“Revolution” to premiere in 2012

A new show will be premiering this year, directed by Jon Favreau (who directed Iron Man 1 and 2) and executive producer JJ Abrams (who brought us the relaunch of Star Trek). Apparently, this show asks the question of what would happen if one day, all the electricity and electrical equipment in the world just shut off. In essence, this new show, named “Revolution” is all about the struggle to rebuild once civilization as we know it crashes and all our modern technology is rendered useless.

Hmmm. A show about a dystopian world where everything goes down and people are forced to survive by their wits? I call plagiarism on NBC! Anyone who’s been following my site or Story Time knows that this is the EXACT premise of Crashland. But whereas my story was all about infopocalypse and cyberwarfare, Abrams show seems to center on the idea of solar flares, EMPs being set off, or some such thing. Because God knows if he’s doing the whole “viruses crashed everything because everything was networked” concept like I did, I’m really gonna sue his ass!

But then again I imagine the producers of Battlestar Galactica might come knocking on my door… Damn! Can’t a man sue for plagiarism without falling prey to the whole “people in glass houses” thing? In any case, the real focus of the show is about what happens 15 years later when a group of people begin going about the process of rebuilding. This is predictably complicated due to the rise of warlords and criminals who have profited from the chaos.

A pretty straightforward premise, and not exactly new either. In fact, ever since the rise of industrialization and electricity, their have been no shortages of satirists and critics who have wondered what would happen if it all broke down. It was from this point onward that human beings became truly dependent on technologies that could be described as “prescriptive”, in the sense that they seemed to create needs and dependencies rather than address them. But this is why the concept of it all going down has remained relevant.

And if anything, its only increased in relevance as our dependence on electricity, electronic devices, and industrial products has grown by leasp and bounds. Today, it could even be said we have reached a stupefying level of dependence! Ah, but what can you do about it? Can’t imagine what I’d do without my gadgets. Probably pick up a gun and force people to bend to my will! Let’s keep those grids working people, you wouldn’t like me when I’m deprived and armed 😉

Crashland – Chapter 13!

After about a week and a half on hiatus, I’ve finally returned to Story Time to pick up my serial novel of Crashland. Last time, things ended on a cliffhanger as the tube station Holden and his compatriots were hiding out in began to collapse. Still recovering from his injuries, Holden was forced to find his way down a dark tunnel while the others carried the cybernetic Simon out on a stretcher.

Unfortunately, Holden fell behind and got lost in the dark. His only hope was to either retreat back the way he came, try to navigate based on the glow tubes strewn about the tunnel, or just sit and wait for the trouble to pass. And of course, audiences voted and the choice was clear! Holden would try to navigate his way out the only way he could.

And now, chapter 13 is ready! Come on by and see what happens, then stick around to vote on the next chapter. I have to say that it is one of the most consequential chapters I’ve written yet! Yes, the ending is not only a cliffhanger, but a matter of life and death. When it’s done, one of the story’s characters will be killed off. Tune in to decide which one!

Anthology Sample!

Gliese 581 g, a real exoplanet where our story takes place

Hey all. As you may recall, me and my people over at Writer’s Worth have begun working on a new anthology. The concept is space travel and colonization, a phenomena which will most likely be taking place in this and the next century. After a lot of brainstorming and hard research, we have even been producing some first drafts.

The first is being written by Khaalidah Muhammed-Ali, the working mother and writer who I’ve mentioned a few times on this site. In her hands is the first story of the anthology, dealing with the families who are selected to take part in the off-world experiment. The second comes from Goran Zidar, another favorite here on my site, who is covering the topic of the terraformers who venture on ahead in order to prepare the planet for settlement.

And then there’s William J. Joel, another Writer’s Worth peer, who has volunteered to cover the daunting tale of the generational ships that will deliver the colonists to their new home. Already he has advanced some ideas which are complex and inspired, and personally I can’t wait to see some drafts. Between these three authors and a fourth installment dealing with exobiology, the first part of the novel is well underway!

And last, but hopefully not least, is my own contribution. As the opening chapter in Part II, it deals with the efforts of the colonists to create a planetary government. The story is told from the point of view of a synthetic named Winston, an AI who has been assigned to work with the planetary council. Programmed with an experimental social science known as “Ethical Calculus”, he will soon learn that working with humans is not nearly as difficult as getting them to work together!

Here is an excerpt from the story which I have tentatively named “Winston Agonistes”:

The sun was beginning to set, casting the sky into a deep orange. It was the time that the first settlers had called “the magic hour”, the many warm hours between dusk and dark. Winston stood at the dome wall and watched. On occasion, he cast a passing glance at his hands, which the glowing sun seemed to casting in the color of a light citrus fruit. He was sure he would find that amusing, if he could. He was sure there was much about this situation that would inspire an emotional reaction.

Alas, such was not the case. Though understandable to him, such things still remained inaccessible. Perhaps someday, with adequate upgrades in the available software…

“Mr. Winston?” a voice called to him from the doorway. The footsteps and tone of voice immediately indicated who it was. He put on a smile and turned to face him.

“Councilman Mutlu. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Winston,” he replied, entering the room. He looked around appraisingly, noting the furniture and layout. No doubt it all seemed excessive to him, but at the same time necessary. “I trust you are adjusting to your new surroundings?”

“Of course, Mr. Mutlu. I am settling in quite nicely.”

“Good, good,” he said, looking around awkwardly. Even without the ability to empathize, he could gauge the man’s discomfort. Then again, many people exhibited this reaction when in the company of a synthetic. In such circumstances, it was always best to focus on matters of a professional nature. At least that was what his subroutines told him.

“Would you care to sit down? I can offer you some refreshment as well if you so desire. Tea? Coffee?”

“Ah, tea, thank you.”

