Knightcon Movie Exhibition at Xscape.

Knightcon was a free event at Xscape in Castleford, it just happened to be on one of the hottest days of the year, a phantom late summer in October! This made for one exceptionally good and geeky day!

I went along with the Family Wall; my wife, little girl Lydia, and brother James, we were also accompanied by our good friend David.



Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters!

It being free and a nice day, the place was ram-packed! I was in full geek-uniform, Stormtrooper playing Space Vaders arcade Tee and Ghostbusters belt (2 different people asked me where I got it from ha)!




David and R2D2!

I almost cried when I saw 2 fully functional R2D2s (wasn't expecting to see them)! I came over all nostalgic and wanted to run home and watch the Star Wars films on bluray all over again.



"Where we're going we don't need roads!"

There was loads of fan-made cars outside the exhibition and then inside Xscape there was the real McCoy, behind security ropes. Loads of other geeky delights awaited inside (Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Daleks, R2D2...)



Best. Day. Ever!


Almost...

Gears 3 (The End of an Era)

The last game in the current story arc, possibly even the last Gears of War (I doubt it though)! Being a big fan of the series I'm excited and sad all at the same time, it's great to be playing as Marcus and co again, yet it's possibly the last one...

So, I've been playing through the campaign (my job allows me to play games early :P), and I have to say it's pretty slow to start. It doesn't go off with a bang like previous games; there's a lot of story build-up, flashbacks, wondering around and not actually getting to smash the Locust hordes (what Gears does best).



But wait! I play co-op, my partner in crime is the missus. And to its merit the game gets better and better as you progress, on previous games the wifey has grown a little bored (she prefers Army of Two!), but this times she's asking to play it longer!

The game mechanics are more of the same (if it's not broke, why fix it?) altough they've added plenty of new things to make it a worth while purchase. And I love the addition of mechs in the game! Except for the slow start the only other grumble I have so far is an underwater level that felt a little like filler to me and wasn't much fun to play. They've improved online play massively and Horde was one of the best online experiences anyway! Gears 3 will certainly be most fun played online.

Also, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but there's some gargantuan shocks in store plot wise this time around!


One final note,

"Cole Train Eats Whole Grain Baby!
WOOOOOO!"

Star Wars on bluray

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

ahem, Star Wars is one of my biggest passions, so the thought of seeing my childhood memories in HD was a little exciting! I bought the original boxset on blu, didn't bother with the full set, I'm not as keen on the prequels (owning them on DVD is enough!). That said, I did actually like 'Revenge of the Sith' quite a lot.

Anyway, with the original set you just get the films, a bit stingy really. I almost took it back to exchange for the full-set with the shoddy prequels, just for the bonus supplements and a nice box. But, I just couldn't really justify the price difference. A shame I traded in my DVD boxset (along with the bonus features! ARRGH!). Ah well, after a mammoth movie marathon, here are my thoughts...



Star Wars

Well, the picture quality almost made me cry (in a good way), it's amazing to see 'A New Hope' looking so crisp and shiny! Over the years the classic has started to look a tad stale, even with the remastered version. And the transfer doesn't lose any of the charm, it's still got the same tone as before, but now it's in HD! And the sound design! WOW! Some scenes do look better than others, the first film has some saturation issues in the desert scenes, but nothing major. In dark scenes the film excels, it looks very slick indeed. The sheen of the droids, the inky blacks, and all the tiny details on actors faces can be seen.

The added CG Jabba doesn't look as bad, don't get me wrong, you can't polish a turd and it's still ugly as hell! The film would be better without this scene and a lot of the other added stuff too! The minor CG guff didn't spoil my enjoyment and scene after scene wowed me. Nostalgia was in full throttle! I have to say some of the model work on the ships and the battle sequences look truly stunning seen for the first time in high-definition!


Empire Strikes Back

Empire is one of my all time favourite films, and is my fave in the series. Being a dark film it really benefits from the HD upgrade. Empire seems to be the least effected by tacky CG too. Which is a good!



Empire is consistent and looks great, as films go it's pretty much perfect!

Now for the one that people are talking about...

Return of the Jedi

There's a lot of online nerd rage going on about the added sound tweaks on this one. But, I will get back to that later. The thing that pisses me off the most about Jedi is that scene that was added on the DVD release near the start. You know the one! During the attempts at rescuing Han Solo from Jabba there is a scene in his lair with a really irritating singing CG alien. It's truly awful! The worst thing to happen to Star Wars, even worse than Jar Jar!

