The Butterfly Effect

This is a complex review, of all three movies. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

1. The Butterfly Effect(2004)
This is the original Butterfly Effect, staring Ashton Kutcher. The movie is about Evan, the main character, having a bunch of blackouts during his childhood. After the blackouts, Evan wakes up in weird circumstances.
First of all the movie shows Evan and his friends, Lenny, Kayleigh and Tommy as six year olds, then as thirteen and finally in their twenties. At six, Tommy has a blackout while filming a movie with Kayleigh and her dad. When he wakes up, he stands next to Kayleigh, naked. At thirteen, the kids turn into a bunch of junkies, smoking and doing all kinds of stuff, definitely over their age. I mean, would a 13 year old be as evil as Tommy and put dynamite in a woman's mailbox? Seriously. This is when Evan has another blackout. When he wakes up he finds Lenny injured and the others very agitated. Evan then visits his father, Jason, who has the same problem as his son. A genetically mental disorder that causes him to go back in time by concentrating on images or, in Evan's case, on stuff he wrote in a bunch of diaries. He has another blackout and when he wakes up, Jason tries to strangle him and gets killed by the guards. Later on, Evan meets up with his friends, except Tommy, and, as they walk into the forest, they see smoke in the air and run to its source only to find Tommy there, who had caught Evan's dog and wants to burn it. Evan jumps at Tommy and the kid hits him with a piece of wood, knocking him out cold. He has another blackout and he wakes up only to find out his dog's been killed because Lenny couldn't untie the bag while Tommy was distracted.
Afterwards, the movie fast-forwards to the characters being in their twenties. Evan had been gone from the city ever since after the dog burning moment and became a student. He shares the room with a fat rocker dude with a weird haircut and who screws girls most of the time he appears on screen. Evan's life is perfect, he didn't have anymore blackouts for the past seven years and stuff. Everything changes when he goes back in his old town to meet Kayleigh. He finds her working at a restaurant. After their conversation, the girl runs away (he had brought up painful memories) and the next day news of her suicide reach him. In order to save Kayleigh he goes back in time by concentrating at the diaries. He goes into the past several times, at critical moments, and so the blackouts are explained. Each time he saves someone just to affect someone else's destiny. At some point he even manages to blow himself up and he wakes up in his twenties without arms and legs and with Kayleigh hooked up with Lenny. He probably would have stayed like that, since everything was OK for the others, but then he found out his mother was dying of lung cancer thanks to the fact she started smoking a lot after he had blown himself up.
The final trip back in time differs according to the ending your version of the movie has. Evan gets admitted to the sanatorium after failing to destroy the dynamite when he went back in time. At the sanatorium, back in his twenties, Evan wants to change everything and goes back one last time. The first version, the sad ending, shows him going back to the day he was born and killing himself. The other version, which has three versions itself, shows Evan going back to the day he met Kayleigh and scare her away from him. Then a final scene is shown, with Evan and Kayleigh crossing each other's paths twenty years later or so. The first version shows Evan stopping for a moment and then going further without looking back at Kayleigh. Another version shows Evan stopping and then following Kayleigh, and the last version shows Evan stopping and talking to Kayleigh, inviting her to dinner.
Overall, The Butterfly Effect was a great picture and I enjoyed watching it. It had a great story and the end didn't leave space for a sequel.. so, thankfully there isn't one, since if there actually were one it would suck terribly. I don't think they were stupid enough to make a sequel but it's worth checking out.. (goes to Google and types in The Butterfly Effect 2).. shit, there isn't A sequel.. there are TWO! What have I gotten myself into?!
So, I'd give The Butterfly Effect (the first movie) a well deserved 9.5/10. It's a great movie and, I believe, a must-see for everyone who watches movies. Don't miss this one, you'll regret it.
For those of you who only saw one of the endings, here's a treat:


