Tag Archive: xbox 360


Just Chaos!

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June 5, 2010

Originally Published: March 25, 2010, on Examiner.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

When you think of Square Enix, you think of elaborate, time-consuming RPGs and fantastic worlds where magic and wizardry are more commonplace than traffic at the Holland Tunnel. So when it came down that Square Enix was pairing with Eidos and Avalanche Studios to bring us a sequel to a game that had a lukewarm reception, befuddled to optimistically curious was the range of thoughts for many gamers.

Just Cause 2 sees the return of CIA special agent Rico Rodriguez, our protagonist from the first game, as he is again tasked with overthrowing a tropical island’s government that is somewhat hostile towards our good ol’ U.S. of A. On top of this, Rico must also track down his missing mentor and best friend, Tom Sheldon, whom the desk jockeys in Washington think has gone rouge after he fell off their radar for several weeks. In order to accomplish his mission, Rico is tasked with going around and blowing up as much government owned and operated equipment as possible in order to lure out both Tom and the dictator of the island nation of Panau, “Baby” Panay.

So, even with the addition of Square Enix and an 18-month delay from when this game was supposed to be originally released (leading to speculation if it would ever hit store shelves), the plot was clearly not a priority to be changed and improved upon. The game still plays like a long version of a bad Miami Vice episode with stereotypical characters ripped right from that era. From Rico, who is every hero of the 80s rolled into one with an Antonio Banderas accent, to Tom who represents every higher up in the government as a redneck in a Hawaiian t-shirt who hates commies. If the game was trying to be a farce, then they should have made the rest of the gameplay try to be less serious as a whole.

The third person shooter gameplay was more of a joke than the plot though. Although the addition of the grappling hook mechanics allowing you to tether to almost anything in the environment was nice and made getting around on foot easier, it felt like I was playing Bionic Commando all over again, but with a lot more glitches. And this game is chock full of glitches, especially with the vehicles. There were several times when my poor flying skills were going to result in my plane crashing into a building, but instead I either flew straight through the building or hit it and was sent straight down into the ground where the plane would get stuck. It would not explode or fall flat on its backside; it would get stuck, balancing on its nose, with me trapped in the vertical cockpit against the side of the building.

On the positive: the sandbox world you play in is beyond massive with several hundred full villages, cities, and military bases with their own nuances to them. Possibly the scope of the world you play in took away from other aspects of the game and caused so many other glitches to find their way into the system. From mountains and jungles to the desert and ocean, the island of Panau is beautiful, diverse, and fully explorable after beating your obligatory tutorial mission.

Another disadvantage of having such a large world is rendering it. The graphics for the game suffer somewhat due to the sheer scope of the landscape you play in. Although the characters and people look up to par, the landscape, especially in the distance, is muddied and bland, considerably so in the jungles.

The voice acting is over the top on purpose so it can be forgiven a little, but it’s still rather unpleasant to listen to and the music becomes repetitive quickly. The best music actually comes in the end credits, and not just because you’ve beaten the story mode, but also because it is the first time you hear a couple of different instrumentals besides the main theme.

The strongest point about this game aside from the scope is probably the replay value. With thousands, not hundreds, of items to collect and countless cities and villages to liberate by destroying government property, you can probably get 50-60 hours out of this game if you are driven to get 100%. Otherwise, you’ll still see yourself playing this for probably 20-25 hours to get through the story mode causing a minimum amount of chaos to advance the story. Add in four difficulty levels, with the hardest actually being somewhat difficult, and you’ll probably get your money’s worth, even if you get frustrated with the countless glitches and over the top acting.

Much like the first Just Cause, this game has so much potential, but glitches and a real lack of plot and character development keep Just Cause 2 from being a top tier game. If you’re only interested in the story mode, you’ll only need to rent this as I’m sure you’ll get your over-the-top explosion and cheesy voice acting quota in with just a few hours of gameplay, but if you are an achievement/trophy hog then you’ll probably be frustrated in having to buy this in order to collect every item and finish every challenge.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 7.0: The main characters, NPCs, and vehicles all are rendered very nicely, but when dealing with a sandbox like that seen in Just Cause 2, the environment always suffers. Taking that into consideration, the graphics get a passing, but not superb, score.

Audio: 7.0: Assuming that the voice acting and accents were purposely embellished for the sake of humor, we can give the audio a passing score. Some musical variety would have been appreciated, but the SFX at least were decent.

Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: Run around and blow up things that have the Panauian flag on them. That’s the basic premise. Add in some insane twists at the end that remind you of an atrocious 80s B-movie or an awful Miami Vice episode and I can’t give the plot a passing score.

Gameplay: 5.0: Glitches galore really hurt the gaming experience. Add in a complete rip off of Bionic Commando with the grappling hook and even my passion for random destruction can’t save this one.

Replay Value: 9.0: I don’t know how they could have fit a multiplayer into this game, but it is the only thing that keeps the replay value from being perfect. With thousands of items, challenges, and things to blow up, completion freaks out there will definitely get their money’s worth.

