The Future of How We Play

Nearly nine years ago in the Summer of 2010 I learned about “OnLive”, a new gaming service for PC’s that allowed players to play the latest and greatest PC titles on relatively mediocre hardware by allowing users to stream from a server. We had a shared computer in the home and it had a crappy Intel integrated graphics card which could really only be used to play the Sims and older titles like World of Warcraft.

Before OnLive, I only played games on console as I couldn’t reasonably afford a powerful enough PC to play on. But this service opened up a whole new way to play video games for me. Red Faction Guerrilla. Just Cause 2, and The Witcher were just a few titles I played on that service. OnLive wasn’t a perfect service as any hiccup with my internet would disrupt the game and there were other latency issues but the idea was there and it mostly worked. I was able to play high-caliber PC titles on a cheap family computer and from then on, I became excited about streaming games.

On the morning of March 19, Google finally announced their next step in gaming. The service will come out later this year and will be called “Stadia”. This interesting new service will allow players to play new titles at maximum PC settings on a variety of devices such as PC, tablets and even mobile phones.

This technology can be a huge step in the future of how we consume video games but it has its fair share of skeptics and individuals afraid of this “new” technology. Although I do not agree with most of the skepticism and complaints, I do understand where some of it may come from.

It is hard to trust a company like Google as them and two or three other major corporations hold a massive part in our everyday lives and may or may not have access to the personal information that we may put into our devices or software.

I certainly don’t trust Google or any other mega-corporation as capitalism isn’t something that I can find myself ever trusting, but, I am excited for what Google can bring to the table when it comes to gaming. An understandable reason there are some who may be skeptical of this technology is the fact that we won’t actually own the video games we purchase there. Games will be streamed from a Google server which means we can’t play games we may have paid for if the servers go down or if the company decides to get rid of them.

This is a problem I have myself with the service but the honest truth is that digital games in general aren’t owned by the ones who buy them. We simply buy the license to play a particular video game when purchased digitally so this is already going on.

Going back to OnLive, we have seen multiple streaming services like Gaikai, which was purchased by Sony in order to make PSNow. When it came to PSNow, the experience was pretty bad for me as there was a ton of latency and other issues but I was still excited about what could happen. Some may say not many people use PSNow and OnLive failed but Google’s new platform may get off to a better start because of the infrastructure already in place by the company.

Also, we have made great strides in the last decade since OnLive debuted when it comes to internet speed and connectivity. 5G is coming sooner than we think and Internet Service Providers are increasing home WiFi and ethernet speeds nearly every year.

Of course, there are many people in the world with no access to internet at all or have very limited access to it. This service may alienate those individuals but there are DRM-free alternatives to gaming like our traditional home consoles or gaming PC’s. Google isn’t forcing anyone to use their service and those who are skeptical don’t have to.

Also, console manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft probably know this technology is still relatively new so I don’t see them making a streaming-only console anytime soon. Of course it is all but confirmed the next Xbox will have a version that is streaming only but it is rumored that is the cheaper version of the system and there will be a SKU that is more traditional.

I understand player’s frustrations and fears of this type of gaming but streaming video games isn’t that experimental anymore and it will be hitting the mainstream once services like Microsoft’s xCloud and Google’s Stadia hits the market. It is something that we can’t fight and people should do their own research on how it can benefit the industry.

The most important thing about streaming video games, especially through Stadia is how cost effective it can be. Instead of buying a $400 system or $1200 PC play the newest Assassin’s Creed game at 4K, you will be able to play the game at the same fidelity on your relatively cheap pc that you already have or on a chrome-cast device hooked up to your TV that costs less than $50.

Streaming games doesn’t hinder players, it gives us more ways to play and expands what this medium can do. It makes games faster, easier and more convenient when done right. Many people were against buying games digitally yet we can now see how impactful and convenient it has been for many of us.

Google also hasn’t given any details on pricing or if it will be a subscription service. I hope it is a subscription because it works better that way. If it is done correctly, it could be the future of gaming as we know it and this service and others like it can eventually help players and developers alike.

Streaming movies, music and television shows have become a normalized aspect to our daily lives. There is an added challenge to streaming video games because of latency issues but if that can be overcome, the way we consume our interactive media should be as normal as the way we consume visual and audio media. We stream movies on Netflix, Hulu and other services. We consume music through Spotify, Tidal and Apple music, why not games as well?

The Unfortunate Future of The Industry

Gaming as we know it is in serious trouble, the future of what we love may be in jeopardy because of the shady business practices of late. But, this is something that isn’t new. For years now, big publishers such as EA, Activision and Capcom have been partaking in some very anti-consumer practices.

2017 marks the worst of it, publishers and developers have been getting away with some greedy, insidious things. What I’m talking about here is the emergence of pay-to-win features in AAA $60 titles. It seems like most big games that are released comes with some sort of loot-box or micro-transaction system that gives players advantages for dumping money into their game.

Another problem with this is that it is now starting to pop up in single player titles, which makes this issue magnified. An example of this would be in Middle Earth: Shadow of War, a recent title that released earlier this month. I was in love with the first game, and even more so with this one at first, but there is a massive issue here that I immediately noticed.

There are chests that players can open by buying it with in-game silver and others that may only be purchased by using gold. Gold can usually only be obtained in the game if players fork over real money. These chests don’t only contain cosmetic rewards but frequently cough up legendary weapons, orc followers and experience boosts.

Another catch here is that your orc followers can die when attacked by other players or enemy NPC’s in the world. Orcs that you paid real-world money for can be lost without your own control.

Later in the game, it becomes an incredibly boring and tedious grind in order to progress. Players are also essentially paying more money than they already have to progress through the game faster. The game’s loot system is somewhat generous early on, but it feels as if the better weapons and followers are locked behind a paywall, which is insane for a game that we have already paid $60 for.

NBA 2K18 is another title this year that is heavily influenced by a pay-to-win model when it comes to its “MyTeam” and “MyCareer” modes. In the 2K series, there has always been an emphasis on Virtual Currency (VC), which is the in-game currency system. VC is used to purchase a variety of things from created player’s stats, to shoes and haircuts for character.

VC can be gained in a multitude of ways such as simply playing games or engaging in side activities. But, you receive an unfairly small amount of them for winning games and are practically forced to pay real money for VC in order to upgrade your player, because of the hefty cost of these stat boosts.

Until a recent patch, getting a haircut in the game could cost players around one thousand VC. For comparison, you can play an entire game in MyCareer, get a triple-double, and still not have enough for a haircut. Things like this are exploiting consumers while making them fork over cash for basic in-game items.

Let’s talk about two of the biggest culprits of these anti-consumer practices in games, EA and Activision. These mega-publishers have been known to use shady tactics to leech money out of buyers. What has been going on recently is steadily becoming worse than the issue of online passes from the last generation.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is an upcoming title developed by DICE and published by EA. The beta has just ended and it has left many players angry at some of the elements seen early on.

As detailed in WhatCulture Gaming and AngryJoeShow’s Videos, players will be able to spend money to essentially become more powerful through each class in the multiplayer. It allows players to upgrade themselves by purchasing specific packs that grant them boosts in stats, weapons and their characters in general.

I have played the beta myself and can say that the game plays and feels great so far, but this pay-to-win loot system can possibly ruin the experience for a large amount of players out there. Essentially, the more money you have to spend, the better your online characters will be.

Another thing when it comes to Battlefront II, no matter how well you play, you will earn the same amount of credits as your teammates. Players can get 20 kills and two deaths but will always earn the same amount of credits as their teammate that obtained just three kills. It doesn’t matter how good you are at the game, progression is the same for everyone, unless you buy loot boxes.

