Movie Review - Saw 3D: The Final Chapter

In its least self-serious instalment yet, the Saw franchise literally throws its extraordinary gore in our faces, along with an unusual amount of self-parody. The significant storyline is starting to feel really played out, but there's a perceived sense of actual fun to this alleged final film of a thriller movie franchise which i consider one of the greatest ever made.

The Bigger Picture

The Saw movies has been putting much effort to tie each movie together to continue the saga of a character that died at the end of part 3, and you know that it’s really about to end in this one when the central character, John “Jigsaw” Kramer, gets exactly a single good scene, and returning fan-favourite, Dr. Gordon is essentially reduced to a cameo.

There’s nothing much more to tell about characters whose major misdeeds had already been catalogued in the previous six movies.

Yes, Jigsaw's widow Jill and psychotic protégée Hoffman are still in a cat-and-mouse battle of wits, abetted in this instance by a humorously incompetent cop named Gibson. But the magnitude of the action this time has very little to do with the returning characters, and focuses on a flimsy self-help guru who has built a career based on making lies about escaping from a Jigsaw trap, and now finds himself looking down the real thing.

As Jigsaw himself is something of a perverted self-help guru, there is room for mockery here, and for once, the film definitely goes for it, making it clear that rightly, any talk about improving one's life by way of death traps is preposterous. One particularly horrendous death proves to be utterly unfounded when it's revealed to be a dream with no impact on the plot whatsoever. After the seriousness of the previous sequels, this makes for a fascinating change.

While the ending is basically gratifying this time, it does leave enough room for yet another sequel.

Source: Everything Zombie 101

Game Review: Saw II: Flesh & Blood

 

Saw II: Flesh & Blood is a third person survival horror video game that is sequel to 2009's Saw: The Video Game, both of which are based on the popular Saw films. Saw II picks up just after Saw and is set between the second and third movie. If you’re a big fan of the Saw series, chances are you’ll enjoy this sequel.  Make sure you grab a copy just after you read my review!

Plot

Flesh & Blood is set between the second and third movie in the series. The new lead character, Michael, is the son of Detective David Tapp, who begins to investigate the cause of his father's death which eventually makes him a target of the Jigsaw Killer and his apprentice Pighead. The game will supposedly take the player to a number of locations including factories, hotels, sewers, and other places to capture Jigsaw and find clues behind the detective’s death.

Gameplay

Saw II retains the same style of gameplay as the first game, being basically a third-person survival horror game with very intense action elements. Puzzles from the original game return, such as the "circuit puzzles"; but instead of matching them with the same colour, the player needs to match wires of opposite colour (yellow to red and vice-versa). Lockpicking also returns, but uses a new mini game that gets the player to manipulate the tumblers to unlock. Also, environmental puzzles are presented in a new way, like having to turn the flashlight on-and-off in certain areas to reveal certain clues. Quick-time traps are back; in addition to shotguns being hidden behind doors new lethal traps have been introduced such as closing walls, swinging scythes, and loose floorboards. They are placed throughout certain areas for the player to avoid by pressing a button in a timely fashion.

For this sequel, the entire combat system was revamped from the original game. There are two types of combat: puzzle-based and melee. Puzzle-based combat encourages the player to make use of traps or the environment to kill enemies, like opening an elevator shaft as the enemy charges into it to eliminate them. Melee combat, on the other hand, consists of the player using their hands and feet or weapons to neutralize an enemy. Quick maneuvers and defensive repercussion to defend the player from aggressive enemies is the basis of the combat. Timing is also very essential in fighting and neutralizing enemies.

The "Case Files" from the first game also return. The files’ subjects are varied but a few focus on Detective Tapp’s testimonies on his raid of Jigsaw’s hideout and his entrapment in Whitehurst Asylum. Also, Billy the Puppet dolls are a new collectible which can be found scattered in different locations in the game.  There are several areas in the game where you have to solve more difficult puzzles to obtain the dolls. Multiple endings are back, only this time around players should complete the game again completely to unlock a different ending due to the decisions made throughout the game that affect the final outcome of the game.

Source: Everything Zombie 101