Lots of interesting books in my backlog. Here's one. BACKGROUND:
I'm not familiar with this one, which speaks to how many comics there are that I've yet to hear about. SUMMARY: Jake Dobson, a guy who works at a comic book store, chances upon a lost phone while biking around San Francisco. He decides to keep it, and it ends up being a big mistake. Upon checking the phone's contents, he finds photos of a murder scene, and he's understandably horrified. Jake tries to do the right thing by calling the police, but it's already too late: he's stumbled into a much larger conspiracy, and he's caught the attention of a hitman hellbent on keeping things under wraps. Shit is obviously intense off the bat, as Jake is relentlessly pursued, threatened in various ways, and has his entire life completely upended all from randomly picking up something on the ground. It doesn't help that the cops dismiss his pleas at the start, thanks in no small part to the confusion brought about by the cover-ups. As Jake is forced on the run, he encounters another person caught in the middle of this whole mess, and with their help, he tries to uncover what the hell is going on. The latter half of the book is twist after twist, and they paint a shocking picture. The conspiracy Jake and his new friend find themselves trapped in runs so much deeper than they could have ever imagined, and it is terrifying. Naturally, I can't expound without spoiling these big reveals. The most I will say is that these twists do a lot to make things feel hopeless and insurmountable, and not just for Jake. I really felt for Jake as he is completely terrified in the early stretches of the story. Before he bothers to check the phone, you can see that his life is relatively peaceful; he gets to shoot the shit with his best friend at the comic store and not really worry about anything else. All of that is thrown out the window because of that phone, and once he realizes his old life is gone, he becomes determined to find some form of justice for all the messed-up shit he witnesses. For the friend Jake meets who's in the same boat, the conspiracy is much more personal (and that escalates with one of the big plot twists), but to say anything more than that would give too much away. The hitman who pursues Jake throughout the story just seems like a cold-blooded killer at first, but one of the key plot twists reveals how his motives are more complex than keeping a string of murders quiet. Again, can't explain too much, but once all the twists are revealed, you see his actions in a different light. I liked the slight nuance that provided, even if the end result is still a pretty basic motivation for a typical villain. There are a bunch of other characters, but in what is a recurring theme here, I can't talk about them much without giving away some of the big twists. They're not that fleshed out anyhow, but they do serve their purpose in the main story well. Aside from them, there's your standard "well-meaning cop who can't help but not see the conspiracy", and there's Steve, Jake's best friend. Steve's character feels like a stereotypical incel (not a kind of person I would ever designate a best friend), but Jake seems to care about him, nonetheless. The art stands out immediately, since it's entirely in black-and-white. The style is mostly this freehand/rough sketch look with simple details, relatively thin lines, and occasional textures that look like faded-out markers or smudged paint/ink. Overall, the comic's aesthetic complements the gritty thriller vibe of the story, and despite the limitations in palette, the violence still looks plenty gruesome thanks to the smart use of textures. VERDICT: I thought Snapshot was a short but sweet crime thriller with immediate, dire stakes for the main characters, a bevy of shocking reveals, and a surprising (albeit slight) nuance to the motives of the hitman chasing Jake at the beginning. I was hooked from start to finish, and I also thought the art was striking in its own way. If you're in the mood for a crime thriller, like black-and-white art, or are just looking for a short but engaging read, this comic is worth considering. - end -
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I've been making sure to mix up the order in which I cross items off my game backlog so I don't get sick of playing similar genres in succession. That means it's time for a shooter. BACKGROUND:
I've heard this game mentioned before, but I didn't really know much about it other than it looked like a super gloomy FPS. Apparently this game is based on a novel of the same name. I should read that so I can compare and contrast. Since the Russian setting of the game is bound to raise some eyebrows, I must address this before I begin: the author of the book this is based on, though is Russian, has openly opposed the regime (condemning the treatment of notable opposition leader Alexei Navalny). Additionally, the developers of this game? They're Ukrainian. PLOT: Metro 2033 is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth that was ravaged by nuclear war. Survivors in Russia have been forced to retreat to the extensive Metro railway systems that sprawl across the underground of Moscow and extend to neighboring areas (this is a real thing that exists, by the way). As these tunnels are the only refuge against the irradiated surface and the hordes of mutated beasts that now inhabit the earth, people have gone on to build a very different kind of life underground, and it's the furthest thing from easy or comfortable. The cataclysm hasn't stopped humans from fighting each other, either, as factions such as hardcore Communists and Nazis are at constant war with one another, and opportunistic bandits are aplenty. You follow the journey of Artyom, a young man who was only a child when the nukes hit and has thus only known the Metro. He is sent on an important mission when the train station he calls home are attacked by creatures called the Dark Ones, which requires him to go to Polis (a much larger community within the Metro) in hopes of getting some much-needed support. Artyom makes his way through several stations within the Metro, encountering multiple communities, getting caught in the crossfire of warring factions, and occasionally running into mutant outbreaks. He also must brave the inhospitable ruins of Moscow on his mission, and you get to see how absolutely fucked the surface world is. Artyom only speaks during the intros for each chapter of the story, and you need to collect his journal entries in the game to get a good sense of his character and life within the Metro. Completing the journal was worthwhile, in my opinion, as his observations throughout his journey are quite insightful and do a lot in terms of world-building, as well as hammering home the urgency of his mission. He also gets to mull over the tragedy of his whole situation, like when he first reaches the surface and laments at how it's nothing like he used to imagine. As I always say, however, storytelling that you have to work for is understandably not a popular approach with everybody. You run into a few other characters throughout Artyom's journey, though you don't really get to spend as much time with them as you do with the protagonist. Still, many of them have something going for them, like a distinct personality, hints of a backstory, or just a decent sense of their struggles within the Metro (and the resilience they must have had to still keep going). The Dark Ones don't directly oppose you in the story (most of your conflicts will be with mindless mutants or asshole humans), but it becomes clear early on that they are one of many elements within this post-apocalypse that have almost supernatural properties. It seems quite fascinating, but the game doesn't really dive into it, which is a shame. There are two endings, though only one of them is canon. The alternate ending is interesting in the sense that it turns Artyom's whole mission on its head, but the way you unlock this ending is not communicated to you by the game at all. Thus, it's possible to play the game and not realize there was even another ending. Moreover, the story doesn't quite build up the moral quandary that informs the choice Artyom makes to kick off the alternate ending, and I felt like it would have been more effective if the two sides of the equation were given equal time to breathe. PRESENTATION: I'm playing the Redux version of Metro 2033, which is a remaster of the original release. I haven't seen the original at all, so I can't compare, but on its own, Metro 2033 Redux looks solid in terms of visual fidelity. It's not quite on par with current-gen titles with its level of detail given how long ago it came out, so don't expect too much of its realistic art style. Don't be surprised by the gloominess of the visuals; after all, you're playing within a post-apocalypse. The tunnels that comprise the Metro look absolutely run down, and the surface of Moscow looks truly bleak, with a perpetually gray sky, an eternal blanket of snow, and completely wrecked buildings. All these come together to deliver quite the hopeless, inhospitable atmosphere, though it understandably would look drab, boring, and gray to many players. To add to the immersion, the UI appears sparingly as you play through. There's little music to speak of, so the audio is mostly ambient sounds and the occasional voice acting. I'd say these other elements do their job adequately, especially on Artyom's end; the sounds he makes during gameplay (largely his panting, grunting, and gasping for air) do well to convey the effort he exerts and how immediately dangerous it is to breathe the air in this post-apocalypse. GAMEPLAY: Metro 2033 is a first-person shooter, and what's interesting about the Redux version is that you can play the game in two ways. There's Survival Mode, which is meant to be the experience of the original, and there's Spartan Mode, which is more action-oriented. I played the game in Survival Mode, so my thoughts will be based on what I encountered there. Survival Mode goes for a more Resident Evil route when it comes to the gameplay: resources are scarce, and you want to only use your guns only if absolutely necessary. You'll have to scavenge your surroundings for extra ammo and other useful resources to keep your supplies up, but there are rare occasions where you stop by safe stations where you can spend currency to restock or acquire new weapons. Weapons are mostly standard fare, with a small assortment of rifles (including an AK-47), a revolver, shotguns, and an SMG that overheats. There are also a few more inventive weapons, like a flamethrower, a bunch of pneumatic weapons (with the most notable one being a crossbow with reusable bolts), and even a powerful cannon that fires off ball bearings. You can carry three weapons at one time, and you're occasionally able to swap out what you have with weapons you can scavenge from dead enemies. Most weapons can also be upgraded at shops, and you can add attachments like sights, silencers, extended magazines, and even stuff like extra barrels for the shotgun. I liked the variety overall, though I didn't find much difficulty sticking to one loadout for most of the game (silenced revolver for picking enemies off, AK for firefights, shotgun when overwhelmed/in close quarters). You also have access to a few secondary weapons. These are mostly just variations of grenades (one regular, one sticky, one incendiary), but there are also throwing knives that are excellent for stealth kills. The throwing knife was easily one of my favorite weapons in Wolfenstein: The New Order, and having them here (and serving the exact same function) made me quite happy. Speaking of stealth, that is one of many ways to tackle certain sections of the game where you find yourself fighting other humans. The AI, though not perfect, is impressive, since they respond to little things like lights going off in the distance, and go on alert when they find a corpse. I loved that I could play this game stealthily (and conserve resources as a consequence), and it's great that they made the AI not stupid. Of course, you can go in guns blazing, though it's generally a bad idea. Fighting off mutants is a little tougher, since you can't loot them for ammo, and there's not as many opportunities to sneak past them. Encounters with them are either fending off droves of them (pretty easy to get overwhelmed or run out of ammo if you're not careful), or something more survival horror-style where you carefully navigate a claustrophobic area and these fuckers show up occasionally (not really in a jump scare kind of way, but they're around). I liked the latter more than the former since that felt more in-line with the survival aspect of the game, but I don't really have complaints with the more action-packed firefights apart from how you really feel the deliberately slow reload speed in the heat of battle. A few sections have you interact with stuff to unlock the path forward or deal with the rare quick-time