In the years to follow, Avenged Sevenfold would become all I would listen to. I was to the point where I wouldn’t shut up about them; my friends hated it. The Rev was, and is, my hero, and that will never change. On August 26, I had the chance to see them live. It was the greatest thing I have ever experienced in my life. They were head lining Uproar, the name of the tour, which included great bands like Escape the Fate, Seether, Bullet for my Valentine, and Three Days Grace. Avenged Sevenfold played most songs off of their Nightmare album, which I am reviewing.

“Nightmare” came out in 2010. It was dedicated to the former drummer. I thought the album was amazing; it was very dark and meaningful, from the opening song “Nightmare”, to the final song “Save Me.”

 The album begins with the song “Nightmare,” which can also be heard in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops, in the zombie map moon when you complete the easter egg. The album ends with the song “Save Me.” It is an impressive ten minutes long. Many people would say they don’t have the time for a song that long, but if you find time for it, it’s a beautiful song. Like many of the songs on the album it was written and dedicated for The Rev. It’s about how the drummer had died young. The album itself has many songs on how the band was hurt and will not forget him.

 There is also a song on the album called “Fiction”, originally entitled “Death.” It was the last song The Rev wrote, three days before he died. The Rev died before they were able to record the entire album as a band. The Rev, however, had recorded much of the drums and some vocals for the album, which can be heard on tracks like “Fiction” and “Save Me.” “Fiction’s” lyrics makes it seem like it’s a goodbye from The Rev, as in the song he sings, “I hope it’s worth it/here on the highway/ I know you’ll find your own way when I’m not with you.”

In the first week of the album’s release, “Nightmare” replaced Eminem’s album Recovery for the number one spot which shows that The Rev was more than just a drummer or song writer; he was a hero and role model to many.

 A young reporter in London named Tintin buys a model of a famed ship known as the Unicorn.  He is interrupted by a man who tries to buy it back from him saying, “It’ll get him into a mess of trouble.” Tintin decides to do some research, leading him farther into the mystery of the Unicorn, Sir Francis’ family, and the greatest sunken treasure in the world. This unravels a fantastic adventure for the entire family.

The film itself is certainly amazing within the realms of CGI, creating almost shockingly realistic computer images. The company responsible was the same that did The Polar Express, which received harsh critiques for the visuals being too in-between realistic and non-realistic. The company has obviously improved since then, showing its newfound skill to create the fantastically detailed visuals in Tintin. Not a single hair seems out of place, the water looks great, and the characters look almost real enough to be live action actors. It’s almost surreal just how realistic this movie looks.

The balance of themes from adult to child are also done very well. There is no skipping on violence, but it’s slightly tongue in cheek.  Despite the pure number of people shooting MP40’s at Tintin, he never even gets near a bullet, only firing his gun a total of two times the entire film. Yet there is a lot of featured shooting and violence and obvious going on about Captain Hadock’s (Tintin’s companion) raging alcoholism. So even though the film is marketed towards children, it’s not as if it’s some little kid’s tale; there are some rather mature moments.

All and all the film is a fantastic blend of whimsical storytelling and cinematic moviemaking. Anyone who goes to see this film can have a great time for one reason or another, a fine film with amazing visuals, fun for the whole family.

The album does feature multiple collaborations and appearances with different artists. The list includes The Doors, Sirah, 12th Planet, and Kill The Noise. Wolfgang Garter even makes an appearance in “The Devil’s Den”. This is a sign that Skrillex’s popularity is growing even higher and higher, allowing him to get all these appearances from other musicians.

The similarities to his older work may be why Bangarang has been anticipated and well received. It topped the charts in the UK, The United States, Canada, and Australia. “Breaking a Sweat” gained so much popularity that it was used in the documentary Re: Generation. Bangarang grows even more popular as the EP gains momentum. The majority seems happy with his similarity to early albums, and this is most likely the reason for the EP’s success.

Overall, Bangarang is a success due to high sales from old fans and newcomers. While more hardcore fans may be disappointed with the lack of advancement, the more easy listening fans will be glad to hear him sticking to his style. Overall the album is a success, but suffers a bit from lack of support from the more in-depth fans.

