I keep failing to keep this updated

I need to be more consistent with this but right now I'm trying out Call of Duty commentaries for the first time, if anyone is interested enough to give me feedback on my first commentary please tell me what I should improve on in the comments of this entry or on the video itself!

Contemplating making a NES E-Book

I want some feedback on this idea.

I want to go through every single NES/Famicom game. I want to write a description of the plot and gameplay for each along with the release date, developer, add in some screenshots, The rarity of the game (Loose and Complete) and do an average price judged by hunting Ebay and collecting sites for the loose copy and complete copy.

I want to make a complete collectors guide with every single thing listed that would be beneficial to gamers and collectors alike. In the end with all the work I'd have to put into it I'd end up charging something small like $5.

I know there are guides out there that have done this but I've never seen one that covered every single thing in a nice PDF format. So tell me, good idea or no? Whenever I get started I'll be sure to give a preview page or two to help gather more opinions before I dive fully into the estimated 1000 page endeavor.

Random horror movie recommendation #1

It's no secret. I am a horror buff. Over the past 6 months I have sat down and watched a minimum of 1 horror movie a day. Some days I watched upwards of 4 or 5. Now I am going to share trailers for certain movies I happened to enjoy to hopefully convince others to watch.

My first recommendation is a revenge horror movie. It is part of the 2010 lineup of After-Dark Horrorfest films. it's called The Final.

Haven't made an entry in a while.

Sorry about that, I've been caught up in another project (which i should have posted here too). I have been posting daily horror reviews for the month of October. Is anyone interested in me posting those entries here? Just tell me so and if a few people want to see them I'll gladly post. Anyways, expect posts to become regular again now! :D

A 2 word review for Minecraft

It's. Awesome.


Seriously, That's why I haven't made a post in 2 days. I can't stop playing. Do yourself a favor and go to minecraft.net and get the game, if you're unsure watch videos on it by "Seananners" or "davidr64yt" on youtube. So damn good.

Out of Curiosity what are everyones Top 3 Favorite films of 2010?

So far my list is as follows:

3. Toy Story 3 - Visually Stunning, The Narrative is Gripping and the entire film pulls on the strings of my heart at one point. Fantastic film.

2. Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Walked in expecting something decent...walked out amazed. Such a great nod to nerd culture. Hilarious too! One of my favorite films of all time.

1. Machete - I thought Expendables was manly...oh no, compared to this it was TV-Y7 Afternoon PBS material. I walked out with Chest Hair on my Chest Hairs Chest Hair.

Anyone proficient with PS3 repair?

Here's the deal, I have an old MGS4 80gig PS3. I got it because I wanted the backwards compatibility with PS2 (my PS2 has been nearly broken for years). Anyways, a few months ago it stopped reading discs. I did all the basic troubleshooting and not getting any results and not able to afford repairs from Sony I decided to do the only other thing I could think of, opening it up and cleaning the laser. I did this exactly as tutorials showed me how and I put it back together, still no results. I've done this so many times. I'm out of ideas, is there anything I can do that would be cheap or easy to fix this problem? I'd rather not get a new PS3 (I don't like the style of the slims and I need the Backwards Compat now for many of my saves are on the hard drive).

Amazing Horror Short

I am amazed at the quality of this, it's freaky. Actually the channel that this comes from is full of awesome horror shorts. So far this is my favorite.

[Rec]2 Review

NOTE: This review will contain spoilers for [Rec]. If you have not seen the first film in the series I suggest that you stay away from this review. As always, I will try and refrain from any sort of spoiler during the process of writing this review.

[Rec] is a Spanish horror film originally released in 2006. Shortly after release it gained worldwide fame and even spawned a Hollywood remake 12 months later. The movie followed a TV Journalism team following around a fire squad. As filming came to a close a call came in and they decided to catch them doing their job for the show. The call was at a local apartment complex, shortly after entering they realized this was no fire. Many people filled with rage were attacking everyone in sight just like zombies. Whoever got bit by them was also infected by the disease. As the team tried to leave the building they realized that the government has sealed it off and would shoot anyone and everyone who tried to get out. The final scene was in a penthouse on the top floor. It was full of mysterious recordings and religious artifacts and a very different looking creature. The film ended with the main character getting dragged off into the darkness, screaming, looking into the lens of camera.

