Unfortunately their project is way under budget and their dead line is about to hit... if with this post I help raise the support they need then I am glad to do that...
Under the Dog is a science fiction anime with a quite interesting promise... check out the web site for more information on the project.
It´s been a while science we got a survival horror of this caliber.
P.T. is a playable teaser for the next entry in the Silent Hill franchise... you control the protagonist has you navigate through an L hall of a house where right from the start you know has a history and has you explore deeper and deeper you start to be hounded by the ghost of a woman and strange things happen around you. The only explorable scenario is that L hallway that repeat in an endless loop, but is the way the hauntings play out and the puzzles you have to solve what give flavor to the experience.
The ghost of Lisa is never in the same place twice has she can get you in ways you didn't saw coming; what really brings up the scare levels is the anticipation of the scare, not the scare itself... because you know something is out to get you but the fact that you never know when you are going to get jumped is the thing that makes this game really stand out has a survival horror and is the same basic concept of the classics of the genera.
The final puzzle is the most cryptic thing ever made; you are supposed to make a baby laugh 3 times in order to have a phone ring and receive a "you have been chosen" massage to receive your reward... the deal is that is really strange to figure out unless you see what others have done online; my brother and I spent a good hour and half trying to discover the what to do... we figured out that the final piece of the puzzle is the mic and talk though it by the phone... we tried playing this track of Hideo Kojima and it worked!
By the end of it, the core of the teaser is what kept me interested in the experience; considering that it´s been a while science we got a good Silent Hill game it´s good to know that this teaser not only rejuvenates the series but also gives a new perspective to how you promote your games; with excellent teasers like this; all we can expect now is that the overall experience when it comes out is a great Silent Hill game... and with talents like Gillermo del Toro, Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus on the helm the expectations are really high.
My only complaint is... why at the end they called it "Silent Hills"? like is there more than ONE town now? are there more Silent HILLS out there? is this a reboot? why not just call it "Silent Hill"? Is a working title, I know, but still it kinda rubs me the wrong way... but I have very little to complaint about if this is my only problem with this game; it is a great teaser and I can´t wait to see how the complete game is going to be like.
Well... I have very split feelings for this movie.
The story fallows Lucy (duh) has she finds herself transporting a dangerous drug for a mafia, when she ends up having the drugs incorporated into her stomach ripped open infecting her and unlocking her brain potential to it´s full capacity; turning her into a warrior beyond human understanding. Deep down in this movie I can see a cool super hero origin story, but instead it thinks it can be much deeper making it needlessly pretentious and when is in this state of mind I find it somewhat disappointing... because I like a lot the beginning and is why I say is a good "super hero" origin because when Lucy begins to unlock the capacities of her brain she turns into a badass.
The pretentious levels of this movie is what ruins it because I do believe it could have been a pretty cool super hero movie; I didn't hated it, I was not bored at all... but it´s levels of depth are ridiculous and makes it kinda dumb.
I went into this movie being I little bit iffy and I found myself having fun watching it... the characters were a group of misfits that didn't seem to find their place in the galaxy and each one with their own backstory; thous fleshing them out even more. The story itself is not entirely free of Hollywood tread mark moments but is definitely the characters and events that eventually pull you through the film...
The CGI and animation in general is good, although there were moment where I stopped thinking about the film and just paying attention to some of the models, especially Rocket who looks good but I could´t help but feel like his mouth sometimes looked awkward, is just nitpicking but I still found myself I little bit distracted by this.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a good fun movie that for the most part does a good job of being a good movie and enjoying the most out of it thanks to the characters and writing...
The franchise of Resident Evil is one topic that most definitely deserves some attention; either a fan or not of the series, there is no doubt that it has (much like the monsters we see in the games) mutated into something that fans can't recognize and thus lost it's identity somewhere along the way...
But the topic of the games is one for another day, right now I want to talk about the most infamous and hated by fans... the movies. That series of films that just get worst and worst with each new inclusion; I am sorry if I sound like some sort of mad person but... they are kinda fascinating, in a very bad way of course...
I'll start with the very first movie simply called Resident Evil... like a badge of honor or something. The story takes place on a place called the hive and it's been the place for investigation on biological weapons; after something goes wrong... Alice (played by Milla Jovovich) is now forced to survive in a zombie infested underground lab along with other survivors. The movie in general is not horrible to be honest, I consider it a fun "dumb" little movie; however that dosen´t mean I don´t understand why fans of the games hate this one... It has next to nothing to do with the games is based on, it only has a few references but zero of the characters and story line, thus making it a loose adaptation of the game series. The characters are pretty forgettable, Alice herself is kinda meh and I can´t even remember the name of the other characters... I remember that one dude who got chopped into pieces in the laser room (I mean boy what a way to go) and Michel Rodrigez´s character; but really that´s about it.
