The Day of Two Michaels

Wow….Michael Jackson died.

Much like how most of you must feel, I’m not sure how to react to this news. So many years have been wasted to turn Michael Jackson into a living boogieman (as quoted in The Simpsons), that many of us forgot how awesome he used to be.

For a brief time in my youth, Micheal was like a superhero to me, using his magical dancing moves to fight crime and save kids. I am of course referring to his Moonwalker movie, which was recently talked about here, but that childhood image I once had hasn’t faded away, regardless of how weird he got.

I was hoping on the slim chance that MJ would get his act together, first by meeting with some sort of Jesus Surgeon that would completely fix up his botched face, maybe even wash out some of that bleached skin, followed by a new album that would serve as the mother of all comebacks. Sadly, that dream remains a dream. Well, he’s moonwalking up in heaven now. Or hell, if those accusations ever ended up true.

And I agree with the Nostalgia Critic, Smooth Criminal was indeed his best song and video ever.

The other Micheal as mentioned in my title is Micheal Bay, who has received his own notoriety, although his is much well deserved. I had watched Transformers 2 on IMAX today, and I’ve decided to add my own little mini review.

There will be mild spoilers, nothing too major.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Now, I love The Transformers. The original series remains one of my big childhood shows, standing alongside He-Man, Thundercats, and G.I. Joe, and the original animated movie remains one of my favorite animated movies of all time. It’s also got my favorite 80’s soundtrack ever.

Despite that, I’m not a Transformers purist. As long as none of the big-name bots are ever screwed with (Optimus, Megatron, Soundwave, etc), then I don’t care if the new movies mess with canon or outright changes most of the Autobots and Decepticons. All I require is explosive action and pretty CG, as well as Peter Cullen forever playing the role of Optimus Prime.

So when early viewers cried foul on how the sequel did nothing to fix the human side of the Transformers films, or in delivering a more serious, coherent plot, I must ask….did you really think Bay was going to pull it off?

Indeed, the first movie was riddled with the director’s muddled “outlook” on humanity, with low brow humor, perfectly sculpted young boys and girls, and a huge looming message about how awesome the Army is and how retarded the Government is. It was mentioned that this was done in order to lure in non-fans, who couldn’t possibly relate with talking CG robots. In a sense, this is true. But ultimately, whatever the puny humans did was irrelevant; as long as the sequel delivered on the Baysplosions, then I would walk away satisfied.

Well, it certainly did deliver. More robots, more explosions, and more slow motion jiggling with Meagan Fox. There is however, more than a few stupid moments that you’ll have to put up with, and this time it doesn’t just involve the humans.

Right from the start, Transformers 2 had wasted its potential; I really loved the concept of the Army from the first film forming a task force with the Autobots to combat all invading Decepticons. Called NESTS, this organization should have been the entire focus of the movie. The humans were actually tolerable and rarely got into any moments that reached slapstick level, and as soldiers they were actually competent enough to stand shoulder to leg with Optimus and his crew. And as shocking as it may sound, they even managed to restrict themselves from the usual government bashing seen in other Bay films. Okay, there’s the cliche douchebag government spokesman that tries to mess up a good thing just for the sake of messing shit up, but other than that, I would have really enjoyed having the entire movie focus on NESTS, and maybe show a passing shot of Sam and his girlfriend for a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen, and we’re subjected to nearly an hour of Sam put through a ridiculous amount of situations that are both humiliating as well as painful (yet aside from a bandaged hand, he barely breaks anything). Oh, and also homosexual dog humping, pot brownies, repeated genital remarks, and a general unending awkwardness and humor that borders on Family Guy level.

And the Autobot twins. Oh lord, who the hell approved this? There was barely any laughing in the audience whenever these two Stereobots opened one of their golden buck-toothed mouths. I am utterly convinced that Micheal Bay has a serious grudge against minorities, and these two Jar Jars are the ultimate big budget culmination of his warped view. I couldn’t even tell if he was ripping on blacks or latinos; as part of the latter, I was a bit offended regardless.

