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Vestige by Chris Roper – 8 GPPs- Available from Amazon

Matt Geary
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Vestige by Chris Roper – 8 GPPs- Available from Amazon

Ok first off, lest there be a suspicion of bias within my review, Chris the author has written an article, a great one at that, for this website. He also not only works for the same company as me but selflessly spent a lot of time helping with my grammar and composition issues; being dyslexic has made the task of writing for a website a challenge, to say the least!

So why not just throw this do gooder / colleague a fricken bone and give his new endeavor a great score for the sake of it? Well part of me wanted to; good things should happen to good people, as they say, but I didn’t think he would appreciate the kindness and might take it as an insult for all his hard work and toil; as well as undermining my own credibility as a reviewer / writer.

I therefore set myself to the task of being as honest and constructive as possible, and here is what I came up with:

Note there will be spoilers in this review, so be warned.

 

Straight to the Point: An unexpected jem of a novella: exciting, well thought out and nearly perfectly executed. Watch out for this author, he’s going interstellar places!

 

Story – They thought themselves alone; abandoned, lost and without hope.

Then it arrived.

The crew of the WSA Pytheas drift helplessly towards the outer edge of the Solar System. Cut off from Earth and lacking any means of rescue, the ship continues its inexorable drift while the crew wait to die.

Then the sudden arrival of a mysterious object sparks a chain of events that could either extricate them from danger or cause their destruction.

Captain Marcus Keats, Navigation Officer Piedro Alvarez and ship biologist Dr Natalie McCarran must choose what and whom to trust as they struggle to understand the artefact’s purpose, and the new danger threatening to tear them apart.

 

What we like:

It’s just bloody well written -The story had direction, the characters substance and it was just a master class in the English language; a pleasure to read.

ENCORE,ENCORE! – As with any great book, if you are left wanting to read more then the author has done their job properly. Chris has certainly achieved this and I found myself willing there to be that little bit more as the percentage meter at the bottom of my kindle quickly made its way to the 100% mark; lamenting the end when it finally hit the last page.

Based on real science – This is science fiction based on science fact, or at least established theory; something you will know, if you read Chris’s article on Quantum leaps in science, he is very passionate and well read on. Everything he writes seems to have a bedrock of plausibility to it; from the expansion of the universe to wormhole travel. All current topics and something that can only have come from a man who has spent a lot of time researching the subject he wrote so well about.

Familiarity – I know Chris is into his Horror and Science fiction so when I read through Vestige I could see slight nods (be it intentional or subconscious) to books and films like 2001, Alien, the Sphere and Event Horizon. Inspiration that gave me, as a reader, a sort of pre formed view of the ship, the mood, and the sense of hopelessness that the characters must have felt while drifting in space for so long; morphing the 2D text, on my screen, to a 3D image in my head.

Fiction, based on theory, with ramifications for theology– Vestige dances around the mine strewn battlefield that is religion and belief quite a bit but never quite goes for the jugular on either side (wise man). What it does do, and what really hit a chord with me, is give alternate explanations and the scope for further possibilities. The idea that humanity, in another universe, evolved to the point where they left their bodies and became higher beings of thought and energy was intriguing, and, after a long think about it, surprisingly plausible; if you accept and believe in an infinite multiverse theory that is.

I am unsure if this was Chris’s intent but it was a nice side effect of the story that really got me thinking about stuff I thought I had pinned down years ago. Granted, I am still a “Nonbeliever” a theological infidel if you will, but the book, fiction as it is, raised some interesting theories and I guess you could argue with an infinite multiverse, well, the possibilities are… infinite.


Niggles

The Crazy Catholic and the selfless hero – I thought I could second guess most of this book (part of me was actively trying to) but each time I thought I had it figured, something else happened and I was happily wrong… that is, apart from when it came to Piedro and Marcus; both of whom have come fresh from the Sci-Fi mold of how to make a crazy bad guy and heroic captain; after a few chapters I wrote the following down on my note paper: “the crazy Catholic will try and kill everyone and Marcus will save the day but die trying.”

Now obviously this is down to personal preference and I have no problem, as will others, with this tried and tested formula, but I was kinda expecting / wanting something different. I knew it was coming, I could feel it, but every now and again something happened and a part of me went “oh, maybe I’ll be wrong” only for it to alter its trajectory back on its inevitable course.  As much as this didn’t ruin anything for me it did slightly disappoint.

