Marvel’s second superpowered film this year is out, and I’m here to tell you if it’s worth the price of admission.  Matthew Vaughn, the director of films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Kick-Ass, takes on his second comic book movie, exploring the roots of the X-men.  This story takes place mostly in the 1960’s, with some flashbacks from the 1940’s, but also takes a nod to history by placing it during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The plot starts out with the young Erik Lensherr, later to be known as Magneto, as we are shown (yet again) the traumatic events that lead to the discovery of his powers over magnetism.  When the Nazis witness this power, of course, they try to harness it for themselves, using Erik’s mother as a tool to unlock the power.  This is a good way to start off Erik’s character, which I’ll discuss later in this review.  Elsewhere, a young Charles Xavier runs into an intruder in the form of Raven, or Mystique (taking the form of Charles’ mother), as he welcomes her to his home and allows her to live with him.  It is a bit unusual to see these two meet this way and it raises a few questions, but it works well for the plot. 

Fast forward about twenty years and Erik (now played by Michael Fassbender) is using his powers for revenge, trying to find the men who wronged him during the Holocaust.  At the same time, a female CIA agent, Moira MacTaggert (portrayed by Rose Byrne), goes undercover to spy on a U.S. Army Colonel, under the suspicion that he is working with Communists.  This introduces us to the Hellfire Club, the main antagonists of the film, lead by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon).  She witnesses the powers of Riptide (Alex Gonzalez), Emma Frost (January Jones), and Azazel (Jason Flemyng), relaying her story to the CIA, of course not believing her story.  She then seeks out an expert on the subject of genetics and mutation, which leads her to England where she meets with the now Professor Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy).  Eventually, this leads to the CIA and Charles working together to track down the Hellfire Club, which as fate would have it, is the same goal as our friend Erik.  In a failed attempt to take the life of Sebastian Shaw, who we now know is a mutant capable of absorbing energy, Charles and Erik meet for the first time and create an alliance, which begins a great story of friendship between two very strong performances.

The interaction between these two make for some of the best scenes.

Even though much of this film focuses on Charles and Erik, there is also a strong focus on the character of Raven (now played by Jennifer Lawrence).  Her mutation is obviously not very discreet and we get a bit of an explanation as to her choices in life and why she feels the way she does in later films.  “Mutant and proud” is a reoccuring phrase that she often speaks, but it isn’t until she meets with Erik that she truly believes the phrase.  She struggles in life because she has to hide her true appearance from the regular people, even trying to get acceptance from Charles, who tries his hardest to avoid her advances toward him.  She eventually develops a light romance with Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), who would later transform in a freak accident trying to find a cure for her appearance, as well as his own.  The romance is nice here because it isn’t shoved down our throat and it’s between two characters that have a bit of common ground.  Hank meets with the crew and introduces Charles to Cerebro, which allows them to track down several mutants to try and recruit, leading them to Angel Salvadore (played by daughter of Lenny Kravitz, Zoë Kravitz),  Armando Munoz (Edi Gathegi), Alex Summers (Lucas Till),  Sean Cassidy(Caleb Landry Jones), as well as a nice little cameo role.

Pretty good looking for a bunch of mutants don’t you think?

As these characters are introduced, the recruits are all given codenames and we’re introduced to their powers.  Some of the most hilarious moments of the film take place during the recuritment phase and how these characters are introduced, and though these are all interesting characters pulled from all over the X-Men universe, it raises the question as to why these specific mutants were chosen for this team considering their powers.  Of course, it eventually works out for the plot where each mutant (for the most part) has a vital role, but it still raises the question.  Another thing that the introduction of these characters brings is the convulution to the story.  What was once a focus on the friendship between two of the most notable characters of the franchise, now becomes a mix of stories and a blend of character development that creates a bit of a mess, yet it is still handled well.

