Classic SF with Andy Johnson

In August 2023, id Software’s 1997 first-person shooter Quake II was updated to a new, enhanced version. This was no surprise - it had been rumoured for some time, and seemed inevitable after the 2021 reissue of the original Quake. What few were prepared for is how brilliantly the job was done.  Here we explore three aspects in which it was extraordinary back in the day, and is better still in 2023.

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This latest roundup of the games I've played covers May 2023, and features two new and two older releases:

• Miasma Chronicles (2023)
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (2023)
• Mafia III: Definitive Edition (2016/2020)
• Dishonored (2012)

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In 1966, New Worlds magazine published the story "Behold the Man", by its editor Michael Moorcock. This sacrilegious tale of a man who travels back in time to replace Jesus won Moorcock the Nebula Award for Best Novella. This episode covers the extended 1969 novel version of what may be one of the boldest time travel stories of all.

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Continuing our look at Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth series, this episode covers the fifth standalone novel: Sentenced to Prism (1985). Corporate troubleshooter Evan Orgell finds himself on a distant planet where silicon-based life is abundant. As Orgell struggles to survive, Foster gets to explore some of his favourite themes in the context of an SF adventure.

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The 2020 "definitive editions" of Mafia and Mafia II are the stars of the show in this latest overview of the games I've played recently. This bumper instalment features:

• Supplice [Early Access] (2023)
• Gun Jam (2023)
• Oni (2001)
• Urban Chaos (1999)
• War Mongrels (2021)
• Mafia: Definitive Edition (2020)
• Mafia II: Definitive Edition (2020)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

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This second episode in a series on Iain M. Banks' Culture series of science fiction books covers the first novel, Consider Phlebas (1987). In this subversive take on the space opera, Banks introduces the Culture from the outside - by using as his protagonist the ruthless, shape-changing agent Bora Horza Gobuchul. Expect space pirates, cannibals, a fugitive AI, and a deadly game of "Damage" in the book that helped shape the rest of Banks' career.

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An expansion of her 1974 novella, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is Kate Wilhelm's best-known work in the science fiction genre. Winner of three major awards for Best Novel in 1977, it is often called one of the most important SF novels to deal with the issue of cloning. This episode looks at how Wilhelm's scientific shortcomings are compensated for by her philosophical thoughtfulness.

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The anime-inspired third-person action game Oni is often thought of mainly as "Bungie's forgotten game". But in fact, this classic deserves to be recognised as something much more than just a footnote in the history of the studio that made Halo. This review does a dream dive into what makes Oni special, and makes the case that it should be a cult classic.

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The 1991 collection The State of the Art serves an important function in the bibliography of revered Scottish author Iain M. Banks (1954 - 2013). It collects his short fiction from 1987 to 1989, crucially including the stories "A Gift From the Culture", "Descendant", and the title story. These are entries in Banks' Culture series, and good entry points into that sprawling, post-scarcity SF setting.

This episode is a whistlestop tour of The State of the Art, taking in skulls, alien waste disposal, a lovesick plant creature, and nuclear war.

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Can 2023 live up to the lofty hopes of a revival of real-time strategy games? We had the first major test of that thesis in February, with the releases of The Settlers: New Allies and Company of Heroes 3. I reviewed both of those games for Entertainium this month, and share some brief thoughts in this episode. The games covered this month are:

• The Settlers: New Allies (2023)
• Company of Heroes 3 (2023)
• Wanted: Dead (2023)
• Train Valley 2 (2019)
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (2004)

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