Friday, January 30, 2009

Goin' to see Lew

Tonight I'm going out to see comedian Lewis Black who I'm a huge fan of. So I'm going to leave you with some classic Lewis



I'll update when I come home!
Update: Lewis was hilarious! After the show we ate at Shoeless Joes and I had a lobster pasta which was great. Then we went into the casino and played the slots. I won $100. Woot!

Monday, January 26, 2009

2009 Stinger503's Video Game Awards

Biggest Game I Didn't Play But Wanted To
Nominees:
Ninja Gaiden II
Red Alert 3
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Battlefield: Bad Company
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway
Saint's Row 2
Far Cry 2
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Winner: Red Alert 3 - One of my favourite franchises ever gets new life and it's on the 360! How could I not have bought this? Was dislike for EA after they shut down Westwood? Questioning RTS's on consoles? No demo? Who knows...

Worst Demo
Nominees:
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Tom Clancy's Endwar
Dead Space
Winner: Dead Space - I heard so much hype about this game, I genuinely was interested. Then the demo came out. Sorry but giving me 25 rounds in my pistol and putting me up against a dozen zombies pounding me is bullshit. When I say screw this 7 minutes into the demo, there's a problem.

Worst Game
Nominees:
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Lost: Via Domus
NHL 2k6
NHL 2k7
Winner: NHL 2k7 & 2k6 - Both of these pieces of ass will rot in video game hell. How dare 2k steal peoples money and then NOT patch the game so it at least works!

Best Music
Nominees:
Rock Band 2
Fallout 3
Mirrors Edge
Grand Theft Auto IV
Winner: Rock Band 2 - The Who, Rush, AC/DC, Kansas, Survivor, and Stephen and the Colberts what more do you need?
Honorable Mention: Grand Theft Auto IV - Having Queen and Ricky Gervais = Awesome


Best Cinematics
Nominees:
Gears of War 2
Mirrors Edge
Grand Theft Auto IV
Turok
Winner: Gears of War 2 - Normally I'm not a fan of cut scenes but for this I loved the story they told, very well done
Honorable Mention: Mirror's Edge - personally not a fan of cell shaded cut scenes but I loved them in Mirror's Edge

Best Voice Acting
Nominees:
Keifer Sutherland & Gary Oldman- Call of Duty: World At War
Liam Neeson- Fallout 3
Michael Hollick-Grand Theft Auto IV
John DiMaggio- Gears of War 2
Winner: Liam Neeson - I thought that Liam Neeson's performance as James, the main characters father, was amazing.

Best Accessory
Nominees:
Rock Band 2 Drums
Rock Band 2 Guitar
Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter
HD-DVD Add-On
Winner: HD-DVD Add-On - Okay I'm lazy, and this device feeds into that laziness. For $40 I got a DVD player, extra USB port and an HD-DVD player. And I don't have to take the game out of the console to put the DVD in.
Too Little To Late: Wireless Headset - I bought one on Friday but never got the chance to test it. So it's in the running for next year.

Best Multiplayer Games
  • Best Two-Player One System
Nominees:
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty: World At War
Fable 2
Rock Band 2
Winner: Gears of War 2 - Combine Horde with Co-op with multiplayer bots and you have the best 2 person experience on the Xbox 360

  • Best Online
Nominees:
Call of Duty: World At War
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Winner:
Call of Duty: World At War - Not only taking Call of Duty 4's multiplayer experience but adding vehicular fun.
Honorable Mention: Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar took a risk at adding multiplayer, but it payed off in one of the best multiplayer experiences in years
  • Best Overall
Nominees:
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty: World At War
Rock Band 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Winner: Rock Band 2 - There is no game where I could get my my sister, her boyfriend and my other sister to have so much fun for hours at a time.

