Super Mario Bros. Wii! God damn, I had a lot more fun with this game then I would like to admit. Perhaps because it's not just another FPS shooter with only a brown and grey colour scheme, that makes this game stand out form most other games currently on the market. Just look at the games map!
The variety of colours! Is it not sad that in today's day and age, I find myself getting excited by things like colour in video games? I mean just look at a screen shot from a game like Call Of Duty, it's just brown, brown, some green, oh, and more brown:
Besides it's colour, I also find Super Mario Bros. Wii's cartoonish style easy on the eyes. But there is a lot more to this game than it's looks, such as it's solid platformer gameplay, however, what I liked most about this game was it's local 4-player co-op. In all honesty, it really makes me wish more games had at least local 2-player co-op, because "couch" part's can be a blast. There is just something so nice about a bunch of individuals getting together PHYSICALLY and grabbing a few controllers for a few hours of gaming, it feels like we all get a little closer together, unless your that one douchebag who rushes ahead and gets us all killed because the camera always follows the person who's furthest ahead... Or when you all start attempting to throw people off edges of platforms into bottomless pits because you really want that power-up...
With those shenanigans aside, I assure you, with a competent group of people, you will have a lot of fun, and may even find the game much easier. Hell, the bosses in the game become laughably easy with more than one person. I should point out, that this largely has to do with the fact that you have, collectively, a much larger pool of lives when playing with multiple people, so dying is not as big of a deal. The picture below shows the four playable characters: (you have two different coloured Toads, Mario, and Luigi)
There is a story, but I never did get around to completing the game so I can't really comment on it. But just so you know, it's pretty much just the same old thing "Oh look, princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser! You have to save her." Even with the lame story, it still does not take away the fact that I really enjoyed this game, and wish more games had local co-op.
Welcome to the dark future of 2019! Seriously, though, I actually really like this movie.
Yes, earth may be a overpopulated, and polluted cesspool that everyone is pretty much trying to get off, but damn, does it look good. Now don't get me wrong, that does not mean I would actually want to live on this future version of earth. The dark and gritty set design really helps create the atmosphere of the movie, and fits with it's unique "cyber" dark-noir style, that few movies (at least to my knowledge) have tried. (Below, just look at that city-scape, just from hat picture, you can see the pollution and grittyness, it makes me want to have a shower. The second picture shows a ground shot, in it you can see the cyber dark-noir showing through, with the almost constant darkness, rain and smoke rising randomly from places, as well as neon lights everywhere)
Also, I should point out, that this movie is heavily saturated, that at times, it almost looks black and white, which also reinforces that dark-noir feel I mentioned earlier, as seen in a picture from a scene below: (I actually like the black and white scenes in the movie, it's not only a call back to classic dark-noir films, but it's also stylized well)
It should be noted, that I generally don't like dark-noir style movies, but this movie is for me, an exception. Now like most dark-noir style movies, it's pacing is rather slow, which does not bother me, but some people, especially those that are used to explosions and some kind of action sequence every 5 to 10 minutes will probably have difficulty sitting through this one.
I also like the story, which is both pretty straight forward and philosophical, it does get pretty dark and messed up near the end, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. I will not spoil it though if you somehow have yet to see this movie that came out in 1982, which might I had, for a movie of that age, as aged fairly well.
My actual only real complaint about this movie, is a certain aspect of the replicants. For those of you that do not know what a replicant is, they are essentially slaves created by the humans of this future to do jobs that they don''t want to do, they are also given set lifespans. My complaint about them, is that they are capable of feeling emotions, with certain exceptions such as empathy, I mean why would you give your created slaves emotions? That is just asking for something bad to happen. Better yet, the replicants even have free will, so they can't just be 'programmed' to follow orders, which again, seems like something you would not want to give your artificial slaves. Because of this, it is not uncommon for replicants to rebel, as such individuals called 'Blade Runners' are called in to deal with them. (Below the leader of the a rogue group of replicants, and main antagonist of the film "Roy Batty." Seriusly, why can't they just put fail safes in the replicants, wouldn't that make things much easier?)
But with that little rant aside, I still like this movie... even if you can't see they sky.
As you might be able to tell from that title, this is not going to be a positive review.
Now, maybe it's because I'm used to how batman has been portrayed for like the last 20 or 30 years, but in all honesty, even if this is the first appearance of the Batman. I don't quite think it's worth $1.07 million.
