Watchmen begins!

Yes... It's actually being made. By no less than Zack Snyder (300 and Dawn of the Dead - remake)

Just to prove the point...

Meet Rorschach

Colour me pleased :)

Chris Heckler's GDC comments

I would like to address the comments made by Chris Heckler at the GDC yesterday in regards to the Wii.

On the console itself:
"The Wii is a piece of sh*t!"

On the power of the console:
"I have uncovered the secret to Wii manufacturing. The way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and some duct tape,"

On whether Nintendo treat games as an art form:
"Number one: recognise and push games as a serious art form. Number two: make a console that doesn't suck ass."

I could go on and on with a long drawn out response, referring to the quality of the console itself and citing the likes of Wind Waker and Electroplankton in regard to the “art form” argument, but I’m not.

It’s frankly now worth responding to such an ill-informed, attention seeking, arrogant prat.

Sony Home (a.k.a. Second Life – Sony Style)

There has been a lot of criticism levelled at Sony of late. I’ve also be quite outspoken about my disgust of how they have treated Backwards compatibility (and also Europe as a whole). For once, however, Sony has done something right.

Prior to the Keynote speech at the GDC there were rumours that Sony Home would be a combination of Mii like avatars and Xbox live achievements… Well it is, but it’s much, much more. As soon as I saw the screenshots, and saw the video, it’s obvious that Sony have decided to adopt a Second Life type system… Really, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that the screenshots were from Second Life.

This is no bad thing. I actually think that Second Life is a good idea, however, it runs like a dying dog on my wife’s PC and the user interface isn’t exactly friendly. Sony Home appears to be a simplified and more user friendly version. Allow just as much freedom to the user to create and adapt their own environments, but without all the troublesome problems associated with PC games. You get your own home to decorate. Trophies to display as you complete games. You can meet people in common area’s and jump straight into multiplayer matches after chatting to them. The scope really is quite vast.

Sony could really be onto a great thing here, I can see this grabbing the attention of quite a large number of people. It could also just grow and grow into a fantastic online community.

Well done Sony… You may have just regained some of the respect that has been slowly slipping from your grasp over the last year.

The other thing that I have to mention is LittleBigPlanet.

This is brought to you by the people who created Ragdoll Kung-Fu (the physics in the game are a good indication of this) and looks like enormous fun. At it’s basics it’s a pseudo 2D platform game, played by 4 people who need to co-operate with each other, however, the levels themselves are user designed.

It’s hard to give justice to it by explanation alone… Just look at this trailer and tell me that you’re not impressed…

LittleBigPlanet trailer.

Profesor Lanyon and fanart

The DS is fast become the place to be if you like adventure games. There is one game which has recently been released in Japan and comes from Level 5, which has attracted my attention. It's called Professor Lanyon. It would appear to be a anime based whodunnit, with style. I've been looking for some time for a trailer for this, and have just come accroes one.... See below.

Professor Lanyon

Looks sweet!

Also, came across this incredible piece of Metrod fanart just before by tranfuse. The link for the full gallary is below the pic... Pretty damn impressive.

Link

More PS3 news (mainly positive this time)

Phil Harrison of Sony has announced that over 1000 PS2 games will be compatible with the PS3 at launch. Well, on taking a look on the internet, I see that approximately 2400 PS2 games have been released in Europe to date, so that means a 41.66% backwards compatible rate, which I guess isn’t too bad a beginning (considering this is due to be improved upon). Also he stated that they are concentrating on the “big” titles, which is sensible, because, lets be frank, there are a heck of a lot of crap titles out there for the PS2. As such, hopefully (fingers crossed), most of my games will work.

It’s a shame that no compatible games have been mentioned yet – please, please let Final Fantasy 12 and ICO work!

Other good news on the PS3 front (shock – I know), is that the RRP for games has been set at £39.99. This is the same as Wii games and less than the £49.99 for the Xbox 360 (although I believe that some games are £39.99), which is pretty good news, especially as I live in VAT free Guernsey this means that the games will be approximately £33.00.

Finally on the PS3 news front, the price of downloadable games has been confirmed as between £2.99 to £6.99, which again is pretty good. The initial games being release on the 23rd of March and following games are as follows:

Blast Factor (£3.49) - 23rd March
Grand Turismo HD (£free) - 23rd March
Super Rub-A-Dub (£TBC) - 30th March
flOw (£TBC) - 6th April
Tekken 5: DR (£6.99) - 23rd March

Source

Also on a completely separate note, Bai Ling was in Sundays episode of Lost as a hot (but weird) Thai Tattooist... Wow... Wow... Easily my favourite episode so far of season 3!

