Weekend In Retrospect

I'm not sure yet whether or not I will make this a regular thing, but I'll just continue with it for the time being.

Friday: A few friends and myself traveled across town to what used to be Stone Mountain Park, but had seemingly become some freakish mixture of a mall and a theme park. Seriously, what kind of park has a Starbucks? A freaking Starbucks! Who comes out to a mountain, lays down their blanket, and says, "You know what? I could totally go for a Mocha Frappuccino right about now." It's just pathetic. I remember when people just came out to throw around the old Frisbee, hike around in the woods, maybe take the lift up to the top of the mountain, and then watch the laser show when it got dark. From what I saw the new norm has become: drop the kids off at the huge play park, maybe take Grandma on a ride around the mountain in a train that now costs about $10 a person, buy two hot dogs and a single nacho (There is no way anyone can convince me that what my friend bought was a double as he only got one bag. How do they give you one fricking little bag and tell you to split it?!) for an outrageous $15 dollars, and then walk around the huge, air-conditioned, gift shop for a few hours. Oh, and then watch the laser show. I guess some things don't change. Oh wait, half the freaking show is a Chik-fil-a commercial! How long are they going to push the whole cow thing? Indiana Steer? Are you kidding?

The whole place has become completely tourised. I think they even built a Marriott Resort somewhere close to the mountain. I honestly believe when I go back in what is sure to be five to six years, they'll have carved out the inside of the mountain and turned it into an actual mall. At least then they would be completely out in the open with what their plans for the park are. After the laser show, we dropped off one of my friends back at his house and then went to Waffle House for dinner at like one a.m. After that I crashed at my friend's house as per usual during this summer break.

Saturday: Lazed around at my friend's house for most of the day, went out for lunch, and then saw Wall-E around five. After that my friend and his girlfriend went back to his house and waited while his dad cooked steak for dinner. It was a little redder than I was used to, but it was still great. Besides, my parents are insanely paranoid about such things. The slightest sign of pink means back to the grill. Anyhow, we hung out in my friend's room for the rest of the night, watched a movie, and then watched the latest episode of Dr. Who. (I can't wait for the finale this upcoming weekend!)

Sunday: Woke up early despite the fact that I had gone to bed at about four. Blogged about Wall-E and checked up on all of my usual sites since I had not been home since Friday afternoon. My friend's girlfriend came back over around eleven and laid in the bed with him because, unlike me, he likes sleeping for more than four hours. It was nice to see and all, seeing as I helped a little in getting them together in the first place, but it was kind of depressing too. The worst thing for lonely people are people who aren't, you know? Anyhow, I snatched The Sword of Shannara trilogy off of my friend's shelf when I got bored with my mindless web surfing, I must have gone to the same four or five sites about fifty times each, and began reading it. I read the Heritage series ,which comes after this trilogy, a few years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just never got around to reading this series because college destroys all desire for personal reading. After a while of reading I asked my friend if he could take me home as I finally felt I'd overstayed my welcome. I don't really remember anything after I got back home because it was about to rain so I couldn't go for my usual sixteen-plus mile bike ride that has become customary for slow summer Sundays.

Well that was fun. I just may continue doing this every week. At least until school starts because I am sure any weekend retrospectives written after that can be summed up as "Woke up around eleven, sat in front of the computer, went to dinner at six, played Smash Bros. Brawl until about four a.m., went to sleep, repeat." Sad but true folks. Sad but true.

Wall-E

Pixar truly outdid themselves this time. Wall-E was everything from heart-wrenching to hilarious and back again. Though the movie has very little actual speech, Pixar has proven that it doesn't need to rely on witty one-liners to carry a movie. Everything Wall-E is and does will have you captivated until the credits roll. Actually, the credit sequence was fairly amazing in its own respect. The film's message was also deeper and more thought provoking than anything I have seen in a long while. So if you have yet to see this smart little robot's journey across the stars, then what are you waiting for?

