You have no idea how long I waited for this game. Dynasty Warriors 6 was pretty and had some innovative ideas, but Dynasty Warriors 7 was successful in executing those changes.
People often complain about this series because, "it's always the same." I have to disagree with that sentiment. It may constantly be the same universe and story line, but the same can be said about every Madden, every Call of Duty, every Halo, every Assassin's Creed, and every other franchise.
Let's go over some of the changes in Dynasty Warriors 7:
1. Character Design - I like the designs, Huang Gai's hot pants = yes please! Sure there are some I don't like, (Zhao Yun for instance) and some sort of don't make sense (Bao Sanniang), I enjoy the majority.
2. New Characters - I loved Bao Sanniang, I don't care what anyone says. Cai Wenji I wish I could get more of a history for, The Jin Dyansty in general was fascinating and fun to learn about, and many others of the additions I liked after I played them.
3. Story Setup - A lot of people didn't like the idea of not controlling a character throughout the story modes, I actually enjoyed this aspect. It forced me to play as characters I never would have before.
4.Conquest Mode - I'm half and half with this, I loved the concept, but as soon as I beat conquest mode I felt kind of uninspired to do more. I conquered everything at that point. I would be fine to keep it if there was some sort of randomized fight option, so there was still some exiting element when you've played it all.
I will continue to support Dynasty Warriors as I love the characters and the music, and the gameplay. My only complaints were, when you were done, you were done, any additional play time felt somewhat uninspired. And I hated some of the voices because they didn't seem to fit the character design or what I wanted them to sound like in my head.
Game needs more Steve Blum <3
Now all I need a new Warriors Orochi and Samurai Warriors IN THE US!! Stope releasing these in Asia only, it sucks for the rest of us that DO love you D:
6.08.2011
3.28.2011
Sucker Punch Impression (not so much a review)
Sucker Punch is a very intricate story about a young woman thrown into a horrible situation, who copes by stealing away into her mind. This is a very vague and raw explanation of the plot, I could go into more detail, but I'll leave it at that for now.
The basic concept of this is very appealing and not often touched by cinema. Most places tend to write off movies that involve dreamstates, simply because they feel it's cheating or cliche. The problem is however, that although it can be used that way, dreams are so universal and yet so completely different that I feel that it's entirely worth investigating within the visual medium. With the recent success of Inception, I wouldn't be surprised if more movies based on the ideas of dreams cropped up.
Having been one to experience very vivid dreams, both good and bad, I was excited to see this film. The blatant over sexualized appeal of girls fishnets and tiny skirts doesn't bother me personally, so I wasn't turned off by that either. Overall, visually, I found the movie to be interesting, beautiful at times, with great uses of color palettes to reflect areas.
Another great thing about the movie is the soundtrack. I feel that the music in the film lead to much of the reactions to the scenes. Bjork's Army of Me, is fantastic, and to hear it prior to a battle was very much a dream come true. In fact, I bought the soundtrack almost immediately after hearing it.
But although the game was pretty, the music was great, and the premise was exciting, I felt disappointed after the film. There are some pretty dark implications to what is going on in the story when they're at the 'brothel'. The film obviously states that Emily Brownings character is 20, but the "Babydoll" character looks much younger than that. So the constant push to make her sexy came out slightly awkward. I also can't help but notice that this is the 3rd Zack Snyder movie where female characters are more empowered due to some form of abuse or trauma. 300 and Watchmen are not his stories, however SuckerPunch is primarily his. Why does a woman have to be pushed to that point? I've never had a movie make me feel so feminist before. It's not the sexualization, it's just the idea that for us to be anything we have to suffer traumatizing situations and then 'steal away' from them so that we are able to cope with them. In fact Zack Snyder is not the only one at fault with this, which is why I'm so upset with this film. I was hoping for something more than that, the story isn't actually that bad, but I was hoping it would cast a different light on female fronted action films.
