[Senior Editors Note: Abusing a promotion can be bad, and sometimes bad things happen to people that do it. Like prison rape. Just saying.]

Well if you like taking advantage of company attempts at kind gestures today is great day for you!

For those of you that don’t know, Nintendo’s 3DS handheld is currently scheduled for a price drop from its current price of $250 to a far more reasonable $170. In fear of consumer backlash from the early adopters it has offered 20 free downloadable classic titles (10 GBA, and 10 Classic Gameboy titles) from its downloadable store.

The Price drop is scheduled for August 12, and the offer for the games is on the table until that date.

HOWEVER there is a loophole in the system!

Yesterday at various Walmarts across America, the price drop for the 3DS was instated early! So if you where to say, buy the 3DS from them, get it online, and sign up for the Program, technically no one could stop you from claiming the free titles.

If you where looking for a 3DS, but where just waiting for the price to drop, the time to jump on that deal is now! This loophole is just to good! Especially since several of these free titles are supposedly exclusive to this promotion, although they will probably show up down the line for like $5 a pop later on in the virtual store.

It is unknown if Nintendo will try to stop this yet, so try and get yours fast!

Happy Frugal-loophole-exploiting Gaming everyone!

For more news and information about the Nintendo 3DS keep your browser on watchplayread.com!

Final Thoughts

-This program really shouldn’t exist. I don’t feel sorry for early adopters, and neither should Nintendo.
-If only I didn’t spend all of my money replacing my computer this week… sigh…
-Also if you live next to a Mom, and Pop gaming stop you could always try and work out a bargain.
-For all of it’s evil, I really love Walmart!

The post Exploit the 3DS Ambassador Program Today! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Insert stupid joke about how women supposedly can’t drive here.

Anyways in this video we see a costly mistake made by one of the stunt women on the set of The Dark Knight Rises. Obviously driving the unique “Bat-pod” motorcycle cannot be a simple task, and driving it down stairs must be even more daunting. Even so the stunt is pulled off well until she ends up being just a tad to close to a 300,000 dollar IMAX Camera, crashing into it, and leaving it in pieces. Obviously a situation like this can’t mean good things for the jobs of anyone involved, but it makes for such a compelling watch.

I mean really this video has everything! Cat Woman in her trademark leather catsuit, riding the Batman motorcycle, with people fighting in the background, resulting in up to 300 thousand dollars of damage in a mere 33 seconds. So Awesome!

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters next year, till then keep your browsers on Watch Play Read for more details about the movie and more!

The post Catwoman on a motorcycle destroys a $300,000 dollar camera. appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Come and meet the new Ultimate Spider-Man!

For those who haven’t been following the Ultimate line of comics over the last few months, you might be surprised to hear that its premier hero Ultimate Spider-man/ Peter Parker recently died in an event called “The Death of Spider-Man”.

While this should be surprising no one, the title of Spider-man will live on in the Ultimate universe. The legacy will be succeeded by a previously unmasked character who was inspired to do good by the works of the original Spider-man.

While we have only to this point seen brief glimpses of the new kid climbing, breaking up a fight and then mildly unmasking to reveal the fact that he’s black, we have yet to really see who he is, or his face. The leading speculation is that the Ultimate version of Ben Reilly (who is black, and not a clone) would take over, as he was last seen creating Spider-man clones from his blood. However these guesses couldn’t be closer to wrong.

So without further ado meet the New Spider- Man of the Ultimate universe…

Miles Morales!

Miles is a Half Black- Half Hispanic young-in with a hankering to do good in the neighborhood. While we don’t know much about him, or his background yet, I am incredibly excited to see where this goes.

Some will say that the move to make the new spider-man Black AND Hispanic is a move in poor taste, with it being forced diversification overkill, I kind of like it. While it is obvious that this is a move to garner some publicity, I think with a more diverse character background you can do a lot of new and interesting things with the character. After all it worked with the third Blue Beetle.

All in all before people start to throw pitchforks at this entire event as exploitative, and scream that Peter Parker is the one true Spider-Man, I want you to look at it this way. It was the words of writer Brian Michael Bendis that really sold me on the event, he compared the death of Peter to the death of Uncle Ben, that his death could be a catalyst to inspire good, and truly teach someone the meaning of with great power comes great responsibility. I think when you look at it that way Spider-man becoming a legacy hero is in a lot of ways rather poetic, and logical.
If you still don’t like it though, you can always chalk it up to the Ultimate universe being the Ultimate universe.

Miles Morales swings into the new run of Ultimate Spider-Man beginning in September, after the current Ultimate Fallout story line is complete. ‘Til then, I will catch you later true believers!

Final Thoughts

- I sincerely hope they don’t screw this up.
- I wonder when he’ll have a dream battle or something with Peter Parker
- If he hooks up with MJ… obligatory once you go black jokes shall ensue.
- If only he could cross over with Blue Beetle Jamie Reyes.

The post Meet the New Ultimate Spider-Man! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Meet the Sony NGP. The device is sleek, sexy (for an oval), and pretty much everything you have come to want and expect out of a portable gaming machine, well…outside of glasses-less 3d anyway.

At last after so much speculation and rumor the next Sony Portable device has been introduced to the world, and it has been dubbed oddly enough the NGP (Next Generation Portable). I must admit I was Luke warm to all of the speculation around the handheld but this final product seems quite impressive.

The specs are currently listed as having a 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU, and a 5 inch OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16 million colors, 960 × 544 pixels display. The GPU is a PowerVR SGX543MP4+. Now if all of that sounds like gobbledygook to you, well welcome to the party, but trust me when I say the end result looks positively impressive. We are talking about ps3 comparable graphics here, and it’s kind of frightening. One can only speculate how long this device will run on a charge, but I can’t imagine it could be too long. Especially if you factor in wireless internet play, of which there will be two separate skews sold of the device based on it, one featuring standard Wi-Fi capabilities, and the other utilizing 3G.

Answering the cries of gamers everywhere, the device has introduced an amazing and revolutionary change in design over the PSP, by introducing a second analog stick. Seriously though this is a godsend, after trying to control the camera in some games with the Cross Circle Square, and Triangle (Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker) I can’t wait for the ability to easily look around in games on that system without contorting my fingers into painful jigsaw formations.

However Painful Jigsaw fingers might remain in the NGP’s future as the device features both a touch screen, and a rear facing touch pad. The rear pad is the real innovation and the most confusing part of the device, as its control has been too compared as reaching through the back of the screen. It just sounds really awkward, and weird. I can’t help but imagine that some gamers out there are going to accidentally side their finger on it and kill themselves again, and again. Time will tell, but for now I have my doubts about it.

Sony is also incorporating six axis controls into the device for some reason, (as is Nintendo introducing tilt to 3ds) and I couldn’t be more confused about it. For any game other than like Mercury, it seems pointless on a hand held, and honestly I think it will only serve to make me look like a jack ass in public.

Modeling itself after the PSPgo and the iPod the device will feature a solely download based system using a flashed based storage format, eschewing the UMD media of the previous generation. This is as to be expected but it still leaves the uncomfortable abandonment of the UMD, as a lot of the best titles from the original PSP never came to the PSN for download (cough, cough, Kingdom Hearts Birth by sleep, cough)

Another huge step forward in this next generation portable over its older PSP brethren is its blatant abandonment the cross media bar in favor of a completely new set up. I hated the xmb, and still do, I think it’s annoying bland, and just a total basic package for a UI. However the new interface is basically a series of touchable bubbles, (Similar to apps on an iPhone) that promise to be easier to navigate than its horrid processor, as they are easier to pull up, and search through. It looks incredibly promising. Oh and did I mention the bubbles displayed at the press event also confirmed the presence of trophies? (Yea, now you can miss 3 bus stops trying to get trophies on the go. Yippy)

Comparing the system to the upcoming fight with the 3DS for market dominance. Sony’s second handheld is far and away the one I am more impressed with. The NGP unlike the 3ds feels like a legitimate improvement, and not just a machine taking the gimmick road. It truly feels like a palpable step forward into new and exciting territory, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. However like with the 3DS I don’t see myself purchasing it day one, both consoles need a killer app to get behind, but neither of them will have one at launch. Both Electronics giants seem more intent on ports rather than original IPs or original takes on existing franchises, so I am less than interested. It should be obvious so far that 3ds will probably win the holiday what with more time on the market, but anything can happen.

Most of the things you heard about the NGP is true, with dual analog sticks, front and rear facing cameras, and touch screen/pad, and ps3 comparable graphics, it seems like everything a gamer could want. It certainly seems more impressive than the 3ds in a lot of respects, but the big question is at what price?

Since the device’s revelation there has been massive speculation over the pricing o the device, with one GameStop page going as far as listing the device at a lofty Nine hundred and Ninety Nine dollars, before being pulled off the internet. No one knows for sure, and Sony is staying silent on the matter, outside of saying the device will be “Affordable”. I want to say that I can see this coming to us at a high price of $299, but that might be a little to cut throat for Sony’s pockets. Still Sony has a lot to compete with when it comes to a gamer’s wallet, with the recession and the decidedly less impressive 3DS on the horizon with an almost guaranteed lower price point with glasses-less 3d, will gamers even opt for NGP? What about the big leagues will the NGP come even close to competing with the iPhone? (Spoilers. It won’t.)

The device is slated for a holiday 2011 release in Japan, and 2012 stateside. More details should arrive over the course of the year, so be sure to stick with WatchPlayRead for updates in the upcoming months.

*What do you guys think of the NGP? Do you think it will be affordable, fun, or worthwhile? Leave a comment below!
*I really hope this doesn’t suck and I can afford this.
*I hope they market it with the tagline “It won’t make you children go blind.”
*I forgot to mention Ovals are ugly Sony.

