You’ve probably seen the movie. I expect I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t. But how many of you have seen the musical version of Disney’s ‘The Lion King’?
Granted, probably a fair number of you, as it’s been playing in London’s West End for some 12 years now, and you can’t really miss the giant lion’s-head logo when you’re heading towards Waterloo station…
So, despite being a little behind the times, I can honestly say The Lion King is still the stage spectacular the critics said it was a decade ago, combining amazing sets with powerful actors, an award-winning score and a story that can still bring a tear to your eye.
With the cavernous holds of the Lyceum theatre as its base, The Lion King starts out with a bang, launching into ‘The circle of life’ – and immediately demonstrating the incredible choreography, set and costumes the venerable musical is so famous for.
Although the main characters naturally steal the show, the massive cast all have their parts to play, and pull off the impression of the animals they’re portraying with great aplomb. I admit I often found myself focusing on the masks, head-dresses or puppets the actors were manipulating, rather than the actors themselves – which I gather is the whole point.
Led by voodoo baboon Rafiki (a wonderful Brown Lindiwe Mkhize), Mufasa (Shaun Escoffery) and majordomo bird Zazu (Stephen Matthews), the ensemble manage to bring Disney’s world to life for – and often amidst – the audience, with the actors and the puppets – combined with the stirring, African-sourced score – drawing you in to its world.
Bad-lion Scar (n delightfully scary George Asprey) was a particular high point, capturing the spirit of the character perfectly – just the right combination of smarm and evil – and stole the first half with a brilliant rendition of ‘Be prepared’ – featuring goose-stepping hyenas…
The only weak point in what was an excellent cast was young Simba (Tahj Miles), who had heart on stage, but whose poor singing voice mangled some of the biggest songs of the musical – ‘I just can’t wait to be king’ – and who was constantly upstaged by a young Nala (Amelia Monet Kennecy).
Despite occasionally hamming-it-up for the kids, the cast nevertheless managed to make the more dramatic scenes hit home hard – my personal favourite being the appearance of Mufasa – a giant wooden lion’s head formed piecemeal by the ensemble and shot in the background with a blue filter.
And, of course, special mention must be made for comedy relief Timon and Pumbaa (Damian Baldet and Keith Bookman), who were fantastic. Hakuna Matata guys.
Overall, The Lion King is well worth the price of a ticket.
That’s if you can get one, as it’s selling out almost every night – and for good reason.
I’m a big Metal Gear fan. Always have been – ever since I first stepped into Solid Snake’s sneaking boots on Shadow Moses. So when I saw the next game in the series – which was (then) known as Metal Gear Rising – I was a little nonplussed.
Firstly, it starred Raiden, the blonde, ditzy plonker from MGS2, who alienated the series’ Western fans (while being lauded by Japanese ones).
Now, don’t get me wrong – Raiden more than redeemed himself by turning into an awesome, badass cyborg ninja in Guns of the Patriots, but when I think Metal Gear, I think Tactical Espionage Action – not hack-and-slash.
Raiden. Nice eyepatch.
Granted, in its initial appearance Rising seemed to be trying to walk a fine line between the two. The swordplay was measured and cleverly done, the graphics looked good, and the setting was dark and industrial.
That and Kojima-san seemed to be demonstrating how the game could be used as a fruit-slicing instructional video:
So, when the game’s developers threw up their hands and gave the title to Platinum Games, I have to admit I had a moment of pause. Mostly because, as far as I’m concerned, Platinum Games can’t do wrong.
In the past couple of games, the production house came out with sassy witch-em-up Bayonetta – which was a 9/10 from me – and the seminal run-n-gun shooter Vanquish, which I still play now because it’s that good.
So, I was left in a mental quandary – my favourite stealth-action game series, and one of my favourite action-action-action game developers, somehow working together to mesh the two.
What seems to be popping out is Revengeance – an odd medley of the world of Metal Gear – all Metal Gears and robots and cyphers and PMCs – and the frenetic, hack-and-slash action of Bayonetta.
And you know what? I like it.
Sure, the trailer’s voice acting is abysmal and the graphics don’t lend themselves to MGS-style games at all.