The innuendo present in this movie was also bordering on obscene. Megan Fox nearly kills any credibility her character had in the first movie by becoming a never-ending fanservice model. Her opening scene is so blatant, the only thing missing was a lollipop in her mouth. This is only further tacked on when Sam’s college is filled to the brim with perfect, super attractive girls and MTV music blasting in every campus hallway.

But that shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, because ultimately these movies are geared toward the MTV crowd. Aside from the gangsta bots, the other robots come across excellently. There isn’t a single scene featuring Optimus Prime that doesn’t kick ass, and his penultimate encounter with Megatron and two other Decepticons in a forest had me throwing my hands in the air in excitement. Not since “The Touch” has Prime ever delivered such an awesome smackdown. Megatron gets a lot of screentime as well, and Starscream is replicated quite faithfully to his original animated counterpart (he also gets bot slapped like crazy, but whether that’s a good thing or not is up to you).

But the highlight, for me, is finally seeing Soundwave in the film. A lot of fans speculated and feared what alternative would be given to a cassette player, but for once Bay chose wisely, and what we’ve got is some real stunning shots of a looming satellite bot in space. Pretty ironic that the one CG robot scene to not feature action or baysplosions happens to be the one that sticks the most with me. And kudos for bringing back Frank Welker to reprise the role, although it’s unfortunate that the 80’s vocoder technology is no longer present, so he sounds more like Dr Claw as a result. But that’s a moot point; Soundwave is my favorite Transformer after Prime, and he was given the same amount of love of and care that nearly everyone else was denied.

True to Bay’s word, there are many, many more robots in this movie when compared to the original. The double edged sword to this is that the majority of focus goes to the Decepticons. Sure, I’ve always been a bigger fan of the Decepticons than the Autobots (just as I have more favorite Cobras over Joes), but I was really hoping to see more of Sideswipe and Arcee (who for some reason comes in triplet form, but that’s irrelevant as they looked really cool, and dare I say sleek). And if they really wanted to have some comic relief Autobots follow Sam around, why couldn’t they use the goddamn Dinobots?

Regardless, there’s some great CG work used here, and it’s pretty much a requirement to watch it in IMAX. Devastator is as towering and chaotic as you can imagine, looking like an Evangelion that swallowed a cement mixer. And despite the looming hatred regarding a “robot’s scrotum” joke, I didn’t particularly hate the joke myself. It’s not like it was supposed to have testicles, but rather it had a mechanical aesthetic that conviently resembled the fact. I would almost say it’s clever, since many famous machines tend to have a part or two sticking out that resembles a certain human anatomy.

Just take a look at Zone of the Enders’ Jehuty, and where the “cockpit” happens to be.

And as much as I love Zero from Mega Man X, it’s hard to look past his “light bulb boobs.”

The final portion of the movie carries the usual trademarks of explosions and slow motion, but it also added a really tired, really played out cliche of someone who appears to be dead, but is soon magically revived. I really wish Hollywood would stop with this, already. I was around five years old when I watched The Carebears Movie, where the main girl character is apparently “killed” by Dark Heart, and even then I didn’t believe for a second that she would stay dead. Who in the world would still fall for this?

So in conclusion, when Transformers 2 gets into the action, it delivers. Whe it stumbles with its juvenile humor, it stumbles hard. It’s clearly established that Micheal Bay is a great effects director, but can’t write for crap. If you can accept that like I did, then you should enjoy Transformers 2. You can keep on hoping that one day a competent director will adapt Transformers with an iota of subtlety and, just maybe, compelling dialog, but until then, enjoy your Baysplosions, and try to stomach the Baysploitation.

Retroactive Reviews: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete

Well, it finally happened. My Xbox 360 just experienced the coveted Red Ring of Death.

I’ve been a 360 owner for about 2 years, so I was well aware of the RRoD issue, but I still believed that I would be the exception to the rule.

But it seems that it’s an inevitable fate that all 360 owners will go through. Amazing that Microsoft has yet to address such a ridiculous flaw, or perhaps it’s cheaper for them to just receive bricked consoles and apply the quick repair patch. Even so, it’s still pretty silly that no other console carries such a flaw.

