System Shock Remake Delights Fans
The System Shock reboot from Nightdive Studios is a faithful remake of the 1994 classic originally developed by Looking Glass Studios. Playing as a hacker you are trapped aboard Citadel Station which is teeming with cyborgs and mutants corrupted by a maniacal A.I. called Shodan. It’s a story-driven narrative revealed through audio logs and messages scattered around the spaceship, hindered as always by Shodan.
This remake began life in 2015 and was originally using the Unity engine but later changed over to Unreal 4 and was partly funded by a Kickstarter campaign. The end result is described as a faithful remake of the 1994 original which is widely regarded as one of the most influential video games ever made.
I’ve played the demo, which is available on Steam and there’s no doubt that this is a labour of love eight years in the making. The above picture is from the 1994 edition and the remake does retain some of the retro, pixelated look from the original game which, from an artistic perspective is a wonderful nod to the original. Erm, I couldn’t resist it and have just bought the remake and it really is as good as I was hoping. Hint: Start on easy mode.
Egyptians Furious Over Netflix’s Black Cleopatra
I often think of Elizabeth Taylor when remembering Hollywood portrayals of Cleopatra and it never once occurred to me what colour skin the famous queen had. But then, this is 2023 and the colour issue is more sensitive than it’s ever been. So much so that jurists and experts in Egypt are apparently seeking $2 billion in compensation from Netflix for portraying Queen Cleopatra as black in the new documentary series exploring the lives of African queens.
Former Egyptian Antiquities Minister, Zahi Hawass is said to have called the series a fake and that ‘Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was blonde, not black…’ The truth is that Cleopatra originated from Greek Macedonia and the makers are being accused of blackwashing, while the makers themselves accuse Hollywood of misogynoir. Fair enough and I’m sure that Moses looked nothing like Charlton Heston (I thought his beard was quite Kosher), which isn’t really the point if Hollywood’s prime purpose is to provide entertainment which this series does not by a long shot. It’s dire and quite simply a sanitised and watered-down history lesson of what the producers believe may have happened all those centuries ago. There’s also a Netflix on-screen warning of nudity and sex scenes when the show starts of which there is practically nothing, which is a bit disappointing since it would have added a little spice to such dullness. But anyway, I’ll leave the last words to director, Tina Gharavi:
I am proud to stand with Queen Cleopatra – a re-imagined Cleopatra – and with the team that made this.
Actually, I find it difficult to leave it here because of that one word, re-imagined, which reminds me of that unfortunate series, Bridgerton which is based upon a re-imagined Regency London. Need I say more?
Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Tanks In Player Reviews
I put Lord Of The Rings: Gollum on my wishlist months ago because I’m a big fan of the sneaky little fellow. However, on its release two weeks ago the game was universally slammed with negative reviews, not only on Steam but most other outlets and video reviews. In a word, they hates it!
Most of the criticism is based on how boring the game is, how short it is, its poor performance and janky controls. On the other hand, much of this criticism is subjective and there are plenty of positive reviews on Steam (184 positives and 298 negatives), for example, where many players whisper that they loves it. One major swipe at the Smeagol is that all that glitters is not gold and at anything between $40 and $50 is far too precious an amount to part with.
Perhaps we should leave the last word to our special friend…
“Not fair! not fair!” he hissed. “It isn’t fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it’s got in it’s nassty little pocketsess?
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