m not going to lie. I will suckle on the teat of the grand bioware cash cow, till the milk gets sour. I really dig everything that I have ever played from them. I will also say, I was rather apprehensive about playing DAo. I thought that all it was, was a mass effect clone set in dragonlance type realms. I was wrong.

DAo is a new vision on things that are familiar. I don’t want to give too much away, because this game really does scream to be played. It’s also important to know that the “:Origins” is a pretty important part of the title. Each race/class combination has its own story, to a certain point. Then all roads lead to the main plot arch. But remember, this is mighty bioware we are talking about here. Each play through is different, or can be. I’m pretty sure they want to get a point across. That point being, not every decision we make is good or bad, black and white. Life is a “grey” area. (Get it, grey warden? grey area?) This really does make DAo stand out. The relationships that you have with your fellowship also add to the story. Again, I don’t want to give too much away.

This game is a gem for fantasy fans, rpg fans, and smart people. All I can do is recommend it. I know that in the string of holiday madness a game like this can get overlooked. Please don’t. If anything a game with a huge amount of replay value should be looked for. Would you rather play $60 on a game that takes you two hours with a lame story that you could have written on the wall of a bathroom stall in one sitting? Or, would you like to be able to grab a drink or your choice, and watch a story unfold around you like a unique tulip, as you hack and slash your way to peace? Kill the Hannah Montana games. Set the Jonas Brothers games on fire. Make your kids play Tetris until they are smart enough for games like DAo.

Verdict— Full of so much win, it will give you wood!

“Ain’t talking bout love”, no, I’m talking bout a new iteration of the “Guitar Hero” franchise.

This is a review of both “Guitar Hero 5″-ish and “Guitar Hero: Van Halen”

So, over a month ago I picked up “Guitar Hero 5″ after I saw a commercial for it advertising that for each copy bought before or during the month of September, would get a free copy of “Guitar Hero: Van Halen”. It seems to me that this promotion would have worked much better should they have packaged this with “Rock Band: Beatles”. Seeing as RB:B outsold GH5, by a lot. Don’t get me wrong. I love the fab four. I just didn’t want to spend that kind of coin on the full band kit, because the last guitar hero game I bought was for my mighty PS2. That’s right, I have not owned a rhythm game since the advent of the PS3 or the 360. Oh my god- Oh my god, I know, I must be some sort of gaming Luddite, these days. Truth be told, I just didn’t feel that what was being released early on for next-gen stuff was much different than what already was out. So I waited. And waited. And waited.

I ended up playing RB and RB2 the same day at a friend’s house. It was pretty fantabulous considering it was during a party and there were people playing and watching, and rocking out with us. I had fun. I really did. But, (wait for it) I couldn’t justify spending that kind of cash for a truly great multi-player game I would only end up playing by myself. So I waited some more. I ended up seeing a write up of GH5 in some publication I won’t name. It mentioned the promotion for GH:VH. I read some of the songs on it. I read that it was compatable with GH: Wolrd Tour downloads. It supported the full band experience. I stopped waiting. I got in my car. I drove to my local Gamestop-oly (get it.. play on words). I brought GH5. I followed the directions on how to get my GH:VH copy. And here I am.

From the moment I placed GH5 in my xbox360, I was hooked all over again. It really felt that this was really what I was waiting for. A truly next-gen functionality, where you can “hot swap” band members in and out during songs. The ability to change the difficulty of songs mid-stream. The use of your avatar as a band member, and everything that I mentioned before.

I played it for 4 hours straight. I went into a time warp. It was awesome. I had been having a great time with GH5. I totally forgot about why I got it in the first place and just enjoyed the game for what it was and the progress that the genre as a whole was making. Until the mail came.

I get a small envelope, a bit bigger than a CD. I opened it up right away, thinking it was junk mail. As I peered into the opening I saw the faint markings of what looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. “On a CD?”, you ask? No! It was not Pollock. It was Frankenstein. It finally came. The video game industry didn’t lie to me again! There was a sliver of hope!

I brought it to my xbox. I began to play. I began to time warp again. This time it was for 6 hours. Yay.

It is a bit more stripped down than GH5. Not much though. Pretty much everything you would expect from a GH game is there. Just about everything can be customized. You can make your own tattoos. Yippie. The meuns are not very fancy. They don’t have to be. You’re here to play a music game.

You jump in to career mode and the first thing you are treated to is Van Halen. Not VH from the 80’s, but as they are now. I have to say. It’s rather creepy how much they really do look similar. Such is the ever changing world of games I suppose. I’m not by an means great at GH games. I start at medium and slowing move to hard. The difference in difficulty in this game is pretty huge. But, it is definitely easy and worth working to get better. I only completed 3 songs on hard, but the feeling of accomplishment is really rewarding.

As for the music. This game was not just made for fans. I feel like this is GH5 1/2- featuring Van Halen. Because it isn’t just all VH songs. There are songs from Queen, Killswitch Engage, The Clash, and The Foo Fighters just to name a few. They are considered “guest acts”, and it even feels like an opening act at times. For the VH songs, if you are a fan of David Lee Roth, you are in luck. Sammy Hagar and Gary Sharone, are no where to be found in this game. You’re looking at the songs that made VH famous. There is a really cool bit when you clear a certain amount of the song list. Van Halen: The Early Years.

Yep… There is a lot to this game I’m not talking about. For good reason. You need to play it if you are a fan, of either music based games or Van Halen. There are wonderful things to be found in this game, a new level of skill to be had, and damn fine rock and roll music. Worth your time, even if you lose it in a time warp.

Verdict— Full of WIN!!!!!!!