Best and most cool movies from 2015 that I liked - By David

So the year is drawing to a close, and while all those who imbibe are contemplating on which places will be the most effective to become inebriated, I'm engaging in my own annual tradition of deciding which video game/movie I'll be shotgunning all night.

I generally choose something familiar - KotOR, KSP, Firefly, what-have-you - but I do like to at least consider the things that are a little more fresh. As I was going back through the catalogue offered by 2015, I was surprised at how robust the offerings were. All told, this has been a pretty fucking good year for the shit I like to put on screens.

Since I was collating anyway, I figured I may as well divulge some of my insights so that you (the filthy masses) could benefit from my grand, divine wisdom. As I am aware that The Word causes madness in mere mortals, I have transcribed my insights from their pure, majestic form into a more easily digestible "list" for your benefit. It's a convenient form - I'm surprised the internet doesn't use it more often.

(None of this is in any particular order. There's not really a system here - I'm just kind of writing down stuff that makes me feel good when I think about it. Oh, and yeah - spoilers ahead.)

The DC Cinematic Universe isn't "too dark"

So this happened at SDCC:

As trailers are want to do, it reignited a lot of the conversation around differences between the MCU and the DCCU (if that's the acronym we're using?). There are some parts of that conversation I've been meaning to discuss for a while, and this seemed an appropriate time as any to get down to it.

I will admit, "thoughts on trailers" is something I feel ambivalent about doing. I personally can't stand when people condemn a film that's yet to be released based on some microscopic complaint in an attempt to generate rage-clicks, but I do think there can be fun discussions about this kind of thing. 

Game of Thrones - A Telltale Game Series review

Creating good spin-offs can be an astonishingly difficult task. “Passion and love” are the oft-cited secret ingredients to strong reinterpretations, and though they’re undeniably integral, there’s a lot more to it than simple enthusiasm. Loving Star Wars, for example, doesn’t mean I’m capable of making KotOR.

It isn’t enough to just love something, you need to understand why the thing is loved. You need to understand what about it attracts people in the first place, and ensure that element is properly realised in the final product. At the same time, you have to make sure your product is unique and charismatic enough to be something more than a sub-par knock-off.

Thankfully we live in an age now where many licenced games aren’t the dreadful certainty they once were. Gone is the age of Superman 64 and ET, and in its place are the days of Batman: Arkham, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Alien: Isolation. We live in an era where a game “based on the acclaimed [blank]” can actually inspire hope, and Telltale Games are, at least in my mind, the masters of this art.

The Swapper

I was looking forward to doing an indie review this week, and up until yesterday that review was going to be of Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dust was a great game, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of side-scrolling hack-and-slash. That review would be written now if I hadn’t picked up The Swapper in the exact same Humble Bundle.

The Swapper is a little on the obscure side. I’d started hearing about it a few months ago, and was surprised to discover it was actually released May last year. It’s made by Facepalm Games who, at time of writing, don’t have a Wikipedia page. In light of these revealing discoveries, I feel it’s probably a good idea for me to introduce it to you.

Saints Row IV

I started playing Saints Row IV a few days ago. I bought during on sale through the Humble Store, which granted me a Steam key. Part of the reason I bought the game so late was because I'd been hoping to find an overseas copy, unaltered by our out-of-touch government.

Of course, my Steam account identifies me as a fragile Australian, and I'd already read that the gifting-from-an-overseas-account exploit that was so popular during the Left 4 Dead 2 era didn't work for SR4. The sale was too tempting, though, and I resigned myself to an incomplete game. Much to my surprise, however, I found that the game I played contained all the content but for one weapon.

I didn't realise this until I actually reached the content that was supposed to be cut, roughly halfway through the game. I have no idea why I was this lucky; nothing I've read explains it. Though the content itself wasn't all that stand-out, I don't have to describe the satisfaction that comes with discovering something you were certain you'd lost. It was like finding a $50 note in my back pocket.

Obviously this very much a post release review, and that’s probably a pattern you’ll see a lot of. Unfortunately, I don’t do this professionally, and can afford neither the money or time required to do a review “the week of.” Hopefully the delays won’t bother many people, and my thoughts will still hold a modicum of value.

The Train

I submitted a few of my pieces to The Overland today. They were running an "emerging writers" edition, and midnight was the deadline. I doubt my pieces will be selected for publication (partly because of their tone, partly because of raw probability) but it's always kind of invigorating to actually submit something.

One of the pieces I chose is one I wrote a while ago. I'm kind of proud of it, so I thought I'd throw it up here. Hope you enjoy it.

Sex and Gender in the Mass Effect Series

I was thinking about Mass Effect the other day, and was considering the way it depicted women. It occurred to me that there was a lot of meat on that bone, so I thought I’d write up an analysis of the series with that in mind. Since my last post was a bit of fun, I also thought it might be good to do something with a bit more depth.

Before we begin, I should clarify that the Mass Effect series is a beautifully crafted, excellent series of games. Nothing I say here is designed to be a blanket decree that the series is evil, immoral or sexist. This is merely my take on some aspects of the series, and what that might communicate to certain players. The series explores many complex themes in an intelligent and meaningful way; the fact that Mass Effect can be seriously subjected to this level of analysis is in itself an achievement (though thankfully we're seeing this more often in gaming).

Now that’s over, let’s begin, shall we?