I am not gonna say is a good movie for the fans because is not, it has very little connection to the actual game series is based on, non of the classic characters and non of the story lines from the actual video game... but it is IMO a fun movie and I can tell there was at least an effort into making this movie; is self aware and is not trying to be anything else... I probably give this movie a 5 or a 4 out of 10.
The fallowing movie came out with a really kick ass teaser trailer if I may say so myself...
Resident Evil: Apocalypse lunched with high self esteem; mostly because the movie itself was basing itself in the actual games, with locals like Raccoon City and characters like the fan favorite Jill Valentine; much like the first movie is not awful... but it lacks grip; like the characters in general are again very forgettable, I remember the characters from the games (Jill, Carlos and Nemesis) and Alice because she is our main character, but the rest of them are pretty much non existent... almost like they are just there to die in grouse fashion for audiences to be entertained... some of the zombie make ups are very bland and the fight choreography is ok I guess but I have seen much better.
Much like the first movie I can´t bring myself to say is horrible; it has it´s few moments and I ones again agree with the fans on being lame compared to the actual games; they lack memorable characters, locations and creative creatures... is has the look but not the feeling of the franchise.
Resident Evil: Extinction was the first of this movies I saw in theaters and it was... pretty forgettable... first of all; why is the whole world turn into sand? why would Alice trust this agenda from some dead randy? why is everybody so dumb? why is Claire even here? The movie is full of dumb plot points that seem to contradict everything that the previous films established and it alienates even more the fans of the original source material; I can dig the desert local, but in this series of movies just doesn't make any sense. It's almost like the creators are grasping at straws to see what can catch the eye of the audience.
While the other ones are fun to watch, this one is actually kinda boring... maybe the character are not any better fleshed out has in the previous entries or maybe it goes against pretty much everything the other two movies established in its own universe and thus becoming a contradiction of it's own mythos... is really dumb writing.
The next film took another while to be released; Resident Evil: Afterlife is the followup and it pretty much goes downhill from what the previous movie did... I mean, it gets worst. The stories fallows Alice once again has she fallows the signal of the diary she found from the dead rotting guy from the last movie and when she gets there, (spillers) there is nothing! what a surprise! never saw that coming... she finds Claire and she is being controlled by a bug like machine attached to her chest... that makes her... irrationally angry? is not explained very well but I know where it came from (and so you if you saw the movie and played Resident Evil 5). The movie is dumb, although slightly better than Extinction but not by a whole lot, at least not to be better than the first two of the series... the game character addition this time is Chris Redfield and is played by Wentworth Miller who I can tell is really doing his best in playing the character and in my opinion he is the best part of the movie.
The movie in general is really dumb, but I can at least say is much more fun to watch than extinction thou I would not say is better than the first two entries in this film series; it´s biggest flaw is how it contradicts it´s own back story and ignores certain plot elements.
The fifth entry in the series is Resident Evil: Retribution and in pretty much the one with the weakest acting and laziestwriting, in fact, if there was an award for lazy writing ever I believe this movie would win... this time Alice is in some kind of underground lab of Umbrella where Alice is now trapped in (first RE movie cut n´paste setting) and she is got to escape the facility she somehow is the best hope for humanity now; because Albert Wesker (the big bad guy of the games) is now the good guy... there we have a problem with the movies themselves because in the previous movies Wesker was the bad guy trying to kill our heroes but now he is the good guy.
I am not gonna lie, out of all the RE movies this one feel like the absolute worst of the bunch; it lacks everything that would make this movie entertaining and not only that but if you have seen the previous films it contradicts it´s own backstory... making it the lowest of the series.
There is one last movie coming up that according to Paul WS Anderson is the final chapter; of at least the last movie with Alice has the main character; We don´t know how is the film going to fare in the public eye but judging by the reception of fans and critics I would not hold my breath; but we we´ll see.
This series of film is fascinating because despite the poor reception, it still viewed by everybody, and is because the franchise itself is full of hungry fans who can´t get enough RE and they are going to swallow everything they can get, even if it´s bad or not has good... but that is just a testament of how powerful this franchise actually is.
I apologize for the large gap between posts; but I have been away from my computer for some time now... and also I really didm´t had anything to post, until I saw the news that Resident Evil 1 is going to be remastered in HD for consoles and PC, great news indeed because I never got to play that title on Game Cube... basically the main reason why I decided to watch this films again (and remember how dumb they are lol).
I will come up later with more post for you guys in the future; stay tuned and remember that you can always leave your thoughts on the comments below.
What is perhaps one of the most influential and successful video game trilogy of all time; there is no doubt that the Mass Effect series is a big title, not only because of the dedicated fan base but because of the way it told it´s story with memorable characters, remarkable story line and deep gameplay.