Staying on the topic of Star Wars, the recent closing of Visceral Games and the “Change”  that will be seen in their upcoming project related to the franchise. The game was set to be inspired by the Uncharted series and would’ve been a linear single-player experience. That may all be changing now that EA wants to restructure the title.

The EA blog post by EVP Patrick Söderlund hints toward this future for the game. “In this fast-moving space, we are always focused on creating experiences that our players want to play…and today, that means we’re making a significant change with one of our upcoming titles.”

Reading through the blog post, it becomes clear that EA believes that single-player linear experiences may not be worth putting resources in  anymore. As games become more expensive to create, publishers have been coming up with ways to milk the most cash out of their AAA titles.

What is expected is that EA will possibly focus the game more towards the feeling of titles like Destiny and turn it into a long-term service where they can use as a cash-cow. This recent news worries me as an individual who plays primarily single-player titles.

The future of single-player titles is in jeopardy because of these new pay-to-win models that plague them. Also as mentioned above, some games are even restructured to stray away from the SP format. We now know that these publishers may even have specific programs in place that may force players to make in-game purchases.

Publisher Activision has been recently revealed to have created a patent that would be a program for matchmaking. This would intentionally put lower-skilled players into matches against high-skilled players to push them to buy these in-game boosts.

The patent claim says that it is a “computer-implemented method of driving micro-transactions in a multi-player game.” Now, Activision has stated that they haven’t used this new technology in any game yet nor will they use it in Call of Duty: WWII. But, they don’t necessarily give players any reason for them to believe their claims.

What these mega-publishers are doing needs to be stopped before it snowballs and becomes an integral element to our favorite games. Micro-transactions in AAA titles were first ways for players to earn some cosmetic items. Now, they are integral to advancing through many of the games we play today and in some cases it can be full-blown gambling.

The gaming community needs more gatekeepers in the media and more importantly, within the offices of these big name publishers and developers. We need more powerful individuals in the community to look at the consumer point of view and find better ways to make money from us. To fellow gamers, it may be time to start protesting with your wallets.

Favorite Films of the 2010s

Now that it is 2020, I decided to reminisce over the films that I have watched that have released since 2010. This list was a hard one to make because there are films that I loved that did not make the cut as I decided to make this list just 50 out of the 200+ films that I have seen in the past decade.

To be clear, this will not be a list of what I think are the 50 BEST films of the decade, but the ones that are my personal favorites when it comes to the impact the film had on me and their personal meanings. Many of these films are some that I have watched over a dozen times and can’t get tired of them.

This list will start at 50 and make its way to 1 and will be in that particular order when it comes to my least to most loved, I hope you enjoy the article and I can not wait to get the next decade of film started, Thank you.

50. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Edgar Wright)

49. Annihilation (Alex Garland)

48. Fast Five (Justin Lin)

47. Prisoners (Denis Villenueve)

46. The Place Beyond The Pines (Derek Cianfrance)

45. Avengers Endgame (Russo Brothers)

44. The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers)

43. Good Time (Safdie Brothers)

42. The Florida Project (Sean Baker)

41. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)

40. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson)

39. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

38. Her (Spike Jonze)

37. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (Joe Talbot)

36. A Most Violent Year (J.C. Chandor)

35. Inception (Christopher Nolan)

34. Looper (Rian Johnson)

33. Your Name (Makoto Shinkai)

32. Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman)

31. First Man (Damien Chazelle)

30. Inside Llewyn Davis (The Coen Brothers)

29. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance)

28. I Saw The Devil (Kim Jee-woon)

27. Ex Machina (Alex Garland)

26. Crazy Stupid Love (Glenn Ficarra)

25. Get Out (Jordan Peele)

24. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villenueve)

23. Knives Out (Rian Johnson)

22. Little Women (Greta Gerwig)

21. The Raid 2 (Gareth Evans)

20. Skyfall (Sam Mendes)

19. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson)

18. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)

17. Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)

16. Big Hero 6 (Don Hall)

15. NightCrawler (Dan Gilroy)

14. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)

13. Parasite (Bong Joon-ho)

12. Uncut Gems (Safdie Brothers)

11. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)

The Final Ten

10. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

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This film is one that grabbed my interest immediately as I gained a love for Wes Anderson’s films after watching Moonrise Kingdom (It’ll come up shortly) and Rushmore. Ralph Fiennes in his role as Gustave makes for one of my favorite characters in film this past decade and is certainly a memorable one.

9. The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos)

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A somewhat under-the-radar film to some as it was released in the U.S. during a packed 2016 with other films like Moonlight, La La Land, and a handful of other films that were in heavy competition for awards season that year. It still managed to stand out to me for the decade due to its rather unique story despite being somewhat grounded in reality. Colin Farrell’s rather awkward and lonesome character in this film is what hooked me but what really got me into loving this film was the storytelling and supporting cast that consisted of actors like John. C. Reilly, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman.

8. Spider-man: Into The Spider-Verse (Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti, Rodney Rothman)

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Not Enough can be said about this film, I was hooked just based off the fact that I have been a lifelong Spider-Man fan but also due to the incredible animation here. The voice cast does a fantastic job and the comics are represented here better than any Spider-Man film that has come before or after it. Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Shameik Moore and others were all exceptional in their roles.

7. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

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A film that I can’t necessarily relate to on who the main character is but I can surely relate to where she comes from. I was immediately interested when I heard the film took place in Sacramento, California, and that it starred Saoirse Ronan, an actress who I had only previously known of from her role in The Grand Budapest Hotel. She does a fantastic job as the title character and is surrounded by other high-level talent like Laurie Metcalf, Beanie Feldstein and Timothée Chalamet.

I fell in love with the film the first time I watched it in a dusty somewhat run-down movie theater as I was one of two people going to see it. Not many films have the charm and wit of Lady Bird.

6. Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino)

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Speaking of charm and that run-down movie theater, I watched this film about a week later in the same place as Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name were the only two films showing there that month. I had already known of Armie Hammer from past films but I had only learned about Timothée Chalamet just a few months before this film released and I’ve been a fan since. The chemistry between the two actors paired with the brilliant score elevate this film to being one of the more feel-good yet emotional experiences of the decade. I still find myself listening to the great soundtrack.

5. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)

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An instant classic in my opinion, A Star is Born was everything I wanted it to be. Fantastic music paired with an incredibly emotional story I was never really prepared for. A special king of film that hits all of the right notes (No pun intended) and left me in my seat not ready to accept the ending after the credits rolled. Lady Gaga is fantastic as Ally Maine and is easily one of my favorite performances of the decade.

4. La La Land (Damien Chazelle)

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Just like A Star is Born, La La Land is another musical story of love but it isn’t laid on as heavily when it comes to the emotional impact. What I love about the film is the on-screen chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and how they sing and dance their way through the relationship they find with one another. The film offers the best visuals I have ever seen from a musical and it is one of those movies that I never wanted to end. It is a film of love, hope and how powerful emotions can be conveyed through music.

3. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)

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Moonrise Kingdom is a much more lighthearted and innocent story of love as it involves much brighter and warm visuals with less of a serious story. This is the film that made me fall in love with the style of Wes Anderson and got me to watch some of his other work that came before this. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are excellent as the two leads while being surrounded with excellent cast mates such as Bruce Willis, Frances Mcdormand, Bill Murray and Edward Norton.

2. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)

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As I said before, this list isn’t of what I believe to be the definitive greatest films of the decade, but Moonlight is easily my choice for that title. There is no film that I have seen in the last twenty years that comes close to perfect like Moonlight does. The score is outstanding and the visuals are at a level I have only seen in a few films before it. The use of lighting and color in the film to convey the emotions coming across the screen paired with the music is almost unparalleled.

The film uses the visual and audio techniques to further enhance the important story of struggle, hatred and ultimately love while growing up as a gay black man in South Florida. I have never emotionally connected with a film like Moonlight and it is one that will be remembered for years to come.

