Round Up

Here's what I've been up to with my limited free time:

de Blob:

“De Blob” is a game reminiscent of “ToeJam and Earl in Panic on Funkotron;” it’s a very funky game, and that’s where most of the appeal comes from. The story, while being charming and funny, doesn’t make itself necessary. You could ignore any sign of a narrative, and as long as you followed the prescribed objectives, you’d be fine. There are essentially four types of missions in the game: follow the markers, paint certain structures certain colors, kill the enemies and transform landmarks. Most missions aren’t hard, but some curve balls are thrown from time to time. The game doesn’t getting noticeably difficult until the final boss, who is still manageable. The game is fun though, and considering other Wii games, this one stands out in a positive way.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno:

I had high hopes for this movie, and they were met. This crossing between Judd Apatow’s clan and Kevin Smith’s clique was exactly what a fan of either would expect. The movie was touching, had a good soundtrack and had plenty of laughs. There was a good chemistry between Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, who played the title characters. Craig Robinson, better known as Darryl on TV show “The Office” played his character perfectly as he typically does. The rest of the cast did a good job as well, but what makes the movie is Kevin Smith’s pen. His knack for writing the perfect dialogue hasn’t left him since “Clerks II.” This isn’t Smith’s funniest movie, nor is it his deepest movie, but if you like dirty humor, then it’s one you shouldn’t miss.

The Color of Money:

This is an old movie (1986), and I only rented it because I watched the preceding film, “The Hustler” (1961). Initially I rented “The Hustler” because it was a pool movie, but then I realized there was more to it than that. “The Color of Money” is similar, but not as good, even with Scorsese directing. “The Color of Money” has some great pool, and the actors (Tom Cruise and Paul Newman) did the brunt of their actual shots. Newman was a joy to watch. Even considering how old he was during this role, he had the energy of a young man. And Cruise, well, he was a young man who had the energy of an even younger man. This was a good movie, but the main problem was that it was directed by Scorsese and it wasn’t amazing. Had anybody else been in charge, then my opinion would probably be different.

Mega Man 9:

I should start by saying I haven’t beaten this game yet, and I am pessimistic that I ever will. I have defeated all of the robot masters, but I can’t make it through Wily’s Castle (if you’ve played a Mega Man game, then you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t played a Mega Man game, then you probably don’t care about this mini review). The robot masters are what I’ve come to expect from the series, meaning they are equal parts imaginative plus equal parts cheesy. Some levels aren’t very difficult at all, such as Galaxy Man whom I beat with only several tries. Other levels are drastically more difficult, such as the disappearing block challenge in Plug Man’s stage. Mega Man 9 is a fun experience, and I would love to see companies make more games in this fashion.