‘Gratuitous beaver shot’ – Vestige is not an overly Graphic / adult book (say along the lines of Martin’s ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ series which verge on the down right sadistic and pornographic) but it does contain the odd bit of mature content; nothing I can’t handle. So what was the issue? Well the book, in general, is pretty tame language and violence wise, so was rather strange (and somewhat amusing) when a full blown, pretty graphic, sex scene appeared out of nowhere. Don’t get me wrong that isn’t a problem (not much shocks me anymore) but It didn’t feel like it sat well with the writing style, seeming more as if Chris,  like a painter unsure with what technique to use, had thrown it in to test the water. Which is fine, but because I was caught off guard I found myself immaturely giggling, like a school boy whose mate had just written boobies on his calculator, and when the word “seed” was used I nearly fell off the bed!

It didn’t detract from the book at all and I understand why that scene / segment was there, but I think it could have been done differently, to the same effect and inferred sensual beauty that I think Chris wanted to put across.

FYI – the word ‘SEED’ should never be used in a book unless set in Ye Olden times, and there best be a buxom serving wench being ploughed at the time when it is.

Bone Density –This point I could have got completely wrong, but due to their time in space the crew of the pytheas have been taking bone density supplements and, the Captain at least, has had regular sessions in the resistance chamber to help fight the degenerative effects caused to bone when in zero gravity environment. This makes sense and is true to what I understand of current space travel, but as much as Chris has tried to keep his science and his fiction in a cohesive phalanx, assaulting you with a great story and a learning experience all in one, it sort of falls by the way side as the story progresses.

My case and point is Piedro… The Spaniard is thrown against the floor of the ship and fractures his cheek bone, but yet later, after going a bit crazy, decides to batter the rest of the crew over the noggin with a hammer, with no real detriment to their cognitive abilities and certainly with no fractures to their skulls that would lead to serious brain damage or even death?

Surely with weakened bones this would have been inevitable, if Piedro’s injury is anything to go by, and especially in Natalie, who spent little or no time in the resistance chamber and hadn’t been taking her pills?

All very pernickety I know, and not overly a major issue but I felt so much effort had gone into the science within the book that this felt slightly lazy… “the book is coming to an end, I’m losing the will to live after writing so much, lets knock everyone out with a hammer and get on with it.”

 

Conclusion

I enjoyed Vestige immensely and was genuinely gutted that it ended so soon. Sure, it’s a short outing and there are some fine tweaks needed but I feel Chris can be immensely proud of his achievement; let’s hope he gets back on the horse sooner rather than later because I need more!

Amazing book and a great start for a promising future.

at £0.99 it’s a fricken steal; BUY IT!

 

Graphic Designer to the Geeks really wants to work on S.H.E.I.L.D

Becca Harper
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Graphic Designer to the Geeks really wants to work on S.H.E.I.L.D

Adam Levermore is THE graphic designer to the geeks. He has worked with the likes of super geek Wil Wheaton, Zac Levi and Felicia Day to produce logos for their projects. He is the creator of the officially licensed Serenity posters as well as many many other awesome geek project. 

So when S.H.E.I.L.D was given the green light, Adam Levermore gathered together some of his friends and made a video to audition to be the designer for the project. His staged interview with the organisation S.H.E.I.L.D, it hosts some special guests and a high production value. He states on his blog that the project went from an idea to completed in two weeks, with a little help from his friends. He also says:

 

[quote]The stated goal of this short film is to catch the eye of the production designer for the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, and hopefully be so impressive that hiring me is a no-brainer. I realized, though, that it’s much more than that. The finished piece wound up being so high-quality that it stands alone as a spotlight for my design work[/quote]

He designed everything on the video except the building and the clothes the actors are wearing. Quite frankly anyone willing to go to this much effort with such an awesome portfolio deserves to be given the chance. Here is his video, fingers crossed for him:

From The Skyrim Tourism Bureau

Ben Fee
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From The Skyrim Tourism Bureau

It might sound like the least interesting aspect of geekdom, but I absolutely love fictional travel posters and these are among some of the best I’ve found.

