CITY BOY GEEKINESS

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LET'S CONNECT

I know it has been a while since my last post. For the next entry, I've decided to write about a game that I completed a long while ago. It still stands as one of the biggest surprise hits for me and I felt like writing about it so more people could become more familiar with the game. So that means that the next game to be reviewed for "In My Console" is the small town survival horror game: Deadly Premonition.


The Story: A brutal small town murder of the death of homecoming queen, Anna Graham, brings FBI Special Agent York to the town of Greenvale. What seems to be a connected homicide turns into a full-fledged string of murders with a psychotic individual carrying an axe and wearing a raincoat at the helm of the deaths, effectively called The Raincoat Killer. The game features a sandbox function with a slew of interesting lead, supporting and minor characters who are all targeted as suspects as the Raincoat Killer. It seems everyone had a reason to either be the killer or a possible target for the killer; as York, your job is to follow through with the investigation and catch the killer before more people start dying.


Where To Play: The game is currently only featured on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Always for the purpose of my reviews, I played this game on the Xbox. I do know that this game has had a limited release and is slowly being released in areas across the world.


The Good: The standout highlight of this game has to be the incredible storyline. For a budget game ($24 CAD), there is over 20 hours of gameplay where there story develops itself with a huge supporting cast. This game mimics the feel of a B-horror movie and the 90s hit television show, Twin Peaks. Unlike it's rival video game competitor, Heavy Rain, you actually get a logical sense of who the killer is and the events surrounding the string of murders. Simply separating the Ghost World and the Real World, you get a real life game with crazy characters with a perfect mix of old survival horror.
Another great factor about the game is the sandbox variety. You can take the game at your own pace and complete side missions to unlock a variety of things for York to use; especially when he enters the Ghost World. A great tidbit to remember is that when you complete certain side missions and talk to people in the town, you actually learn more about the characters, certain legends surrounding the killer, urban legends in the town and a progression to the story.
The Bad: This game may be on the latest generation of video game consoles, but the graphics are one system behind. The town may be gorgeous in its simplicity; however, sometimes the graphics can take away from the awe struck. Everything seems a little shoddy and graphics definitely needed to be upgraded such as the river in the town, design of trees, the designs of food and the pictures on the trading card Another hindrance is the controls while using York and the weapon system. Sometimes when you are using your gun, the bullets aren`t actually hitting your enemy and just wasting ammunition. If you don`t fully understand the controls early on, you may experience some problems later on.



The Results: 10/10!
I may have bagged on the game's graphics and controls; however, for everything that is wrong with the game...it made it perfect. It's like that expression: "It's so bad, it's good!" The story just draws you in and could be its own feature length film or television series. There is enough craziness mixed with realism that you actually understand what it is going on when you get into the nitty-gritty of the game. The characters are thought out perfect and equally all unique, the killer and villains are actually scary, and you get so much and more for the price value. I've read previous reviews from other sites where there has been polarizing results: some score really high while others score low. I look at the low scores for people who are more into graphics than storyline. I love visually appealing graphics as much as the next person but if there is nothing concrete behind it (storyline) then what is the point of playing. This is an underground game that is gaining momentum with grassroots word-of-mouth movement so hopefully you all will check this game out and see what all the talk is about.
I've been a huge James Bond fan ever since I was a little kid. My first movie was "GoldenEye" starring Pierce Brosnan and I've seen every movie since then. With the news that Bond 23 has just restarted back into pre-production with Sam Mendez directing and Daniel Craig returning to portray 007, the question has surfaced which female will land the role as the infamous Bond Girl who will play opposite Craig? 

