And the Game of the Year is...

It should come as no surprise that Assassin's Creed II is my game of the year. I loved the first one, and Ubisoft Montreal blew my mind this time around. Visionary, stunning, phenomenal. These are words to describe this game. And every single one is an understatement. Since i know for a fact that the people who read this blog have already beaten the game, I will skimp on gameplay and just go to some thoughts. IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE STORY DO NOT READ THIS BLOG.

The story is excellent. The quest for revenge, the massive conspiracy, the historical implications and the confusing ending all come together perfectly. The interesting thing about how the game plays out is that I didn't feel like I was playing a nicer looking version of Assassin's Creed I. With the well drawn characters, multiple settings and varied missions, I felt more like I was playing Grand Theft Auto IV. And it worked. Ezio completely eclipses Altair, and most of this year's video game characters for that matter. His complexity really reminded me of Niko Bellic. Each character gets a great backstory too. No one feels one dimensional. I loved the Mario joke too...

Now on to some gameplay. The controls feel like I'd never left the first game, and I love the new addition of being able to jump up and grab ledges to more quickly traverse buildings. However, I would love even more fluidity when free running. Maybe some ropes to swing from or a faster way to get down to ground level than just dropping down from ledge to ledge. Just a thought. The new weapons are nice but not really necessary since most kills come from counters anyway. But the three things that jumped out at me were the brilliant economic system, water, and glyphs. Hands down, I have a man-crush on this economic system. You upgrade your shit and things are cheaper. You buy better gear and you fight better. You do more for your town and you make more money. It's a system that actually matters. Next up, the water. The first time I jumped into the water, it was one of the most freeing moments I've ever experienced in a video game. This is probably because most free roam games don't incorporate water into play (the first Assassin's Creed didn't). But it was like Ubisoft was saying, "Yep, we broke the rules. Now there is no place you can't go." Going from a high rooftop all the way down in a glorious dive to evade enemies was one of my favorite parts of the game. Thirdly, the glyphs. Ryan, make a category for best collectable/findable and give it to this. 20 encypted messages that reveal a massive conspiracy throughout history all commentated by Subject 16's slow descent into madness. It makes Dan Brown look like a pussy. The complex puzzles are a nice break from combat and free-running, and the photographs of the likes of Harry Houdini, FDR and Ghandi with a piece of Eden cleverly placed inside is awesome. No detail is spared, including letters revealing the Templars and Edison ruining Tesla's plan to reveal a piece of Eden, Henry Ford giving his own piece of Eden to Hitler, and Oppenheimer using his to create the bomb. Bloody brilliant.

But now onto what I really want to talk about: Assassin's Creed III. Now all this will be speculation, as the Assassins say: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. First off, if there is a third ancestor of Desmond, I imagine he or she will be in a time later than the Renaissance instead of before. The question is when? I personally believe that they will skip ahead some time. Remember that it has to be during a historical time of great importance, both politcally and socially. Also remember that the difference between the first game and second was 1476 from 1191, a difference of about 300 years. The next game could involve the Protestant Reformation, but that would mean Ezio would still be alive to some point of it beginning. Interesting if it could work. What's weird is that if you tack on 300 years to 1476 you get the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson (among other Founding Fathers) were notable Free Masons, which is usually interpreted as modern day Templars. But there is also the possiblity of the Mexican American War, the Civil War, the War of 1812, Reconstruction of the South, the Industrial Revolution, and a million other events that could hold the next chapter in Desmond's story. Also keep in mind that the cryptic ending makes perfect sense with the Sun's geomagnetical reversal; the Mayans predicted the world would end that way in 2012 (the year the game takes place).

So that's my take and final blog of 2009. One final note: I got my final two ACII achievements, Messer Sandman and Sweeper, in a single fight, then was able to escape the guards by casually getting on a gondola and rowing away. LOL. Thanks Ubisoft Montreal. You deserve this award. I ♥ you. PEACE.

Responding to your Comments.

Damnit Ryan! Your witty blog made me wanna do one too. First off, before I respond to your comments I have to say something: No matter how much my blogs make your opinions seem stupid, or make you feel inferior about your intellect, or insecure about your body, or make you want to cut yourself, or give you a boner, PLEASE be polite when leaving a comment. Thank you. :D

First, a big ass comment that SOMEONE posted about NFL Week 15:
"I know plenty of people who don't think the Eagles are the best team".
Ok, this was bad elaboration on my part. The Eagles are not the best team in football. In my personal opinion, there really can't be one definitive best team. What I should have said was that the Eagles are one of the best teams and have consistency each week when they play. Same with the Chargers. It's that consistency that makes them dangerous competitors in the postseason. If you don't think that, then you're an idiot. :D
"the Colts may have not lost, but do they really need to learn much?"
Once again, bad elaboration. What I should have said was that the Colts have to stay sharp into the postseason. It's harder to do that when you've already secured a first round bye, homefield advantage, and your division. Plus as you said in another comment, the postseason is leaps and bounds from the regular season. You can't always count on Manning's plays, especially against more stalwart defenses.
"I disagree with you on the Favre thing. With a situation like taking out somebody because the coach doesn't want them hurt, the person that should know this the most is the quarterback. In many cases the coach's word is solid. But in a situation with Brett Favre, who knows what he is doing on the field, the coach's word is not always solid. At the skill level and knowledge and experience that Favre has, he is almost as much a field coach as the coach himself. If he feels he can handle it, the coach should take that into account. I don't think Favre had any wrong actions. It just was a shitty situation all around. And they were gonna lose anyway."
I'm afraid you need to reevaluate your reasoning here. Though I agree Farve knows what he's doing (it's Farve for Christ's sake), it's not about what he wants. It's about what's best for the team. Julius Pepper was running circles around the offensive line. If he had hit Farve the wrong way and Farve got injured, that would have been it for the Vikings Super Bowl hopes. Plus any player in the history of sports knows that the coach's word is law. You don't have to like his decision, but you have to respect it. Having the unofficial title of "field coach" doesn't mean shit. Not to mention that the Vikes were not going to lose anyway. Their little spat occured in the third quarter when the Vikings lead 7-6. Childress wanted Farve out to keep him safe and put in Tavaris Jackson, who is more agile and could escape the Panthers pass rush.
A quick note on the new Batman game:
"I don't expect this one to come out until Holiday '11."
Agree with the 2011 release, but do you think holiday or post-summer like the first one? I can really see why holiday because it is now a successful franchise, but there is the more pressing possiblity of MW3 coming out around that time too. Just thinking...
And finally, a note about the Things Fall Apart blog:
"Week 12-13 is when I start seriously considering teams for the Super Bowl."
Well, it's week 16 almost. Who is it, buddy? I wanna know. :D
So as always, this is just my response to you guys and I hope you comment and vote in the shiny new poll. Thanks for reading and of course, commenting!

NFL Week 15

Look out kiddies, there are new sheriffs in the AFC and NFC. It's not Manning and Brees. It's McNabb and Rivers. WHA-HUH?!? That's right. Don't let appearances fool you. The Philidelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers are the two best teams in football right now. For all we know, we are looking at a Super Bowl matchup between these two while Manning, Brees and Farve sit at home watching The Who perform during halftime (so awesome).

If you don't think so, you're an idiot. The Eagles started the season lacksidaisically (yes it's a word) but have turned up the heat, winning their last 5 games and are now one game back behind the Vikes. McNabb has found his form. Westbrook is coming back. DeSean Jackson is unbelievable. Andy Reid is fat. These guys are going places. The Chargers are also in great shape to upset the Colts (they have done so in the past three seasons). Rivers is having his best NFL season yet. LT has found new life. Norv Turner is in contention for Coach of the Year. Not to be outdone by Philly, these guys have won nine in a row and are easily looking at a first round bye.

Now on to Colts and Saints. First off, a very lucky win over Jacksonville hurts the Colts. The Colts are set. They have homefield, a bye, and clinched their division. But they are not perfect. By winning a game that they should have lost, the Colts lose the opportunity to learn from what they did wrong. The more they win, the less likely they succeed in the post season against teams they've never played. The Saints on the other hand are now in a better spot than they were before the loss. The party is over. It's time to work. You don't think that Sean Payton is yelling at his offensive line to protect Brees? Or yelling at Brees to learn to hang on to the ball when sacked? Think again. Now they can fix what was wrong just in time for the postseason. Turns out a loss is sometimes a lucky break.

Now on to the playoff race. First off, in order to keep his job, Wade Phillips must: 1. Make the playoffs. 2. Do well in the playoffs. 3. Get a Christmas miracle comparable to the ending of It's a Wonderful Life. Nuff said about that. A guilty pleasure of mine: The Packers snagging the Wild Card slot and then beating the Vikings in the postseason. LOL. Stuff that will happen: Vince Young send a "You're Welcome" card to Jeff Fischer for saving his job and the Titans' season. Chad Ochocinco changing his name to 85 in Japanese then later to what he truly wants: Chad Twitterific. Mark Sanchez going colorblind with all of Rex Ryan's bullshit.

