Street Fighter fans rejoice as Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist from Joey Ansah one of the people behind the hit short Street Fighter: Legacy is set to feature on Machinima, the home of Mortal Kombat Legacy amongst others.
The series is set be based around the coming of age story of Ken (Christian Howard ) & Ryu (Mike Moh) with the back story of some of the game’s most iconic characters featuring, over the course of the series how the past, present, and future of the characters is intertwined will be revealed.
The series will also feature Togo Igawa as Gōtetsu, Akira Koieyama as Gōken, Gaku Space as Gōki, Mark Killeen as Mr. Masters, and Hal Yamanouchi as Senzo alongside director and co-writer Joey Ansah as Akuma.
Allen DeBevoise, Chairman, Co-Founder and CEO of Machinima had this to say
“This series was meant for Machinima. We have successfully launched popular game-inspired web series in the past, and Street Fighter is about as iconic as they come. We couldn’t be more excited about working with the incredible production team behind the series and the folks over at Capcom to launch not only a compelling and action-packed series in its own right, but also one that stays true to the Street Fighter lore. After the success of Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2, we will once again provide all of the episodes on the day of launch to our fans to ensure they get exactly what they want—the entire series from start to finish!”
Cheil UK has created a web user-controlled camera-bot, the first of its kind and called the NX Rover, for Samsung to showcase the unique connectivity of the Galaxy NX Camera.
Inspired by Mars exploration rovers, the NX Rover is equippedwith the Samsung GALAXY NX Camera, the first interchangeable-lens camera with 3G/4G LET and Wi-Fi sharing capabilities.
To demonstrate the amazing capabilities of the Galaxy NX Camera, the NX Rover will be sent on an international trip to a series of extraordinary places and events. Planned tour stops include visits to London Super Comic Convention – Europe’s biggest comic convention, access to an FC Bayern Munich training session, on-location in Iceland, and an after-hours visit to a major London museum.
Samsung will be giving keen photographers the opportunity to take control of the NX Rover and get behind the lens of the Galaxy NX like a true professional. Fans can shoot online, on a PC, from wherever they are, and share their photos via 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi.
For this, Cheil has built an interface which will give users real time control of the camera via a ‘point and click’ function. Users can also control the arm of the Rover which can extend up to 2m high. Other functions include; up/down movement of the arm, 360-degrees pan and tilt/pivot of the camera, as well as focus and zoom. Blue LED lights on the head of the camera flash to indicate that the photos are being taken.
For the chance to go live ‘behind the lens’ and share in the NX Rover’s European journey, simply visit the dedicated microsite; http://www.samsung.com/nxrover. Here you can learn more about the Galaxy NX, the campaign, and check out the NX Rover’s event schedule.
The NX Rover microsite, built by Cheil UK, will also showcase the best images taken by consumers. Visitors can get tips and watch insight films created with some of Getty Image’s top photographers, as part of the recently announced Samsung and Getty Images partnership.
Stephen Taylor, vice president of brand and retail at Samsung Electronics Europe, said: “We’re giving people all over Europe access to shoot some wonderful places and events, full of extraordinary photo opportunities.
“Cheil UK has created a unique piece of technology that will allow people everywhere to experience the amazing image quality and instant photo sharing capabilities of the GALAXY NX Camera.”
Matt Pye, COO at Cheil UK added: “This is a hugely exciting project for Cheil UK. Samsung is always searching for compelling ways to showcase its innovative products – the NX Rover does just this. The camera-bot has been seamlessly built around the GALAXY NX Camera to create a human, intuitive and authentic ‘hands-on’ photographic experience for the user at home.
“We wanted to reignite the spirit of adventure and put the NX in to the hands of the photographers everywhere, and do it in a way that did justice to this game-changing product. Through the NX Rover keen photographers will have the opportunity to see and capture some of the world’s most interesting places and characters in an entirely new way. It truly is the ultimate product demo.”
EVE Online is the home of epic space warfare on a grand scale
Every year 32 teams of brave pilots take on the best of the best (and some of the plain lucky) in the New Eden Open, EVE’s original tournament, which sees shiny internet spaceships fight it out for real cash prizes. This year, $12,000 are up for grabs for the first place winner, which is not bad for playing a video game, although it’s far from the life of luxury we all hope to earn from sitting on our couches!
Spaceships mean prizes!
EVE is one of the worlds longest running MMOs and one of the most controversial. Famously, earlier in the year, an epic space battle online between over 4,000 players netted nearly $500,000 of real cash damage on each other, after someone neglected to pay their bills to defend a virtual star system.
