Tyler F.M. Edwards's Blog, page 39

Review: Wonder Woman

I’m not the biggest super hero fan to begin with, and Wonder Woman ranks near the top of the list of super heroes that I’m just not interested in, alongside Superman, Captain America, and Aquaman. But the trailers looked surprisingly good, and the buzz has been excellent, so I decided to take a chance.

[image error]For or better or for worse, Wonder Woman has become an icon of feminism to the point where it’s impossible to discuss the movie without also discussing its significance as such. This is troublesome because any criticism of the movie could potentially be viewed as sexism — and I have no doubt that there are plenty of people criticizing it purely for its feminism — but at the same time it would also not be fair to avoid criticizing it.

I understand why my feminist friends are so in love with this movie, but I can’t bring myself to fully share their enthusiasm. Allow me to explain, and as always I will say that I am a guy and that you have every right to dismiss my views on women’s issues as worth less than nothing at all.

So basically Wonder Woman is a power fantasy. Diana is infallible in every conceivable way. She has nothing resembling flaws of any kind, she embodies every virtue you can possibly imagine, and she’s pretty much omnipotent.

My knowledge of the character is minimal, so going in I wasn’t entirely sure what all her super powers actually were. Based on this movie, the answer appears to be “all of them.” She’s indestructible and seems to be able to do basically anything. She effortlessly defeats every challenge she encounters throughout the entire movie.

Here’s where it comes down to perspective. This kind of power fantasy story is not  uncommon in our culture, but it rarely if ever features a woman. It’s always a guy who has the privilege of being this perfect and unstoppable. Superman is the best example I can think of — this does feel very much like a Superman movie.

[image error]So from that perspective I totally get why so many women are over the moon about this movie. It must feel incredibly refreshing to be able to see yourself in that kind of larger than life heroic role, and if we are to have a fair and equal society, then women should be able to indulge in power fantasies, too.

So in that way, it is a win for feminism, and I respect what this means to people.

But the thing is I’m just not a fan of this kind of power fantasy, regardless of gender. This is why Superman is one of my least favourite super heroes. He’s totally infallible, so there can never be any real drama.

In the same way, the Wonder Woman movie has no real drama, because Diana is simply perfect in every way, and there are no limitations on her power whatsoever. Never for a moment does it seem remotely possible that she could fail.

I’ll also mention that Wonder Woman is a bit of a role reversal in that the male characters are often forced into the kind of reductive roles women usually get. They tend to be quite incompetent and rarely contribute meaningfully to the plot, and Chris Pine’s character in particular is pretty much the archetypal shallow girlfriend boyfriend character that’s always shoehorned into these movies, gratuitous skin scene and everything.

There are lots of movies where men get to be the heroes, so it’s not the end of the world for us guys to get a taste of how women are so often ill-served by writers, though — maybe that was even the point. Maybe it was meant to be an education in how women feel when female characters are just props in stories.

[image error]Now, all that being said, this still isn’t what I’d call a bad movie. There is a lot to like, despite its flaws.

Something I absolutely was not expecting was the ruminations on the dual nature of humanity, our potential for both incredible tenderness and shocking brutality. For all that it can be quite mindless in some areas, Wonder Woman can also be incredibly smart in others.

I was also greatly impressed by how the film pulls no punches on showcasing the tragedy and brutality of war. In addition to being smart, this movie can also be very powerful.

And despite their sometimes poor writing — Diana’s over-perfection and everyone else’s incompetence — the characters still manage to be pretty likable and draw you in, helped in part by strong acting from pretty much every cast member. The quieter moments when the cast is at its most human are often the highlight.

Aesthetically, Wonder Woman is also excellent. The fight choreography, while wildly unrealistic, is gorgeous, and the special effects, art design, soundtrack, and cinematography are top notch.

As a mythology fan, I was worried I’d end up cringing over the film’s treatment of Greek myths, but while it heavily departs from the original mythology (unsurprisingly), it doesn’t do so in a way that feels cheap or disrespectful, which is more than can be said for many similar movies. My one complaint would be that in a movie about Greek gods and badass warrior women, there was somehow not a single mention of Athena. Missed opportunity there.

[image error]Finally, I think the best part of the movie for me was the villain. Hard to say too much without getting into spoiler territory, but he is charismatic and surprisingly nuanced, and a major contributor to the surprisingly smart social commentary within the film.

As a comic book movie, I’d say Wonder Woman is okay but not great. As a milestone for women’s portrayal in the media, I’d say it’s a step in the right direction but that feminism deserves better champions in the long run.

Overall rating: 7/10

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: fantasy, movies, review, Wonder Woman

Review: Dark Matter, “Welcome to the Revolution” + PvE Survival Sandboxes

One of the things I love about Dark Matter is that it’s incredibly consistent. Maybe not every episode will blow your mind, but it’s always solid. In its entire run, there’s been just one bad episode: that fembot mess from season one.

[image error]That is, only one bad episode, until now. I fear it’s time to add another to the list.

“Welcome to the Revolution” has a lot of cool ideas, and some scenes are very good, but it’s trying to do way too much, and the end result is confusing, half-baked, and downright damaging to the series going forward.

