Donlevy Reviews Interstellar: I Don't Have a Stellar Pun

Quick note first:

Today, November 15, 2014, makes it one year to the day that I've been doing this whole review/blog thing! Way back when I was doing this on Tumblr, mind. So yeah, to anyone who's been reading what I say for the past year, thank you so much! And if you happen to enjoy it (and I hope you do) hey, even better! I'm glad I could and still can be informative and/or entertaining, and I continue to hope that you all find as much enjoyment out of my writing as I have doing the actual writing! And finally, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of both me and the Emporium this past year! It means a lot, and it's because of you awesome folk that (on top of keeping me sane this past year) I'm always looking at more things to do in the future, including a possibly-maybe-hopefully new video (or series.... ;) ). So thanks again guys! Here's to another year (or more)!

- Donlevy


Now then...

Interstellar is director Christopher Nolan's latest original film after Dark Knight Returns, and it's damn massive in scope. Faced with a dying Earth, Interstellar follows Matthew McConaughey's Cooper as he and several NASA scientists race to the stars to find a habitable planet for the purpose of population. From black holes to wormholes, it's the final frontier for Nolan and his desperate astronauts. And for Cooper, it's a race against time to save both his family and humanity at large...as every action undertaken costs the team precious years, or possibly decades. Interstellar is no doubt a marvel of visual and audio design, but it's unfortunate that the ambitious and larger-than-life story ends up weighing it down from being something truly great. Despite strong acting and a tantalizing story hook, the film can't escape its own gravity being continually bogged down by meandering exposition and an uneven and lacking final act.

I won't use more gravity puns, I promise.

In the near-future, resources on Earth have all but depleted, leading humanity to re-prioritize their production efforts in a desperate bid to stem their eventual fate. After Cooper and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) stumble upon a facility run by the remnants of NASA and led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine), Cooper learns that Brand has an even better idea: get the hell outta dodge. Or in other words, look to the stars, and leave the Earth. Realizing that Earth is on its last legs, Cooper, a former test pilot and engineer, agrees to accompany a group of scientists, including Professor Brand's daughter, Amelia (Anne Hathaway), on a space voyage to another galaxy, courtesy of a mysterious wormhole appearing near Saturn. The caveat however is that the wormhole leads to a system in proximity to a black hole, and the gravitational force exerted makes time dilate on the extreme. The team must investigate the planets for signs of hospitality, but they must choose wisely, for each minute or hour spent is years away on Earth. And for Cooper, those are years he won't be seeing his daughter.

I find that to be quite a strong premise overall, and it certainly makes for a dramatic choice faced by the scientists in the early-to-mid parts of the film. Great acting all around too, especially McConaughey who, jeeze, is on a freaking roll lately. I give big props to the voices of the AI robots that travel with the crew, especially, and also the surprise actors/actresses that appear later on. All of the actors face the drama up front, and the crew in particular convey equal parts awe and desperation. For added effect, the crew continually receive video messages sent from family back on Earth, as the years begin to tick away back home. They make for some really special and intimate moments, and allow the story to progress back on Earth years into the future without feeling jarring. Interstellar is quite deliberate in its pace early on, also evident by how little the film needlessly lingers back on Earth before Cooper leaves (which is to say, it doesn't).
As you approach the end of the movie however, you might find that the film can be...mmm...a bit of full of itself. What I mean is that, and without spoiling, the exposition and progression the film quite successfully managed in the beginning and middle acts is squandered by constant repetition of said exposition and delayed resolution in the guise of a forced and artificial tension. Basically...dialogue and circumstance between characters do little for story advancement and more for wasting of time. It's frustrating, and it makes what would otherwise be important story moments more of a relief than anything when they occurred.

I will say though that throughout most of the film, the science behind everything is handled and explained fairly well without what I'd consider to be oversimplifying. I suppose one could argue that Interstellar asks a lot of the viewer in order to follow along, but come on man, space is cool. Sure, I'm in no way an expert in any field of science of the cosmos, but damn, at the very least it looked freaking cool.

