Author: Dr. K

Game Corner & Knuckles: Knuckles’ Chaotix (SEGA 32X)

Dr. K8 Comments

With the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994), gamers were introduced to Knuckles the Echidna. This mischievous, dreadlocked antagonist was created by Takashi Yuda and his debut was made all the more impressive by virtue of the fact that Sonic 3 was too big to fit on one cartridge, which meant that Knuckles was the first of Sonic’s supporting characters to co-star in a main series videogame when Sonic & Knuckles (ibid) was released on this very day in 1994.

Released: April 1995
Developer: SEGA

The Background:
Following the release of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, SEGA looked to be unstoppable with their Sonic franchise; the latter title was a huge game for SEGA, backed by an impressive marketing campaign, and the franchise had sold over $1 billion in total revenue by 1994. With the Mega Drive nearing the end of its life cycle, and the videogame industry on the cusp of entering a new generation of 3D gaming, SEGA attempted to prolong the Mega Drive’s lifespan and appeal with a series of expensive add-ons like the Mega-CD and the Mega Drive 32X. Like the Mega-CD, however, the 32X was doomed to failure primarily because SEGA were planning on releasing an entirely new console, the SEGA Saturn, just a few months later and gamers just couldn’t afford the clunky peripheral. With the benefit of hindsight, I truly believe that SEGA would have fared much better had they simply continued with the Mega-CD, producing a combination Mega Drive/CD console and releasing all 32X and Saturn games on this platform rather than wasting time, effort, and money on expensive add-ons. Regardless, one title that sticks out to me from the 32X library is Knuckles’ Chaotix; initially designed as Sonic Crackers, the game’s big mechanic was that players controlled two characters simultaneously and were joined by a special, elastic “Combi Ring”. The game, which was Knuckles’ one and only solo title, also saw the return and redesign of obscure Sonic character Mighty the Armadillo and Vector the Crocodile into fully playable characters. However, thanks primarily to the failure of the 32X, the title has largely been doomed to obscurity and SEGA’s continued refusal to port or re-release the game to modern consoles means that the only way to play the game is by using emulators or spending extortionate prices.

The Plot:
Doctor Eggman discovers the seven Chaos Rings on Carnival Island and attacks alongside Metal Sonic. When Knuckles investigates, he rescues Espio the Chameleon from Dr. Eggman’s Combi Confiner and joins forces with Espio’s cohorts (Mighty, Vector, and Charmy Bee – the titular Chaotix) to put a stop to Dr. Eggman’s schemes using the power of the Combi Ring.

Gameplay:
As is to be expected of a classic Sonic the Hedgehog title, Knuckles’ Chaotix is a 2D, sidescrolling action/platformer that is heavily geared towards speed but, in a change of pace, actually has far more emphasis on vertical platforming and progression that any of its predecessors. The game takes place in Newtronic High Zone and is comprised of six stages referred to as “Attractions”; each Attraction is made up of five levels (called “Acts”) rather than the usual two or three, and each of these pushes you to run up loops and walls or jump to higher areas in order to reach the end goal. In another change of pace, the game immediately begins with a practice area, in which you play as Knuckles. After scaring away Dr. Eggman, Knuckles rescues Espio from the mad scientist and players can choose to play through a quick tutorial to familiarise themselves with Knuckles’ Chaotix’s new mechanics.

Knuckles and his new friends are inexplicably tethered together for some clunky gameplay.

All of the basic controls of a classic Sonic remain intact and as you’d expect; players can run, jump, and perform a Spin Dash to speed ahead with all but three of the available characters, and you’ll find that each playable character has their own unique qualities. Knuckles, for example, can glide and climb walls as in his previous appearances; Espio spins like a top instead of Spin Dashing and can cling to walls but cannot climb them; Vector is the biggest character and so has a greater chance of hitting Badniks or taking damage but he can also perform a double jump or mid-air dash; Mighty is basically a thinly veiled stand-in for Sonic and can perform a wall jump; and Charmy is the smallest and fastest character and constantly flies about but at the cost of severely reduced visibility. Players can also be impeded by Heavy and Bomb, two Badniks who cannot Spin Dash or climb walls, explode on contact or severely weigh you down, and you’ll have to leave it up to a mixture of fate and luck as to which character you get as your partner as the main Scenario Quest forces you to pick one at random using the “Combi-Catcher”, a mechanical claw game like you see at seaside amusements. Of course, the unique selling point of Knuckles’ Chaotix is the frankly bizarre decision to tether two characters together using the Combi-Ring. This means that there are always two characters on screen at once, and you can choose to play either with a computer-controlled partner or with a human friend. Players can call their partner to them at any time with the A button or hold down B to “hold” their partner in place to activate switches; when they stand in place, you can also build up a head of steam to blast ahead, which is honestly more beneficial than the Spin Dash in this game. This also allows you to grab your partner and fling them at switches, Badniks, bosses, or up to higher areas; however, it can be extremely clunky trying to slingshot your way up to where your partner is, and more often than not you end up hanging in place or ricocheting about like a pinball just trying to progress upwards. Furthermore, calling your partner back costs you Golden Rings, the lifeforce of the series, and you can even drop the Ring counter into negative numbers as a result of this.

You’ll must master (or bungle) the Combi-Ring and make use of gimmicks to progress ever upwards.

While each character is very visually interesting in their own right and the idea of working together to progress is an interesting one, tethering the characters together is extremely restrictive in practise; the majority of the time, your biggest struggle won’t be with the game’s Badniks or the tedious nature of the gameplay, it’ll be with trying to navigate the environment using this clunky, awkward mechanic and getting frustrated when you finally get where you need to be only to drop down a second later. Indeed, the level of difficulty in Knuckles’ Chaotix is extremely low compared to the games that came before it; the life system and checkpoints are now gone, there are no bottomless pits or bodies of water to worry about falling or drowning in, and you don’t even need to worry too much about being hit without any Rings as you’ll either lose your partner for a short time or be booted out to the main hub world to try again. Like Sonic 3, the game comes with a save system that allows you to have three saved games, though the only way you can replay the game’s Attractions is to play through the Training Mode. This mode also allows you to set your playable character and partner, which is more freedom than the main Scenario Quest offers, but the most tedious aspects of Knuckles’ Chaotix come from how unnecessarily long and annoying some of its gameplay elements are. While the Attractions are a visual eye fest there’s not much to distinguish each Act from the other within a set stage (I swear some of them have exactly the same layouts bar some very minor changes), there’s next to no hazards or Badniks to worry about, and you don’t even really need to worry all that much about the time limit.

Most stages are painfully barren and linear, but there are some instances of variety.

Instead, the game is built around randomness; it’s pot luck that you’ll pick a decent partner (I recommend a Knuckles/Espio team, personally) and as to which Attraction you’ll play. Between each stage, you’re returned to the hub world and must hit a bumper to randomly select your next area, meaning that you’re literally bouncing all over the place and will most likely play the game’s Attractions out of order. This may go a long way to explaining the uniformity and ease of the game’s stages, however, as it wouldn’t be fair to be randomly dropped into a tough stage before you’re ready, but it does make playing through the Scenario Quest quite a long old slog. While the basics of the gameplay are very much familiar to anyone who’s played a Sonic game before, Knuckles’ Chaotix feels very slow and sluggish at times and you won’t really find much here you haven’t seen both. Sure, there’s a few more switches and a bit of variety in the likes of Marina Madness and Amazing Arena (you can hop on a rising/falling ship in the background in the former and must light up each Act to get a successful clear in the latter) but, for the most part, you’re just running up walls, hopping over spiked balls, bouncing off springs and bumpers, and scaling upwards (always upwards) on platforms and elevators. The Acts do eventually appear to become more dangerous as you progress, but by then it’s too little too late and I can’t help but feel that things would have been much better if there had just been three Acts per Attraction and then a final area to play through before battling the final boss.

Graphics and Sound:
If there’s one area where Knuckles’ Chaotix excels, it’s the presentation; the game is undeniably gorgeous to look at, and easily the most vibrant and colourful Sonic title of its era. Each of the playable characters (with the exception of Heavy and Bomb) has an idle animation unique to them (Knuckles twirls his Combi-Ring in boredom, Espio cycles through different colours, Vector jams to his music, Mighty impatiently taps his foot like Sonic, and Charmy looks at you incredulously) and are some of the finest sprite work in the series. It’s such a shame, then, that Charmy is so goddamn small; obviously, he’s a bee and is supposed to be tiny but half the time you can barely see him, which is almost as disappointing as Mighty being a simple sprite swap of Sonic. Still, Espio and Vector look fantastic; each has unique and quirky running and jumping animations, and Knuckles’ sprites have been completely overhauled to make him more detailed and expressive than ever.

Sprites and environments are extremely colourful and detailed, sometimes to a fault.

Sadly, the game is let down by how bland and uninteresting its level design is. Knuckles’ Chaotix is very similar to Sonic the Hedgehog CD (SEGA, 1993) in a lot of ways but primarily in how confusing and clumsy its stages are laid out; when Badniks do appear, it seems completely at random, and the few hazards you come across are so oddly placed that it’s easy to run head-first into them. Stages are also extremely cluttered at times; there’s often too much colour, too much sensory overload, and it makes everything blend together or difficult to look at, which really doesn’t help when you’re trying to figure out where the hell you’re supposed to be going. The game’s Attractions play things extremely safe with the likes of Botanic Base being a lush forest, Speed Slider being an amusement park, and Techno Tower being Dr. Eggman’s industrial blemish on the natural environment, much like the classic Green Hill, Star Light, and Scrap Brain Zones. The aforementioned Marina Madness and Amazing Arena thus stand out even more thanks to the their unique gameplay mechanics and presentation, and the game does get extra points for featuring different colour palettes for each Act to indicate a different time of day (morning, noon, evening, and night), though this really doesn’t help to stave off the recycled nature of each Act.

Sprite manipulation, isometric graphics, and some funky effects hint to the 32X’s potential.

Also like Sonic CD, Knuckles’ Chaotix makes an impact with one of the best of the classic Sonic’s soundtracks; there are so many jaunty, catchy tunes peppered throughout this game that it really helps to take your mind off how empty the stages are and how monotonous the gameplay can be. Since it’s running on 32-bit hardware, the game also features a great deal of isometric 3D graphics; Dr. Eggman shields himself being a polygonal diamond, some lifts and bosses are built out of the same graphics, and you’ll find the bonus and Special Stages also contain a fair bit of this technique (and suffer from jerkiness, slowdown, and perspective issues as a result). There’s also a big emphasis on sprite manipulation; characters can grow or shrink with monitors, and bosses, Badniks, and sprites will fill up or fly into the screen. Unlike Sonic CD, however, the game doesn’t feature any anime cutscenes; in fact, even sprite-based cutscenes are few and far between here, relegated to the opening and before the final boss, and although the bosses are proceeded by a short cutscene, the game prefers to just show a partially animated image of the main cast for the title screen and credits. This is a bit of a shame, really; I wasn’t expecting full blown animated sequences but both Sonic 3 and Sonic CD featured more sprite-based cutscenes than Knuckles’ Chaotix, so the game ends up feel quite rushed and a bit of a step back.

Enemies and Bosses:
Dr. Eggman hasn’t really tried to reinvent the wheel in Knuckles’ Chaotix and is still using his tried-and-tested robotic creations, the Badniks, to hinder your progress. Unlike in the majority of other 2D Sonic titles, destroying Badniks doesn’t free a cute little woodland critter; instead, an uncollectible Dark Ring will drop out and disappear soon after, meaning that the few times Badniks do appear you’re robbed of any sense of satisfaction from destroying them. These Badniks are some of the oddest in the classic series, resembling a mish-mash of insects, tanks, and other creatures and mostly just floating around here and there. The only real standouts for me were Burboom and Blitz; Burboom can catch your partner and hold them captive and Blitz target you with homing missiles that fly across the immediate area to hurt you. While in Amazing Arena, you’ll also have battle a sub-boss, which is a massive mechanical version of Dr. Eggman that stretches its fists at you. The only way to damage it is to toss your partner into the head, which routinely floats back and forth at the top of the screen; although you can simply wait it out and the boss will deactivate, you won’t get the benefit of the Ring Monitors defeating it bestows upon you.

Bosses can be either stupidly simply or needlessly frustrating thanks to the Combi-Ring mechanic.

Since you’ll play the game’s Attractions at random, the main five bosses can be fought in any order, and you’ll probably tackle them at different times each time you play through the game. It’s also worth noting that you must play each Attraction’s entire fifth Act to reach the boss, and if you fail you’ll be kicked back to the hub world and have to play through the whole Act all over again, which can make these battles very tedious. I fought the Botanic Base boss first; in this fight, Dr. Eggman holds your partner in a mechanical claw and shields his craft with electrical currents, meaning you’re left frantically trying to figure out how to bounce around using the bumper and ram into the craft. After that, I took on the Amazing Arena boss, which sees Dr. Eggman spawn in Badniks using a projector screen and protecting himself with a sphere. Simply fend off the Badniks, avoid his mace-like arms, and toss your partner up into him to take him out. I then fought the Marina Madness boss, which sees Dr. Eggman hide behind a polygonal shield and then protect his craft with slivers of it, not unlike the Metropolis Zone boss, forcing you to time your attacks to avoid damage. The Speed Slider boss is one of the trickiest in the game as Dr. Eggman essentially commands a huge, dangerous carousel; the floor constantly moves you towards the spiked cups that rotate around the main machine, so you have to fight against the inertia, avoid the spikes, and ram the blue spherical weak spot of his machine. Contrasting this is the Techno Tower boss, which is easily the game’s simplest boss by far; despite the lasers and the swinging arms of Dr. Eggman’s rotund mech, I was able to batter the red sphere that is its weak spot in no time at all thanks to simply taking advantage of invincibility frames.

Metal Sonic transforms into a massive mechanical monstrosity for the finale.

Once you have defeated all five of the main bosses, you’re returned to the hub world, where Metal Sonic takes over the stage select machine. Just as you need to hit a bumper to select a stage, so to do you have to hit the bumper to try and deal damage to Metal Sonic; if the indicator lands on the X, one of the other numbered panels will be destroyed and the hub world will become more and more damaged. However, if you land on one of the numbered panels, you’ll have to dodge one of four different attacks as Metal Sonic tries to force you into spiked walls, rains missiles down on you, sends buzzsaws across the floor, and tries to hit you with bouncing tentacles. You’ll need to avoid these as you can only take two hits in this boss battle due to the lack of Rings; the first hit will cost you your partner, and you’ll need to wait for him to respawn or you’ll be kicked back to the hub world and have to start over. With Metal Sonic heavily damaged, Dr. Eggman repairs and powers it up with a huge Dark Ring, transforming it into the massive, monstrous “Metal Sonic Kai”. This is a three-stage boss battle in an enclosed, cyberspace-like arena, where you’re afforded ten Rings and must avoid its huge claw arm to strike its chest, then Spin Dash into its remaining arm while it hovers in the background, and then avoid its massive near-screen-filling chest beam to finish it off in a pretty simple, but surprisingly impressive, final battle.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Pretty much all of the classic Sonic power-ups are available to you in Knuckles Chaotix; while there are no Elemental Shields or extra life monitors, you can grab ten Rings, a speed up, a one-hit shield, and an invincibility from the different monitors you can find in each Act. There are some new power-ups here as well, though: you can briefly switch your playable character (or switch your partner to a different one depending on whose face is on the monitor when you smash it) and either grow to plough through the few enemies onscreen or shrink to find your jump and abilities painfully stunted for a short time. Perhaps the most useful item is the Combi-Ring Monitor, which stays with you until you’re hit; then, when you are hit, one large Ring is thrown from you rather than all of them scattering around and collecting that one Ring restores all of your Rings. Another interesting twist is that your partner can also collect and be affected by the monitors, meaning they could be invincible, big, small, or protected by a shield while you are not.

Additional Features:
As you might expect, finishing any Act except the ones containing a boss while holding fifty Rings or more spawns a Big Ring. Entering it takes you (or your partner, if they enter or are thrown into it) to an isometric Special Stage where you continuously lap the environment until you have collected enough Blue Spheres to proceed. Collecting Rings will afford you more time to do this, and you must dodge buzzsaws and spiked balls and the myriad of gaps in the floor in order to reach your goal. While these aren’t necessarily the worst Special Stages I’ve ever played, they can be extremely difficult; it’s very hard to see what’s coming ahead of you or to anticipate which “lane” you need to be in to find a Blue Sphere, and all too easy to slip to failure. On the plus side, there are only six Special Stages; you’ll be awarded one of the six coloured Chaos Rings upon completion and will be treated to a slightly different end credits screen that adds Sonic and Miles “Tails” Prower to the cast and avoids Metal Sonic Kai wrecking havoc.

Snag the six Chaos Rings for the good ending, or mess about with the game’s debug mode.

Unfortunately, there are no Super transformations or additional bonuses; however, if you enter a Special Stage after collecting all the Chaos Rings, you’ll simply challenge them again in an even more headache-inducing wireframe mode. If you’re holding twenty Rings or more, you may encounter Big Rings hidden within the Acts; these transport you to a bonus stage that sees you constantly falling and trying to hit blocks for points and Rings. However, your Rings are constantly being drained in this stage, making it more of a hinderance than a benefit. Outside of the regular game, you’ll find a sound select and “colour test” in the main menu; messing around with this allows you to activate a debug mode, have Amy Rose appear in the sound test, activate a stage and character select, and even play as a glitched version of Knuckles. Since the only way you can play Knuckles’ Chaotix is to emulate it, you can obviously also make liberal use of the save state features included in most emulators to make the game a bit less annoying to play through.

The Summary:
Knuckles’ Chaotix is such an oddity to me. The entire game feels like a barely finished proof of concept, with empty environments and clunky mechanics that all needed to be addressed before the game was completed, and yet it’s such a lush and stunningly well-presented package that I find it all the more disappointing how lacklustre the actual gameplay and content are. Rather than trying to emulate the size, scope, and variety of Sonic 3, Knuckles’ Chaotix takes a step backwards for a far more linear and mundane experience and hedges all its bets on the unique Combi-Ring mechanic and the random, amusement park-like structure of the main campaign. Sadly, neither are all that much fun to play; five Acts per stage would be a lot to get through even in a traditionally paced Sonic title but the lack of enemies and variety are a real issue, despite how pretty the game looks. It’s a shame as the character designs are really unique and it could have been a really good continuation of the classic Sonic series, but it’s just lacking in a lot of ways that make it inferior to Sonic 3. The bosses aren’t too bad, especially the final battle, but the Special Stages are extremely disorientating and I can’t imagine the game is very enjoyable in two-player. At the same time, though, I’d love to see this get a remaster or a port to modern consoles with a few quality-of-life fixes, and it boggles my mind that we haven’t seen it re-released in all this time, but I can decisively say that you’re really not missing out on much by skipping over this one.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Have you ever played Knuckles’ Chaotix? If so, did you play it on the original hardware or, like me, did you discover it through emulation? What did you think to the Combi-Ring mechanic, and which combination of characters was your favourite? Were you a fan of the random aspects of the game and the five-Act structure? Did you ever collect all the Chaos Rings and what did you think to the Special Stages? How are you celebrating Knuckles’ big day today? Sign up to leave your thoughts on Knuckles’ Chaotix down below or drop a comment on my social media, and check back in for more Sonic content a little later in the year.

Game Corner [Bat-Month]: Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360)

Dr. K10 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. Accordingly, September celebrates “Batman Day” and is just another perfect excuse to celebrate comic’s grim and broody vigilante and, this year, I’m dedicating every Wednesday of September to Gotham’s Dark Knight Detective.

Released: 18 October 2011
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Also Available For: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X

The Background:
Batman quickly became a successful and dynamic character after his 1939 debut in DC Comics; over the years, the character’s world and mythos has grown considerably to include numerous spin-off comics and adaptations into not just cartoons and movies but also videogames. While Batman has fared rather well in that department, it can’t be denied that there were a few stinkers as well before Eidos Interactive acquired the rights to make a Batman game and brought in both Rocksteady Studios and celebrated Batman scribe writer Paul Dini to create the critically and commercially successful Batman: Arkham Asylum (ibid, 2009) at a time when the character was hot off a resurgence thanks to the recent success of The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008). Development of a sequel began work before Arkham Asylum had even been completed; despite apprehensions about system limitations, Rocksteady had big ideas for the sequel, which would move away from the claustrophobic trappings of Arkham Island and into more open world territory. Having learned from their mistakes and feedback from the first game, the developers greatly expanded Batman’s arsenal, animations, and gadgets to make him a more capable character and significantly expanded the range of exploration and side missions available to players in the much-larger game world. All of that hard work paid off as Arkham City became one of the fastest selling videogames in history. Critically, the response was universally positive; critics lauded the voice acting and additional features and the high quality of the game’s mechanics and content. The game was so successful that it was released in multiple editions with access to different downloadable content (DLC) and won numerous awards for the sheer expansiveness of its included, and additional, content.

The Plot:
After the events of Arkham Asylum, the city’s criminals have been locked up inside a walled off section of Gotham City known as Arkham City, where supervillains and TYGER mercenaries under the command of Doctor Hugo Strange enforce martial law. Infiltrating the prison to investigate Strange’s unlawful incarceration of those who spoke out against him, the odds against Batman increase when the Joker shows up, apparently dying from TITAN poisoning, and infects Batman with his blood, forcing him to delve into the city’s underworld to find a cure.

Gameplay:
Like its predecessor, Batman: Arkham City is a third-person, action/adventure game but, this time, you’re prowling the streets and rooftops of “Old Gotham”, a dilapidated and rundown area of Gotham that has been encased in high perimeter walls sporting gun turrets to house the city’s undesirables. Arkham City’s game world is five times the size of the one seen in Arkham Asylum and features even more recognisable landmarks from Batman’s famous city and areas to explore, as well as an endless supply of inmates and lowlifes to get your fists on. One of the best things about Arkham City is how the control scheme and core mechanics remain exactly as in the first game, just expanded considerably. Once again, Batman’s main method of traversal is his operatic cape and grapnel gun, which can now be used in conjunction and upgraded to allow him to effortlessly zip across the city. You can also dive bomb while gliding to take out enemies or pull up and gain additional height and length on your glide, allowing you to traverse the city prison in no time at all.

Combat and stealth are more fluid and satisfying than ever thanks to additional animations and options.

This more than makes up for Batman’s continued inability to jump and allows him to easily dart out of danger when spotted; Batman can still crouch with the Right Trigger and toss a quick Batarang with the Left Trigger, but now he can also quick-fire other gadgets, which is incredibly useful in combat and for solving the myriad of brain-teasing puzzles scattered around the city by Edward Nashton/Edward Nygma/The Riddler. The “freeflow combat” mechanic of the previous game returns intact but greatly expanded thanks to the addition of more attack animations and combos; X allows you to strike in quick succession while a well-timed press of Y (indicated when the “counter” indicator appears) will allow you to block and counter incoming attacks and rack up a bigger and more fluid combo. The higher your combo, the more damage you’ll deal and the more dynamic the perfectly-placed fight camera will move to allow you to lunge at other enemies before they can land a blow. Since the streets are crawling with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of thugs this time around, there are far more opportunities to sneak up on them and perform a “Silent Takedown”, but this time you can perform a “Knockout Smash” (though this will attract nearby enemies) and you can even perform takedowns from floor grates, double or even triple counters and takedowns when in combat, attack parts of the environment (like fire extinguishers and electrical boxes) to disorientate or disarm opponents, and even slam inmates into walls or dangle them over ledges during combat or interrogations.

New additions to the Predator sections increase the threat to Batman and his takedown options.

Also returning is the stealth-based “Predator” mechanic; in addition to sneaking up on enemies, Batman can grapple up to stone gargoyles and other high ledges to review rooms of armed thugs using the x-ray and thermal vision offered by his “Detective Mode”. A simple press of the Left Bumper and you’ll be able to see enemies by their body heat, their current condition, and any interactable parts of the environment. Batman’s new array of gadgets (easily accessed using the directional pad) can also be used in new ways to lure enemies into traps or take them down and, while traversing the city, you’ll need to make liberal use of these (and Batman’s new smoke pellets) to dart away from gunfire and dispatch gun-toting enemies. Again, Batman is tough but can’t take sustained gunfire or explosions; however, his health will replenish after you clear out all nearby enemies, solve riddles, or find the many Riddler Trophies. These same criteria will earn you experience points (XP) to improve Batman’s armour, abilities, and weaponry once more but the game definitely mixes things up by having enemies be able to jam your Detective Vision and electronics and lay traps of their own.

Navigation is easier than ever thanks to a comprehensive map, waypoint, and compass system.

