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I’m a completionist; especially in games I like. And I LOVE Fallout 4. But…
There are two trophies* that are incredibly difficult to get. Not difficult in terms of game play (like beating the game in Survival mode, which, thankfully, is not a trophy), but difficult in terms of meeting really weird requirements that can’t be met without special planning or a guide to the underlying algorithms. Trophies like these are a real fun-killer.
Of course, I earned them anyway.
Benevolent Leader (Main game)
I tried, and tried, and tried to earn this one. It’s ridiculously hard until someone broke down the algorithms and then it’s just grinding. Start with the “Large Settlement” requirement. That’s not “large” as in size, but “large” as in number of objects built. Eventually, using the method linked above, I got my trophy using one settler working a restaurant at the Red Rocket garage with about 100 wooden crates sitting around to make the settlement “large.” And that was only after two (real) hours of sleeping (in game) + waiting (not game “waiting,” actual sitting there watching the game run without doing anything).
Docile (Wasteland Workshop expansion)
It’s not that you need five tamed creatures who are normally hostile—i.e. cats and dogs don’t count—or even that you can’t mix-and-match creatures since they will continue to be hostile to each other—I just caught five mutant hounds and that was it. It’s the ridiculous requirements necessary to build a beta wave emitter that tames the creatures. You need at least one rank each in the Animal Friend and Wasteland Whisperer perks. Now, “wasting” 2 perk points on perks I wouldn’t otherwise use is not that bad, but…
Wasteland Whisperer requires a Charisma of NINE. I was fortunate that I had one high-Charisma character I could fall back on to get this perk, but that was unusual. I normally don’t spend that much on Charisma, as the higher-level perks are not that useful. But, even though I had the character, it was a high-level character that had finished the game and I had a lot of slogging about to rise up two levels so I could purchase the two perks. "Grinding" does not begin to describe it.
* On Playstation 4. Achievements for those playing on Xbox One or PC.
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User Rating: 5 / 5
“I can do this all day.”
What has become an iconic line for Captain America was not first uttered by the Captain. The first time we hear those words, they are spoken by a scrawny Steve Rogers. Long before the Super Soldier serum coursed through his veins, Rogers was a hero.
DC Comics appears to be pushing Zack Snyder aside in an effort to elevate its Cinematic Universe. While such a move is an important first step, it will do little good unless DC understands why Snyder's movies are provoking great criticism. Snyder makes movies about super-powered people.
But they’re not heroes.
It's fine for our heroes to have flaws, but each franchise needs one linchpin that truly exemplifies the ideal. For Marvel, that is Captain America. For DC it should be Superman, but Snyder has badly mishandled their greatest hero. To bring the DCCU to the level of the MCU, Superman must be remade. It can be done, and in a way that is emotionally and intellectually stimulating. Just watch all three Captain movies.
This is not about DC beating Marvel, or vice versa. There's room at the cinema for two great superhero franchises. I want DC to succeed because I love some of their characters as much as I love some of the Marvel characters.
But until the DC supers also become true heroes, I just can’t watch.
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I enjoyed “Captain America: Civil War.” It’s a big, explosive superhero movie with lots of action and plenty of heart. It’s also fun, something DC has forgotten lately. Still, as much as I enjoyed the movie, there’s one huge hole right in the middle of the film: the central conflict makes no sense[1].
Secretary of State Ross opines how the Avengers have caused all kinds of collateral damage[2] in their forays to save the world, showing pictures of the destruction wrought as the Avengers fight invading aliens, Hydra, a runaway AI, and mercenaries stealing a biological weapon. Ross demands the enhanced individuals sign the Sokovia Accords, giving the UN oversight of the Avengers.
What is blatantly ignored by the pro-oversight crowd (Stark, Rhodey, Vision, and Black Widow) is the “save-the-world” part of the equation. When you factor that in, it’s hard to root against Team Cap. I get why Stark is personally invested in this; Ultron was his fault, after all. But the same government that is demanding oversight is the government that let Loki steal the Tesseract and unleash the Chitauri on New York; and, failed to recognize Hydra infiltrating SHIELD for fifty years. They’re idiots, and Cap is extremely rational in rejecting their oversight committee.
