Metal Gear Movie?

Metal Gear Movie?
A Cynic's Perspective.
Posted by: Marcus


Before I get into the meat of this article, I'd like to state beforehand that I'm sorry if I haven't gotten around to writing another Mixed Martial Arts based blog for a while, but there really hasn't been anything worth talking about in the sport. It's been business as usual.

With that said, I'm happy that today's post gives me time to talk more about video games, but also get into another of my favorite entertainment genres. That genre is film.

As of late I've been reading little tidbits here and there about the possibility about a movie based on Metal Gear Solid. At first, it sounds like music to my ears. Metal Gear Solid has been my favorite gaming franchise since the second game, and I've constantly defended the grandeur and craftsmanship of the titles to many of my friends who don't know much about the franchise. All in all, it initially sounds like a movie about Metal Gear Solid would be downright amazing, but then I took a little time to step back from the fan's perspective, and look at it differently.

Video Game films are having the same problems that comic book films had from their relaunch. They are currently hard to take seriously. They come across as either campy or crappy, and film makers don't want to touch anything with that reputation. It wasn't until Batman Begins that the sub-genre started to be seen in a more artistic light, rather than just some way to snag money from comic book fanboys. When it comes down to it, video game films haven't had their Batman Begins yet.

With that being said, I'm not sure if I want Metal Gear Solid to try and be that film to the sub-genre. You see, being a video game fan, I didn't really see some of the absurdity until I saw it from a different perspective. If you describe the game as a story about infiltration, the purpose of the soldier, the state of nuclear war, and even ideas about cloning, all in an action packed drama/action film, people like that idea. However, if you tell them that it also has giant robotic walking mechs, light-bending camouflage similar to Predator, and a cyborg ninja, people start to lose interest. It seems less like something to be immersed in, and more like a film that isn't even taking itself seriously at points.

On the other hand, one could make the argument that people's expectations for movies that aren't about real-world situations, but are partially put in them has widened since the comic book movie has regained its popularity and standing in film. People seem to like the idea about a businessman who moonlights as an anti-hero, or a drunken womanizing inventor flying around in an iron suit. Truthfully, Metal Gear Solid isn't a story unlike a comic book in its science-fiction inspirations.

As has been pointed out, I have my doubts, but I can see how it could work. I guess the issue is simply nailing down the right staff to make the movie. To do that, you would need to find a group of producers and studio heads who have either played the games, or at the very least watched the cutscenes. That, in itself, is difficult. However, I think if pitched to the right director, it could be done well. When it comes to directors, my first thought was Christopher Nolan, who directed Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight. and I'd suggest him simply because he has a great ability to take that quasi-absurd notion of the believable being mixed with the impossible. The second would be my favorite director, Ridley Scott. However, it's not because of his more recent films, but because he was the director of Alien, and Blade Runner. Both seem to be movies along similar lines of realism and absurdity, not to mention many of the scenes in the Metal Gear Solid series seem to emulate the cinematography and grotesqueness he uses in his films.

As for the lead roles, I think that it wouldn't be too hard to find people to play Ocelot, Sniper Wolf, Merl, and so forth. However, I think the most trouble would come from playing the two biggest characters of Solid and Liquid Snake. However, three actors came to mind when it came to these characters. I saw Christian Bale as the one actor I could see playing either Solid or Liquid. He's played an insane character, and he's played characters along the lines of Solid Snake. As for Solid himself, aside from Bale I would like to see Hugh Jackman try the role, and I'd like to see Charlie Hunnam (of Sons of Anarchy fame) try his hand at Liquid. Aside from that, I'd like to see if Ron Perlman could play Revolver Ocelot, but that's just me.

Finally, I would like to see the first film be an adaptation of The Twin Snakes, simply because I believe that version of the original game was excellent, and fun to watch and play at the same time. With that being said, I simply don't know what to think about this film being made. I want it to do well, and I want it to be everything that the games are, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. One thing is certain, and that's that we'll get Harry Greggson-Williams for the score, which is always good.

Multiplicity

Multiplicity
Posted by: Marcus

As anyone who reads this blog has realized up to this point, all of my reviews and game opinions have been based on video games on the X-Box 360. It's a console that I've owned since the release of Dead Rising, and continue to enjoy many of the games that have been released for it. However, I have to say that it certainly has narrowed my view on the scope of gaming in the here and now, and I'm sad to say that I'm ashamed to have ignored other systems out there.