And I hadn’t even received my data transfer cable in the mail yet, to transfer the data from my paltry 20gb HDD to my recently purchased 120gb one. Why won’t they just include the cables with the hard drives?

Sigh…Microsoft.

That was just one of several strings of bad luck that have happened to me this week, but hopefully the worst is over. In the meantime, I’ve been quit overdue in my report on Advent Children: Complete.

So let’s get started on that. This particular review hasn’t been made for any specific website, and is just a personal write-up that I’m doing.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete

When I had first learned about the announcement that Final Fantasy VII would finally get a sequel, via a CG movie, I literally went nuts. The original game remains one of my all-time favorite RPGs, with what is quite possibly my favorite story, setting, and characters.

Which is why I despised the ending so very much. Sure, lots of people applaud the game for taking a “unique” and “open-ended” approach, leaving the fate of Cloud and friends to our own interpretation, but I’m one of the few who saw it as an indication that the developers had run out of time and money; After spending 50 some hours with FFVII’s main characters, journeying with them, laughing with them, crying with them, the lack of a proper epilogue to assure us that they made it out okay felt like a real slap in the face. No amount of fanfiction or fan speculation would fill this void, and considering how Final Fantasy VII remained consistently popular and consistently debated many years afterward, I wasn’t alone in my hopes that Square would one day revist FFVII’s world.

So, once again, I was overcome with joy when I learned about Advent Children, and that hype only increased more and more with every new trailer, the revamped character designs for Tifa, Yuffie and the other party members, and the myseterious but seriously cool looking new villains.

Like all Square-related titles, however, Advent Children soon brought out the anger out of people along with the joy. The movie had been criticized as a mindless action flick, devoid of story or character interaction in favor of glorified fanservice action.

Well, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Advent Children was never meant to be the epilogue that many people wished for, but rather a re-introduction. With three more spinoffs already planned, it looked like the world of Final Fantasy VII would finally continue, and an action-packed CG movie wasn’t a bad way to start.

But with the release of Advent Children: Complete on Blu Ray, we now have a film with stylish action and an engaging story. That’s right, while most “director’s cuts” of movies merely focus on adding more action scenes, Nomura and his team decided to use their return to the drawing board to take their time and tell a story, rather than fast forward right to the action.

“Fast Forward” is precisely the term I would use for the original movie, and it only takes the first 15 minutes of Complete to see what an improvement the new footage makes. The city of Edge is no longer a backdrop that viewers only have ten seconds to take in, but is now a sprawling city that is constantly under construction, full of citizens who no longer live on upper or lower plates, but must all live together as one unified class. Geostigma is no longer an unexplainable disease that looks like charcoal that got smeared on the kids, but is now a deadly, often graphic illness that looks like something out of Resident Evil, and we are now shown what happens to people who are on their last stages of infection. Kadaj and his brothers are no longer a trio of Sephiroth cosplayers who showed up out of nowhere, but now have additional dialog and motivations that explain why they’re attacking one person or raiding another place.

I think the one scene that easily shows the difference between the two cuts is the conversation between Cloud and Rufus; the original conversation barely lasted two minutes, and mainly consisted of “Hey Cloud, there’s a guy named Kadaj doing bad stuff. Please stop him”. Now, the conversation lasts much longer, bringing people up to speed on the last two years, as well as potentially stating the stage for future entries in the Compilation.

But it isn’t just dialog that carries these new scenes, but the facial expressions as well. AC’s CG work is still gorgeous, and now the tech is being used to convey a variety of emotions, from anger to sadness, and the tears resulting from both. The best new moment, in my opinion, is Denzel’s flashback to when he first meets Cloud. Even though this scene is already covered in the standalone anime (more on that below), the AC:C version is still powerful, using a haunting version of FFVII’s main theme, as well as the aforementioned facial expressions that  elevate Denzel beyond “some kid that came out of nowhere” and turns him into someone you might genuinely care about, especially since he brings about a tender side of Cloud that was thought to be lost.