If you thought Arkham Asylum had a lot of riddles and Riddler Trophies, then Arkham City will blow your mind! The Riddler has placed his trophies not just out in the open but hidden behind walls, in cages, and a myriad of pressure pads and context-sensitive puzzles that will require all of Batman’s skills and gadgets to acquire. Similarly, there are riddles to find across the city and you can solve them by tapped LB to scan the environment when you spot glowing green question marks or the answer to the riddle. This time, there are also far more destructible elements to snag you some XP; the chattering Joker teeth return but you’ll also be destroying TYGER security cameras, balloons, and massive bobbleheads of Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, which all adds to the fun, as well as more opportunities to use your gadgets to open vents or shut off steam from pipes. The map screen returns, far more expansive and user friendly (as are all of the menus) than before; you can now set waypoints to your next mission or any other location on the map and a very useful onscreen compass and Bat-Signal will direct you towards your location with a minimum of fuss. Take note, though, that these features are suppressed when you have Detective Mode activated but, again, there are some opportunities to track targets using this vision mode.

The streets are crawling with more baddies than ever and they’ll repopulate areas as you progress.

Like the first game, Batman: Arkham City gets progressively difficult as you play but this is expanded upon greatly. You might come across a gang of Harvey Dent/Two-Face’s minions and engage them in combat, only for more and more nearby inmates to hear the fight and join in, for one thing. These enemies will, eventually, repopulate areas after you’ve cleared them out so you constantly have to be aware of enemies on the streets and rooftops and, like in the last game, enemies will increase in their aggressiveness and capabilities as you progress through the story. Also, like before, you can select different difficulty levels to play the game on from the start, with “Hard” mode including counter indicators this time but increasing the damage enemies will put out, but there are no Achievements tied to playing on Hard mode so you may as well play on “Easy” or “Normal” since “New Game Plus” offers an even tougher challenge than the game’s Hard mode. Where Arkham City excels, though, is in its sheer size; Arkham City is full of buildings to enter, Easter Eggs and references, riddles to solve, and side quests to keep you busy. For a returning player like me, it’s really easy to get distracted with side quests on your way to the main story objective and you can keep track of all outstanding missions from the main menu. From here, you can also view stories and character biographies, review Batman’s moves and abilities (and even view a tutorial if you need a refresher), and check up on any outstanding riddles and such. In fact, the only real downside to Arkham City is, again, the inability to quickly exit an area, which can be particularly bothersome when deep in the bowels of the city subway or the forgotten steampunk city, Wonder City, as it can still be a tad laborious to find your way back out sometimes.

Graphics and Sound:
Batman: Arkham Asylum managed to hold up impressively well over time and Arkham City holds up even better; it was already a big step up in terms of graphical quality and visual presentation so it’s only natural that it’s aged even better. As before, it’s a very dark game and takes place in one night so you might be relying on your Detective Vision or brightness settings to navigate in some areas but, thanks to many of the game’s locations taking place in indoor, more suburban (if equally dilapidated) areas, there are far more opportunities to bask in the impressive art direction of the game. Arkham City is split into different regions, with each one being primarily controlled by gangs of thugs affiliated with a different supervillain (Oswald Cobblepott/The Penguin, Two-Face, and the Joker) and having a distinctive feel to them.

Each region of Arkham City is controlled by a different villain and has a different look to it.

Because the game takes place within a walled off cityscape, it must be said that it’s not immediately as visually distinctive compared to its predecessor as you’re surrounded by skyscrapers but I can forgive this as there are far more opportunities to see and explore the wider mythos of Batman’s world. You’ll stumble across Crime Alley, explore the remains of the old Gotham City Police Department (complete with Bat-Signal on the roof), fight through the museum and into the Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge, and take on the Joker’s gang at the dilapidated remains of the Sionis steel mill over on Amusement Mile. Similar to Arkham Island (which you can still see lingering in the misty distance), the city prison is a rundown, desolate place full of graffiti, burned out cars, litter, and chaos and there’s a real sense that the dogs have been literally let loose within its high walls and have turned the city into a veritable war zone. As you might expect, there are some more intricate and elaborate areas of the city, too. You can venture down into the abandoned subway and, of course, navigate through some stony catacombs and sewers beneath the city but, luckily, the game is far bigger and makes much better use of these environments when it comes to utilising Batman’s abilities so there’s far less awkward jumping and climbing and much more emphasis on the Line Launcher and grapnel boost, though you will need to get used to the new dive bomb mechanic in order to swoop in through some tight areas and get 100% completion.

Some nightmarish sequences, jump scares, and chilling encounters add to the world’s mythos.

Things definitely start to take a more visually interesting turn once you venture into the abandoned Wonder City, a town populated by deactivated robots and lost to the midst of times, and scale Wonder Tower to confront Hugo Strange. Sadly, there aren’t the same dynamic sections as those involving Doctor Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow from the last game but Arkham City does go to some lengths to recreate these sections when the plot demands that Batman suffer the effects of his poisoning. Later, during a side quest involving Jervis Tetch/The Mad Hatter, you’ll experience a much more similar, twisted nightmare world but the game does include far more elaborate and layered areas to explore that change as the story progresses. The GCPD will freeze over because of Doctor Victor Fries/Mister Freeze, the steel mill needs to be cooled down and then you have to enter through a different entrance that involves navigating past giant machinery and drills, Julian Day/Calendar Man is imprisoned beneath the courthouse, and the museum contains a gigantic frozen pool with a very large and unfriendly denizen awaiting you.

The attention to detail, new villains, and cameos are even better than ever this time around.

Thanks to the diversity in the game’s inmates, enemies have a lot more visual variety this time around as they wear different colourings and outfits. There is also a lot more chatter as Batman picks up on his enemy’s radio signals and broadcasts, with both Joker and villains like Penguin taunting you and issuing commands to their underlings. Batman’s suit, while visually very similar to the last one, still takes on battle damage as the story progresses and, as you’d expect, both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill knock it out of the park with their stellar work as Batman and Joker, respectively. Like before, Batman stops to converse with Barbara Gordon/Oracle but he also talks with his faithful butler and father-figure, Alfred Pennyworth, who sends additional equipment and offers council. The game also features far more references to Batman’s cast of characters and the wider DC universe and there’s even a much-appreciated cameo from a really well-designed version of Tim Drake/Robin for good measure. Cutscenes still make liberal use of the in-game graphics, which are even closer to the higher quality cinematics, and you’ll now see a helpful little recap of the story and your current outstanding missions when reloading a save.

Enemies and Bosses:
With Arkham Asylum gone, its inmates and the rest of Gotham’s criminals have been tossed into Arkham City instead; for the most part, the bulk of the game’s enemies are the same scumbags you fought in the last game but in different clothing and with more jeers to throw your way. Inmates will throw punches, grab weapons, toss items at you, and attack with both knives, guns, grenades (in a new twist), electrical batons, and will even pick up car doors to use as shields and ram you. Eventually, you’ll also have to contend with snipers, enemies wearing collars that will attract their allies when they’re downed, enemies that can jam your technology, ones that take hostages, and thugs will even use thermal vision to spot you and start destroying the ledges you’re hiding on if you linger too long or fail to stay hidden. While the crazed lunatics from the last game are gone, the TITAN monsters make a return and some inmates with be decked out in protective armour. A simple Batarang to the face is no longer enough to dispatch these goons; this time, you must use three cape swipes to stun them and mash X to beat them into submission while also countering incoming attacks. You’ll also have to contend with the one-armed Abramovici twins a number of times; these big bastards swing huge sledgehammers or scythes and must be blasted with a bolt from Batman’s Remote Electrical Charge gun to inflict damage on nearby enemies and pummelled with your attacks as they can’t be stunned so you have to strike, hop over to avoid their swings, and strike again to defeat them.

Solomon Grundy more than makes up for Two-Face and Penguin’s lack of physical challenge.

Arkham City is populated by a number of Batman’s most notorious rogues, basically all of them being new additions to the roster of bosses. The first you’ll encounter is Two-Face, who has taken over the courthouse and held Selina Kyle/Catwoman hostage. This is more of a tutorial for the basics of combat and Dent is dispatched by Catwoman in a cutscene rather than in an actual boss fight, and the following encounter with the Penguin is quite similar. This is basically the culmination of a side mission that sees you rescuing frozen police officers, freeing Mr. Freeze, and acquiring tech from his suit to deactivate his freezing gun (which the Penguin is using to keep you at bay). In fact, the first real physical challenge you have (aside from gladiatorial bouts against swarms of inmates or fights against one of the Abramovici twins) follows this encounter with the Penguin, which sees you facing off against the hulking zombie Solomon Grundy. You fight Grundy in a kind of gothic laboratory and must use your quick-fire explosive gel to close up three holes on the floor that regenerate Grundy’s health with lightning (while dodging said lightning) and allow you to put a beating on Grundy. This continues into the next phase, where Grundy tries to crush you with leaping attacks and two giant wrecking balls and sends weird little mice-things scuttling towards you. The third phase is more of the same but Grundy has one arm trapped in a machine; this time, the floor holes open sporadically for even shorter bursts and you need to avoid the shockwaves Grundy produces. Once he’s finally defeated, you have to dodge out of the way of the Penguin’s missile to punch him out once and for all, all of which is more interesting and engaging than the final boss of the last game.

While Rā’s tests your reflexes, you’ll need to use all of Batman’s skills and gadgets to bring down Mr. Freeze.

The next main story boss you’ll battle is Rā’s al Ghūl but, before this, you must first track down one of his ninja assassins by her blood trail, get past more of them in Wonder City (they can dodge your strikes and teleport in puffs of smoke before attacking with sword swipes), and endure the “Demon Trials” (gliding sections through a twisted hellscape where you can’t touch anything but the highlighted areas). You’ll face Rā’s in a desert that is part delusion, part reality, and have to take out hoards of sand men while he dashes at you from out of nowhere. Once you get past them, you must dodge the shurikens and blades he sends your way while blasting at him through his human shield with your Disruptor, and then mash Y to counter his attacks. The speed and aggressiveness of his attacks increases as the fight goes on but the final blow comes down to a well-timed toss of the reverse Batarang and Rā’ later meets a very gruesome end for his part in the game’s events. Next, you’ll have to take on easily the most intricate and complex boss of the game (or most games, for that matter) as Mr. Freeze betrays you and forces you into a confrontation. Depending on the difficulty you’re playing on, you may be forced to use every single one of Batman’s gadgets and abilities to deal damage and leave him vulnerable for a beatdown as Mr. Freeze learns and adapts his strategy as the fight progresses. Mr. Freeze will plod around the laboratory searching for you and sending heat-seeking globes to seek you out; you can use Batman’s glide attack, takedowns, and gadgets (like the explosive gel and Remote Electrical Charge gun) to deal damage but he’ll take action to ensure that you can’t do this twice (he freezes the ledges, grapple points, and vents, destroys parts of the environment, erects a shield, among other defensive measures), which forces you to think on your feet and explore options you might not normally use.

After stopping Strange and defeating Clayface, you’ll find some other villains to take down.

In the game’s finale, Strange activates the mysterious “Protocol 10” and commences a strategic bombardment of Arkham City; this briefly forces you to hack into circling helicopters in order to get inside of Wonder Tower and shut Strange down but, after you do, you’re forced into a confrontation with the Joker, who seems revitalised and has taken Talia al Ghūl hostage. Earlier in the game, you actually fight the Joker in his base form while his goons and out of control dodgem cars fill the arena but, when you confront him at the end, it’s revealed to have been Basil Karlo/Clayface in disguise; thus, the finale is, again, a battle against a hulking enemy. This time, you have to dodge Clayface’s cannonball attack and swinging arms while repeatedly spamming Freeze Blasts to whittle his health down. In the second phase, you grab a sword and slice up the mud men he spawns while repeating these tactics and avoiding his big sledgehammer shot in order to take him down. In between each of these main mission boss fights, you’ll come across a number of side missions that will draw you into confrontations with more of Batman’s rogues gallery: Floyd Lawton/Deadshot has been killing targets all over the city but Batman eventually tracks him down and must sneak past his one-shot rifle-arm to take him down; Victor Zsasz/Mister Zsasz has been killing people by luring them to ringing phones so Batman has to listen to his macabre life story to triangulate his location and then sneak around him in a partially flooded area to rescue his hostages; the Mad Hatter abducts you and forces you to battle waves of demonic rabbits; and the Riddler has also taken five hostages and placed them in Saw (Wan, 2004)-like traps. These hostages can only be saved by finding the Riddler’s Trophies, solving riddles, and interrogating his informants (highlighted in green) to gain access to his “Enigma Device” and locate each one in turn using the Cryptographic Sequencer.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As before, Arkham City features a level-up progression system; every time you defeat enemies, solve riddles, or pick up Riddler Trophies and destroy cameras and such, you’ll gain XP. Upon levelling-up, you can again upgrade Batman’s armour (now separated into one that improves damage from melee attacks and one from gunfire) to gain additional health, add more elaborate takedowns to his repertoire (including a swarm of disorientating bats, bone-breaking takedowns, and weapon disarmaments), and upgrade his various gadgets to improve their range and efficiency. Again, it’s pretty easy to fully upgrade all of Batman’s abilities if you engage with enemies and search out riddles on a regular basis, and it’s best to mix and match your upgrades for a balanced playthrough but you can choose to focus on making Batman more durable if you so wish.

Batman’s new toys let him charge power points and create temporary platforms, among other things.

Batman begins the game with many of the gadgets he had at the end of the last one, making him far more equipped for the rigours of Arkham City; many of his weapons, such as the grapnel gun and explosive gel, can now be used as quick-fire attacks to mix up your combos to allow for more diverse combat. Although Batman can no longer rip down walls with his grapnel gun, the Line Launcher can be upgraded to fire a second line and allow Batman to walk along it like a tightrope and he also has access to some new toys. The smoke pellets allow him to disorientate enemies and make an escape if needed, the Remote Electrical Charge gun allows him to power up electrical appliances, the Disruptor deactivates mines and renders up to two enemy guns useless, and the Freeze Blast (and upgraded Freeze Cluster) can plug up steam pipes and form ice floats on bodies or water to allow Batman to float around by grappling onto conveniently-placed hooks around the environment.

Additional Features:
Batman: Arkham City has fifty Achievements to earn, with the bulk of these popping simply by playing through the story, meeting certain objectives, and defeating bosses. One has you fiddling with the Xbox’s internal date and time in order to hear Calendar Man ’s chilling acts while most of the others are tied specifically towards starting or completing the game’s many side missions rather than solving or finding riddles (although this is a factor since you need to do this to rescue the Riddler’s hostages). No matter what difficulty you complete the game on, you’ll unlock a New Game Plus mode that offers and additional difficult challenge, mixes up the enemy placements, allows you to play the story with any additional DLC costumes, and carries over all of your gadgets and upgrades to a new game file. You’ll also be able to return to your original save file in a post-game world where the inmates will comment on the dramatic conclusion of the game and be freely able to switch to Catwoman at certain points on the map.

Alongside the Riddler challenges, there are a number of additional side quests to occupy your time.

This is super useful if you have any outstanding side missions to complete; not only are there some diving simulations to complete and a bunch of Riddler challenges tied to performing combat and gameplay manoeuvres, there are many other mysteries and villains out there to confront, such as tracking down Thomas Elliot/Hush (who has been mutilating victims to impersonate Bruce Wayne), figuring out the motives of the mysterious Michael Lane/Azrael, saving a number of political prisoners from random acts of violence, locating and reunited Nora Fries’ cryogenically frozen body with Mr. Freeze, and destroying TITAN containers in a fragile alliance with Bane. Additionally, there are way more Riddler Trophies hidden throughout Arkham City, many of which require precision gliding, pressing pressure pads, and using a variety of Batman’s gadgets to pick them up. Catwoman also has her own Riddler Trophies to pick up and, while there are no audio tapes to find this time, you can still unlock biographies, news stories, and audio clips by solving and finding riddles. As before, the game features a Challenge Mode, now rebranded as “Riddler’s Revenge”, which allows you to take on self-contained combat and predator challenges based on encounters in the game. You’ll battle a few waves of increasingly difficult enemies and rack up points by sustaining and varying your combos and pick off goons from the shadows while handicapped by a number of modifiers (such as disabling your Detective Mode, shielding enemies from damage, or having reduced health).

Arkham City makes up for the last game with a whole bunch DLC skins, characters, and challenge maps.

There is also a new series of “Campaign” maps that mix up the two challenges to present a sort of adjacent side story to the main game and you can compare your high scores against friends and other using the online leaderboards. These challenge maps, and the main game itself, can be expanded by purchasing the many different DLC packs for the game. As mentioned, Catwoman was a big selling point of the game and those who pre-ordered Arkham City or purchased her DLC can switch to playing as Catwoman during the story to follow a side mission involving Poison Ivy and stealing from Hugo Strange. The DLC for Arkham City is such a massive step up compared to the last game, adding twenty Achievements to collect and numerous costumes for Batman to use in New Game Plus and on challenge maps, and, best of all, the ability to play as Robin and Dick Grayson/Nightwing in the challenge maps. Each of the four playable characters plays a little differently (Catwoman is faster but weaker, slashes with her claws and tosses bolas; Robin uses his bo staff, riot shield, and faster (but shorter) version of the Batclaw; and Nightwing batters thugs with batons and utilises his acrobatic skill to take out enemies) and has their own gadgets but, sadly, only Catwoman is available to play as in the main game. Robin does take centre stage in a post-game DLC story, “Harley Quinn’s Revenge”, that sees him infiltrating the steel mill to rescue Batman; I had all of this DLC on the PlayStation 3 and greatly enjoyed the variety offered by the skins and each character but I do wish that the studio had allowed these additional characters to be used in the actual main game.

The Summary:
I was massively impressed with Batman: Arkham City when I first played it on the PlayStation 3; the game was just so much bigger and better than the original thanks to expanding the scope of the game world and the range of Batman’s abilities and gadgets. Everything that worked in the original game is back and improved upon, making combat even more fluid and diverse and truly defining the essence of Batman to set the standard for the remainder of the series. Rather than being confined to a claustrophobic, gothic prison, Batman is freely able to roam and fight around a dilapidated, walled off section of the city full of Easter Eggs, references, inmates to fight, secrets to find, and side missions to keep you busy for far longer than the first game. Best of all, the game is packed full of post-game and additional content thanks to these side missions, the New Game Plus mode, the expanded Challenge Mode, and the impressive abundance of DLC. Including additional skins, a short post-game story, and two of my favourite Batman characters in Robin and Nightwing really helps to expand the lore of this interpretation of Batman’s world and offers far more replay value. For me, Arkham City is still the gold standard for the Batman: Arkham series (Various, 2009 to 2015) and, while Arkham Asylum finally offered all of Batman’s abilities in a fun and engaging way, Arkham City expanded on them to the nth degree and truly defined what it means to play as Batman in an open world environment and it definitely deserves all of the praise it earned upon release and even to this day.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What did you think about Batman: Arkham City? How do you feel it holds up compared to the original games and its sequels? Did you enjoy that the game world was expanded into a city-sized open world or did you prefer to more claustrophobic aesthetic of the first game? Which of Batman’s new gadgets and rogues were your favourite to use or fight against and why? Did you ever track down all of the Riddler’s trophies and secrets? Which of the side missions was your favourite to complete? What did you think to the game’s DLC and would you have liked to see Robin and Nightwing playable in the main game? How are you planning on celebrating Batman Day this year and what is your favourite Batman videogame? Whatever you think about Batman: Arkham City, or Batman in general, please leave a comment below and check back in next Wednesday for my review of the next Arkham videogame!

Movie Night [MK Day]: Mortal Kombat (1995)

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To celebrate the simultaneous worldwide release of Mortal Kombat (Midway, 1992) on home consoles, 13 September 1993 was dubbed “Mortal Monday”. Mortal Kombat’s move to home consoles impacted not only the ongoing “Console War” between SEGA and Nintendo but also videogames forever thanks to its controversial violence and I think that it’s only fitting that we continue celebrating this influential fighting series every September 13th.

Released: 18 August 1995
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Budget: $18 million
Stars: Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Bridgette Wilson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Trevor Goddard, Talisa Soto, and Christopher Lambert

The Plot:
To decide the fate of Earthrealm, warriors fight in a generational life-or-death tournament called “Mortal Kombat”, hosted by Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung (Tagawa). Lord Rayden (Lambert), God of Thunder and protector of Earthrealm, gathers his forces but his chosen champions, disillusioned former monk Liu Kang (Shou), egotistical movie star Johnny Cage (Ashby), and stubborn soldier Lieutenant Sonya Blade (Wilson) must first overcome their own demons before they can hope to save their world.

The Background:
I’ve already detailed how, during the nineties, competitive fighting games were all the rage thanks to the many iterations of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom, 1991). To compete with this title, developers Ed Boon and John Tobias took inspiration from movies like Enter the Dragon (Clouse, 1973), Bloodsport (Arnold, 1988) and Big Trouble in Little China (Carpenter, 1986) to create an ultra-violent tournament fighter that changed the genre with its simple fighting mechanics and controversial violence. Development of a live-action adaptation began with producer Lawrence Kasanoff, who saw the potential of the videogame not just as a live-action movie but as an entire multimedia franchise. Spearheaded by Kasanoff, the project took shape with the hiring of director Paul W. S. Anderson, who substituted the videogame’s brutal violence for a focus on the game’s more fantastical elements and martial arts. Although the filmmakers failed to secure Jean-Claude Van Damme for the film, they incorporated both ambitious animatronics and early CGI effects alongside Shou’s martial arts background to make the fights as engaging as possible to help bolster the special effects. Mortal Kombat was a smash hit, making over $122 million at the box office. While videogame adaptations are often criticised for being universally bad, Mortal Kombat was notably praised at the time and has gone on to break free of its cult following to be largely regarded as one of the best videogame adaptations. The film and its depictions of these characters came to be incredibly influential on the videogames and, while the sequel was a monumental flop, the original film has always been one of my favourites, so much so that I dedicated an entire year of my life to researching and studying it as part of my PhD thesis.

The Review:
I mentioned up top that Ed Boon and John Tobias were influenced by martial arts films like Enter the Dragon and action films like Big Trouble in Little China when developing Mortal Kombat, but this is honestly just scratching the surface of the influence of kung fu and martial arts movies on not just Mortal Kombat but the entire fighting game genre as we know it today. Martial arts (or wu xia pian) films been produced overseas since 1905, with kung fu movies being around since 1949, but became incredibly popular between the early-sixties through to the 1970s once Bruce Lee was introduced to the world in Five Fingers of Death/King Boxer (Chung, 1972). Bruce Lee’s skill, charisma, and heavily kinetic energy was the perfect platform for this new style of cinematic combat that emphasised realistic action and application of martial arts. Lee famously multiple martial arts styles into his trans-cultural Jeet Kune Do style that showcased the best of Chinese martial arts, and Enter the Dragon not only reinvented him as an introspective Shaolin monk who could instantly become a lethal whirlwind but it was also engineered as a showcase of Lee’s unparalleled charisma and unique choreography. Lee became a national (and international) sensation after the film’s success, but tragically died six days before Enter the Dragon’s U.S. premiere, and has “haunted” martial arts films for decades as producers and filmmakers both perverted his legacy by awkwardly using limited footage of him and presenting it as new and attempting to substitute him with lookalikes and replacements.

Enter the Dragon had a profound influence on the Mortal Kombat games and movie.

The most obvious link between the fighting videogames and martial arts films is their inclination towards tournament structures, which allows fights to be staged onscreen not merely for our viewing pleasure but as necessary narrative components. These battles become a literal “game of death” based around increasingly-difficult fights between diverse characters, and related the two mediums in their ability to instill an intense excitement in the viewer (and/or player) through the gratification (or humiliation) of the fight. The film’s influence on the fighting game genre couldn’t be more explicit in the first two Street Fighter games; the plots are essentially the same (evil mastermind hosts a fighting tournament) and characters (such as Ryu, Ken, Geki, and Balrog/Vega) owe their design and personalities to those seen in the film. However, it’s in the Mortal Kombat movie that we see the most direct influences of the film, and fittingly so; there’s something poetic about Enter the Dragon influencing the Mortal Kombat videogame and the Mortal Kombat adaptation turning to Lee’s popular martial arts classic for inspiration. Indeed, I’ve long argued that Mortal Kombat is essentially a remake of Enter the Dragon: a host of martial artists (including three distinct main characters) are drawn to a mysterious island to fight in a tournament and battle an aging madman. Despite their different levels of knowledge and skill, and their conflicting personalities, they bond and are faced with tougher and tougher opponents until the righteous monk ends the antagonist’s threat in one-on-one combat skewed in the bad guy’s favour. The structure of the narrative and fight scenes are all very reminiscent of Enter the Dragon, but made all the more unique through the steady introduction of Mortal Kombat’s more fantastical elements; these are introduced to us slowly throughout the film, and explained in a way that both we and our sceptical main characters can understand them. While this means that we don’t get to see many of the superhuman and mystical special moves of the videogames, it does help to keep the focus on the characters and the film’s impressive fight scenes.