DRIVE

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The Last but certainly not least film on this list is one that I consider to be my favorite film of all time. This is the movie that started my love for film and the industry as a whole as it introduced me to several concepts I didn’t care about before.

Before I watched Drive, I never cared about cinematography, score or the way a soundtrack is used in a film but since this was released in 2011, It gave me a newfound respect for the medium. It also introduced me to my clear favorite actor of all time, Ryan Gosling and another one of my favorites in Oscar Isaac.

Both of which have over ten films combined on this list. Drive is a relatively short film compared to most and it doesn’t have an insane amount of dialogue but it tells a story of crime, love and danger that made me appreciate this genre of crime film. Watching this film got me to watch classics of the past like Taxi Driver, which is one of my five favorite films ever. It isn’t the best film on this list, but there’s no movie I love more than this one.

Here’s to Another Great Decade of Film and Some Honorable Mentions:

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Devil May Cry 5 Review

The Devil May Cry series has been around for nearly two decades and it has been a series I’ve been interested in but have never put in much time with the games. I’ve always been interested in the characters and lore, especially after playing DmC, a reboot made by Ninja Theory. Devil May Cry 5 is the latest in the timeline as the series is known to jump around chronologically between games. This time around there are three main characters that are playable, Dante, Nero, and V.

Photo from PresskIt

Dante is probably one of the more recognizable video game protagonists of the last 20 years as he’s been in every Devil May Cry game as the series’ main character. Nero, Dante’s nephew, is fairly new to the series as the first game he was in was Devil May Cry 4. V is the third protagonist and he is mostly unknown to everyone from the start as no one really knows who he is and where he came from.

The story is straightforward, without spoiling anything, the three protagonists all have a similar goal and will cross paths from time-to-time throughout the campaign and even fight alongside one another.

The three men essentially find themselves in the middle of an apocalyptic situation that is caused by demonic forces. Facing these hell-ish individuals isn’t new for Dante and Nero, who’ve faced their fair share and have demon blood running through their own veins.

The story overall is what is to be expected from a game in this franchise, it has a plot which would be considered serious as the world is ending but it is paired with sarcastic and cheesy (in a good way) dialogue from its main cast of characters. Nero (Johnny Yong Bosch), is similar to his uncle Dante (Reuben Langdon) in which he will spout off quips at his massive demonic foes.

V (Brian Hanford) takes things a little more seriously as he seems to be the “edgier” of the three but there is still some fun to his personality. These three do a great job at being distinct from one another as the voice acting is top notch and the writing behind them is smart and entertaining. The supporting cast is rounded out by Nico (Faye Kingslee) Trish (Wendee Lee) Morrison (Joey Camen) and others who add to the craziness and fun of the story.

The game runs on Capcom’s “RE Engine” which is fairly new as it has only been used in two titles before this, Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 (2019). One thing that stood out to me about those other titles were the character models and the level of detail in their faces and just about every other aspect.

The RE Engine is even more impressive this time around as there are a wider variety of visual elements due to the more over-the-top nature of this game. In the realm of variety, I do wish the game had more in terms of environments as it mostly takes place on city streets and in a demonic structure.

I played the game on my Xbox One S so I wasn’t able to experience the 4K capabilities of the game but I was able to play it with HDR on and it is an excellent looking title when it comes to the characters and environments. As expected, the game has a lot of red and much of it looks great, especially Dante’s long coat, which is brimming with detail, as well as the other characters’ outfits. The most important aspect of this style of game is how well it runs. When a game like this has a choppy frame rate, it can ruin the whole experience because the combat has aspects of it that are based on timing, speed, and precision.

In my playthrough of DMC 5 I never really noticed a frame rate drop, the game seemed to run at a smooth 60 frames-per-second or close to it, which gave me a smooth experience. The only time I noticed a drop in frame rate was when I tried streaming the game on Mixer. As soon as the stream was started the frame rate dropped to seemingly sub-20 fps and it made the game unplayable. I immediately ended the stream and the framerate picked up again, hopefully, this can be fixed with a patch. I also ran into some technical bugs with enemies clipping through walls into other areas but none of it took away from my experience overall.

The meat of the DMC franchise is its combat as the series would be nothing without its fighting systems that utilize a variety of stylish abilities short and long-ranged. The best way to describe the game’s combat is that it is fairly easy to pick up and play yet it may prove difficult to completely master it. No game in the franchise has ever seen combat this complex and varied. Each of the three characters has a distinct fighting style and different abilities that can be added to an upgraded in various ways.

Dante will seem very familiar at first but as the game progresses, his abilities prove to be vastly different from past games and the other two characters. Of course, he has his sword and his two guns Ebony and Ivory, with other long-range weapons like a shotgun and rocket launcher. But, Dante has access to other awesome weapons like a hat that can be thrown to damage enemies by using red orbs as ammo and he can even split his motorcycle in half and use as akimbo chainsaws.

In my time with Dante, I found myself sticking to the usual sword and guns option but I would switch it up in order to deal with certain foes and for crowd control when surrounded by multiple enemies. The ability to quickly switch combat styles with Dante and weapons makes combat more satisfying and varied when dealing with some of the game’s greatest enemies.

Nero is similar to Dante when it comes to swordplay but what stands out about him during combat is his utilization of his “Devil Breaker” arms. He is missing a right arm and Nico, a character who makes weaponry and upgrades for the protagonist will craft special arms with different properties for Nero. My favorite Devil Breaker is one that allows Nero to shoot rockets from his arm to deal damage.

Nero also has a revolver that can be charged up to deal more damage and extend combos. Nero’s sword, Red Queen, can be revved up multiple times to do special attacks for higher damage and I found myself most effective during boss battles.

The newcomer, V is relatively weak when it comes to fighting so he relies on the summoning of three creatures to do most of the fighting for him. These three familiars are very different when it comes to their usage and damage output.

The panther Shadow is used for close ranged attacks and deals a moderate amount of damage to enemies as Griffon is a demonic bird that is used for ranged attacks as he shoots lightning at enemies.

The third familiar, Nightmare is a monstrous creature who can only be summoned when the “Devil Trigger” gauge reaches a certain point. Nightmare works best when used on a boss or against large groups as he has high damage area-of-effect attacks.

For me, V was the hardest character to master as his style was more complex than Nero, (Dante comes later) and it was less traditional than most games of this type. After I understood his style of fighting, V quickly became my favorite of the three as he is much different than the other two.

The gameplay isn’t all about the combat as there is an emphasis on exploration. The game is mostly linear but there are side paths that can be taken in order to earn some extra rewards or engage in more challenging combat. Secret missions are incorporated in the game’s levels and they can be accessed by aligning symbols hidden in various locations.

The way these secret missions are accessed is fairly unique and it is a smart way to add some variety to the exploration of a linear title. There is also a fair amount of platforming, which in my experience is the weakest part of the gameplay experience. The platforming sections were frustrating at times but they weren’t bad overall.

The game does have a strange yet welcome multiplayer feature as well. There are times where the three characters will intersect during combat and during this time, the other character on screen will be an actual player as that character.

It is a subtle yet cool multiplayer feature that allowed me to play a sort of co-op for short sections in the game and it added a level of authenticity to the combat as the other character is a player or data from one. Hopefully, we will see some more co-op features in the game, maybe in the near future. (Spoilers)

Despite the platforming, DMC 5 is a marvel in combat and exploration in a linear hack-and-slash title and some of the most fun I’ve had in combat in a long time. Not only is it fun but it is well-designed with high amounts of variety that will keep me coming back for multiple playthroughs.

Devil May Cry 5 is a fantastic game and one of the best character action titles I’ve played in recent years. Combining the world building, a host of interesting characters and fast-paced, stylish combat makes for a highly entertaining, fun experience that I recommend for anyone who is a fan of action titles, especially those who are fans of this series.

