GTA IV Lost and Damned Tips

First, if you haven't downloaded the Lost and Damned, the additional content to GTA IV, do it. It's a great game as reviewed down below. First, here are some tips.

1. Air Hockey Tips- To complete 100%, you must win one game against the computer. Let's face it, the left analog stick is not made for this type of mini-game. It's inaccurate and many times you knock the puck into your own goal.

So how and where do you get the one victory? Go to the bowling alley on Firefly Island, Broker. Play the generic lackey, not one of your biker buddies. The lackey is not very good. Then instead of trying to hit the puck directly into the goal, ricochet the puck off the sides into the goal. You'll find you score more frequently and eventually you will win a game.

2. Arm Wrestling Tips- You must win one arm wrestling match for the optional 100% completion. Okay, I don't recommend playing this mini-game more than once. Why? You must jiggle the right stick rapidly to move your arm. I don't believe the controller was made for this type of use and you would be justified in believing that you could break the stick.

Here's the tip. Put your palm over the stick. Then move it rapidly back and forth. You'll probably win right away.

3. Gang Wars- You must win twenty five gang wars for 100% completion. Sometimes these can get hard. There are two types. One, you must destroy a target vehicle, escorted by enemies. The second is straight combat where you attack a convoy of bikers or cars.

If you are given a "destroy an escort" mission then arm yourself with the sawed off shotgun. You can shoot this while riding the bike. It does massive damage to a vehicle. Pay all your attention to the target. Or as they say in Star Wars, "Stay on target." Once the vehicle is destroyed, you get the win.

The second type of gang war is harder. You attack a convoy with the goal of killing all the enemies. The problem is that reinforcement bad guys show up in a gang war, usually behind your back. First, I engage the bad guys but do not get off the bike. If possible lead them to a place where you can take cover, behind a wall and let them come to you. If you are in Alderney, lead them back to the clubhouse, if it still exists. See below to see what I mean by that. Run up to the roof. You are now on an elevated position. Take out your assault rifle and lay waste to them. If you need to retreat and return to where the bad guys are, the sniper rifle comes in handy. Reach out and whack somebody.

There are two benefits to completing gang wars. Completing more than ten, and every ten up to fifty gets you a weapon in the clubhouse. Second, this is a good way to get Clay and Terry's combat skills up.

4. Get unlimited ammo for the M4 (Carbine Rifle). Islands are open from the beginning, so all free weapon locations are available from the original GTA IV. Get a M4. There's one at the west end of the Algonquin Bridge, between the lanes. Now go to Colony Island. Go to the abandoned hospital, it's on the south part of the island. Go to the southwestern room, there's an assault rifle. Now, here's the trick. When you walk over a weapon that uses the same ammo that a weapon you already have, it gives you more ammo. For example M4 and the assault rifle use the same ammo. The same for both sniper rifles. Walk over the assault rifle and hear a note indicating you were given more ammo. Run outside the building, past the chain link fence. Then go back into the hospital and walk over the rifle again. Keep doing this until you get a full cache of ammo.

5. SPOILER ALERT. Don't save after the last mission. After you complete, "Was it worth it?", Senator Stubbs calls you to meet with you for the last mission. Finish the last mission and a cutscene showss you that you and your biker buddies torch your own clubhouse. You lose the clubhouse for card playing, watching t.v. pool, etc. Now, there's way to access the clubhouse after the game ends by climbing to the roof from the rear and walking north until you get the signal to watch t.v. but you can't exit the building or save. Now, you won't get to keep the 100% if you don't' save, but the reward is only unlimited ammunition for one game session. You can't save the extra ammo.

6. Review- You play Johnny Klebitz, Jewish biker gang member! During the game, you work hard at trying to keep the gang together in midst of committing crimes that would get you the death penalty in real life. No doubt, this game like all Grand Theft Auto games, is evil fun.

Missions are enjoyable and exciting. And it's really cool when you're on your bike and lead the gang. You feel as if you are a member of a biker gang as your buddies follow you like a flock of birds. If you get a chance you should play the original GTA IV first as you meet secondary characters from Niko Bellic's saga.

One quick thing about the soundtrack. Kudos for the mainstream jazz radio station. The music is a great primer to the uneducated as to what is great mainstream jazz. Artists and songs include John Coltrane's "Giant Steps", Count Basie's "April in Paris", Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train" and Charlie Parker's "Night and Day." Wow, that's jazz you would hear in New York, er, Liberty City. New content includes the shock jock Martin Serious Show on WKTT, the talk show station. Serious is a hilarious take off of Howard Stern.

