Fringe 101
As I've mentioned, I like Fringe. It's a solid show with a solid cast who play solid characters. Other reasons include: my nerdy love of the occult and "fringe" science, it's smart science fiction and, also, see picture above. I was really happy to hear that Fox gave the show an early confirmation of a third season pick-up. Fox is also upping its support ante (surprisingly) by setting up this Fringe 101 site in advance of the show's return from break on Thursday (April 1). The site features any and all info that viewers new to the show or those thinking of finally checking it out should know -- including what the creators consider the four episodes of the series that you need to see. Seriously, guys, it's a good show. Check it out.
Walking Dead
Zombie movies? Played. Zombie adaptations of classic literature? Ugh. AMC's adaptation of zombie comic Walking Dead? Fuck yeah.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
Spider-Man video games haven't been the greatest. Shoot, even Activision's CEO admits it. That doesn't mean they're just going to throw in their web-shooters and give up, though. Enter, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, the latest gaming incarnation of the Wall Crawler. Looks, uh, interesting?
Lazy Teenage Superheroes
This kid made this video for, like, $300. It's sort of a parody of Heroes. Main differences: 1) it's good and 2) I actually want to watch this on a weekly basis.
Knight and Day This action-comedy thing starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz is strange. Like, strange as in kinda off, like the smell of fried liver. It sort of feels like it should be a movie within a movie or something like that. I don't know, is it just me?
Bond Girls
Actually, they aren't official. Not even close actually. But rumor has it that the next Bond gals are Olivia Wilde and Freida Pinto. Or they may be. Okay, probably not. Thanks, Slashfilm. I would be very okay with this occurance if, indeed, it actually was true. I'm going to assume Pinto is the nice one and Wilde is the naughty one? Do they still do that in Bond movies? Nevermind, this isn't happening. More likely Bond rumors that also involve a lady are whispers that Rachel Weisz may be onboard the 23rd 007 flick... as the villain. That could be fun, no?
Enslaved
Ninja Theory is a games developer. They are from Cambridge on the Shadow Isle (AKA: the United Kingdom.) They put out the sadly ill-timed and very misunderstood (in my opinion) Playstation 3 exclusive Heavenly Sword -- a game that managed to blend beauty and brutality with the silky tones of Anna Torv's voice and the legendary motion capture acting of Andy "Gollum" Serkis to create some sweet gaming action. Again, that is my opinion. Now, Ninja Theory is back and, once again, are looking like they've got another unique and pretty-looking gem on the go. It's called Enslaved and it's based, in part, on an old Chinese folktale called Monkey. That said, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic future that reminds me of crazy '70s Sci-Fi in the vein of Omega Man and A Boy and His Dog. It also features interesting gameplay that's reportedly reminiscent of Ubisoft's 2008 Gyllenhaal-free version of Prince of Persia. See for yourself.
Nerd scores
I like a good film soundtrack. Always have. In fact, a (partly) unrealized goal of mine is to score a film. Art student films don't count. How about a science fiction film? Yeah, I'd like to do one of those. Would LOVE to. Over at Topless Robot, they put together a list of 13 great nerd movie scores by people other than John Williams -- and I think they pretty much nailed it. Yes, Vangelis' Blade Runner is on there. Omissions I would mention: there's no Dune. Yeah, it's by Toto (of "Africa" "fame") but it turns out those dudes could produce a really moody, dark and evocative piece of music when they wanted to. Maybe David Lynch scared them? Who knows? Also missing: Escape from New York. Did you know John Carpenter hooked up a lot of his own soundtracks? Yeah, he did. The theme (and score) for Escape is pretty damn awesome. Finally, it's kinda weird that Lord of the Rings isn't on there. Yeah, Howard Shore appears on the list, but the Rings stuff needs to be on there. Shoot, I can't imagine those movies without that music. So epic. The '80s anime import/mash-up Robotech (yeah, I know it's not a movie) had an incredibly sophisticated soundtrack, too. You can probably see I enjoy the '80s Sci-Fi soundtracks. That's another reason why I was really blown away when I first played Mass Effect. The game has a real throwback sound (that they did on purpose) and it really hit it home with the universe they've created. The second one is equally trippy with a big ladle of epic sauce slathered all over it.
Hydrophobia Here's another game that looks potentially promising. Hydrophobia. There's a lot of water in the game. That's what they're selling it on. Still, looks interesting, no?
24
Well, 24 is finally over. Gone. Cancelled. Jack Bauer may go on to saw various terrorists in the face on the big screen but he will never be seen on TV again. What can you do? They had a pretty good run considering it was almost cancelled after its first season. This critic blames the show's restrictive format. Gee, you think? Still, it's probably better to argue that the show's inability to break out of or play with that restrictive format may have been the problem. Oh, and also the silliness.
Did I mention that I had to go on a suicide mission? Yeah, that is happening. Like, in the next day or so.
One of the things I love most about Mass Effect 2 is its focus on the goal. From the get-go, you know the stakes: Commander Shepard must assemble a team of the galaxy’s roughest and toughest to take on a mission so preposterously difficult, it’s (essentially) a suicide mission.