While attempting to meet up with Tabor, their handler, the crew of the Raza once again finds themselves embroiled in corporate intrigue, as the local miners foment rebellion against their corporate overlords.

It’s a story that’s eerily — and I believe intentionally — similar to the series premiere, but this time it’s far less black and white. The corporate soldiers aren’t all brutal tyrants, and the rebels aren’t entirely guiltless, either. At times they seem more villainous than their oppressors, in fact.

And that part I liked. They managed to cram a lot of moral complexity into just one episode, and it once again shows that the Raza crew’s efforts to reinvent themselves as heroes will never be easy or simple. Again, being better is so much harder.

Things get even more interesting when a late twist ties the conflict into bigger plot arcs from Dark Matter’s past, but unfortunately, that’s also when things start to go off the rails.

[image error]“Welcome to the Machine” is a complicated story, and there’s not nearly enough time to do it all justice. This needed to be a two-parter at least. But it isn’t, and so it feels rushed and unfinished, and the resolution honestly just doesn’t make sense given past context (this is a very hard episode to review without violating my spoiler policy).

Ultimately, the goal of “Welcome to the Machine” seems to have been to provide another cast shake-up, and that’s the worst thing about it. The show has now lost one of its best characters, who has always been essential to its core themes, not to mention arguably its most talented actor.

In exchange, the cast seems to have picked up two new characters. One has already proven himself finger-nails-on-a-chalkboard irritating, and the other could potentially be interesting but has yet to do much or display any real personality.

This is not a good trade.

In general I am now growing frustrated with the extent to which Dark Matter hemorrhages cast members. I was never the biggest One fan, so I didn’t mind his death (though it’s disappointing that mystery was never solved), and the senselessness of Devon’s end was sort of the whole point of it, but Nyx and the latest loss are just examples of wasting potential. The show is worse for their loss.

These losses are beginning to undermine the core themes of Dark Matter. It’s about the crew, about the unique family they’ve created with each other. The more those bonds are broken, the more the show loses its heart and soul.

[image error]This has to stop.

Overall rating: 5.2/10

New articles:

In other news, I’ve had some more articles published on MMO Bro.

First, I imagine the possibility of a purely PvE survival sandbox, and how it could perhaps be superior to the PvP focused games currently dominating the genre.

Interestingly I wrote this article before the Fortnite reveals at E3, but Fortnite seems pretty close to the PvE survival sandbox I was imagining (though smaller in scale than my hypotheticals). There’s still a lot of unanswered questions about Fortnite, but I gotta say the trailer made it look really fun, and it’s now on my radar.

My main concern is that it seems like a game that’s really meant to be played with friends, but I don’t have a lot of gamer friends. It doesn’t seem like a good game for PUGing, and it’s not clear to me if playing solo is even an option, let alone an enjoyable playstyle.

But I’m definitely going to keep an eye on it.

Also at MMO Bro, I list off six ways World of Warcraft still has the rest of the MMO world beat. WoW is really showing its age these days, but there are a few specific areas it’s still trouncing the competition.

Filed under: My writing, Reviews Tagged: Dark Matter, fantasy, Fortnite, Oh god why, review, sci-fi, TV, video games, World of Warcraft, writing

Off Topic: No One’s Gay for Moleman

In my sixth anniversary post, I lamented the lack of Simpsons content on Superior Realities. I think it’d be too big a change of direction if I started talking about The Simpsons all the time, but I have decided it’s high time I do at least one post on the matter.

[image error]It may not often come up on this blog, but I am a massive Simpsons fan. I’m every bit as obsessed with it as I am with Warcraft or Metric. It’s a pillar of my life and always has been. I grew up watching The Simpsons — I literally can’t remember life without it — and I’ve continued to be a fan to this day.

Yes, this does mean I’m one of those people who still thinks The Simpsons is funny after all this time. I’ll definitely grant that it’s a lot more hit and miss than it once was, but there are still good episodes, and even the more mediocre ones still usually have at least one or two excellent lines (“This simulation has been brought to you by Your Brain, a subsidiary of Your Penis”).

Honestly if you ask me the real nadir of the series was probably around seasons eight and nine. That one where it turns out Principal Skinner is an impostor? Ugh, just dreadful.

And I think some of the best episodes have come from relatively recent seasons. I’d say “Mona Leaves-a” from season nineteen is probably the most emotional episode of the series, intensely bittersweet while still managing to bring some humour to the tragedy.

Then there’s season twenty-three’s “The Book Job,” which is easily one of my all-time favourites. I’m totally biased, of course, but I think that episode is absolutely brilliant, and I’d consider it required viewing for anyone who has written or even thought about writing a novel.

[image error]Plus you get to hear Neil Gaiman doing a terrible American accent. What’s not to love?

Normally Simpsons holiday episodes are pretty bad, but “Holidays of Future Passed,” also from season twenty-three, was a rare exception, being both funny and heartfelt. In general I’m fascinated by the whole alternate continuity that has been developed through the various flash forward episodes.

