[HEADING=1]A Bloody Good Machinima...[/HEADING]
Ah yes, yet another Halo 3 Machinima. I would like to point out for all of you that most of my Machinima reviews are going to be about Halo 3 because the game opened up so many opportunities to have parodies made of it. This, caused thousands of Machinimas to be a Halo 3 parody. I am hoping to find a Machinima that isn't about Halo 3 [sup]God help me please![footnote]By that, I mean I will be accepting requests for reviews as of today[/footnote][/sup] But until then, here ya go. Enjoy what I present to you.
PreGame Lobby is the brain child of Mike Johnson and the good people[footnote]Hmmm, don't I use that a lot now?[/footnote] at TheGuard.com. The theme song (So you guys don't ***** at me for not talking about it this time...) Brand New performed by Square by This, original lyrics by Tyler Callahan, is catchy and original, and when you hear this for the first time, you realize that this isn't going to be a rehashed machinima that has been done a dozen times over, it's going to be something different.
Pregame Lobby follows the adventures of seven online friends on XBL, specifically Halo 3. In my opinion this is the most original machinima to date. Anyone who has played Halo 3 online can relate to at least one of the characters in the series. Whether it be Mike who is the groups factor leader, even though no one listens to his plans, and when they do they usually fail. Brandon the typical XBL jerk, who always has one kind of smart ass comment for any situation. Rachel who is a girl gamer, who seems to be the anchor of the group and the balance between Brandon and Mike. Matt the typical XBL kid[footnote]By "Typical XBL kid", I mean the ones that use LMAO and LOL and ROFLMAO and high voiced and all that.[/footnote] with a penchants for betraying teammates, and NEVER, EVER shutting up. Rob a grisly Brit who has strong opinions on Americans, Jessica, Robs sister who is the voice of reason and encourages everyone to be the example. And then, Silent Pete, my absolute favorite character in this series, he never talks, and has a song for every situation.
Our cadre of gamers run into some pretty interesting characters along the way. Commander Melander speaks in a third person view of himself, and is the typical, "I'M THE GOD OF HALO" type of person. StealthSniper is a Texan, a bigot, a sexist, and a homophobe, who wants to be friends with the group.
One of the great things about this show is how it incorporates pop culture into an XBL setting. I point specifically to episode 3 where,
Brandon shows us his fear and obsession about how Hannah Montana is planning to take over the world. Obviously she's not. At least that's what the guys in black suits told me, when they came to my house and told me to write this review...
Another great thing is how Mike Johnson encased homage to classic TV and film. They have Sean Connery making guest appearance with many of his one liners, there's a Benny Hill chase scene, a parody to the ending of Fightclub, and do a classic remake, of the ending credits walk away shot of the classic 70's sci-fi show, the Incredible Hulk. And who could forget the beautifully orchestrated musical number of Iris.
There is also a Final Fantasy Reference in one of the episodes that is gut bustingly funny, and done perfectly so that it actually looks like FF met Halo 3. Extra points for you Pregame Lobby.
The Comedy is crisp and witty. Of course there are some potty mouth jokes thrown in there, and some swearing. But unlike other machinimas, they're not so prevalent that they overshadow the show, or becomes what the shows all about.
Pregame Lobby is fun and entertaining, and the writing is top notch. The only thing that could make it better is if it was released on DVD. I can't say enough good things about this series, so I will leave you with this: Pregame Lobby gets a 10/10 on the Roflcopter meter. Thanks for reading, and until next time, this is BloodyThoughts, signing off.[sub]Well, not signing off but...you get what I mean![/sub]
