So you all get the joys of YouTube!
Oh hey, and I'm going to be gone for the next week, and because posting will be sporadic:
BAM. When it's my birthday, I gift the masses. All 10 of you.
You're welcome.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Games No One Care About: Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3
Dynasty Warriors is a really, really weird franchise. It's a spin off of the all but dead Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, a grouping of games that are fairly intense simulations based on the novels about Chinese history. Basically, it's not exactly the kind of thing that most people are terribly interested in. Whereas RoTK depends on numbers to show armies and changing powers, Dynasty Warriors is much more straightforward. You play the generals, and you beat the dudes. All the dudes.
This formula's generic enough that it can apply to a lot of different properties, luckily, which in turn gives us this particular series, Dynasty Warriors Gundam. Whereas classic DW relies on big burly men with swords, DWG obviously relies on big robotic mecha with guns and beam swords. The basic goals are the same (Beat up a bunch of guys on battlefields to claim fields, fight harder General-level characters and try not to die), but the game feels different. It's a much faster and more mobile experience, with the mobile suits having access to a quickly recharging dash meter, including flying. Additionally, the ranged attacks are stronger, which makes fighting from a distance more of a viable strategy. Same game, different name, different rules. As far as DW games go, DWG3 is aces.
For a DWG game, though, I'm not exactly sure what I think of it. The series featured have expanded since the second game, including such recent luminaries as 00 (Kind of sucked), SEED Destiny (My god how bad), and Unicorn (Have not seen, but it's UC, so that's cool), as well as Stardust Memories. Additionaly, series that were already here have gained at least a suit in representation, such as the three additional suits from Wing (Tallgeese II, Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms Kai; all three are arguably the worst suits in the game in the beginning).
That said, there are still some holes that kind of annoy me. For example, where the hell is the War in the Pocket love? I like the Alex Gundam. I'd love a Kaempfer. Or what about more from Stardust Memories, rather than just the GP-01 and -02? I want the Stamen and Gerbera Tetra, dammit. And why'd they take away the Re-GZ? I know it was mass produced, but I liked it.
There were some other areas that were done better in previous games as well. Level design, for example. Each of the levels in this game are fairly generic and all feel like a series of connected boxy rooms. This wasn't the case at all in 2, where each level was huge, and each room (while essentially being a giant box) felt more natural and looked better. It's like the developers decided that to make the maps go faster, everything had to be smaller and less impressive. This does have the advantage of leading to a shorter game. I clocked 100% at about 80 some hours, whereas I don't think I've ever finished 2.
All in all, it's a gorgeous game, but it's one that I can't really suggest unless you like the franchise or the series. Ideally you'd be like me and like both. Ideally.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Vacation in Westeros: Day 24
Hey-o, what do you know.
Day 3, Day 12, Day 18.
What's Happened So Far
All that politicking has led up to this point, this very point. And I don't even have to be specific with "that", because each of the four points has all had a giant turning point in the near past. It's actually kind of amazing, honestly. Not only is Martin juggling four different stories from eight different viewpoints, bu he's bringing them along at roughly the same point so that they can climax at roughly the same time. Each of the major players (This discounts: Bran, Sansa, Arya) in each of the stories had some sort of major thing happen that will propel them into the future.
For Tyrion and Catelyn, the end of their joined journey is huge. Catelyn has learned that the Arryn house is, for all intents and purposes, dead, and that it can no longer be depended upon. Plus, I'm fairly certain that she trusts Tyrion. Tyrion, on the other hand, now knows about some deeper machinations, and we know that he has motive to strike back at his family for their past sins against him.
Jon has finally succeeded at the wall, coming to the end of his training. Instead of being a ranger though, he's being groomed for a leadership role. What's more, they found a mystery hand, which may well lead to the missing Stark.
Dany's finally had her last connection to her previous life, and the rest of the Targaryens, cut off completely. Viserys is dead, and now Dany has to decide what she'll end up doing. Now, it's the Song of Ice and Fire. We know what Ice is (Hi there winter, your heralds are, to put it starkly, doing poorly), but what could the Fire part of the equation be. HMMMMM. Protip: Targaryens are closely related to dragons.
Finally, the Lannisters have finally propelled themselves into power, being forever rid of the broken man they called king. Stark has realized this all too late, and his climax will lead to his death, but this bodes poorly for his daughters as well.
Still, four storylines, roughly coinciding with each other. Well played ser, well played.
The king is dead, long live the king.
Day 3, Day 12, Day 18.
What's Happened So Far
- Jon's still chilling up north with his peeps, except now he's graduated and is an actual member of the Night Watch. No more women for him! Not that he ever had any. Unfortunately, he was denied Ranger-ship, thus clearly not being one of the primary protagonists. Tragical. On the other hand, his direwolf found a human hand! What could that mean. (By the by, Winter is still coming.)
- Tyrion managed to eek his way out of dying by Catelyn's crazy sister through the quick application of his new sellsword Bronn. Gets all your heavy knight problems out. Plus he'll have picked up a tribe of wildmen once he's returned to home. Huzzah!
- Dany's brother finally pushed the horseriders too far, and they gave him a crown at long last. Unfortunately, said crown was still rather molten. And happened to burn his face off. And then there was just the one Targaryen left, the last of the dragons. Well, that and her baby.
- And as always, all the fun stuff happened down south. Robert went off on a hunting trip, leaving rule of the kingdom to an injured Ned. While he's working on getting his daughters out of dodge, he's also got another rather important problem: The Lannisters. The only audience we see him hold has us learning that one of the Lannister's most infamous knights is running a marauding party and destroying towns and villages. Additionally, Ned finally found out that this particular branch of the Lannister tree is less a brance and more a straight line, if you catch my drift. He confronts Cersei, the queen, with this newfound knowledge, only to be laughed at. This doesn't bode well, but then Ned's more honorable than smart at this point. Robert then returns from his hunting trip, gored by a boar, and his final act as king is to grant Ned regency, until his son/heir can actually attain the office. Ned, ever the honorable idiot, does absolutely nothing while the Lannister plot finally snaps shut around him. When Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, dies, Cersei places young Joffrey on the throne, herself as regent, and attempts to force Ned's fealty in exchange for his life. Ned refuses, believing that the people he trusted were in fact on the up and up, but all of his paid-for men turn on him, his loyal men are slaughtered, and he himself is captured. In a game of thrones, you either win or you die. At this point, Eddard Stark only has one option.
All that politicking has led up to this point, this very point. And I don't even have to be specific with "that", because each of the four points has all had a giant turning point in the near past. It's actually kind of amazing, honestly. Not only is Martin juggling four different stories from eight different viewpoints, bu he's bringing them along at roughly the same point so that they can climax at roughly the same time. Each of the major players (This discounts: Bran, Sansa, Arya) in each of the stories had some sort of major thing happen that will propel them into the future.
For Tyrion and Catelyn, the end of their joined journey is huge. Catelyn has learned that the Arryn house is, for all intents and purposes, dead, and that it can no longer be depended upon. Plus, I'm fairly certain that she trusts Tyrion. Tyrion, on the other hand, now knows about some deeper machinations, and we know that he has motive to strike back at his family for their past sins against him.
Jon has finally succeeded at the wall, coming to the end of his training. Instead of being a ranger though, he's being groomed for a leadership role. What's more, they found a mystery hand, which may well lead to the missing Stark.
Dany's finally had her last connection to her previous life, and the rest of the Targaryens, cut off completely. Viserys is dead, and now Dany has to decide what she'll end up doing. Now, it's the Song of Ice and Fire. We know what Ice is (Hi there winter, your heralds are, to put it starkly, doing poorly), but what could the Fire part of the equation be. HMMMMM. Protip: Targaryens are closely related to dragons.
Finally, the Lannisters have finally propelled themselves into power, being forever rid of the broken man they called king. Stark has realized this all too late, and his climax will lead to his death, but this bodes poorly for his daughters as well.
Still, four storylines, roughly coinciding with each other. Well played ser, well played.
