"WWE All Stars" layeths the smacketh down

I am a big time pro-wrestling fan and I've been purchasing WWE Smackdown vs Raw (SvR) games every single year for at least the past 5 years. SvR titles are usually somewhat realistic. They are basically pro-wrestling's version of the Madden games. But this year THQ announced that they would be releasing a NEW title along with this year's SvR, and that is WWE All Stars.

Admittedly, when I first laid my eyes on this game, I was disgusted. All of the wrestlers were physically blown out of proportion and just looked completely goofy. I brushed the game off at that point, but as it came closer and closer to release, it grew more and more intriguing. I'm not sure why or how it caught my eye a second time, but I'm glad it did because this game is utterly awesome!

If you think about it, this game sounds like everything a wrestling game should be, and it is! It has larger than life characters and makes them ridiculously bigger by buffing them up larger than humanly possible. It takes rather simple and uninteresting moves and makes them look phenomenally insane! Let's take Honky Tonk Man's finishing move which is basically a swinging neck breaker (but barley, this move looks terrible when he does it in person). In real life, Honky gets his opponent in a head lock and basically falls over. HOWEVER, the All Stars remastered version of this move has Honky getting his opponent in a head lock and then flinging them some 75 feet in the air before they land brutally to the mat, shattering every bone in their body (ok, maybe it's not that extreme, but it's damn close). In essence, this game takes wrestling to a whole new level and does it in a super fun way.

This also is not technically a "wrestling" game. It is being dubbed by its creators as a "more traditional fighting game" approach to the series, and I can understand why. While it's not a fighting game in the Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat sense, it does have many fighting game aspects. It has quick and strong strikes, quick and strong grabs, blocking, and all that jazz. They take all of this and give you free, 360 motion as well as an interactive arena environment and occasionally weapons (also 2 on 2 or 4 way matches which you can't get in a "traditional" fighter). It's also got more glitches than a regular fighting game, but that is to be expected in a game like this that gives you so much free reign. But the glitches certainly don't take away from the gameplay in the slightest.

I would say this game's biggest shortcoming is its learning curve. All Stars is hard, especially if it's your first time playing it. Any move is reversible but the timing of the reversals is something that you have to master and that takes a LONG time. You also can't button mash or spam buttons to get anywhere (which can be good or bad depending on who you are and how you play) but in my opinion, this is a good way to even the playing field and weed out really annoying gamers. Once you master countering and reversals, the game gets really ridiculous and fun. You can start reversing reversals with crazy, spinning, back and forth animations.

The roster is a little on the small side too, although 30 fighters really isn't really anything to sneeze at. Not to mention more are coming in terms of DLC (although, knowing THQ it could be a while before we see them). I got my game at Gamestop so I could get the Million Dollar DLC pack as a bonus but it says I can't use the code until the end of next month. Kind of weird that I have to wait almost a month in order to redeem my "pre-order" bonus (curse you THQ for making me shop at GameStop!!).

Yes, it can be frustrating at times, but what game isn't? All in all this game is simply a blast! Once you get the hang of the controls you can start flying around the ring, smashing people 20 feet in the air, and chaining 4 to 5 grapple moves together in a row! The finishing move animations are so ridiculous, I never get tired of watching them.

I am so glad I gave this game another chance. It actually reminds me of back when Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker first came out I HATED the look, but upon playing it it turned out to be one of, if not the greatest Zelda games I ever played. Even though WWE All Stars looks... different, it is super enjoyable, and if you are a wrestling fan, you owe it to yourself to at least give this game a shot.

Pros:

• really fun (once you get the hang of it)
• diverse roster
• amazingly over the top animations
• cool video packages before each match in Fantasy Warfare mode
• it's something new in terms of WWE games

Cons:

• can be hard to get the hang of
• roster could be larger (also have to wait a month for pre-order bonus....)
  
