Merrry Men in Da Hood. (with no tights)

Robin Hood is probably one of my favorite fictional characters. I mean you have a jolly guy in tights helping the poor and fighting off the rich. Don’t forget the band of Merry Men (also in tights). So, as you can all imagine, I was fairly excited when I heard the news of a new Robin Hood film staring Russell Crowe.

The film was directed with Ridley Scott at the helm, which I was rather pleased with because he is experienced when it comes to medieval and war films. The film treats the origin of the Robin Hood story we know and love. Crowe stars as Robin Longstride, an archer in the army of King Richard the Lion heart. After the death of the King, Robin and his comrades (soon-to-be the Merry Men) run away from the military in an attempt to get home. While heading home, he learns of more invading forces heading for his home town. The plot gets more complex from there. Overall the story is very clunky and doesn’t flow well. It can sometimes be very confusing and it just doesn’t catch your attention like the plot of a movie should. While the movie’s climax is exciting and fun, the rest of the film is hard to watch.

Robin HoodRussell Crowe and Cate Blanchett once again do a great job in both of their roles, and surprisingly work very well together on screen. They have a certain chemistry that is fun to watch and is believable. The rest of the characters do a fine job in their respective roles. The acting is convincing and what we have come to expect from actors and actresses such as these. The film’s style is conveys authenticity. The battles are exciting, the weapons devastating and the castles mighty. He who is a fan of the medieval times will not be disappointed with its design.

One problem I had with this movie is that to me, it didn’t really feel like a Robin Hood film. There were no jolly men in tights and Robin Hood himself really doesn’t appear until the last minutes of the film. Now Robin Longstride is in the film, but not the character we are used to. Maybe we will the more familiar manifestation of the character in the sequels that are inevitably coming.

Overall, Robin Hood is a good (not great) movie full of medieval battle sequences and genuine adventure that really anyone can enjoy. Ridley Scott shows us yet again that he paid attention in history class, with everything really feeling like the middle ages. One silly issue. The film takes place in 1199. They say it is the turn of the 12th century...but in fact that is the turn of the 13th. Anyway, moving on. The only problem is, it really doesn’t feel like a Robin Hood film. However, it is still a film that will entertain you. I am interested to see what they will put in the sequel (some merry men in tights, maybe?).

I give it 3/5 Stars.

Movie Review: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Now this movie came out a while ago, but I'd thought I would tell you about it anyway. Why, you ask? Because chances are you never saw it. This reminds me a lot of how Fantastic Mr. Fox was treated. It was over shadowed by bigger releases and most people thought it looked stupid. The actual movie was amazing, one of my favorite actually. The same goes with The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. This is Heath Ledgers last film that nobody really saw.

The film is about a traveling band of people who, along with the wise Dr. Parnassus, essentially advertise passage into a "dream world" that is run by the Dr.'s mind. While they are doing this, we learn that the Dr. is thousands of years old and on the raw end of a deal with Satan himself. On her 16th birthday, he is going to have to give is only daughter to The Devil. Along their way they find Tony (Ledger) hanging from a bridge. He doesn't know who he is, but his motives are indeed questionable. From there the adventure begins, and it gets weirder and weirder. In a good way, of course.

The film is brilliantly acted by all of the main characters. Valentina, the Dr.'s daughter is played by the Beautiful Lilly Cole while Christopher Plummer does a great job as Dr. Parnassus himself. Ledger does yet again a very good job playing the shady Tony adding a certain charm to the role that not many other actors could pull off. The film is exciting, with the best scenes being when they are in the "dream world." Really anything can happen, and it gets a little odd. The films music is great but forgettable, but it does its job.

Overall, this film is an offbeat movie that is very entertaining to watch. Once you have watched it fully and understand its primary themes and messages you will love it even more. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is an offbeat film that you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy.
I give it 4/5 Stars

The Animal Crossing Retrospective

Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing. We love you so. Not only have you brought endless joy to children with no friends, you have brought joy and tears to the eyes of adults who maybe had friends and just liked your game. This article is more of a review, but since I am talking about the Animal Crossing series as a whole (the last new game came out in 2008) I decided to call it a retrospective. Because after all; that is what it really is.

