Video Game Review: Bioshock 2

"Love is just a chemical. We give it meaning by choice." - Sarah Bolger

Chances are that if you've played the first "Bioshock" game, you'll be able to jump into this sequel right away and get the hang of it very quickly.  Using the same engine and gameplay style as the first game, "Bioshock 2" immerses the player into the ruined underwater utopia of the city of Rapture once more; the continuing fight for survival and freedom ensues again.  All the things that made the first game good - the combat, the atmosphere, the cute Little Sisters - all return.  But it's not all just more of the same either; the game offers a few substantial improvements that sets it apart from the first game.  For one thing, you're now able to fire your weapon in one hand and use your superpowered "plasmids" in the other all at the same time.  When liberating the Little Sisters from their respective protectors, you now have the option to adopt them (meaning they ride on your shoulder and have them gather more Adam points for you to use).  Weapons are all different, giving you more variety.  The hacking system is totally revamped, eschewing the pipe puzzle and using a simpler, faster, arguably better minigame in which a needle races across a scale and you have to push the button at just the right spot.  The game throws the familiar enemies at you, but adds in some daunting challenges:  Rumblers, which are Big Daddies with advanced firepower, the Big Brute Splicers, which are big muscle-bound hulks, and the Big Sisters, which are similar to the Big Daddies, but terrifyingly faster and more powerful (and have really annoying shrieks).  Altogether, a bigger challenge with a more empowering form of gameplay; it's every bit as enjoyable as the first game, and offers enough diversity to make both stand shoulder-to-shoulder as a complete duology.

The story for this game is quite a bit different as well.  Frankly, I don't like it quite as much as the first game's story:  "Bioshock 2" is shorter, and I found it a little hard (if not annoying) understanding the villain's motivations and her constant ramblings.  I expected more plot twists, like there was in the first game, but it never played out all that predictably (for better or for worse).  But these are minor nitpicks:  the game's narrative structure is still as strong as the first game.  It is especially noteworthy because you're not playing an actual person in this game; it puts you in the shoes of one of the Big Daddies.  Aside from granting you the awesome ability to tread in underwater environments and maul everyone with your drill arm, the game offers some fascinating insight on the characters, especially since your character is always struggling between human compassion and artificial programming (expanding upon the "a man chooses, a slave obeys" theme that was introduced in the first game).  As such, you are once again allowed to make moral choices in the game, which impacts the story.

Gameplay is still top-notch, offering quality graphics and sound, and smooth gameplay.  This production still has a phenomenal art design; it still uses the art deco style throughout the city of Rapture, but never feels like a retread of the first game.  It is especially noteworthy for its new designs for the new enemies, environments, characters, weapons, and everything else.  Voice-acting and writing are not bad at all, and neither is the music.

If you liked the first game, then this sequel should be a must-play as well.  If you haven't, you might enjoy this one on its own anyway.  Either way, it comes recommended!

4/5 (Entertainment:  Very Good | Story:  Pretty Good | Game:  Very Good)

Writing Prompt: Interview a Character

So, for last Friday's writing group, I totally neglected to pick a prompt for everybody to do, and showed up unprepared.  As a result, we came up with a spur-of-the-moment idea; it was something that I considered in the middle of the day, and we just rolled with it.  This prompt is...

Interview a character.  Any character.  It could be a real-life person, like a friend or family member, or a celebrity, politician, historical figure, a stranger you might have seen or met.  My first thought, however, was fictional characters, either in other people's stories or your own.  Just pick a person, and start writing out a question-and-answer scenario (as in a radio or magazine interview).  I generally made up the questions as I went, developing a narrative.  I suppose in a well-planned prompt, you could have names randomly selected in a jar, and a set of questions pre-written for everybody.  As it is though, we all made it up as we went.

For this session, I interviewed Mary Ethel Weiss, the main character from my novel in progress.  Hopefully you can deduce the story's plot with the dialogue.

The most important thing, however, was to hear the character's voice in my head, and build her personality and character up.  I would certainly encourage you to give it a try, for it could help you out in the same fashion.  Coming up with a character and a starting point seemed to be the only hard part; the rest came out pretty naturally.

