Hereditary Movie review

Released: 15th June 2018 (UK)

Length: 127 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Ari Aster

Starring: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne and Ann Dowd

In recent years, horror cinema has begun to move away from the formulaic jump-scare fests and more towards genuine, palpable scares. With Hereditary, director Ari Aster makes her feature-length debut, to truly unsettling results.

The film begins with the funeral of Ellen Graham, an estranged grandmother who drove herself apart from her daughter Annie (Toni Collette) by dabbling in questionable religious topics. From here, strange occurrences begin to grip the family particularly the youngest child Charlie (Milly Shapiro) begin to take shape and following a second tragedy, Annie, her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and son Peter (Alex Wolff) begins to spiral downwards with the onset of strange supernatural occurrences and so the terror begins, unfolding from the perspective of different family members and a few supporting characters. Hereditary has been called the modern generation’s Exorcist and experiencing it hammers that point home. This is a grim and often unnerving production that relies on slow build-up more than graphic imagery to shock the viewer. Information is gradually revealed as tensions in the family rise and as this happens, the realm of reality and that of the spiritual gradually blurs. It operates on a very slow pace, gradually building up to a stunning climax; this ends up being a double-edged sword. On the one hand, when the frights do erupt, they hit with such a vicious and visceral smash that very few audiences will ignore them, but on the other, slower scenes and interactions between characters do slow the film down at points. However, the film’s steadfast commitment to shocking the audience does redeem this issue somewhat.

The cast of Hereditary is reduced in size, yet great across the board, with many emotionally charged performances that really get across the dire situations the family finds themselves in. Toni Collette is easily the best of the bunch, having to get across the sheer aghast emotions that come with grief and as things go on, she only gets more unhinged. Alex Wolff is also great as Peter; going through the adolescent stage, he’s very flawed as a person and the choices he makes often end up exacerbating the family relationships to one another. The father of the family Steve may be more disconnected from the family’s struggles, but he acts as a more realistic anchor to the proceedings, seemingly the least affected by the tribulations. One problem I had with the cast is that Charlie, the catalyst for all the horrors that follow is underused. More detail could have been committed to her own relationship with her grandmother and therefore weave the three generations together a lot more. Given that she’s often a centrepiece of the horror, Milly Shapiro could have gotten more across here. It’s the only rough spot in an array of stellar performances.

Equally impressive are the film’s technical details, which make full use of the genre to give off a wholly unsettling presentation. The camerawork matches the pacing; slowly and tentatively panning around the environments and gradually inching the audience towards the next scare. This works brilliantly for suspense-building and the music only enhances this; at one moment it’s tense and foreboding and the next it’s culminating in an incredibly stressful climax, pulling you unrelentingly into its creepier moments. The horror itself, without giving anything away, is one-part hallucination and the other supernatural; as the line between the two come closer together, the sense of insecurity and uneasiness grows before accelerating to a stunning climax in the film’s decisive moments. The setting of countryside Michigan only adds to the tension as the characters are for the most part, isolated from wider society. It all adds up to an often-terrifying mood that enhances the already powerful performances on display.

Hereditary is another creative horror film that won’t sit well with everyone; at many points it reminded me of last year’s Mother! from Darren Aronofsky with its slower pacing and often controversial subject matter. The palpable atmosphere and ratcheting of tension simply cannot be ignored; if you’re in for a fright, Hereditary will deliver in a way few horror films can.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)

R3: New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson

Released: 2017

Genre: Climate Fiction/Thriller

Number of Pages: 613

Kim Stanley Robinson has a very strong reputation in the United States for science fiction with a large helping of publications on his resume; he sets himself apart from other authors by going for a more realistic bend for the future landscapes portrayed. New York 2140 is a prime example of this, a direction that unfortunately ends up working against its appeal.