Interestingly, the one other holiday episode that I enjoy is also from a modern season: season twenty-six’s “I Won’t Be Home for Christmas.” I like it because it has a very simple premise — even if it goes to some pretty weird places along the way — and it puts Homer in an unusually positive light. For once, he’s the wronged party; he did everything right.

I can think of lots of other examples, but the point is, I’m still having fun with the show.

Of course, I also have lots of love for the “classic” days, as well. Never going to stop loving the Stonecutters, hired goons, Evil Homer, sixty-four slices of American cheese, or the cursed frogurt.

There are some fascinating things about a show that’s been around as long as The Simpsons. I’m always amused by its take on continuity.

[image error]You might say The Simpsons has no continuity, and you’d be mostly right, but not entirely. Things rarely change in Springfield, but sometimes they do, and you can never predict which changes will stick. I fully expected Comic Book Guy’s wife to be a one-off character, but she’s still showing up from time to time, as is Selma’s daughter.

The Simpsons kids never age, but oddly, some of the show’s other children do. Both Ling Bouvier and the Nahasapeemapetilon octuplets have visibly aged since they first appeared, though not enough to reflect the actual real world time that has passed.

Bizarrely, though, Jamshed Nahasapeemapetilon has aged in real time and is now an adult.

Under other circumstances, this level of inconsistency might be frustrating, but at this point it’s just part of The Simpsons’ charm. Springfield exists in a surreal nether realm where the logic of our world simply doesn’t apply.

The Simpsons’ long run can also make it a fascinating sort of cultural barometer. Earlier on, computers and the Internet were treated as some novelty the characters rarely interacted with. Now Lisa’s doing research on Google all the time and the rest of the family all have smartphones and tablets.

[image error]Homer used to be intensely homophobic, but now he’s evolved beyond all that, and the number of openly gay Springfieldians has increased significantly. Even if no one’s gay for Moleman.

The Simpsons is, if nothing else, unique. Even if it did stop being funny, I’d probably still watch. It’s just a part of who I am at this point. I’ve probably spent at least as much time with them as I have with my real family…

Filed under: Misc. Tagged: humour, Off topic, stupid sexy Flanders, The Simpsons, TV

Gaming: The Unblogables

Over the years, I’ve mostly been consistent about blogging on every game I’ve played, but there are exceptions. Usually games that I didn’t play for very long. I don’t have enough to say about each one to fill a whole post, but I thought it might be interesting to collect them together into one quick list. Today, the unblogables will come to light (all right).

[image error]This isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list of games I’ve played but not blogged about, but these are the more noteworthy ones.

WildStar

I played WildStar during its open beta, and I actually wrote up a fairly extensive impressions piece for a paying client. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside my control, the article never saw the light of day.

The fact that I never returned to WildStar after the beta should give you some idea of what I thought of it. I did like the housing, at least. Every MMO on the market should be rushing to steal WildStar’s housing system wholesale.

The combat was also pretty fun solo, though it turned into an incomprehensible rainbow spew in a group setting. And the environment art grew on me — like playing a Dr. Seuss MMO — but I never did learn to like the character models.

Overall, though, I found the glacial pacing, grindy gameplay, and obnoxious forced humour were enough to turn me off the game pretty fast.

I regret that my article never saw the light of day, because I feel like I was one of the few who predicted WildStar’s collapse early on (if anything I underestimated how badly it would crash and burn). But now I can’t prove that, so my opportunity to gloat has been denied.

[image error]I could just see that this was a game that didn’t know who its audience was. It has a deep backstory, but Twitter-style word count limits on quest text. Its constant humour and silliness screams casual game, but the actual gameplay is a brutally grindy homage to the days when MMOs were more like second jobs.

Skyrim

I can definitely see how Skyrim could be an amazing experience for a certain kind of gamer.

I’m not that kind of gamer.

Really my gripe is that it’s mislabeled. It gets classified as an action RPG, but it’s not. It strikes me as more of an exploration sandbox/kleptomania simulator. And again, that’s fine, and they do it well enough, but it’s just not what I’m looking for in a game. The phrase “a mile wide and an inch deep” does come to mind.

EVE Online

I thought it’d be the infamously cruel and ruthless community that drove me away from EVE — I did love how the very first thing the tutorial tells you is “don’t trust the other players” — but actually it was the clunky UI and stiff gameplay that I couldn’t get over. After a couple hours, it was just making my brain hurt, and not in a fun TSW kind of way.

Lord of the Rings Online

[image error]As a big fan of both Lord of the Rings and MMOs, LotRO seems like a game I should love. But when I finally got around to trying it, I barely lasted an hour.

It’s the same old story: It’s a WoW clone, through and through. When I want to play WoW, I’ll just play WoW.

And more importantly, if there’s one setting that doesn’t belong in that mould, it’s Lord of the Rings. In a Lord of the Rings game, I do not want to be doing meaningless kill ten rats quests for faceless NPCs. I do not want to be an overpowered god who can one-shot any foe with a dirty look. I want to feel the texture of the world’s history and challenge myself against epic foes.

Give me The Secret World: Middle-Earth Edition, and we’ll talk. I’d also settle for Elder Scrolls Online: Middle-Earth Edition.

