Movie Review: Gran Turismo

Last night I went and saw an early showing of the new movie from Sony Pictures called Gran Turismo. Now before diving into the review it is only fair that I mention that I spent 11 years at Sony PlayStation which created the video game of the same name and forms the basis for the story of the movie. I currently work for Sony and work directly with Sony Pictures and Sony PlayStation. In other words, I am not an impartial reviewer. That being said, I did not enjoy the Uncharted movie and think most movies derived from video games don't meet expectations. Given that preface, here is my review.

Working for Sony has given me a lot of behind-the-scenes look at Gran Turismo. There have been several virtual meetings where the creators of the movie have shared the journey from the concept of the film through the entire movie-making process. This had me excited to see the finished product even though I have only played about 10 to 20 hours of various versions of the game. Let me correct that, it is not a game, it is a driving simulator.

Several years ago GT Academy was created to take the best drivers of Gran Turismo and see how they would do on a real race track in actual races. The movie is based on that story and how one of those drivers fared. Whenever the creators needed details for the movie, they went back to the true story and incorporated what really happened. This means there are a lot of very accurate details in the movie that are often sensationalized in other based-on-a-true-story films. At the end of the movie they even point out that Jann, the person the story is based on served as the stunt driver for the film.

I found the story interesting and compelling. My wife went to the movie simply to spend time with me yet at the end said that she really enjoyed it. It is always a win when your spouse enjoys the same movie you do. As we pulled into the driveway we both remarked that it had a similar feel to Ford vs. Ferrari. If you enjoyed that movie, you will enjoy Gran Turismo.

My wife and I are fans of David Harbour from his role in Stranger Things as well as Orlando Bloom from the original Pirates of the Caribbean. Both do an excellent job of playing less-than-perfect characters and add to the authenticity of the story. The race tracks throughout the world make excellent supporting cast members as well.

I wish I could say that Sony gave me free tickets to the film or that I could expense the cost. Nope, I paid full price and all of the associated service fees and spent $36 total for 2 people to see the film. I will probably go see it again in the theaters one more time before I add it to my personal film library.

Hopefully the review is somewhat helpful if you are thinking about seeing Gran Turismo. Watching the film made think about playing the game again. Perhaps that is what I will do tonight.

Video Game Review: Astro's Playroom

My grandson has been spending a lot of time at my house this week and whenever he shows up, he wants to play Astro's Playroom. He calls it the "Robot Game." He'll come down in my office, which is where I have my PlayStation 5 set up, and we will play for an hour before we are asked to come join the rest of the family. That is fine though as you really don't want to play video games for more than an hour a day.

Astro's Playroom is a game that comes installed on all PlayStation 5 consoles. When I first saw the game, it didn't interest me that much. I actually didn't want to play it until my grandson wanted to spend time with me and I knew it would be a fun and safe game for him. We tried it out a bit and he really likes most of the game. There are certain levels that are a bit too intense and he doesn't like them. He also gets bored of watching me fail on a number of the challenges. Overall though, we have a lot of fun.

One of the purposes of the game is to get PlayStation 5 owners familiar with the DualSense wireless controller. If you are familiar with the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 wireless controller, it is the next step in the evolution of input. It has all the bells and whistles of the previous controller and also includes haptic feedback. That means you feel things like recoil in the triggers when firing a gun. It adds a new level of sensing to the gaming experience and needs to be felt to be understood. This brings us back to Astro's Playroom and how it shows you all of the features of the DualSense wireless controller.

I encourage everyone to run through the game just to see what the new platform is capable of doing. The game only took me about 5 or so hours to complete and that includes explaining things to my grandson. It has an ESRB rating of E for Everyone and truly is a game that everyone can play and will enjoy.

It is important that I let everyone know that I do work in research and development at Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is the company responsible for the PlayStation 5 console. The game is free and didn't cost me anything, nor will it cost you as long as you own a PS5.

Increasing Blog Traffic

My oldest son recently did a review for a pair of ski bindings from Tyrolia. Naturally he provided them with a favorable review and then provided a link to it on their Facebook page which they immediately made available to all of their followers/visitors. His blog page received a lot of traffic and that made him happy.

I have been wondering how to increase the traffic to my own blog and my son's experience provided one example of how to do so. I had never thought about submitting a product review to the manufacturer based on one of my own postings. It is a brilliant idea. If you have a blog and want to increase your traffic, do a review in one of your postings and let the company know about it. Now I just need to find a product worthy of a review.

Online Reviews

Last week I spent the first three days skiing Aspen. Three of the four ski resorts there consistently make the list of the top 30 ski resorts in the Western United States every year. I have always wanted to ski the Aspen resorts and enjoyed the chance to do so.