Not going to spoil too much more of the plot for all of you, so I’ll leave the rest of the review about other aspects of the film.  There’s a lot of nods to fans of the films and comics alike, from cameo appearances to takes on character origins and their development.  A lot of humor was also placed in the film, though this is by no means a comedy.  It’s a very light touch of humor thats enough to gain a few laughs but still place this film as a fun action flick thats more focused on the relationships between the characters.  As I said before, one of the strongest relationships is the one between Erik and Charles, who have opposing views on their goals.  Erik wants a world where mutants don’t have to hide and can live in peace without the fear of humans rising against them.  Charles on the other hand wants a world in peace with the humans, wanting to gain their support as well as their acceptance.  This is a strong dynamic for which the whole series is based and it’s these two contradictory views that create such an interesting friendship.  Charles is able to channel an emotional level of feelings from Erik by reading his mind and accessing his most cherished memories.  The feelings during these scenes is very powerful and it almost makes you wish there were more, though this is a film focused on a team, and therefore these characters lost a bit of the spotlight.  It’s still a spectacle though to watch this friendship evolve and grow stronger, only to mutate and fall apart as their views collide.

The action and special effects of the film are great eye candy and enjoyable to view.  I couldn’t complain about any of the special effects for the most part, with the only real complaint being Emma Frost and her “diamond skin”, which wasn’t bad looking, but as someone that has studied 3D modeling, I could tell that they only had one model for her special power.  Her hair will always be the same in her protective state, despite it being in different styles outside of it.  A minor complaint but it was something I noticed right away.  Other than that, the effects were all good and plenty of action to keep you watching.  The final battle against the seemingly unstoppable Sebastian Shaw is a good example, as final battles should be a spectacle of action sequences.  Speaking of Sebastian Shaw, for a villain, he doesn’t get a lot of screentime, but Kevin Bacon does a good job in the role.

There are a lot of scantily clad women in this movie.

The movie is a bit on the long, being  just over two hours long, but the plot is well done and has good pacing so it won’t feel long unless you realize that something you know will happen hasn’t happened yet.  The film does a good job developing its characters and there really isn’t a bad actor in the film, as every performance is pulled off well and in no way feels forced.  James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are the ones that easily steal the show with their performances, as you can see the two really made the roles their own, giving the audience a clear view of their character’s ideals.  I may even go as far to say they rival Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan as far as their acting goes.  The costume design is appropriately cheesy and it feels right for the time period given how costumes looked on characters around the time, but it’s still modernized in a way that works for the silver screen.

The Master of Magnet(ism).

As far as summer flicks go, X-Men: First Class is definitely among the best so far, and there’s a lot of big names coming this summer.  The film does create a few discrepancies with the other films in the series, mostly due to the appearance of certain characters at contradictory ages, or events that contradict scenes in other films, but all those aside, I can see this turning into a great new X-men trilogy, and I would be happy to see more from Matthew Vaughn.  The newest X-men film gets a solid 8 out of 10.

Version 3.61 is available for download on the PS3 now, and the PSN and Qriocity services will be back up and running as early as tonight.  Sony tells  it’s customers to change their passwords for their accounts, and  offer their apologies, as well as detail the returning services

Returning services include:
The ability to sign into the PlayStation Network or Qriocity service
The ability to play online games on PS3 or PSP
The ability to playback videos rented from the PlayStation store if within rental period
The ability to listen to use Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity on PS3 or PC
The ability to use third party services like Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, and MLB.tv
The ability to access the “friends” category on the XMB menu
The ability to use PlayStation Home

If you’d like to monitor areas where services will be back up, Sony has provided a nice little map for their customers to use to continue watching progress.

UPDATE: Most of the world has said services returned, including the US, Europe, and Australia. Playstation Store will be returning by the end of the month with multiple updates to catch up from the down time.

Marvel’s got quite the project on their hands right now.  The Avengers movie has just started filming, starring a large cast of heroes that the mainstream audience hasn’t become very familiar with yet.  Marvel plans to change that before the superhero team-up comes out next year.  Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk are all set for the stage, but now it’s Thor’s turn, the mighty Asgardian, the God of Thunder. 

The film stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular hero and for the most part, his performance is what makes the movie.  He stars alongside Tom Hiddleston, playing his brother Loki, the God of Mischief, as well as Anthony Hopkins, who does a fairly interesting performance as Odin, King of Asgard.    The family ties between these characters make an interesting drama, though its at it’s best when all three characters are in the mix.  There are scenes where you only have Loki and Odin, and those scenes tend to be a little lacking. 

The family’s all here.

