Movie Addicts. Celeb Dishers. Gamers. We're All Here.

Sometimes expectations can kill a game. When Super Mario 64 was not only hailed as one of the greatest games of all time, but actually created the 3D platformer genre, people expected great things for Mario. But they were forced to wait through an entire console generation - six whopping years - before Mario would arrive again. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, it’s no wonder people were disappointed.

In addition to a long delay, there are two problems with Sunshine. First, the camera control was awful. Half of the challenge came from having to fight the camera, trying to get even a decent view of the action. Also, the setting - Isle Delfino - did not lead to much diversity. Every level looked like a tropical island because, well, the game took place on a giant tropical island. For all the complaining we do about mine carts and fire levels, a little old school level design would have gone a long way in Sunshine.

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Tags: Video games by Tom Mc Shea
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No, really! I’m quite serious! The CHINESE–you know, the guys who just banned horror movies in their entirety from the country–have created an MMO, and by all accounts, it’s not half bad. Called Secret Online, it’s just recently launched a North American branch. Described as a “free-to-play massive multiplayer online adventure”, Secret Online takes players into Chinese mythology, around the Qin dynasty by all indications, it features two hundred static maps and an infinite quest generator.

Also of interest is that Secret Online also has something called a “persistent realm history” in which players can permanently affect the time line and events that take place on a particular server. Other gamers who enter in after these events will find that their storyline would have been much different had certain elements remained unaltered, or were altered differently.

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Tags: Video games by Steve Anderson
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There have been rumors circling in the movie world that McG’s Terminator 4, alternately titled Terminator: The Return of the Terminator and Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, is on the rocks. Apparently, it all goes back to a post on Ugo claiming that a “source” had overheard a crew member talking about production shutting down; not the most reliable source in the world, unless you’re the sort of person who often purchases diet pills from radio infomercials. Nevertheless, the rumor got around - and most people aren’t buying it.

In direct contradiction to the rumor, The Hollywood reporter announced a few days later that a new cast member was in final talks to star. Moon Bloodgood, known for her starring role in the short-lived NBC series Journeyman, is set to play a “no-nonsense and battle-hardened member of the resistance.”

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Tags: Movie stories by Liz N.
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Terminator 4 canceled?? Whoa! When did that happen?! Wasn’t this sucker chugging along, with cast announcements on a regular basis and everybody and his mother saying this was going to be great? Now where does word come down that this is going to be canceled?

An unnamed crew member, already a pretty fair sign that this rumor is just that, a rumor, told UGO sometime last week that Terminator 4 was being shut down. Never mind that the film had a serious cast and a solid release date (May 22, 2008), but that was the word out of Terminator 4. Of course, it didn’t look good for this rumor when, merely two days later, Moon BloodGood was announced as cast in Terminator 4. So how can a movie be dead when they’re ADDING to the cast?

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You know what we don’t have enough of in this world? Harry Potter.

I’m kidding, of course. Harry Potter is so overexposed that, even in my sheltered childhood, I was able to get my hands on a library copy of the first book. When my mom saw it, she wanted to make sure that “it doesn’t have good witches in it, does it?” But then she read it, and was hooked. One more potential book-burner converted, thanks to J.K. Rowling.

Now that the saga has officially ended - on the book front, anyway - we’re all free to focus on the production of the films and on all the creative marketing that’s going on. The latest effort from Warner Brothers is, naturally enough, a museum exhibit.

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Often called the Top Ramen of literature, Dan Brown has nonetheless penned multiple bestsellers, most notably the mega-mega-mega-hit The Da Vinci Code. There are many things to be said about this book, but most of them have been said already. I fondly recall the words of a critic pointing out that the phrase “Da Vinci Code” makes no sense, given that “da Vinci” is not a last name but rather meant to signify “from the town of Vinci.” The critic stated that you might as well write a book about Jesus and call it “The Of Nazareth Code.”

However, this is an admittedly small quibble. Many people call history’s favorite Leonardo by the name “da Vinci” just for clarity’s sake, and because, as far as I know, nobody else famous ever came from Vinci. The biggest problem with Brown’s work, as usually happens in these situations, is that people take it way too seriously.

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I love to use terms such as “sugar-coated awesomeness” and “the sweet goo of life!” to describe my favorite games, but those overly sweet terms have to be forced into the sometimes rough and tumble world of Halo or God of War. Well, I don’t have to stretch an ounce of truth in describing this game - Viva Piñata is a chocolate-fueled delight of overwhelming proportions.

Who would have thought raising candy-laden piñatas could be fun? Attracting, breeding, grooming and ultimately destroying these tasty critters has become one of my favorite video game pastimes. From planting a Monkey Nut tree to attract my Cinnamonkeys to coaxing a shy Rashberry and Swanana to mate, birthing a bizarre flying pig creature, Viva Piñata is unbridled delicious fun.

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There are very few games I would deem “perfect.” Tetris definitely falls into that category. Probably Super Mario World as well. But most games have some niggling flaw that knocks them out of perfect range. Well, Capcom really hit one out of the park with Viewtiful Joe. Even 3 years after release, it still holds up to the perfect test.

VJ is an unabashed, old school fighting game. The graphics are certainly beautiful and stylized, but this is a very basic game design. This is a pattern-based brawler and it is done in simply glorious fashion.

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Now, my mind is officially blown. I was reading some of the articles over at Xbox 360 Fanboy–while I’ll not admit to being one, I’ll admit to preferring that system. But I was reading about Halo maps when I came across a map setup for a Zombie Apocalypse.

No, seriously! You’re short on weapons–you start with a shotgun and a pistol–and you’re facing down a steadily growing horde of the “undead” in an Infection-style map. You have to survive for five minutes until your emergency evac arrives.

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Tags: Video games by Steve Anderson
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Yes, I am the hypocrite who demanded something new in Smash Bros. Brawl but have purchased, and enjoyed, every new Mario Kart iteration. What can I say? I love kart racing. With no hesitancy, I purchased Mario Kart Wii yesterday and, after a rocky start, I have once again rediscovered my love for the series. Super Mario Kart is still the best racing game ever, but Mario Kart Wii is a more than worthy follow-up.

After slogging through the first two cups with that R&D intense steering wheel pack-in, I finally gave up. New controls do not mesh well with Mario Kart. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck to powerslide around corners and pop wheelies, I have regained my championship form and once again remember why I so eagerly bought this a mere two days before GTA IV was set to hit.

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