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Jack_Vykios
Reviews
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004)
Best Game Ever
I have been looking forward to this game since I first completed Sands of Time, and for me, unlike many others, it failed to disappoint. It is definitely better than the Sands of Time, which was a very straightforward game, too easy, and completed within the day.
Yes, the Prince has grown up, and he is no longer a boy looking for his father's acceptance. He is not as lovable as the original prince. I do not believe this to be a bad thing, for it truly reflects the story. People who say otherwise either have a completely different opinion, or are too obsessed with the fact that the game isn't "Persian" enough to focus on the actual story.
The prince is darker, angrier, and with a definite edge to his personality. This, I found to be very enticing.
However, There are a lot of problems with the way characters are dressed. The women in this game are scantily dressed, especially Kailina and Shadhee, who seem to be practically naked apart from their thin garments and very revealing armour. The prince also has a strange armour. Everything except his chest is absolutely wonderful. His chest though...putting it lightly, it looks like he has breasts from certain camera angles.
The music is amazing, still retaining much of the Arabian style, although others may have missed this due to the strength of the Heavy Metal in the background. It is all a matter of taste, really. Don't like the music? Turn the music off and turn on your stereo. There, problem solved.
The graphics are spectacular, letting you see true contrast between the past and "present". However, I regret that the graphics were dumbed down for the PS2 version of the game. Really, this is a game made for the X-Box, since it's that that has a lot of the cool features...although I've only played on the PC and PS2 versions of the game.
Fighting, as Ubisoft promised, is breathtaking. However, it is not quite as "free-form" as you might think. I found myself repeating the strongest moves in the game over and over, as I'm sure many others have as well. It is still strongly a free-form fighting system, nonetheless. You just have to learn how to use it.
I am definitely looking forward to a sequel. I suggest you go out and buy/rent this game, and see just how much better it is than the Sands of Time, which was undoubtedly good in its own right.
Van Helsing (2004)
A Movie You Can Only See Once
I remember when I first heard of this movie. It looked great because: 1. I thought Frankenstien's monster might be a bit scary. At least a BIT. - Wrong 2. I thought that Hollywood would finally steer away from those annoying vampire legends (sunlight, garlic, holy water...), and come up with something inventive and realistic - Wrong I have seen worse movies, true, but this was terrible. I've seen it a load of times, because I couldn't really say "no" to friends who had lowered it down to Van Helsing and The Day After Tomorrow (which was one of those "worse movies").
I agree with everyone's thoughts on Anna's accent; very annoying. I understand that she needed the accent because of where she was from (Transylvania), but the story, really, would have made more sense with more of a dark, travelling heroine. A woman who has been running from her hunters for many years, a woman who has seen he friends and family die in the snow, a woman who has escaped death by inches. We got a local.
Jackman, overall, did his job - he wasn't that bad. No overacting, a traditional angry character, and a decent accent. I should say that I didn't like the religious aspect of his personality (I won't spoil the movie, but once the truth about him was revealed to me, it blew the movie), but, I suppose, that's just a point of view.
I HATED the vampire women. The overacting they did made me wish for the movie to end quickly, because with all that screaming, crying and groping around Dracula, I just wanted to be sick with embarrassment. "I spent nine bucks to hear a bunch of bad actresses scream their way through the auditions?" Frankenstein's character was boring, period.
The movie followed that same pattern with the werewolf: Becomes human again; tries to tell heroine/hero the truth about himself/his master; then suddenly becomes a werewolf - very predictable.
With a very predictable storyline and unoriginal characters, this movie blew it. It had great potential, but just turned out to be another "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". It's fun to watch the first time, but you'll find yourself strumming your fingers and checking your watch every other time you watch it. NOT something to buy.