Ahh, Mr Wick. It’s always a pleasure to see you. If you aren’t working, of course.
I am so excited about John Wick 3 next week. As a series, it just keeps delivering. They are movies I can watch again and again, and continually do.
The story is simple and straightforward, but also has many subtle twists and openings that I appreciate on many levels. When my biggest story gripe is calling John ‘Baba Yaga’, who is most certainly not the Boogeyman as the film states, it should be a lot of fun.
And the small plot elements – simple in execution, but hint at a depth yet to be touched. How much is a gold coin genuinely worth in that world? Even the marker system, a convenient plot device for John Wick 2, is a subtle treasure. The marker must be honoured, apparently even when the presenter is excommunicado.
I will be doing my best to see this, all going well. If all goes to plan, I will be doing a vlog on my thoughts on the franchise as a whole in the coming weeks, where such things will be discussed in more detail.
But yesterday, there was another John Wick announcement that made me excited, and it wasn’t the release date for The Continental.
John Wick Hex
Imagining John Wick as a video game protagonist is a no-brainer. A one-person unstoppable force overcoming ridiculous odds is what games have been built around of for decades.
Someone else that apparently has no trouble imaging this is Lionsgate Games and Mike Bithell. Mike was the director of indie hits Volume, Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular.
I haven’t played Volume, but it is highly regarded as a stealth action title. In Thomas Was Alone, I became emotionally attached to a square. Yes, a square. If you have played Thomas Was Alone, you will understand.
Together, they are bringing John Wick Hex to PC, Mac and Consoles. A turn-based (real time with slowdown maybe?) tactics game, it should allow players to plan and execute the amazing combat runs we watch onscreen.
It already looks incredibly solid:
We can already hear Lance Reddick is onboard for voice work. Ian McShane is the only other voice actor confirmed at the moment, but more “being revealed later”.
Later will hopefully be in a few short weeks, as John Wick Hex is a part of the Devolver Showcase at this years E3! I will be watching for peoples reactions to playing it from the show floor.
There is a bit of ‘Epic Store Exclusivity’ happening for the PC/Mac side of John Wick Hex, but with the well-publicised developer cuts Epic is offering who can blame them!
From the little bit of teaser footage, I am thinking I would play John Wick Hex on the PC or the Switch. If it’s turn based, it makes the Switch perfect for pick up and put down play. On PC, the more precise mouse/keyboard controls would be the go I think. I have played X-Com and similar on PS3/4, and console controls just aren’t as natural a feel for me.
Now, if someone could make a good version of John Wick for VR, maybe along the lines of Superhot, that would be the final icing on the cake!
Until next time,