It was an inevitable decision to make. To bring the 360 over, or not. I decided not. Now that I'm 2 months into my course, DEFINITELY NOT. Medicine is intense, and fast.

Instead, I've been writing new short stories, and watching movies. I'm not ready to show off my short stories, but I am ready to talk about the movies I have watched.

But first, I'll comment on the state of the gaming industry, with one simple sentence. Action games have called out the death of action movies. When you have games like Prototype, Uncharted 2, and Modern Warfare 2, who needs action movies? Why bother watching a crap action movie, when you can interact with a not-so-crap one? This realisation came to me during Prototype. With a game that has so much, will all the mayhem you can cause, a movie adaptation would need a $500 million budget.

Like, the most memorable part of Modern Warfare 2 is there's a scene where it's raining helicopters. RAINING HELICOPTERS! :o

So, action movies have more to prove now than ever. Which is why you get something like 2012 now, where they have to destroy the ENTIRE WORLD to prove they're still one step ahead of videogame epicness. That movie was so much fun, I want to see the Washington monument fall down again and murder millions of people! :P

That's all on that. I have nothing more to say about games, since the divorce.

So, movies then?

I've been on a comedy bent. Thanks to stagevu, I've been checking the best of them. Best teen comedies, best dark comedies (that's a favourite of mine).

World's Greatest Dad : Perfect dark comedy, too bad it's not out in theatres. Robin Williams strikes gold. Genuinely heartfelt stuff in there too. Honestly, it's the best film I've seen this year. Just too entertaining, great soundtrack, great scenes, great performances. This is the first year where I think a comedy film deserves a Best Picture over other navel-gazing, performance-heavy Oscar bait.

Observe and Report : Controversial dark comedy, starring Seth Rogen. His most unique film to date. This is dark stuff. An overconfident, bi-polar mall cop who just wants to prove himself as a real cop. If you like character studies of flawed characters, you'll be into it. I loved it, even if you might not be into it.

The Proposition : Gorgeous, but boring. The pacing was dead at times, which is my main problem. The characters are amazing, though, especially Ray Winstone. It's a perfect Western film though, insane cinematography and setting. Brutal violence. But it's very hard to get through the whole film in one setting, because of the languish pacing. Not enough Guy Pearce (dude from Memento), and he's not so badass until the very end.

There Will be Blood : Wow, PT Anderson's most ambitious film to date. It's definitely a masterpiece. A period piece around California when oil first struck big. The first 20 minutes of no dialogue with DD Lewis reminded me of 2001, but done way better. Great journey of a scrubby man going down the spiral of evil fortunes and backstabbing. My favourite part of the film is the static filming, reminding me of old-school where it was all about the actors rather than the camera.

Happiness : Pretty tough dark comedy. I'd go to say, it's a black comedy. The laughs are very few. And I didn't like it. The paedophile story was the most intriguing and disturbing. Honestly, too many characters to flip through. It's not enjoyable until the very "I came!" ending.

Moon : Overhyped sci-fi. Sam Rockwell is great. Cinematography is great. Story is hard to follow at times, even though it's stupidly simple. I wouldn't recommend it, there's nothing deep to it. I've seen better clone stories in a Simpsons episode. If you want a deep, low-fare scifi movie, check out Solaris instead. Even if you hate Clooney.

Syriana : Speaking of Clooney, he's in this. With a huge beard. Intense political drama set in Middle East, all about oil and corporations. It can get kind of complex, but that's what I like about it. Not hugely memorable, but the Prince Nasir character was interesting. The unemployed Pakistani kids was a great tale. Sad ending. Had a fun time, and if you liked it, check out Tom Hank in Charlie Wilson's War.

Antichrist : Very emotionally draining film about two characters. Willem Dafoe, and Charlotte Gainsborough. There are no other humans in the film. Great performances, great visuals. It's one of those "bad things go to worse" plots. My favourite aspect is how nature, usually a lovely thing, is made evil. "Nature is Satan's church," and you'll believe it. Very gruesome sexual violence. If you liked Hard Candy, this is right up your alley.

The Departed : Finally saw this movie. If I hear that Irish-sounding rock song again, I'll...whatever. I saw it just to compare to the original. Prefer Infernal Affairs more, but Scorsese still holds his own in the character-building department. The ending, didn't like it. Caprio still is a great OTT actor.

