#and adds to the narrative. makes it feel like a reward to uncover more of this world

[velvetjune]

*googling how to bribe remedy the video game company into adding a truly outrageous amount of weird little collectibles and nonsensical videos for control 2*

[fridge-reviews]

The Best Games of 2023

Welcome once again to the my personal list of games I enjoyed this year. Yep, it’s my list, feel free to disagree with me but it won’t change anything. So, here are the rules;

These are games that I’ve played and reviewed this year.

The list is in alphabetical order, its not a top 10, these all feature because of how good I consider them to be.

The games don’t have to have been released this year.

Everyone clear on the rules? If not feel free to reread them.

Beacon Pines

This is a game I backed on Kickstarter after watching one of my favourite Youtubers showcase it. I absolutely loved this game to the point of feeling sad when I had completed it that it was over. This game totally captivated me and had me want to explore the various endings it has.

Curse of the Dead Gods

This is a roguelite game of risk and reward, do you keep the rooms lit and see what enemies are coming for you or do you fight in the darkness where your attacks are more potent but you can't see what's coming until its upon you. That is only one of the many risks you can take that may grant rewards, curses and glory await you within this game.

Inscryption

If Daniel Mullins creates a game I have to play it, that's how it works at this point. Inscryption preys upon one of my weaknesses in both video and real games... deckbuilding. But once I thought I had a handle on the mechanics, they shifted and everything changed. Play this game and marvel at how strange and wonderful it is.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengance

“Gloriously stupid”, that's how I described this game and I'm sticking by that statement. It's so massively over the top in everything it does. An absolute must play!

Road 96

This game was something special. You could call it a walking simulator but that would not do this game justice at all. What makes this game special are the characters you meet as you go through your various playthroughs, from incompetent bikers to conflicted truckers and cops who just want to do good when surrounded by the bad ones. I've recently bought the separate expansion 'Mile 0' because I just want to experience it again (but differently).

Shadowrun Games

Okey, this is a bit of a cheat since this is about three games at once but I'm still counting it. My favourite of the three was Shadowrun: Hong Kong because of the way the story builds up. If you're ever in the market for a cyberpunk game (that isn't Cyberpunk 2077) I heartily recommend these.

System Shock (Remake)

Another game I backed on Kickstarter, and I'm so glad I did. I loved System Shock 2 and always found it very hard to go back it's predecessor. This remake removed the clunkiness of the old game for me entirely.

Toem

Toem is a wonderful, slow paced game all about photography. Photography is something of a passion for me so this game really spoke to me. Of course, there is more to it than merely taking virtual pictures, there are puzzles, quests and side missions to accomplish.

Unpacking

Cosy games seem to be a genre that's growing in popularity quite quickly and this game is pretty much the poster child for the genre. Something I really appreciated about the game was the unfolding narrative that you uncovered from what you unpacked into the various rooms and houses you followed the character into.

Vampire Survivors

Just as Unpacking is the poster child of the cosy genre Vampire Survivors is the poster child (and possibly the original progenitor) of the 'bullet heaven' genre. What I find rather amazing is the level of support this game has been given by its creator, with lots of regular free updates that add in content as well as a couple of paid for expansions it really feels like this game will never truly die.

----

This year has been amazing for those of us that love to play video games, with lots of truly fantastic games appearing with regularity. Of course, that hasn't been the case for the ones creating the games, developers are still being fired and removed for all sorts of stupid reasons and of course they like to target the newly established unions. I hope more unions appear and give these corpos the bloody nose they are asking for.

[vishnupriya1234]

The Allure of Data Analysis: Why It’s a Career to Consider

Data analysis is a vibrant and evolving field that captivates many with its blend of problem-solving and creativity. If you enjoy unraveling puzzles and discovering hidden narratives, data analysis might just be the career for you. Let’s explore what makes this profession both exciting and fulfilling from the Data Analytics Course in Chennai.

1. The Joy of Uncovering Insights: Imagine data analysis as a fascinating puzzle where you start with raw, unrefined data and use your skills and tools to reveal meaningful patterns and insights. If you find excitement in solving problems and uncovering the deeper stories that data can tell, you’ll likely find data analysis incredibly rewarding.

2. A Blend of Creativity and Logic: Data analysis isn’t just about crunching numbers; it involves a significant amount of creative thinking. Finding the most effective ways to visualize data, recognize trends, and present your findings requires both creativity and analytical skills. If you thrive in a role that merges artistic flair with logical reasoning, data analysis offers a unique and engaging experience.

3. The Impact of Your Work: The findings from data analysis can have a profound impact on a company’s decisions, product improvements, and business strategies. Knowing that your insights can drive meaningful change and contribute to the success of a company adds a layer of satisfaction to your role, making the work feel truly impactful.

If you want to learn more about Data Analytics, consider enrolling in an Data Analytics Online Course. They often offer certifications, mentorship, and job placement opportunities to support your learning journey.

4. Continuous Learning and Growth: The field of data analysis is dynamic, with new tools and techniques constantly emerging. This ever-changing landscape means there’s always something new to learn, keeping the job fresh and intellectually stimulating. If you enjoy being on the cutting edge of technological advancements, data analysis will provide plenty of opportunities for growth.

5. Collaborative Communication: Data analysts often work in tandem with various teams, translating complex data into understandable insights for different stakeholders. If you enjoy interacting with others and sharing your findings in a clear and engaging manner, this collaborative aspect of data analysis can be particularly fulfilling.

Conclusion: Data analysis offers a rich blend of problem-solving, creativity, impactful work, ongoing learning, and collaboration. If these elements appeal to you, a career in data analysis could be both exciting and deeply satisfying.

[reddyanna010]

Unveiling the Mystery: Who is Reddy Anna and Why You Should Read His Book.

Official website: https://reddyannaofficials.co.in/

Introduction to Reddy Anna and his book.

Step into the world of Reddy Anna, a name that resonates with mystery, intrigue, and a deep passion for cricket. As you embark on this literary journey, get ready to uncover the enigma surrounding Reddy Anna and delve into the captivating narrative of his book that intertwines seamlessly with the pulsating realm of T20 cricket. Join us as we unravel the story behind Reddy Anna's online book, his dedicated club, and the innovative concept of Reddy Anna Self Deposit. It's time to discover why reading Reddy Anna is not just an option but a compelling necessity for all cricket enthusiasts out there!

How Reddy Anna book ties into the world of cricket and the T20 World Cup.

Reddy Anna's book seamlessly intertwines with the world of cricket, especially amidst the excitement of the T20 World Cup. The pages come alive with vivid descriptions of match-winning moments, showcasing the thrill and intensity of cricket at its best. As fans gear up for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, Reddy Anna's insights offer a unique perspective that delves beyond just scores and statistics. It captures the spirit of the game, celebrating both triumphs and challenges faced by players on their journey to glory. With every chapter, readers are transported to stadiums buzzing with energy and anticipation, feeling as if they are right there witnessing history in the making. The Reddy Anna Book serves as a perfect companion for cricket enthusiasts looking to delve deeper into the nuances of this beloved sport.

An overview of Reddy Anna Club and its purpose.

Are you ready to dive into the world of Reddy Anna Club? This exclusive community is a haven for cricket enthusiasts and book lovers alike. Founded by the enigmatic Reddy Anna, this club aims to bring together individuals who share a passion for both sports and literature. The purpose of the Reddy Anna Club goes beyond just discussing matches or books – it's about fostering a sense of camaraderie among like-minded individuals. Members have access to unique content, special events, and insider insights that make being part of this club truly special. Whether you're a die-hard cricket fan or someone who enjoys getting lost in a good book, the Reddy Anna Club offers something for everyone. Joining this club means immersing yourself in a world where sports meets storytelling, creating an experience unlike any other.

The Inspiration Behind Reddy Anna Book.

Reddy Anna, the enigmatic author behind the captivating book that has taken the literary world by storm, draws inspiration from his deep-rooted passion for cricket. Growing up in a small village where cricket was more than just a sport but a way of life, Reddy Anna found solace and joy in the game. His book is a culmination of years spent analyzing matches, players' strategies, and the intricate nuances of T20 cricket. The pages come alive with his unique perspective and insightful commentary on the sport. The energy and excitement surrounding the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 have fueled Reddy Anna's creativity even further. The Reddy Anna Online Book serves as a bridge between fans and their favorite players, offering an insider's view into what makes T20 cricket so thrilling. Through his writing, Reddy Anna aims to bring fans closer to the game they love while sparking discussions and debates within the global cricket community.

The concept of Reddy Anna Self Deposit and how it relates to the book.

Have you ever come across a concept that not only intrigues but also adds a whole new dimension to reading? Reddy Anna Self Deposit is precisely that – a revolutionary idea where readers can immerse themselves in the world of literature while unlocking exclusive content and rewards. By engaging with the Reddy Anna Online Book through Self Deposit, readers get to interact with the narrative on a deeper level, enhancing their overall reading experience. This unique approach bridges the gap between storytelling and reader participation, making it more than just a book; it becomes an interactive journey. The fusion of technology and storytelling in Reddy Anna's vision opens up endless possibilities for how we consume literature. Through Reddy Anna Self Deposit, readers become active participants in shaping their own reading adventure, giving them a sense of control over the story's direction. It's like being part of an exclusive club where each member has a voice in influencing the narrative. Immerse yourself in this innovative concept and discover a whole new way to experience literature with Reddy Anna Self Deposit.

Conclusion.

Reddy Anna's book is a must-read for any cricket enthusiast looking to delve into the world of T20 cricket and gain valuable insights into the game. With the launch of Reddy Anna Club and the innovative concept of Reddy Anna Self Deposit, readers can not only enjoy an engaging reading experience but also be part of a community that shares their passion for cricket. As we eagerly await the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, there is no better time to immerse ourselves in Reddy Anna's book and connect with like-minded fans through the Reddy Anna Club. So why wait? Pick up your copy of Reddy Anna's book today, join the club, and embark on a journey through the exhilarating world of T20 cricket like never before!

[kyndaris]

Why yes, poking a dismembered arm should be no problem

After hearing quite a few favourable things about the title, I thought to take advantage of the indie sales on the Switch and purchased Night in the Woods. While I knew it was a narrative heavy game with light platforming elements, I was still taken aback by how the characters were portrayed and the depth the writers gave to each and every single one of the townsfolk. Their struggles, much as it did in Life is Strange, resonated with me in ways that elicited a slew of emotions. One scene in particular was the fight between mother and daughter midway through the game. It was particularly painful as growing up Asian in Western society, there were many ingrained expectations that I had to fight against. While the ending felt abrupt and left quite a lot unanswered, it was good to Mae Borowski in a happier headspace than she had been before. At its core, Night in the Woods proved to be an effective social commentary of the lives we lead and the obstacles we often encounter in this modern age.

Despite the disparate ideas and themes inherent within the title, Night in the Woods mostly succeeds in pulling them all together. The one major stumble I found in the pacing was the introduction of a mysterious arm that Mae and her friends find quite early on, but which only finds resolution at the very end when it is revealed that a cult has been kidnapping undesirables and using them as sacrifices to an unknown God. I know, just typing that sentence still made it difficult to parse the events that transpired in the last hour or two of Night in the Woods. This makes the narrative flow quite jarring as multiple threads culminate together. Worse, there is no definitive ending to the sordid discoveries Mae, Bea, Angus and Gregg stumble upon with regards to the sleepy town of Possum Springs - nor an answer to Mae’s direction in life after she drops out of college.

Though the story itself could be easily beaten in a couple of short hours, I often found myself wandering around Possum Springs and speaking with all the residents. As a result, each day would take upwards of twenty to thirty minutes as I scoured the map, looking for ways to learn more about Selmers and Bruce or jumping up onto the rooftops to stargaze. There was much to uncover and I did like the various interactions Mae could share with the other denizens of the town.

While the gameplay was simplistic, Night in the Woods also took the liberty of implementing two minigames that were easy to pick up for those familiar with rhythm action and hack-n-slash. Each one is quite deep and I can imagine many players devoting an hour or two to perfecting each one. What proved amusing was that throughout the course of the story, Mae would always be quick to point out that she was always tasked to play bass for songs she had never heard or seen the sheet music for. 

Like many though, I found Night in the Woods was not a title that could be rushed. It had to be slowly digested. After a week of slowing meandering through (and providing my own voice to the characters to add some additional flavour) I came to appreciate the things that the characters endured. In fact, I often found myself connecting with Bea and her sarcasm proved refreshing in the face of Mae’s more gung-ho attitude towards petty crimes. As I said in one of the above paragraphs, however, Night in the Woods did not solve my existential crisis or provide me with a definitive direction for where my own life should go. But perhaps by learning to let go, I can keep looking forward to each brand new experience. At least, it’s the hope.

Night in the Woods is a very particular game. It rewards curiosity by dropping side plot hooks for those that care to look for them, while also providing an overarching narrative where such actions are not necessary for story fulfillment. It didn’t, perhaps, tug on my heart strings as much as Life is Strange did but I feel like I could understand myself a little better and the aimlessness that has haunted me ever since I graduated university.

