Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box – I’ve finally finished up the second Professor Layton game. I liked the setting and feel of this game better than the first one. The animation for the cut-scenes are both increased in amount and in quality. I think there are a few cases of poor wording of the puzzles. It’s probably because I just finished the first game, but for the most part the puzzles felt easier than the first game. Also there are more hint coins in this game so there’s no worry on running out of ways to get hints if you need them. I did run into a problem assembling the camera as it apparently needs to be assembled in a particular order an not just with all the pieces in the right place as the instructions indicated. Also if you miss a certain puzzle you will not be able to complete the tea puzzles. Luckily after the game you can go back and complete anything you missed.

Wii Sports Resort –  I mostly wanted this to try out the gyroscopic attachment to the Wii remote and it works as advertised. It does a great job of 1:1 motion between what you do and what happens on screen. I’ve only tried a few of the games so far but they are all well done. The frisbee game was challenging at first but soon enough I was throwing as I would a regular frisbee. I look forward to the other games and seeing what else will take advantage of this device.

TV:

Alice – I wasn’t that impressed with SyFy’s Tin Man take on The Wizard of Oz, but for some reason I thought Alice looked promising, and for the most part it delivered. Large unpopulated cities, while looking cool don’t really fit with how it should be, but everything else ended up being a fairly interesting take on the Wonderland stories. It makes me wonder how much it has in common with the upcoming Alice in Wonderland which also appears to take place in a future Wonderland, based on the trailer.  

Black in America 2 – More great stories about the subject matter! I didn’t get to see the first Black in America, but I really liked Hispanic in America and this is right up there with it.

Movies:

Another free preview weekend means I get a lot more movies to watch, good and bad. There’s a lot of bad this time so I’ll put the better ones first. I have to start writing these before I have so many piled up.

• The good:

—————————————–

Herbie Hancock: Possibilities – This a documentary about the making of the Herbie Hancock album by the same name. It’s a collaboration with a number of artists and all of them are shown in their collaboration. I learned about several artists I’ll be looking into from this which is better than I was expecting going in.

Bottle Shock – I’m not sure how accurate the portrayal of the characters are but I think the events are probably about how they happened. The characters to make for a fun ride through the rise of Napa though. You dont have to be a wine afficionado to enjoy this movie.

Le Placard – A fine film! I don’t normally expect a straight up comedy to come from France, but this one really delivers.

Black Irish – It’s good, but I wasn’t expecting something this heavy. This movie is pretty heavy on the drama but not in a bad way and doesn’t go down the rode of the morose.

Sweet and Lowdown – Great mockumentary about a fictional guitar player. The music is good and the humor is played perfectly.

CJ7 – A mostly non-kung-fu Stephen Chow movie, but I still like it. File this mostly under heart-warming family film. I look forward to the sequel.

The Anniversary Party – A small group of actors getting together to make their own movie can often go wrong, but in this case it all came out right. I guess there’s nothing else to say other than I really got into the characters.

• The okay:

——————————

The Bachelor –  It’s mostly pretty silly in the premise but the it starts to get fun when Brooke Shields’ character enters the scene. I’m glad it referenced Brewster’s Millions because that’s what I was thinking this was goign to be like early on. Seeing a couple hundred brides running around is pretty fun.

Blood: The Last Vampire – Live action anime! Apparently it isn’t as good as the original anime, but it was still entertaining enough. I probably wouldn’t seek it out, but if you like anime vampire/martial arts/demon movies you’ll probably find this entertaining.

A Wake in Providence – A second tier family reunion type movie. It’s entertaining but not as good as other examples of the genre.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop – I was skeptical that this was a movie worthy of how much money it made. The first 30 minutes weren’t that exciting, but then it turned into a fairly decent comedy version of Die Hard. Yeah it would be better to watch Die Hard, but this wasn’t that bad.

Fired Up! – This stated off with kind of a Ferris Bueller feel. The main characters could improvise a plan and get out of any situation. After the first 15 minutes the only thing left is what you see in the trailer. Their ability to hatch plans and execute them on the fly vanishes, killing the best thing this movie had going.

The International – Thriller and international banking don’t seem like they would go together and really it ends up more of a commentary about the far reaches of the banking system and why it is untouchable.

