The Happening

I consider myself a fan of M. Night Shyamalan.  The Sixth Sense was fantastic.  Signs was great.  I only saw Unbreakable once in theaters and don't remember too much of it so I have to see it again, but many say it is his best film.  The Village was alright, although I ruined it by falling asleep in the theater, missing the entire middle of the movie, waking up and having the "monster" portion spoiled for me, then I figured out the twist at the end before it happened even though I missed half the flick.  But still, it was alright.  Lady in the Water however . . . meh.

 

I had high hopes for The Happening.  But unfortunately . . . meh.

 

The movie had a B-movie feel, only it was taking itself seriously, so that did not work in its favor (unlike Grindhouse).  The dialogue was the bad, the performances were weak, and I was not sold on the reason for the "event".  I went in with low expectations and still managed to come away disappointed.

 

I should have seen The Incredible Hulk instead.

 

I hope M. Night finds his way.  The Happening has been getting absolutely destroyed by critics and the guy is getting hammered on internet message boards.  I think he has a lot of talent and a great eye as a director.  I find his writing to be his weakest link.  He does have some cool ideas though, so maybe he should team-up with a really talented writer to iron them out before committing them to celluloid.

 

Good old Jack . . .

Game Politics has a transcript of Jack Thompson's latest sanctions hearing.  Read it HERE.

 

Wow.  Just wow.

 

Crazy like a fox that one is.

 

Dual Shock 3

I picked up a Dual Shock 3 controller this past weekend in preparation for MGS 4.  The Metal Gear series has always put the rumble feature to great use, often in innovative ways that increase the game's immersion and provides great feedback to the player, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out.

 

The controller feels great!  I was never fond of the Six Axis much.  It was too light and felt cheap as a result.  The DS3 feels very sturdy and the extra weight is very welcomed.  The buttons feel solid and the over feel is just fantastic.  I'm finding it a huge improvement.  All PS3 owners should pick one up.

 

Ninja Gaiden II impressions:

I've played the first few chapters of the game.  Some quick impressions:

 

- Graphically, it looks similar to Sigma on the PS3 with new animations.  I would have liked a bigger jump for the sequel given the fact that it is jumping from one generation (Xbox) to the next (360).  Don't get me wrong, the game looks far better than the Xbox original, but the graphical style and gameplay are so similar, it comes off as just a high-res/higher polygon upgrade.  The first game set a new level for graphics when it came out.  The sequel does no such thing.

 

- This game is ultra violent.  Gratuitously so.  All the hacked limbs do work into the gameplay though.  Limbless enemies are especially dangerous, performing devastating suicide bombings on Ryu which pack a wallop of damage.  Taking those wounded enemies out with a press of the Y button is a treat though, since you'll get various killing animations depending on the weapon you are using and the limbs the enemy is missing.

 

- The controls are basically the same as the previous games.  Combat controls are ultra-refined and feel great.  The rest of the controls, not so much.  Platforming has always felt odd in this series because of Ryu's jumping mechanics and the fact that he clings to walls, making some sections extra annoying when you want to run across a wall but instead run UP the wall and fall down and off a ledge.

 

- The camera is just awful in this game.  It is even worse than in the original.  Well, I never played the "original", I only played Black and that game gave you a bit more control of the camera.  Still, the camera in Black and Sigma was never this annoying.  You'd think after 2 rehashes they would have improved on the camera.  But you'd be wrong.

 

- I've already experienced some sections that felt pretty cheap, with enemies hitting me with fire projectiles from what seemed like across the level.  These fire-missiles are unblockable and you can't see them coming.  So damn annoying.  And cheap.

 

- The combat itself is as solid as ever.  I have only been able to try one new weapon so far, the Wolverine claws.  That is not what they are officially called, but that is what I am calling them.  They are extremely satisfying to yield.

 

- The quick saving you can do now is great.  Not that saving the game took that long before, but it is even faster now.

 

I think I have complained more than given praise in these impressions.  Bottom line is that the game is very much Ninja Gaiden.  That might be its biggest negative.  There is not much innovation here.  This feels more like an expansion pack than a true sequel.  The original did such an amazing job of reviving the action genre I guess I was expecting the sequel to do it again.  I wanted something that felt newer, especially after playing through Black and Sigma.

 

I still have a way to go, so I'll write further impressions later on.  If you're a NG fan, you'll have fun with this one, and have the benefit of not having to go through the learning curve again.  Just jump in and start hacking off those limbs!

 

Ninja Gaiden II; Goodbye Itagaki

Ninja Gaiden II should be out today. I think. I thought it was coming out yesterday, called Gamestop, they told me Friday, then I get a call at night from that Gamestop computer lady telling me it should be arriving tomorrow evening (today). Either way, I can't wait.

And here is a bit of surprising news. Tomonobo Itagaki, the director of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II, along with the Dead of Alive series of games, is leaving Tecmo and suing them for unpaid bonuses. Ouch!

I'm not a fan of Dead of ALive, but as you know, I eat Ninja Gaiden up. I wonder what the future of the franchise will be?