You’re nuts, we all need MORE B5!

by a strange coincidence, nuts are a good source of the vitamin B5

Yes, sci-fi in film has never really lived up to sci-fi on paper. Not sure why – there are plenty of great sci-fi films, but in terms of concept they’re not quite as adventurous. I mean, compare BSG to Dune. Sure, BSG is based on a tacky 70s show and so has much of its baggage to carry, but the society is basically America in space but with paganism, compared to Dune’s fantastically detailed feudalistic technophobic society. I’m not saying that every show should go to as much trouble as Tolkein or Frank Herbert in making a universe (but then again, why the hell not if you have a multimillion dollar budget?) but I’ve generally been disappointed by film sci-fi – for one thing, most sci-fi shows generally seem quite scared of the whole ’science’ thing.

The amount of ’space’ in a book to potentially explore ideas is massive in comparison to film (by dint of their history, films have been made to be viewed in one sitting, and must unfold in real time; novels face neither problem) so a sci-fi film has little choice but to appeal to different virtues than a sci-fi novel — usually by pressing for ‘texture’ over actual imparted information (since the alternative usually manifests as great big embarrassing infodumps like at the start of the Dune film — a film should be weighting the maximum possible time to showing, rather than telling). We shouldn’t judge a painting harshly for not imparting as much on its subject as, say, a full-length comic book — the form just doesn’t compare in regards to how much narrative it can naturally supply.

I don’t think Dune and BSG are a very natural comparison; BSG is largely a vehicle for parables about life as we know it, while Dune is a book/saga that starts with a broad First World/Middle East/oil = Empire/Arrakis/spice analogy underneath, and then pummels its human/once-human population with endless situations and value-systems that are extremely alien to us, thereby exploring how humanity might behave under massively different conditions. Both are ’soft’ scifi (assault rifles sit alongside warp drives because it doesn’t matter for series purposes; ditto being able to teleport space-freighters by being good at maths), but BSG’s a drama that uses scifi tropes to abstract itself from real life, and Dune’s a work of social ’speculative fiction’. I like both; I wouldn’t say they’re going head to head (although I hope the Cylon God turns out to have been pursuing a Golden Path-style plan!…)

(…When I read the originals, I liked to picture the ‘Butlerian jihad’ as using all senses of that term — ‘jihad’ means a struggle not just against an enemy, but the internal struggle to overcome sin — thus the Butlerian jihad might even have been largely non-violent, more an ideological struggle to wean humanity off of reliance on computers to the point where they became banned and driven from existence. Sure, chuck some war in there, but I think it’s crude to just read ‘Butlerian jihad’ as ‘Terminator-esque war against the machines’. So James Herbert can fuck off!)

…Mass Effect? Unimpressed.

Half-Life’s fiction wasn’t handled with the greatest of care by Gearbox (the male assassins, particularly, were a bad choice), but it’s all tangential to the original plot anyway and shouldn’t get in the way of enjoying a great game. Opposing Force is a fine example of what an expansion pack should be, while Blue Shift is basically a mini Half-Life with no HEV suit.

Yes, the infinite overheat bug wiped out much of my progress several times over. And made the un-skippable scripted sequences even more intolerable. Exposition should always be skippable, particularly if the game is taking control away from the player.

I also really liked the way the plot set you up as an autonomous military unit. It felt very enabling. As you say Phil, much better than the usual compulsory backstory;cutscene driven nonsense of “Avenge your father;Save your sister!”. I liked that you could deal with your superiors as you saw fit. I was pretty antagonistic toward the council but felt very much that we were on the same side. It was a nice interplay that couldn’t have functioned had the game not given me at least the illusion of a bit of authority. If I’d just been a grunt following orders, or a father avenger (who is probably just a grunt taking orders from the “plot”) I wouldn’t have given a damn about the relationship between the Earth Fleet, the council and the Spectres.

Why wasn’t that fixed in the bloody patch? :(

You took decisions not based on who had killed your father or because you had lost your memories and only the widespread murder of rats and bandits can bring them back; rather you took decisions based on military expedency which was why the political angle worked so well. Also more NPCs should salute me as I pass Goddamit.

The combat was fun – at least if you played as one of up close and personal shocktrooper builds – but the space buggie, for me, was more than a little broken. I did love the fact you could just get out and take down something massive on foot though.

Oh, Mass Effect? Still haven’t played it.

I think you’ll find that the Fem-Sheps you can build are much easier on the eye than the Man-Sheps, but your mileage may vary.