Video Game Review: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

Sega Genesis

I was a huge Michael Jackson fanboy back in the early 90's. I had all his albums, I had Michael Jackson shirts, I had his posters on my bedroom wall. It was a passing phase in my life, but definitely one that everybody in my family remembers. When my mom took me to the video game store to pick something out for my 10th or 11th birthday - and I saw this on the shelf - my mind immediately made itself up. I was going to get this game, and I was going to love it. And love it I did.

It has been quite some time since I've played this game. Twenty years? More? While I did enjoy the brief amount of time I spent with the game as an adult, it is hard for me to fathom how this game held my attention for so long as a kid. I mean, the game is short. Like, REALLY short. It is also very easy. I beat the game in under an hour. Until I reached the final battle where you have shoot down Joe Pesci's star ship (yeah, really) I had only died one time.

How this game occupied my time for months on end as a kid, I have no idea. Now that I am done with the game, I don't really have any particular urge to play it again. Ever. I had a decent time while playing it, and it was definitely a fun trip down memory lane. But if I try to cast nostalgia aside and look at the game on its own merits, it is mediocre at best.

I don't have an instruction manual or anything, so I can't really tell you what the story is about. But using context clues gathered while playing the game, it seems that the game's main villain (Joe friggin' Pesci) is going around kidnapping children for God knows what reason. Presumably he is out to conquer the world, as most super villains are wont to do. But why he needs kids for this, I don't know.

As we all know, nobody loves little children more than Michael Jackson. Naturally, Joe Pesci's actions have completely triggered Michael. So he embarks on an epic quest to rescue the kids and end Joe Pesci's reign of terror once and for all.

What a concept.

The game plays out in standard 2D side scrolling fare. Aside from the directional pad, you only use three buttons. Attack, jump, and a spin/dance combo button. Your basic attack is a kick that sprays magical stardust at your enemies. The spin attack renders you invincible and kills most of your enemies instantly if they touch you, but this attack drains your magic gauge. Your magic gauge is also your health gauge, so if you run too low on health, you lose your ability to spin. It also takes away your ability to spray magical stardust, and you have to resort to very ineffective punching and kicking physical attacks.

Release the spin button and Michael throws his hat at his enemies, which can be a very useful attack. But hold down the spin button indefinitely, and all your onscreen enemies bust out into a dance routine with Michael. When the dance ends, your enemies drop to the floor and die. Savage!

Occasionally a shooting star will streak across the screen, and if your grab it - Michael turns into a giant robot that can fly around and kill enemies with lasers from his eyes. There are only a handful of levels where you can do this, but it is always a fun little treat when it happens. Although it is ultimately useless because you can't collect children while you are a robot. And all of the enemies you kill as a robot respawn anyway. But at least it is a fun little distraction from the game's usual style of play.

The game is broken down into 5 levels. Each level has 3 stages to it. All of the stages are pretty short, so it takes no longer than 10 minutes or so to clear all of them and advance to the next level. Each stage has a certain number of children you must rescue. When you have rescued them all, everyone's favorite monkey Bubbles arrives and hops onto Michael's shoulder, where he directs MJ to the exit. Upon reaching the exit, Joe Pesci's character arrives to taunt you. When he leaves, you must fight a series of enemies that stand in as boss characters. The only one I had trouble with (resulting in my one death) is the boss battle where you are attacked by a pack of dogs and you have to kill the white one to advance.

Each stage has its own unique feel to it, complete with authentic Michael Jackson background music. The club stage has you rocking out to Smooth Criminal. The inner city streets I believe the music is Beat It. The zombie stage is Another Part of Me (although why it is not Thriller, I have no idea). The caves are Billie Jean. The enemy base is Bad. This is the Sega Genesis, so the audio quality is not the best. But I think each tune is recognizable to its real life counterpart. They did an admirable job making it work for a video game system very limited by its audio capabilities.

Expect to hear lots of Michael Jackson's signature sounds while playing the game. Many high pitched "owws" and "oooooohs" are to be heard here. But why there is no "ee hee" I have no idea. Again, not the greatest audio quality here. But it is enough to get the point across. And I am sure for 1990 or 91, whenever this was released, this was considered state of the art.

Graphically, the game is decent. It is very basic looking but I can appreciate the small details that went into it all. For example, there are many things you can interact with. You can kick over chairs, open doors and windows, break machinery, destroy fire hydrants. By no means does the game look amazing, but by no means does it look ugly either. Again, as with the music, I am sure by early 90's standards this game was top notch.

As I said, the game is very short and very easy. It could be that I had such an easy time because I have played the game before (albeit twenty years ago). But I feel that if this was the first time I played it I still would have beaten it on my first attempt.

Did this game leave a huge lasting impression on me? No. Is there hidden stuff to seek out and collect that add replay value? No. Was the game challenging in anyway whatsoever? No (well, aside from the final space ship battle, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me). Is it a classic that I will seek out to replay every couple years or so, on the same level as the Mario or Sonic games? Hell no.

But the game is very unique. If you are a giant Michael Jackson fan it is worth a play through, if only for nostalgia's sake. If you are a hardcore gamer looking for a challenge, you may be mildly entertained by this but you won't love it. For its time, I am sure it was excellent. But playing it now in the year 2016, I only just kinda enjoyed it. Definitely worth the play through but I likely won't be returning to this any time in the next twenty years, if ever. It is the definition of average.

Overall:

C

Video Game Review: Beyond Two Souls

Beyond Two Souls

PlayStation 3

Usually when I start a new video game I will at least have some kind of idea of what I am getting in to. This was not the case with Beyond Two Souls. I came into this game completely blind - and I think it actually helped me enjoy the game more than I would have otherwise. No unrealistic expectations. No preconceived notions about what the game should or shouldn't be like. I was able to just sit back and enjoy the game for what it was.

If you have never played this before let me get one thing out of the way: this game is all about its story line. Don't expect mind blowing game play. This isn't The Last of Us. It's not Uncharted. There are a few stealth action sequences in the game, but for the most part this is a very cinematic conversation and choice based game. If you have ever played Heavy Rain, that should give you an idea of what this game is like. But only a basic idea. Although they are made by the same developer, this game is very different from Heavy Rain.