Story: You start off your adventure in a vehicle (it varies in every one of the three games) where you are interviewed by a strange animal inside. Your answers to the questions shape what your character’s gender and overall looks are. But where are we going on this mystery vehicle ride? We are going to a town (which you get to name yourself) inhabited with animals who talk and behave like normal humans do. Now for the sake of the article we will refer to it as “Animal Town.” You are the new guy in town, and actually the only human there. You are introduced to the town shop owner Tom Nook, a cheapskate raccoon, who immediately puts you to work for him. After doing pretty much whatever he wants for a little bit, you are basically set free to do whatever you would like. This game is a “free roamer” meaning you can pretty much go anywhere in the entire Animal Town whenever you want to with no real restrictions. So, it is safe to say that this game really has no set story line. The rest is essentially what you write yourself.

Game play: The game play of the Animal Crossing series is really what sets it apart from other video games. Once you have gone through the required mumbo jumbo that I mentioned above you are pretty much set free. Each player owns a house and they can decorate it as they wish. You can buy items at Tom Nook’s local shop. This game is excellent for anyone that enjoys collecting things because there are hundreds of fun items to use to decorate your living space. Some of the things they have are very creative and fun. You can also go fishing and bug catching, with tournaments for both taking place almost every weekend. You can mail letters and socialize with a variety of eccentric animals including an egotistical tortoise and a pigeon who serves some of the most expensive coffee in the world. The main currency in the game are “bells”, which are earned by selling your existing items or selling fruit that can be found on trees everywhere around the town. One interesting feature of the town is that it allows you to set the time in the town. The game runs entirely on real time, even including the seasons and their holidays. If you set it to your time it is September when it is really September, it is dark when it is really dark, and it even snows in the winter time.

Other Elements: This game looks like a box of crayons threw up on the Hogle Zoo. There is a ton of color in this game. Almost everyone and everything in the town is chalked full of smiles and vibrant colors. This makes for a very welcoming and happy environment. The humans look like they came straight out of a Japanese anime with exaggerated features and bright colored clothes. Overall the music is very catchy and really fits whatever situation you are at in the game. There are a ton of music tracks; one for almost every hour of the day.

Summary: Overall, I‘d have to say Animal Crossing is one of those games that is simple and fun. It just puts a smile on your face. The three animal crossing games are out for the Nintendo 64 and Game Cube, the Nintendo DS and the Wii. All of the versions are essentially the same, but the DS and Wii versions are the most recent, so I recommend picking up one of those. This is a game that is great for gamers of every age. It is designed in such a way so that anyone can pick it up and just play. I give the entire Animal Crossing series an overall score of 8.5/10.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Walt Disney may be about to turn over in his grave. DreamWorks has started making animated movies that are actually worth something. How to Train Your Dragon, Dreamworks’ latest, is perhaps its best effort yet.

The movie centers around a boy named Hiccup who is a misfit Viking. Why is he a misfit? Well, he is about 400 pounds lighter than all of them, has no facial hair, and he can’t kill a dragon. For those of you who don’t know, dragons are as common as cats and dogs to these Viking people, except the dragons are super deadly and eat their livestock as well as citizens. Can your dog do that? I didn’t think so. Anyway, killing a dragon is essentially the way to earn your respect/manhood, and pretty much everyone can kill one except our young hero, Hiccup.

One day while out trying to kill one of these monsters he ends up accidentally detaining one of the feared “night furies,” who are the biggest, scariest, meanest dragons in town. When he eventually finds the creature, he discovers that the dragon isn’t as evil as previously thought and the two form a special bond. He trains the dragon, and after that the misadventures the two have are even enough to make me giddy. Once the stage is set the story really unfolds and we are given a plot that is simply a treat. It is exciting, funny, witty and overall a joy.

The film does very well in the effects department. The characters look simply amazing and the high-flying dragon battles are very intense and gripping. This is not commonly seen in a kid’s movie, but it is most certainly a good change. The action scenes were amazing, and I didn’t even see it in 3-D, which I agree with Roger Ebert is “Nothing but the opportunity to pay more to see a distracting and unnecessary additional dimension.”

The voice cast is lead by Jay Baruchel who does an excellent job providing wit and satire to the main character Hiccup. Gerard Butler also lends his voice playing Hiccup’s Viking father. Butler adds a certain unique element to the roll, kind of like he did in the film 300. He is a vicious, manly-man character, who isn’t afraid to crack a joke here and there. While good-spirited and fun, the voice acting is also extremely witty. I guarantee you will be shocked at some of the jokes – in a good way, of course. The film’s soundtrack includes vocals and composed pieces which add very well to the mood.