Without further ado, my made-up interview session went like this:

--------------------

Perfectly Inhuman, Mock Radio Interview

Q:  Good morning Cascade City! This is 275.1 FM, NIRC Radio, and I'm here with the one and only Mary Ethel Weiss, once considered the most popular celebrity in the city, but recently seemed to vanish without a trace.

A:  I didn't frakking vanish! I've been in Iron District* for the past few months!

Q:  Iron District? Mary, you're a millionaire and a success! You had a penthouse suite in Golden District**, a nice car, and everything you could ever want! Care to share what happened?

A:  Oh, I intend to.  I want everyone to hear my story.  I want the whole city to know that the Mayor kidnapped me, changed my DNA, tried to brainwash me, and tried to force me to be his wife! They couldn't change me, so I fought back and made it to the Cauldron***, where the Mayor and his goons can't reach me.

Q:  Wow, what a story! I take it you didn't fancy the city Mayor at all?

A:  The man enslaved me and had his people hurt me.  Next time i see him, I'm gonna shove him out the window of the tallest building I can find, I swear!

Q:  It was that bad, huh?

A:  Like you wouldn't believe.

Q:  So what's it like in the poor districts?

A:  There's a lot of hard working folks there.  They've all been friendly and understanding toward me; they helped me get back on my feet.  Of course it's dirty, poor, and dangerous, but we're all just trying to make a living.

Q:  I hear that the Cauldron has quite the night life.

A:  You should come by the Free Radicals nightclub someday.  I sing there every Saturday night.  Just stay away from Suzuki's, that's where all the Tatsuya**** gangsters hang out at.

Q:  Do you miss Golden District at all?

A:  Not anymore.  I don't need all that crap I had there.  Sometimes I miss the shopping, the clubs, the fancy restaurants, but it all feels so cold and stiff in Golden District.  And it's criminally expensive! Ugh.  For the price of one meal there, you could feed an Iron District family for weeks! What's up with that?

Q:  Word on the street is that you've been in contact with the elusive Mr. Zeta and his terrorist group:  the Human Liberation Front¹.  Care to comment?

A:  Yeah.  Don't believe the Mayor's lies.  The HLF are freedom fighters.  They just want to make things fair for everybody, and to bring back natural products into the commercial world.  They aren't terrorists.  Jeez, the government makes them out to be baby killers or something; nothing could be farther from the truth!

Q:  So, since moving to Iron District, how has your career progressed?

A:  It hasn't.  I'm a frakking dock worker now.  The only show business I do is in the Cauldron.

Q:  You might be intrigued to know that Sylvia Lockhart˟ has taken your place as the top pop singer in the city.

A:  Oh, that female dog! You know what, she can have it! I'm done with the North Island Record Company, and I'm done trying to play this stupid popularity contest.  It's all BS; you know what happens when you're number one? You become everyone's enemy.  Even the city's Mayor.  So frakk it.  Let Sylvia take over, I don't care.  Maybe the Mayor can brainwash and marry her, and get off my back for a change!

Q:  So, you'll never release any new music again?

A:  Well, you never know.  I've written a few ideas down.  Maybe if I get enough of them, I'll put together that concept album I've been wanting to make.  It would have to be strictly underground though:  the record company would never release it.

Q:  Why not?

A:  Aside from the fact that I'm a freaking fugitive? Even if they wanted the project, my new music has way too much angst in it for them to approve it.

Q:  Since learning that you're an artificial person, how has that affected your outlook on life?

A:  You know, everywhere I look, everything is fake and man-made.  At first, it hurt me to think that I was just another fake 'thing' in this city's landscape.  But you know what? I have a heart.  Right now, it's filled with rage over the Mayor and this city of his.

...how did you know that I was artificial?

Q:  It's...on my little card here.

A:  WHO SENT YOU?

Q:  Nobody! You came to us!

A:  Frakk it, this interview is over!

--------------------

* Iron District is the manufacturing and industrial center of the city, filled mostly with factories, warehouses, and oceanic docks.  In contrast to Golden District, Iron is a low-class sector populated by the poor.

