The Statement
Directed by Norman Jewison
From Sony Picture Classics
Released December/12/2003
Available on DVD
Verdict: 
4/5 Thumbs Up
“The best part of the film, by far, is the performance of Michael Caine. His character is an unapologetic racist, a self-serving, violent, manipulative, pathetic, despicable whiny bitch. And you can’t take your eyes off him.”
Valve Software, lovable koala bear of a game producer that it is, has released interesting stats on who has achieved what, Achievement-wise, in their zombiriffic cooperative shooter Left 4 Dead.
That’s… really all I’ve got for you.
My take on Left 4 Dead, having now actually played it: it’s another win for Valve, whose commitment to quality and finely tuned gameplay are again on display here. And it achieves the heretofore impossible goal of structuring a co-op experience in such a way that griefing and general bad behavior are simply not a problem (at least, not yet, in the heady early days immediately following release; we’ll see what happens in a few months). I still feel that the game is a little light on content, particularly on the campaign side, to justify the $50 price tag. But that lone complaint is really all I can come up with.
From the Department of WTF comes word of a panel of British teenagers who - lacking, apparently, the capacity to recognize that grown-ups do not comprehend sarcasm when it comes from kids - claim that the the UK’s recent spate of knife crime is fueled by violent video games. I don’t… even know where to start with this.
Fresh on the heels of Fallout 3’s release, Bethesda Softworks is announcing the official editor for Fallout 3 - G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) - will be available for free download in December. G.E.C.K. will allow Games for Windows users to create and add their own content to the game.
Additionally, Bethesda will offer its first downloadable content - Operation: Anchorage - exclusively for both Xbox 360 and Games for Windows players in January, with more content to follow in February and March.
Fallout 3
Developer Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher Bethesda Softworks LLC
Released October 28, 2008
Available for Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Verdict: 
5/5 Gold Star
“Play Fallout 3 and you’ll not only be treated to what might turn out to be one of the best Bethesda games ever to come down the pike but you’ll also experience echoes of Deus Ex, Half Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Bioshock. In the end this game is a worthy successor to the Black Isle series and a respectable submission into the canon of post-apocalyptic gaming. What began on the crudely pixelated tiles of the admirable Wasteland, matured in the fantastic Fallouts, has emerged, changed, altered, yet authentically realized in Fallout 3.”
A few slices of Portal cake to celebrate some big birthdays this week, with Penny Arcade turning ten yesterday and the original Half Life reaching its tenth today. Valve is celebrating by putting the game on sale for $0.98 over Steam, though if you haven’t played it by this point even that price probably isn’t enough to woo you. Neither the game nor the cartoon could be reached for comment regarding birthday wishes, but I think we can all make some educated guesses.
Oh, and this guy Chris, in my office? Today’s his birthday too. Which really has nothing to do with anything except that we’re talking about birthdays.
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