The GotG 2 Review

I like Guardians of the Galaxy 1 more than the sequel. Let’s just get that statement out of the way because I expect to be asked it a fair whack. Of course I also happen to think the first film is a genuine masterpiece, its character arcs, visuals and soundtrack combining as a vibrant elixir of happiness I’ve dunked my face in multiple times. The second film probably couldn’t ever have matched that.

But hey… That doesn’t mean it’s not fricking awesome. It’s utterly superb as well and could just be the second best Marvel film behind its predecessor. Admittedly I was worried for a little while that it wouldn’t even be that good. The opening credits that turn a fight scene in to a smile inducing cuteness are superb but after that I felt a bit empty for a while. The jokes weren’t clicking with me and a spark seemed to be missing. Drax in particular gets some lines that felt forced and more annoying than witty. This subsides and as the film hits its stride and I found him funny again. Not that the jokes were better, they were just sandwiched between more quality and it was all getting munched through a lot quicker.

The film clicked for me with a scene that finds an emotional hook and delivers a sweetness to Starlord’s character. Don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying Peter becomes reunited with his dad. This film is about family and what that means. Not just between Peter and Kurt Russell’s Ego, his long lost father. Two relationships from the original get explored in more detail here. Gamora and Nebula, daughters of Thanos and sisters who clearly don’t get on. Peter and Yondu, the kidnapped kid and the guy who could have eaten him all this time but didn’t. Outside of those the whole gang get their own moments of emotional realisation. As the stakes escalate and the screen gets filled with laser blasts and punch ups, it’s those character moments and relationships that really make this film epic. 

Not so much for Baby Groot admittedly. His role is comic relief, and cuteness, and damn coolness. I love that little guy and if you don’t too then we shouldn’t be friends. Plus he’s a baby and clearly loved by all his teammates. That’s enough of a character arc. 

What haven’t I covered without spoiling anything… The soundtrack isn’t as good. Like not even close. Not bad by any means but can’t see it being memorable. The new characters work well and I’d be happy to see Mantis continue the strange yet endearing friendship with Drax. Gamora continues to be the most gorgeous green skinned woman ever. The finale includes two fantastic references that had me grinning from ear to ear. Not spoiling, but there’s a videogame joke I predictably adored and then Peter and Yondu deliver the best lines of the film when talking about a certain Disney classic. My wife and I really laughed out loud there. 

We both loved it and both left the screen in smiles despite it being after 2am when our screening finished. It is infectious, it is sweet, its tense and it’s hilarious. It’s a really fun two-and-a-bit hours (which I’ll probably spend like 50 hours of my life rewatching) Bring on the third, you beautiful rascals. 

My time with Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Stand still and stare at any enemy in game you’ve ever played. If they see you, they come for you. Stand still in Zelda when facing a Lynel (half lion/half horse or horse faced centaur) and make sure your weapons are sheathed. He will stare back and wait, pondering what you’re up to. Then pull out your sword… And watch that burly git either draw his bow or come charging at you full pelt. You’re in a for a butt-whooping.

I start with that moment because it encapsulates so much of Zelda. It is a game built of moments and of a world that is ridiculously detailed, that lives and breathes and will constantly amaze you. Don’t mistake this for a review of any kind, I’m three weeks late to that party. This blog is fulfilling my need to talk about this game and to share my thoughts with some folks who might be interested (because my wife really isn’t). It’s going to biased and gushing and I don’t really care. I fricking loved Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Early impressions revolved how pretty it looked, how fun climbing was and a little bit of ‘well this is different.’ Being let loose on this giant green world with no hint of where to go was intriguing and daunting in equal measure. The first task was to find some shrines and after two I went back to the only other character looking for help. I can’t remember the exact words now but in my head all I can here is ‘work it out yourself you big baby.’ I was useless. I play games regularly, I’ve played all the 3D Zeldas and here I was, utterly useless. The trend continued for hours, and hours… This game doesn’t play like others. Games in general have rules and similarities, you know when you start most new titles where you can and can’t go, how other characters and your surroundings work. You know what you can and can’t climb, what will and won’t break. You know a lot because this is your hobby. Until Zelda. You now know nothing.

And that’s fun. It really is. So much of my time was just spent in amazement at how everything worked and what I could do. Equipped with a glider you can jump off cliffs and glide obviously.  Dry grass can be set on fire obviously. Wait-a-minute why does it look like hot air is rising from that burning grass? What if I open my glider and…. Oh I’m blooming shooting up in the air like a kids lost balloon. You beauty.

