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‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 So Far

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

WARNING: Possible Spoilers ahead!

It seemed everyone universally thought the second episode of this new season of “The Last of Us,” titled “Through the Valley,” was incredibly dramatic. It was what diehard fans of the video game franchise were dreading, but knew was coming eventually on the hit series.

I don’t see how anyone who enjoys episodic television could’ve disliked the second ambitious episode of this new season. Pedro Pascal’s character, Joel, isn’t in the episode very much, but when he is, it’s intense and heartbreaking.

The third episode of the season, titled “The Path,” was much slower than episode two, but it was a good “come down” episode. I liked how fast Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) arrived in Seattle to avenge Joel’s death. We didn’t need a long journey from Jackson, Wyoming to Seattle. I’m fully invested in how Ellie will get her revenge on Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), Joel’s murderer. I have a feeling there are many twists and turns ahead. Like other great HBO television shows, “Game of Thrones” and “The Sopranos,” you never know how the season will play out. So far, the writing has been excellent and tight.

In the second episode, when Abby was crawling along the fence line as the zombies were attacking her was nightmarish and thrilling. It’s one of the scariest moments I’ve seen on a television show or film in a few years. I never played “The Last of Us: Part II,” so I don’t know if the terrifying scene is from the video game, but it was shot and executed perfectly.

Some of the marketing for the new season was somewhat misleading. Almost every commercial or trailer for the second season showed a great deal of Pedro Pascal as Joel. I get why they did that, but we only got the character for the first two episodes. And he didn’t appear on screen in the second episode until the 21-minute mark.

 

Playing ‘The Last of Us’ Again

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

After watching the HBO smash hit “The Last of Us,” I think I’ll go back and play the original game again. The popular series tells the story of a smuggler and a teenage girl in a zombie-infested world.

When I first played “The Last of Us” when it was released in 2013, I thought the action-adventure, survival horror game was captivating and enjoyable, but I wasn’t into it that much. I played it like crazy for about a week, and then I moved on to something else. I did start a new job around the time I bought the epic game, so that might’ve contributed to me losing interest.

The HBO series has an incredible production budget, and it unquestionably shows. You are in the series’ post-apocalyptic 2023. The attention to detail is impeccable. It’s been almost ten years since I’ve played the game; breaking the game out again after watching the show sounds fun.

The show has done an amazing job creating the look of the blind infected, the “clicker” zombies, from the video game. I can see several award nominations for the series on the horizon. They are even scarier in the television series. In Episode 2, when Joel fought with one of the “clickers,” the choreography was taken directly from the massively successful game.

“The Last of Us” television show has knocked it out of the park since its debut on HBO. I thought the zombie genre was sort of getting stale, but “The Last of Us” feels like a fresh spin on the genre. The cinematography of the first three episodes has been visually flawless.

According to the industry website gamesindustry.biz, the television series is drawing in new “The Last of Us” game players, too. After the show’s release, sales jumped in the United Kingdom. Sony has already sold 37 million “The Last of Us” themed video games since the release of the original.

With only a small sample of three episodes, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Season 2, in 2024 or ’25. By then, time allowing, I can be caught up on playing some of the franchise. It’s a rich world that the developers of “The Last of Us” series have created for new, different mediums.



It’s Going To Be An 8-Bit Christmas!

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If you think you have had enough of video games related movies, then you may want to look away. For those that lap up these types of nostalgia-inducing films, 8-Bit Christmas starting Neil Patrick Harris as a father looking back fondly at the late ’80s Christmas where he desperately did everything he possibly could to get an NES, will be right up your alley! Since we can relate to this tale (we also wanted a NES for Christmas in 1988, alas we didn’t get one then), we are definitely keen on giving this a watch and getting right into the Christmas spirit!

Check out the trailer below to see if 8-Bit Christmas will be on your viewing list his festive season.


source: Warner Bros. Pictures



 

‘The Last of Us’ Series First Look

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Recently, a production image of the HBO series “The Last of Us” was released. It’s our first look at the cable show based on the iconic video games “The Last of Us” and “The Last of Us: Part II.”

The first image has great attention to detail. It’s not much, it’s just Joel and Ellie looking out across a field at abandoned plane wreckage. It would have been nice to get a face reveal, but the image of the two main characters from behind is a smart marketing tease.

Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel, the game, and series’ smuggler and main protagonist. I’ve been a Pascal fan since his brief stint on “Game of Thrones.” His starring role on the Netflix series “Narcos,” opposite the great Boyd Holbrook, was where the 46-year-old actor gained international fame as the cold, DEA agent who is obsessed with capturing Pablo Escobar. The pairing of Pascal and Holbrook is one of the best fictional, law enforcement pairings in recent television history. I’ve watched “Narcos” several times for the writing and characters. When I heard the news that Pascal was cast as Joel in “The Last of Us” series, I was instantly excited to see what HBO will do with the popular property.

The idea of “The Last of Us” as a television series or limited series is better than a movie. A series gives the story more chance for expansion and the ability to develop the characters. The game already has a rich world that can be expanded on with the right show runners who know the universe.