Rumors has circulated that Rachel Weitz is the top contender for the lead Bond Girl but they're just rumors. I've thought long and hard about who I would love to see as a future Bond Girl in any role. Roles are lead girl who fight alongside Bond, supporting girl who provides as an aid and love interest for Bond and villain. Here is my Top 10 list of who I think should be a (if not the next) Bond Girl:


1. Katie Cassidy
Most memorable from: Melrose Place (2010), A Nightmare on Elm Street, Gossip Girl, and Supernatural.

She is someone who I've continued to be impressed with by her work. She is more of the sophisticated type who I think could play the villain role perfectly and the lead Bond Girl. Her roles in Gossip Girl and Melrose Place show that can pull off the devious and manipulative fashion of a villainness. However, her portrayal of a rough-and-tough demon in Supernatural shows that shes down to fight alongside Bond.







2. Mila Kunis
Most memorable from: That 70s show, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Black Swan.

For the longest time I would never have considered Mila as a  the next Bond Girl. I find her to be a little too commercial and girly compared to sophisticated. However, after her performance in Black Swan, she could pull off any performance and depth you needed to have. For me, I think she would be perfect either in the lead role or as a supporting character. People will definitely be drawn in by her; it's something in her eyes...says "there's something mysterious about my character and makes you underestimate me."





3. Olivia Wilde
Most memorable from: Tron Legacy, House M.D., and The O.C.

Olivia Wilde was one of the top rumors around Hollywood to be the next Bond girl. I considered this over and came to the conclusion that she would be perfect. She's a tough girl who could take anything on especially with the rough and harsh schedule of making a Bond film. She's definitely a lead Bond Girl who would be opposite Bond in the next film. Hopefully the rumors are true and she decides to do the film.







4. Freida Pinto
Most memorable from: Slumdog Millionaire

Similar to the reports about Olivia Wilde, Freida was the hot rumor going around Hollywood for being the next Bond Girl. Even though she has countlessly denied all the rumors and has publicly announced that she was not going to star in the next film. I don't know why she turned down the film because I think she would be amazing as the lead Bond Girl. She has that ability to charm the audiences and composure about herself. Well hopefully she reconsiders one of these days and decides to do a Bond film in the future.




 
5. Zoe Saldana
Most memorable from: Star Trek and Avatar

Zoe Saldana has proven that she is a versatile actress. I'm not entirely familiar with all of her work since I'm not a Star Trek fan. However, from the performances I have seen of her, I think she could pull off any of the three types of Bond Girls. She has that mischievous smile to her to be evil, the beauty to pull off the supporting love interest, and the dynamic acting ability to be the lead Bond Girl. It all depends on the role that is available and if she wants to play the part.






6. Evangeline Lilly
Most memorable from: LOST

Evangeline could pull off a lead role. She's played the lead role on LOST for the past six years through all that craziness and beautiful weather in Hawaii. I think that doing a Bond film will feel like nothing to her and we can see how far her acting ability could take her from the small screen to the silver screen as a Bond Girl. She's another one who I would need to see more of her work to accurately determine how well she could perform in this type of action movie.





7. Emily Blunt
Most memorable from: The Devil Wears Prada

She is the only actress on the list who I think would be the absolute ideal actress to be a Bond villain. She has the cold ability to be detached and evil, the accent to give the extra touch, and she's just amazing. I think her performance could be reminiscent to that of Miranda Frost in Die Another Day. I hope she would choose to play a part in the future. To be a Bond villain, you need to be devious and sexy but not overt.








8. Clemence Posey
Most memorable from: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Gossip Girl

We haven't had a French-speaking Bond Girl in the longest time and I think Clemence would be the perfect one to fill the role. I think she could pull of a villain role and the lead role is possible but right now, I'm leaning towards a supporting feature. I would just need to see her in more pieces of work before I could actually judge. However, from what I've seen, she definitely has the look and feel to be a great addition to the long list of Bond Girls.





9. Missy Peregrym
Most memorable from: Heroes, Stick It, and Reaper.

She's the tomboy with the perfect mix of breath-taking beauty. I think she could play the lead role of Bond Girl in the sense of American/Canadian agent for the CIA or FBI. I think her character would be the type who wouldn't take any of Bond's cavalier attitude and try to out due everything he did. She may be a bit too commercial for the role of Bond Girl but anythings a possible and I would love to see her try the role out.



