Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Batman: Arkham Knight Review

So, because of a present giving me a game I already had, I got Batman: Arkham Knight for less than half price the day it came out. I've spent this entire time playing the game, trying to for for 100% and I finally finished it. Did I get the full ending? No. In Batman: Arkham Origins, I solved all the Enigma quests, but in this? Fuck you Riddler. I got to over 75% on his quest before I decided to let him starve at the bottom of Pinkney Orphanage. The actual review, well next paragraph folks. Also, I'm going to spoil the shit out of this game, so if you read and get pissed off, your own damn vault.

Starting off with gameplay, it remains essentially untouched from Batman: Arkham Asylum, but finishes the job that Batman: Arkham City had and polishes up gameplay. Although I will admit, when I was cremating the Joker in the beginning I had no idea what the fuck was going on? Do I click it once? Do I hold onto it? Do I repeatedly push the button? Do I stop after a while? It was way too confusing for me. The gameplay is honestly very similar, in fact, if you've played the other games, just play on Hard difficulty, it won't be hard. The Batmobile was new though. Reading other reviews, I've noticed other people finding similar opinions as me. Before I get into it, though, there was a guy in my high school who said he'd rather have a lamborghini than a Batmobile, what a dumbass. The Batmobile in the normal Batmobile fashion is very fun. It is amazing to just drive around in it and destroy the city, even though it regenerates. What's up with that? Was Gotham City spliced with Nutty Putty (or Silly Putty, or Magnetic Putty?) for that matter? The tank mode took me a lot of getting used to, though. It was odd and awkward. Unlike the refined sports car mode, the tank mode just felt off. However, it grows on you. Like that serious movie that your parents loved but you hated as a kid but grew to love eventually? Yeah. By the time the GCPD Battle came about, I was going to record gameplay, but decided to be in the moment instead. It is a letdown, though, because when we want an amazing boss fight, we sometimes have to deal with the Batmobile Tank instead. For example, in Batman: Arkham Origins we had the Deathstroke boss fight, in Batman: Arkham City the standout boss fight was with Mr. Freeze. In this? There isn't any memorable boss fights, rather it is just me sneaking up behind Cobra Tanks to fight Deathstroke one on one. Yeah, I was going to record the Deathstroke boss fight because I figured it would be like in Batman: Arkham Origins, but it was a tank battle that was almost identical to the Arkham Knight battle earlier! Speaking of the one non-Rocksteady game in the series, I find it hilarious how so many people shat themselves on that boss battle but I beat it in the first go on Hard difficulty! So in chemistry there is a thing called saturation, when a solution is saturated no more solute will dissolve. The Batmobile saturates this game very early on due to the Tank mode.

The graphics are good, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The thugs say repetitive things like they're commentators from a WWE Game!  Mark Hamill is back because his retirement was a joke!

On to the next one? The story is very epic, but first? Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon? What? Isn't she like ten years older than him? Like Barbara and Dick Grayson is supposed to be from what Wikipedia tells me, but this? It just feels wrong! As for the actual story, essentially Scarecrow has partnered up with the Militia to unleash ultimate fear on Gotham City. The Militia is led by the mysterious Arkham Knight, who has a mysterious grudge on the Batman. Unfortunately for Batman, he is infected by a Joker virus and his arch enemy is slowly trying to take control of his body post-mortem. This story is the most emotional story seen yet in an Arkham game. In the first venture, the game was not very emotional and seemed to work because the events it showed seemed like it could happen any day for Batman. Just another night on the job. The second game made things serious, but we still did not feel that emotionally connected to Batman. It is very surprising, though, that it was Warner Bros Montreal who made the most emotionally wracking venture with Batman: Arkham Origins. Showing us a strained relationship between Bruce and Alfred, Batman and Bane's battles and the rise of the Joker. So maybe that is why so many people are either overjoyed or pissed off at some of the events. Everyone agrees that aside from a little tank saturation, the game is pretty freaking amazing. Yet, when the Arkham Knight was revealed to be Jason Todd, even though that was obvious when the Red Hood DLC was announced, people were angry. That Scarecrow exposed Bruce pissed people off. That 100% gives them an "Allah-hu-Akbar" gif moment via Alfred and a mythical Batman. It pissed people off. I would've been pissed too, if I hadn't been trying a strategy of just taking it easy. I don't look at release dates anymore or watch trailers that much because I get too excited. When I get too excited I may get disappointed. Yet even though the confrontation between the Arkham Knight and Batman was such an emotional moment, people were so angry. That Bruce finally beat the villains and achieved peace, people were so angry. The only thing I'm mad about, that Barbara's death was a ruse. That took a lot of emotional weight out of the story. I really didn't like it. It made the Arkham Knight's fall and subsequent redemption feel so much less because Bruce was fighting for so much less personally. However, the story is amazing and I seriously recommend that if the identity of the Arkham Knight (Jason Todd) makes you angry, just enjoy the gameplay, that is what games are of. Also, was anybody else laughing their assess off at the Joker? I mean the last three games had insane moments where Batman tripped out thanks to Mad Hatter and the Scarecrow, but this entire game was just Batman tripping out! Hell, Scarecrow tried to make Batman trip out even more because he didn't realize Batman was already tripping!

