GAME REVIEW: Max Payne 3 (PC)

Many critics suggested that Max Payne 3 was one of the must play games, so when Max Payne 3 was on sale during the autumn steam sale for a low price, I just had to buy it. Being a newbie to the franchise, I was quite impressed and generally excited with the overall experience that Max Payne 3 was able to provide. Nevertheless, I’ll quickly point out what I found outstanding and the issues that annoyed me. 

GOOD:

1.       Storyline/ Cut scenes

A major factor that propelled me through the game was the interesting storyline and the fluidity of the cut scenes. Unlike other games, Max Payne 3 was able to incorporate cut scenes that do not ruin the feel of the game, by suddenly cutting to random cut scenes. Instead, the cut scene transitions are almost flawless and was able to keep me hooked to the story, as if I was watching an A grade action film. Additionally, the soundtrack compliments both the gameplay and cut scenes beautifully. 

2.       The Ending

I just had to make the ending its own point, because I found it absolutely BADASS. The various objectives the leads to the ending made me tremble with excitement as epic music plays as you fight your way to the main villain. I do not want to leak any spoilers, simply because it is that good. I finished feeling like the biggest badass that no other game could for years. 

3.       Bullet Time Effect

A main gameplay feature that Max Payne 3 allows is bullet time effect. A common feature in recent games, what Max Payne 3 does effectively is make any and every fight turn into the matrix. Who doesn’t want to shoot down 10 guys as you float across cover, and to be able to do that whenever I like is just plain entertaining and the potential to do shenanigans is endless.  

BAD:

1.       Flickering Lights

The game uses an effect where the game overlaps itself into stuttering colours, which I assume is to emphasise the current emotional state of Max. Unfortunately it has been overdone slightly, and I found it quite annoying. If I wanted to feel drunk and be blinded as if I was in a night club, I’ll drink and go clubbing. Not when I’m playing a game. My eyes got quite irritated and I was slightly detached from the storyline, however it did not ruin the overall experience. 

2.       Last Stand

The last stand mechanic in the game is both a blessing and a curse. When you are about to die, the game allows you to go into bullet time so you can kill an enemy, which keeps you alive. The bad thing is that you can only shoot the guy that does the final blow. A common issues I found is that if I already killed the guy who shot me, I have no choice but to die and restart from the save point. I understand that the mechanic makes it easier to execute, however with the bullet time effect activated it’s more like an annoyance when the issue I brought up does happen.

No matter the personal negativities I found annoying, Max Payne 3 is indeed what the critics say. I cannot find a major flaw to the game, which would cause anyone to rage quit or lose commitment. Overall the combination of well written and presented storyline, and entertaining gameplay made Max Payne 3 a game that makes the player feel completely badass.  Max Payne 3 deserves an impressive rating of 9/10. 

(source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0osBThQBmw)

ANIME REVIEW: Devil May Cry

With the upcoming Devil May Cry 4 game soon to be released in early 2013, it reminded me of the anime series that I watched a while back. Created by the games creators, CAPCOM, Devil May Cry (DMC) the anime series was memorable and one of the must see series, especially to newcomers in my opinion. For those who are not acquainted with this franchise, the main character is Dante, a half breed demon, who also hunts other demons to keep the human race safe. That said, I will briefly note a few good and bad elements of the series.

GOOD:

1.       SHORT SERIES (12 episodes)

The short series of only 12 episodes makes DMC convenient to watch without losing the plot, characters and forgetting which episode you were up to. These factors usually happen with terribly long anime series, as it becomes annoying figuring where you left off in the series.

2.       ICONIC ARTWORK & CHARACTER (DANTE)

CAPCOM has been renowned for their art style from anime series to their well-known video games and it is clear that the same quality is represented in the series. Action scenes are intense with incredible combinations of gun fire and sword play, and of course not forgetting the graphical use of bloodshed. Additionally, the main character’s (Dante) iconic red coat jacket brings a wonderful ‘pop’ of red colour, letting your eyes know exactly where the action is, as he battles against demons.  

BAD:

1.       SUBBED vs. DUBBED

SUBBED = watching with subtitles and Japanese audio

DUBBED = watching with dubbed voiceovers

The one major flaw that can be said overall, is more of a personal choice to how you decide to watch the series. I found that in most cases the best way to watch anime series is with subs, as having dubbed voiceovers seem to never be able to correctly capture the character’s personalities. An example of terrible voiceover can be seen in this series, as the voice for the main young female lead was clearly stereotyped with a high pitch and somewhat annoying voice. Again, this is only a personal choice, as it can be easily said about Japanese voices being overly exaggerated to some degree.  

Nevertheless, the few points listed briefly describe why Devil May Cry the animated series is one of my personal favourites. I do not spend awfully long time or days watching anime, so a nice short and interesting anime series are always easily accessible in terms of effort required to watch them. If a rating must be given, I would give Devil May Cry the anime 8/10.