Sure, stealth itself seems to have been eradicated like a rat in a Shadow Moses air vent, and replaced with high-wire acrobatics.
But damn it all, I like the look of it anyway.
Fanboys may jump up and down, but I can’t fault Kojima-san for wanting to take the series in a new direction now Snake is officially too old to participate.
Time will tell if the game holds up to its promise, and I have no doubt fanboys will debate the changes to death, but I’m still a little excited at the prospect.
Oh, I do have one bugbear.
‘Revengeance’?
That’s not a word, not even close to a word.
No matter how much Platinum Games want it to be, it’s just…not.
While enjoying (if that is the word) a ride home on one of Southern Rail’s old, dirty, over-priced trains last week, I had the (dis-)pleasure of sitting near three ‘City Boys’ debating the finer points of life in finance. It was all fairly normal at first, the usual drivel about banks and bankers and bonuses, until this exchange:
City Boy one (Quentin): “Anyone can make it if they work hard enough Julian…”
City Boy two (Julian): “No, no, no Quentin, there’s the upper one percent, those who follow that one percent, and the schlubs below them. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and some people can’t hack it, so they stay below, it’s for the best.”
This took me completely by surprise, as what was a fairly intelligent conversation about the nature of the financial industry became something altogether the more sinister, and made me think of this (first minute of video):
I’m no fool, I know the British class system still exists in this country, but it threw up to me the stark fact that such a system is now so engrained in society (as it has been for hundreds of years) that it almost seems hopeless to escape from this situation – and indeed much of the populace seems unaware that we are essentially being ruled over my the 1% who have everything from the start.
Just take a look at the government which rules over our island nation – populated almost entirely by peers who went to Eton and other such ‘high-class’ establishments, then glad-handed their way into government or positions of power without breaking lockstep.
Indeed, it takes thorough investigations – such as the Daily Telegraph’s excellent probe into MP expenses – or national crises – such as the recessions now regularily rocking the planet – to make people wake up and realise how little control we the people actually have.
For what is democracy if whoever you vote in just screws you over as much as the next man?
Take, for example, the London Mayoral elections which have just passed. I voted in the national elections, opting for the balanced, fair policies of the Liberal Democrats – naturally, in my opinion (and look where it got us…) However, I was shocked to see that the voter turnout was so very low across the capital for a position which can influence everything I do down here – from taxes to travel.
Between a berk and a hard-case
However, I myself didn’t vote. Hypocritical, yes – but I deliberately chose not to. I had a choice of Tory-u-like bumbling boob Boris Johnson, and failed Labour twonk Ken Livingston – both of which would happily hike the Tube fare before ever considering it might be a bad idea to piss off your own taxpayers.
And yes, I know there were other parties I could of voted for – but it would of been a wasted vote, because of the archaic voting system this country uses.
Anyway, to come back on topic for my conclusion. After having heard Julian and Quentin discuss the finer points of being elitest, I also came to realise that in looking down on them for being the stuck-up preppy, upper-class twats they were, I was in myself helping to sustain the class system, from my own seat in the country’s relative ‘middle class’.
Perhaps what we need is a revolution of the mind.
“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives” William James, American Philosopher.
In a slight divergence from my usual programming, today I present an interview with an up-and-coming metal band just making its mark on the circuit in the Midlands of England – an area known more for farming and mining than for metal – that’s more in Sheffield…
So, I spoke to Watch Us Fade’s vocalist Connor Sanders, lead guitarist Luke Watson, rhythm guitarist Jack Crooke, drummer Oli Mullins and bassist Joe Spencer about their music, hopes and dreams.
Andy: Tell me a little about the band, what are your main influences?
Connor: Overall I believe it would be difficult to pin down the main influences for our music.
Each one of us is so different to the next in the music that inspires and influences us, and I suppose that helps move the chemistry along – we each have our own ideas and way of thinking, so we boil it all down to create the music that we play.
If I had to pick a few main influences, I’d probably have to say that our music is inspired by heavy metal bands such as Five Finger Death Punch and Bullet for my Valentine, with influences of deathcore bands such as Whitechapel and Chelsea Grin. My own vocals are inspired by numerous musicians from the TNBM (True Norwegian Black Metal) scene, such as Gorgoroth, Darkthrone and Marduk.