The post Sony NGP Details and Impressions appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Trick ‘r Treat is the kind of movie you probably will never watch. Being released direct to DVD nearly two years ago, with boring unnoticeable cover art, and a stunningly bland forgettable name, it honestly feels like this film was designed to not stand out from the crowd. My sister won this in a costume contest 2 Halloweens ago, and we didn’t watch it until this January. This film is an outright failure at standing out, and there is little to no incentive to watch this movie on face value outside of the fact that Anna Paquin of True Blood, and X-men fame co-starred in it. That being said Trick ‘r Treat is a surprisingly good popcorn horror flick, that’s better than I could have ever expected.

The story of Trick ‘r Treat is a simple little thing. It is basically an anthology of tales that revolve around one small towns Halloween night. The whole thing reminds me of some of the stronger material on Tales of the Crypt, or Are you Afraid of the Dark, as the tales themselves are pretty standard horror stock in themselves, but fully entertaining in their generic-ness. For a few of the stories I was actually stunned by the twists the movie comes up with, and for the predictable world of horror I have to say that’s a pretty big compliment.

The big issue I have with Trick ‘r Treat isn’t the stories themselves, but instead with how they are framed and presented. Most of the story lines introduced quickly in succession early on, only to be dropped for twenty minutes or more at a time. While some of them overlap a tad bit, one would expect the stories to be more intertwined, but they aren’t so it just leaves storylines dangling, on mostly uneventful notes. It’s jarring and annoying, and only serves to bog down the pace of the film.

Eventually as the movie wears on it finds its focus and flows better, focusing on one story at a time instead of jumping around, but the film should have been focused though out, because as it is it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The film surprisingly has a lot of really strong performances from its cast. One wouldn’t be surprised in a budget genre flick like this to have little to no recognizable talent, and there by suffer for it in quality; however this film pulls really great performances out of mostly no name talent, and child/teenage actors, which is impressive and deserving of praise.
The Direction is very competent and logical though most of the film. The Movie revels in Orange and blue tints that perfectly set the mood and it make the film a sight to behold. However at several points the film uses a rather confusing comic book motif. Using a comic book style narration captions to detail “Earlier”, and for some reason for two kill scenes near the beginning and the end of the movie. These sequences just seem out of place, and while distracting, don’t really break the movie that much.

Trick ‘r Treat is also a movie that wisely strays away from the use of CGI, and rely solely on practical effects, a trait that is becoming increasingly hard to find in cinema these days. These effects are neat in their practicality, and come across with a genuine feel; however they really aren’t all that scary.

Trick ‘r Treat as a whole is not scary. It can’t even be defined as Hollywood scary, in the terms of exchanging actual terror for gore or hardcore violent, as most of the movie is surprisingly scaled back in these departments. While there is some “disturbing” imagery, and violence, a lot of it is either after effects or off screen entirely. If not for several key (and mostly unnecessary moments) of R level sexual content this could easily have been a PG-13, and would have been a fun horror movie that the whole family could have enjoyed. However because of this odd mix up, the film loses a lot of potential for a larger audience. It in a lot of ways this is the ultimate failing of the film, as it’s too inappropriate for a family and not really scary enough for a lot of the adult horror audiences.

In spite of Trick ‘r Treats flaws it really is a movie deserving of your time. The stories it has to tell are all fun, and enjoyable in their own right, even if none of them are truly frightening. Where the film falls short of instilling terror, it more than makes up for it in entertainment value. Trick ‘r Treat is a great movie to watch at Halloween with an older audience. Watch it with a few friends, and you will laugh, joke around, and just have a seriously great time.

*Trick ‘r Treat is currently streaming on Netflix, and can probably be found at your local Wal-Mart in the 5 dollar DVD bin.
* Ah Anna Paquin, you and your cute yet unsuppressed southern accent is so out of place in this movie.
* Surprisingly despite its limited screenings to critics it actually has quite a strong amount of critical acclaim from some big name sites out there.
* Yey another review that should have come out like last year!

The post Direct to DVD Review – Trick ‘r Treat appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

**Warning** the following review will contain mild spoilers regarding the end of Dragon Age: Origins

At the end of Dragon Age origins, your mysterious companion Morrigan disappears with only one message, “Never follow me.” In Witch Hunt the final DLC mission to the Dragon Age 1 storyline you do exactly that, as you chase down your missing comrade (or lover), for some much needed closure.

The story here is decent, if a little anemic. At first the thought of questing to find Morrigan sounds intriguing, but in the end you just kind of feel like you are floating through areas without much purpose.

You pick up two new party members over the course of the journey, along with your trusty Mabari War hound from the main game. The two new recruits are fun, and have some awesome background banter, but they really don’t feel a part of the story at all. Your given reasons why one of them wants to find Morrigan, but it never actually affects the story or the final conflict.

When you do finally reunite with your lost compatriot, that is when things start to flow really well, and if you have been a devoted fan to the series you start getting all excited for the sequel, but the exchange feels short, and you might end up feeling underwhelmed by it all.

The gameplay is competent, and remains the same fair from the standard game and the game still holds up. It’s your standard tactical Real time role playing game, that you have come to expect from Bioware, it’s still good still fun, and still deep. However if you’ve played D.A. for a while you will start to notices some balancing issues.

For those of you running an imported character, who by now has probably gone through all the other DLC’s, expansion, and the main game, you will undoubtedly start to feel the overwhelming nature of just how powerful you have become. I was running a warrior with a full skill set coming in only one level away from the cap coming in, so right off the bat the difficulty seemed highly unbalanced. After that they begin to hand you even more powerful items, and skills to help you through. All the power ups or items you receive at this point just really feel like a drop in the bucket anyway, (A fourth specialization!? Thanks Bioware, I’ll get right on not using that) and since this is the final DLC you won’t use any of them anyway. Frankly by now your characters play style is set, and isn’t going to change anytime soon, so I have to express apathy to much of this DLCs’ ability to challenge you.

For those of you not running an imported character, well you’re probably not playing this pack anyway, so I can only feel justified in saying this DLC is far too easy. After the “Golems of Amgarrak”, “Witch Hunt” feels like a piece of cake anyway, but this is was way too dull of an experience, even on the higher difficulty settings.

As for visuals Witch hunt doesn’t do anything new. The graphical quality was always on the lower side of things, but now it really feels dated. It doesn’t help that you are running through reused and recycled areas to begin with, but it’s really gotten quite stale. It’s no surprise they are changing up the art style in the sequel. As for sound design, the music has remained largely (or entirely) untouched, but it unlike the graphics it has always been, and remains awesome. For the voice acting Claudia Black’s Morrigan remains great, but she is given far too little to do, the same goes for the rest of the cast of this short mission.

As a Finale to Dragon Age Witch hunt is possibly worse than a sour note, it’s forgettable, unimpactful, and unforgivably dull. There is so little of value here, I cannot bring myself to recommend paying the full seven dollars for this content pack. For hard core fans you have probably already bought it, for everyone else; Please, Please, Please save your money, and buy it with the Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (which includes all the DLCs), or wait for a good sale or price drop. It is not worth full price.

*If you’re wondering why this review is like three months late, well… I was busy.
*You can probably find Ultimate Edition for a steal price of 50 bucks nowadays.
*Oh, and yea that bug that effs with your relationship status with Morrigan got me, on my first playthrough of this. :P
*I still can’t wait for DA2 in spite of this.

The post Review: Dragon Age: Origins Witch Hunt (DLC) appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

If that wasn’t enough, the method story telling is absolutely anemic, as it’s mainly told through two things; random notebooks you find that spark generic disembodied voice monologues (a.k.a audio tape messages), and through things your party randomly spouts out through game play (which can be impossible to hear if your camera isn’t in the right place, you’re in the middle of casting buffs, or if you advance quick enough to trigger another dialog. Some of the best parts of Dragon Age involve conversation with and responding to characters, so it’s disappointing to see this element is so rarely utilized in this DLC.
If you have played Dragon Age you should know what to expect in how this mission plays. The core gameplay is still quite good, save for a few class related balancing issues. The issue I have with this DLC is in the layout of the mission, the team you are equipped with, and the gameplay limitations you are beset with.

You’re are given the option to either create a new character for the mission who will start at level 20, or import a character from either Origins or Awakening. However, it’s not advisable to create a new character since you will NOT be prepared for the upcoming slaughter, and if you have a created character from a different campaign it is more than advisable to have had them trained up through the expansion pack, and highly prepared through massive shopping, since there isn’t any merchants in the DLC meaning you’ll be relying solely upon your crafting skills, and all the things in your current inventory.

Your party in the mission is terrible. You’re given a team of a Warrior, a Rogue with the ability to summon a pet rhino, and a weird Red Mage golem thing, and that’s it. Depending on what class your player character is, this group can be either decent, a non-factor, or absurdly hard to work with.

I ran a Warrior class so I got the absurdly hard route. This route results in your party being made up of nothing but frontline attackers, since the golem likes to get up close, the Rogue dual wields swords, and the Warrior uses sword and shield. While there are items that allow you to redistribute points, you can’t buy them in the DLC and you will probably have a barren inventory, making you incapable of equipping your guys with competent weapons.

The difficulty on this mission is nothing short of erratic. In most of the quest you will have no problem getting past anything that dares cross your path and the mission comes off as extremely boring. Then during two specific instances, the difficultly spikes so far off the chart that you feel it might be impossible. The Final Boss in particular is arguably the most difficult fight in the entirety of the game, just because he is so cheap.