That’s pretty much the game right there. Yes, Mass Effect had Shepard focused on stopping a single foe as well, but getting from A to B included hours of traipsing about the galaxy exploring planets, stopping pirates, discovering artifacts and being awesome in many different ways. It was a lot of fun, it introduced us to the vast universe of the game and rounded out everything nicely with its sandbox-y feel.
In ME2, pretty much everything you do is about the mission. No more fucking about and chilling with space monkeys: shit got real. (Yes, Martin Lawrence/ Marcus Burnett real.) Once you take on the mission: you spend a lot of time recruiting your 11-member team. Then you spend a lot of time helping them sort shit out so their head can be in the game. When you’re not Mr. or Miss Human Resources, you’re collecting resources and tech to make your ship and weapons awesome enough so that some of you might come home – or at least make it so your enemies regret ever pissing you off.
I keep thinking of two analogies for the differences between the two games.
One is that Mass Effect was like a TV series, lots of breathing room, time to get to know a lot of different characters and mine the minutiae of the universe. ME2 is if they took that show and continued it in a two-hour blockbuster film. It’s concentrated, focused and all the more intense for it.
The other one is simple: Mass Effect was the regular season, ME2 is the playoffs. No more room for mistakes.
And it’s the mission (and 90% of the game’s focus on it) that makes it so. It’s always looming there. And now it’s all that’s left to do.
For my part, I’d say my companions deaths are what’s looming most. I don’t know if we’ll all make it back. I’m not going to say that I like everyone on my team, but I like most of them and there are even some whose deaths would upset me a lot.
All I know is that I’ve done my best, we're well prepared, we're pissed off and no matter what the odds, you should never count me out.
Mass Effect 2 Well, it's the home stretch now. Mass Effect 2 is out in less than four days. To you, those will feel like four days. To me, they will feel like four eternities squished together and slathered with eon icing. I was holding onto a hope that I might get a review copy delivered before the end of the day but, yeah, no. That's cool. Maybe Monday? If not then, then Tuesday I'll either get a review copy, my collector's edition or both. I know, I sound like Gollum -- and I'll probably look like him when I emerge from my cave/couch weeks from now, having completed several playthroughs of awesomeness. Until I get the game in my grubby little hands, I will watch this launch trailer until my synapses fry -- with tears of joy streaming down my face.
Lost Hey, are you ready for the return (and final season) of Lost? If you're like me, you can't remember anything about last season and will scramble to (unsuccessfully) catch up as much as possible before it airs. A cool thing about the show's impending return is all the fun viral-y stuff hitting the net. Like this and this. Enjoy!
Cable
Why is cable TV better than network? Hey, how about because there's going to be a Walking Dead TV series and one for George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, too.
Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening The whole Dragon Age: Origins expansion pack gumbo -- called: Awakening, if you remember -- is getting spicy and tasty sounding. BioWare has released a pretty sweet trailer and other assets for the package and, if you've played some of the fantastic RPG, it'll probably get the juices flowing. It's late. Sorry.
Zelda
Say what you want about Nintendo Wii. Say its your grandma's favorite console. Say its for chumps and wankers. Stick your tongue out at it. Whatever. Still, when I tell you a new Zelda game is set for this year (!) you're gonna head over to your grandma's and get on her good side.
Spider-Man 4…delayed!
Yep. The next Spidey film is having trouble getting off the ground as director Sam Raimi and Sony execs are squabbling over the script and villains and whatnot.
Call of Duty
The Call of Duty franchise is so damn huge it needs two developers working on it. Massaging it. Minding its mineral bath. Growing it in vats. Etc. That way, businessmen and frat dudes get to pwn each other online 24/7/365 (are we still saying that?) every year. One year, Infinity Ward puts out their crazy popular Modern Warfare version of the title; the next year, Treyarch heads back to World War II for some Nazi-shooting fun. Or do they? While Treyarch's last installment had a secret Nazi zombie level, it was also met with a lot of meh when it was released. Well, this time around the team is looking to shake things up. Large. We're talking venue change large. Scratch that! We're talking potentially controversial venue change large. Rumors are starting up that the next Call of Duty may take place during the Vietnam War. Edgy, right? I think this could be awesome or a total shit show, so I'm kind of bullish on the idea but we'll see. Regardless, y'all should probably leave out the zombies this time around.
YES!!! (but no) Saruman Christopher Lee has recorded a heavy metal album. Do I need to go on? Listen.
And finally… Have y'all seen that 70-minute review of The Phantom Menace that's floating around? It's awesome and spot on. Here's an interview with the dude who made it and you can see the video there, too, if you haven't. Then, when you remember how bad the movie/prequels were, you can head here and you'll know what to do...
Force Unleashed I liked the Force Unleashed. Not many people did, apparently. I think expectations for the Sith-y Star Wars game were (understandably) pretty high and fell short a bit. For me, I just liked using force powers and cutting shit up with my lightsaber. Now, though, we're going to need things to get stepped up a bit, right? Can't just be dazzled with a few force throws and saber slices, yeah? On that note: Here's a cool "wish list" for the recently announced sequel.
