By Alec Meer on November 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pm.
Either Tiscali Games is the most powerful journalistic force in the videogame industry, or it’s just really good at… Well, I’ll leave that potentially trouble-making sentence unfinished. Anyway, as is so often the case, the Czech site is hosting the first online images of a brand new electric videogame – in this case Watchmen: The End Is Nigh.
Which isn’t a bad subtitle for a game reportedly documenting wobbly-faced paleocon anti-hero Rorshach’s earlier, criminal-hunting exploits. The screens themselves, though, seem to confirm Watchmen fans’ fears that it’s just a big dumb thumpy thing, though it certainly matches the Dark Knighty aesthetic of the movie. Too early to judge, clearly, but hopefully there’ll be some extra dimension that means not it’s purely about an extreme right-wing thug meting out horrific violence to America’s underclass.
17/11/2008 at 12:27 Quater says:
Surely it’s more a case of the Dark Knight being informed by the tone of the Watchmen?
Also; there’s no way in hell this is going to be a good game. I’ll still play it anyway, of course. So long as there’s a “pinky-breaker” move.
17/11/2008 at 12:29 noexes says:
Is it a problem that this angers my inner fanboy more than the movie?
17/11/2008 at 12:29 Bobsy says:
Quick-time events for finger-breaking interrogation?
17/11/2008 at 12:30 Jonas says:
Though it sounds suspiciously like sucking up to the RPS hivemind, I think they should’ve hired Kieron to write this game. Considering the deconstructive nature of Watchmen, a game that did the same to the video game medium would only have been appropriate. He was sort of going in that direction with Cassandra, so I’d have liked to see what he could’ve come up with if somebody had thrown actual money at it.
17/11/2008 at 12:31 Quater says:
It’s got a meter marked “RAGE” :( 3/10
17/11/2008 at 12:32 Dizet Sma says:
You’re saying that Rorshach has an extra dimension other than meting out horrific violence? After the kidnapping case, he says, trying to avoid spoilers, he has no other dimension – take the “I’ll count to three” using the knot-top’s fingers: one; >snapsnap< etc.
17/11/2008 at 12:34 phuzz says:
They can make this game as crap as they like as long as they (please, please!) don’t screw up the film.
Deal?
17/11/2008 at 12:37 Quater says:
@Dizet Sma:
Maybe if the meter was marked “Emotional Stuntedness”, Moral Absolutism”, or “Oedipal Angst” I’d be less dismayed ;)
17/11/2008 at 12:44 cullnean says:
another game i wont play, due being on over protective fan boy who hates seeing somthing like the watchmen become a cashcow
17/11/2008 at 12:49 manintheshack says:
Ouch.
17/11/2008 at 13:16 phil says:
Playing as Dr Manhattan would provide a nice ‘in cannon’ approach to using god mode.
I wonder what Alan Moore makes of it, though he’s possibly working some particularly dire hexes as we speak.
17/11/2008 at 13:28 Pags says:
Fuck it.
That is all.
17/11/2008 at 13:30 Lu-Tze says:
I’ll be the eternal optimist and say that, of course, the screenshots are going to show the thumpy bits because it’s hard to convey all the other not so thump happy parts without context. My eternal cynic would say “It’s the standard superhero thumpy game with different models for the characters”. But he’s on holiday.
17/11/2008 at 13:43 RaFannie says:
So what the hell am I looking at anyway?
17/11/2008 at 13:47 Paul Moloney says:
Having seen the trailer, my hopes for even the movie aren’t good; it has the form of the novel without, it seems any of its soul.
P.
17/11/2008 at 14:07 James G says:
As someone who has never read any kind of comic, or graphic novel, whatever, what is it about Watchmen that seems to get people so excited? (A genuine question, I’m not trying to imply anything.)
17/11/2008 at 14:13 Pags says:
James: Deep, flawed characters that deconstruct the superhero archetype; intelligent use of symbolism and repeated imagery; creative structuring and a reflection of contemporary society’s ills/fears.
There’s also the heightened realism and rather lovely use of secondary colours that made it the most unique looking comic of the time.
17/11/2008 at 14:14 Pags says:
ps. I’ve no idea whether I’m in the minority or majority, but I’m one of the fanboys actually looking forward to the movie.
