The Internet has reached a certain level of harmony with the universe (toh) now that I can post an entire Shô Kosugi classic on my blog and not feel a premonition of danger (kai). Sure, I could have posted better known movies that I enjoy like 28 Days Later, Meet Joe Black, Point Break, Requiem for a Dream, The Usual Suspects, and Monty Python’s Meaning of Life. But Kosugi has shown more strength (rin) than any other actor ever put on film.

The television episodes that I recommended recently where all downloaded on bittorrent. I simply had no other means of watching them. The networks know I’m not alone.

Finally these networks and studios have realized that to control (zai) this tide of Internet viewers in their immediate favor, they should provide that same content directing the energy (kyo) toward themselves. It’s not a matter of mastering time and space (retsu) but of understanding what the viewers think (jin) and want.

Hulu can heal (sha) the differences between the studios and pirates. Hulu is enlightenment (zen).

25. Dark Sector
Set in the crumbling infrastructure of a fictional Soviet-bloc country in the near future, the game’s main character is a man named Hayden Tenno, a morally ambivalent clean-up man employed by the CIA. He suffers from a real-life disease called congenital analgia that does not allow him to feel pain. On a mission he is exposed to a biological compound which mutates his right arm, giving him the ability to spontaneously grow a three-bladed throwable weapon. During the course of the game, Hayden encounters others that have been similarly mutated by the compound. However, the mutation process is painful to the point that its victims go mad. Hayden’s congenital analgia inadvertently protects him from this aspect of the mutation. [Trailer]

24. LEGO Indiana Jones / LEGO Batman
The games will allow players to control the iconic characters in humorous renditions of their adventures. They are expected to feature the same drop in/out co-operative play mode as seen in the Lego Star Wars video games. [Trailer]

23. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the upcoming sequel to 2005’s Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. The game will feature many new environments ranging from massive, densely-packed urban environments such as Caracas, to the sprawling expanse of the Amazon jungle, including Angel Falls. [Gameplay]

22. Burnout Paradise
According to Alex Ward from developer Criterion Games, this game will be a “complete reinvention” of the Burnout series. It has a seamless open-world set in the fictional ‘Paradise City’, with no loading times and no traditional online lobbies or game menus. It still retains the high 60-frames-per-second frame rate most Burnout games have used. [Trailer]

21. Tom Clancy’s Air Combat
Thrust into the cockpits of incredibly powerful and technologically advanced jet fighters, gamers will benefit from hi-tech piloting assistance, providing comfort, security and enhanced perception. As players gain skills and confidence, they will be able to shed the assistance. But before choosing performance over security, they’ll have to weigh the risks carefully.

20. Alive
Upcoming action and survival video game by Ubisoft. The only known story details are that it takes place after an earthquake. The gameplay focuses more on character interaction and problem solving.

19. Ghostbusters: The Video Game
The game’s storyline is being written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the writers of the original films and they along with Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson will lend their voices and likenesses to the game. [Gameplay]

18. Fracture
As a soldier in this struggle, Mason Briggs uses explosive, terrain-deforming weaponry to change the face of battle: He not only destroys the land in his path, he outright transforms it to gain the strategic advantage in completely unscripted ways no game has ever seen. [Gameplay]

17. Alan Wake
At the beginning of the game, Alan Wake travels to a sleep clinic to seek treatment for his insomnia. The secluded clinic is located near the small town of Bright Falls, Washington, far away from the stressful urban lifestyle. But something is horribly, horribly wrong. Impossibly, the town of Bright Falls starts to change to something awful that bears a close resemblance to Wake’s new book. He ends up fighting for his life with a gun and a flashlight in his hands, trying to understand what’s happening. The dark-forces (enemies) coming to ‘take care of’ Alan Wake are vulnerable to light. So the most useful weapon of all is actually the flashlight. You will be able to place booby traps which will illuminate when executed, etc. Light will weaken or hurt Wake’s enemies, and creatively taking advantage of any and all light sources within Alan Wake’s grim world ought to be one of the interesting aspects of play. [Trailer]

16. LMNO (Working title)
LMNO is the project codename of an upcoming video game being developed by Electronic Arts in conjunction with film director Steven Spielberg. With the player controlling an ex-secret agent, the game’s plot “focuses on a touching and ever-changing relationship between [the player] and a mysterious female character who holds the key to many futures”. Newsweek describes the game as “North by Northwest” meets “E.T.”.

15. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
The science fiction shooter is anticipated to be largely a remake of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. According to Starbreeze Lead Designer Ian Stevens, the decision to do a remake was because Microsoft could not make Escape from Butcher Bay backward compatible with the Xbox 360, and because they wanted to get the Escape story to a larger audience before progressing further. Dark Athena is expected to have improved graphics and AI from Escape along with the addition of a multiplayer mode. The single player mode will also be expanded to include Riddick escaping onto a mercenary ship called Dark Athena. [Gameplay]

14. Sabotage
Sabotage is an upcoming stealth action title based on a real life WWII secret agent/saboteur Violette Szabo. Players take on the role of Violette as she goes behind enemy lines to thwart the German war machine.

13. Legendary: The Box
The game takes place in modern day New York City as well as other undisclosed locales. When a thief named Charles Deckard opens Pandora’s Box and releases the evils within it, mythological creatures begin to wage war against the world. It is the task of the player, in the role of Deckard, to stop the invasion and save Earth. Unique to Legendary is an expansive three way enemy AI and an action sequence in Time Square as it is being torn apart. [Trailer]

12. Ninja Gaiden 2
The game is now far more gruesome, bloodier, and gorier than the last installment, as several screen-shots show Ryu not only decapitating his unfortunate foes but cutting off their arms and legs and even ripping their bodies apart as well. Combat in effect will be more strategic as players will have to further exploit the respective enemies’ weak points and be more cautious. [Gameplay]

11. Halo: Chronicles
Peter Jackson and his recently formed Wingnut Interactive will create a project set in the Halo universe, in partnership with Bungie Studios. The game is toted to be a “new chapter” in the Halo story and is slated to feature a new way of playing games. It is speculated that the game will be more of an “interactive movie”; some parts will be semi-playable, and certain decisions will lead to different outcomes. They also speculated that the game could retail for half the cost of a normal Xbox 360 title. However, none of this information has been officially announced by Bungie, Microsoft, or Wingnut Interactive.

10. WET
The game is an action game starring a female heroine named Rubi. [Trailer]

9. Street Fighter IV
While Street Fighter IV will feature 3D rendered characters and backgrounds, the game will still play in traditional 2D, thus creating a “2.5D” effect. Producer Ono has stated that he wants to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II than to its sequels. A new system temporarily called “Saving” has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme will return, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations. [Trailer]

8. Star Wars: The Force Unleached
The player assumes the role of “Darth Vader’s secret apprentice”. The player is sent across the galaxy to destroy the remaining Jedi. According to Lucasarts, the next generation versions of the game will utilize Pixelux Entertainment’s Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) and NaturalMotion Ltd.’s euphoria technology. DMM is a real-time physical simulation technology that causes materials to act in the game world as they would in the real world. Wood splinters, glass shatters, and metal dents. Euphoria is a behavioral-simulation engine that gives all characters a nervous system, meaning that their animations are determined in real-time as reactions to stimuli. For example, characters unbalanced on a bridge will try to balance themselves by flailing their arms or attempt to catch the edge as they fall. [Preview]

7. Halo Wars
Halo Wars is a real-time strategy video game that will take place in the fictional Halo universe. It will take place prior to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The game is set in 2531, in the UNSC’s first battles with the Covenant around the planet Harvest. [Gameplay]

