November 17, 2009: The Perfect Storm

November 17, 2009 will be a big day in the world of home entertainment, at least in my mind. To quote Pam Beesly from NBC's The Office, "I call it the Perfect Storm."

The 17th is the day Paramount will release J.J. Abrams' popular Star Trek on DVD. It's also the day Valve Software unleashes Left 4 Dead 2 to the zombie-killing public. It's also the day John Mayer's long-awaited follow-up to 2006's masterful Continuum hits retail.

I can't say much about Trek that hasn't already been said. It's a wonderful science fiction actioner, and I find it amusing how literally Abrams took the term "reboot." This is a Star Trek for a new generation, featuring a delightful cast, jaw-dropping action and a whole lot of lens flare.

The standard single-disc version of the DVD is available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $16.99 includes the film, a commentary featuring Abrams, screenwriters Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk. It also includes a documentary on Abrams' vision for this film, and a gag reel.

The 2-Disc Digital Copy Special Edition is available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $22.99 and features the same content as the single-disc edition, along with a slew of extras on disc 2. These extras include a digital copy of the film, a bunch of deleted scenes, DVD-Rom content, four featurettes and a free trial of the Star Trek D-A-C video game.

The 3-Disc Digital Copy Special Edition is available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $25.99, only on Blu-Ray, and features all the aforementioned content plus more featurettes and a Starfleet Vessel Simulator.

Valve Software's Left 4 Dead 2 has actually seen a bit of controversy on its road to release. Valve has a tendency to release expansions rather than sequels, a habit fans have apparently become quite fond of. I'm a huge Half-Life fan myself, and that series hasn't seen a true sequel since 2004. Instead, Valve has released two expansion episodes, a masterful little puzzle game called Portal, and Team Fortress 2.

It was a big surprise, therefore, when Valve announced the sequel to Left 4 Dead just a year after the original hit retail. Some fans even called for a boycott, accusing Valve of trying to milk its followers for as much cash as possible.

Think what you will, but Left 4 Dead 2 looks like a true sequel to me, and seems well worth the $60 price tag. This sequel features new characters, weapons, a new level structure (which includes certain parts of certain levels that change each time you play them), new enemies, better AI, and more.

My favorite new feature is unquestionably the melee weapons. The official Left 4 Dead 2 Web site reports that there will be more than 10 melee weapons. Joystiq.com claims to have all 10 listed, but Valve's site says there are "over 10," so who knows? Joystiq list consists of the following: an axe, chainsaw, frying pan, cricket paddle (Shaun of the Dead, anybody?), katana, machete, police baton, crowbar (Half-Life 2-style), electric guitar and my personal favortie, the baseball bat.

The game starts in Savannah, Georgia, and follows four new characters (Coach, Ellis, Rochelle and Nick) as they battle through the zombie horde toward evacuation and rescue in New Orleans. Instead of four seemingly unconnected campaigns like the original, Left 4 Dead 2 features five that run in order, which should make for a more streamlined and logical story. Valve has said that although the story is a bit more fleshed out this time around, the essential simplicity is still a primary factor. We don't want story taking precedent over zombie killing.

Melee weapons were notably absent from the original, and I'm pretty sure playing Left 4 Dead 2 will make the first game feel all kinds of obsolete. I already have my weapons picked out (shotgun and baseball bat), and I'll be first in line for this game once November 17 finally comes around. Left 4 Dead 2 will be released for the Xbox 360 at retail and on Valve's Steam service for the PC.

John Mayer will give us his fourth studio album on the 17th as well. Titled Battle Studies, it's honestly a little difficult to know what to expect out of this album. That fact is strange, since Mayer's Battle Studies blog has provided us with a unique window into Mayer's creative process. Still, it's tough to predict what we'll hear on the 17th. Mayer has claimed that it'll be something different, and even said early on that people may not like it at first. I'm pretty sure people said that about Continuum before its release, but as far as I'm concerned, that's one of the best albums to come out of the music industry in a very long while. Hopefully Battle Studies lives up to that.

