Organized Remains

Short Review: Dungeon Hearts

2013-05-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

Let's Play: Dead Island Riptide | Zombie Killer First Thoughts

2013-04-26T11:39:00.000-04:00

Recommendation Tuesday #2

2013-03-26T02:51:00.000-04:00

Exclusively to Tuesdays, Organized Remains throws out some of the best pieces of entertainment that we hold close to our hearts. One album, video game, and movie recommended to every one of our readers every Tuesday.

Album: Wonder What's Next by Chevelle

Chevelle's breakthrough album that sold over a million copies and earned them a top tier spot in 2003's Ozzfest.

Release Date: October 8, 2002

Genre: Metal
Label: Epic

Favorite Song: The Red

Video Game: Hotel Dusk: Room 215

A great detective game that proves to be one of the best DS games.

Release Date: January 22, 2007

Genre: Adventure, Interactive Novel

Developer: Cing

Publisher: Nintendo

Trailer:

Movie: Black Dynamite

DYNAMITE! DYNAMITE!

Release Date: October 16, 2009

Director: Scott Sanders

Starring: Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Arsenio Hall

Genres: Blaxploitation, Action-Comedies

Trailer:

Movie Review: Safety Not Guaranteed

2013-03-24T23:16:00.000-04:00

Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) is a depressed intern at a Seattle magazine and living at home with her widowed father (Jeff Garlin). During a slow news day, the magazine decides to run a story on a bizarre classified ad they find by a man looking for a time traveling partner. Darius is used by her boss as bait to get to know the time traveler and be his partner, but her feelings quickly escalate for the bizarre man.

This movie was a definite noodle-scratcher. Safety Not Guaranteed definitely has a wonderful cast who bring a lot of heart and passion to their roles and make you want to see them succeed, but the story just gets bizarre and exceedingly darker as the movie progresses. Some characters do get what they want, but you're not quite sure it's what they wanted, some characters don't get what they want, and some characters you're left wondering if they even survive. There's a lot of ambiguity that I know I should appreciate rather than wanting to be spoon-fed a simplistic happy ending, but I'll admit, that's what I wanted. I wanted all of the characters to be successful.

Despite all of the leading characters being cast and written wonderfully, there are some background characters that seem shoehorned into the script. I don't want to spoil anything in the film, but at the very end there are characters involved that do absolutely nothing but watch events unfold. No dialog, no action, nothing.

Overall, the movie was quirky, good-natured, romantic fun. This is a good film for a date night, especially if you or your significant other like the dweeby, quirky, indy stylings of Aubrey Plaza, or by comparison, Zooey Deschanel. Be warned however that all of the good work the film does in the first half starts to unwind into a jumbled mess in the second half. Overall rating...

3.5 / 5

Buy Safety Not Guaranteed on Amazon

Movie Review: The Man With The Iron Fists

2013-03-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

In nineteenth century China, seven clans wage war in Jungle Village over the governor's gold shipment. A blacksmith is forced to work tirelessly to provide all of them forging weaponry. Things come to a boil between the clans until a massive gang battle at the end.

The Man With The Iron Fists pretty much is what it is. It has a lot of great concepts and cool fight scenes, but beyond paying homage to a lost genre, to almost parodying lengths, there isn't much depth to the film. Many characters are defined by their occupation or weapon of choice rather than emotional investment. By the end of the film I felt like The RZA was a good visionary for the project but on a writing level couldn't scratch beyond the surface of what he really had in his hands.

The casting choices were a lot of fun, and everybody was able to do a lot of great stuff with what they had to work with. The RZA, Russell Crowe, David Bautista AKA WWE's Dave Batista, and Byron Mann brought a presence and charisma to the screen that surpassed everyone else. I will say however, that given the trailer and much of the first half of the film, I thought Russell Crowe's character, Jack Knife would have been far better suited as a villain. He had an arrogance and power about him that made you envy and fear the character, and while he ended up proving to be a great hand to the side of good by the end, his actions could have been put towards a background stock character like Lady Silk or Zen-Yi.

The most bizarre part of The Man With The Iron Fists was the R rating. It's not that I question whether or not the film deserved an R rating because there was plenty of violence, sexual themes and language unsuitable for children, but the lack of nudity was actually surprising. Much of the film takes place in a Chinese brothel with dozens of women, but you never see so much as one fleshy curve. It's not like nudity can make or break a scene or movie, but it felt like they really went out of their way not to show nudity, which came off as bizarre for an R rated action film.

Overall rating...

