Categories
Pages
Social Links
Gamercard
|
|
33070
Last.FM
Tags
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
June Media Review Update
Quick review update thingamabob for movies and games for the month of June.
| Title | Rating |
| Hoodwinked |  |
| Book of Eli |  |
| Hot Tub Time Machine | |
| Kick-Ass | |
| Halo:ODST |  |
| Toy Story 3 (3D) |  |
| 500 Days of Summer | |
Filed under: Game Reviews, Movie Reviews | 2 Comments »
Enjoyed the silence…
Oh boy, it’s been almost half-a-year since last I bothered updating this blog. It’s shocking really!
You know how it goes. You kind of lapse into a non-update period, and then it all seems like too much effort to update and explain yourself. That’s where I was. Can’t say I feel awfully guilty, although I probably should.
So, what’s been happening on my end? Not really an awful lot. Watched a bunch of movies, played a lot of games, and finally managed to start and finish LOST. That in itself is quite an achievement I would say!
Looking to the future. Friday the FIFA World Cup starts. I’m sure it’ll be lovely, but I’m not a sports person as such. I hope South Africa manage to showcase everything that’s great about this country though.
In August we’re going to the UK and France for our vacation. Everything’s in place except for our Visas, but we’ll be getting those sorted soon. Then it’s just a matter of waiting it out. Can’t come soon enough, that’s for sure.
Work-wise… I moved to Sandton, still doing the same work, just in another place. Traffic’s much worse, but one gets used to it. However, with the launch of the Gautrain, I might finally be able to use public transport to come to work. Will give it a bash and see how it goes.
And that’s pretty much all I have for now. I might go into detail on some things as time goes on, we’ll see.
Filed under: Personal | 2 Comments »
Mass Review Update
I’ve been lazy, and have neglected my blog. Bad boy! Here’s an update though.
| Title | Date | Rating |
| Movies | ||
| Sherlock Holmes | 16/01/2010 | |
| Natural Born Killers | 17/01/2010 | |
| The Lovely Bones | 21/02/2010 |  |
| Jurassic Park III | 26/02/2010 | |
| District 9 | 27/02/2010 | |
| Alice in Wonderland (3D) | 07/03/2010 | |
| Inglorious Basterds (Blu-ray) | 07/03/2010 | |
| The Invention of Lying | 14/03/2010 | |
| Surrogates | 27/03/2010 | |
| Gamer | 28/03/2010 | |
| The Hangover | 28/03/2010 | |
| Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs | 04/04/2010 | |
| Zombieland | 04/04/2010 | |
| Labyrinth (Blu-ray) | 25/04/2010 | |
| Iron Man 2 | 01/05/2010 | |
| 1408 | 02/05/2010 | |
| 9 | 06/06/2010 | |
| TV | ||
| LOST Complete Series | 30/05/2010 | |
| Games | ||
| Darksiders | 19/01/2010 | |
| Bayonetta | 24/01/2010 | |
| Mass Effect 2 | 11/02/2010 | |
| Bioshock 2 | 20/02/2010 | |
| Heavy Rain | 28/02/2010 | |
| F.E.A.R. 2 – Project Origin | 14/03/2010 |  |
| God of War III | 22/03/2010 | |
| Battlefield Bad Company 2 | 27/03/2010 | |
| Splinter Cell: Conviction | 02/05/2010 |  |
| Alan Wake | 06/06/2010 | |
Filed under: Personal | No Comments »
A gaming update
Hooo boy, it doesn’t rain, it pours! Things are about to get real hectic on the gaming front. In the run-up to the Christmas season, there’s a slew of great releases. My current queue looks like this:
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – PS3
- Uncharted 2 – Ps3
- Brutal Legend – Xbox 360
- Borderlands – Xbox 360
- Dragon Age – Xbox 360 or PC
- Assassin’s Creed 2 – Xbox 360
I got Ninja Gaiden last week Friday, and made a decent dent in it. Then yesterday saw the release of Uncharted 2, a few days earlier then expected, along with the early release of Brutal Legend. Next week Friday Borderlands gets released, followed two weeks later by Dragon Age. And two weeks thereafter it’s Assassin’s Creed 2.
