Wednesday, September 24, 2014

ALIEN & ALIENS - 1993 Unofficial Novelization Review

Alright, the moment has finally come! For all my fellow ALIEN fans, here is an awesome collector's artifact that I happen to own.


ALIENS Book - Scans Collage by EinhanderZwei on deviantART

This is the unofficial novelization of ALIEN and ALIENS (or, as it's labeled, 'Volume I'), written and published in 1993 by a Russian author, Gleb Kireyev (under the pen name 'Alex Revenge'). Here is the annotation:

'We present you - for the first time ever in Russian - a series of novelizations of the sci-fi super bestseller franchise, ALIEN. Those who have seen the original ALIEN and ALIENS movies are already familiar with what is Volume I about.
However, Volume II of our book series contains the third and FOURTH installments of this space epic. Awaiting for you are the return of your favorite characters, edgy plotline, brutal action scenes and a lot of twists...
Warning: this book is not for the squeamish.'


Sadly, I don't have Volume II, but just think about it: the 'novelization' of the fourth movie is published in 1993, but the actual fourth movie comes out in 1997. So yeah, half of the annotation is a complete lie:
  • It actually exists ONLY in Russian;
  • this is actually not a direct novelization as is, but more like a retelling + fan fiction - more on this below.

Also, it is based on the theatrical versions of both movies, so some of the now-well-known additional scenes are completely omitted. However, there is a lot of interesting differences, too! Here are some:
  • Some characters have been renamed. Dwayne Hicks is now Edward Higs, Carter Burke is now Carter Burt (and on one occasion, Jake Arthur Burt), Kane's first name is Aegis, Vasquez is now Vesqui (?), and so on;
  • for some reason, LV-426 is renamed to LB-426, as well as 'Nostromo' is renamed to 'Nostroma', and 'Sulaco' is never mentioned by name;
  • Dietrich is male;
  • Some characters' personalities were altered, too. Ash and Bishop were made more 'human-like', while Hudson became an even whinier bitch than in the movie, and Hicks/Higs now likes telling bad jokes and one-liners;
  • Weyland-Yutani name is never given, everyone including the author refers to it as 'the Company' (though to be fair, this is consistent with the movies);
  • Some of the characters' bios were either altered or actually created from scratch - for example, it is revealed that Hicks/Higs and Hudson were friends since the Colonial Marines academy, and knowing how obnoxious Hudson is, Hicks/Higs swore to always protect him;
  • Several chapters are written from the first-person perspective, and not only Ripley's. There are even a couple of chapters actually written from the Aliens' point of view!
  • Also, in this version, the Aliens are capable of telepathy - for example, in the first book, the Xenomorph speaks telepathically to Brett and Dallas before killing them, and this is where we learn their backstories;
  • The Aliens' appearance is described differently than in the movies - for example, the author insists they have tentacles, even though they never did;
  • The romantic plotlines are not as subtle as in the movies: the book directly ships Ripley and Dallas, Drake and Vasquez, and Ripley and Hicks;
  • Some of the dialogue is rewritten, some lines are shifted between characters, some jokes are written from scratch;
  • There's a couple chapters describing Ripley's dream sequences;
  • The author had even managed to insert some memorable lines of his own - for example, both books end with '...the Earth was waiting for them' line;
  • ...and much much more!

It's like a fan edit that expands the movies' universe and sort of turns into Mr Kireyev's own franchise. It's actually very well written, and because of the differences above, extremely interesting to read. It's really evident that the author not only liked, but also understood the movies - even though ALIEN is not treated as a rape metaphor, and ALIENS is not treated as a Vietnam metaphor, the author instead concentrated on the feelings of fear, paranoia and psychosis, as well as on the characters' inner monologue and the dark aspects of human nature.

Now, onto the collage above. Here are all the illustration scans from the book (click the pictures to zoom):

Cover art.
Front bookend - Dallas, Kane, Lambert.
Title picture for Book I: 'Sole Survivor'.
Title picture for Book II: 'Planet Of Misery'.
Dallas, Kane and Lambert again.
Marines entering the colony.
Dallas (yep, and an Alien with squid tentacles behind him).
Back bookend - I think it's Hudson, Apone and Hicks.


Maybe I'll translate all those unofficial books to English some day. Maybe some day...

Some More Bonus Trivia:
  • When my niece Ekaterina was around 10 years old, she asked me to read this book as a bedtime story for her; the movies were played very frequently on local TV, so she saw them all before anyway;
  • Similar kinds of unofficial novelizations were actually a big franchise in ex-USSR in the 90s (the time is usually referred to as 'the VHS era' over here). Large majority of popular Hollywood movies were turned into novels by often anonymous authors for profit; sometimes, different authors could even use the same pen name ('Arch Stranton', for example), and there was even a whole book series, called 'Hollywood Bestsellers' that collected such novelizations, as well as some movies' source stories ('We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' renamed to 'Total Recall', 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep' renamed to 'Blade Runner', 'Nothing Lasts Forever' renamed to 'Die Hard', etc.);
  • As questionably legal as the above is, this is when I first read D. Bishof's 'WarGames', for example; also, I have a little collection of such novelizations that I might share someday;
  • Last night (Sept, 23 to 24, 2014) I had an ALIENS-inspired dream; specifically, it was some sort of an alternate ending that took place on a desert'ish location with all the surviving cast running to the shuttle. The most interesting part was Apone, Hudson and Frost being alive.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

OCEAN: Patriotic Textures!