Now, remember this is a "M" rated game so no kids younger than seventeen. The game features violence, drug abuse, crime, sexual situations, and male nudity. Yes, you heard that right. In one cutscene, we get a view of Senator Stubbs' um, maleness. There's a reason for this. It's a metaphor of what some of the rich and powerful are doing to America. How often do you see metaphor in a video game?

If you loved the original GTA IV, you'll want to go back to Liberty City with Johnny Klebitz, Jewish biker gang member! The grade is "A."

District 9 Film Review

Moon and now District 9 show that intelligent movie science fiction still exists. I hope that the powers that be at Bad Robot, handling the next Star Trek are watching. I'm talking to you, J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Star Trek should be more like District 9, a film more about ideas than shallow appeal. But enough of griping about Star Trek, this is a review of District 9.

District 9 starts out like a faux documentary, with talking heads detailing man's first contact with aliens. The aliens' ship arrives and hovers over Johannesberg, South Africa. However, no one comes out. The humans must enter the ship. They find the aliens, and are derogatorily called Prawns for their crustacean like appearance. During a later scene, a human attempts to eat part of a Prawn. But he does so without butter sauce. But I digress. Leaderless, they are herded into an area called District 9 under the ship. It becomes a slum for the aliens.

A private company called MNU (Multi-National United) is hired to move the aliens to another camp one away from the humans who have become impatient with their presence. MNU has no interest in the aliens' welfare. They want to develop the aliens' advanced weaponry which humans cannot operate but the aliens can due to their unique biological makeup. And what weapons! When they operate, they can turn humans into guacamole. A company bureaucrat, Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is tasked to lead the eviction effort to relocate the aliens.

During Van Der Merwe's foray into District 9, he comes upon a Prawn named Christopher who has developed an alien fuel device that will power a shuttle underneath his home. While inspecting the device, Van Der Merwe accidentally sprays himself with some of the liquid inside. The device is confiscated and taken to MNU headquarters. However, the liquid starts to rewrite Van Der Merwe's DNA and he starts to mutate into an alien-human hybrid. MNU takes Van Der Merwe into custody and discover he can operate the aliens' weaponry. The rest of the film details MNU's efforts to harvest Vand Der Merwe's new abilities and Christopher's attempts to get back to the mothership and return to his home.

Director and writer Neill Blomkamp has created an exciting film that is obviously a metaphor for man's prejudice and racism. His direction is tight and energetic. There is one weakness with the movie. I wish there was more dialogue to describe what the alien device does other than fuel a shuttle. I mean it's transforming a character into an alien. I also wonder why the aliens don't use their advanced weaponry against the humans in self defense. On that one, I can guess that the aliens are basically peaceful. And of course, my pet peeve is to stop using the hand-held camera because it induces nausea. I know he wants this to feel like a documentary at times, but it's still a fictional film. It interferes with the story telling. These are small quibbles to a film, that is intentionally ugly, thought provoking and thrilling. And kudos for creating aliens that are not humanoid.

Sharlto Copley is perfectly cast as the nerdy bureaucrat. He looks the part. His performance is a study of desperation and transformation.

District 9 is an intelligent, and action packed science fiction movie. The grade is "A."

Hope for the Bengals

You hope the road to respectability started today with the Cincinnati Bengals first preseason game at New Orleans. Yes, they lost 17-7 but there are some positive things to note.

Offensive Line. This is a new alignment with center Kyle Cook and Andrew Whitworth now a left tackle. For the most part, they gave QB Carson Palmer time to throw the ball. And when they got going, they did an okay job of run blocking. The new slogan of "Fight Back" was demonstrated on a pass play where Andrew Whitworth was called for a penalty. The ball was intercepted (bad throw by Carson) and was returned by Jonathan Vilma of the Saints. That's where Whitworth showed his determination. He ran all the way back as Vilma was about to score and recovered a fumble by Vilma. That's hustle and not giving up on the play.

Defense. The Bengals defense showed some spine. One fumble led to Vilma returning the ball to the Bengals' six. The Bengals stopped the Saints. They didn't cave in and the Saints missed the field goal. This type of determination on both parts of the ball leads to victories.

Intangibles. Rookie Bernard Scott looked good. He ripped through holes with good speed. Third string quarterback Jordan Palmer made good tight throws. The one interception was a tip.

Karma. When Carson left with an ankle injury, Bengals Nation groaned. Memories of Ki Jana Carter, and Kenny Irons flooded back. Then hope. It was announced that Palmer's ankle injury was a mild sprain. Perhaps, that's good karma.

Conclusion. Look, the score is more of a reflection of the Saints' having better back up quarterbacks. When you run out guys like Mark Brunell and Joey Harrington against our second and third stringers, you better be able to move the ball. So, this being preseason, it's meaningless. Oops, I forgot to mention that Chad Ocho Cinco and Chris Henry had good games. So, If you are mad at me, "Child please?" (You had to watch Chad in the first episode of Hard Knocks.)