Indeed, the theme of “moving on” that was the basis of the original movie is much more prominent in this cut. Cloud’s inner pain is further explained through his interactions as well as some additional flashbacks, and coupled with the existing footage, leads to an ending that may tug at fans’ heartstrings, even if the original cut already succeeded in doing so.

But it isn’t just the new scenes that make up AC:C. The original scenes have been touched up as well, with some new details including physical damage (Tifa is now covered in dirt and bruises after her famous battle with Loz, and other characters share similar damaged features including blood), newly sampled or added music (including Anxious Heart and Crazy Motorcycle Chase), and even some redubbed dialog (Marlene and Denzel have been recast from scratch, and both do an admittedly better job than their previous voices. New lines have been squeezed into existing scenes as well). The new scenes merge with the original moments so fluidly, you might not notice the changes without having watched the original numerous times.

Nomura had mentioned that Advent Children: Complete is staying true to its name, as he has now added everything that he wanted to in the film. That said, there are still a few scenes here and there that could have used some further expanding, but remain untouched; Cloud’s conversation with Vincent, for instance, still sounds a bit ackward and is paced rather slowly, while even more unfortunate is that Yuffie, Red XIII, and the other party members aren’t given any new scenes or dialog whatsoever, with the exception of a new introduction for Cid and a quick scene with Cait Sith. Tifa, meanwhile, does have some new scenes and dialog, including another brief but satisfying demonstration of her awesome martial art abilities, but for fans of her and Cloud’s relationship (myself included), nothing new is added. Well, there is one brief moment that I felt was a terrific touch, and further expands on some of the messages conveyed in the original game’s ending as well as Advent Children’s main theme, but I don’t want to give it away.

As for the final showdown between Cloud and you-know-who, you may have read comments over how the battle has been extended, and is even more intense than before. While this is indeed true, the additions to the already chaotic battle only occur near the end. However, it certainly does expand the battle to new levels of brutality (again, no spoilers), and has more than a few added fanservice moments that will become immediately obvious to fans.

Special Features are mostly paltry carryovers from the DVD cut of AC, but the most notable extra is Episode: Denzel. An anime adaption of the Case of Denzel short story, this feature focuses on Denzel during specific moments in FFVII’s story (namely, the attack on Sector 7, the final day of the Meteor’s arrival, and the events following after), showcasing the many perils of his life that leads to his eventual adoption by Cloud and Tifa. The feature is a talkie, which might upset those who preferred Last Order’s fast paced action, but it does an effective job on showing the struggles that Midgar’s residents had to endure, from salvaging the remains of their city as well as putting aside the tensions between the upper and lower plate citizens. The animation is done by a different studio than Last Order, and while the latter did a flawless job of adapting Nomura’s artwork, the style used for Episode: Denzel is still great as well, offering a different but acceptable look for mainstay characters (despite their brief screentime) as well as Midgar’s citizens and architecture. It’s a very well done feature, and as an anime fan I can only hope that there will be more FFVII-related works in the future, including adaptions of the other short stories.

While it might not immediately change everyone’s perspective of the feature as a whole, there is no doubt that the changes and additions to Advent Children have greatly improved the movie. No longer is the film a guilty pleasure full of action, but is now a competent tale that balances its over the top action along with its emotional weight. It’s something that should be experienced by every Final Fantasy VII fan, and is a great sendoff for the beloved series.

Except the story isn’t over yet. We can only hope the next entry can carry on the high note established by this film along with the recent Crisis Core game on PSP.

E3 2009: Square and Konami

So yeah, turns out I forgot to make a post yesterday. I had mentioned before that I was watching Advent Children Complete, so the slip up shouldn’t be too surprising. I plan to do a mini review on that next post.

I’m also pleased to announce that I’ve been approved by Z Connect to review Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on WiiWare, starting with the first two available episodes, and with individual reviews to follow the episodes hereafter. This is the first traditional FF game I’m officially reviewing, so I’m quite excited about it.

Anyway, on to Square and Konami’s conferences from the previous day.

