Saving the World From Aliens Has Never Been This Fun

I've wanted a PS3 since the day I heard Sony was going to be making one a few years back. I didn't get around to actually picking one up till about three months ago. The biggest reason I wanted one when I got it was, of course, GOD OF WAR 3 but the only reason I wanted the PS3 three years ago was because of one of the few launch titles for the system, RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN.

RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN, from Insomniac games, is a first person shooter that takes place in an alternate history where World War 2 never happened. Instead, a mysterious race of aliens, known as the Chimera, have quickly spread across Europe converting humans into hideous and powerful alien soldiers in the process. You play Sgt. Nathan Hale, an American soldier who is part of a task force sent into Britain in the year 1951 to retrieve some sort of secret weapon that will hopefully stop the Chimera. As you would expect, things don't go quite as planned and the entire team is wiped out by the Chimera except for Hale. Hale becomes exposed to the Chimeran virus but, instead of killing him, it gives him superhuman strength, regenerative abilities and these really cool yellowish eyes. Fortunately, despite all these physical changes his body undergoes, he manages to retain his humanity and still wants to fight the Chimera.


Most of the early parts of the game feel like a World War 2 shooter...except for the fact that you are shooting at aliens instead of Germans. The environments, though nicely detailed, are lackluster in color with muddy browns and greys but this is what really makes you feel like you are living out a World War 2 game thats quite different from any World War 2 game you've ever played. In addition to historically accurate firearms from the time period, like the Carbine, Hale also has the ability to use alien weaponry he finds along the way which adds to the uniqueness of the gameplay. All weapons become part of a weapon wheel that can be accessed anytime during the game. As the game progresses, the environments become more and more alien and futuristic-looking as you explore alien strongholds and bases of operations. The ending is, as you can probably guess, overloaded with action and finds Hale the sole survivor once again of an all out assault on the main Chimeran tower in London.

Resistance 2 finds Hale on U.S. soil attempting to thwart the Chimeran forces as they sweep across America leaving nothing but twisted wreckage and destruction in their path. Hale continues to slowly but surely transform into the very enemy he is trying to defeat as the Chimeran virus spreads inside of him. The game bounces from location to location taking the player to well-known cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Baton Rouge. It is clear that America has seen better days as you survey the damage the Chimera have done and there really is a sense that you are fighting for the very survival of the nation itself.

The second RESISTANCE improves upon the first in nearly every way imaginable. Environments, enemies, and weapons are rendered beautifully with plenty of details and the textures are nicely done as well. In addtion to this, there is a lot more color and vibrancy to the overall look compared to the first game. Sadly, the weapon wheel is gone and you can only carry two guns at a time but this seems to have become the norm for most first-person shooters. Fortunately, weapons are generously scattered throughout the game's levels.

The RESISTANCE series is definitely the flagship title for the PS3 and it seems like it would only make sense to make a third installment. The visuals rival more recent shooters, like MODERN WARFARE 2, and the only other PS3 title that could possibly outdo it in the near future is probably the upcoming KILLZONE 3. Until then, if you have not tried these games out and you've been thinking about it, definitely give them a whirl. They are a blast to play and yet another excuse to get a PS3 if you don't have one yet.

Quick Guide to the Best Chocolaty Beverages

If you're anything like me you spend at least a few moments out of every waking hour thinking about chocolate in some way shape or form. To me, there is nothing like tipping back a chocolaty drink on my way to or from work. Something about that chocolaty taste just makes me feel like a new man. So here is my list of some of the best chocolaty stuff available right now in no particular order.

Boost is a wonderfully chocolaty, nutritional supplement packed with 26 vitamins and minerals and can be found at most grocery stores. It can be bought in packs of six for between seven to eight dollars. Boost comes in vanilla, butter pecan, strawberry, and chocolate flavor. I highly recommend the chocolate since it is the only flavor I have tried but seriously, who wants to drink something that tastes like butter pecan? Boost makes a great breakfast if you are in a hurry. The biggest downside to Boost is that the bottles are so darn small(8 oz. to be exact). If you drink like I do, be prepared for it to be gone in about two gulps. You can make it feel like it lasts longer if you take small sips though. The other downside is the price. There are plenty of alternatives out there that will give you quite a bit more chocolaty goodness for your buck. On with the list.