Dragon Age: Origins
It's a bad news-good news day in the world of Dragon Age today. Bad news: the "Return to Ostagar" DLC that was supposed to launch today has been delayed indefinitely. Boo! Meanwhile, the good news: BioWare has announced a full, 15-hour expansion called Awakening for March. Yay! Seriously, I've played the shit out of this game -- and will continue to do so for a few more weeks -- and it still keeps showing me new twists and turns. I think by March, though, it will be time for some new Dragon Aging and my interest in the game will definitely need an... awakening. Andithankyou.
Hmmm
The Onion's AV Club is some good internet. They offer up a darn good skew on all things pop culture-y. Their head isn't up their own ass but they're also pretty free of fluff, too. It's a nice balance. That being said: AV Club did their games of the year and put (spoiler alert) Batman: Arkham Asylum as No. 1. I have no problem with that, Batman: Arkham Asylum (and most of the games on their list) would be on my best of 2009 list, too -- maybe not at No. 1, but still. I loved that game. Many people did. That's not my problem. What is my problem is that the AV Club said Batman: Arkham Asylum was a “lean” game that “clocks in at around 8 hours.” Uhm, I’m no games wiz admittedly, but I’m (according to the game) 53% of the way through the game and I’ve played over 24 hours. No matter how much I suck, there’s no way someone is cutting through that game in 8 hours. Also, no Uncharted 2 (the game I would put as No. 1 in 2009) on the list. Like, at all. And, according to the comments, it was rated higher by AVC than some games on the list. I call bullshit.
(I think I'm just going to use pics of Yvonne Strahovski whenever there's a Mass Effect 2 piece from here on in, if you don't mind. Hey, she's in the game -- it's topical!)
A video game I’m really anticipating A new Mass Effect 2 video for y'all. This time it's for the Sentinel class. Cool looking, eh? I usually just play a grunt in ME, but I might try one of these suckers in one of my (many) playthroughs of the new game.
Transformers
Could this be the Transformers video game that everyone has been waiting for? Yeah, trailers are usually bullshit, but this looks pretty promising.
Beatles
I just got Beatles Rock Band a few days ago and already it's one of my favorite things. Putting Rubber Soul out as DLC is only going to make that feeling stronger.
And finally… In gaming circles, the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XIII is what you would call "a big deal." For me, meh, not so much. Japanese role playing games are too awkward and annoying to turn me on, usually, what with all the emo-looking boy-men and their brooding and the mewling girl-women with their squealing and upskirts (well, maybe not the upskirts) but I'll definitely give it a try. Especially given the mouth-watering visuals it's promising. Look:
Mass Effect 2 Yup. Another one. Another Mass Effect 2 post. Suck it. This time we've got some voice cast news and, well, there are a buttload of people. From Martin Sheen to Tricia Helfer and everything in between including Worf, Jayne and Trinity. Watch this video.
David Lynch Director David Lynch talks about meeting George Lucas to discuss making Return of the Jedi and the subsequent wookie-related headache that ensued.
Tron Legacy
The first image and poster for the long-time-coming sequel are here. Enjoy, Programs!
Clash of the Titans
As we've talked about, no good can come of the Clash of the Titans remake. Hyperbolic-yet-derivative posters however...
And finally…
Speaking of posters and titans clashing, what happens when you get your Clash of the Titans poster all up in my Sex and the City 2 poster? Genius that can only improve both films.
Clash of the Titans We didn't ask for a remake of Clash of the Titans and, shoot, we certainly didn't need it but it's here, people. It's here and it's angry, it's yelling and -- worst of all -- it will stick you with its giant scorpion tail to the sound of Hungarian metal. Watch the trailer here.
Superheroes
In Dubai anything is possible. If on some crazy and wonderful whim someone in Dubai wanted an island shaped like Donkey Kong made out of angel food cake and to have Megan Fox and Britney Spears wrestle in strawberry sauce on its candy-covered beach to the song stylings of the original line-up of CCR on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and twice on Sundays, they could probably make that happen somehow. So when you hear that they want to have a Marvel Superheroes amusement park with lifelike New York City streets and various forms of Marvel mayhem going on, you gotta believe it'll happen.
Mirror’s Edge Mirror's Edge is kinda like the Dollhouse of video games. Thanks to heavy buzz, it was expected to revolutionize everything we knew about our favourite artform but instead everyone was meh on it and played something else -- in this case, Left 4 Dead -- instead. Then, seeing it soundly thrashed by critics, a few hipsters held it up as a work of misunderstood genius that they, of course, got. Well, I played Mirror's Edge and I'll tell you: it really was meh. The idea of it may be nice and shiny, but the idea of a monkey commando driving an atomic-powered war-dozer is nice and shiny too and you don't see a ton of those rolling around, do you? Still, I think EA should take another shot at the universe they created and it looks like they may do just that.
Bridges on Iron Man
Jeff Bridges has revealed that there wasn't a script for Iron Man, they just improvised the whole damn thing. Somehow that makes it better. In other "Shellhead" news, here's another poster for Iron Man 2. I gotta say, it doesn't look much different than most of the posters for the first movie.
