IvanF's IVT No-Name Brand Website (December 2008: Television, Movie and Video Gaming Reviews)

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It's been a long time since I last wrote about video games. Unfortunately, I do know why that is...

2008 looked to be one of the greatest years in gaming, or at least on paper it did. This was the year where the world would finally get Grand Theft Auto 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, and Super Smash Bros Brawl after so many years of waiting. This was the year where not only did four of the biggest sequels ever arrive on store shelves, but this was the season where the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS smashed all sense of sales records in November and look to do the exact same thing in December. Recession be damned, the Nintendo Wii sold over two million consoles in the month of Thanksgiving, and may even reach the three million mark for the Christmas month alone as well. Meanwhile, despite the record high sales for Nintendo systems, the Xbox 360 sitting profitably in second place has still been improving its sales mark month by month, as if it wasn't even in competition with the goddam Wii...

2008 in terms of hardware and software sales was perhaps one of the biggest years in video gaming history. So why the fuck does it feel like I don't even care?...

I don't know why exactly, but there's been some sort of magic missing from almost every single game I have tried this year. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit, but aside from fanwank sales numbers, I've gotten absolutely no excitement from almost every Nintendo Wii game all year long. Sure, Mario Kart Wii is fun with four players and it probably does deserve the five million sales it made in one single year, but I still can't help but feel it was a disappointment after I loved the original Super Mario Kart and the more recent Mario Kart DS to finger blister death. When it comes to Super Smash Bros Brawl, I had fun with the Subspace Emissary for maybe an hour or two, but where was the sense of addiction I experienced when it came to its predecessor? Super Smash Bros Melee was such a great game that I put in literally over a hundred hours into that title, yet I feel I felt more emotional impact from Brawl's four million sales than I ever did from any of the matches I played with friends or online. And what else came out on the Wii that was of any interest? An old port of Okami? Another version of Animal Crossing, this time being almost a complete port of the DS version (graphically sadly intact)? What about Wii Music and Wii Fit, both games that deserve sales with the casual markets (Wii Fit is now approaching five million worldwide, I think), but are simply titles that I as an aging SNES gamer don't give a shit about? Where is the old skool Nintendo that I used to love?...

I don't have a PS3, so I can't really comment on its big name titles. But from all the games I've tried on the system this year, and from listening to many disappointed PS3 fans along the way, it just wasn't a good year for the system either. Grand Theft Auto 4 came out for it and the Xbox 360 to so many damn accolades, receiving 10/10 scores from everyone praising it as an Oscar-worthy story. Even one month later though, people now scoff at that concept, as most of the complaints I've heard has been that it was merely more of the same from Grand Theft Auto 3, and even felt lacking compared to the best selling title in the franchise, San Andreas. Meanwhile, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots still has a few fans out there, but most of its early "game of the generation" zealots have calmed down and realized what most of us knew about the franchise long ago, that it consists of merely weird Japanese CG snippets and really nothing more. Both GTA4 and MGS4 soon died down in fanfare after each a single month of sales glory, and as for the rest of the PS3 line-up? Resistance 2 turned out to be a huge bomb, although diehard fans are still holding out for the next Killzone. And Little Big Planet was definitely a very risky piece of art that never really panned out. It was thought to be the Youtube of video games before its release, until people realized they're just not interested in playing platform games that even big name developers design these days, let alone small indie guys who generate giant wooden penises. The title probably would've done better with the Wii casual crowd more than anything else to be honest, but still probably not much better...

The Xbox 360 had a decent year, although much of it was attributed to multi-console games that were also on the PS3. I've already mentioned GTA4, which was a huge hit when it was first released but soon died out thanks to 80% of the game being repetitive and linear as fuck. Fallout 3 has gotten both a lot of praise and a lot of hate directed towards it, though I shouldn't comment until I finish the title myself. Meanwhile, Call of Duty: World at War was a huge hit for the Microsoft system, even compared to its release on the PS3. I personally did enjoy the game, but would I say it's a great first person shooter, or even comparable to Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat? Probably not, though it definitely did sell well on name brand alone. Mass Effect was probably my favourite Xbox 360 game, but even that title had too many flaws to mention, and it still paled in comparison to the glory days of Knights of the Old Republic on the original Microsoft system. Besides that, I guess the big ticket title for the Xbox 360 was Gears of War 2, which stands as one of my most disappointing games of the entire damn year. Was it embarrassingly bad? Eh, according to many online gamers, sure, but I wouldn't go that far myself. I didn't love the first game in the series, but at least the original showed heart and some solid fundamental gameplay polish. The second one threw it all out the window for some horrible run and gun mechanics that lead to me bunting my way through with the chainsaw the whole fucking game. I understand I wasn't playing on the hardest difficulty, but did they really have to make the series feel closer to shitty ass Halo 2 than anything else? WTF?...

