My thoughts on the Halo series

 My thoughts on the Halo series

 

After nine years of waiting were finally getting a Halo series, it’s too bad that it doesn’t mean a darn thing! Also, do we really need a Halo movie? I mean Star Wars Rouge One is similar to Halo Reach. The more we learn about the show the less interested fans are going to watch it. We were told three things about this series first thing is the show is not based on canon, it takes place in a different timeline. Second, Master Chief will take off his helmet. Finally, the people who worked on the series didn’t play the games. You can tell that the creative team is not familiar with this franchise because the actor who's playing Master Chief doesn't sound like him and this franchise doesn’t deal with time paradox or multiverse. This franchise has gone downhill after 343 industries took over this franchise. (I wouldn't have minded Halo 4 telling a personal story if it didn't come at the expense of this franchise; that game felt like fan fiction.) How is alienating the fanbase going to help boost morale? Look, I’m not trying to discourage creativity however Hollywood didn’t earn the right to do that with this franchise. These adaptations are pushing thirty years old and Hollywood is not batting a thousand when it comes to them. 

I understand why writers would come up with an original story and attach it to a well-known franchise as a way to get people to watch it. 

However, it makes no sense to do that here I mean Sci-Fi is a popular genre. The creators have no reason not to play any of the games, how can you make a show about them if you don’t know anything about the games? You don’t think that would make you look stupid? The games and outside sources can work as movies or TV Shows. For example, the only Halo book I read was First Strike and that can work as a movie, so what’s the problem?

As far as Master Chief taking off his helmet, I can be fixable with this. I wouldn’t mind this if it’s done in a meaningful way and the scene was shot where the characters can see his face but the viewers can’t. I hope it’s not done too often because his armor doesn’t work without his helmet. We don’t need to see his face to know what he’s thinking or feeling, if Darth Vader can get away with it why can’t this character? I’m going to address some of the things that bothered me about the trailers. In this series Master Chief and the other Spartans are created to fight a war against the covenant I’m guessing. The Spartans were not created to fight a war they were created to protect the UNSC from rebels. I don’t know what’s more ridiculous Master Chief being able to fight off two Elites or Batman being able to fight two Predators. 

Also, how can the UNSC be at war with the covenant when they are at odds with the scientist? Speaking of scientists Dr. Halsey doesn’t look good the same thing goes for Cortana. We also see a human allying herself with the covenant how is that possible!?! We saw the Elite slander a bunch of humans in the trailer what’s going on here!?! The only explanation I can think of is that there is division among them, or the woman is not human. I hope she doesn't replace the Arbiter. Another thing there is a girl in this series that fans think the show will be centered on her. Considering how Hollywood throws men under the bus to make women look good this wouldn’t surprise me.

In closing, this show is doomed to fail. That’s a shame because it has good production value if only the budget when to the writers. This might appeal to the general public, but it will rub fans the wrong way.  

My thought on the difficulty in video games

My thought on the difficulty in video games 

For those of you who don’t play video games, there has been people and so-call gaming journalist complaining about video games being too hard lately. To be fair this has been going on for the past five or six years and I hope it would stop. First, it was Dark Souls then Metroid Dread and now Elden Rings. Of course, like most of the gaming community, I brush it off as them being lazy, entitled, afraid of fomo or they want to be a completionist. The gaming community even started a hashtag # get good and I respond to them by saying play a telltale game. 

Heck game developers pop fun at us for playing games on easy mode. 

I feel bad for jumping on people who complain about this without seeing if this is a topic worth talking about. Plus, there is something I didn’t consider and that’s player expression. Also, I’m just tired of people expecting everyone to include them in everything. There is a right way and a wrong way to do hard mode in video games. When hard mode is done right it causes you to think of ways to beat the boss or complete your objective. It encourages you to be familiar with the game’s mechanics and know when to use them. For example, there is a level in Crash Bandicoot where you have to reach the end of a broken bridge without falling. You can do this by timing your jumps or using the ropes. Another example is GM mode in the Smackdown vs Raw games. The goal in that mode is to win General Manager of the year award. In order to do that you have to keep the rating high and that's no simple task. 

When it’s done wrong, it feels like the game is testing your patients instead of having you think. (I'm not saying that a difficult game shouldn't test your patients but there should be a limit.) This is the problem I have with the Halo games whenever I play them on Legendary mode, I feel like I’m being handicapped. The enemy A.I. has increased health and can do more damage when they hit you. Because of that I barely got past the first wave of enemies because I use most of my ammo on one of them. Playing Halo involves strategy as far as you have to prioritize which alien are you going to kill first? By making them OP you took the fun away and now the game has become a chore. I heard when you play a certain mode in the Destiny games, your equipment is limited and you have to play the game a certain way. If that's true, then that's hurting the player expression. That's why I don't like trophies in games because they are telling me how to play the game instead of letting me play the game how I want to play it.    

