I'm not going to say it was good for what it was. I am going to say that it was not as bad as I thought it would be.
I've read reviews that said that this movie was terrible, and that they should just have stopped with the second installment.
I disagree.
As far as I'm concerned, they can just keep making them. They're simply good fun.
This film has all the things you want from an action flick, specifically, action, arguably the most important ingredient. The story is rather throw away, being that it revolves around an environmental treaty, the Ukraine, or maybe Uzbekistan, I don't really remember, is being pressured to sign a treaty that will allow some organization to dump toxic waste in their country, probably. Anyway, a diplomats daughter is kidnapped, and Frank, our intrepid hero is wired to explode should he get too far away, and is forced to drive really fast, get into exotic suit-centric fights, and finally sleep with his lovely cargo.
These things all go into the plus column. The driving, which you'd expect being a movie about a professional driver going about his business. His Audi (black, with chrome accents, like nearly every other vehicle in this car) is, in no uncertain terms, beautiful. The fights scenes in this film are well crafted, if not as visceral as those in the last installment, or perhaps the Bourne series. He does, however, show his ability to not only wear his suits well, but put them to good use as weapons. Then we come to his beautiful cargo, who I must point out is an absolutely rare beauty, and is the perfect final ingredient for the recipe.
There are some negatives, obviously the story doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. Even though the films fight choreographer is the same man that worked in the first two, this film features much less martial art. The fact that he's tethered to his car isn't used as well as you might expect, in that there's no use of it during the fight scenes, which play out much like they did in previous films, just in less abundance, and there's surprisingly little actual fast driving.
However, it's still good fun, and, as I said, was far better than I'd expected. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good action movie.
Besides, there's not a lot of other choices in the theaters right now... You've got Baz Luhrman's sickly sappy-looking Australia, 14 Cartoons, and teen girl's sexy Harry Potter, Twilight.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Gears of War 2 - Semi-final Thoughts
I'm not sure whether I'm happy or angry about my experience with the last half of this game.
When last I talked about this game, I had mentioned that I was really frustrated with the first half of the game. I talked about the lame rail moments, the almost silly simplicity of the battles, and the fact that I almost didn't want to see the rest.
Thankfully, I did. Only because the last half of the game was farm more enjoyable. I finished the campaign with Mike yesterday, and he and I had similar thoughts: Why the hell wasn't the first half of the game as good as the last half.
Most of the battles of the last half of the game were much more fun than those of the first. The story was still fairly weak, although, unlike the second half of the first game, we knew why we were doing what we were doing, it was just for a really silly reason.
I will admit, though, that there was a moment in the game where I felt that they'd actually nailed a cinematic moment. It's not the sort of thing that you'd expect from a game like this, and if you play it, you'll know it when it hits you.
Admittedly, much of the 'camera' work in this game is much better than most, better than the first, although, like most games, they could really do with bringing on an actual director to help out. This is especially true with the GoW series, since they insist on showing you a cut scene for everything from major plot points to riding a platform down 8 feet. (I'm not making that last bit up, there is actually a cut scene that plays when you get on an elevator, it shows you going down about 8 feet, and the camera turns a bit. If done right, there might have been some value to it, but instead, it was just jarring and irritating.)
Now, I will say that the ending, especially the final 'boss battle', was unbelievably easy. We had actually completed the final battle, ready for the end, and it was a few seconds before we realized that it was actually over.
Still, from round about the middle of Act III to around the middle of Act VI there was a great deal of fun to be had. This leaves me with the question, why must we endure the first two and a half acts? I can't believe that the game couldn't be made so much better with some simple re-tooling. It's especially odd that those Acts, which are predominantly outside, could have been a great deal more fun if we'd been allowed to play in that environment the way Gears of War was meant to be played. I recall rolling by areas during rail-shooting portions that made we wish I could just get off the rails and enjoy them.
So, having enjoyed the last half of the game, am I willing to forgive the first half and recommend it as being a superior installment?
No.
