Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Destroy All Humans!

Destroy All Humans!
Favorite video game ever! It's funny!!!
-Video game developed by Pandemic Studios, released by THQ.
-Set in the late 1950s, parodies the lifestyles, pop culture and politics of the 1950s. The player controls an alien named Cryptosporidium 137, a member of the alien race known as Furons. These aliens have come to Earth to harvest human DNA to continue cloning of their species. Open world game. Open world games are usually the most fun games to play, because you can run around exploring, you don't have to do missions right at first. In these games, it's hard not to have fun!
Plot
-The game begins with a Furon, Cryptosporidium 136, hovering over a launch site with military personnel testing a rocket. The rocket is launched and destroys the ship carrrying Crypto 136 and fatally wounds him. He is captured by the US Army. Some time later, Crypto 137 travels to Earth with another Furon, Orthopox 13. He comes with the intention of rescuing 136, whereas Orthopox wants pure human DNA and human brain stems for study. They land at a rural farm in Kansas called Turnipseed Farm where Orthopox thinks cows are the dominant species. The Majestic agency is dispatched to the Furon presence when Crypto decimates an army brigade passing through the area. Pox, communicating with Crypto through a hologram device, then tells Crypto that the reason he needs human brain DNA is because they contain pure Furon DNA handed down to them by Furon scouts long ago.


-After several missions in the Midwest, Crypto heads to the suburban town of Rockwell and then onto the California suburb of Santa Modesta. That's where Crypto and Pox become more aware of the mysterious Majestic organization. They begin a war with them, by first destroying an Army base called Area 42 with an atomic bomb and killing an air force general named Armquist. Throughout the game, Crypto's various acts are covered by the government and media, which are attributed to freak accidents or Communism.


-The game concludes in Capitol City(supposed to be Washington D.C.) where Crypto kills President Huffman(president Truman) and brutally kills all members of the U.S. Congress. Soon the U.S. government seemingly surrenders to the Furons, where Crypto meets a mysterious figure called Silhouette, leader of Majestic, in front of the Capitol. Crypto then finds out that "he" is actually a "she". She reveals the Roboprez, a towering mech controlled by the brain of President Huffman. Crypto defeats Roboprez in his flying saucer and kills Silhouette in a final battle at the Octagon(parody of the Pentagon). As she dies, she says there are other Majestic divisions in other parts of the world.
-The game ends with Huffman making a televised speech, assuring America is safe despite the recent events were the work of Communists poisoning U.S. water supply, and "Huffman" turns out to Crypto in disguise.

Characters

Crypto
-Cryptosporidium (furon) Cryptosporidium, known as Crypto for short, is the main character in the series. A member of an alien species known as Furons, he is an anti-hero who enjoys wreaking havoc and destroying humanity and he speaks with a very slow and emotionless Texas accent. He is known to have a best friend/ ally personality with Pox, although he does not like to admit it and enjoys pushing his buttons. He is also known to be an alcoholic, tomboy, gambler, smoker and many other personalities of the sort. His name comes from the Cryptosporidium protist. Crypto's commanding officer is Orthopox 13, who usually gives him his missions. Sometimes, Crypto talks with a variety of wise-cracking remarks. Voiced by J. Grant Albrecht and Sean Donnellan (in Big Willy Unleashed).In Japanese version, he is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi.

