Z Space Blog - Reviews

The Coolest Game About Teenage Rebellion

2024-10-25T00:00:00-07:00

Persona 5 released to the world in April of 2017. It was released to an uproar of praise, from critics and players alike. This is despite other heavy-hitters like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn releasing around the same time. Additionally, the shonen anime style is in no short supply these days. However, Atlus is not known for being a slip-shod or lazy developer. Persona 5 marks the second major Persona game to be a hit in the West, but P5 in particular reached a broader audience than past entries, pulling in fans from places like South America! Joker's later appearance in Super Smash Bros Ultimate via DLC practically confirms Persona 5's place in gaming history as one of The Greats.

That said, I am writing this review in 2024, after P5 Royal, P5 Strikers, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, P5 Tactica, and P5 Dancing in Starlight have all come out. Some are side-stories, but some are soft prequels or sequels, so if JRPGs aren't your thing, Persona 5 has a few other genres that it shows up in. This review will focus exclusively on the base Persona 5, for Playstation 3. This means I won't be addressing the new content in Royal, which is a remix or director's cut of sorts.

Initial Impressions

From the beginning of the game, Persona 5 hits you in its intro with sick urban shots and acrobatic dancing to bass-heavy jazz music. This ain't your typical JRPG with wizards and slimes! Although yes, they are sort of there in the game. :)

The plot begins with the main character encountering a man harassing a woman, stopping him, and later being sued for assault in his defense of the woman. During the altercation, the harassing man makes it clear he is socially powerful and will not let the woman tell the truth. This results in your character's arrest. As punishment, your character is to go to a different school under the care of a man named Sojiro until your probation is over.

So, you did the right thing and defended someone, but an adult misusing their power damaged your life for stopping their abuse. This sets the stage for the vast majority of the game. As you make new friends throughout the story, you also encounter numerous situations and problems that people are dealing with. The core theme is innocent people being taken advantage of by those with power over others in some capacity or another, be it emotional, financial, or political power.

Soon after settling into school, your character wakes up in a dream to a jail cell and a man named Igor tells him he must carry out tasks for his "rehabilitation", if he can muster the power to carry it out. The power of the Fool Arcana unlocks soon after, and you awaken as Joker, the Phantom Thief.

What do the Phantom Thieves do? Why, they steal the hearts of evil adults who misuse their influence of the world to harm others, of course! Seriously, using a mysterious smartphone app, a group of teenagers gains access to a "Metaverse" where they can steal the Treasure from a distorted mind's Palace, and reform evil-doers by compelling them to confess their crimes. Stealing the treasure of their distorted heart removes the distortion, and returns them to a reasonable person, but there have been rumors of mental shutdowns in Tokyo...

Given how much I've blabbed about the premise above, I don't want to spoil. There is a lot to read, see, and experience in this game. This game has an edgy anime style to its art, but the subject matter includes everything from financially abusing the elderly, to sexual harassment and extortion, art fraud, overbearing vicarious parents, exploitative CEOs, and corrupt politicians trying to steal an election. Between you and your rag-tag group of misfit teenagers, the group will witness or undergo many trials that will keep you playing "just another (in-game) day" for that new Persona or next story beat.

Visuals

The artistry on display in this game is absolutely top-of-class. Menus are the most dynamic and interesting I've seen them since Meteos on the Nintendo DS. Each and every menu of the game is a different layout and feel, with different arrangements of the signature red, black, and white motif for the game. Palettes and shapes change between various menus, such as Takemi's white, black, and blue palette, Iwai's white, green, and sometimes orange palette, and so on.

Each element of style in this game is clearly inspired from other things, but by combining it in the fashion that Atlus has, it takes on a flavor of its own. The edginess of ransom-note text and graffiti-style cursor boxes is great. The readability definitely takes a hit to pull this off, but after a while, you learn to adjust and not get too hung up on it.

Music and Sound Design

It goes beyond just the art, too. The music and its track names are references. Iwai's gun shop theme is "Layer Cake", which not only refers to the progression of the piece going through phases, but also how Iwai himself is a character with a rough layer on the outside and softer layers inside, like a cake. The game and its OST are filled with these little nods to their own designs. I can't talk enough about this game's music. I love everything from the infiltration music to battles, daytime in Tokyo, there is SO much music in this game to enjoy. There have been times I've just left the game sit so I could listen to the music, especially inside Futaba's Palace.

Sound design is often overlooked by a lot of reviewers, so I'd like to include that. Many of the confirmation sounds in the game sound like some sort of weaponry or gear you're preparing. It's a satisfying motif that I never got tired of, even after beating the game. Sound effects all sounded believable and were mixed really well. Nothing ever stood out as "that's way too loud" or "I can't hear that effect". Top notch sound, as I would expect from Atlus.

Design Inspired by Real Mythology

The references don't stop there. This game is FULL of references, to all sorts of occult and legendary stuff. Personas come in many different flavors, from things like Yamato-no-Orochi and Kushinada to Thor, Dionysus, Hanuman, Quetzalcoatl, and tons more. Most of the world's religions or pantheons are represented somewhere in Persona, with their own crazy Atlus flair.

The most present references are the two main themes: picaresque fiction where plucky, noble thieves overturn unjust societies, and tarot houses, known as Arcana in the Persona series. Each of the main characters gets a Persona representing a noble thief from some mythology or another. Think of characters from folklore like Robin Hood, Zorro, or Goemon. Each Persona and confidant also has an affinity with an Arcana, which influences various aspects of gameplay.

Personas in general tend to be references to existing cultural relics or legends from history, so each one you meet and add to your ranks is also a little archaeology lesson with the flavor text telling you what they were inspired by for the monster design. Really fun stuff for cultural nerds.