This tale was set in the 1960s and it portrays the lives of rich white families and the black maids who work for them. There are three main characters: maids Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) and Miss Skeeter (Emma Stone), the daughter of a cotton plantation owner. Minny Jackson is a tempestuous and outspoken woman who is unafraid to stand up for herself or her beliefs. Her fiery personality often gets her into trouble with her employers and also provides much comic relief. Aibileen is a repressed woman who struggles daily with the grief of her dead son. She looks to fill that hole with the little girl she cares for: Mae Mobley. Miss Skeeter is a recent college graduate who is stuck between the old way of life and her progressive ideals. She sees the Jackson society as an opportunity to analyze that life and advance her writing career.

Miss Skeeter decides to write a book detailing the lives of the black maids in Jackson. Reluctantly, Aibileen and Minny agree to help. Eventually, many more maids join the experiment. Each person involved is concerned about the very real danger they face. None of them want to be subjected to hate crimes or be sent to prison, so they hide their identities.

Writing Miss Skeeter’s book is half the battle. The events that follow its publication are even more challenging.

As a book, The Help was nicely written. It was complex and had a plethora of multidimensional characters. At times, the book tended to ramble and not progress the plot. It also jumped inconsistently from one perspective to the next, which disrupted the flow of the story and caused confusion.

This story was presented much better as a movie than as a book. The plot was streamlined, which solved the inconsistencies and the confusion. The downside to making the plot more understandable was that many lovely scenes and details were cut or arranged in a different order.

In both the book and the movie, an important theme shines through. That theme is that every person is important and that every person has a story to tell. Aibileen sums up that theme perfectly with the saying, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

This story is a wonderful example of how anyone is capable of realizing their true potential in the face of adversity. The strong women of Jackson, Mississippi can be an example for anyone who wishes to stand up for their beliefs and tell the world their story.

Albert Narracott, played by Jeremy Irvine, is a young adult living with his parents on a farm in Devon, England leading up to the First World War. Albert’s father Ted, played by Peter Mullan, much to his wife’s dismay, buys a young colt at an auction in town. He made this rash decision simply to spite his landlord who attempted to outbid him for the horse, which ended in him overpaying for a meaningless thoroughbred because the reason he went to the auction in the first place was to buy a plow horse. The Narracott family was now left with a mounting debt, a worthless plot of land, and a disobedient horse. Albert, upon seeing Joey, immediately agrees to train the horse, and the two quickly become friends. With Albert’s determination and Joey’s strength, the two overcome many difficulties but are eventually torn apart.

The family cannot overcome their mounting debt, so Ted is forced to sell the horse to the English army when World War I breaks out. Albert is heartbroken but is eventually old enough to leave home and enlist in the army. Though the two don’t come into contact throughout the war, they both deal with their own struggles and touch many lives throughout their separate journeys.

This film has a fantastic storyline throughout and ever disappoints. The journeys of both Albert and Joey kept me engaged for the two hour and twenty six minute running time. As Joey touched the lives of many, including a young French girl and a German horse named Topthorn, I couldn’t help but feeling like I was part of the storyline and traveling throughout the devastation in Europe. It is a rarity to find a story that captures the true essence of friendship and love, but War Horse accomplishes both with an unprecedented combination of overcoming hardships and living in the moment.  

Spielberg, known for his excellent filming locations in previous movies including “Saving Private Ryan” and the Indiana Jones series, spent 64 days traveling throughout England filming the movie. The scenery and location of all of the shots were fantastic. The Narracott home all the way to the battle scenes in war torn Europe; every shot was top notch and covered every angle.

The film had very few flaws, if any. Spielberg recaptures the magic of cinematography in this emotional triumph. War Horse is sure to capture the heart of the audience long before the credits roll.

That is, until Professor James Moriarty, played by Jared Harris, a man as devious, cunning, and smart as Holmes himself, happens to change that. The only difference between Holmes and Moriarty is that Moriarty no problem killing people to achieve what he wants. What that is, we don’t know, and what Holmes hopes to find out. Moriarty sends Watson and his beloved a wedding present, and soon after that the chase to stop Moriarty is on.