How to Train Your Dragon is a great film for the kids, the old folks, the grownups, and anyone really. It provides enough doses of satire, action, and adventure that anyone can sit in the theater with a smile on their face enjoying the movie. I recommend this film to any and everyone who just wants to see a good movie. Your move, Disney.

I give it 4/5 stars.

Pokemon Soul Silver is Pure Gold

I’m sure I can speak for my entire generation by saying at one point in time (late 90’s early 2000’s) Pokémon seemed just plain awesome to every single one of us. Of course most of us are trying to forget about the dark days of huddling in front of the tv and wearing our hats backwards while playing our Gameboy colors.

But, the folks from Japan just won’t let us forget. Thus we see the release of Pokémon: Heart Gold and Pokémon: Soul Silver for the Nintendo DS. These two games are remakes of the classics Pokémon: Gold and Silver that were released back in 2000 for the Gameboy color. Now Silver was one of my first and favorite video games, so I almost had some kind of obligation to pick up the remake and see how it was. Is this game still good after ten years or has the desire to “Catch ‘em all” been diminished?

(Important note: Pokémon Heart Gold and Pokémon Soul Silver are essentially the same game, with a few differences in the available Pokémon. I bought Soul Silver, but my review is applicable to both versions.)

Story: The game takes place in a fictional world filled with odd animal-like beings called “Pokémon”. Pokémon come in all shapes and sizes and are primarily used for a pastime among humans. What is the pastime you ask? Fighting.

Now, I’m not sure why this is even legal, but that is not the point here. You start out as a young kid looking to make his way in the Pokémon world. Since this is an RPG, you get to name the character yourself. Once you get up and running and name the little guy, you go immediately to the Pokémon laboratory where you get to chose from one of three super rare, ultra cool looking Pokémon. Each of them is extremely different so it’s important you choose the one that you like the best.

Once you do that, you get sent on a quest to beat all of the “gym leaders” in the area and become the best Pokémon trainer around town. Gym leaders are basically the champion Pokémon fighter in the area.

Having accomplished this, you are let loose in an expansive world to battle other Pokémon and their trainers while battling an evil organization along the way. The story is essentially the one you write after that.

Of course, there is a linear path to follow if you actually want to finish the game. I suggest you jump on that one. The story isn’t amazing and in depth filled with plot twists and the lot, but it is in fact a Pokémon game. It is just your classic story of boy (or girl) leaves home and goes on an adventure while making friends along the way.

Game Play: The combat traditionally runs on a turn based system. Most of the battles are random encounters unless they have something to do with the plot, then they are forced encounters.

The random encounters are annoying as ever. Sometimes, you can’t take a step without running into something. Once you enter a battle, you have a choice to summon one of the Pokémon that you have captured and trained. From there you and the opposing Pokémon do battle by taking turns choosing attacks until one of you loses all of your health. It sounds simple, and quite frankly it is. But there is more strategy to it than you may think and depending on who’s playing the combat can be very fun and expansive.

When you aren’t fighting other Pokémon you are usually walking around visiting different towns. Each town is different and really has its own feel—especially in this remake version of the game since the colors and graphics have been totally redone. You will meet new people, battle gym leaders, pick up items and run into some odd Pokémon.

For a single player small time game they really make the world feel huge. There are so many places to go and different people to meet that it is really surprising that you are the only real person playing the game. Of course, online modes are available via Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. I haven’t had the opportunity to play yet, but basically what you can do is hook up with a friend to battle and trade Pokémon.

Coming from a guy that played the original, I have to say I’m quite impressed with the changes that they have made to the game and how fun the game play is, even after ten years. Some of the games changes are major and some are very small. For one, you have the ability to sprint early on in the game so you don’t have to walk at a ridiculously slow pace like you had to in the first one. Also one of your Pokémon can follow you around at all times, similar to Pokémon Yellow. There is even a whole other section of the game after you have completed the main quest. There are several other changes and add-ons to the game, but I’ll get to those in our next segment.

Other elements: These are where most of the drastic changes to the game have been made. First off, the graphics have been totally redone and they look great. All of the environments are in 3D and the colors are extremely vibrant. The Pokémon look as awesome as ever and the animations for their attacks are also very neat. The soundtrack has gotten a huge makeover, with the music tracks actually sounding like…well…music tracks. If you can remember, any and all sounds on the GameBoy color were about as 8-bit as you can get. The sounds that didn’t get a makeover this time around were the sounds the Pokémon make. I find this odd, because they sound horrible and I know that the DS has the capabilities to fix this.