Andy: Do you emulate a particular group’s music, or are you trying to break away and do your own thing?
Connor: We have not tried to emulate music from any group, although nonetheless the sound will most likely be somewhat similar to people who listen to the same style of music genres that we do.
I don’t see any point in following the sheep of society. I have always wanted to break away and do my own thing; and here is my chance.
Watch Us Fade’s Joe Spencer, Jack Crooke, Connor Sanders, Luke Watson and Oli Mullins (L-R)
Andy: So how did the band first form, and how serious are you about your future endeavors? Is this a flash-in-the-pan group?
Luke: We first formed the band on the night of the Surface Festival semi finals, with the name ‘The Dirty Schoolboys’.
We started with a dream of producing music that we all loved, and playing to people whom shared our tastes for music and would enjoy a good night of drunken fun at our gigs.
Thus, we banded together and used our individual talents to do exactly that. The first few weeks after we formed it was a laugh, as we wrote the lyrics to ‘Smashin’ a Baz’ while chilling at a bar. However, after Connor emerged from seclusion in hospital we all realised that we actually wanted this to get somewhere.
We continued our writing and our songs became sharper, more meaningful and more fearsome. It became a serious hobby for us, as every week we would get together and create a brutal din loud enough to raise complaints from our non-metal loving neighbours – but we didn’t care. We were living the dream.
Connor: We feel that the only way that we can succeed is by doing something completely new and original, ‘blending’ the various aspects of metal culture until we can come up with something that is totally unique in sound and performance, and that we hope people will respond well too.
Luke: It started to become more serious when we were offered a gig, but having to decline due to Connor’s bad health made us all the more determined to make this succeed. I am serious in our dreams for the future, and I believe if we put in 100% of our effort every time that we get together and write and play songs we will more than likely achieve what we want to, and more.
Andy: With that in mind, where would you hope the band would be in five years? You have to start small, certainly, but you must have aspirations for something bigger?
Oli: I’m hoping that we would be gigging a hell of a lot! There isn’t much point to a band who doesn’t play live, you have to show the people who actually like your music that you like them too.
You can’t go anywhere without supporters, and its always been my dream to play in a band, especially with a chemistry as great as ours.
I want us to at the very least have released a debut album, after recording our demo a few weeks back we have received a lot of positive feedback, but I’d want the album to be different from anything we have ever made. Previously we had two vocalists, and the second influenced a lot of our music to be a great deal softer than we had originally planned, but nonetheless we will be continuing to develop our sound until we have it defined into something heavy enough to melt your eardrums.
Jack: The music we create is heavy as fuck, when I first joined the band I had never heard their songs or their style of playing before, but it was less than an hour later that I was so deeply embedded in the performance that I forgot I had only been there for the single practice.
Oli: As for aspirations to bigger things? Of course. I would love to go on tour with the lad’s from Watch Us Fade, get involved of all kind of debauchery, play the music that we love and overall have a brilliant time – the big dream of mine would be to play at Sonisphere or another festival, the sort of shit that every metal fan dreams of, you know?
“We will be continuing to develop our sound until we have it defined into something heavy enough to melt your eardrums..”
Andy: What has been the initial reception to your band and your music?
Jack: I enjoy playing the music that we create and I believe that we have a good chance of gaining some fame. Initial responses from the demo tracks that we sent out have all been overwhelmingly positive – but alas, they have yet to see us perform live. That is where the real fun will begin.
Andy: How do you see the group’s music developing over time?
Jack: Over the course of the next few months and years I will definitely be working towards a heavier, more brutal sounding noise, and we will be definitely continuously working on new songs over the coming year as we get the chance to continue with our band.
Andy: What made you choose ‘Watch us Fade’ as the band’s name?
Joe: Haha… originally we were called ‘The Dirty Schoolboys’, which was a name that was made up on the spot as a placeholder until we got our asses into gear and Connor got out of hospital.
Watch Us Fade came from the song ‘Watch me Fade’ by the band ‘Page 44′ – I believe it was something that Luke thought of.
Andy: Wouldn’t you consider it a bit of a bad omen?