The king is dead, long live the king.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
The Perfect Food Proves It's Even Perfect-er
Pizza is by far the best food ever devised on this spinning rock we call Earth. In fact, if there was one food that would be indicitive of everything good about humanity, it would be pizza. If there was one food that I could eat for the rest of my life and not grow tired of, it would be pizza.
And that's partially why I'm covering this. I mean, Pizza's one of the most versatile foodstuffs in the world, and it's delicious. So when I heard rumors (and potentially heresies) of being able to cook pizza on a grill, well.
Someone had to do something.
So I ignored what many other people have likely done in order to experiment with this first hand. And I am alive and able to report that Pizza does, indeed, grill.
Mind you, this iteration didn't exactly work. This is what I did:
1. Take your crust (for the sake of time and effort, a premade crust was used) and place it on a pre-heated grill. We have a charcoal grill, and we had he fire hot.
2. Wait for a minute and a half to two minutes. Rotate if it gets charred. Do Not Cover.
3. Remove from grill, quickly put on toppings.
4. Return to grill, cover, pray that it doesn't turn out too poorly. Let cook for another minute or two.
5. Remove. Cut. Eat.
All told, it's a bit char-y, but there's the twinklings of a good pizza recipe (as though there's a bad one). I think if I actually make my own dough next time, and were I to coat with olive oil maybe, it'll turn out better.
But yeah. Pizza! On the grill! Whodathunkit.
And that's partially why I'm covering this. I mean, Pizza's one of the most versatile foodstuffs in the world, and it's delicious. So when I heard rumors (and potentially heresies) of being able to cook pizza on a grill, well.
Someone had to do something.
So I ignored what many other people have likely done in order to experiment with this first hand. And I am alive and able to report that Pizza does, indeed, grill.
Mind you, this iteration didn't exactly work. This is what I did:
1. Take your crust (for the sake of time and effort, a premade crust was used) and place it on a pre-heated grill. We have a charcoal grill, and we had he fire hot.
2. Wait for a minute and a half to two minutes. Rotate if it gets charred. Do Not Cover.
3. Remove from grill, quickly put on toppings.
4. Return to grill, cover, pray that it doesn't turn out too poorly. Let cook for another minute or two.
5. Remove. Cut. Eat.
All told, it's a bit char-y, but there's the twinklings of a good pizza recipe (as though there's a bad one). I think if I actually make my own dough next time, and were I to coat with olive oil maybe, it'll turn out better.
But yeah. Pizza! On the grill! Whodathunkit.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Something Witty That Would Work The Name Hiaasen In Here
I think that A Simple Plan is Sam Raimi's best movie. Mind you, it's not my favorite, that would be Evil Dead 2. But A Simple Plan is definitely one of his more restrained movies, and it starts off simply enough. Two everyman brothers find a plane crashed in some woods somewhere, and then find a bag of money inside. Deciding that that money would be pretty rad to have, they take it home. It's at this point that Raimi looks at the actors, stares at them for a bit, and just whispers "Go." What follows is a cascading snowball of crap as the primary players consistently make choices on what to do with the money, each one logically following from the last until the situation is entirely unrecognizable from the beginning, but you know how the characters got there.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that A Simple Plan is a script writer's wet dream and an excellent fucking movie, but that's also not entirely the point of this post.
I told you the first bit so I could say this with the proper context. I've recently polished off a couple of Carl Hiaasen's books, Skinny Dip and Star Island. Both of them take A Simple Plan's conceit (start with off with some clearly defined characters, throw them into an out of the ordinary situation, say "Go.") The difference being that some of Hiaasen's characters are somewhat larger than life.
For example, take Skink. Now, Skink wasn't always called Sknink, but he was always one not to be corrupted. Unfortunately, Florida is (apparently) an incredibly corrupt place. This drove then governor Skink to abdicate his post in an incredibly showy way and go and become a hobo with one in the Everglades. He surfaces every now and then to punish corruption and help good people.
Despite this, each of his books follow a fairly logical chain of events. So you get to see each of the choices that the characters have to make, and you understand why they'd choose that (despite said choice normally being the wrong one), and you get the delicious consequences of said choices. And because Hiaasen's got an incredibly dark sense of humor, murther or other dismemberment is often used as the punchline to a joke. Plus he takes an incredibly anti-Corporation, anti-politicican, and pro-enviornmental view. He's pretty clearly a satirical writer, but he tells some incredible yarns.
Plus they're quick reads. I approve.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that A Simple Plan is a script writer's wet dream and an excellent fucking movie, but that's also not entirely the point of this post.
I told you the first bit so I could say this with the proper context. I've recently polished off a couple of Carl Hiaasen's books, Skinny Dip and Star Island. Both of them take A Simple Plan's conceit (start with off with some clearly defined characters, throw them into an out of the ordinary situation, say "Go.") The difference being that some of Hiaasen's characters are somewhat larger than life.
For example, take Skink. Now, Skink wasn't always called Sknink, but he was always one not to be corrupted. Unfortunately, Florida is (apparently) an incredibly corrupt place. This drove then governor Skink to abdicate his post in an incredibly showy way and go and become a hobo with one in the Everglades. He surfaces every now and then to punish corruption and help good people.
Despite this, each of his books follow a fairly logical chain of events. So you get to see each of the choices that the characters have to make, and you understand why they'd choose that (despite said choice normally being the wrong one), and you get the delicious consequences of said choices. And because Hiaasen's got an incredibly dark sense of humor, murther or other dismemberment is often used as the punchline to a joke. Plus he takes an incredibly anti-Corporation, anti-politicican, and pro-enviornmental view. He's pretty clearly a satirical writer, but he tells some incredible yarns.
Plus they're quick reads. I approve.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Vacation in Westeros: Day 18
Day 3 is here, Day 12 is here.
The continuing adventures of royals doing royally stupid things in fantastic adventure land times!
What's Happened So Far:
Now in list format because I made a lot of stupid, glaring errors last time.
At this point, we're slightly past halfway through the book, and we're just starting to get some details into the plot at large and what's actually being set up. As of yet, we've largely been focused on the ex-Hands' death, with some hints that the Lannisters were behind it all. And while the Lannisters are assholes, and indeed go as high up in the organization as the Queen, that's still a fairly petty dispute between two royal families, one that wants revenge, and one that wants power. It doesn't concern the world at large.
However, thanks to Arya's chapter, we've had some linkage with what's been going on over in Dany's story, because I'm fairly certain that one of the shady figures discussing the "game [of thrones]" and the assassination of Eddard was the wealthy merchant that's so far been a fixture in the Targaryen's chapters. Suddenly, the world isn't so big, and we're beginning to see the workings of a plot that will embroil the whole world, not just Westeros, into war.
Or rather, the world as we know it. There's been hintings at another continent, but whatever. I'll cross that ocean when I get there.
Even more, we've gotten clues into what the old hand was looking into. A king's bastard, who looks just like the king. A book on genealogy, which has a direct link to the ex-Hand. A queen, who's popped out kids who don't really look like their supposed papa. A knight, whose sword gets unsheathed for his sister if you know what I mean (Sex. I mean sex.). We are finally seeing into the seedy underworkings of Westeros and the new king's court. Eddard sure as hell doesn't like what he sees. I doubt anyone else does.
This is how you slowly reveal mysteries and plot hooks. This is a natural progression of a story. Other authors should feel bad that they can't do as well as a fantasy novel.
The continuing adventures of royals doing royally stupid things in fantastic adventure land times!
What's Happened So Far:
Now in list format because I made a lot of stupid, glaring errors last time.
- Jon is still up north at the wall, hanging out. Since he pissed off the people in charge last time, he's made friends with the normies. His last chapter saw him making friends with a fat lordling who was kicked out of his rightful hold for not being deemed worthy by his father. Something about being fat and cowardly and not worthy of the family sword. And so Jon Snow's menagerie of black clad misfits (who will likely all die) grew by one.
- Meanwhile, Catelyn concluded her business in the south and headed back to Winterfell, except that she ran into Tyrion on the way up north. He had actually missed the party. She took the opportunity to capture him, and then decided to head to where her sister lords over. They get into scraps with bandits, and Tyrion manages to improve his position considerably over time, to the point where it's questionable if he's yet a prisoner. Cate then goes up to meet with her sister, the widowed wife of the old Hand of the king, who had been assassinated at the beginning of the book. She's a bit crazy pants, and her six year old son is beset with randomm tremors and an attraction to his dolls. Also he still sups from her breast. That... is a broken household.
