Bringer of Light by Jaine Fenn

Jarek, Taro and Nual's attempts to expose and defeat the machinations of the alien Sidhe continue. In alliance with the Minister of Vellern, their latest mission takes them to Aleph, the refuge of the male Sidhe after the devastating war with the females. However, the trio's assumption that the enemy of their enemy is their friend is soon shown to be hopelessly naive. Meanwhile, on the primitive world of Serenein, other allies against the Sidhe find their attempts to keep their people safe may soon be tested...

Bringer of Light is the fourth novel in Jaine Fenn's Hidden Empire sequence, which currently stands at five books. The series so far as been varied in quality, with great ideas often battling against so-so prose and a mixed bag of characterisation (our protagonists are well-drawn, but everyone else is sketchier). The previous book ended with a left-field revelation about a threat to humanity that dwarfs the Sidhe in magnitude that was fairly horrific and executed with deft skill. Whilst that threat is not much expanded upon in Bringer of Light, the upturn in writing quality that delivered it does at least continue through this volume.

The story is bigger this time, with Fenn juggling multiple storylines featuring established characters (Jarek, Taro and Nual visiting Aleph, Urien and Kerin on Serenein) and some newcomers as well. Ifanna's storyline on Serenein is an interesting addition to the mix, less of an antagonist than a well-meaning person drawn into cross-purposes against Kerin's goals (and from Ifanna's POV, fully understandably). All of this results in a somewhat longer book than the previous ones in the series (though at 400 pages it's hardly Peter F. Hamilton territory) and Fenn does a good job of handling the larger scope.

The previous problems in the series do remain, if less prevalently. There's too much use of modern colloquialism in the language and dialogue, which doesn't really sell the idea of the story being set seven millennia hence. There's a certain casual lightness to the story that makes it feel slight, despite some of the ideas and concepts being presented being fairly dark and disturbing. However, these issues are reduced in stature. In particular, Ifanna's story has some fairly unexpected twists and a disturbing - and somewhat tragic - ending that is a step above what we've seen previously. There's also an excellent twist at the end of the book that leaves things in a very interesting place for the following volumes.

Bringer of Light (***½) is a stronger volume in the series than what has come before, continuing to show the author's talents and confidence growing. That said, the feeling remains that the series has yet to hit its full potential. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

Black Mesa

When it comes to the genre of first-person shooters, there have been several gamechangers during its lifespan. The mass-popularisation of the genre through id's Doom was an early one. The success of 2001's Medal of Honour: Allied Assault inspiring dozens of 'realistic' shooters using real weapons and history was another. But towering over all of them is Half-Life. Released in 1998 it transformed the genre from mindless shooting to something based more around characters, personal narrative, puzzles and full immersion in the world it depicted.

More recent shooters have seemingly ignored the lessons laid down by Half-Life, becoming lost in a few short hours of tiresome, badly-acted cut-scenes and even more tiresome gimmicks like regenerating health and cover systems. Yet returning to Half-Life, or introducing it to new players, is almost impossible. What was a fantastic-looking game on release is now a painful collection of blocky models and low-res textures. What is needed is a full HD remake of the game which preserves the pacing, weapons and enemies but updates everything else.

Happily, Black Mesa is a (nearly) full HD remake of the game which preserves the pacing, weapons and enemies but updates everything else. Created over a period of eight years (!) - or two years longer than it took for Valve themselves to make Half-Life 2 - by gamers and fans working in their own time, Black Mesa is a carefully-crafted love letter to the franchise. The attention to detail in the game is tremendous, and it's quality easily exceeds that of many 'proper' Triple-A releases. Even the voice-acting (all re-recorded, as reusing the original game's audio files was legally dubious) eclipses that of many supposedly professional games.

The game opens as the original Half-Life did, with you standing on a tram as it makes its way into the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. You play Gordon Freeman, a 27-year-old theoretical physicist and graduate of MIT. Freeman is a silent protagonist who never speaks, allowing the player to come up with his own personality and interpretation for the character. The iconic tram ride shows the similarities and differences between the original game and the remake. The areas you pass on the tram are more or less the same, but are now inhabited by more people with more activity going on. A mech clearing up a chemical spill have now been joined by two scared scientists trapped against a nearby wall. Other spaces, formerly bare, are now bustling with people moving equipment around. The reception area to the main lab has been transformed from a poky square room into a cavernous circular chamber filled with computer screens. A nearby canteen has changed from a small room with a table in it to a large public space filled with vending machines.