Joe: I suppose our name could be considered a bad omen, yes, with the amount of bands that rise out from the darkness of obscurity only to fade back beneath them after a few months of gigging, but none of us here think that it is a particularly bad omen – hell, Connor thrives on bad omens.
We all love to raise the middle finger to people whom don’t think we are going to make it – the chemistry and relationships between us are great; not a day goes by where one of us doesn’t come up with some new idea, riff or lyrics, its mental.
Andy: Who is the driving force behind the band and the decisions made so far?
Joe: As for the driving force behind us, we all share the responsibility, I’d say. Every single one of us is so pumped and enthusiastic about the music that we create that there is really no need to elect a ‘leader’ or decision maker. We share the decisions, and more often than not we come to the same conclusion every time.
After one of my guest writers wrote a preview of the Bioware MMORPG ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’, a new guest writer – MMO gamer and all-round badass Chris Sheen – has stepped into the breach to write a full review. So without further adieu, take it away Chris:
Do I consider myself a master of MMOs? Not really, but I’ve played loads – DaoC, CoH, CoV, WoW, LotRo, Ddo, Dco (Dark age of Camelot, City of Heroes, City of Villains, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, DC Universe Online, for those of us who don’t speak MMOGeek… – Andy) and there is one reason I’ve continued to play only a few of these – the people.
Do I consider myself a Star Wars fan? Hell yes! I own most of the books released, all the DVDs – including the Clone Wars cartoon – and my copy of X-wing VS TIE Fighter still works – yeah Andy, take that fella! (Quiet you. I just want Lucasarts to re-release TIE Fighter – Andy).
So how does Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) match up to the others?
First off, it’s sexy… really sexy. Character models look fresh and the changing armours mean your character will keep looking sweet till level 50 – when those evasive player vs player (PVP) and player vs environment armours become reachable.
The worlds themselves are atmospheric, from the deserts of Tatooine to the ice fields of Hoth.
Hell, even Alderaan (the most bugged planet in the game) looks sweet when your graphics card catches up.
The Star Wars A-Team prepare for a new mission
At the game’s opening you get the choice of joining the Empire or the Republic, with each allegiance having its own story – as well as your personal class story.
This means you do sometimes feel you are watching a movie, and the conversations (which are like Mass Effect and Dragon Age) add to the impression that you’re actually playing a part in this galaxy-spanning yarn.
There are no stupid text boxes to read, with “accept” written at the bottom, and when a character tells you he’s got an issue you can respond the way you believe your character would.
With the majority of games if you don’t want to team up with a bunch of people who have no idea what you’re saying – or are in fact monkeys sat in front of the computer (*cough* Call of Duty *cough* – Andy) you’re stuck. However, in SWTOR as the game progresses you gain companions who are spin offs of the main classes. Each has a way of joining the fight, from ranged to melee tank and healer – and when you’re not using them you can send them off to craft and gather materials, so you don’t need to stand there waiting for a yellow line to fill up a bar and say you’ve made a gun.
A rousing speech. Shame the others have the ‘Monday look’…
So, where are the problems?
Well, the game is buggy as hell, there are too many servers for too few players and the people are dicks (Sic – Andy).
Also, getting to level 50 feels more like hard work than an enjoyable storyline and the customer service team suck balls (Sic, again – Andy).
Some planets, such as Belsavs, are shite in a can (…Sic… – Andy), and if you want max stats you have to hunt for datacrons – which suddenly makes the game feel like you’re playing a 3D platformer, as you leap on boxes, run down pipes – and in one case hurl your keyboard across the room screaming curses on the designers’ family.
However, it’s not all bad – PVP games are entertaining, taking place in sandbox environments with 8 vs 8 teams. All the ‘Flashpoints’ (dungeons) have a hard mode, and operations feel like you’re in a war against the computer in a team of 16. Plus, the story just keeps going!
Action. Adventure. Statistics….
I can see me playing this game for quite a while, and the hard mode mode keeps both operations and flashpoints fresh when you hit level 50.
Bioware’s 1.2 patch also added the Legacy system – a way of adding a story to your characters, making them family rivals or allies etc. It also gives you the option once every 20 minutes or so of pulling out a flamethrower or grenade that your dad/brother/rival gave you that hits all your characters on the same server.