There are profound moments in the film though, despite my dislike of what could have been, and one of them is Jena Malone. I am a fan of Jena Malone, her roles are always interesting, and her personality is vibrant. She was my favorte moments in this film. The delicate innocense and kindness that Sweet Pea and Babydoll wanted to protect. Every other character gained life when she was on screen, when she wasn't I suddenly lost interest.
Without going into spoilers I do understand that this film is much deeper than it looks, maybe it was intentional, maybe not. Maybe the subtley is there for people to come to their own conclusions and maybe it's subtle because Snyder and his co-scripter had no idea what they wanted to do. It can be argued either way.
Which is why I find myself not hating the film, but not loving this film. I wanted more from it than what I got, which is my own fault, but at the same time, what I wanted doesn't seem like a bad thing to want. I honestly think this movie would have been better if they focus on either asylum + fight scenes, or all fantasy. The multiple levels of escape in her mind made the brothel analogy really seem pointless in the scheme of story set up. I doubt there will be a sequel, and I in no way regret seeing it. I will also probably buy it and support it's merchandising, for if anything, recognition for more movies with female leads. I just hope next time we can be powerful without all the drama, rape, abuse, and trauma.
The basic concept of this is very appealing and not often touched by cinema. Most places tend to write off movies that involve dreamstates, simply because they feel it's cheating or cliche. The problem is however, that although it can be used that way, dreams are so universal and yet so completely different that I feel that it's entirely worth investigating within the visual medium. With the recent success of Inception, I wouldn't be surprised if more movies based on the ideas of dreams cropped up.
Having been one to experience very vivid dreams, both good and bad, I was excited to see this film. The blatant over sexualized appeal of girls fishnets and tiny skirts doesn't bother me personally, so I wasn't turned off by that either. Overall, visually, I found the movie to be interesting, beautiful at times, with great uses of color palettes to reflect areas.
Another great thing about the movie is the soundtrack. I feel that the music in the film lead to much of the reactions to the scenes. Bjork's Army of Me, is fantastic, and to hear it prior to a battle was very much a dream come true. In fact, I bought the soundtrack almost immediately after hearing it.
But although the game was pretty, the music was great, and the premise was exciting, I felt disappointed after the film. There are some pretty dark implications to what is going on in the story when they're at the 'brothel'. The film obviously states that Emily Brownings character is 20, but the "Babydoll" character looks much younger than that. So the constant push to make her sexy came out slightly awkward. I also can't help but notice that this is the 3rd Zack Snyder movie where female characters are more empowered due to some form of abuse or trauma. 300 and Watchmen are not his stories, however SuckerPunch is primarily his. Why does a woman have to be pushed to that point? I've never had a movie make me feel so feminist before. It's not the sexualization, it's just the idea that for us to be anything we have to suffer traumatizing situations and then 'steal away' from them so that we are able to cope with them. In fact Zack Snyder is not the only one at fault with this, which is why I'm so upset with this film. I was hoping for something more than that, the story isn't actually that bad, but I was hoping it would cast a different light on female fronted action films.
There are profound moments in the film though, despite my dislike of what could have been, and one of them is Jena Malone. I am a fan of Jena Malone, her roles are always interesting, and her personality is vibrant. She was my favorte moments in this film. The delicate innocense and kindness that Sweet Pea and Babydoll wanted to protect. Every other character gained life when she was on screen, when she wasn't I suddenly lost interest.
Without going into spoilers I do understand that this film is much deeper than it looks, maybe it was intentional, maybe not. Maybe the subtley is there for people to come to their own conclusions and maybe it's subtle because Snyder and his co-scripter had no idea what they wanted to do. It can be argued either way.
Which is why I find myself not hating the film, but not loving this film. I wanted more from it than what I got, which is my own fault, but at the same time, what I wanted doesn't seem like a bad thing to want. I honestly think this movie would have been better if they focus on either asylum + fight scenes, or all fantasy. The multiple levels of escape in her mind made the brothel analogy really seem pointless in the scheme of story set up. I doubt there will be a sequel, and I in no way regret seeing it. I will also probably buy it and support it's merchandising, for if anything, recognition for more movies with female leads. I just hope next time we can be powerful without all the drama, rape, abuse, and trauma.
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