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.
Thursday, 21 January 2016
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.
Saturday, 12 December 2015
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace review (Countdown To The Force Awakens)
I will be going to see The Force Awakens next Saturday, so I thought that in the run up to the film, I would review the six preceeding Star Wars films in chronological order, so we start with the film that started the divide among the Star Wars fanbase, Star Wars Episode I.
I first saw this film in the cinema in the town over when I was 9. At the time, I was blown away (I was 9, did I mention that?). But as time went on, up to now, the film's flaws became more evident. Let's start with the start. The intro explains that there has been a trade dispute, and that as a result, the evil Trade Federation have blockaded Naboo. The Chancellor of the Republic has gone behind the Senate's back and sent two Jedi ambassadors, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Naboo to settle the dispute. Unknown to them, the Trade Federation is backed by Darth Sidious (let's face it, all us who watched the older films knew who he was straight away), a Sith lord and sworn enemy of the Jedi, who orders the Viceroy of the Trade Federation to kill the Jedi and invade Naboo. This part is fine in my view: we have a light skirmish aboard the Trade Federation ship as the Jedi fight their way to try to get to the Viceroy, only to have the tables turned on them and have to flee. It's after this that many people started seeing the film's problems.
The Jedi escape to Naboo, where they meet a local Gungan by the name of Jar-Jar Binks. He's clearly in the film to cater to a children's audience, but those who watched the original films despise him with a passion. He's clumsy, unfunny, you could have cut him out of the film and it would not have made much of an impact on the plot.
So, Jar-Jar leads the Jedi to his underwater city home, where he is arrested and brought before Boss Nass, the Gungan leader. Qui-Gon tricks Boss Nass into allowing them to leave with Jar-Jar and a submarine that will take them to Naboo's capital, Theed. When the arrive, they jailbreak Queen Amidala, and try to escape in the Queen's starship, but a lucky shot from the Trade Federation battleship disables the hyperdrive and they are forced to arrive in familiar territory, Tatooine (the sand planet from the real first Star Wars film). Here, they meet a slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, and make a deal with Anakin's owner, Watto, that if Anakin wins the upcoming Boonta Eve podrace, they will get both Anakin and the hyperdrive they need to reach Coruscant, capital planet of the Republic. Anakin has tough competition in the form of the Dug Sebulba (the Star Wars equivalent of Michael Schumacher) but of course, he wins and is freed.
Our heroes fix the hyperdrive and head for Coruscant after an encounter with Darth Maul, Darth Sidious' apprentice, only to find the Senate gripped in beurocracy and unwilling to act on the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo. Under the suggestion of Naboo's Senator, Palpatine, the Queen forces a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor, with Palpatine becoming the favourite to be the next Chancellor. Meanwhile, the Queen returns to Naboo with her entourage, where she convinces the Gungans to aid them in defeating the Trade Fedeartion. The Gungans draw the Trade Federation's droid armies away from Theed while the Queen and Jedi infiltrate Theed in an attempt to get to the hangar, use the starfighters there to knock out the Droid Control ship in orbit and capture the Viceroy. This would have been a better sequence if they had not cut so much to the Gungan battle.
Anakin accidentally sets off in a starfighter into orbit, and crashes inside the Droid Control ship, where he is perfectly positioned to take down its main reactor (what a coincidence). Meanwhile, the Jedi duel Darth Maul and the Queen is captured by the Viceroy, only to have the tide turn when the Droid Control Ship is destroyed. Meanwhile, Maul kills Qui-Gon and is soon defeated by Obi-Wan (rather gruseomely for a Star Wars movie, he is bisected). The Trade Federation surrenders, Palpatine becomes Chancellor, the Sith threat is seemingly over... or is it?
This movie was great when I was a child, and funnily enough I still get a sense of entertainment out of it. But it could have been a better movie. There were continuity errors when you compared these events to what happened in the original films, and George Lucas relied too heavily on Jar-Jar to keep the children entertained without balancing it out with something for older fans of the franchise. Is it a good film? Not by any stretch of the imagination could it be considered great, but it could have been worse (I find it better than Attack of the Clones). It's by no means the worst thing ever, like some fans would have you believe, and there were some truly awesome moments in there, such as the duel at the end of the film. The score, by renowned composer John Williams, is top-notch (if you listen to it correctly and not butchered) and the sound work is fairly solid. I'm sure buried under all the effects and Jar-Jar inclusions, there's a better film. It's not 'bad', but it certainly is far from the strongest this series has to offer.
Final verdict: 6/10.
