30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 07

 Favorite Playstation(1) Game.

Now I must first mention that this game is not my favorite PS1 game but as I am trying not to use the same game twice, I am just going to post my second favorite PS1 game. Metal Gear Solid was an amazing experience for me and it gave me one my proudest moments when I finally beat it. Not much really to say about this game except that it's an amazing game that everyone should play and one that I still play to this day.

Thor Review

Finally the god of thunder gets his representation on the big screen. ‘Thor’ stars new comers Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston alongside big screen regulars Natalie Portman, Ray Stevenson, and Anthony Hopkins. As for the story it’s pretty basic stuff for a movie about gods but it does do some very good stuff in the moments dealing with there family issues and of course in the action. Basically Thor, the son of the ruler of Asgard, odin, is banished to earth for an attitude adjustment when trouble arises in Asgard and he must return to save the day.

The biggest problem I had with the story here was that the whole thing takes place over the course of a weekend. A weekend?! A god is banished to Earth and stripped of his powers to teach him a lesson and after one weekend he’s changed his ways. I don’t buy it. Sure he’s almighty and everything but one weekend and he’s a completely different person who now cares for the good of all people. On top of that he also falls in love over the this weekend of enlightenment. I won’t mention the rest of the unreasonably quick timed events that occur over this weekend, but trust me there’s a pretty big list. Also I know that I’m focusing on this weekend thing a lot here but they couldn’t really have expected people to buy into this many things happening over the course of a weekend. I mean even if it had been at least a week and there had been more down time for Thor to get to know the humans and see a little bit more of what Earth was like, then it would’ve been a bit more believable, but I just can’t buy into it all happening so quickly.

Now on to the action, the beautifully done action. Seriously this movie’s action scenes were awesome, well minus the showdown with The Destroyer which just seemed kind of cheap. I’m not sure what it was but I think it had a lot to do with where the fight took place, which was some western looking town. You know, the town in the middle of the desert that is really only one road through the middle of the buildings, yea that one. Also The Destroyer held way to much resemblance to Gort (From ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’) making it hard to take him serious. The fight in the beginning of the film against the Frost Giants was definitely this films high point action wise. It featured not only Thor but also the Warriors Three, Sif, and Loki all battling it out with the Frost Giants. Some of the fighting is a bit childish or like something out of a video game but it works well and always backed up by something bad ass. Also helping is that they didn’t shy away from the comic book look. All the characters wear or have the outrageous looks of their comic book counter part, which was very welcomed here and really made it feel more like Thor.

Most of the movies problems arose during the scenes on Earth that don’t involve any of the family issues or fight scenes. They just seem dull and as I stated before are extremely rushed. All in all though, this is far from bad and is a very solid movie. Thor fans and most comic fans will love it for staying so true to the source material, while movie goers in general will probably feel a bit incomplete once the movie is over. I would say it’s definitely worth checking out, although I don’t think it’s one that needs to be seen in theaters, it can definitely wait until you‘re able to rent it. On the same note though if you want a very good movie to go see, this one won’t make you feel like you just wasted your money.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 06

A Game of Your Childhood.

Now Sonic and Mario ruled my gaming life as a kid but I did very much enjoy other games. So to keep this video game challenge fresh, I am going to try and refrain from posting up the same game twice. So for this entry I introduce you into the game that showed me how much fun it was to slay zombies and sometimes let your neighbors get eaten by zombies for being so stupid. This game also stands out for me because it was the first game that my mom got for me as a surprise. I had no idea what it was or what to expect from it, but I fell in love with it.

Fast Five Review

‘Fast Five’, the fifth movie in the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. While I have to disagree with the people saying that this is the best in the series, it is better than the disaster that the fourth film was. Still though, they have a ways to go before they can get on back on the level of the second and third films of the series.

