Tell No One
What I love about movies is that they make us promises. For people like me who watch lots of movies, you find that you notice things being set up in through the storytelling and you hope that they are paid off well later in the movie. Every movie makes a promise and too many of them are using the trailers to make their promises so when something comes along that uses the art of great storytelling, you should take notice. Tell No One is that movie for me. I think I saw it in the theater in late 2007 or early 2008, but it is a French movie directed by Guillaume Canet and was released in 2006. It's the story of a man who's wife was murdered. Police believed he was responsible for the crime, but couldn't prove it. Then years later a body of another murdered woman is discovered at the same location where his wife went missing. He becomes the main suspect in this crime as well. And to make things even weirder, he receives an anonymous e-mail which shows him proof that his wife is still alive.
There are so many twists and turns in this movie I don't even know where to begin and mentioning anything beyond that would surely spoil one of them. It's a movie that treats the audience like grown ups. It makes you pay attention and think about what's happening. In fact when I saw it in the theater I heard one woman tell her husband she didn't understand one particular scene that we were watching, and the answer I wanted to tell her so badly was "we're not supposed to understand why this scene is here yet, but it will be paid off. It isn't afraid to leave you in the dark for a bit to serve the story and pay things off later. Everything the movie promises you it delivers on and in the best way possible. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Please seek it out.
P.S.
I know I forgot to make a pick last week, and I am very sorry. This weeks pick is one of the best movies I have ever seen and definitely the best mystery/thriller to be made this decade so I hope it makes up for last week's non-pick.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Movie Recommendation Mini Bite #001
This Is England
This is not brought on by the trip to London I'll be taking next month, but I did see posters for it last time I was there and I believe I saw it later on in 2007 or early 2008 when it made its tour stateside and loved it. It takes place in the 80's and is the story of a young boy who just wants to fit in. He's being bullied at school and he's got some daddy issues as his father was killed in the war. Then one day he meets a group of older kids that take him in and he wants to be just like them. Unfortunately these friends are skinheads and things get a little hairy when their former leader is released.
It kind of reminds me of American History X, but told from a different vantage point. Instead of someone realizing how bad something is from the inside and rebelling against it, it shows how at first everything can seem completely harmless and helpful in some ways only to have it all come crashing down. It's directed by Shane Meadows and it's loosely based on some of his real life experiences. It is also available on Netflix instant so if you're a subscriber, but those monthly dollars to use and watch it already. You owe it to yourself to see this film.
This is not brought on by the trip to London I'll be taking next month, but I did see posters for it last time I was there and I believe I saw it later on in 2007 or early 2008 when it made its tour stateside and loved it. It takes place in the 80's and is the story of a young boy who just wants to fit in. He's being bullied at school and he's got some daddy issues as his father was killed in the war. Then one day he meets a group of older kids that take him in and he wants to be just like them. Unfortunately these friends are skinheads and things get a little hairy when their former leader is released.
It kind of reminds me of American History X, but told from a different vantage point. Instead of someone realizing how bad something is from the inside and rebelling against it, it shows how at first everything can seem completely harmless and helpful in some ways only to have it all come crashing down. It's directed by Shane Meadows and it's loosely based on some of his real life experiences. It is also available on Netflix instant so if you're a subscriber, but those monthly dollars to use and watch it already. You owe it to yourself to see this film.
Intorducing: Movie Recommendation Mini Bite
I feel sort of bad for giving the not to High Fidelity for my pic of the week last week considering some people actually do read this blog and want to know about some smaller, foreign, obscure, or just plain weird movies that I may review or recommend. And now that I know exactly how much it cost me when I don't watch a Netflix movie and keep the returning cycle going, I'm looking through their inventory all the time. Which brings me to the start of a new portion of my blog that I am introducing... now. The "Movie Recommendation Mini Bite" (I call it that, therefore it is) is just like my weekly pic, except for it's not on any sort of schedule. It's more of a spur of the moment, "oh wow this is available to stream on Netflix" or "wow this movie was awesome, but I've already made my pic" sort of thing. There could be several in a week or they could be a little more sporadic. Anyway it starts now.
P.S.