Top 10 Films of 2018

This will be a first for me as I usually just post my top 10 films of the year on my Letterboxd account. This year will be a little bit different as I decided to write a bit about what I loved about each of the ten films I’m going to name. 2018 was a great year for movies as many incredible films of all genres were released. There were many films this year that I am quite fond of so narrowing it down to my ten favorites was hard enough. This will not be a randomized list either, the films on here will be listed in order starting from 10. I hope you readers enjoy and be sure to give me some feedback on what you feel about the list or what your personal top 10 films are. Enjoy!

10. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson is my favorite director so it is no surprise that Isle of Dogs made my list. The film is Anderson’s second animated feature film, Fantastic Mr. Fox is the first. Isle of Dogs is a film that takes place in Japan and the country has effectively banned dogs. The dogs are all shipped off to an island and some of them meet a young boy named Atari (Koyu Rankin) who is stranded there after crashing his plane in an attempt to look for his dog who was just sent to the island.

This film grabbed me with its incredible visuals and attention to detail when it comes to the look of the setting and characters. The voice acting is spectacular as well, with the likes of Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum voicing some of the dogs just to name a few. The all-star cast of voice actors paired with a well-written script and touching story made for a great experience.

9. Annihilation (Alex Garland)

This Sci-Fi thriller was directed by Alex Garland, previously known for the excellent “Ex Machina” film from 2015. Annihilation stars Natalie Portman as a woman whose husband (Oscar Isaac) went off on a secret mission and came back home in a very bad way, being impacted by mysterious forces and is left extremely sick. She discovers that her husband was in a mysterious thing called the shimmer and that she and a group of women must go into that very place in order to find answers about this alien-like structure. The wonderful cinematography is what brought me into this film but the mystery and fantasy is what kept me intrigued.

Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tuva Novotny all make this women-led fantasy thriller a great watch. The end of the movie is really what propelled this film into one of my all-time favorite sci-fi’s ever as it is some of the most insane and beautiful endings I have seen. Alex Garland has shown his talents with this genre once again. The film is brilliant and even terrifying at times.

8. Widows (Steve McQueen)

“12 Years a Slave” was the last film by director Steve McQueen and it was a masterpiece that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. “Widows”, like “Annihilation” is another great film led by an ensemble cast of women. 

The film’s main character is portrayed by Academy Award winner Viola Davis and she and the other leading women in the film have lost their husbands to a heist gone wrong. They must finish the jobs their husbands have started by pulling off one last heist in order to pay off some bad people. Viola Davis is powerful in the movie and as are her co-stars like Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson, Colin Ferrell, Brian Tyree Henry, and Daniel Kaluuya. I love a good heist movie and this is exactly that, and it features a diverse cast of women for a change. 

7. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)

BlacKkKlansman is a Spike Lee-directed film that stars John David Washington and Adam Driver as detectives who are tasked with infiltrating and taking down America’s most hateful organization, the Ku Klux Klan. The screenplay is based on a true story about detective Ron Stallworth (Washington) and partner Flip Zimmerman (Driver) and their plan to foil the plans of the KKK. 

I was pleasantly surprised by this film as Spike Lee has been on a negative spiral for more than a decade with films like “Oldboy” and “Chi-Raq” being mostly awful. This film tells a great story and it features some awesome visuals and characterization of these individuals. The script is good but the film is really carried by the awesome performances by Washington and Driver. It is a special kind of buddy-cop film. 

6. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

“Roma” by director Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men) is mostly a tragic story about a woman named Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) who serves as a maid to a wealthy family in Mexico. The movie is mostly in Spanish with some dialogue in Mixtec. Cleo ends up getting pregnant by a man who wants nothing to do with her and the film is mostly about her journey through this pregnancy while serving this family. 

Roma has some of my favorite shots and visuals from this year, it is entirely in black and white and much of the story is told visually. It feels like a classic film from the past at times. It is beautiful to look at and the Black and White aspect was a great stylistic choice. The movie is definitely a tear-jerker and a tragedy as there is some political unrest going on throughout and some purely sad moments. It is also a Netflix film and is by far their very best, hopefully, the platform continues to have impactful movies like this. 

 

5. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman)

It is no secret that I am a massive Spider-Nerd, I have been obsessed with the Spider-Man character since I was in kindergarten and my love for the superhero has grown even more. In 2011, Marvel introduced a new Spider-man named Miles Morales. He is a half-black and half-Puerto Rican teenager who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man. This film is about him and the other Spider-people he meets along the way as he learns to become a superhero. 

Miles is voiced by Shameik Moore (The Get Down, Dope) and Peter Parker is voiced by Jake Johnson (New Girl). Moore is incredible as Miles and as are all of the other voice actors. Mahershala Ali plays Miles’ uncle Aaron and Brian Tyree Henry is his father, Jefferson Davis. Nicholas Cage, Chris Pine, Zoe Kravitz, and Liev Schreiber also lend their voices to round out the incredible voice cast. 

Into The Spider-Verse easily has the best visuals I have seen in an animated film as it looks exactly like what a comic book was to look like if it were brought to action.  It is a vibrant, colorful film that has some incredible action moments and can only really be pulled off as an animated film. Personally, it is the best portrayal I have seen of a Spider-Man story on the big screen. 

4. Black Panther (Ryan Coogler)

Besides Infinity War, Black Panther was the biggest theatrical event of the year, and with good reason. It is the first big-budget superhero film to have a cast that was mostly black and it propelled a B-List comic book character created by Stan Lee into stardom. Black Panther is a film with another star-studded and talented cast of actors that make the film what it is. 

Chadwick Boseman portrays T’Challa the protagonist and the main villain, Killmonger is played by Michael B. Jordan. Boseman’s performance as Black Panther is done well but Jordan as Killmonger is one of my favorite comic book movie villains ever. Jordan in the role is great but the way this character is written is meaningful and makes him more than just some evil villain bent on killing people. The movie is also a visual spectacle as the costume design is some of the best I’ve seen and the environments look incredible and believable. 

Black Panther is not only one of the year’s best movies but it is one of the best superhero films ever made. Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong’o, Leticia Wright, Angela Bassett, and others also have great characters that make the story what it is. 

3. First Man (Damien Chazelle) 

The only thing I love more than Ryan Gosling movies is…well Ryan Gosling movies directed by Damien Chazelle. First Man is an incredible movie from start to finish. It is an emotional story about the first man to land on the moon, Neil Armstrong. Yes, I am a biased mega fan of Gosling but his performance in the film as Armstrong is fantastic and hopefully, we see an Academy Award nod coming his way.

First Man is an all-around movie, the acting, writing, cinematography, and even the music are all top-notch and propel this movie to what it is. Justin Hurwitz (La La Land) is the composer for the film’s score and it is fantastic. The score adds so much more to the emotional and impactful tone of the film and gives it that edge to put it up there with the best films of the last few years. Claire Foy is also just as fantastic as the wife of Neil, Janet Armstrong. The movie is as much about the relationship and tension between the married couple as it is about the moon landing and that is what makes it special. 

2. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)

“If Beale Street Could Talk” was one of my most anticipated movies of the year as Moonlight is one of my all-time favorites, and I guess I love a good tragic love story. The film is about two young black lovers in Harlem, New York and the trials and tribulations of their relationship. Alfonzo (Stephan James) is in prison, wrongfully accused by a woman of raping her and the movie is about Tish (KiKi Layne) and her family’s attempt to prove his innocence. 

It has its fun moments of lightheadedness but it rides on emotion through and through. It is a film as much about racism and the unfair cruelty of the criminal justice system when it comes to black people in America. It tells a powerful tale of injustice, racism, and the power of love throughout.