Sunday, June 22, 2014

OCEAN Goes Wiki!

That's right folks; that's what I've been working on the whole day today. Of course it's far from being finished, but even right now, there's a lot of interesting stuff to be found. So, after trying to distribute the OCEAN news via the dA Journals and blog posts, I've decided to catch the zeitgeist and keep everything in a single, open location. Easy access. Unlimited information. Invaluable data.

So if now, someone asks you what the hell this OCEAN is and why is it spelt in uppercase, you can explain everything by giving that person just one link:

http://oceanhub.wikia.com/


Welcome to the OCEAN Wikia.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

OCEAN: Zandronum Incompatibilities

So I've ran a quick sanity check of OCEAN in Zandronum and stumbled upon a barrage of incompatibilities. Some of them were confusing, some avoidable, some were showstoppers, but once I quickly fixed the latter, I was able to at least run it at all. In any case, this is the list of ongoing incompatibilities I've noticed, mostly for my own reference...


OCEAN In Zandronum by EinhanderZwei on deviantART

  • Menu would have to be redone;
  • Railgun sprite would have to be redone;
  • No dynamic sprite scaling;
  • No support for Strife dialogue;
  • Player view height setting does nothing;
  • Line_Horizon doesn't seem to work;
  • Slayer is not selectable for some reason;
  • Player can't start off emptyhanded;
  • Message scaling doesn't seem to work;
  • Startup banner displays the IWAD name no matter what;
  • Pistol throws in default sprites while shooting;

As it can be seen, they're either fixable or avoidable, but the downside to all this is that the single-player campaign and the multiplayer add-on would have to be separate in such case, for better or worse...

Quick Projects Rundown

Yeah, a very brief and non-detailed list of my gamedev projects:
  • Sergei Savenko's OCEAN;
  • Sergei Savenko's OCEAN: Mercenaries (multiplayer add-on for Zandronum);
  • Dune: House Ordos (remake);
  • Endangered Species (beat'em up for OpenBOR);
  • Endangered Species RTS (engine pending).

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Anyone Asked For Good ALIEN Games?!

Dedicated to re-watching the Director's Cuts for Alien and Aliens last weekend ;P

So, while browsing the internets, I've stumbled upon this kewl post...

I've personally played maybe 30% of the games listed there, but for which I did, I more or less agree with that guy! So, what I would like to recommend:

And - pfft - of course I'm waiting for Alien: Isolation as much as you are!

BONUS: Turns out, this exists!

Friday, June 13, 2014

OCEAN Demo 1.1 Released!

Alright, so I've started fixing some of the more annoying bugs encountered in OCEAN Demo 1.0, and the improved version is now ready for your download!

On ModDB:
On Dropbox:
CHANGELOG:
  • Reduced the number of startup error messages;
  • Moved around the hints and opening credits;
  • Reduced the number of necessary files;
  • Weakened the nurses - now their attack are less frequent and slightly less damaging;
  • Fixed one of the ceiling textures in Hypothermia, as well as one mapping issue (now there's an ability to crawl back rom the conference room);
  • No more chainsaw puffs in diving mode;
  • Fixed a minor GUI issue on MAP01;
  • Recompressed some of the textures to JPG.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

How To Launch The OCEAN Demo Under Linux

Wanted to write this manual anyway, so here goes! Please note this applies mostly to Debian/Ubuntu, so for other distributions, please consider using their respective utilities (packet managers, installation from source, etc.)

  • Download and install libsdl-dev:
    sudo apt-get install libsdl-dev
  • Download and install GZDOOM:
    sudo apt-get install gzdoom
  • Also, you can download the pre-compiled DEB package here: http://debian.drdteam.org/pool/multiverse/g/gzdoom/
  • Download and unpack the OCEAN Demo
  • Place the files ocean24.pk3, doom2.wad and system.wad (or, generally, all the WAD and PK3 files except brightmaps.pk3 and gzdoom.pk3)...
  • ...to the GZDOOM folder: /usr/games/gzdoom
  • Open the terminal and type: gzdoom -file doom2.wad -file ocean24.pk3 -file system.wad
  • Be aggressive!


Additional links:

OCEAN RPG Demo Released!

Such a sweet surprise from my good friend, Snowy-Aegis! He's currently making a sort-of-a gaiden OCEAN game with RPG Maker; I suggested an idea of a prequel, but right now it looks more like an alternate timeline story.

ANYWAY!

Here are the release notes and the download link!

Monday, June 9, 2014

OCEAN Demo - Mega-FAQ

Q: How can I disable Sean's head bobbing?
A: Go to the console ('~' key), type movebob 0 and hit Enter. There won't be success messages, but it should be reduced. To restore it, open the console, type movebob .25 and press Enter.

