tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7005238318592149762024-03-05T03:56:46.136-08:00Noodle's BlogNoodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-28438762300281135882014-04-27T14:51:00.000-07:002014-04-27T15:07:00.342-07:00Review: Fargo 1.01 – The Crocodile’s Dilemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lovingly echoing its predecessor in tone, style and atmosphere, Noah Hawley’s <i>Fargo</i>, a new television series based
loosely on the stone cold classic Coen Brothers film of the same name, is one
of the best things I’ve seen on television this year thus far. Bringing back
the nervous, darkly comic tone of the original for a new generation, the first
episode of the series, titled <i>The Crocodile’s Dilemma</i>, tightly holds onto many of the aspects that made the 1996 film such an undisputed work of brilliance, but retains a surprising amount of uniqueness with its all-new, equally bloody narrative.<br />
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While Joel and Ethan Coen have given Noah Hawley nothing more than their blessing as
executive producers and a currently unspecified number of scripts, Hawley does
manage to capture the essence of the original <i>Fargo</i> whilst making it his own
beast in the process. You see, this new adaptation features an almost entirely
different narrative that echoes the original, introducing new characters thrown
into or perhaps born from equally dark scenarios. Beyond that and the Minnesota
setting, as well as tonal consistencies, Hawley’s <i>Fargo</i> offers us some fresh
new twists and turns – of which there are plenty in <i>The Crocodile’s Dilemma</i>, some of which will have you shivering in fear.<br />
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At the forefront of the piece are Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton,
portraying Lester Nygaard and Lorne Malvo respectively. These two personas
couldn’t be more contrasting in their capabilities and personalities, but when
they cross paths through some pretty dodgy circumstances, the terrifyingly
mysterious Lorne sets the chirpy albeit socially tortured Lester onto a path of
destruction and carnage. Freeman’s portrayal of the metaphorically chained,
failing salesman thrown out of his comfort zone – which wasn’t particularly
comfortable to begin with – is absolutely spot on, and actually very likeable -
not unlike William H. Macy’s Jerry Lundergaard, whom Freeman in some ways fills
the boots of in this modern re-imagining.<br />
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Unlike Macy, however, Freeman brings a terrible sadness to the role of the failing salesman. His wife playfully beats him up with some blatantly self-aware verbal abuse; his brother tells him “I wish you were dead” for his lacking in common
sense; and worst of all, the school bully still humiliates him far into
adulthood. His shyness and train-wreck of thought is wimpy and pathetic, but
Lester is a character I imagine most people will feel a hell of a lot of
sympathy for thanks to his tortured existence – perhaps more-so than they did
for Bryan Cranston’s Walter White in the pilot episode of <i>Breaking Bad</i>.<br />
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Speaking
of <i>Breaking Bad</i>, its creator Vince Gilligan has cited Joel and Ethan Coen’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fargo</i> as a huge inspiration on that
show. What’s somewhat amusing, however, is that the <i>Fargo</i> TV series seems to
borrow a fair bit from Gilligan’s magnum opus; and I’m not just talking about
the inclusion of Bob Odenkirk, nor the fact that both series share the same
editor. In terms of narrative structure one can’t help but compare <i>The
Crocodile’s Dilemma</i> to the episode that begun spinning Walter White’s yarn.
Lester goes through a transformation of sorts thanks to the world around him
and ends up committing some pretty unspeakable acts because of it; and yet, you
can still sympathise with him, much like many could with everyone’s favourite
manipulative pork-pie hat sporting genius.<br />
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It’s
not Lester Nygaard that fits the bill of the manipulative maniac in this
universe, however. Those boots are reserved for Lorne Malvo, and you’d best
make sure they’re polished. Malvo is a character I can see becoming a favourite
of many, certainly myself, in the near future. His character is incredibly
mysterious, ruthless and unsympathetic, with the motives for his actions being
particularly questionable (fun, perhaps? Or maybe something more…) – and yet, I
could never take my eyes off him in every single scene he inhabits and indeed
steals with a brilliantly chilling performance from Billy Bob Thornton. He also
packs a charmingly devilish personality. He’s the source of all the carnage
that takes place in <i>Fargo</i>’s first hour and it all spawns from one unanswered
question: “Yes… or no?”<br />
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I
shan’t spoil anything that happens in this first hour, but if you think it’s
going to be predictable having already sat through the film, think again. I was
positively shocked at the twists and turns that this rollercoaster of a first
episode took me on, not only from their superb execution but also how early
they took place. Lorne Malvo doesn’t reveal any of his secrets in this first
episode, but Lester sees more character development than you could shake a
Heisenberg hat at. The best thing about this, undoubtedly, is that it didn’t
feel rushed – and despite the lack of answers for Lorne, the character felt far
from underdeveloped, packing plenty of potential adjectives that could be used
to describe his character before he even speaks a word.<br />
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Aesthetically,
<i>Fargo </i>is similar in style to the original, with a great soundtrack and a huge
emphasis on the great white covering the quirky Minnesota setting. Speaking of
quirkiness, and indeed speaking, fans of the film will be happy to know that
the much-loved accents are back, as are the quips we remember so fondly, now
coming out of the mouths of Martin Freeman and the majority of his fellow cast.
Does he do a good job emulating the accent, what with his British origins? Oh
ya, you betcha.<br />
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<i>The Crocodile’s Dilemma</i> isn’t without its problems,
though. To me personally, the last ten minutes of the episode felt just a
little tacked-on and disjointed, both in terms of the editing and the events
that take place in these scenes. These sequences weren’t bad by any means, and
I’d never say no to more of Billy Bob Thornton’s brilliance as Lorne, but I
feel the episode would’ve benefited from ending on a much larger cliff-hanger,
such as the aforementioned major events that took place towards the end of the
first hour. This is a very minor complaint, however, and it really didn’t hurt
the experience all that much. Suffice to say, the very last scene of the
episode will most definitely make sense in the coming weeks.<br />
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If
you had qualms about whether or not Noah Hawley’s <i>Fargo</i> adaptation would live
up to what many consider to be the Coens’ finest then put those qualms to rest,
because <i>The Crocodile’s Dilemma</i> was
an absolutely superb opener for a series that I hope will stay consistent
throughout its ten episode run. Different enough to not be pitted against the
original but faithful to its tone and quality, <i>Fargo</i> might just be one of the
best series of the year if it keeps up the quality demonstrated in its opening.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-89282324247052451902013-08-31T10:56:00.002-07:002013-08-31T11:02:38.136-07:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.09 - Hide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A number of months ago when I reviewed Neil Cross' début <i>Doctor Who</i> story, I pondered whether I would be able to write one-word reviews and still receive the same amount of wonderful satisfaction and feedback upon publishing them. Of course, this was a ridiculous idea to ponder over, but if I were to extend the thought to single sentence reviews, would that suffice? In the case of <i>Hide</i>, Neil Cross' second script of the series, my shortened review would go something along the lines of this hefty statement: <i>Hide</i> is, without a doubt in my mind, the best episode of <i>Doctor Who</i>'s seventh revived series thus far. This is one of those rare scripts from a guest writer that manages to reach the heights of more prominent, plot heavy showrunner-penned stories without actually contributing much to the over-arcing plot at all. For similar outings in Moffat's run, see series 5 instalment <i>Vincent and the Doctor</i>, series 6's weep-inducing <i>The Girl Who Waited</i> and... well, not a whole lot else. This episode is magnificent, albeit subtly so. It's not difficult to imagine how fulfilling it is to praise what could've been something of a flop, especially after two weeks prior of dire offerings, one of which was also penned by Cross.<br />
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<i>The Rings of Akhaten</i> was a decent enough episode, but what it basked in with the colourful production and set design wasn't balanced out with an equally spectacular and intricate script. It packed some good ideas and memorable moments, for sure, but none of them came close to realising their full potential, instead being stretched out or overblown to barely fill the 45 minutes. Neil Cross' <i>Doctor Who</i> broadcast début was an unbalanced one, then - So what makes his second chance absolutely worthy of its place in the spotlight? It's quite simple, really: this is a much more developed and fleshed-out script than a fair few of its predecessors, and it succeeds in a great number of aesthetic aspects. In honesty, aside from a few jumpy moments and odd dialogue exchanges in the first act of the story, <i>Hide</i> rarely does anything but succeed.<br />
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When it comes to a sci-fi drama series like <i>Doctor Who</i> - under the assumption that there is another show out there that matches this one stylistically (there isn't) - there are a bunch of main points to take into consideration. First and foremost is the logic within the series' universe: the things that happen in the show need to make sense within the show. <i>Doctor Who</i> is abstract, ridiculous and bombastic, and these are but a few of the things that make it so great. But the radical nature of the series doesn't mean it can never be written with plot-holes flushing the experience down the toilet somewhat. Within a universe of non-sensibility, weaving the threads of a mad man in a box and his many friends and foes, things still have to make sense, and this is something that a fair few episodes trip up on. Continuing on with the important aesthetics of<i> Doctor Who</i>, I doubt I have to explain to anyone who's reading this that story, characters, emotions, direction and dialogue are important. Well, guess what? <i>Hide</i> ticks all of these boxes and then some; It's logical within the series' universe and the direction, story, dialogue, characters and the emotions unleashed by all of the above are in near-perfect order.<br />
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Let's start by analysing the story. It's not too complex at first, but it grows and expands as the run-time of the episode passes like some kind of dramatic sponge. It's 1974, and The Doctor and Clara visit what appears to be a haunted mansion, inhabited by the charming Alec and Emma; two of the best supporting characters in the show in recent memory, brilliantly portrayed by Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine respectively. Alec is a former war veteran, in some ways similar to The Doctor, and Emma is... well, you're going to laugh, but... She's a psychic, basically. It's not as silly as it seems, trust me. Oh, and Caliburn House also happens to house a ghost, which attracts our protagonists. Things soon get hectic and clever use of time travel, parallel universes and psychic powers soon comes into play. It may seem like a bit of a generic set-up, but like the aforementioned sponge, it soon expands as more is poured into it.<br />
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Being a horror story, you'd wonder if they actually managed to make this one scary. For the average viewer, I highly doubt it, but I can imagine <i>Hide</i> must've terrified some younger fans. Without spoiling anything, some of the imagery in this story is actually pretty disturbing in comparison to the show's usual quirky standards, a feat achieved by some clever filming techniques, and neat use of sound design. Really, though, at the heart of this story are the characters and how their threads weave and overlap each-other as the mystery progresses. I've already noted similarities between the male halves of the two duos, something that comes into play in an impressively staged scene in which both The Doctor and Alec have a brief chat about their war-torn pasts. Another highlight is a scene in which The Doctor and Clara travel not in space, but in time alone, witnessing pretty much the entire history of a single location from the birth to the near-death of the Earth. It's a scene that finally brings some emotions out of the formerly rather two-bit Clara, a character who's been needing a little more development since she was first introduced. Clara contemplates how insignificant she believes life must be in the eyes of the time-travelling madman, and it's a touching scene and one of the many highlights of the story.<br />
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Production is also a superb aspect in Neil Cross' latest. The monster design in later scenes is weird and wonderful, captured through previously mentioned clever filming techniques. Caliburn House is shot beautifully with direction from newcomer Jamie Payne, who I hope to see return in future as he's pretty nifty at making everything stand-out, particularly the whimsical retro tech the Time lord has fun with at the start of the episode. It's scenes like this that aren't completely necessary, but add a little backbone to an already pleasing story in the grand scheme of things. Every scene is superb and pleasing.<br />
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In fact, it's difficult to say what isn't pleasing about this instalment of series 7. What makes <i>Hide</i> so masterful is that it more or less feeds you absolutely everything you could possibly require to fill up your metaphorical stomach when feasting on a <i>Doctor Who</i> episode, or at the very least everything I personally could ask for to justify my very first 5-star rating of the series. Amazing production value, a wonderful supporting cast, a clever plot that, despite the fact it could've potentially been something of a clichéd nature, surprises and delivers on so many fronts... It's because of all of this, that I've decided to award Neil Cross' surprising second contribution a hefty score of five out of five stars. In a time in which people tend to skip to the end of articles to have a numerical rating sum something up for them, this should fill up a fair few people who, for whatever reason, haven't yet witnessed this fantastic ghost story. In short, I<i> </i>freakin' loved <i>Hide</i>: it has cemented itself as one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who and if that places me in a minority, then so be it. I ain't afraid of no backlash.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-71225858714514299832013-08-28T03:36:00.000-07:002013-08-31T10:33:57.006-07:00Wind Waker HD's New Art-Style: Is it Really Such a Big Deal?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444;"><i><b>You can check out an enhanced version of this article in the upcoming fourth issue of Stream, the free web-mag edited by yours truly. The version you'll read below is the same in terms of the main bulk of the article, but the Stream version comes complete with comparison screenshots and the like. It'll be released very soon. <a href="http://issuu.com/streammagazineuk/docs">Check out previous issues right here!</a></b></i></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ever wanted to know what my first truly magical Nintendo experience was? Set your DMC DeLorean to 2008 and crash through time into my abode (albeit not directly, because that could potentially rupture the space-time continuum and create a time paradox in which images of my body slowly disappear from any images that contain it, leading to an epic escapade in which you, my dear reader, attempt to undo your actions in order to resurrect me... wait, where was I going with this, again?) and you might just spot a GameCube and a copy of <i>The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker</i> along with it. That, my friend, was my first experience with Nintendo. Well, excluding early sessions with the <i>Parachute</i> Game & Watch - but let me tell you something: that 3-frame LCD game ain't no <i>Wind Waker</i>, son.<br />
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Despite being a GameCube release, the third main polygonal Zelda game still stands tall as one of the most beautiful games ever made if you're looking at it visually. It can successfully topple many current generation titles when it comes to just how brilliantly crafted the game is artistically, and that's when we're not even bringing the gameplay, soundtrack, story, or any other aesthetics into the equation. If Ocarina had this magic spark in terms of how it was structured, then <i>Majora's Mask</i> certainly had it nailed down thematically even if the graphics were no different from its predecessor, in many cases quite literally. With <i>Wind Waker</i>, in my opinion, Nintendo pioneered in these aspects. Thematically it was no <i>Majora</i>, but in terms of gameplay and visual direction it trumps its predecessors, no questions asked, and all it has to offer is presented primarily through some truly wonderful art design. Oh, and did I mention the soundtrack? A large chunk of Koji Kondo's compositions for this game are among the best in the entire <i>Zelda</i> franchise. It really is a mesmerising experience from every angle, with very few hiccups along the way.<br />
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Going back to how <i>Wind Waker</i> compares to the first two 3D <i>Zelda</i> titles, I must stress that I'm not here to be controversial. Many of the comments made in the last paragraph are indeed my opinion, but most definitely not yours. I can scarcely imagine the mass of flak I'd get for making such a hefty statement as Ocarina of Time is the weakest 3D home console <i>Legend of Zelda</i> release (whether this is my actual opinion or not I'd rather not reveal). What I'm sure most of us can agree on, however, is that Wind Waker is certainly a better looking game than its predecessors, whether you take the technology into consideration or not. So, I've decided not to write about my thoughts on the entire series, but instead on my very first experience - as well as what might just be my next experience in glorious high definition form - with gaming's most legendary franchise. Conversely, this argument might just stir up a few of you <i>Wind Waker</i> worshippers out there, so keep an open mind.<br />
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'Hang on, what argument?' you ask? The argument for the graphical appearance of the high definition semi-remake of the game I've been gushing on and on about for the past three paragraphs, of course! As if you didn't read the title of this article before you dug into the meat of it. You nutter.<br />
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As noted previously, <i>Wind Waker</i> is one of the most splendiferous visual achievements the history of the gaming industry has ever seen. Allow me to expand on this now: <i>Zelda</i>'s GameCube masterpiece (or, at least, the one that wasn't <i>Twilight Princess</i>) took the typical series standard obscurity and injected it with colourful cel-shaded juices made of rainbows and magic. Then it enhanced many said virtual celluloids with thick, inky outlines that were so straight they'd make a certain canine Goddess of nature whimper. <i>Ōkami</i> sucks, by the way. Oops, I guess I got a little sidetracked there, because that's a whole other discussion which I hope to never get into. Anyway, if the GameCube version of <i>Wind Waker</i> looked so beautiful, why should you change it? Why not just up-scale the visuals and enhance them with a HD coating? Because Nintendo like to keep things fresh, that's why. They ain't Square-Enix, folks. <br />
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<i>The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD</i> is set to be released on the Wii U eShop and in retail this October in the UK, and it's going to stun us all over again with potential feelings of over-familiarity stripped away by a brand-new art-style. Honestly, do you really want to spend £40 on the same game with a few adjustments and a high-definition upscale? Or, would you rather have an experience that's been altered to the extent that it appears almost but not quite completely different from its original incarnation? Think about it, because at the moment a lot of people seem to be leaning more in favour of the former, perhaps even yourself included. The main reason <i>Wind Waker HD</i> is being released is because Nintendo want to keep the Zelda fanbase occupied during the undoubtedly long wait for the next main series instalment. Surely adding some flourish would help benefit this goal as opposed to keeping the game's art-style the same, but HD? Whether the shiny new ink-less style looks better than the original or not, it's difficult to deny the previous statement is true in this case, unless you're some kind of pessimist.<br />
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In my view, both games look visually appealing in their own unique ways, and that's what sets them apart. You could say the same comparison can be made between the original Nintendo 64 version of <i>Ocarina of Time</i> and its 3DS reboot, or outside of the <i>Zelda</i> franchise, the original NES <i>Super Mario Bros.</i> and the version found on the SNES compilation <i>Super Mario All-Stars</i>. I liked <i>Super Mario All-Stars</i>, because despite being a collection of previously released games, they had that little graphical Febreeze applied to them to keep things fresh. While I don't feel that <i>Wind Waker HD</i> looks better than <i>Wind Waker</i> on GameCube artistically, it's different enough to justify a re-release and graphically it's certainly a stunner. There are even a few new features in the Wii U version, making good use of the platform's Miiverse network and the GamePad. Oh, and you can fast-forward boat travel; truly a gift from the Goddesses. With all of this in mind, <i>Wind Waker</i> is absolutely worth releasing once more in a new skin on a more advanced system. If and when you move house, you wouldn't want it looking the same as the one you're moving out of, would you?<br />
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If I eventually save up enough pennies to purchase a Wii U of my own, <i>Wind Waker</i> is definitely a game I'd be willing to revisit in the form of new, flashier visuals. Graphics aren't everything to me, but experiencing the same game as I have in the past but in a new, more impressive skin is something I definitely wouldn't be against when said game is from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Are you a fan of the slick new direction <i>Wind Waker HD</i> has taken and what are your thoughts on the original game? Will you be purchasing the remake or do you think it's a waste of effort on Nintendo's part? Let me know in the comments box below. Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-13635874811630085612013-08-02T10:59:00.001-07:002013-08-08T05:27:25.275-07:00Back Again? [Update: 01/08/13]A cold wind has blown over Noodle's Blog for a number of months, now. On the last day of January earlier this year, I promised I'd be rebooting the stream of reviews, features and what have you following another unannounced, lengthy hiatus over the Christmas period. Let's not beat around the bush, here... this didn't really happen. Sure, I got a bunch of Doctor Who reviews in several months later, and was on a roll mid-way through the latest series of the show, but due to a loss of time, interest, and most of all the individual episodes of impending doom that were my GCSE exams, I worked on but couldn't quite keep up with the schedule I originally planned. Despite two drafts of Doctor Who reviews already prepared for touch-ups and publication, GCSE revision took overall prominence and I decided to focus solely on what was undoubtedly the most important thing at the time.<br />
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So, I worked my butt off and tried my hardest in the exams. Some went surprisingly well, others didn't. But you don't really need to hear about that sort of stuff. What you may be wondering is what exactly this post is about. If you've been following my blog for a while - if so, thank you, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this here right now because it is sort of important - you may have noticed a trend when it comes to updates with the intention of getting back on track with my personal writing. The trend goes something like this: I post an update detailing a number of articles I plan on publishing sometime in the near future, nothing happens for weeks and eventually said articles are either unfinished or non-existent in my metaphorical pile of virtual sheets of paper. So yeah, I've not exactly been that reliable lately when it comes to writing. Thank goodness I don't have any real deadlines, because I'd be fired by now if I did.<br />
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Instead of repeating the same frustrating process detailed in the previous paragraph, I've decided to inform whoever is reading this of where exactly my head is at when it comes to writing at this moment in time. In one word, it's jumbled. In two, it's really jumbled. I want to keep writing, I know I'm capable of doing it - especially now there aren't any GCSE-related scrapes on the horizon, or hopefully ever for that matter - but since I finally finished my secondary education I've been suffering from something of a creative mental block; more commonly referred to as writer's block. This may seem like a cheap excuse for not writing, but until now I've barely been able to conceive a simple update such as the one you're reading right now. I wanted to write this friggin' thing a month ago when my free time officially started.<br />
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This doesn't mean I'm stopping altogether, mind. Far from it, in fact. I'll just be changing a few things. First off, the Doctor Who reviews, aside from that of the truly fantastic '<i>Hide</i>' (which I'm working on to pleasing success at the moment, and should be published before the end of the month) may be postponed for a little while so I can work on other projects to give my blog a little something called variety. I enjoy writing Doctor Who reviews but I feel I'll be able to churn out other stuff faster seeing as I'd have to re-watch and re-adjust to the most recent series in order to finish of my synopses of its episodes. That said, they are broadcasting repeats of series 7 on BBC Three starting today, so in a few months we'll have reached the point where I'm at with the reviews, so many I'll resume writing the rest around that time.<br />
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Until then, what else is coming? Some kind of countdown feature, I should think, as I haven't worked on anything like that for quite a while now. I'm thinking something Breaking Bad related. I've not written any posts on Breaking Bad and I really feel that I should do so. Some one-off TV reviews have entered the realms of my consideration, too. A few Sherlock classics, or maybe even some Breaking Bad because, as noted above, I feel it appropriate for me to write about the TV show I enjoy the most (don't expect me to review an entire series, mind!). Something that is definitely likely to pop up soon enough is a review of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's fantastic <i>The World's End</i>, a film so good I saw it at the cinema twice and wouldn't mind going to see again.<br />
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Something that most definitely won't be happening any time soon but has been on my mind a fair bit lately is moving the blog to an actual web domain. I currently own a web space under my name and haven't really done anything with it since I received it as a Christmas present last year, but I do want to do something with it at some point and I'm not crossing off 'move blog to its own domain' off my metaphorical list of options just yet. On a very similar note, I've been trying to come up with a new name for the blog as 'Noodle's Blog' hasn't really felt relevant to me for quite a while now (I haven't used the alias of 'Noodle' for about a year). Any ideas on your behalf are more than welcome.<br />
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In short: new posts will be up soon, after my review of Hide has been published I won't be working on Doctor Who reviews for a little while and I'm looking for a new name for the blog, so if you have any suggestions drop them in the comments box below. Here's hoping I can get the blog back on track, and I mean that this time. Until next time, have a pleasant day!Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-40959205845388863872013-05-18T10:07:00.000-07:002013-05-24T11:39:53.649-07:00Album Review: Blur - 13Before you dig into this article, a few things are worth mentioning. First off, this is the first thing I started writing last year (2012). I intended for it to be published here on the blog but it took up way too much of my time and despite this I wasn't at all happy with the finished piece. A few months later, the ONM forum based web-mag Stream was launched, and I decided to refine this article and publish it in the second issue of Stream as my first music review. All in all, after going over it, I still felt that the review could've been a little shorter, but I figured, after about a year in the drafts section of my Blogger dashboard, now would be as good a time as any to publish it on here. Enjoy my review of 13 by Blur.<br />