The space based MMO picks up press for its high cost battles or insidious corporation infiltrations, that have cost players months of hard work in game, only to have it stolen, entirely within its EULA, out from under them. But its tournaments, the summer’s Alliance Tournament and the New Eden Open, really are showcases for the type of e-sport that if you play (and even if you don’t) can become a real supporter event.
This weekend hosts the finale on March 16th via CCPs Twitch TV page (subscribe for notifications). The final showdown for the first and second prizes of $12,000 and $8,000 respectively will see missiles, lasers and chunks of cared for starships, blown apart.
Professional presentation of the worlds only interstellar e-sport
So if watching blokes run around on grass kicking a ball doesn’t take your fancy, get the Twitch.TV app for your TV and watch internet spaceships slug it out! Perhaps even give EVEs famously Player vs Player orientated universe a try yourself and see if you can make it into the next year’s events. Let us know how that works out for you!
Fans of ‘Clone Club’ can rejoice as the wait is almost over. The second season of sci-fi conspiracy drama Orphan Black is nearly here.
The series from BBC America turned heads for featuring Tatiana Maslany as a group of clones, all distinct characters, somehow tied to a sprawling conspiracy with a shady firm, known as The Dyad Institute, and more involved in the story.
The new poster features Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany front and center as main character/clone Sarah, now hell bent on finding her missing daughter, Kira. Elsewhere we see Maslany as Alison, repressed but slowly falling apart on the right, and Cosima (in dreadlocks) . Also featured is the sinister Rachel, memorable for her sociopathic stance regarding the other clones standing at the left.
The poster also features new characters Cal (Michiel Huisman), who somehow gets romantically entangled with Sarah, and modern day cowboy, Henrik Johanssen (Peter Outerbridge) who is set to be an antagonist alongside the shady Aldous Leekie (Matt Frewer), Sarah’s former partner Paul (Dylan Bruce), Kira, Sarah’s missing daughter (Skyler Wexler), Cosima’s lover Delphine (Evelyne Brochu), the reliable, loyal and razor witted Felix (Jordan Gavaris) also make an appearance, next to Alison’s put upon husband and monitor, Donnie (Kristian Bruun), the mysterious Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and cop Art, Sarah’s police partner (Kevin Hanchard).
Earthlets rejoice, Tharg The Mighty is bringing a new thrill to anthology comic 2000AD spun out from one of the title’s most enduring worlds, Rogue Trooper. The new series, dubbed ‘Jaegir’, will focus on the story of Atalia Jaegir of the Nordland State Security Police who is charged with policing Nort society and hunting down genetic outcasts and war criminals who are hiding from justice.
The comic is written by Gordon Rennie, part of the team behind one of last years top indie comics, Dept. of Monsterology, with art from Simon Coleby. 2000AD has long been home to various engrossing worlds, with Judge Dredd’s being the most infamous and now Rogue Trooper’s rather simplistic world is being broadened for the new series.
For those not familiar with Rogue Trooper, it’s the story of a bitter future war inspired by World War II between the ‘Norts’, or Northerner Unionists, a totalitarian force who fought against the ‘Southers’ on Nu-Earth. In the process of the war, various chemical weapons turned Nu-Earth into a deadly poisonous environment where troopers had to wear chemsuits in order to survive in the open. The Souther’s created the G.I’s, or Genetic Infantrymen, to survive this harsh environment only to be betrayed and slaughtered, with the sole survivor being Rogue Trooper who sets out on a quest of vengeance.
Jaegir makes its first appearance in 2000AD prog 1874, a prog aimed at new readers, with an on sale Earth date of 26 March 2014.
Just over a year ago, Sega released with much anticipation, Aliens: Colonial Marines. It was supposed to breathe new life into the Alien franchise which had never prevailed as a successful video game despite the fact that it’s basic premise lends itself so easily to the medium.
Colonial Marines was proof that in Cyberspace, everyone can hear you suck. Instead of breathing life into the franchise, A:CM sucked what little remained out. Geek Pride awarded it a shameful 3 points and from Sai’s March 2013 review, you can tell that they were grudgingly awarded.
So it’s with some curiosity that we learn more of Alien Isolation.
Alien Isolation is the new game from Sega, hopefully in an attempt to redeem themselves from last years offering which had us kicking open Xenomorph eggs to kiss the Facehuggers within.
Adding atmosphere? Or Just nostalgia?
Let’s move away from the doom and gloom view for a moment. Alien Isolation suggests that it will play itself more as a survival horror with what the development team have suggested is “a return to the original atmosphere, terror and vision of the classic film, Alien”.