Q: How do I interact with items/people/Kristina on the first map?
A: Please make sure to bind and use the Use/Open key (Spacebar by default, but it's recommended to rebind it to E).

Q: Once the demo loads, I have to wait an hour before the texture-related messages stop!
A: I know what causes this issue, and it will be addressed in the 1.1 Demo.

Q: I am not an official tester, but I'd like to provide feedback. Can I?
A: Of course! It's a community project, and it doesn't have dedicated QA resources. So please go ahead and voice your opinion! Thank you.

Q: I have some concerns about the controls. Can you please help me out?

A: Here is the preferred control scheme that I personally use. It's not necessarily the best, but the most comfortable in my opinion. All these can be set up in Options > Customize Controls menu:
  • W - walk forward;
  • S - walk backwards;
  • A - strafe (step) left;
  • D - strafe (step) right;
  • LMB - fire;
  • E - use/open;
  • LCtrl - crouch;
  • R - swim up;
  • F - swim down;

Q: The enemies damage an awful lot - I normally play DOOM and its mods on the fourth difficulty level, Ultra-Violence, but it was impossible to beat the demo that way because if even one enemy managed to ambush me it meant almost certain death.

A: Yes, I admit the enemies are very unfair - I've tried way too hard to pursue the 'stealth vs. brute force' gameplay. In the working builds, they were actually worse; I had to weaken them a lot before the release. And, like I said in the release notes, I still feel they're way too overpowered, so I'll definitely rebalance everything.

Q: The robot ladies are specially difficult since their attack is continuous and once they touch you it's highly probable they drain a good 20~25 of your health before you can escape, I suggest a decrease in the damage they do.

A: Alright, I'll definitely consider that and see what I can do!

Q: The second stage 'Hypotermia' is a cluster of commands, swimming though damaging points, crouching and even one jump. Since that's the first stage with some real action in the game maybe you should spare the player some difficulties for later.

A: The feeling of disorientation and 'what's going on?' for the player is actually what I was pretty much going for - it's supposed to be sort of like a training area that makes you familiar with all the gameplay quirks and twists (dialogue, swimming, environmental hazards, Diving Mode, points of interest, one enemy type). However, if you have concrete ideas on how to rebalance it, I'm all open!

Q: The maps are a little small but that's okay.

A: Those are actually my first 'serious' DOOM mapping attempts! Interesting fact: maps 'Licence To Kill', 'Exposition' and 'Marina' are VERY enhanced remakes of three maps from my old unfinished and abandoned WAD, Project Savior; and 'Fear Of The Dark' is a polished version of three test maps I've built specifically for OCEAN, stitched together. Pretty much, only 'Semper Fidelis' and 'Hypothermia' were done completely from scratch and intended to be 100% OCEAN maps from the very start.

Q: Stealth vs brute force emphasis? It helps the immersion in the gameplay, still a bit of balancing would be great.

A: I know that DOOM and old-school shooters in general are about anything but stealth, but I was more thinking games like Deus Ex, which can be beaten 'traditionally', but sneaky tactics are way more rewarding. Speaking in movie terms, I've tried to make the action less like Rambo 2-3 and more like Die Hard - after all, Sean himself is not a bodybuilder, so it would just shatter the suspension of disbelief if he would go out in the open with M60s in both hands!

Q: Talking abouth stealth, 'Fear Of The Dark' is pretty overwhelming during the first battle, it doesn't give the chance to finish the enemies quietly.

A: It actually has a not-really-hidden switch at the very beginning which activates a trap and makes things dramatically easier! And there're 3 such switches on 'Licence To Kill', too.

Q: I understood just fine your intentions and as a fact I think it's a good idea to introduce the player with the commands, I just feel many people might get frustrated, let's hope I'm wrong.

A: Well, I take all the negative feedback into consideration just as much as the positive; probably I should add in more hints and points of interest, just so the player would be 100% comfortable. I'll rebalance it in any case, don't worry!

Q: I noticed a detail about 'Licence To kill' - the whole map is designed to look for three switches across the stage, but if you crouch in the second room you can reach the back side of the console and interact with it, thus breaking the sequence and being able to continue to map 4. Maybe you designed it on purpose but maybe it wasn't intended.

A: If rebooting all three relays is not mandatory in this case, I'll look into it. Thank you for finding this bug!

Thanks to Eon-Sonny for the questions!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

OCEAN DEMO 1.0 RELEASED


The Improved Title Screen by EinhanderZwei on deviantART


Well well... 'This is a nice, interesting scene' (c) MADstarter

First of all, HAPPY WORLD OCEAN DAY!!!

And what's the best way to celebrate it rather than to check out the first 4 (technically, 7) maps of the project you've heard about but I'm sure wanted to try out yourself?

That's right my beloved cuties and patooties, Sergei Savenko's OCEAN Demo 1.0 is now live. You can download and play it, like... right now.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Unzip OCEAN_Demo.zip to whatever folder you like (D:\Games\OCEAN_Demo would be good enough);
  • Launch the Launch_OceanDemo file;
  • Set up the keys and all necessary goodies (screen resolution, sound, yadda yadda);
  • KICK ASS!