Anyway, as for the story, the film starts with a bit of a present day introduction in New Mexico, only to go back to a random flashback, taking place in 965 A.D. Norway.  It introduces us to the Frost Giants, who tormented humans of Earth to try and conquer their realm.  With this conflict, the Asgardians arrive and fight a war, to which the Asgardians eventually win.  A treaty is formed to keep peace between the two races, while the Asgardians keep a Frost Giant relic, the Casket of Ancient Winters.  Fast forward, and Thor celebrates the day he would ascend to the throne.  As Odin is about to pass the crown to his son, his sentence is cut short by a small group of attacking Frost Giants, attempting to steal back the Casket.  This is when Thor feels like his home of Asgard is threatened, and he expresses his wish to wage war yet again.  Odin doesn’t like the idea and decides not to give Thor the right to the throne.

In anger, Thor throws a tantrum and his brother Loki manages to convince him and four other warriors to travel to Jotunheim, the home of the Frost Giants.  Not long after arriving, a large battle ensues and Odin arrives just in time to save the group of warriors.  It is this moment that Odin strips Thor of his powers and mighty hammer, and exiles him to Earth, as well as sending the hammer to Earth, waiting for one worthy to hold the power of Thor.  This is when we return to New Mexico in the present day and our story really begins.

The time Thor spends on earth is very brief, but much of it is surprisingly hilarious.  Thor’s customs don’t translate well on Earth, and the results create for quite a few laughs.  I almost wish that the film was less action and more comedy, but then it wouldn’t be much of a Superhero flick.  While on earth, he becomes involved in a lightly romantic relationship with young scientist, Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman).  This relationship seems a bit shoe-horned in, and it even feels like the role could’ve been given to any actress, not to say Natalie Portman was bad.  Her character just wasn’t important enough to make the romance seem vital to the film.  It’s bearable, but its highly cliche, and there doesn’t seem to be any chemistry between her character and Thor to even bring about the love interest.

If only this was as far as it went…

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a very involved group in the Marvel universe, and their involvement is fairly large in the Thor movie.  The moment Thor’s hammer falls to earth, nobody can lift it and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are there to find out more about the strange object.  Many references to Tony Stark (Iron Man) are made, and even a short cameo of another “would-be Avenger”.  S.H.I.E.L.D.  adds an interesting plot piece of the film, and even has a good amount of action with Thor, who attempts to take back his hammer Mjolnir only to find he is not worthy of his powers.

The film often bounces back and forth between Earth and Asgard, as another conflict arises on Asgard where Odin enters the “Odinsleep” to recuperate.  Thor not being there, Loki ascends to the throne and makes many changes and reveals his true nature of being the films real antagonist, showing that his jealousy of his brother has made him quite spiteful.  The film is full of quite a few plot twists that newcomers will not see coming, and thats something its got going as it’s rare these days when a film can carry a good plot twist.

As time goes on during his stay on Earth, Thor miraculously realizes his faults just in time to make a noble sacrifice, earning his powers back and working towards a climactic ending.  It seems like he learned his lesson a bit quickly, but the film was pretty long so it’s probably a good thing that his time on Earth was short.  During the battle between Thor and Loki, we have a very action packed fight scene, though this is where Tom Hiddleston’s acting disappointed me the most.  He overacted and it was really noticeable, making me wish that he just didn’t talk during the fight.

The film has a variety of special effects, some of which are great while some others are a bit weak looking (the Frost Giants being a good example).  Another thing I found interesting was that while Thor was being exiled, Odin stripped him of his Asgardian armor and what was underneath?  Some clothes that looked like they were picked up at an Abercromie & Fitch.  Or even at one point when Loki visits earth in a dress shirt and tie.  It takes away from the film’s believability and just makes you feel like the filmmakers didn’t pay enough attention to detail.

All and all, the film was enjoyable, and humorous in many parts, even in some parts that were unintentional.  There’s a lot of action to like and even some good family drama.  It’s a good way to make a movie for a character that doesn’t have a typical origin story like the rest of the Marvel cast of heroes, a hero that is based on myths.  It’s the perfect way to introduce the character to moviegoers excited for The Avengers next year.  Speaking of that, make sure to stick around after the credits, you’ll be glad you did (if not a bit confused).  I give Thor a 7.5 out of 10.