Best Xbox Live Arcade Game
Nominees:
Chessmaster Live
Ticket To Ride
Fable 2 Pub Games
Dash Of Destruction
Winner: Ticket To Ride - I was able to get both my sisters and mom to love playing this game. Very addicting and fun.
Too Little Too Late: Braid - bought Braid late last night, so far it's had an intriguing story and gameplay elements

Best Music Game
Nominees:
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero III
Rock Band 2
Rock Band: AC/DC Live
Winner:
Rock Band 2 - An amazing set list and great multiplayer

Best Racing Game
Nominees:
Test Drive: Unlimited
NASCAR '09
Project Gotham Racing 4
Forza Motorsport 2
Winner:
Test Drive: Unlimited
Honorable Mention: NASCAR '09, EA helped correct it's fucktastrophy (trademark, I created that word) from '08 by improving everything

Sports Game
Nominees:
NHL '09
NHL 2k8
NASCAR '09
Smackdown vs. RAW 2007
Winner: NHL '09 - Amazing that not only does it do everything 2k8 does but adds Be A Pro mode, probably the greatest innovation for hockey games in years.

Best RPG
Nominees:
Fallout 3
Fable 2
Winner: Fallout 3 - An amazing story, world and everything made this an easy choice.

Best Action
Nominees:
Grand Theft Auto IV
Mirrors Edge
Winner: Grand Theft Auto IV - the new polished GTA is great with an amazing multiplayer experience to boot! HELICOPTER RACES!

Best Shooter
Nominees:
Call of Duty: World at War
Gears of War 2
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Turok
Winner: Gears of War 2 -
Too Little Too Late: Left 4 Dead- Bought it Friday haven't played it yet

Best Level
Nominees:
Gears of War 2 - Intestinal Fortitude
Grand Theft Auto IV - Three Leaf Clover
Fallout 3 - Tranquility Lane
Fable 2 - Tattered Spire
Winner:
Fallout 3 - this is the mission that shakes everything up. It's amazing

Best Story
Nominees:
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Fallout 3
Call of Duty: War at War
Grand Theft Auto IV
Winner: Fallout 3 - The games beginning is one of the greatest all-time and there's a mission near the end that just throws you through the loop!

Best Game
Nominees:
Fallout 3
Grand Theft Auto IV
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Call of Duty: World at War
Rock Band 2
Winner: Gears of War 2 - A LOT of people probably disagree with this but I thought that Gears 2's story/Horde/multiplayer combined for the best game this year
Honorable Mention: Fallout 3 - Had a big lead but fell apart at the end with A. Bad Ending B. Not able to continue after last mission C. Level 20 Cap

Prediction for Next Year:
Alan Wake

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Game Review: Call of Duty: World At War

Call of Duty has become the Law & Order of war shooters. Having games set in both the Modern area and World War II, it's become the gold standard for FPS shooters (with exception to Halo). And Call of Duty 5 holds that standard well. Many don't give Treyarch a fair shake. A lot view COD5 as a step back regardless of how it actually is.

But COD5 does well. Starting in the Pacific campaign, a welcome first for the series. And then switching back and forth between the Russian front. There's two missions I love in particular 1 involving a plane and the other tanks.

The multiplayer takes the system that COD4 started and improved on it. Throwing tanks in the mix is great. They are easy to take out but a skilled engineer (like myself) can dominate with them. Sniping feels to have improved immensely and I love havin' the ole Kar '98 in my hands.

Graphics sort of fell short in my opinion. Although they weren't bad by any means. It's just that I played it on the Wii with my sister and the opening scene looked identical. And to me it looked terrible. It just left a bad impression on me. The sound is great though. Keifer Sutherland and Gary Oldman both do voice overs (KS for the US, GO for the RS) and it's extremely good. One time me and my sister (while on co-op) were battling with tanks and shells going off. I cranked that shit up to 11 and loved the sound of the mortars going off beside us.

The programming is flawless as far as I can tell with no bugs. The missions jump around to fast. For example you leave the 1st Russian mission in Stalingrad, then your in the countryside chasing the retreating Germans then your practically hoisting the flag above Berlin! Feels almost to jumpy.

Programming: 9/10 : I don't think I've experienced a single bug. Outstanding.
Graphics: 8.5/10 : Graphics were good but fell short of expectations for me, especially with Brothers In Arms looking amazing
Story: 7.5/10 : Story was kind of weak, but I love Russia! For the motherland!
Atmosphere: 9/10 : I thought the Pacific Islands were wonderfully done as well as the Russian areas.
Multiplayer: 10/10 : Just as good as the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer but with tanks! HELL YES!
Overall: 9/10 : A lot of people were wondering how this would stand in comparison to COD4. It holds its own easily.

