So Iv just started watching the debut season for this new piece of gold, direct from the series masters, HBO.
From what iv seen of the show is highly impressive, and contary to what the trailer dictates, it isnt just action and americanism. The show is split into two conflicting perspectives; the macho, american stereotype like soldiers, that want to get in their and kill the enemy.... and a actually intelectual focus on the realities of war, what they do to the mind and body of a soldier, debate on the war in terms of it being just and fair, outside and civilan perspectives and the terms in which the mission can be completed. This mass conflict creates a tension in the show, mainly between the soldiers but also seen in almost everything the war touches.
As for production quality, well expect a series from HBO. Audio and visuals are very slick as usual, while some of the stars can be recognised from other HBO's (True Bloods Alexander Skarsgård makes another HBO return) acting on a whole is fantastic. You immediately get a sense of knowing with the characters, you know what type of person they are and which 'side' (the conflict i talked about earlier) they lie on within seconds of meeting them. Some are obviously more harder to get, but thats because of a more mysterious approach being played, something thats still highly believable.
Anyways to wrap up..... WATCH GENERATION KILL.... HONESTLY.
Dragon age origins, a fantasy based rpg from bioware has been released recently. The story is set in the land of fereldon, while the infamous blight is taking place again since the last one 100 or so years ago. The blight is a global fight between civilisation (i would call it good but the game doesnt depict it like that) vs evil. While creatures from the depths of hell, or darkspawn as there called, battle to wipe out the world, an organisation called the grey wardens swear to protect the world from evils wrath. As they have done for thousands of years. Now fate brings the grey wardens to a new recruit, one that will become, unknowingly, the worlds only hope.
So iv been playing playing away at this since it came out last week, and i cant begin to tell you how good of a game it is.
Although quite familar in idea, origins breathes much needed new life into the rpg scene. While the quest, loot, collect and level up systems are pulled from any slash and hack adventure, dragon age excells in other aspects. Firstly is the world in bioware have created.... its quite literally jaw dropping. The pure depth & detail that the developers have gone into is amazing, and it doesnt just stem to visuals, a whole back story is created for this virtual world. One in which is mature, deep and highely exporable. Not only does everywhere in the game feel like a new world, but even characters have a feeling of belonging there, which in a game sense is really hard to do. For example there is huge tension between races (human, elf and dwarf) which makes the games quite nod at racism actually believable. Stuff such as this litters the in game world and you feel like YOUR an actual part of it, of a grand scheme so to speak.
One of the best things about the game is the idea behind it. The origins. You can select one of 6 bg stories for your avatar, 2 for each race. While there mostly noble or begger options, each one is entirely unique in its narrative. I have played as both a dalish (noble elf) and a elf in midst of poverty, each one giving me a complete new start to the game (approx 2 hours of 'tutorial quests'), each with its own story and reason behind the next part of the game. After you join the grey wardens ranks however, the origins merge into one and play out the same story, well more or less the same anyway. You see bioware do like the whole consequence thing, and this time they have it down to a tee. There is no moral compass, no indication of whether or not you just killed that man for the greater good or not, no guide into the decisions you make. Instead your thrown into the 'wilds' so to speak to figure it out on your own, and mostly such game altering decisions are so morally grey its very easy to make a snap decision, good or bad. Personally i love this aspect, as i find im always on edge, looking for key info that will help in these decisions....... thats how a game should be played in my eyes.
Anyways if your a fan of kotor, or mass effect then this game will blow your tits off, just be prepared for the 150+ hour gametime (main plot and some side quest/exploring), my arse, fingers and eyes sure were not!
For another fast paced, hard man based thriller, this film was actually really bloody good.
Pierre Morel's 2008/2009 film stars Liam Neeson, a former MI5 spy who has his daughter taken by some very nasty french folk. The film follows an easy enough strategy, man has kid, kid gets taken, man kills everything in his way to get kid... and so on.
Although the plotline is predictable, the film surprises in many ways. The locations are all shot perfectly which gives the film a sense of realism, camerawork is neat and tidy, while frantic in climatic scenes. The cast is also very proficcent, adding even more to the realism factor. Also without giving away the story, the plot is better than your average 'bourne style' romp, with Neeson employing clever tactics that would outsmart james bond himself. And as for his daughter.... she gets a really rough deal. Theres no cuddly overtones here, just a gritty image of what youd expect human trafficking to really be like, which is terrifyingly dark.
On problem i did have was with the ending, and while ill try not to reveal too much.... its absolutely fucking ridiculous to say that a man who has killed countless of people (even in the name of saving his daughter), some rich and powerful, doesnt see ANY consequences.... any at all.
This film would have been a 9/10, but the ending pushes it down to an 8.5.
So me and a mate are starting abit of a collective. Not sure whether its gonna continue as just me and him or if were gonna introduce any other djs, but i thought id start designing concept art for the project.
As im a jungle dj, and he's a dubstep dj.... were gonna team up and spin a variety of jungle/dubstep/dnb/reggae/dub/ect.
Microsoft announced this very recently, and everyone is going nuts for new info and rumours. Its looks utterly..... amazing. Not only does natal bring full motion capture into gaming, but also in depth voice recoginiton, minority report style menu systems and a character called milo who is extremely annoying... and even more clever.
The above looks really cool, but also really linear. Hopefully it could also feature some specific point movement that draws thin lines.
I dont like milo. But the tech behind it is amazing, this is potential for games like no other... where players can actually interact on a intellectual level and, as seen further in the video, visually as well. Imagine a FPS, where you can see yourself (as in YOU not the in game character) in mirrors and water.... Next gen concepts
