Watching...
Ant Man! Superheroes! Excitement!
Despite the fact I am a hugely jaded and cynical individual, I was not perturbed by the shaky production of Ant Man. The gut punch that was Edgar Wright parting ways with Marvel was tough to brace against, but my faith in the MCU machine is strong. Faith is sometimes rewarded and Ant Man was great fun, if a little thin. It is very much a connecting piece in the MCU puzzle, slotting into several areas of the ongoing worldbuilding that is Phase 2. There are clear nods to the Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter shows, hints at Civil War and gap-filling shenanigans post-Age Of Ultron. Doing a lot of busy work for the plots of other stories doesn't diminish Ant Man, however, but it does tarnish it's own identity somewhat. Perhaps a sequel will gift Scott Lange with his own grand adventure, taking the weight of the universe off his microscopic shoulders.
Following my recent playthrough of Arkham Knight, I decided to rewatch Batman: The Animated
Series in it's entirety and was surprised, nay, shocked to discover it is one of the most intelligent and well made TV shows of all time. In the early 90s, I was too young to pick up on things like Nietzsche quotes or treatise on abusive relationships, and the sheer horror in some episodes (House and Garden, in which Poison Ivy grows plant/human hybrids in pods) just passed me by. Every single episode has something to say, rewarding those that pay attention and satisfying the ones that don't because, essentially, it's still a fantastically enjoyable cartoon. Also, Kevin Conroy remains a defining Batman for me and Mark Hamill is perhaps the leading Joker, if only for the magnitude of his input.
Playing...
Primarily Arkham Knight, but for more info on that, head HERE. I also re-subbed to Final Fantasy XIV, because in my infinite wisdom I deemed it logical to start playing one of the most densely packed MMOs in existence when I should be studying to further my career. Ce st la vie.
I had forgotten just how polished the game became after it's Realm Reborn iteration. Bland main questline aside, the world building is high grade and, being a fan of the series, it's heaven to just wander around in Eorzea, which is basically like a nexus for all things Final Fantasy.
Elsewhere, aside from starting a playthrough of the excellent Pillars Of Eternity (temporary on hold for the above titles), I picked up Her Story on Steam. an engrossing and original indie game that presents the user with a Windows 95-esque desktop, a search field and a database full of police interview footage waiting to be discovered. There is no game to Her Story per se, it's more of an interactive exercise in deduction. Each search term uncovers a different angle on the events surrounding a murder, with your lone subject pinballing from fearful to sinister to downright psychotic...depending on which words you put in that search bar.
Reading...
Trying to reduce purchases this month, but that sweet sweet Frank Quietley cover art jumped out at me, so I picked up Jupiter's Legacy Book I. I have always enjoyed Mark Millar, his nihilism leaves a poor taste in a lot of peoples mouths, but in reality his harshest stroytelling (Nemesis, Wanted) isn't all that different in tone from most of Garth Ennis' work, and Ennis has always been venerated (for the record, Ennis is also my jam). Jupiter's Legacy is a much more reserved creation than most of Millar's previous output, slowly easing the reader into a well established world of superhumans, their imitators and jaded offspring.
I recently listened to Ready Player One, a book that I instantly fell in love with, as I'm sure many gamers and lovers of 1980s pop culture did. So, when Ernest Cline's latest novel came out I snatched it up with aplomb. Armada is a strange beast, almost identical in tone, rhythm and content to it's predecessor, it arguably botches the greatest strengths of that earlier work. It's hugely enjoyable, funny, heartwarming, with great characters and a satisfying glut of references. Yet, something is missing, it feels somehow diminished. Perhaps it is the lack of refreshing plot (the story is essentially Enders Game: 2015 Edition), or a strong emotional core, or perhaps it's because Ready Player One was such breath of fresh air for videogame literature that Cline's "difficult second album" was always going to be.....lacking. I sincerely hope that further works will show that Cline isn't just a one trick pony, although, someone churning out sci fi adventure novels replete with geek culture nods isn't exactly the worst thing that could happen to literature, however stilted the results may be.