The environment sucks, as the entire dungeon is ripped from all the other dwarven area in the game. While there really isn’t so much you can do with a cave, there is nothing here that makes it stand out, or be at all memorable. While of course this is still the Deep Roads, and a Dwarf city so it would look similar to other areas, there is nothing about the area that feels unique. If I may reference one of the first DLC missions actually bundled with new copies of the game, you travel to a smaller dwarven area, and it had unique imagery, and land marks that actually still stand out in my mind. They looked unique, and nothing about this DLC feels that way. This downloadable content feels like a cop-out, desperately in need of a few new set piece areas.

Frankly, this DLC isn’t worth your time or money. It has nothing new to contribute to the game, where every other content before this has offered a reason to play and experience this. There is nothing of value here. There is nothing but frustration and death, stay far away from this one.

Notes
* I still am not sure about dwarves without beards.
* BioWare really needs to step it up in their facial designs; I am tired of seeing the exact same people over and over again, just because they are too cheap to work outside of their character creator, to create unique hairstyles and faces.
* You may think I’m only hating on this DLC because it’s hard, but I’m not. It had nothing new to offer, and it’s fucking boring. The difficultly merely compounded that hatred. I wouldn’t have minded the difficulty if the DLC wasn’t shit.

The post Dragon Age: Origins DLC– The Golems of Amgarrak Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Darkspawn Chronicles is a really good premise; In fact it’s a bloody great premise. However in execution it wallows misery. I’m not saying it’s bad, but this is by far the most “meh” pieces of DLC I have ever played.

So the concept of Darkspawn Chronicles is a simple one, take the story of Dragon Age on its ear. Basically the Hero your player character died at the beginning of Dragon Age, leaving the fairly inept all be he popular Alistair in charge of the battle to save Ferelden. Beginning at the end, namely at the final Battle of Dragon Age: Origins, you instead play as a Darkspawn trying to destroy the city, and kill every human in sight.

The Story from the get go takes an absolute nose dive in the fact that all the story is completely told by off to the side text descriptions, text instructions at the top of the screen, and like 2 cut scenes one of which is reused from the main game, neither of which feature legitimate dialogue. Now the side descriptions are detailed and quite funny, but I don’t particularly feel as attached to the actual story nearly as much as I should. Also any and all dialogue options/trees are sadly missing from the pack. So instantly you take a great concept and clip it at the heels, what could have been an amazing what if scenario essentially devolves into just a series of fights.
The gameplay here is essentially the same as in the main game. Its follows the older model and conventions of a RPG videogame. You have several characters all with different abilities that you command around and level up. However because of the nature of this DLC you can’t actually level up your character. A character who you don’t create yourself, and has no personality. Essentially turning this game into a very odd western RPG.
The actually fighting is still pretty good, you still can use skills, and you are actually exposed to a large verity of Darkspawn all of whom you can control yourself. Playing as enemies who you have probably fought for an upwards of 40 hours and being able to experience the way they play is really fun.

Really there isn’t that much to do in “Darkspawn”, you really just run through the stage killing everything, and having a bunch of mini boss battles revolving around characters from the main game. It’s not bad, but it lacks substance.

The environment is reused verbatim from the main game, and it’s still effective. I have a complaint revolving around the blatant lack of color in the sequence, with much of it being orange-ish red, but since that is an issue I have with the main game, I can’t blame it too much on the DLC, since it was supposed to feel exactly the same. I suppose they could have made things look different since the scene is seen through Darkspawn eyes, but I can accept the reuse of location in this pack.

All in all Darkspawn Chronicles is a barely passable experience that really is only for the diehard fans of Dragon Age. Really just skip this one, wait for the Ultimate Edition or wait for a sale, because this is not really worth the 5 dollars (400 MSP) that Bioware is charging.

Notes
*Older Dragon Age DLC is actually the Deal of the week on Xbox Live this week. Be sure to grab the Awakening expansion at the steal price of 20 dollars (1600 MSP) while you can!
*Why is all the Mass Effect DLC better?
*I once had a dog named Barkspawn…

The post Dragon Age: Origins DLC- Darkspawn Chronicles appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Leliana is one of my Favorite Characters in Dragon Age: Origins. I loved her charm and mysterious past, her really funny lines of dialogue, and the fact that she was useful in battle. When I heard she was going to be the star of a new downloadable mini-campaign, I was totally on board.

Upon playing it, I found that it was a fun and exciting, romp through the world of Dragon Age, that is both impactful and touching, in spite of its brevity.

The gameplay is identical to the main game, however those of you who are new to Dragon Age, it’s a classic third person RPG. You control a party of characters all with unique stats and abilities and level up their skills over time, pretty basic stuff…DERP

Unlike the main game, your player-created character is absent, and you play only as Leliana. One might think this might rob the player of the ability to control the advancement of the story, but Bioware has wisely made the choice to allow a strong degree of freedom, while still staying true to the character and her background.

On your adventures, you will be assisted by several party members that make a strong and balanced team. That’s not to say this DLC is a walk in the park, because it’s not. It never feels cheap due to poor party configuration. As for things to do, keep in mind that this is a short DLC, you do have a few side quests you can go on, and have a lot of meaningful interactions.

The story is where this little slice of heaven DLC truly shines. The tale is told almost as a story told around a campfire, with Leliana narrating the bloody and exciting events of her past. It revolves around her checkered past as a bard, which in the world of Dragon Age essentially means a spy/rogue. The story travels through Leliana’s final days in that life; and reveals the details about her ultimate decision to join the Chantry, where you eventually meet her in Origins.

If you’ve listened to Leliana’s stories in Origins you already know the outline of the story, but how it’s told is really quite remarkable, and oddly captivating. The voice acting of Corrine Kempa plays a large role in this as her portrayal of Leliana is always spot on as usual. You get a strong sense of emotion from her performance (her lisp filled accent doesn’t hurt either).

Her companions aren’t as well developed as characters, you can probably guess how most of their stereotypes will end up, but even then you grow pretty attached to them despite the limited interaction.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the villains of our small tale, and let’s just say you will love to hate them.

The environments are mostly reused from the first game but that is to be expected since it’s a legitimate part of the story. The Reuse of scenery isn’t so bad since the stages all look different, and you never feel overwhelmed with samey settings for long durations.

Admittedly This DLC is priced a little high at 7 dollars (560 MSP) for 1-2 hours of content and a unique armor set. I will say that for any Dragon Age lovers, it’s definitely worth the price of admission. For the rest of you, I would say that you should wait for a sale, or for it to be inevitably bundled in the Ultimate Edition coming later this year, although you probably wouldn’t be too disappointed in getting it right now, as it is a great addition to the overall package.

Notes
*Older Dragon Age DLC is actually the Deal of the week on Xbox Live this week. Be sure to grab the Awakening expansion at the steal price of 20 dollars (1600 MSP) while you can!
*Despite this being entitled Leilana’s song she doesn’t sing in the pack, for her actually singing reference the main game.
*Yea, I like Red Heads, sue me…

The post Dragon Age: Origins DLC – Leliana’s Song Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

There not too much to say about this one, but it’s a neat CGI trailer that features some cool fighting, but I do have some commentary. (slight spoilers ahead) oh and it has a release date.

As for official commentary about it though, it is become more and more evident that the new main character Hawke is the child of the Warden and Morrigan, since he always has that dragon shadow thing behind him, and if you know the endings for DA: O you know this ties in tightly.

Disregard the previous statement, I didn’t do enough research. Hawke was alive during the events of DA.

Also since Flemeth is narrating the events, that further leans upon the fact that Hawke probably has something to do with Morrigan.

The trailer also shows off flashbacks of Hawkes life that make no sense at this point, theres a woman, and fighting, and a dragon. This probably means in the next game there will be romance subplots, fighting, and a dragon, you know just like the first game.

The trailer does show off the new art style, and direction. One of the things Bioware really wanted to expand upon is differences in the way the races look, and one of the ways they did that is by adding horns to the Qunari.

For fans of the first game who know about the Qunari race you know that before they were just large black people with white hair with a warrior culture gimmick. The party member Sten was a Qunari had no horns, so you’re probably wondering what happened. Well Bioware has pseudo retconned this fact by saying that Qunari without horns are destined warriors, who are born into a special position in the Ben-Hassrath. (The Qunari army)

Dragon Age 2 has a proposed release date of March 8, 2011, but knowing Bioware I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a delay, or bugs.

Notes
*I didn’t really want to write more about Dragon Age this soon, but why not.
*Such drastic cosmetic changes are in store for the other races though…
*I always love the pre rendered trailers for Dragon Age, they’re always so epic. Go watch the ones from the first game again.

The post It’s a New Dragon Age 2 Trailer! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Here it is, the first of a maxi-set of mini reviews about all the expansions to the main game of Dragon Age: Origins, including Warden’s Keep, The Stone Prisoner, Return to Ostagar, the Feastday content, and more.

Warden’s Keep

Hooray! A day one expansion pack that costs money! And what’s that? It’s vaguely disappointing? Oh that’s just great!!!

The story to this mission is more enthralling than its simple setup would let on. You have to travel to a forgotten Grey Warden base that is overrun with demons and reclaim it. The rest of the tale however, is too good to spoil so I will let you unravel the rest of that mystery for yourself.

This DLC’s most important inclusion is the addition of a storage chest for any of your excess items (you would be surprised how useful this is due to tragically tight limits on your inventory in the main quest). The storage chest is really something that should have been bundled in the game right at your party’s campsite, but since it’s not…you’ll need to buy this DLC to use it.

That isn’t my only gripe about this DLC though, since the storage chest that is added, is only available at Warden’s Keep, you have to actually go there and suffer the loading times of this map every time you wish to offload some items.

There are also two new talents included with this DLC that are ok, although really only useful for limited situations, but I can’t really gripe since they give you them for free (with purchase), so there is no reason not to get them.