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13, first released in 1995, was recorded during a number of tensions surrounding one of Britain's most famed bands. Singer Damon Albarn had recently split up with the love of his life, Graham Coxon suffered from emotional stress and heavy drinking problems, and tensions between these two frontmen clashed due to personal differences, a struggle that still stands nowadays. Albarn had also moved in with artist Jamie Hewlett at the time, an act that would later spawn Gorillaz, a project that undeniably proved to be much more successful than Coxon's solo works. In basic terms, a number of emotional frictions were in effect before and during the production of what at the time was looking to be the band's final work.<br />
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If the album I'm reviewing today proves anything, it's that pouring negative emotions into song writing often makes for a particularly successful recipe. The outcome of the band's struggles at the time was this release, quite possibly their most sophisticated yet at the time, and certainly my personal favourite to this date. There's a heavy avant-rock theme going on in this loosely-conceptualised set of 13 songs that makes Damon and the crew appear to have constructed a slightly Radiohead-esque album, not to say that they ripped that band off in any way. It's much more than a pebble's throw away from the likes of Leisure, Parklife and The Great Escape, however, cementing itself as the odd one out in Blur's discography; the black sheep; the not-so ugly duckling. And yes, 13 makes even Think Tank appear no less tame than Blur's britpop beginnings. Now there's a feat. Despite this, 13 is actually exactly what one would expect from a band called Blur: A perfectly fazed, spaced-out smudge of an album, an effect mainly down to some truly excellent production by William Orbit.<br />
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But just how good is this release - One formed from heartbreak, raging emotions and the numerical transformation of the first letter of the band's name? Did it turn out far too out-there to be considered of a high quality, or is it Blur's finest hour? Continue on and find out, dear reader, as we explore the ravenous, twisted, spacey wall of sound presented by 13...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>1. Tender -</b> 13's opener is, put simply, a beautiful, melancholically brilliant opening track, one that captures the essence of the album's key conceptualisation right off the bat. Albarn's chanting and sarcastic, moody descriptions of so-called perks of love are repeated countless times throughout the seven minutes, as the whole song consists only of a number of recurrent verses. Through this, it expresses the emotions poured into 13 particularly well, and the track as a whole, though some might argue is a bit stretched out, cements itself a fantastic opener. An undeniable highlight.<br />
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<b>2. Bugman -</b> The proponent track found on 13 is one that piqued my interest through the roof, not to mention the activity of my ears, the first time I heard it. The best word I can come up with to describe this one is, well, broken. It's the first song on the album in which the phenomenal production shines through, featuring messy, wrecked riffs and, oddly, what I'm certain is a sample of a power drill at one point. We never heard this sort of thing on Parklife, that's for sure. A truly intriguing track if I ever heard one, and one that's so metaphorically smashed that it comes across as ingenious and doesn't go so far as to sound in any way annoying (although I wouldn't recommend it if you have a headache). This song precedes a rather awesome-sounding interval, too, the first of many you'll hear on the album. It comes in the form of a simple but ear-raising collection of riffs, again showing-off the outstanding production work that has been put into 13.<br />
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<b>3. Coffee & TV -</b> To this day, 13's third effort stands tall as one of my all-time favourite Blur tracks, and while the same could be said for a number of the inclusions on this album, this one in particular stands out for a number of reasons. Like Tender and 13's penultimate track, I originally heard this song on Blur's own 'Best of' compilation. I didn't half-expect to hear it on here, though, due to the contrasting lightheartedness of the song. Following its original inclusion on this album, however, Coffee & TV is followed by another unlisted interval, one that makes you feel like you've just listened to something 'wrong', as if it does fit perfectly alongside the darker tracks in the track listing. As for the song itself, it's catchy, mellow and layered, featuring some ear-pleasing vocals. This is definitely another album highlight, despite the fact that it feels like something of a white sheep among a herd of black ones.<br />
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<b>4. Swamp Song -</b> The standout aspect of this track, in my opinion, is the ridiculously catchy guitar riff that is strummed throughout the majority of the 4:36 it is included in, paired with the excellent effects created from it in the song's production phase. This key element is ground zero for this song, on which the track's other aspects, such as Damon's lyrical efforts and the fazed sampling, are built upon. Without this, Swamp Song would feel nothing but incomplete. The song as a whole is great, too, but its key element is undeniably the standout of this opus. I could honestly listen to that riff for hours on end. Moving onwards...<br />
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<b>5. 1992 -</b> Track five of thirteen actually happens to have a fairly interesting story behind it, one that formed the reasoning behind its title. A demo recorded by the band's frontman in, you guessed it, 1992 (that's seven years prior to this album's release) and misplaced for a number of years until it was found again and included in the album I happen to be reviewing right now. And it's a good thing Damon found it prior to 13's release, because it fits in absolutely perfectly, and is easily a highlight in my view. The acoustics and tempo changes, paired with emotion-packed vocals from Damon and Coxon, project an image of monochromatic spaciness, as I can best describe it. This isn't the heaviest track on the album, but it's a fantastic one nonetheless.<br />
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<b>6. B.L.U.R.E.M.I -</b> Following on from the emotional 1992, we're thrown right back into upbeat territory. Don't bother asking me what this song's title stands for, because I have next to no clue. What I do know, however, is that B.L.U.R.E.M.I continues the trend set by Swamp Song and Bugman before it by demonstrating more of William Orbit's blurry production, as well as Coxon's skillful guitar playing. The track as a whole feels like it could be placed somewhere between alternative rock and pop, featuring upbeat singing (as well as a booming gorgon voice shouting the seven words that make up the title of the track) mashed up in a genre blender with heavy instrumentals. Speaking of heaviness, things don't get much more so than the next track...<br />
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<b>7. Battle -</b> For me, the main thing that makes 13 stand out from Blur's previous works is just how difficult it can be to listen to. I don't mean that in a negative sense - None of the album's thirteen tracks are anywhere near annoying or of a poor quality - But in a reassuring kind of way, that the album is so packed full of emotion that it goes so far as to convey your mood. This is quite a feat, as the album gets the balance perfectly with its surprisingly well-done mood shifting between tracks. Track seven, simply titled 'Battle', is quite possibly the perfect track to demonstrate this conveyance of emotion. Bugman was praised heavily for its eclectic sampling, and this track received a similar response from critics for its aforementioned emotional impact. It's a simplistic song, with Damon's chanting of a single word making up the majority of the lyrical aspect, but once again, it's the noises you hear within the track that make it what it is, with mellow chimes and heavy avant-rock being the star of the show in Battle. Yet another highlight, without a doubt.<br />
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<b>8. Mellow Song - </b>The first thing that sprouted into to my mind when I initially heard this particular song was, "Hang on, is that a sample of Damon crying?" Yes, Mellow Song is another emotion-packed installment included in 13's track-listing, and it's a pretty good one, too. I wouldn't call it a stand-out track, but when it has so much competition in vein of its similar concept, you can't really fault it. Mellow Song can be best summed-up as just that: A light-hearted, mellow ambience... Only one that develops into something much heavier about half-way through. So far so good, but 13's next track may be considered something of a combo-breaker...<br />
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<b>9. Trailerpark -</b> Honestly, this track is the only one included in 13 that I'm not overly fond of. It's not a bad song by any means, but it is basically filler. The fact that it was originally recorded for South Park's Chef Aid album, but rejected (yes, really) only confirms this. I can't help but feel that Trailerpark was included just for the sake of pushing the number of tracks on 13 up to that exact number, and while it's clearly been remastered to sound more fitting for the concept of the album, it's like some kind of half-black, half-white sheep among its peers. I wouldn't go as far to skip past it on a listen of the album, but I look forward to it finishing, and that's not exactly a good sign. So yeah, not a bad song, but I would've definitely preferred something more fitting for 13's concepts.<br />
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<b>10. Caramel -</b> Caramel is easily one of the most moving pieces of music 13 has to offer, fittingly neatly alongside Tender, 1992, Battle and at this point the upcoming No Distance Left to Run. It's not difficult to guess that the basis of this song is Damon's break-up, and I must say it's probably the most effective track on the album, with the possible exception of Battle. Albarn keeps repeating verses along the lines of, "I've got to get over, I've got to get better" paired with other rhyming couplets to stitch it all together, and when these vocals are added to the fantastic track in the background it all comes together as an absolutely brilliant finished product. Oh, and the two unlisted outros to this track? Well, they can't be described as anything other than food for the ears, contrasting perfectly like a compressed version of the entirety of the album. This track as a whole is definitely yet another highlight included in 13's repertoire.<br />
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<b>11. Trimm Trabb -</b> Despite being a song about Adidas trainers, the oddly titled Trimm Trabb fits in perfectly alongside 13's more serious inclusions, unlike a certain Trailerpark. Following a 30-second intro that can only be described as an audible oddity, Albarn begins to sing about aforementioned trainers, perfectly complimenting the other noises you'll hear in this track. Like many of its predecessors in terms of the album's tracklisting, Trimm Trabb does make a slight light to heavy transition, which makes it feel a tad uninspired. However, this doesn't detract from the quality of the song as a standalone piece of work, and despite its strange subject matter, it fits in very well alongside the more moody pieces found on this album. Speaking of which...<br />
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<b>12. No Distance Left to Run -</b> While it is factually 13's penultimate track, the aptly named No Distance Left to Run is essentially the last full-on song you'll hear on the album, contrasting perfectly with its intro, Tender. While that track was essentially about Damon's refusal to believe his relationship's breakage, and Caramel was about getting over it, the album's almost-finale is essentially the last step in musical form. This one's another rather simple inclusion in terms of the instrumental side of things, at least when compared to songs with samples of power-drills laid on top of them, but it's a fantastic track nonetheless. We're not quite done yet, though.<br />
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<b>13. Optigan 1 -</b> This ending track of 13 can only be compared to the various unlisted intervals I've mentioned throughout this review, albeit not absent from the track-listing. If I'm honest, I can't really describe this one thoroughly. It's a haunting loop that compliments the entirety of the previous hour's worth of emotion-packed - at times difficult to listen to - wall of sound. An interesting outro that's difficult to flaw, let alone a haunting track that captures the essence of this brilliant album. In short, this one closes the album up full-circle in a brilliantly minimalistic manner.<br />
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If one were to be rude, they would state that Damon's heart-breaking split with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann spawned something particularly positive for his band, and that happens to be 13. This is one of those albums I could listen to again and again without skipping a track, which for something so headache-inducing is wholly impressive. The hidden instrumental intervals (most of which I haven't even discussed to save space), the emotion-packed lyrical icing, the loose conceptualisation of it all - it's just utter brilliance from start to finish despite the odd contrast of some tracks and the minor bump that comes in the form of track nine. As if all the positive synopses above haven't cemented my recommendation of 13 enough, here's a few last words before I close off this review: Not only is 13 hands down the band's magnum-opus to this date in my personal opinion, it's also conclusive proof that positives can come from negatives, or in the context of this synopsis, that your greatest creation can be the birth-child of the worst thing in the world if executed correctly. And yes, Blur absolutely executed this correctly.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-74781703475774281162013-05-13T09:11:00.003-07:002013-05-15T08:37:03.097-07:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.08 - Cold War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Is the return of the Ice Warriors sssssuperb, ssssshoddy or sssssomething <span style="font-size: large;">in-between</span>?</b></span></i></div>
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When it comes to Doctor Who writers, Mark Gatiss is a rather strange case. He's hailed as a true fan of the show, and has penned plenty of adventures for The Doctor and his companions ever since the third instalment of the revived series way back in 2005, which was not only a hit but also the very first historical episode of the 21st century. Not only this, but he was also the first guest writer to work on Doctor Who's revived series. It's funny, because since then practically all of Gatiss' episodes have turned out to be either wholly divisive outings or complete flops, more-so the former. However, things were certainly looking up for Mark's latest script. It promised the exciting resurrection of a forgotten foe that hadn't been featured in the show for over thirty years. It promised a thrillingly claustrophobic base-under-siege adventure for The Doctor, Clara and a heap of Russians onboard a submarine in the heat of the cold war. And perhaps most importantly, it showed promise on the run-up to its initial broadcast.<br />
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The question is, did Cold War, the return of the long-forgotten Ice Warriors, deliver in its promise? If you've got a spare few minutes, I advise you read the rest of this review. If not, I can answer that question right now without a sliver of doubt in my mind: No. In fact, showing promise is all the episode ever seems to succeed in...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>In my view, Mark Gatiss' latest is an effort that never quite capitalises on its inherent potential. The cold war setting could be the backdrop for some truly exciting goings-on, but it proves nothing other than a poorly realised metaphor for the stalemate situation towards the story's end, and a bad pun. The sinking soviet submarine, however, is brilliantly realised and as claustrophobic as it needs to be - Safe to say, those with a fear of water will be feeling a little queasy for the better part of this adventure. As exciting as returning Ice Warrior Skaldak looks and indeed sounds, this is far from reflected in his flat personality. Matt Smith, oddly, isn't taken anywhere outside of what we've previously seen of his portrayal of The Doctor in previous episodes this time, leading to a stellar if unsurprising performance. This, however, is solely down to Gatiss' writing. Noticing a theme, here? Get ready for more of it...<br />
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The supporting cast consists of a few superb actors, such as David Warner and Liam Cunningham, but the roles they portray are disappointingly weak and for the most part unexplored. Although, the former actor's character does pack some likeable traits (such as an unhealthy adoration of Duran Duran and Ultravox) and gets a few legitimately hilarious pieces of dialogue because of this. As for the rest of the background characters? Cannon fodder. There are no other words to describe 'em. Generic meat-bags get picked off one by one and you couldn't care less, no matter how much screen-time and dialogue is devoted to their presence. Heck, even Jenna-Louise Coleman's character, everyone's favourite twice-dead lass Clara contributes very little to the narrative, and the big mystery surrounding her multiple deaths isn't even touched upon in this outing. She's partially developed with her first glimpse of horror and death, but that's basically become a trope for every Who companion since the revival and it honestly felt a little forced in Clara's case. Her performance is great, but again, it's the writing that falls flat.<br />
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If there's one thing that <i>Cold War</i> nails, it's the return of everyone's favourite Martians. Debatable as that last statement may be, the fresh update of the Ice Warriors featured in Mark Gatiss' episode is a brilliant take on what was previously a rather clunky-looking foe. A single Martian, the nefarious grand marshal Skaldak, is featured in the episode. Angered by the alleged extinction of his race, this armoured juggernaut is something of a renegade. There's even an obligatory 'bullets bouncing off armour' scene to demonstrate the beast's power. The design is faithful to the original but comes across as a lot more threatening, with a lick of paint and a deeper tone of speech. Sadly, a few things prevent this from being the episode that brought back the Ice Warriors with a well-deserved explosion. The new design is fantastic, yes, but when the warrior leaves its battlesuit in a surprising twist, things go a little poorly. While you only get a good glimpse of the species' face for the first time, it's somewhat sullied by slightly dodgy CG work, an aspect that isn't necessarily that bad but pulls you out of the episode when you distinctly notice the difference between the CG mouth and the mouth Skaldak sports when suited in his armour. It's a tiny peeve, but the reveal of a bare-bones Ice Warrior should be so much more thrilling than how the episode presents the prospect... About as bare-bones as the reveal could possibly be.<br />
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The Ice Warriors hadn't been featured in an episode of Doctor Who for over three decades preceding the broadcast of <i>Cold War</i>, and in various interviews Gatiss was described as practically desperate to bring these armoured beasts back to a contemporary audience. So, how could he possibly deliver a script so adherently flat and expect fans old and new to thrive in the return of such a beloved, if forgotten foe? The episode's most glaring fault is the fact that, if you were to remove the Ice Warrior from the yarn and weave in a generic foe that does exactly the same things, you're left with nothing other than the following: An average plot with average characters and an average villain, taking place in a thrilling base-under-siege setting that makes you wish every other aspect was superior to what it is: average. <i>Cold War</i> doesn't bask in the return of the Ice Warriors, it practically relies on the presence of one to make its plot just that bit less endearing. Granted, it succeeds in this, but that doesn't make the story as a whole any less mediocre.<br />
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To put it bluntly, much-anticipated return of the Ice Warriors is an over-hyped exercise in glorified filler material. Take out all the hype surrounding Grand Marshal Skaldak and replace him with a generic, never before seen foe and what you'll end up with is the episodic equivalent of Mars' native resident leaving its bio-armour: An empty shell full of unrealised potential. I hate to dislike this episode, I really do, but the truth is that <i>Cold War</i> is so mediocre and unexciting that I struggle to call it anything other than one of the series' weakest stories yet. It's saved somewhat by a fantastic new design for the classic Martian monster of Who lore (at least in its armoured shell), but let down by buckets of unrealised, unfulfilled would-be brilliance, boring direction and lack of anything truly engaging outside of the classic foe's return. It's not terrible, but it's just not as quality as it should be; A disappointment that brings a dissatisfying amount of shame to the pride of Mars' finest. Sssssorry Mr. Gatiss. At least you've still got another shot at finally delivering a worthwhile script with series 7's eleventh outing, <i>The Crimson Horror</i>, eh? <br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-54517805187508313562013-04-20T13:05:00.001-07:002013-05-15T08:52:05.068-07:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.07 - The Rings of Akhaten<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Say <span style="font-size: large;">hello to <span style="font-size: large;">the most divi<span style="font-size: large;">sive episode of series 7 yet<span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span></span></i></span></span></b></div>
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Bombast. If I could write all of these reviews in single-word and still receive the same amount of accomplishment and lovely reception afterwards, that would be the word I would use to describe the second episodic instalment in series 7's concluding eight, a Neil Cross penned 42 minutes titled <i>The Rings of Akhaten</i>. Why bombast? Aliens, and lots of 'em; but surprisingly more prominently, epic dramatic monologues are quite the stand-out in this episode, taking place towards the end of a script struggling to carry the weight of such heavy heaps of dialogue. <i>The Rings of Akhaten</i>, admittedly, is a flawed episode. There's not a whole lot wrong with it, but Cross' debut tale is somewhat thin when it comes to plot, and if anything was proven by my review of last year's <i>A Town called Mercy</i>, it's that an episode lacking in a quality plot can't quite be saved by fantastic production values, superb direction and inspiring acting. Funnily enough, <i>Akhaten</i> packs all three of these, it just doesn't have a solid, complex enough tale to back-up the inclusion of such heady assets.<br />
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Comparisons to <i>A Town called Mercy</i> most definitely won't inspire confidence in this episode, but fear not; <i>Akhaten</i> happens to be of a fairly superior quality to that particular flop, at least in most of the aspects that <i>Mercy</i> dropped the ball. Now, <i>Akhaten</i> doesn't necessarily drop the ball, but it incautiously clings onto a ball so abnormally thin that, no matter how much it offers the viewer in the form of high-quality production, writing and set design amongst other things, it leaves a lot to be desired by the time those ending credits roll, at least in terms of story. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>One of the highlights of the episode is the opening sequence, which digs a little deeper into Clara's past. Just don't expect too many revelations if you've not yet seen <i>Rings</i>.</b></td></tr>
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Where the episode does succeed, greatly, is in its opening act. Before we delve into the main bulk, we take a short but sweet plunge into the past of Clara Oswald, the 'twice dead' companion we've all been speculating over ever since her initial introduction. The mysterious leaf that was brought up several times in the previous episode is explained, and Clara's parents are introduced. Funnily enough, they're introduced to each-other through the leaf, a plot-point that plays a major role towards the climax of the story. The cinematography in this scene, particularly when Clara's mother rests in her grave and a beautiful young daughter stands before her, is absolutely brilliant. Throughout the whole opening scene, The Doctor watches from a distance, hoping to pick up some clues on his mysterious companion, unfortunately to no avail. I've been pondering who exactly it was that penned this opening segment - Moffat or Cross - but no matter, it's an excellent scene that, sadly, builds up to a somewhat dissatisfying remainder.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Is it a planet or is it a sun? Lord only knows, but Akhaten and its inhabited meteoric rings are a sight to behold.</b></td></tr>
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The remainder, then. Cross' first story and Clara's first proper adventure in the TARDIS takes us to the rings of planet/sun Akhaten (don't blame me for not knowing what exactly it is, BBC's official description says it's a planet, and the actual episode states it's both on separate occasions). It's a beautiful, large-scale setting that houses a small-scale tale of unexplored religious connotations and singing. Yes, singing. More on that later. As aforementioned, hundreds of aliens reside in the episode's setting, drawing many comparisons to the second episode of Doctor Who's entire revived run, 2005's <i>The End of the World</i>. The high quality of the opening scene seeps into the first act of the story post-opening credits, throwing crazy alien humanoids and robots at you left, right and centre, leaving the viewer in almost as much awe as Clara herself. Left to explore by herself, The Doctor's companion finds herself running into a young girl, Merry, portrayed superbly by child actor Emila Jones. Emila was also in Channel 4's fantastic drama <i>Utopia</i>, which aired at the start of the year, and as soon as I realised this I knew that they picked the right girl for the role in this Doctor Who outing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Meet The Vigil, one of the most disappointingly underused monsters in recent memory. As if these fabulous creations aren't cool enough, they pack some truly ear-raising vocal work. It's a shame we most definitely won't see these guys in future episodes of Who. </b></td></tr>
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Sadly, it's from Merry's introduction that things start to go a little downhill with the full-on establishing of the main plot. The young Queen of Years has to sing a sacred song in order to keep a god satisfied, as part of a ritual that takes place every century. The scenes involving said singing are ever so slightly cringey, not because they're badly realised, but the lyrical prowess here is that of a five year-old. For an ancient civilisation, their sacred lullabies are certainly basic. This isn't exactly a fundamental flaw, but it does take you out of the episode whenever Merry repeats the words 'Oh' 'god' and 'of' a billion times over. At least Murray Gold's sublime score saves these moments a little, and highlights the Doctor's speech towards the end. Back to the plot, a certain someone messes things up and it's up to the Doctor and Clara to protect Merry and resolve the slightly unfair consequences of this almighty goof. And that's it. That's the plot of this episode. Usually, I struggle to contain my synopsis of the story into a single paragraph in these reviews, but with <i>Akhaten</i>, I can do it in the space of a few sentences.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Matt Smith has delivered some of the best Doctor Who speeches, and while the one featured in Rings feels wholly out of place, it's still an absolutely stellar performance. After almost three years in the role, Smith continues to surprise me. Here's hoping he won't be gone any time soon...</b></td></tr>
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How exactly does it make sense, then, that this episode's closing moments involve one of Matt Smith's Doctor's epic, grandiose speeches? It's the sort of thing that belongs in a much larger scale outing, and while the production team got things right in terms of scale, Cross' script didn't. Don't get me wrong, Matt Smith's ground-breaking performance is without a doubt, alongside the intriguing opening, one of the highlights of this story, it just feels rather forced after a lack of build-up beforehand. What I can praise about this scene wholeheartedly, however, is its dramatic conclusion. The moments following the Doctor's speech greatly implement Clara's established back-story from the opening minutes of the story, thankfully leaving you with less of a bitter taste in your mouth after what was a slightly hit and miss affair for the most part.<br />
