24
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: 1, Film, francis, Games, hunger, jennifer, lawrence, mockingjay, Movie, one, part, Review. Leave a Comment
Have I missed my window to see Interstellar? No, surely not. I will make time. Meanwhile, check out yet another 2014 blockbuster in pretty damn good form:
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Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore
Director: Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I am Legend)
Rating: M
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So here we are, dear friends, embroiled in the hype of yet another young adult novel film adaptation that has been arbitrarily split into more movies than there were books, all in the name of making more money from fans. Like Harry Potter and Twilight in days gone past, as well as the Divergent series in the near future, Suzanne Collins‘ Hunger Games novel trilogy is now a quadrilogy because of reasons, and as usual, it’s the final book that has copped the razor. Given this phenomenon, it will surprise absolutely no-one that the inherently incomplete Mockingjay Part 1 is the weakest film in the series thus far. Yet the things it accomplishes are so impressive and so on-point with Collins‘ original narrative vision that I have to recommend it to pretty much all fans of the series anyway.
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18
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Console, PS Vita, PS4. Tagged: Box, PlayStation, PS, PSone, PSP, Review, Sony, television, tv, Vita. Leave a Comment
Given what happened last year, I certainly didn’t think I’d have any new pieces of gaming hardware to review in 2014. But now I’m getting two in the space of a week! Here’s the first, which hit Australian shores on November 14th.
“What the hell is a Playstation TV?”
There’s a question I’ve already been asked a few times. If you’re reading this, you may be asking it yourself. And there are millions of gamers and non-gamers alike who will be asking it over the next several months. It’s a question that is actually really easy to answer, but Sony’s marketing slant on the device has muddied the waters quite a bit, to the point that you’d be forgiven for thinking they themselves didn’t actually know what it’s capable of.
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15
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Wii U. Tagged: 8, content, dlc, downloadable, impressions, kart, link, Mario, Opinion, Review, tracks, Zelda. 1 Comment
Yesterday, Nintendo entered a brave new world – one in which for the first time in their history, they have a Mario Kart game with additional tracks as paid DLC. Thanks to the largely unprecedented Nintendo move of adding substantial downloadable content to Mario Kart 8, fans now have an extremely enticing incentive to jump back into the game almost six months after it launched. For $10 AU (technically $8 if you buy the pack with the upcoming May DLC as well), three new characters, four new karts and eight new tracks are available for you to download at your leisure. Last night I brought some friends over to try out the new content, and here’s what I think:
Nintendo, this is the reason I love you.
It’s certainly weird to think of the Big N as a company peddling DLC, especially given how long they’ve gone without it in a general gaming environment that is positively rife with the stuff. But surely, this is downloadable content done right. This first pack is alarmingly cheap for what you get, and it’s extremely evident that a lot of design work has gone into it. Though I’m not really all that fussed about the new characters (Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach and Link from The Legend of Zelda series) or the new Karts (The classic B-Dasher, the Blue Falcon from F-Zero, the bulky new off-road Tanooki Kart and Link’s matching Master Cycle) , the detail that has gone into their design is fitting of Nintendo’s reputation. Link makes his trademark angry yell noises during hectic races and waves his sword around during tricks, for example, while Tanooki Mario’s horn sound will be familiar to anyone who grew up with Super Mario Bros 3. The real value for money, of course, is in the eight fresh tracks, and boy do they deliver.
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14
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: dog, Film, hitman, john, keanu, Man, Movie, reeves, Review, wick. Leave a Comment
Any Keanu fans in the house?
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Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Willem Defoe
Director: Chad Stahelski (New)
Rating: MA15+
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Say what you will about Keanu Reeves, but there is one kind of role he does really, even spectacularly, well. When he’s on a screen, not saying anything, dropping villains and acting like a general badass, there are few who can match his magnetism. That’s what helps make his latest film, John Wick, one of the most surprising movie outings of the year, but it isn’t what makes it an instant recommendation from yours truly if you enjoy action. No, what makes it so good is its astonishingly effective commitment to world building within a short time frame. If you enjoyed Liam Neeson‘s Taken but wished every one-man-army action movie since its release hadn’t felt exactly the same, you need to go see John Wick.
