Andy:
The last day of Captivate 09 has come and gone. Another set of fine presentations, and another classy dinner outing were the agenda for today.

Today's Schedule:

Lost Planet 2- I cannot understate how epic this game looks. It has the potential to be the next big thing in the action game genre. I really enjoyed the first game, but it was definitely an acquired taste. It had some distinct elements scattered through a pretty decent action game. Lost Planet 2 looks to take those elements and root them into the most bad-ass action game ever made.

LP2 will blow you away. It is above and beyond what you're expecting, and above and beyond what the genre has seen before.I have a lot more to say about this game post media embargo, and I can't wait to find out more about it myself


Monster Hunter Freedom Unite-My first Monster Hunter experience ever, and it was a pleasant one. The scope of this game is way larger than I was aware of. Do you have a psp? Do any of your friends? Yes? Then it's time for you to get excited about MH:FU.

Here is a picture of MH swag for you to enjoy:




(PSP pouch, strap, charm, and other goodies)

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles- The first RE shooter on Wii was a really big surprise for me. It was fun beyond what I was expecting. Moreover, it was easy to pick up. My girlfriend, who has always enjoyed spectating the series, finally joined in on the action. You cannot put a price on blasting away zombies with your girlfriend. RE:DC throws away all of the minor shortcomings of the first game and ups the presentation by a considerable degree. The game is extremely cinematic, and is arguably the best looking game on the Wii (seriously).

After dinner we were invited to attend a nearby dance club, but I opted for the casino instead. I have a weakness for slot machines, and I didn't want to go home without hitting one up. Also, I'm a huge nerd for Star Wars or Indiana Jones slot machines.

I won 70 Euros. On a free trip. Amazing.

Thanks again to the good people at Capcom. It was great to meet the people that make this site so great. I have a lot of good memories, some new friends, and a lot of games to be excited about.

Please feel free to ask me any questions, and let me know what you want to read about.

Oh, and seriously, Lost Planet 2 is freaking epic.

I'm excited to report that a friend of the site, Andy, has been invited to Capcom's media summit Captivate. He's bigapple3am on the Capcom unity blogs. This year it's from Monte Carlo, which to my understanding, is quite handsome.


From Andy's Blog:

Day 2 of Captivate 09 was a pretty impressive affair.

Here's the schedule that I got to see:

Spyborgs - I spent some time talking to Sven and CapKraig about this game and a lot of time talking to d.a.r.y.l. about this game. I will have more to say about this one later, but I think there is a lot for Capcom fans to get excited about with this one. Just wait and see.

Dead Rising 2- You know what I can't say about DR2? Anything. It looks like everything that was magical about the first one multiplied by 100. Oh, and Shaolin Cowboy has been officially one-upped.

Dark Void - What sucks about jet-packs? Absolutely nothing. I don't think you've seen anything yet to show you the amount of potential that this one has.

Bionic Commando- The multiplayer was really fun. I can't wait to talk about it, and I can't wait to play more and more and more of it.

Hands on Play - I got to get my hands on Spyborgs, Dark Void, BC, and Mystery game #1. I was not disappointed. Detailed impressions soon.

Just as exciting as the games was getting to see the city. We dined at the Café de Paris. It was a 20 minute walk from the hotel and the sights were unbelievable. The architecture is really beautiful here, and it's equally impressive to see the buildings resting on the sides of splendid mountains. I'll have lots of pictures when I get back to the states.

The night took another classy turn as I was invited to party with the good people of the press and Capcom's finest on a yacht. I got to meet a lot of really interesting people, and the conversations about the ins and outs of Capcom were really fascinating. Everyone that I've met has been really great and the experience has been one of a kind.

Up next is the blog for day 3. After that I will be doing a photo-heavy blog about the experience of Captivate 09 itself before diving into my in-depth impressions of the games post-media embargo.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about the experience, and let me know what you would be interested in reading about.

Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler was one of my favorite films of 2008. I first saw it in theaters in early January and have been anticipating its release on dvd/blu-ray since. And now it's finally here! Here's what I thought of it.
The movie:
Mickey Rourke! That's all you gotta say. You can't talk about this movie without mentioning what a tremendous performance he gives as the films protaganist Randy "The Ram" Robinson. His acting alone is reason enough to watch it. I hear that before Rourke signed on that Nicholas Cage was gonna play "The Ram", which seemed to me to be an odd decision, but, luckily for us, that never happended. Probably for the best. Part of this movies appeal was that it was being heralded as Rourke's big comeback into the picture business. Who doesn't like a comeback, right? Some of the films plot has to do with the potential for a comeback. But I'm not gonna spoil anything for readers who haven't seen The Wrestler yet. Just know that it's a very solid piece of work, compelling, brutal, but also tender, and heartbreaking as well. The good kind of heartbreak, you know? All the good qualities great movies should have. The Wrestler is my second favorite Aronofsky film next to The Fountain.
My only criticism is that I wanted more. There's a secondary plot involving "The Ram" and his daughter that I would have liked to have been fleshed out a little more. Oh, well. Be happy with what you got.
The dvd/blu-ray:
Now, I bought the blu-ray myself , but I'm pretty positive that the dvd and blu-ray of The Wrestler are indentical in regards to special features. The picture quality itself, on the blu-ray, I believe, holds true to how the film was shot and how it looked in theaters. It's a very grainy movie so don't expect a clean pristine picture like you'd see on a pixar or spiderman dvd/blu-ray. Sharpness varies from scene to scene somewhat but, again, the movie was probably shot this way. The finest detail can be seen in close up shots of faces, bloody wounds, and bare butts. Of which there are many. I'm talking about butts, of course. As far as the colors go I didn't see any discrepancies from what I remember in the theater. They're not to dull, not to over saturated either. Granted, my television has not been professionally calibrated, so you might have some different impressions regarding the visuals of the disc itself when you watch the blu-ray in your home.
As far as special features go I found this disc to be a little bit lacking. There are 3 special features. Just three? You get a music video of Bruce Springsteen's theme song "The Wrestler", not HD! A roundtable discussion of former professional wrestlers talking about the movie and wrestling, not HD! Seeing a trend yet? Then finally you get, and this was the only feature I found worth a damn, a 43 minute making of documentary. It's actually pretty good. Oh, yeah, NOT HD!!!!
If only blu-rays had something more to offer that would separate them from their dvd counterparts. But I guess blu-ray isn't profitable enough, as of now, to warrant that kind of special attention from the studios. What a ripoff! Just kidding. Or am I?