DOWNLOAD LINKS:

DropBox | Google Drive | MediaFire

SOME PROTIPS:

MAP02: Hypothermia
  • Make sure to explore everything. All there's to find will aid you later;

MAP03: Licence To Kill
  • The best route is not the straightforward one;
  • Look for hidden switches - there's two of them that will help you dramatically;

MAP05: Fear Of The Dark
  • This is a rather hard level - don't hesitate to save your game from time to time;
  • Memorize the location of health recharge terminals;
  • Machete is good against the zombie nurses;
  • Always be on your guard;
  • Crouch often - that will compromise the enemies' accuracy;
  • Do not waste ammo;

MAP06: Marina
  • This map has a puzzle, as well as a lot of enemies, as well as a big environmental hazard;
  • Don't waste Slayer ammo;
  • Take cover whenever possible;
  • Don't hesitate to save the game often;
  • It IS possible to jump over to the pool, just look better at the surroundings;

KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES:

  • The number of monsters is the same on all difficulties; however the other standard DOOM schema is supposed to be in effect (double ammo on DEFCON 1 and 5, respawning enemies on DEFCON 1, etc.);
  • Sean's crouching sprites are his standing sprites squeezed vertically;
  • The number of enemies on MAP06 can be pretty unfair - please report if the map is TOO difficult;
  • Help screens are not redesigned;
  • MAP06 is very poorly decorated... for now;
  • Chainsaw puffs in diving mode;
  • DOOM cheats still work :P
  • The engine returns lots of warning messages regarding the textures - ignore them; the game is playable and glitch-free;
  • GZDOOM interface is mostly default;

COMING SOON:

  • Standalone Mod (convenient for Linux users);
  • ModDB page;
  • DoomWorld thread;

THANKEES:
DoncellaSuicide  | Lucifer-Krusnik00  | Magicisreal828  | pingukasane  | Gothalla123  | Ciullo-Corporation  | bds314  | NemesisIlit  | TheGreyPersona  | EpicMaster3D  | NagainaTheNaga  | LaNora-84  | czmAvery  | Blackpantherwolf13  | Nikunia  | breaker213  | Kalidreamine  | Ms-Ru  | HansTechrist  | Meljona  |  LostMemoryOfADream  | Snowy-Aegis

  • John Romero, Andrew Sega and Jason Jones;
  • GZDOOM Team;
  • :iconvoreq: for the legendary one-liner: 'have fun with your naked furries and fish, freak';
  • :iconheellawait: for Svetlana chibis, stabbing me in the ass for teh l00lz, and thus giving me enough fuel for hatred that kept me on when I was feeling burnt out;
  • Svetlana Tikhovliz for unknowingly giving the first and last name to one of the game's most memorable characters;

OTHER USEFUL INFO:

Where else!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Happy Birthday(s)!!!

Well, over here in Ukraine, it's May, 31st. On this day, even if in different years, two baddest motherf%ckers in the world happened to be born. The main differences between them are:
  • One is famous, and the other is not;
  • One is 84, and the other is 26.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLINT AND ME!!!
Mr Eastwood... You're my all-time favorite actor, and I can't imagine my life without your movies. Each time I see you onscreen, I regret being a man. 'Nuff said! :D

And as for me... YOU decide what kind of significance do me and my blog have for you ;)

Sunday, May 25, 2014

My Favorite Video Game Composers

Chris Hulsbeck
Famous for: Turrican 1-3, Apidya, R-Type, The Great Giana Sisters



* * *


Andrwe 'Necros' Sega
Famous for: Crusader: No Remorse, Crusader: No Regret, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, In Pursuit Of Greed



* * *


Kevin Schilder
Famous for: Heretic 1-2, Hexen 1-2, Necrodome, Mageslayer



* * *


Alexander 'Siren' Brandon
Famous for: Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Tyrian



* * *


Frank Klepacki
Famous for: Command & Conquer franchise, The Legend Of Kyrandia, Dune 2



* * *


Michiru Yamane
Famous for: Castlevania Bloodlines, Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night, Contra: Hard Corps



* * *


Yuzo Koshiro
Famous for: Streets Of Rage franchise, Ys franchise


Best Action Movie Theme Songs Of All Time

Patrick Swayze & Jeff Healey Band - Raising Heaven (In Hell Tonight)
From: Road House (1989)



* * *


Robert Tepper - Angel Of The City
From: Cobra (1986)



* * *


Fire, Inc. - Nowhere Fast
From: Streets Of Fire (1984)



* * *


Joe Delia & David Johansen - New York Doll
From: Fear City (1984)



* * *


Dan Hill - It's A Long Road
From: First Blood (1982)



* * *


Frank Stallone - Peace In Our Life
From: Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)



* * *


Bill Medley - It Is Our Destiny
From: Rambo III (1988)



* * *


Sheena Easton - For your Eyes Only
From: For Your Eyes Only (1981)



* * *


John Parr - Restless Heart
From: The Running Man (1987)



* * *


Donna Summer & Bruce Roberts - Whenever There's Love
From: Daylight (1996)


Best Horror Movie Theme Songs Of All Time

Ramones - Pet Sematary
From: Pet Sematary (1989)



* * *


Alien - Brave New Love
From: The Blob (1988)



* * *


Dokken - Dream Warriors
From: A NIghtmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)



* * *


Alice Cooper - He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)
From: Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)



* * *


Motorhead - Hellraiser
From: Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (1992)



* * *


John Harrison - If Tomorrow Comes
From: Day Of The Dead (1985)


Saturday, May 24, 2014

Killer Obscure Bands Promotion!