I rate this game 10/10 because even though the tank may feel saturated, if you allow yourselves to feel the emotional weight it just pushes the gameplay that much further into perfection. Also, I did not play DLC because I always play the game only for what it is. Good night folks, that's the end!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Hawkgirl Spin-Off In Development?

So Hawkgirl, a minor character who popped up for literally a split second in the season finale of The Flash, may be getting her own show. The CW really seems to be on a roll with making good superhero shows. After running Smallville into the ground it was a surprise that Arrow rose out of it like a phoenix and shot the bolt that was The Flash. Now, DC's Legends of Tomorrow seems like it'll be a success. Why? It seems like it will be different. The new Supergirl show looks really bad in my opinion, maybe just because I don't really like that character, though. However, if this show is not like that, it could be good. I just do not feel that the CW should become saturated with too much superhero content, plus, I still want that Supernatural spin off.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

The Flash Movie Script Reviews

Before The Flash was a successful show for the CW, it was a failed movie. Well, actually it was three failed movies. Hopefully it will soon be a successful movie, but it was three failed movies. Flickering Myth posted an article called Born to Run, which essentially did what I had been planning on doing for a while now, reviewing those ancient screenplays. I never got around to that, but they did, so why don't I do it now as well.

David Goyer Screenplay:

In this script, Barry Allen operates as the Flash in secret. He is married to Iris Allen, grows a fatherly bond with her nephew Wally West and works at the Keystone City Police Department with best friend Hunter Zolomon. In a fight with Victor Vesp (The Turtle), Barry Allen dies and Wally West witnesses the whole thing. After a bout of depression, Wally is struck by lightning and becomes a metahuman. Working with STAR Labs and being mentored by a wheelchair bound Zolomon, the new Flash is irresponsible, despite what Iris wants him to do. Wally rescues STAR Labs scientist Tina McGee from a train crash caused by Vesp. The Turtle is broken out of prison by his servant, a speed addict known as Zoom, who talks in a villainous voice. Wally and Zoom fight, Zoom kills STAR Labs scientist Jerry and Wally learns Zoom is actually Zolomon. Vesp tries to steal Wally's speed, but he is shuttled away to the past where he shares a moment with Barry before returning to the future. Zoom kills Vesp, fights Wally and dies in effect. Wally then vows to save Barry.

Now what was bad about this script? It used so much ex machina, like the infinity transducer? Really? Why did Vesp call himself the Turtle? Before Wally becomes the Flash in this script he becomes depressed that he will never be able to live up to Barry. One of the worst things I have ever read. Just so plain bad. Flickering Myth was right, it is very grounded and one of Goyer's best scenes is perhaps the moment with Barry and Wally within the Speed Force. Yet, you know what this movie would have been like? X-Men: The Last Stand. Not a good movie. Not a bad movie. Something more...