Tormented by guilt and self-doubt, Liu Kang’s greatest enemy is himself.

Although Mortal Kombat has three main protagonists, it’s fundamentally Liu Kang’s story; the pure-hearted hero of the franchise since game one, Liu Kang is presented as a disenchanted and doubt-ridden former Shaolin monk who rejected his upbringing at the Temple of Light in favour of the bright lights and excitement of the United States. Having been raised with full knowledge of the Mortal Kombat tournament, Liu Kang believes that the legends of Outworld are little more than nonsense fairytales designed to indoctrinate and brainwash the Order’s pupils. Indeed, while his grandfather (Lloyd Kino) fully believes in the tournament and pays reverence to Lord Rayden, Liu Kang angrily rejects the stories and questions Rayden’s legitimacy out of anger since he believes that the Order’s teachings were directly responsible for the death of his younger brother, Chan (Steven Ho). Crucially, Liu Kang enters the tournament not to defend Earthrealm but to avenge his brother’s death and is stunned to learn that not only is Rayden truly the God of Thunder but all of the legends he grew up with about Outworld are true; he quickly turns from a sceptic to a source of exposition for his new allies, but remains haunted by his doubts regarding his destiny. Rayden claims that Liu Kang fled the temple because he couldn’t handle the responsibility that comes from being the “Chosen One” and Liu Kang struggles with his heritage as he’s the descendant of the Great Kung Lao, a martial artist who secured Earthrealm’s fate generations ago. As a result, Liu Kang’s greatest enemy is not the array of fantastical and monstrous fighters placed in his path by Shang Tsung, it is himself and his character arc involves learning to overcome his doubts and embrace his destiny as the saviour of Earthrealm.

The egotistical Johnny Cage sees to prove himself and provides much of the comic relief.

As charismatic and likeable as Liu Kang is, however, it’s the egotistical showboat Johnny Cage who steals the show at every opportunity. Played to perfection by Linden Ashby, Cage is an arrogant braggart and something of a diva when on set, but his failings as a character come from a deep-seated frustration at being labelled a fake by the press and media. In actual fact, Cage is one of the greatest martial artists in the world and the tournament gives him the opportunity to prove that on the grandest and greatest stage possible; desperate to be taken seriously as a fighter, he willingly makes the journey and remains oblivious to the tournament’s true purpose. Cage acts as the film’s comic relief and every line and character beat of his lands perfectly (his assumption that Liu Kang is a porter is hilarious, as is his struggles with his luggage upon arriving on the island, and he’s never a moment away from a witty retort); while Ashby is far from the accomplished martial artist like Shou, he holds his own in fight scenes and is presented in a way that plays into his strengths, which helps make Cage a very grounded and realistic character. Instantly taking a shine to Sonya, Cage tries and fails to win her over with his boastful character but soon forms a real bond with her, and Liu Kang, based on their shared sense of awe at the scale of the tournament. While Cage goes out of his way to protect Sonya out of a mixture of chivalry and confidence, his character arc is specifically geared towards accepting his limitations and his abilities; rather than rushing head-first into battle to prove himself a legitimate fighter, Cage must learn to use his head and plan ahead, something that he accomplishes when he’s able to outwit and outmatch the lumbering man-mountain that is Goro (Tom Woodruff Jr./Kevin Michael Richardson/Frank Welker).

Sonya is obsessed with her vendetta against Kano and is forced to learn to rely on others for help.

Finally, there’s Sonya Blade; a strict and focused soldier, Sonya is a grim and stoic young woman whose military drive has been superseded by a bloodthirsty vendetta against Kano (Goddard), the unscrupulous criminal who murdered her partner. Sonya has become so razor-focused on pursing Kano, that she ignores the warnings of her partner, “Jaxx” (Gregory McKinney), and boards Shang Tsung’s boat to apprehend her target. Accordingly, Sonya has no clue about what’s really going on and is incredulous to the advances of Shang Tsung and the supernatural events happening around her; of the three, she’s the most cynical and dismissive of the tournament’s true purpose and she remains obsessed with bringing Kano to justice even after learning of Mortal Kombat’s true nature and the legitimacy of its mystical elements. Initially, Sonya pursues Shang Tsung to get closer to Kano and is reluctant to join forces with Liu Kang and Johnny Cage; her character arc revolves around her being afraid to trust others, which goes a long way to explain her prickly demeanour as she makes a conscious effort to push others way to avoid losing someone she cares about, like her partner. This pays off in the finale, where she’s reduced to a mere hostage and is forced to rely on her newfound friends to come for her since she’s no match for Shang Tsung.

The enigmatic Shang Tsung has some formidable and sadistic minions at his disposal.

Speaking of whom, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa makes for a truly fearsome and enigmatic villain; Shang Tsung commands the screen whenever he appears with his presentation, charisma, line delivery, and tangible magnetism. Shang Tsung is presented as a cold, sadistic threat; despite appearing to be a middle-aged man, he’s described as being “far more dangerous” than even the fearsome Goro since he can literally steal souls at will. An alluring and cruel villain, Shang Tsung delights in witnessing his forces triumph over Rayden’s chosen warriors and exudes authority and menace simply by being present in a scene or with a few ominous words. His unsettlingly sexual perversion towards Sonya and vehement hatred of Liu Kang only add to his disturbing aura and, while he bends and manipulates events to avoid fighting Liu Kang, he proves himself to be every bit the formidable opponent in the finale thanks to his centuries of experience and the power and knowledge of the souls he has absorbed. Similarly, Trevor Goddard clearly threw everything he had into making Kano an absolutely reprehensible villain who makes a distinctive impression thanks to his guttural grunts, faux Australian accent, and sadistic mean streak that forever changed Kano’s portrayal in the videogames. Both villains convey so much personality and menace whenever they’re onscreen and through their sheer demeanour and a few lines of dialogue; we get a glimpse into Kano’s background but his callous mean streak and attitude help make him a surprisingly well-rounded character and elevate Kano beyond a mere one-dimensional henchman. Both Shang Tsung and his chief champion, Goro, are seeped in mystery and menace; each one are pawns of the ominous Emperor (voiced by Frank Welker) but are significant physical threats in their own right and there’s a real sense of desperation behind them as they’ve never been so close to absolute victory before and are determined to please their Emperor by besting Rayden’s warriors.

Our heroes meet a number of cryptic, ill-fated, and beautiful allies in their quest to save their world.

Like Tagawa, Lambert perfectly embodies Rayden and his portrayal of Rayden forever changed the Thunder God from a destructive deity who is blasé about destroying life into a wise and benevolent mentor figure; Lambert’s distinctive, rasping voice makes for a strangely ominous character who exudes an absolute confidence thanks to his status as a God. Rayden offers both cryptic council to the protagonists and exposits information about the tournament and the plot that is necessary for them (and us, the audience) to hear but it’s never laborious to sit through thanks to Rayden having a cackling, mocking sense of humour that makes for some truly amusing moments. Johnny Cage meets a fan and makes a fast friend in bit-player Art Lean (Kenneth Edwards), an original character who mainly exists simply to fuel Cage’s animosity towards Goro, and Liu Kang becomes enamoured by the alluring and mysterious Princess Kitana (Soto). Though not really asked to do more than be beautiful and captivating, Kitana plays a pivotal role in delivering another layer of exposition to the protagonists about Outworld and helping facilitate Liu Kang’s larger character arc, and the character is an interesting shade of grey in a film of extreme black and white since she’s technically allied with Outworld but is secretly plotting to aid Earthrealm since the Emperor destroyed her realm.

Despite some dodgy CGI and being reduced to minions, the three ninjas remain a highlight of the film.

The deck is definitely stacked against our heroes, though, as they are also faced with a couple of menacing ninjas, Sub-Zero (François Petit) and Scorpion (Chris Casamassa/Ed Boon), two largely mute henchmen whom Shang Tsung has made into mindless slaves with his power. As a big fan of both characters, I am understandably disappointed that their famous rivalry is entirely absent from the film and Mortal Kombat definitely set an annoying precedent for Scorpion being portrayed as a purely evil character (when, in actuality, he’s either neutral or the more virtuous of the two), but as a kid I had absolutely no complaints at all about how the two were portrayed because they stole every scene they were in. Both characters represent how dire the stakes are for our more recognisably human characters; Sub-Zero is able to summon ice and freeze opponents in an instant and Scorpion can send out a deadly, serpent-like tentacle at will and, while these effects haven’t aged too well (and it’s still really weird that Scorpion’s roped kunai was interpreted as a living extension of himself), they clearly define these characters as being otherworldly and a danger that is far beyond a simple martial arts contest. Compounding matters further is the presence of Reptile (Keith Cooke/Frank Welker), an absolutely ugly CGI monster that stalks Kitana (and our heroes) at every turn from the shadows; Reptile is constantly seen following the protagonists while cloaked but proves to be every bit as daunting an opponent as his videogame counterpart when he’s tossed into a corpse and takes physical form. Again, this is a very strange interpretation of the character, but my God does it make for an awesome fight scene between him and Liu Kang! Bolstered by Traci Lords’ incredible techno beat, “Control”, this fight represents Liu Kang’s final hurdle on the road to Shang Tsung and, when placed alongside the battles and scene-stealing, ominous presence of his similarly-attire cohorts, goes a long way to making the masked ninjas an undeniable highlight of the film even if it’s true that they were the most changed by the adaptation process.

The Nitty-Gritty:
One of the many ways Mortal Kombat has earned its reputation as one of the best videogame adaptations is in the fantastic and pulse-pounding techno-inspired soundtrack; the Immortals’ iconic title theme remains one of the best and most memorable theme songs of all time and I’m honestly disappointed that it hasn’t been evoked in the videogames more often. Many of the film’s characterisations and environments would eventually make their way into the videogames and other Mortal Kombat adaptations, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, especially, reprising his unforgettable role more than once, though again I can’t help but be disappointed that the film’s cast weren’t brought back to voice their polygonal counterparts sooner in the modern videogames, so iconic are their performances. I think what makes Mortal Kombat such a good videogame adaptation, though, is how perfectly it encapsulates the spirit of the source material; one of the difficulties of videogame adaptations is the fact that you’re taking an interactive medium and making it a purely passive piece of media, so the audience’s engagement with the media is very different. Players relish the opportunity to pummel their opponents and the thrill of making a comeback from a beating or executing one of the franchise’s patented Fatalities, so if you’re going to remove that element you need to replace it with an enjoyable film full of engaging characters and exciting action, and Mortal Kombat definitely delivers in that regard. This is why I continually argue that you can’t go into a videogame adaptation expecting it to be the same as the source material because, by its very nature as a different medium, it can’t be the same; instead, you have to see if it works as an enjoyable film first and foremost and then hope that it’s as faithful to the source material as the new medium allows.

Although the movie’s tamer than the videogames, it’s still pretty violent and captures the game’s spirit.

I can understand why fans of the videogame may have been disappointed that characters aren’t all tossing out fireballs and energy waves, however; such abilities are specifically limited to the forces of Outworld or magical beings like Rayden, which is a conscious decision that frames the foreign “other” and otherworldly aspects of the film as being strange, different, and (most importantly) a force to be feared. Sub-Zero and Scorpion are given basically no backstory in the film, and it’s heavily implied that they’re aligned with (or even part of) the mysterious Outworld, so when we see that they wield these incredible and deadly powers, we know that the odds are heavily stacked against our more traditionally-armed protagonists far beyond more explicit threats like the monstrous Goro. Of course, one of the disappointments about Mortal Kombat is the lack of gore and the tame nature of its Fatalities compared to the source material. This can be directly attributed to producer Lawrence Kasanoff, who specifically sold and marketing the Mortal Kombat property not on the violence, but on the story: Kasanoff saw the story as “the centre of the wheel and the videogame [as] the extension of one of the spokes” (Russell, quoting Kasanoff, 2012: 148), and as being “rich in mythology, character, adventure, excitement and positive messages” regarding the sanctity of life (Derek, 1996). Kasanoff believed in Mortal Kombat so much that he sold it as a multimedia franchise rather than simply one violent movie that would appeal to a small segment of the audience, and his focus on the story permeated every aspect of Mortal Kombat’s production: both writer Kevin Droney and director Paul W. S. Anderson emphasised the diversity and realism of the characters and worked to present intense and impactful martial arts fights that would live up to Lee’s high standards.

Focusing on the characters keeps the film entertaining and grounded, even when things get crazy.

Accordingly, much of the film’s appeal and popularity can be traced to the personalities of the three main characters and their supporting cast; each actor underwent unique and intense fight training so that they’d be able to pull off a lot of the moves seen onscreen and the rapport between Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, and Sonya Blade is one of the film’s many highlights. Ashby shines as the arrogant and snarky Cage, offering glib quips and conceited remarks about seemingly everything around him but still being brave-hearted and loyal. Robin Shou is so much more than a Bruce Lee standee, exhibiting a likeability and vulnerability as Liu Kang that makes him a compelling and enjoyable character to watch; he’s filled with doubts about his “destiny” and has been trying to hide from his true calling. He is unique among the three because he has been raised on the Mortal Kombat legend but is just as awestruck to find that it’s real and not just a myth; additionally, he has a further emotional stake in the tournament thanks to his personal animosity towards Shang Tsung, all of which tells a fantastic tale of a man learning to fulfil his true potential and safeguard the world in the process. If there’s a weak link of the three, it’s definitely Bridgette Wilson but, even then, it actually works in the context of the film: Sonya is a stoic, no-nonsense military brat who is obsessed with the mission and her vendetta against Kano. She has no time for Cage’s posturing, is highly sceptical of the supernatural and mystical events happening around her, and is focused solely on getting her hands on Kano. However, like the others, she has a lesson to learn (to trust) that comes to fruition as she bonds with her newfound allies and is forced to rely on them when she’s taken hostage in the finale.

The three ninjas deliver the film’s most intense and exciting fight scenes.

One element I’ve always enjoyed about Mortal Kombat is how well it juggles its pacing and cast; rather than cramming every single character from the first two games into the film, Mortal Kombat primarily focuses on the nine characters featured in the first game, with Kitana included as a further source of exposition and a potential love interest for Liu Kang. Sadly, for many fans (including myself), Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Reptile suffer a bit from the film’s construction; while it makes sense for Reptile to be depicted as a minion of Shang Tsung, the brutal and complex rivalry between Sub-Zero and Scorpion is completely swept under the carpet to make them largely mute henchmen for the enigmatic sorcerer. Still, all three more than make up for this with their impressively faithful outfits and absolutely incredible fight scenes; the battles between Cage and Scorpion, Liu Kang and Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang and Reptile are three of the best (if not arguably the best) fights in the entire film, with each one doing a wonderful job of being both an intense and exciting martial arts showcase while capturing the spirit of the source material brilliantly. Cage/Scorpion is bolstered by being visually distinct from other fights in the film, beginning in a forest of dense, thin tree trucks and ending in what appears to be the Hell-like Netherrealm; not only that, but it features Scorpion’s iconic “Toasty!” Fatality and even a fun little nod to Cage’s Friendship. Liu Kang’s fights against the masked ninjas are far more intense, however, thanks largely to Shou’s involvement in the fight choreography and the undeniable skill of his onscreen opponents; Shou flips and kicks and strikes at his foes with an incredible intensity, and both Sub-Zero and Reptile prove themselves to be formidable and incredibly aggressive opponents. Reptile especially, pushes Liu Kang to the limit (it’s fitting that this is Liu Kang’s most difficult fight considering how cheap and challenging Reptile was in the original Mortal Kombat) and sparks a killer instinct in the former monk that serves him will in his climatic battle with Shang Tsung, while Sub-Zero’s ice powers force Liu Kang to act on Kitana’s cryptic advice to turn his opponent’s deadly magical abilities against him.

Goro, like Kano, is intimidating and menacing but ultimately defeated by his own hubris.

We see similar tactics in other fights in the film, too; while the battle between Kano and Sonya may be one of the weaker bouts (succeeded only by the half-hearted, semi-flirtatious “fight” between Liu Kang and Kitana), it’s quite brutal in its own way as Kano has no compunction about striking a woman or kicking her when she’s down. Kano’s arrogance in his greater strength and knowledge of Sonya’s abilities proves to be his downfall, however, as he’s easily caught off-guard by Sonya’s impressive (and incredibly sexy) head scissors and finally put out of his misery with a quick (if somewhat anti-climatic) neck snap. Fittingly, there’s a great deal of effort put into building up the reveal and threat of the monstrous Goro; this titanic creature may look a little too tall and janky nowadays but that doesn’t stop Goro from being a triumph of practical effects and complex animatronics that cost Amalgamated Dynamics $1 million to bring to life. The massive suit and puppet creature makes a lasting impression thanks to being an actual, tangible, in-camera effect and easily sits alongside Jim Henson’s best work; although his fight scenes are often, understandably, a little clunky (or avoided entirely in favour of a quick montage), Goro is presented as the ultimate, unconquerable force who can easily beat an opponent to death and shrug off attacks. Enraged at having witnessed the death of his friend, Art Lean, at the creature’s hands, Cage finally puts aside his ego (…mostly) to challenge Goro in order to take him off the board. What follows is an amusing and innovative glorified chase sequence rather than a traditional fight as Cage delivers his patented split/nut punch and then lures Goro to the top of a nearby mountain, where he’s able to catch the prideful champion by surprise and send him plummeting to his death.

Liu defeats Shang Tsung and frees Chan’s soul, but his victory is short lived when the Emperor shows up!

Of course, it all culminates with a showdown between Liu Kang and Shang Tsung; Shang Tsung does everything he can to avoid battling the descendant of his hated enemy but, when backed into a corner, accepts the challenge and relishes the opportunity to taunt and overwhelm the Shaolin monk with his impressive fighting skill. However, Liu Kang doesn’t just face one foe when fighting Shang Tsung, he faces three, both literally and figuratively; by calling upon the thousands of souls he has absorbed over his centuries of life, Shang Tsung is able to conjure a number of minions that Liu Kang must fight through and Liu Kang also has to face “himself” (as in, accept the destiny he has long avoided) and his worst fear. For Liu Kang, this is personified by his younger brother, Chan, whose form Shang Tsung assumes to lure Liu Kang into lowering his guard. However, thanks to Rayden’s teachings and the lessons he has learned throughout the film, Liu Kang finally accepts that he was powerless to help Chan, and all Shang Tsung’s deception does is give Liu Kang the motivation to pummel his foe into submission and deliver a blast (that somewhat resembles his trademark fireball) that sends the sorcerer careening down onto a bed of spikes below. Defeated, Shang Tsung instantly decays into a corpse and all of the souls he has taken are finally freed, allowing Liu Kang to have one final, emotional farewell with his brother and return to Earthrealm victorious. However, while he and his friends celebrate their victory, the Temple of Light suddenly bursts apart as the hulking, monstrous Emperor bursts onto the scene and ends the film on a massive cliffhanger that had me so excited for a follow-up…only to end up being massively disappointed (though that’s a story for another time).

The Summary:
It might be difficult for younger people to understand just how big of a deal Mortal Kombat was back in the day; videogame adaptations were still quite rare at the time and all me and my friends cared about was seeing our favourite videogame characters in a movie. It was exciting and mind-blowing, especially as we were big videogame fans and Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat were so big and popular at the time; I remember going out of my way to rent Mortal Kombat on video to watch with my friends on my birthday, convincing my mum to let me buy a copy from a market stall, and waiting for what felt like an eternity for the sequel to come out, all while absorbing every piece of related media available that I could. It’s crazy how good this film is; yes, the plot is pretty basic, the concept is outlandish, and some of the performances and effects don’t land quite well, but the film is full of humour, character, and spectacular fight scenes that more than make up for these failings. By focusing on Mortal Kombat’s rich lore and marrying the series’ more fantastical elements with some grounded, relatable, and humorous characters, the film excels at being an entertaining fantasy/action piece. Bolstered by an iconic soundtrack and some fantastic performances from the main cast, Mortal Kombat more than makes an impression with its intense martial arts scenes and wonderfully transplants the themes and spirit of the source material into the familiar trappings of classic kung fu movies like Enter the Dragon. It’s astounding that more videogame adaptations (including those by this film’s director) weren’t able to learn from the standards set by Mortal Kombat; it’s difficult to adapt videogames into movies but I maintain that it’s not impossible, and one must strive to make an entertaining film first and foremost and then find ways for the source material to work in its new medium. Mortal Kombat does this expertly at a time when no one was expecting it and remains so much more than a cult classic; it’s honestly one of the most entertaining films I’ve ever seen and a must watch for fans of the series even with its tame depiction of the franchise’s more violent aspects.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Mortal Kombat? How do you feel it holds up today and when compared to the sequels, remake, and other adaptations of the source material (and other videogames) that have come since? Which of the three protagonists your favourite? Were you a fan of the villains in the film and what did you think to the depiction of Goro and Reptile? Were you disappointed to see Scorpion and Sub-Zero neutured into mere henchmen? Do you have any fond memories of this film or the franchise from your childhood? Whatever you think about Mortal Kombat, either leave a comment on my social media or sign up and write your thoughts below.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Hong Kong cinema, the impact and legacy of Bruce Lee, and how Mortal Kombat was adapted into a feature film, check out my PhD thesis or some of these resouces:

Derek, S. C. (1996) A Writer’s Guide to Mortal Kombat.

Hunt, L. (2002) ‘‘I Know Kung Fu!’: The Martial Arts in the Age of Digital Reproduction’ in King, G. and Krzywinska, T. (eds.) ScreenPlay: videogames/interfaces. London: Wallflower Press: pages 196 to 201.
________ (2003) Kung Fu Cult Masters: From Bruce Lee to Crouching Tiger. London: Wallflower Press.

Logan, B. (1995) Hong Kong Action Cinema. London: Titan Books.

Russell, J. (2012) Generation Xbox: How Video Games Invaded Hollywood. East Sussex: Yellow Ant.

West, D. (2006) Chasing Dragons: An Introduction to the Martial Arts Film. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Limited.

Movie Night [A-Day]: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Dr. K12 Comments

Having introduced comic readers to a whole host of colourful characters, in September of 1963 the legendary duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought together six of Earth’s mightiest heroes to form the Avengers. A super team like no other, with a constantly rotating roster, the Avengers has become the premier team of Marvel Comics and, thanks to the team and its individual members forming the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), have become an unbelievably popular and successful franchise in their own right.

Released: 1 May 2015
Director: Joss Whedon
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Budget: $365 million
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Paul Bettany

The Plot:
After finally defeating the last remnants of Hydra, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo), Thor Odinson (Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner) face an even greater threat when Stark and Banner’s prototype for an artificial intelligence, Ultron (Spader), becomes self-aware and concocts a diabolical scheme to unleash an extinction-level event upon the world.

The Background:
After the unprecedented success of Avengers Assemble/The Avengers (Whedon, 2012), the MCU was well and truly on its way to becoming an unstoppable multimedia juggernaut. Following the conclusion of that film, the MCU firmly entered its second phase and director Joss Whedon stated early on that his intention for an Avengers sequel was to tell a more personal and intimate story rather than necessarily being bigger and better. Taking inspiration more from the likes of Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, 1980) than the Marvel Comics story of the same name, the script initially included the first appearance of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, and many were surprised to see Whedon focus on Ultron after teasing Thanos (Damion Poitier) the end of the first film. The script also saw the introduction of Wanda (Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Johnson), who both Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox were allowed to include in separate film franchises thanks to a legal loophole. Tensions were frayed between Whedon and Marvel’s executives, however, as they disagreed with some of his scenes and choices, which eventually led to Whedon parting ways with the studio. Although Avengers: Age of Ultron made about $100,000 less than its predecessor, it still grossed $1,404 billion at the box office. Critical reception wasn’t quite as universally positive as with the first film, however; while the effects and action were praised, many were disappointed with how overstuffed and mundane the film was.

The Review:
Much has changed in the MCU since the conclusion of Avengers Assemble; not only has the entire world seen that extraterrestrial threats lie beyond our planet, but all manner of strange and powerful cosmic artefacts and concepts are now loosed upon the Earth. One positive that came out of the whole debacle, though, was the formation of the Avengers themselves and, since the last film and the fall of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.), the team have dedicated themselves to tracking down Loki Laufeyson’s (Tom Hiddleston) sceptre and erasing the last remnants of the clandestine organisation Hydra, which has secretly been manipulating events behind the scenes ever since World War Two.