There are multiple models for scientist and soldier characters now (including the introduction of female characters), lending more realism to scenes where Gordon forms up a posse. Amusingly, Dr. Kleiner and Eli Vance (from Half-Life 2) show up as younger characters, in keeping with the canon. The developers have resisted the urge to thrown in other appearances from Half-Life 2 characters: Administrator Breen is referenced, but does not appear (as he did not appear in the original game), whilst Barney also does not appear: whilst multiple security guards in the original game had the 'Barney voice', the canon Barney is the one glimpsed briefly trying to open a door as Gordon passes by on his tram journey, and otherwise does not feature in the original Half-Life, only its expansion, Blue Shift.

The weapons load-out is the same as in the original game, and pleasingly you can carry a full arsenal around with you rather than having the current, tiresome restriction of two-guns-per-person (or whatever) shoehorned into the title. The variety and types of enemy is also the same. The integration of the Source Engine's physics system also gives rise to the closest thing the game has to a new weapon, the ability to pick up flares and throw them at enemies, setting them on fire.

As noted above, the game has been redesigned on a micro scale in many areas: few rooms or corridors avoid having had some tweaks to make them more interesting, from whiteboards filled with amusing jokes (or occasionally dirty cartoons) to a mug featuring the Chuckle Brothers (dubious UK comedians) sitting on a security guard's desk. The general layout of the game is the same as before, but a few areas have been opened up. Whilst still a linear shooter, some areas do feature multiple paths, requiring Gordon to scout out surrounding corridors and rooms for bonus weapons and ammo before finding what is the correct way to proceed. These changes, though minor, do hugely enhance the feeling of Black Mesa as a place where, under normal circumstances, people work together.

Something that did come as a surprise whilst playing the game was the fact that, by modern standards, Half-Life is only barely a shooter. The game can happily go half an hour at a time without having any combat, instead throwing puzzles and environmental challenges at the player that must be negotiated without a shot being fired. These range from having to open up valves to prime a rocket engine with fuel and coolant so it can be fired into a blast pit, killing a giant, triple-tentacled monster inside, to finding a way of powering up a computer system so you can use it to unlock a blast door.

Combat, when it does take place, is intense and also quite tough: the AI of both the alien invaders and the marines sent to deal with them and also wipe out any eyewitnesses is impressive, especially given fan consensus that the original Half-Life actually featured better AI than Half-Life 2. Whether the smart, tough enemies of Half-Life would survive the transition to Black Mesa was a key question for many fans, even a dealbreaker, and it's a relief to report that they have. Enemies are smart and canny, knowing when to take cover, flank you and use grenades to flush you into a killzone.

Unfortunately, the game's transition to Source means that the controls suffer a little. The original game sometimes used a feature called 'crouch-jumping' to allow you to reach tall ledges that would otherwise be out of reach. For some reason Black Mesa actually forces you to use crouch-jumping far more than the original game, almost for every single jump in the game. When you have to run fast and crouch-jump (requiring three simultaneous button pushes whilst using the mouse at the same time), it's almost impossible to execute the move. It turns out the development team set the jumping parameters too low, but it's very easy to go into the source files and modify it back to something sane. The game also has a lot of problems with ladders. In fact, the only FPS I've ever seen handle ladders well was the original Half-Life. Every other game, including Half-Life's own sequels and expansions (and now its remake), seems to love sticking you to ladders to the point of mouse-throwing rage when it results in you dying. Also, for some reason, the 'walk slowly' button does not work, which makes traversing the aforementioned blast pit (inhabited by an indestructible triple-tentacled blind monster that hunts by sound alone) absolutely horrendous, although it's completely unnecessary for any other part of the game.

These problems seem fairly minor when you consider the overwhelming quality of the game. A few areas feel like they could have been truncated a little bit (the residue processing sequence in particular is a little dull) but overall, Black Mesa is a phenomenal achievement. The original game's superior level design, excellent weapons and impressive AI are now enhanced by modern graphics, a subtle-but-brilliant redesign of many areas to work better with physics and a new, moody soundtrack. The game does have a different ending to the original, however, concluding in the Lambda Complex as you prepare to teleport to Xen. The thorough, exacting redesign of the game means that Xen is not yet ready. However even this has its benefits, as the Xen levels are the most widely-hated part of the original game. Their absence makes Black Mesa a tighter, more focused (though, at over 10 hours, still very long by modern standards) experience, even if the bizarreness of the place (a refreshing antidote to 10 hours of grey walls) is missed a little.