The movie was directed by Justin Lin, making this his third straight ‘Fast and Furious’ film. Starring in the movie is series regulars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel accompanied by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and almost every other character from the franchise, seriously all of them. Nothing to fancy with the story here, it picks up right were the last film left off with Dom (Diesel) being broken out of police custody and the group fleeing to Rio to hide out. They get involved, in a bad way, with the local tyrant and chaos ensues. Wanting to get away and start fresh they decide to rob the tyrant and buy there freedom.

One of the greatest things about this movie was getting to see the interactions between all the characters from this franchise. Seeing Roman Pierce and Dom finally come face to face, along with seeing more of everyone’s favorite drifter Han made this movie very memorable. The problem that arose from this though was that there were too many characters, so the people who didn’t really have much of a back story or that were just not very developed, still aren’t. It was a great idea but it just wasn’t done well. Also some of the actors (Walker) gave very bland performances that would’ve easily turned this movie into what the last one was if not for the very well spaced out, yet very short, moments were we get to see the other characters that we all love.

One huge problem I’m having with these movies now though, and especially this one, is that with the story becoming so big and epic, there’s not really much of that great street racing that started it all. In fact in this movie I believe there is only one quarter mile race that last all of maybe sixty seconds. To make up for this though, the movie has some of the greatest chase scenes that I think I’ve ever seen. And the action is top notch, especially Diesel’s fight scenes. So it’s kind of a mixed bag here, although I would prefer a return to the street racing, I understand why they went this route and give them major props for doing a great job of it.

All in all this was a pretty great film for anybody who is a fan of the series. I don’t think this will make you a fan if you didn’t already care for the other movies but check it out because with the new “summer blockbuster” route they’re taking,  you’ll definitely get some enjoyment out of it.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - 05

The Best Sega Genesis Game.

 If I remember correctly Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the first game I ever played for the Genesis and was also the reason I eventually got one. I even got a Game Gear with the hope of playing some Sonic on the go. The only real problem with this game for me was that it was so good that I compared every Sonic game I've played to it and none have come close. I played the best the series had to offer first and now years later I'm paying for it. And I mean that literally because I still have to check out every new game that involves that stupid blue hedgehog.....ahhhhh I love ya Sonic.


 

Donkey Kong Country Returns Review

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a fantastic revisit to one of Nintendo’s greatest Super Nintendo games, Donkey Kong Country. The developers, Retro Studios,  take the DK formula that Rare created and perfects it into what is almost the perfect game. The graphics are some of the best I’ve seen on the Wii to date. The game play and level design has just enough nostalgia to give you that warm feeling inside but yet so much new content that you don’t get that, been there done that feeling. One great new addition is the jetpack that Diddy Kong wears. Although this time around you don’t get to control Diddy, he sits on DK’s back and if you’re faced with a long jump you can use his jetpacks for that extra boost across. On that note I would like to point out that this game is not an easy game by any means, don’t get me wrong it’s no Demon Soul’s but this game will make you want to throw your controller out the window. The game does however include the “auto play” feature to help the, lesser experienced, players through the game. I however could not bring myself to ask for the games help, just the thought of it made me feel like a girly-man. In all seriousness though, the difficulty was very welcomed and the only real complaint here is the same problem I have with New Super Mario Bros. Wii, that you can NOT use the classic controller to play. This is because there are a few other new moves to DK’s arsenal that involve shaking the controller and that are completely pointless. Well not completely but I would’ve chosen to use the classic controller over having the new moves any day.  All in all though, it was a pretty great game and I definitely recommend picking it up because it will give you hours upon hours of great platforming fun with a little DK charm thrown in there.

30 Day Video Game Challenge - Day 04

Favorite Adventure Game. 

It's a bit saddening to think about this game because when it came out I tried to get everybody to play it and sure I got a few people but I kind of felt like I failed getting the word out, although I never stopped. Now fast forward six years and now the world has been introduced to 'Heavy Rain'. A game that plays almost the exact same way just with a new story and far better graphics. I know I didn't make a very good argument just now about why you should play it, but that's ok, because whether it gets the praise it deserves or not, it already is one the all time greats.