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Cafeman

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  1. Cafeman

    Introduction

    By Cafeman,

    I started RL5202 Adventure II for the Atari 5200 in 2001, with Alan Davis and Raccoon Lad. It was finally published by AA in 2007. Dave Giarrusso coined the "RLxxx" numbers back when I started my first homebrew, Koffi: Yellow Kopter. So I stuck with that and will continue to use that.

    I dabbled slowly with an Atari 8bit version afterwards, finally deciding to call it Adventure II XE and bumping it up to 64K and bank-switched. Perry Thuente has been of immense help with the technical challenges of the bank switching and A8-specific stuff.

    Things slowed down again in September 2013 when I lost many PC files. Stuff was backed up, but not organized. Also had home repairs to take care of.

    In 2015 I got a new laptop and slowly started to organize my AdvII XE stuff. So here I am in August 2015 finally compiling the code again and testing it. I hope to get AdvII done and will post some updates on this blog.

    The font on both the Title and GameWin screens is a prettier one than the default Atari 5200 font I had used before. The game now tracks statistics which are shown at the conclusion of each game.

    There are many, many other changes to make AdvII XE's gameplay different from the 5200 version. New bridges can be built; there is 1-button control now (hold to drop object and tap button to Manipulate a held object); and some changes to screens.




  3. Cafeman

    AdvII XE and alt icons

    By Cafeman,

    in 2007's 5200 homebrew Adventure II, you could get Alternate Icons to play with, other than Sir Square, if you entered a secret code on the title screen. In the 5200 version, they played exactly like using the Square. The problem with this was that some of these Alt Icons (namely the big animated Knight) were a bit too big for some of the paths. You could get around this by using the Magnet more. But it made the game a bit more frustrating.

    Of course these icons are still in the XE version, but I added Special Abilities for each.

    The Bat differs in that he never gets the "SPEED" powerup like Square does. When the troll steals an item from Square (except in Beginner levels where he doesn't steal, just makes you drop the item), you gain SPEED as a 'trade' . You also get SPEED when you kill a dragon. The bat not only gets SPEED, he also earns FLIGHT. You can fly overtop any background until it wears off.



    The Crab can slowly crawl over any background item -- plants, rocks, hedges, over water, or castle walls. This way you can cheat in the mazes - but since this slows you down, you run more risk of a creature catching up to you.

    The Knight and Knight Helmet icons are VERY STRONG. You can take a lot more bites before you are eaten. Sometimes a dragon hurts itself biting you and runs away!

    The Hand icon's special ability is his Grip. The Troll has more trouble stealing from you . He might just make you drop the item and run off-screen like he does in the Beginner levels.

    Here are some instructional images I created: Adventure II XE Basics:





    (_)3
  4. Cafeman
    I've spent some hours recently going through all the game variations and double-checking that the more complex hiding spot rules work, and that the game's hiding routines don't create an unwinnable game.

    I did run into one scenario in the beginner difficulty where the bridge was hidden in a locked castle , the magnet was blocked off by logs so you couldn't reach it, and the key to enter that castle was unreachable without either magnet or bridge. So I will tweak the logic to not hide the bridge inside locked castles, simple and best solution. I think this situation could only happen in the 3 Beginner levels, because in those the Troll doesn't active steal and re-hide items. In Intermediate levels for example, you could hang around that blocked-off magnet and Troll would eventually show up and grab it, rehiding it in a reachable location.

    Another time I thought I spotted an error - the Chalice was in the Green Hedges in a small maze game variation. I though it was always hidden inside the Green Castle and that a bug existed. But after reviewing the code, I noticed that in 2013 I put in an extra bit of randomness - sometimes the Gold Key is hidden inside the Castle 2 and the Chalice is out in the hedges. You still need to open the Green Castle to get the Gold Key (and open the Seashore Kingdom Castle ) and thus beat win the game. So ... no bug.

    When I start up a game of Adventure II XE in an emulator, I hit F8 (Atari800win4) and look at zero page memory to see the screens and (X,Y) locations for all the items and the 3 hidden dots. I can read those hexadecimal values like Tank reads the Matrix code.