Black Mesa (*****) is available now from the developers' website, completely legally and free of charge. The game will also be available from Steam in a few weeks.

Community: Season 1

Jeff Winger is a hotshot lawyer whose career has been brought to a screeching halt due to the slight problem of his qualifications being non-existent. He has to attend Greendale Community College for four years and pass a series of tests to regain his law credentials. An attempt to seduce a fellow student, Britta, by inviting her to a fictitious study group spirals out of control, resulting in the creation of a real study group. As the group goes through the school year, they learn and grow together. And also inadvertently create a copyright-infringing school anthem, give the college a guy in a gimp suit as its mascot and then almost destroy the place in a titanic paintball game that goes horrendously awry.

Community is entering its fourth season in the USA, but may be one of the best-kept secrets on television. Airing to mediocre ratings in the States and having almost no profile at all in the UK, it's nevertheless a funny, confident show which acts as both an obvious comedy and also something of a commentary on social dynamics and pop culture. The 'community' of the title is a reference to the central characters, who are all outcasts of one type of another, and their bonding together, and also to the wider college around them, personified through a recurring cast of tutors and other students.

Early episodes are mostly spent with the show trying to avoid cliches, with the character of Abed (Danny Pudi) always ready to compare an episode's storyline to something he saw on Friends or M*A*S*H*. This constant meta-commentary and attempts at ironic post-post-modernism are amusing but also slightly tiresome, with the show occasionally feeling a little smug with itself or else flailing at trying not to be caught between cliches. However, it's not long before the writers stop caring about that (at least quite so much) and instead concentrate on having fun. Community melds both the characters and the situations they encounter into compelling storylines that feel a lot longer than their modest 22 minutes-per-episode run times would suggest.

The actors are all excellent in their roles, particularly Joel McHale as Jeff, who has to make an inherently unlikable character likable without weakening the character, which he just about manages to do. The aforementioned Pudi is also great at portraying a character who initially appears to be the most predictable of the group but rapidly develops some interesting depths. Donald Glover takes the initially dull character of Troy and rapidly (by the end of episode two and its iconic Spanish rap number) turns him into a highlight of the show, thanks to some great comic timing. Yvette Nicole Brown's Shirley initially appears to be the 'mother' figure of the show, but some revelations about her personal life and gossipping tendencies turn that on its head. There's also a glorious cynicism about the character of Pearce (played by Chevy Chase, enjoying a career resurgence), a casually sexist and racist old man whose role in the group appears to primarily be making the other characters feel good about themselves. Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs round off the primary cast as Annie and Britta, who initially both seem fairly straightforward characters before gaining more layers as the season progresses.

Slightly less successful are the supporting characters, most notably Ken Jeong as 'Senor' Chang whose character is rather broad (more effectively in some episodes than others) and Jim Rash as the Dean, who random weirdness (he has a sexual predilection for people in dalmatian costumes) is wearying. Still, both have their strong moments as the season progresses.

After the first few, slightly more pedestrian episodes, the season takes an upward turn in quality, culminating in the now-legendary paintball episode, Modern Warfare, when the show's ingredients combine together to create something hilarious, mildly emotional and completely demented, leaving the viewer eager to see what the writers and cast can do in the second year.

Season 1 of Community (****½) is well-written, sharply-acted and finely-observed, with more going on under the hood than you might expect from a situation comedy. The show is available now in the UK and USA.

Happy 10th birthday to FIREFLY

Today is (disturbingly, as I still think of it as a newish series) the tenth anniversary of the airing of the first episode of Firefly in the USA. Though not actually the first episode, since Fox TV in their infinite wisdom decided to delay showing the pilot until later in the run and instead aired the second episode, The Train Job, first.

The series only ran for thirteen episodes, but has since become a cult phenomenon, selling millions of DVDs and Blu-Rays and spawning a spin-off film, Serenity.