And now on to the biggest news of the week: the Vikings drama. In case you didn't hear, Childress wanted to bench Farve in the third quarter to keep him from getting hurt. Favre wanted to stay in because they were only up 7-6. They had a little sidelines tuffle and Farve stayed in, only to lose the game 26-7. So who was in the right, Childress or Farve? Both. Childress wanted to protect Farve from getting hurt and wearing himself out before the postseason. Farve wanted to win to stay in contention for homefield and not to let the Eagles come close to the No. 2 seed. Fair opinions on both, given Farve's december collapse last year and the current situation with the Eagles. But who is in the wrong? Farve. Sorry Brett, but if coach wants you out, you go out. A united team in the playoffs is better than one with a first round bye. Remember you came to play, not coach.

So that's my take on things at present. As always, I love comments about how you feel. I will be writing a Broncos blog later in the week, but right now for some reason whenever I see or hear the word "Broncos", I mysteriously throw up (yes I have vomited twice since writing this paragraph). I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season and enjoy your gifts and time with family. Thanks for reading. :D

Reclaiming Asylum.

The VGA's produced a multitude of things we should know about the gaming world. First, Meghan Fox will only win things because she's hot. Second, Green Day has achieved "Rock Band" status. And finally, Mark Hammill is a dirty rotten liar when he said he was done playing the Joker because there is a brand spanking new trailer out confirming the existence of Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 (if this is the actual title of the game I want Paul Dini to run me over with the Batmobile and harvest my organs with a Batarang).

My first thought of the game: awesome and a no brainer. The first game was fun, sold like crazy and was given great reviews. A sequel is smart and a great way to build a franchise. Plus with already solid controls there is no need to reinvent the wheel. The developers will most likely add some sort of new gameplay style that adds to the experience (my gut tells me driving the Batmobile but I'd like to see some sort of complex puzzle solving too).

Here's some of my thoughts on the trailer that was released. First off, the game definetly takes place in at least some of Gotham. That much is clear. To what extent I'm unsure, but I'd like it to be somewhat smaller than a sprawling massive city. The great thing about the first game is that while the area was huge, it wasn't too big as to ruin the atmosphere of the story. Plus you'll care more about the area you're fighting in, instead of it being just one of many places that could use your help. Second, the trailer plays in deception vs reality as much as the Joker does. As pointed out by IGN, some parts of the trailer seem crudely edited in against the otherwise detailed setting. For example, the gate of the new Arkham looks very makeshift compared to the rest of the trailer. Second of all, Harley Quinn (who is mysteriously silent) is still wearing the same outfit she wore in the first game, as is the Joker. Not to mention the people in the street look awefully familiar to the goons you beat up in Arkham the first go-around. So is this a trick to throw us off what the new game is really about? Or is it exactly as it appears? All I know is that with the Joker involved, answering that question won't be easy.

Here's my thoughts on who will appear in the next game as well. First off, Batman. Duh. But in what state we are unsure. There's the debate of whether the Joker is old or just ill. In my honest opinion, I think this game does NOT take place in the future for a few reasons. Rocksteady wouldn't want to make all the characters old for the sake of story. They can do more by making this game an actual sequel to the first game as apposed to a standalone adventure. Think of how the first game ended. Bane gets his hands on the Titan serum and Batman rushes off to stop TwoFace. As far as we know, the game could pick up right from there, and the trailer we saw is merely what Joker makes of the city in his inevitable escape. We know that the Joker, Harley Quinn and Two Face are all in the sequel. But I think that the Penguin could make an appearance (hence the Iceberg Lounge) and Black Mask as well (hence Sionis). Who knows? Rocksteady could do something as classic as a Villain gang war or as dangerous as a Villain team up (Joker and Two Face?) I'm leaning toward gang war because of the poster of Two Face (Uncle Sam I want you poster) being torn up and the graffiti of "Long Live Joker". Not to mention the mass anarchy in the streets as Joker watches.

Anyway, that's my take. And since I'm not Batman expert, I could really use another opinion on this. Leave a comment and vote in the poll (choose multiple answers if you want). Thanks for reading! :D

INSERT CLEVER TITLE HERE!

Wow, I'm unoriginal. You would have thought the topic of this blog, Mass Effect 2, would have produced something clever out of me. Oh well. I wanna talk about the characters of Mass Effect 2 and how the second game to the best sci-fi video game franchise of all time will handle characters from the first.

My first thought: don't worry. Remember that Bioware is a quality developer. Don't expect Shepard to step out of the Normandy for a piss only to have it blown up with his crew inside. I expect to see a quality handling of things in terms of what happens to each. My second thought: change is good. As you can see from the trailer for ME2, the only confirmed character returning is Tali. That leaves the fate of your other crew members up in the air, and this is a great thing. With this, Bioware can do what it does best: use characters we care about to enhance the narrative of a game. Think about it. Bioware can do more with letting your former squad do its own thing and can add side missions and even add to the main plot.

With the old characters not joining you, you can meet them in other situations which will feel more natural than forcing the characters to come along with you. Here are a few scenarios to elaborate what I'm talking about. Ashley, who I don't think will return as party member, could be relocated (she is a soldier after all) and you might meet up with her in your travels. This presents a "woman scorned" side mission that would fit well into your morality. Or Wrex working for an opposing corporation on a main story mission. This presents a "I let you live once, don't make me regret that" type thingy. The point I'm trying to make is that Bioware can do more and better by bringing in new characters than recycling the old ones. In ME1, it was like Band of Brothers, we knew their background and we could trust them to stick with us. In ME2, it's gonna be more like The Dirty Dozen, we have little idea about these dangerous individuals, let alone if you can even trust them. It works better. You have to honestly ask yourself who from the original group would accompany Shepard on this suicide mission. Ashley, the Carth Onasi guy (Caleb? Calik? Fuck if I know...), Liara, and to some extent, Garrus, were all upstanding people of the law. Would any one of them be willing to get their hands dirty? Only Wrex, Tali, and to some extent, Garrus would be able to stomach the shit Shepard wants to do to beat the Reapers, though it might be more interesting if Garrus were to take over the Citadel Security Force (the way he handled shit I would expect it to be quite different if he did). Tali we know is returning, but her main deal will be to report to her home world (Conclave? Colony? Fuck I don't pay attention...).

A few quick notes. One, I am really interested in Legion, the Geth that dresses up like Shepard. In my opinion, it has something to do with the Reapers. Remember that Shepard beat Sovereign, the galaxy's only Reaper and stopped more from entering our universe. This has to have some religious implications for the Geth, who probably see Shepard as a "God-killer" or something. I expect it figures leaps and bounds into how you dealed with Saren too. Second, Captain (or Counselor) Anderson. Remember that ME1 gave you a choice between appointing Anderson or Udina (more like Udouche-bag) to the Counsel's post. The choice for Anderson was obvious, but I expect it comes back to bite you somehow. Remember that Anderson was and still is a soldier, and he may not appreciate his new desk jockey roll in government service. Just a thought. Finally, Cerberus. It's awesome that Shepard works for them instead of the Counsel. They are so much cooler with Martin Sheen as Illusive Man and Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson ( She > Ashley and Liara 8 days of the week). All we know is that they played a huge role on Noveria and I'm sure your actions there will have major implications. Hooray for smoke-filled-room corporate handlings!

That's my take. Please leave a comment giving me your take (and helping out with the names of people and places maybe?). Don't forget to vote in the poll too. Thanks for reading! :D

NFL Week 14: SAINTS ALIVE!

Back to the grind of the NFL. Yay! So we are slowly winding down the season, but for some teams, things are just heating up as the chance to snag a playoff slot rapidly approaches. Here's my take on a few teams who are going and a few that won't. Please comment and tell me what you think.

Where's my fork? I need it to stick in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Starting off the season 6-2, toppling the undefeated Vikings, then losing 5 games in a row. Now that's what Mike Tomlin said about "unleashing hell". He just unleashed on his own team. Injuries, a 3rd string QB in a key divisional game and losing three games to the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns (you can count all of their wins on one hand) have all but put the Steelers out of contention, especially now that the Ravens have resurged.

Wanna know the Titans record 2 months ago? 0-6. Wanna know it today? 0-6. But Vince Young is 5-1. Single-handely, he has turned around the team that was sure to go the whole season without a win. Though the playoffs seem even more distant after the Indy loss, this team has found a new leader and hope in the former Texas QB.

There is a revolution in New England, and it's now against the British. After a great 6-2 start, the team has slumped to 8-5, which is still a great record but are now only one game ahead of the Jets for the division. Some attribute it to Belichick, others to a weak defense. What's the cause? The Pats would sure like to know...

Saints and Colts. Both good. Both lucky. Both still undefeated. Superbowl matchup? Maybe. But both still undefeated at regular season's end? Let's hope not. Folks, a loss for such excellent teams is a good thing. It still keeps them on their toes and shows them what to focus on. If the Pats had gone 15-1 in 07, I think they would have won the Superbowl. It removes so much pressure of having to continually win games. Both teams have already cinched their divisions and have home field advantage, so what's the big deal about just one?

So here's why I think Drew Brees will get the league MVP over Peyton Manning. First, Manning won last year. The probability of winning it two years in a row is very slim, because the people who choose it don't enjoy doing that. Next, think of what Brees has accomplished. A team that barely even blipped on the radar screen last year is now a terrifying force of offense, defense and special teams. Brees accounts for nearly all the offense's part. Time and time again, he has used his mediocre receivers to put up massive points and stage unprobable comebacks to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. His pin-point accuracy has made mockeries of the Giants and Patriots in huge routs. He's given hope to a city that has never seen a 13-0 team (hell, an 8-0 team) and a team that's never won a Superbowl. If you don't think he deserves one, you're a flat-out idiot. Still, I won't mind if Manning gets it (he has played unbelievably well) or my boy Phillip Rivers, who is so damn underrated it makes me mad. Farve should be in contention, but I don't think he can compete with number 9 or number 18.

