In 2003 my brother bought a game called Tribes 2. It was an online sci-fi action game, which I immediately fell in love with. After playing through the single player portion of the game multiple times, I decided I wanted to try out the multiplayer. In 2004 I purchased my own copy of Tribes 2, as you could only register one online account per copy of the game. I would have to say that this was the best $10 I ever spent, though. Of course, if I were to play online, I would need a screen name. After a few days of debate with myself, I decided to go with one of the game's catch phrases, SHAZBOT! Of course, this was taken, so I added a 101 at the end, and I have kept the same name ever since, although I shortened it to SHAZ101.

After playing the game for a few hours, I began to notice the sharp variation in the maps, and the surreal quality that the game held. This quality is something that I haven't forgotten, and haven't seen in any game since. My love for Tribes 2 grew every time I played it, and still when I think about a few specific maps, I am awed by the lasting impact that a few artistically placed hills and ruins leave.

For the next few months, I spent every moment of free time I had playing this game. I quickly found home in a server, which supported the REVMOD 2.0 mod, and became a member of its community. I made a few friends, and was surprised how close knit this community was.

One day I was playing a game on my home server, and was surprised to find that the shooting had stopped, and every player on the server was gathered around one of the bases. After a little investigation, I found that one of the regulars on the server had been killed in a car accident, and they were putting together a memorial service. I watched as 21 gamers stood one on top of the other and simultaneously fired their sniper rifles in memory of their friend.

As I played the game, I began to get to know the players more and more. Whenever I would go online, it seemed that someone that I knew was on my server, and was willing to play. On Easter of 2004 I met a fellow Tribes 2 lover named SpartanSoldier, or Zack in real life. We initially started a conversation due to our shared religion, but soon became somewhat close friends. As least as close as you can become over a video game. Over the next few months I played in several tournaments and social games with SpartanSoldier and other gamers whose names I can't remember. I still remember the quality of social interaction that this game held, and I'm confused as to why I ever stopped playing it. I do know, however, that one of the last, if not THE last time I played the game was Easter of 2005. I was playing the game when my uncle came to visit, and remember dealing with some pretty bad lag. I had been dealing with this problem for a few weeks, and it didn't seem to be getting any better. Eventually I guess I just gave up with it, and closed the game for good. It's been about 4 years since I really got into that game, and I was just thinking about it last night. I was thinking about the lasting effect of the virtual environments, and the friends I had made, and expressed reluctance to returning to the game. I was afraid that the game I returned to would not be the one I remember. As was the case with many other online games, when their initial run is up, all that is left is empty servers and casual gamers. It occurred to me that all of the people I had been playing with have probably moved on with their lives, much the same was I had. Sometime over the course of those 4 years since I stopped playing, each one of them had played their last match, and uninstalled the game in favour of Tribes Vengeance. Right now, I'm the age SpartanSoldier was when we first "met". Now he's 18, and probably in college. I just find that depressing.

Anyway, after thinking about this for about an hour last night, I decided I would go back to check out the servers one last time. Just a few minutes ago, I was on Wikipedia reading about Tribes 2, and I discovered that the servers required to run Tribes 2 are going to shut down permanently on November First of this year. I've only got a few days to reinstall the game, and have one last tournament on Tribes, assuming that someone is still playing. It would be cool if everyone from the old REVMOD 2.0 server put together a time to meet for one last game, but that's not going to happen. I guess that just goes to show that everything ends eventually...

Okay, so yesterday I saw George A Romero's new film Diary of the Dead. His latest film, Land of the Dead, was fantastic, so I was expecting to be blown away by Diary. Unfortunately this movie lacks almost every bit of wit and charm that made older George A Romero films so fantastic.

To start off, the characters are static, for the most part. Some of the best parts of previous movies in the Dead Series were the complex interlocking character relationships. This movie lacks any sort of dynamic character development. The characters in this movie, with one or two exceptions, are exactly the same at the end of the film as they were in the beginning.

But who needs character development when you have gore, right? Well, not right, but momentarily assuming that the previous statement is true, this movie would still fail. The fast, emotional, realistic zombie killings in previous Dead movies that left the audience thinking that they would have acted the same way in that situation are surprisingly scarce in Diary. In fact, most of the gore in Diary of the Dead is stylized and far fetched, and while it may evoke an initial reaction within the audience, in the long run, it only serves to bore. It is also worth noting that most gore in Diary is CG. What made the older Dead movies so cool was the fact that everything you were seeing, with the exception of some blood spatter in Land, was an actual makeup appliance.

One thing that I noticed about Diary of the Dead, that most people wouldn't, was the lack of relationship with the zombies. In Night you were able to relate to Barbara when she saw the zombie of her dead brother. In Dawn you could laugh at some of the more comical zombies, as well as relate to the zombie version of a few main characters. In Day there was Bub, and in Land there was Big Daddy. This movie has no memorable zombies, albeit the horrible zombie in the ending sequence that clearly mocked older horror movies.

The one thing I will praise about Diary is the very true social commentary, despite the fact that it is extremely obvious, with no attempts whatsoever to disguise it cleverly. The movie deals with the fact that most modern media outlets can't be trusted to tell the truth, which is exactly what is going on in Diary, and the whole reason that the main characters are making their documentary.

So, overall the movie could have shined in a few places, but never really realized it's full potential. For the most part I was bored watching it, which is unfortunate because I love zombie movies, and seeing something like this coming from THE George Romero is depressing. If you are a fan of George Romero you might be amused by some of the references to Dawn of the Dead, and momentarily entertained by some of the zombie kills, but if you are a newbie to zombie movies, this film will only serve to draw you away from the genre.

I saw Cloverfield yesterday, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. For those who don't know what it's about, it's a monster movie, kind of like Godzilla, but not as... cliche. The entire movie is presented as footage from a handheld camcorder, so the cinematography has a "freehand" feel to it, but it still manages to pull off basic techniques, such as the rule of thirds and framing.

I was also surprised by the acting. When the acting was good, it was great. The actors did a fantastic job of conveying emotion, and even though the movie was just over an hour, the characters felt genuine enough that you actually feel sorry for them when some of them inevitably perish. That's not to say all of the acting was good, though. When it was bad, it was horrible. But even then, the only reason it was horrible was because of insanely stupid lines.

I was also surprised by the fact that the monster is hardly ever seen before the end of the movie. Instead of giving a cheap thrill early on, the editors chose to only show bits and pieces of the monster in the first half of the movie. By doing so, they gave Clover (the monster) a more mysterious and ominous feel.

Something else that is worth mentioning is the fantastic CGI. I, for the most part, am not usually impressed by CGI, but this movie blends actual environment with CG environments so seamlessly that I could never, and I mean NEVER, tell the difference. There is a scene early on in the movie where the characters are on the Brooklyn Bridge. The scene is a mix of greenscreen footage (taking place in some Hollywood warehouse) and actual footage (actually shot on the Brooklyn Bridge). When I watched the movie, I genuinely could not tell the difference. I am excited to see all of the new possibilities that this ultra realistic greenscreen can open up.

Okay, so overall I have to say I am satisfied. The movie gave off this realistic, intimate, and scary vibe that no other movie to date has matched, and I think it will set the path for more movies like it in the future.

Thanks,

SHAZ101