It’s raining, it’s stormy and in the distance I can see lightning strike. I think again about how cool this looks, about how a change in weather makes a nice change of style. Then I get struck down by a bolt from the sky and I curse the gods of Nintendo. This doesn’t seem fair, I’m just walking about… Or is it because I’m carrying a metal shield and sword on my back? Hmmmm... Later in the game I’m being chased by a bunch of seven-foot jerks through another storm. In any other game I turn and fight or I run away. But not here. I stop and throw a bunch of swords on the ground then run a little bit forward. Those jerks pick up some and walk over others. Kaboom! Struck down and fried. I am laughing.  

Im not alone of course, if any of you have played it then you’ve had your own experiences of toying with this world and its physics. I’ve seen loads of examples. Part of the fun with playing Zelda now is that I get to read and see what others are up to. I’ve viewed puzzles I solved being tackled in completely different ways and I’ve read about characters and side quests I haven’t even found. My twitter feed has been a Zelda filled stream of epicenes (along with the usual political malarkey). No two players have had the same experience and that only adds to the beauty of this game. It is there to be tackled however you like with most of it being completely optional. Do whatever you find to be fun. Then go watch other people online having more fun with it. A strangely social experience.

I finally beat Ganon yesterday and called my time on the game. I’m not going to say I finished because that’s something I’ll never do. Of 120 Shrine quests I found 74. Of the 900 Korok seeds I found 59. Fifty Nine! I played that game for over 70 hours and I found 59 of the 900 optional environmental puzzle things. Luckily I’m not an obsessive completionist. I have had my fun. I step away from it on an absolute high.  

The puzzles, the battles, the climbing, the cooking, the cross dressing… Yeah really. I could write ten blogs on my time with this game and still miss something. It was about exploring and discovering and I've found more enjoyment form it than any other game I've played. Hopefully you’ve picked up that I was quite fond of it. It has been the highlight of my favourite hobby. Can't praise it any more than that.

Five Days with my Nintendo Switch

It is here. Whispered about for ages, revealed in October and finally unleashed on march 3^rd. There now resides under my TV a new baby, my ickle Nintendo Switch.

 Flip me its tiny. You’ve probably read that, heard that and maybe even watched the unboxing vids. I know I did but that still didn’t stop me opening up the box last week and saying “what the..?!” It’s about the size of a Kindle with a controller either side that’s probably less than half the size of a Wii remote. Take them off and attach to a grip and you’ve got something resembling the standard ps4/xbox controller, but again in really tiny form. It’s blooming gorgeous. Go google image it, or YouTube it, or even better just buy the damn thing…  

It plays games!! Bet you didn’t know that. So far mine has primarily been used as a Zelda machine. I’d imagine most switch owners are saying the same thing. Two reasons for that; Zelda is utterly amazing and everything else isn’t. I bought three of the five retail launch titles. Two of those are currently on ebay awaiting a new home. Bomberman is Bomberman, a simple party game for up to four players that I’d probably keep if it had cost me £10. For £40 I just can’t see me using anywhere near enough. The story mode felt awkward to control and a bit tedious. The multiplayer kept my mates entertained for all of five minutes before they wanted to see something else. And that’s it really. Can’t call it terrible but it’s instantly forgettable. 

1-2-Switch is that game you’ve probably seen bits of already. The cow milking game will live online forever in the form of GIFS. We tried it drunk and it did get a laugh, albeit mainly due to sexual innuendos being chucked about as friends competed to show their best wrist action. Fake Draw was funny, a game in which you stare each other out Wild West style and wait for the announcer to cry fire. Simple and effective. The same can’t be said about most of the rest. Some of the mini games had us scratching our heads at how to play, others had us play them before asking “what was the point?” It’s not a videogame at all really, more like a Nintendo rival to board games and the current crazes of Speak Out and Splat Face. In that respect you might see it as worth keeping. I did not. Again I couldn’t see it being used for any more than half an hour maybe twice a year. Another problem I found was that it’s really dependant on everyone watching and listening whilst the two folk play. Get eight people in a room with alcohol and make them not have their own conversations. You’ll struggle, and you’ll also be a friendless numpty. 