Summary: In all, Pokémon Soul Silver is as solid of an RPG as the original was. You will be getting the bang for your buck on this one, especially since you will end up playing through it more than once. It did everything a remake needs to do: add new content, and keep up with the original.

Long time Poke-fan? I’m sure you already own this. Never liked Pokémon? Forget everything you know about it and give this game a try. Former fan like myself? This game is defiantly something that makes the franchise worth giving a second look. Somehow, in a world with Halo, Modern Warfare, God of War and the lot I can still sit down and have hours of fun with a Pokémon video game. Why is this so? Well, you are going to have to find that out yourself. After all is said and done, I give this legend in gaming a 9/10.

MAG earns its name.

Of all the silly military-themed acronyms MAG could stand for, it simply stands for “Massive Action Game.” Now, I find this funny because it is actually quite literal. Its massive in the sense that it can hold up to a whopping 256 players in one online match, and as far as action goes there is plenty of shooting. Oh and it’s a video game, that too. But does this PS3 exclusive go beyond having a semi-cool title? Read on to find out.

Story: Since the game is entirely online play, there is no story mode. This is good because we see games that are primarily online (cough –Modern Warfare-cough) that have a completely lame and irrelevant story line (cough-Modern Warfare-cough). People just want to cut to the chase, and in this day and age the chase happens to be online play. Nobody is going to buy these games for the story. They want online play, and that is what MAG is good at.

With no story mode, the only thing we can piece together as a story is the following: your character (the one you create) enters into one of three private military companies. Raven, a high tech richie-rich organization with all of the newest gear and tactics; Valor, your typical G.I. Joe U.S. army type group; and finally S.V.E.R. the resistance fighter militia-type guys.

Once you choose your team, you are stuck with them for a really long time. So this does a good job to keep you loyal to your specific faction. It’s not like one faction is better than the other, so you should choose which one that feels and looks right to you. The only things that are really affected are how your bases, clothes and weapons look. The one thing that effects how you play in each faction is the players on your team.

From what I’ve noticed the people that are really good at first person shooters like Call of Duty join Valor, so naturally valor is pretty good. People who are pro at Halo or any other sci-fi games play on Raven and they aren’t so good. But, by far the best team in the game right now is S.V.E.R. They have won the most matches in most of the game modes. I’m not really sure why they always win, but I guess that it’s the players that really make up the team.

Game Play: The game play in MAG is truly massive. MAG plays like a traditional war-time first person shooter. You have your primary weapons, secondary weapons, grenades and a few other things. As far as the game play goes, it’s pretty much just running around and shooting people. That’s not too difficult at all.

Where this game really shines is its capacity an incredible amount of players online at once. The most there can be is 256, but this isn’t all the time. There are several game modes you can play—each with its own number of players and objectives. The 256 player mode called Domination has players capture a number of control points in the enemy base. This mode, plainly put, is crazy. There are over two hundred people shooting at each other. The maps for these modes are large and complex and you probably won’t get through them by the time the game is over. There is a lot going on, but they make it work.

I have never had to wait more than two minutes for a match and have suffered absolutely NO lag at any time during the game. This is simply an amazing feat, and they pulled it off. The character creation at the beginning of the game is pretty solid. You can customize everything down to the clothes and voice of your character. Instead of choosing a class for your character to play like most games, the game assigns you a class by what you do the most on the battle field. If all you do is heal all day, you are going to be marked as a medic. If you spend your time in battle using the sniper rifle then you will be a sniper. The game has talent trees that you can use to upgrade whichever class you would like, with points toward this upgrade unlocked at each new level. Overall, when it comes to the game play of MAG the only thing I can say about it is that it is simply awesome.

Other Elements: The graphics are good, but at the same time nothing to remember or give praise to. I mean don’t get me wrong, the epic battles on an HD TV look pretty cool, but there is better out on the market today. The music tracks are interesting with hardcore rock music playing at random times. There is little voice acting, but again it is good, not best.

Now, I could sit here all day like most big time critics and rip apart the game with all of its little flaws and give it a bad score because of said flaws. But If I was to score MAG on how fun it is to play, which is what you care about, I would give it a 10/10 for just being plain fun. Make sure if you own a PS3, to pick this one up.

Top 10 best video games of the decade

In the last ten years, the video game market has skyrocketed. We have witnessed some seriously revolutionary video gaming systems, things we never even thought possible. Well today I’m talking about the actual games that we played on these systems; the best, most revolutionary games in the last ten years. The best of the best, the ones that change the way we game…forever.