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<i>The Rings of Akhaten</i> is a good episode, but the slowly-paced, slightly dire second act and the forced conclusion don't exactly make it a well-balanced one. All in all, however, this is a very enjoyable story for the most part, even on repeat viewings. Neil Cross clearly put a fair bit of thought into the ideas that are implemented into Rings, but they're just not explored anywhere near enough to be truly fruitful. It's a case of too much of one thing and too little of the other, resulting in a wholly unbalanced experience that I struggled to form an opinion on after my first viewing; the most important, and for many, only viewing. My hopes for Cross' next episode, the alleged fright-fest <i>Hide</i>, have become cautiously balanced following my experiences with <i>The Rings of Akhaten</i>. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this review. As always, feel free to drop me a comment or share through whatever social network you're on, that sort of stuff is always appreciated! Until next time...<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-84351844426336518072013-04-14T04:11:00.000-07:002013-05-15T08:50:35.619-07:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.06 - The Bells of Saint John<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I hope you're using a safe wireless connection to read this, otherwise you're in deep- </i><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',sans-serif; line-height: 22px;">┓┏ 凵 =╱⊿┌┬┐</span></span></b></div>
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After yet another relatively lengthy hiatus, Britain's most beloved sci-fi drama is back on the box and along with it so ends my prolonged absence from the publishing of any actual articles here on the blog. From now onwards, you can expect reviews of new Doctor Who episodes published a fortnight after their original airing date at the very latest. All I can say is what a story to start with; Steven Moffat's modern-day London-based 'proper' introduction to the enigmatic Clara Oswald, titled <i>The Bells of Saint John</i>, is a thoroughly enjoyable, thrilling tale of mysterious goings-on in the commonplace near-necessity that we call Wi-Fi, complete with action-packed set-pieces, a solid cast of characters old and new and most importantly, a near-flawless script. That last asset is something that bodes well for Steven Moffat, who's been receiving a fair bit of stick for some of his recent mishaps. I've always considered the Moff to be a much better writer when he's penning stories that fit under the horror genre, so to give you an idea of <i>The Bells of Saint John's</i> greatness, this is easily one of his best non-horror scripts to date.<br />
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A good way to sum up the plot of <i>Bells</i> would be 'Doctor Who does Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror, spliced with a modern Bond or Bourne flick in London'. Steven Moffat and indeed the show as a whole have done the 'take an everyday object or image and make it scary' concept many a time before with statues, gas masks, plungers and the like, but it's never been applied to something we take for granted to such an extent that it (probably) almost comes second to oxygen and water. In the 21st century, Wi-Fi is everywhere and so is the temptation to join an unknown, open network. We've all tried it, and even though it almost never works, we continue to do so in hope that it will. It's because of this crazy temptation that <i>Bells</i> absolutely nails the tried and tested Doctor Who trope of taking something so commonplace and making it deadly, something that the previous episode, Christmas fiasco <i>The Snowmen</i>, failed to succeed in, creepy Richard D. James-ish grins plastered on Snowmen or no.<br />
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Colm McCarthy's Doctor Who directorial debut (try saying that 3 times fast, folks) is brilliantly realised, as is the subtle yet effective Sherlock-like production work. However, the real star of the show visuals-wise is the setting: the London cityscape and its landmarks feel fresher than ever after a long absence from Doctor Who in fully-fledged form, a factor that greatly highlights how much the show has improved from a visual standpoint since the Russell T. Davies era, in which the city of London was included in a large number of episodes on-set or otherwise. The setting is beautiful and the various Bond/Bourne-inspired set-pieces, such as the motorbike scenes and the aversion of an almost crashing airliner are gripping, especially when placed in front of such a slick backdrop. The London setting makes for some pretty clever cracks at recent history, too, such as the 2011 riots and the Olympics, as well as general witty remarks about the location. On a similar note, the episode also uses its Internet-centric plot to justify the inclusion of some jabs at Steven Moffat's long-abandoned Twitter escapades; You can tell that the Moff clearly had a lot of fun writing the script for <i>Bells </i>and taking stabs at the social network he's so indifferent to.<br />
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This brings us to the villains of the piece, who demonstrate a genuine sense of threat, something that, again, <i>The Snowmen</i> failed to deliver on. You'll realise the irony of that last point if you've seen <i>Bells</i> yourself. Those behind the harvesting of human minds through the Wi-Fi are clever: They work undercover in a professional manner, with their free-will caged up and being manipulated by the dastardly Miss Kizlet and her 'client'. While I found the reveal of the one pulling the strings to be rather obvious before the episode even hit the halfway point, it wasn't too much of a let-down and was made up for by the brilliance of the antagonists and their stellar performances. Celia Imrie, as Miss Kizlet, is a definite highlight. Linking back to the humorous aspects of the episode, the leading villain delivers some of the most cold and apathetic one-liners in recent memory, cementing her as a truly memorable antagonist. It's genuinely a bit of a shame that it's not likely we'll see her presence in any future episodes of Who.<br />
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On the topic of the cast, Matt Smith's portrayal of the travelling Time Lord is on top-form, as ever. It's got to the point where I don't even have to praise this man's acting in these reviews any more - It just goes without saying that Matt Smith is indeed still Matt Smith, thus still a brilliant actor and my favourite portrayal of the Doctor. As for the Doctor's latest companion, despite her intriguing sub-plot taking something of a back-seat in favour of the actual goings-on in the episode's standalone plot, Jenna-Louise Coleman gives her defining performance as the third iteration of the mysterious Clara Oswald, a slightly toned-down and more human-like version of the character. The chemistry between the two protagonists is fantastic and speedily established while also feeling genuine, too, something that worried me would be squandered prior to the <i>Bells</i>' broadcast. If you thought the decision to cast Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara primarily because she could talk at as rapidly a pace as the Doctor was slightly ridiculous, watch this episode and think again. Of course, you probably haven't seen her previous appearances either if you hold on to such a belief, so go ahead and watch those too.<br />
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Overall, <i>The Bells of Saint John</i>, while not anything too special, is a thoroughly enjoyable, solid episode. It's got a clever, very 'Who-esque' concept, great villains, enough clever little tidbits to get the speculative engines running, superb acting and some thoroughly stylish visual presentation, as if a great story with a satisfying and very Doctor-y resolution isn't enough to warm viewers' cockles. Even on repeat viewings I couldn't find anything wrong with <i>Bells</i> bar a few minor nit-pickings, which is genuinely impressive given the flaws of some of Steven Moffat's recent offerings (flaws that may not have offended myself, but definitely did others). <i>Bells</i> kicks off the concluding run of series 7 in style and certainly has me hyped for what's to come. It's also a great starting point for new viewers, so if you've never seen the show or lost faith in it after recent offerings, it might be worth tuning in from here onwards if you're willing to jump at the chance to have your faith restored or get into what continues to be a superb TV programme. Let's hope the quality of this first episode continues in the coming offerings, which will see the thoroughly intriguing Clara mystery built upon and eventually resolved at the end of the series. It's safe to say I can't wait.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-2105032903295921772013-01-31T10:44:00.000-08:002013-02-02T10:47:44.477-08:00Update 31/01/13 - The Return / Finishing Touches / Stream 3Welcome one and all. If you're the sort of superior human being who checks out this blog on a regular basis (and I know some of you are out there, spambots or no) you may have noticed that not a single bit of coding, let alone writing has been altered since the near-climax of the (questionably) great year that was 2012. Check your calendars, phones or what have you and you may also notice that the date is now somewhere in 2013, unless of course you're reading this in the very distant future. A happy new year is probably in order, but I've got more important matters to discuss in this short update than simple good tidings for what should be another (questionably) stellar twelve months. Regardless, you have my piqued wishes for the 2013, dear reader, just because you mean that much to me.<br />
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Now for what you really want to be reading: Information on what's next for Noodle's Blog. Well, it goes without saying that other, more important commitments (GCSEs, homework, personal statements and all that lovely stuff) have got in the way of any personal writing projects, hence the lack of any kind of update this past month, but a number of pieces are currently in progress. I can't promise anything other than this update until February, but when that particular month begins a number of posts are sure to start submerging from their draft stages into full-on publishing (I try my best to make these things sound interesting). Without further ado, allow me to name the articles I currently have in the works, starting with the most obvious and most likely first to be published following this post: My review of last year's Doctor Who Christmas special, <b>The Snowmen</b>. An analytical review of The Doctor's latest escapade has already been mapped out, or drafted, by yours truly. In other words, you can expect it to be published very soon.<br />
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Straying away from upcoming posts for a moment, it's worth noting that the gradual redesign will no longer be 'almost finished' very soon. The pages under the header will contain content and include graphics, and finishing touches will be made to tweak the site to the best possible standard. Because let's be honest, the side-bar is a bit of a mess at the moment. In other news, ONM forum-based web-magazine <b>Stream</b> saw its third issue launch earlier this month. It includes a beautiful spread of my first two Doctor Who reviews (Asylum of the Daleks and Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) crafted by TJ HipHop and a (rather dated) interview in which I am verbally probed by fellow ONM member and good buddy Conorr. I don't plan on posting that interview on here so if you want to check it out, alongside a whole heap of other free journalism in a wonderfully crafted virtual magazine shell, have a read of Stream issue 3 <a href="http://issuu.com/streammagazineuk/docs/stream_issue_3">right here</a>. If you're interested in contributing to the magazine in any way, sign up to the ONM forums and check out <a href="http://forums.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=91396">this thread</a>. Act fast and you'll be able to bring Issue 4 even closer...<br />
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Back to upcoming posts, we're finally re-exploring the world of gaming with my next game review. The title in question that I'll be writing about is the latest escapade of Level-5's gentlemanly top-hatted Professor. I can't be referring to anything other than <b>Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle</b> on 3DS, which I finally beat to a great amount of satisfaction the other day. Staying on the topic of gaming, I'm currently progressing through <b>Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker</b> on my friend's PSP. So yeah, that'll be my first review of a non-Nintendo game. Exciting, no? Anyway, we now traverse once again outside of the realms of gaming, and into TV and music. As a part of my contributions to Issue 4 of Stream, I'll be taking on Radiohead's <b>The King of Limbs</b>. It'll be exclusive to the magazine for an amount of time before I eventually publish it on here. Something less exciting you'll be seeing on the blog soon is my review of <b>13</b> by Blur, which I wrote early last year to little success. It was something of a rush-job as I was pushing back a deadline due to certain circumstances, but that's all in the past now. Things are a lot more flexible now so it's safe to say my next album review shall be of a greater quality.<br />
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Closing off this update with TV-related articles, I'm currently approximately halfway through an article on why <b>Breaking Bad</b> is one of the best things - if not the best thing - on the box. It'll be published very soon, hopefully this month. Now, unless I've forgotten anything, I'll end this update on a high: I may have been inactive when it comes to writing these past few months, but things are finally back on track. Be sure to look forward to my review of The Snowmen, set to be published in the next week or so, as well as everything else beyond that. Thanks for reading!Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-53656583932704052302012-12-22T14:35:00.002-08:002012-12-23T07:53:47.413-08:00Time's End - Good Things Can Come Out of the 'End of the World'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?</i></span></span></h4>
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On the run-up to the 21st of December in the year that is 2012, a drastic event was set: An event in which time for the human race would run out. The end of the world. The end of time for all of Earth's inhabitants. Of course, this all turned out to be complete and utter drivel and we're now back to getting on with our lives as opposed to worrying about yet another end of the world prediction. Man, I can't stand these things, they always disappoint. I'm not saying I want to get killed along with the rest of our humble, diverse race, but a zombie apocalypse would be pretty awesome. As long as said zombies are more like the ones in the original Dawn of the Dead - in other words completely and utterly hopeless unless they come across an edible treat too imbecilic to avoid being consumed like a buffet of blood and guts. Ahem, I seem to be getting a tad sidetracked, here, and for no good reason. You may be wondering, 'why are you rambling on about the end of the world and zombie apocalypses? What is the actual point of this article?' Well, reader/spam bot, I'm writing this to inform those of you who don't know that something brilliant has finally come out of one of the end of the world hoaxes. And because zombie apocalypses are awesome. No more worries for the living, only mindless justified violence and survival.<br />
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Before I get sidetracked yet again, the point of this article is to inform you, under no endorsement from its creator whatsoever, that a rather interesting fan project has been generated by both the phenomenal conceptualisation of the brilliant <i>The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask</i>, as well as the countdown to the end of the Mayan calendar that allegedly predicted our final days (nice one, Mayans). This project is titled simply, <i>Time's End</i>. This is a re-arranged remix album that was released for free on terriblefate.com following a countdown that lasted three days (hey, kinda like Majora's Mask's apocalypse countdown, funnily enough) and ended at what might well have been the end of the world in reality (it wasn't). At the end of the countdown was a pretty stellar collection of tunes based on Nintendo's black sheep installment in the Zelda franchise. It was a beloved black sheep, of course, as it spawned this fan project that would cleverly tie-in with what was supposedly to be the real-life version of apocalyptic events. Again, it wasn't, but we got a pretty awesome remix album out of it.<br />
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Having listened through it twice, now, I can safely say that Time's End does the classic gaming masterpiece justice. Haunting melodies and recognisable motifs paired with alterations to the original soundtrack make for some listening not so much delightful as enjoyable. Majora's Mask really was messed up, and this fan project greatly emphasises that fact. Even if you're not a fan of the game, or gaming in general for that matter, it's well worth checking out Time's End as it is, as aforementioned, completely and utterly free. Or, if you're particularly nice, you can even donate to the creator of the project on Bandcamp with a 'pay what you want' dealio. Heck, it's worth checking out the site if only to see the awesomely disturbing animated image of Majora's demonic mask at the top of the page. So yeah, get on it, and most importantly, enjoy.<br />
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In other news, I've got a preview of upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special <i>The Snowmen</i> in the latter stages of the writing process at the time I type these words, so be sure to look forward to that. Speaking of things to look forward to, I hope the next end of the world prediction will come with more brilliant celebrations along the lines of what we've received this time around with Time's End. Dare I say it, I can't wait until the next end of the world.Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-57922882482199486142012-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:002013-05-04T05:23:23.768-07:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.05 - The Angels Take Manhattan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>When the Angels come for Amy and Rory, we'll be the ones Weeping...</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">When it comes down to it, <i>The Angels Take Manhattan</i> is one of the most important episodes of Doctor Who in a very long time. Certainly the most important since Matt Smith made his debut as the eleventh Doctor alongside Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as Amy Pond and Rory Williams respectively in Steven Moffat's brilliant introductory tale as newly crowned show-runner, <i>The Eleventh Hour</i>. Over two years following the stellar debut, one that would introduce us to who would become two of the franchise's most beloved companions - not to mention one of the quirkiest incarnations of The Doctor himself - it's time for the former to say goodbye in the epic finale of the first half of broadcast series 7. Naturally, this particular 45 minutes of televised media has a lot resting on its shoulders, which begs the question: Does it succeed in offering a worthy farewell to the Doctor's two most active companions since the reintroduction of the show seven years ago? Short answer: Yes. As for the long answer, well, you'll just have to read on...</span><br />
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Naturally penned by head writer Steven Moffat and directed by the brilliant Nick Hurran, who both also crafted this series' thrilling opener <i>Asylum of the Daleks </i>as well as two of the best episodes from last year's series, <i>The Angels Take Manhattan</i> immediately held a huge amount of promise prior to its broadcast, and not just because of the key plot-point that is Amy and Rory's leaving. Granted, good ol' Moffat has had his fair share of slip-ups over the years as head writer, but the Ponds' final voyage is no such thing. In fact, it makes you realise Moffat's strengths as a writer of more dark escapades as opposed to his usual timey-wimey business, which he went rather overboard with in last year's finale. Some of Moffat's best stories thus far have been the chilling, slow-paced ones; <i>The Empty Child</i> two-parter in Christopher Eccleston's series; the legendary Weeping Angels debut <i>Blink</i>; and two of my all-time favourites, <i>The Impossible Astronaut</i> and <i>Day of the Moon</i> (perhaps my top Moffat stories altogether). His latest goes for a film noir style, fitting in with the series' blockbuster theme. With the aforementioned Nick Hurran as director in tow, you can expect it to look pretty amazing. And you know what? It absolutely does.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The post-opening credits sequence is something of a 'calm before the storm' moment. It establishes just how much Amy, Rory and The Doctor's relationship has grown over the years, before they're torn apart at the end of the episode.</b></td></tr>
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Some of the shots in Angels look, put simply, absolutely downright stunning. This is clearly a high-budget episode, and it flippin' deserves it, too. Nick Hurran is truly one of the greatest directors of new Who, if not <i>the</i> greatest. One thing's for certain, and that's the fact that they couldn't have picked a better man for the job. The episode was, naturally, filmed in New York, with some shots in the later stages of production being filmed in Cardiff albeit with some thoroughly convincing CGI work filling in the gaps. Nick Hurran makes situations as simple as two characters sitting in the backseats of a car look amazing, making more complex shots even more bedazzling. I honestly struggled to pick out which screen-caps to use in this review for captions, as there are so many amazing clips that have the audience glued to the screen with their sticky bursts of style. Here's hoping Hurran makes a return for more than a few episodes in the latter half of series 7 in Spring next year. <br />
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So, <i>Angels</i> looks beautiful, but how well is it played out, exactly? Well, it may surprise those who've been following the Steven Moffat era of Doctor Who to hear that this episode is actually a surprisingly simplistic affair. It's easy to wrap your head around and for the first time in a while with a series finale, Moffat doesn't overplay his allegedly standardised timey-wimey business and instead goes for something the whole family can follow... Probably so that the sadder moments towards the end have an impact on as large an audience as possible. The story begins with a short subplot in the pre-opening credits sequence. A detective by the name of Sam Garner is sent to investigate a haunted hotel in Manhattan, Winter Quay. Sent to 'the place where the Angels live' by devilish collector Grayle, Garner finds himself trapped inside a mysterious setting with only terrifying living statues for company. It's in Winter Quay that he finds himself... Quite literally. Garner is sent back in time to live out his days in the abode ruled by the Angels, now tied to his fate having witnessed his future. Flash to the future, and these events will before long have a knock-on effect on the TARDIS crew, this time consisting of the three constants along with returning companion River Song. This episode shows River at her best, and she's clearly in a more matured state than when we last saw her at this point in the chronology. Bubbly as always but intelligent as a professor should be, River comes across as a much more likeable presence in <i>Angels</i>. She even refers to her parents as 'Mum' and 'Dad' for the first time, which is somewhat fulfilling in a way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Watch <i>Angels Take Manhattan</i> in the dark with some earphones/headphones, and the scene in which Rory is trapped in a basement with the creepy baby Angels is guaranteed to make you shiver.</b></td></tr>
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<i>The Angels Take Manhattan</i> makes for some very bittersweet viewing, that's for sure. The ever-daunting hints at the premise of the companions' demise planted throughout the episode emit particularly chilling vibes, possibly even more so than the heartless Angels themselves. That's not to say the main adversaries of the piece aren't well handled this time around, however. As a matter of fact, this might just be their creepiest outing yet, with a few new additions to the Angel family complimenting the horror. 'The Babies', as dubbed by the cold-hearted Grayle, generate terror through use of sound as well as their dastardly looks. Sadly, the episode does have one rather large problem in regards to the use of Angels, and that's that the Statue of Liberty herself happens to be one of the silent assassins. Take a moment to think about how utterly ridiculous that is and I needn't explain why it's a terrible concept. In terms of ridiculousness, it's almost up there with the ginormous Cyberking in Russell T. Davies' 2009 atrocity, <i>The Next Doctor</i>, which Steven Moffat himself in some way physically removed from Who lore in 2010's <i>Flesh and Stone</i>, an episode ironically also focused on the Weeping Angels. The Angels we've gotten to know and love since their introduction in Blink are as creepily soulless and just downright brilliant as ever in <i>Manhattan</i>, mind, which more than makes up for the utterly beguiling concept that is the Statue of Liberty Angel. They spend more time pointing and laughing than weeping, making them come across as utterly hateful creatures, essentially mocking the fate of the beloved companions. And yes, that is a segue...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Doctor, why is it smiling?" asks River, as Amy and Rory's fates are seemingly sealed...</b></td></tr>
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Now it's time to tackle what I've been dreading the most throughout the process of writing this review. The most important part of the episode as a whole is undeniably the terrible fate of the companions. Terrible... And utterly brilliant. Without spoiling anything, the leaving of the companions in this episode is truly a stroke of genius, and Steven Moffat's been building up to it ever since the beginning. It's easily the smartest timey-wimey concept the man has ever come up with, and I'll with no doubt in my mind go as far as stating that the exit in this episode is easily the best of the newly revived series of Doctor Who. Even more dramatic than Donna Noble's aborted memories. Thrice as tear-inducing as Rose Tyler's permanent prison in the parallel world (well, if we can forget her atrocious return a number of years later). While Russell T. Davies went for dramatic effect in those events, good ol' Steven Moffat does so much more. The loss of Rory is wholly understated, which sums up the character as a whole in an all new way. In the end it's perhaps the most overlooked member of the TARDIS crew who basically saves everyone, only to leave out of the blue without a chance to say goodbye. Amy Pond, on the other hand, has a contrasting exit, with her making a choice between her best friend and her love interest, having to lose one of the two for the rest of her days. Her last farewell brought tears to my eyes, and I'm not ashamed to admit that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Angels</i> is cleverly layered with dark, melodramatic undertones, which compliment the saddening moments. Hurran's masterful direction also helps this bittersweet aspect out.</b></td></tr>
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The brilliant thing about it all is that, on many occasions over the past two years, these elements have been explored before. There have been times in which Amy has to choose between her fellow travelers, there have been adventures in which Rory is lost and the others have to save him, and most importantly, the third-wheel of the series has died so many times up until this point that it's basically become an inside-joke. Why is this all so brilliant and how does it leave a stroke of genius on <i>Angels</i>' bonnet? I'll tell you: In basic terms, the inside jokes and recurring themes basically get flipped over and into a whole new perspective in the later stages on this episode, and it's utterly brilliant writing and a thrilling conclusion to the Pond storyline. Bravo, Steven Moffat. Forget the stunning direction, the emotional endeavors and epic action set-pieces, the near-perfect musical score and brilliant acting - This is the best thing about <i>The Angels Take Manhattan</i>, and 'stroke of genius' truly doesn't do it justice. Not only this, but there's also the fact that there is essentially more than one saddening moment in which the companions are set to leave, perhaps in order to appeal to as many people as possible so fewer find themselves let-down.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The final scenes of the episode can be summed up with one short and simple word: Heartbreaking.</b></td></tr>
