Will 90’s Nostalgia Replace The 80’s?
By Stephen Clark
Trends come and go and then come back around again.
Finally. The trailer for a new movie in the franchise you loved as a kid is coming out. It starts. It looks good! Nice and crisp visuals, way better than the VHS you watched the original on. You meet the characters who are the kids, or whatever, of the people from the first one. And then it happens: the dramatic and subdued version of the music you identify the series with. You don’t love the trailer but it’s good to hear that music again. You’ll probably go and watch it, even just for fun with friends.
Nostalgia is a powerful tool in media. It isn’t about giving you exactly what the past was, instead delivering the best bits of what you remember. It’s the taste of Cap’n Crunch, not the cuts on the roof of your mouth. We’ve seen the 80’s become a technicolor dreamscape of sexy Uncle Jesse mullets, DeLoreans and quirky kids playing D&D while synthwave soundtracks hum us to a happy place. But we’ve all seen what mall bangs ACTUALLY looked like, almost nobody had a DeLorean or cared about it until Back to the Future and that basement from Stranger Things? Should’ve had way more acne and body odor. Nostalgia is a POWERFUL tool.
On The Playground Is Where I’d Spend Most Of My Days
The wave of 80’s nostalgia in television, film and more has been going for a pretty long time, with a long and varied list of shows that cash in on the audience who grew up in that decade. But now we’re seeing the nostalgia roll right on over into the next decade.
From every direction, a generation of 20-to-30-somethings is getting enticed by the look, sound and feel of the years they grew up in. Captain Marvel featured a still-in-business Blockbuster, packed with new release VHS tapes and the latest and greatest beeper tech used to call her to assist Earth in its time of need.
BTS, the biggest deal in pop music can be seen in some clearly 90’s inspired looks and feature a healthy dose of the pre-00’s radio jams in the albums that brought them to the attention of the average US listener. Whatever the medium is, the 90’s are worming their way in and coming for your wallet.
Time Keeps On Slipping Into The Future
Aside from the things that are simply taking a cue from the past’s pop culture, we’re set to get brand new installments of The Matrix and Scream, kicking off the 2020’s with two of the most decidedly 90’s series. Not content to settle for getting your dollar in the future, nobody has to wait for those films to get their dose of Tamagotchi-era goodness. Disney+ launched with only a select few originals, instead relying on the love for their back catalog of Saturday morning classics like Darkwing Duck, the Fox animated X-Men series and more.
Style Over Substance
One of the biggest parts of the renaissance of what people identify as THE look of the 80’s is a product of that laser beams, neon and shiny metal aesthetic that The Memphis Group pioneered. Without as easily defined and replicable of a style, 90’s nostalgia might not have the same kind of long tail. But I can’t wait to see what Zoomers decide the 90’s looked like.
Whether the cautious steps out of 80’s nostalgia and into 90’s will stick, we’ll have to wait and see. But what do you think? Will rehashed Clinton-era styles gain new life? Will we get to see Justin Tmberlake get to fashionably revive his ramen noodle hair?
Is 90’s nostalgia in movies and tv going to overtake 80’s nostalgia?
— Geek Elite Media (@GeekEliteMedia) December 18, 2019
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Late Gamer Plays Assassins’ Creed Rogue
A Review From Hidai Moya
This is perhaps the most underrated & unappreciated entry of the entire series. Rogue is the connective tissue binding together the story & characters of ACIII, ACIV, & Unity.
Its story is also the most unique premise of the franchise as you play as a former Assassin turned Templar. Using the engine from ACIVI I was quite impressed with unique direction this game took & the way it implemented historical events to tell its adventure.
The North American wilderness during the French & Indian War is the backdrop for some really fun & varied side missions & level design. For the first time in a AC naval game, enemies can board your ship & you get to stop assassinations instead of committing them. Shay is a memorable character you can empathize with so when he turned Templar I felt that I understood his reasons why.
The only sin this game commits may be that the campaign is quite short, but there is loads of side content to do I didn’t mind. Others have critiqued this game for not being long enough, meaningful enough, and having an empty open world. I completely & totally disagree with those bad critiques.
