Earlier tonight Max, myself, and a few other friends decided to go see Transformers 2. We set our hopes very low as we had heard that it had gotten some terrible reviews from other online critics. Well, we agree entirely with those other online critics. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is nothing short of Hollywood regurgitating the first film, but with a noticeably weaker plot.


If you haven't seen the movie and want to believe that the movie's plot is good, skip the next paragraph. For those who care about your $10.50, the price of gas to get to the theatres, and two and a half hours of their life, read on.

Remember the huge cube from the first movie? Well our pal Shia Labeouf somehow discovers a fragment of the cube early on in the sequel. He touches the shard and throughout the rest of the movie his mind is inhabited by the symbols of the Transformers (specifically the Primes). Of course this encoding in his brain is the key to unlocking a deadly weapon that the Deceptacons plan on using to destroy the earth's sun. Megatron and his pals are back in full glory, as he is rescued from the bottom of the sea. "The Fallen" is actually another Deceptacon who acts as a mentor figure to Megatron. He resides on the Transformers' home planet, waiting for the day that the last Prime Transformer (Optimus Prime) is defeated since only a Prime Transformer can defeat him. Naturally, the entire Deceptacon gang goes after Optimus Prime and succeeds in killing him. The last hour and a half of the movie is Labeouf's character Sam and Megan Fox's character, Michaella trying to revive the fallen Optimus. I'll be completely honest. They could have easily made this movie and hour and a half. Somehow it took the two lead characters about an hour to run a half mile to where Optimus Prime's body lay waiting for revival. That's how much Michael Bay milked the slow motion running scenes. About ten minutes after Optimus is revived, he womps the bad guys' asses and the movie concludes...


To give them credit, the visual effects of the movie were very good. Seeing the Transformers transform is always fun to watch. However, after watching them transform for the twentieth time, it starts to lose its charm. Did I mention that this film is full of explosions? Yes I know, this is a Transformers movie, so over the top big booms are expected, but seriously Michael Bay? I don't want to even know the cost for the explosion effects, let alone all the cool CG work that went into the robots.

Needless to say I'm sure the movie is going to do fine in the box office. It's a sequel to a very decent first film. I personally wish they just had left Transformers alone, but hey, Hollywood is greedy. If you're thinking of spending ten bucks on this film, I recommend you pass and wait for it to come out on DVD. Simply put, Transformers 2 is a typical Hollywood sequel to a movie that didn't need a sequel. It's more explosive, it's border-line corny in certain parts, and it's unnecessarily longer. But hey, Megan Fox is in it! Be prepared for a below average plot that is masked by a ton of things blowing up every couple minutes. If that's your cup of tea then this film is for you, however, I'm afraid I am going to have to give Transformers 2 a below average rating of 65%. :-(

My friends found this at work earlier today. The Transofrmers augmented reality requires that you have a webcam hooked up to your computer. Check it out, it's amazing what technology is able to do these days. Below is just a preview of how it works (if you don't have a webcam).

Recently, Square-Enix has revealed that their fourteen installment of the series will take after its predecessor, Final Fantasy XI, and be another MMORPG. Huge debate has risen over the odd move by Square-Enix to make a second MMO, however a recent Square-Enix Press Conference has given some brief insight as to the known aspects/features of the game, including:

* FFXIV is made by the same development team as Final Fantasy XI and will share game similarities, however, it is unknown as to whether or not any correlating FFXI data will be transferred to FFXIV.

* It is confirmed to be releasing simultaneously in Japan and North America for Windows PC and the Playstation 3.

* The job system will return in FFXIV, but be used in a much different manner.

* Final Fantasy XI's PlayOnline service will not use used. A new management system will be used.

* Hiromichi Tanaka is the current producer of the game (producer of FF I, II, III, and IX) and Nobuaki Komoto is the director of the game (director of IX and XI).

Check out IGN's full article for more details.

A couple awesome gameplay videos of Left 4 Dead 2 from IGN.com.

More Left 4 Dead 2 News & Previews

Left 4 Dead 2 at IGN.com

Left 4 Dead 2 at IGN.com

Developed by 5th Cell, Scribblenauts is a cute little 2D game that will be making its way to the Nintendo DS. The game is based solely around the stylus. The one unique aspect of the game is that players are allowed to "summon" objects in the world to help them get around and/or get out-of-reach items. By simply writing the name of the object on the screen, the object will appear on the screen and be ready for use.

The latest news flash for Scribblenauts is that the game will allow for other players to create, edit, and share their own levels and puzzles with their friends. Basically, you are able to create whatever your little heart desires and make it function uniquely.

Source: Scribblenauts features level edting/sharing

This is pretty much a continuation of the first trailer that was released for Bioshock 2. It also explains some of the core game mechanics and enemies for the upcoming sequel.

The old classic returns in a more beefed up, extravagant, colorful take on the game. The game has already been released for the Playstation's PSP and the Nintendo DS. However, the upcoming XBLA version will boast a new multiplayer mode as seen in the video below. The game is said to be coming out next week and will cost 800 Microsoft Points.





Source: Space Invaders Extreme hits XBLA next week (probably)

Awhile back Joystiq posted an interview on Guitar Hero: World Tour's Brian Bright, explaining some of the key aspects of the game. One of the questions that came up was, "You allow people to add keyboard sections to their songs. Were you not tempted to create a keyboard controller?"

To this Brian answered, "No, there are reasons why we haven't included a keyboard controller. Not all of our songs have keyboard parts... A keyboard controller deserves to be introduced with its own game. This is something we're thinking about."

Recently, I found another article on Wired, relating back to Joystiq's initial article. It explains how the thought of a "Keyboard Hero" might come to life. Personally, being a pianist myself, I don't think it's a viable game to create. I'd assume that if they did make a piano controller peripheral, it would not be the full 88 keys of an actual piano, and that would suck. I'm sure other pianists would probably complain about it too. I suppose it would be good for beginners, but still, it's probably much better to learn on the real thing/from a trained teacher.

Despite what I just said, I would totally buy Keyboard Hero if it was released.

Source: Joystiq interview: Guitar Hero World Tour's Brian Bright
Source: Activison Ponder Keyboard Hero