event, though there's not much in the way of complex puzzles or engaging minigames to really mix things up. Some of these variations in gameplay are a little out of left field, as you're occasionally sent to a surreal plane to do some running around. The game takes you on a linear path throughout most of the game, but there's ample room for hidden nooks and crannies in many sections. You'll mostly be rewarded with extra resources for your troubles (which is absolutely worthwhile), but you can also find the game's collectible (Artyom's journal entries) by exploring a bit. And in the occasion that you get turned around or the way forward isn't clear, you have a handy compass that points you in the right direction. It's nice that this mechanic is a thing, but you can still get lost since it doesn't take elevation into account, and some interactables and pathways are not noticeable at first glance. The most notable game mechanic they focus on involves the gas mask. On the surface (and certain sections of the Metro), the air is irradiated and not breathable, so you have to put your mask on to survive. If you don't, you suffocate and die in a few seconds. What makes things extra tricky is the mask's gas filters only last so long (the duration of which you can track with Artyom's wristwatch), and you have to scavenge for extras while you're on the field. The game is nice enough to give you barely enough to survive, but you absolutely cannot dilly-dally, because the more time you waste, the more filters you burn through, adding a bit of urgency to your exploration. I thought this was a cool mechanic, but it wasn't without frustrations, because in moments where it wasn't clear where the way forward was, I just kept dying over and over until I found the out-of-the-way filter refill that bought me more time. The game's currency is military-grade ammo, and while you can use it to exchange for supplies, weapons, and upgrades in shops, you can also use them as actual ammunition. Certain weapons are compatible with military-grade ammo, and while every shot is quite literally burning money, they also do a ton of damage. I thought this was a cool last resort kind of mechanic, and a novel use of what would otherwise just be currency. Connected to the ending is the hidden morality mechanic, which awards you with positive points for taking certain actions (e.g. helping NPCs, choosing not to kill or loot dead bodies), and demerits you for other things (choosing violence in specific moments or generally being selfish). If you end the game with a net positive, you get the alternate ending. The game does not indicate at all that this is going on in the background, which I can see as frustrating for some since you end up losing out on story that you never would have realized was there. Since the ending wasn't canon anyway and the story doesn't play up the moral conflict too much, I personally didn't mind that this mechanic wasn't revealed. In addition to switching between game modes, you can also choose between different difficulties that alter stuff like damage dealt (between both you and the enemies) and resource scarcity. Most notable is Ranger Mode, which not only ramps up the difficulty, but completely eliminates the game's HUD for extra immersion. For reference, I played on Normal, which I thought struck a decent balance between giving you the feeling of scarcity of ammo and having just enough stuff to get through most of the game. VERDICT: I thought Metro 2033 was a solid shooter with some neat mechanics combined with usual FPS fare that helped deliver a novel survival experience that feels like a horror game at times. It's a little different from the typical action-focused affairs I come to expect from the genre, which I appreciated. I liked the bleak post-apocalyptic setting both in terms of atmosphere/mood and the little bit of world-building, despite the overwhelming grays of the visuals and them not fully committing to the moral conflict they try to go for with the endings. The game has enough going for it that kept me engaged throughout my time playing, and apart from some issues I have, I had a good time. I recommend this game if you like FPS games and want something a little different with the experience (survival over shootouts) or think the post-apocalyptic setting is appealing. Otherwise, if shooters that lean towards militaristic settings or have realistic art styles aren't your jam, you may not find this one to your liking. Metro 2033 Redux is available on the following platforms for PC: - end - I finish up with Reginald Hudlin's run with Black Panther with this read, and then some. BACKGROUND:
The main thing I know about what happens in this series is the one thing most readers remember about it: this is where Shuri becomes the Black Panther. Other than that, I don't know much of the finer details of the series. SUMMARY: This series is split into two arcs: The Deadliest of the Species (#1-6), and Power (#7-12). I'll talk about them separately. In The Deadliest of the Species, T'Challa is rendered comatose by an attack revealed early on to be orchestrated by Doctor Doom, who has been nursing a grudge since the last Black Panther series. In his absence, Shuri is tasked to become the Black Panther in her brother's stead, and she must do it fast. T'Challa being weakened is sensed by a secret group, and they respond by reviving Morlun, one of Spider-Man's most dangerous villains (he travels the multiverse absorbing the life forces of as many Spider-people as possible and is the main antagonist of the comics Spider-Verse event). Morlun is looking to absorb T'Challa's power (note: he is empowered by the Panther Goddess Bast through the heart-shaped herb), and the group who resurrected him hopes that it results in Wakanda being destabilized. Shuri's journey to becoming the Black Panther is interesting, as she is initially rejected by the Panther Goddess for her sense of entitlement towards the mantle. Initially disheartened, she learns to step up and fight for her nation (which is what the Black Panther is all about), earning the title with her deeds by the end. Overall, I like how she comes face to face with her jealousy towards T'Challa becoming Black Panther and learning what it truly means to be the Black Panther. As the conflict with Morlun goes on, Storm and Ramonda seek out Zamawari, a Wakandan sorcerer, for a supernatural solution to T'Challa's condition. With his magic, Storm is transported to Limbo to rescue T'Challa's soul. T'Challa himself (or his soul, in this case) is stuck fighting off Death's forces (who is adamant to take him to the afterlife) and is able to escape thanks to both Storm's help and a clever plan. This subplot showcases a lot of strong character for both T'Challa (who refuses to die and abandon his nation) and Storm (who was willing to trade her soul in exchange for her husband's life), and I was quite impressed with how it eventually converges with the main plot of Morlun attacking Wakanda (no spoilers, but I thought it was brilliant). Power sees Shuri grow into her role as the Black Panther, as she takes on an overseas mission to investigate the attack on T'Challa. Meanwhile, T'Challa, still physically weakened, powers through his condition to prepare for the imminent conflict with Doctor Doom in secret. Doctor Doom, by the way, is orchestrating various events from behind the screen, leading to Wakanda being destabilized from within. Shuri gets to kick a lot of ass in her mission, as she employs a lot of cool gadgets to take down cybernetically enhanced assassins and various supervillains. Unbeknownst to her for most of the arc, she's being strung along by Doctor Doom, who is covertly trying to decommission her, T'Challa, and Storm to leave Wakanda defenseless. Every time she thinks she has a lead on who attacked T'Challa, Doom and his accomplices are one step ahead. At one point, Shuri is even tricked into fighting another hero (who was obviously framed). T'Challa, on the other hand, knows Doctor Doom is planning something, and despite being far from peak condition, is preparing for battle. He does this in absolute secret, not letting in even his own mother and wife about his plans. He pushes himself both physically and personally trains his Dora Milaje to face robotic and mystical threats (two things Doctor Doom is proficient in). He also consults Zamawari for some supernatural help to give himself an edge. His resilience and iron will are on full display throughout his arc, as well as his strategic acumen (knowing what exactly to prepare for and having the foresight to keep his activities secret). Storm and Ramonda take it upon themselves to serve as the public face of Wakanda's leadership while both Shuri and T'Challa are indisposed, helping out where they can, but sadly not succeeding. Throughout this entire series, it's established that a lot of Wakanda's institutions are falling apart (the economy is dipping, farmlands are barren, and that's not even mentioning the recent attack by Morlun on the nation), and public distrust towards the government is growing. This is illustrated throughout by two journalists, with one being a vocal critic of the current administration and picking apart everything that's happening (including the secrecy surrounding what happened to T'Challa at the beginning, the details of which were never disclosed to the public). The unrest reaches a tipping point when an encounter with protestors goes awry, which leads to Storm being arrested. By the end, it is revealed that Desturi, a Wakandan nationalist group, has been infiltrating the nation on Doctor Doom's behalf. They have been sowing discord, stealing secrets, and spying on the royal family, all driven by their collective distrust of the Wakandan monarchy. In the finale of the series, they successfully overthrow the current government and take control, while also allowing Doctor Doom to waltz into Wakanda unopposed. And just like that, the stage for Doomwar is set. I'm obviously looking forward to reading that next to see how the conflict resolves itself. I liked the fact that this series directly tackled dissatisfaction with the Wakandan leadership. It's always been a recurring theme that a contingent of the population is displeased with T'Challa's (and now Shuri's) propensity for leaving the nation to seemingly ignore domestic troubles (which have been coming in one after the other), and all that is exacerbated by Storm's presence (a foreigner in a nation that prides itself in its self-sufficiency) and T'Challa's apparent disappearance. What I appreciated the most is that, after issues upon issues of dancing around the tension, people within Wakanda finally went "all right, enough of this" and took it upon themselves to do something about it (albeit by Doom's manipulation). We of course know T'Challa and Shuri have the best of intentions, but I'm glad that their choices are finally having tangible (if unintended) consequences. There are a few characters from outside the Black Panther corner of the Marvel Universe that make an appearance, which I thought was neat. We have the main ones like Morlun and Doom (who are big parts of the story), as well as Namor (who is pretty important both at the beginning and at the end of the series), 3/4 of the Fantastic Four, and a band of villains led by former Damage Control director Walter Declun (whose recklessness led to the Stamford Incident that kickstarted the Civil War). The art all throughout has some impressive detail (achieved with intricate linework and shading/lighting) and decent variety in terms of color (some panels have vibrant colors while others are darker, more ominous). I also love the cover art for all the issues of the Power arc, as they have this almost Alex Ross-esque quality with the realistic style. This makes for a fun contrast with the rest of the covers, which feel more stylized and cartoony (the one for issue #5 in particular looks vaguely manga-esque to my untrained eye). Shuri's costume design is one of my personal favorite Black Panther designs largely because of the fur cape (most of my favorite Black Panther costumes have a cape), and I also love the little accents like the necklace. She also gets a second, high-tech armored costume in the second arc which looks fucking awesome, especially in the panel that introduces it, which perfectly depicts how shiny it is. VERDICT: Between Shuri's interesting journey to becoming the new Black Panther, an interesting first villain for her in Morlun, all the tense setup for Doomwar and the impending showdown between Doctor Doom and T'Challa, and the domestic issues in Wakanda finally rearing their ugly head, I enjoyed a great deal of what this series had to offer. I've always thought Shuri as Black Panther was cool and reading her story in full reaffirms that notion. Plus, the buildup to Doctor Doom's invasion of Wakanda was exciting to me, and I am more than ready to read Doomwar. And yes, that's what's happening next week. Look forward to that. If you liked Shuri in the MCU, I highly recommend reading this entire series. You'll be able to read about a version of her that's rather different from what we get in the movies, and you'll get to see her kick ass as the Black Panther. A lot of people are guessing that the new Black Panther in the next movie is going to be Shuri, and this comic makes an extremely strong case for it. - end - Capcom Arcade Stadium is a collection of arcade games by Capcom, and while most of its content is gated by a paywall, there is one that's free-to-play. I downloaded Capcom Arcade Stadium mainly to avail of the limited-time free offer of the original iteration of Street Fighter II, but since this is here, I figured I might as well check it out while I was on the collection. BACKGROUND:
