The Blog of CCJAD

Okay, this is a bit naughty, but I'm gonna do it anyway. These were mini-reviews I wrote a while back, but I'm gonna put them here now. Have fun :P

Mini-Reviews Time!

Time for me to review some of the entertaining things I've done recently, starting with films:

Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest

For the most part it was a great film, but the cliffhanger ending is severely irritating, and many of the jokes are simply taken from the first one, and seem to be there just for people to go 'Ho! Remember how funny that was the last time?'. Still worth a watch though, and I'm looking forward to the next one to find out the conclusion.
As Cass reminded me, I forgot to mention one thing: for those who haven't already seen this film, wait until the end of the credits. There is another scene afterwards. Enjoy.

Superman Returns

Special effects budget overload! They seem to have had so many ideas for this film that they've tried to cram them all in at once, and it's sorta spoiled it. Definitely the low point of the film is the way they try to add in the 'It's a Bird, it's a Plane' gag, and it just sounds cheesy now. I guess that's just due to it being slotted into an old series though. On it's own, it is a good film for recent standards, with Kevin Spacey being placed into Lex Luther's shoes with a show-stealing performance. The other characters do seem weak at times, but he more than makes up for it.

Right, now onto the games:

Trauma Center: Under the Knife for Nintendo DS

This is one difficult game. The storyline fits beautifully in with the action, and the gameplay of the game is excellent, a real testament to Nintendo's 'New Ways To Play' as it couldn't have been created before this time. The game has a great lifespan, and going back to get S-Ranks on the earlier missions will keep many gamers occupied for hours. But once again, this game gets hard. Probably the most difficult DS game I have played, but in this games it enriches the experience and helps to draw the player into the world of Dr. Stiles.

Megaman Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar for Nintendo GBA

Yay, another MMBN game! I love these things, and I doubt if I could really explain why. The way the game builds up a skill level so naturally, and the storylines all being created to fit both into the continuity of this series and alongside all Megaman games really adds up to an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, this would appear to be the last in the series, a real pity considering how large the fanbase of the games has become through time. Perhaps the series will move onto DS or even Wii, but for now this is the end. However, despite this being the final one, it rises to the occassion beautifully by giving the fans of the series all the best bits of the old games, while adding in many new features. I would advise for people to play the older games before playing this one, as many of the techniques used in-game aren't fully explained, preffering only to highlight the new features such as Beast Out and LinkNavi. This game is the most tactical-based game in the series with weakness and strengths being highlighted and used much more regularly rather than just using the most powerful techniques. During the normal game the difficulty level increases perfectly, with the enemies always matching your skill enough to challenge you without being too easy or hard. However, it's once you complete the game that it really shines. The multitude of extra features, challenges, weapons and tasks given afterwards are both difficult enough and entertaining enough to keep players in the game for many months. A definite must-buy for fans of the series, but those new to the series should try the older ones first, then play this as the crowning moment.
EDIT: Forget what I said about not being too hard. Forte is incredibly hard. Insanely hard. And keeps getting harder. Lots of time for me to spend fighting him then :D


Chris