However, the first stringers look feisty. Take away the turnovers and this could be a different game. Look forward to the next game for more progress. (Here's the Bengals website story on the game.)

Jonny Gomes hits three home runs

Last night against the Nationals, Jonny Gomes blasted three home runs. He becomes the 24th player in Reds history to do so. His performance overshadowed Bronson Arryo's stellar pitching in shutting out the Nationals and hurling a complete game. It also took some of the controversy away since Arroyo had told USA Today of the multiple supplements he takes. (Here's the story of the game and video.)

The next question becomes is Gomes a starter in the outfield next year? It's not likely the Reds will move either Arroyo or Harang this year due to their contracts. That will stifle their payroll flexibility assuming the Reds will not increase payroll for 2010. The Reds at the beginning of this year were searching for a right hand bat with power for the outfield. Gomes has shown some potential, especially in 2005. He should be given a chance to compete for a starting outfield job in 2010.

Batman Twenty Years Later

Director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) is twenty years old if you can believe that. And while it has its flaws, one must acknowledge it for its revolutionary take on the superhero. The superhero movie was never this dark. Whereas Superman (1978) depicted an ideal America, Batman showed an American city, Gotham, teeming with corruption. It was a city overtaken by the powerful and it showed in Gotham's fascist architecture.

The casting was perfect. While Jack Nicholson was an obvious choice for Joker, it's the choice of Michael Keaton as Batman that's bold and brilliant. At first blush, one can be forgiven to have doubts that Keaton who starred in comedies Bettlejuice, and Night Shift could be Batman. But it was the intensity and his ability to show the need for this average but flawed man the need to wear a mask. (Batman Wikipedia Article)

One must give kudos to Warner Brothers for letting Burton depict Batman in such dark terms. And there must be credit given to graphic novels of the time, that established the dark visions of Batman. Those novels include the Killing Joke and Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Comparing Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and Batman, one need only to look how they both depict Gotham. Burton's Gotham is an ugly city with fascist overtures. Nolan wants a realistic approach. Both depict a city overrun with corruption. Jack Nicholson's Joker is more comedic whereas Heath Ledger gives his Joker a nihilistic take. Christian Bale as Batman in the Dark Knight and Micheal Keaton both give their Batman depictions as angry avengers protecting the city from crime. It's their depictions as Bruce Wayne that differs. Bale is a rich jerk as Wayne. Whereas Keaton is a man uncomfortable in his own skin. He cares about the people of Gotham. It remains unclear what direction Nolan will take the Wayne character.

Burton's Batman had problems, such as Kim Basinger's over the top screaming, uneven costume designs which made some of actors look like they just stepped out of Guys and Dolls and some silly dramatic choices such as the Joker bringing down Batman's plane with a big handgun. However, the film started the modern Batman film series. Without Batman, there's no Batman Begins and the brilliant Dark Knight. Batman still stands the test of time. The grade is "B."

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals Review

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals is a microcosm of a any recent Bengals season. The show starts out with hope just like the season. Coach Marvin Lewis has a new T-shirt to inspire the team. The slogan this year is "Fight Back." Owner Mike Brown attempts to give an inspirational speech in his robotic delivery. Which means if he were leading troops into battle and gave that type of speech, you would say, "We're going to die." Like the season, there's a terrible injury to a key player. Reggie Kelly described by the show as the heart of the team goes down with a season ending Achilles tendon injury. The show then ends with diappointment as we see fullback J.D. Runnels get cut. Disappointment usually is felt at the end of a Bengals season. By the way, where's the Who Dey Revolution plane that flew around the field criticizing the lack of scouts?

As for the technical aspects of the show itself, it was beautifully filmed. Shots have warmth and are framed artistically. The Bengals seem like a likeable bunch of guys you want to root for. You wonder how Kelly's injury will effect rookie Chase Coffman. One wants to root for fullback hard luck Chris Pressley to make the team. How will this team come together? And how will this team do in the season? This makes the show one that you look forward to seeing until the run ends. Another winner for HBO and NFL Films. The grade is "A." Here's the official site for the show.

Chris Matthews takes on gun toting Obama protester

Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball took on a Obama protester who showed up with a gun attached to his leg. He was carrying a sign that paraphrased Thomas Jefferson's famous quote about the tree of liberty needing to be refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants. The sign conveniently leaves out the part of the blood of tyrants and patriots. While I can understand this protester's views on taxes and personal property, this quote is all wrong. It incites violence. Why? Because unless he thinks Obama is a patriot, he could be inciting violence towards the President. Anyway, I've posted the interview.

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