There are some game reviews coming. I've actually finished playing Flower a few weeks ago and have been dying to write the review for it because it was fantastic, but have been a little preoccupied. Oh, and I did see a movie last weekend that needs a write up as well. Hmmm... stuff come out when it comes out. Enjoy the new segment.
P.S.
There are some game reviews coming. I've actually finished playing Flower a few weeks ago and have been dying to write the review for it because it was fantastic, but have been a little preoccupied. Oh, and I did see a movie last weekend that needs a write up as well. Hmmm... stuff come out when it comes out. Enjoy the new segment.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
DVD/Blu-Ray Pick for 3/12 - 3/19
High Fidelity
So Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor this year even though Micky Rourke clearly deserved in in a lot of our books, but what's done is done. One of my favorite actors who never really gets any credit for how good he is has never been nominated for Oscar either. That actor is John Cusack. He is a great leading man and what is amazing about his career in movies is that he not only ends up playing characters where the entire movie hinges on how believable and likable that character is, but he consistently pulls it off over and over. He did receive an emerging actor award for his role in Say Anything where he played the young high school graduate all of us young men aspired to be. I didn't even see the movie until I was well into my 20's and I wanted to be as cool as Llyod Dobler. He's been a hitman, a detective, a writer trying to disprove a hotel room was haunted, and all the time making it believable. So this week I'm recommending the one performance that did at least get a Golden Globe nomination, and one of my favorite performances of his as well, High Fidelity. It's a remake of a British movie, but in this rare instance I'm not counting that against it as the story loses nothing in translation. Cusack plays Rob Gorden, a man who can't quite figure out why his relationships never seem to work out. Jack Black is also in it in his break out performance that lead to him starring and sucking in many more movies to come, but that is for another discussion. Enjoy both of them here and let's hope some day he'll be accepting an Oscar because he is truly one of the greats.
So Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor this year even though Micky Rourke clearly deserved in in a lot of our books, but what's done is done. One of my favorite actors who never really gets any credit for how good he is has never been nominated for Oscar either. That actor is John Cusack. He is a great leading man and what is amazing about his career in movies is that he not only ends up playing characters where the entire movie hinges on how believable and likable that character is, but he consistently pulls it off over and over. He did receive an emerging actor award for his role in Say Anything where he played the young high school graduate all of us young men aspired to be. I didn't even see the movie until I was well into my 20's and I wanted to be as cool as Llyod Dobler. He's been a hitman, a detective, a writer trying to disprove a hotel room was haunted, and all the time making it believable. So this week I'm recommending the one performance that did at least get a Golden Globe nomination, and one of my favorite performances of his as well, High Fidelity. It's a remake of a British movie, but in this rare instance I'm not counting that against it as the story loses nothing in translation. Cusack plays Rob Gorden, a man who can't quite figure out why his relationships never seem to work out. Jack Black is also in it in his break out performance that lead to him starring and sucking in many more movies to come, but that is for another discussion. Enjoy both of them here and let's hope some day he'll be accepting an Oscar because he is truly one of the greats.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Watchmen - How Did I Learn to Love the Bomb?
I don't think I've ever seen a comic book movie made where the presentation is so apparent the source material came from a comic (or graphic novel), almost completely faithful to the source material, and can take itself seriously the entire time until now. Watchmen is this movie. Millions upon millions of people will see this movie and because the book is more of an obscure graphic novel I predict millions of those millions of people will be walking out of the theater with a "what just happened" look on their faces. This is not to say the movie is bad or caters only to fans of the series. It's more a testament to the writer, actors, and director who were able to give you Watchmen about 85% as written. There are several scenes in the movie that match the comic panels exactly and some of those shots linger just a bit longer to sort of wink at the fans in the audience and let them know they're being taken care of. The opening credits also give back a few things that were cut from the story to condense it for the screen.
The story takes place in a fictional 80's where Nixon is on his 3rd term, Vietnam was won in days due to the efforts of a glowing blue super being named Dr. Manhattan (lower Manhattan is present throughout the film as well just as in the comic), but all is not well with the world as the people of America are in a state of emergency from the threat of war with the Russians that will lead to nuclear disaster. Years before reaching this critical mass there were several costumed vigilantes who used to roam the streets and clean up criminals, but they were outlawed by Nixon after the war and now they all have to deal with their normal lives. Then one of them dies, and one hero that refused to retire investigates his murder which leads to a much larger plot that will lead to humanities destruction or salvation.
