BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Review

So here we are with a two-part episodic follow up to BioShock Infinite, acting as a bridge between it and the original dystopian blockbuster from 2007. The second and final episode also acts as Irrational’s swan-song, after budgetary issues (or Ken Levine’s recent egomaniacal epiphany, depending on who you want to believe) forced the entire studio’s staff to be laid off. It’s a shame, because you can clearly see the team’s talents on full display here - I don’t think I’ve ever seen DLC with this much effort behind it… with the possible exception of the thing I couldn’t stop gushing about last month. This is BioShock 4 in everything but name and distribution method. While Irrational may be gone, I’m glad they were able to pump this out at the final hour. Now would you kindly let me explain why… oh god I just went there, didn’t I…

The first episode of Burial at Sea came out a few months ago and, frankly, wasn’t anything special. It didn’t do anything ‘wrong’ per se, but it was short and didn’t even attempt to do anything new gameplay-wise. It was interesting to revisit Rapture, exploring it at its peak, but the majority of the episode essentially served as a simple switch of settings for the regular chaotic Booker gunplay and ‘hey, I found some money’ Elizabeth sidekick woes. Playing this episode was a gentle reminder of what didn’t really work in Infinite, namely the ridiculously unfitting ultraviolence and general lack of strategy required thanks to an over-abundance of powerful combat and tear options. (No, I don’t want to play on 1999 mode.) The Rapture setting does work in the gameplay’s favour this time, though, as random decapitations don’t seem quite as out of place in the dark, derelict undersea setting compared to the bright and cheery Columbian skyline. Overall, Episode One keeps you invested thanks to the subtle callbacks to the original Infinite campaign, building to a decent cliffhanger.

Don't watch that if you haven't played the first episode yet

Episode Two, meanwhile, pretty much goes out of its way from the very start to show off. Right from the beginning its clear that things are going to get pretty crazy - you’ll want to make sure you’re well versed on the events of the original game(s) before diving in. There’s a lot of what I like to call ‘narrative museum’ sequences, whereby you’re walking around, taking in details and simply allowing the story to progress linearly… but like in regular Infinite, these sequences continue to be executed really well. 

But that’s not the real reason to be impressed with this new episode - what really stands out is the change to the core gameplay. It’s no longer about chaos and mayhem - by playing as an Elizabeth without the ability to open inter-dimensional tears, suddenly you’re vulnerable, so the game takes on a new focus of stealth rather than brute force. With the Peeping Tom plasmid, you can see enemies through walls and turn invisible, while new weapons include a crossbow that can tranquillise, unleash sleeping gas or create noisy distractions. Even though these mechanics are ultimately half-baked (don’t expect Splinter Cell, and as is often the case in stealth games the tranquilliser darts are a bit too useful) I found this approach much more fulfilling than before. There’s no regenerating shield and for the first time in a BioShock game you don’t immediately respawn when you die. No vita-chamber grinding here, folks.

The main disappointment in regards to the gameplay of both episodes is that there really isn’t much of the typical weapon upgrading or item scavenging, aside from the obligatory audio diary collectibles. It’s a necessity due to the short play times of these episodes, so if you’re mainly into BioShock because of the lite-RPG elements and not because of the narrative, you might not find as much to love here.

Clearly the focus is on story, and there’s a lot of obvious jigsaw-ing together of a whole bunch of strands to bridge the narratives of BioShock and BioShock Infinite. Considering the original game was made with no intention of involving a larger multiverse, it’s a nice surprise to find how neatly the story elements from Infinite are carried over to the familiar Rapture setting. I was worried, going in, that things were going to be a cluttered mess due to all the returning characters, but on balance, I think it worked out pretty well. If you’re a fan of Atlas, he has some particularly great moments here. The final revelation, even though you can kind of see it coming, is a convenient but undeniably smart and fan-pleasing way to draw a line under the convoluted plot. We’ve seen so many alternate versions of Booker and Elizabeth that after a while it becomes hard to care about their final fates, but this was probably the best possible way to wrap things up. I don’t doubt that BioShock will continue under the wing of a different developer, but now that we’ve ‘seen all the doors,’ it really doesn’t need to.