    There are a bunch of unique hiding spots for the 3 hidden dots, and no two game variations have the same 3 hiding spots. So I have also been playing and making sure its possible to "see" the dots and grab them. You need the bridge to reach many of them. When screens get busy with items or creatures , a hidden dot will change color from default black to the color of one of the creatures - easier to spot. Maybe you can see the dot in this next screenshot.



    Just like in the 5200 version, when you grab a dot, it gives you some FLIGHT power (you literally turn into a bat for a while).



    Once I am satisfied that my revised hiding-spot rules function correctly, I'll move onto fixing the laundry list of small corrections and minor tweaks so that the game can be finished and released soon. Most of the tweaks are graphical and sound tweaks. Experimenting in 2013, I added a new sound that has become INCREDIBLY ANNOYING to me and it plays too often. I can't wait to get rid of that.

    (_)3
  5. Cafeman
    Ecco the Dolphin was released for the SEGA Genesis in August 1992. This was a time when I felt SEGA could do no wrong. I had rented Ecco for a day or two then, but I didn't play all of it until March of 1993, when much of the USA got hit with the winter "Storm of the Century", as it came to be called. I had purchased Ecco on Friday, and we got snowed-in over the weekend. Fortunately for me, we never lost our electricity, because I had nothing else to do except play my new game Ecco on my Genesis all day Saturday and Sunday. I got aggravated that I couldn't figure out one level, or get over a wall in another, but I persevered, and I was hooked on the Ecco experience. I really enjoyed the theme, level design, and the puzzles. I eventually did beat the game. I will never forget the DIFFICULTY of the alien levels , including "Welcome to the machine"!

    Yes, fortunately for me we didn't lose electricity with the blizzard. It was unfortunate for the wife, because Ecco's shrill sonar sound drove her crazy , and to this day I don't dare play Ecco in her presence without the implied threat of extreme duress.

    Later, I played Ecco the Dolphin CD , which had some new levels , some FMV (the cool kind - CG graphics video, which was similar to the game's style, and well within the SEGA CD's color and resolution limitations), and a very atmospheric new CD soundtrack. Pumping through my old-school Fisher stereo system w/15" woofer speaker cabinets, SEGA games really sounded sweet.

    So when the Dreamcast debuted, I eagerly picked up the new version of Ecco the Dolphin in 2000, and lately I've been replaying it in 2015. On the first night I played for a while, but only reached the 2nd area, which actually has one of the most exciting parts of the entire game - Ecco vs a Great White Shark.

    The plot goes on to involve things we'd seen in the 2D Ecco games, like time travel and the aliens and trying to jump from water bubbles up in the sky (similar to Ecco Tides of Time). Atari Age member Maurice Molyneaux (Big Mo) scripted some of the plot, as I recall. I beat it back in the day, but I can't recall the ending. I'll have to beat Ecco: DotF again this fall as time allows.

    Concerning the game itself - my opinion of it hasn't changed since I first played in in 2000/2001. The game's goals are often obtuse and the gameplay is too difficult. I didn't mind it back when the game was new, but it is now annoying trying to enjoy some levels in a more limited time frame. It takes me at least an hour to familiarize myself with the level, its objectives, to hunt for Vitalis thingies, and to stop getting turned around and lost. I guess I should check out a FAQ or Guide. Mind you, the Genesis Ecco games were also just like this - obtuse goals and high difficulty. But they were in left-right-up-down 2D and hence not as hard to make progress as in this version. In stage 1, I spent at least 10 minutes just trying to line-up Ecco and then forcefully jump out of the water to grab a floating Vitalit. I could see it! But in the 3D space, the game engine is merciless and will not guide you towards the Vitalit, not even a few pixels (erm, Polygons...). Imagine playing Mario 64 and you had to spend 10 minutes trying to jump up and grab a Star that was just above you.

    It is interesting to observe how developers take a historically 2D game series and make a 3D-movement sequel. For example, much praise has been written about how perfectly Nintendo translated 2D Mario into 3D Super Mario 64. I agree with that. What a well-crafted game, Mario 64. It had far higher quality and was more accessible and enjoyable in its nature than any of the other 3D-space platformers that were around back then. I could also mention the phenomenal job that Retro Studios did with Gamecube Metroid Prime, converting 2D gameplay into not only 3D, but also into a first-person-perspective game.! Awesome job with Nintendo's trademark quality control and playability.

