Bruce Willis is back as John Mclane in the unashamed action bust-up, helicopter-extravaganza, A Good Day to Die Hard. And that pretty much sums up the state of affairs. Appreciating that this is the fifth of the franchise, there’s little point in dwelling on plotlines or moral insights. Maclane’s son, played by Jai Courtney somehow gets embroiled with a CIA mission in Russia, only to end up thrown in the slammer and then breaking out to stop slippery terrorists stealing uranium from Chernobyl.
The Spanish language song Más Y Más is a refreshing departure from the ubiquitous hip hop tracks or diva wailing crowding the charts at the moment.
While living in CA (Central America) I became fond of this guy and I have been itching to post the sexiness style and audacity shown in this video. Just hope that it allows me to embed after all that.
James Smith’s quick-fire insight into the world of movies exclusive to style-review.com
Here he checks out Flight, a tense action drama starring Denzel Washington as an airline pilot, not only battling at the controls of an aircraft, but also with his own addiction.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Denzel Washington, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly
Denzel Washington seems to have a talent for playing flawed professionals with drink problems, and drawing parallels with the acclaimed Man On Fire, in Flight he portrays an airline pilot on a downward spiral in more ways than one: firstly on an airliner in an uncontrolled dive, and secondly within himself as he descends into addiction and alcoholism.
Once upon a time gaming was simple, 8 and 16 bit systems, simple game play, hardly any story arc and characters that would continue to capture our hearts for decades. Gaming has come along by leaps and bounds since the likes of Pacman, the first ever Sonic the Hedgehog game, and Mario. No doubt that these notable titles would echo through the video games industry and become household names. I remember playing Duke Nukem, the first ever First person shooter I played, SimCity for the Super Nintendo and the revolutionary James Bond Golden Eye. Due to the next generation of Consoles en route to gaming stores across the world later this year, I find myself becoming nostalgic, and want just to talk about the old days through to today’s massively popular online multiplayer.
The popularity of cricket has seen a meteoric rise over the last few years. Especially after the introduction of its latest format, the T20 has become a sensation in the world of cricket in recent times. The huge turnaround in the stadiums during T20 matches have been a clear sign that the popularity of the game has skyrocketed to a whole new level. A recent study has revealed that there has been a step surge in the number of youngsters who have enrolled themselves with the cricket coaching camps all over the world. One will be taken aback to know that countries where cricket was not being played are thick and fast catching up with the game.
Every Sunday for the next 10 weeks I will be highlighting my favourite all time top 10 First person shooting games. I will judge them all on game play, graphics, story, multi player, uniqueness, sex appeal, range and diversity of the characters arsenal and of course popularity. The most important factor though that I want to judge these titles on, is impact on the evolution of the FPS, as some of you will know I’m quite big on the direction of the industry at the moment with the next gen on the way.
The First person shooter originates back to the early 70’s with games such as Maze War and Spasim, but there is one particular game that probably sticks in every ones minds…Doom. Doom was undeniably the most popular and mainstream FPS of its time, despite titles such as wolfenstein trailing behind. In later years we would come to know games such as the Call of Duty series which released Modern Warfare, Black ops or historical wars from WW1 and WW2. Games like the Halo series which brought in depth story to the FPS, and Battlefield which encouraged team strategy and vehicular warfare.
In one of my recent posts I discussed the evolution of gaming, and how the fans compose and edit their own game play videos and post them on sites like YouTube. Now I want to discuss another evolved section of this ever growing industry. A long time ago consoles were sold with very basic accessories; these usually just included a controller, power cable and an AV lead. In our new age of gaming, extra’s are built in, such a Blu-Ray playing abilities, internet browsing, online multiplayer and co-op, external hard drives, controllers in the shape of steering wheels and guns. We have our own personal profiles, we can share our experiences through videos, trophies and achievements, and we can create groups for particular games and compete in world championships. We have wireless controllers, HD and 3D visuals, and the all the while all of this is evolving towards what we hope, is the next advanced stage of gaming life style.
Choosing headphones which are right for mixing can seem daunting at first, since there a variety of models for sale to choose from. These models make a number of promises with regards to quality, yet they don't always deliver, particularly when users are looking for both affordable and professional headphone sets.
Today I want to explore the psychosis of the simulation game, gamer, I want to find out what attracts the consumer to want to create cities, guide their own virtual character through life, or even run their own farm or locomotive business.
