Bioshock: Infinite Review

You need to play this game. Just stop reading this, go buy it from Steam/GameStop/that one Brick and Morter shop/that weird guy at the flea market, and see the mind blowing experience of Bioshock Infinite.

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What? You're still here? Alright, fine then, I guess I'll have to tell you why this is one of the best games of our generation, and why you not only want to play it, but need to play it.

The very first thing people will notice about Columbia is the sheer beauty of the world created by Irrational Games. It is quite rare for me to stop and take notice of the environments in a game, yet here I was, constantly found myself stopping and admiring the views of the world, taking time to explore every nook, cranny, and shop to see what I'd find next.

As I said before, Columbia is a 1920's all-American paradise, racism and all. You'll find and explore the quaint shops and beautiful statues of the upper-class folk in the upper echelon of Columbia, to the lower-class slums, with dirty bathrooms and crummy shacks, all hidden out of sight by the Upper-Class utopia.

Players will also notice the seemingly religious amount of interest that the folk of Columbia take from the American history books, with statues of several historically significant American figures scattered throughout Columbia. All these layers combined paints the beautiful view of a flying 1920's propaganda city that is just so damn interesting to explore and reveal.

The characters inhabiting the city are just as colourful as the city itself. Booker is a bitter, angry man haunted by his past mistakes and actions, and it is great to watch these traits clash with the zealot levels of ideology that many of the people in Columbia seem to embody. Joining him is Elizabeth, the girl in the tower, and is a fantastic companion through the game. A girl who seems, at one moment, to be just like a Disney princess, as happy as can be, unaware of the world, and then on the other hand, will switch to a grim, mature person, totally aware of the world

As for the zealots, on one hand you have the leader of Columbia, Comstock, a man who has painted himself as a religious figure alongside George Washington and others, with his ability to seemingly foresee the future with impeccable accuracy, a man who also represents the upper echelon of Columbia society. On the other hand, is Daisy Fitzroy, the leader of the rebellion in the city, whose influence can be seen everywhere.

But what about the story? What's the plot? The meat and the bones of the game? Well, I since I refuse to spoil this wonderful little tale for you, I will only state the basics. You are Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent caught in a bit of a pickle. With some rather sizeable debts owed to the wrong people, Booker is sent to Columbia, in order to rescue a mysterious woman named Elizabeth from a giant tower. The plot, however, grows far beyond this fairly simple concept, leading through a slightly slow middle act, to a beautiful, gripping ending, which may confuse some, and enthrall others.

But what about the gameplay, you ask? Any fan of the series will feel right at home to the similar game play of the first two games. You've got a gun, a Vigor, Infinite's version of Plasmids, Bioshock's version of superpowers, and a room full of bad guys in your way. However, allow me to expand on this.

Infinite introduces a new arsenal of bullet launchers to your arsenal, with some new versions of the pistol and shotgun, to several variants of these. These weapons are great to use, and all have upgrades for you to purchase, to personalize your weaponry a bit. Yet, it still feels like Irrational stayed fairly conservative in terms of weaponry, and it would have been great to see just a touch more variation in the weaponry.

And what would Bioshock be without plasmids, or rather, the Infinite variation called Vigors. These abilities, akin to superpowers, are unlocked throughout your adventure, some easy to find, some not so easy, and all are important for your survival, whether it be shooting a puddle of water with lightning to electrocute a group, or rounding a corner with a shield, letting you shoot back at that darned shotgun guy.

Money is the most important factor in your game, however, with it controlling everything from upgrades to health packs to reviving after a few too many mistakes made, and is provided just as fast as it is used, provided you have the patience to look for it, which leads to the next point. Infinite is very rewarding of exploration, and always provides a few more dollars or bullets for you, something which you will sorely need.

Yet, as much as it pains me to say this, there are some flaws that really stood out for me. Nothing that broke the game or ruined it for me, far from it, but it still feels like it needs to be said.

As with all new releases, there are a glitch or two that can be noticed when playing. Small things, an animation not playing, a gun or body disappearing, usual things for a new release, and I'm sure they will be patched quickly.