Since the story line is the meat and potatoes of Beyond Two Souls, I'll give you a quick summary. The game focuses on several different points in the life of a young woman named Jodie (played by Ellen Page). Jodie is connected to a mysterious invisible being named Aidan.

The two seem to be tethered together by some kind of psychic link. If they ever get too far apart, Jodie becomes weak physically and begins to bleed from the nose. For the most part, Jodie can control Aidan. She can move objects in the room. Destroy things. She can also see what he sees. Meaning - she can look through walls. See around corners. Aidan also has the ability to possess people and make them do his bidding. However, if anyone touches the possessed individual while Aidan is inside him or her - Aidan is violently ejected and Jodie is weakened.

Aidan has a personality of his own, however. He doesn't always allow Jodie to control him. He is very possessive and at times can be overly protective of Jodie. If he doesn't like someone Jodie is associating with - he lets everyone in the room know about it. And if someone mistreats Jodie he will fuck them up.

Naturally Jodie's link to Aidan has made her an object of interest from the US government. She is taken at a very young age and put under observation on a military base. Good ole Murrica for you. Her "handler" is a kindly scientist depicted by Willem Dafoe. Over the years the two develop a close father/daughter type bond. Until.... stuff happens. Stuff I am not going to spoil for you.

As I mentioned earlier, the game jumps around to several different points in Jodie's life. One chapter may focus on her as a little girl. The next may focus on her as an adult, undergoing missions for the government. Then the next chapter she's an emo teenager. Then she's an adult again. Then a kid. It can be a little confusing to keep track of all the different points in her life and how everything ties together. But tie together these events do, and in a really well done manner.

The choices you make in the game affect how the game plays out. No two playthroughs are the same. For instance, you can be a dick with Aidan and constantly wreck and destroy stuff. Or you can do what you are told. You can be a well behaved girl with Jodie, or you can be a rebel. Based on your actions, certain people in the game will either live or die. You can start romances with different characters. You can succeed on your missions or you can fail at them. Every choice you make has its own consequences leading to a different end result. I believe I read that there are 24 different endings for this game, which is really quite mind blowing. I only played through the game once, but I was tempted to play it again. Maybe in a few years when this is not so fresh in my mind I will.

By the time the game ended, I really feel like I got to know Jodie. I cared for her, I felt protective of her. I've never experienced anything quite like that in a game before. Clementine from the Walking Dead is a decent comparison, but I felt a deeper bond with Jodie than I ever did with Clementine. I knew a lot more about her past and what made her tick as an individual. True, Clementine didn't have much of a past and therefore not as much to go on so it isn't really the best comparison. But the way the game builds such a solid connection between you and the character is a thing of beauty.

Basic gameplay consists of a lot of walking around. A lot of "scanning" with Aidan and looking for interactive items. Unlike Heavy Rain, there aren't too many Quick Time Events in the game, which does make the game a lot easier than its spiritual predecessor. When controlling Jodie, most of the time all you have to do is push the right analog stick in the direction of the item you want to interact with, and that's it. With Aidan, you lock onto the item with the controller's shoulder buttons and move the analog sticks appropriately. There are a few QTE's particularly when you are in battle or on the run from something. But again, they are all very easy.

Graphically, the game is stunning. No complaints from me here! This is one of the better looking games I have played. Take into account that this game is about three years old and I think that is very impressive. The people look like people. Ellen and Willem's characters look very accurate to their real life counterparts. This game takes place at various stages in their lives and depicts them at different ages, and it is scary how dead on they are with this.

The environments are extremely detailed and lifelike, filled with all kinds of nice little personal touches. If it wasn't obvious that this was a video game, many of the areas here could pass for real places. The special effects, such as explosions or weird "spirit world" effects are all magnificently rendered.

The voice acting is terrific too, and is never cheesy and never seems out of place. The game looks great, it sounds great, and it has a very gripping and emotional story line. My main criticism of the game comes from its game play.

Granted, this is meant to be more of a cinematic experience than anything else. As I said before this isn't Uncharted or The Last of Us. You aren't going to be running around, shooting enemies, jumping about, scaling walls, or scavenging for hidden items or treasures. Mainly you walk from place to place. Sometimes you run. You talk to a lot of people. You make decisions. There are some parts of the game where you have specific tasks to complete. There are a handful of escape scenes or fight scenes. There is one long stealth mission towards the end of the game where you are sent into a war zone to assassinate a political leader. But these scenarios are the really the exception rather than the norm.

Despite the fact that this isn't your typical video game I still had a really great time. The storyline is definitely worth the price of admission here. I mentioned before that I came into this not knowing what to expect, and that that was a good thing. And I stand by that statement. I found this to be a pretty engrossing game with a lot to see and a lot of choices to make. Jodie is a fantastic character and one of my all time favorite video game females... if not THE favorite. No, the game isn't very long. And no, you don't play much in the traditional sense of the word. But that doesn't make it any less of a memorable experience.

I'd definitely recommend Beyond Two Souls to anyone who has never played it before. I am sure this game isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you like a good story line you should like this. In terms of being a "true" video game, this is definitely a different experience than a lot of people are probably used to. But different doesn't mean bad. Not at all. Sometimes different means exactly that: different.

Overall:

A-

Video Game Review: Banjo Kazooie

Banjo Kazooie

Nintendo 64

When I originally heard about this game back in the late 90's, my reaction was probably very similar to a lot of people's: Banjo Kazooie - what a silly name for a video game. Once I got past the name, however, I was in for a treat. Banjo Kazooie completely blew me away. I put it in elite company with Super Mario 64 as one of the best in the genre. Nearly twenty years later my opinion still stands. In fact, I don't think I have played another 3D platformer that has surpassed or even been on the same level of quality as Banjo Kazooie. Considering all the advances in technology and gameplay innovations that have happened since this game's release date, I consider this quite the achievement.

This game borrows heavily from the formula laid out by Super Mario 64. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing since Super Mario 64 is one of the greatest games of all time. But as far as originality goes, it is obvious that this game was influenced by its predecessor.

In Mario 64, you explore a "hub world", which is the Princess Peach's castle. You explore the castle and enter all the various stages of the game by jumping into paintings. Inside each stage there are several stars to collect, as well as various bonuses you can acquire by collecting all of the coins in each level. The more stars you collect, the deeper into Peach's castle you can explore; the more levels open up to you. It is not necessary to find each and every star in the game, but seeking them out and finding them all is a major part of the game's fun factor.