6. Left 4 Dead
Multiplayer co-operative survival horror game by Turtle Rock Studios and Valve Corporation. Gameplay takes place in urban cities, small hamlets, wooded rural settings, shopping malls and other such locations. Four players take control of the four main characters of the game, “The Survivors”, who subsequently play through the levels fighting off the Infected, which are humans who have been infected with a mutated form of rabies. Each level has the players fighting towards a goal, such as escaping by helicopter. Four subsequent players can join the server and take control of the larger, more powerful Infected with unique abilities amongst the other AI Infected. [Trailer/gameplay]

5. Brütal Legend
Action adventure game by Tim Schafers’ Double Fine Productions. It is their second game following the critically-acclaimed Psychonauts. Brütal Legend follows the story of Eddie Riggs, a roadie for a band who is transported into a Heavy Metal and Nordic fantasy inspired alternate history where demons have enslaved humanity. The game stars comedian/actor/musician Jack Black as Eddie Riggs, while many other celebrities will lend their voice to the game. Confirmed Voice Actors include many legendary Rock and Roll and Heavy Metal musicians, including Lemmy of Motörhead, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Ronnie James Dio of Dio, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow. [Trailer]

4. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
The fifth installment in the Splinter Cell series of video games. It has been reported that Conviction will be set almost entirely in open urban areas, with Sam Fischer using other environmental elements, such as crowds, for cover. It has also been said that Sam can use the environment for defense (i.e. using benches to block off doors). It will be possible to interact with nearly every object in the environment (i.e. chairs, printers, pieces of paper, etc.). Sam will have more close combat abilities as well, some of which include throws, kicks, and punches. The crowd mechanic (similar to the social stealth of Assassin’s Creed, also developed by Ubisoft) is said to be a new mobile stealth device. Sam no longer works for the government, and thus, consequently, has limited supplies. Sam must use his immediate environment instead of specialized equipment. The crowds react to each other and to Sam’s actions. Individuals may interfere with Sam if they see that he is armed or otherwise executing some form of suspicious activity. They may follow you, attack you, or call for help. [Gameplay]

3. Grand Theft Auto IV
The game is set in a redesigned Liberty City, based heavily on New York City. Titles in the GTA. series have traditionally been heavily mission based (fixed missions must be completed to progress through each game), but the freedom to explore and play outside of the set missions in GTA IV will now be more relevant to progress through the game, according to comments by a Rockstar spokesperson: “We’re really trying to blur the line between on-[mission] and off-mission. So storyline, and what you do outside [it], and how those two things influence each other.” [Trailers]

2. Portal 2 (or DLC)
It is pure speculation, but it is possible we might see something new from Valve sometime this year. Perhaps not a sequel but at least some downloadable content.

1. Half-Life 2: Episode Three
Half-Life 2: Episode Three is the third and final installment in a series of episodes following the 2004 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2, from Valve Corporation. It will be the last episode in the currently planned story arc, although not the end of the Half-Life franchise. No release date has been announced, but since the first two episodes where released a bit over a year apart, a 2008 release is possible.

[Continued from part 1]

We’ve just hit fall and the new television seasons are dawning. So it seems like a good time to look back into my brain and see what episodes stood out in the last year. Here’s the second half of my list in order of airing dates:

Update: I should have warned that there are spoilers all over, so tread carefully.

House
“One Day, One Room”
Season 3: Episode 13
First aired: 1/30/2007
Writer: David Shore
Director: Juan J. Campanella

While House is forced to work full-time in the clinic and deal with a rape victim who insists on confiding with him, Cameron deals with a terminal cancer patient trying to take advantage of her state of mind.

What makes it great: There’s so much I can say about this episode. Shore started it off just like any other, and as the formula we all know and love unravels, he suddenly tears it all down. At that point we have no idea what will happen next. There is no medical mystery in a show about medical mysteries. In an instant we are unexpectedly watching a short movie about two people trying to figure each other out. Two people who have nothing in common except that they’ve found refuge in abandoning trust. The cast, joined by Katheryn Winnick, do impressive performances in what is easily the best episode in this list.

