PSN issue and Borderlands

First of all I need to mention an oddity with PSN. For me (and possibly others, I have not checked), I seem to be disconnected from the PSN at 12:00 midnight every night, pretty much on the dot. At first I thought this was problems with my internet connection (which in the past I was having issues with, but this has nothing to do with that. It isn’t normally a problem, as I just need to pop back in the menu and sign in again, which takes a matter of seconds.

Anyway, onto Borderlands.

I haven’t posted on my blog about Borderlands (but then again I’ve barely touched my blog), but it is worth mentioning that it is a fantastic game. It is also a great co-operative game, which I have been playing with random strangers in my second playthrough (I would love to play it with real friends, but my real friends are either 360 owners or if they do have a PS3, hardly use it for gaming and likely have zero interest in Borderlands).

Anyway, in the past I have regretted buying DLC for games, as I find that I barely touch it and end resenting paying the money, but for Borderlands I have loved The Zombie Island of Dr Ned and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome. It has to be said, however, the Mad Moxxi is tough as hell. I have almost obtained all the trophies for the main game and, already have all of them for Dr Ned, for Moxxi, however, I have not even managed to get the first bronze.

Moxxi are tournament levels where you have 3 different arenas and have to fight through 5 rounds, each consisting of 5 waves (in other words 25 waves of baddies of ever increasing difficulty). To get the first bronze you have to beat all three arenas. I have managed one so far, and that was DIFFICULT. It is impossible to do on your own, you really need someone else along to help out for various reasons.

Incidentally, to get the other trophies you have to play all 3 arenas in a harder mode which is 20 rounds, each consisting of 5 waves (in other words 100 waves of baddies). I know that some people have managed this, but I fully believe that I will never manage this

Anyway, onto last night…

Last night I was trying a second arena on Moxxi and after a long, long slog, with many very, VERY closely fought battles, I just managed to get to the end (with higher level co-players). I was logged onto one of their games, so as such, was not hosting the game.

At the end of each round (even the last) there is a countdown from 10 to 1 to signify the end of the round. So as we finally killed the boss wave at the end of round 5 (the final round), I sank back into my sofa in relief, relieved that I’d managed to get through a second arena of Moxxi and also picked up some epic random generated weapons. I watched the timer, waiting for the victory to be registered.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

DISCONNECT…

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Falls to knees and shakes fists at the heavens)

DAMN YOU PSN!

Oscar nominations 2010

Okay, the Oscar nominations have been announced today.

These are as follows:

BEST PICTURE
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In the Air

BEST DIRECTOR
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up In The Air

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up In The Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up In the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up In the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Mo’nique, Precious

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones,
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell, District 9
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, In The Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up In The Air

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Up

ART DIRECTION
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

COSTUME DESIGN

Bright StarCoco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of A GM Plant
Music By Prudence
Rabbit A La Berlin

FILM EDITING
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ajami
El Secreto
Desus Ojos
The Milk of Sorrow
A Prophet
The White Ribbon

MAKE-UP
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

MUSIC: ORIGINAL SCORE
Avatar
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up

MUSIC: ORIGINAL SONG
The Princess and The Frog – Almost There
The Princess and The Frog – Down In New Orleans
Paris 36 – Loin de Panane
Nine – Take It All
Crazy Heart – The Weary Kind

SHORT FILM: ANIMATED
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady And The Reaper
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

SHORT FILM: LIVE ACTION
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

SOUND EDITING
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE
Coraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Princess And The Frog
The Secret Of Kells
Up

A few observations…

This year is slightly different that instead of the normal 5 films being nominated for best picture there are 10. The last time this was done was back in the 1940’s. I think this has been done to broaden the appeal of the Oscars as having 10 films nominated means that it is more likely for mainstream films to be in the batch of nominated films. As a result, both Up and District 9 have been nominated, which is great news (even though it is unlikely either will win). I’m especially please that Up has been nominated (which is also nominated for best animated film, which it should win), as this is just the second animated fim ever to be up for Best Picture, the first being Beauty and the Beast.