Oscar results

Here's a list of the Oscar results compared to my predictions:

ACTOR – LEADING
Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

RIGHT

ACTOR – SUPPORTING
Eddie Murphy – DREAMGIRLS

WRONG – Alan Arkin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

ACTRESS – LEADING
Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN

RIGHT

ACTRESS – SUPPORTING
Abigail Breslin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

WRONG – Jennifer Hudson – DREAMGIRLS

DAMN!

ANIMATED FEATURE
HAPPY FEET

RIGHT

ART DIRECTION
PAN’S LABYRINTH

RIGHT

CINEMATOGRAPHY
PAN’S LABYRINTH

RIGHT

COSTUME DESIGN
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER

WRONG – MARIE ANTOINETTE

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

RIGHT

FILM EDITING
UNITED 93

WRONG – THE DEPARTED

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
PAN’S LABYRINTH

WRONG – THE LIVES OF OTHERS

You have to be kidding!

MAKEUP
PAN’S LABYRINTH

RIGHT

ORIGINAL SCORE
BABEL

RIGHT

SOUND EDITING
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

WRONG – LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

SOUND MIXING
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

WRONG - DREAMGIRLS

VISUAL EFFECTS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

RIGHT

SCREENPLAY – ADAPTED
THE DEPARTED

RIGHT

SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

RIGHT

DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese – THE DEPARTED

RIGHT

And about damn time!

BEST PICTURE
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

WRONG – THE DEPARTED

:-(

A total of 12/20 or 60% correct... not too bad.

PS3 gets gimped!

GREAT, this is just great.... That's sarcasm btw..

I sold my PS2 just over a week ago and now Sony announce that the PS3 backwards capabilities for the Euro model is software based rather than hardware based. As a result, the compatability is not as good as the US and Japan models. What's worse is that they won't tell you what won't run until AFTER the PS3 is released! This is just plain dumb.

Look here for the full details..

I've just purchased FF12, I hope that this runs on my PS3 idc, otherwise I'll be screaming for blood!

Ouendan 2!

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is getting a sequel.... Best DS news I've heard for some time.

It's called:

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan

Which translates to:

Burn! Hot-Blooded Rhythm Spirit, Yo! Fight! Cheerleading

Need I say more?????

Oscar predictions, Wonder Woman, PS3 and red nose.

I have just read that Joss Wheadon (Buffy, Angel & Firefly) has been pulled from the proposed Wonder Woman film. Now whilst Wonder Woman is far from my favourite Comic hero, the thought of Wheadon directing a take on the character was very appealing. My interest in the project has now plummeted. It’s also disappointing that Wheadon has spent over a year working on the film (script and prep work) and that it has come to nothing. Come on Joss, you know you want to make Serenity 2!

I have gone back on my previous statement that I would wait until the end of the year for the PS3 and have instead placed a deposit with the local HMV for one. I’m hoping that I’ll get one in the initial batch (I’m number 6 on the list), but with things you never really know.

Likely game purchases for it will be Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm, both of which I’m also looking forward to playing online (something which is very sadly lacking from Wii releases so far). I’m also looking forward to seeing how Blu-ray looks, and as Casino Royale is due out around the same time, this would seem like an ideal purchase.

Anyway, on to other things…

Oscar predictions:

ACTOR – LEADING
Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

I have no interest in seeing the film, but I think he has it in the bag.

ACTOR – SUPPORTING
Eddie Murphy – DREAMGIRLS

Tough choice, but the academy often likes giving supporting actor nods to comedians.

ACTRESS – LEADING
Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN

Again, in the bag.

ACTRESS – SUPPORTING
Abigail Breslin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Everything seems to point to Jennifer Hudson winning this, however, how can you not just love Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine. She should win it on cuteness factor alone.

ANIMATED FEATURE
HAPPY FEET

Would prefer Cars to win, but I think that the penguins will nab it.

ART DIRECTION
PAN’S LABYRINTH

CINEMATOGRAPHY
PAN’S LABYRINTH

COSTUME DESIGN
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

FILM EDITING
UNITED 93

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
PAN’S LABYRINTH

MAKEUP
PAN’S LABYRINTH

ORIGINAL SCORE
BABEL

SOUND EDITING
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

SOUND MIXING
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

VISUAL EFFECTS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

SCREENPLAY – ADAPTED
THE DEPARTED

SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese – THE DEPARTED

This is Marty’s year, no doubt about it. The Departed may not be as good as I would have hoped, but it has been very well received and is definitely a return to the genre that Scorcese is best known for. He is one of the most criminally overlooked directors alive today and deserves this Oscar or past glories.

BEST PICTURE
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

This is a tricky one. By all accounts this should belong to the Departed, it is certainly favourite to win best picture, but I do not think that it is deserving the award. Most people will be concerned with Marty getting the Directing award and less so Best Picture, as such, I believe that Little Miss Sunshine may sneak in. It is a film with a huge “feel good” factor and that may sway voters.

