Owner: Up+Start URL:http://upandstart.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:03:32 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Random video game and movie news, reviews and rants, with a touch of humor thrown in for good measure. Independent, mostly unbiased and honest. Updated daily! Site statistics:Click here
Here comes the Payne 2007-11-10 00:24:00 Rockstar’s hit game from 2001, Max Payne
, will be getting a movie adaptation next year, and Mark Wahlberg is rumored to play the main role. Sounds good to me, as Wahlberg played a convincing police sergeant on The Departed, as well as a former U.S. Marine in Shooter. I can only hope that at some point in the film Whalberg can pull off Max Payne’s trademark I’m-about-to-shit-my-pants-at-any-second grimace. Read more:comes
PlayStation 3 turns 2.0 2007-11-09 18:13:00 The PlayStation
3’s system software was updated yesterday to version 2.0. That’s great, I love updates, but they keep getting bigger and bigger, as in 118MBs. It took me almost an hour to download the damn thing. Anyway, let’s take a look at what this update does:- You can finally customize the XMB’s (dashboard) icons and background. I’m still wondering why it took so long for this to happen.- PlayStation-related news and information can be displayed at the XMB.- You can create playlists for photos and music.- The PSP can now turn the console on. Will anyone ever use this feature? And, can the PSP turn it off?- Video downloads, like trailers, can be watched as they download.- The vibration feature for the upcoming vibrating PS3 Dual Shocks has been added. A bunch of non-vibrating games will eventually get updates to benefit from this feature.- And other minor things not worth mentioning. Read more:turns
Remember, remember, the great games of November 2007-11-09 13:21:00 It’s that time of the year when some of the best games are released for all game systems. That’s a good thing, as developers really need to work hard to make their games as cool as possible, bringing joy to many gamers worldwide. The problem with this is that sometimes there are too many good games released almost at the same time, and most gamers can't afford all this gaming goodness.Take a look at the image above. The combined amount of money to get all of those games is over $300, and you would need at least a Wii, Xbox 360 and a super-powered PC. If you only had $60 to spend, which one would you choose? Most of them have already received high scores from reviewers, so quality is not an issue here.Mass Effect: One of the best Star Wars games, if not the best, was Knights of the Old Republic for the original Xbox, and that same team is developing Mass Effect. Enough said. If you’re looking for a long and varied quest, this should be the one to buy.Super Mario Galaxy: It’s Ma Read more:November
Street Fighter III Third Strike combos 2007-11-08 22:16:00 Watching these combos reminds me how much I suck at Street
Fighter III. I'd like to see this guy perform those moves on a real opponent, but the combos are sweet nonetheless. Read more:Street Fighter
Guitar Hero rocks South Park 2007-11-08 17:56:00 In last night’s episode of South
Park, called “Guitar
Queer-o”, Stan and Kyle both put money to buy Guitar Hero
. They play co-op and totally kick ass, scoring over 100,000 points. Word of this gets out and soon a music agent contacts the boys and offers them fame and fortune if they can beat 1,000,000 points in a live performance at the local arcade. It turns out Stan is the better player, and the agent convinces Stan to ditch Kyle in favor of another kid, Thad, who is so good at Guitar Hero he can play the songs without even hearing the music or watching the screen.The episode was not as funny as I had hoped, but it was good nonetheless. It focused on Stan’s rise and fall in the “music” industry. Stan loses his cool and becomes addicted to another game, “Heroin Hero”, where you chase a magic dragon around, but are never able to catch it. Stan’s dad tries to be cool in front the kids by playing the game’s music on a real guitar, but is considered gay by everyone. Th
Movie review: Blood Diamond 2007-11-07 22:29:00 Synopsis:Set during Sierra Leone's bloody civil war in 1999, this thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer, a smuggler who sells "blood" diamonds used to finance terrorists. When Archer meets a local fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) whose son has been forced into a child army, the two men's lives become intertwined, and they set off on an adventure that leads them through the world's major diamond centers.My two cents:I made the mistake of watching this film without really knowing what it was about. A huge mistake. Being a fan of Djimon Hounsou’s work (Amistad, Gladiator, Deep Rising… wait, what?) and having recently enjoyed DiCaprio’s role in The Departed, I thought there was nothing to worry about. Well, there was. The movie starts out great, with a horrible massacre and several kidnapping of children. Djimon Hounsou is super pissed. Awesome! But then comes DiCaprio’s character and… I don’t even remember much after that. They do some talking, some walking around, the Read more:review
, Blood
, Blood Diamond
Achievement unlocked! 2007-11-07 16:57:00 I love Xbox 360 achievements. There are few things more satisfying that beating a tough boss or getting a super high score and watching that little "Achievementunlocked
" pop-up message. If you haven't experienced it yet you need to stop reading this and go get yourself a 360.As cool as these achievements are, I find that there are other feats worthy of achievements, be it in video games, movies, or in real life. From time to time I will post pictures of achievement-worthy events, such as this one above.