No, I am not.
I've now logged a lot of hours playing the campaign, and plenty of hours playing Horde, and I'll say that they've made a lot of improvements to the title from the first that makes it more fun to play. Yet, I just can't condone the bad campaign mode. Had there been anything about the second half to the game that really blew me away, perhaps I'd be singing a different tune.
So, I'll make a compromise. I'll say that I will recommend the game to anyone that loves multiplayer, and gets their kicks from that. Anyone that will be valuing the game's price tag by the hours logged online playing various modes will love this game.
I, however, must base my opinion on the single player campaign, the mode that should be, by all rights and regards, the most polished and best that the game has to offer. Maybe that's wrong of me. Maybe I shouldn't be holding the single player campaign to such scrutiny.
But, that's my take on Gears of War 2.
I think that's it's worth noting that I have since played through Gears of War again. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Sure, it has it's quirks, and there's a few areas that frustrate me, but I still enjoyed it all the way through.
When last I talked about this game, I had mentioned that I was really frustrated with the first half of the game. I talked about the lame rail moments, the almost silly simplicity of the battles, and the fact that I almost didn't want to see the rest.
Thankfully, I did. Only because the last half of the game was farm more enjoyable. I finished the campaign with Mike yesterday, and he and I had similar thoughts: Why the hell wasn't the first half of the game as good as the last half.
Most of the battles of the last half of the game were much more fun than those of the first. The story was still fairly weak, although, unlike the second half of the first game, we knew why we were doing what we were doing, it was just for a really silly reason.
I will admit, though, that there was a moment in the game where I felt that they'd actually nailed a cinematic moment. It's not the sort of thing that you'd expect from a game like this, and if you play it, you'll know it when it hits you.
Admittedly, much of the 'camera' work in this game is much better than most, better than the first, although, like most games, they could really do with bringing on an actual director to help out. This is especially true with the GoW series, since they insist on showing you a cut scene for everything from major plot points to riding a platform down 8 feet. (I'm not making that last bit up, there is actually a cut scene that plays when you get on an elevator, it shows you going down about 8 feet, and the camera turns a bit. If done right, there might have been some value to it, but instead, it was just jarring and irritating.)
Now, I will say that the ending, especially the final 'boss battle', was unbelievably easy. We had actually completed the final battle, ready for the end, and it was a few seconds before we realized that it was actually over.
Still, from round about the middle of Act III to around the middle of Act VI there was a great deal of fun to be had. This leaves me with the question, why must we endure the first two and a half acts? I can't believe that the game couldn't be made so much better with some simple re-tooling. It's especially odd that those Acts, which are predominantly outside, could have been a great deal more fun if we'd been allowed to play in that environment the way Gears of War was meant to be played. I recall rolling by areas during rail-shooting portions that made we wish I could just get off the rails and enjoy them.
So, having enjoyed the last half of the game, am I willing to forgive the first half and recommend it as being a superior installment?
No.
No, I am not.
I've now logged a lot of hours playing the campaign, and plenty of hours playing Horde, and I'll say that they've made a lot of improvements to the title from the first that makes it more fun to play. Yet, I just can't condone the bad campaign mode. Had there been anything about the second half to the game that really blew me away, perhaps I'd be singing a different tune.
So, I'll make a compromise. I'll say that I will recommend the game to anyone that loves multiplayer, and gets their kicks from that. Anyone that will be valuing the game's price tag by the hours logged online playing various modes will love this game.
I, however, must base my opinion on the single player campaign, the mode that should be, by all rights and regards, the most polished and best that the game has to offer. Maybe that's wrong of me. Maybe I shouldn't be holding the single player campaign to such scrutiny.
But, that's my take on Gears of War 2.
I think that's it's worth noting that I have since played through Gears of War again. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Sure, it has it's quirks, and there's a few areas that frustrate me, but I still enjoyed it all the way through.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Gears of War 2 - Secondary Thoughts
Mike swung by today for a couple hours, and we plowed through a bit more of the co-op campaign.