- Finally, in the South, the Tournament of the Hand is held. Sansa is enthralled with the competition, and especially so with one of the knights, not Joffrey. Meanwhile, Eddard Stark completely ignores the tourney that's been thrown in his favor in order to do a bit more investigating into what the old Hand was doing that got him killed. He finds, in order: A book on the geneology of the major ruling families, a bastard, and the poison that was used to kill his predecessor. Meanwhile, Arya is still training to be a fencer, escapes some ridiculous prince and princess, and learns of the plot to kill Eddard. The king learns that Dany, one of the last of the Targaryens, is pregnant, and so wants to have her killed and the fetus/babe/whatever smashed. Eddard refuses to be part of this game, and turns in his Handship. As he's making his preparations to leave town, Jaime Lannister corners Stark and some of his men, intending to kill Eddard to send a message to Cate with regards to Tyrion. Stark talks some sense into the incestuous knight, who decides that advice is sound (Kill me and she'll kill the Imp), and so decides to kill Stark's men instead. Eddard is injured fairly grievously in the process, and the last we see is him taking the milk of the poppy after passing out and waking up a few times.
At this point, we're slightly past halfway through the book, and we're just starting to get some details into the plot at large and what's actually being set up. As of yet, we've largely been focused on the ex-Hands' death, with some hints that the Lannisters were behind it all. And while the Lannisters are assholes, and indeed go as high up in the organization as the Queen, that's still a fairly petty dispute between two royal families, one that wants revenge, and one that wants power. It doesn't concern the world at large.
However, thanks to Arya's chapter, we've had some linkage with what's been going on over in Dany's story, because I'm fairly certain that one of the shady figures discussing the "game [of thrones]" and the assassination of Eddard was the wealthy merchant that's so far been a fixture in the Targaryen's chapters. Suddenly, the world isn't so big, and we're beginning to see the workings of a plot that will embroil the whole world, not just Westeros, into war.
Or rather, the world as we know it. There's been hintings at another continent, but whatever. I'll cross that ocean when I get there.
Even more, we've gotten clues into what the old hand was looking into. A king's bastard, who looks just like the king. A book on genealogy, which has a direct link to the ex-Hand. A queen, who's popped out kids who don't really look like their supposed papa. A knight, whose sword gets unsheathed for his sister if you know what I mean (Sex. I mean sex.). We are finally seeing into the seedy underworkings of Westeros and the new king's court. Eddard sure as hell doesn't like what he sees. I doubt anyone else does.
This is how you slowly reveal mysteries and plot hooks. This is a natural progression of a story. Other authors should feel bad that they can't do as well as a fantasy novel.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Because I need to work this trauma out somehow: Transformers 3
I swear I didn't want to post about this. Other, funnier, smarter, and more insightful people have discussed this elsewhere. For example, Topless Robot put up a fairly comprehensive FAQ of the movie that covers the essentials. You can probably get a good feel for the movie there, with one exception.
TR is considerably more positive about the movie than I am.
See, Transformers 3 is proof of something. Whether it's that Michael Bay is a sociopath for thinking that how Sam was acting was at all appropriate, or that Bay does not actually know how to tell a story through the medium of film, or that he heard all the concerns other people had with the other two movies and decided that all the complainers should see what it would look like if Bay shot it how he thought others would.
Basically, I'm fairly certain it exists in a very similar way to Sucker Punch, Zac Snyder's high school notebook doodles turned boring action set pieces. And as bad as Sucker Punch is, Transformers is worse.
The "hero" complains constantly about not having a job. I can empathize with that! However, here are a few caveats. I don't have any giant robot friends. I didn't get a full ride scholarship at the Ivy League courtesy Of the US Government. I also do not currently live with my supermodel-like girlfriend in Washington DC for absolutely nothing. So despite all his good fortunes and current status, which 9/10 college graduates would gladly enjoy, he spends the full first hour complaining that he doesn't matter anymore and he really, really wants to.
Also, that's not an exaggeration. There are some non-sensical action scenes in the very beginning (sand worm in Russia the fuck) but most of the entire cforst half is spent focusng on Sam and his "problems". There's this thing in movies, see. It's called pacing. And when properly paced, the audience will have time to relax between big action scenes thanks to natural lulls in the action. Alternatively, there are mOvies like Crank where the action starts and then does not stop, but it's ok because the movie's only an hour long.
Basically what I'm saying is that YOU DO NOT BLOW UP FUCKING CHICAGO FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF WITH SOME OF THE STUPIDEST SETPOEVES ICE EVER SEEN AND CALL THAT GOOD
No. Bad Michael Bay. Do not pass go. Do not collect the umpteen millions this will make.
God, I haven't even gotten into any serious complaints. This could become a way more indepth analysis.
TR is considerably more positive about the movie than I am.
See, Transformers 3 is proof of something. Whether it's that Michael Bay is a sociopath for thinking that how Sam was acting was at all appropriate, or that Bay does not actually know how to tell a story through the medium of film, or that he heard all the concerns other people had with the other two movies and decided that all the complainers should see what it would look like if Bay shot it how he thought others would.
Basically, I'm fairly certain it exists in a very similar way to Sucker Punch, Zac Snyder's high school notebook doodles turned boring action set pieces. And as bad as Sucker Punch is, Transformers is worse.
The "hero" complains constantly about not having a job. I can empathize with that! However, here are a few caveats. I don't have any giant robot friends. I didn't get a full ride scholarship at the Ivy League courtesy Of the US Government. I also do not currently live with my supermodel-like girlfriend in Washington DC for absolutely nothing. So despite all his good fortunes and current status, which 9/10 college graduates would gladly enjoy, he spends the full first hour complaining that he doesn't matter anymore and he really, really wants to.
Also, that's not an exaggeration. There are some non-sensical action scenes in the very beginning (sand worm in Russia the fuck) but most of the entire cforst half is spent focusng on Sam and his "problems". There's this thing in movies, see. It's called pacing. And when properly paced, the audience will have time to relax between big action scenes thanks to natural lulls in the action. Alternatively, there are mOvies like Crank where the action starts and then does not stop, but it's ok because the movie's only an hour long.
Basically what I'm saying is that YOU DO NOT BLOW UP FUCKING CHICAGO FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF WITH SOME OF THE STUPIDEST SETPOEVES ICE EVER SEEN AND CALL THAT GOOD
No. Bad Michael Bay. Do not pass go. Do not collect the umpteen millions this will make.
God, I haven't even gotten into any serious complaints. This could become a way more indepth analysis.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Linkbait post of links and bait
Right, so, I'm feeling lazy, how about some links?
- If one likes reading about movies, I've actually found that Things That Don't Suck is fairly entertaining. He could use a copyeditor, but beyond that he posts some good critiques of movies, generally trending towards older, more obscure flicks.
- The same author also does a blog specifically about horror, The son of Danse Macabre. Mind you, I'm not huge on most horror, but what he's written has been fairly fascinating, and it's always interesting to see people talk about Lovecraft.
- Finally, because I've got a theme going on, that same blogger occasionally appears on both the On The Stick podcast and the Action Cast, podcasts about games and action movies respectively. They can be found at http://onthestick.com/, and they're both basically a bunch of guys sitting around and chatting about some general topic for an hour or two. The results can be somewhat haphazard at best, but I find their various meanderings fascinating to listen to.
- If one likes reading about movies, I've actually found that Things That Don't Suck is fairly entertaining. He could use a copyeditor, but beyond that he posts some good critiques of movies, generally trending towards older, more obscure flicks.
- The same author also does a blog specifically about horror, The son of Danse Macabre. Mind you, I'm not huge on most horror, but what he's written has been fairly fascinating, and it's always interesting to see people talk about Lovecraft.