Last week, I picked up a Playstation 3, and I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed with the console. It's sleek looking, runs well, and has plenty of neat features like free online play, an easily rechargeable controller, built-in wireless net, and runs incredibly smooth. Don't get me wrong, I like Sony. I've liked Sony for a long time as a company, but I simply didn't want to pay so much for the console. Truthfully, I should have realized that it would have cost as much as my 360 did with all the accessories I had to buy to give it the same functionality.

However, that's not really why I'm posting this. I'm posting it because of the two games I purchased with the console. Those games are Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Prince of Persia. Both of these games made my jaw drop from utter shock. Now, I knew these games were going to be good. I knew that because I know the developers, and I know the brand. I also don't buy games that I think are worthless. However, what struck me, and still strikes me, is just how different they are from the convention, and how refreshing it is to play them.

Both games, for better or worse, stand out simply because they aren't following the popular conventions. Prince of Persia is like playing a living watercolor painting. Aside from how smooth it runs, the images are gorgeous to look at. It's also a solid challenge, but changes the formula a bit from previous games. Gone are the sands of time, but it introduces the character of Elika, and with her comes a great story for the game that sucks the player in, and invokes odd emotion for the player at the end.

Metal Gear Solid 4 continues the epic story of Solid Snake and company, and is a majestic conclusion to a great storyline. One thing to note though is that Hideo Kojima was able to not only make a solid sequel to the second and third games simultaneously, but utilize elements of the third game to completely tie the story together, and make the gameplay more fluid. I won't go into too much detail, because I will get off topic, but know that this game is worth the price tag. Any PS3 owner will tell you that even if it were the only game on the console worth playing, it would still be worth it.

Essentially, this is what sparked the love for me. As much as I enjoy my 360, most of the games I had either been buying, or influenced to buy, were games that were nearly dependent on Xbox Live to really be enjoyable. I wasn't always into multiplayer, and playing those two games really ignited a spark in me that may have been near dead. I suddenly stopped caring about ranks, achievements, leaderboards, and the like, and it became about fun again.

So, to close this blog, I simply want to say this: take the time to enjoy something different. Video games, in my opinion, are the best form of entertainment out there, and if you're not enjoying different forms of it, aren't you simply shorting yourself? There are plenty of games out there for you to enjoy that aren't first person shooters or sports games, folks. They're fun, they last more than five hours, and may even leave an impact on you, if you let them.

Let's all be a bit smarter with gaming, people. Instead of buying Halo 3: ODST, why not pick up Brutal Legend instead? Or maybe Assassin's Creed 2? Maybe even Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony?

Think about it.

A view into Marcus: Top Tens

A View into Marcus - Top Ten lists
Posted by Marcus

Truth be told, I'm not really the "bare your soul" type. From my perspective, baring your soul is like stripping in front of someone. There are certain people that you can be half naked in front of, and completely naked in front of. The audience that reads my blog, truth be told, is neither. However, because I love people who read my blog, I am going to give some insight into my tastes. Here's a few top ten lists.


Favorite Movies.

10. Saving Private Ryan - One gripe I have with war movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket is that they ham-fistedly try to shove the hippie idea of war turning everyone into monsters down your throat. This movie doesn't do that. It portrays soldiers as real people in a rough situation, and you get to see how they work through it. It's Spielberg's second best movie, easy.

9. Predator - Good luck trying to find a sci-fi movie based in the real world with a concept as good as this one. The idea of taking humans in their deadliest form, and having something not of this world hunt them like deer is a great concept, tied with suspense and horror that are filmed so well that you wonder why horror movie directors don't take notes. Not to mention we get to see the Govenator actually act, and that he's not too shabby.

8. The Dark Knight - I'm a comic book buff, and I can tell you right now there really isn't a comic movie that can truly equal this film. Aside from the great cast, and great performances from all of them. Say what you want about Bale's Batman, but he's the only man in Hollywood who can play Bruce Wayne and Batman and make the two personas seem linked, and yet separate, just like the comics. The one thing that was best done is the treatment of the Joker. You're not supposed to know who he is. He feels like Anarchy personified, and it's perfect.

