A fond farewell to LucasArts

I was planning on posting a regular review today, but I have recently read online that tragically LucasArts has been shut down by the very same company that went out of its way to purchase the entire Star Wars franchise and all its assets for four billion dollars! Namely Disney. Obviously this is a HUGE disappointment to many gamers including myself as not only were LucasArts responsible for many of the Star Wars games, but also for some of the most well-loved and notorious adventure games that exist today.

So, today is a love letter, a send-off, a remembrance for all the company did for me, all the fond memories I have of their games and recognition of the influence they had on me as a gamer. Granted I may well do full reviews of some of their games in the future but, for now, let’s focus on memories ok? So without further ado I wish to focus on one particular game that is very dear to me and one I used to play with my siblings ALL the time... Maniac Mansion on the Nintendo NES (1990).

Ah, fond memories indeed. After being treated to one of the most awesome 8-bit opening themes for a game (see below) you choose two out of six teenagers to accompany Dave who is keen to rescue his girlfriend who has been kidnapped and taken to a creepy old mansion. Each character is an 80’s archetype so you have the jock, the nerd, the surfer dude etc. Each one has skills such as being able to play the piano or fix telephones and unique personalities to go with them.

Therefore the game had plenty of replayability and you could easily have a different experience to other players which is what I understood as a child. See, I hadn’t played a game like that before. I was so used to games such as Mario and Battle Toads that I always thought games were just about beating up the bad guys and completing each mission without any real story or characterisation.  

What Maniac Mansion also showed me was how each player could have a totally different experience when playing. See, my siblings would always have the nerd and the Goth chick since they knew they were useful characters in terms of abilities. Whereas I always wanted the surfer dude and the guy with sun glasses as I thought they were the cool characters to have. Granted I was still very young at the time and unable to read, possibly even speak, therefore my older siblings took the time to actually sit down and play the games with me. Something they didn’t need to do, but something I will always appreciate.

Therefore, even though later LucasArts’ titles would perhaps tell stories better or have more memorable characters, it was Maniac Mansion that introduced me to the concept of storytelling and characterisation in gaming and what perhaps led me to focus on those areas in my current games’ design course with the hope that one day I will work in these specific areas.

The gameplay for Maniac Mansion is a point and click adventure game. My brother and sister patiently helped explain the complex controls and act out what each character said to me. We spent hours trying to find the gas for the chain saw in order to cut through the jail bars, we learned the hard way not to take the cheese from the fridge otherwise the villain would know something was up. We even sadistically put the hamster in the microwave once or twice when we were losing badly. Sadly I don’t think we ever completed the game, however it wasn’t just a game for me it was a memorable experience because I shared it with members of my family. Even today when I manage to find a copy and play it I tend to mimic the characters’ voices in the same way that my siblings did for me. It’s a nostalgia trip!

Considering all this, I should get round to playing its sequel (Day of the Tentacle) which I refused to play when I was younger since it looked SO visually different to the original. Now of course I know not to judge a book by its cover and will try and play it when I get the chance.

Obviously I will have to cover the Star Wars’ games at some point and why wouldn’t I!?

Not only am I a HUGE Star Wars’ geek, but nearly all the games the company made were Star Wars ones. However, I recognise that if I tried to cover more than one game in this post then it could end up turning into an entire essay. HECK! Even a book! Therefore, now that I have shared my fond memories, how about sharing yours in the comments section below?  

Fingers crossed we will also see the return of Star Wars 1313’s development which looked awesome!

May the force be with you LucasArts… always…

Street Fighter the Movie (1994)

Why is it that video game based movies just tend to suck? I mean, that's the reputation that they all seem to have and yet many decent... err... good... no that's not it... FUN! That's it! Fun and stupid ones do! Take the movie I am reviewing today, the 1994 Street Fighter movie.

Now, before you think to yourself I'm completely mad for liking a video game based film let me just say that I recognise its flaws. Sure, it's no Casablanca, but it’s still a lot of silly fun that decided it was not going to take itself seriously recognising it was based on a video game about a wide ethnic group of fighters duking it out across the world. Therefore the plot is simple. The villain General M. Bison played by Raúl Juliá's has kidnapped a number of humanitarian workers stating that if he doesn't receive a $20 billion dollar ransom in three days then he plans on killing them. Therefore, the military are sent in to save the day. Basically its good guys vs. bad guys, blues vs. reds and the final fire fight takes place in a temple base that even Bond villains would die for. What isn't there to like!?