'Return of the Jedi' was fine before this monstrosity was added, and the original scene is way better! The musics better, the puppets are better than the crude CG, and it just doesn't go with the tone of the film at all! WHY? WHY LUCAS? WHY!! Except for THAT scene I really like Jedi, it's a good fun action flick, I even like the Ewoks! Getting back to the Bluray review, the forest scenes in particular look really nice!

The added sounds I talked about earlier didn't bother me that much to be honest, the purist in me wanted it to be exactly how it used to be though. Was it better when Darth stood silently watching the Emperor attack Luke, contemplating his actions? I don't think you need to watch each version and properly analyse them to work that one out, fuck yeah it was better before! It's way more chilling and atmospheric that way. But, the added sound isn't as bad as the 'NOOOOO!' at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith', like all the rage seems to suggest! So, swings and roundabouts.

I would say the bluray upgrade is definitely worth a purchase, the difference in picture quality is something to marvel at, and the sound is cinematic perfection!

Star Wars + Xbox 360 = AWESOME!

This is possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen in my entire life;



The R2D2 console makes beeps and sounds when you open the disc tray and power it up too! It even comes with a C3P0 controller!! DO. WANT. NOW! Does anyone want to buy my legs?

The only thing cooler than this is this;

Super 8

The trailer for this impressed me so much straight away I thought this was going to be my film of the year without even seeing it! I know you can't judge a film by its trailer, but it had that old 80's Spielberg magic and I got carried away with nostalgia.

So, now I've actually seen it do I still think the same?



JJ Abrams has captured that old movie magic perfectly, it's like watching a Spielberg film when he still made films with heart and soul. Yet somehow it's completely fresh and new. It's a good balance of old movie charm and modern film making.

It's 'E.T', 'The Goonies' and 'Stand By Me' all rolled into one with a hint of Cloverfield for good measure! And it all works wonderfully. For me, one of the highlights was the rapport the kids have, and their acting! It's rare enough to find one good performance from a child in a film, but here there's several! A whole gang of them! My only minor critique is that it seems to build and build to the grand finale, and then sorta fizzles out a bit at the end...

BUT, it's definitely a cinema experience, any film geek of the late 70's - 80's will come over all warm and nostalgic viewing this on the big screen. It's all about the films integrity. This is REAL movie making! ...'They don't make them like they used to!' ERR, YEAH, actually they do!


8.5/10

13 Assassins

I don't go to the cinema very often these days (in my job I get to see films for free on release), but with some films I can't miss out on the opportunity of seeing them on the big screen!

I'm a big fan of Asian epics, martial arts and samurai films are one of my biggest passions! And I love shock director Takashi Miike, although with all the critical acclaim and buzz around '13 Assassins' it was hard to believe it was the controversial director at the helm. It seemed a bit too 'classy' for Miike, with no disrespect meant by that, I think he's proud of the 'trash-cinema' he's been behind over the years and I would be too...



I had to see it at the cinema, it wasn't every day you got to see a Japanese Samurai movie on the big screen in the UK! I went to see it with the missus during the first week and sadly it was almost empty, a bonus really, because we got the big screen all to ourselves!

It's a slow burner; after a harrowing and brutal intro, reminding you it was in fact a full-blown Miike film, the first half of shapes the story and characters and builds the tension. Despite following several characters, I felt something for all of the main cast and it does a good job fleshing everything out. I did find it dragged a little at times, although that could have been because I wasn't in the comfort of my own home. BUT, the pay-off is exceptional! The last half of the film is one big battle royale to the death!



The 45 minute battle sequence is one of the most spectacularly amazing pieces of cinema I have ever seen. The choreography spellbinds you with its brutality and rawness! Jaw-dropping stuff! And the cinematography deserves special mention. There's some truly masterful camera work at play here, Miike has several moments of pure genius!

I would have preferred a few more scuffles in the first half, but the last half of the film more than makes up for that!

8/10

Best Video Game of 2010

I haven't updated my blog as much as I'd have liked to recently, hopefully 2011 will get me blogging a bit more regularly. One of the reasons was due to time spent playing videogames. So, here's my favourite game of 2010 and the runners up (instead of the usual top 10).


Mass Effect 2




I think I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 more because I played the first game just before, for some reason I didn't check out ME earlier, even though bioware’s other RPG space-opera ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Republic’ is one of my all time favourite games. What struck me first with the original game was the synthesized electronic score, it reminded me of classic sci-fi films like ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘The Thing’, two films that just happen to be on my all time top 10 list. The music combined with an expansive universe and story that rivalled George Lucas’s ‘Galaxy far, far away’, made for an addictive ride this geek was happy to hop on.