The co-op doesn’t have as much dialogue as the single-player campaign, but it still has a beefy amount over the course of five testing facilities, all of which from GLaDOS or the turrets (also voiced by McLain).  Each testing facility has a series of eight to nine chambers, some of which being two parts. Though this is a co-op experience, it is not a short one. It can take a good four hours to complete, give or take, and the fun never lets up.

Unlike the single-player, the co-op starts out with the Calibration Course, which is a series of simple tests to get you and your partner in “sync” with one another. It’s a simple and yet effective tutorial and it’s a good way to introduce players to the co-op mechanics. Each player will get two portals each, Atlas with blue and purple, and P-Body with orange and red. It’s essential to learn how to use your portals as well as your partner’s to be able to complete these courses.

Cave Johnson (voiced by J.K. Simmons) giving a sample of just what might happen in your co-op playthrough.

Upon completion of the Calibration Course, you enter a hub world of sorts, which is unique to this mode and fits the game very well. It reminds me of some of the hub worlds in old N64 platformers where there was a slight challenge to getting to an area. As you start the first course, it becomes clear that these stages were designed for four portals. It’s true that some chambers can be solved using only one player’s portals, but those ones still require two people to do. The level design is completely different than the chambers in the single-player and there are even features unique to the co-op mode. Features such as diagonal light ramps, spiked crushers, and even a few puzzles that require timing from your partner. Thankfully, implemented a marking system where you can signal your partner with a marker that would show them where to stand, where to make portals, buttons to press or even a 3-second timer for counting down the timing exercises. Even if you are using voice chat, these markers are very useful and work very well with the game.

Like the single-player, the co-op is full of Easter eggs to discover, most of which give you achievements or trophies. These are pretty fun to discover and it creates a humorous sense of accomplishment when you find them, my personal favorite being the hidden companion cube in one of the test chambers.

Each course will have a series of test chambers, and then a final challenge that will have you and your partner outside of the test chambers and in the main facility, searching for the data disc. There is a slight story to the co-op, but it’s mostly explained through the fascinating developer commentary, and its great to watch this universe unfold through it. To summarize, you are doing test chambers that no human has done before, in a sense, testing for the real test. I won’t spoil too much, but the ending is a bit funny if you put all the dialogue together.

All in all, the co-op experience is something truly unique and is a lot of fun to go through with a friend, either through Steam (PC, Mac, or PS3), Playstation Network (still down as of this writing), Xbox Live, or split screen (PS3 and Xbox 360). A nice feature is that the versions running Steam are all cross-platform, so PC users can play with Mac users, or PS3 users with PC or Mac users. If you buy this game, there are a lot of options to be able to play with your friends. If I were to rate the co-op experience, it gets a solid 9 out of 10. Very well thought out, and fun to play, even when replaying the chambers.

Two great experiences in one package, I can see Portal 2 being up for game of the year easily, at least for PC. When single-player and co-op are combined, I can give my final verdict of the game, and Portal 2 receives a 10 out of 10. Great gameplay, entertaining dialogue and sound, fantastic art direction, amazing presentation, and a game that deserves a spot in everyone’s library.

Back in 2007, Valve released a little bundle pack called The Orange Box, which held 5 amazing titles. To everyone’s surprise, one of those titles happened to be an amazing (albeit short) experience called Portal. The way Valve marketed the Orange Box, Portal was considered a type of bonus game, and ended up being the talk of the gaming community, thanks to some clever writing and some great puzzle gameplay. It’s now 2011, and Portal 2 is now available, and is also the first time Valve’s Steam support has come to a console, the Playstation 3 in this case. Is it as amazing as the first one? Or will it fizzle out of memory?

The story of the sequel puts you back in the role of silent protagonist Chell, who had defeated the passive-aggressive super computer, GLaDOS in the previous game. You’ll start in a pretty amusing scenario where you practice getting ready for a day of testing, and it is here that we are introduced to one of the new characters of the game, Wheatley, voiced by Stephen Merchant (of the Ricky Gervais show). Immediately, the games witty and clever dialogue becomes apparent, and you get quite a few laughs. The voice acting is performed with such personality that you forget you’re talking to a robot, but are then reminded by the big glowing blue light staring at your face.

