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Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid Prime Remastered (Nintendo Switch)

29/01/202429/01/2024Dr. KLeave a comment

January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January.

Released: 8 February 2023
Originally Released: 18 November 2002
Developer: Retro Studios, Iron Galaxy Studios, et al
Original Developer: Retro Studios
Also Available For: GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
In August 1986, Nintendo introduced gamers to Samus Aran, the kick-ass bounty hunter protagonist of their Metroid series (Various, 1986 to present). Praised for its challenging gameplay and eventually lauded as one of the greatest games ever, Metroid helped popularise the “Metroidvania” sub-genre. Following the largely divisive Game Boy-exclusive sequel, Metroid made a universally acclaimed comeback on Nintendo’s ground-breaking 16-bit console and then strangely disappeared for over ten years save for being represented in the Super Smash Bros. franchise (Various, 1999 to present) despite rumours of a Nintendo 64 title. In 2000, legendary videogame producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited Retro Studios and, impressed by their first-person shooter engine, tasked them with creating a new Metroid title for the GameCube, which Retro Studios developer John Whitmore believed was due to Miyamoto not caring if the game succeeded or not. Still, the developers threw themselves into the task, working up to 100 hours a week to transition the Metroid formula to a 3D shooter as Miyamoto desired. The developers aimed to make exploration fun, putting more emphasis on challenging boss battles so as not to deter players from wanting to explore, though time constraints saw certain series staples cut from the title. Upon release, Metroid Prime became one of the best-selling GameCube games and was universally praised for its detailed environments, engaging atmosphere, and complex level design. It was followed by two equally successful sequels, making a highly regarded trilogy that breathed new life into the long-dormant franchise, but was stuck on obsolete hardware for over twenty years before this highly praised and successful remastered version was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2023.

The Plot:
After intercepting a distress call, bounty hunter Samus Aran is attacked by Meta Ridley and crash-lands on Tallon IV, whose Chozo inhabitants have been eradicated by an infestation of Phazon, a substance that Ridley’s Space Pirates seek to control to breed more powerful and aggressive Metroids.

Gameplay:
Metroid Prime Remastered is a first-person shooter in which players take on a far more intimate role as the famous bounty hunter, Samus Aran, and explore the various futuristic hallways, Phazon mines, frigid cliffs, and lava-hot caves of Tallon IV. Essentially a 3D, first-person remake of Super Metroid, including many of the same mechanics and elements of that classic 2D adventure, Metroid Prime Remastered emphasises exploration and backtracking as much as varied, frantic gun combat and will have you jumping, rolling, and scanning high and low for new upgrades and ways to progress.The game offers a variety of settings to fine-tune and tailor your experience, from removing Samus’s helmet display, to customising the heads-up display, to choosing different control styles to recreate the original Wii experience, if that’s your jam. Like Super Metroid, Samus begins the game with her full arsenal and abilities, but these are lost after Meta Ridley’s attack, and you’ll have to reacquire them (and more) on your journey. However, you still have your trusty arm cannon, which lets you lock onto enemies with ZR and blast them with A or ZR (charging up a shot for additional damage). Samus can also jump with B or the L trigger, eventually learning a double jump technique, or squeeze through tight gaps by turning into a ball with Y, switching the camera to a third-person perspective in the process. While in your Morph Ball form, you can also hop, drop bombs, and eventually attach yourself to magnetised rails with the Spider Ball upgrade.

*Samus’s various beams and visors are crucial to battling and navigating through Tallon IV.*

Samus can also upgrade her arm cannon to fire various additional blasts, missiles, and streams of elemental energy; these are required to open certain doors, destroy certain objects, and defeat certain enemies, all of which are usually colour-coded so you know which weapon to switch to using the X button in conjunction with the directional pad (D-pad). Samus can fire regular missiles and, eventually, unleash a barrage of Super Missiles in addition to a flamethrower, freezing stream, and a burst of electrical energy, all of which require missile ammo to utilise. Thankfully, defeated enemies and destroyed crates will drop orbs to replenish your health and ammo for these weapons, both of which can also be upgraded to increase your maximum health and ammo capacity. Samus also has a high-tech visor that allows her to scan her enemies and the environment, adding them to her Log Book (essentially unlocking character models and other goodies in the ‘Extras’ menu) to help you combat enemies or traverse the environment. Later, Samus acquires upgrades to her visor that allow her to see in infrared and utilise an x-ray vision, exposing hidden platforms and heat signatures to find new paths. You can switch between these with the D-pad, a system I found rather cumbersome as there was a noticeable delay when switching visions and I often accidentally changed my vision when I was trying to change my weapon, temporarily disorientating and blinding me. Samus’s abilities only increase as you explore, adding a grapple beam to her arsenal that allows you to swing across gaps with ZL when prompted, drop more powerful bombs to open new passageways, and freely move when underwater or survive the intense heat put out by the Magmoor Caverns and Phazon Mines.

*You’ll need the Morph Ball and the intricate 3D map to properly explore your enviroment.*

Samus’s helmet also comes equipped with a radar to highlight nearby threats and a 3D mini map, which you can expand by finding various Map Stations in each area. This allows you to view and rotate the complete 3D map from the + pause screen, where you can also read up on your weapons, abilities, and review your in-game progress. The map can also be a bit cumbersome to navigate; there’s no onscreen compass pointing you to your next objective, no way to set waypoints, and no fast travel system, so you’ll need to constantly pause and review the map to find your way to where you need to go. Tallon IV has many lifts to its various locations, some of which need activating with your visor and others which require upgrades to access, all of which are easily identifiable on the map even if finding the exact route can be difficult. Unfortunately, despite being a modern version of the game, Metroid Prime Remastered still utilises an archaic manual save system; you’ll only be able to save at specific Save Sections, which will also restore your health, so you’ll have to proceed with caution lest you die and have to reload from a save point some ways back. Finally, missile charging stations will fully replenish your missile ammunition and you’ll get regular updates on planetary disturbances that point you towards where you’re supposed to go next. Naturally, as a Metroid title, Metroid Prime Remastered involves a great deal of backtracking; you’ll revisit the same areas many times over, with new sections opening up the more you upgrade Samus’s abilities and new, tougher enemies popping up in previous sections. This means you’ll quickly become accustomed to Tallon IV’s various areas, but also means slogging through the same pitch-black, underwater, or aggravating maze-like sections multiple times thanks to a lack of a fast travel system.

*Exploration, platforming, and puzzle solving are as important as the gun combat.*

Initially, Metroid Prime Remastered has two difficulty settings (“Casual” and “Normal”) with a third “Hard” mode unlocked after your first playthrough on either setting, but the game gets progressively difficult as you play. In addition to the tougher enemies spawning in across the planet, you’ll contend with a variety of hazards, from acid pits, flame bursts, auto turrets, and radioactive Phazon. The more abilities you possess, the more options become available to you to solve puzzles and open new areas; this can mean charging up Morph Ball spinners, destroying coloured lights or defeating all enemies in an area to unlock doors, hacking laser cannons or blowing up obstructions with your more powerful bombs, hopping and dropping to magnetic rails, activating switches and lifts, and taking claustrophobic tunnels in your Morph Ball form. In these 2.5D sections, you’ll need to drop bombs to destroy obstructions or hop to higher platforms, use the boost ability to awkwardly gain enough momentum to fling yourself higher, or dodge pistons and temporary surfaces. Samus will also explore murky underwater areas, hop to a variety of platforms (some of which must be created by blasting stalactites or large, rock-like enemies), melting ice, and charging up electrical nodes to power up doors. Although you’re free to explore at your leisure, your way will inevitably be barred if you don’t have the right equipment, which can be frustrating; it’s doubly difficult remembering these areas when you do have the right equipment, especially as areas can change between visits, seeping them in darkness, flooding them, or spawning in tougher enemies. Compounding matters is the fact that enemies respawn each time you leave and enter an area or save, the need to switch between your visor and weapons quickly to take out groups of enemies, and annoying puzzles that have you blasting runic symbols, activating Morph Ball ports, and rotating magnetic paths to progress.

Graphics and Sound:
Graphically, Metroid Prime Remastered is very impressive; I’ve never played the Metroid Prime games before and am always a bit wary of first-person shooters, but the game looks amazing, including some striking atmospheric effects to add to the immersion. Samus’s visor mists up, rain splatters against it, her reflection appears when lightning flashes, and you’ll hear here grunt in pain whenever she takes damage. Although many of the environments can become stale, especially those set in futuristic labs or comprised of metallic hallways and rooms, Tallon IV is a very diverse alien world, including rainswept ruins, dark caverns, frigid cliffs, and volcanic caves. Each area is connected to each other by a series of lifts, meaning you’ll have to pass through the Chozo Ruins to reach the Magmoor Caverns to access the Phendrana Drifts and explore a submerged ship to reach the fungus-infested Phazon Mines. Environmental hazards are rife in each area, as are the relics of the Chozo civilisation, with statues and runes left behind to guide you as much as the literal ghosts of the past appear to test you. As you upgrade your abilities, you’ll be able to access new areas of each environment, traversing tunnels, platforms, and Space Pirate facilities built into each. Here, you’ll find computer stations and biological experiments housed in glass chambers that will break free to attack you.

*The game looks incredible, with some diverse environments and impressive graphical touches.*

Although you rarely see Samus in full form, she appears sporadically as you play and in cutscenes; here, she’s entirely mute, dictating her intentions through her body language and leaving the bulk of the game’s story to be told through the optional narration and various texts you scan and log throughout the game. It’s a bit of a shame as Samus looks great; she’s sleek, powerful, and sexy and her suit noticeably changes as you acquire upgrades, but you will see her adopting various poses as you switch weapons or stay stationary. Enemies also exude a lot of menace and personality, particularly Meta Ridley and the squealing, annoying Metroids that fly at your face and drain your energy. Still, the very nature of the first-person perspective means the graphical emphasis is on the environments, which all do a fantastic job of recreating and updating similar elemental and runic areas from Super Metroid. You’ll be hopping across crumbling, frozen buildings, decaying walkways, and traversing pitch-black, luminous caverns with your thermal vision, to say nothing of exploring the dank depths and accessing new (or secret) paths by utilising your abilities in unique ways. Metroid Prime Remastered also features an immersive soundtrack; not only are some classic Metroid tracks included and updated to keep the adrenaline up when enemies and bosses appear, but the game also makes great use of silence and ambient sounds to build tenson or establish a sense of calm following a frantic gunfight.

Enemies and Bosses:
Tallon IV is home to several insectile enemies that will chip away at your energy or exist primarily to annoy you or be farmed for health and ammo; wasp-like bugs, swarms of insects, plant-like enemies, and literal balls of plasma are commonplace, with even some of the smaller enemies being impervious to your standard cannon and requiring upgrades to finally take them out. Some, like the Reaper Vines, are virtually indestructible and simply disappear for a bit before whipping back out at you; others, like the Stone Toads, exited solely to aggravate you as you struggle to build enough momentum to reach higher levels. Some enemies, like the Baby Sheegoths, Jelzaps, and Plated Beetles are heavily armoured and can only be damaged from behind or when they expose their weak spots; others, like the various burrowing insects and the dragon-like Magmoor, burst up from the ground, ice, or lava to attack you. As you progress, you’ll encounter several different Space Pirates (known as “Troopers”); these slash at you up close or fire at you from a distance and come in different colours, rendering them weak to your different cannons but also allowing them to appear invisible, cling to ceilings and walls, and afford them greater mobility in the air and underwater thanks to their jetpacks. By far the worst and most annoying regular enemies are the Chozo Ghosts (which do become easier once you gain additional visors, but the reduced visibility meant I often just ran past them) and the various Metroids. These jelly-like bastards attach themselves to you to drain your energy, can multiply when damaged, and even take on coloured forms to force you to switch weapons and appear in more aggressive octopus-like variants. They can also absorb a great deal of damage, meaning it’s often easier just to try and avoid them and rush to the exit.

*The game’s monstrous bosses require a bit of strategy to bring them down.*

Samus will have to overcome some monstrous alien enemies to rid Tallon IV of the Space Pirates’ influence, only one of which I recognise from the previous games, that being recurring antagonist Ridley. The game begins with Samus exploring the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon and encountering the Parasite Queen, a massive insectile creature shielded behind a rotating energy barrier. The Parasite Queen swipes its scythe-like claws and spits acid at you and forces you to stay on the move and fire between the gaps in the barrier, and then you’re given seven minutes to flee before the Orpheon explodes. After navigating the intense heat and acid pits of the Magmoor Caverns, Samus is confronted by Flaahgra, a horrific amalgamation of snake, bug, and plant that pollutes the water supply and spews acid at you. To damage Flaahgra, you need to blast up to four nearby dishes with your Charge Beam to stun it, giving you just enough time to roll up the narrow tunnel and drop a bomb at its base and set it ablaze until it finally dies. You’ll also get to put your thermal vision (and your patience) to the test against Thardus, a rock monster that guards the Spider Ball upgrade; the only way to damage Thardus is to locate the glowing weak spots with your thermal vision and unload with Super Missiles, a task compounded by its shockwave attack, the rocks it throws at you, it rolling into a nigh-impenetrable ball, and the weak spots constantly moving and disappearing. The Ice Ruins of Phendrana Drifts are home not just to the annoying Chozo Ghosts but also the gigantic Adult Sheegoth, both of which become semi-regular enemies but the latter of which proves particularly problematic since your regular beam attacks will simply be absorbed by the ice crystals on its back and turned into electrical shockwaves. Luckily Super Missiles and your flammable Plasma Beam can turn the tide, and you can simply ignore the later ones that appear.

*Unlike the Elite Troopers, Meta Ridley represents the game’s toughest challenge yet.*

As Samus explores the laboratories and facilities hidden on Tallon IV, she will also be attacked by larger, more aggressive Space Pirates. The Phazon Elite is a Space Pirate empowered by Phazon and, like the Elite and Omega Pirates, wields a massive energy cannon on its shoulder. All three of these can absorb your Charge Beams and unleash a shockwave attack, but sporadically prove vulnerable to your Super Missiles; the Omega Pirate variant also sports a cloaking ability, plasma cannons, and limited regenerative capabilities, but all three are surprisingly easy to take down thanks to you being able to target their cannons with your thermal vision. In comparison, their leader, Meta Ridley, is quite the foe; after collecting twelve Chozo Artifacts, you’ll engage in an intense battle with Ridley that sees him flying overheard and far out of range, raining fireballs and breathing fire at you and charging at you to deal massive damage. You can take cover behind the stone columns, but Meta Ridley’s ranged and melee attacks will destroy these, and the only way to damage him is to fire Super Missiles right before he unleashes his flame breath. A huge hurdle here is your ammo; if you run out of missiles, your primary charge beams will only chip away at Meta Ridley’s health bar, so it definitely pays to upgrade your energy and maximum ammo.

*Metroid Prime is an aggressive, tricky final boss who will have you constantly on edge.*

This is also true of the game’s final boss, the titular Metroid Prime. Before you can even reach this spider-like grotesque, you’ll have to endure an aggravating obstacle course through lava and caustic Phazon, dodging Metroids and hopping to platforms and magnetic rails with only one save station right at the start of the endurance round. Metroid Prime is fought in two phases; in the first, it is protected by a hard outer shell that sporadically cycles between different colours, meaning you’ll have to quickly switch your weapons to deal damage. Again, your charged beams won’t do much so you’ll be relying on your Super Missiles and more powerful attacks like the Wavebuster and Flamethrower but, luckily, Metroid Prime’s projectiles can be destroyed to replenish these (and, occasionally, your health). Metroid Prime is a hell of a challenge, drawing you in with a tractor beam, raining explosive plasma, firing a sustained, powerful laser, spitting toxic balls, and scuttling at you, meaning your only way to avoid damage is to use the clunky dodge move and Morph Ball. After battling it down several layers to the planet’s core, it’s outer shell will shatter for the second phase, exposing Metroid Prime’s luminous, Lovecraftian, octopus-like true form. In this state, it charges up a shockwave attack that can be tricky to jump over and spawns various Metroids to distract you. It also cycles through different stages of invisibility depending on which visor you have, meaning you need to frantically change your vision mode to find it, though it’ll remain completely immune to your attacks until it starts leaking Phazon. You can temporarily use these pools to enter “Hyper Mode”, allowing you to finally deal some damage, but you’ll need to repeat this process a few times to finally end it, which can be an aggravating task thanks to the Metroids, the great range of attacks, and the clunkiness of switching between your vision modes.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As mentioned, Samus can replenish her health and ammo by destroying enemies and finding Save and Mission Stations; her maximum health and ammo can also be enhanced with various hidden upgrades so it pays to explore, cycle through your vision modes, and blast open columns and rocks to see what you can find. Samus starts out with a regular arm cannon that’s serviceable enough but soon gains the Wave, Ice, and (eventually) the Plasma Cannon; these fire bursts of electrical, ice, and fire energy that are crucial for solving later puzzles, opening doors, and defeating enemies but I found it annoying switching between them using a button combination. Similarly, Samus’s visor can be tricky to cycle between, though it does allow you to navigate pitch-black areas and locate hidden platforms and such. Samus’s Morph Ball also gets upgraded to allow her to drop bombs, boost along, and drop limited Power Bombs for greater damage; her grapple beam lets her swing across gaps; and her various suit upgrades allow her to withstand intense heat (though not lava) and no longer be damaged by Phazon deposits, changing her appearance and giving her greater range of movement. As you explore, it pays to scan everything in sight to expand upon the game’s lore and learn secrets, and you’ll even uncover optional upgrades like the Wavebuster and Flamethrower this way. Sadly, there’s no way to pilot or utilises Samus’s ship, but it does fully replenish your health and ammo so it’s worth returning to when you get the chance.