Mayer released the first single from this new album a couple days ago, titled "Who Says." It's a great song, with Mayer's usual lyrical genius at work (argue with me on that one if you want). It reminds me a lot of "3x5" from Room for Squares and "Stop This Train" from Continuum.

Mayer doesn't do a lot of collaborations on his albums, but Battle Studies features a duet with Taylor Swift, which will be interesting, to say the least. I appreciate Swift's music, so hearing her with Mayer will probably be a treat.

The teasers on the BattleStudies YouTube channel make it sound like this album will be a lot more mellow as a whole than some of his previous work. I'm totally okay with that, but it will be a big change for Mayer. We'll find out just what this album means for his career in November.

There you have it. Three big releases, one big day. Yet another reason I hope I have a job before then...

My Wallpaper: Halo: Combat Evolved

This is the current wallpaper I'm using on my Powerbook. It's a very early shot that I remember seeing in the Official Xbox Magazine when they first reviewed Halo: Combat Evolved. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe they gave it a 9.7. The level featured in this screenshot is Assault on the Control Room, my favorite level in any Halo game. I didn't create the wallpaper, but I thought this post would be a fitting look back at the original Halo, especially since ODST just recently hit shelves (see my review below). The original Halo is a game that can never be truly emulated, even by its own sequels. It's a standalone classic with a deep mythology, a loyal fanbase, and, most importantly of all, a lot of fun to be had.

New Game Watch: The Witness

Something amorphous and consummate
existed before Heaven and Earth.
Solitude! Vast!
Standing alone, unaltering.
Going everywhere, yet unthreatened.
It can be considered the Mother of the World.
I don't know its name, so I designate it, 'Tao'.
Compelled to consider it, name it, 'the Great'.

You may remember my review of Jonathan Blow's masterful Braid, a time-manipulating side-scroller that proves the fact that video games can be legitimate art. Plus, it's an absolute blast to play through.

Well, the poem typed above recently appeared on a Web site linked from the Braid blog. The page only contains those words and a white background. Clicking on the poem leads to another sparse page, telling us that Blow's next game, The Witness, will be "an exploration-puzzle game on an uninhabited island." Following that, the site tells us that the new game is "to be released on multiple platforms — whatever makes sense in late 2011, when the game will hopefully be finished. Further information will be posted here as it is ready."

Cryptic, to say the least. A quick Google search reveals (at the Citizendium) that the poem is taken from an early chapter the lost work of Lao Tse, a contemporary of Confucius and an authority on Taoism.

Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is, 2011 is way too long to wait.

Johnny Depp Might Be Rethinking His 'Pirates IV' Involvement

Back on September 11, I reported that Johnny Depp had announced his involvement in the new Pirates of the Caribbean film in a very grandiose way: sailing onstage on a pirate ship at a Disney convention. Now, however, news outlets are throwing around the word "iffy" to describe Depp's current feelings on the film.

This comes in the wake of the departure of (now former) Disney studio chief Dick Cook, the Los Angeles Times reports. Apparently, Cook was instrumental in keeping Depp's vision of Jack Sparrow intact for The Curse of the Black Pearl. According to Depp, the studio wasn't keen on his Keith Richards-inspired interpretation of Sparrow. Cook stuck with him, and as a result he created one of the most beloved modern characters in film, and Depp earned an Oscar nod for his performance.

In the end, maybe it's for the best. I'm always excited when Depp does another project, and this film could easily still go forward, but I can't help but wonder if On Stranger Tides would be another Dead Man's Chest or At World's End. The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of the best products to come out of Disney in years, and I personally wouldn't want them to further cheapen it with another poor film. Depp is the anchor (no pun intended) for this franchise, and if he doesn't want to do it, I'll stand by his decision and watch Black Pearl again.

Video Game Review: Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3: ODST
Developer: Bungie Software
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Systems: Xbox 360
Release Date: September 22, 2009

I'll never forget the first time I saw Halo in action. I had told a good friend of mine that I intended to buy a Nintendo GameCube, and he had mentioned Halo as a good reason to consider Microsoft's Xbox. He booted up a video on his computer showing Bungie's future masterpiece, and I was hooked.

