(Authors note: I think my avatar gives it away, Im an MGS fan but I'm also a forth year university film major. I felt I really needed to right this review, I guess to raise awareness of this film but also hopefully help people appreciate this great independent production a little bit more. So I hope you'll enjoy my review, and for those who are disregarding this film as nothing more than a Metal Gear Solid ball stroking, it is much more than that and hopefully you'll give these young film makers the 60 minutes they deserve)

If you’re expecting a big budget, Hollywood summer action flick, you will be gravely disappointed. The fact is this film is a fan-made production. However this isn’t a simple Metal Gear Solid spoof you see on Youtube. This is a short film created out of passion and love for two things: the Metal Gear Solid series and film making. Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy Part 1: The Over Night Nation can be labelled as a fan made movie first and an independent production second. The film comes from Hive Division, an Italian based film studio, which is made up of talented young filmmakers that came together across the globe to bring to you a non-profit movie worthy of the Metal Gear name. Three years after they first started production on this film they unveiled it to the world and the time and careful planning shows in this short film. As a Metal Gear Solid fan myself, I have devoted hours of my time into the lore and character developments of the series over the past eleven years.



This is not a redo of any of the Metal Gear Solid games; this is an original story that fits in the timeline two years after the events of MGS 1. It takes place in 2007, the same year as the tanker incident in MGS 2, so this story occurs probably closely before or after that. However it doesn’t start off in 2007. Instead the opening shot is from the point of view of a solider named Scott looking up at the night sky. We see through his eyes the brightly lit half moon coming to rest over a tree out in the middle of a forest. As the camera slowly pans down to the left, the horizon glows an ominous blood red from gun fire and missiles shooting up into the atmosphere. Scott is interrupted by another soldier who tells him to hurry up and to keep moving through the dark forest of trees and dead bodies. This is Outer Heaven, 1995. As the two soldiers come across what were once their fellow comrades, the nameless soldier that awoke Scott from his day dream says “For God’s sake, who is this man? How could he have possibly brought this on us?” Moments later Scott gets a gunshot wound to his leg and collapses to the ground. The nameless soldier drags him to safety, while trying to patch up his leg a man comes from behind and kills him. Now we see through Scott’s eyes again as he is laying on the ground, an image of dark grizzled person in front of a blood red horizon with a mushroom cloud slowly creeping up into the atmosphere. Frightened and mortally wounded, Scott mutters to himself, “They’re dead...they’re dead”. The figure with the bandana and facial hair replies to him “That’s war” and walks away toward the horizon on fire from the flames of man. This introduction sets the stage for the overall message of the brutality of war and the subtle character development we get from Snake’s nihilistic view of human life that we have seen throughout the video games and in this film.



Flash-forward to 2007, Snake is on a Harrier airplane receiving his next mission briefing from his newly established international terrorist group: Philanthropy. Philanthropy is a group which Otacon and Snake are members of and they travel around the world hunting down and destroying Metal Gears. They are officially-unofficially supported by the United Nations and are a highly hated group among the major armed powers of the world. This is where Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy begins, as Snake has to capture an esteemed senator who is being held in an enemy base near Armenia. Senator Abraham Bishop has unique ties to the key members of Armstech and Snake’s handler- Harrison Bishop. Harrison believes that Senator Bishop has information about a new Metal Gear programme that Armstech is planning and he also wants to be questioned for the strange supernatural hurricane at a location called Eldridge.



After Solid Snake’s mission briefing, he is dropped out into a small town where he has to meet up with members of his team. Snake isn’t going alone this time, and his team is made up of Pierre Leclerc, a deadly French sniper who has a addiction to video games. The second member of his team is Elizabeth Laeken, a skilled female soldier who holds some dark secrets about her past. Both Elizabeth and Pierre have explained little about their past, except for their combat experience and the way events unfolded in Part 1, the story alludes to explanations in future instalments. Pierre adds the comic relief in this otherwise dark story while Elizabeth is a possible love interest. This film remains true to the main themes of the video games, the dehumanizing of people in war related situations. This is reflected in the settings and the cinematography of the film. Environments look like they belong in a post-apocalyptic world, either brightly lit during the day or very dark at night. There is a sense of lifelessness in this film which only adds to the tension and danger that Snake and his team have to face during their mission.



