Video Game Review: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

PlayStation 3

This review is probably going to be a bit shorter than usual. I just reviewed Lego Jurassic World a month or so ago. In this review, I broke down how the average Lego video game worked, what my thoughts were on the history of the series. So on and so forth. And in the month since then nothing really has changed.

This game still plays and controls like your average Lego game. Everything still looks the same. The only difference between this game and Lego games in the past is that it follows the story line of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The game actually expands upon the story of the movie a little bit, though. You begin playing during the battle of Endor. I am not sure why they decided to rehash old territory since this battle was already covered in the original Lego Star Wars series, but I did not mind the extra content. I understand that it is probably hard trying to base an entire Lego game around one two-hour movie, so I appreciate that they expanded things a little.

After the Endor prologue, the game moves on to the content of the Force Awakens. There are ten chapters in all, each one representing a different section of the movie. If you have seen the film, you should know the basic direction things are going to go. You start out on Jakku playing as Poe Dameron. Stormtroopers land and start shooting the place up, so you fight back - eventually releasing BB8 into the desert. And then it's awn.

The game takes you through each area of the movie. Above the planet, you fight as Finn to release Poe from the clutches of the Order. You fight as Rey on the surface of the planet to get BB8 and Finn to safety. You fly aboard the Falcon and destroy your pursuers. You are picked up on your way out, unite with Han Solo, fight through smugglers and rathtar on your way to escape.... so on and so forth. I'm not going to break the entire game down. If you've seen the movie you should know which way this game is going.

As far as actual game play innovations, not much has changed from previous titles in the Lego series. There are some vehicle related stages where you fly things like X-Wings and the Millenium Falcon. These kind of play out like Star Fox stages, except much, MUCH easier.

The only other difference I could find between this game and other versions of Lego games is in how you build objects out of Lego bricks. Normally, you just run over to a pile of bricks and hold the circle button. Your character will build whatever it is that needs building. In this game, things are changed a little bit. There are still regular piles of Legos that you build in the same manner, but there are also special piles in the game.

These special piles can be built in many different ways. You begin building by using the circle button, as normal. But depending on which direction you hold the control stick, you can build different things out of the same bricks. Hold right while building and you could build a bridge across a chasm. Hold up while building and maybe its a ladder to a new area. Hold left and maybe it is a vehicle you are building.

Many times you will have to use all variations of the items you are building to advance in the level. Use one item to solve part of a puzzle, and then destroy the item and use the bricks to build something else. It is a small little game play touch, and some of these combinations require a little bit of annoying trial and error. But I appreciate that they tried to do something different, even if its only in a small way. It makes you use your noggin a little bit more in comparison with previous games.

The game also contains a large number of hidden side missions. These side missions can be unlocked by collecting a certain number of gold bricks from each level. Collecting, say, 20 unlocks one side mission. Collect another 20 and it unlocks another one, etc etc. These side missions help to fill in the blanks of the story line of the Force Awakens. How Lor San Tekka got the map to Luke's location. How Threepio got his red arm. Stuff like that. There's even a flashback mission with Poe Dameron on old adventure.

These side missions are a nice touch. As I mentioned before, it is probably hard to make an entire game based around one movie, so it is nice that they expanded the content a little bit.

If you have played a Lego game before, nothing that the Force Awakens does will surprise you. Yeah, there are a few little game play tweaks, like with the way you can build different items with some of the piles of Lego bricks you find. But nothing is done here that is too earth shattering.

Expect a lot of laughs, some fun levels, a few puzzles that make you stop and think every once in a while. Expect to be collecting a lot of things. Expect to replay old levels in free play, scouring each area for items you missed or couldn't access the first time around.

But most of all, expect the story mode of the game to be pretty short. You can probably run right through the story mode in a day or two. Some people are okay with this, and they find the enjoyment of the game to be found in collecting all the hidden items. Some people play the games just to beat them. I am more of the latter. I mean, I will come back to old levels and collect stuff that I missed, but I have yet to beat a Lego game 100%. I am just not that dedicated.

