Seeing first-run movies - without slurping them from the Web as a succession of isolated datoids - is something that doesn’t really happens.
When we got in the day before for the Tournament, then, and there was nothing to require our grim attentions, I saw not one but two movies because God Dammit there are movies out, and I’m fi’in to watch up on some of them. I saw Bridesmaids after dinner, a movie which should and must be seen; I saw X-Men: First Class not one hour after we landed. I did not like it, but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t know if I’ve laughed harder at any time this year.
That sounds churlish, and I ain’t wanna be churlin’. I’m genuinely grateful for any opportunity to feel joy, and if I happen to have found that in the sheltered place between their intentions and their execution, I’m no less obliged. There are many great individual moments, a genuinely well-drawn relationship at the core, and then a lot of “what” and occasionally some “i don’t even.”
The writing process for this strip was fraught with peril. When I suggested a character called Hindsight, Gabriel suggested that I was returning to the Hindsight Well; I’m not sure such a well exists. I also suggested a fourth hero, The Visible Man, whose "ability" is that he is incredibly easy to see. Like, really easy. He said no. It is in this way that a great house approaches dissolution.
Trying to seize the tiller on this E3 news has all the danger and excitement of wrestling a firehose to Earth. We are trying to absorb it, even as we rapidly approach saturation, and still we return. I can tell you what I think is most interesting, so far:
- That the support class in Battlefield 3 can lay down “suppressing fire” that blurs enemy vision.
- Cryptic (of all people) is trying to bring back Neverwinter.
- Cloud Saving is coming to the Xbox, which is good, but more importantly it’s connected to portability for the Gamertag itself. It’s one of the biggest problems with their methodology. Good riddance.
- Nintendo were very careful to suggest that the new controller for WiiU was not a game system, which was interesting to me. We’ve certainly used game systems as controllers for their systems in the past, notably in two separate versions of Crystal Chronicles. It felt like genius when we were doing it in 2003, and a controller with private screen in it is a thing of power. Asymmetrical data allows for all kinds of weird, inherently surprising gameplay. I can’t wait to see more.
- To the best of my knowledge, Xbox 360 players aren’t allowed to play with PS3 players on shared networks, even those run by third parties (such as those for EA’s Battlefield or Sports titles). That should have been a dead giveaway years ago that Dust 514 was going to be an exclusive, all that was left to be determined was exclusive to who.
- Vanillaware’s 2D is, once again, shaming their competitor’s 3D. It’s like, what are you even doing with your extra D, jerks? Maybe we should hold that extra D in reserve for you, like a trust, until you are ready.
(CW)TB out.