Inspired my Loki’s sceptre, Stark convinces Banner to help him create Ultron.

The retrieval of the sceptre is a cause for much celebration within the team as it marks the end of a lengthy campaign against Hydra, but it leads into not only all of the film’s subsequent problems but also opens the MCU up to an ever greater threat lurking deep amongst the stars. Within the sceptre, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner (who had bonded over their keen love for science in the first film) discover a powerful gem, just one of the many Infinity Stones, that holds the key to completing Stark’s plans for a global defence program known as “Ultron” that he is desperate to deploy to protect the world form extraterrestrial threats. Shaken by his experiences in the last film, where he saw just how outgunned and outmatched the Earth was compared to the vastness of the galaxy, Stark is keen to build a metaphorical suit of armour around the world and encourages Banner to assist him in completing Ultron despite the doctor’s reservations. Banner, still a timid and cautious fellow, argues the moral and potentially dangerous consequences of giving birth to an artificial intelligence without the approval of the entire team and without proper testing, but is persuaded to co-operate by the force of Stark’s conviction.

Banner and Romanoff struggle with their pasts, natures, and feelings for each other.

Although in a far more comfortable position within the team and with himself, Banner is still subject to the whim of his green-skinned alter ego. Thanks to his ability to summon the Hulk at will, Banner is a valuable asset to the Avengers out in the field and, in an unexpected turn of events, the Hulk is easily subdued and calmed down by the influence of Romanoff. When in his more stable and timid human form, Banner has a close relationship with Romanoff that sees him clearly besotted by her but missing or ignoring her obvious flirtatious advances. He explains this as him being aware that Romanoff flirts with everyone, and the obvious interpretation is that he is afraid to act on his feelings because of his monstrous passenger, but he later reveals that he is holding himself back because he cannot offer her anything resembling a “normal” life. After the accident that first triggered his transformation, Banner has been rendered sterile and potentially dangerous by the sheer amount of Gamma radiation coursing through his veins, to say nothing of the fact that he can’t allow himself to get too excited for fear of triggering a transformation, burdening the doctor with a tragic loneliness no matter how close he is to his team mates. While it may seem strange that Romanoff is suddenly so infatuated with Banner, he represents a sense of kindness and stability that is often missing from her chaotic and deceptive life; even when Banner is explaining himself to her, she opens up to him and reveals some of the horrendous experiences she suffered in the “Red Room” while being trained as an efficient and ruthless spy. Since this also involved a full hysterectomy, she also sees herself as inadequate and monstrous since she’s not only done countless despicable things in the past but is so pained by her inability to be a “real” woman that she feels she can’t be anything more than the famed Black Widow.

While Thor’s side quest derails things somewhat, it’s great to see Barton’s personality fleshed out.

For Thor, recovering the sceptre spells the end to his brother’s impact upon his beloved adopted world; since the last film, Thor has built quite the rapport with his team mates and their extended families and revels with them as he would conquering Asgardian comrades. Thor is enraged, however, when he sees Loki’s magic perverted into Ultron and very nearly comes to blows with Stark over his reckless actions in meddling with cosmic powers beyond his comprehension. Thor’s concerns over the gem are only exacerbated after his encounter with Wanda, which causes him to suspect a greater threat and seek out his friend, Doctor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), to accompany him on a short side quest to learn more about the mysterious gems that keep popping up in his life. After spending the majority of the first film under Loki’s control, Barton gets far more screen time and relevance in the sequel than I think many people expected; rather than focusing on his relationship with Romanoff, the film initially suggests that he may be a double-agent or keeping his own secrets from the team, but dramatically reveals that he has a wife and kids that he has kept quiet from everyone except for Romanoff. Protected and hidden from official records by former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Barton’s family provides refuge for the wounded and exhausted team after their encounter with the twins and goes a long way to fleshing out Barton’s character beyond just being “the guy with the arrows”.

Tensions rise between Steve and Stark as both have very different methods and ideologies.

Finally, there’s Captain America himself, Steve Rogers. Still very much the field leader and default commander of the superhero team, Steve has committed himself to tracking down and eradicating Hydra’s influence as part of the guilt he feels over not finishing the job back in World War Two. Steve’s old-fashioned sensibilities are a source of much amusing banter within the team, but his pure heart, dedication, and moral integrity mean that he’s devoted to saving and protected all lives above anything else. Indeed, he’s so pure-hearted that he’s even able to ever so slightly budge Mjölnir during a friendly competition, is the only one of the team not driven into a paranoid frenzy by Wanda’s cruel visions, and, of course, takes the moral high ground when he sees the consequences of Stark’s arrogance first stumble to life. Burned by the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Russo and Russo, 2014), Cap is understandably annoyed that Stark would go behind their backs and unleash a potentially world-ending threat upon the world, but is also fair and just enough to try and convince the twins of Ultron’s threat and accept them into the team despite the destruction their actions have caused.

Ultron twists Stark’s vision for peace and personality quirks into a megalomaniacal plot for extinction.

As for Ultron…Like a lot of people, I was surprised to see the second Avengers film make a sudden left turn towards Marvel’s famous cyborg maniac, but curious to see how the character would be brought to life. Since Doctor Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) would not make his debut until the following year, the film alters Ultron’s origins and has it be a creation of Stark and Banner (though mainly Stark); personally, I feel like another redraft of the script could have restored Pym as Ultron’s creator and introduced the character earlier, perhaps with Pym also taking the place of Doctor Helen Cho (Claudia Kim) and helping to further set up his antagonism towards Stark and the Avengers in Ant-Man (Reed, 2015). Regardless, I can understand the change, and Ultron’s depiction as this conceited, self-righteous, boastful villain makes for one of the MCU’s most loquacious and enigmatic antagonists if nothing else. Positioned as a dark reflection and extreme perversion of Stark’s desire to protect the world, Ultron learns of humanity’s tendency towards war and self-destruction by first absorbing Stark’s resident A.I., Just A Rather Very Intelligent System (J.A.R.V.I.S.; Paul Bettany) and then trawling the internet. It concludes, as many sentient A.I.’s do, that humanity can only be truly united and learn to survive and prove their worth after suffering from near extinction and sets in motion a dual plot to spread his influence through multiple, disposable copies of itself while forced Cho to construct a near-invulnerable synthetic body and to turn the ravaged nation of Sokovia into a gigantic meteor to drop onto the planet and bring humanity to the brink of desperation…and greatness.

The twins cause havoc with the Avengers before reluctantly joining forces with them to oppose Ultron.

Ultron is assisted by the twins Wanda and Pietro, who were subjected to bizarre and horrendous experiments by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), a Hydra commander who unfortunately gets very little screen time before being killed offscreen but who leaves a lasting impact in his influence on the twins. While the brash and snarky Pietro exhibits superhuman speed, Wanda wields a dangerous and unpredictable red energy that allows her to fire off psionic bolts and manipulate the minds of others. It’s thanks to her influence that Stark sees a vision of the Avengers left decimated and the Earth vulnerable to alien invasion (which compels him to create Ultron in the first place), that Romanoff is forced to relive her traumatic experiences in the Red Room, that Thor learns of the cosmic disaster threatened by the Infinity Stones, and that the Hulk goes on a mindless rampage through Johannesburg. Wanda and Pietro have their own vendetta against Stark that causes them to willingly assist Ultron; Stark’s weapons caused the deaths of their parents and left them trapped, fearing their own death, for two days when they were children. However, when Wanda learns that Ultron’s plan extends beyond killing Stark and destroying the Avengers and into worldwide genocide, the twins turn against the maniacal machine and reluctantly join forces with the Avengers for the action-packed finale.

The Nitty-Gritty:
It’s true that Avengers: Age of Ultron had a lot to live up to; not only was Avengers Assemble a massive, massive box office event, but it changed the course of the MCU and both comic book films and cinema forever. Add to that the decision to title the film after one of the biggest and most complex crossovers in then-recent Marvel Comics and the film definitely had a bit of an uphill battle; I get that titling films “Age of…” was a common practice in Hollywood for a while, and the desire to capitalise on Brian Michael Bendis’ story arc, but I would have picked Ultron Unleashed instead, which would have both paid homage to the comics while also slightly lowering audience’s expectations somewhat. Still, the banter and wit on offer is just as entertaining and compelling as in the first film; the team give Steve a hard time for calling out Stark’s bad language, Thor’s mission report on the Hulk’s actions against Strucker’s forces is amusing (as is his banter with Stark regarding their girlfriends), and it’s nice just see the team relaxing and socialising outside of battle.

While the action is big and exciting, the film primarily sows seeds of dissension between the Avengers.

I think the film gets a bit of a bad reputation because it opts for a more subdued and interpersonal story rather than necessarily being bigger and better; the film starts basically where the first film left off, with the Avengers operating as a co-ordinated and efficient team, sharing banter and doing their parts individually and collectively in the assault on Strucker’s fortress. It took basically the entirety of Avengers Assemble to get these big egos and characters to work through their issues and set aside their personal grievances for the greater good, so to see them in action as a fortified unit is incredibly gratifying as a comic book fan. When Ultron first reveals itself to the team, they instinctively leap into action and the question isn’t whether they can fight together, but whether they can co-exist and stay on the same page regarding the greater threats. While Stark’s actions in trying to pre-empt their defences against these dangers were irresponsible, his motivations are entirely understandable and he was right: the Earth did need to prepare itself for a greater threat, but arguably they would have been in a better position to do that if Stark had consulted with his team mates first. As angry as Thor is with Stark for meddling in cosmic powers, Steve is equally disappointed in his friend’s recklessness and the first hints of friction between the two are sowed in this film; while Steve fully believes that the team is best served working together, win or lose, Stark would rather prepare for the best-case scenario and have contingencies in place, no matter how morally questionable they are.

When Wanda screws with the Hulk, Stark is forced to bust out the awesome Hulkbuster mech!

This is further evidenced in the dramatic and exciting depiction of “Veronica”, a massive mech-suit designed by Stark and Banner specifically to combat the Hulk. A contingency neither wish to see put into action, Stark is forced to call upon this “Hulkbuster” armour when Wanda screws with Banner’s mind and sends the Hulk on a mindless rampage. Although we don’t get to see Banner’s nightmarish vision, we can assume that it must be either incredibly devastating, traumatic, or tragic based on what Stark, Cap, Thor, and Romanoff are forced to relive, and it’s most likely something that ties into the fear Banner and the Hulk have of each other. Either way, the rest is an absolutely massive and incredible impressive brawl between the Hulk and the Hulkbuster; easily Stark’s biggest and most powerful armour yet, the Hulkbuster quickly repairs and rearms itself when damaged by the Hulk and is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the Green Goliath, however it’s still heavily implied that the suit was designed to quickly overpower and subdue the Hulk, something easier said than done considering the Hulk’s ever-growing rage. Indeed, it’s only after a prolonged beatdown and having a building dropped on his head that Wanda’s influence is finally shaken for the Hulk, who’s left visibly distraught at the damage and destruction he has wrought.

Although the Hulk doesn’t get to talk, the film is full of fun cameos to set up the new Avengers team.

Sadly, despite the Hulk clearly uttering words in Avengers Assemble, the Green Goliath returns to being a largely mute creature who communicates only in growls, grunts, and facial expressions; indeed, he kind of fades into the background by the finale before jetting off to places unknown in order to keep Romanoff safe from his violent nature. While I was quite happy with the amount of Hulk action on offer in the film, it is disappointing that he wasn’t depicted as talking here as I was expecting him to be fleshed out more in that regard. Age of Ultron does, however, have time for a few fun cameos from Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), who officially join the Avengers by the end of the film, and provides a slightly bigger role for former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), who largely replaces Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and even Fury as the Avengers’ go-to liaison, and all of these characters (except, obviously, for Coulson) play a part in the final battle against Ultron. Another criticism of the film was the shoe-horning in of unnecessary world-building, specifically Thor’s “vision quest” that seems to serve little purpose other than reminding audiences of Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) looming threat. Personally, I never had much of a problem with this as it made Thor pivotal to the creation of the Vision (Bettany); furthermore, much of the film is devoted towards further exploring Stark’s guilt and desperation regarding his friendship with the team and his desire to protect the world, all of which paid off beautifully as the MCU progressed.

Hawkeye forms a bond with Wanda and seems destined to die but it’s Pietro who takes one for the team.

Thanks to being revealed to be a loving and devoted father and husband, Hawkeye slips naturally into the role of a mentor to the twins and the heart of the team; he initially has an antagonistic rivalry with the condescending Pietro but is the only one of the team to anticipate and counteract Wanda’s mind control. When the twins join the team, he helps to integrate them into the Avengers’ code and nowhere is this more evident in the pragmatic and honest pep talk he gives to Wanda, who is overwhelmed by the chaos and insanity of the battle against Ultron’s drones. This perfectly encapsulates not just Barton’s moral centre but also the entire point of the Avengers as a team and a concept: no matter how crazy things get or how unwinnable the odds seem, they shake it off and keep fighting until the very end, regardless of the outcome. Cap reinforces this philosophy when he tells the team: “If you get hurt, hurt ‘em back. If you get killed, walk it off”, and these words have a significant impact not only in encouraging Wanda not to hold herself back in the battle against Ultron but also in Pietro’s decision to be selfless for the first time in his life. Seeing Barton using himself as a human shield to try and protect an innocent child, Pietro rushes in and saves them both at the cost of his own life, a random and absolutely unexpected (and potentially unnecessary) sacrifice that continues to be a little confusing. It appears Whedon decided to kill off Pietro because it would have been too obvious to off Barton, a character who had been set up throughout the entire film as basically doomed and living on borrowed time, but keeping him alive ended up paying off on a longer story arc for the character within the MCU.

Ultron aims to transfer itself into the perfect body, but its Vision grows to oppose and destroy it.

Ultron begins life as a confused and disembodied artificial intelligence; as it quickly absorbs information, its curiosity turns to contempt and it soon perverts Stark’s desire for “peace in our time” to the extreme. It regards Stark’s other creations as mere puppets and is quickly able to learn everything about the team, and the world, and evade true destruction by escaping through the internet and transferring its consciousness halfway across the world into a slew of disposable bodies. As a fully CGI character, Ultron is certainly impressive; the only real complain I have is that I don’t think it needed to have lips. Thankfully, Spader provides an enigmatic and surprisingly layered performance; Ultron fully believes that its actions are just and truly cares for the twins, and is unsettling in its unpredictability as it can be charismatic and almost kind-hearted one minute and then a complete psychopath the next. To help position itself as an unstoppable overlord in its new world, Ultron has Cho create a perfect synthetic body; however, the Avengers are able to intercept this form and, despite concerns about Stark’s recklessness, infuse it with J.A.R.V.I.S.’s consciousness, Thor’s lightning, and the mysterious Mind Stone that was contained within Loki’s sceptre, thus giving birth to a new artificial lifeform dubbed the Vision. Understandably cautious and wary of this new individual, the Avengers’ fears of the Vision’s intentions are immediately set aside when he proves his mettle by being capable of wielding Mjölnir; while I can understand the argument that the Vision’s introduction is a bit rushed and his powers somewhat ill-defined, having him grab Mjölnir like it’s nothing was a great shorthand to tell us everything we needed to know about the character at that point, and he plays a pivotal role in paralleling Ultron’s destructive megalomania with a more pragmatic and reasonable logic.

The Avengers stop Ultron and avert worldwide disaster, unaware of an even greater threat on the horizon.

Having used Stark’s technology, Cho’s research, the power of the Mind Stone, and the near-limitless potential of Wakanda’s Vibranium, Ultron succeeds in lifting Sokovia high up into Earth’s atmosphere. Its inexhaustible army of drones may be simply disposable minions for the Avengers to tear apart, much like the Chitauri, but the stakes are far bigger this time around as the Avengers are forced to hold off Ultron and its copies while also trying to slow or safely stop its make-shift meteor, all while trying to evacuate the entire city onto Fury’s repurposed Helicarrier. They’re successful largely thanks to Wanda who, devastated by her brother’s death, decimates Ultron’s drones and crushes its primary body, ripping its heart out for good measure before the Hulk sends it flying off the floating city. Thanks to Stark and Thor, the landmass is overloaded and blasted to smithereens before it can pose a threat, and Ultron’s final form is seemingly eradicated forever following a philosophical debate with its “son”, the Vision. In the aftermath, Thor returns to Asgard to investigate the Infinity Stones and Stark officially leaves the team to follow through with the promise he made to Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in Iron Man 3 (Black, 2013) and Cap and Romanoff move to a new Avengers facility far outside of the city where they prepare to train a new team of Avengers. However, while all seems well between the team, the Mad Titan, Thanos, arms himself with a glistening gauntlet and prepares to take care of matters personally.

The Summary:
I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by Avengers: Age of Ultron when I first saw it at the cinema; it wasn’t that it was bad, or necessarily worse than Avengers Assemble, but it didn’t really seem to be much better than its predecessor. Avengers Assemble was such a big event because it was the first time these characters were coming together onscreen and I had waited so long so see comic book characters in a shared universe rather than being restricted to isolated worlds, so it always gets extra credit for me due to that and the power of nostalgia. Being just as good as one of the MCU’s best films is nothing to be ashamed of, however, but I think I, like many audiences, was just expecting something a little more substantial from the team’s next big outing. Still, it’s definitely gotten better over time and remains an action-packed spectacle that ties into Phase Two’s themes of challenging the status quo of the MCU and lays the first hints of dissension within the Avengers. Seeing the Avengers in full force never gets old; as much as I enjoy the direction the MCU took, part of me would have liked to see one more film of them as a cohesive unit with the resources of S.H.I.E.L.D. behind them, possibly battling the Masters of Evil, simply because I enjoy the banter and teamwork of the Avengers so much and it’s always a spectacular moment whenever that rousing theme kicks in and the team appears onscreen. While it’s not a perfect film by any means, Age of Ultron introduces a lot of new elements to the MCU and makes an impact with its entertaining action scenes; it’s still amazing seeing Iron Man don the Hulkbuster armour, Pietro’s superspeed and Wanda’s freaky magic add some unique pizazz to the film’s events and finale, but the film really makes its mark with the introduction of the Vision and Spader’s performance as Ultron. A complex and psychotic villain who is all the worst parts of Stark dialled up to eleven, Ultron is both menacing and amusing thanks to its overabundance of personality and snark, and is perfectly juxtaposed by the more life-affirming and analytical Vision. Overall, I feel it’s an under-rated entry in the MCU that is more than deserving of a little more respect and credibility; sure, it’s a little overstuffed and introduces a lot of new elements but, as Ultron states, “with the benefit of hindsight” I think there’s a lot on offer in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that it works wonders for encapsulating the spirit and integrity of the team, perfectly setting them up for their eventual disassembling and climatic reassembling against their greatest every threat, so I’d say it’s a more than worthy follow-up despite some flaws here and there.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Avengers: Age of Ultron? How do you feel it holds up against the first film, and the other Phase Two movies? Were you disappointed with the depiction of the Hulk, Banner’s romance sub-plot with Romanoff, and Pietro’s sudden and dramatic death? What did you think to the new characters introduced to the team in this film, specifically Wanda and the Vision? Where does Ultron rank amongst the Avengers’ villains for you and what did you think to the alterations made to his origin, and Spader’s performance? Would you have liked to see one more Avengers movie before the team splintered and, if so, which characters would you have liked to see added to the team? How are you celebrating the debut of the Avengers today and what are some of your favourite Avengers storylines, characters, or adaptations? Feel free to sign up and share your thoughts and opinions on the Avengers in the comments below, or drop me a line on my social media.

Movie Night [Star Trek Day]: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Dr. K6 Comments

On this day, 8th September 1966, the first episode of Star Trek (1966 to 1969), “The Man Trap” (Daniels, 1966), first aired. Since then, Star Trek has become a massive cultural phenomenon that still endures to this day, spawning numerous continuations, spin-offs, and ancillary media to become perhaps the most influential science-fiction franchise of all time. Accordingly, the 8th of September has been deemed “Star Trek Day” and is thus the perfect excuse to dedicate some more time to, and celebrate, this massive sci-fi franchise.

Released: 4 June 1982
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $12 million
Stars: William Shatner, Ricardo Montalbán, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Kirstie Alley, Bibi Besch, and Merritt Butrick

The Plot:
In the midst of dealing with a mid-life crisis, Admiral James T. Kirk (Shatner) and the crew of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise face their greatest threat yet when the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Montalbán) escapes from a fifteen-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk and acquire a powerful terraforming device named “Genesis”.

The Background:
Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Wise, 1979) grossed nearly $140 million, Paramount were disappointed that it didn’t perform better and Star Trek’s first big-screen outing was met with mixed to negative reviews. Paramount placed the blame for The Motion Picture’s failure on Star Trek-creator Gene Roddenberry’s many rewrites and, after rejecting his idea for a time travel plot for the sequel, removed him from the follow-up’s production and left him with the purely ceremonial position of “Executive Consultant”. Thus, it fell to Harve Bennett to put together the idea for the sequel, which would be much more focused on themes of old age and friendship. After familiarising himself with the television show, Harve settled on the character of Kahn (who first appeared in the episode “Space Seed” (Daniels, 1967)) as the natural choice for a compelling villain. The script went through numerous revisions, the most significant of which coming after the script was leaked; while many of the sets and models from The Motion Picture were repurposed and reused, the Starfleet uniforms underwent a dramatic redesign to fit the film’s more nautical atmosphere. Although Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’s $97 million worldwide gross actually meant that it made less than its predecessor, it also cost a lot less to make and was received far better as critics praised the character interactions, Montalbán’s performance, and Captain Spock’s (Nimoy) poignant send-off. The film went on to be incredibly influential and is widely considered to be one of the best Star Trek movies.

The Review:
The film famously opens with what can retroactively be seen as one of the most layered and blatant pieces of foreshadowing in all of cinema; Vulcan newcomer Lieutenant Saavik (Alley) commands the Enterprise in the infamous Kobayashi Maru, a purposely-unwinnable scenario design to teach Starfleet recruits that they will inevitably face a no-win situation when out in the field. Opting to cross the Neutral Zone and thus provoke conflict with the warmongering Klingons, Saavik’s decision sees the death of the entire bridge crew and the destruction of the Enterprise. When James T. Kirk, still an admiral like in the last film, ends the simulation to provide his feedback, he explains to Saavik that it was more a test of character to see how she (and the other trainees) cope in the face of mortal danger, but also cynically states to Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Kelley) that “galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young”.

Kirk, feeling the pressure of his advanced age, finds himself tested by an old foe.

Immediately, then, we’re introduced to a couple of themes that become increasingly important: the first is that Kirk, despite all of his close calls and adventures, has never truly faced his own death (we later learn that, while he’s the only Starfleet officer to have ever bested Kobayashi Maru, he did so by cheating since he doesn’t believe in a no-win situation) and that Kirk is struggling with his feelings of inadequacy and redundancy. Indeed, the film begins on Kirk’s birthday, an event that Bones likens more to a funeral than a celebration; Kirk is despondent to learn that his eyesight isn’t what it once was and that he now requires glasses to read and feels too old and worn out to be where he belongs (i.e. at the command of a starship). Bones candidly calls Kirk out and encourages him to get back his command before it’s too late; Kirk’s reluctance to entertain the notion is soon rendered mute, however, when he is ordered by Starfleet Command to reassume command of the Enterprise to answer a distress call from the Regula I space station (as always, the Enterprise is the closest ship in range). Unlike in the first film, where Kirk muscled his way back into a position of command when he was unsuitable for the role and floundered with the ship’s new capabilities, here he is initially willing to allow Spock to remain as the ship’s captain but it’s clear that Kirk feels a spark of his old self once he sits back in his chair.

Spock is training a new Enterprise crew that is bolstered by a few familiar faces.

Speaking of Spock, a few things have changed for the loyal Vulcan; first, he’s now the captain of the Enterprise and is directly training the ship’s new crew. Saavik, being a Vulcan, is something of a protégé of his and he seems far more comfortable and less conflicted in his loyalties to Vulcan and Starfleet. Ever the logical pragmatist, he remains on the Enterprise while Kirk and the others beam onto Regula I but is the only one smart enough to recognise a flaw in Khan’s attack patterns that helps Kirk turn the tide against his foe during their climatic space battle. McCoy gets a little more play as he accompanies Kirk to the space station, while Hikaru Sulu (Takei) and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) don’t really get all that much to do beyond their standard roles as helmsman and communications officer, respectively. Similarly, Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan) spends the majority of the film battling to re-route power and keep the Enterprise from falling apart from the engineering room, but expresses heartbreak at the toll Khan’s attack has taken on the ship.

Chekov is horrified to discover Khan, who wishes to use the destructive Genesis device to his own ends.

