Kurt Of Cambridge

Yep, it’s that time again. Introducing Kurt Pitches… , the series where I put forth my own idea of how this or that project should be developed. Be it a film sequel, a hypothetical game idea, or the entire restructuring of a franchise, this is where I toss out my carefully concocted pitch for success. Today’s subject in question: the much loved, long-in-hiatus Star Wars Rogue Squadron series. BACKGROUND From 1998 through to 2003, developer Factor 5 was tasked with the creation of the Rogue Squadron trilogy of flight combat games, set in the Star Wars universe but largely taking place before & concurrently with the events of the Original Trilogy (at that time LucasFilm and their game development subsidiary LucasArts were leery about games based directly on the films’ events). On the whole the trilogy is beloved by fans and critics alike - despite the third game declining a bit in quality in strikingly similar fashion to Star Fox Assault - which in the present has lead to...

Hello again. So, as teased last time, we’re glancing behind the curtain at one of Call of Duty’s most front-and-center characters who - despite that publicity - hasn’t quite received the critical analysis I feel he deserves. For today we’re talking about Captain John Price, of the British Special Air Service. Let’s move out. Price has been this kind of quietly looming presence in the series since its inception. He doesn’t always have the spotlight, but when he does show up it’s usually memorable and definitely liable to include gunfire and/or explosions. Though he did originally show up in the first Call of Duty game - set in World War II, in case you missed it - Captain Price was somewhat of a bit player, an extra NPC who provided covering fire during a handful of missions, chatted with you a bit and ultimately sacrificed himself during one of the later missions. His role was beefed up a bit for the partially-set-in-Africa sequel, but it would only be in the Modern Warfar...

Just a little taste of what's to come from my assorted channels and outlets (for more content along those lines, and for some fun silly good times check out Octorok's full channel here ).

Today I’m debuting our first of several on-going segments - A Look Back, where I… well, take a look back, duh. Specifically, we’re gonna be discussing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  For starters let’s get into what kind of world we were living in when Modern Warfare exploded onto the scene. We were four years into the War on Terror, and six years out from 9/11. Two world changing events whose ramifications and influence crept their way into every aspect of culture - film, television, literature, comic books, and yes, VIDEO GAMES.  War and its particular brand of brutal violence became a sort of norm, rather than a niche interest, in the world of gaming. You couldn’t throw a stone five inches without hitting a game about MASCULINE, OLD FASHIONED AMERICAN MEN FIGHTIN’ THE GOOD FIGHT AGAINST THE FOREIGN AGENDA.  Even if the games weren’t necessarily set on Earth or fixated on stereotypical images of terrorists, the imagery and themes on display - ranging from widesprea...