Orthopox 13
-Orthopox, known as Pox for short, is Crypto's commanding officer, who gives him his assignments. Pox is an intelligent furon scientist who likes to experiment on the species' DNA, and is the second most senior fleet commander in the entire Furon Navy. Pox is the mastermind behind the expedition to retrieve the furon DNA from Human brain stems. Pox is a brilliant tactician, a canny businessman, and holds his own in chess. However, years of physical neglect has rendered his lower extremities somewhat useless, requiring the use of a cerebro chair, with which he uses to float about, and to help support his massive cranium.[2] Pox also has Cranial Implants on his head, which resemble metallic horns. These could be a sign of Pox's high status in the Furon Armada. Pox's achievements include: Conqueror of Zarkon-5, Hero of the Battle of Tharsis Mons, Winner of the Xanthrax-47 Mental Cruelty Award 6 years running. Having been destroyed at the beginning of Destroy All Humans! 2, Pox's mind has been confined to a HoloPox unit, a furon hologram projector that he developed himself, which he managed to download his conscious into before the mothership exploded and his last words,(WHAT THE???!!!), were Spoken. Though with this unusual handicap Crypto makes many jokes about at Pox's expense about being dead. He remains this way until he obtains a monkey`s body by mistake in Destroy All Humans! 3. Between the times of Destroy All Humans! 2 and Destroy All Humans! 3, Pox opens a new restaurant called Big Willy's. However, it is revealed that Pox has been collecting the dead bodies Crypto leaves lying around and feeding them back to the people as hot dogs in the Big Willy Franchise. By the time of Path of the Furon, Pox is extremely bitter about being confined to his holographic prison and wants to just collect the human DNA and go home so he can receive a new clone body. He is voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz (causing him to sound like Zim from Invader Zim, albeit with an English accent) and by Darryl Kurylo in Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed

Supporting Characters
General Armquist
  • General Armquist (John Cygan): Leader of the American military, who is responsible for the abduction of Cryptosporidium-136 and has a hatred for furons (which he believes are stunted Communists). He walks with a slight limp on his right side and his mannerisms seem to be a parody of those of Joseph McCarthy or General MacArthur. He fights with Crypto in a giant cyborg suit and is defeated, then killed by Crypto using his Disintegrator Ray. Armquist is later mentioned during an odd job in Destroy All Humans! 2.
  • Silhouette (Nika Futterman): The main antagonist of Destroy All Humans!. She is a shadowy masked figure who seems to be leading Majestic against the furons. Not much is known about her, only that Silhouette is a female sexist who wants to dominate the world. She is also very agile, which is shown in the opening cutscene of the final level and during the final boss battle. Crypto manages to kill her, then uses one of his feet to stomp on her face. She is later mentioned during the Albion segment of Destroy All Humans! 2.
  • Bert Wither (Jim Ward): Respected American radio newscaster, used by the furons because of the influence he has over people. With Orthopox tracking his broadcasts throughout the game, he also serves as an informant of sorts. Seems to be based loosely on Edward R. Murrow.
Setting
-Set in the late 1950s
-Has 6 settings. Turnipseed Farm is a midwestern farming community, Rockwell(North Dakota town), Santa Modesta(parody of Santa Monica), Area 42(parody of Area 51), Union Town(Eastern industrial city, like Pittsburgh), Capitol city(parody of Washington D.C.)
Santa Modesta

-Also Crypto has weapons. The Anal Probe allows Crypto to remove a person's brain through their behind, the Zap-O-Matic uses electricity to fry a victim, the Disintegrator Ray, turning a victim to ashes, Ion Detonator, equivalent of a grenade launcher. The saucer also has weapons, such as The Death Ray, capable of melting anything, the Sonic Boom, destroying anything with a blast of sound, the Quantum Deconstructor, capable of flattening anything with the power of 10 atomic bombs.

Scarface: The World is Yours

Scarface: The World is Yours
-Developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games.
-Based on and is a quasi-sequel to the 1983 film starring Al Pacino.
-In the game, providing the voice of Tony Montana is not Al Pacino, but Andre Sogliuzzo.
-Released on PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox on Oct. 8, 2006 and on Wii on June 12, 2007

Plot
-The game begins in the film's final scene, with Tony(Andre Sogliuzzo) in his mansion office being raided by Alejandro Sosa's men. In a point of divergence from the movie, Tony kills the silent assassin, The Skull, that was to kill him with a shotgun. With the help of some of his surviving employees, Tony manages to escape.



-Sosa is then told that Tony's mansion has been seized by the police and DEA and that his massive drug empire is no longer. Hiding in a safehouse outside Miami, Tony regrets the choices he's made, and makes a vow to drop his cocaine addiction which led to his current situation. He then swears revenge on Sosa and promises to kill anyone who's in league with his enemy.

