Caroline John RIP

I was surprised and sad to hear that Caroline John, the actor who played the Liz Shaw, died on 5th June. She was a great actor who played one of my favourite Doctor Who companions. She will be greatly missed.

Random Thoughts for May 2012

Things have been pretty quiet in my life so I'm really just posting for the sake of keeping this blog going. Still, at least I've got a cricket match to look forward to next weekend.

In other news the Fuel Tanker strike has been averted, for now. It's good to know that there'll be no more panic buying of petrol.

Some of the drought warnings have been called off, though not in my local area. At least there's progress with all the rain we've been having.

Thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3

Hope is Lost
Faith is Broken
Fire will Rise

Yeah, I've been watching the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. It doesn't really give away much that I wasn't previously aware of. Understandably, the film makers want to avoid putting in too many plot details in case they spoil the film before it comes out.

Bane's attack on Gotham seems to extend to destroying the bridges leading out of the city. It looks like the city will be isolated, and its citizens trapped inside, with Bane and his men.

It was good to see more of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, who appears to be more of an ally of Batman than in the previous trailer suggested. Perhaps it's only Bruce Wayne she dislikes. If so, then she may be in for a little surprise.

It was also great to see "the Bat" vehicle in action. For all of the Nolan film's attempts at "gritty realism", sometimes you just have to have Batman and Cat-Woman flying an improbable vehicle over the skies of Gotham.

The film looks good, if a little pretentious. Still, as far as I'm concerned, I'm looking forward to the concluding chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman saga.

Happy Easter!

Hope anyone reading this blog today is having a great easter!

New Companion: Jenna-Louise Coleman

It has finally been revealled that the new companion on Doctor Who will be played by to be twenty five year old Jenna-Louise Coleman, who played Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale between 2005 and 2009.

Ok, she's not a redhead, but I guess she'll do.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I've never watched Emmerdale, so I have no idea what her acting is like. I guess I'll have to watch ITV's upcoming Titanic series to find out. Personally, I was hoping we'd get an older companion, like Donna Noble or Wilfred Mott, but that's no fault of Jenna's.

Still, I always enjoy the speculation that goes on whenever a new companion or Doctor is announced. We have no idea what the new companion's name is, what her occupation is, or where she comes from . We've got plenty of time to ponder before her first appearance in the 2012 Christmas Special

Sadly, this news does make Amy and Rory's departure seem even more tangible than before. While I was never entirely fond of Amy and Rory as characters, Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill always gave a great performance, and they will be missed.

As for this new co-star, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Random Thoughts for March 2012

A couple of weeks ago I managed to see a production of Midsummer Nights Dream production by the Globe. It was interesting seeing the way school children reacted to the show. Some seemed bored, but most engaged with it. A co-worker of mine pointed out that these childrens loud reactions are closer to those of the rowdy audience of Shakespeare's own time. I'm not sure if I entirely agree with that, but I did enjoy the production.

Retro Gaming - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

I used to play Abe's Oddysee a lot when I was a kid. Last month, I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I decided to replay it and see whether it stood up well today. Although game design has improved rapidly since this 2D platformer was released, back in 1997, it's still a great deal of fun.

You play as Abe, one of the many blue skinned Mudokon slaves working at a meat plant called Rupturefarms. Abe is working late one night when he overhears his boss, Molluck the Glukkon, planning to turn the Mudokons into a new meat product to make up for falling profits.  Abe runs away, determined to escape from Rupturefarms, unaware that he has a destiny. It's a fairly straightforward story, albeit with an interesting anti-McDonalds message.

Oddworld is full of fascinating creatures and enemies, including the Sligs, yellow slugs with mechanical legs who carry guns. Enemies are strong enough to kill Abe with just one attack, and Since Abe doesn't carry a gun, the player must find ingenious ways to avoid direct confrontations.

Abe's main ability is to use "Gamespeak" to communicate with fellow Mudokons and lead them to freedom. Abe can also "chant" to possess enemy Sligs and use the Slig GameSpeak to solve certain puzzles. It's always good to have games where you don't just mindlessly shoot every enemy on sight.

The number of Mudokons that you rescue will determine the ending of the game. If you killed or left behind too many Mudokons then you'll get the bad ending. The more you rescue, the better the chance of getting the good ending. A lot of the replay value in this game will come for trying to rescue all 99 Mudokons in the game.

The graphics for the full motion video sequences still look fantastic. The in-game Pre-rendered backgrounds are beautiful, from the grimy, industrial feel of Rupturefarms, to pine forests and dry desert land, give a good impression of vast distance. Only the character sprites themselves look a little rough and blocky, although the sprite movement is as fluid as possible with 90s graphics.

There are no catchy themes or songs in Oddworld as the music is primarily about creating atmosphere. Whether it is reflecting the harsh industry of Rupturefarms or the nature of the Oddworld wilderness, the music succeeds in this goal well.

So, all in all, I enjoyed the experience of replaying this game. I might even try replaying the sequel, Abe's Exoddus.
4/5