I also found it a profoundly unappealing game from a visual perspective. I know Lord of the Rings Online is considered one of the most beautiful MMOs out there, but for the life of me, I’ll never understand why. It’s not just that it hasn’t aged well (although it definitely hasn’t aged well), but the fundamental art style is just unpleasant. Everything is muddy and dull and bland and just… ugh.

Ironically, the character models — the one aspect of the graphics that does usually garner complaints — was one aspect of the graphics I didn’t mind. They’re not great, but they’ll do.

[image error]I will grant that getting to visit the Inn of the Prancing Pony was really neat, and I am often tempted to give it another try. Maybe I’d like it better with a different class (I was a hunter), but the only other one that strongly appeals to me on paper is warden, and you have to pay for that.

Pay-gating classes is a really good way to make sure I won’t play your game.

I suppose if any LotRO players out there want to suggest a (free) class they think I might like, I’ll take it under advisement. Despite how my above ranting may come across, it’s a game I want to like.

Viking: Battle for Asgard

This was some no-name title I picked up dirt cheap on a Steam sale just because Vikings.

I actually made it pretty far in the game before I called it quits. It’s very mindless and has no real plot, but the combat was delightfully brutal, and it was enjoyable in a simplistic sort of way. I was also impressed by some of the huge battles you can participate in; it’s surprisingly rare to find games where you can participate in large scale battles as one of the boots on the ground.

The main problem was for some reason the developers decided to stick a bunch of mandatory stealth missions throughout the game. They felt totally out of place compared to the rest of the game, they were very frustrating, and after a while I just couldn’t be bothered anymore.

[image error]The Witcher

I didn’t like the combat.

That’s pretty much all there is to say. I gave up after about an hour because the core gameplay was just too unpleasant for me.

I know everyone’s over the moon about Wild Hunt these days, but having seen Moiren stream some of it, I’m not getting what the fuss is about. Seems like a very standard open world fantasy game to me. It certainly doesn’t look bad or anything, but I also feel confident that I’m not missing much.

Transistor

I think the surest sign video games are now being taken seriously as an art form is that, as in all art forms, there are now emperor’s new clothes situations where incomprehensible titles are praised simply for being incomprehensible. Enter Transistor.

They just sort of dump you into the game with little to no explanation of the controls, the game mechanics, the story, the characters, the setting, or much of anything else. You’re just left to fumble blindly and hope for the best. I feel like it might have been an interesting story if I’d had the faintest clue what was going on, but I didn’t.

[image error]As frustrating as that was, it was losing abilities upon death that soured me on the game permanently. That’s a strong contender for the worst design decision I’ve ever seen in a game. It’s the traditional RPG formula in reverse: Every time you fail, it gets progressively harder. It makes for the most unbelievably miserable experience.

I did like the artwork. I’ll give it that.

Filed under: Games Tagged: Elder Scrolls, EVE Online, fantasy, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings Online, sci-fi, Skyrim, The Witcher, Transistor, video games, Viking: Battle for Asgard, WildStar

Reviews: Dark Matter, “Being Better Is so Much Harder” and “It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This”

Dark Matter is back!

[image error]To my eminent joy, the best sci-fi action-adventure on TV today has returned with a two-part premiere, and as always, Dark Matter is hitting the ground running.

“Being Better Is so Much Harder” (season premiere):

Season three picks up immediately after the end of season two with the crew of the Raza scattered following their shocking betrayal by Ryo — for he is Four no longer. Six and Two cling to life in a crippled Marauder as their life support systems fail. Three crashes on a barren world alongside the Galactic Authority officer who apprehended him. Five makes it back to the Raza only to come under attack by the forces of Ferrous Corp.

And all across the galaxy, the first shots of corporate war are fired.

It wouldn’t be Dark Matter without plenty of action, and I do love that Five and the android are continuing to kick all of the ass. I’m already getting the impression Five’s huge leap into the spotlight in season two wasn’t a fluke.

But by far what impressed me the most about this episode is the much quieter scenes focusing on Two and Six.

Two has always been this larger than life, superhuman character. But finally now she’s reached her breaking point. She blames herself for Nyx’s death, and she’s hit the end of her rope. And damn, it’s powerful.

[image error]Six really shines, too. I kinda don’t want to get into too much detail for risk of spoiling more than I already have, but while this isn’t necessarily the best episode of Dark Matter to date, it could be the one with the most depth and meaning.

I am a little mixed on Nyx’s death. I was just starting to like her, and it feels a bit like a waste of potential.

On the other hand, it does wonders for ratcheting up the intensity of the conflict with Ryo. This is a “crossing the Rubicon” moment. Ryo may not have been the one holding the blade, but he is responsible for her death all the same. I don’t think that’s something the crew can forgive, nor should they.

I’m calling it now: This arc will end with Ryo having a change of heart, but too late. He’ll end up making some sacrifice for his former friends, regaining his honour at the cost of his life. I can’t seem him being welcomed back into the fold after what he’s done, but I don’t think they’ll entirely ignore the influence his time as Four had on him.