** Golden District is a secure wealthy district, providing homes and amenities for the upper-class.

*** The Cauldron is an area in the poor districts of the city that contains nightclubs, bars, and other seedy amenities.

**** The Tatsuya Clan is a remnant of the Yakuza, and is employed by the Mayor to maintain a street-level control of Iron District.

¹ The Human Liberation Front are indeed freedom fighters, whose goal is to remove the Mayor and his oppressive system from the city.  Part of their mandate includes liberating the human race from the bondage of rampant commercialization and excess artificiality.  The group is led by Zeta, a well-armed idealist.

˟ Sylvia Lockhart is a pop star who's a direct rival to Mary.

Film Review: Kick-Ass

“Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives we all wanna be a superhero.” – Aaron Johnson

For the past hundred years, superhero lore has emerged as a type of modern day mythology, depicting these fantastic tales of romanticized vigilantism where all the heroes have some kind of incredible power and they use it for the greater good.  But let’s be serious:  there is no such thing as a real superhero.  In this day and age, however, some people have been inspired by the comics and films and have taken to the streets, dressed in costumes, to fight crime and help the communities.

In light of this, Kick-Ass is a story that eschews the fantasy and candidly faces the facts.  This is not a world where people like Batman, Superman, the X-Men, or whoever can save the day and get the girl completely unscathed.  Nor is it a world where everything is a concrete black-and-white good-vs-evil affair.  Crimes happen and people often just look on without bothering to intervene.  Real heroes get the snot beaten out of them, and can even die; there is no invincibility, only vulnerabilities.  The film shows all of this straight-up, approaching the subject of masked vigilantism in a light that’s far more realistic than most other superhero films to date (a few other good contenders being Super and Watchmen).

However, this film is not all about the realism.  In fact, realism in superhero lore is just something the film harps on sarcastically.  The film has its share of crazy action, extreme violence, and includes some scenes that are just too crazy to happen in real life.  The film is also quite the comedy, loaded up with funny lines and situations that are so sad that they’re funny (or just plain funny).  It pulls a lot of punches, delivering a shock and awe style of entertainment that will likely offend the most sensitive and conservative of viewers (this film will likely be forever notorious for showcasing an eleven-year-old girl cutting people up and cursing like an adult:  you have been warned!).  At the same time, the film is colorful and upbeat, contrasting heavily with the messed-up violence and situations; the poignant combination of light and dark is part of what makes the film so funny, so provocative, and so thrilling.

No matter how offensive or unbelievable things get, the story still matters, and it is quite strong.  With the premise mentioned above, it does invoke some thought concerning masked vigilantism.  It also ties in with the character and helps weave a tale of the characters’ origins.  The film follows the comic pretty closely, with only a few liberties taken (including an alternate take on the love interest, which I find better in the film than in the comic).

The film is certainly stylish, with quality photography and unique editing effects.  There is one scene I find quite erratic with its use of strobe lighting, but it is mercifully short.  Acting is good:  Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nicolas Cage, and Mark Strong all fulfill their respective roles really well.  Exceptional praise goes to Chloe Moretz, whose performance for Hit Girl shows remarkable physical aptitude and skillful nuance (in addition to putting up with the vulgar script).  Writing is not bad, cursing and all.  This is one of those movies that looks more expensive than it is; all of the sets, props, and costumes look snazzy, with just a few weak spots.  There is a plethora of interesting musical choices in this film, and they all help in the experience.

While I find that the vast majority of superhero films entertain one way or another, Kick-Ass is a one-of-a-kind feature that entertains by shattering the standard conventions and smacking the viewers upside the head.  Chances are that some of you viewers will find this distasteful; if you are easily offended, then you should probably avoid this film like the plague.  For most everybody else, it comes recommended!

5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Very Good)

This film appears on my Top 100 Favorite Movies list at #77.

