Underworld: Awakening Review

TITLE: Underworld Awakening

DIRECTORS: Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein

STARS: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, India Eisley

SCREEN WRITER(S): Len Wiseman, John Hlavin

RATING: R

GENRE: Action, Horror

BUDGET: $70,000,000

            Way back in 2003 I saw a film that forever changed my opinions on the werewolves and vampires genres. I was captivated by a hot female death dealer in a skin tight leather suit kicking all kinds of ass on the big screen all the while being consumed by a fun and action packed story.  It is because of this movie that a race named Lycans caused me to become obsessed with Lycanthropy to this day. Underworld was a franchise that along with other films like ‘Blade’ made the Vampire genre hip and caused Goths to flourish even more in schools. Then came 2007 and a little series of books that I dare not mention started plaguing the vampire and werewolf public image and there was nothing the fans could do to stop. Brutality was replaced by whininess and sappiness and fangs were pushed aside by sparkling skin, big hair, and muscular jailbait for middle aged women. As a result over time, the coolness of these genres were slowly dying and now with 2012 here, I can finally say werewolves and vampires don’t have to be pussies anymore.

            Like a pale skinned, blue eyed savior in the night, Kate Beckinsale reprises her role of Selene and is back with a vengeance. Being disappointed by the third film in this series, I was nervous when I learned a fourth film was being released but I am going to say right here and now that this film does not disappoint and is indeed worthy of the Underworld name.

Once again Len Wiseman remains faithful to the franchise and returns with seven other writers to create the screenplay for the franchises’ fourth installment and while the overall result is fun and action packed, it goes without saying that this story does have some blatant plot problems. I won’t go into the details of them though as it would only lead to spoilers.

We learn at the beginning humanity has discovered the existence of both the vampires and lycans and declared an all out war on the two races. Both races are driven almost to the point of extinction resulting in Selene being captured as she tries to escape with her main love interest Michael Corvin. She awakes years later out of a cryosleep chamber completely unaware of her surroundings and unsure what was being done to her. Making an action packed escape through the research facility controlled by Dr. Jacob Lane played by Stephen Rea, (V for Vendetta) in an attempt to find Michael; Selene meets a new character named Eve played by India Eisley, (Secret Life of an American Teenager). I won’t go into details as Eve’s relationship with Selene but all I have to say is she is a welcome newcomer to the Underworld mythology and steals the show multiple times throughout the film. From there, the two try to make sense of the world around them, meet new likable allies, and struggle to survive as they continue to search for Selene’s lost lover.  

Pacing in 'Awakening' never lets up keeping the audience on edge from start to finish. Dialog while, can sound cheesy at times is for the most part well written and true to the style of the previous films. The chemistry between Selene and Eve is perfect given the circumstances thrown at them. It’s heartfelt and a growing bond can definitely be sensed between the two while supporting side characters bring their own charms to the screen.

Directed by Mans Marlind, (Shelter) and Bjorn Stein, (Shelter), these two show that they work well together as the cinematography stays true and dark to the style of the previous films with dynamic shots everywhere. Stunt choreography is jaw dropping and always remains to feel fresh even after three films. Costume designs remain gothic yet modern and should be noted that even after all this time Beckinsale still looks great in her tight leather suit. The creature designs for the lycans at times look obviously more computer generated with practical effects taking more of a back seat as compared to the original film but they still look pretty good for the most part. The CGI does a great job at creating the multiple transformation scenes making the mythology all the more believable.

If you like speakers constantly rumbling to base then this is the movie for you. The sound effects along with the music score add loads of atmosphere to Selene’s world. This is also a film that should only be seen in 3D. The 3D never relies on cheap gag tricks and only adds to the overall thrill to the film. This series was made for 3D and I can only hope that the other films eventually get converted to it on Blu Ray.

So overall Underworld: Awakening is a non stop thrill ride that doesn’t disappoint old fans and hopefully will attract new ones. With vampires and werewolves slowly becoming lame ducks, this provides the shot of adrenaline the genres so desperately need. Yes the story has plot holes but they are easy to forgive due to the nature of these films. The 3D adds a new level of fun and with that I say welcome back Underworld. It’s so good to see you again.

