1/25/2008

Devil May Care

If there is one game that really kick-started the whole over the top action genre, it was most definitely the original Devil May Cry. It was the first game with that much intense action and style to match. You felt like you were a genuine badass that could lay waste to a hundred minions and the occasional evil master villain as well. But time hasn't been overly kind to the series. The second installment was a dismal disappointment, nearly dooming the series altogether. The 3rd made a huge leap forward, but it's emphasis on being frustratingly hardcore limited it's audience and was overshadowed by the superior hardcore frustration of Ninja Gaiden. With that in mind, we come to the demo for the newest chapter in the series that was released on both Xbox Live and PSN today. I downloaded it, and it definitely felt like the series was trying to get back to its roots, with the insane difficulty of the last game dialed down to something more manageable. It felt familiar. In fact, a little too familiar. It felt like I was playing the first DMC game all over again, with no discernible difference aside from a graphical facelift. And to a certain extent, that is actually ok, but honestly you'd be getting a better action experience from God of War or No More Heroes if you have the option. But then again, 360 owners who don't have another option or PS3 owners who can't wait for the next GOW installment (which is rumoured for '09 at this point), it's actually probably a worthwhile purchase.

And yes, I have gotten a few quality hours in with NMH, and it is extremely epic. The game has a very Tarantino-style feel to it that is just pure style and fun. I agree with most reviewers that the whole town aspect seems extremely underdeveloped, but it certainly does not get in the way of the fun. Again, I can't stress how much you need to buy this game to prove that soccer moms and senior citizens are not the only audience on the Wii.

Oh Fox news, when will you learn (hopefully never)? Fox news has essentially told EA to go fuck themselves, refusing to retract or correct any of their blatantly false claims about Mass Effect. I really hope EA goes after them full bore, because this is probably one of the few companies powerful enough to make them shut the hell up.

And pretty much the only movie that's even possibly worth discussing this weekend is Sly Stallone's attempt to revive that other franchise that helped make him a star, Rambo. The strategy clearly worked with Rocky, but that was treated with a touch of realism about the fact that Rocky (and Sly) was an old dude trying to regain a little former glory. This seems like Sly is acting like he's 30 years old and an invincible badass. And granted, he's probably the most in shape guy in his 60s I've ever seen, but that doesn't make Rambo any less of a silly premise. That being said, I might go see it just for the 80s nostalgia of ridiculously violent films that you just don't see anymore.

That's it for today, but I'm planning a top ten movies that should be on HD column for this weekend, so look for that (and be sure to pass along any suggestions you might have).

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