52 Dumb Things About "Battleship"

Following up on my review of "Battleship," I jotted down all the dumbest and silliest parts of the film and compiled a list, just for kicks.  It's obviously not a film meant for deep thinking or analysis; it's practically mandatory to turn off your brain before watching the film.  I just wrote this up as the film progressed, so it's all in chronological order; the sole purpose of this is just to poke fun at it and have a good laugh.  Maybe you'll get a kick out of spotting these scenes and making fun of them too.  :p

Let the stupidity wash over you like painful shards of glass riding the waves of a sonic boom...

1.) So the special project to beam a transmission into deep space is called "Project Beacon." Seriously?! It's as inventive as dirt.  At first, I thought it said "Project Bacon."
2.) The alien planet is called "Planet G" (later on, they say the actual name of the system, but I forget what it is).  As it is, it sounds totally ghetto to me.  I imagine a planet full of aliens running around saying "what up, G?"
3.) "If there is intelligent life out there and they come here, it's going to be like Columbus and the Indians...only we're the Indians." This line makes it sound like Columbus single-handedly wiped out the native Americans, all at once.
4.) So, apparently, communications transmissions to other planets are not invisible radio/infrared/Voip/photon/tachyon/quantum transmissions of any kind, but a huge, visible laser beam that blasts across space and zaps "Planet G." No wonder they came to kick our butts.
5.) The main character's initial advances toward the love interest revolve around...a chicken burrito.  The man even goes to jail just so he can give his true love...a chicken burrito.  All this trouble for a chicken burrito? Seriously?!
6.) Soccer game scene.  They spent so much film on the set-up, the dramatic slow-motion, and inspiring feel-good moment.  And then...the guy misses.  Probably the worst kick in soccer history, fictional or otherwise.
7.) So, in a manner of days, "Planet G" (ugh) receives the signal and sends out its ships to kick Earth's butt.  Sending an interstellar signal to another planet with modern technology would take years, if not decades or even centuries, to reach any planet that's light years away (a common observation for those who yearn for hard sci-fi, whereas average viewers won't care, but still...).  One could also complain about the concept of alien ships zipping to Earth within a manner of days, but we can safely assume that their technology allows for circumventing, bending, or outright breaking the laws of relativity.
8.) Rihanna...why is she here?
9.) When the RIMPAC exercises commence, Hopper is shown pacing around the bridge, talking about how they're not there to learn, how they're just there to kick every one else's butt...probably the worst sense of professionalism any military person could exhibit, on screen or off.  The man's arrogance and attitude tends to push the limits of what's believable for a military role.  Shouldn't basic training have broken this guy in? Why didn't he go through basic training in this film? Ugh, this is worse than "The Hurt Locker."
10.) As the alien ships race toward Earth, the screen clearly shows them passing Jupiter, Mars, etc all in real-time.  Considering it takes radio (much less radar or anything else) so many minutes to reach any stellar body in our solar system (I believe it's 40 minutes to call Mars), there's no way a ground station could track anything beyond the Moon in real time.  In fact, by the time the ground station picked up anything in the vicinity of Mars, the ships could have already landed.
11.) Sound in space...last time I checked, it's still scientifically impossible.  No air means no sound waves.  Thus, alien ships shouldn't be going "zzzrrrrooooommmmmm!!!"
12.) "What is NASA present in this room for?" Dumbest question ever.
13.) "You're saying that we sent out an alien signal...and we got a response..." It's funny how that works.
14.) Why is it that, anytime something crashes that's obviously an alien ship, everybody assumes it's something else? No, it's not cargo/satellite/Chinese ship! Does it look like one?
15.) Fighter plane ramming into the wall of the big giant energy dome...seriously, if you saw a giant energy wall closing, would you just fly into it?
16.) So, first a space is explicitly sealed off, trapping so many battleships in with so many alien ships.  The battleship fires, then the alien ship makes its move.  Battleship fires, alien ship makes its move.  This game seems rather familiar...
17.) What's up with the bomb that first blows everyone away, then sucks them in for a moment, then blows them away again? Are we in "The Matrix" or something?
18.) Hopper's finally in charge.  He looks around at everyone blankly.  In all this time, the alien ships could have blown all these fools away.
19.) Hopper's first command develops quite the overt Captain Ahab complex.  Once again, not terribly realistic for a military man.
20.) So this alien ship starts launching a bunch of stuff.  And the one soldier's response is "what is that sh*t?!" How eloquent.  It made me laugh.
21.) Ah, another one of those moments where something dangerous is coming, and the guy just stands there and looks at the incoming thing.  I swear, every disaster movie has a moment like this.
22.) The spinning spiny wheels of death roll through military bases and a major highway.  It's really cool! However...it reminds me so much of "The Langoliers." You know, the gaudy Stephen King miniseries.
23.) As the Langolier ball things roll around, it winds up tearing up a ball field, and one of the little league players just stands there and stares at it.  Stupid kid...
24.) How did these Hawaiian cops find the lady and the amputee guy on the mountain? Especially since he just said that all the roads and electronic stuff was blown up?
25.) So these two people had the choice to leave the mountain, but they chose to continue walking.  The jeep was right there; they could have driven up the hill.  Duh!