As with previous years, I will post my predictions, and reviews / opinions, shortly before the ceremony on this blog.

The Apartment

Film watched:
The Apartment

Okay, I’m throwing away my twenty word rule out of the window, instead, what I plan to do is just review films when and if it take my fancy, or if I feel like I have anything to say, as in this instance.

I’ve had The Apartment on my Lovefilm list for a little while now, as it is a classic film that I have wanted to watch for some time, however, as soon as I started watching it I suddenly realised that I didn’t know anything about it! Sure I knew that it was considered a “classic”, it was a Billy Wilder film and starred Jack Lemon (always good) and Shirley McClain. As such, I think I was expecting a whimsical classic comedy in the same vein as Some Like it Hot (best comedy of all time), but boy was I wrong.

Okay, maybe no completely wrong, yes it was whimsical and yes it had comedy elements, but it was a lot darker than I had imagined and also hit upon themes which I imagine were quite daring for early 60’s popular cinema. We’re talking adultery, self depreciation, suicide and above all else, the differences between those who take advantage of others and those that are taken advantage of.

Overall it is a masterfully written film with fantastic performances mainly by Lemon and McClain. A real gem that I’m glad has come to my attention.

8.5/10

Avatar and blog posts

First of all, I feel that I have to mention that I haven’t completely abandoned my blog, I’ve just dialled down things a little. Instead of posting reviews for all films that I see / games that I play etc, I will likely only be blogging very occasionally, or when the mood takes me.

Other big posts such as Oscar nominations, yearly reviews and E3 predictions etc will still be put on my blog, for my benefit more than anything.

Anyway, I managed to go and se Avatar (finally) the other days, so…

Film watched:
Avatar



Undeniably excellent, but not Cameron’s best. Hampered a little by being unbelievably predictable. Pretty much an alien Dance with Wolves!

8/10

2009 Review

Films

Top 3 films of 2009

Up

It’s Pixar.

The above two words should be sufficient an explanation of why this film is in my top 3, but if I were to add to that and say that it is likely the best Pixar film to date, then you know where I’m coming from.

This film had me in tears twice within the first 10 minutes, and this is from a children’s CGI film! It was also great being able to take Elliot to watch it in 3D in a very fine cinema in Canada, which also added to the experience.

Truly and without a doubt in my mind, the best film of 2009!

Watchmen

This is not a perfect film, in some ways it’s a little too faithful to the graphic novel and in other ways it’s not faithful enough.

Whilst I do not miss the squid, I do miss the scenes of carnage which follow the reveal of the squid in the graphic novel, especially in light of the fact that the hundreds of dead bodies seen include some minor characters which you have grown to love. It drives home the consequences of the “villain” in the story. This was missing in the film and as such, the ending lacked its punch in my opinion. Apart from that the rest of the film was fantastic, with the best moment being in my opinion the Dr Manhattan segment, which was mesmerising.

It’s a bit of a shame that the film was not more successful, but then again, it is far from your typical super hero movie, so it’s not too surprising that it didn’t have the appeal of Spiderman or The Dark Knight.

[●Rec]

Okay, so technically this film did not come out in 2009 (I believe it was released in the cinema in 2008), but I only got the chance to see it in 2009 – so it’s on the list.

This is my regular foreign top film of the year (in the last 5-6 years at least one of my top films has been foreign, either Korean or Spanish), in this case it is a fantastic Spanish POV camera film in the same ilk as Blair Witch, Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead, only so much better than all of them. At its most basic it’s a zombie move based in an apartment block, but it is made all the more effective by the way in which it is filmed. Also the ending based in the penthouse is especially chilling.

There is a sequel due out shortly to this, which I am looking forward to, which follows on directly from the original film. I just hope that it is in the same league.

