I’ll be offering some commentary on the nominations during the Weekly Movie Podcast tonight as well as looking at the Golden Globe winners from last week and the BAFTA nominations which also were announced a couple of days ago. There will also be an in-depth look into the Academy Awards nominations and the Golden Globes winners this Friday in the Weekly Movie Newsletter (along with reviews of many of the films nominated for both sets of awards).

Click more to see the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards.

The 84th Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
2012 Academy Awards (Oscars)
January 26th, 2012

**Predicted winners in blue when available**
**Golden Globe Winner in Bold**

Best Picture

• The Artist (Thomas Langmann)
• The Descendants (Jim Burke, Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne)
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Scott Rudin)
• The Help (Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan)
• Hugo (Graham King, Martin Scoresese)
• Midnight In Paris (Lefty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum)
• Moneyball (Michael De Luca, Rachel Horowitz, Brad Pitt)
• The Tree of Life (Dede Gardner, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad) 
• War Horse (Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
• George Clooney (The Descendants)
• Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
• Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
• Brad Pitt – (Moneyball)

Best Actrees in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
• Viola Davis (The Help)
• Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
• Meryl Streep (Iron Lady)
• Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
• Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
• Nick Nolte (Warrior)
• Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
• Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
• Jessica Chastain (The Help)
• Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
• Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
• Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Best Animated Feature Film

• A Cat in Paris (Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli)
• Chico and Rita (Fernadndo Trueba and Javier Mariscal)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (Jennifer Yuh Nelson)
• Puss In Boots (Chris Miller)
• Rango (Gore Verbinski)

Best Art Direction

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• War Horse

Best Cinematography

• The Artist (Guillaume Schiffman)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Jeff Cronenweth)
• Hugo (Robert Richardson)
• The Tree of Life (Emmanuel Lubezki)
• War Horse (Janusz Kaminski)

Best Costume Design

• Anonymous
• The Artist
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• W.E.

Best Director

• Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)
• Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
• Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
• Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
• Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

Best Documentary

• Hell and Back Again (Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin)
• God is the Bigger Elvis (Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson)
• Incident in New Baghdad (James Spione)
• Saving Face (Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy)
• The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen)

Best Film Editing

• The Artist (
• The Descendants
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball

Best Foreign Language Film

• Bullhead (Belgium)
• Footnote (Israel)
• In Darkness (Poland)
• Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
• A Separation (Iran)

Best Makeup

• Albert Nobbs
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• The Iron Lady

Best Original Score

• Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
• Albert Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
• Howard Shore (Hugo)
• John Williams (The Adventures of Tintin)
• John Williams (War Horse)

Best Original Song

• “Man or Muppet” – The Muppets (Music and Lyrics By: Bret McKenzie)
• “Real in Rio” – Rio (Music By: Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyrics by Siedah Garrett)

Short Film (Animated)

• Dimanche/Sunday (Patrick Doyon)
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg)
• La Luna (Enrico Casarosa)
• A Morning Stroll (Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe)
• Wild Life (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby)

Short Film (Live Action)

• Pentecost (Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane)
• Raju (Max Zahle and Stefan Gieren)
• The Shore (Terry George and Oorlagh George)
• Time Freak (Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey)
• Tuba Atlantic (Hallvar Witzo)

Sound Editing

• Drive (Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Ren Klyce)
• Hugo (Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty)
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl)
• War Horse (Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom)

Sound Mixing

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, and Bo Persson)
• Hugo (Tom Fleischman and John Midgley)
• Moneyball (Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick)
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, and Peter J. Devlin)
• War Horse (Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, and Stuart Wilson)

Visual Effects

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, and John Richarson)
• Hugo (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman, and Alex Henning)
• Real Steel (Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor, and Swen Gillberg)
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett)
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler, and John Frazier)

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• The Descendants (Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, Jim Rash)
• Hugo (John Logan)
• The Ides of March (George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon)
• Moneyball (Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian)
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan)

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

• The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
• Bridesmaids (Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig)
• Margin Call (J.C. Chandor)
• Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
• A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)

Films in Order of Nominations

Above is the list of the nominees by category for the 84th Academy Awards. The official list can be found on the official site of the Academy Awards at: http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/84/nominees.html

I’m still not at 100% but I feel good enough to start writing again. I have two semi-half-finished newsletters but I’ll wait until the normal Friday and Saturday release days to put them out so that I don’t have to over-exert myself to get four newsletters out by Saturday. The worst case scenario (unless I become violently ill again) is that the Video Game Newsletter will be released on Sunday except for Saturday. Here’s a list of the upcoming major items to pop up on the website.