Chris Brancato Screenplay:

Wally West is a punk kid, whose aunt Iris Allen's husband Barry Allen picks him up at the Keystone City Police Department. Wally falls for Linda Park, who is smitten with cop Hunter Zolomon. Barry begins to mentor Wally, but despite being the Flash, dies in a fire. Wally's best friend John Harris is in a wheelchair. After Iris Allen dies, Wally's Flash powers activate and with John, he becomes the new Flash. They test the limits of his powers, but also investigate Mayor Savage (Vandal Savage). Turns out, Savage and Zolomon worked together to kill not only Iris, but also Barry. Gasp. With the Speed Force, Wally goes back in time and receives training from Barry. Going back to the future, Wally defeats Savage and embraces Linda. Yaaaay.

This is the most cheesy out of all of the screenplays. It would have worked if it was made much earlier, but if it was made much earlier it would have bombed because of previous failures (see Steel and by that I mean look it up, don't actually watch it). It very much seems to be a transitory script, written to diverge from Goyer's idea, but actually written as a template for another writer. Also, the Speed Force segment in this is so bad.

Marc Guggenheim Screenplay:

This script focuses instead on Barry Allen, whose mother was murdered and father framed, and shows his job as a Crime Scene Investigator, his unrequited love for Iris Allen and his love for scientist Eobard Thawne. He grows acquainted with STAR Labs worker Valerie, is saddened with Iris becomes engaged to Nathan Newbury and becomes the Flash. Placed in the care of Eobard, who is in a wheelchair, Barry's mentor Police Chief Chyre is murdered by Captain Cold. Beating Cold, Iris learns Barry is the Flash. Barry is then attacked by another speedster and loses. Valerie is killed by Eobard, who reveals himself to be the Reverse Flash. Barry diffuses bombs across the city, kills Cold, views the Multiverse, defeats Thawne and spends some time in the Speed Force with his parents. Oh yeah, and then he meets the Green Lantern.

This is when the scripts went from okay to bad. Guggenheim lays out a great plot for a comic book, but horrible for a movie. So much is going on. Barry fucks Valerie, but Eobard kills her, good for him that Nathan just happened to be working for Cold, who was working for Eobard, so that Iris can break up with him to be with Barry, but before she even knows that she plans on doing it anyways after COLD NEARLY KILLS HER FIANCE! Oh yeah, and it deals with alternate timelines and the Multiverse in one movie? Dafuq? Movies should not do that. Comics and tv shows can, but for a movie, unless your film is focused on it, it is too much.

TV-Show Premise:

So how did those three screenplays evolve into the television show? Well, in the tv show, we have Barry Allen have a traumatic childhood where his mom is killed by the Man in Yellow, be struck by lightning and taken to a rehabilitation center in STAR Labs. After waking up, Barry works with wheelchair bound Harrison Wells and his scientists Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. Fighting several metahumans, Barry finds a rival in Leonard Snart, a thug who comes to be known as Captain Cold. Eventually publicly named the Flash by his unrequited love Iris, who happens to be dating Eddie Thawne, the partner of Joe West, Barry finally meets the Man in Yellow. The STAR Labs team is unable to apprehend him and as time passes, Barry believes that Wells may be the Man in Yellow. Eventually Barry opens this up to the rest of the team and get Wells to admit to being Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash.  Eobard kidnaps Eddie, the team fights Gorilla Grodd and then manages to defeat Eobard, capturing him. Eobard keeps manipulating the team and builds a device that is to let him get to the future, and send Barry to the past to save his mother. Barry doesn't do it and refuses to let Eobard leave. The fight that follows is ended by Eddie, who commits suicide to prevent Eobard's birth. A wormhole forms and Barry rushes out to stop it.

Now, how was this story adapted from the screenplays? Going back to the Goyer one, obviously Jerry becomes Cisco and Tina McGee becomes Caitlin. However, if Tina is indeed Caitlin, we have to agree that she is a mix of the show's Iris as well just as Goyer's Wally is a mix of the show's Barry and Ronnie Raymond. Goyer's Iris Allen is clearly a substitute for the show's Joe West, just as Vesp and Zoom together make the show's Eobard Thawne. Yet, character transformations from this script to the show are all over the place. We can argue that the movie's Zoom also parallels Eddie Thawne, or that the movie's Barry actually substitutes show Barry's mother and partially Joe. The most interesting thing from this script, is how the idea of the wheelchair for Eobard Thawne began to develop. Yeah, it is hard to trace clean lines from the first script to the show. So, let us define those lines by looking at Brancato's screenplay.