Last year I predicted Brokeback Mountain would win, purely because it was the favourite and looked most likely to win. Secretly I would have preferred Crash to win, and in the end Crash did win Best Picture. This year, I’m going to vote with my heart. (Shouts) Little Miss Sunshine FTW!

Lastly, I couldn’t resist putting this picture on my blog…

Little Miss and Ice Tea

Hi,

I've have always, always, wanted to try ice tea... Don't know why, I just have.

Tried it for the first time tonight... The verdict???? Absolutely lovely... Does this make me odd? Or at least odder?

Film Watched:

Little Miss Sunshine.

This film will not win Best Picture.

It should, but it won't. That will more than likely go to The Departed.

Little Miss Sunshine, however, has to be the best film I have seen from last year out of Hollywood (Best film overall from last year would have to be Lady Vengeance). This is a touching, funny, smart and just damn enjoyable movie. What more can you ask for really?

At least I have something to support now in the Oscar race, even if it is the underdog, but what the hell, Crash won last year and nobody saw that one coming! Maybe, just maybe they'll give the Best Director nod to The Departed and look elsewhere for best Picture?

8/10

Zelda complete..........

Yep - just finished it... In just over 50 hours play. Phew.

Time to rest now!

Perverted gaming and Oscar noms

I really wasn’t planning on putting this on my blog, but after speaking to a friend last night, he persuaded me to add the link…

Before looking, I must warn you, this is about as perverted and explicit I have ever seen a computer game go to. It makes Dead or Alive Volleyball look like a Carry on Film in comparison. Only in Japan could you possibly find something like this!

It's from a japanese game called Sexy Beach 3 (I guess there must have been 2 games before!) I'm guessing it's for the PC, but to be frank - I don't have a clue. Bear in mind that this is actual gameplay footage!

I’m warning you again, do not look if you are easily offended… Also, this is definitely NSFW!

Perverted gaming to the extreme!

I also stumbled upon another clip of the game that is much MUCH worse... That I will not put on this blog

Well, it’s that time of year again… Oscar nominations.

This year is a little unusual in that, in my opinion, there are no standout films. There’s also no particular film that I feel like I can rally behind, then again, at present of the best film nominations, I have only actually seen one of the films (The Departed). Maybe if I get the chance to watch a couple more before the big date, my opinion will change.

I’m a little disappointed that United 93 wasn’t nominated as Best film, as this was probably one of the most powerful films I saw from last year. Oh well!

I know it’s been said time and time again, but I really think that this year may be the year for Scorsese. While I may not have liked The Departed as much as I’d anticipated, it’s still a good film. Nowhere near as good as the likes of Taxi Driver or Goodfellas, but it’s about time that little Marty got his Oscar.

I’ll probably make my predictions in the coming weeks and post them here. I anticipate that I may not be as successful as previous years, but we’ll see…

Anyway, here is the list in full:

Nominees!

Ex-boss, VC and Osu! Takake! Oendan!

Recently, my ex-supervisor (of about 5 years ago) has been assigned to me as my assistant. This is, to say the least, a little odd. I have to assign any lessor, or more menial tasks to her to deal with rather than me deal with them myself, and I tend to feel rather guilty asking her to do this. As I said, the situation is, well a little odd.

After a few boring weeks on the virtual console of late, today we have one of the greatest games of all time to download, none other than Street Fighter 2. Yes, that’s right, the best and only fighting game that you ever need to own.

I would download it myself, except for the fact that I already own it on my SNES.

Talking of great games, I just got a copy of Oendan through the post today. For those not in the know, this is the Japanese game released by Inis prior to Elite Beat Agents. It’s basically the same game mechanics, but with J-pop songs, even more bizarre stories, male cheerleaders and maybe a little less polish than Elite Beat Agents. The most fun is trying to figure out what the hell is going on (it’s in Japanese)… Tell me again why a race horse is trying to capture a burgler?????

I’ve only had a quick game so far, but it seems every bit as addictive as Elite Beat Agents, which is a good, good thing. I happened to beat Elite Beat Agents on the normal difficulty setting the other day, and I’m now playing through it on hard mode. I’d love to be able to get past this and unlock very hard and with it, the Elite Beat Divas.

You what!!! (2)

Okay, so I know that the DS has had it's fair share of odd games simulating strange occupations... Lawyer... Cook... Surgeon... Detective... Stock Market Trader...

Isn't this, however, a step too far?????

FIGURE SKATING DS

What's next? Porn Star DS.... No, don't even go there!

You what??????

Take a look at the link below (from Gameindustry.biz) from Tory MP Boris Johnson ...

"Just say no to Nintendo,"

Really... I'm at a loss for words...

Hell, get a kid to play Phoenix Wright and it will teach him or her how to read AND teach a little about the legal system... When will MP's realise that games are not just violent GTA clones and can actually stimulate the mind as well. Hell, Advance Wars and Disgaea give me no end of brain ache.

What. A. Prat.