10. Jordana Brewster
Most memorable from: The Fast and the Furious, The Faculty, D.E.B.S.

Jordana Brewster has almost become synonymous with The Fast and the Furious movies. You haven't really seen her much in other projects and ventures so a Bond role might be a great role for her. We could see her range in maybe a villain role to counteract Bond. She definitely could draw Bond in and destroy him with not only her looks but her sly personality.








I know that there are probably more people who I've thought would be good Bond Girls. We'll just have to wait and see who becomes the new Bond Girl for Bond 23. Maybe one of my choices will be chosen but until then, it's great to speculate and pick your favourites.

I am literally at the final mission in the game and once again through no fault of my own, the ending has been spoiled for me. I am, however, ready to write the next article in the "In My Console" category. The game that I am going to be reviewing is the action-period piece: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.


The Story: Ezio Auditore, the protagonist of the second game, has discovered the secret from the mysterious individual beneath the Vatican. He is confused about the truth but is quickly thrust back into battle against the Borgia, the main antagonist family for the game. After a surprise attack in Monteriggioni, Ezio, his family and a slew of companions (assassins, courtesans, thieves, mercenaries, friends and civilians) must now rise in their locale, Rome, to take back control of the city, defeat the Borgia family and return possession of the Apple of Eden.

(L to R): Rebecca, Desmond, Shaun, and Lucy.
The game also focuses on Desmond Miles. The kidnapped Subject 17 from the first game who was rescued by Lucy and brought on the run with her cohorts, Shaun and Rebecca. Desmond is reliving all the events through the game from his ancestor's memories before the diabolical company, Abstergo, discovers their new hidden location.


Where To Play: The game can be played on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and on the Xbox 360. Once again for the basis of this review, the game has been played on the Xbox 360. 


The Good: Even though this game can be classified as a cross between a sequel and a spin-off for the series, Brotherhood has offered more than the previous two games in terms of extras. There is now a new multiplayer addition to the game and for those of you who have read previous posts of mine, you know how much I love having multiplayer in a video game; it adds the continuing play factor. The new addition allows the user to play as an iconic (fictionalized) assassin to compete on assignments and play head-to-head against other individuals.


Other extras include the iconic scenery of well-known locations and the ability to purchase them to strengthen the power of the Assassin's Guild. My favourite addition is the ability to recruit aspiring assassins around the city, employ them to fight guards in Rome that are after Ezio, and sending them to complete missions across Europe and Asia.
The Bad: The controls have improved from the first two games. However, there were problems when actions didn't orchestrate how I wanted them to while completing a mission, such as running from guards or climbing an incredibly difficult building. Fixed camera angles were a bit of a nuisance, especially in certain locations when you're trying to jump to a support beam or a placement on the wall. I didn't like the half/full synchronization method at first to complete an extra goal. Sometimes the extra goals were redundant and hard to complete in the allotted time. The last issue I had with the game is that the locations were very limited. In Assassin's Creed 2, you're able visit a variety of cities across Italy while in this game, it only focused in Rome. The design of the city was beautiful, but the game felt very short compared to the previous installments.

The Result: 8.5/10! 
I love the Assassin's Creed series and the continued improvements that the series is making. I just wish that some of the issues were improved upon and that there was more variety to the locations. Multiplayer is a great touch and I loved the overarching story; however, the experience felt shortened compared to previous installments. The game sometimes felt like an expanded DLC (downloadable content) that could have just been download and added to AC2. However, the purchase as a stand-alone game was worth the buy and subsequent play for all the extras and the continued story in Rome.

