July 14, 2019

Stranger Things Season 3 Review

Stranger Things is the Sci-Fi / Horror series to watch. This hit-show by Netflix has been going since 2016 and so far had a remarkable record with connecting to its audience. Set in the middle of the 80s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana it follows a group of teens as they uncover the various mysteries that affect them. The first two seasons dealt with the Upside Down, the result of an experiment to open a portal to another universe. The teenage cast includes characters such as Eleven (who has telekinetic powers), her boyfriend Mike and their eclectic set...

TV-series

July 10, 2019

Another Life Preview – Starbuck returns with her own show!

Netflix has released a new trailer for its upcoming Sci-Fi series Another Life. The series is set for a release on July 25th and will consist of 10 episodes. It stars Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica and Longmire) as well as Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions and Hellboy). So what is Another Life all about? Well the official synopsis goes as follows “Another Life follows the story of an astronaut and a space crew, who are on a mission to investigate the origins of an alien artifact that mysteriously appeared on Earth. As the crew attempt to search for alien intelligence, they...

Film

July 6, 2019

Spider-Man Far From Home Review

Spider-Man played by Tom Holland has been a crowd favorite ever since his introduction in Captain America: Civil War. A year later Spidey got his own movie with Spider-Man Homecoming. It introduced a larger cast with Zendaya playing MJ, a girl with whom Peter slowly developed an attraction – despite her sometimes dark comments. Furthermore there is Ned, Peter’s best friends played by Jacob Batalon. Ned at times acts as Peter’s sidekick. There was a larger cast of course, but at its core the character dynamic revolves around these 3 friends. That a second Spider-Man would be released was a...

Computer Games / DVD / Film / Literature / TV-series

July 3, 2019

SciFiEmpire.net celebrates it’s 8th anniversary!

It has been 8 years to the day that I made my first post on this blog. Strictly speaking SciFiEmpire.net already existed for a few weeks before that, but I was still figuring out how to set up WordPress. It has been a long road. Looking back at some posts I wrote it feels like the Sci-Fi scene has changed drastically. Back then we still had shows such as Eureka, Person of Interest, Warehouse 13, Alphas and Alcatraz on the air. In fact, streaming services hardly existed. SciFiEmpire.net has had its up and downs since then. Arguably blogging has made...

Computer Games

June 30, 2019

The Sinking City Review – an open-world detective game

The Sinking City is the latest game by Ukrainian develop Frogwares. This small studio has made a name for itself with creating adventure games based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by author Arthur Conan Doyle. Now the studio has created The Sinking City which it describes as an open-world detective game. Featuring non-linear storytelling, a resource scarce economy and combat this game is a incredible increase in scale for the studio You play as Charles Reed – PI And as I will describe in detail, The Sinking City is not an easy game to play. Set in the fictional town...

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker title from teaser

Film

June 29, 2019

My thoughts on the Disney Star Wars Universe

There has been plenty of Star Wars news in the last few weeks. Mark Hamill announced he is done with Star Wars and Daisy Ridley admits Rey might come not be back after episode 9. Finally, Kathleen Kennedy has announced Michelle Rejwan will oversee the production of live-action Star Wars movies. To some the latter appears to be the first step in removing Kathleen all together. However, a more nuanced view is that Disney has simply created a dedicated position for a franchise that is steadily increasing in scope. Rejwan would be to Star Wars as Kevin Feige is to...

Literature

June 17, 2019

Star Wars Alphabet Squadron Review

Alphabet Squadron is the latest book I am reviewing in the new canon Star Wars Universe. The novel is written by Alexander Freed who has written a number of stories set in the Old Republic-verse. He also wrote the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization. Alexander Freed manages, with Alphabet Squadron, to create a hard-boiled fighter pilot story. Think of it as Top Gun meets Battlestar Galactica. A year after the Battle of Endor Alphabet Squadron is set about a year after the Battle of Endor. The Rebel Alliance is slowly transforming into the New Republic and the Empire...

Film

June 12, 2019

Dune Movie Preview – all there is to know!

Next year, November 20th 2020, director Denis Villeneuve will release the first of two Dune movies. Dune of course is the magnum opus of author Frank Herbert who released the novel in 1965. Fans of the novel and its sequels have always wanted a film adaptation that would do it justice – the 1984 David Lynch version being particularly epic for failing to do so. But now we have Denis Villeneuve creating what he says is a faithful adaptation. To properly adapt the source material the book is divided into two movies. Filming for the first has started in February...

