Author: Shmee

Posted on

SDCC 2014 Wrap Up!

comic-con

Well another San Diego Comic Con has come and gone, and what did we get this year?  Well not a whole lot.  Marvel made all their big comic book reveals before the show, so they only announced some TV show stuff.  Well that and this crazy Age of Ultron poster!

avengers-age-of-ultron-giant-poster-final

It is very cool to see all the Avengers neck deep in the army of Ultron.  I can’t wait to see that movie.

DC didn’t announce a Shazam movie like The Rock promised.  So I guess I didn’t smell what The Rock was cooking.  He must just really like pictures of Shazam and Black Adam beating the crap out of each other.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  I think that is something we can all enjoy.

They did show a couple of new images from the upcoming Batman V Superman movie.  First up is the Ben Affleck Batman pic:

ben-affleck-batman

I will say that he has got the chin for it, but I still have my doubts that this boy from Boston will be a good Dark Knight.  The next image is the one geeks have been waiting for, for a long time.  Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman:

wonder-woman-gal-gadot

It is bananas to think we are finally going to get Wonder Woman on the big screen!  I hope she kicks serious butt!  It was kind of a bummer that she is not wearing her red, white, and blue, instead going for more of a Xena vibe.  Still, I am sure Batman V Superman will be a long movie, so they may still get to her in to her comic book outfit.  This one has her circlet and the eagle on her chest, so it is still kind of a fun costume.

Big news!  They announced that the cast of Firefly is reuniting!  Oh, but it is for an MMO that you will probably never play, so that is kind of lame…… Never mind that sobbing noise you are hearing (Why must they keep making crappy MMOs out of the properties I love!).

An Evil Dead TV show got teased at this year’s Con, but only that they were working on it.  Well the Raimi brothers have been working on Army of Darkness 2 for like two decades, so I am not holding by breath.

Last but not least I will leave you with the trailer for the new season of The Walking Dead.  It is pretty great, and I can’t wait until October!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GAs9TJVjM

Was there anything at the show that you were excited about, and I missed?  Let me know!

Posted on

Comic Con Starts Today!

comic-con

The San Diego Comic Con starts today!  I hope we get lots of new geeky movie and video game news, and of course some cool new comic books.  I am sure we will hear a lot about the Marvel movies and shows, Star Wars, DC’s TV show empire, and the Justice League movies, but I am hoping that this year’s show will still have a few surprises for us.  A new Green Lantern movie perhaps?

We shall see!  Is there anything you are hoping for out of this year’s Con?

Posted on

Destiny Beta Quick Thoughts!

2013-destiny-game

So the Destiny Beta came out a day early for us Xbox users, and I thought I would give some quick thoughts.

People have been saying this game is a cross between Halo and Borderlands, and they are not far off, but for me due to the online public cities it seems more like Hellgate: London.  Though if they can make a non-glitchy Helllgate, I am all in.  That game was like a year away from being something special.  Though I do find it odd that the cities take you from first person to third person.

The graphics are pretty good, especially the environments, but the enemy character models can look a little cartoony.  You don’t notice it a lot when you are fighting for your life, but when it is just you and a couple of them standing around they look a little off.

The AI is hit and miss.  The Fallen like to hide against walls, even if those walls are facing you.  Sure that makes them easy to kill, but it is just kind of odd to see them peering around a corner away from you even though they were just looking right at you.

If you had any doubts about the shooting or gameplay mechanics, don’t.  The people at Bungie haven’t forgotten how to make an FPS.  The controls are tight, and they feel a little like Halo mixed with Call of Duty, so console FPS players should be right at home.

So far Destiny has been fun, and I can’t wait to play it more.  It is going to give Borderlands a run for its money in the Co-operative First Person Looter space.  Still, I think there is more than enough room for both of them.  I will let you all know if my first impression about this game change at all.  However since it is in free beta now, my advice would be to find a download key and try it yourself!

Posted on

Playing A Little Sniper Elite 3!

sniper_elite_3

My friends know that I am not really in to sniping in games very much.  It makes me angry when I line up that perfect shot, and then all of the sudden the guy’s head moves.  However, when I got my new video card it came with Sniper Elite 3 by Rebellion Developments for free, so I had to give it a spin.

You play as Karl Fairburne sniping his way through Northern Africa during World War 2.  There is a little more to the story then that, but it is told in such a disjointed way that it hard to care, so it pretty much boils down to that there are people to kill, and they sure aren’t going to kill themselves.  Well maybe some of them will.  The AI is a little daft at times.

When I first got in to this game, I thought I was only going to be lining up my shots and taking guys out, but it turns out that this game is more like the Hitman franchise.  You have to enter an open area without being seen, and then complete objectives like kill the General, or destroy some vans.  Which generally involves strangling a lot of guys from behind, hiding their bodies, and planting explosives.  Oh yeah, you will probably snipe some dudes too.  If you want.  It generally isn’t required.

The sniping has a few fun features, for one if you hit the hold breath button time slows down, and your gun stops moving around, so it is easier to hit your target.  They have also added a “sound” feature.  Shooting a high powered sniper rifle attracts attention, especially when people start dying, so to mask the sound you can sabotage generators and stuff to make a lot of “normal” noise, and then you can go about killing whomever you wish.

The feature that has been gaining a lot of attention is the “Kill Cam”.  It is just as crazy as you have heard.  You watch a slow motion bullet leave your gun and travel to your target, and then you watch as it slowly makes its way through your victims body with X-Ray vision.  It kind of does it at random, but it is a really cool effect that makes you feel like you are a super soldier.

The graphics in the game are hit and miss.  Some things like the main character models look great, and there are some really good textures, but sometimes things don’t line up right, or objects have an odd look or are in a weird spot.  The graphics just have that “good enough” feel.  They are not great, but they are not distractingly bad.

The whole game has that “good enough” feel.  The AI is spotty but serviceable, there is a story of some sort, as I said the graphics are ok, and the gameplay mechanics mostly work.  The game has the feel of those old summer budget titles from the 90s.  They weren’t great, but they were good enough to get you through summer and in to the AAA games of fall.  Sniper Elite 3 is a fun, but mostly just OK game that is a perfect cheap pickup.  I don’t know that I would pay full price for it, but if you found it for twenty bucks, I would say go for it.  It will at least tide you over until the next Hitman game comes out.