In addition to the protagonists, there are other talented actors in the film who offer great roles such as Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Brian Tyree Henry, and Michael Beach. But, the best performance of all to me was Regina King, who was incredible in her role as Sharon, the mother of Tish. The movie is sad and angering at times but it still seems to always teach the message of how powerful love can truly be in one’s life. 

1. A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper)

There is so much that could be said about this movie as it is nothing short of a masterpiece. As I said before, I am a sucker for tragic love stories but I am an even bigger lover of romance told through music in a film. “A Star is Born” is both of those things as it had me in tears almost the entire time. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are both phenomenal in their roles as Ally and Jackson Maine, a couple who falls in love through their music and the movie is about their bad romance (lol) as they live their lives and musical careers together. 

Lady Gaga is easily my favorite this year for best actress in a leading role as she is awesome as Ally Maine and offers a powerful emotional performance as the singer who quickly finds an insane amount of success. Both of these characters can be sympathized with as their lives are interrupted by Jackson Maine’s constant battles with mental issues and addiction. 

The movie isn’t just about a couple in love and the music they make. It is about the realities of being with someone who suffers from substance abuse and the lengths that people will go in order to help the ones they love through addiction.

This being said, the music in the film is nothing short of amazing and some of the songs are absolutely powerful at conveying the entire message of the film. “Shallow” is perhaps the film’s leading song but “I Will Never Love Again”  is one of the most wonderful and depressing original songs from a movie and it helps push the emotion of the film. Sam Elliot portrays the brother of Jackson Maine and his moments in the film are easily my favorite and the most powerful.

My Movie of the Year for 2018 is “A Star is Born”.

Here are just a few of the other films from this year that I enjoyed. 

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Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..L to R: Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Drax (Dave Bautista), Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018

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A Gaming Union

Grand Theft Auto V has generated $6 billion in revenue, more than any film in history. This shows how video games can be a money pumping machine. But, it is important to know that human beings are behind this industry. This game that took roughly five years and thousands of individual hours from hundreds of people to create.

Game development takes a physical and emotional toll on the creators, which is why they need to unionize. The union is something many industries have but when it comes to gaming, it is nowhere to be found.

Between 2016 and 2017, video game voice actors collectively went on strike due to a failure from publishers when it came to contract negotiations. This strike was formed by the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Union.

The union’s strike ended with better payouts for these voice actors and implemented ways to help them with their health. Just example of a sort of union in the same industry that worked, so it makes sense for developers to form one.

On April 19, a producer for Warhammer 40K Inquisitor – Martyr promised fans the developers would work 90 hours a week in order to get the game out in time. Producer Zoltan Pozsonyi stated this in a Steam posting for the game after announcing a delay.

Pozsonyi said this statement was a joke, but, there is some truth when it comes to other games. Throughout the history of development, these titles have become drastically more expensive and physically taxing to make.

games are expensive and more people are needed to create them. According to Kotaku writer Jason Schreier, a three year development cycle on a big budget title may need more than 400 people to create the game.

Video games are becoming increasingly popular, bringing pressure to developers and publishers. When pressure is applied to publishers, developers are forced to work unreasonably long hours in “crunch” time to get games released on schedule.

This is a toxic practice in the gaming industry and is getting worse as games become higher in demand. According to Schreier, developers may work up to 20 hours in a day during crunch time and breaks can be rare.

The 2016 Developer Satisfaction Survey given by the International Game Developers Association stated almost 70% of game developers had to work in crunch time at some point.

Crunch time isn’t the only issue when it comes to the toxic work environment. Layoffs, sexism and lack of racial diversity are some real issues as well.

Layoffs are an issue in most industries but it has steadily become normalized in the games industry. Every few months a publisher or developer announces major layoffs out their studio.

Megan Farokhmanes from the Verge recently exposed toxicity at Telltale Games, a development studio known for The Walking Dead games. The report on the toxicity of working at the studio included mass layoffs.

The article states that 90 employees at the company have been laid off and that those who worked there complained about a toxic work environment.

As of late, this has been notorious as studios hire mass amounts of people for specific projects and lay many off, including longtime employees.

Other notable layoffs include Mafia III developer Hangar 13 and publisher Activision. Many times, this issue is just the beginning, many studios are abruptly closed, leaving employees out of work for long periods of time.

A more recent story of a toxic workplace is of Quantic Dream, developer of Heavy Rain and the upcoming Detroit: Become Human title. French website Le Monde reported various allegations of harassment in the workplace.

If a union was utilized in this situation, there would have been more legal traction in the allegations. It would be a larger group going against this corporate entity instead of just a few individuals versus the corporation.

Hardcore capitalism in an industry like this is wrong, the people at the top only see their employees as numbers and money makers. Yet they are more than this, humans that deserve fair wages and healthy treatment at their places of work.

A video game developer’s union would help with many aspects in the industry. Not only would it help these developers keep their jobs but a union would also give these individuals access to higher wages and a healthier workspace.

It is not only on the developers to speak up for themselves in regards to these issues but it would help if fans and those in the gaming press would advocate for them as well.

God of War

God of War (2018)

Platform: Playstation 4

Developer: Sony Santa Monica

I remember my first time experiencing God of War. I was a 10-year-old kid being exposed to a hyperviolent video game. But it was much deeper than that for me because Kratos, the protagonist, was a character who resonated with me.

He has been known to be an angry, violent man whose morality has been stripped away from him. He’s made up of a lot of bad things but I’ve always sympathized with the Demigod.

Screenshot from PS4

It has been eight years since the last numbered entry in the series and the legendary anti-hero has returned but everything has changed. He’s eliminated almost every major Greek god, including his father, Zeus.

Kratos (Christopher Judge) has moved on from Sparta and is now in the Norse land of Midgard. He has a young son with a mysterious woman named Faye, who has unfortunately passed.

The major plot point to God of War’s story is simple, Kratos and his son must take Faye’s ashes to the highest peak in the realms and scatter them. Immediately, I noticed that Kratos and his son don’t have the best relationship.

Screenshot from PS4

Although he has somewhat been in Atreus’ life, Kratos is a still an angry, apathetic man who obviously can’t connect with him.

The relationship between the two is what truly makes the story special. They have love for each other but Kratos is too tough to show any affection.

If his son messes up on any simple task, Kratos gets angry with him instead of really teaching him. If you’ve played the other games in the series, this is not a surprise.

Kratos has always been angry and cruel at times, but through this nearly 30-hour journey, we see a side of Kratos we have never seen before. He actually has a reason to live, he has someone special that he must protect with his life.

Kratos has killed gods but the biggest challenge he has faced so far is fatherhood.

Screenshot from PS4

Playing through this title felt different, and not just because of the gameplay, I’ll get to that later. I was getting an emotional response out of it, something that I’ve only seen replicated in The Last of Us. 

The boy has no idea about his father’s past or the heinous things he has done. This sets up an interesting dynamic between them. Kratos hates gods, no matter which land they belong to, and Atreus has no idea why.

There are a few characters the two will meet on their journey and they all add something meaningful. Two dwarf brothers, Brok and Sindri, add a comic relief to the world and will sell Kratos weapons and equipment throughout.

There’s even a talking head companion named Mimir, who accompanies Kratos through most of the game. Each supporting character feels like they are present for a reason and help push the narrative forward, especially the great Witch of the Woods.

Screenshot from PS4

The story is quite powerful and mostly achieves what it set out to. My only true problem with the plot is the magical item fetch quests that plague the game near the end. Besides this, the story is wonderful and the visuals add to it.

Screenshot from PS4

 

It is simply beautiful, perhaps the best looking game on console to date. The effort put into the presentation show in the details on every character and landform.

The environments in God of War are unmatched, there are multiple realms to be explored across the game’s map and they all have a distinct look. The lighting, color, and landmasses in the realms are all done with much care.