I award Wall-E a perfect 5 stars out of 5.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots Impressions [Minor Spoilers]

I believe this day marks the first time in my entire life that I just did not know how to start writing something. Seriously, there is just so much that can be said right now that I am truly at a loss. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is without a doubt the best game I have ever had the privilege of playing. It was released on June 12, 2008 and it is the final installment of the Metal Gear Solid series.

I have been a fan of this series since I played Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes when it released back in 2004 for the Nintendo Gamecube. I was hooked. I honestly played that game a total of nine times consecutively. When I finally got my hands on a Playstation 2, I eagerly devoured Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, and after about seven months or so of waiting, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The coolest thing about playing this series is realizing that every game in it is better than the last, which was perfect in its own right. It boggles my mind to think that someone came up with this enormous complex storyline and was able to map it out so beautifully. Hideo Kojima is that someone. He is a genius. But putting all that aside, I will get to the part everyone is waiting for: the review of this wonderful masterpiece of a game.

The game takes place five years after the "Big Shell Incident" which comprised Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. The world is now driven by what is called the "war economy." I won't go too deeply into it, but as the name suggests, it is an economy driven completely by war. Hundreds upon hundreds of "proxy" battles fought by mercenary troops. The game starts off in the Middle East where you find yourself playing as a much older Solid Snake. (No, I am not going into why he has aged so drastically in the nine years since the first game.) He has been plunged into a heated battle between rebels of the region and mercenary troops, called PMCs, in the hopes of tracking down a "certain man." Unlike the previous games, however, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is not limited to one area as you will find yourself at various locales all over the globe. So look forward to drastic changes in scenery ranging from the dry deserts of the Middle East to the dank streets of Eastern Europe.

Guns Of The Patriots will bring back a host of familiar faces from the previous three titles as well as a crew of new and memorable characters. The bosses, as well, are some of the most imaginative characters I have ever seen. Even more so than Metal Gear Solid 3, though in Guns Of The Patriots they are not nearly as challenging as the bosses from the other three titles. The game, being made in a fan oriented mindset, will reveal every secret and pull out every twist imaginable before the credits roll. At times you will be so caught up in the moment that you actually scream at your television. I know I did. At one point during the game's epilogue I actually pushed my chair back and gave a genuine and heart-felt salute. Seriously, there are points in this game that are so emotional that you will want to cry and times so humorous that you can't help but laugh. Not to mention the game's final battle is that of legend. Legend. I don't think I have ever seen a more cinematic fight in my entire life. On that note, the game's soundtrack is even better than that of the other games, and that is saying a lot. Seriously, if you don't download it afterward then you must have played the entire game on mute.

For the most part, this game controls the same as the three previous titles. This is good as many games make the mistake of attempting to change the game play in a way that alienates veteran players. The only thing is, in the case of the Metal Gear Solid series, that each game adds a slight twist to its style and Guns Of The Patriots is no different. This final installment builds off of the camouflage system created in Metal Gear Solid 3 and takes it to a whole new level. Snake is given the Octo-camo suit, special clothing that takes the pattern of whatever surface the Snake is resting on if he stays still for a few seconds, which allows him to essentially hide himself at all times. He can still be spotted, of course, but this makes it much more interesting as Snake now has the possibility of avoiding detection even if the enemy is mere inches away from him. Guns Of The Patriots also adds a point system that allows Snake to purchase guns, ammunition, and special items at any point in the game as well as a weapon recovery system that allows him to use weapons he picks up from enemy soldiers. This is a drastic change as all of the other games had a somewhat limited number of weapons and only minor customization options.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is a masterpiece. Plain and simple. It is better than any game, book, or movie than I have ever played, read, or watched. Not only does it have an amazing plot, and game play, but it really feels like it was made just for the fans. It makes so many connections to the past games that only someone who had played them could fully understand the scope of what they were experiencing. It is so deep and intricate that it is almost scary. Actually, it is scary. In the years I waited for this game, I feared that the story wouldn't wrap up nicely and I was angry that this would be last chapter. Both of these were ungrounded, however, as the game ties everything together perfectly and it was revealed that there would be more Metal Gear games, but that this was Snake and co.'s final mission. I will miss each and every one of them. I went through my first play through on the normal difficulty, as usual, which leaves hard and extreme for me to complete now. I can't wait to play them and watch each and every cutscene again.