To me, like many others, “The Last of Us” franchise always had a “The Walking Dead” feel to it. Even the production image that was released looks a little like a scene from the AMC “The Walking Dead.”

Post-apocalyptic properties are hot right now. Could “The Last of Us” be the next must-see HBO show? They haven’t had a monster hit like “The Sopranos” or “Game of Thrones” in several years. The production still didn’t show much, but it was just enough of a tease to peak the interests of the megahit game’s fans.



 

Watching Popular Gamers on Twitch

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image source: WSJ

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

A few weeks ago, on a popular HBO late night show, the host talked about his disdain for people watching popular gamers playing games like “Fortnite” and “Grand Theft Auto V” on Twitch. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but the host said that he thought people were wasting their precious time watching gamers. Couldn’t that be said about all forms of entertainment? Why does the act of watching gamers play and teach other gamers how to come up with strategies bothersome for some with an enormous platform?

There’s also a very famous podcaster (and a very rich one) who has issues with the viewers of Twitch. Do these critics know how big the view numbers are during a gamers live stream? It’s never a small number.

Critics say watching entertaining people playing video games on Twitch is a waste of time, but couldn’t you say the same for watching a UFC fight or a late-night show that’s past it’s prime. Entertainment is different for everyone. Binge-watching a great series could be considered a waste of someone’s time as well. However, there’s not a lot of criticism of binge-watching a television show. I’m guilty of binge-watching some series’ twice; and I don’t for an instant feel like I was wasting my time. I was entertained, like the people of all ages who watch famous or popular gamers on Twitch are.

I personally have never watched a gamer play on Twitch, but I watch a lot of Major League Baseball. Am I wasting time when I watch baseball? Perhaps, although it doesn’t feel like a waste of time to me. To someone who likes watching HBO late night shows or gamers on Twitch, they may think so, but we all have different tastes and interests.

I would never criticize another person’s entertainment choice. Entertainment is a vast and diverse thing.



Hudson Hawk on Game Boy

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

“Hudson Hawk” is considered one of the worst films of the 1990s. I watched it late at night on cable when I was a kid and I loved it. I enjoyed its free-wheeling plot and silly action sequences. Maybe it was because I’ve always been a fan of Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello’s acting? Willis and Aiello have incredible chemistry, and every scene with them together are the best scenes in the film.

Is it a great film? No. But being young, my standards were lower and I watched it every time I found it on HBO or TBS. Then, I traded a Game Boy cartridge for the “Hudson Hawk” video game.

“Hudson Hawk” on Game Boy is exceptional, because there’s not many heist video games. It was a simple platform game, but unlike games of that format, it wasn’t easy to maneuver all of the potential threats. The game is like the classics, “Double Dragon” or “Ghosts ’n Goblins” because of how enemies appear suddenly in windows and behind Hawk as he’s trying to steal priceless items.

Playing as Hudson Hawk, you had to jump and climb between suspended platforms while sidestepping obstacles. As the famous cat burglar, you are sent on a mission to steal three Da Vinci artefacts. You try to avoid sounding alarms as you move through the different levels of the game. Dealing with dogs is the hardest part of the game; they’re quick and unpredictable. The security guards are a push over as an enemy. Simply punching them swiftly or throwing a ball at them took them out. You don’t expect the aggressive kangaroos or the stampeding rhinoceros in the library. The various, oddball enemies give the Special FX Ltd. game an originality.

As over-the-top as Richard E. Grant is as the film’s villain, Darwin Mayflower, he’s still entertaining. Grant, in my opinion, has been one of the most underrated actors of the last thirty years in cinema. He steals every scene he is in, and throughout his long career, I can’t think of one bad performance by the Swazi-British actor. Some critics would say “Hudson Hawk” is his worst performance, but I think it’s fun, and you can tell he’s having a good time torturing Willis’ character.

The Game Boy game and the 1991 film gave me an odd, mystifying joy that I still don’t fully understand. I spent hours of my childhood trying to steal artefacts with my Game Boy close to my face.

 

Westworld Intro – 80’s Version

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If Westworld was an 80’s TV show…


Source: MessyPandas via Laughing Squid

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Video Game Of Thrones

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We are eagerly anticipating the fifth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones which is scheduled to premiere very soon – 12 April, 2015!

GOT S5

One of the best parts of watching Game of Thrones is the fantastic opening sequence. To keep us going for the next 2 weeks, here are some adorable retrogaming-style tributes – Dah Dah da da da Dah da da Dah Dah…

Hero of Time

The clever people from The Pixel Kingdom have created a Zelda-themed version.


Source: The Pixel Kingdom on YouTube

Super Mario Game of Thrones

NicksplosionFX shows us what GOT would look like in Super Mario World.


Source: NicksplosionFX on YouTube

Game of Thrones 16-Bit RPG

Reminisce with DoctorOctoro’s (slightly NSFW) 16-Bit RPG retelling of Season 1.


Source: DoctorOctoroc on YouTube

Game of Thrones: Donkey Kong-Style

DKSource: Pixel Baz

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter