Monday, September 28, 2009

Peter Jackson presents Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (directed by Peter Jackson)

Writing a critical piece on an unfinished game has haunted me. Not drastically. I've been sleeping, eating, generally carrying on with my life in an unaffected fashion... except for the ghost of Lara Croft. I didn't finish her newest game “completely”, more like I angrily abandoned it to its buggy existence, and turned to the Internet and clever friends to fill in what I missed.



Save yourself, girl!

I'm glad I committed this sin early, because if more people begin to read this I might have some bull shit called on me, and where that would – again – not affect my sleeping, eating, or general carrying on with my life, it might bring the integrity of this whole thing into question.

Don't you think? ;)

So, I geared up and buckled down for Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie despite a few nuances that would get along charmingly well with Lara Croft's most recent game. Yeah, I know. It's not going to be a totally nice review this time around either. I wish it was, because Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie - now to be called PJKKTOGOTM for brevity's sake – does have a lot going for it!



In PJKKTOGOTM, Peter Jackson has teamed up with Ubisoft heavy-weight Michel Ancel, well known for his Rayman games and the cult mega-classic Beyond Good and Evil. Initially, Peter Jackson was moved by Beyond Good and Evil. So moved was Jackson that he sought out Ancel and the partnership was formed.

Shortly after these pictures, Michel Ancel was in fact eaten by that dinosaur... who happened to belong to Peter Jackson.

When you play PJKKTOGOTM, a sense of foreboding sets in as the film's trailer introduces you to the game, but the tension disperses as the game takes over. A few Half Life characteristics show up, such as in-game cut scenes, and the fact that our hero Jack Driscoll reigns as the third-person-limited-via-FPS-gameplay king. This very inviting presentation eventually reveals itself as a facade once the ultimately "okay" Jack game is interrupted by the repetitive, sigh inducing great ape himself.

To be fair, this was not my first reaction when beginning PJKKTOGOTM. Originally, I was looking forward to playing the character of King Kong, and wanted nothing to do with Jack. Playing King Kong, at first, is giggle inducing. Seriously, you get to bang your chest to power-up and snap V-Rex's jaw apart.


Yep. That needs to come out.

This fades as the well-designed character begins to plow through levels that are linear and echo each other in puzzles, combat, and maneuverability. This little bit extra becomes a little too much way too fast.



Luckily, the game will always check back in on Jack. If Jack beat his chest and tried to break V-Rex jaws, well, let's just say the 20 hour game would become a 40+ exercise in "what the fuck do you think you are doing?" futility. See, Jack is very squishy, and everything on the island wants to eat him. You can take about two hits before your screen goes red, and then after that the odds of getting dragged off into the jungle to be consumed is much higher than if you, say, back pedal and take any kind of cover you can find. As Jack, you will have fire power, but in a cheeky way the game provides you with more bone and spear nodes than weapon crates.



You are forced to depend on your environment, which in the end I can't fault. The game is encouraging its player to rely on their instinct, rather than depending on button mashing, quick time events, or shields kicking. The effect of all of this is very palpable, and as I continued through the game I could not help but look forward to my Jack levels, rather than my monkey ones.

Although PJKKTOGOFTM has its perks, it also has its downfalls. The levels do grow repetitive, the puzzles tedious and childish. The impression after a while is you would have about as much of a challenge if you picked up one of these.



And I would like to take a moment to condemn and praise the lack of HUD.


I like to think Carl Denham has a HUD in this game.

There is some true immersion in this, which is one of Ancel's major philosophies in gaming. He enjoys making games that take the player and envelope them to the point where it does not feel like they are in just another game, but instead they are in another world. That's fine. Look, the lack of reticule actually works, and Jack's health is more than clear as your screen goes red and the Howard Shoresque music comes on to chant you off to Valhalla, but even with Adrien Brody breathlessly panting how many bullets he has left, it is hard to see just how far you can stretch any given gun.

The island itself has fantastic atmosphere.
A brontosaurus stampede in a narrow ravine, stray rays of light, and murky waters that hide some great creature features are just some of the positives. However, it also has invisible walls, and a color scheme that will sometimes lead to these sort of discoveries:



Speaking of island, the final Manhattan level where you play King Kong is remarkably bland. Breaking out of your bonds is fun, throwing the first couple of cars also fun, and eventually crowning the Empire State Building in a defiant, desperate attempt to claim this new island as your old home is fun.


Whoever said you can't get a cab in this town obviously didn't go ape-shit loco enough.

Playing the level itself, is not fun. There is something last minute and altogether lifeless to it, and all the King Kong levels for that matter. Although hitting the planes out of the air is gratifying, I would have really liked to have seen the end of this game through the eyes of the character that started it; Jack. Kinda hard to do, I know, but still, there is a lusterless ending to this game that left me ready to close the book - or case - on PJKKTOGOTM.