Now it’s 2010 and [Rec2] has hit stateside (late 2009 in Spain). The film exceeds every expectation I had for it. The plot is very difficult to describe without giving spoilers but I will do my best. The movie takes place 15 minutes after the events of [Rec]. Outside the complex a Swat team is readied to infiltrate and record their time inside the building with someone who claims to be a “Medical Examiner”. Shortly after entering we find out that this is not entirely true and that he has a mission and it must be completed if anybody ever wants to walk out of the building alive again. The movie answers every question possible from the first movie as well. Most importantly, what was up with the penthouse and all the religious artifacts within. Less than half-way through it’s all answered and many new plots within that form. The movie is very gripping from beginning to end.

The thing many people including myself enjoyed a lot about the first one was that it is in fact scary. Something rare in modern horror. The movie does not overdo jump scares or “is he going to die?” moments either. The movie goes at a very nice pace and does not overdo anything. I can’t think of one bad thing to say about how the scare factor played out this time around. If anything, it does even better than the first. Ontop of this, the gore effects aren’t over the top. They seem realistic and that’s what adds to the gritty feeling within the movie.

The acting is top notch. While I may not speak Spanish, I know when the characters are conveying the proper emotion. Even if I watched this without subtitles I could vaguely tell what would be going on. The actors did that great of a job. Nothing seemed really corny or out of place (except for one small scene, which in context did make sense). Overall, just a fantastic cast.

If I had to think of just one minor gripe I had with this movie it would be some of the effects used in one particular area. This would be the overlays used to make it seem like the cameras used were handheld much like the first. If you have not caught on yet, the second is a Point of View film much like the first, Cloverfield or Blair Witch Project. The overlays just looked out of place. I did not really need to see a battery indicator on the top right hand of the screen all the time. Some of the feedback given if a camera was dropped looked too static and out of place. It didn’t totally ruin the experience but it definitely did hinder my enjoyment here and there.

This movie is an absolute thrill ride from beginning up to the final two minutes. The final two minutes of this film are jaw-dropping. Simply, outstanding. This is how an ending should be done and it leaves an opening for a [Rec3] which I would really be excited to see.

Overall, [Rec2] is another Modern Horror Classic. It takes everything that made the first great and expanded on it. A lot of questions were answered and many new ones brought into the mix. A lot of plot twists all over. Amazing acting and some very well placed scares. The only thing that detracts it from perfection is some very badly place effects.

Overall I give [Rec2] a 9.8/10

Pros:

+Fantastic Acting
+Excellent Story
+Well Placed Scares
+Jaw Droppingly Amazing Ending

Cons:

-Some fairly cheesy effects on the camera.

Underated Game Review - Bomberman Act Zero

Bomberman: Act Zero developed by Hudson Soft is an attempt to make a more mature Bomberman game. Gone from this title is the classic family friendly style known in the series. In this iteration of the series we are treated with cyborgs, screams, dark environments and just a very adult version of the game. Many said the game fell flat and was a complete failure and embarrassment to the series, I beg to differ.

First up, I’ll get the story out of the way. You are a Bomberman forced to compete for freedom in an underground lab. Survive 99 battles and freedom is yours. That’s the whole plot in a nutshell.

The game plays like any Bomberman in standard mode. A top down view of a stage. Place down bombs to break blocks, collect power-ups (Such as being able to place down multiple bombs at once, run faster, have control over when bombs blow up or even walk through bombs!) and eliminate enemies before it’s too late and the stage starts killing for you via blocks falling down from above. There is a brand new mode in addition to that made for Act:Zero. It is called “FPB” mode, or First-Person-Battle. I have no clue why it’s called First-Person when it’s a traditional Third-Person style camera but I really enjoy this mode. It’s standard mode rules except you are given life points. So a hit will NOT kill you, but it will certainly drain your health down. At the start surviving 2 bombs is all you will be able to do. However with life point power-ups and other things you could survive over 50 bombs. You will need that advantage too. There are 99 stages but only 1 life. No continues, you die once and it is back to the main menu. The games difficulty is absolutely brutal. I have yet to even pass stage 19 (which also takes quite a while to get too). Add onto the fact that the load times are absolutely terrible (sometimes up to 15 seconds to load each stage). You will experience a load time for everything! Seemingly 10% of this game is spent on the loading screen.