Game Review: Fable 2

If you haven't read this post about Fable 2 then I'll summarize. I was having a wonderful time and had gotten married and a daughter. Well the game had different ideas glitched and we ended up divorced with my daughter being taken with her. What bullshit. I became invested in that family and just having them taken away like that pisses me off to no end. That killed the game for me really. I considered just not playing it but I still wanted to finish the main quest.

You think I'm exaggerating or being sarcastic but I'm dead serious. My plan was to go on the other quest after the main one, raise my daughter and have more kids, buy more land, etc. But it just died. I tried remarrying and having another kid but the wind was gone, sails weren't moving the boat. I assume I'll start playing again some time but who knows.

The fighting scheme is pretty good, using a mix of sword fighting (or hammer), shooting (or archery), and magic (or Will as it's called in the game). There's tons of characters to interact with. But one problem with that is the interaction isn't as good as I hoped. You never really talk to people other than when they give you quest. You just laugh or dance or drop one pickup lines. Sometimes people say things but it's not really directed at you. It becomes ambient noise, like birds chirping.

Peter Molyneux said that I'd fall in love with the dog, when in reality I didn't give a crap about the dog. Sure I'd heal him when he'd get hurt, but that was because he whines a lot and it was free to heal him. I'm just not a dog person I guess. Put a cat in the game, then you'll have me ;) But I did fall in love with my family (see first paragraph) so I'll give him that. (A bit of a double edged sword)

There's tons of quests, jobs, abilities, shops, and stuff to do in Fable 2. I probably haven't even explored half the game yet.

Programming: 7/10 : A bunch of glitches. Didn't like that you can't talk to people.
Graphics: 8.5/10 : Nice graphics, a little cartoonish but it's intended that way
Story: 9/10 : A bit of a weak ending but a solid story none the less
Atmosphere: 9/10 : Albion is a wonderfully created world
Multiplayer: X/10 : Haven't touched the co-op yet.
Overall: 8/10 : The game is good, could have used some more testing to weed out big bugs like I experienced

Game Review: Star Trek Legacy

Star Trek has always been a fun series. When I saw that this game was ship to ship fighting I jumped on the chance (when it became cheap). This is because I loved the ship fights in the Halo books.

The story is about a Vulcan lady who takes control of the Borg. The story spans the entire Star Trek time line so you start out as Kirk then go to Picard. It's a fun game.

The gameplay involves flying the ship as well as commanding you squad. You have to fire torpedoes and "phasers". Repairing the ship, hailing other ships, scans are all part of the job. This is a little hard but you get the hang of it.

Programming: 8.5/10 : No bugs, solidly built.
Graphics: 8.5/10 : Very good. But your in space so it's mostly black
Story: 9/10 : Great story. Ton of fun
Atmosphere: 9/10 : Outer space and the planets are nice and you sort of get a feel for the original series vs the newer series
Multiplayer: 0/10 : No multiplayer
Overall: 8/10 : A fun game that any space ship battle enthusiast will enjoy

Game Review: Gears of War 2

Wow Gears of War 2 is what Call of Duty 4 was last year. Non-stop fun. Seriously you ride in almost anything imaginable and have some seriously fun fighting.

The story is where I lost my faith in Official Xbox Magazine's reviews. They called it hokey. I called it badass. There's an obvious set up for a 3rd Gears which I can't wait for. Basically there's a main plot of defeating the locust but a side plot with Dom looking for his family. It's a great story. And OXM said Gears 1's story was better. What drugs are they on?

The fighting is the same as Gear's 1 which is to say great. There aren't many new weapons, except the motar launcher and I think the carryable machine gun. One of the greatest parts of the game was in the giant fucking worm. I remember reading someone bitching about it. People, they wanted to mix it up! It was fucking awesome!

The multiplayer is god damned hilarious fun. My roommate and I both play Horde often and someone'll die then the other will get sawed in half from behind and we'll both laugh about it. While the multiplayer does take awhile to find a match once you get one it's just a fun/frustrating as the first Gears.

