Twisted Psyche

So this weekend i had to find something to do to kill some time. My family were all going out and i was the one who drew the short straw to stay  home and "guard the house from threats". So i went to the vidjagame shop and bought me some Psychonauts. I wasn't in the mood for another RPG, Disgaea 2 kinda sucked that outta me for a while, and i wanted a hop and bopper, you know? A platformer that required little brainwork and more manual dexterity. 

I kinda lucked out on Psychonauts. It's the story of Razputin (Raz for short, voiced by Steve Horwitz, the guy who voiced Zim from Invader Zim) a boy who runs away from the circus to become a psychonaut, a kind of psychic secret agent. He ends up at Whispering Rock Summer camp, which is a training camp for psychonauts, where young psi-cadets are trained to harness their powers. Raz has to complete his training as fast as possible, before his dad shows up to take him home to the circus. Of course, something goes terribly wrong, and the other kids have their brains stolen to fuel psychic death tanks (yes, you read that right) and Raz is the only one who can get them back and stop the madman behind it all.

The way i see it, a good platformer has to have good locomotion. The way you control a character, and how they get around the game world has to feel good and responsive to make it truly memorable. Since Raz was raised in the circus, he's very mobile, flipping around and walking tightropes with no problem. Also, he's psychic, and can double jump by bouncing off an orb of psychic energy. Combat is kind of secondary to the puzzles, but they give you a nice array of psychic powers to deal with enemies (including censors, which are little lawyer guys with a big rubber stamp that are mental constructs designed to stamp out foreign thoughts) like Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis (as Raz says, fire is pretty), Psy-blasts and Invisibility. Raz also is too cool to punch things, instead, he uses his mind to project giant psychic hands to beat things up. 

The writing is also wonderful, full of twisted jokes and characters. Thankyou Tim Schafer, you made me laugh this weekend. One of my personal favorites was the one where Raz discovers the reason why there are so many arrowheads (the games currency) around the camp. It's because the camp was built on an ancient Indian Burial ground. They didn't bury their dead there, just arrowheads. The terms for ingame items are cool too, health is Mental Health, Instead of lives you have Astral Projections and you can collect emotional baggage and mental cobwebs from peoples minds. It's the little touches that endear you.

The art style is wonderful, a twisted sort of un-symmetricalness that really makes for different and interesting visuals. If you have some time, check out Scott Campbells blog, he was the art director on the game. Also, the game was released in 2005, which makes me wonder if i'm ever going to be able to play new releases :P

All in all, it gets five slices of cake outta five. Also, i wouldn't mind some psychic powers. 

Watchmen Review

Review that appeared in Fiji Times yesterday, written by me :D 

Comic book adaptations are the new black. Relying partly on nostalgia for already popular characters to sell tickets is kind of cheap, but it does make for entertaining cinema. Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Ben Gibbons is a Hugo Award winning graphic novel. It has been praised for its depiction of superheroes not as gods and goddesses, but as superbly flawed people who have to make difficult decisions. While wearing spandex.

      The film is extremely faithful to the novel. Much like in 300, Director Zack Snyder seems to have used the book for his storyboards. Visually stunning with a gorgeous washed out palette, the film is high on the eye candy meter. The scenes set in Vietnam (which America wins thanks to its superheroes in this alternate timeline) is particularly well done, with vibrant colors and a wonderfully framed camera.

      Without revealing too much of the plot, the murder of a superhero called the Comedian leads vigilante Rorschach to a conspiracy that could threaten the world. All the other heroes are retired due a government act that requires them to hand in their masks or face prison time. Rorschach is one of the last heroes still active, and he begins to warn other heroes who may be next for the “mask killer”. Thus, we are introduced to our cast of dysfunctional heroes.

      Dr. Manhattan, the only technically “super” hero, who through a scientific experiment gone wrong (do they ever go right?) has the power to manipulate matter on a molecular level. However, he has started to distance himself from humanity and finds it hard to fit in with normal people.

      Ozymandias, who after the government act revealed his identity to the world, has made millions in the merchandising of his and his fellow heroes images. Nite Owl, who overweight and retired, tries every night to convince himself that he doesn’t miss being a hero. Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattans girlfriend, who is watching her lover fall more and more out of love with her. Finally, we have Rorschach, described as a sociopathic vigilante who has no mercy for those who prey on the weak and a moral code as rigid as steel.

      As a fan of the comic, seeing these characters on the silver screen is a dreamlike experience. I was particularly worried about Rorschach, but when he spoke for the first time I was sold. If you haven’t read the novel though (and I urge you to) you probably have no idea what to expect. Don’t go in expecting something along the lines of Spiderman or Ironman. It isn’t an action flick, more an exploration of flawed people who have to save the world. The closest thing I can compare it to would be The Dark Knight Returns, with added pathos and two parts dysfunction.