The Last of Us: Left Behind Review

The Last of Us’ DLC came out yesterday and I thought I’d do a review. So that it’s topical and stuff. For those who want to know what I thought of the original game, well, I wrote a paragraph on it a couple of blogs back. I liked it, basically.

I'm also going to moan about Tomb Raider a little bit. Bear with me.

So Left Behind is split into two halves, one being a prequel to The Last of Us' main story and one filling in a plot hole that wasn't much of a plot hole. The latter feels somewhat like an extended deleted scene, one that doesn’t particularly do much to further the story or the characters but does include more of The Last of Us’ signature style of action: Stealthy brutality with a general sparsity of ammo. Like in the original game, these sequences are at their best when you’re given free reign to plot your own route between each room while trying to keep your wits about you as the Clickers click-clickety-click just a few feet away. Because it’s so easy to mess up these parts the tension is always high, and Left Behind manages to contain just the right balance of these scenes to stop things feeling repetitive - that’s one fault of the original game if I had to think of any.

But it’s in the other half of this DLC that the interesting stuff happens. We meet Ellie’s friend Riley and basically spend the whole time walking around and ‘hanging out’ with her. It’s the sort of narratively heavy approach that really, really wouldn’t work if the writing and performances weren’t absolutely top-notch. Luckily, they are. There’s an element of mystery to the character of Riley that keeps things moving, but for the most part it’s just the two friends stumbling across things and hanging out together. It’s done so believably here that it’s almost a shame when we have to get back to shooting things.

I’ve been playing last year’s Tomb Raider recently, and the gulf in sophistication in the storytelling here is ridiculous. Bear in mind, Tomb Raider was praised by most reviewers as being a dark and thoughtful reimagining of gaming’s most famous video game heroine, putting character development first and foremost. I was always skeptical, however, because of how cartoonishly over the top the whole grittiness thing went. In my opinion, the mishmash of “seriousness” and fast-paced mass-murdering gameplay in Tomb Raider was almost farcical, and people seem to have also overlooked how simplistic and cliche much of the dialogue could be. “I’m here. You’re safe now.” “You saved me. I knew you would.” “I made you a promise.” Congratulations, Tomb Raider, for proving that video games have now successfully reached the level of maturity of such ‘works of art’ as The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Luckily Tomb Raider was still pretty fun, but there was nothing remotely clever about the characterisation of Lara. With her infinite athletic endurance in spite of the horrific graphic injuries she’d sustained over the course of the cutscenes alone, she wasn’t a believable character. So, yeah, I really don’t understand all the praise that game got for being ‘realistic’. Ellie in The Last of Us is the polar opposite of that. She talks and behaves like a real person. There are a lot of subtleties to her behaviour. Sometimes she can be annoying - but this isn’t because of bad writing, it’s because she’s behaving like any cocky tormented teenager would given the situation. Since she’s the star of this DLC and not Joel, I guess we’re going to get more of the obvious ‘hurr hurr Ellie looks like Ellen Page’ comparisons again. I think that does a bit of a discredit to the work Naughty Dog have achieved here in fleshing out the character, although there is one thing that… because of the recent news regarding… shhh!

So not everyone will like Left Behind. There’s very little ‘gameplay’ here and the pacing is slow. Personally I admire the low-key approach, it sticks out well amongst a sea of what I like to call ‘Michael Bay’ games. The overall experience is much closer to something like Telltale’s Walking Dead series (albeit with a hundred times the budget) than, say, Call of Duty. It’s over in 2 hours flat, so you might want to ask yourself whether it’s worth the asking price (if you didn’t get it in the super-reduced season pass bundle like you totally should have). As for me, I’m actually warming to the movie-like length for a product like this. I can see more and more of this sort of thing happening in the future. Look, I don’t have enough time to sink 20 hours into every new game that comes out; for a big budget, linear, story driven game in particular, it’s an awfully big ask to pad things out without resorting to cheap gameplay rehashes. BioShock Infinite’s Burial at Sea is another good example of how the shorter length can work well these days. Just get the pricing down to the point where gamers will stop moaning and we’ll all be happy. Oh, also, Sony, please don't make me download and install five billion updates when I've already downloaded the DLC. Thanks.