3 / 5

Rent The Man With The Iron Fists on Amazon

App Review: Rock Bandits

2013-03-23T07:15:00.006-04:00

Rock Bandits is available for $1.99 on the iPhone, and iPad. For this review, I played it on the iPhone.

I'm not an avid watcher of Adventure Time so bare with me. I'm mostly learning about it through all of the app-reviews I do for the show. Rock Bandits is about the Ice King, and The Earl of Lemongrab teaming up because their band doesn't have any fans. They kidnap the audience of another band that's lead by Marceline. UNACCEPTABLE! Now it's Flynn and Jake's adventure to get the audience back by traveling through The Land of Ooo.

Rock Bandits is a platformer that requires you to swipe in the direction you want Flynn and Jake to go. Once you swipe, they won't stop unless you swipe down to stop them. This gets difficult in later levels because there are enemies you must stop and watch out for. To kill most enemies you have to also swipe to use your sword, or double swipe Flynn and Jake to do a punch attack. I think a joystick option to choose from would have helped Rock Bandits. I wouldn't have to worry about Flynn and Jake walking off a cliff while I'm killing enemies.

The game is fun to play and there's a lot of different things you'll come across: different enemies, platforms, and treasure. The treasure can go towards the forger who will forge you a new sword if you have enough treasure. I also liked the look to the game, though how could you screw that up? It looks like a cartoon, like it should.

Final Say: Rock Bandits is a fun app, but I think the option to have a joystick control would have helped the game. It's a good purchase for fans of the show, Adventure Time, but I'm on the fence for non-fans. It's not a must-have app. So I would just take a pass on Rock Bandits unless there's an update that comes out for it.

Rock Bandits can be purchased for $1.99 here.

Movie Review: The Intouchables

2013-03-23T03:03:00.002-04:00

Philippe is a Paris millionaire bound to a wheelchair and unable to feel anything from the neck down. In his search for a personal caretaker, he stumbles upon impoverished freeloader, Driss, who applies for the job full of attitude and gall expecting to be turned down but still able to list the location to the unemployment benefits department. Finally talking to someone who doesn't treat him with pity or kiss his quadriplegic butt, Phillipe hires him and a strange bond between the odd couple quickly forms.

Although you have to read subtitles through the entire movie, this image pretty much sums up the film. It's full of d'aww feels for men and women. This is also my favorite kind of drama - one with heart and laughs. If Driss wasn't such a comedic character, I wouldn't have taken to this film as much as I did. Sure, the film follows the cliche "Magical Negro" set-up, where a proud, sassy black person solves all white people's problems, but it did it in a way to warm hearts and make you care about the characters.

It's a little unnerving that The Weinstein Company bought the rights to do an English remake of the film, because I feel a lot will get lost in translation and mainstream American audiences won't take to The Intouchables as well. The title alone is off-putting to the American sense of aesthetics. Never the less, everyone who doesn't mind reading subtitles in foreign films, should see this film. Overall rating...

5 / 5

Rent The Intouchables on Amazon

Video Game Review: Tekken Tag Tournament 2

2013-03-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was released in Japan arcades on September 14, 2011, with an updated version subtitled Unlimited on March 27, 2012. The game was released in North America on the PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 11, 2012 with the rest of the world getting it within a few days after. The game was also released on the Wii U in North America November 18, 2012, with the rest of the world getting it some short time after that.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2, unlike the rest of the Tekken series which revolves around the King of the Iron Fist Tournament, is mainly fan-service for dream matches but also has a completely off-the-wall minor plot about Violet building Combot and kidnapping a few of the top fighters in the world to test it against. This storyline is pretty unimportant, as it only takes place under the Fight Lab game mode, which is also supposed to serve as a tutorial. Unfortunately the tutorial is incredibly difficult and throws you in with both feet on not-so-basic combos. While the story and cut-scenes are entertaining and well done, newcomers to the Tekken series have a much better chance of learning the mechanics of the game (hint: mash buttons) by just playing the other modes such as Arcade Battle, Ghost Battle, Vs. Battle, Team Battle, Time Attack, Survival, Practice, Pair Play (up to 4 players each controlling a character to tag in at their pleasure), and then work your way up to online ranked and non-ranked matches.

The roster of characters to choose from is overwhelming in the best of ways. Much like the original Tekken Tag Tournament or Mortal Kombat Trilogy if you want an old school reference, you get an epic butt-load of characters diverse in personality, appearance (some of the girls are even not scantily clad!) and fighting styles. The one downfall to this is having to sit through their load screens before each fight. And there are a lot of load screens, let me tell you. The first few load screens prior to a fight where they spout their catch phrase is pretty cool, but you quickly learn that many of them reuse the same catch phrases, and none of them are very creative or witty. Some of them leave it ambiguous if the character is talking trash to their opponent or breaking the fourth wall and talking trash to the player.

