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.

Movie Reviews x3

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

There are just some movies I know that I'll enjoy. Indiana Jones is one of those movies. A lot of people thought Harrison Ford was too old for the role. This was completely wrong. He was great in the movie. The only thing that could've annoyed me about the movie was Shia Labeouf. Luckily he speaks as little as possible. The story is great in my opinion, to summarise it Mother Russia is funding projects to find ancient artifacts. This is done by Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko (Kate Blanchett), a paranormal expert from the Soviet Union. She captures Indy and takes him to an Area 51 like place (which you may have seen previously). She finds what she is looking for and a race between her and Indiana happens. Along the way Indy meets Mutt, who is looking for his mother (Karen Allen). The movie is a great mix of comedy and action. It was enjoyable throughout.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9.5/10
Overall: 9/10
Rated PG (ONT) PG-13 (USA) Good ole fashioned action movie, they don't make them like this anymore.


The Happening

If you know me, you should know that M. Night Shyamalan is one of my favourite directors. And if you know me, you should know that disaster movies are on of my favourite movie genres. Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow, Deep Impact, Jurassic Park, Cloverfield etc. are movies I love. The Happening also has a second thing I love. Mystery. Again much like Cloverfield, you have no idea what's going on. Which is great. The idea of dumping the main characters in a rural area with a disaster going on and them having no idea as great. At one point the main character Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) shouts "Give me a second! Why can't anyone give me a second!" He doesn't have all the answers. His girlfriend Alma (Zooey Deschanel of Elf fame) and himself are going through relationship trouble and that adds more character development. (John Leguizamo (Luigi Mario from Super Mario Bros.)) plays Julian, Elliot's friend who has a daughter and wife as well. The movie has many creepy scenes. I don't want to give anything else regarding the plot away so go out and see it.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Rated 14A(ONT) R(USA) Great creepy disaster movie. Loved it.

P.S. I've read that M. Night is highly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock, well this movie is a lot like The Birds.

Hancock

This one I saw last night. I thought it could've been better. About mid-way through the movie it takes a turn that you don't really expect. I just didn't like the second half as much as the first. The comedy pretty much died in the second half. Will Smith is great though, I loved the acting it all seemed pretty believeable. It's a good movie, but could have been much better.

Acting: 9/10
Story: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated PG (ONT) PG-13 (USA) Great first half but missteps in the second half.

Super Spectacular Edition of the Stinger503's Movie Fiesta!

That's it! I have a huge backlog of movies that I've seen and haven't reviewed. I'm doing them all right now.

28 Days Later
Excellent movie. **Possible spoilers**- The final 'standoff' scene was very surreal because you had the girls in these strange dresses and it took place in a renaissance type of mansion with paintings and such. With the rain, which looked like Sin City and the infected running around
*End spoilers*
Although it's not an actual Zombie movie it was very good, definitely a horror classic. I think a great thing about this is that it doesn't really use any cheap scare tactics like things popping out at you and musical 'shocks' that you see so much in modern movies. I think a reason for that is the infected themselves are very scary. Although **spoilers** I thought it was kind of cheap to have the one guy turn infected by getting a drop in the eye. Also it was sort of stupid that the guy started the air raid siren and the army guys freaked out and went after him. Like wouldn't you say "Um...that isn't hurting us. Let's stay here."
**End spoilers**
In the end it was just a good ole fashioned horror flick. Definitely in my top 20 of all time. I can't wait to see 28 Weeks Later.

Acting: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Rated 18A (ONT) R (USA) Great horror movie!

August Rush
This was a little heartwarming movie. It's about music more than anything. Basically these two musicians (the guy from the Tudors girl from MIII and Waitress) get together (honestly weird though, the guy sings Moondance and the girl has sex with him). And surprise surprise a kid (charlie from charlie and the chocolate factory) is born. The girls father is protective of her talent and has the kid sent to an orphanage!

Now I haven't really spoiled anything for you because this is pretty much what happens in the first 20 minutes (aka on the back of the box). Robin Williams plays a dickhead who, what's the word...exposes, no... scams, no... exploits! There it is. He exploits children's talents but sort of mentors them in a nice way too. So the kid is good at music and is trying to find his parents. The movie is very vibrant and sounds really good. I sort of agree with critics that the plot is sort of coincidence filled but Roger Ebert puts it best "but it's supposed to be".

Acting: 7.5/10
Story: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
Rated PG13 Nice musical movie! Props for using Moondance as a major song too :)

Alien Versus Predator: Requiem (AVP:R)
I was glad this movie didn't play out like most horror/action movies do. This movie is pretty merciless. I think the problem for me was that the Aliens themselves are pretty scary but you need suspense for maximum effect. I think that really lacked in this movie.

SPOILERS AHEAD!



What bugged me was that there was only 1 predator! 1! I said to myself what the hell? That isn't going to do shit! And guess what I was right! I also felt sorry for the little girl who watched her father be eaten by an alien. Can you say "scarred for life".



End Spoilers

That acting felt sub par and you could see where the plot was going half the time. What I did like though was the setting. Unleashing Aliens on an entire town is 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
times better than the group of explorers in Antarctica from the first AVP.