17/11/2008 at 14:27 cullnean says:
i have 2 in the car at all times ready for emergencys
watchmen and house of m
17/11/2008 at 14:29 cullnean says:
oh an dark night returns one and 2 under the sofa, a must really what with the return of “im a Supposed to be a celebrite get me out of here”
17/11/2008 at 14:31 NoahApples says:
That looks horribly disappointing, but I think the real problem is that:
My expectations for a Watchmen game >>>> Any game I can actually conceive of in my head
17/11/2008 at 14:45 phuzz says:
@pags: I’m an not-very-hardcore fanboi and I’m looking forward to it.
17/11/2008 at 14:49 cyrenic says:
What’s not to love!?
17/11/2008 at 15:08 sockpuppetclock says:
Hope for the best, prepare for the worse.
In other words this is gonna be bad.
17/11/2008 at 15:21 Dracko says:
Hahahahahaha!
17/11/2008 at 15:41 The Klugman Revolution says:
What a chronic series of misjudgements by all concerned.
The game that is. Not you wonderful chaps!
17/11/2008 at 15:49 mandrill says:
James, if there is one graphic novel that everyone should read, it is Watchmen. It is a novel, calling it a comic is like calling EVE online a shooty space game. Read it, I beg you.
17/11/2008 at 16:24 phil says:
@mandrill
With respect, it’s brilliant percisely because it IS a comic, it’s rooted in the conventions, tone and the look of superheroics though it strives for a realism, psychological accuity, symbolic density and subtley that never existed in the medium before.
@James, just like everyone should see the original King Kong, read Moby Dick and listen to the Beatles, if only to have a opinion on them, everyone should read Watchmen, it’s like a pop culture Platoic ideal.
17/11/2008 at 16:37 manintheshack says:
@mandrill: It always amuses me when people try to distance themselves from the nerdy or immature stereotype by using the term ‘graphic novel’. The truth is that Watchmen is a comic, it’s just a superbly written one. You may as well refer to computer games as ‘interactive movies’ to avoid the embarrassment of admitting to people that you like playing them…
17/11/2008 at 16:42 James T says:
Watchmen good. Cash-in… risible.
Going by the trailer, the movie’s visually more ‘Batman & Robin’ than ‘Batman Begins’.
17/11/2008 at 16:48 Gorgeras says:
Stan Lee wrote Spider-Man because comic stories were disappointing and portrayed heroes we were supposed to aspire to be like, rather than relate to.
A couple of decades later, Alan Moore decided that comics were still not good enough and he knew they could be better if only writers would try. So he wrote Watchmen. Both Spider-Man and Watchmen are Citizen Kane moments. Reading them now, they don’t seem like much because we’ve been spoilt by the aftermath of their success.
If you watched Citizen Kane, you wouldn’t be impressed by Charlie Chaplain’s The Tramp, but The Tramp would have blown your socks off if it was the first moving picture you ever saw. If you watched Wrath of Kahn, you wouldn’t be impressed much by Citizen Kane anymore. Superman blew away Wrath of Kahn. The Matrix was so revolutionary it made Superman look like Superman IV. Now The Dark Knight arguably makes The Matrix look like Matrix Revolutions.
Watchmen fits into that but for comics: Superman to Batman, Batman to Spider-Man, Spider-man to Watchmen. But with comics the revolutionary step is much less often and more drastic when it happens. The most successful comic book films right now are those that borrow something of the ‘grounded in reality’ feel of Watchmen. Watchmen says that Stan Lee’s Peter Parker as a relatable ordinary guy didn’t go far enough because he was able to escape into his alter-ego; escapism has to come at a cost.
It’s hard to understand how important Watchmen is when it has had such a profound effect on story-telling since the first publish. Just as slow-motion camera swirling in a world of philosophical analogy isn’t so impressive since the Matrix got everyone doing it.
17/11/2008 at 16:49 Taxman says:
/Film states the game is a prequel set in 1972 and also episodic too.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/11/17/first-look-watchmen-video-game/
17/11/2008 at 16:57 Colin Hansen says:
Urgh. I’m holding out for the movie being excellent, but I think I can safely give up on this game.
