We are Dom and Ash! We’re a couple living 2.5K miles away from one another that streams video games together. Sometimes we have opinions, and this is where you might find them.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the biggest fan of comic books and superheros and I’m especially uninterested in the movie and TV show adaptations. Now, before you go and try to take away my Nerd Card, let me just explain myself.
Every comic book hero that has gained traction in mainstream media the last few years has had essentially the same story: a reluctant hero with immense responsibility grapples with the choices that come with their powers. They debate between killing or just arresting criminals, struggling with the moral implications of street justice, and keep their secret from their love interest and friends just long enough to create “tension” when the truth is finally revealed.
The reason I love the ridiculous mess that is Doctor Strange is that it completely disregards many of my most hated Super Tropes. Marvel, guilty of many of these tropes in their other movies and shows, broke out of their mould a little when they made this one.
The following few paragraphs will be talking about Marvel’s newest release, Doctor Strange. While it will stay away from any obvious spoilers and specific plot points, I will talk vaguely about the happenings of the movie. Don’t yell at me. If you haven’t watched it, go watch it.
First and foremost, the cast for this movie was incredible. Benedict Cumberbatch as Strange, Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, and Benedict Wong as Wong are certainly the highlights for me. Cumberbatch could not have made a more perfect Strange and he’s framed beautifully by the talented supporting cast.
During the course of the story, characters tend to move through their arcs rather quickly. While this is usually an annoying flaw, the acting prowess shown by people like Cumberbatch and Mordo makes it rather believable.
Like most other superheros, Strange goes through a tragedy before receiving his powers. However, instead of sinking into a period of mourning and self-pity, he is immediately up to the task of moving forward which is a welcomed break from the usual Super Drivel. The one issue I had with his character was that he never really redeemed himself to the people he had personally wronged in the first bit of the movie. At no point during the dark, tragic beginnings of his story did I feel attached to him since he was nothing but a nasty egotist who texts and drives! This was somewhat rectified when his character really progressed during the remaining acts, but again, he never apologized for being an ass.
However, one of the characters Strange wronged ends up being part of one of my favourite formula-breaking bits of the movie. Rachel McAdams’s character, Dr. Christine Palmer, is Strange’s on-again-off-again love interest in the movie and is quickly pulled into the middle of the action when Strange comes to her for help. Our hero is forced to use his powers in front of her and while she is initially startled, she doesn’t waste time being angry or standoffish as most secondary characters tend to in superhero movies. This leads to a rather fun scene where two ethereal fighters battle through a hospital, appearing very much like ghosts to the confused Dr. Palmer. Not only do I praise how the characters were written here, but the scene itself for being so imaginative.
While there are many more examples of how Doctor Strange ignored most of the rules set in place for superhero movies, I’d like to focus on one more main thing and that’s… the ending of the movie… so this might actually be a real spoiler warning. If you haven’t seen Doctor Strange I urge you to flee… shoo! Be gone! Ok? Ok.
“Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain!” The fact that Strange defeats the big-bad not through sheer force but rather a well thought-out, calculated plan is so refreshing. Sure, it’s essentially still a dumb portal in the middle of a largely-populated city, but Strange used his knowledge of spells and his wit to win what would have been an impossible fight. There were no hordes of faceless drones to fight or a last-minute double cross, just Doctor Strange, his two buddies, and a super cool spell. It was a great new way to handle the ending of a Marvel movie that fit the main character’s personality perfectly.
And THAT is why Doctor Strange might be my favourite movie to come out this year. It took some chances, broke some rules, and brought a lot of fresh material to what could have been just another copy/paste addition to the MCU. Oh, and casting Benedict Cumberbatch didn’t hurt it either.
So I made a thing. After finishing Stranger Things I needed to fill the void with something so I chose art xD I don’t normally try to do clean modern stuff, but here’s my first attempt. Hope you guys like it!
A few minutes ago I sat down with 35,000 other nerds and watched the long-awaited Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer on Rockstar’s official Twitch channel. The minute-long teaser showed us some gorgeous shots of nature, some far-away shots of npcs, and a couple shots of what we can only assume to be our protagonist in various places. Then they blew our ears out with the pounding of hooves as seven cowboys rush by on horseback. The chat is suddenly a wall of “Kreygasm” and “MULTIPLAYER!!!!” along with a few unsatisfied critics asking for gameplay, and then... it fades to black and up pops the title screen, promising the game for Fall of next year.
What was an excited crowd of people all collectively watching a trailer for the sequel to an amazing game suddenly became a bloodbath. People were outraged, demanding more footage, more gameplay, more. More. MORE! Some of the viewers went as far as to say we had been “trolled” by Rockstar, as they had tricked us into believing this was a full trailer. Rather than sit as friends and express our excitement for what truly looks like a good game, the community decided to take it the other way and turn this into something ugly.
So instead of focusing on the really gorgeous graphics, the multiplayer with friends, or the incredible open world set in the wild west, let’s talk trailers VS teasers.
There’s plenty of debate about what truly separates trailers from teasers. Some say length, some say content, others don’t give a damn. I am on the side that believes this minute-long video is a teaser, as it gives us nothing but a string of completely unrelated five second long clips for the duration. It gives no hint of story, gameplay, or the characters we’ll come across in our journey. But that’s not a bad thing.
Teasers are meant to stir up excitement and make gamers ask questions and that is exactly what RDR2′s teaser did. It showed us how gorgeous the game was, gave us a time frame of when it’s going to release, and got the hell out of there. While people are demanding more information I don’t think they really remember that this is 2016 and a few months from now we’ll likely be swamped with screenshots, gameplay demos, cinematic trailers, and a plot synopsis.