Banjo Kazooie plays out in a nearly identical way to Super Mario 64. You have Gruntilda's hideout, which acts as the hub world. You enter each stage in the game by finding enough puzzle pieces (which are basically the same thing as Mario's stars) and using these pieces to complete various paintings in Gruntilda's hideout. Complete the painting, gain access to a stage in the game. Each stage has various puzzle pieces for you to find, although it is not necessary to find them all to advance in the game. Musical notes stand in for coins, and you must collect enough of these during your journey to unlock doors in Gruntilda's lair which allow you to move deeper into the game.

Located in each stage are hidden characters known as Jinjos. Collect every Jingo for each stage - get a puzzle piece. These are very similar to the red coins in Super Mario 64. It seems as if everything that game does is somehow replicated here. Again, not a bad thing since Mario 64 is such a great game, and it never really got the proper sequel it deserved. In a way, I like to think of Banjo Kazooie as that sequel. If not in name, but in spirit.

While the game does borrow heavily from Mario 64, it also goes above and beyond its predecessor, introducing several new and unique gameplay elements to the fold. First of all, you control not just one character but two. Banjo is the bear that you control throughout the course of the game. In his backpack is Kazooie, a bird which lends her special talents to Banjo's repertoire. If it weren't for Kazooie, you would never be able to complete the game. So the two characters complement each other perfectly. In fact, you barely even notice you are controlling two characters as you play, the controls are so seamless it seems as if you are controlling only one.

What does Kazooie do that is so helpful, you may ask? A lot. I'm sure everyone is familiar with the "double jump" feature that is standard in most platforming titles. When you double jump in this game, Kazooie pops out of your pack and uses her feathers to boost you into the air. Hold down the button, and you can even glide for a short period of time. Kazooie also possesses the ability to launch eggs at your enemies, lending range to your attacks. Mainly I found myself using Kazooie's unusual walking ability, where she pops her legs out of the pack, lifts Banjo up into the air, and scuttles along on the ground. Kazooie moves much faster than Banjo, so if you are ever in a hurry, use Kazooie's legs rather than your own. Also, Kazooie can go up steep inclines, whereas Banjo just slides down them. You will find yourself walking with Kazooie's legs quite often in this game.

There are several unlockable moves located throughout the game. Kazooie is a bird, so of course you can expect to learn to fly at some point. Kazooie has a high jump and a special invincibility attack at her disposal as well.

Where the game really shines is with its personality, which is busting at the seams. The world of the game is rich and incredibly detailed. As much as I loved Mario 64, this game feels much more alive. There are many characters you can talk to, most of which are funny and have big personalities. There is a shaman who turns you into level specific creatures (a walrus in the snow level, a gator in the swamp) you must use to unlock more puzzle pieces. And this isn't just a gimmick, a lot of these creatures are actually really fun to play as.

All of the stages are unique and have their own special look and feel to them, each with tasks which need to be completed. For example, in the beach level you find yourself recovering treasure for a blubbering pirate, battling a giant evil clam, and plugging up a talking bucket that drains the water out of an area you need to enter. In the Halloween themed level you dive to the bottom of a creepy old well, steal a puzzle piece from a ghost, piano duel against a giant hand, navigate a hedge maze, and explore the ins and outs of a haunted mansion. One particularly clever level focuses on a giant tree growing in the middle of the forest. There are four sections to the stage, each section representing a different season (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Actions you take in one season affect the next, and you must go back and forth between seasons checking out the changes you made in order to collect the puzzle pieces needed to advance.

Expect to find a lot of cool puzzles and minigames scattered throughout the game. Like tile puzzles where you must match certain items or spell out certain phrases. There are sled races, courses where you must fly through giant rings, and even a mini game where you play as an alligator and race to eat as many "yumblies" as you can.

Graphically the game looks really fantastic. Whereas Mario 64 is very basic and simple looking, Banjo Kazooie is rich in detail and bursting with color. Nowhere to be seen are the "vaseline-smeared" looking walls and textures found in other Nintendo 64 games. The soundtrack of the game isn't as iconic as Mario 64, but it does have a few memorable tunes.

The game's sound effects can be hit or miss. Some of Kazooie's squawking sound effects can be a little annoying. Particularly in areas where you are doing a lot of jumping. It's like - shut the hell up bird! Some of the character voices can be a little grating as well. I like all the little sounds the game makes, though, like when you collect music notes, eggs, or red feathers. Banjo has this hillbilly sounding "guh-huh!" sound that he makes whenever you collect a puzzle piece or an extra life. Normally I would find this annoying, but for some reason in this game it is quite charming. I found myself doing it along with him each and every time he'd make it.

The game shouldn't take too horribly long for you to beat. There are, I believe, 9 major stages in the game not counting the world hub. Each stage takes an hour or so to beat. Of course, I have played this game dozens of times in my life so I knew where each and every item is hidden, so it may take you a little longer if you have never played the game before.

I do have a few small complaints about the game. Sometimes, the location of a puzzle piece hidden in a world can be a little obscure or difficult to find. Sure it adds to the challenge of the game, but sometimes it gets old having to scour every single square inch of every single stage. Some aspects of the level design I found frustrating. For the most part the levels are ingeniously laid out, but occasionally I would stumble across a part that would make me want to throw my controller across the room. Going inside the ship in Rusty Bucket Bay and trying to navigate across the gears frustrated me to no end. Click Clock Woods' giant tree was another. I fell from that damn thing I can't even tell you how many times and would have to work my way back up to the top again.

And when you die in this game, you lose all progress you have made in the stage as far as musical notes go. So if you are a completionist like me and are trying to get all the notes on each stage - if you die, your note counter goes back to zero. Very, very frustrating (Rusty Bucket Bay I am looking at you!).