South Park
“Night of the Living Homeless”
Season 11: Episode 7
First aired: 4/18/2007
Writer: Trey Parker
Director: Trey Parker

The number of homeless people in South Park is increasing as they eat, sleep, and beg for change across the town. While the adults try to find creative solutions to deal with the homeless, the boys are trying to figure out a way to solve the problem for good.

What makes it great: Incredibly stupid. Brilliantly executed.

The Office
“Beach Games”
Season 3: Episode 23
First aired: 5/10/2007
Writer: Jennifer Celotta, Greg Daniels
Director: Harold Ramis

Michael is being considered for a position in corporate, but also plans a day of “Survivor” like competitions while the office workers visit Lake Scranton. Pam is not asked to join in on any of the competitions and is forced to sit and watch Jim and Karen have fun.

What makes it great: Sitcoms don’t like change. Change killed Mork and Mindy. A lack of change made Seinfeld a success. So when Pam does what she does at the end of this one we know she’s not going to be the same. It was all built upon since early in the series and masterfully executed. This is where the mocumentary style has found it’s best use: Since there are actual “camera men” in the scene, Ramis took advantage of this by having one of them drift his view to Pam as if we were there. As if we were saying: “Look! No way. She wouldn’t.” It sad that Jenna Fischer lost the Emmy but she definitely has a big career ahead of her.

Jekyll
“Episode 5″
Series One: Episode Five
First aired: 7/21/2007
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Matt Lipsey

When Hyde is released from the box it appears Jackman is gone forever. However, flashbacks to the original Jekyll and Hyde reveal the importance of Claire Jackman to both present-day Jackman/Jekyll and Hyde. When his captors leave Hyde alone with Mrs Jackman and her children the implication is that he will kill them.

What makes it great: Although I love this series, Hyde’s complete lack of subtlety turned me off at times. He’s so over-the-top that he constantly switched between midly-annoying and entertaining. But not here. This is probably the deepest episode of the bunch. As Hyde absorbs Jackman’s memories we start to see a change in him. After all, the experiences we keep make us who we are. And then, the bomb: “I’m so strong that I walk through your world and don’t notice a thing. But you…you make me weak. I notice you.” It’s something I though of early in the series but disregarded, because hoping that something awesome will happen usually gets me disappointed. This show delivered all the way.

Well, that’s it for 2006-2007. Let’s just hope this year doesn’t 24-suck.

We’ve just hit fall and the new television seasons are dawning. So it seems like a good time to look back into my brain and see what episodes stood out in the last year. Here’s the first half of my list in order of airing dates:

Update: I should have warned that there are spoilers all over, so tread carefully.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
“The Blind Bandit”
Season 2: Episode 6
First aired: 5/5/2006
Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino
Director: Ethan Spaulding

In search for an Earthbending teacher for Aang, the kids go to an underground Earthbending tournament called Earth Rumble 6, where they encounter Toph (aka the Blind Bandit), a blind, but powerful Earthbending girl. After seeing her unique style of Earthbending, Aang wants Toph to become his teacher, but there are complications with Toph’s family.

What makes it great: While the stories and animation of this show are consistently excellent, this is the episode that made me really curious about the actual fighting styles of each culture. According to Wikipedia: “The creators use Tai Chi for waterbending, Hung Gar for earthbending (although Toph employs a Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis style), Northern Shaolin for firebending, and Ba Gua for airbending.” Also, this episode introduces Toph, who has become my favorite character. It’s amazing how deeply developed she feels in her first minute on the show.