I had a lot of fun with this. But my fun with the title was limited. Its a good game, but it is very short. I'd rather play something new than go back and play old stages again. But that's just me. I liked the game, but I am okay with just renting it. And in all likelihood I will never play it again. But if you can't get enough of the Lego games, you'll probably love the heck out of this.

Overall:

B-

Video Game Review: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

PlayStation 2

Metal Gear Solid 2 holds the distinction of being the first game for the PlayStation 2 that I ever owned. Well, technically it is tied with Silent Hill 2 since I got them both at the same time, but we'll just look the other way on that point.

I was a huge fan of the first Metal Gear Solid for the original PlayStation. I couldn't wait for the second one to come out. To say I was excited would be an understatement. The fact that I could only play it on the PlayStation 2 was, to me, a huge selling point for the system. I always wait a few years to buy a new console when it comes out. But when Metal Gear Solid 2 hit the shelves, I was like: "damnit I'm getting a PS2 and I'm getting one now!"

I have fond memories of the game. Struggling through the tanker section. Being confused as hell when the old Raiden switcheroo went down. The boss battles, the explosive traps. Emma's tragic fate. Mostly I remember being overwhelmed by all the twists and turns that the plot took, but excited to see where the series would go in the future.

I never did enjoy this game as much as its predecessor, however. And playing it now in 2016 - I find that my opinion on this matter has not changed at all.

Everyone familiar with the Metal Gear Solid series should know to expect a crazy, borderline incomprehensible story line. Not that the basic story line is too hard to understand, they just throw at you so many twists/turns/double crosses/fake outs that you never really know what is the truth and what is not. This game is no exception to that rule.

The game starts out simple enough. Since the end of the first game, Solid Snake has been traveling the globe taking down any and all Metal Gear prototypes before they can become fully functional and put the world at risk. He infiltrates a military tanker off the coast of Manhattan to check things out, when the tanker is attacked by a mysterious third party.

Gameplay remains pretty similar to the first Metal Gear game. The main exception being that when you fire you gun, you can enter into first person mode and stick up your enemies. There are lots of other tweaks and changes too. You will find that the world is a lot more interactive than the first game. Graphically, the game is obviously better since it was released on (at its time) a next generation system.

Snake photographs the military's version of Metal Gear that they are developing and sends the pics off to his partner in crime Otacon. It is at this point that the aforementioned mysterious third party makes their presence known, killing the military's soliders, stealing Metal Gear, and blowing up the tanker.

Snake is presumed dead in the explosion. Years pass, and we find out that a massive structure known as the Big Shell has been built over the site of the tanker explosion in order to clean up the disastrous oil spill. Terrorists have kidnapped the president, hijacked the Big Shell, and are making their usual unreasonable terrorist demands. Similar to the Shadow Moses incident from the first game, Snake is sent in to resolve the situation.

Only, wasn't Snake supposed to have been killed in the tanker explosion several years back? Just when we are starting to get confused as hell, the game reveals that this is not Solid Snake being sent in - it is a newbie named Raiden. And that is the big twist of the game. You think you are going to play as Snake the whole way through, and instead you switch characters to Raiden. Lots of fans hate Raiden and like to mock him - and I can see why he is unpopular. but I never really had a problem with him.

Raiden infiltrates the Shell, and it is like a brand new game. The tanker chapter with Solid Snake was simply the opening act. Everything still controls the same with Raiden as it does with Snake, so don't expect any earth shattering changes to take place. It is still kind of a shock though to find out you are controlling a whole new character.

Although you don't play as Snake, that doesn't mean he is not part of the story. He is sent in as a part of a separate operation. Eventually he and Raiden meet up, and it is explained that he did survive the tanker explosion after all. Well, duh.

The majority of the game plays out in a similar manner to the original Metal Gear Solid. You sneak around. You avoid cameras. You watch a lot of long and sometimes boring cut scenes and Codec conversations. You fight a lot of fantastic bosses. Really, as far as game play goes - the boss battles are pretty much the most fun thing about the game.

