It's not at all hard to see the connection between Peckinpah's two greatest movies: Straw Dogs and The Wild Bunch. Both are studies of what it means to be a man, a look at the masculine and sometimes violent male nature. Basically, Straw Dogs is about an extremely timid American intellectual who decides to escape the Vietnam-fueled violence of the USA by moving into the small English town where his wife was raised. However, the man soon realizes that violence is pretty much omnipresent, when the men he hires to fix up his new home begin pushing him and his wife around. I won't give away the ending, but if you know Peckinpah you can probably guess.

of course, most people will probably want to see the movie for its infamous rape scene (which got the film banned in the UK, where it was filmed). Not only is the rape graphic, but the victim actually appears to enjoy it; at least at first. Here I must disagree with the lengthy rant of a prior reviewer when I say that the rape scene is not simply an exercise in mysoginy, but rather helps to show just how immasculinated the main character has become. Throughout the first half of the movie we see his wife slowly flirting with the contractors (at one point even letting them see her topless). This suggests quite obviously that she has become so disgruntled with her husbands lack of backbone that she is actively seducing the very masculine contractors, and the fact that she enjoys the rape is simply the logical extreme of her desire to have a truly "manly" partner. Of course, those who've seen the movie know that eventually she's punished for her covetry of man's aggressive nature.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie. In fact, I'd suggest you get it ASAP, since the Criterion version has been out of print for months now and won't likely be available for much longer. You need a strong stomach to watch it, certainly, and the pace is very deliberate, but those who have patience and put effort into understanding the meaning of the film will be very well rewarded.

Think of Star Wars Starfighter (or comparable game). Now, think of any arcade car-combat game (Twisted Metal, for instance). Now, think of a 3d RTS game (Battlezone style). This is the odd amalgamation that comprises Battle Engine Aquila. The basic setup of BEA is that you are piloting a prototype military vehicle called the Aquila. Aquila is designed to both fly like a jet and walk like a six-legged mech, and switch between either mode on the fly. Aquila is the newest weapon in a long-lasting war between two archipelago nations. The thing that separates this game from most other shooters is that, though you are an extremely powerful weapon of war, you are not the only one. Battles in Aquila are really battles. That is, it's not you vs. an army, it's an army vs. an army. You can literally stand back and watch the war go on (though you won't win this way). This game is designed so your job is not to win the war, but to fight in it.

Gameplay:

Gameplay in BEA is similiar to Jedi Starfighter, but you can walk too. You basically have a mission goal, be it invasion, defense or target elimination. All of the game's missions take place on either islands or over the sea (the world of BEA consists entirely of archipelagos, groups of small islands). At the beginning of a level, you are given a mission objective, choice of Battle Engine weapons layout (starting later in the game), and choice of wingmen. You are then let free to basically complete your mission as you see fit.

Throughout the battles, you are given a small map of the island with a two-color overlay to show you in real-time who controls what part of the island you're on (missions over the ocean have no map, since there's no land to control). This lends a bit of strategy to the fights, since you can always tell where the relatively safe or hostile areas are, as well as how close your side is to winning or losing the island. Herein lies one of the problems with this game, however: there's not enough strategy to make the game really all that much deeper than Starfighter (though, if you enjoyed that game, you'll probably like this one).

Your Aquila is fitted with three weapons, a shield and some armor. Your three weapons are usually a rapid-fire weapon, a more powerful but slower energy weapon, and a missile/bomb weapon. Ammo is refilled at designated pads, which can even sometimes be placed on larger flying ships. Your are protected by an energy shield, which only operates while you're walking, and serves as a measure of how long you can stay aloft while flying. In the air, you're only protected by your armor, which can be repaired at the aforementioned pads.

Enemies consist of infantry, tank-like vehicles, flying vehicles, and walkers similiar to you. There are also emplaced guns, factories and training facilities, and various other buildings. Infantry are more or less cannon fodder, though it is sometimes fun to see them fight other infantry. Tanks and walkers are the majority of the enemy force. Enemies come from either factories (or training facilities, in the case of infantry) or flying transports. This lends some credibility to the large size of enemy forces, since you can actually see where they're coming from.

