Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Return Review

In the not too distant past, there was a TV series called Mystery Science Theater 3000. The series followed Joel (later Mike) and the robots Tom Servo, Crow, and Gypsy on the Satellite of Love. Placed there by the “Mads”, they are subjected to bad and cheesy movies that they “riff”, or make jokes about, to keep their sanity. Lasting almost ten years and three channels, it gained a following and became a cult classic. After 17 years, and the power of Netflix and Kickstarter, Mystery Science Theater 3000 has returned for an eleventh season.

The eleventh season picks up many years after the original. While on a mission for Gizmonic Institute, spaceship pilot Jonah Heston is captured by Kinga Forrester, daughter of Dr. Forrester and granddaughter of Pearl, and TV’s son of TV’s Frank, otherwise known as Max. He is sent onto the rebuilt SoL to resume the experiments. Kinga, instead of taking over the world, drives to make money (and sell the brand to Disney for a billion dollars). After the first episode, there is not much of a story until the later episodes when it becomes more serialized. The story works well and never takes itself too seriously. It all works well and ends on a great cliffhanger.

The main pull of the series is the movies and their subsequent riffs. The movies in the season are a great mix, containing a good mix of monster, fantasy and sci-fi films. The riffs always vary have a good mix of inside jokes from previous episodes ( “Watch out for snakes!”), various pop culture references, and comments about the film’s actors, story, or effects. One of my favorite small changes is that Gypsy will pop in at the theater and offer a few riffs of her own. About four times during the movie, Jonah and the bots will leave the theatre and do a host segment. These sections often involve a small skit relating to the film and can vary from a rap about world-wide monsters to a visit from one of the many travelers of space. These are very creative and almost always provide a laugh.

The performances in the series are great. Jonah Ray is a satisfactory host, bringing great comedy to the performance, while also carving ut his own style from Joel or Mike. Felicia Day and Patton Oswalt are great as Kinga and Max, creating believable performances and clearly having fun with the role. The voices of Crow and Tom Servo, although they take some time to get used to (since they are different voice actors) are also pretty good. There are also some special guest stars that appear that are great.

I can say I really enjoyed the new season. The riffs and sketches were funny and the characters great. The actors and actresses were also satisfying in their performance. Although I had only recently become a Mystery Science Theater fan, I was satisfied and cannot wait for the next season.  

 

Yooka-Laylee Review

In the 1990’s the 3D platformer was king. With the emergence of 3D technology onto the videogame world, every developer wanted a go at it. This time period brought us the likes of Spyro, Donkey Kong 64, Super Mario 64 and the numerous catalogue of games from Rare. Rare was the king of the 3D platformer, bring such classics as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. After disappearing for many years and through the power of Kickstarter, the 3D platformer has made a return to store shelves in the form of Yooka-Laylee. Is it a great revival of a dead genre or does it just wallow in the past?

The story of Yooka-Laylee follows Yooka (an anthropomorphic lizard) and Laylee (a bat). The evil tycoon Capital B has been stealing books from all the worlds, looking for a special book. The special book is in the ownership of the main characters, and the book is taken. As the book is being taken the pages become scattered around the different worlds. Wanting their book back and to defeat Capital B, Yooka and Laylee must travel to the different worlds and collect the pages.

The gameplay consists of the titular characters traveling to different worlds and collecting the quills and pages hidden. The pages can be gathered in different ways. The duo participates in races, in platforming challenges, and defeats enemies in order to collect pages. Along with quills and pages, there are other things to collect. Each, of the worlds, has five ghost writers, who had written in the special book and require different tactics to catch each of them. There are Mollycools, an item that allows the pair to transform and collect more pages. There is also a hidden playcoin that allows the player to play a special minigame in each world. There are also hidden health and stamina upgrades. When the player collects enough pages, the player has a choice. The player can either expand the current world, bringing in more collectables, or open up the next world. This leads to a great progression where the player can chose either to move on to the next world or expand and spend more time in the current world. One criticism I have for the world's though is that they are very big. To some this may be a positive aspect but when you are just looking for those last ten quills it can be a bit frustrating.

One of the defining traits in the 3D platformer and this game are the characters. The stars of the games have their own personality traits. Yooka is more sensible and is willing to help, while Laylee is rough and really only cares about collecting pages. The main baddie Capital B is a mean dude and will often taunt the player as they travel around the hub world. The polygonal dinosaur, Rextro, has an affinity for classic arcade games and can be found in each world with a special arcade machine. The scientist Dr. Puzz is able to use her D.N.Ray and Mollycool to transform the duo. There are also individual NPC’s that only show up in their own world, as snowmen in the ice world and a special guest in the first world. Along with all the other non- playable characters are the enemies. Sadly the enemy variety is lacking there are really only three main enemy types and each are discovered before the third world. One of the most important characters in the game is the snake, Trowzer. This snake in an adventure hat and shorts is found in all of the different worlds and has a very important role. Trowzer gives the player more moves.

