Firstly, I have to say that I am a big fan of The Lion King. I love the film. I view it as one of Disney's all-time greatest animated films. The plot wasn't anything strikingly new - it is essentially Hamlet in Africa, mixed in with elements of Bambi - but it was done in a way that made it entertaining. Even as an adult, I still pop in the film every now and again.
The film has seen several spin-offs and sequels with varying quality over the years. One such sequel ties into The Lion Guard directly, and that's Simba's Pride, the second Lion King film released in 1998, which introduced Simba's daughter, Kiara, the future Queen of the Pride Lands. It was serviceable enough though not in as good quality as the first film.
We also had The Lion King 1 1/2 (or The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata outside of the US) which was basically a Timon and Pumbaa movie version of the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Ultimately, I view that film as corny, but ultimately harmless and much better than the TV series that preceeded it.
And that is pretty much how I would sum up The Lion Guard: Return Of The Roar. This film, and by extension the following TV series, came about when Disney CEO Bob Iger approached Disney Junior to do something for the 20th anniversary of the first film (though Return of the Roar would come 21 1/2 years after the first film, missing that milestone by a considerable margin). It follows Kion, the second born son of Simba (played by Max Charles), and the events of the film take place after Kiara's jaunt through the Outlands at the start of the second film.
Therein lies the first problem. Kion is obviously not mentioned anywhere in the second film because he did not exist yet. Given the series is likely to stick to that earlier timeframe no explanation is likely to ever be given for the inconsistency, but it makes the older fan wonder: just where was he during the Battle Of The Prides at the end of the second film? That Roar of the Elders would have proved very useful against Zira and the Outlanders. At the moment, they probably don't need to explain it, but before long a child with a decent memory wil be asking "where's Kion?" at the end of the second film.
Return Of The Roar sees the return of many of the cast of the previous films, including Simba (Rob Lowe, replacing Matthew Broderick who has allegedly had a rocky relationship with Disney over The Lion King these past few years), Nala (Gabrielle Union, replacing Moira Kelly) and Rafiki (Khary Payton, replacing Robert Guillame). The story of this film revolves around Kion assembling his Lion Guard after discovering he has the power of the Roar of the Elders, a mystical power in which the spirits of the Kings of the Past roar with him. Along the way, he fights the hyenas (Janja, Cheezi and Chungu rather than Shenzi, Banzai and Ed) as they attempt to cause chaos in the Pride Lands.
The second problem I have with the film is the way they portray the older cast. Simba's pretty much in protective father mode as he is in the second film, so I can't really fault that. Nala is seen even less than she is in the second film (though at least they got her colours right this time), and Kiara has changed from a mischievous little child to something of a brat with a sightly antagonistic air towards her younger brother (she even tells tales on him at one point when Kion starts to assemble his Lion Guard from his friends rather than the lions in the pride). Timon and Pumbaa are pretty much unchanged. Zazu seems more pointless an inclusion than in the previous films, and Rafiki seems just a little too exciteable.
And the third one, which is the biggest issue I take with the film: they have to ram it down your throats as to what the purpose of the Lion Guard is ("to defend the Pride Lands and protect the Circle of Life", if you don't remember after being told for the umpteenth time). We get it. Once should be enough. Twice if you're not sure. The target audience are children, but they're not devoid of attention spans.
The music... it definitely does not fit the style of the previous films at all. For a children's show, it's passable. "Tonight We Strike" is no "Be Prepared", that is for sure, and "Call Of The Guard" can't match up to the majesty of "Circle of Life".
At the end of the day though, as I said, it's harmless enough even if it is corny and presents a few continuity issues with its originators. It certainly does not seem to treat the audience like they are idiots like some older Disney children's shows tend to, and with this, I can see the potential. I think as time goes on, this show will get better.
Final verdict: 7/10.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Rebuild Of Evangelion: Reboot... Or Time Loop Sequel?
I found the Rebuild of Evangelion series last year. Of course, like any anime fan I was already aware of Evangelion, though when I first heard of it, I must say I was not into "Robot anime". However, I later decided to try it out on a whim and bought the first two movies (3.33 has on;ly just released here in the West on home media).
This got me to look into the original series, and I now have a couple of those DVDs as well as the full manga.
The Rebuild of Evangelion series is billed as a retelling of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, with a new ending and no relation to the previous series. However, upon further inspection, can this really be considered the truth? What if Rebuild of Evangelion is not a reboot, but a time loop sequel? I will present a few points in favour of this, per-film, starting with evidence in Evangelion 1.11.
Evangelion 1.11
Let's start at the start. The film starts off with us looking at the waves of a red ocean lapping at the sands... exactly how End of Evangelion, the true ending to the original series, ended. In fact, the whole ocean is red, like the ocean is at the climax of EoE. We see shots of Tokyo 3, and amongst those... there's an Evangelion-sized marking on one of the hillsides in the city, with its arms outstretched. It looks startlingly like the silhouette of the ptrified Mass Produced Evangelions from EoE.