MOVIE REVIEW: Brave 2012

Although primarily intended for younger audiences recent animations have been made with a more ‘darker’ approach, where moral ethics and dire consequences are portrayed. Disney Pixar’s animated film, Brave, beautifully addresses an important stage of a young adult’s life, the exploration of self-identity through rebellion-ness.  Additionally, the film also portrays contrasting perspectives on society’s views on women that can be inferred. This quick review will briefly illustrate how the above topics were integrated.

1.        ‘Barbie girls’ vs ‘Boyish girls’

In the few minutes of the film, Pixar Disney immediately portrays the contrasting behaviours of the mother (Queen Elinor) and the princess (Merida). The queen illustrates a polite, disciplined and civilised image of women, while the princess depicts a more tom boyish attitude. Ignoring the obvious age and maturity gap between the two characters, a base concept on how women are usually stereotyped as either ‘girly girls’ or ‘boyish girls’. This contrast was seen as the queen objects for the princess of having a weapon as a birthday present, due to the idea that ‘proper ladies’ do not use weapons. There is an abundant example of this seen in real life, where women are looked strangely by others due to the lack of what is considered ‘feminine appeal’. One example that I have personally witnessed is from my martial arts school, where girls who I train with are generally depicted as ‘too manly’ by men. Personally, I find it quite ridiculous how men are generally unsettled by women with power. I believe that women have every right to portray strong attributes, whether it is physically or mentally. Why would you want a girl to just stand there and have no opinions? Sounds rather boring don’t you think?

2.       Maturing through experiences

The overall moral that can be taken from the film is experiencing things through trial and error. Everyone has been lectured by their elders as they pass down words of wisdom, however those words of wisdom cannot be fully understood until we experience them first hand. Indeed it sounds counterproductive in terms of, why experience the hard times, when we can avoid them entirely. Truth is that being told what is right is not the same as facing them head-on. Addressing this issue allows the film to be relatable to practically everyone. 

Furthermore, this concept can be seen in the movie through a simple sequence of events:  

Princess rebels against her mother, tragic event happens, the princess learns from her mistakes and fixes them. 

The most important aspect of the story that I believe should be remembered is the optimistic ending, where the princess overcomes her obstacle by understanding her mother’s words of wisdom and apply them with her own method. While her mother, the queen acknowledges that the princess has her own personality and that everyone has their own path to follow. 

Ultimately, if you enjoy movies such as Tangled, the film Brave will definitely win you over with its combination of humorous Irish culture and real world issues. As a rating, I would give Brave an 8/10.

MOVIE REVIEW: Total Recall 2012

Finally getting to watch the remake of the iconic total recall (1990) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, I found the movie quite well made. Of course there were negative views of how the 21012 version was made, mainly that the trip to mars was completely removed from the film. At first, I too was anxious due to this main factor. However doing extra digging into the 2012 version, I watched interviews with the director, Len Wiseman and his central approach to the iconic film as NOT a remake, but more as an ADAPTION and following the ORIGINAL story. As an adaption to the 1990 film, I believed it was done quite successfully.

Removing the complexity of the mars setting, the film was able to flesh out subtle elements more effectively such as:

1.   Political and social influences.

Unlike the 1990 version, the influences between the government and rebellion forces are more expressive and coherent by the familiarity of basing the film solely on Earth. 

2.  Sci-fication

A large sum of the budget was evidently spent on CGI and I found it amazing. Clearly since its so CGI heavy, why couldn’t they still include the mars setting? Simply put, it would have taken more time and money to ensure that the level of presentation to pull it off would most certainly be less than what we are given. Quality over quantity proves the winning combo once again, and executed well.

3.   In-film references to the 1990 version

I was happily surprised to find references to the 1990 version in the new film, and most likely due to the direction of Len Wiseman, this was probably the major factor that made me enjoy watching the film overall.

What is better: a remake that follows the story completely or an adaption that surprises you with homage to its precedent?

Undoubtedly I smiled at the scene where the redhead woman was going through the security check, and being shown that in fact it was the male behind her. Although it was easy to catch on, it’s the fact that Len Wiseman has a passion and respect to the original to maintain references, while adapting it to today’s audience.

Ultimately, I can understand how many loyal fans to the 1990 version would be upset by the new film; however I could not condemn this film, as it is a different film than the 1990 version, as it was always meant to be. The overall fluidity of the set locations, CGI effects and character portrayals was of high performance. Although there was a period of time, near the end where I was anxious whether or not Kate Beckinsale’s character actually dies or not, because you know, she just HAS to die. To conclude, if you were hesitant to watch the new Total Recall, I would say just watch it, because it’s still a pretty damn good movie for everyone and for the sci-fi fans.