What amazed me the most about this new shooter was admittedly very superficial. In the background of many of the shots, the Halo ring on which the Master Chief fought was visible, splitting the horizon in two and arcing up over the player's head. For some reason, this aesthetic impressed me in a way I can't really describe. It somehow gave a heightened sense for the grandiose nature of the Halo universe, and told the player without words that he or she was part of something larger than just the battle at hand. I imagined the ability to pick any spot on that ring in the horizon and travel to it via Warthog (known then as the "Halo Jeep").

Obviously, this open world aspect never panned out for Halo: Combat Evolved, but the game still managed to be flat-out amazing, and arguably shaped the future of first person shooters in the same manner the original Half-Life did in 1998.

It's 2009 now, and Kirkland-based developer Bungie recently released Halo 3: ODST to retailers. This game features neither the Master Chief nor a Halo ring, but that open world aspect I imagined years ago has finally been realized. Sure, this game has "Halo 3" in the title, but it could easily stand alone as its own title, if not for one glaring flaw.

ODST puts the player in the combat boots of the Rookie, a faceless, mute hero who recently entered the ranks of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (also known as "Helljumpers"). The game begins during the end of Halo 2's third campaign level, right before the Covenant cruiser and In Amber Clad make the Slipspace jump right over New Mombasa, devastating the city. The Rookie and his fellow ODSTs are preparing to drop into the city, presumably to assault the Covenant cruiser. After the Slipspace rupture causes the ODSTs' jump to go awry, the player takes control of the Rookie six hours later, searching for clues to what exactly happened to his team.

A lot of changes have been made between Halo 3 and ODST. Dual-wielding and equipment are gone, and the health system is a hybrid of Combat Evolved's health pack system and the constantly-recovering stamina system of Halo 2 and 3. Also, the motion tracker is nowhere to be found, and has been replaced by a map visor system to help the player navigate the open world in the dark. These changes make the gameplay feel a bit different from Halo 3, in a good way. Taking cover is more important than ever, since these ODSTs are mere mortals compared to the Master Chief.

You won't be selecting levels from a menu this time around. Following map markers will lead the Rookie to different clues throughout New Mombasa, each one serving as the beginning of a flashback level. In the flashbacks, you'll piece together what happened by taking control of one the Rookie's squadmates.

This new game design is a welcome change from the past Halo games. It feels very fresh, and wandering the destroyed New Mombasa as the Rookie isn't as boring as I initially thought it would be. The meat of the game takes place in the flashbacks, sure, but the exploration aspect is an appreciated addition.

Graphically, ODST is what we've come to expect from the Halo franchise. It's no Gears of War in the looks department, but it is very impressive nonetheless. It's really amazing to see how far the graphics, and specifically character models, have come since Combat Evolved.

As with all its predecessors, the most complete part of ODST's package is the audio department. The music composed by series regular Martin O'Donnell is absolutely perfect, which we've come to expect. The sound effects are very cool as well, especially those of the new Silenced SMG and Pistol.

The voice acting deserves a special mention. The Rookie never speaks, but the other characters' voice acting is phenomenal. The player-controlled characters in the flashback sequences (Buck, Romeo and Mickey) are voiced by Firefly's Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk, respectively. Browncoats will recognize them immediately as Mal, Jayne and Wash from Joss Whedon's masterful TV series and the movie Serenity. Their voice acting is remarkably well-done, and holds up to the series standards, even beating them out in some respects. More than anything, it's really neat for a Firefly fan like myself to hear their voices together again.

All this wraps up nicely to make a wonderful purchase for any Halo fan, but that glaring flaw I mentioned earlier could be the game's undoing in the eyes of more casual gamers. ODST's campaign can be completed in a few hours. I knew the game was short, but I was still surprised when the game ended. Some places are selling ODST for $60, so I would recommend shopping around a little before buying. I found my copy on Amazon.com for $50.99, so that might be a good place to start.

