Video Review: Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider

Hello Hello! I'm back with a video review of Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider! I know ya'll missed me! :) Please excuse my ramblings and momentary brain farts during this video as it's been awhile and an end to a long day. Stay tuned for more writings and videos in the future as I'm gonna kick this blog back into the glory it once was. (I'm thinking contests too!)

Enjoy!

Video Review of PS4 Announcement

Hello hello! I am back. I will give my standard "I suck and never update this regularly" statement now. Haha. So I just got done watching the Playstation Announcement and it was pretty cool, check out my video review on it!

P.S- Here's the photo of Mark Cerny as Mr. O'Neil from Daria. Seriously ya'll.

My thoughts on Sandy and how you can help!

This is the WTC station I use to get to and from work.

Wow. That's all I can say. Kind of weird to think people were poking fun at my hurricane prep this time last week. If people only knew how much they might need those supplies or to evacuate, things could be a bit different.

So much is going on in the east coast from finding more bodies (4 days later!), the shear devastation throughout numerous communities, gas shortage and rationing, commuting nightmares, everything is at a standstill and on a slow road to recovery.

I can't help but feel completely useless during all of this. I was fortunate, all I lost was some food from a power outage for a few days, others were not so lucky. I can't get over the footage I'm seeing of places I've visited in the summer, on vacations, on birthdays, that are completely destroyed. Even things I move through everyday, like the World Trade Center station above, has been affected. It's so surreal.

I've tried to help out where I can. Lending an extra hand at work while trying to make sure we're still in business since the power outage in Manhattan cut out power to our data center that lost juice after generator's failed. I've donated what money I could to a crowdfunding campaign for a woman with 5 kids who's house was flooded in the Bronx, to help her pay her rent for the next few weeks. Sadly, this story is the same for thousands of people, looking for some sort of relief. I've found a few volunteer opportunities next week that I'm going to try and be apart of (if this gas situation gets better).

What this storm has taught me is nothing is more important than a life. It seems like such a simple concept, but with our busy lives and focus on money and things it get's lost quite easily. It puts everything into perspective. Don't sweat the small stuff, we only have one life to live and we should try to make that a fulfilling life by treating others with kindness and respect. It's as simple as saying "Good Morning" to a stranger on the street. I've lived in my apartment in New Jersey for a year and a half now and have never met my neighbors. This storm has changed that as I met several of my neighbors and even helped a neighbor clean up the debris in his yard. It's crazy that it takes a horrible situation to get to know the people who surround your everyday life.

That being said, so many people still need help, monetary and volunteer wise. I would love to see people donate what they can to any cause and I've listed a few below in case you are generous enough to do so. This storm has proved to me that there is SOME humanity left in this world and that people are damn resilient.

Donate to the Bronx mom mentioned above.
Donate to the Red Cross who are supporting relief efforts across the tri-state area.
Don't forget about the Animals! Donate to the Global Animal Foundation who are assisting with relief efforts of misplaced and lost pets.
Donate to The New York Aquarium (in one of my favorite cities, Coney Island) which was destroyed and needs help coming back from Sandy.

Halo 4 "Scanned" trailer released. And OMG is it sexy!

Oh yes. It's that time of year. The holiday push for games to keep my wallet open and my consoles busy. Just over 2 weeks till the release of Halo 4, we are treated with a little video game p0rn with the release of the latest trailer, "Scanned," for Halo 4.

First off, this trailer is sexy. It reminds me of the trailer for Mass Effect 3, a little human action, a bit of game play, LOTS of gorgeous graphics. Also, the new enemies we are up against look pretty sick.

I was on the fence about pre-ordering Halo 4, but after watching this trailer, I can't help to get excited and am very tempted to hand Amazon my money so I can get this the day of release. What's funny is that the trailer barely shows us anything in the actual game. Just lots of speculation and perhaps the origin of a Spartan. Who knows. What I do know is that this game looks pretty legit and can't wait to dig in!

What do you think? Is a Halo 4 a must buy game, or is it just a load of hype? Let's hear it! 

Leviathan DLC, Worth All the Hubub?

It has been about a month since the new Mass Effect 3 DLC, Leviathan came out for our guilty pleasures and it's been about a month since I've played it-- time to do it some justice.

To begin, I find the plot a little redundant and lazy on the part of Bioware. Look for clues, go to a planet, look for clues go to a planet. BORING. Not very excitement driven. In fact, the only thing pushing me to get out of that cycle is to experience SOME new game play in some form. I don't know how many times  I can search for clues in the same place before it gets old. My guess is about one time from playing this game.

However, one part of the DLC that I absolutely did enjoy was eventually finding out who/what the Leviathan was (though the name gives a hint) and the whole process in finding it. I won't give that away for the sake of anyone who has yet to play.

I haven't played the entire game through again to see how the interactions with Leviathan play out for the ending cut scenes. I'm sure that would warrant another blog post!

At any rate, you get a solid 2-3 hours of extra game play with this DLC, though I'm not sure its worth the steep 800 Microsoft points to buy it!

Dark Knight Rises Video Review

Eh, I was bored and wanted to add more of my babbling nonsense to the interwebs about how I love Bane. haha.

Check it out! :)

By the way, these thumbnails are getting worse and worse. It looks like I'm getting it in the bum in this :X. haha.

Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The end has finally come to the Christopher Nolan Batman enterprise. And what an end, though I am sad it's all over.

The pacing of the Dark Knight Rises starts off a bit slow and dull (but nowhere NEAR that of the beginning of Batman Begins haha) and the story starts to pick up after Bane gets to Gotham. To begin, I absolutely LOVE Tom Hardy's interpretation and portrayal of Bane. It was totally an unexpected performance from him but not being able to see much of his facial expression, Hardy delivered Bane in such physical conviction and passion. Throughout the movie you fall into Bane's personality and become hooked (at least I did). Hardy's voice hit that eerie mark that captured me from the get-go. Polite, yet very sinister. Fantastic.

Anne Hathaway's performance as Selina Kyle, or Catwoman, was on par with what I'd expect it to be. Average. With some pretty neat ass kicking scenes aside, Hathaway didn't really wow me with her performance, it was in line with her other movies. She's just too sweet to be a bad girl, it doesn't work.

One thing that was notably absent in the Dark Knight Rises was Batman himself. Unlike the previous two movies, there were several other characters in the DKR that required some more in depth character development, so perhaps we can contribute it to that. Or, maybe he was absent to reiterate the need for the true hero of Gotham to reappear. Either way, Christian Bale stays in character with the past two movies in his self loathing, screaming, and punching Batman. I do quite like when they show Batman fail a few times, it makes him appear as a normal person and that he is not as invincible as Bruce Wayne believes himself to be.

A few more classic Batman characters appear in the film, but I don't want to give everything away just yet. That being said, in terms of plot I must say that this was  more constructed and fluid. Consider the Dark Knight, Joker's shenanigans could've ended 45 minutes earlier and the movie would have come away with the same meaning. I don't walk away with that feeling after leaving Rises, I just want more!

Finally, as always Hans Zimmer delivers on his theatrical score. I think it's his best yet, it definitely builds the momentum and urgency throughout the entire film.

Overall, I will be happy to see this film a few more times and can't wait to blast it on blu-ray when it's out for home purchase. I'm only left with the feeling of sadness that the series is over in Nolan's belt. Hopefully, we can expect other non-Batman masterpieces from Nolan in the future, as I am absolutely in love with his dark and psychological interpretations in his films.