Pacific Rim review (or Godzilla on steroids)

I just watched this movie last night and thought I should review it.

So Pacific Rim, I'm a little torn about this movie. On the one hand this movie is pretty awesome, I mean giant Mechs fighting giant monsters, that's pretty cool. On the other hand once your done watching it you say: "Hey, that movie was the best." But then after thinking about it for hours you say, "It was fun to watch but its not the best I've ever seen, it's just a summer blockbuster." That pretty much sums up this whole movie.

Now I could just give you a score and end here, but that would be boring. So I guess I'm going to continue this review. *sigh.* Okay.

The story is somewhat simple, but it works. Beneath the Pacific ocean there is a portal to another dimension that giant monsters live in. Around the year 2013 a giant monster comes out and blows up some major cities. After a few years and four or five giant monster attacks later, the governments of the world decide to do something about it. They decide to play Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots with the monsters.

I want to just stop briefly here tell what I think of this story line... Sadly this is hardly an original story, you can see this story replayed over and over in a five or six year old's room. But it still fun to watch so I guess it's okay.

Anyway...

After several years have passed, and several pilots of these Mechs have died the world decides to STOP MAKING THE ROBOTS!

What the heck!? What's wrong with these people!? When giant monsters attack you don't dismantle your first line of defense!

Anyway, they then decide to build these walls around the beaches to keep the monsters out, which I must add doesn't work. So they then send their last Mechs on a suicide mission to blow up the portal.

Now that that's over with lets talk about acting or something, please?

The acting is only okay, this is not a movie made to go to the Oscars. The only really stand out performances are probably both the scientists and Ron Perlman.

I really like the way the Mechs and Monsters look, I think their two of the things with the most detail in this movie. I think they look so good that I'm going to show a few of pictures now.

I like this movie a lot, but it's not the best. I was very fun to watch, and I will want to see it again. So I'm going to give it seven out of ten stars, it is "Fun to watch once or twice."

Summer Wars review

Well, I think it's time to start reviewing movies. So I'm going to start with an award winner: Summer wars.

Summer wars is Japanese anime film released in 2009. The film focuses on the family reunion of the Jinnouchi family, and of the online world of OZ.

Kenji is a super math-wiz who works for in the tech support branch of OZ. OZ is basically the internet, only you have to have an account. Almost everything is connected to OZ, Almost all of the companies in the world have OZ branches, and all of your real life data is stored in your OZ account. If it were to ever to get stolen, the thief would have all of the authority that your job gives.

One day, Kenji gets a part time job working for the girl of his dreams Natsuki. All Kenji has to do is come to Natsuki's family reunion celebrating her grandma Sakae's 90th birthday. Kenji quickly discovers that he was brought there in order to be Natsuki's fake fiance.

After a crazy night in the Jinnouchi house, Kenji awakes to a mysterious email on his phone. The message contains a super complex math equation and two words: solve me. Being the math nerd that he is, Kenji spends the rest of the night solving the problem. The next morning Kenji discovers that the problem he solved was the OZ main security lockouts. Kenji now a wanted criminal, discovers that a computer virus has taken over his account, and is using it wreak havoc in OZ.

 Soon after, the virus begins taking over millions of other accounts around the world and using them to control systems in the real world. Now Kenji, the Jinnouchi clan, and the rest of the world must band together in order to stop the apocalypse.

I just going to say right now that I love this movie. It perfectly blends the craziness of family reunions, and the science fiction world of virtual reality.

The characters in this movie really seem like real people, some of whom I know. There are the crazy uncles who have the wackiest stories, The children who run around and cause tons of trouble, and the great grandma who keeps everyone together. Also there is so many of them, so to an outsider it can be hard to keep track of them. It feels like a real family, with real problems. I think that is one of the reasons this movie can be so appealing.

I feel as though this movie is a bit of a cautionary tale, because OZ mirror the real world internet could be headed someday. It's really creepy if you think about it.

The music and voice actors were excellent, and the animation is beautiful.

One of the things I like most about this film is the sense of unity, and that every one of the characters helps out in some way in the end. Some of the most important ones are, Kazuma a thirteen year old boy who's avatar is King Kazma, a fighter and champion of most of the games in OZ. Kazuma helps out by fighting the virus in the virtual world.