Indeed, Interstellar has some hugely impressive visual effects and composition. It's immediately clear that the film was expertly shot, and the use of both VFX and miniatures is excellent. The various planets feel fantastically alien, yet with a hint of familiarity, unintentionally or not, that make for fascinating and interesting locales. The cinematography flows more with the mechanics of the spacecraft, rather than with the astronauts, (in contrast to say, Gravity) and situates to make gorgeous vista views and horizons. A select few scenes even make fantastic use of rotation to make for some memorable and excitingly tense moments. Careful with this film if you have a tendency to get motion sickness.

And of course, of course, the music. It's always the damn music. Well it's damn good music! Haha! And who else should be behind it than Hans Zimmer. It goes without saying, but without the music that Zimmer provides, Interstellar would have been a very different movie. There's an enormous and empowering presence of organs in the soundtrack for the tense scenes, and a softer more melancholy approach to the sombre moments. His music sets the tone of the entire film, and it's what makes otherwise more subtle scenes stand out as epic and moving. I understand that some might have wanted a more underscored arrangement for those subtle scenes, for various reasons, but you can't argue with the results. My one criticism might be that by the end, the sheer amount of all those organs goes a little overboard.

To touch on it briefly, there are most definitely more than a few nods to science fiction works of the past, likely most notably of all 2001: A Space Odyssey. One scene in particular, that I wish I could spoil but I can't, is an extreme version of a particular scene in Odyssey involving a ship and station. And it's an amazing scene here. One of the several awesome set piece moments found in Interstellar.

So yes, for all it does on a technical level, those plot issues really do keep Interstellar from achieving true greatness, falling short of the heights of the films it pays homage to. Even so, it's a pretty good movie on a visual and audio level alone, and I feel that that makes it very watchable, even if its near three hour runtime is a bit daunting. If nothing else, Interstellar is certainly ambitious.

YAY

• Visually stunning. Space is cool, y'all.
• Great acting all around. McConaughey has been on fire recently. Also shout out to the voices of the AI's!
• Crazy music by, of course, Hans Zimmer.
• More than a few nods to past Sci-Fi movies, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Story deals with pretty hefty physics, and articulates it well without "dumbing down" too much.
• The set piece moments are sweeeeeeeeet.

NAY

• Artificial tension, particularly in the final act, is rather silly.
• Plot teeters on "going off the deep end." 
• Story gets bogged down almost needlessly by repeated exposition. 
• Similarly, the film could have used better time management (how ironic), by which I mean, spend less time drawing out said tension, and more time resolving. Again, mostly in the final act. 

Donlevy Reviews Hyrule Warriors or: A Strange Love Letter to Hyrule Warriors

On a purely introspective level, Hyrule Warriors is a game I think I've wanted ever since I was a kid. It fills a void I didn't know existed, and it does so by combining two franchises that I never even thought could go together. Hyrule Warriors is an amalgamation of The Legend of Zelda universe brought to action with the core gameplay of the Dynasty Warriors series. The hybrid that results feels like a match made in heaven, and also like a loving tribute to the characters and style, both new and old, in the Zelda world. It is a different beast from any other Zelda game, yet it feels like the ultimate companion piece, and in that sense I have near total admiration and affection for this game. The satisfying and utterly epic battles of Dynasty Warriors prove to be a strong fit for the lore of Zelda, and it leads to an incredible amount of content, with hours upon hours of gameplay and replayability. Hyrule Warriors is a fantastic and stellar game...and one that, despite my praise, I can't quite recommend to everyone.

To address that point first, let me be clear: if you are a fan of either The Legend of Zelda or Dynasty Warriors, I have no problem saying go out and enjoy it. The caveat here is rather in how you approach Dynasty Warriors itself, or more importantly, its gameplay. If one is averse to the intrinsic repetitiveness of Dynasty Warriors (or, for that matter, if one thinks of Zelda as a childish and pithy series, to which I would stare at that person and shake my head fervently and disapprovingly at how silly they are), then I see them not being able to find much mileage out of Hyrule Warriors.