Weekly Movie Newsletter-Double Issue (Fri., Jan. 27)

- Golden Globes roundup
- BAFTA nominations
- Jan. and Feb. 2011 in review
- Box office data for January (so far)
- Report on the decline of the film industry (or so they say)
- Movie reviews including: 50/50, The Adventures of Tintin, Bridesmaids, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, The Ides of March, Margin Call, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Monsieur Lazhar, My Week with Marilyn, Salt, The Social Network, War Horse

Weekly Video Game Newsletter (Sat., Jan. 28)

- The Top 10 Games of 2011
- Video games sales information for the weeks of Christmas and the New Year weekend
- Q2 2011 in review
- Video Game reviews including: Alien Crush (TG-16), Duck Hunt (NES), Final Fight (Arcade), Rad Racer (NES), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis), Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (Game Boy)

Weekly Movie Podcast (Tue., Jan. 24)

- Golden Globes commentary
- BAFTA nominations discussion and predictions
- Box office data for the weekend ending Jan. 22

Weekly Video Game Podcast (Sun. Jan. 29)

- Video game sales information for the first two weeks of January
- The disappointments of 2011

I’m also working on adding at least one new podcast series on the site (maybe a second). I would like to start producing them this week but it all depends on how I’m feeling.

10:57 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Ten

10:55 – Keep in mind that I really liked The Descendants, I think this was junk. There were two films that were better.

WINNER: The Descendants Best Picture – Drama

10:49 – I see we’re rewarding mediocrity. I like George Clooney but I don’t think this was even close to his best work. However, considering how this night has been, I just have to shrug my shoulders.

WINNER: George Clooney (The Descendants) Best Actor – Drama

10:44 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Nine (Not acceptable Golden Globes production staff)

10:41 – Ok, this was the best speech. I understand that they need to keep the show going (I was making snarky comments about the jerks at the beginning going past their allotted time) but that when you have such a heartfelt speech like that, the person who’s pressing the button to start the music needs to get a clue.

WINNER: The Artist Best Picture – Comedy/Musical

10:40 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Eight (Sorry)

10:38 – I don’t care that they’re playing her off, Meryl Streep is great; even without her glasses. I’d rather listen to her go one for 15 minutes than anyone else.

10:37 – Will you just get up and give her the damn glasses? Who was that jerk that decided he wasn’t going to get up and see if he can have a front-row street for a train wreck.

10:35 – Why is Meryl Streep surprised? The reviews for The Iron Lady have been pretty below average and the only reason why people are talking about Meryl Streep’s performance.

WINNER: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) Best Actress – Drama

10:33 – It only took over two-and-a-half hours but Ricky Gervais finally showed up.

10:33 – Thanks for telling me it’s nearly over, Ricky Gervais. I can’t wait.

10:28 – The recession is hitting the acting community pretty hard. Tilda Swinton couldn’t afford a hat so she converted her hair into one.

10:27 – That was very rude of Jean Dujardin’s wife to be using her phone during the acceptance speech. I wonder if she got that in her goody basket.

10:26 – My goodness, I didn’t know Jean Dujardin could speak. Great acceptance speech. Makes me wish some of the other winners could have treated their speeches like silent films.

WINNER: Jean Dujardin (The Artist) Best Actor – Comedy/Musical

10:21 – I’m not a big fan of Modern Family but if more television comedies were more like Modern Family and less like whatever crap passes for comedy on CBS and NBC, network television wouldn’t be in the sad state it’s in today.

WINNER: Modern Family (ABC) Best TV Comedy/Musical

10:16 – Ricky Gervais says something that was censored and then Antonio Banderas starts to rant in Spanish. I couldn’t stop yawning, it was that whatever.

10:15 – Put your hand down, Ben Kingsley.