I award Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots for the Playstation 3 not only a perfect 5 out of 5, but its rightful place as my #1 favorite game of all time. Well played Mr. Kojima. Well played. *salutes*

State Of The Squenix Address [Getting Back In The Game]

For the few of you out there who don't know, Squenix has come under a bit of a bind. In 2006, Squenix sold a modest 6.1 million units in the U.S., which can be attributed to the release of Final Fantasy XII, and made a very nice profit in doing so. However, in 2007 that number dropped hard to only 3.7 million units sold in the U.S. This caused the company's profits to drop a dismal 20%. In Japan, however, the sales went from 7.2 million to 7.5 million units sold over the two years. So what has been causing so much trouble for the company here in the U.S.? Well the rise of the "Western" RPG of course. The rising popularity of the Western RPG means big competition for our beloved developer.

This could first be seen with the creation of the now popular term "JRPG" or Japanese role-playing game. So you're probably thinking "what's wrong with dividing the genre into categories?" Well, with category comes prejudice. It is now the "majority" view in the U.S. that JRPGs simply recycle the same formulas over and over again with no innovation. This is mostly untrue as many of the JRPGs we have been seeing within the past few years have shown a great deal of uniqueness and innovation. Examples of this would be Eternal Sonata for the 360, or Final Fantasy XII for the Playstation 2. Both of these games showed a great deal of change from the rest of the pack, but they were still branded with same silly looks many Americans give JRPGs these days.

I honestly believe this, as well as the whole "hardcore" versus "casual" gaming debate (which is another story entirely), to be the doing of Microsoft and their Xbox franchise. By using their media "hype machines" to pump up such games as Mass Effect and Fable here in the U.S., they are attempting to defame the traditional RPG by saying what they are offering is "new" and "cool." Now there is nothing wrong with pumping up a product, but defaming the origins of the genre is not the way to go about it. That, of course, is beside the point and just my humble opinion.

So what is Squenix going to do about this you ask? Well, Squeinx headman Yoichi Wada stated late last month that the company needed to break away from their traditional image.

"We face competition not only from Japanese video game companies but from game companies worldwide. We also see some new players from outside the video game industry coming in... Economies of scale and breadth of scope is getting important. It may be a business alliance or it may be us taking a stake in others, but we need to go beyond traditional Square Enix."

Well you heard it, more business alliances and other corporate "how-do's" are in the works. Could their name possibly be any longer? Anyways, the company has started their "changes" by greatly increasing the number of projects they are working on. If you aren't keeping up with them, they have a huge lineup to be released within the next year ranging from cell phone games to classic remakes. This is all in an attempt to increase overseas sales from its current 50% to 80% in the next three years.

The only downside to this, as you may have noticed, is a drop in the quality of games. Don't get me wrong, some of them have been great, i.e. The World Ends With You and Dragon Quest VIII, but others have been terrible. I mean, while I respect their efforts to infiltrate the Action genre, there is just no excuse for the atrocity that was Dirge of Cerberus.

So in closing, although Squenix is making an effort to move away from their "traditional" image, they really need to slow down enough to make sure they are doing what the fans really want. Personally, I'd love to see a remake of Final Fantasy VII or Chrono Trigger. There is nothing wrong with tradition. Tradition is warm and familiar. But slapping Final Fantasy on every new idea isn't going to add to anyone's reputation. Especially the franchise's.


