May 2021

Review – Cyberpunk 2077

12th May 2021

Review – Cyberpunk 2077 Developer: CD Projekt Red Publisher: CD Projekt Director: Adam Badowski Genre: Open-world RPG Release Date: December 10th 2020 As today marks the six month anniversary of its release, I decided that it was finally a fair time to review Cyberpunk 2077. Since its infamous release in December of last year we have seen a number of interesting things emerge surrounding this game. First of all, we saw the hype train for the game come to a screeching halt when its review embargo eventually lifted, (just a worrying 3 days before the game’s release, which is always a red flag,) and we first learned of the type of game that we were getting. The realisation hit gaming fans collectively that we were not getting the ultra-polished, smooth, flawless experience that we were promised in the game’s marketing and previews. Instead we were getting something that was janky, largely unfinished and even totally unplayable on certain platforms. The next scandal came when Sony announced that they were pulling the game from the PS Store following an overwhelming mass of complaints regarding the game’s lack of quality. Refunds on Steam also reached a quarter of a million the very next day after the game released on December 11th. Then in January of this year, Jason Schreier published an article via Bloomberg, where it was reported that the game’s developers knew that this game was never going to be ready by late 2020. The dev team apparently thought that they had another two years left to finish the game saying, “they expected the game to be ready in 2022.” Multiple memes, apologies, hotfixes and patches later and I finally feel that writing a critique of Cyberpunk is now fair game. CDPR have had their chance to fix their mess and if a game still isn’t ready to be experienced six months after its release, then it probably never will be. First of all, I’d like to say something in the game’s defence. As the internet likes to do with most things, the glitches and other technical issues present in the game were vastly overblown. While I did enjoy the memes that spawned from this, the game is far from unplayable. I played in on 3 platforms; a base PS4, a PS4 Pro and PC. Whilst it did run slightly better on the Pro and the PC, it was far from unplayable on the base PS4, – even back in January before the patches dropped. I did run into multiple graphical issues, lagginess, mini map problems and two or three crashes, but nothing that really made me feel that this thing was totally unplayable at any point. That said, a AAA game of this calibre still should not have launched with that many issues still present. Although I think that the technical problems were exaggerated, that does not excuse them entirely and I still don’t think that it is acceptable to let a AAA developer like CDPR get away with releasing a game in this state. The thing is though, most people would have been willing to suffer through the technical issues that plagued the game, if the game itself was an incredible experience that made it worth persisting with. Unfortunately, I really don’t feel that it is. Let’s start with the game’s plot as the story is usually my main reason for playing a game and the aspect of any game that I enjoy the most. The story in Cyberpunk is mediocre at best. First of all, just because Cyberpunk takes some of its aesthetic influences from Blade Runner, that doesn’t mean that you are going to get a story worthy of Philip K. Dick. Rather than that, you can expect to endure some of the cringiest dialogue I have possibly ever heard in a western videogame and some really try-hard edgelord quips. There were no characters that I ever felt attached to through this entire game. I won’t spoil it here, but a character dies early on in the story and the game tries to make a big deal out of it suggesting that you should care. I felt absolutely nothing during this entire sequence due to the sub-par writing and voice acting and eventually resorted to skipping through the dialogue just to get it over with. Still though I persisted, telling myself that maybe the game it will get better once Keanu comes into it. I like Keanu. Everyone likes Keanu. And then the game does the impossible, – it manages to turn one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors into an insufferable dick. I never thought that I would have said this in a million years, but Keanu’s character of Johnny is one of the worst parts of this game. Again, the dialogue that he is forced to spout is total bottom of the barrel garbage that sounds as though it has been written by a basement-dwelling 15 year old. Frankly the story’s greatest mercy is its brevity, as the main plot in Cyberpunk is a lot shorter that most people expected. A short game is usually fine with me, as it usually results in a tightly woven, well-constructed narrative that doesn’t overstay its welcome or drag on too long. However, that is not the case with Cyberpunk. Instead, the final mission is upon you like a slap in the face, without any significant build up or indication that you are approaching the story’s conclusion. I approached the waypoint for what I thought was just the next mundane mission and was greeted with an immersion-breaking ‘point of no return,’ dialogue box. That message doesn’t always mean that the game is ending though, as other games will hit you with this message when you are about to start a particularly long mission. I thought that this must be the case, but decided to look it up anyway on the off-chance and sure enough I had reached the final mission in the game. It genuinely left me scratching my