[lauesenpeck9-blog]

Short Article Reveals the Undeniable Facts About T20 Cricket League and How It Can Affect You

The Do's and Don'ts of T20 Cricket League T20 is a favorite brief type of cricket. Gayle is absolutely a international star the moment it comes to playing in T20 leagues across the globe. In dividing any ODI straight to innings enable your T20 really feel there are. In case you do, then it is possible to move and take the quiz now! The greatest individual batting and bowling performances in the season could be viewed below. One match is going to be performed every day. You may get your approvals when you proceed through that process. IPL has a large opening that has filled the lifestyles of the cricketers with loads of fun. He's been an essential portion of the IPL right because his beginning, and it's seen everything. Tickets aren't secured by its reluctantly Saint Lucians and I am able to imagine the minute rush, but I need to encourage citizens who receive their tickets possible and haven't yet purchased tickets to protect against the rush. We're organising this championship because of some requirement. There's a book day for those finals. Morkel is a exceptional add-on to this Spartans team and may hit any ball by the playground. Read more on the topic of the teams that are likely to perform with. Players also will like to supply their best. The layouts are the exact replica of this group uniforms of the groups that are participating that are different. The remainder of the group will be greater. To encourage the game, the type of the soccer altered in 1934. Even smallish bits of info may be sufficient to place us on the path. The vibrant colors have come to be the characteristic of these collections. I am delighted to see stuff on hamariweb regarding PSL in which it is possible to procure all pics, news, points graph and a lot more here. Getting the Best T20 Cricket League Its popularity can be projected from this very simple fact it is regarded as a faith in many nations. The future seems bright. In deciding this, broadcasting rights will play a major role. Becoming mindful of how much time it requires that you finish your path is a great method to bring focus on everything you need so as to maximize your time and functionality. Individuals then began getting injuries, feeling poorer and not having the capability to maintain running for extended periods. The narrative is the specific same. T20 Cricket League Help! Many native gyms and cities provide pools for general use, if you don't own a pool of your own. You could earn a huge difference and deliver as much joy if you opt to register as a volunteer to coach overseas. It demonstrates that cricketers from countries need these types of endeavors to show their ability. The capability to play with a selection of experienced foreign cricketers will merely benefit both the emerging and established Irish talent which will be involved during the next ten years. Whether you're competing or merely attempting to boost your performance we've got seven hints which can lead you in the direction and help you improve not simply your time but in addition your operation. Where you are able to observe complete notebook that is working kaggle Kernel. Facts, Fiction and T20 Cricket League The initiation of this Indian Premier League is changing things at a quick pace. Fernando happened over. Even though the openers Ravi Bopara and Luke Right created a platform to create a great score. As a consequence, players are not likely to select contrary to their IPL teams. The game demands the consumers to make a digital team and get involved in the sport to acquire unique rewards. In reality one particular IPL sport is valued near a EPL game. The Insider Secret on T20 Cricket League Uncovered

[casualarsonist]

Horizon: Zero Dawn review

Here’s a weird little idiosyncrasy-slash-crippling weakness of mine - I find it nearly impossible to write about things I really enjoy. Perhaps it’s because I hate gushing, but I can’t really overstate just how fucking annoying it is that I can only provide opinions on art that is either some version of ‘okay’, or ludicrously shit. For example, I’ve previously mentioned that there are only three or four pieces of art that I’ve witnessed in the world that I would nominate as a 10 out of 10, and try as I might I simply can’t seem to find the words to adequately express my feelings about them. I think the issue here is that I feel like my commentary on an amazing piece of art needs to meet some invisible standard of quality wherein it gives an excellent description of the piece’s virtues without resorting to effusive emotional over-statement, and anyone who knows me knows that effusive emotional over-statement is my jam.

So I suppose this is one of the reasons why it’s taken me so long to talk about Horizon: Zero Dawn. 

Well, that, and the fact that it’s not quite as black and white as ‘it’s an excellent open-world action-RPG’. I mean, it IS an excellent open-world action-RPG, but this fact is only part of the appeal, and even though I might think it is the bee’s knees, I have to counterbalance this with the fact that there is a lot about Horizon: Zero Dawn that isn’t particularly original, especially in today’s over-saturated open-world action-RPG market. If Horizon was one of only a few games in its genre it could quite possibly be one of the best games ever made, but I have trouble giving it that label precisely because of the glut of other releases from which it borrows its features from - if you’ve played any of the Assassin’s Creed or Uncharted games then you’ll be well-acquainted with the stalky-stabby-hidey-ridey-hack-and-slashy-climby-climby gameplay on show here.  

But don’t let my shilly-shallying about the mechanics of the game distract from the fact that I think it’s a landmark release; it holds a place rather similar to The Witcher 3 in my mind, in that it takes a decade of iteration and expansion in its genre and makes a masterpiece out of that, and again, much like The Witcher 3, this almost entirely comes down to the quality of the writing and performances, as complimented by fantastic mechanics and gorgeous visuals. 

Horizon: Zero Dawn is the story of Aloy (not ‘alloy’) - an outcast from birth from the Nora tribe, a band of primitive and superstitious humans who, since having their lands raided and their peoples kidnapped by the blood-thirsty former king of the neighbouring Carja tribe, have become deeply xenophobic and isolated in their mountain-hemmed valley. Aloy is raised by Rost, a seasoned hunter and rigidly principled man determined to uphold his exile for reasons he refuses to explain. As Aloy approaches her 18th birthday she opts to take part in The Proving - a test of her physical and mental skills that offers her the chance to fully rejoin the tribe. But when the competitors in The Proving are attacked by a band of raiders who seem intent on killing Aloy in particular, she is nominated as a Seeker by the Nora elders, and is free to travel into the larger world with the mission of discovering both her origins, and the cause of the new scourge upon her community. 

And this patchy and kind-of-inaccurate synopsis is really as much as I can say without moving into spoiler territory, which is a damn shame, because Horizon has one of the best stories of any game I’ve played in a long, long time. This is not just down to the quality of the story itself, but also to the quality of the storytelling. Horizon takes everything I raved about in my post about Black Isle’s use of exploration and the design of the game world as a storytelling medium, and applies it to great effect. As such, we, the players, are placed in the same role as the protagonist - beginning in a child-like stage, we are vulnerable, and introduced to the dangers and wonders of the world bit by bit, and as we explore further into the unknown, the environment around us grows and grows and grows, becoming ever-more awe-inspiring as we progress. It really is a near-perfect mixture of open-world gameplay and curated exploration, and there is rarely a point in which you feel like you shouldn’t be moving too far ahead because you’re going to bypass something interesting. As in New Vegas, the use of wide valleys as a way to both make the player feel like they’re free to roam whilst also meting out the features of the game is flawlessly executed, and results in an open-world game that is also, somehow, impeccably paced. 

This only really falters in two places - firstly, when the largest section of the game is opened up and one is overwhelmed by the amount of opportunity suddenly available, and secondly, in the fact that the story missions don’t exactly lead you delicately through the map. One of the earliest missions after you leave the opening territory sends you to the farthest corner of the game world, and the fact that I would have to pass so much content in order to get there triggered my FOMO and led me to leave the story until the very, very, final end of the game once I’d completed everything else there was to do. This was a mistake, a) because the story is fantastic and you don’t lose anything by completing it earlier on, and b) because once you’ve conquered literally every other challenge the game throws at you, pursuing the story feels a little redundant. It’s also a shame that so much of the main quests take place at one specific, isolated end of the world, which is a strange miscalculation in my opinion when the developers have created such a rich, gorgeous, and varied environment for their players to explore. 

But even if I think that these things could have been improved on, they ultimately don’t do much to overshadow the achievements of the game in all of its other areas. The characters look unbelievably lifelike, and despite the occasionally stilted facial animation and some static conversation camerawork, the characters are voiced and animated extremely well. The script is intelligent and emotive, and tells an incredibly compelling story that I just want to talk about with SOMEONE (please, for the love of God, Alice, finish the fucking game!), which is especially noteworthy because Horizon goes out of its way to offer a strange and beautiful world that poses so many questions to the player, and then makes the incredible effort to answer pretty much every one of them by the time it’s over. 

I should elaborate here for those that aren’t acquainted with the game - Aloy lives in a world populated by machines. Specifically, machines that look like animals. Most are in some way aggressive, although apparently that wasn’t always the case, and the game’s death cult enemies have managed to corrupt and enslave some of them in order to use them as weapons. These animals range from flying bird-like creatures to giant bulls to fire-and-ice-shooting crocodiles to gargantuan dinosaurs. And in the course of encountering these creatures, you’ll also encounter the diverse biomes that they exist in: cold Nordic wastelands, humid and palm-dotted Egyptian river deltas, arid North American mesas, and even the ruins of an ancient civilisation. And it would be one thing for the developers to have just imagined a fantasy universe in which all these things exist a hop, skip, and a jump from one another, and to leave it at that - Final Fantasy has been successful for three decades doing this very same thing. But it’s all explained, everything is explained, and the explanation is compelling and evocative and interesting and fun. There aren’t many stones left unturned, and yet the game never feels like it’s bogging you down in exposition or having to slow to a crawl to catch you up; I was happy to watch and listen as the mysteries were revealed, and Horizon is one of very few games with such an ambitious narrative that is actually worth the effort you take to uncover it. 

But hey, it can’t hurt that the uncovering is just so much fun, can it? Taking a leaf from CD Projekt Red’s soon-to-be award winning book ‘Open-World Game Design, And How Not To Fuck It All Up’, Horizon is filled to the brim with fun and interesting gameplay, challenging and wonder-invoking enemies, engaging characters, and many, many varied side-quests. In fact, the game is one of only a few to clearly divert from the typical ‘main quest/side quest’ delineation of most modern open-world games. Instead, Horizon operates on a number of levels; the first of which being the main missions in which you investigate Aloy’s past; the second being a number of multi-staged, large-in-scope second-tier missions in which you deal with ongoing problems in the world at large like civil wars and wide-reaching political intrigues; the third level involves the smaller, one-off side missions more typical of these games such as saving strangers from danger or helping resolve disputes; and then you have all the other additional content such as hunting and gathering quests, collectibles of various types, and various combat challenges. This variety staves off a lot of tedium that one feels in other, lesser games, and keeps you constantly surprised and engaged given that you never quite know exactly how deep the next story is going to go. Even the most basic challenges (hunt here, kill there, etc, etc) are fun because the combat and stealth gameplay is so enjoyable, and the fact that most machines can be crippled or destroyed in a number of different, spectacular, and rewarding ways only adds to the challenge and variation and excitement in taking them down. It’s something that makes the game exciting to come back to after you’ve finished it, and even though I’m still playing Assassin’s Creed: Origins, I know that it’s probably going to be a one-and-done situation for me, in the same way that ALL the other Assassin’s Creed games have been. Whereas Horizon? I’m definitely going to return to it, and I’m going to approach it in a totally different way, because I can.

It’s worth a mention as well that the game doesn’t just maintain a high standard of quality and integrity in its mechanics, but also in its DLC, and it’s extremely heartening to see that the only additional content released for the the game is more akin to the expansion packs from the days of yore - a single, 15-odd-hour addition to the base game that has its own story and environment and additions to the gameplay that are both seamless and complimentary to the base, as well as being a substantial and worthwhile standalone investment. In fact, just looking it up now, ‘The Frozen Wilds’ is actually officially referred to as an ‘expansion pack’, and this gives me all kinds of warm-and-fuzzy feelings (and for some reason makes me want to go back and play the Mysteries of the Sith expansion for Dark Forces 2). 

The Frozen Wilds is apparently the first and last addition we will see for the game, which is a shame because it’s so good, but then again I’d always prefer to have a numerically smaller amount of great content than be overfed on shitty cosmetic items, crap DLC quests, and other such symptoms of the disease that is modern DLC culture. And while I can’t say with certainty that Guerilla Games won’t release anything else for the game, there’s something uniquely joyous in knowing that to buy the DLC for Horizon is to improve a complete game with some relevant extra content that expands the lore and experience, rather than feeling like you’re just stapling something functionally redundant and narratively incongruent to the body of the main game. 

With God of War’s recent release to massive acclaim, I’m becoming more and more convinced that console-exclusive games are one of the few things keeping the spirit of artistic integrity and quality in the ‘AAA’ industry alive. Were it not for games like that and like Horizon: Zero Dawn, which stand sparsely in resistance to the flood of catch-all money-machine publisher/developers that produce barely-iterative annual-release tat, we’d be drowning in a sea of games infinitely wide and an inch deep (and yes, despite my positive impressions of their newest releases, I’m still talking about companies like Ubisoft, whose games are both fun and tiresome at the same time). And so it is that Horizon: Zero Dawn is legitimately one of the best games available to play on the PS4 right now, and one of the best open-world action-RPG games ever released, and it’s a shame that rather than shining down upon us like a beacon from the heavens, its light is somewhat lost amongst the sea of other lesser, but like-minded releases. I suppose one could call this a flaw in the game’s design, but when you get down and play the thing it becomes difficult to figure out how to frame it as such when everything it does is in some way an improvement over how its been done before. It is, without any doubt in my mind, a must-play, and I really need to talk about the story with someone, so please, for the love of god Alice, finish the damn game already. 

9.5/10

(Very) Outstanding

[blessuswithblogs]

Thoughts on Hollow Knight: I gazed into the void and it was full of cute buggies

(very minor spoilers for Hollow Knight ahead)

It occurred to me when I was writing up my thoughts on The Surge that Hollow Knight probably deserved the same treatment, as it is another recent Dark Souls inspired offering that I played quite a bit of. I think the reason I haven't really put my thoughts together about Hollow Knight yet is that I haven't really needed to. The game is simply very good in a straightforward, easy to understand way. Hollow Knight is a metroidvania made by the indie studio Team Cherry with charming hand-drawn graphics. Mechanically, it draws much more from modern Castlevania titles than Souls. The only thing that really even qualifies it as a Dark Souls inspired game is the fact you lose your money on death and have to recover it again. It's a rather unnecessary addition, but at least in Hollow Knight, this mechanic has some (vague) diegetic reason for being.

I don't feel quite as inclined to explain the systems of Hollow Knight in such excruciating detail as I did for The Surge, mostly because they are simpler, better implemented, and easier to understand. You swing your sword (or Nail, in the parlance of Hallownest, the ancient bug city where the game takes place), it does damage to enemies, enemies drop money (or Geo, as it is called) you can use to buy things, and you explore a huge 2D interconnected world. Character progression is done entirely by finding upgrades in the game world, or finding NPCs in the game world to buy things from, so Hollow Knight is quite light on RPG aspects. The main character customization aspect comes from charms, your only real gear analogue, which you can equip at benches, your rest and respawn points, for various helpful effects like increased swing range, extra health, and a passive magnetic field that draws Geo into you so it doesn't go flying off into the abyss all the time.

