After what seemed like weeks with kongregate receiving no new (good) games other than Dragon Age: Journeys, which probably shouldn't be under the good category anyways, I was pleased to find a game that did not fall under the category of good because it bypassed it and went to true zetta greatness in the form of The Company of Myself.
Company starts out with a zetta engaging passage in which the main character explains why he's going to explain his life to you via platforming/puzzle-solver. At this point, the player has already noticed that the game's music fits the storyline perfectly, which brings me to the biggest strength of Company: the atmosphere/storytelling. The game actually made me feel emotions like sadness at certain points through the story. The atmosphere gives you the impression of solitude (not the horror kind, though) throughout the game.
And then we get to the puzzles. At first, the semi-braid inspired gameplay element of being to record actions in order to "multitask" as well as use yourself as platforms is zetta intriguing. The first 2/3 of the puzzles work great, and actually make you think. Unfortunately, the last third requires that the player be precise about where he places his clones, forcing him to compensate for clones that aren't quite here yet. A slight misstep can mean repeating the entire level, which is unnecessarily tedious. The game's unreasonably short length (less than an hour) prevents you from seeing any really cool puzzles, leaving you to wonder how the gameplay could have been used. Nonetheless, Company is a great game that I would enjoy seeing a sequel to.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Motionless in fear and this moment with your shirt off live review
I was very, very ticked off when In This Moment covered Blondie's Call Me, and apparently, I wasn't the only one because now In This Moment has to suffer two hours onstage each night instead of just a measly half hour! Poetic justice ftw! Now, there's no way I could pass up this opportunity to point and laugh at them for their moral failings, so I naturally brought a ticket to this concert.
But before I discuss how much In This Moment failed, I need to address the four opening acts (that's too many, by the way). The first two were local bands, the second of which was doing its first show ever. The first made me wonder if I can start a band since I'm confident, as illogical as anyone who's ever heard me try to do so may think, that I could be a better singer than their lead singer. I'm also probably a better songwriter than their guitarist, so no, I did not enjoy hearing this band live.
I unfortunately could not remember the name of the second band after the concert, which is a shame because any band that writes a song called Don't Make Bacon With Your Shirt Off deserves to have their name remembered. Oh well. Naturally, the band was strong lyrically, but they were only okay musically. And, while I suppose it is nitpicky to say this about a band doing their first show, they didn't do that good a job of interacting with the crowd, especially when you consider how much they talked.
Then came Motionless in White, the best band I heard all night. Apart from having an awesome haircut, Motionless in White's lead singer Chris is also a decent performer. Maybe not the best at engaging the crowd, but what he did on stage was cool. Their music was not the best I have ever heard, but it was good.
In Fear and Faith: Boring all around. Don't want to say much more.
As for In This Moment... Fuck all of you! This was the most disappointing concert I've ever fucking been to! What the fuck is wrong with you? You guys were good last time I saw you... what the fuck happened?
The two-hour timespan gave In This Moment all the time they needed to play lesser-known songs from The Dream, despite the fact that, you know, it's their more hated album. But I didn't enjoy listening to the songs from Beautiful Tragedy since they didn't play all that well. You just nerfed the music part of your concert! Conglatulations!
As for their performance... lolsauce, you should already know that it sucked! Unless you wanted to see up Maria's skirt (which I could do from the 12th row) their wasn't really anything interesting to see on stage. Interaction with the crowd was also a big fail; the volume of movement was actually less than when the opening acts were on stage, if that tells you anything.
But Maria did make an inspirational speech in between songs, and for that I can compare In This Moment to Rise Against. So I will: In This Moment isn't as good as Rise Against in any way, shape or form. Way to disappoint your fans, guys.
But before I discuss how much In This Moment failed, I need to address the four opening acts (that's too many, by the way). The first two were local bands, the second of which was doing its first show ever. The first made me wonder if I can start a band since I'm confident, as illogical as anyone who's ever heard me try to do so may think, that I could be a better singer than their lead singer. I'm also probably a better songwriter than their guitarist, so no, I did not enjoy hearing this band live.
I unfortunately could not remember the name of the second band after the concert, which is a shame because any band that writes a song called Don't Make Bacon With Your Shirt Off deserves to have their name remembered. Oh well. Naturally, the band was strong lyrically, but they were only okay musically. And, while I suppose it is nitpicky to say this about a band doing their first show, they didn't do that good a job of interacting with the crowd, especially when you consider how much they talked.