Overall (not an average): 6.5: Even with the cheesiness this game oozes, and the glitches at every turn, I love blowing things up. If this game actually tried to take itself seriously, left out the Miami Vice stereotypes, and put in a little more polish, it could have been a must-buy. As it is though, it is a recommended rental for most, a buy for people who are completion crazy and love third person shooters.

Just Cause 2 is available now for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

-Ray Carsillo

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From My Mom’s Basement – Ep 15 – Blackout!

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Originally Published: March 23, 2010, on Lundberg.me, NationalLampoon.com, and SportsRev.tv

This week I looked at Incredible Hulk #608 and Hulk #21 from Marvel and Aliens vs. Predator for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I also continued my British invasion of hot chicks with Michelle Marsh as my hot chick pick of the week.

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A Shock to the System

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Originally Published: February 25, 2010, on Examiner.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

I had stated in several articles that my anticipation for Bioshock 2 would bring me to tears and hysterics in the halls of 1050 when it finally hit store shelves. Unfortunately, when a game is surrounded by so much hype, there is always the possibility that the high you think you will have ends up falling short. That disappointment is part of the reason why I’m only getting to this article now. It’s not to say that Bioshock 2 is a bad game. It just wasn’t what I was expecting on my return to Rapture.

Bioshock 2 sees a brand new protagonist familiar to the confines of the intended utopia beneath the sea. Simply known as “Subject: Delta”, you play as an early prototype of the famed Big Daddies from the first Bioshock who is “killed” in the final days leading up to Rapture’s fall. Your carcass is left to rot in the middle of the streets of Rapture where you remain undisturbed for 10 years. Somehow, someway, you are brought back to life and are now forced to wander around Rapture searching not only for your lost memories, but also for the original Little Sister you were sworn to protect.

The first thing you will notice is that the graphics are still just as sharp as they were in the first Bioshock. There are moments where you will jump at your own shadow, literally, as the lighting effects cast eerie outlines of your own form against walls and floors. It sometimes takes you a second to remember, that Big Daddy shadow, a figure ingrained into your memory as an enemy, is actually your own, which only adds to the creepy atmosphere of the dilapidated Rapture.

In terms of sound, something the first Bioshock was lauded for, Bioshock 2 is just as strong. Heart pounding atmospheric instrumentals mixed in with classic 40s and 50s tunes provides a dichotomy that shocks your system more than any plasmid you may find in the game. Rounding out the great peripherals is the tremendous voice acting throughout. Whether a meaningless thug splicer’s grunts of rage and desperation to the pleas of your original Little Sister all grown up, the voice acting is some of the best in gaming.

The plot is brilliant, but there is one question that plagued me through the entire game. If in the original Bioshock, Rapture was falling apart as was and this game takes place about eight years after those original events, how has most of the structure remained standing and that there are still humans around, whose fate you decide, who haven’t succumbed completely to the temptations of Adam (the substance that grants you the ability to splice your DNA and give you powers)? I felt this little hole wasn’t explained as fully as it could have been and will just have to be chalked up to some of the mysteries and wonder of Rapture will just have to remain unsolved.

As you move away from the creative aspects of the game, you start to see the cracks in the proverbial Big Daddy’s armor. The gameplay is very good, but even on the hardest difficulty, which wasn’t that hard because of no real penalties if you die, I blew through the entire game in what felt like no time at all. Then consider that the game removed the ability to backtrack into previous areas you’ve explored as you move through Rapture. This sense of exploration and being able to go back to collect audio files or collect Little Sisters you may have missed was a critical part of the original Bioshock‘s gameplay. Rapture felt a lot smaller and more restrictive this time around, even with being able to go into the ocean for short intervals, than in the first game, and I refuse to believe it was a creative decision to draw a parallel to you being trapped in the Big Daddy suit. You also have to remember to quick save a lot more often because the game froze at several key moments and needed to be rebooted. That is a huge glitch.

There were some new positives to the gameplay though. Using Little Sisters to harvest Adam from all the corpses around Rapture was this game’s masterstroke and using new weapons like the Trap Rivet and the Mini-Turret to help protect them forced you to come up with new and inventive strategies continuously if you wanted to get the game’s best ending (there are six in total depending on the decisions you make over the course of your adventure).

And you needed to think up new strategies constantly because the enemy A.I. is impressive. You light an enemy on fire and they will seek out water. You hack a camera or turret and they will avoid it as best they can once they find it. And add in new varieties of enemies like the hybrid Big Sisters and the plasmid overloaded Brute Splicers and at least you can say there was an effort to amp up the difficulty.

One of the reasons why the gameplay was lacking could have been that the inclusion of the new multiplayer mode simply took up too much space on the disc. The only real knock on the original Bioshock was a lack of multiplayer, so 2K made it a point to include one with Bioshock 2. Unfortunately, I would just rather have had more of the single-player mode if this was the best multiplayer 2K could have come up with. Being able to have up to 10 player death matches, team death matches, capture-the-flag with Little Sisters, and territorial control matches, you have a very basic multiplayer system. The problem is that players cannot take a lot of damage before they die so many matches, although competitive, really don’t require a lot of strategy as it is simply more a race to see who can light who on fire first and hack the handful of turrets scattered about each level.

