Call of Duty 4

Get it?

I finally broke down and got COD4 (through GameFly, whoot). I had been resisting it for a long time because I'm very contrarian and was tired of hearing people go on and on about how perfect it is. It's just a first person shooter, people, how deep can it get? It's basically a glorified mouse accuracy program!

This is going to be a short review (cuz I want to go play it now). Here are my thoughts...

It has the highest production value of any game I have seen to date. Spectacular graphics, great voice acting, good level design, interesting missions, the list goes on... there is just so much polish.

The single player campaign is short, but maybe that's a good thing -- it ends right before getting boring and repetitive. Unlike most mediocre FPS games, COD4's missions are interesting and fun: there is a sniping mission, protect a tank mission, survive a sinking ship mission, air support mission (this one's pretty fun), then the normal "kill everyone" missions.

The "Death from Above" (air support) mission

My one complaint about COD4 is the same as all the other COD games. They all do a great job of giving the sense of chaotic battle - bullets whizzing by, people dying left and right, explosions, enemies here, there, everywhere! - but they implement this by having an infinite number of enemies (and allies) respawn until you push up to a certain point on the map. My complaint is that this mechanic doesn't occur all the time and I get confused when I'm suppose to "push up" or hang back and eliminate all enemies.

3 out of 4 if you're not into FPS games. You should definitely try this game -- it might be the one that does get you into FPS games.

4 out of 4 if you are into FPS games.

Oh, P.S... The multiplayer is pretty good... :P

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Count it!

Dodge Challenger SRT8

"It's just an all around POS. I'd almost call it an egregious mistake by Dodge, except for the fact that nostalgic baby boomers will actually shell out the cash to relive their youth. I just hope they are prepared for disappointed and massive buyer's remorse when it sinks in that for $5k more, they could have bought a car with more hp, 1000 lbs less weight, and handling that will put a 911 to shame."

Is this a joke? No really, is it?

So, let's see what $40,000 (yes, that's forty thousand dollars) buys you from Dodge...

The Good

Hey, it's American, I like American (V8) cars. It's got some guts in the form of a 425 hp Hemi (that means absolutely nothing, btw) engine. It's got some nice big Brembo brakes, and also IRS.

The Bad

I personally think it looks ugly as hell. I describe it as looking like it's been carved out of a bar of soap. It's so soft and Tonka toy looking.

This thing weighs more than Kirstie Alley after she threw in the towel. Actually, that's not accurate. She isn't nearly as morbidly obese as this gussied up Dodge Charger.

It only comes with 20" wheels, which further degrades performance, but what really hurts is the absolutely pathetic tire size that comes on them: 245s all the way around.

Ok, so it's got IRS, but seriously... is anyone going to take this f-ing obese pig (4200 lbs) to a road course? I thought not, so why not go with a solid rear axle to save some money and actually help out at the drag strip (what this car was theoretically designed for)?

It only comes with a 5 speed automatic... cue hysterical laughter now.

The Ugly

How embarrassing is it going to be when you can't shrug off a bone stock Mustang GT which costs nearly half as much and has 125 less horsepower?

Sleep Paralysis

(from Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare)

This is one of the worst things I have experienced. It's when you wake up from sleeping, but you can't move... you're completely paralyzed. So you just lay there, completely awake and conscience, but also in this weird half dream state, unable to move or "wake up".

When you are in REM sleep, your body releases a chemical that paralyzes you, that way you don't flail around in your sleep while dreaming of running or something. Sleep paralysis happens when you wake up before that chemical has left your body.

The first few times it happened to me, it was terrifying. Panic sets in as you desperately try to wake up or move or do something (like yell for help) but nothing. Then all of a sudden you snap out of it (usually with a large gasp for me). It happens to me often enough that I can recognize it and not freak out too much and just let it pass (usually less than a minute). Also, I've learned to move slightly and make noises while in sleep paralysis.

Some people have vivid "dreams" while in sleep paralysis. I don't really. I just know that I'm awake, but unable to "wake up"... which is scary enough.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it as terrifying for you as it is for me (and most other people)?

Dead or Alive (the movie)

(image from Perspective Radio)

The Good The fighting was surprisingly good. Well, maybe not so surprising since it's directed by Cory Yuen, but still... for a video game movie starring an almost all (non-Asian) female cast, the fight scenes were pretty slick. One thing Cory understands is how to make a punch or kick look devastating. Nothing is worse than watching a fight sequence where the blows look like love taps. The punches and kicks need to "snap" and for the most part, they do.

The Better Jaime Pressley... wow. Honestly, I had no idea it was her until I looked it up on IMDB. She was in fantastic shape for this movie. I mean damn, does she always look like this? She looks like a professional fitness competitor. She also pulls off some amazing aerial kicks and flips. They are actually so good (I'm talking Jet Li good) in some cases, I have serious doubts that it's really her.

The Bad It's a video game movie. The plot and acting isn't so hot, though I have to admit that I liked Tina's (Jaime Pressley) scenes, especially with her dad. He was good too, albeit both characters are stereotypes (shit kickin hicks) that are pretty easy to play.

There was a bit too much "fan service" imo. I know, I know... the whole DOA video game franchise started on the concept of fan service, so expect to see tons of gratuitous shots of the girls in underwear and bikinis, etc. I dunno, it cheapens the whole experience for me... and also reminds me that the target audience is half my age, ugh.

The Rant What the fuck. How could they do this to Ryu Hayabusa? I mean jesus, Tomonobu Itagaki should have stepped in and said "no". Ryu plays Katsumi's protector in the movie. He's also a combatant in the DOA tournament, and while he does make it to the finals, he's by no means portrayed as the complete ultimate badass that he is. His skills take a backseat, not only to all the females, but also to freaking Hayate. Oh, it's painful to watch.

For god sakes, he has his own massively successful video game, in which he's the creme de la creme of the ninjas. The best of the best. The ultimate badass. And he pulls it off with a cold as ice, hard as steel attitude... not some lacky who blushes at the sight of a girl in a bathrobe.

Even in the DOA games, they refer to him as "the superninja", and he still has that ice cold, harder than hard persona. How did that get lost in translation to the movie?