Review: Dark Matter, “Built, not Born”

Posted on by
Reply

In its early days, Dark Matter was focused on slowly revealing the dark histories of the Raza crew before their memory wipe, but by now we’ve learned the backstories for the whole crew, except one.

A promotional image for Dark Matter season threeUntil now.

The android I’ve been calling Sally in lieu of another name receives a call for help from Victor, the rebel android she connected with back in season two. At her direction, the Raza crew rescues him and his companions, and he points the way to a mysterious sanctuary for free-willed androids.

Once they arrive, it’s time for a massive info-dump. This is the long awaited origin story for Sally the android, but there’s far more to it than that. We also get some truly startling revelations about Two’s past that show a completely different side of the woman she was before she was Two, and those past events also have some powerful implications for Three in the present.

“Built, not Born” is a fascinating and powerful episode. I’ve said many times that the greatest strength of Dark Matter is its characters, and this episode capitalizes on that resource brilliantly.

I loved seeing the android grapple with the truth of her identity, and how she truly has become an equal and valued member of the crew. It’s genuinely touching.

I’m also glad to see that there was more to the woman Two used to be than violence and self-interest, and I think it throws her whole character into a new light. The person she is now seems like a more natural evolution in this context. She makes sense.

Sally no longer?I think it’s very interesting that the androids’ backstory is now tied into what I am increasingly suspecting will be the true meta plot of Dark Matter as a series. That could go interesting places in the future.

I even liked Three’s story! It was great. I’ve never enjoyed a Three plot anywhere near this much.

There isn’t much action this time around, but there’s still plenty of humour even with so much heavy stuff going on, and honestly it’s all so good I don’t even miss the fisticuffs and gunplay.

Season three has so far been what I will generously call inconsistent, but it pleases me to say that Dark Matter’s worst ever episode has been followed by one of its best ever episodes.

You have to look pretty hard to find anything to criticize here, but I will say I find it a bit strange that Two’s blood is suddenly a panacea. Why did no one think of that before now?

Also, this is probably the first time I’ve ever had anything bad to say about Five — and it will probably be the last time, too — but I don’t like how she blew up on Chase. I understand and even admire her feelings, but he was only trying to help, and really, it’s not right for Five to be making decisions for her friend. As he said, it would’ve been up to her. In trying to defend her rights as an autonomous person, Five ended up undermining those very same rights.

Two and Victor in the Dark Matter episode "Built, not Born"But those are some pretty tiny nits to pick in otherwise excellent episode.

Overall rating: 8.9/10

I’m not sure how to feel about us finally having a real name for the android. I wonder if the the crew will actually use it, or stick to calling her the android just as they’ve kept their numerical monikers. And if they don’t use her name, should I keep calling her Sally? I don’t mind the new name, but she does really look like a Sally…

Diablo III: All Must Serve the Cycle

Posted on by
2

From the start, I’ve felt very torn about the addition of the necromancer to Diablo III.

The opening cutscene for the necromancer in Diablo IIIOn the one hand, I’m a big fan of necromancers in general and Diablo necromancers in particular. I think it’s a fresh take on the archetype to present them not as power-hungry madmen, but spiritual people devoted to maintaining the balance of nature.

But on the other hand, I remain deeply unhappy that Blizzard has abandoned D3’s story unfinished, and it’s hard to get excited about doing all the same stuff over again, even with a new class.

In the end, it is the WoW Token that broke the deadlock. Thanks to it, I was able to get the necromancer effectively free. At that point there was no good reason not to give it a shot.

On the whole, it’s a fun class. It took me a few days to find a build I really like, but that’s to be expected, and experimentation can be enjoyable in its own right.

Much to my own surprise, I wound up favouring a melee-heavy build, with Death Nova and Grim Scythe as my core attacks. I had initially planned to go for as many pets as possible, but it created too much screen clutter, so I ended up using “only” eight pets: the obligatory skeletons and a bone golem. Plus my follower and some demonic suicide bombers summoned by a ring I found.

Corpse Explosion FTWIf I were to describe the necromancer in a word, I’d go with “visceral.” Not only does it feel far more physical than any other spellcaster, it feels more physical than even the melee classes. It’s all reverberating explosions, bone-snapping crunches, and wet splashes of gore.

If you’re a fan of ultra-violence, this is the class for you. It is spectacularly gorey. The necromancer’s finest moments come as the entire screen is filled with erupting blood and the constant rain of body parts. It gave me a lot of warm, fuzzy flashbacks to the Myth franchise.

Good times.

On the downside, the necromancer’s resource, essence, has a “feast/famine” feel that can rather derail the flow of play sometimes. Resources that don’t automatically regenerate just never feel right in Diablo III for some reason.

My biggest complaint with the class, though, is how lifeless (no pun intended) they feel as a person.

It’s been a while, I admit, but I seem to recall the D2 necromancer having a fair bit of personality. I recall him seeming curious and passionate.

My posse.The D3 necro is not like that. She speaks in a soulless monotone the vast majority of the time and generally avoids displaying anything resembling warmth, personality, or humanity.

I’m used to playing the cocky, reckless wizard and the wry yet warm crusader. Compared to them, the necromancer is like watching grass grow.

And really, it’s just not that exciting to be playing through all the same stuff yet again.

I love the campaign in Diablo III, and revisiting it reminded me why. Say what you will about Blizzard’s story-telling, but they got it right this time, and I vehemently reject any claims to the contrary. D3’s story is epic, powerful, exciting, and brimming with colourful and three-dimensional characters.

But I’ve already done it so many times. I love chocolate ice cream, but if I had chocolate ice cream for every meal for a year, I’d be begging for something, anything else by the end. I’d also probably end up with diabetes, but that’s neither here nor there.

As it is, my necromancer is currently languishing in the early days of act five, and I’m not sure she’s going to progress much beyond that.

Of course, the necromancer wasn’t the only thing included in patch 2.6. There’s also the new adventure mode zones, Shrouded Moors and Temple of the Firstborn.

The new Shrouded Moors zone in Diablo IIII went into these with very low expectations, but if you ignore the adventure mode trappings and just play through them as linear story content, you’ll actually get a solid, atmospheric, and satisfyingly complete story. This is in stark contrast to the deliberately obtuse Greyhollow Island and the utterly pointless Ruins of Sescheron.

The presence of Obvious-Traitor McSinister-Guy is a bit much, but otherwise it’s a good ride. And the environmental art is gorgeous.

Sadly, it only takes about thirty or forty minutes at the outside to finish, and it has no meaningful replay value. In the end, it’s only a reminder of the kind of great story-telling Diablo III could be doing if they actually put any effort in.