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[ BFeld13's blog ]

9:58 PM on 02.17.2009

GTA IV: The Lost and Damned - Thoughts represented in pictures with words
BFeld13 13 comments


I'm only 3 or 4 missions into the expansion. The new weapons go boom and stuff. There are cracked-out strippers. Below are some pictures indicating my thoughts.








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11:03 AM on 02.15.2009

Alec Baldwin plays with his Wii
BFeld13 15 comments




Apologies to our international viewers. Hulu is the only place I could find it on.
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7:04 PM on 01.29.2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum is going to be glorious
BFeld13 36 comments




I'm pretty sure that aside from the Harmonix Beatles game, this is my most anticipated game of 2009. Fuck Heath Ledger. Mark Hamill is my favorite Joker. The voice acting in this game is going to be top-notch.
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4:24 PM on 01.28.2009

Operation: Anchorage makes me go WOO WOO!
BFeld13 9 comments




I downloaded Operation: Anchorage for Fallout 3 first thing when I got home from school yesterday. I just got around to finishing it, and overall I was very impressed.

That’s not to say that the expansion is without its flaws though. I’m lucky that I’ve probably never had Fallout 3 freeze on me or lock up before yesterday. But as soon as I tried to load up my save after downloading the content, my 360 froze. So I reset it, no biggie.

The beginning of the simulation has you sneaking around, but in all honesty, it only serves to highlight how shoddy Fallout’s stealth system is. Granted, I hadn’t put a lot XP into my Sneak skill, but I still ended up running and gunning with a silenced pistol. Makes total sense, right? Oh, and here’s a tip for this mission: only run in the center of the bridges. I got stuck between rope bridges and rocks numerous times, and had to reload. Thankfully, I had good autosaves.

The next two missions were much better. You fight through the territory to take control of two major areas, before assaulting a third area and retaking the city. I liked the fact that I could customize my squadmates and loadouts, but I don’t think it had much of an effect on the gameplay. The feeling of traveling with a squad through a large-scale battle was a nice change-up from the Lone Wanderer feeling of the normal game. One battle takes place in a Chimera depot (those snow tank things) which are not nearly as intimidating as you might think. There is only one of them to contend with. Given that Bethesda was already trying something new, why not let us drive the Chimera as well?

The best part of Operation: Anchorage is the loot that you score after ending the simulation. There is a sweet, high-powered laser rifle, as well as some rare armor, ninja armor, and an electrified sword. Unfortunately, my fear of commitment means that I will keep all of these rare items to look at and admire, but I will probably never use them in combat. It’s a personal thing.

Oddly enough, Operation: Anchorage is most effective once you exit the simulation. After coming out of the stark, snowy tundra and taking the freight elevator back to the surface, a renewed depression sets in. I guess being part of a simulated group fighting for a noble cause serves to accent how shitty the reality of the Fallout universe truly is.
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2:32 PM on 01.24.2009

Burnout Paradise succumbs to the inevitable
BFeld13 14 comments


We all knew that Burnout Paradise would eventually get Premium DLC, but nobody cares about having to pay for it due to all the free stuff we've reeceived in the last year. Considering publisher EA's leniency and generosity, however, I was a bit surprised to see that an unannounced Time Savers pack would appear on PSN and XBL eventually. Just like this week's Skate 2 "Unlock all" DLC, this will unlock everything in the game.

Am I mad? Not really. Am I surprised? Probably a bit more than I should be.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting. There is a screenshot from this week's CrashTV podcast below confirming it.



The description reads "Pressed for time? Love the cars? Want to have them all NOW? This one's for you." The current price tag is $0.00 but that will undoubtedly change.
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4:33 PM on 01.13.2009

Overthinking: The Prince of Persia ending [Spoilers]
BFeld13 12 comments




Ever since the newest Prince of Persia was released, I’ve been going back and forth with myself about how I feel about the ending. Do I love it? Do I hate it? Am I ambivalent toward it? To be quite honest, it’s a bit of all three.

Writers at Negative Gamer as well as Destructoid have both hated the game, and I can understand why. The end of the game completely negates every other action taken. In order to bring Elika back to life, the Prince releases Ahriman (the evil god dude) and obtains a light seed in order to bring about her resurrection. From a solely goal-oriented perspective, this would be like a swift kick in the balls. Ten hours of gameplay or so are completely washed down the drain and you are left right back where you started.

