Don't interpret this entry as a knock on Lain - in fact, go rent the series and watch it, it'll make you cooler. The show addresses the fading line between the virtual and the real, pitting its listless protagonist against the awkwardness of social interaction, both in reality and in "The Wired", a futuristic vision of the interwebs.
Given the show's theme, videogames had to be addressed somewhere. Enter a mysterious game calledPHANTOMawhich does horribly vague things to its players. With such a neat-looking vision of the internet,we wonder why this evil gamelooksroughly similar tothe original Doom.
Anotherentry worth watching, Avalon is set in a bleak future (what isn't?) in which society is hooked on an illegal virtual reality MMO. The problem with the game is the typical problem associated with completely immersive virtual reality - the player's spirits eventually come to live in the game, leaving their comatose bodies to rot in hospitals. Gosh, isn't it just always the way with these things?
The film was directed by Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii, and filmed in Poland (in Polish). It was featured at Cannes and won several awards at other festivals, including "Best Film" at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival. If this trailer doesn't make you want to see this film, well then I just don't know who you are anymore.
The Lawnmower Man exposes two of gaming’s greatest dangers:
- That educational games have the potential to create super-intelligent telekinetic villains.
- That bad UI design can cause insanity.
Future PlayStation Home users beware. Most importantly, however, it's a really crappy movie.