I did have some major problems with the game though. First of all, I found it extremely difficult to shake alert status after being spotted. If you move to a new area, the enemies follow you and the alert stays alive, unlike in the last game. If you try to fight your way out, enemies spawn infinitely and WILL kill you. Hiding is basically useless. I found it actually more advantageous to just let myself be killed rather than run around and waste all of my health items trying to shake pursuit. And that to me is a major design flaw. There is no reward whatsoever in staying alive and doing things the hard way.

As I mentioned, the story lines in these games can get a little messy. This game is 100% more convoluted than its predecessor. I hate constantly comparing it to the original Metal Gear Solid, but when you have a direct sequel like this it is hard not to. In the first game I had a basic grasp on everything going on, despite all the plot twists. With this game, I have beaten it multiple times and I still have no idea what the hell was really going on.

So ultimately I found this game to be not as epic as the original MGS. There are a lot of improvements, especially with the graphics, the controls, and a few other fun tweaks thrown in here and there. But the whole alert system in the game had me more frustrated than anything else. And, really, the bread and butter of the Metal Gear Solid series is its story line, and I just wasn't as entertained this time around.

The story had its shining moments. I loved the tanker incident. I loved Emma Emmerich's role in the plot. All the Dead Cell (this game's version of Foxhound) character's had nice background stories. I didn't care much for Raiden and Rose's relationship though. I was intrigued by the idea of the Patriots, but their role in this confused me. Same thing with Ocelot and Solidus. Who was playing who and who was really the mastermind? I have no idea. This game leaves the player with far too many unanswered questions for my taste.

On the whole, though, this game still holds a favorable impression in my mind. Yeah the story is convoluted. Yeah, the alert system is rubbish. Yeah, the game's locations are bland and repetitive. But I still had fun playing it.

The beauty of Metal Gear is that you never know what is going to come next. What bombshell the game is going to drop on you. Even though I have played this multiple times over the years, I still find things surprising me. I notice things I had never noticed before. And the game is fun, too. Yes, I hated the alert system. But if you throw that out the window, I have no problems with anything else as far as gameplay is concerned. I enjoy first person view. I enjoy holding up enemy soldiers for their dog tags and items. The boss battles are epic. I liked attempting to follow what was going on.

I liked the game. Was I crazy about it? No. This game will, for obvious reasons, always have the shadow of its predecessor hanging over it. Compared to the original, it is an okay game. On its own, it is likely better than just okay. But being so biased I don't know where exactly to draw the line. I think this grade sums up my feelings on the game perfectly.

Overall:

B

Video Game Review: Resident Evil Revelations

Resident Evil Revelations

PlayStation 3

Like most hardcore fans of the franchise, I was extremely let down by both Resident Evils 5 and 6. RE4 was such an amazing game. Not only the best Resident Evil game out there, but perhaps one of the greatest games ever made, period. It was the beginning of a new direction for the classic franchise. I think everyone expected its follow ups to be awesome.... but they were not.

Not scary enough, convoluted story lines, too much action, cheap partner gimmicks - the series took a big step backward just as it looked it had nowhere to go but forward. While we await a seventh entry to the series to arrive and correct its predecessors' sins, there is a game that disappointed fans can check out in the meantime: Resident Evil Revelations.

This game was originally released as a 3DS title a few years ago. Not owning a 3DS, I never got the chance to play it. I thought it looked pretty decent though. Lo and behold I find out a few months ago that the game had been brought to the PlayStation 3 without my knowledge. It took me a while to get my hands on a copy of the game, but thanks to my awesome Gamefly subscription, I was finally able to play this game that I've been interested in for several years now.

Resident Evil Revelations doesn't completely make up for the Resident Evil 5 and 6 fiascos, but it does a decent enough job. I thoroughly enjoyed this game much more than either of those two games.

This title makes an attempt to go back and recreate what made RE4 so great. It's a slower paced game. I like the location. It mainly takes place on a creepy abandoned cruise ship in the middle of the sea. There is a lot of walking through dark corridors with flashlights - waiting for the jump scare. The game is infinitely more scary than RE 5 or 6. There is action, but it is nothing like those other games where all you do is simply blow stuff away all the time.