Bioshock 2, although it didn’t move me to tears like I had anticipated, is a very solid game. It does a wonderful job for the most part of adding to the history of Rapture and its collapse as it develops new characters while adding shades of depth to characters long gone from Rapture. The multiplayer seemed thrown together and more of a move to pacify critics of the first game than anything else, and I would rather have seen the space used for the multiplayer used to be able to backtrack in a larger single player mode. Even with a couple of knocks on the gameplay and multiplayer, Bioshock 2 would be a solid choice for a purchase, especially if you are as big of a fan of the first game as I was.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 10.0: The graphics push the Xbox 360 to its limits with shadow and lighting effects that you just do not see in enough games. The details of the deformed remaining inhabitants of Rapture are shockingly clear and the overall theme of this sunken paradise is as sharp as can be and is enough to earn a perfect score for looks.

Audio: 10.0: Voice acting is such an underrated part of games sometimes, but great voice acting helps to keep you within the immersive experience that many games strive for and Bioshock 2 succeeds on every level. Add in great SFX like the pitter-patter of a leak on your iron helmet and critical atmosphere-setting instrumentals mixed with classic songs from the post-war period and I predict Bioshock 2 as my front-runner for best sounding game of the year, no matter what else will come out in the next 10 months.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: Bioshock 2‘s plot is a worthy addition to the mythos that was established in the first game. Aside from a couple of plot holes that I’m still not quite sure about, Bioshock 2 helps to develop some of your favorite characters from the first game as well as introduce some great new characters.

Gameplay: 6.5: The enemy A.I. is spectacular in its complexity and how it reacts to your moves. Unfortunately, not being able to backtrack into previous explored areas, not being penalized for dying, not being nearly as long as the first game, and the freezing that takes place about once per level, really knocks this score down to a barely passing level.

Replay Value: 5.0: One playthrough of the story mode is really all you need, especially if you get the best ending the first time through (like yours truly). The inclusion of a multiplayer bumps it up a couple of points, but not many because the multiplayer seemed thrown together and clearly takes up too much space on the disk. I was very disappointed with this attempt at fixing the first Bioshock’s most obvious flaw.

Overall (not an average): 8.5: Even with the gameplay flaws and real lack of replay value, this is still a very solid game. The story is compelling and this is one of the most visually stunning games to come out in some time. I hope that the folks at 2K take a look at this game very closely and fix these new problems they’ve created in time for Bioshock 3.

Bioshock 2 is out now for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

-Ray Carsillo

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From My Mom’s Basement – Ep 11 – In High Def!

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Originally Published: February 23, 2010, on Lundberg.me and SportsRev.TV

This week I reviewed Bioshock 2 and Spider-Man 1602 #5 (of 5). I also featured actress/model Estella Warren as my hot chick pick of the week.

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Waking Up into a Nightmare

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Originally Published: February 19, 2010, on Lundberg.me, Examiner.com, Original-Gamer.com, and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

It was one of the most talked about titles from E3 2009 and after several delays, psychological thriller fans will finally see their dreams turn into living nightmares on May 18, 2010, with the long anticipated release of Alan Wake for the Xbox 360.

For those of you caught unawares, Alan Wake sees the title character, a horror writer, and his wife taking a vacation in a tranquil Pacific Northwestern city trying to help Alan overcome his writer’s block. Once in the town though, Alan starts having nightmares and wakes up one night to find his wife is missing and a story he can’t remember writing has come to life. As Alan scrounges about the wilderness collecting pages from his otherworldly novel, trying to find his wife and unravel the mystery of where the book came from, he must combat members of the community who have been consumed by a poltergeist-like darkness.

Done in a cinematic like style that sees each level of Alan’s exploration broken down into something like episodes out of the X-Files (even with a nice little narrator’s “On the last episode of…” montage between levels), Alan Wake is a story that can’t help but pull you in.

On that note, I had a chance to catch up with the man behind the story of Alan Wake, Remedy Entertainment Lead Writer Sam Lake.

Alan Wake Preview – Ray Carsillo w/ Lead Writer Sam Lake
Video by Jared Bodden

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The Ultimate Quest for Redemption

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Originally Published: February 17, 2010, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy is one of the most influential works of literature the world has known. It depicted the concept of hell, purgatory, and heaven in such detail that it became a widely believed standard that is still referenced to this day. It also was the first major work of literature that used the Tuscan dialect in early 14th century Italy instead of Latin and paved the way for the modern Italian language. With that kind of historical gravitas and background, no wonder EA wanted to make a video game series out of it. I had a chance to talk to Phil Marineau, EA’s Senior Product Manger for Dante’s Inferno, about the game’s adaptation process and more.

To listen to my interview with Phil Marineau,
CLICK HERE!