That said, the rest of ODST's offerings do go a long way towards remedying the campaign's length problem. Firefight mode is an absolute blast. It pits one to four players against wave after wave of Covenant at locations from throughout the campaign. The waves increase in difficulty as the skulls, a staple of the series, are activated, each one adding new quirks to the gameplay so that no two rounds are alike. Be warned: Firefights can last a long, long time, so come prepared.

Also packed in with ODST is a much-appreciated second disc titled "The Halo 3 Multiplayer Experience." It includes Halo 3's immensely popular multiplayer mode, along with every update and map every released via Xbox Live, plus three new maps that aren't available anywhere else. I love this disc's inclusion, because I don't have Xbox Live access at home. It's a very welcome inclusion in my book.

One other notable feature included in ODST is the Road to Recon. Hardcore fans of the series will have no doubt heard of the fabled Recon Armor, which Bungie only gives out to people they deem special enough to have it. Now, anybody can get it, as long as they can obtain the seven "Vidmaster" achievements, some of which are only obtainable in ODST.

In the end, Halo 3: ODST is a must-buy for any fan of the series. Even though Halo 3 is part of the title, the gameplay changes really do make this a game of its own. Sadly, the campaign's length make this a tough recommendation to make for casual gamers. The hidden secrets throughout the overworld will add some extra collecting time, and Firefight is a nice addition, especially for fans of Gears of War's Horde mode. Bungie even threw in the Road to Recon and an invitation to the beta of their next game, Halo: Reach. However, it's arguable whether it runs enough of the extra mile to make this package worth 60 bucks.

If you're anything but a hardcore Halo fan, I'd recommend either finding this game for cheaper than $60 or renting it first. Halo fans will love it, and most other gamers will too. ODST is a phenomenal game, but it simply ends far too quickly for its own good.

Score: 8.5 out of 10

All images from Bungie.net.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Announced

Congratulations, Disney, I'm a Pirates fan again.

All it took was Johnny Depp sailing onstage on a pirate ship at Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim to announce the new Pirates of the Caribbean film, subtitled On Stranger Tides and slated for a summer 2011 release. Good thing I'm a sucker for early speculation, because all we know about the film is that it will carry the previously-mentioned subtitle, and that Johnny Depp will return as Captain Jack Sparrow. It has also been reported that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will not return for the fourth film.

A fascinating note, however: Slashfilm reports that a 1987 Tim Powers pirate novel already carries the title "On Stranger Tides." I wrote it off as a peculiar coincidence at first glance, but here's the Publishers Weekly review from Amazon.com's page for "On Stranger Tides:"

"World Fantasy Award–winner Powers (Three Days to Never) demonstrates a precise control of complex narratives in this reprint of his rollicking and enchanting 1987 novel. Puppeteer John Chandagnac, bound for Jamaica to recover stolen money from his uncle, becomes Jack Shandy after pirates attack his ship and force him to join their crew. Shandy's struggle to accept his new life grounds the story for readers, even as Blackbeard and vodun magicians whisk everyone away to dreamlike lands where the Fountain of Youth itself awaits. The chaotic sea battles sing, though at times key events happen so quickly that they get lost in the shuffle as Jack tries to comprehend where he's going and what's at stake. This dark fantasy tale will appeal not just to pirate fans but also to anyone who appreciates Powers's talent for blending the most unlikely elements into a brilliantly cohesive whole."

Did any Pirates fans catch the Fountain of Youth reference in there? Those who saw At World's End will remember the not-so-subtle hint at the end that told us Jack Sparrow's next adventure would deal with the Fountain. The synopsis becomes even more interesting when one considers what we've already heard that William and Elizabeth Turner may not return. Will the characters from Powers' novel be woven in with Sparrow and whoever else joins him in this new movie? Will Blackbeard be conveniently replaced with Barbossa? Who knows, but it could be a very interesting plot decision, one that I would fully support. I haven't read any of Powers' work, but the book has very good reviews on Amazon, and a strong story from a well-reviewed book certainly shouldn't hurt the series, which became overly convoluted and, well, just plain bad in its second and third films.