The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006)
This movie is terrible from all points of view. I mean, it doesn't have the impact the first movie has. It doesn't have the atmosphere of the first movie and, worst of all, it doesn't have any of the characters of the first movie. So, then, how the fuck is this supposed to be a sequel?! Well, easy. Just call it "The Butterfly Effect" and put a big "2" next to it. There, you've got your sequel. Now let's get the money and put it away in a Cayman Islands bank account before the fans demand it back.
So the movie is about a guy called Nick. He and his girlfriend, Julie Miller (hmm so there is a tie to the first film.. Kayleigh's father's family name was miller), played by Erica Durance aka Lois Lane from Smallville, celebrate their anniversary (a few years since they've been together, don't ask how many, I don't know and it's not important). A secondary plot involves Nick's failure at getting promoted instead of another guy called Dave Bristol.
So, anyway, when Nick and Julie return home, along with their friends, Trevor and Gina, one of the car's tires blows up and a truck hits them, causing everyone to die but Nick.
Some time passes, Nick wakes up. Later, when looking at a photograph of himself and Julie, everything in the room begins to shudder and shake, while the people in the photograph begin moving.
A year later, Nick has a headache and a nose bleed, screwing up a presentation at work. As a result he is given a week's suspension. Back home, Nick looks at photographs from Julie's birthday and somehow manages to transport himself back to the moment just before the fatal accident. This time, he knows how to avoid the accident and he awakens in a new timeline where Julie is living happily with him. However, in this reality, Nick's life is ruined when he is fired for backing up his friend and now work colleague Trevor.
Up to now, I haven't found anything interesting at this guy at all. I mean, he does mention Jason (the guy from the first movie, Evan's father) during an internet search, and we do know for a change that Nick's father could also time travel, but that's all. Otherwise he's a selfish bastard. You'll see. He is happy with Julie (but poor now that he lost his job), but no, he wants the money too. He goes back in time and steals Bristol's file so that he would get promoted.
It works, as he wakes up the vice-president of the company, but now he had split up with Julie and lives as a bachelor. Of course, Julie has a new boyfriend and Mr. Selfish isn't happy with that. Also, Trevor and Nick end up on the wrong side of a shady investor, and the company is broke. Nick confesses everything to his mother, who tells him that he can't 'control everything'. She says his father also tried to control things and ultimately committed suicide.
Nick transports himself to the scene from the start of the movie, hoping to finally fix everything by breaking up with Julie. However, he didn't bank on how upset she would be - and she confesses to being pregnant and speeds away in his car. Fearing a similar accident as the original, Nick speeds after her, but ends up facing an oncoming vehicle himself. He opts to save Julie rather than himself and drives off the cliff.
Of course, of course, he suddenly leaves his selfishness and cares about his friends now. The self sacrifice in order to save others cliffhanger always fucking works.
A year later, Julie lives in NY with her and Nick's son. The movie ends with the baby looking at a picture of his parents and their friends and the environment becoming unstable, thus meaning the kid also has his father's problem.
Overall, The Butterfly Effect 2 was disappointing. It has no relation to the original, apart from the same syndrome. Heck, I could make a movie on HIV and then make a sequel with totally different actors, cook up a cliffhanger story and say it's the first and successful first movie's follow-up. Which isn't true at all and only robs people of their money, as this film did. If I were to give it a mark, I wouldn't give it anything above 6/10. That's as good as it gets.
Now I should think I'm done with The Butterfly Effect.. but no way, there's still part 3.