For those of you who don’t purchase the content, you will always have the quest giver at your campsite…who in a terrible immersion breaking conversation, prompts you to buy the content.

Warden’s Keep is way overpriced at $7 (560 MSP), but the included content really isn’t that bad. By no means should we have been made to pay for content that some would argue is crucial to the gameplay experience…I just feel that this pack comes off as a stilted money grab, and it’s pretty obvious.

The post Dragon Age: Origins DLC Reviews appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Let’s get this out of the way right now, I don’t care about the console war, I just like games. There are things I like about each of the consoles, and things I equally don’t like. I don’t like console ignorance, PC elitism, and I certainly don’t endorse people putting down another person’s purchase or chosen method of gaming for the shear fact they can get giggles out of it. And while I shouldn’t have to state this I own both a PS3, and Xbox 360 and they live in harmony in my gaming life. So understand that I don’t care about this factor of Mass Effect coming to PS3. I’m happy for PS3 gamers I really am, I’m just disappointed that they’re not getting the first game.

Mass Effect is a series that is all about the story. It revolves around continuing the adventures of Commander Shepard from game to game. Taking you’re saved data and importing it into the sequel. So why on earth would you cut out the first third of a trilogy out of the equation? Bioware is essentially robbing Playstation 3 owners out of a full experience with this release, and are giving them desert without dinner.

Yes, the Mass Effect 2 story can be taken autonomously, but it really kind of sucks that way. I know this is a fan thing, but the default story leading into ME2 from the first is incredibly limited in the fact that you’ll end up a renegade and all real connections with the first game will be missing. Obviously this makes sense there is nothing like hearing a bunch of inside jokes but you just rob yourself of so much by doing that.

Bioware has come out before enumerating how many transferred details factor into changing the Mass effect 2 from 1, and the number is SEVEN HUNDRED. While these range from small insignificant things like getting email from someone you helped or how quickly the clean up after an incident is, the main hang up I have with it is just all the big things PS3 gamers will be missing out on.

I don’t know what they can do, maybe they can make PC save data transferable, or have an interview mechanic to determine the past. (You know like the one long rumored to be in ME2 that wasn’t there for new characters?) I just am totally at a loss, i don’t know.

The press release promises hours of “bonus content”, I don’t know what that means. If they are just referring to the DLC packs, or if it’s new content. We will see in the upcoming months.

The point is; Xbox fans shouldn’t care, PS3 fans should feel slightly jipped, and PC fans can continue being ambivalent, while I continue raging in a corner about injustices that technically don’t matter.

PS3 fans grid your loins for love, Mass Effect 2 comes out next January… or better yet buy it on PC, if you refuse to buy an Xbox, then you could have the whole thing right now!

Notes

*I still don’t really consider a game released on one console and the PC all that exclusive anyway.
*I don’t know why everyone is so antsy for ME3; I mean Mass Effect 2 just came out this year. Give it time.
*Remember when in one of my notes I said that ME2 already had code that implied a PS3 release, yea…
*“Sony and Microsoft aren’t paying you for your loyalty” now if I could only remember who said that.

The post Mass Effect 2 is coming to the PS3… what? appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Of course you mission will not be easy; the Darkspawn have lingered unnaturally after the blight, and continue to wreak havoc, and they seem to now be lead by new talking Darkspawn.

Surprise! Turns out Bioware has crafted another, great story for you to experience and enjoy for hours on end. I personally enjoyed the awakening side just a tad more in some respects. While it is vastly shorter, it helps to keep the story at a quick pace where the main game could get a little laborious in its plotting.
It is a shame that so few of the party members from the first game actually return in awakening. You really only see 3 of them over the course of Awakening. One in a very brief cameo at the beginning, another with limited potential to appear in a text epilogue at the end, with Oghren being the only one to join your new party.

This is somewhat disappointing, but acceptable. If you had all of your old characters, you wouldn’t have much incentive of playing with the new spells, talents, and abilities nearly as much, because you already feel invested in the older content. While you can re-spec your characters to play exactly like the old team, why would you? I highly discourage that train of thought, so go play the new game in a new way.

Caring about a Bioware character is rarely hard, and again this holds true in Awakening. That being said the new party is great, it is once again a nice rounded party full of surprises and depth, however one highly unexpected enemy stands in the way of full enjoyment with these characters, that enemy being time. In Origins, you have an immense amount of time to play, and interact with each character, but with the far shorter length of Awakening you might not get to know everyone as much as you want to. In fact for the last party member you pick up in the story, you won’t spend any time with, as after the last recruit/ investigatory mission, you are instantly shoved into the end game, robbing you of interacting at your leisure.

On the Gameplay side, there’s a decent chunk of new stuff. The main gameplay of course remains unchanged. For those of you who don’t know what it plays like, I have no idea why you are reading my review, but let’s go over it one more time. Dragon Age is a classic take on the strategy RPGs of days old. You control a party of characters, level up their skills and abilities, fight monsters, and have conversations with various NPCs and party members.

The Level Cap has been raised from 25 to 35. Unlike in the main game the likelihood that you actually reach the level cap is far more likely this go round. With the new levels, come new abilities, and their pretty good. You’ll probably not alter the path of your main, and for that they have offered an additional row for each type of magic, base abilities, and weapon spec. so it’s mostly about expanding what already established as opposed to building something new, and it comes off nicely.

They’ve added 3 new specializations bringing the total up to 7 per class, and they also allow you to equip up to 3 specializations per character now. The new specializations are interesting, but once again because of the limited time you have with the game, the amount you can experiment in game is limited.

I’m still disappointed you cannot grind levels or fight anyone without advancing the story but this is a minor complaint.

The Classic Bioware choice dichotomy is still in full effect, and some of the choices you are forced to make in this game are far more dramatic than several of the choices in Origins. You have less impact with some of the conversation related choices, but the larger scale ones carry so much weight, their limited nature is hardly noticed.

As for the visuals, overall they remain mostly untouched from the first game. Using an already constructed toolset is practical cost cutting measure, but the key to doing it right is to craft new and unique areas based on the pre established set. Awakening does this en mass, when I was playing it, even though I knew I was mostly seeing old things, they were crafted well enough to convince me that I was traveling new areas.  I don’t mind if games reuse backgrounds as long as they reuse them to create things that feel new and exciting.  I feel Awakening has pulled this off well.

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is a great game. Though its a little on the short side, it should easily recapture the heart of any weary Dragon Age fan, and revitalize you for the sequel. It’s available at a mildly high price tag of 40 dollars (3200 MSP), but it is definitely worth your time and money…though you may want to wait a little while, as there is heavy talk of an Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Edition, including the expansion and all available downloadable content.

Notes
*The only character I really miss is Dog. Despite it supposed loyalty bond with you, he doesn’t show up or even get a mention. Sad face.
*Older Dragon Age DLC is actually the Deal of the week on Xbox Live this week. Be sure to grab the Awakening expansion at the steal price of 20 dollars (1600 MSP) while you can! Meaning like till sometime today…
*Yea there isn’t a romantic subplot in the game, so a lot of you complain about that. Answers to this 1) you are a cheating bastard, and 2) who cares…
*More Natalia Cigliuti is never a bad thing… she can talk about the stone to me any day… or outer space… you know what forget it…
*This game is 15 to 16 hours long, and made to be played at least twice through, if someone tells you “Oh no, it’s to short” slap them in the face.
*By the end of this review I was littered with Dragon Age related fatigue, so don’t expect a review of the main game Dragon Age: Origins, for quite some time.

The post Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

I loves me some Bioshock, and Bioshock 2 was ok, but this, this looks damn good…

Bioshock Infinite looks to set up a new status quo after Bioshock 2 by eschewing the reason people fell in love with the series in the first place, The Underwater City of Rapture. The Trailer presents a bright contrast to the watery “Utopia” in the fact that the new location, dubbed Columbia, will be bright, sunny, and most interestingly in the sky.

That’s not the only difference folks, Columbia has a very strong American theme, which for those of you who knew Rapture is a complete flip.

Oddly enough Bioshock Infinite will be a prequel, which raises all sorts of questions about the mythology, namely…why the heck can people use plasmids when Adam hasn’t been discovered yet?

I’m sure all things will be answered in time, or be buried under a mountain of retcons.

The trailer vaguely shows off the new form of (or old form if it’s a prequel) Big Daddy who apparently has a very visible Kang-like heart on his chest (50 bucks says it’s the character’s weak point), and the character appears to be more machine than man now.

The Pre-Daddy seems to be shrouded in some mystery, and who knows when we will get more information. Unlike his deep sea cousin he seems to be more interested in grown women than little sisters, and it will be interesting to see the varied dynamic.

You should note that Bioshock Infinite is being developed by Irrational Games, formerly known as 2k Boston (aka the developers of the first Bioshock). I wonder if Irrational and 2k Marin (Developers of Bioshock 2) will have an Infinity Ward / Treyarch type relationship alternating titles. Supposedly there is a plan for 6 Bioshock titles overall, so having alternating studios would help achieve that goal. But, without any evidence, I won’t pursue it any further at this point.

Bioshock Infinite takes to the sky in 2012.

Notes
*This has gotten me excited about Bioshock again
*If you’re antsy for more Bioshock sooner than 2012, just get the new xcom remake, they seriously look like the same game…
*Sky-o-shock?
*I’ve always loved the music for these games.

The post Bioshock Infinite Trailer!!! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

This is wrong… This is so wrong, but this is also really funny. I know laughing at this makes me a bad person, but this is just so funny.

(WPR Editors Note: Aidenrebirth is actually a huge Bieber fan, and he squeals like all the tween girls do whenever he sees a Bieber mention in ANYTHING.)