Let's hope Disney can regain some of its former Black Pearl glory with On Stranger Tides. Keep the film focused on Sparrow and give us a good, simple plot to follow. That's the recipe for success, now Disney just needs to follow it.

Read the AP report at NYTimes.com here.

Film Preview: Where The Wild Things Are

If you had spent a day in the preschool classroom I taught this summer, it would've been easy to spot my favorite children's book. Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are is that book, and it will certainly be read to my own kids when I have them. It's that certainty that leaves me with very high hopes for Spike Jonze's upcoming film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are, finally set for release on October 16.

I say "finally" because it hasn't exactly been a short road to that day. Where The Wild Things Are has been through a lot on its journey to release. John Lasseter actually headed up the project for Disney a long time ago. Check the test footage here. Obviously, that fell through, and Lasseter went on to direct a little movie called Toy Story, among others.

If you jump ahead quite a few years, and if you have an acute memory, you may remember seeing an early teaser trailer attached to Ron Howard's live action version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey. Yes, that was all the way back in 2000.

A lot has happened since then. Sendak apparently liked Jonze's earlier work, and deemed him the right director for the job. Following a dispute with Universal, however, Jonze decided to take the film to Warner Bros. and demonstrated to audiences that the teaser may have been a bit premature. Jonze co-wrote the screenplay with author Dave Eggers, and the film was on its way to finally becoming a reality.

Sadly, problems plagued the production of Where The Wild Things Are, especially after test footage was leaked, making many very skeptical of Jonze's vision for the film. Rumors abound of test audiences full of frightened children, a sign that maybe Jonze had to tone his film down a little in order to cater to target audiences (primarily kids, I would imagine).

Warner Bros. delayed the film an entire year from its originally-intended 2008 release date, bumping it to October 16, 2009. Where The Wild Things Are stars newcomer Max Records (who you may remember from this summer's indie The Brothers Bloom) as Max, the famous young man with a wolf suit who goes to bed without dinner and creates a world of his own. Catherine Keener plays his mother, and Mark Ruffalo plays his mother's new boyfriend.

The Wild Things are voiced by an ensemble cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper and Paul Dano. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this new film is Jonze's choice to use practical costumes for the Wild Things' portrayal, with the help of computers to get their faces just right. It's nice to see a director who isn't afraid to use practical effects in place of CG these days.

Sendak has voiced his opinion on Jonze's film in a series of video featurettes created by Jonze. He says he loves Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are, and that the director has stayed true to the original work without being tied down to it.

I won't pass any judgment on the movie until I see it, but watching the Wild Things in the trailer is an absolute joy, and I can only imagine the theatrical experience. I've read that Jonze really tried to capture what it's like to be a nine-year-old kid, which is an interesting endeavor that I hope he succeeds at.

Most of all, however, I hope that the dark side of this story hasn't been compromised. I'm not sure if Jonze is a filmmaker who makes a movie and leaves it be (like Christopher Nolan) or the kind who never seems to be done tweaking his films (like George Lucas), but I'd love to see Jonze's original cut on some DVD special feature someday, just to witness what allegedly scared these children so badly. I'm confident that the dark side ("We'll eat you up!") will stay intact, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Again, Where The Wild Things Are opens on October 16. The teaser and trailer are available at the official site.

The Dress Saga: How to make money from a sarcastic letter

When the chips are down, always remember that it never hurts to write a letter.

Never was this clearer to me than on August 11, when my girlfriend triumphantly called me on the phone and told me that she had gotten a refund on her bridesmaid's dress.

For those of you who don't know, the "Dress Saga," as we call it, began back in May when my girlfriend received her mermaid-colored bridesmaid dress from David's Bridal. To start things off, it was the wrong size. Apparently the floor model was stretched or something like that. So, the shop offered to alter the dress for free. They butchered the alterations, however, replacing the zipper with loops that required a ribbon to lace up the dress. The loops went down far too low, making it a little inappropriate, especially for a wedding. It also had a sash.