7. Remember the Titans - Greatest sports movie of all time. No backtalk. There's no overacting. Nobody makes any acting botches. Everyone plays off each other well. It also allows the audience to make their own observations about how unimportant race is, and how stupid everyone looked back then.

6. The Silence of the Lambs - One of the few movies that I own that actually horrifies me. Aside from the fact that there isn't a bad performance in the entire film, Johnathan Demme does a great job of directing the audience into the minds of the characters. You understand Clarice Starling, and what makes her who she is. You see how Hannibal Lecter is disgusted with people, and why he does what he does. It's a stellar film, and its perspective on the mind of the mad is unforgettable.

5. Amadeus - This is one of the two films on my list that I have actually watched less than ten times, just because it is an odd combination of great quality, but is difficult for me to sit and enjoy. I enjoy it simply because I love its take on Mozart, and the world around him, and how beautifully twisted they made this fictional history piece. It's simply full of complex characters, dark tone, and yet can be incredibly fun to watch at points.

4. Schindler's List - This is the second film that I've watched less than ten times. Spielberg's best, and oddly enough, I think both of his best films take place in this time period. This was the film that introduced me to two of my favorite actors. Liam Neeson's performance as Oskar Schindler and Ralphe Fiennes' performance as Amon Goeth are chilling, and amazing. This is truly a movie that also shows man's true inhumanity to man, and shows it at its ugliest. My favorite part is simply that it pulls no punches, leaving strong men crying their eyes out for the lives lost in the Holocaust.

3. First Blood - I know it sounds odd to have a movie like this so far up, but this film holds a very special place in my heart. You see, the character of John Rambo is almost a commentary on everyone's view of the Vietnam War. He almost seems like a walking reaction to films that fill one's head of the hippie ideal of a solider during that time period, and turns that idea on its head. Rambo is a character who fought for country, and fought for friends, and when he came back to America, his friends were dead and his country had betrayed him. What follows is simply a great story as a man finally decides to stand up for what he feels is right, and what ensues when a deadly man pushes back. "They drew first blood."

2. Equilibrium - There are certain people out there that simply see this film as "Gun Fu." Truth be told, there is that element, but at the same time this film holds something more inside of it. It brings in the idea of what would happen if man sacrificed his emotions for the idea of security and safety. You see quite possibly the best roles that Taye Diggs, Christian Bale, and Emily Watson have ever been in. Bale specifically plays an incredible role in Cleric John Preston, which is a role that at points he plays so well that you feel what he feels as he feels it, which is incredibly difficult to pull off.

1. Gladiator - My favorite film by my favorite director. It's really hard to describe, so I'll just simply put in a couple sentences. Russel Crowe plays the greatest hero introduced in the year 2000. Juoaquin Phoenix plays the best villain introduced in they year 2000. Ridley Scott directed the greatest film of 2000. Enough said.

Favorite Video Games

10. Doom 3 - I've played through this game a few times now, and I still get both goosebumps and genuine frights out of it. The mix of great lighting, graphics, and sound paint an eerie picture that is consistently unsettling, mixing fear of the unknown, the paranormal, death, gore, and so forth to consistently have you frightened, one way or another.

9. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - For me, this is a shooter that set a very large standard for me. It was bloody, creepy, atmospheric, intense, and fun. It had a great variety of weapons, enemies that looked and fought like legit threats, and boss battles that were downright epic. Because it had all those elements, there hadn't been a shooter until Gears of War that was capable of matching that, which was eight years later.

8. Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast - When people tried to tell me that The Force Unleashed was an attempt at making the best Star Wars game yet, I told them that those two games had already been made. Outcast continues the story of Kyle Katarn, and is a great story of a Jedi who walks the razor's edge between good and evil in the pursuit or someone he cares for, and stopping a new Sith Lord from conquering space. It's not only a good Star Wars game, but a solid revenge story as well.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Though it's hard for me to choose between this game and Majora's Mask, I had to go with this game because it really had the best storyline of any Zelda game. Though there isn't a lot of character development, you really feel like you're playing through a fairy tale. Everything makes you feel like a hero from a storybook, and the game delivers, even to this day.

