The initial shock and awe of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has come and gone, and it's now time to reflect on Hideo Kojima's recently released opus. Though MGS4 is no doubt a stunning game and many would argue evidence for videogames being treated as art, it's by no means perfect. Having just completed the game and spent some time in Metal Gear Online, I'm here to share my gripes about the game. Being a long-time fan of the MGS series, it's frustrating to see MGS4 turn out the way that it did, but I suppose it is what it is. Be warned, I don't have any criticisms of the story, but I do discuss the gameplay in each Act of the game, so if you don't want anything spoiled, best to just move on.
1. No reason to be on the Playstation 3
Why is this game on the PS3 again, besides Sony likely throwing a ton of money at Konami to keep it exclusive? It doesn't utilize the Playstation 3's strengths at all. The previously shown SIXAXIS support is nonexistent in the final product, with only one small sequence that uses it, to poor effect at that. And don't tell me they needed the storage space for Blu-Ray. We all know it was merely an excuse for Kojima to use uncompressed audio throughout the game. Throw some lossy compression at the audio (that 99% of users will never notice) and this game could fit on a single dual-layer DVD.
After a huge game last night in game 3 of the NBA Finals, a buddy pointed me to some video blogs "created by" Sasha Vujacic. Nicknamed 'The Machine', Vujacic scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to help lead the Lakers to victory over the Boston Celtics. So far there are three entries in the Sasha Vujacic video blog saga, and I can't wait for an entry talking about last night's performance.
Sasha Vujacic Video Blog 1
You'll find the rest of the videos after the jump.
July 11 can't come soon enough. We now know that as the day when the oft-rumored iPhone 3G will land in US stores. Revealed earlier today during Steve Jobs' keynote address at the Apple WWDC, the iPhone 3G could very well turn the mobile phone market on its head with its laundry list of features and incredible price point. Here's a breakdown of the new device:
• 3G cellular network resulting in much faster download speeds compared to EDGE.
• GPS integrated with maps. Location-based software will redefine how we interact on the go, and Apple wants to be at the forefront.
• Enterprise support for push email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft Exchange.
• MobileMe replaces Apple's .mac service as a personal version of Exchange, supporting push email, calendar, and contacts.
• Other miscellaneous details: iPhone 2.0 firmware, 300 hours of standby battery life, 8-10 hours of 2G talk battery life, 5 hours of 3G talk battery life, 7 hours of video battery life, 24 hours of audio battery life, all plastic back.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the new iPhone is its price: the 8GB model will cost only $199 with a contract, while a 16GB model will be available for $299. Having just picked up a Nokia N82 last week for almost double the price of an 8GB iPhone 3G, you'd better believe that sucker is getting returned for Apple's new hotness. Sure the camera is a downgrade, but at that price who cares? It makes you wonder how Nokia and other premium handset makers will adapt their pricing model, now that Apple is packing most of their features into a phone that generally costs about half the price. In the end, no one but the consumer benefits the most.
The Offspring's latest album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is still a little over a week away, but you can enjoy it right now thanks to an online stream of the entire CD. The only song I've heard so far is Hammerhead, which has been getting a good amount of radio play here in Southern California. Hit the jump for the embedded player, and remember to pick up the album when it ships next week.
Poor AMD. Two years ago, Intel's Core architecture was unveiled and it absolutely decimated AMD's offerings. They've been playing catch-up ever since. Though their latest release, Phenom, didn't go as smoothly as possible, they at least have a somewhat competitive offering for mid-range and low-end builds. Unfortunately, most users would still be better off going with an Intel branded processor. It seems that AMD's only hope would be for Intel to severely drop the ball with its new architecture, Nehalem, giving AMD time to release their own new architecture and become competitive.
Unfortunately for AMD, it appears that those hopes have been dashed. Intel has done it again if the latest numbers coming in from Computex in Taipei are any indicator. Anandtech got there hands on two samples, and their site is currently being hammered by all of the benchmark-hungry nerds. Long story short: Nehalem is 20-40% faster than Intel's current architecture at the same clock speeds.
Time to pack up and head home, AMD. 2009 is going to be 2007 all over again, with consumers being foolish to buy anything running on AMD processors. Hit the jump for more details.
Ever wanted an NBA championship ring without going through all the trouble of actually playing for a winning team? Today's your lucky day then, as an authentic championship ring from the Los Angeles Lakers 1999-2000 season has popped up on eBay, for the small starting sum of $22,500. Keep reading for more information on the auction and photos of the ring.