Overall I would say that when this game was released it was incomplete – but you do not poke the beast that is George Lucas and delay something that’s going to make the silver fox money!
There are massive issues that need fixing, but with the Legacy patch – which plays like ‘The Sims Star Wars Edition’ – these issues will take a long time to be rectified, as attention is looking elsewhere at things which aren’t so pressing.
A little note for Bioware: Merge the servers and fix the bugs…
And here’s part two of my Top Ten: Gaming Starships. If you missed part one, click here – or scroll down if your mouse wheel needs a workout…
Number Five: Ebon Hawk (KOTOR)
Formerly the pride and joy of smuggler Davik Kang, the Ebon Hawk became the iconic starship of the excellent Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic RPGs after a Jedi-in-training nicked it and left him to burn.
The legendary Ebon Hawk
With a solid acceleration and several powerful gun turrets (and a passing resemblance to the Millennium Falcon), the ship’s importance to the game series can’t be overstated.
Number Four: ‘The ship’ (Asteroids)
Although Asteroid’s spaceship is nothing more than a triangle sprite, slowly turning in a screen of black, its importance in gaming can’t be overstated.
Sure, the game it stars in is considered ancient by modern terms, but as a survival horror-in space title (relatively) its challenge kept gamers coming back for more.
Triangle sprite, yes – but an important one nonetheless.
Number Three: Arwing (StarFox series)
“Do a barrel roll”
Now I’ve got that out of my system, the Arwing is probably a very fond memory for 20- and 30-somethings for one reason- Starfox 64.
“Do a barrel roll!”
This nippy little starfighter could hurl itself through the debris-strewn planets and spacelanes of the Starfox series’ many, many missions with ease, pulling off a barrel roll without breaking stride, spitting green laser fire and dropping bombs with wild abandon.
A classic spaceship for a classic series.
Number Two: TIE Defender (TIE Fighter)
After having endured cutting his teeth on the unshielded, pretty weedy form of a standard TIE Fighter, for Imperial Ace Maarek Stele the first flight in the TIE Defender was utter bliss. (Scroll to 1.52)
Weighing into space battles in a huge, powerful spacefighter armed with six laser cannons, ion cannons, powerful dual-shielding, its own hyperdrive, a tractor bean generator and a torpedo launcher, the TIE Defender was the dog’s proverbials.
Now if Lucasarts will just re-release TIE Fighter…
Number One: Cobra MkIII (Elite)
Although there were other space-games around before Elite, this title was the first time gamers were allowed any freedom on the final frontier.
As the first of the gamer’s may starships, the Cobra MkIII was freedom with engines, allowing millions of gamers the freedom to be excited/bored by trading commodities in space, trying desperately not to crash into the space station you’re trying to dock with.
As the primogenitor for the longrunning ‘X’ series and dozens of other excellent space sims, the Cobra MKIII is unsurpassed as the victor in important gaming starships.
Those of you who’ve known me a while know that not only am I a techie/gaming geek, I’m also big on sci fi and general science. So, without further ado (and if you can handle even more gaming and geeky sci fi nonsense in one article than the average human should study in a week), here’s my Top Ten: Gaming Starships.
Also, Spoiler alert…
Number Ten: Halcyon Carrier (Sins of a Solar Empire)
The first time I played Sins of a Solar Empire, I naturally gravitated towards the fleets of powerful battleships and cruisers, with al their heavy weapons and special abilities – and ignored the fighter craft and their carriers.
So, when the Advent turned up in orbit over my home planet and disgorged wave after wave of ‘anima’ fighters and bombers – which promptly ripped me to shreds – I sat up and took notice.
Beautiful – and deadly…
Needless to say, when I play as the Advent, I have five of these. Deadly.
Number Nine: Eclipse (SW Empire at War: Forces of Corruption)
What’s cooler than a Super Star Destroyer? A Super Star Destroyer with a massive laser on it.
The battle for the Eclipse – an incredibly massive battleship with a superlaser built into its spine – formed the last mission of Lucasarts’ fantastic Empire at War: Forces of Corruption add-on pack, and boy was it a battle and a half.
