Think it came upon me to mention that even
given that several years have gone past, my DVD collection really hasn’t
expanded much, although my video games have. Since I engage with both
industry’s like you (I’d hope!) on almost a daily basis, I had an epiphany of
why that may be.
My stories are usually character-led as
opposed to being plot-led. I think the secret to a good story is a good
character journey. Simple when you think about it; “every” story “MUST” make
you understand a character so that the audience can anticipate their next move
but to get them “like” a character… Well you do that & you’re singing!
Solid Snake
Why Do I Like Them:
Most know my favourite character as being
Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid Franchise (although I do wish they’d
stuck with David Hayter as the voice actor rather than Hideo Kojima getting too
far up his own arse and casting Keifer Sutherland in)He’s a cloned soldier, born for combat.
Disciplined, philosophical, wise and as tough as nails with a complicated set
of ethics. Untrusting of others and a no
nonsense attitude. Rather than a character who needs to be nursemaided so far
before they start kicking into action, Snake has been one of the most
unforgettable characters as well as a great role model for those of us who have
struggled with a bit of an erratic childhood and having lived so many places,
shat on by those closest to us – yet he keeps on going. Not to mention, still
at the centre of some of the greatest storylines I’ve ever experienced.
Rocky Balboa
Why Do I Like Them:
Rocky has a refined sense of manners and an
all likeable bunch of traits and reminds me of when I worked some pretty shitty
jobs myself to keep some of the shithole places I also lived in and after all
the trying and failing, unable to shut out his killer instinct to ‘fight’, I’ve
tried many things but my ability was to ‘write’ and let me tell you, to be
successful… THAT IS… a fight. Against impossible odds but a heart of gold and
determined to be ‘not just another bum from the neighbourhood’ – I knew
“exactly” what he meant… I know way too many of those people and nothing
depresses me more than the thought of becoming one myself. “Every” time I put
on a Rocky film, my spirit goes back up and I find myself cheering him on,
watching the TV screen. Sylvester Stallone is a great writer and film-maker and
people will remember him for many years to come.
Dante
Why I Like Them:
Upon the release of the Playstation 2, I
already knew that the guys who’d made the ‘Resident Evil’ stuff was cooking
this one up. A Rock ‘n’ Roll devil hunter, half devil, half cocky as hell
human. Choice of wielding a sword and dual pistols simultaneously was cool
enough as usually its having to choose between the two before as determined by
genre. There’s not much of a character arc, its more plot driven than character
driven in the first installment but its when you hit the later versions of
Dante’s legacy you get into the depths of his character. You’re playing as
someone who is shouting out “Woohoo!” as he’s killing demonic creatures &
entities sure as hell as that’s what you’re doing on the other side of the
screen – It’s gung-ho but cleverly done, great costume, great look, great
attitude, great weapons, interesting bad guys and the gameplay goes like water
off a ducks back, never really stopping as you start finding your inner demon
awakening in glee from the various goth music soundtrack. The fight cutscenes
are also highly inventive, one of the many reasons, why video game fights etc
are just so much more interesting now than what you’d expect t see on TV or at
the cinema.
Altair
Why I Like Them:
One of the first ‘true’ open world games I
ever played. Learning some fun historical stuff about my world whilst I wield
stealth in new ways and can engage several targets at once in an all-out
assault battle. That was great but what really tipped the scale to awesome
levels in my opinion was its character; Altair. A top-notch assassin who
disgraces himself and the order of his creed by assassinating an innocent, getting
disobedient and impatient results in him getting demoted and having to work his
way back up the ladder all over again to regain his honour and status. Perfect
for the narrative to work as well as being allowed to steadily learn and hone
the skills respectively as a player. Later finding out he’s actually been
deceived by his own master, whilst protecting a mythical, heavenly artifact. I
could kiss the bugger who wrote this out. Great stuff!
Darth Vadar
Why Do I Like Them:
Darth Vadar doesn’t send out other minions
to get something if he can go do it himself, obsessed with galactic domination
and the crushing of his own son – blood terrifying. His presence, his
breathing, his costume, his voice, that f*****g awesome red lightsaber and the
sound it makes when he uses it. “Everything” key to making one of the most
perfect bad guys of all time; you’ve got it right here. One of the earliest
characters you’ll see who ends up finally make the ultimate sacrifice for good
at one of his last scenes in ‘Return Of The Jedi’ – absolutely sublime (before
the prequels came in & really made us want to cry) How awesome are those
lightsaber fights between him & Luke? – there’s some pretty good copycats
on ‘Youtube’ who’ve made their own over the years – This bad guy is almost
unbeatable.
