Insidious Review:

Daniel Foster
Chronicle
March 24, 2011

Insidious

     Horror movies have become little more than two hours of gore or laughter of how bad the film was executed. Films such as Saw which began with promise soon become the yearly film that audiences dreaded. Horror is by far the most complicated and difficult film to make, due to the amount of potential failures in the execution. Insidious is a near perfect horror movie, that uses its low budget to great effects along with going outside of the standard clichés.
     Two years ago Paranormal Activity saw box office success, along with being considered the scariest movie of modern day horror. Insidious also uses it low budget to great use, and encourages the audience to not only think outside of the box, but also pay close attention to the screen for the hidden scares. The films story focuses on a family who endure constant encounters with the supernatural. As it turns out, demons and ghost are drawn to one of the sons with the hopes of possessing him. The plot may give off the been their done that feel, but as the film goes on you are introduced to different characters who bring more variety to the story, along with a twist ending that most won’t see coming. The plot is solid, but it is the films execution that stole the show.
      The visual style for the films gives a gritty and dark look, adding to the emotion conveyed in the plot. The scares don’t come until the middle of the movie, but throughout the film you have a sense of suspense and dread, as each encounter grows more and more violent. The makeup is fantastic, making the many entities memorable and respectably haunting. However the film isn’t perfect, I found myself almost laughing at the final act and how less scary and poorly executed it was, even though the beginning was excellent. The final act almost played out like an old slasher film with people screaming and running from the killer.
     In the end Insidious is a haunting, creepy, and downright scary film which is exactly what this genre needed. In a year full of superhero’s and sequels it is nice to see that low budget films can be just as enduring as those with mega million budgets. Insidious will haunt you and don’t be surprised if you’re afraid to go to sleep.

Paranormal Activity 2 Review:

 

     Paranormal activity was one of the most significant sleeper hits (a movie that makes more money than expected)  of the decade, having been demanded by audience, and climbing the charts at the box office. The film alone grossed over 190 million dollars worldwide, with only a budget of $15,000 making the film one of the most successful movies of all time, along with “Blair Witch Project” and “Mad Max”. Only a year later Paranormal Activity 2 has now hit theaters hoping to have the same success as its predecessor, but with a new director and much bigger budget, will this sequel be a hit? Paranormal Activity 2 is a prequel, taking place before the events of the first film, with the last five minutes acting as the sequel for the film. The story follows relatives of the predecessor’s protagonist as they encounter numerous paranormal events, and the same entity that haunts the main characters in the last film. The movie offers more scares than its predecessor, but at points gives off a been there done that feel, as many of the paranormal events are replicas of the first films.  The film still has the slow build up of the mockumentary genre, but always has you feeling like something scary is just around the corner. Although the film has a much bigger budget, much of the originality remains in tack and never feels too special effect oriented, rather than past mockumentary films such as “The Last Exorcism”. The acting is solid and helps make you believe that the characters are reacting to real events. The film is well made and has a much more structured and professional feel which is what the predecessor lacked. Although the film does drag in the beginning with numerous cheap scares, it makes up for it in a finale that most movie goers wont see coming.  It is disappointing that the film doesn’t have much innovation, but is definitely  more entertaining and engaging than its predecessor was. This is a rare sequel that takes what the original had and improves it on nearly ever level, the scares get better as the film goes along, and the story isn’t as unbelievable as the last film, with the box office success that the film has had so far, hopefully Paranormal activity 3 will bring something new to the table, rather than repeating the same story over and over…………..Saw would be a great example of that.

3 out of 4

The Town Review:

The Town is an excellent film that helps show the directorial skills of Ben Affleck, along with engaging the audience in a heist thriller like no other. The movie tells the tale of Doug MacRay whom is leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers, who have been perform professional heist in the district of Charlestown. After a bank heist goes wrong, Doug must than deal with the repercussions of his actions, while preparing his crew for one last heist. The films story is well told and executed perfectly, the acting is well tuned, along with immersing the audience into the troubles and conflicts that the characters are facing. The supporting cast gives great performances all around, especially last year’s Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), whom gives the story a lot more tension and emotion as you uncover the origins of his character. Ben Affleck does a fantastic job of executing the various action sequences, and building a lot of tension around each of the firefights, at some points it hard not to root for the main characters, although they are the bad guys. The performances are phenomenal, the execution perfect, and the overall experience is one of the best this year. The Town is a triumph with its great use of its low budget, and cast. Although this year has shown its fair share of innovative films, the town shows that creativity and worthwhile movie going experience aren’t in short supply.

4 out of 4



Halo Reach:

     After 10 years of deliver solid experiences, Bungie is sending off one of the most beloved series with Halo Reach, which proves to be the series best installment. Halo Reach is the prequel to the whole series, or in other words this is how the war began. The campaign tells the tale of Noble team, in which you play as your own custom made character, which you make from the start of the game. Although Master Chief is gone, your noble six is far more engaging because its you who made him or her. Throughout the campaign you are seeing the fall of Reach, which adds a lot of emotion to the story since no matter what you do, you cant stop it. Reach has a excellent and interesting cast of characters, that each give more emotion to the campaign and help keep the player immersed into the world.
     The most fascinating thing about Reach is how much of a impact it has on the other games, along with how much of a role your spartan plays in the overall game. Although this is a prequel bungie has added plenty of weapons, along with the new armor abilites, which range from using a jet pack, to camouflaging yourself from enemies. The campaign is vastly improved over the past Halo games, thanks to added variety in the characters and levels, but also the emotion that was lacked in other Halo games. The enemy AI is excellent and help make this installment in the series the hardest, but it would have been nice if the ally AI had the same treatment. Although Microsoft is taking over the IP, I highly doubt that any other company can match the originality of the game, and how well executed it is compared to other installments. 
     The campaign is excellent delivering on plenty of satisfying battles, along with expert level design, but when you finally finish the fight your left with one of the most engaging multilayer experiences around. In Halo Reach the character you make carries over to all the modes, as you play each mode you gain credits that allow you to purchase new upgrades and make your spartan truly unique. The game even offers a new and improved map editor, that makes it easy for anyone to make their their own game modes or map variants. The game offers plenty of modes and maps that can all be edited in forge, in the Halo Reach delivers on the content which is hard to say for other games in the market. This installment has everything from each of the games, adding plenty of replay value, along with justifying its price.  The fact that Reach has so many ideas and modes within it, you could easily spend months if not years on the game, messing with the map editor or ranking up in the multiplayer.
     Halo Reach is a monster of a game that adds plenty if replay value with all of its modes along with delivering a solid campaign, that only gets harder when players are added. The game is the hardest of the Halos which can and will lead to some frustrating moments, along with some hiccups with the AI, but these complaints are minimal to a masterpiece in gaming that really was worth the the price.
10/10

