"That was one of the worst endings ever"

This is what some young kid said on the way out of "Halloween 2".  Obviously this kid can't appreciate an ending to a pretty damn good horror flick.  As you can probably guess, I went to see "Halloween 2" and I definitely enjoyed it.  I won't try to say too much about it to avoid any type of spoiler.  This movie picks up right where the first "Halloween" ended, is strong out of the gate and from there to the end, there aren't a lot of dull moments.  They brought back all the actors who managed to survive the first movie which I was glad to see.  Too many times, they try to replace actors in sequels, and rarely does it work.  I think there was one cast change, but again, I don't want to say too much as I don't want to offer up any spoilers, but the character that was involved wasn't really affected by the change.

One thing that I noticed right off the bat was how brutal Rob Zombie made Michael Myers in this one.  Growing up watching the original "Halloween" movies I was so used to seeing Myers walk about as fast as Galapagos tortoise.  Even in the first of Zombie's "Halloween" movies, Myers had a little more fluidity while running around Haddonfield, but in this one, he definitely was moving with purpose.  Not just the way he moved though, but when he got a hold on his next victim, the brutality and vicious nature with which he disposed of these people was far and away the most hard-hitting I have seen Michael Myers to date in a "Halloween" movie.  And the good thing is the way the story is told, it wasn't just for the sake of it being a horror movie.  There was method behind the madness.

Now the ending I heard the kid complaining about was, in my opinion, a pretty good ending.  All I will say is that Rob Zombie left his vision of the "Halloween" story wide open for a third installment.  After seeing the first two, I can say I am looking forward to "Halloween 3" if it ever does get made. In fact I think a third movie needs to be made, just to try and make us all forget about the original third "Halloween" movie......  If you are a fan of horror movies, especially the "Halloween" movies, I really suggest you go see this.

Simple.....yet fun

Just got done going through all my games on Facebook.  I must say, whoever makes those games knows what they are doing.  They are all really simple, all played just by clicking stuff with the mouse, and at the same time they are all pretty fun.  I mean how can you go wrong with farming, vampires, mobsters, street racing and pirates?

Ding dong the witch....err Big Daddy is dead

So it's been a few days since my last post.  Thursday I played a little Bioshock, and did in fact end up beating the game.  There was a nice ironic twist near the end, especially ironic considering some of the things I have been saying as of late about the Big Daddys.  I will leave that there though, so I dont give away too much.  The boss fight was pretty fun, but ultimately not that hard.  The ending movie was also interesting, but for a few reasons.  First reason has to do with the Little Sisters, making me want to replay the game and do some things a little differently.  Again, I will leave it at that, not wanting to give away any spoilers.  Second reason the end movie was interesting is the last scene, taken in the context about what time period the game was set.  But I did end up restarting a game of Bioshock, this time on a little harder difficulty.  That should be fun lol.

I remember saying that after I beat Bioshock I said I was gonna start playing Mass Effect.  Well, I changed my mind and decided to finally finish off one of my favorite games of all time, that being Fallout 3.  Now I should preface this with saying that I have already beat this game.  But I had a game save file from near the end, and when they released the Broken Steel DLC, I just started again from that game save.  What is the significance of the Broken Steel DLC you may ask?  Well, it did 2 things.  First, it increased the level cap on your character from 20 to 30.  But more importantly, it picks up the main story and quest line 2 weeks after the "ending" of the original game.  Good thing too, because the original "ending" of Fallout 3 was really disappointing.  So I am kinda looking forward to jumping back into the Capital Wasteland for the next couple days.  Will be a nice change of pace from Rapture.  I do get to trade Big Daddys for Super Mutants, so that should be fun as well.

As I stated in an earlier post, "Halloween 2" also started yesterday, so I am hoping to go to that sometime over the next few days as well. 

Are we there yet?

Gotta love a game that keeps you guessing.  Twice now, I've thought I got to the ending on Bioshock.  Not so fast my friend......

Haven't I seen you somewhere before strikes back, part 2, redux

First off, I'd like to mention a few movies that I forgot to mention and was reminded about by Lola in my post about movie sequels.  Two other sequels that are far superior tot he originals are "Terminator 2" and "Superman 2".  So thanks Lola for pointing out that oversight.  Funny thing is, those were two of the movies I specifically wanted to mention but just forgot about them.

Now, thankfully for us gamers, video game sequels seem to be a lot easier to pull off and be made into successful franchises.  Halo, Gears of War, Fallout, God of War, Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto are just a few of the many quality game franchises that come to mind.  And in the next 3-9 months, we will be seeing some phenomenal game sequels, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Mass Effect 2 among quite a few others.  At some point in the next 1 to 10 years we will also be seeing Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2, but with the way Blizzard works, no one knows when these will eventually be released.  But we do know that Blizzard time and again has put out some classic games, even with the long waits between titles.  You will notice I didn't mention any of the Madden games, the other EA sports games, or the Final Fantasy games.  I'm not sure if those qualify as sequels, but are more considered new installments in the series.

So what makes a quality game sequel?  A few things do, starting with gameplay.  I don't care how good a game looks, but if it has a crappy control system, most people are not gonna be playing it.  I will admit graphics are important, but you have to have good gameplay mechanics to back them up.  Another thing that makes a good game sequel is the story.  Now granted, games like Call of Duty don't depend as heavily on the story to carry the game, but games like Bioshock and Mass Effect do.  Graphics do end up being important if the game plays well, because if you have both of those going for you, most likely you have a hit game on your hands.  And lastly, the thing that makes game sequels what they are is you don't have to worry about replacing cast members who play important characters because they want more money.  I mean can you imagine if after "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" they had to replace Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn or Elijah Wood as Frodo with other actors?  Games don't have to deal with that issue to quite an extent thankfully.