Ant Man! Superheroes! Excitement!
Despite the fact I am a hugely jaded and cynical individual, I was not perturbed by the shaky production of Ant Man. The gut punch that was Edgar Wright parting ways with Marvel was tough to brace against, but my faith in the MCU machine is strong. Faith is sometimes rewarded and Ant Man was great fun, if a little thin. It is very much a connecting piece in the MCU puzzle, slotting into several areas of the ongoing worldbuilding that is Phase 2. There are clear nods to the Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter shows, hints at Civil War and gap-filling shenanigans post-Age Of Ultron. Doing a lot of busy work for the plots of other stories doesn't diminish Ant Man, however, but it does tarnish it's own identity somewhat. Perhaps a sequel will gift Scott Lange with his own grand adventure, taking the weight of the universe off his microscopic shoulders.
Following my recent playthrough of Arkham Knight, I decided to rewatch Batman: The Animated
Series in it's entirety and was surprised, nay, shocked to discover it is one of the most intelligent and well made TV shows of all time. In the early 90s, I was too young to pick up on things like Nietzsche quotes or treatise on abusive relationships, and the sheer horror in some episodes (House and Garden, in which Poison Ivy grows plant/human hybrids in pods) just passed me by. Every single episode has something to say, rewarding those that pay attention and satisfying the ones that don't because, essentially, it's still a fantastically enjoyable cartoon. Also, Kevin Conroy remains a defining Batman for me and Mark Hamill is perhaps the leading Joker, if only for the magnitude of his input.
Playing...
Primarily Arkham Knight, but for more info on that, head HERE. I also re-subbed to Final Fantasy XIV, because in my infinite wisdom I deemed it logical to start playing one of the most densely packed MMOs in existence when I should be studying to further my career. Ce st la vie.
I had forgotten just how polished the game became after it's Realm Reborn iteration. Bland main questline aside, the world building is high grade and, being a fan of the series, it's heaven to just wander around in Eorzea, which is basically like a nexus for all things Final Fantasy.
Elsewhere, aside from starting a playthrough of the excellent Pillars Of Eternity (temporary on hold for the above titles), I picked up Her Story on Steam. an engrossing and original indie game that presents the user with a Windows 95-esque desktop, a search field and a database full of police interview footage waiting to be discovered. There is no game to Her Story per se, it's more of an interactive exercise in deduction. Each search term uncovers a different angle on the events surrounding a murder, with your lone subject pinballing from fearful to sinister to downright psychotic...depending on which words you put in that search bar.
Reading...
Trying to reduce purchases this month, but that sweet sweet Frank Quietley cover art jumped out at me, so I picked up Jupiter's Legacy Book I. I have always enjoyed Mark Millar, his nihilism leaves a poor taste in a lot of peoples mouths, but in reality his harshest stroytelling (Nemesis, Wanted) isn't all that different in tone from most of Garth Ennis' work, and Ennis has always been venerated (for the record, Ennis is also my jam). Jupiter's Legacy is a much more reserved creation than most of Millar's previous output, slowly easing the reader into a well established world of superhumans, their imitators and jaded offspring.I recently listened to Ready Player One, a book that I instantly fell in love with, as I'm sure many gamers and lovers of 1980s pop culture did. So, when Ernest Cline's latest novel came out I snatched it up with aplomb. Armada is a strange beast, almost identical in tone, rhythm and content to it's predecessor, it arguably botches the greatest strengths of that earlier work. It's hugely enjoyable, funny, heartwarming, with great characters and a satisfying glut of references. Yet, something is missing, it feels somehow diminished. Perhaps it is the lack of refreshing plot (the story is essentially Enders Game: 2015 Edition), or a strong emotional core, or perhaps it's because Ready Player One was such breath of fresh air for videogame literature that Cline's "difficult second album" was always going to be.....lacking. I sincerely hope that further works will show that Cline isn't just a one trick pony, although, someone churning out sci fi adventure novels replete with geek culture nods isn't exactly the worst thing that could happen to literature, however stilted the results may be.
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