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Series 7's mid-series finale, <i>The Angels Take Manhattan</i>, is by no means a perfect story. There are niggles, one or two confusing scenes about halfway through the episode that seem to be there for the sake of drama and of course the beguiling concept that is the Statue of Liberty being a Weeping Angel, but when everything else is so amazing these flaws are overshadowed enough to slip out of the way faster than you can believe, just like the Angels themselves. If there's one stand-out flaw that has to be addressed, it's the time frame of the episode. Given another ten minutes this rollercoaster could've reached even greater heights and even earned itself a rare five-star rating from yours truly. Regardless, Steven Moffat has penned an excellent farewell tale to two of Doctor Who's greatest time-traveling companions, and they will be missed for months to come. Here's to the last centurion and the girl who waited, and to the future of Doctor Who, which is set to continue this Christmas. And yes, I will definitely be reviewing the Christmas special after it has aired, hopefully in time for New Year. Until then, let's take a moment to remember the girl who saved a Star Whale, gave hope to the greatest artist who ever lived, did anything to save the man she loved and cemented herself, along with her loving husband, as one of Doctor Who's greatest main companions. Until next time...<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-13593469000622716682012-11-30T03:46:00.000-08:002012-12-02T03:47:05.111-08:00At Long Last... What do I Think of the Call of Duty Franchise?I don't hate Call of Duty. I think the best way to start this post, one I've been pondering whether I should actually work on over the past year or so, is with that opening sentence. Why should I hate Call of Duty? I think it's an over-hyped disgrace to a good chunk of mankind, but when it comes to the games themselves I think they're rather fun. As a gamer who specializes in Nintendo's systems and developments, I'm inclined by stereotypical means to hate the series that has been overshadowing greater developers and changing the course of gaming history over the past half-decade or so, but I don't. Review what's in front of you, those are words I live by when writing up detailed synopses of video games, films and what have you. Sadly, I won't be reviewing any Call of Duty games today. As a matter of fact, I'll probably never do so, which is the sole reason I'm writing up my thoughts on the series in this particular article. I've never owned a single installment in the world's biggest first-person shooter franchise, and I don't plan on doing so either. However, I have played each subsequent release since and including the fourth main iteration, Modern Warfare (coincidentally the release that launched the series into the mainstream), so I think I'm allowed to form an at least slightly vague opinion on the series. Naturally, this excludes the recently released Black Ops 2. So, let's get to it.<br />
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I think the best place to start would be at the beginning, but sadly, I haven't played any of the Call of Duty games precedent to the first Modern Warfare. Heck, I didn't even know about the series until the follow-up to that game, World at War, was released. For me, that's when the buckets of hype began to flood my brain from the metaphorical floodgates of the local populous (in other words my school year), therefore not grabbing my attention in the slightest. At the time I was more than content with my DS and Wii experience, one that I thankfully didn't hinder with bland, gritty war shooters. The days rolled on and I continued to hear more and more about the ever-popular franchise, and it's not until Modern Warfare 2, the best in the series judging from what I've played of it, that I touched anything to do with Call of Duty. Did I enjoy it? Yes, to a certain extent, but it didn't exactly blow my mind. I'm inclined to ponder over the popularity of the series, as I did all those years ago, but the answer is now clear. Like charts music, Call of Duty games are essentially easy pickings. In basic terms, they're a widespread, common form of entering the world of gaming but not exploring it. To make this an even more basic explanation in the form of an analogy, Call of Duty is essentially the Nicki Minaj to, say, Metroid's Aphex Twin. It's mainstream, basically. Yeah, I probably should've just stuck with that explanation.<br />
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Anyway, it's probably worth noting that the first Call of Duty game I played has remained my personal favourite up to this point. Modern Warfare 2 has a genuinely stellar campaign (something that can't be said about more recent offerings I've played, which simply rely on one action set-piece after another as opposed to actually involving the player and telling an engaging story) paired with some fun multiplayer. A solid release. I'd give it around 80% in a quick-fire situation. Sadly, the same can't be said about the next two releases following that of Modern Warfare 2, as Black Ops (better known as Blops... maybe) and Modern Warfare 3 are pretty atrocious, in my opinion. The latter was just an empty shell of a Call of Duty game, there wasn't really anything special about it, and while it seemed visually stunning from my experience, that's to be expected from such a big budget blockbuster title. And graphics, while pretty, most certainly aren't everything. As for Blops... Well, it's the worst offender of the entire series for me personally. Why? It's painfully boring. I know this sounds unsophisticated, but hear me out; The gunplay, a key part of an FPS game, is just plain dull, as was the campaign as a whole. Zombie mode made me think, 'I'd rather be playing TimeSplitters Zombies' for the entire duration I played it, and multiplayer... Again, an empty shell. Oh, and that Team America-esque Pentagon sketch was nowhere near as funny as it was hyped up to be. If Modern Warfare 3 was an empty Call of Duty game, Black Ops was below that, like comparing Doctor Who's Martha Jones to Rose Tyler (Sorry, I figured it'd be fine to make that reference seeing as I've been mainly writing Doctor Who reviews lately).<br />
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So, the last two Call of Duty games have been the only real atrocities in my opinion, which really begs the question: what do I think of the series' latest? You might just be pleasantly surprised... Granted, I haven't played Black Ops 2, but I must admit I do quite like the look of it, and if critical responses are anything to go by it's certainly something of a return to form after the downright bland Modern Warfare 3. I don't plan on buying it, but with the game coming to Wii U in fully-fledged form, I might well change my mind. Although, by the time I've got my mitts around my own Wii U, Call of Duty would probably be around its tenth main series release (we're on 7, in case you've lost count). Speaking of the future, I think it would be fitting to close off this dinky article with my predictions of the coming years in regards to the franchise. Honestly, I'm not sure whether the series will continue as it has done these past few years or if it'll finally die down. The success certainly can't go on forever, that's for sure. Only time will tell what will happen to what is, regretably speaking, the largest third-party franchise in gaming at this point. Until next time, this is myself, signing off...Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-40109571894605833262012-11-10T11:47:00.003-08:002012-11-10T14:05:16.022-08:00Game Review: Kid Icarus Uprising<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When a certain returning Nintendo hero was coming in to land towards the start of the year, swooping and diving on his way after a long 25 year hiatus minus a pit-stop in Masahiro Sakurai's Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he didn't exactly make a perfectly elegant landing from the point of view of most critics. Despite universal acclaim according to MetaCritic, with a hefty average score of 88 out of 100, most reviewers and publications didn't fail to bash a key aspect of his latest game, one aspect that could potentially break it depending on whether players were willing to adjust or not. Of course, I can't be referring to anything other than Kid Icarus: Uprising on 3DS and its universally boycotted control scheme. Let's not beat around the bush, here, Kid Icarus does initially impede perfect handling when you first start it up, but only due to the fact the game starts you off with some pretty terrible default options. The game's on-foot sections require you to use the touch-screen as a makeshift trackball, controlling an on-screen reticule on the system's stereoscopic widescreen upper display. Dragging the stylus aims the reticule, while flicking the touch screen horizontally spins the camera, much like "spinning a globe" as the game's witty commentary (more on this later) claims. The thing is, this globe refuses to stop for a while until you tap on the touch-screen, much like stopping on a random country with your fingertip. The key word here is random, as you can never seem to get your aiming right with this nubilous method of camera control. Take a trip to the game's options menu, however, and things can easily be sorted out...<br />
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Kid Icarus: Uprising's glaring fault isn't its controls, but the terrible default settings you're initially going to try and deal with (and most definitely fail miserably in doing so). Learning to adjust to a brand-new control method is cumbersome enough, but learning it before realising you can fix it will mess with your preconceptions. As a gamer, think about all the times you've gone to an options screen before playing any game that doesn't force you to do so, and you'll see what I mean. The best advice I can give anyone with this review, one that cements my hefty recommendation of this heroic return of an age-old Nintendo classic after a quarter-century in wait, is to go to the options screen, select 'Reticule/Camera' and take the time to find out what works for you - Increasing the speed at which the camera rotation stops is a given in any circumstance. This advice out of the way, let's move onto the good stuff, and boy oh boy, I've got a lot of positive things to say about this long awaited return from here on out. As a matter of fact, the three-dimensional restoration of Kid Icarus has not only cemented itself as my personal favourite game of the year thus far, it also happens to have neatly fitted into the rarely growing pantheon of my favourite handheld games of all-time. If the 3DS needed a system seller, this was it, never mind Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>While not the most technically impressive game around, from an artistic standpoint Kid Icarus: Uprising is absolutely flippin' gorgeous.</b></td></tr>
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But just what is it that makes Kid Icarus: Uprising so good? Well, with experienced developer Masahiro Sakurai at the helm of the game's development, I'm sure you can guess. While this return of a long-forgotten angelic hero and his counterparts isn't quite on such a grand scale as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it's very nearly as packed to the brim with content and replay value. For a game originally intended for release on Wii, it not only soars to heavenly heights on Nintendo's dinky handheld platform, it also stands up to the vast majority of modern home console titles to boot, not only from a content perspective but also in terms of sheer originality in a large number of aspects. This legendary return is yet another title worthy of Sakurai's name, and if you own a 3DS and you're even remotely interested in it, I have two pieces of advice for you: Buy it immediately... Just don't forget to take time to adjust those controls. If that's not enough to crack those pre-conceptual nutshells in your brains, let's get into the meat of both the game and this review as I dissect everything that makes Kid Icarus' killer comeback so worth the five minutes it takes to sort out the controls before you play it.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The most evidently stellar feature on Kid Icarus: Uprising's deep and detailed visage is the vast amount of content found within its pores. If you read my Super Smash Bros. Brawl review and noticed it was missing a few things in an analytical sense, you'll probably know the reason for that: Sakurai's famed fighting release packed so much content that it was virtually impossible to fit everything into a review without turning it into an analytical essay, and this retro reboot is very much the same. A solo campaign spanning a wide range of locales across 25 varied chapters, featuring 99 difficulty levels and an outrageous amount of replay value; A frantically fun multiplayer mode that you can launch online or locally; Over 400 Idols similar to Smash Bros.' Trophies; Numerous extra unlockable features; 90 weapon designs contained within 9 sub-categories; A vivid cast of characters tending to a fantastically composed script; Three whole panels of achievements... All of these things only make up a fraction of what you get when you purchase Kid Icarus: Uprising, and unlike Smash Bros., it's all from one game (with a few sparks of inspiration from other releases here and there). So, I'll not waste any time waffling: Allow me to dig in, starting with the story...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>In Air Battles, Pit engages in increasingly phantasmagorical metaphorical rollercoaster rides. Due to spoilers, I can't include screens of later stages, but trust me in saying they're mental as mental can be. </b></td></tr>
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The plot found in Uprising is backed-up greatly by the lore it presents, not to say that the former aspect is bad; A cozy yarn well-told, featuring more unpredictable twists and turns as well as more story arcs than you'd initially expect judging from the introduction you're given to the story and world - Or lack of an introduction, for that matter. As returning protagonist Pit, a plucky yet likeable angel with some nice vocal pipes, you're quite literally thrown right into the action in the game's opening chapter, which introduces the player to the first story arc of the game. Pit is sent by his Goddess, the brash but also likeable Lady Palutena, to put a stop to the baneful
Underworld Army and their empress Medusa, as well as her numerous commanders... And when all that's over and done with the game ends. Well, at least in a manner of
speaking, one with a gargantuan little white lie attached to my manuscript-based yapper. <br />
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This initial story arc of Pit's lengthy tale, one that every trailer leading up to the game's release
exclusively showed footage of, is undoubtedly a semi-impersonation of the
original release on the Famicom (or NES if you're not cool enough) over two decades previous. While times have most certainly changed since then for the Kid Icarus branding (after all, this release takes the form of an unconventional third-person/on-rails shooter as opposed to the series' 2D semi-Metroidvania roots), this arc is absolutely a re-telling of the original game's story, only in a more complex and advanced form with a few new branches growing from its stalk. When you're done with this part of the plot, however, the game truly reveals itself and it appears that the first few chapters were merely an introduction to the experience, which is fitting considering that you get no real introduction when you first start up the story as I mentioned previously. The return of Kid Icarus feels much like an arc-based anime or a Saturday morning cartoon in the way its world opens up, introducing you to so many new, diverse concepts after your initial introduction through what you thought was the whole deal, and while it's not ingeniously complex, it works incredibly well. Oh, and speaking of certain forms of televisual media, I can't help but see this as a segue towards another aspect of Uprising's plot: The ground-breaking script.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In land battles, Pit can mount vehicles to make things a little less tiring. </b></span></td></tr>
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Most incarnations of Nintendo's flagship franchises have always packed an outstanding sense of charm since the company's gaming inception. Games like Zelda, Mario and Metroid, among many others, have always exhorted a deep sense of involvement when played, and few titles on other platforms have managed to come close to this kind of thing. Thinking about it, this Nintendo-exclusive feel is one of the many things that has held my preference with the creators of such charming games as opposed to the likes of Microsoft and Sony ever since I first picked up a GameCube controller. And guess what? Kid Icarus: Uprising delivers this feeling in colossal spades, not only with its phantasmagoria-induced gameplay design and colourful characters, but the hilarious, deeply involving script the latter partake in. Uprising's dialogue is so packed full of references, in-jokes and jaw-dropping fourth wall smashing that it makes one wonder how Sakurai's team managed to dig up and develop an 8-bit classic, one that's admittedly bare-bones in comparison to what we see of it on 3DS, into such a stellar spin on semi-factual Greek mythos and indeed the greatly renovated state of modern gaming in general. It's easy to get sucked into the world and lore of this game; One that surprisingly only took referential inspiration from its age-old predecessors and a number of other gaming sweet spots. Uprising genuinely feels like a brand-new game despite the fact that it was developed with several spoonfuls of familiarity. In vein of this, Kid Icarus on 3DS is a much more original game than those found in the Smash Bros. series, which is saying something considering the fact that the game was created for a system of such a small size... And we haven't even moved onto the gameplay yet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Learning attack patterns is key to defeating the many bosses of Uprising's solo quest. Several zaps from that death-beam and Pit's a deep-fried chicken wing.</b></td></tr>
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Kid Icarus' 3DS incarnation is essentially split into two main modes; the solo adventure, which I've already dug into presentation-wise, and the multiplayer mode which is playable both locally and online. Both are fairly distinct despite the fact that they use the same engine (for land battles, anyway), a factor that really helps the lasting appeal and indeed longevity of individual gameplay sessions: If you're worn-out from playing through Solo chapters, you can swiftly jump into multiplayer to beat down some human opponents (or CPUs, if you wish) and grind some Hearts, or vice-versa. On top of this, the way Uprising's weapon management works allows the two modes to intertwine, in turn meaning that one mode can always benefit the other. Merely having a five minute blast in multiplayer gives off a satisfying sense of progression, something that few other games manage to replicate. Never once while playing the game have I felt stuck, and even in short gameplay sessions I always feel like I'm making progress. For an experience that has the potential to last hundreds of hours, that's really something.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>It's the Nega-Pit!!!</b></i></span></td></tr>
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After initially selecting the 'Move Out!!' option in order to launch a solo chapter, you'll find the first of 25 chapters following a gameplay structure you'll learn to get used to throughout the course of the adventure, not to incline that things aren't freshened up on a regular basis. The first section of this structure involves on-rails flying segments, much in vein of Treasure's Sin and Punishment series albeit as frantic as you want it to be thanks to the clever Fiend's Cauldron difficulty system. This allows you to bet Hearts, the game's currency, into an increase in difficulty and ultimately on your expected performance in the chapter. It's a simplistic inclusion, but it's one of the key reasons you'll be sucked into each of Uprising's 25 chapters on a regular basis. Effectively, the only way to get the very best weapons in the game is to take on the ultra-difficult 9.0 intensity on chapters. Back to the gameplay structure, the second stage of a standard chapter layout involves on-foot, third-person shooter segments. As I cemented at the start of the review, this more adventurous aspect of the game has been boycotted for its allegedly awful control scheme, but I doubt I have to go into details on how to fix that yet again.<br />
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Following some free-form exploration, typically involving the destruction of anything that gets in your way and the looting of any chests or Hearts salvaged from enemies, Pit reaches a boss, opening the final segment of a typical Uprising chapter. I do have a slight problem with this stage, as bosses are more often that not beaten in a flash, not giving the player the opportunity to hear all of the dialogue exchanges that take place throughout the battle. Naturally, things can be made more difficult with the aforementioned Intensity slider, but I still had something of a time issue with many of the game's heavy hitters, even on more challenging settings. Thankfully, it doesn't affect the final boss or some of the more important clashes, but regardless, it's frustrating to miss out on potentially hilarious dialogue simply because, however difficult they are to beat, your enemies don't have enough health. It's a minor niggle, but its occurrence throughout the adventure is just a bit too regular.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Bonkers, frantic and packed with seizure-inducing colour, you can tell from the multiplayer mode that this is absolutely the spawn of Smash Bros.' creator.</b></td></tr>
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Sakurai's most successful and arguably greatest creation, the fantastic Smash Bros. franchise, has always been known to have a key focus on multiplayer brawling, as that's typically where the most fun lies. While it's more cumbersome to hop on the sofa and play some free-for-all battles with a few buds in Kid Icarus, what with the game being a 3DS release, it still contains a robust, addictive multiplayer mode for if you ever get a bit bored of speeding through solo chapters. Making use of the game's land battle engine explored in over half of the single-player adventure, Uprising's multiplayer contains two main modes: The standard Free-for-All option, and the more intriguing Light Vs. Dark. I shan't need to explore the former mode, but the latter offers a neat team-based experience which sees you depleting the opposing team's life bar by means of defeating your adversaries. When a bar is completely depleted, the last defeated warrior will be resurrected as a super-powered Angel, armed with a powerful weapon and an extended health bar. If an Angel falls in battle, the team they defend loses completely. It's an interesting mode that spices things up a bit, which is definitely a plus when, admittedly, the range of customisation options and modes in Uprising's multiplayer is rather limited, not to say that this detracts from the overall fun of the experience.<br />
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The very first thing we saw on 3DS, not too long after the vein-burstingly exciting reveal of the system itself back at E3 2010, was in fact Kid Icarus: Uprising. Back then, the sky-bound protagonist we know as Pit informed us that he was sorry to keep us waiting, but little did we know that we'd have to be waiting almost two more years to see the dinky hero shine his light on the 3DS. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely with a capital A and an added asterisk. Blessed with Sakurai's brilliance and the charm of Nintendo's legacy, Uprising feels much like part of something we've actively followed for decades, a-la Zelda, Mario, Metroid and what have you. But that's the thing, we haven't seen a feather from Pit's wings in over 20 years, and to have an effectively brand-new game feel like part of something that has been built-up over many years is an absolutely astonishing achievement, especially on such a dinky handheld. Heck, I haven't even had the chance to mention the beautiful visuals, absolutely phenomenal (not to mention perfectly choreographed with Air Battles) soundtrack and the intricate weapon management system the game has to offer. I have no doubt in my mind when I state that Kid Icarus: Uprising is not only the best game on the 3DS thus far, but also the greatest game to be released in 2012, at least judging from what I've played. And if that doesn't reinforce the fact that you pretty much need to purchase this game if you own Nintendo's latest handheld, I don't know what does. A masterful system-seller of uplifting proportions, the return of Kid Icarus makes the prospect of another quarter-century wait for the next installment as bearable as can be, to the point where good ol' Pit needn't have apologised on the day of the game's announcement in the first place.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-45448901799660430612012-11-03T09:33:00.001-07:002012-11-13T10:05:56.606-08:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.04 - The Power of Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Atrocious puns aside, this is a truly powerful episode...</span></i></div>
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Being the penultimate adventure featuring two of Doctor Who's most beloved and loyal companions since the reboot of the show way back in 2005, it's fitting that The Power of Three is something of a swansong for a certain Amelia Pond and her never-staying-dead husband, Rory Williams. This particular ballad is sung beautifully, too, which is more than welcome from the point of view of a reviewer who has felt nothing but feelings of under-use for the two characters over the course of the series, bar the second episode. Coincidentally, The Power of Three is also penned by the writer of that particular inclusion, and while Amy came across as a brilliant feminine caricature of a certain Christopher Eccleston in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, which also saw Rory from a new angle thanks to the introduction of his dad, Brian, writer Chris Chibnall absolutely excels in fiddling with the companionship's threads throughout his second contribution to the series. And what a contribution it is, as long as you can ignore some slightly beguiling errors on a few other fronts.<br />
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While Chris Chibnall's latest ultimately emphasises the relationship between Amy, Rory and The Doctor, it is mainly pushed along by a very interesting plot thread, involving one of the oddest Earth invasions that the last of the Time Lords has ever come across over the past near-fifty years. Quite literally overnight, countless identical small black cubes arrive seemingly out of nowhere, to the surprise and intrigue of the human race. And what is it that these perfectly formed, indestructible shapes do, you ask? Absolutely nothing, and they continue to do so for months throughout the episode. Following in the footsteps of 2010's The Lodger and its spiritual 2011 follow-up, Closing Time, this story sees The Doctor in wait, because that's all he can do. While it reflects the aforementioned stories of past series', this Chibnall-penned tale plays the waiting game pretty much perfectly, and it wholly engages the audience as well as the characters you see on screen, and most importantly it isn't boring thanks to the key aspect of the episode, the companionship. When the cubes eventually showed signs of activity in the story's final act (that's not a spoiler, by the way) I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what exactly the cubes are for and who or what has been pulling the strings all this time. Heck, I almost spilled tea all over my crotch when this was supposedly about to be revealed. As for the pay-off to all this waiting... Well, allow me to hark back to that later.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Despite being driven by the intriguing concept that is the Cubes, the main pull of The Power of Three lies in the relationship between the two main companions and the Doctor, the former of which are set to leave in an episode's time...</b></td></tr>
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In having The Doctor stay with his companions in a more social manner, Chibnall puts the Time Lord and co. into a situation that perfectly encapsulates the overall relationship that has been established over the past few years of Doctor Who. While the main threat and pull of this adventure is cubes, they spend the first few acts sitting in the background, giving space for some much-needed focus on the three main characters and their overall situation. Throughout these first acts, The Doctor takes Amy and Rory to the Savoy hotel upon its recent opening to celebrate their wedding anniversary (which goes well... Okay, maybe not), has a discussion with Rory's dad about the regretful fate of his past companions and generates a slightly morally frustrating (from the perspective of a gamer such as yours truly) but also hilarious image of himself having a game of Wii Sports tennis. Speaking of Brian Williams, Rory's lovable father introduced in Chibnall's previous series 7 story, the character is perhaps even more likeable in his latest, and sadly perhaps final appearance. Mark Williams once again portrays a slightly bumbling shell of Rory, full of piqued interest in The Doctor's escapades and past (as evidenced by his aforementioned interrogation) as well as an urge to help the guy out. When The Doc' commands Brian to watch the cubes, he does so... For three days. Not only this, but papa Williams also constructs his own video biography of his cube, entitled 'Brian's Log', hilariously and brilliantly showing-off the character's background-based devotion to the show's constant.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Never thought this guy would find his way onto my blog, that's for sure.</b></td></tr>