Fandom Schmandom

Fans are weird. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to following a few escapades in ole London this weekend. Let’s start with one of the geekiest fandoms of them all: anime. Now here’s the disclaimer: I am not, and probably never will be, an anime fan. I’ve probably seen about 2 or 3 episodes of anime in my entire life, and that’s including the Pokémon animated series. I’ve come across a few films like the weird pre-Inception dream based film Paprika, and the big hits like Ghost in the Shell, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro are certainly on my to-watch list. But again, I am not an anime fan. Why do I bring this up? Well, someone decided to drag me along to the London Anime & Gaming Con today. My verdict? Well, let’s just say, the people I came across weren’t doing much to deflect the awkward anime nerd stereotype.

That’s fine. I’ve got nothing against those types of people. If you want to dress up in a tightly fitting dress wielding a polystyrene sword (with far too much attention to detail) from your favourite piece of fantasy nonsense, I’m not going to stop you. I might feel slightly weirded out, but I don’t think that can be helped. There’s something faintly terrifying about a group of cosplayers completely into their characters, running around with no shame. It reminds me of the role playing society back at my university that would run around campus in full medieval costume and act out ridiculously complicated storylines oblivious to everyone else. Well, all the power to them, I say. Just accept that most people are going to be confused and probably a little bit intimidated.

Of course not all anime fans behave like this, because if they did, the textiles industry would probably collapse in on itself. Cosplay is there for those who want it, others can silently consume anime in their own privacy, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t make you any less of a ‘fan’ just because you don’t want to join in with a certain vocal community - that's what separates ‘fan’ from ‘fandom.’ Cosplayers wouldn’t run around in ultra-stylised fantasy costumes if nobody else did; it’s the very reason they feel no embarrassment, and one reason why events like LAGC are worthwhile. For the right people…

Now on to a very specific type of fandom… The Room. One of the most universally loved bad movies has spawned a whole group of dedicated fans, myself included. In between all the screenings and spoon-throwing Tommy Wiseau’s happy accident has become a cult phenomenon that continually spreads through word of mouth and sheer audience fascination. Co-star Greg Sestero’s hilarious book The Disaster Artist and its just-announced movie adaptation from James Franco would not exist if it weren't for the fans. It’s the perfect example of how much can arise from such an obscure obsession.

Tommy and Greg continue to host regular screenings all around the world. Indeed, they were in London this weekend; while I didn’t go personally this time (it was my brother's turn), I did attend a screening with them back in 2012, and I can confirm that it was every bit as mental as you could expect. I may have a photo here somewhere…

But I’ll finish by getting back to the real sticking point here - fandoms aren’t for everyone. And I think we all have a right to dislike, hate, even laugh at them to a point. They are, by their very nature, completely divisive. Sitting on the train on the way back from London today I had to put up with a bunch of intoxicated football fans and their loud, derogatory banter. I have absolutely zero interest in any sports whatsoever, so fans acting obnoxiously only serve to wind me up, or make me break down into uncontrollable laughing when it gets as ridiculous as it did. I swear, if I have to hear the ‘tangy cheese’ song again…

Anyway, the point is, if you want to belong in a fan community, go for it. You’ll have a lot of fun, and you won’t feel embarrassed doing something mental if you’re hanging out with a whole bunch of other people doing something mental. But it’s also okay if you’d rather just hang back and read a book or something. I don’t know. Fans are weird.

My Top 5 Games of 2013

Following my little Hobbit rant I feel like it’s time to talk about what I enjoyed last year, so here are my top 5 games from 2013 that I played in 2013. If there are any suspicious absences that’s probably because I haven’t had a chance to play everything yet, like Tomb Raider, or Grand Theft Auto V which I’m only about a third of the way through.

So, in no particular order (because if I tried to think of an order, it would probably change every few minutes)...

BioShock Infinite

The long awaited sequel deserves credit for its incredible attention to detail. The gunplay is chaotic and overdone, perhaps, but despite forcing you down a linear path like so many of today’s single player shooters, Infinite provides perhaps the most spine-tinglingly well realised setting of any game to date. The first half-hour alone does more to generate intrigue than any number of other so called ‘narrative-driven’ shooters combined. Irrational took the first BioShock’s philosophical approach and decided to dance all over it with a smattering of inter-dimensional craziness. Whether you enjoy the universe-twisting shenanigans or consider them a step too far for the series, there’s no doubt that Infinite leaves an impression. 