Put together by artist David Walton (under the awesome pseudonym Mr Shabba), you can check out more of his stuff here (including travel posters for Back To The Future’s Hill Valley and Metal Gear Solid’s Shadow Moses facility in Alaska), or just go ahead and throw money at him here.

Comic Book Weekly Roundup 19/09/12

Laura Maier
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Comic Book Weekly Roundup 19/09/12

THE BEST OF MARVEL

Spider-Men #5 (writer: Brian Michael Bendis; artist: Sara Pichelli)

Spider-Men was a brilliant concept from the start- Miles Morales (the Spidey of Ultimate Marvel) is coming very close to being as iconic as Peter Parker, so it’s pretty amazing to see them both team up. Basically, a villainous accident sent Peter into the Ultimate Universe, where he met up with Miles, fought bad guys, and tried to get home. Since this is the last in a 5-issue miniseries, obviously we know he’s going to do just that. What else does it bring to the table? Well, think of all the things you love about Spidey: the heartwarming devotion to his family, the inspiring way he stands up for justice, the one-liners. Then double it. They take turns setting each other up for one-liners, their powers and fighting styles complement each other, and they even like each other (which is generally rare with other-world counterparts). Peter’s parting words to Miles manage to combine hilarity with RIGHT IN THE FEELS, and a last-panel stinger means the story isn’t over yet…

 

Avengers Academy #37 (writer: Christos Gage; artist: Tom Grummett)

The last issue in the Final Exam arc (in which Enchantress teams up with student Jeremy Briggs, who was apparently evil all along… what the hell kind of evil name is Jeremy Briggs anyway?) wraps things up as final issues generally do. Ever since the first few issues, it’s been established that the academy was set up to prevent the students turning evil, and rather than use that as a cheap ploy to add en edge, it actually still comes into play now, years later. Their methods would undoubtedly be disapproved of by the Avengers, but their intentions are good and their loyalty to each other unwavering. The grownups are right to be worried…

 

The Avengers #30 (writer: Brian Michael Bendis; artists: Walter Simonson & Scott Hanna)

 This has all the hallmarks of a good comic: epic splash pages of Avengers assembling, heroes taking on twenty mooks each without breaking a sweat, and a villain proclaiming it was their plan all along. What makes this one of the funniest issues of anything I have read in a long time is that Hawkeye and Spider-Woman have a lover’s quarrel, whilst fighting the aforementioned mooks. For about twenty pages. I can’t describe it in a way that does it justice, but trust me, if you buy this comic your life will be better.

 

New Mutants #49 (writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning; artists: Felix Ruiz & Klebs)

Another arc-wrapper-upper from Marvel. Usually I hate wrapups almost as much as origin stories, so between DC’s Zero Month and Marvel’s purely coincidental Every Arc Ends Week, this is a hard week for me. But I persevere. So. New Mutants wraps up the Fight the Future arc decently enough. The time paradox exploited to make Evil Cypher’s defeat possible seems sound, but it’s probably best not to think about it too hard lest plot holes start to appear. That’s all par for the course with comic book science, though, so I can forgive it. Plus it has Warlock in, and I love Warlock.

 

DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON

Dark Avengers #181 (writer: Jeff Parker; artist: Neil Edwards)

I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen the point in Dark Avengers. OK, it was relevant back when Norman Osborn was in charge of the Avengers and the whole team had been replaced by near-identical copies; but now it feels like Marvel just wants to get twice the money for the same characters. Sorry, they’re not the same characters, they have different names, slightly different powers, even different-coloured hair in the case of Scarlet Wi– I mean Toxie Doxie.

And they know, they know that it’s confusing. That’s why the characters cannot get to the end of a sentence without mentioning the name of the person they’re talking to. It’s like Moonstone is thinking to herself I mustn’t call her Scarlet Witch; her name’s Doxie. Doxie Doxie Doxie. and keeps repeating this in her head so the Doxies just slip out, like Tourette’s. “Hey Doxie, did you hear that noise Doxie? Let’s check it out Doxie!”

The final page contains the hook “NEXT: The End.” We can but hope.

(Also, Doxie means prostitute. It’s hard to take a comic seriously when characters keep yelling “Prostitute! Look out!”)

 

ALSO

Matt Murdock goes mental in Daredevil #18!

Terry goes through some pretty epic life changes in X-Factor #244!