Resident Evil:Afterlife Review

There are very few game adaptions that can entertain and satisfy fans, along with connect with audiences that aren't familiar with the source material, Resident Evil Afterlife does none of the above. Imagine a movie full of slow motion, and does very little to keep the viewer intrigued and immersed into the characters and story. Everything about the story just feels like they were trying to add in as many elements from the game as possible, although they don't justify it with the plot, nor give them the emotion or fear that they showed in the game. The movies action is nothing but slow motion fight scenes, and numerous fade to blacks after each short strip of dialogue. The movie plays out in a very pathetic way giving the viewer no insight into whats going on and why the characters are the way they are. The plot has plenty of references to the game but many of the plot twist, and many appearances by key characters fall short. To call afterlife a good movie is hard, but to say that it is entertaining can be justified, due to the numerous action sequences, and after years of watching the characters develop, you actually want to see what will happen to them. The opening to the film was excellent and unexpected, but unfortunately from that point of the film becomes repetitive with its action sequences, and many of the characters feel like their just there to be killed off. I was disappointed in the 3-D effects in afterlife and feel the the film, was far from worth the $13 for admission. If you want a entertaining gore-fest than Afterlife is for, but if you want a great story and phenomenal action sequences, than plenty of the other films out will deliver on just that.

Devil Review:

  

     Its hard to believe that m.night.Shyamalan is even allowed to have anything to do with cinema lately, thanks to his past projects such as "The Last Airbender". Yet M.Night's latest thriller does deliver on the thrills, but falls short as far as plot, and begins to drag on due to repetition. Devil tells the story of a group of people who are are trapped on a elevator with the devil, luckily the plot deepens as you discover more about each characters past, ultimately leading to a emotional confrontation with the devil him or herself.
     Throughout the movie you begin to learn more about the characters backgrounds, and ultimately what connects them, the only issue with the characters is that most of them get killed off before any attachment can be made. The cast does a great job of making their reactions believable, unlike many other horror films where the acting is only secondary. The script has plenty of twist and turns and thanks to the distinct personalities of the characters, at points its hard to decipher who the devil is.
      The movie has enough detail to the story that it doesn't feel like a live action "Guess Who", but at the same time becomes overly repetitive midway through the film. The film also does a great job of building up tension, but unfortunately the plot is hard to take seriously, mostly due to its premise. The film fell short as far as its plot, and felt overlong and generic in the middle, but the movie was original and had a great finale. All in all M.Night made a interesting tale that provided a great twist in the ending, but the events leading up to the finale fell short, but this movie isn't as bad as "The Happening", but not as good as "The Sixth Sense".

E3!

Hey, that melon guy here, just to tell you how new updates will be coming soon, both because of the E3 convention and our "out of school" status! Look forward for all the new games coming this summer and great movies as well!

This update was sponsored by Daniel-O's The best thing to come to Cereal since the Joystick to the Arcade!

Stay cool gamers!

-Melonman

Iron Man 2 Review:

   “Iron Man 2” is an action-packed entertaining superhero movie that delivered on the characters and action, but the plot lacked the intensity and intelligence that could be found in the previous installment. “Iron Man 2” continues the story of Tony Stark as we see the addition of new characters and plot tie-ins that build up for the highly anticipated “Avengers”. Robert Downey seals the show, along with the rest of the cast pulling their weight, except for actors such as Samuel L. Jackson. In all honesty Samuel L. Jackson didn’t fit the criteria of character which made many of his scenes fall short. Sam seemed to be trying to pull a “Pulp Fiction” rather than keeping to the source material. The plot begins with promise, but begins to become more over the top towards the end. The action feels over too soon, and the plot began to drag on in the middle. John Favreau has shown talent in making films, and although Iron Man 2 did fall short, in his defense it was build-up for “The Avengers”. All in all “Iron Man 2” had promise, but because of the plot was more circled around build up for “The Avengers”, their was little to be found in the film.

2 ½ out of 4

Lets start anew!

Hello, back from the den i call my room (the sounds of red dead in the forground) to tell you about a great podcast that will be coming out soon. they were previously called Animated Gamer, but due to some things it broke up. My good freinds who work in the game buisness have let me in the loop on whats to come on their podcast. As soon as they come out with some a link will be put up. The podcast comes from three guys who love games and love to argue over them. I will update you with any further information.

Stay frosty gamers!

-Melonman

Most Anticipated Movies of 2010

5. Avatar The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender Trailer 

     Avatar seems like it has a lot going for it as far as special effects and the newly announced 3-D, but M.Night.Shamalayn hasn't been on a good streak with his films. M.Night has made some truly memorable ones such as "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs", but with those critical and financial success's their has also been a few failures, such as "The Happening" and "The Village". Hopefully Avatar cast will help make up for the story if its a stinker, but then again hopefully M.Night.Shamalayn will redeem himself.

  4.The A-Team and Predators

A Team Trailer

     Now we all know "The A Team" isnt going to be the type of movie that you see for the story, but rather is the definition of a summer movie, mindless fun. The cast seems solid and just from the trailers seems like it'll be enjoyable, but the real reason why "The A Team" is anticipated is because of the outrageous action scenes that the directer seems to be going for, hopefully a falling tank, taking out helicopters wont be too outrageous.  

