Worst Video Game Series: The Sims

Let’s face it, for every good videogame you’ve played in your life, you can probably recall a dozen that you’ve played that simply weren’t up to par. Every aspect of life has its duds, and video games are no exceptions, whether it’s the result of poor controls, bad writing, or just a really crappy independent company that has no business making video games in the first place. We can all recall plenty of games that are just horrible, but which game SERIES is the worst? In my opinion, it’s got to be The Sims. I know this will probably seem like a strange choice to many readers, due to its popularity, when there are so many other games out there that are universally hated. And I’ll admit, there are a few things that The Sims does well which can make it “fun” to play. But if we’re talking about it in terms of series, The Sims comes out on top because of the fact that more universally hated games are usually a single game without a series because they were so bad that the developers dropped it immediately, or because they are a lone dud within the midst of a successful and well-done franchise. For me, The Sims matches neither of these criteria, so let’s jump right into the fray.

Favorite Video Game Character: Ratchet, from Ratchet and Clank

Every good game needs good characters. A great plot, great gameplay, doesn’t mean anything if your protagonist is an annoying jerk, your villain is shoddily put-together, or you’re playing a FPS. (No offense, HALO fans) If the characters in the game aren’t relatable or likable, then the player won’t want to play the game, since the essence of the game is following these characters around and how they drive the plot forward. So while I’m preparing for finals this year, I thought I would introduce you to my favorite videogame character: Ratchet, from the Ratchet & Clank game series.

Final Fantasy Favorites: Gameplay

Arguably the most important aspect of any game is, as the name suggests, gameplay. Beautiful graphics, wonderful stories, everything else becomes pointless if the interactive portion of the game isn’t interesting to the gamer. Otherwise, you might as well just read a book or watch a movie. I’m not talking about the battle system here, however, since I feel that deserves an entire post to itself, but I will be going into as much of the interactive experience of Final Fantasy as I can, including things like World Maps, minigames, transportation, and even simple things like controls and talking to NPCs. Let’s get to it.

Final Fantasy Favorites

One of the more common video game blogs I’ve seen online have at one point or another done their own take on the Final Fantasy video game series, ranking them from worst to best, so I thought I’d join the club and contribute my own list to the internet. I find it really difficult to pick an absolute victor in the game series, however, since each game is so different from the others in so many different ways. So instead of a list, I’ll compare and contrast the games that I have played, which sadly is a rather short list, based on certain elements of the games, with a personal favorite in each category. Because this review list would otherwise be insanely long otherwise, I have decided to split it up into several separate posts, each detailing a different element. I’m excited, and I hope you are too!

First up: Gameplay

Maniacal Monday: Frieza, from Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z is one of the more well-known manga/anime to come out of Japan, and certainly the most well known of its creator, Akir Toriyama. The sequel of the manga/anime Dragon Ball, it follows the chronicles of Goku as he defends the universe from all things evil with his fists, and massively unnecessary explosions. While the series has its ups and downs, one cannot deny that it has some of the most entertaining and terrifying villains ever created, even if they can sometimes look ridiculous (See Majin Buu). This week is none other than the tyrannical overlord known as Frieza.

Friday Night Retro: Jet Force Gemini

Once upon a time, video games used to be difficult. Now, I’m not talking about difficult in terms of faulty controls or infuriating design. I’m talking about the fact that gameplay used to actually be a challenge. Let’s face it, today’s gamers are soft because today’s games are too easy. (With the possible exception of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls) Gone are the days when you had to spend hours trying to master a game, progressing inch by slow inch through an area as hordes of enemies tried to end your character’s puny existence, replaced with games that baby you, and the only danger is that you might accidentally fall to your death. Strategy and intricacy have taken a back seat to beautiful graphics and brute force, and even when you beat a game, it doesn’t seem to mean as much because you didn’t really have to try too hard. So let’s take a look back at one of the hardest games I recall from my childhood, Jet Force Gemini.