The novel (as the title suggests) takes place over a century into the future; with global warming having risen sea levels and transformed the sprawling city into a maze of canals and flooded districts. Even with all this damage, people carry on with a divide between rich and poor remaining constant. From this backdrop, we follow a variety of characters who all reside in the Metlife apartment block at varying levels of society from up-and-coming trader Franklin Garr, all the way down to the young orphans Stefan and Roberto. Across eight main parts, these characters all try to make their way in the flooded city and all have their own wants and desires; Franklin sets his sights on a similarly affluent female trader Jojo, Stefan and Roberto attempt to scrounge up whatever loot they can dig up and the mild-mannered Vlade tends to the engineering side of things to name a few. With this variety of perspectives against the future backdrop, 2140 has a lot of potential but the futuristic Manhatten skyline on the front cover lured me in, only to let me down with the plot contained within. New York 2140 is a very ho-hum affair, never really raising the stakes and rarely putting its characters in tough situations. The corporate greed shown as the cause of the city’s drowning mostly happens off in the background and the global warming that envelopes New York City is mainly a backdrop, not doing enough to pull you in.

That’s not to say that the novel is completely uninteresting. The main strengths of New York 2140 showed through its differing perspective and ties to reality; driven by the same fiercely competitive capitalism that drives current western economies, Robinson does paint a convincing rendition of our current world even if it never really forms a compelling story; outside of references to the 2008 financial crisis, the character Amelia Black for instance ferries polar bears away from the melting ice caps, while simultaneously delivering a reality show for a vast audience; a collision of ideals that does add a certain amount of depth to her character. Each character is also written from a different viewpoint with a fair dose of witty dialogue here and there; Franklin’s first-person perspective pulls you into his inner thoughts, while Vlade is shown from the third-person, providing some variety. Underpinning all these characters is an anonymous citizen who relays the themes to the reader and stringing things along with a couple of references to historical events. Multiple plot points take place throughout the 613 pages and characters often converge with each other, but you never get much of a sense that the residents of the Met are all bound together by a close bond. Because the novel never leverages these stronger points to provide an engrossing pace, you’ll find little to grip you.

Recommended?

Not so much I’m afraid; I went into New York 2140 for its intrigue as a thriller and strong reviews, only to be met with a dull narrative. Robinson goes for a more realistic outlook of New York’s future driven mostly by economic talk and an undertone of political rhetoric. This really took the wind out of its sails as a thriller and because of this it took quite a bit out of me to read all the way through. Things did get a bit more interesting towards the end with a certain storm sweeping its way through the central setting, but the novel couldn’t win me over fully. You might get more out of it if you happen to be a resident or regular visitor of the Big Apple, but I didn’t enjoy it personally. In a bid to capture an authentic window into New York’s future, 2140 feels empty and uneventful.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Movie Review

Released: 6th June 2018 (UK)

Length: 128 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director: J. A. Bayona

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, B. D. Wong and Jeff Goldblum

Dinosaurs in cinema have struck a tone with audiences over the past twenty-five years and after over a decade of absence, the long-awaited fourth Jurassic Park film roared (I couldn’t resist…) into cinemas, becoming one the highest grossing films of all time. Three years on and the sequel is hoping to repeat that success. While it’s an admirable shift in direction, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom lacks substance.

Three years since the Jurassic World theme park fell into ruin, the dinosaurs have lived free from human influence. But former members of the park still watch the island, while others want to recoup compensation costs. The former is Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) who learns of a plan to rescue the animals from an imminent volcanic eruption; eventually she convinces dinosaur trainer Own Green (Chris Pratt) to come along and the journey begins to decide what to do with the creatures. The first act is very much like a disaster film, with the dinosaurs almost being placed as a side show to the environment falling apart around them; after this however, the film does go in a direction different from any other film in the series. It moves away from the island and into the distant reaches of forest filled California. From here, the dinosaurs are in the hands of wealthy businessman Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) and a former partner of park creator John Hammond named Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) who both have different plans for the creatures.

