Video Game Appreciation 101: PlayStation Evolution Part 2 (US/Japanese): The Plot Thickens!

Posted on February 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’m too busy to comment on this cool bit of educational game history, so you get a bad poem instead – er, enjoy?

Well, part two means a clue to the future, it’s clear.
A new Sony console – no news when or where.
I’m betting not ’til mid-next year at best
as it gives time to put PS3 to rest.

We’ll find out on Wednesday, I’d say that’s for sure,
but I’ll guess not all is revealed or pure.
Hopefully, games will be shown at the event
and any new system won’t cost two month’s rent.

A price cut for the PS3 might drop too,
but I doubt that, as there’s still titles new
first party, third party, all for this year
So much going on (there’s no time for beer!)

(Hey, I never said I was good at this poetry stuff!)

Wait, Wasn’t The Last Exorcism Supposed to Be The. LAST. Exorcism?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by geelw

Hey, I know, I know… I’m just sayin’. The again, I didn’t see the first Last, so who am I to judge? This actually might be scary (or scarier than the trailer… which as usual, probably gives away a wee bit too much to those folks who want too much information about what they see before they get all upset after they pay their twelve bucks that the film didn’t surprise them much if at all). That said, in my part of the universe, when you say something’s “the last” anything (cookie, pair of socks, bottle of booze), there’s no more coming unless someone’s hiding something or is willing to boogie on down to the store for a fast purchase in the middle of the night.

Wait a sec… I just now figured out how some movie sequels get made… can I get a job in Hollywood now?

New Jack The Giant Slayer TV Spot: The Answer Is Obvious…

Posted on February 9, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, it’s Ray Harryhausen with a baseball bat who’s behind you. Um… Duck, You Sucker! Too late… Bonk! That said, I’d imagine Ray would have liked to go after the folks who animated the original, as they certainly mucked it up with some lousy-looking models and super cheesy “magic” effects work that were terrible back than and haven’t held up well at all today. I’d say the best thing here will be Bryan Singer’s direction, as he’s quite good at doing comic book flicks and yeah, yeah, The Usual Suspects is one of those films that keeps you hooked in right from the start.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone TV Spot: The Big Trick Is Getting An Audience…

Posted on February 8, 2013 by geelw

Oh, look… it’s another Hollywood movie about “maaa-gic.” And by my corns, does it look quite (and intentionally) silly. But people go for silly these days and it’s supposed to be a comedy, so at least that’s working for it. Bleh. My kingdom for a few corny but fun episodes of The Magician with the late Bill Bixby, Chris Nolan’s The Prestige (which I didn’t like the first time I saw it, but a second viewing helped) or even (yikes!) Magic with Anthony Hopkins (soon to be a Random Movie of the Week, by the way), which really wasn’t about “magic” at all, but a ventriloquist who maybe has a rather unique dummy (an old trick from the creepy horror anthology Dead of Night). Eh, maybe I’m being too much of a skeptic here. The again, there’s no REAL “magic” anyway… just “the foolers and easily fooled” as I once overheard some old lady say as she walked away from a street magician doing his thing.

Well, it looks sort of interesting in a “I’ll catch it on cable in eight months” kind of way, but I bet this makes a load of dollars vanish from wallets worldwide once it hits theaters. That, or it’ll disappear without a trace because it’s terrible and people magically stay away. As always, we shall see… *poof!*

Brain Age Concentration Training TV Spot: Blondes Have More Fun After All…

Posted on February 4, 2013 by geelw

OK, I’m not a celebrity watcher at all, so I’ve always found game ads with them to a bit weird. Granted, many stars of all stripes are big to casual gamers, so I’m not passing any judgment either way. That said, you can actually see “Kiss Me, Kate” Hudson popping a 3DS into a purse or pocket before heading out to a film set. Hey, making movies is actually 70% downtime in a makeup chair or waiting around for stuff to get set up, so one does need something to do. And hey, according to 9 out of 10 actual blondes, smarter blondes are a better thing in general in this day and age, as it helps fight that stereotype they always seem to get hit with. That said, it would have been really bizarre and morbid to see this TV spot done with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike or worse, a CG recreation…