Rockstar is taking their time. They know people are excited for this title so why give it all away in the first official video? Trailers should be informational and give us a reason to buy a game. Teasers should accumulate intrigue. So for once in your life, gaming community, just be patient!
I realized we haven’t posted many pictures of ourselves, so here are a few :) This weekend I got to meet Ash’s horse, meet a barn dog (Lola), and see leaves starting to change. Apparently that’s what leaves do when you don’t live in California. Oh also, a bonus picture from when Ash came to visit me and we drove to the Grand Canyon.
The first minute is what is important (because im the short black hard banged girl with pink glasses teehee)… jk i got to hang out with these cool people during TwitchCon 2016 @somethinghitdom look them up on twitch if you have an acount, and if you dont have one GET ONE much love pretty-vulture (theogmermaid on twitch)
Hey that’s me! That whole weekend was so much fun, glad we finally got to meet :) also if anyone’s interested, here’s our tumblr @gorillawolf and here is our Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/gorillawolfgaming (I don’t know how to make it a link on mobile -___-)
Viking Squad - The Nearly-Lost Art of 2D Beat 'Em Ups
What happened to all the good 2D Beat ‘Em Up games? The real, couch co-op, button-mashing-combo-wracking-rage-until-your-controller-breaks kind of games? This question was nagging me for quite some time until I had the opportunity to check out a brand new indie game at TwitchCon this year.
TwitchCon 2016 was a crazy journey and I learned a lot and had a whole lot of fun in those three days. During the convention, I roamed the floor until I came across the Indie District where I knew we had found my home. Some of my favourite titles are from indie developers and there’s always some new ideas and old concepts being improved over there. I found, played, and loved a number of the games showcased this year but this article is addressing one in particular and its role in the video game industry.
The game I’m referring to is Viking Squad, and in my opinion, it is answering the question I posed above by almost single-handedly reviving the 2D Beat ‘Em Up genre.
For those of you who don’t know, Viking Squad is a “lane based brawler” from Slick Entertainment that was recently released on Steam. It was made by a core team of three people but it certainly doesn’t show. Everything from the gameplay mechanics to the soundtrack to the art is done professionally and it’s a whole lot of fun to play.
I could spend ages just telling you how much I adore Viking Squad but there’s a bigger matter at hand... and it also happens to be one of the many reasons I love this game. Viking Squad fills a void in the gaming market most developers have been neglecting and that’s the co-op side-scrolling Beat ‘Em Up void. The most popular game in recent memory that fits that description is Castle Crashers which was originally released in 2008, almost a decade ago, and that game had problems even back then. Sure there have been some exceptions, like the Scott Pilgrim game in 2010 and Phantom Breaker from early last year, but most of the best 2D brawlers come from the 80’s and 90’s. Finally, after years of waiting, a tiny indie team has entered a new player into the game: and this player knows what they’re doing.
Viking Squad certainly wears its inspirations proudly on its sleeve. There can be no doubt about it. There have a number of instances, namely when I use a heroes ultimate ability, where I am reminded of Golden Axe. For those who might be younger or just unfamiliar with the classic arcade game series, you can also very easily compare this game to Castle Crashers, though I think Viking Squad is superior for a multitude of reasons.
Anyone familiar with 2D brawlers won’t find much surprising in terms of combat with Viking Squad but the familiarity is welcomed when paired with the unique art style and animation which is where this game really shines. There’s a true sense of progression in boss fights as they start to bleed and bruise until they’re beaten, and all the environments and enemies feel cohesive. Each playable character seems as though they have personality and life and their playstyles differ enough to confirm those feelings.
Most issues found with previous 2D beat ‘em ups are rectified with Viking Squad. Bringing new players into a pre-existing game is as simple as it should be in 2016 and scaling with friends isn’t much of a problem as there are absolutely no PvP elements in the game. Bosses all have their own unique look and combat style making each level interesting and exciting.
Just know that the game looks great, sounds great, and feels great to play (at least on a controller). Though the campaign is short, there is a large amount of replayability when you start looking at the armour and weaponry to unlock, the characters to max out, and the achievements to hunt.
No game is without fault, though, and Viking Squad has a few. The first and foremost I would like to bring to light is the controls on keyboard. Like many games in the same genre, mouse and keyboard players definitely get left in the dust when playing Viking Squad. Some might argue that the actual combat isn’t too terrible, but maneuvering through menus is definitely a pain.
Viking Squad also falls under the category of “grind ‘em up” where beating later bosses is nearly impossible without repeating levels to grind for gear, levels, and health potions. Luckily the levels are fun and you have the option to do side quests and mini bosses in many of them, but if you aren’t a fan of back-tracking then this game may be quite frustrating.
Even these issues are minor when you put them against the quality of the rest of the game. It is solid fun for those who enjoy the genre and it’s friendly enough so new players can have fun too. The amount of collectibles and achievements make this game well worth the $15 price tag.
I guess what it all boils down to is that I respect Slick Entertainment for what they’ve done with Viking Squad and I wish them the best in their future endeavours. They deserve way more attention than they’re currently getting for their efforts and if you’re even a little intrigued by the game I’ve described to you, make sure you check out Slick Entertainment’s Viking Squad. They brought some life to an otherwise dormant genre of games with a fun, well-made title that wasn’t even banking on pixel-art nostalgia!
Aleksei Vinogradov is the artist behind these fantastic digital pop culture portraits. These were just a few of my favourites, lots more over on Instagram.
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