Hello, everyone! It’s One Of Us’ weekly article series, “The Weekly Wrap-Up.” Covering everything from film announcements to comic books, “The Weekly Wrap-Up” ensures that the biggest stories of the week are analyzed and discussed by our team of writers. This week we cover the final trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a Star Wars mobile game with an emphasis on story and the Richard Pryor biopic.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain-Final Trailer
The final trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been released, showcasing not only what people can expect to see in this highly anticipated game, but also honoring the series as a whole, focusing on beloved key moments throughout the Metal Gear franchise. If the reviews are any indication, Metal Gear Solid V is on the fast track to being one of the most critically acclaimed titles of the year, and a contender for Game of Year among many websites and publications. The fifth installment in the epic and convoluted core Metal Gear Solid series places players yet again in the role of Metal Gear Solid 3’s Punished Snake aka Big Boss, as he ventures to Afghanistan and Zaire to exact revenge on the people and organization that tried to kill him and his closest friends a decade ago.
Whether you’re a fan of the series or know relatively nothing about Metal Gear, it’ been hard not to hear about the behind-the-scenes controversies between Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and Konami. The split between the two has been the subject of intense conversations within the videogame community, with many believing that Konami’s internal practices and disregard for its developers and employees lead to the complete dissolution of its relationship with Kojima.
Only a month ago, Konami began to remove Kojima’s name from all official marketing for Metal Gear Solid V, leading many people to believe that Kojima’s departure from the studio was all but inevitable. Additionally, the cancellation of Kojima’s highly anticipated horror title, Silent Hills, a reboot of the beloved horror series, and the removal of the critically acclaimed demo P.T., which showcased the types of scares one would expect to encounter in Silent Hills, furthered speculation that the strained relationship between developer and publisher was far worse than anyone previously expected.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be available for the PS4, XBOX One and PC September 1, 2015.
Richard Pryor Biopic Finally Moves Forward; Cast Revealed
After a decade or so of back and forth, the story of the comedic legend Richard Pryor will finally be put to the screen. Deadline revealed that The Weinstein Company revealed that the project as helmed by Precious director Lee Daniels will begin shooting in March and star Mike Epps as the iconic stand up. In addition to Epps, the cast will include Eddie Murphy as his father Leory, Oprah Winfrey as Pryor’s grandmother Marie Carter who raised him in her brothel and Kate Hudson as Pryor’s widow Jennifer Lee Pryor. The film is scripted by Bill Condon and Danny Strong, with heavy involvement from the real life Jennifer Lee.
The story of Richard Pryor is obviously a sordid one. Raised in a brothel & going through a very public drug addiction, Pryor was no stranger to drama. That’s part of what made his comedy so bold. One could tell it came straight from the heart of this very tortured soul who was willing to tell the world the harsh truth he had been dealt all his life. The idea of Mike Epps to portray the man has some potential, given his work as a stand up. Yet, Epps has never really showcased his potential as a dramatic actor with his film career that mostly consists of raunchy comedies like the Friday sequels or The Hangover. The choice of Lee Daniels to direct is a bit disconcerting, given his propensity for rather bleak drama that may short change Pryor’s genuinely funny spirit. It is a bit comforting to see Eddie Murphy return to a more dramatic role after a long break from his late career comedy schlock since the failure of 2012’s A Thousand Words. Given he was a close friend of Pryor’s during his life and even co-starred with/directed him in Harlem Nights, he’d likely try to give his role in a depiction of his friend’s life proper respect. Let’s just hope that motivates him to put more effort into this than his brief and cringeworthy appearance on the 40th anniversary special for Saturday Night Live.
Star Wars: Uprising
Though much attention has been placed on EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront, anticipation for Star Wars: Uprising, a mobile dungeon crawler reminiscent of Blizzard’s Diablo series has started to catch the eye of many Star Wars fans and gamers alike. Developed by Kabam, the RPG takes place almost immediately after the destruction of the second Death Star, and follows the inevitable chaos and anarchy that occurred across countless Imperial controlled worlds throughout the Anoat Sector, which includes iconic planets such as Hoth and Bespin.
In an interview with IGN, Kabam’s Daniel Erikson elaborated on the setting and the types of organizations players would encounter and work with throughout Uprising.
“The Uprising has four very distinct factions that never would be together if it weren’t for the Empire. In fact, they really aren’t terribly together now. I think of the allies in World War II. Russia and America are allies, and are rushing for Germany, but we have very different ideas about what happens five seconds after the war ends.”
Erikson also explained how they hoped to continue Uprising’s story indefinitely after the game’s release, proving more content for players to play as more Star Wars films are released in the future.
“Uprising is a communally driven story and is going to be a living entity. This game isn’t one where we release a patch, add more story content, and then there’s the end. It’s going to be ever-evolving, the community is going to drive it, unlocking new pieces of the story, and direct where the story goes in the future. Where things go, there’s definitely no end, there’s no resolution.”
Though appearing to be just another mobile game, Uprising is certainly promising a lot in terms of content, creativity and even story. The fact that Uprising will be influenced by future Star Wars films provides another compelling reason for fans to play, especially those interested in what happened during the 30+ year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Hopefully the game doesn’t fall into the trap of being a never ending pit of micro-transactions that so many mobile games seem to be.
Star Wars: Uprising releases September, 2015.