Dante’s Inferno, the first part of The Divine Comedy, sees the main character, Dante, having to face all his sins from his life as a Crusader as he makes his way through all nine layers of hell on his way to redemption. In the EA version, Dante is not only looking to redeem himself, but to save his true love and ideal woman, Beatrice (it always has to do with a chick).

Along the way, Dante comes across some of history’s most influential beings, from Pontius Pilate to Attila the Hun, in an effort to help depict the nine layers of hell and sin. Limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery all have their famous faces and in the game, absolving or punishing history’s most infamous sinners can also help you level up your abilities.

Unfortunately, like many of these third-person, action-adventure God of War clones, no matter how much you level up, you really only need two or three attacks while the rest are pretty useless. You can standard light attack and heavy attack your way through all nine levels of hell (just like I did) without having to level anything up except, maybe your health bar.

Another sour note about this game is that, at least right now, there isn’t much to bring you back into the game once you beat it. Although there is DLC on the way in March with a prequel level, and then a level-building multiplayer in April, as of right now, there isn’t much to make you want to go back to Hell once you’ve been through it.

I will say though, EA’s interpretation of Dante’s classic work is one of the most visually stunning games I’ve seen in a while. The level and character details are exquisite and the creative way in which they imagined classic characters like Cerberus, the mythical giant three-headed dog and guard of gluttony, is a sight to behold. When you add in an original orchestral theme from the Philharmonic Orchestra in London and the peripherals for Dante’s Inferno are top notch.

The plot is very compelling (the story is still popular after 700 years) and the characters are well developed, helped by top-notch voice acting and an amazing mixture of 2D anime and full 3D cut scenes. Add in EA having Dante sew a tapestry across his chest in the shape of a cross that tells his story up to the point where he enters hell as a creative masterstroke and you have probably the best interpretation of Dante’s Inferno yet.

This is one of literature’s most classic stories and EA did a spectacular job bringing it to life. Unfortunately, in terms of gameplay and difficulty, this game is lacking and shouldn’t take most gamers more than 10 hours to blow through. Dante’s Inferno is worth a look, but I would hold off on buying it outright if I didn’t have the cash to burn.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 10.0: Graphics don’t get much better than this. From details like the eternally damned trying to reach up from the rivers of blood they are forever fated to drown in to the design of Dante himself, this game is visually stunning. Add in beautifully rendered 2D and 3D cut scenes and I can’t find any fault in the graphics.

Audio: 10.0: An original score composed and played by the Philharmonic Orchestra in the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London, tremendous voice acting, and spot-on SFX make the audio something EA should be proud of.

Plot/Plot Development: 10.0: The story is a classic for a reason and EA did a brilliant job staying as true to the original story as possible. The handful of changes and additions they made were insightful and only added to this timeless tale of redemption.

Gameplay: 6.0: The game is simple. An average gamer will blow through the entire story mode in 10 hours and will do it without a more complex combo than hitting light or heavy attack three times in a row. Although relatively glitchless, the game doesn’t put up a challenge.

Replay Value: 5.0: This category is saved a little by the fact that a DLC multiplayer will be coming out in April, but the fact that the original game or even the “Divine” edition doesn’t come with a code for this multiplayer means you’re going to have to shell out more cash just to play more of this game. It seems like a blatant attempt for EA just to milk you for more cash when the original game itself is barely worth the cover price.

Overall (not an average): 7.0: A compelling story with complex characters makes this at least worth a look, but simple gameplay and little to no replay value really knocks this clear God of War clone. An even mix of quality and quantity needs to be found before a game is worth having $60 shelled out for it. Rent it before you decide on buying it.

Dante’s Inferno is available now for Xbox 360 and PS3.


-Ray Carsillo

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From My Mom’s Basement – Episode 10 – Fred Claus Flips Out

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Originally Published: February 16, 2010, on Lundberg.me and SportsRev.TV

I talked about Disney beginning to destroy Marvel with their reaction to Captain America 602, reviewed Horns by Joe Hill and Dante’s inferno from EA for Xbox 360 and PS3, and revealed my latest hot chick pick of the week: Courtney Elyse Black.

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Old Ironside

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May 31, 2010

Originally Published: January 19, 2010, on 1050espn.com (Now ESPNNewYork.com), Collider.com, PlayerAffinity.com, and Lundberg.me

From Top Gun, Total Recall, Starships Troopers, Free Willy, and many more, Michael Ironside always seems to find an audience no matter what role he accepts. Now, he plays Chief Bannen, a police chief with a mobster brother and con artist son, in the new web series The Bannen Way over at Crackle.com from Sony Pictures. Seemingly being on top of the New Media game, I also spoke to him about his decision to reprise his role as Sam Fisher in the popular Splinter Cell video game series, with the 5th installment ready to land in stores in late April 2010, and also got him to divulge about his childhood love of Superman and how it helped lead him to voiceover work as one of the Man of Steel’s most nefarious enemies, Darkseid.

To listen to my interview with Michael Ironside,
CLICK HERE or read the transciption below!

