arts / 8

Steven's Man-Cave:
your destiny 1s over-hyped

» ‘Destiny’ PS4 review

Steven Cayer
Senior Columnist

60000

hate it when games are

announced way too soon.
As time goes by, people’s
expectations build and build
until the game comes out
and youre at least a little
disappointed. Sadly, this
happened with Destiny, the
highly-anticipated, Game-of-
the-Year quality, sci-fi, first-
person shooter.

Made by Bungie—the
creators of the epic Halo
series—and published by
Activision—creator of the
amazing Call of Duty series—

 

; this game was meant to be
; the best but falls flat. It’s sad
: because they spent around

$500-million on advertising.

That’s just baffling to me.

My main problem is that
it has a tough time defining
: itself, especially as a genre. If
: you're a fan of MMOs (massively

: multiplayer online), you'll be

: disappointed with the small

: maps, serious lack of group

: chat, and overall length of the
: game. If you're a fan of RPGs

: (role-playing games), you'll

: be disappointed in the lack of
: story, character development,
: and the minimal variety of

: weapons and gear. At least

: if youre a fan of FPSs (first-

: person shooters), you wont be
: disappointed with the endless
: enemies gunning for you or the
: addicting online multiplayer

: called the Crucible. I’ve done

: this mode many times, spending
: most of the time trying not to

: get kicked out because of a bad
Internet connection.

Destiny has a lot to keep

? me entertained. It has taken

: the best aspects of different

: games and combines them

: very well. During my play-

: through, I noticed the combat

: was from Borderlands, the

: maneuverability was from Halo,
: and even the looting was from

: Diablo 3. Bungie did what they
do best, but they kept it safe.

I really wanted to immerse

: myself in this world, but it’s

: tough not to see the flaws. I say
: wait until Bungie releases the

: “4o-year-long downloadable

: content run” that they’ve

: promised us. I can’t wait to see
you then.

theotherpress.ca

 

Damaged goods

» 'The Drop’ review

Steven Cayer
Senior Columnist

60000

Wwe I heard about a new
crime drama called The

 

Drop, I wanted to see it because | ;
: meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace),

: whose trash can had Rocco

I love both Tom Hardy and
the late James Gandolfini. But

what I came away with wasa lot :

more than just excellent acting. from there.

Bob (Hardy) is a
bartender who works for Marv
(Gandolfini), and together
they own what’s called a “drop-
bar”: a safe-house for mob

: money before they launder

: it. Naturally, the location of a

: drop-bar always changes so the
: cops can’t find it. When the
bar gets robbed on the night of

a drop, the Chechens lean on
them to get their money back
or else. Meanwhile, Bob finds

: an adorable, beaten pit bull in
: a trash can and decides to keep

it, naming it Rocco. Then he

inside, and the tension rises

I need to commend Hardy

: on his subtle yet incredible

: performance yet again. He

: isa chameleon who can play
: any part he’s given. He does a

: great job letting you know he’s
: hiding something from the

: start, then teases you until the
climax of the film.

I loved the fact that the

story doesn’t shove itself in

: your face. You need to fill ina

: couple of blanks yourself. It’s an
: achievement in itself that these
: kinds of movies are still coming
: out. This film is based on the

: short story Animal Rescue by

: Dennis Lehane, who also wrote

: the screenplay. You can tell he

: understands the dark, gritty

: world of criminals and that

: being one is just another job.

This movie is a slow burn,

but if you get through it you
: will be glad you did.

 

 

Cryptically colourless

» ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’ book review

Joshua Grant
Senior Columnist

OOOO8

t first blush, Haruki

Murakami’s latest work,
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and
His Years of Pilgrimage might
come off as a particularly
miserable fairy tale. It’s written
in that simple style, and magic
seems to exist—not in the

: world as such but oozing out

: from beneath the carpets and
: pooling in the corners of rooms, :
: The story is set in motion

: when Tsukuru’s new girlfriend
: sends him to find out what

: happened to his old friends, a

: High Fidelity-esque endeavour
: that takes our self-absorbed

: protagonist on a quest to learn

: mixing with dust and selfish
tears.

Like in other major
: Murakami works, the

protagonist is a lone male

: with emotional issues. Unlike

: 1Q84’s Tengo and The Wind-up
: Bird Chronicle’s Toru, Tsukuru
: is principally defined by his

: relationships, or lack thereof.

: He feels that, compared to

: his ex-friends who broke it off

: with him under mysterious
: circumstances years before, he

is colourless and uninteresting.

“the whole story” behind

: important events in his life. But
: this mystery unfolds eerily, and
: the way that Murakami sets up
: the reveal, simply and without

: artifice, is beautiful. I won't say
: any more.

If you come to Colorless

Tsukuru Tazaki hoping for

: a tight mystery narrative,

: you'll be disappointed. It has

: elements of mystery and fairy

: tale but don’t expect the pieces
: to fit. They will rattle around in
: your head, which is unsettling.
: It’s not an easy book to digest,

: but it’s also hard to forget. I’m

: not sure if it was a fun read, but
: it isa great book.

COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI

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