Terminator: Genisys

Zach Goodier

Arnold’s back, as he promised he would be, and he brings with him a new Sarah Connor in the form of Emilia Clarke. In this sequel/reboot, Kyle Reese is sent back in time, just like the original film. However, things are different this time. Reese quickly finds himself being hunted by a T-1000, that is clearly trying to make sure the father of John Connor never reaches Sarah. However, he is soon saved by Sarah and her Terminator protector. What ensues is a race to survive, as well as put a stop to project Genisys, an AI-run operating system that is going to become Skynet.

Arnold looks happy to be back.

From the start, the story sticks to the original film, but quickly diverges, as both Skynet and our favorite model of terminator have made changes in this version of the timeline, which is apparently a “re-altered” version of the original attempted changes that started the franchise. A lot of the early scenes from after Kyle goes through the time machine are exact copies of the original, which was really great to see. They soon go forward in time, using a one-use time machine that Arnold and Sarah Connor had been working on for years. In this timeline, Skynet tried to have Sarah killed as a child, resulting in her families death, but Arnold showed up and saved her. His visible aging is because while his body is still cyborg, his skin does visibly age.

John Connor is warped, both mind and body, to become the T-3000. 

Skipping ahead (and SPOILERS if you haven’t seen the trailers at all), the main foe in this movie is John Connor, who has been transformed into a terminator. The process is showed later on in the movie, as the impostor Resistance fighter who grabbed John was actually Skynet itself, who had created a body before the Resistance assault began and used it to hide amongst the Resistance fighters until it saw a chance to strike. Skynet infected John with nano-machines, which transformed him from the inside out, making a synthetic, superhuman body that can perfectly resemble a human body. He can also change shape like the T-1000, using his body as a weapon, and changing his appearance to blend in.

I like Emilia Clarke, but I don't see her as entirely in her element as Sarah Connor.

The action and story are both great, with lots of excitement, and a lot of questions about the story to keep you engaged in everything going on between action scenes. Arnold fits back into his iconic role like he never left, with plenty of humorous moments and exciting lines throughout the film. It can be a little difficult to accept Kyle and Sarah, probably Sarah more though. Emilia does a great job with the role, but she never quite feels the part as much as the original actress, or even Lena Headey in Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Matt Smith plays a Resistance fighter who has a secret...

There are some unanswered questions, as well, like how Arnold was reprogrammed in the first place to protect Sarah Connor, which is one of the most important things. The question is brought up, and Arnold responds by saying that all files and info on his reprogramming were deleted, so he doesn’t know himself. This was done deliberately, I think, to set up for future movies, just like Skynet itself didn’t reappear in the movie after transforming John Connor, with the movie focusing on the 2017 timeline where they need to stop Genysis from awakening.

While we get a description of sorts as to what the T-3000 is, it basically amounts to a synthetic body infused with nano-machines. 

I found this movie to be a great summer action flick, which I’m fairly sure is what everyone wanted out of this movie. The story is engaging throughout, with a lot of great scenes between the action and special effects, which are all top-notch. Arnold is back where he belongs, terminating things, and while the new faces in old roles might not fit as well as we hoped, they still do a good job in their roles. One of my favorite things about this movie was the new terminator, as well as giving a face to Skynet, and the successful re-imagining of our technological fears. I do have some doubts about using John Connor as a terminator, and aside from the twist (which was spoiled by the trailers early on), I didn't see that much of a point to deciding it had to be John Connor, other than to add some humanity, but that never really worked for me all that much on a character level. There are some flaws, such as the overall feeling of the movie being quite different from the original films, and the However, while Arnold might be old, he isn’t obsolete, and still kicks 10 kinds of ass.

Good:

-Arnold’s back, and just as good as ever.

-Lots of heart-pounding action.

-Great story that takes the original, pays homage to it, then goes ahead and does something new.

Bad:

-Kyle and Sarah just don’t have that same feeling you might be looking for as characters.

-John Connor's use in the story as a terminator later on seems odd.

