Watchmen : Carl's Review *spoiler free*

So I have seen the movie 3.66 times now and I feel I can give this movie a proper review. Lets just start out with a couple facts;

#1. I have read the comic
#2. I am a huge fan of the comic
#3. No, really, I am a huge fan of the comic.

So, with this information out of the way, lets start with the obvious. Is the movie as good as the comic? Short answer, no. Long answer, it's not fair to compare. Firstly, the movie is a shaved down version of the director's original vision. So, I'm sure there are a lot of things that got cut that would make this movie better for the fans of the comic and maybe even for people new to The Watchmen. Secondly, movies and books are not fair to compare. Ever. As a movie, Watchmen falls short of the comic, yet still is heads above almost every other comic book movie out there.

The movie stays true to the overall feel and tone of the source material. Many scenes and some of the dialog is straight from the comic. I would say that the best way to explain it is that the movie is a Cliff Notes version of the story. You get the important characters, the important themes and the important plot points. There are changes made in the story and this is an unavoidable act. Whenever a story is translated between medias, changes need to be made to tailor that experience to the chosen form. The biggest change being the ending. I personally had no problems with the new ending for a couple reasons. It actually works better for the movie I think. It helps cut out things that really weren't needed for the plot and I think is a little easier to wrap you head around if you're new to the world. Another reason I think it works is that it gives even the fans that know the story something to look forward to. Yeah, we know how it ends, but not knowing exactly how it will get there makes it a little more enjoyable in my opinion.

The casting in the movie was great. Every one of the main characters in the film were perfectly portrayed by their actor. It is clear that all the actors were familiar with the source material or the writers and director just did an amazing job informing the actor of what their character was about. I find myself saying "X" was a real stand out in this movie, only "X = the entire cast". I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but they had a cast where each character was dynamic and stood out. I can't praise the actors enough for this movie.

The one thing I can't help but wonder is if Alan Moore will ever see this movie and what he will think of it if he does. I would assume he will hate the story changes, but maybe he will understand why they were made. I think extreme care was taken to preserve his voice and that it is a clear that the people involved with the production of this movie have a great respect for the source material.

Overall, I give this movie a 9 out of 10. It holds up through multiple viewing for me and each time I notice something new in the background. I wait and long for the directors cut, an ultimate vision of one of the best books of modern time. Till then, I am happy with the Cliff Notes.

Left 4 Dead? More like Left 4 Awesome!

So, I recently got a new computer for Christmas. I have been itching to get some games that would actually flex it's muscle some. I finally broke down and bought the Valve Complete Pack off of Steam. Included with that package is the amazing Left 4 Dead.

I will tell you, I am not usually a fan of anything that substitutes a number for a word, but I have to make an exception. This game is fried gold. The basic idea is that you are a member of a group of four (get it? Left four dead) survivors that are trying to make it to someplace you think is safe. In one mission it's a hospital, another is a boat dock and so on. Each level is broken into multiple acts that are broken up by save points known as "Safe Houses." Once at a safe house, you restock, patch up wounds and then make on your merry way again.

The weapons are pretty standard zombie movie and First person shooter stock. You get shotguns, machine guns, hand guns and rifles. Each has their own strengths and get an upgrade during the course of the level. You also get explosive devices such as pipe bombs and molotov cocktails to use, but be careful because you can only carry one such device and they are kind of rare. One neat little thing in the game is your ability to use items lying about in much the same way. For example, if you find a can of gasoline you can throw it into a crowd of zombies and then shoot it to cover them in fire.

The zombies themselves are more along the line of the modern "28 Days Later" variety. They are not always the slow shambling horde that will stumble towards you. These zombies will swarm you and cover the ground quickly, making the threat of being overwhelmed a true threat in any place that is open enough for not entry ways to be covered.

Add to that, there are special zombies. Each one has a special ability that will ruin your day. One has a tongue that will pull you away from the group, another will cover you in vomit that will attract all zombies in the area to you and even one that is pretty much a Zombie Hulk.

What story there is, is standard zombie faire, to the point that it's almost satirical if not for the grim and grisly events that happen in it. The game is very serious, but never to the point that it becomes melodrama. The characters in the game are also quick to make a joke.

One such example is when your characters pass a wall spray painted "God is Dead" one of the characters will shout "OH NO! THE ZOMBIES KILLED GOD!!!" The one liners aren't fast and furious, but when they show up I always find myself at least chuckling. Overall though, there is no real story to speak of and one isn't honestly needed. You are one of four people that are trying to survive. That's really all you need to know.