If you are a hardcore AC fan like me I think you will really enjoy this entry. Not only is there tons to do but story is one of the most substantial of the series.
Grade A-
The Geeks’ Watch – Episode 156 The Mandalorian Ch 6; Watchmen Eps 7
Hey Mitch! Episode 93: Meet Geek Elite Media – Stephen Clarke
Video Game Awards 2019 Recap
Recap By Stephen Clark
The annual Video Game Awards streamed across the internet Thursday, December 12th. The event was curiously devoid of any massive brand partnership like 2016’s Schick Hydrobot, may he rest in peace. Just the same, it was a good event overall, featuring some great reveals and much deserved awards.
The Nextbox
The biggest reveal of the night was Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. In the week leading up to the VGAs, Microsoft had stated publicly that the name of the next Xbox would be specifically related to what it does and, with the name of the system revealed and the look of the box itself, it would appear that Microsoft is leaning into the iPhone structure of upgrades and generations inside of generations even more than it has already. Whether the boxy case is indicative of modular internal components or just a design choice is yet to be seen. However, we do have this recently published breakdown of the system’s capabilities:
•12 teraflop GPU (twice as much as in the current console leader, the One X)
•4 times the CPU speed of the One X
•Full backwards compatibility
•The ability to pause and resume multiple games simultaneously
Other Xbox news of the week also confirmed that Xbox was still pushing forward it’s internal initiative to have a more “cost effective” console under the codename “Lockhart”. While this was a pretty big announcement, the internet buzz then and now haven’t lingered on it much at all.
Good Riddance
While there were some stand out appearances and announcements, the biggest miss of the night would seem to be the new music performed by one of the night’s guests, Green Day. Their appearance was paired with a Green Day music pack for Beat Saber and the first 360 levels on PSVR and even that couldn’t save my personal excitement for their time on stage.
Watch for yourself, if you dare:
Trailers and More
The night was packed with trailers that made for a much better pre-show than in years past and carried throughout the entire event. My personal favorites were those for the upcoming No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back. The trailer began under the guise of a fake game called GODDAMN SUPERHERO that I think I would genuinely play if it were real.
Ninja Theory brought an announcement video for the next Hellblade game, Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga. This was the biggest moment of the night for me. The first game always had my attention but I never dove in and actually purchased it. This new trailer takes Senua, formerly at the mercy of her personal demons, to being the leader/aggressor in some sort of ritual with an acting performance and music that gave me chills. The motion capture actress has certainly earned the award she got last year for her performance as Senua.
While Square did bring a new Final Fantasy VII Remake trailer to the show and the release is early next year, this one felt like more of the same. Cloud fights, characters talk a bit and things are generally gorgeous. We all want to play the game already.
Other notable trailers: Ghosts of Tsushima, Maneater, Godfall from Gearbox, Bravely Default II, the release of a new Warframe expansion, a new unnamed Playerunknown game, Sons of the Forest, Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Untitled Beaker Game, Weird West, Magic Legends, Path of the Warrior for Occulus Quest, Gears Tactics, Naraka Bladepoint, NIne to Five.
And The Award Goes To
The Game of the Year award went to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Nominated against Control, Death Stranding, Smash Brothers and The Out Worlds, it was really anyone’s chance to win. Seeing a Souls-like get the award is interesting and nice. It’s not a genre known for broad appeal because of its punishing gameplay.