For those of you that don't know this, early comics were often characteristic by how they were made from cheap paper, had poor art, and the stories where also not all that good. Detective Comics issue 27, does not escape this, while I did read it online, so I can't judge the paper quality, the art work, sort of, well, sucks... I mean just look at this: (I used page 2 as an example, for starters, their facial expressions I just can't take seriously with this art style, oh and you see all those colours, you better get used to them, because with a few exceptions, those are the only colours they could use I guess)
If you think that's bad, wait until you see Batman:
Remember when I talked about their limited use of colours, and how there where a few exceptions? Well, you can clearly see the exception, by that I mean, those weird-shade of violet coloured gloves. Oh god, they make my eyes want to throw up! I am glad to say the least that they swapped those out with his now normal black gloves. Though in all honesty, I don't find the rest of his batsuit all that offensive to my eyes.
Oh and there was a story I guess, but it's so utterly forgettable that I can't even be bothered to read the comic over again to try to comment on it. I mean the only part of this story that stands out to me is when Batman (spoilers) practically kills the antagonist of the story, and proceeds to give (excuse my language) no shits about it. I mean look at this:
If modern day Batman did something like this, he would probably brood extra hard for a few days.
So, I hope if you got anything from this, it's that this comic is not worth $1.07 million because it's a good story or anything, but mostly because of it's history, and nostalgia factor...
A Description of the world itself;
What is Earth Like in this future?
The Earth is know part of (and under the complete control of) a incomprehensibly vast inter-dimensional empire known as the "Universal Union" or the "Combine Empire" as the resistance calls it. The Combine have forced what's left of humanity into walled sanctuary city's whose skylines are dominated by the towering 'Citadels' of which the combine rules earth from (the most important city throughout the course of the Half-Life games is known as City 17, which now serves as the capital city of earth under the Combine's rule). The Combine have started to aggressively harvest earth's resources, destroying many of earth's ecosystems, oh, they also harvest humans as well, converting them threw brainwashing and mind control while turning them into genetically modified, cybernetically enhanced trans-human super soldiers to fuel their inter-dimensional wars/conquests.
The Combine also make use of what's known as the "Suppression field," which has rendered natural human reproduction impossible, because the Combine have ruled earth for about 20 years, this would mean the youngest people would be at least 20. The Combines enhanced humans and bio-mechanical constructs known as the 'synth' patrol the streets of City 17, enforcing the Combines rule through brutality and cruelty. Oh yeah, and you better not think of leaving the wonderful walled sanctuary that is City 17, for in the wastelands aliens from another dimension known as "Antlions" have infested the earth, and I hope you don't want to go for a swim anytime soon, because Xen leeches have become the dominant animal in the water, and they are not afraid to eat humans. (Below a few pictures, the first showing City 17, you can see the Citadel in the background. The second picture shows a synth strider patrolling the city streets with some civil protection officers (note: Civil Protection is the Combines equivalent to a police force) and an APC)
What caused Earth to be this way?
In the Black Mesa Research facility in New Mexico, they were conducting research into portal technology, specifically inter-dimensional travel using strange crystal like samples of presumably alien origin. An incident occurs which tears open a hole in the fabric of our reality, this cataclysmic quantum event would become known as the "Resonance Cascade" (or the Black Mesa Incident). During this event particle or portal storms would rage across the surface of earth, and several alien factions from across the multiverse would invade earth. The first would arrive from the border world that exists between dimensions, known as Xen (Xen was the place in which Black Mesa scientists were studying before this all happened). Xen forces would start to teleport all across earth (starting in the black Meas research facility), they would spread havoc and chaos throughout earth. Counting Half-Life: opposing force, a second alien race known only as "Race X" would begin their invasion of earth as well. Though the Xen and Race X were defeated, xen creatures continued to be teleported to earth, because of this, the United Nations and various other governments provided protection centers in major cities worldwide, essentially, humanity began to retreat to these safe heavens.
However, things were far from over, as another alien race (more like a fraction I guess), the Universal Union suddenly launched a devastating and decisive attack against earth, this invasion would become known as "The Seven Hour War," and it would end with humanity surrendering to the them. They would create the walled "City's" from previous human city's, and force what remained of humanity to live in them, whilst being tightly controlled and monitored. Sometime along the line, the Antlions would colonize earth as well. (Below a few pictures, the first showing the Resonance Cascade happening in the Black Mesa facility. The second showing Xen forces, in this case Xen grunts occupying a section of the Black Mesa facility.)
