February 2012 Entries - Falcon's Blog

Blacksite: Area 51

Greetings, Blacksite: Area 51 is the 2007 sequel to the 2005 video game Area 51. I really enjoyed the original, which I had played several years ago and picked up Blacksite in an effort to regain some of the old magic that the first one had. Unfortunately very little of it was recaptured and it was mainly towards the end that I felt the game was related to its successor. It is not however, a bad game at any measure, rather a solid attempt with a variety of environments to keep the player entertained.

The plot isn’t very complicated and revolves around five main characters. It begins in Iraq where the leading individual, a soldier known as Pierce as well as his two team mates, Logan Sommers and Grayson are searching a hidden bunker for Weapons of Mass Destruction. While on the mission they encounter two other members, Ambrose and Dr Noah who assist them in their search. Once inside they encounter what appear to be mutations of men, after killing them and believing that they are experiments, they move deeper into the facility.

At one point, Peirce, Summers and Noah find an extraterrestrial crystal. Logan touches the crystal that knocks his leader unconscious. Peirce is dragged out of the room by the doctor as Summers fights off several aliens, the door shuts leaving the soldier to his fate. Three years later, the team a reunited, with the exception of Logan, to fight of a militia calling themselves the Reborn. It becomes apparent that the two events where linked.

There are only six weapons in the game, two of which are based on alien technology. The team members when not really adding much to the plot are nice to have around, except when they get injured. This causes the morale monitor to goes down, which makes them less effective fighters. When the metre is higher due to good performance the squad will fight to a higher quality. So overall it is a decent game, don’t expect too much from it but it is a worth a go if you want a short first person shooter to pass the time. The tenth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=7/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Of course I have. Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you.

Cargill

The Simpsons movie

Written by Falcon, Saturday 25 February 2012

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Greetings, Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows is the sequel to the 2009 film starring Robert Downey Jr. I enjoyed the original film although found the successor to be less intelligent in terms of plot and mystery but entertaining, none the less. This story line allows for the introduction of Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, played by Stephen Fry and Moriarty has a larger role since his small appearance in the first movie.

The plot is quite simple for a Holmes adventure, Sherlock finds himself in the middle of a large conspiracy, in which entrepreneurs all over the world are dying under suspicious conditions. Meanwhile the world is tearing itself apart and on the verge of war, as certain European minister’s are assassinated and important buildings are destroyed in an attempt to set up the commencing of the conflict. Holmes tries to discover what it all means and who is behind it.

The actors portrayed their characters well, and it is visual pleasing, especially during scenes of confrontation but as I stated before the mystery is toned down in exchange for the action themes. Due to the villain being identified early on, I found it less interesting as one of the aspects I like most of the detective genre is to find out who was behind the crime and why, or how they did it as was with the plot of the original film. 

Overall, it is not a bad movie by any means but I still prefer the original. There is a good use of whimsical humour throughout it, which helps to lighten the mood and mixes nicely with the serious elements. So I would encourage you to watch it if you were a serious Holmes fan, but if you wish to see a well thought out detective movie, you would be better with something else. The ninth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Special effects=9/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Mr. Salieri sends his regards

Vito

Mafia 2

Written by Falcon, Saturday 11 February 2012
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