The plot sounds kind of silly on paper, but for a large portion of the film, it doesn’t feel that way. Director Ridley Scott is a talented guy, and the facade he provides Body of Lies is almost convincing enough to cover up the fact that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. His locations are immensely convincing and realistic; the attention to detail is quite impressive. The dialogue also goes a long way towards selling things. These are literate characters who sound like they know precisely what they’re talking about. However, these scenes reflected another element that Burn After Reading pointed out: in this sort of film, characters are frequently saying things that seem reasonable on the surface… but the more you actually think about what they are saying, the more you realize just how absurd it all is.

Setting aside the fact that the film is a lot less credible than it wants us to think it is, the movie is also weakened by a tendency to lean towards action movie conventions. There is a moment towards the end of a film that mirrors a similar scene in The Kingdom, in which a inescapably grisly and painful scene is averted thanks to the sort of last-second heroics that seem to only happen in the movies. The weight of Scott’s statements about the corrupt way in which we conduct ourselves in modern warfare is diluted by his aversion to letting his film enter the real world on a more significant level. It’s just another sugar-coated Hollywood ending. Actually, as gritty as this thing tries to be before succumbing to convention.

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We’ve covered Afrika for a while, reviewed it, and done everything we possibly could for it. Last couple of months, we even got confirmation from someone at Leipzig that Afrika doesn’t look like it’s coming to North America. Now this can all be a big act, or it’s just a sad reality over and over again. From an e-mail by Rhino Studios:

私達に連絡するためにありがとう。 SCEはアメリカのこのゲームを解放するために私達が付いている接触をしなかった。 残念。

Basically they’re saying this:

Thank you for contacting us. SCE has not made any contact with us to release this game in America.  Sorry.

There you have it we guess. Another confirmation, but from the developers themselves too.

OK!! We get it. You all frikken loved those WhatIfGaming sketches that our local artist Tim did. He’s away on other opportunities and will be providing some more to us soon enough. No more e-mails people! We got it.

That shines when the moon is lit?

Write to us and let us know what this means to you. Most of you 4 million readers are smart. Let any of us know!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album Blood Sugar Sex Magik is coming to Rock Band as a full downloadable album next week, MTV Games and Harmonix announced on the Rockband.com forums today. The multi-platinum 1991 album was produced by Rick Rubin and features hits like “Give it Away” and “Suck My Kiss.” The full album will be $19.99 and will debut on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network next week, Tuesday and Thursday in order.

What We’re Getting Ready For:

Fallout 3 Review

Dead Space Review

Fable II Review

LittleBigPlanet Review

Far Cry 2 Review

Mirror’s Edge Review (Late October/Nov)

Some PC Reviews

Nexon announced today the launch of the commercial aspect of its free-to-play online first-person shooter Combat Arms will take place on October 1. Entitled the Black Market, the shop will give players the option of utilizing male and female mercenary characters as well as items like backpacks, masks and hats. The update will allow for players to better distinguish themselves on the field of battle by customizing their appearance. and the game will still be free to play.

The Mercenaries 2: World in Flames free PC demo lets players have a playable sneak preview of the final product where players can play an objective from one of the missions, and while they are limited to a relatively small section of the world, there’s enough there for players to get a feel for the sandbox nature of the game.

Source: EA.com

What we’re doing:

Brother in Arms: Hell’s Highway Review

PURE Review

Wipeout HD Review

Pain: Amusement Park Review

Tons of Previews

Some interviews here and there

Preparing for major launches this October. November is much easier.

You like zombies? You like smooth zombies? Do you like specs? Check out these ones sent from Valve to us. And yeah, we’re a tad late on this one.

System Requirements

OS: Windows Vista, XP, 2000

CPU: 3.0GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)

RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista

Disc Drive: DVD-ROM Drive

Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space

Video: DirectX 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9 compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)

Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Scheduled to ship to retail stores on Oct. 21, Fable II will not include online co-op functionality the first day and will require a downloadable update afterward, according to a post on Microsoft’s Blog. Offline co-op will work on day one, but there are still some issues that Lionhead and others are working out.

Source: Wah. No Fable II Online Co-Op Day 1