Venom thinks happy thoughts in Venom #25!

 

 

 

Karen Gillen: Plancks for the memories…

Ben Fee
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Karen Gillen: Plancks for the memories…

Since it’s revival in 2005, Doctor Who has arguably been most notable for the companions the writers lump our eponymous hero with. Besides giving him someone to talk to between space-time shenanigans, these companions have given the audience someone to relate to who isn’t an ancient immortal (who has literally been to the end of the universe and back) with varying degrees of success.

Whatever your opinon of the various groupies who’ve kept the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver polished, you’ll have to agree that the latest, Amy Pond, is one of the best. With her feisty Scotch belligerence and natural charm, hers was one of the more interesting stories the show has told (especially compared to Martha “I’m a doctor too, geddit?” Jones.)

As she is soon to leave our screens, I thought I would demonstrate her brilliance with this clip of her real-life counterpart, actress Karen Gillen, doing a surprisingly awesome Dalek impression. Enjoy!

First Official image of Wolverine!

Becca Harper
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First Official image of Wolverine!

Hey bub, Marvel have released the is the first official image from the next Wolverine installment, The Wolverine, due out in 2013. It shows a particularly angry Logan, which should come as no surprise to fans of the mutant and his healing factor. Veins all pumped and looking totally buff,  Hugh Jackman, as ever, pulls if off and this first look offers hints at the Japanese nature of this story. Enjoy!

 

Super Pig! – Pig saves baby goat

Becca Harper
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Super Pig! – Pig saves baby goat

So here is a little but awesome video of a pig saving a baby goat stuck in a petting pond. How does it know? Got me thinking the film Babe wasn’t that far off mark. What if all pigs have potential to be super pigs but are just too lazy?

Dust and Sand – Chapter 13 – By Sean P. Wallace

SeanPWallace
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Dust and Sand – Chapter 13 – By Sean P. Wallace

Chapter 13

Pendleton McKenzie was the kind of man who tried not to think about things too deeply, a useful trait for a mercenary; as long as the pay was right, he did what he was told and had no trouble sleeping. It was the soldier’s mantra, following orders for rewards, and one he’d adopted without ever being near a uniform.

This attitude made life simple. And a man needed simplicity when he turned his hand to so many things; across his long career he’d dug mass graves, been a bodyguard for a wealthy heiress, robbed banks to help their owners claim on the insurance and been a deputised sheriff. It didn’t really matter what was needed of him or why so long as the dollars rolled in.

But his current job was one of the oddest he’d done. Even he couldn’t avoid thinking about it, wondering. Their customer asked for some mighty strange things; placing strange trinkets around their tents and camp fires, digging up corpses to inject them with writhing masses held in darkened glass needles, bleeding themselves into that strange box every morning. The why of it all meant nothing, didn’t need to, but he had to admit the job had some odd requirements.

And another night of oddities was about to start.

He, the boss and the boss’ cousin Romano were sat at their camp in a wide Badlands plain, breathing in the scent of cooking food and a baked land. They’d dismantled their tent moments ago as the boss cooked and were hunkered round a camp fire that warmed the food, not the mercenaries.

Warmth they had plenty of; the hot sun beat down at them as they ate chilli and beans, giving them so much warmth they were drowning in it. Some shade would’ve been nice but the boss’d said the tents had to go and sitting near a Badlands tree wasn’t good if you fancied holding onto your life. So they were forced to prepare for another long night under the sun’s draining attention.

Pendleton looked at his partners. He didn’t know what, good or bad, they were doing here. Alongside the damned-odd orders, the three of them went across to that small town and used that strange box their customer had given them to summon… things. Inhuman things. On the boss’ command, these things worried at the town’s chapel, keening and moaning as they did so, in some attempt to destroy it. But they weren’t doing a good job of it. He, the boss and Romano had tried joining in by shooting the chapel as well but that was whilst they’d had rounds. They’d run dry a few days ago and only had the box at their command.

Whatever they were doing, it didn’t seem to be achieving much. But the boss and the customer must have a plan of some kind though and that was enough for Pendleton.

That and the money, of course.

Pendleton finished his portion of chilli, spiced warmth sliding easily down his throat, and gestured across the fire with his tin plate. “Pass us some more beans, boss.”