Notable mentions (for good or bad)

Antichrist

If only for the last 20 minutes of the film which really were wince inducing and utterly disgusting (and this is coming from me). I dare any man to watch the film and not feel the slightest bit physically sick.

Moon

Very, very nearly made it in my top 3 films of 2009. A film which showed that low budget, intelligent sci-fi could be a million more time effective than big budget sci-fi rubbish (transformers).

A film which is lead by an incredible performance by Sam Rockwell, which, if there is any justice in the world, land him with an Oscar come 2010 (although in all likelihood this will be ignored). A fantastic and moving sci-fi film which has all the qualities of the classic sci-fi films of old.

Slumdog Millionaire

So deserved its Oscar in 2009. A great return to form by Danny Boyle.

District 9

Again a low budget sci-fi film which was so much better than its bigger budget brothers and sisters.

Games

Top 3 games on 2009

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Undoubtedly the best game of 2009.

The first Uncharted was a fantastically fun game, but the sequel just builds upon this so much, fixing all the small issues from the first game and adding so many new fun elements. Never before has a game felt like an exhilarating action summer blockbuster.

I have played through the game three times and have unlocked all the trophies (Ha Ha Crushing level – I spit in your direction) and I never got bored. A combination of witty dialogue, great set pieces, a mixture of adventure, combat and exploration just draws you back into the game again.

Best of 2009, best on PS3. Just fantastic.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

In many respects this has many similar play styles to Uncharted 2, and I also got the game at the same time as Uncharted 2 (i.e. my birthday).

This is, without doubt, the best superhero game released on any system so far. Batman has always been ripe material for games, but for one reason or another, no developer has been able to properly do the character justice until now. Again, like Uncharted 2, it excels in its presentation and particularly the dialogue and graphic departments. I also like the way that combat and stealth elements are used in the game.

Fallout 3

Again technically this came out late 2008 and not 2009, but I didn’t buy it until 2009 – so added to my 2009 list.

I just loved the freedom available in this game and also the fact that it was a game that gave you morale choices which were not entirely black or white (or at least not all the time). You could even at times play both sides against each other, or complete objectives by alternative ways (my favourite has to be talking someone out of an entire quest).

I also enjoyed the post-apocalypse setting with a tinge of 50’s paranoia.

I ended up sinking around 70 hours into this baby, maxed out my level and managed to get my first platinum in any PS3 game.

Notable mentions (for good or bad)

Madworld

It looked gorgeous, but got repetitive – quickly.

The Conduit

I had high hopes for this, but in truth it ended up being nothing more than a sub-standard shooter, with graphics not as good as it believed they were and a control scheme that still wasn’t as good as Metroid Prime.

Pokémon: Platinum

For introducing me into the world of Pokemon – which, to my surprise, I found I rather liked!

The Beatles: Rock Band

I love the Beatles and I also enjoy Guitar Hero / Rock Band type games and as such, this was always going to be a marriage made in heaven.

Life

Okay, a few notable events in my life during 2009.

- I have enjoyed a relatively healthy year, after the last 2 where I seemed to have suffered with various ailments. Luckily, this year, things have gone rather well.

- During this year I have undergone a fair amount of training for work, which has been quite hard going, and has also required a fair amount of studying away from work. All the same, I think that it has been a valuable experience.

- Because of my work training, I have also travelled a lot during 2009 to London, and for quite a while in the summer I was over in London at least once, if not twice a week. As such, I managed to get the opportunity to go to the cinema on a regular basis during my trips which was great, as UK based cinemas are a vast improvement on our local flea pit.

- I enjoyed a fantastic holiday away in Canada (Toronto and Niagara Falls) with my wife and Elliot. It was the second time to Canada with Rox, but the first with Elliot, and also Elliots first big holiday and he thoroughly enjoyed himself (and is still asking if he can go back again).

- I was proud to attend Roz degree ceremony in London earlier in the year.

Okay then… Roll on 2010!

Happy Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Christmas

I hope that everyone (Santa included) gets a chance to play with all their presents :)

Braid & Rubber Soul

So Braid is out on the Euro PSN as of today.

