The Dark Knight Rises… Just In Time To Take Your Ticket Money Early.

Posted on June 12, 2012 by geelw

Hmmm… there’s over a month to go before its release and they’re selling tickets already? I didn’t know there was a Broadway play version coming (ha ha). Anyway, this pre-selling stuff is obviously in place to give the film a record-breaking box office take for the first day and weekend more than it is to assure everyone who wants to see the film can see it when they want to. Well, I guess as long as you don’t have to wait for those tickets in the mail only to lose them under the stove or go to pick them up at the theater only to get there and forget that you left your receipt stuck to the fridge (with a bat-signal magnet, no less)…

Random Film of The Week: Alien 3 – Yesterday’s Mess Is Today’s Masterpiece…

Posted on June 12, 2012 by geelw

With the exception of some clumsy CG effects and the annoying, hastily re-shot ending sequence (that was more silly than scary), I loved Alien 3 the first time I saw it. Warts and all, for a first film effort, David Fincher’s solid direction and vision along with Eliot Goldenthal’s haunting score had me hooked in from the beginning even though I understood the production was troubled from the outset. The trailer I saw looked promising and thrilling, and like many who saw it, the idea of Ripley being stuck out in the middle of nowhere on a prison planet with no weapons and at least one Alien running around made for a must-see flick. I recall reading about some production troubles and that the film was being rushed to make a target date without a completed script, something I found hard to believe for such a big franchise. Then again, the law of diminishing returns dictated the cinema deities must have their sacrifice increased tenfold after any second film in a series, so things were looking grim when I read those first reviews…

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Should You Dread DREDD? If The Poster Is Any Indication, Nope.

Posted on June 11, 2012 by geelw

Well, OK… a movie poster is JUST another slice of the hype cheese wheel, so at the end of the day it’s actually meaningless if the film it advertises stinks. That said, after reading the plot synopsis, I have a feeling that Judge Dredd’s second Hollywood outing will be a hell of a lot better than that first travesty, where the acting performance by a “robot” made it worth watching (yes, Mean Machine was the best thing in that flick).

Still, I did do a double take when I read the press release, as I mixed up Keith Urban and Karl Urban in my head and nearly choked on a bagel. Good thing I remembered who was who before it was too late or you’d all be wondering why I hadn’t posted in a while. Anyway, September 21, 2012 is the release date and I’m imagining the commercials will start dropping sooner rather than later if the studio thinks it’s got a winner on their hands. One thing I DO want in this one is Anthrax’s “I Am The Law” playing over the end credits, so let’s hope that’s been taken care of.

Review: Sniper Elite V2

Posted on June 11, 2012 by geelw

Platform: PlayStation 3 (also on Xbox 360)

Developer: Rebellion

Publisher: 505 Games

# of Players: 1 – 2

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: A-

The crowded and set in its ways military shooter genre needs games like Sniper Elite V2 and developers like Rebellion just to remind gamers that sometimes, slower pacing and more methodical play can be as exciting or even more so that a constant thrill ride shooter with not much room to catch one’s breath. Here, the game (and aim) is all about taking time to survey, spot and shoot with just enough level and mission variety to keep things moving when they need to. You don’t have to have played the first Sniper Elite back on the PS2, Xbox, PC (or the more recent Wii port from about two years ago) to fully enjoy this game, but if you remember that sleeper and loved it, much of what’s here will feel familiar. An online-only co-op mode seems restrictive (and is, if you don’t use PSN), but it’s seamless and about as good as it gets, while the multiplayer also has a few cool touches that lift the game above the usual run & gunning extravaganzas other shooters deliver.

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EDF 3 Portable Coming To PlayStation Vita (In Japan, At Least) With 4-Player Co-op

Posted on June 11, 2012 by geelw

BRING BACK THE BUGS! Hey, D3Publisher of America: I’m putting you on notice NOW. If you aren’t planning to snap this up and get it out in North America instead of another kid-friendly game that might sell a few more copies, you’re nuts. In the nicest possible way, though. Seriously, you’re loved around here for some cool games and all, but THIS one has to get a US release. Not only is this looking exactly like the Xbox 360 game many PlayStation-only fans of the series never got to play, Sandlot actually ADDED a four-player co-op mode.Which is an excellent move, by the way (provided the slowdown present in the original game has been taken care of).

I’m stealing one screenshot from Andriasang (thanks, guys!) to show you this is no joke, but here’s a link so you can check out the rest of them and start yelling into your Vita like it’s actually got a phone built in. Day one purchase? Oh, absolutely. ESPECIALLY if D3 is smart enough to consider that dual game card package, provided they can release it at a decent price point. If not, a single cart is still fine, but I’m gathering that a single cart and download voucher deal for a friend might be another way to go. OK, let me stop giving out free ideas and get back to hoping we see this one drop into stores as soon as possible…

Tweaks and Fiddles Says: Get Some Sleep, Creep!