What I would say is the most unique mechanic in the game is the Soul system, which sounds ridiculous, but it's not what it sounds like i swear don't close the window. Instead of currency, Soul is basically your MP equivalent, which you use to cast spells and heal yourself. You regain soul by striking enemies with your nail, creating a rewarding rhythm of using basic attacks to power up your big moves or keep yourself alive. It encourages using spells instead of hoarding them because your Soul is effectively unlimited as long as you have things to smack. The game can get pretty hard towards the end because bosses and tougher enemies tend to go berserk the moment you step back to take a moment to heal, but otherwise it's a well realized system that gives you a lot of variety and flexibility in how you approach the game's various challenges.

Where the game really gets its self-proclaimed Dark Souls inspiration is in its world design and preferred method of storytelling. You play as the nameless Knight, a cute little bug child with some interesting powers and no sense of smell or verbal communication skills. The Knight is explicitly and importantly genderless. You start the game making your way to Dirtmouth, small town of friendly bugs situated on top of Hallownest, a huge bug metropolis built beneath the ground. Unfortunately, Hallownest has been visited by a Terrible Calamity and most bugs brave enough to venture into the depths eventually lose their sense of self and wander the tunnels aimlessly, attacking anything that moves. The comparison with Lordran is quite self-evident, and the general structure of the narrative mirrors the original Dark Souls quite faithfully. The world is designed similarly, exploring the nooks and crannies of a once great civilization, marveling at its grand archtiecture, and gradually uncovering the unseemly secrets it was built upon.

Unlike The Surge, which was so much of a narrative mess I felt like I had to go into it in detail just to sort my thoughts out and sort of confirm to the world at large that I wasn't having some sort of fever dream, I have enough respect for the tale of Hollow Knight that I don't really want to spoil it. It's worth seeing and exploring for yourself, and at a very affordable price point, I would really recommend giving it a try. A lot of love and care went into Hollow Knight. One area where the game shines is in its characters, a motley collection of bugs from all walks of life with many different perspectives and goals. They are both memorable in personality and in design, each one drawn in an expressive and unique way that emphasizes their own little idiosyncracies. Quirrel, a happy go lucky adventurer explores Hallownest for its secrets much like you do and you get to be friends with him as you go through the game. Zote the Mighty, a supremely overconfident and haughty warrior, becomes your rival of sorts after you get him out of a sticky situation. Cornifer, a jolly and helpful cartographer, can be found in each area selling a map for a reasonable fee and offering insight about the locale. You need to buy these to have a map to begin with, so you tend to be extremely grateful whenever you hear his trademark hummning and find the paper trail he leaves behind. There are a lot of characters in Hollow Knight, and most of them have their own stories and surprises. They're also "voice acted" in a sing-song fake bug language sort of reminiscent of older Legend of Zelda titles that's quite charming and evocative.

The game's various bosses (of which there are more than 5, I might add) are quite similar to the characters. They've got their own stories and goals and take on a variety of forms, some cute, some terrifying, some a little bit of both. I've been fairly effusive in my praise of the game so far, and while I do think that the bosses are very good for the most part, it is worth noting that a lot of later fights in the game, especially some optional ones, are huge difficulty spikes that can kind of take you out of the game. Being optional, of course, means that this is never a huge problem, but Hollow Knight can get pretty brutal later on even on the critical path. It has a much more traditional difficulty curve than the average Souls style game, which usually start very difficult and become easier as you master the mechanics. Instead, the game starts off quite leisurely but gradually (and sometimes not so gradually) ramps up into a very difficult fight for survival. Bosses, and regular enemies, also have their own bits of lore courtesy of the game's bestiary system, the Hunter's Journal. The Hunter is an NPC you meet fairly early on in the game who, impressed either by your courage or simple disregard for your own safety, bequeaths to you his journal and exhorts you to hunt and grow strong. By killing a certain number of each enemy type, you get both basic information and the Hunter's own thoughts and feelings, which can be quite edifying -- or at least amusing. I will criticize that the prose used in some of these entries is a bit amateurish, but, glass houses and all that.

Speaking of optional bosses, Hollow Knight has a lot of them. It has a lot of optional stuff period. It's a legitimately pretty huge game, especially your first time through. You go through a large variety of environments, from crystalline mines to verdant gardens to horrifying spider-infested tunnels. Hollow Knight can, on rare occasions, go right for the jugular with that primal fear of things that skitter and bite, and given how cute and pleasant most of the game world looks, these occasional forays into nightmare made manifest are extremely jarring and if you are particularly afraid of phylum Euarthropoda, you may want to give this game a pass. Or at least maybe have somebody hold your hand while you go through Deepnest. Spider hell aside, the game rewards exploration with all sorts of hidden goodies, vendors, and even entire areas that somebody only going through the critical path might never even see. It is in this aspect that the Souls lineage really shines through, at least by my estimation. The game is so big and multilayered that not having a map available from the start can be kind of difficult, since 2D space tends to be more difficult to make a mental map of. There's plenty of options for fast travel and shortcuts to take from place to place, but without some sort of anchor, getting lost is an inevitability.

My biggest singular complaint comes at the very end of the game, on the way to get the Best Ending, so it is once again optional content so I can't count it against the overall package too harshly. Even so, it's pretty bad. Leaving out on the specifics for spoiler's sake, you find yourself in a sawblade and spike infested deathrap straight out of Super Meatboy. The platforming in Hollow Knight is Perfectly Fine, but not quite precise enough to really shine in situations where I Wanna Be the Guy style jumping puzzles are presented as obstacles. It's a very out of place segment with no enemies to fight whatsoever (and thus, no really reliable way to refill soul and heal yourself from the inevitable damage you're going to take from whirling death) and while the payoff is good, I still came out of it feeling more annoyed than anything. The checkpointing in some of the game's later segments can be obnoxiously unforgiving, most of all in this particular part. Eventually I had to entirely reconfigure my charm layout to go for maximum survivability, and I would not envy the player who made it there without finding some of the special HP regen charms or enough mask fragments to upgrade their health bar. Also I keep almost calling charms badges because I am a huge Paper Mario girl until the end of time so sorry if that ever slips through.

I mentioned earlier that the story of Hollow Knight was worth seeing and experiencing for yourself, and I stand by that. I think that there are some criticisms to be had with the execution and perhaps the derivative nature of it all, but an indepth analysis of Bug Lore will have to be its own post, should I feel like making it. For now, I will simply say that the characters are brilliant and lovable, and piecing together the mystery of Hollownest is quite rewarding, even if it is frustratingly vague at times. I think a lot of people forget that in Dark Souls, most of the digging had to be done for the finer details about the various historical figures and places. The main thrust of the narrative, the curse of the undead and the Dark Sign and all that, was actually kind of just Out There from minute one. It gave you a foundation to work with. Hollow Knight goes for Maximum Enigma and obfuscates even the foundation until a pretty good chunk of the way in, which is maybe a little bit excessive. Ultimately, I think it's a valid stylistic choice, but one I'm not a huge fan of.

Hollow Knight is good. Hollow Knight is great! Aforementioned considerations of arachnophobia aside, I would recommend it to anyone who ever enjoyed a Metroidvania or similarly styled game, or any Souls fan. There's lots to see and do, most of it gorgeous and haunting in equal measure. I have a few fairly minor complaints, and people without much patience for Hard Games might want to consider just sticking to the critical path and looking up the rest on Youtube, but overall it's a fantastic package made with a lot of love and heart. There's an earnestness and sincerity to Hollow Knight that's very precious and should be nurtured as much as possible. It's this extremely high-concept bug adventure that is nevertheless very affecting and memorable. The eventual payoff for seeing and doing everything is very impressive and quite a spectacle, with some evocative visuals that will stay with you for a long time. Definitely a game of the year contender as we approach the conclusion of 2017.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Gears 5 Review In Progress - Mutating For The Better

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/gears-5-review-in-progress-mutating-for-the-better/

Gears 5 Review In Progress - Mutating For The Better

Gears 5 is available now for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, ahead of its official September 10 release date. Now that it’s live, we’re digging into multiplayer modes, so check back soon for the final review.

You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that the latest game in the Gears of War franchise is another entry from the middle of the original trilogy’s Locust War. Shooting gooey reptilian monsters, exploring ruined labs, and chainsawing other players are the things Gears does best, and Gears 5 squarely focuses on strengthening those core elements. The underpinnings of the series haven’t been tweaked much in its sixth entry, but The Coalition adds a lot of new stuff in its second game since taking the reins on the Gears of War franchise. While Gears 5’s story is largely obsessed with the past, and to some degree, Gears 5 stays there too, the new additions help revitalize the series’ best old ideas.

And there are a lot of new additions. On the cooperative multiplayer side, characters get new abilities so that they each play a little differently. Expansive progression systems in competitive and co-op multiplayer draw from games like Fortnite and Call of Duty to give you a constant feeling of advancement. Even the story campaign has something of an RPG-like progression system, as well as a few wide-open areas that change up the series’ traditionally linear approach. The Coalition hasn’t moved far from the fundamentals of Gears gameplay–you still move deliberately, diving between cover positions behind chest-high walls and other debris to pop out and shoot at enemies with a variety of guns. Carefully timing your active reloads gets you the most out of your firepower, and you’re always searching the battlefield for new weapons better suited to the enemies you’re taking down. Gory executions and melee kills are still essential at close quarters. But the game has grown significantly, with a free Battle Pass-like system, hero shooter-inspired characters, and other improvements that are all welcome evolutions for a 13-year-old franchise.

While the new elements don’t stop Gears 5 from feeling true to the earlier games in the franchise, at least in its 12-hour story campaign, there’s also a lot of ground that’s being revisited. The Locust are back, but they’re called the Swarm now. You’ll spend some time trying to convince straggly bands of surviving humans to join forces with the fascist COG army to fight the Swarm, but these folks aren’t called the Stranded anymore; they’re Outsiders. Most of the game concerns bringing a franchise superweapon, the Hammer of Dawn, back online to use against your enemies. Gears is undoubtedly back in the same territory it covered with the trilogy that wrapped up back in 2011, and while some of the tools in this war are different, the war has mostly gone unchanged. Gears 5 is weakened somewhat by being mired in the past; there are some strong moments in its campaign, but it struggles to move forward in a way that’s a satisfying continuation of the narrative.

The story picks up not long after the events of Gears of War 4, in which JD Fenix–son of series poster boy Marcus Fenix–and his pals Del and Kait discovered the Swarm threat and set out to stop it. You’ll mostly just run around shooting various groups of Swarm monsters from behind cover in much the same way you always have in previous games–but Gears 5 breaks things up with a few variations on the gameplay that improve on its predecessors.

Instead of focusing on JD and his relationship with Marcus as in Gears 4, the sequel recenters on Kait, who lost her mother to the Swarm at the end of the last game. Gears 4’s ending suggested that Kait has a connection to the Locust horde that Marcus helped to genocide 25 years ago, and a good portion of Gears 5 is about exploring that connection and uncovering secrets long buried by the COG government.

The first and last Acts are more traditional Gears fare, in that you’re guided through a series of missions that are mostly about taking objectives, backing up other squads, and killing giant monsters. But in the middle of the game, Gears 5 changes the pace with two open segments. You hop aboard a skiff, which is essentially a dogsled with a sail on it, and zip over the terrain of a snowy valley and across a vast desert. These areas feel fundamentally different from past Gears games, allowing you to explore and look for side objectives where you can pick up small subplots of story and grab hidden collectibles and upgrades, advancing the main plot (or not) at your own pace.

The open areas don’t take you too far out of the Gears norm–you won’t be accosted by roaming forces or stuck in a shootout in the middle of the wilderness. Arriving at any point of interest usually sends you on a short mission where you’ll explore a building or wander into an arena filled with enemies. They’re like mini Gears levels that you can take or leave, usually with an ambush to tangle you up and some weapons, upgrades, or a bit of lore waiting at the end.

Story On A Small Scale

What’s really enticing about these areas, though, are the many small moments they allow between characters. Act 2 finds Kait and Del on their own as they explore Kabar, a frozen alpine region full of old COG labs and fortifications that you’ll search for Kait’s answers. But the entire segment is fleshed out through a series of character-building conversations between Kait and Del as they hang around together, basically on a shooty road trip. Gears 5’s writing is at its best in these character conversations, and the intimate time spent with characters in Acts 2 and 3 help you feel closer to them. Listening to Kait tell Del what she’s worried she might uncover, or Kait making fun of Del for dropping tons of esoteric knowledge about things like the commercial lumber industry, bring you closer to the characters than any number of battles with AI teammates do.

Kait provides an interesting alternative viewpoint to the proceedings as Gears 5’s protagonist as well. She’s fundamentally an outsider–in the sense of her anti-COG upbringing, her somewhat arms-length relationship with the city-boy soldiers with whom she fights, and her apparent ties to humanity’s greatest enemies. The game doesn’t necessarily spend a ton of time exploring that idea, but in the conversations between Delta squad members, we get a much better sense of the distance Kait feels from her friends.

Unfortunately, the rest of Gears 5’s story is uneven. Though Kait’s desire to find out more about her connection to the Locust is a strong drive to push the narrative forward, Gears 5 pretty much wraps up what feels like her central drive by the middle of the game. The rest is just about Delta cruising around completing various tasks to fight off the growing Swarm threat, while the more personal stuff is left to linger. Exploring the destroyed desert facilities of the COG’s old human enemies, the UIR, is a fun diversion full of a lot of pitched battles, but as far as the characters are concerned, nothing impactful happens outside of a bunch of big action set pieces. Gears 5 plays out its best story moments early, and it ends without doing much with the reveals and turning points it does create.

The story ultimately feels somewhat truncated and meandering, but the campaign is still fun to play. Some key changes in the structure do a lot to provide new opportunities in the old framework. Since you’re exploring areas at your own pace, you’ll often come across unaware Swarm soldiers searching for ammo or prepping for combat, which gives you a chance to stealthily take some out. You also have a new set of abilities for your squad to use on the battlefield thanks to Jack, the R2-D2-like robot that follows you around on missions. Jack can zap enemies to injure them, flash enemies to stun them and make them break cover, ping their locations, turn you invisible, and even take over an enemy’s mind for a brief period.