- Finally, because I've got a theme going on, that same blogger occasionally appears on both the On The Stick podcast and the Action Cast, podcasts about games and action movies respectively. They can be found at http://onthestick.com/, and they're both basically a bunch of guys sitting around and chatting about some general topic for an hour or two. The results can be somewhat haphazard at best, but I find their various meanderings fascinating to listen to.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Desert Island 10: Final Fantasy Legend II
Let's say I wind up on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean somewhere. Say some all powerful imp did this to me. And he let me keep ten games for the rest of my miserable life. These are those ten games.
Final Fantasy Legend II - Square, 1991
The Basics
While technically not a Final Fantasy game at all, Final Fantasy Legend II is still an RPG. That said, rather than a level driven game, like Final Fantasy, FFLII is a SaGa game, which have more "natural" level ups. What this means in game terms is pretty simple to grasp, actually. You get in fights, you choose your attacks/weapons from a menu, and you find out if you won. The trick, however, is that instead of getting a base amount of Experience which will gradually raise all your stats once you accumulate enough, you gain Exp for individual stats, which then eventually level up on their own. For example, attacking with a broad sword will exercise (let's say) strength. Therefore, each individual attack you make adds on a point for Strength, and when enough of these invisible points are gained, you'll get another few points that actually make a difference. All of the stats work like this, including the more passive stuff. You gain more Defense and Hit Points by being hit, Speed by using special weapons, Magic by using Magic or spellbooks, et cetera.
At least, that's how it works for humans and mutants, with the caveat that mutants randomly gain spells. There are also two other classes of character types, the Monsters and Robots. Robots are more straightforward, in that they gain stats based on what they have equipped at that particular time. So equipping a broad sword on a robot would give it gains to strength and maybe HP. Monsters, on the other hand, change by eating other monster's meat that gets left behind after battle. Ideally, the change is random to the player, so they have to decide if eating this meat is beneficial in the long run, or if their current monster is awesome. However, because a twenty year old game isn't going to be doing any truly random acts, there's a complex table that nerds on the internet have typed out that one can use to advance their monsters up to the max rank.
Each non-Monster character has eight slots for equipment, which important because equipment breaks. Each piece has a certain max value, say 50, when you pick it up/buy it. Once you use the equipment that number of times, that weapon breaks and you either need to replace it or find something else to use. The exception to this rule are robots, who can recharge equipment through use of inns. That said, they also half the number of uses that the weapon can be used every time they equip it. So that 50 use item becomes 25, which then becomes 12, then 6, then 3, then 1, then 0. What you end up with is a system which requires you to think on your feet, constantly spend money to keep up with any wear and tear you gain, and a relatively complex leveling scheme where your actions have a huge impact on how your characters turn out.
The plot, on the other hand, is fairly simple. There's a statue out there in the world that, when completed, allows the user to wish for anything. Your protagonists' father (which is human regardless of what you choose your character to be, leading to some awkward situations for Robots or Monsters) goes off in search of them one day, and doesn't return. Later, your protagonist and a few of your friends go off in search of the statue fragments and your father, figuring that finding one would lead to the other. Along the way, the party meets a crazy mix of characters and rubs against a series of demi-gods taken from classical literature, all of whom are connected to the character's father and the mysterious struggle for the statue. The adventure spans numerous worlds as well, from beautiful (by law) paradises to ancient Edo-style worlds where bananas are illegal imports.
Why's It Here
My first system that I ever owned was a brick-version of the Game Boy, see through style. I love that piece of technology. While I got three games along with it, I didn't exactly buy the thing myself. It was a gift from my parents. I still liked it. Later, I'd go on to buy the first Wario Land, which was a fantastic purchase.
Shortly thereafter though, I managed to somehow find Final Fantasy Legend I, II, and Final Fantasy Adventure. None of these were Final Fantasy per se, instead being SaGa I, II, and Seiken Densetsu (think Secret of Mana) brought over under a more popular title in the States. As much as I loved Metroid II, FFLII just completely blew my mind. It's pretty safe to say that it was the first RPG I ever put a lot of time and effort into playing, and I've played it numerous times. Sometimes with an all Robot party, sometimes all Human, sometimes all Mutant. Every playthrough, so long as you decide to focus on different weapon sets, is completely different. Some of them get up to Venus and no further, some to Odin, and some to the very end of the game. Each party requires a different, constantly changing strategy to deal with enemies.
Let's say I'm playing with an Agility heavy group of Humans. Instead of buying weapons with the highest attack power, as you would in any other RPG, you're better off going with either Whips or Guns. These types of weapons draw directly from the Agility stat, causing damage based on your speed, except that they tend to cost more or have lower usage numbers than their strength based cousins. Hell, even an all Monster party can be interesting, at least when played without the tier guide. After all, that just leaves the player wondering "Is this meat going to help me at all? Can I risk losing the Heal to gain something potentially better?" Suddenly, FFLII has become a game of roulette, where taking risks can either pay off big or end with the player suddenly and irrevocably gimped in the middle of the dungeon. There is no greater rush in an RPG.
Additionally, the music and graphics are top notch, at least for a Game Boy game. Seriously listen to this title track, The Legend Begins. It's a quiet, peaceful track that grows more epic and just hints at the adventure that lays before you, should you choose to press Start. What more can you want an RPG, much less an old Game Boy game?
Final Fantasy Legend II - Square, 1991
The Basics
While technically not a Final Fantasy game at all, Final Fantasy Legend II is still an RPG. That said, rather than a level driven game, like Final Fantasy, FFLII is a SaGa game, which have more "natural" level ups. What this means in game terms is pretty simple to grasp, actually. You get in fights, you choose your attacks/weapons from a menu, and you find out if you won. The trick, however, is that instead of getting a base amount of Experience which will gradually raise all your stats once you accumulate enough, you gain Exp for individual stats, which then eventually level up on their own. For example, attacking with a broad sword will exercise (let's say) strength. Therefore, each individual attack you make adds on a point for Strength, and when enough of these invisible points are gained, you'll get another few points that actually make a difference. All of the stats work like this, including the more passive stuff. You gain more Defense and Hit Points by being hit, Speed by using special weapons, Magic by using Magic or spellbooks, et cetera.
At least, that's how it works for humans and mutants, with the caveat that mutants randomly gain spells. There are also two other classes of character types, the Monsters and Robots. Robots are more straightforward, in that they gain stats based on what they have equipped at that particular time. So equipping a broad sword on a robot would give it gains to strength and maybe HP. Monsters, on the other hand, change by eating other monster's meat that gets left behind after battle. Ideally, the change is random to the player, so they have to decide if eating this meat is beneficial in the long run, or if their current monster is awesome. However, because a twenty year old game isn't going to be doing any truly random acts, there's a complex table that nerds on the internet have typed out that one can use to advance their monsters up to the max rank.
Each non-Monster character has eight slots for equipment, which important because equipment breaks. Each piece has a certain max value, say 50, when you pick it up/buy it. Once you use the equipment that number of times, that weapon breaks and you either need to replace it or find something else to use. The exception to this rule are robots, who can recharge equipment through use of inns. That said, they also half the number of uses that the weapon can be used every time they equip it. So that 50 use item becomes 25, which then becomes 12, then 6, then 3, then 1, then 0. What you end up with is a system which requires you to think on your feet, constantly spend money to keep up with any wear and tear you gain, and a relatively complex leveling scheme where your actions have a huge impact on how your characters turn out.
The plot, on the other hand, is fairly simple. There's a statue out there in the world that, when completed, allows the user to wish for anything. Your protagonists' father (which is human regardless of what you choose your character to be, leading to some awkward situations for Robots or Monsters) goes off in search of them one day, and doesn't return. Later, your protagonist and a few of your friends go off in search of the statue fragments and your father, figuring that finding one would lead to the other. Along the way, the party meets a crazy mix of characters and rubs against a series of demi-gods taken from classical literature, all of whom are connected to the character's father and the mysterious struggle for the statue. The adventure spans numerous worlds as well, from beautiful (by law) paradises to ancient Edo-style worlds where bananas are illegal imports.
Why's It Here
My first system that I ever owned was a brick-version of the Game Boy, see through style. I love that piece of technology. While I got three games along with it, I didn't exactly buy the thing myself. It was a gift from my parents. I still liked it. Later, I'd go on to buy the first Wario Land, which was a fantastic purchase.