26.) So, the one lady reveals that her daddy believed in aliens and he knew that they'd come.  Seriously, Liam Neeson? The admiral? The man who's supposed to be a realist? Really?
27.) Is it me, or do the alien suits resemble a futuristic version of the Big Daddy from "Bioshock"?
28.) ...or, the suits could be rip-offs of "Halo."
29.) "I've got a bad feeling about this." Come on, this is obviously a "Star Wars" reference.  Lucas ruined the line already! Stop it!!
30.) "Like 'we're going to need a new planet' bad feeling." Wow.  Best line since the one in "Jaws," when the guy says "We're going to need a bigger boat." For that matter, that line would have been awesome in this film.
31.) So the big guy stands there and decides to have a face-off with the big scary alien.  Fight ensues.  Granted he stopped the alien from touching something that looked dangerous, facing the thing alone seemed foolish.
32.) For that matter, why are these aliens on the ship? If they wanted to destroy all the random machines and stuff, couldn't they just blow the whole ship up, like they did the others?
33.) So the lone alien got shot at point-blank range by a battleship's gun.  Nice.  Problem is, the star of the show was pretty darn close to it too.  Wouldn't the blast have killed him too?
34.) "We got to get off this mountain." What the? That's not what these fools on the mountain decided before! They should have taken the jeep! What fuitcakes...
35.) Oh, apparently, the jeep is right there.  Never mind it took forever for them to get up the mountain and see the wreckage; next scene, the jeep's right there. 
36.) So, the aliens are vulnerable to...sunlight.  Uh huh.  Probably the most unconvincing weakness since the aliens in "Signs," which melted in water.  I expected the aliens to melt in sunlight; that would have been hilarious.  Turns out, they're just sensitive to the light, and wear shades all the time.
37.) Hopper once again proves his ignorance by bashing the "Art of War."
38.) In another scene that simulates the original Battleship game, the battleships in the movie are rendered blind at night, and have to use buoys to form a grid and search for patterns.  That's pretty slick how they squeezed that in there.
39.) These aliens sure weren't smart to come to our solar system, with its sunlight and all, with windows that can break. It's amazing how the snipers win the day just by breaking all the ship's windows.
40.) When the Langolier ball thing is ripping through the ship, the one guy struggles with the door as the thing bears down on him (he already expressed some stupidity by watching it blast through the door, all doe-eyed).  Then Rihanna jumps out from a side passage and rescues him.  Uhh, why didn't he just go through the side passage in the first place, instead of fudging with the door?
41.) When the ship goes vertical, Hopper and the Japanese dude scale the side of it with their bare hands.  What, do they have hands like Spiderman? They should be sliding to their deaths!
42.) None of the characters believed that the USS Missouri could be used in combat again.  You know what:  I don't either.  Even with a crew of 80-year-old veterans running the thing.
43.) Yeah, the veterans running the war.  With all due respect to the veterans, these scenes strain so much believability, it's hilarious.
44.) Despite the heroism and ingenuity of launching a 70-year-old vessel to war against these aliens, if the aliens caused this much damage to modern warships, what chance does the Missouri have, seriously? Especially against the mother ship?
45.) So Hopper makes the ship do this fancy 90-degree turn with the anchor.  Pretty slick, but I doubt the ship could have moved that intensely, much less sustained the strain caused by the anchor's sharp tug.
46.) Wow, the Missouri must have some awesome ammunition in its cannons.  It manages to take out the aliens way better than all the modern battleships combined.
47.) With all due respect to the amputees of the world, I seriously doubt the amputee in the film could lay the smackdown on these aliens like he does here.
48.) There are a bunch of aliens around the satellite array, but only one of them bothers to fight the humans.  Granted that the rest were busy setting up the "ET phone home" signal, it's kinda silly that they let their one buddy get beat up by an amputee and a geek without any backup.  Come on, how many aliens does it take to screw a light bulb?
49.) These aliens are some ugly mothers...they look like a cross between a guy with a goatee and Bigfoot.
50.) Super-duper ammo strikes again! One shell takes out the entire area where the satellite array is.  That's awesome stuff, man.
51.) They had Rihanna on the cast, but she couldn't be contracted or something to make a theme song for the film? Bummer.  I mean, I like the old rock tunes and all, but it seems like it's all overplayed in movies these days.  Every other movie plays AC/DC, CCR, and all these other twenty-year-old rock bands all the time, I swear (or maybe I just have "Iron Man" to blame for this).  Can't they at least move on with modern bands?
52.) Biggest number-one complaint I have:  why do the aliens bother to target only hostile units? In every other alien invasion movie, whether it be "ID4," "War of the Worlds," or even crap like "Skyline," the aliens always slaughter humans and destroy cities indiscriminately.  In "Battleship," they just don't have their heart in total conquest; they react defensively and only attack when they're being attacked (despite the fact that they instigated the attack to begin with).  One could argue that this is because they're just a scouting party and not a full-blown invasion force.  If so, then this is even more dumb, because the scouting party caused so much mass destruction that they drew attention to themselves and doomed themselves from the start (they even let elderly veterans and an amputee defeat them).  A proper reconnaissance would have been discreet.  As it is, however, this entire invasion is specifically set up to incorporate the dynamics of the original "Battleship" board game into the story, and to keep things at a safe feel-good PG-13 level.  Thus, it is contrived.

