Review of Life is Strange

Put simply, ‘Life is Strange’ is one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had. The level at which I connected with the characters, even from early on, was palpable. I put my headphones on, turned off the light, and got lost into the small coastal town of Arcadia Bay.

Like with Until Dawn, ‘Life is Strange’ is a game driven by your choices and the consequences that come as a result. Except where Until Dawn was focused around which characters would get brutally ripped apart, this game gets deeper into the relationships between its myriad of interesting people. Not only that, but you can even go back to make a different decision if you change you mind. This idea is a fundamental part of the game.

Life is Strange

You play the game as Max Caulfield: a photography student who recently arrived back to her home town to attend Blackwell Academy. After one of her routine classes, she witnesses a horrific incident in the girl’s toilets This incident shocks her into discovering a special ability she has – the ability to rewind time.

The mechanic of rewinding time is really well integrated into the game and is actually really fun to keep going back and making different decisions to affect immediate outcomes. Of course many decisions will have long tail affects which you wont actually see the result of until much later on.

As the game progresses Max learns more about what her powers allow her to do and the effects that her time jumping actually has – sometimes to tear-inducing effect.

Her powers give herself and her best friend, Chloe, a unique advantage as they begin to dig into the dark underbelly of Arcadia Bay and into the disappearance of local girl Rachel Amber.

A game of episodes

When I first heard about games being created as episodes my immediate thought was that it was a con; getting people to pay more money for what amounts to a single game. However, not only are each of these five episodes well-priced, but the way the story flows, you really do need a breather after each episode’s climax.

It’s hard to believe that breaking Life is Strange up into five episodes was because of budgetary constraints – the story benefits from this format and gives the player a natural place to take a break from the story.

Have tissues at the ready

You know that feeling of having a frog in your throat when you experience a really emotional scene in a film? Like the end of ‘Titanic’ or the bus singalong to Tiny Dancer in ‘Almost Famous’? Well this game has moments like that in spades. There is one climax in particular – the end of ‘Episode 3: Chaos Theory’ that choked me up more than in any other game I’ve played. Obviously I can’t go into the scene itself but you’ll know what I mean when you see it.

BFFs

The relationship between the two main protagonists, Max and Chloe, is handled beautifully. You are given decisions to make throughout the game, many of which are tied to Max and Chloe’s friendship. When I was forced to make some – often really hard – decisions with them, I found myself becoming more invested in that friendship, like I actually was Max.

Take your time and explore

This is not a game that you should want to rush through just so you can say you’ve completed it. You will be so thankful to take your time and experience Arcadia Bay in full. There are moments in the game where you can just lie or sit down, allowing you to chill. During these moments Max will think out loud about what she’s just seen and what she’s going through. You can even sit Max down and have her play her guitar for as long as you want. You can truly get lost in this world.

Go Otters!

I encourage you all to play this game. At least play the first episode, which is now free on Steam and PS4. I guarantee that once you play the first episode you’ll be bulk buying the other four immediately.

Terminator 2 Re-release in 3D

When I was eight years old Terminator 2: Judgement Day was released at the cinema. I remember it vividly. Not because of my going to see it, but because of the evening my parents dropped me off at my Nan’s house whilst they went to watch it.

Now, Twenty Six years later, I finally had the opportunity to see it on the big screen myself.

I was initially skeptical

When the announcement was made about the retro fitting of 3D for its re-release I was disappointed. I’ve never been much of a fan of 3D cinema and simply wanted to see this film as it was originally. I grew up watching this all the time; memorised all the lines; and even played out the scenes with friends in junior school. I was obsessed to say the least. This is one of my favourite films, if not my actual favourite film, and was worried it would somehow tarnish my love of it.

However, if this was to be my first chance to see Terminator 2 on the big screen I was gonna take it.

I was not disappointed

As soon as the film began I was immediately blown away. The Terminator’s skull coming out of the fire at the end of the opening credits was so spectacular-looking and was completely terrifying. The moment had finally came – I was about to see Terminator 2 on the big screen.

All throughout the film I found myself noticing more of the background details, probably through a conscious effort to absorb the full 3D effect. Even in the T-1000’s arrival, I would be noticing all of the wrecked cars and debris in the underpass. I got even more wrapped up in this world than I had previously done.

Everything I loved about this film was magnified up on the screen.

The Special Effects still hold up today

Twenty six years after this film released, then ahead of it’s time, the special effects still hold up strongly. The highway chase between the police van and helicopter still looked great – greatly due to the fact it was all filmed for real. No C.G. shots back then, kids. Even the nightmare hydrogen bomb scene, even more horrifying at a huge size, still had all the power of its first outing. In fact I couldn’t help get more of an emotional connection to this in the light of recent threats and actions in the news by certain heads of state douche bags.

Thank you, Jim

A big thanks to James Cameron and all of the people who went into making this re-release a reality. Let’s hope there’s enough interest to warrant the possibly-next-planned remaster, Aliens.

Tomorrow night is Terminator 2 night

Tomorrow night I finally get to see one of my favourite, if not my actual favourite, film of all time – Terminator 2: Judgement Day. My only initial concern / worry is that it’s being released in 3D. I don’t like to be a hater for the sake of hating, but I’m always sceptical about … Continue reading “Tomorrow night is Terminator 2 night”

Tomorrow night I finally get to see one of my favourite, if not my actual favourite, film of all time – Terminator 2: Judgement Day. My only initial concern / worry is that it’s being released in 3D.

I don’t like to be a hater for the sake of hating, but I’m always sceptical about films shown in 3D. Maybe I’ve just had bad experiences but the only film I remember being impressed by was Tron: Legacy. Avatar was an enjoyable film but the 3D gave me a headache. Maybe I was just ill anyway.

So I’m really looking forward to seeing T2 on the big screen – 3D or however – after having had it as the most memorable film of my growing up. I remember it coming out in 1991 – I was 8 – and my parents dropping me off at my Nan’s while they went to watch it on release. It feels like life has come full circle somewhat, now that I get to watch it up there.

I’ll write up my complete thoughts on the experience once I’ve seen it. I may even go for a double bill with War for the Planet of the Apes afterwords.