Gameplay

So, what about the game itself? Persona is a series typically about high school students fighting through some sort of supernatural event and saving the world. Part of the game is also a constant dichotomy between RPG mechanics and Social Simulator mechanics, which build on each other as you progress. Certain breakpoints come up throughout the game's calendar where you need to meet certain social criteria, or you cannot continue down a particular social pathway. Sometimes it's only a temporary block, but there are multiple hard blocks too, where you either have the Knowledge, Guts, Profiency, Kindness, or Charm to Do The Thing, or you don't.

That's why they give you a million save slots. You will save-scum a lot if you don't like missing things. Personally, I played through mostly naturally, and used YouTube videos to catch any cutscenes or moments I may have missed. Considering that it took me nearly 200 hours to play through it the first time, I think that's a better use of one's limited life.

Speaking of limited life, that's the name of the social game. Every day, your character gets one (and later two) actions to choose to do with their in-game calendar day. Since you're a high schooler, you have a school schedule to keep that you have no say in. The leftover time is when you choose to hang out with people, go out to Shibuya or other places to do business, get a job, and so on. There's always something to do in Persona 5, as long as Morgana isn't telling you to go to bed...

When you make your way back to the Metaverse, you can take as long as you want for that one visit. This is where the role-playing and dungeon-crawling of the game is. It's my favorite part of the game because it's also the most interactive and dynamic. In the story dungeons there is a ton to explore and uncover, with fun puzzles to break up the stealthy monotony. Some of the puzzles got a little obtuse, and one of the later ones really overstayed its welcome, but overall I would say each major puzzle mechanic is interesting and compelling long enough for it to be a fun distraction between grinding.

While you're out hunting Shadows, sometimes you'll corner them after smackin' a weakness or two, and they'll beg for forgiveness. When you corner enemies, you have the options to take their money, an item, or recruit them to your team, if your level is at least as high as theirs. This is how you "capture" Personas, and where the game starts to feel like a grown-up Pokémon. During negotiations, you have to appeal to the personality of the Persona you're trying to convince to join you, so it throws a little social sim action at you in the middle of the JRPG action. Atlus really knows how to throw gameplay elements together!

Old-school JRPG fans might already be thinking of Dragon Quest Monsters, which has a similar mechanic, including fusing monsters together! Persona 5 has its Fusion system where you lose both original Personas and get a more powerful one out of it, with bonus EXP based on your relationship level with that Arcana. Setups like this are how the social stats you build in your "normal" life will affect your performance in the "real" game, where your relationships alter the gameplay options available to you. However, you can also summon any prior Persona you've had, for some Yen, and re-use them to fuse other Personas, or just bring one back that you liked! (Hello, Rangda and Trumpeter!)

I could spend another entire post covering the mechanics, match-up dynamics, status inflictions, and gear setups you could use across this game. Rest assured, the turn-based gameplay of Persona 5 is some of the best you'll find in what amounts to a fancy "monster battler". You can get a preview of who's acting next turn, relationships unlock various perks like auto-recovering from status effects with a team-mate's help, to active buffs and healing from Navigators, completely new mechanics like the shoot-up you can unlock when a battle starts, taking would-be-fatal hits for other team mates, and so on. If you're looking for impactful decision-making in a monster battler, it's here for you to bask in.

Characterization

The last major thing I want to cover is mostly for the skeptics. Don't let Persona 5's anime exterior keep you from enjoying a heartfelt and hopeful story full of excitement, despair, righteous fury, sadness, relief, joy, and every other human emotion. Many of the cast come across as somewhat trope-y when they're first introduced. Like a person, you can't judge how they come across and run with it. I found myself pushing away characters at first, who actually turned out to be deep characters during the story, and invaluable allies in combat.

Part of the trouble I had is my inexperience with Persona (5 is my first), but also, I was sticking to the goal of staying on the down-low, so I assumed I needed to hold off on relationships for a while. Don't do that.

And, that leads me to the reason for the review to begin with... An RPG hasn't touched me on such a relatable and human level in a long time. Even when I'm done playing, I reflect on how characters reacted to events in their lives, or how I would feel in one of the characters' positions. I don't remember the last time an RPG's characters got me thinking of them off the screen.

In one of the major goals of the game, you're trying to save a teenage girl from her self-isolation and hallucinations induced from losing her mother. The pain and distress is well-conveyed in this section, having gone through my own fair share of witness to things I was too young to process. Futaba's Palace holds a special place in my heart; Midway through my playthrough, I sat down to listen to the music for a while, and eventually nodded, "I get it."

Persona 5 isn't about teenagers, Personas, or Big Bads. It's about Life, the decisions you make with the limited time you have each day. It's about viewing relationships and self-improvement as keys to progress in life. It's about planning for the times where life is going to kick your ass, or accepting that some decisions are forever locked behind prior mistakes. But most of all... Persona 5 is about seeing requests for help as opportunities to reverse injustice in the world, one stolen heart at a time.

Final Verdict

If you like JRPGs and are looking for a monster battler to take up 200 hours of your life, piss you off, make you laugh and cry, rage and despair... then hell yeah, do it! I cannot recommend this experience enough for anyone who enjoys a good story and RPG mechanics. This game is one of the greats, wholly deserving of the accolades it's received over the years.

That said, it's a long game, and you will miss things. Some decisions open doors and close others. You cannot 100% this game in a single run, since there is New Game+ content. If you are a completionist, do not like missing things, or are getting exhausted from longer games, then I wouldn't blame you for skipping it, but at least watch a Let's Play or something if you don't. The characters and plot are worth it!

If this review stole your heart, please consider contributing to my Ko-Fi to encourage more content like this. Thanks!

Mountain Shadow Nursery Review

2023-04-18T00:00:00-07:00

It occurred to me recently that I operate my own website, which is a distinct advantage when platforms like Indeed try to silence legitimate and truthful communication from users. Owning your publishing medium gives you a freedom that most others on the Internet don't have. Someone in such a position can communicate freely, without interference from those who would be embarrassed by their communication. There are no voting, reporting, or comment systems that can make their pages disappear.