A bold ambition to be sure. The game has been in development since 2010 and with the social media outcry over A:CM they’ve got plenty of suggestions on what not to do. The video below shows the development team creating the Alien, with some exciting in game footage that delivers on the feeling of claustrophobic paranoia.
Here’s where we get concerned again though. Lead developer on the project Gary Napper, has released two titles since 2010. The original and well thought out sci-fi action game: Spare Parts and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Now neither of these games scored over 50% according to Metacritic, which doesn’t exactly instil us with much hope. However, is it possible that his creative efforts have been focused on delivering the Alien experience we’ve always hoped for?
Hopefully this will end in you pausing to change your underwear instead of nodding off.
As it would be developmental suicide to produce another Alien game so close to the utter spaceballs of Colonial Marines which didn’t live up to gamers expectations, we can presume that they’re learning from that experience. That said, it wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve seen a studio get their hands on a valuable franchise, only to flog it to death in the hopes that players will buy anything that has a good cult following.
So will it be a case of “Nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure” or “How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?”. Only time will tell.
Personally, I’m quietly optimistic. As an Alien fan, I believe that the potential behind this franchise has to be realised by someone, hopefully these are the guys to do it, they certainly think they can. Fingers crossed and we’ll keep you posted.
In the interim, what do you think Aliens games have been missing? Let us know!
When you’re tackling the Terminator, who do you want on your team? Batman? Superman? Spiderman? Well, how about Spiderman’s boss, J Jonah Jameson?
Well it turns out that it’s the latter, J K Simmons, who portrayed the legendary Daily Bugle editor in Sam Rami’s Spiderman series is in negotiations for a role in the forthcoming movie Terminator: Genesis. Due to start shooting this spring with Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World) directing, the new movie in a franchise that, after James Cameron’s explosive first and second movies, became somewhat lack lustre.
Vote yes for Terminators!
The cast already includes Emilia Clarke and Jason Clarke from Game of Thrones fame as Sarah and John Connor, and is gathering pace as one of 2015’s summer blockbusters to watch. Simmons is to play a hardened detective who has been hot on the trail of Sarah Connor and the Terminators (sounds like a band) for the past 30 years since the assassin cyborgs first appearance in down town LA in 1984.
J K Simmons has portrayed a huge number of characters across his 27 year film and television career with credits from The West Wing to The Simpsons, he’s a known quantity and hopefully a sign of the quality that this latest offering in the franchise aims to deliver.
So fingers crossed that the next outing for everyones favourite killer robot will be a good one! It’s certainly shaping up that way.
Tearaway is a complete delight to not only play, but experience. It’s a beautiful achievement, providing new experiences up until the very end, inviting you to accompany and help Iota (or Atoi if you choose the female character), as you help him reach the ‘You’ (the player) to deliver a message. The beautiful living, breathing world is vibrant in colour, drenched in joy, and with copious amounts of wonder bursting out the folds you’ll never want to leave. The journey belongs to both of you, but the story? It’s all for ‘You’.
The game manages to ensnare you from the get go, introducing you, the… err… ‘You’ as an integral part to the story, being the end goal as it were and, in a Teletubbies-esque way, the game shows your face as the Sun by utilizing the front camera on the Vita. Your objective as the ‘You’ is to aid your messenger, be it Iota or Atoi, to yourself (the sun) and to deliver an important message, utilising all the powers that you have, controlled with the other unique features on the console.
With two Narrators to help guide the way, as well as introducing dramatic twists and turns, the game never feels like it’s trying to force you forwards, but instead gives you a reason to move and explore at your own pace. Not only content with featuring a world made out of paper craft, the focus on creativity using the materials that lay before you is used in such an intricate way, such as creating gloves for your cold character, or giving a scary monster some equally terrifying eyes, you truly help bring the world to life.
With creativity as your sword and a love for all things magical as your shield, you embark on this wonderful journey that never outstays it’s welcome and, at the same time, never feels like it has been cut short. It’s willing to keep you hooked and entranced up until the very end and, in the way that only Media Molecule know how, make you fall in love with not only your own little customisable friend, but the interactive world itself.
With everything being customisable nearly from the get-go, you can make this journey as personal as you want. As previously stated, the game uses everything the Vita has to offer, and still manages to keep it intuitive and natural. From the joyous moments where you customise a Pumpkin with the end goal of throwing it onto a scarecrow’s body in an attempt to scare crows (go figure), to the drumming on the rear touchpad to bounce your foldable friend to a higher position, it will leave you filled with delight.
