• 11Aug 09

  District 9- A Review

  I was lucky enough last night to get into a preview screening of Neil Blomkamp's Distirct 9. Being a bit of a Sci-Fi nut I was excited but wasn't really sure what to expect, the early footage made it look like a doco style film while later trailers gave off the impression that it was more of a high brow Transformers. After seeing it I can say that it really is both, but don't fooled, unlike the new Transformers this film is good, nay, brilliant!

  The story is set in the present day in the South African City of Johanesberg where these aliens have made a home for themselves in District 9, a human made area of land for the aliens (refered to in the film as Prawns) which over time has become a slum and a hive of criminal activity. The fils spends alot of the first hour focused on the Prawns and how they got to Earth and the treatment of them by the Multination National Union (MNU) who are entrusted with their safety. But they are really an arms company that only want the Prawns so they can use alien weaponry.

  Things take a turn when the man entrusted to carry out evictions on the Prawns is infected with a black fluid that spurts from a canister. Over time he develops characteristics of the Prawns and soon fears that he will become one. MNU see a opportunity in all of this to harvest him and take his DNA to find a way to use the alien weaponry. He escapes and a man hunt occurs where the man puts his faith in one intelligent Prawn to turn him back into a full human.

  I won't give too much more away all I say is that this is just the start of what is an intrigue and completely involving story. The casting of no major stars make you feel more connected with the characters and the CGI Prawns are compelling from the get go and you never feel like you are being faked. This is up there as one of the best films of the year and everyone should see it!

  • Posted Aug 11, 2009 7:59 am GMT
  • Category: Movies
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• 2Jun 09

  E3 in a Nutshell

  Well the press conferences are over from the major Harware developers and we can now look back and reflect on what the offered this year at E3. The first cab off the rank was Microsoft who may have been the best show at E3 with some top titles that give you reason to boot up your 360 everyday. Then there was Nintendo and they were solid if you like your 'experiences' and not so much your actual fun games. And finally came Sony who paraded an array of new titles and advancements on the PSP. But here we are these are the good, the bad and the major gaffs of each show;

  MICROSOFT:

  The good: There were some great third party exclusives to come from the show especially Splinter Cell Conviction which has greatly changed since the last time it was seen at E3. On top of that Allen Wake made another appearance and now has a confirmed 2010 release, on top of this the Metal Gear Franchise is coming to the 360 with Raiden based game that is sure to get the fan boys stirred up. Halo:ODST was given another showing this year and looks as good as ever as well as the unveiling of another Halo game that leaves many questions as to what kind of game it will be.

  The Bad: When 360 unveiled Project Natal, a motion sensing bar that measured all your movements in real time, there seemed to be some great potential in the technology then the team leader for the proect started talking. His best line was, " this isn't just movement from some preset waggle of the wrist" Nice shot Douche, would have been better had you weren't basically copying those waggling fiends Nintendo. If you want to piggyback the success of the company that's stealing your business the least you can do is keep your mouth shut about them.

  The Gaff: They revealed Forza 3 and it looks great, as far as games go for this genre it looks top of the line. No wonder they gave it the tag of 'the racing game of the generation' but this would be a big no-no only hours later when Need For Speed Shift was unveiled which was also pretty and deep, ifact it looked exactly like Forza 3. Turns out the game of the generation is going to look like all the other racers for the next 2 years!

  NINTENDO:

  The Good: Mario! I would end it there but there was so much Mario to go around that it was possibly the only highlight of the press junket for Nintendo. A four player Mario Bros. game that seemed like a heap of fun for the Wii. A new Mario RPG for the DS which is just the right amount of cooky to work perfectly and then there is the best news of the Nintendo show, Super Mario Galaxy 2. Its been a while since a Mario game has had direct sequel and there is no better game of this generation on the Wii to get a sequel, you know except Zelda. Another tid bit that looked cool was the new Metroid game that leaves enough to make you think that there maybe some life in the Wii for actual gamers. That was until...

  The Bad: Every other gamer game unveiled for the Wii, Red Steel 2 is unveiled, look if the first game was poor we don't want another serve of it. Then there was the Conduit and Dead Space, The conduit looked really bad and Dead Space for the Wii seemed like a cheap cash in. All in all the goal of Nintendo to let everyone play is working because all the games are so dumbed down that a three year old could whip an experienced gamers backside which is not as much fun as it sounds.

  The Gaff: Iwata's little speach was more infuriating than enlightening, as he highlighted that they want all types of gamers all the while being oblivious to the fact that he is losing real gamers. Then he tops it with a new vitality sensor that essentially measures your pulse then he doesn't unveil any games or programs to go with it. It was truely the dumbest idea of the show.

  SONY:

  The Good: There new exclusive titles were impressive to say the least FF14 (you heard me right) GT5, God of War 3 and even ModNation looked cool. Then there was the PSP Go that was already known prior to the show but was still cool none the less and had some really top titles that may just make me buy a new PSP Go. The new online stuff was tops as well and even there prototype for a new motion controller seemed pretty cool. And unlike Mirosoft they didn't bite the Nintendo hand they stole from.

  The Bad: There was not too much bad things to come from this show, if there was a gripe it would be that it was the only show that produced there figures almost in full and to be honest we all know that all the companies are doing well and don't need to hear it for a half hour.

  The Gaff: Again they didn't do too bad in this department, but then again there gaff came before the show with half there big announcements were leaked a week out from the show so the excitement was tempered to a degree, especially the PSP Go announcement which was met lukewarmly due to everyone knowing about it.

  If there was a gripe show wide it was that most companies are moving in the motion sensing game where the products being released are dumbed down so everyone can play them. This does alienate the experienced gamers as games are being made easier and the more complicated games are taking aback seat. Luckily only Nintendo seem to be at an advanced enough stage to actually alienate real gamers.

  • Posted Jun 2, 2009 10:33 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 12Mar 09

  Good Evening, Fellow Level Grubbers

  I was pondering a while ago why I even bother writing blogs. I mean no one reads them and they are hardly anything thought provoking in them so as to draw a comment out of anyone. But I came to the conclusion only a few hours ago as to why I bother with this time consuming exercise and yto honest it is really quite simple, level ups.

  I know what you are thinking, why should I care as the levels really don't mean anything. They don't give you any rewards or bonuses, it's just another number on the board. To a large extent that is true but the levels me a sense of accomplishment whether that is false or otherwise. But there is slightly more to this than just levels. You see I also has a self indulgent prat side to me, because I am a guy that likes to blabber on about bugger all purely because I can. So why am I so open about this? Why do I keep writing in this manner? Well I am almost positive that I am only talking to myself and that this blog is simply more points in the bag leading to another level up.

  Til next time avid readers!

  • Posted Mar 12, 2009 8:17 am GMT
  • Category: General
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