So that's my take. Please comment and let me know if I should do a blog about the current state of the Broncos. Have a good week and WHO DAT THINK THEY GONNA BEAT DEM SAINTS? Just kidding... 

In the tray: Modern Warfare 2

Yes, I know. This blog used to exist. But hey, it's back now that I actually have a life. Yay. And the other reason I haven't blogged about this game is because I've been playing this game. Duh. Gonna keep it brief, just cause I don't wanna spend a long time blogging anymore (lost the flair for me and felt more like a chore for a while.)

Just some stuff for Single-player. The writers of the game like movies. According to the campaign, they love The Rock, The Incredible Hulk, Red Dawn, Lethal Weapon, The Dark Knight, James Bond, Fast and Furious, and a hell of a lot more. But don't feel like these guys are unoriginal. Every scene taken from a movie was done WAY better than the movie. These guys wanted big action and badass moves. I love it. It's a whole new direction in Call of Duty, and that's exactly what the franchise needs.

OMGWTFBBQ. Multi-player is sooooooooooo much better than COD4. Once you learn how to play it, you'll enjoy yourself. The new guns and attachments are infinitely better than previous installments. The assault rifles have been put on a pedastal and the rest has been marginalized a lot more, and that makes a more balanced game (sans the Akimbo '87's). I ♥ the new perks except for Scrambler (wtf), and yes i did do the ♥ for this game. It means that much to me.

Finally, on to Modern Warfare 3, which just writing makes me have a mini freakout. First off, single player: Soap and Price will still be fugitives on the run, and the only way to clear their names is to take down Makharov, who is still at large. This will make the third one even more "off the grid" ala Splinter Cell. The Rangers are headed to Moscow and won't come back till it's over over there, so be prepared for a helicopter dropping you off in Red Square eventually. And hopefully, we'll get more info on Price. He was so damn cryptic in the game it was hard to tell what his deal was. If Shepard returns with an eyepatch and a grudge, I'll be pretty disappointed about it. These writers are better than that. Time to come up with a new character (they did a great job with Shepard in this game) to fill the void. Might I suggest Captain MacMillan returning in some way, shape or form? Make for a great nerdgasm amongnst the fanbase...

Anyway, that's my take. Hope you enjoyed and that you're glad I'm back. Stay tuned for my NFL week 14 blog coming soon!

In the Tray: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Well, that's a wrap. Rockstar had concluded their Episodic Content for Liberty City with "The Ballad of Gay Tony" (Gay Tony for short). After finishing the game, I must say that Rockstar has scored yet another hit, but with a few problems that potential buyers should be aware of.

"Gay Tony" is the second DLC for Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. Duh. However, you don't play as Gay Tony. You play as Luis Lopez, best friend and business partner to Gay Tony, the owner of Liberty City's hottest gay and straight nightclubs. Once again, Rockstar delivers a completely unique perspective to the continuing saga. In the original GTA 4, Niko Bellic arrived with dingy clothes and 25 bucks to his name. In The Lost and Damned, Johnny Klebitz was living in shithole apartment. In "Gay Tony" Luis has got it made. He has a nice apartment, a huge wardrobe and lots of cash. Still, Rockstar retains the themes that inhabited the other two GTA 4's, but in a different way. While the original focused on climbing the social ladder, "Gay Tony" focuses on staying on top, keeping the top slot when everything comes crashing down.

Luis himself isn't as big a character as Gay Tony, mind you. He does have a pretty good backstory and a few missions relate to his troubled past, but it doesn't nearly affect him as much as Gay Tony does. Tony has become a messed-up junkie in the past few years and is losing a grip on properly managing things. As such, he makes bad choices and gets into trouble with everyone. I mean everyone: the Russian mob, Chinese Drug Dealers, and anyone else who wants to get a slice of Tony's very profitable pie. As such, it's up to Luis to get him out of it. The missions that you're given are not "Do this and I'll make you rich." They are more like "Do this and I won't kill you." Characters you met in both the original GTA IV and TL&D make appearances, including Ray Bulgarin (the reason Niko came to Liberty City), Gracie Ancelotti (the girl Niko kidnapped), Brucie, Roman, and of course, Niko and Johnny. However, none of them outshine the enigma that is Yusef Amir. A ridiculously overstereo-typed middle-eastern daddy's boy, with an affinity for gold (gold phone, gold car, gold gun) and loose women, as well as the liberal usage of the N-word, Yusef is easily the most controversial character in the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise, not just GTA 4. He stands out a lot and is by far the most lively character you'll see in a video game for quite some time.

If you don't enjoy the story of "Gay Tony," you may enjoy the gameplay. The missions are over-the-top fun that we haven't seen since San Andreas. However, each mission is grounded in at least some realism, so they are more "highly improbable" instead of just "impossible". Still, they are a lot of fun. Most will have you doing really cool things that we didn't see in GTA because it was too unrealistic. On the other hand, you'll also see some really boring missions that you would have expected would be as explosive as the rest. Remember the Museum mission? When Luis interupts Niko and Johnny's meeting? Well that's pretty much all he does. He gets in a chopper and takes off like that. Or when Luis and Gay Tony make a trade for Gracie to Niko and Packie? He just drives off on his boat to safety. It's kind of sad that we had to wait all that time just for lame missions we thought were gonna rock. Still, the game makes up for it with the best weapons in the GTA series to date. The list of guns is awesome: Automatic .44 Magnum, Silenced P90, the SAW, a Golden Uzi, a high-tech sniper rifle, sticky bombs, and, of course, an automatic shotgun with explosive rounds. The new attack helicopter and APC are also fun to mess around with (though I would have liked a lock-on feature). Mini-games include dancing, golf, parachuting (done with wonderful controls), drug wars, and cage-fighting. Each little aspect of new gameplay will have you playing this game for hours.

In conclusion, the "Episodes of Liberty City" is well worth the 40 dollars, and if you already have TL&D, "Gay Tony" is well worth the extra 20. It's a fun experience and a good time. However, if your short on cash and just want to wait for Modern Warfare 2, you may want to hold off on this one. Either way, you can't really go wrong. Thanks for reading!

Things Fall Apart

If the Broncos' season has been pure luck, then they snagged their best luck yet by having a bye week for one of the strangest weeks in NFL history. Not just in terms of records, but also plays. Let's get to the biggest piece of news, via my usual category format.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down: Minnesota Vikings. One of the remaining undefeated teams fell today after a tough loss to the defending champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. What's even worse is how it transpired. 13-10 Steelers. Farve and the Vikes are driving. A touchdown to take the lead is imminent. Then the unthinkable. Farve is stripped of the ball, and Pittsburgh makes sure its fattest defender picks it up and runs 77 yards into the endzone. 20-10. This game is done. No it's not. Kickoff to Percy Harvin, who then pulls an Eddie Royal by running 88 yards to make the game 20-17. The Vikings defense temporarily woke up to stop Big Ben and get the punt. Once again, Farve fires on all cylinders. A touchdown is, again, imminent. Then, again, the unthinkable. Farve's pass is deflected then intercepted then returned for a touchdown. 27-17. Game over. Tough loss for the Vikings, but I am still convinced we'll see them in the playoffs and possibly the Superbowl.

Comeback kids: I was all ready to give this to a determined San Fran team when all of a sudden the Saints showed up in Miami. Down 24-3 at one point, the Saints rallied to beat the Fins 46-34. Nice comeback for the team I'm now convinced is Superbowl-bound.
The Real Deal: Cincinnati Bengals. A 45-10 win over the Chicago Bears convinced me of two things. 1. Thank God we got rid of Jay Cutler (I know "one day he'll be great", but as of today he threw 3 interceptions, 10 for the season). 2. The Bengals are gunning for a wild card slot. If they play the rest of the season with the pose they played with today, they're going to get it, too.
Live and Let Die: American Football in the UK. Seriously. It's the same principle we use for Soccer in the US. We'll never embrace as much as we have other sports. Sorry, but it's the truth. Not to mention the game could have been played here so that people who actually knew what was going on could watch it in person.
And then there were two...oh wait...three...: For the first time in NFL history, three teams have remained unbeaten into week 7. I want to talk about each. First off, the Colts. It's no secret that the Colts have always had an easy route to the playoffs. With Peyton playing beautifully against teams not worthy to shine his cleats, the Colts are shoo-ins for the postseason. What they do when they get there is a mystery. They could go all the way, but they could also get eliminated via some other team's lucky break. Just know that a second ring of Peyton's finger isn't assured. Same goes for the Broncos. There is always a possibility that we won't make the playoffs (however, I have to say that this team doesn't nearly have the capacity to fail as last year's team had). Plus, the boy wonder McD may be in over his head come December, when we have to play stellar teams out for blood. Finally, the Saints. Yes, you heard me right: I think they're going to the Superbowl. You heard it here first. The team isn't the greatest on the planet, but the killer offense has proven unstoppable against even what was considered the best defense in the league, the NY Giants (complete bullshit but still). I would love to see them play the Broncos or the Steelers to truly prove their worth, but I believe we'll see this team in Miami again, next time as Superbowl contenders.
Gonna be a good week 8, with the undefeated Broncos playing the Baltimore Ravens (two teams I consider very similar to each other in many respects and pretty evenly matched) and Farve's return to Lambeau Field for the first time as a challenger. It seems like every week there has been at least one good matchup to watch. Let's hope the trend continues.