Now the second script keeps a very similar premise to the first one, but is much more in tone with the tv show. Linda Park is the tv show Iris Allen, dating a cop (show is Eddie Thawne, movie is Zolomon) while being crushed on by Wally West (just as Barry does with Iris in the show). Wally's battles with cyclones is very reminiscent with Barry's battle with tornadoes. The bomb horde appears to have been retained for the Trickster episode. In the general story, the second script is different, but for filler episodes and subplots, it is very similar.

Then comes the third script, which was actually written by the guys in charge of the show. It is the most similar, primarily because of Barry Allen. His backstory is very similar to that of the show, Eobard's role is very similar as well and Valerie appears as a mix of Cisco/Caitlin who is fucked by Barry, who is a conglomerate of himself from the show and Ronnie Raymond. Plus, the sequence in the Speed Force where Barry meets his mom goes through another evolution.

So from those three scripts, you can trace the evolution of three films to a show and have my thoughts on all four projects.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Fallout 4: Heavy Rain

So yesterday was the Bethesda Softworks E3 presentation. Lots of interesting stuff there, but none more so than Fallout 4. The game looks very good. The graphics are amazing, you may say I'm wrong because they do not look super realistic, but what they do look is super true to the Fallout format. What was interesting is that the Kotaku leak was true! That was entirely true! Start before the war and wake up after Fallout 3! Most people disregarded that because they were tired of being burned out and after the reveal, it seemed like the leak may be true and guess what, it is. You can play as a woman, which is important to some people and the dialogue is very Mass Effect now. That is all fine, though. VATS seems a bit different and mildly weirder, but still... still good.

The new crafting system is what I am excited for. Building settlements seems cool and all, but I did not come to play Fallout 4: The Sims. No. That is not what has me excited. Rather it is the weapon crafting, something which in the previous games was so generic that I never modified my weapons beyond repairing them. So yeah, I never touched a crafting table in Fallout: New Vegas. Yet this system that they are using now, I haven't seen something like it since Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, a game in which we could modify our weapons and change them to make them stronger. It seems akin to that and seems fantastic.

What about the story, though? I previously mentioned that giving the player character a voice could serve to make for a more intimate and connected feel for the game series. The story seems to emulate this. I mean, you play as a parent who loses everyone to cryostasis and you wake up in a land so far removed from your own that all you have left is your vault suit. That is a deep story. I am excited because, well, Fallout isn't supposed to make me feel! Anyways, with the game now giving off Heavy Rain vibes and making me sure that every action will weigh on me with a heavy head, I'm patient.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Mesozoica's New Focus - Prehistoric Kingdom Tech Demo Review

Well, Jurassic World is out. I've yet to watch it but I've been hearing mostly positive things. One general consensus seems to be that as a standalone film, it is wonderful. Compared to Jurassic Park, it pales in comparison. Well, be that as it may, Jurassic World being made is one of the many things that spurred the development of Mesozoica. Honestly, the project was wounded after the departures, but with our new UI artist, Kayla Velten, we are leaps and bounds ahead. Maybe Kayla's work ethic is better, maybe she is just more enthusiastic, I do not know.

Why am I making this post? Well, the Prehistoric Kingdom demo came out. Now, before I sound cruel or harsh or something, please keep in mind that the game had a tech demo which they released right when the game became moderately playable. So, they released a tech demo almost right before they entered pre-alpha. This could either turn out well for them, or not at all? I loved the music that they utilized but that was pretty much it. Yes, GUI, HUD and UI were all really good, it just seemed very lazy, especially the main menu. Why am I saying they released this tech demo before pre-alpha, because the gameplay wasn't even that. It was practically unplayable and it took a bunch of people a YouTube video to figure some stuff out. Not a good start. However, this tech demo will be receiving, hopefully, constant updates that improve the quality from pre-pre-alpha to alpha. That seems like a good idea. However, I do feel that their team may have been pressured by the fans into releasing something like this early on. One very positive thing it did accomplish that many had been doubting, that Prehistoric Kingdom is a serious project that wants to entertain the fans. Try it out and enjoy it for yourselves.