Suffice to say (and sad to admit), 2008 may have been one of the biggest years in software sales, one of the biggest years in critic scores, and one of the biggest years in console and handheld sales of all time, but it was also one of the most boring years in gaming I have ever goddam experienced. Like I mentioned, maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit, but where were all the great RPGs besides Mass Effect? Where were all the amazing adventure games like Zelda or Uncharted? Where were the great action titles like Call of Duty 4 and maybe Halo 3 that were provided last year? Where was the fun this year aside from four steering players in Mario Kart Wii, which was a bloody hell game that came out in March and almost feels like it belongs with the better crop in 2007? Sadly, 2008 was the year that so many big ticket titles came out, yet I was reduced to spending my time playing old skool games on my N64, Xbox original and Nintendo fucking DS instead. WTF?...

That's why I haven't written about video games in a long time. My mom always told me, if you've got nothing nice to say...

Best Game of the Year - Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo Wii)
Runners-up: 1 - Mass Effect (Xbox 360), 2 - Chrono Trigger DS (Nintendo DS)

Mario Kart Wii was hands down my favourite multiplayer game of the year, if only because of motion controls. I have to admit, this is probably the best fucking Mario Kart title since the N64 where I have had so much fun at parties, and it's all thanks to being "handicapped" with the Wii waggle want in both of my hands. Now I do fully admit, Mario Kart Wii is perhaps the most disappointing title in the entire franchise when played single player or even in co-op (which is completely lacking in terms of a 'campaign', pissing me off to no end, might I add). And if you decide to ruin the fun for yourself by plugging in a Gamecube or Classic Controller and playing the old skool way, then Mario Kart Wii really shows its weakness in level design and item control as well. But as a party game, Mario Kart Wii trumps all as one of the absolute best in the business ever made. It only takes a few hours of bumbling about on Rainbow Road as everyone takes a soaring dive to realize that this title sold well over five million copies worldwide in a single fucking year for a reason. There's a reason why every Nintendo-branded steering wheel version of the game was sold out from March all the way through the last days of December. This game is a hit no matter who tries it, no matter what season of the year. As long as you don't view it as an old skool Mario Kart game, it really was the only real Nintendo "fun" I've had all year. I still wish for proper two player co-op, but whatever, at least online was done well by Nintendo for the first time ever for the most part...

For the Xbox 360, I can honestly say that there were only three games off the top of my head that I enjoyed. One was Call of Duty: World at War, if only for the inclusion of co-op, and if only because the flamethrower was surprisingly well done. The second was probably Army of Two, half because it was a co-op title, and half because I really did feel it had the best 'shooter' mechanics and controls out of any FPS or third person shooter this year, regardless of what all the negative reviews may say about the game. And lastly? The only Xbox 360 game that I could not put down (until I realized how damn boring all the planetary search sidequests were) was goddam Mass Effect from Bioware. Like I mentioned before, this game certainly has flaws, with some weak useless characters (I already forget their names, to be honest), a much less involved plotline than Bioware had before in Knights of the Old Republic, and some of the worst sidequest playtime-padding I have ever seen with the most empty of worlds I could possibly imagine. With that said though, even though the main mission may only take eight or so hours, I will admit that Mass Effect was probably the best Western RPG I've been since KOTOR as long as you don't waste your time finding artifacts on dusty ice planets. Sure, I've heard from fans of both series that perhaps The Witcher was a better overall experience this year, but how can I really hate on Mass Effect when it combined energy weapons surprisingly well with good old fashioned Bioware gameplay? This is one of the few games I played in 2008 that I'm eagerly awaiting a sequel, and that truly says it all as far as this year is concerned...