Are you ready for some football.....opinions?!

Hey gang. Got a special post for you today about the NFL and how teams are progressing so far. I hopefully will be doing this every few weeks or so to give an insight on how I feel about the teams. Don't get your panties in a bundle if I say something that offends you...the season is only a few weeks in and in no way are my predictions going to be fact.
Superbowl Picks: Indianapolis Colts vs. Minnesota Vikings. Picture it. Arguably the two best teams in the NFL. Manning vs. Farve. Two veteran gunslingers in the greatest shootout since The American Revolution. It's going to be epic. It's going to be glorious. It's going to be unbelievable.
The Upset: New Orleans Saints. Think of it this way: The 2007 Giants were to the 2007 Patriots what the 2009 NO Saints are to any team in the NFL. The Destroyers of Worlds. Don't believe me? Just ask the 2009 Giants, whose record is 5-1 thanks in part to 48-27 rout majestically orchestrated by Drew Brees and Co. Playoffs? Undoubtedly. Superbowl? It gets more possible every week for these guys.
Don't Count Them Out: Denver Broncos. Seriously NFL pundits. Shut up. Most people aren't looking in restrospect to how we thought the season would go down. They keep saying, "Of course they beat Cleveland and Oakland." But in reality, a lot of folks thought we wouldn't be able to even beat those teams. Our coach was too young, our quarterback too old and our team too crappy. It's turned into exactly the opposite. McDaniels is the wonderkid, the boy genius, the li'l mastermind. Orton turned out to outshine Jay Cutler, as he knows his limitations and makes smart decisions by going for the first down and not the touchdown (something Cutler loved to do and now has seven interceptions to show for it). The team? No. 1 defense in the league. Period. Don't believe me? Check the stats. Or the record. This team is going places.
Like Riding a Bicycle: Tom Brady. Brady is coming back strong after being off the field for a year. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time is slowly but surely working his way back. I will say this: Patriots will win their division. They are the best team by far. More on that later, but first just a thought: don't hype up the win last week too much. Beating a 0-6 team 59-0 shouldn't dictate stellar material, just a flawless offensive line for the Pats and a terrible Titans team.
Still Got It: Ben Roethlisberger. God I want to hate this guy. An arrogant prick who has been accused of assaulting a woman and goes on WWE to look like a jackass. But his stats say otherwise. A great QB no doubt. Playoffs are probable for this douche bag.
Wild Card: Cincinnati Bengals. They beat the Ravens. OMGWTFBBQ. Very impressive start for this team. Maybe not the best team in the league, but if anyone could surprise the pundits by playoff time, it's the Bengals. Nice work by this team.
Biggest Disappointment: Mark Sanchez. Once nicknamed "Sanchise", the NYJ QB has lead his team to a less than great 3-3 record. Though it's still early and he's a rookie, I have to be harsh: this kid is a joke. 10 interceptions in 6 games (5 against the dismal Buffalo Bills) is enough to rethink how you let this kid do business. He'll need to pick it up if he wants to stay on next season.

In the Tray: Brütal Legend Part 2

Now on to gameplay. This is the part of the game that I think everyone will have a problem with, not because they won't like it, but because it can get tricky a few times. It is composed of a lot of different types of gameplay and as a result it's more the jack of all trades, master of none.
First off, you've got your hack n' slash. Eddie uses his powerful axe and flying V guitar to destroy his enemies in the goriest way possible. You can even snag combos to make yourself more efficient, but really, I found the most useful move to just be a simple ground-pound. Plus none of the enemies are tough enough that actually strategy be applied: just beat the living shit out of them until they die. To offset this, enemies usually come in large numbers or in boss battles. And believe me, this game has great boss battles. I counted six in total, each with varied techiniques to bring them down. The other thing that makes things tough is the lack of a HUD. You probably won't know that Eddie is going to die until right before it happens, and the chances of living until you recover are slim. However it does wonders for the presentation. Just saying.
Next, you've got your driving. The World of Metal is 30 square miles across two continents, but fortunately, The Duece makes getting around a sinch. You can upgrade your car to be the coolest looking beast around, and the additions of weapons make destroying enemies a breeze. What's best, even as soon as your car gets destroyed, you can get it right back and keep on rockin'. However, the World's cartoony physics often make you lose control of your ride, but it's not a big deal.
A small part of gameplay is Guitar-Hero-like melodies that you can play to do different things. For example, Relic Raiser does, what else, raise relics. You can summon The Duece, encourage your troops and my personal favorite, The Face Melter (does exactly what is says with hilarious results).
The big part of gameplay is Stage Battles, which serve as an RTS meeting the other mechanics of the game. Eddie sprouts wings and can fly around the battlefield, ordering the various troops around. Headbangers have strong necks and thick skulls, serving as your basic infantry. Razor Girls are feathered hair groupies who wield BIG guns. Thunderhogs, led by the Kill Master (Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister) use soothing bass strings to heal your units. Bouncers, (small brain, big fists) Roadies, (invisible to enemies and capable of destroying  large structures) Fire Beasts, and Siege Weapons also join the mix. You can double team with any of these units making each one valuable in its own respect. However, this is where it gets a little tricky. Though most RTS elements are in this game, such as troop creation, rally markers, upgrades to your troops and stage (your home base), some vital to the genre are not. For example, you can't order your troops to focus on one distinct enemy, only order them to attack in a general direction. This isn't a big deal at first, but as certain enemies enter the fray it can make things tough as your troops don't focus on destroying it. Another frustrating part is the fact that you yourself can't destroy any towers or stages in the battle, only other troops. Once you get the hang of this concept and upgrade yourself  (adding weapons and armor to The Deuce works wonders) it's not a big deal. The battles can take an awfully long time to complete as well. Multiplayer is essentially these battles against another player, and to be good at them, you really have to get each concept down to a T. It's great fun at times and absolutely frustrating at others.
Another aspect are side missions. However, the objectives are so simplified (kill these guys, race this guy, deliver this stuff) that I consider them more like mini-games than actual missions. Fun mini-games, but mini-games none the less.
In conclusion, Brütal Legend is a great game. A few elements in gameplay, namely RTS problems, lack of a HUD and the inability to jump at all (WTF?!) makes things a little sketchy. Still, these are minor problems and probably won't affect your decision on getting this game at all. If you are a fan of Heavy Metal or Tim Schafer, you should definitly pick up a copy. If not, maybe just rent it for a fun weekend. Hopefully this will bring more attention on Tim Schafer's genius and allow him to make an even better sequel (Which the story does set up!). Thanks for reading. May the Gods of Metal shine upon you and cover you in their Metal God Love. Oh wait...

In the Tray: Brütal Legend

Hail the Gods of Metal! Brütal Legend has finally hit stores and is in my Xbox. Though I am not finished with the game, unfortunate occurences allowed me to see the ending. Please if anyone tries to spoil the ending to any game for you I give you permission to kill them. :P
Without giving to much away, the narrative of Brütal Legend is excellent. Think of it as a cross between A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court meets Star Wars meets HEAVY METAL. You are Eddie Riggs (voiced PERFECTLY by Jack Black), a roadie who through the help of his mysterious belt buckle, is thrown back to the Age of Metal, where the evil Emporer Doviculus (VOICED BY TIM FUCKIN CURRY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!) rules over the land with the help of his patsy, General Lionwhyte (a shot at anyone who wore jean jackets and had ribbons on their mics, Cough-Bon Jovi-Cough). According to legend, you were sent by the creator of the world, the Fire Beast Ormagöden, as the Savior of the World...or the Harbinger of Destruction. No one is really sure about that, but that's what makes the story so good. You team up with a small resistance...of three people: Lars Halford (voiced with great dramatic poise by Rob Halford of Judas Priest), his sister Lita, and your love interest, Ophelia. Together, you must start a revolution to create the world's greatest band (your army) and defeat the Emporer through the power of Heavy Metal.
Hands down, this is the best presented game of the year. Tim Schafer is a god when it comes to originality and thinking beyond the limits of imagination. The Age of Metal is exactly that: completely immersed in Heavy Metal. Schafer has said that the world is inspired by any heavy metal album, and he was right. The sunsets look like the sky is burning, metal spiders spin webs of bass guitar strings, and eclipses are commonplace wherever you go. But don't think that this is just a one-trick pony. The two continents which you will visit are both filled with varied landscapes, from the humble country settlement of Bladehenge to ice covered mountains filled with mammoth beasts to the dark and deathly Sea of Black Tears. What's more is the different collectables throughout the landscape; Artifacts of Legend give a deep and amazing backstory to the world and Motor Forges are used to upgrade your axe, your guitar, and your ride, The Deuce. Ozzy Osbourne, aka The Guardian of Metal, watches over these, and provides hilarious commentary whenever you scroll through the vast customization options. As the story progresses, you reach new areas in the world, and previous areas change with the shifting tides of battle. Many thought this would be a humorous game, and in truth, it is only to a certain extent. The beginning is hilarious, hands down. But as you progress through the game, the humor is suppressed. While some may think this is bad, it actually serves the story well. Dampening the humor allowed Schafer to deliver easily his darkest game to date. The strong connection with the characters you gain in the beginning truly makes you care about the dark twist the story takes at the end. Most of the humor at that point is given to Jack Black's perfect delivery: "I'm the weiner, you're the bun, come on over, let's have fun." and to Mangus, your bus driver of your Tour of Destruction (your journey to kill Doviculus) who's not all with it (think Otto from the Simpsons).
However, the presentation isn't without fault. My biggest problem was that at a certain point in the game, you skip ahead three months to the next main piece of the story. For me, it really threw off the story's excellent pacing. And I had only one beef with the game's excellent soundtrack. NO DIO. Heaven and Hell was one of the greatest metal songs of all time and Dio was one of the greatest metal artists of all time. He deserved to be in there. At least there wasn't any Metallica. Praise the Metal Gods...