Ray Carsillo: Hey there everybody, this is Ray Carsillo and I have the distinct pleasure now of talking with a man who has hundreds of screen credits over the course of his career. I mean, literally, the list is the length of my arm folks, but for all of us comic book and maybe video game geeks out there we may know him better for his countless voiceover credits including Darkseid from the Superman cartoon and of course a little guy you might not have heard of. I don’t know. Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell? Is that pretty popular? Yeah, I think so. I have the pleasure now of talking with Michael Ironsides! Michael how you doing today?

Michael Ironside: I’m doing real well. It’s a little cold and wet in Los Angeles at the moment.

RC: Well, it’s not much better here in New York. A little bit of weather parallel I guess. But right now, you’re working on a web series called The Bannen Way, it’s on Crackle.com, it’s from Sony Pictures, and the first question I have to ask you about is why do a web series? Somebody with your great list of credits, why would you decide on doing a web series like this?

MI: I don’t think the end product really kind of figures into it for it. It’s the writing and when I was introduced to this property, I just found the writing to be exceptional. It’s very witty, very cleverly written, and very solid definable characters. Jesse Warren, the writer/director and Mark Gantt, a friend of theirs sent it to me, I looked at it and went “wow” and it’s kind of rare. For every hundred scripts I get, there’s probably one that hits me like this. I met with them and they were as pleasant and as talented as their script and we did it. As far as it being a webisode, how you cook the pie, it’s still a pie. How you cut it up and deliver it is a different deal. It doesn’t really affect the way something is shot or how something is handled on set.

RC: Very cool. You’re starting to see a lot of web series really start to gain some traction online and in the media, and obviously at the forefront of the New Media surge. Do you think that’s the future? Do you think that television and radio and these other, more traditional, mediums will see this cut into their viewership, especially when producing such high quality content like The Bannen Way?

MI: I’ve been around long enough to watch this happen. I’ve been around to watch television and movies sort of fight it out and find a balance between themselves and I think it’s the nature of our times and money and you can’t just make a pilot or shoot something and if it doesn’t work throw it away. It has to have more than one life to it. For example, this project, The Bannen Way, as far as I know, it starts as a webisode, then it’ll go to a DVD or MOW, movie of the week, sort of format, and then it is also being used as a pilot as a network series. For a project to be, I think, financially responsible and fiscally responsible, it has to have more than one revenue scheme and I hope these guys do well with it.

RC: You mentioned Mark Gantt, and of course, he is not only one of the writers, but also the star playing Neal Bannan.

MI: Yeah, he plays my son.

RC: I was going to say, talk a little bit about your character. Your son’s a con artist and you’re the chief of police. How does that dynamic work and talk about the character some.

MI: Well, Mark is a mercurial guy as it is, very clever, a very likable guy. His character is a kind of flash about town con man who likes women and cars and gambling. I play his father who is kind of a stone-age chief of police and my brother, who is played by Robert Forrester, is the local mafia kingpin or crime boss. We’re the yin and yang of Mark’s life and the story is basically revolving around him owing his uncle $150,000 on a gambling debt and how he is trying to contort and run around town to get that money. And at the same time, I’m trying to get him to turn over evidence on his uncle, my brother, so I can put him away. It’s a very clever story, very enjoyable.

RC: You always seem to play these, like you said a stone-age police chief, a general, or a high position of authority. Do you sometimes get typecast into that and how hard is it to sometimes branch out away from that?

MI: Well, I don’t think it’s difficult if you’re willing to do different things at different economic levels. I mean, most people know the mainstream stuff I’ve done from like Top Gun, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Free Willy, T4, those sort of things, but for every large film I get to do about four or five small ones that are really my choice. Like last year, I did something called The Jazzman, where I’m playing a saxophone player who is dying of cancer. It was loosely based on Mo Kaufman’s life. I get to take that opportunity based upon the fact that I can affect distribution from doing larger pictures. I’ve been around a long time. I’m never going to be the lead actor guy. I’m real quiet and real happy and real fortunate to keep working. It’s what I do. It’s like the circus. I ran away and joined it a long time ago.

RC: As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters, right?

MI: Heh, and paying the bills. That’s what matters.

RC: I mentioned Darkseid before from the Superman cartoons and Justice League cartoons and you were also in a couple of episodes of Smallville. Are you a closet comic book geek or really big Superman fan?

MI: No. Well, growing up yeah I did. I was enamored with Superman because I thought, being Canadian and from Toronto, that the original series was based around Toronto. I remember as a kid being told that. That the Daily Planet was the Star Newspaper and the whole idea was based around that kind of small cosmopolitan city so that caught my attention. I don’t know. I just like trying things. The voice work with cartoons and stuff has worked, but I’m not interested in doing that stuff at all for commercials and stuff, but it is kind of fun to get in a room with a bunch of other actors and have the freedom of not being watched so you can sort of take risks with a character like Darkseid or the Sam Fisher character in those Splinter Cell things. It’s fun to work. It really is. It’s not all just hit your mark, take your money, and go home. It’s fun. It’s creative. It’s challenging. You get to meet great people.

