THOUGHTS ON…”DESTINY: BETA”

Greetings all!!

How you guys been? It’s been a while right?

Apoogies, there was just nothing really interesting to report last week, but now with Comic-Con done and out the way and the Destiny Beta open and closed I got some stuff to talk about.

So let’s go…

First off, I’m gonna talk about the Destiny Beta, which I did play through out it’s entirety when it launched.

And what would I say about it?

It’s awesome. It’s fun. I enjoyed it. Usually I’m not one of those gamers that goes ape shit for a first person shooter because that genre of games bore me. I’d happily take a third person shooter like GTA:V over Call of Duty any day of the week.

Admittedly I do enjoy Crysis every now and then but my relationship with first person shooters are like my relationship with my barber. I didn’t come to have a deep meaningful experience, I just came to get things done.

In terms of gameplay it’s your standard FPS. However, it’s pretty cool that you can collect a huge variety of weapons and equip them at any point and carry on with your mission. You can switch from machine gun to sniper rifle at any moment of your choosing and that’s pretty nice.

I also like the Sparrow, which is like hover bike that you summon when you have to travel great distances to get to the next checkpoint. I liked it so much that there were so many times that I just got my Sparrow out for no reason and went for a ride.

Not a euphemism…

But the thing with Destiny was that I was interested in the story it had to tell. Not only was it intriguing, but after the beta I wanted to see where the game goes next, and what upgrades it has to offer my character.

And seriously, the character design is pretty badass. For anyone who has an interest in the game, you already know the three character types you’re getting. Hunter, Warlock and Titan.

I think it’s safe to say most people played as a Warlock. I did, and most of the time when I went to The Tower, most of the other people I ran into were Warlocks, even if they didn’t chose to be human.

But speaking of character design…

One of the things I loved about this game as well is the fact that my character kept changing and evolving to be better equipped as I leveled up. It gave the game momentum and kept me interested.

Seriously, my character went from this…

…to this…

…then to this…

…and by the time I got to the end of the demo I ended up like this…

It was insanely awesome. I bet by the time I get to like Level 19 I’m gonna end up looking like a futuristic version of a character from Game of Thrones or one of the Kryptonian soldiers from Man Of Steel.

Another thing is I’m not a fan of online multiplayer because I know there’s gonna be someone who wants to challenge you or get in the way of your progress or just genuinely be a dick to you. Call me anti-social or whatever I don’t care…

But beta makes you play with other people online. And the developers probably knew that’s some people were gonna dick around, which is why it gives you points for assisting another online player when they are trying to kill one of the Fallen.

I actually can say I had a good experience with other players online. They didn’t try to get in the way and just got on with their own stuff, and helped me out at times of need.

Plus you get to dance with other people online. Wait…did I say dance? Yes. I said dance.

You can hilariously dance with other players, or wave to them or point at them or sit with them. There were several occasions where I got groups of people to start dancing in the Tower for absolutely no reason.

I’d say my only beef with the game at this point is the ghost. You know, that floating robot voiced by Peter Dinklage? Yeah. I’d say apart from decrypting files and opening doors and providing light and guiding you to the next checkpoint they are pretty useless when it comes to combat.

If you’re gonna have something like that following your character majority of the time surely it would do something other than tell you that you can’t re-spawn in a certain area. It should help you out during a shootout by firing at the Fallen as well to make things less intense.

But then again we wouldn’t want to make things too easy now would we?

Dick…

Oooh, and before I forget, another problem I had? What happened to the pause option? Honestly, everytime I pressed the Options button like any rational person would to pause the game, I kept noticing that my character was still getting shot at and eventually killed…

…like…what the hell?

FYI, People do have things to do Bungie while they’re playing your game, a pause option would’ve been nice.

Yeah that does sound super bitchy…my bad…

Overall though, my experience with Destiny was good. Although it is your standard first-person shooter, I am genuinely looking forward to when the full game is released so that I can make my Warlock more badass. So expect a review of from me once I’ve got and completed it.

So what did you think of the Destiny Beta? Did you enjoy it? Did it put you off or has it quashed all your doubts over the full game?

I’d like to also take a moment to thank you to everyone who’s been reading my posts. I checked my view count the other day and I reached 109 views! So thanks to everyone out there that made that happen!

As always, comment below and I’ll see you on the next post!