The Winter of Our Content

Back for a weekend blog. If you saw my We wuz robbed blog in September, you know that every prediction I made about football has gone completely and utterly wrong. Oh well. Maybe I will do better talking about the new basketball season. Just a few predictions about the teams I like and know will do well in the NBA.
Denver Nuggets: Don't even count Denver out. Last season is proof that this team is for real. Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, Nene, J.R. Smith, and the Birdman have all proven to be lethal when the chemistry clicks. I expect a great season that leads to the playoffs. Just really unfortunate that they had to play the Lakers.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now this is the team to be and to beat to make a name for yourself. Lebron James (one of the best players of all time) single-handedly (and I do mean that) lead the team to their best record in franchise history last year. By Himself. Now that Shaq is heading to Cleveland for some much needed defensive boosts, expect, hell I'll say it: a Championship title this year.
Los Angeles Lakers: This team makes me sad face. Similar to the Steelers winning the Superbowl last year, the Lakers winning a championship really isn't inspiring anymore. Kobe is undoubtedly one of the best who ever played and last year was proof, it's just not fun to see them count how many they have. Like baseball and hockey, its just one of those teams that's really kept up by money, not genuine coaching or commitment.
Orlando Magic: This is a decent team that thrives on defense more so than offense. To put it in perspective, center Dwight Howard's shoulders are bigger than most people's bodies. He is a force on the court, and hopefully some better offense should carry his team back to the NBA Finals.
Miami Heat: I don't think that this team will make the playoffs, and that makes me cry. Dwayne Wade is a terrific ballplayer, and it sucks that he has to be on a team that has no talent other than his own. Seek a trade to better team, Wade. You deserve it.
As always for baseball and hockey, go Rockies and Avalanche as God intended. Remember that the Red Wings are from hell and that Boston and New York are the best teams money can buy and still suck. That is all.

Opinions

Yesterday, a friend and I were having an argument over what game would be the best game of 2009. He said Assassin's Creed 2 and I said it would be Modern Warfare 2. We kept on about it, disrespecting each other and our ideas. I thought a lot about that conversation since then, and realize that neither of us were right. Because we weren't dealing with facts. We were dealing with opinions.
First of all, it would be impossible to describe the perfect game, or any other object for that matter. Each person has different tastes, and to get angry at someone's alternative viewpoint is both foolish and pointless (no pun intended). I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes it doesn't always seem so. But I'm serious about this. You can't really compare any games together because they each do different things. Assassin's Creed is an action/adventure game while Modern Warfare is an FPS. They play out so differently that there really is nothing to compare them too, other than the obvious such as graphics, sound, and other things that either are objectively good or bad. One of the points I argued for was that MF 2 had multiplayer. I regret making this argument. Just because a game has multiplayer doesn't automatically make it better than another game, especially if the multiplayer isn't fun for some people. What I should have said was that I will enjoy the multiplayer as much as the single player. Its just difficult to judge a game, and therefore, we shouldn't throw out a rating with numbers to justify what we personally think.
Sorry for the short one today, but I've been rather swamped. Hopefully I can get another one out this weekend about the upcoming basketball season. Cheers! (P.S. I want and will love both AC and MF so stop ur bitchin, Mitchen!)

In the Tray: Halo 3 ODST, Part 2

Now to talk about the gameplay aspect of the ODST. This is kind of a throwback to the original Halo, with health returning to the mix. ODST can't jump as high, throw grenades as far, or hit as hard as the Chief can, and that makes the game all the more fun. Being much more human this time around forces you to make decisions and take risks, rather than just go in guns blazing and wait for a shield recharge. You have to think tatically and use your resources to adapt and achieve.

Most levels have a large Covenant force attacking just you and a few other Marines. In this sense, you have to be careful to take health packs conservatively. Once your stamina is gone, your health is open to deterioration. Fortunately, the game also makes old weapons in Halo seem completely relevant again, as well as adding new weapons in the mix. The Silenced SMG is mediocre, and I was especially annoyed with it after I got my hands on the still ruthlessly effective shotgun. Though it now has a scope, it still walks upward far too much to be a useful long range weapon, and you have to empty an entire clip on the dome just to eliminate a Brute's shields. The gun was meant to be dual wielded for a reason, and I found myself just going around meleeing everything when in close quarters. The Silenced pistol, on the other hand, is brilliant. Get a Brute's shield down with a tougher weapon and shoot its head once with the Magnum to down it. It's SUPER EFFECTIVE! Other weapons I liked were the all-powerful Carbine, taking out grunts and jackels with one shot and brutes with only a few. This plasma pistol is also very useful now, taking away shields very quickly. You can't be picky as you will run out of ammo rather quickly, especially is larger missions. Missing in action was the Battle Rifle, most likely due to its good power and range.

Shooting and working with squadmates rather than being a one-man army was a nice change of pace and gave the game somewhat of a Call of Duty feel. While the ODST AI is great, the Marines still are terrible, driving the wrong way and getting you killed far too easily. While most missions are fun and intense, I felt that a part of the last mission was far too easy, most likely because of the use of Gauss Warthogs and Scorpions. Still, there were moments of great difficulty, especially when there isn't a convenient kiosk of health packs nearby. One moment was when you and three of your squad get jumped by a Brute Chieftain. There is a great sense of urgency in the air as you attempt to take it down together. ODST capitalizes on moments like that to have all around solid gameplay. Co-op however, is crudely pasted on, with no backstory or explanation. Firefight is intense, taut, and fun. New maps for multiplayer are cool as well, but there is quite a bit to talk for each one so I'll save it for another blog. In short, get this game, you won't be disappointed. :D

In the Tray: Halo 3 ODST, Part 1

It's been two years since the release of Halo 3, Bungie's FPS mothership that allowed Xbox to dominate the online circuit. Even today, the demand for more Halo remains as high as it was when you finished the fight in 2007. Bungie is always happy to answer the call, and this is no more evident than with their new title, Halo 3 ODST. What was once a simple add-on to the original Halo 3 is now an eight hour journey that follows ODST, or Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, on a near-suicidal mission into the depths of an abandoned city on Earth. And the result: STUNNING.

Hands down, Halo 3 ODST is the best presented Halo to date. Hell, it's one of the best presented games on the 360. The story takes place toward the beginning of Halo 2, just as Master Cheif is wrapping up his business with the Covenant in the African mega-city of New Mombasa. You play not as the Chief this time, but as the Rookie, a new recruit to the ODST. You and your squad drop into the city just as a Covenant cruiser enters slip-space and decimates the entire city. You are scattered from the rest of your squad and awaken six hours later to the dark ruins of the city, now crawling with Covenant in search of stragglers. Using only your training, your gear, and New Mombasa's VI, the Superintendent, you must search for clues as to what happened to your squad, and more inportantly, why you've come to this proverbial heart of darkness. Each clue you find throughout the story sends you into a flashback that follows one of your squadmates. Your team this time really is well-defined, well-voiced characters. Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Alan Tudyk voice Buck, Dutch, and Mickey, respectively, and Tricia Helfer voices your tough-as-nails, Recon-wearing Captian Veronica Dare. It's nice to see that Bungie took the time to give characters a nice backstory for each character and its a nice change of pace from Sgt. Johnson and Co. telling you what to do.

The visual and audio effects also drives the story as well. Rather than doing a dramatic space opera, the entire campaign is in the city, which really gave Bungie a chance to make Earth look the nicest it's ever been in Halo. Gone are the gigantic Forerunner structures and goofy alien purples, but best of all: NO FLOOD. The night sections with the Rookie give a great sense of loneliness to the destroyed atmosphere; the isolation and hopelessness is almost crippling. The day sections in which you flashback to are beautifully and uniquely crafted to never feel the same. You'll be blasting through the streets one level and rolling through the jungle the next. However, the masterstroke of the game is the sound. Not just the silenced pistols, huge explosions and great voice acting, but the music. Bungie has some of the best composers around, and it shows throughout the game. Each level is given its own treatment, which ranges from a full orchestras to electric guitars licks to what I can only describe as "Science Fiction Jazz." It gives the game a nice noirish feel while still retaining the classic Halo badassery we've all come to know and love.

This is only part one of this blog on the presentation of the game. Stay tuned for part two which will talk about the gameplay aspect. Thanks for reading!

Keep it on the Down-load!