The Breed – This movie was a little confused. It tried to present a Brazil-like future, but that was completely unrelated to most of the movie both in content and in style. I like the idea behind the movie and it plays well except for about 10 minutes in the last third which seems to come out of nowhere. The movie gets back on track but there’s defeinitely a “what the hell is going on” section.

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle – Bullwinkle and the narrator seemed fine, but Rocky seemed a little flat, despite being in 3D. I think the silliness stayed true to the cartoon including a heavy dose of meta-fiction. Overall I think it was a successful live-action version of the cartoon, but I don’t think the public wanted a live-action version of the cartoon. I enjoyed it though.

Bart Got a Room – Good prom flick and William H. Macy is funny as the dad. It made me think this is what would happen if John Hughes were to make a less-funny indie film.

Confessions of a Shopaholic – I give props to this movie for pointing out the difference between cost and value right up front. It also does a good job presenting people’s problems with credit cards. It’s all wrapped in an entertaining film, though I suspect the economic advice will not be applied by most people.

Step Brothers – I’m not really sure why this works, but it does. I think the only part that doesn’t work for me is the school yard bullies, but that’s a small enough part that it doesn’t really detract. 

Sunshine Cleaning – I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I’d watch it again despite Alan Arkin being in it. I’ll watch him in anything.

Wrongfully Accused – It’s Airplane comedy and it’s pretty close to that original feel. I’ll credit that to the writer/director working with the Zucker/Abrahams team in the past. It’s pretty funny and I might consider it again if I were in the mood for a Fugitive parody.

The Rookie – Yay, I love baseball movies! It doesn’t seem like this story could actually happen, but yet it did. I think it has a little too much of a feel of destiny to it, but it’s still a good story.

Strictly Business – This falls in the average comedy range. It’s interesting watching it now though since the gangster as the dominant black character hadn’t yet emerged.

My Faraway Bride – It’s kind of a middle of the road cross-cultural romantic comedy. It probably would have been better had it not been based on how the writer met the lead actress. The fish out of water/rich-poor/you-us marriage conflict film has been done much better any number of times, but this is an entertaining enough way to pass time. Bonus points for being short.

Happy-Go-Lucky – For the first two thirds I think the main character has to be one of the most irritating characters I’ve seen in a movie. Thankfully events happen to tone it down and as a whole I think the movie ends up being pretty good. I’d rank it about the same level as other Mike Leigh movies.

Standard Time – I like song standards so I was pretty happy with this from that aspect alone. Andrew McCarthy makes any scene he is in better than it would have been otherwise. The ones without him aren’t bad, but his stand out. I have to give it credit for going through with a wedding scene unlike any other I can recall.

The New Guy – Not the fish out of water comedy I was expecting, but a rise of the little guy comedy instead. It’s fairly funny, but not consistently. I like the casting and it all sure beats a flaming marshmallow to your eye.

• Stop reading here:

—————————————–

Bob the Butler – Tom Greene isn’t as obnoxious as he generally is in this movie which makes this an average entertaining movie. Not the kind you go out and try to see, but the kind where there’s nothing else on tv and this comes on and you feel like being lazy.

Stealing Harvard – A silly premise, which is fine, with a lackluster execution. The movie only really hits where it needs to be right before the end which is just enough to make it okay.

Lucky 13 – In some ways it’s similar to Bart Got a Room in that the main character gets advice from everyone before figuring out what they need to do to be happy, but it’s not nearly as good. I think the ending is appropriate though.

Sugar & Spice – A cheer leading version of The Usual Suspects. It seems like this should be an easy sell but it ends up being fairly forgettable. Maybe if it had gone more along the Point Break lines with multiple robberies that would help, or even more training. Instead it feels mostly like a discussion of heist movies.

Wet Hot American Summer – Could this be the least funny summer camp movie ever? It might be. By the end I don’t even think the actors cared anymore.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua -   The worst movie of the bunch. Good thing I was able to work on code while this played or I might have gone insane. I do have a theory that this actually started out as a script for a rich white girl who gets stuck in Mexico, but that was too generic so they changed the story to be with dogs. Aside from the occasional dog references, and since the dogs talk, there is nothing preventing this from being made with an all human cast. Except then you wouldn’t get people to watch it because there are dogs in it.

