• 23Dec 07

  Blade Runner: The Final Cut Review

  Blade Runner has gone through a rather troubled history. The film flopped in theatres upon its release in 1982. It was marketed as an action film, and that was precisely what people were expecting. What they got was something totally different: a cerebral experience rich with all the literary techniques: symbolism, themes, strong characters and development, ambiguity, etc. It wasn't exactly the most action filled film, but if you like good storytelling, it won't matter. I don't have to go into the plot, since virtually everybody knows about it now, 25 years later. Not everyone knows that it was based on the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" which was an excellent novel though quite different from this "loose" adaptation, not that that's a bad thing in any way.
  
  Being the grandfather of the cyberpunk genre (Neuromancer being the archetypal piece), Blade Runner has influenced the science fiction culture in many ways over the past quarter decade, and with good reason: it's magnificent. The film noir, dystopic future atmosphere isn't very realistic though it is very much plausible and down to earth, unlike the space operas of yore.
  
  The only cut of the film we've had up until now on DVD was the Director's Cut, which at least got rid of the pointless narration and corny ending which severely damaged the film. Unfortunately, due to time constraints I suppose, the editing was left very much unchanged, and as a result we'd get these awkward pauses where there would have been the narration. In addition the DVD transfer was pretty bloody awful.
  
  What we've got here is the de facto version of the film, with much tighter editing and much better picture and sound quality. These were really my main problems with the Director's Cut, and now they're completely fixed. The effects are amazing even today, and the themes still very much relevant. It's a gorgeous movie to look at and hear, plus the tighter editing gives it a much more coherent flow and feel. The result is, in my opinion, the perfect science fiction film. If you even so much as liked Blade Runner before, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of the final cut today. Ridley Scott regards it as his favourite version, and he hoped we would too. Well, he succeeded, that's for damn sure.
  
  Now I just couldn't imagine how beautiful the picture and sound are in HD-DVD and Blu-Ray form.
  • Posted Dec 23, 2007 9:20 am PT
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• 19May 07

  Recent Tidings, Optimistic Future

  StarCraft II is announced at long last, and sitting there at the monitor refreshing IGN's news page for that magical update was enthralling. When the words popped up, it was hard to be anything but ecstatic; and why not? StarCraft was...sorry is one of the best traditional RTS currently in existance. I don't think I need to go into the other accolades that it currently enjoys.

  So StarCraft II is out in the open. First impressions reveal that it is sticking to the traditional RTS formula, which is great. The genre has diversified itself more than enough so that one doesn't groan at the announcement of "yet another build and destroy game!" With that being said, and assuming SC2 does pull through and improve on SC1's excellence, where can we go next?

  Supreme Commander had really good ideas up its sleeve. Massive scale was the key, which upped the ante for strategy in addition to tactics. So...why not transplant some of Blizzard's sci-fi (yet *ahem* somewhat borrowed) mythos into this gameplay template? Hardcore StarCraft players would be content with their StarCraft 2, and at the same time Blizzard could satisfy a whole other audience with this neat little combo (notice the use of the word little in the wake of a discussion of grand-scale games...God I'm awesome). The gameplay of course would have to be radically changed. Proper proportions between StarCraft's units would actually work, and it could make the battles more into what we see in some of the tense cinematics.

  Hell you could go even further and turn it into a Total War style game with Supreme Commander gameplay as the basis for the real-time battles. Why not add some diplomacy so you can make those shaky alliances like in StarCraft...but dynamically? Non-linear campaigns for all, with different outcomes based on your actions! GREAT NARRATIVES ABOUND!

  Alright, so I get carried away sometimes. The point is, StarCraft owns, StarCraft II is extremely exciting to watch out for, and there are just some game designs that need to be experimented with. Is StarCraft II out yet? And where's my blaster copy of StarCraft! I'm getting delusional already. See you in five years when it comes out.

  -A Disgruntled Dude

  • Posted May 19, 2007 2:55 pm PT
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• 3Jan 07

  Thief II: The Metal Age joins my coveted...

  ...list of Best Games Ever, which is usually shared by a very select few but can now look forward to seeing another join its ranks. Now it shall be comprised of:
  
  System Shock 2
  Thief II: The Metal Age
  Planescape: Torment
  Fallout
  Grim Fandango
  
  Despite the unusual, less than unique storyline with a fairly abrupt ending, the game carried itself so well because of its level design. There were two levels in the game that were not up to the level of the other 14, though altogether the ensemble was tremendous. The average playtime for each mission was between an hour and an hour and a half, on the Normal difficulty setting.
  
  Fan missions (T2X in particular) should be my next priority, but I'll probably be acquiring the first game before doing so. Until then, I guess I can look forward to playing the demo of Armed Assault, or delving into my newest Transhuman Space supplement, or even some Sam & Max episodes.
  
  • Posted Jan 3, 2007 3:39 pm PT
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