I first saw this film in the cinema in the town over when I was 9. At the time, I was blown away (I was 9, did I mention that?). But as time went on, up to now, the film's flaws became more evident. Let's start with the start. The intro explains that there has been a trade dispute, and that as a result, the evil Trade Federation have blockaded Naboo. The Chancellor of the Republic has gone behind the Senate's back and sent two Jedi ambassadors, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Naboo to settle the dispute. Unknown to them, the Trade Federation is backed by Darth Sidious (let's face it, all us who watched the older films knew who he was straight away), a Sith lord and sworn enemy of the Jedi, who orders the Viceroy of the Trade Federation to kill the Jedi and invade Naboo. This part is fine in my view: we have a light skirmish aboard the Trade Federation ship as the Jedi fight their way to try to get to the Viceroy, only to have the tables turned on them and have to flee. It's after this that many people started seeing the film's problems.
The Jedi escape to Naboo, where they meet a local Gungan by the name of Jar-Jar Binks. He's clearly in the film to cater to a children's audience, but those who watched the original films despise him with a passion. He's clumsy, unfunny, you could have cut him out of the film and it would not have made much of an impact on the plot.
So, Jar-Jar leads the Jedi to his underwater city home, where he is arrested and brought before Boss Nass, the Gungan leader. Qui-Gon tricks Boss Nass into allowing them to leave with Jar-Jar and a submarine that will take them to Naboo's capital, Theed. When the arrive, they jailbreak Queen Amidala, and try to escape in the Queen's starship, but a lucky shot from the Trade Federation battleship disables the hyperdrive and they are forced to arrive in familiar territory, Tatooine (the sand planet from the real first Star Wars film). Here, they meet a slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, and make a deal with Anakin's owner, Watto, that if Anakin wins the upcoming Boonta Eve podrace, they will get both Anakin and the hyperdrive they need to reach Coruscant, capital planet of the Republic. Anakin has tough competition in the form of the Dug Sebulba (the Star Wars equivalent of Michael Schumacher) but of course, he wins and is freed.
Our heroes fix the hyperdrive and head for Coruscant after an encounter with Darth Maul, Darth Sidious' apprentice, only to find the Senate gripped in beurocracy and unwilling to act on the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo. Under the suggestion of Naboo's Senator, Palpatine, the Queen forces a vote of no confidence in the Chancellor, with Palpatine becoming the favourite to be the next Chancellor. Meanwhile, the Queen returns to Naboo with her entourage, where she convinces the Gungans to aid them in defeating the Trade Fedeartion. The Gungans draw the Trade Federation's droid armies away from Theed while the Queen and Jedi infiltrate Theed in an attempt to get to the hangar, use the starfighters there to knock out the Droid Control ship in orbit and capture the Viceroy. This would have been a better sequence if they had not cut so much to the Gungan battle.
Anakin accidentally sets off in a starfighter into orbit, and crashes inside the Droid Control ship, where he is perfectly positioned to take down its main reactor (what a coincidence). Meanwhile, the Jedi duel Darth Maul and the Queen is captured by the Viceroy, only to have the tide turn when the Droid Control Ship is destroyed. Meanwhile, Maul kills Qui-Gon and is soon defeated by Obi-Wan (rather gruseomely for a Star Wars movie, he is bisected). The Trade Federation surrenders, Palpatine becomes Chancellor, the Sith threat is seemingly over... or is it?
This movie was great when I was a child, and funnily enough I still get a sense of entertainment out of it. But it could have been a better movie. There were continuity errors when you compared these events to what happened in the original films, and George Lucas relied too heavily on Jar-Jar to keep the children entertained without balancing it out with something for older fans of the franchise. Is it a good film? Not by any stretch of the imagination could it be considered great, but it could have been worse (I find it better than Attack of the Clones). It's by no means the worst thing ever, like some fans would have you believe, and there were some truly awesome moments in there, such as the duel at the end of the film. The score, by renowned composer John Williams, is top-notch (if you listen to it correctly and not butchered) and the sound work is fairly solid. I'm sure buried under all the effects and Jar-Jar inclusions, there's a better film. It's not 'bad', but it certainly is far from the strongest this series has to offer.
Final verdict: 6/10.
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Terminator Genisys Six-month review
Let's do a half-year review of the newest entry into the Terminator Franchise, Terminator Genisys.
My original view of this film was higher than it is now. Originally, I said that this was the best film since Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That view is still in place: out of the three that have come after, to me it is still the best. But with time to review it further, there are several flaws in the film that in hindsight should not be overlooked and are detrimental to the film.
The film is written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier, and directed by Alan Taylor, who directed Thor: The Dark World. It centres around an altered timeline brought about when Skynet compromises John Connor, leader of the Resistance. It once agains features Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, the machine sent back through time to protect Sarah Connor (with Brett Azar as the 1984 Terminator from the first film - a difital effect which to me was done very, very well, and puts Terminator Salvation's paltry effort at including a younger T-800 to shame), and features Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, Jason Clarke as John Connor, and Matt Smith as Skynet.