Despite my enjoyment of Pac-Man, it's one of the hardest games to beat for me. The reason why is because whenever you beat a level the ghost move faster and the power Pac’s last shorter. Memorizing the ghost movement patterns doesn't mean anything if you don’t have the reflexes to match. I’m not saying that this hurt the game however I can understand why other people would feel differently. Another thing that annoys me about playing games on hard mode is that when you died you have to start all over again as far as regain your collectibles and stats. (Well, that depends on what you're playing.) This is why platform games like Mega Man and Crash Bandicoot don't need hard modes because they become difficult as you progress through the game and you become familiar with the controls. They do the same thing with racing games, once you're familiar with the controls the tracks become harder and the time limit is shorter. 

There are some games where hard mode is ridiculous. For example, the hard mode in NBA 2K2 is an invisible wall when the A.I. is playing defense. I’m not kidding about that why was this game popular at the time? Star Wars Bounty Hunter doesn’t have a hard mode, but that game has tasks that can be hard to achieve like collecting bounties. I mean it’s hard to get certain ones because the target is in the middle of a shootout, and you don’t have enough time to decide if you want the target dead or alive? When playing a wrestling game as a cruiserweight going up against a heavyweight, there isn't much you can do against him besides outmaneuvering your opponent. (Well, that depends on which game you're playing.) Don't get me started on the Xbox 360 version of Iron Man. 

Yes! Hard mode in games can make or break those games especially if the game is broken. When you beat a game on hard mode you should feel like you accomplish something by overcoming the challenge not rejoicing that you finally beat the game and hope you never play it again. Then again easy mode can hurt the game as well, I mean if the game is too easy you have no incentive to explore the game. When it comes to Dark Souls and Elden Rings I hear people complain that those games have no maps, no indicator that tells you when an enemy is going to hit you, the game doesn't drop hits and you can't tell if you're fighting the final boss. 

Where was this complaint when it comes to the Legend of Zelda games? I mean some of the Zelda games are like this. Also, Pokémon games don't have maps either. I can understand why those games bug you if you're bad at backtracking. Also, there's a difference between holding your hand and pointing you in the right direction. Going back to Legend of Zelda those games have maps that you have to find and drop hits on where you should go but you still have to do the work. Those games don't tell you where you can find all the easter eggs or collectibles. (Well, that depends on the NPC you talk to in the game.) I struggle with finding all the pieces of heart but that didn't ruin the game for me. That was my gripe with Skyward Sword, I mean you start with six hearts instead of three, but I digress.       

Just because a game is too hard for you it doesn't mean that there's something wrong with the game or you. All games are not the same and there not made for everyone. Also watching other people beat the game on twitch is not that helpful, I mean you can’t accomplish things in life just by watching others do it for the most part. People complaining about games being too difficult shouldn't be an issue as long as you can articular your points. When you don't you get videos like that girl on TikTok saying all games need easy mode. 

See what I mean? RPGs don't need an easy mode because you can raise your stats to make the game easier for you. Just because playing games is not a priority for you that doesn't mean game developers should make it easy for you. Just because most gamers are minors doesn't help your case. There are people who work and still make time to play games so what is she talking about? If you want to see a story play the last of us or a telltale game. That's all I have to say about this subject for now. 

P.S. This is something Frosk could have talked about.          

My review of the Batman

 My review of the Batman 

 

Intro: The Batman is an animated series from 2004. It centered on Bruce Wayne/Batman's early years as the cape crusader as he meets his allies and foes for the first time. This series is dull because... (My editor corrected me and told me that I'm reviewing the movie, not the cartoon.) OK, it's official, we have so many movies and TV shows that we can't come up with original titles.  

The Batman: This movie is centered on Bruce Wayne/Batman, who has been fighting crime for the past two years. One day, someone called the Riddler is trying to get his attention, he does this by leaving him clues that will expose a secret that will not only affect Gotham but Bruce Wayne as well. The Riddler has dropped bodies to expose this conspiracy. So, Batman has to figure out what the Riddler is trying to expose before he takes things too far. 

This is one of those movies that's solid but left more to be desired. (I hope the extended version of this movie will fix that.) I'm happy that we finally get a mystery where Batman's detective work is on full display. The action scenes are much better than the ones we got in the previous films because we can see them for the most part. You can tell that the director took inspiration from other films like this and incorporated elements from the source material into the movie. The movie pushes the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, but it didn't go far enough, if you ask me. Gotham City in this movie is the best-looking Gotham City we've had since the 89 movie. The city looks gothic and modern at the same time. 

