Game of Thrones: "The Old Gods and the New" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Whoa, now that was one powerfully wicked episode. No, nothing happened along the lines of a smoke demon birth or supernatural regicide, but "The Old Gods and the New" was filled some intensely heinous human events. Just some amazing, killer sequences. And it seems as though Vanessa Taylor, who also wrote the great and demented "Garden of Bones," might be this series' go-to scribe for big, intensely disturbing moments. From Theon raiding Winterfell and brutally hacking off Ser Rodrik's head, to Joffrey inciting a riot and nearly getting Sansa raped and murdered, this episode was an absolute stand-out that helped put this season into perspective; perhaps even finally giving it shape.

Having read the Martin books, I was surprised to see Theon arrive at Winterfell so soon. And I'm pretty sure that other book fans felt the same way since the season wound up skipping past a lot of Theon's actual journey to get there. But I see this as a good thing. For once, we book readers got to be surprised along with the non-readers. Surprised , sure, but still taken aback. And by leaping over some of Theon's story to get to Winterfell the producers and writers were able to turn the actual attack on Theon's former home into a bigger moment then it would have been if we had spent an extra episode or two with him plotting to take down Winterfell. Which would have ruined the surprise.




And now Theon has officially moved beyond being a pompous letch to being a full-fledged horrible human being. Yes, I can officially shout "F*** you!" at him, as he foolishly tried his best to lead a bloodless raid; wanting somehow to be both respected by his ship's crew the Winterfellians. It's funny to see someone who's turned his back on the Starks essentially wanting Ned Stark. Or, at least, be loved and respected like him. It actually kind of reveals the way Theon felt about Ned. But then everything turns massively ugly when Ser Rodrik refuses to yield and, well, Theon does his damnedest to give Joffrey a run for his money; competing for the ultimate "wretched prick" prize of Season 2. But even though Theon has now done the unthinkable (and to some, the unexpected), he's still given actual layers. For what it's worth, you can see how torn and conflicted he is. You see him not to hurt anyone. But, of course, when he has to make a bottom line decision, he makes the monstrous one. "Gods help you, Theon Greyjoy. Now you are truly lost."

- HBO

Royal Guard Photobomb!

And while Theon's clumsy sack of Winterfell got him a thousand douchebag points, there's simply no beating Joffrey. In the exact same episode, not only does Joffrey out-do Theon, but he out-does himself. Again. He's a marvel. He was so horrifyingly idiotic in this one that he actually caused the usually calm and collected
Tyrion to snap and give him an epic slap right in his kingly mouth (again!). "We've had vicious kings and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know that we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot." So damn good. And a shot to the mouth so gratifying that the internet is sure to have a field day. Loop it. Gif it. Go nuts!

Man, what a scene. And can we now that Sansa has more than paid for her Season 1 sins? The riot scene was even tweaked enough from the books that I got pretty damn nervous watching the Sansa attack; not quite sure where they were going with it. But then, before I knew it, Tyrion wasn't the only one getting a great hero's moment this week. Yes, it was The Hound to the rescue. But now what? That crowd, that Joffrey vocally wanted to have killed, has crossed that line of no return. Because some of Joffrey's rich folk retinue sure as hell didn't make it out of that mob scene alive and . "Set up"-wise, there may have only been a few lines here and there about how the people in King's Landing were starving, but I'd like to think that Joffrey, being the way he is, would be enough to cause even a sane and well-fed crowd to lose it and start ripping royals to ribbons.

We got to see a little more of Robb and Lady Talisa out on the war trail, with Cat returning and reminding Robb of his promise to wed one of the ugly Frey daughters. Again, we have to shift time around in our heads here since Theon's attack on Winterfell took place... a few weeks after the last episode? And that's being very generous. A month is probably fairer, but again that would also mean that a month had passed for everyone else. Especially since, in the same episode, Cat and Robb get Luwin's raven about the raid - tethering them, at least to those events and that timeline. Of course, Robb wants to head back North, but much in the same way he can't give up the Kingslayer for his sisters, he can't abandon his battles. So Lord Bolton, who we don't know all that much about, tells Robb that he'll send word to his bastard, who we haven't met, to retake Winterfell. I won't say much more about this other than... I hope we soon get this story filled in a bit more.

