GAMING

‘Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2012’ Announced

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I have absolutely no idea why they’re doing this, but developers have been making announcements after announcements the week prior to E3. Konami went as far as to pre-record their E3 presentation instead of doing it live. Anyways, EA has finally announced Dead Space 3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012), confirming rumors from a while ago, as well as the leak that happened a couple of days back. Accompanying its announcement is a screenshot taken from the next Need for Speed game. Since I don’t play horror games (real life is scary enough as it is), I’ll just give you some of my insights on Need for Speed.


NFS is actually one of EA’s longest standing franchises (20 games since 1994). The first game was known as one of the most innovative games in the racing genre, bringing car handling to a whole different level. It is also one of the first racing games to bring in non-linear police chases combined with various tactics. However, in recent years, EA has released flop after flop – some of the more notorious ones being Undercover and The Run. As a matter of fact, it was Undercover that began the whole “two year developmental cycle”, which would alternate developers year by year, giving each developer more time to make the games while releasing one each year. This seemed to have worked with Hot Pursuit (2010), but not so much with The Run.

I grew up playing Need for Speed. I went as far back as to NFS 2. My personal favorite has always been High Stakes on the PS1. The graphics were just so stunning back then. Plus, playing as the police is just so much fun. Instead of ramming the suspects while killing them in the process and bearing a seven-figure lawsuit, the game actually requires the players to stop the suspects by, you know, making sure that they have nowhere left to go. You have to trap the suspect in order to make an arrest.

Porsche Unleashed also has one of the best looking visuals at the time. Hell, it still looks good today.

With a history going that far back, I am undoubtedly a Need for Speed junkie. You can’t imagine how excited I am when I first heard about the next entry to the franchise. Criterion Games, mostly known for the Burnout series and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010), is behind Most Wanted. Based on the 2005 game of the same title, it is fair to assume that those insanely long, fun police chases will return. I am most intrigued by the storyline. Oh how much do I miss those insanely deep storylines (spoiler alert)  and mind-blowing acting. They’re not bad, just misunderstood. OK, who am I kidding? They’re all turrible, but that’s also the reason why they’re so much fun.

The first Most Wanted was released on PSN recently. If you’re an XBOX 360 or PC owner, you can grab a physical copy of the game. Either case, I definitely recommend checking it out.

EA’s presentation will be live on Monday at 1pm PST. You can watch it live on GTTV. I will, once again, give you my impressions on the game then. And yes, I do know this is a tease to a tease. It’s still stupid.

GAMING

Tomb Raider: E3 2012 Trailer Impressions

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Before we get to anything Tomb Raider, I wanna take a second to apologize for not giving you a sneak peek of this article two hours before putting it up. It’s completely on me. In order to atone for my mistake, I shall perform a Japanese ritualistic suicide known as seppuku to myself. No, I won’t post pictures; I can, however, describe the scene. Imagine a fat ass teenager cutting his stomach open with all of his intestines oozing out, dying a slow, painful death. Yea, let’s just pretend that actually happened and get this over with. Let’s move on to what you clicked on the article for – my impressions. Here’s the trailer, in case you haven’t seen it yet.

First and foremost, we’re finally getting a release date for this game. This game will hit store shelves in March, 2013. That is a good 8 months away from now. Given how many blockbusters are coming out in fall (such as Hitman, or the 9 millionth Call of Duty game), it seems to be a logical move for Square Enix to push this game to the next fiscal quarter and give Crystal Dynamics more time to polish this game.

Assuming the world doesn’t end in 2012

As I mentioned last time, the game is looking great. This time, we get to see a greater variety of environments and weathers, ranging from dark, gloomy caves, to large, open forests.

This time round, we finally get to watch some more gameplay. Lara Croft can be seen wielding a bow in the picture above, which she would use to kill the deer.

Pictured above: A non-PETA member doing something very anti-PETA

Soon after, Lara can be seen cooking what I would presume to be deer meat. This leads me to wonder if there will be some sort of hunting feature in the game, similar to Metal Gear Solid 3.

Pictured above: A non-PETA member cooking some very anti-PETA food

We also get to see a bunch of cutscenes which I would assume to have incoporated a series of quick time events. The first of such occassion is the wolf attack, and the second being the rape attempt. Personally, I’m not digging these button-smashing features. They cause frustrations, and lead to a decrease in intellectual levels. Furthermore, you know it’s an overused gimmick when you see it in a racing game.

Pictured above: A non-PETA member protecting herself from a PETA-endorsed individual

Men think with their dicks. FACT!

In one  of the cutscenes, Lara Croft communicates with some of her allies. This begs a question: will there be a companion system of some sort? It makes sense for Lara to stick with her pals since they are in the wild, fighting off some people with guns while waiting for help. Interesting…

There is also a sequence later in the trailer which shows Lara sneaking around a burning site (until a guy tries to rape her, as mentioned above). Stealth seems to play a role in the game, and staying quiet and unseen might be important in the game. After all, Lara is stranded on a deserted island, where ammunition sources should be scarce. Plus, it doesn’t help that she’s going up against trained mercenaries.