This being sci-fi, it is possible that we haven’t seen the last of Nyx, of course. Especially given that rather cryptic final scene…

My one real complaint about “Being Better Is so Much Harder” is that Three’s plot didn’t add much. They needed to give him something to do, but his story is not particularly compelling or illuminating. It’s just there.

[image error]Still, a solid start to season three.

Also, glad we’re still seeing Torri Higginson’s character. I like her.

Overall rating: 8/10

“It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This”:

Perhaps not surprisingly, Dark Matter is wasting no time in escalating the conflict between Ryo and his former comrades.

Using her stolen memories, Five learns where Ryo is holding the blink drive, and the Raza goes to reclaim it as the first part of their plan to defeat him. While Two, Three, and Six storm the proverbial castle, contending with Ryo’s defenses and the errant laws of physics alike, Five suffers side-effects from looking into the past one too many times.

This is a very standard episode of Dark Matter. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, it has good character moments, it has some interesting revelations, and it advances the plot a bit.

This show is nothing if not consistent.

“It Doesn’t Have to Be Like This” isn’t as special as the premiere, but it also offers very little cause for complaint.

[image error]I am glad to see yet more evidence that Five is going to continue playing a major role. I guess I should stop being surprised, but it’s just so rare for a character like her to get so much attention and so many opportunities to play the hero, and it’s so damn refreshing.

Now, her latest revelation is a bit soap opera for my taste, but if anyone can make a plot like this work, it’s Jodelle Ferland.

Overall rating: 7.4/10

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: Dark Matter, review, sci-fi, TV

Superior Realities Sixth Anniversary: Reflections

Six years have now past since the first post appeared on Superior Realities. Time flies when you’re yelling at Blizzard, I suppose.

[image error]In some ways it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but in others it feels like a lifetime. I was still writing Dispatches from the Romulan War when this blog started, for crying out loud.

When the blog started, I lived in Toronto, then I moved to the country for a few years, then I moved back to the city. Seems like rather a lot of effort just to move from the west end to the east end.

I still miss Parkdale. My new neighbourhood is nice, too, but that’s the problem. It’s too nice. I’ve been here for going on two years now, and I’m still waiting to get the bum’s rush. I don’t fit in here.

I try to visit Parkdale as often as possible. I feel like I belong there. It’s the only place I’ve ever been where I’m not the weirdest person around.

When I lived in Toronto the first time, I lived with my father and a couple cats. Now that I’ve returned, I live alone with many books but no cats.

When the blog began, freelance writing was still some new and exciting adventure I was embarking upon. Now it’s just old hat.

[image error]I’ve written… three novels since this blog started. I think. Three or four. Of course only one of them (Human Again) has seen the light of day so far. I’ve also written who knows how many short stories in that time.

Six years ago, I had hair. I should really update that profile picture at some point. Male pattern baldness can suck it, by the way.

When the site launched, I was a huge Metric fan, and now I’m a huge Metric fan who’s shaken Emily’s hand (best day ever). I’m also now a huge Chvrches fan, but I haven’t shaken Lauren’s hand.

When Superior Realities began, I was still in the process of re-entering the gaming world. Of course I’d been playing WoW for a while by then and had also played StarCraft II and maybe one or two other things, but I was still a bit out of the loop on the industry as a whole.

Since then I’ve broadened my horizons considerably. I eventually got around to most if not all of the games I missed out on during my teen years and embraced many modern classics, as well as a few more obscure titles. I hated Bioware for a while, then I kind of liked them, then I loved them, then I think I hated them again for a bit, and now I’m just generally confused.

[image error]I’ve blogged through four WoW expansions, the rise and fall of my passion for Guild Wars 2, and my totally unexpected dive into Star Wars: The Old Republic. I fell in love with The Secret World, and now I’ve had to cope with its inglorious collapse. In general I’ve created enough MMO characters to form an entire battalion, and like half of them are named Maigraith.

I’ve mourned the cancellations of Defiance and Sanctuary, and I’ve fallen in love with Continuum, Dark Matter, and iZombie. I’ve reviewed some very good movies, and also Immortals.

It has been suggested I should take this opportunity to examine whether I’ve achieved my goals for the blog, to which I can only say… maybe? I guess?

Honestly I’m kind of losing sight of what the point was originally supposed to be. Nowadays blogging is just part of my routine; it’s not something I think a lot about. Just an excuse to run my mouth (figuratively speaking) without anyone trying to change the subject on me like they usually do.

I’m mostly happy with the traffic I get, though of course it’d always be nice to get more, and I do get a decent amount of attention within the greater community, so that’s nice.

[image error]

Shake your head, it’s empty…

I will confess that I wish I got more comments, though. Figure pretty much every blogger wishes they got more comments, and compared to the handful of blogs I follow, I seem to get less comments than most. Not sure why this is, but I imagine it’s some combination of my terrible opinions, my long-winded endurance test of a writing style, and my cantankerous personality.

Of course, reflecting on the past also invariably leads one to pondering the future. For the most part, I suppose it will continue to be steady as she goes for Superior Realities for the immediate future.

I’m always mulling ideas for new types of content, but I dismiss almost all of them.

There’s often the temptation to expand beyond my relatively narrow sci-fi/fantasy/video game focus (the lack of Simpsons content on this blog saddens me sometimes), but at the same time I think there’s something to be said for keeping a clear vision for the site. I like the idea that my readers know what they’re getting: angry nerd rants and Elves.

I’ve thought about doing a series on various songs that I use for inspiration when writing fiction, but most people’s ears start bleeding when confronted with my musical taste.

I could also probably get a lot more posts out of the head canon and backstories for my video game characters, but my previous posts on that subject have the dubious distinction of being the least popular posts I’ve ever done by every available metric, so I probably won’t bother with that.

[image error]I tried my hand at video content recently, and there’s some temptation to do more of that, but it’s another thing that didn’t get much reaction. Plus I’m not sure I can bring anything to the table that the legions of YouTubers out there aren’t already covering, and I definitely have a voice for text (which is like a face for the radio, kind of).

I’m also often tempted to post more of my fiction and thoughts related to it on the blog, but again, such posts never seem to generate much interest, so I’m kind of gravitating away from that at this point.

Seriously, if you ever feel like doing me a favour, go read some of my stories and leave feedback. I don’t mind criticism as long as it’s constructive. I’m particularly interested in opinions on The Wounding and Lady of the Dawn, as that setting is very important to me, but In Her Sister’s Pose is probably the best thing I’ve written as far as short fiction goes.

Anyway, if any of these ideas sound like they’d interest you, or if you there’s something else you’d like to me to do with the blog, let me know, but otherwise it’s probably going to be status quo for the time being. There is many a Warcraft rant yet to be written.

In closing, I would like to thank my readers for sticking with me all this time. Be seeing you, sweetlings.

In the half-light.

Filed under: Games, Misc., My writing, World Spectrum Tagged: Continuum, Dark Matter, Defiance, fan fic, fantasy, Guild Wars 2, iZombie, Off topic, Sanctuary, sci-fi, Star Trek, Starcraft, steampunk, The Secret World, The Simpsons, The World Spectrum, Video, video games, Warcraft, writing

Cheating on WoW: Kritika Online

Kritika Online isn’t a game that’s really been on my radar. On paper it seemed to be a very generic action MMO made noteworthy only for its anime-inspired cel-shaded graphics, and even that’s not exactly unique.

[image error]However, a faint curiosity inspired me to try the recent closed beta event, and while my expectations weren’t entirely disproven, I did find the game to be surprisingly well-executed in many ways, and it stands as a strong argument for clarity of vision in game design.

Hit the ground killing:

A lot of the marketing on Kritika Online talks about how you’ll jump into the action right away. This is a promise I’ve seen a lot of MMOs make, but very rarely do they deliver on it.

Kritika is a welcome exception.

Immediately after character creation, you’ll already have enough skills to comprise a basic rotation, and you’ll set off slicing and dicing your way through hordes of enemy minions.

This, really, is pretty much the entire game. You carve your way through small, linear dungeons; head back to town for a few brief minutes of handing in quests and managing your inventory; and then head back out to start the cycle all over again.

If you’ve played other dungeon grinds like Vindictus, the routine will feel familiar, but Kritika manages to pare the formula down even further. This is as a no-frills of an experience as you’re going to get.

[image error]It is a very simple, very shallow game, but for what it is, it manages to work pretty well.

While visual character customization is severely limited, there is a healthy selection of possible playstyles for your character. While the class list is relatively short, each class can later evolve into one of several advanced classes, and these add a lot more variety. Oddly, the number of advanced classes isn’t equal between classes, but perhaps they just haven’t all been implemented at this stage of beta.

I chose reaper as my base class on the grounds that it has a scythe. I was rather hoping it would be analogous to the oracle in Dragon’s Prophet, an excellent class trapped in a very mediocre game. I wasn’t entirely disappointed on that front, but the class didn’t start to get really interesting until I chose my advanced class.

I picked “vamp,” which is silly name for a pretty fun playstyle. It’s a sort of melee/caster hybrid that eschews mana in favor of draining the blood from its enemies. This blood is then used to fuel the most powerful spells.

Also you can turn into a cloud of bats and eat people’s faces.

In general I greatly enjoyed Kritika’s combat. It maybe could have benefited from a bit more combo play, and there seems to be a certain degree of redundancy between some of your abilities, but overall it’s visceral, visually engaging, and just plain fun.

[image error]A game like this really lives or dies by the strength of its combat, and the Kritika devs clearly understood this. Hacking and slashing your way through endless swarms of trash mobs might not be the most intellectually stimulating gameplay ever, but damn if it’s not entertaining.

Something else I liked is that each instance has four separate difficulty settings that you can choose from freely — there are recommended character and item levels for each, but they’re not strictly enforced. This makes it very easy to find a difficulty that feels comfortable for you, and it’s something I deeply wish more MMOs would offer, though I grant it would be very tricky to implement in an open world game.

I also found the game’s story to be of a higher quality than I was expecting. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I’m not going to be listing it as one of the great story-driven MMOs anytime soon. But I was expecting nothing, and I got something.

