RROD'd

Yep, you're not an Xbox user if you haven't seen the Red Ring Of Death. I guess I'm part of the club now. So while you're all enjoying your new games (I have Left 4 Dead 2, Prototype and Rise Of The Argonauts waiting for me), spare a thought for me, all alone, looking at the empty space on the shelf where my beloved Xbox used to be. *Cry*

Call Of Call Of Duty - The Final Review

Well I guess I spent more time actually playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 than writing about it. I'll say one thing, it is very addictive. Now that I've had some time to collect my thoughts and of course some time to write them down, here is my final review of what will inevitably be game of the year. I'll break it down into three separate areas: Campaign, Spec Ops and Multiplayer.

The campaign, although not deviating too far from the tried and tested format of the previous Modern Warfare game, is still highly enjoyable, while being challenging at the same time. There is a lot more user interaction this time round, in both campaign and multiplayer, with ice climbing, snowmobiles, riot shields, breaches, guided missiles and the like, thermal scopes, bomb plants and much more. It's good to know that even with a lot more to do, you can still feel like you're in a real firefight. And there's a lot of action, so you'll get that feeling often. Picking up where the previous game left off, this time round sees you taking out the pieces which have moved into the gaps left by the terrorists you took out before. Although not all questions are asked or answered, the campaign is very satisfying, with a few twists to boot. Just the right length for a multiplayer-driven game, the campaign certainly does get you involved and drawn into the world of Call Of Duty, and no matter what people say about it, I enjoyed it a lot.

Spec Ops. Now this is just my favourite. Nothing beats being downright tactical with a partner on several missions, some easy, some near impossible. There's snowmobile racing, waves of attacks, AC130s in the sky and dogs leaping at you in Brazilian favelas. You can easily waste a night going through a mission or two and it's highly addictive with a large range of different scenarios - from stealth to brute force - and each make you think and work together as a team to complete the task. My only complaint would have to be the lack of midway save points and the incredibly hard mission which you are left with at the end. But otherwise, Spec Ops in my opinion is the best thing to be included in Modern Warfare 2 by a long shot and adds a nice aside from the multiplayer action and the solo campaign.

Multiplayer. That's what everyone really wants to play. And really, it does live up to the hype. There is tonnes of customizability with name tags, emblems and classes, but by far the most exciting addition are the killstreak rewards. Now you can call in helicopters, missiles, EMPs and even nukes! Of course you have to be good to consistently get those, but it's much better than the static UAV and then helicopter. Care packages are fun, giving you a random killstreak each time, and there's a lot of other polished bells and whistles hidden in the game. I mean, you can shoot down UAVs! The multiplayer still has the usual game modes and the like, although you can't be in a party chat in some of them (which I think is better as it encourages team work and communication). However, although the multiplayer is amazing, the players aren't. When Infinity Ward decided not to release a Beta version, it inevitably spelt the doom for any shred of reasonable gameplay we may have experienced. There's so many glitches I've lost count. So many that I stopped playing. Indeed it was primarily because of the very fucked up spawn points where you can die instantly from the same person several times, and the fact some of the maps are very bad, but the glitching bastards who corrupt the game were just the cherry on top.

So although Modern Warfare 2 is a legacy to behold, it fails miserably in some respects. If it wasn't for the highly anticipated multiplayer being tarnished by unfair gaming, then the game would be near-perfect. As it stands, with patches for current glitches raining down like rain, the game is still very good, if not one of the best this year. It is undoubtedly a definite must-have for everyone (you'll see half your friends playing it at any one time), and if you don't mind a bit of unpolished grit with your FPS, then this is definitely the game for you too.

A New Kind Of Film

Long time, no type, but here I am again. I've been busy over the holidays, so I apologize for my absence, but rest assured I'm here to bring you a great review of my latest film viewing; Avatar. You have to admire a director when not only does he produce a film, but actually invents a new kind of film making to do so. Now directors can view CGI and animations in real time and change everything to their liking, ala video game style. Although Avatar does feel like a test run for the new technology, it is in no way simply that.

Avatar is set in the distant future on a planet called Pandora, inhabited by blue natives, amazing plant life and an array of dangerous and beautiful wildlife. And of course, sizable amount of precious metals buried under its' forests and jungles, which the greedy human corporations want to get their hands on. Scientists survey the area using "avatars", a native's body which is controlled through genetic links by a human. Kinda like robots only human. It's complicated, don't hate me. One of the avatar controllers falls in love with a native and things start to unravel in his mind. And when it boils down to it, Avatar is a story of good versus evil, with scientist and native pitted against the might of the human army seemingly bent on destroying anything precious on the planet for little more than money. Like usual.

I came into the movie not knowing what to expect. Sure the film may have revolutionized movie making, but that makes little difference to me if the film is bad. But somehow, some way, we are drawn into this fictitious world, with unreal characters and impossible places, and still we are driven to care for them. To feel their pain as their world is raped by greed. It may be a bit similar plot-wise to other "going native" films, but who cares when your eyes are feasting on a special effects bonanza. Avatar really brings you into the world of Pandora and stirs your emotions. But not just in the film, but towards the world around you. It gets you thinking of the destruction we reap on our own planet every day in every way. On a fake planet made up a hundred light years away, and it still has the power to make you think of just how bad it can get on ours. Because our planet isn't fake. It's real. And we only get it once.

The story is emotive, the characters are varied and likable - and most of all believable even if most are computer generated - and the pace keeps moving along to keep you intrigued the whole time. I'd definitely recommend going to see it, as it really is a big-screen movie. You really do come away still thinking about the film, about the comparisons you can draw to our own lives, and that is why it is a great movie.