Dune Part 2
I recall a similar feeling in watching Dune Part 2 that I felt watching The Two Towers more than twenty years ago.
It's a great movie that returns to the story after the prior one ended, with the protagonists walking toward a scenic vista. And I miss the feeling of "newness" from the first movie, but love where the familiarity takes me.
I liked all the changes from the book. Chani is far less of a cipher, and has the important altered POV of, "Uh, maybe using my desert Spartan people for a space jihad is not a great idea."
I also loved the visuals. Especially, the color-drained sequences on Giedi Prime with its black star. Black fireworks are a special effect I never thought I needed to see. But I needed to see them.
My biggest criticism is incredibly nerdy. There was not a clear explanation of why some non-drilling distance attacks could bypass shields and others couldn't. There were also laser attacks on vehicles which could possibly have shields, which risk a nuclear reaction in the book's lore.
Yes. Nerdy criticism. I know.
Picking of nits aside. This movie ruled. Paul is simultaneously triumphant and tragic. Jessica's plotting with her hidden confidant was the best kind of creepy. The sound effects and score were epic, especially on a certain wrangling scene.
I want to see this flick multiple times. Get out there and enjoy it with a sand worm popcorn bucket.
Or not.
Pathway on Steam
I played the heck out of this Indiana Jones meets Shining Force and XCOM tactics game while I had the minor cold.
It was mental chicken soup for me.
You guide a group of adventurers in the 1930s in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East while you try to beat Nazis, cultists, and zombies to a wide array of ancient artifacts. All while riding a Jeep to each location.
Its pixel graphics have Chrono Trigger vibes. They have a few ridiculous characters, like a scientist with a sci-fi disintegrator ray gun and a sniper priest. Naturally, I employed both of them on more than one adventure.
Sometimes, you just gotta lean into all things silly.
And awesome. Like this game.
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