__I hope you had a good Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate), and enjoy the last few days of 2022 before the new year begins.🙂
__As I said in my last entry, I thought it best to publish my thoughts on the last few 2022 movies before the end of the year, so I'm doing one more of these "first impressions" posts, but in the middle of the week instead of on Saturday as per normal, because this Saturday happens to be New Year's Eve, which would normally be the day I publish my "top ten movies of the year" list. But to tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure that's going to happen this year. I've narrowed down my choices for the top ten, but I just don't feel inclined to write hundred-word blurbs for them. Often, just writing these 280-character reviews for Twitter (or, in my case, Mastodon now) was tricky enough. Things might change before Saturday comes, but for now, my stance is that I'd rather put out no product at all than a half-baked one.
__Anyway, let's start talking about the last few movies I saw this year, beginning with my one trip to the cinema during December.
The CGI has taken huge strides (the water in particular looks amazing), but the story is little more than a retread of the first movie, the villains are one-dimensional, and it's so long that many scenes overstay their welcome.
My rating: 55%.
__Now for the movies (and one animated short, if you count that) that I watched at home.
A generic monster movie in every respect. It does nothing in terms of plot or characters to stand out from the crowd in any significant way. One thing I constantly wondered was who was recording the footage that the government offices were seeing.
My rating: 50%.
Guillermo del Toro's retelling of the classic story is defined by top-notch stop-motion animation and an overall theme of mortality, even working in the tragedy of war. There's a lot to commend, but also some social interactions I can't stand.
My rating: 75%.
I don't have much to say about this one. The story is interesting, but not inordinately so due to its understated tone, tiresome dialogue and often bizarre framing. For me, its most impressive feat is making Eddie Redmayne tolerable.😀
My rating: 60%.
The battle scenes are fantastically brutal, so the reality of war shattering the characters' optimism is highly effective. It sags in the middle because the first time jump really threw me off, but it recovers at the end.
My rating: 75%.
It may be a tad more predictable than its predecessor, but it still boasts some very clever twists that mock genre conventions and mess with your expectations. I wonder if Miles Bron is meant to be a parody of Elon Musk?
My rating: 85%.
The backgrounds exquisitely create a beautiful winter atmosphere, but the dialogue is extremely clumsy and, dare I say it, pretentious. I empathised most with the fox, especially his reason for not speaking much.
My rating: 60%.
__But it's not just movies we're talking about.🙂 I've also been watching quite a few video games in the form of longplays.
__At the time of my last post, I was making my way through the Ratchet & Clank series. As well as finishing that off, I've also run through the Super Smash Bros. and Gears of War series to see if I thought they were worth buying. (Spoilers: the answer is almost universally yes.) There was also one particular recent release that, again, I previewed through watching a longplay, and found I had so much to say about it that I was able to write a full review of almost four hundred words (374, to be exact). We'll save that for the end.
__For now, let's start with the two games in the set that I already own: the 2016 Ratchet & Clank reboot and the first Super Smash Bros. In the case of the latter, since it was on Nintendo 64, it was easy to just download a ROM for the N64 emulator. The others, I'll have to buy physically.
A good reboot of the franchise that works Nefarious into a retelling of the first game. It lacks Ratchet and Clank's conflict brought on by their opposing viewpoints, replacing it with Captain Qwark becoming jealous of their popularity.
My rating: 75%.
A clever and rather endearing gimmick that stands out from other fighting games by emphasising knocking your opponent out of the ring. I like how the opening suggests that they're toys coming to life, almost like the game's self-aware.
My rating: 70%.
__Now for the rest, the ones I haven't bought yet. (You might notice the first Gears of War is missing. That's because I already covered it when I was still going through all these games by year.)
Best of the series, hands down. The graphics superbly demonstrate what the PS5 can do, and their initial wow factor enhances the appeal of the story, which involves the collision and potential annihilation of two dimensions.
My rating: 85%.
A huge improvement on the first game, not just in terms of graphics and an expanded character roster, but the big innovation is Adventure Mode, in case you ever wanted to see Nintendo characters step into each other's games.🙂
My rating: 80%.
Adventure Mode is greatly improved; it's a fully realised story this time. It creates original villains in the Subspace Army, and even incorporates the trophies from Melee. New characters include Pit, Sonic and even Solid Snake.
My rating: 80%.
It adds new characters like Pac-Man, Mega Man and even the Wii Fit Trainer, but sadly removes Adventure Mode completely. It's so surreal when it zooms out to a wide shot of the arena; you can barely see the characters.
My rating: 60%.
This is by far the biggest Smash game yet. Its huge character roster is further expanded by the spirits that can also be levelled up, and Adventure Mode takes the form of a vast map to explore as you free all the fighters.
My rating: 85%.
It's still wall-to-wall military combat, so feels a bit more stale than the first game, but thankfully adds some emotional depth to the characters, and the plot does raise the stakes. The highlight is the sequence inside a gigantic worm.
My rating: 65%.
It brings nothing strikingly new to the table, but it's sort of the games' formula epitomised, combined with my favourite plot of the series so far. It ties the latest potential ultimate victory in with Marcus's hope of finding his father.
My rating: 75%.
The new characters aren't as interesting as the old ones, but the tried-and-true gameplay includes some spectacular set pieces. The plot concerns a rescue mission involving a new enemy that even seems to be evolving before the heroes' eyes.
My rating: 70%.
The story is the weakest of the series, but the gameplay stands out for allowing you some time to explore the environment (especially when riding the skiff) and take in the scenery, which includes a thriving city, a snowscape and a red desert.
My rating: 65%.
__It's worth mentioning that Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was released concurrently with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Much like Sonic Lost World, I opted for the 3DS version because I have no interest in the Wii U otherwise, especially now that most of its first-party games have been released on the Switch.
__Speaking of Sonic, now let's end with the one game that gave me enough material for a full review.🙂
Sonic Frontiers (PS5)
__The consensus on the newest Sonic game isn't all that positive, so I decided to watch a longplay to see if I thought it was worth buying myself. And… the answer is no.
__Okay, let's talk about what the game does well first. The story consistently held my interest as the mystery of the Ancients unravelled. Given the concept of Cyber Space and the various meta jokes about the characters and game mechanics (especially the map markers), I suspected it would build up to Sonic becoming aware that he was in a video game, that the Ancients were the players. (Spoiler alert, though: that doesn't happen.)
__However, while the story is good, the gameplay is distinctly underwhelming. As you explore the overworld, you find various collectibles, including tokens used to talk to your companions and advance the plot. Sometimes, you might have to complete an obstacle course or use your Cyloop to draw a shape on the ground and unearth items. There are also portals to Cyber Space, which lead to high-speed linear levels typical of the Sonic series. I found neither the overworld tasks nor the Cyber Space levels very appealing. The latter is nothing we haven't seen before (although there is an in-universe reason for that), and they all look similar and play almost identically, so they quickly become monotonous.
__Another thing I don't like is Sonic's voice: it's far lower-pitched than I'm used to. And Roger Craig Smith is no stranger to voicing the character, so I'm not sure what changed.
__When I first saw the lush open world, my first thought was Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But the game also very much reminded me of Shadow of the Colossus, what with the Titans you have to defeat and the mysterious guide that may have ulterior motives.
__One thing I really like is the character-building moments, especially Tails questioning whether he's just a burden to Sonic. Considering this game mentions several prior adventures, indicating that there is a series continuity, I'm curious to see how he'll develop in future instalments.
__Overall, it's not bad, but definitely not one of my favourite Sonic titles.
__My rating: 55%.
__So, that's it. I may or may not be back on Saturday with my top ten movies of the year. If not, have a happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2023.🙂 Take care.
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