Solo: A Star Wars Story opens tomorrow!
I have grown up on the Star Wars movies. I was only 2 when Episode IV came out, but I remember being taken to see Return of the Jedi at the drive in.
The latest ‘episode’ Star Wars movies haven’t been bad, but I haven’t enjoyed them as much as I probably could. There is the chance for new stories to be told, but they keep sticking to the ‘original’ themes as an over homage. Well, that’s my one line opinion anyway. Like an onion or Shrek, there are many layers to all this, and I won’t skip any new ones.
But it is having a bit of an effect on me this week. Solo: A Star Wars story opens tomorrow here in Australia (well midnight tonight if you really can’t wait) but I can’t get excited about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am going to watch this movie. Rouge One was the best ‘new’ Star Wars film yet, and Han Solo and Chewbacca are my favourite partnered characters in the universe. Well, in the old extended universe anyway. Solo will let me know how much of that old backstory has changed, so I don’t know if the same elements I love (loved?) are still there.
I can’t even say it’s the prospect of the story changing that is stopping me from being excited. When Disney announced the extended universe was null and void, yes I was initially upset because all the lore I had learned and enjoyed over the years just got snapped out of existence. (Foreboding puns anyone?) But just as I was initially upset, I was also excited. I understood this was a move Disney simply had to take, or their creative options amounted to none at all.
So I will try and make sometime this weekend, maybe the next, to sit and watch Solo and try to avoid as many spoilers as possible.
Until then, I leave you with possibly my favourite Solo trailer and new craze that seems to be hitting YouTube lately – Solo: The Lego Version.
Well Yakuza is getting the remastered treatment now!
Yakuza (or Ryū ga Gotoku in Japan) is a series I know of but chose to let slip me by in the gaming world. A lot of people I know we’re thinking the same thing and was probably a big reason why I didn’t jump in wholeheartedly.
With storytelling similar to the Yakuza films popular in Japan (think of Yakuza films as a genre, they are crazy popular in Japan) all the ingredients for things I like about video games are there. Character development, straightforward story progression with the ability to just stop and explore many sub-branches, strange quirky jokes – Yakuza had it all on the PlayStation 2. Except my full attention.
With the release of Yakuza 0 on PlayStation 4 last year, and Yakuza 6 this year, the series has gotten a lot of attention again over here. Yakuza 0 was a great move for new audiences, as it is a prequel so no prior knowledge was required. This allowed Yakuza 0 to act as an introduction to the world of Yakuza, and what an intro it is.
Well, that all proved so popular, Famitsu is reporting remasters of entries 3, 4 and 5 are coming and in pretty quick succession in Japan, with the Yakuza 3 remaster releasing August 8th, 2018!
Yakuza 4 is set to release about three months later, and Yakuza 5 in 2019. Well, released in Japan anyway – no word on international releases, but fingers crossed!
Some gameplay from Yakuza 6 can be seen below to give you idea on what to expect if you haven’t seen the games before.
A second chance at a Kickstarter I missed
Way back in 2016, I was having a break from Kickstarter for a few different reasons. One of those “Awww that looked fun” gems was 5-Minute Dungeon. If I was to try and describe 5-Minute Dungeon, it would be ‘cooperative chaos. Think of a mix between Galaxy Trucker and Magic Maze? It’s not quite right but gives you an idea if you know those games.
I say those games aren’t quite right, because you are dealing with mostly randomised dungeon decks and matching cards to play rather than coordinating on a set known board. What does hold true is the game is won or lost in five real-time minutes. There is no sitting and debating for ages in this game – card comes out, react now or lose. The how to play video from the creator may give you more of an idea.
Fair warning though – this game appeals to my sense of humour, so plenty of terrible dad type jokes await all that play 😀
Over on Kickstarter, there is a short (14 day) campaign for the sequel – Curses: Foiled Again!
I am loving this because a) it was popular enough for an expansion and b) I can buy the base game again! Finding it at retail has been a bit of a joke over here.
Check out the campaign here.
Happy Wednesday everyone!