The graphics and game play are major strong points of the game. Obviously it sucks when you're getting helplessly juggled in the air by your opponent and can't tag out, but after playing the game for a month I haven't experienced any glitches or lagging that set back my playing experience. Some of the fighting is so beautifully choreographed and fluid it's like ballet. Or Pro Wrestling, which I am also fond of. I also appreciate smashing opponents through the ground or through a wall into a different part of a level, which brings me back to my comparison of Mortal Kombat. Sadly, I didn't Uppercut somebody through a ceiling into a next level, but there are some fairly close moves in Tekken Tag 2.

Overall, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a very fun fighting game for anyone who likes to get some friends together and mash buttons while screaming trash talk. If you can master the Double Team moves you'll especially by having a ball. Some small complaints about the game would be a lack of individual character plots (there are a handful of brand new characters in the mix with all of your old staples of the series but you won't learn anything about them until you beat Arcade Mode. Seriously, a beginning, middle and end cut scene would have added a ton to this game), Fight Lab being way too difficult for a novice, and the repetitiveness of load screens prior to fights. Overall rating...

7.5 / 10

Tekken Tag Tourament 2 Is Currently On Sale at

Amazon for $34.64 (PS3) / $33.95 (X-Box 360)

with a normal price of $39.99

I wouldn't have suggested buying this game full-price when it came out at $60, but given that the price is now almost half that, I'd say it's a good time to buy for anyone interested.

all images from Amazon

Recommendation Tuesday #1

2013-03-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Every week starting with this first post Organized Remains will be throwing out some of the best pieces of entertainment that we hold close to our hearts. One album, video game, and movie recommended to every one of our readers every Tuesday.

Album: Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030

A great rap album that's very high tech!

Release Date: May 23, 2000

Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: 75 Arc

Favorite Song: 3030

Video Game: Fortix 2

A simple game that will have you fighting ogres and dragons by dashing across the screen.

Release Date: May 6, 2011

Genre: Indie, Casual

Developer: Nemesys Games

Publisher: Nemesys Games

Trailer:

Movie: Machete

Maybe not for the children, but if you like blood in your movie, Machete is for you.

Shawn's Review

Release Date: September 3, 2010

Director: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez

Starring: Danny Trejo, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez

Genres: Action Thrillers, Crime Action
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Trailer:

NAVE The Rockstar Tour

2013-03-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Maybe this has happened before, but I've never heard of this scenario: Two people build a game from scratch, then refuse to sell it online, saying that it only works with an arcade cabinet. That's exactly what Hernan Saez and Maximo Balestrini from the game company Videogamo did. NAVE is that game, and it's a classic looking space shooting game, but from the trailer it looks so good! The only way to get your hands on this game though is from the Rockstar type tour they're doing with NAVE.

This arcade cabinet is trying to travel the world so everyone can get their hands on it. So far, Argentina is the only place it's gone, but the developers are trying their best to get NAVE to other places like North America, and Europe. I think this is a new and exciting way to get arcade cabinets back in style.

From the trailer, NAVE looks really well done. I love the giant spacecraft you can get later in the game. My first thought was - I'd love to have this game on Steam - but then I thought about it. I think playing it on a cabinet would create a fantastic experience between the player and the game. It could give arcade cabinet lovers a nostalgic kick while giving people that never played one a history lesson.

If you would love to see NAVE come to a place near you then spread the word of NAVE. Tell friends, Twitter, and your high school history teacher about NAVE. These guys need your help!

In their behind the scenes videos they're using their bed as a desk, and office!

App Review: Worm Run

2013-03-07T03:10:00.001-05:00

Worm Run is available for the iPhone, iPod, and the iPad for $0.99. For this review I played Worm Run update 1.1. on the iPhone and iPad.

I have to start this review by saying I had a lot of hope for Worm Run. It was originally a Kickstarter project I backed. You can even see Organized Remains in the credits of Worm Run. That being said, I'm really glad I backed it because it turned out to be a great game.

Worm Run puts you in the role of Zeke Tallahassee, a space janitor that's just trying to get by in life when a giant worm comes out of nowhere and starts to chase you. Now it's up to your swiping finger to see how far you can make it through this exciting endless runner.