Programming: 10/10 : I've had 1 minor bug and they've patched so many glitches and cheats
Graphics: 10/10 : In Gears tradition Epic games blasts this out of the park
Story: 10/10 : An intense thrill ride with some emotional parts
Atmosphere: 10/10 : Amazing. Seriously a giant f'ing worm
Multiplayer: 10/10 : Horde is amazing, haven't gotten to deep in the multi but it's fun
Overall: 10/10 : One of the best gaming experiences of the year

Game Review: Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is one of the greatest games this year. It's an amazing representation of how games are art. Because any mission, any moment, could be made into a movie or book. And this just shows who much work goes into games. Not just a nuclear wasteland. But a 1950's styled nuclear wasteland! And just miles of interesting places, interesting characters and everything.

The story is great, revolving around you searching for your father. But the starting 30 minutes are amazing. You are born in the Vault and grow up. It a rich experience. Then in the theme of Oblivion, when you finally get out and see the world for the first time, you're amazed. There's a sign saying View Point or something and you got up to it and there's this sprawling land in front of you with dead trees, a broken freeway bridge and a small decimated town.

The big problem is the level cap is 20 and the game ends when you complete the main quest which is extraordinarily lame. And now, to fix those you'll have to buy DLC, how cheap is that!? I haven't played it since I beat it so I'll be playing it again in March when the last of the DLC comes out. Really lame that they did that. But it's an amazing game none the less.

Programming: 9/10 : A couple of bugs, and who thought a level 20 cap was a good idea?
Graphics: 10/10 : Brilliant representation of a nuclear apocalypse it's so rich to look at the sun come up over the wasteland
Story: 10/10 : Amazing. The greatest start to a game ever and there is such a twist near the end I was just amazed.
Atmosphere: 10/10 : Who knew an 1950's nuclear wasteland would be so fun
Controls: 9.5/10 : Well implemented, although the pip-boy seems out of place in B button
Overall: 10/10 : One of my favourite games of all time.

Game Review: Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is a curious experiment in first person shooters. Basically it opens a door where you can do more than just run around and shoot people.

The problem is it's unforgiving nature. Think you can jump down to the building below you? Nope and you just broke your legs, fell down head first to the street, or back to where you don't want to be. It's frustrating because it happens so often and it takes you out of the game. The fighting can be a problem because there is a tiny window to disarm someone.

The 2nd problem is the level design. From the demo you assume that you'll be doing running but a lot of it is "platforming" a.k.a. jumping from one post, and then another and then another and then another. Later in the game there's a 4 story area you have to get up. It's not fun, it's a pain in the ass! Another problem is the help. Early in the game everything is red, which is good. But later in the game things stop turning red. One time I tried for 20 minutes to wall climb up to this walkway, but couldn't make it. And this was during a police chase, so I had to pretend that they were trying to find the right keys or something. Talk about killing momentum. And as it turns out, I had to grab a vent which I thought I couldn't grab and jump to the walkway from there.

The game is satisfying at times though, when you're finally able to kick a cop in the face, disarm another and shoot a third in 20 seconds you feel like you've accomplished something (a life sentence sounds about right). One time I was being shot to hell and just got across a room just in time. What I like about this game is the Matrix, run from the police or fight them mentality. The story is okay and revolves around you trying to help your sister who's been set up for a murder.

In Mirror's Edge 2 multiplayer I expect: 6-player races. A runner vs. cops mode where the runners try to reach as destination and the cops try to stop them. And a co-op mode with some acrobatics. I also expect there to be some kung fu dammit!

Programming: 7/10 : No bugs but the disarming and jumping/falling to your death gets repetitive.
Graphics: 8/10 : The graphics are surprisingly sharp. Sometimes a little too bright though
Story: 8.5/10 : Pretty good I thought, at least for the first game
Atmosphere: 7/10 : The city is very nice and there are cameras everywhere
Multiplayer: 5/10 : Only able to compare time trials. However they didn't try to force a multiplayer on us in their first game which gives them a 5.
Overall: 7/10 : Although frustrating at times it can be very satisfying

Game Review: NHL 09

Okay I could be reviewing this game all day. But let's just cut the b.s. and go straight for Be A Pro mode. Basically you control your player and try and score goals, assists and (not) get penalties. One problem is the penalties. First you can get a lot of them, because pressing A to lift the stick is the same for hooking and high sticking. Then checking can be a cross check. It's kind of random. The fighting is sort of lame. There's three controls (punch, duck, grab) but it comes down to who punches fastest in 7 seconds. In NHL 2k7 the fighting is pretty good because you have more health and ducking actually does something. The second problem with penalties is that the other team gets a lot of them, and not legitimate penalties, thing like delay of game for knocking it over the glass. But if you turn the penalties down (or off completely in my case) it resolves the situation I guess.