    To a lesser degree perhaps, but I was also impressed with SEGA's attempt to bring Sonic into 3D with the Sonic action stages of Sonic Adventure, on the Dreamcast. The design and artwork in Sonic's action stages was a perfect translation of 2D Genesis games to 3D Dreamcast stages; but the execution wasn't perfect. You'd fight the camera, you couldn't easily control Sonic's direction at fast speeds, sometimes you'd fall through the 'floor' and die.

    Getting back to Ecco: DotF, I am very impressed by the 3D engine and the translation of the 2D gameplay mechanics into this 3D world. The design here seems very well thought-out and apt, the visuals are often stunning and beautiful, and the game is exciting and scary a lot of times. You can really have fun just exploring each level.

    But the execution has problems when it comes to gameplay. The biggest problem is how easily it can be to get 'turned around' and lose what direction you are facing. The sonar map is not very helpful in this version. I have read that the PS2 port of Ecco had an improved sonar map, so the developers must agree with me! Even in stage one, I often can't tell which dolpin is the master and which are the players, and I get turned around and can't tell where to go. If you think it's bad there, wait until you have to travel through pitch dark caverns with deadly puffer fish attacking from left and right, and in your urge to escape, you inadvertently turn around and end up at the opening of the cave again. Or, get stuck against the cave wall and get killed.

    My comments serve only as a warning to you, if you want to try out Ecco on Dreamcast. Know what you are getting into. If you enjoyed the Ed Annunziata Ecco games on Genesis, you will likely have a big smile on your face each time a new stage loads! Whether the smile lasts depends on if you have the time to invest to gain the familiarity and skills to progress to the end of the game.

    Also check out my 'review' of the game for a Digital Press contest, back in 2002... sorry for using the word 'retard' in it, I was quoting somebody from Sling Blade you see ....

    http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/ecco.htm

  6. Cafeman
    I've been playing Test Drive: Le Mans again recently, and its been a few years since I really gave it this much attention.

    I was really stoked with TDLM when it was released in November 2000. It was the most impressive racing game I had even seen! Although now dated, the technical achievements on DC hardware are still obvious. There can be 24 cars on the track! (Not all races have that many). And the opponent cars really feel like somebody is driving them. They make mistakes on the curves and end up in the grass (just like you will!). They also seem to be actively racing each other, not just you! There are so many graphical effects that seemed to be fresh and new ideas in TDLM at the time, like the brake pads glowing, sparks and smoke from changing gears, the bloomy headlamps of the machines at night, and even treadmarks in the grass and mud that are actually PERSISTENT! In other words, go around the track and your treadmarks will still be there from last lap when you went off-road. The lighting at dusk and the transition of day-to-night is awesome, and so are the rain/storm effects. The dark and the rain will change the feel of the course, especially if you don't have the layout memorized.

    The game seems to run at a locked 30 fps. I don't consider this a negative (compared to Daytona USA's 60 fps) because it just doesn't matter at all - the game is very smooth both in motion and in feel.

    The replays have fantastic camera angles! I'm watching them as I type this. The right-wheel-cam is probably my favorite. Too bad you can't pause the replay to get a clear blur-free picture.



    I find the Championship to be a lot of fun. You can adjust your tires, starting fuel level, and downforce for each car. I mostly play on Intermediate difficulty - no auto-braking, but other driving assists are somewhat on. It isn't "too hard" yet is challenging. This is my favorite kind of racing overall - it is slightly skewed towards an arcade-style feel, but is peppered and seasoned with just enough real-world physics and sim aspects.



    Its funny, this game is all about the 24-hour Le Mans race, but this mode is really just an extra to me. I usually play the other modes. In the Le Mans 24-hour race, you can play the day as 10 minutes (day/dusk/night/stars are greatly accelerated, which is NEAT!), and other manageable increments up to the real-time 24 hour race which would be impossible if they had not given us the option to save our game progress during each pit stop.