The film sticks more rigidly to the mythos established by the first two films, ignoring the last two completely. This is in of itself a blessing as those films are awful, awful films (and by the writers' own confessions, they understand nothing of the lore set out in the first two films). However, the film suffers from the assumption that there would be a sequel, so they can leave the explanations until then.
They could have and should have tried to make it longer to try to cater for the explanations the film desparately lacks for certain things such as the Nexus Point idea. The casting is hit-and-miss - I had agreed at the time that Jai Courtney wasn't the right one to play Kyle Reese, but I thought Emilia Clarke did a decent job. Arnold... well, they could in all honesty have not included him, or if they did include him they could have had him play the voice while using Digital Arnold throughout the film. The ending was a bit of a cop-out, with Pops conviniently being knocked into the vat of liquid metal. The film's biggest error was assuming they could leave the explanations to the sequels, the future of which are now uncertain.
Let's be honest here: I think the film was doomed to fail from the start, not because of how it was written, acted or directed, but both because of how the marketing was handled and the jaded views of a loud majority who seem to now hate the series as a whole because of the last two films. It was given very low scores by many reviewers, unfairly in my opinion. James Cameron threw his weight behind it at the time, saying it was, to him, the third film, but whether he maintains that view in the onslaught of criticism or whether he comes in later and says, "Yeah, I didn't mean any of that" is anybody's guess - he has form for doing it with T3 (which he said was a good film at the time but secretly despised).
I'd stand by it being a better movie than T3, partly because I think unlike T3 they at least tried, even if they didn't get it right. However, I think they need to end this line here and start fresh. Ditch Arnold, save for a digital cameo or two, or if you have to, get somebody younger to play the physical Terminator and have young Arnold added in as a digital double, with Schwarzenegger providing the voice. Definitely ditch Jai Courtney unless they want him to be a Terminator.
Original score: low 7/10
New score: low 6/10, skirting high 5/10.
My original view of this film was higher than it is now. Originally, I said that this was the best film since Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That view is still in place: out of the three that have come after, to me it is still the best. But with time to review it further, there are several flaws in the film that in hindsight should not be overlooked and are detrimental to the film.
The film is written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier, and directed by Alan Taylor, who directed Thor: The Dark World. It centres around an altered timeline brought about when Skynet compromises John Connor, leader of the Resistance. It once agains features Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, the machine sent back through time to protect Sarah Connor (with Brett Azar as the 1984 Terminator from the first film - a difital effect which to me was done very, very well, and puts Terminator Salvation's paltry effort at including a younger T-800 to shame), and features Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, Jason Clarke as John Connor, and Matt Smith as Skynet.
The film sticks more rigidly to the mythos established by the first two films, ignoring the last two completely. This is in of itself a blessing as those films are awful, awful films (and by the writers' own confessions, they understand nothing of the lore set out in the first two films). However, the film suffers from the assumption that there would be a sequel, so they can leave the explanations until then.
They could have and should have tried to make it longer to try to cater for the explanations the film desparately lacks for certain things such as the Nexus Point idea. The casting is hit-and-miss - I had agreed at the time that Jai Courtney wasn't the right one to play Kyle Reese, but I thought Emilia Clarke did a decent job. Arnold... well, they could in all honesty have not included him, or if they did include him they could have had him play the voice while using Digital Arnold throughout the film. The ending was a bit of a cop-out, with Pops conviniently being knocked into the vat of liquid metal. The film's biggest error was assuming they could leave the explanations to the sequels, the future of which are now uncertain.
Let's be honest here: I think the film was doomed to fail from the start, not because of how it was written, acted or directed, but both because of how the marketing was handled and the jaded views of a loud majority who seem to now hate the series as a whole because of the last two films. It was given very low scores by many reviewers, unfairly in my opinion. James Cameron threw his weight behind it at the time, saying it was, to him, the third film, but whether he maintains that view in the onslaught of criticism or whether he comes in later and says, "Yeah, I didn't mean any of that" is anybody's guess - he has form for doing it with T3 (which he said was a good film at the time but secretly despised).
I'd stand by it being a better movie than T3, partly because I think unlike T3 they at least tried, even if they didn't get it right. However, I think they need to end this line here and start fresh. Ditch Arnold, save for a digital cameo or two, or if you have to, get somebody younger to play the physical Terminator and have young Arnold added in as a digital double, with Schwarzenegger providing the voice. Definitely ditch Jai Courtney unless they want him to be a Terminator.
Original score: low 7/10
New score: low 6/10, skirting high 5/10.
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