Shortly thereafter though, I managed to somehow find Final Fantasy Legend I, II, and Final Fantasy Adventure. None of these were Final Fantasy per se, instead being SaGa I, II, and Seiken Densetsu (think Secret of Mana) brought over under a more popular title in the States. As much as I loved Metroid II, FFLII just completely blew my mind. It's pretty safe to say that it was the first RPG I ever put a lot of time and effort into playing, and I've played it numerous times. Sometimes with an all Robot party, sometimes all Human, sometimes all Mutant. Every playthrough, so long as you decide to focus on different weapon sets, is completely different. Some of them get up to Venus and no further, some to Odin, and some to the very end of the game. Each party requires a different, constantly changing strategy to deal with enemies.
Let's say I'm playing with an Agility heavy group of Humans. Instead of buying weapons with the highest attack power, as you would in any other RPG, you're better off going with either Whips or Guns. These types of weapons draw directly from the Agility stat, causing damage based on your speed, except that they tend to cost more or have lower usage numbers than their strength based cousins. Hell, even an all Monster party can be interesting, at least when played without the tier guide. After all, that just leaves the player wondering "Is this meat going to help me at all? Can I risk losing the Heal to gain something potentially better?" Suddenly, FFLII has become a game of roulette, where taking risks can either pay off big or end with the player suddenly and irrevocably gimped in the middle of the dungeon. There is no greater rush in an RPG.
Additionally, the music and graphics are top notch, at least for a Game Boy game. Seriously listen to this title track, The Legend Begins. It's a quiet, peaceful track that grows more epic and just hints at the adventure that lays before you, should you choose to press Start. What more can you want an RPG, much less an old Game Boy game?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Vacation in Westeros: Day 12
Best to get back to this eventually, eh? Summary will be a rough gloss over of what's happened so far, and whilst I'm less bothered by not including something on the first post of the series (because that was six chapters, and six chapters is virtually nothing), this post is going to delve far deeper into the book. Therefore, there be spoilers to a 15 year old book in this here post. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Also, if you're going to stop reading here, allow me to very highly suggest the series. It's a book (and hopefully series) that is more concerned with how it's characters are pushing ahead the plot rather than the plot itself. Each of the focal characters have their own role and their own actions, each of their actions have been fairly in character, and it's easy enough to like 90% of the cast, regardless of their foibles. Anyway.
What's Happened So Far:
Well, everything I talked about here, for starters. That, then, lay the groundwork for what followed. It turns out that the King's Hand (the royal who metes out the King's punishment) was recently made to be dead. We already heard all this, from Catelyn (Eddard Stark's wife). What we hear more of is that there are certain suspicions behind the old Hand's death. Suspicions that involve the Lannister family. The Queen just so happens to be a Lannister.
So it goes all the way to the top.
The bulk of these chapters are more involved with setting up the world and the rest of the main characters. The Stark's are all set to split up, with Papa Stark taking his two daughters and son, Bran. Bran, however, has the misfortune to find the Queen and her brother somewhat entangled. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the foolish child nearly falls to his death. Luckily, the Queen's twin brother Jaime Lannister saves the boy from falling to his death, only to push him out the open window.
Bran survives, but the ramifications for the Stark family are fairly huge. Each of the members takes it rather poorly. Catelyn becomes nearly catatonic, and stays with the poor boy in all her free time. Papa Stark takes all the blame onto himself. His daughters become depressed, and Robb Stark steps up his game as oldest son and begins to assume control of Winterfell, in order to ease into leading the northern lands in the abscense of Papa Stark.
Jon Snow, Stark's bastard son, decides to head to the Night Watch, an old army that maintains the Northern Wall, a huge structure that acts to keep all the nasties away from the good people of Westeros. The army (and wall by extension) has fallen into disrepair over the years, and there's only a small portion of the forces left. Tyrion Lannister, a misshapen dwarf who is the best character of the book. Jon stays at the wall and begins training for a life of misery, and Tyrion makes it back to Winterfall to head south with the rest of the King's party.
On the way south, Sansa Stark flirts with Joffrey Lannister, who will become both King and her husband, later on. This flirtation is cut short when they happen upon Arya playing at swords with a peasant. Joffrey decides it's time to take up the Lannister mantle of Huge Douchebag and bother the two of them, up to the point where Nymeria (Arya's Direwolf) attacks Joffrey, lightly wounding him. This throws everyone in the camp into a tizzy, and the Queen puts out an order for the Direwolf's pelt. Nymeria can't be found, but Sansa's wolf was. Papa Stark put down the big puppy himself, and everyone was all emo.
Arriving to the city didn't make things any easier either. Catelyn was waiting for Ned, with news that Bran was awake and alive (yay) but that one of the Lannisters had paid to have him killed (boo). Arya is taking fencing lessons. And yeah. It's all pretty crazy.
Oh, and the ex-princess Dany from across the sea married the leader of a great tribe of wandering horsemen and came into possession of some dragon eggs. This will only end well, clearly.
Thoughts
I don't think I'm going to wait so long to do another recap post. That's a pain in the ass. Let's see... I discussed the use of politics last time, and that's actually more evident here. How about this. Westeros is a place where good things don't happen on a large scale. The old, insane, inbred king was deposed by an all together better person, yes. Except the new king later descended into a pit of gluttony, and the kingdom overall is millions of gold in debt. Stark may have been promoted, but his son was defenestrated and then nearly killed. A Song of Fire and Ice is not interested in making you happy.
And yet, this is a book that seems to relish in giving the characters little snippets of happiness. Dany has lived with an incredibly abusive brother, but is now married to a man that seems to care for her and has finally found a place where she "belongs". Arya has gotten permission from her father to maintain her own identity without falling into the classic princess mold. Jon finally has a place that he can succeed at based on his own strengths and weaknesses, and is starting to make friends. Overall, the story is moving into a far more deadly and unstable chain of events (Winter is coming, after all), but Martin seems determined to give the characters (and the reader) their own personal victories and celebrations.
And what's more, these are personalized to the characters. Dany's heard all her life that she's a princess, but never had anything to go along with it. Arya has rebelled all her life against the stereotypically female role, and has finally achieved some balance now that she's away from home. Jon has been a perpetual +1 all his life, important enough to be around based on his father's wishes, but never enough to truly succeed or carve out his own niche. These are all great personal victories for each of the characters in their own unique way. It's nice. It's really nice to see. Honestly, I'm enjoying the hell out of this read. So huzzah for that, I guess.
Also, if you're going to stop reading here, allow me to very highly suggest the series. It's a book (and hopefully series) that is more concerned with how it's characters are pushing ahead the plot rather than the plot itself. Each of the focal characters have their own role and their own actions, each of their actions have been fairly in character, and it's easy enough to like 90% of the cast, regardless of their foibles. Anyway.
What's Happened So Far:
Well, everything I talked about here, for starters. That, then, lay the groundwork for what followed. It turns out that the King's Hand (the royal who metes out the King's punishment) was recently made to be dead. We already heard all this, from Catelyn (Eddard Stark's wife). What we hear more of is that there are certain suspicions behind the old Hand's death. Suspicions that involve the Lannister family. The Queen just so happens to be a Lannister.
So it goes all the way to the top.
The bulk of these chapters are more involved with setting up the world and the rest of the main characters. The Stark's are all set to split up, with Papa Stark taking his two daughters and son, Bran. Bran, however, has the misfortune to find the Queen and her brother somewhat entangled. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the foolish child nearly falls to his death. Luckily, the Queen's twin brother Jaime Lannister saves the boy from falling to his death, only to push him out the open window.
Bran survives, but the ramifications for the Stark family are fairly huge. Each of the members takes it rather poorly. Catelyn becomes nearly catatonic, and stays with the poor boy in all her free time. Papa Stark takes all the blame onto himself. His daughters become depressed, and Robb Stark steps up his game as oldest son and begins to assume control of Winterfell, in order to ease into leading the northern lands in the abscense of Papa Stark.