The Heat is on once again 2007-11-07 16:51:00 Finally, after 12 years since Heat, we will see Robert De Niro and Al Pacino act together again in Righteous Kill, a movie about two veteran New York City detectives who hunt down a vigilante who may be one of their own. Also co-starring in this movie are John “Luigi Mario” Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg and 50 Cent. I'm really looking forward to the sexual tension.
Blackheart turns to Ash? 2007-11-07 10:36:00 We know Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is considering remaking one of his earlier films, Evil Dead, but if that happens, who would play Ash? We know no one can replace Bruce Campbell, but if you had to choose another actor, who would you pick? It seems actor Wes Bentley, the guy who played Blackheart in Ghost Rider, could be the next Ash. It’s only a rumor, but he has been asked in interviews about it and he said he would love to play Ash. He has even been studying Campbell’s unique body movements, just in case he needs to fight his own hand in the film.I can’t imagine Evil Dead or Army of Darkness without The Bruce, but maybe we should give this guy a break. You can see more of him in the upcoming holiday thriller P2.When asked about the possibility of Bentley playing the lead role in the new Evil Dead, Bruce Campbell said: “I've got news for you pal, you ain't leading but two things: Jack and shit... and Jack just left town.” Read more:turns
Gray Fox joins the Brawl, sort of 2007-11-07 09:23:00 There's a new Fox in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, and it ain't McCloud. Frank Jaeger, better known as Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid, will appear as an Assist Trophy. He'll randomly appear to help you in battle as a guest character. Just look at that screen shot, he looks awesome. Too bad he won't be playable, like Snake, but I'm not really complaining. This game looks like it will own big time when it's released in February 2008.
Stallone's Death Wish 2007-11-06 23:34:00 Veteran action star Sylvester Stallone
sure is keeping himself busy these days. He both starred and directed 2006’s Rocky Balboa, as well as 2008’s Rambo. Now he’s getting ready to remake Charles Bronson’s 1974 hit, Death Wish, and yes, he will direct it as well as play the main role of Paul Kersey. For those too young to remember Death Wish, it’s about an ordinary man whose life gets turned upside down when his wife is brutally murdered and his daughter raped, turning him into a merciless vigilante. I believe it was rated R. The remake should go into production next March.
Ivy's boob evolution 2007-11-06 22:48:00 One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about the Soul Calibur series is the character designs. Every fighter has plenty of details, with flashy clothing and armor. But another thing that I enjoy from this terrific series is watching Ivy’s boobs get bigger and bigger, from one game to the next. I mean, they have always been big, but now they are beyond ginormous. Seriously, just look at those things. And, for some reason, her clothes keep getting smaller. Let me try to describe how her puppies have evolved:Soul Calibur: OrangesSoul Calibur II: MelonsSoul Calibur III: TorpedosSoul Calibur IV: Small moonsFor Soul Calibur V she should just show up naked with a utility wheel cart under each tit. Thanks for the mamaries, Namco!
God of War III is officially coming to the PlayStation 3 2007-11-06 21:55:00 Finally, a PS3 exclusive title besides Metal Gear Solid 4 that I might actually purchase. But wait, the series creative director, David Jaffe, left SCEA to start his own company, and now Cory Barlog, the series director, has also left SCEA. Uh oh, what impact will that have on God of War III's production? Only time will tell. May the Gods be with us. Read more:PlayStation
Super Mario Galaxy flies high 2007-11-06 15:36:00 A few reviews of SuperMarioGalaxy
have been published on website’s like GamePro and 1UP, and it looks like the world’s favorite plumber still has it going on.1UP says: “Galaxy is one of the most impressive, engrossing games in recent memory and quite the contrast to the rest of this year's triple-A gaming crop, which tends toward the dark, the M-rated, and the first-person perspective.” They gave it a 9.5 out of 10.GamePro says: “Definitely lives up to the high standard of previous Mario games. Best title in the franchise since Mario 64.” They gave it a 5 out of 5.What I’ve seen of the game so far looks awesome. I’m really looking forward to it.Super Mario
Galaxy currently holds a 97% average ratio on GameRankings.com based on 6 media outlets.
