I'm kind of on a Cowboys and Aliens trip this week, but I had no idea a new trailer was going to come out yesterday. It fleshes out the plot a bit more and has a lot more action, all set to Favreau style rock music, which is cool in the trailer but if put in the movie would cause me to scream uncontrollably at the screen in confusion. It's just a reflex. Also, we get our first peek at Sam Rockwell, one of my favorite actors, as some sort of sidekick character maybe? He looks like he might be a doctor or something. Hopefully Favreau knows how to use him this time around, unlike the terrible role he was given in Iron Man 2, the film also known as How Many Avengers Tie Ins can We Get Away With in 2 Hours?
I love this type of genre mashup and I'm really excited for this movie. I just read the graphic novel it's based on, which is clearly only an adaptation in name. Craig, Ford, Wilde, and Rockwell play characters that appear nowhere in the comic and I assume nowhere in the movie we will be treated to old fashioned, mildly racist depictions of Native Americans. Just like your grandpa used to watch!
Hit the jump for more Sci-Fi Friday junk on the future of cinematic video games.
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| They're everywhere! |
In other news, Portal 2 is coming out next week. And you can bet I will play it until my thumbs fuse to the controller Videodrome style. On a side note, watch Videodrome. No, Portal 2 isn't a movie, but something I read about it caught my eye and points out the slowly but steadily closing gap between films and interactive entertainment.
Portal 2, a video game, has a musical score that mirrors in-game play.
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| But no music beats Still Alive... |
Now, if that doesn't seem like a big deal to you, the consider this. The images of a film tell you what to think. The music tells you what to feel. In recent years, games have gotten more and more cinematic. Games like Heavy Rain and Uncharted have shown us that games can be not only fun, but beautiful as well. Aside from the graphics, the only thing separating them from a near perfect cinematic experience is the music. Now, granted, Portal and its upcoming sequel are not very plot driven and will probably not be too much of a visual spectacle, but this music innovation is groundbreaking. The composer worked with programmers to create a score in certain parts of the game that mimics your actions. Which makes much more sense than making a program where your actions are controlled by music. Which sounds like a Wii game mixed with mind control.
Imagine, you're tentatively taking steps through a dark tunnel and a row of strings lightly plucks in synch with your movement. Or near the climax of the game, you launch yourself rapidly through a series of portals and a horn section grows to a crescendo. It's like you're controlling a movie.
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| When New York floods, you're doing it wrong |
Someday games will close this gap even further. Now, don't get me wrong, they should never replace straight up movies, but by mirroring their style, we get a more engrossing experience. And not only this, but games like Mass Effect (and Heavy Rain again) have given us greater control of the game's progress. Imagine watching Inception and being able to control Leonardo DiCaprio. It's like a dream within a game within a movie within a dream...
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