Jon Snow, Stark's bastard son, decides to head to the Night Watch, an old army that maintains the Northern Wall, a huge structure that acts to keep all the nasties away from the good people of Westeros. The army (and wall by extension) has fallen into disrepair over the years, and there's only a small portion of the forces left. Tyrion Lannister, a misshapen dwarf who is the best character of the book. Jon stays at the wall and begins training for a life of misery, and Tyrion makes it back to Winterfall to head south with the rest of the King's party.
On the way south, Sansa Stark flirts with Joffrey Lannister, who will become both King and her husband, later on. This flirtation is cut short when they happen upon Arya playing at swords with a peasant. Joffrey decides it's time to take up the Lannister mantle of Huge Douchebag and bother the two of them, up to the point where Nymeria (Arya's Direwolf) attacks Joffrey, lightly wounding him. This throws everyone in the camp into a tizzy, and the Queen puts out an order for the Direwolf's pelt. Nymeria can't be found, but Sansa's wolf was. Papa Stark put down the big puppy himself, and everyone was all emo.
Arriving to the city didn't make things any easier either. Catelyn was waiting for Ned, with news that Bran was awake and alive (yay) but that one of the Lannisters had paid to have him killed (boo). Arya is taking fencing lessons. And yeah. It's all pretty crazy.
Oh, and the ex-princess Dany from across the sea married the leader of a great tribe of wandering horsemen and came into possession of some dragon eggs. This will only end well, clearly.
Thoughts
I don't think I'm going to wait so long to do another recap post. That's a pain in the ass. Let's see... I discussed the use of politics last time, and that's actually more evident here. How about this. Westeros is a place where good things don't happen on a large scale. The old, insane, inbred king was deposed by an all together better person, yes. Except the new king later descended into a pit of gluttony, and the kingdom overall is millions of gold in debt. Stark may have been promoted, but his son was defenestrated and then nearly killed. A Song of Fire and Ice is not interested in making you happy.
And yet, this is a book that seems to relish in giving the characters little snippets of happiness. Dany has lived with an incredibly abusive brother, but is now married to a man that seems to care for her and has finally found a place where she "belongs". Arya has gotten permission from her father to maintain her own identity without falling into the classic princess mold. Jon finally has a place that he can succeed at based on his own strengths and weaknesses, and is starting to make friends. Overall, the story is moving into a far more deadly and unstable chain of events (Winter is coming, after all), but Martin seems determined to give the characters (and the reader) their own personal victories and celebrations.
And what's more, these are personalized to the characters. Dany's heard all her life that she's a princess, but never had anything to go along with it. Arya has rebelled all her life against the stereotypically female role, and has finally achieved some balance now that she's away from home. Jon has been a perpetual +1 all his life, important enough to be around based on his father's wishes, but never enough to truly succeed or carve out his own niche. These are all great personal victories for each of the characters in their own unique way. It's nice. It's really nice to see. Honestly, I'm enjoying the hell out of this read. So huzzah for that, I guess.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Because I should Probably do something
So, for the longest time, I've heard a few pieces of advice regarding writing. Whether it came from Proper literary luminaries, pulpy story producers, or short story spinners, they all have the same thing to say.
1. Always write something.
2. Maintain a schedule.
So I guess I failed at the second one anyway. I always write at least a paragraph a day on some projects, most of which will never see the light of day for a number of reasons. Honestly, I feel they're kind of shit.
One of the reasons I started this blog though, and one of the reasons I force myself to post the entries to the public places I do, is so that I'd become slightly less neurotic about other people seeing my stuff. I've never liked having others read whatever I create, so why not work on that by writing some fairly inconsequential stuff on the Internet for a while? There are worse ways to go about working through issues.
Of course, the main reason I missed posts is because I finally chose to begin having a (short lived) social life. Ah well. I'm only disappointing myself by failing.by the by, this was written on my iPhone, and I really don't want to do this again anytime soon.
1. Always write something.
2. Maintain a schedule.
So I guess I failed at the second one anyway. I always write at least a paragraph a day on some projects, most of which will never see the light of day for a number of reasons. Honestly, I feel they're kind of shit.
One of the reasons I started this blog though, and one of the reasons I force myself to post the entries to the public places I do, is so that I'd become slightly less neurotic about other people seeing my stuff. I've never liked having others read whatever I create, so why not work on that by writing some fairly inconsequential stuff on the Internet for a while? There are worse ways to go about working through issues.
Of course, the main reason I missed posts is because I finally chose to begin having a (short lived) social life. Ah well. I'm only disappointing myself by failing.by the by, this was written on my iPhone, and I really don't want to do this again anytime soon.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Three disjointed ideas
See, this is why I come up with projects. As much as I enjoy the act of writing, I all too often run out of ideas too quickly, and so have to go mining for something else and then things get rushed. What's worse is that I'm actually (by and large) disconnected from the rest of the world at the moment, but why not take a random three things and call it good? Daily posts don't always have to be 700 word exercises in saying as little about a topic as possible.
1. As much as I genuinely love having as much time to play games as I want, my taste in games is making me wonder. I've seriously logged about 40 hours into Dynasty Warriors Gundam since it came out, which was last Tuesday.
Mind you, I don't actually like this installment as much as the previous ones. The camera's in too close, the HUD is cluttered up, and the choice and emphasis on the different series is really weird. Stardust Memories gets a nod, but not War in the Pocket? Did we really need five of the mechs from Gundam Wing? And did you seriously include Heavyarms, which has a pocket knife for a melee weapon?
On the other hand, the Wing suits are all the worst five in the game, and I didn't love Unicorn nearly as much as I do now that I've actually seen it in motion. So it has that going for it I guess.
2. Movies are looking pretty bleak until the 22nd, when Captain America comes out. I'm kind of disappointed I won't be seeing it in Florida, like I did with Thor. This isn't necessarily because the theaters are better there (though they are), it's mostly because it means that when I go, I won't run into a group of people cosplaying as the Avenger's. There is no better way to make me feel better about myself than to see a group of cosplayers.
That said, were I in shape and had a set of Extremis armor, I promise you I'd be right there as Tony Stark. Just sayin.
3. I think I should start doing more models. And by models, I mean figurines that have to be assembled by hand. Now that I think on it, this would actually make for a fairly entertaining blogpost and material on it's own.
Huh, why didn't I think of that earlier? Fucking writer's block.
1. As much as I genuinely love having as much time to play games as I want, my taste in games is making me wonder. I've seriously logged about 40 hours into Dynasty Warriors Gundam since it came out, which was last Tuesday.
Mind you, I don't actually like this installment as much as the previous ones. The camera's in too close, the HUD is cluttered up, and the choice and emphasis on the different series is really weird. Stardust Memories gets a nod, but not War in the Pocket? Did we really need five of the mechs from Gundam Wing? And did you seriously include Heavyarms, which has a pocket knife for a melee weapon?
On the other hand, the Wing suits are all the worst five in the game, and I didn't love Unicorn nearly as much as I do now that I've actually seen it in motion. So it has that going for it I guess.
2. Movies are looking pretty bleak until the 22nd, when Captain America comes out. I'm kind of disappointed I won't be seeing it in Florida, like I did with Thor. This isn't necessarily because the theaters are better there (though they are), it's mostly because it means that when I go, I won't run into a group of people cosplaying as the Avenger's. There is no better way to make me feel better about myself than to see a group of cosplayers.
That said, were I in shape and had a set of Extremis armor, I promise you I'd be right there as Tony Stark. Just sayin.
3. I think I should start doing more models. And by models, I mean figurines that have to be assembled by hand. Now that I think on it, this would actually make for a fairly entertaining blogpost and material on it's own.
Huh, why didn't I think of that earlier? Fucking writer's block.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Just that kind of day
Today sucked! If I wasn't trying to keep up and post something, even a completely crap post like this, I probably wouldn't have bothered. Just kind of want to grind away at something mindless alone for a while. Something like Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3. Yep.
So instead, have some Nyan Cat. I know I've had it on repeat for a while now.
Yep. Just that kind of day.
So instead, have some Nyan Cat. I know I've had it on repeat for a while now.