I already review video games and books on this blog, in addition to my other content; why shouldn't I review employers and businesses I've interacted with? Reputation is a key ingredient to a successful business, and every person has a voice. It's time to use mine. Businesses are not so special that they are immune to the mechanics of sociology.

Mountain Shadow Nursery is a plant tissue culture facility in Littlerock, WA, specializing in propagation/cloning and research.

Here's the review, copy-pasted verbatim as I posted to Indeed. But first, the verdict:

I do not recommend working for this firm, or doing business with them if you are in the agriculture industry.

The work is basically cutting plants in a particular way and moving them to another vessel, in another particular way. The processes require multiple documentation steps along the way, most of which are manual. So when you're not actively processing plant material, you'll be fumbling around with stickers you write on by hand, and an inventory system that belongs in a kindergarten. The firm is behind on the benefits of automation for their core business, and processes change too often for workers to gain true mastery of each new way to do things. This results in an almost ad-hoc way of running the business. That approach works for some. To me it appeared as if people were playing things by ear and didn't actually have a clue.

One could look past this most of the time, but the ergonomics are not suited for people with large frames. The stations you sit at are designed for people with smaller frames. Taller women and just about any man will have issues fitting into the tight stations.

In addition, the majority of the staff (90%+) are female. I saw one other man working among the women in transferring, and didn't see another man even coming through for an interview during my time there. I suspect I and the other man were token hires to avoid scrutiny.

This job has the potential to be rewarding, streamlined, and efficient for all parties. It also has potential to be a positive place for workers, if diversity were appreciated in practice rather than in word.

One good thing I will indicate is that they will try to work with you on some things; particularly anything that keeps you producing. But realistically, don't apply unless you're okay with squeezing tweezers or cutting with scissors 4000+ times a day. If you get hurt on the job, they'll push you out the door and look for the next person's hands to wear out. Typical for agricultural outfits, I guess. There are better places to work.

Just a gentle reminder to employers who think they can control the narrative on their business: People will spread the word about their experiences at your firm. Some of them operate their own websites and are not subject to your influence online. It's not wise to assume you can walk on someone without consequence, or assume their skill level in navigating communication networks.

Indeed.com can do better by communicating which aspects of the review they disagree with. The rejection included no language on what was wrong with it, but encouraged me to re-submit, which is lazy and flippant design meant to waste the reviewer's time. Stifling the voice of workers is despicable for a company who purports to court both workers and employers. Do better.

Purism Librem 14v1 Review

2021-10-01T00:00:00-07:00

Purism is a small company in the hardware space aiming to provide software freedom (via their Debian-based PureOS and coreboot-based Pureboot) while also protecting your privacy and security. One of the key selling points to their hardware are killswitches, which allow you to physically disconnect internal hardware to prevent abuse. The Librem 14 has two such switches: one controlling the webcam and microphone, and the other controlling the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios.

Due to COVID, supply shortages, and other difficulties of the business, Purism has had some trouble meeting their shipping obligations; this delay has caused a number of people to seek refunds or issue chargebacks. Backers for the Librem 5 in particular seem to have rough luck getting their hardware. I was a backer for the OpenPandora back in 2010, and never received a unit, so I understand their frustration when it comes to not getting what you pay for. ¹ I must note, however, that my experience with Purism was better than I anticipated.

I ordered my Librem 14v1 in March 2021, when the website said "Shipping in May". May came and went, and I sent out an e-mail asking them what happened to my order. I gave it some time, assuming I wasn't the only one with shipping delays, and reached out again in August. Eventually, a Purism employee reached out to me via their personal e-mail address to deduce the issue.

It turns out that shipping confirmation was sent to me in early July. When I read the e-mail from the employee, I checked my e-mail client configuration. Lo and behold, it wasn't syncing my Spam folder at all! It had also been more than 30 days since the e-mail was sent, so Spam was empty. I updated the configuration, confirmed proper receipt of e-mail from Purism, and my order was marked Priority to ensure it got out sooner. I received the laptop on 2021-09-15. While I would've preferred it in May or June, as advertised, I'm just glad to have actually gotten the product. I was worried that I'd funded another OpenPandora... it was just PEBCAK! How apropos. :)

So, with that saga over, let's take a look at the thing and see how it holds up!

Specifications

Note: Purism offers a number of different choices for storage, RAM, and OS. I opted for the model with 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, and PureOS with Librem Key and PureBoot.

Dimensions:  322mm x 17mm x 220mm
Weight:      1.4kg
Screen:      14" matte, 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
CPU:         Intel Core i7 10710U (Comet Lake)
             4.70GHz, 6 cores, 12 threads
RAM:         16GB DDR4 (up to 64GB)
Graphics:    Intel UHD Graphics 620, 9th gen (Coffee Lake), device 9BCA
Wi-Fi:       Atheros AR9462, 802.11n
Audio:       Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP cAVS
Ethernet:    Realtek RTL8111 series Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth:   Atheros AR3012 (NON-FREE BINARY DRIVER ath3k REQUIRED)
Storage:     Samsung NVMe SSD SM981/PM981/PM983
Ports:       1x HDMI 2.0
             2x USB 3.1 Type-A
             1x USB 3.1 Type-C, data only (left side)
             1x USB 3.1 Type-C, with PD (right side)
             1x DC-IN jack, barrel style connector
             Genesys Logic SD Card Reader
             3.5mm audio (mic-in and headphone-out combined)
Keyboard:    Full size chiclet, QWERTY, no numpad, backlit with 5 light levels
Chassis:     Aluminum, black matte finish; flat, good for stickers
             Five grommets on the bottom to improve airflow and add stability

Hardware Experience

Out of the box, the laptop feels heavy enough to know you're carrying it, but light enough to where it's not a big deal to carry it. The aluminum chassis feels nice, but due to it being matte black, smudges and fingerprints are an inevitability. The backlight on the keyboard is clearly uneven in places -- mostly around Caps Lock, backslash, and the Logo key.

