AS Movies & Games

AS Movies & Games

Halo 4

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Halo 4 Game Cover

Halo 4 Game Cover

We’ve been taking a look at the hottest games of 2012 according to CNBC. The first game on the list was Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, with its new futuristic bent. Second on the list? Halo 4.

Is it any coincidence that both Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 haven’t actually been released yet? Halo 4 is slated for release on November 6, 2012, and Black Ops 2 will be coming out a little later on November 13. Of course, Bungie is no longer involved with the development of the series. 343 Industries is now in charge, and conceptually, Halo 4 is going to be the first game in a new trilogy called the “Reclaimer Trilogy”.

Halo 4 is sure to fly off the shelves in light of the upcoming Christmas season. Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?

Update: Halo 4 was released worldwide on November 6, 2012 (in most territories) on the Xbox 360 video game console. Halo 4 begins four years after the events of Halo 3, mainly on a Forerunner planet where cybernetically-enhanced super-solider Master Chief (accompanied by artificial intelligence construct Cortana) encounters the alien race known as the Covenant, and ancient warriors of the Forerunner Empire called the Prometheans.

Halo 4 grossed $220 million at launch, and they posted $300 million on the opening week, which was a record for the franchise. In total, it has sold more than four million copies. On a financial level, it did very well.

How about critical reception? T3 notes that the game didn’t really evolve in the way fans were hoping. In short, their feeling is that Halo 4 isn’t that different from previous iterations in the series. GameSpot gave it a glowing “superb” at 9 points out of a possible 10, citing its gripping story, excellent combat mechanics, attractive graphics, added diversity in multiplayer modes, and good customization tools. IGN rated it “amazing” at 9.8 out 10, going so far as to praise 343 Industries for outdoing original developer Bungie. In short, though Halo 4 was met with mixed reception, few reviewers gave it less than eight out of 10. Ultimately, it outdid Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

As for me, I have not played Halo 4. I have played earlier games in the series, and didn’t mind them. I found the multiplayer action a little slow and the controls a little clunky. I always felt like I should like it more than I actually did. Perhaps I would like it a little better with a keyboard-and-mouse setup.

Still, if it was the best game around, I would gladly play it and enjoy it.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Game Art

CNBC reports that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is one of the hottest games of 2012. Now, do keep in mind that the game hasn’t actually been released yet, and is set to hit shelves on November 13, 2012. This just goes to show how much buzz there is around this game right now.

Black Ops 2 is the first game in the series to adopt a futuristic setting. As result, the game has presumably reinvigorated interest in players who may have otherwise had no inclination to continue following the series.

Now the only question is whether to get it for Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 3, or Windows.

Have you pre-ordered yours yet?

Update: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was released on November 18, 2012 in North America for all major gaming consoles and platforms. Composer Jack Wall and musician Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) provided the music for the game. How can you not feel a little spoiled with accomplished luminaries like that contributing the music?

In essence, it seems like the developers wanted to make a different kind of Call of Duty with Black Ops 2 (thus the futuristic setting). The Call of Duty line of games had become somewhat same-y and stale after a while, and this was the first in the series to introduce non-linear gameplay elements, in particular multiple divergent endings to the game.

How was critical reception? IGN rated it “Amazing” at 9.3 citing its evolution as being one of its chief strengths. GamesBeat noted that the single player elements were pretty weak, but the familiar multiplayer action was well worth the purchase. In total, opinions were varied and mixed, but most reviewers placed it somewhere between six and nine on a scale of 10.

By and large, it seems like the game was (and is) a success.

As for my opinion, I haven’t really had the chance to play it. I’ve participated in some Call of Duty multiplayer action before, and really enjoyed it. However, I often found myself up against tough competition. It seems that skill levels can vary quite a lot. Of course, there is the twitch factor, but even beyond that you have to know your way around the game to play it well.

There are other multiplayer shooters I would sooner play than Call of Duty, but it is a great game nonetheless, and it’s one that’s nice to have in your library.

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New Content & Old Content

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AS Movies & Games

Old Content

Whoa! It may have caught you a little off guard that all of the wonderful old content from Arctic Sunburn is gone! Oh man, this really sucks. You may also be wondering what happened (apparently, Wiebe accidentally leaned against the wrong button, and all data was lost), and if we have any plans of re-posting the beloved old content (all that delicious content).

The short answer is that, yes, we will be posting the old content again (we’d be stupid not to)! However, the team will be taking a little bit of time to re-tool it before re-posting it. We will be updating the links and feeding the content through some super-charges (we’re lying; monkeys do all the work) so when it comes out the other side lightly toasted and buttered, it will be tastier and better than it ever was in the past. Seriously, you’ll be electrified.

Every challenge has the potential to bring a greater victory, and that’s what the team is excited about (because we’re warriors). We’re ready and poised to make some wicked awesome content that will slice through the boredom of your day and entertain you to no end (because we’re awesome that way).

New Content

The AS team is also in the process of formulating new content (the exact formula is x/3.2*a+7), some of which will appear right alongside old content (there’s no logic to the order). With that in mind, it’s important that you, the reader, leave a comment or two as new posts are added. We are always interested to hear what kind of content you’d like us to produce in the future (whether articles, podcasts or videos). So get involved and participate in the discussion. Let’s create an awesome community together!

Games

Yes, you heard right, we’re still going to be talking about games (shocker), but not just retro games. That’s right; we’re going to be delving into new, modern games as well. And you thought that all hope was lost! Never fear, the AS team is here.

Apparently Wiebe didn’t even have a modern gaming console until he was given a red-ringing Xbox 360 in 2011 (there was a fix; but the unit had other problems). That thing didn’t last long, but hey, at least he got to play a little bit of Oblivion (no, he never got around to Skyrim until much later).

Movies

Obviously, it wouldn’t be AS Movies & Games without movies. Bad movies, good movies, mediocre movies and everything in between, we’re going to get into it.

Arctic Sunburn is now AS Movies & Games!

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AS Movies & Games

Who?

During the dark, cold Canadian winter of 2009, ridiculously talented and vastly overlooked guitarist David Andrew Wiebe secretly launched into space. After finding a rift in the space-time continuum, he was instantly transported to Alpha Centauri, where he was granted the ultimate knowledge of time and the universe by the overlords. Unfortunately, the scrolls and transcripts had to be decoded, and that took the better part of 300 bags of Doritos, 100 cases of Fresca and five long years.

When the overlords returned him to earth – much to Wiebe’s dismay – it was still the winter of 2009. Because he was in Canada, and because it was still hibernation season, Wiebe was unable to put his newfound knowledge to use as he had hoped. Disillusioned, he founded Arctic Sunburn – a video game and movie blog focused on retro gaming and 80s movies – while waiting for winter to pass.

What?

In his infinite wisdom, Wiebe blogged randomly and sporadically while working on other important projects and formulating plans for the future of the galaxy. Unfortunately, despite being granted the ultimate knowledge of time and the universe, he wasn’t educated in best SEO and accessibility practices.

The blog needed some work. It needed a facelift, and it needed to take into account modern trends. In the process, the site was re-branded. No longer would the site be called Arctic Sunburn (a term Wiebe used to describe the strange but beautiful creatures on Alpha Centauri). It would be called AS Movies & Games, so mere mortals could comprehend the purpose and intent of the site. This attracted fellow gamers, movie-watchers and writers, AS Andrew and AS Nathan to support the cause.

When?

Effective immediately and henceforth, the site shall be known as AS Movies & Games but it will still be accessible from the domain ArcticSunburn.com.

Where?

Though the overlords are aware of Wiebe’s activities and they support him wholeheartedly, the blog shall be limited to planet earth, where gamers and movie goers can be found in abundance.

Why?

  1. Because the board of directors decided it was time to re-brand. The site needed a new look and better functionality.
  2. Because the collective decision was to move the site over to WordPress. Wiebe had been using Movable Type for most of his sites, and while that worked out pretty well for him, the AS team awakened to the possibilities inherent within WordPress. WP had a wider user base, thus more themes, plugins, and supporting documentation.
  3. Because the AS team decided to do something different with the site. A new vision was formed through Pat Flynn interviews.
  4. Because nobody really knew what “Arctic Sunburn” meant. The site obviously would need a title of sorts, but putting “Movies & Games” in the title made it much clearer what the site is actually about. “Arctic Sunburn” doesn’t really work as a keyword either.