So, as is most likely apparent, this wonder of a platformer is an experience like no other, but what of other aspects to the game, such as the combat? Initially featuring basic combat mechanics as you fight off the Scraps, new variants are shown during the latter parts of the story, requiring use of your new found abilities, such as being able to roll around and blow a gust of wind with a broken accordion. Whilst not an integral part to the game, the simplistic combat neither adds or detracts from the game’s overcasting impression, which truly shows how beautifully crafted the game’s premise is.
Exploration and discovery were massive themes throughout my journey, giving unique incentives for finding colourless objects and, by taking a photo of them with the in-game camera, returning said colour. The game would then, as a reward, upload the information to an external website where you could then print the blueprints to create the “restored” creation, giving incentives for all the creative minds out there. Whilst the idea of collectibles are nowhere near a new concept, this re-immagining of the idea has raised the bar for other creative likeminded studios.
With smooth controls, gorgeous stylised graphics and an enchanting soundtrack, Tearaway emits this certain feeling while playing it, not dissimilar to the Nintendo magic that we all know and love.
Celebrating the release of Dark Souls II tomorrow, I thought it would be a perfect time to revisit some of our more….trying moments from it’s predecessor. So… I did! And here they are;
1) Being killed by a Hollow Soldier
Hollow soldiers are the game’s weakest enemies; only present in a small area at the very beginning of the game, before being replaced with knights, demons and other big nasties. These slow, shambling zombies serve as an introduction to Dark Soul‘s unique combat style, and are meant to ease you into the game. Unfortunately, the game in question that you’re being introduced to is Dark Souls; so these zombies are still more than a match for even a veteran of the game.
Dying this way serves as a real reality check to new players, in that it teaches you that even Zombies; an enemy that you’d usually mow down (sometimes literally, if you’re playing Dead Rising), in the hundreds, must be treated with caution. However it’s also one of the worst ways for a veteran to die; after all nothing shouts ‘humiliation’ more than being backstabbed by the weakest enemies of the game when you’ve just defeated a giant flaming spider demon.
“This is easy, I don’t know what all the fuss is abo – ugk”
2) “The Toxic Sprint”
We’ve all been there. You’re slowly, cautiously making your way through Blighttown, more than aware of this area of the game’s dubious reputation. You’re halfway there; furthest away from the security of a bonfire, and down to your last flask of healing Estus. Then…the inevitable happens. You get afflicted with Toxic.
Disbelief giving away to sheer panic, instantly you abandon your mission in a mad, frantic dash to get back to the safety of the bonfire and cure yourself, knowing that if you don’t make it before you perish, you’ll lose all your hard-earned souls and humanity, and have to start from nothing. As you sprint through the dark passages stark naked (so you aren’t encumbered, duh), you watch, panicking, as your health drains away quicker than a free keg at a student house party. You pause, waiting for the perfect moment to use your last remaining Estus, before continuing on. Then, inevitably, just as the bonfire comes into sight, your health bar finally drains completely, and you collapse to the floor, dead. If you don’t ragequit after that, you’re a better person than me.
3) Boom! Surprise Knight
The Black Knights, once the Silver Knights, the most skilled and loyal of Lord Gwyn’s followers, can be found all over the land. They’re a challenge for even the most well equipped Dark Souls veteran, however are usually worth hunting due to the rare items that can be gained from them.
However, again, this being Dark Souls, when I say they can be found all over the land, I literally mean they can be hidden anywhere. Usually at the most inconvenient moment possible, just ready to pick you off when you least expect it, so you face a long and difficult fight back to regain your lost souls. There are two alone in the game’s opening area, ready to pick off unwary newbies. They can be found hiding behind walls, in seemingly deserted corridors and more, and when they do, you’d better be ready. Basically, if Dark Souls was real life; the Black Knights would be those douches that drive hulking 4×4’s and steal that really good parking spot you’ve been waiting for.
Yeah, you’re screwed…..
3) The Anor Londo Archers
To anyone that has played the game, merely reading the title above will be enough to put them in a seething rage. Upon reaching a huge, looming palace in the sunlit city of Anor Londo, you find the gates are securely locked, with no way around. Exploring, you fail to find another way in, until you spy an impossibly thin arch, stretching up to the cathedral, and flanked by knights with huge bows, firing arrows that looks as if someone cut down a tree and hammered a bunch of swords into the end. “Surely not?” you think. Surely so.
