4# - Technology Review

Rodent in question

It's around midnight when I come to a overpass where trains use to run into to the nearby freight depot along one of the historically and geographically important rivers the Volga. On either side of this place houses remain that look like they were built sometime before the second world war and have either been lucky enough or stubborn enough to have survived the third. Its inhabitants have not changed that drastically since its construction, they are still the same territorial, cautious, vicious, pack hunters that existed before the fall of the bombs some twenty years ago. The largest difference other than that they are an entirely different species than that of the humans is that they had the intelligence and common sense not to try and understand their place in the grand scheme of things. These decedents of what I guess were the local rodent population dont ask how exactly it is that they came to be a prominent, but still low on the food chain species. The rodents or lurkers if you will lead a simple existence they eat, they breed, and they die if they are incredibly lucky peacefully one day. That day isn't today however as I who has been waiting by the overpass some distance from the collection of holes that make up their nest need to cross beneath it. I pull from my backpack a makeshift rifle, and place a small metal cylinder that contains ball bearings on the side of the rifle so they will feed correctly. As I move forward toward the cluster of holes I see a sentry, the one rodent that is supposed stand upon its hind legs and guard the nest for tonight. There is no way that I can pass it without being notice so, I make my weapon ready to fire. I pump air into my rifle more and more until the pressure gauge can be pushed no more, the place the sights at its head and pull the trigger. I weave my way through the nest and come beneath the underpass, I sp in around to check if anyone or thing is tailing me there isn't. I back in, beneath the underpass turn and stop something is in my way. Something that is hard to see through the night vision goggles with no light to amplify, so I get closer and closer until. Till I if was able could fully extend my arm and touch it, its has skin that looks to be a leathery texture. It's looks thin but strong and appears as if it was stretched would be of some length. I look up and down this thing until at the of the ceiling that is created by the overpass I see large talons clinging to the ceiling.

This haunting post-nuclear atmosphere, where you and the world around you are just as afraid of each other is what Metro Exodus is set on and so far from what I have played is delivering. Metro Exodus is the third game in the Metro video games series set in a world where in a 2013 the third world war happened and quickly ended in an exchange of nuclear weapons that forever changed the world. That really didn't change people as some of them survived in Moscow's underground metro system and in those twenty or so years since that the people of the old world banded together to create societies in the stations that they found themselves in they came to have children, trade, and survive in these conditions. Not all of the old world died when the bombs fell however many turned to the Communism that had ended in the twentieth century, which is not unrealistic as it is still the second most popular political party in Russia currently. Neo-Nazism is also a prominent faction within the Metro universe, which include the calls for human purity and purging the mutant races who have been affected by nuclear fallout. The political atmosphere, the technology that they have created, how the currency that they use to trade with is military-grade ammo their entire world is well thought out and believable. That is because unlike most video games the Metro series is based on the Metro science fiction novel series by Dmitry Glukhovsky and unlike other games based on written material the author is directly involved with the project. He actively contributes and consults on the story, characters, world with the developers the Ukrainian based 4A games to make it the best adaptation possible.

Metro series author Dmitry Glukhovsky

So, this seems to be the case as Metro Exodus is if we are just talking about gameplay, the absolute best in terms of gameplay.  Shooting, sneaking, distracting, looting all feel smoother and more responsive than ever before. This game is not some kind of power fantasy where you are a one man army who can take on any challenge that comes this way. You should always take a good position before firing and try to catch someone unaware before fighting. Fighting dirty is living to fight another day. Stealth is a great tactic, it should be done in my opinion the majority of the time as resources are scarce and once again if they dont know you are there you have a better chance of living. You have many tools at your disposal and they all feel and sound incredible but, just because something feels good dosent mean that should do it.

Morality plays a large part in the Metro game series as it does in novels, which is another unusual thing about this game series seeing as it is a first-person shooter. In many fps games as i mentioned before they are all about the power fantasy, so generally you are not talking to your enemies and if you do you then proceed to shoot them not to long after that. In Metro games I actually do feel like firing my beautiful, highly detailed, amazing sounding weapon is more often than not the last thing that I should be doing before trying other options. When the shooting starts it dosent mean that it will last until everyone is dead, as most of the people in this world are not that devoted to dying. Bandits and thieves just want to get ahead so if a few of them get killed they might surrender and be at your mercy. The same goes for members of a religious cult who yes if they see you will shoot on sight, but if some of them die for most all that religious fever goes away. Lets say some random group of people were unkind to you at some point and may have even sold you out to some trying to kill you. Those people were worried about the rest of group, those close to them, children, the elderly you really cant blame them and should put retribution out of your mind. That being not everyone is that nice and some people will not surrender how many chances you give them, but this is not an excuse to be some crazy killer.

along the Volga

Many character return from the first and second games, the primary being are protagonist Arytom who for some reason is still as silent protagonist which is and was something that was very common of games for many years. Only he really isn't a silent protagonist as he does talk in narrated journal entries discussing the events and world of the game in loading screens. Arytom being a silent protagonist is noting new to the series as it was in the first and the second game, but it just for more awkward in this game than all of the rest. Conversations feel more one sided than they did in the past games as people are occasionally talking past you and it sometimes feels like Arytom should at least say something in this conversation. I wish that they would have his voice actor, his character speak not a lot because even in the novel he is reserved, but he needs to say something. The world speaks but its viewer is silent.