WINNER: Martin Scorsese (Hugo) Best Director

10:10 – Very nice tribute; Glory and The Shawshank Redemption are two of my favourite films and I can’t imagine anyone else play Red.

9:58 – Helen Mirren: just as awesome.

9:57 – Sidney Poitier: best presenter so far…best part of the show.

9:48 – She beat the odds; it’s hard for someone to win in a category where two people from the same film are nominated in the same category. I still thought Woodley should have taken the award but Spencer did very well in her role too. 

WINNER: Octavia Spencer (The Help) Best Supporting Actress – Film

9:45 – I don’t know much about Episodes but Matt LeBlanc was nominated for Joey? And they mentioned it again on air? Why would they confess to such a failure of a nomination?

WINNER: Matt LeBlanc (Episodes/Showtime) Best Actor – TV Comedy/Musical

9:42 – Emily Blunt looks like the last thing she wants to do is introduce Bridesmaids. I don’t blame her.

9:37 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Seven (Called it)

9:36 – It’s looking like we’re going to hit seven.

WINNER: Claire Danes (Homeland) Best Actress – TV Drama 

9:34 – Here comes the real Hoff.

WINNER: A Separation Best Foreign Language Film

9:31 – Um, will someone please tell Madonna that it’s not foreign films but foreign language films. Unless on her map of the world that the U.S.A. is not part of the U.S.A.

9:30 – Ricky Gervais has been the most disappointing part of the show. Very lame.

9:25 – Shouldn’t a judging body be impartial and not “generous”?

WINNER: Jessica Lange (American Horror Story/FX) Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie

9:22 – Not a fan of that decision but I can understand it. What the hell was up with Nicole Kidman there? That was really awkward.

WINNER: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) Best Screenplay

9:21 – Maybe this is the year that Clive Owen finally makes a good movie. His talents are wasted on such crappy films like The International.

9:21 – Yes, there has been six minutes of nothing. And they’re already running late.

9:15 – Thankfully, Steven Spielberg gets the point that speeches aren’t supposed to be marathons…even if his thing about the phonebook didn’t make that much sense.

9:14 – I was bound to finally get one right.

WINNER: The Adventures of Tintin Best Animated Film

9:11 – Please save the show, Ricky Gervais.

9:10 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Six (I wrote this one way before the music started)

WINNER: Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones/HBO) Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie

9:04 – The last show that CTV rammed down our throats through advertising was Pan-Am. I doubt Smash will perform much better.

9:02 – Lame performance for a movie that’s not a comedy or musical. This show, MY GOODNESS!

WINNER: Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) Best Actress – Comedy/Musical

9:01 – I doubt anyone will beat Seth Rogen for the worst joke of the night. At least he gets that My Week With Marilyn was not a comedy.

9:00 – These presenter pairings are really odd.

8:59 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Five

WINNER: Idris Elba – (Luther/BBC America) Best Actor – Mini-Series or TV Movie

8:53 – Has anyone seen W.E.? Probably not. It’s one of the films that has only been screened at a couple of film festivals and a couple of theatres in Los Angeles so it can qualify for the Golden Globes. It’s premiering in the UK this Friday and isn’t being released in North America until February. Completely asinine!

8:52 – Music to tell people to get the hell off the stage count: Four

8:51 – Madonna shouldn’t be talking about beating people up with the guns she’s sporting. She’s not headed to Disney World…she’s headed to WRESTLEMANIA!!!

8:50 – Does this mean Madonna’s going to win the Oscar too? That’s what she said the last time she won for Evita. That ended up working well for her.

WINNER: “Masterpiece” – Music & Lyrics By: Madonna, Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry (W.E.) Best Original Song

8:48 – Three winners now played off.

8:47 – Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman both look incredibly bored…or annoyed that they were nominated for anything.

WINNER: Ludovic Bource (The Artist) Best Original Score

8:45 – Attention Jimmy Fallon: George Clooney doesn’t appear to be impressed by your schtick. You must obey George Clooney.

8:43 – I hate Foster the People and hate their stupid song. Just saying.

8:40 – We’re up to two award winners hearing the music. We need to speed things up. I have to be up in 7 hours and still have to finish two newsletters.