I can see why people would compare this to The Dark Knight because this movie borrows scenes from that movie; the movie is realistic and deals with escalation. The movie has many themes, like trauma and masks. We see how trauma affects our three main characters, and the movie doesn't do anything new with the mask metaphor. I like the movie's soundtrack because it uses beats from the other Batman films and does its own thing with it. Heck, the movie even uses the 1966 Batman theme without ruining the tone of the movie. The movie is shot in a way where you're by the main character's side with point-of-view shots and close-up focus shots. I'm fond of the way this movie ended because it set up one of two Batman stories from the comics that the writers could do. 

Batman in this movie is the Batman that people know and love, as far as being a tortured character that's brutal and brooding. I don't know what the director meant when he said he's going to give us something different with this character. Besides focusing on the detective aspect of this character, the director didn't break any new ground here. I like that we get narration from him because that helps us get inside his head, plus, he barely speaks. I don't like that we don't get much of Bruce Wayne in this movie because he's putting himself at risk of being exposed as Batman. I get that being Bruce Wayne is not a priority for him; however, that doesn't change the fact that this could blow up in his face. Plus, this was handled better in the comics. 

My grievance with this character is that we don't see his compassionate side for the most part. This is a trait that defines the character, and there are scenes where he could have displayed it. Sadly, he's not that smart in this movie. I mean, he didn't figure everything out on his own. Someone has to point him in the right direction; he's at the right place at the right time, or things have to be spelled out for him, World's greatest detective, my butt. Look, I don't mind Batman getting help; however, the supporting characters shouldn't look like they are holding his hand. Do I really have to comment on his bulletproof suit? Also, it's hard to appreciate that Bruce Wayne is full of anger because the actor playing him comes off as emotionally stunted. Plus, Batman: Arkham Origins did a better job at this.   

I like this movie's take on Selina Kyle because she's more noble and fierce than the other version of the character we have so far. What bugs me about her is that the director could have done a better job of bringing her into the story. She could have worked as a love interest for Batman if the attraction between these two wasn't one-sided. Plus, it would make the ending better. Come on, this is the third time we get this character on screen, and you can't get that one simple aspect of their dynamic right. Her mask drives me nuts because it looks so cheap. I also can't stand her long, ghetto behind nails!  

Lt. Gordon is kind of the same character that we got in Mr. Nolan's Batman trilogy. He and Batman have a good working relationship, even when they're backed into a corner. This complaint is not about Gordon; it's about GCPD. I wish that they were conflicted about Batman working with them.    

The movie hasn't done anything new with Alfred. That's a shame because I thought that he was going to be like his Earth-One counterpart, doing that would give us something different with the character. Besides one tender scene between him and Bruce, they don't have a father-and-son relationship like they did in the past. Also, the movie should have given us more of him.   

Edward Nashton/The Riddler (the main villain) is the scariest version we've got of this character in live-action. He reminds me of the Zodiac Killer, Jigsaw, and Ghost Face from Scream. That's one of the many issues I have with this character; the writers tried to do so much with this character that it's not balanced out well. Will the marketing team behind this movie please explain to me why they try so hard to hide his face!?! 

I was let down that he didn't give Batman more of a challenge in solving his riddles. Really, I'm surprised that the words no more lies wasn't a clue because we see it on all of his victims. My gripe with him is that his backstory failed to make him sympathetic because we don't know his full story. Plus, he endangered others. He also needed more screen time because he almost felt like an afterthought. Also, his plan to expose this secret wouldn't have worked if he hadn't overlooked the details. 

I don't have much to say about OZ/ The Penguin because he's barely in the movie. When we do see him, he's entertaining. That's the problem; he shouldn't be in the movie because he only serves as a red herring. Sidenote, I hope this movie gets nominated for best makeup because I didn't recognize the actor who's playing the penguin.  

Carmine Falcone is disappointing in this movie. He may play a bigger role in the story, but he was more menacing in Batman Begins. On top of that, he put himself at risk of being exposed of wrongdoing.      

One of the things that bothers me about this movie is the secret that the Riddler is trying to expose. It wasn't bad, it just didn't tell us anything new about Gotham. Plus, that was a huge selling point of the movie. With that said, I'm not crazy about how this secret affects Bruce because it kind of undermines his crusade. Plus, the movie doesn't give the people of Gotham a chance to process the reveal. I have mixed feelings about this movie addressing class warfare. On one hand, the movie wasted it, and on the other hand, I'm glad that they did because this is something that the creators should have saved for Bane. 

There are plot points that don't get resolved and some scenes in the movie that comes off as either stupid or unintentionally funny. Speaking of funny, the movie could have benefited from some levity because this movie is too moody for my taste. I'm not saying the movie doesn't have jokes, but they are either subdued or overshadowed by the movie's tone. I was outraged to see that (censor) is in this movie because this character had his or her own film, not too long ago; it's too soon to bring this character back. A minor complaint is that the sound effects don't complement the fight scenes the way the trailers did.    

Overall, I don't consider this the best Batman movie, but it's a good one. I would recommend this if you like thrillers and Noir detective films.  

Rating = Worth Seeing