Graphically, the game is very bland and dated looking. It gets the job done but not much else. The textures are muddy, the environments are dark and lack any kind of detail. There is only 1 stage with a different color theme every now and then. Everything looks plain. Even the character designs. It’s just 2 types of Bombermen/women with 8 separate colors. Nothing too exciting. It’s not appalling but it will not win any awards. The sound is a low point as well. There are seemingly only 2 sounds for somebody dying. A scream from a male Bomberman and a screech from a Bomberwoman. The bombs all make the same sound. The footsteps never change and there is a very annoying announcer who only has 5 lines which boil down to “You’re alive. You Win. Get to the Next Stage. You are Dead. You Lose”. That’s it. For 99 stages you are guarenteed to hear at least 3 of those per stage. Graphically/Sound Wise this game is no good.

Multiplayer wise there is only Xbox live support. That’s right, no single-console multiplayer which I believe is a first for the series! This is inexcusable. However, the online play really isn’t half-bad when you can find a match. Up to 8 players too. There is seemingly no lag. It’s painless to make or join a game & it plays very well. No real complaints for the live play assuming you can find somebody to play with.

The game may not be perfect but it is one thing that all games should be. Fun. Am I going to go out and say this is a must buy? Not by any means. It can be found for under $5 USD today though, new. It’s worth a shot. It’s a great challenge and addictive. Even doing something simple like passing around 1 controller in a room full of people to see who can get the farthest is even quite entertaining. Overall, I enjoyed this game for what it is. Even though it is fun, it has some very big flaws and I have to give it a 5.5/10.

Pros:

+It’s fun
+Excellent online play
+Presents a challenge not often found in games anymore
+Can be found very cheap

Cons:

-Terrible sound and graphics
-No single-console multiplayer!
-Load times are terrible.
-Finding more than 3 people to play the game with on live per day is a challenge in itself.

Ghost Game Review

Every now and then I stumble across a horror movie that looks so bad it’s good. That is exactly what I thought Ghost Game would be when I found it on Netflix Instant Streaming (the studio that made this even has it on youtube in full). I saw the 2.7 rating on IMDB and only read negative things. I thought to myself, “Well, it will probably be a funny bad!”. Oh, I thought wrong. So wrong.

The story of this film is well…That’s a difficult thing to really say because the plot was so thin I don’t even know that well. The best I can come up with is this. A group of college students rent a cabin for a weekend getaway. They find out in order to get to it they have to canoe over there because it’s a few miles down a river. When they get there they find the nice cabin and a guest book. One entry in the guest book was from a frightened young girl saying “DON’T!” and then the next page was torn out. They soon get bored and decide to play a board game they find in a random closet. They open up the game and on top of the board it says “DON’T PLAY THIS GAME!”. They do anyways and now ghosts appear on the island making them do the tasks of the game for some kind of ritual as everyone dies around them. That’s the best I can possibly describe it.

The acting, well it gives “The Room” a run for its money. The effects? What effects! There are ghosts, just have the actors jump around acting like they are getting hurt! The music? Actually, this wasn’t that bad…when it was there in the first 15 minutes. The ending? Well, the credits were definitely a highlight!

Honestly, when it comes to a movie so bad like this, it is IMPOSSIBLE to give a very fair long detailed review. There was no plot, the acting wasn’t there and theres nothing to talk about. I am in disbelief that something like this even exists. If you are very bored and want to watch one of the worst movies you could every possibly see then well, check this out. If you are not a movie-masochist and you haven’t seen this yet. Well, continue on with your day and don’t look back.

I give Ghost Game a 1/10

Pros:

+Well, the music was okay…I guess

Cons:

-The movie is a giant con.

Machete Review

With the Expendables released earlier this year how could anything top it in action? Well, it’s quite simple really, just take the three missing from the all star cast in Expendables (Steven Seagal, Robert DeNiro and Danny Trejo) and make one over the top throwback to 70s explotation films. Then to top it all off have it directed by none other than Robert Rodriquez. This is what we call…Machete.

