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Latest Comics
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#277. 266 – Refuting The Obvious
9 Sep 02, 2015
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#276. 265 – Distilled Waters
11 Aug 26, 2015
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#275. 264 – Gaps In The Coverage
11 Aug 19, 2015
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#274. 263 – Crime Scene Insinuations
9 Aug 12, 2015
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#273. 262 – Harsh Generosity
7 Aug 05, 2015
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#272. 261 – Damning Evidence
13 Jul 29, 2015
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#271. 260 – Hospitalized Hospitality
13 Jul 22, 2015
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#270. 259 – Punch The Other Cheek
12 Jul 01, 2015
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#269. 258 – Burn Notice
16 Jun 24, 2015
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#268. 257 – On The Fence
12 Jun 17, 2015
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#267. 256 – Zeds Getting You Down?
13 Jun 10, 2015
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#266. 255 – Exit Strategy
12 Jun 03, 2015
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#265. 254 – Olé!
10 May 27, 2015
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#264. 253 – Bait And Switches
10 May 20, 2015
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#263. 252 – Smooth Coating
10 May 13, 2015
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#262. 251 – How Green Was My Alley
11 May 06, 2015
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#261. 250 – Best Practices
13 Apr 29, 2015
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#260. 249 – Basic Instincts
42 Apr 22, 2015
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#259. 248 – Nothing To Rapport
41 Apr 15, 2015
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#258. EPISODE ELEVEN
44 Apr 13, 2015
Verhoeven’s legacy keeps people diving back in…
I’ve mentioned Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven many times over the course of these blogs. Not every movie in his oeuvre is a classic, but his big three (IMO) are all but ingrained into my DNA and, by process of creative osmosis, infused into the inspirations of Zombie Ranch as well.
I’m speaking of the science fiction triple threat of Robocop (1987), Total Recall (1990), and Starship Troopers (1997). They don’t share source material, they don’t comprise any sort of shared cinematic universe — and yet their visions of media-saturated dystopian futures are certainly connected in theme and presentation. There’s a critique of the excesses of American culture, sometimes light and sometimes harsh, almost never subtle but almost invariably — well, fun. It makes them very rewatchable. It writes catchphrases into your psyche: “I’d buy that for a dollar!” — “Get your ass to Mars!” — “Would you like to know more?”
Are they shallow? Are they deep? Are they somehow both? Verhoeven never seemed to lose sight of these being popcorn-munching action movies even as he took the piss (as the British would say) with his subject. And with all the adventure and explosions involved it would seem natural that they would be further adaptable into video games, right?
Well, results there have varied. But oh sweet liberty did the makers of the game Helldivers 2 get it right. Look, I’m just going to take a minute to link the opening cutscene here. See if you can sense a certain familiar vibe:
Okay but blah, blah, we’re all jaded gamers here, we know better than to trust a fancy cutscene. Well, I’m happy to report the game very much preserves the whole feeling of the above in its actual play, right down to the propaganda videos that will play between missions as you and your fellow Helldivers kick back momentarily on your Super Destroyer before another suicide mission in the name of Democracy.
It is patently ridiculous, over-the-top, and it’s probably the first “war shooter” I’ve ever honestly enjoyed, probably because in addition to nailing the satirical aspects the game didn’t lose sight of that other Verhoeven factor of being fun. Since it’s multiplayer this can, naturally, depend on your fellow Helldivers of the moment, but if you ever felt like stepping into the boots of Verhoeven’s vision of the Roughnecks, of Johnny Rico or “Dizzy” Flores, this is as good as it gets, ironically even though there are actual official Starship Troopers games out there.
If you’re looking for Heinlein’s original vision you’ll probably need to keep moving along, but hey, at least there are tacnukes. Just no real powered armor to compensate. Let faith in Freedom be your shield… or at least the shield of your next diver in line after that one vaporized.