Laboratory of Mathematics and Writing

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Solid I typcally ignore hype. However, I grabbed this game on sale for $35 instead of the usual $50 sticker price. It is a price worth paying. I'm a cheapskate. So, fifty bucks is too much for me. I can still recommend this game even at it's fifty dollar price point, especially if you're into turn-based RPGs. I am personally not into turn-based RPGs. I tried Evolution: World of Sacred Device and, though charming, it was slog to get through. I played through Super Mario RPG, which is generally regarded as one of the best on the Super Nintendo, and I would be okay with never playing it again. Now I am working my way through Clair Obscur and I can safely say that I would rather play this game than the other two I mentioned. However, it still doesn't move my needle towards appreciating turn-based combat very much. Just like with Super Mario RPG, it was an entertaining game that I have no intention of ever pl...

Jade Empire I remember purchasing this twenty years ago. As I was purchasing it, the guy at the register wholeheartedly recommended it saying "I really like this game!". It made me eager to play it. As soon as I got home and placed the disk in the drive and began playing, I was very well pleased. Jade Empire is an enjoyable action/adventure game with some RPG elements in a setting that doesn't take place often enough in video games. Teenage Tragedy I played this game to the very last mission. Then tragedy struck. My Xbox console died and could no longer play anything. I don't recall what caused its death, maybe the cpu just simply expired. In any case, I was no longer able to continue playing Jade Empire or Splinter Cell (I was playing them concurrently) and see those games to the end. Talk about a case of blue balls; double, in fact. Now, twenty years later, I am able to finish what I started all those years ago. I still...

Parkour I remember watching an old friend of mine play Mirror's Edge. I was barely familiar (and still am barely) with parkour, but it was obvious that this game was inspired by parkour. I would never perform any of those death defying stunts. So, I'll have to settle for doing them in a video game. I want to experience the rush if jumping from one building to the next, but I also don't want to experience coming close to dying. Playing a video game instead is a safe compromise. It is indeed quite fun jumping over barriers, sliding under tight spots, jumping from one building to another, vaulting over fences, and scrambling up ledges. Stringing all of that together is what makes for exciting gameplay. Most importantly, I won't actually die if I screw up, which happens frequently. Simple Story, Simple Objective The story is simple, but interesting. You are Faith, a "runner". A tyrannical government is in ...

Bad Fur Day I first played "Conker's Bad Fur Day" in middle school. Or was it sixth grade? It was 2001 and I graduated elementary and left for middle school that year. I can't believe it's been damned near a quarter century. We played through the story just once and had a blast laughing at all the crude jokes. It's just the stuff a young boy would love. Hell, I don't think I properly matured. I still laugh at fart jokes. And you know what? I can still stare at polygon boobs all day. Anyways, the main quest is awesome, but we had even more fun playing the multiplayer. I can't even explain why it was so awesome. The controls didn't exactly lend themselves to fluid kills. The maps wheren't anything to write home about. Maybe there was just something humiliating about getting killed by a teddy bear or cute squirrel that made us keep coming back. Oh, the trash talking was epic because of that. Immature Lonely Boy ...

Come Out to Play I remember playing The Warriors on the Playstation 2 when I was in high school with a buddy of mine. It was an absolute blast. It's definitely one of those nostalgia trips whenever I think about it or begin playing it. Interesting fact: I played the game before I watched the awesome movie. I just played through it again on the original Xbox and I must say that it's great. However, the combat didn't exactly age well. Everything else about it absolutely stood the test of time, just not the combat. A Grim Setting Despite not watching the movie first, I was immediately drawn into the world of The Warriors. It's world of gangs, crime, drugs, and violence in abundance. The homeless people walking around exclaiming "What do I have to do to make a living around here?!" adds to the dark and gritty setting. It's a hopeless world with almost no economic opportunities. So, the only way to ma...

The Ascent I'm a sucker for cyberpunk settings. I love both of the Blade Runner movies as well as Akira. I also enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 and the old Shadowrun on the Super Nintendo. In fact, I would compare The Ascent to Shadowrun the most. Sure, Shadowrun is old as hell and the art direction isn't the same at all, but it is an isometric shooter just like The Ascent. They both take place in a typical high-tech, low-life dystopian world. They both have non-human characters that you can interact with. You get to roam around freely in a neon city environment. You can cybernetically enhance your character in both. They both allow the use of a variety of weapons; although the variety is much greater in the Ascent. They both make use of hacking; although, Shadowrun opens up a mini-game instead of the single-button press in The Ascent. Cyberpunk Setting Perfected An absolute win for The Ascent is the overall setting and atmosphere. It tot...

Cel-Shaded Xtreme Sports Saga I love the "Cel-Shaded Xtreme Sports Saga". That's what I am going to call it. I am not an authority in any capacity, but I am going to make up my own terminology anyways.The Cel-Shaded Extreme Sports Saga consists of three games: Jet Set Radio, Jet Set Radio Future, and Bombrush Cyberfunk. There's probably many more games out there that can be included in the category of Cel-Shaded Extreme Sports, but these are the most obvious selections and they are intimitely linked to one another.All three are absolutely worth playing and among my favorite games ever. If I where to rank them from best to worst, it would be thus: Jet Set Radio, Bombrush Cyberfunk, then Jet Set Radio Future. Jet Set Radio Future Jet Set Radio Future is my least favorite. It's still an amazing game that I will always wholeheartedly recommend it. I just prefer Bombrush and the original Jet Set Radio. A big reason is that the story ...

