Hella Good
After putting it off for a while, I finally acquired Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the prequel to the incredible Life is Strange. The first game really captured my imagination and I couldn’t get enough of Arcadia Bay and its inhabitants. Everything from the art style to the soundtrack felt perfect, and even though I’m not a fan of the twee indie shite genre, I still listen to the music quite often. Max Caulfield and Chloe Price hold a special place in my heart, and another game featuring the wilful Miss Price, might not be the same. And considering that we already know the fate of the characters featuring in Before the Storm, was it necessary?
Yes. God yes! I thought LiS was a one off, and there’d be no way another game would capture that magic. How wrong I was. Perhaps it’s the melodramatic story lines that keep me coming back, or maybe it’s the gorgeous locations, accompanied by the mellow acoustic guitar background music. Maybe I love stepping in to the shoes of angsty teens and seeing how rebellious I can get. But either way, there’s a magic to Arcadia Bay, and even if the game follows some difficult themes, I always finish them with a feeling of astonishment. For those unfamiliar with the games, it’s basically a modernised point and click, only you control the main character rather than a cursor. There’s different outcomes from the way you interact with people, which have a bearing on the story, and although it’s near enough predetermined, regardless of your choices, it’s a brilliant story with plenty of plot twists and rug pulling moments. It’s a game that is available dirt cheap these days, with the first episode being free to play, and it’s on pretty much every contemporary format available, including mobile, so I recommend you give it a try.
The story of Before the Storm takes place a few years before the original, with a 15 year old Chloe Price as the main character, still grieving for her father who was killed in a car accident, a year or so before. This is covered in quite a surreal way, with lots of dream sequences and hallucinations. These are clearly inspired by the likes of David Lynch, who is referenced quite frequently throughout the game. The main story of the game however is Chloe meeting the ambiguous Rachel Amber, a girl who is mentioned a lot in the first game, and pretty much placed on a pedestal. Over the three main episodes, we get to see Chloe and Rachel’s relationship develop, and it’s quite wonderful to see how they click, and play off each other. By the end of the game you will no doubt be captivated by the two of them. However, if you’ve played the first game, then the post credits sequence will likely pull your heart out of your chest and stamp on it. It was remarkable returning to Arcadia Bay, and if you pick up the limited edition, then there’s a bonus episode featuring Chloe’s last day with Max before she moved to Seattle. With a heartbreaking ending. The physical version also includes a soundtrack CD and art book, and is well worth the few quid it goes for these days.
This video is from Other Places by Andy Kelly. Check out the YouTube channel, full of beautiful video game locations
The Spark
I recently had Sky installed, and as a result, I could finally catch up with one of my favourite TV shows of the last few years, Star Wars Rebels. Before you scoff, I urge you to give it a try. The show manages to capture the spirit of the original films, better than any of the prequels and The Force Awakens ever did. I had seen the first three seasons up to this point, and it just keeps getting better and better. There’s some great characters and cameos, and barely a filler episode in the lot.
Season 4 started on an odd note however, with a two parter that felt more like episodes midway through the season, where as episodes 3 & 4 seemed more like the sort you’d get as an opener, even featuring Saw Guerrera, with Forest Whitaker reprising his role from Rogue One. However as it’s the final season, those first 2 episodes are vital to clearing up one of the characters more personal story arcs. From that point on, you could consider the rest of the season one big movie, as the main character, young Jedi in training, Ezra Bridger, returns to his home planet with his rebel crew in an attempt to liberate it from the clutches of the empire. What follows are personal journeys of the main characters as things start to wrap up, including the familiar Jedi traits of destiny and purpose, and how this plays out. Its surprising how spiritual and existential it gets as the season begins to reach its climax, particularly as it’s broadcast on kids channel, Disney XD. It’s also home to some of the most impressive space battles of the Star Wars universe and some excellent animation too. The space craft and environments all retain that significant sense of scale and awe.
The characters are some of the most involving and empathetic, eclipsing anything that came in the prequels, and the dynamic of Ezra and his master, Kanan, is much better than anything we saw with Obi-wan and Anakin. If you’re after something that captures the magic of the original trilogy, you can do a lot worse than give Rebels a try.
Dope as shit
Recently I rewatched one of my favourite films of last year, one that caught me off guard, Brigsby Bear. It’s a story of a new world and closure. There’s an incident in the first ten minutes, which flips everything on its head. It then becomes a film of self discovery, and following some quite harrowing revelations, James, the central character, decides to make a film about Brigsby Bear, a TV show which he watched for years, but then abruptly stopped. It’s so full of heart and humour, that despite the incredible circumstances, it manages to stay on an uncynical path and concludes in the most wonderful way.
It’s a breath of fresh air to see a film like this, which is slightly melancholy, but crammed full of optimism, and is genuinely funny. It’s quite similar to the equally underappreciated Gentleman Broncos, another silly film full of warmth, although that one is a little more self aware. The cast is excellent, including Gregg Kinnear and Mark Hamill, and the lead Kyle Mooney, is wonderful as the young man thrust into an unfamiliar world, and is trying his best to deal with the situation. It’s a little gem of a film and will stick a big smile on your face come the end credits.
Next Time: Monkey Business
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