The movie unlike nearly every other comic book movie that has come out has not received a reboot our update from its source material. It's in the 80's. Everything that was in the 80's from your memory (if you're old enough) is there to be seen. The sets are fantastic and make the world of Watchmen feel lived in as if the world could have gone on in this manner had costumed vigilantes really patrolled the streets. The colors are very muted just as they were in the comic and there was no extra "grit" applied to the action in the film. The original supplied enough to draw on already.
It's funny how the voice for Rorschach and Batman are similar (Batman shares similarities with several of the characters but that's for another discussion) but Rorschach's seems to fit much better than the Bat-man. Casting is dead on and all the actors are 100% believable in their roles. They don't play your normal superheros and they have all lost something in not being able to do what for many years they enjoyed doing and had grown to love. It's written on each of their faces and helps give the story that much more weight. Patrick Wilson in particular does an excellent job of conveying so much that is said and unsaid with his face in his portrayal as Nite Owl. Billy Crudup also did spectacular in a very challenging role as Dr. Manhattan. For someone who has to convey emotion for a living and is as good at it as he is, it is tough to play a role that is devoid of all emotion for most of the picture.
The pacing of Watchmen is slow and it takes its time, just like the book and it will probably alienate some audience members for doing so. There is no setup for the characters and unfortunately we don't get to get to know them in the movie as well as we do in the comic because so much had to be condensed to make it viewable. This is also not going to help people who have no idea exactly what the film is about and the trailer does more to mislead than assist as well. What it gets right more than anything is conveying the feel of the world this story takes place in and it puts us right into the story. You may not understand who the main characters are in this world, but you know for certain it's grimy, dirty, ugly, sad, problematic, and you don't want to be in it for any longer than you have to. Getting this feeling correct is the films biggest accomplishment.
I'm sure several people who have read the graphic novel will debate on how good this movie was and how faithful it was for years to come. They did change the ending, and after viewing the movie Mr. Snyder made, I understand but I would have preferred something different. I'll save that discussion for a later topic to be accompanied with other things that were lifted and changed which I didn't like. Overall, it is a great movie. It's one I wouldn't have thought would ever get made, and it spectacular to look at. It's a lot of fun but more importantly it is compelling. I highly recommend seeing it, but be warned it is not your normal comic book movie. A-/9.0/89.
The story takes place in a fictional 80's where Nixon is on his 3rd term, Vietnam was won in days due to the efforts of a glowing blue super being named Dr. Manhattan (lower Manhattan is present throughout the film as well just as in the comic), but all is not well with the world as the people of America are in a state of emergency from the threat of war with the Russians that will lead to nuclear disaster. Years before reaching this critical mass there were several costumed vigilantes who used to roam the streets and clean up criminals, but they were outlawed by Nixon after the war and now they all have to deal with their normal lives. Then one of them dies, and one hero that refused to retire investigates his murder which leads to a much larger plot that will lead to humanities destruction or salvation.
The movie unlike nearly every other comic book movie that has come out has not received a reboot our update from its source material. It's in the 80's. Everything that was in the 80's from your memory (if you're old enough) is there to be seen. The sets are fantastic and make the world of Watchmen feel lived in as if the world could have gone on in this manner had costumed vigilantes really patrolled the streets. The colors are very muted just as they were in the comic and there was no extra "grit" applied to the action in the film. The original supplied enough to draw on already.
It's funny how the voice for Rorschach and Batman are similar (Batman shares similarities with several of the characters but that's for another discussion) but Rorschach's seems to fit much better than the Bat-man. Casting is dead on and all the actors are 100% believable in their roles. They don't play your normal superheros and they have all lost something in not being able to do what for many years they enjoyed doing and had grown to love. It's written on each of their faces and helps give the story that much more weight. Patrick Wilson in particular does an excellent job of conveying so much that is said and unsaid with his face in his portrayal as Nite Owl. Billy Crudup also did spectacular in a very challenging role as Dr. Manhattan. For someone who has to convey emotion for a living and is as good at it as he is, it is tough to play a role that is devoid of all emotion for most of the picture.