Metro 2033 Gamespot has a preview of the Russian-set post-apocalyptic shooter. A few things: a) the game has some interesting gameplay features including missions limited by the amount of time your gas mask is useful and having to charge up your flashlight, b) they hosted the event in an actual Moscow metro station! and c) the reporter's name is Guy Cocker, LOL!
And finally…
You hear a lot about how Minnesota Vikings' QB Brett Favre is awesome and whatnot, but now you actually get to hear it. LISTEN!
Yes! I am someone who enjoys drinking. Perhaps to excess, but I enjoy it nonetheless. There will be no judgments. And it is no secret I enjoy a playthrough of a video game from time to time. They pass the hours quite nicely. Now, I would be lying if I said that I've never combined the two. Seems natural right? I remember one particular (and painful) session of the shit-tastic Too Human that turned into an inadvertent drinking game. I promised myself I would go to bed at the end of one of its (seemingly interminable) levels but found myself slogging and slogging away with no end in sight -- while also drinking. And drinking. Things ended badly for me, more or less, but the level never did. But hey, that's basically the same experience anyone who played that game had -- and at least I was drunk. Well, finally someone has set down some rules (which, clearly, I didn't follow) on how to drink and play video games. And I thank you, good sir.
Cool! These pics of actors in plain clothes (sort of) recreating famous roles are really, really neat. No, seriously, you find a better adjective.
Iron Man/War Machine
It's a new poster for Iron Man 2. It's got Iron Man and it's got War Machine. Together. Pow. Good times.
Mass Effect 2
With the awesome Dragon Age: Origins out there in the world, getting bought, getting played, getting taken out to dinner, whispered to sweetly and loved tenderly by the fire, BioWare can now concentrate full time on Mass Effect 2, as well as the added side effect of making me jizz in my pants every five seconds. To whit: here is another character reveal for the game, out January 26, also known as the beginning of my vacation.
Kant + Comics = Awesome, understandable
Hey, who doesn't enjoy the philosophical stylings of German philosopher Immanuel Kant? But dayum is his writing foul. One possible work-around? Explain his wrtitings using comic books.
Are you kidding me? Here's an article from Slate. The premise: DVD box sets of TV shows are a terrible gift. Why, you no doubt are wondering? Apparently you're forcing the recipient to slog through a whole bunch of television.Yep. The article says: "Boxed sets have transformed television from light entertainment into homework." No, really, that's what it says. Uh, what? Oh, did my gift of something I consider so culturally and (more important) personally essential that I wanted to share it with you force you to sit and do nothing but enjoy art/entertainment and possibly be emotionally engaged in something other than your Facebook page? Did it? Wow. I'm really, REALLY sorry for that. Ugh. Fuck you, Slate. Enjoy manufacturing cultural criticism no one asked for and living up your own ass. I guess I can go and give the box set of season two of Supernatural I got you to someone who will actually appreciate it. (Yes, I mean my mom.)
Assassin’s Creed II DLC
If you felt that there wasn't enough assassinating people in Renaissance Italy using various methods (and, really, how could there be?) in Assassin's Creed II, you're in luck. Our friends at Ubisoft are releasing not one but two content packs early in the New Year. As they say in Italy: Dolce! (They don't say that...)
Red Dead Redemption
I must admit, this game held no interest for me until this trailer. How cool does this thing look, though?
And finally… This video has a number of things that shouldn't be put together (like, ever) but always seem to be for whatever reason. Japan. Robots. Dancing. J-Pop. Scary robot faces.
Awesome
If this e-mail exchange is for reals it's gold. Hey, even if it isn't, it's still damn funny.
COD: MW2 DLC = $$$
Have you played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 yet? I haven't picked it up yet but I think that may be the next game I buy (since no one sent me a copy to review). So, yeah, no shooting up of the n00bs and whatnot. Not for a little bit, anyway. Activision should be okay until then since they sold a metric fuck-ton of them already. With that said, they're looking to launch some downloadable content in the spring that will probably sell faster than tickets to a Free Bags of Money and Blow Jobs convention.
Choice
I don't know if y'all read that reallllly long post I tossed off up here yesterday. Not the one about Power Girl's boobs but the one re: Dragon Age: Origins. In it, I talked a bit about choice in games -- moral or otherwise -- and how it's a cool and sort of evolving topic in the art of gaming. Well, here's a good article to have a look at if you're interested in pursuing the topic a little further.
And finally…
Is it wrong that: a) I find this brilliant and b) can't stop laughing at it? (Via Topless Robot)
Fight Club I like director David Fincher's work for the most part (understatement). Se7en is one of my faves. And so is Fight Club, which is now 10 years old. Crazy, huh? Here's a great essay on the film's, uh, greatness.
Comic Books
The AV Club has their best comic books of the '00s. I gotta say, no Fables or Walking Dead seems weird to me -- am I wrong, more serious comic book graphic novel readers out there? Pretty hipster choices in there, as with their best games piece, too. Sure, BioShock and Portal are great games but please don't lecture me while you're picking them, thank you. Also, Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead = best games of 2008; do not = best games of '00s.