Yes, the only way to progress the game is to somehow run up the arch in an arrow straight line, with no room to dodge and knowing full well that getting struck by one of those tree trunks may not kill you, but most certainly will knock you off the impossibly thin ledge and into the abyss below. If that’s not enough, if you do somehow reach the top, you still need to fight and defeat two knights at the same time; with effectively no room to dodge or flank them, essential moves in any Dark Souls fight.
The thing that makes this particular part so frustrating isn’t that it’s so difficult (even though it is), it’s that it’s pretty much based on luck. There’s very little you can do do prepare; you can take it slow or fast, can be highly levelled or a newbie, if you get hit with one of those arrows, it’s off the ledge you go all the same.
4) Traps Galore
“Wait, where’s the exit?”
Ah yes, the traps. As if the hordes of snake headed demons, krakens and living titans weren’t enough to deal with. In ‘normal’ games, traps are devices usually there to keep you on your toes, and add an extra challenge in particularly long dungeons. Usually, when triggered, they take off a small percentage of your health, or temporarily poison you (I’m looking at you, Skyrim). In Dark Souls, you trigger a trap; you more than likely are going to die. And it’ll serve you right for being so flippant, you eager beaver, you.
But this insta-death business isn’t the real problem. The main issue with the traps in Dark Souls is that in most cases, you never even know they are traps until you’re already dead. Again, in other games you usually see a tripwire, or a floor tile raised or decorated so much that there’s no way the makers of the trap didn’t turn to each other and ask “hey, aren’t we making this a little, you know, obvious?”
In Dark Souls, a partially raised flagstone may as well be a neon sign, practically shouting at you to avoid it. In most cases the only way to tell if a trap is there is by a faint, ambiguous patch of blood, or more likely, absolutely nothing. Yup, mysterious elevators will ascend to nowhere except a bunch of spikes; floors will randomly give way and friendly NPC’s will happily boot you into a pit full of skeleton warriors, for absolutely no reason. Traveller beware, indeed.
5) Venturing Into an overpowered area
“Um, excuse me, could you please direct me to the fluffy bunnies?”
Dark Souls, unlike its predecessor, is a fully open world game. Usually; open world means “go anywhere, do anything”. However if you think that Dark Souls is like other games, then you haven’t been paying attention, as the game takes the idea of open world, and completely turns it on its head.
As you probably know, in other open world games, either the enemies are scaled to become more powerful with your level, or the more advanced areas of the map are locked until certain conditions are met. In Dark Souls, you basically just have to wing it. Everywhere is open to you at the beginning of the game, and you receive no instruction as to where to go first; meaning there are plenty of points in the game where making a wrong turn can easily lead you to stumble into an area that you are laughably unprepared for. If you’re really unlucky, you may even labour under the impression that you’re going the right way, and desperately try to push on against overwhelming hordes of goat headed demons, completely unaware that if you’d taken the right turn, you’d find hordes of cute fluffy bunnies and merchants selling rare weapons at 90% discount.
Yeah, right.
6) The Capra Demon
Yeah…now you’re REALLY screwed…
Speaking of goat heads, that leads me neatly onto the number one cause of death in Dark Souls; the Capra Demon. Gee, its almost like someone planned that…
Yes, the goat-headed Capra Demon is probably the single biggest source of frustration, headaches and broken controllers in Dark Souls, aside from perhaps Ornstein and Enough, or the Lord Gwyn Himself. Ornstein and Smough are without doubt incredibly difficult to overcome without multiple players, and Lord Gwyn is about as fitting as a Final Boss can get for a game like this, but in terms of sheer frustration, the Capra Demon comes out top.
For one, the first time you meet it you have absolutely no warning, and no time whatsoever to even get your bearings, never mind prepare. You simply walk through a fog door, take a glimpse of a tiny room containing a big, big creature and then boom; you’re dead. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the whole fight with this muscle bound, dual sword wielding maniac is decided within the first half-second of you stepping through that door. That’s why it’s a know fact* that 100% of people who attempt this boss for the first time will die.
Indeed that’s what makes this fight so frustrating. You actually encounter a whole group of these enemies in one go later on in the game, but they are, if anything, easier to deal with, because if you’re careful you can take your time to draw them out and dispatch them one by one. No such luck here; as soon as you walk through that door the Capra Demon is already in full charge, and are instantly on the back foot. If that’s not enough, the room the fight takes place in is minuscule; so there is effectively no way to retreat, flank or manoeuvre at all. In fact, your best option is usually to run right past his wild swings, simply to give you some breathing room.
*maybe.
So there you have it, my personal list of the most annoying ways to die in Dark Souls. Hopefully that’s given you some preparation for the equal! Disagree? Have better suggestions? Let us know!