I would really like to borrow someone’s time machine if they have one available. I don’t know where I’m going to get the time for all these games. And these aren’t games I have just a passing interest in, these are games I’ve been wanting to play since they were announced. The list almost doubles in size if I include games I’m curious about.
Moving on to the games I have played on the list so far. Ninja Gaiden is hard, but rewarding. I skipped the Xbox release and waited for it to hit the PS3, and it seems that they did fix the difficulty up, as I never struggled as hard as some people have, even considering that I suck at this type of game.
And then Uncharted 2. It’s a work of art. I skipped all the media attention for this game after the initial screenshots were released, so I went into this game totally blind. And it was worth it! I was a bit skeptical about the screenshots and how it would translate to the actual product, but Naughty Dog delivered in spades. It really is an amazing game, and at the moment it’s tying with Batman Arkham Asylum for Game of the Year.
And that pretty much brings us up to date on that front. Let the games continue!
Filed under: Personal | No Comments »
Your BrainHex Class is Seeker.
Your BrainHex Sub-Class is Seeker-Survivor.
You like finding strange and wonderful things or finding familiar things as well as pulse-pounding risks and escaping from hideous and scary threats.
According to your results, there are few play experiences that you strongly dislike.
Learn more about your classes and exceptions at BrainHex.com.
Your scores for each of the classes in this test were as follows:
- Seeker: 14
- Survivor: 12
- Mastermind: 10
- Conqueror: 8
- Achiever: 6
- Daredevil: 4
- Socialiser: 2
Go to BrainHex.com to learn more about this player model, and the neurobiological research behind it.
Filed under: Personal | No Comments »
It lives!
Wha-hey!
Long time, no post. Some eventful things have happened since last post, but overall things have been going along as normal.
Personal
The biggest thing happening has been Gwyneth’s shoulder operation. For some time now she’s been having a pain in her right shoulder, and eventually after a couple of doctor visits it was deemed that she’ll need a shoulder operation. So a month back into the theatre she went for the operation. Everything went well, but now it’s the long rehabilitation of the shoulder, these things don’t suddenly start working like normal again it seems. So, lots of exercises from the physio, but we’ll get there eventually. She can’t do any strenuous work with the arm, and can’t sleep on it, which is a bit of an inconvenience, but that’s the price one has to pay I guess! At least we’ve got to the point where she can bath instead of showering, so we don’t have to go to my parents place every night to use their shower.
Movies
In movie news, watched a bunch of movies which I haven’t reviews, click here for a quick overview and my ratings. Started watching the Harry Potter movies last night in preparation for the 6th movie to hit. Harry Potter’s one of those things that I just like…
There’s quite a few movies in the coming months to get excited about though. Eager to see the new Transformers movie first and foremost.
Music
Went through quite a few Nine Inch Nails marathons, I guess with them now on their last tour in quite some time, one needs to stock up on as much NIN as one can get. Been downloading a lot of the live shows they’ve been performing, this will probably be the closest I’ll get to them ever. But hey, can’t complain, 20 years of NIN is a long time. And I’m sure Trent Reznor wants to change the pace a bit, especially seeing that he’s now engaged to get married (that was a bit of a surprise!)
VNV Nation has a new album out, will have to get that. Placebo has a new album out, ditto. See Muse are recording their new album as well. Does look like 2009′s the year for new albums. Not that I’m complaining!
Over the weekend we went to the Doors to watch The Black Hotels and Die Heuwels Fantasties. The Black Hotels played a lot of new stuff, songs that aren’t on their latest album. This sucks, as I’ll have to wait till next year when they release a new album. I want it now! Die Heuwels Fantasties were surprisingly good. Afrikaans rock music has come a long way, that’s for sure.
Games
Been playing a lot games, as usual! I finished The Witcher, which was a great game, definitely one worth playing if you have a capable PC. Currently I’m playing Infamous on the PS3, and enjoying it a lot. It reminds me a bit of Crackdown, which is definitely not a bad thing.
So, there’s the state of the nation as it stands at the moment.
Filed under: Archives | 2 Comments »
Overspending!
Oh boy, I really should cut back seriously on my gaming habit! I’m buying way to many games, and I’ll never get to all of them if I continue this.