After an interesting opening sequence where you are lifted through the underground facility in a small bedroom, you finally get your hands on the Portal gun. This is where the game really begins, as you learn how to use the basic functions of portals. As you continue on, you find out that GLaDOS is “still alive”, and that she is just sleeping, but of course, that is short lived, and you reunite with your sworn enemy, who then tosses you back into the testing facility like the garbage she deems you to be.

I’ll try not to spoil too much of the plot, but if you played the first game and enjoyed the puzzles, there’s a lot more to figure out here, and new puzzle features add to the variety. Walkways or walls made of light, laser reflector cubes, the different types of gels, there’s a lot more in this game aside from your typical blue and orange portals. I for one found the blue repulsion gel and the orange propulsion gel to be some personal favorites. The repulsion gel would basically be a liquid that you could spread around a room using portals, and upon landing or jumping from a surface with this gel, you would bounce up higher than normal. The higher you fall from, the higher you’ll bounce back up. It works well in quite a few puzzles, though there are some tricky areas where portal placement and timing make the difference. The propulsion gel is very similar to the repulsion gel, except that what this gel does is allow you to increase your maximum speed. Large distances and even great heights can be within reach easily if you run across this gel and through well placed portals. Many other obstacles and items are at your disposal in Portal 2, and it definitely extends the experience that seemed so simple in the first game.

The game’s single-player campaign takes about 8 hours to beat, but you may end up taking longer just wanting to hear the dialogue from the characters. There are many moments where characters will speak, and then continue saying things until that awkward moment where you realize you’ve been standing in the same spot for 3 minutes waiting to see if that robotic eye staring back at you has anything else to say. There are even moments where your actions will get them to say something new. The amount of dialogue in this game is astonishing and it definitely helps that it’s humorous and clever. Other great performances come from J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man’s J. Jonah Jameson) and Ellen McLain returns as GLaDOS, both of which give outstanding performances and gives an emotional impact that’s incredibly rare in games these days. The music is also fitting to the game’s soundtrack and is appropriately quiet in the right areas. One nice feature I liked was the music that played when you realize you were doing something correctly, like if you were “flinging” yourself in the right direction, or you were placing a weighted companion cube in the excursion funnels. It adds a really nice touch to the presentation of the game and really rewards you for solving each puzzle.

Sample of J.K. Simmon’s portrayal of Aperture Laboratories founder Cave Johnson

The game’s visuals are not going to blow you away; this isn’t Crysis, though that doesn’t mean they’re bad. It has a very laboratory-like feeling, which is the point. Lots of black and white with different shades of gray and brown, and the occasional use of color that contrast well with the scientific environment. Valve managed to get a lot out of the aging Source engine, and it easily surpasses the original game in visuals. The gels have a very distinctive fluid quality to them, and the environments move and fall apart very naturally. The animation in the game is impressive as well, from the way Wheatley blinks his one eye to the way the robotic arms of the environment move into place when setting up a new testing chamber. The whole environment, despite being mostly inorganic, feels very much alive.

The game’s single-player campaign is worth the price tag alone, but it also has a co-op campaign that is completely different than the single-player. Unfortunately, due to an error on the Playstation Network, I was unable to play the co-op campaign as of this time. I also unfortunately didn’t have someone handy to come over and play split screen, nor did I install my free PC copy that came with the PS3 version in time. I will say this, the single player campaign is jam packed with content. Even if you play it just once, there is still the possibility that you missed some dialogue, or a few hidden Easter eggs. Lots of achievements and trophies to collect and many of them actually add to the experience of the game.

Despite the fact I couldn’t play the co-op, I will save that part of the review for another time and give my verdict on this game’s single-player campaign as it is. Now before I do that, there is one area I would like to note, and that’s the middle section of the game, where you are not in any test chambers, but actually in the corporate areas of Aperture Science. This area was a neat place, but it does move quite slow and is less about puzzles and more about finding where you shoot your portal to continue forward. If there wasn’t any dialogue in this section, it would be considerably boring and feels a bit dragged out, though you do get a nice history about the fictional company. It’s not too long but it is noticeable, and could push players away from a very rewarding finish.

Portal 2 may require more of a commitment in it’s longer campaign, but there is plenty of variety to keep things interesting and the voice acting is entertaining enough to keep you moving. The single-player campaign is fun and inviting and is a definite must play experience that I would deem a bit better than the original. I give Portal 2’s single-player campaign a very well deserved 9.5 out of 10.