What Disappointed Me In 2023

 I can confirm that 2023 was a year and with it came some disappointments.

Starfield (game)

 Starfield is ending the year with "mostly negative" reviews on Steam and it 100% deserves them.  This loading screen infested mess of nothingness is an embarrassment to gaming.  I was so hyped when the original trailers came out, but they were misleading to the extreme.  The game in the trailer is not the game we got.

 With that said the game we got is what we should probably have expected. It is the same game engine behind their other games, like Skyrim, and performs exactly the same.  The challenge with Starfield is it's not a single terrestrial world and thus ends up with far more loading screens to get players between planets, ships, space, buildings, etc.

 Add onto the loading screens a combat system that is lackluster, a story that is nonsensical, and a myriad of systems that never make sense when brought together and you have the biggest gaming disappointment of 2023 and possibly the last decade.  How this game sold 10+ million copies is beyond me.  Had I not gotten my copy with my new graphics card purchase I'd of hit refund on Steam within the first hour. 

Rebel Moon (movie)

 If you told me Rebel Moon was a movie about Starfield I would believe it.  Story that makes no sense? Check. Every cliche under the sun (ha!)? Check. This movie doesn't deserve the words I've typed let alone more words.  Such a disappointment.  Do better Netflix.

New World (live service game)

 Some may find this surprising considering 91% of my game time this year has been spent playing New
World, but I can't help but admit that the end of year really soured my mood on the game.  We did get the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion which did bring amazing features like mounts, but it was very lacking in content.  The five extra levels (cap raised from 60 to 65) were laughable as far as effort-required and the new story + zone lasted all of an hour.  I hate to admit it but that was NOT enough to be worthy of the title "expansion".  I'd rather have had this delivered as a seasonal update.

 The lacking expansion would have been fine as it was coming right before a big set of new features that were listed on the road map.  Then the road map was updated -- and this is why New World is on my disappointment's list -- they literally canceled the majority of the road map and delivered almost nothing.  Instead of the expansion being a launching pad into the future it was a speed bump that most players were done with the first week it came out.  I am still a huge New World fan but find myself less interested each update.  

 To cap it off we did not get a 2024 road map yet and instead have been asked to come back in May for "something big" which is mind boggling considering the number of items that were good enough to put on a road map before and are now many don't even sound like they are being considered.  How does that happen?  I can get a one off feature being dropped but the majority!?  What the heck.

Green Bay Packers Defense (supposedly a football team)

 What can I say.  We entered the year worried about whether Jordan Love was the future QB of the Packers.  Little did we know the age-old Green Bay Packers "worst defense in the league.... again" was the real worry.  If we make the play offs... it will be a miracle.

 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review - The Pictures

In part one of my review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi I will use the following pictures to describe my thoughts:

In part two I will put down some words.  Until then; happy new year (apparently my new trend will be to post Star Wars reviews as the first post of the year).

Star Wars: Rogue One Review

Since seeing Rogue One (twice now) I’ve been thinking about Star Wars Galaxies (SWG), the ill-fated Star Wars MMO.  A key moment in my history with SWG was in response to a comment from the developers stating that “no one wants to play a moisture farmer”.



As a longtime poster on the SWG role-playing forum I argued that this mentality was wrong.  There were tons of players that wanted to exist in the Star Wars universe as something other than a Jedi, smuggler, or bounty hunter.  Players wanted to be that moisture farmer.  I wanted to be that moisture farmer. 



I was and continue to be a Star Wars expanded universe junky and this is why I found Star Wars Rogue One to be my favorite Star Wars movie of all time.  With it’s menagerie of characters, locations, and fan service indulgences Rogue One is a movie that diehard fans can place themselves in.  Maybe you are one of the protectors of the Jedi temple on Jedha?  Or a two foot tall member of Saw’s rebellious band? Or maybe you are one of the various imperial roles featured on Scarif?  Maybe even a black armor wearing Deathtrooper!  Personally, I am the space farmer being bothered by some imperial bigwig.



As much as Rogue One is a movie for the want-to-be moisture farmer, I can see why casual fans and regular movie goers would be less enamored with it.  I could write a lot about this, but it’s easier for me to point you at Red Letter Media and Mr Plinkett’s thoughts on the matter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJgfxlgUIZY  In short, for a movie review, I agree with Mr Plinkett.