The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (2009)
Up until now, they only named the movies "The Butterfly Effect". Now they added in "Revelations", just for the sake of changing something.
So.. is this movie good or does it suck just like it's prequel? We shall see.
The third film features a guy called Sam Reide, who goes back in time, in his own body at that moment, and witnesses murders in order to tell the police the murderers' names afterwards. In order to do the time travel, called "jumping" in this movie, he undergoes a full ritual. His sister, Jenna monitors his brain functions as he sits into a tub full of ice and water. Apparently there are some rules in this movie. Just watch, don't alter the past (wait, wait, wasn't altering the past in order to change the present the point of these films in the first place?!).
So, anyway, for him going into the past to witness murders is ordinary routine, until Elizabeth, Sam's murdered girlfriend Rebecca's sister arrives, telling him that the man that's due to be executed for Rebecca's murder, Lonnie Flennonds is actually innocent and offers to pay him in order to find the real killer. Sam turns her down, but goes to speak with the man who tutored him on time travel, Goldburg (Kevin Yon), who reminds him of the cardinal rules: he's not to alter his own personal past, nor travel in time with his body left unsupervised. We learn that a fire that claimed the lives of Sam's parents had claimed Jenna's life too, but Sam altered time so that Jenna survives. After Goldburg's departure, their buxom bartender Vicki (Melissa Jones) seductively offers Sam a buttery nipple; he and Vicki have sex, but upon seeing Rebecca's photo, he cannot continue.
He agrees to help Lonnie, but without time traveling. After visiting Lonnie in the prison and getting accused by the later of murdering Rebecca, Sam decides to go into the past. Once back in 1999, he runs into a drunk Elizabeth and asks her to lock herself in the car while he goes inside the house to check on Rebecca. When he gets there, he finds her dead. Meanwhile, Elizabeth also gets killed.
After he gets to the present, Sam finds out he "created a serial killer" and that 8 women were killed by the so-called "Pontiac Killer". So he goes back in time to try and find out the killer's identity during the third murder, of one Anita Perez. He hides in the close but is caught by her boyfriend and beaten up. Back to the present he starts questioning how come Anita didn't die.
I'm going to skip the rest of the story since I don't intend to spoil everything, and I'm going to get to the final scene and my opinion on the movie.
In the end, Sam goes to a warehouse, where the killer's HQ is supposed to be, and finds Goldburg dying. He then runs into a trap and.. surprise.. Jenna is there to save him. We find out Jenna could time travel as well and she followed him all along. The dead women were all women he fell in love with. Apparently, in her mind, Jenna thought she and Sam could love each other.. not as siblings but the other way around. Sam realizes he had made a big mistake when he saved Jenna, back when their house went on fire, and returns to when he was 15. His parents get away this time, but he holds the door to Jenna's room, preventing her from exiting. Therefore, Jenna dies and everything is fine. Then the movie fast forwards to a few years later. Sam has a wife and a little girl, named, ironically, Jenna. The family is at a barbecue and, while the others are distracted, young Jenna throws her doll on the grill, and smiles as it catches fire.
My final conclusion: a fair movie, and a good conclusion to the series, even though it wouldn't surprise me to see a Butterfly Effect 4 coming out in 2012, just to keep the three years thing going on. Unlike in the second movie, you get to like Sam, as in the end he tries to make things right. Of course, I wasn't really keen on the cliffhanger ending: sacrifice one life to save many lives, but whatever. That's just my opinion. I'd give this movie a well deserved 8/10. Heck, you'll hate me, but this one is even comparable to Butterfly Effect 1 (it doesn't get 9/10 not because it lacks Ashton Kutcher, but because of certain inconsistencies). The movie has plot inconsistencies, like: a guy can time travel and practically teaches someone else how to do it? That's bullshit! The guys in the first two movies had a brain anomaly that allowed them to time travel. So how the heck do you teach someone to do this? By sharing your fucking tumor with them? This is one thing I'll never understand in this movie. How the fuck do you teach someone to time travel, when they clearly explained the god damn thing is genetic and it comes with a brain tumor? Jeez.
I'm done getting angry over this stupid matter. Here you go. 8/10. Now leave me alone!
And here's something to cheer you up. Straight from the official soundtrack. Listen to the music while reading my final opinions. You'll like it.