Surprisingly, it’s Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) who gets a fair amount of screen time in the film’s early going; now a first officer aboard the Reliant, Chekov is the one who picks up signs of life on a planet he (and the rest of the Reliant) believe to be Ceti Alpha VI and, since Doctor Carol Marcus’ (Besch) terraforming Genesis device requires a completely lifeless planet for its deployment, he accompanies Reliant captain Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield) to the surface of the barren, chaotic world that is ravaged by tumultuous sandstorms. Considering that Chekov wasn’t actually seen in “Space Seed”, it’s something of a blunder that he first recognises the wreckage of the Botany Bay and then the man himself (in hindsight, maybe swapping Chekov for Sulu would have eliminated this mistake), but it allows the under-rated Russian officer to play a pivotal role in the film’s early going by helping to exposit information on Khan both to the audience and the Kirk. As for Carol, she’s one of Kirk’s many former flames now devoted to the unlimited potential of the Genesis device, which promises to create life from death and turn barren worlds and moons into lush, hospitable environments. Her son, David (Butrick), is equally instrumental in Genesis’ construction but is wary of Starfleet; he fears that they (or someone else) may try to appropriate the device as a weapon and is initially antagonistic towards Kirk since he has no idea of his true parentage.

Khan is obsessed with avenging himself on Kirk and proving his physical and intellectual superiority.

David’s fears become all too real when Khan learns of the device from Chekov and Terrell; an enigmatic and charismatic villain, Khan is both eloquent, charming, and loquacious while being absolutely out of his mind. Sadistic and cruel, he delights in lording his physical and intellectual superiority over others and uses any means at his disposal (from disturbing, mind-controlling eels to commandeering the Reliant for his own uses) to achieve his goals. Gifted with genetically engineered strength and intellect, Khan is eager to relive his glory days from over two centuries ago and believes that he is destined for conquest and power. His men, especially Joachim (Judson Scott), have sworn to live and die at is command and obey his orders without question; however, Khan’s obsession with besting Kirk blinds him to all other concerns. Indeed, Joachim plays Devil’s advocate by suggesting that escaping their exile is proof enough of Khan’s superiority and that they should take the chance to flee unopposed into the galaxy but Khan adamantly refuses to deviate from his obsession with avenging himself upon Kirk. Believing that Kirk is testing him, and consumed by his fanatical desire to make Kirk pay for outsmarting him and unintentionally causing the death of his wife, Khan initially plots not to kill his foe, but to hurt him and leave Kirk as helpless as Khan as his crew were on Ceti Alpha V.

The Nitty-Gritty:
One of the many ways that Star Trek II excels and set the standard for subsequent Original Series movies is in the greater focus on the amusing and complex friendship between Kirk, Bones, and Spock. Each of them share a degree of banter and familiarity that makes for a very relatable and realistic relationship between the three; while they maintain a degree of professionalism in the line of duty, Bones isn’t afraid to call Kirk out in front of other officers and Spock is duty-bound to point out any logical observations even when they imply a greater threat to the crew. Additionally, the banter between the crotchety Bones and the impassive Spock makes for some entertaining exchanges between the two, and also gives Bones an opportunity to speak out against the destructive and moral implications of the Genesis device (indeed, it’s somewhat odd that Starfleet would allow such a device to be created since Carol is effectively playing God and potentially creating a weapon of mass destruction). Of course, it’s Spock who shines the most of the three; he willingly insists on handing over the Enterprise to Kirk (since, as a Vulcan, he “has no ego to bruise”) and, like Bones, submits his opinion that Kirk made a mistake in accepting his promotion since it’s his best destiny to command a starship. Finally, Spock showcases a great deal of emotion throughout the film; he is clearly protective and proud of his trainees, expresses grief at the losses suffered from Khan’s attack, bends the rules to deliver exaggerated repair times to Kirk, and surprisingly declares his affection and appreciation for the captain in a touching scene between the two.

The sets and uniforms are much more visually interesting and became the standard going forward.

Since we spend a great deal of time onboard the Enterprise, Reliant, and Regula I, it’s a good job that the sets look so good; though similar (or, in many cases, practically identical) to the first film, they’re shot and presented in a way that’s far more pleasing to the eye. In the first film, everything seemed too panoramic and brightly lit for such bland and uninspiring locations. Here, though, the bridge is seeped in an almost ominous darkness that allows the blinking lights and glowing consoles to really pop out and separates it from the more colourful Reliant and Regula I. Since I grew up watching science-fiction films of this era, I’ve always had a fondness for the impractical anachronisms of early-Star Trek; they hadn’t completely abandoned actual buttons and levers and the technology looked far less futuristic as a result, giving everything a tangible reality that helps to sell the illusion. At the same time, Star Trek II feels much more like a big-budget version of the show with its sets and environments; the first film felt like it was trying too hard to be different and change things up for the cinema screen, but Star Trek II hits the right balance between familiar and cinematic. It also helps that the Starfleet uniforms look far better in this film; no longer the bland, dull, uninspiring grey and beige attire seen in the first film, the crew are decked out in a striking maroon red ensemble that (despite the old-fashioned bell bottoms) would become the standard for the remainder of the Original Series films. The deviation more towards a naval/military look for the uniforms also helps Khan and his men stand out even more; having been marooned on a desolate planet for fifteen years, they’re decked out in shredded clothing that gives them the appearance of primitive savages that not only betrays their cunning and guile but also makes for a stark contrast once they seize control of the Reliant for themselves.

While some model shots are a little dodgy, the cat and mouse between Kirk and Khan is suitably intense.

Of course, it’s 1982 so some of the film’s special effects still look a little dodgy; while they’re far better overall compared to the last film, some shots of space and planets like Ceti Alpha VI don’t hold up as well as others but that’s to be expected and I’m hardly going to knock the film for the technology of the time. Plus, one of the biggest complaints I had about the first film was the lack of any actual, exciting space battles and Star Trek II more than makes up for that once Khan takes control of the Reliant; since Kirk has no reason to suspect that his old foe is controlling the ship, he and the Enterprise are taken completely off-guard when the Reliant opens fire on them, crippling the Enterprise and causing a number of deaths. Both ships, and space stations like Regula I, are of course represented by extremely impressive model shots; the Enterprise and Reliant circle and engage each other like humongous warships adrift at sea, which is only fitting given the film’s thematic parallels to Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (Melville, 1851), and Kirk and Khan more than make up for their lack of actual screen time together through an ever-escalating game of cat and mouse between their two ships and their respective captains. However, if you need further proof of the superiority of this film over the original, you need look no further than Kirk’s arrival on the Enterprise for inspection and the ship’s departure from the space dock; in the first film, this took about two ice ages but, here, it’s just a quick sequence for us to marvel at the depiction of the Enterprise before the plot gets underway.

Kirk is reunited with an old flame and discovers a son, and his zest for life, in the process.

Kirk is stunned when Carol sends a garbled transmission accusing him of trying to steal her work; like Spock and Bones, he’s fascinated by the implications of Genesis but is clearly torn between reuniting with Carol as their relationship fell apart when she distanced not only herself from him and his spacefaring adventures but also her son. The film implies that Kirk knew that he had a son out there in the galaxy all this time, but he’s seen to be more than startled to find David on Regula; David is initially antagonistic towards Kirk because he believes Kirk is responsible for the death and chaos wrought by Khan, which stems from a deep-rooted distrust for Starfleet and their military. Seeing how much David hates him deeply hurts Kirk, who sees in the boy a life he could have had if he hadn’t been busy chasing around the galaxy. However, when Khan leaves them marooned in the centre of the planet, the two begin to bond and David’s mere presence and existence has a rejuvenating effect on Kirk, who finally has a lasting legacy to leave behind. I always felt like David got dealt a raw deal in the Star Trek films; he really had the potential to breathe new life into Kirk’s character and to potentially lead to a new generation of Starfleet officers taking command of the Enterprise but was unfortunately robbed of any of this by being unceremoniously killed off in the very next film simply to foster additional animosity between Kirk and his foe.

Spock makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the ship, forcing Kirk to truly face death for the first time.

Although Khan appears to be victorious and takes control of Genesis, Kirk is able to outwit him and then taunt him into taking the Reliant into a dangerous nebula. With their experience in navigating and battling in three-dimensional space, the Enterprise is finally able to land a crippling blow to the Reliant that mortally wounds Khan and kills his crew; forced into his own no-win situation, Khan refuses to give up and activates the Genesis device, determined to take his hated enemy with him. As the Enterprise has no hope of escaping the blast without their warp drive, Spock takes it upon himself to enter the engine room and restore power to the ship, incapacitating Bones and subsequently ignoring the doctor and Scotty’s warnings of the lethal radiation leaking from the core. Thus, the film comes full circle as Kirk is forced to look death in the face; separated by a pane of transparent glass, Kirk is helpless to help his dying friend, who delivers a heartful goodbye in which he reaffirms his affection for his captain and asks him not to grieve before succumbing to radiation poisoning. In the aftermath, Kirk is deeply affected by Spock’s noble sacrifice, delivering an emotional eulogy in which he pays tribute to Spock’s humanity and bravery, but finds his zest for life and adventure reinvigorated from the entire experience; finally being forced to face death has made Kirk all the stronger, and he has new reason to keep going in the form of David…and to hope, since Spock’s body is jettisoned down to the surface of the lush and vibrant world that formed from the Genesis device.

The Summary:
There’s a reason Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is so beloved among Star Trek fans; its themes of life, death, and rebirth are as prominent now as they were when it first released and it delivers both as a fantastic Star Trek film and an engaging and poignant sci-fi film. This makes it a far better introduction to the film series, and the franchise in general, than the first film thanks to it dropping the slow, introspective pacing of its predecessor in favour of an emotionally charged, intense showdown between Kirk and one of his most influential and persistent foes. Although Khan and Kirk sadly never meet in person in the film, it’s hardly a negative as there’s something far more powerful in them trading threats and taunts through the viewscreen and matching their wits against each other in space combat. Arguably, Ricardo Montalbán’s performance as Khan has never been surpassed in subsequent Original Series films and he makes an immediate and lasting impression even without knowledge of his prior appearance in the show. Furthermore, Kirk’s vulnerability and relatability as a character makes him far more layered and human than in the first film (where he was a condescending egomaniac) and even the series (where he was a charming and arrogant womaniser); seeing him feeling the effects of his advanced age and losing his zest for life is incredibly significant to grounding the film in relatable themes and it’s a nice change of pace to see him both face his worst nightmare and gain a son in his quest to reignite his enthusiasm. Of course, Star Trek II earns its reputation through Spock’s emotional sacrifice alone; although this was immediately undone in the very next film, it doesn’t detract from the character’s touching end and went a long way to adding actual stakes to the Enterprise’s conflicts beyond disposable “red shirts”. Honestly, if you only watch one Original Series film, it’s got to be this one; Kirk and the crew would go on to have a few more film outings, a couple of which were pretty decent, but it’s hard to deny that this is the best of their six dedicated cinematic outings and it’s just as great now as it was when I first watched it as a kid.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Where does Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan rate for you amongst the other Star Trek films? What did you think to Khan’s dramatic return to the series; were you familiar with his previous appearance or, like me, were you introduced to him here? Were you a fan of the film’s themes of age, the inevitability of death, and the allusions to Moby-Dick? What did you think to the cat and mouse game between Kirk and Khan and would have have liked to see them face off in person? How did Spock’s death affect you at the time and do you think he should have stayed dead? Which Star Trek captain, crew, show, or movie is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Star Trek Day today? No matter what you think, sign up to leave your thoughts down below or leave a comment on my social media.

Game Corner [Bat-Month]: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360)

Dr. K5 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. Accordingly, September celebrates “Batman Day” and is just another perfect excuse to celebrate comic’s grim and broody vigilante and, this year, I’ll be dedicating every Wednesday to Gotham’s Dark Knight Detective.

Released: 25 August 2009
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Also Available For: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X

The Background:
Ever since his debut in the pages of Detective Comics back in 1939, the Batman has been a popular staple of DC Comics and has appeared in numerous comic books, cartoons, live-action films and, of course, videogames. The first videogame adaptation of Batman was an isometric adventure game released in 1986 and, over the years, Batman has been placed into numerous different videogame genres, from beat-‘em-ups, sidescrolling brawlers, and adventure games, but it’s safe to say that there have been more than a few duds during that time. By 2009, Batman’s videogames had been very hit and miss but the character’s popularity had received a resurgence thanks to the recent success of The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008). After Eidos Interactive bought the rights to make a Batman game, they turned to developers Rocksteady Studios after being impressed with their prototype for the title. Noted writer Paul Dini, who had spearheaded the popular DC Animated Universe (DCAU), was brought on to develop the game’s story and characterisations, which drew inspiration from some of Batman’s grittier and more grounded tales and included the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to capitalise on their success in the DCAU. Rocksteady spent their time not only meticulously crafting a unique world that drew from Batman’s vast comic history to create a dark, claustrophobic game world, but also building an intuitive combat system and perfecting the depiction of Batman’s cape and gadgets to really encapsulate the feeling of being the Batman for the first time. The result was a game released to widespread critical acclaim; critics praised the game’s story and mechanics, and intricate marriage of combat and stealth and the game was later bolstered by some downloadable content (DLC), various re-releases and remasters, and kicked off one of the most celebrated and successful superhero videogame franchises ever seen.

The Plot:
After apprehending the Joker and bringing him to Arkham Asylum, Batman finds himself trapped on Arkham Island when the Clown Prince of Crime causes a mass breakout. With guards, doctors, and other innocents at risk, and hoards of his rogues and other rabid criminal thugs freely roaming the asylum, Batman has no choice but to use his skills and gadgets to fight back and uncover the true nature of the Joker’s plot.

Gameplay:
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a third-person, action/adventure game that takes place in a quasi-open world; though not as large as other open world videogames, such as those seen in the subsequent sequels, Arkham Asylum still presents Batman with a number of different locations and areas to explore on the grim, gothic island that houses Gotham City’s most depraved and dangerous criminal maniacs. While other Batman videogames often focused purely on mindless combat or poorly implemented his gadgets and skills, Arkham Asylum featured the most diverse and intuitive range of movement for the Caped Crusader that players had ever seen at that point. Although players cannot make Batman jump, they can hold down the A button to sprint and vault up/over walls and Batman will automatically hop across gaps and spread his elaborate cap to glide through the night air. Pressing the Right Bumper will see Batman grapple to nearby ledges and higher areas (usually stone gargoyles) to avoid enemies or reach new sections of the asylum. Holding the Right Trigger sees Batman drop into a crouch to stay hidden and sneak up on thugs while tapping the Left Trigger will see him tossing a quick Batarang to stun foes or activate switches (holding LT will allow you to better aim and direct this projectile) and you can select any of Batman’s gadgets using the directional pad (D-pad) to access his gadget wheel.

Combat is fast and fluid, allowing Batman to strike and counter with a deft swiftness.

Of course, one of the most prominent aspects of Arkham Asylum is the game’s unique combat system.; rather than simply mashing buttons, combat is a fluid and slick affair somewhat akin to a rhythm game. Pressing X will see Batman strike the enemy nearest to him; repeated presses begin a combo and you can stun enemies with Batman’s cape by pressing B or hop over them by tapping A. During combat, the camera automatically pans to show you the best view of your immediate area and any enemies around you and, when enemies try to strike at you, a “Counter” indicator will appear. When it does, tap Y and Batman will automatically counter the oncoming attack and, by successfully stringing together strikes and counters, you can build up bigger and more elaborate combos and fluidly take down multiple enemies at once. Once an enemy has been knocked down, or when sneaking up on them, you can press RT and Y to perform a takedown that will knock them out cold and, as you defeat enemies and uncover secrets, you’ll earn experience points (XP) which can be spent purchasing new takedowns and combat options when you level up.

Batman’s Detective Mode is perfect for striking fear into armed thugs and taking them out silently.

Another important aspect of the game is stealth; utilising the “Predator” mechanic, Batman can sneak up on enemies and make use of high ledges to stalk rooms full of armed thugs and pick them off one at a time by utilising the infrared filter offered by his “Detective Mode”. This is activated by pressing the Left Bumper and will wash the environment in a grainy, black and white filter that highlights enemies by their body heat and shows their current condition. Using the shadows and your gadgets, you can drop down on enemies from above, sneak through grates, and set up traps to take them down and pick them off and their cohorts will react accordingly, becoming increasingly agitated and trigger happy as the section progresses. Batman is extremely vulnerable to sustained gunfire so it’s better to be patient and take down each enemy one at a time but you can grapple away to safety if you’re spotted and are even able to take down enemies while hanging from ledges or from afar with Batman’s many toys. Detective Mode also allows you to scan your environment; for the most part, this will be to solve riddles placed all over Arkham Asylum by Edward Nashton/Edward Nygma/The Riddler but, at various times during the game’s story, you’ll have to set up a crime scene to scan evidence and filter out aromas and other elements that will lead you to your next objective as long as you have Detective Mode activated. Although there is no onscreen map, you can view a comprehensive blueprint of Arkham Island by pressing the “Back” button. From here, you’ll see all of the unsolved riddles in the game and where your next objective is, as well as being able to enter any of the game’s environments to review the layout and any remaining secrets to be discovered.

The game world is constantly changing and you always need to find new ways to progress.

You can’t set up a waypoint and there’s only a few sections where you’re literally shown the way but, thankfully, Arkham Asylum isn’t too difficult to explore or navigate for the most part (though there some areas that are quite frustrating or mired in overly dark lighting). Batman: Arkham Asylum features not only a level-up system but also a progressively increasing difficulty curve; while the game’s “Hard” mode will obviously offer the most challenging experience (enemies are more aggressive and counter indicators are omitted entirely), the game world will constantly change as you progress through the story. New areas become accessible as you acquire and upgrade Batman’s many gadgets and areas that you’ve previously visited will become populated by snipers, maniacs, or over-run by Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy’s monstrous plants to keep the game feeling fresh and allowing your actions to actually have an impact on the environment. Backtracking is a prominent feature of the game as some areas will be locked off until you get a new gadget; other areas are locked off entirely, forcing you to use vents, grapples, or explode walls in order to progress and you’ll definitely need to explore every nook and cranny to solve all of the game’s riddles and collect all of the pickups. Although there is no manual save option, the game is extremely generous with checkpoints (which, thankfully, also appear mid-way through certain boss battles) and Batman’s health bar is replenished after successfully defeating enemies in combat, solves riddles, or finds secrets.

Graphics and Sound:
Even now, some fifteen years after its original release, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a visually impressive game. The entire game takes places in a single night, meaning the gothic, decrepit asylum is constantly bathed in an ominous, murky darkness that goes a long way to adding to the game’s claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere. At times, the game is a little too dark and you’ll either be relying too much on Detective Mode or adjusting the brightness settings to get around but I can forgive this as the dark, moody aesthetic really encapsulates the nature of what it means to be Batman. Arkham Asylum is quite an elaborate environment for what amounts to a glorified sandbox; the prison/facility has been depicted in many different ways over the years but, here, it’s a gloomy, gothic prison confined to an island separated from the greater city. The island itself adds as the hub world, of sorts, and you can travel to different areas by passing through large, automated doors (that are clearly masking loading zones) or using Batman’s various gadgets and skills, and at each compass point you’ll find a different area to explore.

Environments are seeped in a dark, ominous aesthetic that adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere.

The island is home to a high-tech penitentiary, a dilapidated mansion, a dock, a hospital/morgue, a cemetery, and even has a large botanical garden to visit. Each area is suitable foreboding and shows signs of wear and tear (to say nothing of death and anarchy from the breakout of the inmates) and, despite the overwhelming use of blacks, greys, and darkness, stands out from each other through their unique layouts and gameplay mechanics. The island is also home to a vast network of sewers and caves; Batman has even set up a small Batcave on the island, where you’ll travel a few times to acquire upgrades, but these stone catacombs are by far the worst areas to explore in the game. The sewer system that Waylon Jones/Killer Croc has taken as his home isn’t too bad but the caves are dark and crumbling, meaning that your grapnel gun is all but useless and you’re forced to rely on Batman’s jumping skills. For the most part, these are serviceable, but the game’s focus is not on precision platforming so it can sometimes be a pain to get Batman (and the camera) pointed in the direction you need to go. When you later revisit these areas to mop up any unsolved riddles, it’s easy to get lost and confused and it’s a shame that the game doesn’t give you the option to fast exit an area or building from the map screen as there’s nothing worse than venturing deep into the catacombs and then struggling to find your way out.

Your encounters with the Scarecrow will have you questioning the stability of the game!

While the game is tight as a drum in terms of its stability, there are noticeable times where you’ll have to sit and wait as the next section loads and it can sometimes be a little too easy to get caught on the environment or botch a ledge grab but these moments are few and far between. By far the game’s most impressive sections, though, are the nightmarish illusions and hallucinations brought about by exposure to Doctor Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow’s fear gas and toxins; these cause the game to warp, restricting your moment, perception, and controls, and transform the environment into a chilling recreation of Crime Alley or show Batman visions of his dead parents and allies. This leads to a series of really unique, 2.5D sections where you must navigate a disparate hellscape, avoiding the Scarecrow’s gaze and trying not to get too freaked out by his Freddy Krueger-like appearance or Batman’s character model briefly flashing to that of Scarecrow’s. Easily the most memorable moment of all of these sequences is the moment the game abruptly appears to crash and resets on you, only to restart with a recreation of the game’s opening cutscene with the Joker delivering a manic Batman to Arkham while his villains taunt and jeer at him.

In-game graphics are top notch, with Batman’s suit progressively taking damage over time.

In terms of character models, Arkham Asylum also still holds up really well. While generic thugs and goons quickly get a bit repetitive, the game’s interpretations of Batman’s different rogues is very unique and compelling and the influence of the legendary artist Jim Lee is readily apparent in the appearance of Killer Croc, Doctor Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, and Batman himself. Fittingly, Batman benefits the most from the game’s graphics; not only does Kevin Conroy deliver sterling work as always as the character but Batman’s suit will accrue damage as the story progresses, with rips, tears, bullet holes, and other bits of wear and tear showing up as you progress through the story. So strong are Arkham Asylum’s in-game graphics that they are generally the default for the game’s cutscenes; many times throughout the story, Batman will stop to converse with Barbara Gordon/Oracle to comment on and progress the plot and his current investigation but there are instances of higher quality cutscenes as well, which aren’t too far off from what is seen during gameplay. The game’s music is suitably brooding and gothic, picking up when enemies spot you or you’re in combat and being used very effectively to establish a foreboding mood to the game’s events. Finally, not only do the thugs and inmates constantly chat, banter, and taunt you but the game is frequently punctuated by announcements from the Joker. Like Conroy, Hamill excels in the role and adds a glorious entertaining dark humour to the events, stealing the show every time his voice is heard and, overall, music, sound effects, and visuals are all married perfectly to encapsulate the dark, moody atmosphere of the game and really add to the experience of being the Batman.

Enemies and Bosses:
Being that it’s home to the criminally insane, Arkham Asylum is populated by all kinds of maniacal inmates; however, as part of his elaborate plan, the Joker also struck when a number of Blackgate Penitentiary’s prisoners were on the island, and these are the thugs you’ll encounter the most. Generally, goons are spread across the hub world or waiting in corridors or large, open rooms and can either be engaged head-on or from the shadows if they have firearms. Enemies will attack as a group, meaning you’ll have to be constantly aware of incoming attacks, and will even grab items and objects to throw at you or use as makeshift weapons.

Eventually, more dangerous and monstrous enemies spread across the asylum.

As the story progresses, you’ll encounter more formidable enemies: snipers will take up positions above and must be taken out before they can put a bullet in you; inmates with knives must be stunned with your cape before you can attack them; those with electrical batons must by jumped over and attacked from behind; and crazed lunatics will leap at you and must be countered at the right time to stop them from pinning you down. You’ll also have to contend with those exposed to the Joker’s “TITAN” serum, which transforms them into monstrous, hulking beasts; these guys will charge at you, necessitating a quick toss of a Batarang and a dive out of the way to stun them so you can land a few shots and, eventually, hop on their back to whittle their health down and batter about any nearby enemies. Sometimes you’ll have to fight two of these at once, alongside a variety of other thugs, and you’ll also have to dispatch Ivy’s TITAN-infused plants, which spit out homing spores and must be slowly approached in order to destroy them.

Battles with Mr. Zsasz and Bane will teach you fundamental, life-saving tactics for later in the game.