8:39 – Speed the speech up, bub. It’s only a three hour show.

WINNER: Homeland (Showtime) Best TV Drama

8:37 – They’re letting her present twice? Ok, we’re approaching train wreck TV here.

WINNER: Kelsey Grammer (Boss/Starz) Best Actor – TV Drama

8:36 – Yes, Paula Patton did come across like a blithering idiot. This show has been awful so far.

8:32 – They promised Ricky Gervais when they came back from commercial. BAIT-AND-SWITCH!

8:26 – Kate Winslet also wins the award for being the first person to be played off stage. The reason she took so long was that she needed a rest. I mean, I understand being anxious and all but at the beginning, I thought she was going to pass out.

8:25 – Will someone get Kate Winslet some oxygen? She’s having trouble catching her breath from the walk up the stairs.

WINNER: Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce/HBO) Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie

8:22 – We’re only three awards and twenty minutes into the show and I’ve already been wrong twice. Maybe I should just go to bed now.

WINNER: Downtown Abbey (PBS) Best Mini-Series or TV Movie

8:20 – Nothing like a busted teleprompter to make the show grind to a halt. You can’t blame Ricky Gervais for that one.

8:18 – HBO had the same amount of nominations this year than all the networks combined and PBS.

8:17 – I’m not a big TV fan but I think that it’s about time that there be separate categories for pay-TV and network-TV. I get the feeling it’s going to be a near-shutout for HBO et al. The only Golden Globe that the networks have a chance with tonight might be Modern Family (ABC). The differences in what they can do is so vast that it’s incomparable. That’s not to say network television is bad; it really isn’t. It’s just that HBO and Showtime and the rest can do so much more with the type of content they can show on their channels than the networks.

WINNER: Laura Dern (Enlightened/HBO) Best Actress – TV Comedy/Musical

WINNER: Christopher Plummer (Beginners) Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

I can’t really comment since I haven’t seen Beginners so I’ll hold my judgment whether this was the right call or not but I still think Kenneth Branagh did an amazing job in My Week with Marilyn (which is saying something since I thought the film was nothing special).

8:08 – What’s wrong with Johnny Depp?

8:06 – I hope they do this all night: Ricky Gervais must speak to all the presenters. It should be a law.

8:01 – Ricky Gervais is stealing all my “Golden Globes being sub-par compared to the Oscars” jokes. They’re still funny, though.

It’s time for the Ricky Gervais show…I mean Golden Globes. I’ll be offering up witty responses to this year’s Golden Globes (otherwise known as the start of the Oscar season).

Weekly Movie Podcast – January 15th, 2012 <37 mins – 25.3MB>
^right click to download^

The 2012 Golden Globes page is now up.

Golden Globes talk and predictions…listen now and see how awesome my predictions are.

Continue reading for the top five charts from last week’s box office (all data coming from www.the-numbers.com). There’s also a list of all the movies coming out this weekend in theatres and the movies that were released for the home video market this week (with trailers where available).

Top 5 (and New) Films for the Weekend Ending
January 1st, 2012

Theatrical Releases This Week

Wide Release

Beauty and the Beast 3D
Contraband
Joyful Noise

Limited Releases

The Divide
The Iron Lady
Loosies
Lula, Son of Brazil
Newlyweds
Northeast
Sing Your Song
Vettai
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Premiering in Montreal

A Dangerous Method
Pariah

New DVD Releases This Week

Wide Releases

Killer Elite
Moneyball
What’s Your Number?

Limited Theatrical Releases/Straight to Video

Brighton Rock
The Chameleon
Omar m’a tuer
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Blowhole
Tempest

Donkey Kong isn’t exactly the crown prince of Nintendo’s large cast of mascots. In fact, it’s almost as if he’s the black sheep; the first nemesis of the beloved Mario that was relegated in the 80s to teaching kids about math. When Nintendo enlisted Rare to create a new type of platformer during the mature age of the Super Nintendo’s life cycle, it was curious to see what would be the result. Donkey Kong Country ended up being a renaissance f or the primate character that helped revitalize the I.P. and became, for a while, a solid number two behind Mario in Nintendo’s roster of franchises. Donkey Kong Country is the game that started it all again and despite its age is still one of the best platformers ever.