He busied himself with a tray of carafes and a heater as Mutlu took one of the chairs in front of his desk. He noted the sounds of shifting against the seat’s fabric, the way he kept moving his hands from one spot to the next. By the time the water had boiled in the heater and had located an appropriate tea from the stores, Mutlu seemed to have found a comfortable seated position. He approached him with all the assorted items on the tray that had been provided. He set it down between them on his desk and offered Mutlu a cup.

“The business of running a colony is quite stressful work, is it not Councilman?”

“Uh, yes, yes it is,” he said, taking the cup that was offered. “Have you had a chance to look over the proposals we have sent over.”

“I have indeed,” he said, taking the other cup and sitting back in his own chair. He knew this to be mere small talk, as the matter of processing those proposals had been a mere matter of dispensation. Assessing the nature of the problem, suggested measures, and weighing them according to the rubrics of his primary programming. Under the circumstances, asking such a question was completely inane, but in keeping with social norms.

“And what have you found?”

He took a sip from his cup before answering. “Quite simply, that the Council’s draft is in keeping with the best traditions of constitutionalism and humanism. That ensuring the rights of all citizens, regardless of their background prior to making the journey, is the most sensible course of approach. Ensuring that such a baseline exists at such an early stage is the wisest approach in both fostering amnesty between colonies while at the same guaranteeing that they submit to further negotiation.”

Mutlu looked down at his cup, back up again to his eyes. He seemed preoccupied with him performing this most basic function in front of him, but did not appear oblivious to his words. Eventually, he took another sip and smiled.

“Good. My colleagues will be most pleased to hear  that.”

He smiled in return. “Does the Council hold my endorsement in such high regard?”

Joviality. The gesture known as playful irony. Suggesting that the Councilor saw his approval as something very high indeed, a testament to his computational abilities. A gentle mockery of his obvious discomfort, meant to trigger a humorous response.

“Well yes…” he said, entirely serious. “I can only assume that you’ve subjected our hopes to proceed with a formal constitution to your… what did you call it again?”

“Ethical Calculus, sir.”

“Right!” Mutlu set his cup down and began to speak more freely. His hands began to provide gestures that accorded visual representation to his words. “After all, we’ve been subjected to a great deal of criticism from within and without, many people think we should be ironing out the basic agreements between colonies before we commit to any kind of draft that could commit us to policies down the road. I must say I find all those arguments…”

“Distasteful?” Winston suggested.  Mutlu nodded.

“Quite right… it seems a shameful thing that such cynicism has set into the process already. It’s almost as if they don’t think the colonists can…”

“Trust each other?”

Mutlu nodded again. He noticed a growing shimmer in the man’s eye. How quickly he was forgetting that the man sitting across from him was not a man at all.

“Exactly the point. And it’s not like we’re talking about disparate factions here. Everyone on this world came here with the same goal in mind. The same hope for a new beginning.”

“And yet, old habits die hard.”

Mutlu looked at him with surprise. “Are you saying you have doubts, then?”

Winston smiled as broadly as the muscle fibers in his face would permit.

“Purely an observation. Nevertheless, you and the Council are on the right track. You should take heart in that.”

“Excellent.” Mutlu retrieved his cup and began to look at curiously at Winston again. One more, it seemed that the knowledge of what he was dealing with was creeping back into his mind. But at least he seemed at ease. One by one, the Council seemed to be adjusting to the idea of having synthetics amongst them, entrusting their most precious decision making to them even. It was a significant step up from the laborious practices that the other models were forced to endure.

And that’s the story thus far. Stay tuned for more on the progress of this and other Writer’s Worth Anthologies. Speaking of which, Grim5Next, the dystopian anthology which began months ago, is coming along and getting into its third and final part. Progress!

A Tribute to Alan Turing

Wouldn’t you know it? Today marks what would have been Alan Turing’s 100th birthday. This man was not only immensely influential in the development of computer science and cryptanalysis, he is also considered the father of Artificial Intelligence. In fact, words like “algorithm” and “computation” are traced to him, as was the development of the “Turing machine” concept which has helped computer scientists to understand the limits of mechanical computation.

However, his reputation goes far beyond the field of computer science. During World War II, he worked at the Government Code and Cypher School (GCCS) at Bletchley Park, Britain’s codebreaking centre. For a time, he was acting head up Hut 8, the section responsible for breaking the Enigma Code, Germany’s wartime cypher which they used to encrypt all their communications. Were it not for this achievement, the Allies may very well have lost the war.

Especially in the Atlantic, where German U-boats were causing extensive losses in Allied shipping, Turing’s work proved to be the different between victory and defeat. By knowing the disposition and orders of the German fleet, crucial shipments of food, raw material, weapons and troops were able to make it across the Atlantic and keep Britain in the war. Eventually, the broken codes would also help the Allied navy to hunt down and eviscerate Germany’s fleet of subs.

After the war, he worked at the National Physical Laboratory in London, where he created one of the first designs for a stored-program computer, the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine). He named this in honor of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine, a mathematical machine built a century before. This machine was the culmination of theoretical work which began in the mid 30’s and his experiences at Bletchley Park.

In 1948, he joined the Computing Laboratory at Manchester University, where he assisted fellow mathematician and codebreaker Max Newman in the development of the Manchester computers. Their work would eventually yield the world’s first stored-program computer, the world’s first computer to use transistors, and what was the world’s fastest computer at the time of its inauguration (in 1962).

He then switched for a time to emergent and theoretical field of mathematical biology, a science which was concerned with the mathematical representation, treatment and modeling of biological processes, using a variety of applied mathematical techniques and tools. This field has numerous applications in medicine, biology, and the proposed field of biotechnology. As always, the man was on the cutting edge!

In terms of Artificial Intelligence, Turing proposed that it might be possible one day to create a machine that was capable of replicating the same processes as the human mind. The “Turing Test” was a proposed way of testing this hypothesis, whereby a human test subject and computer would both be subjected to the same questions in a blind test. If the person administering the test could not differentiate between the answers that came from a person or a machine, then the machine could be accurately deemed as an “artificial intelligence”.