Kritika’s story is very straightforward. A genius inventor created revolutionary new magical technology that vaulted society forward, but in the process gained nearly total dominion over the world and has now become a ruthless tyrant. The player finds themselves fighting alongside a rebellion to bring him down and restore peace and liberty to the world.

Again, it’s simple, but it works. It gives you a decent motivation, and the whole steampunk/magitech feel of the setting is kind of neat (though hobbled by how shallow and limited the content is). The quest NPCs actually have some personality, and the dialogue is well-translated and actually reads pretty well most of the time, if you don’t mind a little cheese.

[image error]The chief downside of Kritika is that this is clearly a very, very grind-heavy game. Even as a low-level character just playing through the story, you can expect to have to repeat each dungeon several times before moving on. I can only imagine what it’s like at endgame.

This is further complicated by the game’s rather extreme version of rested experience, which severely curtails your rewards if you play too much each day. I don’t doubt there will be a way to circumvent this with real cash. In general Kritika has “overbearing monetization” written all over it.

As an MMO:

If you’re a purist, it could be debatable as to whether Kritika Online is actually an MMO, honestly. With its tiny maps and total reliance on instancing, it’s certainly not massive. What about the multiplayer part?

One of the stranger things about Kritika is that from what I can tell it doesn’t have dedicated group content in the traditional sense. It’s entirely up to you whether you want to tackle the dungeons solo or with allies.

Realistically, I expect that grouping becomes mandatory at higher levels and/or difficulties, but at least early on it’s all up to you, which is a level of flexibility I can’t help but admire.

[image error]This flexibility is further reinforced by the fact that Kritika doesn’t seem to be obey the “holy trinity.” A few classes seem like they could be analagous to tanks, but I saw nothing resembling a healer. This would be in keeping with the game’s overall philosophy of removing all obstacles between you and the brutal mayhem of the combat.

Again, this is all surprisingly good design from what’s obviously a low budget game. I could see Kritika being a great game for casual, small group play. Doesn’t matter what classes you play or your relative skill levels. With no trinity and a wealth of difficulty options, it should always be easy to play with a friend or two.

When it comes to PvP, though, the news is a lot less positive. Kritika doesn’t appear to have any matchmaking. Instead, there’s just a rather difficult to navigate player-run lobby system, which I guess is great if you’ve been craving that retro 90s nostalgia. For the full effect, have someone shriek dial-up noises at you over the phone while waiting on a match.

I couldn’t find any other players near my level, so after getting curbstomped by someone ten levels above me, I decided it was time to give PvP in Kritika a pass.

The one thing I did find interesting about the experience is that Kritika allows you to spectate other players while waiting on a match. It’s a nice idea — something more games should offer.

[image error]Clarity of purpose:

There is something to be said for a game that has a clear vision and executes it well. Kritika Online is mindless and grindy, but it was never meant to be anything else.

And as mindless grinders go, it’s not half bad. The combat is fun, the classes are interesting, the story is a little thin but adequate. It’s a fundamentally good game to play. The developers seem to have set out to make the best mindless grinder possible, and for the most part, they succeeded.

Kritika Online won’t be for everyone. I’m already losing interest. But I do admire the purity of its design, and I’d recommend trying it. Even if you don’t stick with it for long, the sheer addictive violence of it is bound to provide a few hours of entertainment.

Filed under: Games Tagged: fantasy, Kritika Online, review

Review: Doctor Strange

I stopped following the Marvel movies (not counting X-Men) a while ago. I just wasn’t enjoying them, so I moved on. Still, the trailers for Doctor Strange intrigued me with their spectacularly surreal special effects. It slipped off my radar and I wound up missing it in the theatre, but now that it’s one Netflix, I figured it was worth a try.

[image error]I was really only expecting good visuals and a weak plot, so I guess I wasn’t too disappointed.

Doctor Strange does truly have jaw-dropping special effects. This is one of the best looking movies ever made.

When it comes to everything else, though… sheesh.

Let me just start by summarizing the beginning of the movie.

Desperate for a way to fix his injured hands, brilliant but arrogant industrialist brain surgeon Tony Stark Steven Strange hears one word from some random dude on a basketball court and then proceeds to fly to Katmandu (!), where his strategy is to just wander around asking random people.

Amazingly, this actually works, and he’s brought to the leader of the sorcerous monastery he flew halfway around the world to find, who for some reason is a white British lady, and upon being told she can provide the miracle cure he seeks, he begins berating her for offering miracle cures.

And it just goes on like that. For two hours.

There’s just so many plot holes and inconsistencies it’s impossible to even keep track of them all. Characters’ beliefs and views change radically from moment to moment with no explanation given.

I’m starting to realize that Marvel films aren’t really stories. They just seem to be collections of scenes that seemed entertaining or amusing hammered together without rhyme or reason. There’s no themes here, no heart to the story. It’s a drunken pen meandering across the page with no destination in mind.

Insomuch as the movie seems to have any theme, it seems to be the Ancient One’s lesson to Strange: “It’s not about you.”