The pacing of Watchmen is slow and it takes its time, just like the book and it will probably alienate some audience members for doing so. There is no setup for the characters and unfortunately we don't get to get to know them in the movie as well as we do in the comic because so much had to be condensed to make it viewable. This is also not going to help people who have no idea exactly what the film is about and the trailer does more to mislead than assist as well. What it gets right more than anything is conveying the feel of the world this story takes place in and it puts us right into the story. You may not understand who the main characters are in this world, but you know for certain it's grimy, dirty, ugly, sad, problematic, and you don't want to be in it for any longer than you have to. Getting this feeling correct is the films biggest accomplishment.
I'm sure several people who have read the graphic novel will debate on how good this movie was and how faithful it was for years to come. They did change the ending, and after viewing the movie Mr. Snyder made, I understand but I would have preferred something different. I'll save that discussion for a later topic to be accompanied with other things that were lifted and changed which I didn't like. Overall, it is a great movie. It's one I wouldn't have thought would ever get made, and it spectacular to look at. It's a lot of fun but more importantly it is compelling. I highly recommend seeing it, but be warned it is not your normal comic book movie. A-/9.0/89.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
DVD/Blu-Ray Pick for 3/5 - 3/12
V For Vendetta by The Wachowski brothers.
With the advent of another huge comic book movie coming out this weekend I was hard pressed to find something to recommend. I know there aren't many good ones to choose from and the ones that kept battling it out in my head were V, Sin City, the recent Batman films, 300, and a few others. The Crow also had an honorable mention in there as well. In the end I decided to go with V because it's from the same author of Watchmen, Allen Moore, and this movie is supposed to be the closest adaptation to his original writing as ever. Movie adaptations haven't always been that kind to their original works especially for Moore (V, From Hell) but the Wachowski brothers did do a decent job with this one and made a good movie. Hugo Weaving does an excellent job as V and Natalie Portman was an absolute pleasure to watch as Evey. She is also one of the few women in the world that can manage to look sexy with a shaved head. Though the material came from a graphic novel they managed to shake off all the usual things Hollywoodizing does to movies with similar source material which even the most recent Bat-films haven't done yet (ie Batman's voice and the unnecessary sky diving scene in Hong Kong). I chose V because Moore's material has always been more dense than any other graphic novel author I know and this movie presents his material in a grown up way. I love Frank Miller and think he's one of the greatest authors out there, but Sin City and 300 are more of the "mature readers" sort of then when put along side with this. So fire up those lenses in your DVD/Blu-ray players (or HDDVD drives if you happen to own it in that format like me) and give this a watch this week.
With the advent of another huge comic book movie coming out this weekend I was hard pressed to find something to recommend. I know there aren't many good ones to choose from and the ones that kept battling it out in my head were V, Sin City, the recent Batman films, 300, and a few others. The Crow also had an honorable mention in there as well. In the end I decided to go with V because it's from the same author of Watchmen, Allen Moore, and this movie is supposed to be the closest adaptation to his original writing as ever. Movie adaptations haven't always been that kind to their original works especially for Moore (V, From Hell) but the Wachowski brothers did do a decent job with this one and made a good movie. Hugo Weaving does an excellent job as V and Natalie Portman was an absolute pleasure to watch as Evey. She is also one of the few women in the world that can manage to look sexy with a shaved head. Though the material came from a graphic novel they managed to shake off all the usual things Hollywoodizing does to movies with similar source material which even the most recent Bat-films haven't done yet (ie Batman's voice and the unnecessary sky diving scene in Hong Kong). I chose V because Moore's material has always been more dense than any other graphic novel author I know and this movie presents his material in a grown up way. I love Frank Miller and think he's one of the greatest authors out there, but Sin City and 300 are more of the "mature readers" sort of then when put along side with this. So fire up those lenses in your DVD/Blu-ray players (or HDDVD drives if you happen to own it in that format like me) and give this a watch this week.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-LI - Is Not As Bad As Before, But Still Bad Good? Maybe Not.