Tragically, his life ended in 1954, just weeks shy of his 42nd birthday. This was all due to the fact that Turing was gay and did not try to conceal this about himself. In 1952, after years of service with the British government, he was tried as a criminal for “indecency”, homesexuality being considered a crime at the time. In exchange for no jail time, he agreed to submit to female hormone treatment, which is tantamount to “chemical castration”. After a year of enduring this treatment, he committed suicide by ingesting cyanide.

In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal apology on behalf of the British government for “the appalling way he was treated”. Between his wartime contributions and ongoing influence in the field of computer science, mathematics, and the emerging fields of biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, Turing has left a lasting legacy. For example, at King’s College in Cambridge, the computer room is named after him in honor of his achievements and that fact that he was a student there in 1931 and a Fellow in 1935.

In Manchester, where Turing spent much of his life, many tributes have been in his honor. In 1994, a stretch of the Manchester city intermediate ring road was named “Alan Turing Way” while a bridge carrying this road was widened and renamed the Alan Turing Bridge. In 2001, a statue of Turing was unveiled in Sackville Park, which commemorates his work towards the end of his life. The statue shows Turing sitting on a bench, strategically located between the University of Manchester and the Canal Street gay village.

The commemorative plaque reads ‘Founder of Computer Science’ as it would appear if encoded by an Enigma machine: ‘IEKYF ROMSI ADXUO KVKZC GUBJ’. Another statue of Turing was unveiled in Bletchley Park in 2007, made out of approximately half a million pieces slate and showing the young Turing studying an Enigma machine. A commemorative English Heritage blue plaque was also mounted outside the house where Turing grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

In literature, Turing’s name and persona have made several appearances. The 1986 play, Breaking the Code, was about Turing’s life, went from London’s West End to Broadway and won three Tony Awards. The 1996, the BBC television network produced a series on his life, starring Derek Jacobi in the leading role. In 2010, actor/playwright Jade Esteban Estrada portrayed Turing in the solo musical, ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 4. And, my personal favorite, he was featured heavily in Neal Stephenson’s 1999 novel Cryptonomicon.

Rest in peace Alan Turning. Like many geniuses, you were ahead of your time and destroyed by the very people you helped to educate and protect. I hope Galileo, Socrates, Oppenheimer and Tupac are there to keep you company! You have a lot to discuss, I’m sure 😉

2012: the Year of Reboots

If you’ve been paying attention to the trailer circuit lately, you might have noticed some new previews making the rounds. A few weeks ago, it was the trailer for the reboot of Spider-Man, this time with the prefix “The Amazing”. Shortly thereafter, a new trailer came out previewing the relaunch of the 1990 movie Total Recall, this time starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale. And now, there’s a third trailer making the rounds. This last one previews a relaunch of the 1994 Judge Dredd, the one-time Stallone vehicle that will star sci-fi/fantasy veteran Karl Urban and Lena Headey, who’s fame is exploding due to her role as Cersei in Game of Thrones.

What do all these movies have in common? Well, for one, they are relaunches of relatively recent movies. Second, all these movies are scheduled for relaunch in 2012. That means for anyone old enough to have seen the originals, this summer is going to be jammed packed with remakes of movies they’ve already seen… I’m thinking Hollywood needs to just come out and admit that they have no new ideas left!

Now to be fair, some of these movies can get away with being remade. The original Total Recall came out 22 years ago, but for most people in my generation, it was a hit while we were tweens. I can’t imagine many people are going to be seeing it for more than the nostalgic appeal, even if it is packed with headliners. And you can just tell that casting it with Ferrell, Biel and Beckinsale and pitching it as a big FX romp was done to ensure it has a big draw. Still, expect people to comparing it endlessly to the Schwarzenegger original!

Dredd is even more recent, with most fans of the comic being the age of majority when it came out. But a relaunch of this movie seems good given that the last one was such a disappointment. But judging by the trailers, it seems like just another excuse to shoot something in 3D. The storyline also looks pretty contained, focusing on a single mission rather than the larger picture of Mega City One, the Judges and the irony of trusting quasi-fascists to bring order to a chaotic society.

And Spider-Man? Hell, the third movie in that trilogy aired just five years ago! And the original was produced when, in 2002? That’s just a ten year gap between this new one and the first of the originals! Isn’t there a statute of limitations on this kind of thing? Why does this movie even need to be remade, and now of all times? The others featured perfectly good CGI effects and good story lines, and was ably acted by Toby McGuire and Kirsten Dunst. And of course, most people seeing this one already saw all the others.

So really, what possible reason is there for making this version? I have heard some people speculate that it’s because they want to include Spider-Man in the next Avengers movie. So… what happened to Toby McGuire? Is he too old? Was he not returning the studios calls? Did he say there was no POSSIBLE way he’d ever do a Spider-Man movie again? Is that why they’re doing this, so people won’t be surprised when a new guy shows up to play Spidey in Avengers 2? That seems silly!

Oh Hollywood. When did you lose your way? Was it the money, the phoniness, the mountains and mountains of blow? Yeah, I’m betting somewhere between the money and the nose candy, you all just went a little batty and stopped being able to come up with new ideas. So here’s a few ideas. Hire some new people. Pitch to new writers. Try making something though-provoking and avant-garde. Do something other than throw up the same old formulaic crap and rebooting old concepts!

And before you make the excuse that audiences are stupid and won’t buy into something half-way decent and brainy, might I remind that you guys pioneered those low expectations in the first place? Were it not for you constantly trying to appeal to the lowest-common denominator, you wouldn’t be in this creative tailspin. You might say this trend is the end result of underestimating the intelligence of the average person for so very long. Them chickens roosting in your backyard seem to have brought a batch of avian flu with them! In short, Hollywood, back your shit up, get your shit together, and then get your shit off our floor!

