No Holds Barred Episode 3

Originality in Movies/Video Games?

Just saw Conan this weekend.  Not bad, not that fantastic.  But oh God...Jason Momoa's ass...

Anyway makes you think about how many original movie ideas there actually are in the world today.  Lately we just been getting remakes, book to movie interpretations, or reboots (same damn movie, better graphics, or in 3D).  I would also give the same idea for video games, too.  A lot of the times there is a reboot of a series, some sequel of a successful older game, or a very similar theme and gameplay.  The only original game I have played recently was probably Infamous.  

But originality isn't fully lost on us.  Books are probably the only entertainment media going on right now that have plenty of original plots along with a few TV series.  But TV series are very interesting because we go through themes; the theme this time are detective, homicide crime solving mysteries.

I would personally love to see more original movies and possibly series spawning from these original movies.  But most importantly I really want to see more original games being made.  Sure I'll go get Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider, but if those are the only games I'm getting excited for, then I'll have to wait a long time to get my hands on them. 

Gimmick is the New Innovation

Greetings Programs. Okay do you want to know what really grinds my gears? It’s the word gimmick. For some reason now every time something new comes around that’s even remotely cool it’s called a gimmick. I’m hearing this word tossed around mostly when it comes to video games and that’s why it’s starting to piss me off more then anything. I’m tired of reviewers saying that they’re worried something is more a gimmick then anything else. It seems like this gimmick revolution came about when the Wii came out with the motion controls. A new controller is not a gimmick. Let’s take a look shall we?

Okay so we go from NES to SNES and low and behold we have a new controller, one of the best controllers I might add, as well as 16-bit graphics. Did anyone say “I hope having four buttons and two shoulder buttons isn’t just a gimmick.” No! They said that’s fricken awesome! No one thought that the Rumble Pack or Dual Shock was a gimmick. So what was so different about the new things back then that they are called innovation and now they are simply called a gimmick?

What it seems like to me mainly is the video game press attacking Nintendo. Yes I do hear the word gimmick thrown out to Sony and Mircosoft on occasion but it seems to really be poor Nintendo that’s getting hit the most. What did they really want the Wii and DS successor to be? New graphics alone are boring. Sorry but Sony and Microsoft are examples of this. When I first got the PS3 the graphics didn’t impress me. They since have gotten better but they were just updated PS2 graphics. Even now with better graphics if you look at the way you play games on a basic PS3 and X-Box 360 (This is minus Move and Kinect) it really hasn’t changed in the last few generations. Game play on the PS3 is identical to the original PSX. The controller hasn’t even changed. X-Box and X-Box 360 are the same other then graphics. BORING!

So to me a gimmick is something that really doesn’t add or change the experience. So for example collector editions (which I do give into by the way) are gimmicks. They are a way to get you to buy the game without really adding to the game play. I mean the Batarang is nice but had I thrown that at my TV I’m sure one or both would have broken. This means the flip side, innovation, adds to the game play or the experience in someway. 3D, whether you like it or not….Hard Copy…ahem…adds to the experience and game play. The crazy tablet controller for the Wii U will add to the experience and if done well can make for one crazy gaming experience.

Overall what I’m trying to say is we really need to stop using the word gimmick when something new happens. If this keeps up then we’ll never get anything new. New is not always bad. The Wii U controller is innovative not gimmicky. The PS Vita is a new way of playing portable games and now just some gimmick to get people to buy there system. The Kinect is…..well just pointless.

End of Line

Awesome Games in the 21st Century: No More Heroes (PS3 and XBox)

Wii had Travis Touchdown for a while, now it's our turn.  Ok to be honest you should know that Sony is my taste of the best so this is really just a quick summary of how the Playstation Move demo went.

The demo consisted of short introduction, long ass tutorial, and the first kill level. 

The controls for the Move system worked out well.  I would highly suggest using this with the two Move controllers instead of using just a regular controller for a secondary because it felt awkward.  It was like having a very easy to use control and having to navigate with something that I had to lay in my lap because it's too tiresome for just one hand.  Yeah yeah sexual joke, but just proves that it was annoying. The only buttons you really need on the regular controller regardless are just whatever is on the left side. (deep breath)  And that's really the best way I can describe this.

Other than that discomfort, there really isn't anything else to complain about.  The controls work well and aren't overly sensitive or not sensitive enough.  Not being used to motion sensing engines, I did find myself waving the controller around way too much in the beginning, but with all the crap I had to do, it pretty much worked out.  Charging up was a little weird, for some reason I had to really jerk that thing off harder than I think humanly possible.

The camera seemed to bug out here and there, but focusing on an enemy really did save the day and a lot of damage.  The final boss, though I understand was a first level, was actually a fun and trying experience.  Granted that I did play on Sweet, I think this would be somewhat challenging if I choose to play the full version, which I'm considering.