People have been trying to make movies of popular video games for years and it’s never yielded a good result. The Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil movies have been the best big screen adaptations of video game based movies and if you’ve seen any of those, you know that game movies still have a long hard road to travel before they’re even in the same league as bad comic book movies like Batman and Robin or Fantastic 4. Maybe someone will finally sit down and be able to make one halfway decent. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is definitely not that movie. While the actual story and fight choreography are leaps and bounds better in this reboot of the live action move than the disastrous first attempt at turning the game into a movie, they still managed to get nearly everything wrong. I am going to slightly spoil bits of this throughout, but if you’re reading this review you’ve probably already seen the film, or aren’t going to see it any time soon but will likely watch it in the future on netflix or online regardless of anything I write.
Chun-Li is a piano artist who performs who’s father was kidnapped my Bison, an evil mob boss who wants to control all of Bangkok, when she was just a little girl. She learned martial arts from her father and kept up practice, but basically stopped looking for him by the time she grows up. Then she receives a mysterious scroll at a concert recital which leads her to “The Order of the Web,” and told she must find Gen, the leader of the order, in Bangkok who will help her train to take down Bison and Rescue her father. While this is going on a side story featuring Charlie Nash and some random Asian female Interpol agent investigate the recent murder of every mob boss in the city. Nash, played by Chris Kline who acted as if he knew exactly the type of movie he was making and camped up every line, believes Bison to be linked to this mysterious occurrence and he and Chun-Li’s paths run into each other as they track down Bison.
The acting, with the exception of Kline is atrocious. It seems he was the only actor that was in on the joke as it’s actually fun to watch him make a fool of himself with every line. The girl playing Chun-Li (who I’m not even going to bother looking up on imdb) doesn’t even look Asian. To tell the story of her childhood they had several child actresses play the part as it was funny watching every actress looking less Asian than the next. Also for those who can speak Chinese, it is like nails on a chalkboard hearing her mispronounce words when she “speaks” Chinese in the film. Also not needed was the story of Bison’s origin where to make himself more evil he performed some dark ancient ritual of transferring all his goodness into his unborn daughter. Oh, and I threw up in my mouth a little bit when the movie adaptation of the spinning bird kick was performed.
Now what I don’t understand isn’t why this movie was made, but how they could get it completely wrong again especially where there have now been three animated movies, two cartoons (one Japanese anime, on American cartoon), and a comic series that get it way more right. The story has always been about Ken and Ryu. They were made into side characters in the first movie and Ryu is only mentioned by name at the end of this one. I will give them credit for modernizing it a bit, taking characters out of their costumes and not having Bison perform the psycho crusher.
Thinking about it, the best “Street Fighter” movie is actually Bloodsport. It shouldn’t be too hard to graft the story onto that plot. An old martial artist who teaches two students his ancient techniques has an evil brother who thirsts for more power kills him and is then drawn to one of these students who he can sense great power within. An evil overlord who runs a secret fighting tournament to draw the best fighters from around the world and gain their allegiance or power. An Interpol agent who infiltrates this tournament attempting to take down its leader and expose the organization is aided by an ex-military commander who is looking to get revenge for the death of his friend. All of these stories become intertwined and reach critical mass as the combatants face each other in the tournament. I guess nobody would buy that treatment. Anywhoo I don’t really recommend seeing The Legend of Chun-Li. At least the old SF movie was hovering in the so bad it’s good category, but this one is just bad. Kind of funny how that works out. D-/3.0/32
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Street Fighter IV - It's Been A Long Time...
Depending on where you start counting it's been 10 or 12 years since there was a new Street Fighter game. Street Fighter III was released in 1997 and Street Fighter III: Third Strike in 1999. You can check Wikipedia to find all the stuff that has come out in the world since there was a new SF game. Many iterations of other fighting games have come, gone, and been refined by other companies like Guilty Gear, King of Fighters, Soul Calibur, and so on, but Capcom the creators of the Street Fighter franchise show that they're on top of their game with their latest, Street Fighter IV.
The game receives a huge graphic update and a bit of a reboot from the previous game. All 12 (or 13 depending on how you count Akuma/Goki) of the original characters from the mega-popular SF2 are back for starters (All but 4 were MIA in SF3) and 4 brand new characters and a new boss were added. Seven additional characters from other iterations of the franchise (one playable for the first time ever in the series) were also added to the home version of the game. The game is done in the 2.5D style which is becoming more and more popular. All the characters and backgrounds have been rendered in 3D, but the actual gameplay is done on a 2D plane. The only time the camera moves from its fixed position is when certain attacks are performed and then it returns to its prior angel. The graphics are amazing and there is an enormous amount of detail on the characters. Capcom wanted to make sure that the game not only retains to feel of the Street Fighter franchise but also looks the best it possibly can. They worked on this game for a long time and made a last minute change to it just before the arcade version was released last year to change the hit boxes from 3D to 2D so the game would play and feel like its predecessors.