Illegal Immigration laws will be taken new heights thanks to senator John McLaughlin. Immigrants will be kept back with an electric fence and possibly killed for just crossing the border. There might be even be an ulterior motive behind all of this. Though there is just one motive for Machete (Played by Danny Trejo) and Luz (played by Michelle Rodriquez) and that’s to stop Senator McLaughlin (Played by Robert DeNiro) before he is re-elected and can put this new policy in place.

Luz is the leader of a immigration ring called “The Network”. She helps people from Mexico get into the United States and knows that McLaughlins fence could really hurt her operations. On top of this Sartana (played by Jessica Alba) is a enforcer of immigration laws who is trying to also bring down Luz’s operation.

We also have Machete, who just 3 years before all of this was left for dead by Torrez (played by Steven Seagal). After killing Machete’s wife he set a house ablaze with a unconscious and wounded Machete left inside. He was presumed dead until he was found by Booth (Played by Jeff Fahey). Booth hired him to take out McLaughlin at an upcoming speech. Little did Machete know it was a setup and soon Luz, Sartana and Machete will have to join forces to solve a web of deceit and end all the madness going on…very violently (this is by far one of the most over-the-top Action films in a very long time).

Everything about this film screams 70’s. If you caught the “Grindhouse” films from 2006 then you know what to expect. A very gritty film full of action and a fair amount of talking as well. It’s almost as if Robert Rodriquez went back in time with his cast and filmed this using modern cinematic techniques. The end result is just mind blowing.

The film is full of humor as well. There are so many quotable scenes, it’s unbelievable. This movie never has a dull moment. The entire film is well written and just a joy to watch. Bloods squirting, women are naked, limbs are flying and guns are blazing. What else could you want out of a movie that is meant to ooze testosterone off of the screen.

There is only one minor downside to this entire picture and that’s the fact that sometimes the writing loses focus. The plot takes second place to the action at parts. It seems like sometimes there is just violence for well, the sake of violence. Granted that’s not a big problem for me but for many others this could be a tad distracting.

Overall, Machete is full of action, has an all-star cast and looks and feels like it was made 4 decades ago. It’s just awesome.

I give Machete a 9.5/10

Pros:
+ACTION
+TESTOSTERONE
+EVERYTHING

Cons:
-Loses focus here and there…

but honestly, who cares about that con, I’ve been trying to hold this back the entire review but really after writing that I just feel the need to say this, so please excuse me but…

OHMYGODTHISWASTHEBESTMOVIEEVERIHAVENEVERBEENSOENTERTAINEDINATHEATERMYENTIRELIFE!!!

That is pretty much my secondary review.

PC Game Review - Nation Red

Nation Red developed by DiezelPower last August is an isometric Zombie Shooter. I will be reviewing the version seen with the latest patch (1.66) which was released last week. Nation Red can be purchased on Steam for $9.99

The Story would only be apparent if you read the write up on Steam. Now to make things simple. Zombies appear in the Midwest in the 1970s, the last one is thought to be shot and killed. Thirty Years later it turns out there were more and now the area is being overrun yet again. Now it's up to you to kill them all.

To start with, the gameplay is very simple. It's in an isometric view (see screenshot below), and you play it like any old arcade top down shooter. Move (and roll), and of course kill everything that moves while confined in a small area. It's very much like SmashTV in this respect. What makes it stand out though is the Perk System. For every X amount of points you unlock a perk. You are given a set of 5 random perks to choose from every time you level up. These range from a perk that will give you a grenade every 30 seconds to bombs that will drop over areas of the map every 30 seconds killing around 5-6 zombies with them. In addition to the zombies there are also Zombie Bosses, think special infected in Left 4 Dead except these bosses will take clip after clip and are absolutely deadly. Some of these bosses have guns, some have chainsaws and others throw grenades and are covered in riot gear. The bosses in this game are no joke. That along with the huge variety of weapons to take these zombies and bosses down (Melee weapons like Axes, Regular Guns like M16s and even special weapons such as Steam Hammers/Flame Throwers!) make for a lot of varied fun gameplay assuring that no two games are the same. You never know what you are going to get so you have to make your strategies on the spot as well. To say that Nation Red's gameplay is fun and addictive would not be enough to describe how brilliant it really is.