Other awards of the night:
Best Game Direction
Control
Death Stranding-WINNER
Resident Evil 2
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Outer Wilds
Best Narrative
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Control
Death Stranding
Disco Elysium-WINNER
The Outer Worlds
Best Art Direction
Control-WINNER
Death Stranding
Gris
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Best Audio Design
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare-WINNER
Control
Death Stranding
Gears 5
Resident Evil 2
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Best Score/Music
Cadence of Hyrule
Death Stranding-WINNER
Devil May Cry 5
Kingdom Hearts III
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Best Performance
Ashly Burch as Parvati Holcomb – The Outer Worlds
Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden – Control
Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz – Gears 5
Mads Mikkelsen as Cliff – Death Stranding-WINNER
Norman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges – Death Stranding
Matthew Porretta as Dr. Casper Darling – Control
Best Ongoing Game
Apex Legends
Final Fantasy XIV
Destiny 2
Fortnite-WINNER
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Best Community Support
Apex Legends
Destiny 2-WINNER
Final Fantasy XIV
Fortnite
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Games for Impact
Concrete Genie
Gris-WINNER
Kind Words
Life is Strange 2
Sea of Solitude
Best Independent Game
Baba Is You
Disco Elysium-WINNER
Katana ZERO
Outer Wilds
Untitled Goose Game
Best Mobile Game
Call of Duty: Mobile-WINNER
GRINDSTONE
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sky: Children of Light
What the Golf?
Best Mobile Game
Call of Duty: Mobile-WINNER
GRINDSTONE
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sky: Children of Light
What the Golf?
Best VR/AR Game
Asgard’s Wrath
Blood & Truth
Beat Saber-WINNER
No Man’s Sky
Trover Saves the Universe
Best Action Game
Apex Legends
Astral Chain
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Devil May Cry 5-WINNER
Gears 5
Metro Exodus
Best Action/Adventure Game
Borderlands 3
Control
Death Stranding
Resident Evil 2
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice-WINNER
Best RPG
Disco Elysium-WINNER
Final Fantasy XIV
Kingdom Hearts III
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
The Outer Worlds
Best Fighting Game
Dead or Alive 6
Jump Force
Mortal Kombat 11
Samurai Showdown
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate-WINNER
Best Family Game
Luigi’s Mansion 3-WINNER
Ring Fit Adventure
Super Mario Maker 2
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Yoshi’s Crafted World
Best Strategy Game
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
Anno 1800
Fire Emblem: Three Houses-WINNER
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Tropico 6
Wargroove
Best Sports/Racing Game
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled-WINNER
DiRT Rally 2.0
eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020
F1 2019
FIFA 20
Best Multiplayer Game
Apex Legends-WINNER
Borderlands 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Tetris 99
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Fresh Indie Game
ZA/UM for Disco Elysium-WINNER
Nomada Studio for Gris
DeadToast Entertainment for My Friend Pedro
Mobius Digital for Outer Wilds
Mega Crit for Slay the Spire
House House for Untitled Goose Game
Content Creator of the Year
Jack “Courage” Dunlop
Benjamin “Dr. Lupo” Lupo
Soleil “Ewok” Wheeler
David “Grefg” Martínez
Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek-WINNER
Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
DOTA2 (Valve)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
League of Legends (Riot Games)-WINNER
Overwatch (Blizzard)
Best Esports Player
Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf (Immortals, Fortnite)-WINNER
Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (SK Telecom, League of Legends)
Luka “Perkz” Perkovic (G2 Esports, League of Legends)
Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CSGO)
Jay “Sinatraa” Won (SF Shock, Overwatch)
Best Esports Team
Astralis (CS:GO)
G2 Esports (LOL)-WINNER
OG (DOTA2)
San Francisco Shock (OWL)
Team Liquid (CS:GO)
Best Esports Event
2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals
EVO 2019
Fortnite World Cup
IEM Katowice 2019
League of Legends World Championship 2019-WINNER
The International 2019
Best Esports Host
Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere-WINNER
Alex “Machine” Richardson
Paul “Redeye” Chaloner
Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
Duan “Candice” Yu-Shuang
Best Esports Coach
Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag – (Team Liquid, CS:GO)
Nu-ri ‘Cain’ Jang – (Team Liquid, LOL)
Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann – (G2 Esports, LOL)
Kim ‘Kkoma’ Jeong-gyun – (SK Telecom T1, LOL)
Titouan ‘Sockshka’ Merloz – (OG, DOTA2)
Danny ‘Zonic’ Sørensen – (Astralis, CSGO)-WINNER
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Michelle Yeoh is reportedly in talks for Marvel's upcoming 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'.
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Half-Life games are free to play on Steam through March 2020.
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