2012 : Best execution of disaster movie ever. Instead of being a flood/volcano/global warming movie, it's everything! If you like good plots or interesting characters, stay far away from this movie. But if you love great FX, great sadistic visuals of your favourite landmarks getting murdered and murdering other people, I'd recommend it. Only for cinemas, though.

Heathers : Damn it, I love Winona Ryder in this. An excellent teen school dark comedy, about student "suicides". Won't spoil it, but surprising seeing Christine Slater actually act. I've only heard him from the terrible Uwe Boll films. If you like Mean Girls, but with more angsty narration and much darker comedy, you'll love the heck out of this.

Election : Wow, another excellent school dark comedy with Matthew Broderick (when he was still relevant), and Reese Witherspoon. Much like World's Greatest Dad, it's a surprisingly emotional journey for the main character. Plot is about student elections, with insane rivalry. Very off-beat, and memorable. No matter how in the dumps Broderick gets, he's always lovable.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High : This has hit number 1 of best teen comedies. After seeing it, I wouldn't agree, but it has some genius moments of rude humour. Sean Penn, as a stoner since 3 years old, is the most memorable character. Mr. Hand reminded me of my own history teacher!

Bronson : If you want to see A Clockwork Orange for the new generation, check it out. An absolutely Oscar-worthy performance from Tom Hardy. When I say A Clockwork Orange, I mean brutal violence, classical music, and psychotic characters in prison settings. And it's a TRUE STORY about Britain's most famous prisoner!

Choke : Sex comedy, with Sam Rockwell again. He has sex addiction, and needs help. Same setting as Fight Club's opening of group therapy. Very interesting story, and it's more about the character's relation to his mom. Their history together. The Jesus turn was surprising. Hot chick. Lots of sex. So, if you're into that...

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies : If you want an excellent DC action animated movie, this is it. Completely satisfying. Much better than the dud that was Superman: Doomsday. GO BUY THIS NOW!

The Prestige : Even though I saw it in cinemas, I wanted to see it in 720p. If YOU haven't, you must. Absolutely mesmerising psychological thriller set in the days of magicians and scientists. Knock-out performances from Wolverine and Batman. Nolan at the top of his game. Insane script, making you pay attention very closely. I can't wait for Inception. If that trailer doesn't have you excited or give you the chills...

So, let's review. Best movie of 2009 IMO? World's Greatest Dad, so far. Biggest disappointment? Moon. Film I still need to see? Hurt Locker. Film I couldn't care less about? Avatar.

Humans are social beasts. We thrive on communication, and feedback. However, we also thrive on gossip and information from secondary or even tertiary sources. This is why we're not journalists or news reporters. We're simply enthusiasts for the medium. Which is why, we can be misinformed very easily, when our hands are off the product. We are only going by what other people tell us.

HANDS OFF

 
 The majority of us enthusiasts are not in the gaming press. So it's inevitable to bandwagon around the press' opinions as our own. Imagine if you will the analogy that we enthusiasts are represented as clouds, floating above the earth. We are just fluff. The earth is where the gaming press has their hands on concrete gaming evidence. Without concrete evidence, many variables can "cloud" our judgement. It's only when we have the game in our hands, can we become rain and hit the earth.

BARRAGE

 Since the Internet, the climate of gaming has forever changed. Before with magazines, they'd be our only doors to news and information about the videogame scene. Now, everything you ever wanted to know about videogames is on the click of your fingers. So with more doors open to you at any point of time, you're bound to think that you can know everything about a videogame before it's out. You never have even touched the game, but with the amount of Internet outlets and press people's opinions, you can go off your sniff on what's good and bad.

Which is why many gaming companies realise this vulnerability, and are architects of their own games' coverage to such a high quality with trailers/screenshots/quotes. You can be misled by the culmination of hype from gaming websites and media, and feel like when the game's reviewed, want to let out your assumptions. You want to be the better on the horse race that your choice was right.

I KNEW IT!