For quite some time now, I've been wanting to talk about something that I personally think is a great addition to the video games I play: Downloadable content (DLC). Since DLC was first created for online purposes, it has become an ever-expanding medium by which developers have added content, continued with the game's story, and provided new perspective to gamers around the world.

Rock Band/Guitar Hero - Both of these music giants, in addition to lesser known title, have used DLC to keep players interested in their products long after gamers have played through all the songs on the disc. However, it should be noted that Rock Band is much more likely to release new songs in the form of DLC than Guitar Hero. Personally, I think this is the wiser option. Guitar Hero loses customers everyday because of the constant flow of 60$ titles that don't offer anything new other than more songs. With DLC, Rock Band can release more songs at a cheaper price in the time it takes Guitar Hero to make a full-retail game. DLC allows for greater freedom when choosing music you want to play.

Fallout 3/Fable 2 - Both of these games have released DLC that really has been of a "hit and miss" calibur. Both have continued the main story of the respective game in some way, shape, or form, but nothing that is worth paying more for. While adding more content, such as new places to discover, new items to get, and some story to play through, most of the DLC released for both games doesn't really contribute to the story and really feels like an afterthought to score some more profit rather than expand on the game universe. The rare exceptions are "Broken Steel" for Fallout 3 (which actually serves as an epilogue to the main story) and the brief glimpse into what will become Fable 3 in Fable 2's "See the Future". Still, it would be nice if developers spent more time on crafting calibur DLC rather than something that should have shipped with the game or should have just been given away for free.

GTA 4 - This games receives a category all it's own, thanks in part to Rockstar's excellent work on "Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and Damned" (L&D). Rather than an epilogue to the storyline, L&D served as a different perspective on Liberty City through the eyes of a different character. It added new weapons, new physics, and new characters, as well as weaving the story of the new protagonist (Badass biker Johnny Klebitz) with that of Niko Bellic. It wraps up some loose ends in the main story and really creates a cool feeling of serendipity to the entire Liberty City universe. Though it's not as good as the main story itself, it's still a GTA IV quality work with a 20$ price tag, and that is brilliant. It sold like hotcakes, and it proves that a tried and true formula of story not being outshined by gameplay still works for the intelligent developer.

DLC has become a standard in the online community, and should remain so. More and more developers now want to have DLC announced even before the actual game is out (i.e., Heavy Rain) and if they take their time and create a DLC of merit rather than just an afterthought based on more gameplay with no story, they should have a successful online run (even if the game isn't that good). With games like Shadow Complex and Splosion Man leading the charge on the arcade front, hopefully more and more people will start taking DLC a little more serious.

In the tray: The Beatles Rock Band

Welcome to a special blog from Rant, White and Blue! For the "In the tray" section of the blog, I will be offering an opinion of the video games I've been playing. In my opinion, there is no better way to kick off this special post than with the latest from the folks at EA and Harmonix: The Beatles Rock Band. This will just be my thoughts on the game; I won't be giving a rating or letter grade, as everyone has a different opinion in life.

First off, this game has been in the works for quite some time. The developers at Harmonix have worked hard to chronicle The Beatles from day one, even imploring the help of Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. The end result is tremendous. The game follows the Fab Four's journey from Liverpool all the way to the rooftop of Apple Corps, utilizing 45 classics along the way. This is a nice break from most music games that have you playing and replaying songs that you don't like or care about to get through the game. The songs you play at The Ed Sullivan Show aren't the same as the ones you play at Shea Stadium, nor is the presentation of The Beatles. As they progress further through the years, their music changes from up-beat rock tunes to psychedelic ballads, slow, solemn R&B songs and records that spawned the birth of Classic Rock. However, the true masterstroke of the presentation takes place when you enter Abbey Road. Because the scenery changes from screaming girls getting tackled in Shea Stadium to a small, blandly colored studio, the developers added "Dreamscapes", which magically transport John, Paul, George, and Ringo to vibrant, eye-popping visuals that fit the mood of the song. For example, I am the Walrus has a very trippy, almost terrifying color scheme with the Fab Four dressed up in poorly made animal costumes. These are so well-done for every song that I actually missed having them come up when you reach the Apple Corps rooftop.

The same Rock Band gameplay returns for the game as well, with a few tweaks. Gone is World Tour, replaced by The Beatles story that spans for almost a decade. It took me a good while to get through the entire story, but there is so much replayability that if you really like the game you will be logging a lot of time on the game. Though I haven't tried it yet, harmonizing with three other people would be both difficult and fun. Another great thing about the game is that you really feel like you're on-stage with the Fab Four. I was playing Can't Buy Me Love and when I played a certain note at the refrain, I really got the feeling that I was jamming with the greatest band in the world, and that is an AWESOME feeling. Another feeling I got while playing the game was one that most music games avoid: lack of competition. It wasn't about topping the leaderboards, getting bragging rights, or scoring a perfect score. It was all about the music, playing it and connecting with it. It's a great way to get all ages into the game and just have fun.

In conclusion, The Beatles Rock Band can be seen from a couple of perspectives. For Beatles fans, it's a reaffirmation that the Fab Four is the greatest band of all time, and that their music still inspires us to this day. For those who don't know about the lads from Liverpool, this game stands as a loving tribute from Harmonix for all people to discover, or even rediscover, an amazing rock n' roll band and their awesome journey. Packed with tons of extras that more fully tell the story of the band, it's a great game for all ages. It's also a confirmation that Rock Band is miles ahead of Guitar Hero. Rather than oversaturating the market with mediocre titles that don't bring anything new to the table, Harmonix and EA took their time to create, in my opinion, the greatest music game of all time.

Wacha Wachin?

So more into this Fall season. As you know, Fall is the worst time of the year. Unfortunately, it's also the time that all the TV shows come back with new seasons. This is just some commentary on the shows I'll be watching and some of the shows I won't be.

Heroes - Just had to get this one right out of the way. I'm not sure if I'm going to watch this season or not. I was a HUGE fan of the first season, and the second wasn't all that bad. It's just the third season that my suspicions were aroused (that's what she said, but more on that later). It seems that the show is at a crossroads. The writers are clearly afraid to add new characters or change the universe in any way. The addicting part of the first season was you really had no idea if New York was gonna blow up or not. Sadly, no boom-boom. Then the second season rolled around and promised this huge plague in 2008 (season 2 was in 2007) and the story basically reskinned the events that happened in the first season. Season 3 at least tried to mix things up with story, but the events happen too quickly and characters change objectives too much to appreciate anything. Not to mention that in Season 3 nearly every "hero" lost their powers and then got them back and then got them taken away then got them back at a reduced strength FOR NO APPARENT REASON. Season 4 needs more characters, more cohesive plot, evolution of superpowers and a huge disaster actually occuring (tired of this Isaac Mendez painting crap).

24 - Sigh. Just no for me. Tired of seeing the same old crap and people come in that I don't understand because I didn't watch the first few seasons.

House - Haven't been watching it lately, but I want to get back into it. They seem to be mixing it up nicely with the Mental Institution. SPOILER!

Fringe - Hell yeah. Great show with awesome science fiction. IMO, better than the X-Files. J.J. Abrams does it again.

The Office - Huge fan of the show and have been keeping up on it. Great direction they're taking the show in. Still the same type of humor yet seems fresh thanks to the overarcing story to it. Fantastic. (Let "that's what she said" comment resume here).

Community - New show that's premiering after The Office on Sept. 17. Though not all of NBC's shows work out, check this one out. Joel McHale (of The Soup) is hilarious and it's good to see Chevy Chase returning to something.

30 Rock - Quite possibly the funniest show that NBC has ever had, simply because it makes fun of NBC. Tina Fey is a comedic genius, and Alec Baldwin never was so on his game. Great cast with even better writing (That's a dealbreaker ladies!).

True Blood - Unfortunately, this show started during the summer and ends a week from today. I seriously came in the middle of season 2 and I like it already. Not your goofy Twilight kind of vampires, these guys are gory as can be. Not perfect, there are a few things that are kinda stupid (like focusing on people who aren't vampires) but still a pretty awesome, dark, VERY mature show.

Finally, the show I do want to check out, Mad Men. Sounds pretty cool from a broad standpoint, but maybe not so much when I watch it. We'll see. Also don't forget that The Guild season 3 has a new show out every Tuesday for the next few weeks, so go check it out and Getcha NERD on, ya heard?

We wuz robbed! (And something completely different)

I'm back baby! Which is great because now I have the chance to blog over a three-day weekend with an illness I received from idiot Freshmen who don't realize that germs are CONTAGIOUS. This time, I'm gonna talk about something other than nazi-killing fun and a shitty social update website. People, it's Fall. That sucks, but there is an upside: Football season has come again! Wait, did I say "upside"? I meant just another thing to piss me off and talk about with totally unqualified arguments. God bless the internet.