Then came Motionless in White, the best band I heard all night. Apart from having an awesome haircut, Motionless in White's lead singer Chris is also a decent performer. Maybe not the best at engaging the crowd, but what he did on stage was cool. Their music was not the best I have ever heard, but it was good.
In Fear and Faith: Boring all around. Don't want to say much more.
As for In This Moment... Fuck all of you! This was the most disappointing concert I've ever fucking been to! What the fuck is wrong with you? You guys were good last time I saw you... what the fuck happened?
The two-hour timespan gave In This Moment all the time they needed to play lesser-known songs from The Dream, despite the fact that, you know, it's their more hated album. But I didn't enjoy listening to the songs from Beautiful Tragedy since they didn't play all that well. You just nerfed the music part of your concert! Conglatulations!
As for their performance... lolsauce, you should already know that it sucked! Unless you wanted to see up Maria's skirt (which I could do from the 12th row) their wasn't really anything interesting to see on stage. Interaction with the crowd was also a big fail; the volume of movement was actually less than when the opening acts were on stage, if that tells you anything.
But Maria did make an inspirational speech in between songs, and for that I can compare In This Moment to Rise Against. So I will: In This Moment isn't as good as Rise Against in any way, shape or form. Way to disappoint your fans, guys.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Newest bullet hell shooter I played on kongregate: Red Fluxion!
Unlike some popular bullet hell shooters, Red Fluxion is fast paced, challenges you, and isn't afraid to make you wonder if your computer can handle that many bullets. Sometimes it feels cheep, and you'll wonder if that boss's attack can actually be dodged a bit too often. And, as with Pixelvader, anything but bosses sometimes feels like a waste of time as you quite effortlessly eliminate hordes of munchkins by superior firepower alone. But is it fun? Yes, and that's all that matters. It's not the most fun I've ever had, but still worth playing.
While beating the game isn't that hard, the game's grading system challenges you quite a zetta bit. Now, some of it seems unreasonable (beat the level without getting hit? Psh!), and the fact that some letters get assigned a "-" but not a "+" and vice versa is irksome, especially since some important landmarks are missing (don't lose any lives gets you no better grade than losing one life). However, the simple addition of an object that tracks and displays your average grade actually gives you a push for a better grade. Unfortunately, there's no gameplay reward for getting a better grade. You only get 13 factoring skill points, give me another for getting a factoring A-!
Speaking of which, I did like that the upgrade system didn't let you get every power up the way Pixelvader's did. You actually have to implement strategy in what upgrades you choose, you can't say: "Oh, I'll get that upgrade later," or something ridiculous that ruins the game's difficulty.
Unlike some popular bullet hell shooters, Red Fluxion is fast paced, challenges you, and isn't afraid to make you wonder if your computer can handle that many bullets. Sometimes it feels cheep, and you'll wonder if that boss's attack can actually be dodged a bit too often. And, as with Pixelvader, anything but bosses sometimes feels like a waste of time as you quite effortlessly eliminate hordes of munchkins by superior firepower alone. But is it fun? Yes, and that's all that matters. It's not the most fun I've ever had, but still worth playing.
While beating the game isn't that hard, the game's grading system challenges you quite a zetta bit. Now, some of it seems unreasonable (beat the level without getting hit? Psh!), and the fact that some letters get assigned a "-" but not a "+" and vice versa is irksome, especially since some important landmarks are missing (don't lose any lives gets you no better grade than losing one life). However, the simple addition of an object that tracks and displays your average grade actually gives you a push for a better grade. Unfortunately, there's no gameplay reward for getting a better grade. You only get 13 factoring skill points, give me another for getting a factoring A-!
Speaking of which, I did like that the upgrade system didn't let you get every power up the way Pixelvader's did. You actually have to implement strategy in what upgrades you choose, you can't say: "Oh, I'll get that upgrade later," or something ridiculous that ruins the game's difficulty.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I'm Serious!
Anyone who watches every movie made by the Coen Brothers and doesn't like at least one of them has serious issues, such as their lack of friends caused by them being boring, inability to experience joy, dissatisfaction with everything, and an IQ lower than 30. Whether or not they're the best is debatable, but they've made a decent variety of movies with a somewhat consistent quality throughout. The biggest consistency unifying movies like O Brother, Where Art Thou and No Country for Old Men is that the Coen brothers make movies that are different. Sometimes, different is a euphemism for weird, while other times it means unique.