Mass Effect 2 is everything a fan of the original game could have asked for; firstly you can continue your saved game from ME, and the choices you made in the first game help shape the story in ME2 and your relationship with key characters. Everything that made ME good the first time round is back, but with a nice new sheen. I literally loaded up ME2 straight after completing the first game, so the first thing that stood out was the graphical overhaul. 3 years had started to show on the original games visuals, not to mention all the glitches, ‘Mass Effect’ despite its brilliance has some major flaws.

The follow-up is a far more polished product, the animation is sharper and more detailed, everything has a shiny new coat. Gone are the big, widespread empty levels, to be replaced by more detailed and compact level designs. This isn’t to say the game is smaller, it has a less is more effect and on the whole exploration is more concise and more enjoyable. The biggest improvement is in the battle system, the gameplay is a lot tighter and the AI is smarter; far less fights are ruined by your team mates getting in the way, or not getting into cover when necessary. Ducking behind cover and blasting away enemies is as enjoyable as it is in the best cover-based shooters (like ‘Gears of War’). And this time the RPG elements feel smoother and more integrated into the overall experience. Switching weapons, shooting down an enemy and using all the characters tech/biotic powers works seamlessly. As a shooter the game excels and it overshadows its predecessor significantly.

There’s still a few little glitches in the works, I found myself stuck to the scenery maybe a couple of times during the entire game. For such a big and beautiful game these are minor blemishes in comparison to ME or something similar in scope like Fallout 3.

The game is an audio powerhouse, it’s got one of the most impressive sound designs I’ve heard. Once again the music is great and compliments the mood perfectly, the voice acting is of the highest standard, possibly even the best of any videogame I’ve played. And the diverse sound effects all make for an immersive aural experience, get the surround sound on and fully submerge yourself in the ME2 world.

It’s a cinematic piece of work that combines great storytelling, exceptional art design, solid graphics, stunning audio, a varied cast of characters and most importantly outstanding gameplay. And that’s why it’s my game of the year! Mass Effect 2 will be talked about in years from now for being one of the all time classic videogames. Roll on ME3 this year!


The Runners up;


Vanquish


Who would have thought Sega had this little gem in the bag? But Vanquish went under the radar, badly marketed, no online play or multiplayer options and for the few who did play it, not that many of them ‘got it’. Vanquish is a massively underrated game.

Vanquish is a third person shooter, the protagonist wears a mech-suit which he can utilise to boost around the stages at great speed. This skill can be used to the players advantage in many ways; finding new cover, flanking enemies, dodging an enemy attack, or to pull off a cheeky drop-kick manoeuvre. You can use cover to slow down the pace and hold your ground, in a similar way to ‘Gears Of War’, but you’re never safe in one place when playing Vanquish and this is when boosting from cover to cover becomes vital to your survival. Speedy gameplay is what Vanquish does best.

This is clearly a Japanese game designed to take on the Western market, it’s got influences pulled from Gears of War and Halo, but with a zany Japanese madness that makes it standout as one of the most original and fresh games in many a year. Being Japanese made it benefits from slick, solid graphics, with hardly any slowdown when it’s going full speed, or breakdown in animation, or graphical pop-ups common in Western games. There’s also a strong Japanese quirkiness in there. Epic boss fights and truly exhilarating action.

It’s a short lived, single player only affair, but brilliant all the same and so close to being my game of the year. I can not rave about this game enough.


Fable 3

I was disappointed with Fable 2, this looks pretty similar, yet it also feels like they’ve improved it so much. The nice graphics are slightly spoilt by some glitches and pop-up, but the game world is so detailed and immersive you wont mind too much.

Great voice acting, a story that pulls you in, atmospheric and magical music, genuinely funny dialogue and co-op gameplay that works. The only thing that let it down was a pretty short campaign.


Army of Two 40th Day

I don't think the reviews on this game were that favourable, but I loved it! It was made for one purpose; deliver a great co-op campaign experience offline and online, something that is lacking in a lot of games these days.

It’s a no-brainer-shoot em’ up-actionfest, add co-operative play and you’ve got a Gears of War clone that doesn't take itself too seriously. The weapon customisation is pretty cool too. I can't wait for a third installment.


Halo Reach

What more can be said about the Halo series? The games haven't evolved much from the original, but when the gameplay mechanics are this solid they don’t really need to. The controls are polished to perfection, brilliant multi-player and co-op modes and it excels online. They have added some excellent new pick-ups though; rocketpacks, holograms, drop-shields etc.
It’s HALO! Nuff said.


I still need to play;


Red Dead Redemption

This is getting most gamers and critics 'game of the year' accolade for 2010, I've had a quick go on the 'Undead' add-on and thought it was good. I'm pretty sure it would have made the runners up list.

Mario Galaxy 2

I love Mario, I don't know why I haven't played this.