Screenshot from PS4

Every time I reached a new area I stopped and looked at the environment because of how pretty everything was. This is the first God of War game to be open world and it truly takes advantage of the hardware.

Unless the player dies, there are no loading screens, which makes the world feel that much more immersive. Visually, the most noticeable and welcome change to God of War is its camera.

For the entirety of the game, there are no camera cuts. It is a one-shot, which truly works in keeping you engaged. Cutscenes flow into gameplay like no other game has done before.

Unlike past games in the series, the camera is over Kratos’ shoulder and fairly close to him while playing. This concept was made popular by games like Resident Evil 4 and it changes everything about the gameplay.

Screenshot from PS4

 

Disregard what you know about the gameplay in God of War games, this is nothing like that. God of War has always been known to be a linear hack-and-slash style game that takes players down set pathways.

That formula has been thrown out the window as this is now an open-world game with more than just the main quests to do. There is plenty to do here, which is awesome.

Side quests aren’t on the level of an Assassin’s Creed game when it comes to quantity but makes up for it in quality. The side activities feel like they all have a purpose and aren’t just boring fetch quests for uninteresting characters.

There are other side activities such as a challenge arena, collectibles and optional boss fights that reap great rewards for the player. It is a single-player title that has so much to do and plenty to see.

But, none of this would be that great if the combat wasn’t so excellent. The combat is a complete overhaul of what is known and loved about the series. Just like Kratos, the combat system has grown with time and includes an emphasis on complexity.

Screenshot from PS4

Combat in God of Wat revolves around Kratos’ brand new weapon, the Leviathan Axe. It can be thrown at enemies and recalled by the player by the press of a button, similar to Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir.

The game keeps the fluidity of past entries but it adds some weight to the fighting while maintaining the brutality. Combat is complimented by the fact that the game is basically an RPG with a system in place to give some variety.

In addition to a skill tree system for both Kratos and Atreus, players can purchase enchantments, runes, and armor that enhance abilities.

Atreus is a large aspect of the combat, he is equipped with a bow and can shoot arrows at targets by the press of a button. He isn’t just an A.I. character that players must drag along with them, he actually saved me in many tough situations.

The game doesn’t feel like an escort quest at any point, Atreus can hold his own in combat and can even revive Kratos if he has a resurrection. Kratos needs Atreus, even when they aren’t in combat.

Unlike Kratos, Atreus can read, write and speak the Norse language, a skill used in the game’s puzzles. Atreus is actually the brain of the operation, Kratos is the brawn. I love how Sony Santa Monica created Atreus to be a beneficial companion and not just a whiny kid.

Screenshot from PS4

In God of War, there are a decent amount of enemy types that will require different strategies if one wants to be successful.

I like this level of variety, it keeps combat fresh and intuitive. Most of the game’s enemies are Draugr, undead warriors of Norse mythology. But, there are larger creatures players will encounter such as trolls and ogres, with a few suprises later on.

The axe won’t work on certain enemies and Kratos must eliminate them in other ways. You can stun enemies quicker by using your fists and once stunned, a devastating grapple attack can be initiated.

These attacks usually end with someone being ripped in half or a head stomped in.

God of War does a great job at making collectibles feel as if they have a point. I can find myself spending extra hours in this game just looking around for these. Exploration is a large part of the game and most of it can be done while on a boat.

Screenshot from PS4

The boat in God of War controls fairly well and is the main form of transportation around Midgard. Much of the game’s conversations will take place on the boat, so it adds something extra to the story. It is also relaxing to sail as it offers a nice change of pace.

God of War is not only a complete package but it is an achievement in game development. We haven’t seen writing this good in any other title in the series. It is simply a touching story about a journey for a father and his young son.

God of War_20180419223409

This generation has given us some excellent titles but to me, God of War is one of the games that defines it. It serves as a remarkable achievement in storytelling, gameplay, and presentation. It is certainly the best game in the series and is the best title the PlayStation 4 has to offer.

Screenshot from PS4

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Black Characters in Games

Video games have been around for decades and we have seen a large number of memorable characters come and go throughout gaming’s history. Characters like Mario, Gordon Freeman, Nathan Drake and Solid Snake just to name a few.

These characters have one thing in common, they are white men. Gaming, just like any other industry, has struggled to see the inclusion of POC, particularly with black characters.

When we are included, they portray black characters as lazy stereotypes like Cole from Gears of War. Before February is over, I want to pay homage to the great black characters I love in games. They can go unnoticed and deserve to be acknowledged.

Eli and Alyx Vance (Half-Life Series)

Dr. Eli Vance was one of the main characters in the Half-Life series. His first appearance was in the original game and is one of the main contacts for the protagonist, Gordon Freeman. Vance was a physicist that worked at the Black Mesa Research Facility.

He was a black man that was one of the smartest individuals in that world. Vance was a strong and dependable man that Freeman had to rely on for most of the series.

Alyx Vance, daughter of Eli, is basically the co-star of the series as she accompanies Freeman through many of the games’ levels. Unlike her father, Alyx is more about action as she goes out on missions and more physically involved with the resistance.  Alyx as a character is interesting in all ways and her existence in these games helped push the narrative forward.

Grace Walker (Wolfenstein 2)

Unsurprisingly, Black women in video games get worse representation in video games than black men. Unfortunately, there aren’t many out there, but Machine Games did something great when they added Grace Walker (Debra Wilson) to the Wolfenstein series.

In Wolfenstein II, Walker leads the New York branch of the American Resistance. In the Wolfenstein world, America is ruled by Nazi’s and individuals like Walker are on the frontlines, fighting for freedom. She is a freedom fighter that will not go down without a fight and her sole goal is to defeat the white supremacist fascists that have taken over her country.

Lincoln Clay (Mafia III)

Although Mafia III is a disappointing game, Lincoln Clay (Alex Hernandez) is among the best protagonists in recent years. Clay is a Vietnam war veteran raised by the Black Mob and tragedy strikes as he returns home to a fictional New Orleans. It ignites a fire in Clay and forces him to seek revenge on those who have wronged him.

Much is revealed about Clay’s past and the characters that surround him while truly bringing out his motivations and personality. Every action he makes has a reason and he is a relentless black soldier tearing down the establishment. My most memorable moment for this character is when he shoots up a Ku Klux Klan rally and ties their leader up to a burning cross.

Lee Everett (Telltale’s The Walking Dead)

The Walking Dead series from Telltale offers some of the best storytelling and character development I have seen in a game. Lee Everett is the greatest example of this because of Dave Fennoy’s performance and his character development throughout season one of the ongoing series. Everett becomes a father figure to a young girl named Clementine after a zombie outbreak in Georgia.

Everett is the protagonist in the first season and is still the strongest character in the series to date. Decisions that players make in this season as Lee can change who he is as a character. Which means players may experience a slightly different version of Lee in their individual playthroughs. Everett finds strength and hope in a desolate world through Clementine and it makes him a more complex yet interesting man by the time season one is finished.

Carl Johnson and Franklin Clinton (GTA)

CJ from Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was the most notable and recognizable video game characters for black gamers of my generation. As a kid, I loved the Grand Theft Auto series and was ecstatic to be able to play a game in the series as a character that looked like me. Although CJ was a gang member, Rockstar was able to craft his character without him being just another stereotype, he was a likable protagonist who had his own interesting backstory. CJ was voiced by Los Angeles-based rapper, Young Maylay.

Franklin Clinton was one of three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V and like CJ, he was a Grove St. gang member who became involved in bigger aspects of the criminal underworld. Franklin is a West Coast gangster turned high-profile bank robber. Franklin is the mediator in the relationship between the other two protagonists.

