Weekend Gaming Movies
I got re-sick this weekend. I went a week with strep, and I guess my body knew I was half-assing it when I decided to down some Woodchuck on Friday night. That led to an uncomfortable Saturday with the bacteria rising from the dead to once again infiltrate my tonsils, and Sunday plopped on the couch to really allow my immune system to work without interruption. I don’t feel too bad because I was able to take my daughter out Saturday. I meant to do the same Sunday, but I instead filled it with movies, coincidentally, of the gaming variety – Tekken, King of Kong, and Second Skin.
A straight to video Tekken movie is really all most people need to hear to avoid it. As with my games, I’m one to give this stuff a shot. For instance, the DoA movie turned out to be one of my favorite films ever, and Tekken is quite similar. While darker, Tekken does a good job of sticking with the source material and giving the actors awesome costumes to match their virtual counterparts. People complain when movies don’t use likenesses, but then complain when they do because of the literal game to film translation – but I’m one that loves Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, so cheesy costumes are just my thing. Like DoA, the girls in this were pretty nice. In the past I wouldn’t normally admit to this kind of thing, but just enough skin on some hot girls and the movies got itself some bonus points. The actor playing Christie was smoking, and the pants she wore were quite a revelation. We need to get these in regular style. In the end, the movie was very enjoyable with very little slow-down and great visuals. Recommended for gamers…not sure about anyone else.
King of Kong is a documentary about how the world records for popular 80′s arcade games started and the people making those scores, along with current competition. I gotta say the idea of Twin Galaxies is awesome, as an international score keeping entity. But Billy Mitchell is an ass. While it started off showing him as a respectable badass gamer, he then shuns away from live tournaments out of fear. During this, an up and coming competitor, Steve Wiebe, scores higher but they wont accept it because it wasn’t live. Steve redeems himself live, but Mitchell sends a tape upping that score which the fucking Twin Galaxies accepts – total bullshit. Yeah, they went back and wrote Steve a letter apologizing, but as a gamer myself, Twin Galaxies will not be something I recognize. The in-people are the top scorers – shits gonna be fixed. Interesting movie, but pretty depressing representation of hardcore gamers.
Lastly, Second Skin. Not what I was hoping for, but this documentary followed around MMO addicts. People that met online, bonds formed, addiction, etc. It never really went anywhere instead of just pointing out what any addiction/obsession would do to you, but my favorite had to do with a guy from PA. He tried getting help but it didn’t work out for him. So on his own, he loses fifty or more pounds and gets a good job, getting his life back in shape. Good for him. But it brought up a point. For some of these people, if you replaced the computer with a TV showing a football game, you’d have the same damn thing. Society just doesn’t get that yet.
Now to get rid of the bacteria. I may just nap early…no gaming for me.