You control Zeke by swiping your finger across the screen. Usually there's a D-pad, or you tilt your device to move. Swiping up, down, left, or right will make him travel in that direction. You have a jet pack that will last as long as you have power in your power meter. Your power meter refills each time you touch the ground or wall. You also have the ability to wall jump. Wall jumping was originally a problem because it didn't always work, but in the latest update the developers have fixed this.

While you run you can collect power ups and Grubies, the currency in Worm Run. You can use your Grubies to purchase new power ups, costumes, and warp tunnels. Warp tunnels are there because there are different areas to Worm Run that you'll run into. I really liked the different areas you would reach because it was a change of scenery, but more importantly you knew things were going to get harder. You can also access the Game Center from inside the game. There's achievements to get and people on the leaderboards that will have you wanting to reach a higher point on the board.

Final Say: I'm really enjoying Worm Run. For $0.99 it's a fun purchase that will have you swiping your finger to avoid the big bad worm. I had one problem with the wall jumping, but it's been fixed. I have no regrets backing this game on Kickstarter.

Worm Run can be purchased for $0.99 here.

Album Recommendation : De Stijl by The White Stripes

2013-03-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to The White Stripes for a while now, but until recently never got a chance to listen to the album De Stijl. It's a great album with a blues and punk rock blend. Released June 20, 2000, De Stijl is The White Stripes' second studio album with a length of 37:31. (Source)

Personal Favorite songs:

Jumble Jumble:

Truth Doesn't Make a Noise:

Why Can't You Be Nicer To Me?:

Right now it's at the great price of $4.99 over at Amazon.

Image Source

Movie Review: Taken 2

2013-03-03T14:42:00.000-05:00

Picking up a few months after ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) saves his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from being sold into sex trafficking by an Albanian crime syndicate, the family of the slaughtered Albanians unite to get revenge on the whole Mills family.

This sequel thankfully makes a strong attempt to fix some of my complaints from the first Taken. The characters are all much more rounded out in this film than the prequel, and I actually found myself emotionally attached to all of them, especially Bryan's ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen). The Armenian boss, Murad (Rade Šerbedžija) was especially a wonderful villain who was easy to hate. You could see his reasoning for being so bloodthirsty and revenge seeking, but also knew he was in the wrong, and even kind of admits to it without changing his mind at all. He looks at his work as a necessary evil because that's what the families of the slain demand. Good stuff. There's also a few really strong moments that bring the overall quality of this film up and make it unique. There's a brilliant yet brief bit of dialog about the circle of violence and revenge, an eye-for-an-eye and all of that, as well as some endearing moments between Bryan and Kim Mills.

While this film had a lot of strong qualities, it also had some very painful, jawing flaws. These flaws rely heavily on the writing (Luc Besson/Robert Mark Kamen) as well as the director (Olivier Megaton). In terms of writing, there were a few flashes of brilliance but you really had to grit your teeth and wade through the garbage dialog at points. If I had to hear Liam Neeson utter the phrase "Faster, Kim!" or "Listen to me very carefully," I would have just given this film a zero, because it was that repetitive. The action scenes in Taken 2 paled in comparison to the original Taken with far less emphasis put on smart joint/weak area fighting and far more emphasis on quick camera cuts to make the strikes and reactions seem lightning quick. Quick cuts are another broken record in this film that grew tired on me. The worst part of this film though is the completely wasted scenes that added nothing. The easiest example of this to give is the first twenty minutes or so of the film when we jump away from the quiet suburban life of the Mills family to see the Armenians putting their strategy into fruition. By this, I mean the Armenians travel. In. Every. Scene. 5-10 minutes of the Mills family life that really adds to their character depth, and then jump to Europe to see a caravan of SUVs passing through a checkpoint or arriving at a rest area.

Taken 2 was 90 minutes, which is a good time limit for a tight, concise action film. It blows my mind how much useless fluff was used to pad out these 90 minutes. There were a few great scenes in this film but it was really a letdown and I feel justified in letting it sit around my house for a week before putting in the effort to sit down and watch it. Maybe fans of 24 and international espionage would be more into than I was, but my overall rating...

2.5 / 5

Rent Taken 2 Here on Amazon

Clueless Gamer With Conan O'Brien: Tomb Raider 2013 Review

2013-02-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Conan O'Brien is great and knowledgeable about plenty of things but video games isn't one of them. That makes him Joe Schmoe to test games out on, and his review series, "Clueless Gamer" is always hilarious. In this most recent episode, Conan reviews the exciting new Tomb Raider reboot by Square Enix. Tomb Raider will be available for the PC, PS3 and X-Box 360 on March 5, 2013, but Conan got to play it a little early for the X-Box 360. See below for some fun gameplay and... fun game playing.