The original plan of Mesozoica was to release a UI Tech Demo, and then modules. These modules would have focused on different areas, and likely the UI Tech Demo would have been one of them. Chances are, we would have released the first module before pre-alpha like Prehistoric Kingdom did and probably only gotten a great reception from the most fervent of our fanbases. The plan is different now. If you've watched the livestreams on Twitch, you'll know. We are very close now to the same stage that Prehistoric Kingdom is at (a stage I'd say we were likely matched for, but recent departures pushed us back from that) we will not be releasing a tech demo. Rather we will showcase our gameplay to prove that we are still in the game. Our new focus is to prove ourselves to you, the fans and I cannot wait to do that. A demo is a ways off, but gameplay, not really.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The 5th Wave

So, while I was researching into Tobey Maguire's efforts to become the Triple H of Hollywood, I noticed that he was producing a film titled The 5th Wave. Let us just analyze that title. As a video game fan, I can tell you from the title that it could mean the fifth horde of enemies after brief respites. As a journalist I can tell you that it could mean waves of reviews. As a chem student I could tell you that it is perhaps a part of a spectroscopy map. Well, which one of those is it? The first one I'd wager, given that Liev Schrieber is playing a character named Colonel Vosch. (Did I ever post about that day where I saw everybody as Liev Schrieber on TV yet thought that Schrieber himself was Dougray Scott or somebody?) Honestly, this film could go either way.

On one hand, it has talent like Schrieber and Ron Livingston attached. On the other hand, the director, J Blakeson is a nobody, and it stars Nick Robinson so you know that it could crash if Blakeson makes it go the way of teenie-bopper or over exuberance like I Am Number Four. Honestly, though, we'll have to wait and see, but this film seems to have potential.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Tobey Maguire - The Paul Levesque of Hollywood?

For those of you who do not know who Paul Levesque is, he is a bodybuilder and wrestler who plays the character Hunter Hearst Helmsley, or Triple H, on the billion dollar corporation known as WWE. A succesful character, Max Landis parodied Levesque's wrestling career and did a fairly good job of it as well. Along the way, Levesque married Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of fluctuating billionaire Vince McMahon. Now, he is more of a corporate person as well, creating NXT into what it is now and slowly taking over the business himself. Now, there is a similar story playing out in Hollywood regarding the actor Tobey Maguire.

A child star, Tobey Maguire was always outshone by his best friend Leonardo DiCaprio. This was just like Triple H to Shawn Michaels. While Leo never faded from the picture like Michaels did, Maguire managed to acquire roles in such films like Pleasantville, The Cider House Rules and Wonder Boys. Only the second of those three films was a box office hit, the others failed miserably. What did they all have in common? Critical success. While Triple H's matches did not always get the credit they deserved due to other more important feuds like Steve Austin-The Rock or Kane-Undertaker, they were always pleasing.

When Steve Austin was injured, Triple H got his big break. When Leo decided to start hunting for that Oscar, Tobey got cast as the titular character in Spider-Man and was suddenly the biggest star in Hollywood. Just like Triple H reigned supreme over Raw during the early days of the Ruthless Aggression era, did Maguire rule Hollywood. During his Spider-Man days, Tobey released relatively few other movies but between films did star in Seabiscuit and the Good German. While the former of those two was a critical and commercial success, the latter was neither? Just like when Randy Orton, Edge and John Cena began to be become the faces of Raw, Tobey Maguire and Triple H's time had begun to come to an end. Spider-Man 3 came out and Maguire went out with a hurrah. While critical reception was positive, fan reception was divided but commercial success was through the roof. Triple H had his time as record breaking WWE Champion, had his feud with the Legacy but it was pretty much over for him then. After that, he started to transition into corporate.

Yet Triple H had his amazing feud with the Undertaker, just like Tobey Maguire starred in Brothers. Triple H had his horrible feud with Kevin Nash, just like Tobey Maguire starred in The Details. Triple H had his feud with Brock Lesnar and Tobey Maguire led the cast of The Spoils of Babylon. Yet for both the actor and the wrestler, they were both kind of in the background now for the roles they were both known for. While Triple H was focusing on his job backstage, Tobey Maguire was busy producing films with his company, Material Pictures. Producing Country Strong, Maguire's film got an Oscar nomination for a song, yet his next film, Seeking Justice, was bad, just like Triple H's decision to sign Sin Cara. Rock of Ages was fun because Tom Cruise and there isn't an analogue to this film in Triple H's career. Triple H focused less on wrestling and Maguire less on acting.