"It's not you, it's me - wait. What am I saying? Of course it's you. You're a giant... monkey-ape-gorilla. In other words, let's just keep it physical, okay? Great."

There are a lot of things that keep it from being a solid game, but there are also a lot of things that do make this game a noteworthy endeavor in the "movie" genre of games. There is zero replayability, true, but I definitely don't regret picking this one up. The whole time I was playing it I found myself wanting to watch the movie again, something I did do, and something that did put the game in a better perspective. The cast returns to the game and lend their voices to their rendered characters, making the translation from big screen to loading screen very entertaining. It's even a treat to see concept art scroll through the loading screens. Jackson and Ancel do present a semi-decent game, and it would be interesting to see them put something else into the market together in the future.

Replayability: 0

Design: 2

Story: 0

Sound: 2

Game Play/Mechanics: 2
Score: 6 out 10.


The game has a lot of promise, it sure does have a lot of heart, but the game falls into tedious patterns and repetitive game play, and these things should not be confused with replayability.

Stay tuned for King Kong Mofongo, the dish inspired by the game!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Mad Props

So, a friend of mine - a mad kitchen genius! - has just started revealing his own tricks of the kitchen trade. This is the link to Mike's Cooking Blog and you should definitely read it.

Lots of love, Mike! Good luck with the blog.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Quick Fix Teriyaki and Pining for ODST

As nice as it was to take a rest from cooking during the vacation, I have to admit, I really missed cooking. Last night after a successful pork chop dinner served with adobo sauce, salsa and rice, I decided to jump in the kitchen again to whip up what has to be my best batch of teriyaki sauce.


And it only took about ten minutes to make. :)

INGREDIENTS!
1 clove of garlic
1/3 cup of soy sauce
4 Tbl. sherry
1/2 Tbl. ground ginger
(or 2 tsp. fresh grated ginger)
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 Tbl. honey

*First, mix your soy sauce and sherry together.

*Then, grate the garlic in.

*Add the rest!

*Mix it all up (and even shake it up depending on the container - I use a regular jam jar)

Feel free to leave it for half an hour, two hours, or even over night. That batch will yield enough for two meals... depending on how you dish it out.

I chose beef and broccoli!



This sauce has been the best so far, and it makes up a pretty good bowl of Asian style comfort food... which I really needed.

Halo 3: ODST is hitting the shelves tomorrow. I, alas, am going to have to watch from the sidelines for a while until I can muster up the clams to pick it up. Luckily, there is a slight plan in the works, so I might not even have to wait that long. It's in fate's hands now, baby!



After Peter Jackson's "Halo Chronicles"/"that AWESOME Halo movie, oh my god, I can't wait!" fell through, the gang over at Bungie found themselves with some downtime before their next release - Halo: Reach. After some saturation in the think tank, Bungie emerged with this project that follows a disbanded Orbital Drop Shock Trooper unit as they try to regroup in New Mambasa, Africa. The player is in command of "The Rookie", a trooper separated from his group during a routine HEV (Human Entry Vehicles) launch. I don't know how routine being launched out of a spaceship in the upper atmosphere is for you guys, but it's how I get to work everyday, so...


Not that HEV!


That's the one!

Needless to say, there are risks involved with this sort of procedure. This can range from malfunctions to enemy attacks and crossfire, which is probably where the ODSTs get their nicknames from - Helljumpers. After the Rookie passes through a hellish HEV launch, he crash lands on New Mambasa without allies. He is trained, but alone, strong, but young, and armed, but without a unit.



His journey back to his team mates is told not only through his perspective, but in a series of flashbacks from the rest of his unit. For instance, sometimes the Rookie will come across certain objects that are directly related to other ODST in his group, and the game will leap to that character for the next chapter, revealing what happened to them after the HEV launch.

The game flips between night and day, slipping between characters. The execution of this story is a little unexpected for the franchise, considering that Joseph Staten has gone for a more "film noir" approach, weaving mystery with war epic. Martin O'Donnell and partner in crime Michael Salvatori return to lend their musical prowess to a whole new score. The voice works of Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk and Tricia Helfer will be peppered throughout the game as well, representing the scattered ODST.



Designers are returning to New Mambasa, a location featured in Halo 2 (remember your first time with a Scarab? Oh, I sure do!) and now re-imagined for ODST. The city will be atmospheric, and patrolled by Covenant as you try to regroup your unit.


