Shout Out / Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

A video can be found HERE Return to the main page here.

'80s Movies

• Predator:
  • The opening gunship shooting section is straight from Predator. The scene even includes a extremely muscular, badass handshake, a somewhat homophobic joke told inside a cockpit bathed in red light, and Little Richard's rendition of Long Tall Sally playing in the background. Rex even quips "I'm gonna have me some fun" when he gets behind the minigun.
  • The sound effect for changing vision modes also sounds very similar to the SFX from the series.
  • Sloan's facial mutations from Blood Dragon blood prompts Rex to call him "one ugly motherfucker".
  • When Rex selects the Terror 4000 minigun he "chambers" a round by twisting the barrels similar to how Blaine does when he lets 'Ol Painless out of the bag.
  • When he uses the Killstar to burst through the entrance to Sloan's base he quips "Knock, knock" before the bloodshed begins.
• RoboCop (1987):
  • "You have 20 seconds to comply.''
  • The A.J.M. ^note Double points for Alex James Murphy pistol is modeled on Robocop's "Auto 9" custom Beretta 93R, and even makes a direct reference to it in its description.^note It's also the only weapon with an information text that is continuously reverent. All others are loaded with gags. Rex also twirls it around cowboy-style before holstering it like said character.
  • The Kobracon comes from Robocop's Cobra Assault Cannon.
    • Also doubles as a shout out to The Karate Kid.
  • The fact that Rex can't attack Sloan due to his programming is also a call to Robocop's Directive 4.
  • After completing any of the hostage rescue missions, shooting the freed scientist will cause "PROTECT THE INNOCENT" to flash in Rex's HUD.
• Terminator
  • The entire sequence of Rex being made into a Cyber-Commando is nearly identical to a Terminator 2: Judgment Day trailer depicting a metal exoskeleton become Arnie.
  • Rex is basically a blend of Kyle Reese^note who was of course originally played by Rex's Ink-Suit Actor Michael Biehn and the titular killing machine, from the original Terminator.
  • The Galleria 1991 ^note Double points for being named for a location from the film and the year of its release and Terror 4000 resemble the lever-action shotgun and minigun in Terminator 2. The Galleria is even flip-cocked after firing like in the waterway chase. The Fazertron is also similar to the Westinghouse M95A1 phased plasma rifle used in scenes from the future in Terminator 2, in fact being based off of the same real-world weapon (Calico M950) the M95A1 was.
  • The endoskeleton of the MKV (some can be seen laying around) looks exactly like a T800 Model 101's.
  • The intro song sounds very similar to The Terminator backing theme (especially the steel drum beat and anvil-esque clanging).
  • The cyber-eye vision mode is nigh identical to the T-800.
  • The crouch icon looks poised to travel back in time.
• Rocky IV
  • The original animated announcement trailer ended with Sloan and Rex's robotic fists clashing. This alludes to the famous Rocky IV trailer that ends with Rocky and Drago's clashing gloves.
  • The music during the dragon-riding sequence at the end of the game is the "Final Fight" music from Rocky IV.
  • One of the rideable blood dragon's lines is "I must break you."
  • Dr. Darling's look is strongly based off Ludmilla Drago.
  • The obligatory training montage invokes the training scene from Rocky IV. Specifically Drago's training with high tech equipment. Darling overseeing this whilst looking like Ludmilla only further cements the Shout-Out.
• Sloan's chainmail clothing is almost identical to Bennett's from Commando.
  • Also similiar to Commando is the scene after the opening helicopter battle where Rex loads up on equipment similarly to Col. Matrix upon reaching the Big Bad's island.
  • One Bond One-Liner is "He was dead tired." Matrix in Commando said this of a guy he killed on a plane and propped up to look like he was napping.
• One mission has you destroying nests of eggs with a flamethrower, followed by a battle with the mother while waiting for the elevator to arrive, mirroring scenes from the end of Aliens. Rex will even mention it "looks familiar" at one point.
• The first achievement/trophy is "Welcome to the party, pal!"
• Dying scientists will occasionally claim they've seen "attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Uranus."
• The training montage music is "Hold On to the Vision" from No Retreat, No Surrender.
• Martial arts rock band Dragon Sound provide their hit song "Friends (Forever)" for the ending credits.
• The Killstar artifact you get near the end of the game is very similar to the Glaive from Krull.
• Rex's line about being "85% synthetic" calls to mind a line from the obscure late 80s-early 90s cyberpunk movie Nemesis, in which the main character, Alex Raine, notes the line similarly, although he was noting that he was mostly human.
• Rex's clothes are reminiscent to the outfit Snake Plissken (action hero played by Kurt Russel) used in Escape from New York.
• Also, from Star Wars, there is the villain stating "I programmed you. I made you! I am your father!" and the response "NOOOOO!"
• Your HUD mentions in passing that completing sidequests allows you access to more powerful weapons "Thanks to the WarGames protocol".
• The mission given immediately after saving Dr. Darling is titled "They're He-eeere!"
• One mission, "I Don't Deal With Psychos. I Put 'Em Away", has a title that's a direct quote from Cobra.
• The "Don't park in the Brown Zone" could be a reference to the comedy Airplane!.
• The biolab Dr Carlyle resides in is called Shakma Station.
• The other plot-related bases (minus the dam) all have names related to Arnold Schwarzenegger roles:
  • The missile silo from the prologue is named Kimble Bunker.
  • The Blood Dragon nursery/ braincage lab is referred to as Hauser Lab.
  • Ironically, vehement anti-communist Sloan's main base on the island is called Danko Compound.
• Dr. Darling says she's unbeatable at The Bishop of Battle. The Bishop of Battle is from a 1983 film Nightmares, a horror anthology. In one part Emilio Estevez tries to beat an unbeatable video game that comes to life to try to kill him. VERY 80's.
• The game makes several mentions of Kobayashi Corporation, one of the two main cybernetics companies in Cyborg 2
• One of the achievements in the game is called "The Only True Stopper".
• Continuously fire the Terror 4000 long enough and Rex will scream like Stallone.
• The sex scene between Rex and Dr. Darling is similar to the sex scene in Top Gun, with both characters' naked bodies silhouetted against blue light.
• The main antagonists are a group called the Omega Force.