Sorry, that got a little rant-y towards the end there. But for me, this is just the straw that broke the camels back. I’d like to see some better movies, and these guys are the one making it hard for independent producers and studios simply because they suck up so much money and produce so much PR. Still, I might see one of these movies. During Prometheus, my wife was more than impressed by the preview for Total Recall, so we’ll see. If I seem stupider once I get back, blame Hollywood!

Alien Versus Predator (2010 game)

Welcome all to my first video game review! It took me awhile to figure out which I’d start with, but after some thought, I figured AVP – the 2010 game – would be as good a place as any. And given the recent release of Prometheus, I thought it would also be appropriate, not the least of which was because some of that movie’s content ruled out certain aspects of this game.

But mainly I’ve decided to review it because it was very cool. The game play, the graphics, and the storyline were all consistent with some of the best traditions of the Alien versus Predator franchise. And of course, there were plenty of weaknesses too, which were also consistent with the AVP game series. And above all, it was a fun play, assuming you can get it to work. No offense to the makers, but this game required a beast of a machine to run at a decent resolution and with all the bells and whistles!

Oh yes, I should also mentioned that this is a Steam game, meaning it’s uploaded and played through the Steam interface and is networked to the site during game play. As such, players get to unlock achievements and gain points for completing various levels, beating difficulty settings, and accomplishing assorted tasks. Now that’s all covered, onto the game’s story!

Storyline:
The plot of the game involves three intertwining plot threads which come together in a grand climax once all three campaigns are played. The first involves the perspective of the Colonial Marines, which have been dispatched to the planet to deal with a Xenomorph outbreak.

As usual, they are enforcing Weyland Yutani company policy, which as usual involves rescuing a research outpost which has been conducting Xenomorph research. Once in orbit, the Marine ship is attacked by an unidentified alien ship which blows it apart and sends its drop ship tumbling towards the surface.

The Marine campaign begins shortly after the dropship forced to crash land on the planet. The gamer then wakes up on a stretcher in the cargo bay, the others having left you behind to go off and deal with the problem. This necessitates that you find your way to them and begin reinforcing them. For the most part, this involves fighting xenos on your own, but here and there, you get to shoot it out with some backup. Of course, they usually die in the process…

Things change when your team leader, Tequila, is captured and you have to go and rescue her. At this point, you are being directed by an android who is deep within the facility and reveals what’s being going on there. And of course, this leads to an eventual confrontation with a Predator (aka. “Hunter”), which just happens to be one of the most challenging parts of the game. But of course, confrontations with a Queen and Praetors (queens that have not fully matured) are also pretty tough. Once that is done, you work your way to Tequila who has been placed inside a cocooning room, a la Aliens, and who is already infected.

Once you save Tequila, you and she work your way to the android helper and the medical facility where the outbreak took place. Here, she explains that the experiment went wrong (as always) and begins a procedure to remove the parasite from Tequila’s stomach. This is interrupted when another android, who has been programmed with the mind of Mr. Weyland (played by Lance Henriksen), cuts off the power to the lab. You are therefore forced to put Tequila into cryo-stasis to keep her safe and alive until help arrives.

Your next mission is to find your way to the Weyland droid and find the tracker he has so you can summon a new dropship to you. He is currently hiding in an underground temple which WY have been excavating. The temple, like just about everything else on the planet, is of Hunter construction and its hundreds of thousands of years old. And of course, they came upon preserved specimens of Xenomorph eggs, which prompted them to begin hatching them. Once you defeat the Weyland droid and grab a hold of the transmitter, the dropship arrives and carries you and Tequila to safety in orbit.

But of course, there’s a double-cross. It seems that the personnel aboard the dropship are taking their orders from another of the Weyland droids. They signal that they have a live Xenomorph specimen (in her) and also the emergency transmitter, which just happens to contain all of Weyland’s research. The key bit of information, which he uncovered from his extensive research inside the underground temple, is the location of the Xenomorph homeworld!

Onto the Alien campaign where things take place from a single Xenomorph that has been bred inside the WY facility. This campaign, as noted, overlaps with the Marine (and later Hunter) campaigns, and involves the Xenomorph’s mission to escape the facility and begin breeding. The first step is to escape confinement from the medical bay and set the others free.

Once this is done, you work your way through the facilities sewers, taking down all personnel you see and attaching “Facehuggers” to them. All the while, the Queen directs you via pheromones, which act as a sort of telepathy, to help her establish a hive on the planet’s Refinery. Here she rests, until the arrival of the Marines causes things to come to a head.

From this point onward, your job is to fight and kill the Marines while simultaneously taking out the facilities systems. After that’s done, you work your way into the temple complex where Hunters show up to intercept you. After killing them, you are forced to battle an Elite Hunter until he’s weak enough to be subdued and then infected by a Facehugger. This gives rise to the hybrid Hunter-Xenomorph (aka. Predalien) that is central to the Hunter campaign.

However, things go awry when the Refinery is destroyed and the Queen is trapped inside. This event, which is part of the Marine campaign, causes the Xenomorph to be stunned and captured. It is taken back to the Marine vessel, where it then escapes and sets up a new hive, becoming the new Queen!

And thus the Predator campaign begins, with the arrival of the Hunter ship and its destruction of the Marine vessel. As an Elite Hunter you are then deployed to the planet to begin hunting the Marines, as punishment for desecrating their temple site, and killing any Xenomorphs that have escaped. You are also responsible for locating any dead Hunters and retrieving their trophies, as well as collecting weapons and sacred artifacts.