The Dynasty Warriors formula, and by extension the core of Hyrule Warriors, is made up of one premise: play as one of a number of Warriors while conquering various Keeps on a given battlefield, and take on other Warriors/enemies, all while cutting through hundreds or even thousands of minor henchmen in the most stylish way possible. It's hectic, absurd, and downright satisfying, but also inherently repetitive. On its most basic (and, admittedly, rather insulting) level, the Warriors formula amounts to what is effectively a unique and over-the-top beat 'em up with various objectives in play. As such, it is what will likely make or break one's enjoyment of the game. If you can accept that, then there is plenty to love in Hyrule Warriors. But, I hear you asking, if one has never played a Warriors game before, how will they know if they would like it? Indeed, that notion is why I tend to beat around the bush trying to give some obnoxiously objective recommendation. It's tough to say. As I said before though, if you are a fan of Zelda to begin with, I find that the cost of entry is not as steep as it would be otherwise. So, with that being said, I can really only give one subjective perspective on Hyrule Warriors, and that is as a Zelda fan coming in blind to a Warriors-style game.

In Hyrule Warriors, the aforementioned Warriors consist of Zelda characters many fans will certainly recognize from earlier titles such as Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword, as well as several new and original characters. Counting the recent update, there are over a dozen playable Warriors to choose from, each with their own unique movesets and playstyle. No two Warriors play the same, and some Warriors even have multiple weapon variants that further differentiates gameplay. For example, Link has his usual sword and shield, but he can also come across (among other forms of weapons) a Fire Rod, which opens up a completely different set of combos and primary attacks.

Combos are the meat of the combat in Hyrule Warriors, and they function via sequence. So, pressing the light attack button followed by pressing the strong attack button will have your Warrior perform one unique combo, and pressing the strong attack button after two light attacks will perform the next, and so forth. You are also given two meters which can be filled by collecting pick-ups or performing combat: the Special Meter, and the Magic Meter. With one tap of the Special Button (hehe, I like the sound of that), your Warrior will unleash an enormous and stylish attack that decimates the screen of enemies, and gives you a number of KO's achieved with that one attack. Using the Magic Meter with the tap of a button puts your Warrior into a sort of "overdrive" mode that nets them a higher attack speed, additional damage, and other bonuses, as well as two different special attacks.

It's this simplicity of combat that makes Hyrule Warriors incredibly accessible, as well as perhaps, lacking in nuance, despite how utterly satisfying I found the gameplay to be.

Combat plays out on various battlefields (duh) and these take the form of various locales familiar in the Zelda lore. There are plenty of stages abound, and much like the Warriors, each feels different from one another. Several stages are pulled directly (with various tweaks) from the set of three Zelda games mentioned earlier. They look really cool, and function as they should: large places of nostalgia in which to mow down funny looking enemies. I almost wish there were more stages, but I think, rather any manpower that went towards that should go instead into more details on the current stages, since, well, some could use it.

Visually, the game is largely hit-and-miss. While the details and look of each Warrior is excellent, it contrasts poorly with poor textures on certain buildings and backdrops. Even though you may not be paying too much attention to such things in the heat of battle, some of the cutscenes really highlight that distinction. However, it is, I suppose, a price to pay for the awesome-looking effects, and the amount of enemies that can appear on screen at any given time. Still, with games like Bayonetta 2, Super Mario 3D World, and Pikmin 3 really pushing how slick games can look on the Wii U, it is a minor issue. 

BUT DAT MUSIC THO.

The soundtrack to Hyrule Warriors is brilliant. You'll hear plenty of recognizable tunes that might make a Zelda fan such as myself fawn, but then you'll hear an utterly badass heavy rock version of another recognizable tune, that might make a Zelda fan such as myself rock while headbanging all the way to the Castle Market! The brand new music is also great, and most welcome. Many of the stage songs even have little cues here and there that reference the game the stage is based on. Best part is, you can forgo the default stage music to listen to any song in the game while you play any stage!