Worst alien invasion ever! :p

Film Review: Battleship

"You sunk my battleship!" - common phrase when playing the board game; sadly, it's never used in the film

Understanding that this is based on the Hasbro board game "Battleship," and these are the same people who graced the cinematic landscape with all those "Transformers" films, it would take very little intuition to realize that the film "Battleship" is not going to be all about serious storytelling or cinematic craftsmanship. At first glance, it looks stupid, and most folks will agree that it is as stupid as it looks. Just another uninspired alien invasion story, based on the standard and hollow formula of spectacle and style over substance for an instant cash grab. And to think so would be correct; you know what you get with "Battleship," and it's like cinematic junk food.

But, heck, I enjoy junk food now and then. As anticipated, "Battleship" heaps on the cinematic calories with massive, potentially unhealthy doses of incredible special effects, explosive mass destruction, and huge sea battles. The action is quite impressive and well-filmed; combined with some humor, the film succeeds at being an entertaining and eye-catching thrill ride. Above all, this film has a tone and style that never takes itself more seriously than it should. There's no pretension here; the film knows it's junk food, and never strives to be anything more. In spite of that, the film remains a fun, upbeat, and lighthearted adventure.

Now, for the negative criticism: the story is marginal at best. It has just enough substance to service the action, and just enough characterization to understand who the heroes are. However, the main hero proves to be a total jerkwad for the first half of the movie; he acts to arrogantly and aggressively that it's impossible to believe that he could be an actual naval officer. The assumption is that the character endures some change by the end, beefing himself up internally to rise as a proper military leader with discipline and teamwork abilities (which would be very befitting of a film with a cast of military characters), but this change is purely contrived. That's pretty much my sole complaint; the problem is that the film is so light and thin that the audience can easily point out the stupidity of the characters, situations, and concepts. If you don't get hung up on such things, then you can sit back and just enjoy the onslaught of explosions and sea battles. Otherwise, you'll be in for a miserable ride.

