Wreck-It Ralph Will Be My New Favorite Pixar Movie

I've got one word for you: Zangief. Not only is Zangief my favorite character from Street Fighter, but he and many other video game characters come to life in this new pixar film, Wreck-It Ralph, due out in theaters this November. Other characters include Dr. Robotnik, Bowser, Pac Man Ghost, A Zombie (who looks remarkably similar to the zombies from House of the Dead), Neff from Altered Beast, and so many more! If you are a gamer, like me, and have been gaming for years, I guarantee this movie has slipped in more than a few video game innuendos. I just cannot believe they got the rights to use the characters; it is surprising but thrilling, because now I get to see Dr. Robotnik in a Villain Support group, like a person, rather than an evil man wanting to take over everything, no longer seen as a 2D (in most cases) graphic I needed to destroy.

Wreck-It Ralph is a villain who participates in the Villain Support Group and decides one day that he has had enough. While jumping video game worlds, he accidentally releases a digital villain who has nastier plans than any of them. While meeting very familiar characters along the way, Ralph must defeat the villain and come to an awareness of his own villain-life. Be sure to go to Fix It Felix Jr to play the arcade game from the movie. Like Toy Story did with kids' toys, Wreck-It Ralph will be sure to warm the hearts of gamers everywhere.

I bet I will be able to find more gaming innuendos than you!

Ubisoft's "Watch Dogs" Trailer Leaves Me Speechless

When I was shown this ten minute game play trailer, I seriously thought it was still a cut scene. What Ubisoft has done with this game is incredible, so much that sometimes I forget I am playing a video game. It is a computer nerd's paradise, a game of hacking and from the game play trailer, it is quite the power. There are a lot of versatile, unscripted events in this game and the people in the game react to your actions. Let's just say it is a hacking-version of Grand Theft Auto. Dubbed maybe the best game play trailer at E3 this year, it has taken the words from my mouth and left me speechless. I can only leave you with the trailer itself.

Why You Should Give Tomb Raider Another Chance

Wow, just look at the evolution of our young Lara Croft over a number of installments. Video game graphics sure have come a long way, leaning towards realistic. No longer are video games made without the thought of "how do we make this look real?" The first Lara Croft possessed an impossible figure while Lara Croft 2013 has a more realistic body. Hey, even her breasts look natural, aside from the freakish (yet most men found it an appealing characteristic of Croft) bazoongas from earlier games. Fun fact: In the movie Tomb Raider, did you know Angelina Jolie had to wear extra pads under her bra to make her boobs as big as Lara Croft's?

Moving away from the topic of the horrible casting job of Angelina Jolie for that role, the debut trailer for Tomb Raider: Crossroads was released via E3 2012 May 31. Croft finds herself stranded on an island after a shipwreck, her crew missing. She must brush up on her survival skills in order to combat the animals and people of the island in order to survive and save her crew. Check it out for yourself.

This game, unlike the others, is a new take on the series and starts at the beginning, before Lara got her moves and solid stamina. In this installment, Lara is just a young girl out to battle the world, alone and maybe a little frightened. What I like about this game already is the empathy I feel for Lara that I did not feel in other games. To me, Lara Croft was badass. She didn't need my empathy or anything before this. She knew what she was doing, Lara could handle it, always. But now, she is maybe around my age, struggling to survive in an adventure that goes way beyond her skills and you know what? I feel for her. Just like I really felt Jackie's pain in The Darkness, it connected me to the story and made me feel more involved. This is what really draws me in to a video game, the emotional connection to a story. But we will have to see when it comes out next Spring (we hope). It was delayed in order to perfect new additions to this specific installment. Tomb Raider: Crossroads is due out March 5, 2013. Meanwhile, here is who SHOULD play Lara Croft in a movie (Olivia Wilde).

E3 2012's "Dishonored" Debut Gameplay Trailer

Can you smell it? E3 season is here! Trailers are leaking everywhere and there is even more to come once E3 rolls around next week, June 5 to 7.

While I was perusing through new video game content on Youtube, I came upon this gem. A Bethesda game titled, Dishonored. It takes place in a neo-Victorian time period, and heavily embedded with a steampunk style. It was not just the time period and choice of stealth gaming style that drew me in, but the zombies, violent rats and alien machinery? In these terms, I'll let "alien" mean "strange." Bethesda has it scheduled for debut in October of this year.

You play Corvo Atano, an ex- bodyguard for the Empress who was framed for her assassination. Lucky for you, Corvo possesses vast supernatural powers. The game is in open-world format, so wandering and exploring is a must. Such locations include the Isles, Pandyssian Continent, and the city of Dunwall. Weapons range from swords, daggers, guns (pistols and muskets, though). Corvo can also freeze time, possess animals,  summon plague animals (like the rats in the gameplay trailer), and teleport. There is another supernatural being that exists in the world, known as part-angel, part-devil and is the creator of all magic. This is the being who offered Corvo vengeance in prison, thus his magical powers were born.

The oddities in this game and the originality in its narrative make me intrigued. I can say, I want to play this game. It caters to my supernatural taste in video games and sounds like a game I could spend hours playing. The Darkness, being my favorite game series, lacks one thing: length. Maybe I will enjoy this game as much as The Darkness, only it will allow me Skyrim-length hours of gameplay. What a dream!