Jon Snow meeting Ygritte, the fire-haired wildling lass, really helped juice up his storyline. For the first time, after he and Ygritte got separated from Quorin, I felt like Jon was experiencing his own story. And not just tagging along with a bunch of grizzled Night's Watch superiors who were exposition-ing him all about how the Night's Watch sucks as a career path ("We're not fighting an enemy, we're fighting the North"). Not that it was bad to watch. I did like Quorin's speech about how, really, you're to resent being the Night's Watch. But now that Jon is off on his own, with a feisty temptress, his trek has become a more lively and exciting. Downton Abbey's Rose Leslie is perfect at Ygritte; stubborn, brave and yet also instantly attracted to Jon. And yes, even though you can tell that the two of them have a certain "meet-cute" spark, Ygritte is definitely toying and teasing Jon with her hip gyrations; not really expecting it to go anywhere except to frustrate and torment him.

- HBO

Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh....

It's interesting watching Daenerys this season as she always feels the need to come off as strong and confident. And that's understandable, for sure. But it's a far cry from her Season 1 arc and since Jorah was off trying to find her a ship in this episode (and the only time she lets her guard down is with him) Dany tried to boast and "I am Daenerys Stormborn!" her way around Qarth with Xaro. Meeting up, once again, with the somewhat-contemptuous Spice King - who also stood as proof that Stannis Baratheon isn't the only "Grammar Nazi" in town. Dany is still trying to get Qarth sponsorship, which seems to mean that she's not fully listening to Jorah's advice about "making her own way." And at this point on the show, I think the audience trusts Jorah's wisdom more than hers.

So until Jorah comes back, Dany's apt to make mistake after mistake. As proven with the theft of her dragons. And the killing of Irri. Awww. At least she got to get in one final "It is known" back in last week's episode. So now Daenerys has nothing to brag about. The three things that were keeping looming scoundrels from savaging her are gone. Off to, what I assume was, the House of the Undying. Which maybe should have warned Dany about (*narrows eyes at Xaro*). You know, that Warlocks might also kill everyone in your house and steal your most prized possessions.

I mentioned last week how much I loved watching Arya and Tywin together and, man, that still stands. This week the two of them had a great scene together where it seemed like they actually connected as people. Especially Tywin, who talks more candidly to Arya than he does to any of the men on his war council. And even though Arya stealing the note (which actually lets us know that Tywin gets more satisfaction out of their chats than she does) meant that she had to a kill-name with Jaqen, it was still a very fun sequence; with Amory Lorch opening the door and falling flat on his face. Of course now, since Lorch's death can't be considered an accident, everyone has to know that there's an assassin hiding somewhere in Harrenhal. It's even fun watching Littlefinger "out in the field" working hard to pull the strings; coming to Tywin on behalf of the Tyrells.

Book purists will certainly have their gripes, but I found "The Old Gods and the New" to be nothing short of an intense triumph; filled with tons of cruelty and shock. Plus, there was some fun to be had with Jon Snow and some suspense to be found with Arya. It also, I must say, provided genuine surprises for those who of us who have read the source material.


Source : http://tv.ign.com/articles/122/1223767p1.html

Super Lame: How to Fix Superhero Games Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Why is it so hard to find good superhero games? Why is it that for every bright spot like 2003’s Hulk or the more recent Batman outings, we get about seven mediocre movie tie-ins and a few truly abysmal titles, like the infamous Superman 64 and that atrocious Catwoman game.

Superheroes seem like the perfect subject matter for videogames. Think about it – the entire genre focuses on larger than life characters with special powers, suited to sci-fi or other “genre” fiction, the bread and butter of about 80% of AAA titles. Why, that sounds like a game designer’s dream. Not to mention the fact that there’s a huge crossover audience between folks who like to watch superhero flicks and read comics and people who like to get their game on (read: the ever-so-fickle male 18-35 demographic).

We’ve done a bit of sleuthing to find the biggest constants in strained superhero game-making relations – as well as ways developers can overpower them.