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10

South Park: The Stick of Truth

By: Robert Murphy

This game is absolutely ridiculous. I just had to get that out there before I even start this review as I’ve been playing through South Park: The Stick of Truth. Despite the shows 17 yearlong span, South Park to this day still makes me laugh and proves to be sharp and as messed up as ever, this also carries over into the RPG style gameplay of Stick of Truth. From the very beginning it will feel like you are playing right through an episode of the show making your own character and traveling through the colorful town of South Park. From Al Gore to Mr.Slave, everybody makes an appearance in the game and they all don’t rehash old glories and humor but make new witty situations and fun to be had, you will undoubtedly be on the floor with just how far the game will go.

The story follows your character who is the new kid to town and almost immediately digs into the action once you step out the door. All the kids in town are taking place in a LARPing event that references the Game of Thrones parody episodes some of you may have seen this past season and lets you join in on the fun either on the human side with Cartman or the elven side with Kyle. The childish and imaginative game for control of The Stick of Truth though quickly escalates as it often does in South Park with Aliens, government agencies with snukes and Nazi zombies eating people in the streets. You will travel all around the town and Canada as well battling the various different enemies that pop up in a turn based style with an iconic member such as Kyle, Stan and more as your secondary companion. The game really does a great job of adding classic role playing elements like health potions and PP powers and making them regular things such as drinking a Red Bull to gain PP for your special attacks. Also we see hilarious moments from the show come up in combat such as one of Butters special moves turns him into Professor Chaos and allows him to unleash devastating attacks. It is a fairly simple mechanic to get use to but allows for some tactics to be involved in the gameplay especially with some of the tougher boss fights you’ll face in the game.

Players get to choose from four different types of classes, Fighter, Thief, Mage and the *ahem* Jew class each coming with their own set of special skills but each class offers very little in the way of different ways to play the game. The special abilities that you’ll use your PP for will vary but other than that there are no limitations in the classes or unique weapons that players can choose from when they are when class and not the other and this may prevent you from playing the game over again. Whatever race you do choose though does get to have a selection of customizable outfits and colorful and fun weapons to choose from such as the ManBearPig Club which I thoroughly enjoyed using. The number of ways you can customize your character is something that I don’t usually go for but was fun here with things like the Goth clothes and facial features like the ball chin and others. Your clothing and weaponry can be advanced even further by using patches that can be gained throughout the game and add various perks to your weapons and gear such as stealing health when an opponent is bleeding or gaining PP for a perfect attack.

What really is a charming element to The Stick of Truth though are the references that the game has to its shows 17 yearlong span. Everywhere through South Park you will find references to something that has happened in the shows past whether it be the junk you collect or visiting characters homes and seeing things like Cartman’s A.W.E.S.O.M.E-O robot outfit, there are hundreds of classic reference riddled through the game and it’s great to relive and remember all of those moments. You may spend hours exploring around the town if you’re a hardcore fan of the show and almost every spot in town has something to do in with a side quest featuring some character such Mr.Hankey and more. Oh and if you’re worried about getting around town and constantly drudging about trying to get everywhere there’s no need to worry because the game features a nice and easy fast travel system where Timmy can take you to a spot you need to be or close enough to it.

It’s been a long time since I’ve laid my hands on a South Park game and initially I neither had high hopes for the game nor an interest in even picking it up but I am very pleased that I did once I started playing The Stick of Truth. The entire game feels like one long crazy episode of the show and doesn’t try and use the tired lines that you know but makes a great story to follow while still adding all those past elements to the game as well. Although you may feel the need to only play through the game once, you will have a great time doing so with the same off color and outrageous humor that South Park is legendarily known for.

Good:

-A simple but enjoyable RPG style gameplay

-Hardcore fans of the show will absolutely love the game for the old and the new humor

-Feels like one long crazy episode that you get to play through

-Character customization is vast and fun to use

Bad:

-A onetime play through sadly due to not a big class difference or limitation

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10