A lot has to be said about the settings of Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy. The most positive comment is that they are fantastic, and the set designers and scouts who found these locations to shoot should really be congratulated on their work. In addition the costume design is another key piece of the overall package. The military equipment they used is not something that someone made up in their basement; this is real equipment. The guns, the camouflage and Snake’s sneaking suit all look great and are only accentuated by the special effects. For being a film that proclaims it had no budget, the effects they use look great and believable. The CGI in this film is not as good as a summer Hollywood blockbuster like Transformers 2, but what CGI they do use is well done. The overall presentation of this film looks great and while I was watching it I was in awe by how spectacular everything looks.
You can have the best settings and costume design but what you need is a film style that can bring all that together in a way that is not distracting to the viewer. The production team at Hive Division and director Giacomo Talamaini used their knowledge of the film medium to produce some fantastic action sequences and great dialogue scenes. There is some great talent at the helm of Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy and Hive Division. If this film is any indication as what’s to come, I’m looking forward to it.



Before watching this film I didn’t know what to expect, but after I the film I can say that there is alot of love that went into making Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy possible. While the acting could have been better, I will keep in mind that these are not professional actors. However everything else from film style to the special effects to the settings all work together well to create a very enjoyable experience. While this is not part of the MGS canon, it fits in nicely into the timeline that Hideo Kojima has made. As a huge fan of the series I really enjoyed it. If you aren’t a fan of MGS and just like a good action flick, this will do too. If you’re looking for some independent films and want an alternative viewing experience from Hollywood, watch this film. Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy is a great ride through the Metal Gear universe that provides a unique and interesting story that is easy to comprehend but still leaves room for some possible plots twists. The filmmakers at Hive Division deserve your support, and all that is, is simply watching their film.

Here's the link to the movie

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the movie

Last night I went to see one of my favorite bands in concert at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. This would be the third time I have seen them in concert and anyone who knows anything about Tool, knows that they love their fucked up art work. The floor of the stage was set in white, and there was a back wall about maybe 6 or 8 feet high at the back of the stage that was all white. From left to right facing the stage you had the bassist, Justin Chancellor, in the front left of the stage followed by the singer, Maynard James Keenan who was standing in the back left-center and beside him on his right was, the world class drummer Danny Carey and finally guitarist Adam Jones on the front right. This stage set up was for the most part the exact same as when I had seen them the other two times before a couple of years back (see below)



During their performance they have images projected on to the stage similar to the style of their music videos and sometimes the music video itself for songs such as Schism.



However about half way though the set the high powered lasers where put on and where used to shine up against the roof of the venue in different circular patterns. The lasers where also used to reflect off the white surface of the stage. During the faster parts of songs they would do this in a random order to create some very kool effects. While the fog machines where on high pumping out bellows of smoke along with the lasers and the images projected on the stage it created at great visual atmosphere. If you where high this would of probably melted your eyes.



These visuals where at its best during one of Tool’s longest songs off of the 10,000 days album: Rosetta Stoned. For anyone who hasn’t heard the song its about a person on a some kind of acid trip and during his high time, E.T. reveals to him that he is unique person that has to deliver a message to humanity. During the climax of this song it was revealed that behind the stage, right at the back was a piece of cloth that they used to project images. Unlike the usual Tool images that you would see you where greeted with gameplay from one of the oldest Video games: Asteroid. As the little ship was flying around shooting rocks and collecting points, Maynard was yelling at the top of his lungs the lyrics to Rosetta Stoned.



I love this band and I like video games so when these two things come together like this, it’s like Trent Reznor making a soundtrack for Quake....hmmmm...If only.