As others have said, do not under any circumstances not read Watchmen. Everyone’s telling the truth when they say it’s the best thing they’ve ever read.
17/11/2008 at 17:00 manintheshack says:
Yes, read it or we’ll break your fingers. Oh, lolz.
17/11/2008 at 17:06 Alex says:
Let’s hope that the health/stamina system involves you breaking into your associates’ houses and stealing odd bits of food.
17/11/2008 at 17:13 elefaire says:
So, you’d recommend Watchmen to someone who doesn’t like comics at all and doesn’t enjoy or connect with superheroes? When the draw is deconstruction don’t you have to be knowledgeable about and appreciate the form to start with?
17/11/2008 at 17:19 Nick says:
eh, so don’t read it, it’s entirely your loss.
17/11/2008 at 17:24 cullnean says:
@elefaire, not entirely and the whole deconstruction lark is overhyped to be honest.
its a one of the best stories within the bounds of the medium wether the structure/style can come across on film is another much debated topic
if terry gillingham dropped it at one point citing it as unfilmable thats gota mean something.
also if people cant be arsed with comics due to history/knowlegde i suggest checking out the ultimates range(a marvel reboot and what the recent movies ironman/hulk seem to be tied to) or anything by Grath Ennis is pretty good and less superhero’ish and stuff
17/11/2008 at 17:26 Quater says:
Count me among the people still hoping the movie will turn out good. I haven’t seen any real evidence so far that it’ll be anything other than a pretty much completely faithful filming of the comic. Plus, see how Snyder gave the “shoot the comic, frame-for-frame” approach to 300 – with Watchmen as source material, that approach can’t really fail.
The game, though – instant fail. There’s yet to be a really good game adaptation of a classic story – the Godfather was a pretty good game, but as an adaptation it’s a bit of a disgrace.
@ Colin Hansen: er, well it’s not the best thing I’ve ever read, but it is the best comic by a pretty wide margin.
17/11/2008 at 17:26 Tei says:
I think Ozymandias would be proud of a Videogame about himself. He already have other toys, so a videogame really fit-in.
“WATCHMEN, from Ozymandias Industries”. Really fits-in.
17/11/2008 at 17:28 James G says:
@elefaire
That was what I was wondering, as it seems part of the appeal of Watchmen — from what people were mentioning — lies within its association with the rest of the media. Just as a non-games player wouldn’t appreciate the styling of Darwinia, or would take the ‘twist’ in Bioshock at a much more superficial level, I’m wondering if as a non-comic reader I’d actually end up appreciating what Watchmen was trying to do.
17/11/2008 at 17:33 cullnean says:
James G and elefaire
most pulic libaries stock it these days, grab it and try it
17/11/2008 at 17:46 gattsuru says:
You don’t need to be a comic reader to understand the overarcing tones of the plot; heroes and superheroes are such a basic part of modern culture that anyone who goes to movies can understand it. The in-jokes, single-panel punchlines, and formatting of a comic will throw off anyone not used to comics, but the plot and soul of the work is not reliant on just comics.
That said :
I don’t think that word means what you think it means. I like Rorschach, but he’s a strawman Objectivist, and there are some pretty impossible metrics in the middle of the two matters.
17/11/2008 at 18:12 andy says:
so um, what’s with the browser title on the home page? “Rock Piracy Shotgun, Piracy since 18 Pirare Pirate…”?
17/11/2008 at 18:15 Toastmodernist says:
Watchmen was the first comic i had read since i was a wee boy and i had no problem loving it without having an in depth knowledge of the media.
17/11/2008 at 18:18 mandrill says:
@phil and manintheshack:
You miss my point. Watchmen may be presented in the same medium as comics (such as X-men et al) and as such can be called one. However, it transcends the stereotypical image of what a comic is by such a huge amount that it deserves to be called a graphic novel. I.e. a work of literary fiction told using pictures. Comics are the measly pulp that Marvel and DC churn out every month which are little more than soap-opera’s with superheroes.
