The Pick of Destiny

The tagline: The greatest motion picture of all time. I think it pretty much lives up to it, if you narrow the category to the greatest Tenacious D motion picture of all time.

That said, the movie was great. If you’re a Tenacious D fan, this movie has everything that you’ll expect from a Tenacious D movie. That is to say, if there were a Tenacious D movie, this is exactly what it would be like. Which it is.

With a whole new lineup of songs, you won’t be bored by listening to the tracks from the album you may have already heard a thousand times. Though there are a few teasers alluding to the previous album. I don’t want to ruin it for you, though.

Definitely a soundtrack you’d want to get your hands on. That aside, Jack Black does his usual, which pleases the fans but may irritate those specific people who don’t specifically like that guy. So don’t go to the movie with those boring people. Kyle Gass does a great job on-screen, and his acting is fabulous. Though, with those two, I’m pretty sure they aren’t acting too much.

As far as the writing, I really liked the plot. It delves into the fictional creation of the band, which is an entire great subplot in and of itself. After discovering that a single pick has been used by all the Rock Masters, the duo embark on a quest to acquire this item so that they, too, can become great. I don’t want to spoil too much, because so much of comedies especially ones like these are pretty fantastic when you’re surprised by the absurdity.

I will say though, that Ben Stiller makes a worthwhile appearance, and that’s pretty fun. He does a good job. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this as a movie to see when you’ve got the guys together, but you might want to avoid this one as a date movie: unless you two are cool like that.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (-)

We all saw the first The Santa Clause, a charming holiday family movie featuring Tim Allen. We probably liked it, and then the holidays were over. I vaguely remember the second installment, though I never saw it and don’t remember any advertisements. When my small cousins came to town, I went ahead and took them to the third installment.

Some of us like Tim Allen and Martin Short, but go ahead and skip this one. While the first Santa Clause was a charming family movie, this one is definitely for the kiddies. And while none of you guys are likely choosing this one when you go to the movies, when taking the family’s young’ns out, go ahead and choose something else.

The plot is the usual unsatisfying children’s formula: we’re presented with a common family social problem, and while the villain starts out as a mischievous troublemaker, the climax is over and done before he does anything really bad. By the end of the movie, the villain miraculously sees the error in his ways and gets to join in for the big family photo-finish.

Nothing really remarkable about the performances, I thought Martin Short did okay with the script he was handed, and Tim Allen did his usual. (Oh, too bad it wasn’t tool time THIS time.) Just go watch Jungle 2 Jungle and be sated.

One good thing must be said though: Martin Short’s costume looked great. Maybe it just stood out against the gruesome obviously-studio-fabricated-background.

Ad-damonium

There’s some news coming out of Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority will no longer allow advertising on their vehicles for video games that receive a rating of M (mature) or AO (adults only) from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. This is the result of complaints for the advertising of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the side of Boston subway cars.

Honestly, I could be okay with this. The Grand Theft Auto series is known for having violence/nudity/language that isn’t appropriate for children, and everyone sees these subway cars. I’m sure that as much as they would like to have it, Rockstar doesn’t really need these ads to sell the game. If a customer would like it, they’ll find a way to get it.

But the advertisements only say the title of the game, and a picture of a character on it. In order for an underaged citizen to play this game, when many stores don’t allow for games rated M to be sold to minors, or even be rented, they need their parent/caretaker to purchase it for them. That means the responsible adult needs to see the words “Grand Theft Auto”, plus a “Rated M” symbol on the cover, which isn’t much different from a “Parental Advisory Warning” on a CD, and actually bigger than a “Rated R” on a movie.

And that’s why we’re complaining about it, yes? Because of the kids? Well, kinda. But also because the game encourages unlawful behavior. And as the MBTA is a public entity, according to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, “[it] has a responsibility to protect the public from being bombarded by violent images.” Well, yes. I suppose. But then are we going to stop all violent images? There will be no movie ads for rated R films? No ads for the new 50 Cent album?

You can’t ban one medium on some merits, but not ban another that has the same properties. It’s not being blamed for being a violent game, it’s being blamed for condoning violence. So if Rockstar can’t advertise GTA, why can the Clerks II DVD show up on the side of the bus? And if they actually do allow the banning of “adult” themed ads on public transportation, what about the billboards I can see from the bus? And then the commercials on the air? Everyone sees those too.