4.Overall opinions
Overall, the third movie was a lot better than the second one, but the first movie still remains my favorite out of the trilogy. It had everything. A guy traveling to the past in order to make everything better for everybody, a great plot, the guy's ability to time travel is thoroughly explained, etcetera, etcetera. The only thing that bothered me about The Butterfly Effect 1 is the ending.. or rather the endings. I don't understand the need to film so many endings. I mean, OK, maybe people wouldn't like the guy dying, so there's need of an alternative. It's not like alternate endings for the sake of a sequel weren't done before, right? But why so many alternates? I think out of the three meetings in the street, the one where Evan follows Kayleigh would've made everyone happy. Anyway, I'm glad I found all the endings on YouTube. Saved me from downloading hundreds of versions of this movie to see them (what, you don't really think I'm crazy enough to buy another DVD just to see the other endings, right?)
The second movie was a total waste of money. I mean, the story was all right, but it could've been better developed. First of all, Nick was a selfish bastard. Everything was all right when he and Trevor got fired. They could've found themselves new jobs and live happily with their women. But no! Mr "I want to be rich and powerful" just had to fucking go back in time just to get promoted instead of the other guy, Bristol. Also, I don't know why, but I don't believe Nick when he tells Gina he cares about his friends and would do anything to save them. I just can't believe this guy. And the final scene, where he crashed himself into the cliffs, I don't get it either. Couldn't he just return to his side of the road and stay there as a fucking responsible driver? Jeez! Maybe he killed himself knowing that somehow he will get selfish again. Anyway, I don't want to think about this movie anymore. The characters are feelingless and I'm left cold after seeing it. Full stop.
The third movie, well, it was decent, comparing it to the second. I mean, even if the story had BULLSHIT written all over it ever since we find out about "the rules" that you can't change the past, when the purpose of going back is exactly to CHANGE something, not to just watch. Also, as I already said above, the thing about someone fucking teaching someone else to time travel is impossible, as he would need to transfer the other guy his FUCKING BRAIN TUMOR! It's not as easy as going into a tub full of ice and water and concentrate at a date and then go out cold and wake up at that exact date. It's just not possible! And the girl being able to travel as well. that's even more bullshit! Why not end it like "the butler did it!". That would've made me happy, even though then the movie would've been too predictable. True, I wasn't expecting the girl to be the killer. I suppose that might just have worked if they didn't involve her time traveling as well. So what, did she like steal her brother's tumor while he was out cold and decided to go back in time and make sure he doesn't love another woman than her? Wow, that's so much shit served on a single plate that I might just reconsider that 8/10. Come to think of it, the second movie at least made sense, despite the main character being a hypocrite. But this one rips the effect out of the god damn butterfly. It's just stupid.
OK, I guess I contradicted myself, but that's that. I said my opinions. I think the third one, as stupid as it is, leaves a better impression on viewers (at least it left on me) because the main character is not a selfish hypocrite who says he cares about his friends but when everyone is nice and well he goes back in time just to get promoted instead of his colleague. That's my opinion, if you agree with it, OK, if you don't you are free to express your own.

X-Men Movies

1. X-Men (2000)
The first X-Men movie was a hit. I mean, seriously, seeing Professor Xavier and his team of mutants in real live action was something great for the time. The film started off with Rogue (Anna Paquin, seriously? I am angry on the producers for this choice of cast, she doesn't look like Rogue at all) nearly killing her boyfriend and leaving home. She is taken to a small cold town in Canada, where she meets Logan aka Wolverine, portrayed by Hugh Jackman. After Wolverine beats up a few guys, he leaves in his truck, only to be followed by Rogue. Eventually he agrees on taking her along. On the way.. wherever they were going, they get attacked by Sabertooth, who works for Magneto. Wolverine gets beaten up, but Cyclops and Storm show up and scare Sabertooth away, taking Logan and Rogue to the X Mansion. Logan wakes up on a bed, bandaged, even though his wounds are already cured due to his mutant ability to regenerate. That's when he meets Jean and falls in love with her, only to find out she's Scott's girlfriend. So, the movie develops with senator Kelly (the guy who wants to introduce a Mutant Registration Act, making every mutant reveal his/hers identity and abilities) being kidnapped by Magneto and turned into a mutant with a certain device he invented. Upon reaching the X Mansion, senator Kelly dies. That's also when the X-men find out of Magneto's plan to use his weapon in order to turn everyone into mutants. His target is the UN meeting on Ellis Island, so he kidnaps Rogue and goes to Liberty Island, placing his gun in the torch. Inside the Statue of Liberty, the X-men fight Magneto's minions. Once Logan deals with Sabertooth, he manages to get to the torch and tries to save Rogue, but Magneto stops him. Scott hits Magneto with his eye-laser or whatever the thing he shoots from his eyes is called, and Logan saves Rogue by letting her absorb his energy. He comes back to normal to find out all's well and Magneto is in a plastic prison. The movie ends with Xavier visiting Magneto.
Overall, this was a great movie to see at the time. It was great having a real live Wolverine and real live X-Men. I even liked their choice for professor Xavier, Patrick Stewart. My only dislike is.. Rogue. Again, bad choice. I can't see Rogue in Anna Paquin at all.
Something else about the movie: there's a problem with the plot. Wolverine doesn't recognize Sabertooth, even though in the cartoons they are old enemies.