Then it came, though, Triple H became the Authority and his feuds with various superstars seemed to be like Tobey Maguire when he finally took the lead role again as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. The film was a critical success and a commercial one with Maguire's performance praised. Now, Triple H's feud against Sting will likely parallel Maguire's turn in Pawn Sacrifice. Yet, we cannot help but feel that while both will continue to act and wrestle, they have reached their max. I mean, Maguire married the daughter of the vice-president of Universal Pictures. I have no doubt that with all the producing he is doing, he is doing it to try and get that role from Ronald Meyer. Tobey Maguire and Triple H, both at the top of their game, now they have transcended the game.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Dark Souls 3 Announcement

There are some things that I'm surprised people didn't get at day one. Like, take this for example, the moment I learned the basic premise of Game of Thrones I knew that it would end with Jon Snow becoming king and that Stannis is the villain. I just don't get how people do not get that? Ironic, isn't it? So, it turns out that Dark Souls 3 may be announced. I initially wanted to finish Dark Souls 2 in two weeks. Didn't happen, I got stuck at the Lost Sinner. I never played Dark Souls so I had no idea what I was in for. Well, when Bloodborne was announced, I wanted to finish Dark Souls 2 but it didn't happen. I got stuck at the Undead Crypt because I missed the second bonfire and completely forgot there was one, became frustrated and decided to not even do it. So, now that Dark Souls 3 has an imminent announcement, I will finally finish Dark Souls 2!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

A Look Back at The Scorpion King

In the early 2000s, if you went on to WWE Raw or SmackDown, chances were that you would see Dwayne Johnson, known then exclusively as The Rock, headlining. Except, just as the 2000s started, so did Johnson's Hollywood ambitions. So, we saw him taking sabbaticals often, whether it was to film The Mummy Returns or its sequel, The Scorpion King. People did not know what to expect of this film, yet it was happening. A sequel/prequel to Stephen Sommers blockbuster action thriller was coming, and it was starring Dwayne Johnson, who was only present one scene in the last film and CGI'd into another. Those two films are some of the favorite in my childhood. While I see the Rock-Scorpion CGI as bad now, back then, it was frightening and I was not used to seeing my childhood hero as a villain. That was why it surprised me that he was the hero in his other film. This was the film that introduced me to the fallen hero trope, and given that I saw The Phantom Menace and then the Original Trilogy on television shortly afterwards, I was more invested than shocked. Yet, what is the significance of this film?

On a budget of $60 million it grossed $165 million. Some films cost what this film's budget was, yet back then, this was a financial success. Although it boasted a new lead actor, with proven actors like Kelly Hu and Michael Clarke Duncan in supporting roles only, looking at this film back then, I do not see how it could have been the success it was. Johnson was paid $5.5 million to star in the film, a record for an actor in his first leading film. This has never been done before. What of the movie itself, though? Is it any good? Yes, and no. One thing to note is that Rotten Tomatoes' consensus is: "Action adventure doesn't get much cheesier than The Scorpion King." It has 41% indicating a rotten score. Sot his movie clearly has to be bad, right? Yet most of the reviewers note, that it isn't bad out of being bad, just out of not being memorable. Yet the one thing they note as being memorable, most of them anyways, is Dwayne Johnson.