Let's talk music for once. I'd like to bring up some killer but unfortunately, relatively unknown 80-90-2000s bands in order to, well, introduce and/or promote them to you! We're mostly talking Thrash, Progressive and Power Metal here. Jag Panzer
Probably, one of my favorite power metal bands ever. They had a long and troubled history, with lots of changing members and crappy albums, but when they got strong lineups, man they gave out a show. Their early style is raw and angry brand of speed/power metal, bordering thrash at times, while the later efforts are more restrained and progressive. Also, they have one hard rock album and one groovy one, both with non-canon singers.
Best album IMO: Ample Destruction

Fifth Angel
Sadly disbanded now, these guys from Seattle have managed to record two excellent albums in the 80s, led by a talented guitarist James Byrd. Their style is traditional heavy metal at its finest, with the best parts of the first album ('Fifth Angel') being about the fast-paced songs. On 'Time Will Tell', the speed metal element is almost gone, but it lives up to predecessor's quality anyway.
Best album IMO: Fifth Angel

Voivod
One of my all-time favorite bands, if not the one. These nuclear physicists from Canada had it all: conceptual lyrics that flowed like sci-fi stories, incredibly stylish cover arts, 8 minute long songs, lots of technical, progressive and even psychedelic influences. They started off as a garage thrash band, then switched to progressive metal, then to psychedelic hard rock, then to industrial, and the metamorphosis goes on, sadly darkened by the passing of their guitarist and main composer Denis 'Piggy' D'Amor. Still, their 6 early albums are a must listen.
Best album IMO: Dimension Hatross

Dark Angel
This band made me forget about Slayer's 'Reign In Blood'. They played a more traditional metal alloy back in the day, but some of the characteristics I gave to Voivod can be applied to them as well: ultra-long songs (246 riffs on their 4th and last album!), lengthy and complex lyrics written by then-unknown Gene Hoglan who also provided annihilating drumwork and a few years ago even received an email of gratitude from yours truly, read it and even replied! Overall, it's easily the most brutal and destructive band of the 80s - there's a reason fans call them Dark Fucking Angel.
Best album IMO: Darkness Descends

Twisted Tower Dire
I've found out about these guys only recently, and it was one album only, but it blew me away! Seriously, one of the best new heavy metal bands out there, and unlike some of the referenced above, they need your love and promotion RIGHT NOW!
Best album IMO: Crest Of The Martyrs

Vio-Lence
This band nowadays is mostly remembered for providing 3/5 of Machine Head, including Robb Flynn. As any well respected thrash band of the 80s, they tried their best to be the loudest, the heaviest, the angriest, and their effort didn't go unnoticed, as their first albums and EP are considered the genre's gold, with their lengthy songs and punk rock vocal approach from Sean Killian.
Best album IMO: Eternal Nightmare

Forbidden
Again, this band is kept from obscurity by the memebers' future careers, particularly Paul Bostaph, who of course is one of the most demanded thrash metal drummers, providing his artillery for Slayer and Testament among others. And similar to Vio-Lence, Forbidden's best albums happen to be the first two, combining speed, aggression and high technical abilities. Surprisingly, they have managed to reunite and even put up a new album quite recently!
Best album IMO: Forbidden Evil

Sacred Reich
Alright, I will be thick-skinned and biased about them. I don't like any of their albums except 'Ignorance' and the 'Surf Nicaragua' EP, and I'm convinced that a string of weird stylistic decisions was what led the band to demise. Oh well, at least 'Ignorance' and 'Surf Nicaragua' are still there, regarded among the tharsh/speed metal's finest hours. I'd also like to note the interesting political lyrics on both.
Best album IMO: Ignorance

Nuclear Assault
This is an offspring of Anthrax's Danny Lilker and his friends, who inherited the punk approach of Anthrax and sped it up to unbelievable cycles for the time. Another sign of punk heritage were the straightforward politically correct lyrics, aimed at everything that was bad in the world and, surprisingly, still is. The music may be more 'lightweight' than other bands of the era, but the energy and speed compensate that by a mile. Their last album was released in 2005, after which they sadly disbanded. Hopefully, we'll hear from them again sometime soon!
Best album IMO: Game Over

Agent Steel
From politics to sci-fi! These LA thrashers are still doing well and kick as much (if not more) ass as they were in the 80s. Rumor had it, they were one of the first metal bands to sing about UFOs visiting the Ancient Egypt and yadda yadda, but what I know for sure is that their 80s albums are quintessential speed/thrash in its most raw and unpussified fashion. When they reunited in 1998, they updated the style, making it heavier and groovier, yet retaining the speed and battering power. That's what I especially like about them - all their albums are different yet awesome for their own reasons!
Best album IMO: Omega Conspiracy

