Non Gaming related News, Editorials, Bullshit.
Fans of a certain age will remember the UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM series with a certain degree of fondness. Released in 1994 the original put you in control of a squad of X-Com operatives fighting to save the world from alien invasion combining a mix of turn based strategy, base building and resource management that proved addictive. Read more
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is currently my third favorite Star Wars film. Of course Empire sits at number one, but the original film still barely beats out JJ’s crack at the franchise for me. That is the most I will say about how much I like the film, despite the flaws it has (most minor, some major) I will do my best to refrain writing a review of TFA until the Blu Ray is made available. So why are you here reading this? Well I wanted to explore some of the new cannon that we have from the film and what could come, or be answered in Episode VIII. I’ll be looking into three things that most intrigue me, but there are many more I won’t have time for. So let's head back to a galaxy far, far away, and speculate like a bunch of nerds! (Needless to Say, TFA Spoilers Follow)
I knew I didn't like Order of the Phoenix very much when Harry turned into a whiny, insufferable guy who felt sorry for himself for the first hundred pages of that book. It felt needless. On the one hand, there was a reason for it [the events from Goblet of Fire lead to Harry's chrysalis moment] and I could kind of understand that. On the other, there was absolutely nothing subtle about how Harry came across in those first hundred pages. The editors [who gave up at that point - they seemed to decide that JK Rowling was printing money, so thicker books couldn't hurt] could have handled this better. Could have made Harry a more subtle, believable character, but no. Harry turned into a brat.
I felt more-or-less exactly the same way about Armada's titular character Zack Lightman. On the one hand, I can sort of understand his anger management problems. On the other...it just feels so forced.
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with Armada. Read more
Ok, so we’ve seen tons of trailers and the anticipation for Episode 7 of everyone's favorite epic space opera franchise is through the roof. I’ve avoided any spoilers and major plot details that 3rd party publication have either leaked or discussed, and since tomorrow (the 17th) I finally get to become lost in the 4th Star Wars film I’ve seen in theaters (‘91 baby here), I figured I should write out what i think will happen in the film before I see it. While i may not actually have the clairvoyance of the real Yoda, I do want to warn anyone from reading any further if you do not want any possible spoilers if I happen to be right about anything in the film. So, let’s make our attack run on this things plot...
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article. UnoTelly approached me to take a look at their service in exchange for a lifetime subscription to their Gold Plan. They didn’t ask for a positive coverage, but I still believe this deserves a disclaimer as intro. Read more
Why I'm more excited for Zak Snyder's latest film than Marvels next epic.
I'm sure you would assume I'm a DC fanboy in the preference wars of Marvel or DC. Well fuck you. I am a comics fan, not a brand fan. I enjoy good characters, action cells, and unique stories. I don't give a shit if they come from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, or hell, even Image Comics. If you're not 13 years old and you still give into brands buying your loyalty, you need to wake the fuck up. Yeah Marvel has some great stories, but they also have shitty ones, same goes for all publishers. You wouldn't go, "Yeah I don't really like Paramount Pictures, Universal just makes way better Movies." You judge individual films based on their characters, plot, and production value. And real comic fans do the same with our favorite form of reading.
That said, it's with this idea of story in mind that I've come to realize that I am far more excited to see Batman V Superman than Civil War. I've read Civil War, it's a great premise and the story is paced perfectly throughout the books pages. And yeah like many I was fucking pissed when Cap kicked the bucket. Oh yeah spoilers, no never mind Fuck you y'all shoulda read the book years ago. And while I think it will be cool to see the book come to life on the big screen, I already know the story. Even those who don't know the story know it was a pretty famous comic in marvel history. But for those who don't its the story of the Registration act, a law that would be put in place requiring any being with extraordinary abilities to be registered with the government to keep track of these individuals and regulate their activities to avoid future unwanted destruction. Now yeah that's a great concept that we'd seen previously in books like Watchmen but the Civil war book kept characters true to their morals, with neither side really being wrong and causing a large and violent conflict over the legislation. But again, that story was great in the book but I'm sure that the film won't show me much that I haven't seen before.
And that is where Batman V Superman stands apart. Yeah I know we've seen Supes and the bats duke it out many times before. Sometimes under a good premise, such as when bats actually beat supes, and sometimes it wasn't so great. But at least it wasn't as bad as Supes vs Spidey. Yeah that fucking happened.
But we haven't seen this story yet. In Man of Steel, an inexperienced Superman becomes partially responsible for the cataclysmic destruction of Metropolis. While he gained many worshipers for saving the earth who now follow him religiously, this chaos caused the death of someone close to none other than Bruce Wayne, who has already hung up the mantle after loosing his good friend and apprentice Robin.
That is one hell of a cool idea. Combine that with an amazing tribute to Dark Knight Returns with the Knight Armour that could very well be made of Kryptonian Technology to help him go toe to toe with basically a god. Only to have Wonder Woman and Aquaman both making their first big screen appearance in history to help these two get a cool head and stop whatever Lex is up too!!! Holy fuck, that sounds like a load of fun. And above all else, we get to watch, for the first time ever, a live action Batman, punch, and get punched by, a live action Superman. Who would pass that up? Many also criticize the art style of the Dc films. well in the past DC comics got much darker and heavy handed when Marvel was getting really kid friendly. and when Dc started to sell tons of copies of these darker books, marvel started heading the same direction to tap into the market as well. and with the MCU universe being the definition of popcorn crunching pretty colors cinematic events, I'm glad these future DC films aren't just going the same route. They aren't idiots they know its a risk to make these films have a darker tone than the traditional superhero films as of late. But it does seem like it would fit the story better to be more grounded and gritty. and again, its different from the colorful lighthearted Marvel films.Which are also great (Except for Ultron which was shit and to a minor extent so is Ant-Man) and those films have their place, and the Dc films will have theirs. I would take a kid to see Civil war, despite its heavy themes, I know its still basically a Disney film with more action. There is no way in hell i would take a kid to see BvS just based on what I've seen so far it looks like this is more a film for older comic book fans, made by older comic book fans.
Well I bet a lot of people would do it for one reason, Ben Affleck shouldn't be Batman!!! I guarantee most of the people saying that actually thought Christina Bale was a good Bats.
But I digress. Affleck is a great choice for a few reasons; The Chin, The acting chops, The parallels between his own Career and this Batman's life story (The whole being a huge deal only to fall off the radar after huge pitfalls from the media only to find redemption as a director). But the biggest one is one no one is fucking talking about. He is the first actor playing Batman who actually reads Batman comics. Like grew up with them, worshiped them same as you and me. While other actors maybe watched other bats on the big screen, or did some reading research once they got the part. No other bats is able to refresh on the part by pulling shit out of,their own comics collection. But he can cuz he has one. And come on, how where you people not convinced after this?
But I'm sure many don't like Ben for the same reason they don't like DC in general. Its because we listen to what's fed to us. Its in our nature, but when you look at what's in front of you and not what's being relayed in the media. Greatness is hard to ignore.
TLDR - All the Reasons BVS Will be more Exciting