The Last of Us

Gaming’s equivalent of Oscar-bait. Impressively designed, technically pristine and sporting a very well constructed narrative. It’s very nice to see a big budget game that cares more about character development than showcasing the latest explosion rendering techniques. Certainly a step in the right direction from Naughty Dog, who I feel used to fall victim to the ‘set piece first, narrative later’ approach. You won’t find any ‘Nathan Drake gets captured by pirates’ interludes here, although I do feel that the game occasionally risks wringing out a few too-many repetitive scenarios. There’s only so many times you can be forced to prop a ladder up against a wall before you start losing interest. But that’s just nitpicking. The Last of Us is a clever, bold, effective masterpiece.

The Wonderful 101

Niche, oddball and wonderfully over-the-top. This is why Platinum are possibly my favourite developers - you just won’t find this sort of madness elsewhere. It’s like someone threw Pikmin and director Shinji Mikami’s own Viewtiful Joe and Bayonetta into a blender with, of all things, Power Rangers. The learning curve is steep thanks to ridiculously convoluted mechanics, but as you get stuck in and figure things out for yourself, everything just clicks. The game even dares to properly-legitimise the Wii U Gamepad screen with some amusing multi-tasking sections. The final boss battle lasts almost 2 hours, upping the spectacle to ridiculous proportions without even becoming a drag. It’s a genuinely bonkers action game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up as the struggling Nintendo console’s biggest cult classic.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

I’m just so glad this exists - I wouldn’t have imagined this sort of project ever actually coming to fruition. For the uninitiated, Blood Dragon is a totally standalone spin-off from the also-excellent Far Cry 3 that pays tribute to every cheesy 80s sci-fi action movie… by playing like a cheesy 80s sci-fi action movie. It’s a loveable parody in the same vein as the recent Grindhouse films. A little on the easy side, perhaps, but you can’t go wrong when your game has Kyle Reese himself, Michael Biehn on voiceover duties. Or the excellent soundtrack that does an uncannily great job of recreating the synthesisers used back in the day. Or, most importantly, glowing neon dragons that shoot laser beams out of their eyes.

Rayman Legends

There’s been some good platformers this year - everyone’s been talking up Mario 3D World recently, but I’m going to give this round to the limbless whatever-he-is. This former Nintendo exclusive controversially ended up on a whole bunch of other consoles, yet having played through the entirety of this insanely gorgeous side-scroller with the touch-screen aided co-op, I can’t imagine anything comparing to the fluidity of the original Wii U version. Michel Ancel’s team outdid themselves with the level of creativity and variety on offer here, with a more balanced difficulty level than Origins and, somehow, even more beautiful visuals.

Honourable mentions:

Super Mario 3D World, Metal Gear Rising, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 2 and I have to mention Pikmin 3 somewhere or my brother will moan.

I’ll probably do a similar blog post with 2013 movies eventually, but I feel like I’ve got to catch up on a lot of the big hits first.

The Box Interrogation

All right, now here’s a script I wrote for an unproduced audio sketch back in 2012. I’ve sat on the script for a while, rewritten it a couple times and think it’s probably finally time to show it…  It’s an interrogation scene with a twist. A rather obvious twist. Bold lines are the interrogator, non-bold lines are the suspect.

THE BOX INTERROGATION

BY TOM CHESHIRE

Bring the suspect in.

Woah… Where am I? What the hell is this place? Ah… Who's that? Hello?

Good afternoon.

You’re gonna have to tell me sooner or later, what am I doing here?

I think we both know what you're doing here…

I don't know what you're talking about… I was just sitting, minding my own business and then you guys… picked me up and threw me in the back of a van. Do you even know what I'm made of?

You're a suspect in the murder of a certain Patrick Stockwell.

The murder… Oh… oh god, my god… he's dead?

Did you know him?

Yeah, I knew Packie. We were close, once. Used to see him all the time, till the day he had to move away. Shame… How did he die?