Here's the 10th anniversary Comic-Con panel reuniting Joss Whedon, Tim Minear and many of the cast (not to mention 'The Hat') at San Diego this year:

BioWare confirm a new MASS EFFECT game and a new IP

The co-founders of BioWare, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, today announced that they are retiring from the company they set up almost twenty years ago. Whilst that in itself has sparked a storm of debate online about why they are leaving - some fans citing the arguably declining quality of their games since BioWare was taken over by Electronic Arts - even more interesting is a statement by Aaryn Flynn, the head of the company's Edmonton and Montreal studios.

Flynn, in a clearly calming-the-waters move, reveals that BioWare are currently actively developing three projects. One of these is the recently-confirmed Dragon Age III: Inquisition, which looks set to launch in late 2013.

Secondly, he confirms that the Mass Effect team is, as expected, working on the long-awaited Omega DLC, which will round off the trilogy's last remaining major unfinished storyline. However, he also unexpectedly confirmed that the team is also starting work on a new, full game set in that universe. Based on previous tidbits, it appears that this new game might be a prequel set centuries or even millennia before the existing trilogy. If true, this will fascinatingly open up the possibility of a game featuring no human characters at all (as the trilogy is itself set only thirty years after humans make contact with the Citadel races).

Finally, he also reveals that BioWare are developing a whole new IP and ficitional universe, based on all-new tech. I'd wager that this game is probably in the earliest stages of development and may be aimed at the next generation of consoles.

Forge of Darkness by Steven Erikson

It is more than a quarter of a million years before the time of the Malazan Empire. In this ancient age, the Tiste race is divided between noble families and bickering militias, trying to find their place in the world following the devastating wars against the Forulkan and the Jheleck. When the Tiste ruler, Mother Dark, takes the obscure Draconus as lover and consort, the noble houses are incensed and the seeds are sowed for civil war and religious conflict.

Forge of Darkness is the first novel in The Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel series to Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. This trilogy will chart the splintering of the Tiste race into the three sub-races seen in the main series book (the Andii, the Liosan and the Edur) and explain much of the ancient backstory to the series. Some characters from the main series - such as Anomander Rake, Silchas Ruin, Hood and Gothos - appear here as much younger, far less experienced figures. However, those hoping for I, Anomander Rake will likely feel disappointed. Rake is a central character in the events unfolding and appears a few times, but much of the action takes place around new, much less important characters. Also, while the story is set more than 300,000 years before Gardens of the Moon, this isn't the alpha-point of the entire Malazan universe. Tiste society is many thousands of years old when the story opens and Rake, Mother Dark, Ruin and Draconus are already important characters with significant histories in place.

Instead, the trilogy is much more concerned with clarification of events in the main series books and explaining why certain things are the way they are. Surprisingly, the series addresses questions that I think most fans thought would simply be left as, "That's how it is," such as the nature of the gods in the Malazan world (and the apparent realisation by Erikson that 'gods' was not the right word to use for them), why the different Tiste races have different appearances and why the Jaghut evolved the way they did. Some long-burning questions are indeed addressed, such as the reasons for and the nature of Hood's war on death, but for the most part Erikson is not really concerned with really addressing obvious mysteries (those left wondering what the hell the Azath Houses are will likely not be satisfied by this book, in which even the race they are named after is baffled by them).

Instead, the narrative unfolds on its own terms. As usual, Erikson has a large cast of POV characters including nobles, soldiers, priests and mages, many of them with slightly cumbersome names. However, Erikson strives to differentiate his characters more from one another then in previous novels. Forge of Darkness enjoys a shorter page-length than most of his prior books (clocking in at a third less the size of most of the Malazan novels) and is far more focused. The plot is a slow-burner, divided into several relatively straightforward narratives. This is Erikson at his most approachable, easing the reader into the situation and story rather than dropping them in the middle of chaos and expecting them to get on with it (such as in the first novel in the main series, Gardens of the Moon).

Of course, Erikson isn't going to give the reader an easy ride. Minor peasants continue to agonisingly philosophise over the nature of existence with surprisingly developed vocabularies at the drop of a hat. There are too many moments when characters look knowingly at one another and speak around subjects so as not to spoil major revelations for the reader, regardless of how plausible this is. There is an awful lot of hand-wringing rather than getting on with business. But there's also a few shocking reversals, some tragic moments of genuine emotional power and some revelations that will have long-standing Malazan fans stroking their chins and going, "Ah-ha!"