The rest of the film carries on almost exactly the same as the first few episodes of the original series. There is a slight deviation when Shinji is worried about facing up to the Sixth Angel. Here, to strengthen Shinji's resolve, Misato takes him to Central Dogma (not named Terminal Dogma) where we see Lilith, pinned to the cross with the Spear of Longinus in its chest. Some of Lilith's details have changed but what matters here is the deviation in that Misato is fully aware that this is Lilith, not Adam, who makes no appearance, or even a mention, in this film.
SEELE has gone down in membership, now standing at seven members. In the original series they had almost double that membership at 12.
The last piece of evidence comes towards the film. You see the Moon, which has a blood stain across it. This blood stain is very similar to the one left when Lilith died at the end of EoE. The moon has nine coffins on it, with Kaworu Nagisa awakening from the fifth, four already being opened. Remember this: this will be significant in the next section. What we need to focus on is what Kaworu says:
"The third again, huh? You never change, do you?"
Why this is significant is because this shows Kaworu has known Shinji before. Given prrevious iterations of the character only ever had him meet with Shinji much, much later, it suggests he remembers previous versions of events.
Evangelion 2.22
Remember what I said above about the four open chests? Well, the movie has a scene showing a crucial change from the original series. In the original series, Adam, the First Angel, was awoken when the Spear of Longinus was pulled from it and he brought about Second Impact. A flashback in the film shows not Adam, but four giants of light, and four Spears of Longinus. You also see a difference in how Second Impact is portrayed: there is a black hole with four crosses in the centre of it, with a multicoloured circle extending out. Remember this, because it comes into the next section.
At the end of the film, before the preview for the next one, Kaworu in Evangelion Mark.06 hurls the Spear of Cassius (not seen previously) at an Awakened Unit 01. As Mark.06 descends to Earth, Kaworu remarks "The promised time has come, Ikari Shinji-kun. This time, at least, I will make you happy." It's a curious choice of words that suggests Kaworu has tried to make Shinji happy previously. If the time loop theory is true, perhaps Unit 01 carried out a full Third Impact in the previous timeline that caused something similar to EoE to occur.
Evangelion 3.33
The film primarily centres around the Shinji/Kaworu relationship. Kaworu gives Shinji the idea to fix the damage caused by Third Impact (damage that appears to have been done off-screen between this film and the last - debate is open as to whether Near Third Impact, triggered by Unit 01 caused this damage or whether there was a later continuation of Third Impact) by siezing the Spears of Longinus and Cassius and using those to reformat the world. Clearly, Kaworu knows the power these two Spears hold, yet when Shinji and Kaworu arrive in Central Dogma to retrieve them in Evangelion 13, they find two Spears of Longinus in their place. Shinji foolishly siezes them and triggers Fourth Impact. Here, we see into the vortex created by Fourth Impact. There, we can see a distant, moon-like object or the end of the tunnel created by the vortex. And just inside the vortex, you can see four crosses like the ones left behidn by the Adams in Evangelion 2.22.
During Fourth Impact, Kaworu dies, remarking that he will one day see Shinji again. As Shinji's Entry Plug is pulled from the awakened Evangelion 13, we see Kaworu zoom away. This could be metaphorical, but remember, there were four chests open already.
So here's where I make the point that the Impact votexes are actually time portals. Perhaps ones created solely through the Spears of Longinus cause the devastation seen in the films but the Spear of Cassius might balance that out to prevent damage while keeping a portal open. Somebody theorised that the Four 'Adams', as the four giants of light at Second Impact are called, are the remnants of previous attempts at Instrumentality, or the remnants of previous versions of Kaworu. I'm not sure on that (for how would it explain more than one Spear of Longinus?) but I'm fairly certain the whole lead-up will have Shinji go back in time to a point before Third Impact to undo the damage.
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 etc.
As my last piece, I'll point out the title of the movie is Evangelion 3.0+1.0 etc. This is curious title for a movie as opposed to 4.0, some have theorised this means to connect the fourth movie to the previous movies rather than just be a sequel. Of interest, however, is that the Japanese subtitle for the film ends with the musical symbol of an end repeat, which tells a musician to go back to the start.
This got me to look into the original series, and I now have a couple of those DVDs as well as the full manga.
The Rebuild of Evangelion series is billed as a retelling of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, with a new ending and no relation to the previous series. However, upon further inspection, can this really be considered the truth? What if Rebuild of Evangelion is not a reboot, but a time loop sequel? I will present a few points in favour of this, per-film, starting with evidence in Evangelion 1.11.
Evangelion 1.11
Let's start at the start. The film starts off with us looking at the waves of a red ocean lapping at the sands... exactly how End of Evangelion, the true ending to the original series, ended. In fact, the whole ocean is red, like the ocean is at the climax of EoE. We see shots of Tokyo 3, and amongst those... there's an Evangelion-sized marking on one of the hillsides in the city, with its arms outstretched. It looks startlingly like the silhouette of the ptrified Mass Produced Evangelions from EoE.
The rest of the film carries on almost exactly the same as the first few episodes of the original series. There is a slight deviation when Shinji is worried about facing up to the Sixth Angel. Here, to strengthen Shinji's resolve, Misato takes him to Central Dogma (not named Terminal Dogma) where we see Lilith, pinned to the cross with the Spear of Longinus in its chest. Some of Lilith's details have changed but what matters here is the deviation in that Misato is fully aware that this is Lilith, not Adam, who makes no appearance, or even a mention, in this film.