Although he is a criminal, Franklin is just trying to find a way to make money fast and to leave the gang life behind. Which, this is something that is special about him when compared to the other protagonists. There are individuals in his life who call him a sell out because he leaves the hood behind and hangs around criminals in a higher tax bracket. Franklin is voiced by Young Maylay’s cousin, Shawn Fonteno, also a Los Angeles rapper.

Eddy Gordo (Tekken)

Eddy Gordo has been in Tekken since the third entry and is one of the more popular members of the fighting game series. Gordo is one of the few notable Afro-Latinos in video games as he is a Brazillian fighter who practices Capoeira. Gordo joins the “King of The Iron Fist” tournament in order to help his quest for vengeance against his father’s murderer.

Tekken 3 one of the first fighting games I ever played and I remember how awesome it was to play as a black man for once. Tekken 7 is the newest entry in the series and I still enjoy playing as Eddy more than anyone else, not much has changed.

Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect Series)

Mass Effect 2 may be my favorite RPG of all time and its rich, well-made diverse cast of characters are a major part of why.  Jacob Taylor is one of Commander Shepard’s crewmates in ME2 and is one of the more important sidekicks to the protagonist.

Mass Effect 2 is one of those games that is worth playing more than once because the story can be slightly different for each playthrough. This is the same with the relationships with characters, Jacob is a different man depending on what the player may or may not do. A portion of the game that shows the strength of Jacob as a character is an optional loyalty mission where Shepard learns much about his past family issues.

Taylor was voiced by Adam Lazarre-White who does a great job portraying this compelling character. 

Sazh Katzroy (Final Fantasy XIII)

Sazh is a fascinating character from all angles, one of the main characters who accompanies Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII. His powerful personality and connection to his small Chocobo friend residing in his afro, are just part of his charm as a character. What I admire most about Sazh is that he is a man who’s seen tragedy, yet maintains a smile on his face through adversity.

In Final Fantasy XIII, Sazh wanted nothing more than to protect and raise his son in this world. Throughout the game, I saw Sazh as one of the more dependable characters and one that could be looked up to by the protagonist and others. In the English version, Sazh is voiced by Reno Wilson.

Bayek (Assasin’s Creed: Origins)

It took a long time but a main title in the Assassin’s Creed series was finally led by a black protagonist. His name is Bayek (Abubakar Salim) and is one of my favorite characters in gaming as of recent. Bayek resonated with me because of his connection to other characters in the game and his motivations. He is fueled by revenge but never lets that overcome him, he wants to do things the right way.

Bayek was a protector of the Pharoah,  he believes in justice and law at the highest level. Although he is already a grown man when the game starts, Bayek matures throughout his adventures across ancient Egypt and it is done in a way that isn’t just a cliche. For those who haven’t played Origins yet I highly recommend it just because of this character.

Sheva Alomar (Resident Evil 5)

Sheva Alomar is a West African agent who works for the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA). She is partnered with Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5 and is playable in the game’s co-op mode. Sheva is one of the few black women with a prominent role in video games. Especially when playing in co-op, Sheva is a badass zombie killer who is just as good on the battlefield as her counterpart Chris.

Sheva Alomar is special in her representation because she is one of the few non-white main characters in the Resident Evil series. Although she doesn’t appear in 6 or 7, I do hope Capcom brings her back for a future title.

Drebin (Metal Gear Solid IV)

Drebin 893, is a character met by protagonist Solid Snake multiple times throughout Metal Gear Solid IV. He was a child soldier turned international arms dealer who helps Snake and other Private Military Contractors on their missions. Drebin was a mysterious character with a pet monkey and had no real allies or enemies.

Drebin sold weapons to whoever no matter the side they fight on. The war was a valuable commodity to him. More war meant a bigger need for weapons, which is more money in his pocket. Drebin was voiced by Khary Payton, known for his role as Cyborg in the Teen Titans shows and Ezekiel in the Walking Dead.

 

Marcus Holloway (Watch Dogs 2)

 

After Ubisoft announced Watch Dogs 2, I was more than excited to play a game starring a young black man in the Bay Area. Playing this game as Marcus felt great, I saw myself in this character. A young black tech nerd from Northern California, I’ve never related to a character so much before. Not only was Marcus relatable, but he was such a well-written individual that I was rooting for the whole way.

Marcus is a hacker from Oakland who was screwed by the system and is out to get revenge by using his various skills with tech. Marcus is a member of DedSec, an online hacker society that uses their computer skills in order to take down the oppressive systems put in place.

Marcus (Ruffin Prentiss) is a much more capable and interesting character than Aiden Pearce, the protagonist from the first game in the series. He’s a nerdy tech geek but offers up some real charm and breathes life and color into this series. Personally, I think Marcus is the best representation of a black character in video games to date.

 

Netflix’s Death Note Review

Death Note is a film based on a manga of the same name and retells the story of a teenage boy and his mysterious experience with a book and a Japanese Death God called a Shinigami. The protagonist of this film is Light Turner, an edgy teen portrayed by Nat Wolff of “The Fault in Our Stars” and the “Naked Brothers Band.” This is where the film’s problems are immediately apparent and the main source of its issues.

Nat Wolff does a poor job of portraying this popular manga character and I felt no sympathy for him throughout. The movie does nothing to set this character up and he’s just a cliche archetype of a loner teen who lacks any real emotion. The beginning of the film features a quite boring montage of the city of Seattle and Light’s high school as a storm hits and the “Death Note” falls from the sky. Light picks up the book and has a less than a realistic reaction to a mysterious book that magically appears from the sky.

What this “Death Note” book basically does is summon a Shinigami to kill whoever’s name is written in the book. After some events involving a school bully, Light finds himself in detention and starts to investigate the book some more as this Shinigami named Ryuk (Willem Dafoe) appears out of nowhere. Ryuk then explains to Light how the book works and he has Light write the name of a school bully in the Death Note. Light then writes the name and immediately Light witnesses the bully outside being decapitated by a ladder that flies off of a truck. This scene is unnecessarily silly and it honestly makes the film feel like a parody of “Final Destination” in how some of these characters die.

The film doesn’t know if it wants to be dark or cheesy because both of these things are apparent throughout and they don’t merge them in a way that fits well. Light’s reaction to Ryuk in the anime fits who his character is because he doesn’t act very surprised by seeing a huge Japanese Death God in front of him. In the movie however, Light screams and runs around the room like a child in some of the worst bit of overacting I have ever seen in a film.

Ryuk is another major problem in a film that is cursed with character and story issues. Dafoe does an okay job as Ryuk but the character is made from some incredibly awful CGI. Also, when this film was announced it had major backlash because of  “Whitewashing”. The characters in the anime are mostly Japanese as it takes place in Japan but this film is set in Seattle with a mostly white cast.

After watching this film, it seems to me that all of the backlash was quite justified because some of the characters and events that appear in the film would make more sense in a Japanese setting. The film incorporates Japanese Gods and Light ends up calling himself “Kira” which means “killer” in Japanese. It utilizes Japanese culture but sets it in America with a white main character, all of this makes it seem silly and drag the story down somewhat.

Light meets a girl at his school named Mia (Margaret Qualley) and she quickly becomes his girlfriend after a series of poorly made montages and forced cheesy dialogue. This is just one of the aspects of Death Note that makes it feel like it moves way too fast and that the film’s events are just thrown together. Light meets Mia and within five minutes of the film they’re making out with no real explanation of their relationship between these events. The movie just doesn’t have enough time to tell the story of a manga that has over 100 chapters and it suffers because of this.

Pacing is a major issue in this movie in that it moves at a break neck speed and it does nothing to fit in any actual character development or world building. Qualley’s portrayal as Mia is somehow worse than Wolff’s portrayal as Light. Throughout,  her character is a bland stereotype of a high school student that serves a limited purpose to the story and there’s honestly nothing to like about her. Going back to what was mentioned earlier, Mia would’ve been a more likable person if her character had some build up or development throughout.