Note the Star Destroyers under the Eclipse. “Look at the size of that thing!” – Wedge Antillies
Sneaking into the Kuat Drive Yards, I gleefully took control of the Eclipse’s powerful weapons, before unleashing hell on the Empire and Rebellion alike. Great fun.
Number Eight: Progenitor Dreadnaught (Homeworld 2)
The Hiigarans are not having a good time of things. Having been forced from their homeworld by marauding enemies, they settled on another world – which was promptly attacked by another enemy force bent on dominating the galaxy.
Forced to flee once again, the plucky survivors discover the wreckage of a massive Progenitor worldship – and buried in its dock, the Progenitor Dreadnaught – guarded by the ‘Keeper’.
Sure, the initial firing of the Dreadnaught results in it disabling itself, but once it’s back on the line, it becomes the crux of their advance – and looks awesome to boot.
Number Seven: Forward Unto Dawn (Halo 3)
No doubt there will be some Halo fanboys who cry bloody murder at me including the Forward Unto Dawn over the Pillar of Autumn, but this plucky UNSC frigate won its spot for one reason only – the level in Halo 3 when it flies in from orbit, settles in front of Master Chief and his troopers – and disgorges a horde of tanks for you to control.
A brilliant moment in gaming – even if the first time the ship came roaring in its jetwash sent the remains of a Covenant Wraith tank flying into my face, killing me instantly…
Number Six: Normandy SR2 (Mass Effect series)
While the Normandy SR1 was a fine figure of a frigate, the Cerberus-built Normandy SR2 eclipses it in every way. As a personal transport for Commander (insert first name here) Shepherd, it’s taken on Reapers, Collectors and angry fans moaning about Mass Effect 3’s ending (myself included).
As an icon of truly great gaming, the Normandy has served its masters well, and though its small size means it’s unable to take on the bigger fights, its stealth drive more than makes up for it.
As a long-time Mass Effect fan, I thought I would do the game justice before I wrote my review, so I played it in its entirety, all the way to the ending – an ending which had the fans in uproar, led to a campaign which raised thousands of dollars for good causes – and demonstrated the power of social media.
Now, after Bioware announced an updated version of the ending – one which preserves the developer’s supposed ‘artistic’ intent, while providing disappointed fans with the closure they need – I thought I’d spill my two cents on the topic onto the pages of the web, like intellectual space-saliva.
Naturally, make sure your mass-effect drives are functional, as we approach the SPOILERS.
I’m one of the camp of Mass Effect fans who ultimately was left feeling pretty hollow by the ending. Unlike the legion of pissed-off fanboys who called “bullshit” on the ‘artistic’ slant the developers claimed to be going for – I can see what they were hoping to achieve.
Ultimately, I think Bioware were trying to end the game with a moral choice, one which would leave you thinking about your actions.
Unfortunately, this backfired completely, for three reasons:
The gamer’s actions mean precisely… dick. Everything you did over the three games has no impact on the ending of the game – it’s just a multiple choice question.
The massive plotholes left by the ending are not addressed – more on this later.
Bioware lifted the ending wholesale from the original Deus Ex – seriously, it’s practically identical!
What Bioware seemed to have forgotten was how groundbreaking the Mass Effect series is – they deliberately designed the games to run concurrently, so choices made in the first game are still having an impact of the events of the third.
Save the Council or leave them to die.... Doesn't matter, in the end.
It’s a very, very clever idea – and until the ending of ME3, it worked perfectly. My game was very different to those of my friends, our differing choices allowing the game’s storyline to play out a little differently for each gamer. So, to boil that huge innovation down to an A,B or C choice – and ignore everything the gamer has done in the six-or-seven year adventure he’s been playing through – feels like a huge middle finger to the gamer.
Plus, the ending makes the entirety of Mass Effect 3’s storyline feel cheap.
I went to the trouble of securing alliances between the galaxy’s warring races, I gathered a massive fleet to fight the Reapers, I was ready to fight with everything I had, my friends beside me… And it means nothing – because everyone’s ending is exactly the same.
A blue, red or green explosion. That’s it.
Weak.