That said, I still found that this was nowhere near as cool as RE4. It is like the game tried to find a balance between horror and action, but came up a little short in both areas. Yes, the atmosphere of the game is creepy (for full effect, play this in the dark with headphones on), but after an hour or two of playing it becomes clear that you don't really have a lot to be afraid of. There is a lot of backtracking and revisiting empty areas you have already been to before. The enemies you do encounter just to me aren't that menacing. And that makes a huge difference. I mean, I like that they TRIED to make this game scary, but something seemed to be missing for me the whole time I played this.

The action is decent. if you've played any of the last several Resident Evil games, you should be familiar with the control scheme and the inventory system. But again there seems to be something missing for me. It doesn't seem to matter where you shoot your enemy or what tactics you employ. Every fight seems to be the same thing: just unload as much ammo as you can into your enemy and hope he dies. Part of the what made RE4 so cool for me is that it mattered where you shot your enemy. Shoot him in the leg, he goes down on one knee. Shoot him in the hand, he drops his weapon. Shoot him in the head - your chances for an automatic kill go way up.

But here, all you fight are formless gray humanoid objects and the occasional raging out of control virus beast with lots of claws and teeth. You only tactic is to just simply unload on them. And that to me made combat a little boring.

The game's music and sound effects are top notch. The voice acting still isn't the series' strongest point, but it is not offensively terrible either. Graphically, the game looks really, really good. Even more impressive is the fact that this was designed as a 3DS game - what? Four years ago? The characters, the lighting effects, the sway of the ship, the room designs. Everything looks pretty good to me.

The story line was much better than the one in either Resident Evil 5 or 6. It focuses on an floating city that was destroyed several years ago by bio terrorists. Signs of the terrorists have begun to surface again, and clues lead your characters to this abandoned cruise ship to check things out. It starts out easy to follow but becomes kind of a convoluted mess as the game goes along. Why can't they just keep the story lines to these games nice and simple, like the good old days? I found myself caring less and less about what was going on the deeper I got into the game. I was playing this for the game play.

Despite the fact that the game wasn't that scary, despite the fact that I had some problems with the combat system, despite the fact that I didn't really care much for the game's story - I still had a good time. I enjoyed exploring the abandoned ship. I enjoyed the occasional side mission where you'd get to control other characters. Most of these side missions are action based, but they are pretty straightforward and a nice change of pace from your usual exploring. The pace of the game is pretty fast, and the way the game's chapter system is set up makes you want to keep coming back to play longer.

Plus there are a few little wrinkles thrown in every once in a while to make things interesting. It is not all simply walking around, looking for keys, and shooting stuff. There are some "on rails" shooting segments. A few areas in the game where you can swim. And of course, this is a Resident Evil game so expect some big, over the top boss battles to pop up from time to time.

The game is not flawless by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it the worthy follow up that Resident Evil 4 demanded. But it is a start. I found this title to be much better than both Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. If Capcom can build upon what this game did right - and take into account what made RE4 such an epic game to begin with - it will be back on the right track with the franchise again.

This is a fun game. I probably will never play it again, so it wasn't THAT amazing. Maybe I only enjoyed it because I was so starved for a good RE game, but the point is that I still enjoyed it.

So if you are looking for something fast and fun to play and you love the RE series, you should definitely check this out. I know that there is a Resident Evil Revelations 2 out there, so I am eager to see if that is any good as well. You know if I play it, a review will be coming.

Overall:

B-

2016 Movie Ranking Countdown: October

Another month down, just two more left in the year. I watched twelve movies in October, but only five will move on to my ultimate year end ranking. What will those five be? Let's find out.

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I came into this movie having absolutely no idea what to expect. And I think that was the right way to go about things. There are a lot of mysteries to this movie and I think that if I had been spoiled beforehand I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did.