Most of what I know of Capcom's library begins with the NES era, so I know very little of its pre-console days and recognize very few arcade titles outside of its fighting games. If I ever get disposable cash, I'll treat myself to a crash course via Capcom Arcade Stadium. SUMMARY: 1943: Battle of Midway is a vertical shmup set in WWII (the Battle of Midway actually happened in real life). You pilot an Allied plane and do your best to get as far as you can, blasting away enemy fighters and their seacraft along the way. There were plenty of shmups back in the '80s, so this wasn't foreign to me mechanically in any sense, though I do find it curious that Capcom (a Japanese company) put out a game where the Allies are the good guys. The controls are pretty basic: just move around and shoot. There is a neat mechanic where you can do a loop to avoid damage, although I didn't use it that much. Unlike most shmups, this game is a bit more forgiving in that instead of dying in one or two hits, you have a life bar, and you can get drops that refill health by blasting enemy formations. There are a few power-ups, such as a screen-clearing bomb (which spends health), and multiple different shot types (like a spread shot). Again, nothing too out of left field for a game like this, though the bomb being tied to health had an interesting risk versus reward thing going for it. I'll say that the pixel art looks quite good and boasts a solid amount of detail. As far as I have looked up, many of the aircraft and vessel designs look period-accurate to boot. On the flip side, however, I'm not sure the events of this game quite line up to what happened in real life. VERDICT: 1943 didn't really astound me with innovative gameplay mechanics, but as far as shmups go, I'd say it's a decent game that controls well and is not too frustrating in terms of difficulty (at least at the beginning). I enjoy playing a few rounds of it every now and then, but that's about it. I don't think this one free game is worth downloading Capcom Arcade Stadium for. There are lots of other shmups out there that you can play, and as far as quintessential retro shmups go, I still think the likes of Gradius and Space Invaders should be your first stops if you're unfamiliar with the genre. That said, if you just want to kill some time and see how far you can go in one of these games, 1943 is more lenient thanks to its health bar mechanic. This game is available for free via the Capcom Arcade Stadium. Here it is on Steam: Capcom Arcade Stadium on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - Barring a few exceptions, most of what I've read these past few months have leaned quite heavily into the Marvel side of things (especially with me starting the weekly Black Panther marathon in anticipation for the movie). I usually have trouble picking things out on weeks when I don't have an idea for a read that I can relate to something else happening that week (that's just how much shit I have on backlog). I am doing my best to mix things up not just for myself (it's fun to explore different corners of the medium, after all), but also for whoever the hell is somehow interested in what I'm reading every week (if such people exist). And no, I did not forget about my resolution to read more manga, so here's one now. BACKGROUND:
Can't say I've heard anything about this one from my more manga-inclined friends (I probably just haven't asked a lot). I also don't know if Parasyte has an anime adaptation (if it does, I definitely haven't heard anything about it, either). I was intrigued enough by the premise, so I think not having prerequisite knowledge makes no difference to me in this case. SUMMARY: One night, numerous worm-like parasitic aliens land on Earth and start taking over people and animals, taking over their hosts' brains and feasting on other members of the host species in gruesome fashion. One of these parasites attempts to take over the body of high school student Shinichi Izumi, but he wakes up in time to stop it from fully taking over. Instead, the parasite burrows itself into Shinichi's right hand and takes it over. Shinichi is otherwise intact, but now his right hand has now become the parasite and has a mind of its own. Over the course of the manga, Shinichi tries to come to grips with his situation (while keeping it a secret to everyone), and the parasite (who decides to call itself Migi) takes the time to learn about Earth. The two have develop an interesting dynamic, as Migi struggles to understand Shinichi's human traits and Shinichi is taken aback by Migi's amoral desire to simply survive (and lack of concern for the well-being of other people). Naturally, Shinichi starts out attempting to kill Migi, but as time goes on, they slowly figure out how to coexist and even end up working together in some situations. The two characters having to coexist leads to some interesting philosophical musings, like how Migi questions humanity's contradictory traits (like how humans slaughter animals en masse for food but Shinichi horrified by the parasites simply doing what is in their nature). Shinichi feels a manner of moral responsibility for the escalating series of murders perpetrated by the parasites throughout the story, as he appears to be the only one who truly understands the truth of what's happening. I like all the questions that Migi and Shinichi's unique situation raise, and even early on, I can see how their "living arrangement" will change each character's world view as they run into all sorts of situations. Parasites like Migi have quite the wide range of abilities while attached to a host, as they're capable of all manner of shapeshifting, can move at impressive speeds, are capable of feats of strength, have seemingly heightened senses, and can viciously slaughter even dangerous animals. The only apparent way to kill them is to destroy the vital organs of the host (only parts of the body are the actual parasite, and they still need the other organs to survive), and they appear quite durable otherwise. The parasites also have the ability to sense nearby members of their own species (even if they've assimilated a host), and that leads to some harrowing situations for Shinichi as he has to fight alongside Migi to defend themselves. By the end of the book, Shinichi and Migi meet a couple of more intelligent parasites, and while this volume doesn't spend a lot of time with them, they seem to be setting up a similarly interesting character journey for them as they blend in with humans and learn about them in the process. Shinichi has to also juggle his normal life on top of all the alien nonsense. He tries his best to play off his erratic behavior to his parents, and he gets into all sorts of weird situations due to Migi's interference at school (including, but not limited to: dealing with bullies, an embarrassing encounter with his crush Satomi Murano, and a humorous incident with a teacher). The situation with Satomi is interesting, as there appears to be a mutual attraction between her and Shinichi. However, the entire situation with the parasite seems like it's going to drive a wedge between the two. The art style of this manga tends to lean towards the simpler side for most panels, but I was quite impressed by the variety of textures that were used to provide fine detail to elements like clothing, and I thought the hatching/cross-hatching used for shading/texturing more detailed panels looked very impressive. I was also surprised that there were variations to the style in some panels, like certain sections having a watercolor look, and other panels having a more striking contrast with bolder black lines relative to the rest of the book. This manga has a good amount of both gore and body horror, as any victims of the parasites are left with completely mangled corpses, and the parasites morph into completely unnatural shapes and make the human they're attached to look proper grotesque and freaky. If you're squeamish, you may not enjoy reading this one. I will say that I don't feel like the graphic imagery is excessive in terms of frequency, so there's that. VERDICT: The whole "two personalities in one body" premise isn't new to me, but I liked Parasyte's take on it, as it lent itself to interesting questions about human nature (as Migi is baffled by Shinichi's behavior towards things like people getting hurt) and how anthropocentric the idea of morality is (like when Migi questions Shinichi on what makes parasites any less cruel than predators who eat prey). I also found it refreshing how the scope of the story (at least in this volume) is much smaller than I expected; usually you'd expect a story about alien parasites infesting the entire Earth to quickly become a grand mission to save the world, but Vol. 1 keeps it simple and focuses on how it affects Shinichi. I'm interested to see how the story builds up to that point (if it does at all), and I'm curious about certain plot threads (like how some of the parasites are getting smarter, and how Shinichi's situation will affect his interpersonal relationships). Like I said, fair warning to people who are unsettled by gore or body horror, as this book has some messed up visuals. If you can get past that, I think anyone who finds the idea of a parasite and a human with some conflicting views trying to coexist interesting should give Parasyte a read. - end - Here's yet another game that'll live in my head rent-free for the next week. BACKGROUND:
I've seen a few Let's Plays of this game, but I haven't seen much of anything past the beginning. I was always fascinated by its core mechanics, but never got around to getting the game. I'm quite glad it was made free for a limited time, otherwise I wouldn't have this opportunity. This game is also quite notable as the first game project that filmmaker Josef Fares ever directed, and he's gone on to direct other hits like A Way Out and It Takes Two. PLOT: As you may have guessed, the game's story focuses on two brothers. Still reeling from the loss of their mother, the two now find that their father is horribly ill. They take him to the local healer, who tells the brothers that the only cure is water from a magical tree in a faraway land. Without hesitation, the two journey across the land to get the one thing that could save their father. Off the bat, the story is emotional and I was immediately invested in the journey. Once everything kicks off, it's a hell of an adventure that sees the brothers go through so much as they venture through a fantasy world. Along the way, they selflessly help other troubled folks (who have interesting stories of their own), work together to succeed, and survive all sorts of peril. The brothers' bond with one another is strong; the two reassure one another through tough moments, and they don't hesitate to save the other when danger is afoot. The game does a lot of "show, don't tell", and I thought the way they went about it here was fantastic. Since the voices are done in a fictional language (and there are no subtitles), you don't know what they're saying, but the game is able to communicate both what's going on and showcase the emotion of the characters through other means effectively. There's also quite a bit of environmental storytelling as well; if you pay attention to your surroundings, you'll find that the locales you visit have a story to tell. Many of these small details piqued my interest, because the hints they provide of what transpired in certain places could easily be stories of their own. My favorite example of this is towards the end of the game, as if you look closely, elements in the background actually foreshadow a key moment in the main story. Where it hits hardest is towards the end. That last stretch of the story doesn't pull any punches, going from shocking, heart-wrenching, and poignant in one continuous motion. What makes it extra memorable to me is how that finale ends up being one of the most effective, genuinely moving examples of story and gameplay coming together seamlessly. As much as I want to gush about the specifics, I can't spoil it because it's just something you have to experience for yourself. PRESENTATION: The game looks great, taking on a style that strikes a pretty good balance between a little realistic in terms of details