Review – Cyberpunk 2077 Read More »

Review – Fallout 4

22nd June 2021

Review – Fallout 4 Developer: Bethesda Game Studios Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Genre: Open World RPG Director: Todd Howard Release Date: November 10th 2015 Almost six years on from its initial release, I decided to go back and revisit Fallout 4 for review. This is also the first time that I have played the game in over half a decade. It was an interesting experience to see how the game has aged in that time and how different my modern perspective on it to the hype-ridden thoughts that I had at the time. When Fallout 4 dropped back in late 2015, it was a pretty huge deal for me. I love Fallout 3 and New Vegas, so the idea of an updated experience from a Bethesda who were riding particularly high at the time, was an exciting one. Ultimately, I was largely let down, not because the game wasn’t any good, but because the game couldn’t possibly live up to all of the hype it had garnered prior to its release. Fallout 4 was exactly what we had been waiting years for, but that’s just it. This game was exactly what fans were hoping for and nothing more, which felt fairly underwhelming at the time. A great deal has happened since Fallout 4 dropped six years ago. Bethesda released one of the worst received games of all time when they dropped Fallout 76 in late 2018, and in late 2020, Microsoft acquired Bethesda’s parent company, Zenimax in a move that is set to shift the entire paradigm of the videogame market. Therefore, playing Fallout 4 in 2021, it actually feels like you are getting to step back to a simpler time. Playing this game for the first time in years feels like slipping on an old pair of comfortable slippers. The controls all come back to you immediately, the charm of a Fallout game is immediately present and it feels like you are right back at home. The world is vast, beautiful in parts and grotesque in others and I’m not just talking about the intentional aesthetic ugliness of the game’s world. Stretched textures, dated character models, stiff animation loops, clipping, short draw distance and technical glitches are just some of the problems that come with Bethesda using the dated Creation Engine to create their open world games. The best thing graphically in this game are undoubtedly the lighting effects and the more vibrant colour pallet that was chosen. When the rays of sunshine hit the trees of Sanctuary Hills at the right moment this game can actually look quite beautiful, but that is immediately lost when you turn around and see the eerie face of Mama Murphy. So the presentation could be better, but I feel that’s to be expected from a Bethesda game and that is still a problem to this day. This standard of quality shouldn’t have been acceptable even from a game in 2015. If CD Projekt Red and Kojima Productions could put out large scale open world games in the same year that didn’t look like they were developed for early PS3, then there is no real reason that Bethesda couldn’t. The fact that we had to continually endure these flaws right up until as late as November 2018 is frankly ridiculous. The shooting still feels just as clunky as it did at the time, but I am a big fan of the VATS system and it feels really good to re-experience the feature after it was butchered in Fallout 76. The crafting system in this game is also a great addition. It obviously has its flaws and it is far from the smoothest crafting system I have ever used, but in a game like Fallout it just makes so much sense and it is truly astonishing that Fallout 4 was the first game in the series to feature this mechanic. I’ve never really been into the weapon, armour, chemistry or cooking crafting stations, but the ability to build your own settlements is still awesome. The companions in the game are all quite interesting, even if there is a strange lack of female options for companions. The worst companion though by far, is Dogmeat. He is the worst programmed and therefore the most broken. Constantly blocking corridors and doorways, not fetching items for you when they are within reaching distance and just being a general annoyance. He goes from being cute to extremely irritating in a couple of short hours. The voice acting in the game is also something that varies vastly in quality. Both the male and female protagonists are voiced excellently, (even if it is a Caucasian man and woman doing the voices, which means if your character is any other ethnicity, they will still strangely sound white.) However, the other voices of NPC’s etc are wooden and downright awful in places. Certain areas in the game are really cool, helping add to the tone and the immersion of the overall experience. The sound effects and score help with this too, but there is a level of polish that is clearly absent here. It lets the game down as a whole and is clearly the thing that stopped reviewers from giving the game a perfect 10 score at the time. People on the internet have given the game’s dialogue system a lot of hate over the years and while I can see where that is coming from, I’ve always personally thought that it functions perfectly fine. Fallout 4 was never going to break any major ground, it was never going to change the gaming landscape on any grand scale and it does feel like a 10+ year old game rather than just a six year old game. In hindsight, I’m okay with all of that, because at the end of the day, it is more Fallout and that was all that I needed it to be. Sure, it would have been nicer if the game had looked a bit prettier and some of

