Man of Steel, Man of Expectations

Man of Steel is the most recent film version of Superman, and frankly, it is the best Superman film I've watched. To be fair, I've only watched Superman Returns and Man of Steel, so I can't speak to the previous versions. I did follow the comics, and although not entirely faithful (as any new media has to take liberties with stories), Man of Steel has an engrossing character and stylistic action. However, with only a 56% tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, Man of Steel could be considered a flop.

This is the universal symbol for "Curse" | Sourced from Google Images

When portraying Superman, directors, actors, screenwriters, and studios have the extreme difficulty of providing a character for people to relate to. Superman is invulnerable and, depending on lore, infinitely powerful. How do you make a god relatable?

What to take away from all this is that critics are becoming inconsistent and close-minded in their judgments.

Movie Critics Aren't Always Right

Reviewers are criticizing Man of Steel for its lack of humor in Man of Steel and the over-stimulating visuals. Let's take the humor aspect first.

Since Iron Man, Superhero movies can never be the same. People expect the same types of jokes that Iron Man and the Avengers provided: witty remarks during combat, quippy comebacks, and physical humor (the Avengers scene where Hulk smashes Loki around comes to mind).

Physical humor is funny. | Sourced from Deviant Art.

Superman has humor - ex: Superman telling the US military that he's from Kansas - you don't get more American than that. But there's no humor in combat, which to me, isn't a bad thing. That's like asking a general does he find humor when he has to plow through a city with his forces.

A Genre of Movies Does Not Require the Same Elements

It's not the same type of humor as the other Superhero movies or even the original Superman films (I hear they're a bit campy), but just because Iron Man and the Avengers have set recent tones, it's not bad for it to be different (somehow the Dark Knight Rises is so easily forgotten in critics minds with its dark brooding atmosphere).

Horror movies are constantly redefining themselves. Paranormal Activity pushed horror in a new direction, yet many new horror movies do not use every element Paranormal Activity created. Similarly, Superman does not need to have the exact same type of humor as the Avengers.

In fact, the humor in Superman is a bit more subtle. A lot of it has to do with visual irony as well as the history of the character: Superman in handcuffs is as effective as using a cardboard box as a jail, and Superman's day job is smartly done.

Zack Snyder Was Born for Superman

I am not a fan of Zack Snyder. I think his movies are completely over the top. Suckerpunch (which I did not see) seems entirely dedicated taking the visual sexuality of 300 (I remember my girl friends telling me they were watching 300 for the eye candy) and turning it toward men. I found Watchmen's glorfication of violence discordant with its themes (failure of superheroes, and the corruption of power). And 300 felt like it was 90% slow-mo, but I understand why it was there:  propaganda piece within the story to incite the rest of the Greeks to fight. It's a frame story, and many people seem to forget that. I still didn't like it though. I did enjoy watching all his movies for being fun action movies, but they aren't something I would wholeheartedly recommend.

Stating that Man of Steel's action sequences were long, drawn-out, and over-the-top is directly the opposite of the problem with Superman Returns. Superman Returns (which has a 75% tomatometer from critics) had a lack of a great struggle. It was an "intellectual" Superman film because it questioned what makes Superman, Superman. And they were left with a movie that had Superman stop a big earthquake and throw land into space.

Superman is Over-the-Top and Rightfully So

We pay to watch Superman fight. We expect him to. Superman is omnipotent. How do you make someone who is omnipotent and invulnerable struggle? Mentally, we see Superman struggle with his heritage and his adopted world. We even see him falter in his trust for humans, and in the movie, we do see what it means to be Superman. Physically, we see a being who can leap over several buildings, fly over buildings, and hurl buildings, get smashed through hundreds of buildings.

We see from his perspective how everything zooms by as he clashes. We see from our normal perspective what it would be like to see a superfast individual fight a group of soldiers. 

I don't see people having a problem with her smacking them around. | Sourced from Google Images

The destruction in the Avengers is arguably just as extensive, but it seems like there was no problem with their gratuitous action. In the Avengers, when Hawkeye shoots an arrow at a speeding alien without looking, that's about as gratuitous as Superman punching someone into space.

A Gritty Reboot

When looking at Man of Steel, we have to remember that it's a darker superhero movie. It's in part penned by Christopher Nolan, so it's not the shiny exemplar we've come to expect. This is the Superman story I've been waiting for because it tells of a Superman who has had to deal with strife in being different, in facing bullies, in knowing that he has the strength to destroy anyone of us, but he has to be more.

Just because it's not what critics come to expect, doesn't mean it's a lower grade. Critics are human and err. They are not superman.

Mobile Apps Integration with Gaming

When walking away from the E3 2013 coverage, I'm left with excitement for a few games, but mostly, I'm left with questions about: the integration of Mobile apps into gaming.