Square Enix: As is usually the case with Square, some miscommunication and baseless rumors (Kingdom Hearts Wii, mainly) had proven false. Square’s E3 conference wasn’t even a conference at all, but rather a Q&A session for their recently revealed title, Final Fantasy XIV. A rather vague Q&A session at that.

What we did learn was that it would be a brand new world and setting, but featuring the same races from FFXI. It’s also supposed to offer content for all types of players, from solo to party groups. Pricing details aren’t determined, or if there will even be a monthly fee, but considering that FFXI will continue to be supported even when XIV is out, it seems unlikely that they would continue charging monthly for a much older game while keeping their brand new one free.

It’s also been slated for a simultaneous worldwide release come 2010, which means we might actually be getting two Final Fantasies under one year. Quite a major experience, if it ends up true.

Konami: In between the DDR whoring, Konami only had one new announcement in their conference.

But man, was it a doozy.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: An open world 3D Castlevnia, by Hideo Kojima. That’s almost a runner-up to Metroid: Other M’s shocking announcement. This gen seems to have a fad where popular developing teams take a crack at popular franchises. I was already onboard with Kojima being in charge, but the trailer just cemented my interest. The visuals look great, the voicework is stellar (Patrick Stewart! Other guys I never heard of!), and the idea of being a Belmont that freely visits areas and castles brings back memories of Castlevania II. I’m not just hoping for a new experience, I’m also hoping for a return to form.

There was also new info on Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, but I want to dedicate a seperate post regarding that game.

Look for two reviews incoming as well.

E3 2009: Nintendo and Sony

Man, where do I begin. Both companies managed to impress me with their conferences. There were a couple of announcements that had me grinning ear to ear, and a couple that had my jaw hit the floor.

There were also moments that nearly had me slam my head into my keyboard, but that’s to be expected; these companies aren’t just doing these shows to impress their fans, but to impress their shareholders as well.

I was considering doing two parts for both companies, but Square’s conference is up next, so I need to keep this blog open for any potential megatons. There’s a lot of buzz regarding a possible reveal for Kingdom Hearts on the Wii, something that wouldn’t surprise me at all. As long as it’s a port or (better yet) a new spinoff, I’m fine with it, but I want the third numbered title to be on the PS3 and/or 360; I want the gorgeous visuals to evolve, not remain stagnant.

Anywho…

Nintendo’s Conference

Nintendo’s presentation felt like a timeshare: moments of brilliance wedged inbetween unbearable filler. There were many instances of “Rich as Fuck” and “Shit you don’t care about”, which was expected. A plerethora of DS games tailored to tweens and pedophiles, montagages of grandma, great grandma, mom and pop enjoying the hell out of their Wii, and the creation of yet another accessory: a Wii-tachment that measures your blood pressure.

Mine was nearly boiling at that point.

But, all that garbage felt irrelavent, thanks to three very awesome announcements, clevery saved for the beginning, middle, and end of the presentation.

New Super Mario Bros Wii: Right from the start we’re treated to what will immediately be one of the best games to come out this year. I loved New Super Mario Bros on the DS so much that I considered it a true sequel to Super Mario World, essentially making it Super Mario Bros. 5.

And now we’re getting a sequel on the Wii, keeping the 2D look, the catchy music, and the wonderfully difficult level structures, but with an even more awesome addition: 4 player co-op. Taking a page from Little Big Planet (and eerily resembling the Mega Man 2.5 trailer I linked a few posts back), four buddies can interact with one another to help reach the level goal. But in reality, your buddies will end up hindering more than helping as they miss that jump, steal that mushroom, and repeatedly fall or get crushed to death. It’s going to be hilarious.

This would have been my pick for best game of the show were it not for one very unfortunate setback: no online multiplayer. According to big man Miyamoto, the Wii’s hardware can handle four long distance guys playing the game all at once. I think a bigger truth is that Nintendo continues to quake in fear of online multiplayer, but either way it’s a setback. I’m still greatly looking forward to this game, but it’s also the most disappointing news about E3 so far.