There will be a new HUD for the ODSTs that does keep with the same technological design as SPARTAN armor, but with some differentiations. As an ODST, you are human. You are not a SPARTAN with a fluffy adrenal gland, bones reinforced by metal, or weighing roughly a ton. Because you are human, you feel the weight of your armor - you run slower. You do not have the same shields as the Master Chief, you have stamina, and if you get wounded when that is triggering a red flash on your HUD, you sustain that damage until you find a medpack. You can be hurt, you can be killed, and it can all happen a lot faster than if you were a SPARTAN. Not only will this make a huge difference as you play through the campaign, but also if you hit up "Firefight", where you and your fellow ODST fight for survival a la "Horde" in Gears of War 2 or "Survival Mode" in Left 4 Dead.



I've always been a fan of the ODST, and I'm not alone, so it seems that this game will definitely be a delight to fans. It even seems like a good launching point for people looking to get into the franchise. I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this at some point in the near future.

Halo 3: ODST Trailer

Until then? There's always comfort food.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I Drank, I Ate, I Conchered.

It never crossed my mind that I would be on a cruise. Even after I paid for my half of the trip. Even after Andy and I were on the boat, sipping a very colorful drink with an umbrella, cherry, and pineapple... it still hadn't hit me. The boat's horn snapped me right out of that as we pulled away from the dock. We were on our way to the Bahamas.



The food was fantastic! All of it from crispy duck to chilled raspberry soup. I even tried escargot for the first time which was remarkable, except I got an earthy aftertaste that in hindsight I should have known was coming, so unfortunately - at the time - I really couldn't bring myself to move onto the next buttery morsel.

Also! My mofongo hunt completely bombed, but failure never tasted so good. Maybe because failure has never come to me in the form of fried conch, home made tarter sauce, slice lime, Bahamian beer, and on-the-house conch fritters. All served here:


at "Conch Fritters".

Our waitress said to really get a taste for conch and still have that fried consistency, the best way to go is the simplest - the fried conch. She still brought us some fritters so we could compare/contrast the two dishes. The fried conch was spectacular. Dressed with a light squeeze of lime and dipped into the tarter sauce sent my taste buds spinning. Even without these bells and whistles the conch was delicious, but the second I brought a dab of hot sauce into the mix was the second I was completely won over.



The texture and consistency reminded me a lot of calamari, and the batter was surprisingly light, hovering somewhere between tempura and beer batter. There was just enough for that crispy texture to compliment the chew of the conch. Adding hot sauce on the side of the fried conch brought on the same smooth sensation as getting enough butter on lobster claw meat. The tarter was fantastic; fruity, creamy, yet becomingly sharp.

The fritters were good, though I spent more attention on the fried conch dish. The spices were fantastic and so wonderfully blended. The conch taste was a bit hidden in comparison to the fried dish, but the remoulade (I'm assuming it was remoulade, it certainly tasted like it) on the side was a tangy, sweet-and-sour way to bring an extra bite to these nearly baseball sized fritters.



The trip really was beautiful. It was breath-taking to step out on the deck and see an expansive carpet of blue water; a tapestry woven with uneven patterns of lacy white foam and wandering brown-green seaweed. The weather was gorgeous, and I felt like a lazy, happy dog when it came to laying out under the sun. It's nice to be back home, looking over the pictures, enjoying the new tint to my skin, and wondering what the next adventure outside my little red door could be.

- Bon App!

Coming up this week is a review of "Peter Jackson's King Kong the Game Based on the Movie", followed by the dish that got away - my home made attempt at King Kong Mofongo.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Sprucing Up

So, things have been really busy with work, finishing a screen play and doing publicity for the show "Hair" with Burning Coal Theatre. It's been tricky keeping the flow of game reviews and their associated recipes flowing consistently. So, starting after a much needed vacation, the site will be seeing more action.

This mystery vacation is setting out for islands unknown full of exploration. Okay, actually, the islands aren't that unknown. The Royal Caribbean cruise will be cruising around the Bahamas, specifically Coco Cay and Nassau. Also, by exploration, I am not only referring to hikes, long beaches. I am also referring to the hunt for a perfect Cuban, a good bottle of liquor, and exotic foods.

Specifically: mofongo.

Mofongo is pure Caribbean, a shining star of Puerto Rico and also known as "fufu" in Cuban and African cuisine. Despite being commonly known as a Carribean dish, mofongo is a culinary son of African cuisine that made its way over to the Caribbean during Spanish colonization (and subsequent slavery, cough). Mofongo features tons of ingredients! Garlic, veggies, pork cracklings, and meats like chicken, beef, crab and even shrimp can be known (and expected) to make appearances. The main star of this dish, however, is the fried plantain. In African and Cuban prep, the plantain is usually boiled and then mashed, while the Puerto Rico prep requires a good fry. Another way it's been made is the Dominican Republics "mofongo relleno".

All of this aside, when the dish is made right there is a burst of flavor, with fantastic texture.