Posted on June 10, 2012 by geelw

Hmmmm… Don’t you hate it when you hit “Publish” BEFORE you’re actually done with an article you wanted to post much later, which in turn forces you to stay up and forge onward to edit/finish it instead of something else you wanted to actually complete FIRST because it’s kind of overdue and you were working on it for a while?

Just asking, as that NEVER happens to me (eye roll)…

E3 2012: Watch_Dogs Gameplay: Ubisoft Also Hits A Few Nerves Outside Of The Gaming Life…

Posted on June 10, 2012 by geelw

Like nearly everyone else who saw it, I was floored when Ubisoft dropped Watch_Dogs into our collective consciousness at the end of its E3 press conference. Not only did they completely surprise people, they did so in the way things USED to be done in this industry. Win NO in house PR-generated “leaks” or overly annoying viral nonsense that keeps people who need to be more productive trolling around the Internet looking at teaser sites or playing with devices in useless mini-games that hint at what’s to come. Although amusingly enough, that’s probably one big way to market the game now that the beans have been spilled. Still, as great as the game looks and as amazing as the idea behind it is, something bugged the hell out of me when the demo was over…

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A Few Words On Ray Bradbury (1920 – 2012)

Posted on June 10, 2012 by geelw

“In my later years I have looked in the mirror each day and found a happy person staring back. Occasionally I wonder why I can be so happy. The answer is that every day of my life I’ve worked only for myself and for the joy that comes from writing and creating. The image in my mirror is not optimistic, but the result of optimal behavior.”

– Ray Bradbury

So, the great Ray Bradbury died last week and that’s another bit of my past gone away. And yours too, even if you’ve never read a word of his massive body of work. Along with plenty of classic science fiction, fantasy and many other stories that had a beautiful flow to them many have copied (or more accurately, tried to copy and failed miserably at doing so), he wrote one of the best editorials on censorship that I’ve ever read. I normally despise Sir Rupert Murdoch’s local opinions as fact-packed fish-wrapper, The New York Post, but they ran that column he wrote (mostly to justify their own “news” agenda) yesterday and I had to tip my hat their way for doing so… Continue reading →

E3 2012: Unreal Engine 4 Tech Demo: Like It Or Not, It’s Coming Your Way…

Posted on June 9, 2012 by geelw

This is pretty great to look at, but remember: it’s ONLY a tech demo and under the right hands, I’m betting things can only go up from there. But at what cost? For me, a game engine is only as good as the programmers and artists who end up using it. There have been a number of games created with older and current versions of the Unreal engine that do an amazing job of NOT looking as if they were made using it (which is really cool in my book). This leads me to believe that while we will indeed see plenty of games that make us all say “Oh…THAT’S Unreal 4?”… we’re going to be sitting through a lot of games before that, sighing “Oh, that’s Unreal 4…” Continue reading →

The Dark Knight Manual? “Bruce Wayne” Is Either Really Smart… Or Really Stupid.

Posted on June 9, 2012 by geelw

How the heck else would you describe him after he goes and writes an actual book called THE DARK KNIGHT MANUAL that features everything you always wanted to know about being Batman, but were afraid to ask? After some thought, I think he’s being a wee bit TOO smart here, putting all you need to create your very OWN Batcave, suits, gadgets, vehicles and more between 112 pages (with hardcovers for longevity) adding 35+ removable items and sticking it in stores this month for a mere $40. “What’s the deal?” you ask? Well, dear reader, I’d say Mr. Wayne is getting a wee bit tired of the crime fighting gig and wants a LOT of you out there to get cracking on getting into the masked vigilante business so he can enjoy his yacht, planes and champagne drinking nightlife while you do the dirty work. You, yes, YOU can be a part of the Batman franchise by… owning your OWN batman franchise!

Either that, or he’s putting out FAKE plans just to fool a few of the villains who are out to get him by making them pay just to get their hands on plans that aren’t quite the ones he’s using right NOW. Hmmm… on the other hand, maybe “Bruce Wayne” is just the pen name of some nefarious baddie long forgotten by Chris Nolan, despite doing everything he could to get even the tiniest cameo in the upcoming soon to be blockbuster. My money is on Ali Babble, as he hasn’t been seen in a Batman comic since 1946! That’s a hell of a long time to wait around just to get some revenge! I know I’d have at LEAST Fourteen Peeves if I was left out of the canon for THAT long!