Welcome back to Thrak Attack! This is a week of mixed reviews. All of the reviews this week are both amazing and awful all at the same time. I also made our first video review of last week's blog over the weekend so make sure to check that out! There will be another video review of this week's blog posted this weekend so make sure to check it out! With all of that out of the way, let's get started with some news!
NEWS!
-Goku received his own balloon at the Macy's Day Parade. He's the first anime character to receive his own balloon (I'm not counting Pikachu).
-Lion King (2019) received it's first teaser trailer that looks like a CGI clone of the original. I'm not excited for this film.
-Wreck it Ralph makes an appearance in Fortnite. That is something notable, right?
-Styx and Larry the Cable Guy are going on tour together... What? Why?
-Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Spongebob Squarepants, passes away at 57 due to ALS. May he R.I.P.
-Netflix announced a live action version of Cowboy Bebop. Why are we still attempting make these? Live action anime does not work.
-Amazon is selling an Alexa enable Big Mouth Bass. This is awesome and fun news!
REVIEWS!
Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is a Fallout game with a twist; it's an MMORPG. Every person you meet on your journey is another real person. All of the elements are the same and it's still a fallout game except this difference. The visuals are great, there's an updated VAT system works, the pipboy UI is the same, and world is amazing. They even kept the crafting of Fallout 4. On paper this is an awesome game! All of the elements are there to make an amazing, interactive, and immersive video game. I started off playing the game as an MMO and it is awesome, but as soon as I began playing it as a Fallout game, I enjoyed it. There are still some glaring issues in this game though, and here they are!
The only people you meet on this journey are others on the same journey, that sucks for a story point of view. No one else has their own agenda and the people are basically you doing the exact same thing as you are doing, trying to survive. This makes for bland missions (although the firefighter missions were great!) even though there are a lot of them and the game reminds you how many missions there by posting them constantly on the screen the entire time. The map, HP, and AP bars on the bottom are enough but posting those bland missions really take me out of the world and the experience. There are a lot of missions but they are all essentially the same thing. Find this robot, access this terminal, find this landmark, talk to this robot. After a while I just want to explore the world but you don't receive enough loot from just exploring which leads me to my next point.
Fallout has always been a survival game and has always worked as a survival game until now. In previous games I never felt like I was always dying because I could always buy and sell my items at the shop to get more equipment or aid. There are no shops because everyone is on the same mission as you which makes for more intense looting and crafting but there aren't enough objects because there aren't enough meaningful missions because... you get the picture. It's an endless cycle of you constantly on the verge of death and the only thing that can really kill you are the level 24 creatures attacking my level 12 character.
Bethesda has always done an amazing job of leveling up the game with your adventure. If you were level 10 you would only meet creatures level 12 and under. You were able to handle the enemies the game threw at you and the creatures would get stronger along with you along with items. We already discussed the lack of items to craft and create weapons, armor, and aid; but this issue is with the creatures. It was my first hour out of Vault 76, I was level 2 and a level 10 robot started attacking me for an event. I couldn't handle these guys and even if I could, I didn't have the ammo, aid, or weaponry to complete the event. The game throws things at you that you can't handle which makes it a much more difficult and less enjoying game.
So inside this massive and immersive world of West Virginia, all of the major landmarks are there... except the state's second largest city of Huntington. I actually went to college in Huntington at Marshall University. I was super excited to see the representation of that city and have it be my home base. Instead of a city we get Camden Park (which is pretty darn accurate) and a house where the city should be. This is super disappointing to me and after I found that out the game lost some of it's credibility.
So, for my final words on Fallout 76. I am enjoying this game. Once I treated it as a Fallout game and not a MMO it was much more enjoyable. But the new elements that excited me about this game are not properly thought through, the elements that I enjoyed about previous Bethesda games, and the COUNTLESS BUGS (so many bugs, updates, and glitches that the game became unplayable at one point) cause this game to not be as enjoyable as I hoped it would be. Will this be on my ultimate video game shelf? No. I'll stick with Fallout 4.
Robin Hood: Full Spoilers
So we want to make this Robin Hood movie that's essentially a prequel but all we have are costumes from 70's masquerade and mob movies, a batman plot, and action set pieces that are really meant for modern day war movies. That is essentially Robin Hood 2018.
This movie was so ridiculous and I loved it! The opening scene they basically said "We're going to make a movie we want to make, so get over it!"and it somehow works. With a great cast and sets this movie does wonders for what it is.
The cast and characters are all Robin Hood but they're also batman characters. Nottingham is now this gritty mining town like Gotham, Robin is a war veteran and lord like Bruce Wayne, and Will Scarlett gets his face burnt like Two-Face and becomes the new Sheriff of Nottingham like Harvey Dent.
The action scenes are so out there that it kind of works. The war scenes are like shotguns and machine guns but it's with archery. There is an awesome chase scene where horses are running up stairs and rooftops, and the main character gets mortally wounded at least 3 times and never dies. It's crazy and awesome.