Rating 4 out of 5

Ryan Pierce

The Grey

TITLE: The Grey

DIRECTOR: Joe Carnahan

STARS: Liam Neeson

SCREEN WRITER(S) Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers,

RATING: R

GENRE: Action

BUDGET: $34,000,000

Being an avid camper and motorcyclist, it can be fair to say that I love nature. It can be calming, refreshing and make any bad day feel a little better. That being said, nature can totally suck as well. When looking at the possibilities of weather and nature, the negative aspects can easily out way the good. Civilization over the centuries has really sheltered the human race from the unforgiving terrors Mother Nature provides on day to day basis. Most of us wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to what it would take to survive in a strange uncolonized world where every second could be your last. Heck we hear a news report of six inches of snow coming and we wipe out the supermarkets because we just may not survive two days stuck indoors.

The Grey stars Liam Neeson, (Taken) who plays the role of Ottway, an employee of a fossil fuel plant stationed in Alaska whose job is to hunt and protect his fellow co-workers from the dangerous wild life that surrounds them. We learn early on that he is emotionally beat down by his past involving a woman but the details are kept unclear as it continues to plague him. Scheduled to depart home, Ottway boards a commercial jet with numerous other workers and set to take off in a snow storm that any pilot would consider suicide. Anyone in aviation knows that ice is a plane’s worst enemy so after hosing the aircraft off in a blizzard, it takes off to unsurprisingly crash in the baron Alaskan wilderness. Despite strapping himself to multiple seat belts in the air, Ottway lands far away from the crash with his seats nowhere to be found and survives mostly unscathed. He learns that only seven survivors remain and just when things couldn’t possibly get worse, he discovers that they are stranded on the hunting grounds of murderous wolves. Realizing that leaving the territory is everyone’s only hope for survival; Ottway leads everyone out into the unknown where the elements are just as deadly as any wolf bite.

The Grey is a screen adaption of the short story, ‘Ghost Walker’ written by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers who also wrote the film’s screen play. This is his second credited screenplay with “Death Sentence” being the first. For the most part pacing is a mixed bag from fast and suspenseful to flat out slow but never really gets to be boring during the cool down scenes as suspense is always there. Neeson’s plays the usual “down to earth but will kick ass if needed” role that fans have come to expect. Ottway takes what life throws at him and attacks back with a cool head stays constantly resourceful. The other characters unfortunately are nowhere near as interesting as the main protagonist. Right off the bat the audience is introduce to two characters that practically make one beg for their death scenes to arrive soon. Flannery, played by Joe Anderson, (The Crazies) is a yappy goof who annoys everyone around him while Diaz, played by Frank Grillo (Warrior) does nothing but complain and challenge authority without ever once contributing to the situation.  Remaining characters are fleshed out much better as the relationships between them and Ottway continue to grow. Dialog never gets forced sounding, and always sounds believable. Religion and faith is thrown into the story but it’s never shoved down the audience’s throat. It’s kept at level anyone would most likely question if faced in dire situations and facing one’s mortality.

Visually, The Grey is gorgeous as it shows off the untamed Alaskan territories well. Great camera work does a great job of showing the terrors and beauty of the wilderness that surround the characters. The special effects on the wolves though are another story. Off in the distance they can look great but when the close ups arrive, it is painfully obvious that the animals are not flesh and blood but instead CGI and animatronics. Nature itself though is the greatest special effect in this tale and is used flawlessly.

Sound is sharp and haunting when needed to be. There are many times when just hearing predators nearby make the atmosphere just as unnerving as seeing the wolves themselves. The music score is simply there to serve as a tool to boost the action when needed but never got to the point where it felt out of place. I honestly can’t remember any of the music but I know it was there when things got intense.

