Posted by
The Dace Man
- Monday, August 4, 2014
What is up, Fanboys Anonymous nation? The Dace Man here bringing you some of the latest in gaming news!
Big news coming out of the 2K camp this morning! The video game distributor teased that one of the all time favorite franchise launchers BioShock will be available on the iOS platform…soon. The game looks to remain faithful to the 2007 original, with the exception of it now being portable. 2K says the game is to be released this summer, and Fanboys and Fangirls alike have blown up social media over its announcement! Check out the preview below by AppSpy!
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a iOS platform—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
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Posted by
Unknown
- Sunday, August 3, 2014
It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum.... and I'm all outta gum.
John Carpenter is one of the greatest directors of all time. Yet many people either don't know who he is or fail to recognize his genius. It's too bad because the guy deserves much more praise for his skills as both a storyteller and filmmaker. The fact that so many of his films have bombed at the box office is perplexing and the fact they have enjoyed success as "cult" films, ones that find their fandom outside of the mainstream, is heartening. Once people discover something like They Live, they get it; they understand how amazing Carpenter is.
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| Got any bubble gum? |
Since I mentioned it already, let's begin with They Live, a little sci-fi conspiracy thriller starring the great "Rowdy" Roddy Piper of pro wrestling fame. I love this movie! The great things you can expect with a Carpenter film are the great music, the straight forward storytelling, and the absolute disregard for his character's well-being. Based on a short story about the pratfalls of greed, brainwashing techniques, and the paranoia surrounding a possible alien invasion, They Live is a very deep film. Themes include subliminal messages, resistance against the status quo, and the influence of the mass media. I suppose these heavy themes are part of why it failed to produce much revenue upon release. Among the more glitzy action films of the 80's, this gem failed to make an impression. This is crazy, because it features one of the best fight scenes in movie history between Piper and Keith David.
Another under-the-radar, mega-awesome film of Carpenter's is The Thing. It has grown to almost legendary status now, but at theaters it fizzled and faded fast. It's dark and depressing, so I get why movie goers maybe didn't go for it. Plus, it had to compete with the likes of E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial and that's impossible. It was criticized for being technically brilliant, but excessively gory. That wouldn't happen today; it looks tame compared to most horror films of the 21st Century. The Thing is a masterpiece of terror and story construction. The alien creature is one of the most frightening creatures ever put on film. This is one of the best sci-fi horror films ever made.
Kurt Russell, versatile actor as he is, would go on to do four other films with John Carpenter, including one of top ten favorite films ever, Big Trouble in Little China. This is another cult classic and one of the wildest, craziest thrill rides of all action movies. It combines elements of kung-fu and comedy in equal measure. I think this may be why it failed to take off at the box office. It was just so hard to market something like this. What is it? An action comedy? A kung fu film? Science fiction, horror, fantasy, what? It's all of that and more. This is both why it's so great and why it failed, at least initially, to connect with audiences.
Big Trouble in Little China is my second most watched film behind This is Spinal Tap; I've seen it at least 40-50 times and it never gets old. It's funny, exciting, thrilling, a tad scary, and just so super cool. I could watch it every week and still enjoy it. In fact, I used to watch it every Friday night years ago. It was like a nice treat for the weekend. Something to look forward to. I did that for months at a time. Jack Burton, Russell's character, is like an old buddy of mine, he almost feels like family. Man, I need to get a life! But you know what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like this... have you paid your dues? Yeah, I paid my dues, the check is in the mail. Big Trouble is also a gorgeous looking film with a great score.
Carpenter also does his own music in his films and even sings at times! What other director can say that? Is anyone else a huge fan? What other films of his are cult classics or deserve to be? Sound off below.
Posted by
Unknown
- Saturday, August 2, 2014
I don't mind aging myself here a bit, because this is a topic of deep love. The role playing games (RPGs) of the mid '90s and those in particular that enjoyed success on the first PlayStation (PS1) platform were some of the best games ever made. Final Fantasy VII (FF7) made the PS1 what it was to become, the breakout gaming platform of the century. Everything changed after that game came out. It had innovative graphics requiring a ridiculous three discs of space because the amount of information was so huge, and it was a giant story that could take an average player up to 100 hours to finish. Even if you rushed through it, you couldn't expect to get done before at least 50 hours went by, it was that deep. It's such a great journey, however, that it is worth the effort, no matter how long it takes.
FF7 was a massive hit critically and financially. That was the RPG to own for PS1 owners and probably pushed more units of the console than anything else except maybe Resident Evil. Where to start with this gloriously addictive, sprawling, massively epic game? There were tons of great characters, a level of interactivity, and such gameplay mechanics that it's hard to really narrow it down to what made it so great. I think it was the combination of storytelling, deeply drawn characters, and the large scale that made it so incredible. FF7 had Cloud Strife leading a small band of freedom fighters against the powers that be, and it really felt like you were there with him all along. FF7 was a watershed moment and the greatest video game RPG of all time.