The 20th century started with people doubting that the car would catch on and ended with complaints that mankind hadn’t already colonised Mars. It was one of the most quickly developing and exciting periods in history. As we delve deeper into the 21st century, we are turning corners that had once exclusively belonged to science fiction and live in a world of seemingly endless possibilities.
Consider for a moment, that a team at IBM is actually researching teleportation or that NASA has conducted serious research into warp drive technology and you’ll feel the impact that science fiction has had on our world.
Science fiction has always tackled new ideas and pushed them in directions that have captivated and propelled the human imagination. While the list of gems that sci-fi has delivered over the years is a long one, here are 21 of my favourite and thought provoking sci-fi moments that have shaped and expanded those horizons.
Presented in no particular order. Contains spoilers.
Predator (1987)
Other than being a showcase for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s usual flawless acting, Predator introduces us to the idea that our position in the food chain is a luxury. We’re used to the story where a superior alien race could come and conquer us, but the Predator is content to just come and kick our arses every so often because there’s nothing on alien TV that afternoon.
After unloading a small fortune of ammo into an empty jungle, the movie’s unlikely rescue team realise that the Predator is not only hunting them, he’s doing it for sport. The inclusion of active camouflage, thought controlled weaponry and nuclear explosion resistant tree stumps just adds to the overwhelming cool of this movie.
Deforestation has never been so expensive
District 9 (2009)
This movie did what science fiction does best. It takes an aspect of the human condition and expands on it in a way that enables us to see ourselves from a different perspective. District 9 does this beautifully when it takes a South African township of alien refugees and shows them badly integrating into human society from the confines of their camp.
The kicker in this, is when we meet an alien named Christopher who creates a mysterious black substance that has taken him 20 years of scavenging and research. This forces us think about how we’ve judged the travellers, making direct comparisons to some real-world events such as the question of refugees and illegal immigration. Something that we may all be a little guilty of. I admit it’s a clunkily made point in this movie, but it’s a great example of science fiction allowing us to look at ourselves without having to be preachy about it.
Aliens need love too
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Considering the release of the original movie was in 1968, when the threat of nuclear global annihilation was seriously on the cards, the impact made by the movies climactic scene of Taylor discovering the half buried Statue of Liberty and realising that he’d been on Earth all along was hugely poignant.
Perhaps a little lost on modern audiences, Charlton Heston’s cries of despair at humanity’s short sightedness were food for thought back in the 60’s.
Extreme littering
Jurassic Park (1993)
Everyone has been fascinated by dinosaurs at some point in their lives. So when Steven Speilberg’s Jurassic Park offered to make actually seeing dinosaurs a possibility, it was a sure-fire hit.
While the CGI is now starting to look a little dated, it’s hard to deny that it was breathtaking when you first saw it. Sam Neil as Dr Alan Grant drives over a ridge to find herds of dinosaurs grazing at a water hole and we were right there with his child-like wide eyes and sense of wonder. That moment allowed us all to be children again.
Nobody was this pleased to see the T-Rex
Event Horizon (1997)
Some of you may not remember the huge news of Voyager II passing Neptune and taking the first photos of our distant neighbour, it’s icy blue clouds hit every news channel across the world. So when Event Horizon promised to go there it was a hugely exciting prospect.
Whilst I have my reservations about where the movie ended up going, the idea that there was still plenty of excitement left to be found in this solar system was intriguing. So much space sci fi throws at us predictably goes to a doomed mission on Mars or swashbuckling in a galaxy far far away. It’s sad that more science fiction doesn’t explore our own back yard. Shame it ended up with zombie demons from another dimension.
Neptune – Cloudy with a chance of demons
The Abyss (1989)
James Camerons love affair with the ocean floor was captured in his 1989 deep sea thriller. The Abyss was a sort of Alien/Close Encounters of the Third Kind hybrid which at times seemed to wander off topic. But the high pressure, claustrophobic atmosphere the movie sustained gave it a distinct and memorable personality.
Perhaps most memorable was a scene where the special effects really did steal the show. The crew were met by an alien life form meandering through their facility as a column of living water. A truly amazing scene that captured a sense of mystery seldom seen in other movies of the time.
Always nice to meet someone drenched in personality…
Sphere (1998)
Staying at the bottom of the sea, Sphere led us to an underwater top secret research station built around an alien sphere. The movie itself wanders through internalised fears and paranoia and probably spends far too much time running in circles. But I personally have always loved Dustin Hoffmans line which bluntly explains what the movie is trying to tell us:
“We were given the greatest gift in the history of mankind. We were given this magic ball and it says: ‘Imagine what you will and you can have it’, and we’re so primitive, have so many fears that we carry with us, that we manifest the worst in us rather than the best in us.”