Terminator (T-800)
Why do I like them:
Shit a brick, they said it wasn’t going to
be possible back in the day but fuck me there wasn’t one person who was
overjoyed about James Cameron proving them wrong. The scariest bad ass machine
with red eyes and that evil grin embodied by Arnold Schwarzenegger, sent from a
post-apocalyptic era of war of man VS machine, sent back to kill the mother of
the leader of its enemy in the future, killing countless innocents and any
militia in its way. Not to mention its return on the screen in one of the most
successful sequels ever when it’s sent back to protect her and her son from
‘another’ terminator. Fucking incredible and made my birth year (1984) all the
more meaningful for me to look back on.
Alien
Why I like them:
Proud of all the nightmares I endured after
watching this terrifying f****r rip people to shreds in various resourceful
fashions, I can’t think of any film that made me s**t myself as much as this.
From the second it shows itself – it makes you jump, when it is born from its
parasite, after having being stuck on John Hurt’s face for a few hours; IT
EXPLODES OUT OF HIS FUCKING CHEST!!! “This” is how horror is supposed to be
done and in my opinion – still is… You fill it with black, suspense, noises of
dread, claustrophobic spaces then when you finally see the bugger, you give it
biggest, ugliest, merciless appearance and presence EVER!!! I am “extremely” hard to please in horror
films but this will always come out as my favourite (only inches ahead of its
sequel) just like Terminator, James Cameron delivers a blinder of a 2nd
instalment. More importantly, there’s no silly puzzles, riddles, rules etc to
work out to win against this tough muthaf***a. It’s simple: no bullets, no
weapon, then run, you friggin’ idiot!
Predator
Why I Like Them:
The genious of this ultra terrifying
monster was the fact that it was an intergalactic hunter, seeking challenge and
trophies but refused to kill anyone that provided neither. In addition it could
turn invisible and had advanced weaponry we had never seen before. The real
clever part was making sure they cast and made Arnold Schwarzenegger look like
a pussy next to this thing to really get that point across. They made the
daylight seem just as terrifying as the night, with this creature & as a
little cherry on the cake, it competed against being killed by an Alien (above)
being much worse as you’d be skinned alive. Unfortunately, the sequels that
followed were nowhere near as good but the legacy alike the ones above was well
deserved.
Nemesis
Why I Like Them:
The ‘Resident Evil’ franchise had already
become a big thing for me when someone decided it’d be great to invent the
‘survival horror’ genre and watch our players soil themselves. Two great games
had already come and gone. Along came ‘Resident Evil 3 – Nemesis’ and was the
first video game bad guy, I was really scared of – about time! It was a bulky 8
foot monster, on occasion armed with a rocket launcher and a god awful roar
that if you couldn’t see it, you knew it was stalking you nearby. There was a
score written to play in these instances then another written for when it would
drop down from a roof, smash through a window or whatever and make you scream:
“SSSSSSHHHHIIIIIIIIT!” You’d look for the nearest door and leg it… Even with
the best weapons in the game, this bastard was damn near impossible to put
down. Absolutely amazing! Unfortunately, when that dork, Paul W.S Anderson
completely fucked it all up with the film adaptations, the translation of the
Nemesis’s appearance was the only thing that held up.
Sephiroth
Why I Like Them:
Final Fantasy 7 was one of the most
addictive Role Playing Games video gamers had ever encountered back then. You
know why, not only was there a blinder of a story that asked us to hypothesize
“What if when we die, we return to the livestream of our mother Earth, someone
found a way to selfishly harness this as an energy that was capable of bringing
about the end of days for us all?” In addition they threw a cloned soldier
(alike Solid Snake above I suppose) who actually found out he was part of an
alien breed sent to use this process to kill us all. Enter a black cloaked,
expert swordsman and warrior, with long grey hair, evil eyes and the biggest
sword you’ve ever seen as well as his accompanying music every step of the way;
his name was Sephiroth. He was cold, had infinite wisdom and went from good guy
to bad guy steadily the more truth he learned about his own existence. Totally
brilliant and althought the animated film wasn’t as good as it could’ve been
(Final Fantasy: Advent Children) – the translation of Sephiroth was beautifully
delivered.
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