Playing the game is fun though, basically you try and stay in your position (marked by arrows) and make good passes and score. You can only be out for a few minutes until you get tired and then you go off the ice, watch for a minute and then go back out. Although it's optional I did it because its realistic. Basically that's what it comes down to. Scoring as many goals and getting assists. Meeting the teams expectations of you and trying to win the cup.

Being goalie is a lot more difficult. To be honest, I enjoy 2k7's goalie system more than 09's because the 2k7 slows time down and makes you make a move. In this it's more press the thumbstick and the goalie tries to save it. The problem with not slowing it down is that you can't react to slap shots or wrap arounds in time.

Programming: 8.5/10 : I loved the Be A Pro mode, but being goalie is a pain in the ass
Graphics: 8/10 : The ice and players look great, but there's some obvious slowdown with the player animations when not playing
Story: 8.5/10 : The go from AHL to NHL and Be A Pro mode is a new view of a hockey game
Atmosphere: 8/10 : The arenas are beautifully done but the announcers are very repetitive
Multiplayer: N/A : Didn't even scratch the multiplayer yet but I'm told it's extravagant
Overall: 8.5/10 : Overall great fun but just as frustrating as any NHL game

Friday, January 23, 2009

Game Review: Grand Theft Auto IV

Well I'm finally getting to this. I'm ashamed really. I mean there's really no excuse except laziness and forgetfulness. I bought this game (special edition too) on the 29th of April, it was pretty cold and when I got there about an hour or so before there was only about 6-10 people in line. By the time the clock struck 12 the line went around the corner of the store (at least 75 people). I think that was the only time I've waited for a game to release at 12. I think I considered Gears 2 but took a pass and Halo 3 was when my Xbox RR'd. Maybe Recon? Anyway now for the review:

Well to start the game is amazingly detailed. The graphics are amazing, really this is probably one of the few games that I admire the environments, I literally would find a helicopter to fly and enjoy the sunrise over the city. People complained that the game was to gritty or realistic. Shut the fuck up. They're in a fucking city. A city modeled after New York City (and I'm not slanting New York here, I actually have been there twice now and it's very nice). My point is that it's not the fucking country side, cottage by the lake or your fucking Caribbean resort.

Now for the games single player. On one hand there's a ton of diverse characters (Brucie is probably my second favourite GTA character ever), fun missions and great voice acting. On the other hand the story just isn't that intriguing. It's okay, but there could have been improvement. There wasn't really anything that turned the game on it's head for me. Remember in GTA III when you find out the girl screwed you over and you get a cell phone call from her telling you not to start the car because there's a bomb? And then you have to go over to the other island and live there, working for triads. It's awesome. And nothing really did that for me. Seemed sort of cliched at points. (Someone dies at a wedding, who knew?). But the missions and cut scenes are awesome. One in particular I'm going to tell you about is when Niko is talking to a guy (don't want to spoil it) and this lady just comes in and pops a cap in his ass. That's what this game needed more of, spontaneity. Sort of like The Departed.

The atmosphere was perfect though, hot dog stands, buses, the different neighborhoods, statue of liberty, etc is all there. The people are hustling about doing their business. A person is jogging, another is having coffee, etc. It's amazing.

And then they kick it up a notch. The multiplayer is insanely good! And although the gun play is fun (deathmatch/team deathmatch) everything else steals the show. They could have just put in the car races which are unfuckingbelieveably fun, but no, they put in motherfucking helicopter races! If you've never raced 8+ people around skyscrapers and under bridges and with rotors coming within inches of yours then you haven't lived my friend. Makes you wish they put in air planes. Then there's other things like cops and robbers and co-op which are great too. One time me and some guy were just hanging out on top of a building with helicopters shooting shit.