The real time strategy game is a genre of gaming that has, most likely the second or third biggest following next to the first person shooter. The RTS has players co-ordinating, usually military style games, employing base building, unit production, various tactics and in depth story and online multi player modes. The type of game is usually best played on the pc as a drag and click style of game play, as like most games increases in difficulty as you progress through the story and missions. One might even consider some FPS and TPS games to have RTS elements as strategy comes as a must, more so in games like COD online and the Battlefield series.
RPG stands for Role playing game, in which the player is thrust into the position of one or more playable characters named or unnamed. RPG’s usually involve an immense story line, huge environments to explore, collectables to gather, grand battles or scenes and hundreds of hours of game play. Many big titles today contain RPG elements, including the first and third person shooter, Simulation and RTS, as well as other fantasy games. Role playing suggests you the player stepping into the shoes of a main character or protagonist, backed by a storyline from which you must progress.
I have recently talked about the most popular genres within the gaming industry. I have discussed the pros and cons of Simulation and Real time strategy games. I have delved into the Role Playing genre and why I believe it is worth every penny when investing in these lengthy titles. I have not however included beat em up’s, puzzle and platform, and driving games. These I consider to be the lower end of the spectrum, even though once they were at the forefront of the gaming market. Games as old as Tekken, Croc, Tomb Raider, Need for speed, Forsa, Dynasty Warriors, Midnight Club, Street fighter and many more come to mind.
All this week I have gave my definitions of each genre of gaming, including a group piece on particular genres that appear to be dying out. I have purposely left the best for last, and of course those of you that have read my articles will know that I’m talking about first and third person shooters and adventure games. The basis from which I define these styles of gaming is based on game sales and the quantity that are released. Household brands like the Call of Duty series, one released annually, plus various other titles including Battlefield, The Elder Scrolls games, Mass Effect, Fable, and Gears of war, Dead Space, and Assassins Creed.
I wanted to add this very well known track lesser well known video as it takes me back to some happy times working and breathing London.
Port Royale 3 is a historical real time strategy, Economic, simulation game for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and the PC. The game has the player following the role of a Trader, Buccaneer or Pirate, trading goods around the colonies in the Caribbean, attacking ports and raiding trading routes. The player can purchase ships, form convoys, start businesses at various towns and built residences and receive income from manual or automated trade routes. The title does have a back story; either route the player decides to follow you must win the heart of the Viceroys daughter. Following the trading route will have you improving settlements and Adventuring will have you rescuing the damsel in distress from pirates.
Whenever an idea comes into my head I never think to write it down, but luckily today my laptop was already on and ready to go. So my idea or rather my question which I will now attempt to answer is certainly an intriguing one indeed. Recently I have been writing articles on games, their genres and games themselves, but I haven’t delved into the prospect of why some particular features appeal to us as gamers. For example Grand Theft Auto, even the older overhead styled titles have you running around city environments stealing cars, murdering people with a variety of methods, committing fraud, stealing, burglary, transporting drugs and so on. But why, oh why does this appeal to us? In real life I wouldn’t drive my car down a path and run over every pedestrian in site would I? Nor would I rob a bank, magically fly a Harrier jump jet or an Apache helicopter. I wouldn’t walk around armed with a visible Ak-47 or rocket launcher, or even run red lights or knock lampposts over.
I recently published a post on the violence we see in video games, but of course every Ying has a Yang, and too be honest I’m not sure which of the two is more controversial. You’ve probably already guessed what I’m talking about, because with violence, Sex soon follows. Sex appeal and sexual content in gaming has increased somewhat over the years, I remember interacting with the strippers from the original Duke Nukem so they would flash their nipple tassels at me. The first 3-dimensional Grand Theft Auto allowed the player to sleep with prostitutes for extra health, provided you had a vehicle and a remote location to carry out the car rocking deed. This would also prove to be a popular and well used feature over the coming GTA series.
In the single Gangsta, Kat Dahlia delivers a very Rhianna-like vocal performance, which is certainly no criticism, especially when complimented by an excellent music video such as this.
Over the last week I have defined each genre of the gaming world, I have investigated why certain aspects affect our game play styles, our methods and ways of deciding on purchases and the past and future of the industry. I have discussed sex, sexual content and nudity, I have also discussed violence, violent content, and graphic images in our favourite titles. I would say ultimately I have probably discussed and addressed most issues as I have progressed. Thinking this I have had to work hard to think of many subjects to touch upon. I have looked at dying breeds, games of the past and future and each individual genre and have argued the case for each. This post will tap into the minds of the consumer and game designers and major companies that bring us interactive entertainment.