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11
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in Games, Misc. Leave a Comment
I’m not going to lie – it’s been very difficult to get any sort of blogging done lately. With my new employment situation piling up on top of my other commitments, my personal posting goal for 2014 looks further and further away. I will still do my best to get there, and there’s a big series of end-of-year countdowns coming as per usual, but there are many obstacles in the way right now. Not to mention ALL THE GAMES that keep releasing, a significant percentage of which I feel compelled to purchase for some reason. At last count, I believe I’ve bought nine games since I finished up with Destiny in late September, some of which I haven’t even played, and none of which I’ve even been close to finishing. And I’m not even done. Leaving all semblance of common sense behind, I’m still excited to grab the following ten gaming items before the end of the year:
This is consumerist irresponsibility at its very best, folks.
10
Nov
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 2014, blast, Bros, cast, deku, dog, episode, Game, mega, MUBC, of, overwatch, podcast, scrub, smash, thirty, two, ultra, yoghurt. Leave a Comment
There is just too much to talk about on the latest episode of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast, as we drown in news and a flood of videogame releases. In MUBC 32 we talk dog vacations, Overwatch, the secret link between Crash Bandicoot and Majora’s Mask, the latest Nintendo Direct, Shane’s obsession with The Binding of Isaac Rebirth, John Wick and Delaney’s poorly conceived plans. We also argue at length about Freedom Wars, discuss whether the Amiibo range has shown enough to impress us and hurl insults at each other as per usual.
If you feel so inclined, go for a run, take a scenic drive, jazz up your afternoon commute or just curl up on the couch and play some games while you listen to the opinions of three busy Sydneysiders.
You can play the whole episode right off this page if you like:
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Or you can go to the Soundcloud site/app and listen from there:
https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mubc-32-will-the-real-deku-scrub-please-stand-up
(To download and listen offline, follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends – Until next time!
31
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: 10, 15, 20, countdown, creepy, fifteen, Games, horror, non-horror, scary, ten, top, twenty, unsettling, videogames. Leave a Comment
So I wasn’t planning on writing anything special for Halloween, but it’s really freaking hot in Sydney at the moment and the coolest part of my house happens to be right in front of this computer screen, so let’s do something spooky.
If you’ve ever had a videogame-related discussion with me, or even read some of this blog, you might pick up on the fact that I don’t mix well with deliberately scary games. Horror films are one thing – I can deal with those to some extent, though I don’t actively seek them out – but interactive horror experiences are quite another. I just don’t understand the idea of wanting to be scared by something. This may mean I’ve missed out on some of the most talked-about videogame titles of the last few years, such as Slender, Outlast, the Amnesia games, P.T. and more recently The Evil Within, but hey, there are other things to play.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t ever been scared by a videogame before, of course. There are quite a few games out there that, while not deliberately branded as horror, smuggle in some deviously spooky moments. These are arguably even more affecting because you don’t expect them. Some are jump scares, and some are just thoroughly unnerving. Here are no less than twenty of the most memorable ones in my personal gaming history, in no particular order. Of course, some of these are based on the fact that I was a child when I first played them, which made me more vulnerable to such moments, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are forever imprinted on my mind.
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Get Out! – Donkey Kong 64
If you’ve played DK 64 before, you’re probably already hearing that ominously deep, aggressive voice in your head right now. In the game’s second level, raiding a pyramid tomb for a golden banana or two brought up a sudden and inexplicable sniper crosshair, accompanied by a loud shout and some crapped pants. A bit of a cheap shot by developer Rare, but an effective one.