Yep. Just that kind of day.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
On Some Big Damn Heroes
Holding off on some things for a few days, I want to give them the proper treatment they deserve. Quick, off the cuff posts aren't worthy of what I'm thinking of. So let's do this instead.
Firefly - Fox, 2002
This show has always been problematic for me. On the one hand, I really enjoy 90% of the characters. Like, really really enjoy. Enough that I'm more than willing to watch the various actors in whatever gigs they land, which is one of the reasons I like Castle, though I don't really think Summer Glau's ever landed any other gigs that are worth mentioning. Certainly not the Terminator series.
What's more, the episodes that are on are really, really on. The episode where Wash and Mal are tortured? Everyone on the cast was spot on for that. That was a good hour of TV, with character drama, sci-fi action, and some vaguely foreign-ish bad guy with a terrible accent. The hospital raid on Ariel, likewise, is some damn fine sci-fi TV. When the show's on, it's on.
Alternatively, you have episodes like The Train Job, which the less said the better.
There are other issues as well, mostly in the premise. I'm ok with some overpowering and extremely evil galactic government. That's cool! I'm ok with bands of less-than-legal ne'er-do-wells that rub up against other unsavory elements. That stuff's cool! I'm all for it.
But then Whedon goes and couches it in terms of "War of independence", even going so far as calling the rebel forces "Brown Coats". I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some people called the war the "War of Central Aggression". The entire thing smacks of the Civil War, and while, not necessarily apologism per se, there's an uncomfortable acceptance of the Southern point of view. I know slaves weren't a piece of this war, and that this was all aboutstates colony's rights, but it's still there.
Then there's the way that the series handles the very characters I enjoy so much. Let's look at Jayne for a moment. Jayne's a sociopathic money grubbing mercenary character. He cannot, and should not, be trusted. He often isn't treated as such though. He's disparaged a lot, yeah, but no one really seems uneasy around him. The one time he does something that is against any of the crew is fantastic. Everyone who knows about it (Mal at first, then Simon) actually responds realistically, and then Jayne has the beginnings of a semblence of a character arc. This is conveniently ignored pretty much everywhere a few episodes down the road.
Then we come to the leader, Mal. I love Nathan Fillion. I think he's a great actor with a sense of charisma akin to Harrison Ford circa Raiders of the Lost Ark. But Mal, and the way that everyone reacts to him, is annoying, if not down right terrible. The problem isn't that he's shown as an unrepentant, obsessive, and crazily flawed man. I like that. I like that there are certain things he can't get over that he rightly should. I like that he has a past and beliefs that he'll die for before betraying. I like that he has some ridiculously crazy plans that don't always work.
But no one calls him on his shit in any meaningful way. A major part of this is in his treatment of Inara, the ship's own Companion, a sort of high class prostitute with a crazy amount of regulation and standards. They choose whether or not they even meet with a client, much less have sex with them. And yet Mal continually and unceasingly refers to her as a "whore". Which is honestly ok, the first few times. He's just human after all, and he has his own failings and foibles. But nothing bad ever happens because of this insistence to not refer to her as a normal human being. This isn't exactly relegated to just Inara either. Regardless of what he does, regardless of how he treats the rest of his crew, they all forgive him. He can't really do any wrong, after all. He's the great Malcom Reynolds. He acts like a right ass, a complete bastard, and still the crew respects and likes him. I can understand that from Zoe, but Wash? Book? Jayne?
That just bothers me, I guess. I don't think that the series is bad, honest. It's an enjoyable ride for most of it's tenure. It's not as good as everyone wants to say though. And the less said about Serenity the better.
Firefly - Fox, 2002
This show has always been problematic for me. On the one hand, I really enjoy 90% of the characters. Like, really really enjoy. Enough that I'm more than willing to watch the various actors in whatever gigs they land, which is one of the reasons I like Castle, though I don't really think Summer Glau's ever landed any other gigs that are worth mentioning. Certainly not the Terminator series.
What's more, the episodes that are on are really, really on. The episode where Wash and Mal are tortured? Everyone on the cast was spot on for that. That was a good hour of TV, with character drama, sci-fi action, and some vaguely foreign-ish bad guy with a terrible accent. The hospital raid on Ariel, likewise, is some damn fine sci-fi TV. When the show's on, it's on.
Alternatively, you have episodes like The Train Job, which the less said the better.
There are other issues as well, mostly in the premise. I'm ok with some overpowering and extremely evil galactic government. That's cool! I'm ok with bands of less-than-legal ne'er-do-wells that rub up against other unsavory elements. That stuff's cool! I'm all for it.
But then Whedon goes and couches it in terms of "War of independence", even going so far as calling the rebel forces "Brown Coats". I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some people called the war the "War of Central Aggression". The entire thing smacks of the Civil War, and while, not necessarily apologism per se, there's an uncomfortable acceptance of the Southern point of view. I know slaves weren't a piece of this war, and that this was all about
Then there's the way that the series handles the very characters I enjoy so much. Let's look at Jayne for a moment. Jayne's a sociopathic money grubbing mercenary character. He cannot, and should not, be trusted. He often isn't treated as such though. He's disparaged a lot, yeah, but no one really seems uneasy around him. The one time he does something that is against any of the crew is fantastic. Everyone who knows about it (Mal at first, then Simon) actually responds realistically, and then Jayne has the beginnings of a semblence of a character arc. This is conveniently ignored pretty much everywhere a few episodes down the road.
Then we come to the leader, Mal. I love Nathan Fillion. I think he's a great actor with a sense of charisma akin to Harrison Ford circa Raiders of the Lost Ark. But Mal, and the way that everyone reacts to him, is annoying, if not down right terrible. The problem isn't that he's shown as an unrepentant, obsessive, and crazily flawed man. I like that. I like that there are certain things he can't get over that he rightly should. I like that he has a past and beliefs that he'll die for before betraying. I like that he has some ridiculously crazy plans that don't always work.
But no one calls him on his shit in any meaningful way. A major part of this is in his treatment of Inara, the ship's own Companion, a sort of high class prostitute with a crazy amount of regulation and standards. They choose whether or not they even meet with a client, much less have sex with them. And yet Mal continually and unceasingly refers to her as a "whore". Which is honestly ok, the first few times. He's just human after all, and he has his own failings and foibles. But nothing bad ever happens because of this insistence to not refer to her as a normal human being. This isn't exactly relegated to just Inara either. Regardless of what he does, regardless of how he treats the rest of his crew, they all forgive him. He can't really do any wrong, after all. He's the great Malcom Reynolds. He acts like a right ass, a complete bastard, and still the crew respects and likes him. I can understand that from Zoe, but Wash? Book? Jayne?
That just bothers me, I guess. I don't think that the series is bad, honest. It's an enjoyable ride for most of it's tenure. It's not as good as everyone wants to say though. And the less said about Serenity the better.
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Vacation in Westeros: Day 3
Day three of my reading of the Game of Thrones, and I have to say I'm actually fairly impressed. But let's break this down a bit:
What's Happened So Far
Well, not a whole lot honestly. At this point, Martin is offering a fair amount of world building and character introduction at the same time, introducing us to the current status of the world (Not so good or very, depending on who you ask) and the major players within. The Prologue has actually had the most action, with the Princeling and Night Watch member being killed by some kind of mysterious beast/force. Then we were introduced to the House of Stark through Bran Stark (Seven years old) as he goes off to an execution of the lone survivor from the prologue. Then we picked up some Direwolf puppies, and skipped ahead a bit (and to a completely different continent).
There we met the surviving twins of the old ruling family, ousted 15 years prior by the Usurper and Kingslayer. There's all sorts of Bad Touch going on and so many levels of awkward. I honestly feel bad for Princess Danny. Danny isn't her actual name per se, but I can't remember her full and real name, and fuck it I'm not powering up my iPad just to check that. Basically they do politicking which, in turn, will bode poorly for the usurpers.
Of whom we then cut to, because the King has decided to visit the Starks! With the Lannisters (Who are apparently assholes, according to Papa Stark). The King has grown old and fat, so he wants to promote Papa Stark. He doesn't want to, but because the King's his friend and the Starks have a crazy sense of duty, he'll obviously take it.