Additional Features:
Tallon IV is a sprawling, interconnected landscape with many secrets to find; many of these increase your maximum health and ammo or award you with upgrades to your arsenal, while others hide Chozo Artifacts. There are twelve to find and you’ll need to locate them all to reach the final section of the game, which is a bit annoying as it unnecessarily pads the game out and basically forces you to use a guide since the hints given are quite obtuse. Finally, you’re encouraged to scan everything in sight; the more you scan, the more lore you unlock, and the more extras are accessible from the main menu, including music tracks, concept art, and character models for both the original and Remastered version of the game. Beating the game on any difficulty setting unlocks “Hard” mode; it’s recommended that you make a copy of your save file ahead of venturing into the final area, though, as trying to start a new game on “Hard” mode will erase your existing save file. Finally, you’re awarded with a different ending, and a different view of Samus in her suit, depending on how fast you beat the game and how close to 100% completion you are when you defeat Metroid Prime.

The Summary:
I was very anxious heading into Metroid Prime Remastered; I always am when tackling an FPS as I don’t like being shot in the back, and especially when taking on a Metroidvania title, but I’d heard nothing but good things about the game (and the entire trilogy) so it was exciting to play this enhanced version on the Nintendo Switch. Technically speaking, Metroid Prime Remastered delivered; the game is beautiful, the locations detailed and varied, ever-changing and interactive, and I had fun blasting enemies, exploring, and upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities. The bosses, especially, were a highlight, being big and monstrous and asking more of you than simply blasting away, and it was amazing seeing how well the developers took the gameplay and mechanics of Super Metroid and translated it into a 3D first-person shooter. Unfortunately, I quickly grew annoyed with the backtracking; the locations might be amazing, but it gets aggravating having to revisit them time and again and being forced to rely on a guide. A fast travel system allowing you to teleport between Save Stations would’ve been greatly appreciated here as it was very frustrating playing long sections of the game or ploughing through lava to reach a save point. I was also annoyed by the vision and weapon selection system, which proved unintuitive and clunky at times, making the colour-coded combat a chore in the endgame sections. It was equally irritating having to scan everything around you to unlock extras, a gameplay mechanic that cropped up all-too-often around this era, and first-person platforming will always be the bane of my life. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy here; I managed a good 70% of the game before I required a guide and had a lot of fun blasting enemies and exploring, but there’s definite room for improvement here; thankfully, I enjoyed enough of Metroid Prime Remastered to be motivated to try out the sequels and see how the gameplay was refined, if at all.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the remaster of Metroid Prime? Did you enjoy the technical enhancements on offer? Were you impressed by the franchise’s transition to 3D or were you also annoyed by some of the mechanics on offer here? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favourite? Did you ever hit 100% completion on the game? Which of the Metroid Prime games is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid content across the site.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: Dredd

25/01/202425/01/2024Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 7 September 2012
Director: Pete Travis
Distributor: Entertainment Film Distributors
Budget: $30 to 45 million
Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris, and Domhnall Gleeson

The Plot:
In 2080, where most of the United States is a nuclear wasteland, humanity is packed into violent Mega-Cities where the only force for order are the Judges, who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Mega-City One’s top enforcer, the surly Judge Joseph Dredd (Urban) and his apprentice partner, psychic Judge Cassandra Anderson (Thirlby), are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of apartments overtaken by resident drug lord, Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal (Headey).

The Background:
Created by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills, grim-faced lawman of the future Judge Joseph Dredd first appeared in the pages of British science-fiction comic book 2000 AD in March 1977. The character and his unique brand of extreme political satire were met with near-instant popularity, meaning a live-action adaptation was all-but inevitable. Unfortunately, Judge Dredd (Cannon, 1995) failed to match the appeal of a similarly-themed action/sci-fi classic, RoboCop (Verhoeven, 1987), and ended up being such a critical and commercial failure that its leading man and Dredd’s co-creator were left dissatisfied with the results. It took the better part of ten years for the concept to be revisited for the silver screen in the form of a reboot that would take advantage of the growing popularity of 3D cinema. After writer Alex Garland’s initial draft proved a little too ambitious, he excised the Dark Judges and chose to focus on a typical, violent day in the life of the titular Judge. Karl Urban stepped into the role and underwent rigorous preparation to emphasise the rugged physicality of the character, which was more grounded in realism and this was reflected in Dredd’s redesigned outfit, which promoted practicality and durability above all else, and agreed wholeheartedly in keeping his face covered by the iconic helmet. The filmmakers aimed to take full advantage of the 3D effect when rendering the disorientating hallucinogenic effects of the “Slo-Mo” drug to craft some unique and violent action sequences. Unfortunately, Dredd’s $41.5 million gross meant that the film was a flop and any plans for a sequel were seemingly dashed. Critically, Dredd fared quite well; reviews praised Urban’s faithful portrayal of the character, his supporting cast, and the film’s impressive visual effects and it found an audience on home video, leading to petitions for a sequel. A comic book continuation and animated spin-off were produced and Urban was reported to be in talks to reprise his role for a TV series based around the character but, as of this writing, this has yet to materialise.

The Review:
I was just a kid when I watched Judge Dredd; granted, I’d read my fair share of the comics and was primarily a fan of any stories involving the Dark Judges and also a big RoboCop fan, so I remember being easily pleased by the film’s bombastic action and blunt one-liners. It’s fair to say, though, for as visually interesting as the film is, it somewhat misses the mark when it comes to being an accurate portrayal of the character. It’s not just the toothless violence and zany comedy, it’s the fundamental idea of trying to humanise the tough-as-nails embodiment of a fascist regime. I understand why this route was taken, and it’s not as if the comics haven’t endeavoured to show Judge Dredd isn’t completely unreasonable or devoid of compassion, but all the pieces for a decent adaptation of the character were in place but ultimately lost due to conflicts over the film’s tone. When I heard a new Judge Dredd movie was coming, I was cautiously optimistic; I’m a big fan of Karl Urban, he always does really well in every role he’s given so it was exciting for him to be the lead of a big action franchise, but I’ll admit that, somehow, Dredd passed me by. Perhaps it only got a limited release here in the UK, or was pulled from cinemas because of stiff competition, but I didn’t see it until I bought the DVD and I remember being sour about that as it turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable sci-fi/action romp that is well deserving of its status as an under-appreciated cult classic.

*Stern Judge Dredd maintains his authority even when conducting a training assessment.*

Dredd immediately takes centre stage here; don’t get me wrong, I love James Earl Jones as much as the next person, but there’s something decidedly gritty and Frank Miller-esque about having Dredd’s gravelly tone set the stage through voice over. Dredd makes pains to paint the Judge not as a crusader for justice, but as a beat cop who’s daily life is filled with violence and hardship; just seeing him tape his hands and shrug on his uniform is glimpse enough of the man behind the helmet, which obscures all but his constant scowl and presents him as a representative of the last bastion of law and order rather than some superhero. Dredd’s clearly been on the job a long time; he’s made a name for himself, is a senior street Judge, and is perfectly capable of handling situations by himself even when he’s outgunned or outmanned, and is portrayed as a very pragmatic and adaptable street cop. Little surprises him, he makes a point to priorities medical assistance for the wounded and clean up crews for the dead, and even choosing to stun rather than execute a couple of terrified kids when they try to kill him on Ma-Ma’s orders. As he takes his job very seriously, Judge Dredd has extremely high expectations of all Judges and that goes double for rookies like Judge Anderson. Although Dredd disapproves of Anderson being given one last shot to make the grade, he obeys orders and keeps a close eye on her assessment throughout the film, sternly letting her know how low her chances are and of his expectations of her. Highly adaptable and showing no fear, Dredd is at his most dangerous when backed into a corner but remains steadfastly committed to the job; even when Ma-Ma locks down Peach Trees and sets the entire complex against them, Dredd continues Anderson’s assessment and maintains a commanding authority throughout, even when confronted by corrupt Judges. There’s a drive in Dredd that’s beyond simple duty, however; even when back-up is imminent, Dredd opts to attack Ma-Ma head on rather than wait it out, and he continues to fight even after being gravely injured by a bullet to the abdomen.

*Psychic rookie Anderson endures a trial by fire that sees her adopt some of Dredd’s harsher attitudes.*

Given my fondness for the Dark Judges, I was happy to see Psi-Division’s Judge Anderson included in Dredd. Unlike her first appearance in the comics, Anderson is a rookie, an orphan who gained psychic abilities due to radiation fallout, who has failed to pass the bar required of Judges but whom the Chief Judge (Rakie Ayola) is keen to give a trial by fire since she’s by far the most powerful psychic they’ve ever encountered. At the start of the film, Anderson acts very much as an audience surrogate and a means of exposition; as part of her training, Dredd demands that she gives an assessment on their situation as it changes and offers up suggestions of how to proceed, and largely she acquits herself well. She’s clearly done her homework, which is more than evident in her just barely failing to pass the bar, but she’s untested in the field and that initially causes her to panic and hesitate where Dredd remains grim-faced and stoic. Unlike Dredd, who is simply trying to keep a lid on the powder keg of violence in the city, Anderson truly believes she can make a difference; she grew up as desperate and destitute as the inhabitants of Peach Trees and wants to help inspire the few good people who live in such squalor, an ambition even the stern Dredd sees as admirable. Indeed, initially Anderson is haunted at her first execution, Japhet (Scott Sparrow), and the guilt she feels at depriving his wife, Cathy (Nicole Bailey) and baby, but Anderson’s empathy, which would normally be seen as a positive and humanising characteristic, is toughened by her experiences as she learns to adopt Dredd’s hasher methods. While Dredd is somewhat dismissive of mutants like Anderson, her abilities come in handy more than once; it’s thanks to them that she’s able to read Kay’s (Harris) mind and link him to Ma-Ma, something which later comes to harden her character when he tries to taunt her with disturbing and violent sexual thoughts and she turns the tables on him with a confrontation in his mind that reveals the extent of Ma-Ma’s operation.

*Callous and psychotic, drug kingpin Ma-Ma craves only power and violence.*

Rather than weave in some of Judge Dredd’s more recognisable villains, Dredd keeps things noticeably low-key and introduces a brand-new antagonist, former prostitute turned psychopathic drug kingpin Ma-Ma, who has taken root within the Peach Trees Mega Block. Hooked on Slo-Mo and scarred from a lifetime of abuse and torment, Ma-Ma is numb to all pain and emotion; she impassively orders the skinning and public execution of three rogue dealers, approving the use of Slo-Mo to draw out their agony, and who seized control of the entire tower through sheer violence and the scarcity of Judge presence at Peach Trees. So great is Ma-Ma’s power and influence that she’s not only able to coerce her genius and neurotic hacker (Gleeson) into locking down Peach Trees to contain the Judges she also orders that they be hunted down on pain of death and her influence extends into the justice system, seeing her pit Dredd against four of his corrupt peers. Beyond compassion, with a penchant for violence, Ma-Ma has inspired an almost cult-like following; while she’s no fighter, she has a legion of gun-toting followers who are fiercely loyal (even though she regularly punishes failure with death), though even she is enraged when Dredd callously tosses her right-hand man, Caleb (Warrick Grier), to his death. She’s so determined to stamp out the Judges that she thinks nothing of the innocent inhabitants caught in the crossfire and exhibits a lack of humanity that’s almost on par with Dredd’s, except even he prioritises life over death unless absolutely necessary. Although we don’t delve deeply into either Ma-Ma or Dredd’s personality, it’s explicitly conveyed that Ma-Ma has fought her whole life and is driven only by power. Effectively dead inside, it’s as though she’s sleepwalking through life, driven to experience some semblance of feeling before her inevitable death, something that makes her incredibly dangerous, not just because she has all the guns and all the power but also because she has no fear of death.

The Nitty-Gritty:
A major aspect of Dredd is just how desolate life is within Mega-City One; over 17000 crimes are reported within the city, and the Judges are only capable or responding to about 6% of them, meaning the city has basically lost itself to anarchy. In this harsh environment, only the strong survive, and Dredd is depicted as just that: a survivor. Unlike in the previous film, he’s not seen without his helmet save for a fleeting, obscured shot right at the beginning, which by itself more accurately reflects the character than the entirety of the last movie, but Dredd makes pains to shy away from delving too deeply into Dredd’s motivation or backstory. When probed by Anderson, we learn that he’s full of rage and control and something else, something explicitly unidentified but seen to be a code of honour that prioritises life and the law. Dredd does showcase a dry, sardonic sense of humour; gallows’ humour, if you will, offering perps the choice between a lifetime of imprisonment without parole or death, commenting on Anderson’s skills and lack of helmet, and daring Kay to save him some paperwork by just confessing to his crimes. Rather than try an humanise Dredd, something that’s completely unnecessary as he exists as the extreme personification of the fragile justice system, the movie wisely focuses on Anderson as a more morally guided and unsure Judge; she shows the empathy and exhibits the humanity, but ironically her character arc is learning to let go of such emotions and take on Dredd’s more pragmatic and hard-nosed approach towards criminals so that she too can survive on the streets.

*Although trapped in a high-rise tower, Dredd still has plenty of toys at his disposal.*

As ever, Mega-City One is a bleak, overpopulated, violent hell-hole; the Cursed Earth is only fleetingly seen and mentioned as the focus of Dredd is on the city itself, now no longer inspired by Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) or even that evocative of the source material and instead being a rundown mish-mash of existing US cities. In fact, the general rundown presentation of the city more recalls District 9 (Blomkamp, 2009), characterising the city as a much more grounded and realistic location which is actually in keeping with Dredd’s earliest appearances, before the term “Mega-City One” was coined. Amidst the ruins of the “old world” exist Mega Blocks, towering skyscrapers full to the brim with people from all walks of life, the streets are clogged with traffic and rioting, and hundreds of crimes break out every second of the day. Our time spent on the streets of Mega-City One is fleeting as, after responding to a homicide report at the Peach Trees Mega Block, Judge Dredd and Anderson are trapped in the futuristic tower block, cut off from backup, and left to deal not only with Ma-Ma’s crazy followers but the desperate inhabitants of Peach Trees who both refuse to shelter the Judges or out-right attack them to curry Ma-Ma’s favour. While restricting Dredd to such an unremarkable and claustrophobic environment may seem limited, it actually works quite well; the point of Dredd is not to be some world- or city-saving escapade, but to depict a typical, violent day in the life of the famous lawman, which is definitely succeeds at. Plus, Peach Trees is surprisingly diverse; it’s like a city within a city, containing living quarters in various states of disrepair, malls, drug dens, and its corridors and apartments acting as alleyways and crack houses, respectively. It’s in this desolate, rust-red tower block that the Blade Runner influence comes into play yet there’s still some impressive technology in Dredd’s gritty and grounded war-torn future; the Judges constantly monitor the city using advanced drones, impossibly huge skyscrapers pepper the city, and, while it can’t fly and has a more functional design, Dredd’s Lawmaster still allows him to easily chase down perps, fire upon them, and subdue lingering crowds. Dredd is again armed with the Lawgiver, which is still be tied to his genetic code so it’ll explode in the wrong hands and once again fires a variety of ammo, including hotshot rounds that burn a perp’s face from the inside out, high explosive rounds to blast through walls and blow off heads (!), and incendiary fire to immolate Ma-Ma’s followers along with half a floor of Peach Trees!

*As good as the Judges look, the slow-motion and gritty violence and an undeniable highlight of the film.*

Although Dredd’s Judges don an extremely different uniform compared to the comics, I think it works really well; their helmets, especially, are as faithful as you could want, as are their badges, but the entire uniform is now more like practical riot gear rather than form-fitting spandex. Instead of heavy and cumbersome gold eagles and plates, they have reinforced armour that evokes the classic Judge imagery while still being believable. Of course, the big selling point of Dredd, like many films at the time, was its 3D effects. Dredd actually employs these effects into the plot and in an interesting way; whenever characters take a hit of Ma-Ma’s Slo-Mo drug, they’re inundated with a hallucinogenic high that sees them perceive time in slow motion. If its decidedly gloomy visuals and far grimmer interpretation of Judge Dredd didn’t immediately clue you in that Dredd was taking the character in a different direction, the film’s mature content soon will! There’s no “Drokk!” curses here (character’s drop the f-bomb at every turn) and no sugar-coating the bloodshed as perps are torn to shreds, often in agonising slow motion that really shows the bullets ripping through flesh and faces in gruesome detail. Easily the biggest and most explosive set piece in the film sees Ma-Ma’s gang unload on Dredd with three rotary cannons that tear through solid concrete and human flesh like they were tissue paper. Much of Dredd’s action scene involve him callously blasting at foes using his whittling ammunition; using cover and confusion from smoke and fire, Dredd guns down multiple armed foes with a deft grace thanks to Karl Urban carrying himself with a militaristic legitimacy. A bruiser of a fighter, Dredd absolutely brutalises even his fellow Judges in a fist fight, though for all his well-deserved reputation, he’s still a man and fully capable of being injured and enduring some harsh physical punishment as he insists on fighting through Ma-Ma’s forces.

*Despite their injuries, the Judges topple Ma-Ma and emerge alive and ready for duty.*

Ultimately, Anderson’s concerns that Kay will become a liability come to fruition when he desperately takes her hostage to try and appease Ma-Man and use her as leverage against Judge Dredd. Undeterred, Dredd issues a warning throughout the tower block, uttering the iconic “I am the law” line and putting all of Peach Trees on notice. Disgusted at his fellow Judge’s corruption, Dredd confronts them in Ma-Ma’s Slo-Mo factory in a tense game of cat and mouse where they debate the state of the city before engaging in a tense firefight that leaves Dredd with a bullet in his abdomen, but nonetheless victorious thanks to the timely intervention of Anderson, who fought her way out of Ma-Mas clutches after Kay’s overconfidence cost him a hand to her Lawgiver. After patching himself up and reloading, Dredd acknowledges the change in Anderson’s demeanour; despite already having failed since she lost her sidearm, she justifies letting the tormented hacker go free and joins Dredd in picking off Ma-Ma’s personal guard and breaching her quarters. There, they find she has rigged herself with a dead man’s switch; if she dies, a series of bombs will destroy the entire Mega Block. Undeterred, Dredd simply delivers a mortal wound and gives her a taste of her own medicine, dosing her up on Slo-Mo and sending her plummeting to her spectacular and oddly beautiful death, betting (rightfully so) that her device’s range won’t reach from the ground floor. Finally put out of her impassive misery, Ma-Ma rides the euphoria of her death before crashing to the ground in hauntingly glorious slow-motion. With the lockdown lifted, the Judges finally exit the building and Anderson, assuming she’s failed her evaluation, hands Dredd her badge. However, Dredd reveals to the Chief Judge that Anderson passed with flying colours and, despite his injuries, Dredd returns to his duties as Mega-City One’s top lawman with no fuss or fanfare.