I'm sure many will argue that the original version is better, but the combat system is fun, I love the sound effects, the voice acting is fantastic, and overall I think the transition to the Move engine worked out very well.  Along with Catherine, I'm considering getting No More Heroes.  It's a good break from Infamous.

The Secret Origin of The Duke!

Ok, i know what your thinking, what it all means.

Who is The Duke?

Where did he come from?

Does it mean anything?

Well, kinda. The Duke is my alter ego, the voice in my head, a mixture of Duke Nukem, John Wayne, Duke Ellington and could have played football for Duke University. OK, that just makes no sense at all, but some parts are true. Who really is the Duke, and why do i call myself that? Well, its simple really. I didnt get it from John Wayne, or Duke Nukem, listen much to Duke Ellington or follow Duke University football. Back in 1996, my father returns from a Microsoft Convention where he came back with a lot of swag. CD cleaners, a plushie Pentium 2 doll, key chains for the different software companies, then i find this.

This was the comic that inspired my nick name. A comic i dont think anyone really knows about. What is it about this that got my attention all these years ago, what is it about??

Actually i dont know what this comic is about quite frankly. I get the fact that Duke was the mascot of the Java, a computer language developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995. I guess within the community they had to incorporate some kind of logo which can be used, and thats when Duke was created also to show off what Java is. Java is the whole reason we have motion on the internet. Java is the program that we have to upgrade to see curtain things on the net.

Why did he captivate my imagination into making an alter ego that represents everything i am and not, but this is the reason why i am the Duke, i found this comic to be enjoyible and rather silly at the time. Still to this day i have credited this as the reason why i am the Duke. Today, the Duke is more than just a silly nickname that i came up with for the purpose of internet friends to call me. The Duke is me, i am him, the Duke will always be me.

The Duke abides, since 96

Otakon: More Hyped than Bill Goldberg!!!

In 2007 I went to my first anime convention and it was a blast. The trip was so worth it even though we only went for one day. After that i decided that whatever anime convention I went to it would be a weekend event. Its been a good run of fun and good conventions but that streak ended finally with my recent trip to Otakon. The most hyped up convention if there has ever been one. I've been planning for since 2007 to go check it out because everyone told me that is the convention to go to. You like Katsucon eh? Well you need to go to Otakon then because its bigger and better. Well finally the time had come and the group I went with were all Otakon virgins as well so we were all hyped.

Our trip down was horrid starting off with our friend stepping in dog crap which we all believe now was an omen. Rest stops with some kind of winged insects. Getting super lost in New York City, and getting poured on at the good ol' Vince Lombardi. I believe the gods were trying to warn us to turn back and that rain was their tears of sadness that we didn't heed the warnings. Upon a 8 am arrival and a night of no sleep we were told our room would not be ready till 3 or 4. Fine i get that, then we have to walk 15 minutes in 100 degree weather to get to the con even though we reserved the con hotel. When we finally check in we find out the hotel charges an insurance fee of 25 dollars a night and you will be reimbursed upon departure.

The lines at the convention were probably the main speciality of the con itself because everything had a ridiculous line. The dealers room the first time we went had a 30 minute wait at least. This was by far the biggest dealers room I've encountered yet but every table was just about exactly the same with all the same overpriced items and figures. The entrance to artist alley was an absolute death trap with one stairwell to enter and exit, not a set, not a pair, just ONE stairwell with a man telling you "stay on the left if you fall i'm not responsible and I will tell you that if you get hurt". Another thing was the lack of really no interesting panels at all. Yeah there were voice actors and what not but most of those panels get boring fast with the excess of fanboys and fangirls looking to not ask a real question ever. Maybe if they had some Nerdfit or something there i would've been able to enjoy it more but we will never know.

The straw that broke the camels back this weekend though was leaving the convention. Upon checking out of my hotel I was told that my change back from my deposit would 33 dollars...out of the 50 I was told I would receive back. The excuse given to me was that the extra 17 payed off the rest of my bill. A remaining balance would have been something to tell me before doing it. So out of that 33 i got to keep 13 for food budget for the rest of the day. On top of that we were told we would pay 52 dollars for two days parking friday to saturday and saturday to sunday. Upon checking out from that we are told we have to pay for the rest of sunday as well because we were there longer than three hrs I guess so bye bye aforementioned 52 dollars hello 78. Then it was all traffic and gas and long lines at rest stops and another lost adventure in NYC. Finally the Otakon horror ended around 10:50 when i got home about 3 hrs later than anticipated due to traffic.

The main thing that really just upset me was that I went to Otakon expecting the very best I could get out of a con. I had more fun at anime boston than i did Otakon. At first I thought maybe I didn't enjoy it because it overwhelmed me with its massiveness. But then I realized what really annoyed me was that for a super con it was just like all the rest.