Gangster Squad Trailer #1: You’ve Just Witnessed a Crime (Or Three)

While this film does look great and seems to be in the spirit of L.A. Confidential, Public Enemies, The Untouchables and a few other modern crime sagas, as a film fan for decades, I do have some beef with a few things:

Why the hell does a period piece such as this get stuck with a blasted rap song in the trailer? And yes, I’d say the same damn thing if it were a rock, country or other song that didn’t make sense for the time this is supposed to e set in. Hell, there are PLENTY of songs from the era that would have fit, even if they chose something that was recorded a few years after these “based on a true story” events took place.

And really? Which true story was this based on? I know we live in an age where short attention spans RULE, but a little text blurb before the shootings and sexy glances placing the dates and context would have been nice. All I got from the trailer was lots of old cars, clothes angry cops, a token black guy as a G-man and Emma Stone’s big eyes.

Er, ahem. Anyway, if that slo-mo scene with the four guys walking away from the exploding car is IN the movie, I want my money back. Or someone else’s money who pays to see this and also hates that crap, That shot is the most played out one EVER in a trailer that I never hope to see in the films I see trailers that have it included. Wait, what?

Finally, the title stinks. Even if it were the actual name of the shady take no prisoners kill the gangsters with no mercy agency portrayed in the film, it stinks. It sounds like some low-budget TV show from the 50’s or worse, a movie from the 1930’s you’d catch on TCM in the middle of the night…

Oh, wait… Er, never mind…

Assassin’s Creed III Gameplay Trailer: Er, Its Not Historically Accurate (But You Don’t Care, Right?)

 

Ah ha ha. I made the mistake of reading a few too many message board posts elsewhere about this trailer (well, I got caught up in cracking up at some pretty lousy arguments that make no sense because this IS just a game at the end of the day), but no matter what’s been said about it, one thing is crystal clear: Ubisoft knows what they’re doing. I haven’t enjoyed the series all that much, but I do like the new setting and time period. Still, I can’t help but imagine some school teaching a course in history as seen through video games like this and others that take actual fact and twist them into a rich game world along with a few historical figures along for the ride. Eh, whatever – as long as this one’s better than the last and well-cooked enough to rate a few replays, I’m all aboard for this ride…

BioShock Infinite’s Delay Of Game Is Actually GREAT News…

…Especially IF you’re Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks, that is. Dishonored, the absolutely gorgeous and innovative upcoming first-person stealth action game (which some are unfairly over-comparing to Irrational’s game), is coming later this year, and as it’s equally well-crafted and also shares a few MINOR similarities with BI (both games take place in fictional worlds based loosely on 19th Century America or a Victorian-themed pseudo London setting, both have a steampunk aesthetic to them, and both look amazing), it SHOULD be on your old-timey radarscope thingamajig too, I say.

The big deals about Dishonored are its stellar art direction and is its more flexible gameplay that allows players to possess people or certain animals or play the entire story without killing a single person, plus a lot more that has to be seen to be believed. Yeah, yeah – my preview is late, but that’s because I’ve been occupied with some other stuff. Still, stick around, as I’m going through my notes now and should have something up soon….

Wolfenstein 3D Is Older Than Too Many People Who SHOULD Pay It More Respect…

Sure, it looks hideous compared to whatever modern FPS you drool over and line up for year after year, but if not for John Carmack and this formerly controversial Nazi-killing corridor shooter, you wouldn’t all be standing outside in the rain at midnight for Master Chief, any Modern Warfare game or hell, pretty much every other FPS on the market. That said, Bethesda has made this classic shooter playable for free as a browser game on Bethsoft’s Wolfenstein page or the game’s official Facebook page, so go check it out. Also, click away HERE for a great YouTube video commentary with Carmack about the game – you just might learn something in the process (like some respect!)

Sorcery Developer Diary: Our Hero Gets Moving And Motivation – Silence The Skeptics!