Started out as just a normal day at the factory. One minute everything’s fine, the next he’s flat on the floor. Something crushed him. He died instantly…

And… you, you think I did this? Seriously? How?

That's what I'm here to find out. If you'll open up to me, I'll make this nice and easy for you… 

I didn't crush him! I didn't!

You're a sharp little bugger aren't you…

I'm so tired… please… can’t you just let me go?

Not until you promise to be straight with me.

Straight? I'm always straight…

Then open up! I can't let you leave until you give me your side of the story...

You want my side? You can have it…

What were you doing at 5pm last Tuesday?

I was just sitting over there, on the corner the whole time.

On the corner?

Yeah.

Doing what exactly?

You know, just sitting, waiting. Waiting for a delivery, I think? I was gonna get myself topped up on a few supplies…

What kind of supplies?

Typical household stuff, food, you know, I was feeling pretty empty that day.

You’re full to the brim now aren't you…

I may have put on a bit of weight, yes. What's your problem?

Don’t be such a square. It looks like you're hiding something. I have reason to suspect you were involved in a certain drug smuggling scandal, too, but I’m willing to let that slide if you just tell me the truth… Did you kill Patrick?

I wasn’t even there! 

How do you explain this image, taken at the scene of the crime?

Wha… But, I mean, how's that supposed to prove anything?

I assure you our analysis was thorough, we've come to a conclusion that it's you. We've got a perfect match from every angle.

You… you've got me mistaken for some other…

You really expect me to believe you? This evidence could tear you down…

Listen, I didn't do it. I ain’t guilty of nothing. Don't I get power of attorney in any of this?

Looks like you've got the power of three… three different attorneys.

I have rights you know, and right angles… to come at this from. I'm innocent! 

Sigh, looks like I'm gonna have to resort to some… edgier... off the record methods…

Hey, what? What do you mean, edgier? Huh? What are you doing? Don’t touch my sides, I’m very fragile!

You're sides are gonna be the least of your problems by the time I'm finished with you. Let's see what you're really made of...

Stop cornering me! What are you going to do? Give me splinters?

You think it's funny don't you? You think you can just fold yourself all over this goddamn society without us noticing?

Ahhhh! Help! Please don’t tear me apart! Sob… Look at me, I'm in pieces!

I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Pull yourself together… I just want some answers.

Hahaha… You can’t prove anything.

You two-faced son of a bitch. We’ve got it all on tape. We know it was you.

Hey, I ain't no two-faced son of a bitch, look at me. What am I?

You’re a common criminal.

All right, I’ll level with you. I did it. I murdered Packie. Big deal. The one thing, I swear, the one thing I can’t stand being called… is two faced. Look at me! This way up!

What?

Don’t act like you don’t know. Look at me. What am I?

You’re a murderer.

I'M A CARDBOARD BOX…

Yeah… Obviously. That’s why we call it a box interrogation. Chief, take him away…

I’m a SIX faced son of a bitch. Get it right next time.

END

(Trivia time: Inspired by a pointless wallpaper made by my friend Ryan, along with a bunch of comments I posted to it under the name tank2tank)

The Return of The Beards: My thoughts on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Definition of Smug, sorry, The Desolation of Smaug (turns out I’m not the first one to make that joke) is the latest self-indulgent drawn out visually exhausting trek across fiction’s most beloved fantasy world viewed through the eyes of New Zealand’s most over-affluent fanboy-turned-director Peter Jackson. If that sentence seemed rather lengthy then you’ll probably get where I’m going with this.

Okay, everyone knows these movies are long. Everyone knows Jackson is obsessed with squeezing as much detail as possible out of background details and functionally irrelevant plot points. Fine. It’s just that for the first time in the saga, I didn’t feel any satisfaction once the credits rolled. It’s probably not much of a spoiler to say that The Desolation of Smaug ends on an abrupt note, but it’s almost as if we’re getting half a movie here, arbitrarily cut in half before anything of real relevance happens - a by-product of the original two planned Hobbit movies being cut into three?