• can sometimes be frustrating (especially if just starting out)
• Create a Wrestler mode is not as in-depth as other WWE games (you have to choose from the pre-made movesets of other wrestlers WHICH you must first unlock)

"Pokémon Black and White" are glorious returns to form

As every kid in the late 90’s knows, the most addictive drug on the market is Pokémon. A hybrid of adventure games mixed with role -playing game elements and a sprinkle strategy is now in it’s fifth generation.

Starting with 151 Pokémon in it’s original games the final Pokémon count has reached 649.

The game starts like all Pokémon games, with a voice-over by a “Pokémon Professor” who gives you, a child, your first Pokémon and sends you on an adventure across the country.

While this introduction may seem strange to non-fans, as your best friend’s mom amply puts; “Going on a Pokémon adventure is a critical part of growing up” and as any fan can attest, this is the truth.

Pokémon are creatures that live harmoniously with humans. In this world people known as “trainers” capture Pokémon and raise them to be fighters. The player is one such trainer and is faced with the daunting task of being the best, like no one ever was.

You do this through battles with wild Pokémon and other trainers. Battles involve one Pokémon from each side taking turns attacking each other. The winner of the battle receives money and their Pokémon will gain experience and level up, which increases their stats.

In terms of mechanics and gameplay, Pokémon is the same game it was a decade ago, and it operates under the mentality that if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Usually this can stagnate a series but in the case of Pokémon it helps add familiarity to a series that is constantly adding new characters, locations, attacks and battles.

Previous games have added double battles, which allow the player to use two Pokémon at the same time against two opponents. These are insanely challenging and force the player to think on their feet to conquer the enemies Pokémon.

Some new features in “Black” and “White” are triple battles, which take the challenge to a whole new level because the position of your Pokémon directly impacts whom they can attack.

There are very subtle differences between the two editions of the game, “Black” or “White”. “Black” features more rotation battles, which make players constantly change Pokémon while “White” includes more triple battles and an exclusive area which dozens of exclusive Pokémon.

For fans of the series, “Black” and “White” are the best of the best that a Pokémon game can get.

The game is without serious faults. Critics may nitpick about the difficulty curve that seemingly appears out of nowhere or the bland personality of everyone who was gifted enough to have an actual name. For me Pokémon is a flawless example of well designed games that have only gotten better with age, like Catherine Zeta-Jones.

"Exit Through the Gift Shop"

I want to say Banksy is very witty, but I think he is just very blunt and his truthfulness is funny. He is a man that is just as popular for his mystery as he is for his artwork. I was a fan of his before I watched this movie and I still am. His character is very interesting. He is like a masked vigilante that fights with art instead of his fists or assorted gadgets. When Banksy creates his different works of art, they all have a meaning behind them (just as all good art should). This documentary is one of Banksy's pieces of art and it also has a meaning behind it.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is not about Banksy; it's about a man named Thierry Guetta aka Mr. Brainwash. It tells a story about a man who goes from a normal (although kind of dumpy and at times stupid) man to an art icon, even if only for a short while.

Banksy's meaning behind this film was to tell the truth about who Mr. Brainwash is and was. It was meant to expose someone whose head was so inflated that they thought they could just walk straight to the top of the artist mountain without having to take part in the climb. And even though some may see him as a genius for pulling it off so easily, to his fellow peers he will forever be looked down upon. Banksy made this film because he felt responsible for creating a monster and thought this would set things right. And in my eyes, it did.

After watching this movie you can either choose to be upset and hate the world for being dumb, or you can be motivated to go out and create. Regardless of what some idiot managed to pull off, this movie was a nice little window into the world of street art and was overall very interesting and funny. You get to see into the life of street artists as they hit the city streets at night, fending off against police and security and creating what is sometimes beautiful, sometimes destructive works of modern art.

I give this movie a thumbs up and would recommend it to any fan of modern art or anyone who thought they could never do something. Thierry Guetta pretty much proves that anyone can do anything they want in life... as long as you have a little help from Banksy.

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