Ah, the weather is changing (or trying to change here in Texas), and the new season brings loads of entertainment for our viewing and gaming pleasure...
Sons Of Anarchy (FX, Tuesday)
Yes, it's overly violent and pretty silly. But I loves me some motorcycles. This season promises a gang war with white supremecists (wow, Henry Rollins is a REALLY believable neo-Nazi) and possibly an expansion into the porn business. Seriously, what's not to love?
Dollhouse (Fox, Friday)
Was there a more underrated and underestimated show last season? It was hard to get into, but as the season wore on and the threads became more apparent, there was no denying that Joss Whedon was still on his game. I imagine this will be a make-or-break season for the series, so here's hoping other viewers catch on.
Halo: ODST (Xbox, out today)
Shameless franchise milking? You betcha. Probably not worth the fully loaded price (the campaign is said to be relatively short), but seriously, it's HALO. Like you're not going to buy it.
WET (Xbox & PS3, out now)
Eliza Dushku voices this hyper-violent grindhouse tribute, and though it has plenty of flaws, it does what it does exceptionally well and with a high amount of style. Fantastic music, too. Think Kill Bill if you actually got to see The Bride in action during her assassin days.
UPDATE: I suppose it goes without saying that the Video Game Industrial Complex has a whole lot invested in franchises, probably none as much as Halo. I'm gonna make a snap judgment about ODST after only a couple of hours of play: meh. It undoubtedly has a different feel - quieter, stealthier - than the other Halo games, but it's disappointing to find almost nothing new here. When you end up on the outskirts of New Mombassa in your Warthog, I'm sure it's supposed to feel like the original Halo all over again. But it's tough to recapture that magic, which after all, is now about a decade old, an eternity in video game years.
Contrast the near-universal acclaim of Halo: ODST with the mixed reviews for WET, one of the best actioners I've played in a long while. WET also dares to to be an original property with a lot of cinematic style, and if the gameplay isn't perfect, it's at least a total blast. I'm not really comparing the two titles - they couldn't be more different, in fact - but there needs to be a bit more balance in the video game press.
Speaking of franchises, playing Halo: ODST really made me want to dust off Gears Of War, the real gold standard for Xbox exclusive titles at the moment. There will be a ton of anticipation for next fall's Halo: Reach (supposedly the last Halo title for Bungie), but what I'll really be hoping for is GoW3.
Anyway, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes out on November 10, and we can all put away our Halo games for a long time after that.