There are no authentic accents, costumes, or sets. It's all a mixed bag of those things although I really enjoyed the Sheriff's suit/robe? And there was a particular scene that had some great cinematography when Robin comes home and is looking for Marion.
Oh and Jamie Fox is in this movie for some reason.
Is this on my ultimate shelf? No, but I had a damn good time watching it!
Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet
As soon as I saw the first trailer for this movie I knew it was going to suck. Then I saw the "Oh My Disney" trailer and knew it would be a giant commercial for Disney and I was right. There is so much fun in this movie that the message and reliance on references that it just falls flat.
The plot of the movie is great. Vanellope's game breaks and they need to go to the internet to find a new one. Simple enough right? There's not a villain in the film except some poorly designed characters and some literal puns but we'll get into that later.
John C. Reilly does another amazing voice acting performance along with Sarah Silverman. They are joined by a group of talented actors who are outshone because everyone else is barely in the film. The majority of the film is just them getting into trouble and it's fun but uneventful.
The "Oh My Disney" and "Slaughter Race" segments were fun and I thought were going to be pointless but then because the most important part of the films which is super awkward. Meeting the princesses was supposed to be a one scene joke and became an important part of the climax. Slaughter Race and Shank was supposed to be a side mission and became the focal point of the film. These things are not what the film was supposed to be about but it became that.
SPOILERS!!!
The climax of the film, "scanning for insecurities", was so literal and heavy handed that it felt forced. The army of Ralph becoming on giant King Kong Ralph is dumb, and the realization of the point of the film should not be the resolution. It should not fix the issue at hand but it does. Also the point is to be able to let your friends (kids) go live their lives but where are all of Ralph's other friends? All of his other friends can help him and should help him in this film to show that even though your best friend is gone, you don't have to be alone. Instead of the princess's helping at the end it should be the characters from the arcade to show that Ralph has other friends that can help him. This seemed like a missed opportunity for the film and made the ending feel empty.
END OF SPOILERS!!!
The film had some fun moments, jokes, and references but the references took away from the plot. Doesn't Disney know this already because of the success of the MCU? If a movie has too many references to other characters/properties it takes away from the film you are watching. This film is a prime example of that. I hate to say it but the 2nd Disney renaissance (Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh, Wreck it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana) has finished. The next era seems like sequels and cash grabs. The next Disney Theatrical Animated Feature is Frozen 2 and that's going to be awful. This will not be on my ultimate shelf alongside the first one.
All the Best, Ross
NEWS!
-Goku received his own balloon at the Macy's Day Parade. He's the first anime character to receive his own balloon (I'm not counting Pikachu).
-Lion King (2019) received it's first teaser trailer that looks like a CGI clone of the original. I'm not excited for this film.
-Wreck it Ralph makes an appearance in Fortnite. That is something notable, right?
-Styx and Larry the Cable Guy are going on tour together... What? Why?
-Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Spongebob Squarepants, passes away at 57 due to ALS. May he R.I.P.
-Netflix announced a live action version of Cowboy Bebop. Why are we still attempting make these? Live action anime does not work.
-Amazon is selling an Alexa enable Big Mouth Bass. This is awesome and fun news!
REVIEWS!
Fallout 76
Fallout 76 is a Fallout game with a twist; it's an MMORPG. Every person you meet on your journey is another real person. All of the elements are the same and it's still a fallout game except this difference. The visuals are great, there's an updated VAT system works, the pipboy UI is the same, and world is amazing. They even kept the crafting of Fallout 4. On paper this is an awesome game! All of the elements are there to make an amazing, interactive, and immersive video game. I started off playing the game as an MMO and it is awesome, but as soon as I began playing it as a Fallout game, I enjoyed it. There are still some glaring issues in this game though, and here they are!
The only people you meet on this journey are others on the same journey, that sucks for a story point of view. No one else has their own agenda and the people are basically you doing the exact same thing as you are doing, trying to survive. This makes for bland missions (although the firefighter missions were great!) even though there are a lot of them and the game reminds you how many missions there by posting them constantly on the screen the entire time. The map, HP, and AP bars on the bottom are enough but posting those bland missions really take me out of the world and the experience. There are a lot of missions but they are all essentially the same thing. Find this robot, access this terminal, find this landmark, talk to this robot. After a while I just want to explore the world but you don't receive enough loot from just exploring which leads me to my next point.
Fallout has always been a survival game and has always worked as a survival game until now. In previous games I never felt like I was always dying because I could always buy and sell my items at the shop to get more equipment or aid. There are no shops because everyone is on the same mission as you which makes for more intense looting and crafting but there aren't enough objects because there aren't enough meaningful missions because... you get the picture. It's an endless cycle of you constantly on the verge of death and the only thing that can really kill you are the level 24 creatures attacking my level 12 character.
