You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May, 2008.
Yes, I saw Traffic for the first time the other day. Personally I loved it, though I don’t think the same can be said by my roommates, oh well. I suppose I am a sucker for the type of movies with intertwining narratives, a la Babel, Crash, etc.
I also loved Syriana, written and directed by Stephen Gaghen, the screenplay writer for Traffic, so I had high expectations coming into this. I found Traffic to have the compelling plot and character circumstances that made me love Syriana so much. The characters in both movies are not as deeply developed as those in Crash, or even Babel, but considering the rich plot development, I am willing to somewhat overlook this shortcoming.
I also recently saw Meet the Robinsons. It definitely had its moments, but I think I am just getting too old, or too bored of animated films. Sure, I used to love Pixar and Disney movies as a kid, but now I have a tough time finding much substance in this type of film. I am also really sick of the WALL-E trailers, along with the chorus of “AWWWW”’s from the audience.
I can’t stress how pumped I have been for this movie, literally since it was first in speculation years ago. Besides the Star Wars films, it was probably my most anticipated movie in the past 10 years. A few days ago the first reviews started to trickle in for the new Indiana Jones film, and they were mostly positive, giving me a brief sense of relief that Lucas and Spielberg didn’t botch this one.
With all of the buildup, I was convinced I would love the film, even if it was considered, by traditional standards, bad. Unfortunately, I was actually extremely disappointed with this film on a whole, I really don’t know how this plot made it past the drawing board.
Okay, well maybe thats an overstatement, the first half of the movie was quite enjoyable, if a bit canned. The Indiana Jones series has always been a bit ridiculous in terms of humor and plot, however once the crystal skull appears, the film takes a nosedive. Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf had stellar preformances as expected, but the plot simply doesn’t fit in the Indiana Jones world.
Don’t get me wrong, the film made for a fun night at the theaters, especially with the nerdy midnight showing crowd. I would recommend at least seeming the film and making your own judgments, but all in all I think the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a poor excuse for an Indiana Jones revisit.
In light of this, Iron Man hangs on as my favorite movie of the year thus far.
I did also see Prince Caspian recently, and while it was far better than the first film, it still feels quite childish to me. You may say this is to be expected, considering it is based off of a children’s book, however I would argue that the Harry Potter films (targeted toward a similar demographic) did a hell of a lot better job.
I am not going to write off the Narnia series quite yet, because my favorite of the series has yet to be released (The Horse and His Boy). I don’t remember anything about that particular book, because I read it like 15 years ago, but I do remember it was my favorite.
More and more videos are coming out for this baddie, I can’t wait!
I really hope there is a midnight release…
Still trying to figure out how to make my own template for these blogs, seems like too much of a pain in the ass though.
Okay, I’ve decided that a brief comment on this game is probably sufficient. The game is great, plain and simple. It doesn’t make enormous strides for the series, however everything it does comes with such polish and depth that it is really tough to find any flaws. It doesn’t follow the same path as San Andreas in that “bigger is better”, however the world is by no means small, and it is more detailed than anything you are likely to see in a videogame. I found myself constantly being impressed by all of the little things GTA 4 does right, and the extent to which Rockstar made a “living world” is amazing. My only complaint with the game is the fact that the relationship system that made a debut in San Andreas still feels pretty canned. It is fun to see the first few times, but going to play darts with Little Jacob gets pretty old, pretty fast.
I haven’t actually finished the main story yet, nor have I gotten a chance to sit down much with the multiplayer, but even an awful ending and shoddy online play wouldn’t be enough to keep me away from this game.
After getting some time to see all the aspects of Mario Kart, I can safely say it exceeded my usual expectations of a Wii game. Unfortunately that isn’t saying much, and while the game is fun, most of that fun is via elements from the earlier Mario Karts. I’ve come to expect the lack of evolution in Wii games, but it just amazes me whenever I see their ridiculous sales figures.
Probably my biggest gripe with Mario Kart Wii is that it feels like Nintendo rushed to get it to market while overlooking some major flaws. Issues like rubber band AI, and poorly designed items and courses are a constant annoyance while playing the otherwise enjoyable core gameplay. Contrary to what review sites will say, the included Wii wheel isn’t terrible, but it is also a lot easier to play with a Gamecube controller or Remote + Nunchuk.
Some of the new tracks are pretty fun, but the fact that only half of the total 32 tracks are new (the others being retro tracks) is rather disappointing. I like the idea of retro tracks, but I think Nintendo should have put more emphasis on new content. Many of the new tracks are just poorly designed, so while the game boasts a large number of courses, only some are actually worth playing.
Along with new tracks, Mario Kart Wii boasts several new items, such as the mega mushroom and lightning cloud. Some of the new items work well, but it seems like all the offensive items (old and new) in the game feel way too overpowered. Unless you adjust the item settings, players are constantly being pummeled with items to a level way beyond any of the other Mario Kart titles. The races, especially in the 150cc level, feel more like battle mode than an actual race. Some players may like the added difficulty with these item changes, but coupled with the primitive “rubber band AI” Grand Prix races can be extremely frustrating.
Mario Kart Wii has also retooled the drifting system to make it a bit easier, and added trick boosts. The new motorcycles are a fun addition as well, but they don’t feel as competitive as the Karts.
Online mode in Mario Kart Wii has been reputed to be the best of any Wii title. While the online gameplay is quite fun, the network is pretty spotty and getting into an online game often takes way too long to fit within the attention span of the typical Nintendo Wii demographic.
In short, Mario Kart Wii takes the core gameplay of its predecessors and adds some interesting (on paper at least) new concepts. The game is fun (if you steer clear of 150cc), and any Wii fan will probably want to own it, but compared to the current video game standards (and expectations) of quality and evolution, Mario Kart Wii falls flat on its face.
Recent Comments