Super Mario Galaxy 2: I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this announcement, though. Super Mario Galaxy was a fantastic experience, but I was also saddened when I reached the end. Nintendo’s had this policy about making sure each Mario and Zelda title was a different experience that should be spaced out every five years or so. It looks like the overwhelmingly positive reception of the first Galaxy prompted them to make a direct sequel, much earlier than expected. In all honesty, it’s the smartest thing Nintendo’s done so far this gen.

Metroid: Other M: And this….this just came out of nowhere. The moment Reggie talked about creating an “edgier” Nintendo title, I immediately scoffed. Then I saw the Team Ninja logo, and just stared in disbelief. I am then treated to footage with a sexy short-haired blond walking around a space station military complex, and started scratching my head. What was this?

Then I see her put on the iconic armor, and I just went nuts. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. Never would I have guessed the collaboration of Nintendo and Team Ninja culminating in an action packed, multi-perspective, richly narrated Metroid game. It’s like the long talked about Metroid movie came to life with cinematagraphy directed by Monty Oum. It’s so unlike Nintendo that all bets are off at this point. It’s going to sell like gangbusters, but it should certainly live up to the hype.

Sony’s Conference

Sony’s show also suffered from self indulgence, spending much time discussing how awesome they were, and showing a record amount of montages of their hardware. They also played it somewhat safe, with few surprise announcements. Regardless, they wisely followed MS’s approach to show off as many games as possible, and revealed their own take on the Waggle Capitalizing with a new device that, quite honestly, looks like it could stand a decent chance of not sucking.

Uncharted 2: Like Modern Warfare 2, it came as no surprise that Uncharted played well and looked good. Naughty Dog seems to have a track record of making their first game an experiment, and the sequel becoming superior in every way. But man, Uncharted 2 sure does look sweet, probably rivaling MW2’s graphical splendor.

MAG: This one’s getting a lot of exposure, and it certainly has some interesting concepts, but the only way to truly judge this game is to try it out with other players. The kind of community that this game attracts will determine how fun or terrible this will be. I’m doubtful that anyone can round up 250 players who know what they’re doing, but playing with even 1/4 of people who know what they’re doing

Assassin’s Creed 2: As a concept, Assassin’s Creed was well received by everyone. Even Kojima was a fan. As a game though, it had several problems. The sequel looks primed to fix them all, though. It looks better, it has more weapons, the AI is smarter (even though most dancing folk don’t seem to notice a guy flying in the air in some strange contraption), and the kills are more brutal. Kind of silly how the bad guys keep switching from French to English on the fly, but apples and oranges.

PSP Go: Yep, here it is. It’s a good thing Sony had a humble mood about it’s early leak (or was it intentional?), but I can’t shake my disappointment on how they still haven’t added a cover for the screen. Is that really too much to ask? I carry my DS around more than my PSP because I don’t want the screen to get cracks or smudges. At least the PSP is continuing to get a strong lineup, including Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Soul Calibur, and Gran Turismo 5.

Speaking of MGS, I’ll be saving the Peacewalker talk for tomorrow, as part of Konami’s Conference.

The Last Guardian: One of the earliest leaks, via a youtube video showing the game back when it was codenamed Trico. Regardless, it was great to see that the original idea is now a confirmed game. It looks simply wonderful, and I love the look of the creature so much that I’m hoping there’s a hug button. Up made me shamelessly weep like a baby, so I’m not sure if I’m prepared for this game. No, I’m kidding, I want it now. I want to take a nap on that creature’s warm tummy.

Motion Control Device (aka The Waggle Wand): We knew this was coming. We were really hoping it wouldn’t. This presentation ran the risk of ruining Sony’s show, with the ugly dildo design and the terribly ackward presenters. But after giving it some time, I actually warmed up to the wand. The precision on this thing looks really accurate, even more so than Nintendo’s motionplus upgrade. It also registers full body movements without requiring Natal’s giant mat. The concepts they tossed out looked interesting, and (more importantly) fun; swinging a whip, shooting in first person, firing a bow and arrow and ninja darts, and topping it off with a better Zelda simulator than the Wii’s own Zelda game. I’m not sure what’s the best way to market this, but if third parties commit to this playstyle, this might prove to be a motion controlling experience few will be embarrased about.