and having the aesthetic of a modern 3D animated movie set in a fantasy world. Most stunning to me are the visuals of the environments, and the fact that there are such varied locations throughout the game makes it even better. You get to enjoy spooky woodlands, dark caves, sparkling waterfalls, a snowy village, a towering castle on a mountain, and more, and they all look great. Like I said before, the voice acting is limited to occasional lines spoken in a foreign language, so you don't quite know what people are saying. But thanks to highly expressive animations, clear tones in the voice lines, and the actions characters take during story moments, it's never ambiguous what characters are feeling at any moment, and I clearly understood the gist of the story. It always impresses me when stories can be told this effectively with little dialogue. The music does its job quite well, with somber tracks that complement the heavy, emotional moments of the story, as well as tracks that perfectly convey the sense of adventure and excitement during the more fun bits of the story. GAMEPLAY: Brothers is a 3D puzzle game with a rather unique gimmick: with one controller, you can control both brothers at the same time. The left stick and left trigger control the older brother's movement and actions respectively, while the right stick and right trigger correspond to the younger brother. It's quite disorienting at the start trying to move both of them at once, but the game does ease you into things at the start. Each brother has their strengths and weaknesses. The older one is the stronger of the two, and can interact with heavy switches, while the younger can squeeze through tight gaps and get a boost from his big bro. Lots of puzzles make good of use of these differences, having one brother be able to go ahead to open up the path for the other one. Speaking of puzzles, there are a wide variety of them, and I loved how creative they are. Examples include having one brother distract an angry dog while the other moves forward undetected, a climbing challenge that involves the brothers swinging one another across with the help of a rope, a few weight-based puzzles, and even encounters that are styled like boss fights. There are also challenges that don't involve as much brainpower (like rowing boats, or warding off wolves), and these are engaging in their own right. I also appreciated the balance they struck between having challenges that have you control both brothers simultaneously, and more asynchronous puzzles where you alternate control between each brother (e.g. one brother holds a switch so the other can pass and interact with something else). I've hinted at moments that weave gameplay and story seamlessly to provide emotional impact, and there are a few examples that showcase this effectively. One example involves the younger brother's inability to swim (for which there is a big story reason), and swimming sections have you control only the older brother as he swims across with the younger brother hanging on his back (which itself is an interaction you have to hold the right trigger for). And like I said, the most impactful instances of this happen during the finale, so I can't spoil it. The most I can say beyond the praise I've already given it is how impressed I am that the devs thought about what the player might try to do in one particular moment and uses that to deliver a powerful emotional gut punch. And what amazes me more is that they turn that very moment on its head later on to deliver another emotional gut punch, but with a different emotion. The game has cute little interactions that don't really do much, but give the brothers personality and make the world you're running through feel just a bit more alive. You can press the triggers to sniff flowers, splash water around, talk to NPCs, and even sit on benches to admire the view. Some of these brief moments even have emotional impact, like the brothers consoling a weeping man, and some are just funny, like the two making fun of a bully after he gets his comeuppance. I really appreciate stuff like this, because they add a lot to the game despite being inconsequential to the main gameplay or the story. VERDICT: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is easily one of the most memorable indie games I've ever played. Its unique control scheme made way for a lot of clever and engaging puzzles, the story was incredibly moving, and even less prominent aspects like background elements, optional interactions, and side stories did so much to make the world feel so alive. I loved every second of this game, and with that highly emotional finale that definitively succeeds at what I feel many story-driven games should strive for (incorporating story in game mechanics to elicit an emotional response that the player can directly feel through gameplay), this game will stick in my memory for the rest of my life. This is one game that I'll strongly argue that everyone owes themselves to play once. I think it's that good, both in terms of its gameplay and its story. My only caveats are how this is designed to only be played by one person (I don't recommend co-op for this, not that it's even possible on most versions), and how the definitive way to play this is with a controller (I don't see this having the impact that it does with a keyboard and mouse). That said, I will insist that people go out of their way to play this the way it's meant to be played, so please get yourself a controller. This game is available on a wide variety of platforms, so take your pick: - end - I finish up the rest of the 2005 Black Panther series written primarily by Reginald Hudlin today. Admittedly, I paced this a little weird since I'm ending this on a seven-issue read compared to the 15+ of the first two volumes, but I'll explain my reasoning later. BACKGROUND:
As I've said in my posts on the previous two volumes of this series, I haven't read this in full. I definitely don't know what happens in the tail end of it. SUMMARY: These last issues of the series are split into two arcs. The first four issues cover the looming US military presence that was introduced in Vol. 2, which T'Challa has mostly left unattended because he was preoccupied during that time (to the chagrin of his inner circle in Wakanda). Shuri is compelled to sneak aboard one of the American warships floating menacingly in Wakandan waters, but she ends up captured. Meanwhile, T'Challa is finally returning to Wakanda after all the time away he spent throughout most of the second volume, and he returns to a lot of bad news. The worst of this is that Killmonger, his longtime nemesis, has resurfaced, and he's working in conjunction with the US military. This time around, Killmonger is making a play to control the neighboring nation of Niganda (which was thrown into chaos in the first volume of the series), and there's no way T'Challa is standing for that. At first, T'Challa asks for help from Tony Stark (despite there still being a bit of tension from the whole Civil War fiasco), who sends Monica Rambeau to help. Shockingly, that goes poorly, as Monica is trapped with advanced tech that no one expected Killmonger to have access to. T'Challa figures out a way to get into Niganda (which has been fortified with the same tech) to rescue both Shuri and Monica, and the arc culminates in another epic showdown between the Black Panther (donning the blessed armor that's appeared throughout this series and wielding the Ebony Blade) and Killmonger (who has cool armor of his own). I enjoyed this arc in particular for making the most out of plot threads established throughout the entire series. Everything from the US military pushing their imperialist agenda, the instability of Niganda, and even the pandemonium of the Wild Kingdom arc (the one with all the freaky mutated animals) all come together in this arc and are tied together neatly with Killmonger's formidable presence. I also liked how the whole theme of T'Challa's absenteeism once again leading to troubles back in Wakanda is revisited, though it's only briefly addressed in this case. I also liked how the Nigandan people played into the story. When Killmonger first comes barging in making promises to them, they immediately support his efforts despite him simply exploiting these people for his own gain. Killmonger goes around promising a better life for Nigandans (who have just suffered through a dictatorship before this) and manipulating them into thinking Wakanda is their enemy by saying that Wakandans are here to take their lives away. It's evident that these people have been struggling for what seems to be generations and that a long line of dictators exploiting them play a large part in their strife. Yet, they are quick to put their hopes in anyone with lofty promises and a sufficient display of brute force because that's how bad things have been for them. It's uncomfortably close to what you might see in real life, and I'm glad it's a theme that's explored even briefly in this comic. They also finally pay off the Cannibal subplot that started from the very beginning of the series, and I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, there's no big storyline for it and the whole thing is resolved in an abrupt (though sensible, given the leadup) fashion. On the other, the reveal of whose body the Cannibal ended up possessing was awesome (and completely reframes a certain event in the arc), and him being found out actually leads to a great shock reveal of its own. The last three issues tie in with the Secret Invasion event, which saw Skrull sleeper agents reveal themselves to be posing as some of Marvel's greatest heroes in an attempt to infiltrate and eventually conquer the Earth. For the Black Panther series, we see an army of Skrulls attempt to invade Wakanda (which, as a reminder, has never been conquered in its entire history). As you can probably guess, the Skrulls are defeated, but the manner in which they are defeated highlights T'Challa's strategic brilliance (especially during one crucial moment at the end), combat prowess (when he faces off a Super-Skrull mimicking the powers of several Marvel heroes), and strong leadership. Plus, repelling an invasion from a powerful alien empire further cements Wakanda as an absolute powerhouse both in technology and warrior spirit. I also like that the Skrull side of the story is told a little bit. We see that through the lens of K'vvvr, the Skrull commander who hopes to retire and live a quiet life with his wife after one last war. Like T'Challa (who laments the deaths of his countrymen), K'vvvr has his own struggles with the horrors of war, and I thought the manner in which they depicted his trauma was interesting. For the most part, K'vvvr is the typical ruthless general you'd expect as an antagonist, but I appreciated the extra layer of character he gets here. The Secret Invasion arc is the most you'll get of Storm for the remainder of the series, as she's absent in the previous arc (she's busy in an X-Men storyline during that time period). Even then, there's only so much she does here, but it's still cool to see her fight beside T'Challa to beat the shit out of some Skrulls. In terms of art, it's the art for the Secret Invasion tie-in that stood out to me. The combination of the muted color palette, the gritty textures, and the varied linework gave the entire arc a moody vibe that I wasn't expecting. I thought that was neat. VERDICT: The 2005 Black Panther series had so much going on throughout its 42-issue run, and the last two arcs felt like solid conclusions to me. The war with Killmonger felt like the perfect culmination of previous story threads throughout the series for me, and it also featured an imposing Killmonger as well as interesting thematic elements with Niganda as the backdrop of the conflict. The Secret Invasion arc was awesome to me simply because Wakanda being a strong enough nation to repel an alien armada is absolutely badass. This series was a wild ride from start to finish. I enjoyed it overall with its variety of stories and how it had a ton of moving parts and connections to different corners of the Marvel Universe that a longtime fan like me can appreciate. But with that said, this is technically not the last of Reginald Hudlin's work with the character. He also wrote part of the 2008-2010 Black Panther series, and that's going to be my read to end the month of August. The third volume of the Reginald Hudlin collection actually collects everything I read here today and all that he wrote for the later series, but I didn't want to tackle two different series at once. So, I decided that I'd just finish the 2005 series first, and then read the 2008 series in its entirety. Before I go, here's some fun trivia that I feel stupid that I forgot to say in my post about Vol. 1: this series is actually where Shuri debuts. That's right: she doesn't appear in any comics prior to the 2005 series. Compared to many MCU characters (some of whom have been around since before my parents were born), she's a relatively recent creation. - end - There's one more Super Nintendo game in July's Switch Online update. Let's skip the preamble. BACKGROUND:
Haven't heard of this one. To be fair, a lot of these Street Fighter II clones came out in the '90s. I did some reading out of curiosity after I played, and I learned that this game was the subject of a lawsuit by Capcom. It... kind of makes sense that that happened. SUMMARY: Fighter's History is a fighting game that works pretty closely to Street Fighter II. You have a more or less international cast of fighters each with their unique stage, a six-button control scheme (light, medium, & heavy punches/kicks), command inputs for special moves (quarter/half-circles, charge moves, Shoryuken inputs), and even a stun mechanic (which is based on hitting a character's unique weak point, which I thought was interesting and different). The roster is dangerously close to being a carbon copy of Street Fighter II's, as the game has the likes of Feilin (who looks pretty fucking close to Chun-Li), Ryoko (who has the same look as Ryu, but is a young woman and a judoka instead of a shoto), Marstorius (totally not Zangief), and Samchay (totally not Sagat). To the game's credit, it has a couple of more unique characters, like Matlok (a punk rock-looking dude) and Clown (a clown, believe it or not). In terms of specials, there's nothing that really stands out to me (it's mostly fireballs with the occasional Shoryuken, throw, or slide), but I can at least appreciate that each character and their corresponding stage is distinct from one another. You're not going to get Marvel vs. Capcom-levels of insane combos, but you can string a few moves together and land a half-decent combo (I can do basic high-low mixups and jump-in combos, for instance, but nothing too wacky). Most characters don't have too many normals to think about, though I did like how a number of them have dedicated anti-air moves and such. It's also possible to special cancel certain moves, which I was pleasantly surprised about. In terms of modes, you have your usual arcade mode (fight every character on the roster, plus two boss characters), a unique survival mode where you can go on a 5v5 against either a CPU or a second player (cool idea), and a standard versus mode. VERDICT: I can't really say Fighter's History stands out from other similar games during its time in most of its aspects (gameplay and designs feel taken from Street Fighter II almost verbatim in some places, presentation isn't distinct, and there's not really a story), but I will say that for what it is, it does play quite smoothly. I had fun with my brief time landing freeform combos and figuring out specials, but after trying most of the characters and beating the arcade mode, I think I'm content. I might revisit it if I find a friend who wants to try it out. I've likely said this before, but there are definitely more notable options to start out with if you wish to explore the wonderful world of fighting games in the '90s. That said, I don't think there's anything really wrong with this one, because apart from not being too unique and not having much of a story, it plays pretty well. - end - She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres this week as the latest in a seemingly endless onslaught of MCU Disney+ shows, and you bet your ass I have something for it. THE THEME: For this set of five, I picked out comics that star gamma-powered heroes like Hulk and She-Hulk. Nothing much else to say since it's a straightforward one. THE COMICS: THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK (1989-1994) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: John Byrne Artists: John Byrne, Bob Wiacek Naturally, I'm headlining the list with this one. Here, She-Hulk is unwittingly roped into the schemes of the Circus of Crime (yes, this is a 100% real supervillain team), who have been hired by the equally obscure Headmen to test the limits of her strength. Good, silly fun with classic John Byrne art. THE IMMORTAL HULK (2018-2021) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Al Ewing Artists: Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose This series is one of a number of recent ones I really want to read the entirety of since it ended up completely redefining the Hulk mythos. In this one, Bruce Banner is maintaining a low profile (again), but hulks out when he gets caught in a gas station robbery gone horribly wrong. This comic stands out to me with its portrayal of the Hulk: people are deathly afraid of him (even calling him the devil) and Hulk himself has chilling dialogue. The art looks great as well. HULK AND THE AGENTS OF S.M.A.S.H. #1 Publisher: Marvel Writers: Paul Dini Artists: (Marvel Animation) Here's an interesting one. Hulk and the Agents of SMASH was one of those mid-2010s Marvel animated shows I didn't really bother watching, and this comic is a sneak peek at one of the episodes. What's more, the panels are actually stills from the cartoon (some of which unfortunately look too blurry to appreciate) with speech bubbles and such simply tacked on. The story itself is Hulk (and Red Hulk, for some reason) fighting Annihilus, who sends in Skaar to do his dirty work, while Rick Jones does a reality show shtick. WHAT IF? PLANET HULK Publisher: Marvel Writer: Greg Pak Artists: Leonard Kirk, Rafa Sandoval, Gary Erskine, Fred Hembeck As you may have guessed, this comic features a number of What If? scenarios around the Planet Hulk storyline (which I talked about here). The first scenario explores what might have happened if, in the final moments of the storyline, Hulk had died in the place of his queen Caiera (and it's pretty much a more violent version of World War Hulk). In the second, the comic asks what would've happened if Hulk had landed in the peaceful planet the Illuminati intended to exile him in to begin with (it actually kind of works out in a funny and heartwarming way). Last, we get a jokey scenario asking what the result would have been if Hulk landed on Sakaar as Bruce (it ends about as well as you expect). THE IMMORTAL HULK (2018-2021) #24 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Al Ewing Artists: Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Marc Deering, Roberto Poggi In this issue, Hulk finishes the fight against Shadow Base, yet another task force meant to take down the Hulk led by a twisted new version of the Abomination. Alongside the main plot, there are hints of an incredibly dark future with Hulk at the center of it. It really seems like this series plays up the horror aspect a lot (with some ghoulish visuals) and is building so much Hulk lore (with his multiple alters and a tease of the character's cosmic destiny). I really need to read this. The classic divide between Hulk and Bruce Banner is a defining aspect of the character, but adaptations have only explored a little bit of it so far. I'm hoping that the MCU Hulk gets a bit more to do than he did in the final installments of the Infinity Saga. As for She-Hulk, I'm looking forward to how the contrast between her situation and Bruce's is explored. I'm also hoping the meta humor of the old school comics carries over to the show and that there's an equal amount of courtroom drama to the superheroics. PANEL(s) OF THE WEEK: - end -
The playing of games continues. BACKGROUND:
This is one game I remember watching from various YouTubers the year it came out. That was many years ago now, however, and I don't really recall much about it. All I can remember is that I found something about the story interesting. PLOT: In Among the Sleep, you play as a two-year-old child, who's spending their birthday with their mother at home. The humble celebration is interrupted by an unknown visitor, whom the mother has an offscreen conversation with, and afterwards, she returns to her child with a gift. The gift turns out to be a teddy bear, who comes to life and plays with the child. The two have a bit of fun until the child is put to bed by their mother. Later in the night, the child awakens to their new teddy bear friend being taken. They make their way out their room (somehow) and retrieve the bear, who senses trouble and insists that they find the child's mother. What follows is a brief, surreal adventure that reveals some truths about the child's life. Without giving too much away, the revelations paint a rather sad (if a little predictable) picture. Perhaps the most I can say is that it's a bit of a "too real" situation, and what makes it rough is that the kid doesn't have any agency to deal with it. What I found most remarkable about the story is how it is told through the lens of a very young child with a very active imagination. This is most highlighted by the more surreal moments of the game, especially with the scarier bits. The biggest example is how it seems like the child is running into actual monsters, but then you realize that those monsters they see is just how their mind interprets a real-life scenario as something terrifying. It's a novel way to present the story that gives a rough (not necessarily accurate) idea of how a toddler may process memories of complicated events happening around them. Honestly, the flow of the story itself just feels like an assortment of disconnected mini adventures randomly strung together, and it's unclear why accomplishing the objective set by the game leads to the child's main goal. This doesn't really ruin things for me, but reflecting upon it after beating the game, it does feel odd. The Enhanced Edition also includes an extra story chapter set before the events of the main game, and is a similarly sad situation. There's also a bonus "bad ending" you can look at that I don't feel like is rooted in the child's reality. PRESENTATION: The game's 3D art style is in a weird middle ground between kind of realistic and slightly cartoony. From what I observed, most models don't really boast insanely detailed textures, so a few objects did look a little odd on closer inspection. Apart from the mother's slightly unnerving facial expressions, I didn't mind the visuals, but didn't think it was remarkable in a stylistic sense, either. I will say that the more surreal dreamscapes look pretty imaginative, and the more nightmarish elements look disturbing. I must note that while I typically don't have motion sickness issues, something about this game's first person perspective did make me slightly nauseous. I'm not sure what exactly about it is causing that feeling, or if I just didn't feel that well the day I played it. When it comes to audio, the game goes for ambient sounds to add a sense of eerie isolation, but the sparing use of music there is can range from creepy to somber. I don't have much else to say here; these elements did their job adequately, but I didn't feel that it was memorable in the grand scheme. GAMEPLAY: Among the Sleep is one of them first person horror games, but I honestly wouldn't really call it a "horror" experience. Sure, some creepy stuff happens, and there are a few light jump scares, but most of the game is simply walking about dark areas trying to solve puzzles to get around. I suppose the scary part comes in when you think about how the player character is a defenseless toddler who can't really do much and has no idea what's going on, but even then, you are rarely put in harrowing situations. Compare it to other first person horror games like Outlast, where motherfuckers are constantly chasing you. Progress is quite straightforward; just keep moving around until you're stopped by some sort of barrier, figure out the puzzle or find the item required to unlock the way forward, then rinse and repeat. None of the challenges are particularly innovative or difficult; you've likely seen pretty much all the puzzle types they throw at you here in other games, and a lot of them can be resolved simply by looking around carefully and interacting with what few interactables there are (whether directly or by using the appropriate item that you have to look around for). Interacting with stuff is a little weird here. The game allows you to pick up loose objects in the same vein as Half-Life 2, but not only does this feel janky to control, there's also no point to doing so apart from exactly two puzzles in the entire game. This could have been a good, time-tested mechanic to build puzzles around, but it doesn't really see any use other than to amuse yourself. Other interactables feel similarly unnatural in terms of control; in particular, opening doors and turning valves involved actually moving the mouse, and I didn't like how that felt due to the inconsistency of how the game processes my movement. Now, you'd think something labeled as a horror game would have some kind of monster, right? Well, sure, the game does have something like that, but it's only in very few sections that such dangers are present (trust me, you are pretty safe for most of the game), and all you have to is hide from them, wait for them to pass you, then move along. Not much to write home