Overall, BEA plays like a very basic RTS style game, though its focus is pretty much entirely on action. Basically, if you liked Starfighter, you'll probably like BEA. The difficulty level is either middling or difficult, depending on whether you're playing the regular missions or their harder equivalents. This is dictated not by an options setting, but how succesful you are at fulfilling your secondary objectives. Do them all, and you'll switch to the difficult missions. Leave one undone, and you'll stay in the regular mode.

Graphics:
Graphics in BEA are pretty much average. Terrain is somewhat fuzzy, but you're never close enough to see extreme detail, and since you'll spend much of your time flying you won't really notice it. The islands are small enough that you can see from one end to another in the air, with ocean stretching past the coasts to the horizon. The islands vary in topography; from soft, grassy, hilly terrain to volcanic mountains. Trees are plentiful, decent looking, and can be shot down (one of the better special effects is seeing trees being felled by a travelling missile). Water also looks good, and seeing the frames of ancient buildings sticking out of the ocean is a nice detail.

Models aren't extremely detailed, but look pretty good considering there have to be hundreds active at once with no slowdown. All the vehicles are animated well, if somewhat basically, with moving turrets and treads. Textures are pretty detailed, and the actual look of different vehicles differ greatly depending on what side they're on. Your side is blue mostly, with the enemy as red. This makes it easy to see who's on your side and who isn't, even when flying. The most impressive unit feature is scale. Buildings are believably big, and being able to land on a flying fortress, while its in the air, to refill ammo is pretty neat. One of my favorite tricks, in fact, is to actually land on a flying enemy transport and blast it to heck while I'm standing on it.

Lighting effects are basic, but not bad. There are some particle effects, but not many. Weapons effects aren't bad, though, and seeing two armies exchange fire can be pretty impressive. The only real problem with BEA's graphics, overall, is their general generic appearance. Nothing's really going to make you whince, but nothing's going to take your breath away.

Audio:
BEA's audio is okay. Weapons effects are generic, but work. Music is nondescript, but not annoying. Again, it's the scale of the battles that'll get you. Nothing here's really bad enough to stand out, though. Just all pretty "okay".

Overall:
If you like Starfighter, get BEA. It's better. Otherwise, get it if you can find it for $... You'll definitely enjoy yourself.

Steel Battalion is not a game.
It is an experience.

No simple review could possibly explain the intangible thrill there is in simply starting up the massive VTs that you will spend the next great many hours of your life driving. It's the sort of sheer adrenaline-laced high you got the first time you drove a car on a freeway at just a -little- over the speed limit. It is, put simply, incredible.

So, enough of that, let's get to the review.

Gameplay:
Steel Battalion is, in every manner of the word, a simulator. Do not expect mechassault, armored core or even mechwarrior. This is MS Combat Flight Simulator on legs, with much bigger guns. This is really what it would probably feel like to pilot one of the first mechs. VT's (Vertical Tanks, as the game calls mechs) are not nimble, agile or even speedy. They are tanks with legs. They are slow, heavy and plodding. And you'll love every step they take. Of course, the most obvious gameplay factor is the controller. Basically, the controller is three panels and footpedals. The left panel houses a gear shift (similiar to a car, but it only goes straight up and down), a few toggle switches (used during, and only during, startup), and a horizontal joystick (that is, a joystick with only an X axis). This joystick controls the direction your VT moves in, and also is topped by an analog stick (which is almost identical to the XBox controller's) which controls the independently moving camera. The center panel of the controller houses mostly buttons (all of which light up green or red, by the way), along with a radio dial that's used to communicate with your wingmen and call supply choppers. The right panel houses the second joystick, which moves along both axis, a few buttons and the eject switch (complete with plastic flip-up safety cover). The joystick controls you weapon aiming and firing. Lastly, the foot pedals connect by a wire to the controller base. There are three pedals: accelerator, brakes and strafe. Strafe basically allows you to dash forward, backward, left or right. This is used to evade weapons fire as well as rebalance your VT if you start tipping.