While you're demolishing hordes of enemies on these stages, you'll be capturing and defending "Keeps," which act as points of interest and enemy spawn locations. Capturing a Keep involves taking out the defending enemies and whittling down a meter that, when emptied, spawns the Keep Boss, which when defeated turns the Keep to the other side. The Keeps make up much of the map, and controlling more Keeps stems the tide of enemies and keeps you in control of the battlefield, where you have a little more leeway to explore the level and find chests, Golden Skulltulas (appearing after certain conditions are met) and Pieces of Heart or complete Hear Containers.

You can also look for item abilities that temporarily power up your items. The items you collect in the main mode, Legend Mode (i.e. Story Mode), are collected outright, so when you get them the first time you will always have said weapon. As well as having access to bombs, bows, boomerangs, and the Hookshot, each weapon by itself has an infinite supply - an excellent and relieving touch. Toss as many bombs as you want! The scattered power-ups, however, make each item all the more powerful, at least for the moment. For example, collecting the Bomb Upgrade on the field will let you throw one giant bomb rather than several small ones. And the Hookshot Upgrade...well, I'll let you find out for yourself, haha.

Practically every battle has Captains that usher around troops, and Captains can range from other Warriors to other characters like Goron Captains and Darknuts. Captains can defend or attack Keeps, or do whatever they please, but many in-game objectives revolve around either defending or taking out different Captains. Attacking a Captain is not as easy as attacking some lowly minion. Captains have unique attacks and can defend from incoming blows. The key to taking out Captains is two-fold: you can either spam them with the item they're (somewhat) weak against, or dodge their unique attacks. Doing so will let you hammer away at their guard meter, which when depleted will have your Warrior perform a huge health-depleting attack on the Captain. It's a neat way of putting a little more tactic into how you fight, especially on harder difficulty levels, even if it can get time consuming. And that's no more apparent when facing off against the Giant Bosses.

Appearing under various circumstances, Giant Bosses will show up on the field and be a total pain in the ass. Naturally, it's up to you, the intrepid Warrior, to defeat them. A staple of the Zelda series is of course the memorable Boss Battles, and the Giant Bosses are those found throughout the series, such as the armoured spider Gohma and King Dodongo. What makes the Giant Bosses special is that the items used to defeat them in the respective games you must use as well. So for King Dodongo, you have to toss bombs into his mouth when he inhales, as was the case in the original Legend of Zelda, and Ocarina of Time. That's the sort of touch that, as a big Zelda fan, I really appreciate! So from a visual and nostalgic point of view, the Giant Bosses are awesome!

However, that's not the case from a gameplay perspective. Using the items correctly on the Bosses exposes their weak spot to attack in the form of the guard meter I mentioned previously. Like with Captains, depleting the meter unleashes a huge attack on the Boss that takes away a good chunk of health. This is all well and good, and fun, initially, but over the course of Legend Mode, and particularly in Adventure Mode (oh yes, there is a lot in this game), it's easy to quickly grow tired of these encounters. This is more true when the difficulty is increased, and thus, the health of the Bosses, or when their abundance simply gets in the way of other objectives. The Bosses quickly become a hassle, and even though I always enjoyed felling one of them with a satisfying huge attack, trying to manage the Bosses on later levels and higher difficulties proved to be a test of patience when they're set on ruining your day.

And The Imprisoned. Jesus. What the hell?!? That goddamn boss was enough of an utter nuisance in Skyward Sword! Did it need to be an equal pain this time around, again?

Defeating a Giant Boss or Captain/Warrior will net you one of two things, along with lovely rupees: a dropped weapon, or a dropped material. Weapons collected are different versions of the character's main class of weapon, and increase in damage and abilities as the Warrior progresses in level. Such abilities include extra EXP or a more damaging combo, and these abilities can be fused into other weapons with open slots. Materials are used to craft badges for individual Warriors, which can improve nearly every aspect of a Warrior along a tech-tree sort of progression. While the weapon fusing feels like it could have been expanded, and hunting for badge materials late game gets ridiculous, these mechanics add a lot to character progression, and to the game at large.