It is also really hard to root for Team Iron Man when Iron Man is psychologically broken. Tony Stark needs to have his suits taken away and be forced to seek counseling. That just makes the whole “Civil War” part of this movie even harder to swallow.
If you overlook that glaring inanity, the movie is a whole lot of fun. Every hero gets his or her requisite screen time, but this is very much a Captain America movie. He centers it, acts as the voice of reason, and gives the movie all its heart. And heart it has, in spades. This is a movie about friendships rekindled and friendships broken and the story is the kind of meaty character exploration that DC is only dreaming about right now[3].
One other disappointment is what they’ve done with Baron Zemo. I won’t spoil it, but he doesn’t make much of a villain and he’s nothing like his comic-book counterpart. On the other hand, Spider-Man and Ant-Man steal every scene they’re in, and we can all now have high hopes for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Ant-Man and Wasp.” The Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting huge, and every bit of it is nearly perfect[4]. CACW kicks off “Phase Three” of the MCU with a bang and I am eagerly looking forward to the next installment. (“Doctor Strange” in November.) It’s going to be a wild ride…
[1] In the comics, the superhero registration movement gains steam after some young enhanced people blow up a school while filming a reality TV show. That seems a much more reasonable basis for seeking government oversight of superheroes.
[2] I’m going to ignore the politically-charged topic of how the USofA routinely ignores hundreds of thousands of “collateral damage” deaths in their military excursions, but it does lend extra weight to the hypocrisy on display.
[3] Unfortunately, such dreaming isn’t a part of Zach Snyder’s personality. The quicker they ditch him, the sooner DC can get their franchise back on track.
[4] Maybe not Thor.
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The following discussion of the superhero genre of fiction may have some information that spoils one or more stories. I’ve tried to avoid any specifics, but I can’t know what you don’t know. You have been warned.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
I begin by acknowledging Warner Bros./DC Comics will make money on their film franchises. “Batman v Superman” is going to gross close to one billion dollars, which is more than adequate to spawn more DC movies. However…I enjoy the Marvel movies much more than the DC movies and I want to outline some of the reasons why.
One of the reasons is not the “tone” of the DC movies. Yes, they are more serious[1] than the Marvel movies. But, that’s not a bad thing and could work. Also, the Marvel films are not exactly fluff pieces. It is not the darker, more serious tone of the DC films that bother me. But Marvel is significantly eating DC’s lunch in a few other areas…
Actors
Marvel has struck gold with this, starting way back in 2000 with the casting of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He’s so fitted to the role that Fox has recast the entire school of X-Men for their prequel series, but keep shoehorning Jackman in because no one else can play Wolverine. And when Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans decide to finally stop making superhero films, Marvel is going to have to kill off Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. They are that linked.
And there are more that have really elevated their characters so it would be difficult to replace them: Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (it only took one movie and he’s the definitive Wade Wilson), Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange (yes, I’m calling it seven months before the movie comes out, I mean, just look at this!)
DC…well, on TV, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist certainly shine as Flash and Supergirl, but on the big screen…Meh. Any of the big three from the recently released BvS are replaceable and nobody will really care. Maybe we’ll get a better feel for Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in her feature, and one of the other three (Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg) could really hit. But, so far, DCs best actor-to-character fit is Heath Ledger as Joker, and…sigh.
I don’t know if this is scripting, good casting directors, or what, but Marvel keeps nailing the characterization of their superheroes and DC…well, just doesn’t.
Connections
Marvel has gone all-in weaving their movie, television, and comic franchises together. DC is deliberately keeping them all separate. A connected universe is far more interesting, and pulls people to your other properties. I can’t imagine Marvel having one version of a hero on TV and a completely different version of the same hero in the movies, but DC is going to do just that with The Flash. sigh
Marvel is also keying comic story arcs to the movies, with a second (albeit not the same story) Civil War run hitting comic books this summer along with their movie. DC is, at least, releasing some comic book series that are based on their TV franchises, so that’s something.
Pacing
This isn’t about the pacing of individual movies, but the franchises as a whole. Marvel has spent ten years and twelve movies setting up Civil War. We KNOW these characters. We’ve seen them fight side-by-side. Yes, it has taken a long time (not that Marvel has suffered financially), but it’s been well-worth the wait. Marvel is already setting up Infinity War with more solo films as part of “Phase Three.”