Ubiquitous Mass Effect 2 entry
Lots of news on this front. First, there are TWO awesome vids. The first teases the return of Tali, one of the beloved characters from the first game. If you played the original game, the video is guaranteed to make you go, "Ohhhh shit!" The second demonstrates an adept, one of the character classes from the new game. If you haven't played the original game, the video is guaranteed to make you go, "Ohhhh shit!" Moving along, there's also a story on how BioWare plans on churning out a shit-ton of DLC for Mass Effect 2. Sounds good to me considering the first game got one semi-decent DLC and one WTF? one.
Dexter
Do you like the voiceovers on Dexter? I know I do. Michael C. Hall, the dude that plays Dexter, likes 'em, too. He talks about his process for churning them out here. The best part: imagining him saying all this in his creepy/awesome Dexter voice.
Power Girl’s costume
If you look up at the top of this entry you'll see DC Comics' Power Girl. You'll also see a good portion of her boobs. Believe it or not, the pic I've chosen is tasteful among Power Girl pics. They get sort of ridiculous and even insulting sometimes. Well there's a reason, supposedly, and, short answer: it's about female empowerment. Not buying it? Neither is Comics Alliance. It's funny, I mean, I've always thought PG was sexy in that drawing-of-a-sexy-lady-in-a-comic-book kinda way, but it's pretty obvious they're leading with the boobs, no? Please stop with the patronizing explanation.
Tron You wanted a Tron video game? You got one! To me, a new video game makes more sense than a new movie, but there you go.
I’ve played about a day of Dragon Age: Origins (the game told me so) and a lot has happened in that time.
Keeping it spoiler free (because I really think you should play this game and discover what happens on your own) I’ve killed a bunch of stuff, talked (and grown) with my ever-expanding band of companions and continued slutting around the countryside of Ferelden with the hopes of stopping the major bummer of a full-on Darkspawn invasion known as a “Blight.”
It’s serious business, even with all the slutting around.
I’m sure you’re saying to yourself: “My friend, at a milestone such as this, it is time for some deep reflection upon your many long travels thus far.” (That totally sounds like you, BTW) And you’re right.
So: what have I learned so far?
Again, what with the non-spoilers thing, I can really only talk in broad strokes and generalizations – things you probably aren’t accustomed to reading anywhere at all on the Internet, so I apologize.
The main thing that starts to sink in as you play Dragon Age: Origins is dread. Deep, dark, deepening dread.
Where does it come from?
You would think it out of place in one of these epic fantasy tales of heroic deeds and elven maidens and whatnot, right? And, the thing is, for the most part, that’s what DAO is so far: a big ole ball of fantasy goodness.
My character is completely awesome. I don’t just mean that because he’s like Aragorn and the Knights of the Round Table combined -- with a little 1960s Mick Jagger thrown in for the ladies; I mean it in that I’m playing him to be an incredibly noble person, with bottomless honor and bravery and a willingness to back up all his friends no questions asked. Sure, I play it so that he basically can’t say no to rolling around with women – high born, wenches, elves alike – but he’s always honest about what’s going on. So basically, so far Dragon Age has been me and my friends going around on awesome adventures being awesome.
So why the dread?
Well, I think it seeps in there in a number of ways and on a number of levels, starting with the glorious and simple menu screen.
Let me set it up: We see two war-ravaged swords stabbed into the earth, abandoned – as storm clouds ominously churn above. The music is sad in the background. A drop of blood (almost mournfully) rolls off the guard of one of the blades. Unclear debris (bodies?) is strewn into the background. Is this the aftermath of an epic clash of armies that shakes the world? Is it one fought by a small brave band of companions, one that changes the world forever though none shall notice? Whatever has happened, it is over and it isn’t (entirely) good.
Here, watch and listen:
That’s the menu screen! What has happened here? There’s a reason they went with this one and not some sexy sorceress fire-balling a shit-ton of orcs hurlocks, right? Shoot, they could have even gone with the blood dragon Dragon Age motif (at the top of the entry) – that’s pretty sweet looking, right? But they didn’t. They went with this scene and it seems like it was for a reason.
Sure, at first, I was all like, “That’s pretty much standard fantasy code for the kickassery that is about to ensue – gimme!” But soon it felt like more. Soon, I felt the dread of impending doom and tragedy.
Maybe it was the clouds that started it. The clouds definitely can’t be a sign of anything good to come. Look at those! They’re all sepia and stormy and orange and roiling like a fire that’s going out.
Then the swords – chipped, abandoned, sad somehow. And bloody. (Keep an eye on the sword on the right for the blood drop…) It feels like they want to tell me their tale – to experience their tale – rather than just be plunder. How did they wind up here, forgotten? Who once wielded them? Was it/is it me? What happened?
Throw in the mournful tune, the plaintive lady singing – and then the build up to a pounding, ominous march that comes out of nowhere.
Dread, dudes. Dread.
And that’s just the menu screen.
