Elves and Beasts and Lightsabers

Oddworld Soulstorm thoughts (spoilers) There are spoilers here. I have been waiting so long for this game! It’s been four years. Additionally, Oddworld hasn’t made an original story since 2005.  Did it live up to the wait? In story terms, somewhat. In game terms, no. I also have a big problem with the game that I'll get to. I love this franchise so much and I’m glad to see more stuff from the franchise. There were some good things and some bad things. There have been so many promises and so many things have been hyped up; the game does completely not live up to the hype and the promises. I also wonder how experiencing the game would have been like without the  four years of trailers and preparation.    My main interest in this game was for the story, so that’s my focus. I’ll go over the good things first. Regarding positives, I appreciate Abe’s characterization. It’s more human, and it does a great job at showing his intended empathy. At the start, he doesn’t want to fight anymore.

I just watched Enemy Mine. I thought it was a good movie. It made me feel a lot of emotions. Rage for the injustice of the system and those who perpetuate it. The film stumbles in quite a few ways. But its accomplishments are extremely noteworthy. I feel like this film, warts and all, deserves some more praise. I deeply admire how the film sets out to talk about bigotry and exploitation. This film, with its alien designs and focus on such issues, reminds me of Oddworld. That is a very good thing. The effects and performances in the film are magnificent! I love how the alien life looks! They have that three-eyed turtle thing. I have a few problems with the movie. That this film had trouble behind the scenes is evident. I find it hilarious that they had to include a mine to appease people who thought the title would be confusing without a literal mine. The film has little interest in exploring complicity within greater systems. Willis’s character is great. However, there’s a surprising l