Mostly Various Reviews
Last week was particularly good. Two books finished, one short story written, some measure of cleaning done around the house. No complaints there.
This week isn't bad so far, though I'm feeling more tired and I'm troubled by some talk at work. People are worried about one of our web developers - in that they're asking me how badly he could screw up our systems if he tried. Ugh. We have backups, but they're pretty tech-savvy over there and have more access than most people. I'm unclear on just what's going on, but if someone in that department wants to get vindictive, it could be ugly.
God of War 2
Good game, of course. If you're into action with a few puzzles thrown in and you didn't play the first one, you missed out. If you did play the first one, you know what to expect pretty much - more of the same high quality.
Gah! Think I spent over half an hour on one phase of one boss fight simply because I didn't realize what I had to do in order to progress to the next phase.
Silent Hill (the movie)
I kind of wanted to catch this in theaters, but apparently not enough to do so. In retrospect, I think I'm glad. It didn't quite make me want my time back, but I think I would have wanted money back if I'd paid.
Atmosphere? Decent. Supernatural concepts? Nifty, with parallel/dual existences. Story? Uhh... I sat through a little over two hours of watching the main character run around, usually calling out her daughter's name, seeing bits and pieces of a greater puzzle... only to have what is arguably the "Big, Bad" of the movie come out and explain everything that happened. If that had been me, "why did I go through all this if you were going to explain everything outright?" would have been at the top of my list of questions. There's vengeance that probably should be justified, but only feels gratuitous. And then there's an ending that (I guess) resolves the backstory, yet not what has happened to the main characters of the present.
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
Apparently the first novel to be written about the Old Republic of Star Wars, this was an interesting read for me. Of course, I'm into the setting and mythos more than some people (and less than others, thankfully). It offered some insights into the dark side and how the Sith could become a powerful faction/army at various points in time. The main character, though clearly a villain of the setting, is made easy to associate with for most of the book. Most. Toward the end, things falter a bit as the story starts lifting directly from an older comic series, Jedi vs. Sith, which wasn't very strong to begin with.
Shatterpoint
Another Star Wars novel (ooo, two in one week), this one starring Mace Windu. I've mixed feelings on this one. Involving a guerrilla war, it's pretty dark all around. Mace himself comes across as just a little too "cowboy" and not enough "Jedi" in my estimation. The writing style feels very repetitive getting into action scenes as the author overuses reversals (his action would have succeeded, if not for this... which would have worked, but then that happened, which...). On the other hand, there were some nice insights about the role of Jedi in the Clone Wars as peace-loving law officers being called on to wage war.
300
Did I actually not write anything about this? Huh. Watched and enjoyed. I expected over-the-top action with spiffy visuals. I got that, and left feeling the movie was more than that. Good, I should think.
This week isn't bad so far, though I'm feeling more tired and I'm troubled by some talk at work. People are worried about one of our web developers - in that they're asking me how badly he could screw up our systems if he tried. Ugh. We have backups, but they're pretty tech-savvy over there and have more access than most people. I'm unclear on just what's going on, but if someone in that department wants to get vindictive, it could be ugly.
God of War 2
Good game, of course. If you're into action with a few puzzles thrown in and you didn't play the first one, you missed out. If you did play the first one, you know what to expect pretty much - more of the same high quality.
Gah! Think I spent over half an hour on one phase of one boss fight simply because I didn't realize what I had to do in order to progress to the next phase.
Silent Hill (the movie)
I kind of wanted to catch this in theaters, but apparently not enough to do so. In retrospect, I think I'm glad. It didn't quite make me want my time back, but I think I would have wanted money back if I'd paid.
Atmosphere? Decent. Supernatural concepts? Nifty, with parallel/dual existences. Story? Uhh... I sat through a little over two hours of watching the main character run around, usually calling out her daughter's name, seeing bits and pieces of a greater puzzle... only to have what is arguably the "Big, Bad" of the movie come out and explain everything that happened. If that had been me, "why did I go through all this if you were going to explain everything outright?" would have been at the top of my list of questions. There's vengeance that probably should be justified, but only feels gratuitous. And then there's an ending that (I guess) resolves the backstory, yet not what has happened to the main characters of the present.
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
Apparently the first novel to be written about the Old Republic of Star Wars, this was an interesting read for me. Of course, I'm into the setting and mythos more than some people (and less than others, thankfully). It offered some insights into the dark side and how the Sith could become a powerful faction/army at various points in time. The main character, though clearly a villain of the setting, is made easy to associate with for most of the book. Most. Toward the end, things falter a bit as the story starts lifting directly from an older comic series, Jedi vs. Sith, which wasn't very strong to begin with.
Shatterpoint
Another Star Wars novel (ooo, two in one week), this one starring Mace Windu. I've mixed feelings on this one. Involving a guerrilla war, it's pretty dark all around. Mace himself comes across as just a little too "cowboy" and not enough "Jedi" in my estimation. The writing style feels very repetitive getting into action scenes as the author overuses reversals (his action would have succeeded, if not for this... which would have worked, but then that happened, which...). On the other hand, there were some nice insights about the role of Jedi in the Clone Wars as peace-loving law officers being called on to wage war.
300
Did I actually not write anything about this? Huh. Watched and enjoyed. I expected over-the-top action with spiffy visuals. I got that, and left feeling the movie was more than that. Good, I should think.
In defense of the Silent Hill flick, have you played the first game? How's about the second? The duality of worlds (Hell, triality of 'normal', 'grey' and 'dark') is present in the games. The ending, well, is fitting for the game series. (Which prides itself on multiple endings based on how you played the game, from 'very bad' to 'fair, yet still tainted' to 'this is the best you're going to get, yes it's still not roses and sunshine.') Reccomending reading: "Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born" graphic novels being published by Marvel. Excellent adaptation of the back story of the gun slinger Roland and how he came to be that way. Also wonderful extra stuff to explain the world of the gunslingers and why things are the way they are. I'm a fan of Steve's works and seeing this made me delighted. So I'm biased.
ReplyDeleteNope. By and large, "survival horror" games don't do it for me. Played Resident Evil 2 when it was super-popular only to be annoyed by clunky controls and frustrating camera angles. That turned me off to the genre in general - though I admit to having played, enjoyed, and been suitably impressed with RE4. So I can only judge the movie as a movie, not a game adaption. Still, if I played a game and slogged through all that to (instead of figuring things out along the way) only have things explained to me and get an ending like that... I'd be disappointed too. Hmm. Having not read the Dark Tower series, would these graphic novels mean anything to me?
ReplyDeleteIt is still a good story. Fantasy mixed with a bit of Wild West flair set in a world like our own, but so far into the future that it's in a different period. (Like there was a great world war kind of thing that nearly wiped out everyone, so all the survivors got together and kept on living, despite everything having been changed drastically)
ReplyDelete