August is gone and fall is here. I took the plunge into 4K Blu Ray. And yes, there is a difference. It's nothing like VHS to Blu Ray different, more like VHS to DVD if a comparison were made. Anyway, next month I should have a 4K movie or two in the mix. I've been on a Need for Speed binge for some reason. And I'm way behind on my games. I'm wondering if I'm even going to break ten games played by the end of the year. How odd considering there are so many new games released now. I miss the old days sometimes where you bought one game a month at a brick and mortar store and played through it simply because that's all you had. Now I have a Steam library of 200+ games and sadly many of them I'll never play. Mortality sucks.
1 Need for Speed: Carbon on PC: Continuing
the story in Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
this installment consists of five boroughs in which different types of street
races are required to ultimately face off the borough’s “boss” racer in a very
challenging canyon race. The canyon race involves a two-stage race in which the
player must keep on the tail of his opponent, and in the ensuing stage must
create as much space as possible between himself and his opponent trying to
stick to his tail end. The game play is typical of all the NFS games, arcadish,
but challenging. The graphics are adequate for a game released in 2006, but the
killer for me was the final boss race. I’ve had friends who gave up on the game
after not being able to beat him. I stuck with it, the masochist that I am, and
despite my 40+ attempts, I finally nailed it. I haven’t raised my arms in a
victorious fist pump over a game in a very long time.
2 Need for Speed: Pro Street on PC: I
started this game a few years back, but it kept bugging out on my computer and
I had to uninstall it. After completing Carbon
I thought I’d give it another go. So far, so good. This one is strictly road
and track racing in closed venues. Win races (or place high enough to stand on
the podium) and you win cash enabling you to upgrade car components or purchase
better cars. And dominating in a race venue allows you to play a lottery style
pick game in which upgrades/cars/cash are locked behind mystery boxes. I’m
about halfway through the game. It’s fun, a bit repetitive, but a welcome
change from the typical NFS fare of racing in city streets.
3 Lone Survivor on Blu Ray: I’d heard many
good things about this movie, including an honor among military veterans
putting it in a top ten list of most authentic military/war movies. I read
Amazon reviews which stated Mark Wahlberg became the reviewer’s favorite actor after
watching this movie about a botched US Navy Seal operation in Afghanistan. The
first thing I noticed was the pristine clarity on the Blu Ray format. This is
probably one of the crispest movies I’ve seen on Blu Ray. The scenes depicting
the JOINT OPS base and the Seal Team base looked as if I were looking over it
from a distance in the real world. As for the story, yes, I’m sure there were artistic licenses
taken, but I was invested enough in the characters that at the end of the
movie, not only was I reaching for a Kleen-ex tissue, so were both my parents
who watched it with me.
4 Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice: This is the
9th book in Rice’s venerable Vampire Chronicles. It’s compelling,
especially the last ¾ of the book, but it sure took its time getting there. And
the main character, Quinn Blackwood, is not a very sympathetic character. A
poor little rich boy whose imaginary friend is a ghost. And the ghost is even
more of a spoiled brat than Quinn. Oh, and then there’s the story’s antagonist:
a towering she-male vampire, probably one of the most wanton characters Rice
has ever created. Incest, underage sex, hermaphrodites and devout homosexuality.
This book exudes weirdness. I hate to admit Rice’s Vampire Chronicles began a
downward spiral starting with about book five. My tenacity with the series
bears testament to the bond I’ve created with her characters. I didn't feel it with this one. And frankly, I’m glad the series is winding down to an end.
5 A Fistful of Dollars on Blu Ray: I
recently picked up The Man with No Name
trilogy, and this is the first of the series, the one that made Clint Eastwood
a household name. An upgraded transfer to the Blu Ray format from DVD seems
non-existent. This looks identical to the DVD version I own. Still, the movie
is so entertaining I watched it again, and then I watched the commentary
version by noted film historian and Spaghetti film fanatic, Sir Christopher Frayling. Interesting facts: Clint
Eastwood’s character is different in each movie; he is not the same character
in all three movies. I didn’t realize this, but it makes sense. The movie was a
direct rip off from famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. (A lawsuit arose but was settled out of court.) And
perhaps most odd of all is when filming began, Eastwood encouraged Sergio
Leone, the director to cut much of his dialogue to make Eastwood’s character
more of a visual presence. It was a good call and only served to make him much
more memorable in further movies in the series. Interestingly, it’s probably
the first time in movie history that an actor solicited cutting his lines
instead of adding to them.
6 TheHunter: Call of the Wild on PC: I’ve
always been intrigued by hunting games. Probably because I don’t hunt in real
life. I always passed on the old Walmart Cabela hunting games, and I’m glad I
held out like I did because this one is the granddaddy of them all. Starting
out with a lower level rifle (all firearms are unlicensed but bear resemblances/characteristics to their RL counterparts) you earn in-game cash and XP to upgrade to better
firearms. The popular notion is the graphics in this game depict the most
realism of any game on the market today. And it’s not just hype. I’ve spent the
best part of my childhood in the woods, and this game nails the look and feel
of it. I played multiplayer with friends who complained about the lack of
animals. I welcomed this aspect since it attributed more to realism. Many Steam
reviewers lament the DLC accusing it of being a cash grab. I must disagree.
There isn’t that much of it and what little it is can be picked up during a
sale for next to nothing. Most importantly none of it attributes to any kind of
“pay to win” scheme.
7 Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst
Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History by Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic: Not
only did the movie Jaws terrorize a
whole generation of moviegoers in 1975, it also sparked a public interest in a
little known facet of American war history with Robert Shaw’s character’s
recounting of his ordeal of survival after the sinking of the USS Indianapolis
in July 1945. This book is the story of that ordeal, and the events surrounding
the ship and the men who served aboard her before and after the ordeal. I’ve
only just started it, but the book resonates with me because I personally
sailed those very same waters between Guam and the Philippine Islands where
this occurred. And I was fortunate enough to attend a book signing by the two
authors in Indianapolis, Indiana this past month.
8 Bladerunner on Blu Ray: I’ve watched
this, my favorite movie, perhaps more times than I can count now. But this time
I watched the commentary by Syd Mead, the visual futurist who was responsible
for much of the design of the movie. Very interesting stuff, indeed.
Supposedly, the movie as it was being filmed began going over budget. Ridley
Scott, the director, in his unorthodox style would film a particular scene
sixteen different times, much to the chagrin and utter frustration of his
financial backers standing over him and breathing down his neck. He simply
ignored them as if they were invisible. Work conditions were so long and
tedious several people on the film made it their last film. They sought a
livelihood in other professions. Mead did a wonderful job though of making the
film a piece of magic, and Scott did a remarkable job of covering up the blood
and the sweat to make this movie his magnum opus.
9 Neverwinter Nights on PC: I’m still on
the grand endeavor to get this game completed. I’m well into chapter 3 now and
my character, Edward, the venerable paladin is level 12 just on the verge of
hitting level 13. Still a gorgeous game (even on my new 1440P monitor) and well
worth playing.
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