Say hello to the "Predalien" 2007-11-06 14:43:00 Here it is, the Predalien from the new Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem movie, or AVP2 as some people are calling it. If you've been watching the Aliens movies, you might have noticed that the Aliens take a bit of its host's traits once the chestbursters pop out of the victim's chest. The Alien from the first movie looked a bit like a human, walking on it's hind legs. The Alien from Alien 3 came out of a dog (or an ox in Alien Quadrilogy's Alien 3 version), making the Alien walk on all fours.So what happens when an Alien is mixed with a Predator? Apparently you get an Alien Bob Marley. Seriously, why does the Predalien need dreadlocks? Aren't the four mandibles enough? Anyway, I'm sure this creature will look cooler in the actual movie, with less lighting and adding special effects.
Dragon Ball Z Movie Castings 2007-11-14 21:27:00 Oh boy, just when I had completely forgotten about it, news on the Dragon
Ball Z movie begin to surface. Don’t get me wrong, I dig Dragon Ball
Z, but a live-action movie has the potential to be horrendous and life-altering. I want it to be amazing and succeed, but there’s almost no way this movie will do the anime series any justice.Remember that kid from War of the Worlds who played Tom Cruise’s son and also starred in The Invisible? According to the Hollywood Reporter he has been cast as Goku. What? Not Gohan, but Goku. Justin Chatwin is 25 years old but doesn’t have what it takes to be a leading man, in my opinion, at least not if the leading man is a super powerful alien martial arts expert with an impossible hairdo.It was also announced that James Marsters will play Goku’s former rival, Piccolo. Yes, that is indeed Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series and Professor Milton Fine from Smallville. If the make-up looks good I guess he could be a passable Namek. Time
Achievement Unlocked 2007-11-14 13:37:00 What normally happens when you and your sister kiss on the mouth? You get your arm cut off, of course. This was a hidden morality-conscious message in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, but few people could get over the fact that they took their kids to watch a PG-rated movie and got them to witness an incestuous act between two of the main characters to appreciate it. Nice going, Mr. Lucas. Read more:Achievement
Interplay to Play Again 2007-11-14 16:52:00 It seems Interplay is not completely dead after all. Today GameSpot posted an article saying Interplay wants to come back to gaming by making sequels to some of their best-known series, like Earthworm Jim, MDK, Dark Alliance and Descent. That’s great, if they somehow can find the money needed to develop those titles. I really hope they can get their act together because it’s been a while since I last saw my old wormy friend Jim.If Interplay does make a triumphant come back, what other of their old games would you like to see? Here’s a montage of my favorite Interplay games. Read more:Again
Movie Review: Death Proof 2007-11-14 10:41:00 Starring:Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Sydney Poitier, Zoe Bell, Vanessa Ferlito, Tracie Thoms, Rose McGowan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jordan LaddDirector:Quentin TarantinoSynopsis:Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is a serial murderer who uses his revved-up car as a killing machine. After transforming his Dodge Charger into an indestructible weapon, he climbs behind the wheel to terrorize a group of women on the road.My Two Cents (Spoiler Alert!)When I heard this movie was coming I knew I was going to watch it, having enjoyed both Kill Bill movies so much, so I avoided watching too many trailers. This payed off big time because I was completely shocked by the plot twist near the end. But if you’ve watched the extended Death Proof
trailer, like the one in the Planet Terror DVD, then you pretty much know everything that’s going to happen. No surprises at all. Stupid spoilerrific trailer.But let’s forget about the ending for now. The movie starts out slow, with a bunch of women talking Read more:Movie Review
Cool Collectibles: Star Wars Mighty Muggs 2007-11-13 22:24:00 Every Star Wars
toy or figure is a collectible, but these little guys are just adorable. There's a Stormtrooper, Darth Maul with his double-bladed lightsaber, Darth Vader with his lightsaber, Boba Fett, Han Solo with his blaster, and Chewbacca with his crossbow. Take a good look at Chewie and tell me you don't want him. They stand 6 inches tall and are some of the cutest vinyl figures I've seen Hasbro make so far. Gotta catch 'em all! Read more:Collectibles