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The Basement – The Last of Us
The Last of Us is not a horror game, despite what some people might say – it’s more of a dramatic interpersonal drama. But jeeeeez, don’t ever make me play that basement sequence with the power generator again. It just ain’t happening. Combining low light with any amount of water is already a pretty heavy nope situation for me, so throwing in a rush of bile-spewing fungus zombies that spawn at exactly the wrong time is just… aagghh.
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Baby Boss – Luigi’s Mansion
His name is Chauncey, apparently, and he’s one of the ghostly bosses in Luigi’s debut solo adventure on the Nintendo Gamecube. He’s also a one-year old baby whose blood-curdling scream just should not be in a Nintendo game aimed at “all ages”. Fighting him in his room, complete with cot and creepily spinning mobile, is the most genuinely scary moment of an otherwise pretty lighthearted adventure.
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27
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 2014, 31, blast, Bros, cast, dog, episode, Game, gengar, halloween, mega, MUBC, of, one, podcast, shiny, smash, thirty, ultra, yoghurt. Leave a Comment
It’s once again time for another episode of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast! It’s starting to get really hot again in the studio, but we persevere for the sake of a solid hour of entertainment! Or at least, a solid hour of time-filling nonsense. This one features not one but two spooky Halloween-themed giveaways, plenty of nerdy Marvel/DC movie chat, a new nickname for Delaney, public service announcements about gaming behaviour, some in-depth Super Smash Bros discussion, a new musical segment, and the long-awaited MUBC debut of Shane’s adorable dog Yoghurt.
If you feel so inclined, go for a run, take a scenic drive, jazz up your afternoon commute or just curl up on the couch and play some games while you listen to the opinions of three efficient (?) Sydneysiders.
You can play the whole episode right off this page if you like:
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Or you can go to the Soundcloud site/app and listen from there:
https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mubc-31-smash-bros-direct
(To download and listen offline, follow the link and then click the download tab)
As always if you enjoy what you hear please share the cast with your friends – Until next time!
26
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: affleck, ben, david, fincher, girl, gone, missing, Movie, pike, Review, reznor, rosamund, thriller, trent. Leave a Comment
The marathon action blockbuster season may have taken a lengthy break (for now) but my goodness, the incredible movies just keep coming in 2014.
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Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Director: David Fincher (Fight Club, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
Rating: MA15+
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When you go to a David Fincher movie, there are a number of things you can usually expect to find. Plenty of stylish shots, for one. A tightly wound script, for another. Perhaps also a grim tone with occasional moments of comic relief to balance things out. Then there are the plotlines, twisting and turning and keeping you guessing long into the film’s run time. Well, suffice to say that the man’s latest, Gone Girl, is no aberration. It delivers everything audiences have come to expect from the director of Fight Club and Seven, ESPECIALLY that last thing. The plot of Gone Girl is so twisty that talking about anything outside the film’s official synopsis is probably going to be a spoiler. If you haven’t read its source material, the bestselling Gillian Flynn novel of the same name, you’d best go into the cinema knowing as little as possible. I won’t be talking about anything particularly plot-sensitive in this review, but you have been warned nonetheless.
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17
Oct
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Gamecube, Games, Lists, N64, Wii, Wii U. Tagged: 10, 30, 5, countdown, dk, donkey kong, five, franchise, Mario, nintendo, Pokemon, series, summary, ten, top, Zelda. Leave a Comment
It may have taken me far, far longer than I initially thought it would to complete, due to a drastic change to my lifestyle that has seen a lot of my free time just evaporate, but I’m pretty happy with the order on which I decided for my Top 30 Favourite Nintendo Franchises here on Vagrant Rant. If you just want a quick glance at the whole list, well here you go:
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30 F-Zero
29 Yoshi Series
28 Pullblox
27 Kid Icarus
26 Pokemon Rumble
^ READ THIS SECTION ^
25 Luigi’s Mansion
24 Wii Sports
23 Fire Emblem
22 Pokemon Home Console Battle Series
21 Kirby Main Series
^ READ THIS SECTION ^
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