Before I talk about anything grounded in the actual play of the game itself, I thought I’d draw your attention to a couple of side points related to the game that fill me with dread as well.
First off: BioWare describes the game as a “dark fantasy epic.” They don’t describe it as a “fun fantasy epic” or a “bitchin’ fantasy epic” or even an “epic fantasy saga” or anything like that. It’s their “dark fantasy epic” and they use the word “dark,” specifically.
Now, of course, they could mean that in a sort of, “it’s violent, there’s sex, people die but it ends on a heroic, happy note after it all” kinda way – but something tells me this isn’t the case.
That something is my second side point: Of all the possible (and probable) influences on the game (Tolkien, Jordan, Kay, etc.) the developers constantly reference George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series as the main one. That says a lot.
If you haven’t read these books, and you are a fan of fantasy, you should definitely pick them up. In a nutshell, it’s an unsentimental tale of a kingdom’s fall into anarchy through treachery and court intrigue – meanwhile an impending invasion by evil demon-like beings is coming from the north. That’s a simplification, of course but you get the idea. Main characters die on a regular basis and ugly things happen all over the place. More importantly: survival often depends on one’s ability to remain in moral gray areas, manipulating others to make bold moves and suffer the consequences while you reap the rewards. Notions of honour, heroism, glory (the usual fantasy fare) get characters schooled pretty quickly – if they don’t wind up dead in a ditch first.
This brings me to my next point about the dread.
Game narrative is evolving at an incredible rate currently. I’m not going to debate about what makes it up or how it’s created and blah blah – I’ll let the usual suspects do that. What I’m talking about in relation to Dragon Age is that I’m detecting a certain form of manipulation from the narrative that may lead to some very dark things in the tale.
BioWare tells some real bangers when it comes to stories. Yes, you get the usual epic plot arc RPGs require, but you also get character arcs that are just as epic. There are romances and friendships that hang in the balance of what you choose to do. And BioWare really, really has a knack for creating interesting characters. It makes the moral choices in the game (yes, I know the morality in games is artificial and all that but for the sake of this discussion – shut it) that much harder when you’re invested in the characters.
When I played games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion, I wasn’t finding this. Sure, your choices had consequences but it all seemed arbitrary. And the characters were usually ciphers, placeholders, fonts of info I needed. They weren’t characters, really. Do something good to someone and they probably did something good for you and vice versa. The game, the NPCs, everything meant as much as you allowed it to. The storytelling was very passive, in the background. If you let it affect you, it would, otherwise you could just run around, kill things, collect stuff and finish up the quests. Or not. Whatever.
With a Dragon Age, the game actively forces you to care about what you’re doing by throwing so much character and emotional beats that you can’t help it. The “Origins” portion of the introduction is integral to this, indoctrinating you in the game’s world. It takes an active approach to engaging you, as a film or TV show might.
So, where am I going with this?
Well – again without getting all spoilery – I think I’m being played. Manipulated. Hoodwinked. Had. I keep getting a sinking feeling that one of my companions is using my admittedly 2D Sir Lancelot-style heroism for their own gains. It’s not overt. Not yet. They don’t wink at the camera or anything like that. It’s just a feeling. A feeling of dread.
I feel like the game may not reward the standard fantasy hero in the standard fantasy manner. Time will tell. Ask me how it’s going after my next 24 hours of game time.
Much has happened since last I wrote. Twelve or so hours of action, actually.
There has been tragedy, tough moral choices, sex with elven (elfin? elvish?) ladies in waiting, family strife, betrayal, sex with hookers in a brothel, conspiracies, card games, scraps with the undead, intrigue, poisoning – and battle after bloody battle.
I’ve made a bunch of enemies. I’ve made a bunch of friends. And it’s the friends that I’m more interested in. The relationships are so deep and nuanced already. I’ve had one of my friends question something I’ve done and make me feel like total shit for doing what I did. My flirtations with one woman in my party have made the other jealous. Everyone questions my choices. It’s hard being the leader of a bunch of fantasy characters. You have no idea.
Maybe I should just go back to the brothel. It’s a lot easier there.
Dragon Age: Origins
I'm at about hour 12 of my playthrough of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins and I'm not even close to finishing the first major quest. It's got me bouncing around the world, getting attacked, jumping into bed with hookers -- and loving every minute of it. The only thing I don't like about the game is that one day -- one sad, sad day -- it will end and I will finish the game. BioWare feels my pain. Helping to postpone the heartbreak, they've announced the second DLC for the game and I'm damn happy about it.
Left 4 Dead 2
Speaking of DLC, is the recently released sequel already lining up its own content pack?
Samurai Jack
Did you like Samurai Jack? I did. It was subtle, lovingly-crafted and very, very unique. I'm glad to hear that a movie of the cartoon is on the way.