Pre-Order Tomb Raider on Amazon Here

Movie Review: Seven Psychopaths

2013-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell) is a writer struggling to find inspiration for his newest book. His best friend, Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) tries to coax him into writing about psychopaths, inspired by recent events in the news and stories Billy's heard. Billy's own job involves running a con with Hans Kieslowski (Christopher Walken) where they stealthily kidnap dogs from an affluent dog park, then when they see the owners offering a reward turn up to collect the reward looking as innocent as apple pie. Unfortunately, Hans and Billy unknowingly kidnap a Shih Tzu being walked by a helping hand to one of the most vicious criminal kingpins in town - Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson). Charlie wants his dog back, and he is not a forgiving man.

The casting for this film was terrific and the actors really play well off of each other. While Collin Farrell gets a ton of press for being a good looking action star, seeing him in a cowardly passive role is a vast but believably played difference from playing Bullseye in Daredevil. Christopher Walken gives one of the most emotional and humane performances of a character I've seen from in a long time. Woody Harrelson obviously knows how to play a psychopath and is just as fun as a villain as he is as the hero Tallahassee in Zombieland. Sam Rockwell on the other hand should be noted for stealing the film. There is an indescribable "it factor" about Sam Rockwell that makes me want to see him in a million more movies. I loved him in Iron Man 2, he blew me away in Moon, and he was a wonderfully well-rounded and entertaining character in Seven Psychopaths.

The story was fun, entertaining and never slow. There were scenes that evoked laughs, scenes that evoked a sense of tension, and scenes that evoked sorrow. You really connect with the main characters in this film and feel bad for them when times are tough. However, the same can't be said for any of the side characters, which basically make up everyone outside of the four headliners, with the exception of Tom Waits' character, Zachariah Rigby. But Martin McDonagh, writer and director of Seven Psychopaths is also aware of it and fesses up to it through the film in a comedic meta sense of humor. I can't go further into details without spoiling anything, but a lot of the criticism mentioned in the film of Marty Faranan's work plays out through the movie.

While the story absolutely worked, and had everything I could have wanted from a movie, I felt like the trailer is very misleading. This is a comedic action film, and there are references to seven psychopaths, but unlike how the trailer presents the film the two girls are not part of that list. In fact, one of the psychopaths is even fictional. Others psychopaths presented are complete background characters that you only see glimpses of their past psychopathic behavior through flashback. A strange marketing ploy, but it doesn't really take anything away from the film. Overall rating...

4 / 5

RENT SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS ON AMAZON NOW
image from http://www.sevenpsychopaths.com

TERA Rising Giveaway

2013-02-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

Contest is over

TERA Rising has now become free to play! We here at Organized Remains have teamed up with TERA Rising to give away a free code for the Arkai Mask (Shown in picture). You can download TERA Rising for free right now at tera.enmasse.com, and watch the announcement trailer here: http://youtu.be/CIlDkc5ZBoI

More info on the mask:
Don a mask of feathery blue plumage mimicking the arkai of Balder’s Temple for a passive-aggressive way to call your opponent “chicken.” This cosmetic item is tradable and can be redeemed by one character on your game account.

Two ways to enter:
1. Post a comment below with your e-mail address.
2. E-mail me at nick@organizedremains.com saying, "I'd like to enter the TERA Rising Giveaway."

This giveaway ends February 21, 2013

App Review: Fionna Fights

2013-02-18T21:30:00.000-05:00

Fionna Fights is available for the iPhone, and the iPad for $0.99. There is also a free flash version of the game here. For this review I played all three versions.

Time for an Adventure Time app! "Fionna and Marshall Lee were on their way to Lumpy Space Prince's party when a swarm of monsters attacked." - Quote from the game. So it's up to you to slay these monsters, and make it to the party, even though the monsters never stop coming.

Not the best looking trailer, but the best I could find.

Killing monsters is done by tapping each monster with your finger or stylus. You must kill each monster or your energy bar will go down. Once your energy bar is empty you fall from the skies, and it's game over. Then you do it again.

You do get gems from killing monsters, which can be spent at the shop. You can buy items like swords, potions, and specials. These items will appear during your run, and if you can tap it in time you'll get to use your item. They come in handy when you're running low on energy, and there's a ton of monsters on the screen.

Fionna Fights handled really well on both devices. The game felt a little easier to play on the iPad because of the bigger screen. I did end up spending most of my time on the iPhone. It's more of a game that's good to play in short sessions. After a while Fionna Fights started feeling repetitive and I did get a little bored.