Your missions then involve infiltrating the Marines bases, disabling their systems, and releasing the xenomorphs. You then find yourself following the “Rookie” Marines path, which leads to the sacred temple where you are forced to battle Praetorians. Moving inside to the underground temple, you come upon the Weyland Yutani party and its compliment of combat androids. After destroying them and retrieving the last Hunter artifacts, you are forced to do battle with the hybrid Predalien.

Once this is done, you are ordered to set the temple to self-destruct, in order to cleanse the taint of the human’s presence and ensure that none of the secret’s within ever fall into their hands again. However, unbeknownst to you, WY has already retreived the vital inro about the xenomorph’s homeworld. Once you return to your ship. the same info is shared from the sacred Hunter mask which you retrieved from the planet below. Apparently, this information has been lost to the Hunters, who have been breeding Xenomorph’s in captivity for training and now seek to contain them, lest someone else (i.e. the human race) try to breed them as a weapon.

Hence, all three storylines come together and point in one direction: the Xenomorph homeworld, where the next chapter is sure to take place!

Good Points:
This game’s positive aspects should be obvious to anyone. As an AVP game, the game play is automatically very fun and intense. This applies to the Marine campaign, with its assortment of Pulse Rifles, Incinerators and Smartguns, though I honestly didn’t care much for the hand guns, shotguns and sniper rifles. Those weapons just seemed clunky and kind of primitive, given the time period in which everything is happening.

And of course, the Predator campaign was pretty damn awesome, given the claws and plasmacasters. The way the equipment was updated to be a little more limiting in terms of energy requirements was also a nice touch, since in AVP2 the Predator’s arsenal was a little too easy to maintain and hence pretty overwhelming. However, the new limitations they put on available weapons was something I did not like. Aside from your claws and plasma gun, all you get is the disc and the combistick. What happened to the net guns and claw launchers?

But what really impressed me was the Xenomorph campaign, where your cheif weapons are your claws, tail, and sheer mobility. You can climb walls, jump from surface to surface, and sneak attack like nobody’s business! You can also facebite with your little mouth, which is pretty damn gory and awesome! The way you can retrain people to put a Facehugger on them also adds to the overall level of detail and coolness of this aspect.

On top of it all, the feel of the game is spot on. When dealing with AVP, one immediately expects a level of intensity and intrigue which can only come from dealing with scary Xenomorphs and deadly Hunters! As the Marine, you constantly have the feeling of vulnerability and impending doom. And in the end, the only way to win is to stay mobile and be conservative with your ammo supply. As the Hunter, stealth and patience are your ally. If you engage too quickly or easily, you will be discovered and overwhelmed by superior numbers of Marines or Xenomorphs. And as the Xenomorph, the ability to move hide, move quickly, and use the surrounding environment to your advantage is the key to success. This balance of abilities and weaknesses is key to making the gaming experience feel faithful to the franchise and as realistic as possible.

Bad Points:
But alas, there are some weaknesses. The first is the most obvious, and one I mentioned already. This game has some pretty cool graphics and game play features, such as the blurring effect which you can turn off and on. With it active, you experience blurring whenever you turn fast. This adds to the overall suspense and intensity of the game and makes it that much harder. But this, like everything else in this game, requires you have a fast machine with a good graphics card. Otherwise, expect things to be slow, choppy, and look pretty grainy!

Second, there’s the rather tired duty of the storyline where reasons have to keep being given for why you are on your own as the Marine. With the Hunter, it’s obvious why you’re fighting solo. That’s simply the way they fight, every Hunter in his own domain stalking and killing his prey and taking trophies. But for the Marines, the standard deployment tactic is by squad, coordinated and covering each others’ back. The fact that you’re constantly alone as a Marine just doesn’t make sense.

Sure, in previous versions, when the game just wasn’t sophisticated enough, this was understandable. A single person, first-person-shooter was simply the best they could do with what resources and money they had available. But now? With the kinds of AI’s and sophistication the latest games boast, there really isn’t much of a reason for making the majority of the Marine campaign single person FPS . That, and the constant reasons for why you’re on your own (i.e. the rest of the squad got killed, the last dropship got shot down, the door slammed shut and separated you from them) just gets annoying after awhile.

And lastly, there is the storyline which is a bit confusing. The part about scientists in a WY facility breeding Xenomorphs, that’s perfectly understandable. In fact, that’s the setup of every single AVP story: the evil corporate goons breed Xenos, they get loose, the Marines go in to clean up, they find Hunters there doing the same thing, and everything devolves into a three way fight.  But why are they breeding Xenos if the purpose of the colony was to uncover ancient Hunter ruins? Kind of seems like the traditional plot was laid on top of this other one in order ensure that all the plot elements are there.

Prometheus’ Plot Changes (Spoiler Alert!):
In the end, the purpose of this game was to bring all sides together so they could learn the location of the Xenomorph homeworld. That way, something that was never revealed in the original franchise was now being previewed, the gamer being left with the distinct impression that it would serve as the backdrop for the next game. Unfortunately, the movie Prometheus ruled this out by saying that the Xenos were a “Engineer” (aka. Space Jockey) bioweapon. If they are in fact weapons this race engineered, then they don’t have a homeworld.

Granted, this can be explained away by simply saying that the Engineers set up a “colony” for the Xenos, an entire world that was set aside for keeping them and breeding them in isolation. Since the retreat of the Engineers, this colony could have since evolved to become a festering hive of Xenos, with multiple Queens battling for supremacy and conflict giving rise to new and frightening sub-species. That could work, and it could be downright interesting.

And hey, if there is to be no sequel to this latest AVP game, someone will probably do some fan fic dealing with it. Who knows, it might even be me. I’m a fan, I can kinda write! Pay me to do it!

Taken 2 Announced!

My thanks to Jamie Hall of That Fantasy Blog for bringing this to my attention! It seems that Taken 2 has got its funding and is coming to theaters in the near future. If you’re like me, or my wife, then chances are you loved the movie Taken with a passion! I mean how badass was Liam Neeson in that movie?

Sure, his daughter could be annoying, his wife was like a caricature of a rotten social climber, and the plot wasn’t all that complex. BUT WHO CARED! It worked, and Liam Neeson’s skills, take downs and deliver were superlative! You remember his opening salvo to Marko and the guys who kidnapped his daughter:

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

Tell me you can do better than that! And remember that scene where he walks right into their hideout posing as a French agent and begins extorting them? What balls! And to find out that he was just playing them so he could find out which of them was Marko… I’m pretty sure Neeson became my hero the moment he uttered his pre-ass kicking line:

“You don’t remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago. I told you I would find you.” WHAM WHAM WHAM! All dead…

In any case, it seems that Luc Besson, the writer/director who helped create the first, is back to produce a sequel. No news on when it will be released yet, but details released from the studio indicate that they are planning on it being this year. As for the storyline, it appears that it will once again involve Bryan Mills’ (Neeson’s) family being taken hostage. This time around, it happens in Istanbul during a family trip, apparently by Albanian mafia members who are looking to get even for their last encounter with him. One would think they learned their lesson!

The Hunger Games, a review (finally!)

It finally happened, I read the Hunger Games. Not that this should come as much of a surprise, I did promise I would after all. But it took me quite a while! Months back when I was doing a review of Dystopian Science Fiction – which earned me most of my current followers, thank you! – one of the biggest questions I was asked was “what about the Hunger Games?”

Yes, person after person wanted to know how this recent piece of YA dystopian fiction fit into the historical record. At the time, I really had no intention of reading it or doing a review. Not because I had anything against Collins or this book, but because I had not heard of it prior to the movie’s release. And I have this thing where I become resistant towards anything that becomes a big commercial deal. Maybe its a desire not to follow the trends, I don’t know.

However, as I began to look into the concept of this book, the desire began to grow to check it out. And though I did my best to avoid spoilers, I couldn’t help but check out some reviews of the phenomena and what is said about our culture. Here is an excerpt from one such article, entitled “‘The Hunger Games’: your kids are angrier than you think”, by Brian Bethune (Maclean’s Magazine):

“Imagine a life where possibilities are opening at a speed that veers unpredictably between exhilarating and terrifying. The familiar, precisely because it’s familiar and safe, still tugs at you, but even so, you want out because your old life constricts as much as it comforts. Besides, your social milieu, which often feels like an endless struggle to achieve, or resist being slotted into some arbitrary niche—pretty, ugly, smart, dumb, athlete, klutz—is changing fast. You feel driven—by inner need and outside pressure—to make choices. Meanwhile, the manipulative, often harsh, powers that be, who created the larger world they’re busy shoving you into, have clearly not done a bang-up job of it, either in their personal lives or as part of society. And they want you to get out there and fix their mistakes—just at a moment when worry over the imminent demise of their entire socio-economic structure is never far from the surface. It can be cruel and scary out there. Dystopian, even.

Chances are, anyone not imagining this life, but actually living it, is a teenager. And living it in an era of economic uncertainty, conspiracy theories and fear of environmental collapse. Western civilization used to produce literary utopias, but in the past century of world wars, financial panics, murderous totalitarian regimes and nuclear threat, dystopias have outnumbered sunny projections by several orders of magnitude. Pessimistic depictions of the future are now everywhere in popular culture. Teens and teen books are not immune to larger trends in society.”

What a perfect synopsis really. Not only is this book a look at a future where apocalyptic events have led to the creation of an oppressive, abusive state that controls people through scarcity and force. Not only is it a commentary on mankind’s fascination with reality tv and endless appetite for distraction. No, this book has the added dimension of capturing the angst and confusion of being a teenager, thrust into the world of adults and forced to work hard and compete for their apparent amusement, all the while reflecting on how it’s basically the older generation that have made the world what it is.

Plot Synopsis:
Not that it’s necessary since so many people have now read the book or seen the movie, but I shall give a bare bones summary anyway just to recap the selling points. The story opens on the nation of Panem, which is a play on the name Pan-America, a post-apocalyptic nation set in the not too distant future. Though it is never specified exactly what happened, what is clear is that what is left of North America is now organized into 12 Districts ruled from a central city known only as “The Capitol”.

We then see the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, a resident of District 12 located in the coal-rich areas of Appalachia. Her and her friend Gale are hunting, which is necessary to ensure their families eat well and supplement their meager incomes. We quickly learn that the Hunger Games are upon the 12 District for another year, that the names of two “tributes” are about to be drawn from each district, whereupon they will be sent to the Capitol to compete. When District 12’s names are drawn, Katniss is terrified to learn that her younger sister’s Priss, who is barely a tween, has been selected. She does the unthinkable and volunteers in her stead.

Her partner/competitor for the games is a baker’s boy named Peeta, a boy who apparently has always fancied her. The two of them are put aboard the special rail car for transport to and from the Capitol where they meet their “coach”, their design team, and the frumpy lady who acts as their PR and etiquette consultant. As they travel in style, these people take turns prepping them, which mainly consists of cleaning them up and making them look presentable since the lead up to the games involves all kinds of televised appearances and interviews.

Their coach, a man named Haymich Abernathy, who was the last person from D12 to win, is a horrendous drunk who doesn’t seem to care what happens to them. This changes when an altercation aboard the train makes him realize that Katniss and Peeta have some fight in them. From then on, he curbs his drinking so he can advise them properly. When they arrive, they witness even more style and opulence, being placed in a private hotel, treated to lavish meals, and made to take part in a presentation ceremony where all districts ride out in a public arena.

Quickly, and with Haymich’s help, Katniss and Peeta distinguish themselves as the team to beat. On many occasions, hints are given that there is a bubbling romance between the two, one which may very well be real. Katniss also impresses her judges when she demonstrates her archery skills, something she’s spent years honing from hunting. By the time the games roll around, she is considered the contestant to beat, and Peeta quietly shares with her that he wishes there was a way to strike back at the people who are forcing them to compete.

The games begin shortly thereafter and half the tribute die within the first day. Bonds form as the kids from the more privileged districts, known as the Career Tributes, come together to eliminate other contestants, which is typical of the games. As the best equipped, best sponsored and best trained contestants – who, as the name suggests, spend much of their time preparing for this at home – a tribute from one of their districts is usually the winner. Their leader is a large, temperamental boy named Cato, who to her dismay, Peeta seems to have joined in order to hunt her.

Luckily, Katniss forms a bond of her own with a young girl named Rue, a young girl from District 11 who reminds her of her sister. Small, fast, and adept at climbing and hiding, the two become fast friends and assist each other. They even manage to take out a few of the privileged kids and manage to destroy their supply cache, a move which evens the odds considerable. Peeta also risks his own life to save Katniss at one point, a move which confounds her since she was convinced he turned on her. However, the move saves her life and causes Peeta to be several injured by Cato himself.

Shortly thereafter, Rue is killed by one of the boys. Katniss manages to take this boy out with an arrow, and sings to Rue until she dies. This is something she promised she’d do, as Rue was a lovely singer who sang regularly during her long hours picking orchard fruit. Remembering what Peeta said about getting back at the Capitol, she also moves Rue’s body to a more dignified spot and covers it with flowers, knowing that everyone in the Capitol is watching. She is given heart when she realizes that Peeta’s has not been declared dead yet and goes off in search for him.

She finds him camouflaged in an embankment and digs him up. He is mortally wounded, and Katniss spends the next few days trying to heal him. Due to their growing popularity as “star-crossed lovers” the Capitol announces a rule change, couples from a district can win together! Once he’s healed enough, Katniss and Peeta begin to enact a final plan to draw the last of their enemies out and kill them. When Rue’s fellow tribute dies and the girl named “Foxface” is accidentally poisoned by some berries Peeta picks, Cato is now alone. However, when they find him, the Capitol throws in another game changer.

All the previous tributes, now dead and taken away, have been bred into muttations – bio-engineered dogs that can stand on their hind legs, and that are smarter and more aggressive than your average hound. These dogs pursue the three tributes to the Cornucopia, the starting point of the games, where they trap them on top of the structure. There, Cato tries to take Peeta hostage, but Katniss takes him down with an arrow to the hand. He falls and is set upon by the mutts, and Katniss mercifully fires and arrow into his head to end his suffering.

In the end, the Capitol declares that the two of them must kill each other again, but Katniss and Peeta pull a fast one. Grabbing their store of poisonous berries, they resolve to eat a lethal handful together and force the issue. Seeing this, the Capitol backs down and declares them both winners! A hovercraft arrives shortly thereafter and brings them back to the Capitol for medical treatment and rest. When Katniss wakes up, she learns that Peeta is alive and well despite his many injuries, and she appears to be completely made over.

However, all accounts are not settled. Haymich warns her before the final interviews take place that her stunt with Peeta embarrassed the rulers of Panem and they are planning on retribution against them. There only hope is to make it look as if they did it for love, playing up the popular lovers angle and thus ensuring that the Capitol can’t touch them. This, they do, but Peeta is heart-broken when he learns that to Katniss, this was just a ploy to help them win. However, she privately reflects that she doesn’t know if her feelings for Peeta are genuine or not, and fears what will happen when they are separated upon their return to D12.

Overall Impressions:
Let me start with the criticisms first, since that is by far a shorter list. To begin, I felt that things were conveyed a little quickly and easily vis a vis the whole power structure of Panem. It’s in the first chapter when the Games are being discussed that Katniss conveys all the relevant details about the 12 districts, how their used to be a 13th, and how the games are used to control them and prevent further rebellion. In fact, I felt that the tone of the book was being pitched at a bit of a basic level.

But then of course, I remembered that it’s YA fiction. Of course it’s going to say these things up front, the intended audience is not yet familiar with dystopian fiction and its many subtleties. Slapping myself on the forehead and saying “A-doi!” I continued reading with a more open and less snobbish mind. And the book only got better from there, weaving a young adults appraisal of the world quite seamlessly with dystopian themes.

Because in the end, the real genius of the book comes through amidst all the entertaining and well-paced format of the story. Between Katniss’ confusion, angst, anger and the ongoing struggle to stay alive, the dystopian flavor of the whole affair really shines through. We see that there are very clear and obvious distinctions between the Capitol and the outlying districts, that these become more evident and appalling the further one ventures out, and that disparities between districts are exploited for the sake of entertainment and control.

This is especially true when it comes to the Career Tributes, who have it better than the others and stick together as a way of guarding their shared sense of privilege. The way the outlying districts, as personified by Rue and Katniss, form similar bonds is held up as the flip-side to this, where a shared sense of deprivation and abuse push them together to resist their common enemies. And what I found brilliant about this was how it demonstrated that for the dispossessed, it’s not just the oppressors who they must fight against, but also those they have bought off with scraps from their own table.

But even more brilliant was the way this was so relatable to young adult readers. In their own way, teenagers experience dystopia every day by simply having to endure the unfair and privileged environment known as high school. With its cliques, ruthless sense of social judgment, bullying and constant pressure to perform, always at the behest of a system dominated by adults, it must seem like an arena in which their very lives are at stake. Many people speak of “teen-age” drama and how silly it seems to them, but I challenge those people to look back at what being a teenager was like and to tell me drama isn’t precisely what every moment of every day is charged with.

I can now see why this book resonates with young people and adults everywhere. Not only was it a good dystopian themed story, combining several classical elements in a way that hasn’t really be done before; it is also a perfect allegory for growing up and being forced to step into a world not of your own making; all the while feeling like everyone’s against you. Between those forcing you into the game and those of your own age trying to kill you, adolescence is very much like living in a totalitarian state and fighting your own for the entertainment of others.

I get it, people. I see why this book is a big deal now. However, I often wonder if others really see its for its inherent value. Sure it’s entertaining, relatable, and chock full of stuff that young people love – empathy, romance, pain and angst. But it’s allegorical depth is what I think makes it truly valuable as a science fiction and dystopian read, especially to the young. By describing a dark world from the point of view of teenagers, it basically captures what all teenagers know already. Life can be totally unfair, oppressive, aggravating, and just generally suck!

Personal Note:
Feel free to skip this part if you don’t feel like a heavy read. But I assure you, it’s relatable…

In my work, I’ve often been subjected to the drama of the young and find myself sympathizing one moment and wanting to pull my hair out the next. But always, I enjoy the moments when I’m able to talk to a young man or woman and feel like I’m getting through to them. There’s nothing more rewarding when you see that glimmer in their eyes that says “they get it!” It’s little wonder then why my worst job experience was in an environment where the words “f*ck off”, “you suck”, and “I hate you” were so common.

It made me angry, it made me sad. But more than anything, it made me feel powerless. How do you help when the disparity of your positions makes it impossible? But of course, after I left, I kept hearing how the new teacher was constantly being told “Mr. Williams was WAY better than you!” Funny, they kept comparing me to the last guy too 😉 But I think it made me appreciate how much life can suck for young people, especially kids growing up in poverty, broken homes, and living with the legacy of abuse, defeat and blatant racism. As if these kids don’t have enough problems without a dark legacy hanging over their heads.

Under the circumstances, it’s amazing any of us make it out of our teen years, let alone the majority of us. That was another thing that happened regularly in my old job posting, teen-age suicide. With all the problems and complications of life and their age, some kids truly feel like there’s no way out. In addition to thinking life sucks, they become convinced that it isn’t worth living. But what seems to do them in is the fact that they feel so alone, and can’t express their feelings and lighten their load. If more kids understood just how un-alone they are, far more would make it to adulthood. I think we should all take a moment for those who didn’t…

The Zombie Killing Bullet!

Just when I thought this Zombie craze was ebbing, it seems an ammunition manufacturer has gone and developed a bullet specifically designed for killing zombies. The company’s name is Hornady Manufacturing Co. and the product is known as the Z-Max. Apparently, the bullet line was inspired by Mr. Hornady’s passion for zombie films, so the product is more gimmick than anything else.

Still, these are real bullets that are capable of killing real people, regardless of whether or not they are high on Bath Salts. But of course, the promotional video emphasizes killing “varmints”, and features rodents rather than the Walking Dead. But with a name like Zombie Max and a motto like “Just in Case” you gotta know who they’re really talking about. Naked face eating people or zombie groundhogs… yeah, I think we all know!

Apparently, the bullets feature an exploding tip packed into every bullet. Other features include ultra-flat trajectories and patented jacket technology that give it a lot of punch and some serious velocity. So I’m thinking if we do see an outbreak of Bath Salt or government-engineered virus infected undead creatures, we’ll want to pack our weapons with these high-speed exploding bullets!

Just for fun, the company also released a silly video demonstrating the performance of their ammo on (ahem) zombie varmints. Personally, I think a promotional spot with AMC’s The Walking Dead would have been way better. Isn’t season3 coming up soon? You can’t beat that kind of exposure! Happy hunting y’all!

Source: Io9

The Summer of “At Long Last!”

It seems like the summer of 2012 is just loaded with anticipatory events. I say this because after many months of waiting, repeats and teaser trailers, favorite shows and much anticipated movies seem to be coming out all at once. Strange, wasn’t this the year the world was supposed to end? It would seem in bad taste for it to go now, just when everything fun is happening at once!

Last week, True Blood began its long-awaited fifth season. And having watched the first two episodes, I am pretty pleased with the direction it’s been taking so far. While I’ve not dedicated much attention specifically to vampires in pop culture on this site, as a true geek, I would be remiss if I didn’t indulge in at least one of them. Personally, I think this show is one of the best expressions of this whole vampire trend, and were it not for the zombie craze that seems to be paralleling it, I would have said something about it a long time ago!

Second, Futurama is premiering tonight! Yes, after a multi-year hiatus where it too was cancelled by the inexplicably stupid executives over at the Fox Network, Matt Groening’s animated commentary on sci-fi and pop culture is back for another season of hilarious antics and high-brow spoofing. As a big-time fan of this show, I entertained hopes that its skyrocketing DVD sales and rentals would convince some executive to bring it back.

Why, just look at Family Guy. After two and a half years, Fox got wise to the fact that if they didn’t renew the show, TBS would! And then all that money and ratings would be lining some other executives’ pockets. However, it seemed that in Futurama’s case, Fox remained bullheaded and dumb! And so the good folks at Comedy Central swooped in and gave them a slot! It just goes to show you that one network’s loss – their stupid, shortsighted, and obviously politically motivated loss – will be another’s gain.

And according to Groening’s podcasts where he shared news about the upcoming debut, this seventh season will begin with a story of Bender becoming a dad. Entitled “Bender Squared”, we see him playing with a younger version of himself, no doubt teaching him how to steal and smack talk and generally be an alcoholic, kleptomaniac bending unit! Can’t wait to see it.

And of course, this is also the summer when both Prometheus and the new Batman movie are premiering! In fact, The Dark Knight Rises open in one month, and since there were no press screenings, no one outside of the test audiences have seen it yet. I sincerely hope people have booked their advance tickets… I need to get on that soon! Don’t want to be tardy to the party like I was with Prometheus!

And since its debuting this very evening, I think one final trailer to get us all psyched up is in order. Here’s the “exclusive” Nokia trailer, which means the same ol’ footage spliced by some other corporate sponsor. It’s fun anyway, check it out!