jen5en
Joined Aug 2005
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Reviews6
jen5en's rating
Robin Hood. I usually associate him with a bare-assed Kevin Costner and Bryan Adams, a forest, lots of arrows flying and typical 90's clichés. However, on the poster it seemed none of this would be present. Instructed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe? Frankly, I didn't know what the hell to expect going in. A mix between Robin Hood and Gladiator maybe?
First off, I would say that it was a weird experience that I haven't fully recovered from. It's a 140 min. movie and yet it felt short. Despite being quite slow in it's narrative, with only two major battle scenes, I never felt bored in any way. It's quite gory from time to time, yet indulges in goofy comedy and penis jokes occasionally.
It is beautiful though and the performances are memorable. It just feels... bland and yet exceptional. Dull and yet intriguing. I didn't really care much for what was going on, yet I was glued to the screen and didn't check my watch. A bit like watching Alexander. Or Kingdom of Heaven. It feels like watching a bunch of LARP'ers in a forest essentially, but cool, good-looking LARP'ers with expensive costumes.
But Robin Hood you say? Frankly, calling it "Longstride" wouldn't have made any difference to me. It's about a man coming home to England to deliver the message of the king's demise, then things go haywire.
If you feel confused about my ramblings I don't blame you. I'm as confused as you are. Because I don't really know what to say, so I'll be blunt. It felt like just another 'epic' movie. Posh British accents? Check. Cheesy speeches about liberty and freedom, with bombastic music? Check. Questionable CGI castles? Check. BUT, I managed to be engaging and intriguing. Hell, I couldn't remember one damn scene from Alexander and yet I remember whole dialogs from Robin Hood - which is quite an achievement.
So all in all, a typical epic movie with Robin Hood slapped on top of it. Great cinema to be sure and an experience to be remembered. I can't really give anything other than 8/10. Nice one Mr. Scott. I think.
First off, I would say that it was a weird experience that I haven't fully recovered from. It's a 140 min. movie and yet it felt short. Despite being quite slow in it's narrative, with only two major battle scenes, I never felt bored in any way. It's quite gory from time to time, yet indulges in goofy comedy and penis jokes occasionally.
It is beautiful though and the performances are memorable. It just feels... bland and yet exceptional. Dull and yet intriguing. I didn't really care much for what was going on, yet I was glued to the screen and didn't check my watch. A bit like watching Alexander. Or Kingdom of Heaven. It feels like watching a bunch of LARP'ers in a forest essentially, but cool, good-looking LARP'ers with expensive costumes.
But Robin Hood you say? Frankly, calling it "Longstride" wouldn't have made any difference to me. It's about a man coming home to England to deliver the message of the king's demise, then things go haywire.
If you feel confused about my ramblings I don't blame you. I'm as confused as you are. Because I don't really know what to say, so I'll be blunt. It felt like just another 'epic' movie. Posh British accents? Check. Cheesy speeches about liberty and freedom, with bombastic music? Check. Questionable CGI castles? Check. BUT, I managed to be engaging and intriguing. Hell, I couldn't remember one damn scene from Alexander and yet I remember whole dialogs from Robin Hood - which is quite an achievement.
So all in all, a typical epic movie with Robin Hood slapped on top of it. Great cinema to be sure and an experience to be remembered. I can't really give anything other than 8/10. Nice one Mr. Scott. I think.
Once upon a time, there was nothing. And Sony said, let there be light, and there was light. And Evolution Studios said, let there be high-res hard shadowing, and there was high-res hard shadowing. And then came perfected bump mapping, eye-popping lightning effects, million polygon cars, particle effects that no one had ever seen. And Sony saw that it was good, but on the 6th day Evolution was tired, and It realized that in spite of the beauty of It's creation... there was no life.
I could go on and on, but instead of becoming religious by playing Motorstorm, quite the opposite has happened. I am furious, I give it a mere 4 stars out of 10. How dare I? Behold! The Antichrist! Let's start from scratch with the concept of Motorstorm. In the desert, there are festivals where everything with an engine, from bikes and ATV's to hummers and 18-wheelers, are competing across sand dunes, rocks and mountains. Everything is chaos, since there in theory are no roads. The game runs in full HD, every crash is detailed down to the last engine part flying. Mud clashes on the car and stays there, and when driven into dust... THAT stays on the mud; it's THAT cool. And then you ask, can it get any better? And the answer, I'm afraid, is a resounding yes.