Jack effectively provides Gears 5’s campaign with a progression system, and coupled with the more varied gameplay and some slight squad control in the form of marking targets, he helps take Gears out of its cover-shooter comfort zone somewhat. Quickly swapping through and using Jack’s abilities gives you a chance to make new decisions in combat or take advantage of different ways to play that you couldn’t before, like by activating invisibility to slip through the front lines for a flanking position or using the Stim ability to strengthen yourself so you can melee to death a hulking Swarm Scion.

Jack has a skill tree that lets you improve his abilities along a few different paths, allowing you to tweak his capabilities to better fit your playstyle. He’s also the major reason to complete side missions and search all those nooks, crannies, dead ends, and side areas that litter Gears 5. While those side activities sometimes give a bit of a better understanding of the story or the world, the big reward is almost always an item that helps you improve Jack’s abilities.

Multiplayer, But More

As with the campaign, The Coalition doesn’t reinvent the series’ standard multiplayer in Gears 5–but much of it sees improvements aimed at adding customization and support for varied playstyles. The franchise’s usual competitive multiplayer is back, where two teams of five players face off, with options segmented into more casual Quickplay and more hardcore Ranked playlists.

Gears 5 multiplayer doesn’t fix what isn’t broken–it’s striking how much Gears 5’s competitive modes feel like, say, Gears of War 3, and are fun in the same ways. Since it isn’t changing the core feel of the gameplay, The Coalition has expanded on it by offering more options for multiplayer, so you can find the modes you like, and metagame progression systems, to make your time feel more meaningful.

Quickplay includes a bunch of different game types that fit the Gears framework, while pushing you to play a little differently in every match. Its modes include classics like King of the Hill, as well as Gears of War 4’s weapon-based Arms Race (a literal race to get kills with a host of different guns) and Dodgeball, in which you can’t respawn unless a teammate kills a member of the opposing squad. The Ranked mode, on the other hand, plays things straighter with simpler modes like Team Deathmatch.

It’s very easy to see the influence live service games have on Gears 5, with an overall level-up system for your multiplayer persona, the ability to unlock more guns for your starting loadouts, and lots of customization options. They’re all of a type similar to what you’d see in something like Fortnite–nothing that would draw you into multiplayer on its own, but plenty to give you new unlocks to chase and to help multiplayer feel like it has more depth than just a series of matches to play. Exactly how big an influence those progression systems have on how multiplayer actually plays is tough to get a sense pre-release, so we’ll be putting in more multiplayer after Gears 5’s launch and will update this review accordingly. It should be noted also that, like live service games, Gears 5 also includes customization items you can grab by spending money on premium currency.

Specializing In Co-Op

The bigger refinements come in Gears 5’s co-op modes. Here, Gears 5 furthers an emphasis on teamwork and specialization, and again, the live service influence is apparent.

Horde mode returns, in which five players team up to take on 50 waves of enemies while building fortifications and buying new weapons in between each round. It sees some tweaks to the rules, with elements like shared resources, the ability to spend those resources on character perks to make yourself stronger, and greater character specialization that gives you more of a particular job as you work together to survive. New to the cooperative scene is Escape, in which you race through a Swarm Hive as a squad of three, trying to outrun deadly gas as you find your way out and kill enemies along the way. Escape differs from the other modes in that you have limited weapons and ammo, forcing you to search for more resources as you go and to work together to stay alive, especially on higher difficulties.

Both modes add more ways to engage with Gears 5 on their own, and they share their own live service-style progression systems that let you level up characters, customize their capabilities and loadouts, and generally make them more your own. The characters you choose in both Horde and Escape each have different roles and special abilities, including an Ultimate ability that charges up over time. You can even play as Jack the robot in an almost purely support role, providing something for players who prefer backing up teammates over scoring headshots. On the surface, Horde and Escape play pretty similarly to Gears’ other modes, and it’ll take some advancement through the progression systems to find out just how specific you can get with your character builds and how differently they really play from one another. But the possibilities are there to provide you with fun new ways to think about Gears’ pop-and-shoot gameplay and teamwork.

Gears 5’s additions make the whole package feel denser and more involved–even if it still plays very similarly to Gears games in the past. To some degree, there’s almost too much progression to deal with; it’s a lot to learn and keep in mind, and the character additions don’t always seem to have a big impact on how you play at lower levels. It’s an area that’s tough to gauge without spending more time with Gears 5 multiplayer post-release, and we’ll be digging into that portion of the game more in the coming days before finalizing the review.

But what makes Gears 5 work well is that those additions feel like a useful evolution of the core Gears concept, even if a lot of these ideas–like an involved character progression system or a Battle Pass-like rewards path–are also becoming commonplace among shooters. 13 years after the franchise’s first release, The Coalition’s additions to Gears 5 are all things that seem right at home with the elements that give the series its identity. The upshot is there are lots of options, and while you might not play them all, there’s probably something that fits the kind of player you are.

Gears 5 is very much a return of those best elements of Gears of War, but with a focus on making the game feel somewhat more adaptive to your particular ways of playing. Whether you want campaign or co-op, Competitive or Quickplay, there’s an option for you in Gears 5, and plenty of stuff to reward you for time spent and skill gained. Gears 5 might suffer from some of the same storytelling missteps as its predecessors, and it might not venture far out of the past, but the new ideas it brings to the series are all good reasons for fans to return.

Source : Gamesport

[biscuitreviews]

Biscuit Reviews Final Fantasy X-2

It’s no secret that Final Fantasy X is my all-time favorite game. I really enjoyed the gameplay loop and element of strategy the Conditional Battle System created. I loved the sphere grid system which always made me feel that I was controlling how my characters grew as fighters and when the HD Remaster came out with your choice of a Normal Sphere Grid or an Expert Sphere Grid, which allowed you to have more control on how customized your character’s abilities and stats, I was really pleased with how playing the game using a different grid, changed so many things.

However, I’m not talking about Final Fantasy X. No, instead this is about the sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. This game is historical in its own right. It was the first Final Fantasy to actually be a real sequel to a Final Fantasy entry and it had an all female main cast which was also a first for the Final Fantasy series.

For this review I’m going to unapologetically spoil this game and Final Fantasy X. You’ve been warned.

I’ve always had a weird relationship with this game. Everytime I would pick up this game, I would always quit right when I got to Chapter 3 because the end of Chapter 2 had this sudden difficulty spike and everything else in Chapter 3 just annihilates you until you do some good ole fashioned grinding. But at that point, I would just be done with it, put it down and not look it again until I would get that feeling of “Hey, you should play Final Fantasy X-2, you’ll beat it this time.” Rinse and repeat.

Until now that is, I sat down and finally got to the end.

Final Fantasy X-2 was the first Final Fantasy that I know of that made a huge divide with the fanbase. I remember seeing forum posts and comments saying that this was the Final Fantasy that caused fans to be worried for the future. I’ll admit, I was on that train for awhile. Even when Final Fantasy XIII enraged a good majority of the fanbase, I was one of the few that would always say “Final Fantasy started going downhill at X-2!” However, recently I’ve also seen the fanbase opinion start to shift on Final Fantasy XIII. There’s still a majority of people that dislike, but with it’s slowly growing shift towards being a good game, it has made me want to replay the game at some point.

So what is it about Final Fantasy X-2 that made me not like it? As I mentioned before, the difficulty spike didn’t help. I wasn’t using the dresspheres and Garment Grids right, I wasn’t allowing proper grinding, and I was actually missing out on major plot points that are only discoverable doing side quests.

When I’m not really into a game, or I just want to get through one quickly, I’ll just do the bare minimum to move it along until either the game starts dunking on me and I just quit, or the story gets interesting and I need to quickly backtrack a bit to learn the mechanics so I can perform well to get the story moving. For X-2, I had none of that, I wasn’t invested enough in the story, I didn’t bother learning how to properly use the mechanics so I could keep in pace with the story, and I was getting creamed.  It was also the first time I was exposed to the Job system. Not really an excuse, but it kinda weirded me out for a bit until I learned this was a staple in the older Final Fantasy titles a few years after playing X-2 for the first time in 2003.

However, sometimes I’ll get the opposite problem, like I did with Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, where I’ll love the combat, but hate the story. With that game, my characters got optimized greatly in terms of skills, equipment, and magic, that I eventually had them powerful enough to just blaze through the remainder of the story when I finally got bored of the combat loop. Although it did take out the challenge factor with some of the bosses, I didn’t care.

For X-2, I’ve always known that the ending depended on your completion meter. Even though I know what the true ending is, that still hasn’t stopped me from wanting to know how the events that lead up to that ending happened. To that your thinking, “Just look it up on the internet and read a synopsis of the entire plot then.” I’ll admit, I did do this after quitting on another one of my “play it and drop it” runs. For this playthrough, I purposely went for the sad ending which I’ll go more into detail later.

In the game, you have main missions marked as Hotspots and “some” side quests marked on your map. Now when I said “some” side quests, I really meant “some”, not all of them are marked. Those unmarked side quests you just have to visit places to make sure there is none. Granted the game does give you a clue that there probably is a quest there even if the selected area said “No Missions.” This could prompt players to revisit these areas in Spira, but for those that want that sweet 100% completion, it could be frustrating to play a guessing game with some areas.

Sometimes, these unmarked areas would contain details about the main story. If for any reason you missed these, you can find yourself lost in the narrative. It’s something that I’ve personally hated in games and RPGs in general, is making their players go find details or an explanation of why something in the plot happened. Keep it in your main plot, use exploration and side quests to enhance your world and the lore. This is why I found the story in X-2 weird, because I had to dig for some of it, whereas in X, everything you needed to know was told in its story and all supplemental information to enhance that story, was done in side NPC conversations or side quests. It’s just weird how X-2 completely fumbled what made its predecessor great in the first place.

Now, I realize that for the majority of this personal recollection, I’ve mostly been talking about my negative experiences with this game and not really any of the positives. I had games that I was disappointed with before, but X-2 was a game that really let me down a long time ago. However, I will have to say with this recent playthrough, I actually have more appreciation for this game than I did in the past and have found some likeable aspects to it.

First is how Square took to the approach to an already familiar world. Having the people of Spira wanting to discover the lost secrets, now that the threat of Sin coming back is no more. This allowed new areas to be uncovered to give Spira a new feeling despite having already explored it once before. The gameplay even rewards this by granting you additional dresspheres, Garment Grids, and accessories that can further expand your characters abilities, with some having effects to where you can break the game in ridiculous ways.

Next is how Yuna herself traverses the environment. Where Tidus had the ability to swim, Yuna has the ability to jump over ledges and climb giving the environments a level of verticality they didn’t have before.

The Active Time Battle system also makes a return. Between this and the introduction of dresspheres it did offer an excellent explanation as to why Yuna is at a low level again, despite everything she accomplished in the previous title.

There’s also the story of X-2, Yuna, Rikku, and their new ally Paine travel the world to hunt for spheres and each has their own goal. Yuna wants to find Tidus after watching a sphere that has a person that looked like Tidus. After watching this sphere, she believes that there might be a way to bring him back. Rikku, simply wants to help Yuna on her journey, as well as uncover more of Spira’s history. Paine, wants to learn why she was betrayed two years ago by a former ally of hers. These three stories are interwoven and you will get answers to everything, however some do require more digging than others which I’ll go into further detail later.

Finally, you have Shuyin, who is a rather intriguing villain who not only unveils more about Spira’s past, the Dream of the Fayth, but also adds more elements of the Unsent. How does he add more to a phenomenon of Spira already well established? Easy, Shuyin has been Unsent for over 1,000 years due to his strong feelings during a war between Zanarkand and Beville, as well as his anger of the death of his lover, Lenne. This makes his ability to possess people something that felt like a natural evolution considering the nature of Unsent. His striking similarity to Tidus also shows the Fayth preserving his image in Dream Zanarkand as we can surmise the Fayth were unaware of Shuyin’s true fate. By adding how long he’s been festering in his pain, with also seeing that Spira hasn’t changed at all in terms of violence with the citizens of Spira fighting amongst themselves to determine the future, drives Shuyin to want to destroy Spira as it seems to him that the people will never learn.

Now, although I do see this game in a new light with the positives, there are also a few elements that I’ve discovered that could have been handled much better. There are three elements in particular that come in mind that I feel were not handled the best and they are Paine, Shuyin, and the ending of X-2.

I felt Paine’s story was simply forgotten most of the time to focus on Yuna’s journey. I get it, Yuna is the main character, but Paine is a new character that is being introduced to the player. I felt more time could have been spent with her and often times both in story and gameplay, she felt like a third wheel. Gameplay wise, Paine is the only one whose Ultimate Dressphere is optional to acquire and is easy to miss. It feels odd that for one of the three characters to have their true potential, you have to go out way to get Paine’s when Yuna and Rikku are handed theirs in the main story. As for Paine’s story, although you do learn that Shuyin is the reason of the betrayal, why and how the betrayal happened is something you have to search for on your own and like the Dressphere, finding all of the details are easily missable. Which brings me to my next area of elements not handled well and that is Shuyin.

Yes, I did say Shuyin was a good villain, but he felt half baked. Why is that? Because the missing parts that you can learn about him are tied to Paine’s backstory, which you learn by collecting Crimson Spheres throughout Spira. Not only does it show how Shuyin became Spira’s next great threat, but it also gives our previously mentioned Paine, a reason that she is on the journey with Yuna and why Paine is a main character to the story. The Crimson Spheres also unlock an optional dungeon known as the Den of Woe, where Yuna, Rikku and Paine can learn more about Shuyin. During their adventure in the dungeon, Shuyin actually possesses Rikku and Paine to where the trio fight each other and even try to kill one another. This optional dungeon also presents them another reason why Shuyin needs to be stopped and could have further emboldened our trio. Granted the reasons you learn in the story are fine, but having that extra push could have really added more to their motivation.