Scanner
This band is an offspring of German 80s power metal craze ignited by Helloween. Led by the guitarist Axel Julius, they took an interesting approach with making all their odd-numbered albums conceptual and actually sounding not really like Gamma Ray or, say, Blind Guardian, with all the samples and technical elements. Haven't heard their last album, 'Scantropolis', but they say it is unlike anything they've put up before, combining progressive rock and female vocals (?). Oh well, at least their early stuff is some of the best in German power metal.
Best album IMO: Hypertrace

Iron Angel
Another kick-ass speed/power band from Germany, only a little more evil and blunt this time. Their style is a perfect mixture of Kreator and Running Wild, so I can't even imagine what can be unlikeable about it! Their album covers are pretty funny, too, especially 'Winds Of War'. A few years ago Iron Angel actually tried a reunion and even released a couple of archived live records, but sadly, after the 'Back To Hell' demo the project fell apart again. Still, would be awesome if they solve all the lineup troubles and put up a third record no weaker than 'Hellish Crossfire'!
Best album IMO: Hellish Crossfire

Angel Dust
The last band for now, it may be one of my all-time favorites from the whole German power metal scene. Somewhat similar to Agent Steel, they've recorded a couple of cool albums in the 80s and fell apart to reunite in the 90s and completely change their style, bringing more groove and doom metal elements with slower songs, large amount of keyboards and sad gloomy atmosphere, which owes a lot to Dirk Thurisch and his awesome vocals. I think this band, especially their 90s stuff, would be a good listen to the Gothic rock/metal fans out there for their heartbreaking sadness mixed with all the metal brutality.
Best album IMO: Enlighten The Darkness

My Top 10 Zombie Movies

With OCEAN revolving around three most important things in entertainment (killing motherfuckers, zombies and boobs), I've decided it's time to compile a list of my all-time favorite zombie movies. Because hey, why not?

Also, please note that for the first time in forever, this is actually a rating chart, not just a list of 10 entries (unlike most of my other Top 10s). Just so you know.

10. World War Z (2013)
Why: Likeable characters, mega-fast zombies, heavy on atmosphere, dripping with suspense, great effects, fast-paced story and action.

9. Re-Animator (1985)
Why: The duo of Jeffrey Combs and Bruce Abbott, some of the darkest jokes ever, awesome practical effects, memorable characters, a whole mix of other horror subgenres.

8. The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
Why: It's sort of like Shaun Of The Dead for the 80s, with lots of references to classics, extremely funny characters and the perfect 'time capsule' armosphere; again, great practical effects and varied zombie types, and of course, the famous 'Braaaaaains!' line.

7. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Why: Bruce Campbell, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Campbell amd Bruce Campbell.

6. Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Why: Social satire, fast-paced action, Tom Savini, great atmosphere, clever characters compared to most (but not all, surely) other horror movies of the time, also very gory and violent by 70s standards.

5. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Why: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, jam-packed with quotes, references and parodies of the classics, lots of hilarious scenes and dialogue.

4. Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) aka Cemetery Man
Why: Surreal and arthouse elements, dark humor, incredible acting by Rupert Everett and anna Falchi (who is the hot as hell), interesting twisted emotional storyline.

3. Dead Alive (1992) aka Brain Dead
Why: TONS of gore, guts and violence, CISTERNS of fake blood, unbelievable action scene involving a lawnmower, and the whole thing is soaked with excellent dark humor.

2. 28 Days Later (2002)
Why: Pitch perfect atmosphere, realistic and believable setting, effects and soundtrack, great action scenes, and of course, Cillian Murphy.

1. Day Of The Dead (1985)
Why: Effects, score, completely crazy protagonists, a great female lead (for the first time in G. Romero's movies), but most importantly, the one and only Captain Motherfucking Rhodes.

3 Days To Kill (2014) [Action, Drama, Thriller]



So I've seen 3 Days To Kill in the theater, and I have to announce that my darlings, it kicked considerable amount of ass!

Kevin Costner is one of the few actors that all members of my familiy are huge fans of. For how long haven't you seen him in a big-budget blockbuster? I'd say around 15 yrs since The Postman; but according to 3 Days To Kill, this is the comeback of the year, following Tom Cruise's battery of decent-to-great projects in 2012-2013. I'm sorry, but judging from their latest movies, Costner, Cruise (Mission Impossible 4, Oblivion, Jack Reacher, Knight & Day) and Mark Wahlberg (2 Guns, The Other Guys, Pain & Gain) have more rock solid action careers right now than 90% of The Expendables.