In the game's review and release window, your opinion can finally come out the closet whether it is fan-gushing or hate-mongering. You think you've seen enough to form your own hands-off impressions. You also might feel inclined to spread your propaganda to other soapboxes, without ever having concrete proof. This is when you transform into a troll, and are there to either put the game on the pedestal or sink it under the ground without ever having a grain of truth. We are all victims of this (I'm currently an Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 troll), because we want to seem smart and be centres of knowledge even if it's not first-hand. Pretention is an eventual side-effect of knowledge. You also want to be in on the act, before the hype for the videogame dies down after its first month (which is a sad case in itself).

MISLED BY THE PIPER

Not exclusive to reviews, news about games is in danger to gossip because of the ability of the Internet. It doesn't matter if the news story had a first-hand journalist behind it, now websites (Kotaku, Destructoid, and other blogging outlets) can throw around headlines around the story spread through secondary and tertiary sources. Commentators will comment on such "news", and spread that around so much that eventually it will stand as gospel "truth" (e.g. Gerstmanngate). There are now places where you can watch the whole game from beginning to end (Youtube, Justin.tv), without paying a dime.

This is the danger of the more avenues opened from the Internet, where there's less first-hand impressions and more reliance on analysts and footage. When you're relying on analyst websites, something has gone wrong, no matter how reliable they are. If you've heard/seen this much about a certain videogame, you'd think you know the whole caboodle?

THE EMPEROR WITH NO CLOTHES

Videogames are a unique beast of entertainment. They are interactive, through controller interfaces. Fortunately, no videos or reviews can tell you how your hands and brain would react when you're actually playing the game. No amount of discussing particular game mechanics or headless speculation on video websites can allow you to get the full dish on the game before it's released. None of these venues can sum up everything the game has to offer.

Unfortunately, you also can't convince sceptics of a game how good/bad it is, without handing them the game yourself. You could say "Brothers in Arms have some of the most emotionally brutal moments ever in a game!", but it means jack to the sceptic who hasn't touched the game. What might impress you about a game might not impress or even make someone else hate the game. You can't know every single secret hidden in a game that may give you an amazing moment, as evidenced by the recent Batman Arkham Asylum.

Really, who wants fanboys or trolls to fall flat on their faces for having the wrong knowledge about a game or being misled? Who wants these speculators to be made fools, post-release of a game? You have to sympathise with these gullible enthusiasts for letting hype and hyperbole take over them. So, who really wants these uninformed, hands-off humans to end up like the emperor with no clothes?

I do.

To conclude, what have we learned from this piece? What nugget of unpretentious knowledge can I impart to you? You shouldn't solely rely on websites or bloggers for your gaming purchases? Form your own opinion for once? That for opinions, everyone has their own and you should keep that in mind? No, you already know that by now.

The following advice might not be new to you, but it's a universal QFT (Quoted for Truth). Whenever a person starts going crazy over a game in a forum or comment, just say...

"HAVE YOU PLAYED THE GAME? IF NO, SHUT UP!"

Yo, peeps! It's been forever, or at least it feels like it. I think everyone has now seen my darker side of when I actually talk about games I have a problem with. It's not like I'm PMSing that caused the spur of rants in my recent blogs. Anyhoo, yeah I'm in PRAGUE now.

It's in the Czech Republic. Just google map it. Gorgeous city. Pretty much like London. Gothic architecture. Metro underground, trams, and buses.

Excellent public transport, btw, it's much easier than London's maze. Less people here too.

Of course, I'm also ready to dish out some dirt on this beautiful city.

First, what's with 1/3 of people having dogs?! That's a lot of dogs. And also, the SMALLEST ones. I haven't seen chihuahas, but it's pretty ridiculous. I saw a woman with a dog IN HER PURSE! Either people here are REALLY lonely. Or they like dog poo everywhere. Because of the so-many dogs, there's dog poo literally on every footwalk. And you know what? No PICK UP YOUR OWN DOG'S POO signs! If you walk here, you better beware. I mean it!

The girls. They weren't kidding when they said that Czech girls are beautiful (I meant HOT). Every single girl here in Prague is hot. Not just Aryan blondes. They run the whole gamut. And what does having lots of hot girls in Prague mean for the exploitative ad business? This (slightly NSFW).