One thing this movie gets right is the characters as it contains the whole original roster and represents almost every one of them correctly. The movie even manages to include their classic outfits and even some of their signature moves, thus pleasing fans who were brought up in the arcades playing Street Fighter 2 (which the movie is loosely based on) since we can watch the film and say "Yes! It's (insert name here)! That’s awesome!".

Now, I did say that the movie represented ALMOST all the characters well. Sadly signature characters Ryu and Ken are pushed into the wise cracking best friends trying to be heroes roles, whereas Guile the lead role is given to Van Damme whose acting is so poor that it’s fun just watching how bad he is. Now to be honest, I haven't watched any of his films before so I don't know if he is meant to be another Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it’s the accent that I can't take seriously. Speaking of weird accents, nearly all of the military in the movie have broken accents. For example, the actress playing Cammy (or trying to play her) has the most forced British accent I have ever heard and there is even the equivalent of an Asian Christopher Walken... I'm not even kidding, that’s what he sounds like every time you hear him. He's not even a character in the game, but with that accent I wish he was!

Now for a movie based on a fighting game the important question is "Are the fights any good?" to which I reply "Yes, my friend, they are". Fights are done well and you generally get the feel of the game from watching them. I even found myself cheering at times just because I got so absorbed in this fun film and had to have some fun myself.

Overall the movie is the sort you should watch if you are familiar with the video game franchise and/or just fancy watching something that doesn't take itself too seriously. It’s entertaining, quotable and the villain is amusing and played well.

Therefore if anyone were to ask me if they should see this movie I would simply say the following...

 

Challenge to my readers:

In the movie they actually put in Goofy's scream. I am not kidding. I had to re-visit the scene twice, but I can say with all honesty that it's in the film. Therefore my challenge to you is to listen out for it if you plan to give this movie a try. And just so I'm being fair, here's a hint, it’s during the final battle outside the temple base. GOOD LUCK! ;)

Tomb Raider (2013)

Well... where to start? I have always been a big fan of the Tomb Raider series. In fact, some of my earliest and fondest childhood memories are of me just watching my dad play the games on the PS1. It was true father son bonding where he would play and I would be the back seat driver and tell him what to do (good times). Over the years, however my dad stopped playing the games and the imaginary torch as it were was passed down to me to continue playing the series. Unfortunately, the games started to get worse and worse as the developers tried to keep up with popular games and included gimmicky features such as RPG elements in perhaps Lara's worst title 'Angel of Darkness' where opening cupboard doors increased her strength... Yea, that was a thing...

Anyways, back to modern day. The new Tomb Raider had been released and the only reason I decided to buy it was because I managed to get it at a super good deal. Was it worth it? HELL YES! The brand new Tomb Raider is not only an amazing action packed thrill ride, but it is also an emotional journey and an gaming experience that I haven't encountered when playing a game for many years. Thus it made me feel ashamed as I thought it was only going to be an Uncharted rip off. Does it have its problems? Sure! Any game does. But if you read on you can find out my verdict on what I thought of Lara's new adventure.

First of all, if your not a fan of blood and gore then this game may not be for you as even though every Lara game has said that it's trying to be 'dark', this new entry is perhaps one of the darkest and sometimes messed up games I have ever played, and I've played the Deadspace series. I can't talk too much about it without going into spoilers, but just expect A LOT of dead bodies and blood.

Lara Croft is represented in this new entry in the series as a 21-22 year old who finds herself ship wrecked on a desert island. Alone, scared and wounded she must overcome her new and daunting environment whilst learning the skills to do so. Now whereas the opening was a little too fast paced for my liking I felt it did slow down enough in order to tell the story when necessary.

The island and the rest of its environments feels realistic and inhabited whilst providing a whole variety of unique and jaw dropping sights. Nearly all the locations you see will be explored eventually, and providing you don't use the fast travel system you will not encounter any loading times which is great as it doesn't break the immersion or flow of the game.

