RipCordless

A pop-culture consumer who keeps it, by design, in the shallow end of the pool.

Entertainment

Review | Avengers Endgame

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I’ve seen Avengers Endgame twice since its release and though I enjoyed the experience, I just don’t believe it was the perfect conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) everyone is claiming. Truth be told, when compared to Avengers Infinity War, Endgame doesn’t quite match up — and there are some very specific reasons. Fair warning: spoilers ahead.

The tone of Endgame begins right where Infinity War left off with the remaining Avengers reeling from the loss of the friends and colleagues. In fact, the entire world (read: universe) is suffering. Stark is adrift, Thor is cloaked in bitterness, while Thanos is injured but content in the results of his madness. The Avengers exact almost immediate revenge on Thanos but the chance to possess the stones and reset the slip through their grasp with the death of The Mad Titan.  After this grim beginning, all seems lost but the story shifts on a rather random happenstance and thus begins some mild disappointment at the remaining viewing experience.

The gritty story veers sharply into a set of subplots which seemed more grounded in fan service and comedy than story development. The numerous shifts in timeline combined with an homage to past Avenger personalities was, at times, elegant and a nice tribute to the franchise but seemed to distract from the somber fact half of all life in the universe had been snuffed out — which is why I just don’t believe it did any justice to the Infinity War storyline. Please don’t misread my intent, the film continued the tradition of having a spectacular production value, with actors who know every nuance of their respective roles, and it was a joy to see one last film celebrating this ensemble cast. However, like so many times before, it could have been much better.

The plot rounded nicely into Thanos’ discovery of the Avengers attempt to stop, prevent, or rectify (the paradox of time travel can be so confusing) The Snap which culminated with a massive battle for control of the Infinity Stones. Unfortunately, the fight of this proportion seemed all too brief, was filled with forced moments of significance (you know what I’m talking about), and ends with a sacrifice of epic proportion.

The film concluded with some very dead Avengers, a passing of torch (retiring other Avengers) and a feeling of completion. When the dust cleared, I found the viewing experience to be slightly too long (3 hours, 1 minute) but worth seeing in the theater. From where I sit, Avengers Endgame earns a RipRating of 8/10 (Infinity War was 9/10). Not as good as Infinity War but one helluva ride.

As a postscript to my review, I wish Captain Marvel had been used more in Endgame. Her arrival, heralded by the cryptic pager at the end of Infinity War, promised a substantial remedy to Thanos’ power but sadly she seemed to be an afterthought. Additionally, I wasn’t impressed with the transformation Thor to a fat, giggling Avenger with PTSD and a drinking problem — it just shat upon arguably the second most powerful Avenger (after Captain Marvel) and tainted his unflappable reputation. On the other hand, it certainly provided a vector for him to join what was left of the Guardians of the Galaxy team.

Liverpool Make History

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It is an interesting time to be a Liverpool supporter in light of their recent history making come-back against Barcelona last Tuesday. Long have I endured the collapse of the club, weak managers, and failed attempts to reach the pinnacle of the Premier League. There have been mistakes, slips, hiccups, and directionless seasons but I remained faithful while echoing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to my beloved Reds. I still remember where I was the day Liverpool brought in Jurgen Klopp as manager. It was a typical day at work, I was surrounded by the various tasks of the day, and hanging with friends who don’t comprehend the nuances of English tribalism when it comes to domestic football (soccer). They looked at me with mild amusement as I extolled the virtues of a German manager now in charge of Liverpool. They tolerated my exuberance as I rattled on with giddy enthusiasm about how Klopp would change everything. And now, all that blind faith yields results.

Gone are the weak comparisons of Brendan Rodgers to Jurgen Klopp. Dismissed are the mid-table players who once made up the bulk of the roster. Diminished are the doubts of achieving a top-four finish. Jurgen Klopp has done what no other modern era manager could have accomplished — he’s set Liverpool back on a path to greatness. He’s reset the course, redefined the players, and educated the dedicated supporters. By willing his club into the Champions League finals for a second consecutive year, Klopp has established himself as an elite manager at an elite club. And we’re still in with a very minor chance to win the Premier League for the first time this Sunday.

When Barcelona arrived at Anfield on Tuesday, they felt confident. Up 3-0 from their home leg in the Champions League semi-finals, all seemed concluded. Surely Liverpool would roll over and die but not so fast. After a quick start, Liverpool were up 1-0 at the half, then an inspired substitution brought in my favorite player, Gini Wijnaldum, who scored a brace bringing the aggregate level at 3-3. Late in the second half, Trent Alexander-Arnold, a right-back of cheek and courage, took an opportunity and caught the Barcelona defense napping. A quick corner got the ball to Divock Origi who buried it, finishing the game 4-3. In an unlikely but inspiring moment in football history, Liverpool will go to their second Champions League final with a chip on their shoulder from last year’s failure — but I expect a different result this time around.

