JJ Abrams to Direct Star Wars VII

This has not been confirmed, but with how many news outlets are reporting it, and no denial by JJ or Disney (that was weird to type) I think it's safe to say we can now prepare ourselves for frantic, shaky cam runs through the halls of the Millennium Falcon and lens flaring light saber battles.

I kid (mostly). As some of you long time readers know, I started this blog with a review of the 2009 Star Trek reboot directed by JJ Abrams. I gave it some harsh criticisms for the ramifications it made to the Trek universe. I have softened my views slightly in the years following, preferring to view it as a chance for Star Trek to continue on in some way (even if it's not exactly what Gene Roddenberry had in mind). Now as the sequel (Into Darkness) prepares for a May release, JJ Abrams seems to be taking the leap from the final frontier to a galaxy far, far away...

I actually believe he is a good choice. First, JJ is a self-proclaimed Star Wars fan. If nothing else, we need someone who truly respects the franchise to be in charge of its future (George Lucas sure didn't). I also feel JJ has a good chance to recapture the visual feel of the original trilogy that the prequels failed miserably at doing. JJ Abrams likes to use sets and only insert effects where needed. The prequels were so filled with Green Screen, I'm starting to wonder if Hayden Christensen is a real person at all.

The script for Star Wars VII is being written by Michael Arndt, who won an Academy Award for his screen play of Little Miss Sunshine (a fantastic movie). This seems like a pretty big genera shift, but the Academy doesn't just hand out awards to bad writers. So the real question now, a question which in my own humble opinion is much greater than who is writing and directing the film: what characters are in this film? It is very reasonable to think that all the primary actors could be brought in to play older versions of themselves. Disney, if anything, has plenty of money to throw at reluctant, bitter actors, unwilling to reprise a roll. I mean damn Harrison Ford; you played in Cowboys and Aliens! Or do they cast the film further into the future, possibly using Han and Leia's children as the primary actors with smaller parts for the original actors? They could recast the original actors, but I see this as a last resort.

I viewed Disney buying Star Wars as a fresh start for the franchise. It makes money, and like anything that makes money, people will continue to milk its teat for more money. So if we must have new Star Wars films forced upon us, they may as well be as good as possible. I think JJ Abrams will ensure a quality product that is a fun, action packed ride that will leave us wanting more.

Or, Star Wars VII starts off right at the end of Return of the Jedi. Just after Luke burns the body of his father and smiles at some ghosts. Suddenly a black hold rips through the sky, pulling the entirety of Endor through it! Endor, along with all principal cast, arrives in the past just in time royally screw up some important plot point, altering the timeline of this past in unknown ways...

Path of Exile Open Beta

I don't often write about video games on this blog. I'd like to more often. It's a big hobby of mine. From now on when I do write about games, they will mostly be PC games that are cheap or free, because I am both cheap and free. I'm going to start with a game that enters its open beta tomorrow: Path of Exile.

Path of Exile is a free to play Action RPG (ARPG) developed by the New Zealand based Grinding Gear Games. If you're not familiar with an ARPG, think Diablo/Touchlight like isometric view, loot grinder. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, basically you run around, killing monsters to loot their smelly corpses of delicious treasure. Treasure which in turn aides you in the slaughter of more odorous monsters.

I can't write about Path of Exile without at least acknowledging the 800 pound demon in the room that is Diablo III. In fairness, I'll only hover here briefly because Path of Exile is very much its own game. Diablo III and Path of Exile are polar opposites of one another. Blizzard (DIII's developer) took total control of your character, giving very little room for unique meaningful customization. Path of Exile on the other hand basically says "Here are a bunch of options, see what you come up with!" It is very possible to cripple a character in Path by making the wrong choices, which I believe is what Blizzard was trying to prevent in Diablo III. But it is also possible to make a character that plays just how you want it too. It is extraordinary the amount of options given. Below is a screen shot of the Passive Skill Tree in Path of Exile; try not to soil yourself.

Don't look directly into it!

Saying you can cripple a character in Path of Exile is selling the game a little short. Respecing is possible to a degree. There is no option to fully wipe the Passive Skill Tree (the only time this would happen is if the Devs amend the tree). You can however, earn respec points that allow you to respec one skill per point. In this fashion, you can make subtle changes to your character over time. You keep the feel of the same character that a full wipe just doesn't give. In this way, your digital caterpillar morphs into a unique murderous, fire breathing butterfly right before your eyes. This also encourages multiple characters as part of their free to pay system (more on that below).