It this positive or Negative?
Has cool as living in a world ravaged and controlled by extra-dimensional alien races sounds, I don't think I would want to live on that earth. So, I would say its a more negative portrayal of the future.
Humanity;
What is Humanity like in this world?
Humanity is to say none the least, downtrodden, and being pushed to the edge of extinction. As stated before, the Combines suppression field renders having children impossible, so there is a noticeable lack of any children through the course of Half-Life 2. This has left many couples, especially those that want children in a depressed state of mind. Humans tend to very form the more subservient to our Overlords, to the not so subservient rebels. There is also a overall state of unease/tension among-est humans living in the cities, such as City 17. People tend to talk in hushed tones to one another and keep to themselves for fear of being suspected by the Combine as "Anti-Citizens."Lastly, their are also those who have willingly accepted the Combines ruler-ship, and have opted to become turned into trans-human super soldiers to better serve the combine. (Below, a picture showing the Combines 'ideal' citizens. The second picture shows the not so ideal "Anti-Citizens," who are in this case, rebel fighters of the Resistance)
How do Humans organize/interact with others?
The Universal Union has severely limited how humans can communicate long distances, and organize with one another. Generally speaking if you are a good citizen, you use the heavily monitored video call like systems the Combine have set up for your use, and phone networks. However, word of mouth is now the dominant form of communication. If you are a resistance fighter, walkie talkies and stolen Combine video screens are going to be your friend. Also, since large gatherings of people are prohibited, if you want to meet up with others (especially in large numbers), you will have to do so in secret. As mentioned before, people generally speak in hushed tones to one another,so as not to attract any unwanted attention, as that would be really bad.
What qualities does one need to survive?
Well that depends, if you want to be a good little citizen in this Combine controlled society, you better keep your head down, and obey them without question, so you better get used to a lot of 'ass-kissing.' However, if you wish to oppose our Overlords, and join the resistance, then you should especially keep your head down and maintain a guise as just another law-abiding citizen. If you are part of the resistance, you should be very adaptable, and know how to fight, or at least how to use a gun. Remember, when outside of the City walls, the Combine are not your only enemy, Antlions will attack you. oh yeah, I forgot to mention, during the Xen invasion, creatures known as "headcrabs" which could overtake individuals and turn them into what's known as a "headcrab zombie," are still around. The Combine have also weaponized them, so I hope you know how to kill a zombie. Expect to have to scavenge for food. (Below, the first picture shows a few Antlion soldiers in one of the many wastelands (you can just see a Combine synth gunship in the top middle of the picture). The second picture shows a headcrab zombie, you can see the headcrab which appears to have taken the place of the human hosts head.)
What is Valued in this society?
Just like with the qualities does one need to survive, if we go by what the Combine value in their citizens, then obedience and submission are all the values you need. However, with the resistance being both independent and sufficient is good, but team work is also a good value to have. Being able to support one another, regardless of whether or not your a rebel is generally much appreciated, as these are hard times for everyone, except for the Combine... Now I guess, what's valued most though, is probably the survival of the human race.
Reflection of our world;
Is this world based on real life problems or issues of today?
Unless earth is currently being invaded, or ruled by an alien force, then I would not say it's based on real life problems or issues. However, with that said, perhaps the part about the Resonance Cascade could be a warning about showing caution about things we do not fully understand when advancing science. I guess the Combines destruction of earth's ecosystems, and over harvesting, could be related to current would issues like pollution and deforestation. Xen creatures like the leeches, and how they over took the earth's aquatic ecosystems, could be related to real world invasive species and the damage they can do. Finally, the Universal Unions tyranny, while more extreme than most dictatorships, is a reflection on real world dictatorships, and why we should becoming one. (The picture below shows a Zebra Mussel, which is a highly invasive species that affects major lakes throughout North America, similar to the Xen leech, only the Zebra Mussel poses a real world problem.)
How have those problems or issues changed since our day?
