“Wreck-It Ralph” is a heartwarming movie for all ages. With the vocal talents of John C. Reilly as Ralph, Sarah Silverman as Vanellope, Jack McBrayer as Felix, Jane Lynch as Calhoun, and Alan Tudyk as King Candy, this movie proves itself to be funny for both kids and adults. “Wreck-It Ralph” teaches kids valuable life lessons about challenging labels like “good” and “bad” while showing that each person is their own biggest judge.

“Wreck-It Ralph” was a beautifully animated movie that creatively portrayed how life might be in an arcade after the kids have gone home. Once the arcade is closed, the characters can game jump and visit one another by going through their cable chords into Grand Central Station (the power strip). In Grand Central Station, they even have security as Surge Protectors to prevent items from one game going into another, which is comically shown when Ralph tries to take the cherries from Packman back into his game. There is a Bad Guys Anonymous meeting in Packman led by Clyde, the blue ghost of Packman, where the “bad guys” get support from each other since everyone else hates them. The games themselves range from the older classics like Sonic to the newer games like the HD Hero’s Duty, which creates a very diverse gaming spectrum.

“Wreck-It Ralph” follows “bad guy” Ralph through his journey of trying to be a hero. Ralph is unappreciated and unloved within his own game, Fix-It Felix Jr., so he decides to show everyone he is a hero by winning a medal like Felix does all the time. Ralph game jumps into a first-person shooter game called Hero’s Duty to win a hero medal, but he accidentally unleashes a bug (a literal virus) into a candy-coated car racing game called Sugar Rush. In Sugar Rush, he meets Vanellope, a troublemaking “glitch,” who steals his medal so she can finally race in Sugar Rush. While grudgingly becoming friends with Vanellope, Fix-It Felix has teamed up with Calhoun from Hero’s Duty to track down Ralph before their Fix-It Felix Jr. game gets turned off and the bug/virus multiplies in Sugar Rush. The movie has some surprising twists that will keep you guessing until the very end.

“Wreck-It Ralph” has talented comedians as the main characters, brilliant graphics, creativity using the arcade as the setting, and relatable insecurities that the characters go through. However, the time line of the movie was a big drawback, in my opinion, because it all took place within one day. Ralph went on many adventures in that one day, which I feel made the storyline implausible; if the movie took place over a longer period of time would have been much more realistic.

The way the characters met and interacted also struck me as unrealistic; what are the chances that the first person Ralph meets in Sugar Rush ends up being his best friend?  And what are the chances that the first woman Fix-It Felix meets outside of his game he falls in love with?  However, these minor drawbacks do not detract completely from the brilliance of the overall message the movie shows. While challenging preconceptions of “good” and “bad,” the movie also clearly showcases the importance of true friends and appreciating those around you, which makes this a real treat for everyone.

Rating: 4/5

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Two of the largest racing franchises are getting ready to release new games in their series: Forza Motorsport with Forza Horizon, and Need for Speed (NFS) with Need for Speed Most Wanted. Both franchises promise that their game is loaded to the core with famous gameplay features, as well as introducing new features. But the question is, which game stand above the other as the greatest racing game of the year?

The first of these two games to come out is Forza Horizon. The key selling point of the Forza franchise is the realism to their driving mechanic, always a staple feature in the games.

Developed by a different company, Playground Games, Forza Horizon looks to expand upon the series with some new features that have never been seen in any of the past Forza games. Horizon introduces an open world environment that lets players free roam around the map to explore or drive from race to race. The game further expands the car selection and customization; building on Forza’s vast collection of the hottest and most popular cars around, including Aston Martins, BMWs, Ferraris, and many others.

Horizon also has an online mode in which players can challenge their friends to races. “King” and “Infection” are two multiplayer modes that incorporate the open world environment. These two game modes and many other returning online matches will push the limits of the player as they compete to be the best against other human players.

Forza Horizon looks to be a promising installment to the Forza Motorsport franchise, but will the open world environment add to the Forza experience or will it hinder the design and gameplay of the series?

The week following the release of Forza Horizon, the NFS series will be coming out with Need for Speed Most Wanted. Most Wanted is a high definition comeback to the NFS Most Wanted game previously released back in 2005. With the success of the reboot of NFS Hot Pursuit by Criterion Games, the developer has been signed on once again to develop Most Wanted.

The game lives up to what the original version was like, with the addition of the Autolog from Hot Pursuit. Autolog 2 is advertised as a new means of online play in which it gives the player a more personalized and customizable means of online interaction. Autolog 2 for Most Wanted takes the online features from Hot Pursuit and expands them even further by letting players customize their broadcast feeds and recommendations for challenge and competition updates.

But the key feature advertised for Most Wanted is survival. As a staple for most NFS games, drivers must not only race against others in high speed races, but must also survive against waves of cops trying to shut down the race. But the police don’t only pursuit the driver in races, they are also on full force in the free roam mode.

Most Wanted looks to be a grand revival of its predecessor as well as a more advanced update to the new features that were added in Hot Pursuit. But will this high octane adrenaline rush be able to compete with the realism of Forza Motorsport’s newest installment? The important thing to understand is what the two franchises push for in their games. Forza focuses on the realism of racing and pushes the boundaries with the feel and look of the cars that most racing games don’t dwell too much into, while Need for Speed is all about intense arcade racing action.

Both franchises are looking to take their genres of racing to whole new levels. With Forza Horizon coming out October 23, and Need for Speed Most Wanted coming out October 30, players will choose for themselves which game will come out on top.

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