A big thank you to nJoo for the opening artwork: http://njoo.deviantart.com/

And Kotaku.com for the technical information:
http://kotaku.com/

The World Ends With You Impressions [Minor Spoilers]

So, after a few weeks, I was finally able to finish The World Ends With You, or It's A Wonderful World if you are playing the Japanese version. I started it after I finished Hotel Dusk, and I was hooked! It's the first DS game since Pokemon that I've been able to say that about. There is even a quite lengthy after-game that allows you to unlock secret "reports" that give you a deeper insight into what was going on behind the scenes of the main story.

Anyhow, I could see how people would think it appealed to the "emo" crowd, Neku is as emo as can be when the game starts, but it really doesn't focus on that. It focuses more on the "urban" lifestyle of Japanese youth living in Shibuya. The plot is a bit confusing at first, but when the first twist is dropped you'll never want to put the game down until you've beaten it.

My absolute favorite part of the game, however, is its flexibility. What enemies you face and how you face them is completely up to you. You can even adjust your level to increase/decrease the drop rate, though this is mainly for pin collection as harder enemies drop better pins.

Pins are what you use in the game to defend yourself with. They are what makes the game so deep as each pin has its own special stats and ways to use it. Such as one pin may allow you to do a double slash attack by slashing an enemy with the stylus, while another pin allows you to do a double slash by blowing into the mic. The two pins are basically the same, it just depends on your play style as to which one you choose.

Going back to the "urban" style of the game. Scattered across the city are various stores that sell both name brand and unbranded prducts, clothes and accessories. Certain brands are more popular or less popular in certain areas of the city, which can effect your stats or your pins in different ways. Each of the game's characters must also eat to give themselves stat bonuses and each character has their own specific tastes.

The game play varies, like I said previously, depending on what pins you are using, but the constant is that you control the main character, Neku, on the bottom screen with your stylus and one of his partners on the top screen with the control pad, or the letters if you are a lefty. As Neku and his partner fight, a "light puck" is passed between them that can double, triple, quadruple, etc. their attack power. This is very useful in manipulating as the puck will disappear and start over if it isn't passed after a certain amount of time.

Overall, I loved The World Ends With You, and I hope to see more like it from Squenix. I would even go as far as to say that this is the best title the DS has to offer and if you don't have it, you are really missing out. I give The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS a perfect 5 out of 5.

Life At The Moment and Sunset Shots

Hello all. Sorry it has been a while, I have been busy with a few other things. I really just don't know where my head has been for the past couple of weeks... it is already June 13th and I haven't a clue of what I have actually been doing this summer. Maybe the new position I got at the library will help. Also, a big thanks to two of my three best friends for making the summer thus far almost bearable.

Anyhow, as the title suggests I have a few sunset shots that I took a few weeks ago that I suppose I will put up here. They are in their raw form, I usually cut the ones on my deviantArt page down and give them a border, so you get to see the full scope of what I was able to capture. Enjoy? Please?

The Swamp Of Sadness

I want to conduct a little experiment. Watch the following scene and tell me if you remember it happening in the movie "The Never Ending Story." When I first watched it last week, I didn't remember it happening even though I had seen the movie as a kid probably a hundred times. I have already talked to two other people and they didn't remember the scene either and a number of the comments on the forum that it was posted on suggested that they didn't remember it as well. So I am curious, was this scene so sad that we blocked it from our memory somehow? It isn't an uncommon phenomena but I am feeling experimentive.

Subtle Revelations [Acrostic Experiment]

Acrostic: "A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence."

Can you see it? What does it say?


Subtle Revelations

Letters delivered by the setting sun.
Inconsequential patterns painted across the evening sky,
Fighting desperately for our attention in their last few moments.
Eager to draw our eyes towards heaven.

Is it truly acceptable to gaze upon
Such marvelous wonders?

Born from feeble imagination.
Unable to free itself from reality's
Tyrannical rigidity.

Are we honestly so set in our ways?

Divided endlessly by creeds and beliefs.
Rarely just, yet always a beacon of hope,
Etched into stone to be forever remembered yet
Always forgotten.
Memories set adrift on an ocean of dreams.

Copyright © 2008 Jarred Lee