A while ago, I wrote an article about my favourite video game guns, and I had some pretty good success with that post. A lot of people liked reading it and many commented on it. So I’ve decided to focus on blades, knives and swords this time, and as before, this list is in no particular order, all these weapons are awesome! Some of you guys will probably find that these weapons are familiar and some may ask “well why did you keep out this weapon?”. Keep in mind that these are weapons from the games that I have played, so if your favourite knife, blade or sword is not included, then let me know in the comments. And Here...We...Go!



The Blade of Chaos or Athena’s Blades (God Of War series)

May as well get this one out of the way considering if some of you may have read my profile on the right side of the screen, you know I’m a God Of War fan. I love this series and I love the (appropriately named) Blades of Chaos ever since I first saw a picture of them in an old issue of PSM. Brought to Kratos by Aires minions and forged in the fires of violence and war these weapons are created to do one thing, to ensue chaos and kill. Not to mention the holder of these blades is an insane homicidal maniac who dancing around during battle with swords attached to chains, which are seared to his forearms, a true Ballerina of War. Kratos is one of the most brutal protagonists in video game history and these blades have become enormously popular among gamers. When I first played God Of War I had never used a weapon like it before. For me it was always guns or straight swords, but nothing as entertaining as the Blades of Chaos. Nuff Said...



Master Sword (Zelda series)

While I have never bought a Nintendo product, for myself, in my life I have played a good amount of games on Nintendo systems over the years. Never had a huge interest in Zelda but always had a respect for it as a franchise. All my friends love the series and a list about knives, blades and swords just cannot exist without this weapon being mentioned. While I will not bother explaining the lore around the sword I will say that I have always loved the way it looks. It is a well made sword holds magical powers and always ends up the hands of a boy (or man) named Link. Its just too bad that Zelda is never impressed by the size of Links master sword because it is just so massive.....I mean powerful....I mean....



Sub Zero’s Kori Blade (Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Deception)

When I first brought Deadly Alliance home when I was in Grade 9, I called up my friends and told them to come over my house because I recently bought a new game. All we did that night was play MK:DA against each other we thought the changing of fighting stances and the introduction of weapons was amazing and there where a lot of “wow” and “HOLY FUCKIN SHIT” moments. One match that night my friend was playing as Sub Zero and I was Scorpion (my fav) the fight was within my favour, but what I was about to experience was perhaps one of the most badass and gruesome thing I had seen in a video game up until that point. Sub Zero took his Kori Blade and impaled it into my stomach all the way through Scorpions body. At that moment we all knew this game was above and beyond any fighting game we have played.



Energy Sword (Halo series)

Here we are, never thought I would have Halo on my top whatever list I would make but I have to give credit to where it is deserved. Never owned an Xbox however I have played a good amount of Halo 1 and 2 over the years and I really enjoyed playing the first Halo campaign with a friend. However it was the second Halo that brought in this sword, and despite its sometimes cheap one-hit-kills I have always loved the way it looks. Its sleek, sexy and the colour blue that the designers decided to use was an excellent choice. It looks like your wielding a piece of ice shaped into a sword however it is actual two separate blades to make a two prong stabbing weapon. Its light weight, mobile and easy to use, in other words: a well crafted blade. Gotta hand it to those aliens.



The Heavenly Sword (Heavenly Sword)

As much negative attention this game has gotten from critics and gamers, I enjoyed this game alot. It was my first PS3 game I bought and I’m glad I did because (despite its length) it was an all around good game. The most memorable thing about this game for me was not its sexy heroin, Nariko or the cat women wanna-be -that was a little mentally ill do to her fucked up past- Kai. It was the weapon that was so prominently featured in the title and the advertisements along with a little tits’n ass. This sword has some great history behind it and the guys at Ninja Theory did an awesome job basing the narrative around the sword. It’s a lot of fun to be Nariko and swing the massive sword around while instantly switching between different sword types. It can remain as one solid long sword or break apart into two, both times still looking as kool and as bad ass as a sword can look. Great game, great weapon and I want to see a sequel that will most likely never come.