Radiohead
Magazines are in a tough place these days. Bottom line: they need to sell magazines in a time where people don't buy magazines. That means sinking low sometimes. That means you need to resort to hyperbole and ridiculousness sometimes (just ask Entertainment Weekly.) Sometimes it's letting reality stars guest "edit" the mag. Other times it's running a countdown of best films and putting something absolutely stupid as the No. 1 while leaving off obvious choices. You need to rile people up. You need to shock them. If you're Spin magazine, you go and write an article on how Radiohead sucks but we just won't admit it. Like, basically, we're all angry and shit that they never continued on their The Bends-slash-rock anthems path to being the new U2 and we just pretend we like how experimental they are -- but really, stuff like In Rainbows and any post-OK Computer albums suck. The problem with that is then this dude comes along and totally disembowels your fake argument and makes you look like hacks. And, also, this.
And finally…
Here's that Hawkman from Smallville picture again -- except bigger. I can't get enough of it. It's terrible. He looks like your friend's grandfather trying to get off a ladder because you guys are "horsing around too goddamn much" and he's going to try and stop you. Like, as soon as he gets down. Whenever that is. (No, I don't know why his grandfather is on a ladder.) Apparently it's all for an episode featuring the Justice Society. I think it's going to have Doctor Fate and Stargirl in there, too. I don't know about Stargirl, but Doctor Fate isn't going to look much better than Hawkman, I'm thinking.
No-no If you know (and love) your baseball, you'll love this. But hey, if you love funny shit, animation and great (true!) stories you will, too.
Alien Legion Alien Legion was a cool, somewhat obscure comic book graphic novel series from the late '80s, early '90s. Basically it was the foreign legion in space with aliens and humans killing shit across the galaxy. Bonus: the commanding officer was half-snake. It was an enjoyable romp that sometimes did the whole thinly-veiled allegory for contemporary issues thing but overall it was about who these people (and aliens) were before and who they became after joining the legion. And it was pretty violent. You could probably pick up a whack of issues for next to nothing, I would think. And you might want to do it quick because, according to this article, they're looking to turn it into a film/franchise. Could definitely work.
Fringe
I haven't made my love of Fringe a secret. The show's characters and world appeal to me and I don't care who knows it. It's cost me friends and family to do so (it hasn't) but that's the way it has to be -- I am a passionate man in my passions. Now Fox is hoping to attract new viewers to the show with its latest viral campaign. It uses the mysterious (and bald!) Observers and they've been turning up across various Fox properties -- even NFL football! It's all gonna culminate on this week's episode. Sounds good to me.
Hawkman, unfortunately
Sometimes staying true to a super hero's costume can be a mistake. Exhibit A: Hawkman's appearance on Smallville.
Decade NME has released their top albums of the decade. Yeah, it's a little Brit-centric and, yeah, the Strokes are number one, but it's hard to argue the majority of the choices. Well, maybe Klaxons.
And finally…
The year 2008 was a year where Fallout 3 was released (along with Fable II, GTA IV, Gears 2 and other huge titles). And, still, I think Ubisoft's Prince of Persia reboot was my favourite. Maybe not overall, but as a concept from top to bottom it was genius. One of the greatest things about it was its enigmatic ending. An ending so unique, it's inspired debates ever since. Now Destructoid elloquently opens up the debate again -- and I thank them.
I ended up “buying” this one. Well, I used some Game Stop store credit to pick it up. I hate doing that but what can you do? Sometimes you have to live like the other half and all that.
I’m a fantasy RPG fan from way back. Like, pencils, paper and polyhedral dice way back. Yes, I’m a D&D geek and I make no apologies. Loving the shit out of that kind of stuff and talking and thinking incessantly about it has led to this point. “What point is that?” you ask? Getting paid to talk and think and write about that kind of stuff… FOR A LIVING. So, suck it.
So, yeah, Dragon Age: Origins – I picked it up. Considering the enormity of this sort of game (I’ve heard this thing runs close to 70-80 hours), you’ll probably get a few of these entries detailing my crazy (fake) adventures and whatnot.
To start, BioWare is all about RPGs. They’ve been doing expansive video game RPGs for years. They continually push the envelope with these things. It’s edge of the seat type stuff, yeah? RPG gold that has you obsessed after only an hour of play. If you compiled a list of best all time RPGs, I’m thinking they’d score a few in there. Maybe even the top one. I know they make my favorite: Mass Effect. Sure, that’s not a fantasy one but still, it’s BioWare at their RPG-loving best.
I decided to go with the standard: male, human, fighter. The vanilla of fantasy characters. I’m also a noble, but that was the only choice available. I’ve played about two hours and things are already hardcore addictive. The whole “origins” thing in the title is that the first part of the game sets up an origin for your character – and they have different ones depending on your race and social standing. I guess it really amps up the replayability. Without getting spoilery, my origin had some sex, some sweetness and lots of tragedy. I’m not even sure I’m finished my origin yet. Right now I’m hanging out with the King’s army and trying to complete a special task that will help me join this special group of warriors called the Grey Wardens. Their job is to fight all the bad shit in the world. Sounds awesome, right?
I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface yet but this weekend I’m pretty sure I will. I think I’m just on the surface. Or maybe above it in a sea plane or whatever. There’s still a shit ton of political intrigue, supernatural terror and crazy fantasy action to come.