-3 months later, Tony returns to Miami. Everyone assumes he's dead, so all his assets have been divided up between the districts of Miami that he used to rule and have been given to the various drug cartels. His first thing to do: ask George Sheffield(James Woods) to become his lawyer again. Sheffield is hesitant to do it at first, but it's at a higher cost this time. Tony has no influence over him and accepts it.
-Starting off at the bottom again selling cocaine to personal dealers, Tony manages to get enough money to pay the police off to get his mansion back from Vice. He goes to see Gaspar Gomez(Cheech Marin) at his penthouse in Miami. He's not there, so Tony kills his head of security and many of his men, stealing a satellite phone for his use, hijacking an armored truck carrying $50,000. This enables him to open a bank account. This lets him recconnect with Jerry(Michael York), who has since been promoted and feeling unsafe, he agrees to help out Tony. He then manages to take over Little Havana, claiming all businesses and turfs, weakening the Diaz Cartel. While taking a break at the Babylon Club, Tony is attacked by armed gunmen who have been sent by the Diaz Brothers. One killer tells Tony that his mother has been killed. Fueled by rage, Tony goes to Diaz Motors and kills both of the brothers in rage and reclaims the territory.
-Pablo(Wilmer Valderrama), an associate of Sheffield, lures Tony to Freedom Town, where he first went when he came to the US, with the promise of information about his missing ex-wife Elvira. Unfortunately, this meeting is an ambush. Tony survives and hops into a speedboat to chase Pablo before killing him. Sheffield is added to his hit list. Then Downtown is the area he takes over next, taking over all businesses from the Contreras Cartel. He makes an ally with the Sandman, a cocaine producer from a set of Caribbean island south of Miami. He finds that Nacho Contreras is there as well, controlling a floating casino that was once an old freighter. Nacho escapes but Tony is there to kill him. As Nacho is swimming to an escape boat, Tony shoots him with an available sniper rifle and since he is bleeding, he is attracting sharks, which one eventually eats him. After Nacho is dead, Tony kills off the rest of the Contreras Cartel, taking another tanker belonging to Nacho, which he used to smuggle drugs into Miami. There are drugs galore on the tanker along with various ex-Nacho employees who work happily with Tony to establish a new supply line for cocaine

-Tony slowly but surely takes over North Beach and South Beach for his own reasons, fulfilling various business missions and taking over storehouses for distribution of drugs. He now controls Miami, as he once did, but supply lines are very weak. The Sandman says that he is going to war with his arch rivals, The Columbians. Tony helps him and drives the enemies away from the Islands. Before any celebrating can be done, the Columbians take over the small island of Tranquilandia, which is a small island owned by the Sandman and a very crucial base for the Montana Cartel. Tony takes it over, killing various armed gunmen and rescuing workers. The Islands are finally clear of any Columbians. The Montana Cartel's power begins to go up, and Tony becomes powerful once more. When he has realized he has gained enough power to go after Alejandro Sosa, he goes to Bolivia to kill him.


-Meanwhile, in Bolivia, Sosa is in the middle of a meeting with Sheffield and Gomez, talking about the problem of Montana. Then, as if by magic, Montana busts into the meeting. He moves through the various locations on the ground, killing off Sosa's men, one by one. He kills Sheffield, who was going to try and launch a rocket from a bazooka at Tony, and also shoots Gomez in a bedroom. When Tony confronts Sosa in his living room, they talk about the situation in New York. Tony tells Sosa that he refused to kill the journalist because he refused to kill a wife and her kids. Soon enough, Tony kills Sosa, making his revenge taken care of. When he finds one of Sosa's men still alive. The man, thinking Tony will kill him, begs for his life, and instead Tony gives him a job, which is a relief to the man.








-The man is now Tony's butler. The barkeep he talked to when he first arrived in the Islands, a woman named Venus, is now sitting with him in his hot tub as his new wife.

