The Ancient One

This is such a nice little song…

For some reason I’ve been thinking about Lovecraft lore lately.  Now I can’t get this song out of my head.
People look at me funny when I start singing it to myself.
“Hey there Cthulu!”

Wet? Little Damp Maybe…

I’ve seen a few things on upcoming video game Wet by Bethesda over the past months. It seemed interesting, but not really mind blowing. The initial turn-off was only noticing their inspiration was Tarantino. I don’t like his movies too much. However, the game seems to go beyond that, and if that wasn’t enough to warant a purchase, Gamestop had a $10 off special for a pre-order. Coupled with this handy $10 off code I have, it seems like a nice distraction.

Heavenly Sword

Finally had the opportunity to play through this yesterday. The only complaints I seem to recall hearing about it is its’ short length, and whilel I won’t say that it is actually a fault, it is true. Despite playing through it’s entirety in under six hours, there wasn’t a moment I wasn’t enjoying the game. I’ve heard it described as “God of War with a female”, and after playing it I can safely say that’s inaccurate. While the action in the game can be played similarly, the intricacies of combat are more counter-focused than on attacking. The control scheme used for this was difficult to grasp at first, but as the game progressed you begin to master it. Characters, even for their short time on screen, are well developed and portrayed. Nariko as the main protagonist serves as a very deep and honorable center to the story unfolding around her, and its fairly easy to like her. The show, however, is stolen consistently by Kai, Nariko’s adopted younger sister. Kai’s impish and eccentric demeanor leads to most of the humor found in the story, as well as the funnest section in the game. While not many of the villains are exceptional, Flying Fox and King Bohan are worth mentioning for their own demented humors, though each is, at their roots, really just a villain (i.e. meant to be hated). Any mystery surrounding the piece is delivered by The Raven King, a constant presence throughout the story who always makes you stop to pause whenever you see him/it (it tracks you through many portions of the game), finally revealing a monumental roll at the climax. The setting is worth mentioning in its own right. Its been a long time since I played a game with scenery this jaw-dropping. I haven’t actually stopped and just stared at the background since playing Rygar, and aside from acts 1 and 5, I found myself doing it consistently here.

Metal Gear Solid 4

I dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 to the wayside this past Wednesday. Not that it was bad or anything, but, hell I’ve been waiting a long time for MGS4. The game opened with a hauntingly tragic melody (titled “Old Snake”) playing over a scene of Snake walking through the cemetery to the grave of Big Boss. I think I was hooked from that moment on. Game play has been dramatically improved, as well as the scenery, but the meat of the experience was the story for me. Seeing a story arch that spanned fifty years finally begin to close on itself was fairly dramatic. A lot of bad things happened, many of them I didn’t really like, but thats not really a flaw with the tale, more me just wishing for the best. Certain scenes that were shown in the trailer still managed to entertain in the final release, despite me having watched the trailers about ten times each. Particularly the Raiden Vs. Vamp bout. There of course were a fair share of surprises in the story, but most of these bordered on the same tragic branch, making for a sad final tale of a legendary hero. I recall hearing suspicions that this wouldn’t be the last installment, but after playing through it I don’t think thats very likely. Besides, there aren’t many questions left to answer after all is said and done here. Despite some fairly nice action sequences, I’d still say my favorite sequence in the game is during the return to Shadow Moses Island. When you crest the rise overlooking the heliport (where Snake first entered the installation), “The Best Is Yet to Come” (ending song to MGS) begins playing. If that wasn’t enough of a nostalgia trip, as you progress through the island, Snake begins to ‘hear’ flashbacks when he goes through areas that were important in the first game. Easily made it the best act in the game for me. Some of the final encounters were truly epic. The final duel between Snake and Liquid was beyond phenomenal, it was down right poetic, and there was even a very surprising guest boss during the last act. There was even a nice chunk where you got to pilot a Metal Gear. The B&B Corps. were all nice bosses, but they lacked the importance of the original MGS villains that they seemed to be named after. Aside from a few run-ins, they really don’t play much into the grand scheme (though I will admit, the first real fight with one was pretty wicked), even if they do make for tragic villains.
After it was all said and done, I felt a little fulfilled, yet awkwardly hallow.