6. Starcraft - There really isn't a whole lot to say here. It's essentially the one RTS game that still hooks me to this day. It's fun to play, you take an odd role in the story's development, but more than anything it's incredibly easy to pick up and play, but hard to master, and I like that in a video game. What will shock you more is that I'm not that big into RTS games, but this is on the list.

5. Mortal Kombat 2 - I really admire this game, simply because in the midst of combo heavy fighters like King of Fighters and Street Fighter 2, this game had the balls to take two approaches. The first was to keep it simple, so people could easily get into it. The second was to appeal to the love of pixelated destruction, as every fight was brutal and bloody. It's these simple concepts that keep the game as such a hot property, and well loved in the hearts of fighting game fans.

4. Gears of War 2 - Truth be told, I think that both games really tie for this spot, but I have to say that it says a lot that this is the first shooter that really stood out since the N64 days. This was the first shooter series that took the time to NOT copy anything that id Software had done, and what Epic had done before. There are great weapons, epic moments, brutal combat, and a great Sci-Fi story that isn't focused on over-explaining the universe, but rather treats it like a war movie, which works well, because every game mode you play in makes you feel like you're in a war zone, which FPS games have really failed to do thus far.

3. Half-Life 2 - This is the realization of FPS perfection. It took everything the genre had done right up until that point, but also gave total character immersion. There is a great mix between science fiction, civil conflict, horror, and survivalist ideas that had never been seen in a game before, or had been repeated until Bioshock. It's a game that frees you to truly take the reigns of Gordon Freeman, and give you the freedom to slip into that persona, which other FPS games still fail to do.

2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - The other great Star Wars game. Truthfully, I think this may best the best RPG of all time. I can't find a game that has such a great combination of engrossing story, developed characters, fun gameplay, and so many ways to do it all. Not to mention the voice acting is phenominal, the planets are fun to explore, and it has one of the biggest plot reveals that messes with your head present in gaming. Easily Bioware's best game, and that says a lot.

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - The greatest game from the greatest series of all time. In the third installment, we see the closest that video games has had yet to its "Watchmen." We're introduced to the backstory of the first, second, and fourth games, and get to see the fuel that was thrown on the proverbial fire, with many events sending chills up your spines, because you know the horrors and events that await in the future for each character. Not to mention easily the best story, voice acting, gameplay elements, gunplay, arsenal, mood, and so forth in gaming, I think it's safe to say that not only is this game the greatest of all time, it's easily my favorite.

A Quickie: The Politics of Hate

The Politics of Hate: Why a certain singer has lost his spine.
Posted by: Marcus

This entry isn't going to take long. In this entry, it's pretty simple. I, the blogger, am Marcus. That's not my real name, but an amalgamation of my first and last names. I'm the guy on the left in the picture.

The man to my right is J. Randall Blythe, lead singer of Lamb of God. A man who has been known as someone whose views on the politics of this country and how messed up they are were very close to the core of his songwriting. It seemed like they were something that he deeply cared about.

Key words being "it seemed."

Today, I am here to simply say that Randy Blythe is a fake. A fraud. He is a poser. The economy still sucks. We're still at war. Our president wants to inject our country with more and more doses of Socialism under the guise of hope and peace, and where is Randy Blythe?

Randy Blythe is in his home, counting his money, and laughing at how all of us have fallen for the facade that Lamb of God has put up. You gentlemen are not metal. You're a bunch of sprout eating hippies that are trying to be metal, but as of late, the last piece of the costume is off.

You didn't give two craps about the war in Iraq. You don't care about the lives of Americans. You care about money.

So, here's what I say to Lamb of God. Put up or shut up. Prove to everyone that you care, and make some sort of statement about how screwed up everything is, because right now it seems that you only assaulted Bush, the military, and the blood shed in war to try and sell records.

If you read this, Randy, keep in mind that I was a fan. I'm not threatened by your voice, because your guitarist whipped your ass, and I'm three times his size. Walk the walk, or walk off the stage so someone else who isn't full of crap can pick up the instruments and make music that comes from the heart, and not a wallet begging to be filled.

Different Perspectives

Different Perspectives: A look at the ideas of Gaming today.
Posted by: Marcus

Before I get started, I just want to say thank you to anyone who has read this blog up to this point. If you've enjoyed yourself, good for you.