SEELE has gone down in membership, now standing at seven members. In the original series they had almost double that membership at 12.
The last piece of evidence comes towards the film. You see the Moon, which has a blood stain across it. This blood stain is very similar to the one left when Lilith died at the end of EoE. The moon has nine coffins on it, with Kaworu Nagisa awakening from the fifth, four already being opened. Remember this: this will be significant in the next section. What we need to focus on is what Kaworu says:
"The third again, huh? You never change, do you?"
Why this is significant is because this shows Kaworu has known Shinji before. Given prrevious iterations of the character only ever had him meet with Shinji much, much later, it suggests he remembers previous versions of events.
Evangelion 2.22
Remember what I said above about the four open chests? Well, the movie has a scene showing a crucial change from the original series. In the original series, Adam, the First Angel, was awoken when the Spear of Longinus was pulled from it and he brought about Second Impact. A flashback in the film shows not Adam, but four giants of light, and four Spears of Longinus. You also see a difference in how Second Impact is portrayed: there is a black hole with four crosses in the centre of it, with a multicoloured circle extending out. Remember this, because it comes into the next section.
At the end of the film, before the preview for the next one, Kaworu in Evangelion Mark.06 hurls the Spear of Cassius (not seen previously) at an Awakened Unit 01. As Mark.06 descends to Earth, Kaworu remarks "The promised time has come, Ikari Shinji-kun. This time, at least, I will make you happy." It's a curious choice of words that suggests Kaworu has tried to make Shinji happy previously. If the time loop theory is true, perhaps Unit 01 carried out a full Third Impact in the previous timeline that caused something similar to EoE to occur.
Evangelion 3.33
The film primarily centres around the Shinji/Kaworu relationship. Kaworu gives Shinji the idea to fix the damage caused by Third Impact (damage that appears to have been done off-screen between this film and the last - debate is open as to whether Near Third Impact, triggered by Unit 01 caused this damage or whether there was a later continuation of Third Impact) by siezing the Spears of Longinus and Cassius and using those to reformat the world. Clearly, Kaworu knows the power these two Spears hold, yet when Shinji and Kaworu arrive in Central Dogma to retrieve them in Evangelion 13, they find two Spears of Longinus in their place. Shinji foolishly siezes them and triggers Fourth Impact. Here, we see into the vortex created by Fourth Impact. There, we can see a distant, moon-like object or the end of the tunnel created by the vortex. And just inside the vortex, you can see four crosses like the ones left behidn by the Adams in Evangelion 2.22.
During Fourth Impact, Kaworu dies, remarking that he will one day see Shinji again. As Shinji's Entry Plug is pulled from the awakened Evangelion 13, we see Kaworu zoom away. This could be metaphorical, but remember, there were four chests open already.
So here's where I make the point that the Impact votexes are actually time portals. Perhaps ones created solely through the Spears of Longinus cause the devastation seen in the films but the Spear of Cassius might balance that out to prevent damage while keeping a portal open. Somebody theorised that the Four 'Adams', as the four giants of light at Second Impact are called, are the remnants of previous attempts at Instrumentality, or the remnants of previous versions of Kaworu. I'm not sure on that (for how would it explain more than one Spear of Longinus?) but I'm fairly certain the whole lead-up will have Shinji go back in time to a point before Third Impact to undo the damage.
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 etc.
As my last piece, I'll point out the title of the movie is Evangelion 3.0+1.0 etc. This is curious title for a movie as opposed to 4.0, some have theorised this means to connect the fourth movie to the previous movies rather than just be a sequel. Of interest, however, is that the Japanese subtitle for the film ends with the musical symbol of an end repeat, which tells a musician to go back to the start.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
The Star Wars: Battlefront III Conundrum
Anybody who knows the video game world well enough will by now have heard the news: a prototype XBox360 version of Free Radical's doomed "Star Wars: Battlefront III" has made it onto the Internet. With it comes all sorts of interesting things. Already, talk of porting and finishing it for PC has begun and people are already trying to crack into the game's files to retrieve assets from them.
EA released a new Star Wars Battlefront game last year, and it did quite wel in sales. But it was always going to be missing something. It made the hardcore lament the unfinished Free Radical game, which, if finished, would have boasted a campaign, multiple worlds, two eras, and a new Galactic Conquest, as well as that now-famous seamless ground-to-space combat.
As I said before, somebody is undoubtedly going to try to finish it. EA will most likely not allow this. But here's the thing: EA should take a leaf from the book of another well-known video game developer/publisher when it comes to this particular game.
I am of course talking about Sega and their hiring of Taxman and Stealth to port the original Sonic the Hegdgehog games to newer systems. Now, of course, I understand there's a world of difference between a finished game that originated on a console well over twenty years old and a game that was never even released and not even acknowledged by the publisher.
EA, this is where you can earn big money. If you were to allow a team of people to port the game to PC, then to Xbox One and PS4, and release this game with a different Battlefront title and release it on XBL, PSN and Steam, you are guaranteed a boatload of money from people who desperately would love to play the finished product. It wouldn't need to be a disc release at all. Nor would you be obliged to bring the quality on a complete par with the environments in your new game. Jusst allow it to be finished.
