Warcraft movie: A Level of 60

Some of you may know that I have a standing rule when it comes to movies that are based on video games. It’s like giving a monkey a hand gun, it could end very good, or with everyone dead. Max Payne, Doom, Prince of Persia fall into the latter group making me wish someone had given a monkey a hand gun. Now enter Warcraft the movie. The hype for this movie was right up there with the return of Christ, in and out of game. Azeroth Choppers, movie posters, books, you name it was filled with by the marketing team, like a small boy at Catholic school. But here comes the shocker, it was actually good. I know it’s weird.

I feel I should mention the easter eggs in the film, like the should of the gnolls in Elwynn Forest, or how the Lion’s Pride Inn in Goldshire was exactly the same as in the game. These things just added a little something extra. It just showed that Jones might have actually played the game, which is something that can’t be said for most directors of video game movies adaptions.  The movie did not live up to my expectation, having played all the games and read the books. I understand that the movie can’t actually do everything in the book, like make Khadgar old after he fought Medivh, or have Garona have a ride on Medivh’s broomstick…actually they could of done that….mmmmhhhhh. Okay so let it be known that I will bash the shit out of the movie for not sticking to the lore, but in terms of establishing itself as its own separate spin off, it works. I watched the movie with some guild mates one of which rivals me in the knowledge of all things Warcraft, and the others being about in touch with lore as a brick. So the two balanced each other out like a fat kid on one side of the see-saw and 10 smaller children on the other.  And everyone walked out content, like downing Hellscream on heroic, which oddly makes my point. For those who don’t know the lore, it roped them in and bond them to the beginning of the conflict the they pay hundreds every year to fight for, if only other armies could pull that off. And for those who can tell you what exactly what Anduin Lothar had for breakfast the day he picked up a sword for the first time, they can fuck right off because if you know that you are a freak with way too much time on your hands. But for those of us in the middle, it brought in enough of the lore to keep us happy, but left out enough that we could call for the head of Duncan Jones, and make it into some sort of achievement or feat of strength. 

Ratchet and Clank PS4. Nostalgia for the new console.

Finally back to a good old game review. Been busy a lot lately what with work, studying, moving, and defending the woodland realm from foreign invaders, so getting the time to actually finish a game was impressive for me. So Ratchet and Clank. R & C. The cat and tin boy….mmmmhhhhh. Now I will admit to not having played many of the original games on ps2 or ps3. I was a Jak man myself, which seemed the darker of the two to me saying a little bit about my personality. But I didn’t dislike the games as per say. They had similar mechanics making them both as fun as the other, like a pair of twin hookers. It’s just one was a red head: more intelligent, willing to try new things and not afraid to push boundaries. The other being blonde, a bit dim, and knowing only like 5 or 6 moves. Although the former could often disappoint you by trying stupid new things, at least she tired.   The ladder was dependable but only because she was so generic.

Even though I decided to jump onto the nostalgic train and purchase Ratchet and Clank for PS4. The game itself is very action adventurer with you playing as the dynamic duo if Batman was a small sentient cat, and Robin was a small backpack robot, and the fan fiction was a lot more awkward.  You follow the pair on their journey to become Galactic Rangers, a story that is so Walt Disney in plot that I am sure there was a lawsuit in the works somewhere. It brings back the list of crazy weapons with my favourite being the one that one that makes foes a lot more nervous around Australians. The cast brings back some old faces, some of which should have stayed in the previous games, and you make a habit of collecting cards like that schoolyard child trying to find the original Pokémon cards. Now this seems to be an opt comparison between R&C and Pokémon, as collecting seems to be a core game play. Now nothing is a hoarders dream like Pokémon with the number of pooper scoopers you need to catch them all, but R&C seems to have you hunting around for golden bolts and cards to complete sets and unlock more challenge modes. Yeah no thanks. Just breeze through the story mode and found it lacking and a bit frustrating, like teaching a dim blond prostitutes a new trick.