Seiken Densetsu 3, If You Prefer Reproductions There's a local video game store that sells reproduction Super Nintendo cartridges. I am indeed grateful for reproduction cardtridges or CDs for any console. Well, maybe not PC because it's largely unecessary nowadays. But I am definitely glad about reproduction cardtriges and have no issues with them as long as they are of top quality. There are certain games, like Earthbound, that are obscenely expensive. Some people prefer physical games and don't want to spend over $300 on a single cartridge. The next best option is to buy a reproduction for $35. There are other games, such as Secret of Mana 2 (Seiken Densetsu 3, if you prefer), that never saw a North American release. Actually, it never had an English translation. Fans had to perform the translation for us Yankees. A reproduction with complete to-English translation of Secret of Mana 2 provides a great opportunity to own a ...

Another Turn Based RPG I'm not sure why tried this game. Maybe beause it was an RPG on the Dreamcast the was relatively inexpensive. I paid roughly thirty dollars for this. I don't think I'm ready to pay the damned near 200 dollars for Skies of Arcadia. I guess I should have started with Grandia 2. It has a much better reputation than Evolution. Grandia 2 is generally held in high regard, Evolution is viewed as a charming but mediocre RPG. Maybe that's why I chose to play it. I wanted to play a simple, average, but charming RPG so that I may have something to compare every RPG to. Simple but Charming The description of simple, average, but charming is the most fitting descritption you can possibly give this game. The story is a typical and predictable affair in which you are an explorer that dives into dungeons for treasure. An imperial military shows up with interest in the same artifacts you are digging up. Turns o...

A Panzer Dragoon Game, Finally I finally played a Panzer Dragoon game, and it was Panzer Dragoon Orta on the Xbox. The only other rail shooters I've played prior to this are Space Harrier (briefly at an arcade) and Starfox. As much as I love Starfox, especially growing up with it, I must say I had more fun playing Orta. It's not a fair comparison, of course. Starfox came out on the Super Nintendo and Orta came out on a much more powerful console. It's still ok to have preferences, and you simply can't go wrong with either of these great games. First Acquiantance I first heard of Panzer Dragoon Saga in high shool, I believe. Or maybe it was middle school. It was nearly twenty years ago. I can't believe it took me so long to finally play a Panzer Dragoon game. Given the rarity, and absurd pricing, of Saga, I don't think I can be blamed too much. Anyways, I read about it in a magazine, probably Game Informer. Th...

Jet Set Radio When someone says "Sega Dreamcast", I automatically picture Jet Set Radio in my head. I'm not video game historian or cultural analyst, but I feel like the Dreamcast occupied a very specific aesthetic at very certain time. The time, of course, being late 90s and early 2000s. The aesthetic is something I can't quite put into words. I believe it comes from each game striving to appear unique in its on way. This resulted in many games in the Dreamcast library truly standing out not only from each other, but from other games on other consoles. It's a combination of attitude and rebelliousness along with playfulness and whackiness. The two best titles that I believe more most exemplary of these descriptors is Space Channel 5 (I don't like it, but my sister did) and my absolute favorite on the console and one of my favorites ever: Jet Set Radio. Love at First Playthrough I actually acquired my Dreamcast after the ...

I Still Don't Like Turn Based RPGs After all these years, I finally played Super Mario RPG. To tell you the truth, I never really had a strong desire to play the game. I am just simply not into turn based RPGs besides Pokemon. But I feel like Pokemon doesn't count simply because Pokemania took over our lives in the late 90s like nothing ever has before and probably even since. It was nuts. But we're talking about Super Mario RPG. It arrived late in the Super Nintendo life span, 1996, so there was no mania about it. The problem I've had with rpgs, and even to a certain extent, Pokemon, it was very easy to just spam the strongest attack and win every battle. I only ever had to strategize at the very end with the final boss and, even then, all I did was have Peach spam healing while Mario and Geno spammed their strongest attacks. So, the battling is not particularly challenging or engaging. The story is cute, but also p...

Chronicles of Riddick - Escape From Butcher Bay I recently played this game on the original Xbox. Yes, I am going back in time. I actually remember wanting to play this game back then, but never got a chance to. I definitely missed out. I am missing out no more The game revolves around the titular character voiced by the guy who played him in the movies, Vin Diesel. Between his portrayals of Riddick, Fast and the Furious, and XXX, I feel this guy can not have existed any other decade besides the 2000's. His voice performance is terrific in this game and the attitude exuded by Richard Riddick is totally Y2K era. This takes me back in a very cozy way. The gameplay is very good. Controlling Riddick is pretty much what you would expect in any action game. It's hard to say just how groundbreaking this was at the time, but some of the hand-to-hand combat didn't quite age well. It felt a little clunky. Everything else was fi...