Moves are one of the most important parts of the game. For a certain amount of quills Trowzer will teach the player a new move. These moves vary, from one that allows the players to fly for a limited time, to one that uses Yooka’s tail as a spring, to one that creates a bubble and allows the pair to walk underwater. When traveling through the worlds, the amount of moves that are able to be obtained steadily increases. This helps the progression, as it encourages the search for quills. After the last move is acquired, the quills have no use and are only really collected for collection's sake.

Another different part of the game are the minigames. Rextro has an arcade where the player can play eight different minigames. Five of these are themed to the different worlds and can be found in their world. These are a nice distraction, but are not as polished as the main game. There are also minecart sections. The players can come across the cart “Kartos” and participate in 2D minecart sections, similar to the Donkey Kong Country series. Like the minigames, these are best as a distraction and don't contribute much to the game.

The soundtrack is alright but there are no memorable tracks. The sound effects are pretty good and fit well with the cartoon visuals. One sound effect that is a bit divisive are the sounds the characters make. In typical Rare fashion, the characters speak in repeated garble of various pitches. This may be grating to some people, but personally I was not bothered by it.

Over ten hours later, I can say I have enjoyed my time with Yooka-Laylee. Even with its faults, I found the gameplay to be very fun. I enjoyed its progression system and its style. Even though there are good things and bad things, I recommend Yooka-Laylee. It is a great spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie and a great collectathon.

Beauty and the Beast Review

It's a tale as old as time and a song as old as a rhyme. In continuing with their recent trend of adapting older properties in live action, Disney has adapted their 1991 animated musical Beauty and the Beast. Starring such talent as Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast, is it a great new spin on an old tale or should it have been lost to time?

Beauty and the Beast follows Belle (Emma Watson) as she lives her life in France. She is a bit of a social outcast, due to her love of books, and is constantly hounded for marriage by the village tough guy Gaston (Luke Evans). Her father disappears, and it is discovered he is being held by the Beast (Dan Stevens) at his castle.  Belle finds her father at the castle and tricks him into letting her take his place as a prisoner. She steadily forms a relationship with the “people” in the castle, taking a special interest in the beast, and a romance blooms. The story follows many of the same beats as the original, though this is not just a beat-by-beat remake of the original. Some new scenes have been added to flesh out the story, but it is debateable whether or not they were really needed.

Much of the music in the film are classic songs from the original musical. These mainly translate well to live action, with songs like “Be Our Guest”. A bit strangely, some new songs are added to the film, and although they are not bad, they break the pacing a bit and have no real reason to be in the movie. The singing is also alright. Emma Watson's singing voice is good, but it is not as suitable as Paige O’Hara’s voice. Luke Evans’ voice is great, especially in his main song, “Gaston.”

The visuals of the film are also pretty standard. Nothing in the visuals truly pops out. The living furniture and household items, although they look good, are the type of computer generated imagines seen from Disney before. The makeup and costume design are very good. The Beast was very well done and benefits from using a practical costume and effects to give him his look and makes him seem  realistic.

Beauty and the Beast is a passable film. Nothing in the remake truly stands out that improves the original. The visuals are just okay. The music ranges from good to passable. If you enjoy Disney's live action films so far or just have a love for Disney, you could get into it, but I was not able to truly enjoy it.

La La Land Review

In the Hollywood realm, there is always a lot of nostalgia for films past. Many films strive to be just remakes or continuations of classic films, and not many try to capture the feel of them, while also creating something new. The film La La Land attempts to capture the feel of a classic hollywood musical, such as Singing in the Rain. The biggest question about it is if it is able to, while also being accessible for the current generation of film. Luckily, it does.  

The story follows Sebastian, a jazz pianist wanting to start his own club, and Mia, an aspiring actress, as they meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The story of the film is wonderful, and although the story has some of the romance movie cliches, the writing and a bittersweet ending make up for it.There are many high points and even when the film slows down, they are not low points as everything builds the characters, from visiting a jazz club to them living together. The main characters in the film are also great, with them being written like real humans with ups and downs. Part of the films greatness can be attributed to director Damien Chazelle, who shows his passion for Jazz music and the classic films La La Land is inspired by.

Emma Stone is wonderful as Mia, bringing the passion and real emotion to the character, along with a great singing voice. Ryan Gosling is also wonderful, playing Sebastian greatly and showing his hidden musical talent (all the piano pieces he plays, are truly him playing). The film also features John Legend in one of his first acting roles, and for a beginner he does fairly well.

