Remember when the movies held the impending extinction of human life on the planet as a worst-case scenario — something that could and would be heroically averted, if only at the last second? Nowadays, the end times are only the beginning: an apocalyptic backdrop is something we’re going to be seeing a lot of this year, so we might as well get used to it.

In the glossy, derivative, ambitious and fatally underpowered “Oblivion,” Tom Cruise is the last guy on Earth. He’s Jack, a technician — a mechanic, really — whose job is to fix broken down drones (in a cute touch he sticks the first one back together with chewing gum). In other words, he’s a bit like WALL-E, and Andrea Riseborough is his latter day Eve. They live in a billion-dollar birdhouse perched up above the clouds, and in a quaintly chauvinist set up, he reconnoiters the skies in a flashy starfighter prototype, while she sits at an interstellar telephone exchange and relays the commands of mission controller Sally (an irritatingly twangy Melissa Leo) from on high. See, the remainder of the human race has taken refuge on a giant spaceship (it looks like a floating audio speaker, something that wouldn’t be out of place on the cover of an ’80s progressive rock album). The plan is to scoot over to Saturn just as soon as they have sucked up enough hydropower from the Earth’s oceans to fuel the journey.

Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman’s bromance Tom Cruise denies talking about divorce But why? Well, because of the alien invaders who destroyed the moon and threw the biosphere out of whack, that’s why. As Cruise mournfully intones in the movie’s lugubrious prologue, we won the war, but lost the planet.

That’s what the drones are for: to kill off the last remaining hostiles, or “scavs,” who have taken refuge on the edge of the radioactive wastelands that cover most of the globe. That’s more than enough backstory, I know, but there’s much more to come out, even as Jack goes about his daily routine, tracking down lost drones, revisiting ruined New York landmarks (the top of the Empire State Building now sits at ground level on a sea of dust), and occasionally going AWOL himself to grapple with fragmentary memories of a beautiful girl (Olga Kurylenko), and a lost world he has no right to remember.
The story is officially credited to an unpublished comic book by the film’s director, Joseph Kosinski. But if you poured all the most memorable sci-fi films from the past half century into a blender, from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the original “Planet of the Apes” all the way down to last year’s “Prometheus,” you would probably wind up with something very similar and equally synthetic — though quite possibly more exciting.

While he immerses us in an often dazzling futurescape, for the most part Kosinski (“Tron: Legacy“) lacks the poetic imagination to animate this requiem for a dying world — comparisons with “WALL-E” are certainly not to this film’s advantage — and fails to convince us that he genuinely cares about the fate of his characters, let alone the planet. The movie’s few action scenes are competent but unlikely to wow any battle-seasoned gamers out there.

Kosinski does produce one rabbit from his hat, a real surprise late in the game that sends the movie for a loop, but also undermines a good deal of the credibility he’s worked hard to build up over the preceding hour and a half or so. Like “Prometheus,” this is another of those earnest, overdetermined spiritual allegories that falls apart in the rear-view mirror. It is certainly nice to look at though. Director of photography Claudio Miranda was last seen picking up an Academy Award for his breathtaking work on “Life of Pi,” and his images of an Earth turned to ash are almost as alluring. They’re enough to lend the picture a sense of scope and even grandeur, but they can’t paper over the cracks running right through its core.

“Oblivion” shoots for the moon and falls short.

Original review by CNN

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational Games
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Price: $59.99
Rating: M for Mature
Release Date: March 26
Score: 5 stars (out of 5)

Think back about this video game console generation and its greatest moments, and near the very top is 2007′s BioShock. It’s a game that sticks in players’ heads for countless reasons: the underwater setting of Rapture, the Big Daddy, Andrew Ryan, those crazy vending machines dispersing ammo, weapons and superpowers. BioShock was also a shining example of video game storytelling. Players weren’t interrupted by canned cut scenes, but learned about Rapture through hidden tape recordings, signs or messages scrawled on walls or other clues.

Studio Irrational Games hopes to capture similar magic with “spiritual successor” BioShock Infinite, a spectacular journey that should remind video game players why this franchise is among the best at telling stories and staging explosive combat filled with diversity. BioShock moves from the depths of the sea to above the clouds, as players explore the steampunk-inspired sky city of Columbia in 1912. The floating metropolis teems with American pride, led by the mysterious prophet Zachary Comstock. Players follow lead character Booker DeWitt, an agent hunting down a young woman named Elizabeth, who is protected by the powerful Songbird.

The story unravels as players weave through the lively streets of Columbia, with hot dog vendors selling food or kids playing by a fire hydrant. They spot signs urging Columbia citizens to protect the seed of the prophet and watch for a false shepherd that might lead them astray. Through Voxophones and Kinetoscopes scattered throughout the world, players learn more about Booker, Elizabeth and how Columbia was born.