Additionally, your actions are supported by none of the characters. Elika’s father, a minor villain, performs the same lifesaving actions and it leads to the kingdom becoming overrun with corruption. When Elika reawakens, she has one question: “Why?” She has accepted her sacrifice, and now it is all for nothing. Nobody succeeds and it serves as a device to set up the inevitable sequel. You even get an achievement for fucking yourself over.



Yet, I also realize that this ending makes a lot of sense. First of all, you must think about the game’s themes. Elika’s beliefs are mired in fate and destiny; that Ormazd (the good god) will provide her with the strength and will that she needs to fight Ahriman. The Prince, on the other hand, believes in none of this. He believes in choosing his own destiny. His family is dead, and he has lost his fortune. There is no reason for him to believe in fate, unless he wants to be the victim of a cruel joke.

If you play though the ending, you’ll notice that there is no cutscene or inner monologue indicating what the Prince is thinking or feeling as he makes his decision. It’s possible that trying to bring Elika back is his way of rebelling against fate and, more likely, that he is in love with her. The other possibility, since we never here exactly what the Prince or Ahriman say, is that fate is dictating all of these occurrences and Elika’s death and subsequent resurrection were predetermined. The Prince nods before performing this final act, either hinting that he has arrived at his own decision, or that he understands what fate is dictating for him to do.

Though Elika is certainly no Alyx Vance, this may be intentional. Maybe as players we are not supposed to be as attached to her as the Prince is. As we play through (rather than watch) the ending and force the Prince to upend everything he has worked toward, maybe we are supposed to hate what he is doing. It’s a brilliant fourth-wall-breaking decision, to have the player despise what they are doing, and still force them to take part. It’s the player’s fate in the game. There is no choice to refuse the task, unless you want the narrative to remain unfinished.



Rev Anthony asserted that we were supposed to care about Elika enough to want to bring her back to life ourselves, but what if it was the opposite? What if the ending is a statement about faith and predetermination, and our lack of choice in the matter?

Prince of Persia features absolutely no ability to die. To allow Elika to die would be breaking the rules of the game’s world. It seems fitting that in a world in which the Prince can escape death by doing almost nothing, the roles are reversed and preventing her death is the most thematically difficult action to perform. How quickly and drastically the tables have turned.



Or, of course, I could be overthinking everything, and the writers just got lazy when trying to figure out how to set up the inevitable sequel.
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10:15 PM on 01.05.2009

I have an obligation to post anything involving Fred Willard
BFeld13 12 comments




Fred Willlard has some sort of cooking game telling him what to do. Some fat guy who is probably named Rumpelstiltskin follows him to the grocery. Jokes, puns, and sheer awesome ensue. Singing pixies then show up at the door, and then a crazy chili party reaches maximum awesomosity. Also, he says 'meat' a lot.

What a fuckin' baller.


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11:18 PM on 12.28.2008

BFeld’s Top 11 Games That He Wanted to Play This Year But Then Didn’t
BFeld13 17 comments


I'm so indie. I make Top 11 lists instead of Top 10. You can't control me. This isn't even a "Best of" list. Why don't you go home and cry to the establishment?

Anyway, 2008 was a pretty good year for games. I found a few new favorites (lookin' at you, Fallout). Here, however, are some of the games that slipped through my grasp.




Pure

Why I Didn’t Play It: Sports games, especially ones involving sports foreign to me, are never my cup of tea. Despite SSX Tricky being my favorite game of all time, other sports games like Madden and FIFA never caught my attention. I don’t follow ATV racing in real life, and so that interest never carried over to my gaming.

Why I Want To Play It: I played the demo, and it had a similar SSX vibe to it. If they just made the tracks a little bit zanier, made the tricks a little bit crazier, and added drivers with much more personality, I might have picked this one up. Of course, I’m still holding out for the possibility of an SSX 4.



Dead Space

Why I Didn’t Play It: Two reasons: cash supply and genre (though mostly the former). I have never liked, nor played, survival horror. It just isn’t my thing. Dead Space jumped out at me for some reason, though. Maybe it’s because it looks beautiful, scary, and difficult without being too much of a hassle.

Why I Want To Play It: Aside from getting admirable reviews from publications and the Destructoid community, it would probably be a fun game to have my friend and I play simultaneously. Then we would meet up at lunch and talk about all the “Oh shit!” moments.