Even the de-motivational poster market is getting in on the ME3-bashing...
Whether Bioware were rushed by EA or not – and rumours abound that they were – the ending was a big anticlimax, which killed the game for me.
That’s without even going into the gaping plotholes the ending throws up – like why the Normandy was in jump space, instead of the battle for Earth.
And where the Citadel’s AI – the ‘Star Child’, came from.
And how the Illusive Man got there.
And how the destruction of the mass effect relays would result in turning a hundred thousand star systems into atomised gas instantly.
I could list all the plotholes, but that’s practically an article in itself.
Also, after such a huge, galaxy-spanning story, I generally found the ending to be unusually weak, writing-wise.
Shepherd has the power to change everything, because he can?
No. No, no, no.
Let me give you just two better plot twists, Bioware. Two I came up with in 15 minutes of thought.
The Crucible is a Reaper weapon – not a a tool to kill them – and to activate it will indoctrinate the galaxy’s inhabitants in an instant. Plus, Shepherd is an unwitting agent of the Reapers, and has been from the start – he or she is indoctrinated, and has been doing the Reapers’ bidding since Eden Prime.
Moving the Citadel to Earth was a Reaper ploy to get the galaxy’s races to unite against them – it’s been done before, time and time again – and the Crucible itself won’t work anyway – unless Shepherd and EDI can hotwire it. But even then the power it needs to fire will consume and destroys Earth’s resources – and the lives of half the starfleet surrounding it. Do you fire it anyway – and pick up the pieces afterwards – or not fire it, and hope your war assets are good enough?
Two ideas that both eclipse Bioware’s weak ending, in my opinion.
In conclusion, am I saying you should you avoid Mass Effect 3 because of the ending? Hell no. It’s an amazing game, as I said in my review. But I would wait until Bioware’s new version of the ending is released.
Sure, it won’t be as wide-ranging as many – myself included – would like, but if the additions offers a little more closure to a legion of fans who have been left in the cold by the Star Child and his gobbledegook plans, then it’s an improvement.
I noticed earlier this month that I was approaching the 200th post on my blog – a blog I started at university as part of an assignment, but which grew into a pleasure. So, in a shameless back-patting for me, here’s my 200th blog post – Andy’s Top Ten: Posts on this blog, in no particular order.
Also, before I get started, I’d like to thank my guest contributors, editors and freelance partners who let me write bumf for their websites – and of course you, the reader, for bothering to check it out.
One of my earliest posts came in response to a video of a police officer tasering a granny in the States. Hardly a surprise, as that’s where “Don’t tase me bro!” Came from – one of the best memes of the decade. Eclipsed perhaps by the riot cop with the pepper spray…
PepperCop. Spreading peace and order. With pepper spray.
Back in 2009, I was in the midst of worrying about my future in journalism – while lamenting the abysmal copy written for gutter-rags like the News of the World and the Daily Shit.
Daily Mail, sorry.
No, I mean Daily Shit.
So, I wrote about the Fourth Estate, and how it’s more an allotment than an estate these days. And then, as if to throw all that back in my face, the Telegraph opened its long-running coverage of the MP expenses scandal – and restored my faith in journalism at the same time.
Back when Michael Jackson (a man remembered by students of Polesworth High School in the UK purely for the ‘MJ turn’) died, I decided to honour the Man in the Mirror with an exploration of his horribly underrated arcade/Megadrive game. Sure, it involves MJ…rescuing…kids… but it’s still good.
This post is by far the highest grossing of any of my blogs, for one reason: Cloud Strife. Despite appearing as a badly drawn sprite a million years ago in Final Fantasy 7, the amnesiac, cross-dressing warrior is still one of the biggest draws to my blog. Though granted I expect most of the visitors stopping by want to look for cosplay ideas…
Cloud Strife. The single greatest draw to my blog.
I love war history. I love war movies – but these three are my favourites. And judging by the number of people stopping by to read the post, there are other big fans out there in online-land too.
Damn, but this game still freaks me out!
Starting a new blog series, this Space Hulk post led to a wave of gaming nostalgia amongst my friends – one even purchased a bad PS1 copy of the game, only to tell me it was “too freaking difficult”.
