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.

Friday Night Retro: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

I am possibly one of the youngest people that can still recall looking forward to Saturday Morning Cartoons, before the advent of the DVR. Getting up early on the weekend seems blasphemous to me now, but back then, nothing beat the feeling of getting out of bed just to lay down on the couch for a few uninterrupted hours of cartoon watching. Those Saturday time slots were gold for kids and TV shows alike, the foundation of a lot of quality nostalgia. However, not all nostalgia is perfect, and one show that stands out today as less than great is the infamous show, “The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog.”

Music Reviews

As you may have noticed in my previous reviews, I tend to focus a lot on the figuratively quiet influence of music upon the audience. Though most people don’t often recognize or focus on music in games or movies, as their primary concern is with the plot, auditory perception is possibly the most important element of any form of entertainment. The plot, the gameplay, the characters, they all count for nothing if the sounds that accompany them are abrasive and make you wish you could rip your eardrums out of your head. So I have decided to review music on this blog as well – though I don’t think I’m going to change the title of my blog; too much work. While this won’t be a regular segment like Friday Night Retro or Maniacal Monday, as I don’t wish to overburden myself with the shadow of college looming just around the corner, I will be doing my best to review a soundtrack or music album at least every other week, and keep you guessing about which day it gets published. 

This Week: NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming, an OverClocked Remix Album.

Maniacal Monday: Darth Maul, from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars is highly regarded as the Holy Grail of the entire Science Fiction genre. George Lucas created a highly diverse universe, populated with countless worlds, species, and technologies, while also managing to throw a healthy dose of fantasy in the mix. It has even become self-sustaining, as the Star Wars series has expanded far beyond the 6 movies that Lucas created as numerous writers have written novels from millennia before the story to millennia after. And out of these stories, many evil villains have arisen. From the original movies, however, the villain that stood out most to me was the evil Zabrak Sith, Darth Maul.

Friday Night Retro: Aladdin

Just like many, if not all, children in the past generation or so, I was exposed to quite a lot of Disney films in my youth. Though riddled with historical inaccuracies and quite a few offensive moments, Disney remains one of the most recognizable brand names in the world, and deservedly so, as Walt Disney and his company were the masters of entertainment from their conception. And of the many masterpieces that Disney has created, one of my favorites would have to be Aladdin, that Arabian classic.

Maniacal Monday: The Shadow, From Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Winner of the "Scariest Game Ever" Award

Few things are more frightening to the human psyche than darkness, though we truly fear the unknown which lurks inside the darkness rather than the darkness itself. It stands to reason, then, that the most frightening villain of all is one that we cannot see, and that is truly the case for The Shadow from the game “Amnesia: The Dark Descent.” This is, without a doubt, one of the scariest games I have ever played, period, and this is a direct result of the effect of The Shadow on both the character and the player. Why is this villain so terrifying? Read on to find out.

Maniacal Monday

If there is one thing upon which we can all agree, it’s that bad guys are evil. They do evil things for evil reasons, (and sometimes no reason at all) and it’s up to the protagonist of the story to stop them. And though we cheer when good inevitably triumphs, we’d all be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that there were times when we were rooting for the bad guy. Let’s face it; villains are usually much more interesting characters than heroes. Villains have motives, they have selfish desires, and we can relate to them in a way, whereas heroes seem to exist for the sole purpose of defeating the bad guy and restoring peace and balance to the world. So, in honor of these baddies, I am proud to announce a new weekly segment: Maniacal Monday! Where we will honor the best of the worst, and find out just what makes them tick. 

This Monday: The Shadow, from Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Summertime Haiku

Blazing summer days
Cause sweat to pour down my face.
The Sun is evil.

Friday Night Retro: Star Fox 64

Look, the action's exploding!

Star Fox 64 was one of the best games of the 64-bit era, and certainly has a special place in my heart. In many ways, it pushed the boundaries on what home-console video games could do, from its revolutionary Rumble Pak, to multiple gameplay paths, and the immense amount of voice-acting dialogue. My father and I wasted hundreds of hours discovering everything about it, and was actually probably better at the game than I was, though I’ll never admit it to him. Let’s not waste any more time, and jump right in.

Friday Night Retro

Remember the careless days of your youth, when your biggest worry was deciding what flavor gum you were going to buy on your way out of the grocery store? We always tend to look back our childhood with fondness, and with my new weekly segment, Friday Night Retro, I am going to do my best to bring back the things that made our childhoods memorable. Every week, I’ll review something from the past: videogames, bands, toys, books, you name it. Anything from the 90’s and early 2000’s is fair game. If you have something you would like me to review, don’t hesitate to send me a message or leave a comment, and I’ll add it to the list. Enjoy!

This Friday: Star Fox 64.

60-Year Old Picture

A drabble on how the past affects us.

Order of the Phoenix Review

Harry Potter is a series that has defined an entire generation, and it is a generation of which I am quite proud to be a part.

Hero or Villain? Choose your path in inFAMOUS 2.

inFAMOUS 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed PS3 game, inFAMOUS.

Scattered Beliefs

A poem about preconceptions.

Welcome

I'm JLawrence Kenny, and this is my blog, "On Poetry, Prose, and Videogames."