Music Review: Super Ponybeat

Before I review this music album, I have a confession to make. I am a Brony. For those of you who are unaware of the term, a Brony is a person, usually male and in their teens or 20s, who watches the TV show “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.” You may gasp, you may ask, “But isn’t that a show for little girls?!” Yes. Yes it is. The whole purpose of the Brony movement is to prove that just because something is marketed to a certain audience doesn’t mean a completely different audience that has nothing in common with the first group can’t enjoy it as well. It’s about shedding off the limitations of stereotypes and what is considered “right” and “wrong” for someone to do. Me, I just love the characters, and the story, and the animation… pretty much everything about it. But I digress. As the fanbase for a show grows, it only becomes natural that those fans become more and more involved with the show on an independent scale, which is where the album for this week’s review originated from T. Stebbins, entitled “Super Ponybeat.”

Maniacal Monday: Seymour, from Final Fantasy X

The Final Fantasy game franchise is widely regarded as one of the best RPG series’ of all time.  And with over thirty game titles to their name, it’s certainly one of the largest. The first Final Fantasy was released in 1987 in Japan, as a last-ditch attempt to save the Square company from bankruptcy, and it quickly grew one of the largest fanbases in videogame history. Each new title in the main series brings an entirely new story, a new battle system, and new characters. Like any good story, however, it needs  good antagonists. And one of the most intriguing is Maester Seymour, from FFX.

Rondelet on Autumn

Autumn comes now,

A pleasant chill pervades the air.

Autumn comes now

That summer is gone and winds plough

Through the light clothes we once wore. Fair

Is the breeze that harkens winter.

Autumn comes now.

Friday Night Retro: The Lion King

Disney certainly has quite a relationship with animals, in many different ways. Sometimes, they can talk. Sometimes, they help the protagonist clean a house. Other times, animals will take center stage. When they do, Disney will be pushing the message of the wonders of nature, while wooing us with wonderful art and scenery. They give us equal amounts of laughter, awe, and sadness, as we learn the tough reality of life. No movie better exemplifies this than Disney’s The Lion King.

Maniacal Monday: Gilderoy Lockhart, from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

What can I say about the Harry Potter books besides the fact that I think they are some of the best things to ever happen to this world? Well, I guess that says it all, really. And like in any decent story, Harry Potter has his fair share of enemies. From the maniacal Lord Voldemort to the control freak Dolores Umbridge, the villains of the Wizarding World are diverse and colorful, each bringing their own brand of evil to the table. And before we return to the more sinister villains that I love, I thought it would be nice to end our little trip into the world of humor with the wonderful character known as Gilderoy Lockhart.

Eidolons of Gran Pulse - Brynhildr

By the grace of Etro, warrior maiden be drawn by the fires of battle.
Come forth, wreathed in blazing glory.
Your Rousing Inferno terrorizes all with your fury,
Discouraging those who would seek to quarrel.
The Ethereal Blaze that surrounds your vessel
Shall burn to cinders any who provoke thee,
And with ease, your enemies shall swiftly foresee
The demise of those who with Eidolons meddle.

As you burst forth swiftly, racing through
Your enemies, they will with dying groans exclaim,
As you follow your powerful master's bidding.
Múspell Flame, burn those who dare challenge you.
A name in blood, a pact of flame.
Brynhildr shall rise, her bond eternal and unyielding.

Eidolons of Gran Pulse - Odin

By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival.
Come forth, sunderer of falsehood.
Allow no evil to remain, struck down by good,
Struck down by you, thou lightning-bound angel.
The world remains in a state of peril,
Besieged by enemies vicious and crude.
They tremble before thee, bright-shining, and hued,
As they wait for a punishment cruel.

Gallop into the sunset swiftly,
As the story follows in futile pursuit.
The end will nigh find itself coming.
Zantetsuken, annihilate all those unworthy.
A name in blood, a pact of truth.
Odin shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding.

Friday Night Retro: Mario Party

Within the seemingly endless number of videogame and videogame sequels popping up this year, it’s nice to fall back on familiar classics that everyone knows. And easily the most recognizable videogame character is Mario, that pudgy Italian plumber that’s always one step behind his eternal rival Bowser and his lovely lady Princess Peach. He is Nintendo’s poster-character, and is synonymous with old-school gaming. He has aged quite a bit better than most of his 8-bit friends like Sonic, but we all remember and love him during his early years. Nintendo has always been about multiplayer games, and so it’s no surprise that their most famous franchise has dozens of games designed specifically for party play, even one that literally calls itself that: Mario Party.