It’s a game that I really want to play (it was one of the few games on Xbox Live that I was envious of – that and Geometry Wars), but unfortunately it is a little badly timed, as I’m still playing Uncharted 2 on Crushing and Pixel Junk Shooter. Add to that the fact that Christmas is just round the corner. As such, Braid will just have to wait a little bit. I’ll likely pick it up early next year.

Also out today on the PSN is the Rubber Soul DLC for The Beates: Rock Band, which I will be downloading ASAP. I’m looking forward to giving it a go tonight, as some of my favourite Beatles tracks are on Rubber Soul.

Most anticipated games of 2010

I know I haven’t posted for a long time….. but…..

Here is a list of the games I am looking forward to in the coming year, from 10 to 1 (1 being obviously my most anticipated):

10. Bioshock 2 (PS3/360)

I have some reservations about this game, as I do not believe that a sequel was really needed to Bioshock. Also the multiplayer seems a little unnecessary. Time will tell.

9. Dragon Quest IX

I’m looking forward to getting to grips with this epic DS JRPG when it is eventually released in the west.

8. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

This looks like it will make good use of the Wii and I also like the way that your game is tailored by your own psyche.

7. Heavy Rain (PS3)

I rather enjoyed Fahrenheit initially, until it started getting a little silly, Heavy Rain, however, looks a lot more grounded, so hopefully shouldn’t have the same issues that Fahrenheit suffered from.

6. Metroid: Other M (Wii)

I have no idea how this game will turn out, but all the same, I’m a fan of the series and this certainly looks like an intriguing change after the Prime series.

5. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)

No More Heroes was a fantastic (if bonkers) game and a highlight on the Wii. I have no doubts that that is will even more fun.

4. Red Dead Redemption (PS3/360)

The more I see of this, the more I like the look of it. Yes it may turn out to be little more than GTA: The Western, but is that a bad thing? I was one of the few who actually really enjoyed GUN when it was released, so this should be my cup of tea.

3. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/360)

There are only a few more months to go now until this is released. Part of me is a little disappointed that the same system from XII hasn’t been carried forward into XIII and instead it has opted for a more traditional battle system, but it still looks great.

2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Without a doubt the original was the best game on the Wii so far and also the best platforming game of all time. I just hope that the sequel does not lose any of the magic.

1. The Last Guardian (PS3)

Go Team ICO!

Abbey Road

At last, I have my Abbey Road DLC for The Beatles: Rock Band and all is good with the world. Have not tried the medley yet, but instead played each segment individually. Her Majesty is a damn tough song for just 23 seconds!

Have also just learnt that Up on Blu-ray in the US is region A specific. Damn Disney for starting to play the region coding game with Up!

DSi LL (XL)

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I thought this was worth a mention, mainly because it got my back up so much.

Over the past few days, rumours have been circulating in relation to a new DS that was due to launch with a larger screen. I pretty much took these to be rumours and nothing more (after all – why launch a DS with a bigger screen), anyway, it looks like the rumours were correct. Lets all welcome the DSi XL (or LL in Japan):

Now I’m in 2 minds about this… Is this intended to be:

A: A pointless update to the (not even a year old) DSi in order to drum up more sales?
B: An attempt from Nintendo to broaden their audience even further to capture the elderly market who find the DS to be too small a fiddly, and also easier to read.

I’m really not too sure. I guess time will tell to see if the DSi XL supersedes the normal DSi (in which case I’d be really pissed). I’m hoping that it doesn’t, because it looks rather big for a portable and bring back memories of the Lynx and other early handhelds which failed when competing against the Gameboy.

Destruction has voiced its opinion, and I find it hard to disagree:

“So there you are. Sorry if you already bought a DSi, but Nintendo has a better one now. The best part is, if you bought DSiWare games for your original DSi, you can't upgrade without losing those games. Gotta love Nintendo and its ability to release ten billion versions of one handheld.”

