I-Ninja

I-Ninja is a great game. I've had this game for a long, long time (since about eight grade), and I just now have gotten around to beating it. I-Ninja is essentially a straight up platforming game, with a few elements of hack-and-slash combat thrown in to break up the running, jumping, and swinging. The story is as it should (typically) be in a platforming title: minimal. You are a tiny, big-headed ninja bent on collecting the forbidden rage stones. The end.

Very much like most other platformers, the game mechnics revolve around advancing the game through the repeated collection of an item (in this case, "grades") offered at the end of every level objective, such as the stars in Mario 64 or the power cells in Jak and Daxter. This can get a bit tiresome, however, and usually results in shorter, but more frequent play sessions. 

The aforementioned primary game mechanic calls for interesting and varied level design to keep things fresh, and this game has plenty. The levels in the game are all very different, with tasks ranging from swinging your way through levels via your retractable chain to boxing Punch-Out style inside of gigantic robots.

Ninja's (yes, your character is simply called "Ninja") abilities are quite diverse. Throughout the game you will attack enemies with your sword, blow darts, swing from grapple points, use your sword as a propeller to hover safely down to earth, grind on rails, run along walls, hurl shurikens, ride on giant shurikens and balance yourself atop spherical objects and roll them about, and use half-pipe structures to build up vertical speed. Ninja's movements and controls are tight and responsive (although the proper timing for the sword helicopter maneuver is a little ambiguous), and moving through the levels feels great.

Overall, the game is not a tremendous challenge. It sits comfortably at a moderate skill level, offering several difficult challenges, but not punishing players too harshly for their mistakes. Aside from a few weird but unintrusive bugs here and there (sometimes Ninja's wall run did not register properly or a chain grapple that was clearly within range did not activate) and the mild tedium of the collection game mechanics, this is a great example of the platforming genre.

Platforming games are a dying breed among the modern game industry, which is a shame because they have always been some of my favorites. The only way to play really good platforming games today is to go back to the "golden days of gameplay" before story became such a huge focus. Don't get me wrong, I like games with great stories. The Metal Gear Saga is one of my favorite stories of any medium. But to me a game with engaging, responsive, twitch and reflex-based gameplay will triumph every time. Check this one out.

Verdict: Recommended

009-1

I just finished this series a few days ago. It was great. I'm not a huge fan of the art style that Shotaro Ishinomori uses in his shows (see Cyborg 009), but the character development in 009-1 is excellent. It's a spy thriller (with cyborgs), and very much feels like one, with constant gadgetry and espionage and back-stabbing plots and all of the things you would expect from a spy thriller. The main character, Agent 009-1 (also known as Mylene Hoffman), is an excellent protagonist, and is extraordinarily sexy. She is the sole focal character of the series, and you as the viewer really get to know how her mind works and who she is throughout the course of the show's thirteen episodes. Each episode is fairly self-contained, with some wrap-up continuity in the last few episodes to pull the series together. 

The Jnglish voice-acting in the show is absolutely atrocious, so I watched it in Japanese with subtitles, and I am glad that I did. Agent 009-1's Japanese voice actor really brought the character to life. She fit the character's personality perfectly. She never raised her voice, was always gentle, and had a very calm, level-headed inflection while still maintaining a certain warmth in the character's voice. The Japanese voice acting was just a pleasure to listen to, and in a way I'm glad that the English acting was so bad, else I probably would have missed out.

Anyway, the series was great, and is fairly short and non-committal. Check it out.

Verdict: Recommended

Gold

Gold is an excellent compilation. Asimov is one of my favorite authors, and I jump at every opportunity to read his material. Gold is his final compilation, and is made up of three parts. The first section is a collection of short stories, while the second is a collection of essays about Asimov's thoughts on science fiction, and the third is a collection of his thoughts on writing in general. The stories are great (as is usually the case with Asimovian literature), and vary in length from mid-sized short stories to stories that only span a few pages. The real meat of this book, though, are the essays. They are all vastly interesting and offer insights into the world of writing that I had never before been presented with, and, for better or worse, reveal a lot of Asimov's personal biases and preferences. 

It's a great book, and I encourage all fans of science fiction to check it out. It is important, however, that you have some previous experience with Asimov before jumping into this one. I recommend that you read a reasonable amount of his stuff before picking this one up, as a lot of the essays will be meaningless otherwise.

Verdict: Recommended

Samurai Champloo

Let me start off by saying that this is easily my favorite anime series so far. I think that it has successfully beaten out Trigun, which is a big deal for me. Samurai Champloo is simply beautiful.

The story is set in feudal Japan and follows three unlikely protagonists (Has there ever really been a "likely" protagonist? I've never heard that phrase.) on their quest to Nagasaki  to track down the legendary samurai who smells of sunflowers. Obviously, the story is a lot more convoluted and complex than that, but that's the run down. The three protagonists (Mugen, a wild criminal swordsman with a mysterious past; Jin, a cool and collected samurai of dangerous caliber; and Fuu, a young girl who stumbles upon the two during a bar fight) are all very interesting in their own right, and manage to fit into archetypes while still being refreshing and deep and avoiding cliche. The character development in the show is very well done, and I found myself to be very emotionally involved in the characters' stories and personalities by the end of the series.

The animation in the show is superb, demonstrating a fluidity of motion that many other anime lack, while still remaining detailed and stylized at every turn. The animation is also very consistent, with very little chibi-style break away scenes or ridiculous facial expressions and things of the like. These things certainly have their time and place, but the atmosphere of Samurai Champloo, while still being lighthearted and exciting, is serious overall, and I'm glad they avoided said exaggerations.