  Predators trailer
Predators seems like it could reinvent the series and may actually be better than the past predator entry's, the film is taking place on the predator planet and the action seems intense and not nearly as corny as them "AVP" movies. I am more excited to see how the cast will do in this film, rather than how the action will be.

3. The Expendables

The Expendables Trailer 

     "The Expendables" looks awesome not only for its mindless action, but also because of the cast which consist of some of the most badass individuals in film. Sylvester Stallone knows how to stage a action sequences, but as far as story has fell short, but all in all his last films were well made, if not too much over the top. I'm excited for "The Expendables" because of the action and to see some of the most badass action heroes fight side by side.

2.The Karate Kid

Karate Kid Trailer

     The Karate kid is definitely more anticipated than any of these films, because of the changes that have been made to the story and layout, mostly the Karate Kid not being Italian, but Jaden Smith instead. Jackie Chan seems to be going for a much more mature performance and the visual style seems to fit perfectly. Jaden Smith has always given a enjoyable funny performance, and it will be interesting to see how he does taking the helm, along with seeing how Jackie Chan does without Chris Tucker.

1.Inception

Inception Trailer 

Leonardo Dicaprio seems to be on a good streak as far as films, this year alone he gave a fantastic performance in "Shutter Island". Inception seems like its going to have a great story, chararacters, and action scenes, mostly due to the talented directer Christopher Nolan. Chris has yet to make a bad movie, and Leo has yet to star in a terrible one, so the match seem to have alot going for them, hopefully the movie makes sense.

Call of Duty Black Ops trailer impressions.

Call of duty trailer
Call of Duty has come along way in the past decade, giving some truly memorable setpieces and battles, along with some very entertaining multiplayer. Lately Call of Duty has been talked about, due to the disbanding of Infinity Ward and the fact that Treyarch is taking the helm on this COD. The trailer looks impresive as far as visuals and the guns, along with combat look impressive, but throughout the whole trailer I couldn't help but feel that these weapons seem a bit ahead of the time period and that the game seems like been there done that. All the set piece and intense moments seen in the trailer didn't impress a hardcore fan like me mostly cause, what else could Treyarch do to the game that hsnt been done before. Modern Warfares multiplayer is destroyed and honestly no big change was added to that multiplayer over Call of Duty 4. The trailer looked interesting but thisc all of duty needs to reinvent the genre before I spend more money on the same game.

Red Dead Redemptions Review on the way.

Red Dead Redemption is a long game full of enough content to last for weeks, I and most of the other staff members are hard at work trying to rid the world of Red Dead of bandits, or srike terror into its townsfolk. So far the multiplayer has endless replay value and the single player has enough content to last for weeks. Although its been about a week since Red Dead's release I am hardly half way through this masterpiece of a game, if I dont finish by the middle of this week I am sure someone else here at TZU should have a review or impression up by then. If I do end up writing the review I can say its in the range of 9 or 10.

3D Dot Game Heroes

3D Dot Game Heroes came out on the 11th as a PS3 exclusive, and having finished it, I thought it was worth discussing my opinion on it.

-What It Takes-

3DDGH is a Legend of Zelda clone. I want to get that out of the way. It's obvious just by looking at it. It plays like a Zelda game. The weapons/items you get are from Zelda games. The map is reminiscent of a Zelda game. The dungeons have puzzles that are like those of a Zelda game. Though it's not the default, if you change the camera options, you can view the game from the same view as a 2D Zelda game. Even the overworld music sounds a lot like the LoZ theme (and the load music sounds like music from a Pokemon Center, oddly enough).

-What It Gives-

Yet it's much different than a Zelda game. The borrowed items don't play exactly the same: arrows arc instead of flying straight, bombs aren't set off when you hit them with something, and the swords... well, the swords are a lot different.

The sword, like in a Zelda game, is more powerful when you have full health. However, instead of simply shooting out a small beam, it grows in both size and strength (though your sword is also longer than the average Zelda sword when you have less than perfect health as well). There are about 20 swords in the game, and all of them have different options for upgrading. It completely changes how you play the game, because you will need that extra power, especially if your sword has the ability to bypass obstacles and is big enough to hit the entire room in a single swipe. And speaking of swiping, that's another difference: one of the other qualities a sword can have (by default or only when at full health) is the ability to turn while your sword is out. It actually helps with strategic attacking, because you can hit around corners if you're careful.

The one thing I regret the most in playing this game is that I don't have time to enjoy the many, many sidequests within the game. There are literally tons. Some are more complicated than others (such as having to be done before a certain point in the story), but others are simply "talk to his person and then come back". They do add quite a bit to the length of the game, and people who want an extra challenge might want to go for the Trophies... Which will require you to do just about everything in the game, including playing it on all 3 difficulties, one of which has you playing through the entire game with one hit equaling death. I'm certainly going to come back to this game at some point to try out the New Game + feature, but I don't think I'll ever be trying that mode... This game is hard enough as is!

3D Dot Game Heroes also provides something that's sure to please just about everyone: an easy to use character editor. If you can make something out of legos, you can use this character editor. Although I only peeked into it myself before starting the game with the default character, I ended up playing the final portions of the game as various characters, since it was just that fun to play around as some as my favorite characters from other series (see if you can name the ones you see in the pictures). The characters don't provide any truly significant statistical benefit based on appearance, but they do change your life and magic balance based on what class they are: Hero (more health and strength), Royal (balanced), or Scholar (magic). You can also change your character whenever you reload, although you stay the same class as the character you picked at the beginning of the game.

-What It Should Have Taken-

Unfortunately, the game also does away with some aspects from Zelda that it really could have used. Puzzles in Zelda games often provide arrows/bombs in pots within the room if they're needed for a puzzle, and that doesn't happen here- I had to grind enemies for a good five to ten minutes to find arrows for a puzzle. Additionally, the bosses and dungeons do not fit the standard Zelda pattern- that is, they don't depend on the item found in the dungeon. Boss fights depend on using your sword, and sometimes the item you found can't even hurt them (and, especially since having full health makes it much easier to fight, the fact that there are not pots to hold apples (the game's version of Zelda's pots) is also an annoying loss). The dungeons do, to a point, rely on the item that contain, but much less so than a Zelda game would. The wire rod (which is basically the hook shot), for example, is actually used much more in later dungeons than the one it's found in. These aspects don't ruin the game, but they're annoying. It's odd to say that the game should be even more of a clone, but it would certainly help in this case.