Another that comes to mind is Breath of Fire 3 (BoF3), where you take the role of a tiny dragon boy named Ryu and fulfill your destiny as hero of the world. What I loved about this game was the immaturity of the characters (they are all kids, basically) and the ability to customize both your characters through mentors and the different dragon gems you could find, giving you a plethora of different dragons to fight with in battles. This was a really fun game that allowed players to explore the world and had tons of fun side quests/games as well; I particularly loved the fishing game. BoF3 was well rounded, had a great story with some neat twists, and and had strong replay value as well.
One that I recently dusted off and started playing again is Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. It's actually an updated version of an older Sega CD game. The graphics are dated, for sure, especially during the battle scenes, but it's got a great story, a fully fleshed out world to explore, and some of the greatest anime cut scenes ever produced for video games. It's worth it for this reason alone. The main quest, where you play Alex, the soon-to-be Dragon Master, is pretty much fantasy cliché, but it works well enough. The fun is in the journey.
Lunar has some great voice acting as well to go along with the cool cut scenes and some nice music. Admittedly, the music is a bit quirky and silly at times, but that's anime, isn't it? It's all so much fun you don't mind it. Some of the innovations with this game included the ability to run past enemy critters instead of getting slammed randomly while crawling through a dungeon. Remember that? You're just scrolling along through a evil forest or something and bang! You get hit by the bad guys. It's not so bad when you are leveling up, but when you have to get across the room to the next section, it's annoying. Lunar also had a sequel called Lunar: Eternal Blue that took place 1,000 years after the events of the first game. If you liked the first, you'll like this one.
So what are some of your favorites of this game type from this era? What do you consider an all time best RPG? Sound off below.
Posted by
The Dace Man
- Friday, August 1, 2014
What's up, Fanboys and Fangirls? Chris "The Dace Man" Dace here to bring you some news coming out of Hollywood.
Lionsgate is looking to most likely take a huge hit to the wallet on when their latest installment of The Expendables hits theaters August 15th. On July 24th a leaked copy of The Expendables 3 hit the Internet and reportedly has had a million views already. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate moved forward by filing a lawsuit on July 31st against "John Does 1-10."
Expendables 3 sees the return of action stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Terry Crews. The original team will be joined by Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Wesley Snipes, among others, in the latest installment! Below is the final trailer for the film.
As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a good lawyer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!
Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime
Posted by
Unknown
- Thursday, July 31, 2014
Back in college I was introduced to The Evil Dead. A couple buddies knew the films well and we watched them, all three, back to back all the time. It seemed like every weekend. I remember watching the second film before I even knew the first one existed. Evil Dead II is simply on another level; it's the first one but with better acting, a larger budget, and a much clearer distinction into comedy. I consider it more of a remake anyway, to be honest, a completely in your face "do-over" than a continuation of the first one's story. It's the same damn story and Bruce Campbell's Ash would have to be the dumbest person alive to go back to the same house and relive the same thing over again. There's plenty of evidence to suggest it is more of a remake than sequel, believe it.
Director Sam Raimi has said the first portion of the second film is meant to be a recap, but he has also stated in interviews that yeah, it pretty much is a remake with a bigger budget. I'm fine with that; hell, James Cameron more or less did that with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It's the same story but with better special effects.
What I love about the Evil Dead series is the combination of horror and comedy. The simplicity of the situation is also crucial. It's just this guy out there in the woods, fighting demons and trying to stay sane and alive. While the first is an early '80s cheaply made horror film in the same vein as Friday the 13th, the second combines the elements of comedy that would derail the franchise in Army of Darkness, the third installment. I like the film, but they went too far the other way into slapstick and nonsense. It's interesting how each film goes further along the dial from horror to comedy, finding that sweet spot with Part 2. The gore, the humor, the sense of impending doom... it's all there.
Don't get me wrong, I adore Army of Darkness. It's the most re-watchable one of the three for sure and has some great quotes. "Listen up you primitive screwheads." "This is my BOOM STICK!!!" That's poetry, that is. So I love the film but I also like the balance between genres and the simplicity of the first two films.
With the recent announcement of the upcoming Evil Dead TV series by Raimi, there's no telling what direction the franchise will go in. I never saw the reboot/remake from a couple years ago and have no desire to see an Evil Dead film without Bruce Campbell in the lead, sorry. The TV series is set to have him in it but I'll believe it when I see it. Never fear, though, because there is talk of the actual film series getting more entries.
Bruce and Sam have talked for decades about the possibility of a sequel to Army of Darkness. Well, get ready Geekoids of the Internet, because there are rumors of it finally happening. Again, because I've been a fan for so long and heard this before, I will believe it when it happens. There are also plans to do a direct sequel to the 2013 film and then do another film that ties the two timelines together. Wow, that's ambitious.
I'm cautiously optimistic. Of course I want to relive my college days vicariously through a new film, hoping to channel the same feelings of joy and hilarity that I felt 20 years ago (yeah, I'm that old, deal) but I don't know if the boys have it in them. It might be more of a parody of Army of Darkness rather than a true continuation of the story.
So will more Evil Dead work or are they simply spinning their wheels on nostalgia? Was the new one any good? Do you want to see more? Sound off below.
What is up, Fanboys Anonymous nation? The Dace Man here bringing you some of the latest in gaming news!