It seems that in the 3 years it took to make this game, no designer ever thought of implying that little ingredient that makes us wanna play... something that's called "Gameplay". You pick a "ticket" (race) and join. You cannot choose the vehicle of your desire for the most part. In game you press the X button or R2 depending on your setup, and go. You smash into others, they smash into you. Fun for about 20 seconds, until you've restarted the race 15 times. See, Motorstorm's AI is designed to drive ANYTHING into the dirt, apparently to make things more challenging. The problem is that it doesn't try to win, if you're driving next to someone, the AI will force you into a rock, and continue to do so while all the other opponents race off in the distance.
While it's a central part of the game to crash constantly (about 10-15 times during each race) it becomes frustrating when you can drive like a princess not hitting anything, and then crash because of a collision error. Even though you're back on track with full boost (yes, you can boost Burnout style) you've still lost your position. Except if you roll over, lies still for 15 seconds, lose your position, then you DON'T get full boost. Why the hell that is, I have no idea. Oh... and it's ONE player only, so forget about inviting your friends over to brag about your new system. Seems that extra controller became pretty expendable, huh?
The online component is great, but sadly suffers from the same glitches, and from the simplicity of this game.
So, what we eventually end up with, is a long game, not because of content (9 tracks) but because of the 14 opponents against YOU. A game that manages to frustrate instead of entertain. It's a Ferrari with no engine, it's a model with no brains (oh wait, who cares about that?) Simply, it's artwork. Do not buy it, LOOK at it. When you've looked, go away. It's already used it's potential.
Sorry Evolution. Restart the race and try again.
I could go on and on, but instead of becoming religious by playing Motorstorm, quite the opposite has happened. I am furious, I give it a mere 4 stars out of 10. How dare I? Behold! The Antichrist! Let's start from scratch with the concept of Motorstorm. In the desert, there are festivals where everything with an engine, from bikes and ATV's to hummers and 18-wheelers, are competing across sand dunes, rocks and mountains. Everything is chaos, since there in theory are no roads. The game runs in full HD, every crash is detailed down to the last engine part flying. Mud clashes on the car and stays there, and when driven into dust... THAT stays on the mud; it's THAT cool. And then you ask, can it get any better? And the answer, I'm afraid, is a resounding yes.
It seems that in the 3 years it took to make this game, no designer ever thought of implying that little ingredient that makes us wanna play... something that's called "Gameplay". You pick a "ticket" (race) and join. You cannot choose the vehicle of your desire for the most part. In game you press the X button or R2 depending on your setup, and go. You smash into others, they smash into you. Fun for about 20 seconds, until you've restarted the race 15 times. See, Motorstorm's AI is designed to drive ANYTHING into the dirt, apparently to make things more challenging. The problem is that it doesn't try to win, if you're driving next to someone, the AI will force you into a rock, and continue to do so while all the other opponents race off in the distance.
While it's a central part of the game to crash constantly (about 10-15 times during each race) it becomes frustrating when you can drive like a princess not hitting anything, and then crash because of a collision error. Even though you're back on track with full boost (yes, you can boost Burnout style) you've still lost your position. Except if you roll over, lies still for 15 seconds, lose your position, then you DON'T get full boost. Why the hell that is, I have no idea. Oh... and it's ONE player only, so forget about inviting your friends over to brag about your new system. Seems that extra controller became pretty expendable, huh?
The online component is great, but sadly suffers from the same glitches, and from the simplicity of this game.
So, what we eventually end up with, is a long game, not because of content (9 tracks) but because of the 14 opponents against YOU. A game that manages to frustrate instead of entertain. It's a Ferrari with no engine, it's a model with no brains (oh wait, who cares about that?) Simply, it's artwork. Do not buy it, LOOK at it. When you've looked, go away. It's already used it's potential.
Sorry Evolution. Restart the race and try again.