Hershey's syrup is something you should always have on hand. If you have one in the refridgerator thats great but make sure you keep one in the glove compartment of your vehicle as well. Hershey's syrup is best when mixed into milk and then stirred but if you are in a bind you can just squeeze it into your mouth directly from the bottle. Keep in mind this should only be done in moderation. Its also great on top of ice cream.

Carnation Instant Breakfast is a powder that is mixed into milk and is something my dad got me hooked on years ago. I remember him talking about how he would wake up in the morning as a young boy and my grandmother would be handing him his Carnation Instant Breakfast as he got out of bed. This comes in other flavors as well but really, who would want any other flavor if chocolate was already one of them? This makes a great breakfast on the go and is best bought in the powder form. I know you can buy it by the bottle now but it just doesn't taste as good. Trust me.





This stuff is about 16 oz. of one of the most unique chocolate flavors you will ever experience and, unlike most of the other items on this list, it doesn't really taste like milk at all. So if you want to try something different to quench your thirst for chocolate give Yoohoo a try.


Ever since I heard Ralphy mention this stuff in THE CHRISTMAS STORY as a young boy I wanted to try it. All you have to do is add milk and presto!!! This is a very satisfying drink that I wish I would have started drinking earlier in life.

Nesquik is another powder-based drink from Nestle that you add to milk. It comes in other flavors than chocolate but chocolate really is the best as far as I'm concerned. Now, you can get this in the store in a bottle as well but beware. It has a weird taste and does not taste nearly as chocolaty as if you were to mix it with milk.



This is simply my favorite chocolate drink hands down. Not only because it can be found at most gas stations and groceries either....but that does help. Dean's has mastered the formula of chocolaty goodness. On a good week the front of my van will be littered with two or three of these empty bottles.

SPLICE Likely to Deliver Thrills

Unless there is another monster movie coming out in the next few months that I haven't seen the previews for yet, SPLICE is shaping up to be the best beast of the summer. With two brilliant scientists combining human DNA with some other "stuff" to create a completely unique creature all their own I am guessing this will impress with both visuals and dramatic dialogue as well. Sure, this sort of thing has been done before but the concept of scientists attempting to fix something and instead creating a nightmare has been around since Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I will definitely be in the audience for this one.

Check out the SPLICE website for some really creepy sounds and some clips from the film:

http://www.splicethefilm.com/

V Continues with Wholesome Sci-Fi Goodness

In the tradition of THE BODY SNATCHERS and Robert Heinlein's THE PUPPETMASTERS the aliens are once again among us but they have managed to disquise themselves to look and act exactly like we do. Clever indeed. The ABC season finale of the reboot of the popular eighties series V continued to pile on the action with a healthy dose of sci-fi as well. It seems obvious that the pastor's boss is an alien but who knows for sure? They had a couple of chances to show us what the new alien/human hybrid baby looks like but all we were given was a lizard-like tail wrapping itself around daddy's finger. Fortunately for the humans, the soldier eggs were destroyed with a little help from the fifth column. I'm hoping that next season will begin to show a lot more of the aliens as the evil lizard people they truly are. And why haven't they shown any of them eating a rat yet?

Greenman Sculpture

This is a greenman sculpture I created in class as a teacher example for my 7th graders for their last clay project. It turned out pretty nicely considering it is the first one I have done and I haven't worked with water-based clay for quite some time. This is the first year I have had a kiln available to me at school so I am able to do clay with the kids. Water-based clay has usually frustrated me in the past mostly because it dries out very easily and tends to crack apart sometimes when it dries but I am getting more comfortable with the material as I work with it more in the classroom.
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Gummi Bears: Remembering a Saturday Morning Triumph

Take a moment and try to think back to those lazy Saturday mornings in the eighties during a time before computer technology prompted far too many cartoons on television to take a step backwards rather than forwards. This was the time of the Gummi Bears. Aside from the catchy theme song that will forever be imprinted into my brain the show had a certain magic to it that you don't see in many cartoons today. Who could forget Grammi, Cubbi, Zummi, Gruffi, Sunni, and Tummi bear? Duke Igthorn and his gang of bumbling ogres were always up to something rotten in Gummi Glenn and it was up to the Gummi bears, with a little help from the young boy, Cavin, to keep the forest as well as Dunwyn Castle out of danger. And who didn't imagine what it would be like to ride in one of the hawk-shaped cars in the quick tunnels beneath the woods? The Gummis made saving the day look pretty easy at times. Of course, gummiberry juice always came in handy whenever they needed the ability to bounce uncontrollably all over the place. It was also nice that the juice gave Cavin, as well as any other human who drank it, superhuman strength for a brief amount of time too.