While my opinion largely remains the same, especially after playing through the horribly unintuitive Centaur driving chapter (which requires the left stick for forward and reverse and the right stick for left and right camera, and after aiming the camera, forward turns your vehicle in that direction) I can honestly say that there's been a bit more Locust fighting, finally, and that has the game redeeming some points.
It's not a lot, mind you, and being forced to watch cut scenes for what seems like hours when having to retry an area is just as brutal as ever. However, if they keep up with the Locusts, we might at least end the game on a better note.
For those following along, this is where we left off today:
It appears that this is the end of the third act, meaning that there are two more acts of gameplay, followed by act 6, which is most certainly the final battle (as done in Gears 1).
As I said, I'll keep everyone apprised.
I suppose it's worth noting that there's one big advantage to playing GoW2, and that's the fact that they throw achievements at you like they're going out of style. It's crazy, I've been playing GTA:IV for the last few months, and that game is extremely tight with the gamerpoints, in stark contrast to the Gears series that gives you achievments just for playing the game, and they come quickly. (I suppose it should be noted that GTA:IV gives points just for playing as well, but being that I've been playing that on and off for the last couple months and I'm only about 50% of the way through... there's some disparity).
While my opinion largely remains the same, especially after playing through the horribly unintuitive Centaur driving chapter (which requires the left stick for forward and reverse and the right stick for left and right camera, and after aiming the camera, forward turns your vehicle in that direction) I can honestly say that there's been a bit more Locust fighting, finally, and that has the game redeeming some points.
It's not a lot, mind you, and being forced to watch cut scenes for what seems like hours when having to retry an area is just as brutal as ever. However, if they keep up with the Locusts, we might at least end the game on a better note.
For those following along, this is where we left off today:
It appears that this is the end of the third act, meaning that there are two more acts of gameplay, followed by act 6, which is most certainly the final battle (as done in Gears 1).
As I said, I'll keep everyone apprised.
I suppose it's worth noting that there's one big advantage to playing GoW2, and that's the fact that they throw achievements at you like they're going out of style. It's crazy, I've been playing GTA:IV for the last few months, and that game is extremely tight with the gamerpoints, in stark contrast to the Gears series that gives you achievments just for playing the game, and they come quickly. (I suppose it should be noted that GTA:IV gives points just for playing as well, but being that I've been playing that on and off for the last couple months and I'm only about 50% of the way through... there's some disparity).
Oblong's g-speak
It's as close as we've seen to the interface seen in Minority Report.
It helps to watch the video to see what we're talking about.
After watching that, you can visit Oblong Industries.
I'm sure I really don't need to say much about this, except that it looks really cool.
Of course, I've heard plenty of people say that they really wish they had this sort of interface, but personally, I think it's great for spy / police movies, and looks great, but I imagine that it would get really tiring standing in front of the enormous screen and flailing your arms around.
I use a computer because it takes all the things I do, and puts it into one manageable space. Having to stand in front of a 100" screen and lifting, moving, and pushing objects around seems like so much more work.
Of course, that's just me.
And I'm not saying I wouldn't love an opportunity to try it out, and wouldn't turn these guys down if they wanted to install this into my home.
It helps to watch the video to see what we're talking about.
After watching that, you can visit Oblong Industries.
I'm sure I really don't need to say much about this, except that it looks really cool.
Of course, I've heard plenty of people say that they really wish they had this sort of interface, but personally, I think it's great for spy / police movies, and looks great, but I imagine that it would get really tiring standing in front of the enormous screen and flailing your arms around.
I use a computer because it takes all the things I do, and puts it into one manageable space. Having to stand in front of a 100" screen and lifting, moving, and pushing objects around seems like so much more work.
Of course, that's just me.
And I'm not saying I wouldn't love an opportunity to try it out, and wouldn't turn these guys down if they wanted to install this into my home.
Ian Flemming's Jame Bond, 007, in Quantum of Solace
I will make this fairly brief.