The music of the film is also great. The songs are great with standouts being “City of Stars” and “Another Day of Sun”. The score is also wonderful, with there being great tunes and an astonishing seven minute piece near the end of the film.

La La Land was wonderful. It is able to fully capture the magic of old-school musical cinema, while also bringing it into the 21st century. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling both shine, the music is great and I cannot recommend La La Land enough.

A Kings Tale: Final Fantasy XV Review

Over the last several months, Square Enix has been on a big marketing push for Final Fantasy XV. There has been a mobile app, anime series, and a film. Finally, a few months after the release of Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix released the last part of their marketing plan, A King's Tale. Originally a pre-order bonus, it has now been released for free on Xbox and Playstation.   

The story of the game follows King Regis as he tells his son, Noctis, a fictionalized story thirty years into the past. It mainly serves as a framework for the gameplay. The gameplay of A King’s Tale is very similar to the classic beat em up games of the arcade era. The main character, Regis, advances throughout the stages defeating monsters using a variety of attacks. There is a quick, heavy, and shield attack; and it is up to the player to string these into powerful combos. Throughout the journey, Regis gains magic, that have light, medium, and heavy variations, that can quickly turn the tide of battle. Through the game Regis will join forces with some of his friends and after building a combo, be able to summon them to help out in battle.

The controls are very responsive. During my playtime, I found no lag between when I pushed the button and the action was on screen. The sound design is also very good. The retro inspired soundtrack works well for the game, although none of them stand out. My one main complaint is on the game screen the players and enemies health bar is seen, but the enemies health is often difficult to see as it blends in with the background.

A King’s Tale works well for a little side bonus. It has fun gameplay and responsive controls. Although the health bar problem bugged me, I can still say overall that I enjoyed my time with A King’s Tale.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Season 1) Review

“If you are interested in stories with happy endings, then you would be better off somewhere else.” With these words begins A Series of Unfortunate Events, the newest adaptation of the bestselling book series. This time around though, the series has moved to television instead of film. Using a stellar script, amazing cast, and good visuals, A Series of Unfortunate Events is a great adaptation that can be loved by fans of the series and non-series fans alike.   

The story follows the journey of the Baudelaire children going from caretaker to caretaker after their parents died in a fire and left behind an enormous fortune. They begin in the care of Count Olaf, a wicked man after their fortune, but end up going from one person to another, trying to get away from Count Olaf. Throughout their journey, they start to learn more about the secrets their parents had and a secret organization in which they were members. The series is able to expertly capture the feeling of the first four books, often times bringing in exact lines from the books. Throughout the story, Lemony Snicket will appear to provide a transition, an aside, or a dictionary definition. These sections are often highlights of episodes, whether he is talking about fear, optimists, or warning the viewer not to continue watching. The story is elevated by the script, expertly blending the darkness and humor of the series, while also keeping it accessible for people who have never read the series.

The story is also enhanced by the characters. Violet and Klaus are smart characters who use their wits to get out of trouble, along with Sunny who often provides her sharp teeth and humorous comments. One of the best characters has to be the villain, Count Olaf. He is ruthless, cunning and is not afraid to kidnap, steal, and murder to get his way. Many of the adults are often clueless to the plight of the Baudelaire’s, and although they often don't believe them, there is genuine concern for their well-being.

The characters are enhanced by their actors. Neil Patrick Harris shines as Count Olaf. He expertly shows the cruelty and hate of the man and although it was strange to see him at first, since he is a recognizable actor, he quickly is able to become the character. Patrick Warburton is great as Lemony Snicket, bringing a great presence and the dry wit needed. Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes each greatly play Violet and Klaus respectively, creating instant presences on the screen. K. Todd Freeman, is also good as the coughing Mr. Poe, showing his general cluelessness and care.

The visuals are pretty great. The set design works well for all the locations, such as the different houses their guardians live. The costume design is able to keep the ambiguous time period intact. The CGI, computer generated image, is mainly where the series stumbles. Many of the times when CGI is used, especially on Sunny, it is easy to tell it is fake, mainly due to how rubbery it looks. Although this is understandable on a TV budget, it still temporarily takes the viewer out of the series.

The series’ soundtrack is very well done. It uses melodies well fit and enhances what is seen on screen. One of the best surprises is the songs that are sung throughout it. Don't worry though, it is not a musical, but there are two songs sung ( not including the theme). These songs are the highlight of their respective episodes, the first and last episode and don't feel out of pace in the series.   