Typing on the keyboard isn't quite as satisfying as my TypeMatrix, but I recognize my choice of input isn't exactly popular. For what it is, the Librem's chiclet keyboard gets the job done and isn't particularly weird, aside from the right side Shift key. It lacks a Menu key, so those of us who like Compose keys get stuck losing right Alt.

The webcam supports up to 1280x720 pictures and video, but frame rate decreases with resolution:

1280×720: 10fps
960×720: 15fps
640×480: 30fps

You're not using this for OnlyFans or pro streaming. :) Video calls with family or coworkers will do.

The grommets on the bottom aren't bad, but the one in the back center feels like one good snag will take it off. It's made out of a harder rubber than the other four, however, so maybe it's sturdier than it appears. I'd rather be careful than find out. :)

Software Experience

The default PureOS uses GNOME 3 Wayland on top of systemd. It has a decent amount of packages pre-installed, like LibreOffice, the GNOME suite, Thunderbird, Polari, Boxes, TeXinfo, and some other extras.

This is the first time I've 'committed' to learning a GNOME 3 interface, and while some of its features are handy, the window management workflow seems like it's on rails. I could maximize-half horizontally, but not vertically (to have two wide but short windows stacked together). Resizing uses Meta+Middle Click instead of Meta+Right Click. There's no equivalent to the taskbar, so you lose the minimize paradigm; the workflow seems to encourage putting each program in its own workspace and having the user depend on Meta+Tab to swap between programs. I haven't found a more sane way to navigate with it.

Hitting Meta to get the overview is kinda neat since it doubles as a launcher and window switcher. If I wanted to improve GNOME, I would add a drop-down style terminal for drive-by commands, and an info widget like conky. Keyboard toggle mapping targets for Bluetooth and WiFi would be nice, too.

What I Like

Requiring the use of the Librem Key in order to boot is pretty awesome. It adds risk to losing the key, but I've done pretty good at not losing my car keys. However, I don't feel comfortable attaching it to my physical keyring. I'll need to come up with another strategy in the future, but things are working okay for now.

Most of the system does indeed work out of the box. I had some issues with Cheese wrt the camera killswitch, but rebooting seemed to fix it and I haven't had it happen since. Bluetooth also didn't work out of the box due to needing a non-free binary blob. Everything else I've thrown at this Debian derivative has worked as I expect it to, including non-free stuff like Minecraft, Discord, PICO-8, and Steam.

The backlit keyboard is a game changer when you're trying to relax in bed and be creative. It's a full sized keyboard, too, so despite a few key placements being weird, it's not terrible for a staggered QWERTY board.

What I Don't Like

I had to correct an issue with the power IC initializing to weird values of charging thresholds in /sys/class/power_supply. On one hand, I learned how to make a run-on-boot script work with systemd. On the other, why was such a feature not already baked into the OS? Both the autorun script (like rc.local) and the battery issue; the latter is said to be getting fixed in an upcoming EC firmware update. Maybe a better question is: Why doesn't GNOME have adequate battery charging threshold settings? If I was a 'normie', I'd be stuck with a laptop at 2% battery until the EC update ships.

There's not an easy way to toggle function of the touchpad from the keyboard. Prior Librem models seem to have this feature via the Fn key (according to pictures), but I see no such method on the Librem 14. Sometimes I want to go keyboard-only, like when writing this review.

The 'A' key feels mushier than the other keys. I've hit it with canned air a few times and it's somewhat loosened, but maybe it's just a side effect of chiclet keyboards. My TypeMatrix Dvorak fits across the laptop really well, so if it gets unbearable, I can always bust it out.

Some programs that I consider essential weren't installed out of the box. Some were understandable, but you'd expect a free software platform running GNOME to offer The GIMP for an image editor at the very least. PureOS doesn't appear to ship with an image editor so this seems like an odd choice, or perhaps an oversight.

For the record, the other programs are scdaemon, vim, htop, and tmux. I can understand their exclusion since the default install is desktop-oriented, but lacking scdaemon when they support the Librem Key is another odd decision. Not every Librem owner was interested in such a device, but it makes sense to put it in the default installation.

The Bluetooth controller requires a non-free binary driver. One of the chief reasons to buy Purism is software freedom. While the FSF makes exceptions for microcode, it's inconsistent to claim support for freedom while sporting hardware that's literally unusable with free software drivers, at present.

While we're at it, let's discuss the Management Engine. It is not fully disabled, due to the way Intel's architecture is designed. In the interest of fairness, Purism wrote about their efforts of reverse engineering the ME, and why certain parts needed to remain. It's just a shame that it's this difficult to provide libre x86_64 hardware due to these enterprise-focused features that enable abuse in the wrong hands.

Due to choosing GNOME 3 on Wayland, livestreaming is a nightmare, especially if, like me, you ended up using a mix of xorg and Wayland programs. I gave it nearly 5 months... GNOME (and Wayland) are still unable to meet the same use cases that xorg has fulfilled for years. As such, I moved to XFCE for now, until I get back to Fluxbox or i3. For all the fancy features, if it doesn't work with core use-case software, it's useless.

What I Hope For

Above all else, I want to see continued improvement on Purism's behalf. On messaging, and pushing for their next devices to be even more libre. I can appreciate purism itself as an ideal rather than an absolute goal, but completely free hardware can be achieved. Perhaps we'll be using RISC-V some time in the future.

I hope Purism moves their focus away from GNOME, with the upcoming changes for GTK 4 essentially pushing non-GNOME development out of the circle. Solus and others have expressed interest in moving to the Enlightenment stack. That will be an interesting development if done. It's unfortunate, because Purism has contributed to both GTK and GNOME, but the tide is against them in crafting their own experience on the GNOME stack. I'd rather see their efforts go where they'll be appreciated and move the desktop forward.

