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Spencer Pratt Tried to Signal Aliens

Sara Harowitz — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:53:22 +0000

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Time for your daily dose of Spencer Pratt’s crazy antics. Are you ready for this one?

According to sources quoted on PerezHilton Spencer Pratt has recently been trying to signal aliens. Pratt’s wife, Heidi Montag, has reportedly separated from him and currently lives with friend (and brief Hills star) Jennifer Bunney.

Perez Hilton’s sources claim that Pratt has also left the couple’s former Pacific Palisades home and that he was trying to make contact with extra terrestrial life forms.

“Spencer has moved out of their Pacific Palisades house… he’s no longer living there,” sources said. ”The few people left in his inner circle fear Spencer has lost his mind. He told me he was trying to signal aliens. Their house was filled with crystals and we’re not just talking about small tiny ones. They were everywhere, to the extent that Spencer actually owed $150,000 on two giant crystals he had delivered to their home. But one day when I came over, they were all gone… Spencer apparently couldn’t pay for them. Up until the split, neither spoke to their families. We were all surprised that Heidi has even been able to get away from him… Spencer is so far gone now, it’s almost like he’s on something… because if he’s not, he’s really gone crazy.”

We’re betting on the latter.

Game Review: James Cameron’s Avatar The Game – It’s not easy being blue…

Aaron Cappe — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:29:43 +0000

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Another big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. Another tie-in video game. But this one has James Cameron’s name on the box, so it can’t be that bad, right?

To be fair, I had very low expectations for James Cameron’s Avatar – The Video Game. It immediately brought back horrific memories of playing through another movie tie-in videogame with a title as long as my forearm (Peter Jackson’s King Kong The Movie The Game). It has always amazed me that a videogame form of a film seems to need the suffix “The Game” tagged on to the end of the title, as if the general public wouldn’t be able to figure out that the product they are currently holding, which may say Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo on it, isn’t actually the film that’s currently in theatres, but a game based on said film. But I digress….

If you’re expecting any kind of spoilers about the movie from this game, you won’t find them. The game is set two years prior to the events of the film, and you play a forgettable character that really doesn’t matter. You have a wide range of choices at the start of the game as to your gender and race, but this has no affect on the rest of the game, as you soon become a nameless grunt stuck on both sides of the ensuing conflict on the planet of Pandora. The basic story is similar to that of the film in that the humans are on Pandora and the Na’vi don’t really appreciate them, but since this is a few years prior, things are a little less established, and the invading human force hasn’t set up such a large presence – at least, not yet.

Through the main arc of the game, you progress to fighting with the humans and then with the Na’vi, eventually allowing you to make moral choices as to which side of the conflict you feel more at home with. The problem with this is that the game makes it very hard to side with the technologically-inferior Na’vi, especially when you can pilot mech suits, use rocket launchers and flamethrowers when you’re human, and on the flipside use bows and arrows and command bees. Bees? Really? I think I know which side I’m going to be sticking with, thanks.

Graphically, I have to say that Ubisoft once again has done what I thought would’ve been impossible. They manage to actually portray a convincing representation of Pandora, and do it in a way that respects the original medium. The jungle is teeming with life, from smaller insects to some of the larger predators that you can actually hunt or tame, depending on which side of the fight you’re currently on. The draw-distances throughout that game are beautiful, and the entire world seems to just be going about its business, whether or not you’re tearing through the jungle guns blazing or simple walking down a path taking in the sights and sounds. Character details are decent, nothing earth-shaking, but they get the job done. Cutscenes are presented with the in-game engine, which I was impressed with, as Ubisoft avoided using any clips from the film, instead allowing you to become completely immersed in this unique view of Pandora without worrying about filtering out expectations that come with using images from the Hollywood counterpart.

Sound design is both fantastic and dismal at the same time, but for completely different reasons. The sounds of life and nature throughout the jungle, and the effects from the weapons and vehicles are all spot-on. You can stand in one spot in the jungle and just listen to the variety of sounds coming from all around you, none of which seem canned and repetitive. The downside is when it comes to voice-acting. The dialogue is very stiff, and the actors don’t have any emotion behind what they are saying, which sucks the life right out of every single encounter with them. You just know that each time you have to report back to your superior you’re in for a boring short lecture, which is just repeated in text form about a second after the finish speaking to you. It’s almost like the other characters in the game are just as bored as you will be when they send you on some of the side-missions.

