From Pixels to Polys Hall of Fame - Week 4

TGIF baby! You know the drill, time to elevate some picks to Hall of Fame status. This time around, From Pixels to Polys dropped its aggressive tendencies from last week, and got back to what we do best: selecting the top notch game, movie, and album to kick off your weekend. This week, Pat finds out what its like to turn dream cars into scrap, Anthony learns what a Quarter Pounder with cheese is called in France, and I rediscover a staple of 70's rock. Enjoy kids.

The Game: Burnout 3: Takedown

Usually I’m not a huge fan of racer games, except Mario Kart. Burnout 3: Takedown definitely changed my perspective on the racing genre. The addition of crash mode and the “takedown” tool which not only would knock your opponents out of the running or at least set em’ back a peg definitely added one of those game mechanics that I fell instantly in love with. Sure the reality of hitting someone in the rear and seeing them fly ass over tea-kettle may not be that realistic, but it sure makes for some great entertainment. Throw in a few specialty takedowns such as driving someone off a cliff or sending them flying into a support pillar and the game just gets better. Possibly the biggest mode that can’t be ignored is the crash mode where there are specific vehicles and power ups placed along a small section of road and you have one goal in mind… Cause as much damage as possible. This is a fantastic mode for a bunch of friends and some good competition. Nothing more satisfying when you start seeing those dollar signs start racking up and heading into the upper millions. Toss in the fact that if you do enough damage in a certain amount of time and you get to set off a huge final bang and direct your heaping pile of wreckage to cause more havoc with the a kinda bullet-time crash mechanism it makes for a really great racing game.

-Pat

The Movie: Pulp Fiction

An accidental murder. A dangerous date that almost ends tragically. A hilariously vulgar wallet. A discussion on European fast-food. Pulp Fiction is greater than the sum of it’s parts, and is better the 5th viewing than the 4th, the 6th than the 5th, and so forth. When Tarantino released this follow-up to his Reservoir Dogs debut, expectations were high and he vaulted beyond them. Later people would try to duplicate the movie’s cool with fancy editing and irreverent pop-culture references. What they didn’t realize was that the coolness was more than just phony techniques; it was the sum of QT’s efforts. The writer/director has always had a penchant for showing the scenes missing from standard genre films. Here he gives us a conversation before a stake out. The night after a fixed fight. The chronology is jumbled, but it’s not a gimmick, it serves to highlight themes in the movies and add weight to scenes that wouldn’t exist if it had simply moved forward in time. The best film of the 90’s. Bring out the gimp.

-Anthony

The Album: Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin

Statement: For every legitimate Led Zeppelin fan out there, there are at least five or six posers. These hacks that run around thinking that Stairway to Heaven and Kashmir are the only two songs the band ever made. It’s sickening, if you own less than three Zep albums take off Zep T-Shirt and get the hell out of my face…your fashion statement is a fraud. For those real Zep fans out there, (and those who wish not be fakes) I chose to induct Led Zeppelin III, perhaps the bands most tragically most overlooked album (fear not, all Zep Albums except Presence and In Though the Out Door are Hall of Fame material). Zep III was a radical change of pace from the hard rock/blues sound of the previous albums. Sure Immigrant Song carried on the hard rock torch, but III forged a folksier new direction that was both unexpected and welcomed. Tracks like Friends and Tangerine showed off Zeppelin’s folk prowess, and for the record, Gallows Pole seals the deal. Without question, however, the most important track from album is Since I’ve Been Loving You, a ball buster of a blues song that is the anthem of any man with lady problems. If you’ve never heard this song, crank it. You’ll be in bar, five drinks deep within no time. Led Zeppelin III is pure greatness, period.

-Matt