I'm almost done complaining about this epic game now, but I do have to bring up the camera system. Normally in games I am not a big complainer about the camera. I know a lot of people have had issues with the camera in Super Mario 64 and other games of a similar nature, but I never had an issue with it before. This game, however, is the exception. So many times I could not see where I was going, only to run into issues with the camera when trying to rotate it around me. It would "get stuck" going one way, and I would have to rotate it all the way back around the other way. And even then a lot of times I still couldn't see where I was going. This caused a lot of problems especially if I needed to jump somewhere, or there were enemies in front of me that I'd walk into because I wouldn't see them coming. Items occasionally went unseen and I would end up missing them because the camera wouldn't turn to show them for some reason or another. Sometimes I would go or next to a structure, and all the camera would show me was its outside as I vanished from view. The camera definitely became a point of frustration for me on more than one occasion while playing this.

But it wasn't enough to ruin my experience with the game. Banjo Kazooie is a really great game. It is bright, colorful, wonderfully designed, it has a great sense of humor, big memorable characters, there is a ton of stuff to see and do. And it is fun. That is the most important thing. The game wouldn't be decent if it wasn't any fun. Unless you have no soul, I can't see anyone picking up this game, giving it a legitimate shot, and disliking it.

True, Banjo Kazooie doesn't have the same hardcore following that Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog does. I think a lot of casual gamers have either never heard of or never played this game. But that doesn't change my opinion of it. I think it is a classic, and one of the most fun 3D platforming games I have ever played in my life. It took everything great about Super Mario 64, and made it even better. Which if you had asked me before playing this - I would have said was impossible.

Overall:

A+

2016 Movie Ranking Countdown: September

I'm a few days late this month, but never fear: my movie ranking countdown is here. September is finally done and over with and it is time to take a look back at all ten movies I watched during the month. The five movies I had the best time with will move on to my ultimate year end ranking.

We'll start from the top.

---

I am on the fence as to whether I actually enjoyed this movie or not. It kept me entertained, which is the main thing I am looking for in a movie. But I came into it knowing that there was some kind of a twist. And I think that me trying to figure out the twist the whole time I was watching this ruined it a little for me. Rather than just sit there and enjoy the movie, I thought about it too much. And thinking is never a good thing where I am concerned.

And then when the twist hit towards the end of the movie, I felt a little cheated. The identity of the killers I had suspected very early on in the film, but based on the actions of the characters I started to discount it. So then when my theory actually ended up being true, it felt a little underwhelming to me. Things didn't add up. I suppose some will say that it was a great twist, but I disagree. And when you take away the twist you are left with a somewhat average "danger on vacation" type movie that we've already seen hundreds of times before.

I mean, this was good. It kept me entertained. But I wasn't as enthralled by it as a lot of people I know were. Maybe I will watch again someday knowing the twist, and that will make the film a little bit more enjoyable for me.

I watched the original Darkman back in August and had a pretty good time with it as I recall. Its sequel, while made in the mold of the original and still a lot of fun, doesn't bring much new to the table. Same basic formula. Same basic plot. The whole movie is about Payton Westlake trying to take down Durant, who somehow miraculously survived a helicopter crash into a bridge and subsequent explosion in the previous film.

Payton uses his face changing technology to infiltrate Durant's group but not before hitting a few snags along the way. I did enjoy the movie but it felt a little too similar to the original to me. I do like Durant and I think he makes a great villain. But the whole movie had too much of a been there/done that feel for me. This will only make my top five for the month in the extreme case it gets tossed in because of lack of other options.

More of the same from the Darkman series. At least this one strays away from Durant and his organization.

Payton takes on a new villain, this time played by that dude from Lost who has the famous quote about not going to Guam. Again Payton uses his face changing technology to infiltrate the group and kill the bad guy. Apparently the Darkman series is a one trick pony.

Nothing too special about this movie. After two Darkman movies with very similar plots, I was really just kind of eager to get this one over with. I do have to give them props for at least trying something different, with the bad guy's wife and child getting close to Payton and becoming big sympathetic characters to root for. And Jeff Fahey does play a really good villain. I can't decide if I like this one or part 2 better. If it does come down to one of these two movies making my top five for the month, it will be a tough call.

I had high hopes for this movie. I love Batman: The Animated Series. And I had read that this was basically an extended episode of the show - except for mature audiences. Meaning there would be blood and death and stuff. Sounded great to me. Batman is meant to be dark and gritty and I thought that this would be an excellent match.

But it actually turned out to be a little boring for me. True, I have never read the graphic novel so I didn't really know what to expect. But the first half of the film focuses on some kind of creepy father/daughter relationship between Batman and Batgirl where they end up doing the nasty and then getting in a fight. The Joker isn't even in it at all.

Finally he does come in for the second half of the film. While he does wreak some havoc, I didn't think what was happening onscreen was as earth shattering as I had hoped. I thought this would be really gruesome and disturbing, but it seemed relatively mild to me. Perhaps I had my hopes too high. This was okay, I guess. Just not what I was expecting. Maybe if I watch it again someday knowing what to expect I will like it more. But as it stands, I was kind of bored with this.

I always really want to like this movie. Final Fantasy VII is one of my favorite games of all time, and when I originally heard that they were going to expand the story with a CGI movie I was ecstatic. But my problem is that the game was a very deep and emotional experience. The movie is not.

Its story is a very basic one where the bad guys are out to resurrect Sephiroth. That about sums it up. 90% of the film is fighting and wild action scenes. Sure the movie looks cool and the fighting is fun to look at. But it becomes tedious after a while. The movie is lacking the heart and soul of the game. So many of the game's memorable characters only make brief cameos in the movie. And all they do with their cameos is fight. There is no heart, there is no real personality to this movie.

I feel that it could have been a lot better. It does a lot of things right, especially from a technical aspect. But as far as delivering a fitting send off to one of the best games ever made, I think this falls way short.

I had never heard of this movie until seeing it at the library. But when I saw that it was an M. Night Shyamalan movie I immediately snatched it up. I've always had soft spot for good old M. Night, and will usually give anything he puts out a try.

The movie is about two kids who are shipped off to meet their grandparents (who are estranged from the kids' mother) for the first time. The grandparents are old, but they seem nice. But funny things start happening, especially at night. The grandparents' behavior becomes scary and erratic. And then you realize that this is an M. Night Shyamalan movie and that there has to be a twist coming. Which there is.

I found that I enjoyed this movie. The twist didn't seem too obvious to me. It was scary at parts. The movie flowed along at a fast pace and I was never bored - which is a problem for me with most films and my short attention span. I could have done without that annoying kid and his rapping, but it is what it is. All in all I enjoyed this movie, but if you ask me about it a year from now I will probably struggle to remember much about it. So it wasn't that great.