And... While we're talking about dungeons and their related items... The Flame Temple doesn't rely on the item inside it all, and many people have complained about missing it- and even though they don't need it in the dungeon, it's important to overworld travel. I found it while lost in the dungeon, but if I had actually paid more attention to the Flame Temple map, I probably wouldn't have found it. And while we're talking about the Flame Temple's reception... People have pointed out (and although I somehow survived through most of the dungeon and didn't experience myself, judging by what I saw, this is true) that the design of the dungeon almost intentionally forces unneeded backtracking to hit switches to allow you to proceed- there's two colors of blocks, and you need to switch them to move on... but the switches are set out in such a way that you need to loop back several times in multiple parts of the dungeon to get anywhere. And then the Flame Temple results in an utterly impossible boss. It's not even that hard; it just has a huge amount of HP (and you can't see how much is remaining). I got so mad at it that, after having wasted about an hour on it, I went all the way back to the nearest village, bought the two potions I could hold (and had used during the dungeon itself), and walked back to the dungeon, where I beat the boss... after failing once more. Thankfully, when I had to face a more powerful version in the final area, I knew to bring potions and beat him on my first try. The Flame Temple is, by far, the most annoying area in the entire game.

-How It Adds Up-

Despite its flaws, 3D Dot Game Heroes is an excellent game. Sure, it could be more updated and forgiving, but it doesn't want to be. If you're a fan of Legend of Zelda, or indeed, any older RPG series in general (such as Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, etc.), you'll love all the references, but if you're not, you may miss what really makes the game great. It's certainly worth the $40 it cost, and while it's probably not worth buying a PS3 for (like I would say for LittleBigPlanet and Valkyria Chronicles, which now have a PSP port and sequel, respectively), it's something every PS3 owner should look into.

GOOGLE PAC-MAN

It seems that the programmers at Google have outdone themselves this time, creating a free Pacman game on their homepage logo in honor of the 30 year anniversary of the classic arcade game, that holds a special place in every gamers heart.

Now, I consider myself quite the expert on the classic game, and always love to see how it is ported to different consoles, phones, or websites, and seeing as this Google game tries to be less than a gimmick, I might as well give my 2 cents.

I always say that nothing can beat the joystick on the original machine, and that still holds true, but come on, Google isn't THAT good. As for the map, it is VERY different. Instead of being a wide, long field of play, it had been reduced to the size of the Google logo, making it very frustrating for people who are so used to the old map. This map also has many dead ends, and some walls are made to look like they are aligned, but when you try to go past them, your just end up running into them. This brings up another issue, which is the AI. Any fan of the original will know the secret of success, which is the fact that Pacman goes slower than the ghosts when on a long stretch (or when he's not turning). But the new map is very small, and has many long stretches that make it nearly impossible to get those ghosts off of your tail. Another complaint is the inconsistency of the AI. You will find that the ghosts have no idea how to use a warp tunnel, yet they will often change direction within seconds before you pass them, requiring lightning fat reflexes, which take you out of the experiance.

Overall, this game is fun, and the miltiplayer option loosens th difficulty, but while it may provide a few seconds of entertainment, it isn't nearly as addicting or nostalgic as the original. I just can't wait for them to do space invaders.

Red Dead Redemptions Out?

:( Lost Planet 2's Critical Reception:

     One of the most anticipated games of the year is now one of the first games to meet a poor critical reception. Lost Planet 2 seemed like it was going to be a masterpiece, combining four player co-op and impressive boss battles, along with a laundry list of customization options for your character. The mulitplayer was a bit of a dissapointment, but the campaign was going to surely be where most of my time was going to be spent, but instead reviews have said that the story is lackluster, gameplay and AI get repetitive, and that many of the levels are poorly designed. Reviews even went as far to say that the game is impossible to play single-player. I expected Lost Planet 2 to get solid feedback, but instead its getting a very poor reception and bad write ups. I had high hopes for Lost Planet 2, but it would seem this is a game that I will have to wait until its in the bargain bin.

Its me, im back from the Den.

Hello my people i havent seen because im addicted to WoW again! I have been playing on the DS for quite a time now, and have chosen a game worthy of telling. It is known as Meteos! This fun puzzle game came out years ago, but no one has ever heard of it. Why? Because this is a rare game, that comes out every so often. This game along with Glory Days 2 are rare because only about 100,000 copys were made. I have been looking for this game for some time now, and im excited to share what i know.

Meteos is a Puzzle game, where you try to match blocks, to shoot them into space, and you can do this by putting 3 blocks of the same color together both Horizontally, or Verdically. As you play, blocks are falling from the sky, and the more tyou have on the shooting platform, the harder it is to lift off, so you have to combine them together! I wish i could be more discriptive, but it is hard to explain it. The game features planets, that are under attack by the evil Meteo, who is sucking the life out of the planets by crushing them, you have to save the universe from this after your planet discovers how to get rid of them. There are different modes, like War, Star Trip, Time Attack, and Deluge (Or free play). I see this game as the modern Tetris, with its puzzler like aditude. The game Also lets you pick a planet to play as, and each planet has different ways to play.

On one, the blocks shoot right up to space if they were horizontal, but vertical dident move, another was Fast paced but you could get a easyer pair. This game would have been big if more copys were made, but sadly, only a few were. I think this game gets 5 Happy Dan Stars out of 5!

Community Event:

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      The most anticipated movie of the year is coming to theaters this friday, join us here at TZU as we celebrate the arrival of another entry in the legendary heroes franchise.