So, what does this all mean? Basically, it means some major mech a$$ whupping action. VTs control like tanks, with manual gear-shifting and independent weapons aiming. In terms of missions, most are either "clear the area", "destroy a target" or "infiltrate a city". The small number of defensive missions is legitimized by the fact that this game takes place during an offensive invasion of a rebellious island, a situation with little need for defensive maneuvers. The whole game has a WWII-like atmosphere, with most battles involving almost exclusively heavy-armor battles.

Graphics:
Steel Battalion's graphics are bizarrely beautiful. Basically, the game gives up extreme levels of polygons for overall atmosphere. However, this is hardly a problem. The entire game takes place either in briefings or in gritty, dark combat. Briefings are handled very militarily, using topographical tactical maps, satellite photos, symbols and arrows to lay out mission objectives. Dry, sure, but very realistic and moody. During battles, however, things get even more dramatic. Basically, the whole game has a sort of Saving Private Ryan-esque grain to it. Colors are washed out, explosions spray dirt and smoke encompasses the vast battlefields. However, under all this grit and grime there's a sort of grim beauty to the world of Steel Battalion. All VTs self-shadow, and animation is dead-on. Weapons fire gives off flares, explosions are dramatic and glorious, and models, both animate and inanimate, are detailed and extremely well textured. This is truly and XBox-worthy game. By far the most impressive moments take place in cities. It is in these townscapes that you truly realize the sheer size of your VTs. Most buildings, which are extremely detailed, only go up to your waist. Light glares off windows and rooftops just as in real life. In a port, huge gas tanks explode when shot, spewing flames and debris and hurling nearby tanks an trucks. Basically, this is a gorgeous game. The only real graphical problem is some popup during a few missions, most noticably the second one, when a cityscape snaps into view in the background. However, this never really hurts gameplay, and the aesthetic loss is by far balanced away by the rock steady frame rate.

Audio:
There's no music in this game unless you buy a boombox (in game), which gives off [bad] tinny music. Other than that, the sound is unbelievable. Hearing this game in 5.1 is nothing short of amazing. Booming, bass-filled thunderclaps erupt from every step of the huge metal monsters that are VTs. Weapons fire starts with the sound of mortar shells and ends somewhere near the hounds of hell themselves. Your VT gives off engine noises like three tanks strapped together and rolling at full speed. Every hit you take gives off creaking and groaning effects from the bending of metal and shattering of armor. You will hear every single noise, from the ejecting of huge shells from your machine gun the the crumbling of tremendous skyskrapers, and it all sounds real. Very, very real.

Finale:
Basically, but this game. ...People will tell you that you're a fool for spending enough for a console on a single game. Ignore them. This is worth it. Even if no other game ever uses this controller (which is unlikely, as a XBox Live-enabled sequel is confirmed in the works), it's still worth it. Trust me. The only thing preventing you from buying this game right now should be figuring out where to put it.

...

Gameplay:
Basically, this game plays like a combination of Dynasty Warriors and the aforementioned Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The game basically has two segments: Quests and Hubs. Quests are the action portions where the real gameplay comes in, and Hubs are the various places you go in-between missions to train of purchase items or just chat with NPCs. These various play types do a great deal to spice up what could have otherwise been a rather repetitive game. There are some rather interesting facets to these levels that make them deeper than they appear.

In-between Quests you spend your time at the hub. Most of the time this is a large spaceship. In this hub there are NPCs that you can talk to, vendor droids that you can buy supplies or weaponry from, and training rooms that you can use to increase your fighting abilities. The hubs are the most "RPG"ish areas of the game, and much of the game's depth is exhibited in these areas. For instance, the game has a detailed weaponry system. Basically, you buy three weapon parts from the vendor, parts which you can combine to make different weapon effects: barrels, effectors, and generators. These various parts change how you gun fires (machine gun, bazooka, guided missiles, etc.), as well as how long you can use it for and what bonuses you get for using it. This system adds quite a bit of strategy to the Quests, as there is no really all-powerful weapon. Items, such as health kits, HP and BP (MP, basically) enhancers, and various other tools of the trade, can also be bought. Also, the hubs are the places that you learn new neo-psionic attacks.