On the last note the game was designed well, I experienced few bugs except one. I got 98.3 percent completion when I beat the fucking game! Goddammit!

Programming: 9/10 : It's amazing that an open world with tons of area and A.I. has less bugs then a game like Turning Point. But they fucked me over on my 100% goddammit!
Graphics: 10/10 : The graphics are amazing
Story: 8/10 : Great cast but bland story
Atmosphere: 10/10 : I thought it portrayed a real live city extremely well
Multiplayer: 10/10 : Tons of multiplayer modes and tons of fun
Overall: 9.5/10 : Deep, fun innovative game

P.S. Can't wait for the DLC

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Happy Belated Blog Day To Me!

Sorry this is late. Blog Day for me was yesterday, Jan. 20th. My blog has now been up for a whole year. I've posted 123 times, ranging from the controversial to sports to games. I've done a ton of movie reviews, food reviews, game reviews (Okay okay I've been slacking on the game reviews there'll be a bunch this week). Well I'm actually in class (it's a break) but I have to go now. BYE!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Movie Review: Knocked Up


Look at that two movies in one day! Off to a fast start. Not only that but their both pregnancy comedies!

The movie stars Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy) as Alison who lives with her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, The Cable Guy) and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd, Role Models). Alison gets a promotion at E! Entertainment and goes out with her sister to celebrate. There she meets Ben (Seth Rogen, Pineapple Express) who's a pretty free going guy. He's Canadian and lives with his friends (among them Jason played by Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Alison and Ben are an "unlikely" couple but end up "getting together" and Alison ends up pregnant. The movie revolves around the pregnancy, Ben adjusting to his new found responsibility and Alison adjusting and accepting Ben. It also features the marriage troubles of Debbie and Pete.
I thought it was pretty funny and is heartwarming.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Rated: 18-A (ONT) R (USA)

P.S. Isn't it also humourous that I said that the Waitress review (I did previously) would be short and it turns out to be one of the longest I've done.

Movie Review: Waitress


Well I decided to start my Movie Fiesta '09 tonight, and this ones been sitting in my game case for a while (along with Knocked Up and Last King of Scotland) Excuse me for not making this long but it's 3:30 and I'm dead tired.

Basically the story revolves around Jenna (Keri Russell, We Were Soldiers) who is pregnant, from her husband, who she isn't in love with. She's a waitress at Joe's Pie Diner and is friends with Dawn (see bottom) and Becky (Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm) who are also waitresses there. Her forte is making pies though, because her mother taught her how to make them and she's always making up new ones based on how she feels.

So she sees the doctor and to her surprise it's new Dr. Jim Pomatter (Nathan Fillion, Canadian and in everything you've ever seen it seems). In time they begin to develop a relationship. Earl (Jeremy Sisto, Law & Order) Jenna's husband seems insecure, but maybe he is just an ass and Jenna wants to get away from him. Meanwhile Becky is in the same boat as Jenna and it gives Jenna a looking glass of sorts. Dawn hasn't really dated to much and is going out on blind dates and I think that her notion of men was muddled by her friends. As soon as she gave them a chance things got better.

Overall early on I thought this would be a lot like the movie The Good Girl which is another movie I like. And it was, but very different at the same time. It also felt a bit like Juno. It was pretty heartwarming and I did chuckle a couple times. The movie has a modern feel and a 50sish feel too with old buses, the diner, uniforms and neon lights. It's not laugh out loud funny but it's worth your time. Also I don't know how they could make a car horn sound anymore irritating but they did it. Finally wanted to give a shout out to Andy Griffith who does a excellent job as Joe (owner of the diner), he acts as a mentor of sorts but is old so of course he' s a bit of a grump.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Rated PG (ONT) PG-13 (USA)

P.S. To finish on a sad note, at the end of the credits I noticed a In Loving Memory of... and decided to see who it was. It turns out it was Adrienne Shelly who directed the movie and played Dawn (my favourite character from the movie). She was murdered in November 2006 and was only 40.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