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Continuing on with the synopsis of more-than-minor characters in <i>The Power of Three</i>, we reach the personae that is Kate Stewart. Initially established as the new leader of UNIT, the military force (sorry, Nicholas Angel, I meant 'service') that has been with Doctor Who since not too long after it started almost half a century ago, it is discovered about halfway through the episode that this new character is a little more familiar than many of us will have thought. Yes, this new face is the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, a long-serving Who companion played by the late Nicholas Courtney, who sadly passed away early 2011. His pleasing semi-epitaph in last year's <i>The Wedding of River Song</i> clearly wasn't enough for the superb actor, Chibnall must have thought, so he brought just that bit more fan-service into his latest episode with the character of Kate Stewart. This character doesn't get a whole lot of screen time, it must be said, but at the same time we see enough of her to know that she does her father justice. The Brig effectively lives I completely know what you mean through Kate, an intelligent, devoted character who brings a bit more life to the episode, and will hopefully make more appearances in the coming years of Doctor Who.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Power of Three turns Brian into a character many viewers can relate to, as he interrogates the good Doctor in one scene, fearful of the consequences of Amy and Rory's traveling.</b></td></tr>
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With all this nostalgia, it's worth noting that The Power of Three is easily the most reminiscent of Russell T. Davies' style of storytelling since, well, the era in which he ran the show. Speedy and believable news stories, large crowd scenes, a large variety of locations and a few rather hilarious celebrity cameos all give the episode a much-needed sense of scale, one that fits the concept of the cubes and the Ponds' home life perfectly. Speaking of which, a key part of this episode and its exploration of the companionship is a thread that begins before the cubes are even introduced, emphasising its importance (not to mention that the true ending involves a beautiful scene focused not on the Cubes but instead - you guessed it - Amy and Rory). Slightly worn out by the effects of adventuring with the Doctor (never getting home at the right time and discovering rotten food, missing out on their jobs, etc), Amy and Rory discuss whether to give up traveling with the Time Lord who has remained a constant throughout their lives. The resolution of this thread is pretty beautiful, closing off the episode nicely.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Despite her lack of screen presence, Kate Stewart is undeniably a character I, and I'm sure many others, want to see more of in future episode of Who. Maybe she'll return in the second half of the series?</b> </td></tr>
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On the topic of resolutions, this is where we reach the negative chunk of Chibnall's latest, consisting solely of a number of flaws that might not have been the writer's fault from a certain perspective. Being a spoiler-free recommendation, I shan't spoil anything, but it must be said that the resolution of this episode's cubic threat is rather weak. There are things to like about the meaning behind the cubes, but at the same time I can't help hark back to my hatred of episode three, A Town called Mercy, when I watch the penultimate scenes of the episode; It all makes very little sense. On top of this, a few things are pointlessly left without explanation, and can only really described as banausic plot devices to help The Doctor and co. reach the next step in unraveling the mystery of the cubes. Bad move, Chibnall. It has to be said, though, the absolute worst flaw of <i>The Power of Three</i> is how the threat is dealt with. A wiggle of The Doctor's trusty Sonic Screwdriver quite literally fixes everything in a number of seconds, leaving myself and most definitely many others unsatisfied, at least with this part of the story.<br />
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The thing is, the imperfections detailed in the last paragraph might well be evident in the episode not to Chris Chibnall's fault. You see, there are a few occasions throughout this 40-minute escapade that things appear slightly botched in terms of a key point in the production: the editing. There's a good reason for this, however, as the filming of this episode had to take place a lot later than expected, which ended up delaying the series a little after promises that it would begin sometime in August by Matt Smith himself. The Power of Three might well be another case of too little run-time for too big a story, a suffering that has impacted various episodes in the past. A little too much is squeezed into the story's 40 minutes of final cuts, leading to the conclusion that the episode isn't the most stable balancing act.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"<i>Geronimo...</i>"</b> <b>A later scene involving The Doctor awaiting the supposed reveal of what exactly the cubes were for had me in stitches. Shame the outcome was a bit poor.</b></td></tr>
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In the end, though, does this all matter? No, no it doesn't. Granted, the flaws that must be addressed, this being a review, affect the episode in a negative manner, but when it comes down to it, engaging in any form of media is all about about enjoyment. And, honestly, I enjoyed The Power of Three at least as much as my previous favourite episode of the series (naturally, <i>Asylum of the Daleks</i>). While the Cubes are only really a satisfying backdrop for a more deep story and come complete with imperfections from a conceptual standpoint (not a scratch on the cubes themselves, mind), the beautiful and engaging scenes involving The Doctor, Amy, Rory, Brian and even the Brig's daughter absolutely steal the show and then some. Granted, in this aspect casual viewers might not be quite as engaged, but at this point I doubt that I have to note that I do consider myself a fan of Doctor Who. Heck, I've gone on about how well handled and brilliant the main aspect of the plot of the episode is that I've not left much space to discuss the excellent, fitting new tracks from a certain Murray Gold as well as Douglas Mackinnon's swift, oddball direction. In short, The Power of Three is a fantastic, powerful episode... If you'll pardon the pun.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-48789140166340520272012-10-28T07:09:00.001-07:002012-12-01T07:37:11.291-08:00Film Review: The DictatorGiven my recent hiatus from publishing any new articles here on the blog, I figured now would be a good time to set free the beast that is my review of Sacha Baron Cohen's latest attempt at comedy, The Dictator. It's worth noting that I wrote this piece at the start of the year under something of a deadline as it had to be out of the oven in time for the first issue of Stream, so don't expect it to be the best thing I've ever written in the event that you didn't check it out on its original publication. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy this slice of filler while you wait for the oh-so nearly completed articles soon to be let out of their draft-enclosed cages...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Scripted fiction makes for a curiously inoffensive escapade from Sacha Baron Cohen... But is it funny?</span></span></div>
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Sacha Baron Cohen's past potentially offensive caricatures of political incorrectness were undignified, but on many occasions outrageously funny. The actor's latest attempt at portraying a character many wouldn't dare to act out might be right up your alley depending on your preferences when it comes to comedies. Possibly due to the deprivation of the formula that was born with Cohen's most successful film, <i>Borat</i>, which went stale with the later released <i>Bruno</i>, himself and director Larry Charles have returned to the actor's feature length, scripted roots (<i>Ali G Indahouse: The Movie</i>) with <i>The Dictator</i>. However, this film still follows in the footsteps and success of Cohen's last two character portrayals, despite being scripted, leading to the question of whether it holds up against those releases or not. The answer is simple, like the mind of Admiral General Aladeen himself; It very much depends of whether you found <i>Bruno</i> funny or utterly atrocious.<br />
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Yes, <i>The Dictator</i> doesn't quite hold up against most of Cohen's past films, especially those featuring streetwise imbecile Ali G and everybody's favourite Khazakstanian news reporter. With this statement intact, however, it's not to say that the actor's latest is at all bad, it's just not that great. Let's begin with the Admiral General himself, shall we? Considering that these films' main focus is to portray outrageous characters that could potentially spawn hilarious quotes and gags, I feel this is a suitable way to get my thoughts on <i>The Dictator </i>up and running in word form. Aladeen is a comedic yet forced character, who isn't anywhere near as memorable as his predecessors. Naturally, he's a tyrant, running the dictatorship over the Middle Eastern desert state of Wadiya. Part of the 'joke' surrounding the protagonist is his ignorance towards anything standing in the way of his rule, as opposed to any partially acceptable reasons as to why he opposes democracy and people who get on his nerves. From this ignorance, Admiral General Aladeen is born as a dangerous combination of Gaddafi and Suddam Hussein, with great power but questionable methods of acting out authority.<br />
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It's odd, then, that the character of Aladeen is strangely inoffensive. This is mainly due to the scripted nature of the plot - If the film had not been completely scripted and not produced in Hollwood-esque fashion and instead was played out like <i>Borat</i> or <i>Bruno</i>, the exploits of Aladeen probably wouldn't even have been finished, let alone released, and that's if Cohen would have survived the endeavor. Even the plot is curiously inoffensive...<br />
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The Dictator's adventure sees him having to carry out a speech to address the United Nations in an attempt to win them over, which goes horribly wrong after Aladeen's double is assassinated before the speech and another member of the Wadiyan government has a new double arranged to play the part of Aladeen. Unfortunately for the film's true protagonist, he is kidnapped soon after his arrival in New York and the new double is sent by the blatant antagonist of the film to carry out the speech with hilarious results. Through said hilarious results, Aladeen, upon escaping near-torture (the description of which would naturally be offensive, but like the film itself surprisingly isn't) has more time to address his fellow United Nations members. Through his kidnapping, however, Aladeen has his Middle-Eastern Chris Palmer (<i>Catterick</i>) look degenerated through the comedic removal of his beard. Following this, nobody recognises the tyrant and he is eventually acquainted by the Lisa Simpson-like Zoey, a major veggie and owner of an organic produce retailer. One thing leads to another and Aladeen is reacquainted with a rocket scientist who once worked under his rule, supposedly killed but set free by Aladeen's pacifist executioner. The former rocket scientist agrees to help him reclaim his throne for his job back in return, and they soon discover that they can do this through the protagonist returning to Zoey. From here on out, the plot becomes frustratingly predictable which is one of the film's crucial losses. Having said this, however, the humour is mostly anything but.<br />
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Did I laugh at The Dictator's attempts at tickling its viewers funny bones? For the most part, yes, and what with Cohen's latest film once again fitting under the genre that is comedy, that's really the most important thing about the 80-minute experience. The humour found in this release is for the most part laughable, but once again there is a downside - conventional and at times extremely desperate gags often rule the roost. The soundtrack is also in vein of the humour; shouts of "Aladeen Mo'fo!!" bring up a reminiscence of the childish but hilarious <i>Team America: World Police</i>, which is very funny, but as I noted previously, rather desperate. You'll see if you end up watching the film. Thankfully, however, many of the funnier moments hadn't been broadcast in trailers (I'm looking at you, <i>The Other Guys</i>) so don't expect to not be taken by surprise on numerous occasions. My laughs were partially induced by the fact that I was with friends when I saw <i>The Dictator</i>, but nevertheless you may find it funny depending on your sense of humour, and that's really all that matters. The rest of the cinema were laughing at Aladeen's exploits, so there's a good chance you will, too.<br />
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In conclusion, The Dictator isn't a great film, but it's not a bad one either. The plot is predictable but enjoyable, the characters are a long shot from beating Cohen's former creations but still set the scene for some funny jokes, and overall the experience is a good laugh with some friends. On this note, I wouldn't recommend watching The Dictator on your own, as it's more enjoyable as a social experience given the open nature of the humour and the easy-to-understand storyline and world. I can't imagine watching this film ever again through my own recommendation, but that doesn't mean it doesn't warrant a first watch from anyone reading this. If you think you'll enjoy The Dictator, by all means snap it up, just don't expect it to be as clever, inventive or unconventional as the likes of Ali G and Borat.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-57162489202668182262012-09-30T02:25:00.001-07:002012-11-04T10:50:29.871-08:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.03 - A Town called Mercy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Is Series 7's third installment good, bad or ugly?</i></span></div>
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In simple terms, the third episode of Doctor Who's seventh series left me in a mental jumble. It made me wonder how Toby Whithouse, writer of such fantastic episodes as last year's <i>The God Complex</i> and the Russell T. Davies-era nostalgia fest <i>School Reunion</i>, could screw up something so badly to the point that even a casual viewer could rectify the flaws he creates in series 7 episode 3, <i>A Town called Mercy</i>. Yes, it pains me to say it, but this episode - one that had so much going for it judging from the trailers and such that preceded it - was pretty mediocre to say the least. It's kind of ironic to state that, however, because so much about this Western-themed 'epic' was executed to near-perfection, namely the direction, music, acting and the overall tone that these three things create. It's evidently clear that too much of the focus with this episode was on shoehorning in typical Western flick cliches as opposed to actually writing a sensical, brilliant tale, something that I know for a fact Whithouse is perfectly capable of doing both in Doctor Who and his own series Being Human (which, going off-topic slightly, you should all check out). It's when he overcoats a botched tale with historical or cult themes that he creates his own monstrosities - You only have to watch 2010's <i>Vampires in Venice</i> to see this theory in motion. At least that story made a lick of sense, though, 'cause this one's chock full of plot-holes and continuity errors the size of several Grand Canyons.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Doctor, Amy and Rory enter a certain town called Mercy, unbeknownst to the badly-composed and ultimately pointless tale they're getting themselves into.</b></td></tr>
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I'm actually in some way glad that this episode was terrible, because it makes it all the more easier to synopsise it. On each subsequent occasion I watched <i>A Town called Mercy</i> (for review purposes, that is) I found more and more errors as well as rectifications for said errors, to point out in this review. I'll save all of that for the following paragraphs, though, because believe it or not there are good things to be said about <i>A Town called Mercy</i> despite all the justified hate I've brought upon it in the last paragraph. If you haven't guessed already, Whithouse's latest is a Western, which fits the 'blockbuster' theme of series 7 nicely. It's also dealt with perfectly, mainly thanks to the staging and the absolutely phenomenal musical score from Murray Gold (seriously, this episode and this episode only contains some of the best music the guy has ever produced for Doctor Who, adding a Western twang to his usual epic antics). <i>Mercy</i> was filmed at Almeria province in Spain, the exact same site in which the likes of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and many other classic westerns were also once in motion. The site looks all the more iconic in this episode thanks to Saul Metzstein's phenomenal direction - Yes, the director of <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship </i>returns to direct his second episode in a row, and I must say he's rising up in the pantheon of great Doctor Who and indeed TV directors judging from his work on the show thus far. Some of the shots in this episode, ones involving the apparent antagonist The Gunslinger in particular, look absolutely gorgeous.<br />
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Speaking of The Gunslinger, the BBC art department have developed an absolutely wonderful and truly convincing creation with this character. Extra kudos to actor Adrian Scarborough (the guy who played a chav in PhoneShop previously... No, really) for putting on a believable performance under all that heavy costume, too. Speaking of performances, despite the confused morals of the episode (again, more on these when we get to the bad), Matt Smith works wonders alongside his fellow cast, even if most of 'em are basically stock Western characters. The three personae <i>Mercy</i> focuses on are the driving force of the episode, delivering their morally-split emotions with truly great acting ability. Heck, in this regard I can even compliment Toby Whithouse's writing, because while the plot as a whole is extremely flawed, he does give each of the three mains some truly great lines.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This, right here, is called acting. Matt Smith delivers near-perfect visual prowess in many of <i>Mercy's</i> scenes, but he sadly doesn't quite save the episode... At least this scene is brilliant, not to mention complimented by amazing music.</b></td></tr>
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And now, we reach the negative side of things, a metaphorical sea of utter atrocity that practically floods and destroys everything that could've made <i>A Town called Mercy</i> something fantastic. I've already mentioned parts of it, so I might as well start with the story. Whithouse's latest effort actually starts out extremely promising, which makes it all the more awful when that promise is destroyed. The viewer is immediately pulled into the action through the pre-intro sequence, in which the cyborg Gunslinger gives one of his adversaries Hell through a nasty laser cannon blast to the face. Talk about grabbing the viewer's attention. Following the opening credits, <i>Mercy</i> continues the ever-piqued promise, with The Doctor, Amy and Rory entering Mercy through means of a rather clever camera pan. The former informs the townsfolk that he is an alien doctor (in their view, at least) and is instantly chucked out. This is where the plot picks up and is immediately met with a huge plot-hole; The first of many found in <i>A Town called Mercy</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Meet Kahler-Jex, one of the most morally confusing characters ever to grace Doctor Who.</b></td></tr>
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To put it simply, the Gunslinger is out for revenge on a race known as the Kahler, and his last victim is hidden away in Mercy. Why exactly he wants his revenge is actually explained extremely well, but it's the morals of three key characters that make this episode trundle along with a broken wheel; These characters being The Doctor, the Gunslinger and his final target Kahler-Jex (yes, the Kahler have their race preceding their name... Chantho much?). And, again without spoiling anything, the morals of all three of these characters, even The Doctor himself, are completely screwed up. In theory Mercy's plot has a solid premise, but it's the delivery that counts and Whithouse absolutely messed up on that front. Kahler-Jex constantly changes his personality so much throughout this episode that you really couldn't care less what happens to him by the end. The Doctor, upon discovering why the Gunslinger is after Jex, completely flips and goes so out of character to the point that he'd willingly take arms seemingly out of nowhere and blast Jex's brains out. Think about how many times the show's protagonist has used guns since 2005 and you know there's something wrong.<br />
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Casual viewers probably won't be affected by the botched character traits in this episode as they may not be quite as familiar with Matt Smith's Doctor, but if there's one thing there is absolutely no excuse for, it's the ever-gaping plot-holes the 45 minutes of western drama are filled to the brim with. I can't go too into detail with these due to spoilers, but in vein of that I'm glad - There's far too much badly thought-out writing in this episode to fit into a review that can't exceed much more than 1000 words. Oh, and you're probably wondering why I haven't yet mentioned Amy and Rory in this review. The answer to that puzzling thought is quite simple: The companions, who happen to be leaving in a few episodes' time, do quite literally nothing in <i>Mercy</i>. Sure, Amy fixes a problem but it's one that doesn't even need to be fixed, as you realise at the climax of the episode. As for Rory... Well, he does quite literally nothing. I counted under 10 lines for the latter character throughout the entire episode. Honestly, they shouldn't even be in this adventure... I mean, they clearly aren't enjoying it judging from what little we see of the pair.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Doctor gets himself into more than a few quick-draw duels in this episode. If there's one thing A Town called Mercy passes with flying colours, it's the Western vibes it emanates.</b></td></tr>
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Now, you probably think I despise this episode, right? As a matter of fact, I don't. I actually enjoyed it thoroughly on my first viewing, mainly thanks to the aspects I held in high regard at the start of this review. Yes, the story is atrocious as a whole but that's slightly made up for with some well-composed, admittedly rather beautiful lines courtesy of Toby Whithouse's writing. And do I need to go into details about the direction and writing once more? I can say for certain that I'll be buying series seven's soundtrack as soon as it's released. It's the positive aspects that make <i>A Town Called Mercy</i> worth watching, but the negatives do nothing but let it down and collapse it into an utterly shambolic disappointment. Due to this, it's a very hard episode to rate, but I've done so anyway. In short, episode 3 of series 7 isn't worth skipping, but if you get bored of it midway through, know this: You won't be missing out on much...<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-72785610241204762982012-09-23T04:16:00.001-07:002012-11-04T10:52:01.929-08:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.02 - Dinosaurs on a Spaceship<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, why do you Love Brian's Balls?</i></span></div>
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Yes, as you may have guessed from the quite frankly farcical title, the second installment in Doctor Who's seventh revived series is a light-hearted one. A romp, one could refer to it as. Don't go speeding down assumption junction just yet, though, because it may surprise you to hear that <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship</i>, the fourth Doctor Who story penned by Chris Chibnall (His previous works being <i>42</i>, <i>The Hungry Earth </i>and <i>Cold Blood</i>) is actually a very solid episode. One of the best of its kind, in fact. It might also surprise you to hear that the 45-minutes this episode presents also packs some pretty serious drama, fantastic direction from newcomer Saul Metzstein and a perfectly handled mix of CGI and animatronics for the titular dinosaurs. On top of this, brilliant casting choices for the vast range of characters, as well as an at times snigger-inducing script, can also be added to episode 2's list of merits. Oh, and there's a balls joke in there, too.<br />
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One thing you definitely have to keep in mind while watching Chris Chibnall's latest (at the time of writing, at least; He's also penned episode 4 of this series) is that it isn't trying to do anything groundbreaking in its 45-minute time-frame, despite the fact that a particularly controversial, fan-splitting decision from the Doctor takes place towards the end. More on that later, though. As aforementioned, <i>Dinosaurs </i>certainly fits under the category of 'light-hearted romp', as it combines a fair few elements; a considerably larger set of companions as opposed to previous adventures, a stellar variety of locales (at least in the episode's pre-credits sequence; One that zooms by even swifter than that of <i>Asylum of the Daleks</i>) and most importantly, a multi-layered plotline that takes place almost alongside the kind of narrative one expects from the title of the episode. Yes, Chibnall has pulled the same trick showrunner Steven Moffat did with last year's divisive story '<i>Let's Kill Hitler</i>' by misguiding the viewer's expectations through means of an intentionally specified title. Thankfully, though, Chibnall manages to combine the unexpected elements of this story with the dinosaur action that was to be expected judging from the title, even going so far as to give a superb, fan-pleasing explanation as to why the dinosaurs reside in such unfamiliar terrain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The gang is well and truly all here in <i>Dinosaurs</i>. Rory's newly introduced pops Brian is a particular highlight.</b></td></tr>
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Back to the 'romp' side of things, it would've been so easy for Chibnall to mess up this episode. Let's face it, it's happened a number of times before with Doctor Who, and I must admit that I set my expectations low on the run-up to this particular tale. So, does the writer manage to deliver a tale that perfectly balances the large quantity of concepts within its short time-frame, or does he completely bollix it up? As expected from the lack of negativity in this review thus far, the answer to that question is without a doubt the former. Chibnall greatly blends together practically all of the elements found in <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship</i>, presenting a very fun episode amongst what seems to be a collection of more serious numbers. Don't get me wrong, it is flawed in some aspects, but let's focus on the good for now. So, let's not hesitate to get into the meat of things, if you'll pardon the pun...<br />
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Story-wise, <i>Dinosaurs</i> is actually rather basic. Soon after saving the Egyptian race off-screen and becoming a semi-love interest for the flirtatious Queen Nefertiti, The Doctor receives a distress call from the Indian Space Agency. Don't bother asking why they specifically made it the Indian Space Agency as opposed to, say, UNIT or NASA, because I'm as clueless as anyone else is in that regard. What this reviewer isn't clueless about is the task The Doctor must overcome having been informed by the ISA that "A spaceship the size of Canada" is hurtling towards the Earth's crust, set to crash in just over six hours. If The Doctor can't prevent this catastrophe from taking place, the Indians send up missiles to solve the problem with brute force. Knowing that he'll need more than just an Egyptian Queen to investigate, Eleven enlists the help of charming big game hunter John Riddell (fantastically portrayed by Rupert Graves) and his standardised companions Amy and Rory. Due to materialising around the latter two in the TARDIS in a rather rushed fashion, however, Rory's dad Brian also gets pulled into the mix.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Being a CG-heavy episode, <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship</i> surprisingly nails the visual side of things. And here I was thinking the BBC were in a sticky financial state... It certainly doesn't show here!</b></td></tr>
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Considering they're such a big part of the story (pleasingly, every member of the main cast in this episode has something to do) it's probably a good idea to analyse these characters in more detail, starting with the new face we won't have seen the last of just yet. Brian 'I'm not a Pond' Williams, played by Mark Williams (expect me to mix these two up at some point) is a brilliant new addition to the show's cast, and I pretty much fell for him as soon as he opened his yapper. I can't wait to see him once more in this series' fourth episode and I must admit that I'm slightly annoyed at the prospect of us not seeing any more of him after that - Both valid signs that he's a fantastic character. The slightly more one-dimensional personae found in Riddell and Neffy, while not quite as important to the story as the rest of The Doctor's 'gang', still serve a purpose and are acted pretty well. There was even a clever riff on history with the latter character - The
Egyptian Queen really did disappear from the history books in 1336BC. Unfortunately, one of these characters is essentially a plot device which certainly doesn't demand the phrase 'brilliant writing', but at least there's a reasoning behind the inclusion of this particular role.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Solomon, played by David Bradley, makes for a truly hateful villain... In a good way. His metal counterparts make for truly hateful characters, too, albeit in a bad way. Thank sanity that they've got their traps shut most of the time.</b></td></tr>