Mod Nation Racers: So now they’re ripping off Mario Kart? Sony, have you no sh-wait, this actually looks fun. Create your own racers and tracks, upload them and share them with others? You’ll never have to buy another kart racer again. If they let you create your own power-ups as well, then this could be something really awesome.

Final Fantasy XIII: There is a lot that’s shown in this video: full english voices, party battles, large areas to explore, a new kid with silver hair, a full frontal shot of Sephironica (glasses!), what more can be said. This is going to be awesome, and Spring 2010 is such a painful way away.

Final Fantasy XIV: Wh-what!? WHAT!? Seriously!? Another huge shocker for the day, FFXIV has been unveiled despite FFXIII being a way’s off. Not only that, but it’s revealed to be an online successor to Final Fantasy XI, making this in actuality Final Fantasy XI-2. As someone who played the first MMO for a good 5 years, I’m highly excited about this. They can only improve things from here, so I’m looking forward to less grinding, faster traveling, less camping, and a more streamlined interface.

And Mithras. Gorgeous, high definition Mithras.

God of War III: Not much I can add here. It’s God of War, Kratos is still angry, and everything looks just about how I expected. That’s not a bad thing mind you: more enemies on screen, more brutal kills (intestines, ewww), giant lava bosses, and Crispin Freeman. It sucks that it won’t make it this year, but it’s going to be a great experience.

E3 2009: Microsoft

The first day of E3 has come and gone, and Microsoft was the first of the three contenders to step up to the ring.

Aside from the mundane Beatles reunion that served as a warm-up, it was a pretty good showing. Not too many big gaming related announcements, but the stuff they showed was still mighty strong.

Modern Warfare 2: The fact that this game looked really good was no surprise at all, but I have to wonder just what Infinity Ward has been feeding their engine. The MW franchise remains one of the most gorgeous I’ve seen this generation, and their separation from Activision means I’ll never have to look at the Call of Duty series again. It’s going to be a kickass November.

Left 4 Dead 2: This, however, was a far bigger surprise. This has to be some sort of track record for fastest mutliplatform sequel, although many have suspected that it’s in actuality an expansion pack, although I’ve got my doubts on that one. Regardless, I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoyed the first game (and still do), so I’m going to eat this one up the moment it’s out. I just hope Valve continues to support LFD with more maps and infected instead of just releasing “sequel packs” every year.

Splinter Cell: Conviction: I liked this series better when the main character was a humble dad by day, witty badass by night. Now that his daughter’s dead, the only thing left is generic cop rage, fueled by the odd fact that he appears younger in each game. Still, I couldn’t help but find the “text on walls” effect rather cool, and it’s always fun to give assholes their comuppance (via violent interrogation tactics), so I’m willing to give “Man on Fire: The Game” a shot.

Crackdown 2: A lot of people were convinced this game would never get a sequel, so it’s nice to see them proven wrong. I own the original myself, purchased from a Blockbuster bargain bin, but I never played past the first hour. I plan to remedy that soon, as a means of celebration. The monster surprise kind of gives it the feeling of “Gears of Crackdown”, though.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising: The announcement that 360 was finally getting an MGS game should have been the ultimate fanboy highlight of E3, but Kojima’s last second “oh wait, it’s Raiden” message seriously downplayed the jubulation. I’m pretty sure the average 360 owner doesn’t care much about Metal Gear, anyway, and would rather hear more about Halo.

Halo 3 ODST: And here it is! How very underwhelming! Granted the setting looked a bit cooler, the guys had some cool armor minus the exposed fingers (why leave them exposed?), but once the dialog kicked in, well….yes, he did blast the hell out of that guy. No, I wasn’t impressed.

Halo Reach: All we get is a teaser shot, and yet I can’t but feel this will be a far better game than ODST. Just a hunch.

Alan Wake: I always embrace new horror games, although this one’s more of a psychological thriller. Still, the effects are pretty awesome, the enviornment changing shape was cool, as well as the way the protagonist narrated the events like a (intentionally?) bad novel. I just hope there are more enemies than just shadowy human husks, as wesll as a positioning option for the flashlight. I’ll be buggered if I’m going to play the whole game left-handed.

