News...4/25/12

4/25/12 -- Well I neglected my page for a while. Hopefully I can keep up on it this time, while business is relatively slow at work. Here's hoping.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Goldeneye 007 Revamp? Hit or Miss?


     So I recently started playing Goldeneye 007, the Wii edition. Now, going into this, I must say, I'm a little apprehensive. The original Goldeneye for the N64, was awesome wrapped into a neat little package. Sure, it had its glitches and flaws, but really, what game doesn't? What it did was it made up for whatever flaws it had, ten-fold. 
     The story was great. Sure, it was based off a movie, but how many games nowadays do you actually like to play that are based off of movies? Oh, I'm sure there are a few out there that ppl geek out over, PotC or Harry Potter, but seriously, how good are those games in relation to the movie? In my opinion, not so much. I think this is probably the #1 movie based game that I know of. Feel free to insert your own opinions. 
     The soundtrack was awesome. How many people know the stereotypical Bond theme? A lot. But think of all the other pieces of music you can remember from this game. I don't know about you, but this game had some of the most memorable music for me. Next to Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, or Final Fantasy. Granted, those three have the most memorable soundtracks known to man in my opinion, but I really think Goldeneye ranks at least in the top 10. 
    Gameplay was phenomenal. If you didn't love the campaign (which you should), you must've loved the multiplayer. 4-player split screen, with a great character base to pick from, and a huge variety of weapons made this a must have for parties back in the day. Well... parties for us nerds. Haha. Show of hands, who loved playing Proxy Mines in The Caves level? Never knowing where to step next, and when you misstepped, it triggered an explosion that made everyone's screen shake from just how many mines you blew up. Classic.
     So how does the remake match up?!?  Mind you, I've only played the first level so far, and I will submit a final review after I finish it (which could take a while). BUT, so far, it's not bad. It's not up to legendary status for sure, but it's not bad. They changed the soundtrack on me, and I was gettin hyped for the music that I remembered. Obviously updated the graphics, as well as the story. Bruce Feirstein originally wrote Goldeneye, so it would be natural that he wrote this remastered version, so story-wise, it's not too far off the original. Also, a big notable difference, they changed Bond. In the original, he was played by Pierce Brosnan (pictured below) at the time.
       
     Now, they've updated it to match with the current 007, Daniel Craig (pictured below).

     Personally, I don't really care. I've accepted that Sean Connery can't be Bond forever, though I like him the best. I will say, Daniel isn't a bad Bond. Yell at me all you want, I don't care. Yes, I've heard he's gay, but he can also act, so I don't really care what he does off-screen.
     I'm getting distracted now... But, the game does look nice. I'm anxiously awaiting the re-revamp that's coming to the PS3 and Xbox360, so I better have my 360 back by then. It will feature an HD graphic bump (obviously, because it's going onto consoles with better graphics capabilities), an achievement/trophy list, and also motion sensing capabilities for those who like the PS Move or whatever that is. I haven't really gotten into the motion catching craze beyond playing the Wii, so followers should let me know how they like it.

Wow... this has dragged on... let's get right to it then.

Time For the SotD!
     Hope you all don't mind if I force a song on you today instead of being random. You don't really have a choice, so here goes. Today's is Buried Alive by Avenged Sevenfold off the album, Nightmare. Say all you want about this band, this album, or whatever, I'll defend this band to the grave.  Now, this particular album is very split, almost perfectly even, between heavy songs and soft songs. This one is a balance. It starts out slow and with a guitar riff that I find addictive, and slowly builds to the chorus which is a moderate kick in the teeth. Nothing too rough. Then it slows back down. Builds up to the chorus again, and hits you once more. Then they shift gears, take a bridge, then a guitar solo, then they really starting bustin your chops. Love the lyrics to this song, love the sound, the beat... everything. This is in my top 10 favorite songs I think. I have probably 50 songs in my top 10, but that's besides the point. Enjoy this piece that would go on my mix tape of hits for this band. Crank up the volume, sit back, relax, and let me know how that goes down.  


Note: This isn't the official music video (should be obvious), its just some video someone put together and even added lyrics for you. How nice.