10 Cloverfield Lane focuses on a young woman who wakes up from a car crash locked away in a bunker. Her first thought is that she has been kidnapped by a serial killer of some sort, but she is in for a big surprise.

Her captor (played wonderfully by John Goodman) tells her that aliens have attacked the Earth and poisoned the air outside. He forces her to live an uncomfortable, on edge life down in this bunker with himself and another captor. The whole movie we question whether he is telling the truth or is just a crazy bastard. But maybe the answer is both?

I won't spoil the movie but I thought this was really, really good. I was in no rush to watch the movie because while I liked the original Cloverfield, I didn't think it was the world's greatest movie or anything. But I like this much, much more. Some people seem put off by the film's slow pace, but I didn't mind it one bit. The whole movie keeps you guessing and if you like mysteries you should enjoy this. I thought it was fantastic.

With the exception of Quantum of Solace I have been a big fan of the Daniel Craig Bond movies. So I came into this movie fully expecting to love it. However, I did not.

I don't know what it was about this movie that put me off so much. The special effects are great, the action is high flying. The music is on point. Technically it is a well done movie. But as far as the story line goes I found myself bored throughout the entire film. A lot of old characters kept getting introduced that we were supposed to remember from past films (I did not). Too many big leaps were made in the plot that didn't make sense one bit to me. Admittedly I wasn't as focused on the movie as I should have been because I was doing other things, but a lot of the movie didn't make sense to me.

As much as I wanted to love the movie, I did not. Maybe if someday I watch all the Daniel Craig Bond movies again I will pay closer attention and I will like it. But in 2016, I didn't enjoy it much at all.

I'm a fan of the Ratchet and Clank video game series, but the parts that I hate most about the games are the cutscenes. I couldn't care less about the storyline of these titles. They are silly and childish and for the most part really boring to me.

But even though I feel this way about the games I was still willing to give the movie a shot. And it turns out I actually did like the movie. Which is strange because it is basically the same thing as watching the games' cutscenes.

Perhaps because it is when I am playing the game, I have an itchy trigger finger and I am ready to go blast some shit. But watching this as a movie, I know I am not going to get to play so I allow myself to sit back and enjoy the show. Anyway, this isn't an incredibly deep movie. It is very silly and goofy. Really tailor-made for kids. The story is fun but nothing too groundbreaking. It is ultimately forgettable in the long run.

But still, I had a decent time watching this. Although I liked it, it is still going to be hard pressed to make my top five for the month though. Kid movies really aren't my thing, no matter how well done this film happens to be.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. Just like with 10 Cloverfield Lane, I came in to the movie with absolutely no idea what to expect and I ended up having a really great time.

This movie is about a crappy little rock band that is on tour, taking gigs for basically whatever money they can get. They agree to play at an out of the way club that is infamous for its dangerous white supremacist clientele. The whole time they are there playing, you can feel this mounting sense of dread in the air like things aren't going to go well. They actually make it through their show unscathed, but on their way out they see a murder take place in the green room.

The club's management is desperate to cover up the murder, so they hold the band hostage while they attempt to sort things out. Eventually things spiral out of control and the whole movie becomes a game of cat and mouse between the band members and the white supremacists. The movie is shockingly brutal and very horrifying and intense. I loved it. This film is basically a lock to make my top five for the month.

My only complaint is that Patrick Stewart is such a great actor, I feel he was a bit subdued in the movie and could have been utilized in a much better way. But still, I loved the film.

Juno has been out for a long time now and I have always wanted to see it. But for some reason, I had never gotten around to it. Well I had just finished the game Beyond Two Souls and I was curious to see more of Ellen Page's work, so I finally jumped on the opportunity to check this movie out.

This is a very simple movie that focused on a teenager named Juno who gets knocked up the first time she ever "does the deed" so to speak. Initially she wants to abort the baby, but has a change of heart and decided to do something good and give it up for adoption to a loving couple that can't have a baby of their own. The movie mainly focuses on Juno's relationship with her family, the baby's daddy, and the couple she is going to give her child to. Juno herself makes the movie work with her spunk and sassy personality.