The Joker’s plan also requires him to unleash a very specific number of Batman’s most notorious rogues, who you must take down in a series of encounters as boss battles. The first of these you’ll go up against is Victor Zsasz/Mister Zsasz in what is, essentially, a glorified tutorial to teach you about grappling from cover to cover to sneak up on an enemy. You’ll also encounter him later in the game in a similar situation designed to teach you how to use the reverse Batarang feature and, in both cases, you can easily take him down with no trouble at all as long as you’re not spotted. Similarly, though she’s a constant thorn in your side throughout the game, you can easily apprehend Harley Quinn after battling a short gauntlet of goons, which is only fitting considering that neither villain is much of a physical match for Batman. Bane, however, is. Like the TITAN goons, he must be stunned with a Batarang when he charges at you and battered with a quick combo to yank out the Venom pipes supplying his superhuman strength. However, as the fight progresses, goons will drop into the arena to distract you; again, like the TITANs, Bane can grab downed enemies and launch them at you as projectiles but he’ll also toss parts of the environment your way as well so it have to constantly be thinking on your feet and ready to dodge out of the way. As long as you can deal with the annoying goons, avoid Bane’s wild strikes and ground pound, and dodge out of his charges, he’s not especially difficult and battling him (and the TITANs) serves as great practise for the game’s final boss.

You’ll need patience, skill, and gadgets to conquer Killer Croc and the Scarecrow.

Before that, though, you’ll have to contend with Killer Croc in the sewers. Down here, you must slowly walk across wooden platforms to avoid attracting Croc’s attention; when he lunges out of the water, you must quickly toss a Batarang to subdue him and make a run for it when he starts smashing up the platforms. Eventually, you’ll avoid him and collect the samples Batman needs to synthesise an anti-virus for the TITAN formula and Croc will chase you down. This forces you to run towards the camera as quickly as possible and then detonate explosive charges before Croc can reach you to send him plummeting down a deep chasm. As mentioned before, you’ll also have to contend with the Scarecrow on no less than three occasions. Each time, you must navigate his hellscape using your stealth, gadgets, and jumping/shimmying skills to avoid being spotted but, as the encounters progress, you’ll also have to fend off waves of skeletons. In the final encounter, Scarecrow summons more of these enemies, including a TITAN variant, in three waves; after defeating each one, Batman activates a Bat-Signal and will eventually dispel and break free of the Scarecrow’s harrowing nightmares once and for all.

Sadly (or thankfully), the final boss isn’t anywhere near as interesting as the one with Poison Ivy.

By far the most frustrating boss battle of the game, though, is the one against Poison Ivy; encased in a monstrous man-eating plant, she sends out a bunch of tentacles that will choke the life out of you in seconds, commands besotted thugs and guards to attack you, and fires super-fast and painful bolts your way. To defeat her, you must avoid her attacks, defeat her goons, and toss a quick Batarang at her when she exposes herself while firing at you. When she collapses, you can use your explosive gel to damage the pod but this battle can get very harrowing on the game’s Hard difficulty. When you finally confront the Joker for the final showdown, he arranges a gaggle of thugs to greet you at the door, tries to kill you with an exploding television, forces you to fight a whole bunch of enemies and two TITANs at once, and then transforms himself into a TITAN monster for the finale. In this fight, you must avoid his claw swipes and then dispatch the goons that come into the arena, destroying exploding teeth and avoiding the electrified walls until it’s safe to pull the Joker down from his ledge and put a beating on him. Sadly, it’s not a very compelling final boss battle as it’s fundamentally the same as battling the TITANs and Bane, and it’s a bit of a missed opportunity to not have Batman undergo a similar transformation, but it’s decent enough for what it is and not too surprising that you wouldn’t fight the Joker one-on-one.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Batman: Arkham Asylum features a level-up progression system; every time you defeat enemies, solve riddles, or pick up Riddler Trophies and other items (like audio tapes and so forth), you’ll gain XP. When you level-up, you can spend the Skill Points you earn on improving Batman’s armour to give him more health, adding additional takedowns and combat moves to his repertoire, or upgrading his various gadgets to improve their range and efficiency. I recommend pacing these upgrades out (armour once, then a new takedown, armour again, maybe upgrade a gadget, and so forth) and fighting every enemy you see in order to upgrade Batman as fast as possibly. It’s very easy to fully upgrade Batman on even a casual playthrough on Hard mode, though, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get there. Along the way, Batman will acquire or construct new gadgets to help him progress. Explosive gel will allow him to knock enemies off balance or break through certain walls, the Line Launcher will allow him to cross chasms and gaps too wide to jump or glide across as long as there’s a solid wall behind and in front of him, the Sonic Batarang can be used to lure enemies away from each other or into a trap, the Ultra Batclaw allows Batman to tear down certain walls by tapping A after firing, and the Cryptographic Sequencer allows him to hack security panels by matching radiowaves with the analogue sticks to access Riddler Trophies, secret rooms, or open previously-inaccessible areas. The Batmobile and Batwing also make an appearance but you cannot utilise these in the game, unfortunately, but you can upgrade the Batarang to throw up to three at separate targets or be remote controlled (though this is also quite limited in its application).

Additional Features:
Batman: Arkham Asylum has forty-seven Achievements for you to earn, the majority of which are acquired simply by progressing through the story and clearing certain missions or defeating bosses. Some require you to defeat enemies in certain ways or rack up a certain combo score, others are tied to gliding consecutively or completing the game on each difficulty setting, but the majority are tied towards finding the Riddler Trophies, solving his riddles, and completing combat and predator challenges in the game’s “Challenge Mode”. To elaborate, the Riddler has hidden numerous glowing green trophies all across Arkham Island; some are hidden in plain view, others require your gadgets or a bit of exploration to find. Pretty much every single room or area of the island also has a number of riddles associated with it that you must solve by scanning parts of the environment; these are generally linked to Batman’s history or rogues and will unlock character biographies of guys like Harvey Dent/Two-Face and Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist. Every time you solve or find these, you’ll gain XP and get one step closer to 100% collection so it’s worth taking time to look for a small tea set or a plague dedicated to Martha and Tomas Wayne.

Riddles and secrets are scattered all over the damn place.

Additionally, there are stone monuments to Amadeus Arkham, the founder of the island and its facility, to be found and scanned to learn more about Arkham’s morbid history as well as audio tapes and maps to further flesh out the characters’ backstories and reveal the Riddler’s secrets. From the main menu, you’ll also see the option to take on Challenge Mode. These are specific, self-contained combat and predator sections based on encounters in the game and pit you against waves of increasingly difficult enemies and rooms full of thugs, respectively, and are unlocked by finding Riddler Trophies and solving riddles. When you take on a Challenge, you’ll either have to face a number of rounds against different enemies in different environments or pick off thugs from the shadows according to a number of requirements (such as using explosive gel or a vertical takedown). Each time you successfully meet these criteria, or rack up enough points, you’ll earn up to three medals, and eventually some Achievements, and can compete against friends and others using the online leaderboards. Sadly, though, unlike subsequent games in the series, there is no “New Game+” option, you only unlock one alternative outfit for completing the game and it’s restricted to the Challenge Mode, and the only DLC available is for additional Challenge maps. Those who have the PlayStation 3 or Return to Arkham (Rocksteady Studios/Virtuos Studios, 2016) versions (which I also do), though, can choose to play as the Joker in the Challenge Mode, which is pretty entertaining as he comes with his own unique and madcap fighting style and gadgets that separate him from the Batman.

The Summary:
I remember the first time I played Batman: Arkham Asylum when I first got it for the PlayStation 3 and being just blown away by how intricate, smooth, and impressive its controls, mechanics, and presentation were. Never before had a videogame offered such a range of versatility for Batman; rather than simply focusing on combat or one aspect of the character, Arkham Asylum really delved into what it means to be Batman and gave players the chance to experience each of those elements in a new, dynamic, and incredibly entertaining way. Combat is fluid and easy to master, stealth sections are exhilarating even when it can take a while to pick enemies off, and even the game’s more frustrating enemies or bosses are fun to encounter thanks to the overall aesthetic and top-notch presentation given to the game. It truly feels like a legitimate, authentic, heartfelt attempt to capture the “spirit” of being Batman and some of his most notorious villains. Restricting the action to Arkham Island may make the game much smaller and quaint compared to its successors but it adds to the claustrophobic tension that permeates the narrative and the desperate situation Batman finds himself in as he’s trapped on an island with no means of escape and duty-bound to hunt these criminals down. While the sequels may have expanded and improved upon literally aspect featured in this first game, as well as adding much more fan service and additional features, Batman: Arkham Asylum is still a really enjoyable experience and I had a blast playing through it again for this long-overdue review.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to Batman: Arkham Asylum? How do you feel it holds up compared to its sequels and other, similar videogames? Did you enjoy being restricted to the titular asylum or do you prefer the bigger, more open worlds of the later games? Which of Batman’s gadgets and rogues were your favourite to use or fight against and why? Did you ever find all of the Riddler’s trophies and secrets? Were you a fan of the game’s freeflowing combat system and the various gameplay options available to you? How are you planning on celebrating Batman Day this year and what is your favourite Batman videogame? Whatever your thoughts on Batman: Arkham Asylum, or Batman in general, please leave a comment below and check back in next Wednesday for my review of the sequel!

Movie Night: Speed

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Released: 10 June 1994
Director: Jan de Bont
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Budget: $30 to 37 million
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, and Joe Morton

The Plot:
Los Angeles Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) specialist Jack Traven (Reeves) is sent to diffuse a bomb that revenge-driven extortionist Howard Payne (Hopper) has planted on a city bus. However, there’s a catch: passenger Anne Porter (Bullock) must keep the bus above fifty miles an hour or else the bomb will detonate!

The Background:
Speed was the brainchild of screenwriter Graham Yost, who was inspired by The Runaway Train (Konchalovsky, 1985) and thought the concept would be made more exciting if the train had a bomb on it and had to maintain a certain speed. Initially, the entire film was set on the bus and would culminate in a dramatic crash through the iconic Hollywood Sign but the ending was changed and the script was altered in order to sell the concept to 20th Century Fox, with Yost even working with Joss Whedon to refine the script’s dialogue and heavily alter Traven into a more earnest character. Reeves prepared for the role by shaving his head and incorporating his prior experiences on Point Break (Bigelow, 1991), and, after Halle Berry turned down the role of Annie, worked closely with Bullock to develop chemistry between their characters. Speed was a massive financial success; it made over $350 million at the box office and was widely praised for its action and intensity. While the sequel was a dismal critical and commercial failure, Speed remains one of the best action movies of the nineties and, considering that today is Keanu Reeves’ birthday, this seems like the perfect time to revisit the film.

The Review:
Speed begins not on a bus on the Los Angeles highway but in a large office skyscraper where a bunch of well-dressed, successful businesspeople find themselves trapped in a lift and held to ransom courtesy of a bomber we will later learn is named Howard Payne. For now, though, he’s just a maniacal madman who places a bomb on the lift and demands a $3 million ransom for the safety of his hostages, so the Los Angeles Police Department send in their S.W.A.T. team to try and free the hostages before the bomb can go off. The team is led by Lieutenant Herb “Mac” McMahon (Morton), who meticulously co-ordinates his guys with one primary goal in mind: the evacuation of the building’s occupants and the maintenance of protocol to avoid upsetting the bomber and unnecessarily losing lives.

Jack comes up with a unique solution when Harry is taken hostage by a mad bomber.

Jack Traven is a point man in Mac’s team; a bit of a wise-ass, Jack’s snark doesn’t float with Mac, who orders both him and his friend and fellow officer, Harry Temple (Daniels), to investigate the explosive device but strictly forbids them from interfering with it. While Jack remains professional enough to offer words of comfort to the trapped inhabitants, who have no idea of the predicament they’re in, Harry is the expert on explosives and Jack is far more likely to go with his gut instincts regarding the whole situation. Jack deduces that the bomber has every intention of blowing the lift whether he gets paid or not, and showcases his adaptability by rigging a nearby crane to take the weight of the lift, thereby ensuring the hostages’ safety when his hunch turns out to be right (though Payne only blows the lift because of Jack’s interference). Further deducing that their perpetrator is in the building, Jack sets out to track him down, with Harry reluctantly in tow; when Payne gets the drop on them, he takes Harry as a hostage and tries to use him as leverage to ensure his escape but Jack puts into motion his unique approach to such a situation and wounds Harry with a bullet to the leg and Payne appears to kill himself with a suicide vest. Unbeknownst to Jack, Payne survived the explosion and watches with glee as Jack and Harry are commended for their bravery and fortitude; Harry even gets a promotion to detective but warns Jack that they got lucky and that “luck runs out”.

Jack leaps aboard the bus and finds an ally in the annoying Annie, who takes the wheel.

Pissed off that Jack’s interference cost him $3 million, the maniacal Payne strikes by blowing up a bus and its driver right in front of Jack; Payne then calls Jack from a nearby payphone and challenges him to stop him once more. This time, he’s placed his bomb on another bus that will explode once the vehicle goes over fifty miles an hour, and specifically declares his intention to set off the bomb if any passengers are evacuated or if he doesn’t get his ransom in about three hours’ time. Naturally, Jack races to locate the bus and this is when we’re introduced to easily the most annoying character in the film, Annie Porter, played by one of my least favourite actresses in all of cinema, Sandra Bullock. A loud and flighty character, Annie has been forced to take the bus since she lost her driving license on a speeding charge and is the first to actively speak up when Jack dramatically leaps his way aboard the bus. However, when the driver, Sam Silver (Hawthorne James), is injured by an errant gunshot, Annie finds herself in way over her head and taking a central role as the panic-stricken driver of the bus.

Jack is wracked with anger when Payne causes the deaths of a passenger and his close friend.

On the bus, Jack finds an assortment of normal, everyday Los Angeles citizens, including Doug Stephens (Alan Ruck), a tourist on his first visit to the city who offers wry commentary, and Helen (Beth Grant), a regular passenger whose utter terror results in her being another of Payne’s casualties. When he first boards the bus, Jack is first faced with Annie’s loudmouth but the situation unexpectedly escalates when Ray (Daniel Villarreal) pulls a gun on him and demands the bus be stopped. Thanks to Gigantor Ortiz (Carlos Carrasco), Ray is disarmed but Sam is shot in the process, meaning Annie has to take over and, while tensions inevitably flair between the frightened passengers, Jack is eventually able to calm them. He does an equally good job of offering encouragement and support to Annie while remaining focused and pragmatic about the entire situation. Thankfully, he has Harry on the line to offer his insight on the bomb, which is packed full of C4, flanked by a number of decoy wires, and wired into a regular gold wristwatch. Bothered by the unreliability of the timer and the unpredictability of the bomber’s methods, Harry conducts a thorough investigation not just into criminals but into former cops and uncovers the bomber’s identity as a former member of the Atlanta Police Department bomb squad. Unfortunately, Harry’s desperation to nail Payne and help his friend leads to his tragic and untimely death as Payne rigged his home with an explosive booby-trap that kills Harry and, in one of the film’s (and Keanu’s) most emotionally impactful scenes, sees Jack enraged into a frenzy and swearing to make the bomber pay for his actions.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Speed is an exercise in tension and excitement; since the bus is forced to stay in constant motion, and over fifty miles an hour, the sheer level of pressure faced by Jack is reflected in the pacing and frantic nature of the film. Even when the bus gains a police escort, they’re never far out of danger; first it’s the gunman, Ray, then Helen nearly blows the whole thing (literally) by trying to escape from the bus as Sam is safely unloaded in an act of faith on Payne’s part, and then they start to run out of road. Even when Jack directs Annie to circle the airport indefinitely, he has to worry about the bus’s severed fuel line and is constantly having to adapt to new problems on the fly.

Jack is more than physically capable of taking on Payne’s sadistic challenge

Thankfully, Jack is more than capable of meeting Payne’s challenge; a focused and driven individual with a strong moral compass, he isn’t afraid to leap head-first into action but is also switched on enough to consider all of his options, while still acting on instinct the vast majority of the time. He commandeers a civilian’s car in a desperate attempt to warn Sam about the danger on his bus and, when that fails, he dramatically leaps from the car and onto the bus despite the fact that both vehicles are travelling at well over fifty miles per hour. While on the bus, he is as honest and forthcoming with the passengers as possible while still doing everything he can to keep things under control and exudes a confidence that, for the most part, keeps the passengers calm. Disgusted at Payne’s lunacy, Jack walks a fine line between negotiating and satisfying the bomber while making it abundantly clear that he has a personal vendetta against Payne. Desperate to keep the passengers safe, Jack doesn’t hesitate to try and disarm the bomb from underneath the bus and, once he figures out how Payne is monitoring them, he comes up with a genius and often copied/parodied solution of looping Payne’s video feed, thus outsmarting his opponent and safely evacuating the passengers.

The bus makes for some of the film’s most tense and action-packed moments.

Of course, much of the film’s action revolves around the tension and drama on the bus; while Mac works to keep the roads clear and safe for Jack, Annie is forced to plough head-first through the dense Los Angeles traffic, make sudden and hard turns to avoid collisions, and, of course, to make a seemingly impossible leap to cross an unfinished freeway. While it’s perhaps a little unlikely that such a large and cumbersome vehicle would be able to make such a jump, especially with the added weight of all those passengers, it does make for a thrilling scene that’s one of the film’s most memorable moments. Once the bus hits the airport, it’s largely out of danger and Jack’s focus switches to figuring out how Payne can always know so much; after making the connection between Payne’s seemingly random “Wildcat” reference, Jack discovers that Payne has a camera rigged on the bus and has Mac commandeer Payne’s signal to loop the feed. It’s lucky, and seemingly unlikely, that Payne only had the one camera on the bus (and that he didn’t rig up a microphone or other device so he could hear what was going on as well) but, when he figures out that he’s been duped out of his money again, the mad bomber decides to take a more direct approach for the film’s finale.

The film ends with a showdown on, and on top of, a runaway subway train!

After Jack and Annie’s dramatic (and explosive) escape from the bus, Payne disguises himself as a police officer, abducts Annie, straps her into an explosive vest, and escapes into the subway with his money and his hostage. Having eliminated Jack’s “shoot the hostage” strategy, Payne hijacks a subway train, handcuffing Annie to the inside, and makes his getaway, but is driven into a psychotic rage when he discovers his ransom is rigged with paint that makes it worthless. Jack, ever the man of action, pursues and boards the train, drawing Payne into a confrontation on the train’s roof! Despite being Payne older, insane, and handicapped by his missing thumb, the mad bomber is initially able to overwhelm is younger, stronger foe thanks to the threat of the detonator in his hand. However, Jack is able to behead Payne using an overheard railway signal (delivering an odd quip about being taller in the process), ending his threat once and for all while keeping Annie safe. Thanks to Payne’s trigger finger, though, the train is left out of control; with no way to free Annie from her cuffs and few options left, Jack opts to speed the train up and send it crashing out onto Hollywood Boulevard. Unbelievably, the two are left unharmed beyond the few scrapes and cuts they picked up from escaping the bus, and the film closes with them finally acting on the middling amount of sexual tension they shared during the film’s chaotic events while a gaggle of spectators look on.

The Summary:
I hate to say it, but I’ve never really been that big a fan of Speed. The premise is certainly unique, and definitely ends up being much more than just “Die Hard (McTiernan, 1988) on a bus” thanks to the high-octane thrill of a bus that cannot slow down and the many different obstacles that get in the way of that premise. Where it excels is in the performances of Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper; whenever anyone tries to tell me that Keanu is “wooden”, I point them to his intense and emotional fit of rage at learning of his friend’s death and his performance is only bolstered by Hopper’s maniacal bomber. Hopper is as much of a highlight as the ever-escalating action on the bus, which ploughs through traffic, red lights, and even inexplicably leaps a gap in the freeway in a bid to stay over fifty mile an hour. Where the film slightly falls, for me, though is in the casting of Sandra Bullock and her ever-grating performance as the flustered Annie (who’s as much of a liability as she is an asset) and the ending, which attempts to out-do the intensity felt on the bus with a runaway subway train and maybe pushes its luck a little too far. It’s an oddly contradictory film as well, feeling both too long and yet well-paced at the same time, but it’s definitely an entertaining and intense spin on the action genre. Speed is worth your time for Reeves, Hopper, and the sequences on the bus alone and is a great showcase of Reeves’ range and capability as an actor and leading man.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of Speed? What did you think of the film’s premise and Keanu’s performance? Are you a fan of Sandra Bullock, or did she also bring the film down a notch for you? Did you enjoy the tense sequences on the bus and Dennis Hopper’s maniacal Howard Payne? How did you react when Harry met his untimely end? Would you have liked to see Keanu return in the sequel? How are you celebrating Keanu Reeves’ birthday today and what are some of your favourite roles of his? Whatever you think, go ahead and sign up to leave a comment down below or let me know on my social media.

Movie Night [Judgment Day]: Terminator 2: Judgment Day: Special Edition

Dr. K15 Comments

“Three billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines”.

Special Edition

Released: 29 October 2001
Originally Released: 3 July 1991
Director: James Cameron
Distributor: Tri-Star Pictures
Budget: $94 to 102 million
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, and Joe Morton

The Plot:
After narrowly escaping a killer cyborg from a war-torn future, institutionalised Sarah Connor (Hamilton) is haunted by visions of nuclear war and estranged from her young son, John (Furlong). However, when Skynet sends back an advanced prototype T-1000 (Patrick) composed of liquid metal (or “mimetic polyalloy”) to kill John, Sarah must team with a reprogrammed T-800 (Schwarzenegger) to protect her son and try and prevent the near-extinction of the human race!

The Background:
Considering the financial success of The Terminator (Cameron, 1984), a sequel was all-but-inevitable but initially hampered by a number of technical issues, primarily the question of digital effects and a legal dispute regarding the franchise rights. Once these were resolved, Cameron, Schwarzenegger, and Hamilton reunited to collaborate on the natural next step in the narrative, which recast the T-800 as a protector figure. The sequel was afforded a budget fifteen times that of the original and was the most expensive film made at the time; it was also a ground-breaking film in the field of digital effects and continued to employ the services of the legendary Stan Winston for its complex practical, make-up, and model effects. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a massive success; it received rave reviews at the time, made over $520 million at the box office, and has come to be widely regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction movies ever made, and one of the greatest movie sequels of all time. Fifteen minutes of additional footage were added to the film’s home release, a digitally remastered 3D version was released on 17 February 2017, and the film was accompanied by a slew of merchandise (such as action figures and videogames) as well as directly informing many of its sequels.

The Review:
Some ten years have passed since the events of the first film and much has changed in that time; first and foremost, Sarah successfully gave birth to John, the son of her protector from the future and the fated saviour of humanity in the war against the machines. However, having been imparted with knowledge of the future by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) in the first film and following her terrifying experience with the Terminator, Sarah has transformed from a helpless and confused waitress to a strong-willed woman of action and blinkered focus. We’re told by John that his childhood was one of rigorous training and preparation for his future role, which saw Sarah taking him out to Mexico and “shacking up” with as many men as she could in order to learn and impart skills and knowledge necessary to prepare John to be the future leader of humanity, which has driven a wedge between the two as John simply wants his mother’s love.

Burdened by knowledge, Sarah is driven half insane and is desperate to reunite with John.

The burden of knowledge has fractured Sarah’s mind, however; like Reese, she is tormented by dreams of the Future War and also nightmares showcasing (in graphic detail) the fiery destruction of the vast majority of the human race. In an effort to try and circumvent this future, she tried to destroy Skynet before it could be created and, as a result, was arrested and committed to a mental hospital, where Doctor Silberman (Earl Boen) worked somewhat unsuccessfully to help her through her trauma. A calculating and intelligent woman, Sarah attempts to feign compliance after her aggressive and distraught honesty led only to her being denied access to visitors and with no hope of ever escaping the institute. When Silberman sees through this deception, Sarah snaps and showcases her intense aggression, attacking Silberman and his staff without mercy since, to her, they’re already dead anyway. After learning that she’ll never be allowed to see John again, Sarah puts into a motion a plan to escape that goes surprisingly well until she comes face-to-face with the new Terminator and all of her fight and hostility is instantly replaced with a panicked terror; even after John assures her of the Terminator’s new mission, she remains cold and distrustful of her new ally throughout the film.

John starts the film as a delinquent who’s left guilt-ridden at confirmation of his mother’s tales.