To be fair, Justin Bieber really didn’t deserve this. His only “crime” is making bad pop music for the tween set, and that hardly gives someone the right to hit him. At the same time I can’t help but laugh at this. I know this is textbook Schadenfreude, but I still feel bad for laughing.

Assault is never justified because you don’t like someone or their music. I feel bad for J. Bieber, I mean really the only person in the music industry who deserves to get hit in the head is Chris Brown.

Notes
*I wonder how much longer before Bieber and Twilight fade into obscurity.
*Is today’s stuff for kids really that stupid, or is our vision just clouded with adulthood.

The post Justin Bieber gets hit on stage by a water bottle. appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Huh… yea… This sucks.

Well I for one am completely disappointed with scientists for ruining my childhood, and devaluing my education by revealing the truth. If it where up to me I would keep the two classifications and add an addendum on the end saying, when it grows up it becomes a Torosaurus, or just call the Torosaurus a triceratops since I had never heard of the Toro’ before the other day.

This isn’t the first time this has happened either, Some may remember the similar situation involving the surprise non existence of the Brontosaurus. The species was supposedly a real dinosaur until it turned out that it was just an Apatosaurus, confused for a different genus.

I personally would like to say goodbye to the triceratops, you will never be truly extinct to me… and may flights of angels sing they to thy rest.

Notes

* I wish it was a my neighbor Totorosaurus.
* I wanna see that new Micheal Ceratops movie.
* Bad puns sorry.
* Where the fuck is the original Blue Ranger gonna get his powers from now?

The post Goodbye Triceratops… appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Everyone who has ever played a Megaman game knows the frustration level that is the ENTIRE GAME!!! Let’s face it, Megaman is a series that leaves you no room for failure, and almost always you will eventually find a boss that will be the bane of your existence.

Fortunate for you, to help you push through the hard times we’ve found an amazing song from Japan that will help you persevere through all the pain and strife.

エアーマンが倒せない (Air Man ga Taosenai, or can’t beat Air Man) is a rocking tune first posted on Nico Nico Douga, and covered by Team.Nekokan. It features an epic guitar track that commands your head to bang, a singer with a stunning falsetto, and a steady drumbeat. It’s easy to see how this hardcore ditty will get stuck in your head for days.

The lyrics encapsulate every feeling a gamer has when playing Megaman, mainly the “DEAR GOD DON’T DIE…NOOOOOOOO!!!! *tear*…” moments that you’d get when challenging Dr. Wily’s robot masters.

This video takes you through the trials you face on Air Man and Wood Man’s stages, and provides a musical representation of a gamer’s plight which any one of us has suffered at on point or another. The running, the jumping, the dying, it’s all here and paints a cool visual picture.

I especially love the music video for the Japanese version on youtube. It’s really funny and uses a combination of sprites from the game and digital illustrations, and it ends up being the perfect outlet for the song. Not surprisingly, there are already some English language covers out there that are less entertaining.

The music on the American cover is the same, but it’s obviously sung by an amateur, so it’s not of the highest quality. I will say that the American cover does do a decent job of translating the lyrics into English without butchering the original feel of the song. Frankly, If you ever find yourself singing this tune you will probably do it with the English fan lyrics, so I can’t hate on the dubs so much (except the screamo version).

Oddly enough, while listening to this ballad chronicling the suffering of Megaman gamers, I find myself getting inspired. I start to feel confident again in taking on any Megaman. This track makes me feel like I could take on the whole Wily empire by myself. Heck, I can fire this song up anytime and be completely ready for getting my ass kicked, minus the part were I cry and give up in vain.

Airman ga Taosenai is available on iTunes, and through the album “CD de Kiite Mite.: Nico Nico Douga Selection” Please support the official release.

Notes
*I’m surprised I didn’t write a music article sooner, especially since I’m a Music Business Major.
*There’s a reason the Japanese call him Rockman…
*Run. Shoot. Jump. Die…
*I can’t beat Nitroman.

The post Songs to game by – エアーマンが倒せない (Can’t Beat Airman) appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Another month, another big game reveal brought to us by the silly people over at Game Informer. While I have my own personal reasons for disliking Game Informer, I must give it to them; they are golden at nabbing exclusives for the public. This upcoming month cover story is the sequel to the stupendous title Batman Arkham Asylum, know as Batman Arkham city.

The cover has revealed that Cat woman would be a main villainess in the upcoming title which is really exciting. While we won’t have more information until later, think how cool it would be to have a chase scene spanning across Gotham cities rooftops, or what if she’s even a playable character? Well we will find out these things in time, but they’re something neat to muse on.

Also something to think about is the fact that the cover of the magazine is primarily using the color white, could this mean the next title could feature day time missions? Who knows, but day time isn’t exactly what I think of when I think of batman. (Well maybe if he is trying to get rid of a bomb…) It might be a style thing for the cover, but I wouldn’t count it out especially since batman has an entire city to clean up, which could be hard to do in one night. (Although he is Batman so I wouldn’t count it out.)

It will be interesting to see how the Arkham Asylum formula might translate to a more open world environment. Arkhams battle/stealth grounds where really closed in and tightly designed, so much so that to an extent you could consider the correct way of solving a room may be rather formulaic. To have this formula be thrown off by potentially shifting into an open world environment will be a test of character to Rocksteady Studios. However I wouldn’t rule out small corridor like levels set on the street, to emulate the original feel of the first game.

My Excitement is piqued at the possibilities of this new title. I thoroughly enjoyed the first and I would love to spend some more time in that world. Look for Batman Arkham City in stores next fall.

Notes

*This is Mark Hamill’s last performance as the Joker. I grew up with him as the Joker, I loved the Batman Animated series, it seems sad that this might be the last we hear of his joker. Good Night Sweet Prince…
*No. you need to watch the animated series from the 90’s like now
*I loved the theme from the 90’s version, its pure batman.
*Hopefully the catwoman fight will be better that dodge roll, throw batrang, about 50 times, while avoiding vines.

The post It came from Game Informer: Batman Arkham City appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

One of the first things you will notice about the film is its art style, since the movie is set in the 1950’s every super hero is drawn and animated to look like their character design from that era, it’s actually quite a sight to behold. Admittedly the animation never quite realizes the super stylized cover art work, but the film still matches the desired aesthetic. The opening even gets me in the mood for some retro movie action, emulating cheesy 1950/60’s animated visual flair.

The setting matches the time period well. Featuring some background representation of the red scare, the space race, and the Korean War. The setting is actually quite oppressive and rather enthralling I would like to see more of it and the 1950’s reaction to the presence of super heroes (hint there’s one line about the Flash that is absolutely perfect), however it would probably turn into the DC equivalent of Marvel Civil War, and no one wants that.

The story is essentially a combination of origin stories for Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and the league as a whole, and it’s actually quite compelling.

The Manhunters story in particular is captivating from his opening scene, and following his attempt to live an everyday life, by oddly enough imitating Humphrey Bogart.

Green Lantern’s scenes are good too, but they kinda start to drag after a certain length. As you just want him to take on the mantle. You never really lose empathy with him, but after a certain point in the movie his plot starts to feel long. Other than that he’s pretty awesome.

The Villain of the movie is a mysterious being known as The Centre. Let’s just say it involves cults, and epic voice acting from Keith David. Unfortunately The Centre never really gets it’s due over the course of the movie, mostly due to the short run time, and the over abundance of plot items on the menu. This really could have been an amazing villain if it only had more time to develop and grow as a villain, but alas he doesn’t and in a sense the story’s legs are undercut a bit.

The rest of the characters are fun, and good. Wonder Woman is absolutely awesome even if she does have little screen time, in the first ten minutes you love her character. As for Superman he of course bows out of the story quickly for the sake dramatic tension, and so he just feels like a waste of time. The Human ensemble is surprisingly strong and plays off the heroes effectively. I would like to mention The Lantern’s girl friend Carol Ferris as a standout performance, frankly when both she and Hal Jordon are on screen I forget I’m watching a Justice League flick instead of a Green Lantern Film.

The Music and voice acting are both good, but aren’t overly amazing. Of course there are some standouts, such as Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, and Keith David as the aforementioned Centre and the music for the opening credits is dark and spooky, but I don’t know I just feel a little underwhelmed with it all. Nothing is bad, everything is in fact above average, but it just didn’t stun me as much as the rest of the film.

Really, Justice League: The New Frontier would have been well served with an additional fifteen minutes to build up the villain a bit more, but this is a small complaint. The movie is dark without going into the laughable edgy genre. The film is an excellent piece of work, and I can recommend it easily.

JL: TNF is available from Warner Bros. Home Media for Blu-ray, and DVD.

Notes
I found the Blu-ray for like fifteen dollars at Wal-mart

The post Justice League: The New Frontier Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

The newest in the long line of excellent Marvel universe cartoons shall bring together the greatest of the marvel heroes for a battle none of them can face alone, a weekly television series!!!

I cannot tell you how pleased I have been over the years with marvel animated series. I grew up watching and loving both the X-men, and Spider-man series on tv, and let me tell you, they were awesome. As the years have gone by I don’t watch the shows regularly anymore, but I have been pleased with the random episode I have seen here or there.

Heck, even the Chibi Super Hero Squad show, has its merit. I mean it has story lines involving both the Infinity gauntlet and sword. Rather obscure heroes, and villains like MODOK, and Ms. Marvel, really its quite good when you get past some of the voice acting.

Of course Marvel isn’t one to disappoint. They have released several trailers so far, and this is my favorite.

The lineup of heroes looks pretty standard for the Avengers featuring Iron man as leader (lol wut?), Hulk, Hawkeye, Antman/Giantman, Wasp, Black Panther (EPIC), and the always delayed premiere of Captain America.