Now, for the music. Oh my goodness, the music. The soundtrack is what makes this show. The show takes place in feudal Japan, but incorporates elements of modern Japanese hip-hop culture throughout. This is reflected by the brilliantly composed downbeat instrumental hip-hop soundtrack that plays incessantly throughout the show. I don't know how to explain why this works as well as it does, but there is a magnificent synergy between the two themes that one would not expect. 

The show is just great. It's one of the few things in my life (media-wise, at least) that I have stepped back from immediately upon completion and thought, "I want to do that again."

Verdict: Highly, highly recommended

Quantum of Solace

Let me start by saying that I love the James Bond universe as a whole. There are things about it that I don't like, such as how the action is a weird combination of over-the-top and realistic action (I typically like my action movies to go one way or the other, not float around in between), and a few other things here and there, but I love Bond as a character, and I like the inner workings of the James Bond world. 

That being said, I did not like Quantum of Solace very much. It had almost none of the qualities that made Casino Royal so excellent, and it added some qualities that made it worse. It was basically just a straight up action movie this time around. Bond never stopped moving, and there was really none of the cerebral, psychological thrill that there was in Casino Royal. I was never in suspense of what was about to happen, I was just waiting to see how Bond was going to kick an ass. The action wasn't even all that exciting. It was just run-of-the-mill explosions, gun fire, and the occasional chase.

Also, let me say something about technology in movies: Gigantic panes of touch-enabled glass are not the wave of the future. They are impractical, unnecessary, and no organization geared towards efficiency (such as MI6) would even think twice about wasting time and money on something like that. So stop it. 

I dunno. Quantum of Solace was entertaining in the fact that it gave me something to do for two hours, and it certainly wasn't terrible. It was still shot fairly well, the special effects were high quality, the plot was fairly interesting, and Daniel Craig is still a great Bond, but overall, it was just lackluster. 

Verdict: Watch if there is nothing better to do. It will keep your attention for a couple of hours, but don't expect a whole lot.

Tekkon Kinkreet

You know what? I'm just going to say it. Fuck American mainstream entertainment media. Every time I watch a movie like this, I become ever more ashamed of what passes for entertainment in this country as of late. When did we start settling for run of the mill action and drama movies that are just carbon copies of every other movie of their type? When did we become okay with non-originality (as long as the special effects are flashy), and when did the focus in North America become remaking every God damn movie that has ever existed? And when we're not remaking something, we're filming a sequel. 

When did we lose our imagination?

Anyway, personal gripes aside, Tekkon Kinkreet is a wonderful movie. It is charming, emotional (at times, heart-wrenching), deeply interesting, and the art is absolutely gorgeous. The story is set in a corrupt, dilapidated city (the time is ambiguous: it seems futuristic, but not for any particular reason) that is run by gangs, and follows the antics of two young delinquent orphans by the names of "Black" and "White." Of course the story becomes more than that, but that's the basic set-up. It is an absolutely wonderfully told story, with strong character development. I was incredibly attached to the two main characters by the end of the film, and felt genuinely interested in what was happening to them throughout the story. 

This movie is a work of art, in every respect. There's not much more I can say, because frankly, it's just excellent.

Verdict: Highly Recommended  

Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)

Yes, that is a foot that you see.

First off, I know that I have been neglecting this blog lately. I've been incredibly busy, and haven't had much time for media of any sort, really. But no apologies. That's just how things go. So here's one now:

Jak X is a great game. For those of you familiar with the series, however, don't go into this expecting a Jak and Daxter game. This is purely an arcade racing title. You will spend no gameplay time outside of a vehicle, and the only thing in between races are menus. As far as the racing goes, it's pretty straightforward. It's your typical combat racer, with the standard offensive and defensive weapon pickups, boost pads, and the occasional environmental hazard. The vehicles handle fairly well, although the physics engine it does take some getting used to. The game has a physics engine in that things that happen in the game are consistent and make sense in relation to each other, but they don't really follow real world physics very closely. 

The game is also standard fair as far as game modes are concerned: story, exhibition race (single, uninfluential race), and multiplayer. The story mode is fairly simple, consisting of event races tied together by a basic, but entertaining story. In between races, you can use money gained during the races to upgrade and customize your vehicles. Jak X sports several different race modes, a few of them unique to the title. There are the standard circuit race, deathmatch, and and time trial modes, but there are also a few modes that are new. One of these is a mode called "Rush Hour," which has you racing into oncoming traffic to see how many cars you can demolish on your way around the track. Another is "Turbo Dash," which has you and the other racers collecting power cells that are launched after a certain period of continuous boosting, the goal being to have launched the most at the end of the race. The game modes are solid, and many of them are gripping and intense, often leaving you wondering if you really stand a chance throughout the whole race.

On that point, Jak X is hard. Really hard. Some of the races, especially at the beginning will be a breeze, and certain modes are easier than others. Race modes where you are alone on the track completing some objective are typically easy, but when you are up against the computer, this game will destroy you. The game is difficult, unforgiving, and will punish you for every mistake, but it's honestly a little refreshing in this world of games with rewind features, gentle AI, and health recharge. Back in my day we had to manage bars, damn it! Anyway, the game is challenging, and at times it can be frustrating, but those times are few and far between. Typically, the frustrating parts were more about weird physics bugs than anything else.

So check it out. The gameplay is solid and addicting, the audio in the game is great, the controls are tight, and it's a ton of fun.

Verdict: Buy. Especially since it's twenty dollars at the most (if you don't know where to shop) now.