Unfortunately, that’s where the narrative’s strengths mostly come to a halt. The first film’s larger scale and more consistent entertainment made it a capably enjoyable flick despite its problems, but the sequel has a much harder time in this regard as it must move things forward; new additions to the plot feel convenient at best and tacked on at worst, particularly the references to genetics. Thematically the film attempts to tap into the dangers of unchecked corporate greed, but this also falls flat due to reasons I’ll talk about in a moment. Often I was reminded of 1997’s Jurassic Park: The Lost World as Fallen Kingdom treads fairly close to it in terms of occurrences and tone. This darker viewpoint does work somewhat, but it comes at the cost of the sense of wonder, something that every Jurassic Park sequel has suffered from to a certain extent. The final grievance comes with the plot holes; there’s a certain sea-faring monster shown off in a foreboding opening, but it never appears again until the film’s conclusion, rendering its appearance rather toothless.

Characterisation in Fallen Kingdom is heavily one-sided to its detriment. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard once again give their best charisma, even if their characters haven’t really gone anywhere arc-wise. Owen’s bond with the velociraptor Blue is well fleshed out too and I was surprised to see that child actress Isabella Sermon does a pretty good job as Lockwood’s granddaughter Maisie who gets caught up in the fray; a step up from the kids in the 2015 romp. Outside of these efforts though, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom really doesn’t care much for its characters. Newcomers Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda fill in the niches of tech geek and hardened medic respectfully, but they don’t interact nearly enough to slot in with the main cast. The villains are all paper-thin as well; average business types who just want money. Most disappointingly of all though, Fallen Kingdom completely neglects the use of returning characters; B.D Wong’s Henry Wu, and Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcom, who turns up just to sit at a table and talk for a few minutes; Goldblum’s efforts to add some theoretical discussion to the proceedings fall short because his character (who happened to be one of the most popular in the original 1993 film) is so poorly used. Jurassic World’s characters weren’t great by any means, but they got the job done and played into the action sequences well, something the sequel does to a more inconsistent degree.

Fallen Kingdom has plenty of strong special effects to fall back on; it all starts with the destruction of the island from the first film which you’ve no doubt seen from the trailer. The volcanic eruption feels appropriately weighty and all the computer-generated dinosaurs clashing together make for an entertaining action scene. When talking about the former, the dinosaurs still look great and the computer effects still hold up even when we zoom in on their scaly skin and serrated teeth. On top of that, the film moves elegantly from wide scale action, to more claustrophobic affairs with capable editing for each; the scenes involving a new hybrid dinosaur spliced together feel especially tense. The soundtrack however, isn’t nearly as memorable; it’s mostly a set of generic, slower-paced beats that don’t really capture the same feel as previous films in the franchise. Clearly the lighting is what complements the darker tone the most; dimly lit underground laboratories and the isolated setting in the forest estate work to create a foreboding atmosphere. Sadly, because the characters aren’t always worth caring about, the frights don’t land with the best impact.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is merely average as a sequel; while I can give the film credit for not scrambling to go bigger like many follow-ups do, the characters and plot are rather thin and without these elements in place, the dinosaur rampages can only get it so far. It’s still mildly entertaining just like any summer popcorn flick but won’t offer much beyond that. It goes in a good direction, only to come up short by piling on more mistakes on top of those made by its predecessor.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Mediocre)

E3 2018 Post-Mortem Part 3: Final Thoughts and Summary

E3 2018 was a step up over the somewhat lacklustre 2017 with far more games to go around and less talk of hardware overall. There wasn’t much in the way of big surprises, which is mostly down to the leaks and pre-show videos that gave away most of the finer details, but each of the companies still had their own focus that showed throughout the days.

Contrary to what some believed, the show wasn’t littered with battle royale modes across every section; in fact, we rarely saw much in the way of gameplay for this sub-genre across the press conferences. Many gamers were left frustrated that so many titles wanted to cash in on the PUBG and Fortnite craze, but this never overshadowed the other titles on display. Unlike previous years, franchises like Destiny and Call of Duty were nowhere to be found on stage, instead relegated to brief advertisements. Clearly the reputations of both properties have fallen as of late, but pushing them aside did leave room for other, better games to take their place.

