Solo Movie review

Director: Ron Howard
Running time: 135 minutes

I don't have to tell you that no one really asked for this movie, to make yet another prequel to the mainline Star Wars saga is not a bad idea within itself, just as long as it can tell a worthwhile story within the universe. To which Rogue One achieved for the most part, it has its problems with character development, but I have come to enjoy it more with every subsequent watch since its release.

What makes a Han solo prequel so unnecessary at face value is that the character had an amazing arc in the original trilogy, he went from being a selfish rogue to a responsible man. He basically grows up within an ensemble of other good characters, so Solo has a lot to live up to, and it's actually a decent popcorn flick, without being much else.

The story begins with Han escaping his homeworld, Corelia, and enlisting as a pilot in the Imperial army to escape the clutches of an underground gang. Three years later he leaves the army, befriends Chewbacca and joins a band of pirates led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), on a heist. When the job goes wrong, the group is given one last chance by a crime lord, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) to redeem themselves. Coming along for the ride is an old love interest, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), and later in their journey they run into Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), as well as the Millennium Falcon.

Unlike The last Jedi, Solo feels like an old fashioned adventure story, in that there's plenty of planet hopping and action set-pieces. The action is fun but a bit too long, the two major set-pieces simply go on for far too long. It doesn't help that there's no real stakes involved, because we know the two main characters inevitably survive, taking away any form of tension.

However, I was pleased that the movie didn't do what most blockbuster movies do these days, and that's have a string of small action scenes that eventually build up to one big massive final battle before the credits roll. The final act in Solo is relatively small and it served the purpose of the story and characters, which made me feel invested the entire time rather than it feeling like an overblown distraction.

While the movie's tone is more light hearted compared with the rest of the Disney produced Star Wars movies, it's still very dark and moody in the visual department. While the story takes you on a journey from one locale to the next, nothing is particularly memorable, especially when you consider some of the spectacular and diverse worlds we've previously seen in the Star Wars universe. Much like the movie itself, it doesn't really go beyond being more than adequate.

I actually quite liked the characters in the story, and found them interesting, each of them had their own understandable goals. The cast are all good in their roles without really elevating the script, and that includes Alden Ehrenreich, who I actually rather enjoyed as Han Solo. If you just look at it as a different interpretation of the character (which it is), I think there's enough here for you to go along for the ride. And you know what, I wouldn't mind seeing him play the role once again. Donald Glover is charismatic as Lando, but the script doesn't really explore the friendship he has with Han in any great way, and it was good to see that Emilia Clarke's character wasn't just a love interest.

Chewbacca is better than ever, he plays a pivotal role in a movie for the first time since the original trilogy, and his chemistry with Han is just as adorable as we remember. Be warned that there is an annoying droid called L3-37, if her role was any bigger it would have been on the level of Jar Jar Binks annoyance.

Solo is fine, it's probably better that it really ought to be, which is a low bar to set, but it's decent, and I would have enjoyed it a little more if there wasn't an action scene in the middle of the movie that slogs on for far too long, with no real tension. I'd recommend this for any Star Wars fan, and a family who have time to kill over the half term, but it's no more than a decent action/heist flick. It does just enough to justify its existence and little else.

3/5

God of War review

This review should have been up quite a while ago, but after completing God of War I needed time to process the experience that the game gave me. I had only previously played one other game in the series and that was the remastered version of the third game for the PS4. It was good overall, but I actually never completed it because it eventually ran out of steam and I got bored. With its platform sections and combat, the core gameplay was pretty decent, but its shallow protagonist and story couldn't make up for its repetitiveness.

So I was never particularly hyped for this game even if I was planning to purchase it, so it was good to see it get near perfect reviews from most mainstream critics. So the question is, does it live up to the hype? The short answer is yes and no. It is without question an excellent game, is it a masterpiece? I don't think so.