The amount of options available is mind blowing. The above mentioned Passive Skill Tree is just one part of it. Most armor has slots where Skill Gems can be placed. Skill Gems are the meat and potatoes of the combat system in Path of Exile. Character classes have no innate abilities beyond swinging the weapon they happen to pick up. What separates them are the stat(s) they are more proficient in and their stating location within the Passive Skill Tree. All active abilities (Fire balls, freezing strikes, and other basic fantasy fair) come as these Skill Gems that you can slot into your armor. They then become usable via your hot bar. These Skills can be further modified by Support Gems to crazy levels of awesome. I won’t get too into it here, but what if you could turn one fire ball into a three fire ball attack where each ball splits into two more fire balls on enemy contact? Fantastic? Yeah, I think so too.

Beta is still beta however; so expect changes. As with any PC game these days, beta can mean many different things, but Grinding Gear Games has expressed that this beta is a real beta and major changes can be expected. I’d like to see the basic attack animations get some work myself. In a game about attacking, some variation in the way my small pixel character swings his/her tiny axe can make all the difference after eight hours. I also had some trouble clicking on smaller enemy monsters; nothing game breaking by any stretch of the imagination.

Path of Exile is free to play and as of right now they mean to only sell cosmetic items. I had to calm my wife down just now; explaining to her cosmetic does not mean blush and eye shadow. Pets, character slots, stash tabs and adding a glow to your weapons and armor is what they have mentioned they will sell so far. No Pay to Win in that list at all. And while I commend the attempt to sell only cosmetic, I hope they can make it on those sales alone. I guess it is up to us, the gamer, to show how much we appreciate that model by supporting it.

Path of Exile is free to play starting tomorrow (January 23)! You can create an account and pre-download it here. Come join me in the furious clicking on monsters until their necessary demise.

Been playing Path of Exile? What do you think? Have a game in mind I should take a look at? Drop all these and what ever else your deranged mind has on it in the comments.

Lance Armstrong

Did you ever want to believe in something so much you purposefully ignored clear facts? I have. I think it’s pretty clear what I am talking about, but I haven’t wanted to talk about it at all because it hurts. I am not mad. I am hurting in my soul. Writing this has my stomach all rung up because I don’t want to say it. I was wrong. I guess we won’t know anything for certain until the over hyped, narcissistic interview airs tonight, but didn’t we already know? Lance Armstrong is indeed a cheater and maybe more importantly, a liar and a bully.

For those of you who don’t know, I have been a very big Lance fan for years. I have a USPS cycling jersey, I read the book, a have the overpriced custom sunglasses. In years since his retirement and second retirement, I have adamantly defended him in accusations of doping. This is all over. He cheated. He lied about it. He viciously attacked those willing to come forward and tell the truth. He built a charitable foundation on a mountain of lies and bribery. This hurts more than just Lance and the people he took down with him. This hurts the people who believed in the idea of the Livestrong Foundation. I just don’t see a way it can continue on after this. But I am not going to harp on about all this, there are plenty of people doing that for me. I’d much rather forget him, move on, and try to help the people with real problems.

There are those out there cheering this fall from grace and I have words for you:

You were right, now shut up. What kind of sad, messed up world do we live in where people are happy when news like this breaks? This was not just a great sports story, it was a great human story. What has happened to our culture? We enjoy tearing people down more than building them up. Lance deserves every bit of criticism coming his way, no doubt. He brought this upon himself by first cheating and second lying about it and trampling those around him who did nothing but tell the truth. But must we revel in it? I am sad because I can no longer trust anything.

Review: Wreck-it Ralph

The Wife: Disney has once again produced another fantastic movie with Wreck-it Ralph. Seriously when did it become “cool” to hate on Disney? Why are the Star Wars super nerds worried? Disney seldom produces crap. Disney rarely disappoints (especially when it is a Disney-Pixar film), and Wreck-it Ralph is a prime example of Disney awesomeness.

Wreck-it Ralph was just flat out fun. After a week of election stress and sporting events gone terribly wrong, sometimes you just need to escape with a fun, light-hearted movie. Wreck-it Ralph is one of those special films that both children AND adults can enjoy.

