Is there a point at which self-aware irony breaks down, and we’re forced to recognize that everything we think is a knowing pastiche of a medium has simply become the medium itself? Perhaps, but the creators of Blood Dragon — the weird and kitschy offshoot of Far Cry 3 that will launch in May — have put a tremendous amount of spirit into building their ultraviolent action movie of a game. In the “near future” of 2007, “the apocalypse has had an apocalypse,” leaving behind a world full of cyborg soldiers, toxic wastes, neon lights, and other gaudy retro-futuristic cliches from the era of VHS. With its first full-length trailer, Ubisoft gives Blood Dragon a multi-media treatment, complete with fake commercials, animated GI Joe-style showdowns, and a line of action figures. Combined with a GIF-filled fake promotional page, it may be one of the best game reveals we’ve ever seen, even if it clearly owes a great deal to Duke Nukem 3D and other over-the-top predecessors.
Retro shooter ‘Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’ gets an amazing Saturday morning cartoon treatment
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
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