Today at lunch we discussed one of the latest blockbuster films: Batman vs. Superman. I saw the movie last week and have some definite opinions about it. Even though the release has been highly anticipated, the film has received a number of negative reviews.

These two events have me thinking about various reviews and how much you can trust them. I am very particular when it comes to skiing. I know what I like and look for a good mountain with great snow more than tasty restaurants or nightlife after skiing. However some people are more concerned about the later and Aspen definitely lives up to their expectations. Personally I found all 3 mountains to be rather lackluster and over hyped. I actually don't even agree with the ranking that everyone came up with for the 3 Aspen resorts. General consensus has Snowmass as the best followed by Aspen Mountain and then Aspen Highlands. Snowmass is definitely large but lacks any really challenging terrain. I would rank them in reverse order.

In the case of the movie, I have to partly agree with the negative reviews but also think that some have been to harsh. It contained a lot of action but also seemed to drag at times. There wasn't much comic relief and that may have turned some people off. When the movie finished, I looked at my watch and it surprised me that almost three hours had passed. It felt more like two hours and so I have to admit that I was thoroughly entertained.

While we all want a quick thumbs-up or thumbs-down rating for potential purchases, it is important to read online reviews thoroughly. Most of the time you can determine why a review has been narrowed down to thumbs-up or down and that may sway your own opinion. In my own case, I enjoyed Aspen but ended up checking out of the hotel a day early and heading back to Snowbird/Alta while not regretting it for a second.

Video Game Review: Dead Space 3

A few months ago I was able to download Dead Space 3 for my PS3. Tonight was the first time I have been able to play the game and so I thought I would give a quick review. The PlayStation 4 and XBox One are selling well but there are still a number of games for the older generation consoles that can be found at very low prices. My hope is that this will help you pick an inexpensive Christmas gift for that gamer in your life.

The game starts with a number of quick videos giving you some background. I can only assume they surmise the activities of the first two games, seeing as I never played them. It is enough to get you interested. Game play begins as a soldier in a snowy world looking for something. I have been playing games on the PS3 again and so the graphics look pretty good. Had I gone from a PS4 back to the 3, I probably couldn't say that. I especially like how the transition from video to game play is seamless and that the videos are not done at a higher quality. You get to find your way through the snow with the help of a path control that shows you where to go. I thought it was well done and helps first-timers get to where the real action begins.

I have to admit that I have only played the game for an hour or so but found it very entertaining. There are a number of zombie-type monsters that can be rather difficult to kill even on the easiest or "casual" setting. The graphics are also pretty gruesome and quickly became a turn-off to continue playing the game. I have decided that I will probably go back to Mass Effect for the time being but may continue with Dead Space 3 afterwards.

Dead Space 3 is published by EA and is available for the PC, PlayStation 3, and XBox 360. I would recommend the game for older teenagers and young adults. If you are looking for that family game that everyone will enjoy, this is not it.

The Best Tasting Milk Chocolate

Computers are good for a number of things including product reviews. However some products are best reviewed by the purchaser. Chocolate is one. Yesterday we decided to have a milk chocolate taste test in the office. It was very interesting as I was the one that set up the test.

Unfortunately I can no longer eat milk chocolate as it is not part of my super strict diet. Dark chocolate is, but everyone wanted to know which milk chocolate was the best. We had seven different brands and it was up to me to arrange them up and label them so nobody would know what chocolate they were eating. All I needed to do was break them into similar sized pieces and put them face-down on the plates. I then labeled each chocolate with a single letter. We tried the following:

• Godiva
• Dove
• Hershey's
• Ghiradelli
• Cadbury
• Lindt
• Meiji

For those that don't travel to Tokyo much, the last one is from Japan.

I would love to tell you which was everyone's favorite, but then that would ruin the experience for you. This is one time you want to discover the answer for yourself.

Christmas Break

Today was my first day of Christmas vacation. I couldn't help myself from reading some e-mail and responding. Otherwise I had a great day of skiing and playing video games. I have a stack of games that I would like to try now that I have some time to spare. I would like to use my next few blog entries to highlight some of these games. However before I get too deep in the reviews I thought I would provide some disclosure.

First, I work for a video game company. Corporate policy prohibits me from exposing who I work for, but it is one of the larger players in the industry. Just be warned that I might be pushing my own company's products.

Second, I get a huge discount on most of my games. I have friends at a lot of different game companies who help me get games for between $10 and $20. However I do own all of the games I will be reviewing.

Finally, I play games on my PS3. I have a pretty beefy desktop computer, but I don't use it for games.  I bought my PS3 several years ago during Christmas when they first came out. I paid full price and so it was not a gift from my company nor a discounted product from one of my buddies in the industry. my personal belief is that is the best console on the market right now. You may disagree and are entitled to your own opinion, but this is mine.

Stay tuned for my reviews.