The other interesting point I noticed in the press conferences was how you can break them into various categories and overall there was no real “winner” for me this year. You have…

A.     Quantity: Many games shown with brief trailers, discussion and gameplay (Microsoft, Ubisoft and the PC Gaming Show)

B.     Quality: Fewer games with more extended demos and more detailed gameplay (Sony, EA and Nintendo)

C.     Somewhere in-between:  A mixture of A and B (Bethesda)

Opinions on each of these presentation styles will vary depending on what you’re expecting from each company. I said in part one that I wasn’t so impressed with Microsoft’s conference; why? With the way the Xbox One is struggling along right now with exclusives; they needed to give more new franchises and in general a greater investment in new ideas. The quantity of games was on point, but what Microsoft needs to get audiences invested in Xbox again is experiences that require owning the console. They used to do this incredibly well with Halo, Gears of War and Forza but all three of these heavy hitters have grown tired; I talked about this in a previous post a while back:“The Problem with Xbox Today”. Simultaneously, others really enjoyed Microsoft’s effort for its variety and amount of world exclusive announcements and that’s fine as well.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have quality and the companies who went down this path wanted to concentrate more anticipation on a reduced scale. When talking about Sony, some loved their show for the detail of the gameplay demos, all of which being exclusive titles, but others were left baffled by the odd presentation and reduced number of games. Nintendo had a similar layout with their direct stream and ended up taking the prize for most detailed showing with Smash 5. Which do you prefer? A higher amount of games to choose from, or a lower number with more attention dedicated to them? Getting the balance right can be difficult though as mentioned above, Bethesda just about managed it, though not enough to put them on top of the pressers for this year.

As with last year, here are my own personal picks (And dubious honours) for the show…

Most improved of the big companies: Bethesda

Least progressive of the big companies: EA (Two years in a row)

Most Disappointing: Anthem at EA’s conference

Biggest Surprise: The return of Battletoads at Microsoft’s press conference

Most Awkward Moment: Respawn’s interview on Star Wars: Fallen Order at EA’s conference

Strongest Return: Devil May Cry 5

Missing in Action: Metroid Prime 4 and Rocksteady Studios’ next title

Game of the Show: Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Honourable Mentions: The Last of Us Part 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding

That wraps up my thoughts on E3 2018; here’s to the games we have coming up and hopefully they improve things for next year’s show. To read my thoughts on the pressers, click here.

(Images used for the purposes of review and criticism under fair use)

E3 2018 Post-Mortem Part 2: Ranking the Press Conferences (Second Half)

Here's the second round of my thoughts on the E3 2018 Press Conferences. See the first half with EA, Bethesda and Microsoft here.

Ubisoft

The Good

• A committed focus on community

Just about every major Ubisoft title at the show this year had some kind of public beta attached to it in a bid to get gamers onboard sooner. It’s a practice that paid off in spades with Rainbow Six: Siege which now boasts a player-base 35 million strong after plenty of back-and-forth feedback between developer and audience. With the right approach, each of Ubisoft’s upcoming titles with a focus on multiplayer can achieve plenty of bug fixes, patching up and stability before release, though this should only be a starting point. Sustaining each title after its launch is equally important but the way in which Ubisoft is actively involving its fans from the outset is very commendable. The biggest example of this, fittingly enough was Beyond Good and Evil 2; a surprise appearance from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt showcased the opportunities for fans to get their own art and creativity featured in the game, allowing them, to an extent to leave their own mark on the game world at large. It’ll be interesting to see where this project goes.