      And please don’t take your kids to see it. Watchmen was based on an adult graphic novel and pulls no punches. Coarse language, sexual content and some extremely disturbing imagery (you can tell that it’s the same director of the Dawn of the Dead remake) mean you should leave the kids at home for this one.

      In closing, I appreciate the faithfulness to the original novel, but for someone who knows nothing about these characters, it may be hard to get into. Give it a try though, immerse yourself in this alternate depiction of 1985, where blue men walk on mars, people dress up as owls and patrol the city streets and where heroes aren’t so much super but human.

Semi-employment, the sequel

So i've got some part time employment thanks to a Phillipino friend of mine. She managed to set me up with a design gig and so far it's been pretty good fun. It's good fun designing things...resizing things...printing things. All in all it's like getting back on the graphic design bike. You never forget how to ride the thing.

I will say though, i didn't miss the big name clients who can't decide that the fuzz it is they want. It would be a perfect world if the design process went, concept, mock, final product. Instead of concept, mock, second mock, new concept, third mock, new concept on a completely new level of retardness, fourth mock based on retarded concept and then the fifth mock. 

The Great Divide

Well, Lawrence has seen Watchmen, John has seen Watchmen and so has Wilson, and i'm worried about my opinion. I've written my review (which will be up after it's published) and it's not a glowing one. I know the film is inaccessible to people who aren't comic book fans. I knew John would love the action bits. But yeah...is it a good movie? From a film point of view, it has its ups and downs. It's visually stunning, yet it drags on a bit.

From an adaptation point of view, i would say is about 90% faithful. Making something like watchmen means you can't take huge liberties without pissing someone off. Case in point, i have no quarrel with the ending. (Spoilers up ahead, uh-duhhh) I actually think that it makes a bit more sense. Also, i'm sure the giant explosion made John all a-quiver. I do however, have an issue with Rorschach hacking someones head in with a hatchet when in the comic he just tied him up and left him to DIAF (die in a fire).

Sure, i can see how it would be really similar to Saw. So? Watchmen came first, its an integral part of Rorschach becoming who he is, and instead of delivering justice he murders the fucker. I was not a happy camper.

Lawrence... was disappointed. I mean, we all have our own way of looking at things, i like how i can argue with him about things like this though. It makes it much more interesting than just agreeing on everything and shit.

Watchmen, for me personally, is about what it would take to unite the world. How people who are supposed to be heroes can let millions die for the sake of world peace. It's about how its less about the super, and more about the human.

But thats just me :)

Thankyou Ronron

For leaving all those vectors and brushes on your computer ^_^

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

So i watched Watchmen. I don't think i've ever had to seriously think about a film review as much as i will have to think about this one. It makes you think about so many things at the same time it actually made me a little depressed. Which was probably the point and a testament to Alan Moores writing and the gang who adapted it for the screen.

More on this as it develops. Watch this space.

Who watches the Watchmen watching the Watchmen?

So, i have had an action packed last couple of weeks. There was good news, bad news, and slightly weird but understandable news. We got robbed last week, some burgulars pried open the bars designed to keep them out and raided the house. Didn't take too much, but what they did take was pretty damn expensive. After a whole day or two of drama and strife, my mum got back the laptop that was stolen due to the efforts of an ex-cop who's now a security guard at the CC. 

It was like an episode of Walker: Texas Ranger without the roundhouse kicks. And then this Friday, i was home alone with my sister and grandma, when the watchmen next door knocks on the door. The landlord decided that since the house was vacant, he should get us a watchman to keep an eye on the place. 

Me: Hey man, whats up?

Watchman: Uhh, there was this guy next door, he told me he was here to take my job and that i should clear off. 

Me: what? no man, i wasn't told about some new watchman. 

Watchman: well, that's what see said. He's a pretty big guy too, i was scared. 

Me: well...come on, lets go talk with him, see what the fuck he's up to. 

Watchman: umm...

Me: come on, they'll be two of us, right? 

Eventually i managed to coax the watchman into coming with me to look for this guy. When we reached next door, he was gone. Soon after that, the watchman took off home. This was at around 8ish mind you. Completely, fucking useless. 

So, i tried calling the crimestoppers number, and got an engaged tone for the next half hour (after calling up over and over of course, i didn't listen to the tone for half and hour, that would be dumb). Then i called my uncle, who was much more effective, and actually brought some cops with him over to the house. 

Yeah, the excitement, it never stops around here.