When it comes to handhelds, 2008 was a bit more barren than I would have liked, except for a few RPGs along the way. To be honest, I spent most of my DS games ignoring Dragon Quest IV and Etrian Odyssey 2 for Apollo Justice and Puzzle Quest of all games. Then came along Chrono Trigger, the old skool SNES title that has been heralded as the best game ever made, yet I've never given it a proper try. It may not have been a fair test to give it a whirl now, considering how its gameplay mechanics have been emulated by so many titles since, but even I have to admit that I gladly put twenty or more hours into Chrono Trigger even ten or fifteen years after its original release. The battle system was revolutionary for its time and still ranks up there with the Grandia Series, Baten Kaitos Origins and Super Mario RPG (yes, I went there) as the best ever made in an RPG. The plotline was cookie cutter on the whole, but each of the characters (minus Marle, who sucks ass) had their own little quirks that really made them stand out and shine, especially considering they were all (except Marle) useful on the battlefield as well. Not only that, but I must admit that I truly did prefer the DS style controls over the old classic ones from the SNES days. Overall, I felt it was a respectful port to what many consider to be the best game ever made. It certainly doesn't rank up there with the best of all time for me, but it definitely has shown up on the charts here as far as I'm concerned for 2008, and that's good enough for now...

That's a testament to how shitty ass boring the games have been this year, and how truly great the titles were back in the SNES days. I never had played Chrono Trigger before, but now I'm actually contemplating a second playthrough. And to me, that definitely does say something...

Most Surprisingly Good Game - Army of Two (Xbox 360)
Runners-up: 1 - Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo Wii), 2 - Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360)

A lot of people are surprised when I tell them I absolutely loved Army of Two. Hell, I'm surprised still when I utter that statement, and why shouldn't I be? Army of Two was supposedly a quick cash in by Electronic Arts of all companies, a short rip-off of pretty much any third person shooter out there based on the Unreal 3 engine. But there were these little tweaks that EA did that somehow turned Army of Two into one of my most enjoyable games of this generation of gaming, sort of like how Freedom Fighters shocked me out of nowhere with its quality a generation ago. The co-op in Army of Two is probably the best this entire generation of gaming, I shit you not. Halo 3 was decent, Gears of War 1 was alright, but there's nothing like covering your friend with a volley of pistol shots as he drags you to safety behind cover here in Army of Two. And there was simply something sublime that clicked with me when it comes to the controls, I can literally snipe better with the pistol and automatics in this game than any other shooter in this entire generation of gaming. It's something that I simply cannot describe, and it seems like I'm the only one on this goddam planet who feels this way, if reviews and critics are to be believed. But just like a true believer in the original Halo can't explain what feels so good about a pistol and plasma grenade back in the old days, I can't really put down on paper what I enjoy so much about ducking under cover and popping out for a few sniper rounds in Army of Two. To me, it's the quintessential co-op game of this goddam generation, and it was truly one of the only bright spots for me in the year of 2008. Seriously, I was shocked as anyone else after falling in love with this game. WTF?...

Mario Kart Wii is the biggest enigma of the year for me. On the one hand, I despise it for throwing away so many great Mario Kart-isms of the past, especially the co-op campaign mode above all else. On the other hand, I've already glowed about how truly enjoyable it is with any amount of family members or friends at parties, when each of them has a Wii motion controller in hand. I was shocked at how much I hated Mario Kart Wii with a Gamecube controller compared to any other title in the franchise before, and then I was shocked again at how damn fun it was when I didn't give a shit about how cheap blue-shells were with eleven other go-karts all buzzing around me as I frantically tried to stay on course with the Wii motion controller. Like I keep mentioning, 2008 was truly the year of massive software sales, as Wii Music sold a million copies despite horrible reviews, Wii Fit has pushed over four million copies worldwide, Super Smash Bros Brawl has peaked over the four million mark as well thanks to name recognition and hype, and Mario Kart Wii has stunned the audiences with a massive come-back from behind, selling five fucking million copies to be second only to Wii Play on the 2008 charts. If the quality of the game at a goddam party isn't a shock enough, then I'd say the everlasting sales definitely are. WTF?...