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The dinosaurs themselves are actually more of a backdrop for the episode's main plot, The villain of the piece is in fact Solomon, a space pirate portrayed excellently by Rupert Graves (who you may know as Argus Filch from the Harry Potter films), aided by two rusty heaps of metal with David Mitchell and Robert Webb's vocal chords. The less said about Solomon's henchmen, the better, because the episode's main flaw is basically down to them. The robots clearly had abysmal joke chips installed, because whenever they spoke I just cringed. Solomon, however, is a superb villain who literally reeks of evil. This leads into a certain controversial action that The Doctor partakes in near the episode's climax, and while I won't give anything away it is slightly divisive. Personally, I completely agree with it. Moving onwards before I spoil anything, I'm glad to also reveal that Amy and Rory are very well implemented into this episode, unlike the one that preceded it. We see a new side to Rory thanks to the inclusion of his dad (which is more than welcome given his bumbling nature in <i>Asylum of the Daleks</i>). 9 months since The Doctor last visited them, Amy questions whether the Time Lord will leave them in a particularly heart-wrenching scene. "You'll be there to the end of me" "Or vice-versa" "...Don't." Foreshadowing is lovely, isn't it?<br />
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The only real problem with <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship</i> is the ever-clashing themes it keeps switching between. There's just as much kiddy humour as there are dark moral undercoatings, and you just get pulled out of the moment whenever those damned Mitchell and Webb robots activate their voice boxes. Thankfully they don't do so that much and they only leave a dent on the episode's exterior. While the episode can indeed be funny - That balls joke in particular caught me by surprise - It's the darker confrontations between The Doctor and Solomon paired with the action sequences of the final third that really steal the show and definitely make up for a certain comedy duo's infuriating vocal appearance. All things considered, Chris Chibnall's latest is just a fun episode. It doesn't do anything particularly amazing and it does pack a few conventional flaws, but when it comes down to it watching TV programmes is about enjoyment, and the pure fun <i>Dinosaurs on a Spaceship</i> exhales delivers spades of the stuff.<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-15776945645095627502012-09-16T03:40:00.000-07:002012-11-04T10:55:56.023-08:00TV Review: Doctor Who 7.01 - Asylum of the Daleks<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>-the-eggs-are-not-what-they-seem-</i></span></div>
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Doctor Who is a programme about change. It's always been critically acclaimed in some form or another, and it's also been a key part of British heritage and culture for many years. But, like the main protagonist himself; the characterised glue that has constantly kept the show stuck together; the time traveler whose personality and appearance has taken eleven different official forms and even more unofficial ones over the past near-50 years, the show constantly changes. It changes with new lead writers, it changes with the times and it most definitely changes with The Doctor himself, not to mention his countless companions. In the midst of all this change a number of problems have popped up over the years: plot-holes, continuity errors and such, which can let the self-proclaimed 'hardcore' viewer down if taken to heart. Fans of classic Doctor Who and even the Russell T. Davies era will find a fair few problems with the recently broadcasted series 7 (or 32, if you will) opener, titled Asylum of the Daleks - Errors which are most evident in the form of issues to do with the Doctor's greatest adversary themselves.<br />
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Now let's get one thing perfectly clear: I absolutely adore Doctor Who and I adore it now more than I ever did before current lead writer Steven Moffat took over, but I don't take it too seriously. A lead writer can't write a story of his own based around an adversary that has been present in a show since its second serial without creating continuity issues, and that's a fact, but so-called die-hards feel the need to point out unobvious errors and see them as episode ruiners. Fans who expected SteeMo to watch every Dalek story ever broadcast before writing his Dalek debut are quite foolish, to say the least, because when you look past the slightly botched continuity there is an absolutely fantastic story in Asylum of the Daleks, paired with fantastic production values (especially for a BBC budget) and a personal adoration of mine which comes in the form of some truly phenomenal direction from Nick Hurran, who also worked on two stellar hits from last year, <i>The Girl who Waited </i>and<i> The God Complex</i>. Speaking of last year, Doctor Who's sixth revived series saw a lot more head-scratching than most with its complex plot lines and timey-wimey madness, but thankfully with series 7 Moffat has wiped the slate clean and gone back to the basics with a very sophisticated, easy to understand script that worked wonders on our TV screens. The Doctor is back and he's made his return with a particularly explodey-wodey bang.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Parliament of the Daleks is one of many impressive sights to behold found within this episode. Look at all'a them Daleks!!</b></td></tr>
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On the build-up to its broadcast, Asylum was pushed as a massive showdown between the Doctor and his greatest foes, featuring quote-on-quote "every Dalek there ever was". While insightful fans will spot the Special Weapons Dalek and the like in the background, this episode really isn't about that at all. What the episode is focused on is hard to describe without giving away a particularly gargantuan spoiler, but let's just say we're introduced to a story element that will cover the whole of series 7, not just the current companions' last hurrah. It's also relevant to the sub-heading I typed up preceding this review (if you got that reference, when can we arrange the marriage?). That out of the way, let's get on with the story; Asylum of the Daleks opens up with a fast-paced pre-intro sequence, which sees the Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams kidnapped by their plunger-armed adversaries through means of the mysterious Dalek 'Puppets' that the Space Nazis have sent to do their dirty work. One initially thinks that these newly introduced kidnappers have come out of nowhere, but at the start of the second act they're explained in a particularly fan-pleasing fashion, with a fantastic reference to one of SteeMo's series 1 stories.<br />
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Following their kidnapping, the Doctor and the Ponds are summoned to the 'Parliament of the Daleks', another supposedly new element of Dalek lore that was actually in some way referenced in classic stories but never explored. Man, it seems for every continuity error in this episode there's a bucket of fan-service. The Parliament pleases the eyes of non-fans, too, thanks to Hurran's stellar cinematography. This scene has the story of the episode set up rather swiftly, with us seeing a new side to the Daleks. You see, they're in quite the pickle - Their Asylum, a planet that houses the most insane, uncontrollable of their kind right to the core, has been breached by an unknown vessel. Even the deadliest warriors in the universe find fear in the prospect of a "tsunami of insane Daleks" and seize the opportunity to send the Doctor and his companions to the planet to remove it's forcefield from the inside, so the Dalek ships can initiate a mass-extermination involving both the cleansing of their planet and the demise of their adversary... And a couple of humans in the form of Amy and Rory as a little extra.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The killer plungers are back and deadlier than ever, especially after their last appearance attached to tin-can Power Rangers. I kid, of course, but I'm glad the Daleks are a posable threat once more.</b></td></tr>
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Speaking of Amy and Rory, the Doctor's long-running companions played by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, they're surprisingly my only real stand-out flaw with this episode. Their acting and dialogue are as brilliant as ever (there's one truly emotional scene later on that sees Karen and Arthur play out their characters better than ever before) but the situation they're placed in seems a little forced. You see, the Ponds' marriage isn't exactly going smoothly. Why? Well, you'll have to watch the episode and find out. But even following the explanation of their rough time I still felt that this inclusion was merely to make the episode that bit more interesting and actually give Karen and Arthur something to do. The highlight of this episode isn't these characters, who are set to leave in the fifth episode of this series, nor is it the focus. And, as aforementioned, The Daleks aren't exactly the focus either (although they're still fantastic inclusions who help keep the story going, not to mention the fact that they're thankfully back to being deadly). No, it's Matt Smith as The Doctor and the episode's big twist that are undeniably the best thing about Asylum's plot, and they really steal the show.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This screenshot is totally relevant.</b></td></tr>
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Another massive highlight is the production. Nick Hurran's cinematography is at times absolutely gorgeous, with one highlight being an astonishing scene that involves altered perception and another just before the closing moments of the episode. The music, which for once doesn't mainly consist of motifs of the long-running theme '<i>I am the Doctor</i>', is also another brilliant set of epics conducted by the fantastic Murray Gold, who compliments the slow-paced mood of the episode with some brilliant new tracks, not to mention an epic new theme that plays at the 50-minute opener's thrilling conclusion. The writing is also extremely refreshing, as we're finally getting a Moffat story that doesn't feature a mass of convoluted timey-wimey moments that could be too potentially confusing for the casual viewer. Instead, Asylum is a slow-paced, chilling thriller featuring some jaw-dropping, 'I want to swear at the screen' twists that are simply brilliant, and that anyone could understand. Oh, and you will be shocked at the various bombshells dropped in this episode. It's completely unpredictable and stands tall as one of the Moff's finer works, for sure.<br />
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If you can look past the slightly botched Dalek continuity (and trust me, it's easy to do so and worth it, too) and the slightly annoying fact that Amy and Rory have nothing to do in this episode but argue about a plot device that makes very little sense following their previous adventures, then Steven Moffat has truly created an absolute tour-DE-force in Asylum of the Daleks... With the help of Nick Hurran's stellar direction as well as Matt Smith and the gang's brilliant performances, of course. They've been pushing this set of episodes as blockbusters, and Asylum absolutely fits the bill for that description. It's an absolute epic that does great things within its 50-minute time-frame, and there's not a whole lot else to add to all of the above. So, in conclusion, Asylum of the Daleks achieves a brilliant rating of...<br />
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Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-55126780594097500722012-09-15T03:29:00.001-07:002013-01-28T08:21:58.826-08:00Update 15/09/12: Explanation for my Hiatus / Progress UpdatesIt's been exactly a month since I last updated, and not much less since I actually posted any artcles, so I thought now would be a good time to initiate writing a little progress update. Naturally, this post will give a little more insightfulness on my current writing projects (of which there are many quite literally ready to be published) as well as the redesign me and ONM forum member TJ HipHop have been working on. Well, he's doing most of the work but regardless, the redesign is still coming and will hopefully be in public view by the month of September's end. The graphics I've seen thus far, as well as the template I've created with Blogger's admittedly rather fiddly template designer tool are looking a lot more professional than the site does at this moment in time, and I'm just as excited to see the finished product as you might well be. Again, apologies for the delays (I was hoping to get it done and dusted a little earlier, but never mind) but, while I can't promise anything, I am hoping to start publishing posts on the brand-new Noodle's Blog before the month ends.<br />
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Speaking of the publishing of posts, I do actually have a few things ready to be unleashed as aforementioned. The thing is, I originally wanted to post all my articles in regards to previously unexplored mediums - TV, film and music - after the redesign was to be launched in order to compliment the freshness of the new-look site. While I'll be sticking by this with my film and music reviews, namely <b><i>The Dictator</i></b> and <b><i>Blur's 13</i></b> respectively (apologies in advance for the poor quality of the latter article, it is my first music review after all), I do plan on posting my TV reviews ASAP, along with a new ratings graphic. Speaking of which, I haven't actually mentioned said TV reviews until given the chance right now. So, yeah, the seventh revived series of <i>Doctor Who</i> started a few weeks back and I've already reviewed the first episode. Not to mentioned the fact that my review of episode 2 is in the writing process and will hopefully be completed this weekend. Episode 3 is airing today and I'll also be reviewing that sometime the following week. In other words, I'll be reviewing all five episodes each in a 1000-word shell and publishing them both on here and in Stream, the graphics, arts and writing magazine I've already mentioned numerous times in these updates post (the new design will feature an Affiliates page linking to Stream and a few other things, as if I don't advertise it enough). If you want to read my aforementioned film and music reviews, don't hesitate to check out the free online magazine right here.<br />
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Back to the medium I typically cover on this blog and will continue to mainly focus on following my expansion of media coverage, you may remember that I promised my review of the absolutely phenomenal <i><b>Kid Icarus: Uprising</b></i> on 3DS would be posted last month. Unfortunately, I also noted that the new design would be up last month, and I was all set to tie in my latest game review with the launch of the new design. Sorry about that, but it's all in the past. I plan on posting this review (which, if you don't mind one blowing his own trumpet, might well be my best yet) before the month ends, hopefully to tie-in with the redesign's launch. On the topic of gaming, I've had a fair few posts in the pipeline over the past few weeks but haven't finished any of them, although I'm close to doing so. Firstly, a synopsis of the gorgeous <i><b>Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes</b></i> and secondly my thoughts on that fiasco surrounding <b><i>The World Ends with You</i></b> that spanned a fortnight a few weeks back. Both will be up this month, redesign or no. Back to reviews, the next one I plan on writing up after all of the above is over and done with is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on both PS2 and 3DS (yes, I'll be analysing each seperately) which should be exciting. Finally, my <i><b>Top Ten Favourite Games</b></i> Feature is gradually being worked on and has been for the past few months, but I can promise it is coming and will hopefully be up before the end of next month.<br />
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And so, this concludes another update. Apologies for a lack of posts lately but I hope my explanation has sufficed. I haven't even mentioned the fact that I'm in my most important (and stressful) year of school now and revision naturally takes priority over my personal projects, but I will continue to fit these things in. You can expect a few new posts before the end of the month, and maybe even the redesign I'm so pumped to launch. Thank you, and goodnight/afternoon/morning (I think I've covered everything, there).Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-78150166052397379172012-08-20T12:20:00.001-07:002012-08-23T03:39:55.396-07:00Hope Piqued for a Sequel to The World Ends with You... But don't get too excited.It's been a fairly exciting week for gamers these past few seven days, and for good reason. Some speculative screenshots for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V have been released, a number of minor bits and pieces regarding the next Smash Bros. game have found their way from Sakurai's mouth to the web... But, despite these exciting, mainstream games being reported on these past few days, one teaser site spawned from a 2008 underground hit has been the most exciting for yours truly. If, like me, you're a fan of The World Ends with You (well, I'd consider myself more than a fan but that's beside the point) then you'll have most definitely heard the big news in relation to this teaser website. Yes, the time has finally come: In just under seven days time we'll be seeing the announcement of the next installment in the vast lore of The World Ends with You... Hopefully.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVovsTsUbt8mVbUaYez1CZkBB5eO2ZMtZmQUy-VC8rdN_W02H_xALoockXGH7Jezt-cXaPc0CoBcpSv2tGnfPjIql2KiEVHYuEDet5yZvQrHO5lqxucNRjhtsFgowh-1rT9Om1Bk0KVW5/s1600/Picture+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVovsTsUbt8mVbUaYez1CZkBB5eO2ZMtZmQUy-VC8rdN_W02H_xALoockXGH7Jezt-cXaPc0CoBcpSv2tGnfPjIql2KiEVHYuEDet5yZvQrHO5lqxucNRjhtsFgowh-1rT9Om1Bk0KVW5/s400/Picture+3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The teaser website, featuring a countdown much reminiscent of The World Ends with You's erasure clocks, as well as a remixed version of the song 'Calling', point in the direction of a new installment. However, various sources state otherwise. Here's hoping said sources are wrong...</b></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.square-enix.co.jp/subaseka/">At this enthralling teaser website</a>, you'll find what started out as a seven day countdown for something clearly related to The World Ends with You. Various things have 100% confirmed this: The site features a remixed version of a song from the original game's soundtrack, titled Calling, as well as an unfinished logo that shows the stylish silhouette of Shibuya's 104 district, also featured in the original game along with its logo. The original game's art and character designers, Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi, are also credited at the footer of the site. Something all-new in relation to The World Ends with You is definitely coming, but don't get your hopes up for a sequel just yet. Why? Well, various sources have all but confirmed something else; Something that practically forced me to grab some metaphorical hype paint remover upon painting myself hyped when I initially discovered the site this morrow. You see, there's a good chance that this much-proclaimed sequel, one I'm sure we're all hoping to see on 3DS or Wii U, is actually some kind of social game or network for PCs and various smartphone devices. Bummer, I know. What exactly points in this direction? First off, the Twitter account of a Japanese Square-Enix representative posted a link to the site alongside a number of words which lead one to believe the prospect of a PC and smartphone release as opposed to what we actually want: A proper sequel or prequel, or at least a remake. In fact, I'd be more excited for the latter in the event that they screw up the continuity like they did with Kingdom Hearts upon developing a sequel.<br />
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Secondly are more speculative hints that the game, or whatever it is, will be on the wrong platforms. The site features a link to Square's mobile gaming partner, GREE, alongside various links to other social networks in order to share the news of the teaser. The source code of the website also includes hints at GREE's involvement in the project, as well as a mobile site. I'm hoping that this is merely an extra feature in ties with what we're all hoping is a brand-new game on 'proper' gaming platforms, but we'll just have to wait and see. The mobile site found in the source code might be just that: a mobile version of the site. Really, in basic terms, we don't know whether this teaser site will reveal a brand-new game set in The World Ends with You's stunning Shibuya-based universe, or just some odd social networking game that everyone's going to ignore outside of Japan (Square-Enix have been doing this sort of thing lately, after all) and all we can do is wait.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_FYyu9YdNVI3Aiyk8n2l0gwr1Pc-dwsmOMZoMk4BW6vMcbqtnzT99Um-Pqn0Xut7TnG_675e84kP4P1lFY5jBdF1zMaD5ldyt064IWFYRRPEy49DWlMxKWqzESwqBv3RhWDvVPI2fLS6/s1600/gamtheworldends530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_FYyu9YdNVI3Aiyk8n2l0gwr1Pc-dwsmOMZoMk4BW6vMcbqtnzT99Um-Pqn0Xut7TnG_675e84kP4P1lFY5jBdF1zMaD5ldyt064IWFYRRPEy49DWlMxKWqzESwqBv3RhWDvVPI2fLS6/s400/gamtheworldends530.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Here's hoping one of my favourite games of all time - my most beloved RPG and number one handheld game, no less - is getting a proper sequel and not some ridiculous smartphone sub-game.</b></td></tr>
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Despite the disappointing prospect that this big reveal won't be what I truly want, I am excited for the high possibility of new artwork and music. After all, we've already got the remixed version of Calling, not to mention a fancy new logo, so there's a much higher chance that we'll at least be seeing more of these mediums in relation to The World Ends with You, whether this new project happens to be a PC and smartphone exclusive game or not. When it comes down to it, nothing is confirmed and we don't know squat as of yet. All we can do is wait, unlike the original's players who fought against an ever-ticking time limit on a daily basis. For us, just under seven days remain. Hopefully we're in for one hell of a prize after this wait...Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-24125635025339931882012-08-15T08:34:00.000-07:002012-09-02T03:18:19.465-07:00Update 15/08/12: Noodle's Blog Is Evolving... / Stream Launch / Upcoming PostsThe first thing you'll most definitely notice about this post is its title. Typically I'd title these progressive update posts with a previously standardised format of 'Update: insert whatever I'll be discussing within this post'. Well, while this format hasn't really changed too much with this update I have indeed modified it for a reason, and that's to amplify the key element of this update as well as what's to come in the not too distant future: change. Change is good, especially when it's the kind of modification that will hopefully soon be made to this blog, one I've been independently running with little real change over the past few years. Of course, you only have to compare my posts from back when I started to my latest to tell that my skill in writing and opinionated journalism has improved, but structurally this site hasn't changed a bit since its genesis. In fact, I probably shouldn't There's not a whole lot that sets this site apart from any other typical collection of articulate thoughts here on Blogger. Sure, I've designed and painstakingly pieced together an original design and developed my skills over the years, but I feel that now would be the perfect time to make an upgrade with a little help from people who are basically better at graphic arts than yours truly. Yes, it's time for another redesign, and not just in the sense of the appearance of this blog.<br />
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This evolution links in with the other major topic I'll be detailing in this post, which I might as well discuss now. In the last update post (or was it the one before?) I dictated my involvements in an ONM Forum project, the online magazine titled Stream. Well, in case you're not keeping up with the times in regards to this enthralling project, it has now launched along with the first issue of this free, fantastically designed web-mag. A special mention goes out to all involved, forum members Conorr and TJ HipHop in particular for piecing together what has turned out a gleaming success and then some. And who knows, this success might lead to something big. Anyway, the main thing outside of the magazine's launch that I wanted to discuss is my involvement in the project. I've already contributed my Super Mario 3D Land review from a few months back to the launch issue of Stream, but in the same issue an exclusive article produced by moi is also included. As I detailed in the last update here on the blog while I was still writing the thing, I reviewed Sacha Baron Cohen's latest, The Dictator, to be exclusively featured in the magazine for at least some time. Anyway, I'm waffling, so let's swiftly get into the meat of things, here: Do I plan on posting my first non-game review here on the blog? Certainly. You see, as much as I love video games, I don't really see as much success in writing journalism for this medium as I do for, say, reviewing albums and films. This isn't to say that I'm dropping games journalism, it will definitely still be the main focus of this journalistic abode, just with reviews and opinions in relation to other forms of media as a metaphorical side-dish every now and again. Aside from my first published film review, I've got a critical synopsis of Blur's album 13 on the way, too. This album review will be included in the second issue of Stream and on this site several weeks after. I only plan on publishing these reviews on here following the launch of the new design, however, to mark the occasion with even more change.<br />
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Speaking of which, let's get back to the second re-design. I won't be working on the design I have planned in a graphical sense this time around, as I've never been that skilled in graphic design and I don't even own any software to develop something great. I actually used an online service, Fotoflexer, to piece together the design you'll see surrounding this post at the time of writing. I already mentioned TJ Hiphop, whose contribution to Stream excited me and made me think, 'This is the guy for the job' as I was planning this revolution. Thankfully, he's shown interest in helping me out in this regard and I'll be willing to credit him as much as possible if he goes all the way with it. We're probably looking at a September-time launch for the redesign, so look forward to that.<br />
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Finally, allow me to close off this update with the usual news I stick into these posts; what exactly is coming up article-wise in the coming months? Well, the next thing you'll see, either before or after the redesign has launched, is my review of 3DS gem <b>Kid Icarus: Uprising</b>. Honestly, as things are progressing at this moment in time, I think this might just be my best review yet, especially after my review of Mario Kart 7, which I was honestly a little disappointed with. Even better is the news that it's almost finished, and you'll see it published on here very soon. Following that, I'm going back to home console game reviews after a fairly lengthy hiatus. <b>Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater</b> on PS2 is the game in question, and following that, something massive: My review of <b>The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword</b>, which I'm currently replaying and still loving to bits. After that, possibly the last review you'll see from me this year will be of the excellent <b>Persona 4</b>,which I'm planning on also replaying after I'm done with the aforementioned projects. In terms of features, I'm currently working on my <b>Top Ten Personal Favourite Games</b> list, which will be up before the end of september, probably. And, for this update at least, that's just about everything. So, for now, look forward to the redesign as well as all these upcoming posts and have a nice day!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Note:</b> If this post feels rushed, so be it. It's only an update and I wanted to get this out ASAP. At least I'm getting the news across, right?</span>Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-5673614493527230472012-07-31T07:34:00.002-07:002012-08-13T07:41:08.978-07:00REVIEW: Mario Kart 7Back in the days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the big developer we all know as Nintendo unleashed what is now one of the most successful spin-offs to a main series, selling in countless numbers to a mass of individuals around the world. More recent instalments in this series have been glued to the top in Wii and DS charts ever since they were first released, rather incredibly, a number of years prior. Of course, there's no way I could be talking about anything other than Mario Kart, the mustachioed plumber's manic, rampant take on not-so serious racing. This is a series that has truly evolved over the years, although many will debate that karting experiences with Nintendo's mascot have gone a little downhill of late, at least with the most recent home console effort.<br />