Mr. Grimm’s Sickle (Twisted Metal Series)

Oh, so you forgot about this one eh? If you have read any of my previous blogs or previous comments you might have found out that I love car combat games. It started when my brothers bought a PS1 and the first game they got with it was Vigilante 8. Then from there I played Twisted Metal on PS1 and when the PS2 era rolled around I was graced with the greatest car combat game of all time: Twisted Metal: Black. For me TMB is still the best car combat game to date and the video game community this gen is in dire need of worthy successor to this phenomenal game.
Now I gave you my little rant, on to the meat of the project. Mr. Grimm’s sickle is one of the strongest special attacks you can do in a Twisted Metal game. Not only does it sound kool when he released his Sickle from his hand you are greeted with some wicked effects if it hits a target. Part of being one of my personal favourites, Mr. Grimm is one of the only combatants to ride a motorcycle in the TM universe. Now imagine maintaining control of a motorcycle with one head and throwing a sickle with the other hand with enough force to make an explosion on impact against a moving object. That is skill my friends, and Mr. Grimm’s weapon of choice captures his brutality and insanity perfectly.



The Bayonet (Call Of Duty: World At War)

Maybe this weapon seems a bit plain for this flashy list, but stabbing someone with a Bayonet in WAW is quiet possible one of the most gruesome things I have ever done in a game. Your stabbing this sharp pointy object -which is on tip of another weapon- into another human beings stomach and cutting them open like your felling a fish. Sure you have seen worse adaptations of Bayonet combat in movies but WAW captured the savagery of the weapon really well.


Note: Couldn't find any image of the weapon within the game so well settle for box art.

Psylocke Psychic Knife and Ninja Blade (X-Men 2: Clone Wars)

While Psylocke isn’t my favourite character in the game to play as (she’s no Wolverine) she has some great attacks that you can do. Psylocke’s ninja blade is your basic weapon that is great for hacking and slashing numerous enemies like red ninjas and robots. One of the coolest things she can do with the blade is a tuck herself into a ball and as she is falling use the blade like a windmill attack. For a genius game the animation if pretty sweet. However despite this characters femme fatal persona she has one laughable quirk in X-men 2: Clone Wars. The sound effect the developers used when you hit a person with your psychic knife sounds as if the Destructoid Robot expelled some intestinal gas. At a young age when I played this game many moons back this was hilarious but now it still manages to get a smirk.


Gimli’s Battle Axe (Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King)

I’ve always loved the way battle axes look, especially from the Dark ages. And a character that uses an axe as a weapon gets a thumbs up in my book. Sure I could of picked the dwarf from Golden Axe or charaters from other games, but LOTR:ROTK for PS2 is a game me and my friends played a hell of a lot back in high school. It’s a classic hack and slash game with massive large scale battles and tons of characters on the screen. At times its nothing more than a cluster fuck of browns and greys but when you nailed the Orc huever combo in the middle of a mob of Orcs, my god did it feel satisfying. Gimli is my favourite character in the LOTR universe and his massive battle axe which is almost as tall as him is the perfect weapon for how much of a fierce warrior he is. When I think of battle axe and the type of person wielding that thing I think of Gimli. His gorges beard and great voice make up for his height. Also levelling up your character can give you some amazing combos which can devastate a horde of enemies. Not to mention Gimli has his own special moves. Twirling the axe around his body like a Cheer Leader’s baton makes Gimli and his massive Axe a notable choice for this list.

This is just my list but what does the Dtoid community think? Do you agree or disagree with my list? What are your favorite video game swords, knives or blades? Write your thoughts down in the comments, and thank you for reading.