Instead, you can rest assured EA will attempt to scrub any attempt at finishing what Free Radical started in a misguided effort to keep attention on their own game. That is what is sad: this game had a right to exist in the first place. Finishing and releasing it would act as closure to the old Battlefront franchise.
EA released a new Star Wars Battlefront game last year, and it did quite wel in sales. But it was always going to be missing something. It made the hardcore lament the unfinished Free Radical game, which, if finished, would have boasted a campaign, multiple worlds, two eras, and a new Galactic Conquest, as well as that now-famous seamless ground-to-space combat.
As I said before, somebody is undoubtedly going to try to finish it. EA will most likely not allow this. But here's the thing: EA should take a leaf from the book of another well-known video game developer/publisher when it comes to this particular game.
I am of course talking about Sega and their hiring of Taxman and Stealth to port the original Sonic the Hegdgehog games to newer systems. Now, of course, I understand there's a world of difference between a finished game that originated on a console well over twenty years old and a game that was never even released and not even acknowledged by the publisher.
EA, this is where you can earn big money. If you were to allow a team of people to port the game to PC, then to Xbox One and PS4, and release this game with a different Battlefront title and release it on XBL, PSN and Steam, you are guaranteed a boatload of money from people who desperately would love to play the finished product. It wouldn't need to be a disc release at all. Nor would you be obliged to bring the quality on a complete par with the environments in your new game. Jusst allow it to be finished.
Instead, you can rest assured EA will attempt to scrub any attempt at finishing what Free Radical started in a misguided effort to keep attention on their own game. That is what is sad: this game had a right to exist in the first place. Finishing and releasing it would act as closure to the old Battlefront franchise.
Saturday, 2 January 2016
What They Could Improve In The Next Star Wars Battlefront
I wrote this before it came to my attention that EA have been sending out surveys to players asking what they would like to see in the next game. I did not get the survey, but the timing couldn't be more appropriate. So treat this as my answer to the survey.
So, a lot of people have started switching off the game, I'd wager, because the same content gets old after a little while. Star Wars Battlefront held a decent amount of promise that has unfortunately gone undelivered.
Here is a list of what I would do in the next Star Wars Battlefront game.
-The Clone Wars and Second Conflict eras
The game chose to focus on Galactic Civil War only, but by the time the next game comes out, we'll have two films set in what I have taken to calling "The Second Conflict". I think this era needs to be included. The Clone Wars is also a massive conflict that needs to be included, not least as the era presents a wealth of locations.
-Better selection of locations
The idea of sticking to the Original Trilogy limited the planet selection somewhat, so tying into the point above, we should have better location selection, among other planets that should be included. Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Utapau, Naboo, D'Qar, Starkiller, Yavin IV, Dantooine: these would all be good locations for battles.
-Classes alongside a customizeable class
Battlefront's customization idesa are intriguing. But they don't have enough depth to stand on their own. So I would suggest bringing back classes from the first two games. These would each have a pre-set appearance, weapon and Star Card set.
-Better single player
One of the bhe big flaws with this game is its lack of single player content. This might surprise EA, but a lot of people who played the original Pandemic games played it solo. This game did not even get a campaign. Yes, I know I have ragged on the campaigns of the previous two Battlefield games. But this is Star Wars: there's plenty of places where they could insert a story that doesn't have to be built from the ground up. On top of a campaign, many missed the Instant Action feature, which was essentialy replaced with Battles. Instant Action doesn't have to have every single online mode, but some of them would be nice (for instance, Walker Assault, Fighter Squadron and Heroes Versus Villains would be nice).
-Bring back Conquest
Conspicuous in its absence in this new game is Conquest, a mode which you just capture all the enemy control points while defending your own. A new mode is presented called Supremacy but the rules of that mode are not the same as classic Conquest.
-Better vehicle selection
The game stuck to the films on vehicles, to the point where if it comes down to a vehicular showdown, the Empire always has the advantage. This needs to be changed so that the Rebels have an equal chance with vehicles. They could have poached some Clone Wars-era tech.
-Take the battle into space
It should go without saying. The clue's in the freaking title: "Star Wars", not "Planet Wars". So put some space action in there. In fact, prove Free Radical wrong when they said they were the only ones who could do it: make seamless ground-to-space a feature of a revamped Conquest mode. Make Fighter Squadron a space mode.
-Customizeable weapons
Why are the weapons in this game not upgradeable? Imagine some of the upgrades you could buy: increased fire-rate, better stock for steadying the weapon, switch out the magazine for one that won't overheat at the cost of needing ammo, increase mag size, scopes... endless possibilites for the weapons here!
-Improve the Star Cards
The Star Cards are an interesting idea, but they need to be improved on. First thing's first: ammo for certain types of Star Card. You should not have a limitless supply of Thermal Detonators or Ion Rockets. Second, improve the customization. At current, you only get one upgrade and that is to either reduce the cooldown time or increase the active time. Some of the above for weapons could go for this too.