Lastly, I hope this machine helps me in becoming more creative. I'm trying to take a hands-off approach so I can focus on programming. I gave GNOME 3 an honest try, and as I suspected it still isn't up to par.

GNOME Dislikes

(Yep, special enough for its own section)

Some things like Alt+Tab have unintuitive function compared to its use in other environments. Super+Tab is what you really want most of the time. Oh, and selecting sub-windows or tabs of a program is a separate keystroke. I see why it was done, but the usability on a freeform "every window, period" flow is ruined.

You also can't launch a program twice from the overview to get a second window, like gnome-terminal; you have to focus the terminal and bring up a new window instead. Wat?!

Can we talk about how hard it is to get a custom program to show up under Show Applications? You have to write an INI-style .desktop file, move it to just the right place, and wait for GNOME to figure it out and display it. The GUI to make a launcher is not very good, and quite confusing. I had better luck reading the desktop file spec; it too was bad in its own verbose and abstract way, like most other FDO documents.

Why oh why is subpixel antialiasing enabled for font rendering? It's ugly and makes screenshots non-portable between displays. I don't want to see bits of color on the edge of my text. You need higher display dpi to get the full 'benefit' of it anyway. You can change this via Tweaks, which tells me GNOME ships with this on by default.

Sometimes, windows like the Nextcloud client or PICO-8 won't show window decorations, so exiting or manipulating them isn't as easy as it is in a regular window manager. Part of this may be due to GNOME running in Wayland instead of Xorg.

OBS Studio cannot seem to record the entire screen, or PICO-8; the window does not show up in the list of windows to capture. This is due to Wayland being unable (or rather, unwilling) to share the entire composited screen with a program, and the micro-protocol approach that Wayland uses in its design-by-consensus ensures it'll be a few more years before something like PipeWire and Wayland can deliver a quality broadcasting stack. OBS inside an xorg server session can see all windows. For being so 'modern' and a 'mature' project at over 10 years old, Wayland still somehow isn't capable of such a workload, while the 'old, busted' xorg still chugs along. Maybe in another 10 years, Wayland will support this use case.

GNOME lacks a system tray equivalent, so programs like Steam can be closed, but in the 'background', which GNOME then produces a notification for. So it knows it's there, but won't give me a way to interact with it to bring it back to the foreground? Mumble is the same way, to use a libre example. Come on, guys... What was wrong with having a tray for arbitrary icons that you don't necessarily want an open window for all the time but are still useful?

Please drag GNOME Files out back and shoot it. SpaceFM gets the job done and hands control to me.

A quick look under Tweaks gave me a few of the features I was missing before, like resizing with Right Click, but those are in the form of extensions that might or might not be there, or might not work on the next GNOME version. Some of these settings I consider basic and expected in a cutting edge desktop, so it's difficult to commit too much to the DE. I'm glad that most of my computer use can be distilled to a browser and terminal window.

I switched away after 5 months of trying to get a workable and pleasant environment. The single best feature was the overview access via tapping Super, which I can emulate in any other environment. XFCE will be a good xorg-based substitute for now, while I build toward my eventual LFS or similar OS with i3 on top.

Conclusion

For what you get, you're paying a premium for the hardware killswitches and security-focused design. I knew these things going into it, and I got what I purchased, more or less. It's Debian under the hood, so I can use a totally different OS if I want, as long as the EC firmware is applied and PureBoot is still in use, it's still the same machine. I want to do some research and testing to be sure I can do so before messing with the installation, just so I have another OS to go to if PureOS goes defunct. Virtual machines may be a better idea for now.

One thing I wasn't 100% on was the RAM. I will probably upgrade both the RAM and SSD in this machine, since the iGPU uses shared memory. Had I known that, I would've gone to 32GB. But for now, I'll see how hard I can push it before needing those things. The SSD alone makes things feel so much snappier, coming from HDDs.

Consider me satisfied, but I will wait before buying another Purism device. To be fair in this conclusion, I have avoided essentially everyone else for a laptop, for various reasons. Every brand I've come across has made some concessions; a single binary blob for Bluetooth is something I can live with until they source a BT radio with a libre driver. Otherwise, the machine has been what I expected it to be and it gives me the control and assurance that I'm looking for in a modern laptop. I can't ask for much better than that.

Before I go, a photo with my TypeMatrix, bluetooth mouse, and external HDD hooked up to the Librem 14. I am taking sticker suggestions for its lid!

Thanks for reading.

-z

OpenPandora and Purism are not related at all. They're just two companies trying to provide open hardware. I was a backer through the UK Ltd, which was not solvent and left some 1100 customers (like me) holding a bag. The German GmbH (now DragonBox) was solvent and offered to get us our units for the difference in cost to produce, but by that point we had all spent over $500 and he needed another $200 to make it cost effective for him. VAT made this worse, and I didn't have cash at the time, so I effectively threw away money. From what I understand, DragonBox is today offering the Pyra and units are reaching people. ↩

Solar 2 Review

2013-04-07T14:42:07-07:00

Solar 2 is an open world, macro-physical, sandbox simulation game. Its premise is short and sweet: You are a meager asteroid in the infinity of space. Become the biggest and best thing in the universe! Developed primarily by independent developer Jay Watts, Solar 2 is a game that is relaxing, with a tense undertone that a more self-aware gamer may philosophize about. If you like to kick back and enjoy a relaxing game with neat visuals, Solar 2 is a fine choice. Gamers that always need missions or goals may not appreciate Solar 2 since its mission selection is small and due to being a one-mechanic game, lacks depth in its basic interaction. It makes up for it with its application of physics and concept, however. And who doesn't like an endless virtual universe!?

Graphics

Solar 2's graphics are simple and functional. Beyond that, what else can you really add to the look of asteroids, planets, and stars that won't disrupt the accuracy of the gameplay? Space itself is, well, black and spacey, with colors of distant nebulae and stars scattered about so you feel like you're in space. Stars glow like they should, and protective shields look the way you'd expect. Ships look pretty cool, but they're a bit small. This probably isn't true on a lower resolution display (I play in 1080p), but for the larger ones it can be a problem. Otherwise, I have no complaints.