Getting a change to play through the earlier Metal Gear games with only a week to go before MGS4 might be a little tough for people. Thankfully, someone from thesnakesoup.org has decided to make things a bit easier for those without the time or means to run through the Metal Gear saga. Here's the schedule:
The Snake Soup will have a Metal Gear marathon starting Sunday, June 1st. Each day, I will be broadcasting myself playing through several Metal Gear titles. Here is the schedule so far:
Sunday, June 1 - Metal Gear
Monday, June 2 - Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Tuesday, June 3 - Metal Gear Solid
Wednesday, June 4 - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Thursday, June 5 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
?, June ? - ???
The starting time will be 1:30 PM PST. This might change so keep on checking this page for updates!
You can watch it on their justin.tv channel, or embedded right here after the jump.
Like every self-respecting geek, I went and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this past week, and while I had prepared myself for a disappointing outcome, I left the theater more confused and conflicted than anything else. It isn't bad, but at the same it isn't very good. It's Indiana Jones, but at the same time it isn't. That's not to say the movie doesn't do some things well, but every time the movie takes one step in the right direction, it takes two steps back. So what did the movie do wrong? See for yourself:
Just a quick note: There are obviously spoilers in this list, so if you haven't seen the film, consider yourself warned.
1. The gopher
I have to get this one out of the way first, because it's the first thing that will likely piss people off about the film. When the movie opened with a shot of a CG gopher, I actually heard someone in the theater say "God damn you George Lucas!" It wasn't Jar-Jar, but it was bad. It's a sign of how little faith I have in Lucas anymore when I almost expected the gopher to start dancing to Kenny Loggins music a la Caddyshack, marking my cue to exit and give up on the film altogether. Little did I know that the CG rodent was only the beginning of Indy 4's problems.
The official site for Batman: Gotham Knight is now up, and offers a ton of exciting content for those that can't wait for the direct-to-DVD release in a few weeks. On the site, you'll find a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the movie, plenty of images and videos, along with downloads and character bios to be added in the future. There are also links to the movie's MySpace and Facebook pages. Keep reading for a full breakdown of the synopsis straight from the site, and I've even assembled preorder links through Amazon after the post.
Batman: Gotham Knight comes out on July 8, but the graphic novel version ships next week!
Whoops. Things aren't looking too hot for Will Smith's latest film, Hancock. Just last week we heard about its struggles to lose an R rating, and now it seems that the movie's world premiere, scheduled for June 10 in Sydney, Australia isn't happening. Why? The film won't be ready. The $150 million dollar superhero flick is still in post-production, with reshoots being worked on as recently as a week ago. Instead, Hancock's work premiere will take place a week later in France, but at this point does anyone even care? Nothing I've seen of Hancock inspires confidence, and the only reason I'm contemplating seeing it is the rumor of a Quantum of Solace trailer. Is anyone out there remotely interested in Hancock?
Alright, the image is a little misleading since Bale doesn't actually play a robot, but I couldn't resist. Shooting has already begun for Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, but Christian Bale has now been confirmed to extend his role as John Connor through a trilogy of Terminator films. The BBC got the scoop at the Cannes Film Festival. Read on for some quotes and more details on the films.
Well, after Uwe Boll's latest film Postal got dropped from all but 4 of its scheduled 1500 screens and we got to enjoy Uwe's hilarious response, some of you may still be wondering where you'll actually be able to find the infamous film. Thankfully, the film has seen a dramatic increase in support in the last 24 hours, and the number of theaters that have committed to show the film is now into double digits! That's right! 12 theaters, across the entire United States of America, will be showing Uwe Boll's latest disaster. Hit the jump for the full list.
If you've followed my posting at all, you've figured out by now that I'm a big fan of Batman. The Dark Knight is easily my most anticipated movie of the year, and I'm trying to spread my love for all things Batman. As a challenge to myself and a service to you all, I set out to compile a list of the best Batman stories of all time, across all media. That includes movies, television, and of course, comics. I don't want to spoil the list, but suffice to say my choices will likely ruffle a few feathers, especially for some of the older Batman fans out there.
We're still two months away from The Dark Knight's theatrical appearance, but that hasn't stopped WB from moving the media blitz from theaters to the small screen. Two television ads have arrived for the new Bat-flick, which apparently premiered during last night's Survivor finale. There's not a whole lot of new footage in either of these pieces, but one line in particular really stood out for me. It's a direct lift from the Batman comic The Long Halloween and has me absolutely pumped for the scene. See if you can spot it.
Keep checking back with InfoAddict, as I'll be posting a top 25 list of the greatest Batman stories of all time very soon.
when it ships next week.
ships next week!
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