about, but the monsters do look unsettling (especially considering they're beelining it towards a child). The game is linear all the way through, but there's actually a fair bit of room to find optional collectibles in the form of the child's drawings. Some of them are decently well-hidden, and there's actually a lot of them you can find. There's even a reward for finding them all, which is cool. What I appreciate about this game is its commitment to having you play as a toddler. You're also clearly not tall at all, and there was something amusing about having to open drawers so you can climb onto them and reach higher places or moving stools so you can reach doorknobs. You also don't walk that fast (in fact, crawling is faster than walking in this game), and trying to run occasionally causes you to trip over. This is slightly less charming given it can be an annoyance, but these aspects didn't really affect my experience substantially. VERDICT: "Horror" seems like too strong a word to describe Among the Sleep, in my view, and with how dreadfully short and sparse the game is, I can't quite say I found it engaging to play, either. With that said, however, I still really appreciate the ideas they implemented here. Having everything be in the perspective of a toddler was a neat concept; the idea of perceiving events as a child might makes stuff they don't understand look terrifying (or like a super fun dreamscape, in the case of happier events), and there was something charming about a house built for grown-ups becoming quite the platforming challenge for a tiny kid. I just wish there were more to the gameplay mechanics, and that they leaned more into the horror aspect. This is probably a game you should get on sale on the account of how short it is (I beat it in two and a half hours), and if you like more "game" with your game, it's quite possible that you won't find this one engaging in that regard. The Steam version does have a demo, though, so it's best to give that a go and assess for yourself if it's worth your time. Speaking of, here are the store links: - end - Here I am at my next stop to reading the entirety of Reginald Hudlin's run with Black Panther. Publisher: Marvel | Writer: Reginald Hudlin | Artists: Scot Eaton, Andrew Hennessy, Manuel Garcia, Mark Morales, Sandu Florea, Jay Leisten, Sean Parsons, Koi Turnbull, Don Ho, Sal Regla, Jeff de los Santos, Marcus To, Nick Nix, Francis Portela, Victor Olazaba, Andrea DiVito, Cafu, Bit, Larry Stroman, Ken Lashley, Roland Paris, Carlos Cuevas, Jon Sibal | Contains: Black Panther (2005-2008) #19-34, Black Panther Annual (2008) BACKGROUND:
Like I said when I talked about Vol. 1, I have not read this series in its entirety. SUMMARY: There's a lot of issues to get through, so I'll once again split this up by arc. The first four issues see T'Challa and Storm return from their honeymoon to embark on their first political mission since getting married. With hostilities rising due to the superhero Civil War in the US, T'Challa decided to meet with a number of world leaders to reinforce diplomatic relations. First, they meet with Doctor Doom, one of Marvel's greatest villains and ruler of Latveria. It ends just as well as you'd imagine. Second, they go to the Moon and visit the city of Attilan (home of the Inhumans) to meet with Black Bolt. Tensions rise in that encounter when members of the Inhuman Royal Family take issue with human activity, take issue with Storm being a mutant, and Black Bolt uncovers some weird goings-on in their kingdom. Next, the couple visit Atlantis to meet with King Namor, who advises T'Challa to take action as things escalate in the Civil War. Storm also takes a moment to talk shit on Namor's creepy fixation with Susan Storm/Invisible Woman (not a fun rabbit hole to dive into). In the last leg of their little diplomatic tour, T'Challa and Storm visit the US, where they're met with an egregious attempt by the government to play along with the Superhero Registration Act. Things eventually get physical, and with T'Challa's fears coming to pass, he resolves to stay in America in an effort to quell the escalating conflict. This leads seamlessly into the Civil War tie-in arc, which goes on for three issues. The power couple side with the anti-registration forces upon learning of Goliath's (Bill Foster) death in one of the most pivotal conflicts in the Civil War comic. Throughout the course of this arc, T'Challa stealthily assists Cap and his team with Storm backing him up (both physically and emotionally). The two attempt to recruit other heroes like Captain Britain and the X-Men to their cause, but to no avail (the X-Men in particular were keen during Civil War to appreciate not being under public scrutiny for once). As this is going on, T'Challa's inner circle chastise him for getting swept up in non-Wakandan affairs again. The Civil War arc ends with T'Challa and Storm being part of the final battle, but obviously that ends with Captain America surrendering. In the chaos, the Wakandan embassy in New York was completely destroyed. Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) offers the use of the Baxter Building to the Wakandans in the meantime. In addition, he asks T'Challa and Storm to team up with The Thing and the Human Torch as a new lineup of the Fantastic Four while he and Sue take a break to mend their relationship (important note: Reed and Sue were on opposing sides of the Civil War, with Reed being pro-registration). The next two issues focus on this initial meeting and the immediate result of it. The rest of this book is when things get real fun and weird. After returning from an adventure, the new Fantastic Four discover that a creature from the Negative Zone (which was used as a prison for anti-registration heroes during the events of Civil War) is running loose. Their attempts to defeat it are fruitless, and T'Challa is forced to use a certain magical item to get the creature out of Earth. Unfortunately, the said item is King Solomon's Frogs, an unstable artifact that can transport things to and from spacetime, and the Fantastic Four is transported elsewhere with the creature. It turns out that the magic frogs have teleported the Fantastic Four into the Skrull homeworld. That is only the least of their problems, however, as they also happen to be in a completely different universe. And if that's not bad enough, the alternate universe they're in... is the Marvel Zombies universe. The next three issues cover the story of the Fantastic Four's time in this clusterfuck, as they have to fight not only the zombie heroes from this universe (who, by the way, are now imbued with the Power Cosmic since they ate fucking Galactus in the last Marvel Zombies story), they also have to fend off a band of alternate Super-Skrulls as well as the creature from the last arc (that isn't dead). During the entire course of this, T'Challa attempts to use the magic frogs to get out of dangerous situations, but they appear to be actively screwing them over. The frogs eventually take them out of that mess of a universe (just in time as well, as the Skrull homeworld gets completely decimated courtesy of the zombies), but they are instead delivered into the clutches of Psycho-Man, an old-school Fantastic Four villain with the ability to manipulate the emotions of others. The team beat him after T'Challa and Storm tank through Psycho-Man's attempts at manipulating their emotions, and then they use the frogs again to leave. This is just a one-off, but I was amused that they had a stopover in the Microverse (the MCU equivalent of which is the Quantum Realm). Unfortunately, the frogs aren't done fucking them over. The good news is the Fantastic Four is back in their home universe. The bad news is they're stuck on a weird fucking planet of Skrulls who are obsessed with 1930s America and modeled its entire look and culture on it. This planet also happens to feature gladitorial combat in it, and everyone but Storm is captured and forced to participate. Storm finds a way to free everybody after she finds the most unlikely of allies: Skrulls who have patterned themselves on the Black Panthers (the real-life political party), led by Skrull versions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Included in this collection is the Black Panther Annual from 2008. This shows an alternate future where a war between America and Wakanda broke out and the latter emerged victorious. In this story, T'Challa and Storm's son T'Chaka is about to get married to Danielle Cage (the daughter of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage), in a union that kind of mirrors T'Challa's and Storm's in that it's two representatives of global powers coming together. Most of the comic is T'Wari (T'Challa and Storm's other son) talking with Storm about the political implications of all this; we get some added backstory to Wakanda's history (particularly their involvement in fighting against the European slave trades that also happened in real life) and a sense of what was different in this universe (like the aforementioned war). There's so much interesting stuff covered and referenced in this book. In the diplomatic tour arc, seeds are sown for the eventual Doomwar event (I am going to read that entire series before the movie premieres, I promise), and the Alpha Primitives (a big part of the horrible caste system in Attilan) are fully addressed in the Inhumans issue. In the meeting with Namor, the king of Atlantis talks about his encounter with Azzuri (T'Challa's grandfather) during World War II, which adds yet another layer to the events surrounding Captain America's first encounter with Wakanda. The Civil War arc is where the bulk of T'Challa and Storm's interesting character work take place in the book. While their meeting with the other leaders had them pondering the state of affairs in US, seeing the unrest firsthand pushes them to try and do something about it. Despite his royal council questioning his refusal to stick to Wakanda's isolationist traditions, T'Challa is determined to do what he feels is right by opposing the SRA (despite being short on allies). Still, he has his doubts, but Storm is there to reassure him and backing up (despite having doubts of her own). His encounters with Iron Man (leader of the pro-registration movement), Captain America (the opposition), and Sue Storm (who, again, is anti-registration, but married to someone who is pro) lead to some neat character moments. T'Challa and Storm's time as part of the Fantastic Four is a blast to read. They're spirited away to a number of super interesting and bizarre places (with the visit to the Marvel Zombies universe being the obvious standout), get into wild situations, and meet all sorts of interesting characters. The most notable aspect of this part of the series to me is how King Solomon's Frogs (an artifact from the 1977 Black Panther series) end up being a big part of the story. When I first read the 1977 series early on in this marathon (I talk about it here), I didn't think the frogs appeared in any other stories since, so I was bewildered in a good way when I saw them in this series. They also introduced a rather interesting development to how the frogs work, which I thought was wild. The Annual is an interesting alternate future, but I don't feel like enough time was spent exploring exactly what was different, and I'd love it if the big conflict talked about was explored more. I did like the slight expansion to Wakanda's lore, though, as the idea that the Black Panther of a previous era was making stealthy efforts to disrupt the slave trade, but ended up dropping it to uphold the nation's isolationism. Other notable things in the book include Black Panther using the Ebony Blade again (he acquires it in the first volume of this series) in badass fashion, as well as Brother Voodoo searching for the Cannibal body-snatcher that got away in the first volume's first arc (this Chekhov's gun remains un-fired, unfortunately). Also, I learned that the 1930s mobster planet the Fantastic Four end up in during the last arc was already in an old-school FF comic, which is amazing. Again, a wide variety of artists were involved in the issues collected here. The interior art that stood out to me were the incredibly detailed Civil War issues (which I didn't know was a co-production with Aspen Comics; my mind was blown upon learning that), the smoother, slightly more cartoony art of the Marvel Zombies arc, and the sort of rough sketch look of the Annual. The cover art also has a lot of notable standouts. The covers for the diplomatic tour arc see T'Challa face off against Doctor Doom, Medusa/Black Bolt, and Namor in varying styles, and the covers for the zombies arc feature amazingly grotesque renditions of zombified heroes with a distinct, painterly flourish. My personal favorite cover is for one of the Civil War issues. It's drawn by the late Michael Turner, and depicts T'Challa fighting Captain America, and T'Challa is wearing a badass rendition of the blessed armor (introduced in the first volume of the series) and wielding the Ebony Blade. VERDICT: This volume of Reginald Hudlin's Black Panther had a ton to offer. We get a bit of politics in the first arc, T'Challa and Storm's moral resolve in the Civil War tie-ins, an interdimensional whirlwind of chaos when they join the Fantastic Four, and even a glimpse of an interesting alternate future in the Annual. I loved all the crisscrossing of various Marvel characters and events, from the obvious stuff (incorporating major elements of the Civil War comic like Goliath's death and the clone Thor), smaller plot threads (the Inhuman's Alpha Primitive classism issue, X-Men's neutrality, a reference to Planet Hulk), the reuse of threads from previous issues (the Ebony Blade and the Cannibal subplot), and even stuff I didn't expect (Marvel Zombies appearances, and the return of King Solomon's Frogs). T'Challa and Storm's romance is less of a focus this time, but it still comes across in their many wild adventures throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this one. I'm not sure I'd recommend this as a jumping-in point for new readers. The added context from reading the main Civil War comic helps flesh out the tie-in comics, and I feel like the zombies arc is easier to appreciate when you've read the Marvel Zombies series (or at the very least have seen that episode of What If?). In general, there's just a ton of references and connections to other Marvel stuff that it may be overwhelming for some. It's also probably a good idea to read the first volume first as opposed to starting with this one. - end - It's been about a month since the massive expansion to Monster Hunter Rise was released, and after doing pretty much everything base Sunbreak had to offer, I was ready for more new shit. Well, here we are. BACKGROUND:
Before Sunbreak was released, Capcom revealed that there would be numerous post-launch updates adding new content periodically for people who purchase the DLC. The earliest of these updates was set for August, and Capcom ended up teasing a little bit of what was coming throughout July (a lot of which I found interesting). I took great care to pace my playthrough of Sunbreak and not rush through all of the game at once. I spent most of July playing at a leisurely pace and had a lot of fun along the way. By the time I'd cleared every new thing and did everything I wanted to do, it was close to the end of the month. The timing was far from intentional, but perfect nonetheless; I was now ready to get hyped about the new stuff. WHAT'S NEW: New Monsters (sort of) This update adds four new variants/subspecies to the game:
Naturally, new monsters bring with them new weapons and armor. The weapons are neat side-grades to the original weapons (e.g. the metallic Rath weapons have much higher affinity than the originals, while Lucent Narga boasts extra poison damage at the cost of affinity), and the Seething Bazelgeuse set is more or less a full upgrade for the Bazelgeuse weapons. The armor sets are where things get super interesting, as every armor set features brand new skills that I'm dying to build around. Element Exploit in particular speaks to me since I like to play around elemental weaknesses, but I do find the other new skills (like Status Trigger and Adrenaline Rush) worth experimenting with. In addition to all that, the materials you get from beating the shit out of these new monsters will allow you to craft new Decorations. These include upgraded Lv 4 Decorations for old skills (like Partbreaker, Rapid Morph, or Quick Sheathe), as well as a couple of new Decorations for skills new to Sunbreak (Charge Master, for example). It's great to have all these options since it allows for more flexible builds. Anomaly Investigations Base Sunbreak introduced Anomaly Quests, where you fight Afflicted versions of existing monsters, which spice up old fights in a meaningful way (having you target specific spots for extra damage and having you worry about getting hit with Bloodblight). These fights reward you with afflicted materials, which are used to craft the fully upgraded versions of weapons. It's a bit of a grind since each Anomaly Quest gives only a few of these materials, but I found it engaging for what it was. Now, we have the endgame to end all endgames with Anomaly Investigations. These are much like the existing Anomaly Quests, except there's an element of randomness to everything. For one, the selection of these investigation quests changes regularly, and each individual quest has its own set of variables (from time limit, target monsters, number of faints allowed, and even the maximum number of people allowed for multiplayer). Each of these quests also have a corresponding level, which pertain to its difficulty (what exactly makes the quest more or less difficult, I've yet to determine), and the more investigations you clear, the higher the level of new investigations rise. It takes a little bit for the randomness to kick in, but once it does kick in, it's a more interesting way to grind for those afflicted materials. My grind routine before the addition of investigations was simply repeating a small set of Anomaly Quests over and over, and while I do switch weapons each time, it does get a bit stale after a while. The additional variables do a lot to keep things fresh. Plus, there are various ways to add new investigation quests as you play. Completing Anomaly Investigations earns you Anomaly Research Points, which raise your Anomaly Research Level. Leveling up here increases the level cap for Anomaly Investigations, as well as unlock Anomaly 5-Star Quests, which feature a new set of Afflicted monsters to fight (all of which are plenty challenging and fun). You also get a bunch of exclusive materials in these investigations, which can be used in the new feature I'll discuss in the next section. You can also earn Investigation Coins, which can be exchanged in a brand-new store of sorts in exchange for some useful items (like MP Accelerants, Outfit Vouchers, and even Mantles of various monsters). It takes forever to earn these coins, though, but you can expedite this by taking on Research Requests, which instruct you to hunt a specific Afflicted monster under certain conditions in an Anomaly Investigation. Completing one of these requests provides bonus Anomaly Research Points, and completing ten requests total rewards you with even more stuff (like a ton of Investigation Coins). Qurious Crafting So, what's the point of doing Anomaly Investigations? This is the point. With the special materials you get in investigations, you can go to the blacksmith to partake in some Qurious Crafting. This is available for both weapons and armor. Qurious Crafting for weapons has you spend materials and money to unlock Anomaly Slots for fully upgraded weapons, which you can fill with one of or a combination of the following: additional attack, additional affinity, additional element (if the weapon has element), additional sharpness, and an upgrade to the Rampage Decoration Slot. Each of these perks is worth a specific number of slots, and there are only a limited number you can work with, so you'll have to pick and choose what you want. I think this is a great way to power up your weapons, even if the benefits aren't significant. The bonuses you get by equipping stuff on a weapon's Anomaly Slots won't break the game, but they do enough to either make excellent weapons better or make suboptimal weapons more viable. It's in the latter that I see the most potential; being able to extend sharpness just a little bit, mitigate the negative affinity of certain weapons, or open up a weapon's Rampage Slot Decoration options does a lot to allow one to play with whatever weapon they want without feeling like they're tying one hand behind their back. I don't really care about using the meta weapons, so I'm quite happy about this. Upgrading armor pieces with Qurious Crafting is drastically different. For each armor piece, you can spend specific materials to roll new upgrades onto the armor. These can range from added defense, changes to elemental resistances, and most notably, added armor skills. What you get is completely random, which makes minmaxing your armor a complete crapshoot (though this is mitigated by the fact that you can choose whether to apply the new upgrades into the armor or keep whatever buffs you have as is). Sure, you could get lucky and get crazy additional skills like Chain Crit to an already great piece of armor, but you can just as easily get next to nothing, or worse: penalties to what you already have (that is possible, for some wild reason). You're at the complete mercy of RNG here, which, like talismans, makes the perfect build a fucking pain to get. I personally don't lose sleep over this aspect of optimizing builds (I'm content with additional defense since I have a good handle of my armor skill builds), but I can definitely see the frustrations of this system. This is all exciting, but it's important to remember that the materials that let you do Qurious Crafting can only be obtained via Anomaly Investigations, and you'll have to grind a fair bit to get everything you may need. This is 100% meant to be an endgame grind for mostly marginal upgrades. I think this will be a fun way for me to kill free time and get something out of it, but I recognize that some players may not find a grind such as this worthwhile. Also, it may be more fun to go through the investigations in multiplayer with friends. VERDICT: While this update to Sunbreak is modest in terms of actual new fights, those four variants overall come together to be quite distinct from their original versions and pose a respectable challenge. The meatier addition of Anomaly Investigations gives the game virtually infinite replayability with randomly-generated quests and a bevy of materials to further optimize one's endgame builds. That's not even covering the return of weekly Event Quests starting next week. All I can ask for with these updates is more new experiences and more stuff to do, and this update gives me plenty of reason to do a couple of hunts during downtime. My hope is that future updates will spice things up a bit more with the new monster additions. I'm technically still a newcomer to the series, so any returning or brand new monster they bring in will be equally fresh to me. As for the endgame, I'm currently content with what it has to offer, and I'll be fine with incremental updates. - end - Some people may have noticed that I have mostly stopped talking about TV and movies outside of my usual superhero fare. Part of this early on was the pandemic almost entirely killing my mood to watch stuff, but as I eased back into watching things again, I found myself only wanting to talk about the stuff that falls into my domain (partly because it's what brought me back into it). I didn't notice it at first, but as I started watching non-superhero stuff again, I felt apprehensive to write about them here, like a voice in my head was begging me not to. I thought about it a lot, and I realized that the same thing that happened to me with Pokemon and Star Wars happened again. Both Pokemon and Star Wars had a turning point when something came out that completely poisoned online discussion to the point that I couldn't stand hearing even anything neutral about them. What pushed me away from talking about media outside superhero stuff was similar: online discourse about "good" cinema and TV was fucking horrid. There are numerous "discussions" on many different facets that are just downright venomous, though the one that really irks me is how anything superhero (especially MCU stuff) is looked down upon as somehow lesser than anything else. This stuff isn't easy to escape, either, because unlike fandom-specific drama, opinions can come from mostly anywhere. As much as I try to not let what other people say get in the way of my own enjoyment of things, I sure as hell can't pretend it doesn't get to me sometimes. Part of that's on me, I suppose; I don't make a habit of tuning people out just because I don't agree with them. Anyway, this diatribe is not what this blog entry is about. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm slowly trying to get over this feeling of apprehension, because I really want to talk about how awesome this movie is. This movie is meant to be a prequel to the long-running Predator franchise (which started with the action classic with Arnold goddamn Schwarzenegger) and is set in Comanche territory during the early 1700s. The main focus is a young woman named Naru, a fledgling Comanche huntress seeking to prove herself to her tribe. The opportunity for her comes when a Predator visits the planet on its own journey to prove its hunting mettle (as Predators do). This juxtaposition of the sci-fi premise of the Predator interacting with a time period that's far from modern was what initially drew me to this movie, along with its apparent emphasis on portraying the culture of a specific Native American tribe.