Wabisuke who was the creator of the virus, helps by trying to dismantle it.

There is so many more I could mention but then we would be here all day.

Summer wars has won several awards including the "Japan Academy Prize" for best animated feature. I don't think I have to say anything else, but I will. Go out and see this movie, it is amazing. I am giving Summer wars nine out of ten stars! It is a "Must Watch!" movie if you like these kinds of movies.

Awesomenauts review

Today because a friend of mine requested it I'm going to review Awesomenauts.

Awesomenauts is a three vs. three M.O.B.A, or a multiplayer online battle arena. Basically it's like a tower defense game, except the towers are already built and your trying to destroy the other teams base.

In each match of Awesomenauts two teams of three players, lead computer controlled "minions" in an attack against the opposing teams towers in order to achieve their ultimate goal of destroying the opposing team's base. Each player controls a different character with their own unique special abilities.

When a character or a minion gets killed, they will drop these little grey and gold cubes called "solar" the games currency. After collecting enough solar, you can return to your base to buy upgrades to your abilities. This is actually replaces leveling and buying items, however there is still customization. Before each game begins you can pick up to three augmentations for each ability, that affect what bonuses you can get for upgrading.

After each match your experience will rise, and if you level up you will unlock either a new character or augmentation.

Unfortunately with this system of getting characters, I didn't feel like I had a choice of what characters I wanted to have. In other games like this, you can buy any character you want with the in game money, and bypass the ones you don't. I just feel like I don't have any control of what I'm getting, and when I did get the character I wanted I didn't want to play as the other ones.

I like the graphics, as you can see they look like a really good Saturday morning cartoon.

The music is good, I think you just don't notice it all the time with all the explosions, and other sound effects that you hear.

All in all I like Awesomenauts, and my only complaints with it aren't even part of the real game. I going to be giving Awesomenauts eight out of ten stars it is an "Awesome" game. Get it because it's awesome? Never mind.

Have fun.

Slender: the eight pages review

You know, if you ever wanted to freak me out, you could do one of the following:

Show me this picture,

Or this one,

Or you could be truly evil and make me play this game.

Now I going to tell you right now, this thing horrifies me.

Now this probably says some weird things about me, like the fact that I can get scared of a really tall guy. I mean what's scary about this guy anyway? Maybe the fact that he follows you everywhere! I also don't know why it's really easy to get invested in a ten minute game, but I did.

If you don't know already, Slender the eight pages is a game based on an internet rumor, based on a fake monster, that was based on a online horror picture contest.

If you ask me it's all fake, and way up there with Bigfoot footage, and alien sightings. But, I'm getting a little off topic.

In Slender, you play as who I assume is a little kid, who is running around in a gated forest in at night for some reason, trying to collect eight pieces of paper. This kid must be really dumb to be running around at night in a forest, it's like he's begging for trouble. Each page is hidden in various landmarks scattered around the map.

As you begin to collect the pieces of paper the fore-mention Slender man will be start playing a stupid game of cat and mouse, by appearing in front of you and standing there. When this happens your screen you begin to fizz up like a static TV.

So scary!

If you look at Slender for too long he appears directly in front of you and the screen fades to black.

So that's pretty much it. You do have a flash light that goes out after a while, and a sprint that runs out. The sound is just plain creepy and sends chills down my spine just thinking about it. But it's also just a bunch of jump scares, jump scares are fine but only in short bursts. After that they just seem stupid. I can't really tell you that shouldn't play this game because it's free, and it only takes ten minutes. I don't really know what to rate this game so it's going to be undefined for the time being.

Have... Oh my gosh that's creepy!

Monaco what's yours is mine. Review

Hey everybody!

Today I'm going to being reviewing a video game for Xbox 360, PC, and Mac: "Monaco what's yours is mine"

"Monaco what's yours is mine" is a bird's-eye-view heist game that's very complex, yet fun at the same time.

You and up to three other players, take on the role of a member of a group of criminals trying to pull of more and more dangerous heists before your ultimate goal of escaping the country. The story is good, but it's not the reason to play the game; it's more like icing on the cake than anything else.