Last is the ending of X-2. I want to state that I’m not saying the True Ending for X-2 is bad. It’s nice, it’s fine, and it hits you in feels. However, I want to bring attention to the Sad Ending. I feel that should have been the canonical ending. Around Chapter 4 Yuna starts to wonder if she needs to move on and accept that there might not be a way to bring Tidus back. As the story progresses from there, Yuna starts to show those signs that she needs to move forward. Even during her fight with Shuyin, she tries to have Shuyin let go and move on. She tries to show him Spira is a better place, Spira no longer suffers from constant war and death, and to let go of his anger and join his lover, Lenne, in the Farplane. After the fight, Shuyin finally agrees and is finally at peace with himself. Shuyin’s acceptance then translates to Yuna’s acceptance, that as long as Tidus remains in her heart, she will retain his memory and move forward. This ending could have proven to be more powerful and would have better reflected Yuna’s mindset in the moment.

My previous gripes regarding the dresspheres and Garment Grids are moot because I’m kind of a fan now how it rewards you for using these to better optimize your characters in battle.

It’s kind of funny how as you grow as not only as a person and as a gamer, that things you might have previously hated in the past, might end up being something you love now. That’s what X-2 is to me, something I hated in the past, but now appreciate with a new understanding. I do wish the story was tied a lot better and not spread out as X-2 could have been a really stellar sequel.

Final Fantasy X-2 receives a 4 out of 5

[golicit]

Book Review: “Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials That Defined Modern Britain”

Several years ago when my wife (also a lawyer) and I were in London on holiday, we took the opportunity to visit Old Bailey, London’s famous criminal courthouse. We were fortunate on the day we visited to see a portion of rather sensational murder trial. The facts surrounding the underlying crime, while lurid, were also fascinating, but the most striking thing for us about the trial day we observed was the quality of the advocacy, which was absolutely brilliant. Witnessing the spectacle was a completely enthralling experience.

  On a more recent visit to London, I was browsing the new books counter at Hatchard’s book store on Piccadilly when I happened to spot Thomas Grant’s book “Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials That Defined Modern Britain.” I took a photo of the book and sent the picture to my kids with a strong hint that I wouldn’t mind finding the book under the Christmas tree. Fortunately, the kids got the hint, and the book was among the presents I unwrapped this past Christmas.

  When I saw the book at Hatchard’s, I suspected based on my prior visit to Old Bailey that I would be interested in the book. As it turns out, I found the book to be totally absorbing. Grant, the book’s author, is himself a barrister (and a QC – that is, Queen’s Counsel, an honorific indicating that the person so designated is “learned in the law”), and he has put together a masterful and compelling volume.

  The book consists of a series of accounts of eleven criminal trials, all of which took place in Old Bailey’s Courtroom No. 1, historically reserved for the highest-profile and most important trials. The trial accounts are arranged chronologically. The first trial described, involving “The Camden Town Murder,” took place in 1907, and the last trial described, involving the tragic murders of two pre-teen girls, took place in 2003. Along the way, he describes the trials of the obscure and of the famous, including, among others, the post-war trial of Lord Haw-Haw, and the “Trial of the Century” – the 1979 trial of the Liberal Party leader, Jeremy Thorpe.

  The chronological approach works well, as it highlights how much the court practices and procedures have changed over time. The role of the judge, the limits of advocacy, and the rights accorded the accused all changed dramatically during the time period covered in the book. The rise of mass media press coverage also has had a significant impact. But perhaps the most interesting effects of the chronological approach is that it illustrates how perceived injustices or shortcomings of earlier trials led to later changes in both the procedures and the law.

  Grant has chosen his examples well. The first case described, that of the Camden Town Murderer, Robert Hall, shows how the brilliant advocacy of one of the age’s most acclaimed barristers, Sir Edward Marshall Hall, led to the defendant’s acquittal, against all odds. As is the case throughout the book, Grant’s eye as an experienced barrister himself allows him to highlight the ways that Marshall Hall’s skillful cross-examination cast doubt on the Crown’s evidence. Grant also celebrates the brilliant oratory that a truly skilled advocate can bring to his or her task.

  Many of the Grant’s trial descriptions have a cinematic quality. Indeed, it is no accident that over time there have been a number of films based on Old Bailey trials. The most famous of these movies is Witness for the Prosecution, based on the Agatha Christie short story and play of the same name (which, coincidentally, my wife and I saw performed here in Cleveland last fall – it was excellent).

  Another movie based on an Old Bailey trial is 10 Rillington Place. The movie is based on the Old Bailey murder trial of Timothy Evans, who was accused of murdering his wife and daughter.

  The Evans murder trial is one of the eleven trials described in Grant’s book. The story is so lurid and fascinating that you would never believe it if it hadn’t actually happened. Grant skillfully tells the tale of Evans’s wife’s disappearance, of the police investigation, and of Evans’s arrest, as well as the hysterical media coverage that surrounded these events. Throughout his description of the subsequent trial, Grant details the flaws in the Crown’s case, as well as the shortcomings of Evans’s defense – his counsel clearly found the entire situation distasteful in the extreme. A large part of the Crown’s evidence was provided by Evans’s neighbor, a World War I veteran named John Christie.

  Evans ultimately was convicted and later executed. Sadly, after Evans’s death, the police uncovered evidence that Christie had been involved in a series of grisly murders. The investigation of the other murders ultimately led the police to conclusive proof that it was Christie, not Evans, who had murdered Evans’s wife and daughter. Evans’s conviction and execution were in fact the result of a tragic miscarriage of justice. As Grant details, the 10 Rillington Place Trial was instrumental in the ultimate elimination of the death penalty in Britain.

  The 10 Rillington Place Trial is truly remarkable, but the trial described in Grant’s book that I found most interesting was 1991 trial of Michael Randall and Pat Pottle, who were accused of aiding the prison escape of George Blake, a former MI6 agent who had been convicted of providing highly classified and sensitive information to the Russians. Randall and Pottle were peace activists and non-conformists who had met Blake while they themselves were in prison for prior convictions based on protest activities. The factual background of Blake’s conviction and escape itself makes the Randall and Pottle case interesting, but what makes the trial account compelling is the fact that Randall and Pottle conducted their own defenses. Not only did they manage to procure their own acquittals, but they did so despite having admitted in a book they wrote that they had in fact assisted Blake’s escape.

  Grant’s account of how Randall and Pottle cleverly managed to insinuate themselves with the jurors and convince them not to convict despite the evidence really makes for a great story. Grant’s somewhat philosophical reflection on the jury’s verdict – an example of what we in the U.S. would call “jury nullification” – is a fascinating essay on the importance of jury independence in an adversarial system.

  I think just about any reader would find this book to be a terrific read, but this book will be particularly rewarding  for anyone who is interested in the role of advocacy in an adversarial system of justice. Grant is a keen observer and sharp commentator. His eye for the telling detail and his narrative skill bring these trials to life. His own experience as a practicing barrister gives his observations a satisfying aura of authority. You come away not only entertained, but also with a sense that you truly understood what happened.

  I feel compelled to add a note of caution. Some American readers may find some features of this book a little off-putting. This book was written for a British audience. It assumes acquaintance with a host of crimes and trials that, from the way they are mentioned in the book, must be just common knowledge in Britain, but that were completely unknown to me. Grant also mentions a multitude of celebrities, politicians, authors, journalists, and other public figures with an unstated assumption that of course everyone knows these people. I recognized very few of these individuals’ names, and so whatever reference Grant sought to evoke was completely lost on me.

  However this last point is at most a minor quibble. I enjoyed this book. I liked it so much that as soon as I finished it, I immediately started reading it again. I liked it so much that I wish Grant would find eleven more trials to write about and publish another book just like this one.

Book Review: “Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials That Defined Modern Britain” published first on

[lefilmdujour]

Another 500th movie celebration

My Tumblr just reached the 1000 movies mark, so I figured it’s time I write something about my last 2 and a half years of movie viewings and recommend 50 more movies out of the ones I’ve seen since the last 500th movie celebration.

Times have been strange in the last couple of years, and my movie habits have reflected it. There have been times when watching films was all I would do, but there have also been moments of complete disconnection from the medium. I went from watching several movies every day to spending months avoiding anything to do with sitting through a movie. 

Part of it had to do with the space I share with my demons, but mostly there has been a change of pace. My laptop died, it took me months to get another one only to also die on me. On the other hand, an enormous chunk of my viewings have been in cinemas or squats, which is a very positive change but led me to watch more recent films in detriment of classics or ancient underappreciated gems. I also got my first TV in over a decade this month, and my very first Netflix account last week, so I may be exploring streaming a bit more, although so far I am not finding the experience  at all satisfying. All pointless excuses since I went through 500+ movies in a little over two years, which is not bad at all.

It was hard to pick only 50 movies this time, and the list would have probably looked a little different if I did it tomorrow. Regardless, here are 50 movies I recommend, and why. Random order, all deserving of love and attention.

Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff) - This movie is unfairly  ignored in the best comic book adaptation lists out there on the internet. The opening scene is memorable, the soundtrack is a lesson in early Blues, and the characters are quirky and well written.

Hate (Mathieu Kassovitz) - An absolute classic about the class system in France and its tendency to end up in riots. Beautiful shot and highly quotable. Saw it a few times, the last of them with a live score from Asian Dub Foundation. One of the greats.

Audition (Takashi Miike) - Whenever I’m asked about my favorite horror movie, I tend to fall back on this one. Audition is very slow, starting out soft but with an underlying tension that builds until the absolutely gut-wrenching finale that makes us question our own sanity. Brilliant subversion of the “hear, don’t see” rule, just the though of some of the sounds used in the most graphic scenes still send shivers down my spine.

Kedi (Ceyda Torun) - A Turkish documentary about street cats, what’s there not to like?

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook) - The third in the loosely-connected Vengeance trilogy by Park Chan-wook, and my favorite of the bunch, especially the Fade to Black and White edition, in which the movie very gradually loses color as the violence grows. A visual masterpiece.

Paterson (Jim Jarmusch) - The poetry of routine. Adam Driver is one hell of an actor.

Love Me If You Dare (Yann Samuell) - Two people that obviously love each other but are not mature enough to follow it through. Frustrating. Beautiful. Made me sob.

The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel) - I am realizing that a good part of this list deals with frustration. A group of people finds themselves unable to leave a party for no apparent reason. Buñuel is a genious in surrealism, I have yet to watch most of his Mexican period.

The Mutants (Teresa Villaverde) - Kids on the run from themselves. Strong visuals, very moving interactions at times. A hard but very rewarding watch. Teresa Villaverde’s entire filmography also gets a seal of approval.

Bad Education (Pedro Almodóvar) - A movie about sexuality and problematic relationships, taken to unbelievable extremes.

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu) - The adventures of Mr. Lazarescu as he struggles to find help for the sudden pain he feels and ends up being passed on from hospital to hospital. Felt very real. Sold as a comedy, but I found it terrifying. 

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos) - A classic greek tragedy brought to the modern age. My favorite Lanthimos film, ranking slightly below Dogtooth. The deadpan acting and the unnerving sound serves as wonderful misdirection.

It’s Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt) - Three shorts stitched together to create a confusing, philosophical, absurd, funny and deep masterpiece. The animation skills of Don Hertzfeldt needs more recognition.

Amores Perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu) - A movie so good it didn’t even had an English name. Three tales of love, violence and loss, all linked by a dog.

Endless Poetry (Alejandro Jodorowsky) - Jodorowsky’s romanticized auto-biography, played by his own sons.Bohemian and poetic.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer) - Show this movie to someone who refuses to watch silent movies. The acting is so impactful and emotional, and the use of close ups was highly unusual for the time. A 90-plus years old masterpiece.

Everything is Illuminated (Liev Schreiber) - Sunflowers.

Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan) - I have a soft spot for war movies, as to remind myself how brutal people can be to their fellow man and how meaningless the concept of nations truly is. This movie in particular achieves greatness due to its usage of sound, the best I’ve heard in recent memory.

Vagabond (Agnès Varda) - Be careful of what you wish for yourself, you may end up frozen and miserable in a ditch (spoilers for literally the first few seconds of the film).

Stroszek (Werner Herzog) - I know Herzog mostly through his documentaries. His voice brings me the feeling of a deranged grandpa sharing stories of a reality tainted by dementia. I have yet to explore his fiction work in-depth, and this has been my starting point. Stroszek is bleak and desperate but humor still shines through it at times. Ian Curtis allegedly hung himself after watching it. Not sure if this story is real, but it once more feeds into the Herzog myth.

HyperNormalization (Adam Curtis) - Put together through found footage and newscasts, HyperNormalization is an unforgiving study on how we got to where we currently are. Fake becomes real. Trust is an abandoned concept. “They've undermined our confidence in the news that we are reading/And they make us fight each other with our faces buried deep inside our phones”, as AJJ sings in Normalization Blues. Which you should also check out.

Chicken with Plums (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud) - A man decides to die, so he goes to bed and waits. An apparent simple plot that uncovers a world of beauty and poetry, as life passes slowly through the man’s eyes.

The Florida Project (Sam Baker) - William Dafoe was born to play the role of a motel manager. He is so natural in his role that I think he would actually be great in that job. The rest of the movie is great too, but his performance is the highlight for me.

Lucky (John Carroll Lynch) - Speaking of great performances, Lucky is Harry Dean Stanton’s final movie and a great send off. IMDB describes it best: “The spiritual journey of a ninety-year-old atheist.“

Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders) - More Harry Dean Stanton. The desert plays a more than decorative role in this wonderful movie, representing the emptiness that comes from estrangement. A story about reunion and all that can come from it.

On Chesil Beach (Dominic Cooke) - I sometimes cry in movies, but this one shook me to the core. A play on expectations and reactions and their devastating impact on relationships. We all fuck up sometimes. Try not to fuck up like these characters did, not on that level, you will never be able to make up for it.

The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson) - An absolute classic. A movie about the concept of family.

No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers) - Murder mysteries and bad haircuts.

Dawson City: Frozen Time (Bill Morrison) - I highly recommend this documentary for anyone who professes their love for cinema. The story of how hundreds of lost silent movies were preserved though sheer luck and human stupidity. Seeing these damaged frames coming back to life is truly magical.