Well since I'm going to be using this video as a reference I may aswell put it right at the top, after the video will be my brief article



Watch the video? Good. As you can see on the right side of the screen you will notice I'm and MGS fan, and any news about a new MGS game makes me get excited. Im sure Im not alone in my obsession with the mythology of the Metal Gear universe, so hypothesizing is what I find fun when dealing with Metal Gear. Now back the video, Kojima talks about ladders and hardware technology and that's all well and good but I found two things very interesting about this video.

First, is the role in what other developers will bring to the table for the next Metal gear game. Kojima was reported visiting Infantry Ward and (I believe) Gorilla Games. Will the next MGS be a FPS? or will it merely have more refined FPS controls or elements. What will this mean for the MGS series if it gets opened up to western developers. Will it lose something? These are questions which I feel are important and obviously I don't know the answers. But for the sake of guessing, I would say that first person shooting will have more of a role in the next game. However my next point is somewhat contradictory to this.

Second, if you watched the video near the end after Snake has fully climbed up the ladder he dissappears and there is another figure there above the text "Mission: The Next MGS". That figure looks like he is holding a sword and has white hair. And I believe everyone knows who that would be, your right! Its a Ninja Santa Clause, he lost some weight and god a katana for xmas and an exoskeleton....ok Ill stop. So will this mean that MGS5 will be staring Raiden, personally I welcome that idea. I was one of the few who didn't mind playing Raiden in MGS2, I understood his role in the story and it worked well. If its going to be Ninja Raiden in the next MGS he will not only look kool but if anyone has played MGS: VR missions for PS1 I believe it ill be something similar to when you play as the Ninja. This will make the gameplay focus a lot more on stealth, probably more so than MGS3. I this this would be a great idea for MGS 5. Naturally I would like Snake back, but the only way I would want that to happen if Kojima remakes Metal Gear 1 and 2 from the NES. So what do you guys think? Am I crazy for thinking this or do you have a different idea of the next MGS?

With the rise of First Person Shooters now there is a lot of guns to choose from. This list which really is in no particular order is a list of (as the title suggests) my favorite video game guns. Keeping in mind I’m picking from games I have already played so if you get offended by this list, I may have not played the game. Here it goes!


The Gravity Gun (Half Life 2)
This gun needs no introduction. Valve did it right. When you finally get that upgrade and the Gravity Gun can pick up humans and throw them it is so satisfying and fun. Also what else is better than picking up big rusty saw blade and launching at a crab head zombie, slitting them in half. I think the best use of this gun is at the end of Episode 2 (not giving anything away hopefully) Fuck you stryders!


Bullseye Mk. 1 or Mk 2 (Resistance 2)
I love the way it sounds when it fires, I love the way it sounds when it reloads and I love the way it looks. It’s got some kick ass blinking lights on the side of it either red or blue depending on what Model you have. It also has this fin/spin looking thing on the top of the rifle that is constantly in a wavy motion. The just looks kool and its magazine is huge. It is my weapon of choice for that game.


Combat Shotgun (Syphonfilter 1)
Do any of you remember this gun? Way back in the PS1 days if you wanted to ‘fuck someone up’ with a shotgun you used this. It blew your enemies away! If they had a flak jacket, no problem it can easily take them out. The only difference in Syphonfilter between the combat shotgun and the regular shotgun is this had a red handle. OH yeah! Bad ass is right! Also the name just kicks ass too, it’s not just an average shotgun it’s a COMBAT shotgun. Sorry couldn't get the pic so we will settle for the box art.


Sky Hammer Mortar (Vigilante 8)
I love car combat games and this weapon was my favorite of all time. I used its special attack (I think its up, up, down, fire machine gun) which took 4 shots and combined it into one and when it hit it would take off a good chunk of life and would leave a crater. After you shoot it up into the air it would lock on to an enemy and usually hit them. It was a great way to kill enemies long range from across one side of the map.