    I feel that Melbourne House did a fantastic job with this game! I can only wonder what kind of performance the DC still had yet to offer , if it had lasted on the market a few more years. In comparison, perhaps MSR has nicer textures and details on background objects. And Daytona USA 2001 has the AM2-proven, 60fps fast arcade gameplay that can't really be beaten. Test Drive V-Rally has sweet rally-style gameplay. But Test Drive: Le Mans stands among them with more on-screen cars with more complex polygonal (and textured) construction and a lot more sim aspects , but not at the expense of fun gameplay. Oh, and one final thing - you MUST plug in a jump pack into the DC controller to experience the nice force-feedback when your tires hit the shoulder or you bump into a car or crash!



    (_)3
  7. Cafeman
    I should be finishing the 98% finished AdvII XE, but I can't help playing with this. I miss having an artist to work with to design the charsets and images. For now the background graphics are just the best I could quickly come up with so far, to communicate my game ideas. There will be ways to tweak the designs and get more colors out of each screen as I go. Some coders don't reveal their works until they are practically done, but I don't work that way. I need to put something out there to keep my interest going.

    This picture shows the proposed 1st screen of Escape from AirWorld. It's purposed is to allow the player to learn what he can and cannot do - how far he jumps, what you can walk on, what the effect is from pickup up Wings (permanent power you gain) and Sky Sandals (temporary power you gain) , etc. You can't die on this screen.



    I'm open to ideas. Post a comment.

    (_)3
  8. Cafeman
    It always irks me when I see the out-of-place tile on the original 5200 Adventure II - on the first castle at the top. I finally fixed it, for the XE version.



    As you can see, Sir Square is almost dead in this picture. He's got a big bite taken out of him and the dragon is about to complete his meal.

    This was the first time I have recompiled and recompressed an Adventure II screen since I got a Windows 64-bit laptop, running win8.1 It's a lot more hassle now. I have to use DosBox to run the Antic4 utility and bin2inc utility (both by Jeffry Johnston) because they don't run natively in win8.1's CMD: prompt.

    But TASM and PUCRUNCH do run in CMD: prompt - DosBox can't seem to run TASM. It's old, I know. But that's what we started using for compile AdvII code and I just stick with that for AdvII XE.

    ---------------




  9. Cafeman

    Koffi Klay?

    By Cafeman,

    I was working with clay with others, didn't know what to make, then an idea hit me. Koffi Kopter and Pyro the Stormcloud. Turned out pretty good, especially since I had not dabbled with clay since high school art class. So I took a couple pictures and finally decided to post them here.



    If you aren't familiar , these are characters from the Atari 5200 and A8 homebrew Koffi: Yellow Kopter from 2002. The ROMs are available for both, and the AtariAge store still carries 5200 Koffi if you'd like a cart. You can post a review in the AA Store as well, there's only a couple reviews even though hundreds were sold!

    https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=137



    Cart Image is from AtariAge.com.
  10. Cafeman

    7800 Dungeon Stalker

    By Cafeman,

    I posted this in the AA store, too.

    Dungeon Stalker snuck up on me. I wasn't prepared for its amalgamation of excellent gaming ideas! At first glance, it looked like a simple 7800 port of INTV Night Stalker. But I feel that DS is more interesting and more fun than the original Night Stalker. DS is a static maze shooter with gameplay tweaks that evoke fond memories of Berzerk, Wizard of Wor, and even INTV AD&D. You can get the usual AtariAge high-quality box , manual and artwork with it .

    There is a clever mix of unique creatures. Some enemies aren't deadly but temporarily stun you. Some shoot. Some creatures' shots disappear mid-screen if you kill them; but other creatures' shots keep going even if they are vanquished. Some are faster than others. The Spiders don't shoot, they are easy to hit. But they will stop and build little webs in the maze, which can significantly impede your ability to quickly traverse the maze and reach a safe corner! On the other hand, The Bats are tiny, your shots can miss them if you don't aim dead-center. These kinds of gameplay mechanics give the game endless chances at strategy and fun. The game even provides opportunities for extra treasure, lives, and invincibility if you can grab them. Fun stuff.

    I enjoy how your shots are actually arrows, and you have to refill your quiver periodically. The creates even more judgment calls in gameplay. Should you spend 4 of your arrows to break up a spider web? Or just fight your way through the web (or take another maze path) to reach safety? If you play on Novice, you have no webs and unlimited arrows. That's fun for a while too, but you are missing a lot of the real game so I play on Standard or higher. My end-of-game rankings are getting better with each try!