From a gameplay standpoint, I am absolutely in love with it. I was about 9 years old with the original Street Fighter game came out and I played it on one of the original machines with the velocity buttons before the change was made to make it a 6-button fighter. I've played every incarnation of it to some degree and while most casual people who played some SF2 back in the day may not notice a difference in gameplay, I can tell you that there is a whole 'nuther level the game is working on. For the sake of this review, I will keep to the basics. All the old characters control just like they used to. Fireballs, dragon punches, sonic booms, and the like still have the same inputs. What's different is the focus system and the ultra meter. In this game you have the ability to counter opponent by absorbing an attack from them and then quickly unleashing one of your own. You can also charge this up to "crumple" your opponent allowing you a couple seconds to hit them with an additional attack, or you can us it to "cancel" the animation of a special move you've just input which allows you to still get credit for some to all of the damage for the move you did while freeing your character to quickly follow up with an additional attack. The ultra meter is a new meter unique to this game that charges as your character takes damage, when it hits a certain point an ultra attack can be unleashed which does heavy damage to your opponent if it's landed and can completely turn the match around. Use of both of these is not a requirement to play and enjoy the game, but they are techniques you will want to learn about if you want to play against anything other than the computer. The speed of the action is a little faster than SF2, but not nearly as fast as SF2 Turbo which makes it a little easier for newcomers and people who have been away from the series to pick up. And let's face it, the object of the game is to beat the living snot out of one of the two onscreen characters. It's not that difficult to learn.
Speaking of learning, the game also features some great single player challenge modes. You have the fighting game standard modes of time attack and survival, but there is an additional trial mode which has been in some of the home versions of SF games in the past. This mode is character specific and is broken up into 10 sections per character which teaches you how to pull off some each characters moves and combos in the game. It starts off just getting you familiar with the character by doing basic moves and in the end has you doing some very difficult timing sensitive link combos for every character in the game. It is a nice touch, one that helps improve some skills as well as dishing out vast amounts of controller/joystick throwing frustration. Some of the challenges are quite difficult and require an advanced level of understanding the game's systems as well as fast button inputs. What I feel is missing from this mode are a demonstration button so you can actually see what the sequence it wants you to do looks like and it could also benefit by having something help you with timing exactly when to input what move or what button. It sort of leaves you in the dark a little and this may alienate some people as they may feel that if they cannot perform what the challenge is asking to do, that they are no good at the game. It also doesn't teach you any strategy of when to attempt to perform these chains. I guess that may be asking for a bit too much but may be better for the individual to figure out how to implement what they've learned instead of holding your hand through it. You have to learn that sometimes it's better to eat full or chip damage from a fireball than to jump in trying to avoid the hit because a super or ultra will be waiting for you.
The game features on-line play as well. You can challenge people in ranked matches for battle points and overall ranking tracked on either PSN or XBox Live, play your friends/random internet people in player matches which do not count toward your ranking. And the game also offers a throwback to what fighting games used to be like in the arcade with the on-line fight request system. When you have this on and are playing the game's single player arcade mode challengers who are also online can jump into your game and challenge you just like having someone throw a couple of quarters into the machine in the arcade. Players can be searched for based on language preference, stability, and skill level. Unfortunately skill level is determined by how many battle points they have from winning matches and not actual skill in the game. I've played on both PSN and Live and they are both full of people gaming the system by performing the same moves over and over due to internet latency and lag. Even on the best connections there is some input lag, but aside from people's play styles it works and is serviceable. I have enjoyed a couple hundred matches between both platforms and will continue to play online and try to move up in the rankings.