But, there are some questionable things done with the gameplay as well, mostly modern shooter tropes I had hoped that Irrational would kick out the door, such as the two-weapon limit. I kept switching weapons in confusion, hoping for a weapon wheel to pop up, but nope. Nothing. Just weapon switching. This really bothered me, as this is a feature sorely missed in modern shooters, and it especially clashes with the upgrade feature of the game. There are also regenerating shields, much like from the modern Halo: Reach and 4, although you are given a much larger health pool which does not regenerate. This also clashes with the two weapon limit, which clashes with the 90's shooter vibe of the open environments and strategic gameplay.

Aside from the far between flaws of the game, the addictive gameplay, engaging story, awesome characters and perfect artstyle of this gem launches Bioshock Infinite into the upper echelon of not only the First Person Shooter genre, but into the highest honors of the video game medium, proving that games, much like movies, can evolve beyond the simple entertainment stigma attached to them, and into the category of art. Even if you don't consider yourself a gamer, you still owe it to yourself to play through this, even if solely for the story and characters that can stand with the best of all mediums.

THE GOOD:

• Sublime artstyle
• Crazy fun gameplay
• Engaging story

THE BAD:

• Few glitches
• Some questionable gameplay desicions

FINAL VERDICT:

9.5 out of 10

Kung Fu Panda Review

Kung Fu Panda Review by The Critical Canuck

Yet another movie I've been avoiding for some time now. When will I learn?

Up (2009) Review

After hearing nothing but good things about Up, I've finally decided to check it out.

Skyfall (2012) Review

Movie Review Skyfall by The Critical Canuck
My (Brett) First James Bond movie. Though, maybe not the best one to start off with.

Top 5 Land Before Time Sequels

The Land Before Time was a wonderful film by Don Bluth. But it also has been plagued with a bad case of sequelitis  Spawning over 12 sequels, which everyone on the internet seems to think are spawns of the devil. But I actually like a few of them. Please don't shoot me! Some of them are really not that bad! And I'm going to count my Top 5 Land Before Time Sequels.

Film History: The Battle Over Citizen Kane

 

I consider myself a dedicated historian. I'm not a professional, but I spent much of my time since I was under 10 researching history (something I am almost sure is unheard of otherwise). So I consider myself a dedicated historian. I also love film, probably more than can be considered healthy. And quite often, I find a film that has a pretty fascinating history behind its making. It's always interesting to see what happens behind the scenes, but some movie's had some internal power struggle, studio meddling of epic proportions, major fuck-ups that almost destroyed the film, etc. that put them above the rest. And the movie I'm talking about today is Citizen Kane.

                                                                                 

Now, talking about Citizen Kane might seem clichéd, but it's so hard not to talk about it, being the greatest movie of all time and all. And just the history behind Citizen Kane's making is enough to qualify it as the greatest movie of all time. Particularly the controversy it sparked over the portrayal of William Randolph Hearst, the man the Film's Titular character Charles Foster Kane was based on. This story is about a battle between two huge egos, one trying to bury the other for even daring to negatively portray him, and the other that figured he was beyond his reach. The battle over Citizen Kane.
                         

The Players           

 

First, let's talk about the main players in this battle behind the scenes. Let's start with William Randolph Hearst.

 

                                                  William Randolph Hearst                                                   

                              

William Randolph Hearst was the most powerful Newspaper Tycoon in America during the time Citizen Kane was made. He started his career by persuading his dad to let him have an old newspaper building he just so happened to own. And if Dear old Willie wanted cake, he got that fuckin' cake. He was a spoiled little shit. He immediately began writing sensationalist news story's. He even made up story's just for his paper to report on. He'd pay some woman in the street to collapse, or get one of his staff to jump off a ship, then he'd come and report abut it. He also managed to gain quite the audience by attacking his enemies with vicious ferocity. Sounds pretty fucked to me, but it worked. He eventually became the most powerful newspaper tycoon in America and he had a friggin' palace half the size of Rhode Island filled with countless statues and arts from around the world, his own private zoo, and you can only imagine what else. And he had so much power that if he didn't like you, if were famous and didn't show up to one of his party's, or if you just looked at him funny, he'd bury you so fast nobody would know you even existed. Quite the ego he had going there.   