I blame the sales that are happening all over the place. Take 2 recently had a massive sale across all platforms. So, I ordered three games – Tomb Raider Anniversary, Civilization Revolution and Naruto, all three for the Xbox. Then I picked up a second hand copy of Resistance 2 for the PS3. While perusing the different gaming fora, I was made aware of a massive sale that Incredible Connection’s got going as well. I finally tracked down an Incredible that actually had anything worthwhile yesterday, and there I picked up Too Human for the 360, Hellgate: London, Titan Quest, Dawn of War and Company of Heroes for the PC.
Many of these games I’ve been wanting to play for some time ,but wasn’t prepared to pay full-price for them. When they dropped below the point that I determine as reasonable though, it’s all fair game. So, that’s 9 new games added to my already overtaxed “To Be Played” queue. *sigh*
Right now my priority is Hellgate: London though. At least I could decide on that!
Filed under: Archives | No Comments »
First 2009 Game Review post
Well, we’re already one and a bit months into two double-oh nice, and I’ve yet to make a game review post. For that matter, last year was woefully devoid of my game reviews. No more! To date, I’ve completed four games, and here’s a mini review of said games.
The next installment in the ongoing process of making LEGO versions of popular franchises. This is also the first one to not be based on any particular movie, rather concentrating on the Batman universe that’s been created over the years.
The game’s structure follows the standard six episodes approach, each having five chapters. The first three episodes sees you playing as Batman, along with Robin as your sidekick. You are pitted against the Riddler, the Penguin and the Joker in each episode, fighting different villains that team up with them. there’s the usual vehicle levels where you fly, sail and drive around. The ever present smashing of everything in sight in order to collect LEGO studs which allows you to upgrade your characters and buy bonus features is still present.
The other three episodes sees you taking the helm of the villians from the first three episodes. You might play in the same levels, or get a unique view on the events that lead to Batman entering the fray. It’s an interesting take on the idea, and makes for a welcome break from playing as one character the whole way through.
If you liked the previous LEGO offerings, there’s every reason why you will enjoy this one as well. If however you’ve fallen out of love with them along the line, there’s very little that will entice you back to the franchise.
Score:
For the Prince’s next generation outing, Ubisoft have decided to reset the franchise. We have the start of a new story, with a new prince.
The game kicks off where the prince lost in the desert, and stumbles into an kingdom that’s fallen apart. It’s gotten corrupted by and evil god, and you’re roped into assisting the only living being, a princess, into helping to purge the lands of the evil that taints it. The princess has been granted magical powers do to an event that you learn about during the course of the game. These magic powers allows her catch you when you fall of a ledge, effectively serving as a movable checkpoint. This is the source of the biggest controvesy of the game, as there’s a vocal crowd who believe that this effectively removed the difficulty from the game. The other side of the fence however states that all this really does, is streamlining the whole “Game Over”/restart process that you would be doing anyways.
There are four areas in the game that you visit, each with multiple areas to heal, and each featuring a boss that you have to overcome. You collect lightseeds in the healed areas, which allows you to unlock new abilities for the princess, which in turn gives you access to more areas.
One thing that’s really been shining in Ubisoft games, is the story, and Prince of Persia delivers in spades. As you make your way around the gameworld, you get the opportunity to talk to the princess, which fleshes out the story, and reveals something quite sinister going on. You can avoid all of this if you wanted to, but you’d be left with a rather hollow gaming experience.
The ending also sets up the sequel quite nicely, and if the previous Prince of Persia games are anything to go by, we’re in for an amazing trilogy.
Score:
The next installment in the insanely popular Gears of War series. The fight against the Locust continues, this time it’s taken to their homeground, which is all underground.
Gears 2 takes everything that was great from the original, and amplifies it tenfold. The setpieces are bigger, and you get to do some things that you wished you could’ve done in the first one, as well as facing off against some of the bigger, meaner enemies from the first Gears.
The story also answers a few of the questions left unanswered from the original, but sadly, it makes many more that leaves you a bit puzzled, as well as frustrated. The writing of the game leaves a bit to be desired, but this can be forgiven, since this is the game equavelant of a summer blockbuster action movie, you’re not really there for the plot, but for the action, and in this regard it delivers in spades.
Gears 2 is also one of the most graphically amazing games on the current consoles, it really is something to marvel at. This is something that you really need to experience if you have the opportunity!