And now the hated console comparisons:
As mentioned I have both console versions and have spent a lot of time with both versions. First off, they both run smooth and there is nothing wrong with either version. Aside from that, the PS3 version has a noticeably more textures on the characters. You can see slightly more detail and the kind of pop out from the background more than they did on the arcade version or 360 version. The 360 version looks a lot closer to the arcade and the characters appear to be more in place with the backgrounds since there are less textures. None of this has any effect on the gameplay. Both versions feature hard drive install capabilities, which I recommend doing if you plan on playing it often. The 360 version loads faster both in single player and online. As far as online goes, it has more to do with what your internet connection is like. I have had an easier time finding matches on the PS3 than 360 and matches have ran better for me on that console. On the 360 version the only way I've been able to get a match is by creating a lobby and have never been able to connect to someone else's game. This could be completely different for you depending on where you live and what you internet connection is like. I've gotten it to work and have had a blast on both consoles. My preference is with the PS3 version which is entirely subjective and more of my friends (people that I know in real life) have the PS3 version, so that is what I play it on most.
And just before I wrap this thing up, I want to talk about joysticks. Personally I have never played SF without a joystick. I bought an arcade stick when it came out on Super Nintendo, and have always had a joystick of some sort for every game system I own for fighting games. I currently have a Mad Catz Tournament Edition stick on order, but I'm playing on one of the Soul Calibur 4 special edition Hori joysticks right now and it gets the job done quite nicely though I wish it had more weight to it so it would stop sliding off my lap. This is my personal preference, and you do not need a stick to play this game; hoverer it would behove you to find one if you are really into the game because it does make the experience better. This is an arcade fighter that was released in arcades in joystick form. All arguments aside Capcom meant for this game to be played with a joystick. I do know people who better than I am at the game that play with the controller, but to me the joystick is the only way to go.
And for the score... you can say I'm bias or pre-disposed to liking this game or whatever based on my background with the series and fighting games in general, but from an objective standpoint this game is still a masterpiece. The core game gets everything right and everything else is just dessert added to a five star meal. A+/10/100.
The game receives a huge graphic update and a bit of a reboot from the previous game. All 12 (or 13 depending on how you count Akuma/Goki) of the original characters from the mega-popular SF2 are back for starters (All but 4 were MIA in SF3) and 4 brand new characters and a new boss were added. Seven additional characters from other iterations of the franchise (one playable for the first time ever in the series) were also added to the home version of the game. The game is done in the 2.5D style which is becoming more and more popular. All the characters and backgrounds have been rendered in 3D, but the actual gameplay is done on a 2D plane. The only time the camera moves from its fixed position is when certain attacks are performed and then it returns to its prior angel. The graphics are amazing and there is an enormous amount of detail on the characters. Capcom wanted to make sure that the game not only retains to feel of the Street Fighter franchise but also looks the best it possibly can. They worked on this game for a long time and made a last minute change to it just before the arcade version was released last year to change the hit boxes from 3D to 2D so the game would play and feel like its predecessors.
From a gameplay standpoint, I am absolutely in love with it. I was about 9 years old with the original Street Fighter game came out and I played it on one of the original machines with the velocity buttons before the change was made to make it a 6-button fighter. I've played every incarnation of it to some degree and while most casual people who played some SF2 back in the day may not notice a difference in gameplay, I can tell you that there is a whole 'nuther level the game is working on. For the sake of this review, I will keep to the basics. All the old characters control just like they used to. Fireballs, dragon punches, sonic booms, and the like still have the same inputs. What's different is the focus system and the ultra meter. In this game you have the ability to counter opponent by absorbing an attack from them and then quickly unleashing one of your own. You can also charge this up to "crumple" your opponent allowing you a couple seconds to hit them with an additional attack, or you can us it to "cancel" the animation of a special move you've just input which allows you to still get credit for some to all of the damage for the move you did while freeing your character to quickly follow up with an additional attack. The ultra meter is a new meter unique to this game that charges as your character takes damage, when it hits a certain point an ultra attack can be unleashed which does heavy damage to your opponent if it's landed and can completely turn the match around. Use of both of these is not a requirement to play and enjoy the game, but they are techniques you will want to learn about if you want to play against anything other than the computer. The speed of the action is a little faster than SF2, but not nearly as fast as SF2 Turbo which makes it a little easier for newcomers and people who have been away from the series to pick up. And let's face it, the object of the game is to beat the living snot out of one of the two onscreen characters. It's not that difficult to learn.