Music

The sound in Solar 2 was created by JP Neufeld and Matt Wiesen of Symphony of Specters. The sound effects fit their environment very well. When planets collide there's a dull "poof", spaceships have puny "pew-pew-pew", and asteroids colliding sounds... like rocks. The music is what makes Solar 2 so relaxing. It's decidedly ambient, with hints of instrumental thrown in for effect. There's a specific track that plays during a certain mission, however, that's amazing. I was disappointed to find that the track in question — Mind Over Metal — was not included as part of the OST that came with the Humble Indie Bundle it was released as part of. It's a shame because it's a great track and should be the fanfare/credits song of the game. Long story short, Solar 2's sound is appropriate and mellow.

Difficulty

I wouldn't consider Solar 2 a difficult game unless you're not too good at tracking multiple objects at once. Even then, it's fairly forgiving and since it's a sandbox game, recovering from failure doesn't take a long time. It's perfect for casual play.

Gameplay

Ah! The meat and potatoes! Well, more like the appetizer. Solar 2 doesn't have much gameplay to speak of. That doesn't make it a bad game, but rather a simple one that's meant to just simply be enjoyed, with no pressure. You start "life" out as a measly little asteroid. By running into other asteroids, you add to your Mass, helpfully displayed on the HUD. After a certain point, you gain enough Mass to become a planet. Now you can draw asteroids into your orbit and absorb multiple asteroids at once. You'll advance from there to a life planet, and then finally a star. As a star, you can bring planets into your orbit, which can then be improved by their absorption of asteroids. Your star can then absorb the planets, and become bigger. Repeat ad nauseum to become bigger, badder, and more impressive.

There are a handful of Story missions and Challenge missions you can opt to complete. They're mostly concerned with the nuances of gameplay and testing your general skill. The difficulty ramps up in the Challenge missions, but it's still nothing that will take you weeks. I earned all the Steam achievements in the span of 17 hours of playing, and 10 of that was spent screwing around. :)

Story

What's a "story"? There's so little that I can't even consider it a story. But that's cool. It means you get to make up your own as you play in the universal sandbox. Some games just don't need a story, and Solar 2 is one of them.

Final Verdict

Solar 2 is a macro-scale game with a dead-simple premise: Become the biggest, baddest thing in the universe! With a relaxing soundtrack and simple, accessible goals, Solar 2 somehow makes destroying entire solar systems relaxing. It's almost like interactive meditation. It's perfect for short bursts or moderate stints of relaxing, but with such a simple premise, it may leave some gamers thirsting for a deeper game. Despite being a huge "core gamer", I thoroughly enjoy Solar 2. Take that how you will.

Solar 2 is available from a variety of commercial sources and was part of the Humble Android Bundle 5.

Screenshots

Metadata

Platform: Windows, OS X, GNU/Linux, Android
Release Date: 2011-06-17
Genre: Sandbox, Casual
Developer: Jay Watts of Murudai

Dustforce Review

2012-11-08T13:58:15-08:00

Developed by Hitbox Team, Dustforce is an interesting mix of technical input, platforming, and speed. You play as one of four janitors whose job is to clean up the game world and bring cleanliness back. As an old-school gamer, this game still makes me giddy and excited when I play it. If you enjoy technical games that require a lot of skill, high difficulty, and are a perfectionist, Dustforce is a great fit for you. Steer clear if you lack patience!

Graphics

The graphics in Dustforce are best described as light and airy. Most colors are low-saturation and shading is softer, leading the game to take on a sort of clay-ish look. The form of the graphics themselves looks as if they were made with a vector art application. Long story short, the art style is interesting and suits the game's atmosphere. Where it lacks in detail it makes up for in personality. Additionally, it runs at a crisp 60 frames per second, so it feels very smooth.

If I had to lodge a complaint, it would be the dust/leaf/grime/triangle particles that scatter when you sweep them up. In the later levels, it can obscure your character from view and make it difficult to make precise movements. That's rather minor, however, and may simply be a reflection of my own optic shortcomings.

Sound

Ambient but engaging, out-of-the-way and yet comfortably catchy... It's so hard to describe just what this game's music is like. Terence Lee, AKA Lifeformed made the music for Dustforce. Without a doubt, he's created one of the best video game soundtracks of 2012. Electric Relic features a strong bass-line and good synth strings, while It's Not Supposed to Be Snowing takes on a more melodic, almost somber approach. Then there's Sepia Tone Laboratory, which brings the strings to the front with an almost hip-hop beat that makes the game feel underground. Despite the general tone of the music feeling sort of simplistic and out-of-the-way, there's a surprising level of understanding for what makes catchy or immersive sound.

My only complaint is that there isn't more of this music!

The sound effects match the game effortlessly, and as I've covered in prior reviews, sound effects that don't stand out are good sound effects. One can hear character footsteps, each sweep of the broom, high-energy stomping when falling from tall heights, and an intense slap when you strike enemies. All is as it should be in the sound effect department.

Difficulty

If you're new to platformers or video games in general, you'll want to steer clear of Dustforce. While the early levels are unassuming and friendly, the game quickly takes off the kid gloves and throws you into levels that demand tight maneuvers, spot-on timing, and intimate knowledge of the game's mechanics. It's the kind of game that old hands like me revel in learning the nuances of.

Gamers with high levels of patience or manual dexterity will take to Dustforce pretty well. Others will grow frustrated of not nailing the S ranks and stop playing. This game is not for the faint of heart.

Gameplay

Playing Dustforce is rather straightforward despite its depth. You can use the keyboard or a PC controller. I opted to use a PS3 controller and emulated an Xbox360 controller with DS3Tool. On Gentoo GNU/Linux, I use the uinput kernel module. Regardless of the human interface, Dustforce's controls are simple. You have your directions, jump, attack, strong attack, and dash. You can activate a special move by hitting both attack buttons at the same time, too. That's it. The game works within these confines very well.