Who wants to play catch?
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Yes, the Keanu “I’m made of wood” Reeves one.
Following on from Sphere’s humanity bashing, there’s another poignant piece of dialogue that evokes an interesting philosophical point that could only come from a science fiction movie. Whilst the movie sucked (really sucked) it’s undercurrent of environmental concern was delivered at a level that we as a species often tend to overlook.
Klaatu: There is a gathering of world leaders not far from here; I will explain my purpose to them.
Regina Jackson: I’m afraid thats not possible. Perhaps you should explain yourself to me instead.
I’m afraid Mr Reeves it’s not good news, you’re actually made of wood
Back to the Future (1985)
This classic time travel romp marked two interesting points. Firstly it pointed out that you could do a movie about time travel with some level of seriousness to it and secondly that Michael J Fox was never going to age again.
Back to the Future addressed the issues of paradoxes and causality within time travel rather than going back to have a peek at cavemen. It set the standard for the time travel genre, landmarked of course with the outstanding scene of Doc Browns DeLorean vanishing in a flash of CGI awesomeness. Nobody had ever done time travel like this and when that baby hit ’88, we knew this was going to be something special.
Doc Browns innovative way of temporarily hiding dogs.
Minority Report (2002)
The future was also a theme of the spectacular yet predictable Spielberg adaptation of Philip K Dick’s short story of the same name.
The movie itself is quite obvious in where it’s headed from very early on but it does still manage to deliver some great scenes. Particularly where Tom Cruise as the fugitive Anderton is lead by the kidnapped precognitive Agatha through a shopping mall. She directs him through her knowledge of the future in an orchestrated get away resulting in the pair vanishing into a crowd in the rain under an umbrella they picked up at the start of the chase. It was a little hammy, but it provided that moment of “okay, that was pretty cool” and made you wonder what it would really be like to know the future.
Singing in the Rain’s reboot didn’t seem as uplifting as the original…
The Fifth Element (1997)
Luc Beson’s futuristic epic was drenched in science fiction imagery. From flying cars in a stratosphere scraping city, to interstellar vacations and back to ancient Egyptian alien contact with a John Mclean of 2263 thrown in for good measure.
In one of the most memorable scenes of the movie, the sole survivor of a crashed starship is the right hand of Leeloo, the movies title character. She is re-engineered from a few living cells in an astounding reconstruction from skeleton to soft tissue and hair (somehow inclusive of hair dye). A little silly perhaps, but stunning nonetheless.
How meat popsicles are made
Blade Runner (1982)
Another of Philip K Dick’s adaptations, this time from Ridley Scott. His dark industrial future saw a group of genetically manufactured Replicants return to Earth to seek an extension of their limited lifespan from their creator.
In one of the most captivating moments in sci-fi movies the replicant Roy, Rutger Hauer, details to the Blade Runner; Deckard the things he has seen and the memories that he has as well as his acceptance of the meaning of mortality. It has always been to my mind as one of the most beautiful depictions of how fragile and precious life really is.
The love of one Replicant and his dove
AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Now I’ll be honest, I hated this movie. It represented to me everything that is wrong with movies that are trying to make a point and it was eaten alive by it’s own sentimentality.
That said, it does make some interesting points, not least of which is where the prototype “mecha” David, having imprinted his artificial love on his Mother, is cast out when it becomes clear that he is unable to integrate. The quest that he embarks on, shows the single mindedness of not only machine intelligence, but also of children. Each desperately trying to resolve an issue through the application of misguided logic. AI asks the question of how artificial intelligence would really act, how would it feel and how would that be fulfilled? It’s just a shame it does it with such a Disney-esque feel to it.
You know you’ve waited too long to speak to a statue when…you start waiting…
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Sticking with the AI theme, it would be impossible to gloss over the contribution of HAL to science fiction. Here was an artificial intelligence that really stood out, more so than his fellow actors, with his twisted machine logic.
HAL was tasked with keeping the true nature of his ships mission a secret from the crew. Unable to consider the possibility to rejecting this programming when they suspect he’s hiding something, he decides that they are unnecessary to the mission and that it’s success can only be guaranteed without them. Punctuated with the eerie and unsettling exchange of:
“Open the pod bay doors HAL.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that Dave.”
The worlds least action packed hero and villain battle.
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
On a cheerier note, this feel good Disney classic was a child’s dream come true and is frequently overlooked in movie lists.