In all fairness, I’m thinking that that DSi XL will likely run alongside the normal DSi, but all the same it’s a odd move all the same, especially in view of the fact that the DSi and the DS Lite are already running alongside each other.

It’s at time like this that I much prefer the Sony model for downloads, namely that they are not tied to a machine, but instead to a user… Why couldn’t Nintendo also follow this model? Oh yes, it would mean that people wouldn’t then have to buy multiple variations of games and machines!

Sorry, have a bitter head on today.

TS3

Boy does this look good:



I especially like the looks of the "reset" Buzz.

Uncharted's done good

I know I've been a tad slack of late posting - I'll try to do better!

Anyway, the first reviews have started appearing online for Uncharted 2 and it seems that the game if basically Uncharted with all the (few) niggling little faults fixed... Which is a good thing considering that the original is still one of the best games out there for the PS3.

Uncharted is currently my most anticipated game for the 4th quarter, and I'm looking forward to playing it come my birthday on 7 November.

Joystiq have helpfully posted a collection of reviews here:

Joystiq review scores collection

To tide me over the Uncharted beta has gone live, so shall download this and give it a go tonight.

Other news:
- Have also ordered myself a 64gb itouch
- Cleaned up decapitated mouse (thanks to our cat Saffy) from the hallway this morning
- Seriously not impressed by the MAG beta

Decadance and Beatles: Rock Band

Film Watched:
Tokyo Decadence



Shock value does not a good film make. Not interesting, not entertaining, not good.

3/10

Okay now, so I’ve had The Beatles: Rock Band for over a week now (and the remastered box set) so I thought I’d take a moment to quickly post my take…

It’s good… It’s very, very good. It’s so good in fact that I have trouble dragging myself away from it.

That is, however, stating the obvious. A Rock Band game featuring the music from The Beatles was always going to be good. As such, I thought I’d jot down a few of my niggles.

1) It is meant to be a homage to the history of The Beatles, and as such, you would imagine that it would try to be accurate. It isn’t however. A few things that I’ve noticed:

- Ringo is playing drums on Dear Prudence and Back in the USSR, when in actual fact it was Macca on drums for those 2 songs (Ringo left the band for a short spell during the White Album).

- As far as I am aware, I Want You (She’s so Heavy) was never played during the Abbey Road rooftop concert (this was from Abbey Road and not Let it Be and as such was written after the concert).

- The audience members in the Budokan Concert should be Japanese (and a lot more restrained). Instead the same audience member from the other concerts are used.

- Quite obviously, any mix track from Love does not accurately represent The Beatles during their recording days (I’m referring to Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows)

- Eric Clapton isn’t present during While my Guitar Gently Weeps

2) I’m sure the note chart isn’t quite right for Back in the USSR – having played at least the start of the song on my own guitar.

3) Because of the nature of their songs, and the timeframe in story mode, the difficulty level is all over the place.

Apart from the above, I have very little to complain about, and look forward to the Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper and (especially) Rubber Soul DLC incoming in the next few months.

Oh also the remastered boxset is uniformly excellent.

Withnail, District and ipod

Films watched:

Withnail and I

An overrated British drama, with great characters but very little else.

5.5/10

District 9

A fantastic sci-fi film that flicks between mock documentary and action drama.

8/10

I also think that my ipod is aware that the Beatles back catalogue is due to be reissued tomorrow as remasters. The reason you ask? It’s because my ipod has chosen this point in time to start acting up. It now has trouble synching with our home PC and sometime tracks will skip, or freeze, sometime the battery indicator will show low (even when I’ve only recently charged it) and on occasion it just switches itself off. Admittedly it is now a good few years old and has been used on an almost daily basis, but still I don’t fancy the thought of having to buy a new one at the moment…

An ad with style

While the PS3 TV adverts over here are very so-so, this US one is great:



Any advert that pokes fun at Sony's total inability to keep secrets gets my vote!