Though the Half-Life games don't touch to much on how Earth was before the Black Mesa incident, it is assumed that pollution was just as much of an issue as it was in our real world. The Combine occupation of earth as accelerated the damage of pollution to near almost apocalyptic levels, with large wastelands popping up all over the world, and the Combines harvesting of water actually causing earth's oceans to recede. While dictatorships are not as common as they used to be, they are still around and dealing with dictatorships is also an issue that some people around the world have to deal with on a daily basis. However, there is always a fear that even in democratic country's like Canada or America, that they in light of lets say, a terrorist attack, could take away freedoms for 'the greater good' of there people and country. Essentially slowly reverting to an almost totalitarian state of government. Obviously, we can see by the Combine Empire's governance of humanity, that dictatorships have now become the norm on earth, and democracy, what's that? (The picture below shows an example of the pollution (the black dead trees) and you can see how much the water has receded during the Combines rule of earth. Yes, in the back there, those where at one point in time, docks.)
Did we overcome or succumb to them?
Well, seeing as *cough* Half-Life *cough* 3 *cough* *cough* has yet to be made, we currently do not know whether or not humanity actually ever overcomes the damage the Resonance Cascade has done to the earth, or to themselves. However, considering the environmental damage that has been done to the earth (many plant and animal species have been wiped out), it may take an very long time for the earth to repair itself. Proving of course that humanity can find a way to eradicate all those Xen creatures such as those leeches in the earth's oceans, as well as getting ride of any remaining Antlion presence. The good news though, is that by the end of Half-Life 2, humanity (at least the humans in City 17) manage to launch a successful rebellion against their Combine oppressors, and destroy City 17's Citadel, which cuts the Combine on earth off from the rest of their empire. Unfortunately, the Combine still has a major presence on earth, that humanity will have to confront sooner or later...
Entertaining Future;
Is this an entertaining future to imagine?
I personal think so, I mean, it combines aliens, zombies, and crazy interdimensional shenanigans, with a healthy heaping of ongoing/post apocalyptic themes.
Do you like this view of the future? Why or why not?
Yes, while this future is depressing and was pretty much humanity's fault, as mentioned in the previous question, I like this view of the future because it combines many possible futures. You have the environmental destruction aspect (represented with the Xen creatures and Antlions), the good old distopian aspect as seen with the Combines rule of earth, the alien invasion aspect (The Xen, Race X, Antlions, and Universal Union), and lastly we have a hint of zombie apocalypse with the Headcrab zombies (though it should be noted that a Headcrab zombie cannot turn you into one of them by biting or scratching you, a Headcrab itself must turn you into one). Now of course, I would not want this kind of future to actually happen, as in real life, this would be a pretty crappy future to say the least.
Why is this appealing to the audience of the media text?
While for starters, it creates a very interesting world, where you don't really now what your going to see or encounter next. As a gamer, I find this rather refreshing, where as most games focus on a single specific kind of future, the Half-Life games manage to focus, quite successfully, on a variety of future's (all of which are just as bad for us as the next). It also gives you a good reason to fight, I mean humanity's on the brink of extinction, the Combine are dicks, and everyone wants to work together to finally bring this nightmare to an end. Oh, And the best part is, even with all these apocalypses plaguing the earth, you still get some rather beautiful scenery, proving that even in an apocalypse, not everything has to be varying shades of grey and brown. (The first picture shows the destroyed Combine Citadel looming over the rubble of City 17, I would build a cottage on this cliff. The second picture is actually from a tech demo called Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, you can see evidence of environmental destruction in the mist of this beautiful scene.)
Realistic Future;
Is this a realistic future to imagine?
Yes and No... (read the answer to the next question to understand)
Could this actually happen to us? Why or why not?
Probably not...Well environmental destruction is a very real possibility, I doubt a zombie apocalypse could ever happen, though Headcrab zombies are more believable, as there are real life organisms that can "assume" control of other organisms, like the Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis, which is a fungus that infects ants and turns them into walking husks. Theoretically speaking, an alien invasion is possible. And a dystopian governance is also a very real possibility, though we would have to really get lazy if we ever let our government get to this point. Over all though, the chances of all this stuff happening at the same time as they do in the Half-Life games is highly unlikely, and that's not mentioning that this was all caused by some alien crystal that humans started to mess with. Though I could imagine humans messing with a strange alien artifact to the point it would cause an apocalypse like scenario, I doubt it would go down like this. So don't worry guys, I don't think a future like this will ever come to fruition, at least, for now... (Below, a video showing the Cordyceps Fungus affecting ants, form some short documentary)
One might think that on my journey to finding the key to the Black Library and becoming an already more bad ass mofo than I already am, that I would have very little free time. But, apparently I have all the free time in the world, so let's get started!