Liverpool are focused, experienced, practiced and ready for a redemptive chance to lift the cup. Should they win the final on June 1st, it will be the sixth Champions League trophy in club history and path will be forged for a new and exciting chapter in Liverpool red. Meanwhile, check out the intense celebrations and an incredible rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone from the crowd.

Incredible.

UPDATE

When the dust cleared from the season, Manchester City won the Premier League, defending their title, and confirming their status as a top shelf talent. Liverpool finished the season with 97 points, 1 behind City, and locked into second place. All in all, a stunning season and I’m proud to be a Liverpool supporter.

The Division 2 Alternative

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The last few months of gaming releases have been anything less than spectacular. With the much maligned release of Fallout 76 (Bethesda) late last year, and the dumpster fire called Anthem (BioWare / EA) released less than a month ago, the gaming community has endured unpolished titles, broken game play, and products which don’t reflect the industry’s global revenue position. If you thought films or music grabbed the entertainment revenue crown, you could not be further from the truth. In 2016, the gaming industry pulled in over $101 billion in global sales, which outpaced the other two comparable markets combined.

Even without mobile sales, gaming still defeats both film & music combined

But there is hope looming. On March 15, 2019, The Division 2 (Ubisoft) may provide an alternative from all the recent gaming trash which has been excreted into the market. Using the same formula from The Division, the Ubisoft sequel looks to continue the original premise but changes the venue and shifts the season on a much bigger map. I played the beta and discovered there is no doubt, it plays very close to the original (perhaps too close?) which is the challenge for sequel games — stray too far off the formula (vanilla Destiny 2) and people complain you’ve lost the magic. Stick too close the original and people complain it feels like a DLC — which may be the main concern for The Division 2.

Another issues of concern is the end game. The original Division had little to do beyond the level 30 cap. Missions became tedious, the Dark Zone was bloated with griefers, and the Guardian Down Squad left in short order when raids ended up being nothing but horde mode defense. Ubisoft clearly saw The Division player response because with The Division 2 open beta they flew the end game banner by allowing players to sample what awaits them after level 30. Criticized for bullet-sponge end game enemies in the original, The Division 2 sets an entirely different tone. Upon reaching cap, the entire map changes as the “Black Tusk” invasion begins. Enemies become crafty, new weapons are deployed in combination with aggressive tactics. In theory the entire journey for the player becomes much more convoluted, as does the the gear sets, missions, and broad range customization. It all sounds very tasty.

I write this about 24 hours away from release and have high hopes. If even half of the promises manifest, The Division 2 looks to be a game capable of scratching the RPG, looter-shooter itch and keeping us occupied with a quality release for a while.

Anthem Had One Chance

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It’s been a while since I’ve seen a game associated with so much hype land with such a thud. Much like finding a turd in the proverbial punch bowl, EA and BioWare’s recent release of Anthem has been met with distain and community backlash. Is this No Man’s Sky bad? Could it be Apple Maps bad? I think there’s no way to know until we seen how this dumpster fire turns out but the list of strikes against the new IP have been daunting.

Released on February 22, 2019, by BioWare (under the EA flagship) Anthem was supposed to be the Destiny killer. Set in some futuristic, off-planet world, this looter-shooter gave players access to javelins, mech-like suits capable of various combat abilities. In development for six years, the gaming community was interested in this new IP with frothing anticipation. Little did we all know what the future truly held for the masses — though perhaps the closed beta held a clue.

I played the closed beta and thought the game was aesthetically pleasing, the movement interesting but found the combat a touch tedious. I remember remarking to friends Destiny combat was far superior. When it was said and done, the middling closed beta experience was enough for me to decide not to buy the game upon release and watch the community response. Validation is sometimes a wonderful thing and I’m just shallow enough to enjoy being confirmed by, well, literally thousands of fellow gaming nerds. Look, don’t get me wrong, I had no idea how bad this would get but I was, without a doubt, cautious of potential trouble. What sort of trouble are players having? The list is significant.