Speaking of learning, the game also features some great single player challenge modes. You have the fighting game standard modes of time attack and survival, but there is an additional trial mode which has been in some of the home versions of SF games in the past. This mode is character specific and is broken up into 10 sections per character which teaches you how to pull off some each characters moves and combos in the game. It starts off just getting you familiar with the character by doing basic moves and in the end has you doing some very difficult timing sensitive link combos for every character in the game. It is a nice touch, one that helps improve some skills as well as dishing out vast amounts of controller/joystick throwing frustration. Some of the challenges are quite difficult and require an advanced level of understanding the game's systems as well as fast button inputs. What I feel is missing from this mode are a demonstration button so you can actually see what the sequence it wants you to do looks like and it could also benefit by having something help you with timing exactly when to input what move or what button. It sort of leaves you in the dark a little and this may alienate some people as they may feel that if they cannot perform what the challenge is asking to do, that they are no good at the game. It also doesn't teach you any strategy of when to attempt to perform these chains. I guess that may be asking for a bit too much but may be better for the individual to figure out how to implement what they've learned instead of holding your hand through it. You have to learn that sometimes it's better to eat full or chip damage from a fireball than to jump in trying to avoid the hit because a super or ultra will be waiting for you.
The game features on-line play as well. You can challenge people in ranked matches for battle points and overall ranking tracked on either PSN or XBox Live, play your friends/random internet people in player matches which do not count toward your ranking. And the game also offers a throwback to what fighting games used to be like in the arcade with the on-line fight request system. When you have this on and are playing the game's single player arcade mode challengers who are also online can jump into your game and challenge you just like having someone throw a couple of quarters into the machine in the arcade. Players can be searched for based on language preference, stability, and skill level. Unfortunately skill level is determined by how many battle points they have from winning matches and not actual skill in the game. I've played on both PSN and Live and they are both full of people gaming the system by performing the same moves over and over due to internet latency and lag. Even on the best connections there is some input lag, but aside from people's play styles it works and is serviceable. I have enjoyed a couple hundred matches between both platforms and will continue to play online and try to move up in the rankings.
And now the hated console comparisons:
As mentioned I have both console versions and have spent a lot of time with both versions. First off, they both run smooth and there is nothing wrong with either version. Aside from that, the PS3 version has a noticeably more textures on the characters. You can see slightly more detail and the kind of pop out from the background more than they did on the arcade version or 360 version. The 360 version looks a lot closer to the arcade and the characters appear to be more in place with the backgrounds since there are less textures. None of this has any effect on the gameplay. Both versions feature hard drive install capabilities, which I recommend doing if you plan on playing it often. The 360 version loads faster both in single player and online. As far as online goes, it has more to do with what your internet connection is like. I have had an easier time finding matches on the PS3 than 360 and matches have ran better for me on that console. On the 360 version the only way I've been able to get a match is by creating a lobby and have never been able to connect to someone else's game. This could be completely different for you depending on where you live and what you internet connection is like. I've gotten it to work and have had a blast on both consoles. My preference is with the PS3 version which is entirely subjective and more of my friends (people that I know in real life) have the PS3 version, so that is what I play it on most.
And just before I wrap this thing up, I want to talk about joysticks. Personally I have never played SF without a joystick. I bought an arcade stick when it came out on Super Nintendo, and have always had a joystick of some sort for every game system I own for fighting games. I currently have a Mad Catz Tournament Edition stick on order, but I'm playing on one of the Soul Calibur 4 special edition Hori joysticks right now and it gets the job done quite nicely though I wish it had more weight to it so it would stop sliding off my lap. This is my personal preference, and you do not need a stick to play this game; hoverer it would behove you to find one if you are really into the game because it does make the experience better. This is an arcade fighter that was released in arcades in joystick form. All arguments aside Capcom meant for this game to be played with a joystick. I do know people who better than I am at the game that play with the controller, but to me the joystick is the only way to go.
And for the score... you can say I'm bias or pre-disposed to liking this game or whatever based on my background with the series and fighting games in general, but from an objective standpoint this game is still a masterpiece. The core game gets everything right and everything else is just dessert added to a five star meal. A+/10/100.
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