The Godfather: The Game

The Godfather: The Game
-Action adventure game developed by Electronic Arts.
-2nd video game in the Godfather series and is based upon the 1972 film of the same name.
-Noted for the return of several actors that appeared in the movie, to lend their voices. The actors are James Caan as Sonny Corleone, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, John Martino as Paulie Gatto, Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio. And they had to replace some actors, such as Marlon Brando(because of his bad health and late death), John Cazale(due to his death in 1978), Richard Castellano(died in 1988) and Al Pacino(who chose to lend his image to the Scarface: The World is Yours game)
Plot
-The game starts in 1936 with a cutscene that shows the death of Johnny Trapani, the father of the main character, Aldo Trapani(the sequel confirmed that this is the name of the character) and the blowing up of the bakery by the Barzini crime family, one of the Corleone's rivals in New York. In the aftermath, Don Vito Corleone(Bill Melien), comforts the child, telling him that when the time is right, he will have his revenge.  The story fast forwards to 1945, at Connie Corleone's wedding. Aldo's mother is asking Don Corleone to look after her young son because he has fallen in with a local gang. Luca Brasi(Terry McGovern/Gary Chalk) is sent to find this young man and teach him the ways and magic of The Mafia. But when he finds him, he sees Aldo getting beaten in an alley. From this point on, Aldo is taken under the caring wing of the Corleone Family and works his way up in the family.



-There are essentially 2 stories going on in the game that eventually intertwine: the first involving the major events of the film(with main character making contributions) and a personal story. In the former, Aldo witnesses Luca Brasi's murder, kills Luca's assassin, plants a gun for Michael to kill Virgil "The Turk" Solozzo and corrupt police captain McCluskey, helps Rocco Lampone put the head of movie director Jack Woltz's prized horse Khartoum in his bed, guards Don Vito Corleone in the hospital, witnesses the death of Sonny Corleone, kills Sonny's murderers, appears at the peace talk between the heads of the Five Families, and eventually kills the 4 other Dons during the baptism scene. He also kills Sal Tessio and Bruno Tattaglia, deaths not seen in the movie. In the other storyline, he befriends and later kills Corleone underman Mary "Monk" Malone because it turns out he was a traitor. He ends up falling in love with his sister Frances "Frankie" Malone. When she is killed, the main character is out for revenge. He kills Don Emilio Barzini as payback for killing his father as well as helping in the murders of the other family leaders.  













-During the tutorial scenes, Aldo's character takes part in avenging the attempted rape and brutal beating of Bonasera's daughter



After the story finishes, Aldo becomes an underboss. After taking over rival family compounds, be becomes the Don of the Corleone Family. Also, Aldo continues to participate in the business of taking over New York, taking warehouses, fighting mob wars and other things.