2009 Game Tally

Well I picked up a bunch of games in '08 and would like to tally up my games for those interested, I've bought quite a few and dropped a bunch. Here we go: (In a sort of favourite order)
  1. Halo 2
  2. Halo 3
  3. Rockband 2
  4. Gears of War
  5. Gears of War 2
  6. Call of Duty 2
  7. Call of Duty 3
  8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  9. Call of Duty 5: World At War
  10. Fallout 3
  11. Grand Theft Auto IV
  12. Fable II
  13. Silent Hunter III (P.C.)
  14. Silent Hunter IV (P.C.)
  15. Rome: Total War (P.C.)
  16. Civilization III (P.C.)
  17. Half-Life Anthology (P.C.)
  18. The Orange Box (Half-Life 2 (Ep1 & 2), Portal and Team Fortress 2)
  19. Rainbow 6: Vegas
  20. Rainbow 6: Vegas 2
  21. Mass Effect
  22. Bioshock
  23. NHL 2k8
  24. Splinter Cell: Double Agent
  25. Scene It: Lights, Camera, Action
  26. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
  27. Ghost Recon :Advanced Warfighter 2
  28. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (bought today)
  29. PGR3
  30. PGR4
  31. NASCAR Thunder 2003
  32. NASCAR 09
  33. Forza Motorsport 2
  34. Burnout 3: Revenge
  35. Prey
  36. Condemned: Criminal Origins
  37. Battlestations: Midway
  38. Chromehounds (bought today)
  39. Crackdown
  40. Dead Rising
  41. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
  42. Far Cry Instincts: Predator
  43. Guitar Hero II
  44. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
  45. F.E.A.R
  46. Saint's Row
  47. Just Cause
  48. Star Trek: Legacy
  49. Madden 07
  50. NCAA 07 March Madness (bought today)
  51. Major League Baseball 2k7 (bought today)
  52. Test Drive: Unlimited
  53. The Darkness
  54. Fight Night Round 3
  55. Tomb Raider: Legend
  56. Test Drive: Unlimited
  57. Smackdown vs RAW 2007
  58. Pocket Bike Racer
  59. Sneak King
  60. The Outfit
  61. Table Tennis
  62. Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2
  63. TMNT
  64. Bionicle Heroes
  65. Import Tuner Challenge
  66. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Wow that is 66 games minus the ones I've traded in! That's DOUBLE the games I had when I tallied last year! I'll add in the Arcade games I've got:
  1. Chessmaster Live
  2. Marble Blast Ultra
  3. Aegis Wing
  4. Battlestar Galactica
  5. Bejeweled 2
  6. Boom Boom Rocket
  7. Carcassonne
  8. Dash of Destruction
  9. Fable II Pub Games
  10. Hardwood Blackgammon
  11. Hexic HD
  12. Outpost Kaloki X
  13. Pac-Man Championship Edition
  14. Root Beer Tapper
  15. Switchball
  16. TMNT 1989 Arcade
  17. Totemball
  18. Undertow
  19. Uno
  20. Worms
  21. Yaris
  22. Zuma
  23. Luxor 2
  24. Feeding Frenzy
  25. Ticket to Ride
So a total of 91 games. Pretty good. I'm kind of sad about the Arcade games though. So many great games have come out this year and there's so many game I don't have like:
  • Castle Crashers
  • A Kingdrom for Keflings
  • Banjo-Kazooie
  • Geometry Wars
  • Geometry Wars Evolved2
  • Bionic Commando: Rearmed
  • Marathon Durandal
  • Braid (One I really want to buy)
  • Duke Nukem 3D
  • Feed Frenzy 2
  • Lumines Live
  • Penny Arcade Episode 1
  • Penny Arcade Episode 2
  • Poker Smash
  • Prince of Persia
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Speedball 2
  • Spyglass Board Games
  • Vigilante 8 Arcade
  • Wik: Fable of Souls
  • Wits & Wagers
That's it my New Years Resolution is to get more arcade games!

Stinger503's Movie Fiesta 2009!

Well I guess I'm going to make this a yearly thing, each week expect one or more movie reviews from now till April. They can be DVD or in theaters (so expect Mall Cop soon).