Wait a minute! Surely this was better than the first film? The one where, you know, we had to suffer through Bilbo walking around his house for 45 minutes? Actually, I have to disagree. I thought An Unexpected Journey kept things flowing with a greater level of humour and charm, with the Gollum riddles section standing out as a highlight of the entire franchise for me. It was flawed, sure, with pointless extra scenes giving screen-time to some old faces (literally) and the aforementioned slow start. Maybe it was the nine year wait we’d had since Return of the King, but I didn’t feel short-changed by the first Hobbit. I’ll stop short of calling it a good movie because I’m worried if I watched it again now I’d be less kind.

I think the main problem is that while it was entertaining, the foundations laid by the first film weren’t particularly strong. The only way a trilogy that tells a single, focused story can work is if the first part does enough to make you care about the characters and their plight. Martin Freeman is an excellent Bilbo but he has to share screen time with a cast of 13 incredibly dull dwarves that I didn’t care about in the first film and certainly couldn’t care less about now. In trying to embellish as much of the story as possible, Jackson frequently shoves Bilbo in the background and gives Thorin "Boring" Oakenshield the lead role.

For a story called ‘The Hobbit,’ it might as well be re-named ‘The Beards,’ since it seems like Jackson would rather devote screen time to the unconvincing facial hair worn by 95% of the male cast. (Incidentally if you thought the facial hair looked bad in the first film just wait until Stephen Fry shows up.) Apparently beards are so important in these movies they even got WETA to animate them digitally for some scenes. I’m not making this up. They paid people to animate beards. Groundbreaking visual effects these are not. I feel like I’m getting a bit off track.

My point is this ‘middle of the trilogy’ film doesn’t even try to do anything interesting with any of the characters and because of the first film’s failure to establish reasons to care my interest was lost very early on. There’s a handful of promising scenes such as Bilbo’s dark turn in the forest; but it’s such a small part of the overall movie that it gets quickly forgotten amongst an endless cycle of dull action and padding. The whole movie builds up to Smaug’s appearance, which starts off well but devolves into a horribly boring action sequence that’s almost incomprehensible. I have no idea what was supposed to be happening during the last 20 minutes. There was a lot of fire and dwarves and beards flying around and I’m pretty sure the droid factory from Attack of the Clones showed up at one point.

Don’t get me started on Legolas’ pointless appearance, or the cringe-inducing ‘there could be anything down my trousers’ love triangle, or the fact that Gandalf’s sub-plot doesn’t go anywhere, or the CGI bee that lands on Bilbo’s nose and looks like the worst visual effect ever conceived this side of the Amazing Bulk…

There’s an argument that The Hobbit book was written as if Bilbo was reciting it from memory - anything that didn’t matter to him was left out (to be later filled out through Tolkien’s obsession with appendices and whatnot). Jackson’s vision of The Hobbit is to give us the ‘complete’ version of the story all cobbled together while showcasing his production company’s outstanding ability to render more and more beards. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that - for the most part the film still holds up as a piece of fantasy entertainment. The problem is, in my opinion, the excessive approach just isn’t worth it - the story is no longer about Bilbo, it’s about beards talking to more beards, with extra beards thrown in for good measure. The Hobbit stood the test of time because it was a concise, engaging, simple little novel aimed at a younger generation. Sometimes we don’t need embellishment. Or CGI beards.

Blogstandard Introductions

My new year’s resolution was to make a blog. Apparently. I decided that a few moments ago. So that’s what this is. Hopefully. I’ll probably change my mind in a minute. Perhaps my real new year’s resolution was to come up with multiple new year’s resolutions throughout the year in some kind of bid to make me do lots of new things.

Anyway, for those of you who have ended up here by some freak browsing accident, I’ll just set the scene a little bit. I’m a maths graduate who happens to be writing a novel and… sorry, I’ll just give you a few seconds to wrap your head around that.

All done? Right, I’m starting this blog up because I figured it would be a good idea to have some kind of an outlet to post stuff on. You can expect a few reviews, general musings on topics I’m interested in, maybe a few snippets of stories and scripts I've worked on if I’m feeling adventurous. 

I’ve been on YouTube for a long time, generally doing bits of animating, editing and video mashups which have always been fun to knock up, if not a bit mindless. This blog isn’t gonna be like that. Except for when it is. Anything could happen...