No More Heroes

Why I Didn’t Play It: It’s on the Wii, and it didn’t look like a surefire success. I didn’t want to dust off the white paperweight (“Oh no he di-int”). The game looked a bit too quirky for my taste, and I consider myself to be a pretty quirky dude. Word of mouth also informed of some tedious parts that I didn’t want to deal with.

Why I Want To Play It: It is easily the year’s best Wii game among the core gaming community. It looks funny, people seem to love the main character, and it has a cool artistic style. Also, I heard you save by taking a shit.



Persona 4

Why I Didn’t Play It: I don’t own a Playstation 2. In addition, I fall into the “Western RPG” camp. I’ve never completed a Final Fantasy, nor do I particularly want to. Anime is also one of those things I just don’t find very appealing.

Why I Want To Play It: It is almost unanimously described as one the best games of the year, and a near-perfect RPG. Whereas No More Heroes looked a bit too off-kilter, Persona 4 looks just right.



Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Why I Didn’t Play It: Having never played the first two (gasp), anticipation wasn’t high for this one. Additional whining about the series’ change in direction was another turnoff. It seems that popular opinion was split about this one.

Why I Want To Play It: Thanks to Gamestop customer support, I gleaned a free code for the original on XBLA. The game is friggin’ funny, and I’ve heard that the newest iteration upholds that reputation. It looks colorful, and whimsical, and joyous. The $40 price tag certainly doesn’t hurt it either.



Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Why I Didn’t Play It: Never playing the first three games in the Metal Gear Solid series is one of my greatest shames. I have never owned any of the three Playstations. Unfortunately, I do not own or foresee myself buying a PS3, so this one is sitting on the “Fat chance” pile of games to play.

Why I Want To Play It: The story sounds awesome, intriguing, and convoluted. Even though I pretty much know what happens, it seems like one of those games that needs to be experienced.



Prince of Persia

Why I Didn’t Play It: The game’s reputation for constant handholding and ease of play made it seem to be unworthy of a $60 investment.

Why I Want To Play It: It looks gorgeous, and its ease is not necessarily a turnoff. I enjoy games more for the experience than I do a challenge. I have no problem turning Fallout 3 to its easiest setting and then just soaking up the world around me. Prince of Persia seems right up that alley. Not the same type of game, but the same type of traversal experience.



World of Goo

Why I Didn’t Play It: I didn’t feel like dusting off my Wii, and my PC is shit. In 7th grade, I took a technology class, and I couldn’t design bridges to save my life. From what I’d seen, this looked like the same thing.

Why I Want To Play It: It’s cheap, it looks cute, and Neil Patrick Harris gave it an award. The trifecta.



Boom Blox

Why I Didn’t Play It: Another Wii game. I just couldn’t bring myself to turn on the system. A large component of the game is multiplayer, and no one else in my household plays games. Hence, I play multi online.

Why I Want To Play It: It’s got Steven Spielberg’s name on the box. Plus, Jenga is the shizzit and you can blow up sheep. Need I say more?



Fable II

Why I Didn’t Play It: Despite getting a positive review from my friend, I never played the first Fable. The sequel never sold me on its own. The artistic direction was bit creepy, in my opinion. It looked like one of those games that I could wait for a price drop on.

Why I Want To Play It: My friend, who is a cheap bastard (read: Jewish), actually bought this game, so I know it has to be good. I might just end up borrowing it. Plus, you can fuck people and make babies and shoot dudes and get fat. That’s a legendary combination of maneuvers.



Eternity’s Child

Why I Didn’t Play It: My PC sucks. Luc Bernard is emo.

Why I Want To Play It: It’s like a train wreck. I’m scared but I can’t look away.



See you in 2009!
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1:15 PM on 12.20.2008

A Criterion Christmas present
BFeld13 25 comments


Criterion Games is awesome. They gave us bikes and other cool shit for Burnout Paradise. Personally, I can't wait for the Jansen 88 Special, which we all know is actually the car from Back to the Future. It looks amazing. It leaves flame trails.

Here's a Criterion Christmas Carol and the first footage of the greatest car EVER.

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2:39 PM on 11.30.2008

The Top 10 Netflix Movies to Stream to Your 360
BFeld13 31 comments


Netflix streaming capabilities is easily my favorite new thing about the NXE, but what are the best movies to add to your queue? Here are the top 10.




