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Archive for February, 2006

Get your sci-fi fix

This movie was recommended to me, and when I finally got around to watching it, I was blown away. Truly impressive movie, especially for something so low budget and unheard of. I know what you’re thinking, I’ve never heard of it, it must suck. Truly wrong. This is an essential movie for any sci-fi fan. It’s kind of like The Matrix meets Minority Report meets 1984.

Plot Summary

A futuristic world where emotion is outlawed and destroyed when possible. Colors that bring emotion are illegal, and the emotion of an entire population of people is controlled by a drug with required use. The main character (whose name evades me…) basically stops taking
this drug and realizes the wrong of the society, and then fights to destroy the so called “perfect world.”

Acting

Mostly decent, but you also have to keep in mind that throughout most of the flick, the main character (damn it, what’s his name?) is literally emotionless, as is everyone else. But don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t flat, all the no-name actors did a good job being emotionless. Christian Bale, playing lead role, excellently portrays the futuristic cop what’s his name and the character is very believable and impressive. Taye Diggs plays the rival during the
movie, but for an emotionless society, his character shows a lot of emotion…but whether it’s bad acting or foreshadowing is a decision left to the viewer.

Visual

Fantastic use of color and shapes, really draws you into the movie and brings out emotion quite well. Subtle visual effects are everywhere in this movie, from the color of the drug to symbol occasionaly visible in the muzzle flare of the pistols, you find yourself engaged not only into the movie, but also into the backgrounds and subtle clues of emotion.

Audio

Unless you have 5.1 surround sound, nothing really outstanding to speak of. The music is fitting and doesn’t draw attention, but it’s not the kind of soundtrack I’d run out and “buy.”

Conclusion

Just see it, damn it. You’ll be glad you did. I know the review doesn’t seem that impressive, but I really didn’t want to spoil the movie.

5 prozium doses out of 5

Stupid monkeys…

What do you get when you throw together a giant gaming company like EA, a developer like Dice, and tons of money and manpower? A whole mess of ruined expectations is what. Being the most anticipated first person shooter of 2005 on pc, it really knows how to piss me off. But it provides a good example of how people will continue to play a game when there are better ones out there. So let the hate mail pour in and cover the children’s ears and eyes! EA’s ugly baby isn’t going to be spared any embarrasment.

To start this off, I’ll cover the good points. The award and ranking system is great and keeps you playing. Unlocking new kits for multiplayer should be done in more games. Expanding maps for a different number of players works well. The graphics are amazing and run smoothly. Once the initial bugs were worked out of the vehicles, they were entertaining and felt solid. And there is no inherent problem causing consistent connection problems. I guess another bonus is I can stop playing it any time I want.

With that (short) paragraph out of the way, I will proceed to spank EA. What use is a crappy control system in an intense battle scene like this? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want anything other than WASD. What I’m getting at is mouse movements represented on screen, sprinting, jumping, etc. The point of a game’s interface is to make you not even notice its existence, but when I play Battlefield 2, all I can think about is how terrible the movements are compared to what I wanted it to do. What’s the point of even having the stamina bar if it never prevents people from bunny hopping relentlessly? Have you ever tried jumping with that much gear on, Dice? Even sprinting over little curbs occasionally stops up your movement completely. Trying to use the scope on some weapons is just asking for trouble, as it will either bounce your reticle around the screen initially or will decide you really didn’t mean to zoom in at all. Instead of being a soldier in a modern battlefield, I end up feeling like I’m driving a soap box car down a bumpy hill using only 2 thin strands of twine to steer… with no brakes… and a screaming monkey on my back flinging poo into my eyes. I can’t express how much movements piss me off.