Anyway, this week I've got my spur of what I want to rant about from a different source than usual. To give you a little background, I've been a subscriber to a dude who calls himself Moviebob. Moviebob is also known as the Game Overthinker, recent winner of the "My Vids Don't Suck" contest over at Screwattack.com, which is a great website, and he's very deserving of that honor. With that said, this post is a quasi-response to some of his videos on Youtube, particularly the idea of gaming today lacking the goofy, yet creative spark of the retro days.

Before I get started, I'd like to give a message to Bob specifically. Bob, if you read this, I do want you to know that I'm also a gamer who remembers, and loved the old days of getting frustrated at Castlevania and nearly throwing my controller through a wall, and beating Mario Brothers for the first time. I miss those days, and still enjoy the sounds of E1M1 as much as I did the first time I heard it.

With that said, I have to say that I disagree that gaming has lost its creative spark when it comes to "out-there" ideas. However, I do think that too much emphasis has been put on the "serious business" side, and I partially blame the Spaz gamers that I outlined in my previous entry, and the MLG fad. When it comes to "serious games" and "serious gamers" they enjoy games that take themselves far too seriously. The first two games that come to mind are Halo 3 and Call of Duty: World at War.

Halo 3 is supposed to be a game about the Earth fighting a war against an interstellar cult, but it doesn't feel like it, and World at War just sucks. I'm not even going to go into detail. Neither have anything inside of them that are inspired, and neither of them are fun without friends to play with, making them damn near worthless. However, the "serious" gamer has decided that these games are the cream of the crop, and they've become much more popular than they would have, say, ten years ago, or from my prediction, ten years from now.

Anyway, I can't say that the crazy concepts of the old days are completely gone. Let's take a look at a few games from the here and now, and break down their core concepts.

Gears of War is a third person shooter where your main enemies are oversized lizards with asthma. You're playing as a group of soldiers with armor that looks like it was inspired by Soundwave the Decepticon, and using crazy weapons like grenades with a bolo attachment, a futuristic take on the Tek Bow from Turok 2, and an assault rifle with a CHAINSAW attached to it! Those are all neat ideas, and they're tied together with a solid storyline that is dark and engrossing, but never takes itself too seriously, with the Carmine of the game setting in for what seems to be their "Kenny."

Madworld is an attempt to return to the old beat-em-up stylings of a Final Fight or a Streets of Rage with a crazy storyline that could only come from the fucked up mind of the man who created Devil May Cry. It's Frank Miller meets Hideo Yamamoto, and it's downright awesome.

The list goes on, and I don't really want to spend too much time on naming games, and more on the ideas. I think the big problem is that the games that want to be taken "seriously" in this day and age still don't want to get rid of the crazy ideas, and I don't really understand why these developers keep trying to make games that will be taken seriously. Call of Duty 4, while a really solid game, had a storyline that really sat on the fence of whether it was trying to be a war story, or a Hollywood style action flick turned video game. Same goes with Bionic Commando. GRIN evidently didn't realize that the elements they were trying to put together with that level of downward feel only works for Metal Gear Solid, namely because Hideo Kojima is a goddamn genius.

What I do think is that different people should work on different titles. I enjoyed Bionic Commando for what it was, but the entire time it felt like they were trying too hard to blur the lines between military shooter and science-fiction based action game. If they had a different writer for that game, and didn't try and make it seem so serious, it could have been much more enjoyable, and a lot more fun. Let's face it. The one thing that game did incredibly well was the feeling of swinging through that city, and (for me anyway) it got the adrenaline pumping.

Then again, maybe part of the problem for some of these games is the immersion factor. Games like Gears of War, Metal Gear Solid, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and their ilk do an excellent job of getting the player to care about their respective universes, and don't try to tie themselves that hard to the modern day, unlike your atypical FPS game nowadays.

To conclude, I do have to say that the fun absurdity of the retro gaming era isn't gone, but it certainly isn't getting the spotlight that it truly deserves, because it's what set Video Gaming apart from other forms of media in the first place. Now, we just have to wait and see if the games that are still in those old series can still live up to the name. Mario is pulling it off, but I'm really hoping to see Castlevania: Lords of Shadow get that series back to the grandeur it once had.

As The World Turns

As The World Turns: Thoughts on Today's Gaming.
Posted by: Marcus

This article will be re-written soon. Sorry, but the original was a little too brash, even for me.