    Finally, I will mention the AtariVox. If you don't have it, you'll still enjoy Dungeon Stalker. The default game sounds create a suspenseful mood, with the "heart beat" sound increasing in volume when you run out of arrows. But include the AtariVox and you will be in retro gaming HEAVEN. Seriously! "Now Entering THEEE DUNGEON" the Vox announces at the beginning, and I get that goofy grin that only a (grown?) kid with a new game can get. Much work was put into the variety and amount of Vox voice phrases that you hear. Plus, the Vox saves your high scores which is awesome. The AtariVox makes Dungeon Stalker, a fun and fresh maze shooter, into an undeniably must-own experience!




    To my initial surprise, the AtariVox plugs into Joystick 2 and needs its own speaker. I used a 1/8-to-RCA and plugged that cable into my TV . The 7800 sounds (like all my games) are fed directly into my Onkyo Sound system. Works and sounds great!

    I rated 7800 Dungeon Stalker 5/5 stars.

  11. Cafeman
    Background info:

    If I ever suspected I'd need to come back to Adventure II's code the way I have, I'd have never compressed and re-coded so many memory-saving schemes into the original 32K 5200 version! One of the things I was proudest of in 5200 Adventure II was that I fit so much into 32K.

    As has been stated in the forums many times, the game had to use bank switching for the Atari XE version because the Atari 8bits can't address 32K memory, they instead address in 16K . And you can break up those into varying 4K banks which you load as needed.

    So for example, many of the game's screens are stored in the 8K bank from $8000-$9FFF. Other stuff is stored in the next 4K bank $A000-$AFFF. Because XE carts and AtariMax carts use differing bank-switching schemes, Tep392 put in logic to do it both ways when I compile the game.

    The Abend

    I made a little change last week, something that has long been on my to-do list. I was testing the game's Vast levels, and the game crashed ("Abended") trying to load some screens. Oh No!!!!!!!!

    As I tested more, slowly relearning variable and memory addresses that I had forgotten since 2007 , I saw that not only Fire Castle screens, but also some Vast Ice Castle screens were also crashing the game. Oh No!!!!!!!!!

    For a few days I was really all thumbs, not being able to understand why my stupid little tweak had caused the problem. But I got busy with work and had to put it aside during the week. Thankfully this worked to my advantage. It's interesting how your brain works - give a problem the day off, and you'll likely come up with a fix tomorrow or the next day.

    The Cause of the problem found!

    I spent 2 hours this morning using the process of elimination to find clues to the game crashes. I found that there were actually 3 screens that would cause a crash. What did they have in common? And what was different about them compared to all the other (similar) internal castle maps??

    After investigating more,and writing down the internal hex numbers for these screens, I spotted the clue that all 3 screens used the same "map" data and were in the same bank! When I looked at the source file for that memory bank, this map screen is at the end of the bank. Clearly it was now corrupted and any attempt to use this screen caused a crash. Then my mind put all the clues together.

    Since 2013, I have slightly added changes and fresh details to a few Kingdom1 screens. Then in early December 2015, I made the final Kingdom 1 screen changes, to 4 different screens. These map changes - and not the more recent 'tweak' that I mistakenly thought was the problem - caused the problem. They weren't being compressed quite as efficiently as before, and thus incrementally used more and more bytes. I had pushed a bank over its limit. I had exceeded the 4K memory available from $8000-$BFFF. The only thing affected was the last thing in the bank - that screen map which caused the crashes! It only happened in Vast castle mazes, so I didn't notice it because I usually don't test using the huge Vast variations.

    So, every time I visited a certain Fire Castle screen, or one of 2 Ice Castle screens (I change the colors though, so they don't look identical), the program would try to load the glitched map. Every time I tried to load one of those 3 screens, using the compressed include file "Y3.INC" - it crashed the game.

    Happy times!

    I moved some memory around and solved the problem! Happy Day! Because, I HATE HATE HATE trying to fix bugs! Especially when the game is 99% finished!

    And now I leave to go see Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens! Happy Happy , Joy Joy !

    (_)3

  12. Cafeman
    I watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first section is a spoiler-free review (I assume you watched the trailers), followed by a spoiler-hidden additional thoughts.