Halo Reach Beta Impressions:

Halo Reach is here and playable on xbox live, if you have a copy of Halo ODST. The Beta will offer all the modes that will be found in the full game along with a small doze of some maps and armor abilites. This time around Reach has a much mroe rebust ranking system and much improved matchmaking. The weapons feel more balanced and the gameplay is alot more fast paced. Although the servers are suffereing due to the millions of people trying to play at once, the beta is still loads of fun when you get into a match. Each weapon has a distinct feel to them, along with more details to your character and weapons. After each match  you gain expereince points along with credits that can than be used to buy new armor, which helps make your spartan feel like yours. So far their arent any real issues with Reach the weapons are balanced and the ranking and customization options are plentyful, overall Reach is sure to be a hit this Fall.

Chaos Rings

     Chaos Rings is an iPhone RPG. That, by itself, is not particularly amazing. What is amazing, though, is that it's an iPhone RPG made by Square Enix. After playing an hour or two of it, I thought I'd share my thoughts on it so far.

-Graphics-

     Right off the bat, you can see that Chaos Rings has some very nice graphics. I'd go as far as saying that they're close to that of a DS game. It's clear that a lot of effor was put into them. Though, like a DS game, the graphics do have some issues with the edges of objects looking bad, which is probably due to graphical limitations.

-Battle System-

     The battle system is fairly normal for an RPG. You can choose to attack, use an ability or item, or defend. There's an option to escape as well, though I've only used it once so far and I'm not sure exactly how it rates your chance of success (I ran away without a problem). HP is restored at the end of the battle, though MP is not, and you are not told your enemy's HP except for a small HP bar that is shown when choosing your target. There are some interesting deviations to this, though.

     The first is the option that you're presented before you begin each turn: Solo or Pair. Your party is always made up of 2 people, and each turn you either have the choice of attacking individually, giving you two moves as usual, or attack as a pair, which gives you only one move that's boosted in strength. However, choosing Pair also allows enemies to hit both of you when they attack. It's actually an interesting system when you combine it with some other aspects of the combat, and I'll give an example later on.

     The second deviation is the use of Genes. Basically, to get abilities, you can equip up to 3 Gene Plates. Each plate gives you the abilities of the enemy it represents as long as it's equipped. The abilities are unlocked one by one through chance as you defeat those enemies, though I'm not sure if you only get the plate once you've unlocked all the abilities. Because I'm only an hour or two in, I don't have many plates and most of the ones I have overlap abilities, but I can definitely see how choosing plates will become important later on, especially since you have access to both character's abilities while using the Pair option. All abilities use up MP, as you'd usually expect.
     There's also a fairly simple element system. By simple, I mean there's only three elements: Blaze, which beats Gale, which beats Aqua, which in turn beats Blaze. Your characters, as well as most of the enemies I've seen so far, are neutral to begin with. However, there are abilities that are basically "Assign _", which allows you to give any enemy/character an element. Apparently, using an ability with an element sets you to that element as well, though I'm not certain if that lasts for the rest of the battle like the Assign skills do.
In addition, there's a system in place to keep track of who has the advantage in the battle, as shown in a small ring in the top left corner. I haven't actually seen it filled yet, though, so I'm not sure exactly what would happen.
     To give an idea of how this ties together, I'll just give a summary of how my battle with the first dungeon's boss went. On my first turn, I chose Single, and made on character use Analyze, and the other to use a basic attack. Analyze is an ability that gives me information on a single enemy- in this case, I learn that the boss is already assigned to Blaze and has a little over 3000 HP remaining (and no one has attacked at this point). I then select Solo the next turn, using Assign Aqua on both of my characters. Then I go on the offensive, using Pair along with Cocytus, an Aqua magic spell. Because the boss is weak to Aqua, he gets hit for a good 1000+ damage each time I use it. For the last turn, I have to switch due to the characters' HP dipping too low, because the boss has been attacking the entire time. One character heals, the other attacks (and because he's still tied to the Aqua element, does more damage), and the boss falls.
The only other odd thing I've noticed in relation to the battle system was that after a certain point, I noticed I could turn off random encounters. I'm not sure if it was because I hit a certain level or got to a certain area, though. I was only level 6 at the time, and the Dungeon is apparently for levels 1-10, but the boss was only level 7, so it could be anything.

-Music-

     The music is actually pretty good for an iPhone game. It's not amazing when compared to the soundtracks of many other RPGs, but it gets the job done, and there's even been a latin chant or two in the tracks I've heard so far.
     Surprisingly enough, if you go into a game with a music track already playing, it will allow you to listen to that instead, and it will continue through the rest of the playlist/album as normal. I didn't expect that, because although this is a common feature for an iPhone game, I didn't expect it in a game like this.
Additionally, there is an option to change the game into Japanese, but as I haven't actually heard any voice acting so far, it seems to only change the text back into Japanese.

-Story-

     The story, as far as I've seen, has been rather simple. 10 people are transported somewhere to do battle for eternal life, and then are split into pairs. The only other pair that's told me who they actually are has said that they know each other, and the pair I'm playing as, Escher and Musica, have met before as well. And by met, I mean Escher killed all the adults, save for her, at the orphanage she lived at. I was surprised to find out that the character I was playing was a villain, though it's certainly made me more interested in finding out more about him.
     You are expected to play through the story as four of the pairs (with the reason for one of the pairs being unplayable shown within the first few minutes of gameplay), but only two are available at the start. I assume that the other two will be unlocked as I beat these two, either with one more being made available after I beat each pair, or both being made available after I beat the initial two.

-Final Thoughts-

     Is Chaos Rings worth the $13 it costs? Considering that it's a very good iPhone game that could easily be ported and sold as a decent $30 (or more, considering the usual "Square Enix tax") DS game, I'd say yes, it's probably worth it. Though, again, I'm only an hour or two in, so my opinion could very well change as I play more. Right now, I'm definitely pleased with it.

Follow up to next COD

What I gathered from the trailer was three things.

1. Military experimentation.

2. Vietnam ( it was only a matter of time)

3. And vehicles, finally some vehicles.

This has all been confirmed by one of my favorite segments GT Pop-Block.