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If one were to hark back to the release that kick-started this best selling spin-off series, he or she would find a surprisingly inaccessible experience. Super Mario Kart was a particularly difficult to master affair when it came to actually steering your vehicle around a SuperFX-generated track, as the game was deliberately stapled with some of the most difficult to deal with handling in a racing game, even more so than the likes of WipeOut many years later. Of course, players could get 'in the groove' and become trapped inside a mind state of 100% focus - Focus on winning a race without allowing poor manoeuvrability to get in their way. Skip past several releases and you'll find that, by the time Mario Kart Double Dash!! on GameCube was released, this difficult to master gameplay was modified to become a much more accessible engine, soon after which a more varied mass of casual and 'core crowds got into the series. Many of you should know how much I oppose the phrases casual and hardcore and both terms' stereotypical effect on gaming, but in the context of this argument they simply have to be implemented. You see, the more recent Mario Kart experiences have forced many into two different, separately opinionated pigeon-holes. Using the boycotted Mario Kart Wii as a fitting example, many absolutely loathed the game for its undeniably unfair gameplay elements and outrageously difficult cups in the later stages of the solo experience (ironic, considering this particular release was more aimed at casuals than anyone else with its abominable advertising campaigns). Others, however, saw the strengths of the game and proceeded to ignore its unfair nature and simply have fun. So, this leaves us with a question, one that was already answered last December but will continue to be satisfied by yours truly: How does Mario Kart 7 on 3DS hold up? Rather well, actually.<br />
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One could describe Mario's third handheld karting experience, not to mention his seventh altogether (if you exclude the supposedly awful Namco-developed arcade game) with many words, but broken is definitely not one of them. The core racing found in this stereoscopic release is quite possibly as tight as you'll get with the series so far, even when compared to the DS iteration, the typical favourite amongst fans. But how does it hold up against its predecessors altogether? Yes, Mario Kart 7 features what is easily the most balanced gameplay in the series, a true god-send for those who loathed the Wii iteration's unfair nature, but that's not to say it's the best Mario Kart game ever. Keeping in mind that I haven't played the Nintendo 64 or GameCube versions, the lucky seven finds itself perched just a few branches below Mario Kart's Wii and DS experiences in my opinion, or for a more fitting analogy, in third place winning a bronze medal in the cup to decide the best game in the series. While I loathed Mario Kart Wii's unfair approach to what Nintendo thought was balancing the experience, I must admit that I had a lot more fun with it than the most recent karting effort available at this time.<br />
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The main reason for the seventh instalment's peak position of third place in my view is its surprising deprivation of content; It's almost as if Nintendo, even when paired with famed co-developer Retro Studios (Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country Returns - You should know these guys by now) forgot to pack some meat into an otherwise tightly balanced incarnation. Mario Kart Wii may have been frustratingly unfair, but its production value is admittedly leagues above what is available on 3DS. Still, when I conduct a synopsis what Mario Kart 7 does have to offer, I hope to show that it is definitely worth picking up if you don't already own it. In fact, I believe that racing around crazy courses with Mushroom Kingdom veterans is even better than partaking in stereoscopic platforming in the form of Super Mario 3D Land when it comes to 3DS-exclusive Mario titles, as you'll know from the score at the bottom of this review.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgNTgFpgmERjYdVJIjLLa2E9GECgjsSkvPlhgV2xBnj3hz8RrWTN0okGj_EMcYVvBSM_NFZWhy1XoR0LykKWHTTIDZ5pnUPs6vWLIexuavS4BkQ0j44dBG8GNRJh2ksoNIDjp5OONh9bp/s1600/Mario-Kart-7_2011_10-21-11_016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgNTgFpgmERjYdVJIjLLa2E9GECgjsSkvPlhgV2xBnj3hz8RrWTN0okGj_EMcYVvBSM_NFZWhy1XoR0LykKWHTTIDZ5pnUPs6vWLIexuavS4BkQ0j44dBG8GNRJh2ksoNIDjp5OONh9bp/s400/Mario-Kart-7_2011_10-21-11_016.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Up to seven other Mushroom Kingdom veterans join you in a typical Mario Kart 7 race. Fitting, but also impressive considering the frame-rate never drops in a race against CPUs.</b></td></tr>
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Before the convoluted nature of that last paragraph seeps into this one, let's explore the core experience found with Mario Kart 7, starting with the new. The series' latest represents a great leap forward in terms of gameplay, while still retaining a fair, skill-based nature as aforementioned. The new additions to the gameplay formula are the main contributors to this strategic advancement, and each makes zipping around courses in multiplayer or attempting to set records in time trials all the more satisfying. Although, not every contribution to this wonderful development is truly brand-new; The Coins system, last featured in the GBA release Mario Kart: Super Circuit and before that the series' debut, makes a more than welcome return in the lucky seventh. In basic terms, coins increase the max speed of your kart, but they offer other benefits as well. Only if a player grabs and holds onto 10 coins after each race in a cup, they'll have filled in one requirement for a commendable 3-Star rank on that particular cup. Every Coin you earn following every race you partake in also contributes to a mass of currency, which gradually unlocks more and more parts for constructing a kart (more on this later) as you plow through the experience. This cleverly gives a reason for continuing to play the solo game, even if you've 100% finished it - of course, you still earn Coins in online multiplayer, but there's never been a driving force behind continuing to play solo cups in a past Mario Kart game upon completion so this still deserves praise.<br />
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Brand-new in Mario Kart 7 are the two new methods of transport you'll find your vehicle transforming into in most of the game's 32 tracks. While they take a page from the book of N64 racer Diddy Kong Racing, these all-new additions to Mario Kart are more than welcome and serve as another contribution to more strategic methods of navigating each course, as if the re-introduction of Coins wasn't enough. Most prominent of the two alterations is the glider, a mounted contraption much like the one found in early 3DS release PilotWings Resort... Only attached to a kart. Particular boost ramps serve as path into flight, as your kart activates its gliding capabilities soon after making the leap. Full 360 degree control while airborne is made all the more satisfying and effective with the Circle Pad, making you truly feel like you're making all the decisions when switching to this method of travel.<br />
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Before this sounds like a cheesy non-sensical description of an Andrex roll (although the Circle Pad really is brilliant), let's move on to Mario Kart 7's other new method of travel, the subtle yet welcome addition of the propeller activated when underwater. Yes, we've seen underwater segments in past titles, but only in the series' seventh is the handling of your kart shaken up a little when beneath the sea. Basically, the propeller only alters the drifting of your kart. In fact, it makes the handling feel exactly like the lightweight bikes found in Mario Kart Wii, which is no bad thing. It's true that the underwater segments in this release are a little underused, which is understandable considering half of the tracks are from past titles as per usual, but they're better off here than not and offer a welcome change of physics on the tracks they appear in. All three of the elements analysed in the last two paragraphs make for a much more strategic Mario Kart experience, which truly adds to the balancing. No one shortcut is better than the other, and players won't simply be following one given path this time around. Here's hoping these elements are included in future Mario Kart releases.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyerunnwj3kg4zEqVP3XaXmWqaadjOY8vMqFbvkoFMiaggh7z-kp05A4aOxndEYSjrCINZeY1wU_SueDn13IjQfcIEZiCTR-2JydBup7AXtbdUq1Fgq1n0EFgZiicL1CrI14NwmuVUMXas/s1600/Mario-Kart-7-Screens_10-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyerunnwj3kg4zEqVP3XaXmWqaadjOY8vMqFbvkoFMiaggh7z-kp05A4aOxndEYSjrCINZeY1wU_SueDn13IjQfcIEZiCTR-2JydBup7AXtbdUq1Fgq1n0EFgZiicL1CrI14NwmuVUMXas/s1600/Mario-Kart-7-Screens_10-21.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>It's a shame that the glider feels like it's going to be a one-off for the series, because it's an incredible strategic addition to a franchise that has relied almost solely on luck in past releases. The underwater propellor holds up nicely, too.</b></td></tr>
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I could go on about how brilliant the new additions to the already frantic Mario Kart formula help both shake up and balance the series' latest, but what's most impressive about this title, as with most instalments in flagship first-party Nintendo franchises, is the absolutely fantastic presentation. Mario Kart 7 is something of a stunner considering the 3DS' hardware specs, although that's not to say it's not believable. In terms of 3D, the game gets the balancing right with subtle yet outstanding effects that not only look great but also don't detract from your focus on the race at hand, something that is needed in every game that fits under this genre and past 3DS racers have messed up, so bravo to Nintendo for getting it right. In fact, they really don't mess anything up presentation-wise with this release - The menus are simplistic and slick, the new track designs are phenomenal and, hang on, the character roster... Well, it's in this regard that the game falls a little flat. Yes, this is the most abundant let-down contained in Mario Kart 7, linking back to the aforementioned bare-bones content that strays the full package away from becoming the series' best. Not only is the roster lacking in legends like Funky Kong and Dry Bowser, but a number of new inclusions found here are, simply put, pathetic. Honey Queen is a minor character from the Galaxy games who deserves no inclusion here, but somehow Nintendo did stick her in the roster as opposed to a number of other possible inclusions. If they're including Galaxy characters, why not Lubba, or better yet, The Chimp? And don't get me started on Wiggler, the other outrageous new face you'll find in this Mario Kart's roster. It's not all bad in this aspect of the game, however, as there are a few welcome additions. You can still play as your Mii, which is nice, and newcomers Lakitu and Metal Mario not only change up the roster but also the gameplay with their subtle weight-based alterations, even if the latter is basically just a re-texture of everybody's favourite plumber. Unless, like me, you've always preferred Luigi. Back on topic, let's be moving on...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtbIGZbmJhOHrk1YWnFvrI4BWgZVo3hMjRNcjBuKjxDmmHvBCV6nXTfYARGkd92GTBpmQAL9O-w0VPwiTtgYRRmI1LL9HshfWDH1_Hgl4os0Esft9IjdCGo_S3aLFydYq2z-XU0fhHPH-/s1600/Mario-Kart-7_2011_10-21-11_009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtbIGZbmJhOHrk1YWnFvrI4BWgZVo3hMjRNcjBuKjxDmmHvBCV6nXTfYARGkd92GTBpmQAL9O-w0VPwiTtgYRRmI1LL9HshfWDH1_Hgl4os0Esft9IjdCGo_S3aLFydYq2z-XU0fhHPH-/s400/Mario-Kart-7_2011_10-21-11_009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sprouting out of Mario's standard kart is the Tanooki Tail, a new item that allows for both offensive and defensive action. It can block oncoming items (including, if you get the timing perfect, Blue Shells) and trip up rivals. Handy!</b></td></tr>
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While this iteration of Mario Kart's character roster falls flat on its face, it's really not that big of a deal considering the new customisation options involving the karts they race in. As aforementioned, a certain quantity of coins collected unlocks a new part which you can use to customise your mechanical steed before every cup, race or battle. Customising your kart is a necessity in this release; There's no presets to be found unless you count the standard parts you begin with. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind, as it once again harks back to the brilliant strategic elements I praised earlier. The customisation options you're given are basic and unfortunately don't add anything personal as you may think (even the DS iteration's emblem creation tools are absent, sadly), but their effect on the core racing is unprecedented by simply choosing a kart. Each individual part packs different stat boosts which alter the initial qualities of your selected character; Handling, weight, boosting power and so on. Picking the right parts for the right tracks is key to winning races, particularly when you take the challenge online with the game's multiplayer modes.<br />
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Speaking of which, let's move onto the multiplayer mode found in Mario Kart 7. Players who are familiar with Mario Kart Wii's excellent online will find a relatable experience in this handheld release; albeit one not quite as stable. Unfortunately, Mario Kart 7's worldwide racing is hindered slightly by animation lag and frame-rate drops, ones that don't occur too often but are a step-down from the near-perfect stability of the aforementioned Wii release. Still, if you can ignore these minor annoyances, everything you'd expect is in here: Various racing options, support for battle mode and points systems for both. Brand-new are Groups, which allow you to create guild-like communities with their own internal scoring, perfect for tournaments. All in all, stability issues aside, Mario Kart 7's online is what's going to keep you coming back for more upon finishing the bare-bones solo experience, even though I personally found Mario Kart Wii's functionality to be more enjoyable.<br />
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Sadly, it's the little things that leave a big mark on Mario Kart 7's exterior. It's lacking in content and the smaller aspects of the game, such as the character roster, let the scope down. However, there's more positives in this package that neatly iron out the negatives: 32 of the series' best track designs old and new, a number of excellent new additions to the already thoroughly enjoyable formula, and most importantly, the fairest, tightest racing in a Mario Kart game to date. It's just a massive shame that all you can do in this release is race offline and online. The presentation is stellar and it's difficult to fault the gameplay, but when there's little to a release that by default has to improve on its predecessors from a content standpoint, not take a step backwards. All it would've taken to shoot the score I've awarded this title up to golden levels is a re-hash of Mario Kart DS's awesome Mission mode. All this said, you should definitely purchase Mario Kart 7 if you enjoy the series, especially if you have access to an online setup. The multiplayer is thoroughly enjoyable despite a few technical issues, and as I noted in the previous paragraph, it's what's going to keep you coming back to the game. I'll end this review by re-establishing my response to a hefty question: Is Mario Kart 7 the greatest game in the series so far? Simply put, no, but if the next Mario Kart release packs the same racing as found in this instalment only alongside a satisfying heap of content, it will be. Until then, the seventh in the series offers a truly ace if a little flawed experience, one that you should check out if you can and haven't already.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">87%</span></b> </div>
Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-80197661275569950372012-07-14T03:14:00.000-07:002012-07-15T10:53:27.969-07:00My Views on the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Arguments [E3 2012]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let's get one thing out of the way before I say another word regarding the topic of this post: Metal Gear Rising: Revenegeance looks like an excellent game from what we've seen of it thus far. Stating that Platinum Games' spin-off to one of the most legendary video game series of all-time is looking terrible, purely because it has next to no relation to the main titles in the Metal Gear Saga, is quite simply a cynical, biased statement from the sort of tawpie who probably shouldn't be playing tactical espionage action games in the first place. Although, these declarations are not without reason; The aforementioned fact that, while it looks to be an excellent experience in terms of gameplay when it's finally released early 2013, it doesn't really seem to be part of the Metal Gear universe and canon despite claims that it is. Thinking about it further, this isn't exactly a fact since the story does fit in the time line, but the world this game portrays is a far cry from the likes of Shadow Moses and Groznyj Grad. Let's begin listing the odd differences found in this portrayal of Metal Gear, starting with the main character, Raiden. There's always going to be someone complaining that Hideo Kojima's story is a convoluted mishmash of randomness, but few can deny that the characters found within his complex tale are mostly likeable slices of brilliance in the form of virtual humans and the oddly well explained supernatural. Raiden was one such character - The key word in this sentence being 'was'.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Raiden can still maintain his 'badass' persona in Platinum's spin-off, but he's lost some personality in the process.</b></td></tr>
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Mind you, Raiden actually started out as a bit of a snob, but rightly due to reasons that shouldn't be explained for the purposes of avoiding spoiling 2002's Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Without spoiling anything whatsoever, the once annoying protagonist of the first MGS release on Sony's second major console became rather likeable towards the end of the game, but it was in 2008s excellent PS3 debut, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, that Raiden's true colours glistened through. In the series' last home console release, the once snobby 20-something had transformed into, simply put, a total badass. Typically in this modern age of third-person shooters and first-person shooters and what have you, characters like Gears of War's Marcus Phoenix are considered suitable to fit under this title, but even if the muscular blockhead did, he'd be hundreds of classes below Raiden. Unfortunately with the gameplay-focused Metal Gear Rising, the character who made the transition from unfitting protagonist to gallant cybernetic warrior has now grown a bit stale, fitting more under the true definition of badass according to Dictionary.com; A difficult to deal with, mean-tempered character. Raiden may have a reason to be angry in his latest appearance, but he found himself in the same situation in Guns of the Patriots and I remember him maintaining a level-headed nature in that release no matter what happened to him or his comrades. And he got his arms decapitated. That's rough. Rising's portrayal of Raiden, on the other end of what I like to call the 'badass spectrum', is an insane cyborg Hell-bent on justice in a war-bound, bleak future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>If anyone can make a good hack 'n' slash, it's Platinum Games. With little involvement from Kojima Productions, however, this certainly ain't like no Metal Gear that's ever come before.</b></td></tr>
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Of course, there's a chance that Metal Gear Rising might once again see Raiden going through the same process he did in his PS2 debut, making yet another transition due to... certain reasons. Again, I'm trying my hardest not to spoil things here. Regardless, nothing can sway Rising's ectopic nature away when it comes to the setting of the game. Again, this aspect doesn't in any way look like something to complain about, or even something overly bland, it's just not the sort of thing you'd expect from Metal Gear. Granted, MGS4 was set in a war-torn future where nano-machines controlled everything from war economy to mooing Gekko, but Rising's world takes things a bit too far. The raging battle in Rising seems a lot less sophisticated, at least judging from the overly action-packed trailers. This game is clearly being developed by Platinum, the subsidiary of the late Clover Studios (before they split and ended up making Okami) who brought us the excellent ultra-violent beat 'em up MadWorld and soon enough, it's spiritual sequel Anarchy Reigns (which you may be seeing an article on here in the blog some time soon). This action element of Metal Gear has always been sophisticated and clever, with the occasional epic set-piece and brilliant boss fight turning things up an notch on numerous occasions. I don't think I'll ever forget the incredible Shagohod chase sequence at the end of Snake Eater or the final battle of the entire Solid series chronologically, quite possibly the greatest boss ever seen in a videogame. Like the warring environments a wrecked Raiden finds himself in, the action loses its sophistication in Rising, not to say slicing up helicopters, Gekko and watermelons with the clever 1:1 slicing mechanic doesn't look fun.<br />
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Despite all I've said in the past few paragraphs, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance looks anything but charmless. Granted, you'd never hear a Depeche Mode song in a typical Metal Gear trailer, nor would you see non-stop, not too well thought out action sequences, but none of this stuff looks bad or in any way generic. The 1:1 slicing I mentioned previously looks unique and satisfying, and the excessive gore you'd expect from Platinum only compliments this. This game is a spin-off through and through, and while it's one I'd eliminate from the main series canon if I were to revise entire Metal Gear saga, I can't stress enough that Rising is most certainly going to be a hit when it drops in the first quarter of next year, at least judging from what we've seen of it. Even if it turns out pants, we still have the recently confirmed Metal Gear Solid 5 to look forward to (a game which I'm absolutely certain will follow on from Peace Walker and Snake Eater). I haven't gone ridiculously in-depth about the core game in this post, but you can expect a possible preview of Metal Gear Rising not too long before the title is released. For now, though, look forward to future pieces (of which there are many coming this month) and have a nice day!Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-84956341252746042102012-07-01T04:13:00.000-07:002012-07-09T08:46:36.739-07:00Feature: My Impressions of Nintendo's E3 Conference [Part 2/2] [2012 Edition]We suitably ended part one of my Nintendo E3 2012 Impressions on a cliffhanger of sorts, and now it's time to finish it. Following the reveal of Super Scribblenauts, Nintendo of America's main man Reggie returned to the spotlight and was quick to introduce a short showcase of games set to arrive on Nintendo's upcoming home platform, the Wii U. Some of these were titles we saw last year, but I can't help but discuss a few specific chunks of the oncoming storm that is the Wii U. Opening up the video, cheesy background music and all, was Darksiders II. The original Darksiders was thumped for its slight unoriginality in both combat and storytelling, but the sequel looks to be in the same boat as Red Steel 2, in that it appears almost entirely different and vastly improved when compared to its predecessor. Now, I haven't played the original game, but I'm certainly excited for its sequel. The fluid beat-'em-up gameplay and Zelda-like exploration, dungeon crawling and puzzle solving, as well as various RPG elements will most likely make for a winning recipe and a more than welcome release in the Wii U's launch window. Granted, we saw some of Darksiders' sequel at last year's conference, but to complain about this would be nitpicking on a minuscule scale. This could be one of the Wii U's first heavy hitters.<br />
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Next up was Mass Effect 3, and I think I've pretty much summed that up in one sentence. Back to new games, Aliens: Colonial Marines (hilarious how both a punctuated colon and the word colon are used in this title) is looking rather good. Coming from Gearbox, the same lovely folks who developed one of the best shooters of the last few years, Borderlands, as well as one of the most hilariously bad, Duke Nukem Forever, this Alien spin-off looks to be both true to the franchise and impressive in its own right. Judging from what we've seen of it, Colonial Marines seems to have a sort of Metroid Prime-esque vibe to it, with dark, dank lighting and the deadly antagonists jumping seemingly out of nowhere, paired with harrowing exploration as opposed to linear levels. Whether or not this will top, be on par or fall short of Metroid Prime is down to the final release, the Wii U version of which is said to be the definitive version directly from Gearbox, but judging from the run-up to the release this just might be a game to look forward to, folks. Various other games were shown in the video, including a new version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, cult indie sequel Trine 2 and the still-ultra violent Nintendo-published version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 3, but I think it's time to move onto the next major announcement...<br />
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...Or announcements, rather. If you saw the conference, or read the previous two paragraphs and indeed the first part of this opinionated synopsis, you may well have noticed a distinct lack of anything non-Wii U related, but at this point, that changed. Well, for about five minutes. Regardless, Reggie begun a 3DS-focused segment soon after the reveal of Wii Fit U (which, if you read part one, you'll know why I'm bypassing). This wasn't quite the big selection of new releases for Nintendo's current handheld that we'd hoped for, another disappointing aspect of the conference, but we were still shown a few things. Unfortunately for the favouritism-focused cynics among us, all three of the 3DS games shown during this press conference were Mario-related, although the man discussing these three games, Scott Mofitt, was set to unveil a lot more in a 3DS-exclusive, pre-recorded conference the following day. Unfortunately, it wasn't that great. Yes, we saw a fair few games and even an appearance from the non-specific action figure, but nothing we hadn't seen at least a few days prior. Enough about that, though, this post does happen to be about Nintendo's main E3 conference, after all. The first of the three games shown was Nintendo's next 2D-outing for Mario. We got more than a glimpse at New Super Mario Bros. U earlier on in the show, which in my opinion looked fantastic, but the same honestly can't be said about New Super Mario Bros. 2.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the first handheld Mario release that plays out on a 2D plain to feature 2 player co-op. That's all well and good, but does this release pack anything else we haven't seen previously?</b></td></tr>
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I've already ranted about the apparent lack of originality judging from the games initial announcement, and its ridiculous title (surely this should be either New Super Mario Bros. 3 or 4?) but let's get to the meat of things here - Does New Super Mario Bros. 2 look like it's going to be a good game? Certainly, but the aforementioned lack of originality remains mainly intact. We do however, know of the main gimmick behind the game, one not seen before in Mario titles... Sort of. As Scott explained, this 2D outing is 'all about the gold', and you'll be hearing the word 'gold' a fair bit in the next few sentences. Basically, the collection of gold coins is one of the main focuses in the game, much more so than every Mario title before it. New power-ups like Gold Mario and the Coin Block have the plumber practically bathing in coins, which helps contribute to one of the main tasks you'll find when playing the game: the gargantuan task of collecting a million coins. I'm not against this concept of gold-hoarding, but it's not really all that clever, either. What could be considered worse is that the core game is looking almost identical to the original DS game and it's Wii successor. While Mario fans will most probably cope, I can't see myself picking this one up straight off the bat, and seeing how these games never seem to drop in price, I can't see myself buying it soon after, either. Still, New Super Mario Bros. 2 will surely satisfy many, even though it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth thanks to its unoriginality.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The diorama-like environments of the Paper Mario series should look even better in three stereoscopic dimensions.</b></td></tr>
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As you should know from that last set of words, excessive rehashing and re-releasing bugs me quite a lot. luckily, then, the next two games shown were two sequels set to impress, ones that I personally can't fault just yet. Again, both are part of the Mario series, but when the games in question are part of two particularly ace spin-off series', this repetition can easily be ignored. For the sake of getting this post out as soon as possible, I'll be skipping the final title that was revealed, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, simply because we didn't get any new information regarding the game that we didn't find out at 2011's conference. Regardless, the game still looks great but I personally reckon that the other title is more worthy of an analysis. Mario RPGs may have begun at their peak with Super Mario RPG on the SNES, but since then several other spin-offs fitting into the same genre have spawned. The Mario and Luigi series is the most recognisable nowadays, but Paper Mario is soon to attempt to steal the crown with its upcoming 3DS iteration, Sticker Star. However dodgy the title of this game happens to be, it fits in well with the basic premise of the newly introduced element; Stickers. Any fan should know that the Paper Mario series has always taken place in a shoebox diorama-like open world, but in this iteration stickers can be found smacked onto the virtual paper, begging to be peeled off. And it's worth collecting these stickers, too, as they control pretty much every battle command; whether it be simple moves like stomping on papered Goombas, to activating a massive fan to solve puzzles in the overworld or send enemies flying. Outside of the Stickers element, Sticker Star is still very much a core Paper Mario RPG, one that many of us should be looking forward to...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Despite the basic nature of its source, Lego City Undercover does actually look surprisingly gorgeous and inventive visually.</b></td></tr>