Besides Army of Two on the Xbox 360, there was really only one co-op game that I enjoyed this year. Unfortunately for Epic, it was not Gears of War 2, as that literally felt like a Halo 2 chore to finish. Now, I never picked up any previous Call of Duty game aside from the original on the PC, but I didn't hesitate to buy World at War despite mixed reviews, if only because finally the franchise had adopted single-system co-op. I was upset at first at the implementation of small 4:3 mini-screens on my television when playing with a friend, but we eventually adapted (by sadly zooming in on my Sharp Aquos, cutting off the edges...) and we had a surprisingly great time with this game. Most of the automatics have a good feel, from the MP40 to the PPSH, and there was definitely a decent epic feeling to it whether you were an American fighting it out on the islands or a Russian surviving in the motherland. I admit, I'm relatively new to the scriptive nature of the Call of Duty series, so maybe I was simply easily impressed. But for a game with such negative reviews from Infinity Ward fans, I truly did think Treyarch did an excellent job with the overall feel of World at War, especially when it came to the flamethrower. Aside from pistol sniping in Army of Two, there was no better feeling in any shooter game this year than burning the hell out of enemy hordes in grass fields with the goddam flamethrower pack. Critics may claim World at War was simply a WW2 patch for Modern Combat, but it was a damn fine one worth the money alone for co-op, in my honest opinion at least...

If anything, with almost all reviews this year panning Army of Two, Mario Kart Wii and Call of Duty: World at War, while all praising GTA4, MGS4, Gears of War 2 and Super Smash Bros Brawl as some of the best games ever made? I guess the biggest shock for me of 2008, was the fact that the critics got it so fucking bloody hell wrong...

Most Disappointing Game - Super Smash Bros Brawl (Nintendo Wii)
Runners-up: 1 - Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360), 2 - Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo Wii)

Oh, Super Smash Bros Brawl, how did you get the formula wrong so fucking badly? On paper, it sounded like the ultimate fanboy experience, now with co-op added through the Subspace Emissary campaign. But not only was that a boring chore to push through (thanks in part to the Great Maze), but the actual core gameplay itself was disappointing beyond all measure. Melee may have been too fast with too many 'exploits' (like wave-dashing, if the creators of the series are to be believed), but there was just something so much more engaging and fun when beating up three other friends back then than the slow, meticulous boredom you somehow derive from Brawl instead. Brawl feels so much more like a fighter game than a party game, which in some circles is considered a good thing (the tournament scene is still going strong). And if there is one good thing Brawl got right, it's the balance in most of the characters, as the consensus for a long time has been that only Solid Snake was a true tier above the rest (besides the slow guys like Ganondorf, who just plain suck). There was a lot of care and thought put into Brawl, but what's so damn disappointing is that none of it really paid off. The events somehow don't feel as imaginative as they did in Melee, and I could play the adventure mode in the latter so many fucking times without getting bored while in Brawl, getting trophies seems like so much more of a pointless and longer chore. Am I simply tired of the Smash Bros formula? Maybe, but what's most important to me is the party nature of the game, and Brawl just does not deliver in that sense. It really is a game that requires a Gamecube controller to play, so completely opposite of Mario Kart Wii, it just feels wrong to put in Brawl at a party these days when motion controls on the Wii are the universal rage...

If there is any other game that gives Super Smash Bros Brawl a run for its money as most disappointing game of the year (and I can't even count GTA4, MGS4, Prince of Persia or any of the other twenty or so completely disappointing titles from 2008, simply because I haven't given them enough of a chance yet), then it's Gears of fucking War 2. Just like Halo 2 wowed me at first, only to show its true colours after my first run-through, Gears of War 2 feels like more of a rush at the start (with so much 'epic' shit happening around you), only to prove later on in the stages that the gameplay is no longer nearly as polished as it was before. There's just something pointless about this game once I realized I could literally go around bunting everyone with the pistol or sawing them in half with the automatic, and this could all be done by just tapping the damn B button. The game got so boring once I realized most of it was just beating on jumping beans in laser-infested labs or cutting open defenseless arteries in Flood-type stages. Its only saving grace was co-op mode, but even that didn't feel nearly as strong as in the original where I actually found it fun to duck behind cover and then unload an entire 660 bullet round into a goddam Boomer. Here in the sequel, not only do most enemies go down too quickly without a fight, but some are so fucking annoying like that one that jumps from side to side for no apparent reason whatsoever. Fucking hell, they even replaced the normal automatic from the first game with a horribly inaccurate single-shot rifle here. And only one single stage where you get to use the Hammer of Dawn? What the fuck were the guys at Epic thinking? WTF?...