For this little project, I have chosen these three movies (so called 'blockbusters' in this case) to compare: (Also, there may be spoilers, so proceed with caution)
My Opinion on each of these films;
Jaws - While, by today's standards, this movie comes off as cheesy, and now that we all have some kind of education about sharks and what they are actually capable of, it's safe to say this movie just out right demonizes them. However, I actually like this movie, especially the dinner scene with the father and son, it's a 'touchy, feely' moment that honestly, you don't see to much in modern day horror movies. It actually made me care about the main character and his son, which surprised me. Over all, I think it's a decent movie that everyone at some point in their lives should watch. (The video below shows the dinner scene)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - In all honesty, I did not like this movie that much, I can understand why some people think this movie is the weaker of the original trilogy. For starters pretty much every action sequence in this entire movie, is a chase scene! Now don't get me wrong, I like chase scenes just as much as any other guy, and I really liked Mad Max Fury: Fury Road's chase scene (which was pretty much the entire movie). The chase scenes, though fun, just got a little repetitive for my taste. I also found Sean Connery's character Professor Henry Jones, to be a little annoying (though I guess this is because where as Indiana can do pretty much everything, Henry's just so, inept). (The video below shows not only one of the many chase scenes, but also, god dammit Henry! Why are you so inept?)
The Avengers - This movie is considered by some to be a 'comic book triumph,' and I can see why. Consisting of a cast of good, likable characters, glorious action sequences, and special affects, it's hard for me to even think about not liking it. Honestly though, what I liked most about this movie was actually not the movie itself, but rather the Marvel cinematic universe's build up to it. You see, in my opinion (not that it probably matters to you) Disney and Marvel studios delivered on all the hype that they built up for this movie, which isn't something that happens very often. Most of the time, all the hype ends up ruining it in the end. (The video below shows one of the many after credit scenes that would aid greatly in the build up to the Avengers movie, this particular one is the after credit scene from the first Iron Man movie)
Violence and Mature content;
Jaws - By today's horror movie standards, it would not be nearly bloody enough, but I think the amount of blood works nicely for this movie. When the shark attacks happen, you only briefly see the individual getting attacked, and they get quickly dragged under the water,which becomes quickly filled by their blood (it's graphic, but it's not going you scar you anytime soon, well, at least it did not leave me scarred). I guess you could say the two most graphic parts in the whole movie is when (spoilers) they blow up the shark into a shower of bloody gibs, and when they cut into the belly of a shark, or I guess I could include when they see the body of the first shark attack victim on the beach (Of yeah, and there is some nudity, but it's not like you actually see anything). (the picture below shows when the protagonist inspects what's left of the sharks first victim on the beach)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - As far as violence and mature content goes, there is plenty of fighting, people getting punched and shot at, but there is very little blood. (spoilers) When Henry gets shot you see some blood. Though I guess the most violent thing that happens in this movie is when a guy gets decapitated, and you see his head roll around, but there is still very little blood. Though there is that one scene with a certain man drinking from the wrong 'Holy Grail' which results in him rapidly aging, till the point that he dies and turns to dust. That scene left an entire generation of kids scarred... (the video below shows everyone's favorite scene!)
The Avengers - Actually, I am surprised, despite all the action, explosions, and individuals getting thrown around or shot, you would think there would be some gore, but there is not any gore at all. I think the only swear word used in that entire film is 'ass' (unless you count "mewling quin" as one, but most people won't get that). I think the violence and mature content of this film is very true too modern blockbusters: Increase the action, but reduce the gore and mature content as much as possible.
Special affects;
Jaws - Well the special affects may be primitive today, and I would not give the movie an award for them. I however, respect what Steven Spielberg did with this movies special affects, and what he had to do wasn't easy. For starters he had to rely on mostly practical affects, and a big one was the 'star' of the movie, the shark. This animatronic (or you could say, robotic) shark was full of difficulties and issues, and because of that, he came to the conclusion that they would just have to severely limit the amount of time the audience sees the shark. Which worked out to be an advantage, as this lead to them using the iconic 'sharks point of view shots,' which I thought were more interesting than actually seeing the shark. Because people did not see the shark as often, it also helped create a more tense atmosphere that would become iconic with the movie itself, it is also considered one of the reasons for why Jaws did so well and became the classic that it is today. (That picture below shows Steven Spielberg in the jaws of the infamous animatronic shark, also they named the shark "Bruce.")