Bethesda has always done an amazing job of leveling up the game with your adventure. If you were level 10 you would only meet creatures level 12 and under. You were able to handle the enemies the game threw at you and the creatures would get stronger along with you along with items. We already discussed the lack of items to craft and create weapons, armor, and aid; but this issue is with the creatures. It was my first hour out of Vault 76, I was level 2 and a level 10 robot started attacking me for an event. I couldn't handle these guys and even if I could, I didn't have the ammo, aid, or weaponry to complete the event. The game throws things at you that you can't handle which makes it a much more difficult and less enjoying game.
So inside this massive and immersive world of West Virginia, all of the major landmarks are there... except the state's second largest city of Huntington. I actually went to college in Huntington at Marshall University. I was super excited to see the representation of that city and have it be my home base. Instead of a city we get Camden Park (which is pretty darn accurate) and a house where the city should be. This is super disappointing to me and after I found that out the game lost some of it's credibility.
So, for my final words on Fallout 76. I am enjoying this game. Once I treated it as a Fallout game and not a MMO it was much more enjoyable. But the new elements that excited me about this game are not properly thought through, the elements that I enjoyed about previous Bethesda games, and the COUNTLESS BUGS (so many bugs, updates, and glitches that the game became unplayable at one point) cause this game to not be as enjoyable as I hoped it would be. Will this be on my ultimate video game shelf? No. I'll stick with Fallout 4.
Robin Hood: Full Spoilers
So we want to make this Robin Hood movie that's essentially a prequel but all we have are costumes from 70's masquerade and mob movies, a batman plot, and action set pieces that are really meant for modern day war movies. That is essentially Robin Hood 2018.
This movie was so ridiculous and I loved it! The opening scene they basically said "We're going to make a movie we want to make, so get over it!"and it somehow works. With a great cast and sets this movie does wonders for what it is.
The cast and characters are all Robin Hood but they're also batman characters. Nottingham is now this gritty mining town like Gotham, Robin is a war veteran and lord like Bruce Wayne, and Will Scarlett gets his face burnt like Two-Face and becomes the new Sheriff of Nottingham like Harvey Dent.
The action scenes are so out there that it kind of works. The war scenes are like shotguns and machine guns but it's with archery. There is an awesome chase scene where horses are running up stairs and rooftops, and the main character gets mortally wounded at least 3 times and never dies. It's crazy and awesome.
There are no authentic accents, costumes, or sets. It's all a mixed bag of those things although I really enjoyed the Sheriff's suit/robe? And there was a particular scene that had some great cinematography when Robin comes home and is looking for Marion.
Oh and Jamie Fox is in this movie for some reason.
Is this on my ultimate shelf? No, but I had a damn good time watching it!
Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet
As soon as I saw the first trailer for this movie I knew it was going to suck. Then I saw the "Oh My Disney" trailer and knew it would be a giant commercial for Disney and I was right. There is so much fun in this movie that the message and reliance on references that it just falls flat.
The plot of the movie is great. Vanellope's game breaks and they need to go to the internet to find a new one. Simple enough right? There's not a villain in the film except some poorly designed characters and some literal puns but we'll get into that later.
John C. Reilly does another amazing voice acting performance along with Sarah Silverman. They are joined by a group of talented actors who are outshone because everyone else is barely in the film. The majority of the film is just them getting into trouble and it's fun but uneventful.
The "Oh My Disney" and "Slaughter Race" segments were fun and I thought were going to be pointless but then because the most important part of the films which is super awkward. Meeting the princesses was supposed to be a one scene joke and became an important part of the climax. Slaughter Race and Shank was supposed to be a side mission and became the focal point of the film. These things are not what the film was supposed to be about but it became that.
SPOILERS!!!
The climax of the film, "scanning for insecurities", was so literal and heavy handed that it felt forced. The army of Ralph becoming on giant King Kong Ralph is dumb, and the realization of the point of the film should not be the resolution. It should not fix the issue at hand but it does. Also the point is to be able to let your friends (kids) go live their lives but where are all of Ralph's other friends? All of his other friends can help him and should help him in this film to show that even though your best friend is gone, you don't have to be alone. Instead of the princess's helping at the end it should be the characters from the arcade to show that Ralph has other friends that can help him. This seemed like a missed opportunity for the film and made the ending feel empty.
END OF SPOILERS!!!
The film had some fun moments, jokes, and references but the references took away from the plot. Doesn't Disney know this already because of the success of the MCU? If a movie has too many references to other characters/properties it takes away from the film you are watching. This film is a prime example of that. I hate to say it but the 2nd Disney renaissance (Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh, Wreck it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana) has finished. The next era seems like sequels and cash grabs. The next Disney Theatrical Animated Feature is Frozen 2 and that's going to be awful. This will not be on my ultimate shelf alongside the first one.
All the Best, Ross
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