Next on my top ten First Person shooters is none other than, Fallout 3 New Vegas, although this is more of an adventure open world game, it’s still a FPS in the traditional sense. Like most games from Bethesda, the Fallout games feature extended story arcs, massive open play worlds, free play, go anywhere do anything game play, although you might want to be armed to the teeth when wandering around the Wasteland! The Fallout series follows individuals that were originally locked underground in nuclear bunkers. America and Russia have gone to war, and inevitably nukes were used, and destroyed most of the known world along with it. The world is now a dreary, radioactive, mutant filled, warring and violent place to survive. Various clans or settlers have established cities, towns and villages fashioned from scrap metal and other random materials. One of the cities featured in Fallout 3 was actually an old aircraft carrier, and New Vegas features the main Las Vegas strip and the Hoover dam as hubs of human life.
Streaming television shows on the computer is probably one of the most convenient ways of keeping up with one's favourite shows. This can also be said for watching films, rather than take the trouble of buying the DVD or watching the film on a normal television, it's a much more pleasant viewing experience to stream these online. But what does one do when the stream breaks, or worse, suddenly does not work on your computer? The last thing anyone would want is for the streaming to stop when immersed in the suspense of the show.
Read more: Streaming television how to watch without a hiccup?
When it comes to gaming, the whole hobby can be expensive indeed. First you need to purchase either a console like the Playstation or Xbox, or invest quite a bit in a gaming laptop or desktop. Then you need games, which in their own right can cost an arm and leg. Downloading some games direct from PSN, Steam or Xbox Live can cost around £50 to £60. The new Steam console apparently will be on the market for a $1000 in America, which is ridiculous. The same can be said for gaming accessories, for example, game pad controllers, Custom controllers, gaming chairs, Kinect and PS Move, and various others are high in price.
Read more: Gaming accessories - A pricy booster for your experience
Needed to show this video, couldn't quite live up to the pulsating tones of this track but none less is original for the epoch, one of Fleetwood Macs best songs if you ask me.
It was a watershed of crayon and a wake up call to the power and imagination that would be music video that until much previous had be film of the band or some other story, but here we had a real story of danger, escape and rescue and the dream. So watch it again and let us know where you were and if it implanted on you as it did me.
We continue on the road towards the top then FPS games, and here we have #8 on the list. Battlefield 3 takes the place of number 8 on the list, although I imagine some diehard fans will disagree and argue that I’m saving higher spots for the Call of Duty games. I have placed BF3 at number 8 because there are a few problems I have the title, there are of course some features that I think other FPS should take away from it as well. Battlefield has been a popular franchise for some time now, and is probably one of the most well known games of all time.
James Smith’s quick-fire insight into the world of movies. Here he checks out Hitchcock, a look at a period of the rotund movie legend’s life during the making of smash horror, Psycho.
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson
This track caught my eye this week while listening to Pete Tong and his essential selection indeed this track made his track of the week last.
Usually cartoon shows result in a mass production of different toys. For example, when Batman came out there was an array of Batman superhero figures, gadgets and alike released onto the market. When The Powerpuff Girls came onto the scene there was an array of cuddly toys and dolls produced too. However, there are actually toys that have resulted in cartoons being made. These toys have gone down so well that series have been written around them. Thus, read on to discover the top kids’ toys that inspired some great cartoons.
If you’re looking for some arty abstract ideas with a bit of indie rock thrown in, then this music video, Timeless, from American band, The Airborne Toxic Event, could fit the bill.
James Smith’s quick-fire insight into the world of movies. Here he checks out G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D, a formulaic bicep flexing action workout of the 3D variety.
Directed by Jon M. Chu
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Bruce Willis
It can be very frustrating when you first start to play an instrument - your initial enthusiasm for it can quickly fade when you find that you’re struggling to master even the most basic chords or finger positions. At the same time, you may start to lose interest if you cannot commit enough time per day to practicing. Some people might just learn a small amount, and then get overwhelmed by the prospect of continuing. So, then, how can you keep yourself motivated when these hurdles start to appear?
Read more: How to Keep Yourself Motivated When Starting to Learn to Play