Next up on my list is audio, as it was a problem in 1942 as well. A truly skilled player should just by the sound of a gun be able to identify the location of the shooter. And this game would allow that but for some reason the only thing you hear is the bullet whizzing by your head (you rarely hear the gunshot as it should be heard). Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but unless the gun is silenced, the loudest part of the process is THE GUN! I know people will say I’m just complaining, but listen closer next time. I believe you should be able to hear gunshots much further away than you already do. Other audio problems like crackling in turret movement just don’t keep me immersed in the game. AND NO, IT’S NOT A HARDWARE PROBLEM!

When it comes to first person shooters, I also expect a singleplayer capability. I’m not always able to be online, but I might still want to be able to shoot the never ending supply of Nazis running rampant in the video game world. This is yet another problem with Battlefield 2, and I don’t mean because there aren’t actually any Nazis. You aren’t allowed to play all of the maps, and the ones you can play are restricted to the smallest 16 player boundaries. They may argue that this is because running so many bots alongside you is too taxing on the computer, but the AI isn’t that good to begin with. And the only difficulty increase arises from enemy AI shooting skill, not tactics.

Perhaps the most important flaw is the shooting characteristics of guns. Again this isn’t my personal skill at first person shooters talking, it’s my personal skill differing in this specific game from all the others. I realize “realism” is being portrayed, but when sniper rifles can’t even hit a guy standing still at 100 yards away, that is just ridiculous. I have a better chance of hitting him with the AK-101. Leading the target and drop used to be my speciality in previous Battlefield games, but this one I can’t seem to figure out. It is so drastically different and never seems to follow a pattern. Power is another concern. A fifty caliber sniper rifle won’t give the target a second chance, even in non-vital hit zones. Two shotgun blasts point blank to someone’s back should at least prevent them from turning on you immediately (unless of course his monkey created a magic shield composed of poo).

I understand the hardest aspect of creating multiplayer games is balancing weapons’ power, accuracy, and speed. But I have to say Dice could have done a much better job. I am extremely disappointed that movement feels weak, guns don’t function as expected, and people still think this is a good game. I can imagine how solid this game should have been, but what I see is too far from it. To throw salt into the wound, EA is pushing more expansion packs on us rather than selling one complete game to begin with. I can’t recommend to anyone to buy the expansion packs until they fix the existing gameplay issues that keep this game from being all that it can be. Altogether, I’m forced to give Battlefield 2 2 screaming monkeys of 5

UPDATE:

Well it figures that as soon as I get my first game review out, there would be some drastic change to the game. On February 14, 2006, a new patch for Battlefield 2 came out and sent the screaming monkeys a’packin’. From what I’ve seen so far, many of the issues I had with the game have been addressed quite splendidly causing me to re-score the game. But I cautiously keep my dancing to myself. I’m positive there are still going to be issues, and as everyone knows, patches have at least 10 bugs themselves. This is just disappointing when the game industry continues to release buggy and incomplete software. I guess it’s equally disappointing when games are delayed months on end, so I guess gamers are just stuck in the middle until the industry gets its act together.

Of all the reasons for keeping Battlefield 2’s rating down, the only major one that remains deals with singleplayer gameplay. If even just a campaign mode was given with plenty of options, this game would recieve the perfect 5 out of 5. Still, jumping from a 2 to the new 4 rating is quite a feat with a single patch. Even the screaming monkeys have considered directing their antics elsewhere.  4 not quite so rampant monkeys out of 5

FUCK THIS GAME:

I grow tired of their fuckups at Dice, and I’m tired of EA altogether. So many patches that “fix” one thing but introduce so many more problems. Weapons are still not balanced, and the controls never feel any better. But they certainly are happy to push more expansions on us and completely rework all the award requirements. You’ve had a whole year to do it right guys; you’ve lost it. I don’t even care that you want to release a new map without asking for money in return.  3 out of 5, now go make 2142 balanced DICE

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Being the movie that started my addiction to Luc Besson, The Fifth Element is probably his best known work. But because something is well known does not mean it is well received. This movie is often criticized as being Besson’s weakest attempt at character and plot development, especially when compared to other films such as La Femme Nikita or Leon The Professional. Though their point may be valid, I don’t believe this movie was meant to be like his others–this has the same characters we have seen many times in hundreds of movies. This time around, we are just meant to experience the pure emotion of the characters.