• Hefty details on The Division 2, Skull and Bones and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Ubisoft had a wide variety of titles on show, and each of the bigger ones all had plenty of details that succeeded at picking up where last year’s show left off. The Division 2 kicked things off with a healthy dose of details regarding character classes, something quickly followed up by full gameplay for Skull and Bones; while I was tempted to write it off as an Assassin’s Creed IV with multiplayer ship battles, the game appears to be coming into its own. At many points throughout the gameplay, I thought to myself: “This is what Sea of Thieves should have been” with all its customisable ship parts, battles involving multiple players teaming up to take on a powerful Spanish frigate and plenty of different armaments to use as you tear your way through the Indian ocean. To finish the presser, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey took to the stage with a stunning rendition of Ancient Greece and Sparta; there’s plenty of charismatic performances from the characters so far but the gameplay itself is treading fairly closely to 2017’s Origins. With the release date at the end of the year bearing down on the developers, Odyssey should try and go the extra mile to make improvements.

• Varied aesthetics and good pacing

Outside of a few detours I’ll get to in a moment, Ubisoft’s presser ran on a very consistent pace and for the first time, there wasn’t a definitive host tying it all together, a choice I feel paid off. The formula worked like this; a flashy CG trailer showed on screen alongside the stage changing colours to match the tone of each game, developers took to the stage to talk about the title and this was followed up by gameplay demos to give an extensive look at the bigger games Ubisoft has coming up. It’s a very fluid style of presentation that kept things moving smoothly a majority of the time. Much like last year, the conference concluded with a group-up of all the Ubisoft developers together, another terrific way of wrapping things up.

The Bad

• Opening with Just Dance… again…

It only took up five minutes at the start, but it still felt wasted. Just Dance is now the only motion-controlled franchise left in gaming and it really doesn’t have any business sticking around as long as it has. Yearly editions serve only to add new songs and play along with the latest trends in music and dance; the Nintendo Wii moved on long ago, the Microsoft Kinect was unceremoniously executed, and PlayStation Move is barely used outside of VR. Despite being the most profitable of the bunch, it’s getting tired now. That, and people don’t go to E3 to see an awkward dance performance… Now might be the time to put the franchise down.

• A couple of awkward moments regarding presentation

Ubisoft has had its cringy moments at E3 over the years, until finally moving on from it last year. However, at E3 2018 there were a couple of points where the company almost veered back into that awkward territory. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s collaboration on Beyond Good and Evil 2 was cool, but his time on-stage was bookended by a few awkward high fives. Then there was a random segment involving Trials where a presenter took a tumble on a cardboard podium; it’s meant to tie in with the wacky nature of the platforming motocross game, but it came off as rather forced. The company should work to curb these like they did in 2017.

• Little in the way of new announcements or surprises

Ubisoft may have delivered plenty of details regarding its upcoming games, but it lacked the surprise factor and played things safe as a result. The only exception to this was a crossover with Nintendo’s Starfox via the “toys-to-life” based Starlink followed up by a second appearance from Shigeru Miyamoto; this continued collaboration with Nintendo is sure to garner a great reception from fans of both companies. But Ubisoft’s flair never really went beyond this announcement; there was little in the way of new IPs and they didn’t land a major reveal the way they did with Beyond Good and Evil 2 the year before. Perhaps Ubisoft could be open to taking risks and looking to take on new ideas in the future.

The Verdict

Ubisoft stole the show at last year’s E3 and that was always going to be a tough act to follow. While they couldn’t match 2017, this year was still an admirable effort with plenty to show. The style of presentation could be the best of the show and while it’s disappointing to see a lack of major surprises, the company still delivered where it counted and that puts them on the upper tier of the press conferences for 2018.

Rating: 7/10 (Good)

PC Gaming Show

The Good

• A higher ratio of gameplay trailers

Given that the PC crowd are often more dedicated players than their console counterparts, developers must plan their stage shows accordingly and to do this, they focus more on core gameplay rather than spectacle-based CG trailers. Each title shown off at the PC Gaming Show was entirely gameplay based and this gave a full, more cohesive impression of each title and how it would play. Delivering gameplay on an upfront basis sets the PC Gaming Show from its contemporaries and creates a strong impact through a genuine look beyond a simple trailer.