I haven’t really had a chance to try out the multiplayer side of things, but I’ve seen a lot of complaints in this regard. Epic have delivered two patches already to address these though, and I see that there’s a third update in the works, which will also finally for the first time feature bots, which is something that’s been lacking from the people that have created some pretty cool bots in their Unreal Tournament games.
Overall, Gears of War 2 is a great ride from start to finish, it’s not overly long, and extremely enjoyable if you’re looking for some mindless action.
Score:
Much has been said about Force Unleashed, it’s been punted as the official story of the events that happen between Episode 3 and Episode 4, chronicaling the creation of the Rebellion. The biggest feature of Force Unleashed is most definitely it’s story. You play as a secret apprentice to Darth Vader. You’re given the task of hunting down Jedi that have escaped the purge that happened in Episode 3.
The game features some well-known areas, as well as some areas that you merely catch a glimpse from in the movies. It’s all brought to live in stunning graphics, it really holds up quite well to many of the top games out there.
However, Force Unleashed suffers from the most terrible of gaming sins. It’s not a lot of fun to play. You constantly get the feeling that the gameplay itself is against you, you struggle doing some of the basic things, and bits that should be awesome, all fizzle out in execution. Sometimes it does shine though, and when it does, it serves as a frustrating reminder of what the game could’ve been.<
A highlight of the game is the ability to really play as a real bad guy. You eventually have access to all the Sith powers, and you get to attack Wookiees and Jawas and other defenseless creatures from the Star Wars universe. It’s also the first game to let you really go crazy with your force powers, Force Grip being a favourite, allowing you to throw stormtroopers around, or hurl large rocks at enemies.
Force Unleashed has a great story to tell, and if you have the patience to struggle through questionable game mechanics, it’s a worthwhile experience.
Score:
Filed under: Game Reviews | 2 Comments »
Let’s count
So, by my count, it looks like I’ve watched 76 movies in 2008. Ok, not all of them were 2008 releases, but the majority of them were first time watchings. I didn’t count movies I watched twice in 2008, there’s a few that I watched more then once.
Let’s see if I can equal, or exceed that for 2009!
I need to do a count of games played for 2008, but I think it should be in the high thirties at least.
One thing I probably should concentrate on improving in 2009, is the amount of books I read. I’ve read a couple, but nothing really extensive. I also reread the Harry Potter books again as well, for the 6th time!
Music wise I’m quite happy, discovered some new bands, rediscovered some old bands. I should keep my ears open for more new music this year though!
Filed under: Archives | No Comments »
Get your rock on…
Hmmm, weekends. They always go by so fast, never staying long enough. Oh well, one day my wish for Wednesdays to become official mini-weekend-day will come true. One day…
What’s been happening on my side of the world. Well, got a bit of a bonus from work, yay. This meant new TV time. Got a Sony LCD, the KLV-32S400A. Great TV, but what a mission! Went to Hifi Corp, they didn’t have in stock at the branch. So decided to check in at Game, and on the shelf, there was the model I was looking for. After asking the sales person if they have stock, and receiving a definite yes, I purchased said TV. However, when they carted the box to me after I paid, I see that they brought the wrong model – a T-Series. According to them, it’s the newer model. Bull! I did my research thoroughhly, and the T-Series is basically a stripped down version from the S-Series. Sure, it’s got the same Bravia engine and all, but input wise it’s sorely lacking.
Well, after a lot of discussion, it comes down to the fact that they don’t stock the S-Series anymore. So we come to an agreement, where I get the S-Series that was on the shelf, and they give me a R1000 discount. I still have the full warranty on the TV, so I scored there. TV works just as well, no hassles or anything, so I came out on top there!
I also purchases the Guitar Hero World Tour super bundle, and LittleBigPlanet. LBP’s is a very charming little game, with endless possibilities due to it’s extremely powerful level creator. Guitar Hero now has drums as well as vocals, along withh the standard guitar and bass. I’m really liking the drums, always wanted to try my hand at drumming, and this is probably the closest I can get without making a huge commitment!
In other news, I’m quite happy to report that the new Guns ‘n Roses album does not suck! I actually quite like it.
And that’s about all I wrote for now.
Filed under: Archives | No Comments »