DC wanted to go straight to where Marvel is at so they throw Batman and Superman at each other with no investment in backstory or growth of character, and then they’ll jump immediately to Justice League where they’ll introduce a bunch of new characters who we’ve only seen on surveillance footage for a minute each.
Yay.
Even though I recognize the DC heroes and have read a few of their series, I don’t actually care about their movie versions. I haven’t gotten to know them or been given a reason to like them. So, meh.
Villains
A hero isn’t truly a hero without a good villain. OK, Marvel has had a few insipid villains (Whiplash, whoever that was Ben Kingsley was playing), but they have, at least, tried to stretch themselves. We’ve had space tyrants, Nazis, out-of-control AI, alien invaders, Cold War hangovers, etc.
DC gives us the Joker; if not in person, in spirit[2]. It’s not funny.
Current Events
Marvel draws strong parallels between events in their movies and the real world. Current hot topics in the real world are represented in the films; for example, the link between mutant/hero registration and gun registration. Their films, despite their fantastic nature, thus feel grounded.
Batman v Superman gave us mommy issues.
What DC Needs Now
DC needs to stop associating a violent, dark “tone” with maturity and actually grow up. They need to slow down, pace their franchises, and spend time developing their heroes and getting actors that truly inhabit the roles.
They also need to get Superman to lighten up. He’s the Big Blue Boy Scout, not the Big Blue Brooding Scowler.
[1] Most people throw in “more mature” with this, as though being serious is equal to being mature. Pfui.
[2] See Luthor, Jr. in Batman v Superman.
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Today, Nintendo officially implied the WiiU is dead, less than four years after release. Here's Game Informer's take on the announcement. Because I like to toot my own horn, I'll point out I said this FOUR YEARS AGO, before the WiiU was even released.
Thank you.
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Within the first several minutes of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the camera follows Bruce Wayne as he careens his SUV through Metropolis city streets during the catastrophic battle between Superman and General Zod that served as the climax to 2013’s “Man of Steel.” The streets are nearly empty, which is strange considering the cataclysmic events taking place. Eventually, he rounds a corner and is forced to halt by a throng of onlookers. As he stops, a couple of firemen walk up behind his car. The camera switches to a front view as Wayne gets out of the car, which is now surrounded by more throngs of people, boxing him in.
Where did these people come from? They weren’t in the streets just seconds before. They certainly were not running along behind him, considering how fast he was driving. They aren’t the people in front of him, because he stopped before driving in among them.
It’s a rookie mistake. Zack Snyder wanted Bruce Wayne to be surrounded by people, so they will fill the screen from every angle, so…people are there. This is one of two central problems with BvS. There may have been a plot here, it might even have been a good one, but it is lost as Snyder doesn’t shoot movies with plots. He creates artistically designed vignettes, and then strings them together and calls it a film. If you have arresting characters and interesting dialogue, this works. Unfortunately, BvS has average characters and completely inane dialogue.
There’s a good movie here, but it is buried under Snyder’s auteur sensibility that wants to stage every scene in some grand manner—whether it makes sense or not. It also doesn’t help the entire movie takes place at night. Can DC superheroes not operate in daylight? Are they all closet vampires, or something? It’s depressing; especially when it lasts over two hours.
The second major problem with BvS is Lex Luthor. Excuse me, Alexander Luthor, Jr. The “real” Luthor’s son. It’s a shame. Lex Luthor is to Superman as Joker is to Batman. He is the iconic nemesis to the Big Blue Boy Scout. And he’s replaced here by a sniveling madman who is basically Joker without the makeup. Maybe the point was to mix both Batman and Superman’s main villains into one character?
Sorry. Didn’t work. Eisenberg’s Luthor is pitiful, not predatory. He’s not even terribly frightening, which is why they had to release the big bad of Doomsday at the end. It only serves to exacerbate the overall mediocrity of the movie.
And that, perhaps, is the biggest problem with BvS. It’s just an OK movie. It has enough big action sequences to thrill the audience, but they’re empty set pieces, just like the rest of the film. I hope WB/DC can step up their game with the individual movies, or Justice League is going to fall quite flat.
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