Overall, ‘The Grey’ is a decent “man vs. wild” flick that accomplishes its overall goal. The cinematography is great, Neeson doesn’t fail to disappoint, and it does bring up some interesting questions about what happens when we die. The few unrealistically annoying side characters however, bring the film down from being perfect. It should be noted that the deaths in this film are quite clever as it doesn’t rely solely on wolves ripping throats out constantly. The elements and ones own health can be just as deadly and it does a great job at depicting that. I was expecting an all out gore fest walking into this one and was pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the case.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Ryan Pierce

Gearhead Review

Title: Gearhead

Arthur: Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Kevin Mellon/Ed Herrera

Publisher: Arcana

Binding: Paperback

Release Date: 2008

I discovered the comic Gearhead on comixology as a free preview and was immediately drawn in. The comic gave off the impression of a Mad Max post apocalyptic style world and centers around Shelby Cooper, the tomboyish protagonist who knows her way around a wrench. We meet Cooper for the first time participating in underground drag races for rent money. She stays calm and cool beside her 1940’s hot rod while her next victim boast about his new all electric Datsun 440Z, (guess Nissan decided to go retro with their marketing), before pulling up beside him at the starting line. Knowing that victory was in the bag, she blows the doors off the newb and in good sportsmanship style, supplies the young lad with a witty t-shirt that announces his shame for all to see. With the money in hand, Coop heads on home stroking her ego about how great she is until her car stalls on the empty highway knocking her down a peg. The preview pretty much ended there leaving me eager to see more. I went ahead and purchased the trade of the four issues where I quickly learned that Gearhead’s story flat out died along with Cooper’s fuel pump.

The Cover of Gearhead is simple showing the protagonist staring at the reader while rocking a tank top along with welding gear and a giant wrench in hand against a white backdrop. Colors are muddy which one could say fits the messy life of someone who works with machines for a living, but to me it just comes off resembling uninspired watercolors.

Inside the book, coloring gets a little bit better with more defined shadowing adding depth to the panels, but the bland colors still plague the world the reader is immersed in. Elements are at times poorly represented with odd color choices as well. There are multiple panels where fire is depicted as green smoke, making the scenes difficult to interpret until the lead character makes it clear of that fact later on.

Character designs span from the extremely dull and forgettable to outright ridiculous. Captain Weather Vain’s all green spandex suit is without a doubt the blandest outfit I’ve seen in comics so far. Red skull, the chief of police looks like a rejected version of Marcus Felix from Gears of War and totes around a large revolver that anyone with the simplest knowledge of firearm mechanics would see there’s no way it would work. Subtle T, the ultimate villain in this story wears an outfit so ridiculous and outlandish that it instantly kills the whole premises of Gearheads fabled society but I’ll get into that later. Cooper is the only character that shows any effort put in. Mostly because she’s drawn in the sexiest positions possible Heck, her chest at times is the main focus on multiple panels. Breasts are nice, but there are better ways of making a female character sexy without making every panel a pin up.

Anatomy and facial issues occur through out the story as well. Arms become too long, heads aren’t connected to necks correctly, and derp faces are everywhere. Most of the time though characters just have a bored, unconcerned look to them, even when they are fighting for their lives. Even when they should be flat out pissed they just show a squinty look of annoyance.

Gearhead was a first time comic project for artist Kevin Mellon and it really shows when he tried to illustrate movement and physics. Characters flying look like they are standing giants, while an action as simple as a slap looks like someone holding their hand out. Cars can be seen jumping over folks for the simple sake of showing action with no ramp object anywhere to be seen and Coop has no problem flying a jet pack with a belly shirt and thong with the exhaust flame right over her back. How the heat alone wouldn’t burn her ass, I don’t know.

The use of the panels and the dialog bubbles do an a overall pretty good job at telling the story as the sequential art is easy to navigate, and bubbles never get in the way and are easy to understand who is saying them; with the exception of one splash page where readers witness Cooper being captured by Weather Vain. Unconscious, and flung over the shoulder of her enemy, this would normally be a tense scene except in the very next panel, we see Cooper and her friends driving away in her vehicle acknowledging their escape. Even in a flash back we see Weather vain beating up Coops friends with her nowhere in sight. Why didn’t Weather Vain fly off after grabbing her? Better yet did he ever have her? Did he put her down? The reader doesn’t see Cooper till a few panels later where she is awake and rescuing her friends. Furthermore, since the flashback was all from her memory its safe to say that she was always awake making that splash page completely meaningless.