If you have yet to guess by now, Hyrule Warriors is massive in scope and feel. On top of Legend Mode, there's Free Mode where you can play as any Warrior in any of Legend Mode's Scenarios, Challenge Mode, and the behemoth that is Adventure Mode. I won't get too much into the story of Legend Mode, suffice to say that it's fair and serviceable. It's replete with fan service, no doubt (haha, as is much of this game), and it's not as in-depth as a typical Zelda game, but I see no fault for what it is. The cutscenes are quite well done, and there's a few surprises to be had! Adventure Mode though...sweet mercy. Adventure Mode takes place on a grid recreation of the original Legend of Zelda map. And I mean complete recreation. Each grid space corresponds to a respective screen from the game, and each space is its own unique battle, with different objectives and restrictions. Adventure Mode has many secrets to unlock on each grid space, and you use "item cards" won from Adv. Mode battles to uncover them. The kicker is that the secrets mirror those from the original NES LoZ. So if you remember which rock to bomb or which tree to burn from LoZ (or, uh, have a convenient map of the secrets on your phone) than you can use that knowledge to uncover the secrets and earn better rewards for getting "A" rankings on each battle. These rewards include Heart Pieces and improved weapons, as well as extra characters!

Adventure Mode is amazing. It alone is pretty nearly worth the price of the game. And if that's not enough, there are other maps as DLC.

Like I said, a lot of content. But that circles back to my original statement: would one who has never played a Warriors game before find stuff to like? All of that wonderful content means little if you...you know, don't like the game. So, what do I think? Well despite my love for the game (moreso than I was even expecting), I do find it a hard game to recommend for everyone. Dynasty Warriors fits a very specific niche, and despite the marvellous sheen of Legend of Zelda, Hyrule Warriors is still a DW game at its core.

I will say, though I can't guarantee the same for everyone else, I came for the Zelda, but I stayed for both the Zelda and Dynasty Warriors.

All that said, if you're feeling adventurous, Hyrule Warriors is easily one of the Wii U's more definitive games thus far, and if you have an interest (as in, you're not already turned away from its description), I'd say hell yeah. Hyrule Warriors is a fantastic tribute of one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises. It's a crossover of epic proportions, and one that I feel pays off in a constant flow. There's so much stuff with so much Zelda, and I'm confident that this game can take literally hundreds of hours to fully complete it. Excellent music, loving art style, great variety, and spot-on controls that are both simple and elegant. And you know what? It is just so damn fun to slice and dice your way through the swaths of enemies, all while feeling like the pinnacle badass.

Plus, if you want to talk badass, you can now finally play as Zelda! How awesome is that?

YAY

• Tons of content. Hours of gameplay, with Story Mode, Free Mode, Adventure Mode (with multiple maps) and a Challenge Mode.
• Theme of Legend of Zelda fits perfectly into Dynasty Warriors mould. Everything feels natural and well-thought out, rather than phoned in. An absolute labour of love. Character/Warrior and enemy designs are awesome, and there are multiple callbacks to previous Zelda games that fans will love.
• Remixed and original music is fantastic. Heavy rock Zelda ballads? Hell yes. (Also fits the tone of the game very well).
• Gameplay is easy to pick up, and the combat itself is extravagant, huge in scope, and immensely satisfying. Controls are responsive and simple (and adjustable).
• Many playable Warriors, and each feels unique and different from one another. No one plays the same, and some even have multiple alternate weapons. Great variety.

NAY

• General enjoyment based on how much repetition you can handle. Dynasty Warriors games fill a specific niche. So, not quite for everyone.
• Certain low-quality and choppy background textures stand out when next to a more detailed Warrior or enemy.
• Co-op mode suffers on both video resolution and frame rate.
• Giant Bosses are more a pain in the backside than fun after initial battles, largely due to redundancy and annoying attack patterns. (Seriously, to the pits of hell with The Imprisoned in both this game and Skyward Sword).
• The grind for materials gets a bit ridiculous.