For the video game enthusiast, Wreckit Ralph brought lots of nostalgia with recognizable video game characters, such as the infamous ghost from Pac-Man. However, even if you don’t know video games, Wreck it Ralph still provided plenty of entertainment. The plot centers around Ralph, the “villain” of Fix-it Felix Jr, an old school arcade game. After spending 30 years of being the “bad guy” and always feeling left out, Ralph seeks out new adventures and looks to earn a medal of his own by being the hero for once. He travels through other games and eventually lands in Sugar Rush, where he meets fellow misfit, Vanellope, also known as the game’s “glitch.” Sugar Rush, a game which looks quite similar to Mario Kart, has banned Vanellope from racing due to her being a glitch. Determined to race again, Vanellope and Ralph eventually join forces to change their destinies. Meanwhile, Felix, of Ralph’s game, travels through the other games to track Ralph down and bring him back. Of course, it isn’t all fun and games (haha oh puns) as the evil Candy King and a mysterious alien egg look to shake up the arcade world.

Overall Wreck-it Ralph was a fantastic movie. It was funny, but also had a somewhat serious side as it dealt with issues that all kids (and even some adults face), like acceptance and finding one’s place in the world. As someone who typically ALWAYS figures out plot twists, Wreck-it Ralph succeeded in completely throwing me off from one major event. Bravo, Disney! After the twist was revealed I had a “duh!” moment, but I loved that I was caught off guard.

I would highly recommend seeing Wreck-it Ralph. Young and old alike, this film has something for everyone to enjoy!

Hobo Dan: I just pee’d a little. In my pants.

Wreck-it Ralph is that great. I feel like I need to see it again to try and pick out all the small video game references I missed the first time. But fear not my minions who may be less than fluent in all things video games, you do not need this extra knowledge to enjoy this wonderful film. From start to finish, this film is top shelf entertainment. The voice talent is great, the animation are perfect. What’s even more amazing is how they nailed the old school 8 and 16 bit Arcade animations and music. I felt like I was watching someone play the NES! The story was funny and impactful for adults and children. The Wife covered pretty much all I have to say. Go see this movie, you won’t be sorry.

Now where is my NES?

Disney buys Star Wars

I was suppose to make a short post today explaining were we have been. I wanted to inform you we will be posting about our October vacation soon and reviewing Wreck-it-Ralph for next Monday. Then, Disney bought Lucusfilm and annouced Star Wars Episode 7 for a 2015 release...

And the Internet exploded...

I have experienced the 5 stages of grief since I heard this news yesterday. First, right after the Wife told me, I denied it. No, this was just the most epic Internet Trololol ever. But too many reputable sites ran the story with pictures and numbers and... So then, Daniel got angry! How can this be? It's one thing that you buy Marvel! But now Star Wars! I got down on my knees and begged, bargained and pleaded with the force, "I will do anything!" Disney, you can buy Marvel, but you can never take my Star Wars! The force remained quiet, so I sank into sarrow.

Acceptance. I sat on the couch this morning before work and watched some TV. I saw a commercial for Wreck-it-Ralph. A Disney movie I will be seeing this Friday. I am excited to see this film. It looks really good. You know what else is good? Every Pixar movie. Who owns Pixar? Disney. I also liked the new Tron movie they made and of course I like the Pirates movies. So what am I afraid of?

Honestly, I don't know. George Lucas has already whored Star Wars out in every possible way. There is Star Wars everything (including Angry Birds). Let's not even mention Episode I. This has devalued the franchise to me. Everyone should just calm down, it's only Star Wars. What was once sacred and cherished is more of a joke now. Merchandised and marketed and focused on making money. We cannot go back to 1977, so everyone just needs to stop crying.

The bright side is that Disney has the money and the power to do what ever they want with Star Wars and do it right! They could give the reins to someone new and they could make something awesome. Have the Marvel movies been bad since Disney took over? Some would argue The Avengers is the best comic movie ever made (not me). Disney helped in that. No, I don't believe we need a new trilogy, but we are getting one. So why not make it as good as possible? What if Disney gave Star Wars to Joss Whedon? Would not the fan boys and girls cry out in joy? What if Disney decided to build an entire theme park in Orlando for Star Wars? Who shall step forth and oppose this? A tired old franchise has been pulled away from the grips of a tired old emperor and just maybe has been given new life.

I think it is far too early to panic. I think it is far to early to rage. What if this is the best thing to happen to Star Wars since "I am your father."?