RC: That’s great. Not a lot of people out there get to really love what they do and you really seem to enjoy it. That’s a great thing in life.

MI: My dad referred to it that I ran away at a very early age and joined the circus and I think it is quite apt. It’s a great way to live. You get to move from family unit to family unit, from set to set, from project to project where you’re thrust into a very intimate, very honest relationship with people and you have to either tell the truth and step up or it can be a really horrific situation if you try and manipulate it every time and over 40 years I’ve met a lot of great people.

RC: Is it hard then, you describe it as a family unit, when the project wraps up and you have to kind of move onto the next project? Is it a sad moment there?

MI: Yeah, absolutely, but I would like refer to it as postpartum. I’ve gotten to the point over the years that I actually get it before the film is over and I start getting a little bit of melancholy over the last few days of a project when I look at people. But, you get to see those people again, just not in that family unit or configuration, but man it is a great way to live.

RC: We mentioned Sam Fisher earlier and it is one of the most successful and beloved shooters of all time and you really breath a unique life into that character. Did you ever get into games? Are you a gamer? Do you have an Xbox 360 or PS3? Ever pick up the controller after the game is finished?

MI: Yeah my daughters are into that and the gaming, but I’m not a gamer. I don’t physically translate to that way of doing things. I’d rather get out there and do it myself. I don’t mean kill somebody though, haha.

RC: Yeah strap on the night vision goggles and go crawl in the shadows, haha.

MI: No, it’s like people go online golf, not to take a shot at the game, I just would rather be out there doing it. But no, Splinter Cell was interesting because I actually passed after the fourth game. I didn’t think we could take it any farther and wasn’t really interested in doing such and they came back at me with a fresh look at the character and a new way of doing things and the new artwork and we just finished the fifth one. It’ll be out I believe in about two months.

RC: Yes, actually Ubisoft just announced that it got pushed from a late February release to a late April release.

MI: And ya know, I think that is to their credit. They were actually going to, there were parts of the company anyway, that were going to try to force the game out for Christmas and they opted for the quality rather than quantity and I think that speaks for Ubisoft to give up a huge payday or a rushed payday on an old title like that and force it through on Christmas. And I’m not kissing their a** here. It’s just rare that you find something in a corporate level that makes organically sound decisions and they did that. And they pushed it again to make sure they get it right. Yeah I was supposed to go out and do the release and stuff like that, but I just got the call the other day saying they’re going to push it back another month and a half, which is cool. Get it right!

RC: Definitely, as a gamer, we would rather you take the extra month and a half and get it right, especially for such a beloved series.

MI: Yeah and there is a lot of money involved here. People put a lot of money on these games. I remember I was on a plane somewhere and somebody stepped up and said “Sam Fisher?!” I had ordered some bloody drink or something and I then started talking to them and they were talking about how it keeps them as a family unit these online games, where they sit and play with family members from different places in the world and stuff like that or have conversations with different people in different places around the world and I never thought that a game, an internet game, would be the kind of meeting place where people could exchange ideas and real truths about each other and stuff like that. It’s kind of a strange world when you can trust a game format or platform more than the network news.

RC: Yeah, it’s insane how far games have come in the past couple of decades. Would you say Sam Fisher is the character you’re most recognized for or most approached about?

MI: Not really. I think it goes generationally. I’ve been around a long time. If someone walks up and says “Jester’s dead” then I know it’s from Top Gun, and they’re probably in their 30s-40s. If they walk up and say something like “I hate that whale!” then they’re probably in their late 20s, that of course from Free Willy. Or “See you at the party, Richter!” or something like that. It depends on where these people are coming from. It seems like every six or seven years I hit on a big box office film and people get to regurgitate specific lines from the film. As for Sam Fisher, I’m totally anonymous until I open my bloody mouth and people recognize the voice.

RC: Do you ever get to chill with Tom Clancy? Do you ever get to say “Hey Tom, maybe Sam would do this in this situation?” Since the character is really you, do you ever get to influence what he does a little bit or go to Tom Clancy?

MI: No, but what I did do was that I turned it down at the beginning. I wasn’t interested in doing it because structurally the way the character was built was that I thought “I don’t want to do this.” And they asked what was wrong and I said “Well, he is too monochromatic. There isn’t enough humanity in the character. There is no conflict underneath his decisions.” It was interesting, when we first went in to do the first game, I actually did it up in Montreal at the Ubisoft labs and I had them bring in other actors since these things are usually done singular evidently where you bring in one actor at a time and it was my first big game. So I had them hire some actors so I would have somebody to work with as we worked the character up in the dialogue. And it really worked. It is the nature of communication that if you want to play tennis or play a game with somebody, you need to talk and have a conversation.

RC: Of course, of course. You’ve had such a long career as you had mentioned and you’ve been around for so long that you did a series in the 80s called “V” and of course they have kind of come back with that, a new iteration of it that is based on the series you were in. Do you ever think that you might ever want to get back into the series, maybe as a guest cameo to link the two?