Mandy (Panos Cosmatos) - Some films turn into cult experiences through the years, some selected few are already born that way. Mandy is a psychedelic freak-out and Nicholas Cage fits like a glove in its weirdness. If you didn’t catch it while in cinemas, you’re already missing out on the full experience. Mandy is filled with film grain, which adds to the hallucinogenic experience with its continuous movement, a feature that does not translate when transferred to a digital medium. 

City of God (Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund) - A masterpiece of Brazilian cinema, very meaningful and relatable if you grew up in a similar environment. One of the most quotable films in my memory, something that gets lost in translation if you don’t speak Portuguese. My Tumblr is mostly pictures because I “só sei lê só as figura”.

Loro (Paolo Sorrentino) - On the topic of languages, I watched this Italian movie with Dutch subtitles, by mistake. It is actually an interesting exercise, watching something without fully grasping every word and letting your mind patch the pieces together to make a coherent narrative. Impressive cinematography, amazing script. I learned a lot about corruption, not everyone has a price. I also learned I can speak Italian now.

Roma (Alfonso Cuarón) - Beautiful shot, every frame of it can be turned into a picture. Roma is about the meaning of family, seen from the eyes of someone who will never be part of it. A lot of people considered this movie boring and pointless. These people probably have maids at home.

Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard) - Engaging heist movie, well developed characters, amazing soundtrack.

Melancholia (Lars von Trier) - The World is coming to an end and the date and time has been announced. How would you react to these news? Would it matter?

Climax (Gaspar Noé) - A very scary experience, equal parts trippy and evil like all Gaspar Noé’s movies. A dark ballet that that shocks and confuses the senses. Dante’s Inferno.

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold) - A strong story about ambitions, neglect and survival. Katie Jarvis is very realistic in her performance, a little too much judging by her history after the movie.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) - An Iranian feminist movie about vampirism and records. Watched it with live score from The Black Heart Rebellion for extra cool points.

Another Day of Life (Raul de la Fuente & Damian Nenow) - Based on Ryszard Kapuściński‘s autobiography, Another Day of Life consists of rotoscopic animation sprinkled with interviews. A look at the Cold War in the African continent, and an important watch for everyone, especially Portuguese and Angolan nationals.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) - Rich in dialogues and paced very slowly until the insane climax, this is probably the best Tarantino film after Pulp Fiction. Filled to the brim with cinematic references, it’s a delight to all film nerds. Looking forward for an Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill film adaption with Leonardo Dicaprio and Brad Pitt after this.

The Beach Bum (Harmony Korine) - Google’s top voted tags: Boring. Mindless. Cringe-Worthy. Forgettable. Slow. Illogical. Looks like this movie didn’t resonate well with the audiences, but then again Harmony Korine’s stuff is not for the masses. I personally think this is one of his best movies, a true exercise on nihilism. The main character is lovable and detestable in equal parts, and every action is pointless. Such is life, the only meaning it has is attributed by yourself.

The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky) - A man reflects on his life. Memories tend to get fuzzy, conflicting and confusing. More like a poem than a narrative. A dreamy masterpiece.

The Spirit of the Beehive (Víctor Erice) - The most charming child of this list, she couldn’t memorize the names of the characters she interacted with so they were changed to the names of the actual actors. The innocence of childhood in dark times.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Roy Andersson) - A series of absurd vignettes connected by a pair of novelty items salesmen and their struggle to bring a smile to a grey World. Slow, but humorous and delightful. An unconventional and memorable ride.

Man Bites Dog (Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel & Benoît Poelvoorde) - Fake documentary about a serial killer. Heavy, gruesome and hard to watch, despite the false sense of humor in some scenes.A glimpse at the darkness of human nature.

Tangerine (Sean Baker) - Shot with cell phones. A story about love, gender and friendship. Funny, sad, touching.

The Guilty (Gustav Möller) - Focused on a shift of an emergency dispatcher, the camera focuses only on his face and phone interactions with the callers.A very effective thriller, its setting leads us to create our own narratives just to subvert them at the most unexpected times.

Cold War (Paweł Pawlikowski) - Loosely inspired in Pawlikowski’s parents, Cold War is a beautiful love story set against impossible odds. Powerful and heartbreaking. 

Parasite (Bong Joon-ho) - Poor family scams rich family. Rich family takes advantage of poor family. Everybody feeds off of everyone. Drama/Comedy/Thriller/Horror/Romance about control, delivered in a masterclass on cinematic rhythm. Best film of its year for me.

The Straight Story (David Lynch) - More than the fact that this movie is radically different than the remaining Lynch work, The Straight Story is a wonderful exercise in pacing and storytelling. Mr. Straight’s stories allow us to fill in the blanks with our imagination, and their impact in him is also felt in us. An underappreciated gem in its apparent simplicity.

Thank you very much for reading.

[thomasroach]

Top RPG News Of The Week: March 31st (Hellpoint, Cyberpunk, Divinity Fall Heroes and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: March 31st (Hellpoint, Cyberpunk, Divinity Fall Heroes and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Only receiving its reveal last week at GDC 2019, the Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has gotten some more details in terms of story progress.

The newly announced sequel to the 2004 Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines by developer Paradox Interactive and Harsuit Labs, Bloodlines 2 will focus on a new city, a story based in Seattle. While RPGs mostly depict their storylines with a day and night cycle, Bloodlines 2 will not have this feature.

In an article by Dualshockers, they asked Creative Director Martin Ka’ai Cluney about how the narrative will progress in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Although time will progress throughout the story, it will not go from day to night. Explaining that “We didn’t feel like there was enough benefit to actually supporting it. You’re always there at night, you can’t do anything in the day”.

The explanation of this seems to make sense as the story revolves around vampires who only come out at night.

From this it looks like the game will focus on a natural progression of the story but will also continue to evolve while your character sleeps to help the flow of the game.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will release on Playstation 4, PC and Xbox One in Q1 2020.

Persona 5 The Royal

The developer Atlus finally reveals the official trailer for Persona 5 The Royal, a new RPG coming to Playstation 4. The new trailer features a new female character that appears to be playable.

The game that was originally teased as Persona 5 R has been officially announced through a new trailer as Persona 5 The Royal.

Much like the teaser trailer the new one features Tokyo’s Shibuya district and a large TV screen that reveals the new logo of the game. A new female character dressed in a school uniform is teased with a few up close shots. The previous teaser trailer did outline that March would a reveal of more Persona news and it looks like this is the major reveal.

The official website has been updated with the new the trailer as well as some new information about the game. The trailer ends with the date of April 24th which means more information will be unveiled next month.

Persona 5 The Royal will be coming to Playstation 4, with no release window stated as of yet.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Bethesda are giving fans a chance to get The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for free as they celebrate their 25th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls franchise.

If you’ve wanted a chance to play Morrowind now you can as Bethesda are letting you download it for free using a special code on the Bethesda application. Originally the promotion was only suppose to run for a day but due to the traffic to the website and login issues, Bethesda have extended the offer until the end of the weekend.

From now until March 31st you can download The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition free of charge on PC. You will need to login or sign up for a Bethesda account and then redeem the code “TES25TH-MORROWIND” then the game will be added to your library.

But that’s not all the festivities Bethesda has planned for their quarter of a century Elder Scrolls anniversary. There are promotions for The Elder Scrolls titles and add-ons as well as additional offers in-game.

To read more about this news find it here in Morrowind Available For Free Until March 31st.

Elder Scrolls Online

The prologue quests for the upcoming expansion Elsweyr are now available on Elder Scrolls Online as well as everyone can play free starting Thursday 28th March on all platforms.

You can play Elder Scrolls Online for free from Thursday 28th March until Wednesday 3rd April on all platforms simply visit the Free Play page. This will give you access to the base game, Morrowind chapter letting you try out the title.

You can also experience the Elsweyr Prologue Quest which is part of the based game, players can uncover the purpose of the Wrathstone tablet which unleashes the Dragons, shown in the cinematic trailer for Elsweyr.

If you’re looking to pick up ESO now is a great time as the Elder Scrolls Online base game has gone on sale across all platforms until April 9th, as well as the Summerset chapter until April 2nd.

To read more about this news find it here in Elder Scrolls Online Elsweyr Prologue Quests And Play Free.

Hellpoint

The sci-fi theme RPG Hellpoint by publisher tinyBuild and developer Cradle Games have released a new trailer for PAX East 2019.

The challenging action RPG Hellpoint has a new trailer that shows more of the combat from this dark sci-fi game. The title is set in the aftermath of a great quantum cataclysm. Players will be faced with numerous enemies, testing their wit and combat skills.

Features of this game include a space colony set environment, a dynamic storyline, intense action combat against deep space monsters, the ability to craft weapons as well as develop special skills and multiplayer. Combat is punishing which is expected from any souls-like, where players will need to decide whether to risk more battles to gain more rewards or the possibility of losing it all.

In their latest project update on Kickstarter posted earlier this month, they share some new features added including “new coop revive mechanic” which means the host of the game can now revive coop players. They have also added new boss weapons, describing them as “so gruesome and bizarre”. Other new additions include a host of weapons, adding “weirder catalysts” as well as more hi-tech guns and canons. While melee weapons come with a range of upgrades, guns are pre-built with a variety of elemental damages.

To read more about this news find it here in Hellpoint New Trailer Released For PAX East 2019.

Divinity Fallen Heroes

The developer Larian Studios behind greatly popular strategy RPG Divinity Original Sin and its sequel Divinity Original Sin 2, have unveiled a new title Divinity Fallen Heroes featuring characters from the series. Teaming up with Danish studio Logic Artists, they have used the D:OS2 engine to create a new title. Logic Artists are known for their tactical turn-based Expeditions series which includes Expeditions: Viking and Conquistador.

Divinity: Fallen Heroes will bring new tactical turn-based combat and missions where the outcome will effect your narrative options. You can also play co-op or in single player. The title also sets to bring new weapons and skills to master.

The story will take place as you take on the role of commanders in the Divine Order, in charge of arresting the half-demon Malady, who has stolen the Order’s doomsday weapons. You will be facing the biggest challenge yet, as you battle for global domination against the Lord of Chaos himself. But you will not be alone in your quest as you will have the former Godwoken and a not exactly reliable half-demon to assist you in saving the world. Together with your band of Divinity characters you will go on an adventure returning aboard the vessel of The Lady Vengence.

To read more about this news find it here in Divinity: Fallen Heroes Announced By Larian Studios.

Cyberpunk 2077

The developer CD Projekt Red recently shared their financial results in a conference in which they discussed more about what E3 2019 will hold for them in terms of Cyberpunk 2077 as well as other projects.

While the last E3 was quite a big milestone for the developer, as they shared their demo behind closed doors for Cyberpunk 2077 at a press conference with positive reviews from the showing. However, this year’s E3 is marked as even more important for the company as they say they have “prepared a strong show” and encourage those who can attend, to join E3 in June.

The action-RPG is set in a futuristic dystopian world, has yet to have a confirmed release window, with some predicting a launch of this year. However, CD Projekt Red have been fairly quiet about their release date, and have simply said in their previous highlight video “it’s still coming, when it’s ready”. The video also shared that the development is “far from over” leading us to believe there is still more work to be done on the game.

E3 2019 will take place from June 11th until June 13th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

To read more about this news find it here in Cyberpunk 2077 Developer CD Projekt Red Announces E3 2019 Will Be Their Most Important One Yet.

Borderlands 3

After a lot of hints and teasers this month, Gearbox Software finally reveal Borderlands 3 with a new trailer shown at PAX East 2019.

Gearbox have been dropping a fair few hints that a big reveal was coming at PAX East 2019, tipping everyone off with a fairly big hint with yesterday’s “Mask of Mayhem” trailer that not only featured characters from previous games but new ones as well as some hidden messages throughout the impressive 3D model trailer.

The newest trailer officially unveils Borderland 3 with sharing that there will be plenty of new weapons to loot, over one billion to be more specific, that’s a whole lot of guns. The game also features “vault hunters” which is the role players will take on when they’re out exploring the world. While many shots of environments feature the junker town in the desert, there is also a glimpse at a rain-forest and a city.

There are also plenty of beast and dinosaurs to fight, including giant flying insects that are waiting to attack. It also shows off some of the scrap heap creations that look like robots or even mech. But no trailer is complete without a not so necessary, but greatly appreciated Brick sax solo.

It was also teased that more news was coming on April 3rd, so hopefully we get a few more details about Borderlands 3 then. According to vg247, the title is “on track for a fiscal year 2020 release. If accurate, this means it will release sometime before March 31, 2020.”

To read more about this news find it here in Gearbox Officially Unveils Borderlands 3.

Kingdom Comes Deliverance

Publisher Deep Silver and developer Warhorse Studios have announced the Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition.

The Kingdom Come: Deliverance Royal Edition will include the enhanced version of the base game, all free and paid downloadable content that has been released so far and the upcoming “A Woman’s Lot” which will launch upon release. This edition will be available for Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC on May 28th.

The upcoming premium DLC “A Woman’s Lot” will be based around the character of Theresa which is the fourth DLC announced in the roadmap shared previously.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

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The post Top RPG News Of The Week: March 31st (Hellpoint, Cyberpunk, Divinity Fall Heroes and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Top RPG News Of The Week: March 31st (Hellpoint, Cyberpunk, Divinity Fall Heroes and More!) published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Gears 5 Review In Progress - A Beneficial Mutation

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/gears-5-review-in-progress-a-beneficial-mutation/

Gears 5 Review In Progress - A Beneficial Mutation

You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that the sixth game in the Gears of War franchise is another entry from the middle of the original trilogy’s Locust War. Shooting gooey reptilian monsters, exploring ruined labs, and chainsawing other players are the things Gears does best, and Gears 5 squarely focuses on strengthening those core elements. The underpinnings of the series haven’t been tweaked much, but The Coalition adds a lot of new stuff in its second game since taking the reins on the Gears of War franchise. While Gears 5’s story is largely obsessed with the past, and to some degree, Gears 5 stays there too, the new additions help revitalize the series’ best old ideas.