In short, David's Bridal decided to make things as complicated as possible. They refused to do any more free alterations on the dress, leaving my girlfriend and her mother to do the necessary alterations themselves. David's Bridal never informed anybody regarding the alterations they were going to do, and the person handling the alterations didn't make things any easier.

That'll teach 'em for wanting stuff done right the first time.

We had the idea of writing a letter shortly thereafter. I put it off for awhile, and we actually tossed around the idea of hacking the dress to shreds with a pirate sword. When I actually did write a letter, my girlfriend decided to hold onto the dress for a little while longer, just in case we caught somebody's attention.

In the letter, we included the above information and more, with a lot more details and quite a bit of sarcasm thrown in. I wrote the early draft, my girlfriend's mother added in some clothing details that my male mind couldn't grasp, and her dad threw in a little extra helping of sarcasm, just for good measure.

My girlfriend addressed the letter to the David's Bridal president and CEO, and waited fro a reply. She later reported that she did receive a reply. Long story short, David's Bridal gave her a full refund (168.98), plus about a dollar because sales tax has gone up since then. It doesn't hurt make a little on the side.

The moral of the story is: write a letter. These companies know better than anyone that word of mouth can be a business killer. Trust me, a full refund isn't going to keep anybody quiet after this experience, but some extra cash isn't bad.

So, write a letter. You might even make some money.

Review Preview: Jet Force Gemini

Almost a decade ago, on October 11, 1999, famed video game developer Rare released an N64 third-person shooter called Jet Force Gemini to the public. Most gamers know Rare for hits like Goldeneye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64, but Jet Force Gemini managed to fly under radar for the most part. Players take control of twins Juno and Vela, along with their dog Lupus, and follow them on their quest to rid the galaxy of Mizar, the leader of the bug armies.

I first heard of Jet Force Gemini when a friend showed me the "HotNewz 64" videotape he received with his monthly copy of Nintendo Power magazine back in junior high. The video is cringe-inducing to watch today, mostly because of the tape's host, but the Jet Force Gemini preview that is shown will still make you want to play the game. I managed to dig up the clip after a bit of searching, you can watch it here, courtesy of Gametrailers.com and user chaddie84. Watch the host's face.

I picked up the game as soon as I could, and it most definitely lived up to my expectations. Jet Force serves up a heaping mound of goo and gore, despite a surprising "Teen" rating. It also introduced me to cooperative gaming. A second player could take control of Floyd, a small hovering robot you put together partway through the game. Though player two was limited to hovering next to player one's head, the game was still a blast to play with a buddy. The action was fierce, the cinema scenes epic, the bosses colossal and the content surprisingly funny at times.

Sadly enough, however, I never actually beat Jet Force Gemini.

There comes a point in the game, after you beat Mizar for the first time, when you're ordered to scrounge the galaxy for parts to a ship, which happens to be fast enough to reach Mizar's asteroid base, which happens to be hurtling towards Earth. I found all the parts, save one...

A little background first. Amidst the action of Jet Force Gemini, these little guys are ever-present...

They're called "tribals," and they are the single biggest flaw in this game. Walking through them makes them disappear into a cloud of pretty sparkles, and the game considers them rescued. At first, we don't quite get the impact they'll have on the game's outcome. In fact, they're pretty fun to shoot, or better yet, explode into a cloud of crimson liquid.

However, the player quickly learns that, in order to retrieve the final ship part and access the final boss, he or she must save every single tribal in the entire game. That's 120 stages of being careful not to shoot the white teddy bears in the corner. Not an easy task, and not one that I ever saw the need to complete. I basically saw it as a cheap attempt to increase the game's longevity. It works in that regard, but in the most annoying way possible.

Flash forward 10 years, and here we are. I know what happens when you finally save all the tribals, and I also know the Mizar is widely considered to be the most difficult boss in the history of video games. I decided that, with the help of my brother, I'd like to finally go back and complete Jet Force Gemini. I'll finally have a review, 10 years overdue, whenever we complete our task.

It could be awhile.


Box shot courtesy of GameFAQS.
Tribal render image courtesy of Jet Force Gemini APEX.