Everyone knows that the GTA series is violent. Stopping the ad on the side of a train isn’t going to stop the sales of this game, nor future ones like it. I understand why they’re doing it, because I agree, the world could use less violence. But the manner they’re doing it is wrong, and just creates precedence in the United States that can lead to more harm than good. In the end, the problem doesn’t lie in the game developers, for they are a business, just like all others, nor the transit system, who didn’t discriminate before, and had no reason to, but the customers, for being ill-informed. Parents still aren’t paying attention to what games their kids are playing and are blaming it on everyone but themselves.

Sources:
Boston Globe
GamePolitics

Next-Gen Console Coverage

I’m sure that a lot of you have been wondering where I’ve been lately. Sorry but things have been crazy at StuffWeLike.

We’ve just released our special StuffWeLike.com Podcasts of the PS3 and Wii launches!
PS3 Launch Coverage: http://www.stuffwelike.com/podcast/podcast-e6.php
Wii Launch Coverage: http://www.stuffwelike.com/podcast/podcast-e7.php

I never thought that filming live would ever be so difficult, but yeah my voice hurt, we were all tired, but in the end it all worked out nicely.

Madden NFL 07 (+)

The first retooled version of Madden NFL in a long time.

It’s amazing that the Madden fanbase is almost like an exclusive club that I simply don’t get. Why do people enjoy football games? They aren’t fun. Nothing about them is entertaining. I never feel that I’m in control. It’s absolutely shocking for me to say that for the first time in the Madden franchise I actually want to play Madden NFL 07 for the Wii.

Do I understand all the ins and outs of the game? Of course not. The game is still full of all this random stuff for which I have no clue what its purpose serves. But Madden NFL 07 is a great example of a game that reaches out to a new audience while still holds onto its current fanbase.

In previous generations Madden has always been a game that you click to throw, click to punt, click to tackle. Because of the Wii controller EA had to rethink how Madden works. The result is a game where you have to throw the controller in order to throw the football, toss the controller to punt, put your arms in the air to catch, wiggle your controller to avoid a tackle, and yeah it still is click to tackle. Overall these new controls give you the freedom that actual football players have in the sport.

Now these controls are exclusive to the Wii version. Also exclusive to the Wii version are the absolutely sucky graphics. Seriously Madden hasn’t ever had graphics as bad as these on a console since the Dreamcast. Sure it’s nice that if it rains the field becomes muddy, but the models are so low polygon especially on the coaches faces that you almost want to throw up. It’s as if their faces imploded.

Multiplayer is ok, but the 3rd and 4th players will find themselves bored as they are not the quarter backs. The quarter back gets the most fun out of the game. Also there is no online multiplayer, hopefully something that changes in Madden NFL 08.

Bottom line is that if you like football and have never really liked a Madden game, definitely check out Madden for the Wii as it’s a whole new experience.

Superman Returns: The Video Game (+)

Based loosely upon the Superman Returns movie. Play as Superman the most powerful man in the DC Universe.

What comes to mind when you hear the name Superman Returns: The Video Game? It should be the term ‘movie based game.’ Movie based video games are some of the worst known to man. Extra Terrestrial (E.T.) screwed the genre over, but thankfully it has gotten better overtime, mainly due to the Spiderman movie based video game series.

In that regards I wasn’t expecting much from Superman Returns. I hated the Superman Returns movie. Smallville is one of the worst shows on television now. And so a video game based on the Superman franchise well those are the horrible. Superman 64 was unplayable. To my surprise Superman Returns The Video Game, is the most amazing game that I have played on my 360 and it could very well be one of the best super hero games out there along with movie to video adaption!

Yes I know that that seems impossible but Superman Returns is like Grand Theft Auto, but without the hookers. Flying around Metropolis is some of the most satisfying gameplay experience that I’ve had in a long time. As you fly at super speed the controller rumbles, making the experience all that greater. Fly into the skies of Metropolis and see the city from miles high. The invisible barriers that usually plague games are few to be found here. For the first time ever I feel like a bird in the sky.

Pick up any object around you: cars, robots, street lamps, etc. Smash them into your enemies. Use your blowing power, laser eye beam, or your icy breath to attack your enemies. Punch your enemies into the sky. Run at super speed. Fly into buildings and see the walls crumble from the force of the impact! Seriously the list of awesome gameplay goes on and on!

The power of the 360 is fully shown in this game as there are no load times. Fly from point A to point B without any hesitations. The graphics are crystal clear and obviously take full advantage of the system’s high definition capabilities.

If you ever wanted to fly, if you ever wanted to be Superman, if you ever wanted to play a good movie based video game Superman Returns is it! Sure it has its problems such as repetitive gameplay, but seriously what game doesn’t get repetitive at points?! Superman Returns: The Video Game is definitely a game that I’d be proud to show off in my 360 game collection.