The game's most important part though is the group dynamic. You can play single player with the surprisingly good AI or play through each campaign with friends (or strangers) online. There is also a very fun versus mode that pits two teams of 4 against each other as survivors and special zombies.

Overall, this is a great game and I can't recommend it enough to FPS and zombie fans. Check it out on the PC or on Xbox 360. And check out this video to see what you're missing out on...


Click on the video to go to youtube and to see the higher quality video

Carl's Score: 9 out of 10

First Impressions/Review: Rockband 2

We'll make it no secret that we here at Kneel Before Pod are huge fans of Rockband. We're also huge fans of Harmonix in general. We loved the first two Guitar Hero games. After Harmonix left the franchise we kind of lost interest in the series, but found it's spiritual successor in their new series. So it is with a heavy heart, that I must say.... Rockband 2 ROCKS! Heavy heart? Maybe Heavy Metal Heart! Hells yeah!

Lets get down the the nitty gritty, there will be some people out there that will say this is more Rockband 1.5 or an expansion pack. They honestly wouldn't be too far off. I wouldn't say that it's a bad thing though. Unlike other games that will charge you $60, give you little to no new features and around 40 new songs, Rockband 2 delivers an all around better experience.

Lets just start off with the obvious. This title gives you over 80 new songs including the unlockable bonus tracks. Not only is this just a downright huge amount of songs, but they are also a wide range of genres. From Elvis Costello to Motorhead, Blondie to Panic at the Disco!, and even from Bob Dylan to Beck. There will be songs that you like on this disc. And I do mean that as songs plural. I promise you that you will find multiple songs that you like and fine even more that you enjoy to play even though you never heard them before this game.

Speaking of songs, do you own Rockband 1? Do you like the songs on it? Do you hate having to switch between discs just because your favourite song is on the old version of your music game? Well that need not be a problem any longer. With the latest update to Rockband 1 you can actually download the music content on your hard drive and use it with future versions of the game. All you do is pay a very small licensing fee (which goes towards paying the rights of the songs and is around $5) and you can play almost all your RB1 songs on RB2. Pretty sweet no?

Also, did you download a ton of DLC for it? I know I did (I'm looking at you Grateful Dead and The Who pack). Well, good news, that content all works on Rockband 2. So the tons and tons of money that you have sunk into the Marketplace for those song packs will not have gone to waste. This means with your back catalogue, the new songs from the RB2 disc and the weekly downloads, you will have nigh infinite replayability. Life is sweet.

So we have all the music covered, so lots talk about what's new. Well, the single player experience has changed a lot. The solo tour now plays like the band world tour in RB1. You form up a band using a name of your choice (which you can add people to later in multi-player) and start off in your hometown. You play gigs and choose different setlists whilst building up your stars and fanbase. As you progress you get bigger venues, more fans and more equipment. Overall, it is a much more entertaining process than the previous Rockband which pretty much just had you playing through a list of songs with no real progression with the exception of just going to a different town. There is also the inclusion of a new "challenge" system in place which gives you a setlist, if you pass it you unlock new songs and new challenges. So some solid and positive growth in the single player has occurred between the two versions of this game.

The biggest news for this title is that you can now play the multiplayer band world tour mode over Xbox Live. That means that if you and your friends don't always want to be forced to schedule a physical meeting or dedicate a whole night to Rockband, you can now just team up at your own home and play whenever you want. This is great for friends that are long distance or just have conflicting work schedules. Ryan and myself have yet to try this out, but I'm sure we will talk about it on the podcast once we do.

To continue on the multiplayer, the party game potential has been increased with an addition of a "no fail mode." When this is put into place, your band can't fail out of a song. This means that if you have friends with delusions of grandeur or friends that have never played a music game before, you can play without the pressure of ruining it for everyone involved. The game can be especially overwhelming for the new player and this will help bring in more of your friends into the experience, which is always a good thing.

Overall, this is just a great game. Rockband 1's gameplay was nearly perfect to begin with and Rockband 2 doesn't fix what isn't broke. The added features such as full online co-op, band vs band online competition, backwards compatibility, no fail mode, expanded single player and the fact that one created character can now play any instrument makes this a clear improvement over the previous title. Is it a true sequel? Though it can be debated, I personally feel it is. It has shown more growth than other franchises (looking at you Madden) and lot of added content. What I think everyone can agree on is that either true sequel or glorified expansion pack, the price is right and it's still the most fun you will have with a music based game.

Carl's Rating: 9/10
Ryan's Rating: 9/10
Overall Rating: 9/10