Finished (non-D.C.) Deus Ex: Human Revolution today on 'Give Me Deus Ex'-difficulty.

Finally I'm done with that game. It started really great, but became somewhat of a nuisance the second half of the game. I don't like backtracking too much and so was not eagerly satisfied when travelling back to Detroit and Hengsha for a 2nd time. I also think that there were no true RPG decisions that influenced the course of the game, even while the game hinted at these in the beginning. Never saw that guy from the first level again after I let him go and he said he'd remember that. Level design was mediocre eventually . Endless staircases without walkways and doors between floors don't strike me as realistic. Worst of it all however were the boss fights - playing on hardest difficulty made me play the game with stealth. The boss fights then were pure shooting around as much as possible. Somehow I managed to survive through all of them, but especially the fight against Jaron Namir with all that tech-pollution was a pain in the ass and I was this close to toning the difficulty down. But I prevailed. One of the worst game design decisions was to make melee dependend of those energy bricks.

Sounds quite bad, doesn't it? But there were also aspects where the game shines - the story included deep ideas about morals and technology, the art design and voice acting are top notch. The game had great ambitions, but fell a little short to these. Still worth playing. I, however, hope that the sequel will deliver on the promise.

Dan Simmons' Endymion - A Wild Water Ride Across The Universe

Today I finished Dan Simmons' brilliant third book of his Hyperion Cantos: Endymion. I devoured this probably even more eagerly than the previous two books. So, why not summarize a few thoughts about the book while they're still fresh?

The group travelling the River Tethys nearing the final confrontation on God's Grove.

Endymion, as third book in the series, continues the story of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion in a loose way: The story takes place nearly three centuries after The Fall. 'The Fall' is understood in this new world as the end of the Hegemony of Man, FORCE, the TechnoCore and its Farcaster network in the final battle against the space-mutant-barbarians called the Ousters (remember, they were not the real enemies) - the cumulation of events that lead to the climax in The Fall of Hyperion.

Endymion, like Frank Herbert's God Emperor of Dune, introduces the reader to a second, connected series in the Hyperion universe. The world is familiar, yet changed. Endymion, in the previous two books just briefly mentioned as a large city on Hyperion, is here actually the name of the hero protagonist through whose eyes much of the story is told. Raul Endymion is a young man from Hyperion who is saved from execution by an old (very old thanks to the Poulsen Treatments) acquaintance - the poet/ drinker Martin Silenus. He, the android A. Bettik (who played a minor role in the first book) and The Consul's ship (formerly known as A.I./cybrid Joseph Severn) are sent on a mission to save the prophet child of Brawne Lamia, one of the previous cycle's pilgrims, from the clutches of the Pax - the Catholic Church, previously a forgotten religious cult, now ruling the galaxy from their vatican world of Pacem.

Throw in the mysterious killing machine The Shrike making surprise appearances and you have the ingredients for a great journey-novel. The journey follows the River Tethys - until The Fall a gift from the TechnoCore to the Hegemony, a river connected by farcaster technology over a plentitude of worlds. With Anea's evolving abilities as The One Who Teaches the unlikely band is able to traverse through the inactive farcaster portals - and face terrifying challenges that they can only master together.

The group trapped on the ice world of Sol Draconis Septem.

By this Simmons further elaborates the universe he created in the first two books, now seen under new circumstances and sometimes cut off from galactic civilization. His imaginary power leads to vivid impressions, believability and empathization with the characters, be they friends or foes. And speaking of foes, nothing here is as it seems.

As with Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion I found Endymion to be an excellent read. Released in 1995 - which was twenty years ago canyoubelieveit, I don't want to compare it to its predecessors as the third book in the series is for me just that - another brilliant iteration in the author's magnum opus. I will start reading the final entry in the series, The Rise of Endymion, tonight and hope for a conclusion of the ambitious story and answers to questions that Endymion left open.

James Bond 007 Spectre can be recommended

Spent my my friday night at the local cinema to see the new James Bond. Spectre is worth it. The action scenes are amazing - don't want to spoiler anything here, but that scene where the plane chases the SUVs, just wow. The story is Orwellian, yet a little forseeable. Christoph Waltz plays his role of a sadistic psychopath in his usual cynical style. Daniel Craig is once again the cold blooded Bond type he is known for. Hope this is not his last James Bond.


Not sure if it's on par with the brilliant Skyfall, but damn close.

The Long Way To Episode VII: Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi

I cried when Vader died.

The Long Way To Episode VII: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back. Fans still argue whether Episode IV or this one, its sequel, is the best Star Wars movie of all times.

The Death Star is destroyed and the Rebell Alliance pissed off the Galactic Empire. Without remorse the forces of evil search and destroy rebel bases. This leads to the battle on the ice planet Hoth, that has become such an iconic scene. And there's more nostalgia hidden here: the asteroid field in which the Millenium Falcon hides, just to find out it's the lair of a giant space slug, the sky city of the gas mining planet Bespin and, of course, the famous 'I'm your father' words.

Besides the fantastic soundtrack I was amused how Yoda, here as a puppet and not a cgi-character, here looks. Old school, but more to my liking, I admit.

Looking forward to see (again) how Leai and Luke save Han in Episode VI (that Leai costume...).


Is that trailer really narrated by Harrison Ford?