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Just like with Jaws, this movies special affects are mainly reliant on practical affects. It is clear that George Lucas made sure that the props and set designer departments where not under funded. I guess one of the best parts about practical affects, is that if they are done in a certain way, they age much better than many modern day CGI filled movies, for example that scene in which a certain character drinks form the wrong Holy Grail and ages rapidly to the point of death, still looks pretty much just as good as it did when the movie came out, in 1989. I actually really liked the 'optical illusion' they used for the bridge in the 'leap of faith' test when Indiana was going over it. The best part is, I am pretty sure they did that with just practical affects. (The picture below shows Indiana attempting to cross the said bridge)
The Avengers - I don't know why people even bothered to complain about the very large use of CGI and green-screen in this movie, it's comic book superhero movie, they sort of had little choice. Dare I mention those older Marvel movies whose names I dare not speak, there is reason why practical affects are, impractical, for a super hero movie (watch them, you won't complain about CGI in The Avengers movie after, trust me, in fact you might just thank Marvel Studios). The CGI and green-screening is some of the best I have seen in a superhero movie, and this really started to show during the large battle in New York city. Also, on an important note, with that said CGI, they managed to make the Hulk look good! Now we can hopefully forget how 2003's CGI was clearly not ready for him. (The picture below shows how the hulk looked from 2003 - 2012, 2012 being from The Avengers movie)
Critical Success;
Jaws - On Metacritic, the movie has a Metascore (that's the score the movie critics gave it) of 86 and a user score of 8.7. It has a score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes (excuse my language, but holy shit, that's the highest score I have ever seen Rotten Tomatoes give on a movie)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - On Metacritic, the movie has a Metascore of 65, and a user score of 8.5. The movie has a 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, but an Audience score of 94%.
The Avengers - The movie on Metacritic, has a Metascore of 69, and a user score of 8.0, that may seem low for a movie like The Avengers, but we have to remember that the DC fanboys who hate any and all things Marvel just because it's Marvel, have probably affected the user ratings... This movie has a rightful rotten Tomatoes score of 92%. Though I don't know whether or not that score was affected boy DC fanboy bias.
Legacy;
Jaws - For this, I won't bother counting the sequels, for starters they where not directed by Steven Spielberg, and they just, well, to but it lightly, sucked, a whole lot. However, I think that the movies real legacy comes from the fact that it not only brought the horror genre out of the B-movie level with it's success, but also started the trend of blockbusters being released during summer months (and new era blockbuster movies in general). It should be noted that before the success of Jaws, Blockbusters were released during the winter months instead. (Below, and Example of a pre-Jaws horror movie, it may reek of cheese, but I would probably still watch it though)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - In all honesty, I am no expert on the Indiana franchise, and I don't really know if The Last Crusade left a true legacy in it's own right. However I do know that the Indiana movies would bring about the rebirth of the 'adventure film' genre, as the success of these movies would show how much audiences appreciated this genre, which would start many more quality adventure series and, uh, not so good ones. (Below, a poster for the Stargate movie, which was one of the more successful series to come out of the new adventure genre that the Indiana movies helped create)
The Avengers - There is a lot I could talk about here, but I will focus on that this movie would pretty much set the standard for how a modern day comic book superhero movie should be (Now of course there does not have to be comedy, but that helped). Which I think acts as a double edged sword for Marvel, as we seen with the disappointing Avengers: Age of Ultron, all other avengers movies are going to have a lot to live up to and surpass the first one, or else just be "meh, could have been way better" like Age of Ultron was. However, DC is now really going to have to try if it wants to surpass Marvels cinematic universe anytime soon. (Below, love it or hate it, Batman vs Superman, compared to the Avengers, was really just a very average superhero movie)
Conclusions;
My opinion: Out of these three movies, I enjoyed The Avengers the most, liked Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the least, and respected Jaws the most.