Forge of Darkness (****) is Erikson's attempt to channel the in-depth thematic approach of Toll the Hounds but weld it to a more dynamic (by his terms) plot-driven narrative whilst also satisfying the fans' thirst for more information and revelations about his world and characters. It's a juggling act he pulls off with impressive skill, with some polished prose and haunting moments. But those who continue to find his reliance on philosophical asides and long-winded conversations tiresome will likely not be convinced by this book. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

Wertzone Classics: Deadwood Season 1

1876, the Black Hills of Dakota Territory. The discovery of gold has inspired thousands of people to break a treaty with the natives and flock to the area to prospect. The camp of Deadwood has been established to cater for their needs and is rapidly expanding into a large town. In such circumstances there lies opportunity, and the criminally-minded Al Swearengen, wanted for murder in Chicago, has set up his own saloon to cash in on such opportunities.

Swearengen's operations are complicated by the arrival of the noted Wild West figures Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok and Charlie Utter, as well as the establishment of a rival hotel and casino across the road from his own joint and the arrival of a former Montana marshal, Seth Bullock, who is looking to open a hardware store. With native attacks still a threat and a cholera outbreak striking the town, Deadwood needs to negotiate some perilous waters if it is to survive.

Deadwood is widely considered to be one of the jewels in HBO's crown. Running for three seasons from 2004 to 2006, the series has attracted critical acclaim matched by perhaps only two other shows in TV history: The Sopranos and The Wire. Unlike those shows, Deadwood was not able to complete its planned storylines and ended prematurely in 2006 for reasons that are still disputed between the show's creator and the studio.

The first season establishes the basic premise of Deadwood: the depiction of the slow metamorphosis of the settlement from a mining camp to a proper Western town. In the first episode, the town is shown to be lawless and almost anarchic. Over the course of the season the institutions of law, order and governance come into being, with in some cases the corrupt figures of the early episodes becoming 'respectable' figures in the new order. This shift is marked by one particular murder, which has significant ramifications for the town and its future. This gives the first season its thematic structure, the arising of order out of chaos.

The writing is exemplary, with David Milch and his writers (although Milch effectively rewrote every script in the season himself) creating a cadence rooted in both historical accuracy and also in getting across the feel of the period. The high levels of modern swearing, for example, are not particularly accurate but Milch felt this was necessary as the contemporary curse words would not resonate with a modern audience. This also extends to the general accuracy of events. Many of the show's characters are real historical figures, with their activities being a mixture of historically real events, real events that have been condensed or moved around in time for dramatic effect, and totally new scenes that better illuminate the characters and themes of the series. If there is a problem in the writing it's the lack of consistency in the use of some devices: E.B. Farnum's tendency to slip into monologue is rather intermittent, for example. Otherwise it's rich, textured and often amusing.

Performance-wise, the show features excellent turns from the likes of Timothy Olyphant (as Seth Bullock), Keith Carradine (Hickok), Paula Malcomson (Trixie), Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) and Molly Parker (Alma Garret), but it revolves around Ian McShane in the role of Swearengen. Swearengen sits at the heart of the series, affecting events around him, like a particularly profane spider in his web. McShane, previously best known as the title role in the easy-goin' British detective series Lovejoy, is a revelation in this role, bringing phenomenal presence and menace to the screen. The characterisation of all of the characters is particularly accomplished, with a real focus on making them real, conflicted people. For example, a bald surface reading of the show would cast Olyphant's Seth Bullock as the hero, standing up to the villainous Swearengen, but in fact the two characters are also shown in the opposing role as well, such as when Bullock loses his temper and almost beats someone to death in a disproportionate response to a threat, whilst Swearengen shows mercy - albeit of a rough kind - and kindness to a desperately ill member of the community. This layering extends to all of the characters, making them much more compelling.

Production values are impressive, with huge sets depicting the town and its interiors. It isn't an action-packed series, with considerably more talking than shooting, but when things do go off, they go off in style.

Flaws are almost non-existent. Some events feel somewhat random, but this may be down to the show being as interested in depicting moments showing day-to-day life in Deadwood as it is in ongoing story arcs. In fact, arguably the most successful episode of the first season is the tenth, which shows a typical 'day in the life' of the town aside from all of the other ongoing shenanigans.

The first season of Deadwood (*****) lives up to the show's reputation and billing as a gripping, entertaining and highly compelling drama series showing the realities of life in the West. The series is available now in the UK (DVD only, so far) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).