Laboratory of Mathematics and Writing

Visions of Mana I adored both Secret of Mana and Secret of Mana 2 (Seiken Densetsu 2 and Seiken Densetsu 3, respectively). They're not quite at the top of gaming mountain for me, but they're both enjoyable experiences worthy of multiple playthroughs. I haven't revisited them in years, but the first Secret of Mana remains my favorite by a small margin, largely because of its brighter color palette and catchier soundtrack. Visions of Mana is a welcome addition to the franchise and, while I wouldn't rank it above those classics, it's still a thoroughly enjoyable adventure in its own right. Gorgeous Visuals Let me start off by mentioning how spectacular the visuals are. This is exactly how I envisioned a 3D Mana game to be. It's bright, colorful, and the cartoon style is an absolute slam dunk. The environments are lush and bursting with color. Each area has a distinct identity. The vibrant green grass and tree ...

Fable As young Xbox teen, I was among many that where hyped about this game. The creators of Fable promised the moon on a stick and certainly did not deliver. Initially, we where a bit dissapointed. Ultimately though, we had quite a lot of fun playing it. Overall, we where quite pleased with Fable, even if it didn'y quite live up to the expectations. Playing it back then was a pleasant experience. I recently replayed it and I still had a pleasant experience with it. However, it is showing signs of age. After the Hype Back in the day when I first obtained this game (I still refuse to believe it's been over 20 years ago), I was already deeply enamored with Morrowind. That's another game that's showing its age, but it's an obvious point of comparison before playing Fable. To my teenage brain, Morrowind was a sprawling world with numerous loc...

Sonic Adventure Here's another game that I didn't get to play growing up. We where lower middle class in my younger years. So, the Sega Dreamcast I received was a hand-me-down. Hence, why I got it after the support for it died. It came with a few games and unfortunately, Sonic Adventure is not one of them. Perhaps it's for the better. Even though I rememember the big buzz the Dreamcast and this game generated, I cannot look upon this game with nostalgia colored glasses; not completely, anyway. With that being said, I must say that this game didn't age quite gracefully, but it's still a decent experience worthy of at least a single playthrough. If only just to play the very first fully 3D Sonic game. Early Camera Work The one thing that stuck out to me the most was the camera. Early 3D games back in the 90s have yet to solve the camera problem as the character you are controlling was moving around the environment...

Witcher 3 It's difficult to believe this game was released over a decade ago. I left graduate school just a year prior and had just taken up teaching part-time at a community college. I had also taken up teaching full time at a high school that was populated by at-risk youth. Teaching college was my favorite job ever. Teaching high school was dreadful. There's no money in teaching, so dropping high school teaching was an easy decision. I did continue teaching college part-time. Unfortunately, there's very little money in it. Count me as one of those that was promised a high-paying job but didn't attain one after college. It wasn't exactly the best time in my life. My escape from feeling down on myself was of course PC gaming. That year, 2015, delivered two super fun games I escaped to: Fallout 4 and Witcher 3. Both are great, but Witcher 3 was on a whole new level. It cleaned up all the awards that year and is now regularly prais...

Omikron: The Nomad Soul I remember trying Shenmue over a decade ago. I believe I was in grad school or just before entering. I can't quite remember. Now, Shenmue is often touted as one of the Dreamcast greats and incredibly ahead of its time. Perhaps I played it too late because after playing through only the first disc, I failed to appreciate it and stopped playing it. I still have a copy and perhaps I will make another attempt in the future. It's really just a murder mystery with barely any action in it. The setting is generic. The plot is generic. None of it captured my attention for very long. Again, I'll give it another go in the future. After all, Dreamcast is my second favorite console. Comparison I mentioned Shenmue because it is the first thing that popped into my mind while playing Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Just like Shenmue, Omikron is also a murder mystery with some action in it. What sets it apart, howeve...

Elemental Gimmick Gear This game was released right in the middle of peak Y2K: 1999. However, upon first look, you could have mistaken the release year to be 1995 or 1996; at most 1997. You probably wouldn't guess that it was released on the Sega Dreamcast. It definitely has that Moebius inspired visuals akin to Panzer Dragoon. So, you could make another easy mistake and conjecture that Elemental Gimmick Gear was released on the Sega Saturn. It wasn't. It was released on the Dreamcast anno 1999. This game is incidentally a demonstration of how fast technology was evolving at the time. In just a few short years E.G.G. felt outdated. In fact, it began as a Saturn project that ended up being completed for the Dreamcast. Aside from being a solid game in it's own right, E.G.G. functions as a unique time capsule that bridges the fifth to the sixth generation of console gaming. Moebius Art E.G.G. is a top-down, 2D action...