I liked this movie for a many reasons. The technology and weapons were more up to date than in the first one. There were a lot of weapons used in WWI used in this movie, like the German bolt action rifle, the Kar98k. Holmes also switches from a revolver to a Mauser 1896 machine pistol. He also has a car, not a modern one, but the kind that looks like it was put together like a kid. It was very cool to see how far cars have come, since some did look like that. Also, there was an apparatus that made oxygen, which Holmes’s brother had for some reason. They also show Holmes’s brother, Mycroft Holmes, played by Stephen Fry. He is a funny character and brings a new air to the movies. I mean, there shouldn’t be just one Holmes, should there?

The main thing I didn’t like about the movie was the action, well, I liked it, but was annoyed by parts of it. It was good when Holmes goes into the mode where he sees the fight, plans out what he’s going to do, and then does it. That’s the only good slow motion part. The other action was slow motion. When they are running in the forest, it’s all slow! It’s annoying because none of the action really surprises you, because you can see it before it happens. Honestly, it makes it even more unrealistic. It should have been regular speed and more of Watson fighting like the soldier he is. He didn’t once use his cane sword (at least, I don’t remember him, using it, and he used it all the time in the first). Secondly, the movie was pretty easy to second guess. I kind of saw the end coming. It wasn’t as complex as the first movie, which really had me going, because it was hard for me to piece it together.

The film was good, but the action was too slow. I recommend not making any plans or make plans for the movies, because you should see Sherlock Holmes 2. That is, unless you don’t like watching a movie with some romance, explosions, action, slow motion action, guns, weird objects, and witty sayings. Honestly, who doesn’t?

The hilarious movie “Tower Heist” shows the story of hotel employees who try to steal their money back from a multi millionaire after he scammed them of all their money. Their funny escapade leads to many laughs, and suspense.

“Tower Heist” is the story of employees who are working at one of the fanciest and nicest hotels around, and their quest to find and take back their money from a multi millionaire stock broker (Alan Alda) who had offered to help increase the employee’s earnings. However it backfires and the employees have their savings stolen, and are left with nothing. The employees (Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe) decide to steal the money back with the help of a thief (Eddie Murphy).

I did enjoy the movie. Their humor was good, and not too crude or childish. There was a good mix of humor, and suspense making the movie even more enjoyable. I believe that they choose the right actors for this movie. All of them were good with their parts causing the move to be better, and somewhat relatable. We all fear having our money stolen, but this movie takes it to a whole new level.

However there were some things in the moving that were not so good. Some of the things they did in the movie weren’t realistic, like ramming an FBI agent with a cart and it knocking them out. That is not realistic. That would not knock someone out, not to mention the assault charges. There are also some other moments where the movie stops being realistic.

Other than those instances the movie is good.

Overall I did like the movie, and put those few unrealistic moments aside it was a good movie.

Rating 6 out of 10

The Campaign

When you first start the campaign, you view Ezio’s trip to Masayaf, the first Assassins location. you find that it is under Templar control. After he escapes the Templar’s and finds out that the door to the Assassins library is locked, he must find all the keys to it that are spread throughout the Middle East, and the one key that the Templar’s already have.

After that, he makes his way to Constantinople, where he meets up and joins the local Assassins, and aids their struggles against the Templar’s that are trying to take control of Constantinople. As the game progresses you get the ability to use, and make bombs. There are bombs that can kill large groups of guards, bombs that can distract guards, allowing you to slip in previously defended areas, and bombs that could be smoke bombs, allowing the player to quickly eliminate the guards while they choke on smoke. Another new item is the hook blade. This allows the player to climb faster, slide down lines, and can be helpful in a fight.

In Assassins Creed Brotherhood, you could destroy templar towers, making that area your own. It is taken to a new level in Assassins Creed Revelations, You capture a templar den, making it your own, but, you will occasionally have to defend it when Templers try to recapture it. You get to send assassins and decide where they do, and what they fight with.