Despite my problems with the art portion of this comic it’s the story that really kills this book. Gearhead was also a debut project for writer Dennis Hopeless and boy was this a rough start. After the opening race, Cooper is in her garage and calls her brother, owner of an auto parts store, to get a new fuel pump. Living outside the city in the barren apocalyptic wastelands, she goes to meet her brother where we learn an interesting bit about life in the city. Strict laws are apparently in effect inside city limits. Smoking, drinking, porn, profanity, and combustion engine vehicles have all been outlawed within jurisdiction limits leaving everywhere else outside the fifteen great cities a sin filled utopia in a matter of speaking. She arrives at her brother’s store only to discover that he is gone and left a message for her to check the safe. From there, she discovers an mp3 player and plays it to hear their deceased fathers favorite song and begins to cry, trying to make the reader feel sorry for a character they saw. The song then turns to her brother’s voice telling here that her father was in fact a fighter in the super war and that bad things are coming for them. This is where the story takes a complete U turn. The story started out as a road warrior’s tale and quickly turns into a Watchmen type scenario. Turns out the apocalypse was the result of an all out war between super heroes and villains leaving most of the United States in shambles. The moment is interrupted when two suits walk up to the shop and attempt to set it a blaze using super powers with Coop still inside but fail as she escaped.

Realizing that he brother was captured, she goes out in search for info on her father’s killer and stumbles across a small bar named Bar of the Dead. Inside, a band of ex-super villains sit and watch TV as zombies walk around the joint doing chores. Why are zombies doing chores and tending bar you ask? Well much later in the story it is finally explained that one of the ex-villains, Teddy, can generate multiple flesh and blood zombie clones out of his body. He doesn’t possess souls; he’s not a necromancer, he just really emo and lets his, “dead inside” feelings take shape in the real world. Sound silly you say? How about another character that can shoot waves of oil out of his hands? Why Exxon never made the man a billionaire is beyond me.

Taking out the working zombies, Cooper never questions why the dead are walking, and barges into the tavern where she is quickly apprehended by the occupants. She learns that  her captives knew her father and decides to listen to their tale while randomly wearing only a t-shirt and panties despite uttering moments earlier that she would never get naked due to the horniness of one of the occupants. It is revealed that even though her father fought for good, he was eventually murdered by Subtle T and her crew of ex superheroes. Subtle T is now the president of the United States and apparently destroyed all dress codes as she works in an outfit shaped like the letter “T” covering only her naughty bits. That’s my biggest gripe with this character. How you going to outlaw porn and swearing when your outfit screams sex and would cause every straight male to emote, “god damn” within sight? I understand the outfit was to reflect irony with her name but it’s impossible for me to believe that a society this fixed on morals would allow their leader to walk around like that. It’s also impossible for me to believe that her second in command walks everywhere with giant headphones over his ears at all times. Not like he has anything important to hear being in the white house and all.

So later on the group of bandits let Cooper go and find themselves under attack from Red Skull and Captain Weather Vain after Subtle T learns of Cooper’s existence and orders her out of the picture. Some of the bandits get killed, causing the survivors to make a stand and attack Subtle T’s minions head on. Arriving at the police station, Teddy generates an army of zombies and equips them with guns they acquired along the way. Shortly after wiping the police force out, Oil Slick forces Red Skull out and begins to beat him senseless while Cooper tries to pry him off. The struggle continues as Coop tries to save Oil Slick from committing murder, until he finally lets up. Red Skull, now defenseless and beaten so bad that he can’t move or form words, Cooper then takes her giant wrench and in one clean swoop, smashes his face in, making that whole  struggle to save his life absolutely pointless. It is from there the book raps up with Subtle T showing her goods to the world as she gazes out of the windows of the White House with a mildly annoyed expression asking simply, “what’s next”.

In the end Gearhead is one mess of a comic with an identity crisis. It starts out as a post apocalyptic road warrior’s tale that jumps ship to become some half assed superhero drama. The characters and art are way too dull, and the story has way too many hiccups and contradictions to keep readers entertained. It also shoehorns in the popular zombie element and instead shows that zombies being used as a super power just don’t work in this kind of story.  I went into this book expecting to discover a unique bad ass female protagonist who wasn’t afraid to do a man’s job and instead got an uninteresting character that had no business going beyond the pin up posters she was created from. The creators of this crapfest have gone on to making other comics such as X-Men: season one, (Hopeless) and Hack/Slash, (Mellon) so one can hope that their skills greatly improved over the years. With that said though, avoid this lemon at all costs.