Some of these amazing side-missions are: collecting five types of a plant, but since you don’t know what they look like, you basically follow your map to a field and walk around; fixing sonic emitters that “were tampered with”, even though your character is a signal specialist, and admittedly knows nothing about sonic emitters; and then controlling vehicles that handle like bathtubs with bars of soap for wheels to simply get from point A to point B, even though you could’ve simply walked there instead (but you have to use the vehicles, otherwise the mission won’t continue).

Avatar has a multiplayer mode, but it feels tacked on instead of a fully developed gameplay mode. You have basic game choices, like capture the flag and team deathmatch, but once again, you’re faced with the fact that the humans are just simply better equipped than the Na’vi, and nobody wants to be on the Blue team. I’m still waiting to find anyone else playing this online to get a good feel for the multiplayer portion. Anybody out there?

Overall, James Cameron’s Avatar – The Game is a decent attempt from Ubisoft to follow up on the surprise that their version of King Kong was back in 2006. But at this point in the game, people are expecting more from games, especially movie tie-ins. The story is definitely thought out, but bad acting, lopsided weapon balancing, and a potentially player-less online mode relegate this game to the rental column, and even then only if you’re a die-hard Avatar fan.

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 3/5

Sound: 3/5

Replay: 1/5

Gamer’s Mind Blog: Infinite Ammo

Brett Caron — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:17:49 +0000

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Helllloooooo!

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. This week we’re going to take a look at a group of malevolent, disgusting, and just downright horrible creatures who have terrorized mankind for years. What’s that? No, not lawyers. Not even politicians. This week we are ranking the Top 5 Straight-up Meanest Aliens in Video Games. Almost as long as sci-fi and space opera have been around, there has been the alien creatures to terrorize or befriend the valiant heroes and heroines. Well, forget about your friendly little green men, suckers, because we’re not talking about Starman or ET tonight, we’re talking War of the Worlds and Jabba the Hutt. Let’s do this.

‘Ere we go!

5. The Chimera – Resistance

Resistance 3?

Scary. As. Hell. Playing Resistance for the first time, everything seems to be as per usual for a WWII shooter, until you turn the corner and see the monstrous Chimera hybrids taking aim at you with their alien weaponry. At many different points through the game and it’s sequel Resistance 2, you encounter different and even scarier variants of these creatures, like the aquatic Chimera (just when you though it was safe to go back in the water… although let’s face it, it was never safe to begin with). Especially in Resistance 2, these creatures just get nastier and nastier through the course of the game. And the most disturbing part of it is that they used to be human. Captured by the Chimera and genetically altered into the hideous hybrids, the fact is you’re putting down former Earthlings. And as the series has progressed, the Chimera have evolved. From the hybrids in Resistance, who needed cooling devices to keep their superheated bodies from pulling an Xbox 360 overheat, to the later evolutions who just burst out of pods throughout the game and come tearing after you, the Chimera use their advanced weaponry and cannibalistic tactics to not only subjugate the human race, but to steamroll them into the fold. Nasty.

4. The Geth – Mass Effect

The best part about being Geth? Free satellite radio.

Ever wondered what would happen if the Borg had sex with the Zerg? The answer is the Geth. I think that Bioware didn’t want to come off as anti-Semitic by calling them the Zorgberg. They don’t just kill you – they impale you on large spikes that turn you into cyber-zombies that fight for them. Zombies! Implacable synthetic foes created as slaves for other, less terrifying aliens (the Quarians), the Geth don’t feel emotion. They don’t get scared when Commander Shepard blows away 4 of them in as many seconds, they keep coming. In that respect they are certainly unique – I’m reasonably sure everyone fears Commander Shepard, because he’s a dick. The biggest dick in the galaxy. With a Spectre badge, a galaxy’s worth of resources, irrefutable authority, and unlimited spite. Facing down that with nary a whimper definitely qualifies the Geth their spot on our list.

3. Necromorphs – Dead Space

No, man! It's not a hug! IT'S A TRAP!

