Daily Archives: March 15, 2011

TV

TERRA NOVA is Going to Crash Your Par-Tay This Fall!

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During the Superbowl, I was very unimpressed with the movie previews we were treated to during the commercial breaks. Captain America seemed to be the only one that really stood out, but that was a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ affair. But there was a TV preview that looked exceptional, it was called Terra Nova.

At first glance it looked like a movie, and being it was produced by Steven Spielberg you can’t help but think it’s going to be an instant hit. Initially I was surprised to see it was made for TV and not a major theater release. And I’m fine with it being on TV so as long as the production value is top-notch and there is a good cast.

The production value will remain to be seen past the trailer, but the quality cast is already evident upon seeing THE Stephen Lang, whom many know as ‘Colonel Quaritch’ from James Cameron’s Avatar. Here at Grizzly Bomb though, he is honorably known as the Party Crasher!

The story of Terra Nova revolves around a family living on Earth in the year 2149. The Earth at this point is a dying planet due to war, pollution and Justin Bieber overload.

Bieber – Ended!

A family, the Shannons, are then transported back in time 85 million years to the prehistoric era when dinosaurs roamed the earth. There they find themselves among a colony of humans called Terra Nova.

The Superbowl trailer teased not only with the show but also a sneak preview in May. However, according to an article at IGN the show will not be seen at all until fall this year. Not even a preview due to the effects not being finished. As much as I want to see Stephen Lang crashing a dinosaur’s par-tay, it would be best if they didn’t present us a preview with half-assed effects, that would just kill it for us.

But have no fear, if you’re in need of a Party Crasher fix, he will be with us soon enough in August when he destroys Conan the Barbarian!

GAMING

The Anticipation of L.A. Noire

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On May 17th, from Rockstar Games, comes one of the most anticipated titles of the year: L.A. Noire. I stumbled upon this title a while back on Gamestop TV. My first impression was that this was going to be Grand Theft Auto in reverse. The first preview (below) was vague, and not many details were revealed. The same was true of the article in the Game Informer. Now though, with this title’s release is rapidly approaching, more and more details are being revealed, and each detail more enticing than the last.

THE GIST – L.A. Noire takes place in the year 1947. The main character, ex-marine Cole Phelps, is an up-and-coming detective working for the LAPD. Throughout gameplay, he works his way from a low-ranked uniformed officer, to a traffic detective solving gruesome hit-and-runs, and finally to arson and homicide detective. Phelps goes through interrogating suspects, finding clues, and trying to crack open the truth about the dark side of L.A.

Picture from IGN…obviously

GAMEPLAY – L.A. Noire allows you to have the open world experience, without making it mandatory. There are action scenes, and there are driving scenes, but mainly from case to case. When you reach the crime scene, you will collect evidence, note witnesses which you will later interview, and look for clues. You will travel to the police station, which may or may not be corrupt, and interrogate suspects.It seems, if you are looking for a brainless action game, this will not be your cup of tea.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard by now that this game will be using a brand new form of technology called ‘MotionScan Facial Recognition’. It’s the first major video game to utilize this technology.

The acting and the storyline are said to be raising the bar for all future video game developers. The campaign will supposedly take 25-30 hours to complete. Personally, I think this is a huge improvement from more recent releases such as Medal of Honor and Homefront, whose single-player campaign is said to be about 5 hours long on average.

L.A. Noire appears to mix together all of my favorite elements from TV, movies, & books. A little bit of Law & Order, a dash of a James Patterson novel, and just a pinch of jazzy 1940s limelight and mmmm…. that’s some tasty gaming. I always said that I’ve seen enough Law & Order to be a great detective. Thank you Rockstar Games for giving me that chance.

Here is the official game trailer: