"Fantastic" Four? I Don't Think So.

I'm a fan of comic books and movies, so you can probably tell that I'll pretty much go see any comic-based movie there is. And, for the longest time, there was a good run going on. X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, X2, Hulk, Spider-Man 2 - most of those were amazing movies and even the questionable ones (Daredevil, Hulk) managed to grab my interest, at least for the first viewings. Now, however, it seems that the quality level is starting to come down quite a bit, as everyone and their mother is trying to cash in before this current trend starts fading. The new year started with Elektra, which I hope is not a sign of things to come... but it certainly looks that way. Just around the corner is Fantastic Four and that is looking anything but. Check out the trailer and see what I mean. I don't think there is a single scene that looks right. It's too bad, as I do think that Julian McMahon is great on Nip/Tuck. I just don't see him as Dr. Doom. Here's hoping that I'm wrong. At least we have Superman, Ghost Rider and another Spider-Man coming, right?



As you may have guessed, I'm a big techie. I love gadgets and reading about all sorts of consumer electronics. In fact, I'm often more excited about the technology and makeup of a console than the actual games. It amazes me that the PS2 has been able to pull off what it has, even in the face of newer technology (Xbox). 60fps at 1080i in Gran Turismo 4?!!! That's amazing and I salute Ken Kutaragi's team for making a system that, while difficult to program for, has an incredible amount of flexibility and hidden power within it. Moving on to the PS3, I am expecting those same qualities in the console, except that things should be a lot easier on the development side now. That's mainly due to Nvidia's help and the mature development libraries they've already developed. Check out an interview with Nvidia's VP of Corporate Marketing for some more interesting info.



Another challenge facing the videogame industry is the difficulty of creating original titles and new I.P., especially with development costs continuing to grow. This is going to be an issue that we tackle with from now on, as not many publishers are going to be willing to risk releasing an unproven title. Martyn Brown (of Team 17 fame) speaks out on just that topic.



To end this Wednesday on a good note, I thought I would share with you another great movie. I don't want to ruin it, but let's just say that this has got to be the worse weatherman in meteorology history. Enjoy.