One has to wonder if either Spider-man or the X-men will make appearances or if they will be avoided as to avoid confusion for kids about their absence from the movie universe. However since Super hero Squad has included them, its hard to say at this point.

The point is Marvel rarely messes up a tv series, and I’m really excited, even though it will probably be short lived. It probably won’t even make it to the Movie in 2012, but hey it should be good as long as we got it.

The Avengers assemble on your television October 22 on Disney XD, and Disney XD.com

Notes
*Ms. Marvel is awesome, and not Jean Grey. You should check out her book it’s really cool.
*I know it’s a different universe, but I still don’t forgive Iron man for Civil War.
*I’m loving the theme song, if only for the Avengers Assemble part.
*yay sounds like Mae Whitman as Wasp…

The post I’ve gotta see this – Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: The Avengers appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

He has single handedly spawned over 30 films, multiple television series, video games, comic books, novels, and more over the last 66 years. Heck, the franchise bookends several Eras of Japanese Kaiju (Monster movies) and Tokusatsu (Special Effects Shows, like Power Rangers) movies, and has always been at the forefront of the genre.

Godzilla’s overwhelming popularity boggles the mind. I love the big lug, but I had to see what started this epically long and beloved franchise. That’s why I decided to take a look back at the first, the original, Japanese King of Monster movies that is Gojira.

So the story is, of course, that one day in Japan, a giant monster named Godzilla begins appearing and starts to ravage all it sees. Humanity desperately attempts to stop him but no conventional means are effective, so they have to find some way to stop him.

Yes…it’s the plot for most of the Godzilla movies, but since this is the first one, you have to let it slide.

As for the characters, there are really only a few characters in this film that aren’t extras or background characters, even then most of the leads are generic and one dimensional. You have the old Dr. Yamane, who just wants to study the beast and warns about how nukes are bad, Emiko his daughter, who is good at screaming and being empathetic, Ogata, a ship captain who is there to be brave and hunky, and finally Dr. Serizawa who is a mysterious doctor…who might just have a solution to the Big G problem.

Since this is a 1950’s horror/monster flick, I totally dig the set up, even if it is a little flat.

The ending, unfortunately feels like it comes out of nowhere in the last twenty some odd minutes, and it is rather upsetting. It’s disappointing for two reasons: One, it’s completely by the book, namely you’ve seen this ending a dozen times before, and two it is an explosion of symbolism. This symbolism is so thick it absolutely destroys the rest movie.

I don’t generally care for movies that delve to deeply into symbolism, I find that the message either comes out too overbearing or too convoluted. It’s rare you can find a movie that strikes the delicate balance between the two. To be honest, Gojira doesn’t do it all that well and with the true message being spelled out right at the ending. There are times however, when they aren’t blatantly talking about it, that the film feels quite powerful.

When Godzilla attacks the city, and leaves it in nothing but flames, it actually did make me think about WWII. Since I know the history about the things we did to Japan like using Incendiary bombs, seeing the Tokyo in flames, I was instantly brought to that. I can’t imagine how powerful scenes like that must have been to the Japanese back in 1954. Gojira may not always have a deft hand, it does have non verbal symbolism that is actually really full of impact in the end.

The effects are… effective, but due to a combination of 1950’s limitations and the black and white setting they can be more than hard to make out at times.

When Big G. unleashes his atomic breath for the first time it looks more like ice breath, just because it’s kind of hard to make out what’s happening.

There is a sense of scale that is totally missing from the film. Godzilla has several differing sizes in this film that he switches through, seemingly at random. While this is totally hilarious, it does take you out of the film if you’re trying to take it seriously. If you aren’t taking the film at face value, it totally increases your enjoyment, as it’s par for the course in a 50’s flick like this.

Most of the musical score feels stock, and cheap. Which of course is to be expected, so it actually sets the mood quite well. However, I must give shout out to one mournful piece that is truly captivating and the stand out for the movie which used a choir which eerily reminds me of church hymns which is truly the perfect piece to play in the wake of Godzilla’s destruction.

The ultimate question one can ask of Godzilla, is how does it hold up? The answer is, surprisingly well. Sure, at times it can sink into the realm of classic 1950’s schlock and the ending is almost as out of left field as it is brief, but this film is just plain good.

I wouldn’t recommend seeing this film entirely seriously, feel free to crack jokes at it, but afterward it can be a pretty cool segue into a serious conversation. This film is absolutely drenched in meaningful symbolism for the atomic age, and if you think about it, is still very potent.

How exactly did this dark sincere warning of the future turn into a massive franchise that culminated with an amazing flying Godzilla Jump Kick, Godzilla using his breath as a jet pack, and a crappy 1999 American version? I’m not really sure, but I do know one thing…Gojira is a dark, intense joyride that will leave you thinking, and you should see it today.

Gojira is available on Blu-ray and DVD. The film is also available for instant stream from Netflix for the time being.

Notes

* Near the end of the film, the movie point blankly tells you the moral of the story, aka nukes are bad, and the more we experiment with them, the more likely it is we see more godzillas. In the real world we haven’t had monsters but we have seen a massive leap forward in the development of technology. Could the Internet be the real life equivalent of Godzilla? Answer Probably.

* As for The American version of Gojira, well I haven’t seen it. However since the only real difference is that they add an American character for no reason, I don’t think I need to.

* Also because of the limited million dollar budget, The Japanese army is caught on several occasions fired exclusively 2 machine guns at the unstoppable monster. Those poor souls, If only they had three machine guns.

* Like seriously Clover field has nothing on this guy, but I’m still all for a Vs film.

The post Gojira (Godzilla) 1954 Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

The Thor comic con trailer was leaked to the interwebs today, and by Odin’s beard this trailer is epic. With this trailer we essentially get everything plot related to this movie, like nearly the entire outline to a T. This would be disappointing, but then again if you know the origin of any super hero you already know what the first movie will be about.

Everything seems great about this movie so far, everything looks smooth in motion. Asgard looks amazing, the action looks stunning, and we see a lot of desert, which is always fun.

The actors are all in place. Chris Hemsworth’s Acting we don’t get to see much of, but he still looks like he fits the role well. In the background, Natalie Portman will play the role of the love interest/scientist chick. That one S.H.I.E.L.D guy from the Iron Man Movies is apparently stepping into the spotlight, with a pretty neat interrogation scene. I’m still not feeling Tom Hiddleson as Loki, but time will tell if things pan out with him.

Marvel seems to be pulling a little bit of a cop-out in calling Asgardian magic “science”, but they are trying to fit it into the Avenger’s continuity more naturally, so you can’t blame them. Still, it reeks of something the Insane Clown Posse would put in a song or something…

I really cannot wait for this film; it really seems to be another great film from Marvel Studios. They have a perfect track record so far when it comes to making good superhero movies in my book, and Thor looks no different.

I would recommend seeing it now since it might be pulled in a couple of hours.

Thor falls to your local theater next spring.

Notes

*I hope Thor doesn’t spend 50 percent of his movie being a glorified trailer for Avengers, like that other marvel super hero movie…

*Oh and I’m sorry is that Ultimo at the end of the trailer? I’m not sure. (Never mind, it’s the Destroyer)

The post Thor Comic-con Trailer Leaked Online: WATCH THIS NOW appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

After seeing Inception a second time, I have finally come to a conclusion about the film.

It took me a while to fully comprehend and analyze this film’s effectiveness, and exactly how it affected me and my psyche. Now, do not mistake the aforementioned comment as distaste or disapproval for the film, as I greatly enjoyed it both times. However, it took viewing the film again to properly wrap my head around the enigmatic puzzle that is Inception, and to properly enumerate my feelings on the subject. Here is my answer; Inception is one of the greatest works of Science Fiction of the new millennia.

First off, let me quickly run down the overall plot.

Inception revolves around a man named Thomas Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), an Extractor. Meaning in short that he is a dream thief; although it’s a little more elegant than that. Basically, through the use of a MacGuffin device, extractors and their teams can enter into your dreams and basically interrogate you, or your sub-conscious mind; all the while searching for a more physical manifestation of your secrets projected from your mind. Think of it like being Freddy Kruger with an agenda of stealing secrets instead of killing you.

Thomas, who can’t return to his children and home in America due to legal reasons, is living his life trying desperately to build up the funds to buy his way home, is suddenly faced with a way home by a recent would-be victim of his, the powerful Saito (Ken Watanabe). The deal involves Cobb being able to perform an Inception, a supposedly impossible feat, the act of planting a thought in the victim’s head without him knowing about it, effectively causing him to believe that idea is his own, and follow it.  In exchange for the inception, Saito using his powers as a wealthy businessman to enable Cobb to return home. Cobb assembles the team, and goes into the dream, unknowing of what terrors Cobb’s own troubled mind will inflict upon the operation.

Anything more than that would really ruin the film for you if you haven’t seen it yet, so if you still intrigued either after that synopsis, trust me in saying you will enjoy this film. I have heard many people say this film is apparently immune to spoilers…but I personally disagree with that as the film still has a plot and if you are told the ending, it still blunts the film impact a little.

The acting in this film is quite remarkable in the fact that it is so unremarkable. I feel like just about everyone in the cast gets their character, and is able to portray them in a charming subdued manner, and it feels just absolutely right.

DiCaprio plays a smart, cunning character in Cobb. While his role is fairly similar to some of his previous work, coming off as sort of the same arcitype. One should note there is a reason for that. Namely that he is almost always perfect in these roles, and Inception is not different in this regard. As the plot progresses, you feel the depth of his emotions, you empathize with his plight, and you really, REALLY want things to work out in the end. Dicaprio’s scenes with costar Marion Cotilliard, as his wife are hauntingly beautiful. While I don’t believe DiCaprio’s performance is quite Oscar worthy, I do believe he is a large reason why the film works so well, and is in itself Oscar worthy.

