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Terminator: Salvation BD-Live director commentary impressions
One of the main problems with initial Blu-ray director's chat sessions was a lack of feeling any life or interactivity, but Warner gave it another shot this weekend by offering audio over BD-Live as a moderator bounced audience provided questions off of director McG while watching Terminator: Salvation. Despite a less than stellar reputation, BD-Live has continued to slowly creep along, adding features and enhancements, so we wanted to if this event bodes well for the future of internet enabled discs. Check after the break for our impressions, plus a few clips of the director talking about what he did and didn't like about the finished product, director's cuts in general, and the possibility of doing another Terminator movie. %Gallery-79793%
Terminator: Salvation's McG hosts the first audio Blu-ray director's chat session tonight
It's been a little over a year since we first checked out a live director's chat session on Blu-ray with Guillermo del Toro and Hellboy II, and now Warner is prepared to take the next step by letting interested fans hear their questions answered rather than simply reading text for the duration of the movie. the first release so honored? Terminator: Salvation and its director McG. Everything's set to go off at 9 p.m. est, with only a copy of the movie, BD-Live connected player, registration on Warner's website and an appetite for yet another sequel in an action movie franchise that topped out two movies and almost as many decades ago. A chance to see if Blu-ray's interactive potential can ever pay off means we're in, interested parties can sign up at the read link below, if you can't make it check back later, we'll try and grab some audio. Update: Well, we're logged in and ready to go, we'll save you our 30 seconds of confusion and remind that you'll need to insert the director's cut disc to access the BD-Live menu. Feel free to add "Rjcc" as a buddy on Warner's BD-Live setup.
Blu-ray releases on December 1st 2009
The reviews are in and now Terminator Salvation can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home -- we do wonder why Warner didn't take the opportunity to release the ultimate Terminator collection, but we suppose that'll come later. Warner definitely has the strongest offering of any studio this week with a total of four titles including old favorites like Gremlins and The Green Mile. Also this week are two of our favorite British films with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, which are both entertaining and hilarious -- although not really comedies. Terminator Salvation (Warner) Ben 10: Alien Swarm (Warner) The Green Mile (Warner) Gremlins (Warner) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Universal) Snatch (Sony) A Christmas Tale (Criterion) Deadline (First Look) Death Warrior (Lionsgate) The Mask of Zorro (Sony) Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Fox) Paper Heart (Anchor Bay) Ride Around the World (Image) Secondhand Lions (New Line) UltraMarathon Man (ChannelSources)
Terminator: Salvation Blu-ray review roundup
It didn't crack the podium on our most anticipated Blu-ray poll behind current number one selling Star Trek, but Terminator: Salvation's feature-laden release December 1 has already made the review circuit and come away with some widely varying opinions. The good news is the picture doesn't disappoint, with a clear transfer and elaborate special effects, although BigPictureBigSound's reviewer found a few issues with a bluish matte line appearing at times, plus a few notes about compression and noise in clouds of dust and smoke also noted in other reviews. On the audio front, the DTS-HD MA soundtrack by all accounts is an impressive treatment, with the only "problem" that viewers might want to dial back slightly on the bass to avoid waking the neighbors. Of the extras included in the U.S. release of the film, the only real issue seems to be a lack of seamless branching, requiring viewers to forego the Director's Cut and its extra few minutes of Moon Bloodgood in order to walk through the flick in Maximum Movie mode with director McG and others showing how they pulled off many of the shots. The European edition released by Sony does feature seamless branching, although CNET UK and DVD Times both complained of slow loads and glitches on their players as a result, with the latter also finding some possible compression issues from being squeezed on one disc. Whatever your choice, check the reviews and make it soon as Warner is planning a one time only BD-Live community screening with the director answering questions via audio December 5.
