November 17, 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves does everything a sequel to an already good game should do. From the story and graphics, to the stunning level design, Uncharted 2 nails the action-adventure genre.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was a solid game but I wasn't blown away by the experience. Uncharted 2, however, packs in so many great story and gameplay moments that it is impossible not to be wowed. Everything that worked best in the original is refined and expanded in the sequel. Platforming, which at times took a backseat to gunplay, is used more frequently and to better effect. The shooting controls and difficulty have been improved for a much more even gaming experience and the production values are top notch featuring graphics that are not only technically, but artistically fantastic. The level design is another highlight with more diverse environments and the best train level I have ever played.
Uncharted 2 also deserves a lot of credit for having what is easily one of the best written and produced stories in gaming history. The story is intimately integrated into the game, presenting the player with well rounded characters living in a real world. This is one of the few games where I wanted to finish the game as much to see how the story would be resolved as the gameplay experience. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a must own title for the PS3.
November 11, 2009
Since Netflix launched their movie and television streaming service there has been a lot of speculation about the imminent death of physical media. Consumers don't want to have stacks of discs around just to listen to music or watch a movie. When I read tech blogs, all I hear about is that people only stream movies and have DVDs and Blu-rays sitting around for months. My experience with Netflix streaming is the exact opposite and I have noticed two key shortcomings of the service that never seem to be part of the discussion.
- Catalog Stability - In addition to the limited catalog of titles available, those that are available are often only available for a limited time. Multiple items in my streaming queue have expired and can no longer be watched because Netflix's rights agreement have expired with the content owner. This is easily the biggest issue with any media streaming service. Content availability is everything, and having a catalog that is constantly in flux is a big problem.
- Stream Quality - I have a standard cable internet connection with a download rate of 6Mbps. When I initiate Netflix's service I typically get a 4 bar quality rating for my stream. When available this also gives me the HD stream. This sounds great, but the fact is that even the HD stream is basically DVD quality. To compare this with a Blu-ray is laughable. To make matters worse, virtually every time I stream a movie the quality regularly starts high and then drops to 3 and sometimes 2 bars, rendering it a far less enjoyable experience. I realize that this is due to my internet connection, but that also means that others with similar connections are suffering the same problems. For this to be a legitimate replacement for physical media, this issue needs to be resolved.
- Transfer Quality - Quite a few of the streams I have come across in Netflix's system are not in widescreen format, even when a widescreen version is available on DVD. Others are presented in letterbox widescreen and appear as a small rectangle in the center of an HDTV. This is unacceptable for a service meant to replace physical media.
Don't get me wrong, I love Netflix. I have been a subscriber for over five years and it has allowed me to become a voracious consumer of movies (I have rented over 1100 movies since June 2004). The death of physical media is coming, but not for many years. Many areas of the country still have only dial-up or slow broadband connections available. The time when the average consumer has enough bandwidth to stream 1080p content is several years, if not a decade, away.
October 24, 2009
See the Future is the second downloadable expansion for Fable 2 and while not as good as Knothole Island, it is still worth getting for a Fable 2 addict like me. Somehow I missed its release earlier this year and only purchased it in the last month or so.
See the Future contains two new quests as well as a glimpse of what Fable 3 will be like. Another addition is a new combat challenge arena which is more difficult than the existing Crucible area in the main game. See the Future also introduces several new potions, items, and clothing options. I completed the expansion content in about 3 hours and while I wish that the new quests were a little more involved for $7 this is a decent value.
October 16, 2009
Infamous does a lot of things right, but unfortunately it does enough wrong to keep it from being unique. As a platforming action game, Infamous is fantastic. It has a Prince of Persia type feel to it and there are a fair amount of fun platforming and collection challenges to keep the act of navigation engaging. The electrical powers mechanic is also well done and the amount of variety and upgrades for each power is great.
Where Infamous goes wrong in my opinion is that it insists on saddling the player with a horrible story, repetitive missions and frustrating combat. I don't expect much from a video game's storyline, but Infamous' is pretty awful. It doesn't just bother you with cut scenes, characters are also constantly calling you and talking endlessly about nothing. The missions are pretty mediocre too, mostly consisting of the same 4 or 5 tasks repeated over and over. To make matters worse, your character is easily killed and it can be frustratingly hard to kill certain enemies, especially later in the game.
Infamous' presentation is also lacking at times. For as polished as a lot of the animations and effects are, the environments and character models are downright ugly. I also found the good vs evil mechanic to be somewhat pointless. You forced into being either one or the other, since your powers upgrades depend on how evil or good your character is. This eliminates the kind of moral complexity that I found interesting about Fable 2. Decent, but nothing special.
September 14, 2009
9 is the type of animated film that needs to be made more often. It doesn't pander to children and go directly for the family film market. Instead it presents a dark, interesting world that doesn't shy away from grit or death.
I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic fare and 9 fits the bill perfectly. Set in a ruined world where nine automatons have to survive while attempting to discover what caused the disaster and who or what created them, 9 has a fantastic premise. The visuals are also stunning, featuring some of the best art direction of any animated film I have ever seen.
The main flaw with 9 is that the story and consequently the characters are a little thin. At under 90 minutes this film has a short run time and I think another 15 minutes could have added some much needed depth to the story. That said this is still a great entry in the animated science fiction genre. 4/5
August 22, 2009
I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see Inglourious Basterds yesterday. The trailer for the movie was awful, just a lot of shouting and violence. Fortunately Inglourious Basterds is nothing like its trailer. This is throwback movie in a lot of ways, with fantastic location shooting, an incredibly talented international cast and plenty of Quentin Tarantino trade marks.
Despite what the name of the film would have you believe, Inglourious Basterds features relatively little of the basterds (Brad Pitt and his band of Jewish soldiers). Instead this film is a true ensemble piece with many different characters who converge for the climactic final scenes. This allows some of the lesser known cast members who make up the majority of the cast to really shine. Christoph Waltz who plays the main villain and Mélanie Laurent who plays a Jew in hiding were particularly good.
The film making on display here is also impeccable. The cinematography was great, featuring some very long takes as well as some beautiful exteriors. Tarantino does an amazing job milking every bit of suspense from a series of tense, yet entertaining, dialogue heavy scenes. Some of the sequences are hard to watch simply because the buildup is so strong.
I can't say enough good things about this movie. Any problems I had with a few characters or it feeling a little long are vastly overshadowed by how good the rest of the film is. If you are a Tarantino fan, or even if you aren't, give this movie a chance and you might be surprised at what you find. 4.5/5
August 17, 2009
District 9 is the kind of movie that needs to be made more often. Unfortunately creative and entertaining science fiction films are few and far between these days. Like the best science fiction it doesn't dwell on the wow factor of its alternate reality, it lives in it and treats it with respect. Instead of trying to blow your mind with visuals, it does what is necessary to get the job done.
Dropping you straight into the story makes for an abrupt start but once you get used to the aliens and the South African accents, District 9 just clicks. It's like a combination of 28 Days Later, Black Hawk Down, and The Fly, but with aliens. I really appreciated that the filmmakers trusted their storytelling and didn't spoon feed the audience the back story, instead dolling it out gradually throughout the film. They also handled the social satire aspects of the film very well. The few times I was afraid the movie was about to get heavy handed, it pulled back and gave some perspective on the situation at hand.
The only issue I had with District 9 was that some of the plot was a bit cliche. Despite the unique circumstances, the film devolves into a standard buddy movie at the end. Even so, this film shows just how much you can do with a relatively low budget. The effects are generally very strong and the acting is solid. Overall a great experience. 4/5