• Strong variety and fluid presentation

From the get-go, the PC Gaming Show knew exactly what it was about. Swapping back and forth between conference regular Sean “Day9” Plott and newcomer Frankie Ward, the PC Gaming Show always moved at a consistent pace, delivering tons of different games from a multitude of companies and genres. Both presenters laid down a few quirky remarks without veering into snarky or corny material. Between PC Gamer and Ubisoft, the two companies know how to stage and present a press conference.

• Plenty of focus on the community and modding scenes

The PC space is also home to dedicated communities who continue to populate games many years after their initial releases. The modding scene was given its due with The Forbidden City and further down the line, Warframe took to the stage and as a title that has always had a strong focus on community and its dedication to that really shone through the announcement of “The Sacrifice”, the latest update to the long-running free-to-play third person shooter. With the focus on community in mind, the PC as a platform is always catered to by players as well as the development scene and the show saw fit to hammer this home.

The Bad

• Spreading thin on major gameplay demos

The PC Gaming Show has always prided itself on delivering a higher quantity of games than any other conference at E3 and while this does provide great variety, it also means the show itself withholds from going into greater detail on some of the bigger AAA games coming out. Each game of the show had about a four-minute timeslot to show the trailer, give a quick rundown and then move on stage for the next title. There were very hardly any deep dives throughout the runtime and this quantity over quality approach isn’t always the best option to take.

• Little mention of VR hardware and titles

As arguably the pioneering platform for virtual reality hardware, the PC space is the only way to use the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets due to its processing power and capacity. With the PC as a platform constantly improving, the expectation comes that VR will also become a greater part of it, so you’d think that the PC Gaming Show would take steps to show this progression and support the emerging platform. While there was a brief talk from Acer on new display tech, VR was hung out to dry as the only major title shown was Insomniac Games’ Stormland, a dazzling science fiction world involving farming androids. This is something they work to include more of next time.

• Quite a bit of pitching and proposed advertisements

While the format of the PC Gaming Show was consistent and fluid, the developers that took to the stage kept the details fairly brief, before quickly turning players attention to pre-ordering via digital stores. While not nearly as contemptable as EA’s press conference, it did become tiresome after a while to see developers talk business, rather than going into further detail on the games they were making. It started to turn the conference more towards a business pitch, rather than a passionate display of talent across the PC space.

The Verdict

The PC Gaming Show continues to stick to what it does best, showcasing a diverse line-up of games on the most diverse platform on the market. The hosts both did an excellent job of taking the audience through it all and while the conference was spread somewhat thin, by the sheer number of games on stage, it still delivered where it counted. They just need to mix up the proceedings a bit more with some extra talk of VR and other segments and they should be all set to top the press conferences.

Rating: 7/10 (Good)

Sony

The Good

• Strong demos for every major exclusive

Sony has been heavily focused on exclusive games as a driving force for the PlayStation 4 from day one and 2018 was no different. Every time a big title comes out for the system, hordes of gamers flock to it and others on the fence are often converted. This confidence meant that Sony didn’t have to throw the word exclusive around every five minutes and could instead let the games speak for themselves. Just like the original did way back in E3 2012, The Last of Us 2 hit hard with its brutally visceral gameplay, perhaps more so than any other title at the show. Sucker Punch finally returned to the development scene with Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding got a mysterious and foreboding collection of gameplay teases and Insomniac’s Spiderman wrapped up the show with an explosive chase pilling in five of the webslinger’s foes at once. It’s a great variety of titles with plenty to offer for the next year or so and most importantly of all, they require owning a PS4.

• Resident Evil 2’s comeback in HD

One of the most requested remakes of all time is Capcom’s Resident Evil 2; widely regarded as a massive improvement on the franchise’s 1996 debut, the hype cycle for an upscaling first began with the remake of the original Resident Evil for the Gamecube in 2002. With the power of new hardware, the updated version was the definitive way to play with an increased level of atmosphere and graphic horror. Fans then began to speculate what RE2 would look like in higher definition and were left waiting 16 years. At Sony’s show they finally got their wish. The trailer was brief, but the atmosphere and graphical leap across three generations created plenty of excitement for the long-awaited remake of what some fans consider the best in the series and the most polished of the classic PS1 trilogy. The game is looking to use the third-person over-the-shoulder viewpoint pioneered by Resident Evil 4 as a gameplay template and if all goes well, it’s sure to be a big hit upon release next year.