The fan base is so passionate about this franchise that there was an explosion of hatred by them when the final moments of this game happen to be one of the worst video game endings of all time... but I will get into that later.
The story fallows the player has Commander Shepard, a man or woman who is set off to find and reunite every available help he/she can get to help earth in the innovation of the reapers... has a continuation of the previous two stories you meet up with the old companions and with some of the choices you have made in the past in the previous titles; some actions will have major repercussions in some moments in ME3.
The game itself plays much more fluidly than the previous two, many state that the gameplay in the previous game are much about RPG than straight combat; although that may be true I don´t believe so myself... in any aspects the games they made didm´t really had centered mechanic and in ME3 I believe the team got what they tried to achieve in the previous games has the combat is not only much more fluid and better animated but also more fair, even managing the squad in combat is not so hard.
Finally I will address the elephant in the room... the ending; yes it was disappointing, it was horrible and left a thousand loose ends that they pretty much demanded you to buy their DLC content... it certainly felt like a slap in the face. I remembered feeling cheated after I read the credits and saw the message where I was being told to buy DLC... I was not happy and like everybody else I was angry. After the extended cut, I felt much better and I calmed myself, yet there are people that can´t let go; from how I see it I think Bioware did far more than many triple A companies bother to do: They listen to the complains and did their best to fix it... I can´t think of any other game companies that do this. That kind of behavior is something that I fully respect.
Overall, Mass Effect 3 is a game that did much right but triped at the very end (and a very important part), if Bioware deserves or not the slack they are getting is something I will not try to answer... in all honesty, they got what they deserved and did their best to fix that mistake, that alone should say a lot about the company that Bioware is...
To be fair, I loved the animation far more that in the original, the scenes where they are flaying are splendid, the facial animations and body language are much better and I even dare say that the animation team deserves a gold medal... the character models are really good has well and has a whole the movie just looks much better, playing with vivid colors and splendid locals.
I enjoyed watching this movie and I never got bored by it... I just feel that in comparison to the original it fails to be better but is not worst either so I would say it´s just has good. If I had to give this 2 movies a score, both would be a 7.5/10.
For all the praise, recognition, awards and hype; Bioshock Infinite is not really the greatest first person shooter ever made and I find baffling how many people seem to just fall in love with this game. Before providing my honest thoughts I need to say the fallowing, I don´t hate this game, I really like it however I don´t see it has the "amazing" and "genera defining" game that some claim it to be; I know this sounds like my veridic to close my thoughts, but with the way people seem to react to this title I find it important to get out of the way before I move forward.
We play has Booker, who is given a chance to repay his "debt" by bringing back a girl; we can interpret that Booker is involved with dangerous people and this is all fine with me, but has a whole the story just seem to be trying to keep you interest in what people want to see... This can be describe with Elizabeth, the main drawl from the game: she is nice and tolerable enough to not come across has annoying. Elizabeth is supposed to be wanted back by the Prophet Comstock (The main bad guy) and the man who are after Booker and Elizabeth don´t seem to care at all about her, they are constantly targeting Booker because he is the one we control so... yeah... that´s why, so she is never in danger; then why is she ever here? if we don´t have to worry about her, why bother to make us feel like we have to protect her? Because so many people seem to hate escort missions, the designers though it was better to make Elizabeth a ghost in the battlefield that just exist has an asset for you.
This voxaphone things are spouse to contain bits of lore and information from the world of Columbia and the universe, but instead they use it to give vital information for the full understanding of the story I am sorry but this is just stupid... does things are hidden so how am I supposed to get the full story if I am not looking for them? or even better, Why do this? and is not to offer replay value; there are much better and effective ways to insite replay...
Design wise functions but is still very clumsy; the previous Bioshocks knew what they where, first person shooters with light rpg elements, infinite is an fps with an rpg mask... that makes the game a clumsy shooter overall. The game also takes away many elements from the previous games, like the capacity to carry your health kits and eve (salts, eve... is the same thing just different names) to open way to having Elizabeth hand you over this things because they need to have us believe that Elizabeth is not really useless, so when you are with your back against the wall, she can throw you heath or ammo or whatever... is the reason why this mechanic was taken away, same has the hacking mini game, or the ability to carry more than one gun at a time... because they think we are too stupid to think this things and they don´t trust us with them and on the side note, the guns aren´t even creative; they look boring and dull, some guns are clones of others.
I am sorry, but Bioshock Infinite is not the big game some claim it to be, it is good and fun (and I don´t need to dwell on whats good about it either) but is not changing or defining anything ever done before in this genera of video games, one that is already crawling with FPS around every corner and with the voice of reviews and gamers claiming "Yeah we want more of this" we are never going to see anything new or better.
