Monday, June 17, 2013

The Crew Becomes the World's First CAR.P.G.

 

               For the most part racing fans and petrol heads had two types of games to play at their disposal. On one side, games like Forza focused on tweaking a vehicles' functional attributes in highly detailed simulated environments  while titles like Need For Speed were more about showing off ones ride while avoiding the law in an more arcade fashion. Both genres have attempted to bring these two different groups together but have yet to fully accomplish that goal. At E3 last week a new challenger competing to become the new driving heavyweight appeared and will be brought to us by the same company that brought many other racing franchises like..... Assassins Creed and Splinter Cell? Ok Ubisoft is not known for bringing epic triple-A driving titles to consumers as of yet. "Driver San Francisco" (their highest rated driving game to date) was fun but certainly didn't set the gaming community on fire. But what started out looking like another commercial for Michelin tires quickly became an amazing trailer that likely had EA and Turn 10 Studios feeling bits of jealousy. That newcomer responsible is "The Crew" and it hopes to be one of the first great releases for the next gen systems along with PC and is due out in early 2014.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Mad Max Gets a New Game for Next Gen Consoles


2014 is quickly shaping up to be a great year for fans of the Mad Max series. With the new movie Fury Road already in post production, it was announced Monday at E3 that a new videogame adaptation featuring the infamous anti-hero is also in the works. The last time any console saw Max was in 1990 on the NES, but Avalanche Studios -the same team responsible for the "Just Cause" games- has teamed up with Warner Brothers to bring the road warrior back in an all new interactive adventure that will be coming to PC as well as current gen and next gen consoles.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

State of Decay Review

 

Title: State of Decay
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Undead Labs
Genre: Sandbox, Survival,
Rating: M

 

     There's no denying that the current gaming scene is oversaturated with zombie titles. If fighting the undead is what the premise of your game is about, you really have to go the extra mile in order to make your title stand out among the others. "State of Decay", is from what I can tell is the first release from the new creative minds of Undead Studios -a company name that I'm sure will not feel the least bit out of place if they go into making more, family friendly IPs. Suffering multiple delays, SOD is now finally available on Xbox Live and at the time of the writing of this review, is the second fastest selling arcade title to date falling only short of Minecraft. Needless to say that alone is a remarkable feat for a debuting indie company, but is this hot release living up to the hype, or like any zombie apocalypse, is it plagued with problems?

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Last Stand Review


Mindless Mayhem Brought to You by General Motors
 
 
 
 
TITLE: The Last Stand
DIRECTOR: Kim Jee-Woon
STARS: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker,
               Johnny Knoxville, Peter Stormare
PUBLISHER: Lionsgate
RATING: R
GENRE: Action

 

 

     Back in the day Action packed films centering around hi-octane fueled car chases were common place in Hollywood but over the years have become increasingly scarce on the silver screen. The same can also be said for blockbusters featuring everyone's favorite Austrian Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leading role. Both have their reasons for these turning of events however because on one side, practical stunts got replaced by the cheaper oversaturation of CGI while the famous actor took up a career in politics. Fast forward to 2013 it would seem times are changing once again now that Arnold is out of office and wasting no time going back to his acting roots.  He's not alone either as the famed terminator will be competing against another fierce mechanized icon that holds a fan base equally as large to see who comes out on top. Will this be a glorious comeback for the aging former politician or will he linger in the shadows of Chevy's newer sleeker model.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Fast and the Furious Video Review (1955)


Starting off for the New Year -- better late than never -- I take a look at the original Fast and the Furious film from 1955 to celebrate the upcoming release of Fast 6. I'm still new to making these videos so feel free to comment on anything you believe could be improved.











Friday, March 8, 2013

Tomb Raider Review





Title: Tomb Raider
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
System: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: Action Adventure, 3rd person thriller
Rating: M

 

Like any worthy hidden treasure you’d have to be under a very big rock not to know about the new reboot of one of gamings' most iconic characters. Between the controversy involving a probable rape scenario that was later debunked to the countless ads and showcasings, “Tomb Raider” is a triple-A title has had gamers of all sorts eagerly awaiting its release.  Promising a fresh new look, an engrossing origin story, and a much darker tone, did Crystal Dynamics create a glorious interactive gem or will this be another artifact cursed by the same problems that historically stuck with the franchise.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Amber Alert Review


 
 
TITLE: Amber Alert
DIRECTOR:  Kerry Bellessa
STARS: Summer Bellessa, Chris Hill, Caleb Thompson
PUBLISHER: Wrekin Hill Entertainment
RATING: R
GENRE: Thriller, Found Footage




 

 

We’ve all witnessed those warning signs on the highway warning fellow motorists to be on the lookout for a suspicious vehicle that’s on the run. It’s just a sad reminder of the many bad things that do happen in society but at the same time serves as a beacon of hope that someone’s turmoil has the possibility of ending on a happy note. Most of us admit however, that when we see these amber alerts we just shrug it off and go on with our lives because lets face it; what are the odds that anyone would stumble across that vehicle in question. “Amber Alert” is an independent found footage thriller that documents the events of three average people who are thrown into this very scenario and shows how one’s actions could mean the life or death of an innocent victim. Does this film bring an awe inspiring story home or is a perversion of the subject that should’ve remained missing?