10. The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a badass Western. William Holden leads a gang of outlaws looking for one last score as the old West is transitioning into a more modern society. The film is most notable for its rampant, though I wouldn't say excessive, use of blood and gore. If you want to save some time, fast forward to the last ten minutes and watch the most amazing shootout ever captured on film. In addition, those looking for a more thoughtful western should add The Searchers to their queue.




9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Moving to a more contemporary film, Charlie Kauffman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a mindfuck of a movie. After Jim Carrey gets his mind wiped in order to forget his ex-girlfriend (played by Kate Winslet), crazy shit starts going down. This is a movie that begs for a second viewing. Also, keep an eye out for the amazing Tom Wilkinson (aka Guy in my blog header) in a bit part as the doctor who wipes Carrey's mind.




8. Bullitt
Arguably Steve McQueen's best movie, Bullitt follows a cop tasked with protecting a witness testifying against the mafia. McQueen is classic cool in this movie, and the highlight is a tense chase through the streets of San Francisco performed by car enthusiast McQueen himself.




7. Stand By Me
Adapted from a Stephen King story and being a classic 80s movie, Stand By Me follows the journey of four boys looking for the body of a boy who was hit by a train. It's got the breakout performances of both geek celeb Wil Wheaton as well as River Phoenix. 24 fans will get a kick out of a young Kiefer Sutherland kicking ass way before CTU ever hired him. Stand By Me also features the classic 'train dodge' scene. "Hey Lard-Ass! Chow down!"




6. The Day The Earth Stood Still
The Day The Earth Stood Still is THE classic science fiction movie. Nothing else can ever compare. It's deliciously cheesy in its Cold War sensibilities about nuclear weapons, and it's the perfect alternative to the abortion of a remake coming out on December 12th. Elevate your geek cred by going to sci-fi conventions and yelling "Klaatu barada nikto". As a supplement to TDTESS, add the first season of The Twilight Zone to your queue and watch the classic episode "Time Enough At Last".




5. Cool Hand Luke
Sent to a chain gang for taking the heads off of parking meters (though the real crime is nonconformity), Paul Newman gives his greatest performance as Luke Jackson. George Kennedy also gives a strong performance as Luke's right hand man. Luke's attempt at eating 50 hardboiled eggs in one hour is both hilarious and cringeworthy simultaneously, and Cool Hand Luke has one of cinema's most classic lines: "What we've got here is... failure to communicate."




4. Escape From New York
The ultimate spur-of-the-moment movie, Escape From New York is just full of moments that can only be described as "fucking badass". The year is 1997, and Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison island. When the presidential escape pod lands inside the walls, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is forced to take on the Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes) in order to rescue the president and decide the fate of the world. Sounds awesome, right? Would it make you even more interested if I told you that the eyepatch-endowed Snake Plissken is the main inspiration for Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake? Consider your interest piqued.




3. Little Shop of Horrors
My favorite musical, Little Shop of Horrors is delightfully demented in the way it eschews the genre. From the doowop opening theme to its ballad about living in poverty, the songs are surprisingly catchy. The plot follows a lowly flowers store janitor who buys an alien, maneating plant. Rick Moranis is at his best here (yes, better than Ghostbusters) and a special appearance by Steve Martin as a crazy dentist certainly livens up the joint.




2. Duck Soup
The Marx Brothers are staples of slapstick and vaudeville comedy, outclassing the three Stooges by a mile. Duck Soup is their greatest film without question, and at a scant 70 or so minutes, it's the perfect way to take a break from gaming. Filled with hysterical musical numbers, jaunty wordplay, and the always hilarious 'Mirror scene', a staple of physical comedy imitated many times over, Duck Soup is a must-watch for anyone who likes to laugh.




1. Space Jam
Do I really need to say anything? It never hurts to have Space Jam at your fingertips whenever your jonesin' for some of the best acting Michael Jordan has ever done. Five aliens come to Looney Tunes Land to kidnap Bugs and crew by challenging them to a basketball game. The Tunes enlist His Airness, while the aliens steal the powers of five 90s basketball greats. It's got high-octane sports moments, Bill Murray, and an amazing montage featuring Charles Barkley and Mugsey Bogues, plus the greatest opening song EVER. What more could you want?





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