Also I would never try to belittle what games are by calling them interactive movies. Games are an artform in their own right and I’m proud to be a Gamer. :P
17/11/2008 at 18:24 Pags says:
James G: it works well on it’s own as a story, as well as it’s intended purpose of being a deconstruction of the genre. In the same way that you can enjoy Candide as a novel without having traditional assumptions of narrative and structure, so too you can enjoy Watchmen.
17/11/2008 at 18:34 Solario says:
Yeah, unless it’s from Veidt Enterprises, I’m not really interested.
And of course it had to be Danes, who are going to massacre it. Great.
17/11/2008 at 18:58 cyrenic says:
Having recently read Watchmen for the first time, I can say you can enjoy the novel itself and the deconstruction theme even if you’ve never been into comic books. As long as you’ve been exposed to super heroes in movies or TV at some point. Watchmen was the first graphic novel I’ve read and I enjoyed it immensely on many levels.
17/11/2008 at 19:00 hydra9 says:
The game looks a bit like Rockstar’s The Warriors – Though I doubt it will be even a fraction as good.
To anyone who hasn’t: Read the graphic novel – It’s great! Oh, and I’m looking forward to the movie, with fingers crossed.
17/11/2008 at 19:02 hydra9 says:
@Pags:
You get 50 bonus points for mentioning Candide! That’s something everyone should read, too.
17/11/2008 at 19:08 Flyspeck says:
There has never been a movie-game that was worth 50 dollars since Goldeneye for the n64. I loved the book but I just can’t rationalize paying 50 dollars for a game thats based off a movie.
17/11/2008 at 19:18 Quater says:
Even Riddick?
17/11/2008 at 19:37 Vollgassen says:
It’s not the developers fault that Alan Moore had to write a comic that is untranslatable to other mediums. They’re trying their best with the crap they’re given!
17/11/2008 at 20:08 Alex says:
I hate being one of those people who says ‘I have nostalgic memories of [x], so anything new done with the IP must clearly be wrong and evil and bad’, but I’m expecting to hate this. Still keeping an open mind on the film, though.
17/11/2008 at 20:17 Pags says:
Perhaps if we thought of it as a deconstruction of the videogames medium; by being a thumpy action game, it’s a commentary on how games are all thumpy action games?
17/11/2008 at 21:13 Kadayi says:
For the love of God No!!!!!
The Movie, despite my reservations is actually looking like it might be quite good (although I’ve heard some dis quietening rumours about the ending), but this is not remotely good, in any way shape or form. This is the ungood.
Bets on some development house out there pondering a
‘The Road’ movie/game tie -in?
*shudders…
17/11/2008 at 21:21 RiptoR says:
What is one of the Mushroomhead guitarist doing in that pic?
17/11/2008 at 21:21 dhex says:
Having recently read Watchmen for the first time, I can say you can enjoy the novel itself and the deconstruction theme even if you’ve never been into comic books.
i agree, though i don’t think you get that much out of the deconstruction of super heroes unless you’ve had a decent amount of exposure to the form. there’s clearly stuff in there that i missed out on because i have no connection to the media and its history.
then again, i also think rorscharch is probably the most sympathetic and moral main character in the entire book, sooooooooooo yeeeaaaaaahhhhhh.
17/11/2008 at 21:33 Pags says:
Kadayi: (Be warned, spoilerz ahead) The rumours of the ending are not rumours at all, though so far the only thing Snyder has confirmed he is changing is the squid, instead having Ozymandias unleash a series of nuclear-esque explosions in various cities across the world made to mirror Dr. Manhattan’s powers. So yeah, I guess it’s up to you to decide whether it works or not.
As for a movie/game tie-in for The Road, I think Bethesda just unwittingly released one.
17/11/2008 at 21:34 Pags says:
Dhex: I always liked Rorschach most too. Go figure.
17/11/2008 at 21:53 Scandalon says:
Dizet said:
- Yes. Look at who he started as, who he is underneath the mask. (And the fact that eventually the mask became his “skin”.) Remember also he had mercy on the landlady who did a “bad thing” for a bribe.
Actually, this right here illustrates why he is my favorite character – how you see him/feel about him, is largely dependent on you. He himself is a Rorschach test.