Film

June 8, 2019

Review X-Men Dark Phoenix – not the movie we needed

Early in January I made my list of top Science Fiction movies for 2019. I also placed X-Men Dark Phoenix on that list, with a few caveats. The constant delays and less than stellar career of its director made my me afraid it would flop. By the look of it X-Men Dark Phoenix will flop. So what happened? Back in 2014 Bryan Singer managed to instill a new life into the X-Men franchise with X-Men Days of Future Past. It had a bi-generational cast, that 70s vibe and time-travel. After that we had two Deadpool movies, Logan and a middling...

Computer Games

June 6, 2019

Review of Zach-Like: A Game Design History

A few days ago I received my copy of Zach-Like: A Game Design History. For all intents and purposes it is a book covering more than 10 years of game development at Zachtronics. I use the term ‘intents and purposes’ advisably because it mostly contains sketches of the games Zach Barth and his studio has worked on. I purchased my copy because I find the topic fascinating. Zachtronics has kept me entertained for a number of years now and their success has caused me to work part-time as a game developer, besides my more mundane job of creating facial recognition...

Programming Games - Exapunks Shenzhen IO and Quadrilateral Cowboy

Computer Games

June 5, 2019

Programming Games: What are they? Are they any fun?

Over the last few years I have played a number of programming games. It had me questioning as to why. There must be a reason I play them like some sort of Pavlov reaction. Especially the Zachtronics games have become my favorites. The challenge and novelty are certainly reasons, but ultimately they approach a world in which I work on a daily basis – that of the computer. With programming games you get to experience the challenges in a fun way – its a gamification of fantasy. That said, Zachtronics in particular, add their unique flavor of humor to the...

TV-series

June 2, 2019

Good Omens Review perfect adaptation of Pratchett & Gaiman

During the last two days I have binge watched Good Omens, a series produced by the BBC and Amazon. The series is based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman from 1990. Sadly Pratchett died in 2015, but Gaiman is acting as showrunner with the good fortune that it stays true to its source material. So what is Good Omens about? So what is Good Omens about? Well, that is not so easily explained. Essentially the forces of light and dark, heaven and hell are containing their eternal struggle. Angel Aziraphale is responsible for making people on Earth...

Literature

May 31, 2019

Read a Longmire short story here at SciFiEmpire.net

Once in a while I post some fiction, a few excerpts from a new novel or a short story. I have also posted a Star Trek The Next Generation short story a few year back. I keeping with writing fanfiction I have a Longmire short story. Reader of this blog will know I am a big fan of the series starring Robert Taylor and Katee Sackhoff. I also review the books by Craig Johnson when they are released (next one is Land of Wolves in September). Well, without further ado, here is my Longmire fanfiction. Longmire The Headless Body of...

Literature

May 29, 2019

Star Wars Dooku Jedi Lost Review by Cavan Scott

One indication that Star Wars Episode 9 Rise of Skywalker is nearly upon us is the release of more novels. For the second time in nearly a month I am reviewing a Star Wars canon novel. This time the audiobook Dooku Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott. Previously I read Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. In my review I gave it my thumbs up, so go check it out. That novel dealt with the difficult relationship between Jedi master Qui-Gonn Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. Whereas the former had become obsessed with the mystical side of the Force the...

TV-series

May 24, 2019

Elementary S07E01 The Further Adventures Review

After almost a year Elementary is back for its seventh and final season. I have been reviewing the show since the beginning. And though I have complained about some of its weaker aspects I am always grateful to see Lucy Liu as Joan and Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock return as the famous detective duo. Elementary can be formulaic at times. The murder mystery is just a prop for character development. That is also the case with this episode – The Further Adventures. And so the murder mystery is bit of a let down. The victim, a famous paparazzi model...

Computer Games

May 22, 2019

Resident Evil Zero review on Nintendo Switch

The Resident Evil franchise can trace its origin back to 1996, with its release on the PlayStation. Since then numerous sequels and standalone games have been produced, as well as a number of movies best forgotten. Below is a review of the official prequel – Resident Evil Zero. I played my first game in the franchise on the GameCube, back in 2002. It was in fact a remaster of the original. I actually I got the game for free after winning a online contest. Now, several of the games have again been remastered. For those losing track let me summarize....