The story sees Kratos and his son Atreus living in the norse world of Midgard with the intention of spreading the ashes of his second wife and Atreus's mother at the highest point of the nine realms. It's from here that they journey through six of the nine realms, fighting all kinds of gods and creatures along the way. The story at face value is nothing much to write about, but the lore behind it is extremely fascinating and it fits wonderfully into the world the developers have created. And the story is far more character driven than it is plot driven, some of the emotional moments feel forced but there is genuine character development and growth that's a bit of an exception in videogames.

The game is semi-open world, Midgard is not exactly massive but it branches into different sections that you can reach when you have certain abilities to progress. If I were to compare it to any other game it would be the Tomb Raider reboot games, where the open world consists of several hub spots that you return to to either pick up collectables or to complete side-quests for supporting characters. If you decide to do a lot of the side content none of it feels like a compulsory check list, it's there to enrich the experience. I personally did some of the side stuff but not a whole lot, I completed the game in the region of around 20-23 hours, but I've read that if you do most of the extra content, you can get through your first playthrough in the 35 hour mark.  

But let's be honest, much like its predecessors, God of War is still an action game at its core, gone is the high camera, fast paced hack and slash combat, and in comes an over the shoulder camera, a more refined but slower paced combat and very little in the way of platforming. The combat is fluid and feels weighty, you start off with an axe that you can throw and then recall back, think of it in the same way that Thor throws his hammer and it returns back to his hand after hitting something. It never gets old and it always feels good. Thankfully, Atreus is not a nuisance, he is equipped with a bow so you can command him to help in combat in a limited but effective manner.

While the combat is satisfying it never really excels beyond being adequately good, there's no imaginative way to kill off a large numbers of enemies, and a lack of a jump button makes it even more noticeable. While there is an upgrade system that gives the combat a bit of progression and variety, it's the only aspect of the game that I outright didn't like.

For me a good upgrade system is one that gives the player agency over the way they like to play the game, it's not just there to make you feel a bit more powerful to overcome enemies that gradually get a bit more difficult. Which is sadly not the case with God of War, not only is it overwhelming at first but there's too many little mechanisms within the different upgrade components, think of Destiny but without the polish and execution. It's not particularly bad it just feels like its been included for the purpose of padding the gameplay loop.

In-between the combat and walking sections are environmental puzzles that are not too dissimilar to those in the third game. They are not particularly complex and rather easy to overcome, they seem to have been included to add an extra layer and obstacle to the gameplay structure, and they work for the most part. However, there was a glitch in one of the puzzles at the end of the game that made me have to restart from an earlier checkpoint, I only lost about twenty minutes of game time but it's a minor nuisance in a game with such a high budget.

As I wrote earlier, the original God of War games had a decent amount of platforming, this has been removed entirely. There's a few moments in the game where you do some climbing and jumping to traverse from one place to another, but it's hardly intuitive, merely requiring you to push the analogue stick and pressing the circle button when it shows up. Some of this has been done to focus on the characters dialogue with one another.

After a while you begin to notice that the game follows a specific pattern, as you walk from a narrow corridor and into a large open area to fight a group of enemies, once they're cleared you have to deal with an environmental puzzle. Once that's done you are then treated to a dramatic cutscene or a slow walking or climbing section. Nothing wrong with this, I just wished that the traversal was as exciting and as central to the game as it is in other titles like Tomb Raider and Uncharted. 

If there is one part of God of War that is unquestionably masterful, it is the production design that lays the foundations to the good but not great gameplay mechanics. At various points the visuals left me awestruck, while the game's world has a reasonably dark palette, the combat visuals, the enemies, and certain aspects of the art design are utterly breathtaking. Unlike most game locales, the world of Midgard has an abundance of character and the level of detail is to be applauded.

As well as the overall production, the script, the voice acting and the cutscenes are amazing, allowing for an immersive experience. This is one of the few games I've played that felt cinematic in a good way, with the narrative arc of what you'd read in mythical srory. The supporting cast of characters such as Freya the witch and Brok the Dwarf, add a little levity to what can be a very stoic and contained experience.

