Intro
Week 5. So I moved into my flat yesterday and I have't really had a moment to just sit down and write. Normally I start writing posts on saturday and get half way through so this week's may very well be shorter. Also, I find I'm doing more gaming stories. Wouldn't mind writing about it for a career.
Gaming
So this week I managed to get my hands on Spider-Man PS4, and it is a masterpiece. Insomniac really has done the web-head justice.
The first thing on anybody's mind is the web-swinging. In so many of the Spidey games of days past, devs have failed at this seemingly simple hurdle, with a few notable exceptions like Spider-Man 2 and Web of Shadows. But every inch of traversal in this latest version is like playing a dream. It feels so smooth and I could happily just move through Manhattan for hours on end, zipping and swinging to my heart's content.
Next up is combat. While SM 2018 does nothing new, it does the old very well indeed. It follows the Arkham beat-em'-up formula perfectly, with the classic Spider-man seasoning. Both the clever quips and web-based gadgets really serve to make you feel like the wall-crawling hero about town in a way that past games have failed to.
Finally, the characters are all incredibly rounded and human. For most that might not be a big deal, but for me i want to be drawn into a story and it's world. Every person from the heroic spidey to the dastardly Mr Negative seems to have their own personal demons and quirks that layer them as characters and makes them feel all together more real. For example, when Peter heads over to MJ's to stay the night, the conversation he has with himself feels so relatable, with it's notions of affection and insecurity.
At time of writing, I haven't finished it but cannot wait to play more.
Film and TV
On the subject of gaming news, Netflix is adapting the beloved game and book series, the Witcher, originally by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski into an 8-part TV drama, to be released in either 2018 or 2019.
While this is a very exciting prospect with a lot of potential, Twitter has been up in arms recently due to the casting choice of an originally white character, Ciri, protagonist Geralt's surrogate-daughter. The people behind the show chose a BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic) actor to play the pivotal role, and people have reacted with mild levels of racism, which is funny, considering much of the Witcher focuses on fantasy xenophobia.
I understand the opinion, however. Many fans will have become accustomed to a Ciri who they know and love and to take part of that away would feel like a sort of betrayal. But, at the same time, the reaction feels childish and, in some ways, the people feel akin to the monsters Geralt fights.
(Source: Digital Spy)
While this is a very exciting prospect with a lot of potential, Twitter has been up in arms recently due to the casting choice of an originally white character, Ciri, protagonist Geralt's surrogate-daughter. The people behind the show chose a BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic) actor to play the pivotal role, and people have reacted with mild levels of racism, which is funny, considering much of the Witcher focuses on fantasy xenophobia.
I understand the opinion, however. Many fans will have become accustomed to a Ciri who they know and love and to take part of that away would feel like a sort of betrayal. But, at the same time, the reaction feels childish and, in some ways, the people feel akin to the monsters Geralt fights.
(Source: Digital Spy)