    Based on the Rotten Tomatoes low aggregate score of about 30%, and the complaints, I went in with low expectations. I didn't particularly like the trailers. But to my surprise, I enjoyed the film and would give it "thumbs up". So this review is going to have a positive slant. Also, in my audience there was a lot of clapping going on at various scenes - mostly kids. They were loving it.

    This film is complex. A first watch yields some confusion because of the bizarre editing of some (unexplained) scenes. I think after 2nd watch, more will be understandable, especially to fans of the comics and animated series episodes.
    Perhaps the most disturbing thing I read before seeing the film was a comment that Batman now uses guns and kills people. This is not exactly true. Or is it? In the theatrical versions of Batman, his vehicles have always had firepower, and this doesn't change. In many scenes he grabs rifles and smacks bad guys around with the butt end, and he fires the rifles a few times - which could be simply wounding them, putting them down, but not executing Punisher-style. But the big guns of his Batmobile had to slaughter anything that got hit! The thing is - the film doesn't really show Batman killing. So I won't dwell on it. This Batman is older and fed up, doubting his more righteous path because , as he says, "criminals are like weeds. Pull one up, another grows in its place". Overall I felt this Batman is satisfactorily fair to the character in my eyes and was EASILY the best part of the the film. Some of Batman's (and Alfred's) scenes are stuff we've never seen before in on film, and its always exciting and fun to watch. I enjoyed the nice early focus on Bruce's detective work and planning.



    BvS is an amalgamation of at least 3 films' worth of Superman and Justice League concepts and stories. It has to introduce the new Batman and Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor, and allow story #1 to play out, and allow enough time for story #2 to play out. The end result is the film has been heavily cut and edited and yet still has far too many disjointed scenes; also it is too long. I was disappointed that the writers and directer tried to cover so, so many scenes in one film. No wonder it was originally 3+ hours. I don't think it is a spoiler to reveal this - as the trailer did - that a version of Doomsday and
    storyline is incorporated into this film. This is seriously the worst part of the film. You get your money's worth in spectacle; but its so much less interesting than the first half of the film. Which is par for the course with Zak Snyder's direction, I think; it's the exact same problem I have with Man of Steel. I loved the first half of MoS, but by the ending I felt very dissatisfied. But I've come to enjoy MoS on subsequent Blu-Ray viewings; I suspect that will be true here too. Wait a minute! Didn't Superman Returns also have a super depressing final act? Sorry, but I like the jubilant feeling I used to feel walking out after watching the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films. Or Spider-Man 1 or 2. Also Batman Begins and The Dark Knight! On any of these films, I would walk out of the theater with a spring in my step. But with BvS, the best feeling I could muster was 'that wasn't as bad as I'd feared...".

    Jesse Eisenberg plays Lex Luther. I hated him in the trailers. But surprise! At least in my opinion, his version of Luthor is a good one. He is intelligent, crafty, merciless, and he plays the long game and he is behind all of the attacks against our super friends. Yes, I found Eisenberg to be a formidable Luthor. It doesn't bother me that they've tried a fresh angle to the character. It's unfortunate that his wry and bizarre little speeches such as "the red capes are coming!" was the focus -- out of context -- in the trailers. In the film, he's being weird like that on purpose to certain characters. Luthor's ruthlessness is shown in one especially surprising turn of events mid-film; and his disregard for human life is shown in his maniacal long range plan.

    Negatives? I didn't really enjoy or understand the multiple visions and dream sequences. It reminded me of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor's trip to the pool -- confusing , a change in thematic tone, and evidently just setting up future stuff in the Justice League films. These scenes play out, then there is no explanation and then the normal real-time storyline resumes. Huh?? But after some thought (and googling for answers), I think most of us will understand and grow used to why these sequences are there. Snyder is also playing the long game and planting seeds. However, these scenes hurt the film, and I wish they'd been cut, and better moments not cut. The end of the film mimics Man of Steel's destruction and not-really-very-fun spectacle; dour and a sobering/ depressing mood. Little kids were BAWLING out loud in the audience. Now that is what I call an effectively upsetting ending-- but the rest of us (adults) just watched in silence until a glimmer of hope did finally rise.

    I give the film a B-. Compared to how I felt after Man of Steel, X-men 3, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Green Lantern, or Superman III (all disappointing to me of varying degrees), BvS compares more favorably.