Most platformers give you simple characters that improve over time. Not so in Dustforce. The improvement comes from you, the player! Your character has everything they need to finish a level, even with a perfect score. It's up to you to pull it off. You'll need to master running up walls, wall-jumping, using your broom in strategic locations, and combating enemies all while maintaining a combo meter, which keeps track of how much dust you've accumulated. Once you've swept 100 dust up, you can use your special move to eliminate all dust within a large radius of your character. Learning the most advantageous times to use this move is what separates novices and masters.

At the end of each level (and there are over 50), you'll be judged according to completion (how much dust you got), Finesse (how long you kept your combo), and time. The game features leaderboards, so if you sign up for an account (or go through Steam), you can see how you rank among others who play Dustforce. If you're aiming to get the best times, beware! It takes a ton of practice to get anywhere close to the times on the leaderboards. I've managed to make it to the top 10 on a level, but it took me a few hours of practice to do it.

For each level that you get S rankings on, you'll get progress toward a key, which you can use to unlock other levels. Easy levels are available right off the bat, while the intermediate levels are unlocked with silver keys and hard levels are unlocked with golden keys. In order to reach the last set of levels (which are all unlocked), you must get an S rank in Finesse and Completion (a double S) on every level. Attaining that is no small feat. The developers realized this, and created the last set of levels, each referring to a digital unit of measure proceeded by "Difficult". These levels are incredibly difficult, and only the most dedicated (or insane) players will attain SS rank on them.

Final Verdict

Dustforce is a game that satiates the classic gamer's thirst for difficulty, nuance, and solid level design. It's really a Nintendo Hard game prettied up with modern graphics and polish. New gamers or gamers that lack patience will not enjoy Dustforce beyond a handful of levels into the game, when the game starts to push back and demand more from the player.

In short, I feel that Dustforce is a contender for Independent Game of the Year 2012. Between its great music, stylish graphics, and refreshing difficulty, I believe it embodies exactly what the video game industry needs.

Dustforce was available as part of the Humble Indie Bundle 6 and can be purchased on Steam.

Metadata

Platform: Windows, OS X, GNU/Linux
Release Date: 2012-01-17
Genre: Technical Platformer
Developer: Hitbox Team

Radiant Historia Review

2012-08-27T23:13:45-07:00

Every now and then, a game comes out that looks unassuming, but has a hidden, interesting side that takes you by surprise. This aspect is true of Radiant Historia, a turn-based JRPG for the Nintendo DS developed by Atlus and Headlock Studio. One of the aspects of Radiant Historia that comes out of left field is the time traveling mechanic, which allows you to explore two different paths of history. If you enjoyed Chrono Trigger and enjoy revisiting the same place in different points in recent history, you'll warm up to Radiant Historia. Gamers who don't care for backtracking or subtle time puzzles will want to skip this one.

Graphics

Radiant Historia sports a neat art style. Environments are rendered in 3-D while characters and obstacles are 2-D sprites. This makes different elements clear to the player without any obnoxious "helper" graphics like black outlines or incessant glowing, etc.

The graphic style is sort of low-key for the environments; they seem to mostly get out of the way. It's a refreshing turn from what's usually present in JRPGs, and is more inviting than the usual "Check ALL the bushes" mentality that's encouraged in some JRPGs. Sprites are animated very well. Aht's swaying in battle, "brandishing" animations when it's the character's turn to receive a command, and the design of the characters themselves are all great. The graphics may become a bit dull over time out of battle, but they remain interesting in-battle. Atlus has some pixel know-how. :)

The concept art is top notch. It shows a strong understanding of character design and use of color. Stocke's red outfit is both stylish and reminiscent of European armor designs. Aht looks like an elegant dancer, and Marco's get-up looks like he really is carrying a bunch of potions and healing items. There are other characters that sport equally solid designs, but I don't spoil games that aren't classics already.

Music

I'm listening to the OST right now. Does that tell you anything? If not, maybe a name drop will: Yoko Shimomura. She's partly responsible for Kingdom Hearts' music, and composed all the music for Radiant Historia. My favorite tracks are Alistel's main theme and the ending credits theme, -HISTORIA-.

The soundtrack as a whole takes on a somber, pretty feel when you're out and about. Seeing as how world is slowly eroding to dust, this theme is fitting. The standard battle theme is unobtrusive and seems to encourage focus and intensity instead of raw power. The boss themes on the other hand, are in-your-face epic and carry a sense of urgency. "The Edge of Green" (mid-chapter bosses) in particular does a very good job of sparking the player's spirit.

Long story short, this game's soundtrack is easily its best aspect.

Difficulty

Once you get the hang of the battle system, I'd say the difficulty in Radiant Historia is decidedly average. A few battles will push you to really think about how to bunch the enemy up to capitalize on combo bonuses, some will use turn order to mess with your tactics, and others will test your knowledge of your abilities and how many turns they last. Veteran gamers will meet this difficulty with only minor issue, while average and casual gamers will have a little bit of trouble. The difficulty's not too harsh, however, and you can always grind to lessen it.

Gameplay

There are two primary phases of gameplay: in-battle and out-of-battle. The former is where you'll be spending a lot of your time, believe it or not. The fights are not overwhelmingly common like they are in traditional JRPGs. You seem enemies on the overworld as you travel, and can choose to avoid the vast majority of them. This makes Radiant Historia a good candidate for low-level runs. However, this also means that if you avoid fighting too much, you'll end up too weak to progress at an acceptable pace.