Here's a taste of what you can expect (I'll put ! beside ones I want to see first:

DVD
Blast From The Past
Untraceable
Alpha Dog
Semi Pro!
Mississippi Burning
10,000 BC!
Miami
Where in the world is Osama Bin Laden?
The War Games
Next!
Drillbit Taylor
Clerks
Doomsday?
The Bank Job!
Smart People!
The Love Guru!
Get Smart!
Over Her Dead Body
The Abyss!
The Beach!
Groundhog Day (expect this sometime in February)
Cujo!
What's Eating Gilbert Grape!
Towering Inferno!
Crimson Tide
Waiting
Last King of Scotland
Knocked Up
Raging Bull

Theater
Mall Cop
Notorious B.I.G. (maybe)
Fanboys
Knowing
This Side of the Truth

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Fable 2

I just wanted to bitch about something that really pisses me off. I started playing Fable 2 again after a short stint in October. And it was going great! I quickly got a family going and started completing quests. Well after a certain quest that took a long time and now my daughter is glitched and won't move or respond to me and my wife is no where to be found! What the fuck is this shit!? I looked online and saw that this is a known issue. *sucks in* HOW could they not find this during testing? I found this bug the first fucking time! Did no one marry before that quest? What the hell? *breathes*

Next week I'll be preparing a review for this (and you know this will be factored in), Fallout 3, Gear of War 2, NHL 09 and Call of Duty 5! Stay tuned!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Movie Review: Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had a real Forest Gump feel to it for me. The basic plot is that Benjamin was born with a disease that made him born old and grow younger. The movie starts off in 1919 and follows from through the 20s and 30s as a child and teen. He begins to work as a ship hand and he ends up leaving home.

I don't really want to spoil anymore but there is just such a great cast of characters. The scenery is vivid and it's a feast for the eyes. There are a ton of connections between this and Forest Gump other than disease such as time, the deep south, boating, war, and love. It's a moving story and if you haven't seen it do so.

Acting: 9.5/10
Story: 10/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Rated PG (ONT) PG-13 (USA )

P.S. Another connection to Forest Gump is the events in time. For example you can hear the Pearl Harbour speech as well as see a rocket take off

Movie Review: Valkyrie

Valkyrie
During the Second World War, not all of Germany loved Hitler. This movie depicts the resistance movement and attempted coup that was almost successful. Tom Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who, showing the life has a sense of humour, lost an eye and wears an eye patch. Anyway the basics of the mission is that they will use Hitler's Operation Valkyrie against him, by kicking out the S.S. after they kill him and taking over Germany and getting peace, thus avoiding the bombing of German cities, the invasion by Russia and changing the world from what we know now. It's ambitious and dangerous and they almost pull it off. It's an intriguing movie and it moved me a bit.

Acting: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Rated PG (ONT) PG-13 (USA )

P.S. During this movie I couldn't help but think "Damn! I wish they actually succeeded"
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Now playing: Richard Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries
via FoxyTunes

Movie Review: Role Models

A very funny movie. Had a certain charm to it. The movie stars Paul Rudd (Knocked Up) and Sean William Scott (American Pie) who play to representatives of Minotaur, a fictional energy drink company. Rudd's character Danny is depressed over his life. He ends up being dumped by his girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks). Anyway his day gets worse and he ends up having to serve as a "big brother" like figure for kids with Sean's character Wheeler. Danny's kid (played by Christopher Mintz) is a nerd and plays in a real life role playing fantasy game. Wheelers kid is a foul mouthed Ronnie Sheilds (played by Bobb'e J. Thompson). So there's a ton of hi-jinks, some boobs and a ton of laughs. Watching Danny adjust to the game and the banter between Ronnie and Wheeler are great as is Jane Lynch as the leader of the organization for the kids.

Acting: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated 14-A (ONT) R (USA) for Nudity and Cursing

P.S. Special mention of Ken Jeong who plays King Argoton. He was hilarious

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

On the Israeli Gaza Invasion

What more do you need to know than the following?



Friday, January 2, 2009

Opening the New Year

I decided to spruce up the place a bit. I've changed the page to a more simple blog. You can see the title clearly promoted at the top, the green box to the right contains the twitter and follow links. Then the rest of the left has a much more compact and organized feel than before. I've also added a poll for people to take. Get a feel for the new blog and see what you think.

Twitter Now Active!

Well for the past couple weeks I've been updating my new Twitter account. It can be accessed here: http://twitter.com/Stinger503