PC Game Review : Total Overdose (2005)

Over the weekend, while waiting for my copy of Resident Evil 4 to arrive, I installed this game called Total Overdose (2005) - a third person action title set in South America.

Although the whole game plays like a Grand Theft Auto clone, the developers were also clearly inspired by the "El Mariachi trilogy" of movies directed by Robert Rodriguez - El Mariachi (1992) , Desperado (1995) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Guitar case machine guns included. In addition, this game also adds a bullet time from Max Payne (2001) as well as the reverse time feature from the Prince of Persia series. So expect some outrageous action.

Another cool feature in this game which should be included in every free-roaming title is the ability to skip the process of traveling to the next mission. Although the downside of this would be the reduced gameplay time of an already short game. Like all free-roaming titles, the player is free to do whatever he or she wants even after the main story has been completed. However, the side-missions do get repetitive after a while.

In short, this a good game for fans of 80's action films and Grand Theft Auto.

Star Trek Movies

Last week, I've watched the first six movies of Star Trek on cable. I could not believe that I have not watched all of them before. How could I miss this amazing series of movies ? Most people would say that they prefer Star Wars over Star Trek but in my opinion, both films are totally different and hence cannot be compared with one another.
You've heard of the Superman curse before. But do you know there is a Star Trek curse as well? Most die-hard fans would tell you that any star trek movie that has an alternate number at the end of its title is doomed to fail whereas the ones with the even number are the most successful.
Let's take a look at why this is the case:
Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979)
Plot: An approaching space cloud threatens earth and is up to the crew of Starship Enterprise to save the day.
Review: Here's the movie that started it all ! It has been more than 10 years since the original series ended. Some of the cast has aged quite significantly. Although it did quite well at the box-office, many felt disappointed. This movie is the longest Star Trek movie to date due to the long shots of some scenes until some die hard fans even dubbed it as Star Trek - The Slow Motion Picture. The storyline was not that interesting as well.
Trivia: Directed by Robert Wise (The Sound of Music)
Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Plot:
Review: A revenge movie set in space. Star Trek II is not only one of the best star trek movie, but also one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. The first in the trilogy.
Trivia: Directed by Mr.Spock himself, actor Leonard Nimoy.
The first movie was so bad that they initially named this movie as Star Trek : The
Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (1984)
Plot: Admiral Kirk is informed by Spock's father that Spock is still alive and must retrieve his body back in order to save him.
Review: The second in the trilogy
Trivia: Directed by Mr.Spock himself, actor Leonard Nimoy
Actor Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) plays the evil Klingon.
Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (1986)
Plot: An alien probe threatens earth and is up to the crew of the Starship Enterprise to save the day.
Review: You might think that the storyline about rescuing earth by picking up whales from the past sounds ridiculous, but it was and still is the most successful Star Trek movie to date. There are many reasons why this one was successful. It combines elements of time travel (which is my most favourite sci-fi theme) and for the first time, a bit of comedy was added to it. Also unique in this film is that there is no villain ! The third in the trilogy.
Star Trek V - The Final Frontier (1989)
Plot:
Review: This movie started off interestingly and then falters towards the end due to the similarity to the first movie. Have they not learned their lesson not to touch on spirituality or religion ?
Trivia: Directed by Captain Kirk himself, actor William Shatner.
Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Plot:
Review:
Trivia: Actor Christopher Plummer(The Sound of Music) plays the Klingon.
Creator Gene Roddenberry died within 48 hours after watching it.