Anyway, sit back and enjoy your sequels, both movie and video game.  I am off to spend some quality time with the Big Daddys.

Short but sweet

I am really enjoying Bioshock to this point.  This game has an atmosphere that has been able to draw me in like not many other games I have ever played.  The storyline is cool too up to this point, and the Big Daddy's are a pain in the ass.

On a non-Bioshock note, I got the new DLC (downloadable content) for Mass Effect.  I have hardly touched this game, but am thinking I might start this one once I am done with Bioshock.

Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

Before I talk about what I was gonna talk about, I would like to give a big {Thank you.} {Incredibly tough} {Puppetmaster} to my good friend Oprahruru.  He posted a "Trea-bute to Tri-bor" on his blog, gathering together a bunch of quotes I've made over the years in FFXI.  So I recommend taking a peek as they are pretty funny, and for me personally, brought back a lot of memories from my days in FFXI.  Here is a link to his blog, Master of Manipulation.

Now onto what I'm gonna talk about.  Ever since I first saw the teaser trailer for "Halloween 2", which starts this weekend, I've been looking forward to this movie.  But that's not the only sequel starting this weekend, as the fourth movie in the "Final Destination" series starts Friday as well.  The first "Halloween" that Rob Zombie directed 2 years ago ended up being a really good movie, going much deeper into why Michael Myers became what he did.  I had quite a few reservations as to what to expect with Mr. Zombie trying to re-envision an all-time classice like the original "Halloween", but I definitely think he did it justice, which is why I will be there at some point this weekend to see how he tackles the sequel. 

Sequels have always been intriguing to me.  Some of them can be as good if not better then the originals.  "Aliens" and "The Empire Strike Back" are two that come to mind off the top of my head.  Then there are some sequels that are just trash and shouldn't have been made in the first place.  All the "Friday the 13th" movies after "Friday the 13th, The Final Chapter" and "Halloween 3: Season of the Witch" are just a few examples.  One gripe I do have is, especially in the case of the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is when is it enough.  I keep waiting for them to come out with a Friday the 13th where Jason has to go collect his Social Security check, or buys a cup of coffee with his AARP card.   Sometimes beating a dead horse is kinda pointless, but if there is a buck to be made I guess we will keep seeing movies in the series. 

Another thing I noticed, is that some of the best sequels of all-time are part of a trilogy.  It seems that 3 is the magic number when it comes to movies.  Both sets of "Star Wars" trilogies, the "Godfather" trilogy (which I am almost ashamed to say I have yet to watch any of the "Godfather" movies), the "X-Men" trilogy, and in my opinion, the best trilogy of all-time "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.  Granted, some movie franchises have done quite well with extending past the trilogy, with the "Spider-Man" and "Die Hard" series both highly successful and with good films.

Ironically, this post will have a sequel as well, once I get around to talking about sequels in video games.  And I am pretty sure that post will be as good if not better then the original.  I just hope I can afford to bring back the original cast.....

The Waffle

 

This is not a waffle......

I know its morning and you may think this post is about a breakfast food.  Actually in the MMO world, a waffle carries an entirely new meaning.  It's used to describe someone who falls asleep at the keyboard with their face planted squarely on the keys.  And when they wake up, their face looks like its been sitting on a waffle iron.  I bring this up for 2 reasons.  First reason is that when I played FFXI, I had waffling down to a science.  And sometimes, I would waffle at the worst possible time, like waffling and running away from a one of the Nyzul Isle bosses.  Obviously you can waffle playing other games too, but if it is a single player game, who is gonna notice?  Last night playing Bioshock, which is an unbelievable game by the way (I will get more into Bioshock later), I am having a good old time playing, and the next thing I know, I wake up and its after 4 AM this morning.  I shut down the 360, roll over and go to sleep.  So the art of the waffle lives on.

 This is a waffle!!!

Hello and welcome!!

Welcome to my blog. I have been giving some thought to a blog, but up until now I just haven't, mainly because I couldn't think of what to talk about. Due to a recent event that has changed. First let me explain the meaning behind the title of my blog. Back in September of 2004, I was looking for a new video game to play. Being a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, I noticed Final Fantasy XI Online in Sam Goody. Never having played a MMORPG, I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I was hooked. I spent a good portion of the last 5 years playing FFXI, having a lot of fun and meeting a lot of people along the way. Well, my time in the world of Vanadiel cam to an end on August 21, 2009. After giving it some thought, I just decided it was time to walk away from the game gracefully. This is what gave me the title for this blog, putting a twist on "the morning after", a start to a new day, but also paying a small homage to all those days playing the MMO, Final Fantasy XI.

So you may be wondering what will I be talking about. Well, just because I stopped playing FFXI, doesnt mean I stopped playing video games. And thats just one of the things I will be posting about. What I'm playing, my thoughts on the games I play and gaming in general, and on occasion, a look back into my life in Vanadiel. I'm also an avid moviegoer, so I will be talking about movies and opinions on those as well. And who knows what other randomness I will throw in here.

So sit back and I hope you enjoy what I have to say.

-Treabor