X-MEN: AND HISTORY REWRITES ITSELF…

Yes, I know, I’m a week late but I’ve finally seen X Men: Days Of Future Past. 

And before I give my view on it, I have but one word for what I saw: AMAZING!

(***SPOILERS AHEAD, SO IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, YOU HAVE BEEN FOREWARNED. DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE MOVIE OR YOU DON’T CARE IF THE PLOT OF A FILM/SERIES IS RUINED FOR YOU***)

First off, the performances from every single actor or actress in this movie was on point. Every one of them who have ever been in one of the films from the X-Men franchise brought their “A” game.

And before I get to the original and current cast, I first have to give props to the newcomers. The new cast that played the future X-Men did well. And as per usual, Peter Dinklage pulls out another terrific performance.

To the regulars…

James McAvoy as young Xavier did really well, pulling off Charles’ transition from being a broken and isolated man to rediscovering the path he needs to take to become the Patrick Stewart incarnation of Xavier we all know and love.

In terms of Magneto, once again, the Fassbender portrayal of the character is a lot more cooler than Sir Ian McKellen’s one, but that’s only because the older Erik Lensherr is more in tune with his abilities and wiser. Young Erik is still so full of rage, so when he uses his powers he does it in an aggressive manner, whereas older Erik is well resided in the place between peace and tranquility.

Jennifer Lawrence’s incarnation of Mystique is one that fans will love because she is a lot more like her comic book version than she was in the original films.

In the earlier portrayal by Rebecca Romijn, Mystique was definitely cold and calculated and yes she was pretty cool, but she was so robotic because she didn’t have a lot of dialogue. Everything she did was through action, so audiences could hardly empathize with her.

But this edition of Mystique takes what was great about the previous display of the character and adds the emotion to her. This time, Mystique is part of the film’s soul. Like Charles, she has lost her way, but like Erik, she is filled internally with a lot of conflict.

There was a lot of emotion…

The events that took place between First Class and Days Of Future Past, which include historical events like the Vietnam war hit everyone hard, as losses were suffered from all sides.

As Hank mentioned, most of the students and teachers from the Xavier Institute were drafted in, and one by one they died, and it broke Charles.

It was sad to hear that some of the characters that, even though they were not incredibly relevant, from First Class, met tragic fates including Emma, Angel and Banshee.

Erik, Raven, Hank and even Alex have all been broken like Charles. What’s more is how they have all decided to take different approaches to get over the losses.

It’s no wonder why we find young Charles a damaged man to the point that he tells Logan that everyone dies some day.

And the film didn’t just deal with the emotional state of the characters, but also about their relationships with each other. About trying to repair what was broken or about characters trying to find their way. Especially the Young Charles/Erik/Mystique element.

The scene on the plane ride to Paris in which Erik and Charles argue about who abandoned who summed up a very delicate relationship.

It’s clear that they both still care for each other, and it’s why Charles selfishly rages at Erik that he abandoned him and took Raven away. Taking away the things that mattered most to him. But Erik is not just angry about Charles’ abandonment but also at the fact that him abandoning Erik cost the lives of so many allies they hold dear.

Hugh Jackman as always, kills it as Wolverine. Even if people don’t like Logan’s stand out films, you can’t help go see it because of Jackman. The character is already the most popular of the X-Men, and Jackman’s portrayal of him keeps that favouritism in place.

Even though I don’t like the fact that Wolverine is always central to the plot of the Singer films, in Days Of Future Past I was glad he was the central character thread that kept both the timelines together. I felt Logan’s pain and impatience when he was trying to convince young Charles that he was telling the truth.

Especially when he grabs Charles and tells him that he has come a long way and has lost a lot of good friends who were good people. And what’s more he tells Charles that if he doesn’t listen to him he too will suffer the same losses and they hurt just as worse.

The scene with Logan that really got me was when he tells young Charles on the plane to Washington that even though when he saw tragic memories, there were also good ones and begs Charles to promise him that he find the X-Men. To find Storm, Jean, Scott.

I keep saying that the film is filled with emotion because that’s as best how I can describe it. Yes, the matters at hand and the action are important, but they weren’t the factors that stood out to me. It was the emotions that kept me locked into the film.

Alongside Wolverine, young Charles and Mystique were essentially the heart of the film, keeping it emotionally engaging. Even Hank, who you can see was still quite saddened by Raven’s departure added more to the tender serving.