Ryan Pierce

BB Wolf and the Three LPs

Title: BB Wolf and the Three LPs

Arthur: JD Arnold

Artist: Richard Koslowski

Publisher: Top Shelf Productions

Binding: Hard cover

Release Date: July 2010

          

We all know the story of the three little pigs. Cute little porkers going about their lives when the big bad wolf appears to tear down their houses and gobble them up. The classic story of brains triumphing over brawns when the wolf is defeated by the infamous brick house. It is always told as a clean open shut case, but did anyone ever ask what the wolf’s side of the story was? What made him want to devour the three little pigs? Were his actions justified? Were the pigs truly innocent? Taking the classic tale and cleverly reimagining it, BB Wolf tells the story from the predator’s perspective and proves that what we are told is not always the full gospel truth.

At first glance, the hard cover design has a simple and humble look to it. Given a faux textured look of library books of older years, we get a small sepia tone photo of our hero in the center. From here the reader can see that staying true to the classic fairy tale, the use of funny animals are going to be depicted and the guitar along with clothing style suggests this will be a period piece centered around the blues era. Open the book and one quickly sees that this will be the case.

The artwork is done in a black and white charcoal sketch style on thick heavy pages. Richard Koslowski’s (Three Fingers), character designs are fitting for a typical fairy tale as his facial expressions along with distorted anatomies do a great job of portraying various personalities throughout the story. Even the designs of the characters eyes are enough at times to let readers know what the character is thinking or feeling at points. The clothing style and the environments do a superb job at throwing the reader into the early 1900s. Wolves are second class citizens, thus their wardrobes are withered and worn compared to tailored garments of the wealthier pigs.  Atmospheres are rich in detail from smokey bars to cold damp nights on city streets. With that said, this is not a bed time story one will be reading to the little ones as violence is illustrated here in graphic detail. Rib cages are burst open, disemboweling will occur, and horror filled faces of death appear throughout the story.

For the most part, the dialog is placed well through out the panels, but there are one or two instances where the locations are off, causing characters to utter phrases not meant for them. Exposition dialog is easy to follow though and sound effects are always used properly to bring more action to scenes. The sequential art also is easy to follow and does it’s job of guiding the eyes from panel to panel.

As mentioned before the story of our hero Barnabus Benjamin Wolf is not meant for real young kids. It deals with issues like the infamous Jim Crow laws that flourished in the south and talks about what one must do to seek justice when state laws won’t help you. Like the comic Blacksad, this is a world where the color of ones fur and species depicts race. Wolves are the second rate black citizens where the pigs represent the more superior white race. BB Wolf is a poor farmer in Mississippi. He’s not a soul longing for riches beyond his wildest dreams. In fact he's pretty content with his humble life. He has himself a loving wife, some pups, and his prized guitar named Molly that he uses to play the blues at his local bar. One morning suffering a hangover, he awakes to the sound of his screaming wife and learns that his farm is being legally stolen from under him by Little Pig due to a loophole in the mortgage. Turns out Little Pig is snatching up land all over the state and in a powerful turn of events all the local wolves get together and make a stand to protect BB and his family’s house. All is well for a while until one night while away, our hero returns to find his house burned to the ground, his neighbors killed, and even his family murdered.

Unlike the classic tale, in here we learn that it is only BB who looses his house shedding more evidence that despite of popular belief not all we hear is true. Knowing for sure that Little Pig is responsible, BB goes on Murdering rampage only to go into hiding afterwards and learn that LP had two older brothers also responsible for the crimes done to him. The rest of the story can be figured out. BB continues his quest for vengeance and along the way meets a handful of interesting characters good and bad. Even in this dark tale humor can be found but it never gets silly and remains at an adult level.

Overall BB “Wolf and the Three LPs” brings a fresh outlook on an otherwise stale fairytale. The characters are rich with personality, the time setting is unique, and it deals with real adult issues shedding light on one of humanity’s darkest shames. I honestly found myself disappointed that story ended as quickly as it did though. Being only ninety pages long I feel that this could’ve been a much longer story maybe even a series possible. This was JD Arnold’s first graphic novel to my understanding and the fact that this tale immersed me as it did says a lot about his story telling skills. I can only hope that he has more ideas to come. With that said, is BB Wolf a must buy? In my opinion, yes because it was quite the experience seeing this old story get retold and grow on a more intellectual level. Plus when the book is only eleven bucks right now on amazon.com it truly is a bargin to add this to your collection.