Controls:
Control is actually one of this game's biggest problems. Control is sort of done in the style of Resident Evil. Left/right rotates you, up is forward, down is back. This may sound clunky, but it isn't, since the camera is rigidly attached to you back (ala MDK). Besides basic walking/running, you can jump, strafe, circle-strafe, turn 180 degrees, and dash. The circle-strafing, however, is all but useless, since to do it you must lock on to an enemy. The problem is, the lock is lost whenever you are attacked or the line-of-sight between you and the part of the enemy you're locked onto is lost. This makes locking on all but impossible unless you are fighting only a single enemy (something that will probably never happen) in a large, open space. Also, the 180 requires you to be standing still, which makes it all but useless. I assume this was done because the same button is used for dashing, which occurs when you move; but this could have been remedied by changing the 180 button to black, which is unused. However, these two problems are not all that bad, and you really won't even notice them after a while. Besides movement, you have three attacks: ranged, melee and neo-psionic. Ranged fires your gun at the enemy closest to the center of the screen within range. Melee causes you to swing a beam sword at enemies, and can be done in a 4-swing combo. Neo-psionic powers are the "magic" of the game. These are either super-strong attacks, attacks with wide damage radiuses, curing you and your allies, or shielding your party. These powers are bought similarly to weapons, and like weapons they become stronger and more energy efficient the more you use them. While in the hubs you cannot jump, dash or use attacks; but there's no reason to, so it's not a problem.

Graphics:
Graphics in Crimson Sea are very good. The main characters are of Final Fantasy quality (and look), with NPCs and minor models less detailed but just as well skinned. Enemies are extremely detailed and often have complex models with antennae or metallic, reflective skin. The enemies are even more impressive when you realize that they often attack in the hundreds or thousands, with several different types of enemies attacking at once and slowdown only appearing very briefly when the screen is full of enemies shooting weapons at you and you use a neo-psionic attack. The environments are varied and well-detailed. Towns and cities are usually filled with people and props, and natural settings are organic looking and smooth. Also, there is no draw-in, and the Dynasty Warriors "enemy fade-in" problem seems to be much less apparent or even gone altogether. Weapons give off large, colorful explosions. Neo-psionic powers are lightshows to behold, and seeing a ball of energy throwing a few hundred man-sized bugs around is a glorious thing. Boss characters are extremely large, sometimes filling the screen, and very well animated. There are a few liquid-metal bosses, and these bosses actually do look like animated liquid. They undulate, wave, splatter and change shape and size. Also, on a less technical note, general artistic direction is very good, with a strong Asian theme running through both the character designs and the architecture. All of the various planets in Theopholis are very different in appearance and have their own distinct styles. Overall, the production values seem very high. If you've played Dynasty Warriors 3, think of those characters with lasers and much, much more detailed environments. Crimson Sea isn't the best looking game on the XBox, but it's definitely no slouch, and the sheer size of the enemy forces make up for almost all of its shortcomings.

Sound:
I'll make this one brief. Sound is pretty good, with lively, accurate sound effects, good music, and decent voice acting. The only problem I found was that sometimes the music was too calm or quiet for the scene, and this seemed to dull the action a bit. Overall, though, pretty good. Also, the game supports Dolby Digital, though I didn't have a chance to try it.

Story and Other Factors:
Unfortunately, the story of Crimson Sea seems to be a combination of genuinely well-designed characters with the occasionally well-written script, and typical Japanese-style caricatures. The story is decent and much more effort was put into it than most action games, but you can tell that Koei doesn't have much experience outside of historical settings. Also, the strong theme of sound in the story seems ham-handed and ill-conceived. On the bright side, however, voice acting is usually quite good, though the only recognizable voice is that of Liquid Snake from Metal Gear: Solid. Characters seem slightly two-dimensional, but not so much that they're unbelievable for the most part. While the story isn't great, it'll keep you coming back, and definitely doesn't detract from the experience.

Overall:
I give this game 4 stars.

+ Great graphics.
+ Well-designed weapon system and deep combat.
+ Good acting and mostly well-written plot.
+ They weren't kidding. Thousands of enemies. Damn.

- Sometimes iffy controls.
- Occasional bad lines or wooden characters
- Supposedly short (though I can't really say yet.)

