The Witcher 2: Assasins of Kings

I used to play a lot of role playing games when I was younger - Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Plancescape: Torment etc. But there came a point after which I didn't like the new ones so much - Neverwinter Nights, KoToR, Mass Effect, Oblivion, Dragon Age... they're not bad but I just kinda don't get them anymore. For me they feel fake and formulaic and they don't give me the joy of exploration and character development that the old ones did.
Witcher 1 was a game that evoked those good old feelings in me. It's strange, as you have only one character and the character trees don't make that much of a difference so you might even say that it's not a RPG. Somehow though, it's more of an RPG experience than the games where you can choose the color of the wristband of your high elf mage. The Polish developers really managed to nail the good old feeling of an authentic middle-aged fantasy world in need of a hero.
So this year, we got a sequel and what a sequel it was. A wonderful mixture of stellar production values and original story made for a wonderfully realized gameworld full of monsters, action, intrigues, lore and characters. The game is far from  flawless (stony facial animations, mixed level of voice acting, balance issues, flimsy story structure, bugs) but over a long time it was a game I did not want to end. The world was so wonderfully designed and alive, story and characters so detailed, combat believable and tactically interesting that I really felt the need to get the most out of it. The ending was kind of a disappointment too, so you can say that it's more about the journey and not the destination I guess. Oh and it's PC exclusive (so far) so if you have a powerful new PC, then it's a must to try to run Witcher 2 on it - just beautiful!
My game of the year so far.

Saiko

Limitless

Limitless is a thriller about a loser writer (Bradley Cooper. You know, that Hangover guy) trying out some pills that enhance his intelligence. The idea is built around the common myth that people only use 20% of their brains, which isn't actually true. However, in this movie the guy eats these mystical pills and they change his life completely. He becomes smart and fast, learns all the languages by listening to a couple of audio books (yeah right), gets a haircut and tries to get rich to impress his girlfriend. It all works out pretty well for him until some people turn up who really want to get to his stash. But since the main guy is pretty smart now and he also gets a little lucky, it all works out great. Yay!
Despite being nice-looking and having a decent cast (Robert DeNiro is in it!), Limitless is a remarkably dumb movie. The whole premise of "some guy finds these pills and then becomes super smart" goes nowhere and wouldn't hold water even as a origin story for a superhero movie. To be honest, it feels like some black superhero comedy from the 90s. While in the middle of the movie it might seem like it all goes somewhere, it really doesn't. The ending feels like it was from another movie as it has nothing to do with this one. So, not a movie I would recommend but then again it's not bad and apparently some people even like it. For me, it serves as a good example of a well-made movie with a very weak story.

Saiko

Frozen Synapse

The first game I'm going to talk about is Frozen Synapse. It's a tactical turn-based indie game and a pretty good one at that. The interesting thing about it is that there are no dice-rolls or hitpoints. You send your soldiers against enemy soldiers in randomly generated maps and depending on their placements and cover they will either succeed or die.
How it works is this - during your turn you set waypoints to your troops (machinegunners, grenade launcers, etc.) and when you are satisfied with the plan, you prime it and see how it works out against your enemy's plan. Until then you can "simulate" the outcome but what your opponent decides (you can play against AI or other player) always remains a mystery. Usually the enemy's plans are not what you predicted and you might find yourself winning or losing very unexpectedly. No type of soldier is "better" than the other so the aim is to find the situation in which they are able to outgun the enemy, such as shotguns at close range and rockets against clusters of enemies in a chokepoint.
The game is unforgiving and I find it quite addicting. However, the whole neo-dystopian spiritual-electronical setting gets old pretty fast. I mean, we have a great tactical gunplay game here - why not try to fit it into some other kind of military kind of universe. Okay, we're all sick to death of Call of Duties and Battlefields and nobody wants to make a game that everybody sees as a top down Modern Warfare clone but bluish cyber mumbo-jumbo is still a pretty odd design choice. Also, the music (reminiscent of Mirror's Edge) doesn't really fit and while playing the game my flatmate actually came to ask if I was watching porn...
Should you be interested, you can find the game on Steam pretty cheap...

Saiko

The Wire

The first thing I'm going to talk about, is something really deserving. The Wire is HBO's crime drama, which I've been hearing about more and more lately. In recent months I watched through all the five seasons (made 2002-2008) and I have to agree that it's fucking great! Deep writing, brilliant acting and realistic depiction of crime world made me a real fan of the series. Some people call it the best TV-series ever made and they sure have a point.
Although the main characters remain mostly the same, every season focuses on different aspects of the crime and drug dealing of Baltimore, where the series takes place. First season is about drug corners, second about docks and smuggling, third focuses on government and corruption, fourth is about school system and the fifth season brings in the journalism angle.
The Wire wasn't very successful when it came out, as it was hard to follow after missing some episodes and used heavy doses of gangster and cop slang. I mean, what the hell is an affidavit? Why is everybody axing questions instead of asking them? Still, I very much suggest getting all the episodes and having a little Wire-marathon.
Shiiiiit...

Saiko

Procrastination galore!

Hiya and welcome to Saiko's Food N' Guns.
This is the first post of a new blog, which focuses mainly on film (both old and new, also some TV series) and video games (mainly on PC). I share my own experiences of what I like and don't like and you can all nod in agreement while stroking your imaginary beards. Since I'm a struggling film guy myself, I sometimes share some stuff about projects which I'm myself involved in (mainly as a video editor).
So... empty your bank account, stock up on food and guns and let the games begin!

Saiko