 

       Orson Welles     

 

Orson Welles was in his teens when he went to New York. During the 30's, he directed adaptations of Shakespeare plays with black actors that couldn't read Shakespeare and he was a big radio jockey that managed to fool the whole country into thinking Martians were invading during a War of the Worlds segment in 1938. He also had a reputation for pushing his actors to the breaking point. He apparently didn't physically assault anyone, but I bet he would have if he could. Hell, he probably did. Orson was an arrogant son of a bitch who thought controversy would be more beneficial to him. It's this same theory that had communists framing him for shit, got him attacked by four guys outside his own theatre, and tricked the whole country into thinking there was a Martian invasion. But, it worked. He was always big news and people always said that he had this inspiring, preposterous energy about him. And he was a major success in both theatre and radio. And the fact that a guy with no experience with media in any form could make such an impact right off the bat was astounding. Man, things are not what they used to be. The early 1900's were the shit. Well, except for the World Wars.

 

Battle of the Ego's

 

Well, now that we know a little bit about the players in this battle of Ego's, let's talk about the battle itself. When RKO offered Orson Welles full creative control over a film project of his choice, Orson decided to do Citizen Kane, a movie based on Hearst's life. And remember, Orson liked tackling controversial projects. When he took on Citizen Kane, he knew Hearst would come after him. But he was also an arrogant bastard, so he figured he could win in a fight against Hearst. When Hearst sat down and watched the movie, he flipped shit. He swore he'd bury this film and fuck up Orson Welles' career. 

 





 In Citizen Kane there are many references to Hearst's life. Let's list a few of them:

- Charlie Kane is a powerful Newspaper Tycoon.

- Kane started out writing sensationalist news, and attacked his enemies viciously.

- Kane claimed to be working for the working man but became a corrupt asshole.

- Kane lived in a palace. 

- Kane collected arts from around the world just because he could.

 

There are many references to Hearst in the movie, and Hearst felt this was an affront to him. But, I think the thing that got him the most was the very first word said in the movie, "Rosebud". If you're wandering why, that is apparently the name Hearst gave to his girlfriend's vagina. I don't remember where I heard this from, but after hearing this I just can't take that word seriously anymore (How the hell did Orson even find out about that?). Just try watching the movie knowing what Rosebud was to Hearst.

 

I love riding my Rosebud.

 

And speaking of Hearst, he was pissed. He had his newspaper boycott the film. He made sure the film won no Oscars, and he even offered to buy all the reels from RKO so he could destroy them Office Space style.

 

 

Orson Welles strategy blew up in his face. After the controversy of Kane, he was never offered full creative control again. Citizen Kane started Orson's Hollywood career, but also effectively ended it. Meanwhile, Hearst continued to make sure his name was never associated with Kane. He wanted to make absolutely 100% sure that when he died, Citizen Kane was not going to be remembered. But as fate would have it, once Hearst died, Citizen Kane came into the spotlight. Since then, Citizen Kane has become famous for being the #1 Greatest Movie of all time. It's #1 on AFI's list, and countless other lists I'm sure. And now whenever somebody mentions William Randolph Hearst, they automatically think of Kane. Probably because he made such a big deal out of it being based on his life. So in the end, Hearst's strategy also blew up in his face. Oh if only he could see the irony of his fruitless efforts.

 

Who Won?

 

So who ultimately won the battle over Citizen Kane? Hearst certainly didn't win. All that effort just to have his name be associated with the movie he tried to bury. Orson Welles did make the movie, but it also destroyed his career. So I can't say he won. If anything, the movie itself and whatever studio is still making money off it won.

 

 

*All info in this article is from the Documentary "The Battle Over Citizen Kane"



Dead Space 3: First Impressions

Just three notes to take in before you read this:
 - This could be considered spoilers for the prologue of the game, so if this upsets you, stuff it.
 - I refuse to touch the co-op until I complete a single-player game, as Dead Space has always been a single-player experience to me. Again, if this bothers you, stuff it.
 - This is a first impressions, not a review! I will only look at and analyze the events that occur in the prologue. If this bothers you, for a third and final time, stuff it.


Finally! A new entry to the Dead Space series! A franchise which has a special place in my heart as one of my personal favourite horror series, out shined only by the Amnesia series and Frictional Games' other horror gems. After the short installation and other setups, I finally get to click on that special 'New Game' button, and start my new adventure.

Be amazed by my menu screenshots!