2. X2(2003)
The sequel to the first X-Men and probably the best in the series, X2 continues the story where the first film left off.
First off, we see Nightcrawler attempt to kill the president of the USA, but reconsidering at the last moment. Then enters William Stryker, who has a plan to exterminate all mutants. He kidnaps Professor X and takes him to his base at Alkali Lake. He makes a copy of Cerebro, the computer Xavier uses to find mutants, and connects Charles to it, having his son, Jason, who can implant thoughts into other people's minds, make him find all the mutants and kill them.
Storm, Wolverine, Nighcrawler (who is now an X-man), and Jean join forces with Magneto and his minions and go to Alkali lake to save the Professor and Scott and to take down Stryker. They succeed in their mission, but the barrage where the base is built is about to collapse and the X-men have limited time to get out of there and to the jet before the whole place gets filled with water. Stryker's fate is sealed, as we see him left there, tied up, when the water comes over him. The jet fails to take off on time, and Jean sacrifices herself in order to save the others.
Well.. this is said to be one of the best sequels ever made. Of course, it's a well known fact that sequels usually suck. But not this one. X2 is a great movie, continuing the story in a great way.

3.X-Men: The last stand (2006)
This movie is a waste of potential. They could've cooked up anything for it. Anything. They could've brought Apocalipse as the main villain. They could've brought Sentinels. But no. Again the fight between Magneto and the X-men. This time, though, the conflict focuses on some pharmaceutical company that invented a cure for mutants. Magneto wants to destroy the cure, saying that mutants don't need it, as being a mutant is not a disease. He gathers an army of mutants and devises a plan in this direction.
Meanwhile, Scott is near Alkali Lake, thinking of Jean, when she suddenly comes out of the water.. alive?! Professor X feels the massive power coming from Alkali Lake and sends Logan and Storm there. They find Cyclops' glasses floating and they find Jean collapsed on the ground. They reach the conclusion that she killed Scott and they take her back to the X Mansion. Professor X tells Logan that she has a dual personality: the Jean they all know and love and an evil, uncontrollable personality, The Phoenix. Xavier also says Jean's power is unlimited. Soon after, Jean seduces Wolverine, and when he tries to convince her that she's not herself, she runs away. Later, Xavier meets Magneto at her house, each trying to get her to their side. Inside the house, Jean aka the Phoenix, pulverizes the Professor and leaves with Magneto.
The final battle takes place on Alcatraz Island, where the few X-men left (the others ran away after an attack on the X Mansion) face Magneto's army. I almost forgot.. we see the Juggernaut, as one of Magneto's minions in this movie. Also they never mention the Juggernaut is Xavier's brother. Not at all. Anyway, Big J (I'll call it that because it's shorter) tries to get the kid (a kid that has the power to "cure" mutants) and kill him, as he was ordered by Magneto, but Kitty (played by Ellen Page) stops him and saves the child. The X-men manage to give Magneto the cure (I forgot, The Beast appears too in this movie, but they let the Nightcrawler go, he is nowhere to be seen in this film). Wolverine faces Jean - The Phoenix one last time. She comes back to normal for a second and asks him to save her. He responds that he loves her and then stabs her.
The end scene shows the X-men standing next to the graves of Scott, Jean and Professor Xavier.
After the credits (yeah, this is what you cinema geeks missed out, as you never stay through the credits, fuckers!) we see Professor X waking up in Moira's house. This is, I suppose, a way to say "there will be a sequel". But no sequel was ever made, as the next film doesn't have anything to do with this storyline.
My impressions on part 3.. average. They repeated themselves with the Magneto fight and the Jean - Logan part ended way too fast. I mean, for a mutant with unlimited power, Jean aka the Phoenix went down way too easy.
One more thing.. ROGUE?! Where the fuck is she in all three movies?! NOWHERE! She doesn't have the part she should have! She just stays away. In part 3 she goes to take the cure and become human. I'm sorry, but this character wasn't developed at all. Shame on you, Stan Lee. And I saw "Jubilee" in the credits but I didn't see her in the movies whatsoever. What the hell?! At least this was a decent X-men movie. Just wait to see what's next.