• Intriguing new announcements of Control and Deracine

The new announcements that flanked the bigger titles at Sony’s E3 opted for a simpler climb-down from the AAA approach. The first of these was Control, a foreboding delve into the twisted mind of a father struggling with his family life and the psychological repercussions; it’s coming from Alan Wake and Quantum Break developer Remedy Entertainment, who sure to pour a ton of effort into any story they produce. Then there was Deracine, a VR offering by From Software looking to dive into the more spiritual side of a class full of students. From what we’ve seen from the developer, the game will be a major departure and another strong showcase of Sony’s commitment towards allowing developers to express their creativity. I look forward to seeing more from both games.

The Bad

• Hackneyed pacing alongside an unneeded intermission

Sony decided to present its E3 briefing a bit differently this year; rather than a giant stage, the company started out in a tent, one decorated to match the opening demo of The Last of Us 2; the demo played, people got excited then without warning they cut to an intermission as the attendees moved into another hall. This brought the pacing to a rather abrupt halt and really muddied the overall consistency of the conference. In previous years, most notably 2016, Sony have worked to absorb the audience completely with music numbers and carry on with the announcements from there. But this time, the musical performances from an acoustic guitar and flutes weren’t as impactful as they should have been. This was down to the presser not working to pull people in from the offset. Overall Sony’s presentation went in a different direction and failed; they should keep to the more grandiose theatre setting for next year.

• No Final Fantasy VII Remake or Shenmue 3

Sony’s thunderous announcements of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue 3 made E3 2015 one of the best in the show’s history, not to mention plant them firmly on the top of fandom circles in the years following. Role-playing fans had been waiting years for these two announcements and in the three years since, we’ve hardly heard a peep about either of them. Supposedly there are some serious development problems hanging over FF7 Remake but as for Shenmue 3 there’s been no information since the kickstarter was launched. It’s very disappointing to see E3 come and go without any updates, doubly so for those who were positively ecstatic to see their favourite franchises come back. I suppose we’ll have to wait a while longer.

• Little to no mention of PlayStation VR or indie titles

Sony’s strategy for PlayStation 4 has certainly gone far beyond the console itself, most notably with the VR market; with such a commanding lead in the hardware market, the company added its own contribution to the headset pile. While there have been some successful titles such as Farpoint and Batman Arkham VR, the headset has yet to reach its full potential. At E3 2018, new titles that aimed to push the boundaries of this tech were mostly missing in action, the only exception being From Software’s Deracine at the end of the show. It’s unfortunate that Sony chose not to expand its VR line-up this year despite the current generation of consoles coming to an end. It would have gone a way towards reaffirming their support for the peripheral.

The Verdict

Sony’s conference was mostly strong, but several niggling things held it back. It certainly felt very minimalistic when compared to previous E3s, with only a couple of musical notes breaking up the proceedings. There was less talk on stage from Sony this year and plenty of focus on what they do best; true exclusive titles that strive for a cinematic tone. With that said, the conference’s pacing felt off and some of the heavy hitters that made the company a force to reckoned with in LA in previous years were still nowhere to be found. As a result, Sony felt short of “winning” the press conferences and should work to fix the issues with presentation for next time.

Rating: 7/10 (Good)

Nintendo Direct

The Good

• A fully featured showing of Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Back in 2014, Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS made its mark as one of the best games of the year. The fifth entry was inevitable and at Nintendo’s Direct event, creator Masahiro Sakurai unveiled it in full. Tons of information rained down from a complete rundown of every single character, to individual changes to fighting styles and aesthetics, new fighting techniques assist trophies and stages. All this obsessive detail really pulled fans and new players alike into the new game. It was all capped off by the reveal of Metroid’s mechanical dragon Ridley as a playable character Suffice it to say that Nintendo dedicated more time, effort and detail to Smash 5 than any other game at E3 this year, which is a testament to their continued commitment and passion for the franchise.