Folks, have you ever seen something that was truly pathetic? Like a fly with broken wings trying to fly or a toothless monkey trying to use a toothbrush? Well then you have a small idea of the man, the myth, the legend that is Brett Farve. Brett Farve was once a stellar quarterback with Pro-Bowl appearances, MVPs and a Superbowl ring. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that as you get older in life, you can't do as much as you could when you were young. Hell, he still doesn't realize it. When Farve retired for the first time (the fact that I have to use "first time" is ridiculous), I think most people were ok with it. A guy who tried his best but finally felt the limitations of his career. Then, he came out of retirement to play a mediocre season with the Jets. Then he retired again. Now it was getting old, especially when he expressed interest in playing with the Vikings. There was hope when the coach of the Vikings said Farve wasn't going to play. Then Farve came back. Like a festoring sore. Who just wants another Superbowl ring so he can go out on top. Problem is Farve sucks as a quarterback now. He's too damn old. He probably has a greater chance at a Superbowl ring by mastering the art of stealth and breaking into Ben Rothlisberger's house and stealing one of his. Just let it go, old man.

Michael Vick. Seriously. What the fuck? The man gets arrested for fucking killing dogs and goes to jail. He is a national disgrace. The NFL commissioner promises Vick is done with football. THEN HE FUCKING COMES BACK TO PLAY FOOTBALL. This is just some ridiculous ploy by the Eagles to sell tickets, but not to see Vick play. He was never as good as Donovan McNabb, but people will just come to watch him sit on the sidelines, just to sit and wonder why this guy isn't still in jail. There is literally no words to describe how absolutely ridiculous this all is. Especially because Vick isn't even sorry. He called his dog-fighting scandal "pointless". POINTLESS?!?!?!? That's it? THIS FUCKER SHOULD BE KICKED OUT OF FOOTBALL AND THROWN BACK IN PRISON.

Sigh, and now to talk about my team, the Denver Broncos. There has been a lot of drama that transpired since the Broncos lost 4 in a row last year to miss the playoffs. Shanahan was fired, McDaniels was hired, McDaniels tries to pick up Matt Cassel, Jay Cutler gets pissed off, wants to be traded, gets traded, Kyle Orton joins the team, McDaniels screws up our sweet draft picks, etc., etc. Now all of it has converged into one big clusterfuck known as the Broncos 2009 football team. We are seriously boned. Orton and back-up Chris Simms are injured, as well as the starting running back that WE BLEW OUR FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK ON! But who's to blame? The answer: everybody. Blame Pat Bowlen for hiring McDaniels, out of the dozen better choices he had. Blame Josh McDaniels for being a downright awful coach (if only because it's his first season). Blame Jay Cutler for being a goddamn diva-bitch for thinking he would honestly lose his starting spot to a fucktard like Matt Cassel (also known as the turd in Brady's shadow). But don't forget the bastard who started it all: Shanahan. If he had squeezed out one win in the last four games of the 2008 season, we wouldn't be in this awful, awful situation.

To sum up, I really hope that either the San Diego Chargers or the Arizona Cardinals can nab a Superbowl this year. Last year's Steeler-rape was anything but cool to watch. Seriously, who gives a crap if you've won 7 championships? Of course that's gonna happen if you were one of the original teams in the NFL. Get over yourself. Gonna be a long Autumn if the trends listed above continue. A final note: Sorry for using the work "Fuck" gratuitously (spur of the moment thing).

Summer Wrap-Up: Movies, Inglourious Movies!

Hey gang, it's the last blog of the Summer. Why is it that such an awesome season is only three months long? It only makes Fall look stupid. Fall needs to suffer a fate worse than death (by which I mean it should have to spend an eternity in Fall, the worst season there is.) Anyway, like my last blog I will be talking about my favorite movies on the Summer, as well as the ones I didn't like. Let's get to it with the countdown of the best movies.

Best Movies of the Summer:
5. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - At first, I was annoyed that it had taken the folks across the pond so long to put this one out I didn't want to see this one. But Harry returned in full force. Awesome visuals and a great connection with the characters we've all come to know and love really made this the best Potter film yet. Only thing I didn't like was the lack of Voldemort memories and the fact the makers of the film were afraid to go against Twilight (hence it's six month delay).

4. Star Trek - Seriously, I am not a Trekkie. I know the basic backstory and the characters, but I couldn't tell you what Kirk did in episode 47 against some horribly designed aliens. Fortunately, this film can easily bring anyone up to speed on voyages of the Starship Enterprise while still creating an epic adventure all its own. The action has been upped, the characters are believable and the lines that made the classic TV show famous are said without the feeling of "OMG he just said that line". Hats off to J.J. Abrams, or should I say "Live long and Prosper"? No, I shouldn't...

3. Inglourious Basterds - Saw this one this afternoon, actually. Even so, it's living proof that Quentin Tarantino has still got it. In all seriousness, this may be the coolest movie I've ever seen (not the best but still oozes badassery). Brad Pitt is phenomenal, funny and *insert synonym for "cool" here. Think of it as a Spaghetti Western meets Casablanca; everything pops off the screen. Action is intense, dialogue is sophisticated, and the plot (in which the ending is one of the greatest and most American things I have ever seen, /salute) is wrapped in "I don't give a fuck how WWII actually went down". Though a little too long, overall, one of the best action films to date.

2. District 9 - A friend and I went to see Terminator Salvation when the trailer for this film emerged. All he and I needed to see was "Peter Jackson presents" and we were sold. The film is, quite frankly, not only one of the best movies of this year, but also one of the best sci-fi films of all time. The CGI is very present, but it's not overdone so it creates a sense of realism to the aliens (spoiler: there are aliens). Though filmed like "The Blair Witch Project" for the first part of the film, it actually differs quite a bit from what I was expecting (cuz "The BWP" sucked ass). Really cool action and a plot of epic proportions. Go see it, now.

1. Up - Yes, I know it's an animated film. But don't you dare say that this is a regular "Disney" affair for little children. This is Pixar doing what Pixar does best. Going in, I thought how this would compare to Wall-E; leaving I knew it was in a category all it's own. Not only is this one of the most beautiful animated films ever, it's story and characters make it one of the best movies of all time. It's physical comedy and comical allusions (i.e., dogs playing poker) make it hilarious for everyone, not just little kids. It's the perfect example of why you don't need goofy looking animals with celebrity voices to make a succesful and timeless story (fingers pointed at you, Dreamworks).

Worst Movie of the Summer:
Transformers 2 - Epic fail. A festoring cold sore in cinema history. AIDS in movie form. Whatever you want to call it, it was TERRIBLE. The first Transformers had a pretty quirky plot that was explained fairly well. Rather than going the route of most sequels by having no plot at all, this movie's plot spits in your face and tells you to like it. Somehow or other, Michael Bay took everything great about the first one (character development, focused and cool-looking action, semi-cohesive story) and replaced it with sex jokes, dialogue-less transformers, and robot testicles. The action is big but many scenes had action that didn't affect anything and was purely aesthetic. Megan Fox became a mindless drone with no intelligent lines instead of the goddess of hot that she is. The most frustrating parts: a random teleportation from Washington D.C. to Egypt and Shia LaBeouf going to robot heaven. The inverse Dark Knight.

Movie that actually didn't suck:
G.I. Joe - What appeared to be a horrible looking movie actually turned into a fun, action packed revamp of those dolls that pedophiles played with when they were seven. The action is solid, especially when Snake Eyes gets on-screen. Accelerator suits were a little much, but it was still a great salute to the old animated series of yore. A better budget and the return of Sienna Miller smugglin' hams and Stephen Sommers will finally have a new franchise.

Best Trailer:
The Last Airbender - I am a big fan of the Nickelodeon show and I can't wait to see what M. Night Shyamalan does with this. It already looks to have a solid cast (a martial arts expert as Aang, Shaun Toub of Iron Man fame as Uncle Iroh and the standout of Dev Petal as Prince Zuko). Here's hoping it has the success of The Sixth Sense rather than the... ahem... of The Happening.

Been a good summer overall and I am very excited to keep blogging. It really has become fun to just vent my views on stuff and I hope that I can continue to talk about the things that matter to me. For now, this is Apple Juice Jones, signing off...

Summer Wrap-Up: Games, Glorious Games!

So for part one of my two part Summer Wrap-Up blog (yes you may cry because summer is coming to an end) is going to be about the video games and tidbits that have me excited for the rest of this year and the next. First, a very brief opinion of E3, then on to an awards ceremony of games that interest me with a brief description for each. Let the Rant commence!

E3: The big winner: Microsoft. No dumb graphs or charts. Just big announcements, some expected, others not. Project Natal definetly turned some heads thanks in part to the bottom of an avatar's shoe and a weird kid named Milo. Crackdown 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 were shockers, as was the addition of Twitter and Facebook to Xbox Live. The biggest announcements by far were both Metal Gear Solid: Rising and Halo: Reach. In other conferences, Sony actually did a great job of putting out games that enticed gamers to try out the console (albeit the lack of a price drop would have been appreciated). Nintendo did a lackluster job of bringing hardcore games to their system (Mario is not enough and only Metroid impressed). EA and Ubisoft failed miserably. Too much about tween girls and James Cameron.

Games I want to buy:
Batman: Arkham Asylum - Play the demo. You will be blown away.
Halo 3: ODST - I was skeptical about this at first, but new gameplay, Firefight, a multiplayer disc and a beta invite to Reach is too good to pass up. Check it out.
Brutal Legend - Waiting for the demo, but it looks fantastic already.
Modern Warfare 2 - A sequel to one of the best FPS of all time. Nuff said.
Assassin's Creed 2 - A visionary sequel with a bunch of new elements to eliminate the repetition.
Mass Effect 2 - You should already know why I want this game...
Dante's Inferno - God of War comes to Xbox.
Brink - Think Mirror's Edge meets Battlefront.