Review – Fallout 4 Read More »

Review – Black Panther

4th May 2021

Review – Black Panther Directed by: Ryan Coogler Written by: Ryan Coogler & Joe Cole Produced by: Stan Lee & Kevin Feige Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan & Lupita Nyong’o Release Date: February 2nd 2018 (UK) I recently revisited Black Panther for review and it is still pretty great. Chadwick Boseman’s starring role as the titular hero is immense and I really enjoyed how he chose to give a subdued, collected performance in the film. This is something that I didn’t expect the first time that I watched Black Panther. Bearing in mind that the first time that we ever saw this character onscreen was in Civil War and while I understand he was on a revenge quest in that movie, he conveyed an sense of energy that isn’t present in Black Panther. I have since heard that this was a decision made by Chadwick Boseman and Ryan Coogler when they were settling on their vision of who Black Panther should be. There are a lot of stand out performances in the film though Michael B Jordan, (who is a Coogler movie staple at this point,) give us one of the best Marvel villains that we have seen thus far. At the very least, Killmonger had the most believable motivation for doing villainous things that we had seen up until that point in the MCU. The rest of the cast bring their A game too, including Danai Guira, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whittaker, Martin Freeman and Sterling K Brown who are all great here. The costume design and sets are fantastic to look at, but some of the character CGI does look a bit too bouncy and unrealistic. I also feel that the movie drags a bit in the second act and the mid-section of the movie also features a lot of very expositional dialogue, meaning that this is the low point for the movie’s script Lastly, I really enjoy this movie’s soundtrack and feel that it greatly adds to the excitement of certain scenes throughout the movie. In summary, Black Panther is a pretty great entry into the MCU and although it isn’t one of Marvel’s best, it is far from their worst. [yasr_multiset setid=2] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=2] If you enjoyed Dan’s review of Black Panther, you can check out what he thought of Thor: Ragnarok here. Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

Review – Black Panther Read More »