Also we found a direwolf (symbol of Stark household), which hasn't been seen in ages! But it was dead. And there were antlers in it's neck (Stag's the symbol of the king). HMMMMMMM. And there were live puppies for each of the children, including the bastard. DOUBLE HMMMMMM.
Thoughts
Honestly, I'm really enjoying my time in Westeros. Martin's prose is fairly.... I don't really want to say generic fantasy, but it reads like a lot of other fantasy series I've read. What this has that those don't, however, are some really strong characterizations for each of the characters. Because each chapter follows a different character, it could be easy to write more than a few of them with similar styles. Martin has so far managed to vary up their dialogue and thought processes enough that it hasn't really bothered me so far. Ned Stark's a stern, dedicated, dour man, and so reads as one. Whereas Princess Danny, despite being ousted and living with a crazy abusive older brother, manages a more wistful look at things. I wasn't quite expecting that level of quality.
Plus the politicking, oh my god the politicking. I can only hope that it continues at this pace, because damn do I love seeing the inner cogs working. I mean, action scenes are great and all, I guess, but you don't really get a sense of a character until you see them exercising a more subtle power. Take the case of Garion from the Belgariad/Malloreon, to reference a different fantasy series. For most of the Belgariad, Garion spends a lot of time whining and not doing a whole lot. He was much more interesting later on, when he was actually king and doing things that affected a larger scale. Likewise, there's the character of Barack, a nobleman from a Vikingish nation. He chooses not to do with terribly much politicking, which is another choice that adds to characterization more than "He hits things with axes and occasionally turns into a bear."
Also, I'm looking forward to more Tyrion. Best character in the book, y/n?
(The answer is yes. Obviously.)
What's Happened So Far
Well, not a whole lot honestly. At this point, Martin is offering a fair amount of world building and character introduction at the same time, introducing us to the current status of the world (Not so good or very, depending on who you ask) and the major players within. The Prologue has actually had the most action, with the Princeling and Night Watch member being killed by some kind of mysterious beast/force. Then we were introduced to the House of Stark through Bran Stark (Seven years old) as he goes off to an execution of the lone survivor from the prologue. Then we picked up some Direwolf puppies, and skipped ahead a bit (and to a completely different continent).
There we met the surviving twins of the old ruling family, ousted 15 years prior by the Usurper and Kingslayer. There's all sorts of Bad Touch going on and so many levels of awkward. I honestly feel bad for Princess Danny. Danny isn't her actual name per se, but I can't remember her full and real name, and fuck it I'm not powering up my iPad just to check that. Basically they do politicking which, in turn, will bode poorly for the usurpers.
Of whom we then cut to, because the King has decided to visit the Starks! With the Lannisters (Who are apparently assholes, according to Papa Stark). The King has grown old and fat, so he wants to promote Papa Stark. He doesn't want to, but because the King's his friend and the Starks have a crazy sense of duty, he'll obviously take it.
Also we found a direwolf (symbol of Stark household), which hasn't been seen in ages! But it was dead. And there were antlers in it's neck (Stag's the symbol of the king). HMMMMMMM. And there were live puppies for each of the children, including the bastard. DOUBLE HMMMMMM.
Thoughts
Honestly, I'm really enjoying my time in Westeros. Martin's prose is fairly.... I don't really want to say generic fantasy, but it reads like a lot of other fantasy series I've read. What this has that those don't, however, are some really strong characterizations for each of the characters. Because each chapter follows a different character, it could be easy to write more than a few of them with similar styles. Martin has so far managed to vary up their dialogue and thought processes enough that it hasn't really bothered me so far. Ned Stark's a stern, dedicated, dour man, and so reads as one. Whereas Princess Danny, despite being ousted and living with a crazy abusive older brother, manages a more wistful look at things. I wasn't quite expecting that level of quality.
Plus the politicking, oh my god the politicking. I can only hope that it continues at this pace, because damn do I love seeing the inner cogs working. I mean, action scenes are great and all, I guess, but you don't really get a sense of a character until you see them exercising a more subtle power. Take the case of Garion from the Belgariad/Malloreon, to reference a different fantasy series. For most of the Belgariad, Garion spends a lot of time whining and not doing a whole lot. He was much more interesting later on, when he was actually king and doing things that affected a larger scale. Likewise, there's the character of Barack, a nobleman from a Vikingish nation. He chooses not to do with terribly much politicking, which is another choice that adds to characterization more than "He hits things with axes and occasionally turns into a bear."
Also, I'm looking forward to more Tyrion. Best character in the book, y/n?
(The answer is yes. Obviously.)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Project: List-a-mania Running Wild
Continuing my "Project" series of posts, here's the second and third portions of what I'm hoping to help churn out. Now, as a card carrying member of the internets, I've grown quite fond of lists. Putting things in numerical order of some arbitrary scale of quality? Sign me the fuck up.
So I'm planning on running a couple of my own top ten lists to add to the thousands there are floating around in internet land. Namely, a list for games of the video variety and movies, because I am a man of simple pleasures.
I would not be overstating were I to say that Video Games have been the single dominant medium of my life. My first memory is of holding an NES controller at my babysitter's place when I was 3. So I guess you could say that I've played more than a few games in my time. It's annoyed me that I couldn't really place them into some form of ordered list, aside from the top three places. So there's that to look forward to.
Also movies, because movies are pretty rad. That'll be slower though, honestly.
Huh, this post doesn't quite have the legs I wanted it to.
Apropos of nothing, Vanquish is absolutely amazing. Fully suggested to everyone who likes games that has a pulse. I'll have more words on it when I've actually finished the game.
So I'm planning on running a couple of my own top ten lists to add to the thousands there are floating around in internet land. Namely, a list for games of the video variety and movies, because I am a man of simple pleasures.
I would not be overstating were I to say that Video Games have been the single dominant medium of my life. My first memory is of holding an NES controller at my babysitter's place when I was 3. So I guess you could say that I've played more than a few games in my time. It's annoyed me that I couldn't really place them into some form of ordered list, aside from the top three places. So there's that to look forward to.
Also movies, because movies are pretty rad. That'll be slower though, honestly.
Huh, this post doesn't quite have the legs I wanted it to.
Apropos of nothing, Vanquish is absolutely amazing. Fully suggested to everyone who likes games that has a pulse. I'll have more words on it when I've actually finished the game.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Project: A Vacation in Westeros
Just to get into this whole "Blogging" thing, I figured I'd cover a few projects for the first two or three days in order to get my mind wrapped around exactly want to do and let whoever so pleases to read my blog know what's the score. First and foremost is something that I've actually been fairly excited about, at least on a conceptual level.
See, I've never actually read A Song of Fire and Ice or Game of Thrones or what have you. I have some friends who will say that this makes me a bad person. Others who have said that I've avoided a taint on fantasy literature everywhere. And what with the HBO series (that I can't watch) wrapping up and setting numerous other blogs that I read a-fire, I figured why not. Now is the perfect time for a vacation in the mystical lands of Westeros.
Wait, what's that you say? Winter is coming?
Oh dear.
Regardless, I'll be reading a chapter or two a day, collating some notes, and then presenting what I think of the thing as I read it. It's like a liveblog of some major event, except the only event is an incredibly late to the party nerd reading a book that everyone else read ages ago and likely complaining about. And not really at the time he's reading it either.
So nothing at all like a liveblogging. I still need something to do whilst unemployed and searching.
See, I've never actually read A Song of Fire and Ice or Game of Thrones or what have you. I have some friends who will say that this makes me a bad person. Others who have said that I've avoided a taint on fantasy literature everywhere. And what with the HBO series (that I can't watch) wrapping up and setting numerous other blogs that I read a-fire, I figured why not. Now is the perfect time for a vacation in the mystical lands of Westeros.
Wait, what's that you say? Winter is coming?
Oh dear.
Regardless, I'll be reading a chapter or two a day, collating some notes, and then presenting what I think of the thing as I read it. It's like a liveblog of some major event, except the only event is an incredibly late to the party nerd reading a book that everyone else read ages ago and likely complaining about. And not really at the time he's reading it either.
So nothing at all like a liveblogging. I still need something to do whilst unemployed and searching.
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