1. Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC)(Action)2. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES)(Fighting)3. DRAGON: The Bruce Lee Story (SNES)(Fighting)4. Eradicator (PC)(FPS)5. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PC)(FPS)Out of respect for Bill Paxton, I decided I'd spend some time playing through a game that was at least partially inspired by several of my favorite movies he appeared in during the 1980s and also stars the voice of his co-star of two different films, Michael Biehn.
Let's get to the good stuff first. If you're a fan of 1980s-style action and sci-fi movies, particularly the B- to Z-grade stuff like I am, Blood Dragon is in many ways more than just a mere love letter. The references that pollinate this production range from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando (note Colonel Sloan's chainmail vest) to Jean-Claude Van Damme's early film No Retreat, No Surrender (the song that plays during the training montage is originally from this film...and it's gloriously 1980s bad ass). There are quotes peppered in from the likes of Rocky 4 as well as an intro directly inspired by Predator, complete with awesome bulging bicep arm wrestling hand shake and even some Karate Kid-type headband wearing. To add to the feeling, everything is in neon and called Cyber, Omega, or a variety of other '80s scifi buzzwords, because neon and buzzwords make everything 100% cooler. The storyline is also deliciously ludicrous, even ending with the addition of a weapon that looks like it was ripped off from Krull.
Beneath the veneer however, the game is pretty bare bones and limited. Reading up on Blood Dragon online, it's considered a stand alone expansion, and it really does just feel like an expansion pack to a different game, one where everything was simplified and streamlined. You collect a few things, do two different types of quests that really aren't any different from what you normally do, secure safe zones by conquering garrisons, and clear out the occasional plot-fueled base. I actually went and did all of my garrison clearing and item grabbing first, then rushed through all of the plot in a couple of hours. There really isn't much meat to the game, it's mostly tongue-in-cheek flash...which is fine with me. I don't need an extensive 30-hour long parody. But I do wish there was a little more to it.
What I do like is the variety of weapons and how they change over time. Yes, you start with a nearly full compliment, but the enhancements I unlocked over time by doing missions actually lead to a remarkable change in my playstyle over time. Weapons I loved at the start took a backseat as their versatility, fire rates, and ammo consumption changed over time, while others I was not fond of became my mainstay go to choices a majority of the time. Surprisingly the minigun I found ended up not being my dragon killer; instead it was my sniper rifle, which became a pseudo-cannon and vastly changed how I would use it once I unlocked explosive rounds for it. I hardly used the bow and only pulled out the flamethrower when required for one mission, but the shotgun went from being a major piece of my arsenal to a situational weapon over time. As for the Killstar, you really only get it at the end, so I didn't spend too much time with it, but imagine GoldenEye's watch laser amped up to 11. Oh, and then things get all Dino Riders for the last level.
I did like that the game warned me when I reached the point of no return. I didn't care for the shooting the running dead in the face to get there, and the final level is a sort of let down once you realize you won't actually be fighting the final boss. In fact this happened repeatedly: you kill your bosses in cutscenes, not in actual combat. The closest you get to a real boss fight in the game is one level where you are forced to take on two of the blood dragons in an arena-like setting, but that didn't result in much challenge; bitch, Dark Forces made me take down a Krayt Dragon with my bare hands, I think I can handle two thunder lizards at once with my exploding rifle shells. In fact I'd say that's another complaint I had, that after a while of getting a feel for the rules of the game, it simply became too damn easy to do stuff...which I guess is kind of the point, since all those action heroes make everything look easy too after a good training montage and/or sex scene to resolve the second act and lead into the finale with the big bad.
I liked Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. It's joyfully mocking of genres I love, it knows exactly what it is, and while it does lend itself to blandness at times, I still found myself wanting more by the end. Plus any game that ends with a reference to Miami Connection is A-OK in my book.
Special thanks to both Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton for the joy they both have brought me over the years. Films like The Terminator and Aliens would not have been nearly as good without you guys. Aliens is actually the first film I ever saw in theaters, and it started a roller coaster ride that's lasted my entire life of both awesome and awesomely bad cinema.