The largest change that makes this game unusual this time in its own series is that this game is an exodus, leaving the Moscow metro and the world as we have come to know it. We get to see that there are actually people that did survive the war, however like those in the metro have fallen into old human trappings. Like the anti-technological church that is set up along the Volga river and still even after all this time modeled after eastern orthodoxy. This cult believes the one true way to ascend to heaven is to be eaten by a giant catfish, which does exist and will try to eat you if you get near it. This catfish is assumed to have been mutated, since it was a bottom feeder and the nuclear irradiated sediment settled at the bottom. The Volga is however a familiar feeling place and is associated with Russia because of the second world war but the second location that you go through your travels is to the deserts of surrounding the Caspian Sea. This is a location that I feel at least we in the west are not really used to seeing when we think of Russia, however when you arrive in game it is a drastically different to any of locations that we have ever seen a Metro game. It is insanely hot so the characters strip of the majority of the clothing that they have been wearing and go in what is essential.

In the Caspian

The space and distance that was a change of pace that we saw in the Volga is even larger in the area near the Caspian. The people who live near the Caspian have descended into what appears to a be a form of serfdom or slavery with a large land owner having control of population and the serfs living in fear of punishment. The serfs as malformed and unintelligent as some of them are try and band together to distribute the remaining food in something similar to a commune that were used by these same kind of people in Russia's history.





Overall I would say that like the other games in the Metro series I am not only taken in by the gameplay which has gotten even better, but the world it self and how people react. That is what makes want to come back to the Metro series even on its third game, to see how this world has changed and  how it really hasn't.

3# - Lifestyle or Popular Culture

You can see in Bradley Cooper's face that he wants this to end

 The Academy Awards or the Oscars is the time when the film industry comes together to recognize the excellence that has been achieved in the past year. In motion pictures, animated films, short films, documentaries and various other technical achievements like costume design or cinematography.  It is also a bloated three hour celebration by and for the people who run it, where a comedian who is either unfunny or just for tonight has had all of the funny drained out of them will try their hardest to fill time until the next award will be presented. The host might for example bring in a bunch of tourists of the street dressed in cargo shorts and sandals, to gawk at all of the famous people so that they and the members of the audience feel like they all have something in common with their fellow man. A host might try to be "funny" by having a pizza delivered to the ceremony because as we all know life is a modest mid-90's sitcom or they might in an attempt to be "current" make many members of the audience force a smile and take an awkward selfie. But, the biggest problem that an award show like the Oscars can have is if they dont have or lose the host that they have planned and are unable to find a replacement. This kind of problem can only be called a disaster and is unfortunately exactly what happened to this years the 91st annual Academy Awards.

Kevin Hart

Comedian Kevin Hart a man who I dont personally find to be that funny was the choice to host the show and that makes sense, he is a very popular stand-up comedian who has also been in many movies that people think are all right. Hart is one of those comedians that has reached a level of fame where when you say that you dont think their funny everyone has to ask why? Hart was going to be the host of the 2019 Oscars, until some of his old tweets from 2011 resurfaced that were insensitive to the LGBTQ community. The tweets were talking about if he saw his son playing with any of daughters toys he would tell him to "stop that's gay", which is similar to something that he had said in his stand-up. This kind of talk is something that we have all heard before from every father trying to force his son to do something that he dosent want to do so that the father may vicariously live through him. Hart said in one of his specials, "one of his biggest fears" is that his son would turn out-to be gay implying that he would not know what to feel or how to interact with his son. What Hart said was closed minded and showed that he fears his son will be different, but a fear like that a fear of things that are different is human. Hart apologized to LGBTQ community and stepped down from hosting the Oscars, but said that that he had made those statements a few years ago and has changed his views.

Cuaron's film Roma 

As if one disaster wasn't enough for this years Oscars, leave it to the people the who organize the event to create a new one. This year in an effort to make the show a "brisk" three hours certain awards will be presented during the commercial breaks. What awards you might ask, well things so unimportant in film industry like cinematography and film editing, because most directors just turn on the camera and shoot wherever. Then after that they dont take any time to pick there best shots and string them together in coherent way that people can understand what is happening visually, narratively, or thematically. Another award that will be presented during commercials is for hair and makeup, which as we know is a worthless endeavor. Why would a film need hair and makeup department when actors show up to a set and the magic of film making just does all of this for them. The other award that wont be televised is the award for best live-action short film because obviously who would care about that kind of thing, what do people think the Oscars is an award show for the film industry? This change in the way that awards would be handed out made many people, some of whom like Alfonso Cuaron who directed the best picture nominated Roma incredibly upset.

Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Vice. 

Scene from The Favorite

In the history of CINEMA, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color, without a story, without actors and without music. No one single film has ever existed without CINEMAtography and without editing.

— Alfonso Cuaron (@alfonsocuaron) February 12, 2019

By cutting Cinematography and Editing from the show, the Oscars declare themselves as nothing more than a celebrity and marketing circus.

Photography & editing is filmmaking. It’s as simple as that.

— Nick Murphy (@nickmurftweets) February 12, 2019

If they feel so strongly about this, then I would like ABC and the Academy to produce the Oscars broadcast without any editing, cinematography, makeup or hair-styling.

— Craig Beilinson (@cbeilinson) February 12, 2019

So, with categories cut out, no host to waste time with bad skits, will the "brisk" three hours be exciting, will the awards go to the truly best films this year? Judging by what I have seen this year, I am going to say no.