Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Inception
So I just got back from seeing Inception. This movie was amazing. Normally I don't even like DiCaprio, but he was pretty good in this film. There probably isn't going to be a better movie this year (and that's including Kick-Ass, which I also loved), so I recommend you go see it.
Monday, July 12, 2010
So...
Just finished the Sandy and Windy quests last night, and once again I'm left wondering why all of SE's best writers are working on an MMO while they leave their single player games to probably interns. Not that I'm complaining. :o
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Let me tell you about the man I met when I was young...
Bionic Commando was a pretty awesome NES game. The arcade game? Not so much, really. But the NES is a classic. At least I think so. So did the guys at Grin since they remade it. Now I know this game has been out for a while and Grin doesn't even exist anymore, but I only just recently played it, so.
Let's start off with this: As remakes go, this is a damn good one. The levels are almost identical to those in the NES, with some exceptions, namely some hidden areas you can find. The music is great, too, but as near as I can tell no "real" new music has been added, it's all remixes from the NES game. The dialogue even pays homage to the original by being intentionally campy and using a number of references (like where a private corrects the sergeant when he says "explod").
There are a few changes here and there, though, some good, some bad.
The best of them are undoubtedly the bosses and the weapons. The bosses in the first Bionic Commando were a joke. They're vastly improved in Rearmed, though I do wonder why the guy with the shield got cut out. There's no more destroying the core BS, you just fight the boss at the end of the stage, and I'm okay with that.
As for the weapons, they're completely different from the first game, and given how every weapon in the first game sucked except the rocket launcher, that's a good thing. You've got:
The revolver, your starting gun that's basically the same as the original.
The plasma rifle, which is the same as the revolver except supposedly it works better on mechs (I haven't noticed a difference) and it goes through some shields some soldiers have.
The shotgun, which is a very nice close range weapon.
The vector gun, which is a nifty weapon that shoots bouncing lasers.
The bazooka, which..... Ergh... It kinda sucks. It's really powerful, but you can hurt yourself with it. And if an enemy shoots your rocket, it goes boom. It's too dangerous to use for the most part.
And Joe's machine gun, which unlike in the NES game is so brokenly overpowered it makes everything else obsolete.
All of the weapons can be upgraded, too, plus you can throw grenades after finishing the first level.
You don't collect bullets to increase your health anymore. Instead you just have a lifebar from the start. You also start each level with 3 lives, but if you've got more they carry over.
Enemy troops now take multiple hits. Dunno if you'd consider that a good or bad thing, but it's something that just is.
Another thing that just is, is that the enemy layout of some levels has been changed, and many of the enemies have been replaced by robots. The guys throwing spiked balls in area 6? Robots now. The guys on jetpacks in area 5? Robots. No doubt this was changed around because of the whole energy-weapons-are-better-on-robots thing, but I kinda miss area 3's giant spiders and man-eating plants (replaced with bear traps).
There's a hacking minigame at the comm stations, which.... sucks, really. And neutral zones have been replaced by allied zones, meaning now you can shoot in them and nobody will try to kill you.
The bad? Well the underground tunnels and the final level are different; they're a lot more intense in the platforming. The last level in particular is brutal.
The Leader is neither called Hitler nor Master D, he's just referred to as "The Leader" (though he does have the Hitler mustache and shout Nein! when you hit him. It's kinda funny). Maybe they still didn't want to officially call him Hitler, but I would have preferred they at least call him Master D than The Leader. I'm sure it's supposed to be a play on "The Furher", but I prefer the way "Master D" sounds.
And you get to fight him this time, an actual boss fight. It's... not a bad fight, but I kinda liked how in the NES version it was an everything or nothing deal: you made a leap of faith and either managed to shoot him or you're dead.
Hitler's head still explodes, once in real time, once as a still image, but despite the (obviously) superior artwork, it doesn't strike me as good as the original, where his head exploded in several panels. Despite the 8-bit pixelart, it was just more fun to watch.
As a final note, Bionic Commando Rearmed was made to promote the "New" 3D Bionic Commando game. That game tanked hard, but Rearmed was so successful that Capcom's now working on Rearmed 2. That'll be sweet :D
Bionic Commando was a pretty awesome NES game. The arcade game? Not so much, really. But the NES is a classic. At least I think so. So did the guys at Grin since they remade it. Now I know this game has been out for a while and Grin doesn't even exist anymore, but I only just recently played it, so.
Let's start off with this: As remakes go, this is a damn good one. The levels are almost identical to those in the NES, with some exceptions, namely some hidden areas you can find. The music is great, too, but as near as I can tell no "real" new music has been added, it's all remixes from the NES game. The dialogue even pays homage to the original by being intentionally campy and using a number of references (like where a private corrects the sergeant when he says "explod").
There are a few changes here and there, though, some good, some bad.
The best of them are undoubtedly the bosses and the weapons. The bosses in the first Bionic Commando were a joke. They're vastly improved in Rearmed, though I do wonder why the guy with the shield got cut out. There's no more destroying the core BS, you just fight the boss at the end of the stage, and I'm okay with that.
As for the weapons, they're completely different from the first game, and given how every weapon in the first game sucked except the rocket launcher, that's a good thing. You've got:
The revolver, your starting gun that's basically the same as the original.