Mass Effect 2 Yeah, yeah, I go on a lot about Mass Effect 2. Especially since it hasn't even been released yet. To be fair, the original is probably my favorite game (yes, my favorite) and this one is making that look like Pac Man, so maybe you can understand why I might be so damned excited about it. Also, I watched all the ME2 bits in this episode of Game Trailers.
John Cusack: Not as nice as you were led to believe
John Cusack is one of those dudes who plays the right kinda nice guy in films. He's not syrupy or a pussy, he's cool and funny -- like an older brother or something or a best man. But I've just seen too many moments like this one and now this one -- where he just seems like a dick with no sense of humor -- to believe he's actually like that.
Crazy Beatles This is a pretty cool alternate timeline that outlines what would happen if the Beatles got back together and accepted Lorne Michaels' legendary offer. I always wondered how cool it would be if they had. Now I have an idea.
TV
AV Club's list of the best TV series of the '00s is a little on the nose but, really, how can you argue with most of these? Although, I'm not sure I'd classify Buffy as an '00s show, to be honest.
I can't seem to find this anywhere else, but IMDB is a pretty good source: it looks like Colonel Tighe himself, Battlestar Galactica's (and Canada's) Michael Hogan is doing a voice in upcoming BioWare game Mass Effect 2 -- if you believe his IMDB page (which I kinda do.) Doesn't say who he's playing but maybe based on the close proximity to an upcoming Game Trailers TV (Thursday Nov. 12) piece on the 2010 title, it could be shady figure the "Illusive Man." Any way you look at it, though, Hogan = awesomeness. So, yeah, thought you should know.
Black Cat Some big rumors afoot in Spidey-ville. Here's the breakdown: it looks like one of the Wall Crawler's adversaries in the fourth film is going to be Black Cat. Sure, she's basically a Catwoman rip off, but a lot has been done and a lot could be done with her. As a character, too. (And I thank you...) Anyway, let's set our mood organs to "positive" for this, so far. The rumors get more specific with actress Romola Garai (allegedly) auditioning and (wait for it) Rachel McAdams as well. I don't know, Rachel McAdams as a femme fatale feline anti-hero? Meh. Not seeing it but maybe? At least she can act. And is cute as a button, of course. (I think my Canadian citizenship gets revoked if I don't put that in there -- it's bad enough I use US spelling.) Remember though, these are all rumors -- including Black Cat even being in the film. Still, as a love interest of Spidey's, 'Cat has the potential of impacting his personal and super-heroic life. That's the sort of stuff Sam Raimi liked using in the first two movies. Oh, all right, I guess he tried to do that in the third one, too.
Good.
Steven Spielberg and Will Smith's planned remake of awesome Korean film Oldboyhas (thankfully) been shitcanned. I'm not being a typical bloggy hater dude who's cheering because some obscure thing I like is not being made into a bloated Hollywood abortion. I do that sometimes but not now. Promise. I like Spielberg and have been known to like Smith on occasion, but there's just no way they would have been able to do this film. Sorry. They just couldn't. There's just too much over-the-top stuff -- and the twist at the end? Come on. No way. Let 'em do some other kind of fancy movie magic together. Some sci-fi or something like that maybe.
Mad Men
Did you watch the season finale of Mad Men this week? What did y'all think? Some huge stuff going on, right? Looks like next season is shaping up to be a doozy. Ambiguous enough for all you spoiler-free types? Good. Here's an interview/season 3 post-mortem with series creator Matthew Weiner. There's spoilers, by the way.
Fringe
So, J.J. Abrams is all cheery about Fringe taking some ratings hits thanks to being placed in a hyper-competitive timeslot, huh? Not sure I would be. Especially now that EW's Michael Ausiello is circling it and dropping the C word. Considering Fox moved the show to a night and timeslot that is killing it, I would say maybe they should take responsibility and move it back or somewhere better, no? Although, the almost-assured cancellation of Dollhouse is a good thing if you're a Fringe fan, I guess. After all, Fox does need to have at least one sci-fi show to hold up when everyone is crying over FireflyTerminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Dollhouse, right?
Oh my.
What happens when Sir Ian McKellan drops in on the ladies from The View? Wow. Just wow.
Saboteur
Upcoming WWII open world game The Saboteur looks like a lot of fun. Instead of your usual one man v. the Nazis you... well... sure, you're still one man v. the Nazis, but this time you're Irish! And a saboteur! And you wear a leather jacket and a cool hat! Plus, you get to whore around Paris. Slap Nazis in the face. Shoot zeppelins out of the air. All that shit. And you get to do it whenevs and howevs you want. The game is launching before Christmas, which gives me some hope that it just might be awesome. Oh well, at the very least it'll be the best Irish WWII saboteur video game of the year -- and that's something, right?
And finally… Did you want X-Men 3? Yes, yes you did. Did you like the X-Men 3 you got? No, not one bit. But really, why was that? In a nutshell, the dudes who had made the first two films weren't involved in the third one. But what if they were? How would it all have turned out? Curious? Hmmm? (sorry) Well, X2 writer Michael Dougherty has revealed the direction in which he and original X-Men series director Bryan Singer were headed. Gotta say, I like it.