At the start of the film, John is little more than a juvenile delinquent; frustrated by his mother’s harsh upbringing and subjecting him to a childhood that was anything but normal, he frequently defies his foster parents and is concerned more with ripping off cash machines using his hacking skills and spending stolen money in the arcades. Having grown up hearing all about his mother’s knowledge of the future and his destiny as the leader of the human resistance, John is well aware of the Terminator, Skynet, and the Future War but never actually believed in any of it. Consequently, he is both stunned, excited, and guilt-ridden when the Terminator arrives and confirms that everything Sarah told him was absolutely true. Determined to make amends for his lack of belief, John orders his protector to help him rescue her despite the obvious risks involved, and is heartbroken when Sarah rebukes his concerns and chastises him for putting himself at risk. Having grown up without a father, John has had to feel the anguish of his mother’s boyfriends and partners leaving over and over, leaving a void in his heart for a father figure that the Terminator fills with startling efficiency and, in the Terminator, John finds a friend, confidant, and partner with whom he can open up to, teach how to be hip and cool, and also the perfect weapon to assist in ensuring that the apocalyptic future never comes to pass.

The Terminator makes a dramatic return, now a protector charged with securing humanity’s future.

Considering that the Terminator instantly became one of cinema’s most relentless and fearsome screen villains in the first film, the decision to turn that characterisation on its head and recast Schwarzenegger as a protector was an inspired move. Thematically, it works wonders for Sarah’s character arc; indeed, her cold-blooded focus on destroying Skynet makes her just as much of an uncompromising machine as her hated nemesis and one of the principal messages of Terminator 2 is that the titular machine ends up learning the value of human life and being more human than those who created Skynet in the first place. For the first twenty minutes or so, however, the film is shot in a way to suggest that the Terminator is the same emotionless killer from the first film, albeit now seen as this bad-ass villain who we can’t help but root for. It isn’t until the Terminator comes face-to-face with the T-1000 that we truly learn that this new T-800 is here to help John, rather than kill him. From that point on, the Terminator becomes a far chattier and more layered character than in the first film; it exposits information, unquestionably follows John’s orders even when it disagrees with the risk involved, and tirelessly works around the clock to keep him and his mother safe. Crucially, the Terminator is noted to be at an extreme disadvantage this time around; not only does the T-1000 have the same files and knowledge as the Terminator, it’s also faster and more advanced and a “far more effective killing machine”. This means that, for all the Terminator’s strength and capabilities, it’s rarely ever portrayed as being anything other than an inferior model. Like Reese, the Terminator is thus forced to flee more often than fighting and to adapt its tactics to utilise more than simple firearms to keep the T-1000 at bay, which goes a long way to furthering the Terminator’s new role as a vulnerable protagonist.

The T-1000 makes for an unnervingly human, relentless, and formidable villain.

In contrast, the T-1000 is so much more efficient that you would be forgiven for initially thinking that it was another slender human protector sent back to keep John from harm; effortlessly charming and deceptive, it can easily earn the trust of unassuming humans with its candid tones but, when that fails, it can shapeshift into a number of other forms to gain access to restricted areas, equipment, and weapons that the protagonists can’t. Once you set aside the pretty large plot hole of how a machine comprised entirely of liquid metal was able to make the trip back in time when the first film established that “nothing dead will go” through the Time Displacement Equipment, and the question of how it even operates if it’s entirely comprised of ever-changing atoms, the T-1000’s rules and limitations are surprisingly well thought out. It’s established that it can’t transform into guns or bombs because of the additional chemicals and parts that make those up, and than it can’t shapeshift into anything bigger or smaller than its default dimensions. This still makes it an extremely lethal killing machine, however, as it’s easily able to form knives and other bladed appendages out of its limbs, grow an additional arm to help fly a helicopter while reloading, and disguise itself as parts of the environment in order to assimilate additional organic data. As merciless and relentless as the original Terminator was, the T-1000 is made even more callous and terrifying through its nimble speed, its sheer tenacity, and the unsettling way it closes up wounds and returns to the fight within seconds of being downed.

Disgusted by the future his research threatens to bring, Dyson gives his life to prevent Skynet’s creation.

Although the T-1000 remains a constant threat in the film and is so significant as a danger that the Terminator transports its charges all the way to a desolate Mexican desert just to avoid the killer, Sarah’s obsession with preventing Judgement Day leads her to tracking down the man most directly responsible, Miles Dyson (Morton). A simple family man, Dyson has been led to a breakthrough in artificial intelligence and technology thanks to his research on the damaged CPU and severed arm of the original Terminator; these have allowed him to effectively begin the process of Skynet’s creation and unknowingly doom the world to near extinction, something that Sarah is so adamant about preventing that she very nearly kills him in cold blood. Thanks to seeing the monster she has become reflected in the eyes of Dyson and his family, she collapses into a mournful heap before she can go through with it, and Dyson is disgusted to learn where his research will lead. Immediately repentant, he agrees to get the group into the Cyberdyne building so that they can destroy all of his research; this is a poignant decision on his behalf as we clearly see how enthusiastic he was about his work and how he often prioritised it over his family life, however he becomes so willing to eradicate his research that he willingly sacrifices his life to ensure that Skynet can never be created.

The Nitty-Gritty:
It’s tough for me to decide which film I prefer out of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. As fantastic and influential and ambitious as the first film was, the sequel is bigger and better in every way; the score is more foreboding and haunting than ever as the T-1000’s droning theme raises the tension alongside the traditional Terminator theme to help punctuate the film’s many action scenes. Additionally, the special and practical effects are better than ever and the entire film just looks more expensive and of a higher quality; there’s something to be said for the gritty nature of the first film but it’s equally hard to deny the appeal of the sequel’s slick presentation.

The film’s practical effects are absolutely top-notch and deliver a disturbing vision of the future.

We see this immediately as the film opens on an incredible rendition of the Future War; we saw snippets of this conflict in the first film but, here, everything is so much bigger and more impressive. Even now, I find it difficult to believe that this is a complex combination of miniatures, models, and forced perspective to show Hunter-Killers and Terminators flawing, crawling, and marching along a field of skulls and wreckage and exchanging plasma fire with the Resistance fighters. This is the scene that made me want to see a whole movie set during the Future War and I still feel like this would have made for a more effective and fitting follow-up to the first two films; just imagine an army of CGI Arnolds marching through an apocalyptic wasteland while Brad Fiedel’s iconic, imposing score blares out? Similar effects are used to bring to life Sarah’s disturbing nightmares of nuclear holocaust; again realised using complex miniatures and puppets, these make for some of the most unsettling scenes of destruction in any film and remain as impactful as ever thanks to the sheer amount of time and effort than went into creation a realistic depiction of the end of the world.

A blend of CGI and practical effects help keep the T-1000 a timeless and terrifying screen villain.

Of course, the true star of the show in terms of special effects is the T-1000; largely realised entirely through cutting edge CGI, the T-1000 is an unnerving screen villain that switches in a heartbeat from charming and affable to stoic and ruthless and we see in full detail how it is able to assume the form of those it touches and then dispose of the original with gruesome efficiency. I think what makes the T-1000 work so well is how often its more monstrous forms and sharp implements are represented using practical effects such as puppetry and animatronics that work wonderfully with the CGI effects (which still hold up to this day) so we can see the actor reacting to being shot and close range, cut to a squealing, twisted animatronic, and then marvel at the T-1000 zipping itself back together using CGI. Its abilities and aggression escalate as the film progresses, allowing it to start off largely employing subterfuge and then forming sword and claw-like appendages on its arms, being frozen into a fragile statue of pure disbelief at being bested, and finally being left as this wailing, grotesque mess of limbs and silvery innards before being sent crashing to the molten steel below. Considering that the T-1000 had been a great imitator of emotions and deception throughout the film, there’s something incredibly disturbing at seeing and hearing it thrash about in its death throws, screaming in agony and rage before finally melting away to nothingness with a look of undeniable anguish.

The special edition adds in a number of scenes that expand an already fantastic movie.

The Special Edition version of the film adds some additional footage that was cut from the theatrical version. This includes an earlier, short scene of Sarah’s nightmare of the inevitably nuclear war that consumes humanity and, as part of that, a sequence in which she is visited by Kyle Reese in a dream where he encourages her to get back into the fight and to protect John. As a big fan of Michael Biehn and Reese’s character, I enjoyed seeing this scene added back into the film; it also goes a long way to show just how deep Sarah’s fear and psychosis have progressed and lends some credibility to the argument that she’s been driven more than a little mad by her knowledge of the future and terror of the impending destruction of humanity. One of the longest and most impressive scenes reintegrated into the film is an alternative take on the Terminator’s reprogramming; in the theatrical version, the Terminator simply states that all of the T-800s are capable of growing beyond their programming but, here, Sarah and John have to open up the Terminator’s skull and extract its CPU so that it can learn to be more human. This is fantastically realised in a complex sequence involving a model of Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton’s twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren, and features a tense confrontation between Sarah and John where he basically orders her to trust his instincts regarding the Terminator rather than destroying the CPU. Other scenes include a somewhat unnecessary shot of the T-1000 discovering that the Terminator tricked him and killing John’s dog, and an extended sequence near the end where, after being blown to pieces by the Terminator, it’s made more explicit that the T-1000 is malfunctioning. I’m a fan of this addition as well as it show just how traumatic being frozen and blasted into pieces was for the T-1000 and allows it to be a step slower and a bit more unreliable than usual; it may also go some way to explaining why it decided to try and intimidate Sarah into calling out to John rather than simply assuming her form as its shapeshifting abilities were clearly screwed up after reassembling itself.

The Terminator learns the value of human life and acts as a friend and father figure to John.

The extended scenes also add a lot more to the Terminator’s characterisation; a pivotal story arc of the film is the Terminator learning what it means to be human and taking on more normal mannerisms, such as smiling, quipping, and just considering the impact of mindlessly killing those in its path. When John first orders it not to kill, the Terminator is confused (disdainful, even) at the idea and is forced by its programming to simply follow John’s orders to the letter. It’s not until much later in the film, after it forms a bond with John, that the once terrifying killing machine understands why human lives are so valued and to be cherished. Until then, though, it takes its orders literally, resulting in scenes both amusing and bad-ass as it goes out of its way to wound or chase off the police with its weapons; seeing the Terminator as a straight “man” awkwardly trying to pass as normal makes for some of the film’s best and most amusing moments: its attempt at smiling is painful, the way it regards children is just fantastic, and it absolutely nails the nineties one-liners John teaches it to deliver some of Arnold’s most memorable quips. Even Sarah has to admit to being impressed with the machine’s absolutely devotion towards John; she even comes to trust it enough to leave John in its care as she goes off on her solo mission to kill Dyson and one of the most moving scenes in the entire franchise comes right at the end where she shakes the Terminator’s hand and gives it her respect.

The film culminates in a showdown wherein the Terminator sacrificing itself to prevent Judgement Day.

Indeed, the entire finale of the film makes for one of the most action-packed and emotionally charged I’ve ever seen, especially in a sci-fi action film; following the massive explosion at Cyberdyne and an absolutely incredible car chase that sees the protagonists desperately trying to out-run a helicopter and a truck full of liquid nitrogen, they’re forced into a final showdown at a steel mill. With Sarah wounded from a bullet to the leg and the Terminator’s human façade cracking from all the shots it has absorbed, they’re forced deeper into the red-hot facility when the T-1000 manages to recover from being frozen and blasted into pieces. We then get an absolutely brutal throwdown between the Terminator and the T-1000 in which no words are said and no sounds are heard except for the clang of metal on metal; here, we truly see how outclassed the Terminator is as the T-1000 effortlessly tosses it around and overwhelms it, smashing its face apart with a huge girder and then seemingly destroying it by impaling it on a spike. Thankfully, the Terminator comes with a back-up power source and it struggles back to “life”; despite missing an arm and being beaten all to hell, it manages to recover long enough to deliver the final blow to the T-1000, ending its threat forever, and their mission to destroy Skynet and prevent the future seems to have been accomplished after John tosses the first Terminator’s arm and CPU into the molten steel. However, the new Terminator still remains and John is absolutely distraught at the idea of his friend and father figure sacrificing itself to ensure the future; yet, despite his desperate pleas and orders, the Terminator’s destruction is the only way to end Skynet’s threat and so, after a heartfelt goodbye to them both, the Terminator is lowered to its demise in an absolutely heart-breaking sequence that sees this once relentless and remorseless killer cemented forever as one of cinema’s most beloved heroes.

The Summary:
It’s difficult to express in words how much I adore this film; I love the original, especially for how dark and gritty it is and how it’s much more like a horror film than a traditional sci-fi action flick but there’s no denying that Terminator 2: Judgment Day does everything bigger and better. The Terminator put Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map but its blockbuster sequel made him a mainstream star. After this, he would forever be cemented as the wise-cracking hero in action films for pretty much the remainder of his career as a film star. Not only that, Terminator 2 became the standard template for every subsequent movie in the franchise bar one; with the except of the under-rated Terminator Salvation (McG, 2009), all of the Terminator sequels and even the short-lived television series tried to emulate this film in some way, which has led only to a string of lacklustre productions as a result. Still, that doesn’t take away from how awesome Terminator 2 is; from Sarah’s physical and mental instability and transformation to the ruthless tenacity of the T-1000, to the incredible depiction of the Future War and the ground-breaking special and practical effects, Terminator 2 pretty much has it all. This extended version of the film remains the definitive version for me thanks to a much-appreciated cameo by Michael Biehn and expanding on scenes of our impending destruction and the two Terminators. Although it’s a longer movie at almost two-and-a-half hours, it’s an endlessly exhilarating experience from start to finish and I could honestly put Terminator 2 on every single day and never get bored; everything from the performances, the ominous score, and the explosive action is absolutely top-notch and it’s quite possibly the greatest film in the entire franchise and possibly Arnold’s career.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Terminator 2: Judgment Day? How do you think it holds up today, especially compared to the first film and the other sequels? What did you think to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance in the film and did you enjoy seeing him cast as a protector this time around? What did you think to T-1000 and its abilities? Were you surprised to find the T-800 was the good guy this time and what did you think to the CGI and other special effects used to bring the T-1000 to life? How are you celebrating Judgement Day today? No matter what you think about Terminator 2, and the Terminator franchise, feel free to sign up and leave a reply down below.

Movie Night: Death Note 2: The Last Name

Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 3 November 2006
Director: Shūsuke Kaneko
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $20 million (estimated)
Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Takeshi Kaga, Nana Katase, Shidou Nakamura, and Shinnosuke Ikehata

The Plot:
The battle of wits and wills between Light Yagami (Fujiwara) and the eccentric “L” (Matsuyama) is taken to the next level with Light joins a task force dedicated to stopping the murderous “Kira” but his delicate plot to advance his career as judge, jury, and execution with his mysterious Death Note is threatened when another killer notebook and Shinigami enter the playing field.

The Background:
Between 1 December 2003 and 15 May 2006, author Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata’s Death Note (or “DEATH NOTE” as it is stylised) was published in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump. Originating as a broad concept that saw Ohba visualising the panels in his downtime and Obata incorporating pacing and action into them, Death Note was incredibly successful and widely praised for its art, complex characters, and elaborate twists and turns. This popularity soon translated into an equally well-regarded anime that originally aired between 3 October 2006 and 26 June 2007 and was accompanied by two feature-length specials retelling the story with new footage in late-2007 and 2008, respectively. Director Shūsuke Kaneko didn’t take this task of creating a live-action adaptation lightly; he gambled on filming not one, but two movies back-to-back just to do the source material justice, and insisted on using computer effects to bring the Shinigami to life, which this time included the less mischievous and more good-natured Rem (Ikehata). Like its predecessor, Death Note 2: The Last Name topped the Japanese box office and received a limited overseas release, but far exceeded the first film’s box office with its worldwide gross of over $54 million. Critically, the film also performed notably better; reviews praised it as being stronger, delving much deeper into the characters, and greatly expanding the tension and intrigue between the two main characters. A somewhat divisive L-centric spin-off followed the film’s success, which later received a more direct miniseries and follow-up film in 2016 that also garnered mixed reactions.

The Review:
So, as mentioned in my review of the first film, I haven’t actually watched the original anime or read the Death Note manga, despite being tempted on many occasions to get into both. It’s definitely on my ever-expanding to-do list but, for now, I’m more than happy to call myself a fan of the franchise based on these two live-action adaptations. Again, I’m watching the original Japanese audio version with English subtitles, which isn’t my preferred way of watching Japanese media but it’s ever stunted my enjoyment of the film, and I distinctly remember first watching this sequel back-to-back with the first film years ago when they were included in a late-night double feature. And it’s a good job, too, for as good as Death Note was, it ends of a massive, tantalising cliff-hanger that cries out for further resolution, and much of that film was focused on establishing the rules of the killer notebook, the role of the Shinigami, and the degradation of Light Yagami’s morals. Beginning the last film as an intelligent, if overconfident, law student, Light quickly becomes intoxicated with the power of the Death Note; that many in the general public claim his actions as the murderous “Kira” as being the just work of God doesn’t help, and Light’s ego has become so immense that he’s willing to sacrifice friend, lover, and lawmen alike in order to keep himself from being exposed as the “God of the New World”.

Light is fully prepared to manipulate, and sacrifice, anyone to one-up L.

Death Note 2: The Last Name opens with a quick recap of the previous film and with Light having successfully manipulated events so that his girlfriend, Shiori Akino (Yuu Kashii), was killed in order to gain sympathy from his father, Detective Superintendent Souichirou Yagami (Kaga), and the task force he’s assembled to track Kira down under the supervision of the eccentric, renowned detective, L/ Ryuzaki. Playing the part of a victim of Kira’s brutal wrath, Light joins the team with the express intention of tracking down the man responsible for the deaths of his girlfriend and countless criminals, with none suspecting that he is the true culprit behind the mysterious deaths except for L. L has correctly deduced every piece of the puzzle and has all the evidence he needs, in theory, to pin Kira’s actions onto Light except for concrete proof and an explanation as to how he’s able to kill with just a glance. Because of this, Light is able to give L the run-around and stay one step ahead of him while secretly manipulating events with his Death Note to both take suspicion away from him and to learn L’s true name. Light could learn this simply enough by trading half of his lifespan for the Shinigami eyes, which would let her see the true name and remaining years of anyone he looks at, but e’s determined to usher in his new age and to outwit L with his mind. When another Kira (quickly dubbed “Kira II”) starts issuing threats and killing not just criminals but anyone who even dares publicly speak out against Kira, Light sees an opportunity to realise his goals by manipulating the new Kira to his advantage. So complete is Light’s arrogance that he even goes as far as to manipulate the film’s new Shinigami, Rem (Ikehata), to write new rules into the Death Note to bamboozle the Kira task force, and to surrender both his Death Note (and his memories of his actions as Kira) and himself to a period of isolation all to win L’s trust in order to learn his name and cement himself as the God of the New World.

Both Misa and Kiyomi are determined to continue what they see as Kira’s righteous crusade.

Young celebrity Misa Amane (Toda) is the new Kira in town thanks to acquiring her own Death Note. When she was just a schoolgirl, Misa came home to find her family slaughtered by a sadistic killer and became obsessed with Kira after her family’s killer fell victim to his judgement and she’s only too eager to continue his work, and publicly propose an alliance, as Kira II. While Light primarily targeted criminals, he was known for killing federal agents if they threatened to expose him, but Misa continues his work with a far more brutal flair, felling lawbreakers and lawgivers alike and even killing innocent people just because they speak out against Kira. Thanks to sacrificing half of her lifespan to acquire the Shinigami eyes, Misa is easily able to target and kill anyone and everyone who dares speak out against her hero; the eyes also allow her to deduce Kira’s true identity and seek Light out to forge an alliance, not just as co-Kira’s but also as lovers. Since Misa is absolutely besotted with him, Light is easily able to use her feelings and her naïvety with the Death Note to his advantage; Light agrees to the alliance simply to use Misa’s eyes to learn L’s true name but, sadly, Misa isn’t anywhere near as thorough as Light wen it comes to covering her tracks and ends up captured by L and his task force. With both of them having lost their memories as part of Light’s grand scheme, Misa’s Death Note falls to budding reporter and Kira supporter Kiyomi Takada (Katase); she’s also so pleased to have been chosen as Kira’s “partner” that she trades half her life for the eyes and kills indiscriminately to both continue his work and further her career, but is just as sloppy about covering her tracks and easily apprehended by the unmatched team of Light and L. This allows Light to regain his memories and, in a flash, sacrifice Kiyomi and pin all of Kira’s murders on her in a perfect loop; it also completes the puzzle for L and the task force as they touch the Death Note and become aware of the Shinigami, though this also raises the question of how they’re going to explain that literal Gods of Death and killer notebooks are behind the recent murder spree.

Even with two Shingami to contend with, Light’s main concern is learning L’s true name.

Speaking of which, Ryuk returns, still following Light around and offering commentary, taking amusement in his game of cat-and-mouse with L, and enjoying apples as and when. Thanks to Light having to constantly be on guard and hide his true intentions, Ryuk grows bored and frustrated, and basically disappears for a big chunk of the middle of the film after Light gives up the Death Note and his memories of it. There’s also a new Shinigami on the block, the androgynous Rem; this skeletal, far less mischievous Shinigami is Misa’s constant companion and is watching over her in place of her friend, the diminutive Shinigami Gelus, who had taken a shine to Misa and committed the cardinal sin of protecting her from an obsessive fan with his Death Note, thus dooming himself to oblivion. Unlike the cheeky and outspoken Ryuk, Rem is soft-spoken and fiercely loyal; she vows to punish anyone who threatens Misa and is even forced to turn herself to dust to save Misa’s life after Light manipulates events to put her in danger, which again adds credence to Light’s monstrous nature. The Shinigami are exposed to L and the task force, first through mentions dropped by Kira II, then by observing Kiyomi, and finally after touching the Death Note and conversing with Rem. Interestingly, while Light was stunned by Ryuk’s presence and Misa was awestruck by Rem’s, L initially reacts with a mixture of dear and incredulity. Once he accepts that the Shinigami are real, he’s satisfied that he’s finally wrapped up this strange case, which sees him reluctantly join forces with Light after his nagging suspicions cannot be proven and then subject both Light and Misa to near-torturous isolation in a bid to force a confession rom them. As ever, L’s deductive reasoning is almost supernatural; he’s able to correctly guess everything that’s happening, even without proof, as though he’s read ahead in the script, but even he can’t predict the lengths of Light’s depravity and it costs him dearly when his mentor and father-figure, Watari (Shunji Fujimura), falls victim to the Death Note after Misa is threatened.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Thanks to Light now being officially integrated onto the task force, there are far more face-to-face interactions between him and L this time around. The two play chess, literally and figuratively, against each other, with each throwing out accusations, explanations, and questions in a bid to outwit the other. Even if he couldn’t manipulate life and death with the Death Note, Light is extremely thorough at covering his tracks; he has not only won the support of his father and colleagues thanks to sacrificing Shiori but he has cold hard facts on his side since L cannot pin anything on him, nor explain how he could kill so many so easily as Kira. When Kira II surfaces, Light sees an opportunity to shunt suspicion from him completely and throws himself into the investigation after his sister and father almost fall victim to the new Kira’s wrath. Similarly, he orchestrates events to place Kiyomi into the firing line and, free from his memories of the Death Note, proves himself just as capable a detective as L by cobbling together graphs and data to pinpoint who these new Kiras are. When Light gives up his memories, we see him briefly return to his pre-Death Note character and get a sense of how deeply the book has corrupted his morals and intelligence; for a short time, we see how positive a force he could be, especially when he and L unite against the new Kiras, which only makes his devilish turn back to a callous puppet master all the more harrowing after he regains his memories and is revealed to have manipulate man and Death God alike to his own ends.

Light freely manipulates others, Death Gods, and even himself to outwit L.

The nature of the Death Note and the Shinigami realm is delved into a little more here; as before, the book is filled with rules regarding its use, though Misa and Kiyomi don’t utilise its true potential in the same way that Light did and are content to simply jot down names and cause their victims to die from heart attacks. We get to briefly see the Shinigami world, a desolate realm where the Gods of Death watch humans and live off the years of those they write in their notebooks. The Shinigami cannot use their Death Notes to prolong lives, however, and doing so causes them to turn to sand, as it does to Gelus and, eventually, Rem. As in the first film, the world is dividing in their opinion of Kira. Well, not quite divided, as Kiyomi’s research shows; not only does a sizable percentage of the country support Kira, prominent members of the government have also taken to praising the murderous vigilante. Even Kira’s strongest supporters are shocked, however, when they witness his brand of justice first-hand and when Kira II effectively holds a news station hostage to both deliver a warning to any who would dare oppose Kira in any way and to broadcast a series of live executions. Thankfully, Misa is so besotted with Light that she not only agrees to follow his every order and to kill anyone he asks but she also gives her Death Note to him in order to win his trust. Realising that he can use her to learn L’s new, Light reluctantly agrees to enter a relationship and partnership with her, though he cares little for her or the fact that she’s sacrificed half her life for him (she’s so devoted to Light that she does this again after regaining her memories since she’s forgotten L’s true name and lost the Shinigami eyes when she gave up her Death Note). When Misa resumes her killing spree, she immediately makes herself a target once more and, when the shrewd L is able to figure out that Kira has added fake rules to the Death Note, Light is forced to take even more extreme measures in order to protect himself, remembering his true callous nature and even writing his own father’s name in the Death Note.

