Tag Archives: Video Game Adaption

Fallout: The Profligate [S2E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first episode of the season that has felt a touch on the messy side, more setting up pins down the end of the alley than hitting strikes, but that might just have been me not gelling with some of the plotlines.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

Maximus not having a good time.

Fallout: The Golden Rule Review Introduction –

In the world of Fallout, there are a lot of pieces on the board, with people, factions, and forces unseen across the Wasteland that are all on the move. But when you have all those pieces moving around, it can be easy for things to lose traction, most notably your engagement with the narrative. I think that might have happened a touch today.

So, to set the scene, things have not been going well for Lucy (Ella Purnell) after she left The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) in the hospital. She did not know that the person she was helping was a member of The Legion, who did not find her musings on The Golden Rule very motivating. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood’s early musings of a civil war have hit a snag when Paladin Xander Harkness (Kumail Nanjiani) from the Commonwealth has arrived full of swagger and implied threats. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Fallout: The Golden Rule [S2E2] – TV Review

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TL;DR – A riot of whimsy as we delve into the world of Fallout, as the characters try to make sense of everything that goes on.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

The destruction of Shady Sands.

Fallout: The Golden Rule Review Introduction –

One of the great things about Fallout has been its ability to be filled with contrasts, yet still manage to keep the whole from being ripped apart. Which, as we have seen from a multitude of adaptations, is a difficult thing to pull off. Grounding something this inherently silly is a rare skill, and the show pulls it off again here.

So, to set the scene, many years before the time of the show, there lived a town called Shady Sands. Life was still hard, but they had found their niche in the wilderness, and they were starting to rebuild the world that had been lost during the Great War that rained down nuclear fire on the earth. However, their success drew the attention of forces they did not know were out there, or in this case, under there, which is why they may not have acted quickly enough when the trader walked into town acting odd. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Fallout: The Innovator [S2E1]– TV Review

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TL;DR – The first episode back ramps up the wackiness and brutality of the new world.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

End Credit – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Los Angeles before the fall.

Fallout: The Innovator Review Introduction –

We have gotten a lot of video game adaptations, and to be honest, most of them have been trash. But back in 2024, a miracle happened, we got an adaptation that not only had a decent story with compelling characters, but it also was not afraid of the game it was adapting. Because it leapt into that world, warts and all, with some monumental deep cut lore knowledge and care. It is in that space that we jump into the first episode of the second season to see if they can keep that power going.  

So, to set the scene, back in Season One, Lucy’s (Ella Purnell) world all came crumbling down when she discovered that everything she understood about her life and history was a lie. Also, the Golden Rule doesn’t hold much sway in the Wasteland. While walking, or in some cases being dragged through the rubble of a former life, she ran into Maximus (Aaron Moten), a somewhat reluctant squire of the Brotherhood of Steel, and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), a ghoul that is one of the few people left who were alive before The Great War. But the world needs answers, and for Lucy, those answers might be found in New Vegas, where her wounded ‘father’ Hank (Kyle MacLachlan) retreated to. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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Twisted Metal: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – The mayhem was increased, but I am not sure it had the same impact as the first season.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

End Credit Scene – NUY3ARZ has a mid and end credit scene.

Calypso.

Twisted Metal Review Introduction –

I was intrigued when they first announced they were doing an adaptation of Twisted Metal. Its chaotic nature seemed tailor-made for television, provided the adaptation didn’t dilute its core. Also, there was just enough of a narrative framework lurking in the background to give you something to hang your story on, but not enough that you are stuck telling someone else’s vision. The First Season had its flaws, but it sold a world. Now I am looking to see if Season Two can build on that.

So, to set the scene, 20 years ago, the world fell apart as a virus destroyed the world’s computers. This apocalyptic event split the world in two. Some walled themselves up inside cities, and for those who got booted outside, a lawless void awaited. But there is intrigue on the horizon, because the enigmatic Calypso (Anthony Carrigan) has called a tournament. Anyone with a car can enter, but the last one standing will get any wish they desire. It is a possibility that no one can turn down. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Last of Us: Convergence & Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A slightly odd finale that has me ruminating about the strength of the season.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a behind-the-scenes making-of.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The Last of Us Review –

Well, we have come to the end of Season Two, and I was not ready, and I don’t mean that from a more existential way, though there is a bit of that in there. But more, the fact that this season only being seven episodes long caught me entirely off guard. Now, our final episode of the season has to do a lot of heavy lifting to stick the landing, and I am concerned going in, that this might be too much of a task to ask of it.  

So, to set the scene, at the end of Feel Her Love, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) becomes separated from Dina (Isabela Merced) and Jesse (Young Mazino) in the park, which leads to her discovering that there are places where the cordyceps have built up enough that it can affect people with their spores, but also where she enacted the first part of her revenge. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Last of Us: Day One – TV Review

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TL;DR – It is time to find out what is happening in Seattle … and it is messy, to say the least.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Ellie and Dina scoping out a site.

The Last of Us Review –

In cinema, while the word ‘physicality’ gets thrown around a lot, what it means is a tangible sense that you believe what you see. Does an actor have the presence to make their performance believable? Does a place feel real, or is it coming off as a paper veneer? Well, today, we get some good examples of how The Last of Us uses physicality to make its world work.    