The Summary:
Unlike with Sylvester Stallone’s outing as the iconic lawman of the future, there’s no hesitation in crowing about my fondness for Dredd; it’s a decidedly more low-key offering for the hard-as-nails Judges but it benefits from it. It’s not some bombastic, clustered mess of visuals and jokes and opposing tones; it’s a dirty, grim and gritty affair that perfectly shows how every day, every battle, in Dredd’s life is a mini war all unto itself. Karl Urban is absolutely inspired in the role; an imposing bruiser, he convey so much emotion with the subtlest movements and twitches of his constantly-scowling mouth and delivers an understated, but nuance, performance with his gravelly tones. Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey equally hold their own, with Thirlby’s turn as psychic Anderson and acting as the film’s more empathetic voice, one that’s forced to concede that Dredd’s view is the only one that can allow a Judge to survive, really helps the film standout from its predecessor. I’m no fan of excessive slow motion but it’s used sparingly and to great effect here, as is the use of CGI, but where Dredd really shines is in its costume design and grainy aesthetic. While it definitely shies away from Dredd’s more outlandish escapades, Dredd perfectly captures the grim, bleak spirit of the source material and it is, quite frankly, absolutely criminal that we never got to see a sequel as this is easily not only the best of the Judge Dredd movies but also a highly enjoyable action romp with the perfect balance of action, humour, gore, and political intrigue to finally do the character justice.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Dredd? How do you think it compares to the previous live-action adaptation? What did you like to Karl Urban’s performance and this interpretation of Dredd? Did you like that the film told a more low-key story or would you have liked to see something a little grander in scope? Were you impressed by the film’s visual style, costume design, and use of slow motion? Would you have liked to see a sequel to Dredd or do you think it’s time for a new version of the character? Whatever you think, go ahead and leave a comment down below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Judge Dredd content.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Super Metroid (Nintendo Switch)

22/01/202429/01/2024Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 5 September 2019
Originally Released: 19 March 1994
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

The Background:
In August 1986, Nintendo fans were introduced to Samus Aran, the bad-ass bounty hunter protagonist of the Metroid series (Various, 1986 to present). Well-received upon release for its challenging gameplay and now heralded as one of the greatest games ever made, Metroid helped popularise an entire sub-genre of gaming; “Metroidvania” titles became known for being action-orientated games that emphasised exploration and the acquisition of power-ups to progress. Metroid was followed by the Game Boy-exclusive Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo R&D1, 1991), which was both my first experience of the franchise and a largely divisive title that nonetheless directly influenced, at least narratively, the franchise’s jump to Nintendo’s ground-breaking 16-bit console. Producer Gunpei Yokoi and much of the original team returned for Super Metroid, which took two years to develop and took advantage of the SNES’s greater processing power to allow Samus to fire in all directions and explore a far larger, interconnected environment with a detailed map system. This also allowed the team to pull off more diverse visual effects, including more cinematic cutscenes that allowed them to pay greater homage to the Alien franchise (Various, 1979 to present), alongside a team of young, hungry developers. The result was a game met with universal critical acclaim; despite disappointing sales in the United States due to a poorly-timed release, Super Metroid was lauded for its impressive visuals, tight gameplay, and balancing combat with exploration and a steep challenge. A quintessential title in any SNES library, Super Metroid was ported to numerous consoles, including the Nintendo Switch Online service soon after it launched, allowing new generations of gamers (and myself) to experience it for the first time.

The Plot:
After a Metroid larva is stolen from the Ceres space colony by the monstrous Ridley, bounty hunter Samus Aran returns to the planet Zebes to retrieve the sample and exterminate Ridley and his Space Pirates once and for all!

Gameplay:
Super Metroid is a 2D action-adventure game in which the player once again assumes the role of Samus Aran, a highly capable bounty hunter, and sets off on a quest full of jumping, running, and backtracking (oh, so much backtracking) in order to eradicate the Space Pirates. Essentially, it’s a remake of Metroid in very much the same way Super Castlevania IV (Konami, 1991) is a remake of Castlevania (ibid, 1986); it takes many of the same mechanics, locations, and bosses of the first game and gives them a whole new, super sexy 16-bit makeover. Right away, the player can select between English and Japanese text and has access to three save files (though the Nintendo Switch’s save states and rewind functions negate a lot of this); the player can also customise the game’s controls and choose to turn Samus’s new “Moonwalk” ability (where she effortlessly slides backwards while shooting forwards) on or off. By default, Samus shoots her currently-equipped shot with X, jumps with A (the button can be held for a longer and higher jump), dashes ahead by holding B, and can switch weapons with the ‘Select’ button. Items can be cancelled with Y (though I found no use for this) and Samus can aim diagonally up and down using the L and R triggers. I found the default controls a little clunky so I swapped the jump to B, the shot to Y, and the dash to A, and even then I sometimes still got a little confused about whether I was shooting or jumping and found it annoying that there wasn’t an easier way to cycle between Samus’s different ammo.

*Explore and upgrade Samus’s arsenal and skills to reach new areas.*

Samus is gifted with infinite ammo for her basic arm cannon; the player can hold down the fire button for a rapid shot, but this later gets swapped out for a charged attack. However, the player can further customise Samus from the pause menu; here, you can equip and unequip the various weapon and armour power-ups Samus obtains, though I preferred to keep them equipped at all times. Unlike the previous games, a small, grid-based map appears onscreen at all times which makes exploration so much easier this time around. Using the pause menu, you can view the full map and better figure out your route, though you’ll need to access map terminals to unlock each location’s map. Pressing down on the control stick or directional buttons will see Samus curl up into a Morph Ball when she acquires the relevant power-up; this allows her to squeeze through small gaps and access areas that aren’t readily apparently. It’s worth shooting, placing bombs, and jumping to find hidden areas and alternative routes, too; the game gets very big and complicated very quickly so any shortcuts or additional resources are always a welcome bonus. Planet Zebes is a veritable maze of doors that must be shot open; they’re colour-coded so you always know which weapon to switch to, but you’ll also be asked to perform a fair amount of horizontal and vertical jumping. While Samus’s later techniques help with this, her wall jumping ability is absolutely nerfed; rather than simply jumping at a wall and hitting jump again, you need to awkwardly hold back and press jump with frame-perfect timing to actually execute the move, which can be needlessly frustrating at times.

*Although Samus controls well, her wall jumping and vertical abilities can be frustrating.*

Similarly, Samus later acquires the Space Jump power-up; with perfect timing, this allows her to infinitely jump, cross wider gaps and reach higher areas, but the timing required is just too finnicky and random at times (it would’ve been so much easier to just keep hitting jump for a sustained effect). To make matters worse, enemies again respawn when you leave the screen; sometimes, smaller enemies will constantly spawn in certain screens, allowing you to “farm” health and ammo. You’ll also sometimes need to hop into the hands of a Chozo Statue while in your Morph Ball form to clear the path and you’ll find numerous helpful areas where you can catch your breath; save rooms, restore points to refill your health and ammo, and Chozo Statues gifting either new gear or upgrades to your existing equipment, total health, and total ammo. It’s well worth hunting these down as you’ll need your more powerful weapons to defeat the game’s bosses and more formidable enemies; both drop health and ammo when defeated but things are much easier if your maximum level is increased. Although well-equipped, Samus struggles against hazards like water, lava, acid and spike pits; suit upgrades allow her to negate some of these, and her Grapple Beam allows her to swing over hazards but, again, the timing required can be difficult to master. Super Metroid starts out fairly linear but you very quickly become restricted in where you can go, necessitating the acquisition of new power-ups; the more you obtain, the more you’ll need to remember cervices, destructible walls, and unreachable areas. You’ll be constantly backtracking, searching for new paths to the main four bosses, which may mean you’re over or under-equipped for certain encounters. Thankfully, the game is usually quite helpful and won’t leave you trapped in a room because you don’t have the High Jump Boots, but it can be a pain trying to figure out where you need to go and what you need to do.

Graphics and Sound:
As a SEGA kid, I’ve long been envious of Super Metroid; for me, it’s one of the premier SNES titles and its visual appeal is a huge part of that. In fact, I admit that I was more excited to experience the game than I was to play it because of the difficulty involved in the constant exploration and the frustration of having to use a guide to find my way. Obviously, the game is a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors; Samus had never looked more colourful and lively before (and wouldn’t for many years aftwards), despite lacking much in the way of idle animations. She moves with a fluid grace that is both clunky when it needs to be and slick when she’s showing off her new abilities, spinning and curling and Moonwalking about as she blasts apart Space Pirates. The game’s story is told through text and simple to understand, cinematic cutscenes that utilise both the in-game graphics and a sprinkling of “Mode 7” for extra flair, with much of the ambiance and visual style influenced by the classic sci-fi action/horror Aliens (Cameron, 1986). Space colony Ceres and some levels of Zebes featured dead bodies scattered about, flickering lights at times, and rising bodies of water of varying danger, while the surface is rocked by a constant storm of acid rain not unlike the surface of LV-426.

*The game is visually stunning, with a fantastic soundtrack and a strong aesthetic appeal.*

While the game’s action is confined to Zebes, Super Metroid isn’t short on visual variety; this is used somewhat sparingly, and to great effect, so the rocky vegetation of Brinstar contrasts nicely with the sunken depths of Maridia and the lava-infested Norfair despite each location sharing similar layouts. Generally, Samus travels left to right from room to room but you’ll also be met by long vertical corridors and have to blast through the environment to progress. It’s not always clear which weapons or abilities you need to progress but there are some visual hints; blasting blocks or walls can reveal the symbol of certain weapons or arrows, indicating how to blow them open or to use your dash, or helpful little gremlins or dangerous digging machines can open new paths. Samus will discover a derelict ship that is plunged into darkness and lifeless until she restores the power; she can also break open glass tubes to further explore the depths of Maridia, blast and pass through certain blocks to drop into hidden areas, and even sink into sand to find new rooms. While there’s not always a lot happening onscreen, this allows each area to stand out all the more and the game to perform consistently, and each location expands and changes with your increased abilities, allowing you to make jumps you couldn’t before to navigate past hazards more effectively. The game also sounds fantastic; there’s a beautiful balance between silence, ominous ambient sounds, creepy tunes, and bolder, more blood-pumping music. Super Metroid ramps up the tension and adrenaline with its boss themes, especially when fighting Ridley and Draygon (who both sport Anguirus’ signature cry). Finally, the game is quite graphic at times; there’s the aforementioned dead bodies, Samus explodes in a similar fashion to Mega Man when killed, and Crocomire’s flesh melts from its bones upon being forced into a lava pit!

Enemies and Bosses:
Samus must blast her way through a slew of alien baddies to win the day, with many of them being variations of the standard, mantis-like Space Pirates. These insectoid aliens clamber on walls, march along the floor, and even hop overhead, firing jagged projectiles and often shielding themselves from your attacks with their claws, necessitating a weapon upgrade or a more convoluted attack pattern. Smaller enemies also pepper the game’s environments, ranging from wasp-like Zebbos, crab-like Scisers, and bat-like Skree, all of which are easy prey for you to farm some resources. Rippers can be temporarily frozen to act as platforms, Kilhunters will buzz about on their insectile wings, spiked Geemers slither about on small platforms, clunky Workrobots stamp about shrugging off your beams, and Evirs emerge from acid to fire projectiles at you. Enemies like the Beetoms and Metroids are a real headache as they can shrug off your regular shot and will latch onto you to drain your health, while Namihes and Funes spit fireballs from walls and guys like the Alcoon and Oum tend to burst out of nowhere for a surprise attack!

*Samus faces some mammoth, formidable bosses, including long-standing nemesis Ridley.*

As if that wasn’t bad enough, there are eleven bosses to battle here, with a couple being very similar battles fought in different circumstances. You’ll encounter Samus’s archenemy, Ridley, early on; confined to an enclosed arena, Ridley will swoop at you, spit fireballs, and swipe with his Xenomorph Queen-like tail, but you don’t actually need to defeat him here, just survive until he flies off with the Metroid larva. Ridley, returns, far more formidable, as the penultimate boss; this time, you’re confined to a small platform with health-sapping lava underneath and Ridley hides high above, swooping in to grab and squeeze the life out of you. He also breathes fire and becomes extremely aggressive as the fight goes on, though he is vulnerable to all of your weapons, with the charged Plasma Beam and Super Missiles being the most effective, but he’s certainly no pushover even with all your upgrades. Similarly, you’ll battle two malevolent Torizo Statues, one just after acquiring the Morph Bomb and one later on. You’ll need to make use of the Morph Ball in the first encounter to dodge its projectiles; both stomp about to smash into you and swipe with their claws, but the golden one will sidestep missiles and catch and toss your own Super Missiles back at you and was, honestly, one of the toughest bosses in the game for me! Another early boss encounter is against the Spore Spawn, a gigantic, genetically-engineered plant that bobs about, launching itself at Samus and causing small spores to rain across the screen. These can be blasted for ammo and health, which you’ll need as this alien plant can only be defeated by shooting its central core, which only opens up for a brief window. Defeating it earns Samus the Super Missile power-up and sees the environment wither and decay.

*The game’s bosses are monstrous and require a bit of strategy on your part to best*.

The first major boss of the game is against Kraid, now much bigger and even more imposing than before (though a smaller version is again encountered beforehand). Now taking up a good chunk of the screen, with the bottom littered with spikes, Kraid lunges at you, spits rocks, and causes boulders to rain from above. Kraid’s only weak spot is his eyes and, when you’ve dished out enough damage, he raises up and you need to make use of small platforms to avoid his projectiles and fire at his head whenever he roars. In the lava-soaked depths of Norfair, you’ll battle the all-but-invincible Crocomire; immune to all of your attacks, you need to force Crocomire into a lava pit before it skewers you on a wall of spikes! Watch for its projectiles and its skeletal remains, which will burst through said wall in a last gasp attack! Whilst exploring the wrecked ship, you’ll be attacked by ghost-like aliens and eventually face off against their master, Phantoon, a giant, squid-like alien wraith that hovers around the room dropping blue flames, though you can dispense them with your shot to grab some resources. This guy also disappears and reappears about the arena and can only be damaged by shooting at its single, ugly eye, though neither it nor the worm-like Botwoon should cause you too much trouble if you keep your beam charged and have plenty of missiles on hand.

*After besting her minions, Samus must do battle with the fearsome Mother Brain!*

The same can’t be said of Draygon, which acts as something of a teaser for the later Ridley fight. Draygon will swoop down and grab you, slamming you against the wall if you’re not careful, requiring a unique strategy beyond just dodging and shooting. If you let it grab you, you can shoot your Grapple Beam at an electrified wall panel; you’ll take damage, but you’ll also toast Draygon in the process, leaving her insectoid children to mourn her corpse. I wouldn’t underestimate the Silver Space Pirates, either; this duo is fought in Ridley’s lair and are only vulnerable when they flash gold, making them an exercise in frustration as they flip and slice and kick to whittle you down. Once you’ve defeated the main bosses, you’ll be able to access Tourian, a metallic landscape where Metroids wander freely. Here, you’ll encounter the titular Super Metroid, which proves invulnerable and will drain your health to almost nothing before fleeing. Eventually, you’ll battle Mother Brain once more; like before, this massive brain sits in a jar and is protected by laser walls, a constant spread of projectiles, and a lava floor. Once you shatter her protective casing, she rears up into this monstrous bipedal monstrosity that stomps about in a claustrophobic area, spitting explosive breath and blasting you with laser beams from her eyes! When you deal enough damage, she’ll decimate you with an unavoidable rainbow laser; luckily the Super Metroid comes to your aid, sacrificing itself to restore your health and gift the Hyper Beam, which cuts down Mother Brain. Once she’s defeated, the whole planet crumbles around you and you have three minutes to escape to the surface, whereupon you’ll be granted a special image of Samus depending on how well you played.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Samus starts with ninety-nine units of energy and her regular arm cannon but it’s not long before you’re increasing her exploration abilities with the Morph Ball and upping her arsenal with the missile and Super Missile, which both deal far greater damage than her regular shot, and increasing her maximum energy with the fourteen Energy Tanks. You can also find four Reserve Tanks to have some health restored after death, can use the X-Ray Scope to search for these, and hidden paths, in the environment, and grab the Speed Booster to run through walls and enemies alike and the Grapple Beam to latch on to overhead blocks and certain walls (if you can get to grips with the controls). In addition to finding numerous energy recharge stations, you can also fully refill your ammo at similar stations, usually located near a save room, and you’ll find loads of power-ups to increase your maximum ammo for each bomb. Samus can also upgrade her suit to allow her to freely move underwater, increase her defence, and allow her to resist certain types of lava, all of which is essentially for exploring the entirety of Zebes, Samus’s main cannon can also be upgraded to allow her to charge a more powerful attack that’s great for inflicting big damage against bosses, temporarily freezes enemies to create extra platforms, and allows her to fire three beams at once that go through walls and enemies alike. You’ll also acquire the ability to drop balls when morphed (clearing obstructions in tighter spaces and boosting you over small ledges), a screen clearing Power Bomb, and the Spring Ball that lets you jump while morphed. The High Jump boots increase your jump height, the aforementioned Space Jump allows you to clunkily continuously jump, and the Screw Attack adds an electrical crackle to your jump spin to damage enemies.

Additional Features:
Upon finishing Super Metroid, you’re given a percentage showing how many of the game’s secrets you found. You can freely load up your save file to backtrack and hunt down anything you missed if you like, but the game’s endings are based on how much time you took not how much you found. You’ll only get to see Samus in her skin-tight under garments if you beat the game in under three hours; playing between three and ten will see her remove her helmet, and playing for more than ten hours sees her preserve her modesty behind her suit and you settling for a thumbs-up. In the final escape sequence, you apparently have the option of saving the trapped Dachoras and Etecoons, though I didn’t notice them in my playthrough and it appears to add nothing to the ending but personal pride. This version of the game naturally allows you to create a save state at any time and make use of the Nintendo Switch’s rewind function, which is perfect for the game’s many aggravating sections, and you can also take advantage of a special save state version of the game that lets you skip right to the end with all of Samus’s upgrades.

The Summary:
Of all the Metroid games I’ve played, I’ve played Super Metroid the most but I never managed to finish it before this playthrough. The game is absolutely gorgeous, with a visual appeal that’s matched by its soundtrack and massive, action-packed bosses and the appeal of its main character. However, the large-scale nature of the game and the copious backtracking were always intimidating for me as I really didn’t want to have to keep referring to a guide; luckily, I was able to get through Super Metroid without too much help in this regard, but it can be frustrating when you seem to have exhausted all your options only to have missed a destructible block tucked away. While Super Metroid is impressively put together, with some fantastic detail, variety, and challenge on offer, playing the game from start to finish has made me see flaws in the game’s controls; wall jumping is absolutely atrocious and techniques like the Space Jump are needlessly finicky, ruining a lot of the platforming sections and making me wonder how anyone ever managed to succeed at the game without the aid of save states. The bosses are equally challenging, even when Samus is fully armed and powered up, making for a tough but ultimately very rewarding gameplay experience. Had these control issues been tweaked to be simple button presses, it would’ve been a perfect five out of five but Super Metroid is still one of the quintessential SNES titles and is well worth investing your time and patience.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Super Metroid? Would you agree that it’s one of the titles that defined the SNES era of gaming? Did you struggle with the controls at all and what did you think to the large, inter-connected game world? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favorite? What did you think to the graphical upgrade and the level of detail on offer? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other sci-fi content across the site.

Mini Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Judge Dredd (Mega Drive)

18/01/2024Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 16 June 1995
Developer: Probe Software
Also Available For: Game Boy, Game Gear, PC/MS-DOS, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

A Brief Background:
Still published to this day, British science-fiction comic book 2000 AD first appeared in February 1977 and, in March of that same year, introduced readers to the uncompromising lawman of the future, Judge Joseph Dredd. Created of John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills, Dredd became one of the most popular and iconic British comic book characters of all time. Accordingly, the character has expanded beyond the comic book panels and into the realms of videogames on more than on occasion; his first videogame outing was a largely repetitive platform shooter, a concept expanded upon by its bigger, more graphically impressive Amiga follow-up. Dredd’s relationship with videogames is largely considered to be hit and miss but, when the time finally came for the character to make the jump to the silver screen, an adaptation was put into development. While the movie would become a notorious box office bomb, developers Probe Software sought to be as faithful to the production as possible by digitising the film sets to be featured as locations in the game, however their efforts resulted in mixed-to-negative reviews across the board. While some reviews praised the gameplay and fidelity to the source material, others criticised the difficulty and lack of variety, and the game failed to make a lasting impression regardless of which system it was played.

First Impressions:
Judge Dredd is a 2D, sidescrolling run-and-gun that, for the most part, emulates the plot and visual aesthetic of the bombastic movie. Players assume the role of Judge Dredd (whose sprite more resembles his comic book counterpart than Sylvester Stallone’s look from the film) and play through twelve stages taking out street punks, mutants, and even Dredd’s fellow Judges just like in the movie. Players are given three lives to start with and can collect more by picking up extra life icons, and each stage has a primary a secondary objective, both of which are relayed to the player using sprite art modelled from scenes of the film and traditional text. Primary objectives range from destroying ammo supplies, locating Dredd’s mentor, Judge Fargo, reaching the council in the Hall of Justice, and defeating specific enemies. Secondary objectives appear to be option, but you must complete the primary objective in order to exit the current stage, something which can prove problematic given how maze-like and strangely designed many of the game’s stages are.

*Though often cluttered, the game certainly makes an effort to marry the visuals of the film and comic book.*

Judge Dredd is armed with his trust Lawgiver; tapping or holding the A button will see Dredd fire a variety of shots, from unlimited regular bullets to heat-seekers, grenades, and missiles, and you can even hold down the button to fire uninterrupted. Dredd can also sprint by tapping the directional pad (D-pad), and shoot while running, jumping, and crouching, and in all directions (including diagonally!) Although some objectives tell you not to shoot certain enemies, you’re free to be as trigger happy as you like; however, you’ll score more points if you use Dredd’s melee skills (A up close or X if you have a six-button controller) to disarm and arrest perps when “GUILTY” appears over their head. Dredd can jump with B and even fly about for a few seconds if you find an Anti-Grav Belt; you’ll be doing a fair amount of platforming but Dredd can’t jump very high so you’ll often need to make use of ladders, monkey along overhead lines, or even a running jump to reach new areas. Dredd can also crawl about, push some objects, and access terminals to see his current mission progression and health and ammo stats or lock doors in certain stages. Dredd controls quite well but is a bit clunky; pressing up will scroll the screen, which can be disorientating, and there’s a few too many frames of animation at times, meaning there is often a delay between button presses. Dredd is quite sturdy but can replenish his health with small and large hearts, pick up additional ammo, or even grab a temporary forcefield and invincibility to help even the odds.

*There’s some variety on display in the different Dredd’s objectives and gameplay mechanics.*

After completing each stage, you’re given a score tally and a password to help you skip ahead; while there don’t appear to be any useful passwords for this version of the game, such as infinite health or ammo, it is a handy feature to pick up where you left off or try out different missions. In my case, this is almost mandatory; it took quit a bit of trial and error to complete even the first stage as you can get stuck in an area with no way back. While Dredd will nip up on the spot after being killed, it’s quite easy to get stuck as ladders and hazards aren’t always immediately visible, and while you can duck and shoot most enemies, you’ll be majorly outclassed by the wild mutants in the Cursed Earth and the Atomic, Bacterial, and Chemical Warriors (A.B.C. Warriors) you’re tasked with destroying later on. The game certainly looks good; sprites are a bit small but Dredd has some fun idle animations, such as twirling his gun and cleaning his badge (there’s even a little squeak-squeak sound effect), and there’s some splashes of blood when you off enemies. The environments are visually very faithful to the movie, including trucks, futuristic skyscrapers, and the Statue of Liberty as in the film, but can be cluttered and a little too large for their own good. Gameplay is somewhat broken up by one stage that has you flying through the skies on your Lawmaster while fending off pursuing Judges (Herman Fergusson/Fergee fires at the rear while Dredd fires ahead) and by the fact that some enemies will be possessed by the four Dark Judges; you’ll know when they are as they’ll have an aura about them and a spirit will fly out that you can catch for bonus points if you have some Boing ammo.

My Progression:
Judge Dredd is a surprisingly tough game; at first, it reminded me of classic run-and-guns like Turrican (Factor 5, et al, 1990) or Duke Nukem (Apogee Software, 1991), especially with the placement of the heads-up display and dystopian, sci-fi setting. Seconds into the first stage, I hit a literal wall and had to think for a minute as the ladder I needed was so difficult to see and things only got more confusing from there; vents randomly damage you, trash falls from above, and you can’t even step in a small puddle of water in the Cursed Earth without taking damage. Just destroying the ammo crates in the first stage is a chore as they can only be destroyed by your explosive weapons and you need to explore the stage in a specific way so you don’t miss any and get stuck. Rather than running past terminals in Aspen, you need to access them to initiate the lockdown procedure, and enemies can take a few shots before they go down even before the clunky A.B.C. Warriors enter the picture. It appears that most stages end with a boss battle, too; the first is a guy who looked a lot like DC Comic’s James Harper/Guardian and who constantly blocks your shots with his shield while firing at you with a machine gun, tossing Molotov Cocktails, launching an almost unavoidable energy wave, or bashing your head in when you get close. You can use nearby barrels for cover but he absorbs shots like a sponge and the timing required to jump and duck under his shots meant that I couldn’t actually beat him!

*Sadly, the game’s difficulty meant I couldn’t get very far and I wasn’t motivated to skip ahead much further.*

Using a password, I jumped to stage two and fared much better n the Aspen Penal Colony. There’s some neat effects on the waters of the sewer area and I was actually able to beat the stage the boss, a brute with a big club who rides an elevator that he tries to crush you with, tosses grenades and Molotov cocktails, and smacks you silly up close. It was a slog, but I did beat him, but I couldn’t get past the Cursed Earth for the life of me. Here, the mutated inhabitants live in the ruins of society and Judge Hunters patrol the wooden walkways, but the leaps of faith and confusing level layout got the better of me. I skipped ahead to the Hall of Justice and that wasn’t a problem, nor was the chase on the Lawmaster, but the A.B.C. Warriors stomping about on the construction site around the Statue of Liberty were enough to have me calling it quits. They’re immune to your regular shot, so you’ll need a healthy supply of missiles or other explosives, but their missiles and the stage’s bottomless pits were the last straw for me. it was a bit of a shame as the game’s layout and objectives actually got easier the deeper I got and, from what I can see, there’s a bit of a post-game that looks right up my alley. After dealing with Dredd’s psycho clone brother, Rico, players head to Deadworld, an alternative dimension where all life was deemed a crime, to do battle with Dredd’s reaper-like spectral counterpart, Judge Death! I could’ve used passwords to jump ahead to this point but I decided that enough was enough, but I am impressed that a videogame adaptation from this time actually expanded on the film; the game does a decent job of following the movie’s narrative but infuses it with more elements from the source material, including my favourite Dredd antagonists, the Dark Judges, which is pretty rare for a game of this era in my experience.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Judge Dredd; videogame adaptations of movies tended to be more hit than miss back in the 16-bit games, at least in my experience, but sadly there were some issues here that kept me from really enjoying the experience. Visually, the game is both impressive, bland, and confusing all at the same time; the horizon and backgrounds aren’t always very detailed but the foregrounds are almost too detailed, making things a bit cluttered and messy at times. Dredd looks great and plays okay, but I find it amusing that the developers included the ability to arrest people when Dredd is far more likely to just sentence criminals to death for even more infractions. Since the game doesn’t really penalise you if you kill everyone, I recommend taking a traditional run-and-gun approach, especially as you’ll be distracted by vague objectives and the maze-like areas. Overall, it was a mediocre experience, one that I struggled to get through thanks to the difficulty spike and clunky presentation. It’s a shame as I feel the concept could have legs if it was more like Contra (Konami, 1986) or Metal Slug (Nazca Corporation, 1996) and leaned more into arcade-style action rather than tedious exploration. Still, maybe I’m being too harsh? Maybe you actually enjoyed the gameplay on offer here? Perhaps you prefer one of the movie’s other ports or a different Judge Dredd game entirely? Either way, I’d love to hear about it so leave a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Judge Dredd content.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo Switch)

15/01/202422/01/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Released: February 2023
Originally Released: November 1991
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
Brain-blasting bounty hunter Samus Aran shocked the gaming world when she was revealed to be a woman in the challenging Nintendo classic, Metroid (Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems, 1986). Although highly praised and crucial to the popularisation of the “Metroidvania” sub-genre, Metroid’s sequel came not on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) like Nintendo’s other franchise characters, but on their revolutionary (and incredibly popular) handheld system, the Game Boy. Many of Metroid’s developers returned for the sequel, which separated itself from other Game Boy titles with graphics comparable to its 8-bit counterparts and expanding upon Samus’s abilities and narrative in ways that would influence future games. Not only was Metroid II my first experience of the franchise, but it also included a unique palette for when played on the Game Boy Color, though it largely divided critics upon release. Reviews praised the quality of life improvements and expansion upon the gameplay of its predecessor, while also criticising the music and limitations of the Game Boy hardware. Yet, Metroid II endured; a fangame remake was scuppered by Nintendo prior to them remaking the game for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, with Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam, Nintendo EPD) being largely well received. The original version of the game also found a home on Nintendo’s online services, including this Nintendo Switch Online version, to help keep this cult classic alive for new gamers.

The Plot:
Following her encounter with the Metroids, bounty hunter Samus Aran is sent to the Metroid home world, SR388, to destroy the entire species.

Gameplay:
Metroid II: Return of Samus is a run-and-gun adventure game with an emphasis on exploring the various alien landscapes of SR388, upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities, and hunting down forty Metroid variants to curb the malicious species. Players once again assume the role of the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, who sports the same abilities from the first game and more, most notably the ability to shoot upwards and while crouching, simple additions that make blasting aliens and destructible blocks so much easier. You’re given three save files to play with, which can be switched to or deleted from the main menu, though there are no options to reconfigure any game settings, like the controls or difficulty. However, since it was originally a Game Boy title, you’ll only make use of two buttons during gameplay: A lets you jump (and you can hold it to jump a little higher) and B lets you shoot (and you can hold it to continually fire at foes). Samus will compress into a spherical Morph Ball if you press down on the directional pad twice, and you can switch from her infinite gun arm to her finite supply of missiles by pressing the – button. The + button pauses the game, but you again won’t find a map screen, here, meaning exploration is still a chore, despite Metroid II being a slightly more forgiving and straightforward title.

*Run, shoot, and roll your way through a confusing alien world hunting Metroids.*

Unlike in the last game, players can make use of save stations to save their progress and sporadic refill pods for their health and ammunition, reducing how often you’ll blast away at enemies to farm for resources. As before, enemies will respawn whenever you enter an area, though this time around to you must alter the environment, clearing lava and other hazards so you can progress further. Puzzle solving isn’t really a thing in Metroid II; the closest you get are blasting certain doors with your missiles to open them and navigating deep chasms, some of which are somewhat maze-like and have hidden holes that drop you to lower levels, though you’ll sometimes have to use Samus’s Bomb power-up to blast away boulders. This game debuts the Spider Ball, which allows Samus to slowly crawl up walls and ceilings, and you’ll be using this a lot to scale cliffs and ruins, especially as the game progresses. However, your primary objective is to hunt down the forty Metroid variants hidden around SR388; you can keep track of how many remain using the game’s limited heads-up display, but you won’t be given any hints or direction about where to find them beyond hitting dead ends until you’ve acquired new power-ups. Occasionally, Samus will dive into water or must traverse sticky goop; spikes and lava pits are commonplace, as are destructible elements like weeds and sandstone, and you’ll also have to navigate a pitch-black area later in the game that’s incredibly frustrating as there’s no way to light your path. Mostly, though, you’ll be exploring long corridors, deep shafts, and crawling up walls and through narrow tunnels, blasting enemies and hoping the path leads to an upgrade or another Metroid.

Graphics and Sound:
Releasing a couple of years after the debut of the Game Boy, Metroid II is quite a bland looking game, especially as far as the backgrounds are concerned. Backgrounds are largely completely blank, either white, black, or that weird green colour the Game Boy favoured, with very little in the way of foreground details, for the most part. Some areas are the exception to this rule, of course, with an abundance of overgrown stone ruins, rocky caves, and biomechanical areas peppered throughout the game so you know when you’ve transitioned from what could loosely be called the overworld to an area of some significance. Many areas contain lethal lava, dank water, or gloopy muck that restricts your movements but are largely indistinguishable from each other; sometimes the rocks look more like peanuts, sometimes they’re metallic, and sometimes they’re almost like bubbles, but the game becomes disappointingly and confusingly uniform very quickly. Caverns, ruins, and mechanical trappings signpost areas containing Metroids and power-ups, but it’s easy to think you’ve accidentally backtracked as SR388 isn’t exactly divided into elemental sections. Having the overworld be rocky and the main sections be distinctly water-, metal-, botanical-, or lava-themed would’ve helped to distinguish them but, as is, there’s only a handful of areas that impress when it comes to their aesthetics. While this is commonplace on the Game Boy, it’s not as if there weren’t games that were able to do a little more with the hardware, so it’s pretty disappointing here, especially as the game lacks a map.

*As impressive as many of the sprites are, the backgrounds, locations, and music suffer.*

On the plus side, Samus looks great, far better than she did on the NES and showcasing a surprising level of detail. While she doesn’t have any idle poses, her suit changes to reflect her upgrades and she has more poses to assume thanks to her expanded moveset. In addition to her iconic ship sat in the opening section, you’ll always know when a Metroid is nearby by the presence of a hatched Metroid egg, there are a couple of cutscenes showing the Metroids evolving into new, more powerful forms, the Chozo Statues are nice and big (with one even being destroyed), and there are usually some fun hidden paths to take towards goodies. Sadly, the music isn’t all that impressive, aiming for claustrophobic and ominous but being limited by the Game Boy hardware. However, the biggest disappointment for me was the complete lack of any story; there’s no story text, the title screen is incredibly bland, there’s no introductory cutscene, and the game just…ends, albeit with an impressive large sprite of Samus running alongside the credits that changes depending on how fast you beat the game.