When looking at Xbox SmartGlass, the Watch Dogs Mobile App, and the Battlefield 4 Commander App, it's understandable to think of them as a fad to incorporate the mobile market into standard gaming. We've seen  but if anything, it's the latest iteration of a longstanding movement to incorporate additional peripherals to enhance gaming.

Nintendo has always been looking for ways to tie-in additional player support in games and integrate them.

A Brief History of Player 2 Peripherals and Support

In 1985, the games Gyromite and Stack-Up came out, which require an additional player to control events in the game. A tie-in peripheral known as R.O.B. was sold as well to make it easier for single-players to play without having to jump back between controllers (or using their feet to press the buttons).

Similarly in 1990, Mega Man 3, a single-player game, could have support from a second player if an additional controller was plugged into the Player 2 slot. This support allowed Mega Man to super jump or even to slow down time to allow Player 1 to avoid incoming damage. Using a combination of the super jump and time slow, you could glitch out the game and create a Mega Man who had know health bar and could only die to Spikes.

In the Gamecube and Gameboy Advance years, there was functionality for WindWaker to allow a second player to help out. This Player 2 would use the information displayed on the GBA screen (map with hidden areas, secret events, etc.) to help Player 1.

Since then, we have New Super Mario Bros U where a player with the gamepad can tap the screen provide assistance in the form of additional platforms. In a technology sense, it's no different than having someone log-in on their tablet or phone to help out.

What Mobile Integration Means for the Games Themselves

What the goals of mobile integration are:

1. Socialize gaming for the player and the support player
2. Provide an avenue for family/friends (boy/girlfriends, husbands/wives, fathers/mothers) to help out their gamer
3. Tap into the above audience that might not have played the game originally but will get it so they can help out their loved one
4. Tap into a different audience that might not be interested in the game type but like the additional play style offered by mobile integration.

The goals of mobile integration in games are is to create support for players but to not necessitate the need to use it. Not everyone purchased a GBA and a GBA Link to play Windwaker; however, those were additional purchases. A large chunk of the population already has smart phones and will use it to help them play the game. 

In using the mobile support, we will create the need for games to incorporate this functionality. Players will not need to use it, but it will mean that we will miss out on functionality and elements that could make the games easier, or worse, it will give the players who use the functionality a better experience ie additional maps because of Xbox Smartglass.

Because it was too hard to incorporate in the game to begin with.

People will be frustrated by the lack of design mechanics incorporated in the game itself (map functionality, a detailed map reserved for the App). Or in the case of Watch Dogs, having a second player who can stun a helicopter will make it easier for players with the mobile support. Players won't even need an additional player to do it. They can have both open in front of them and jump between the two.

Battlefield 4's Commander App is an interesting way to increase players interested in it. You can get someone who's interested in tactical strategy rather than the shooter aspect. Whether you will have a movable avatar in the field or not has yet to be shown. A strange concept, however, is that why is the Commander mode not played off of a computer? It can just as easily be done, and having an additional application for it seems wasteful.

What Mobile Integration Means for the Industry

Outside of the integration already discussed, there's been a recent development of Cross-Gaming, or a gaming world powered by various genres and types of games. Dust 514 is a MMO shooter, but it's in the MMORPG EVE Online universe. Not only that, but each game has a direct impact on the other. EVE Online players can bombard the planets that Dust 514 players are currently on, and the Dust 514 players can change the political power of EVE Online players.

Casual Games Meet Hardcore Gamers

The Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs style tablet assistance will continue to appear, and they won't disappear. People will get frustrated by having to have additional screens at hand, but they will also use it to get the additional benefit. Analytics for the app use will show that people are still using it despite complaining about it, which means that the companies will still continue to produce Mobile Integration. That's only half of the battle though.

What will be amazing is the development of casual games connecting to a hardcore game.

I can see Player 1 play a Bejeweled style game and connect it to their Player 2's MMORPG account. Based on how many points Player 1 gets in Bejeweled, Player 2 in the MMORPG will be awarded additional crafting materials to help make better items.

Or if Player 1 is addicted to Plants vs. Zombies, by clearing each stage, Player 2 will have additional defense towers or items in Garden Warfare. Or if Player 2 is playing Zombie side, Player 2 could have additional assault tools to help out in battle. Or imagine if they make a Farmville-style game where you create farms and plants that turn into a map.

Similarly, you could have a Sim City-esque casual game where players create a world together, and the natural disasters that come in and destroy sections of the world is a Battlefield or Planetside style conflict. Rough ideas, but there're plenty of ways to do cross gaming and use mobile integration for players to work with one another.

The Industrial Revolution add-on for Bioshock Infinite (though available through pre-order only) is a great example of how a casual game can give additional benefit to a single-player Hardcore game.