Their newest movie, A Serious Man, goes as far to the point of weird as any Coen Brother movie has ever gone and keeps going until no one's bothered to keep track of the factoring thing anymore. I've seen some people address certain happenings of the movie as subplots, but the etymology of that word means under the main plot, so I don't see how this movie could have a subplot. I suppose you could argue that the main character's attempts to resolve each and every one of these subplots simultaneously could be considered a main plot, but calling something a main plot when it couldn't exist without the subplots seems like a zetta shady use of the word.
"No main plot? Why the factor should I see this movie?" Well, A Serious Man doesn't strike me as the kind of movie that wants to entertain. The phrase Postmodern Literature comes to mind when I think of A Serious Man. For some of you, that label may conjure up bad memories of high school English class. And believe me, it does for me, too. But the problem with Postmodern Literature is that they tried to make reading hard. However, you can't make watching a movie hard for anyone who doesn't have epilepsy. Sure, there was a bit of confusion when you watched the movie, and I can't say I loved the movie until the morning after I watched it when I realized the whole thing was genius, but it doesn't feel like a chore the way Postmodern Literature does. I never hated the movie.
Furthermore, there were still plenty of parts scattered amongst the confusion that I could understand, most notably scenes questioning faith and religion. Some scenes made more sense after I was given time to think, particularly the ending, which I would declare a moment of genius. There are some scenes I still don't understand the meaning of, and, as such, still think about them a bit too much.
Now, based on the fact that Raam and I were the only ones in the theaters not laughing every two seconds, I realize I can't say you'll watch A Serious Man and have the exact same experience I did. Even looking at the comments on Facebook, some people have already come up with interpretations vastly different than me. So don't have any objective expectations if you do watch this movie; that would be zetta retarded.
On a side note, I saw a negative view criticizing this movie for being misanthropic. Let's exclude for the fact that this movie can be interpreted multiple ways, and, using the same principle as the rorschach blot test, if you perceived such misanthropic themes, that says something about you and not the factoring movie. Let's focus on the fact that, by complaining, you lost you're right to complain because idiots like you who give movies bad reviews for challenging their world view and not giving them a sticker in the shape of a star labeled: "You're special!" are exactly the kind of people who cause others to be misanthropes. Be the change you want to see in the world; stop sucking at lifes and the misanthropes will go away.
Their newest movie, A Serious Man, goes as far to the point of weird as any Coen Brother movie has ever gone and keeps going until no one's bothered to keep track of the factoring thing anymore. I've seen some people address certain happenings of the movie as subplots, but the etymology of that word means under the main plot, so I don't see how this movie could have a subplot. I suppose you could argue that the main character's attempts to resolve each and every one of these subplots simultaneously could be considered a main plot, but calling something a main plot when it couldn't exist without the subplots seems like a zetta shady use of the word.
"No main plot? Why the factor should I see this movie?" Well, A Serious Man doesn't strike me as the kind of movie that wants to entertain. The phrase Postmodern Literature comes to mind when I think of A Serious Man. For some of you, that label may conjure up bad memories of high school English class. And believe me, it does for me, too. But the problem with Postmodern Literature is that they tried to make reading hard. However, you can't make watching a movie hard for anyone who doesn't have epilepsy. Sure, there was a bit of confusion when you watched the movie, and I can't say I loved the movie until the morning after I watched it when I realized the whole thing was genius, but it doesn't feel like a chore the way Postmodern Literature does. I never hated the movie.
Furthermore, there were still plenty of parts scattered amongst the confusion that I could understand, most notably scenes questioning faith and religion. Some scenes made more sense after I was given time to think, particularly the ending, which I would declare a moment of genius. There are some scenes I still don't understand the meaning of, and, as such, still think about them a bit too much.
Now, based on the fact that Raam and I were the only ones in the theaters not laughing every two seconds, I realize I can't say you'll watch A Serious Man and have the exact same experience I did. Even looking at the comments on Facebook, some people have already come up with interpretations vastly different than me. So don't have any objective expectations if you do watch this movie; that would be zetta retarded.
On a side note, I saw a negative view criticizing this movie for being misanthropic. Let's exclude for the fact that this movie can be interpreted multiple ways, and, using the same principle as the rorschach blot test, if you perceived such misanthropic themes, that says something about you and not the factoring movie. Let's focus on the fact that, by complaining, you lost you're right to complain because idiots like you who give movies bad reviews for challenging their world view and not giving them a sticker in the shape of a star labeled: "You're special!" are exactly the kind of people who cause others to be misanthropes. Be the change you want to see in the world; stop sucking at lifes and the misanthropes will go away.
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