Enemies and Bosses:
In addition to the indigenous Metroid population, SR388 is home to a whole host of alien lifeforms, from bug-like creatures to robotic forces and defences that I have assume were left behind by the Space Pirates. All of these will respawn after you exit an area and, while most can be defeated in one or two shots, others will be almost invulnerable until you acquire new power-ups or continually spawn and chase after you to bash you into spikes or lava. We’ve got floating slug-like enemies, laser turrets, hopping toad-like creatures, tiny bugs that drop from ceilings, weird flying proboscis-type things that drop you towards hazards, bat-like drones, and slug-like fish that slither around platforms. Speaking of which, the bone-armoured Motos resist your blaster and can only be taken out from behind or with the Screw Attack (though they often drop larger health orbs); they’re often found alongside Ramulken, who are similarly armoured but jump about the place, though most enemies can simply be blasted or outright avoided, especially if you’re close to a health point. The only boss-type enemy you’ll encounter that isn’t a Metroid variant is the armadillo-like Arachnus, which disguises itself as a Chozo Sphere and not only spits projectiles at you but completely resists your attacks when rolled up. However, it’s vulnerable to your bombs, so you can lay a bunch of those to take it out and pry the Spring Ball from its remains.

*You’ll need plenty of missiles (and patience) to snuff out the various monstrous Metroids.*

As in many Metroid games, the titular, jellyfish-like aliens will appear near the end of the game, latching onto you and draining your health and only being vulnerable when frozen by the Ice Beam and peppered with missiles. The forty other Metroids you battle in several mini boss encounters are evolved Metroids that take on an insectile, ant- or wasp-like form that allows them to fly. The most common of these are the “Alpha” variant, which are largely harmless and simply float about the place, meaning the “Gamma” variant is quite the sharp difficulty curve with its more monstrous appearance and lightning bolt appendages. They’re a joy compared to the “Zeta” Metroids, though, which frustratingly badger you from behind, spit fireballs, and can only be damaged when blasted in the face with missiles. Similarly, while the “Omega” Metroids are far slower, they spit electrical sparks that produce splash damage and float about the place, making them a difficult target despite their size. Each of these may also be fought in enclosed arenas, above spikes or lava, within sandstone, or in areas with small platforms or blocks to make avoiding damage even more troublesome. Once you’ve destroyed thirty-nine of them, nine more regular Metroids need to be dispatched before you face off with their monstrous, dragon-like queen. While technically a simple battle, requiring only that you use the Screw Attack to escape damage and blast the queen with missiles (you can even Morph Ball to safety to refill your health and ammo using a convenient tunnel), this is a laborious and dull fight thanks to the restricted area, the aggressiveness of the queen, and the fact that you need to hit her with 100 missiles! Apparently, there’s a way to Morph Ball into her mouth and lay a bunch of bombs in her, but I couldn’t manage that so it was a lot of tedious evading, blasting (missing), and rewinding when I took too much damage.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As ever, enemies will drop health orbs and missiles to refuel you but, this time around, you can also find larger, dedicated, and inexhaustible refuel stations to top these up in a pinch, and they’re not always hidden away either. Similarly, you can find Energy and Missile Tanks to expand your health bar and maximum ammo (though these are often hidden away or at the end of winding tunnels). As is often (if not always) the case, Samus mysteriously loses all the upgrades she got in the last game and needs to reacquire them from Chozo Statues hidden throughout SR388. You can upgrade her arm cannon to the Wave Beam (which increases accuracy), the Ice Beam (which temporarily freezes enemies), the Spazer Laser Beam (which fires a triple shot), and the Plasma Beam (the most powerful, which passes through objects and enemies), and will even get the chance to switch back to them at one point (with the Ice Beam being required for the final section). Samus’s jump can be extended with the High Jump Boots before allowing her to reach higher, further areas (through carefully timed taps of A) with the Space Jump, before becoming an offensive move with the iconic Screw Attack. Her Morph Ball can also be upgraded to drop bombs, bounce, and cling to walls, which, while slow, is basically a requirement in some areas.

Additional Features:
Sadly, there’s not much to Metroid II. Like I said, there are Energy and Missile Tanks to find that you could conceivably miss but that’s about it. The only reason you’d replay the game beyond enjoying wandering around a confusing handheld landscape is to try and beat the game in under three hours so you’ll be treated to seeing Samus in a bikini; otherwise, there are no bonus or extra features to speak of here. As ever, you can make liberal use of the Nintendo Switch’s rewind and save state features to make the game a lot easier, though it’s still a challenge at times.

The Summary:
I’m glad I finally played through Metroid II: Return of Samus; when I was a kid, I had the original cartridge for my Game Boy, but I remember getting stuck fairly soon into the game. Low and behold, I hit the same dead end here and quickly became reliant upon an online guide, which is not my preferred way of playing any game. Sadly, it’s basically required here as there’s no map system, which is weird as I definitely think a rudimentary map could’ve been inserted whenever you pause the game. Ultimately, this was a tough one for me; I liked how much the gameplay mechanics of the original were improved, even if only in basic ways, but I don’t think this kind of game works on the Game Boy; Metroid is all about exploration and backtracking and, while Metroid II is a bit more linear than others in the series, it still requires more than the Game Boy is capable of delivering. Yes, the sprite work looks good, but every area is too constricted and repetitive to stand out like they would on even the NES and it gets a bit boring facing the same batch of Metroids over and over again. There is a lot to like here, with some fun encounters and areas and the thrill of upgrading Samus’s suit and abilities, but I think Metroid II was trying to be a little too ambitious for the Game Boy. I’m tempted to see what the Nintendo 3DS remake is like to compare it but, sadly, it’s ridiculously expensive to get hold off so I’m left with this paradoxically technically impressive and technically limited entry in the series that felt too much like a chore to play through for mee to properly enjoy.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Are you a fan of Metroid II: Return of Samus? Did you own it on the Game Boy and, if so, how did you cope without a guide or the rewind features? Were you impressed with Samus’s new abilities and combat options? What did you think to the more linear mission and Metroid-hunting gameplay? If you’ve played the Nintendo 3DS remake, how does it compare to the original? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid reviews.

Movie Night [Sci-Fanuary]: Judge Dredd

11/01/202425/01/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 30 June 1995
Director: Danny Cannon
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures / Cinergi Productions
Budget: $85 to 90 million
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Jürgen Prochnow, and Max von Sydow

The Plot:
In the year 2080, the world has become a scorched wasteland and the Judges enforce martial law in the overpopulated Mega-Cities and Mega-City One’s most efficient and decorated officer, Judge Joseph Dredd (Stallone), is framed for murder by his own half-brother, the psychotic Rico (Asante), who plots to usurp the oppressive regime with an army of superhuman clones.

The Background:
It was thanks to British science-fiction comic book 2000 AD and the work of John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills that readers were introduced to Judge Joseph Dredd in March 1977, a tough-as-nails lawman known for his extreme political satire. Dredd’s subsequent popularity meant that Hollywood soon came calling, and long-time fan Danny Cannon pursued the project with a passion, even turning down the chance to helm Die Hard with a Vengeance (McTiernan, 1995) in favour of this adaptation. Although development stalled somewhat thanks to the similarly-themed action/sci-fi satire RoboCop (Verhoeven, 1987), production soon got underway once Sylvester Stallone was cast in the title role, beating out his action movie rival Arnold Schwarzenegger despite being unfamiliar with the character. The filmmakers looked to Blade Runner (Scott, 19982), to bring the sprawling Mega-City One to life and rejected designs from famed fashion mogul Gianni Versace for the film’s costumes. Initially shot to be an R-rated feature with a darker, satirical bent, Cannon clashed with Stallone over the direction of the film and was left so disappointed with the star’s insistence towards comedy that he vowed never to work with the Italian Stallion again. This was largely reflected in subsequent reviews, which criticised the film’s confused tone and disappointing production. While the visual appeal of the film has been praised, Stallone’s performance was not; the tie-in videogame was also a disappointment and a box office gross of under $115 million made the film a commercial flop. Both Stallone and Dredd co-creator John Wagner expressed disappointment with the film and it would take nearly twenty years for the character to return to cinema screens.

The Review:
As I mentioned in my review of Judge Dredd’s debut story, I’ve been a big fan of the character since I was a teenager, largely because of my dad. I was always ore drawn towards Dredd’s clashes against the Dark Judges and his more momentous storylines, such as “The Cursed Earth” (Mills, et al, 1978), “The Day the Law Died” (Wagner, et al,1978 to 1979), and “The Judge Child” (ibid, 1980), which is fitting since Judge Dredd draws several influences from these stories for its core narrative. I was just the right age for Judge Dredd; while I was regularly enjoying violent sci-fi romps like RoboCop, I also enjoyed colourful, action-packed sci-fi comedies like Demolition Man (Marco Brambilla, 1993), so my expectations for the film were simply to enjoy seeing a stern lawman of the future kicking ass in a visually entertaining environment. This means I have a certain level of nostalgia for the film; it was, after all, the only live-action Judge Dredd movie available for decades and it’s not as if the character had a more violent animated series to fall back on. At the time, if you wanted Judge Dredd, it was either this, the comics, or a handful of videogames, but that doesn’t mean that my opinion of the film hasn’t changed as I’ve gotten older and come to appreciate the subtle dark comedy and violent nature of the source material. It’s a shame as well since Judge Dredd gets off to a good start (it’s always a plus when James Earl Jones provides an opening narration) and has more positives in it than a lot of people like to acknowledge, but it fumbles on some of the most basic characterisations of its title character in order to appeal to a wider, more mainstream audience.

*Hard-nosed Dredd is framed for murder and forced to confront his psychotic brother.*

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand this. R-rated movies like RoboCop might kick all the ass but they’re a bit of a risk for producers and investors, especially when it comes to comic book properties and especially back in 1993, when many superheroes where being ~~bastardised~~ commercialised for maximum profit. Thus, Judge Dredd, the straight-laced, grim-faced, by-the-book lawman of the future who is just as likely to prosecute innocent bystanders to nail a perp, is transformed from a tough, no-nonsense future cop into a more heroic figure over the course of the movie. Dredd starts out as a pragmatic and uncompromising officer; he shows no fear, even when outnumbered and outgunned, and has not hesitation in gunning down criminals to quell a riot. Similarly, he doesn’t hesitate to slap former convicted hacker Herman “Fergee” Ferguson (Schneider) with the maximum prison sentence simply for trying to save himself from being caught in the crossfire. Dredd’s rigid enforcement of the law has earned him quite the reputation; ordinary street punks fear him, and rightfully so, and his lack of humanity and propensity to favour summary execution draw criticism from fellow Judge Barbara Hershey (Lane) and Dredd’s mentor and father figure, Chief Justice Eustace Fargo (von Sydow), who orders him to spend time at the academy training the future generation of Judges not in combat but in the enforcement of ethics in an attempt to inject some humanity and compassion into Dredd’s approach. Although Dredd is clearly unhappy with this assignment, he follows his orders because he has such respect for his mentor and he truly believes in the world of the law, following the literal book to the letter and committing his very life and soul to upholding its ideals, even at the expense of his emotions and empathy.

*Whether through compassion or “humour”, both Hershey and Fergie help to humanise Dredd.*

Dredd’s cold demeanour is contrasted by Hershey, the closest thing he has to a friend. Although Dredd has respect for all of his peers, he openly acknowledges that Hershey is “one of the smartest of the new breed” and turns to her to defend him when he’s accused of murder out of respect for her capabilities. Unlike Dredd, Hershey is far more empathetic; she chastises herself when her rookie Judge is murdered on her watch and openly disagrees with Dredd’s philosophy that Dredd’s must commit their lives to the law until they either die on the streets of venture out into the Cursed earth for “retirement”. Indeed, she’s perfectly happy to openly criticise him for being too harsh and lacking in humanity and is both hut and betrayed when the evidence condemns him as a traitor. Moved by the emotional depths Dredd displays after learning of his true origins, she agrees to help him track down Rico both out of a genuine loyalty and affection for him and to avenge the losses her and her fellow Judges have suffered at Rico’s hands. Much of Judge Dredd comedy is focused on Dredd’s stoic demeanour and the awkwardness of him relying on others after he’s betrayed by the very system he dedicated his life to. Have no fear, though, as Fergie is here to act as the comic relief of the film and boy, does it start to grate very quickly. Unlike his simple-minded comic book counterpart, Fergie is a former hacker who, after serving his sentence, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, he objects to Dredd’s harsh sentencing and cannot help but laugh at the irony of the grim Judge being convicted for a crime he didn’t commit, but Fergie has no choice but to rely on Dredd when they crash in the Cursed Earth and end up in the clutches of the notorious Angel Gang. From there, Fergie acts as Dredd’s bungling sidekick; a dead weight he’s forced to lug around. Indeed, Fergie’s hacking talents really have no relevance until the last act; Dredd has Hershey and tech-savvy cadet Nathan Olmeyer (Balthazar Getty) to offer more practical help, so Fergie is literally just there to offer manic “humour” that basically amounts to him being a nuisance. However, his presence does tie into the film’s attempts to humanise Dredd; Dredd’s stoic façade and aggravation towards Fergie noticeably lifts as they spend more time together and there’s a genuine sense that the two have become begrudging friends by the finale.

*Fargo reluctantly opts to step down to protect Dredd and the sanctity of the justice system.*

The Judges have a great deal of resources at their command, from Lawgiver pistols that fire an array of ammo to Lawmaster bikes that let them blast through the skies (when they actually work). What they don’t have, however, is manpower; with the city growing more volatile, Judges such as Dredd are forced to rely on more extreme measures to safeguard the citizens, and this draws them much criticism from the likes of news reporter Vartis Hammond (Mitchell Ryan). Hammond’s sentiments are echoed by Chief Justice Fargo, a well-respected and long-tenured senior Judge who is burdened by the responsibilities he feels towards the welfare of Mega-City One. He’s reluctant to enforce harsher methods as he wants the Judges to stand for freedom and justice rather than oppression and, while he’s a figure that commands great respect, it’s undeniable that his beliefs are opposed by Dredd and even those in his council, like Judge Jürgen Griffin (Prochnow). Fargo is equally reluctant to reactive “Project: Janus”, an abortive attempt at cloning Judges rather than recruiting them, and is conflicted by his guilt and affection for Dredd, whom he sees as a son since he was cloned from his genetic material. After seeing Rico, Dredd’s clone brother, descend into madness, Fargo fears that he’s made a mistake in placing so much faith in Dredd but ultimately agrees with Griffin’s suggestion to take the Long Walk and spare Dredd’s life rather than risk the truth about Project: Janus being released and what little faith the people have in the justice system being compromised. A compelling and commanding presence, Fargo delivers much of the film’s emotional gravitas thanks to Max von Sydow’s alluring performance; his death is an emotional moment not just for the audience but for Dredd, too, who struggles with his turmoil of emotions his mentor’s revelations and passing stir up in him.

*As if the corrupt Griffin wasn’t enough, Dredd has to contend with the cannibalistic Angel Gang.*

Of course, it turns out that Fargo’s retirement is orchestrated by Judge Griffin in a conscious effort to remove him from the council, ascend to the role of Chief Justice, and coerce his fellow councilmembers into reactivating Project: Janus. Griffin sees the escalation of crime and violence in the city as an epidemic, one that must be stamped out with every resource at their disposal, in order to bring about “an ordered society”, even if it means suppressing basic human rights. To this end, he conspires to release Rico from his imprisonment, frame Dredd for the murder of Vartis Hammond and his fellow councilmembers, and instil his own brand of order to the city through the deployment of a new batch of genetically enhanced clones. Of all the character sin the film, I’d say that Griffin is the most changed from his comic book counterpart; here, he’s an ambitious and antagonistic schemer who wants to reshape the Judges into his own image, but even he is aghast when Rico tampers with the clones so that they’re born from his genetic material rather than the wise and benevolent council. Griffin is contrasted by the admirably faithful Angel Gang; a mutated group of in-bred misfits who have turned to cannibalism and madness in the wastelands of the Cursed Earth, the Angel Gang are comprised of patriarch Pa Angel (Scott Wilson) and his backwoods sons Junior (Ewen Bremner), Link (Phil Smeeton), and Mean Machine (Christopher Adamson). Unfortunately, we don’t learn too much about them except that they’re God-fearing misfits who openly torture and kill anyone who stumbles into their territory; Mean Machine Angel, always the most visually interesting and tragic of the family, is an obvious standout thanks to his raging temper and cybernetic enhancements but, sadly, they’re mainly included as a brief obstacle for Dredd to overcome while stranded in the radioactive wastelands and could’ve easily been replaced by the same nameless, faceless Judges who later enter the scene anyway, but I appreciate the effort used to translate them to the screen, however brief it was.

*Bolstered by his robotic bodyguard, the psychotic Rico plans to cause cause across the city.*

Our primary antagonist is, of course, the psychotic and strangely alluring Rico. Like in the comic books, Rico is Dredd’s clone brother but, unlike in the source material Dredd is unaware of this until late into the second act. While Dredd embodies the law and everything it stands for, Rico embodies chaos; a former Judge and Dredd’s only true friend, Rico turned to wholesale mayhem and destruction and was sentenced to death as a result, which directly contributed to Dredd adopting his cold-hearted demeanour. However, Judge Griffin intervened and saw to it that Rico was simply incarcerated so he could use him as his agent to bring about his new order for Mega-City One. Griffin unleashes Rico, hoping he’ll stir up anarchy, but quickly loses control over the maniacal killer, who reprograms a battered old Atomic, Bacterial and Chemical Warrior (ABC Warrior) to act as his bodyguard, murders the council, and sets about birthing his own bath of clones. Rico is an undeniable highlight of the movie thanks to Armand Asante’s snake-like performance; he’s constantly walking the fine line between reason and insanity, flipping on a dime between the two and coming across as a volatile and unpredictable personality with a surprising amount of depth. Rico was hurt when Dredd brought him to justice and feels betrayed by him, but also wishes Dredd to join him in restructuring the justice society, with Dredd as Chief Justice, in a bid to build a true family. Rico is also assisted by Doctor Ilsa Hayden (Joan Chen), a woman who’s primarily there to help Rico with the clone science and to give Hershey someone to fight in the finale; otherwise, she may as well not be there and she’s just a one-dimensional piece of ass-kicking eye candy that just stands next to Rico and reacts to his monologues.