In Brotherhood, once you kill a guard, you would be able to quickly, and easily dispatch the reaming guards with a series of one hit kills. But in Revelations that is not the case, you can get a one or two streak going but it usually stops. This makes the game a little harder when fighting hordes of people, and causes you to change your strategy.

Overall I like campaign; it is fun, and addictive.

Rating: 9 out of 10

The Multiplayer

The multiplayer in Revelations is booth good, and bad. The multiplayer has all new characters, some new maps, and game types. The 4 game types are wanted, assassination, death match, and artifact assault. Wanted is just like it was in Brotherhood, except you have different characters, new maps, etc. Then there is assassination, where you choose who you kill, and kill them for points. But if the person you choose isn’t a real player then you don’t get points. So be careful when picking someone. Death match is a new game type, with the same objective as wanted, but it is very different. There are no other NPC’s that look like the character you choose, you do not get a compass that leads you to your target, and the maps are very small.

In multiplayer you can customize the characters, change the weapons they use, choose what they look like, and more. However you have to have abstergo points. You have to buy the new stuff for your characters, and you also have to buy custom classes, and the perks and items in those classes. It is pretty much like Black Ops. You earn these points after every game, and the amount depends on how well you do.

I don’t really like death match, I am fine with all the other things that this thrilling multiplayer has. I am also very pleased with how fast you can get in a game now, because in Brotherhood it would take a while, but in Revelations it goes quite fast.

Overall it is pretty good, and I look forward to playing it later.

Rating: 7 out of 10

I like the game a lot, and I believe that Ubisoft did an excellent job continuing the critically acclaimed Assassins Creed series.

“It gives you something to look forward to doing more of, with all the improvements they’ve made from last year’s FIFA. It requires skill to play now, other than pressing a few buttons.”  said Adiel Bartolommeo.

 I was so excited to play my first game, only to lose 4-1. Pretty embarrassing, but with all the new additions to the game, it’s like playing a new soccer game. The passing has changed so much. You have to look at the player you intend on passing to in order to make an accurate pass, along with holding down the passing button for increased power.

 Shooting is very similar to FIFA11, but most of the shots stay on the ground. It might just be me, but I happen to have a lot of shots that roll into the net, rather than going into the top corner. Crossing the ball on the run of play is difficult. The player has to be in the right body position in order to make an accurate cross. But on corner kicks, it is a bit easier to make a good cross and get the right header to go on target.

FIFA12 also improved the manager mode season. The startup menu looks like a realistic team page. I generally use Manchester United as my manager mode squad, and the page for the manager mode looks similar to the one on the actually website. The players can comment on your coaching ability, For example, I was not using Johnny Evans at all, not even for my reserve matches, and I received a pop up from Evans saying “Boss if you do not have me in your team, I intend to leave at the next transfer offer”. The players have more freedom, and that causes more drama on the team, making it seem like it’s a real life simulation of what it’s like to manage a team in a managerial campaign. The manager mode has also increased the time of transfer offers and get back to you quicker, but also have the freedom to increase wages, and amount for a player. Players also can send transfer requests without notice, and leave the club without any notice to the manager (you). The players are also added a new feature, other than energy levels and overall score, they have morale and form. If a player has not been playing well, or is not in the squad reguraly, there form may dip, along with the moral for the team causing them to want to leave on a loan deal, or terminate their contract.

They also have a different collision engine. For those of you who are not FIFA fanatics, this means that when two players collide in a slide tackle, 50/50 or any other type of fight for possession, the players can fall over. Injuries are more frequent, both on the field and on the training ground. Mostly there not massive injuries like broken legs and fractured skulls. Most of the time its just a hamstring strain that will last for 3-6 days, depending on the player.

A youth development system has also been added. The whole concept is to have under aged players (18 and younger) who legally can’t be given a professional contract a chance to play in a reserve type setting. You must first buy a scout, and send him throughout the world to seek out youth talent, and bring in some young players. But don’t wait too long, because some other teams can take the next youth star. 