Get this game if you liked Dynasty Warriors or if you liked Dark Alliance but would appreciate less emphasis on RPG elements. A definite action game with a bit of RPG on top.

Also, there is no XBox Live play.

The biggest problem with Pink Floyd is that they aren't radio friendly (and, in Waters's solo albums, downright hostile). Besides Dark Side of the Moon and maybe some of The Wall, most of the songs are either too long, too deep or just not "catchy" enough for modern radio. The sad thing about this is that, although both great abums, these are by no means Floyd's best. "So, what is?" I hear you asking. Well, this is it. "Wish You Were Here" is the magnum opus, the absolute epitome of that which is Pink Floyd. And here's why:

Pink Floyd started out under the direction of a man named Syd Barrett. Unfortunately, soon after the band's first album ("Piper at the Gates of Dawn") came out, Syd started heavily experimenting with drugs. As he became more and more unstable, the rest of the group was forced to let him go so that he could seek the mental help that he desperately needed. Soon afterward the band's bassist, Roger Waters, took over. Roger followed in the similiar vein of long, meaningful songs; but inserted a bit more energy and occasionally a few extremely cynical commentaries. After the commercial success of Dark Side, Pink Floyd as a group became wary of moulding into the shape of the 5 minute singles band that Dark Side seemed to suggest. So, for their next outing Roger decided that he would take Floyd back to their roots, and subsequentely wrote "Wish You Were Here", an ode to the band's original frontman Syd.

While by no means the commercial success that Dark Side was, WYWH was pure Pink Floyd. Featuring a single 25 minute long song (Shine on You Crazy Diamond pts 1&2) and a few 5-8 minute long ones, this album was far closer to what longtime Pink Floyd fans were used to. The first song besides Shine On is "Welcome to the Machine", a song about the music industry and how focused it seems on simply pumping out premade hits, whether they be the all-too familiar boy bands or the other side of the spectrum, the more varied appearing but still preformatted heavy metal and punk bands (from the song: "You bought a guitar to punish your Ma; you didn't like school, and you know you're nobody's fool"). The next one is "Have a Cigar", a song from the point of view of a music company executive trying to buddy up to the band that he thinks will make him millions, while showing that he has no actual deep interest in them beyond their monetary income (from the song: "And by the way, which one's Pink?"). The last of the shorter songs, and by far the best, is the title song "Wish You Were Here". This song features a rare tear-bringing solos by Gilmour on an acoustic guitar. This song is by far one of the most heartfelt songs ever written by Pink Floyd, an honest, heartfelt message to Syd (from the song: "How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year. Rinning over the same old ground. What have found? The same old fears, wish you were here."). Then, of course, there is "Shine On", a song about perserverence throughout the hardships of life.

Musically, the album is just as incredible as the lyrics. It contains stunning synth compositions in "Shine On", incredible bass riffs (far superior to "Money") in "Have a Cigar", and heartstring pulling acoustics in "Wish You Were Here". Floyd is in better than top form here, and show just why they're one of the greatest bands ever.

Well, to wrap things up, I can say nothing better than to take me on faith and get this album. .... Rock has it's own unsung heroes, and none greater than "Wish You Were Here".

"Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner and shine!"

I have only recently discovered Pink Floyd. However, I already own 3 CDs (The Wall, Is There Anybody out There? and Dark Side of the Moon) and now I have just seen this DVD version of the movie. It is one of the greatest films of all time. The animation is superb, and the story is well translated. The only pitfall of the movie is that some of the album's songs are missing, changed or replaced to better fit the movie. Other than that, however, I can say no ill against it.

First off, I am only 15 yrs. old (2000). I am not some old hippie or a baby boomer in a mid-life crisis (think "American Beauty"). And yet, I found that this album struck a chord (no pun intended). They just don't make 'em like they used to. The album uses sound affects to enhance its music, unlike some current music which uses bass guitars and electronics as a crutch for lack of talent (though not all electronic bands are bad). I highly recommend this album to anyone wanting a break from the shallow smiley-happy boy bands and teen pop idols that seem to pervuade current musical trends. Even better, try "The Wall".