I came into this movie with no expectations. I had never heard of it before, but the description on Netflix made it sound interesting. So I gave it a go.

If you have ever seen the Edge of Tomorrow, you should be familiar with the concept. A man finds himself the victim of a home invasion, and when he dies he wakes up in bed, only to experience the same thing over again. He has been stuck in an endless time loop, and must work his way out of it to make his way to safety. Each time he dies and starts the loop over again, he discovers something new about what is going on around him.

The movie is set in a dystopian future, and not much about this future is explained. You just kind of learn about it as you go. I found the whole thing to be really fascinating and really mind bending. I loved Edge of Tomorrow. Loved Groundhog Day. Loved Source Code. I loved that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the Enterprise kept getting blown up. Apparently I am a big fan of time loops.

The only thing about the film that I didn't like was the ending. I always have been and always will be a hater of open ended endings in movies. I want answers, damn it. I want a solid and concrete ending. And this movie definitely did not provide that in any way whatsoever. Still, though - the movie as a whole was good enough to make me forgive the way it ended.

I have been meaning to watch this for a few years now but for some reason it keeps slipping off my radar. My work schedule has recently changed so I find myself with a lot more time when it is dark out to watch movies, so when I was checking out my movie shelf and saw this, I knew that the time was right.

Apparently this movie is one of the more accurate representations of life during the Vietnam War. And it is very brutal. I could never have done it. Bad conditions, constantly living under the fear of attack. The sense of hopelessness being out there. It was hell on Earth. This movie, however, focuses less on the actual war and more on the interpersonal relationships between members of the platoon. Each character has his own unique and distinct personality, and you really feel like you get to know everyone in the movie.

Some of the characters, though - you start to wish you didn't know. Like the ruthless Sergeant Barnes, who treats people like chess pieces and only cares about winning. And he will kill anyone who disagrees with his methodology. And Bunny, who seems to get off on all the killing and violence around him. One of the most disturbing scenes in the whole movie is when the troops enter a Vietnamese village and starting mistreating its people. Killing innocents, raping women. A major divide happens during this scene, and you can really tell the difference between the good and the bad. And this divide ultimately comes to a head later on in the film.

This was a really great movie, and a lock to make my top five for the month. It may even be top five for the year material. I liked it a lot - and it really stuck with me even after I was done watching it. That is the sign of a truly great movie in my books.

I'm usually not big on war movies, not that you can really tell by the fact that I watched Platoon and Saving Private Ryan back to back. But Platoon inspired me to get out and watch a few more war movies to see if anything would affect me as deeply as that movie did.

I will be the first to say that Saving Private Ryan is definitely not as good as Platoon. While Platoon was all about the characters and very driven by the interpersonal conflict between them, Saving Private Ryan is more about the big battles and the explosions and the death and the carnage of war. Not to say that this is a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. Or even that that is what it is all about is killing. Because it is not.

This movie definitely gives a very accurate representation of life during World War 2. One of the first scenes of the film - the storming of the beach at Normandy - is as iconic as it gets. I remember hearing stories back when this movie first came out of veterans who had to get up and leave in the movie theater because it was so lifelike. And I have to give Steven Spielberg props for this because it really is an amazing scene. And it is not just the one scene that is amazing - the whole movie accurately depicts the senseless violence, chaos, and brutality of war.

This is a great movie, but the reason I didn't like it as much as Platoon is because I felt less of a bond with the characters. Sure, some of the characters I really feel I got to know, but so many of them died over the course of the movie that it started to lose its emotional impact after a while. Plus (and you may or may not consider this a valid criticism) the movie is extremely long. I have a short attention span, so it was easier for my mind to wander off during this film than it was during Platoon.

This movie is a lock to make my top five for the month, but when it comes to my year end ranking it basically has no shot to win because it will always play second fiddle to Platoon in my books.

I had forgotten how good this movie was. I originally saw this movie a few times years and years ago. While I liked it, I was never really too crazy about it. There was always a lot of things going on around me as I would attempt to watch the movie. I enjoyed its basic concept, but I was never really able to get too into it.

It has always been something I have wanted to revisit, however. And this year I finally got the chance. I found that I enjoyed the movie much, much more than I had back in the day. From the very beginning to the very end, this movie held my attention. Which in and of itself is a rare feat considering how poor my attention span is.

The movie is very well acted, with great performances all around by Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, and all the supporting cast. Rush in particular is fantastic in this movie. I become oddly intrigued by the Marquis De Sade and even researched him and his background after the movie ended.

The movie is dark, but it also has a lot of humor and a lot of sex stuff to keep anyone interested. I put out the appearance of a normal, boring kind of guy. But deep inside I am a little twisted - so a lot of stuff in this movie really fascinated me and got me involved in the film. Anyone with a bit of a darker side to them that they normally keep hidden can probably relate, especially when it comes to this movie.

I thought that this was great, and I would be surprised to see it not make the top five for the month.

Side note: I don't think Kate Winslet has ever looked better in a movie before. I was fawning over her basically the entire film. Simone may have Kate Winslet beat though. I don't recall thinking anything of her the first few times I saw this movie over ten years ago - but watching it now. Wow. She may be the most perfect woman ever created.

---

Moving On

The first few choices are pretty easy. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, ARQ, and Quills I enjoyed a ton and no doubt are deserving of top five honors for the month.

The fifth slot will have to go to a movie that I considered mediocre. And after a lot of careful deliberating I am going to have to go with the Visit because it is the only movie that didn't have any boring moments. I never looked at the clock, never started playing on my phone during this movie. It kept me entertained, kept me guessing the whole way through. It has no chance in hell of winning my year end ranking - but hey I needed five movies so it moves on by default.

