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What Do You Look for in the Games You Play?
Chances are, if you have any interest in Dying Light, you probably have your copy by now. I found it to be a mostly great horror game that’s held back by many of the same issues that plagued Dead Island, such as an uninspired story and a world that’s populated by eerily animatronic NPCs who sometimes manage to be more unnerving than the actual monsters.
Video games are complex things, and the same goes for the people who play them. No one will ever be able to satisfy everyone, so there’s nothing wrong with a developer that chooses to focus on making a game that’s fun to play over constructing something with a compelling narrative, or realistic characters.
The Last of Us took the opposite approach by constructing a gritty world with a memorable story and cast of characters, the Silent Hill series built its following by being exceedingly creative with its monsters and music, among other things — the list goes on.
So what attracts you to the games you play, and perhaps more importantly, what keeps you invested in them long after their release?
Is it an engrossing story, an endlessly replayable multiplayer, the promise of must-have DLC, a world that’s rich with stunning visuals, what? Your answer doesn’t even need to be exclusive to the horror genre, though I would love to hear what you look for specifically when you’re searching for that spooky scary fix.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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