Yes, it is. Hence why I’m still a little scared of it…
After a BBC investigation into gamers and gaming addiction, I felt compelled to speak out in defence of the millions of gamers who aren’t hooked on Call of Duty, can speak coherently, spell and generally live normal lives. It was fulfilling to see others supporting the cause.
We’re not all 10-years-old and incredibly foul mouthed, society.
After I wrote my top three space battles, a rather disgruntled reader vented his spleen all over my comments – and I loved his comments so much, I asked him to write a top three of his own. It was really nice to see someone having their say on my blog – and led to me comissioning more and more articles from my contacts, giving the blog a wider breadth.
As one of the first ‘list’ articles I wrote for my new freelance outlet on Megabits.com, this one went down like hotcakes. After being seeded to other gaming websites, it garnered some 15,000 views in a few days, which was great.
I’ve been writing a lot of opinion pieces of late, and this one I had a real blast writing. As a critic, I have to balance my reviews, looking for the good, even in games which are so bad they make you want to throw your console out the window.
So, when I was commissioned to write this for Megabits, I went to town, and loved every minute.
Resident (Evil) game critic Shane Underwood returns with another review today, this of the slightly underwhelming Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Enjoy!
Hi folks, I’m back with another one of my game reviews. This time it’s Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
Most of you have probably played a RE game at some point in your gaming life – and for those that haven’t, use Wikipedia to read up on the backstory. For those of you that have indulged in the bloodletting, this game takes place between RE2 and RE3 – but has no tie-in with either of them. It’s a purely a stand-alone game to whet the appetites of those of us who want to get their hands on RE6 (me included) – and it can also be a canon-changer, but I don’t want to give too much away.
To set the scene – the gamer plays a member of Umbrella Corporation’s Delta Team, charged with removing all evidence of Umbrella involvement in the Raccoon City disaster. However, things don’t quite go to plan – watch the opening of RE2. The T and G viruses, which have escaped from an Umbrella laboratory deep underground, are running rampant, creating zombies and bio-monstrosities by the bucketload – and Delta finds itself charged with… A little more than evidence removal – but I’ll let you figure that bit out yourselves.
Blue lenses are just so 'in' at the moment...
The four members of Delta each have their own special skills, such as demolitions, stealth and healing. Each skill is really helpful for certain missions, so it’s a good idea to experiment with different combinations.
The squad’s weapons are similarly diverse – depending on who is in your squad determines the weapon they carry, but the player character can always change his or her weapon, so instead of an SMG you can have a light machinegun or go classic zombie hunter and use the almighty shotgun.
Plus, if you want to make the game even harder you stick to a pistol and melee attacks (yes close combat is now possible in a RE game) which is always fun.
Sadly, however, your AI team members are as useful as a bag-boiled lettuce. Generally speaking the A.I. is so terrible it’s best to play the game with a few friends, using the game’s online multiplayer – or you can just let people jump into your game, but if you do that don’t expect much help from a stranger.
Enemy-wise… I mean, come on seriously – this is a Resident Evil game: you have zombies and monsters and f*** off huge bosses you have to fight, but it’s all worth it, because while trying to survive all of that you also have to fight the Army or the Marines – either way there’s someone shooting at you, which adds to the difficulty.
So, while you’re trying to dodge bullets you’re also trying to not be eaten alive – because once you’re infected and you don’t have the cure you turn into a zombie and attack your friends.
Watch your ass out there.
The game’s aesthetic is what a survival horror should be – dark and moody, kind of like a goth’s bedroom, so if you need some light it’s best to turn up the game’s brightness. The sound is a little bit poor also – I mean the voice acting could’ve been better (when has an RE ever featured good voice acting? – Andy) and Capcom probably should have put in a better soundtrack, but other than that it’s still a RE game – so you know you’ll have fun with zombies jumping out at you from the shadows.
So, in my opinion – after all I’ve said – I’ll still give this game a 6/10. “Why?” you ask? because it just doesn’t fit with rest of the games – and as I said it’s just a filler game, something to pick up and play when you’re bored or just need a zombie fix.
I’m still gonna play it though, just because I love Resident Evil.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a bullet with *spoiler’s* name on it.
– Andy).
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