Games that would entice me to buy a PS3 Slim:
The Last Guardian - Stunning.
Uncharted 2 - Badassery.
God of War 3 - Badassery cont.
Metal Gear Solid 4 - Yes it's old but amazing.
Fat Princess - Flamio Hotman!

Games that need to go die in a fire:
Games for tween girls - just why?
Music Games - Cuz every house needs 20 crappy plastic peripherals that do the same thing.
Hannah Montana - Cuz it garnered way too much adult male applause at the Sony Conference...
Motion Capture Games - Ultimately, still a mere concept that is no where near being cool or fun. The fact that Nintendo is now failing in sales (down 60%) shows that folks just aren't interested at moving around their living room like a goon. New ideas should be in software, not hardware.

Stay tuned for my follow-up to this blog: the best and worst movies of the Summer. Please comment on my opinion and tell me what you think! Ciao bella.

P.S. about Fable 3: So Fable 2 was easily the biggest "hit and miss" game I've played since Duck Hunter on the SNES (get it? huh? huh? DO YA?!?!?!?). While some parts really pulled at the heartstrings, i.e., my dog crying when I left for the spire and the death of my dog, others really felt hollow, i.e., Lucien killing my sister (aka annoying bitch), really feeling like this is an epic adventure, and the non-existent boss fight at the end. Combat was fun until you became too powerful and they ran out of enemies to throw in there. DLC was also frustrating at times. Now Fable 3 has been announced, but it has some changes that look to remedy some (if not all) of my complaints. Click here to see what I'm talking about.

Call of Duty: A Modern World at War

So with all the recent game delays and the many popular games set for this year being pushed back into the next, it seems that only one franchise may deliver on its original release date: Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Title is subject to change). Seeing as how this is the sequel to one of the best games of all time, it's poised to be one of the best-selling games this year. However, it also has the capacity to fail in certain areas, namely the multiplayer. This is just some of my opinions in what both Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty: World at War succeeded and failed to do in their games and therefore what should be in the next chapter in the COD franchise.

1.Ranking System First of all, I hope that Infinity Ward will keep the ranking system for the first Modern Warfare. It was revolutionary and addicting to gamers who wanted to level up quickly and feel good doing it. The system made it so that even if you didn't win a match, you could have easily made up for it by getting kills, assisting teamates, completing objectives, and accomplishing challenges. Overall, one of the best multiplayer systems to date. My only suggestions are a few tweeks to the system.

2.Prestige I would suggest that more rewards are given for going Prestige. In COD4, players could get golden weapons and a new insignia each time they went to the next level of Prestige. Treyarch expanded on this idea by allowing players to get additional custom class slots, but even then, its really not enough for someone who has given up all their weapons and started over again. Special perks and weapons only available through Prestige will really entice all players to try it out.

3.Create-a-class Another unique triumph of COD4, the create-a-class system kept players interested in bettering themselves by equipping new perks and weapons. I feel that IW should continue this trend, with a few boundaries. For one, if new perks are added (which Treyarch did in WaW) or old perks are tweeked, there should always be a perk that counteracts that perk in some way. A good example is one in WaW: Matyrdom (dropping a live grenade upon dying) is counteracted by Toss Back, which resets the fuse of a live grenade. Another suggestion is being able to change your class during a match, so players can more effectively strategize against others. Finally, players should be able to customize what they look like as well. Unlocking new gear and clothing is just as addicting as unlocking weapons.

4.Weapons Needless to say this has a category all its own. Not much to say here though, IW and Teyarch have done a solid job on putting weapons in, it's just the application that isn't great. Many times players have looked upon their killcams to see an entire clip shot at them and only one shot connecting. Even more frustrating is shooting a few precise shots at an enemy and not killing the target. This rewards luck, not skill and should be addressed. In addition, killstreak rewards could use some work. IW's rewards were solid and believable, but Treyarch simply failed. Artillery would shake the camera too much and dogs (which could be killed very easily in COD4) can kill you in two shots on regular fights (one shot on Hardcore). IW has promised more rewards this time, they should just be careful in how they apply them.

5.Vehicles No. Simply, no. When the trailer and demo of MW2 revealed using snowmobiles in single-player, many speculated that you could use vehicles in multiplayer. I'm not even sorry in saying that this is a stupid idea. In World at War, tanks were EXTREMELY overpowered. Even though there were many perks you could use to take them down, it would always take multiple people just to kill one person. Not to mention that one could never get close enough to kill them without being shot by a different player or nuked by one shot of the tank's barrel. Snowmobiles, while not at strong as a tank, are still too fast to be put in a game like COD. Overpowered vehicles didn't get players into Modern Warfare, using skill and strategy did. If vehicles are included in MW2, they must be able to be destroyed with relative ease.

I look with optimism on the release of this new game, as the multiplayer footage Infinity Ward has shown off shows a deep understanding of the frustrations that their community has in the game and what the developer has done to fix it. To see what I'm talking about click this link.

Twitter: For the Birds...

So unless you've been living under a rock, in a cave, or on Mars (and none of these places have internet connection) then you've probably heard about a little thing called Twitter. It's a social networking site that appears to have become the top dog among other sites such as Myspace and Facebook. However, I have been hearing so much about it now more than ever that I have to offer my two cents.

First, let me just say that I consider Twitter with mixed feelings. For one, the creators are geniuses. A site where you just tell people what you're doing at any given moment? A concept so stupidly simple, its no wonder it's become an international phenomenon. It's drawn the attention of politicians, celebrities, and the media itself. EVERYONE does it. But that's where my problems surface. As people who are naturally prone to ignoring other people unless they are at least our aquaintances, isn't it a little weird that we're sharing our schedule with the entire world? Recently, the idea of Twitter becoming a tv channel was thrown up in the air. The hordes of the rich and famous were quick to shoot down this bird (pun sorta intended). Many felt that it would be an invasion of privacy. And that's where my face blew up.

Twitter is nothing more that an open invitation for anyone to see what any given person is doing any time that person "tweets/twitters" it. Now I hope that people don't write every single aspect of their life down, but even things that you're willing to share let people know where you are and what you're doing. Paint it whatever color you like, but that is still a willing invitation to privacy. Not to mention the drain it creates on our society as a whole. Do we really need to know that Lance Armstrong watched "Gran Torino" on a plane to Aspen? Or that Ashton Kutcher has over 1 million people following his seemingly non-existent life as an actor? The most logical answer is no, but the masses say otherwise.

Now, I'm not saying Twitter is all bad. In fact, in some circumstances it can actually be used very effectively. Felicia Day (of the hit web series The Guild) has created a huge following in which she updates fans on the progress of the show and lets them know how her work on it (as actor, writer and producer) is going. Twitter can also be used to give updates to families, businesses and friends. But this is only if it is used in small increments. Letting your family know how a surgery went or your co-workers how a meeting went is much more effective than having to call them all or write an e-mail to them. If the info is vital, then people will pay attention; if not, then they'll let it slip right on through.

Bottom line: We need to be much more temperate on this baby-blue giant of social networking. By letting people know about the most insignificant aspects of our lives, we begin to lose our sense of privacy and our sense of what's vital for others to know. However, we need to learn how to use this outlet usefully so that we can start seeing Twitter as more of a help than a hindrance.

P.S. Since Twitter is staying around for a while, the creator need to create a definitive verb for writing on it. Tweet or Twitter? Or something else? All readers of this blog should vote in the comments section.

"Pilot" Blog

Welcome to Rant, White and Blue!

I'm Apple Juice Jones and this is my first blog. /throw confetti /cheer
I was inspired to start blogging by a friend but I wasn't sure what to blog about. I care a lot about very few things, so there wasn't much out there for me to start on that would seriously differentiate this blog between all the others out there. Then I realized what I'm good at and what I enjoy doing: Talking about stuff!

Stupid I know. But I realized that just talking about stuff that happens in the day to day really is a great way to blow off steam and make you feel a lot better about things. So don't think of this blog as an opinionated piece of fluff to push my own propagandist agenda, because that is probably going to be the term most people will use to describe it; think of it as writing an angry letter and then just crumpling it up and throwing it away. Feel free to comment any way you want, have a total meltdown or just say a one-word comment, it's up to you. Just remember that this is NOT in the interest of starting a huge argument filled with bitter name calling and outlandish accusation. This is just an alternative to screaming into a pillow, a "Fight Club" of the internet, if you will.

A few warnings: I most likely won't be blogging about politics. It's nothing personal to anyone or their political affiliations, it's just that some of the most bitter fights I've had were about decisions made by politicians. Sorry to disappoint. But I will be covering things like happenings in the news like weird stories, various forms of entertainment like movies, video games, and technology, and just anything else on my mind.

The "just anything else on my mind" is where you guys come in too. Just comment on what you'd like to talk about and I'll skim through and choose which one I want to talk about. You guys can make this your blog as much as it is mine, seeing as how one day I may run out of things to talk about and may need your help.

Just to sum up: I don't expect to become a blogging sensation with this nor do I think that this will become a big deal. What I do hope is that people will use this blog to vent their problems by any means, be it writing one really long essay on why they hate their boss or just mashing every key on their keyboard because they want to. I hope you enjoy this social experiment as much as I hope I will too.

Apple Juice Jones