Foregoing the Mario route where a princess gets kidnapped by a reptile, Donkey Kong Country borrows its backstory slightly from Kirby: an evil villain named King K. Rool steals the protagonist’s hoard of bananas (although this time the evil villain is a reptile…just like in Mario). To make matters worse, Donkey Kong’s chimpanzee buddy, Diddy Kong was tossed aside by the King’s minions and sealed in a barrel (oh, the irony). Now it’s up to Donkey Kong to free his friend from his wooden prison and find his stash of bananas.

The goal of Donkey Kong Country is to get from one end of the level to another and traverse the map to finally reach King K. Rool. Six worlds await with a number of levels to be played. The game sticks to a jungle theme throughout although some worlds do have a particular theme of their own (for example, one world is filled with snow while another has most of its levels taking place inside of a factory).

The game doesn’t deviate much from the traditional jumping and killing/avoiding enemies and collecting 100 of something to get an extra life (in this case bananas) although there are some gameplay elements that make the game different from other platformers. There are some levels where the Kongs’ ride in mine carts that rely more on quick reflexes and memorization than anything else. There’s also plenty of minigames to be found throughout levels that can be found by either collecting enough animal tokens or discovering secret passages or barrels. These diversions break the monotony of having to do the same thing over and over again for the entire game which can be a curse for platformers that have long playthrough times. Some of the platforming is broken up by having to shoot the Kongs through barrels which sometimes takes precise timing to get just right.. It’s a neat gimmick that isn’t overused and doesn’t become tired. Another interesting aspect of the game is the collection of the letters of K-O-N-G to score an extra life within a level. Trying to find every last letter adds something to the game but it’s not necessarily an original concept (think of the dragon coins from Super Mario World).

The game handles very well; probably the best of any 2D platformer. Running and jumping is easy to do and very fluid. You will never be cursing your controller saying that you pressed the button and the game didn’t respond. The game is very responsive and it feels like you have total control. Both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have similar move sets although there are a few differences. Both the Kongs have rolling attacks; Donkey has a somersault while Diddy has a cartwheel. One of the interesting aspects of the game is that if either Donkey or Diddy Kong perform their signature rolls over a pit, they can still jump as if they’re on a platform. It gives new meaning to “leap of faith” jumps.

Donkey Kong also has a pound move that enables him to find things (like bananas and extra lives) buried in the ground. Using the pound move to kill enemies will also score Donkey Kong bananas most of the time. While Diddy Kong doesn’t have a move of his own to even up his arsenal with Donkey Kong’s, he’s much faster and agile that Donkey Kong. He can reach areas of the game that Donkey Kong can’t because he’s slower and can’t jump as high or far. Also, Donkey Kong can kill heavier enemies in the game due to his larger size while those same enemies laugh at Diddy Kong as his attacks bounce right off them. It’s a very interesting dynamic as there are some areas where it’s easier to play the game as Donkey Kong and some areas are easier (or sometimes only accessible) using Diddy Kong. However, playing as one or the other throughout the entire game doesn’t make the game impossible. For those who don’t like being forced to play as specific characters during particular portions of games that allow for multiple characters, this is not an issue whatsoever.

In 1994, what brought people to the table was the graphics. At the time, this game was the best looking title on the Super Nintendo. Perhaps on an HDTV this game is a little rough looking but, when played on a CRT, the game still looks great. Even when looking at it on an HDTV, the game still looks decent. The game is very colourful and the sprites are highly detailed considering what system the game is on. All the characters have multiple animations that relate to what’s going on in the game. One of the funniest animations is that of when a large enemy just laughs off Diddy Kong’s attacks. Things like that give the game personality. While graphics are normally about style, it actually has substance too.

The soundtrack is outstanding too. Some of the themes are earworms that will permeate your brain and refuse to leave. Each musical selection balances out the gameplay well. The map theme, the standard jungle music theme (heard in the first level and several others), the final boss level theme are all particularly fantastic. The sound effects are incredibly well done. While the standard sound effects that we would expect sound great (like the sound of an enemy getting hit or items being collected), what really makes the atmosphere spectacular is the amazing job done with the ambient sound effects. It’s not enough that you hear the sound of enemies walking but you also hear snakes slithering and recoiling and the sounds of the jungle in the distance. The game is not only a treat on the eyes but also on the ears.

While Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are the stars of the show, the game features a strong lineup of secondary characters; some of which are playable. There are several non-playable characters along the way to offer Donkey Kong some help; Candy Kong allows players to save their game, Funky Kong let’s players revisit worlds they have already beaten, and Cranky Kong gives the adventuring Kongs some advice. Aside from Cranky’s humourous sarcasm, these NPCs are not only worthless, they create unnecessary problems in the game. Once a player selects a world, they are stuck in that world until they find Funky Kong who will transport the Kongs to another world. The greater problem is that once a player is stuck in the world, they need to beat enough levels to find Candy’s area on the map so they can save their game. This can be a problem as it may take a few levels before Candy’s save area is revealed. There is no option to save at any time which can be problematic. Additionally, while Cranky is fun to deal with from time to time, most of advice goes without saying or doesn’t add up to much. An interesting diversion at best; unnecessary padding for the cynics on the audience.

The game gets interesting with the playable secondary characters. Like Diddy Kong, many of Donkey Kong’s animal friends are locked away in crates due to the dastardly tactics of King K. Rool and his followers. During their adventure, the Kongs can get the help of Rambi the Rhino, Enguarde the Swordfish, Expresso the Ostrich, and Winky the Frog. Each character has their own moveset. Donkey and Diddy can ride these characters throughout the level. The only problem is that they’re level specific so even if you finish a level riding a particular character, they don’t follow you into the next level. Collecting three symbols throughout the game of a particular animal opens up their own minigame which allows players to get tons of extra lives. There’s also one other animal friend that helps out: Squawks the Parrot. However, Squawks doesn’t do much except shine a light during dark levels and he’s only available in one level.

A slight hit against the game is the inability to save acquired items collected throughout the game. Bananas, animal medallions, and extra lives disappear when the game is turned off. While it’s not a big deal that the extra lives disappear since the game provides plenty of opportunity to score easy lives, losing the animal medallions feel like a kick to the gut. These medallions are not littered all over the place making playing the animal minigames more of a special occasion than it needs to be.

When Donkey Kong Country was released in 1994, it was hardly considered revolutionary. Basically it was a traditional platformer with a flashy coat of paint. Even Nintendo’s golden goose Shigeru Miyamoto considered the game nothing more than a bunch of hype. Even though it didn’t reinvent the wheel, Donkey Kong Country offers excellent platforming action that still is quite solid despite its age. It’s different enough from the usual Mario fare yet still feels like a Nintendo-produced game. There are few platforming titles that are better than Donkey Kong Country.

☆☆☆☆

(Video review to follow eventually)

Weekly Video Game Podcast – January 8, 2012 <14 mins (9.5 MB)>
^ right click to save

• Due to technical difficulties, this is a shorter than normal podcast; just sales and game release information
• Continue reading for sales figures from the week of December 24th and other stuff (all sales figures come from www.vgchartz.com)

Video Game Sales for the Week of December 31, 2011

Last Week’s Downloadable Game Release
(click title for trailers)

Space Invaders clones are a dime-a-dozen in the gaming sphere although they’re less prevalent in today’s age than during the golden age of the arcades. To simply dismiss Xona Games’s Decimation X as a clone of one of the originators of the shoot-em-up genre is selling the game short. That being said, it’s not much different from Space Invaders. The graphics are not much better and the action is very similar (think of the original game but as if it were on steroids). Decimation X is a pretty good game at a great price that will easily suck away much of your spare time.

The concept of Decimation X is almost a direct copy of Space Invaders. The player controls a ship and needs to defeat all the enemies that are floating overhead before they land on the ground. The player has a few barriers to protect themselves from enemy fire although these slowly disintegrate as they’re being fired upon. The similarities end there as Decimation X turns up the volume exponentially. Enemies are aggressive and quick, firing a non-stop barrage of bullets. While the first couple of waves are easy to deal with, it only takes a minute or two before the screen is blanked out by all the firepower raining down from the top. Power-ups can be obtained by defeating enemies; sometimes one at a time although once a certain amount of enemies are defeated, a layer of power-ups fall from the sky for the player to try to collect before they disappear forever. The game ends once the enemies overcome the player (you can only prolong the inevitable for so long).