As with the first BioShock, Infinite always seems to dangle that narrative carrot in front of you to keep moving, such as a fresh discovery that unearths more questions about Booker’s mission. It also touches on mature themes players might not encounter in a video game, including faith, religion, government and racism, to name a few. Columbia also hosts an ongoing struggle between the city’s Founders and the rebellious Vox Populi. The results are a story that’s both fascinating and — as it nears its conclusion — shocking.

The setting is very different from the original BioShock, yet Infinite retains a lot of the franchise’s DNA through its combat system and mechanics. Plasmids are replaced by Vigors, elixirs that bestow players with special powers. Possession allows players to briefly control human or robotic foes, while Bucking Bronco suspends enemies in the air for easy shooting with a broad arsenal of weapons. Instead of EVE from the first BioShock, players manage Salts to use Vigors. Even the zany vending machines return, this time with 1912 flair. Players scrounge for food, ammo and salts in barrels, crates, desks and other objects. Most of Booker’s movement is by foot and through the air via Skyhook, a contraption he wears to zip across the city’s various skylines. Along with navigation, skylines come in handy when surprising enemies with vicious aerial strikes.

The Booker-Elizabeth relationship is integral to Infinite’s experience. She seems constantly engaged, whether dancing along a beach boardwalk or choosing between brooches at a shop. Elizabeth also creates inter-dimensional tears that open portals to other worlds. During combat, Elizabeth can pull items into Booker’s universe to assist in battle, such as health packs, turrets, or more powerful weapons. She also tosses Booker health packs, salts or ammo whenever he’s in a bind. If she spots money, she’ll pick it up and toss it to Booker. Elizabeth is able to play a key role throughout the game without players ever feeling like they must manage her presence. When combining Elizabeth’s abilities with Booker’s stable of Vigors and firearms, players end up with highly diverse combat that never feels dull. For example, players can use Murder of Crows followed by Devil’s Kiss to unleash a flurry of flaming birds at enemies, or launch foes in the air with Bucking Bronco and use a grenade launcher style Volley Gun to wipe them out. Players are never low on options during battle.

Infinite might not have an opposing character as memorable as the Big Daddy, but the roster of beefier foes can be just as challenging. The Handyman is a beast that leaps across environments slamming foes, while the Motorized Patriot is an animatronic recreation of George Washington hunting down Booker with a chain gun.

If there’s any knock to BioShock Infinite, it’s that replayability is limited once the 15-hour campaign wraps up. There’s a much tougher 1999 Mode where enemies are stronger, navigation is shut off, and food items do less to replenish health. Players can also revisit the campaign to uncover more Voxophones or Kinetoscopes, as well as other hidden secrets, but not much else beyond that. However, there are so many things BioShock Infinite does right that it’s really difficult to ignore. Between the story, characters and action, Infinite is easily one of this year’s best interactive endeavors.

LucasArts is dead. News has surfaced that the game studio is being shut down some five months after it was acquired as part of a $4.05 billion deal between Disney and Lucasfilm. According to various reports, many of the outfit’s employees have been laid off — around 150 people if Kotaku’s source has it right — and all of the developer’s current projects have been cancelled, including Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313.

In a statement to GameInformer, Disney explained that it has been evaluating its position on games and has simply determined that LucasArts would better serve the company by licensing properties instead of developing them in-house. That shift is meant to reduce the risk involved with individual projects while simultaneously expanding the company’s portfolio of Star Wars titles.

Considering the overwhelming positive response to Star Wars 1313′s unveiling last year, the closure will undoubtedly disappoint many fans. The title made our list of most anticipated PC games for 2013 and would have placed players in the boots of a bounty hunter determined to uncover a criminal conspiracy on the seedy underbelly of planet Coruscant’s subterranean level 1313. The third-person shooter seemed to have what many described as next-gen graphics and offered a grittier take on the Star Wars fiction.

In a separate comment to GameInformer, Disney acknowledged that 1313 “was looking fantastic” and “the reception has been great,” so there’s some hope of it living on through a third-party developer. The company says it’s looking for “proven external partners” and 1313 could very well be released eventually via licensing. Kotaku’s source isn’t as positive about that outcome, suggesting that “both games are effectively dead forever” now that the original teams have been let go.

“We still believe in the video game industry, we still will provide Star Wars games, we’re just looking at different models rather than internal production… They’re evaluating everything. There’s always a possibility that it [Star Wars 1313] can still come out via licensing,” Disney said. “It’s super sad. It’s a terrible day. I want to make sure everyone realizes that there still will be Star Wars games out there.”

By Matthew DeCarlo