And there are a lot of new additions. On the cooperative multiplayer side, characters get new abilities so that they each play a little differently. Expansive progression systems in competitive and co-op multiplayer draw from games like Fortnite and Call of Duty to give you a constant feeling of advancement. Even the story campaign has something of an RPG-like progression system, as well as a few wide-open areas that change up the series’ traditionally linear approach. The Coalition hasn’t moved far from the fundamentals of Gears gameplay–you still move deliberately, diving between cover positions behind chest-high walls and other debris to pop out and shoot at enemies with a variety of guns. Carefully timing your active reloads gets you the most out of your firepower, and you’re always searching the battlefield for new weapons better suited to the enemies you’re taking down. Gory executions and melee kills are still essential at close quarters. But the game has grown significantly, with a free Battle Pass-like system, hero shooter-inspired characters, and other improvements that are all welcome evolutions for a 13-year-old franchise.

While the new elements don’t stop Gears 5 from feeling true to the earlier games in the franchise, at least in its 12-hour story campaign, there’s also a lot of ground that’s being revisited. The Locust are back, but they’re called the Swarm now. You’ll spend some time trying to convince straggly bands of surviving humans to join forces with the fascist COG army to fight the Swarm, but these folks aren’t called the Stranded anymore; they’re Outsiders. Most of the game concerns bringing a franchise superweapon, the Hammer of Dawn, back online to use against your enemies. Gears is undoubtedly back in the same territory it covered with the trilogy that wrapped up back in 2011, and while some of the tools in this war are different, the war has mostly gone unchanged. Gears 5 is weakened somewhat by being mired in the past; there are some strong moments in its campaign, but it struggles to move forward in a way that’s a satisfying continuation of the narrative.

The story picks up not long after the events of Gears of War 4, in which JD Fenix–son of series poster boy Marcus Fenix–and his pals Del and Kait discovered the Swarm threat and set out to stop it. You’ll mostly just run around shooting various groups of Swarm monsters from behind cover in much the same way you always have in previous games–but Gears 5 breaks things up with a few variations on the gameplay that improve on its predecessors.

Instead of focusing on JD and his relationship with Marcus as in Gears 4, the sequel recenters on Kait, who lost her mother to the Swarm at the end of the last game. Gears 4’s ending suggested that Kait has a connection to the Locust horde that Marcus helped to genocide 25 years ago, and a good portion of Gears 5 is about exploring that connection and uncovering secrets long buried by the COG government.

The first and last Acts are more traditional Gears fare, in that you’re guided through a series of missions that are mostly about taking objectives, backing up other squads, and killing giant monsters. But in the middle of the game, Gears 5 changes the pace with two open segments. You hop aboard a skiff, which is essentially a dogsled with a sail on it, and zip over the terrain of a snowy valley and across a vast desert. These areas feel fundamentally different from past Gears games, allowing you to explore and look for side objectives where you can pick up small subplots of story and grab hidden collectibles and upgrades, advancing the main plot (or not) at your own pace.

The open areas don’t take you too far out of the Gears norm–you won’t be accosted by roaming forces or stuck in a shootout in the middle of the wilderness. Arriving at any point of interest usually sends you on a short mission where you’ll explore a building or wander into an arena filled with enemies. They’re like mini Gears levels that you can take or leave, usually with an ambush to tangle you up and some weapons, upgrades, or a bit of lore waiting at the end.

Story On A Small Scale

What’s really enticing about these areas, though, are the many small moments they allow between characters. Act 2 finds Kait and Del on their own as they explore Kabar, a frozen alpine region full of old COG labs and fortifications that you’ll search for Kait’s answers. But the entire segment is fleshed out through a series of character-building conversations between Kait and Del as they hang around together, basically on a shooty road trip. Gears 5’s writing is at its best in these character conversations, and the intimate time spent with characters in Acts 2 and 3 help you feel closer to them. Listening to Kait tell Del what she’s worried she might uncover, or Kait making fun of Del for dropping tons of esoteric knowledge about things like the commercial lumber industry, bring you closer to the characters than any number of battles with AI teammates do.

Kait provides an interesting alternative viewpoint to the proceedings as Gears 5’s protagonist as well. She’s fundamentally an outsider–in the sense of her anti-COG upbringing, her somewhat arms-length relationship with the city-boy soldiers with whom she fights, and her apparent ties to humanity’s greatest enemies. The game doesn’t necessarily spend a ton of time exploring that idea, but in the conversations between Delta squad members, we get a much better sense of the distance Kait feels from her friends.

Unfortunately, the rest of Gears 5’s story is uneven. Though Kait’s desire to find out more about her connection to the Locust is a strong drive to push the narrative forward, Gears 5 pretty much wraps up what feels like her central drive by the middle of the game. The rest is just about Delta cruising around completing various tasks to fight off the growing Swarm threat, while the more personal stuff is left to linger. Exploring the destroyed desert facilities of the COG’s old human enemies, the UIR, is a fun diversion full of a lot of pitched battles, but as far as the characters are concerned, nothing impactful happens outside of a bunch of big action set pieces. Gears 5 plays out its best story moments early, and it ends without doing much with the reveals and turning points it does create.

The story ultimately feels somewhat truncated and meandering, but the campaign is still fun to play. Some key changes in the structure do a lot to provide new opportunities in the old framework. Since you’re exploring areas at your own pace, you’ll often come across unaware Swarm soldiers searching for ammo or prepping for combat, which gives you a chance to stealthily take some out. You also have a new set of abilities for your squad to use on the battlefield thanks to Jack, the R2-D2-like robot that follows you around on missions. Jack can zap enemies to injure them, flash enemies to stun them and make them break cover, ping their locations, turn you invisible, and even take over an enemy’s mind for a brief period.

Jack effectively provides Gears 5’s campaign with a progression system, and coupled with the more varied gameplay and some slight squad control in the form of marking targets, he helps take Gears out of its cover-shooter comfort zone somewhat. Quickly swapping through and using Jack’s abilities gives you a chance to make new decisions in combat or take advantage of different ways to play that you couldn’t before, like by activating invisibility to slip through the front lines for a flanking position or using the Stim ability to strengthen yourself so you can melee to death a hulking Swarm Scion.

Jack has a skill tree that lets you improve his abilities along a few different paths, allowing you to tweak his capabilities to better fit your playstyle. He’s also the major reason to complete side missions and search all those nooks, crannies, dead ends, and side areas that litter Gears 5. While those side activities sometimes give a bit of a better understanding of the story or the world, the big reward is almost always an item that helps you improve Jack’s abilities.

Multiplayer, But More

As with the campaign, The Coalition doesn’t reinvent the series’ standard multiplayer in Gears 5–but much of it sees improvements aimed at adding customization and support for varied playstyles. The franchise’s usual competitive multiplayer is back, where two teams of five players face off, with options segmented into more casual Quickplay and more hardcore Ranked playlists.

Gears 5 multiplayer doesn’t fix what isn’t broken–it’s striking how much Gears 5’s competitive modes feel like, say, Gears of War 3, and are fun in the same ways. Since it isn’t changing the core feel of the gameplay, The Coalition has expanded on it by offering more options for multiplayer, so you can find the modes you like, and metagame progression systems, to make your time feel more meaningful.

Quickplay includes a bunch of different game types that fit the Gears framework, while pushing you to play a little differently in every match. Its modes include classics like King of the Hill, as well as Gears of War 4’s weapon-based Arms Race (a literal race to get kills with a host of different guns) and Dodgeball, in which you can’t respawn unless a teammate kills a member of the opposing squad. The Ranked mode, on the other hand, plays things straighter with simpler modes like Team Deathmatch.

It’s very easy to see the influence live service games have on Gears 5, with an overall level-up system for your multiplayer persona, the ability to unlock more guns for your starting loadouts, and lots of customization options. They’re all of a type similar to what you’d see in something like Fortnite–nothing that would draw you into multiplayer on its own, but plenty to give you new unlocks to chase and to help multiplayer feel like it has more depth than just a series of matches to play. Exactly how big an influence those progression systems have on how multiplayer actually plays is tough to get a sense pre-release, so we’ll be putting in more multiplayer after Gears 5’s launch and will update this review accordingly. It should be noted also that, like live service games, Gears 5 also includes customization items you can grab by spending money on premium currency.

Specializing In Co-Op

The bigger refinements come in Gears 5’s co-op modes. Here, Gears 5 furthers an emphasis on teamwork and specialization, and again, the live service influence is apparent.

Horde mode returns, in which five players team up to take on 50 waves of enemies while building fortifications and buying new weapons in between each round. It sees some tweaks to the rules, with elements like shared resources, the ability to spend those resources on character perks to make yourself stronger, and greater character specialization that gives you more of a particular job as you work together to survive. New to the cooperative scene is Escape, in which you race through a Swarm Hive as a squad of three, trying to outrun deadly gas as you find your way out and kill enemies along the way. Escape differs from the other modes in that you have limited weapons and ammo, forcing you to search for more resources as you go and to work together to stay alive, especially on higher difficulties.

Both modes add more ways to engage with Gears 5 on their own, and they share their own live service-style progression systems that let you level up characters, customize their capabilities and loadouts, and generally make them more your own. The characters you choose in both Horde and Escape each have different roles and special abilities, including an Ultimate ability that charges up over time. You can even play as Jack the robot in an almost purely support role, providing something for players who prefer backing up teammates over scoring headshots. On the surface, Horde and Escape play pretty similarly to Gears’ other modes, and it’ll take some advancement through the progression systems to find out just how specific you can get with your character builds and how differently they really play from one another. But the possibilities are there to provide you with fun new ways to think about Gears’ pop-and-shoot gameplay and teamwork.

Gears 5’s additions make the whole package feel denser and more involved–even if it still plays very similarly to Gears games in the past. To some degree, there’s almost too much progression to deal with; it’s a lot to learn and keep in mind, and the character additions don’t always seem to have a big impact on how you play at lower levels. It’s an area that’s tough to gauge without spending more time with Gears 5 multiplayer post-release, and we’ll be digging into that portion of the game more in the coming days before finalizing the review.

But what makes Gears 5 work well is that those additions feel like a useful evolution of the core Gears concept, even if a lot of these ideas–like an involved character progression system or a Battle Pass-like rewards path–are also becoming commonplace among shooters. 13 years after the franchise’s first release, The Coalition’s additions to Gears 5 are all things that seem right at home with the elements that give the series its identity. The upshot is there are lots of options, and while you might not play them all, there’s probably something that fits the kind of player you are.

Gears 5 is very much a return of those best elements of Gears of War, but with a focus on making the game feel somewhat more adaptive to your particular ways of playing. Whether you want campaign or co-op, Competitive or Quickplay, there’s an option for you in Gears 5, and plenty of stuff to reward you for time spent and skill gained. Gears 5 might suffer from some of the same storytelling missteps as its predecessors, and it might not venture far out of the past, but the new ideas it brings to the series are all good reasons for fans to return.

Source : Gamesport

[thehowtostuff-blog]

Kathryn Hahn was never an ingenue. Not that she seems to mind—especially these days. In the imperfect world of Hollywood, when leading roles are handed out to women, they are often either romantic leads or someone’s mother (or both if they are especially meaty). As a result, actresses like Hahn—whom you would definitely recognize even if you don’t always remember her name—play a lot of best friends or sidekicks or comic-relief types. It means having the exact kind of career where the greatest challenge is scoring the job; the job itself isn’t exactly challenging. And, as any motivational poster will tell you, a life without challenges isn’t especially rewarding.

Only, Hahn’s performances—whether as the A-type political consultant on Parks and Recreation or a loopy hippie in Wanderlust—always feel like a reward for audiences. Never being an ingenue may have meant 100 per cent fewer Matthew McConaughey make-out sessions, but it has allowed us to see what miracles of character and commitment Hahn can perform with whatever she is given.

The week we talk, for example, Hahn seems to be in the ether. That week happened to be the 10th anniversary of the film Step Brothers (you know, that Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly flick where they play immature man-children…actually, maybe that isn’t very helpful), so a popular podcast and website devoted an inordinate amount of digital space to discussing the movie. In a film full of surprising over-the-top performances, Hahn’s small role as Ferrell’s quietly desperate sister-in-law somehow stands out as the most committed, honest and hilarious.

As great as she has always been in supporting roles, Hahn has recently shown how impressive she can be when she’s given more to do. Since director Jill Soloway cast her in her first leading role, in the 2013 indie film Afternoon Delight, Hahn has become one of Soloway’s go-to performers. She plays the heartbreakingly real rabbi and love interest in Transparent and the main character in the adaptation of Chris Kraus’s iconic feminist work, I Love Dick, opposite Kevin Bacon. This fall, she’ll co-star with Paul Giamatti in Private Life, about a couple struggling to have children later-ish in life.

Not only are these performances layered, honest and breathtakingly intimate but they also add an inspirational aspect to her career. Hahn proves that with enough talent, even show business can be a meritocracy. Let’s see a wide-eyed ingenue do that.

The characters you play in Transparent and I Love Dick are rightly praised as examples of honest feminist characters. But in your first real film role, in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, you played Kate Hudson’s desperate, hysterical best friend, possibly the least feminist role imaginable. It’s been quite a journey.

“Feminism was kind of a dirty word when I was growing up going to a Catholic school. Even when I was in college at Northwestern and surrounded by so many men, [to be associated with feminism] was almost like labelling yourself as ‘other.’ I was never a beauty, so my survival method was to be one of the guys. I loved a fart joke. For a lot of us misfits, who felt ‘other,’ theatre was a way to belong. It was a place for a lot of us who were pretending to be normal when we knew we were something different on the inside, whatever that means. After school, when I first came to L.A., it was a heightened version of what I’d been feeling in high school, and it was less about my gender and more about surviving.

“I was never a beauty, so my survival method was to be one of the guys. I loved a fart joke. For a lot of us misfits, who felt ‘other,’ theatre was a way to belong.”