However, as the Star Wars super fan, none of what makes for an underwhelming movie matters. The feel and look of the movie is consistent with the originals.  The acting, while not perfect, doesn’t detract from the experience (case in point; go back and try to watch the acting in Episode 1,2, or 3).  The movie delivers an expansion of the new cannon that fits right into the old.  Basically, they didn’t screw it up and that is what matters for me.



I can handle the conflict when I agree with critical reviews such as Mr Plinkett’s and still make the statement that Rogue One is my favorite Star Wars movie.  I don’t believe for a second that Disney intends to make Star Wars movies for fans like me.  Rogue One is a happy accident for fans like me and I am comfortable with my love for it.

A quick thought on The Force Awakens and Starkiller Base

I never wrote a review for The Force Awakens.  If I had, one of my chief complaints would have been that of Starkiller Base.  While I loved the movie I could not bring myself to rationalize Starkiller Base.  The Death Star (1 and 2) were big deals, not just from the perspective of the rebels, but from the perspective of the story and plot.  Starkiller Base, while a big deal to the “new rebels”, is nothing but a stolen plot point from the original trilogy and multiplied by three (ITS BIGGER AND SHOOTS MULTIPLE BEAMS!!!).   It did NOT fit the story and did nothing more than fill a spot in the “soft reboot” formula which is why the wise Mr Plinkett dinged TFA in the story category.




With Rogue One in place I have an even harder time buying Starkiller Base.  Rogue One provides incredible depth to what seemed silly in A New Hope (a moon sized super weapon taken down by a shot to an exhaust tube).  The movie goes a long way to show the struggle and loss endured to start the wheels in motion for The Rebels to be able to destroy the Death Star.



Looking at TFA; Starkiller Base appears, fires, and then is subsequently destroyed through an even harder to believe series of events than the exhaust port.  A series of events that has no way to ever be explained in a clever way as Rogue One was used to flesh out the weakness of the first Death Star. 


This is because TFA goes out of its way to plant explanations in the movie: Finn having worked on the planet and knowing how it can be destroyed, Phasma being able to turn off the shields, the Millenium Falcon warping through the planet’s shield, and Starkiller Base having the same functional weakness as the Death Stars.
 
Rogue One really ruins TFA for me because of this.  However, I know it doesn’t ruin it for the average movie going public.  Just as I love Rogue One because I want to be a Star Wars space farmer I know that the rest of the general audience loves TFA because it’s a good movie.

Viewed: Free 2 Play

Long time, no post.  Yes, this is my first post of 2014.

Free to Play, Valve's documentary trailing the stories of various competitors from DOTA2's first global tournament dubbed "The International", is now available for viewing on Steam.  I had a chance to watch it this weekend and wanted to share some thoughts.

From outside view one might mistake this as just advertainment for DOTA2, but just a few minutes into the film it is very apparent that this is much more a human interest story about eSports and the athletes that pursue them than it is anything about DOTA2.  In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anything of interest from the actual game of DOTA2.

With the actual game out of the way we are left with a very well shot and edited  documentary that follows several of the players through the trials and tribulations of competing in the first million+ dollar tournament.  True to the name of the tournament, players from different countries are followed.

The film does an excellent job of giving watchers a glimpse not only into the lives of professional gamers, but also the culture surrounding those players in their home countries.  It is every interesting to see how the gaming culture is perceived in Asian countries vs countries in the west.  However, even with dramatically different cultural movements in regards to eSport gaming there was a consistent trend of doubting family members, specifically parents.  Yes, even in the gaming obsessed China the athletes mothers and fathers were just as disappointed in their children's investment into professional gaming at the cost of traditional education as the parents from the USA.

The core message of the film seems to be sacrifice.  The sacrifices are well documented throughout the film and whether its a lost girlfriend, a missed semester of school, or hard thoughts of a father no longer with a son they all hit home with the viewer.  These are real people pursuing a dream and I think most people can identify with that rare opportunity so few of use get to take that we can't help but cheer on those being followed in the film.

