Hostel 2
Recently watched the follow up to the film Hostel. Horror is pretty much my favourite movie genre, so I've gone past the point of no return when it comes down to being shocked and/or scared by the events in these films. However, I feel that this film somewhat redraws the boundary line of what is acceptable in film. The violence is gratuitous beyond belief. It essentially all centres around the theme of 'fetish', with characters being executed in very brutal fashion, merely to provide sexual pleasure to the killer. Murders methods include non-surgically removing genitalia (shown in full) and a particularly memorable scene involving a scythe, blood bath and the token naked woman. The Saw series comes close to this with it's strong scenes of torture, but I feel the sexual nature of Hostel allows it to take the award for most-sickening. Some may disagree, I don't know.....
And they blame video games for creating psychopaths...!
Assassins Creed Again
Posted about this game a while back, but now I've really had a chance to get my teeth into the game, it's time for another post.
I noticed that the game recieved VERY mixed reviews, but looking at them now, I'm inclined to agree with the selection of articles which were disappointed with the game. The title is fairly good to begin with, setting the story in motion, but as soon as the stage is set for the core game mechanic (ie. information gathering followed by assassination), the game becomes tedious. The repetitive gameplay, and a somewhat uninvolving plot... It is very disappointing, especially from a title I had expected to be groundbreaking.
A small part of me thinks that this is a prime example of a production that's all money and no 'spirit'. It's as if the designers have not played enough games themselves! Failing to realise what makes a game entertaining.
Being forced to repeat similar tasks does not sound like an attractive proposition within any context, let alone an entertainment medium!
This idea instantly puts Assassins Creed in deep sh.. well, water. Flawed in concept alone.
In a similar fashion to keeping plot twists secret until the climax, gameplay must have an element of surprise about it as well.
Enough, time to get back to the Maths...