#10-Fallout 3-(2008)
Released in 2008, Fallout 3 was a gem in on the shelf on RPGs. To many, it had seemed like the concept of the game had been done before. The end result of the game shocked millions with its open world environment and unique game play. The game took place in the distant future where you, the “lone wanderer”, went on a search for your runaway father. After nuclear war has torn apart the world, you are mostly alone on your quest. The environments are absolutely stunning, and the game play was amazing. You could go anywhere, and do anything while meeting some of the most memorable characters in video game history; such as, an eccentric fast talking radio DJ, and a man named Dave who has set up a “kingdom” of about 10 people.
#9-The Sims-(2000)
The Sims was a game that, at the time of its release, was a one of a kind. To date it is one of the best selling PC games of all time. So what makes it so popular and revolutionary? Well, it was one of the first games that was a “life simulation.” And that’s what made it so successful. You could really do anything you want with your character that you made. This is one game that has attracted casual and hardcore gamers alike. Anyone can play.
#8-Burnout 3 Takedown-(2004)
Out of all the Burnout games, this one by far has to be the best. What was so great about it was that it was one of the first racing games that utilized combat while racing. One major goal of the game was to take out other players by ramming them thus blowing up their cars. Most of the racing games up to 2004 were just driving around a set course, none having the objective of taking out other racers.
#7-Guitar Hero-(2005)
There is no doubt that guitar hero would make this list. Even though we had music games prior to its release, Guitar Hero is the first of its kind. The object of the game is to play to music using a plastic guitar, which differs from playing the real thing. The key to this game’s success was the fact that it is a common dream among the general public to be a rock star. Everyone wants to be a rock star. With this game, your dream can come true. After the release of Guitar Hero in 2005 handfuls of other music games were spawned and the market for music games exploded. This game started it all.
#6-Kingdom Hearts-(2002)
What looked like another Japanese RPG had a major twist element. Alongside the big eyed, big haired youngsters were classic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Goofy. Although this sounds very weird (which it is) the game was done very well and received positive reviews all around. This twist made this game one of the most successful game franchises of all time. The pure originality of the subject matter made this game a must have. One other thing it did very well was introduce a younger generation of fans to the Final Fantasy Franchise which was also very successful.
#5-Portal (2007)
Portal is a puzzle game which changed puzzle games. The game is played in first person style which you the player uses a “portal gun”. The player had to shoot orange and blue portals though walls to advance through the level, with different challenges and puzzles along the way. No other puzzle game was played like this one was. It was a real original title, in a time where original titles where nonexistent. Portal at times was extremely hard and forced the player to actually think through what they were doing. There was no game like this before it, and there hasn’t been one like it since.
#4- God of War-(2005)
A game truly ahead of its time, God of War was a game that was based on Greek mythology. One major reason this game was to be remembered was for the graphics. It was one of the few games of its time that looked as good as it did. What they had created was a true epic of a game that really deserves to be remembered.
#3-Wii Motion titles-(2006)
The Wii is an amazing feat in gaming. It brought motion gaming to life with its creative game play and motion control system. I know that this category covers several games, but it wouldn’t be fair if I just mentioned one game on the list. A few of these games are Wii fit and Wii sports. There is no doubt that these titles along with the motion control technology were milestones in gaming this past decade. This completely original concept was brought to the console and the games are still being played today.
#2-World of Warcraft-(2004)
I’m sure by now you have heard of the multiplayer giant that is World of Warcraft. Now with millions of users, this game really set the standard for online gaming. The game has an extremely expansive world, with lots to explore and do. Blizzard Entertainment really hit a big one with this game, and im sure it will be remembered as one of the greatest games ever made in years to come. Even if you don’t like this game, you cannot deny that it didn’t permanently leave an impact on gaming around the world.
#1 Halo: Combat Evlolved-(2001)
The number one game on my list is Halo. At the time of Halo’s release it was an instant classic, being one of the pioneers of first person shooters on consoles. But halo will be remembered for more than just this. Its sequel, Halo 2, really revolutionized online console game play as we know it today. The multiplayer was done differently than it had before, being a huge hit. From the success of the Halo games has come a huge success of Xbox Live and eventually the Xbox 360. The Halo franchise will always be remembered as a video gaming legend. It brought things to the table that fans had never seen before, providing them with great gaming experiences. Halo: Combat Evolved is the best game we have seen in the last ten years.