God of War: Ascension Super Bowl Teaser: Oh, NOW I Get It…

Posted on January 31, 2013 by geelw

Heh. OK, so I’m NOT a big football fan, but I should have realized that Game Day quickie trailer was going to end up being part of SCEA’s big advertising plans for the upcoming God of War: Ascension. Still, I hope they didn’t pay a mint for that ad time, as the game REALLY doesn’t require throwing money around to let its core audience know how good it is. Of course, it might foll a few people into thinking it’s something it’s not, but I doubt it. Ascension’s new multiplayer modes might not be my cup of tea, but as far as another angry adventure with Kratos, I’ll give it a whirl just to see what’s new in terms of the plot and places he ends up in. That said, methinks it’s time that Sony puts the character in more of an open world experience next time, as the limited (but lovely to look at) environments in past GoW games is getting a bit… limited. Eh, we’ll see what happens after this game ships out and (hopefully) does even better than the last one…

Jack The Giant Slayer TV Spot 2: Land of the CGI Giants Still Leaves Me Chilly…

Posted on January 28, 2013 by geelw

OK, OK, I’m trying hard to give this one a chance and yes, as I noted a while back, it’s definitely better looking that the awful 1962 original that tried to fool viewers with some piss-poor stop motion ( as in: Hey, we can’t get Harryhausen, but those stoopid kids won’t EVEN know! Well, I sure did…) and wooden acting. Well, this certainly will beat that old flick to a pulp on a few fronts, but will it be remembered as much as the original is… or will it vanish into the bargain bin and into cable recycle mode like the remake of Clash of the Titans and its sequel, Wrath of the Titans. I finally saw that this past weekend and was not impressed despite some pretty wild effects work. These “epics” NEED to feel epic, not like almost two hours of loud, big and forgettable. Well, let’s hope Jack is actually something that works on the right parts of the brains of those who go see it. Me, I’ll hold out for the cable premiere…

Aliens: Colonial Marines TV Spot: Gearbox Going 2 For 2? Seems Likely…

Posted on January 14, 2013 by geelw

Borderlands 2 was a very huge hit in 2012 for Gearbox, but yeah, I’ve been keeping an eyeball on you too, new game. It’s pretty clear that Randy Pitchford and company love the James Cameron film to the utmost degree and this looks to bring fans of the franchise that sequel they didn’t quite get with Alien 3 (I actually like David Fincher’s debut, warts and all, especially the longer Assembly Cut). I’ll be playing this primarily for the campaign mode, as I’m not a huge multiplayer guy and yes, I’m looking forward to seeing how well Gearbox translated the assorted sets and gear into game form. I’ve only seen Aliens a few dozen times, so I can be as picky and precise as a developer head over heels for the source material. So far, I’m not complaining at all.

February 12 is sneaking up fairly quickly… now, I just need to decide what I want to play this on. I’m leaning towards the Wii U just to see how that GamePad gets used, but I want the PS3 version as well…

GE’s “Robots on the Move” TV Spot: Electric Nostalgia (With A Few Missing Parts)…

Posted on December 6, 2012 by geelw

Nice. I usually hate these well-funded evil corporate spots, but GE has done two nicely nostalgic ones featuring classic cartoon characters (I think that was last year) and now this wonderful spot featuring too many classic to current robots from a few too many films, TV shows and other places. I hope there’s a “making of” video out there that has longer looks at some of my favorites. Of course, a few (well, more than a few) are missing (no Star Wars droids? And hey, a Twonky would have been too FANTASTIC, but oh well). Hmmm, now that I think about it, a longer version with some not so good ‘bots (HAL 9000, Roy Batty, perhaps David from Prometheus) would make for a nice in-joke in Ridley Scott’s upcoming Blade Runner follow-up…

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey TV Spot 9 (And More To Come, I’ll Bet)…

Posted on December 3, 2012 by geelw

Funny that some people flew all the way around the world to see this flick, but hey – I guess obsession makes one do some strange things. I couldn’t put my mind to doing that at all even if I could afford it, as hell, there’s not a damn thing wrong with the local cinema here. Well, except for it used to be swarming with stray cats (!), but that problem was taken care of years ago. You’d think a film so huge and anticipated wouldn’t need so many ads, but hey, this sort of thing is quite common and has been for a while. Still, I’m waiting for the day when an entire movie is split into a bunch of commercials and all one would need to do is record or download them all and piece the film together like some sort of digital jigsaw puzzle. Oh, it’ll happen eventually – I’m just ahead of the curve again.