Until God of War came along it had been awhile since I'd lost myself in a truly worthwhile gaming experience, partly because it's a rare that a game tries and succeeds in reaching beyond the sum of its parts. Now that I have completed it I plan on returning and giving it a go on a harder difficulty, but it's not perfect, the core gameplay is good but nothing special, and held up by some of the best production design and world building I have come across. The ending of the game is intriguing and thought provoking, but I couldn't help but feel that it's nothing more than a setup for future instalments.

At the end of the day this game is a must have purchase for anyone, it's not only one of the best PS4 games but one of the most delightful of this generation.

Verdict: 8/10 

    

   

Avengers: Infinity War review

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Running time: 149 minutes


(minor spoilers in the review!!)

Ten years after Iron Man was released to begin the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and having been teased since the first Avengers movie six years ago, Thanos, the ultimate Marvel villain is finally coming for the rest of the Infinity stones.

And this was to my surprise, a Thanos movie, despite The Avengers having their names in the title, and being the main draw for the audience. Thanos is the star of the show. Although he is full on computer animated, his presence is menacing and he is the most foreboding of the MCU villains that we've seen up to this point.

The movie begins where Thor Ragnarok ended, with Thor and the Asgardians having escaped the destruction of Asgard, are now seeking refuge in space. It is here that Thanos and his henchman 'The Black Order' begin their pursuit of each of the infinity stones, with the aim of wiping out half of the population of the universe.

Everything strings together with one set-piece after another, with so many characters no one really gets much of any development. With the story more or less a culmination of other stories winding together, anyone not familiar with the previous movies in the MCU will probably be a little lost.

But it's still a joy to see the characters interact with one another, whether it's Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), or Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Rocket Raccoon. For me, Thor was the best of the superheroes, which surprised me considering that he was in my opinion one of the weakest characters before the events of Ragnarok.

With such a high budget, the visuals are stunning but much like the movie itself, it feels like it has taken all of the best elements of the previous movies and cobbled them together. So the production design doesn't really standout. But it's all pretty looking nevertheless.

If there are any other minor negatives with the movie, it's that the action scenes vary in quality. It works best when it's minimal and contained, but towards the end we are treated to a superfluous battle scene that takes place on Wakanda, it involves the usual cannon fodder for the heroes to kill. As entertaining as it is, it just feels weightless and tension free. The comedy is a mixed bag, none of it is particularly funny or even particularly offensive, it just feels shoehorned in on a number of occasions.

With a satisfying cliffhanger of an ending, and the next Avengers movie coming next year, Infinity War is very much a first part to this phase of this cinematic universe. Anyone who has watched these movies from the beginning should certainly buy a ticket, anyone else might not entirely go along with the flow of events happening onscreen, so it would be best to catch up if you haven't already. Overall I had a good time, despite being a bit long I never once looked at my watch, and it was entertaining for the majority of its run time. But on the whole it's slightly above the middle pack in the MCU movie list.

Verdict: 3.75/5 

Far Cry 5: the good and the bad

I have not played a Far Cry game since the first one, and I really don’t remember much about it, I think I might have been too young to really understand it so I can’t have got too far before giving up. My experience with the first one probably explains why I never touched the second one, but I skipped 3 and 4 because I had kind of checked out of the last half of the PS3 generation of consoles, while I was at university.

So I bought Far Cry 5 because the reviews were pretty decent and I generally like Ubisoft games. So after completing just over two thirds of the game, and playing in the region of 25-30 hours of it, I gave up and sold it. I just got bored of it, I’ll go into more details in my review and conclusion, but the game is good and that just about sums it up.

The good:

Plenty of content

In typical Ubisoft fashion, Far cry 5s open world is souped up with a ton of content, ranging from story missions, side missions and mini game challenges that usually involve different kinds of vehicles. The map consists of three regions, all with their own boss to defeat, and you have the freedom to do this in any way you wish right from the get go. The good thing about this is that the map feels like a big open world playground you can mess around with, without being too overwhelming at the same time. Which in my opinion can't be said for a lot of Ubisoft's titles, I’m looking at you Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

At its best, it’s a whole heap of fun

The general gameplay loop is fun and the first person gunplay is really intuitive. The shooting is basic but not too casual, and the sound effects of the bullets you fire are weighty and feel realistic. With the variety of weapons on offer and the skills tree you have, you can either play as an assassin or balls to the wall action hero, you really can tailor your character in the style that you really want to play the game. I personally played the game with the intent of going all guns blazing, I really struggle with stealth gameplay from a first person perspective, and I just felt the tools you gain during the game were best utilized in this way.

Driving vehicles is also near perfect once you get the hang of them, the car chases can be frantic but in a good way, which is not what you can say about a lot of open world games.

VIsually immersive

The game’s setting is beautiful, the scope of the landscape is breathtaking, the textures aren’t always great on closer inspection. But the overall look of the Montanna locale is impressive, from the architecture to the topography of the landscape, it’s something we’ve not seen too much of in a videogame before.

Supporting cast are great, and create an interesting premise

The premise of taking down a religious cult is a good idea to take on in itself, you can create a clear antagonists, and you can then create a setting around that foundation. Far Cry 5 achieves this in most aspects, as someone who has travelled across what you might call ‘Fly over country’, Hope County feels like a real place, but one that is kind of cut off from the outside world.

The supporting characters, whether they are good or bad, add to the setting. The villains are intriguing and their motives are understandable, Joseph Seed is brilliantly set up from the opening sequence, and he lurks in the background narrative even if he disappears for large chunks of the game.

The bad:

Good premise, but the story narrative is almost non existent

The story massively lets down the premise and the setting, if you take out the boss battles at the end of each region, there is no narrative that threads everything together. This is best illustrated with the fact that there isn’t really a protagonist, from the moment you start you get to choose the gender of your main character and customise the way they look, but they are speechless throughout the whole game, and often you are just referred to as the ‘rook’.

This is a problem because it takes away any emotional attachment to the events unfolding around you, which in turn makes the story feel a little less immersive. This does in a way make the setting and the supporting characters feel a bit more meaningful, but it comes at the expense of any connection to the story.

The formula is repetitive and we’ve seen it all before

If you have played any Ubisoft game of the last five or so years, then nothing in Far Cry 5 will surprise you. It has every ounce of your typical open world game formula, wide ranging side missions, story missions, dotted pieces of monuments or buildings on the map to destroy, etc etc. Despite the game’s freedom to choose your own path from the beginning, it is still checkpoint gaming.

Glitches

This is a minor gripe but one that was frustrating at certain points, I suffered a few animation locks during the game, but the biggest issue I had was with the menu map. There were times when for a brief moment none of the markers on the map would appear for no apparent reason. There other instances of glitches that I won’t mention, but as I said this was not game breaking, it’s just an annoyance that I wished I hadn’t come across.

Verdict:

Far Cry 5 is decent, if you liked the other games in the series I think you’ll enjoy this one, otherwise I really can’t recommend the game to be honest. The fun but tedious gameplay just can’t compensate for a lack of story, however I did get a solid 25-30 hours game time so my time wasn’t wasted. If you are going into this game cold I’d suggest you wait for a sale before purchasing.

6/10   

Toys R Us memories

The news of ‘Toys R Us’ closing down cut like knife through my heart, but it was also, and rather tragically predictable. Not only was it on the cards for the last few months, since the company's financial problems became public, but in hindsight, with the rise of Amazon and consumers changing their shopping habits, it was only a matter of time.

Without going into detail, I think the destruction of retail shopping and our high streets is a bad thing and one that we won’t see the serious repercussions of until some time in the future, both socially and economically.

But I’m not here to talk about that, I want to talk about why I’ll miss ‘Toys R Us’ and some of the childhood memories it gave me. Growing up in North London, my two local stores were Wood Green (which closed down many years ago), and Enfield.

**

Whether it’s old or new, there is something awe inspiring and dare I say, magical about exploring a toy store, especially as child of course. An idealistic toy store in my mind is one that is old, with square windows and darkly lit, like something from a time that has passed by, or from another world entirely. This idealistic image is obviously my own imagination running away with me because I have never been to a toy store like this. However, walking into ‘Toys R Us’ as a child was a bit like walking into a another world from our own.

Yes it was a large open space, typical of any large retail store that stacks every inch of space from top to bottom with their products. But the way they organised the store was really unique, as exploring each of the departments felt like an adventure in itself. Starting from the small sweet section, through the boys section, and through the lego and to the bikes (I skipped on the girls section seeing as I’m a boy).

There is also something different about toys compared with other consumer products, even as an adult, there is an artistry to a toy that I don’t feel the same about with say a pair of trainers or a piece of clothing. A toy is more than just a product, I always imagine a story behind the toy, and the thought that goes into so it can be used to play with a child’s imagination.

**

My fondest memories of ‘Toys R Us’ include buying Ghostbusters slime and half a dozen Red Power Rangers actions figures at various points. Unfortunately I was never able to get a Megazord, like Buzz Lightyear they were always sold out.

And let’s not forget the adverts, that little jingle as the car pulled up and the headlights hit the front of the big store, ‘Toy’s R Us, Toys R Us, Toys R Us!’. Even as I listen to it now on YouTube, it sends shivers down my spine.

And I am going to miss it now that it's gone, like so many things it will live on as a nostalgic memory for some, relegated to YouTube clips and retro forums. With the gradual evaporation of the high street and the homogenisation of popular culture in general, I feel sorry for children growing up now, at some point in the future they will not know what it was like to walk into a toy store and have the choice of what they want, and that saddens me.

Why I love coffee shops

A cynical person would say that coffee shops are pretentious establishments that sell overpriced products, and there is perhaps a slender truth in this. For example, the cost of a large latte in Costa could buy a whole pot of coffee in a supermarket store.

But I love coffee shops, in a bizarre way I treat a trip to the coffee shop the way some people treat going to the gym. I go there to be productive without the need to really socialise with other people, it's a social space in which you have the choice of not being social. There's a comfort in knowing that while you are by yourself, you are not really alone.

I go to coffee shops to mainly write, and on the odd occasion I'll read. I would much rather do these things in a coffee shop than a library or at my desk. While libraries are great places that should be cherished, they are also very lonely, and a bit too quiet. Writing at home can also be lonely, a lot of the time that is fine, it allows me to be more productive, but the loneliness can be a distraction as well. Your mind becomes empty and it's easy to lose your attention by the smallest thing, even the gentle sound of traffic can make my mind wander, and the feeling of being isolated quickly sets in.

There are two other reasons why I like spending my time in coffee shops. The first one is that unlike most retail outlets in town centres and high streets, people go to coffee shops to be social and for the comfort, no doubt this is because a coffee shop is providing you with a service rather than just a product to buy. But this in turn means that coffee shops have to provide a more personable experience, because if they don't then they simply won't get regular customers. So the types of people who spend time in coffee shops are generally not troublesome.

The other reason is a bit more personal, and goes back to my point that while I am by myself in a coffee shop I never feel lonely. Just before I leave I usually just sit back and glance at everyone else and wonder what stories lay behind them, and why they are where they are. One day I'd like to write a multi story novel set in a coffee shop, it's just figuring out what the drama could be?

Monster Hunter World: the good and the bad

Monster Hunter World is the first in the series that I have played, and it was only the extremely positive reviews of the game that nudged me over into buying it, as well as the fact that there's nothing much coming out until March time. So I needed something to play and I decided to dive in.

I have played about twenty five hours, and although I have not completed it I have a fair grasp of what I like and what I really don't like.

The Good

Character Customisation

At the beginning of the game you get to create your own character as well as your palico (cat creature that assists you throughout), and it is surprisingly magnificent. The toolbox of options you have is astoundingly detailed, and it puts games like Destiny 2 to shame. Your character will look slightly different in-game but not to the point where they are unrecognisable.

Weapon Variety:

Right from the get go you have a choice of 12 weapon types to choose from, ranging from a sword and shield, a Bow, and to a Katana, amongst others. They all feel different to one another, and every gamer will have one that suits the way they want to play. The weapons are easy to learn but bloody hard to master, and you can switch weapons at any time during the game (not while on a quest of course).

Craftsmanship:

As a loot and grind game, the rewards are fair and worthwhile. With these rewards you can then craft items that are useful for your hunts and exploring, most importantly, you can craft your own armour and weapons from the workshop in the main hub of the game. And believe me there is a vast array of ways you can create your character in the specific way that you want to play, and how you want to approach a particular hunt that you are embarking on.

The equipment you craft also makes for some splendid cosmetics, you can really suit up your character in different ways.

Visuals and Monsters

The game is utterly gorgeous, the colours really ooze off of the screen. The five worlds you explore are all different to one another, with varying eco- systems. While they are all taken from your usual tropes of forest and desert landscapes, etc, they are all distinctive enough to look like places you have never seen before.

The monsters are incredible, most of them are tweaked designs of dinosaurs and real wildlife, but they have their own nuances that give them a little depth. In combat, each of them have their own attack patterns that you have to learn, and be prepared to have plenty of challenge when you are hunting them.

A heap of content:

I have not reached the end game yet, but from what I have played so far and from what I have read, there is a lot to do in the game. There is the main story quests, as well as what you might call the side quests that are linked with the main hub area. Many of these are repeat missions or fetch quests, but if you love grinding there is plenty here for you.

I have to mention the online multiplayer, which can be confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, there are plenty of ways you can party up with other people. And playing with your friends does give the repetitive nature of the gameplay loop an extra dynamism and strategic depth. Overall, the game is more enjoyable playing it this way.


The bad:

Monotonousness combat

While you can upgrade your weapons a lot, the actual combat when you're fighting the monsters becomes tedious and lethargic (certain weapons can mitigate this better than others). It really is bare-bones stuff, it does the job and nothing more. This would be less noticeable if the monsters weren't hit sponges.

Uninteresting story:

The main plot is nothing more than a McGuffin for the characters to hunt monsters, and the story progression does nothing much else. This is perhaps what one expects from this type of game, but with such a beautiful world, it's just a shame that it is nothing more than serviceable.

Animation locks and cheap gameplay mechanics

This issue is linked with the combat, because I had a lot of problems playing with a bow weapon, for instance you can't run while drinking a potion, and when you do run you have to put away your weapon. This can be a nightmare when you're fighting a monster with an extremely big hit box, this is also an issue with the environment as well, as some monsters with large hit boxes are hard to escape in certain environments that are contained.. This is a minor gripe, but it is one that will become a frustration at some point with certain monsters you have to hunt.


So is the game worth buying?

Despite my negatives, Monster Hunter World is still a good game, but one I can only enjoy in small doses, after two hours of solid gameplay the enjoyment begins to sap away and I just feel like I need to play something that's little more cathartic. In my humblest opinion this game has not deserved the near flawless praise it has had, for me it's a solid seven out of ten, and I could just about understand why someone would give it an eight.

If you enjoy looting and grinding for rewards, and doing so with your friends, then Monster Hunter World is probably for you. But be warned, this game requires a lot of your attention, and not all of it is going to be enjoyable.