The money earned in tournaments has not changed for FIFA11, so you still receive the same amount, regardless of what team you are. Transfers are also very fast, and a lot of players come and go from team to team. FIFA12 also introduces a new feature, the online pass. It’s 10$, for unlimited uses. The online pass includes joining online leagues, 1 v. 1 plays, and virtual teams. I have not explored this feature yet, but I plan to eventually.

 “It’s a wonderful game, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves the fantastic sport of soccer,” said Max Ohle, RB’s varsity team goalkeeper.

 As both a soccer player, and fan, I recommend this game to any athlete. It’s easy to get hooked onto, and a great way to put your love and passion for the game, as you can take charge of a team and see what it’s really like.

Infamous: Festival of Blood is the downloadable follow up to Sucker Punch’s open world game Infamous 2.  Festival of Blood was released on October 25, just in time for Halloween and is a PS3 exclusive (just like the other Infamous titles).

At the beginning of the game, Cole Macgrath is rushing through the catacombs of a cathedral.  He heard screaming, so he decided to help whoever was in trouble.  Various people were injured after being trapped behind debris blocking their way out.  One of the women that Cole tries to help though turns out to be a vampire, who thusly knocks him out.  When he comes to, he is on top of the shriveled corpse of Bloody Mary, a female vampire.  He is then restrained by a few other vampires as one of them opens a vein on his neck.  This allows blood to drip into Bloody Mary’s mouth, causing her to come back to life.  Since he was bitten, Cole is now a vampire.  He must defeat Bloody Mary by the next day or else she will gain complete control over him and then the other citizens of New Marais.

Similar to Infamous 2, Festival of Blood takes place in the southern Louisiana city of New Marais.  This time around though, we have a date (kind of).  In New Marais it is Pyre Night, a festival where hordes of people, drunk or not, roam the streets dressed as monsters.  The city is decorated accordingly too, with straw “monsters” burning at the stake.  One of the major differences regarding the setting is the fact that you only get to run around the first area from Infamous 2.  This means that you only have about a third of the original map to explore.  It’s okay though, since Festival of Blood is much shorter than its predecessor. 

In Festival of Blood, the upgrade system for powers has been majorly downsized.  Instead of unlocking powers by performing a specific stunt multiple times and then having to buy them with experience points, you are just given the upgrades directly.  Upgrades are obtained when you kill a certain number of vampires.  Also, since the game isn’t as large as Infamous 2, there are not as many upgrades and you cannot switch between them.

Even though there are fewer upgrades for Cole’s electrical abilities, he still gains new powers in Festival of Blood.  Being a vampire actually has some perks.  One of the vampire powers that Cole gains is called Shadow Swarm.  This power allows you to transform into a group of bats to fly long distance across New Marais.  Shadow Swarm basically makes Cole’s parkour skills and Static Thruster power irrelevant.  The only downside to the vampire powers is that to use them, you have to drink the blood of civilians. 

One of my favorite improvements in Infamous 2 was the melee.  Festival of Blood keeps the improved melee virtually the same.  There are only minor aesthetic differences this time around.  Near the beginning of the game Cole loses the Amp, which was a weapon that harnessed his electric powers into a deadly, brute force.  He replaces it with a metal cross he finds right after losing the Amp.  The cross can effectively conduct electricity and it has a spiked, wooden tip so that Cole can kill vampires by staking them through the heart.

One of the features that makes the Infamous series unique is its karma system.  In Festival of Blood, the karma system is left out.  At first, this seems wrong, since the karma system was what set the Infamous series apart from other games.  When you think about it though, Cole needs to drink the blood of civilians, so he would always be getting bad karma.  Even though it makes sense that they would leave it out, it still feels like Festival of Blood is missing something.

Overall, the game is pretty good.  While Festival of Blood doesn’t have the same variety of upgrades that Infamous 2 had, it adds completely new vampire powers that sort of fill the upgrade gap.  The melee is still great, but it’s lame how using an ultra combo doesn’t kill vampires.  You just can’t get as immersed into the game like how you could in Infamous 2.

If you played Infamous 2, you should definitely download Festival of Blood.  If you are a newcomer to the Infamous series though, you should play the first two games before getting into Cole’s latest adventure.