FIFA10 Game Face

Ever dreamt of playing for your favourite club – well now you can!

In this years installment of FIFA from EA Sports they have rolled out a new feature that allows you to impose a 3D representation of your face onto your in game ‘Pro’. Now if you’re anything like me you will be thinking that you have seen this all before and it will just be the usual low resolution 2D webcam image stretched over a generic in game character model creating a creepy looking long lost cousin rather than a true representation. However after a quick visit to the easportsfootball website my concerns were quickly dispelled. Although it’s still a Beta release the tool uses both a front and side view of your head to generate a fully detailled 3D model.

The Game Face utility is accessed online, you will need to download and install a couple of utilities but from there all the magic happens from within your browser. Initially you are asked to upload a picture of the front of your face, there are whole list of recomendations for composing the pic, but I just used my camera default settings stuck the flash on and struck a passport photo style pose.

Given the life like character models of

Perfectly executed film, bittersweet story

The film as you would expect from the title and trailer
describes the life story of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) who is faced with the
unusual predicament of aging backwards. Director David Fincher guides us through a series of Benjamin’s life defining
moments, but it is his relationship with Daisy (Cate Blanchett) that is central to the film. I was drawn in by this hugely interesting premise and keen to see how a tale that presents such obvious technical challenges would translate to the big screen. Despite taking nearly three hours to unfold I was more than satisfied with the experience, I fully believed in both Benjamin’s character and the relationships he forms throughout this beautifully crafted film.

I can definitely see where the comparisons with Forest Gump have come from and whilst I’m a fan of both films I had the same problem with them – they are a tad tedious! It’s sadly inherent in a film that focuses on someones life story that they end up being rather predictable viewing experiences. Fortunately the film kept my attention thanks to some exemplary casting and stellar performances from both Pitt and Blanchett, as well as a Taraji P. Henson who play Benjamin’s surrogate mother
Queenie.  The key moments of Benjamin’s life are brilliantly captured, I personally enjoyed that the director focused on both the highs and lows of life in equal measure but I was left emotionally exhausted by the time the film reached its climax.

Benjamin Button has much to offer, it’s almost worth watching for the presentation alone. It’s a tribute to the quality of the make-up and
CGI in this film that I was so drawn in to the screenplay; we have
really reached a stage where special effects no longer distract from
the content. I can see why many will be left frustrated due to the slow pace and subtle payoffs, but if you put aside the time and go into this with a curious mind I’m sure like me you will be pleasantly surprised.