4. X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The movie shows Wolverine's story from when he was a little kid to after the moment he became Weapon X and lost his memories. There. I said the whole story in one line. This movie is not as good as the previous ones. Maybe because it's not about the X-men anymore. I know, I know, Stan Lee is an asshole, he never finishes what he starts. He fucked up Spiderman the same way, just because some people said Spiderman 3 sucked. Hell, no. I liked that movie. But Stan is a fan guy. He is too influenced by what fans want. I think a fourth Tobey Maguire Spiderman movie would have been great, but no, Stan Lee decided to go for a reboot with another actor as Spiderman.
Marvel did the same with X-men. They fucked up the series after movie 3. Of course, Wolverine is still Hugh Jackman (great, at least they left Wolverine alone) and Xavier, though he only appears in one scene, is still Patrick Stewart.
The movie shows young James and Victor, in 1855. James kills his stepfather only to find out he was actually his real father and then runs away. His brother, Victor, joins him. Afterwards, they are shown fighting in the Independence War and then fighting in the World Wars, before being recruited by a younger William Stryker into a team of mutants that have a certain mission. During one of these missions, James (Wolverine, but not yet) sees his brother Victor trying to kill an innocent man and stops him. After this incident, he leaves the team and settles in a small community, living in a small cottage with a woman he loves and working as a lumber jack. Stryker finds him and asks him to join him for a certain project, but Logan declines. Afterwards, Victor kills Logan's girlfriend and runs away. Logan finds him and fights him only to get a good beating. Afterwards, he joins Stryker again, willing to take part in an experiment that would give him the power to kill Victor. This is when he receives his Adamantium skeleton. After the operation, he overhears Stryker tell the general that his memories were going to be erased and his DNA used for Weapon XI. That's when he runs away, naked, and reaches a barn. Two old people find him there and help him out, giving him clothes and food. Stryker's men find him there and kill the old people, but Logan gets away on a motorcycle.
We also see how Cyclops is captured from his school and taken to Stryker's island.
Logan interrogates one of his old teammates about Stryker's island's location and he is directed towards another mutant that got away from there, Gambit. Well, at least they show him in this movie, as in the other X-men movies there was no Gambit...
Gambit takes Logan to the island, where he encounters Victor once again, but does not beat him. He finds out his girlfriend was actually a mutant that can manipulate your thoughts when she touches you, but he helps her save her sister. Afterwards, Logan faces Deadpool, a mutant given the powers of everyone who was on Stryker's team, including Logan's regeneration powers. Eventually, with Victor's help, Logan defeats Deadpool and destroys the whole place. The movie shows Logan holding his girlfriend in his arms and leaving the island, but then Stryker appears and shoots Logan with Adamantium bullets, making him lose his memories.
AFTER THE CREDITS again (in your face, cinema geeks who leave the moment the credits start rolling) we see Gambit rushing Logan away from the island. Logan approaches his girlfriend's dead body, not remembering who she is, and then leaves.

Overall, I liked the X-men movies, but I don't like the direction Marvel is heading with them. The next movie, due to be released in 2011, is called "X-men: First Class" and it's due to feature younger X-men, portrayed by different actors than the original series. I probably won't like that change, but whatever.
Another movie coming in the X-men series is "The Wolverine", due to be released in 2012, starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine again. That's good news, but I don't know what's it going to be about, since everything was told about this character already.
Oh, well, we shall see. There's still time until 2012.

Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy)

Released back in 2005, Fahrenheit is a game made by Quantic Studios and published by Atari. Quantic Studios is also the maker of the PS 3 exclusive "Heavy Rain". If you've been asking yourselves what's with all the PS 3 exclusives coming out recently.. well.. Sony has to sell their consoles somehow, right? And if the console sucks at least the games should be good enough to get us to buy it.

OK, I'll talk more about Sony in another post. Right now, my concern is Fahrenheit. The game is about a man who murdered someone in the bathroom of a restaurant. OK, so what's with that?, you'd ask, but wait, there's more. Apparently the killer was in some sort of trance and didn't commit the murder voluntarily. So he becomes a fugitive from the police and he tries to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, two detectives are trying to catch him and make him pay for his crimes. Of course, things will change as the story progresses, but I won't say anymore because I really don't want to spoil the story. It's a great game and it's worth playing it, so go ahead and play it if you haven't yet. I've got one little problem though. Indigo Prophecy?! That's the american title. Of course there's an Indigo child involved and the colors Orange and Purple as well.. wait.. Orange + Purple = Indigo? Now that's some logic!!
OK, onto serious things now. Graphics. Well, for 2005, the game has decent graphics. The characters are well designed, as well as the backgrounds and the rest of the surroundings.
The gameplay. Well, this is where things get fucked up. I suggest changing the controls because I personally can't beat the key pressing sequences (and the game IS FULL OF THEM) by pressing the arrow keys and the keys on the numpad. It's just impossible. I guess the W,A,S,D scheme for controlling your character wasn't popular back then. Oh, well, I replaced the arrow keys with W,A,S,D and the numpad keys with the arrow keys and I managed to do the sequences properly.
OK, I got heated up again, so let's get things straight. First of all, you control four different characters in this game. Two of them only a bit and two of them in the most part of the game. The controls are simple. You move around using the arrow keys (or W,A,S,D if you change your keys like I did). A few actions appear on top of the screen when available and you have to drag your mouse accordingly in order to select them. So far so good. The game consists of a lot of action sequences which involve... pressing the right keys at the right time and sometimes really fast. They're fun for a while, but then they get annoying.