    Spoiler Comments Next:





  13. Cafeman
    Scene spoilers! Beware if you care and haven't watched the film yet!!!

    Here are my original and mostly non-spoiler thoughts after the first watch a week ago: http://atariage.com/forums/blog/618/entry-12817-batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-league-spoiler-free-review/

    For my 2nd viewing of Batman v Superman, my son and I went to a higher quality Cinemark theater. The screen was much bigger, brighter, and I saw details I missed watching the 1st viewing elsewhere. I caught more clues this time, explaining stuff. The sound was also so LOUD it gave me a slight headache by the end. In fact, overall I enjoyed the film about the same as the first time, not more or less. But this time I really felt exhausted by the end of it. Come to think of it - both times I was feeling fatigued before the film was even over. My son , who is 21 years old, said he thought the film wasn't bad (he HATED Man of Steel and still does).

    I'm feeling done with BvS now. I doubt I'll buy it on Blu-ray. I can't see myself watching it over & over. I enjoyed it, but it isn't a hugely enjoyable experience. By way of comparison, I can rewatch most of the Marvel films over & over and love 'em.

    My rating of Man of Steel: C- on first watch, C+ after multiple watches.
    My rating of Batman v Superman: B-

    My top 3 favorite scenes:
    1. The fight between Batman and Superman. It was pretty good.
    2. Batman rescuing Martha, taking down all the armed criminals and their leader, the "KGBeast" dude. Quoth the KGBeast, "I'll kill her", and Bat says "I believe you". Then ... BOOM takes him out. All great stuff.
    3. The Senate bomb. Best twist of the film to me.

    Least 3 favorite scenes:
    1. The scene where Lois and Superman are depressed, and Lois says "I don't know if you can love me being who you are blah blah blah". Emo / dull. Who cares? You know, Vicki Vale said something quite similar in Bruce in 1989's Batman the Movie.
    2. Doomsday . Although WW is great and there's lots of action in the battle, overall it shouldn't have been tacked on to the end of this already too-long film. Plus, just how Doomsday was created and *why*, by Lex, makes little sense to me.
    3. Lex's trailer-quoted dialogue, "Clark Kent meets Bruce Wayne! I love bringing people together! Do not pick a fight with this person!"
    ==> EDIT: wait a minute. Isn't the film showing the Lex already figured out who Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent were? So in this scene, its like he is breaking the 4th wall and winking at the audience. still don't like it.


    I found the Injustice comics series online and read through most of the first 3 years worth recently. In this series (a prequel of sorts to the video game Injustice), Superman suffers the death of Lois and her unborn child , then decides its okay to kill and be more active stopping wars, governments, and criminals. Then Superman turns the world into a police state, basically. Just about all the Justice League support him except for a few with Batman. The rest of the series, its Superman vs Batman along with the supporting characters. You can read the entire series (I grew tired of it after a while, it goes on & on & on and despite a few bright humor spots with Harley and Oliver Queen, the repeated fighting gets old ) at http://readcomiconline.com/for free (not sure how long that will last).

    I wonder if the writers and Zack Snyder were fans of this story? Because its a little bit off-putting , just like BvS. Also similar scenes (maybe from other comics too - I haven't read many Superman books so I don't know). The way Superman takes Doomsday into outer space; the visions showing a violent Superman willing to kill and clearly HATING Batman are also found in Injustice. I grew tired of Injustice, mostly because it has several years worth of comics, all with a killing and more despot Superman, which lasted too long. Similarly, Bvs lasted too long for me as a film w/the heroes mostly in conflict with each other.

    Its pretty obvious that The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel was an influence too. Several scenes plus the nature of the conflict are right out of that comic. I was waiting to see a Kryptonite arrow in BvS ! But it was changed to something else for the film version. The cover scene of the comic, with a lightning bolt behind the thick Batman outline, found its way into BvS too.

    This is curious to me, as The Dark Knight Rises film was also strongly influenced by The Dark Knight Returns with Batman being older & out of action for years, plus certain scenes like young & old Gotham cops seeing Batman on his returning night ("Son, you're in for a treat tonight!").

    Finally, I thought it poor taste in the funeral scene that a bagpipes version of Amazing Grace was used. That was Spock's funeral music! (Wrath of Kahn).

    (_)3


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