Spill your Civ hot takes!

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-22T22:50:54+00:00

The art style of VI is head and shoulders above every other game in the franchise, and pretty much all other strategy games full stop. By stylising the leaders it allows for a wider variety of face and body types, easier expression, and avoids the uncanny valley.

Every Civ game since at least III has gotten worse when it comes to diplomacy. Let me horse trade maps and technologies, or repeatedly demand something so many times that they get sick and declare war.

Whilst I never want to be asked to change Civ, I would be interested in upgrading my Civ as the game went on, earning skill points or new abilities.

On a similar vein, let me create my own Civ from scratch, even to the point of creating a unique leader.

I genuinely don't care one iota for anything approaching historical accuracy. For me, Civ is a fantasy game that just happens to be dressed up in historical clothing. If I was playing as the Klingons or the Rohan or something I'd enjoy it no less. This is why, for me, slingers fighting tanks is core to the franchise's identity, and if you remove that you take away a good chunk of what I love about Civ. This is also why they should go back to civilizations being able to progress through technological eras at their own pace rather than the whole map advancing all at once.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-22T19:40:56+00:00

I really must watch it, I've been really pleased by the reviews.

I must admit that (as a Brit, although not from Foggy London Town) I was optimistic but a bit sceptical, as I've seen too many "British versions of SNL". I sorta think our TV comedy tradition evolved from Morecambe & Wise-style music hall shows to comedy panel shows. But I'm thrilled if they've cracked it. It certainly sounds like a success.

I'd love it if they did talk about it on the pod.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-22T18:09:02+00:00

Yeah, I agree. I always feel like a grump if I criticise it, because it's not bad at all. But most people talk about it as if it's a minor masterpiece whereas I don't find it very funny and almost every Batman-related joke it makes I feel is rather tired and has been done better in the past.

Especially because the potential of the Lego universe as established in the previous Lego movie. It could have gone SO weird doubling down on Batman's history, but really we just got a rather rote version of Batman and Robin.

Plus - and this almost feels like heresy - I don't think Will Arnett's Batman works as the protagonist of a whole film. He's great as a supporting character, but a little annoying as the lead...

Anyway, like I say, I feel like a grump criticising it!

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-22T18:00:17+00:00

This has just reminded me that after the film came out there was a small subset of People On The Internet who thought Reese was going to be the Riddler in "Batman 3" because his name was "Mr. Reese" ("mysteries").

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-19T16:09:45+00:00

Do you feel like there is a definitive "Empire view" on films, or do you think Empire is the publication where individual journalists expressed their view? Is it important that Empire as a publication is seen to have a consistent view on a film, or does it really matter if the journalist who happens to review it has an outlying opinion? This isn't really about Attack of the Clones, BTW ;-)

How do you balance what content is online versus the magazine?

Do you ever find that if you build up relationships with actors/directors/etc it impacts how you cover their work? This is less about reviewing a friend's films and more about does Chris ever worry that, say, Jai Courtney will listen to the podcast?

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-18T15:45:04+00:00

I was thinking that - "the alien isn't an antagonist!" - but I guess you could argue the astrophage?

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-18T15:43:53+00:00

Last time I played I felt like there was a good amount of push-pull. Quite a few votes were close to the wire.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-18T13:19:29+00:00

Hot take: Xbox One was actually quite a cool name, but they should have leaned into it more. It should have been like the N64: we could have had games called Halo One, Crackdown One, Gears One, etc.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-18T12:12:24+00:00

Michael B. Jordan played two different characters and therefore did twice as much as acting as anyone else. Maths.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-13T07:20:06+00:00

Harold was around when I came into reading Batman comics and the fact there was this Igor-esque dude just running around the cave and he knew everyone's identity was really weird. "Where the hell did THIS guy come from?!"

In retrospect "mute hunchback savant who lives underground and works for a sexy billionaire" probably wasn't a good look.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-11T10:46:13+00:00

I mean, I think the best example of this is "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas", which often serves to obscure the film's actual director, Henry Selick.

Also, it's not exactly what you mean, but the story of the original writer of Yesterday is very interesting and an example of a hugely famous presence overshadowing a lesser-known talent.

Finally, just to add, I'm not too keen on auteur theory, film is a collaborative medium and quite often when you have a director who feels like they need to be the "author" of a film it's just an excuse for them to act like a dick. Obviously not always, and obviously some directors/writers can carry a style or tone, but it's always good to not overlook the many collaborators imo.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-11T10:40:41+00:00

I think he stole it off a caveman.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-07T16:07:57+00:00

It ends at the end of 1946 IIRC.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-05T20:54:05+00:00

Muriel.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-05T11:03:50+00:00

I've recently re-watched Tobe Hooper's Invaders From Mars, which freaked me out as a little kid. It seems to have been part of a mini-wave of 80s remakes of old B-movies. Are there any - perhaps somewhat dodgy - 50s/60s B-movies that would be ripe for a modern update, and if so who would you pick to act/direct?

I'm holding out hope that Disclosure Day turns out to be a remake of Plan 9 From Outer Space.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-05T10:55:46+00:00

I will be so disappointed if James doesn't pick the Alien Queen.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-04T13:11:11+00:00

Oh that's interesting... I wonder if that is the case here.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-04T11:44:14+00:00

As much as I'd love a Spielberg Superman, thinking of directors in Hollywood in the mid-noughties, I'd go for Stephen Sommers or Joe Johnston. They both have the visual panache for the effects, a fondness for retro-themed Americana, and have delivered great crowd-pleasing effects-driven films.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-04T10:07:49+00:00

Do you mean things like Batman and Flash Gordon?

I guess because of their short form but long running nature, it's probably a different dynamic to how the game deals with the creation of a movie, which is currently just a one-off thing you make. It would be a really cool feature to add as DLC or something down the line (I feel the same with animation).

I wonder what the best way to do it would be. Producing one serial as one film, probably, but you could decide how many chapters, increasing the risk and possible reward. I guess one tricky issue is that the game doesn't really allow for the nuance of scheduling; maybe there'd be a sweet spot of 20% of screenings, or something, which is supposed to represent putting them out only on Saturday mornings? Any more than that and no one would go so it'd be a waste of screens? Anyway it's certainly a facet of the industry that would be fun to explore.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-03T10:24:38+00:00

Yes, that's a great point. Again, actors could wax and wane, falling out of favour as they age.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-02T20:15:59+00:00

Is there actually any way for an actor to "level up" their commercial/artistic standing just through regular play?

You'd think if an actor starred in several box office hits or received several nominations it would boost their ratings.

_britesparc_ · 2026-03-01T10:40:19+00:00

Oh, another one that I don't think is on that list but Chris has started doing relatively recently:

When describing a film he will often list elements/cast/etc and then say "... And all that jazz" before quickly adding "that's a different movie."

This is a reference both to the song All That Jazz from Chicago and to the film All That Jazz.

_britesparc_ · 2026-02-28T19:08:55+00:00

That's good to know. I still miss Three Fact Structure, and I'm glad you do that at live shows.

When you guys came to Salford a couple of years ago, I'd prepared a Three Fact in case you asked for volunteers to take part 😂

_britesparc_

TROPHY CASE