I didn't hate Casino Royale. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I really dig Daniel Craig as James Bond. However, he doesn't seem capable of expressing human emotion. Casino Royale was written pretty poorly to begin with, and the fact that he was meant to be a green around the gills rookie who makes some mistakes and falls deeply in love with someone was just not really conveyed well in that film. Add to this the fact that film is very disjointed and completely loses thread at points makes it pretty hard to watch.
That said, Quantum of Solace improves on this a bit. Not much. But a bit.
The action sequences in this movie are frenetic (my word of the day) and balanced really well with the right amount of camera shake and quick cuts. They feel much like scenes from the original Bourne movie, which is great since that is one of my favorite action flicks of all time.
The story has some holes in it, and while I deplore films that try and cram the plot down your throat, I also dislike movies like this that seem hell bent on almost keeping you in the dark.
There are a lot of components that seem completely unnecessary throughout this movie, and the pace is a little muddled.
It's a Bond movie, and I enjoyed watching it for the most part, but I think I'll be much happier when we get away from this story line and move on to something Daniel Craig a bit better at playing. I'm hoping that they'll do one more to wrap up the 'Quantum' storyline, and since we're past Vespa and her killer now, Daniel Craig's Bond wont need to have emotion anymore, and I think I'll be much happier watching.
If you like Bond, you should enjoy this for the most part.
I didn't hate Casino Royale. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I really dig Daniel Craig as James Bond. However, he doesn't seem capable of expressing human emotion. Casino Royale was written pretty poorly to begin with, and the fact that he was meant to be a green around the gills rookie who makes some mistakes and falls deeply in love with someone was just not really conveyed well in that film. Add to this the fact that film is very disjointed and completely loses thread at points makes it pretty hard to watch.
That said, Quantum of Solace improves on this a bit. Not much. But a bit.
The action sequences in this movie are frenetic (my word of the day) and balanced really well with the right amount of camera shake and quick cuts. They feel much like scenes from the original Bourne movie, which is great since that is one of my favorite action flicks of all time.
The story has some holes in it, and while I deplore films that try and cram the plot down your throat, I also dislike movies like this that seem hell bent on almost keeping you in the dark.
There are a lot of components that seem completely unnecessary throughout this movie, and the pace is a little muddled.
It's a Bond movie, and I enjoyed watching it for the most part, but I think I'll be much happier when we get away from this story line and move on to something Daniel Craig a bit better at playing. I'm hoping that they'll do one more to wrap up the 'Quantum' storyline, and since we're past Vespa and her killer now, Daniel Craig's Bond wont need to have emotion anymore, and I think I'll be much happier watching.
If you like Bond, you should enjoy this for the most part.
Gears of War 2 - Initial Impressions.
No, I haven't bought the game yet. (And for that, I'm actually glad) However, Mike brought his copy over yesterday and we logged about 7 hours of game play between Horde and Co-op.
Most of that time was spent playing about half-way through the main campaign, and I have to say that I've never been more disappointed from hype. Everything that I've heard about GoW2 is that the new campaign completely blows you away, and that it's so good, it'll make you never want to play the original game again. I'm having that exact opposite problem, I want to play GoW1 even more now than ever.
Here's an idea of why: several reviews I'd heard said that the first act of GoW2 (in the hospital) is a recall to the original GoW, playing much like the first game. Guess which part of the new game I enjoyed the most? That's right, the hospital.
Here are my problems:
There are not enough locust.
The original Gears was fun because you got to wade through locust like you would the swimming pool at the rec. center. It was brutal, it was maddening, it was frenetic, and hectic. There were a few minor breaks in the main game play, but for the most part it was a pretty standard pattern all throughout. The thing that really made it compelling was that, while very linear, you moved through the areas, and then found in an interesting to defend area, and then continued moving.
This game does not bother with this formula. Instead they give you much fewer enemies, 3 times the cut scenes, and a lot more gimmicky activity.