Of course it all comes crashing down for most of the competitors.  Most teams left The International with nothing more than expensive bills for plane tickets, hotels, and meals.  Unlike traditional sports there is no salary being earned by most eSport athletes.  If the team doesn't win, they don't get paid.  This adds up to interesting and heartwarming realizations from the participants after the tournament has come and gone.  There is in fact more to life than just games.

I can't recommend this documentary enough to gamers and nongamers alike.

Embedded copy below:

Avatar: I should hate this movie.

Avatar: I should hate this movie.  It depicts a resource-hungry, western-style civilization destroying the native inhabitants of a planet through technological and military might.

The story is predictable and the characters one-sided.  The marine kills, the natives are misunderstood savages.  Everything fits into the expected cliches of a cultural clash on a clandestine planet.

On top of the stereotypes, the hype should have killed this movie, but it didn't.  Avatar is a masterpiece.

Repost Movie Thoughts: Serenity

I am cutting and pasting some thoughts I posted on my old reviews blog. Serenity, the movie, is up first.

Having never seen the Firefly TV series that inspired the movie Serenity, I had no expectations or knowledge of the lore behind the film. Therefore, it really wasn't on my radar as a "must see" movie. It is rare for me to miss a major Sci-Fi movie during its theatrical release, but Serenity didn't gain steam until after it hit theaters. Still, I am disappointed I missed this one in theaters.

I did not go to Blockbuster looking for Serenity, but when I saw it on the shelf I knew I had to rent it. Not that I hadn't meant to see it, but it just really hadn’t been on my mind. Fortunately, I did rent it and will now be exercising a bit more determination in getting the Firefly DVDs.

Overall, I found the acting to be a mix of good, OK, and so-so. There are spots of brilliance and there are spots of mediocre. The dialogue is strong throughout the movie, but sometimes the delivery is just not convincing which is a bit disappointing in a movie so heavily involved with the characters. Most of these flat spots hit during roaring battles or other special effects scenes.

The good news: the acting does not kill the movie in any spots! The acting is solid. I knew none of the actors by name and even after watching it I doubt I will remember any by name. As I said the acting is solid all the way through, but no one really stands out. This helps the movie, because one overpowering actor could have really disrupted the balance in a movie with a very this is our crew sentiment.

Next, we have the special effects which can make or break any Sci-Fi movie. Serenity definitely doesn't disappoint! The entire movie is a visual feast and most of the time the effects blend amazingly well with the live action. As with most Sci-Fi, there are scenes that just don't fit, uncanny valley and all.

What really makes up for the lows in special effects and acting is the rock solid story. Having no idea how it ties into Firefly, I only know that I want more. While I wouldn't place this as one of the best Sci-Fi plots ever, it definitely ranks up there as one of the best in recent times. Recent, as in the fact it wasn't written thirty years ago and just recently was made into a movie.

I recommend this movie to everyone that has any interest in Sci-Fi. Go out and buy the DVD because the movie is damn close to making enough profit for them to go out and make part 2 and maybe even part 3! I am more than glad to add another movie to my collection!.

My final question: is it just me or is Mr. Universe the same actor that was driving the car full of potheads in Super Troopers?

Movie Thoughts: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

I am a Star Wars fan. I am not a blind Star Wars fan and refuse to blindly love the movies. I watch them, because I love the universe behind them. Any glimpse into that universe will get some of my money, but not always my praise. The Phantom Menace started out good, but fell down in the end. Attack of the Clones was full of action, but not much else. Revenge of the Sith made me smile, but only did the end finally make me feel like the actors were earning their paychecks.

My biggest problem with the prequels was the character of Anakin Skywalker. Weakly written and horribly acted lead to a big gaping whole in all three prequels. When Anakin finally rose up as Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith and screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOO!", I screamed "YES, Anakins gone." This brings me to my thoughts on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and unfortunately the lackluster Anakin rears his ugly head.

Fortunately, the movie is completely computer animated, so no Hayden Christensen was needed. Unfortunately, the character of Anakin still feels stiff and forced through the entire movie. Good thing there is enough action and comedy to save Clone Wars from a failure. The graphics are cartoony, but believable against vivid backgrounds and settings. The important note here is that the movie is consistent and easily fits into the epic Star Wars movie saga.

