Past Week's Entertainment
I watched a review of Alien: Covenant and... that's probably all I'm going to watch of it. It sounds like the worst aspects of Prometheus combined with an attempt to build out the back story of the monsters in a way that makes little sense, removes much mystique, and does it all in a way that doesn't mesh well with what existed before.
On the other hand, I watched a playthrough of Alien: Isolation, which takes liberties with the time between the first two Alien movies, but does it in a way that's more respectful and captures a more appropriate atmosphere. But I don't mind having not played it myself. A little more intense an experience at times than I tend to prefer.
I finished playing Prey over the weekend, and have a few thoughts to add. As previously stated, I like the gameplay, though the story itself isn't terribly interesting through the bulk of the game. It owes a lot in structure and atmosphere to System Shock 2, I would say. I feel like there's probably too much backtracking - my only real major complaint about the game aspects of it. Resources and ammo sometimes felt plentiful and sometimes scarce. Encounters with other survivors on the station often turn into morality plays of some fashion - an opportunity to make extra effort to protect them or not. That's a little bit odd, given the earliest directive to destroy the station to prevent infection of Earth. I wish there were a bit more opportunity to discuss that, as you can work through much of the game saving people while building toward killing them all, and no one really comments. Of course, there are other options when you get down to it.
The game has a big twist at the beginning that sets things up. It also has a big (maybe bigger) twist at the end which... might be the most impactful part of the story, but is difficult to talk about without spoiling. I do feel it was earned and supported - I wasn't completely blindsided by it. It does, however, raise a lot of questions as it sets up a possible direction for a sequel. I would have liked a few more answers than questions, but I'm satisfied with the ending, at least.
Speaking of setting things up for sequels, I finished reading Nightblade: A Book of the Underrealm (not to be confused with other books that may be titled similarly). A 15-year-old woodland village girl idolizing moral thieves of stories takes the opportunity of a fugitive mage passing through to escape an abusive parent and cast herself out into the wider world with a mysteriously-significant dagger stolen from her parents. Through much of the story, it felt like she had little agency, pulled along by circumstance and luck (fate?). She does manage to come up with a few decisions of her own along the way, at least. People are introduced and re-intersect with her through the story in ways that initially made me think "well that was brief" and later revise that to "but now they're back, so I guess anyone with a name isn't going to be let go."
Things happen, but by the end of the book it feels very much like all we've seen is a prologue. Some characters and relationships have been introduced. Some apparently-important things have been laid out (the mage, the "Mystics," and the dagger), but none of them have really been explained in any way. It mostly feels like setup. And I may be inclined to continue the series, but it's not so gripping enough I find myself diving after the sequel yet.
On the other hand, I watched a playthrough of Alien: Isolation, which takes liberties with the time between the first two Alien movies, but does it in a way that's more respectful and captures a more appropriate atmosphere. But I don't mind having not played it myself. A little more intense an experience at times than I tend to prefer.
I finished playing Prey over the weekend, and have a few thoughts to add. As previously stated, I like the gameplay, though the story itself isn't terribly interesting through the bulk of the game. It owes a lot in structure and atmosphere to System Shock 2, I would say. I feel like there's probably too much backtracking - my only real major complaint about the game aspects of it. Resources and ammo sometimes felt plentiful and sometimes scarce. Encounters with other survivors on the station often turn into morality plays of some fashion - an opportunity to make extra effort to protect them or not. That's a little bit odd, given the earliest directive to destroy the station to prevent infection of Earth. I wish there were a bit more opportunity to discuss that, as you can work through much of the game saving people while building toward killing them all, and no one really comments. Of course, there are other options when you get down to it.
The game has a big twist at the beginning that sets things up. It also has a big (maybe bigger) twist at the end which... might be the most impactful part of the story, but is difficult to talk about without spoiling. I do feel it was earned and supported - I wasn't completely blindsided by it. It does, however, raise a lot of questions as it sets up a possible direction for a sequel. I would have liked a few more answers than questions, but I'm satisfied with the ending, at least.
Speaking of setting things up for sequels, I finished reading Nightblade: A Book of the Underrealm (not to be confused with other books that may be titled similarly). A 15-year-old woodland village girl idolizing moral thieves of stories takes the opportunity of a fugitive mage passing through to escape an abusive parent and cast herself out into the wider world with a mysteriously-significant dagger stolen from her parents. Through much of the story, it felt like she had little agency, pulled along by circumstance and luck (fate?). She does manage to come up with a few decisions of her own along the way, at least. People are introduced and re-intersect with her through the story in ways that initially made me think "well that was brief" and later revise that to "but now they're back, so I guess anyone with a name isn't going to be let go."
Things happen, but by the end of the book it feels very much like all we've seen is a prologue. Some characters and relationships have been introduced. Some apparently-important things have been laid out (the mage, the "Mystics," and the dagger), but none of them have really been explained in any way. It mostly feels like setup. And I may be inclined to continue the series, but it's not so gripping enough I find myself diving after the sequel yet.
Mebbe shoulda gotten Swords & Scoundrels after all >.>;
ReplyDeleteI started on that today while my computer was taking its sweet time doing updates. More going on out the gate, certainly. Will reserve further judgment until later.
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