Warhammer Online: AOR Open Beta Opens!

Today, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has begun its open beta stage. When I played the game during the Preview Weekend a couple of weeks ago, I walked away with mixed feelings. I liked some parts of the game, like the great PvP elements and the public quests but things like the sloppy shortage of mobs during its introduction quests and poor graphics made me stop playing the game after a day. I will write a report on my experience with the open beta before the game is released on 09/16/2008.

Looking forward to a more polished experience...


A screenshot of my character from the Preview Weekend. The graphics couldn't be
maxed out then, so we'll see if the game will look any better during this open beta.

Games Played 09/05/2008

Ikaruga - X-Box 360
Infinite Undiscovery - X-Box 360
Titan Quest - PC
Too Human - X-Box 360

RANDOM GAME OF THE DAY:


Space Channel 5 (1999)
Developer: Sega
Platform: Sega Dreamcast
Purchase Date: 01/10/2000


The joy of being a space reporter.

This is the first music game made by the now famous Tetsuya Mizuguchi. The game feels more like an experiment and unlike Mizuguchi's eventual musical gaming endeavors like Rez and Lumines, it lacks a certain polish found in those masterpieces. The main character Ulala has to mimic the dance moves of the invading Mororians to uhm, combat them. Space Channel 5 has that retro-futuristic vibe both in its character design and musical influence. It's fun, it's hip, it's cool, and it features Michael Jackson!

LIBRARY STATUS: 3 out of 5

Games Played 09/04/2008

Infinite Undiscovery - X-Box 360
Titan Quest - PC*

*I was finally able to convinced a friend of mine to buy the game and the two of us played all through the evening. He soon disovered and used the cheat mods for the game so I am not sure how long this exciting co-op is going to last.

Games Played 09/03/2008

Ikaruga - X-Box 360
Infinite Undiscovery - X-Box 360
Tales of Vesperia - X-Box 360
Viewtiful Joe - GameCube
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise - X-Box 360

RANDOM GAME OF THE DAY:


Super Trucks Racing (2003)
Developer: Jester Interactive
Platform: PlayStation 2
Purchase Date: 2004


The trucks are decorated Daytona-style.

Sometimes I do surprise myself with what I buy and there are no clearer example of that than this game. I still haven't figured out what it was exactly - the fact that it was budget title or the hope that it was probably going to be the only "good" truck-based racing game I would ever get to play - but I was just very excited about the whole prospect. I followed my instinct and picked up the game and ended up with a something that is actually halfway decent. I am just glad that it is better than Eighteen Wheeler: American Pro Trucker on the Dreamcast!

LIBRARY STATUS: 3 out of 5

Review: Starship Troopers 3 - Marauder

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Genre: Action
Format: Blu-ray
Director: Edward Neumeier

Just because it has a new bug doesn't mean that it's a better movie.

Have you ever had your intelligence insulted so badly that you got a terrible headache from it? Well if you haven't and would love to experience exactly that, then this direct to home release is right for you. The original Starship Troopers by Paul Verhoeven is one of my favorite movies of all time and for it to get continually disrespected by shameless sequels is a cinematic crime.

I am still not sure which is stiffer: Jolene Blalock's outfit or her acting?

The screenwriter of the series, Edward Neumeier, is now also at the helm. It is quite hard to believe that the same guy who was responsible for the original has produced something this bad. You get to meet Johnny Rico, the hero from the first movie, who is now stationed at a remote military outpost fighting the good war against the hordes of alien bugs. When the arrival of the popular Federation Sky Marshall resulted in an all out bug war, it seems as if a terrible plot has been put in motion to eliminate both the esteemed visitor and Rico. The writing is weak and the infomercials that segwayed the different scenes are now completely overdone and lost all of their satirical quality. Just like Starship Troopers 2: Heroes of the Federation, the film combines new creature effects (you can tell by how terrible they look) with those found in the original movie. I found this method to be quite lazy especially when the good effects are placed on top of low resolution backgrounds - they look quite disorienting. The one thing that really propels this from bad to a complete waste of time is the extreme religious overtone. It's like Neumeier was recently touched by an angel - most likely by something less desirable. The whole question of god and faith is handled so haphazardly it feels like Neumeier is certainly serious in his message while failing miserably in his attempts to make it look like he's ridiculing the subject: a sneaky approach that is both as preachy as it is repulsive.

Neumeier got religion... And he got it bad.

This is definitely one of the worst movies I have seen in my whole life. If the disc I used was not a rental, I would have destroyed it for I fear that someone else may get a hold of it and be assaulted by viewing it. Yes it is that bad. In the process of analyzing the war on bugs, Neumerier has become one of the bugs himself.

RATING: 1 out of 5