Also, the move to complete computer graphics opened the door for much better action sequences. I don't want to spoil the movie, but one scene has our heroes scaling vertically up a cliff face while fighting the never ending droid army. It was believable and did not once feel faked for the sake of a live actor. That single scene absolutely convinced me this was the right move for the Star Wars franchise.

Overall, the movie was fun, albeit aimed at a younger audience. The general aim helped me forgive some plot shortfalls and out of place comedy. The movie was a general mix of the classic Star Wars we all love and the new age Star Wars that is hard to enjoy even as a fan. I highly recommend a viewing for any Star Wars fan, especially those with children.

Best Movie Ever?

The phrase, "Best Movie Ever", appears thousands of times in the IMDb reviews for the new Batman thriller, The Dark Knight. Fans and critics are gushing praise for this movie, citing mainly the late Heath Ledger's performance as the iconic Joker as justification for the best movie title. However, there are a few questions I have to ask if The Dark Knight is going to be treated as Hollywood perfection.

Be forewarned, SPOILERS ahead!

Question 1: What motivates the Joker? He shows up in the first scene, robbing a mobster-controlled bank. His actions against the mob are never justified in the movie, other than that he wants Gotham to have a better class of criminals. The writer of the movie cited The Killing Joke graphical novel as motivation for this iteration of the Joker, yet I don't see any of that back story coming through.

Question 2: Where is Rachel Dawes' body? It would only make sense that Harvey Dent would want some sort of evidence of her demise before going completely against everything he ever stood for. There was mounting reason for Dent to go Two-face, but his conversation with the Joker in no way sold the flip-flop of character.

Question 3: Is Harvey Dent, aka Two-face dead? He fell a relatively short distance, which didn't seem to kill anyone else during the course of the movie. Actually, Batman specifically planned that height not to kill anyone earlier in the movie! Plus, the conversation Batman and Gordon have leans towards him being shuffled off as a hero, not a dead hero.

Question 4: The police are proven throughout the movie to be completely corrupt. Yet, once the Joker is captured at the end of movie, Batman leaves him tied up to be arrested by the possibly corrupt police force. What makes this even more asinine, is that the Joker just orchestrated an escape from the most secure police stronghold in Gotham, so why the hell is Batman not escorting the Joker off to a privately, Wayne Enterprises funded, holding facility?

Question 5: The Joker easily sends the people of Gotham into a frenzy, who in turn start trying to kill the Wayne Enterprises snitch. Yet, when those same generic citizens are put on a ferry and faced with certain death, they calmly take a vote whether they should blow up or get blown up by some convicted felons? Oh, and since when do super hero movie felons act rationally?

Question 6: Why is a completely out of place piece of technology, the cell phone sonar, added onto the end of the movie? It really ruined the movie for me, and turned a very key situation for Batman from dynamic and unpredictable, to canned and planned.

Question 7: Where did the League of Shadows disappear to from the first movie? Funny how the bad guys always put their eggs into a single, poorly planned basket. Kind of like the Joker's ill-fated ferry demonstration.

Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the movie. I thought it was a great sequel and deserves consideration as one of the better super hero movies. The performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker was phenomenal. His iteration of the Joker will be the definition of movie villain for many years to come. However, I actually think his performance slightly detracted from the movie, because it was so far above other key players.

Two-face, aka Harvey Dent, was the true villain, ironically portrayed hero, of the movie, but was completely trampled by the exceptional Joker played by Ledger. The performance by Ledger led perfectly into the Two-face transformation, but the plot was just not there to capitalize upon it. The new Rachel Dawes basically phoned in her performance, only marginally better than the flat Katie Holmes of Batman Begins. Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine were all solid, as they always are.

Overall, I think there are enough super hero movie traps that The Dark Knight falls into, that it can't be considered for the best movie of all time. The loose ends that scream sequel, the obvious writing off of characters that didn't sign on for the next movie, the use of super-advanced super-technology to save the day, and the complete lack of solid conclusions to any of the character's plot lines all spell good summer blockbuster that is worth the price of admission and a review on my blog.

The Dark Knight is not the best movie ever, not even close, but don't let that stop you from going to see it.