And now, for the only title ever that has been featured on all three of my Best Game of the Year, Most Surprising Game of the Year, and now Most Disappointing Game of the Year awards. Mario Kart Wii is truly the renaissance man in that regard, as it's truly the only game that I both loved and hated with a passion. How the fuck could the people at Nintendo have been so blind as to prevent co-op from unlocking the goddam stages and crap? How could they remove the tight cornering gameplay from the Nintendo DS version and replace it with such a dumbed down version here on the Wii (though if they were trying to prevent snaking, I guess I see their point)? It was disappointing in comparison to the classics in the franchise, and it was one of the most boring games I've played all year in terms of single and two-player versus. But then somehow a light just clicks on when you take out the Gamecube controller and give it a go with three other friends. I hate Mario Kart Wii for destroying everything I loved and held dear with the Mario Kart games of old, but how can I really fault it when I truly do understand when playing with three other friends exactly why it has sold five fucking million copies in a single damn year?...

That's the true story with 2008. The market was just so damn divided between casual and hardcore, and unfortunately both sides did not deliver the goods as far as I was goddam considered. Grand Theft Auto 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, Resistance 2 and Super Smash Bros Brawl will forever be remembered as huge massive titles that were hyped beyond belief but simply faded into obscurity one month later down the road. Games like Little Big Planet, the new Prince of Persia, and arguably even Fallout 3 (which still has mixed reviews to this day) will forever stand as decent and innovative titles that simply could not live up to their true potential. Meanwhile, the real sellers for 2008 were titles like Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, both games that I can enjoy thoroughly when friends and family over, but simply are nothing but DVD coasters when I'm home alone or with a single other guest. Aside from Mass Effect and some DS games, there was not a single player title all year long that I fucking goddam enjoyed. And aside from Army of Two and Call of Duty: World at War, the only fucking two player title that I even wanted to play was the original damn Halo on the original damn Xbox...

I haven't written about video games for almost the entire year, not since my last IvanFian Video Game Award ceremony, I think. And truth be told, maybe I am just getting too old for this shit. Maybe I am just feeling my age when it comes to gaming and writing. I've barely updated this noname site of mine for movies and television in 2008 either, so maybe it's just me?...

The fact of the matter does remain though, that I still enjoy games from time to time and I still want something fun to play. Most of my holidays were spent with a fifteen year old title of Chrono Trigger and the original Xbox plugged in with Halo for some actual goddam gameplay that just feels right. And if that doesn't say something about 2008 and this current generation of gaming, I don't know what will...

... considering I am the noname writer who founded this website for goddam gaming...

Only two more episodes of Stargate Atlantis left, and here we have yet another wasted opportunity...

Don't get me wrong, Identity had a lot of decent moments, most notably between Zelenka and McKay at the end when it came to the good ol' Czechoslovakian insults from the old days. There was something good about this episode when it came to the team aspect of it all, even if Teyla was once again neutered down to Lt. Ford status in the background. Sheppard got to play the hero and point his P90, McKay got in all those 'shipper moments with the Jennifer Keller that wasn't quite Jennifer, and Ronon at least got to prove his instincts right in being the first person to truly notice that it wasn't quite Keller in that cute body of hers. Hell, normally I wouldn't be able to complain about any episode either where Woolsey got to show compassion in command and Dr. Carson Beckett got to return to be the true doctor around those parts...

But for the third last episode of Stargate Atlantis to be used up by Neeva whats-her-name, a throwaway alien hottie who strangely enough has the exact same trendy hairstyle as so many teens love in North America these days? Now don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't mind the eye candy when she was dressing herself back up from the doctor's office, and the actress certainly annoyed me less than any other hottie leading guest star has for quite some time. But seriously, I was hoping for so much more than a retread of an old SG-1 episode plotline when it came to the third last episode of Stargate Atlantis. And wow, the guys over at the SGC must really be kicking themselves in the ass now for not simply shooting the Ancient communication device with a gun before letting the Ori loose throughout the Milky Way Galaxy...