Now that September is under wraps, that means that nine months are out of the way. Just three left in the year, and then my ranking can officially begin. Here are the top five movies I have chosen from each month so far this year, with September's films added to the list:

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Cake
American Sniper
Predator
Friday the 13th Part 2
Locke
Evil Dead
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Elysium
Snowpiercer
Room
Manson Family Vacation
Deadpool
Goodnight, Mommy
Unforgiven
Big Driver
The Martian
Pixels
JFK: The Smoking Gun
Crimson Peak
It
Creed
The Revenant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
No Good Deed
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Krampus
The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
The Night of the Living Dead
Mad Max: Fury Road
Forrest Gump
The Little Rascals
Deliverance
The Two Towers
Zombieland

Coming to America

American History X

Ghostbusters

Darkman

Return of the King

ARQ

Quills

The Visit

Platoon

Saving Private Ryan

Video Game Review: Journey

Journey

PlayStation 3

Being a big time cheapskate, I am perennially behind when it comes to checking out new video games. Just like everyone else, I had heard all about Journey and about how good it supposedly was back in 2012. But instead of going out and buying the game right away, I figured I would wait until it went down in price before checking it out. Turns out, it was a four year wait before I was finally able to play the game. I had actually forgotten about Journey, but when I saw that it was free on the PlayStation Network for PS Plus subscribers, I figured there was no better time to check it out.

Coming into the game, I didn't really know what I was going to be getting into. I had heard that this was a primarily exploration based title. There wouldn't be any combat. It would mainly be walking around aimlessly and looking for stuff to do. I knew there was an online element to the game; you'd get to meet and interact with other players. But I also knew that the interaction would be limited as the other players were nameless and soundless. And see, that didn't sound very exciting to me. So despite reading all the good reviews, I still did not have very high expectations for the game.

But I was still curious. Plus the game was free. Why not check it out? This turned out to be a very wise decision on my part.

The game doesn't offer much as far as the story line is concerned. To this day, I still don't really know what was actually happening in the game. Normally this would bug me, but in Journey's case I didn't mind this. The game is more about the experience, the (cough cough) journey itself than anything else.

You start out as a faceless and sexless character, dressed oddly in some kind of hooded all red garb. You are unceremoniously dropped into the middle of the desert with no clear idea of what you are doing there or what is expected of you. Your only clue is a curious light shining from the top of a distant mountain. With no other probable course of action before you, you have no other choice but to head towards the mountain and check out what is going on.

Expect to encounter other similarly dressed characters along the way. These characters are not AI or controlled by the computer. These are fellow players, just like you. Unlike most games that you play online with other people, there are no usernames attached to these characters. No way to communicate with them via headset or Bluetooth. There is a button you can press to emit weird sound effects, which in a way you can use to "talk" to your fellow players. Maybe a way of saying hello or hey get your butt over here. Ultimately this is a pretty useless feature. But kind of neat in a way that it adds to the authenticity of your environment and gives it that little extra layer of immersion needed to enjoy a title like this. If you were allowed to voice chat with the other players I think it would have been a major distraction to the beauty of the game.

Because Journey is all about immersion. The best way to play this title is alone, in the dark with a headset on. For being over four years old, the game looks amazing. It has some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen in a video game before. Everything is very detailed. Small things like walking along and looking at the sand and the way it blows in the wind was a real treat for me. The music and sound effects match perfectly with everything that is happening on screen. It is very easy to get sucked into this title and lose yourself completely. One of the most visually stunning moments of the game (in my opinion anyway) happens about halfway through the title. You are sliding down a bunch of sand dunes, navigating your way through a city of sunken ruins. The way the sun goes down and changes the colors on the sand is truly extraordinary. I had to stop and marvel at how amazing everything looked. If you have ever played this game, you will know exactly what I am talking about. And if you haven't, you are in for a real treat.

The game play itself takes a little getting used to. There are no tutorials in the game, no hand holding except for a few basic instructions on button commands. Most things you learn you have to learn on your own. Your character's main method of transportation is walking, but I was delighted to find out that you can also take to the air... albeit for very short periods of time. You will notice that your character has a scarf wrapped around his or her androgynous neck. While exploring the game, you will find scarf upgrades that make the scarf longer. The longer the scarf, the longer you are able to fly. You can only fly when your scarf's power is charged up, but you can readily and easily find charging points throughout the game. And if you happen to see a fellow a player walking around and checking things out, you can charge your scarf by running up to them and making contact with them. So it is very mutually advantageous to hook up and work with other players if you encounter them since you can easily charge each other's powers up rather than having to go look for charging points all the time.

The puzzles in the game are fairly easy to figure out. Most of them involve simply touching something or walking over it. This will most of the time activate a bridge or open a door or something that will help you move on to the next segment of the game. 

The game itself is very short. You could probably beat it easily within two hours. Probably closer to an hour and a half. While normally such a short game would bug me, I can't really complain seeing as how I got to play this for free. And honestly, the journey itself is so immersive and so (at times) awe inspiring that I didn't mind. 

I would highly recommend checking this game out. If you are someone who likes a lot of action and a lot of violence, this maybe isn't the title for you. But even so I would still recommend giving it a chance. It is not like the game is a major time investment or anything. But if you are like me and like video games in all of their forms, I think you would find this title highly enjoyable.

My only criticisms of the game are the short length, the incomprehensible story line, and the fact that your character moves in an obnoxiously slow manner for most of the game. I know that this is supposed to be an exploration based title, so I can see why they would want you to take your time with the game. But when you are trying to get from a clearly defined point A to point B, the slow pace of your character can be a nuisance. While flying gets you places in a slightly quicker fashion, there are often large gaps between charging points. Which means you are going to be stuck walking a long distance anyway. And then you get somewhere where you need to fly and you can't!

But I consider these minor irritants. The game on a whole was truly immersive and a lot of fun. Just checking out the sights and sounds was a truly unique experience. Imagine playing this in full 360 VR. Now THAT would be incredible.

Play this game. It is worth it. Don't shell out big bucks for the title, since as I said it is so short. But if you can get it for free on the PSN or snag it up when it is on sale, I would advise doing do.

Overall:

A-

Video Game Review: Lego Jurassic World

Lego Jurassic World

PlayStation 3

I have been a fan of the Lego video game franchise for years now, ever since I got my hands on the first edition of Lego Star Wars back in 2005. While I admit that not much has changed or evolved in the series since then, I still think the games are pretty fun to play.

For those of you who don't know, most of the Lego games follow the same basic format. You have your group of Lego characters. Their basic actions are punching and jumping. Different characters have different strengths. Some can jump higher, some can fix things that others can't, some have items like grappling hooks that are needed to advance in the level. Everyone in your party has his or her own specific function within the group. You can switch back and forth between your different members at any time to take advantage of these specific functions. And in fact you will need to do so in order to advance in the game.