The Nitty-Gritty:
It’s interesting that the tone of the film veers so far away from the more violent and dark humour of the source material, especially as the opening credits consist of a collage of various Judge Dredd and 2000 AD comic book covers as an acknowledgement of the film’s roots. To be fair, there is an attempt at evoking the violence of the comics throughout the movie; squibs and blood effects are prominent when characters are shot, especially during the opening Block War and subsequent shootouts, and Warden Miller (Maurice Roëves) suffers a particularly brutal shot to the throat during Rico’s escape. A lot of the more gruesome violence is rendered offscreen, but this is actually beneficial; when Rico orders the ABC Warrior to rip off Chief Justice Fargo’s arms and legs, the noise is enough to know how horrific that fate is, and there’s even a brief shot of the Angel Gang’s latest meal being chargrilled on a spit roast. It’s pretty obvious that the film was cut to avoid being slammed with a higher rating, but my main issue with the tone is the over-reliance on Fergie’s comedic mishaps to counterbalance the few, fleeting violent moments, though I do enjoy the dynamic between him and Dredd, especially when Dredd begrudgingly considers Fergie’s usefulness as a good luck charm and some of the Judge’s stoic one-liners. And Stallone has some great quips here, from his booming declaration of “I am…the law!”, his surly growl of “Courts adjourned”, and his explosive outburst in the trial scene! I also have to compliment Alan Silvestri’s rousing score; it strikes a fantastic balance between heroic, military-esque, and stirring and really bolsters the onscreen action as only Silvestri can.

*While some effects haven’t aged well, overall the film holds up and impresses with its visuals.*

One area where Judge Dredd really excels is in its visual aesthetic and presentation; obviously drawing much of its inspiration from Blade Runner, the film’s rendition of Mega-City One is as a sprawling, technologically advanced, overcrowded super-city that merges recognisable landmarks like the Statue of Liberty with impossibly high, futuristic skyscrapers. Neon signs, holographic projectors, and impressive technology such as flying cars, artificial intelligence, and mechanical conveniences are commonplace and many of them, like the Judge’s Lawmaster motorcycle, are comically unreliable. Indeed, there’s a definite sense of the city being cobbled together and everything has a very “lived-in” look; while the Judges have access to sleek toys and vehicles in contrast to the gritter back alleys where riots are frequent, there’s a definite sense that everyone’s just trying to make the best of what they have on offer, which ties in perfectly to the rising tensions in the streets over strained resources and overcrowding. The special effects hold up really well thanks to being a combination of miniatures, matte paintings, and practical effects; even the Cursed Earth and the exterior of Mega-City One have a grand sense of scale and CGI use is sporadic and not too glaring, though the Lawmaster chase through the city skyline does look a bit suspect. I can forgive this, however, as the flying vehicles and visual presentation is, overall, very impressive and very reminiscent of the source material. This is true of the Judge’s uniform; if anything, the film adheres too close to the source material here, translating the uniform into a form-fitting body suit bolstered by gleaming armour when it should probably be realised as something a bit more practical. Still, the Judges look great, especially Dredd; their helmets, badges, and armour are all extremely faithful to the source material and the same is true of Mean Machine Angel. My favourite of the Angel Gang, this psychotic cyborg is brought to gruesome life through the use of heavy prosthetics and my only complaint is that he doesn’t get much screen time. Similarly impressive is Rico’s recommissioned ABC Warrior; styled after Hammerstein and brought to live as a fully functioning practical effect, the ABC Warrior has a real weight and presence in the film and all of these real-life special effects make up for the few wonky special effects and help Judge Dredd stand the test of time even to this day, at least in terms of its visual appeal.

*After a strong start, the movie commits the cardinal sin of removing Dredd’s helmet and making him a hero.*

Of course, Judge Dredd betrays the very essence of the character within the first twenty minutes of its runtime when Dredd “[stands] at ease” and removes his helmet! I absolutely understand why this decision was made; if you’ve hired Sylvester Stallone, you want to see his face and it helps the character, and the actor, to express a greater range of motions but it undeniably goes against everything the character is known for. In the comics, Dredd essentially loses his humanity and individuality after Rico turns against the law, becoming the embodiment of the justice system, flaws and all, rather than a simple man. While he’s still that here and Dredd gives a particularly rousing speech to the young cadets regarding the level of commitment he expects from every Judge, the film is much more focused on humanising Dredd, turning him from a grim, almost robotic character and into a more compassionate, heroic figure… not unlike the narrative arc seen in RoboCop. Unfortunately this really doesn’t fit with Dredd’s characterisation and appeal; the whole point is that he’s a tough, but fair, enforcer of the law in an increasingly lawless society. Any political or social commentary is dumbed down in Judge Dredd, which approaches such aspects with a disappointingly toothless attack, but Dredd removing his helmet is basically a slap in the face to the audience, a way of saying “We’re here to make money”. The biggest irony of this is that the film has the perfect excuse to have its cake and eat it too; all they had to do was cast Stallone in a dual role, playing both Dredd and Rico, then he could’ve kept the helmet on and still been allowed to act with his face unobscured. Asante could’ve been cast as Judge Griffin since Prochnow isn’t exactly the most compelling presence in the movie (his performance is strangely exaggerated at times) and the script could’ve been rewritten to accommodate these alterations. I don’t know if that would’ve necessarily made the movie better but it would’ve at least stayed true to the spirit of the character and perhaps spared us the visual of the citizens cheering Dredd on in the finale like he’s a conquering hero, something his comic book counterpart would probably have deemed a public nuisance.

*Dredd destroys his clones, dispatches Rico, and returns to duty as a street Judge.*

Still, it’s hard to deny the gravitas that Asante brings to Rico and how captivating his performance is; Stallone definitely can act and has always stood out from his action hero peers as being more than a slab of meat, but he’s a little in over his head here and largely bolstered by his supporting cast as he focuses entirely on tweaking Dredd’s persona from an uncompromising man of the law to a more empathetic individual. Dredd undergoes a great deal of emotional turmoil in the film, from being betrayed and convicted by the system to discovering that he’s a clone of Fargo and that Rico is his genetic brother. The trial is particularly hard on Dredd, who knows he’s innocent but is convicted because of irrefutable genetic evidence, forcing him to see the flaws in the system, but he’s absolutely devastated when Fargo dies before his eyes after revealing the truth to him. After finally opening up to Hershey, Dredd gears up to confront his brother in the remains of the Statue of Liberty, where Project: Janus is situated. In this elaborate laboratory, Rico has spawned a new crop of clones using his own genetic material and, after Dredd refuses to join him in his campaign, Rico orders that the clones are hatched before they’re fully gestated, briefly forced Dredd to contend with the gruesome copies that are little more than monstrous drones. Although injured (by a shot that really should’ve been fatal…), Fergie is able to disable to ABC Warrior and Hershey fends off Dr. Hayden as the laboratory explodes around them, leaving Dredd and Rico to face off in a brutal fist fight in Lady Liberty’s head after just… ignoring the clones, which are basically just there for a jump scare. Despite clearly being Rico’s physical superior, Dredd ends up dangling precariously over a fatal drop after they exchange blows; luckily for Dredd, Rico can’t pass up the chance for one final monologue in which he chastises his brother’s lack of loyalty and vision, given Dredd the opportunity he needs to distract Rico with a flare, deliver one last one-liner, and sent him plummeting to his death. In the wake of Rico’s death, the truth about Griffin’s actions is broadcast, exonerating Dredd and leaving him in prime position to ascend to the role of Chief Justice. Surprisingly, the movie adheres to the spirit of the comics by having Dredd decline and recommit himself to his daily duties, and then deviates from it wildly by having him exhibit only confusion and intrigue rather than insult when Hershey plants a kiss on his lips.

The Summary:
So, yeah… I’m a little torn. If anyone knows the complexities of adaptation, it’s me, and I totally get that some things need to change to bring a concept to life. generally, I go into an adaptation looking to see how it stands by itself, what it does differently, and how it works in its new medium and genre and judge it according to those standards. By that measure, Judge Dredd is a pretty by-the-numbers sci-fi action/comedy; it’s colourful and visually stunning, with some decent action set pieces and humour (when Rob Schneider isn’t trying too hard) that has a certain appeal, especially for younger viewers. If you’ve seen Demolition Man, which came out only a couple of years before this, and Blade Runner, this is very much a mash up of those two, with a sprinkling of RoboCop in there; it’s not exactly ground-breaking, but the practical effects and visual presentation go a long way to making it an entertaining flick. Stallone does a decent job here; honestly, he was a great choice to play Judge Dredd and (literally) fills the boots well, carrying himself with a grim, stoic demeanour that perfectly contrasts with his stellar supporting cast. Unfortunately… it’s just not really Judge Dredd for me. it captures some of the essence of the source material, but not enough to truly do it justice. I can understand toning down the violence and changing some aspects, but removing the helmet was a big no-no. Obviously, it would’ve been a very different movie if Stallone had kept it on (and again, I don’t know if it’d really be “better”), but the key thing here is that Dredd’s character is changed to make him a more heroic figure, when that’s really missing the point of what Dredd’s all about. Ultimately, I think the filmmakers just played things too safe; this wasn’t a time when comic book movies were known for taking risks and that really shows here, resulting in a fun action romp but one that is more like a taster introduction to Dredd’s world rather than truly being representative of it, which is a shame.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What did you think to Judge Dredd’s live-action debut? Were you annoyed that he removed his helmet or do you think it made sense considering who was in the role? What did you like to Stallone’s performance and this interpretation of Dredd? Were you impressed by the film’s visuals, costume design, and special effects? What did you think to the plot regarding Dredd’s framing and his clash against Rico? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Judge Dredd content.

Game Corner [Sci-Fanuary]: Metroid (Nintendo Switch)

08/01/202422/01/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 14 November 2018
Originally Released: 6 August 1986
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems
Also Available For: GameBoy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
It’s probably fair to say that, compared to Nintendo’s other heavy-hitters like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda (Various, 1986 to present), the Metroid franchise (Various, 1986 to present) is maybe one of the company’s more under-rated properties. I actually have had very little experience with the series outside of the Super Smash Bros. series (Various, 1999 to 2018) and brief experiences with Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo R&D1, 1991) and Super Metroid (Nintendo R&D1 Intelligent Systems, 1994), though this is mainly due to growing up as a SEGA guy. Metroid came about after Nintendo had seen success with their early titles for their industry-saving console, the NES; produce Gunpei Yokoi and directors Satoru Okada and Masao Yamamoto collaborated on the title, which was heavily influenced by Alien (Scott, 1979). The developers sought to create an action-orientated game in which power-ups would be not only permanent, but necessary to completion, and with a strong emphasis on non-linear exploration. Metroid ended up being so successful in this regard that it, and Castlevania (Konami, 1986), spawned an entire videogame subgenre dubbed “Metroidvania”. Metroid was well-received upon release; reviews praised its challenging gameplay and it has since been recognised as one of the greatest games ever made. Metroid would spawn a number of sequels and spin-offs, and was ported to many subsequent Nintendo consoles either as an unlockable bonus or as a full-blown remake. Considering how popular and influential the series, and this first game, have become over the years, it’s no surprise that Metroid was included in the Nintendo Switch Online service soon after it launched, which also allowed me the chance to play it for the first time.

The Plot:
Bounty hunter Samus Aran journeys to the planet Zebes to retrieve the parasitic Metroid organisms from the malicious Space Pirates, who plan to replicate the Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then use them as biological weapons in their mad plot for galactic conquest.

Gameplay:
Metroid is a 2D, sidescrolling, action/platformer with a strong emphasis on run-and-gun action, horizontal and vertical jumps, backtracking, and exploration. Players take on the role of Samus Aran, an armoured bounty hunter with a blaster for an arm, and must explore the planet Zebes, which is comprised of five relatively distinct areas all joined together in a huge game map. Samus begins the game able to shoot directly ahead or above and to jump, and you’ll quickly find that ground-based enemies are beyond your ability to destroy in the early going as Samus can’t shoot downwards or defeat enemies by jumping on them. You’ll also, literally, run face-first into a wall if you give into your gamer’s instinct and head to the right; instead, you should go left from the starting area, where you’ll find your first Chozo Statue and your first power-up, the Morph Ball, which lets you curl up into a ball by pressing down and thus slip into small tunnels and areas. From there, the sheer scope of your mission quickly becomes very daunting; not only do enemies respawn when you leave the immediate area (not the immediate screen, as you can scroll to the left and then go back to the right and your enemies will be back) but you’re missing the most crucial aspect a game like this needs: an onscreen map. I have absolutely no idea how gamers managed to play Metroid without this simple convenience, and have heard that they either drew their own maps or consulted magazines at the time just to get an idea of where the hell you’re meant to go. Since you acquire different upgrades along the way that help you access new areas, and a lot of the areas look very similar save for some different colours and flourishes, you’ll need a good memory and a lot of experimentation to figure out where you’re going and what you’re doing.

*Explore a large, interconnected map finding upgrades to reach new areas.*

Thankfully, you can at least hold down B or X for a rapid fire function and hold A to jump a little higher, and Samus is relatively durable; her health is measured in numerical units, and her default weapon has unlimited ammo, but you will have to deal with some difficult jumps (made all the more frustrating by some horrendous enemy placement and movements) and knockback damage that can send you dropping into lava or spikes, where your health will whittle away to nothing in no time at all. Metroid gives you just one chance to finish the game; if (well, when, really) you die, the game is over and you’re given a ludicrously long password to continue but, thankfully, the Nintendo Switch version allows for both save states and a rewind function if (again…when) you make a mistake. Health and ammo is dropped by enemies and there are numerous points where you can simply stand there, blasting at constantly respawning enemies to farm health or missiles, but take care as enemies can pounce from behind and more spawn in the moment you pick up your item. Your primary goal in Metroid is to find and defeat two bosses to create a bridge that leads to the final area, Tourian, to confront Mother Brain but, to reach these bosses, you’ll need to find new upgrades to open doors or reach new areas with a higher jump, temporary platforms, or dropping down through destructible blocks. Although areas start out pretty simple, it’s not long before you need to blast at stone blocks to create pathways and platforms (though you need to be careful as the blocks will damage you if you’re standing there when they spawn back in), hopping over tiny rocky platforms floating over lava, and dodging past tougher enemies. Luckily, there are no instant death hazards here, but you can easily get trapped in a dangerous position where enemies and hazards drain your health, or you’re left with such little health that you’ll die soon after anyway. All of this means that Metroid is a pretty touch experience, even with the quality of life features offered by the Nintendo Switch; it doesn’t take much for a simple mistake to lead to disaster, enemies can take quite a few hits before being dispatched, and it’s ridiculously easy to get turned around and completely lost. Luckily, there’s no time limit to worry about, and the game is much more enjoyable with a detailed map to help you out.

Graphics and Sound:
Given that it’s an 8-bit title, Metroid is quite the pixelated adventure; Samus, especially, stands out against all of the game’s dark backgrounds thanks to her orange armour but, as you might expect, doesn’t really have many frames of imagination. She ambles along at a decent pace, even able to shoot and run at the same time, but you’ll notice that the game suffers from severe slowdown when too many enemies or items are onscreen at the same time. Each area of Zebes is accompanied by a funky little tune, with the now-recognisable Metroid theme being the catchiest of them, but you won’t encounter any context or story-related text until the final moments of the game, meaning you’ll need the instruction manual to have any idea of what the hell’s going on.

*While areas can be distinctive, there are many screens and sections that are confusingly similar.*

Planet Zebes is split into five areas: Brinstar, Kraid’s Lair, Norfair, Ridley’s Lair, and Tourian, with each one connected by stone or mechanical tunnels and lifts that you can descend and ascend. Each area has a different colour scheme to help differentiate them a little (blue, green, grey, purple, etc) but they’re also very similar and feature nearly identical tunnels and screens in each area, meaning that it’s very easy to lose track of where you are. Some areas feature cloud platforms, stone columns, lava, bubble or monstrous platforms and ceilings, while others are long vertical shafts you need to make your way up. These long shafts can be safer spaces where you can restock on your supplies, but you’ll also need to make use of your Bomb to blow up blocks and descend downwards to give your Morph Ball a little boost to enter into seemingly impassable walls. While lava pits are best avoided, some are actually fake and lead to new areas; other times, you’ll need to navigate through tubes, avoiding or blowing up enemies and hoping you don’t end up being boiled alive. Little touches like moss, different types of stones or foreground elements, and minor visuals help to make some screens a little more distinct but it’s very easy to get confused as some screens are literally identical but at different points on the map and you’ll no doubt be driven made by the constant beeping when your health is low.

Enemies and Bosses:
Planet Zebes is host to all manner of alien baddies who will hop, swoop, and fly right at you without a second’s hesitation. While some of the smaller, weaker enemies can be destroyed in one shot, others take multiple shots and even the simplest of enemies can cause a major problem as they respawn constantly from all angles and it’s easy to get hit by one (and knocked into lava…) Spiked Zoomers are the easiest and most frequent enemy, though you’ll probably be farming pick-ups from Zebs quite often as well. Skree drop from the ceiling and will explode if you don’t destroy them quickly, Wavers, Rios, Multivolas, and Sidehoppers bounce around the screen erratically, Dragons spit fireballs at you in an arc from lava, and Rippers travel back and forth and make for useful temporary platforms oney you acquire the Ice Beam. In Tourian, you’ll encounter the titular Metroids, bug-like parasites that float around and home in on you to suck your energy away and which can only be destroyed with your limited supply of missiles.

*After besting Ridley and Kraid, you’ll face your toughest challenge yet in Mother Brain’s defens*es.