Call of Duty Black Ops

Lets face it, Black Ops might be good. I'm not immediately saying its going to be a bad game, but it is going to be placed on a franchise that died with Modern Warfare: 2. Now I am happy to see Treyarch is working on the title. I felt with MW2 that Infinity Ward played mostly on their success of Moder Warfare 1. Not much is known, other than the release date, slated to come out November 9th. If you want more information on Activisons latest scheme, visit their website, http://www.callofduty.com/blackops/intel. They'll have stuff up... at some point, I guess. Well all I can say is terrorist zombies, may be worth it.

New Call of Duty Announced:

The latest entry in the "Call of Duty" franchise is set in Vietnam and will be shown off tonight on "Gametrailers Tv" at 12:00 EST. The new "Call of Duty" is named "Call of Duty: Black ops" and is set to be the darkest entry in the series. Stay tuned for more coverage and check out the trailer that will be hitting tonight.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Back in January, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth was released. I finally got a chance to finish it, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it.

-Backstory-

     Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is just the latest in a series of wonderful games. Seeing as the Ace Attorney series isn't extremely well known, I'll need to share some backstory.
     The first four games focus on two different defense lawyers: Phoenix Wright (games 1-3), and Apollo Justice (4). Each game features one prosecutor (though they are not the only one each game): Miles Edgeworth (1), Franziska von Karma (2), Godot (3), and Klavier Gavin (4). Each game takes place over the course of around a year, with the fourth taking place 7 years after the third. Investigations is set a few months after the ending of the third game. Each game is split into four or five different cases, in which the story switches between two phases: one in which you investigate the crime scene and related areas and ask witnesses about the case, and one in which you are in court. Investigations plays a bit differently, as I will explain in a section below. The games are largly humorous, and feature some very strange characters (whose names are usually puns), and a somewhat odd court system.

-Gameplay-

     The regular Ace Attorney games play like a mix between a point and click adventure game, a hidden object puzzle, and a visual novel. That is, you're mostly reading text, and to move from room to room you're simply selecting from a list of nearby locations. When you examine a room, you're presented with a view of a room, and you can then choose objects to examine. The court sections play out almost entirely like a visual novel, with you pressing or objecting (by using an item from your inventory that's proof of a contradiction) to witnesses' testimonies. Depending on the game, there may be slight differences in gameplay. 2 and 3 have the Magatama, which allows to know if someone is hiding something during the investigation stage, and 4 has the Perceive System, which allows you to point out small physical tics that show that a witness is lying.
Investigations changes this up a bit. The movement around a room is now shown in its entirety, with Edgeworth moving around the room to find things to examine. It loses a good amount of the hidden object puzzle aspect of the game, though there are many times where you'll switch to that view while examining. The movement between rooms is also a bit different, in that it's very rare. Changes of location are usually story based, though by the last case, you'll be examining a rather large number of areas anyway. Investigations also adds the Logic feature, which allows Edgeworth to connect various ideas in order to solve problems or fill in gaps of logic. It doesn't really add much, though it's a nice addition, and there's several moments where it's used very well, plot-wise.

-Story-

     Investigations' story plays out slightly differently than a normal Ace Attorney game. Usually, there are 4 or 5 different cases per game, and they're spread out over the course of about a year. The cases may have direct connections to each other, as in the third game, but often they are mostly unrelated. This changes entirely for Investigations, because Edgeworth deals with 5 cases over a course of only 3 days, the story is much more connected. Edgeworth is pulled into a series of investigations as he returns home from a brief trip around the world, and after encountering some old friends, he begins to uncover the truth behind a mysterious smuggling ring, as well as the true identity of the mysterious thief known as the Yatagarasu. The story is on par with, and at some points better than, the other games in the series. The change to investigating for the truth rather than trying to defend someone innocent hoping that the truth will be found on the way allows for a much more "epic" story to be written, and Investigations does not disapoint. It still manages to have a great deal of humor, and even begins to enter the realm of self-parody in some cases. The final scene manages to be both extremely tense and hilarious at the same time, with the series tendency to have allies burst in at the last minute in the final case being taken to the point where the characters don't even know who's interupting anymore!
     Additionally, the story shows the end of a great amount of character growth for Edgeworth. He started this growth in the first game, where he learned that always aiming for a guilty verdict was not the best path to follow, and continued it throughout the second and third games, where it was shown that he had learned to search for the truth instead. However, the fourth game did not include him, and as such we did not see the end of his growth till now. Investigations truly shows that Edgeworth has truly learned that the truth is the most important part of a case, and at the very end of the game there is a particularly strong scene that shows that he has even begun to accept that sometimes someone can not be perfectly lawful in their pursuit of the truth.

-Characters-

     The Ace Attorney series is known for its wacky characters, and its tendency to reuse them, and Investigations does this as well. Many fan-favorite characters make at least a cameo appearance, with some others (such as Phoenix himself) being seen in the background or vaguely mentioned. The only problem with the reuse of characters is that, as I've heard many people say, it lowers the amount of people that could potentially be the murderer, since only new characters could possibly be the killers.
     However, it also manages to add a strong cast of new characters. Kay Faraday and Interpol Agent Shi-Long Lang are certainly among the best characters the series has to offer. Kay fits nicely into the role of Edgeworth's assistant, and Lang's view of the truth plays nicely against Edgeworth's. Both manage to contribute a lot to the story, while still having some great comedic moments, and it's sad that they only appear in the third and fifth cases of the game. I certainly hope that they show up in a later game, because they are far more worthy of being reused than, say, the extremely overused Wendy Oldbag, who managed to be an annoying character in the first game, and still showed up in the second game, as well as this one, where she shows up twice.

-Music-

     The music, like the music from the Ace Attorney series in general, is awesome. Of particular note are the themes for Kay Faraday and Lang, which really carry the feel of their characters. There's also some very good remixed tracks that fit in greatly with the new tracks. If you're playing this game, you'll want to keep the volume up.