Acting: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 7/10
Rated R Okay scary movie. My girlfriend didn't like it.
P.S. I'm not big on Alien lore but isn't the face huggers the only thing that can make the warrior aliens (things that come out of stomach). And isn't the queen alien the only one that can lay eggs with face huggers? Because in the first Alien the alien couldn't reproduce by itself I thought but in this movie they could. Also little tid bit, part of the filming was in Coquitlam, BC.

The Big Lebowski
Strange, strange movie. I, at the same time, get it and don't get it. Was there anything to get at all? The Coens again directed this and boy do they know how to make a movie. Right now I'm reading an analysis by Rob Ager and if your unfamiliar with his work, get familiar!http://www.collativelearning.com/ or look up RobAg88 on youtube for his video anaysis.
To finish up acting was great, setting was great, story was great. Just a strange movie.
Acting: 10/10
Story: 8.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Rated R Strange movie but a classic must see nonetheless. P.S. I definantly have to watch again and find a couple Dude quotes.

In The Valley Of Ellah
Wow Tommy Lee Jones is my favourite actor of all time. He is my god. Look at the resume:

• The Fugitive
• No Country for Old Men
• Three Burials of Meliques Estrada
• this movie

There are a whole bunch more too.

Basically the movie is about a soldier coming back from Iraq who goes missing. And Tommy Lee, his father, goes looking for him. Now I don't want to spoil anything but the movie is very good and pretty powerful.

Acting: 10/10
Story: 10/10
Atmosphere: 9.5/10
Overall: 10/10
Rated 14A(Can) R (US) One of the greatest movies of the past year.

Call of Juarez (Xbox 360)
I wanted to review this when I got 1000/1000 but that's looking unlikely now. Overall the story is good. The voice acting was good. The gameplay worked well and it was very entertaining. The multiplayer was surprisingly good unfortunately there isn't very many people. Basically the plot has you playing two roles. Candleboy (can't remember his name) and a reverend. Basically the Reverend sees the kid and his murdered parents (the father is the revs bro.) and the kid runs assuming the rev would think he did it. He does think the kid did it and hunts him down. The gameplay has you as the kid basically jumping around, using arrows and the occassional gun. The Rev is a former gunslinger so you get this 'mini game' where you go into slo-mo and shoot people as your crosshair goes over them. It's fun. You also get shottys, snipes and the odd gattling gun/cannon. Riding horses is pretty fun too.
Programming: 9.5/10 : No glitches except for the voice overs.
Graphics: 8.5/10 : Not perfect but very nice
Story: 9.5/10 : Fun and not repetitive! Good variety of levels!
Atmosphere: 9/10 : Old west is always awesome.
Control: 9/10 : The rope was an ass but when you got used to it, it was okay.
Achievements:
Overall: 8.5/10 : The game is definantly worth a playthrough so rent or get it for teh chep $$!

P.S. Can't wait to read the Big Lebowski analysis!

Assassin's Creed Review

Assassin's Creed was great. A lot of people complained about the repetition in the game but in reality it's not that bad, and their more of a story deliverer. The weapons are very cool. It's the most fun I've ever had with swords in a game. You get a sword which is great. A short sword, throwing knifes (a limited amount). My favourite thing to do is throw people off buildings. Now for some complaints:

1. I borrowed this game from my cousin so I can see why some people might be unhappy.
2. It's pretty short but is long enough, so don't go expecting a GTA game here more like Halo.
3. There are some glitches I think I felt two during the game.

Finally the ending, a lot of people griped about this. Including OXM who gave it the Worst Ending of the Year 'Award'. But in reality it's actually pretty good. The red lettering below is spoilers so if you don't want spoilers don't read the red and skip to the black.

The ending is fine. 1st you kill the "bad guy" and the you kill the real bad guy. and the story is over. But wait your character sees a map with a bunch of spots pointing to other orbs. So what do you expect him to suddenly start going to other places? That doesn't even make sense. You just fought through all the places in the Crusades era. So how would you tie it in to going other places. You can't! You'd have to make a sequel which is what their doing. So what if they let you know they're going to make a sequel! IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S A CLIFF HANGER! This is the same thing with Halo 2. Even though it's the exact same as Prey and Halo 1 and you don't see anyone bitching about those! /end rant

Overall the game is very well made, very few bugs and glitches, fighting is quite fluid, story was great, graphics are great.

• Programming: 7/10 : I experienced a few glitches but combat/whole game was fluid.
• Graphics: 10/10 : Beautiful Game
• Story: 10/10 : Fun and entertaining. Can't wait for Assassin's Creed 2
• Atmosphere: 10/10 : Middle East during the Crusades is amazingly well detailed
• Control: 9/10 : Small problem with attack combos being a giant ass.
• Overall: 9/10 : Although it didn't have that "perfectness" to it. The game is definantly worth your money.

I'm gonna have to ask you to hold on because Lost is coming on in two minutes. I'll finish with this. I should never predict the weather again because there was a f***ing snow storm yesterday. 3 days left.