• Solid relations with third party developers

One of Nintendo’s biggest weaknesses over the years was its access to third party studios; the Wii U was the biggest victim of this problem back in 2012 and 2013. Facing poor hardware sales, publishers left the system in droves, refusing to put out their titles on a system that wasn’t making bank. With the Switch however, Nintendo have really turned things around and a quick montage of games coming to the “play-anywhere” device proved this. Dark Souls Remastered, Arena of Valour, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and even Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus are just some of the releases on their way to Nintendo’s system, with more to follow. It’s clear that Nintendo’s strategy with the Switch is paying off in spades.

• A good array of new exclusives for the Switch

Nintendo has always prided itself on delivering its biggest franchises but putting a new spin on them each time. But in recent years, they have been pushing into fresh territory and investing in different genres. Arguably the biggest of these in the current decade is the sci-fi RPG Xenoblade Chronicles but more are on the way for Nintendo Switch. Super Mario Party looks to be another wacky party game, but Daemon X Machina is a rapid barrage of Gundam style mech combat and Hollow Knight and Overcooked are set to deliver more bite-sized chunks of gaming. This variety is far better than all the shovel ware rubbish that polluted the Wii’s line-up a decade ago.

The Bad

• No Metroid Prime 4 ☹

The Metroid franchise had been lying dormant for a while when Nintendo took it back to its roots last year. Samus Returns proved to be a welcome return to the 2D adventure genre and now all eyes are turning to the next 3D entry, Metroid Prime 4. The original trilogy across GameCube and Nintendo Wii are some of the most critically acclaimed games Nintendo has ever put out and to see a fourth entry announced got fans excited. Sadly, for 2018, the new game chose not to appear at E3, leaving us waiting until the next big event for extra details. Getting some concrete gameplay videos or trailers would have gone a long way towards keeping anticipation going while also serving a reminder that Nintendo is taking the franchise seriously.

• Smash 5 overshadowing other titles

The announcement of the fifth Super Smash Bros title came as both a blessing and a curse for Nintendo. While tons of details were revealed, the game itself ended up taking a good two thirds of Nintendo’s live feed, time that could have been filled by Metroid Prime 4 and other exclusive titles. 2018 would have also been a good point to unveil the next Starfox or Zelda title and overall a stronger variety outside of Nintendo eshop titles and re-releases of older games would have generated more excitement and variation to the overall feed.

• Little clarity on the Switch’s upcoming features, especially online multiplayer

Nintendo has never really been a big player on the online scene; the company’s wi-fi connection didn’t draw the best reception on both the Wii and Wii U and since launching the Switch to immense success, the Japanese company has been somewhat tight-lipped on what the Switch will offer for its online audiences. What we know so far doesn’t fill one with excitement; the console will use a paid service and require a rather cumbersome mobile application just to use voice chat features. This year’s Direct feed could have been used to allay these concerns and push the Switch as an online-ready system. While the company has thrived for decades on providing local multiplayer experiences, online could be a new frontier for Nintendo if they embraced it wholeheartedly.

The Verdict

Nintendo’s more compacted Direct offerings differ greatly from their conference focused counterparts; they don’t have a grandiose presentation but simultaneously get announcements out quickly and efficiently. Additional exclusives, a multitude of third-party titles are all well and good, but of course it was Smash 5 that really showed off Nintendo’s brand of fun this year; it’s been an unstoppable juggernaut in the industry for almost two decades and shows no signs of slowing. There was part of me that felt the latest fighter did get in the way of showing off other titles for the Switch, but Nintendo’s showing was ultimately a good one.

Rating: 7/10 (Good)

That just about covers it for the E3 2018 press conferences. Keep an eye out for the final part on the show as a whole soon...

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