Last Thursday night was the annual Visual Effects Bake-off held at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Theater in Beverly Hill.  This screening was open to the public and has increasingly become more popular over the years. However, the toughest ticket traditionally has been for the Kate Mantellini’s Before Party.  Wildly popular among the visual effects set this party has progressively grown more expensive as the years pass. This year it cost a mere ninety dollars to achieve entry. For your ninety bucks you can expect to be packed together in what was called by my drill instructor during boot camp as “balls to butts.” That’s very close. There wasn’t even standing room.

Almost everyone has heard of the tragedy that befell Haiti after a magnitude 7 earth quake struck leaving over 150,000 dead, and even more wounded.  Many charities and aid organizations have been collecting donations to help the poor souls in Haiti.  The game industry wants to lend a helping hand, too.  The folks over at IGN.com have rallied companies throughout the industry to donate tons of fantastic gaming related items - all to be auctioned off in order to benefit Haiti.

Ultimo

Here are few new titles to keep a critical eye open for.  

Unlike other years, when finding the ideas for a new short projects were scarce, this year, that has not been the case. A plethora of films have presented themselves - just waiting to be produced.

Probably one of the most impressive and hilarious games of 2009, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time get's reviewed on AWN. Hit the jump to see the full review.

Blassreiter

In a parallel Germany, a sanguine plague is rapidly transforming humans into Amalgams, deformed beings capable of melding with technology and exploiting it to civilization’s detriment. XAT, a special police unit piloting advanced mecha, is supposedly mankind’s only defense. But Joseph Jobson, an Amalgam himself, rises above his disease to prove that humanity is not yet lost. Only the secret of his blood can save the world. 

I’ll start by saying; Bayonetta is pure, unadulterated, fun.  It’s a game that represents the complete package – game-play, art, sound, and character.  I personally can never seem to find the time to play all the games that constantly accrue on my entertainment center, but I kept coming back to Bayonetta for more.

Hit the jump for the full review!

January 7th I was fortunate enough to (once again) see James Cameron’s Avatar on the big screen. The major difference between my first viewing and my second was seeing the film projected in the Stag Theater at the Skywalker Ranch in San Rafael, California in Dolby 3D Digital Cinema. There’s nothing like a state-of- the-art theater to really set the hook for the 3D experience. The film also proves that improving image quality is perhaps the easiest goal to accomplish in this day of technical marvels.

Linebarrels of Iron

Kouichi may aspire to heroic greatness, but the daily beating at the hands of local bullies predicts something else. Be that as it may, when Emi literally crashes into his life, he get’s his shot. This otherworldly female not only causes his death, but a symbiotic rebirth with a mecha called Linebarrel. Suddenly Kouichi is thrust into an interstellar conflict between humans and alien Machinas. Only his newfound power and control over Linebarrel can underwrite human security. But at what cost? His new power and ability to kick ass goes straight to his head. 

Even though the New Year has begun, it’s not too late to think about a few resolutions… animation and otherwise…