MI: There was that talk, but I really wasn’t interested. The original character of Ham Tyler that we built in the mid-80s for that original format and that original show, to revisit that and revisit that character would do that whole show a disservice. It is really a different animal now. They have computer generated graphics now while we were using puppets and everything in those days. We were sort of making it up as we go, to the best of our abilities. And no I think Ham Tyler that they sent him to Chicago in that original series, where I wanted him to go. I got out of the show so I could go do Top Gun and the Richard Pryor film. No, I don’t think I’d want to go back and do it. It’s like going back and driving an old car. It had its place in time. I had a ’55 Chevy that I had for a lot of years and it was a cool car, but if I had to use it every day, no, it had its time and place.

RC: I hear you. That’s a great analogy. Aside from The Bannen Way, which is of course at Crackle.com right now from Sony Pictures, and Splinter Cell: Conviction, which is coming out in April from Ubisoft, what else can we see from you in the future?

MI: That film I did last year, the film called The Jazzman, based on Mo Kaufman’s life, the horn player who died of cancer and was written by his grandson. I think it is coming out, or is out now, or will be out soon. I don’t really follow the things. And a thing I did in Romania called Eva, which is a historical piece.

RC: Alright, very cool. Thank you very much Michael. Of course, the web series is The Bannen Way which is available now at Crackle.com from Sony Pictures, the video game is Splinter Cell: Conviction which will be out for Xbox 360 and the PC later in April, and of course the man is Michael Ironside! Michael thanks for the time.

–Ray Carsillo

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Halo Wants to Help Haiti

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Originally Published: January 19, 2010, on Examiner.com

Video games for many of us are an escape, a means to pass the time, or for a lucky few, a profession. Bungie though is allowing those of us who may not be of the more fortunate variety to also give back to those in need and could probably use an escape right now instead of facing their harsh reality.

I’m more than sure many of you are aware of the earthquake that rocked Haiti and has killed thousands and left thousands more in desperate need of assistance. People all over the world are donating whatever they can, but unfortunately, not all of us can give as much as we would like.

In order to help out gamers who might not have the disposable income to donate, Bungie announced over the weekend that from 12:01 AM PT (3:01 AM EST) this coming Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, to 11:59 PM PT (2:59 AM EST Friday) on Thursday, January 21st, 2010, they are going to make a monetary donation in relation to the amount of people who they can get to play Halo 3’s multiplayer and Halo 3: ODST’s firefight mode. For every thousand gamers who play during the eligible time, Bungie will donate $100 with a maximum donation of $77,000 planned. With over 22 million people having Xbox Live accounts, Bungie hopes to easily reach their expected mark.

In order to be eligible to be counted as a gamer trying to get Bungie to shell out a few bucks, you have to make sure your character is wearing the “Red Heart” emblem while you play during the designated time. If you are unsure how to do this, here is a quick breakdown taken straight from Bungie’s site:

a. Press START
b. Select “SETTINGS” / “APPEARANCE”
c. Select “EMBLEM”
d. Select “Hearts” ICON, “Circle” BACKGROUND
e. Back out to the APPEARANCES menu and select “COLORS”
f. Set “EMBLEM PRIMARY” to RED (or MAROON / BRICK / ROSE depending on which game you’re playing!)
g. Set “EMBLEM SECONDARY” to WHITE

Along with this, from now until March 1, 2010, Bungie will donate all profits from the sale of their accessories, apparel, and merchandise at http://www.bungiestore.com/ straight to Haiti relief. Let’s show the world how much the gaming community can care!

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The Horseman Cometh

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Originally Published: January 13, 2010, on 1050espn.com (Now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

Often when something works, and works well, it will have imitators and copycats come out of the woodwork and try to capitalize on the splash made by the original. This is especially true in the media world and in video games. The hottest trend right now is an oldie but goodie: the portrayal of the possibility of a coming apocalypse, an Armageddon. There are different spins put on it from heaven vs. hell, man vs. the supernatural, or some seemingly omnipotent being needing to be stopped from wreaking havoc, but in the end it all comes down to the same basic concept. In the first quarter of 2010, we have three such games coming out with this basic theme: God of War 3, Dante’s Inferno and Darksiders with the original God of War series being the base concept.

Just because all these games may be similar in theme and execution, does not mean that they all can’t be good. In fact, sometimes the imitators will surpass the original and blow the concept out of the water. The first of these three games released, Darksiders, might do just that.

Darksiders begins with hell on Earth erupting as the balance between heaven, hell, and Earth has been disrupted and Armageddon has been triggered early. You play as War, one of the four mythical horsemen who mark the coming of the end of days, and immediately know something is awry as your fellow horsemen have not appeared. As you move through city streets, trying to find the source of the disruption as angels and demons alike fight overhead, you come upon Straga, one of the most powerful demons to emerge from hell and watch as one of the leaders of the angels, Abaddon, is swallowed up like an appetizer for the things to come. You fight the demon, but like Abaddon, fall to the unparalleled might of this hellish monstrosity.