-Difficulty-

    Compared to the other Ace Attorney games, Investigations is, in my opinion, much easier. I had to check a walkthrough only a few times when I was unable to make sense of things, compared to the many times I've had to within the rest of the Ace Attorney series. I believe this is a result of playing as Edgeworth instead of Phoenix or Apollo- as a defense attorney, you're often fishing for thoughts and making jumps in logic, but as Edgeworth you have time to think things out and develop a well thought-out chain of logic. However, that does not bar the occasional annoying situation from occurring, though as long as you're good at looking over the evidence given to you and remembering what's happened, you should be fine.
     My only real problem with the difficulty is the life bar, which is decreased when you mess up, either by presenting the wrong evidence, or (in Investigations) connecting two unrelated pieces of Logic. This lifebar makes sense in the main Ace Attorney series, for you're trying to not make a fool of yourself in court, but it makes somewhat less sense when it's applied to the personal thoughts of Edgeworth. The main problem with the life bar in Investigations is the lack of opportunities to refill it. In the main series, it's refilled whenever you finish a court section or successfully use the Magatama, but in Investigations it is only refilled when you complete an investigation. The problem with this is that near the end of the game, you can go for long stretches of only testimony, and this leads to infuriatingly annoying portions of the game where you are forced to reload over and over to try to present different pieces of evidence, because you have such little life remaining that a single mistake will equal a game over. Thankfully, you can save whenever you want, but that only barely decreases the time you waste in reloading. It's still a problem though, and something they really need to fix, though it's not likely they ever will.

-Final Thoughts-

     If you have a DS (and for the first three games, a Wii with internet access), and haven't played the Ace Attorney series, you're missing out. Although a slightly different spin-off, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is one of the best games in the series yet, and I can't wait for AA5 after seeing how well made this game was. I certainly hope they do another Investigations game somewhere down the line, though I think it'd be a good idea to pick someone other than Miles Edgeworth for that, since his story was nicely wrapped up with this game. Nothing has been announced regarding the next game at all, though, because AA's creator is currently working on a very different game: Ghost Trick. Only time will tell whether a new AA game is in the works.

End Of Nations (Can't come soon enough)

You're probably thinking "Oh joy, another RTS report" WELL YOU'RE WRONG (kinda).

The debut trailer of "End Of Nations" was recently...well...debut on Game Trailers, and it is LEGEN...wait for it...DARY.

What I could gather from this trailer is basically, a 51 player RTS, or as they call it, a "MMORTS" (these acronyms are getting freaking ridiculous). This includes huge, and actually interesting maps, and a hint at customizable units, about time. I also saw that players have the ability to join matches at any point. This is all a bit difficult to decipher, but to see for yourself, check out the link.

New This Week:

Lost Planet Trailer:

New Red Dead Footage:

New this week is the "Lost Planet 2 Multiplayer demo", along with new footage of Red Dead Redemption. In the Lost Planet demo you can play "Elimination" or "Team Post Grab". The new "Red Dead" trailer shows off some new modes for the game, but free roam still looks like it'll be the shining part to a great game. May is definetly going to be tough on our wallets.

Machinima in the Works

Just a brainstorming of some ideas we had for a machinima we're planning to make. Production will hopefully start around the start of summer.

Halo Reach Beta Impressions:

 

Beta Trailer:

Developer Commentary: 

Footage 

Halo reach is shaping up to be the msot anticipated game of the year, and possibly of the decade. Bungie is bringing back in old ideas and borrow a couple from other succesful games, such as "Call of Duty" or "Battlefield", but the biggest things that people are excited about is the May 3 beta that is sure to take up plenty of your gaming time. So far their has only been a few trailers and some gameplay videos of beta, but speculation shows a much improved matchmaking and ranking system along with enough content to last months. From what news has said Bungie claims that armor will play a much bigger role this time around and that the spartan that you make will be with you in the campaign and even in co-op. The cmapaign is supposed to be much daker than previous games, along with plenty more characters and weapons to boot, but so far Bungie has kept quiet about it. The multiplayer has shown off a much more detailed and stylish graphics engine, along with more modes such as Headhunter. Each mode seems like a lot of fun and I cant wait to see what kind of maps and weapons "Halo Reach" has instore, but I do have a few worries with what the multiplayer has shown. The jetpacks seem like they will get really frustrating mostly due to how high you can jump, and what wepaons you can use. The grenade launcher is an autokill which is annoying because of the frustrtations that can be seen in games, such as "Call of Duty". These are minor frustrations that well all be able to test out in the upcomming beta, but until then Halo reach comes out this fall, but the blockbuster beta comes out May 3.

Too Many Games Was Too Much!

I wish i had pictures to show you the awsomeness of this great event in Reading, but my camera is not cooperating at the time, ill get them later. This big event had everything a gamer needs! From great classics, and showing how they can still be fun with a few moded parts. This event had at least every game system in the past, and every game made for the US and Japan. There was at least over 10,000 games from old and new also. In the back there was Anime AMV shows and a Cosplay contest. But there was also a couple of bands which brought techno, chiptunes, and a rockband. There were artists that drew game bit art, used parts from games, and drew anime. As we were looking, there was also some new game designers there showing the games Chemical Chaos, coming soon for X-box arcade, and Pixel Lincoln, a DS game that has just been shown at that event! This event had it all, and when the pictures come up, ill tell you more! All in all this Event gets 9 Happy Dan Stars out of 10!