  • Players report a game world devoid of life or activity
  • Players report repetitive and boring combat
  • Players report extremely weak end-game content
  • Players report all the enemies and bosses look the same
  • Players report all the environments look the same
  • Players report Fort Tarsis is an empty world bereft of intrigue
  • Players report broken loot, weak upgrades, and tedious progression
  • Players report being banned for exploiting in-game loot

All of these issues (and more) have driven Anthem onto thin ice. Like a mountain climber trying to surmount a vertical cliff with a fraying rope, frozen hands, while being lit on fire, the future looks bleak for BioWare. If the latest reports are to be believed, the game may actually cause system instability to the point Playstation 4 owners are reporting hard shutdowns of their console while playing the Anthem. I don’t pretend to understand the nuanced of game code but that all seems like a very bad thingy. Very bad. The final nail in the coffin has to be the ratings. Metacritic has seen a number of players commenting about the problematic state of the game and the Xbox rating is the median of the other two (PC, PlayStation) which is still frickin’ horrible.

MetaCritic // Anthem (PC) Review as of March 4, 2019

Though BioWare is attempting to rectify the mistakes, they may be too late. With the release of Ubisoft’s The Division 2 in about 10 days, BioWare are in a position which is hard to come back from. In the gaming world you have one moment to capture the money, loyalty, and time of your audience. That moment is the release date. Screw that up and in the highly competitive (and lucrative) gaming market, there is always something else to catch the player’s attention.

I’ll continue to monitor the situation with Anthem but the likelihood of me venturing into this new playground is remote. I guarantee if everyone would have been lauding this game from moment one, I and my group of close gaming friends would be in. As of right now, we’re decidedly not in.

Time to Uninstall Destiny 2

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Rip, why the hell would you uninstall one of the greatest looter-shooters of all time?! Thank you for your question, random person. Allow me to elaborate.

Destiny 2 has been in my gaming rotation since its release on September 6, 2017. As the sequel to the original title, Destiny 2 took off with great anticipation. The campaign was fascinating and the recently formed original Guardian Down Squad (GDSQ), formed in the tribulation of King’s Fall, took to the new challenge with gusto. After a quick rise to level cap, the Leviathan raid beckoned and the GDSQ decided to take the Oath of Darkness while completing the raid. Simply put, we chose to avoid all hints, guides, and spoilers while pitting our own wits against the Leviathan test. Truth be told, it took months of casual play but through effort, skill, and a touch of luck, we finally defeated Calus and took our prizes with great satisfaction.

Leviathan done by: MaxPower, TangoChaser, Chica, GroovyTimBob, Darth Sacko & Rip

After defeating the Leviathan raid, most found Destiny 2 had universally become rather bland experience. The community outcry was deafening and, to their credit, Bungie began to respond, albeit slowly, to the concern. Players began to leave the game in droves, YouTube content was continually being posted about the negative state of the game, while devs feverishly worked to resolve content and weapon issues. Roadmaps were published, promises were made, and was rectified with the brand new Forsaken expansion. Suddenly, all seemed right with the [nerd] world.

Excited to move forward with a new Destiny 2 experience, the GDSQ gathered once more to crush the campaign, while keeping one eye on the (rumored to be much more difficult) Last Wish raid. Again, we took the Oath of Darkness and would accept no assistance in our journey — a decision which was both horrendous and rewarding. Arguably the most difficult raid ever conceived by Bungie, the Last Wish raid took months of effort and setbacks, while providing only marginal victories. One by one, bosses fell and puzzles were solved until, about two weeks ago, we finally finished the Last Wish raid — start to finish, in one weekend. And it was an epic [nerd] adventure.

Last Wish done by: MaxPower, GrooyTimBob, Darth Sacko, Chica, TangoChaser, & Rip

After hours of gameplay and the much rewarding culmination of completing both raids without assistance, it’s time to hang up my cloak. I’ve accomplished all the high points and feel good about the exit. Been playing in the Destiny world for better than four years and we’ve all put in some time. What kinda time? As of this writing:

  • GroovyTimBob // 30 days, 1 hour
  • Ripcordless // 16 days, 8 hours
  • Angel // 13 days, 3 hours
  • Chica // 13 days, 21 hours
  • TangoChaser // 11 days, 21 hours
  • Darth Sacko // 11 days, 2 hours
  • MaxiusPower // 10 days, 23 hours
  • MuricanSheepDog // 10 days, 6 hours
  • Hellian // 9 days, 12 hours

Kinda been there, done that, enjoyed the hell outta the ride but time to move on. Don’t get me wrong, once Bungie settles and is focused on Destiny 3, I’ll be there but until then, it’s time to uninstall Destiny 2. Enjoy.