Light and Mia end up working together in searching for bad people on the internet and writing their names in the Death Note. Light ends up killing hundreds of people and the movie forms no real moral issues in what Light is doing.  It doesn’t make much sense for an innocent teenage boy to kill hundreds of individuals in a short period of time without questioning his own morality.He never stops to think about what he is doing is wrong or right and it just isn’t realistic in that sense.

Mia, Light and Ryuk are all characters that aren’t portrayed all that well but the main antagonist of the movie lives up to the source material. The mysterious “L” is portrayed by Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta) and he does a quality job at bringing this character to life. Stanfield has all of the strange movements and mannerisms of L down and he’s entertaining throughout. His performance is the only bright spot in this film when it comes to the characters and its world.

L is a signature antagonist and a beloved character in the anime/manga world, so it’s a good thing that they at least got the feel and actions of his character correctly. The other positive to this film is its soundtrack, it mostly fits with the events of the movie and adds some mystery behind what is going on throughout. Unfortunately, this is where the film’s positives stop because there aren’t many enjoyable elements to the Death Note movie.

This Netflix version of Death Note is by no means a good film, it is quite the opposite actually. It tries to fit in years worth of manga and anime into less than two hours of film and it does not work. There is so much to the Death Note story and characters that need more time to be developed and this film just doesn’t seem to do that. It suffers from its incredibly bland characters in a boring setting where not much is to be cared about. Nat Wolff gives such a poor performance as light but I believe that issue lies with the writers of the film and how they make him and the others around him such unlikable people with no character development.

I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone, especially fans of the anime or manga. Sometimes it feels like a lame teen angst story and other times it feels like a knock-off of “Final Destination.” Taking something that is considered legendary in the anime community and turning it into a poorly written, whitewashed version does a disservice to the source material. Hopefully, we will get a quality live-action rendition of Death Note but that day has yet to come.

 

InJustice 2

Injustice 2 picks up after the events of the first game and the comic books that followed it. The game starts out with Superman being captured after past events of him being a tyrannical king. A new problem arises for the DC heroes and Batman must help lead them against this new invader. The main villain for the game’s story mode is Braniac, one of the most powerful villains in DC’s universe.

The story is similar to past NetherRealm titles in which it has you taking the role as various characters throughout the game’s campaign. Each chapter in the campaign will have the you playing one or two characters. If in the case of two characters, the game does a good job at letting the player choose which character they want to play as in the upcoming fight.

The narrative in the story mode in this game is well written and offers the best non-comic DC story I have seen in years. The voice acting and written dialogue is great and the game boasts an all-star cast of actors to play these characters. The story can sort of convoluted and confusing if you haven’t read or skimmed through the Injustice comic books.

Kevin Conroy is back again to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne himself. Laura Bailey (Uncharted, Infamous) does a great job at her role as SuperGirl, who plays an integral role to the overall plot. Khary Payton from The Walking Dead is back as Cyborg and Phil Lamarr (Samurai Jack) plays Aquaman. This cast does an awesome job at bringing these superheroes and villains to life in this engaging story that lasts around 4-5 hours.

When it comes to its gameplay as a whole, Injustice 2 is one of the finest fighting games of recent years. The combat itself is excellent, it is similar to the first game and Mortal Kombat, but adds some more features to improve itself over past entries. There are around 30 characters in the game currently and there will be more added in later DLC packs.

Each fighter felt different from each other and all offer their own advantages and disadvantages. Playing the story mode is a great way to play around with different characters because the game will force you to do so, which is a good thing.

Having played as or against every fighter in this game, it feels  balanced. The game was challenging enough for me to have fun with it. However, there are a few characters that should maybe have some tweaking done with them to lower their power level. Aquaman was an example of this because he has a mixture of speed, range and high attack strength.

The combat is fast, fun and takes skill to really master, especially when playing as certain characters. Each character will have access to their own unique abilities that show off their specific powers. Canary has a powerful scream attack, robin has a teleportation ability and SuperGirl shoots lasers out of her eyes. Each ability can change up a match if used strategically enough and makes the fighters even more distinct from one another.

The super powers have made a return of course and they are more fun to watch than ever. These devastating attacks make fights more cinematic and they do damage but not enough to make them too overpowered. They are also only used once or twice in fights. The matches are much quicker than other games because they aren’t set up as multiple rounds. Each fighter has 2 health bars and once one is depleted, the fighter is knocked down and the fight starts again. This way is better to me than rounds because it kept the fights fast and helps combat the loss of momentum.

The gameplay really shines in this title when it comes to its customization, progression and the meta-game. There is an overwhelming amount of content in Injustice 2 that will have players addicted unlike other fighting games. It is a fighter at its core but it is a bit more complex than that.

 

It has features similar to games like Diablo and Destiny. This may seem strange in a fighting game but it makes sense and it truly works. These RPG elements consist of a loot system that rewards players with new gear that can be equipped on these characters. The gear system in Injustice 2 is a new way to look at costumes in fighting games. Most fighting games have a system where players can unlock full costumes by paid DLC or by completing certain challenges.

Injustice 2 is somewhat similar to this but the costumes are various pieces of gear. There are selections of boots, belts, pants, jackets, masks and Helmets that are all up to the player. The cool thing about the gear and loot system is that they are not just cosmetic but offer combat advantages. Like RPG’s, each piece of gear will have various stat increases for specific aspects to the game like Ability, strength and health. There are also many different color patterns for each character to be unlocked or purchased with in-game currency.

It’s up to the player to equip each piece that fits the character aesthetically and statistically. The system really brings in some depth to a genre that needs it in some areas. It also personalizes the game and the equipment doesn’t seem to overpower the characters, even in multiplayer.

 

 

The meat of the game lies in its extensive “Multiverse” mode, which will have players competing in fight ladders across different universes. There are many ladders to be done in the Multiverse and they will constantly change over hours and days to keep them fresh. The Multiverse is the best way for players to level up their profiles and characters because of experience bonuses. This is also the best way to gain more loot to equip for your fighters.

The multiverse is similar to modes of past NetherRealm games in which the fight challenges are based on ladders that get harder the further you go. But, adding in the loot system makes it much more worthwhile and gives players more in terms of progression for playing this mode. Some multiverse ladders will have additional objectives for rewards and will also offer character assists that may be used in combat.

An example of this is the “Powerful Spell” multiverse and its addition of John Constantine who helps the player with a fire powered combat assist that has a cool-down. These assists and challenges help keep these ladders fun and different from each other. The fact that they change out every few hours or days also adds to the emergence of doing them and should keep them from getting stale.

Injustice 2 is a beautiful fighting game that runs incredibly well overall. Throughout my play of the game, I didn’t experience any frame rate drops or graphical hitches. I did however experience some crashes in the game late in the story where it would just quit on me. It only happened a few times but it was annoying considering I was on a significantly important section of the late game.

Injustice 2 runs on Unreal Engine 4 and it looks amazing. The facial animations were the first thing that stood out to me when playing through the story, the best I’ve seen in a fighting game. The characters move how they are supposed to, the animations fit the heroes well. The game also sounds great when it comes to the voice acting and effects of different powers. Cat Woman’s whip has the authentic whoosh to it and the Scream of Black Canary sounds as loud and frightening as ever.

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Injustice 2 is simply a fantastic fighting game. It gives players much to work with in the full package and boasts a great story mode to introduce players to the fighting systems and gives us another great DC story. The ability to unlock new gear for each fighter is my favorite new feature to the game and I believe that it is an aspect that other fighting games should use. DC comic-book characters are beloved individuals by many and this game gives them justice. DC fans and fighting game fans alike should pick this game up.