In addition to the bow and arrows, Lara can also use pistols. The sequence shows her drawing her sidearm in slow-mo and fire a few rounds into the bad guys.

I thought only alcoholic pill-heads can slow down time

There are also melee combats, but we could only catch a glimpse of them. I actually feel there is a good amount of potential in this aspect of the combat system, since she is in the wild and should be able to use whatever nature throws at her. For example, she could try combining a huge rock and a tree branch to make a hammer. I can’t tell if there will be such a mechanic in place from this still.

Last, but not least, we also get to see some platformer action. Nothing much can be told at this moment, except that they seem to require some reflexes. Duh.

I’m disappointed with the complete lack of puzzle-solving in the trailer. I sincerely hope we can see more of that in E3. From what I’ve seen so far, the game is capturing that “fight for survival” tone pretty well. This is certainly looking promising thus far. And before you ask, yes, Tomb Raider will totally piss PETA off, which is a major plus in my book.

Movie News & Opinions

The REAL Reason “GI Joe: Retaliation” Was Delayed

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Claiming that they needed to spend nine months to add 3D, a lot of people called BS on Paramount, and for good reason, too. I mean, come on, give me a break. Nine months to add 3D? Really? That’s a two or three month job at the most. I understand that most of the summer release spots were taken, but why not just release it in the fall?

CinemaBlend has the entire scoop, and instead of just rewriting it less eloquently for fear of committing plagiarism (and a general lack of motivation on my part), I’ll post what they had on their article regarding GI Joe: Retaliation:

“Paramount decided to shift G.I. Joe: Retaliation to next winter and the reason is because the studio wasn’t confident that the movie could compete with Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Set to be released on July 3rd, webhead would have only given G.I. Joe five days, at most. at the top of the box office, and many anticipate that the success of The Avengers will translate to greater success for all superhero movies, including our friendly neighborhood webslinger. Also helping out box office numbers next year will be the added 3D, which should pad Paramount’s international numbers quite nicely.

But the other reason for the move is Mr. Channing Tatum. Watching the trailers for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, it’s pretty clear that Tatum, who played Duke in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, bites the big one early in the film. With 21 Jump Street and The Vow performing as well as they did, however, the studio is thinking that killing Tatum off wasn’t the best idea in the world. It’s expected that in the next nine months Tatum will be brought in for re-shoots so that they can expand his part – which is a clean way of saying that he could be resurrected.”

This is both interesting and disappointing. Initially I loved the bold choice to kill of Tatum in the first act. Then again, considering both Bruce Willis AND The Rock are in this movie, bringing Channing Tatum back for a third act showdown might not be such a bad idea, but it’s just too predictable. I understand the attempt to make as much money as possible, but if you’re going to make a move as ballsy as that, at least have the nerve to stick through with it until the end.

And just because…

Movie Trailers

New Trailers: The Bourne Legacy

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The Bourne Legacy. Where should I start? Should I start with how this is a movie that doesn’t feature much of Jason Bourne? Or should I start with Matt Damon’s lack of involvement? Or maybe how the main protagonist isn’t even named Jason Bourne? I don’t know.  You might as well as name the NBA in Utah ‘the Jazz’. Oh wait, they do.  Universal Pictures probably kept “Bourne” in the title so mindless viewers like me can immediately tell the movie is set in the same universe.

After the events in The Bourne Ultimatum, CIA has decided to shut down “Operation Outcome”, the successor to the program that created Jason Bourne. The story of The Bourne Legacy revolves around Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), a product of “Operation Outcome”, and Stephanie Snyder (Rachel Weisz), one of the scientists involved in the operation. There is also this CIA agent named Byer (Edward Norton) who wants to kill the two protagonists. If you manage to notice how my version of the synopsis bears a striking resemblance to that of Wikipedia, please keep it to yourself.

Unlike, the first trailer, which is much more plot-oriented, the second trailer places its focus on the action sequences. We also get to see Joan Allen and David Strathairn reprising their roles as Pamela Landy and Noah Vosen, as well as Albert Finney returning as Dr. Albert Hirsch. Interestingly, Jason Bourne’s still can be seen on the news in the trailer.

A part of the movie will be set in the Philippines.

The Bourne Legacy without Jason Bourne is directed by Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter of  The Bourne movie series. It is projected for a release date of August 3rd this year.

Movie Trailers

Les Misérables: Trailer and Set Photos!

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As a fan of Les Misérables, I am pleased to present this news. The newest movie adaptation of this prestigious musical will be releasing in theaters this year. I have very high hopes that this star-studded cast will do their best to keep it authentic and pure of Hollywood garbage.

Les Misérables is a tale of much passion. In fact, each song from this stage musical has a story, and within each story there is a different very powerful emotion expressed. Here is the official synopsis from Collider.com:

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption–a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.

The two characters most intriguing to me are Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway as Fantine. I cannot wait to see what they bring to the characters. I will say this, though… if Hathaway bastardizes ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, I will not rest until her career is halted for eternity. She sounds beautiful in the trailer, but we shall see.

Take a look at the trailer:

Les Misérables will be released on December 14, 2012.

Conveyors of Common Sense…

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