Now this was a step in the right direction for me – although a sluggish and annoying beginning (annoying because I didn’t find the control system intuitive, and it caused problems later on) – the basic conceit for this ‘game’ is fascinating, and I felt it worked well. Essentially, you play different characters in what is essentially a ‘track down a serial killer’ movie – and it works. I’ve only played it through fully once – and to be honest I’ll probably not bother playing through alternative timelines, I’ll just look them up on the web – but as a taster of the way the technology is moving, this was absorbing, characterful and exciting. Recommended for the more cerebral game player.
(For more info on what the game is about, go here.)
Monthly Archives: June 2010
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
OK, 2nd PS3 game that I’ve played through (came with the box) and…. it’s alright, quite fun, would make a good, sub-Indiana Jones movie (with much higher body count). Thing is, lots of the little tricks that hook game players into keeping going (like accumulating treasures) just had no interest for me. So: clearly a very good game, just not intelligent enough for me.
The end of 24
After musing the other day about the endings of stories, a few thought about the ending of 24 from last night (the ending not just of this series, but of 24 as a whole).
24 has suffered somewhat in recent series from the diminishing returns produced by simply escalating the threats – after all, where can you go once a nuclear bomb has been detonated on US soil? – but I actually felt that these last episodes benefited from a smaller-scale threat, viz. That a peace treaty wouldn’t end up being signed. It also benefited from wonderfully pitched performance from Gregory Itzin as Wormtongue, seducing the President on to the dark side.
Best of all, though, was the resolution for Jack’s own character. I felt that he had crossed a line earlier in the season, when he had carried out an execution, and there was a great moment when he hovered above the abyss before returning to his own moral centre – a moral centre which proved to be the crucial factor for the President’s own momentous decision. Things are nicely set up for possible movies – the 24 episode, ‘real time’ format is surely now played out to exhaustion for these characters.
On not talking about agw
I thought this was interesting, especially this quote:
“I very specifically avoided that whole area [climate change] for two reasons. The first is that I thought I could create a compelling enough sense of urgency without going into that topic, and the second reason is that I had worked with this enough in various life settings to discover that there are people on both sides of that story that hold very strong beliefs around that material…”
That is the same decision I made about my own book, although, since ‘climategate’, I am wondering whether to say something more. It’s very difficult to have a conversation that doesn’t generate more heat than light – on which subject, an interesting guest post at Byron’s place today.
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Hallelujah! Today, I’m actually feeling well again!
So much to do; so little time….
Movie notes
This may be the last time I review in this format
17 Again 3/5 blah
Ghost of Girlfriends Past 3/5 blah, blah
Wolverine, 4/5 much better than I expected it to be
Vicky Christina Barcelona 4/5 I’ve avoided Allen for a while, but this was good
Drag Me to Hell 4/5
I have dropped Sky and taken up Lovefilm, hopefully my consumption of rubbish will diminish, and my take up of quality film will increase.
Homily for Trinity Sunday
Has been posted on my other blog. Very short 🙂