“I think you’ve had enough beans already. I can smell you from here,” Romano said with a wide grin. He was missing three teeth beneath that ridiculous moustache of his, the buck teeth and one from the bottom row.

“Shut up, Rome,” the boss said. Then he handed the pan across to Pendleton.

Pendleton just stared at Romano, the greasy fuck. Five foot two and thin as a fork, Romano would crumple beneath Pendleton’s big hands if he had his way but the prick was under the boss’ protection on account of him being family. And boy did Romano love testing the limits of that.

Boy but it was very hard to believe they were related; the boss couldn’t have looked much more different from Romano if the weasel’d been born a woman. The boss was tall, though not so big as Pendleton, and had white teeth he polished after every meal with some paste a quack’d given him. His face was angular in a way women seemed to appreciate and he always took things seriously. Romano was precisely none of these things; he and the boss seemingly had in common was some grandparent long ago.

Taking the pan, Pendleton spooned a few more beans into his plate and handed it back with a nod of gratitude. That nod was returned; the boss might be vicious and quick but he was also fair, someone who believed in the sanctity of an honest transaction.

Pendleton looked down at his beans then started eating. Normally, he’d do so in peace but the Badlands were as oppressive as the heat; they crowded around the silence in his head, made him think.

And naturally, he thought about the job.

It was kind of funny, he supposed, that this job was so much like his first with the boss. They’d met when the Mexican had been running a scam on a town called Pearlsville; he’d been racketeering, pretending there were harriers in the area, and had needed someone to convince the locals it was true. Work had been hard to come by so soon after the Badlands had erupted so there’d been plenty of men after the job. Pendleton’d got it because he had his own guns and a healthy disregard to the law.

The next night, Pendleton had scared the Hell out of Pearlsville, riding like an Angel of the Lord into Gamorrah. By the time he was done, the locals paid through the nose to get rid of him. The boss’d been thrilled. After handing the bloodied heads of some Indians in as proof that he’d killed the harriers, he’d asked Pendleton to come along for his next job. Pendleton had accepted and three years of good money had followed.

And here they were again, scaring fools for cash. It was enough to bring a smile to his broad, scarred face.

“What’s so funny, lummox?” Romano asked.

“That you have the guts to say someone else smells bad; you reek like a whore’s spittoon.”

That grin of his fell. Pendleton’s widened.

“Easy now,” the boss said. “Let’s keep things civil.”

Romano gave Pendleton a look sharper than a knife but said nothing.

Pendleton wished he’d kept going. No, really he wished the boss’ cousin hadn’t had to come along but the customer had insisted this was a three man job. Pendleton couldn’t see why but you give a customer what they pay for and the customer had paid for three men. Though with one of the men being Romano, they’d probably short-changed the customer.

“You scared, lummox?” the fuck asked, knocking him from his train of thought.

“Why would I be?” Pendleton asked, shovelling more beans. He chewed, swallowed, enjoying the taste as much as he enjoyed keeping Romano waiting. “Fear ain’t something I’m used to.”

“Well maybe you oughta get used to it, real comfy with it, because the customer’s coming here. Ain’t that right, Kaspera?”

The 5 Greatest Isometric RPGs

Ben Fee
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The 5 Greatest Isometric RPGs

The 5 Greatest Isometric RPGs

I’ve recently become a desktop PC owner for the first time in about ten years and, as I expect all men reaching their thirties do, developed a desire to relive my gaming teens.  Visiting my local gaming establishments, of which there are painfully few (never mind Game, what happened to Electronics Boutique?), I was shocked to find that the current PC game market has become somewhat polarised; big budget console-esque shooters and iOS puzzle games sit fat and bloated on either of the spectrum leaving little in the middle for PC gamers to call their own.  Not that I’m against these genres, I’ve flicked avian malcontents and pwned n00bz with the best of them, but I remember spending glorious hours exploring Faerun and Vault City, the shifting city of Sigil and the Los Angeles Boneyard, all rendered in seemingly long-forgotten isometric magnificence.

It was with joy then that I discovered that Obsidian Entertainment (the guys behind Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic among others) have started a project on Kickstarter to develop a brand new isometric party-based RPG set in a new fantasy world. Like everything on Kickstarter it will probably be released when your great-grandson graduates from space-university, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that this kind of thing needs to be encouraged.