When I played Dead Space, I’m reasonably sure I lost 10 pounds. 5 from sweating in terror every time a Necromorph sprang out of nowhere to attack me, and another 5 from crapping myself the first time it happened. These things are scary. Mutated humans with multiple extra limbs, an appetite for human flesh, and faces that make Emperor Palpatine look like Edward from Twilight, these nasties definitely don’t want to be friends. Like some of our other entries on this list, these nasties used to be human. But the influence of a man-made virus that reacts with dead tissue results in these brutally ugly, vicious, parasitic and altogether unpleasant zombie-alien hybrids. And you’re stuck on a barely-functioning spaceship with them. Not my idea of a great day.

2. Wrex – Mass Effect

The only reason he isn't kicking ass right now is out of spite.

Urdnot Wrex is a Krogan Battlemaster, which is kind of like a Ping-Pong Grand Master but with less ping-pong and more stomping face. He’s over 300 years old, and at least 3 centuries of that time has been spent ruining aliens and humans all over the galaxy. Wrex is a true mercenary, which means he doesn’t take orders from anyone for less than a week’s worth of beer money. As a matter of fact, the only being in the galaxy that he is intimidated enough by to do what he wants without pay is none other than Commander Shepard, a.k.a The Biggest Dick in the Galaxy (see the Geth entry for further details on Shepard and his badassery). And you can’t really fault him for that – Shepard is the Chuck Norris of Mass Effect, but without Chuck’s moral code or aversion to punching babies and women in the face. Another intimidating feature of Wrex that makes him stand out from the very first time you meet him (in a strip club, scaring the crap out of the bouncers) is his deep, baritone voice. He sounds like Solid Snake in slow motion – underwater. Finally, let’s face it – you have to respect a dude who shoots first, shoots second, kicks ass third, then maybe asks a question later.

1. Xenomorphs – Aliens vs. Predator

Xenomorph hives actually have great dental plans.

As they’ve constantly been referred to in their media, the “perfect organism” is exactly that – from a certain point of view. If your idea of the perfect organism involves a parasitic, death-dealing bio-mechanical super-insect from outer space, then sure, they’re perfect. But for the rest of us, the Xenomorphs (or simply Aliens) are possibly one of the most frightening and disturbing creatures ever to crawl from a human being’s torso (the other being Christopher Walken). Speaking of crawling out of your torso, the Alien won’t just kill you – they drag you into the darkness, cocoon you and shove an egg down your throat to spawn a brand-new beastie. One would argue it’s less painful and terrifying to just get killed than suffer through that experience. And if any of those eggs are sitting around, it doesn’t matter how many of the Aliens you kill – there will always be more. Designed by a Swiss surrealist with more psychological issues than a crazy-coated nutbar, the Alien is simultaneously brutal, sleek and sexual. So once again, kind of like Christopher Walken (who incidentally, almost made this list).

Honourable Mention: The Orks – Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

What's more awesome than an Ork smoking a cigar? Doesn't matter, you're dead.

“Orkses is never beaten in battle. If we wins, we wins, if we die we die so it don’t count as beat, an’ if we runs for it we don’t die ‘neither, so we can always come back for anuvver go, see?”
That quote alone should guarantee the Orks a spot on this list. But let’s face it – the Orks earned their spot on this list through brute force, uncompromising devotion to war, and attitude. A lot of the entries on this list are faceless, inhuman creatures that can’t be easily related to much less understood. But the Orks speak English (kind of), use weapons similar to ours and even approximate some human mannerisms and cultural cliches! An Ork is not a slender, Elfy pansy nor a sleek, pseudo-sexy Xenomorph. He’s a 7 ft. green soccer hooligan with a chainsword and a pistol with a barrel as wide as your fist. Also, he’s interchangeably roaring like an animal and calling you a “little ‘umie git”. That is pretty much the definition of “feared” and “avoided” and “Chelsea Headhunter”. It’s also the reason the Imperial Guard have a 94% casualty rate.

If you guys think I missed anyone that should have belonged in the Top 5, or think that maybe one of these other nasties should have been #1, or not on the list at all, let me know below. Maybe we can do a Round 2!

Cheers!

Interview with Sharlto Copley – Star of District 9

Robert Ostfield — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:36:45 +0000

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So let’s assume for a second aliens came down to Earth – how do you think we would react? Would we try to work with them to help further both of our civilizations, or would we try and round them up and put them in camps? I don’t know but District 9 explores this scenario and we sat down with Sharlto Copley, the star of District 9, to get his views. We also had a quick interview with one of the aliens from the District 9. It’s a long story but you will see.