Except it is. The entire movie is about Dr. Strange just waltzing through every challenge through his own inherent awesomeness. No one else matters. Nothing else matters. It’s just a shrine to how amazing he is. The message the movie is trying to sell is completely at odds with every other part of it.

[image error]Also, I’m getting really tired of stories about cocky assholes who Break All the Rules™ and still succeed because they’re Just That Good™. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more heroes who triumph through hard work and good judgment?

Oh, yeah, and of course he’s got a love interest, and she’s on screen for maybe three minutes (I exaggerate, but not by much). I tend to feel that the Bechdel Test isn’t something that always needs to be taken literally, but this movie probably should have.

To be fair, Doctor Strange does improve significantly in the last half hour or so. Strange himself actually displays some genuine growth (even if it comes out of nowhere with no apparent justification), and his solution to defeat the Big Bad is pretty clever (even if it’s odd no one thought of that before now).

I also quite liked the villain, Kaecililus. He had a lot of charisma, and for a good chunk of the movie I spent more time cheering for him than for Strange.

But those things aren’t enough to fully redeem to movie.

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: Doctor Strange, fantasy, movies, review, what is this I don't even

Buying Decisions: Overwatch and Black Desert

The past few days have seen a couple of game sales tempting me.

[image error]First, Steam offered Black Desert for a measly $6. Now, I have no real interest in this game. I tried it, was underwhelmed, and promptly moved on.

But that character creator, though. I had a blast recreating all sorts of characters from my writing, and there were many more I would have liked to get to. So in the end that seemed worth $6 to me. It’s probably the worst reason to spend money on an MMO ever, but here we are.

I’m not in a massive rush, but you can probably expect to see more Black Desert-spawned recreations of my characters at some point. They’ve expanded the character customization options, especially for male characters, so the list of characters I can faithfully duplicate should be greater now. I want to try for a better rendition of Tyrom.

One wrinkle is that it’s apparently impossible to use an old Black Desert account on Steam. You need to start a new one. But I’m not really planning to actually play the game, so it doesn’t really matter if my original account and its associated progress is lost.

Meanwhile, Overwatch.

The free weekend has now wrapped up. Overall, I had a lot more fun this time than in any of my previous stints with the game. As I said in my last post, the Total Mayhem mode is a vast improvement over the standard gameplay.

[image error]Even so, I managed to talk myself out of buying it. It’s just too shallow of an experience to justify spending time and money on when there’s so much I want to play. These days, simply being fun isn’t always a good enough reason for me to play a game. I prefer to focus on games that stimulate my mind or emotions. Give me a good story or some really fascinating gameplay. Or ideally both.

Before the weekend wrapped up, I was able to earn enough credits to buy the legendary D.Va skin I got in beta before the account wipe (which is also my favourite skin in the game), and I also got lucky and had the Symmetra anniversary skin drop.

I’m not sure why this pleases me, considering I’m not sure when I’ll even play the game again. But somehow it does.

Filed under: Games, My writing Tagged: Black Desert Online, fantasy, Overwatch, sci-fi, writing

Heroes of the Storm 2.0 Impressions, Overwatch, and WoW Clones

Over the past few months, I’ve found my interest in Heroes of the Storm waning. I’m starting to worry it will be like Guild Wars 2: a game I was once very passionate about that I then totally lose interest in.

[image error]I’m not sure how much of this is just my own burnout and how much is due to the game itself. It does seem to be a bit of a different game than it once was. After that big rebalance they did to prevent snowballing (which it had no effect on), everything seems so much more bursty and unforgiving. Add to that Blizzard’s apparent aversion to add any more heroes that aren’t super squishy, and the game’s becoming almost as much a nerve-wracking one-shot fest as Overwatch.

Still, I have enough history with the game to make me reticent to write it off too easily, so with the big 2.0 update, I once again delved in to see how things had changed. My full thoughts form my latest article on MMO Bro, but in the end, it’s not that different.

Also on MMO Bro, I take a look back at the WoW clones of yesteryear and how they’ve evolved over time.

Speaking of Overwatch, I’ve been playing the free weekend again. They have a new(?) mode called Total Mayhem where everyone’s health is doubled, and it is so much better.

I mean, it isn’t balanced very well, since the game wasn’t designed for this. The mode also includes reduced ability cooldowns, and between that and the increased health pools, a good Lucio can keep his team alive almost indefinitely, leading to some frustrating stalemates sometimes.

[image error]

I also seem to perform better in Total Mayhem. A little.

Even so, I consider this a vast improvement over standard Overwatch. You actually have time to react to threats. You don’t just get constantly one-shot out of the blue. There’s room for tactical play, and when you do land a kill, it’s so much more satisfying.

I’m not sure if it’s a permanent mode or not. It’s surprisingly difficult to get a clear answer on that. If it is, I’m tempted to finally pull the trigger and buy the game, especially with the sale on right now. Heck, I’m tempted either way.

But then again I already wasted so much on the new computer, and I’d probably get bored of it fast.

Sigh… self-control was never my strong suite.

Filed under: Games, My writing Tagged: fantasy, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, sci-fi, writing