Capcom's Lost Planet 2 Has Arrived!!!

LOST PLANET 2 has arrived on Xbox 360 and PS3 and, from what I have played of it so far, it is bigger and better in more than a few ways than the original. First off, the original LOST PLANET: Extreme Condition was a lot of fun. Set in the future on a frozen, Hoth-like planet known as E.D.N. III, you find yourself left for dead fighting your way across snow and ice covered landscapes battling gigantic, insect-like aliens(Akrid), and dealing with snow pirates that are trying to snuff you out as well. Just imagine STARSHIP TROOPERS meets the first half hour or so of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. It was a tough and intense third person shooter and offered more action and thrills than you could shake a stick at.

A decade later, the planet has changed significantly due to terraforming efforts and there are lush jungles and deserts scattered about the planet's surface. This is how LOST PLANET 2 starts out. Your character is caught up in a civil war among a number of different factions of colonists. Everyone on E.D.N. III is fighting over the main resource of the planet, thermal energy, and there are a lot of folks that will do whatever it takes to get their hands on it. Think of the thermal energy like the spice in Frank Herbert's DUNE. Whoever controls the stuff controls the planet and T-energy, like the first LOST PLANET, plays a big role in gameplay.

The story behind everything that is taking place as the game progesses is interesting enough but it takes a backseat to the over the top battle sequences and the sheer immensity of some of the monstrous Akrid that are trying to take you out of the picture. Vital suits(mechs) continue to be a key part of the gameplay as well. A new feature actually allows you to hitch a ride on one of your friend's vital suits in the midst of combat.

LOST PLANET 2 is truly gaming in its purest form and has a throwback feel to the arcade games of the eighties. You are constantly bombarded by enemies and will find yourself rarely letting up on the fire button. This is the kind of game that really makes you feel like you are in the midst of a huge war for an entire world and that world happens to look incredibly detailed thanks to a new souped up version of Capcom's proprietary game engine, MT Framework 2.0.

I will definitely be spending some quality game time with LOST PLANET 2. Sadly, there are some aspects that I know will get annoying and frustrating. For some ridiculous reason you cannot pause the game, for starters. Another thing I know will bug me is the scarcity of savepoints. There is one at the end of each chapter but chapters can be huge. Aside from these two gripes and the fact that the main menu is a bit confusing, this is yet another example of why Capcom is still one of the biggest and boldest players in the video game industry.

Check out this trailer at videogamer.com to see just how big some of the monsters are:

http://www.videogamer.com/videos/lost_planet_2_kill_big_trailer_2.html

Crazy Heart Is Crazy Good

Jeff Bridges is a great actor I have always enjoyed but he is REALLY great at doing two things in particular. One is running in slow motion trying to stop a bomb from going off like in the action film, BLOWN AWAY and his drama with Tim Robbins, ARLINGTON ROAD and the other is portraying alcoholic , chain-smoking characters like in THE FISHER KING and THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Jeffs not running after any home-made bombs in CRAZY HEART but he almost always has a cigarette in his mouth and is often tipping back a bottle. However, unlike THE FISHER KING and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, Bridges is never really funny or humorous in CRAZY HEART. Its a serious movie with a serious message: Don't smoke and drink your life away for one and be there for the people that need you in their lives, especially your children.

Dante's Inferno: A Brief Review

DANTE'S INFERNO will be remembered as a classic not only because it is a great game with high production values but also because it is actually based on a classic work of literature. As if that, in and of itself, was not a good enough reason to give it a try, it also boasts incredibly addictive combat that forces you to take advantage of holy and unholy powers, gorgeous 3D and 2D cinematics, hauntingly surreal environments, and a story that draws you in and keeps you engaged until the very end. Overall, the biggest thing DANTE'S INFERNO has going for itself is that it borrows heavily(and I mean heavily) from the GOD OF WAR series(Look for my GOD OF WAR 3 review soon). Surprisingly, some critics saw this as a bad thing and criticized the developers for what they had taken from GOD OF WAR and incorporated into DANTE'S INFERNO. I have always loved the GOD OF WAR series so I felt that using similar combat mechanics was only logical and intelligent to do. We should keep in mind that all new games build on what has come before them. Sadly, as huge and as popular as GOD OF WAR is, DANTE'S INFERNO is still in its shadow. However, DANTE'S INFERNO is, without a doubt, one of the best hack n' slash titles you will play this year and, although GOD OF WAR 3 is a better game overall, you won't find any of the gorgeous prerendered cut scenes that DANTE'S INFERNO has in it. In conclusion, as a born again Christian I do believe that hell is a very real place in which people do suffer for all eternity apart from God so this added significantly to how seriously I took the game as well.