Gameplay is very simple. You explore each level, running around smashing stuff and fighting enemies. You need to use your brain too, solving puzzles and finding ways to help your party mates through difficult situations. If you ever get stuck in a Lego game, chances are you just need to break something and reassemble the pieces it leaves behind. This will probably create the item you need to move on in the level.

Each title in the series tends to be pretty easy. You can die, but your character comes back to life an endless number of times. So you never have to worry about failing a level and having to start it over again. The games are all very kid friendly, meaning that if you are a veteran gamer, you probably will not be challenged much by any of these titles.

Each game, in addition to being easy - is also short. Where the Lego series keeps you playing is with all of the hidden items and collectibles scattered through each title. Beat the game, and you can go back and play any level over again. There are a number of unlockable characters that you can use when going back and playing old levels. And you can use these characters to reach new areas and discover new things that you couldn't before.

There is a surprising amount of content to go back and discover in each Lego game, but I don't think I have ever been dedicated enough to go back and finish any of them 100%.

So now that I have described every single Lego game ever made to you, I can tell you that Lego Jurassic World plays out exactly the same as every other title in the series. The gameplay is the same, the structure of the game is the same. If you have ever played a Lego game in your life, you should know what to expect when you pop in this game.

I am a rabid fan of anything Jurassic Park related, so it was a given that I was going to be checking this game out eventually. This game follows not only the events of the film Jurassic World, but of all four Jurassic Park movies in existence.

The game is funny from start to finish. Many of the famous scenes from the movie are recreated in Lego form, changed to make things more kid friendly and humorous rather than dark or scary. A lot of the ways they changed the scenes in this game were very clever, and done in an amusing and tasteful way so that fans of the source material are not put off. The look of the game is sharp. Take the world of Jurassic Park and recreate it using Legos, and this is pretty much what it would look like. Fellow Jurassic Park nerds should chuckle over some of the Lego representations of all the iconic characters.

The Jurassic Park series is known for its amazing musical score, and this score has been faithfully brought over to the game. I have nothing to complain about in this department, except that I thought that they could have chosen a better rendition of the Jurassic World theme to use here. But that's a minor complaint.

Voices have been added to Lego games in the past several years, which is really the only area in where the series has changed since its inception. The voices for the most part are great in this game, especially when some of the lines are delivered in a particularly comedic fashion. You'll encounter Ian Malcolm's laugh at a few different points in the game, and it never failed to make me chuckle. I guess my only complaint would be that some of the voices sound fuzzy, muffled, or out of sync with what is going on on-screen. That's because the quotes are pulled from the movies, and a lot of times the background music of the movie or the audio quality doesn't match what is going on in the game. But this is a minor flaw and I was able to forgive it for the most part.

My main reason for checking out Lego Jurassic World was to see if it was a fun and amusing game that did the movie series justice. And for the most part I think it did. As I mentioned earlier, Lego games have their limitations. They're short, they're easy. They seem to be more geared to a younger audience. And I knew that coming into this game. In fact, I have known that coming into the last several Lego games I have played. But although they are all mainly the same game rehashed over and over again, I still think they are a lot of fun.

Whether it is Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Jurassic Park, I always make sure to check out each game in the Lego series. I know what to expect as far as game play goes, but I like to see the Lego representations of the characters. I like to see the unique spins they put on the levels. I like the cut scenes and how they pay homage to all the classic moments from the movies' source material.

The source material gives each game a lot of personality and a lot of character. So while each game seems the same as far as its game play goes, they also feel distinctly different at the same time. That is what is keeping the series alive and keeping it popular. Most game franchises get harped on for not mixing up their formula every once in a while, but Lego has been getting away with doing the same thing for over 10 years now. True, there have been some minor changes or advancements made to the series from time to time, but I get the feeling that if I were to play the original Lego Star Wars right now, it would feel as if it could have been made today.

But this isn't a critique of the Lego series as a whole. I am here to tell you whether or not I enjoyed Lego Jurassic World. I did enjoy it. If you are sensing a "but" coming, you sensed correctly.

BUT don't expect anything radically different from any Lego game you have ever played in the past. This game is quick, its easy, and it offers the same things as far as unlockable characters and free play that lets you go back and explore old levels.

If you are like me and only like to play and beat the game's story mode, I would suggest not buying this game. It will be over before you know it. I merely rented the game, played it for a few days, and then sent it back. And that was fine with me. I had a nice time. No particular urge to play it again now that my curiosity has been sated. I have a feeling though that if I had bought it, I wouldn't have liked it as much. But I know better than to buy a Lego title, so there was never any fear of that happening.

My verdict: a fun game. A real treat for anyone who loves Jurassic Park. But it is a short treat, and the game itself doesn't do much to lift itself above the myriad of the other Lego titles out there. But it's worth a play through, especially if you are a fan of the JP series. Rent it if you can, but only buy it if you see it on sale for dirt cheap.

Overall:

C+

Video Game Review: Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII

PlayStation

Start a discussion about the greatest video game of all time and someone is bound to bring up Final Fantasy VII. If I am in the discussion, chances are that this person will probably be me.

While there is a large group of gamers out there that consider this to be the best game ever made, Final Fantasy VII also has its fair share of detractors. They say the characters are too flat. They don't like the Materia system. They knock the story line. Some of them do actually like the game, but say that it is not as good as it is made out to be.

I, however, will defend this game to the death. To me, it is one of the greatest games of all time. It is very hard for me to pick a definitive "best game ever" with all of the amazing titles I have played over the years. But for this game to be not only in the discussion but a front runner certainly says something about its quality.

I played this game for the first time during a very tumultuous period in my life. I was a loner in high school. Didn't have any friends. Just hung around at home all of the time. I was very unhappy and very lonely. I buried myself in video games to distract me from how I felt about the outside world.

I had always been curious about Final Fantasy, but I never had the chance to play any of them because I had a Sega Genesis rather than a Super Nintendo during the 16-bit era. When I heard about Final Fantasy VII and read the previews, I knew that I had to check the game out. I didn't own a PlayStation, but I had been saving my allowance money. I was going to use it to buy a PlayStation and this game. I was bound and determined.