Clubbing. I've now been to clubs for the 1st time ever. The one in the middle gets drunk hard. The one on the right always keeps his cool. Not the best of experiences. I don't drink. So when you're sober, you realise how immature and pointless clubs can be. When girls are there just to have fun by themselves or with mates, they're not trying to send signals to guys by dancing. As soon as a guy is near a girl dancing, he thinks she's interested. And it gets real awkward. Anyone sober at club probably relates to this. So, along with drunk men, comes fights. They were pretty stupid macho male territory business. But really, there's a good side to clubbing. And that's actually dancing. I did it, I'm sure my friends caught it on video. I went wild (sober). I took over the dancefloor. Yes, a nerd like me. I showed them what's what. Hehe. Maybe it was a song I liked (I usually hate trance/electronica). When you're that exhausted, you lose your inhibitions. So pretty much I knew what it must've felt like to be drunk. Anyway, I did it because I got a thrill, and I was getting mad exercise. My tongue ended up so dry. I was completely exhausted.

But I don't feel like I want to repeat it. I've had my fill.

So yeah, that's about it with the dirt.

So why am I living in Prague now? 'Cause I'm in the medical school university here. Charles University, 1st Faculty of Medicine. Medicine might not have been my long-life dream (I know it is for everyone!), but it's the one way to get to my dream profession: PSYCHIATRY.

And I'm having fun. 2nd week in, things are going great. Learning Czech language on the side, with another hot (I meant beautiful) teacher.

As you can see above, I also have fun taking pics of the weird things around here. This grafitti is right next to our Dean's building. So it's hilarious. I guess the Soviet Union wants their Czecho-Slovakia back. Yeah, if you didn't know, Czech "Republic" used to be part of the Soviet Union.

Who knew having Tescos here would be a saviour? Not many people here speak English well, so while I don't know the Czech language that much, I might as well survive on some Britishness.

So I'm doing real well here. Know my way around. Made many new friends. Some from Canada. Oh, Canada!

We have Internet now, in our apartment. If you want to see what our apartment looks like in shaky cam, check out this video. That's before anyone was living in it, so it was a few weeks before we settled in properly. I've been Skyping my family all the time, thanks to the Internet.

It feels like a good challenge living away from your family, but with friends. I've been really getting into cooking. I do the dishes (and love it). All that household stuff is great for someone like me who isn't quite OCD but still got a little of it in my genes from my uncle.

But let's forget all this life business. What about games? Ok, so my Xbox 360 isn't here. But when I go back to UK, I'll get my 360 over here.

What games I haven't talked about yet should say a lot. While I'm not playing them, I'm constantly thinking about Batman: Arkham Asylum (done), Far Cry 2 (not done), and Prototype (done). My early GoTYs would be Plants vs Zombies, Batman, and Prototype. Yeah, I said Prototype. I'm just happy we finally have a proper anti-hero game. It's one game you have to experience yourself, before you judge it. It's the biggest adrenaline rush you'll get, and it provides a unique experience with some innovations, so it's easy to see why GoTY. Batman is one, but not for the reasons everyone else thinks. Despite what they say, it does some things new that could influence future non-linear games. I won't tell right now, that's a teaser!

What games I haven't played, that I want to? Uncharted 2, just to check out if it's really TEH BEST SINGALPLAYA EVAR! You might remember, I didn't think too fondly of the first one. Lame platforming, tedious shooting, boring setpieces, and clearly not as cinematic/omgwtfawesome as Uncharted 2. Halo ODST, because the music sounds amazing. And it harkens back to the moods of Halo 1 with the loneliness. Brutal Legend. Yeah, that's obvious. Probably 20 reasons why. And I'm not even into metal. Borderlands. Because I love Gearbox. And Mikey Neumann's writing. And games that don't take themselves too seriously (hello, Fallout 3). And FPSRPGs. Demon's Souls. A hard combat RPG, that looks a little like Oblivion, yet is made from my childhood Tenchu-loving creators (From Software)? Hell yeah. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Ninja Gaiden 2, but actually more balanced? And co-op? Plus, less of the gore which ACTUALLY became a problem in obscuring your vision and the level in the 360 version? I'm always up for supporting the series that is the king of 3D combat. Dante's Inferno. Dead Space was my GoTY last year, simple as that.

What can you expect from me, in terms of game blogs? It's an editorial. That's very self-explanatoy in it's title. I Haven't Played the Game, but I Have an OPINION!

Na shledanou. That's bye in Czech.