Check out Dante's Inferno homepage here:

http://www.dantesinferno.com/

St. George and the Dragon Children's Book Concept

This maquette was the result of a children's book illustration course I took at the University of Findlay this past fall for my masters degree. The concept was a re-imagining of the legend of St. George with St. George as a frog and the dragon portrayed by a crocodile. A frog naturally could not ride a horse so his horse became a squirrel. The piece stands about 10 inches tall.

Limbo Coming to XBOX Live Arcade This Summer

Indie developer Playdead will be releasing their first game, Limbo, on Xbox live sometime this summer. The game will be a sidescrolling adventure that chronicles the dark journey a young boy makes when he enters limbo. Born out of the sketchbook of creative director, Arnt Jenson, it will be rendered in monochrome with silhouetted environments and characters. I have to say I am very intrigued by the look and story behind this title and hope to see more of it in action soon. You can go here to the official website to see some brief gameplay clips and get on a mailing list if you'd like: www.limbogame.org/

Gilliam Makes Another Masterpiece with Dr. Parnassus

Terry Gilliam is and always has been one of my favorite film directors. Most all of his movies are thoroughly entertaining romps through surreal and imagined worlds that can only exist within our own minds and Gilliam's sense of humor is incredibly unique and often dark as well. His latest film, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS is a crowning example of why I love his work so much and what made it even more enjoyable were the various elements and imagery that reminded me of two of his earlier films: TIME BANDITS and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN. Both these films featured struggling stage performers trying to make a living amidst a host of whimsical stage props and ridiculously ornate costumes. They also presented huge dream-like landscapes and environments. DR. PARNASSUS has all these elements as well and they are all portrayed beautifully. Christopher Plummer delivers an excellent performance as Parnassus and Heath Ledger, as the corrupt Tony, is perfectly played. This is definitely the one Gilliam fans have been waiting for and this time around he practically clobbers the audience over the head with his signature style.

Dead Space 2 to hit shelves this December on PS3 and Xbox 360

Lets get this out of the way right off the bat. DEAD SPACE is the best survival/horror game I have ever played and I was one of the first in line to get it when it came out in the fall of 2008. I even got the cool artbook since I had pre-ordered! This game has more than its share of creepy moments and I was genuinely frightened at times when I played it with all the lights out. DEAD SPACE is a great reason to invest in either the XBOX 360 or the PS3 especially since you can pick it up for less than twenty bucks now. So, needless to say I was more than interested when I heard about a sequel even though the ending in DEAD SPACE makes you wonder how Isaac Clarke could have possibly survived to actually play in a sequel. Sounds like there will definitely be a multiplayer element this time around and Isaac will, once again, have wave after countless wave of Necromorphs to mow down and tear apart with whatever he has at his disposal. I'm hoping he has a bit more to say in this one considering he never spoke a single word in the first game.

H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu

This is a character that I have been very interested in for quite some time and I noticed that there haven't really been many sculptures created that are accurately based on Lovecraft's original description of this creature. The subject also offered me an opportunity to combine a number of elements from my favorite movie monsters of my childhood: the Rancor from RETURN OF THE JEDI, the queen alien from ALIENS, and the dragon from DRAGONSLAYER. Cthulhu stands about 17 inches tall and was sculpted in Super Sculpey over a wire armature. This is a one of kind sculpture that was sold to a collector in 2006.

Welcome!

Come one, come all into the spectacular and ever-changing universe of the Sculptor's Joystick. Here I talk about some of the sculptures I have created, discuss happenings in the video game and film industry, and comment on some of the games I have played and films I have seen. All of my sculptures are made from Super Sculpey unless otherwise noted and all of the games I discuss are either for Xbox 360, PS3, or both. My artwork is based, for the most part, in the realm of fantasy and science fiction and I draw a good chunk of my inspiration from video games and film, along with comic books and classic literature. The games I typically play fall into one of four categories: action/adventure, survival horror, first person shooter, and third person shooter. There are exceptions that don't necessarily fit into any of these categories though.