News Bits

World of Warcraft has officially hit the 10 million active subscribers mark. A lot of people, including myself, predicted this as a year-end goal of 2007. We were close. Also, a bit of clarification on what a subscriber is:

Blizzard defines subscribers as those who have paid a subscription fee or are using an active prepaid card, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game during the last 30 days are also counted as subscribers, but players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or canceled subscriptions and expired prepaid cards are excluded. WoW currently totals more than 2 million subscribers in Europe, more than 2.5 million in North America and approximately 5.5 million in Asia.

Next, there is news that EVE Online will be available via Steam, Valve Software's digital distribution platform. As a fan of Valve and a regular game-buyer through Steam, I am pleased to see MMOs make the move to the platform. Unfortunately, most MMOs are linked with publishers that only sell boxes, or that have their own digital distribution platforms. Unfortunately, I have yet to find anything as good as Steam.

Lastly, some sad news out of Hollywood. Heath Ledger has kicked the bucket. The only question I have: how does a great actor like Heath Ledger die and a walking reason for abortion like Britney Spears remain alive?

Movie Review: X-Men 3

If I had to sum up X-Men 3: The Last Stand in a single sentence it would be... "At least we know the X-Men use DELL computers." Basically the movie is a walking advertisement for over a half dozen products ranging from the Xbox 360 to the aforementioned DELL computers.

Normally such blatant product placement wouldn't have been such an eye sore, but when combined with a few other faults you can really put a good movie franchise in the basement. The errors made in this film are many so let us get started.

First off the story is horrendous. Each and every scene is a mini-excuse to get to the next. Sure it makes a "story", but it doesn't captivate or immerse. Weighty dialogue that only sets up actors for failure upon delivery plague this movie at every turn.

I used the word excuse to explain how the plot moves along and it seems like the writers spared no excuse to introduce new mutants or kill off existing ones. While not shocking that main characters die off it was quite shocking in the circumstances leading up to their untimely deaths. The special effects were spot on with flying house and all, but the reasons that push the story to that point are featherweight at best. It sucked every last drop of emotion out of it. Characters make appearances just to die? And we're not talking about something like the disappointing Lady Deathstrike from X-Men 2... we're talking worse.

Next they just poke the plot full of holes for future movies to branch off. I'll spare spoiling them here, but they are so horribly obvious that I had a hard time NOT LAUGHING in the theater when the credits began to roll. I found myself laughing a lot at different parts of the movie only to realize I was the only one in the audience laughing... maybe I am the only one that got the joke? Blah... who knows.

The one bright spot of the movie is the fact they picked the right person to play The Beast and that was Kelsey Grammer. He fits the profile to a T and delivers through out the movie. Sadly he is an interruption within the movie only appearing at vital plot turns never really being fully realized.

So you can tell I didn't like the movie... err well I should say I enjoyed watching it, but it is by far B rate at best. The special effects lived up to the hype, but everything else fell by the wayside. If there is anything that I can say to convince you of the weak sauce this movie brings to screen let it be this...

I'm the Juggernaut bitch!

Update: 7 Nov, 2006 - Reposted from old Heartless Gamer Reviews section and applied labels.

I hath returned!

The week long raid concluded with the following pile of loot:

Star Wars Episode 3 DVD
War of the Worlds DVD

Books:







Two heavy duty frying pans. Afterall, working on that oh-so-important cooking skill!

Long sleeved Green Bay Packers shirt with +5 Fanboi enchant!

Air Force plaque with medallion and US flag stamp.

Mini-nativity set.

Update: 25 July, 2008 - Edited post and applied labels.

Movie Review: Chronicles of Narnia

Here is my Chronicles of Narnia review for your viewing pleasure.

Not having read the books I went into this movie with an open mind. I understood the mindset that this was geared towards children and it was obvious from the onset. However, this did not impact the pleasure of watching this movie at all. I think back to some of the greatest fantasy ever. The Hobbit, which later spawned the Lord of the Rings, was written as a children’s book. Even when Tolkien began the LotR saga he was gearing it towards a children’s story.

There is something about the child’s mind that inspires true fantasy. As I watched the movie I immediately understood why the youngest child of the group, Lucy, was the first one into the world of Narnia. Narnia is a place you do not seek out; it happens when you are the least expecting.