Just like for San Andreas and Hercules, Dwayne Johnson breathes life into a film that should otherwise be terrible. Yet this film, no matter how great The Rock is, should not have been reliant on him. I mean, just a few years prior, director Chuck Russell made The Mask and his directing style plays off in here. We see Russell shine, yet what bogs the film down? The writing and story. Stephen Sommers and David Hayter, two people who have Shyamalan'd the world of cinema were put in charge. The director and lead actor did their job beautifully, yet Sommers and Hayter bogged the film with cliches and a generic plot. What could have been great is left memorable for The Rock, the cinematography and well, the really awesome poster. Yet thank this film, for its success gave us other great films from Dwayne Johnson.
http://images6.alphacoders.com/451/451308.jpg
It gave us THIS pretty sick poster.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Fallout 4 Confirmed

So, as everybody knew because of the extremely obvious URL, the timer counted down to Fallout 4. I'm not going to post the trailer here, because you should just go over to the website and watch it for yourself. However, I am going to talk about a few things. First off, people are already debating whether or not the graphics are good. For its time, Fallout 3 graphics were not very good, so I did not expect Fallout 4 to look like Uncharted but play like itself. Yet it was that grittiness and grainy quality that made Bethesda's first installment look as great as it did, and with a more polished effect here, this version of the game looks nothing less than stellar. I am so hoping that this game is released by the end of this year, I am hoping so badly.

Next, I don't know what to think of the fact that our protagonist will have a voice and a backstory now. Man or woman, the backstory makes sense. Born before the Great War, went into Vault 111 and entered stasis where their son or daughter or whatever did not survive. First mission will likely be a tribute to Van Buren and show us entering Vault 111 while making our character. On the way we will make our SPECIAL stats and get our traits. The big change is, that our character has a voice, which we will likely get to choose. Some people will be against this, because they will claim it separates the character from us. When Half-Life was released, Gordon Freeman was silent so that we could feel more immersed as him. Fallout 3 continued this trend, but this is an ever evolving series and after having had just seen a trailer, I am not going to judge this aspect of the game. However, one thing that the Fallout series has always been lacking has been a sympathy or feeling of "who cares" after making important decisions. Bringing in heavy weight on your shoulders aspects from Heavy Rain can only work if we feel like we are controlling somebody else and changing their life. We know that this is a video game so we don't care when we blow the fuck out of Novac, but say our protagonist does, then we care more. Making the game more like Heavy Rain in terms of decisions and impact will be great. Oh, and it is set in Boston, as we all knew... but I officially confirmed yesterday.

Honestly, from what little we have seen, this game looks so good. I just hope that we do not have to wait five years for the next installment. Just let the Fallout: New Vegas 2 come out soon and I'll be good... once I get it...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

It's Happening!



Now there are a few things that I wanted to blog about. Number one, last month I beat the record for most views per month. A record which I had previously beat the month before. A record which was set a year before by Yafisz. The second of which was, that I wanted to do a look back at The Scorpion King, the reason Dwayne Johnson gives us great movies like Hercules and San Andreas. With recent knews, however, that post will have to be delayed for two days. Number one, I will have a follow up post to this post tomorrow. Number two:
It's Happening!

Yeah! I don't know who that is but it was easy to find! So, Bethesda tweeted out this link. Obviously it means Fallout 4 is on the way. After the last bunch of hoaxes, I believe the counter simply means that yes, it is coming and get pumped. They could've just announced it. Obviously if you see the URL, you'll know what it is. It is confirmation after a few leaks and a billion hoaxes, but why the counter if you would just announce it like that? Like I said, to build up excitement, but also to give space. Obviously they will officially confirm the game tomorrow, only so that the actual reveal at E3 will be hyped up but also with, hopefully, level headed expectations. In other words: It's fappening happening!

What can we get from that website? Well, number one that it will stay true to Fallout's thematic value and be old fashioned and a coming of age story with tons and tons of blood and gore. How do I interpret that much from a fucking counter? Well, the clock is stylized like a geiger counter dial I beleive so it means there will be radiation and given that Fallout pits you as a constantly evolving character that is not like a Pokemon... yeah, it's fucking Fallout, guys. Next, look into the page source and there will be interesting tidbits. The first is a small message talking about a PA system failure and a Masterbrain shutdown. The Master was the leader of Lieutenant and the main villain of the original Fallout, but a Masterbrain, while it could be related, seems like it will be the villain and a rogue hive mind that could not be shut down that is now wreaking havoc on the Wasteland. Then, if you didn't believe this was Fallout 4 and if you did believe and wondered where the game would be set, at the bottom we see "institute.js". While I'm not going to delve much into that, I will say, it means the game is Fallout and set at the Institute in Boston.