Violence and Mature content: The most violent and I guess mature of these movies is Jaws, second Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and despite the fact that The Avengers movie had probably the most action out of these three movies, it is the probably the least violent and mature (I am going by gore/blood here)
Special affects: Though technically speaking, obviously The Avengers has the 'best' special affects if compared to Jaws and The Last Crusade, But Jaws, unlike the Avengers, Steven Spielberg used the fact that his special affects were not working correctly to his advantage, which ended up improving the movie in the long run, few movies have done that. So I sort of think Jaws and The Avengers tie in this case.
Critical success: Over all, by just using Metacritic, and Rotten Tomatoes, Jaws comes out on top of the other two movies. The Last Crusade has the lowest score on Metacritc , at least in the Metascore section, but it's user score surpasses The Avengers. If you count it's audience score, The Last Crusade surpasses The Avengers on Rotten Tomatoes aswell, but with it's regular Rotten Tomatoe score, is surpassed by The Avengers. The Avengers actually has the lowest scores on Metacritic. So, without a doubt, looks like Jaws wins here.
Legacy: Jaws wins here without a doubt, I mean seriously, what other movie brought a genre out of a B-movie level and also brought about the new blockbuster era, while also changing what times said movies were released. The Avengers was good, but none of that happened, and I know the Indiana movies brought about the rebirth of the adventure film genre, but it just isn't as impressive to me as what Jaws did.
Through out the last three parts, I touched on a few games, how their graphics and game play affected them, and whether or not, this defined them.Using theses examples, I will try to come to a conclusion on whether or not video games defined by graphics or game play.
In part 1, I stated that 'Call of Duty' did not become as popular as it is today because of it's graphics, but rather to it's solid, but repetitive game play. COD's graphics have never really been what I'd call groundbreaking, if anything, I'd say that they are average, and have changed little over the yearly releases (though yes, graphically, they have changed a lot, but they just all look the same to me). This has lead me to come to the conclusion, that COD is defined by it's game play, which just like it's graphics, have remind pretty much the same over the years, as this formula (as horrible as it is) works. This game play Call of Duty has, created this 'feel' that not only lead to it's success but has lead to many other FPS games trying to copy it.
In part 2, I touched on 'Super Mario Bros.Wii' and how no one plays a Super Mario game for the graphics, but rather for it's game play (I am focusing on the plat former part of the franchise, not the RPGs). Now maybe at one point in time, the graphics of the first Super Mario games were revolutionary, but I doubt that is why people keep coming back to the games or what defines them. I think it was the simple, but challenging game play that really kept people's interest in the franchise. Just like with Call of Duty, it defined itself by the feel of it's game play, and just like with COD, many other plat former's have tried emulate that same feeling. (Either that, or it's just childhood nostalgia that really keeps the game relevant)
In Part 3, I used the 'Batman Arkham' games as an example. Now this is a tough one, because the graphics in my opinion really helped bring out the detail of this comic book world, and helped with the immersion of playing has everyone's favorite detective. Without that, I do not think the Arkham games would have felt as good as they did. But, on the other hand, a big part of being able to play as the frickin Batman requires the game play to be just as good, if not better than the graphics. Because let's face it, when playing as a character as iconic as the Batman, you want to get the feel of the character just right, which is exactly what the Arkham games did (maybe with the exception of the tank segments).
Conclusion; video games are defined by their game play, not their graphics, though don't get me wrong, graphics are good, but that's not really what makes a video game work in the end.
Well re-playing the 'Batman Arkham' games (surprise surprise you guys ready for a plot twist) I was asked the question; Are video Games Defined by Graphics or Game play?
Now I will admit, the Arkham games have beautiful graphics, I mean damn, Arkham Knight's especially, seeing all those rain droplets form up and run down Batman's suite and cape, as well as the detail in the environment, just glorious! And hell, even the first Arkham game as aged surprisingly well, I should also mention that despite all the darkness, being unable to see was never really an issue. In terms of game play, it tended to be nicely broken up with fun, but repetitive brawls, tension filled stealth segments and some light detective work (though I guess you could also count the tank segments in Arkham Knight, I did not personally find it as horrible has everyone was saying it is, though it did get kind of repetitive and annoying at times...). Overall, the game play is solid, challenging, and with plenty of variety so the game never relies entirely upon one game play type. Honestly, I don't think it was graphics that made the Arkham games so good, but rather the game play and how it made you feel like you where actually Batman.