Whilst the movie itself doesn’t deliver any high end statements about humanity or where we are going, it does deliver the awesome scene of young 12 year old David taking control of an alien spacecraft. To the sound of 80’s music, he and the ship’s AI commander streak across the US in an attempt to get David home to his parents. It’s not saying anything profound, it’s just appealing to the dreams of children, and probably more than a few adults.
Order your starship today and claim your free cow!
TheMatrix (1999)
The marketing of the Matrix movie was almost as good as the movie itself. What is the Matrix? It’s the question that gripped 1999 movie audiences and an answer that made for one of the most successful movie franchises after Star Wars and James Bond.
In the movie’s “point of no return” scene, after having met the mysterious Morpheus, Neo is shown what the Matrix is. This leads to what is universally accepted to be one of the ultimate ‘WTF?’ moments in movie history. If just getting your head around that concept didn’t “bake your noodle” then you probably should start looking for Morpheus yourself.
Every party goers secret hangover fear…
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter’s infamous movie with some of the best practical special effects ever seen. Alien creatures built from the body parts of it’s victims forming bloated twisted torsos, creepy spider legged human heads and a host of exploded bodies in the start of an epic horror tradition. While Rob Bottin lead the creature effects, Stan Winston was called in to help out when the team found themselves overwhelmed with creatures to create. Winston of course went on to work on projects like The Terminator and Aliens, his fingerprints are clear in The Thing.
The thing to remember about about this film is that these effects really were ground breaking for their time. Creature effects had been used before, but the range and scope of these creations led us out of the thinking of puppets. It brought us into a new realm of physical effects, limited only by imagination. Although I think we could all do without the idea of a spider head monster scuttling behind us.
IT support calling…
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Expanding on effects pioneered in The Abyss, James Cameron returned to the Terminator story with a new chapter pitting Arnies T800 cyborg against the T1000, a machine made from a shape shifting liquid metal.
In what remains one the most technically ambitious scenes of the franchise, whilst chasing Sarah Connor, The T1000 walks through the bars of an asylum door. What made this even more outstanding, was that as while the new terminator reforms on the other side, his gun catches on the bars. It was a beautiful touch and made this iconic moment really hit home on how far realistic special effects had come.
So a guy walks into a bar…
Alien (1979)
To be fair, Alien could have an article all to itself with the number of concepts it brought with it. From acid blooded aliens with a ferocity unmatched in movie history, to a female lead character who really set the standard for strong female roles, its list of achievements is virtually unmatched.
Alien begins changing the goal posts for sci-fi storytelling from it’s opening sequence. Traditionally, crews of intrepid sci-fi ships went off into space and found aliens in the far flung reaches of the galaxy. But Alien went down a different path. The crew wasn’t military, this was a refining ship, these were blue collar guys earning themselves a buck. They weren’t out adventuring or going off to find fortune and glory, this was just their day job. And they were going home. They were returning to Earth. These meagre details set the scene for what was to become a legend and one of the most original pieces of science fiction of all time.
I wonder what’s for lunch…
Star Wars (1979)
No list of thought provoking science fiction would be complete without Star Wars. It’s themes of good and evil intertwined with battles of identity and freedom are what has made it stand the test of time as a story.
More than just its story though, ground breaking special effects that right from the opening sequence lets us know that science fiction was no longer the domain of children. It was taking itself seriously and inventing movie changing technologies as it went. Star Wars marked a turning point in science fiction which threw it into mainstream cinema. Every sci-fi movie made since 1977 owes its success, in some way, to the road that Star Wars paved for the genre.
Interstellar traffic cops take their job very seriously
Serenity (2005)
Joss Wheadon is the man who can do no geek harm at the moment. He was our champion when he fought the man and took his sky back with the feature film movie “sequel” to the cancelled Fox series Firefly.
In its opening scenes, we drift through the titular ship and are introduced to the crew of misfits we’d come to love in the series. Anyone watching them for the first time could effortlessly identify with them just as easily. The scripting and acting within that scene conveyed in 4 minutes what 12 episodes of 45 minutes had cemented in fans, this was something unique.
But Serenity not only gave us a conclusion to the series, it showed us that the geek will inherit the Earth. Science fiction was no longer something that would be dished out by studios as and when they felt it met with their concept of commercial success. It was something that our demand had brought back to life and that love, keeps everything in the damn ‘verse together.
Discussions about work always go better when you’re armed.
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the game’s most iconic characters featuring, over the course of the series how the past, present, and future of the characters is intertwined will be revealed.