But how was the movie itself? Well, it's not quite a 'pure' action film, rather than a mix of several genres, perfectly flowing into one another. Costner plays a badass, kickass CIA agent, who is just as good at killing motherfuckers as he is awkward at family relations. So essentially, it's like Homefront, only, you know, not shitty. It also has some elements from The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible, James Bond movies, Crank, Jack Reacher, The Bodyguard (pff, but obviously! It's his most iconic movie, after all), some really good melodramatic scenes, great supporting cast with Amber Heard (who is one hell of a sexy beast), Hailee Steinfeld (who, unlike in Ender's Game, is very likeable, cute and convincing here), and Tomas Lemarquis and Richard Sammel as badass villains... it just has everything. Action! Drama! Suspense! Thrills! Cleavages!

I'm sorry guys, but I want to encourage you to vote with your dollar for this movie (well, if it's not playing anymore, then DVDs, BluRays and Netflix are the way!), because I so hope that it will be a financial success, and Costner would be back in the spotlight again, especially if he would be picking projects of similar quality - because admit it, we all missed him. I missed him.

The Bodyguard has returned! Welcome back Kevin!

Micro-Reviews For A Few Underrated Games

Most of the games listed here were/are at least cult classics or financial successes at some point in time (especially thanks to the modern wave of retro games being re-released/remade for services like Steam, GOG.com and even Battle.Net), but a couple, like Disruptor and Cyber Org,.. Nobody plays them, nobody discusses them, nobody puts them in all those articles like 'Top 10 Unknown PSX Games'! Cyber Org doesn't even have a MobyGames page - how insulting is that?

Marathon Trilogy (PC) - my favorite gaming franchise of all time; a series of beautifully magnificent first person shooters from Bungie (the guys that eventually made Halo), notable for their ridiculously complicated storyline and teeth-crushing difficulty. Also, all 3 games are OFFICIALLY FREE now!

Chaos Break (PSX) - a fun little third-person shooter from Taito, inspired by the first Resident Evil. Very fast-paced and graphically sweet game!

Disruptor (PSX) - my favorite first-person shooter for the PlayStation. Incredibly beautiful game with perfect difficulty, great level designs and live-action cutscenes; I'm SHOCKED nobody ever talks about it!

Ys I & II Chronicles (a lot of platforms, but best versions are on PC and PSP) - excellent action RPGs in the vein of Legeod Of Zelda and Diablo, with beautiful pixel graphics and very emotional and sweet storyline; my favorite JRPG series hands down.

Resident Evil: Gun Survivor (PSX) - very much hated by the fans and critics, but I still kinda like it. Totally not the worst FPS ever, and I have to admit it's actually pretty damn scary.

Silent Bomber (PSX) - a crossover between Contra, Robotron and Bomberman, of all games! Basically, it's a top-down run-n-gun game, but instead of a projectile weapon, you have bombs and landmines of different types that you plant on the ground and even on the enemies; this adds a whole new gameplay mechanic to the genre, to say the least! Nice music, solid story and pretty graphics don't hurt, too.

Cyber Org (PSX) - imagine a cross between Devil May Cry, Fighting Force and your favorite roguelike or hack-n-slash RPG, complete with heavy metal soundtrack and (supposedly, since it was never fully translated to English) nice storyline, and you'll understand my frustration over Square not releasing it anywhere except of Japan! The intro cinematic alone is mindblowing.

Pursuit Force & Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice (PSP) - my favorite PSP games ever; sort of like GTA meets Chase HQ. The definitive police-themed gaming franchise for me!

Apocalypse (PSX) - a top-down twinstick Contra-esque game with amazing graphics, music by System Of A Down, and the main character based on and voiced by Bruce Willis! Again, how come nobody talks about it?!

One (PSX) - another excellent Contra-styled game with great graphics, nasty difficulty and adrenaline-injected gameplay. Thank God it was released on PS Network, at least!

Crusader: No Remorse & Crusader: No Regret (PC) - popular back in the day, but sort of obscure now series of isometric action-adventure games from the creators of Ultima and Wing Commander, featuring lots of gore, destructible environments, and a PHENOMENAL soundtrack by Andrew 'Necros' Sega. The only downfall of these games is the control scheme, and that's why I prefer the PSX version of No Remorse, even though it has less cutscenes and maps. (detailed review here)

True Crime: Streets Of LA (PC) - another definitive police-themed game for me; yeah it's a GTA clone, but it has enough quirks and twists to stand on its own IMHO. Big hit back in the day, but again, pretty much forgotten now... oh, and the soundtrack just kicks GTA's a$$ and eats what's left.

MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAMES OF ALL TIME

You heard it right. It's the list you ALL've been waiting for!

The final, ultimate, balls-to-the-wall, down-to-business, no-bullcrap-about it. I'm a gamer since 4 yrs old, and therefore during the last 21 years I've played a TON of games. Some good, some bad, but these... these are the cream of the butter. Legends. Epic Wins, if you will.

Best Videogames I Have Ever Played.

Instead of doing a simple Top N and/or splitting them between genres, I've decided to be original and split them between themes. And then, I've sorted the themes in a descending order. Also, there are some duplicates among the lists, but that's understandable since many of them encompass more than one stylistic genre. Also, I haven't included casual games, but I'd like to honor them beforehand - Tetris, Kyodai Mahjong and Minesweeper are my favorite timekillers for as long as I know myself.