In the end, Light is outsmarted but it’s a hollow victory for the doomed L.

Light’s obsession and delusions come full circle by the finale. He fully believes he’s a God now, and it’s hard to deny it given how he’s able to puppet people around with the Death Note, but he ultimately falls victim to his own arrogance and having vastly underestimated L’s deductive abilities. L tricks Light with a fake Death Note, and even fakes his own death at Light’s hands in order to learn the horrifying truth behind his duel identity, all to bring Light into the…well, the light… and expose him. With Light having hidden a piece of the Death Note in his watch and jotting down names with his own blood as and when people threaten to expose him, the game of one-upmanship between him and L escalates to the point where L is forced to his own name in the Death Note in order to circumnavigate his murder at a Kira’s hands and confront Light alongside a shame-filled Souichirou. Held at gunpoint and with nowhere left to run and no excuses left, Light refuses to bow acknowledge L’s intellectual superiority and spits criticism of his father’s broken system and the failure of the law to match the impact he had as Kira. After all his machinations and desperate attempts to cover his tracks, Light’s true nature as a reprehensible, egotistical, power-mad killer rise to the surface during this dramatic finale, which sees his sneaky watch destroyed and leaves him with a bullet in his leg. Raving about his destiny to be the saviour of a new, crime-free world, Light is so convinced of his superiority and Godhood that he outright demands that Ryuk kill everyone present and bend to his will and, in doing so, seals his fate. While the Shinigami will die if they protect humans, they are able to take lives using the Death Note and, similar to how Ryuk despaired of Light’s lack of humanity and compassion at the end of the last film, the Shinigami is somewhat disgusted to see the once intelligent and adaptable Light reduced to begging for supernatural help and writes his name instead. As Light enters his death throes and spits declarations of his he’ll be remembered as a hero, Ryuk solemnly informs him that Death Note users are doomed to limbo rather than going to Heaven or Hell. Sadly, there’s no way to save L; having arranged for his peaceful death, L quietly passes away a few days later after expressing his gratitude and appreciation to Souichirou. Though Souichirou condemns his son’s actions, the official word is that he died by Kira’s hands and that Kira’s reign of terror is finally over, leaving Light’s family mourning their loss, Misa with no memory of her love or the Death Note, and the cackling Ryuk free to cause further havoc as he sees fit.

The Summary:
It’s honestly a little tough for me to pick with is the better film between Death Note and Death Note 2: The Last Name. The first is maybe a little more cerebral in its focus on showing how the Death Note twists Light into this cruel and arrogant murderer, while the sequel is full of twists and turns and an escalating cat-and-mouse between L and Light. Ultimately, I’d highly advise watching both back-to-back as they’re clearly intended to be two parts of a larger whole. While the first film includes more variety in the use of the Death Note, the second really shows just how adapt Light is with the notebook since his would-be successors are sloppy and unimaginative. Both Misa and Kiyomi use the Death Note indiscriminately, lacking even Light’s skewed moral code, and think only in the short-term, giving up half their lives simply because it’s easier to use the Shinigami eyes than to figure out other ways of targeting and killing their victims. I enjoyed the addition of Rem and the brief glimpse into the Shinigami realm and life; she and Ryuk remain a captivating and visual highlight and its fun seeing the differences between the two, with Rem being more stoic and sombre and Ryuk being this cackling maniac at times. The true draw of the film is the intense back and forth between Light and L; it’s maddening seeing that L has figured everything out except for the means and I enjoyed seeing the strange friendship between the two, which is made all the more awkward as L is so peculiar and never truly gives up his suspicions about Light. The two are constantly one-upping each other, with Light seeming to be one step ahead of everyone, but seeing L sacrifice his own life in order to expose Light and watching Light descending into raving vitriol was a truly cathartic moment. While Light may have had a point about the unjust legal system, his superiority complex and sheer lack of empathy ultimately made him no better than his successors and worse than a literal Death God. This results in him become a tragic anti-hero of sorts who fully deserves to be brought down, but there’s little celebration surrounding Light’s death and, indeed, the film ends with the suggestion that Kira’s death has cause crime to increase once more, leaving the moral ambiguity of his actions up for debate.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to Death Note 2: The Last Name? If you’re a fan of the anime or manga, how did it work as an adaptation for you? What did you think to the changes made to the source material? What did you think to the new Kiras and how they differed from Light? Were you a fan of the cat-and-mouse game between Light and L? What did you think to Rem and Ryuk and the way they were manipulated by Light? How would you use a Death Note? Whatever your thoughts on Death Note, feel free to share them in the comments or on my social media.

Game Corner [Spidey Month]: Spider-Man (PlayStation 2)

Dr. K3 Comments

Easily Marvel Comic’s most recognisable and popular superhero, unsuspecting teenage nerd Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider and learned the true meaning of power and responsibility in Amazing Fantasy #15, which was first published in August 1962. Since then, the Amazing Spider-Man has featured in numerous cartoons, live-action movies, videogames, action figures, and countless comic book titles and, in celebration of his debut and his very own day of celebration, I’ve been dedicating every Friday of August to talk about everyone’s favourite web-head!

Released: 16 April 2002
Developer: Treyarch
Also Available For: Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PC, and Xbox

The Background:
There was a time when it seemed like every single cinema release had to be accompanied by a videogame adaptation; big-budget movies, especially, were often released alongside a hastily created videogame tie-in that often failed to properly capture the spirit of the film they were based on. As the flagship character of Marvel Comics, Spider-Man has a long and varied history with videogame adaptations across a variety of platforms so it was perhaps no surprise that Sam Raimi’s 2002 live-action $825 million blockbuster would be accompanied by a videogame tie-in. To be fair, Spider-Man benefitted from that fact that it was developed by Treyarch, who had previously had success with the character; indeed, much of Spider-Man’s combat and level progression was based on Treyarch’s previous Spider-Man game. This was reflected in the game’s reception as Spider-Man became the fifteen highest-selling videogame of 2002 and enjoyed high scores across all platforms. While some reviews criticised the game’s claustrophobic indoor sections and short length, it was generally regarded as the best Spider-Man videogame at the time of release. I remember buying the game for the GameCube after seeing the movie, having been won over by the game’s trailer and the film itself, but being underwhelmed by it after playing it to completion so I’m curious to see how it holds up today after the success of Spider-Man’s subsequent videogames.

The Plot:
After being bitten by a genetically-enhanced arachnid, high school senior Peter Parker finds himself endowed with the proportional strength and agility of a spider, and, when his beloved Uncle Ben is killed due to his irresponsibility, Peter puts his spider powers to good use as a masked crimefighter. After failing to capture and study this “Spider-Man”, who overcomes a variety of costumed menaces and robots, Doctor Norman Osborn transforms himself into the web-slinger’s most dangerous threat yet: the maniacal Green Goblin!

Gameplay:
Spider-Man is a third-person action game with a primary focus on beat-‘em-up action but which also includes a fair amount of web-slinging and a little bit of awkward stealth and extremely simplistic puzzle solving. As you might expect, players assume command of Peter Parker; the game begins right after Uncle Ben has been shot and at the very beginning of his crimefighting career as Spider-Man, and players are given a number of standard options when it comes to combat: X lets you jump and you can press it again in mid-air for a double jump, while Square throws a punch and Circle unleashes a kick. You can mix and match these button inputs to execute quick combo attacks (which you can review from the pause menu), and pressing either button near certain objects will allow you to pick up and throw them at your enemies. Of course, it’s not all about beating up random thugs across the city; at any time, you can press R2 and Spider-Man will start slinging webs (yes, they just attach to nothing, get over it) and won’t stop until you press X or slam into a wall. You can hold down R2 to speed up your web-slinging, though this does limit your turning ability, and you can press R1 to quickly zip upwards or straight ahead on a web zip-line; you can also press L1 to lock onto enemies, which is super useful when you’re swinging around and asked to attack enemies in mid-air.

Spidey can use his webs to attack his enemies but, unlike in the film, is limited by web fluid.

Spider-Man will automatically save himself with his webs if you fall while traversing the city rooftops and will automatically climb walls when close to them, though you can press the left analogue stick to enter a crawling state and the camera does tend to get very jerky and annoying when you’re clambering around on walls and ceilings as your perspective can get turned around pretty easily. If you’ve played the fantastic Spider-Man (Neversoft, 2000), you’ll be immediately familiar not only with Spider-Man’s combat and web-slinging but also with his web-based attacks. Pressing Triangle sees Spidey shoot out a quick web, but holding it allows him to web enemies up; if you press up, down, left, or right on the left analogue stick (or directional pad, if that’s your preference), Spider-Man will send out a high-impact ball of webbing, yank his foe towards him, wrap his hands in webbing to increase his punching power, or create a web dome to shield himself and send enemies flying with a press of X. You can also switch to different control styles that see you utilise the other face buttons for these commands, but you’ll find that these web attacks consume your web fluid (represented as a blue bar under your life meter), which is very strange considering Spidey had organic webbing in the film. Spider-Man can also dodge incoming attacks by using the left stick in conjunction with X to hop out of danger, though I found this to be awkward at best and unreliable at worst, and you can even press in the right analogue stick to look around and set your target for a zip-line.

Web-slinging sections see you using the compass to chase villains, rescue civilians, and disarm bombs.

All of these controls and gameplay mechanics can be reviewed in an optional tutorial mode, where the legendary Bruce Campbell snarkily talks you through all of Spider-Man’s abilities, and you’ll find question mark hints occasionally dotted around levels to help you out as and when. Like the 2000 game, Spider-Man is basically divided into two distinct gameplay styles: one sees you out in the city, swinging about the place, and the other sees you confined inside buildings. When out in the city, you’ll need to make use of a compass to navigate towards your next objective or keep track of your current target; you need to use this in conjunction with a Height Meter that shows your position compared to that of your objective, which can be a very clunky system as it’s not always clear where you need to go. Basically, just follow the compass direction until it flashes white, and then try to orientate yourself up or down to get to where you need to go, but invariably your compass will be absent when inside buildings. When web-slinging around the city, you’ll be tasked with hunting down thugs and putting a beating on them until you find information on where you need to go, racing after a target as they fly away from you, hunting down bombs or taking out robotic drones (often against a tight time limit), rescuing civilians from harm, and using your webs to secure water towers, bridges, and other objects to stop them from hurting civilians. When trying to keep track of a specific target, you really need to make use of the lock-on feature or else it’s very easy to lose sight of them and thus fail the mission; I also found that spamming Triangle was the fastest way to actually attack enemies in mid-air, but of course this will drain your web fluid. Luckily, the pick-ups that refill your health and web fluid will respawn so you can swing back over and grab them if you need to, but this will cost you time and probably see you fail your objective. Checkpoints in Spider-Man are few and far between; you can only save your progress after completing a level and, if you die or fail your mission, you’ll have to restart from the beginning of the level, which can lead to you repeating frustrating sections again and again.

Spidey must crawl and fight around claustrophobic interiors using a clunky stealth mechanic.

When confined to the interior of buildings, the game introduces a clunky stealth element; when Spider-Man is in certain shadows, the face on his heads-up display will turn dark blue and he’ll be hidden from enemies. This is essential to safely sneaking past cameras and enemies in many levels; though you won’t fail the mission if you’re spotted, an alarm will be raised and mechanical Super Soldiers will relentlessly chase after you, forcing you to quickly zip away and find a shadowy area to wait out the alarm. One of the most common tasks when in these claustrophobic areas will be heading through or acquiring keys to unlock doors; these doors can be difficult to identify as the areas are so bland and boring, and the enemies holding the key tend to be a little tougher than the usual mooks. Other times, you’ll need to use X to activate consoles, sometimes in a certain order, acquire codes from active PCs, web-zip past steam vents or through laser trip wires, and zipping up into vents to awkwardly crawl around and progress further. These levels also have much more focus on grounded beat-‘em-up combat, but the game quickly emphasises that discretion is the better part of valour and you’ll be tasked with deactivating security walls and laser traps in order to progress a little safer. The game comes with a number of different difficulty modes that obviously make enemies tougher and increase the game’s challenge; completing the game on higher difficulties also allows you to unlock additional content, which can be further unlocked by acquiring points for your combat, stealth, and level-completion strategies.

Graphics and Sound:
Obviously, Spider-Man is a videogame tie-in that came out on the PlayStation 2, so you can’t expect super high-quality in-game or cutscene graphics. However, Spider-Man is reasonably impressive and I can see why people would have considered it the best Spider-Man videogame at the time; New York City is rendered as a large map and even subject to rain and lightning storms and rendered in both day and night-time depending on the level you’re playing. However, it’s not a sprawling open world with numerous side quests or non-playable characters to interact with; although you can see traffic moving down below, you can’t go down to street level and the city is basically completely lifeless save for thugs, bosses, and a few civilians in need of rescue.

Environments can be quite bland and lifeless but some shine through weather and lighting effects.

The interiors are where the game really fails to impress, however; you’ll explore such dynamic and exciting areas as…a bland warehouse, the sewers and subway tunnels, and the high-tech Oscorp building. This latter is easily the most visually impressive and interesting of all of the game’s environments, inside or out; while it is a bit confusing as every area looks grey and bland, it’s given some variety with some blinking lights, laser traps, and different rooms containing consoles and power generators. Another interesting area is a bank, though you’re only really in here for one boss battle, and you’ll even be treated to a very mediocre interpretation of the balloon parade from the film, which includes a single inflatable panda bear and a sequence where you crash down through skylights while battling the Green Goblin, and of course conclude the game in a showdown on the Queensboro Bridge.

Cinematics are quite blurry and the awkward in-game cutscenes are quite laughable.

While the game’s thugs and enemies aren’t much to shout about, being largely generic and unimpressive, Spider-Man is rendered quite well despite every character model appearing as a stiff mannequin. Spidey does little hops and flips when climbing over ledges, assumes comic-accurate poses when left idle, and even busts out fancy animations when web-slinging that closely emulate the film. The game uses both pre-rendered and in-game graphics for its cutscenes, with the pre-rendered ones obviously being the more impressive of the two; the in-game models don’t even move their mouths and the voice acting is more miss rather than hit. Tobey Maguire, especially, sounds more wooden and awkward than ever, especially when trying to deliver quips as Spider-Man, and the game is sadly completely lacking Danny Elfman’s awesome and iconic score. The music that does play during levels is generally suitable enough, if a bit generic, but it does clumsily and noticeably loop, which just screams of low production values, and of course you’ll be faced with the long load times symptomatic of that era of videogaming.

Enemies and Bosses:
Spider-Man is faced with a number of nameless, faceless, disposable goons as he swings around the city and tries to use his powers responsibly; at first, he’s tasked with tracking down Uncle Ben’s killer, who here is interpreted as part of the Skulls gang, so you’ll be beating up unscrupulous street thugs in the early going. Some of these have pistols to defend themselves with, and they’ll also put up a block to defend themselves against your attacks. These thugs get a reskin as guards working for Oscorp who must largely be avoided and webbed up to stop them from raising the alarm and bringing in the Super Soldier robots. Wile Osborn’s miniature Spider Slayers are annoying robotic enemies who zip around on claw-like lines and try to roast you alive, these Super Soldiers are a massive pain in the ass. They relentlessly hunt you down, blasting at you with explosive bolts that are near-impossible to avoid, and the levels can be so restrictive that you’re better off just restarting the level rather than trying to desperately find shadows to hide from them.

After tracking down his uncle’s killer, Spidey must avoid the Shocker’s blasts in the city sewers.

Spider-Man’s first mission is to hunt down Uncle Ben’s killer; after beating up a bunch of his fellow gang members, Spidey finally tracks him down and faces off with him, only to be blasted full-force in the face over and over by the murderer’s shotgun! The killer sets a precedent for the game’s boss battles in that he, like all of the other bosses, is spry and tough enough to shrug off, dodge, and no-sell all of your web attacks except for the web-hands, so you’re best bet is to zip up to the ceiling and stay out of his sight, blasting at him with your impact webbing or dropping down to deliver a beatdown when he’s suitably confused. After a quick side quest where you swing around towards red balloons to take snapshots of Spidey for the Daily Bugle, you’ll need to rescue security guards being threatened by Herman Schultz/The Shocker. Once they’re safe, you’ll pursue him into the sewers and subway tunnels, where he’ll send blasts of concussive sound at you that you’ll need to dodge using your web-zip; this isn’t too much of a challenge to overcome and, afterwards, you’ll get to face him in combat. The Shocker launches projectiles of sound at you and can protect himself with a devastating whirlwind of damaging soundwaves, but was actually easier for me to pummel into submission than Uncle Ben’s killer.

After making short work of the Vulture, you must defend and then subdue the maniacal Scorpion.

Spider-Man’s next test comes when Adrian Toomes/The Vulture robs a bank; Spider-Man first chases after the Vulture by progressing vertically up a tower that catches fire and sees you slipping through holes and under stairs to zip your way upwards, then you need to chase after him as he flies away through the city and puts citizens at risk. Finally, the two face off in the skies around the Chrysler Building as rain and lighting fill the arena; Spidey must fire webbing at the Vulture while avoiding his charges and attacks in order to force him to land so he can put a beating on him, making him the easiest boss of the game by far. Afterwards, Spidey crosses paths with MacDonald “Mac” Gargan/The Scorpion, who just randomly appears out of nowhere; at first, you’ll need to protect him from Oscorp’s miniature spider-bots but then he turns against you and forces you to fight him. This is quite a tough fight even on Easy mode as the Scorpion leaps and scrambles all over the place, blasting at you with his tail, and grappling with you whenever you get close to him. It’s best to keep your distance and fire off impact webbing from afar, and then dodge his attacks so you can hit a few combos on him and put him down. Fittingly, the Green Goblin is the game’s most recurring villain and, though you won’t encounter him face-to-face until you’re halfway through the game, he more than makes up for it in his appearances; the first time you face him, you need to avoid his glider attacks and missiles and rescue Mary Jane Watson from the aforementioned panda balloon before battling him head-on.

As annoying as Oscorp’s mech is, the Green Goblins persistence and aggression is even worse!

Whilst on his glider, the Green Goblin is basically a tougher version of the Vulture as he flies around tossing pumpkin bombs and firing bullets and missiles at you, forcing you to fire off your webbing or striking at him when he comes close. Afterwards, you’ll have to chase after him and web up parts of the environment that he damages, before forcing him through a skylight for some ground combat. These fights are easily the toughest of the game as the Green Goblin bombards you with pumpkin bombs, blinds you with flashbangs, and can easily choke the life out of you and snatch you out of the air. Your best bet is to stick near the respawning health power-up, dodge his combos and hit some of your own, and blast him with impact webbing whenever you can. Afterwards, you’ll be forced to swing across the city against a time limit disarming his bombs, which is an annoying mission thanks to the janky compass and drones flying around the city, then destroy fifty of his Razor Bats before taking a detour through Oscorp and battling a giant mech. Before you can attack this directly, you’ll need to desperately swing around the enclosed arena destroying shield generators and being pummelled by missile turrets, constantly spawning drones, and avoiding the mech’s gigantic laser. Thankfully, there’s plenty of pick-ups in the area and the mech goes down pretty easily with a few web shots once the shield is lowered. Afterwards, you’ll have to chase after the Green Goblin as he flies off with Mary Jane and tosses explosive traps in your way, before finally facing off with him on the Queensboro Bridge. After getting Mary Jane to safety, you then need to repeat the same tactics as in the first couple of fights against him but now in the same battle; swing around firing webs at him to ground him and then dodge his melee attacks to land a few combos, but watch out for his big bomb blast attack. By this point, you should know how to dodge and go grab a pick-up when needed, and I know I found finishing the Green Goblin off actually easier than the first fist fight with him. After you end him, Mary Jane awkwardly gives Spider-Man a big ol’ snog on top of his mask while they stand over the lifeless body of Peter’s best friend.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Unlike in pretty much every modern videogame, Spider-Man is not blessed with regenerating health; as a result, you’ll need to pick up red and red-and-blue Spider Icons to restore half or all of your health. Also, like in the 2000 game, Spider-Man can run out of web fluid so you’ll need to grab blue and blue-and-silver Spider Icons to refill this bar. As mentioned, I find this an odd inclusion as Spider-Man had unlimited organic webbing in the movie but I guess it makes sense to keep him from being too overpowered. Luckily, these restorative pick-ups respawn after a while so if you find yourself struggling against a particular boss, you can usually backtrack or swing back around to collect a pick-up and keep yourself from losing a life. If you search around your environments, you’ll also find gold Spider Icons that will unlock additional combos to add to your repertoire, but that’s about it in terms of power-ups; you don’t earn experience points and can’t upgrade any of Spider-Man’s abilities or pick up temporary power-ups, meaning you basically end the game exactly as you started it but with maybe a few additional combos.

Additional Features:
If you visit the game’s ‘Gallery’, you’ll be able to view movies and artwork for the game, and you’ll be able to revisit any level you’ve cleared from the main menu as you progress. As mentioned, you’ll receive points every time you clear a level; these are awarded for your combat variety, stealth, and the amount of damage you take. Once you hit a certain number of points, you’ll automatically unlock some additional content from daft stuff like big hands and feet and exaggerated ragdoll physics to skins for Spider-Man, such as his wrestler outfit and acclaimed artist Alex Ross’s rejected design for the movie suit. You can also unlock a Peter Parker skin and enter cheat codes to play as guys like the Shocker and other enemies, though they all play the same as Spider-Man and don’t change the story in any way.

There are a number of cheats and unlockables, including a fully playable Green Goblin!

However, if you beat the game on the “Hero” difficulty, you’ll unlock the ability to play as Harry Osborn under the guise of the Green Goblin! This eliminates the pre-rendered cutscenes and alters the plot somewhat as this story picks up after the conclusion of the game and sees Harry take up his father’s mantle to research his death, and gives you access to an entirely new set of abilities. The Green Goblin can’t web-sling or climb walls but, with a press of R2, you’ll hop onto his glider and can rocket around the place at will; you can fire bullets, missiles, and bombs while on the glider, but your weapons will overheat in time so you’ll need to wait for them to cool down. On the ground, the Green Goblin’s melee attacks are the same as Spider-Man’s but, in place of webs, you have access to pumpkin bombs and Razor Bats and can race around on rocket boots like a madman to send enemies flying! Honestly, this was an incredible addition to the game and is a great way to encourage a second playthrough that adds an extra layer of challenge to the game as the Green Goblin can’t hide in the shadows, but can jump on his glider to blast enemies with missiles even when inside the most claustrophobic environments!

The Summary:
I remember being so hyped for Spider-Man’s first big-screen adventure, and so won over by the trailer for the videogame that ran before the film, that I went out and bought this for the GameCube that same week (if not that same day). I also remember finishing it pretty quickly, and this second playthrough was no different; as is the case with almost every videogame tie-in to a movie, Spider-Man isn’t an especially long game; levels aren’t built to allow exploration and are incredibly linear, so all you’ll have to worry about is trying to cope with how bland and similar the areas can look in each level. There’s also not a huge amount really asked of you; maybe you need to activate a console here and there, or input a code to open a door, or rescue a civilian, but these instances are few and far between and the game soon falls back into a routine of either web-slinging or clunky stealth sections. “Clunky” is the best way to describe this game; Spider-Man controls like he thinks he should be using tank controls, the camera and mechanics make web-slinging and wall-crawling very cumbersome at times, and your combos and dodging abilities are severely limited, making everything quite basic and monotonous. This may explain the game’s short length, as it’s over before it can become truly mind-numbing, but some levels are more frustrating than others; the stealth system is poorly implemented and it’s disappointing to see Spider-Man restricted to claustrophobic interiors rather than free to swing around the city. Basically, the game is a reskin of the 2000 Spider-Man title but stripped back in terms of bonuses, unlockables, and variety; there’s some fun to be had here, mostly in how cheesy the dialogue and cutscenes are, but you’re not really missing much if you skip this one for one of the many other Spider-Man games available even on the PlayStation 2.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Have you ever played the videogame tie-in to Spider-Man? Which console did you buy it for and were you impressed with it back in the day? What did you think to the web-slinging and combat mechanics? Which of the enemies added to the game was your favourite and would you have liked to see the likes of the Vulture and the Scorpion in Raimi’s films? What did you think to the game’s stealth gameplay and the unlockables on offer? Which Spider-Man videogame or movie adaptation is your favourite? Sign up to leave a reply below or drop a comment on my social media to share your thoughts on Spider-Man.