The game is split up into a variety of modes. First you have Mission Mode, in here are all the story based missions. There are 18 in total that get progressively harder and harder. Very fun mode and while the levels may not be that long, trying to figure out how to go about them will result in several retries once you get around mission 5. The second mode is Free Play. Here you are put into an area and have unlimited time to kill as many zombies as you wish (well until you die). So just keep shooting and have fun. The Third Mode is survival where you are given a Sub Machine gun as your only weapon and you have to survive as long as possible. The last mode available was added with the recent patch, it is called Barricade. Here you will have to defend an area like all the other modes but the catch is that at the southern most part of the area is a barricade, if the zombies break through there it's game over. This is in my opinion the best mode. In addition to this there is Local Co-Op Play, however I have yet to test this out.

The graphics in Nation Red are flawless. The game just looks so dark, gritty and real. This can be thanked in part to the setting. The desert, very gloomy and dark. Even in the light it still looks dark. The zombie models are fantastic looking. Blood splatters, ripped clothes and amazing animations makes the hundreds of zombies that will fill your screen at one time make this game an absolute beauty. The sound, I wish I could say was flawless but I do have one minor grip with it. While it does feature a lot of awesome instrumental work (which is pretty much all Guitar Solos and blast beats) and accurate gun sounds, the sound effects aren't quite up to par, I don't like the grunts made when either you or a zombie get hit. There only seems to be about 3 separate sounds for that which is disappointing. It can really kill the vibe of the game quickly

What else can be said. Nation Red is a phenomenal game on almost every front. The only thing I would like to see outside of more sound effects are more areas to play in (there seems to only be about 4 distinct locations). Other than that everything that you could ever really want is in this $9.99 package. DiezelPower is currently readying up Online Co-op for that matter! This game will soon have almost everything fans of this genre could want. A pure arcade type of shooter fun in short or long sessions. I highly recommend this game.

Overall: 9.5/10

Pros:
+Great Graphics
+Amazing Gameplay
+Extremely Challenging yet rewarding at Parts
+Very Nifty Music

Cons:
-Not a good amount of sound effects
-A few more areas to play in would be nice

PSP Mini Review - Hysteria Project

Hysteria Project is an interesting throwback to 80's horror movies and classic Sega CD/3D0 FMV (Full-Motion-Video) Games. Costing only $1.99, missing out on this title would be a crime.

Hysteria Project takes place entirely from a first person perspective. You start off in a room where a mysterious hooded figure leaves you tied up and presumably he will be back to kill you. The main objective is to escape and leave the room and forest that surrounds it.

The game is played in a very simple fashion. There are only two things that actually make this a game. Quick Time Events and an option list where you tell your character what to do next. For instance to avoid any later spoilers, you break out of the room by first looking for a sharp object (which is an option) and then cutting yourself free which brings up a quick time event. The game will flash X and O on the screen for a split second where you must press that button or else it's game over.

Once you escape it's a chase through a forest. Mess up once and maybe the axe murder out there will catch you. There are two interesting puzzles to be found out there and some tricky sequences. The game is intense and it's a nonstop adrenaline rush. The only true downfalls are it's length (it can be completed in 30 minutes) and the video is slightly blurry. Then again, this can be blamed on the 100mb limit for Minis on the PSN. However once the game is over you will be ready for a sequel.

Many reviewers say that after one play another playthrough is pointless, but I believe the opposite. When you know what to do you can really take in the entire game without having to restart scenes. You can really go straight through and just experience it like a movie rather than an interactive video.

After the first time you complete the game, you unlock something rather cool and it really fleshes out the story a lot more. I won't say what it is but it really brings together the story. I can't recommend this enough. While it may not be a lengthy adventure or highly replayable it is definitely worth the $1.99.


I give Hysteria Project for the PSP (and iPhone/iPod Touch) a 9/10

Pros:

+Cheap
+Great to get a small gaming fix
+Interesting story
+Nonstop Action

Cons:

-Not very replayable
-Ends as soon as it beings
-Bad video compression really hinders the look and feel of the game in some areas