Hello my little Bloggers,

I have not left you! It felt like time to update you all about what I have been doing in the time between posts. Well the new semester started...but I'm not on campus! Yes, I started my internship on Monday and right now I just completed my fourth day on the job. Still a little shy around the office, all my friends would be incredibly shocked to know that I'm a quiet here...very much not like me. Came to an agreement with my Gap work and I'm only there on weekends now. I do miss all my PR and work mates but I'm loving my internship right now and so much better to be actually start working.

Well I'm looking at the clock and it's time to head off. Still thinking about ideas of future articles. Almost completed my Christmas games to write reviews, articles and hot list ideas. Stay tuned Bloggers because I'm always gonna be here for you.
About a week or two ago, a work friend of mine and I had this discussion about our favourite music artists and groups that would be in our top five list. As we went along the list kept growing to who might be in the list but in later rankings. Below is the list of my Top 25 Musicians whose music made a lasting impression in my iPod or random moments of singing.

Note: Some of the rankings will have explanations while some will not, if an artist is featured in another artist's song on the list then the song may be referenced once,  and songs listed may not have been released in 2010; however, the songs did make a huge presence for my listening in 2010.

1. Lady Gaga
Songs: Bad Romance, Monster, Dance in the Dark, and Alejandro
Who else would be in the top spot for my favourite musician in 2010? Her music has captivated me all the way going back to "Just Dance" and every release since has been amazing. I can't wait to see what comes from her next album in the upcoming year.


2. Katy Perry
Songs: California Gurls, Teenage Dream, and Firework
Some of the music that has been released by Katy this year is different from her previous album. I will admit that California Gurls did get overplayed a bit too much but her latest song, Firework, has instantly become one of my favourite songs. 





3. Far East Movement
Songs: Like a G6 and Rocketeer
I hadn't expected much from this group because their first mainstream single has instantly become a smash hit and figured they would be a one hit wonder. After the release of Rocketeer, this group has really become a favourite of mine for their dance hits and interesting singles.



4. Black Eyed Peas
Songs: Meet Me Halfway, Rock That Body, and The Time (Dirty Bit)
I have been a huge BEP fan since elementary school. Now that they have started to take a drastic turn towards dance, techno and pop hits, they've quickly risen up the ranks. I've enjoyed their individual solo works and  their group albums. I can't wait to see what the group comes up with in the new year.




5. Metric
Songs: Help, I'm Alive, Eclipse, and Black Sheep
I've always known about Metric but I wasn't that big of a fan who listened to their music really well. After watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, I found out that Envy sang a song from Metric in the film. I searched some songs up on YouTube and now I really love the band.


6. Adam Lambert
Songs: Whataya Want From Me and If I Had You

7.  David Guetta
Songs: Club Can't Handle Me, Commander, Gettin' Over You, and a variety of other songs

8. Down with Webster
Songs: Rich Girl$ and Your Man

9. Faber Drive
Songs: G-Get Up and Dance and Give Him Up

10. Dev
Songs: Like a G6 and Bass Down Low

11. Ke$ha
Songs: Your Love is My Drug, Take It Off, and We R Who We R

12. Kelly Rowland
Songs: Commander

13. Rihanna
Songs: Only Girl (In the World)

14. Little Boots
Songs: Hearts Collide and Remedy

15. LIGHTS
Songs: Ice and Second Go

16. 3Oh!3
Songs: My First Kiss and Starstrukk

17. Britney Spears
Songs: 3

18. P!nk
Songs: Raise Your Glass, So What, and Funhouse

19. Nicki Minaj
Songs: Your Love and Check It Out

20. Mariana's Trench
Songs: Celebrity Status

21. Enrique Iglesias
Songs: I like it and Heartbeat

22. Nelly Furtado
Songs: Night is Young

23. Girlicious
Songs: Maniac and 2 in the Morning

24. Bruno Mars
Songs: Billionaire, Grenade, and Just The Way You Are

25. Miley Cyrus
Songs: Can't Be Tamed and Who Owns My Heart

I just want to wish everyone to have a happy new years and hope that 2011 will be everything that you hoped for and more.