Immortal Extraterrestrial Spider Ninja Cyborgs…With Whips

Had the opportunity to watch the new Indy movie this past Tuesday. I’ve heard people say it disappointing, and I can understand where they are coming from. That’s not to say the movie is bad, per say, but held against its predecessors, it doesn’t compare favorably. The best way I can think of explaining it, is that it doesn’t have the trademark Indy…cleverness. Some things are too convenient.
Also, been trying desperately to finish Lost Odyssey before MGS4 arrives, its been a slow progression. I’ve meant to write about it, but I hate doing that until I’ve completed a game/book/show.
Also started Ninja Gaiden 2 last night, which I shouldn’t have done. Damn thing is too good. It may impede my Lost Odyssey progress somewhat…

My God. It’s Full of Stars.

After finishing the adventure mode in SSB:B, I started investing some time into movies.  Ended up buying GTO the other day, along with the first few Mushi-Shi discs and xxxHOLIC.  Its amazing that after all this time and so many recommendations I am just now watching GTO.  Took a little bit to get into, but hwolly entertaining so far.  I’m loath to start Mushi-Shi yet, simply because if I like it I’d feel compelled to buy the other discs, and I still need to have money for FES and Ninja Gaiden II.  Life is hard.
I’ve also attempted to finish Lost Odyssey recently.  I took a break some time ago because I needed time away from the random encounters, which are the lowest form of evil, and as far as they go, LO has some pretty bad ones.  It was fortunate that I resumed at a story cluster, far from combat, or I may have been halted by overwhelming disgust.
I’ve also had the mediocre thrill of having seen Forgotten Kingdom recently.  Not the most stellar theatrical piece, but not terrible.  There were a few things that seemed overly forced, but Id imagine it was marketed for people that wouldn’t notice that (?).  And while on that subject, I feel it was worth noting that anyone familiar with Journey West may see some familiar things.

Yakuza, Triads and… Pinkertons?!

Bought two very nice movies over the course of the week.  It’s nice when you can take a break from whatever you’re doing and find there are still items being released that are worth your time.  The first one, of course, was War, featuring Jet Li and Jason Statham, which, despite my views of the latter’s work defied all expectations and even offered a few surprises in its plot, which is rare for me in these days of predictability.  The other, 3:10 to Yuma,  just so happened to be a trailer on the prior film which caught my attention.  Its an expertly done remake of a film that I honestly never saw before, but the subtle nuances of each character really drew me in.  I’ve watched each one twice already…
Now back to Persona 3…

Death of a Legend

I was reading a recently received copy of EGM today, when I glanced over a small article. Essentially, it was voiced by a fan of the Legacy of Kain series, inquiring as to why there were no more games planned for the series. The details of the game (though I did like the plot, and Kain) were unimportant, but the response from one of the editors is what really caught my eye. It seems that Tony Jay, a pretty renowned voice actor (one of the best in my opinion), passed away quite a while back. A whole bloody year in fact. How I missed this back then will never know. Mr. Jay possessed a very interesting voice, the kind that seemed to echo in its own right. His voice as the Elder God is one of the most eerily appropriate casts ever done, and one of the most memorable voices ever (trust me if you have ever heard it you’d remember it).

300

So I finally got around to watching this the other day. I can say honestly that I don’t think it’s a bad movie, but it doesn’t quite rank into my ‘Best’ list. I can handle gritty stories, and I can handle gratuitous ones, so that wasn’t really the problem. I’m thinking for a story built around fighting there wasn’t quite enough of it. Does that even make sense? However one of the biggest disappointments was the narrative. I like the thought that they would have Dilios narrate the story of the 300, as well as back story on Leonidas, but it seems an error in continuity when he talks of him “Being the only one who looked back” while he left with the Arcadians, yet he continues to narrate the end of the Spartans as though he were there. It casts serious doubt on his storytelling (i.e. the movie as a whole). Oh well. I do recall enjoying one of the political statements in the film, wherein Queen Gorgo stabbed the politician Theron in the middle of the senate house.