With this in mind and to celebrate the hopeful resurgence of this long-neglected genre, here are our top five isometric role-playing games:


5. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura

Sub-genre: Steampunk

Ever wish you could take a shotgun to the elf who just tried to flambé you with a fireball spell? Or even disrupt a nest of orcs with a Molotov cocktail you put together with stuff you found lying about in rubbish bins? If so, Arcanum is the game for you. A bit ropey when it first hit shop shelves in 2001, it has been patched up nicely and remains one of the best steampunk RPGs money can buy.

What really sets this game apart is the unique blend of science and sorcery the player can call upon to solve quests and defeat evil, a blend that is wonderfully realised in a fantastic setting which mixes these elements into a imaginative and believable story. Add to that a superbly atmospheric soundtrack and one of the most interesting character creation systems I’ve seen and you have one of the main reasons I was single into my twenties.

 

4. Diablo

Sub-genre: Fantasy

The Diablo series is probably one of the most popular in the isometric RPG genre with Blizzard recently setting the new all-time record for fastest-selling PC game when they dropped the third instalment on unwary gamers after a 12 year hiatus. As RPGs go, Diablo has always been the “Halo” of the genre, beloved by hack’n’slashers for its opportunity to rack up an impressive bodycount before starting their homework, but bemoaned by hardcore roleplayers as, despite sixteen levels of dungeon and then a Hell dimension, it still lacks any depth.

For click-click-click-die-die-die action, it’s pretty unbeatable, but for newcomers we recommend the second instalment, Diablo II, preferably with the awesome expansion, Lord of Destruction.

 

3. Fallout

Sub-genre: Post-apocalyptic

Forget Fallout 3, forget New Vegas, for my money the original isometric entries into the Fallout series are the greatest RPGs of all time. Please note that these views may not represent those of my overlords at here Geek Pride but I’ll go three rounds with any man jack who claims otherwise. Yes, better than Oblivion. I know.

The first Fallout game is a fantastic post-apocalyptic role-playing experience, but the guys at developers  Black Isle raised the genre to an art form when in 1998 they released the sequel, Fallout 2. The story, epic. The combat, turn-based delight. The sound, graphics, voice acting, superb. Every weapon (of which there were a enough to excite even the most well-stocked of North American isolationists) had a description, a history, every banal object a story. Excitement and humour can be found with every new stone unturned (sometimes literally) and at close to 40 hours of gameplay you get all the post-apocalyptic bang for your buck you could possibly want.

 

2. Baldur’s Gate

Sub-genre: Fantasy

Now this is one of the big ones. In 1998, at a time when a lot of Dungeons & Dragoners were considering hanging up their +3 Boots of Roleplaying, Interplay released Baldur’s Gate. From the developers who would go on to create the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, Baldur’s Gate (and later Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn) showed the world how role-playing was done.

Displaying deep levels of customisation, both in character creation and later in-game, players never felt like they were just actors in a prewritten tale; this was their story unfolding, their choices that changed the world around them and the people they met. Speaking of people, I’m not sure if it speaks of some deeper psychological issues but I still remember mage/thief Imoen as a lost acquaintance and, dare I say it, friend.

Story, drama, combat, it’s all there if you can tolerate the pointy ears.

 

1. Planescape Torment

Sub-genre: ????

Thirteen years later and this game will still crack top five on most PC gamers’ Greatest Ever RPG list. At least those gamers  over twenty. Otherwise it’s probably Modern Warfare 2 (“it has levelling!”) or something.

Planescape Torment, for those unlucky few who have not sampled it’s unique flavour, is probably one of the best weird games you’ll ever play. It’s difficult to really explain its appeal so I’ll try and break it down into short sentences. Your best mate is a floating skull. Your own severed arm is an effective weapon. It’s set in a city located atop an infinitely tall spire at the centre of the multiverse.

In terms of story, this game sits on the other side of the see-saw from Diablo. Where Diablo provides long periods of hack’n’slash tied loosely together with plot, Planescape is like reading an engrossing, emotionally written thesis on what it means to be human, with the occasional bit of combat between you and the next chapter. In a genre where too often we have to choose between style or substance, it is a rare and wonderful thing to find a game that so eloquently marries the two. Buy it or I’ll be putting my own severed arm to violent purpose.