James – I’ve only read it once (via torrent), like a month or two ago, prompted by one of the previous articles here. I’ve bought maybe 4 comic books in my lifetime, none in the last 10 years, but as you can see, I rather enjoyed it. :P
17/11/2008 at 22:01 Scandalon says:
Edit – Dhex/Pags: Thanks, “sympathetic” is the word I was looking for. I deleted a whole paragraph about why he was personally my favorite, but was afraid I’d have to spend a whole page of disclaimers that I don’t want to be a mentally unstable psychotic that steals people’s food and smells bad.
As for changing the ending…?!? Why?
17/11/2008 at 22:39 Pags says:
Scandalon: I’m not entirely sure, there’s some mumbling about making the emphasis be on the characters and that the squid might detract from that, but I really couldn’t guess myself; well, I could, but it would be my inner-cynic saying it’s probably to make it more palatable to movie audiences, so I won’t go there (wait… bugger).
18/11/2008 at 00:23 Grandstone says:
Not to be a film-school ass, but I like how Gorgeras’s film canon goes from Charlie Chaplin to Citizen Kane to The Wrath of Khan.
Movie games have always sucked (Riddick and Goldeneye excepted), and Rorschach is a fucked up individual, which makes me wonder how the game will handle that. On the other hand, his derangement is a pretty good excuse for whatever the player does in the unlikely event that the game gives the player lots of freedom.
18/11/2008 at 00:23 Leeks! says:
Rorshach would really make a great (if hyper-violent) adventure game hero.
18/11/2008 at 00:53 Kadayi says:
@Pags
Trust me Fallout 3 is a paradise of an environment compared to the cold bleak horror of Cormac McCarthys ‘The Road’
18/11/2008 at 01:02 Pags says:
Oh, I know, I recently read it myself. Just a poor attempt at a joke :)
18/11/2008 at 01:19 john t says:
If you watched Citizen Kane, you wouldn’t be impressed by Charlie Chaplain’s The Tramp, but The Tramp would have blown your socks off if it was the first moving picture you ever saw. If you watched Wrath of Kahn, you wouldn’t be impressed much by Citizen Kane anymore. Superman blew away Wrath of Kahn. The Matrix was so revolutionary it made Superman look like Superman IV. Now The Dark Knight arguably makes The Matrix look like Matrix Revolutions.
what
18/11/2008 at 01:22 john t says:
i agree, though i don’t think you get that much out of the deconstruction of super heroes unless you’ve had a decent amount of exposure to the form.
Watchmen was the first comic book I’d ever read, and it was 15 years after it originally came out. I actually sat in a Borders and read it front to back in one sitting, because I couldn’t put it down. I’d absorbed enough Superhero history from watching Saturday Morning Cartoons and having nerd friends for me to get it, and the Annotated Watchmen filled me in on everything I’d missed.
18/11/2008 at 03:48 Grandstone says:
@john t
That’s what I said!
18/11/2008 at 07:10 Mr. President says:
Just be happy that it’s only a harmless prequel and not the butchering of the main story. Imagine what a gigantic pile of crap that game would be. Guess who you would have to fight during a final showdown in New York?
18/11/2008 at 11:53 mister slim says:
@Pags
Another reason for removing the squid would be that the squid only makes sense in the context of the story with the pirate comic and the island subplot featuring the comic creator and the artist, and the movie’s not going to have time to go into that. Personally I think that will be the main thing I miss in the movie, the richness of all the interwoven stories that a movie doesn’t have space for.
18/11/2008 at 15:57 Rodafowa says:
As with others here, Watchmen was one of the first comics I ever read. Forget the deconstructionist stuff, you should read it because it’s brilliantly written. It’s funny, it’s clever, it’s exciting, it’s moving, it’s frightening, it’s packed with memorable characters and cracking dialogue. Oh, and it’s beautifully drawn. That enough for you? :)
18/11/2008 at 17:21 Solario says:
SPOILERS:
The ending changes are a thematic nightmare. Making it seem like Manhattan’s fault is in no way going to unite the world against an outside threat. This just means that the American government is punished by nemesis for their hubris of utilizing a modern day god for their own gains.
It’s a terrible change. There’s a reason the squid is layered with telepathic images to suggest that it’s an extraterrestrial threat.