Slave to the license

Licensed games aren’t quite the slow motion car wreck that they used to be, in the movie tie-in schlock “heyday”, but a license can still be a mixed bag. The biggest problem with superhero games is that they tend to be tied in to another media release – typically a big summer movie, and quality doesn’t always flow from the rushed production schedules associated with those kinds of deadlines.

Often, these games are treated like forgettable marketing material, and not given the kind of respect publishers have for other IP.

The solution: better planning, good communication, and inspiration from those who have done it right.

A movie tie-in game doesn’t need to be crappy, and several studios have proven that. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (specifically the Uncaged Edition) actually fared way better (critically speaking) than the film it was based on, and Spider-Man 2 still stands as perhaps the best example of a superhero tie-in done right, even if it was way back on the “last-gen” consoles.

Judging from these two examples, it seems the winning formula consists of smart mechanics and solid development track records. Here we have gameplay built around the titular heroes’ specific powers, instead of two mediocre action games with licensed likenesses pasted in. We also have two solid developers at work: Treyarch on Spider-Man and Raven on Wolverine, who knew what they were doing.

This is certainly not to say that only well-established houses should be given the chance to do justice by supernatural justice-seekers. Just that publishers shouldn’t simply farm out a sexy license to devs with poor track records.

Stupid powered

This is a problem that pops up in nearly every game with a supernatural hero: you are playing as a total badass, yet the obstacles that befall mere mortals stop you in your tracks. Bullets or other weapons flying around the scene that would never hurt, say, Superman, can bring you to your golden knees. On the other hand, being crazily overpowered without interesting challenges that are worthy of your god-like time make for a boring experience.

The solution: build your game around your hero, and present challenges that make sense.

When the hero at the core of the game has super powers, the game surrounding him/her still needs to be interesting and challenging. Yes, you should feel like a total badass, but not at the expense of good gameplay and good game “flow”.

The 2003 surprise hit Hulk is a good example of intelligently designing around a core idea: Hulk gets mad, and he destroys things. The entire game is intelligently built around that idea – and the obstacles that you face are appropriate for Bruce Banner’s alter ego.

Using this sort of logic, imagine how cool a good Catwoman game could be, with a mix of appropriate stealth elements and perhaps some interesting mechanics tied to a loot system. Think about how a Daredevil game could right the wrongs of the awful flick with some sort of echolation-based fighting. Build a game specifically around your spandex-clad badass, and you won’t go wrong.

Generic

Far too many superhero games are lame, boring, or otherwise mediocre takes on over-used gameplay conceits. How many third person action games do we need with a brawny badass traversing the same palette-swapped corridors for hours? How many brawlers and shameless God of War clones does the caped-crusader landscape really need?

The solution: branch out with genres and mechanics that are consistent with your fiction.

I’m not necessarily calling for more superhero powered kart racing games (actually, scratch that, it would be a great idea!), but branching into new gameplay styles that make sense for your hero will bring some much-needed spice.

The Arkham series did this beautifully. Arkham Asylum presented aspects of all of Batman’s skills – detective work, gadget wielding, powers of observation, and of course, brawling – and worked them into a satisfying mix. Arkham City did it all over again, adding the richness of an open world to the equation.

As we did with the above issue, it’s easy to imagine how genre bending (and blending) could lend itself to great gameplay based on specific heroes’ skills. Hey – maybe someone will make an awesome kart racing game with the X-Men one day. The possibilities are endless when you are dealing with comics and larger-than-life characters – so lets see some of that magic happen!

Danielle Riendeau is a freelance writer, digital media professor, and nonprofit web ninja from Boston.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723469/super-lame-how-to-fix-superhero-games/

Black to the Future: What Do You Think of Black Ops II's Futuristic, 2025 Setting?

The future of Call of Duty the future; Activision is sending its flagship franchise to 2025. That means highly advanced weaponry, razor-edge robotics and drone warfare.



Of course, it also means leaving behind a lot of tradition. For a series that was forged in the fires of World War II, found incredible success in current-day conflict and has since stopped off for a little Cold War subterfuge this is a pretty significant shift.

There's been praise for Treyarch taking Call of Duty somewhere fresh, but there's also been criticism; science-fiction isn't everyone's cup of tea. What are thoughts, Call of Duty fans? Let us know below.


Source : http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1224411p1.html