Watch the picture above. 1 and 2 are the circles that show which keys to press. The first circle means the arrow keys (or in my case WASD). The second one means the numpad (or in my case the arrow keys). When one of those rectangles light up you need to press the corresponding key. In this case, the left rectangle from the left circle lightened up, so I would press A and you, provided you didn't change the keys, the LEFT arrow. Of course, these rectangles will light up real fast and thus you'll have to train your fingers really hard to get all the sequences right. Oh, yes, and number 3 on the picture is your life bar. You can find lives through the game, so no problem with that. There are other sequences as well, where you have to tap the left and right keys alternatively in order to keep balance or, when playing as the female detective, to breathe in order to avoid getting scared (she's claustrophobic).
I almost forgot. If you get your hands on the uncensored version, get ready 'cause there's a sex scene in which YOU control the character. You know, for the kids. Thanks David Cage. We really needed that.
The soundtrack is amazing. I liked the epic music they played while I had to concentrate on what keys to press. Overall, the whole soundtrack is great and it blends really well with the game.
My overall opinion is that, besides a few cliffhangers and the game getting repetitive with its action sequences, Fahrenheit is a great game. Even if it was released in 2005, it's way better than some of the games released nowadays. Fahrenheit also has that bit of Sci-Fi that you can't get rid of in games released recently. But that's not an impediment, because the way the Sci-Fi is integrated in the game makes it up for it.



GRAPHICS: 9/10
STORY: 9/10
GAMEPLAY: 8.5/10
SOUNDTRACK: 9.5/10
OVERALL: 9/10

Back to the Future Chapter 1 Playthrough Complete

The title says it all. I have completed the Back to the Future Playthrough as of now. The next playthrough is going to be of part 2, coming this February. I am also considering making another one until then.. but we shall see about it, I won't promise anything.

Scooby Dooby Drew!

Since I took a break these days, I had the time to play a few games as well. I took on Nancy Drew Shadow at the Water's Edge. You'll say the series is targeted for female gamers, but wtf does it mean I can't enjoy a good mistery or what? I know that game's been out for a few months now, but I never had the time or desire to play it. First of all I was busy with my daily routine and second I had to do finish the Sherlock Holmes playthrough in my free time. Anyway, let's leave the past to the past and welcome 2011 warmly.
So, Nancy Drew. This game left me the impression of a Scooby Doo case (as you could see from the title). It starts off like this. You're Nancy Drew. You came to a japanese ryokan (a traditional inn), sent by mr Krolmeister, who awarded you for the success of the previous case (Trail of the Twister). As the story progresses you see ghosts and stuff making you think the place is haunted. Then there's this fortune teller who has you differentiate fake from real.. and finally, at the end of the game I'm left with the impression that THIS was a Scooby Doo case, staring Velma and missing the other characters. Jeez. I can't reveal more as it would mean spoiling the end, but the outcome is exactly like a SD case.
Also, I'm disappointed in the "two endings" thing. You really shouldn't bother saving the game and trying to finish the game both ways (there's a line choice to say to the culprit in the end, and based on that, you'll see a different ending). There's no big difference except for the bad guy having another fate.
All in one, it was a good game, I enjoyed the puzzles (yet there was A LOT of Sudoku to do - I don't complain, I like it) but I hated the final puzzle (the Nonogram). I never liked it, in fact. I've met that kind of a puzzle in Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy. Fortunately there was a little trick to get rid of it without solving it in that game, but I won't reveal it! I mean, why should I? You have brains, figure it out!
Her Interactive does a really great job with these games, and I would suggest you guys to support them (as well as Telltale games who release Back to the Future games nowadays). Seriously, buy the game, it's only 20 bucks.
Finally, I think I could easily give this game a 9/10 rating. Good work, Her Interactive and keep making games like this! They're awesome!