Considering the size of its map, Metroid only features three bosses; I assume you can theoretically tackle Kraid and Ridley in whatever order you like (assuming you take the right paths using a guide) but I fought Ridley first. This stubby little purple dragon hops up and down in the middle of the arena shooting projectiles at you. These also form a kind of protective shield that will block your shots, but can be destroyed with your weapons. Ridley doesn’t really need to do much else as he can absorb a huge amount of punishment before finally exploding, and the same can also be said about Kraid. Kraid is a little more formidable; he meanders back and forth across a platform surrounded by acid and constantly fires missiles and throws bladed projectiles at you, all of which you must dodge and shoot through in order to land the necessary multiple hits on the bulbous monster. There’s also a fake version of Kraid hiding in his lair, which will respawn upon defeat, and only by destroying the real Kraid can you complete the bridge and enter the game’s toughest and most unfair area by far. Mother Brain is a stationary brain inside a glass jar but is protected by an intricate and unrelenting arsenal of wall-mounted lasers, bubble-like projectiles, and barriers which you must blast through with your missiles. As if that isn’t bad enough, you’re given precarious platforms to stand on to shoot at her and must battle over a lava pit, constantly dodging and being pummelled by projectiles as you desperately try to fire your missiles at her through the narrowest of openings. Once she’s defeated, you’re then given about 999 in-game seconds to navigate up one final shaft and get to safety before the whole place explodes, making for a heart-poundingly tense and massively frustrating finale to an already challenging game.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Samus will find a wide variety of useful, permanent power-ups to gradually make her journey a little easier. It’s well worth taking the time to explore (or use a map…) to seek these out as you can increase her health by finding Energy Tanks (which will add another block of 99 health units to your total) and increase her maximum supply of missiles up to 255 with Missile Tanks. Since you need missiles to open doors and deal the maximum amount of damage to enemies, and will find yourself absolutely crucified in Tourian without these, these are both well worth seeking out. As mentioned, you’ll need the Morph Ball to progress past the first few screens, and soon acquire the Bomb to use in this form to destroy ground-based enemies or propel Samus into tunnels. The Long Beam will extend the range of Samus’s default weapon, which can also be upgraded to the Ice Beam (which, naturally, freezes enemies and turns them into temporary platforms but be warned as a subsequent shot will unfreeze them) and, eventually, the Wave Beam (which increases the firing range of your main attack). Samus can also find the High Jump Boots to extend her vertical jump, the Screw Attack to damage enemies with a spinning jump attack, and the Varia Suit to reduce the amount of damage she takes from enemies and hazards.

Additional Features:
As mentioned, the Nintendo Switch version allows for up to three save states and includes a rewind feature, both of which are incredibly useful for when you land in a sticky situation or want to take a break. If you fancy jumping ahead, you can also play an “SP” version of the game that bestows you with all the available equipment and upgrades and drops you right outside of the battle with Ridley. Unlike many videogames of its era, Metroid doesn’t feature a high score system but it does include multiple endings; the faster you finish the game, the more of Samus’s true form will be revealed in the ending. Additionally, after finishing the game, you’ll automatically start over in a new game with all of your power-ups (though without the additional Energy and Missile Tanks you acquired) or even garbed in a skin-tight outfit rather than armour.

The Summary:
I may not have ever properly played a Metroid game before, but I was fully aware of the franchise and its emphasis on backtracking and exploration. Consequently, I was a little intimidated to play through Metroid, especially as my limited experience with the series had left me struggling to find my way around. Although it is a real problem that Metroid doesn’t feature any kind of map (which is weird, as The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo R&D4, 1986) released earlier that same year and featured a rudimentary map system), it’s nothing you can’t solve with a quick Google search, meaning your only remaining hurdle is the challenge offered by the gameplay. While the controls are tight enough, Samus is a bit slippery and floaty at times, and her inability to fire in all directions makes things problematic, but nowhere near as annoying as the respawning, erratic enemies and tricky platforming sections. The various upgrades definitely help with this, and once you have a bit more health and a more powerful main attack and have gotten used to the repeating rooms and enemies, the game becomes a lot of fun. It’s definitely rough around the edges, though; when playing retro games on modern consoles, I always try to imagine how gamers coped back in the day and, in the case of Metroid, I can only assume they got through it with a great deal of patience and trial and error. Still, this was a decent experience and I’m glad that I finally played through it; it’s maybe a little too challenging and confusing at times for just a casual playthrough, though, so I’m interested to see if I find the later releases more appealing with their improved graphics and controls.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Have you ever played Metroid? If so, what did you think to it and how do you think it holds up today, both against its subsequent titles and other games from that era? Did you struggle to navigate the inter-connected game map? Which of the bosses and upgrades was your favorite? Have you ever finished the game without using modern enhancements, and what’s the best ending you’ve achieved? Which Metroid game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below or leave a reply on my social media, and be sure to check out my other Metroid reviews.

Back Issues [Sci-Fanuary]: 2000 AD #2

04/01/202425/01/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Story Title: “Judge Dredd” (also known as “Judge Whitey”)
Published: 5 March 1977
Writer: John Wagner
Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

The Background:
Everyone knows DC and Marvel Comics; they’re unquestionably the top two comic book publishers in the United States and have birthed some of the greatest comic characters. Over here in the United Kingdom, comics are a little different; generally focusing on slapstick strip characters, British-made superheroes are a little more niche compared to those in the US. And then there’s 2000 AD, a sci-fi comic book that began life in February 1977 and is still published to this day; although the comic wasn’t expected to last long, 2000 AD briefly revitalised British pulp icon Dan Dare before crafting an entirely original character to appeal to their readers’ love of anti-authoritarian attitudes and narratives. Created by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills, the uncompromising Judge Dredd was the logical extreme from Wagner’s previous hardened cop, Jackson McBane/One-Eyed Jack and his name came from modifying the title of Mill’s unproduced horror strip, Judge Dread. Inspired by the leather-clad appearance of Death Race 2000’s (Bartel, 1975) “Frankenstein” (David Carradine), artist Carlos Ezquerra developed Dredd’s signature look of body armour, zips, and chains and placed Dredd into a futuristic setting far beyond the original intention, necessitating script alterations, with more reportedly coming about after the original story proved too violent. Known for keeping his face entirely obscured, aging in real time as the years went on, and his steadfast dedication to upholding law in a lawless futuristic society, Judge Dredd became one of the most popular and iconic British comic book characters of all time. Essentially an extreme parody of the US politics and judicial system, Judge Dredd has been involved in some violent and politically-charged tales in his nearly fifty years on the force, including crossovers with DC and Dark Horse properties and even meeting his two live-action counterparts in a one-off special. Judge Dredd has also made the leap into prose texts, videogames, and movies (with varying success) and even inspired the concept of the all-action sci-fi classic RoboCop (Verhoeven, 1987), proving that this ultra-violent lawman is one of the UK’s most enduring and influential fictional characters.

The Review:
Like all my comic book, sci-fi, and action fondness, I owe my love of Judge Dredd to my dad; my dad is a big fan of the character and 2000 AD comics and is responsible for getting many of Dredd’s collected adventures and individual issues into my hands when I was a kid. Personally, I prefer Dredd’s more epic and horror-themed tales, especially those involving the Dark Judges, but I’m always up for reading more of his adventures and have familiarised myself with a fair few of this escapades over the years. His earliest stories are a little different to later tales, with Dredd’s character being noticeably different and his appearance more subdued compared to the stony-faced grimace and imposing physique he’s now known for and this is noticeably right from the first impressive splash page of his debut tale. “Judge Dredd” introduces us to New York in the year 2099 A.D., so right away we have a few things different compared to established Dredd canon; rather than operating within the overcrowded walls of Mega-City One, Dredd enforces the law on the futuristic and crime-ridden streets of New York some seventy-five years from now (and over 120 years into the future from the date the story was published), with even the ruins of the Empire State Building factoring into the narrative over more recognisable Mega-City One structures and trappings. It’s a moot point in many ways since Mega-City One encompasses New York but an interesting observation that the story initially had its roots more firmly planted in real-world locations. Similarly, the captions tell us: “Judges are special lawmen of the 21^st century. Elected by the people to enforce the law” which, as far as I’m aware, is decidedly at odds with the more totalitarian nature of the Judges, who are often a borderline dictatorship since crime and social chaos are so rampant within the city walls.

*Judge Dredd doesn’t hesitate to show some Judge-killing punks who’s the law in the far future!*

Anyway, one of these Judges races along a futuristic highway to intercept a gang of criminals, led by the sadistic and Judge-hating Whitey, only to be cut down by Whitey’s high-impact laser blast. Although he and his disreputable cohorts are disappointed to find they murdered Judge Alvin instead of the legendary Judge Dredd (who already has a reputation as “the toughest of the Judges” even in his first appearance), Whitey consoles himself with the promise of killing more Judges, especially Dredd, and in taking Judge Alvin’s helmet and badge for his own, rechristening himself “Judge Whitey”. Whitey’s true target, Judge Dredd, is in the middle of being praised by the “Grand Judge” for his efforts in reducing the crime rate in Section Six when they’re interrupted by the arrival of Judge Alvin’s dead body strapped to his motorcycle with a threatening note from Judge Whitey. Incensed, the Grand Judge prepares to order an air strike to obliterate Whitey at the Empire State Building but Judge Dredd volunteers to go in alone to teach people to have “respect for the law”. Dredd easily avoids Judge Alvin’s fate by distracting them with his bike, which he sets to automatic so he can get the drop on them from behind. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Judge Dredd lives up to his reputation and his skill as a lawman by gunning down Whitey’s minions and taking it to the would-be Judge with his bare hands. Although no match for the Judge, Whitey promises to escape from prison and continue his vendetta, only to be reduced to a tears when Dredd sentences him to life at “Devil’s Island”, a huge traffic island in the middle of a dangerous and bustling inter-city highway complex where any escape attempt is comparable to suicide. The Grand Judge approves of Dredd’s stern sentencing and laments that it’s perhaps the fate of all Judges to die in service of their duties, a destiny Dredd fully supports if it means upholding the law.

The Summary:
Although a brisk, five-page story with some notable differences to later Judge Dredd canon, Judge Dredd’s debut appearance establishes much of the lore and characterisation that would become so synonymous with the lawman and his world for the next fifty-plus years. What little we see of this proto-Mega-City One is beautifully rendered as a bustling futuristic landscape full of oddly-shaped buildings, dangerous stretches of highway, and clogged with traffic all amidst the ruins of New York City. Although the strip is brought to life in black-and-white, there’s a level of detail here that really gives a depth and intrigue to this far-flung world, where criminals use high-powered laser rifles, the Judges ride around on supped-up motorcycles, and the technology of the time is rendered with a kind of 1960s-esque fantasy that makes everything feel lived in and somewhat anachronistic. It’s interesting seeing so many references to the Judges acting on behalf of the public and being talked about as celebrated civil servants by the righteous citizens; my experience with Judge Dredd is that he’s just as likely to arrest or punish an innocent bystander for being a public nuisance as he is a violent criminal so it’s kind of fascinating seeing that the Judges were initially painted as being more virtuous rather than an exaggerated pastiche of militant, martial law.

*The groundwork for Judge Dredd’s long and colourful history is all nicely established here.*

A tougher, more violent law enforcer for a chaotic futuristic society, Judge Dredd is seemingly the embodiment of law and order, willing diving head-first into even the most dangerous situations simply to set an example to the people. Although there’s a sense that he’s just as angered by Judge Alvin’s death as the Grand Judge, his motivation for tackling Whitey and his gang is more about sending a message to criminals and the general public that the Judges are a force to be reckoned with; he believes that an air strike would diminish the people’s faith in their law enforcers and so volunteers to re-establish that there are consequences to killing one of their number. Judge Dredd’s faith in the system is so total that he considers dying in the line of duty to be the highest honour and he respectfully places Judge Alvin’s badge amongst the dozens hanging from a commemorative wall at “Justice H.Q.”. His sentencing of Whitey to such an inhumane punishment is also motivated by his disgust at the death of a comrade, something he would rather see Whitey suffer for than be granted a merciful death. Judge Dredd is clearly younger and a bit less stoic than I’ve come to know him; he shows respect and appreciation towards the Grand Judge and even cracks a bit of sass with Whitey’s gang before executing them. While many characters talk about Dredd’s reputation, we immediately see that he’s a far more skilled and wily Judge than Judge Alvin as he’s not only smart enough to avoid being so easily gunned down but effortlessly kills Whitey’s comrades and brings the perp in without breaking a sweat. Overall, this was an enjoyable little romp; the basic sense of Judge Dredd and his crime-infested world is all here and it’s fascinating to witness the character’s origins and trace his evolution as a more complex and multifaceted character as time goes on. It’s maybe a little too short and probably lacking in deep characterisations and world-building, but there’s enough here to whet the appetite and give a sense of this no-nonsense lawman of the future.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to Judge Dredd’s debut story? Did you like that he started out in a futuristic New York City or do you prefer the more unique setting of Mega-City One? What did you think to Dredd’s characterisation as an uncompromising lawman? Did you find Whitey and his gang to be disappointing first enemies for Dredd or do you prefer seeing him effortlessly gun down punks? What are some of your favourite Judge Dredd stories, characters, villains, and moments? Share your thoughts on the lawman of the future in the comments below and be sure to check out my other Judge Dredd content.

Screen Time [Sci-Fanuary]: The Outer Limits (1995): “Quality of Mercy” (S1: E13)

29/01/202312/11/2023Dr. KLeave a comment

**Season One, Episode 13:**
**“Quality of Mercy”**

Air Date: 16 June 1995
Director: Brad Turner
US Network: Showtime
UK Network: BBC 2
Stars: Robert Patrick, Nicole de Boer, and Mark McCracken

The Background:
The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964; 1985 to 1989) wasn’t on when I was a kid; growing up, I only had the then-four channels of terrestrial television available to me so my sci-fi/horror anthology series of choice was The Outer Limits (1995 to 2002). A revival of the original 1960s show, The Outer Limits was an award-winning anthology series originally broadcast here in the United Kingdom on BBC 2; every week, a new tale would unfold, usually revolving around aliens, artificial intelligence, or other sci-fi, horror, or fantastical stories, though there were also a number of recurring themes, characters, and even semi-sequential stories to be found in the show’s long history. Considering my nostalgia and affection for the series, it’s great to see others also have a fondness for the show, and I’m always happy to revisit it when I get the opportunity.

The Plot:
Mankind is fighting a losing battle against an aggressive alien race; at the height of the conflict, Major John Skokes (Patrick) is captured and imprisoned alongside a young cadet, Bree Tristan (de Boer). While Stokes is determined to escape and return to the fight, his defiance is rattled when he discovers that the alien jailers have begun experimenting with grafting samples of their own skin onto Bree in an effort to make her one of them!

The Review:
“Quality of Mercy” begins with Major John Skokes being forcibly dragged and manhandled into a prison cell on an alien world but a physically superior, war-like race of aliens who have been locked in a one-sided battle against Earth’s United Nations Defense Forces (UNDF) for some time. An abrasive, proud, and stubborn military man, John’s first instinct in all things is to fight back, even when he’s clearly outmatched by his alien captors. This instinct extends not just to his defiance at being thrown into a cell, right when he’s at the peak of the war no less, but also to his determination to find a way out of the cell and to his initial militant attitude towards his cell-mate, the timid and terrified Bree Tristan. While John is a combat veteran who has fought on the front lines of the war for so long that he hasn’t actually been back to Earth in years, Brie is a cadet (second class) from Europa base who has only ever flown and fought in training missions. Captured during the “second Europa raid”, Brie estimates that she has been imprisoned and tortured for about three months and has been by herself for some time after her commander, Hartley, a much older and physically impaired man, died some time ago. She’s been kept there, in the dark and alone, ever since; forced to scavenge for food by chasing after the odd little rubbery parasites her captors toss to her and having lost all track of time and hope, Brie’s state of mind is only further fractured by the horrific experiments the aliens have been conducting on her as they have been routinely grafting their skin and DNA onto her body into an effort to physically transform her into one of them!

*While John is determined to escape back to the fight, Brie is overcome by the futility of it all.*

While Brie is off getting tortured, John busies himself exploring every inch of their cell, which is home to a pool of acid-like liquid and a curious red vegetation that seems more than a little inspired by the works of H. G. Wells. Although the diamond-hard walls cannot be breached, John is able to climb them to a barred ventilation shaft in the ceiling, through which he can hear the screams and desperate cries of Brie (and other humans) being tortured. After fashioning a cutting tool from a shard of the rock, John sets to work using all of his strength and free time trying to cut through the bars in the ceiling; although Brie is wracked by pain and despair at her condition, John offers her hope not only in his discovery but in giving her physical comfort. Having been caught up in the conflict, Brie has lived without love and passion or the touch of another, and derives much solace and comfort from even John’s hesitant attempts to console her. While Brie desperately tries to cling on the love and believes it’s what separates humanity from their enemy, John has been consumed by hatred; he is so resolute in his determination to escape that he’s even willing to go down fighting, if need be, but considers this a worst-case scenario. Feeling sympathy for her plight and virginity, having been so caught up in conflict that he has lost touch with the simple pleasures of life, John takes his sexual urges towards Brie and uses them as more motivation to cut through the bars, and pays the price for his stubbornness when his leg is shredded by a ravenous little creature in the vent and his hand is cut off at the wrist when he foolishly tries to keep Brie from being harmed further.