As for the rest...



Science Fiction: Marathon 2: Durandal
Unsorted runners-up: Marathon, Marathon Infinity, Cyber Org, DOOM, Turrican 3, Einhander, Star Control 1-2, Phantasy Star Universe series, Dune 1-2, X-COM 1-3, Elite 1-2, Quake 2, Quazatron, Academy, Unreal, Flashback: Quest For Identity




Cyberpunk: Deus Ex
Unsorted runners-up: Crusader: No Remorse, Marathon, Metal Gear Solid, Cyberlords: Arcology, Contra: Hard Corps




Sci-Fi Action: Gunstar Heroes
Unsorted runners-up: Contra, Gunstar Super Heroes, GunForce 2, Commander Keen 6, Tyrian, Oni, Soldier Blade, Exolon, Trantor: The Last Stormtrooper, Rogue Trooper (1986), Disruptor




Post-Apocalypse: Fallout 2
Unsorted runners-up: Fallout, Necrodome, Quarantine




'Die Hard On An X': Half-Life
Unsorted runners-up: System Shock 2, Metal Gear Solid, Saboteur 2, The Great Escape (1986)




Dystopia: Crusader: No Remorse
Unsorted runners-up: Deus Ex, Freedom Fighters, Unreal Tournament




War: Call Of Duty
Unsorted runners-up: Gears Of War 2, Operation Flashpoint, Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Command & Conquer: Generals, Harrier Attack, Shock Troopers




Political Thriller: Metal Gear Solid
Unsorted runners-up: Crusader: No Remorse




Comedy: Duke Nukem 3D
Unsorted runners-up: MDK 1-2, Earthworm Jim 1-2, Battletoads, Battletoads And Double Dragon, Scorched Earth, Commander Keen 6, Kyatto Ninden Teyandee, Metal Slug 3, Off-World Interceptor Extreme




Body Horror: System Shock 2
Unsorted runners-up: Dead Space, Super C, Parasite Eve, Resident Evil 4, Venom




Zombie Horror: Resident Evil 2
Unsorted runners-up: Resident Evil 1/3/5, Left 4 Dead, System Shock 2, Half-Life




Supernatural Horror: DOOM
Unsorted runners-up: Silent Hill, Maken Shao: Demon Sword




Vampire Horror: Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Unsorted runners-up: Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood, Castlevania Bloodlines, BloodRayne




Romance: Ys I&II Chronicles
Unsorted runners-up: Metal Gear Solid 3




Police Action: Pursuit Force
Unsorted runners-up: True Crime: Streets Of L.A., Max Payne, Turbo Esprit




Crime: Max Payne
Unsorted runners-up: GTA, GTA 3, Streets Of Rage 2




Martial Arts: Mortal Kombat 3
Unsorted runners-up: Ninja Gaiden 1-3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Double Dragon 2, Street Fighter 2, Saboteur 2




Fantasy: Hexen 2
Unsorted runners-up: Hexen, Ys I&II Chronicles, The Dark Heart Of Uukrul, Quake, The Legend Of Kyrandia 1-2, Super Mario Bros., Fairlight, Rapscallion, Savage (1988)




Pseudo-Historical Fantasy/Peplum: God Of War
Unsorted runners-up: Praetorians, Knights Of The Cross




Mecha: Zone Of The Enders: The 2nd Runner
Unsorted runners-up: Metal Warriors




‘Girls With Guns’: Super Metroid
Unsorted runners-up: Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid Fusion, Parasite Eve, BloodRayne, Oni




Religious: Requiem: Avenging Angel
Unsorted runners-up: Apocalypse




Driving: Carmageddon 2
Unsorted runners-up: Carmageddon, Twisted Metal 2, Off-World Interceptor Extreme, Quarantine




Adventure: I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
Unsorted runners-up: ZZT, The Legend Of Kyrandia 1-2, Flashback: Quest For Identity, Another World




Adult: Cobra Mission
Unsorted runners-up: Amy's Fantasies, Wet: The Sexy Empire, True Love


* * *


BY PLATFORM:



PC/DOS: Duke Nukem 3D



PC/Windows: Unreal Tournament



PC/Linux: DOOM 3



MacOS: Marathon 2: Durandal




ZX Spectrum: Saboteur 2




Commodore 64: Enforcer




MSX: Metal Gear




Atari 2600: River Raid




NES: Kyatto Ninden Teyandee




Game Boy/Color: Operation C




PC Engine: Soldier Blade




Sega Mega Drive: Contra: Hard Corps




Sega Game Gear: GG Aleste




SNES: Super Metroid




Neo Geo: Metal Slug 3




3DO: Crime Patrol




PlayStation: Metal Gear Solid




Neo Geo Pocket Color: SNK Gals Fighters
(blow me)



Nintendo 64: DOOM 64




Game Boy Advance: Metroid: Zero Mission




Dreamcast: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X




PlayStation 2: Metal Gear Solid 3




PSP: Pursuit Force




Xbox 360: Gears Of War 2




PlayStation 3: Dead Space




Android: Cyberlords: Arcology