I was afraid of Identity from the trailers mainly because I thought we would get another Jennifer Keller episode shoved down our throats, but in all honesty, I liked Jewel Staite here much more than I did in Brain Storm or any other recent episode in memory. It also helped that half of her time was spent as a mirage in mirrors and computer monitors, silent and cute as a button as she can be. But aside from being squeezed into a tight alien hottie outfit that she oddly could've worn with room to spare two years ago, I thought Jewel did a decent job here as the damsel in distress who had to think fast on her feet. Her chemistry with McKay wasn't bad either, even if Neeva suggests that she can do so much better. I thought the two of them made a cute couple at the end when talking about a night under the Atlantis stars, although I still would've preferred Neeva and Keller themselves simply spending time alone in their bunk...

Identity was a better episode than I anticipated, mainly because the entire cast and crew got something significant to do. It really did feel like a team episode at times when they were all huddled around Neeva in the observation room, demanding to know where the real Dr. Keller was. And the mystery in this episode about how the body switch came to be, right until SG-1 regurgitated its way back into Atlantis through Ancient plot devices, was well played out with poor Zelenka getting the worst of it all when push came to plier shove. There were definitely redeemable qualities to Identity that would have made it an average or better episode in my eyes, if only it wasn't for the time that it aired...

Stargate Atlantis has been wasting the second half of its seasons for so long now, dating back all the way to the second year of the show. Just last year, the first half of the season felt so epic with the war between the Wraith and Replicators, only for everything to spiral downhill as soon as Be All My Sins Remember'd aired. The same has been happening with season five and normally I would be mostly alright with that, except this is the final damn season of Stargate Atlantis (and depending on how Universe does, potentially one of the last years of Stargate we'll ever get to watch). Why couldn't the writers just have scrapped their plans for Brain Storm, Infection and Identity and simply came up with a truly epic arc to finish off the series the way it was meant to be from the very start? Did they really care about Neeva the hottie that damn much?...

Wow, the writers are so clever. From space vampires, now they've gone to space zombies? Whoa, so original. I'm so impressed...

With that said, I guess Infection wasn't a bad episode after we got the man-chewing Wraith out of the way. Once the episode lost the B-type horror kind of feel it was going for in the first half, it became a well knit story about the total team trying to survive at any cost. I liked that, and it helped that Todd was there to improve the mood as well. Sure, it was odd how he seemed so demanding of the SGA team when he was the one who tried to kill them all on the Daedalus, and he's the one who not only stole Keller's gene therapy but also earth's encryption codes and who knows what else. But I guess when he's faced with disease and a slow agonizing death for the first time in ten thousand years or so, I'd be a bit cranky coming out of that pod too. The face off he had with Sheppard, where we raised his hand only to realize it was no longer a threat, was one of the most well acted scenes in the season so far. The tension there was great, and the mutual hate yet respect between the both of them has provided one of the best characterizations for the series ever since it first started in Common Ground...

I mentioned that Infection was a team episode, but it definitely didn't feel that way in the first half. Teyla got to spout out some generic lines of not sensing any Wraith, Ronon got to talk his usual bluff of killing everyone onboard, and Rodney simply sat there looking at screens and giving Keller backrubs of all things. Things changed for the better part in the second half though, where Keller finally seemed somewhat useful in showing compassion and understanding with Todd and Rodney got to give his patented "oh shit" look when the Hive was splitting in two, all while Ronon and Teyla got to kick ass and take names while ripping apart zombie Wraith with their weapons. How can I really complain about that surefire combination? Sure, the CG effects for the Wraith Hive Ship crashing into the ocean were sub-par and definitely looked like the production crew were trying to save money for the finale, but the whole event itself was enjoyable to watch and you could definitely feel the team spirit in the sense that every member was concerned for one another. I do have my complaints, like Teyla not getting any screen time in with Todd (even after The Queen), but I really did enjoy the latter half of Infection for the most part...

Plot-wise, it makes sense that something would go wrong with the gene therapy on first try, although Todd should have been smarter than to give it to all his crew at first glance. And I appreciated the talks on the other side of the bubble, how Ronon and Woolsey to some extent were thinking of using Keller's treatment as a bioweapon against the Wraith. In fact, unlike Beckett's retrovirus, it seems that Keller has found an effective method of slowly but surely eliminating Wraith Hive Ships, as they seem vulnerable to the cancers indirectly caused by her cure. This is all interesting stuff to add to the Wraith mythos on the series, if only Atlantis wasn't ending this year. I guess the question now is, what becomes of Todd? A few episodes ago, he was questioning whether he would even be a Wraith anymore once his ability to feed on humans was gone. Now what will happen to him? Will the Queen Iratus Bug cure him of the gene therapy along with the cancer, or will he remain different and ousted amongst the rest of the Wraith like Michael was? The difference is, Todd is progressive thinking and he definitely keeps his word in regards to thanking Sheppard for all his respect and help. Todd chose to be different, he chose to evolve, and if only there was another season of Atlantis, I'd love to see how that pans out for the future of the Wraith...