For me, Sorcery represents an important game for the Move, even though it’s not packing the most original of plots. The selling point will be how well the game controls, particularly given the skeptics out there who still think motion control doesn’t equal good gameplay. I’d gather most if not all of those folks haven’t even given these types of games a try, as I can rattle off a bunch that work extremely well on the Wii and PS3 including some key hardcore games (Resident Evil 4 on the Wii being a stellar example of taking an older game a really showing how great the addition of motion controls actually make for an even better game experience). It’s clear to me that developer The Workshop is doing some good things with the Move. However, convincing those who keep their biases going through their lack of willingness to try something new will always be a bane to even the best of intentions…

Goodbye, Maurice…

It’s been a pretty awful year for creative folks I like passing away, that’s for sure. Celebrities I don’t follow aside, it’s been Ralph McQuarrie, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Adam Yauch (MCA) and now Maurice Sendak, who died yesterday. I did this quick piece shortly after I heard the news, then I remembered that Sendak’s works were pretty cool reads because they all dealt with life’s realities in one way or another, very much unlike those shiny, happy fairytale stories where nothing bad happens, evil gets the boot and there’s a charming price coming to save the day. Bah! That said, this is turning out to be a really depressing year, even without the stupid doom-sayers and their busted Mayan calendars…

Papo & Yo Developer Diary #1: Fantastic Realities, Favelas And Happy Monsters…

 

Minority Media’s PS3 exclusive is coming soon and it’s absolutely one of those games that needs to be played (despite only being available over PSN, grrr!). Here’s a look at the first dev diary as well as a brief post over at the PlayStation Blog from one of the nicest people in this industry you’ll ever meet, Minority’s Creative Director, Vander Cabellero. Hey, Sony!  Here’s a suggestion (again): Slap this game and Journey onto a disc with Outland and maybe some demos (Starhawk, GOW: Ascension, et cetera), get it out at a decent price point and make a small mint from those who don’t yet have/want/use PSN accounts!

Starhawk Launch Trailer: Sooo, That’s What Everyone Will Be Doing This Week…

LightBox Interactive’s Action/RTS lands this week on the PS3 and it’s looking like another must-buy in a crazy year for must-buy games. Hmmm. My birthday is tomorrow (Happy Birthday to me!!!), but I’m not expecting this to fly into my mailbox at all. Of course, I don’t mind supporting these guys with a purchase, as it’s one of those games that’s worth every penny whether you like solo play or online madness with your PSN friends. I actually want this to make an appearance on the Vita, as Sony’s new handheld really needs MORE in the way of first-party hits that bring the console experience on the road, and Starhawk would be a more than perfect fit, I say…

Hey! It’s Free Comic Book Day. So, Here’s A Free Comic (Sort Of, Part One)…

Actually, this is a test post, as I’ve been having some issues uploading stuff and am in the process of finding out what the problem is. The above is a panel (well, the ONLY panel, currently) from a not so real Man-Thing comic I did the other day. Anyway, now that things seem to be working fine, I can go back to sleep, wake up later and get to posting a few things about actual comics you can get today. Good Night! Wait, it’s after 6am already? Geez. Well Good Morning, then! I’m still going back to bed, though…

Geez. NOBODY “Owns” The Term “Indie.” So Shut It, Already, People….

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Status: lightly annoyed, mostly amused, thank you much. Look, kids – Grow up, already. Independent, music, film and now games shouldn’t be pigeonholed by anyone even with the best intentions. If Notch wants to have a hissy fit about EA wanting to make money by selling independently made games it happens to publish as an “Indie” bundle, it’s his problem. Maybe he needs to play the games in the bundle first and not hate on EA for merely trying too hard to capture a part of the market that’s trending because hell, that’s what mega-corporations like EA do to make more money for themselves and their shareholders. Funny that I’m saying this, but that’s the way the system works… even at the “indie” level these days.

Of course, this whole “blame the big boys” argument that constantly turns into “they make too much money, so they suck!” has gotten old fast, especially considering SOME people who have become millionaires many times over based on their own “indie” games. There’s a lot of Kettle Black paint being sold at Home Depot, is all I’m saying…

No matter where you are in this food chain, you’re not “selling out” if your game becomes a big hit unless you somehow hate being recognized (and if you make games for free) and eventually, paid for the work you’re doing. Unless EA or any other major publisher starts calling its mainstream titles indie ( whether it be Mario, Madden, Half-Life, Call of Duty and so forth and so on), there’s nothing to see here – move along. Go play more games, co-opted “indie” or not and knock off the needless arguments over semantics, I say…

OK, that’s done. All of you The Elder Scrolls Online haters are next in my sights (tomorrow, though – I need some sleep!)