Back to Zelda then. Oh my, this is a wonderful experience so far. The scale of the world and the level of interaction available is incredible. Climb anything, go anywhere. Kill folk, cook stuff, ride horses, solve puzzles, glide through the air and just look in awe that the prettiness of it all. I absolutely love it. I love playing it on my TV and i equally loved playing it in handheld mode whilst my wife watched reality TV gubbins beside me. I’ll love taking it on a train and playing it on my lunch break in work too, but it’s too new and shiny for me to take it outside. My baby’s not ready for its first outdoors excursion yet. 

Next up for it… More games. I regret not buying Fast RMX but I’ll correct that this weekend. I might pick up SnipperClips to after the demo charmed me. It’s a two player puzzle game that requires co-operation to progress. Didn’t go that well with a hungover wife, but I’m hopeful it’s fun with less impatient types. And after those? Hard to say to be honest, the immediate future looks indie game heavy but that’s no bad thing (SteamWorld Dig 2 and Runner 3 look superb) then the rest of the year has Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2 and plenty of surprises. E3 in June should be particularly fun (I need Metroid)

So all in all… I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a nifty bit of tech, the slickest and most un-Nintendo like of Nintendo devices. It has one must have game to play and plenty more will come. Not a bad start at all and many seem to agree… Nintendo have reported today that its their best launch ever in USA and Europe. Keeping that momentum will be the interesting part, and hopefully the most fun for us game playing hobbyists. Exciting.

Bye Bye Wii U

In less than five weeks there will be a shiny new Nintendo Switch under my TV. Until that time my only home for Italian plumber hijinks and Hero of Time adventures will be my 3DS. But what about the Wii U I hear you ask… It’s gone to the Game, traded in so that some young pup can enjoy the same wonders I’ve experienced for nearly four years… But also to fund my Switch purchase because I’m a ‘responsible adult.’ Ugh.

I loved my Wii U. I can freely admit that I’m a little bit biased towards the greatest entertainment company that ever was and ever will be. Just a little bit. The Wii U flopped, failed and is generally seen as the biggest screw up they’ve ever had (apart from the Virtual Boy). It sold just over 12 million compared to the Wii’s 100 million. It began its life confusing the flip out of parental folk who barely knew it was a new machine and assumed it was some crap tablet add on for that little dust magnet they used to play golf with. It launched with a Mario game and a bunch of stuff people could already play on their PS3. Then there was nothing of interest for months afterwards, fan boys like me were anxiously waiting to spend money on something, anything to play.

Eventually the games came but by then it was too late. It was a machine kept near exclusively by those of us who need Mario and Zelda in their gaming diets. But that’s enough doom and gloom for now because as mentioned I loved mine. Here’s why…

Bundled with the machine was Nintendoland, a collection of themed mini games set to show off the idea of having a separate screen in your hands whilst your mates looked at the TV. There weren’t half as many sessions as I wanted, with my friends preferring things like conversations.. But when it was played it was nifty. Mario Chase and Luigis Ghost hunt were fricking hilarious, especially when you had a loved up couple shouting at each other, as they tried to catch you running round a maze. Epic.

Mario Kart was another multiplayer favourite but you already know what Mario Kart is . I bring it up just to note that I used my Wii U for two to four player local gaming. I could play against my wife and my mates. I don’t even have a second controller for my PS4. The Wii U carried on that Nintendo tradition of playing and having a laugh with people in the same room. People who could challenge me and people who were so bad a tie-wearing monkey could beat them. (You know who you are, both of you)

There was plenty of solo gaming too and my collection wasn’t too shabby before I traded. It was really great for the humble platformer, a genre confined to indie productions and retro gaming. I’ve said in a previous blog about how great Rayman Legends and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze are. Super Mario 3D World is another gem despite some folk hating it. It’s nothing like the 3D Mario template laid down by Mario 64 but instead it takes the formula of the original Super Mario Bros. and makes that 3D. I’m pretty sure that sentence made sense… Captain Toad isn’t a platformer really, but it’s great and I don’t know which other paragraph to include it in. A charming puzzler that has you studying levels and twisting the camera to reach your goal.