Maniacal Monday: Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast

Disney is full of the most wonderful stories of our generation. But “The Happiest Place On Earth” certainly has some of the most frightening villains as well. From the insane Cruella de Vil to the pious Minister Frollo, Disney certainly knows how to play to the fears of all people. However, not all Disney villains are quite as obvious as the audience is led to believe at the beginning of their films, at least not until they show their true colors near the climax of the movie. Many times, they seem like a genuinely good guy, or just an annoying character that serves to set the events in motion. “Beauty and the Beast” illustrates this perfectly with Gaston.

Friday Night Retro: The Powerpuff Girls

Cartoon Network was my deity while growing up. The sheer number of animated television series they had during the 90’s was amazing, and I enjoyed watching nearly all of them. While some of the shows annoyed me to the point where I wanted to punch my TV – like Ed, Edd, n Eddy – the vast majority of these shows were entertaining to watch, and had such personality than more recent television series can’t seem to match. Whether it was merely an explosion of animated talent or that today’s writers adhere to stereotypes, sacrificing quality for ratings, I do not know, but I can certainly thank Cartoon Network for the show The Powerpuff Girls.

Maniacal Monday: Dr. Nefarious, from Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal

This week, we’ll be taking a break from the heavy, terrifying villains in favor of a more comedic villain. When it comes to bad guys in the world of comedy, their actions tend to be over-the-top and farcical. Their plans are crazy, and are usually either horribly convoluted to the point where you have NO idea how it works, or so spectacularly simple that you wonder where they learned how to be evil in the first place. Just like normal villains, however, they have just as varied and deep a background as any other (usually) and are the driving force behind the plot of the story. Enter Dr. Nefarious, from the Ratchet & Clank game series.

Friday Night Retro: Fiddler on the Roof

Growing up, many of the things to which I was exposed was as a direct result of my parents rather than what was popular at the time. When other kids were watching Power Rangers, I was watching Monty Python. When they were listening to N’Sync, I was listening to The Beatles. And by far, one of the more memorable movie/musicals I recall from my childhood was the epic tale of The Fiddler On The Roof. The tragic story of a Jewish family in the small Russian town of Anatevka, as the main character, Tevye, struggles to hold onto the traditions of his faith in a rapidly changing world around the turn of the 20^th century, from his daughters to the oppressive regime of the Russian Tsar. Phenomenal casting and a wonderful script combine to create an experience that is difficult to forget.

Eidolons of Gran Pulse: Shiva

By the grace of Etro, twin rulers arise from your icy thrones.
Come forth, sisters of Winter wastes.
In you, our trusts are placed.
Let not your presence remain unknown,
Lest your enemies’, you do condone.
Stiria, heal comrades with haste,
As Nix destroys those in frost encased,
And soon shall the tyrant be dethroned.

Two tires screech against the cement,
Knowing their speed will suffice.
A wall of ice, your weapon wielding.
Diamond Dust, freeze those of hot temperament.
A name in blood, a pact of ice.
Shiva shall rise, her bond eternal and unyielding.

The Death of Creative Writing in Schools

One of the things I’ve noticed since beginning my blog is just how hard it is to really write. The ability to put words on paper in an attractive manner is difficult in and of itself, but when you are writing creatively, writing stories and novels, it becomes infinitely more complicated. I consider myself a fairly decent writer, doing my best to write my own novel in my spare time, but I find myself hitting blocks far more often than I should, doing far more research than actual writing. I was sitting alone the other day, looking at a blank sheet of paper, willing the story to materialize on the paper, when I think I may have stumbled upon the reason for my difficulty. Public school English courses.

Maniacal Monday: Darth Tyranus, from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

While all villains terrify us, not every villain is of the sort that haunts the deepest, darkest corner of your nightmares. Some bad guys are more refined, possessing elegance about them, a certain presence that changes who they are. More often than not, these villains are of noble background, corrupted by the world around them into doing evil things in order to fix what they see as flaws in society. Sometimes they are aware of their Evilness, sometimes they aren’t, but the way they act about their actions, one would think that they were playing nothing more than a game, where the pieces are people, and the rules are undetermined. It is into this niche of villain that this week’s character, Darth Tyranus, finds himself.