The film looks really nice, with lots of slick photography and quality editing. Acting and writing are marginal at best; Taylor Kitsch plays a rather unlikable hero, while the talents of Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, and Rihanna are thrown into the pot for added star power, and little more. Many of the film's lines are pretty dumb. However, this production spares no expense on the lavish sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is nice; Steve Jablonsky formulates a standard, high-impact music score, while lots of rock music is thrown in for the occasional feel-good sensibility.

Like I said, you can probably deduce whether you'll like it or not just from the film's title, trailers, posters, etc. It's a fine romp of an alien invasion film, but if you're wanting more to it, then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you aren't sure, then you better give it a rent and see for yourself. It comes more highly recommended to those audiences who can turn off their brains for a while and gape in awe at the massive 'splosions and the pretty alien ships.

3/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Poor | Film: Marginal)

Video Game Review: Bioshock

"I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." - Armin Shimerman

I didn't think I'd like this game when I first demo-ed it four years ago.  Dark, freaky games with jump-scare effects tend to freak me out a little too much.  If there is one thing that attracted me, it was the concept and settings of the game:  a grand art-deco style city deep beneath the sea.  It is as wonderfully rendered and designed as it is imaginative.  If nothing else, "Bioshock" deserves top marks for its original art designs and its visual style.

The game does have its freaky moments though; it is a horror survivalist game first and foremost.  There are several moments where you'll find yourself trapped in a dark, tight space with bad guys (called "splicers") crawling out of the woodwork trying to get you (and some of them literally crawl on the walls and ceilings).  The game's atmosphere is phenomenal:  it's use of light, shadow, sound effects, and textures help generate an unsettling atmosphere.  There were moments that made me jump out of the chair, or just creeped me out completely.

After a while, however, I found myself getting accustomed to the world of Rapture, and I stopped fearing the dark.  One of the game's key features is the use of "plasmids," or superpowers.  While your right hand holds the weapon, your left can be used to summon lightning, fire, ice, a swarm of bees, or whatever else you manage to find or invent (not all at once though, you can only use one hand at a time; this is something that gets rectified in "Bioshock 2").  Weapon and character upgrades help even the odds quite a bit too.  I also found myself having loads of fun hacking into all the different turrets, cameras, and robots to turn them against enemies (hacking in this game brings up a little mini-game that's highly reminiscent of "Wowspill," which is neat).

In order to upgrade powers and effectively progress, the player is often made to confront the iconic character displayed on most of the game's covers and posters:  the Big Daddy.  Going hand-in-hand with the design of the city, this hulking brute appears like a deep sea diver from Hell, wielding either a rivet gun that could blow holes in his enemies, or a drill that will gore his enemies to death.  Fighting these suckers is a challenge, especially at first.  It can be quite gratifying to bring these behemoths down; as a reward, you get to deal with the Little Sister that the thing protects (your choice to either "harvest" her, which grants you more points to spend, or rescue her, which offers less points but is the morally right thing to do, and you'll get a different set of rewards).

It's not all just random running around in a derelict underwater city; there is a story beneath all this slick gameplay.  I always found it a little weird that the main character you play goes from being in a plane crash to jumping smack dab in the middle of this conflict between Andrew Ryan (city founder), and Atlas (rebel).  Still, for a game, you can just roll with the flow, and pick up on all the background info through collecting data tapes (I still would have liked it a little better if more information could have been presented in exposition).  Regardless, the story does pull a few impressive plot twists, and there are some strong themes worth thinking about.  The key concepts involved include the idea that men are born with free will, and you, the player, are town between obedience and free will.

These days, I find myself thinking more and more about the city of Rapture and its founder, and thinking about the implications of what it all means.  The city was built as a utopian sanctum free from politics or religion, allowing its inhabitants to explore art and science without any restriction.  But Andrew Ryan's dream turned out to be folly, for without control or morality, the citizens harnessed the god-like power of genetics and abused the Hell out of it.  It's pretty sobering to imagine all these people turning mad, ripping apart their families and their own city, and ultimately mutating into something monstrous.