Venture Bros.
“20 Years to Midnight”
Season 2: Episode 5
First aired: 8/6/2006
Writer: Christopher McCulloch
Director: Christopher McCulloch

Brock’s discovery of a lost videotape from Jonas Venture Sr. sends the team across the globe to find four vital components needed to save the world. Now all they have to do is overcome a strung-out Jonny Quest, a blissed-out Colonel Gentleman, and a paranoid Professor Impossible. While the Grand Galactic Inquisitor watches over them all.

What makes it great: It’s hard to pick a Venture Bros. episode out of the hilarious bunch, but this one really did it for me. Stephen Colbert as Professor Impossible is always brilliant (”You were a daydreamer, a sass-mouth, and, not infrequently, a bit of a gigglepuss.”). And Johnny Quest apparently became a heroin addict. Although the best line in the season goes to Hank in the episode Guess Who’s Coming to State Dinner?: “Honest Abe’s a ‘mo…”

Deadwood
“The Catbird Seat”
Season 3: Episode 11
First aired: 8/20/2006
Writer: Bernadette McNamara
Director: Gregg Fienberg

Hearst follows up Alma’s close call with one that’s decidedly more on-target. In the aftermath, Alma takes refuge at the Gem, again, while Trixie decides to take matters into her own hands. Dismissing the likelihood of ever seeing 23 mercenaries promised by Hawkeye, Swearengen turns to Wu to deliver more reliable, if not quite weapons-tested, reinforcements from Custer City.

What makes it great: I put this here simply because this show always needs mention. But I picked this episode because it has some of the most memorable moments of the entire series. The most brilliant one being Bullock escorting Alma down the street. Sounds simple enough, but the amount of tension in that scene is astounding.

Battlestar Galactica
“Exodus, Part 2″
Season 3: Episode 4
First aired: 10/20/2006
Writer: David Weddle, Bradley Thompson
Director: Felix Enriquez Alcala

Tigh must decide the fate of his wife Ellen after the assistance she rendered to the Cylons. Lee struggles with his assignment to protect the civilian fleet on its journey toward Earth while Adama returns to New Caprica with just the Galactica. The Resistance coordinates an attack on the Cylons just as Galactica arrives. As the Cylons begin to lose control, Number Three (D’Anna Biers) vows to put a final end to the New Caprican experiment.

What makes it great: Remember Neo grabbing on to his harness’ rope and being slid across the rooftop by Trinity’s falling helicopter? How about Aragorn and Theoden riding out of Helm’s Deep, or Legolas taking down the oliphaunt? John McClane jumping from the rooftop of Nakatomi Plaza? Indiana Jones being dragged under a truck? These are what I call “FTW moments”: When action scenes built up to these instances of shear glory. The first I remember as a child is the “double jeopardy scene” in Superman: The Movie, when Superman catches Lois Lane and then the helicopter. The point of all this is that I NEVER thought I’d get a FTW moment on TV. And then I watched a certain scene in this episode as my hands covered my gaping mouth. “This is the Admiral. All hands brace for turbulence”.

[On to part 2]

Ben “yahtzee” Croshaw’s website, Fully Ramblomatic.com, states that “If Bruce Campbell were a website, he’d be this one”. It takes balls to actually publicize such a bold statement. Fortunately for him, he’s got a pair… and it’s filled with awesome.

He’s best known for making a couple of hilarious video game reviews on YouTube. They’re composed of simple animations and his brilliant, fast, non-stop ramblings. This led to him being hired by The Escapist Magazine to release new episodes every Wednesday.

Here’s every episode so far:

• The Darkness Demo
• Fable: The Lost Chapters
• Zero Punctuation
• Heavenly Sword and Other Stuff
• Psychonauts
• Console Rundown

Having played the Heavenly Sword demo last night* made that episode even funnier. Plus, his views on the video game industry are as dead-on as Adam Sessler’s. And his praise of classic adventure games and Beyond Good & Evil made me extra happy.

* Heavenly Sword looks like a Ferrari with amazing cornering to anyone looking at it. To someone playing, it feels like a go-cart on rails.