Final Say: Adventure Time fans will love this app for it's characters and simple gameplay. It's fun to kill monsters, and I liked buying items. I did find it boring after more time went by though. I suggest you play the free flash version from the Cartoon Network website. It's basically the same game but you use a mouse. If you liked the flash version then you'll like the app.

A Late Valentine's Dead Space 3 DLC Giveaway

2013-02-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is over, but we can still show the love by teaming up with Visceral Games, and giving away some codes for Dead Space 3's DLC for the Xbox 360, and PS3. You can win up to three different weapon packs: Marauder Pack, Sharpshooter pack, or the Tundra Recon Pack.

You must live in the USA to enter this giveaway.

Two ways to enter:
1. Post a comment below saying which system you have (you can say both), and your e-mail address.
2. E-mail me at nick@organizedremains.com, and tell me which system you have.

More info on the weapon packs:
Marauder Pack –
•    Contains the Marauder Suit and AL-9 Clearcutter.
•    Marauder Suit: Issued to the fearless S.C.A.F. "Marauder" units during the Separatist Wars, the Marauder Suit was used by ship boarding parties to breach Separatist defenses and destabilize their supply chains.
•    AL-9 Clearcutter: The top-mounted "Triple Threat" Pulse rifle is perfect for taking down dense crowds while the J-111 Hydraulic Eviscerator is sturdy enough to cut through anyone foolish enough to get in close.

Sharpshooter pack –
•    Contains the Sharpshooter Suit and SMP-90 Sharpshooter.
•    Sharpshooter Suit: This elite S.C.A.F. military gear was designed for the UN14 "Snake Bite" Special Ops Division. It features a low-frequency transponder that continuously synchs terrain and target data to its wearer.
•    SMP-90 Sharpshooter: This weapon is a heavily modified version of the standard Seeker sniper rifle. It is paired with a wide cutting Line Gun for achieving multiple kills in a single shot.

Tundra Recon Pack
•    Contains the Tundra Recon Suit and Aegis VII Survivalist.
•    Tundra Recon Suit: Worn by early expeditionary teams to Tau Volantis, this suit is woven with nanotech fibers that are coated in a paraffin-based analgesic compound, to maintain body heat under any condition.
•    Aegis VII Survivalist: Named after the remote planet of Aegis VII, this weapon combines a compact Plasma Cutter and Suspended Ripper. It sports a titanium finish designed to withstand the harshest of planetary conditions.

This giveaway ends February 20, 2013.

App Round Up: Temple Run 2, Half-Inch Heist, Clash of Clans

2013-02-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

Temple Run 2 is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices for free. For this review I played it on the iPhone.

Temple Run 2 has you running, jumping, sliding, minecart driving, and dodging all the crazy things you'll find in the jungle. It's another endless runner, but the amount of things to dodge and the upgrades you can collect make Temple Run 2 a running hit. Final Say: Worth checking out.

Half-Inch Heist is available on the iPhone, and iPad for free. For this review I played it on both devices.

Stealing the diamond is the goal, and it sure is hard in Half-Inch Heist. You touch the diamond with your finger, and all sorts of weapons (including bosses) start shooting at you. Your objective is to drag your finger on the screen, and dodge all the weapons. It's very difficult, but quite addictive. Final Say: Worth checking out.

Clash of Clans is available on the iPhone, and iPad for free. For this review I played it on both devices.

Clash of Clans is a real-time strategy game that requires you to build an army, a base, and a good defense. It's the type of game that will have you wait for buildings to upgrade and build. The time you wait depends on how high the upgrade is, and could take up to 3 days to upgrade. I had a lot of fun with Clash of Clans, but it's not for everyone, especially the people that don't like games that have to keep checking back in for. There are things to do while you wait like attacking other bases to keep you occupied. Final Say: Worth checking out.

App Update: Cypress Inheritance

2013-02-13T11:30:00.002-05:00

The last App I reviewed was Cypress Inheritance. Recently, Cypress Inheritance had an update! In this update they added different difficulties that you can choose from in your profile. One of my complaints about the app was the difficulty, and I'm really glad an update has come out fixing this.

Check out my review of Cypress Inheritance here.

App Review: Cypress Inheritance

2013-02-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

Cypress Inheritance is available on the iPhone, iPad, and the following Android devices: Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung Galaxy S 3, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and the Sony Tablet S. It will cost you $0.99 on Android devices, or $1.99 on Apple devices. For this review I played it on the iPhone and the iPad.