I crank the difficulty right up to impossible, and an introduction video starts to play, something fellow fans of Dead Space 2 will get a sense of deja vu from. It gives a brief intro into the current Dead Space story, more of a refresher for most of us, but in a surprise to me, gives more info on the actual Dead Space universe, and a look into the past few centuries of the human development in the universe and where those gosh darn Markers actually come from. That really sold the video for me, rather then just being one of those skippable intros like in Assassin's Creed 3.

But that's not what you're reading for, oh no, you want to read about those beautiful necromorphs and blasting and stomping them into little tiny pieces. We start the game off with a man in one of the series' famed suits in a lonely snow storm. We are also given the date in a short blurb at the bottom, and hear over some dialogue or in subtitles that the name of this character is Tim, or as I prefer to call him, Not-Isaac.

What do you mean you don't remember me?

Our new friend Not-Isacc is told by a Doctor in the nearby colony to retrieve something called a Codec, which is nearby, past the storm, and not much else. Here we are finally given control, as we walk Not-Isacc through a barely-visible snow storm, and, despite not being in a cramped, smelly space ship, this still feels like Dead Space. Walking through this storm barely able to see in front of us is quite atmospheric, and having no knowledge of what is coming adds to the tensity.

Uh, guys? You sure this is the right way?

After navigating through this we come up to a large cliff with a great view, and an abandoned vehicle or ship hanging on the cliff, and we all know what that means. It is at this point where we come across some of the new enemies in the game. They lean much closer to the zombies side of the horror fence while the later returning necromorphs are on the aliens side. These guys share a lot of the necromorph traits however. They are tough, can be ripped apart, and can be quite fast. I personally like them and their axes, even if the developers could have put a bit more creativity into their gameplay side as well as their artistic side.

Hey c'mon, I just wanted to 'axe' you something.

This leads to a very short in ship section. It's dark, cramped, full of enemies, and just like a Dead Space game, although it sadly does not last very long. We find the Codec in the pilot section of the vehicle and it is at this moment when the brothers Mood and Action awkwardly switch places, as they seem to do a lot in Dead Space 3, and the vehicle starts to fall down the cliff. Not-Isaac then latches onto the door of the ship and we rapple down the mountain, as debris falls all around us.

I learned it by watching you Call of Duty!
 

While this scene is fun, it does feel kind of out of place, throwing out the series renowned atmosphere and tensity for EXPLOSIONS, although it is nicely done. After this quick grappling, we get an even crazier scene just as worthy of the EXPLOSIONS title, with Not-Isaac sliding down a mountain while rolling around dodging even more debris and even having to shoot out pieces of explosive debris and sliding through holes in it. Again, this kind of crazy, over-the-top, in-your-face action works in Call of Duty, Army of Two, and other popcorn games, but it doesn't feel Dead Space worthy, as it clashes with the slow tensity, and makes my good friend Mr. Tone bounce around in confusion.

Pfft, who needs ritalin!
 

After crashing to the bottom of the cliff, the brothers Mood and Action switch again, and we come across a base full of dead soldiers. Not-Isaac gets up and discovers that there is a single survivor of whatever happened here, General Mahad. After a short dialogue between the two, Mahad.. 


**SPOILERS**
shoots Not-Isaac in the head while his mask is down and then deletes the contents of the Codec. He then proceeds to shoot himself in the head.
**END SPOILERS**

The prologue then ends, and we cut a few hundred years later to Isaac in a dingy apartment in one of the sovereign colonies.

What I get from this short first section into Dead Space 3 is that Visceral Games has decided to go with even more of an action approach that was introduced in Dead Space 2, and I have a mixed bag of feelings about this. These scenes are very well done and quite a blast to play through, but it doesn't compliment Dead Space the horror game, instead clashing with it. What this series really needs are more quiet, atmospheric moments so that juxtaposition can come into play when the necromorphs and markers do finally come into play. Perhaps something like Isaac walking through a street or building in this colony so when the enemies finally crash the party, we have more feeling toward these people being killed and buildings being destroyed. Aside from this constant clash of tone, Dead Space 3 is still immersive as hell, and what atmosphere is in the game is done damn well. It rare these days that my palms start to sweat from the game, and we need more of that in this increasingly stagnant industry.

Watership Down (TV Series) Review

Watership Down TV Series Review by The Critical Canuck

A TV series based on Richard Adam's beloved Novel? Could they really pull off a more child-accessible version of it?