Shadow Complex: This looks pretty cool, but I wish people would drop the “Metroidvania” joke and call it by its more appropriate name: “Contravania”.

Final Fantasy XIII: Huh, what? English dialog and text? An exclusive summon!? You can bet this had me sit up on my seat. Surprisingly, FFXIII is very far along in its localization, although that isn’t going to make it come out any sooner than Spring 2010. Enjoy your Christmas release, you Japanese bastards.

Twitter/Facebook/Other Non-Game Stuff: Uggggh. Okay, Last.FM could be decent if they let you browse it while playing a game, but otherwise, why in the hell would anyone use twitter on the 360? If it was some sort of XBL-exclusive twitter-type system it would be neat, but otherwise….

Watching movies with buddies on a virtual couch: Potentially fun, but I’m hoping that only one of you needs to physically purchase or rent the movie. Nothing beats online mooching.

Natal: Oh boy, here we go. Waggling was rumored forever, and now it’s here, Minority Report style. About the most positive thing I can say about this is that browing your 360 with voice command could be semi neat, and if the arm moving and voice recognition features were included into normal games, it might add to the immersive experience. Otherwise….well it’s too bad no developer will be allowed to make an M rated game with this. Think of all the fun positions you could do on that mat….

Milo: Oh man…this was wrong on so many levels. Encouraging to deny all human interaction, Milo is a virtual british buddy who is delighted to spend time with you with all sorts of voice-recognized activities.

Do I have to spell out why the concept of manipulating a photorealistic little virtual boy is a bad idea? Do I really? And I’m sure there will be a little virtual girl to also interact with.

Xbox 360: Jump In. Molest.

Ubi Soft’s Conference: The less said, the better. Yes, I realize the irony in that statement.

Nintendo and Sony are up next. There’s a high probability that Nintendo will announce a sequel to New Super Mario Bros, something that would make me very happy and almost forgiving of the absurd Wii whoring that occured in this show so far.

As for Sony, their show can be an easy success as long as they make sure not to show any charts or mention any sales figures. MS zinged you guys, so if you were planning on the charts, dump ‘em.

The Eve Before E3

E3 starts rolling tomorrow, although you wouldn’t know that from all the purpoted leaks going online. Potentially heavy news such as the PSP Go, Final Fantasy VII’s PSN inclusion, the existence of a new MGS for both PSP and PS3, along with several “leaked” trailers run the risk of downplaying the major conferences starting tomorrow.

Then there’s the Twitter fiasco, where everyone claiming to have “sources” constantly post fake posts and claims in order to gain attention. It’s a fine mess, but also a fun one.

Yeah, the odds are in favor of this year’s E3 kicking ass. The three major players all have conferences starting Monday, and I’m hoping for all sorts of big news. I’m also going to post on this blog every day in E3 week in order to share my thoughts on each new announcement and revelation.

But for today, I wanted to share this video in case you hadn’t seen it yet: A fan-made Mega Man 2.5D.

This is the sort of thing that I wish would get immediate endorsement. The 3D bits seem to be little more than a novelty, but the co-op feature is fantastic. Capcom, hire this guy asap.

It’s also a fun week for Final Fantasy fans; Monday sees the release of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on WiiWare, or rather its first episode. Depending on the price and length, I may wait it out until the entire game is available under one price. Tuesday also sees the release of Advent Children:Complete, which will be immediately purchased and watched by me.  I should inform you that Gamestop is selling the movie as part of a bundle with the PS3. Food for thought.

And finally, I watched Pixar’s Up the other day. This movie holds the distinction out of two others that have managed to make me physically cry. It was pretty weird, I was watching the opening with a normal attitude, and before I knew it, the waterworks hit me. I’m not ashamed to admit that either, because it’s a fantastic movie, and is another addition to Pixar’s near-flawless track record. It was almost worth missing out in attending E3.

Hope I finally get my shot next year, though.