*UPDATE*
Recently, Cypress Inheritance had an update! In this update they added different difficulties that you can choose from in your profile. One of my complaints about the app was the difficulty, and I'm really glad an update has come out fixing this.

The Cypress Estate is where your journey begins to save seven very valuable paintings. You're a part of the Cypress bloodline, and your inheritance are the seven paintings. Should be easy. Nope! There's an A.I. named Vonya that wants to keep the paintings at all cost, and the paintings are hiding all over the mansion. The story is very detailed for such a simple game: go into the mansion, get the paintings, and return them to the safe that's outside.

The controls to Cypress Inheritance are interesting. You can use dual analog sticks, or press on the screen where you would like to go. I preferred the dual analog sticks because I felt like it was a pain to quickly turn with pressing on the screen. The dual analog worked for the most part, but there would be times where my thumbs wouldn't register on my device.

I really like the feel to Cypress Inheritance. Moving around this giant mansion looking for paintings was fun. Sadly there are some setbacks to this app. My biggest gripe with it is the manor's knights in armor. Some come to life and attack you, and some don't. When they start to attack you, you can either attack them back or just run away and hope you can escape (usually you can't). You have a sword and a shield to fight and have attack options like a light attack, a hard attack, and buttons to switch to another enemy if there are multiple. I tried searching in the options, but I couldn't find any mention on how to use your shield. The only way I could stop an attack was if I was able to time my attack right before theirs. Though I had better luck button mashing, or trying attack combos to kill these knights before they would kill me rather than strategic block and attack. A separate button to raise my shield would have been much better. I should also mention there is a stun gun that stuns them, but you only have five charges so you'll want to only use them when you really need it.

When you find a painting in the mansion Vonya comes out of hiding to attack you. I tried defeating her and never could, though it wouldn't make much sense if I could kill the main villain right in the beginning. When I got a painting I would just run for the exit! I liked how Vonya would come after you only when you had a painting. It gave me a rush. Say that's pathetic, but it's true.

If there were was a mode where you didn't have to worry about the knights, and only had to worry about Vonya when you had a painting, I think I would have enjoyed Cypress Inheritance a lot more. I know I just described an easy mode, but I need it. I just loved exploring the mansion and discovering new rooms.

Final Say: I love the atmosphere, exploring, finding paintings, and watching out for Vonya. Sadly it's frustrating when it's very difficult to dodge attacks, and it's hard to explore the mansion without dying. I'm given a shield in the beginning, but no button to use it. If there is a way to use the shield it wasn't in the how-to-play options. Make sure to check out the trailer before you buy it, and if you like games that you can explore then check out Cypress Inheritance. If you don't like exploring, the idea of getting beat up all the time, or paying $0.99 for an app then take a pass.

Movie Review: Men In Black 3

2013-02-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

The sinister dart-shooting alien, Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) has escaped from his high security moon prison and has returned to earth with revenge on his mind. Rather than take on Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) a.s.a.p. for putting him away for forty years and blowing off his arm, Boris acquires a time-traveling device and travels back to 1969 to team up with his past-self and kill past-Agent K (Josh Brolin). The only person in the world who remembers K's existence in the present time is his partner, Agent J (Will Smith) who chases Boris back to 1969 to stop him.

Josh Brolin was the perfect casting choice for a much younger Tommy Lee Jones. The mannerisms, voice and appearance were picture perfect, making him easily one of the best chameleon actors in the game today, seemingly able to camouflage into any role. Jemaine Clement seems like a strange casting choice on paper given his comedic background on Flight of the Concords but enough makeup and costume design completely hid this usually unimposing young actor and made him a believably frightening giant alien creature. I now hope that Clement gets more American film roles because he did so well in this film.

This is the king of science fiction film that you really shouldn't focus too much on the details of time travel. They try not to bring attention to how it all works, particularly by making the owner of the time traveling devices speak like an oblivious idiot about the technical aspects, so you should just go with the flow once you're strapped in.

I went into this film with low expectations, having not enjoyed Men In Black 2 at all but found myself having a whole lot of fun. There was enough light hearted humor such as chocolate milk mixed with great action sequences and alien fights to make this a great staple in the action-comedy genre I love so much. They even take time to touch upon cultural differences/culture shock when Agent J travels back in time, although I felt like there was still a little more room to play here left unexplored.

Overall, this was a really awesome mindless popcorn movie. You should check this out when you see it on cable, rent it on Netflix or Amazon, or just flat out buy it, because it's a gem. It's not quite as groundbreaking as Men in Black the original, but it's leaps and bounds better than Men In Black 2. Overall rating...