It is a very simple movie, very straightforward. There are a lot of funny parts in the movie and some sad ones as well. I will admit that man tears were shed towards the end of the film. Ultimately though I feel that the movie might have perhaps been TOO simple for its own good? I liked the movie but it just doesn't do quite enough to stand out for me. There are 3 films this month that are locks to make the top five (Green Room, 100 Cloverfield Lane, and SPOILER ALERT: Captain America Civil War). Juno could potentially fill out one of the last two spots, it just all depends on how I feel about all the "in between" movies coming up. And Juno definitely counts as an in between movie for me.

I thought this sounded pretty intriguing - a documentary focusing on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Kurt Cobain's apparent suicide. As it turns out, this wasn't nearly as interesting as I had hoped.

Sure, this film brought some light to inconsistencies surrounding the suicide. Inconsistencies in several of Courtney Love's actions and statements. But it brings nothing concrete to the table. Just a bunch of hearsay that doesn't really amount to anything. In the end after watching the movie I felt I knew just as much about the suicide as I did before: which was really nothing.

There were a few interesting moments in the film, but for the most part I just kind of sat around waiting for a bombshell to drop that never happened. I found this to be pretty boring and unsatisfying. Would not recommend.

While I really don't care much for Superman, I am a huge Batman fan. I have been wanting to see this movie since it came out, despite the mostly poor reviews it received. But I was willing to be patient and wait for it to show up at my library so I could watch it for free, which it finally did in October.

The poor reviews were pretty accurate for the most part. I don't necessarily think that the movie was quite as bad as people were making it out to be, but I didn't like it too much. There are some strong points to the movie. Mostly revolving around Batman and his character. I actually didn't mind Ben Affleck too much in the role, although Bruce did come across as a dick more often than in other Batman films. But perhaps that could be because we know that Superman has good intentions, while Bruce questions his character.

The special effects are great, I love the action scenes. I love Wonder Woman's appearance and the nod to other DC characters who will be receiving their own movies soon. I did enjoy the dark and ominous tone of the movie.

The plot was a little bit of a mess in points. Some leaps in deduction were hard to follow. I couldn't tell what the characters were thinking half the time. Some parts of the movie bored me greatly. I think that the length of the movie (2 and a half hours) played a factor in this. If it could have been cut down and condensed into even just 2 hours, I think this film could have worked a lot better. But maybe not. Captain America Civil War was the same length as this movie and I thought it was fantastic.

I really wanted to like the movie. And there are parts I did enjoy. I am thinking I will have to come back to this in a year or two with a more open mind and I think I will like it a lot more. But for now I can't see this cracking my top five for the month. Sorry!

I am a fan of the 5th Wave book series. I know that most movies based on books are never as good as the source material - and I expected that coming in. And it is true, I didn't like this as much as the first book.

I couldn't quite put my finger on why I wasn't a huge fan of this, because for the most part it is a pretty faithful retelling of the story. Maybe it is the acting? Maybe it is the tone of the film? I don't know. I mean, it is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination. I did mildly enjoy it for the most part. Maybe it is too faithful in its retelling? I knew every plot twist, every action before it happened. That kind of makes it harder to enjoy something when you can see what is coming a mile away. But at the same time, I had read the Hunger Games books before seeing the movies - and I enjoyed those.

I don't know. All I can say is that I found this to be enjoyable but mediocre. Not good enough to crack my top five for the month.

I had never heard of this movie until seeing it appear as a Netflix suggestion. I added it to my queue a few months ago, but then completely forgot about it. Surfing through my list late at night looking for a short movie to watch a few weeks ago, I came across this again. And I decided to give it a go.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. It focuses on a group of fifty people who are standing in a circle in a mysterious, dark room. They are each on a little red pad, and if they move off of the pad, they die. Every two minutes, one of the fifty is randomly killed. Eventually the survivors find out that they can actually vote for who is next to die based on the way they move their hands. Everyone starts talking, trying to figure out a way to make it through this.

