barely fatal

Yeah I know, I’ve been quiet. A lot has been going on. And right now I have the worst migraene. I think it’s the weather change. Anyways.

Played, finished and sold Crysis 2. Yeah it’s nice but also forgettable, especially the crude story. And I really couldn’t stand the self-importance the series carries. Crytek guys, it’s a game. One amongst many. Yes it’s good. But it’s not the greatest thing since the invention of chocolate chip ice cream, and that’s the vibe I get from your game. A little more humor, originality and interaction, less pathos and cinemetic ambition would freshen up the whole thing. FarCry still is your best game.

Portal 2 is brilliant. Loved the story, loved the world, loved the characters and voice acting. It could have used a couple more complex puzzles. It was definitely easier than Portal 1 and while some of the handholding is welcome (it never gets frustating), a little more exploring, i.e. trial-and-fail would have been nice. Can’t wait for the (free) DLC coming up in summer.

So far Portal 2 is top of my list for best game, but more’s to come,and it’s gonna be a great year for PC gaming. Witcher 2 and Brink are next, and the Duke is lurking on the horizon. But after so many years, I’m not in a hurry.

I went to see Thor. Still don’t like 3D, it mostly blurs up everything instead of adding to the greater experience. The movie was fun, surprisingly solid given it’s eclectic settings. The humor carried the weaker parts.

Had a Star Wars night. Can you imagine, a friend of mine has never seen any of the “classic” movies I grew up with, including Wars, Trek, Indiana Jones, Back To The Future et al. So we started by force feeding her A New Hope first, of course. She seemed to like it. Then as if to take revenge, she forced us to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. Which wasn’t easy, due to my sat line currently being down, I had to hook up my laptop to the TV and watch the livestream. But as always, it was a disappointment. Moldava should have won. I mean, holy Spock, for the hats alone.

What else? I’ve started getting to know the region by visting a different place every week. With the black forest nearby, there’s ample opportunity to get out in this very summer-like weather..

How can you tell you have a great game on your hands?

If every screenshot looks like a postcard? If every line sounds like it came directly out of an action comedy? If you can tether a statue’s head to a helicopter and topple it? If you use your grapple as a way of moving? If there is a flying nightclub shaped like a boat hanging on two giant zeppelines? If the huge world actually feels “real”, because towns, mountains and forests are realistically proportioned? If there are reefs, waterplants and rock formations underwater that you can actually see from a boat or a plane? If there is a cable car in a snowy mountain base that totally works but serves no other purpose than to impress you? If you can reach every single point in the world that you can see? If one of the bad guys totally out of the blue sends you his NINJAS?

Yeah, Just Cause 2 is pretty awesome.

Why all the horror movies lately? – I’ve been asked, and the answer is simple: trailers. I rent one horror blu-ray and it has trailers of other horror movies. I check on IMDB what might be worth watching and there you go, a horror streak.

This week’s horror movie was Orphan, and as far as “scary kids” movies go, this nails it. It starts almost M Night Shyamalan-y but it does not have any ghosts, aliens or paranormal activities – so it’s actually good. It’s genuinly creepy, has believeable characters and an unexpected revelation and besides some minor flaws it does everything right. My recommendation.

Let me guess, when you heard about Piranha 3D for the first time you sighed and shook your head. Just another cheap babes-and-gore movie for giggling teenage boys, right? Hell yes, it *is* just that. And it’s really good. It’s plain fun, perfectly executed. It’s utterly campy, mindless, storyless, and incredibly funny. A voice in the back of my head tells me I should feel ashamed for promoting it at all, yes, even for not finding it totally redundant and repulsive. But hey, reptile brain and such.

Traitor isn’t bad but for some reason I found it somewhat boring. Maybe I’ve finally seen one too may terrorist movies, nice twist or not.

Scott Pilgrim is special, but Kick-Ass ultimately was last year’s better movie. Michael Cera delivers his role perfectly, he just feels a little “off” to me. Maybe it’s better if you’ve read the comics. The music is great.

The idea behind The Joneses is compelling and makes you think “Could this be real?”, but David Duchovny should be given more aggressive roles so he can fully shine. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is good. The conclusion could be stronger and the pacing better, but it’s not a wasted evening at all.