A century then passes as hell has consumed the Earth and the human race has been wiped out. You have been imprisoned for all this time in the depths of hell by The Council, an ancient race of beings whose sole purpose is to maintain the balance that you have been blamed for disrupting. Finally, the Council relents to your pleas to send you back to clear your name. They concede, but they pair you with a high level demon called a Watcher (played brilliantly by Mark Hamill), to make sure you will do the Council’s bidding, and find out how, and more importantly, who caused the end of days before it was destined to.

Thus begins the story of Darksiders, a tale of redemption as you unravel a conspiracy that could invoke the wrath of a god.

Even with the overplayed theme, Darksiders is brilliantly executed. A combination of The Legend of Zelda and God of War series, the game is packed with both original characters, like Vulgrim the Soul Merchant, with whom you exchange the souls of your fallen foes for new weapons and fighting techniques, and those based in scripture like Azrael, the Angel of Death. Add in tons of actions sequences involving some epic boss battles and an ending that will leave you anticipating the impending sequel is more than enough for me to label this as the first must have game of 2010 (not that there is a lot competition right now).

The graphics are beautiful, from deserts where the sand is comprised of the ashes of six billion dead humans, to lush jungles that have reclaimed the cities that once dominated the landscape. Every creature has exquisite detail to them, from the scars on War’s face to the talons of the giant bats that litter the twisted remains of the world.

Along with great looks, the game sounds very good. The music, although rather generic, helps set the atmosphere beautifully and the voice acting is top notch, highlighted by Mark Hamill who seemed to channel shades of the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series into the masochistic Watcher and Moon Bloodgood as Uriel, the angel who takes over heaven’s ranks after the fall of Abaddon.

I also liked the fact how, aside from the opening and closing movies, the game really focuses more on the action, the fighting, and the platforming and avoids unnecessarily long cut scenes to forward the plot. Possibly this was a move to avoid too many comparisons to the style of games this is clearly based off of since the gameplay easily can draw a lot of parallels to more well-established franchises.

The gore and fighting mechanics are very similar to that of God of War with only a handful of buttons really being needed to mash your way across your typical desert, water, jungle, and fire areas. This goes along nicely with the “me against the world” theme from that franchise.

More parallels can be seen in the items you acquire over the course of the game since almost all of them have appeared in The Legend of Zelda at some point or another. The abyssal chain is exactly like the hookshot, your horse Ruin is reminiscent of Epona, the Crossblade is just like the boomerang, etc. So, the gameplay isn’t anything you haven’t seen before and lacks any real originality. Along with this, there are a few glitches as the game progresses and can be very frustrating when you fall into a bottomless pit when the game glitches mid-jump.

Still though, there is a reason why people love The Legend of Zelda and it was nice to see a game with hard puzzles and tremendous temples. The outside world wasn’t as epic as I would have liked, considering the entire Earth was supposed to be wiped out. It doesn’t seem like you’re traveling more than through the five NYC boroughs.

The game should take you 15-20 hours to completely beat, but there isn’t much to bring you back for a second playthrough. If there were any collectibles or achievements you missed the first time through they could bring you back for a little while, but otherwise this is a one and done.

Even with the aforementioned lack of originality, this game is a lot of fun and does a great job drawing you into the post-apocalyptic world. I enjoyed the game so much that I stood up and clapped at the end of the final cinematic and with the amount of games I have to play; it takes a lot to elicit that kind of a response from me anymore. Kudos to Vigil Games and THQ. Simply put, this is a great game. Darksiders is available now for Xbox 360 and PS3 and is the first must have game of the New Year.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 9.0: From the detail of the world you fight through to the skulls carved on your Chaoseater sword, the graphics are top notch. A point gets deducted only for the generic looking blood effects. There could have been a little more splatter that lasted longer on screen for my tastes.

Audio: 9.0: The voice acting for this game spearheads this score as Mark Hamill and Moon Bloodgood highlight a cast of awesome performances. Include spot-on SFX and the only point that gets docked from this is for the generic, forgettable background music that at least was able to set a nice mood as you progressed through the game.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.5: The general plot has been done before so it loses points for lack of originality, but at least the game progressed at a good pace and set things up well as the conspiracy against War unfolds and then comes together at the end in a great final cinema scene.

Gameplay: 7.0: Glitches and lack of originality again hurts this score, but when you are basing your game off of sure-fire hits like God of War and The Legend of Zelda, you can forgive them a little.

Replay Value: 3.0: There isn’t a lot to bring you back to this game after the initial playthrough besides looking for more power-ups or any achievements you may have missed along the way.

Overall (not an average): 9.5: Even though I penalized the individual category scores for lack of originality, I can’t do it for the overall game because, the time-tested, proven formula that Darksiders uses works and is a lot of fun to play. Any game that gets me to stand up and applaud while the credits roll is a winner in my book and I cannot deny the fun I had playing this game. I looked forward to coming home and playing this game every day after work. So what if it wasn’t the most original game? Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery after all.

-Ray Carsillo

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