M4 (Call Of Duty 4)
This gun has everything. Its accurate, it doesn’t have a lot of recoil, it has great distance and its powerful. Customize it any way you want I prefer it with the red dot sight but this gun handles like a dream. Online it is my weapon of choice in almost all the levels except the smaller enclosed ones such as Vacant. I started using this gun on prestige mode. Before I used the Ak47 the majority of the time but after I tried out the M4 and realizing how much more superior it is to the Ak47 I couldn’t go back. It felt dirty at the beginning, you know, using something new and casting what you used to use for such a long time off to the side, like I was cheating on the AK47 with a better looking more sexier designed gun....wait a minute where was I going with this?


FAMAS (Metal Gear Solid 1)
There are a lot of guns in the Metal Gear universe. Sure I could have picked the Stinger missile launcher or the SOCOM or some of the new guns in MGS 4 but people tend to forget their humble beginnings. Not me! The one and only assault rifle in the PS1 version of the game and let me tell you boy, what a good choice it was. Select the bandana and this gun and that’s all you need for the blood fest known as the ‘stairwell part’ in MGS1. That is my favorite part in that game and I don’t know anyone else who really likes it. This gun looks awesome with its sleek design and that bar thing on the top of it, almost like a brief case handle. This IS an assault rifle and I’m waiting eagerly for other games to have this gun in them. Infantry Ward make it happen for the next Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare!!!!!


Shock Rifle (Unreal Tournament 3)
I chose this model because I think it looks better than the rest. The rifle is still the same in every game but in Unreal Tournament 3 it was a great ally when you where playing online. Its primary/secondary shot combo is still one of the best uses of weaponry in video game history. When you master it you are a force to be reckoned with both on and offline. Not to mention that explody thingy is just fucking kool looking.


Flak Cannon (Unreal Tournament 1)
There are many models and designs of this gun but the first model seen in Epics original Unreal Tournament back in 2000 is the best. Seeing your enemies splatter into little meat bits is very rewarding in that game and the Flak cannon provides you can do that with almost every single shot. Primary fire is a flak burst that shoots out hot shards of metal at your opponent and secondary fire shoots out a cannon ball like object that explodes on contact. If you can master physics and love exploding bodies this weapon is for you. Epic games always had some crazy weapons but this one is the craziest of all.

I tried to write this article in a way to fetishize the guns I have talked about for comedic reasons. Hopefully I have prevailed for the most part. But my concern is hearing what you D-Toiders have to say. What are your favourite guns? Do you agree or disagree with my list?
Thanks for reading.

This post is a bit short but I think its straight to the point.
I've wait to play Resident Evil 5 for a long time and as soon as February second hit I was downloading the Resident Evil 5 demo on my PS3. After reading some of the complaints about the demo on D-Toid, my anticipation deflated a bit, however when the ps3 owners where able to play the demo, I enjoyed it. I played it offline and I also played it online with random people. Both experiences where great and my time I spent with the demo was very rewarding. But tonight I played the RE5 demo with a friend and it was AMAZING! I've been planing to play RE5 with my buddie for a while and tonight we had the time to do it. After figuring out how the hell we could play together we eventually started up a game in Shanty Town. It was an intense fight against the a villagers and the chainsaw guy, but we made it through. What really helped was the fact that I was on the phone with him the entire time talking about devising a strategy on how to stay alive against an endless horde of crazed villagers. After a couple tries we eventually beat that level and moved on to the next level: Public Assemble, while I moved on to a portable speaker phone because my neck was cramping up. This was an amazing experience for me because having your friend to talk too while your playing RE5 makes the experience so much better. I don't own a headset and never really wanted too until tonight. Resident Evil 5 is meant to be played with friends and if you can talk to them somehow you should. Grab a phone get there number or if RE5 is headset compatible use that. This enriches the experience to a level that I have never had with previous RE games. If your skeptical about this game, try this out it might change your mind. While I was already sold on the game before the demo came out but playing with my friend has made me want this game much more now. Alot has been said about the co-op element about the game, but I love it because of this reason. It is a great way to play Resident Evil 5, try it out!