DREDD 3D – 9GPPs

Matt_Walklate
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DREDD 3D – 9GPPs

Dredd 3D

Many readers here will remember the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone which was, for lack of a better word, terrible. Those who do remember will be reassured to find out that Dredd 3D is a superior film in virtually every way, and for those who have never heard of Dredd before, it is a fantastically immersive and gory introduction to one of comic book’s most hard-line and uncompromising heroes.

Dredd 3D is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian city called Mega City One; a huge, sprawling metropolis built on the ruins of Manhattan. With drugs, gangs and crime all rampant, society is not exactly living the American dream. To combat the staggeringly high crime rate, a radical new police force has been created. Combining the powers of Police, Judge, Jury and Executioner, the Judges have the power to summarily sentence – even execute – lawbreakers on the spot. Dredd 3D follows the most infamous Judge of them all, Judge Dredd, and rookie Judge and psychic, Judge Anderson.

The plot is fairly linear. Dredd and Anderson are sent to investigate a triple homicide in one of the city’s towering 200 storey city blocks – small towns in themselves – and they soon get trapped within the block by Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), an ex prostitute turned gang leader (whom fantasy fans may recognise as Cersei from Game of Thrones). The routine investigation quickly turns into a fight to survive, as Ma-Ma throws everything she has at the two Judges. Comparisons have been made to another recent release, The Raid, however these comparisons are pointless. They may both be set in tower blocks, but that is where the similarities end.

The film is very well directed, and fans of the 2000AD comics will be relieved that unlike its predecessor, this film stays very close to its source material. Expect no Marvel or DC superheroes here; Dredd has no neuroses, no love interest and certainly no desire to conceal his identity. Just as in the Comics, we never see Dredd’s face; he is supposed to be a faceless, uncompromising and emotionless embodiment of The Law, completely unforgiving, and in this sense Karl Urban delivers an excellent performance. He does a great job portraying that amoral enforcer of The Law we know him best for. That isn’t to say that the film lacks emotion or characterisation, however. This comes through very strongly in Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby). A rookie that failed her aptitude tests, she would not even be a judge but for her vast psychic powers, and again, Olivia does a great job of portraying a character that is determined, and knows she has everything to prove. And she does, as during the course of the film, Dredd is not only her partner, but her assessor. An interesting sub-plot, which helps bring a small sense of characterisation to the usual stonewalled character, as he assumes a mentor role. All in all, both main characters complement each other well.

The setting of Mega City One does differ to the comics. Instead of the endless horizon of huge “starscrapers” any Judge Dredd fan might be used to seeing, the whole look of the film is much more contemporary, almost bordering on present-day, if it wasn’t for the huge, gargantuan tower blocks, interspersed among the more regular skyscrapers. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it gives the whole film a realistic look to it, as if this dystopian future is one that might actually come about, similar to District 9. Not an entirely coincidental comparison, as the city shots use Cape Town and Johannesburg with generous helpings of CGI, the same cities used in the aforementioned film.

The special effects in the film are very well used. The city is being flooded with a new drug nicknamed Slo-Mo. It gives the user the feeling that time is passing at 1% of its normal rate, and naturally this gives the director ample opportunity to use some very effective special effects techniques, as bullets whip into henchmen and their body fat slowly distorts and ripples, while others get thrown off the 200 storey tower block, and fall slowly to their death. It would have been easy to go overboard with these effects, but the director uses them tastefully, and in moderation. There are just enough slow motion scenes to be impressed by the special effects, but they are well spaced, and one never feels overwhelmed. It is clear this is a film meant to be watched in 3D, and although I personally dislike 3D films, as the trade-off between a darker screen and the effect of the 3D is usually not good enough for me, I was nonetheless impressed with the way the scenes were shot, and I count it one of the few films that I would pay extra to watch in 3D.

It would be easy to see why, after the 1995 film, directors would want to stay away from this particular area, but it has proved to be a very impressive adaptation of one of Britain’s most well known comic books. This is an impressive undertaking, and not just because it sticks to the true essence of 2000AD. A well-written script, on top of a well directed and excellent performance from Karl Urban as the eponymous Judge, makes Dredd 3D finally the film that the comic books deserve.

9/10

 

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