Video Games

Hitting 505 screens last weekend, Dead or Alive raked in a paltry $232,000 over the 3-day weekend.  That’s just over $150 a day per screen, which means that approximately 15-25 people were watching each screen that was DOA-dedicated.  This is yet another indication that film adaptations of video-games are following in a tradition steadily-decreasing quality.  Although the average rating of DOA on IMDB is 4.8/10, I highly doubt that half of the people who have seen it are genuinely satisfied.

That’s right!  As of today, May 22nd, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End has launched for all major consoles, from the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, to the PSP, PS2, DS, and PC.  Craig Relyea, VP of marketing for Disney Interactive Studios, boasts that “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End allows players to experience a swashbuckling pirate’s life through adventure and swordplay that goes far beyond the events of the films […] With its unique, dynamic gameplay and stunning graphics, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End provides a new and significant chapter in the Pirates of the Caribbean video game franchise.” Check out the official Xbox 360 Pirate’s At World’s End trailer:

There’s a plethoraof downloads and multimedia out there, including an official demo on Xbox Live, but so far very few Pirates of the Caribbean 3 cheats. I’ll update when more become available. Here are some of the astounding screens:

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has come a long way from its initial release as a minigame.  Since, it’s been amped up into a fully developed Xbox 360 console game, and now it’s coming to Vista users everywhere.  Apparently, both Geometry Wars and Uno appeared in Microsoft’s CES keynote video.  So if you have a Vista, get ready for some cross-platform competition in these awesome games!  Check out the video here.

Silent Hill, the latest game-to-film adaptation, is getting terrible reviews.  Although I’m a moderate fan of the Silent Hill franchise, I don’t plan on seeing the movie the San Francisco Chronicle deems full of “bad acting, bad dialogue and a confusing plot — all of which become exponentially more painful when the movie goes on forever.”  A few more choice reviews consider Silent Hill to be “witless, soulless and joyless” and “dumber than a bag of coffin nails”, earning it the overall consensus of 29% recommendable at RottenTomatoes. 

Joystiq gives us the run-down of Silent Hill’s pros and cons:

What Works:

• The audio: … and by audio, we mean everything that was not dialogue. The music, while cheesy at parts, really fits the movie well. The sound effects are very creepy, and the filtering is effective when used (although we would have loved for the sound to be more disturbed).
• Pyramid Head: In what little time he was on screen, Pyramid Head really stole the show.
• The Setting: As we have seen
• The previews: Seeing glimpses of The DaVinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest made us giddy.

What Doesn’t Work:

• The dialogue: Laughable at best. We feel sorry for everyone with a speaking role — especially Sean Bean (but we will get to that in a second).
• The introduction: Instead of trying to actually explain the situation (or why we should care), the film begins with a melodramatic scene involving the main actress in scantily clad clothing. We could have used a 10-minute prologue showing what brought about this trip to a haunted town.
• Too Long: Even without an introduction, the film clocks in at 120 minutes — we can think of at least 112 minutes that one might have cut out.
• Needs more Boromir: Seriously, Sean Bean had no point in the movie at all. If they had given him a long sword and the Horn of Gondor, to ride into Silent Hill and behead all demons in heroic vigilance, it just might’ve saved the film.

You can grab the demo here: www.gamespot.com/promos/2006/starwarsdemo/index.html?tag=psbox_hp_eaw . Amazon describes it as:

Star Wars Empire at War is the first game ever that gives you the power to command an entire war for the Star Wars Galaxy at your finger tips and the freedom to decide how to do it. The game is set between Episode III and Episode IV of the Star Wars series. This real-time strategy takes place in the wake of the Jedi slaughter that has disrupted the balance of the force. Players wage ground and space battles all in an effort to gain control of the galaxy. All of the gameplay and action within Empire at War is persistent, meaning that strategic and tactical elements from previous events will have a permanent effect on the galaxy.