4 / 5

Rent Men In Black 3 on Amazon Here

Let's Play: Far Cry 3

2013-01-30T13:08:00.002-05:00

Steam Review: No Time To Explain

2013-01-29T00:30:00.000-05:00

No Time To Explain is available on Steam for $9.99.

Where to start? I know, the future! No Time To Explain is about your future-self coming for you, and before your future-self can explain the reason you traveled back in time, your future-self gets attacked and dragged off. While your future-self was being attacked he dropped his gun which becomes very important to the game. When more future-selfs come in play, this adventure gets a bit wacky. The story is very amusing and had me laughing at a lot of it.

There are a couple of guns you use in this game, but the main one is this power-beam gun. It's not about using it as a weapon (except with bosses) it's about using it as a way of transportation. Using your mouse to aim, and clicking/holding the mouse button shoots out the beam. You can make yourself hover, get to higher places, shoot yourself from left to right, and even shoot yourself down to the ground quicker. For a more visual explanation, and to see the other guns in the game check out the trailer below.

Using the guns in the game to move around is great fun, and the level design is always providing a challenge. There are parts to the game that are very hard, but since there are no load deaths (dying and reappearing without a loading screen) I just kept going at it without any crying. Dying in this game is simple. When you die you reappear at the last platform you touched. It makes the game sound easy, but it's not. There are some objects that will kill you that will make you start the whole level over as well. There's many different objects you interact with that keeps the game fresh.

There are also some very fun bosses in No Time To Explain that mix up the gameplay. This is where you can use your gun as a weapon, while using it as a form of transportation. Some of the bosses are very hard because of that fact... damn squirrel boss rolling everywhere! It felt so great after beating that guy.

No Time To Explain is a great game, but there is a complaint. It will take you around 2 hours to beat No Time To Explain. There are hats to collect that will give you more gameplay time, but I want more levels!

I did some research, and since this is a Steam release it has been updated from it's previous state.

A lot of bugs have been fixed
You can play in full screen
Both seasons of the game have been combined
You can perform dance moves by pressing the space bar

Final Say: I had a ton of fun with No Time To Explain. Sure, it's short at 2 hours, but it's about the journey with this game. I highly recommend No Time To Explain. The guns, the story, the levels, the music, and hats make this game a very fun experience!

No Time To Explain can be bought on Steam here.

App Review: Ride 'Em Rigby

2013-01-28T13:58:00.005-05:00

Ride 'Em Rigby is available for the iPhone and iPad for $0.99. For this review I played Ride 'Em Rigby on both devices. There is also a free flash version to play online available here.

As a fan of Regular Show I was excited that a new App featuring some of my favorite characters was out. Ride 'Em Rigby is a game based on the Regular Show episode called Muscle Mentor. It's about Rigby being harnessed to Muscle Man so Muscle Man can "teach" Rigby the ways of the park. If Rigby detaches from the harness at anytime then HE'S FIRED!

In the App Ride 'Em Rigby you play as Rigby while being attached to Muscle Man. Muscle Man tries his best to force you to detach from the harness. He does this by running into many obstacles like crates, or running through pipes. Rigby dodges these obstacles by jumping, double jumping, and ducking all while collecting soda for more points. It's an endless runner that keeps you moving until you finish the level, or run out of energy from unsuccessfully dodging obstacles. Also, yes, I know that Rigby jumping is technically him detaching from the harness, but it's a game... let's calm down.

There are also power ups you can gather from playing ranging from all sorts of characters and objects from the show; from the magic keyboard "The Power," to the Unicorn bros. They all allow you to be invincible for a short amount of time

Ride 'Em Rigby controls fine by tapping the right side to jump, and holding the left side to duck. When the game gets in its later levels it gets frustrating. Once you hit something it was hard to recover. Example: If you double jumped too late and hit an obstacle then you didn't have enough time to land from that double jump to perform another double jump - meaning you end up hitting the next obstacle. I found playing Ride 'Em Rigby on the iPad gave me better experience when it came to this. I'm not sure if I sucked playing on the iPhone, the bigger screen helped, or it was glitchy at times.

Final Say: The look and music to this game is awesome. There are 20 levels, achievements, and an endless mode to keep you busy. Unfortunately, the gameplay just wasn't fun enough to keep me entertained. I love Regular Show, but I'm going to say pass on this app. Also remember there is a free flash version of this game available here.

Ride 'Em Rigby is available for the iPhone, and iPad for $0.99.

If you want some more Regular Show then check out my app review of Regular Show - Nightmare-athon.