Kickass Review:

                                                                                                   

Kick-Ass

    The past decade has offered many successful comic adaptations, which not only nail the feel of the comic, but also entertain fans and audiences alike. In 2008 we were given The Dark Knight which is undoubtedly the most successful comic adaptation of all time, but the newest adaptation Kick-Ass could very well be held to The Dark Knight’s standards.
     Kick-Ass is a well made, hilarious, and highly entertaining comic adaptation that grabs the viewer in and doesn’t let them go till the credits roll. The acting is excellent and the visuals are stunning, but the best part about Kick-Ass is it’s well told and well executed story.
     Kick-Ass tells the story of a teenager named Dave Lizewski who dreams of being a superhero and eventually reaches his ambition. Throughout the film he meets more vigilantes, such as Big Daddy and Red Mist, but the most memorable of these heroes is Hit Girl, due to her excellent acting and hilarious dialogue. Eventually the situation gets out of hand and it’s up to our heroes to save the day. The story gets more complex as you unravel each characters back story and the intentions of the villains. Much like past films like Watchmen the best part about the film is the characters backgrounds. Each character is given a decent enough back story that both keeps you intrigued and immersed into the characters, especially Nicholas Cage’s character Big Daddy.
Actors such as Nicholas Cage (no he doesn’t mess this up like Ghost Rider) actually make the film more enjoyable and well worth the ticket fee. Aaron Jackson does a great job in the lead role and Christopher Mintz-Plasse/McLovin is hilarious as Red Mist.  Chloe Moretz is the star of the show by far, due to her performance as Hit Girl, but if you don’t like little girls killing bad guys and cursing throughout, than Kick-Ass isn’t for you. Chloe’s performance is highly entertaining, and really steals every scene that she is in, such as the more emotional moments towards the finale.
The film is violent, but not to the point of being unnecessary. Every fight scene is well executed and the film always has a signature style that helps it stand out. Kick-As is definitely a comic adaptation for the books; it nails the comic’s feel, along with giving great performances and action sequences. It rises to fame, much like The Dark Knight rather than plummeting like Ghost Rider (Sorry Nicholas Cage). Kick-Ass is by far one of the best comic movies of all time, and all though a sequel is likely, I highly doubt that Matthew Vaughn (Director) can top this. I recommend Kick-Ass to anyone who wants a solid movie with great action, and dialogue that will surely be remembered. Hopefully Iron Man 2 will succeed like this.
4 out of 4 stars

Just Cause 2 is too little!

After playing Just Cause 2 i learned soooo much that i wanted to unlearn it! The main thing about this game is its giant sandbox map, which is superb in detail and types of environments. But now that the good stuffs out of the way, time to rip a new one on this game! not that this game was all bad, it lacked a strong, attention keeping campaign. Sure the explosions are pretty, and most of the map is blank, but it will keep you playing because of all the oil refineries i exploded. so the main story wasn't too long, but then bad voice acting wants to make you pick up your system and toss it onto the nearest railroad tracks and watch a train pulverize that stupid Spanish/Jamaican/????? accent out of the stupid chick in the game. The side missions are fun, but a follow a line of rescue, destroy, and retrieve missions. The most fun i had in this game was when i took the biggest cannon, multi-missile jet and blew up the main refinery. oh those pretty yellows and reds.... but still some play value is in this game, but its not in its story. Some improvements that they could have done is add multiplayer, or at least co-op.Yes the game has good graphics, like the water, and explosions, but when is the story sacrificed for look? sadly enough the game only gets 4 happy Dan stars out of 10. -Melonman

Lost Planet 2 Trailer impressions:

Lost Planet 2 New Trailer:
Lost planet was a awesome game featuring many intense boss fights and encounters, along with massive battles and fun multiplayer, Lost planet 2 intends to do all of this and more. Now with a four-player co-op campaign, you and your friends can battle the terrifying akrid and enemy forces in orde to ensure the safety of home. The games graphics look breathtaking and the very first boss puts the last Lost Planet to shame. The bosses are massive allowing you to fight them your way, wether taking the fight inside or fighting on thier backs. The fact of Lost Planet that makes it so much fun is that you can do everything your way and not have to worry about annoying AI getting in your way. I doubt that the game will be as fun single player as it is in co-op and im not sure if im a fan of the new game layout, which is supposed to be more like "Left 4 Dead". Each of the campaign missions are cut into chapters and each chapter consist of multiple levels, which include a mini boss (much like the first hold out points in l4d) and conclude with a enormous boss battle. I do think that the idea of multiple campaign and characters will be much more entertaining than the last ones, but I am worried about the voice acting and how all of these characters will intertwine. The game looks promising, and even with all of the issues I have so far, May 11 cannot come soon enough.

MW2 PC RANT!!!

Like many of my friends, I bought Modern Warfare 2 on the day it come out. I had just lost my Xbox 360 to the plague, and was ready for a fresh start. Aside from the fact that the game did not work for the first 3 months, I have some MAJOR issues with the online multiplayer.

HAAAX! was the phrase that I continued to scream at my computer screen, as every 1 out of 3 games was hacked at the end, and immediately shut down! ONE OUT OF THREE! The worst part was, for the first 50 seconds of the hack, your character is controlled by a hacker, which often causes you to loose a perfect streak, or, in most cases, toss your keyboard across the room.

But that!? That was just the beginning. What followed, is simply known as, the Level 70, 10th prestige NOOB HACK ERA!!! Though the title is pretty self explanatory, what had happened was, a new piece of software, known as "EAM", allowed players to become any level, any prestige, and any completion that they could ever want. This, along with hacks for almost anything your heart could desire, has killed Modern Warfare 2 for the PC.

So with that I say, welcome back home, Battlefield series, don't you dare screw thing up.

The wonderful world of Steam.

Steam, if you don't have it or haven't heard of it it is a very simple application. Steam has been the center of controversy, mainly due to some of its earlier activities of opening up your computers to hackers, but as of late, Steam has opened up a whole new market. Companies such as GameStop/Eb games have been selling less and less PC games, and giving no headway to the independent game makers. Such games as the Maw or even the remake of Aliens vs Predator:2000 were never released on the shelves. These latest things have actually opened the PC market up, showing that the PC is not as dead a console as some would believe. Now Steam in itself is a wonderful concept. Being able to buy from an online store and have the item downloaded almost instantly shows the ability that Steam has been working on for the past few years. A few competitors have attempted to rise against this company, but in all truth they have failed in the end. Steam as of this week has actually been doing quite a few deals, if you own a decent PC and have access to some form of buying online, I'd say check Steam out. You could find something very interesting in the digital shelves.

Community Event:

Kickass is being released this week and all of here at "Tzu" just wanna say, GO SEE THIS MOVIE OR ELSE. If you wish to attend hit me up at Pheonixdbf@aim.com.