Generic Thursday blog post

Dragon Age: Origins
Man, I have a buttload of games to review. First off and for the record: That's not a complaint. It is the truth, though. I have six games I'm at varying stages of playing that all should get reviewed soon-ish (if not already). Shoot, I still have to get deep enough into NHL 10 to start forming some opinions and when did that come out? Like, months ago, it seems (it wasn't.) It's sad. And the worst of it? After Nov. 3, I'm pretty much just playing Dragon Age: Origins. Bioware continues to tease some amazing details like this social network-style element the game uses. Also, this reviewer has outlined the use of sex (which is pretty frequent) in the game. My favorite tidbit from that is that the sex becomes an element "around the 60 hour mark" of the game. Awesome.

Uncharted
Nolan North, game voice actor extraordinaire has dropped that Hugh Jackman is everyone's fave pick to play Nathan Drake in a big screen adaptation of Uncharted. I guess that works. I like Jackman, a lot actually, but him as Drake isn't a slam dunk for me. Nope, it isn't.  After recently playing all of Uncharted 2 and revisiting a bit of the original for comparitive purposes (yes, I'm just that thorough), I was feeling Bradley Cooper as Nathan for some reason. He sort of has that cocky-wry thing going, he would probably put a lot more into the franchise than someone who already has one going, and, he really sounds like North/Drake. Then again, maybe Drake needs the Indiana Jones style weight that someone like Jackman has. I don't know. It's probably best that I don't cast giant Hollywood adaptations of video games for a living, isn't it?

Alien prequel
Ridley Scott is doing a prequel to Alien. Whether or not you think that's a good idea, it's happening. Hey, it's better than Brett Ratner doing it or who-have-you, but still, yeah, there's going to be some nervousness there for all of us out here. Scott has started to drop some details about his idea -- well, very vague ones, anyway. Mainly about when the film would take place in relation to the original.

Avatar
Here is the first, full Avatar trailer. So, what did you think? It looks rather plush, doesn't it? To me, it also looks like it will be kinda bad and here's why: the dialogue/story we're allowed to see. It just all seems a tad too simple, doesn't it? Shouldn't a futuristic tale of morality have some complex moral choices in it? Then there's the (possibly ridiculous) Braveheart-slash-St. Crispen's Day speech that all epic films seem to have and all I could say was: Wow. As in: Wow, that's bad. My dad and I were talking about the movie at Thanksgiving and he was like, "If they can put people's consciousness into another entity, why don't they have the technology to repair the guy's body?" The trailer sort of hints that maybe there's a reason, but still, I'm really getting the no feeling from this one.

24
Do you still watch this? I don't.

And finally...
Networks keep giving science fiction shows the green light. There are a bunch out there in TV land. Some are great. Some are just good. Some are Stargate. Regardless, networks have a tendency to kick science fiction shows in their special parts any chance they can get. Moving them around. Putting them on hiatus. Reducing their budgets. Etc. Well, it's about time they stopped. And figures that as soon as I get into Fringe, it's now considered a bubble show. Face palm.

The Player: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Again.

Okay, so I finished the game. Now I have to write the review. Let’s just say: it’s not going well.

That’s not the game’s fault. I enjoyed Uncharted 2 a lot and will be giving it a pretty solid review – like a 9 or 9.5 out of 10. I loved going on adventures with Nate Drake and meeting the colourful cast of loveable rogues and scoundrels. Also, my crush on Elena continues. So, me not writing a review isn’t because I hated the game or whatever. Let’s get that out there. I’m just having trouble putting things down in a nicely set out, review form.

I’m going to use this entry as a way to organize my thoughts and maybe come up with some bon mots etc.

Here’s what’s good about the game:

- The controls are a lot tighter this time around. The amount of times where you die a frustrating death chalked up to a camera or controller glitch is almost nil. Well done, Naughty Dog. Also, I loved that grenades have their own button now, instead of having to switch between your guns to get to them as in the original. It keeps things simple and that’s what you want in combat.

- Everything is BIGGER! The story. The action. The fun. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune had a ton of thrills and spills, don’t get me wrong, but Among Thieves tops them all by taking a gaming experience and turning it into something beyond by fusing pulse-pounding action movie cinematic techniques. There are a bunch of set pieces that I just sat there and shook my head about how awesome they were – and there was at least one that made me exclaim (yes, out loud) “I always wanted to do this in a game…”

- The voice acting and use of it is exceptional. Some of the best out there.

- Great characterization. One of the things I loved about Drake’s Fortune was that it created this believable and interesting character, Nathan Drake. You want to learn more about him and his adventures and, thanks to the franchise, you’re probably going to now.

One bad thing about the game:

- Well, it’s not bad, so much as a complaint. The difference in difficulty at “Normal” between Drake’s Fortune and Among Thieves is very noticeable. What I really liked about the first game was that firefights were excruciating and you never really had that much ammo, so you always felt like your back was against the wall and often, you’d be forced to do crazy things to stay alive. It gave Nate and the game this ragged feel, sort of like Indiana Jones in Raiders. In Among Thieves, I don’t remember once getting close to running out of ammo. Also, most gunfights were short by standards of the original game. The pulled punches sort of continue in other aspects of the game, with a lot of hand holding and the like. Things are so lightweight sometimes that when you do face a heftier challenge, you’re pretty surprised by it.

Quibbles aside, I highly recommend the game. It delivers a high flying, enjoyable kick to the face – and you’ll be smiling through the whole thing.

The Player: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

In “The Player,” you’re going to sit through me talking about the video games I’m playing at the moment. Awesome, right? I’ll give you some observations, complaints, compliments, snack suggestions and so forth.

At the moment, I’m playing giant PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. According to the game’s statistics, I’m 4+ hours into the game (or 33%, again, according to the game) and I think I can officially say it’s really, really good.

I really enjoyed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, so I’m not surprised that I’m digging this one – but I am surprised at how much Naughty Dog have stepped up their game.

I thought the first game – like some other early PS3 games – was treated harshly. Stuff like Drake’s... and the also chronically underrated Heavenly Sword got okay reviews, like high sevens, early eights, but never got the crazy accolades that your Gears of Wars and Halos got. I’m not sure how much better those games could realistically have been, though. In my humble opinion, they were pretty amazing. I may talk about my deep love for Heavenly Sword some other day, but as for Drake’s Fortune, you got an incredibly conceived, exciting, well-executed adventure game with great voice acting and top drawer dialogue. More importantly, there was a really solid foundation for a franchise there. Like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft or James Bond, you wanted to see Nathan Drake in other adventures and learn everything you could about him and the world he lived in.

For those who didn’t see that before, there’s going to be no mistaking it with Uncharted 2. Among Thieves is highly polished, incredibly exciting, and its focus on integrating cinematic flourishes with gameplay is unparalleled and brings gaming to a new level. And then you have the storytelling, characters and voice acting, which are unrivaled. There’s an audacity to the game that can’t help but make you laugh with the kind of joy you probably last had when watching a great action or adventure film.

And that’s the point, I would assume. Naughty Dog have taken the best of action-adventure movies and made you the star of one. That’s a pretty sweet deal, no?
Check out a trailer