The plasma rifle, which is the same as the revolver except supposedly it works better on mechs (I haven't noticed a difference) and it goes through some shields some soldiers have.
The shotgun, which is a very nice close range weapon.
The vector gun, which is a nifty weapon that shoots bouncing lasers.
The bazooka, which..... Ergh... It kinda sucks. It's really powerful, but you can hurt yourself with it. And if an enemy shoots your rocket, it goes boom. It's too dangerous to use for the most part.
And Joe's machine gun, which unlike in the NES game is so brokenly overpowered it makes everything else obsolete.
All of the weapons can be upgraded, too, plus you can throw grenades after finishing the first level.
You don't collect bullets to increase your health anymore. Instead you just have a lifebar from the start. You also start each level with 3 lives, but if you've got more they carry over.
Enemy troops now take multiple hits. Dunno if you'd consider that a good or bad thing, but it's something that just is.
Another thing that just is, is that the enemy layout of some levels has been changed, and many of the enemies have been replaced by robots. The guys throwing spiked balls in area 6? Robots now. The guys on jetpacks in area 5? Robots. No doubt this was changed around because of the whole energy-weapons-are-better-on-robots thing, but I kinda miss area 3's giant spiders and man-eating plants (replaced with bear traps).
There's a hacking minigame at the comm stations, which.... sucks, really. And neutral zones have been replaced by allied zones, meaning now you can shoot in them and nobody will try to kill you.
The bad? Well the underground tunnels and the final level are different; they're a lot more intense in the platforming. The last level in particular is brutal.
The Leader is neither called Hitler nor Master D, he's just referred to as "The Leader" (though he does have the Hitler mustache and shout Nein! when you hit him. It's kinda funny). Maybe they still didn't want to officially call him Hitler, but I would have preferred they at least call him Master D than The Leader. I'm sure it's supposed to be a play on "The Furher", but I prefer the way "Master D" sounds.
And you get to fight him this time, an actual boss fight. It's... not a bad fight, but I kinda liked how in the NES version it was an everything or nothing deal: you made a leap of faith and either managed to shoot him or you're dead.
Hitler's head still explodes, once in real time, once as a still image, but despite the (obviously) superior artwork, it doesn't strike me as good as the original, where his head exploded in several panels. Despite the 8-bit pixelart, it was just more fun to watch.
As a final note, Bionic Commando Rearmed was made to promote the "New" 3D Bionic Commando game. That game tanked hard, but Rearmed was so successful that Capcom's now working on Rearmed 2. That'll be sweet :D
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Will the Real Professor Moriarty Please Stand Up?
So.... Last year there was the Sherlock Holmes movie, and it was awesome. Easily the best movie of 2009, IMO. It was certainly successful to already garner two sequels, and currently they're looking for someone to play Professor Moriarty. Who would be a good actor for the job? Here's my top picks:
* Alan Rickman. The guy does sinister really well, as we all know from Harry Potter or Demon Barber. And he's already got experience playing an evil professor.
* Gary Oldman. This guy's just amazing all around, even if he does get cast in a lot of crappy films (Lost in Space, anyone?). Frankly I think he's the best actor as Commissioner Gordon in the new Batman films. He's been heroes and villains, and he's able to do both roles well. I think he'd make a good Moriarty too.
* Richard Armitage. I've only seen this guy in the BBC's Robinhood, but he played a convincingly evil Guy of Gisborne. Plus I think he really looks the part of someone who could be the antagonist to Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes.
* Keith Allen. I'm not actually sure about him, as again, I've only really seen him in the BBC's Robinhood, where he played the Sheriff of Nottingham. Unlike Gisborne, he was more energetic and over-the-top, but that's a charm that made him the best character in that series. But could he play a more serious character in Moriarty? It's hard to tell, but my gut instinct says yes. Why? Because Keith Allen is a master at expressions. It wasn't the writing that made Sheriff Vaisey great, it was the guy playing him.
* Christopher Walken? Ok, prolly not. But you gotta admit that would be fun to watch. XD
* Alan Rickman. The guy does sinister really well, as we all know from Harry Potter or Demon Barber. And he's already got experience playing an evil professor.
* Gary Oldman. This guy's just amazing all around, even if he does get cast in a lot of crappy films (Lost in Space, anyone?). Frankly I think he's the best actor as Commissioner Gordon in the new Batman films. He's been heroes and villains, and he's able to do both roles well. I think he'd make a good Moriarty too.
* Richard Armitage. I've only seen this guy in the BBC's Robinhood, but he played a convincingly evil Guy of Gisborne. Plus I think he really looks the part of someone who could be the antagonist to Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes.
* Keith Allen. I'm not actually sure about him, as again, I've only really seen him in the BBC's Robinhood, where he played the Sheriff of Nottingham. Unlike Gisborne, he was more energetic and over-the-top, but that's a charm that made him the best character in that series. But could he play a more serious character in Moriarty? It's hard to tell, but my gut instinct says yes. Why? Because Keith Allen is a master at expressions. It wasn't the writing that made Sheriff Vaisey great, it was the guy playing him.
* Christopher Walken? Ok, prolly not. But you gotta admit that would be fun to watch. XD
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