A look at three new Gameloft iPhone games
I have been in love with Gameloft games on the iPhone since I bought my first one last year. Not only do their games have great graphics, they also have great controls and game play. Gameloft has recently released several new iPhone/iPod touch games, and I'm going to give you a first look at three of them: Terminator Salvation, Assassin's Creed, and Let's Golf. Terminator Salvation ($5.99 US)If you have followed the Terminator franchise or television series, then you may already know the plot of this game. In this third person shooter, you'll travel around as John Conner, the leader of the resistance against the machine invasion. The game is in a 3D landscape of Los Angeles in 2018, and the gameplay is what we've come to expect from a Gameloft game. There is an "analog" control in the bottom left of the screen that allows you to move around; when you are ready to pan around the landscape, you can do so my touching and dragging anywhere on the screen. By touching the fire button in the bottom right of the screen you can fire the weapon. There are four different control types to choose between: using the Virtual Pad (details described above), the wheel pad (drag your fingers along the corner of the screen to adjust viewing angle), the accelerometer (tilting the iPhone/iPod touch to move the characters around on-screen), or reversed accelerometer. You can also reverse the orientation of the screen in the controls; this is a feature that I think all iPhone games should have. In the game, you can play either the roles of John Conner or Marcus Wright -- when you assume each of the characters, you will gain different abilities. There are 6 weapons and 8 levels that you can unlock, which will undoubtedly provide you with many hours of play. This game really packs a punch in the iPhone gaming scene and is definitely worth a look. You can check out Terminator Salvation on the App Store for $5.99 US. %Gallery-63553% Assassin's Creed ($9.99 US)Assassin's Creed has been around for a few years on many of the larger game platforms (PS3, Xbox, etc.), but recently came to the iPhone/iPod touch, and puts the same great gameplay into the hands of players around the world. In the game you play a master assassin named Altaïr who goes out on a quest to find an object that will end the crusades in the Holy Land. In this realistic 3D RPG, you'll find yourself in sword fights, learning combat moves, and in hand-to-hand combat with enemies you encounter. You will be able to earn 6 weapons throughout the game, and there are mini-games to unlock. I love RPG games, and this one definitely kept me coming back for more until I completed every level. Hands-down, this is the best iPhone game that I have ever played -- I was blown away from the first time I picked it up. Beautiful graphics, great controls with virtual "analog" stick, and great cinematic cuts in-between levels and missions.You can check out Assassin's Creed on the App Store for only $9.99 US -- this will well worth the price in my opinion. %Gallery-63554% Let's Golf ($4.99 US)The iPhone has its fair share of golfing games, and I've taken a look at a few of them myself, but I have yet to find one that provides both great gameplay and great graphics. Until now. Let's Golf provides the right amount of features that any golfer would love to have, such as the ability to control what your player looks like or precision controls for your swing.You have the ability to choose between several playing modes including instant play and tournaments. There are also over 63 holes located in 4 separate 3D environments: Fiji, America, England, and Scotland. If you are a casual player, you'll enjoy the basic controls, but if you are an experienced virtual golfer, you can switch to the advanced controls where you can precisely adjust the power of the swing and even add spin. For $4.99US, this game is packed with features, and even includes a local Wi-Fi multiplayer mode that will allow you to challenge your friends to a golf match. You can check out Let's Golf in the App Store. %Gallery-63555%
Halcyon Company planning games based on Philip K Dick novels
Fans of trippy, intelligent science fiction are likely well aware of the works of Philip K. Dick. This prolific powerhouse has released over 40 novels and 120 short stories throughout his illustrious career, many of which made their way to the silver screen (including "Total Recall", "Blade Runner", and the ever-confusing "A Scanner Darkly"). This plentiful font of sci-fi volumes was recently tapped by the procurers of the "Terminator" franchise, The Halcyon Company, who plan on publishing two games based on Dick's work following the release of their current project, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.We've got high hopes for any games based on the incredible narratives of this cyberpunk scribe, though Halcyon's blank game development resumé fills us with an appropriate amount of trepidation. We urge the fledgling publisher to follow the example set by EA's 1997 point-and-click adaptation of "Blade Runner", and to shy away from including sequences featuring a poorly rendered version of California's governor being repeatedly kicked in the penis by mutant dwarves.
