Category: Entertainment

XBox 360 Release Date and Price Rumor

TVG is among the hundreds of video game news sites passing along unconfirmed reports from Walmart employees that Microsoft’s XBox 360 will be in stores on November 4th, 2005.

According to the rumors, the console itself will be $299, though consumers will no doubt be forced to purchase the units in a number of “bundles”,with mandatory included accessories and games, driving the out-the-door price up a possible $100 more. The supposed leaks also make the claim that most release-day games will be priced at $59.99.

Of course, like most hot items, these numbers and date have been repeated on many gaming sites without a single secondary source to give any real credibility to the story, so take that as you will.

Kids, Video Games and Violence

Games Revolution has an article up by Duke Ferris in regards to the recent up-surge in news items and proposed legislation to fight the so-called epidemic of youth violence in America being caused by violent video games.

The core point of the article, however, is: “There is no epidemic of youth violence in America.”

Despite the increasing number of hyped news articles and opinion pieces over the “worth” of video games that contain violence, the statistics coming in from the federal government is that violence, and crime in general, is down among young people. In fact, it’s at it’s lowest point in twenty years, as many independent studies have shown.

Something to keep in mind the next time you see a breathless television journalist keeping their ratings high by interviewing yet another politician who talks long and hard about how they’re going to “protect the children” with proposed laws that never make it out of congressional sub-committees, all while the hard decisions are conveniently never made.

Battlefield 2 and Gamespy

Battlefield 2 is currently enjoying a 91% average rating, and with good reason. However, the excellent in-game experience is really being hampered by the Gamespy powered server browser.
Gamespy Makes My Head Hurt.

While I can understand the allure to the production management of using a pre-existing in-game server browser solution, rather than paying for the development in-house, it doesn’t stop me from being annoyed at the situation. Gamers have come to see “Powered by Gamespy” as a warning sign that the in-game server browser will be, at best, tolerable.

It’s not hard to see why third-party server browser software like All-Seeing Eye or Qtracker are still quite popular, despite the fact that nearly all modern online games ship with in-game browsers.

In the end, however, I feel sorry for Digital Illusions CE, as they’re the ones being blamed by less knowledgeable gamers for the travesty of the in-game browser, when the decision most likely came not from the developers, but from the producer, Electronic Arts.

Batman Begins

I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical about this movie. While I love superhero movies, even the campiest ones, the previews released during the production of Batman Begins didn’t exactly impress me.

I’ve never been a fan of the all-black costume, for example. I personally would have preferred to see something with at least some contrasting grays along with the black in keeping with the common Batman comic costume, as well as perhaps some cloth woven across the top of the body armor. I’m still not keen on the idea of a thicker, rubber-like material around the neck, as I feel someone involved with the amount of hand-to-hand combat that the character of Batman would encounter would prefer as much natural head movement as possible. Still, as filmed, the costume serves the character well.

And then there’s the Batmobile. When I first saw photos of the Tumbler, I thought it was outright silly looking. However, in action it’s a pretty spectacular vehicle and easily my new favorite Bat vehicle. The Tumbler is like most of the tech in this movie, it seems silly at first, but works well enough within the confines of the movie that it seems natural for the director’s vision of the Batman world.

I had also been skeptical about the amount of star power in this movie. I feared that it would be hard to see famous actors like Michael Caine as anything other than himself, but he actually won me over to the idea that he’s Batman’s faithful friend and butler, Alfred, just like Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman did as Gordon and Fox. Though I didn’t always buy Christian Bale’s “Batman voice”, he seemed to fit both Bruce Wayne and Batman better than any of the previous actors in the role. Katie Holmes was better than her current acting reputation, but the real star of the movie for me were Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow and Liam Neeson as Wayne’s mentor and eventual enemy.

The action sequences were great, though I hope the inevitable sequels don’t keep this film’s technique of shooting every fight scene using nothing but close-ups and jump cuts. The sound effects, on the other hand, was perfectly loud and meaty. The Tumbler in low gear is a thing of horrendous beauty.

Overall, this isn’t just my new favorite Batman movie, it’s also my current pick as movie of the summer. Even if you’re just a general action fan with little obsession over the Batman character, this is a must see to add to your warm weather film nights.