Let's get back to the fact that this movie is geared towards children. This leads to some awkward scenes where the young actors fail to really carry the weight their roles required, but overall the movie was excellent. Looking at the roles I will give my thoughts on each.

Lucy - The youngest of the group she quickly sets herself apart in terms of acting. She carries many awkward scenes and that is a lot to say considering her young age. Her first initial interaction with the faun character of Mr. Tummus is by far one of the best of the movie.

Edmund - Really the only character in the movie with any sort of character development he definitely fits the role. He evolves and over the movie I believe he grows indefinitely on the audience.

Susan - The A-typical older sister attitude. The sad part about her role is that she seems to be there mainly to fill in holes in various scenes. There never seems to be a connection built between her and her younger sister which was disappointing.

Peter - As the designated "hero" for the story he is a very lateral character. He fits the role well, but the role leads nowhere. Like Susan, Peter suffers from being a filler character. In the opening scenes of war stricken Britain a connection begins to form with his younger brother Edmund, but by the end of the movie it is relegated to weak and quick scenes of bonding.

However, the movie is a sum of its parts and together they make for one hell of a kick ass ride. Pardon the language if there are young ones around. Outside of the four children the movie is filled with a host of computer generated characters that range from talking beavers to half-man/half-horse centaurs.

On the note of the special effects it is noticeable in some areas that Sony Imageworks is no Weta Workshop or ILM. We are still in the transition period for major motion pictures using large amounts of special effects and if Narnia is any sign its getting better by the movie.

The special effects and complete CG characters never fail the movie. The prominent character of Aslan, a Jesus inspired lion voiced by Liam Nisan, is a joy the entire movie. The comical duo of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are a wonder to behold. I loved the imagination put into the various creatures and it makes me want to learn about each and everyone of them.

Comparisons to the Lord of the Rings trilogy were apparent before Narnia hit theaters. I’m glad to report that Narnia is nowhere near as dark or moody as Peter Jackson’s films. Again this is akin to the fact it was a Disney production developed from stories meant for children. As the scenes lift from winters blight to spring bliss the mood never strays far from the scenery.

The other disagreement point of the movie before release was the religious overtone of C.S. Lewis’s work. This is left up to interpretation during the movie. To some it has overtones into their religion while to others it is simply Narnia. It by far does not disappoint those faithful to the books from what I’ve read.

Overall the movie is like its final battle scene. It starts with a triumphant roar and as it nears its collision point it silences itself into a single heartbeat that explodes into the rage of battle. The dark points of the movie pound to a dramatic turning point, but silence into the light and magic of Narnia. It is then preserved and there is enough magic left for both adults and children alike.

Update: 7 Nov, 2006 - Reposted from old Heartless Gamer Reviews section and applied labels.

Movie Review: A History of Violence

What a movie! I am fully aware that a lot of critics have a joking response to this movie. IMHO, this movie is full of comedy that sticks oddly in your throat. It is uncomfortable in the way that it makes you want to watch it. It drags you in and throws you around.

In essence the story is of a small town man, Tom Stalls (Viggo Mortensen), who when faced by a pair of murderous robbers in his coffee shop performs in a way that lends the viewer to believe there is something else behind this man. To tell you more would be to ruin the movie.

Some people will not understand the ending... the purpose... or why it ends where it ends. Honestly, I don't see why it ended where it did. The story felt cut off... at a point where I was really drawn into the movies core. That core is Tom's family and how it dealt with the situation at hand.

Like Stephen Kings masterpiece, The Shining, it is about the degradation of the family under extraordinary circumstances that interests me. The movie version of The Shining failed to deliver on the family aspect, but the book does not fail.

In a strange way I caught myself thinking back to The Shining and how A History of Violence sort of completed the family aspect. How do families respond when their entire world is flipped upside down? Sadly A History of Violence will leave you sitting on that thought, but it goes a long ways to answer some of it with graphic scenes all around.

The violence is graphic, in a way where that makes you feel for the characters and what is happening. Eerily, it compels you to watch. This movie has actors that filled the parts they were cast in. Not one stands out from another. All are believable.

A History of Violence is an outstanding movie for those that care to watch it. If you want cheap thrills then I am sorry... Stealth has already flopped a month ago.