And I did. One random day after school I walked up to the Best Buy nearby and bought a PlayStation and Final Fantasy VII. I remember it was a cold and dreary day. I sat at the bus stop flipping through FF7's instruction manual and thinking about how awesome the game looked.

I remember getting home and immediately hooking up the system to play the game. I was completely blown away. Great graphics, great story line. I enjoyed the combat system. The music was out of this world. It was a very immersive experience that I instantly fell in love with. I had never experienced anything like this on the Sega Genesis or Nintendo Enterainment System before. It was one of those watershed moments when I realized just how amazing video games could be as technology got better and better.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't take into account that I had to have a memory card to save the game. I played as long as I possibly could (I made it just past the part where Cloud stays the night after rescuing Aeris from the Turks) but eventually I did die and have to turn the game off. It was a sad moment for me. But at least it taught me to go out and get a memory card!

Final Fantasy VII is a game that I really devoted a lot of time to as a teenager. I don't know how many times I beat the game, but it was a lot. I stayed up night and day playing the game. I lived and breathed Final Fantasy VII. If you asked me back then if it was definitively the best game ever made, I would have said yes. This was escapism at its finest.

So the game holds a lot of sentimental value for me. My first Final Fantasy. My first PlayStation game. Plus the fact that it helped me through a difficult time in my life. I spent hours on end completely immersed in this world while I tried to forget that the real one existed. So not only is the game already a classic by conventional standards, but it holds sentimental sway for me too.

The thing that makes the game truly great, however, is that the game is still a lot of fun to play. Maybe I am biased because I spent so much time with this title as a kid, but when I played it again in the year 2016, nearly 20 years after the game's initial release, I didn't think there was a single dull moment in the entire game. Everywhere you look, something iconic is happening. The story line is riveting. The locations are varied, detailed and simply bursting with personality. The musical score is legendary. The battle system is simple and a ton of fun. Now that I think about it - it is one of the most well designed and easy to use battle systems I have encountered in an RPG.

Yes, the graphics are blocky and don't necessarily hold up when you look at the characters too closely. But the environments are well designed. The cut scenes also look really good.

I found very little to nitpick about when playing the game. It's just an all around fun time, from beginning to end. Final Fantasy VII definitely deserves its place in the conversation for greatest game of all time. Just so you guys are clear: I LOVE FINAL FANTASY VII and there is no way this game is going to get anything less than an A+. I think I have made that much clear.

It you have never played Final Fantasy VII you are probably very curious by now about the game. So I shall provide you some details. FF7 is a role playing game, or RPG for short. Instead of being all action all the time, it is slower paced and focuses more on its story line than anything else. To me, a great RPG always has to have a great story line, or it is all for naught. And this game definitely has a great story line.

You don't get a whole lot of details coming into the game, but Final Fantasy VII lays everything out for you in a way that is very easy to understand. There is an evil corporation named Shinra that is sucking the very lifeblood out of the planet in order to fuel its technology. You play as Cloud, an eco terrorist of sorts who has joined a group of revolutionaries to destroy Shinra's reactors because they believe that if the Shinra keeps up what it is doing, it will destroy the entire planet.

The farther you get into the game, the more the plot thickens. It is too detailed and (at times) too convoluted to post everything that happens with the story line. Let's just say things explode onto a much larger scale... and fast. Long story short, during your battle against Shinra you stumble upon a plot hatched by an evil ex-soldier named Sephiroth to destroy the planet and use its life blood for his own nefarious purposes. This is definitely an abridged summary, however. There is a lot more going on in the game than just this. If you have never played this before, you should expect a shocking twist about midway through the game. Game of Thrones isn't the only franchise out there that's not afraid to kill off main characters.

Combat, as was tradition with many RPGs from back when this game was made, is turned based. This means you pick from a menu what it is you want to do in a battle. Attack, use magic, use an item, steal, perform a summon... it is all done via text menus. You and your enemy take turns with your moves, although this game does have an active time battle feature that means if you take too long to make up your mind on what to do, your enemy could get back in there and attack again.

I actually prefer this method of battle as opposed to the way most RPGs are now - with their fast paced "real time" attacks and automatic actions. I like being in control of the battle and its pace, so this game was perfect for me. As I mentioned earlier in this review - Final Fantasy 7 was one of the first RPGs I ever played, and I still have yet to find a game with a control scheme I like as much as this one.

So the story is great, and I like the way the battles unfold. Two strong points in favor of Final Fantasy VII. The graphics may seem primitive by today's standards, but these were considered top notch when this game came out. Yeah, the characters themselves aren't much to look at, but the environments I think are fantastic. Not only are they well drawn and pleasing to the eye, but they are all very unique and never repetitive. Couple the game's unique look with its distinctive sound track, and it all adds up to one highly detailed world that is just brimming with character and personality. No two cities or environments could be confused with one another. Midgar, Cosmo Canyon, Mideel, Nibelheim, Rocket Town, Junon, Wutai, the Gold Saucer and all of the areas in this game are instantly recognizable by their look and sound. Each area has its own very distinctive personality.

There is a lot to see and a lot to explore in Final Fantasy VII. Every time I would play this game as a teenager I would uncover something that I hadn't noticed on a previous play through. This game is like the gift that keeps on giving.

Factor in everything I have said about the game, and you should be able to see why I hold this title in such high regard. First PlayStation game I owned. First Final Fantasy game I ever played. Helped me through a tough time in life in addition to being a great game. Great story. Great atmosphere. Iconic moments, iconic characters. Lots of hidden stuff, and replayability up the wazoo. I can hardly think of anything bad to say about the game. It is a true classic in my eyes.

Greatest video game ever made? It's a tough call. I'm not ready to name anything "the greatest" yet. But it is certainly on the short list of candidates. I know that a lot of people like to try and shoot this game down, or mock its supporters who say that it is one of the best ever. If anyone who shares that mindset is reading this article - I truly feel sorry for you. This game is amazing - and even if I was the only person on the planet who had that opinion, I would still stand by it. I don't like it because it is popular, or because it is the "cool" thing to say that FF7 is one of the best games ever. I truly believe it has earned its place in that discussion.


                                            Overall:
                                                 A+