Sadly being a huge fan of story and characters in games I felt that these areas were the weakest. Don't get me wrong! I didn't think any of the characters were bad and I thought the story for the setting and genre suited the scenarios (although taking A LOT of elements from Lost). But, the characters just don't get the characterisation needed to make them fully fleshed out. Lara definitely does! But she's the main character and therefore the story should be her own. Instead she also knows a good handful of fellow survivors from her ship who are sadly one note. If anything there were far too many of them and the cast could have easily been cut in half, if not in quarters! This is a shame as; at the start of the game Lara uses a camera to watch previously filmed footage of life on board the ship including the others thus showing their personalities and relationships with one another naturally through a documentary. However, this is only done once which is a huge shame as I was loving this method of storytelling since it was the fuel Lara needed to keep her going. Had this occurred more often later in the game I perhaps would have cared for the other characters more. Perhaps the developers initially intended to do this, but didn't as it got in the way of the game's flow? I don't know, but since the only other method of finding out their motivations and thoughts is through journals that you can potentially miss you can get left in the dark when a character reacts in a way you would only recognise had you read their journal.

Gameplay is thrilling and full of so many set piece moments that just get bigger and bigger. Just as you think the last one will be the last, BOOM! another one hits you from out of nowhere and the adrenalin comes flooding back. Fighting in the game is also great as you can upgrade and use weapons that sound appropriately loud and powerful (even the shotgun for once), and using the bow for pin point deadly accuracy like Legolas from The Lord of the Rings is SO satisfying, especially when you silently take out an entire squad this way. HECK! even just exploring the island is great as not only do you uncover its secrets and find new equipment, but from back tracking you earn a sense of exploration and discovery since new areas of the island will open up depending on the events that occur e.g. fire or an explosion in the last scene may open up a new area somewhere else. I highly recommend, however that you try and find as many of the Island's secrets before the final fight as freely exploring the island at the end gives you no opposition! Thus if you fancy going Rambo style by using any of those  lovely new exploding tip arrows on foes at the end of the game you will be sadly disappointed to find none!

Going back to Lara, she is played by newcomer Camilla Luddington who is not only British as the character should be, but she is also a wonderful actress who is able to shed tears to order, thus making us believe in Lara's pain and torment and making the character more compelling and human. I was always a fan of the past ass kicker, but I have to say I prefer this new version of her since she's now a more believable person and one you invest in emotionally, rather than staring at her for eye candy. However, even though her first kill is out of self-defence and she feels physically sick afterwards, the player will end up having to kill a good hundred plus enemies in the game, thus making the transition from innocent to predator almost instant. Still, Tomb Raider is a video game and therefore the fact that you kill is a part of the medium and what many players expect to be doing. Had it been realistically paced some players may have gotten bored. Besides, she does at times try to reason with her attackers so there is a bit of balance.

Even though I love the single player I sadly can't give the same praise to the multiplayer since unlike Uncharted’s multiplayer, where the action is fast paced, chaotic and yet still works, Tomb Raider's multiplayer is slow paced since the controls seem sluggish for some reason and there are only 8 players in rather large maps. Therefore most of the fight is spent just trying to find the opposition. It was good that they wanted to include this feature, but overall it just feels tagged on. Therefore, don't expect much out of it and just enjoy the story. If you want a better similar multiplayer experience then check out Uncharted's.

Overall if you haven't realised already you need to buy this game! Lara is a great character and the gameplay feels exciting and action packed.

Although it may only be early days in 2013, I feel that this will be one of my top 10 games for this year.  

An Introduction to the Site

So... you may be wondering what the heck this site is about and who this Robin Foale is as he sounds like a very handsome and awesome fellow who I should follow online! Well, you should! (in a not stalking sort of way).

For you see, this blog is for everything to do with the video games' industry! Therefore there will be  personal opinions and thoughts on upcoming titles, top 10 lists, hopefully interviews, and of course reviews of both video games and their movie adapations. These will include the good and the bad, the serious and the weird, and of course the fun and the down right terrible!

Overall, the main goal of this site is for me to have fun writing it whilst hopefully bringing fun to you. I will try my best to review everything without being influneced by other critics and trust you respect my honest views on both new and old releases. Just note I also have Uni to contend with so posts may range from weekly to monthly at times, sorry. :P

Hope you enjoy the blog and please feel free to comment on my posts and I will try and respond as soon as I can!

Robin Foale ;)