Review – We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1

23rd June 2021

Review – We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 Publisher – Boom! Studios Writer – Al Ewing Artwork – Simone Di Meo Color assists – Mariasara Miotti Letters – AndWorld Design Introduction Interesting is the first word that comes to mind when reading We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1. In fact, for his first creator owned series, author Al Ewing presents an interesting idea; What if the gods were real, but they were…well you get the idea from the title. The premise was definitely enough to attract my attention and this first volume may be one of the most interesting comics I have read this year. Story and writing Like many sci-fi epics, this story takes place in the future. Humanity has colonized space but resources are depleting and the human race is close to dying out. Of course, the gods are here to save us, but not through divine action. Instead, their large celestial bodies are left drifting through the cosmos so that humanity can harvest their bodies just to stay alive. I’ll admit, it’s a unique take on the overdone ‘gods and humanity’ trope. At the heart of this story is the crew of the autopsy ship, Vihaan II. Led by captain Georges Malik, who is obsessed with being the first human being to set eyes on a living god, even if it means putting his crew in danger. Malik is willing to travel to the farthest reaches of space to achieve his dream, all while a rogue agent with a personal vendetta hunts him down. It’s an interesting premise and their is a lot to juggle. Nevertheless, Al Ewing is in his element with a story as grand as this. Ewing, a star writer for Marvel, brings his distinct style to create a melancholic and deeply beautiful tale that tackles larger themes such as god, religion and death. Even with such large themes, Ewing manages to deftly interweave a narrative that also focuses on world-building to make a grand Jack Kirby-esque space opera that pushes the boundaries of its own genre. For such a bold story, this first volume is so close to being perfect. While it rightfully focuses on world-building and introducing us to the characters, it unfortunately leaves little room for character depth. By the end of the volume, you know very little about these characters, with the exception of Malik. Granted, the characters are the least interesting part of this story, but I would have liked to have understood the crews motives more. Art With a story as grand and cosmic as this one, the art work really needs to match. Luckily, Simone Di Meo absolutely delivers. In fact, it’s not wrong to say that his illustrations are the biggest stand out of this first volume. With color assists from Mariasara Miotti, the vibrant art work pops off the page and will easily grab your attention. Di Meo creates immaculate designs for the details of the ships and gives some awe-inspiring illustrations of deceased celestial bodies floating among the stars. I also adore the use of color in this story. Di Meo and Miotti work with striking neons and pastels that really match the cosmic tone of the series. Honestly, from start to finish, the look of this book is stunning and polished. Final thoughts Overall, We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 is a fantastic read. The writing, art, and colors are a powerhouse that brings to life this grand cosmic story. It’s a top notch story that showcases the talent of Al Ewing. Now if future installments focus on the characters as much as the premise, then WOFTWTD might shape up to be one of the best modern sci-fi comics. If you enjoyed our review of We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 then leave us a comment below. [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE www.bigglasgowcomicpage.com

Review – We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 Read More »

Star Wars: The Destiny Path

4th May 2021

Review – Star Wars: The Destiny Path Written By Charles Soule Illustrated & coloured by Jesus Saiz & Arif Prianto Published by MARVEL Comics Released in November, 2020 SUMMARY Star Wars: The Destiny Path is a 2020 tie in comic set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back & Return of The Jedi, filling in the gaps and answering the questions of a galaxy far far away. Written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Jesus Saiz. With the Rebels on the run from Darth Vader on Cloud City, leaving behind a hand and a Han, it’s up to Luke, Leia & Lando to locate Han Solo and strategize their next move against the Empire. With power and confidence not on their side, there is only hope for our ragtag Rebellion and the intel of one Lando Calrissian.  ART Firstly, Saiz’s art style is bombastically classic looking, especially in dog fights. Conversely, his work during the more sombre and expositional scenes gives the titular characters emotional depth and focus, really capturing the likeness of each beloved character. Solid work! Equally, Arif Prianto and his team of colourists throughout present a galaxy of colour variations and combinations that allow each new planet, setting and character to shine independently with identifiable palettes.  WRITING What could just as easily serve as simple filler between episodes, instead unexpectedly opens up a whole new dynamic dimension within the saga. With interesting character developments for fan favourites as well as brand new characters, there is so much to love about this comic!  The most notable of these character developments is the internal conflict of Luke as he reflects on the shocking revelation of his relation to Daddy Darth Vader. It’s a primary story beat that is surprisingly brushed over by Lucas.  With it being a 2020 release set during the original trilogy, fans will be happy to see some recent additions to the story from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and The Mandalorian, as well as some PTSD flashbacks to Order 66. It’s incredible how many surrounding plot strings Soule binds together! Crucially, the balance of light and dark is more akin to a pendulous potentium as we learn more about the aftermath of the Death Star’s destruction and the remnants of its humanity within the Empire. In a never-ending war of two factions, there is no peace. OVERALL In conclusion, Star Wars: The Destiny Path is an exciting and audacious addition to the old saga that bridges the dominant favourite film to the first finale through new and expansive lore. Outside of the main story itself, the comic makes for a dramatically fresh take on the deeper Hero’s Journey. Some minor details disrupt the continuity of the films but hell, if Lucas can take leaps in the plot between films, then Soule can take liberties when trying to fix them! Furthermore, a benefit of Lucas leaving out a lot of detail between films is that these gaps can be filled by a wealth of new writers, more often than not with a blissful nostalgia for the galaxy before them. This destiny is far from fulfilled but the path is clear and promises a masterclass in balancing the new and old. [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on Star Wars: The Destiny Path, what your favourite episode of the franchise is and of course, May the Fourth be with you! Also check out my review of Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate from earlier today! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE

Star Wars: The Destiny Path Read More »

Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate

15th June 2021

SUMMARY Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate is MARVEL’s recent addition to the outer-rim lore of Star Wars, following the adventures of titular character, Doctor Aphra. Written by Alyssa Wong and illustrated by Marika Cresta. Professor by day, Smuggler by night. Indiana Solo? Han Jones? Either way, Doctor Aphra is embarking on her next job with her team of smugglers as well as new and old colleagues. What lies before them comes with the promise of infinite riches, eternal life and the highest price of all; a maddening suicide mission in the depths of an ancient temple.  ART Firstly, the dialogue depicts some of the archaeological sites and artefacts as grander or more intricate than they appear which is a little disappointing given the subject matter. On the other hand, a diverse colour palette throughout by Rachelle Rosenberg allows for a balance between the setting and our main characters. This combined with Cresta’s exceptional illustrative expressions and designs give the reader a clear visual narrative to accompany the story.  WRITING Fittingly, with the Indiana Jones franchise being synonymous with Lucasfilm, it makes perfect sense to have an Indiana Jones type storyline within the Star Wars mythos! Not only as a nod or homage to another of Ford’s badass thrillseekers, but as a welcome extension to a galaxy far, far away. We’ve rarely been introduced to the academia or archaeology of Star Wars.  Apparently, some of the characters are well known within the comic lore of Star Wars and as a fanatic, I’m ashamed to say I don’t recognise any of them. As my official introduction to these existing characters, I think they are neat. Inventive and interesting while remaining familiar and funny.  For an archaeological adventure story, not unlike the Sith academy trials in Knights of The Old Republic, Wong’s writing is for the most part solid but rudimentary. Where the story shines is in its characters, both in their personalities and in motives. The inclusion of an LGBT relationship is also a nice touch that is treated respectfully and realistically.  OVERALL In conclusion, Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate is a harmlessly engaging comic. I say harmless because the storyline, aside from its prologue, is wholly distant from the original saga in which it is set. This story could stand on its own easily in any era of Star Wars which is neither a good or a bad thing, as is the way of a rogue smuggler.  With no prior knowledge of this spin off comic series or its characters, I recommend this for a quick standalone Star Wars adventure with interesting ideas and a homage to the Indiana Jones franchise. Something familiar but new for your May the Fourth! [yasr_multiset setid=1] [yasr_visitor_multiset setid=1] Let us know in the comments your thoughts on MARVEL’s Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate, your favourite Star Wars spin off and how you’ll be celebrating May the Fourth! I’ll be watching The Bad Batch premiere, expect a review later today! Buy tickets for BGCP Comic Con in and around Glasgow Scotland – BUY TICKETS Check out all of our Comic, Movie, Television and Videogame Reviews HERE and our Podcasts/Interviews HERE If you want to be part of the BGCP community, Join us on Discord, Twitter, Instagram etc then click HERE www.bigglasgowcomicpage.com

Star Wars Doctor Aphra: Fortune & Fate Read More »

Scroll to Top