In fact, a lot of the characters brought so much emotional energy, but it’s the first three just mentioned that really stick out.

Heck, even that one scene that we saw Alex Summers in tugged at the heartstrings, especially when he gets onto the plane and asks a disguised Raven if she was coming home. I would have liked to have seen his character have a full stay in this movie and have a lot to do.

Will he make a possible appearance in Apocalypse? It would be interesting to see how they tackle his relation to young Scott. It’ll probably be like the Magneto/Quicksilver elevator scene.

It was also touching to see that the film wasn’t just about Charles finding hope again, but it reached out to audience members to tell them that no matter how dark things get, there’s always a bright side and that we have to keep hoping.

I think what a lot of the fans will take from this film is what happens at the end, and I’m not just talking post credits…

The creation of the sentinel programme happened at the same time as the original trilogy, so while the films were taking place sentinels were being built and modified to be more adaptable in combat against mutants.

By putting an end to the Sentinel programme it means the X-Men aren’t going to meet the fate they end up in at the start of the film.

And with it comes changes to the current timeline.

Logan didn’t join Charles’ team until the first film (I was going to say he didn’t meet Charles until the first film, but we all remember that scene from First Class). But by meeting him in 1973 that means (and this is me making an assumption), he will be a part of Charles’ X-team for the next installment, which was hinted at when after the events in the 70’s Hank asks Charles of Logan’s fate and when Logan meets Charles in his office in the new timeline, Charles tells him he’s got a lot of catching up to do from 1973.

It would only make sense…

Not to mention when Logan wakes up, all the beloved characters from the original movie reach a happier fate, and what’s more, like Logan, we feel such joy and relief and happiness when we find that both Jean and Scott (yes that Scott as in Scott Summers as in Cyclops), is still alive.

You’re not just happy to see that they’re alive but you’re happy to see that with all the pain and loss that Wolverine suffered, he’s finally got a peaceful and happier resolution to his story.

With Scott and Jean alive again, it now means X-Force is gonna be a go, because there’s no X-Force without Cable, and Cable is the son of Scott and (a clone of) Jean Grey. If they don’t exist, neither does he.

Up next, for those who didn’t see the post credits scene is Apocalypse. Rumour has it that it’ll be set in the 80’s and young Scott will be in the team, as well as Quicksilver. If that be the case I will be incredibly excited, especially on the Cyclops front.

My reason for this huge bias towards the Summers kid is that if you have a general knowledge of the X-Men comics, you’d know how vital and important of a character he is to the series.

And I’d say that that’s my only beef with Singer’s franchise. No one sees how important Scott is to the X-Men. When you think of some of the most important and iconic stories in the comics, from the Dark Phoenix saga to Age of Apocalypse, Scott is in some way connected to them.

Scott is connected to Age of Apocalypse. How? Because his future child is fighting for survival in that timeline.

Scott is connected to the Dark Phoenix Saga. How? Simply because he and Jean are the love of each other’s lives and Jean being overcome with the Phoenix Force puts a strain on their marriage.

Not to mention, in recent events (Avengers Vs X-Men), Scott is at the centre of the story as he comes to understanding what Jean went through and kills Charles at his own hand.

The transition made by Scott from Charles’ prodigal son to having Magneto as a close ally is one that determines the fate of the entire X-team and it’s one of those issues that I feel should be brought to the fray.

Also, with the timeline changing, it now gives Singer the chance an attempt to make a Dark Phoenix movie, an opportunity tragically missed by The Last Stand.

It was clear that at the end of X2: X-Men United, Singer had plans to make a Phoenix movie, so changing the X-universe would probably allow him to make the Dark phoenix movie he probably planned since 2003.

There were so many things about this movie that I loved, from the story, to the action, to the characters and to the actors that played them. This film demonstrated why Bryan Singer was the right man to direct the X-Men films.

It’s as if the last few films in the X-Men franchise (with the exception of First Class) didn’t take place and that he picked up where he left off from the second film.

This film is like a hail to his return but also a sentimental last goodbye to the original cast.

I believe Days Of Future Past is a film in the franchise that would rank highly amongst fans. For me, it’s the best one, and I loved the original movie from 14 years ago.

It’s very rare for me to say that the newest installment of a highly established franchise is the best addition.

5/5