Friday Night Retro: Pokémon: The First Movie

The Pokémon game franchise has been one of the most successful of our generation. Go up to any early-20s, late teenager and say the word Pokémon, and it will be recognized. (If they don’t recognize it, pity them, for they had no childhood) Whether they grew up with 151 Pokémon or 649, few are the children who don’t recall the adorable game about enslaving… I mean, catching… various monsters that exist in the Pokémon world, from the adorable Togepi to the terrifying Onix. So popular is the series, that it has spawned not only an abundance of videogame spinoffs and sequels, but also highly successful anime and movie franchises, both of which center around the eternally youthful Ash Ketchum, whose dream is to become a Pokémon Master. So secure was the company in the longevity of their franchise, they actually entitled the first movie Pokémon: The First Movie, so without further ado, let’s jump right into the wonderful world of Pokémon.

Summer to Autumn

Summer
Warm, sunny days
The disgusting smell of sunblock
The sun beating down from overhead
Fun-filled days spent in the surf at the beach
Frolicking endlessly with friends and family, old and new
But soon, the weather grows colder and less bright
The trees and plants lose their vibrant colors
The skies turn gray and dull
As the season pass
Autumn

Music Review: NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming

Video games seem to have it all. Even from their early arcade days, when the game had a singular, simplistic objective, video games had the populace enamoured. As time progressed, they expanded, evolving into interactive complex stories with surprise twists, with a variety of increasingly spectacular gameplay, not to mention the inevitable increase in graphic quality. One of the things that has always been at the core of great gaming, however, has been the soundtracks. To keep the sound of a game fresh and interesting when you have hours upon hours of playing ahead of you is a feat in and of itself, but audio directors always find new ways to go above and beyond when it comes to catchy game music. But for some of the older video games, from the 64-bit era and beyond, their soundtracks find themselves being lost to the ravages of time despite their superior quality because the sound has become outdated in these High Definition times. Thankfully, a website called OverClocked Remix has made it their mission to remix popular video game soundtracks, bringing a whole new dimension to the catchy tunes that filled our childhood. One of their most recent collaborations is entitled “NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming,” an album comprised entirely of remixes from the Sega Saturn game “NiGHTS into Dreams.”

Maniacal Monday: The Overlord, from the Overlord game series

We all love villains. Whether they are a sleazy, nasty slimeball or a sophisticated supervillain, everyone secretly adores bad guys because we somehow find a way to feel for whatever plight has led them to become evil, and their initiative in trying to make the world a better place, even if their methods and ultimate goal are not what we would consider “better.” And while many books exist that examine events from the viewpoint of villains, coming across a tale where you ARE the villain is very rare. Enter the Overlord, the stereotypical fairy-tale villain, and protagonist of the Overlord game series.

Friday Night Retro: Bomberman 64

The transition from the old 2-dimensional games of the arcade days to the new 3-dimensional game systems in the ‘90s was rough on a lot of game franchises. While some series, like Final Fantasy, adapted without sacrificing its identity, not every game was so lucky, and this led to quite a few game franchises to fail. The Bomberman series was of the few that managed to hang on through the transition, and though the games have recently become nothing more than a throwback to its 2-d days of fame, it managed to churn out two rather decent games for the Nintendo 64 game system, the first of which was Bomberman 64. It was a game I spent endless hours trying to beat, but never managed to finish, due to some fatal flaws in the gameplay mechanisms, but more on that later.

Maniacal Monday: Artemis Fowl II, from Artemis Fowl

The literary world is home to some of the greatest villains of all time. Aside from the fact that it is the oldest media, dating back since our origins in caves, the fact that books are not constrained by time limits allows a more in-depth look at everything that’s going on. This is especially true for villains, as the increased space allows for even more room with which to develop their character, backstory, and reason for becoming evil, which enhances their villain-ness exponentially. By getting to know the character, it’s possible to either love them or hate them depending on their reasons for doing evil things, again allowed by the fact that you have more time to get to know them. Sometimes you might even find “villains” in the role of protagonist, and one of my favorite books that demonstrates this duality is the villain Artemis Fowl II, from Artemis Fowl.

Mountain Haiku

Majestic mountains.
Scars on the face of the Earth,
Topped by icy peaks.