Ryan Pierce

COMICS REVIEW: Off Road

Title: Off-Road

Arthur: Sean Murphy

Artist: Sean Murphy

Publisher: IDW

Release Date: February 2011

I have a theory about human intellect. The more friends you get together, the lower their IQ’s drop. However, at the same time, the positives of friendship so outweigh the negatives. Off Road is a charming tale by Sean Murphy, (Writer of Joe the Barbarian and Hellblazer) about three friends putting their friendships to the test. The main character Trent is an emo artsy type who has no luck with women and can’t let old relationships go. Greg is a cocky jock who comes from a wealthy family with no real worries in the world, while Brad is rough around the edges tough guy who comes from a broken home. Reuniting after high school, the three get together after Greg picks up his brand new Jeep to get ready for a party later that night. But thanks to a hyper salesman planting bad ideas in Trent’s head, the three decide it would be a great idea to take the new ride off road beforehand. What’s the worse that can happen?

First of all it should be noted that not only is Murphy the author of this graphic novel, but he’s also the illustrator. Done in a black and white clean yet sketchy style, every scene is easy on the eyes with foregrounds and backgrounds always in a perfect balance. Exposition and regular dialog bubbles never get in the way of the art and are placed well for the eyes to follow and let the story progress without mishaps.

The story in this graphic novel is a real treat. The three main characters are all likable yet still have their problems and personality faults. Trent learns that a girl he still likes, but has no hopes of ever getting is holding the party that they are about to attend. Yet when Greg and Brad try to help him move on, he won’t have any of it. Brad has no qualms speaking his mind, which tends to make him unpopular at times with some, but turns out that’s just what they need. Greg is used to living the high life and not having to take any risks of his own and doesn’t realize that it’s an important part of life. After getting their Jeep stuck in a bog, the three are forced to confront these issues causing tensions to fly, but later on resulting in them building memories of a lifetime, and making their friendship grow even stronger.

The dialog between characters is natural sounding and never seems forced. They talk like all best buds would. They bust each others balls with snarky remarks yet get serious and sometimes grow attitudes when the times get tough. Comedic timing flows well in places you wouldn’t normally expect, but when looking back in retrospect one, could quickly relate those scenes with someone they know in real life. My only gripe with the story, and it’s a minor one, is every female character turns out a bit too bitchy and cold as they go out of their way to step on hearts, but it’s never done on an unbelievable level. Obviously women can be manipulative and insensitive when they want to. It’s just always on full throttle here.

Overall, Off Road is a fun buddy’s tale that I think everyone should take a look at. The characters are well developed, the art is easy to look at, and the dialog keeps you wanting to turn the page. In the end the story resolves nicely not leaving the reader hanging or wondering what happened to anybody. It leaves the reader feeling good and happy that they could tag along with the guys and their little adventure. Sean Murphy is a talented artist and writer which is most of the time a hard find. This one is definitely worth a read.

Ryan Pierce

Forza 4 Review

Game Name: Forza 4

Developer: Turn 10

Genre: Racing
Rating: Everyone

Platform: Xbox 360


 

After an almost a two year hiatus, The Gran Turismo rival finally returns for the Xbox360, and digital gear heads couldn’t be happier. Microsoft Studios and Turn 10 once again let players take their ultimate dream rides and burn fuel and rubber in real life tracks across the world, but this time they are bringing a special guest along with them. Teaming up with Jeremy Clarkson from the popular show Top Gear, the franchise tries to broaden its appeal to its audience with the BBC show’s name. But as Clarkson always asks himself when in the cockpit of a five hundred horse power supercar; is this new entry in the franchise brilliant, or rubbish?

Jaw dropping graphics have always gone hand and hand with Forza, and where I thought the last one couldn’t get any better; this one once again sent my jaw dropping to the floor. If one was to step away from the main fun career mode, and check out the viewing section of Auto Vista, players can check out some of their most desirable cars in what can only be described as absurd detail. Lift up the hood, and you can see every bolt, every wire and connector in its correct place, and the interiors just welcome you to sit inside. It’s honestly a shame that this title doesn’t support 3D because when details are this precise, true sense of depth would just be more icing on the cake.