Once again, there were definitely flaws in the formula of Infection. I could've done without the obvious red shirt who didn't even get to fire off a round before he was eaten alive. I could have done without the Aliens-esque search sequence when it came to the zombie Wraith showing on the Ancient Life Sense Detector. And I wish Teyla, Ronon and Rodney all got better parts to play, when really it was only Sheppard and Keller who got any significant speech time in with Todd. But dammit, how can I fault an episode in the end where zombie Wraith are shot left, right and center, and an entire Wraith Hive Ship was split in half?...

Infection wasn't a great episode, but it was far from a blight or cancer on the series. It didn't help the series-ending sort of arc I was hoping for, but it definitely did bring together the team the way that they should be when all is said and done...

Only three episodes of Atlantis left to go. What you leave behind, and all good things...

I think it's safe to say that whoever wrote the plot to Brain Storm probably had his own version of a brain fart, though not for the exact reasons that anti-shippers would most readily attest to...

The reality is that maybe I wouldn't have minded this episode if I never heard of the politics behind it, but it just disappoints me how Atlantis was forced to have an episode dealing with Global Warming simply because the people at SciFi told them to. It's not like I disagree with promoting the fight against global warming, I just don't like how this agenda was shoved down our throats when all I want every single week is some good gun-slinging alien action. This is the same kind of bullshit that makes me cringe every time I try to watch a Battlestar Galatica episode that obviously showed off that the American Cylons had no 'plan' in Iraq. I like to keep my news in the newspapers and my entertainment in the television, thank you very much...

With that said, Brain Storm wasn't a horrible episode, it definitely had a few redeeming qualities. It was nice to see Bill Nye again along with whats-his-name (the other guy with a TV show). And Rodney McKay once again stole the show and the thunder, first with his smarts and then with his axe-totting manly ways. But to be honest, I really don't remember much from Brain Storm already, that's how little thought and brain-storming went into the episode in the first place. If anything, all I do recall is being annoyed at Jennifer Keller for always being the moral high ground person. I know she must've encountered her fair share of snarky bickering at medical school and modern research labs, yet she always is written as the perfect little innocent girl, shocked and disgusted how scientists can't work together to save their lives. While that may be a decent commentary on the way the real world works in regards to failed solutions for the planet, in which case both money and ego get in the way, I couldn't help but roll my eyes every time that Jennifer Keller rolled her own at the others. I'm sorry, but I like characters with flaws like McKay, so a flawless girl like Keller just seems so damn lost and misguided on the series...

Then of course, we got to their star-studded romance. I'm no anti-shipper between the both of them, I even think they make a reasonably cute couple. But it is kind of annoying how we had a whole episode dedicated to it, just like I couldn't stand Trio or whatever that episode was named last season (with Carter as the third wheel). I do think McKay and Jennifer have a bit of chemistry, and the kiss between them was reasonably sweet. But Stargate has never done full episodes based on romance well whatsoever in its entire history of two or more galaxies. I don't mind this kind of stuff in the background, like the Daniel and Vala romance was in the last two seasons of SG-1, but for it to take the forefront in an already boring episode about storm fronts and quantum heat sinks? I don't know, I just felt that this was yet another brain fart on the writers' behalf...

To me, this was the Family Ties of Atlantis, in comparison to how poorly SG-1 went off the air thanks to a lot of bad filler episodes along the end stretch of the way. I would have less animosity towards Brain Storm if only this wasn't the last season of Atlantis, if only the rest of the team were somewhat involved, and if only a political agenda wasn't shoved our way. But what's done is done, and at least McKay finally got to join the mile high club (unless having sex in an Ancient spaceship with Katie Brown counts)...

I would have a lot less complaints if only Keller looked cute as hell. Yet somehow, they even botched that up, and made the skinniest girl ever from Serenity into someone who, err, how can I say this nicely? Looked right for McKay in the end afterall. I mean seriously, WTF?...