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And so, we're brought out of the realms of 3DS news and shoved right back into Wii U games with what may have been a wasted reveal. Let's face it, what was then known as Lego City Stories didn't exactly get shouts of enthusiasm at last year's conference, but it took many of us by surprise this year with its witty comedy, lush visuals and gaping open world premise. After the annoyingly unfunny Scott Moffitt left the stage following his quick 3DS showing, quotable legend Reggie returned to the show floor and was quick to introduce the game in its new form - as Lego City Undercover. You may scoff, because while this is clearly a game aimed at the younger members of society, this release looks like a genuinely good game judging from the trailer. It also looks funny. Of course, this is to be expected from TT Games' Lego titles, which have brickified various franchises for years now. Past Lego titles have been drastically similar, all with few changes in each subsequent release. Well, TT are now focused on innovating their development; Lego Batman 2 did this with a massive open world and various new elements, and Lego City Undercover already looks like it's going to do the same. This title can only really be compared to Grand Theft Auto (it is blatantly obvious that's what the developers were going for, in fairness), only in a kid-friendly shell. Instead of committing crimes playing as highly detailed sweary folks, you'll be doing the complete opposite: fighting crime as fictional cop Chase McCain, a blocky protagonist in what will most definitely be a laughable quest to rid the city of evil. The great thing about this release is that, aside from the aforementioned GTA in terms of gameplay, it has practically no source material... Excluding the odd pop culture reference. So, a GTA game made of Lego featuring some funny dialogue and clever references. If this turns out bad I'm going to eat my shoes and look like I'm enjoying it. And I'll have you know my shoes cost 50 quid.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Like deceased zombie food, apocalypse survival games starring countless undead aren't exactly rare in this day and age, but ZombiU is more than welcome to serve up some realism on Wii U.</b></td></tr>
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If you read part one of of my E3 Impressions (if not, why on Earth did you skip to part 2?) you should know that Pikmin 3 was without a doubt my personal highlight of this year's conference, and I'm sure many others share this opinion, too. Well, you might be shocked to know that another game, one from Ubisoft, no less, ended up being a close contender. Skip past a rather amusing Just Dance 4 showing in which Reggie played the 'puppet master' (which he hilariously described as "like running Nintendo of America") and you'll find Ubisoft's reveal of ZombiU. Remember that hilarious WiiU demonstration I dedicated a whole post to several hours before E3? Turns out the game shown in that video was, yes, Ubisoft's new zombie apocalypse survival game. Don't get me wrong, I love slightly mental games of the same ilk, such as Resident Evil Mercenaries and TimeSplitters' zombie modes, but a realistic outing is something we haven't really yet seen in the world of gaming. If you consider fighting off hordes of reanimated corpses realistic, anyway. In ZombiU, the possible successor to Ubisoft's first ever game, Zombi, you take control of a character with one task: survival. To help you, you'll need tools which are handily all fitted into your Wii U GamePad. Guns, axes, medical kits, you name it. The intuitive controller also acts as your means of hacking locked doors, looking down the sights of a sniper rifle, shaking hungry carnivores off you, and so on. Fitting more into the realism aspect is the fact that, if you're bitten just once, your character will be zombified and you'll take control of another still-human avatar. Cleverly, when your character has been reanimated, he'll be an undead foe to best in your next game. Also clever is an augmented reality extra packed into the game, something that made for yet another laughable moment in a particularly amusing conference. After being instructed to hold the GamePad in front of his face, Reggie did so and was soon to be zombified. As if this wasn't funny enough, he began spouting ridiculous lines like, "I like French food!" and "I'm hungry now!". Oh, Reggie, please don't leave Nintendo any time soon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I don't think I've ever posted such a colourful piece of artwork here on the blog. </b></td></tr>
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And so, we reach the final segment of this post. What I'm about to explore was easily one of the most controversial topics at this year's Nintendo conference, and indeed E3 as a whole. You should know by now that I'm referring to Nintendo Land, the Wii U launch title that the Big N reckon will boost console sales massively, just as Wii Sports did at that system's launch. It's not to say that the game looks bad, but it was easily this year's conference's biggest and most infuriating flaw. Why? It's quite simple, really. The reveal of this important yet unpleasing mini-game collection was stretched out for far too long. In the space that they could've shown off several of the attractions found in the virtual theme park that is Nintendo Land, they spent a quarter of an hour doing an overly in-depth synopsis of what is essentially Pac-Man: Luigi Edition. And it didn't get a good response, not even from yours truly. It's not to say that there isn't anything positive to state about this release, mind. Had the announcement been of a shorter length with more than a single, slightly uninteresting attraction, the Nintendo Land reveal probably wouldn't have been as boycotted as it is now. Interestingly, Nintendo were in some ways forced to stretch out the announcement until the very end of the conference. Read on and you'll discover why...<br />
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Since E3 there have been a number of revelations regarding an upcoming Wii U release from the much-loved Retro Studios, the same Nintendo subsidiary that brought us the excellent Metroid Prime trilogy and the brilliant retro revival that was Donkey Kong Country Returns, one of my favourite 2D platformers to date. Put simply into words anyone could understand, Retro were supposed to show off their new game at E3, but they (along with Nintendo) felt that it wasn't quite ready. Honestly, this is more than fair. A stretched-out catastrophe of an announcement regarding a game that actually looks rather good judging from what we saw outside of the conference may not have been the best idea, but at least we now know there was a reason for it. Personally, I'm pumped for Retro's new release, and hopefully we'll discover more about it in the not too distant future. Back to Nintendo Land, it's essentially a party game, one packed with various mini-games that support both Wii Remote Plus and the GamePad. Pac-Man: Luigi Edition (it wasn't actually called that but it's not exactly difficult to forget its true name) actually looked particularly poor in comparison to the other multiplayer events on offer, shown after the conference ended.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht72lrQQaNV5wz4hXRUVqKJFBIjlPy2jLmAEDI99NdT2BHC-jXUIerDgmNMIfeTEsA7bGux630JuD5B9g_q96SuNd66aiW0t698_wLFcyfXbCY9E6MpqH4Jkh5O14xy08XIIex2mS6WsVY/s1600/228950-BattleQuestMainImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht72lrQQaNV5wz4hXRUVqKJFBIjlPy2jLmAEDI99NdT2BHC-jXUIerDgmNMIfeTEsA7bGux630JuD5B9g_q96SuNd66aiW0t698_wLFcyfXbCY9E6MpqH4Jkh5O14xy08XIIex2mS6WsVY/s400/228950-BattleQuestMainImage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>This multiplayer Zelda experience found in Nintendo Land is known as Battle Quest. Slightly generic name aside, I would've preferred to see this shown-off at the conference as opposed to a Pac-Man impersonation.</b></td></tr>
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One example of a mini-game that appeared superior to the ghastly experience we witnessed at the conference is a Zelda based mini-game in which players battle it out with the very same fluid 1:1 motion controls of last year's fantastic Skyward Sword. Personally, this is something I'd definitely want to try out. I'm willing to bet Nintendo Land will be packaged with Wii U systems at launch, so I probably will eventually. However, this leads us into one key argument: will this release actually sell the system? Only time will tell, but in my opinion I doubt it will have the same effect as Wii Sports did. Let's face the facts, here: Nintendo Land is far too overly complex for the stereotypical 'casual' gamer, as much as I hate using the phrase. Wii Sports was a simplistic experience that was more than easy to pick up and play - Literally all you had to do to play Tennis was waggle as soon as the ball reached your Mii. It's just my view and I'm willing to reserve judgement, mind, but be sure to share your own views in the comments below.<br />
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Closing comments are tough to deal with when it comes to a controversial topic. A lot of people didn't find enjoyment out of this year's Nintendo E3 conference, and that's fair enough. I personally felt that people were mainly complaining about what we didn't see; first-party games catering for the more serious gamer specifically. Surprising as it may be, not many people have even heard of Pikmin, which was pretty much the only thing that would've fit neatly into this position. It's as if we've been waiting for it for so long that people have forgotten how great a franchise it was almost a decade ago, and it still is. For me, the main thing about E3 isn't the announcements, it's about having a great time. Yes, the games shown-off contribute to an enjoyable experience, but in the same way that Christmas isn't all about presents, a worthwhile experience makes the yearly Electronic Entertainment Expo exactly that: worthwhile. I enjoyed myself watching and exploring this year's E3 a bucketload more than the one that took place in 2011, and what's more is that, with the Wii U seeing launch before the year ends, we're set to have another great experience in 2013. At this, I bid you all adieu. A special thanks to Nintendo for making this post possible, and of course, you. As always, I'd greatly appreciate some constructive comments. Here's to improvement on my part; Hopefully we'll have an even better E3 synopsis next year...Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-700523831859214976.post-91033860132471947762012-06-24T04:45:00.003-07:002012-06-24T04:52:03.148-07:00Feature: My Impressions of Nintendo's E3 Conference [Part 1/2] [2012 Edition]Well, here we are again, folks. If you watched Nintendo's E3 2012 Conference and have been reading the pieces of writing found on this site for a while, you'll know what to expect here; My own personal opinionated run-down of everything that happened at the show. If you're not familiar with E3 yet, check out some of my previous pieces of writing regarding the topic, because I ain't wasting any time discussing it here. I must admit that, while it was undeniably disappointing, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this year's Nintendo conference, much more so than the bland-fest that was 2011. More than any conference before it, this year packed a fair few memorable moments in the form of interesting new games and utterly hilarious moments, and these factors made for a much more enjoyable watch than the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that took place on the same day. I'm proud to be a British citizen not celebrating such an apparently momentous occasion, instead opting for keeping my eyes glued to a screen showing the events of the Nokia Theatre. And I've got to say, I'm glad I did.<br />
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Before I begin, I'll have to inform you that this year things are going to work a tad differently for my E3 Impressions. Let's face it, in some ways like the conference itself this year, my last two E3 Impressions posts didn't go down too well. I couldn't even finish the 2011 edition due to accidental erasure and a lack of motivation, and the 2010 one, while completed, is another example of how poor I was at writing around the time I started out. Because of this, I don't want to mess this one up, and I'm sure you readers don't want me to either. So, I've decided to basically go through my highlights of Nintendo's conference, skipping out anything pointless, or giving anything that deserves no more than a brief mention... a brief mention. Yes, I'm talking about the likes of SiNG, Freestyle games' disgusting alternative to what would've been DJ Hero 3 if Activision didn't idiotically can the franchise, as well as Wii Fit U, which definitely doesn't look bad but just doesn't interest me in the slightest. I will, however, be discussing what we saw at the anti-climactic end of the conference, what I consider to be the main gripe everyone seemed to have with this year's show (again, I still quite enjoyed the event as a whole). Well, without further ado, let's explore my opinions of 2012's Nintendo E3 Conference. I'll try my hardest not to drag this on for too long, much like the climax of the show itself...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This year's conference begun at its peak. While this wasn't exactly a smart move considering the downfall of interesting software following the first announcement, the reveal of this particular game, one many of us have been eagerly anticipating for oh-so long, at least made for a fantastic opening to an otherwise sinking below satisfactory conference. Kicking things off, a short skit featuring Shigeru Miyamoto himself was projected onto our screens, involving him making his way to the show floor in a similar fashion to Jools Holland. However, like Jools never would, Miyamoto had a few familiar, petite creatures in his vicinity. After arriving on stage, the main man behind the third iteration of the franchise that was about to finally be unveiled in gameplay form, spoke the name of said franchise, not long before its helpful, interplanetary creatures were displayed on the shoulders of several, embarrassed-looking attendees in the audience. This marked the first laughable, enjoyable moment in a conference stuffed full of memorable segments such as this one. Anyway, the well-renowned game developer soon called upon his own helper, Bill Trinen (who should be familiar to anyone who has watched a previous Nintendo conference, if not, he's the guy's translator), in a fashion similar to that found in the game I still haven't written the name of. So, to make things a little less difficult for me, we all know that Pikmin 3 was finally shown-off at this year's conference. And it looked astonishing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Opening the conference was, at long last, Pikmin 3. But more on that in a few paragraphs' time. Although, it's probably worth noting the flying pink creature that wasn't even mentioned in word form. Flying Pikmin?</b></td></tr>
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There's no doubt that Pikmin 3 was the highlight of the conference for me. But, before I begin discussing this spectacle, just as Miyamoto-san and Trinen unveiled the near-final version of what is now called the GamePad before showing any footage of the title, let's take a look at the main driving force behind the conference as a whole; I'm of course referring to Nintendo's next console, the Wii U. Last year's reveal of Nintendo's latest piece of hardware was so underwhelming and disappointing that it hurt just a little inside, and while I keep going on about how poor E3 2011 was, I can't stress this particular piece of disappointment enough. It's not to say that the console looked bad, it's just, well, we didn't even see the console until after the big unveiling, which was quite frankly a naff move from a usually clever company. The whole segment regarding the system was focused on the controller and the intriguing possibilities for game design it offers. Clever as it was, I would've liked to have seen the system at the right time, too. Well, this year we've got a good look at both the slick, stylish console and its intuitive GamePad through both the E3 Conference and the pre-E3 Nintendo Direct that was streamed the Sunday before the big show. You only have to take a look at the image above to see that Nintendo haven't messed around when designing the system. The Pad is still the genius 'viewing window' it was last year, but the current model also sports dual analogue sticks as opposed to the circle pads we saw on the previous design, which is a blatant improvement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf9lcbQlKJBm84V7vyiOtPkr7JVOsqfB0w8O54NMgjPnqdI9LsqiOWTNPC5HVHLF_JxMNGDq8iQk7QEEPaw_VznwX4X5Daug3fcDwHi4gBFWad7z-hWNUPfpurWfQgncckQpXQIGfwU0x/s1600/nintendotwittere3_616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYf9lcbQlKJBm84V7vyiOtPkr7JVOsqfB0w8O54NMgjPnqdI9LsqiOWTNPC5HVHLF_JxMNGDq8iQk7QEEPaw_VznwX4X5Daug3fcDwHi4gBFWad7z-hWNUPfpurWfQgncckQpXQIGfwU0x/s400/nintendotwittere3_616.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The black model of the Wii U hardware is looking rather slick, if I do say so myself. When I do eventually buy the system, this is most definitely the colour I'm going for.</b></td></tr>
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Also later touched on in the conference was Miiverse, the built-in social network set to rival what the Wii lacked in this generation as opposed to its supposedly hardcore cousins, the PS3 and Xbox 360. Before I shove a copy of MadWorld down a raging Microsoft fanboy's throat, I must express that I love it when Nintendo do things differently. Instead of ripping-off Xbox Live and whatnot for the Wii U's much-needed revolution, they've come up with a clever way of bypassing the feature by developing one with the same concept but a very different outlook. Miiverse projects several different game icons across a landscape similar to the 3DS and Wii's Mii Plazas, albeit on a much larger scale. The Miis you'll find in the Miiverse are those of your friends, your own personal Miis and your creations, as well as other large chunks of communities playing and discussing the games you own, naturally under the individual blocks. As New Super Mario Bros. U showed later on in the conference, Miiverse social interaction can also be implemented into the actual games, but more on that later. It's a simple concept, much more so than the likes of the non-Nintendo consoles of last generation, but I'm more excited about this if only for the company's breaking out of the norm. This feature alone got me hyped up just a little bit more for the Wii U following its initial announcement at the pre-E3 Nintendo Direct showing, which is no bad thing after the wholly unexciting display of last year's E3.<br />
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And now, we return to my personal highlight of the entire show: the long-awaited sequel that is Pikmin 3. Bill and Miyamoto-san introduced the first bit of footage for the game following their Wii U talk, and both those in the rafters of the show floor and many of us at home well and truly went nuts, and for good reason. In the form of an actual game set to see release, this is the first high-definition footage of a first-party Nintendo game to be beamed into our eyes, if you forget those tech demos last year. There's another upside to the glorious visuals, too, aside from the game looking great. Miyamoto explained that, during the development of the original Pikmin just over ten years prior to the third series instalment, they had trouble deciding on how close or far away from Captain Olimar they should position the camera. Commanding a swarm of 100 Pikmin didn't help this in standard definition, but in HD it can be dealt with without much effort. They say graphics aren't everything, but this proves that visuals have some importance. Regardless, as awesome as Pikmin 3 looks visually, gameplay is obviously the number one priority for a title like this, and what we've seen so far doesn't involve disappointment. One can't deny that Pikmin 3 looks similar to its predecessors in a conceptual sense, but the various new features and improvements implemented into this release are set to be nothing short of exciting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dQsq-BL-6KX7wm4i04j-AQSy6APlAdAeSF9iv8gnQ1fwcbvwjowQ3RWnzu_kl7t4pO8qaHbZjbueUq0eEqmvg6k5J1oJnlpDYZpmO_f-494PWeeYcau0RfcwkDB8bH8nvgriWI7fGv6L/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0dQsq-BL-6KX7wm4i04j-AQSy6APlAdAeSF9iv8gnQ1fwcbvwjowQ3RWnzu_kl7t4pO8qaHbZjbueUq0eEqmvg6k5J1oJnlpDYZpmO_f-494PWeeYcau0RfcwkDB8bH8nvgriWI7fGv6L/s400/Picture+1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Here's Pikmin 3, in all its high definition glory. There's not much else that can be said, to be perfectly honest.</b></td></tr>
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Where do I start? At the beginning would probably be the most suitable solution. After discussing the benefits of a much higher resolution than the GameCube was capable of supporting, Miyamoto went on to briefly explain the concept of the series. I think his brief description was effective, in that he noted Pikmin is a real-time action management game. I'm not going to go into all the details, here, just the new stuff. A new Pikmin type was quickly introduced; the Rock Pikmin. The hard-bodied creatures are blatantly a lot tougher than their counterparts, and can be used to break glass walls and hurled at enemy armour to put a dent in it. Speaking of dents, the way in which the Pikmin break down walls and the like is a lot more realistic in the third game, as its lead developer explains. He went on to explain that the strategy element of the game as a whole is much deeper in this release, and he certainly wasn't joking. Players now control up to four Pikmin leaders, none of which were Captain Olimar, surprisingly. Apparently his absence is explained through the story of the game. Back to strategy, the game mainly uses the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk for precise 1:1 controls, but a GamePad mode is also integrated. With a top-down outlook on the map, players can see what each of the four commanders is up to at a glance, proving more benefits of the innovative controller. There's so much more I could say about Pikmin 3, but nothing that hasn't already been said. Put simply, it looks awesome and when I do eventually get my hands on a Wii U I'll definitely be adding this release to my collection. Unfortunately, the conference begun to sink from here on out. Read on...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCKl5kFTFpJlvEeSTGRGqXfWDpz3IsHxExIktrX6oE2m9DjokGGPfxaNlxEiNp019KNoFgpZHziRtQQatOEsVit7dyWTEXKqxHbJrZm3EPryAgnGmSPGj8WYzWpQWnpvXg1TqJvpv19Tw/s1600/New_Super_Mario_Bros_U_screenshot_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCKl5kFTFpJlvEeSTGRGqXfWDpz3IsHxExIktrX6oE2m9DjokGGPfxaNlxEiNp019KNoFgpZHziRtQQatOEsVit7dyWTEXKqxHbJrZm3EPryAgnGmSPGj8WYzWpQWnpvXg1TqJvpv19Tw/s400/New_Super_Mario_Bros_U_screenshot_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Oh, and here's New Super Mario Bros. U in all its gorgeous HD clarity. I sincerely hope they change the name of this title so people don't think it's just another re-hash. The following paragraph explains why...</b></td></tr>
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Once again, I'm going to have to quickly refer to E3 2011 before I move on. Alongside the Wii U last year, we were shown a compilation of already released or upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 games that were supposedly coming to the system, a couple of which were apparently just shoved in there to fill time (Metro: Last Light, I'm staring right at you). This year is different, because we have a driving force for the conference; new games. And, as Reggie Fils-Aime stated soon after the big reveal of Pikmin 3, this year's conference was all about the games. He wasn't lying. Refraining from the urge to reference the 23 Enigma, Reggie stated that we'd see 23 games at the conference that afternoon, and we did. At this point, Nintendo's second first party game of the conference was revealed; New Super Mario Bros. U. Don't be fooled by the unoriginal, re-hashed title of the game, because the amount of new ideas stuffed into the brief footage we were shown of it was of a much higher frequency than the entirety of Super Mario 3D Land, and we all know of my attitude towards that game's unoriginality. Whether it be the Baby Yoshis, which have seen a fairly drastic change in everything but appearance since their last appearance in Super Mario World, or the insane-looking Squirrel Suit, New Super Mario Bros. U has introduced enough new ideas to get me pumped, already. The same can't be said about the 3DS instalment in the admittedly over-milked series, but more on that in the second half.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGvdmORsqKAXOGA_H4NfWyuJnGW85-HakIJbDW3PVMCDYAsxOIqSNxQ9fDTtNdKdbKmeoQktSUhr7MRps-_Nvksx2auTtRTBXToYKe9HE2Y6enuyWguwIHytdiIMIB6o4tOTQAM-n4_m6/s1600/e3-2012-batman-arkham-city-armored-edition-screenshots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGvdmORsqKAXOGA_H4NfWyuJnGW85-HakIJbDW3PVMCDYAsxOIqSNxQ9fDTtNdKdbKmeoQktSUhr7MRps-_Nvksx2auTtRTBXToYKe9HE2Y6enuyWguwIHytdiIMIB6o4tOTQAM-n4_m6/s400/e3-2012-batman-arkham-city-armored-edition-screenshots.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>If you've already played Batman: Arkham City on PS3 or Xbox 360, there's not really anything new for you here aside from improved graphics and GamePad integration. That's not to say that this isn't a must for those who haven't played it before, mind...</b></td></tr>
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In the previous paragraph I noted that Mr. Fils-Aime stated that we'll be seeing 23 Wii U titles at the conference. Of course, quality usually holds more importance than quantity, and this is where the conference fell a bit flat. Yes, we're getting enhanced editions of games that would've never appeared on Wii, but brand-new stuff would've undeniably been better. Regardless, let's quickly analyse the first of these games, Batman Arkham City: Armoured Edition. You may scoff at this being only a slightly enhanced port, but anyone who complains clearly can't accept that this was a smart move. Anyway, Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition takes the original game and updates it with a number of new features making use of the GamePad. Bats can now activate bombs by pressing them on the viewing window, and the new B.A.T system, while a tad unoriginal, isn't unwelcome. Plus, this is the same phenomenal game many of us experienced last year (me unfortunately not being one of those people) but with a few adjustments. It's like re-releasing Ocarina of Time. It's lazy, but it's opening a game up to the masses that haven't yet played it. Again, you can't complain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>You may scoff, but Scribblenauts is an ingenious franchise and Unlimited, arriving soon on Wii U and 3DS, looks to be the series' greatest release.</b></td></tr>
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Moving onwards, a few of us found ourselves mesmerised by WB Games' next exclusive Nintendo offering. Well, I did at least. This new game, the Wii U version of which was focused on at the conference, is said to be the definitive release in the series it finds itself in. This announcement was also the first from a third-party at the conference to be brand-new. Scribblenauts Unlimited, like Nintendo's next home system, feels truly like a revolution in comparison to the first two DS releases, both of which were already superb and rather ingenious. If you've never played or even heard of Scribblenauts (in which case you probably groaned through this part of the conference due to the decidedly casual trailer - you shouldn't have) then let me briefly explain the concept before I move on to the innovations implemented into the next release. The original Scribblenauts was a DS release that went on to sell over a million copies thanks to its genius concept; players could quite literally write almost any word and it would appear as an in-game object. Dinosaurs? You've got it. Cthulu? Amazingly, yes, alongside a number of internet memes and the like, too. The sequel, Super Scribblenauts, introduced Adjectives into the fray allowing for even more creativity. Now, Unlimited is set to expand and innovate even further with its free-roaming exploration, multiplayer and customisation modes. Looking to feel like more than an expansion, this is one to be excited about, folks.<br />
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And this, fellow readers, is where I bid you adieu. Well, for the first half, at least. You can expect part 2 of my in-depth E3 Impressions up before the month ends, so look forward to that. For now, though, be sure to leave a comment, whether it's in regards to the post or your own personal views on Nintendo's conference or E3 as a whole. As always, thanks for reading!<br />
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Part 2 Coming Soon...</div>Noodlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17855337057856376457noreply@blogger.com3