Much like the original movie, Prey is a tale of two halves. A lot of the first half is simply showing Comanche life during that time period (I cannot speak to the accuracy of the portrayals), and Naru training to be a hunter like her brother. She is dismissed by other male hunters in her tribe and is urged by her mother to simply stick to medicine and gathering as she does. Despite this, Naru is determined to show everyone that she can be a hunter, and it's apparent from the start that she has some skills and talent already. However, it's also clear that she has a lot to learn before she can call herself a true hunter. It's a rather simple setup, but hey, it worked, because I was rooting for her to kill the fucking Predator right from the start so she could prove to herself that she can do it. Once the Predator shows up, it's all about taking it down. As expected, the Predator wrecks absolute shit in this one, taking on both the Comanche's best hunters and even a band of colonizers. What I really appreciated is how the Predator, for all its advantages, isn't an invincible wrecking ball; many of the people and animals it fights get some proper hits in. Even then, it still felt like a formidable force, and I was anticipating how Naru would find a way to take it down. Naru's quest to defeat the Predator was built up beautifully, in my view. I love that she uses her observational skills, her environment, and her cleverness to gain an advantage over a much more powerful opponent. It was utterly satisfying to see her gradually gain experience and ultimately apply what she has learned (both prior to the events of the movie and during it) to become an equal match to the Predator. Her use of weapons (mainly her throwing axe) was cool, I liked that her knowledge in medicine was useful in a clever way later into the movie, I loved that she utilized an early obstacle in her journey to her advantage, and it was awesome to see her have a hunting companion in Sarii the dog (who was quite helpful). I think the Predator in this movie this is my favorite version of the Predator. I thought the more primitive design looked cool (especially the mask), and I liked that its arsenal wasn't too overpowered. It still has classic stuff like the arm blades. the cloaking, and the thermal vision, but it also has a bunch of other neat tricks (like a way cooler alternative to the original plasma cannon from the original). I also liked that this particular Predator, for all its advantages, seemed like it was just as new to the game as Naru. Early on, we see it go up the food chain and try to figure out what the most dangerous quarry on Earth is, and throughout, we can see that it's not the most refined hunter yet. We do get a few other characters, but the one that gets the next most screentime is her brother Taabe. He's understandably concerned about his sister getting into danger and has his doubts, but ultimately respects her and has confidence in her abilities. He also demonstrates how he is the tribe's most skilled hunter in awesome fashion in one particular scene. Other than that, most other characters don't get as much time (but serve their purpose just fine). Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Naru encounters a bunch of white men messing up the place, and predictably comes into conflict with them. Their minimal presence really highlights the majority Native American cast, and I liked how they were utilized in the plot. The fight scenes were awesome, and the Predator was able to score a bunch of brutal (and sometimes clever) kills in this one with its impressive arsenal without things getting excessively gory. Like I said, the humans put up a good fight, with the Comanche hunters coming off as highly skilled despite the technological mismatch. The final showdown between the Predator and Naru was particularly excellent to me, and perfectly highlighted Naru's growth as a hunter throughout the movie. There were some great callbacks to the original movie (with one in particular getting me to go "hell yeah!"), and an interesting detail that ties into one of the sequels (which I haven't watched). The credits (which has nice art, by the way) also teases what happened after the events of the movie, but knowing what I know about Predators, I don't think it's sequel bait. Other things I found notable are the beautiful locales, some striking shots (like a couple of memorable visuals and some dynamic tracking shots), and the intense music. On the subject of intense, I like how one of the most suspenseful scenes in the entire movie actually didn't involve the Predator at all. Overall, I fucking loved Prey, and I daresay that I enjoyed it even more than the original. I thought the main character was so cool and smart, I liked the take on the Predator, and the action was wonderfully bloody. I don't know about anyone else, but I would absolutely adore more Predator movies in other time periods, because this setting helped the Predator feel more formidable and made Naru's achievements feel all the more impressive. - end - A certain iconic video game franchise will be having its 35th anniversary this week, and its latest title was just heavily featured in the largest fighting game tournament in the world. I got just the thing to celebrate that. THE THEME: As you may have guessed, this theme features five Street Fighter comics. These comics (and most comics based on Capcom IPs, as far as I can tell) all come from one publisher. I got these all for free digitally, and it's likely that they are still free. The title is a cheeky reference to how many iterations of Street Fighter II exist, as well as me indulging my own amusement at absurdly long titles. THE COMICS: STREET FIGHTER #0 (FCBD 2014) Publisher: Udon Writers: Jim Zub, Ken Siu-Chong, Chris Sarracini Artists: Hanzo Steinbach, Takeshi Miyazawa, Joe Ng, Rob Armstrong This one has three short stories in it. The first features Sean visiting Hong Kong to meet his master Ken and somehow running into Chun-Li. The second sees Juri get a second chance at revenge against M. Bison. Lastly, we get a bit of a backstory for Akuma, who's frequenting an underground fight club in Tokyo. STREET FIGHTER V (FCBD 2016) Publisher: Udon Writers: Ken Siu-Chong, Matt Moylan Artists: Edwin Huang, Jeffery "Chamba" Cruz, Brendon Tapper Here's another triple feature. First is a story featuring series newcomer Rashid testing out some tech and getting into a fight with Nash. Second, we have Sean being inspired by Ken after taking a loss to his sister Laura in a jiu jitsu tournament. The third story is a humorous tale that features Karin having to fly economy class (and, surprise, she gets into a fistfight). STREET FIGHTER #0 Publisher: Udon Writer: Ken Siu-Chong Artists: Arnold Tsang, Arvin Lee, Rob Ross, Andrew Hou This is a short comic focusing on the main man Ryu himself, as he confronts his evil self in a dream. When he returns to the real world, he finds his old master murdered (likely by Akuma). Hell of a way to tease the beginning of a series. STREET FIGHTER II #0 Publisher: Udon Writer: Ken Siu-Chong Artists: Alvin Lee, Crystal Reid This comic extends Ryu's story a bit, showing his brotherly relationship with Ken, his respect towards his master, and an early encounter between him and Akuma (where he momentarily succumbs to the Satsui no Hado). We also get a good sense of his motivations, which has been true since the very beginning: his quest to be the best fighter of them all. STREET FIGHTER REMIX #0 Publisher: Udon Writer: Ken Siu-Chong Artists: Andrew Hou, Lomg Vo, Saka, Charles Park, Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz, Joe Ng, Crystal Reid We have not three, but four short stories in this comic. First, we have M. Bison dispatching a brainwashed Cammy to take out Dee Jay. Next is a short story with Sagat, who is still seething after his humiliating loss against Ryu in the first game. The third story is Chun-Li briefing Fei Long (and by extension, the reader) of the competitors in the second Street Fighter tournament and contemplating about taking down M. Bison's Shadaloo organization. Last, we see Alex stop a robbery at a pizza place, while one of Lord Gill's agents spies on him. Street Fighter has since built quite the colorful cast of characters, and while I haven't played too many of the games, I do enjoy reading about all their backstories and such from time to time. It's great that the franchise has extended media such as this to further flesh out its roster, though I hope the later games have more substantial story modes. PANEL OF THE WEEK: - end -
Derryck Plays - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom Arcade Stadium) [Nintendo Switch]8/8/2022 This was free for a limited time for Capcom Arcade Stadium, so I jumped at the chance to get it and play it. BACKGROUND:
You cannot be blamed for not knowing or remembering the first Street Fighter, but it's highly unlikely that you haven't heard of the second one or not felt its impact in some way. Street Fighter II is easily one of the most influential games of all time, period. This game pioneered competitive play against other human players, was insanely popular at arcades (and its console versions sold like hotcakes, too), and spawned a cavalcade of competitors like Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury. Mechanically, this game also popularized the idea of combos (chaining moves into other moves isn't really a common thing if you play fighting games made prior to Street Fighter II), which is now a staple of so many modern fighting games today. Needless to say, this game has quite a legacy worth celebrating. Street Fighter II was so popular that several enhanced versions were eventually made (like Champion Edition, Super Turbo, Hyper Street Fighter, and like 400 more versions I don't know about). The one we're talking about here is the original incarnation of the game. I personally have little experience with the Street Fighter series itself, since in terms of Capcom fighting games, my go-to is always the Vs. Series (they have playable Marvel characters, after all). That said, I've definitely played a few of the characters before via said Vs. games, so I have a decent idea of what's ahead of me here. Also, I've watched a good amount of competitive Street Fighter, which may or may not help. PLOT: The most I can glean is that there's a tournament (there always is with these games, eh?), and I think it was set up by M. Bison (evil dictator guy, classic Street Fighter villain). Our various playable characters join the tournament for different reasons, and you get to explore those reasons in their respective endings. For example, Ryu's is all about his eternal journey to become the greatest fighter in the world. The story is nothing wild and is honestly standard fare for many fighting games. It's at least cool that every character has different motivations for entering the tournament, some of which tie into the whole evil nature of M. Bison. PRESENTATION: Street Fighter II's visuals are timeless in my eyes. The pixel art style has a great amount of detail, the animations look great, every character has a distinct and memorable design, and each of their home stages feel perfectly in theme with them. Every character also has their own theme, and they're just as iconic as their designs or stages. For example, Ken's theme is catchy as hell, and of course, who could ever forget Guile's theme? Also, I learned that Yoko Shimomura (an absolute legend in the video game music scene) composed these themes, so I'm less surprised that they're so enjoyable to listen to. There's also a bit of voice work in this game, and these also do a lot to make each character even more memorable. Is it really Ryu if he doesn't yell "Shoryuken!" every time you do the move? GAMEPLAY: Street Fighter II is as traditional as traditional fighting games get. Beat up your opponent with your moves, knock their health down to zero, repeat until you win two rounds. There's not much else you need to know. In this version, there are eight playable characters: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, E. Honda, Guile, Dhalsim, and Zangief. They all have unique moves (well, except for Ryu and Ken, who share a fighting style), with their specials being the most memorable moves you're bound to remember. Most of the specials are performed via command inputs (these are your quarter-circle motions, charge inputs, etc.), which may be tough to figure out for beginners. Aside from the specials, you have a variety of normal moves, which are split into six buttons. You have three kick buttons and three punch buttons, each having a light, medium, and heavy variant. As you may guess, light is quick but weak, and heavy is strong but slow. Your specials can also change depending on whether you input the move with light, medium, or heavy (e.g. you can use a faster Hadouken if you input the move with heavy punch instead). You can also perform throws by simultaneously pressing two buttons (usually punch + kick, which is the most traditional way of doing it). This game doesn't really teach you combos (fun fact: the devs pointed out that its existence here was more or less an accident), so you'll have to figure out your own strings by yourself or look some up online. You're not going to get anything on the level of Marvel vs. Capcom anyhow (not as far as I've tried, anyway), and there's not a lot of complicated tech apart from special cancels either. Speaking of special cancels, I think that was also an accidental addition that eventually became a staple of the entire genre. This game really is revolutionary. The single player arcade mode has you pick a character and face off against the remaining seven that you didn't pick, each on their home stage. At various points in between, you'll be dropped into bonus stages where you try and use your moves to cause property damage. The most iconic of this is the bonus stage where you wreck the shit out of someone's car. Once you beat every other fighter, you'll be thrown into a gauntlet of non-playable fighters. You'll fight Balrog the boxer, Vega (dude with the claw), Sagat (muay thai guy from the first Street Fighter), and M. Bison himself. If you manage to beat them all, you're treated to your character's arcade ending. VERDICT: Fighting games have expanded as a genre long after Street Fighter II came around, and while one could rightfully argue that modern games have a lot more to offer depth-wise (be it mechanics, story, or presentation), going back to this one helped me appreciate how far the genre has come. I still found enjoyment in performing each character's classic moves and doing the usual arcade mode even if there isn't a massive roster or insanely complicated combos. Plus, the presentation is still a treat over 30 years later and beating up the car is a lot of fun. I think I'll mess around with this game on occasion, and hopefully I get a chance to drag a few of my friends to play 1v1 with me. If my explanation at the beginning isn't enough indication, this game makes a strong case as a historically significant title within the entire industry. As with all games like this that I label as "essential", I implore anybody with a passing interest in video games to play this at least once, as I think its legacy merits giving it a try. As far as fighting games go, this is probably the simplest introduction I can think of: it's got some of the more complicated elements that still exist in the genre today (command inputs, combos, multiple buttons), but since there's not a lot of actual tech in this game yet, you don't have to stress out about optimal combos or anything high-level. Just ease yourself into the idea of light/medium/heavy and quarter-circles, and don't think much about anything else. This version of Street Fighter II is available as DLC for Capcom Arcade Stadium (among other places). Here's a link for that: Capcom Arcade Stadium:STREET FIGHTER II - The World Warrior - on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - |
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June 2024
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