Families

In the game there are five mafia families that have been adapted from the The Godfather. Each family is distinguished by its members wearing specific color coats as well as a shield bearing the family's first initial in its color with the exception of the Corleones, whose shield bears a rampant lion.
Nicknamed The Five Families, these consist of:
  • The Corleone family – The once-powerful crime Family is based in centralManhattan, in Little Italy, and are troubled by increasingly daring raids by the Tattaglias based in Brooklyn (even though every family has influence in Little Italy). Little Italy has streets of moderately poor local shops run by well-established Families. Their family color is black. In the game, the player meets many members of the Corleone Family, including Vito Corleone,Sonny CorleoneTom HagenMichael CorleoneFredo CorleoneSalvatore TessioPeter Clemenza, Paulie Gatto, Rocco LamponeAl NeriWillie Cicci, Jaggy Jovino, Jimmy DeNunzio, Luca Brasi, the Trojan and Marty "Monk" Malone. The Corleone family members wear black
  • The Barzini family – The Barzini family hails from Midtown, the richest community in New York City, making them the richest and most powerful family in New York City. Their family color is green. The Barzinis are headed by the main antagonist, Don Emilio Barzini, who rules with an iron fist. He ordered the murder of the main character's father, and is rumored to be in control of another New York Family (which is later revealed to be the Tattaglia Family). The Barzinis' consigliere is Domenico Mazza, and theirunderboss is Emillio Barzini Jr. Their three caporegimes are Pietro Testa, Giovanni Armanno and Big Bobby Toro. These guys wear green
  • The Tattaglia family – The Tattaglia family dominates Brooklyn, owning almost every business and racket on the Brooklyn waterfront. The Tattaglia family has a serious rivalry with the Corleone family because of their business expansion into Little Italy, the Corleone's turf. Their family color is tan. Don Philip Tattaglia heads the Tattaglia Family, and his son Bruno is next in line to become Don of the Tattaglia Family. Bruno has an alliance withVirgil "The Turk" Sollozzo. The Tattaglias' consigliere is Freddie Nobile, and their Underbosses are Bruno and Johnny Tattaglia. The Tattaglias' caporegimes are Tony Bianchi, Luigi Fusco and Donnie Marinelli. Under Bianchi are Soldiers Mikey Saleri and Squeegie McNeese. Under Marinelli are Soldiers Luigi Bonetti and Rocky Della Barca. These guys wear tan
  • The Cuneo family – The Cuneo family hails from Hell's Kitchen. The Cuneo family isn't as rich as the other families, owning few rackets and businesses. Their family color is red. Don Carmine Cuneo heads the Cuneo Family. They are ruthless killers, excellent marksmen, and always appear in large groups largely due to the environment of Hell's Kitchen, which is run down and filled with poor communities. The Cuneos' consigliere is Luciano Fabbri, and their Underboss is Marco Cuneo. Their three caporegimes are Ronnie Tosca, Michael Costa, and Mario DeBellis. Red is the color these guys wear
  • The Stracci family – The Stracci family is based in New Jersey. Don Victor Stracci heads the Stracci Family. During daytime the neighborhood looks quite peaceful, with fancy houses and well-groomed parks, but at night, it becomes much more dangerous. The Straccis are the most cruel and vicious family. Their family color is blue. The Straccis' consigliere is Jack Fontana, and their Underboss is Salvatore Stracci. Stracci caporegimes include Oscar Zavarelle and Leon Grossi. These guys wear navy blue

Hot Men Wednesday: Steven Bauer

Steven Bauer
Name: Esteban Ernesto Echevarria Samson
DOB: Dec. 2, 1956
Where: Havana, Cuba
Occupation: Actor
Years Active: 1977-present
Spouse: Melanie Griffith(1981-1987), Ingrid Anderson(1989-1991), Christina Boney(1992-present)

-Cuban-American actor
-Best known for his role as Manny Ribera in the 1983 movie Scarface.

Early Life
-Born Esteban Ernesto Echevarria Samson in Havana, Cuba

















-Son of Lillian Samson Agostini, a schoolteacher and Esteban Echevarria, a pilot who worked for Cuban Airlines.















-Bauer's maternal grandfather was a Jewish refugee from Germany and Bauer's maternal grandmother was a Cuban of partial Italian ancestry. Bauer's parents fled from Cuba to Miami, Florida on July 4, 1960, following Fidel Castro's Revolution.








-Graduated from Miami Coral Park High School in 1974. Originally intended to be a musician, but turned to acting while attending Miami-Dade Community College, but transferred to University of Miami, where he studied in the Department of Theatre Arts, performing in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, where he met Ray Liotta.








Career
-First major role: PBS bilingual sitcom Que Pasa, USA? where he played the teen son of a Cuban exile family in Miami, from 1977-1979. Also appeared in the 1980 TV show From Here to Eternity, where he was credited as Rocky Echevarria. Also appeared in plays, before eventually settling on the name Steven Bauer














-He was given the major role of Manny Ribera, the sidekick-like role in the 1983 movie Scarface. The producers of the movie were convinced Bauer was the perfect one for the role based on his strong audition, as well as his authentic Cuban accent and background.


-He also made an appearance in the video game Scarface: The World is Yours, playing the voice of The Sandman. In 2007, made an appearance on Burn Notice, playing Reyes, who was the bad guy on the episode. And in 2011, also made an appearance on the show Breaking Bad, playing Mexican drug lord Don Eladio.
Burn Notice

Breaking Bad

Personal Life
-Married Melanie Griffith in September 1981. They had a son, Alexander Bauer, in 1985, before divorcing in 1987.
-Remarried in 1989, this time to Ingrid Anderson, with whom he has a son, Dylan, born in 1990.

Filmography