If there are any pop ups on the surroundings of the track, I have yet to find them. Every recreated track is beautiful and has such depth that you never once feel like you are on a floating island with wallpaper mountains all around you. That is quite the feat considering Forza boast over 500 detailed cars, (excluding Porches thanks to EA’s grip on the licensing), along with numerous large tracks. Some can take over 7 minutes for a single lap.

Simulation and arcade style racers have always been difficult to satisfy together, but Forza has that problem covered. Those who don’t want the fear of sliding off the roads on every corner can let the game assist players with breaking. One can go through entire races not once braking for themselves or one can take the “alls you” approach, having to shift, and brake all on their own. Even ABS can be turned off and if one desires, can go controller free with the Kinect. The choice of playing style is all up to the player, even when online. However, even with all this customability, every car still manages to have a unique feel. Bulky heavy muscle cars still want to push straight, while lighter nimbler rides hug the corners.

When it comes to customizing in forza, it could make or break for players. Need for Speed fans will not get their fix of body kits or large wings in this title. Forza takes a much more mechanical approach as it lets players, upgrade engine components, wheels, drivetrains, even full out engine swaps. So if you want to create a lighter, nimbler, more powerful Alfa Romeo with stiffer suspension you’re all set, but if you want to equip your  Honda with nitrous and a wing big enough to lift a 747 look elsewhere. However, one can still create awesome paint jobs and then sell it online in the community store auction style for credits. Ever wanted the Barricade Mustang from transformers? With the right amount of credits it can be yours.

Online is a whole new experience in itself as there is something for everyone. Like drag racing or drifting matches instead of circuit races? Well they are there for you. Ever wanted to play soccer with your Fiat? It’s there too. Even the circuits online are divided into classes so one doesn’t have to worry about picking a stock Mini Cooper and ending up on a track with Ferraris and face palming.

Any Gear head appreciates the beautiful sound of a slow rumbling V8 or the throaty roar of an Italian V10 and Forza conquers this in spades. Every car in the game has its unique, real world sound, all the way down to the whine and whirl of superchargers. Those with nice sound systems will want to crank them up and while in the cockpit of their favorite rides. This feature is done so well that it made me a fan of some vehicles that I never liked before hearing their engines rev with the simulated crowds in the bleaches cheering.

Being a huge fan of Top Gear, this is the biggest disappointment of this title. Jeremy Clarkson is great, contributing witty reviews of some of the world’s greatest cars but that is at the same time the biggest problem. Besides having Clarkson’s voice, the Top Gear test track, and challenges that have players run cars through bowling pins to collect points, there’s not too much offered from the BBC show. Where’s Richard Hammond and James May? It would’ve been great to hear commentary from them as well. With the Top Gear track available for online play, why isn’t there a leader board for the famous “reasonably priced car” from the show that could have players, race a certain model car to compete for the best time? Why aren’t there more silly challenges? This is the one spot that Forza falls way short of greatness as it fails to take full advantage of the Top Gear License. I can only hope that they get better with this feature in future installments because it could be a perfect match.

I’m not one who complains about downloadable content, but Forza struck a nerve with me on this one. After spending real cash to download new vehicles, why in the hell does a player still have to spend game credits to unlock the car they just bought? Once I spend cash, that car should be in my garage ready to go; not cost me another 55,000 in credits too.

As a whole though, Forza 4  is a really nice upgrade from the previous title. Graphics are, sharper, sounds are flawless, and gameplay fits any user’s preference. I just wish Top Gear had more of a presence in it since it was a major part of this title’s advertising. With this said, Owners of Forza 3 may not find enough here to drop another sixty bucks, but to newcomers, this is a must buy.

Ryan Pierce

Rating 8 out of 10

PROS: Jaw dropping graphics

            Superior Sound.

            Countless replay value

            Satisfies players of all styles of racing

            New cars always able to be added via DLC

CONS: Lackluster use of the Top Gear franchise

             Doesn’t bring much to the table to convince Forza 3 owners to buy again.