Survivor fans should like the movie. Voting blocs are formed, strategies take place. Spoilers! Eventually the group decides to let a pregnant woman and a small child be the final two so that one of them can survive. But a man manipulates his way into the final 3 and the finds a way to dispatch the two of them so that he survives. When the game ends, he finds his way back in the "real world", only to see that aliens have apparently taken over the planet. And then the movie ends. I would have liked a little more explanation but it is what it is.

Overall I found this to be pretty enjoyable. This movie has an outside chance of making the top five. It just all depends how I feel about some of the movies to come.

Similar to my experience with Circle. this is a movie that has been lingering on my Netflix queue for months now. I decided to give it a shot late at night because I was looking for a short movie and this looked interesting.

Also as with Circle, I really enjoyed this movie too. This film focuses on a group of people that are offered an opportunity to play a game that if they win, will help them out in life with things like outstanding medical expenses and whatnot. But they don't know what the game is going to be. They arrive at a mansion for an elaborate dinner, and at the end the host (a fabulously creepy Jeffrey Combs) explains the game. The contestants must make grisly decisions on things they would rather do. If they refuse, they are out of the game. But out of the game here means that they are killed. So it is play or die, essentially.

Decisions involve things like: would you rather electrocute yourself or someone at the table? But eventually they escalate. Stab someone or whip someone? Hold your breath underwater for two minutes or pull a mystery card? Hint: don't pull the mystery card. They are all awful.

It is a very disturbing and somewhat gruesome movie. I loved every second of it. Not the deepest movie or anything I will probably remember in two years. But I had a really good time watching it.

I've been slowly watching all the Friday the 13th movies for about a year now. I had stopped after six because I didn't like the direction the movies had been taking - more of a funny, comical kind of route. But I was pleased to see that with the seventh installment of the film, the series had taken more of a turn back to its serious horror roots.

In this movie, a girl accidentally frees Jason from his watery prison using her psychic powers (yeah really) and he returns to terrorize the people out in the woods celebrating a birthday party. The psychic power twist seemed lame at first, but it grew on me as it gave Jason a worthy adversary for once and leveled the playing field a little bit. This move wasn't as good as the first two in the series, which I thought were classics. But it was definitely one of the best since. I enjoyed it. But will it be good enough to make my top five?

I have been itching to see this movie since it first came out, but somehow I never got around to seeing it in the theater. I finally got my grubby hands on it in October, and I must say that I really, really, REALLY loved this movie. I don't think it is an overstatement to say that this is the best Marvel universe movie to date.

The world is growing concerned about all the catastrophic events taking place over the world in the last several years since super powered people started "coming out". There has been too much destruction and too many innocent people losing their lives as collateral damage in these giant battles around the glove. They want to regulate all the superheroes so that they can't act on their own, they need permission from the government to go out and fight the bad guys.

Captain America and several other heroes are opposed to this. When a peace treaty is bombed by an assassin that looks like Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier), this puts both sides of the issue at conflict with one another. The two groups (pro sanction and anti sanction) grow in numbers and start to fight each other. I love all the Marvel characters that are brought into the equation. Black Panther, the new Spider-Man, Antman, Hawkeye, and many others. This is much more than just a Captain America movie. It is almost a third Avengers film in its own right.

The action is high flying. The fight scenes are intense. But what really makes the movie go is its plot, which is fantastic. I haven't had this much fun with a Marvel movie in a while now. I really thought this was great. Not only is it a lock to make the top five for the month, it may make my top five for the entire year!

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My decision has been made. Moving on from October are:

Green Room
Captain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
Circle
Would You Rather

It was a close call, but Juno and Friday the 13th Part 7 don't make the cut. Maybe next year? Well, probably not.

So ten months are now over and done with. Five movies from each month brings us to a grand total of fifty movies now. At the end of the year, sixty will stand, and I will begin ranking the best films I watched in 2016. For now, here are all the films to make the cut:


Star Wars: The Force Awakens
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

Green Room
Captain America: Civil War
10 Cloverfield Lane
Circle
Would You Rather

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+