So, to set the scene, eleven years ago, FEDRA ruled Seattle with a hard fist, so much so that they have dehumanised the local population. Few believed this was an issue, but Isaac Dixon (Jeffrey Wright). In the world of now, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) have just made it into the city to find no signs of life but a lot of dead FEDRA corpses around. But there is hope. In the distance, there is a large dish brandished with the WLF, and they realise they are in the right place for their revenge. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Last of Us: Future Days – TV Review

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TL;DR – This first episode lets us catch up with the cast and world and catch our breath before the world turns.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Max service that viewed this show.

End Credit Scene – There is a trailer and behind-the-scenes making off.

A group standing around some newly dug graves.

The Last of Us Review –

While the First Season of The Last of Us was a triumph, not just for Video Game adaptations but for adaptations in general, it was one of the rare works that fundamentally understood the source material, sometimes down to a shot-for-shot recreation. But also knew when some aspects needed to be refreshed or, in the case of Long Long Time, completely rewritten from the ground up. Yet, still, I came into Season Two with more than a bit of trepidation. The adaptation of the source material is going to require some hard choices, which is not going to be popular. I was there when it was released the first time and lived through that moment of ‘less than stellar’ online discourse. Yet still, I knew I had to sit down and watch, and here we are today.   

So, to set the scene, it has been five years since Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) walked away from the Firefly facility in Salt Lake City to return to Jackson. But the legacies of what Joel did, and very much lied about, live large in those who made it out of the massacre. Jackson is one of the rare places in the old America that has survived the Cordyceps Apocalypse without being under the thumb of FEDRA. But there are more than a few stragglers out there, and there are more people than construction can keep up with. Tensions remain everywhere, and the echoes of the lies we tell have started to reverberate. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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A Minecraft Movie – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a film that absolutely captures the essence of the camp it is adapting. Even if all the added features should have been enough to torpedo the movie, it remained a solid kid’s film, even if it made some questionable choices.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

A Minecraft Village

A Minecraft Movie

This was such an interesting movie for me to review, not in the least that it has been in devilment hell for ten years or so, which makes it fascinating to see what was finally produced. But also, this is a film about a video game that I have probably had my second-longest relationship with. Every year, I dive back in and build a new Minecraft world from scratch, discovering all the wild changes that have been made since last time. But video game adaptations can be very much hit or miss, and that long of a production period does give me pause.  

So, to set the scene, one day, a boy really wanted to be a miner, but no kids were allowed. Time went on, and when Steve (Jack Black) became an adult, he ran back into those mines, found a cube and activated a portal to another cube-based world. It was a joy to create until, one day, he discovered a portal to the Nether, ruled by Malgosha (Rachel House/Allan Henry), who loves gold and hates creativity. Forced to send his dog fleeing with the cube, the portal remained undiscovered until one day when four weird and different characters, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) from the town of Chuglass rediscover it. When they step through, they find themselves thrown into a world where everything from the trees to the grass to the sheep are all now cubes. It is a wild world that becomes even more dangerous when the sun goes down.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review: Third Time’s the Charm

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TL;DR – Well, I think the third time is the charm, as they finally get a story that makes the most of their outstanding character work.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Sonic Racing

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Review –

I have had real issues with the previous two Sonic films because while Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had strong character work, they were let down with generally average at best narratives. Even their absurd Knuckles series came across these same issues, which meant that when I walked into the third instalment, I didn’t have much hope. Well, have I ever been glad to be wrong.

So, to set the scene, things are almost calm in the lives of the Wachowski family, bar the fact that they are now home to three different alien beings with extraordinary powers. But while Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) can’t out-race or fight Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba), they can still surprise with an Earthday party. But while this wholesome bonding session is happening in Green Hills, Montana. Over in Prison Island in the Bay of Tokyo, one of the most dangerous weapons on the planet has just escaped. G.U.N. needs Team Sonic’s help because Shadow (Keanu Reeves) ripped through their teams. Well, when Team Sonic is called, they respond, and thankfully, a helpful explosion lets them know where to go and immediately get stomped.

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Borderlands – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While I will give it points for getting some of the visual style right, and something must have gotten that cast to sign up. But the final product was a soulless mess of nothingness.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene that you don’t need to stay for.

Warning – There is strobing effects.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Space Station around Pandora.

Borderlands Review –

For a long time, there has been a question about whether you can write an engaging video game adaptation? They have been hit and miss, and many were just made for tax write-offs [allegedly]. However, in recent years, we have found that you can make that translation on both TV and in the cinema, which makes it even more frustrating that we take a return to the past with today’s entry.  

So, to set the scene, we open around the planet of Pandora, where a secret vault containing alien information has drawn vault hunters for generations, leaving the planet trashed and strewn with violent gangs. One man who is after that power is Atlas (Edgar Ramírez), which makes it concerning when one of his own soldiers, Roland (Kevin Hart), kidnaps his daughter Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) and takes her into the quagmire. It has been months, and no one has been able to find her, which is when he goes to Lilith (Cate Blanchett), the one bounty hunter that can take on the planet because she used to live there.

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