-Improve the spawns
Spawns are a mess in the new game. I've had it where I'm playing Walker Assault, and as soon as I spawn, I get axed because an enemy spawns right behind me a second later. Tie the spawns to the team's objectives: the Imperials need to protect their AT-AT? Have them spawn at their walker.
-Mod Tools
This is one of the big bugbears for me. Why not release mod tools for the game? Please don't say it's because they're tailored to work on DICE's systems only, because that's insulting. Pandemic's were tailored for their machines, yet they released those tools to the public. Not only that, but Battlefront's arch-rival shoter, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is getting mod tools. You just know somebody will do a Star Wars mod for that because they can't do it with Battlefront. Some will speculate it's because users will create a 'better' game than what got released. But that's something EA has to consider. Modders have infinite time on their hands whereas developers have to work with the time given to them.
At the moment, this is all I can think of, but I think I've hit the major points I wanted to make. So, do you agree? Disagree? Want to add some to the list?
So, a lot of people have started switching off the game, I'd wager, because the same content gets old after a little while. Star Wars Battlefront held a decent amount of promise that has unfortunately gone undelivered.
Here is a list of what I would do in the next Star Wars Battlefront game.
-The Clone Wars and Second Conflict eras
The game chose to focus on Galactic Civil War only, but by the time the next game comes out, we'll have two films set in what I have taken to calling "The Second Conflict". I think this era needs to be included. The Clone Wars is also a massive conflict that needs to be included, not least as the era presents a wealth of locations.
-Better selection of locations
The idea of sticking to the Original Trilogy limited the planet selection somewhat, so tying into the point above, we should have better location selection, among other planets that should be included. Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Utapau, Naboo, D'Qar, Starkiller, Yavin IV, Dantooine: these would all be good locations for battles.
-Classes alongside a customizeable class
Battlefront's customization idesa are intriguing. But they don't have enough depth to stand on their own. So I would suggest bringing back classes from the first two games. These would each have a pre-set appearance, weapon and Star Card set.
-Better single player
One of the bhe big flaws with this game is its lack of single player content. This might surprise EA, but a lot of people who played the original Pandemic games played it solo. This game did not even get a campaign. Yes, I know I have ragged on the campaigns of the previous two Battlefield games. But this is Star Wars: there's plenty of places where they could insert a story that doesn't have to be built from the ground up. On top of a campaign, many missed the Instant Action feature, which was essentialy replaced with Battles. Instant Action doesn't have to have every single online mode, but some of them would be nice (for instance, Walker Assault, Fighter Squadron and Heroes Versus Villains would be nice).
-Bring back Conquest
Conspicuous in its absence in this new game is Conquest, a mode which you just capture all the enemy control points while defending your own. A new mode is presented called Supremacy but the rules of that mode are not the same as classic Conquest.
-Better vehicle selection
The game stuck to the films on vehicles, to the point where if it comes down to a vehicular showdown, the Empire always has the advantage. This needs to be changed so that the Rebels have an equal chance with vehicles. They could have poached some Clone Wars-era tech.
-Take the battle into space
It should go without saying. The clue's in the freaking title: "Star Wars", not "Planet Wars". So put some space action in there. In fact, prove Free Radical wrong when they said they were the only ones who could do it: make seamless ground-to-space a feature of a revamped Conquest mode. Make Fighter Squadron a space mode.
-Customizeable weapons
Why are the weapons in this game not upgradeable? Imagine some of the upgrades you could buy: increased fire-rate, better stock for steadying the weapon, switch out the magazine for one that won't overheat at the cost of needing ammo, increase mag size, scopes... endless possibilites for the weapons here!
-Improve the Star Cards
The Star Cards are an interesting idea, but they need to be improved on. First thing's first: ammo for certain types of Star Card. You should not have a limitless supply of Thermal Detonators or Ion Rockets. Second, improve the customization. At current, you only get one upgrade and that is to either reduce the cooldown time or increase the active time. Some of the above for weapons could go for this too.
-Improve the spawns
Spawns are a mess in the new game. I've had it where I'm playing Walker Assault, and as soon as I spawn, I get axed because an enemy spawns right behind me a second later. Tie the spawns to the team's objectives: the Imperials need to protect their AT-AT? Have them spawn at their walker.
-Mod Tools
This is one of the big bugbears for me. Why not release mod tools for the game? Please don't say it's because they're tailored to work on DICE's systems only, because that's insulting. Pandemic's were tailored for their machines, yet they released those tools to the public. Not only that, but Battlefront's arch-rival shoter, Call of Duty: Black Ops III is getting mod tools. You just know somebody will do a Star Wars mod for that because they can't do it with Battlefront. Some will speculate it's because users will create a 'better' game than what got released. But that's something EA has to consider. Modders have infinite time on their hands whereas developers have to work with the time given to them.
At the moment, this is all I can think of, but I think I've hit the major points I wanted to make. So, do you agree? Disagree? Want to add some to the list?
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Top 10 video games (as of 2015)
I didn't play enough games this year to do a top 5 or top 3, even, so I'm going to list the top ten favourite games I have played. Bear in mind, this is all opinion, and I will be starting at number 10. So without any further wait, let's dive in. The list includes the platform I have scored it for.
10 -Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows (Xbox360)
I might consider this my favourite Spider-Man game. In it, during a battle with archnemesis Venom, Spider-Man accidentally receives a piece of the Symbiote, restoing his famous Black Suit and giving him new abilities. Soon, New York is overrun by a Symbiote Invasion as Venom discovers the ability to replicate. Technically, while Spider-Man 2 had more depth, this was the second Spider-Man game I played on XBox 360 (the first being the abysmal Spider-Man 3) and I have had many replays out of it.
09 - Star Wars Battlefront (PlayStation 4)
The first of the rebooted Star Wars Battlefront series developed by DICE and published by EA. I feel this could have been higher on the list, because it's still a fun shooter, but the lack of launch content lets it down, and the fact that there's a season pass that adds a ton of stuff to the game makes you wonder if they did slice tow game in two.
08 -Tomb Raider (PlayStation)
Another game that had a huge amount of mileage in the day, this game was one of my favourites on the PlayStation. It folowed Lara Croft as she journeyed to Peru, Greece, Egypt, then to the lost continent of Atlantis, in search of an artifact called the Scion. It spawned numerous sequels, a remake and eventually got two reboots (first a soft reboot in Tomb Raider Legend, then Tomb Raider, which I feel is too similar to Uncharted)
07 -Sonic Generations (XBox 360)
Undoubtedly the best Sonic game in ages, this was also let down by its lack of content, with a four hour completion time and no DLC to expand upon the idea. You play as both Modern Sonic as defined since Sonic Unleashed, and Classic Sonic in side-scrolling levels like the Genesis days. Mods on the PC have kept this game alive. It's still fun to pop in once in a while, though.
06 -Medal Of Honor (PlayStation)
This was my first first-person shooter, and it took me quite a while to beat it. It didn't seem as well-detailed to me as Medal of Honor Underground, but it was still a great shooter that gave you a history lesson and was more than just killing things. It's just a shame the series is now dead.
05 - Pokemon Blue (Game Boy)
While technically not my first Pokemon game (Yellow had that distinction), Blue will remain one of my favourites. I had a tough choice on whether to include Blue or Gold, and Blue won out, but only just.
04 - Medal Of Honor Underground (PlayStation)
I bought both Medal of Honor and Underground in a pack, so I got to experience both at the same time. I beat Underground first, and I loved its diversity of locations and weapon choice. It also had a bonus mission in which you played protagonist of the first game, Jimmy Patterson, as he infiltrated a factory making nutcracker soldiers.
03 - Star Wars: Battlefront (PC)
I first played this game on PS2, and I was hooked instantly, so I jumped at the chance to get the PC version when I could. Mods have made this game last a very, very long time. The only game better in this series was...
02 - Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC)
... which introduced a slew of new features: an objective-based campaign, Jedi heroes you could play as, space battles, a new Galactic Conquest. Once again, mods have kept this game alive, and each mod gets more and more creative. For instance, we now have seamless space-to-ground, ALA the cancelled Star Wars: Battlefront III, in there.
01 -Grand Theft Auto V (PlayStation 4)
I have played this game a lot on XBox 360, I have played through the campaign numerous times and it just doesn't get old. There's enough choice, enough differences in each playthrough, to keep you going on this game for a long, long time. On the PS4, there are even more features, such as a first-person mode, continued updates, higher detail... this is, for me, my favourite video game of all time, and it will take a lot of effort to knock it off the top spot.
10 -Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows (Xbox360)
I might consider this my favourite Spider-Man game. In it, during a battle with archnemesis Venom, Spider-Man accidentally receives a piece of the Symbiote, restoing his famous Black Suit and giving him new abilities. Soon, New York is overrun by a Symbiote Invasion as Venom discovers the ability to replicate. Technically, while Spider-Man 2 had more depth, this was the second Spider-Man game I played on XBox 360 (the first being the abysmal Spider-Man 3) and I have had many replays out of it.
09 - Star Wars Battlefront (PlayStation 4)
The first of the rebooted Star Wars Battlefront series developed by DICE and published by EA. I feel this could have been higher on the list, because it's still a fun shooter, but the lack of launch content lets it down, and the fact that there's a season pass that adds a ton of stuff to the game makes you wonder if they did slice tow game in two.
08 -Tomb Raider (PlayStation)
Another game that had a huge amount of mileage in the day, this game was one of my favourites on the PlayStation. It folowed Lara Croft as she journeyed to Peru, Greece, Egypt, then to the lost continent of Atlantis, in search of an artifact called the Scion. It spawned numerous sequels, a remake and eventually got two reboots (first a soft reboot in Tomb Raider Legend, then Tomb Raider, which I feel is too similar to Uncharted)
07 -Sonic Generations (XBox 360)
Undoubtedly the best Sonic game in ages, this was also let down by its lack of content, with a four hour completion time and no DLC to expand upon the idea. You play as both Modern Sonic as defined since Sonic Unleashed, and Classic Sonic in side-scrolling levels like the Genesis days. Mods on the PC have kept this game alive. It's still fun to pop in once in a while, though.
06 -Medal Of Honor (PlayStation)
This was my first first-person shooter, and it took me quite a while to beat it. It didn't seem as well-detailed to me as Medal of Honor Underground, but it was still a great shooter that gave you a history lesson and was more than just killing things. It's just a shame the series is now dead.
05 - Pokemon Blue (Game Boy)
While technically not my first Pokemon game (Yellow had that distinction), Blue will remain one of my favourites. I had a tough choice on whether to include Blue or Gold, and Blue won out, but only just.
04 - Medal Of Honor Underground (PlayStation)
I bought both Medal of Honor and Underground in a pack, so I got to experience both at the same time. I beat Underground first, and I loved its diversity of locations and weapon choice. It also had a bonus mission in which you played protagonist of the first game, Jimmy Patterson, as he infiltrated a factory making nutcracker soldiers.
03 - Star Wars: Battlefront (PC)
I first played this game on PS2, and I was hooked instantly, so I jumped at the chance to get the PC version when I could. Mods have made this game last a very, very long time. The only game better in this series was...
02 - Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC)
... which introduced a slew of new features: an objective-based campaign, Jedi heroes you could play as, space battles, a new Galactic Conquest. Once again, mods have kept this game alive, and each mod gets more and more creative. For instance, we now have seamless space-to-ground, ALA the cancelled Star Wars: Battlefront III, in there.
01 -Grand Theft Auto V (PlayStation 4)
I have played this game a lot on XBox 360, I have played through the campaign numerous times and it just doesn't get old. There's enough choice, enough differences in each playthrough, to keep you going on this game for a long, long time. On the PS4, there are even more features, such as a first-person mode, continued updates, higher detail... this is, for me, my favourite video game of all time, and it will take a lot of effort to knock it off the top spot.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review
Firstly, a warning. Though I don't intend on spoiling the big plot points of the film for those who have yet to see it, I will be posting mild spoilers.
Three years ago, George Lucas sold LucasFilm to Disney, along with plans to make three new Star Wars films that carry on the Skywalker story. At the time, I really could not have cared less for anything Star Wars, and I was one of the people who greeted the announcement of Episode VII with a "meh".
Over time, that has changed, and it even got me to go back and re-watch the first six in preparation of the new film. I will confess that I fully intended to review all six before I went to see the new film, and it has been nearly a week since I saw it, but I wanted a bit of time to look at the film a bit more objectively, to let the hype go down before reviewing it.
The film is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker has gone missing following the betrayal of one of his Jedi apprentices, leading to the destruction of the new Jedi Order. The Rebel Alliance has reorganised into a New Republic, and the Galactic Empire, having been humiliated both at Endor, and a year later at Jakku, have signed a Galactic Concordance which disarms them, and they fragmented and disappeared into the Unknown Regions, with the First Order arising from the ashes of the Empire (it's not entirely clear if the First Order are rebuilt from the whole of what remained of the Empire, or whether they are one remnant, with other remnants of the Empire out there). The New Republic, essentially disarmed as well, begrudingly supports a Resistance against the First Order. The film introduces a lot of new characters: Rey, a scavenger stranded on Jakku yet waiting for her family to return; Poe Dameron, a pilot with the Resistance; Finn, a stormtrooper who abandons the First Order after realising the wrong they are committing; and BB-8, a new astromech droid with a ball for a body. On the Dark Side, you have Kylo Ren, ex-apprentice to Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader fanatic (there's a little more to him though that goes into things I don't wish to spoil); General Hux, leader of the First Order forces at Starkiller Base; Captain Phasma, who regretfully is underused in the film; and Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren's master and the true leader of the First Order.
Without spoiling too much, some say the plot is a rehash of A New Hope. I personally feel that description, while technically not inaccurate, is doing a disservice to the film, as there is enough different to A New Hope for this film to stand out on its own. It's like laying the same charge at Return Of The Jedi's door. I personally find the new characters mostly engaging and interesting (definitely more so than any of the characters in the Prequels). The comedy is timed right and written well. The use of the original characters was done well, with the film not focusing too much on them at the cost of the newer characters. The only real issue I take with the film is the fact the First Order was able to get away with building Starkiller, which is, for lack of a better term, a bigger, meaner Death Star. Kylo Ren's character was done well enough but the choice of actor to play him could have been better (then again, they could have gotten Hayden Christensen to play him).
At the time, I said this film was beter than Empire Strikes Back. Reviewing it a little more objectively, I would place Empire Strikes Back in my top spot for Star Wars films, with The Force Awakens coming in second. The Force Awakens still knocks Jurassic World off my top spot as my favourite film of the year, and this film leaves me optimistic for the next two films in the Episodic series.
Final verdict: 8/10.
Three years ago, George Lucas sold LucasFilm to Disney, along with plans to make three new Star Wars films that carry on the Skywalker story. At the time, I really could not have cared less for anything Star Wars, and I was one of the people who greeted the announcement of Episode VII with a "meh".
Over time, that has changed, and it even got me to go back and re-watch the first six in preparation of the new film. I will confess that I fully intended to review all six before I went to see the new film, and it has been nearly a week since I saw it, but I wanted a bit of time to look at the film a bit more objectively, to let the hype go down before reviewing it.