Ellen Page, yes the same one from Juno fame, portrays a wonderful audience stand-in character, named Ariadne. She embodies with all the wonderment and fear that comes with this wonderous world, and asks all the questions we need to know to understand the world and its environment. It is not uncommon for the audience stand-in type to be limited in actual personality as a character, however Ariadne plays a keen role in the film, and Page handles it deftly. I feel that Page has surpassed her role as Juno with this film, and has really secured her future as a credible actor, instead of a one-trick fame-lucky pony. (Although I liked Juno, and thought she was credible their too)

Much has been said of the performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role of Arthur, Cobb’s right hand man and partner. I too enjoy his performance, and I believe that if this was a different movie, he and his character could easily have been the leading man. His performance is clever, believable, and his interactions with both Page and Tom Hardy are absolutely golden.  He is slick, charming, and if he was British…he would be a contender for the role of James Bond.

The remaining cast all play their roles well: Watanabe is a little hard to understand in some scenes, but does a remarkable imposing character at times, and an incredibly loyal and strong character in others. Tom Hardy is absolutely hilarious, and really lightens the film at its most tense times. Cotillard is stunningly gorgeous, and is absolutely captivating every time she is on screen. It’s her presence that nearly always comes with an ominous air, and she does scary exactly right. The rest of the characters fall sadly into the periphery but they all are professional, and believable in their own ways.

The actual direction and filming of the movie is superb. Every cut, every scene is smooth, stylized, and just plain cool to look at. The setting of the dreams are beautiful. The scenery is mostly French in appearance, the settings are absolutely delicious to the eye, and they really draw you in.

Much of the stunt work, and set pieces in this film look too good to be real, the rotating gravity hallway scene is everything you could dream of in an action scene. Just about everything in the production of this film is incredible, except one thing. At two parts of the film you will notice a slight completely unbelievable application of makeup, but other than that the asthetics are quite fetching.

Little in this film disappoints, but there is some playing around with impossible architecture, and unlimited nature of the dream state that could have been implemented on a larger scale, since it’s so cool. However, I believe it would have been a distractionary gimmick, and one that Nolan wisely bites back from using.

Since the goal of the plot is to continually convince the mark that his dream is reality, if you have a random dinosaur attack in the middle, it would completely break the flow of the movie. That being said when something over the top dreamy happens, it is natural and integral to the plot.

The Score of the film is somewhat lackluster, and at the same time perfect. The famous Hans Zimmer wrote it, and it’s disappointingly similar to his work on Nolan’s Batman films. They’re all good, but you could swap scores with The Dark Knight, and not have a single issue. I nitpick at this point, but nothing in this score other than the use of the tune “Non, je ne regretted rein” feels distinctly original. The music is decent and effective…I just wish it was more unique in design.

While some film critics have lashed out with some incredibly jaded responses about the originality of this film, I believe Nolan has truly crafted a world unique to him. This is a crowning achievement in his career, one that I personally think, in ways, surpasses The Dark Knight.

I don’t think this movie really is too high brow for the majority of audiences, and I would disregard it as just elitist speak. Yes, the movie is long, complex on levels, but ultimately not that hard to understand or follow. Don’t let the critical talk dissuade you from seeing this film.

Overall, Inception is a wonderful movie and one that will take you on a journey that will captivate your dreams for months to come, and may very well inspire your thoughts afterwards.

Notes
* If you want some great dream movies that do more playing around in a dream, watch the anime movie Paprika, The horror movie Nightmare on Elm Street, or the horrible movie Dreamscape.

* Think of all the spin off potential! Sequels, Books, Comics, Games, Television, this could be the next biggest nerd thing to completely sell out!

The post Inception — Review appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

More Mass Effect is always a good thing, and Bioware aims to please with the announcement of a brand new expansion to Mass Effect 2 entitled “The Lair of the Shadow Broker”. Commander Shepard will team up once again with Dr. Liara T’Soni on her mission for vengeance against the mysterious Shadow Broker.

For those of you who don’t sporadically read the Mass Effect wiki for hours at a time, or haven’t played the first game a good dozen times since launch, here at the facts and details you need to know to understand the upcoming DLC package.

The Shadow Broker is an enigmatic figure that deals information and other goods throughout the galaxy, illegally. During a comic book mini-series entitled Mass Effect: Redemption, starring the popular Asari character Liara T’soni, a party member from the first game, had dealings with the Shadow Broker revolving around a rather important item in the Mass Effect mythos. Liara took a turn for the worse, and became a cold heartless information broker, focused on nothing but finding The Shadow Broker and killing him. This conflict will more than likely be the focus of the DLC.

With the news, Bioware also released 3 images from the DLC pack. If you notice in the image located at the top of the article, it features an entire party and Liara. This probably means that Liara will actually be added as a full party member, and likely just be a 4th fiddle.

Coincidentally, this was also the role she played when you first meet her in the first Mass Effect.

Given Bioware’s history with Mass Effect DLC, it’s probably safe to say this content will cost about $7 dollars (aka 560 Microsoft points), and will be released when it’s god-damned ready (Unlike Dragon age DLC which frequently isn’t ready and needs massive patches).

Mass Effect fans get your biotics ready, because we are about to travel in to the Lair of the Shadow Broker…at a currently undisclosed time. Keep watch here at WPR as we give you more info as it comes along. Until then, leave us some comments below or over at the WPR forums.

Notes
* I’m really excited
* The news of the liara DLC was actually leaked somewhat in the source code of an update
* The Code also implied the possibility of a PS3 port, as for truth of that, well I don’t know
* Seriously read Redemption, it’s great stuff, and you can read it on your iPhone!

The post New Mass effect 2 DLC: The Lair of the Shadow Broker! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Capcom has come to San Diego’s Comic-Con and so far have not disappointed the audience when it comes to news about their latest fighting game, Marvel vs Capcom 3. We have news of 6 playable characters confirmed to join the MvC cast and you will be surprised by some of the inclusions.

Yesterday, they showed a brand new trailer with 4 characters, see below:

It’s little surprise that Dr. Doom will be returning to the cast, and so will Chun-li, but both are solid additions to the roster. However, the biggest news here is the addition of the new characters Super Skrull, and Trish.

While Super Skrull was pretty much confirmed when Capcom released the teaser silhouettes with the initial reveal, Trish is a rather surprising addition. Both appear to be deadly in combat as the Super Skrull uses his shape shifting abilities to what looks like copy the Fantastic Four’s abilities, and Trish uses Dante’s Demonic Sword, with seems to have an emphasis on Arial combat.

Today however, brought the announcement that Thor and Amaterasu will also be included as well. Thor is a surprise but not as big of one since he has a movie coming out next year, but Amaterasu is a shocking reveal.

Capcom was all too proud of Okami…proud enough to shut down their creator Clover studios. I don’t think anyone expected the goddess wolf to end up in the mix at all. I have yet to see footage of either combatant in motion so I cannot comment on their Fighting style.

This brings the total number of confirmed combatants up to 16 out of the expected 30.

Marvel Versus Capcom 3 is releasing next spring. Expect more news out of Comic-Con as the week continues, and leave your thoughts and comments below, or at the WPR Forums!

Notes

Don’t you miss the days of Confirmed for Brawl?

I know there is a name for Trish’s sword but I don’t remember.

S. Skrull having the Fantastic Fours Powers isn’t too surprising since the quartet will not be appearing in the game for undisclosed reasons.

The post Marvel vs Capcom 3 – Six More Characters Confirmed! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

So after weeks of speculation of the true price of the Xbox Kinect device, with various sources all saying $150, including Microsoft’s own online store, the true price has finally been revealed! At $150.  No shit.

To be fair, the Kinect will be bundled with Kinect Adventures, a “free” videogame, which is a pretty good deal. I say free in quotes because I don’t know anyone who particularly wants the game, but like Wii Sports will be the quickest way of showing people what the device can really do, so it’s a solid title for the bundle.

I’m still not entirely sold, but it seems pretty reasonable right now.

Also in Microsoft news is the Xbox 360 Slim bundle with Kinect will also be sold at the expected price of $299. However the main issue with this bundle is that the version of the Xbox 360 slim bundled only has an incredibly limited 4 gig Hard Drive size. That’s pathetic.

Despite the fact that Microsoft is pushing the sale of zip drives in lure of having a real hard drive, the 4 gigs included gigs is nothing. You can do very little with 4 gigs, outside of having basic saves, which defeats the purpose of most other features including the ones you can do with just the Xbox. This is really disappointing news.

I wouldn’t be as upset if Microsoft would just start selling slim unit hard drives at stores, so this could be a more palatable buy, but they’re not, and they’re not announcing when they will. I mean, the release of hard drives is inevitable, but as of right now…those of you looking to upgrade to the slim with the Kinect bundled are SoL until Microsoft gets its head out of its ass.

I personally think that this is all just a ploy to get new costumers to either buy Kinect separately increasing the price dramatically, or buy one of Microsoft’s 16 gig zip drive memory sticks, also raising the price, and that sucks.

Finally, the biggest news from Microsoft is that they’re pushing to make all Kinect games have the price point of $50. Right now, they’ve priced all first party games at $50, and have gotten the biggest game of the launch lineup “Dance Central” from Harmonix, to also ship at that price.

I LOVE this idea so much! I miss the days of fifty dollar games, and to hear they might be returning, even if only on a small scale, is awesome news. It makes sense to me to sell these games at a lowered price since the Kinect takes up like 15% of the Xbox’s processing power, hence technologically weaker games.

We’ll see if the price actually sticks when it hits the stores this November.