A Series of Unfortunate Events is an awesome series. It is able to accurately tell the story of the books while also expanding. The actors and actresses play their roles very well. Even though the CGI is a bit shaky, A Series of Unfortunate Events is able to rise above many others and be a great book adaptation and a great series.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Review

        Continuing my journey of playing through the original Layton trilogy,  I played the second game in the series, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

        The story follows Professor Layton and his assistant Luke on a journey the find the Elysian Box, after Layton's mentor is found dead and the box gone. They board a train and become wrapped up in the mystery of the box. They eventually arrive in a city where the true story and events begin Even though I'm a sucker for train stories, I found the story to be incredible, with satisfying twists and turns and a great ending that tugged on my heart-strings.

        The game-play is mostly the same from the previous entry with the player pointing and tapping on the screen to travel and interact with objects along with solving puzzles. The puzzle variety is much better around this time, with there being less number puzzles and more using the capabilities of the DS, especially the last puzzle.

       The art style continues to be gorgeous. The hand drawn backgrounds shine and the animated cutscenes continue to be a high point.

       I loved Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. The story was a deep and satisfying tale, beautifully told by the cutscenes. the puzzles were satisfying and felt more fair this time.  Hearing about how Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is the best game in the series, I am super excited to experience it.   

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Review

After the critically and commercial return of the Star Wars saga with The Force Awakens, and another year for Episode VIII, Rogue One has been made to fill the gap between the years. The movie takes place between Episode III and Episode IV, a time period that hasn't been told in the Star Wars films.

As stated the film takes place between Episode III and IV and follows Jyn Erso and a group of rebels as they discover the plans and flaw of the Death Star leading to Episode IV. The story is a bit hard to keep track at first, as many new characters and unknown locations are introduced. Once many of the characters are introduced, the story starts truly rolling. Each of the characters are great in the film with all of them being deep-layered characters. There are also some cameos from the classic Star Wars trilogy including Darth Vader and General Tarkin.

The visuals in the film are fantastic. One, of the best visuals, is the character K-2SO, a robot expertly voiced and motion captured by Alan Tudyk. All the other visuals are great including the planets and the sci-fi weaponry.  

The acting in the film is also well done. Felicity Jones played the role of Jyn Erso well, but doesn't truly show much emotion except in a few scenes. Other actors who played their roles well were Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe, and Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso. A special mention can be made to just how diverse the cast is featuring characters of many ethnicities.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story presents an interesting direction for the future of the Star Wars franchise. It is able to tell its own story and do it fairly well. Based on what was seen, I am looking forward to the in-between stories the franchise will bring in the future.

Rating 4/5

Super Mario Run Review

In the mobile gaming sphere, Nintendo is a relatively new player. They had previously released an app, Miitomo, but it was more of a social app than a game. With the release of Super Mario Run, Nintendo has hit the mobile market with the thing they are best at making, a game. But in the transition has it lost some of the Nintendo shine or is it a bright star showing Nintendo’s mobile future?

The game-play of Super Mario Run is divided into three sections. The first section is World Tour. This section is the most like other mainline Mario games. Princess Peach had been kidnapped (once again) and it is up to Mario to rescue her. He must travel through twenty-four levels to rescue the princess. In these levels you can also collect pink coins, that after collecting them all will allow you to collect purple coins, then black coins. The coins add a bit of replay value to the levels, and some are quite difficult to obtain. This section is great, although it lacks the typical eight worlds of many Mario games. This also brings up the game's biggest point against it. To unlock World 1-4 and the rest of the levels, it is required to pay $9.99. This price is simply way too expensive for a mobile game, especially when it is just a simple runner game and there are many other cheaper alternatives.

The second section is Toad Rally. In this mode, players race against other players to gain coins and Toads. The players run an infinite loop on a course, many inspired by levels in World Tour, using flashy moves to gain the favor of toads and collect coins. At the end of the time limit the two players are compared by the amount of coins gained and by the amount of toads impressed. If the player wins they gain Toads and if they lose, Toads are lost. Out of the three modes, this one is the most engaging.

The last section is Kingdom Builder. After the Mushroom Kingdom is destroyed at the beginning of World Tour, it is up to you to build it back to its former glory. You do this buy using coins earned in World Tour and Toads gained in Toad Rally, to buy buildings and bridges to expand the kingdom. In this mode other characters, such as Yoshi and Luigi can also be gained by buying their houses.

The music and sounds are familiar Mario melodies. Many of the musical tracks are similar to the music of the New Super Mario Bros. series. This is either a point against or a point for it, depending on how you feel about the reused tracks. Some of the different level music, such as the underground/cave theme, are wonderful and are able to bring new life to the repeated tracks. Many of the sound effects are also the typical Mario series sound effects.

Super Mario Run is a good experiment for Nintendo. As their second iOS app, they have expanded to games using their most famous property. They have a great idea on the app, but it is limited by having to pay $9.99.