In Act 3, we hit an area where we needed to find our way into a building. We walked in the rain for about 10 minutes, passing a ton of really good cover which would be really fun to fight locusts from, but there was nothing to fight. When finally we encounter enemies, all they are is Wretches, which are the worst enemies in the game because they can be downed in a few shots, and just bum rush you, breaking the fun of the duck and cover fighting system.
They still haven't fixed the broken checkpoint system.
In the first gears, there were some points where it was hard enough that you'd die a few times trying to get through an area, and you'd be forced to restart at the beginning of a checkpoint. The problem is that the checkpoints are always triggered right before everyone sticks their fingers to their ears (and temples and backs of their heads as walking seemed to move their hands around) and listen to a series of long and unskippable dialog.
In most cases, having to go through that over and over in an already frustratingly difficult area could really break the flow of game a bit.
GoW2 seems to take this problem and actually make it worse. Of course, hardcore seems much easier, so death isn't as common, but there's a terrible example of this at the beginning of the second act (or end of the first, maybe it's hard to tell now as they don't list what the actual act and chapter numbers are now as you move through the story). In this area, you're on top of what amounts to a big rolling oil rig, a terrible vehicle in concept because there's no place that you're inside and armored, but instead you stand in the open on a huge platform, on which there only 1 mounted machine gun. You are tasked with shooting down Nemecyst mortars, which are big round projectiles that change course in the air quickly while heading toward your rig, after which, you are supposed to shoot down a Reaver, which is a big flying locust with locusts on it's back. Sadly, it took us a couple tries to figure out that you just have to take out the Reaver's crew, and not actually the Reaver (which seems counter intuitive since it is a sentient being and seems like it should need a crew on it's back to keep it from just exploding, but that's how the game works).
If you fail in those tasks, you're forced to sit through about a minute of first person cut scene, where scripted evens have to take place and you cannot skip it to get to the fighting.
Levels you think, "I'm glad I don't have to play that again..."
The first GoW had a lot going for it. Even the most difficult levels had me saying, wow, that was tough, yet I could see myself going back and playing it again, trying to better my score. This Gears, however, has the opposite effect. Challenging areas are making me feel relieved that I'd never have to play them again.
That's just wrong. I should feel that way about a game... especially not Gears of War 2.
I know I'll be playing through the co-op with Mike at least one more time (so he can get the co-op achievements on his console too), but in all honesty, I think neither of us are really looking forward to it. Not like the first Gears where there were points when we actually talked about wanting to play through an area again on another play through, this game has us almost dreading just finishing it the first time.
What does this mean?
I don't hate the game. I should be honest about that, I really don't hate it. It's Gears of War 2, and I dig that. But with all the hype that the campaign has gotten, such as quotes like, "it will ruin Gears of War 1 for you, I never want to play the first game again, the second is so good!" I feel like punching those reviewers, because this game has actually made me want to pick up the controller and go back to the first Gears all the more.
I will say that Horde is a ton of fun, and I will probably pick this one up soon simply to play Horde online with my friends, and there are other multiplayer aspects to the game that certainly make it worth owning. I'm just very disappointed so far with the campaign, and expected a lot more out of it.
I'm sure I'll be back with an update on some final thoughts once we've beaten the second half of the campaign. Perhaps something will happen to make it all worth while. But I doubt it.
Most of that time was spent playing about half-way through the main campaign, and I have to say that I've never been more disappointed from hype. Everything that I've heard about GoW2 is that the new campaign completely blows you away, and that it's so good, it'll make you never want to play the original game again. I'm having that exact opposite problem, I want to play GoW1 even more now than ever.
Here's an idea of why: several reviews I'd heard said that the first act of GoW2 (in the hospital) is a recall to the original GoW, playing much like the first game. Guess which part of the new game I enjoyed the most? That's right, the hospital.
Here are my problems:
There are not enough locust.
