A Retrospective of Unknown. Nam + World War II GI.

The Build engine created the popular in whole world games Blood, Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior and all of them were published by one company GT Interactive. Each of them is stunning in gameplay with revolutionary solutions, design of levels whether it is an alien spaceship or some dojo or fell in madness the amusement park, immerses into the ambience grim as in Blood, rollicking as in Duke Nukem and flooded of demons Japan in Shadow Warrior. There were other games that came out on the Build engine and they were published by GT Interactive. In 1998, TNT Team developers were made the first in the gaming industry shooter about Vietnam War, and the next year almost of three months before the appearance of Medal of Honor, they were releasing World War II GI, which begins with the landing in Normandy. In theory it sounded amazing, but in reality these games went imperceptible then, as nowhere willn’t read and hear about them now. You aren’t finding them in the chronicle of those years. Not so long time ago, I myself showed an interest in them and even though by watching the video with the gameplay the reasons for their lack of demand were clearly understandable, but mine aspiration in personal convince is manifesting, as always, by boredom through some obstacles I finally played.

NAM and World War II GI look as transitional in the development of the gaming industry, but only progress occurred before them. In 1997, there were already technically superior games (Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Quake II.) on the new engines with more detailed graphics, and where it were freely possible to rotate the mouse. The scenes of first-person shooters were no longer limited «readme» file description, and the player not only was looking for keys with passing of killing various enemies. In the course of the walkthrough were unfolding a story and between missions, sometimes during them, fingers fell apart from the keyboard and you was watching for the action of plot. Before appearance of NAM in this genre, and especially the publisher was GT Interactive, Unreal came out, as in other genres there were examples of whole unfolding narratives, such as in various types of strategies as Commandos, Command & Conquer series, Fallout, StarCraft. NAM was an incredibly obsoleted game, when World War II GI was an alien from the past, which only then decided to release on the backdrop of the already appeared games of the known now genres as tactical shooter and stealth.

In NAM you aren’t having to search keys, you’re going from one point to another with passing of killing of VCs. From time to time the mission starts with someone on the spot or through the radio transmitter without any drama was telling the goal of your assignment. On the way of walking happen meetings with friendly characters, but they’re just extras for creating of background. The only living of them and which can easily, and usually accidentally, be killed is a medic, who always ready to abide the Hippocratic Oath for you. I don’t recall a game that was previously released with such element of the gameplay, but even if it was the first, it willn’t enough for success.
Through Vietnamese ... forests! Exactly, the local flora reminds Canada at such moments. Behind crowns of these trees are hiding in depend of difficulty level the persistent soldiers of North Vietnam. Constantly you must guess from where shooting while those spoiling your health and, by the way, they also suddenly appear behind your back. Even if you have the advantage (after a couple of downloads.) this doesn’t mean that you will stay unharmed. This gameplay isn’t get an especially enjoy, but with it I was ready to accept his defects, but constantly was trapping into sudden bombardments of Allied forces or a level begins with somebody is shooting to you, here I decided to look at the credits and learn about testers existence, which I didn’t find.
I didn’t expect a presence of license on Paint It Black from a music, but performed in the game has nothing common with the Vietnamese culture and the atmosphere of those years. Invented by the staff composer are out-of-body non-melodic motifs.
The game has the possibility to switch on a sight, but uneasy to contact it with an enemy and therefore better without. The game process doesn’t predispose to player to get the pleasure, conversely experience torments, which if far from the Vietnamese captivity, but have their own objection, as cause a displeasure, as the lack of opportunity to pick up cartridges from the dead.
This is also impossible in World War II GI, but with this game is more worse. The developers tried to bring the game closer to realism and with their nightmarish approaches they made the walkthrough is unbearable from the very beginning. Already wishes to run to the end of the level where realizes that there is nothing to do here. Foes are far away in which are impossible to hit unlike their chances to shoot you are incredibly high. The developers didn’t need to take for the reliability of weapons (at least, can safely aim.), as also reject the grenades, which fly for a couple of steps far and soon forget about it, because passes a long time before explosion. Useless in their actions, as well as almost any weapon, which in shooting at a long distance demonstrates a strange trajectory of flight. The lack of skill of developers manifest when you pay attention that any characters standing next to some wooden house look as giants. At least in the music score play marches and this is something close that was in NAM.

Late in time, these games tried to be innovative and aspired to fit in the gaming industry, but were too clumsy in their performance. Play after twenty years, but now for reason of liking of Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, Shadow Warrior and wishes something similar from that pioneer era in shooters though TNT Team games don’t deliver such pleasure. Everything, as everywhere, depends on people. Play in the addons of those great games created by other developers, you first of all don’t feel thereof what was in the original. Until recently World War II GI was the last game which came out on the Build engine. As promises, in the first quarter of 2019 on it will be released Ion Maiden under 3D Realms publishing. In the network is accessible the first level and was playing in it in this cases I always talking about how to make games.

The Meg

Films about sharks have begun in 1936 with “White Death” and since thereof time were made some dozens. There were created by different people. Somebody did it for art, somebody with a low amount of money, somebody with a mad vision. From a fantasy were appeared movies about gigantic sharks, which exist in real. For some men it weren’t enough size and they went to the prehistory and dig up extinct more bigger exemplars. Sharks got legs, second head, third head, mutation and with it had fought with other similar sea inhabitants, were in Venice. For the last decade the home video market were filled of flicks about them, but it was long time ago when was in cinema.  

I didn’t read Steve Alten’s book and even hadn’t wish when familiarized with Wikipedia article and one review where it author is knowing the original source and how it far differ from the movie. It were enough for me, because modern Hollywood is always transforming well-structured material in a primitive form. “The Meg” isn’t a special one among other stereotyped films, which comes almost in every Friday and especially often in summer time. I would miss it if not my interest to sure how Jason Statham dived and stuck on level of Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg. The last watched with him film was unlucky Mechanic: Resurrection. Between it were total degradation in Fast and Furious series from which I saved myself. My choosing of “The Meg” corroborated also in scriptwriters those have a fantastic RED dilogy and Jon Turteltaub who is a studio director, but can make quality flicks. I didn’t believe any of them and lean on their best of their portfolio.

I can write a big analysis even beginning with how is bad the intro title of “The Meg” or compare in all ways with best “Deep Blue Sea” and “Jaws” what it will more look as a lecture. Many words I have about director who can’t build a scene, work with miscast actors and their characters and with him absolutely doesn’t run standard filming methods. It will once again about how is dreadful. The main question lies only in a stage of this quality. Not descending to Disney, only a few times I met awkward moments and fortunately “The Meg” haven’t a big unsuccessful try to look as stand-up comedy show. As I am expected, Wahlberg-Johnson level, but Mr. Statham surpasses them in his brilliant acting. He’s the only living character here and can stay great with rambling lines what tells about high professionalism. Also, want to mark I have a proud to Jason Statham for swimming with sharks for this role. This man is a gift as his story happened twenty years when he became an actor. In 2015 for one Italian magazine the actor said “A lot of the modern sort of action movies I see, you know, Marvel comic sort of things, I just think, any guy can do it. I have no ambition… I mean, I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and then put her in a greenscreen, and then have stunt doubles come in and do all the action. Anybody can do it. I mean, they’re relying on stunt doubles, and greenscreen, and 200 million dollar budget, it’s all CGI-created. So to me, that is not authentic. I’m inspired by the old real star guys that can really their thing”. So, what are you doing in this type of films? Fruitful box-office of “The Meg” isn’t a favorable for Jason Statham.