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Stupid Game Characters: Waluigi 2007-11-13 16:21:00 For 1992's Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Nintendo wanted to create a new villain for Mario to fight, and they came up with Wario. Greedy, ugly, fat and evil. He’s the complete opposite of Mario, except for the fat part. Gamers loved him and Nintendo started putting Wario in more games and even giving him a few of his own. Nintendo then teamed with Camelot to make a Mario-themed tennis game called, what else, Mario Tennis. Wario was in it, and Camelot thought it would be cool to have a new character to be Luigi’s nemesis, as Wario is to Mario. Enter Waluigi, one of the crappiest game characters ever made.My problem with Waluigi is not in his actual design, as it fits perfectly with Luigi and Wario, no, the problem is his name. In Japanese “warui” means “evil”, so Waruiji literally means “evil Luigi”, which I guess it’s fine, but it doesn’t mean shit in English. An inverted “M” gives you a “W”, but there’s no letter for an inverted “L Read more:Stupid
, Characters
Wii Virtual Console Review: Alien Soldier 2007-11-12 21:53:00 Developer: TreasureConsole
: Mega Drive (Sega Genesis)Original release date: February 1995Only released in Japan and Europe, Alien
Soldier is a fast-paced run and gun game similar to Gunstar Heroes and Contra Hardcorps. What makes it different is that the game is made up almost entirely of boss fights. More boss fights than you can count.The plot is pure Engrish nonsense, and once you start playing you won’t hear about it again. I’ll try to explain: The once leader of the terrible Scarlet group is reborn as a birdman who now fights for humanity and… nah, forget it.The graphics are pretty good for the time, with big sprites and colorful backgrounds. The main character animates well and looks sort of cool, for a cyber birdman, but the regular enemies you encounter on each level are ugly as hemorrhoids. Some look like rotten vaginas, which is never a good thing.I must warn you - Alien Soldier is hard. Tough games can be fun for hardcore gamers, but no one else will keep coming back f Read more:Wii
Atari Jaguar Commercials 2007-11-11 23:50:00 Damn, it has been a while since I've seen these commercials for the short-lived AtariJaguar
. They knew they had wasted time developing a piece of crap console with the worst controller ever and made some of the shittiest games, so they went ahead and spent the few dollars they had left on lame TV commercials. Actually, the Alien vs Predator ad wasn't that bad, but it’s for the Jaguar so, who cares? No wonder 9 out of 10 gamers don't even know what the Jaguar is. It's true, I did the math... Read more:Commercials
The Dark Side of Cosplay 2007-11-11 11:23:00 Cosplay is a cool way of showing others how much you like certain characters from various video games, movies, comics, etc. Some cosplayers are highly skilled at making their own costumes, resulting in fantastic-looking threads almost identical to the characters they're portraying. But sometimes no matter how good the costumes look, the person wearing it doesn’t look anything like the character, and that’s when cosplay turns scary. I mean, I love Street Fighter III’s Hugo, but I’m not 7’ 2”, nor weigh 445 lbs, so I won’t make a fool out of myself by dressing up like him. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to stop people from doing it. For every good-looking cosplay act, there are 50 horrible mutations. Here’s an example of cosplay gone wrong.What the hell is this? If that’s supposed to be Daisy from Mario Party series, I don’t ever want to see a Wario cosplay.... Read more:Cosplay
Game Preview: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 2007-11-10 11:25:00 First of, let me apologize to the PlayStation fanboys who got agitated because I left out this game from my November must-have games post. Frankly, I completely forgot about it. Now that the demo is available on the PlayStation Network Store, I will devote a whole preview post for it. Everyone can be happy now.Nothing I had previously seen about Uncharted: Drake
’s Fortune
had impressed me, and I mean nothing. It looks like Tomb Raider with a random dude in jeans who doesn’t know how to aim a gun. Well, that’s still my impression of the game, but having played it changes everything.The graphics are very nice to look at, with fluid animations and lush rainforest environments. The water effects are fantastic, and Nathan Drake’s clothes get wet in a very realistic way. I don’t remember ever seeing something like that. Even the guy’s hair is amazing to look at. Another nice feature is the facial expressions in the cut-scenes. As good as the graphics are, I have to mention that M Read more:Preview
Movie Review: The Reaping 2007-11-10 10:00:00 Synopsis:In the wake of a devastating tragedy that killed every member of her family, Christian missionary Katherine Morrissey (Hilary Swank) loses her faith in God, devoting the rest of her life to debunking religious phenomena with the principles of science. But when she's called to a small Southern town to investigate a series of strange occurrences that appear to be biblical plagues, she runs out of logical explanations.My two cents:There are some serious problems with this movie. There, you don’t even need to keep reading. Still here, fine, I’ll type some more stuff. I only have two questions: why did Hilary Swank accept this role after winning not one, but two Oscars for best leading actress, and why is the movie called The Reaping
instead of The Heaping, as in a heaping pile of horse manure.OK, so Hilary Swank’s character, Katherine, travels to the small town where a river has suddenly turned blood red, and the townsfolk are blaming a 12-year-olg girl. It seems this kid k Read more:Movie Review
New Halo 3 Multiplayer Maps 2007-11-19 23:11:00 Halo 3 will be getting three new multiplayer maps in less than three months after the game’s release. The Heroic Map Pack is coming on December 11 and will include a big-ass indoors map called Rat’s Nest for large team battle mayhem, a medium-sized outdoors map called Standoff, and an industrial warehouse map called Foundry that should be mostly suited for Forge madness.Sounds great, right? Wrong! The Map Pack will cost a ridiculous 800 MS points ($10). Think about it. You can buy Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points. That’s just stupid. If you can wait a few months you’ll be able to get the Map Pack for free, but by then there will be another Map Pack with brand new maps and then you’ll want that one too, for another $10 or maybe even more. I love downloadable content, but hate Microsoft’s greed. Read more:Multiplayer
Oddworld is Coming to Theaters and TV 2007-11-19 16:41:00 Oddworld Inhabitants' action/puzzler is coming to both theaters and television. GameIndustry.biz talked with Lorne Lanning from Oddworld Inhabitants and he told them there are currently four Oddworld projects in the works; a CG movie, a TV series and two unknown projects. Lanning also mentioned all four projects will use game technology, whatever that means.I liked Abe's Oddysee (1997, PS1), but only played demos of Munch's Oddysee (2001, Xbox) and Stranger's Wrath (2005, Xbox). Overall I really like the Oddworld universe, maybe because there are plenty of alien farts and burps. I look forward to more game titles as well as the movie and TV series. Read more:Theaters
Cloverfield Second Trailer Now Online 2007-11-19 16:12:00 Here's the second Cloverfield trailer that is currently showing in theaters before Beowul. It's a teaser more than a real trailer, as it doesn't give you much information. Apparently a big-ass monster is wrecking havoc in New York, doing as it pleases and no one can stop him. Wouldn't it be cool if the monster turned out to be Ralph, George or Lizzy from the game Rampage? Read more:Second
, Trailer
Movie Review: Ratatouille 2007-11-19 13:45:00 Voice Cast:Patton Oswalt, Lou Romano, Brad Garrett, Ian Holm, Janeane Garofalo, Brian Dennehy, James Remar, Peter O’Toole, John RatzenbergerDirectors:Brad Bird and Jan PinkavaSynopsis:A passionate rat named Remy yearns for a sip of the good life. Growing up beneath a five-star Parisian restaurant owned by a famous chef, Remy inherits a taste for fine food. But his culinary ambitions only anger his practical father, who wishes his son could just eat garbage like every other rat in the colony.My Two Cents:I have a weak spot for CG movies, especially if they’re made by Pixar Animation Studios. I was totally blown away by Toy Story back in 1995 and since then I’ve been a big fan of their work. Their movies not only feature state of the art computer generated images, but offer movie fans unique stories, humor and charm every single time. Ratatouille is no exception.Rats are associated with filth and thievery, so it’s not easy for Remy (voiced by comedian Patton Oswalt) to hide his l Read more:Movie Review
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