“I just wanted to act, and I just wanted to perform. So politics weren’t even a part of that conversation for a long time. I didn’t have the privilege of thinking that way. In retrospect, you can look at your body of work, at the opportunities you’ve been given, and then sort of piece together that narrative. But when it’s happening, it’s a chaotic scramble. There are a thousand things that I didn’t get, and the few things that I did, and that’s the narrative that was pieced together.”

I listened to a Malcolm Gladwell podcast where he talks about how when you’re in a minority, in order to get along, you naturally put aside what you believe and take the side of the majority. If you’re a woman, you kind of have to make jokes about other women and things like that.

“I remember, my natural posture was to hunch over, because I never wanted anyone to see that I had breasts. I never wanted to be seen. I hid my femininity. I wanted to apologize for taking up space, and I feel like a lot of women would feel the same way. I just felt like my go-to was to demean myself and make fun of myself. And it worked, but that kind of does chip away at something. I just read Hunger by Roxane Gay. Have you read that?”

“I never wanted to be seen. I hid my femininity. I wanted to apologize for taking up space, and I feel like a lot of women would feel the same way. I just felt like my go-to was to demean myself and make fun of myself.”

No, I haven’t.

“It is so powerful and extraordinary, and I’ve been thinking about it non-stop. She’s an incredible writer, and it has been seared into my brain like a brand. She talks about the lengths that we go to to try to protect our deepest self from hurt. Like you were saying, we find those ways to try to blend in and camouflage ourselves. I’m always in awe of people who are able to come out truly as themselves. It really is no wonder that I became an actor. Sometimes I feel most comfortably myself when I’m either onstage or between action and cut. Isn’t that weird?”

Why do you feel like you’re most yourself when you’re playing somebody who isn’t you?

“I feel that less and less now. The older I get, the more comfortable I get and the less I’ve been wearing makeup—the less I’m interested in all of those things. I still love dressing up every once in a while, but in my day-to-day life, I’m less concerned with that.”

PHOTOGRAPHY by trunk archive

You once talked about how there has been a lot of dissatisfaction on your part with your career up until, well, now. How did you deal with that?

“There was a crazy disconnect between who I was, what I knew I could offer as a creative person and what was asked of me in drama school—when we were all able to be our truest, messiest, loudest creative selves—and what I was being asked to do in this industry.

“So it was very hard for me to be present. I would kind of fulfill an expectation and then go home feeling very unsatisfied. And, of course, I probably felt like I had fulfilled whatever I had to but didn’t feel like I blew anyone away, because I didn’t blow myself away. I didn’t walk out feeling like ‘Oh, I really uncovered something.’

“I never had those juicy creative feelings that I have had onstage or with my true tribe of creative peeps. Honestly, it wasn’t until a couple of things happened. I think the big transition for me was when I got Wanderlust, which is this big ensemble comedy that David Wain directed. I loved that part. And through it, I met my manager. She opened up doors for me that hadn’t been opened before. It was the experience of doing Afternoon Delight, which was written and directed by Jill Soloway, when something cracked open. I could be on an equal footing with somebody as a collaborator and not just feel like I was fulfilling my part in the machine. We were making something together. Honestly, it hearkened back to putting plays on in the backyard. It felt that pure.”

“It was the experience of doing Afternoon Delight, which was written and directed by Jill Soloway, when something cracked open. I could be on an equal footing with somebody as a collaborator and not just feel like I was fulfilling my part in the machine. We were making something together.”

It’s funny that in school we’re always taught the ideal and then when we’re released from university, it’s like “You’ll never get that ideal again.” Like in journalism school, we would practise writing long-form features, but when you’re out of school, chances are you’re going to be writing blog posts or ad copy.

“You’re exactly right. We always talked about that. A lot of acting programs spend a couple of years getting you into the purest place of performance, and then the last year, all of a sudden, is like ‘And wrap yourself up with the neatest, most polished, likable, palatable bow that you can possibly find, because the goal is to get hired.’

“So it’s just like ‘Glam it up, pluck it, hairbrush it, polish it, wax it, stick it and put some highlights on it.’ Anything that they can view of the real you, you’re taught, isn’t going to help you get a part.

“Ultimately, you’re teaching somebody a losing game, because what somebody is looking for is something new. They want something they haven’t seen before, something that is thrilling and unique. Of course, the work would suffer or feel tight and pushed because it wasn’t coming from any sort of real honesty. It was just coming from a need to please.”

One of the words that’s often used to describe your work with Soloway is “vulnerable.” It’s used so much that I feel like it’s in danger of losing its meaning. When you say that you could be vulnerable with her, what does that actually mean?

“You can feel like you can let yourself be totally seen—that through the lens that’s looking at you, you’re able to feel a freedom. I don’t want to say safety, because that implies that you need hand holding, which I don’t need, but I definitely need to feel a freedom and a shared language.”

The post Kathryn Hahn on <em>Private Life</em> and the Films She Isn’t Super Proud Of appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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[photodustorg]

LUMINA: CONVERSATIONS

PART TWO: JESSIE BOYLAN AND LYNDAL IRONS

Jessie Boylan is a photomedia artist based in Chewton, Victoria. She explores the human impact on the land and communities in relation to environmental and social devastation such as nuclear testing, mining and war. Lyndal Irons is a Sydney-based photographer and writer interested in social histories and parts of Australian society that are familiar, accessible, yet not often closely encountered. They are both members of new national documentary collective Lumina - here in conversation via email for PHOTODUST.

Jessie Boylan, Aurum, 2017. Layered photomedia: Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Western Australia (2010) & North Mara Gold Mine, Tanzania (2009). Photographic light box, 100 x 150 cm.

Lyndal Irons: Reading your journal from Gaza in 2009, I noticed you incorporated the quote from Anne Ferran: “… Once something gets left out of the historical record, that absence itself becomes a fact and not something you are free to recreate/reinstate later …” This feels like a natural place to start, as memory and history are relevant to both our work in quite different ways. As I was learning photography it was often drummed into me that, from a historical perspective, there are a whole lot of unrecorded moments even today in an image-saturated world. Many are both mundane and sensitive and can carry an incredible amount of information about our society ... but are rarely photographed. For example, a Centrelink queue. I’ve always carried that interest in missing pages from society’s photo album and I’ve tried to add a few pages into today’s record that may have otherwise gone unrecorded and considered inconsequential. You are on the flip side of memory in your work: shooting issue-based series on deeply consequential topics where one side of the story does not have an equal voice.

Jessie Boylan, Portrait of a Whistleblower, 2015. Installation shot. Various photomedia, video, artefacts, documents.

Jessie Boylan: Well, there are undoubtedly dominant narratives in society, and as an image-maker, I often look to ‘uncover’ or ‘reveal’ that which isn’t visible, or more importantly, that which isn’t shown or seen (these issues are most certainly visible if you look!). I think what’s interesting, or a motivating factor for me, is that issues change and shift over time; an event occurs and it cannot only be looked at in purely historical terms. I’m thinking here about the British nuclear tests at Maralinga: how an event occurred, yet the implications and effects of that event are still very much ongoing in people, place and country. I’m interested in how, as an artist, you can keep returning to issues or ideas and revisit, reimagine, re-understand, and show new ways of looking at, or engaging with, that particular issue. This may come from not wanting these issues to fall away and become inconsequential like you say, or it may just come from a deep fascination with the way we relegate things to history and try to move on, ignoring almost what has become as a result of that history/action/event. 

Jessie Boylan, Taranaki, Maralinga, South Australia, 2011. Digital Inkjet Print, 80 x 60 cm.

LI: ‘Re-understand’ - I like that idea.  Do you ever find yourself in conflict over what makes a better-looking photo that people will respond to versus the most accurate image?

JB: I think each project carries aesthetic and factual decision-making processes; how to show and give enough ‘information’, or how to create spaces or evocative and aesthetically pleasing imagery that may prompt people to engage or inquire further about a specific issue. I think my practice has shifted a lot over the past few years where I am actually less concerned about providing specific information (enough of course!) but more about creating work that allows for each individual’s experience and knowledge and perspective to come into play, i.e. allow them their own journey through that work, not decide that there is only one way to view and to interpret or understand that work, that if something is gleaned from it, or if it is affecting in some way, then that’s what I can hope for.  And I am talking very much more about concept-driven work, rather than a photojournalistic or documentary practice where the facts of the story must be known and revealed.

Jessie Boylan, William Creek Camp, South Australia, 2012. Digital Inkjet Print, 100 x 80 cm.

LI: Many people debate the power of photography today and say we are desensitised to images. As a photographer attempting to tell another person’s story, I feel the opposite - that visual representation is most often very powerful and very sensitive even in everyday circumstances. Do you agree and do you have a personal code of ethics when representing the voice or faces of other people?

Jessie Boylan, Yami Lester, Wallatinna Station, 2006. Digital Inkjet Print, 100 x 100 cm.

JB: Photography has become a whole lot less novel and a whole lot more available and therefore takes a lot more to stop us in our tracks. However, I do agree, that what shocks us, or does eventually stop us in our tracks, tends to be photographic imagery; I’m thinking here baby Aylan, Abu Grahib, Don Dale, etc. We can’t get these images out our heads once we’ve seen them, sometimes no matter how much we want to. They can be very galvanizing and also bring about great change, governmental policies, reviews, Royal Commissions, etc. 

In regards to my own personal code of ethics, yes for sure, I always seek to make sure that my subjects are aware of what I am doing, for what purpose, that the images may be around in the world, online, available, for perpetuity, as much as that can actually be understood (these concepts are difficult sometimes for people living remote lives far away from telecommunications). I often try to give my subjects some sense of control in how their image is taken and made also, that they can decide a certain level of what happens, where they are located, what is shown, what is not shown, check back in and get approval, if possible. Of course, these methodologies are all good in theory and not always easy to maintain in practice, but is certainly my intention and ethics when making work.

In my practice or process I am very open with the way that I make work, i.e., learning as I go through it, not pretending that I always know the answers or have a complete vision of how I want the work to look and what I want it to say from the very beginning, to reveal more about the whole process for me, it’s a very raw way of working sometimes. I could probably be more protective or hold more back, but I think it allows for more conversation or potential in points for subject, viewer and myself if I allow that. [Continued below.]

Jessie Boylan, Shift, 2016 (with Linda Dement). Installation shot. Multi-channel video, dimensions variable, 13 mins, 15 seconds.

I worked on a project about the Government’s Intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, a project which I never show because I didn’t feel like I gave the issue, the people, enough time to really understand (and therefore show) what was happening for people, or what the multitude of impacts were on individuals, families and communities. This process was driven very much by my code of ethics as described above, but the issue felt so complex and so multi-layered that I really didn’t feel safe or confident in showing beyond its initial exhibition. I felt the people we were talking to were so in the thick of it at the point (2008), that it was so new, that one moment they were able to describe the devastation it was causing, and the next they were worried about losing their job if they spoke out against it; it was something that I thought I might return to later, with more space, more of a tangible understanding on what occurred and what the impacts were. 

I think in regards to making work about heavy subject matter, specifically when projects involve interviews, or testimony from people who have experienced trauma in some way, that the process is so delicate there has to be an understanding and recognition it might cause pain for the subject to talk about it, to reveal, to trust me/us with their story and there is a great honour and responsibility in that, so it can’t be taken lightly, for me or for them. I think also, as image makers responding to trauma, violence, war, we have to be careful about what stays with us, what impacts us, what we carry with us. As Sontag said, the camera is a shield, and I recognise that sometimes, but also I do actually want to connect to people and to their stories, I think that it’s necessary to do so in order to have any capacity or integrity when showing that through art in any way.

Jessie Boylan, King Tide Coming, Marshall Islands, 2014. Digital Inkjet Print, 100 x 80 cm.

LI: I’m impressed with your dedication to the medium when a lot of voices fall away in photography in a couple of years. It’s difficult to make work often without financial reward or even at a substantial personal cost in the face of ethical grey areas. What keeps you motivated in photography? What are your rewards?

Jessie Boylan, Tennis Court, Maralinga, South Australia, 2011. Digital Inkjet Print, 80 x 60 cm.

JB: I think motivation ebbs and flows; at times I feel so inspired and like I just want to make make make, and at other times I feel lacklustre and like I am not making work that I like, or that is saying/showing what I want it to. More recently, being engaged with teaching undergraduate students has been motivating and inspiring, seeing people go through and be a part of their journey of trying to visualise and speak about their ideas, that’s so exciting.

Also, I think what has kept me motivated is finding new freedom in ways of making work, and a sense of a shifting and growing practice, that not everything has to be done in the same way, i.e. moving more into the video, installation, whilst alongside maintaining my photographic practice. I really enable myself to allow the slowness of projects, that they don’t necessarily have to be completed now, that I don’t have to be achieving everything now, that it’s ok if I return to projects over time, as long as I find my way back to it, or find ways to make work, to research, to think, to engage, which isn’t always easy amidst the busy life of work, kids and multiple competing commitments etc. 

For me, there is a deep sense of knowing that I want to be making work, that I am excited by the possibility of making work, and the act of doing it, what it gives to me, that in itself is rewarding. Of course, seeing your work in exhibitions or published some way, seeing the outcome and public presentation of your work, seeing people engage, discuss, enjoy or be impacted by your work is such a rewarding process. What is even more rewarding is seeing the people who have shared their story with you be proud, be happy they did so, that you have honoured their story or done it justice. That is such a beautiful reward.

Jessie Boylan, Ngurini (Searching for home), 2015 (with Nuclear Futures). Installation at QUT ‘The Block’. Immersive installation, originally a 360° cylindrical arena with 6 projectors and 7 sound speakers, 20 minutes.

A selection of Jessie Boylan’s video work can be viewed here:

Ngurini (Searching for home), 2015. Preview.

Shift, 2016 (with Linda Dement).

www.jessiebolyan.com

www.lyndalirons.com.au

Lumina is an Australian collective of award-winning photographic artists intent on breaking ground in visual storytelling, founded by Donna Bailey, Chloe Bartram, Aletheia Casey, Anna Maria Antoinette D’Addario, Lyndal Irons, Morganna Magee and Sarah Rhodes.

www.luminacollective.com.au

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