find a place
I'm having one of those moments where I'm feeling kinda lost myself. Ramadan starts Monday and I'm hoping to spend some time on it with introspection. In some sense, I wonder if I am too involved in my own nonsense to see the forest for the trees. Finished a game(Assassin's Creed 2) today and saw a movie(Cowboys and Aliens), so a double review ahoy
Assassin's Creed 2
I know I'm super behind on gaming, but I finally got around to completing this game and it was certainly worth the wait. Most people break their reviews up into different segments, but I prefer the summary-type myself.
This game picks up where the original left off, not missing a beat. Desmond is assisted out of Abstergo and on the run, only to find himself in yet another Animus with another group, claiming to be the 'good guys,' considering the seriousness of the implications, I thought it interesting they glossed over this irony. Desmond happily acquiesces to go back into the Animus and assist in this latest romp into the past, trying to unearth the mysteries he only touched in the first game.
Desmond takes on the role of Ezio, who in the late 1400's goes from a fun-loving guy to an assassin in under 60 seconds. The game plays much like the first, and I'm told like the third as well. Ezio goes from one Italian district to another eliminating the people who murdered his father and two brothers.
At the very basic level, this game is not terribly different than any other 'revenge' based game. The key to the quality in this game is the detail in the story-telling. I will fully admit, when I finally got too the end, I was a little surprised by the characters that were there...I'd say more, but I don't want to give the ending away for those that haven't played the game.
While I will admit that the graphics are overall well done, the environments are gorgeously detailed and the story has the depth and breadth we've all come to know from this brand, I still have shortcomings that can't be ignored. There were far too many instances where I walked/swam/climbed through people and objects, the visual glitches, to me, were unacceptable to appear throughout the game. I also felt like the controls were far too sensitive, I spent a good amount of the game cursing like a sailor when Ezio would go in one direction when I was turned the controller in another.
I have heard that the 100% completion on this game isn't worth the hassle, but I did get to about 84%, which, for me, isn't bad at all. The trophies/achievements for the game were, uninspired, considering all the things you can do in the game, but I have no doubt that has been improved upon.
I would have given this game a higher score, but the handful of glitches made it frustrating enough for me to downgrade it ever so slightly. This game is so far ahead of the original, it is uncanny, but there is still room for improvement. And with installments coming out yearly, we can only hope Ubisoft will be able to make it even better.
You can also read the same review on Gamespot where I am quite active as well :)
Cowboys and Aliens
I went in with the notion that a Jon Favreau has some substance and a lot of flash, I wasn't right on either count, really. The basic premise of the movie centers around a man who has forgotten who he is and has a strange bracelet around his left arm. In old school Western fashion (something out of Red Dead Redemption), he finds his way to a town and is quickly discovered to be wanted for a variety of offenses. As he is being taken to the Marshal's office, the town is beset, attacked by flying machines (the aliens).
As you may expect, the plot takes an upturn as half the townsfolk are stolen away and Harrison Ford's angry old coot-like character charges Daniel Craig's character to go with them, though he refuses, he later comes to his senses. The story takes a few twists and turns, but ultimately goes nowhere fast, despite the two-hour run time.
This is a definite miss, if I've ever seen one. Not the worst movie I've seen this summer, the performances were consistent, for the actors, but the overall story lacked any staying power and I found myself daydreaming through the second half of the movie. It wasn't bad, for $6, but for anything more I would be belligerent.
The effects were cool, Daniel Craig is a solid actor, though it did have me wondering, if not for Bond, where would he be now? Yes, I was wondering this through the movie. And also, what happened to Harrison Ford, he used to be rugged and good looking, now he and Jack Nicholson can duke it out for old weirdo roles, I think. Which reminded me of a stage play with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, man, those two were launched to stardom from obscurity. What luck! Anyway, my mind is wandering, hope you're all doing well and thinking poke thoughts!!
Assassin's Creed 2
I know I'm super behind on gaming, but I finally got around to completing this game and it was certainly worth the wait. Most people break their reviews up into different segments, but I prefer the summary-type myself.
This game picks up where the original left off, not missing a beat. Desmond is assisted out of Abstergo and on the run, only to find himself in yet another Animus with another group, claiming to be the 'good guys,' considering the seriousness of the implications, I thought it interesting they glossed over this irony. Desmond happily acquiesces to go back into the Animus and assist in this latest romp into the past, trying to unearth the mysteries he only touched in the first game.
Desmond takes on the role of Ezio, who in the late 1400's goes from a fun-loving guy to an assassin in under 60 seconds. The game plays much like the first, and I'm told like the third as well. Ezio goes from one Italian district to another eliminating the people who murdered his father and two brothers.
At the very basic level, this game is not terribly different than any other 'revenge' based game. The key to the quality in this game is the detail in the story-telling. I will fully admit, when I finally got too the end, I was a little surprised by the characters that were there...I'd say more, but I don't want to give the ending away for those that haven't played the game.
While I will admit that the graphics are overall well done, the environments are gorgeously detailed and the story has the depth and breadth we've all come to know from this brand, I still have shortcomings that can't be ignored. There were far too many instances where I walked/swam/climbed through people and objects, the visual glitches, to me, were unacceptable to appear throughout the game. I also felt like the controls were far too sensitive, I spent a good amount of the game cursing like a sailor when Ezio would go in one direction when I was turned the controller in another.
I have heard that the 100% completion on this game isn't worth the hassle, but I did get to about 84%, which, for me, isn't bad at all. The trophies/achievements for the game were, uninspired, considering all the things you can do in the game, but I have no doubt that has been improved upon.
I would have given this game a higher score, but the handful of glitches made it frustrating enough for me to downgrade it ever so slightly. This game is so far ahead of the original, it is uncanny, but there is still room for improvement. And with installments coming out yearly, we can only hope Ubisoft will be able to make it even better.
You can also read the same review on Gamespot where I am quite active as well :)
Cowboys and Aliens
I went in with the notion that a Jon Favreau has some substance and a lot of flash, I wasn't right on either count, really. The basic premise of the movie centers around a man who has forgotten who he is and has a strange bracelet around his left arm. In old school Western fashion (something out of Red Dead Redemption), he finds his way to a town and is quickly discovered to be wanted for a variety of offenses. As he is being taken to the Marshal's office, the town is beset, attacked by flying machines (the aliens).
As you may expect, the plot takes an upturn as half the townsfolk are stolen away and Harrison Ford's angry old coot-like character charges Daniel Craig's character to go with them, though he refuses, he later comes to his senses. The story takes a few twists and turns, but ultimately goes nowhere fast, despite the two-hour run time.
This is a definite miss, if I've ever seen one. Not the worst movie I've seen this summer, the performances were consistent, for the actors, but the overall story lacked any staying power and I found myself daydreaming through the second half of the movie. It wasn't bad, for $6, but for anything more I would be belligerent.
The effects were cool, Daniel Craig is a solid actor, though it did have me wondering, if not for Bond, where would he be now? Yes, I was wondering this through the movie. And also, what happened to Harrison Ford, he used to be rugged and good looking, now he and Jack Nicholson can duke it out for old weirdo roles, I think. Which reminded me of a stage play with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, man, those two were launched to stardom from obscurity. What luck! Anyway, my mind is wandering, hope you're all doing well and thinking poke thoughts!!