Movies:
Nochnoy Dozor (Night Watch) – This apparently was supposed to be the pilot for a television series. I’m glad they decided to take it to the big screen because it’s totally worthy. Interesting story and characters.
Dnevnoy Dozor (Day Watch) – This feels like the was the television series that would have been, but all crammed into one movie. Nothing has time to develop which by the end makes you think “Really? That’s it?” Just watch the first one.
The Final Season – Yay! A baseball movie! Actually it’s about small town vs larger interests, with the little guy not being listened to. It manages to avoid being sappy or even too cliche. Don’t go out of your way for it, but it was better than expected.
Couples Retreat – Fairly funny. I was thinking all the funny stuff was in the trailer but such is not the case. It’s almost like an episode of The Love Boat, but set on an island. I’m surprised no one has made a movie version of Fantasy Island yet. How, according to imdb.com there is one in production.
Capricorn One – I think this movie is as relevant today as it was when it was made. Apparently someone else thought so too since it appears to be headed for a remake. If they were to re-shoot the old script with modern props, costumes, and effects I think it would be just fine. I can think of a number of good angles to include and explore in a re-make. I hope they think of them too. Anyway, totally worth seeing.
The Final Cut – Good idea, uninspiring execution. It feels like it’s just slightly off from its target. Is this a criticism of today’s funeral industry? Lack of privacy in society? I think it needs to show more motive for the characters.
Be Cool – I like “Get Shorty.” I was hoping I would like this as well. It’s fully entertaining because each character is entertaining to watch. The structure those characters fit in is pretty boring. I didn’t care too much though because the characters are cool.
Marley & Me – This was better than I expected. The family story is interesting and it isn’t just Marley constantly on the screen destroying their lives. The bond between Marley and the family comes across on screen.
My Name is Bruce – Can a movie about Bruce Campbell be a bad thing? If you have enjoyed any Bruce Campbell movie, you will enjoy this. Heck, if you’ve ever enjoyed a B-movie you will enjoy this. Just see it!
Sherlock Holmes – I don’t remember many details from the stories I read long ago, but I like the movie and look forward to a sequel. I like that Watson is more an equal than a sidekick. I like the thoughts before action. I like the film as a whole.

Nintendo DS:
Professor Layton and the Curious Village – I got this as a gift and dove right in. It’s essentially a series of puzzles of varying types you need to solve to move the story ahead. You don’t really have any control over the story. The story is told mostly with textual dialog and occasional animated scenes. They really blend together well and the story works well as a nice reward for the puzzle solving. The puzzles generally aren’t extremely difficult. Most of the times I had problems it was because I was mis-reading what he puzzle was asking for. I have one more bonus puzzle to go and then I’m on to the sequel.

This was supposed to be the 3D Sonic that most captures what Sonic is like in the 2D games and for the most part that’s true. When you have control you steer left and right and aside from that Sonic runs as fast as he can. Upgrades come later that let you go faster and have better handling. The controls fall apart in the jumping I think. The jump happens on the jump button release instead of on the button press so it lags behind when you wanted to jump. The developers chose this so you could charge your jump for a higher jump by holding the button down, but the higher jump is accomplished in other games by holding the jump button while in the air which I think works better.

Overall it’s pretty good, but I’d probably only get it after it gets discounted to $20 or less.

He was having fun with tennis and then he wanted me to demonstrate bowling. I was careful to avoid the conference room table, but in the third frame my hand hit my badge that was hanging from my right hip in its hard plastic case. It didn’t hurt much so I didn’t bother with it, but then I happened to see blood on it a few minutes later. My knuckle took abou t15 minutes sto stop bleeding from the slice.

I know it’s minor compared to what you see on wiihaveaproblem, but I had to share.

The moment where it completely lost it for me is when, seeing that she needed to consult someone about premonitions, goes to the local priest. He happens to have a book of premonitions (and other psychic phenomenon?) handy with all the premonition stories and how they ended bookmarked. Then you get the out of place speech about faith. I’m guessing there used to be a lot more with that character, really they should have cut that out completely. While they were at it they could have jumped right to the end.

After seeing how much I was enjoying playing Excite Truck at Julie & Fish’s house Nicole got me a copy. It’s a fun arcade racer with a good feeling of speed like you get in the Burnout series, but it doesn’t have good crashes and it’s all off-road. It lets you go fairly far off-track before you are told you’re going the wrong way or hitting a boundary which lets you do things like fall a hundred feet off a cliff and climb the 70 degree incline back into the race.