The original Gears was fun because you got to wade through locust like you would the swimming pool at the rec. center. It was brutal, it was maddening, it was frenetic, and hectic. There were a few minor breaks in the main game play, but for the most part it was a pretty standard pattern all throughout. The thing that really made it compelling was that, while very linear, you moved through the areas, and then found in an interesting to defend area, and then continued moving.
This game does not bother with this formula. Instead they give you much fewer enemies, 3 times the cut scenes, and a lot more gimmicky activity.
In Act 3, we hit an area where we needed to find our way into a building. We walked in the rain for about 10 minutes, passing a ton of really good cover which would be really fun to fight locusts from, but there was nothing to fight. When finally we encounter enemies, all they are is Wretches, which are the worst enemies in the game because they can be downed in a few shots, and just bum rush you, breaking the fun of the duck and cover fighting system.
They still haven't fixed the broken checkpoint system.
In the first gears, there were some points where it was hard enough that you'd die a few times trying to get through an area, and you'd be forced to restart at the beginning of a checkpoint. The problem is that the checkpoints are always triggered right before everyone sticks their fingers to their ears (and temples and backs of their heads as walking seemed to move their hands around) and listen to a series of long and unskippable dialog.
In most cases, having to go through that over and over in an already frustratingly difficult area could really break the flow of game a bit.
GoW2 seems to take this problem and actually make it worse. Of course, hardcore seems much easier, so death isn't as common, but there's a terrible example of this at the beginning of the second act (or end of the first, maybe it's hard to tell now as they don't list what the actual act and chapter numbers are now as you move through the story). In this area, you're on top of what amounts to a big rolling oil rig, a terrible vehicle in concept because there's no place that you're inside and armored, but instead you stand in the open on a huge platform, on which there only 1 mounted machine gun. You are tasked with shooting down Nemecyst mortars, which are big round projectiles that change course in the air quickly while heading toward your rig, after which, you are supposed to shoot down a Reaver, which is a big flying locust with locusts on it's back. Sadly, it took us a couple tries to figure out that you just have to take out the Reaver's crew, and not actually the Reaver (which seems counter intuitive since it is a sentient being and seems like it should need a crew on it's back to keep it from just exploding, but that's how the game works).
If you fail in those tasks, you're forced to sit through about a minute of first person cut scene, where scripted evens have to take place and you cannot skip it to get to the fighting.
Levels you think, "I'm glad I don't have to play that again..."
The first GoW had a lot going for it. Even the most difficult levels had me saying, wow, that was tough, yet I could see myself going back and playing it again, trying to better my score. This Gears, however, has the opposite effect. Challenging areas are making me feel relieved that I'd never have to play them again.
That's just wrong. I should feel that way about a game... especially not Gears of War 2.
I know I'll be playing through the co-op with Mike at least one more time (so he can get the co-op achievements on his console too), but in all honesty, I think neither of us are really looking forward to it. Not like the first Gears where there were points when we actually talked about wanting to play through an area again on another play through, this game has us almost dreading just finishing it the first time.
What does this mean?
I don't hate the game. I should be honest about that, I really don't hate it. It's Gears of War 2, and I dig that. But with all the hype that the campaign has gotten, such as quotes like, "it will ruin Gears of War 1 for you, I never want to play the first game again, the second is so good!" I feel like punching those reviewers, because this game has actually made me want to pick up the controller and go back to the first Gears all the more.
I will say that Horde is a ton of fun, and I will probably pick this one up soon simply to play Horde online with my friends, and there are other multiplayer aspects to the game that certainly make it worth owning. I'm just very disappointed so far with the campaign, and expected a lot more out of it.
I'm sure I'll be back with an update on some final thoughts once we've beaten the second half of the campaign. Perhaps something will happen to make it all worth while. But I doubt it.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
New Car
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Well, yesterday I took Mike so he could find a new car. We were having trouble finding something that fit his needs, and then I found this, which fits my needs and my price range. So, I sold Mike my car, and I bought this thing. It was under Blue Book value, and runs amazingly well, and is immaculate.
It's a '97 Buick Park Avenue with 130,000.
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