In each level of Monaco you play, your goal is to collect all the money in the level and get out. Now, the way you do that is entirely up to you. You could choose to play as the Locksmith who can break through locks the quickest, or you might want to try out the Pickpocket with a pet monkey that can steal money from a distance. Anyone you choose can be very useful against the onslaught of traps, civilians, and guards that stand in your way.

At it's core, Monaco is a rather tricky stealth game. It starts out fairly easy by throwing just a small amount of guards at you, but this quickly escalates into so many guards that the screen becomes chaotic. Luckily you can pick up different items to use against the baddies such as, shot guns which make a lot of noise, smoke bombs to make an easy escape, or bandages to heal yourself. Each item gets one use for every ten gold you pick up, so you and your team might start competing without noticing.

The map looks like a blue print that you've stolen. As you walk around, your line of sight will light up the world around you. It can be unnerving to walk around the corner and then see a guard standing there.

The game is rather easy to play. To perform any action, such as unlocking a door or hacking a computer, all you need to do is walk into it. Each thing you do will take a certain amount of time to perform, so you need to be sure that no guards or lasers can find you. If someone does happen to find you, you will have to try your best to hide again before you get knocked out by the guards.

The game is fun by yourself, but with three other players, it becomes a whole other game. Not only does it not take as long, but if one of you gets spotted you are all in trouble. The game only lets you progress if you all make it out alive, so you can't leave your fallen team members behind. You will have to revive them, which may leave you vulnerable to attack from guards. If all of you get knocked out you will be taken to jail, and have to start the level over.

The graphics are interesting, they seem almost like an abstract painting. Most of the game looks like it was put together using mostly basic shapes. It can be a little confusing in the beginning, but you will get used to it.

I like the soundtrack. It's like an old black and white film score that picks up when you have been spotted. After a while it can get a little repetitive, but not enough to make you want to stop playing.

All in all Monaco is a really good game. It's one of the best co-op games I've ever played. But I find it's not as fun playing by yourself as it is with friends. So I'm going to be giving Monaco two scores. By yourself Monaco gets seven stars out of ten; it is a "Good" game. With friends Monaco gets boosted up to nine stars; it is a "Must Play" game.

Have Fun!

Advance Wars Review

Hey guys, what's up?

It's time to review our first game. Today's video game is a little game for the Gameboy Advance called: Advance Wars.

Oh man I love this game. It's just so much fun to play. But, I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Advance wars is a turn-based strategy game for the Gameboy Advance. The goal of the game is to train land, air, and sea units in order to destroy all of the enemy's units or capture their base. Its sounds rather simple, right? Well it is, but there is a small learning curve that separates the newbs from the pros. You will probably want to start with the tutorial before getting to the battle mode or the campaign.

Before you play a round of the game, you will have the option to chose between the game's various "Commanding officers" or COs for short. Each CO grants certain units extra strength based on the COs skills. They also grant you a special ability you can use after a few of your units have been destroyed.

In each battle of the game, the map will be divided into several squares like unto a board game. On each space there is a different type of terrain, ranging from plains to seas. Where a unit is placed will effect how hard it is to hit, and how much damage it takes (an infantry unit is harder to hit on a mountain than it is in a forest.) There are also several types of buildings, like cities that give you money each round, or bases that let you train units.

 The games graphics are very cartoony and give a strong anime vibe, it's very fun to look at. I really wish there was an anime of this game because I would love to watch it.

Now, on to the story, because there is one. You play as a tactical adviser to the Orange star army. You have to help Orange star COs, Andy, Max, and Sami, take back the Orange star territory that has been captured by Blue Moon. Eagle, a CO from Green Earth, thinks that Andy attacked Green Earth although he has no memory of it.

The story can be a little light-hearted at times, which ironically can become scary.

The music in this game is top-notch. Here are some of the best tracks for you to get the idea.

Now I know what your thinking. "Vollmain, why should I buy this game - there are so many others like it?" Well, I haven't told you one of the main selling points of this game. Being on the Gameboy, you can take it anywhere you want, not to mention it's really fun.

This game came out in 2001, and on Amazon it retails for 180 bucks. With all this in mind I'm going to give it nine out of ten stars. It is a "Must Play!" game, if you can get your hands on it.

 

Have Fun!