Other

• Early on Rex will say Winners don't use drugs.
• Scientists will yell "I graduated from Greendale!" in a voice that sounds suspiciously like Dean Pelton's.
• Scientists in combat sometimes yell "I'm invincible!"
• One of the quests involves killing four turtles in a sewer littered with pizza boxes.
• During cutscenes, there is sometimes a close-up of Spider looking stressed out while hacking. He looks a lot like Shinobi.
• When you find a collectible, Rex will often say "I hope I don't have to collect any fucking flags/feathers", referring to infamous collectible requirements from Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II respectively.^note Bonus for Self-Deprecation, as both Assassin's Creed and Blood Dragon were developed by Ubisoft Montreal.
• An oddly not-80s Shout-Out to Pure Pwnage: "Boom, Headshot!"
• Before entering a certain endgame location you are challenged to "Test your might!"
• When escaping from a base, Colt is required to jump a Shark-Octopus hybrid monster.
• When obtaining a certain item, Rex announces that "I've got the touch. I've got the POWER!"
• Given his pose during the above Transformers example, it could also be a reference to He-Man.
• One of the rideable dino's lines is "Imma firing mah lazor," a reference to the "Shoop Da Whoop" internet meme.
• Spider says something about "reversing the code polarity."
• The penultimate mission is titled "Summon the Plague", and the music that plays during the mission is a remix of Powerglove's "Hunters", the Plague's theme.
• "School's out for summer. School's out forever."
• One of the possible one-liners after killing an enemy with the Terror 4000 is "Get some!"
• One of the mission objectives at the dam is "Meet the Engineer".
• Dr. Darling turning around with her love interest to grin at the screen with glowing eyes during the ending, as the camera slowly zooms in, smacks of Thriller.
• Near one of the TV's is the corpse of an Omega Force soldier who took an arrow to the knee.
• Dr Carlyle creates the "Running Dead", Robert Carlyle was an actor in 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to the franchise that kicked off the whole fast-zombie trend. The name might also be referencing The Walking Dead.
• As expected, the game references Far Cry 3 itself, with a line from Sloan referencing the Arc Words of Far Cry 3.
  Sloan: Of course. They sent YOU boys after me? Now that, right there, is the definition of insanity.
• The entire premise of the game, down to the name of the main character, can be considered an M-rated Expy of Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future.
• Rex is a Mark IV Cyber Commando, which may reference the Mjolnir Mark IV Cyborg protagonist of Bungie's Marathon series.
• The Terror 4000 bears a noticeable resemblance to the fake minigun from the Doom film, having parts from the real Minigun attached to the receiver of a Browning M1919.
• If you kill an enemy with an arrow, sometimes, Rex will say "Just the tip." It's also the title of the achievement for killing a Blood Dragon with the bow.
• Just before he kills Spider, Sloan does a spot on impression of Randy Savage as he shouts "OOOOOH YEEEAAAH!"
• Omega Force troopers talk a lot like the original Cylons.
• In the intro cutscene, Spider rouses Rex with "Wakey wakey, motherfucker!".

Trials of the Blood Dragon

• Levels 5-7 of the game take some inspiration from Hotline Miami with the kids putting on animal masks like Jacket does. The stage even features a remix of "Roller Mobster" from the second game and plenty of other nods to the series.
• "Grab the cat!"

---