“But those games are for kids,” cry the idiots among you. Well shove some Bayonetta 2 in your face and let’s see how tough you are. What. A. Game. It’s utterly insane and if you follow the story whilst taking in the weird sexual jokes then yes you might wonder how the hell I like it. Play it. Die, fail, learn the controls, and go back. Probably die again. Keep playing, keep learning and in time you’ll find a game that is a ferociously fast ballet of swords, kicks and…. demons summoned through portals made from the hair suit you wear. Anyhoo, it’s amazing and easily one of the most fun games I’ve ever played.

Splatoon!! I can’t not mention Splatoon. Nintendo get accused of relying on the same characters and the same games, which at times is a fair point. Splatoon is probably the only real new IP they created this gen but it’s a good one. The PS and Xbox are filled with online shooters, usually involving gruff military blokes controlled by screaming teenagers in online matches I found about as appealing as rubbing raw onion in my eyeballs. Nintendo’s equivalent is a colourful explosion of mayhem in which you win by spraying ink everywhere. You don’t have to run up and shoot people in the face but you can. You can also avoid shooting anyone and just swim and spray your way to victory. No shooter offers as much variety in play style or allows such a variance in skill level to just have fun. It is all of the fun.

There’s way too many games for me to talk about here. It was great for Indies, with the likes of Little Inferno, Gaucamelee and Runner 2. You also had access to the vast catalogue of Virtual Console titles. I got introduced to Fire Emblem this way, had my first of Minnish Cap and also replayed some classics like Metroid Prime and Super Mario 64. There was plenty of gaming joy to be had. With so much love you’d wonder why I sold it, but I’m happy with my choice. It’s recycling. A new Nintendo awaits and I’ll love it at least as much. Goodbye Wii U, Hello Switch.

The Trainspotting 2 Review

Trainspotting first hit cinema screens back in 1996. I was 11. Back then my cinema trips were infrequent and in that year I’d have been popcorn munching during Independence Day and Matilda… Drug culture and a soundtrack encompassing Britpop and dance music were a bit too much for me. I’m fairly certain I didn’t see it until I was 14 or 15 when it would have eventually made its way to BBC 2 or C4. At that age I was ready for it. I fell in love with what would have been an outdated soundtrack and I was mesmerised by the visual flair and tricks of Danny Boyle at his energetic best. But mainly, I fell in love with those characters. They were not good people and did not do nice things, but they were memorable. I’ve watched that film multiple times and even now I know so much of it of by heart.

If my nostalgia trip for the first film does nothing for you then chances are you’ll not like T2. Or you don’t like my writing, but we’ll pretend it’s the former for now. Half of T2 is made up of revisiting the past, of reminding us of that soundtrack and of those images. The director finds new scenarios to repeat old shots and the likes of Perfect Day are given just enough time to drag us by the ears back in to this world. In a way it’s a fault too and I can appreciate the opinion that it’s not as original or punchy as the first.

Being set 20 years after the first means this film was never going to replicate that pace and dynamism. These characters are a lot older and with that comes different motivations. It’s a film about men hitting a certain age and realising how they’ve screwed it all up. Some ponder death, how it’s approaching or as a way out of the mess they’ve created. Others just look back and want vengeance for Renton taking that money in the first film. There’s no way back for any of them and for most of the film they just repeat the same failings of the past but this time with the mind-set that this is it, that it’s too late to change and they’re all fucked anyway. There’s a new take on Choose Life from the original and it sums up how technology and habits have changed but really we’re all making the same failings mentioned during the original. 

Obviously there’s more to it than that or you wouldn’t have much of a film. If you’re after a good character ark then this time Spud is your point of interest. Avoiding spoilers I’ll just say that 20 years on he’s in the worst place and the film follows his attempts to get out of that. You will feel for him, especially compared to the relentless prick-ishness of his cohorts. The performance of Ewen Bremner is the stand out of the film. 

His first scene with Renton/Mark is one of the best, delivering Boyles visual magic with a touch of gross cringe. The rest of the film is littered with slo-mo, flashbacks and creations of these characters imaginations. It’s never dull but then it’s no longer unique either. Will you remember any scene of this film the way you remember the originals toilet, baby and taxi ride scenes? No. Definitely not. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the film for what it is. 

As Simon/Sickboy states “Nostalgia. That’s why you’re here. You’re a tourist in your own youth.” Maybe it’s difficult to get as excited now as we did when we were younger. I’ve a better memory of Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction and Leon than I do of most films I saw last year. So if you’re comfortable with how old you are and fancy that trip back then this is the film for you. It certainly was for me.