Graphically, there’s not much to talk about when it comes to this game. This game is designed to have a retro feel to it and it works very well. However, there are flashes of modern design interlaced with the retro look. Despite mostly being white sprites on a black background, the game has flashy pixelated explosions and special rainbow coloured sprites. The game runs at a very quick framerate which makes the action incredibly intense. Even though it’s not the game’s big selling point (as some could argue that the graphics are quite rudimentary), it has a certain charm that matches the aesthetic of the game.

The soundtrack is interesting but it does get tiring after a while. The game features only one musical score that plays on a loop. Although the music does help to build the franticness of the game, the modern electronic music seems out of place for a game that graphically looks like it would be something to come out of the 80s. More tracks would have been nice and with it the ability to select different styles. The sound effects are great and really add to the feel of the game. Even though they’re not realistic, the sounds match the style of the game and compliment it well.

Xona Games did a very good job with Decimation X. Sure, you can’t help but think that you’re playing a Space Invaders clone while playing it but considering that Taito seems to be out of the Space Invaders business, these game feels like what would be the natural evolution of the game. As an Indie game, it’s a good value as this game has a low price and will easily waste plenty of your time. It’s solid fun that feels like a step back in time.

☆☆☆

(There will be a video review of this game up on the site later this weekend)

During the golden age of the arcades, you couldn’t throw a stone in an arcade and not hit at least a dozen shoot-em-up games. Centipede was one of the top games of its generation and still holds up reasonably well despite not being all that flashy. For those who like classic arcade action, Centipede is a solid bet. However, for those who have grown up with games that have things like a background and a decent soundtrack, it might be a bit problematic.

The game is all about stopping the infestation of giant centipedes and other creatures. The player moves their ship across the playing field trying to shoot a giant centipede and other dangerous creatures like spiders and scorpions. Killing a centipede cannot be done in one shot; all the segments of the centipede must be destroyed. The centipede does not actively go after the player, they move from left-to-right and then right-to left while moving down the screen until they hit an obstruction (either the side wall or a mushroom). Players can shoot the mushrooms to slow down the progression the centipede makes to give themselves more time to shoot and destroy the angry critter down. Once a centipede is vanquished, a new one appears and is slightly faster than the previous one. There also runs the possibility of a centipede being split into two by chaotic fire and two centipedes moving around the landscape independently of one another. If a player is zapped by an enemy, they lose a life. Once all the player’s lives are exhausted, the game is over.

Visually, the game isn’t much to talk about. The sprites barely look like what they’re supposed to look like. The centipede sort of looks like a centipede if you use your imagination and everything else kind of looks worse. While the game does provide colour, there isn’t much to it. The game has a black background and the sprites have a few colours to them. After the defeat of each centipede, the colour scheme changes. Some colour schemes work better than others since the wrong combination can be bad on the eyes. It’s hard to say which ones work well and which ones don’t because it depends on the person. Some may not even find a problem with any of the colour schemes.

The game doesn’t have any background music. There are sound effects of the shooting and the enemies moving but they’re not that great. Some sounds, like the sound of falling enemies, can be the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Sound is not a selling point at all and is a topic best avoided. Thankfully, sound is rarely a reason to play a game or avoid it entirely.

While the game isn’t great in the visuals or sound department (whether it be 1980 or today), the gameplay is quite well done. The action is frantic and makes for a very challenging experience. Compared to other shooters of the day, it’s quite complex. This type of activity within the game has given Centipede the ability to hold its own in terms of gameplay despite running on primitive hardware. Like many of the games of its day, the game’s only goal is to get the highest score possible. Maybe setting world records is out of the reach of many but the game never makes it seem impossible for one to set a new personal high score. Trying to break one’s top score becomes a mission that needs to be completed.

