Enemy Front Gallery: “So, What Did YOU Do During The War? (Part Two)

Posted on May 18, 2014 by geelw

I’ve been trying to figure out how to pin down CI Games’ upcoming story-driven first-person shooter Enemy Front without getting too worried about how the game will be received when it lands in stores on June 10, 2014. While it looks on the surface to be one more entry in the recent comeback of the WWII shooter, the rather nice looking CRYENGINE powered game uses the Warsaw Uprising as one of the destructible locations playable character American war correspondent Robert Hawkins ends up in and that’s probably guaranteed to get some historians and other people a bit ticked off for a few reasons.

Granted, the game isn’t supposed to be “realistic” or an accurate simulation at all and yes, it’ll be far too easy for some to pick it apart for any elements they see as inaccurate. But CI seems to want to bridge the game between the old Medal of Honor and Call of Duty games, while referencing Sniper Elite and its own Sniper games. There’s freedom to tackle missions in what’s being called “a richly interactive combat sandbox gameplay experience”, meaning the game should be nowhere as linear as the yearly Call of Duty action-packed guided tour thrill ride, which is a good thing for those players looking for a bit more variety and replay value… Continue reading →

READS: It’s A Mystery To Me And More, Sort of Historical Version…

Posted on March 7, 2014 by geelw

Well, whee! Barnes & Noble came through pretty quickly and that means I get to do some reading this weekend. While her husband MTM sits at home holding the fort down (and sliding around on the floor in his underwear like Tom Cruise in Risky Business because he’s got the house all to himself), his wife, author Andra Watkins is out walking the Natchez Trace, following the path of Lewis and Clark. Nope, he didn’t drive her out thataway and accidentally leave her to her own devices, folks. There’s a nifty and interesting story behind all that trekking she’ll be doing for the remainder of March plus… but you’ll have to read her blog to get all that info. Hey, I can’t tell her story better than she can and I don’t have a book to sell (yet). SO you get to get it from the horse’s mouth as it were. Anyway, you can grab To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis from a few places digitally or physically. You’re smart, so you’ve clicked on one of the links here or the book cover to the right of this post in the sidebar or have already gotten a copy and are nodding and smiling because you’re further along in the book than I am.

Back with a review soon…

World Noose: Some Musical Selections to the People Who Run Things Worldwide…

Posted on August 30, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, Ben Murphy!)

You can’t get more precise than that, but let’s have another, shall we? To wit (and about ten or so years later):

(thanks Waldo667!)

Angrier and louder (and less funky), but yeah, you get the message. Just pass it up the ladder ’til it reaches the top. And hell, add some Creedence in for good measure (because nobody doesn’t love them some Creedence):

(thanks ChowdhuryMorshead!)

And so forth and so on. Pick a few of your own favorites and make up a playlist. Pass it on, pass it on, pass it on.. maybe one day they’ll start listening. And talking to each other before the shit hits the fan… again.

Pompeii Teaser Trailer: SPOILER: Everybody Dies (Again, Duh!)…

Posted on August 21, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’ll admit it. I sometimes get Paul W.S. Anderson, Wes Anderson and P.T. Anderson ALL kinds of mixed up (and I bet you do as well), so when I first saw the name of this film I thought it was one of the latter two director’s works that had nothing to do with the historical disaster and everything to do with well-made, quirky masterpieces worth seeing and dragging a few skeptical friends who end up charmed and convinced. But, nope – it’s just the director of those hugely popular (well, among some horror genre and video game fans) Resident Evil films (well, most of them) doing his take on a historical drama with probably a romance and action angle. Hmmm. This is a bit problematic for me, as of late I totally despise these sorts of films that take actual events and add all sorts of “What if?” or “Let’s suppose…” and have some viewers sitting there and actually BELIEVING what’s on screen is what took place.

OK, Titanic got a pass for the most part because of Cameron’s obsession to every detail (I never liked the love story part of it at all – I went to see those expensive CG effects and walked out pleased for the most part) and there were/are other dramas I’ve appreciated for certain performances or directors. But retelling Pompeii on film (AGAIN) seems like a really dead end because no one survived as far as I can recall unless they weren’t in the area or somehow managed to escape a COMPLETELY unexpected volcanic eruption (they didn’t have the Weather Channel back then, kids!). So… yeah, this is one I won’t pay to see (no matter who directs it), but I may fall down in front of the TV around December 2014 or January 2015 when this pops up as a temporary cable staple. Hey, maybe if this does well, Anderson can direct a action/romance/drama flick about the Great Chicago Fire or that absolutely hi-larious San Francisco earthquake from the last century! Yeesh.

Oh well, the Game of Thrones fans will flock in if the film is good (or if it’s not) just for Kit Harrington. Me, I separate actors I like by the parts they play, so this one’s very low on the totem pole…

Vikings vs. The Vikings: My Money’s Still On Kirk & Company…

Posted on March 17, 2013 by geelw

I’m gathering that any actual historian worth his or her salt cellar has stopped watching the “History” Channel some time ago for actual history, but their new “first” scripted (allegedly – not counting the fact that “reality” TV is in fact, constructed of MANY pre-scripted elements) series seems to be drawing some attention in a Game of Thrones/Spartacus sort of manner. It’s actually not a bad show at all, but I do wish it were associated with another network, not one with swamp dudes and other happy and not so happy-go-lucky hillbilly hipsters, hicks and hucksters getting their 15 minutes of fame.

That said, I still prefer Richard Fleischer’s 1958 epic with Kirk Douglas, as the show is based off the real-life story this classic was cut from. Check it out sometime if you haven’t seen it yet, as it’s a pretty great flick that’s stood the test of time and deserves a younger audience appreciating it’s violent charms…

Industry Noose: R.I.P., THQ, Atari Sinking… Who’s Next?

Posted on January 24, 2013 by geelw

Ugh. I hate being right, but I’ve been around for one big industry crash, the slow death of the popular arcade scene and too many recent studio closures and other big to small bumps that make it somewhat sad to be a gamer for so damn long. If you think this mobile and tablet junk will “save” things, welll…. it won’t if the industry keeps trying to sell a business model and services as “product” and goes on forgetting CONTENT (and quality) is king. Well, as I predicted (but was hoping would never happen despite the writing all over the wall for years), THQ has gone the 3DO and Midway route, with some major IP assets sold off to assorted publishers and others still in some sort of limbo state for the moment. Atari seems to be headed to a third or fourth demise, filing for Chapter 11 and hoping for a split from Infogrames and some savior with deep pockets who can throw money at a problem that may not be able to be solved even with so many classic IP at stake.

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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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