Plot Summary

In this futuristic world, Bruce Willis plays Korben Dallas, the retired commando turned cab driver. He “catches” a fare named Leeloo (Jovovich) and soon finds himself risking everything for this woman he hardly even knows. Across the galaxy, meanwhile, Evil is taking shape and planning the destruction of life on Earth. Dallas is suddenly caught between an evil corporation, a priest, his old commander, and alien thugs as each has their own agenda concerning the impending doom. Korben is sent on the mission to save the world by recovering five alien artifacts prophesized to destroy Evil, but of course, there is trouble on the way. He soon begins to realize Leeloo is not merely a woman but actually the “perfect” being and the 5th element used to stop evil. As Korben falls in love with her, she grows from her child-like mentality to seeing the truth of human nature. In the end, she and Korben both discover in the knick-of-time that love is humanity’s saving quality. Evil gets bitch-slapped.

Acting

I can’t say enough about the wonderful acting. Bruce Willis, not surprisingly, nails the tough guy role, but finds sensitivity just as well. Milla Jovovich is amazing as we see her develop from her initial child-like demeanor to being the savior of mankind. We feel her confusion while she escapes, her helplessness when she pleads to Korben to save her, and her pain when she is broken and defeated. Gary Oldman, as always, portrays most villainously the villain, and Mr. Zorg is most certainly that. Though we never see his neck-cracking and pill-taking like in Leon, the blood oozing from his forehead provides a nearly equal disturbing image. Iam Holm’s portayal of Father Vito Cornelius is well done, serving as the guide for other characters but sometimes acting un-priestly. And finally is Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod. Now is the time when most critics’ heads would explode as they tried to comprehend this character. This radio cosmos dj is just another stylized aspect contributing to the mood and atmosphere of this futuristic world. He, along with many other male and female characters, has undergone a gender role reversal as part of this stylizing. And he’s damn funny doing it. Those critics are just too uptight. Damn, I wish I wouldn’t have said “gender role reversal” now. Sounds stupid.

Visual

I absolutely love the visuals in this movie. Though there is nothing particularly high-tech about any of it, everything is highly stylized. The smoggy underworld of the city feels disgusting, while the flying cruise ship is elegant. Contrasting settings such as these provide validity, yet the occasional oddities within them are somehow still believable. Overall, I appreciate how this movie tantilizes the senses and allows my imagination to play–something that isn’t done enough, especially in science fiction. That sounds odd, but how many times are we told how exactly everything is supposed to work in other sci-fi movies? This movie decides to focus on character rather than technology. Well, that and explosions.

Audio

The thing I want to note here is the soundtrack. Eric Serra had worked with Luc Besson in the past, and on this film, he scored (pardon the pun). Varying from world music to reggae to opera-techno, the music never ceases to enhance the mood. The instrumentals are so genuine and well done that you can listen to just the music, ignoring the dialog, and still appreciate the movie fully.

Themes

Now, I know the story has been told repeatedly throughout the ages, so there is nothing ground shaking here. But I like the simplicity of the theme: human nature is only saved by love. But one other theme hides within the entire movie that just tickles me to the bone, and that is fate. Drama is built heavily on one moment: lighting the match to save the world. While everyone holds their breath, you find yourself doing the same. And if you look back, you see the irony in that drama. Throughout the movie, Korben uses that matchbox liberally and even wastes one of the matches while on the phone. I love the subtle things like this that reveal themselves each new time you watch.

Conclusion

There is no getting around loving this movie, if you don’t try to analyze it too much. As a simple action sci-fi, it entertains and encourages imagination. I think Ruby Rhod would agree when I say 5 super green! super green!’s out of 5.