Atari’s Centipede is a very good arcade game that holds up well despite its age. The game becomes an obsession that’s hard to stop. Yeah, the game looks ugly by today’s standards (and by yesteryear’s too) and probably sounds better if you’re wearing ear plugs but it’s gameplay is incredibly well designed and can lead to hours of one’s life disappearing in the pursuit of just one more game.

☆☆☆

(Video of review to be posted before Sunday)

Video Game Review
Space Invaders
Arcade
1978
Developed by: Taito
Published by: Midway (North America)

It’s hard to evaluate a game that was published in 1978 by today’s standards (and it will probably be even more so for people in the future). When Space Invaders came out, it was seen as a revolutionary game that dominated the video game industry. It was so popular yet so simple a game that when the sequel came out a year later, the only thing Taito/Midway did was include colour; and that was more a trick than actual software/hardware engineering as they simply put colour filters over certain parts of the screen. Still, playing Space Invaders today is still quite a bit of fun. Graphically and technically it has been surpassed by modern games but, due to a strong foundation, it is still provides for a good time.

The concept of Space Invaders is simple; enemy invaders are coming from outer space and it’s the players job to shoot them down with a ship of their own. Enemies come in from the top of the screen and slowly move their way downward. The player has a few barriers to protect themselves from incoming enemy fire. The game speeds up from one of two things happening: the fewer enemies on screen, the faster they move, and once an entire wave of enemies are defeated, new ones appear and are faster than the previous set (they’re also more vicious with their firepower). There is no ending to the game (until the player is finally defeated); the goal of the game is to get the highest score on the machine.

The game doesn’t have much in terms of graphics or sound. The game has a black background with white sprites. The sprites themselves don’t have much detail; they just look like dancing icons. Still, they have a certain charm to them that makes the game have its own identity (if Taito had chosen to use generic geometric shapes, this game would not be as iconic as it is). There is very little sound to talk about. There isn’t any background music and there is a limited amount of sound effects. The sound effects help break the silence and at least aid the immersion of the game slightly but no one is going to scream from the rooftops how much they like the sound effects from this game.

While it can’t be confused for the best shoot-em-up available, it’s a game that still manages to be fun despite its age. It’s simple twitch action that provides for an intense experience as the difficulty level increases. What makes the game addictive is trying to get a higher score. It never feels as if getting a new personal high score is unobtainable and the pursuit of such a goal can waste plenty of time (and quarters depending on where the game is being played). The game looks deceptively simple which becomes very inviting for unsuspecting players (victims, perhaps?). Getting into the game is very simple but getting out of it is harder. With that said though, those who constantly need to achieve different types of goals or need varying gameplay will have trouble sticking around. Those who can sit still for more than five minutes without needing to experience something from a Michael Bay movie will be hooked.

There’s a reason why Taito’s Space Invaders was one of the biggest arcade titles of all time and that we still talk about it today. It’s a great game although there’s no way they could box it and sell it as a retail game as is. The game is lots of fun in small doses and can be played on multiple devices. Still, there’s nothing like playing the game in an arcade cabinet with a joystick and a fire button. If you do find yourself nearby a Space Invaders cabinet, you’ll have a lot of fun with it. Just be warned, if you put one quarter in, you’ll be putting many more in the machine.

☆☆☆

Weekly Movie Podcast – January 3rd, 2012 <16 mins – 11.1MB>
^right click to download^

The box office saw a nice bump from the previous week despite there being no new movies (in wide release) released in theatres this past weekend. Plenty of discussion on this week’s podcast about the state of the movie industry, some movie recommendations and reviews, and a recap of what’s your options are in theatres and on DVD this coming week.

Continue reading for the top five charts from last week’s box office (all data coming from www.the-numbers.com). There’s also a list of all the movies coming out this weekend in theatres and the movies that were released for the home video market this week (with trailers where available).

Top 5 (and New) Films for the Weekend Ending
January 1st, 2012

Theatrical Releases This Week

Wide Release

The Devil Inside

Limited Releases

Beneath the Darkness
It’s About You
Norwegian Wood
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Roadie

New DVD Releases This Week

Wide Releases

Contagion
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
I Don’t Know How She Does It
Shark Night

Limited Theatrical Releases/Straight to Video

Neiges et cendres
Pour l’amour de Dieu
Transfer