Overall, the gameplay is sublime and addicting.  Even though "Bioshock 2" offers a few important improvements (such as remote hacking, the ability to shoot and use powers at the same time, and multiplayer action), this first game in the series has very few weak points.  As far as I could tell, it's glitch-free.  The graphics look decent; the textures and renderings are highly-detailed; most animations look great; the levels are designed with distinction and solid attention to detail.  Sounds are phenomenal, and the music is not bad either.  Voice acting is good.  As mentioned above, designs for the environments and everything within is fantastic.

I think, if there's one thing that really pushed this game over the top for me, it'd be the cute and adorable relationship between the Little Sisters and their Big Daddies.   As perverse as it is to have these mutant little girls sucking the genetic goo out of corpses, I loved the way they wandered around Rapture with their big silent protectors, addressing him fondly as "Mr Bubbles" and singing about nonsense.  Awwww...

"Mr Bubbles!!!"

This game comes highly recommended!

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Good | Game:  Very Good)

Film Review: The Call of Cthulhu

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.” – H.P. Lovecraft, “The Call of Cthulhu”

Although there is a small wealth of films based on the classic works of H.P. Lovecraft, there has never been anything in the mainstream, and it looks like it’ll stay that way (especially since Guillermo Del Toro’s “At the Mountains of Madness” seems to have fallen through the cracks).  It’s pretty sad, considering that Lovecraft’s work has been highly influential for myriads of modern artists in all genres and mediums; if it wasn’t for him, the works of Stephen King, John Carpenter, HR Giger, and heck, even Black Sabbath and Metallica would have all been different.  As it is, “The Re-Animator” remains the most popular film, and it makes for a fantastic romp of a gorefest film, but it’s still purely cult status.

Even though it may not have penetrated the mainstream, “The Call of Cthulhu” might be the best adaptation of a Lovecraft story to date.  Produced by the HP Lovecraft Historic Society, it shows impeccable attention to the narrative and nuances of the original story, and it follows the story to the letter.  To match up with the era of Lovecraft’s lifetime, the film was even made as a silent black-and-white feature.  Its style is a perfect replication of old-fashioned cinema, complete with over-the-top acting, simple special effects, and emphasis on light and shadow.  It might have even taken some inspiration from the works of F.W. Murnau, due to its emphasis on visual storytelling.

Much like the original story, the “CoC” film starts off a little dry, but eventually moves on to some very intriguing and freaky encounters.  The film’s most interesting highlights will include the policemen confronting the cult of Cthulhu in the swamps of New Orleans, and the final encounters at the lost city of R’lyeh (which is conceived perfectly on screen).  The film definitely succeeds at visualizing the story in the best way possible; a fine blend of style and content.  It is a short film, but it manages to pack in everything it needs to without feeling padded or rushed.

As mentioned above, the story is a very close, if not a perfect, adaptation of the original story.  Characters were never a huge standout, even in the original, but the journey they take to uncover the truth is pretty profound.  The story ultimately uncovers the inherent terror of otherworldly monsters, and the film does a fine job of underscoring that theme.

As silent black-and-white film, the film looks stylish.  In fact, this style helps make the cheapness and amateur nature of the film feel natural and forgivable.  After all, the film has some incredibly cheap special effects, but they are done in a way that looks like something genuinely made in the 20s, so it fits.  Some of the photography is impressive, and the editing is not bad at all.  Acting and writing are not bad, and help get the job done.  This production is not terribly lavish, but it does its best to make the most out of limited budget and resources.  The film has a nice music score which is appropriately moody.

It’s pretty clear to me that “The Call of Cthulhu” movie is a passion project, made by those who respect the source material and have done their best to make a quality adaptation.  I rather wish that more filmmakers could do the same and give Lovecraft’s work a proper big-screen treatment.  Oh well, as it is, this is the best Lovecraft-inspired film to date, and it’s definitely worth a look.

Recommended!

4/5 (Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Very Good | Film:  Good)