So what do you guys think? Are you on board with the Kinect’s price point? Leave you thoughts in the comments below, or in the WPR forums.

Notes
I’m waiting for a Sony fanboy to create a photo shop image of an Xbox user saying “Xbox stop red ringing” to the Kinect

I wonder if Microsoft will ever allow third parties to create hard drives for the Xbox. Hint probably not

If you’re a Wii gamer I guess the days of fifty dollar games never left.

The post Kinect Priced at $150 With “Free” Game, Slim Bundle on the Way, and the Return of the $50 Game! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

So I was playing Super Street Fighter 4 this morning as the character Abel. In my natural curiosity to learn more about him, I typed his name into Google, and what do I find? Headlines about the biblical Abel and his brother Cain, oh and details about the next big Will Smith movie entitled “The Legend of Cain”.

My curiosity piqued, my eyebrow raised, and my jaw dropped when I saw the premise. “The Legend of Cain” is a retelling of the Cain and Abel story with a twist, Vampires will somehow be involved. While there isn’t a lot of information about the movie out other than the premise, and the fact that Will Smith is attached, this is set to be very interesting.

Now for those of you who don’t know who don’t know the bible story here it is in a nut shell, Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve, were living their lives normally until one day, when making a sacrifice to God, Cain made a poor sacrifice and God chastised him. Abel, on the other hand, made a superb sacrifice and pleased the Lord. Cain got jealous, and killed his brother out of jealousy; thus, committing the first murder in biblical history.

Afterwards, Cain was sentenced to walk the earth for all of eternity with a cursed mark on his forehead. Yeah there’s not a lot of room for vampires in this story, unless the story of Lilith, Adam’s first wife, can finds its way in the mythology. Lilith is known in many cultures as a night demon, succubus, or a vampiric like being; I wouldn’t be surprised if she is involved in the movie some way.

Now while this movie is quite a ways off, as MIB3 is big Will’s next project, I’m really quite interested. This should be a fun ride, which will likely cause people to protest. So I’m onboard, but what do you guys think?

Notes

The post Will Smith to star in a Cain and Abel Movie with Vampires… Wait… What? appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

Today I found Twilight: New Moon bandages at my local blockbuster store. At first I was bemused, thinking to myself, yes that is what I need Jacob covering up my booboos, or better yet, Alice Cullen aka Ashley Greene. (Yeah, I have a bit of a celebrity crush, I’m okay with that.) Now despite my immense want to buy these on sales, year old, healing pieces of adhesive tape, I didn’t. Despite my desire to confuse the cashier, I couldn’t bring myself to support Blockbuster in their ridiculous advertising crossover confusion, because they have been confusing me for a while.

Now I’m a big fan of movies and games, and obviously it makes sense to have a selection of complementary items to go with your movies. Blockbuster doesn’t just do this however, Blockbuster has seemingly gone to an utter extreme when it comes to this kind of thing, they have advert candies, toys, board games, pillows, pictures, hats, satchels, water bottles, magazines, bracelets, flip-flops, BLOODY CELEBRI-DUCKS, and more junk. As a frequent customer, I notice all this stuff, and I never see people buying it, any of it.

Much of the stock is old, and outdated, and confusing to boot. Many of the pictures they have there are some of the famous pictures of all time, like the sailor welcome home kiss at the end of world war 2, The two bored angels, the Broadway sign, and a bunch of creepy child photos. Do any of those pictures incite me to rent hyper detailed movies or games? And don’t get me started on the books; let’s just say Donald trump, and the book detailing the short lived Broadway bust Disney’s Tarzan (Which was on Broadway ten years ago). WHY? Why are these here? Does not compute!!! And they don’t sell it, I’m pretty sure they just ship it back to corporate were it languishes in the never ending hell of being shipped from store to store in a desperate attempt to make an over prices twenty to thirty dollars.

There was only one time I saw someone else even considering buying something. I saw a 10 year old kid asking his mom to buy a picture of John Lennon, while swearing to be a lifelong Beatles fan, I love his taste, but I swear he was just jumping on the rock band hype engine.

You know it’s bad when a store stops trying. Brand new game guides are going for half price, because they can’t get rid of them. The prices for accessories aren’t changing with the times, making them continually less competitive. The stock is getting more and more convoluted as they keep hiding things away in random corners, so really only the hardcore will see most of the periphery stuff. I know I only can go by my seasonal local stores, one at home, and one at college, but two stores alike in dignity is not a good sign.

Like I kind of get it, Blockbuster is trying to be hip and counter act stores like FYE, and Hot topic, and the ultimate goal is to get people in the store longer in an attempt to get them to buy things. However this is absolutely not the way to do it. FYE isn’t their threat. Hot Topic is not the threat. NETFLIX is the threat, HULU is the threat, they should be looking at options to make their catalog more readily accessible, they should be hyping up their online service, and inspiring people to buy blu ray players. How many people do you know who have an online blockbuster delivery subscription? Like here’s a free idea blockbuster, how about your store does personal deliveries just like pizza? That would be great, you get your movie quickly, and you don’t have to go to the store, but to return it. I don’t know maybe it would be impractical, but come on do something. We are a couple of years, maybe only decades or two away from having massive cutbacks in local outlets, and I don’t want to lose you guys because of your poor business model. As a great man once said “Evolve or Die”, and blockbuster right now your choosing the latter of the two.

Notes
*This editorial doesn’t have a lot of meaning, it’s the rough equivalent of writing an angry, but helpful letter to a corporation with no hope of hearing back, but this is the stuff I think about in my free time.

*Also after writing this, I found out blockbuster is in massive debt and may have to declare bankruptcy as of may or march, so yea… sorry I didn’t write this sooner?

*Also yes, I love purple prose.

Update! In the week since I wrote this article, the situation has gotten worse with even more things on sale.

The post Blockbusters confusing item stock, and Twilight bandages. appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

What if Left 4 Dead was a top down dungeon crawler? Now what if that game was totally free? Well you would get Alien Swarm!

I don’t know about you guys but a free video game is always good news in my book. As for quality that topic is still up in the air, the trailer looks really sharp, and it’s Valve, and have they every released a bad title? Since it’s free, you can’t go wrong in spending at least a little time with it. It comes out in just a couple of hours, so get your PC’s set to Steam, and ready for download.

Notes

• Unfortunately Alien Swarm is not Mac compatible
• It comes with the source code for any of you modders out there

The post Free New Game from Valve! Alien Swarm! appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

I have always loved Final Fantasy, and recent releases haven’t tampered with that love, despite positive fan reception slipping away. With President Wada saying they don’t know where to take the series, and repeatedly talks about his envy of western games, it makes me fear that final fantasy will end up becoming massively changing into a western type game. I don’t want or need Final Fantasy to be Oblivion, or Mass Effect.

I think a lot of people foolishly play the “Stagnation card” on Final Fantasy. Saying the game hasn’t changed in years, thinking that it along with the entirety of JRPGs are nothing but the same thing over and over. When it comes to Final Fantasy at the least, this statement is dead wrong. The reason a lot of fans have hated the last couple of Final Fantasies is because the series is changing too much. However I personally consider these evolutions and mutations to be natural growth based on the creators personal decisions of how to make their game. To now dramatically change that course, and generalize the game to the “now” seems like folly to me.

I believe Final Fantasy should be its own thing, and evolve its own way. It doesn’t need to be inspired by other companies’ choices. It doesn’t need conversation trees or cover based shooting. It doesn’t need a sandbox world, or competitive multiplayer. It doesn’t need to be a western game. Stagnation doesn’t just come from being the same thing; stagnation also comes from trying to be everything else. I love and play Final Fantasy, because it’s Final Fantasy.  It doesn’t need to be any game else.

But I may be completely wrong, what do you think?

Notes

• Want proof of a game trying too hard to be everything else ultimately ruining it? Take a look at Brutal Legend.
• I wonder if multiplayer made Dragon Quest 9 better?
• Final Fantasy 5 sucked.
• Please never let them remake Final Fantasy 7, because that really wouldn’t be a step forward.

The post The Questionable Future of Final Fantasy appeared first on WatchPlayRead.

The first image from the upcoming Thor movie has been released, and boy is it something. Besides the fact that the actors all look like giant action figures in plastic armor, the costumes look pretty cool. I think in some respects they’re a little over designed, but hey it’s comic books.

I’m sold on Chris Hemsworth as Thor, but Tom Hiddleson as Loki I’m not so sure of. I know the wonders of dramatic lighting and effect can make you villain go from average looking to amazing, but right now Loki doesn’t seem confident, comfortable, or fun. As for Anthony Hopkins as Odin, well let’s just say the super glued eye patch is a little weird. Well let’s say a little more, as of right now I hate it. Anthony Hopkins looks like a one eyed Santa Claus. I was expecting less of that, and more of well…

Despite the weird look so far Thor should be awesome; I mean it’s directed by Kenneth Branaugh for Odin’s sake. By the way if you do not understand the awesome of Branaugh, and understand why he will get Thor right, follow the link in the notes, and there you go. Thor will be in theaters in May 2011, in 3-D. be prepared for more news, and a trailer coming out of next week when Comic con 2010 kicks off.

Notes

Behold classically trained Shakespearean Acting

I wonder if the trailer will be as epic as the first Iron Man trailer.

Supposedly the outfits look good in motion, but am I to believe Hollywood talking about their own movie?

Aiden Perrilloux is a silly person who randomly likes to write things of varying degrees of silliness on the walls of the internet. You can read more of his writings at aidenguide.blogspot.com, and starting today, you’ll see more and more of his works right here at WatchPlayRead.com.

The post First Glimpse of Thor, Odin, and Loki appeared first on WatchPlayRead.