It makes you take 5 minutes to run through a very basic tutorial before racing which is probably a good thing but for the impatient it might be a little frustrating. With the basics down you pick up the rest pretty quickly while racing. After 20 minutes of play I picked up everything that was in the later lessons except for the mid-air truck spins. Why do you want to do truck spins? For points. Everything has points associated with it and in head to head races it’s points that determine the winner. Finishing first gives you a bigger bonus though so there’s still incentive to race better. Anyway, totally fun arcade racer!

Last night I bought Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. It was made based on the research of Japanese neuroscientist. He found certain types of exercises stimulated blood flow to various areas of the brain and Nintendo took those activities and put them in electronic form. It evaluates your brain’s age and so you can see how you are improving with the best age being 20.

The initial evaluation used voice recognition where you had to say the color the color-word was drawn in so for “Red” you would say black. I paused for awhile after 10 because it said 10 completed and I thought I was done, instead it was just a milestone. Anyway, my starting brain age is 55. I look forward to getting down into the 20s.

• It really is a model of LA (not including outlying areas like the valley)
• The voice acting is pretty good
• The story seems pretty good
• The freedom to chase down any crime is nice.
• The way it takes you through the story is fairly interesting with small blocks to do between cut-scenes
• Running over large trees, utility poles, traffic signals, etc. is pretty funny

Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for what’s wrong with the game:

• The graphics are very ugly
• The controls aren’t very responsive which makes for irritating and frustrating gameplay.
• It’s just not very fun overall.
• If this is LA, where are all the cars and people?

For sale it goes on half.com

If you have a GameBoy Advance you should definitely get this game.

You play a grooving-to-the-music mercenary woman? I think that’s what’s going on. Anyway, when you want to dodge you press the shoulder buttons to do a little dance twirl to either side. You don’t want to have to turn to the right or left because that is really slow. If you have to run around things you will not be happy. Luckily they added a button to twirl you in place and turn around so you don’t have to wait for that. Also if you try steering then the camera gets messed up and they don’t give you much control to get it back to normal. It will get there on its own, but not right away.

How I think the controls should have been implemented is to make it more on rails. It’s set up to have the camera always behind you as you battle things and dodge. Make it so up is always forward, back is alwaus back, left is always left and right is always right. If you want to go back where you can then hit the twirl-reverse button. Then make the camera stick for looking to the right or left or up and down. You wouldn’t be fighting the camera and the action could move more smoothly.

I’ve never played Wario game before so I don’t know what it’s about but in this case it’s like a 2D side scroller where you beat things up and collect coins (taken to extreme levels) but rendered in 3D. And there is some depth to what’s going on since 3D gives you more flexibility even in a 2D style side-scrolling game.

The controls are a bit touchy but end up being ok once you get used to them. It seems like this will be a short game but I think I wouldn’t want this to be too long.

If you haven’t played this game, you should!

Last save point time: 18 hours 15 minutes. Add something like 15 minutes for the final bit for about 18.5 hours of game time. It probably would be 20 on the original save since I didn’t know what I was doing int he beginning on the first save.

The first boss fight was probably about 12 hours in, the second was probably 3 after that. I’ve now completed a really complicated mummy section (enough that they gave you a save in the middle while still being the mummy) and it looks like I’m about to do something big but I resisted temptation and decided it was time to go to sleep.

No, I’ve been going through it and I think I’m doing better than I used to when I was younger. Though based on some of the obscure stuff you need to pull up answers for on the easy puzzles, the hard ones will probably kick my ass.

For anyone about to play… The second time you get control of the mummy, save at the beginning of that stage and DO NOT save again until you go back to controlling Sphinx.

One the one had it’s really a bummer that I have to start over. On the bright side, it’s a fun game and I’ll get to that point a lot faster the second time.

Bermuda Triangle is a bad game.

And… It can be watched without all the lights out in the room!

First up was Minority Report – This game is pretty boring. You have to run in and beat up minions. You can’t go through the door to the next area until you have defeated every single one. Why are all these minions waiting to beat you up? That would meant hey are all in on the crime. A better game would be to figure out where you need to go based on clues and then have to travel there in the ammount of time you have before the crime is committed. I put my copy up for sale on half.com this morning.

Next was Sphinx & The Cursed Mummy – This game is actually pretty good so far. It’s a puzzle/platform game. It looks good, it controls fairly well, the animation is good. I’ll be playing this one again. Looks like it got overlooked during a holiday release season unfortunately.