The film is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker has gone missing following the betrayal of one of his Jedi apprentices, leading to the destruction of the new Jedi Order. The Rebel Alliance has reorganised into a New Republic, and the Galactic Empire, having been humiliated both at Endor, and a year later at Jakku, have signed a Galactic Concordance which disarms them, and they fragmented and disappeared into the Unknown Regions, with the First Order arising from the ashes of the Empire (it's not entirely clear if the First Order are rebuilt from the whole of what remained of the Empire, or whether they are one remnant, with other remnants of the Empire out there). The New Republic, essentially disarmed as well, begrudingly supports a Resistance against the First Order. The film introduces a lot of new characters: Rey, a scavenger stranded on Jakku yet waiting for her family to return; Poe Dameron, a pilot with the Resistance; Finn, a stormtrooper who abandons the First Order after realising the wrong they are committing; and BB-8, a new astromech droid with a ball for a body. On the Dark Side, you have Kylo Ren, ex-apprentice to Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader fanatic (there's a little more to him though that goes into things I don't wish to spoil); General Hux, leader of the First Order forces at Starkiller Base; Captain Phasma, who regretfully is underused in the film; and Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren's master and the true leader of the First Order.
Without spoiling too much, some say the plot is a rehash of A New Hope. I personally feel that description, while technically not inaccurate, is doing a disservice to the film, as there is enough different to A New Hope for this film to stand out on its own. It's like laying the same charge at Return Of The Jedi's door. I personally find the new characters mostly engaging and interesting (definitely more so than any of the characters in the Prequels). The comedy is timed right and written well. The use of the original characters was done well, with the film not focusing too much on them at the cost of the newer characters. The only real issue I take with the film is the fact the First Order was able to get away with building Starkiller, which is, for lack of a better term, a bigger, meaner Death Star. Kylo Ren's character was done well enough but the choice of actor to play him could have been better (then again, they could have gotten Hayden Christensen to play him).
At the time, I said this film was beter than Empire Strikes Back. Reviewing it a little more objectively, I would place Empire Strikes Back in my top spot for Star Wars films, with The Force Awakens coming in second. The Force Awakens still knocks Jurassic World off my top spot as my favourite film of the year, and this film leaves me optimistic for the next two films in the Episodic series.
Final verdict: 8/10.
Friday, 18 December 2015
Star Wars: Episode II: Atack Of The Clones Review (Countdown to "The Force Awakens")
Wednesday saw the embargo lifted on the new film. We now know it is very positively received by the critics, so we'll use today to go from the best to what I view as the worst the franchise has to offer.
I would type a full summary of the film as I did with the last one, but here's the problem. This film is just plain boring. It's like watching Sky News at miday on a Wednesday, only without the comedic potshots fired by real-life politicians. Most of the story focuses either around the political situation involving the Separatists, a cause we are not really given much explanation about, and a forced love story between a late-teen Anakin and Padme Amidala, who is now a Senator instead of Queen of Naboo. Obi-Wan goes to investigate an assassination attempt on Amidala, only to uncover first a clone army meant to serve the Republic (which can't have an army officially) made from the very assassin he is looking for, and later on the fact the Separatists, including Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray, are planning on going to war with the Republic. We get our first glimpse into the fabled 'clone wars'.
Don't get me wrong. The film is not all bad, but there is far less of the good stuff in Attack of the Clones than there was in the Phantom Menace (and that was sparse enough). The lightsaber duel at the end of the film, which has a jumping beanbag Yoda, is clearly an attempt to one-up the fight of the last film, and the final conflict is not that interesting. Even the score is almost an afterthought in some ways (though it is much better in more completed form). The acting is stiff, and the love story is awkward, which makes it all the more painful to sit through the film.
All-in-all, this film is just dull. You could easily skip it and you'd really not be missing all that much in the next film that you could not figure out yourself.
Final verdict: 3/10.
I would type a full summary of the film as I did with the last one, but here's the problem. This film is just plain boring. It's like watching Sky News at miday on a Wednesday, only without the comedic potshots fired by real-life politicians. Most of the story focuses either around the political situation involving the Separatists, a cause we are not really given much explanation about, and a forced love story between a late-teen Anakin and Padme Amidala, who is now a Senator instead of Queen of Naboo. Obi-Wan goes to investigate an assassination attempt on Amidala, only to uncover first a clone army meant to serve the Republic (which can't have an army officially) made from the very assassin he is looking for, and later on the fact the Separatists, including Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray, are planning on going to war with the Republic. We get our first glimpse into the fabled 'clone wars'.
Don't get me wrong. The film is not all bad, but there is far less of the good stuff in Attack of the Clones than there was in the Phantom Menace (and that was sparse enough). The lightsaber duel at the end of the film, which has a jumping beanbag Yoda, is clearly an attempt to one-up the fight of the last film, and the final conflict is not that interesting. Even the score is almost an afterthought in some ways (though it is much better in more completed form). The acting is stiff, and the love story is awkward, which makes it all the more painful to sit through the film.
All-in-all, this film is just dull. You could easily skip it and you'd really not be missing all that much in the next film that you could not figure out yourself.
Final verdict: 3/10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)