*Brie is distraught as she loses more and more of her humanity and identity to the aliens’ experiments.*

John’s determination stems from a deep-rooted need to get back into the fight because the future of humanity depends upon it; he was excited to deal a decisive blow against the enemy for the first time and to prove that they could be bested, and is angered at being captured right when he’s needed the most. John’s mindset contrasts heavily with Brie’s and both characters provide not only different perspectives on the conflict but to the world-building of this episode; John apparently embodies the single-minded, militaristic focus of those in the thick of the fight, while Brie seems very much against the war. Since John has been fighting pretty much non-stop for the last four years, he hasn’t seen what’s become of the Earth; Brie has however, and horror stories of a world turned into a police state, churning out munitions and training soldiers in a constant cycle to feed the war effort. John, however, remains adamant that humanity will come out of the war stronger than ever; he believes that the conflict will unite humankind, ending their petty squabbles and political and racial differences, to come together as one unified race. Forced into service by a standardised test and lacking John’s passion for the fight, Brie is ashamed to admit that she caved under torture and spilled everything she knew to spare herself further pain (though, as a mere cadet and a trainer, neither she nor Hartley had no information of real value) and she doesn’t share John’s fighting attitude or confidence that their enemy can be defeated. Of course, her will is only further sapped by the continual experiments and violations she suffers at the hands of their captors; the alien skin grafts cause her incredible physical pain and cannot be forcibly removed, despite John’s best efforts. Brie is taken away again and again, changing a little more each time, and her sense of identity and humanity degrade a little more each time she returns. At first, the graft is simply a leathery, reptilian wound on her arm but, soon, her entire back is converted into a sickening alien flesh and part of her face is lost to the aliens’ appalling visage.

*John’s determination sees him gravely injured, but his resolve is shattered by Brie’s devastating revelation.*

With Brie’s transformations becoming more and more severe, and John’s injuries effectively crippling any minor chance they had at escape, the two begin to realise that their options have become severely limited. With a heavy heart, John admits that he can’t fulfil his promise; earlier, Brie talked about how she and Hartley had planned to commit suicide but he was too weak to go through with it and she was too scared, and sadly John is unable to bring himself to put her out of his misery due to how attached to her he has become. Still, Brie is grateful that John was able to give her a brief, shining moment of hope for herself and for humanity and, with the end in sight, John tries one last time to comfort her with the knowledge that, although it may be the end for them, humanity will live on. John reveals that the UNDF has been feigning defeat and have held back a massive armada of their strongest fighters on the far side of the Sun, which were due to launch a devastating attack on the alien home world thirty days before John was captured. He fully believes that this desperate military strike will be a turning point in the war, and enough to strike a crippling blow against the enemy even though the two of them won’t live to see it, but he is left screaming in despair when Brie drops a bombshell of her own. When the alien jailer (McCracken) returns once more, Brie willingly goes to it and reveals that she was being changed back into one of them, thus exposing herself as a sleeper agent who has manipulated John into revealing humanity’s greatest military secret and assumedly dooming the human race to destruction.

The Summary:
“Quality of Mercy” is one of a handful (something like six to eight) episodes of The Outer Limits that really stuck with me, both as a kid when I first watched it and now, later in life. I remember enjoying this episode so much, being so influenced by it, that I plagiarised it for a short story assignment at secondary school! Although the episode is pretty much confined to one rather uninspiring location (an alien prison cell that looks to have taken a leaf out of Star Trek’s (1966 to 1969) playbook) and only really feature three character’s, its themes of human determination, and naivety, beautifully summed up as always by the narrator (or “Control Voice”; Kevin Conway): “Men of war have long known that warriors must often abandon those verities they defend. Peace, human kindness, love…for they hold no meaning to the enemy. And so, to win, do we become what we despise…and despise what we become? In the darkest of hours…in the greatest of battles…we must never forget who, or what, we are.“

*The aliens are mysterious, physically imposing, and sadistic war-like race who have humanity endangered.*

Although they’re not given a name, we are told quite a few things about the alien force that has imprisoned our main characters. They are a war-like race with little compassion and, though they can apparently understand human language and speak it through a machine, they have no understanding of concepts like “mercy”; they treat their prisoners like rats to be observed, forcibly experimented on, and dissected to learn more about their ways and their enemy. They seem oddly curious about human beings; they left Commander Hartley’s body in the cell with Brie for some time as if expecting her to do something with it (and John suspects that they eat their dead) and were fascinated by the differences between male and female bodies and sexual organs. Brie recounts with disgust and dismay how they forced her to strip down and violated her with probes and instruments, and of course she is horrified at the continued alterations being made to her body by their experiments. The aliens are depicted as huge, armoured creatures that tower over and physically dominate their captors, despite John’s best efforts to fight them back and, though we don’t see their forces in this episode, we do here many a horror story from John about how the alien’s ships have decimated humanity’s forces and proved to be a high-unconquerable enemy. And yet, despite Brie trying to encourage John to partake of the limited sustenance the aliens provide and talk him out of the futility of trying to escape or discover some weakness in their captors, John’s resolve remains absolute and steadfast His immediate focus is on learning the layout of their cell, figuring out how observed they are, and gathering as much information as he possibly can about where they are and what options are available to him, and he continually shouts defiance to his captors, taunting them with the revelation that he personally destroyed on of their capital ships and remaining adamant that they aren’t as indestructible as they immediately seem.

*John’s desperation to give Brie hope may very well have doomed humanity to total destruction.*

In the end, “Quality of Mercy” is a harrowing tale of desperation, deceit, and determination; John and Brie couldn’t be two more different, contrasting characters and they react to their hopeless situation in wildly different ways that both define and alter their characters and add to the intriguing lore of this world. Set in a future where humanity has been locked in an interstellar war for so long that Earth’s entire society has changed to become entirely focused on producing weapons, soldiers, and ships for the conflict and hatred for their aggressive, uncompromising alien enemy has become the norm, over-riding compassion, love, and the simple pleasures of life. John embodies this perfectly, being a good soldier who is frothing at the mouth to get back out there and fight, whether it means his death or not, and is defiant right up until the moment where he realises that the only way out is suicide. Of course, the most memorable moment of this episode is the shocking twist ending; this blew my mind as a kid, and I really think the episode does a great job of building up to this reveal as Brie is so timid and frightened and clinging to her humanity with everything she has and is positioned as an innocent victim of horrendous torture. The slow degradation of her body is juxtaposed with her failing hope for the future of humanity, and every action John takes is geared towards restoring that hope and finding a way out, and a way to fight! Ultimately, however, he is just another pawn manipulated by a superior alien force; the final shot of him screaming in hopeless defiance is extremely powerful and has stuck with me for decades. I’ve always enjoyed the bleak twist endings that closed out many episodes of The Outer Limits, and “Quality of Mercy” is easily one of the best for that thanks to how strong the two lead’s performances are and how well the episode uses every bit of its limited budget and run time.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Have you ever seen “Quality of Mercy” or the 1995 revival of The Outer Limits? If so, what did you think to it and what were some of your favourite episodes? Did you see the twist coming or were you as shocked as I was when I first saw this episode? What are some other stories of alien transformation and conflict that you enjoy? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to sign up and leave a comment below or leave a reply on my social media, and be sure to check back in next week for the conclusion of Sci-Fi Sunday.

Back Issues [Sci-Fanuary]: Total Recall

22/01/202312/11/2023Dr. K1 Comment

Story Title: Total Recall
Published: May 2011 to August 2011
Writer: Vince Moore
Artist: Cezar Razek

The Background:
Total Recall (Verhoeven, 1990) was the blockbuster adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1966 short story, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. Though an extremely expensive production, Total Recall was a critical success and widely regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction/action movies of all time. Total Recall’s success led to a number of adaptations, including a videogame and even a somewhat-tangentially-related television series, Total Recall 2070 (1999). While Minority Report (Spielberg, 2002) began life as a sequel to Total Recall, we wouldn’t see an actual follow-up to the sci-fi classic until over twenty years after the film’s release when Dynamite Entertainment acquired the license and produced this four-issue miniseries that picked up immediately where the film ended.

The Review:
As mentioned, “Total Recall” begins right where the movie left off with no question about whether the film’s events were real or a delusion of hero Douglas Quaid; Mars is now home to a breathable atmosphere, effectively turning it into a smaller version of Earth. Quaid still struggles a bit with his sense of identity and self, since everything that has transpired is exactly as specified by Rekall, Inc., and, while he is grateful to be alive, he questions what is next for him now that his “Ego Trip” has reached its conclusion. While Mars administrator Vilos Cohaagen dead, his forces are still as loyal as ever and not only open fire on Quaid and his love interest (and member of the rebels), Melina, but also launch an all-out assault on the rebels of Venusville. There, they reunite with fellow rebels Thumbelina and Tony, that latter of which remains frosty and distrustful of Quaid (whom he continuously calls “Hauser”) and tries to attack him for his part in the death of the rebel leader, Kuato.

*Quaid overcomes his identity crisis by becoming a mediator for peace.*

Tired of all the fighting and discord, Quaid opts to go against Tony’s advice and dive into gunfire to appeal to Captain Everett in the hopes of brokering a truce between the warring forces. While Everett reluctantly agrees to stand his troops down on the proviso that Quaid can convince the rebels to do the same, he also reveals that, with Cohaagen and Kuato both dead, anarchy is breaking out all over Mars and that Cohaagen’s two children, Milos and Vila, are set to arrive and act as the new administrators of the planet. Milos and Vila vow to continue the mining of “Turbinium” (or “Terbinium”; both spellings are used at various points) and to improve the quality of life on Mars while still supporting the war effort back on Earth but it doesn’t take long before the killing and terrorist acts flare up again and the two are reinstating martial law across the planet. Additionally, the mutants of Venusville are suffering from an inexplicable, fatal disease of sorts that claims the life of Eva, the young mutant girl who told Quaid’s fortune in the film and who mutters, with her dying breath, a warning that “the Martians are coming”.

*Mars gets new administrators, but conflict is rife as Quaid uncovers more Martian tech.*

Tensions flare between Tony and Quaid once more over Eva’s death and the unexplained deaths of other mutants all across the Martian colony, which Tony is quick to pin on the Cohaagens. Quaid, however, speculates that Mars’ new atmosphere may be responsible and resists Tony’s rallying call for the rebels to take up arms against the administrators. Quaid’s pleas fall on stubborn, deaf, and frightened ears, however, and Mars is once again thrown into bloody and violent conflict, which only escalates when the Cohaagens respond by cutting off the water supply to know-rebel areas of the planet. The result is many people protest at being tarnished with the same brush, many other die, and the Mars military relentlessly hunt down and kill or arrest any rebels and mutants they come across. Quaid is, however, able to buy the rebels of Venusville time to get them to some kind of safety by pleading with one of the army’s sergeants (who know that Quaid, the muscle-bound action hero who never reloaded his gun once, was such a diplomat?) Still, Quaid is preoccupied with the continued warning about the “Martians” and heads back to the Pyramid Mines in hopes of finding some kind of answers.

*The arrival of the Martians throws Mars into further chaos!*

There, he discovers another gigantic, ancient Martian machine and a mutant named Q’d, who bares a striking similarity of Quaid and keeps repeating: “The Martians are coming. I must prepare the way”. Fearing what the machine could unleash if activated (much like Cohaagen in the film, it has to be said), Quaid attacks but is soundly overwhelmed by the man, who activates “the second machine” to “[preserve] the Mar on Mars” by covering it in vegetation and, in response, the Martians return to their planet. The Martians’ arrival causes a great deal of fear and concern amongst everyone on both Mars and Earth; still, M’s’s, the enigmatic spokesperson of the Martians’ assures them that they come in peace and that their intentions are to help humans and mutants alike find their place on Mars. Milos, however, is concerned that the moss is a threat to their position of power on the planet and his desire to seek revenge against Quaid for killing their father, with all the fighting and bloodshed merely being a minor concern against that goal and the mining of Turbinum. Vila, however, doesn’t share this same sentiment and actually conspires against her brother’s machinations in order to make the most of her inheritance.

*Richter makes a surprise appearance…only to be defeated almost immediately.*

Quaid is largely nonplussed about the appearance of Martians (which is a bit odd and contradictory considering he was so dead-set on finding out what Eva’s warning meant just a few pages earlier…) as there are lives at stake from the mysterious fatal affliction striking down the mutants. Tony, however, remains unconvinced about his intentions and desire to track down the root cause of it all, and mass rioting breaks out, forcing the Cohaagens to turn to Quaid for help regarding their common interests. Although Quaid is able to track down Q’d, believing him to be the key to solving all of the recent problems on Mars, he is once again bested in combat and then ambushed by Richter! Having somehow survived his plummet, and his sporting mechanical arms, Richter chokes Q’d and then attacks Melina in revenge for her part in Lori’s death. However, Richter allows his emotions to get the better of him and is easily dispatched when Quaid rams into him with a digger and sends him plummeting down a canyon, wasting all of our time in the process.

*The mutants recover from their illness just in time for the military to prepare to destroy the colony!*

However, Quaid is unable to stop Q’d from activating the final Martian machine, bringing water to the Red Planet and causing both Martians sudden appear all over the planet and, in the process, mass panic. The illness that had crippled and killed the mutants suddenly has the opposite effect, imbuing them incredible physical strength and vitality, although M’s’s states that this as an unintended side effect as the Martian machines weren’t built to consider their effect on mutants. In response to the Martian “invasion”, Admiral Nimitz of the Northern Block assumes command of the Martian colony and orders the army to open fire on the Martians. Using psionic powers, the Martians are able to shield themselves from harm but many innocent people are killed in the fracas; this time, Captain Everett refuses to listen to Quaid’s pleas and the two brawl before Everett is ordered to cease his attack anyway. Much to the outrage of the Cohaagens, Nimitz plans to attack the colony with the Reagan space weaponry platform in order to cleanse the aliens in one move.

*Quaid once again saves Mars from destruction and commits to his perception of reality.*

Enraged at having his birthright taken from him, Milos ventures out with a gun to kill M’s’s and, when he saves the Martian’s life, Quaid. Luckily for Quaid, Milos is a terribly shot and Quaid is easily able to disarm him, though Milos refuses to co-operate with him. Vila, however, is much more co-operative and allows Quaid to take their private shuttle to the weapons platform to shut it down before it can fire. During all that drama, M’s’s drones on and on to Melina about how the Martians foresaw everything that transpired in the film (and this comic…though apparently not the mutants…?) and set in motion everything Quaid would need to bring life to Mars as recompense for the Martians’ previous destructive ways. Joined by Q’d, Quaid and Melina fight their way through the space station’s marines all while cracking jokes and quips. Still, Quaid manages to hit the abort button and save Mars once again. In the aftermath, the Cohaagens remain in control of the colony (and Milos begrudgingly abandons his vendetta against Quaid), the beginnings of co-operation and communication are forged between the military and the Martians, and the story ends with Quaid not really caring if it had all been a dream and just making out with Mileena.

The Summary:
As I mentioned in my review of the film,Total Recall is one of my all-time favourite movies; it’s action-packed, thought-provoking, and features some of the most impressive practical effects ever put to film. The film’s complex themes of identity and reality are matched only by how elaborate he sets and animatronics are and the film is almost the perfect balance of action, humour, and intrigue. I could honestly watch it every day and talk about it for hours and never get tired of it; the nostalgia and influence of it is that strong for me.

*The comic’s pacing is all over the place and bogged down by exposition!*

It’s a shame then that this comic book continuation is so mind-numbingly dull and boring! For a comic that is a follow-up to Total Recall, there is so much exposition crammed into every page, every speech bubble and text box, and even during fights! Exposition and world-building was delivered at an easy-to-digest pace in the film but, here, characters go on and on and on about basically nothing and it’s much more a tale of diplomacy than an action-packed thrill-ride. Quaid, especially, suffers from this; given that he (somewhat…) resembles Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s really weird trying to imagine the Austrian Oak spouting as much dialogue as his comic-book counterpart does. His speech patterns are so not-Arnold that it’s almost to the point of parody and I never pegged Quaid, a man who was bored by his mundane existence and relished the idea of being a secret agent, to be the voice of reason!

*Melina gets very few moments to shine and may as well not even be in this mess of a story…*

Other returning characters equally suffer; Melina may as well not even be in the story since she does so little and Tony’s animosity towards Quaid, while somewhat understandable, is comically exaggerated to the point where he dismisses any suggestion that isn’t all-out war. It was a nice surprise to see Richter make a reappearance but it was an absolute waste of time and effort as he basically has no impact on the story at all (his role could easily have been fulfilled by an extended fight sequence with Q’d). As for the introduction of Martians…I mean, what? Obviously the film hinted that Martians existed but actually seeing them was a bit jarring, as was Q’d’s inexplicable resemblance to Quaid (that I don’t think was explained…?) and the fact that they, too, basically did nothing. Again, it would have been a lot easier to have them be a long dead society whose technology is appropriated by humans, or the Cohaagens, or whatever rather than having them wander about making speeches and disappearing for huge chunks of the story.

*Quaid often gets his ass handed to him in the comic’s few fight scenes.*

It’s a shame as there are some glimmers of enjoyment to be had here; when the action actually picks up, it’s pretty fun and exciting but a lot of it eventually falls flat because the art really isn’t very good at all and Quaid is constantly being bested in combat. I suppose this has some resemblance to the film as Quaid did struggle when fighting Lori (Sharon Stone) and Richter (Michael Ironside) but I would argue that was mainly due to him being attacked when he was unprepared. Here, he often has the upperhand against much smaller foes, like Milos, and still struggles to hold his own; many of his fights end anti-climatically as a result and the whole thing just feels like a massive waste of everyone’s time as it does a pretty terrible job of continuing Total Recall’s story or paying homage to one of the greatest sci-films of all time.

My Rating:

Terrible

Have you ever read Dynamite Entertainment’s Total Recall comics? If so, what did you think to them? Did you feel like the story was a good way to continue the movie or, like me, were you disappointed at how boring, clunky, and unappealing it was? What did you think to the introduction of Martians to the plot and Richter’s sudden reappearance? Do you think the events of the film, and the comic, were all real or were they just Quaid’s delusion? Leave your thoughts about Total Recall, whatever form it takes, in the comments below and check back in next week as Sci-Fi Sunday continues.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Could Be Better

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My Rating:

Could Be Better

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Fantastic

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My Rating:

Terrible

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