In-battle, it's closer to a tactical SRPG than a standard turn-based JRPG. Your enemies are laid out in a 3×3 grid and are allowed to move around during the course of the battle. Your characters aren't afforded this mobility, but some of them have skills that will move the enemy around. Put together the right skills and the right turn order (through the "Change" command), and you can wipe out regular enemies pretty handily. It's important to practice this, because it becomes more important as you progress and the enemies get tougher. When it's all said and done, though, the gameplay is still standard JRPG fare with a little spin on things.

It's a welcome spin, but it comes with some nitpicks:

Skills that move the enemy around are rather pricey (5-15 MP)
MP cannot easily be regenerated (the skill costs 12 MP and the item is rare)
Some bosses have far too much HP and needlessly drag out the battle (this may be intentional...)

Overall, battles are fairly enjoyable, but will start to annoy you a bit toward the end, when they introduce more enemies that can't be moved on the grid.

Story

Radiant Historia begins with a man named Stocke, who's been assigned to the Special Intelligence unit of Alistel's army. It seems that Granorg, the country to the west, is the cause of a "sand sickness" which is eroding the world and turning people into sand. What starts out as a clear goal to our friend Stocke turns into a much broader adventure through the continent of Vainqueur and time itself. As it progresses, the story plays around with the player's expectations, questions the rationale of characters, and exposes what most would consider "evil" as merely a different perspective on the same circumstances. It's not necessarily something that I'd sit down with for nights on end, like a book, but the story does a better job than many other JRPGs out there, and stayed interesting enough for me to want to know what happens next. So I'd say it's pretty good.

Final Verdict

Radiant Historia is what most would call a "sleeper hit", which came out of nowhere, introduced a new take on the time-traveling formula, and brought some memorable characters and gorgeous music. It has some tedious points, which delayed me finishing the game for a while¹, but they weren't bad or long enough to kill the enjoyment for me.

If you enjoy JRPGs -- especially ones that question existing formulae -- I think you'll like Radiant Historia. If you want a fast-paced, action-style game that's light on the dialogue, Radiant Historia is not what you're looking for.

Metadata

Platform: Nintendo DS
US Release Date: 2011-02-22
Genres: JRPG, Turn-based
Developer: Atlus, Headlock, Inc
ESRB Rating: E10+

Real life also got in the way... ↩

Shantae: Risky's Revenge Review

2012-07-15T23:14:02-07:00

Shantae is a half-genie who lives on the outskirts of a place called Scuttle Town. Her first appearance was in the GameBoy Color cult hit Shantae. I'll be honest: I don't know why Shantae got the attention that it has, even on the DSi. Between the unclear game progression, a shop that's hardly labeled, and controls that aren't as responsive as they should be, Shantae: Risky's Revenge leaves much to be desired.

Before I begin, keep in mind that this game comes with a 1200 DSi Point price. That's $12 USD. I don't consider this game worth the $12 I paid for it. Its graphics are nice, and the music's decent, but everything else is lacking. It's a shame, because if this game had focused more on replayability or something to make the gameplay more varied and interesting, you'd have a winner.

Graphics

I cover graphics first because it's the first thing you see. The graphics in Shantae: Risky's Revenge are very well drawn; some of which by people I've spoken to on a forum named Pixelation. There's no doubt in my mind that the graphics were produced professionally by people that know what they're doing. Each of the game's locales have detailed, expressive backgrounds that show a strong understanding of light and shape. Scuttle Town looks like an old-styled Middle Eastern town, the plains look open and vast, caves look dank and cramped, and so on.

Animation is equally good, though the design of enemies is a bit lacking. The only enemies that really stick out to me are the archers and mermaids, the latter of which were the only overworld enemy that took a strategy beyond "duck and keep hitting."

Music

Each track in Shantae: Risky's Revenge reflects the locale pretty well. Dungeon music is somewhat repetitive, but everything else fits together. My favorite track is the desert theme, which keeps a peppy tone while you're navigating the various pits and moving platforms. I'm a sucker for those instruments, too.

Sound effects don't stand out (which is a good thing); no complaints there either. You'll hear the "fwip" of Shantae's hair quite a bit, though, so get used to it.

Difficulty

This depends on whether or not you find the shop, where you can purchase spells and upgrades for gems. I didn't discover it until the game was almost over, so the only spell I had available to me for most of the game was the starting Fireball. Even with the unintentional handicap, the game's difficulty was manageable. With the upgrades, it's cake. You'll only have difficulty with bosses.

Gameplay

I'll be frank; this game does not stand up to $12 of value. If it were $5, I wouldn't be so harsh on it. But considering it's the most expensive DSiWare game, it should live up to its price. Cave Story, which is cheaper, is the better game. And that was made by one person in his spare time! It's also an adventure-oriented platformer, just like Shantae.

The gist of Shantae: Risky's Revenge's gameplay is "hit hit hit, jump, dodge, hit hit hit". Enemies have little in the way of AI and are easily predicted. Any difficulty in regular enemies comes in the number of hits needed to kill them. The max being somewhere around 10 (without upgrades). In similar fashion, that's how bosses are difficult, too. The patterns are extremely predictable, yet they have tons of HP. So it's a gauntlet to see how long you can maintain the pattern, not a matter of how well you can predict and punish the pattern. WayForward could learn a thing or two from the Mega Man series. Their bosses have more HP, but not insanely so. They also have multiple behaviors that they can bust out at any time.

There are the spells and belly-dancing forms, but neither of them do enough to break up the gameplay style. If Shantae's alternate forms could be used in combat more often and came with their own set of spells, I could see the game being a lot more fun. Ultimately, the game just needs more of what made it nominally interesting in the first place: more forms, more spells, better AI, and a reason to play again. That last one's the most important. There's a reason I play through Super Mario Bros. (the long way) every month: it has replay value!

Story

It's really not worth mentioning. It's a platformer, not a deep adventure or RPG. The gist of it is "Risky, the evil pirate, has come back for the lamp! You need to stop her, Shantae!" Cue random artifact fetch quest.

Final Verdict

At the end of the day, this game's been done before. It's just another pretty, empty platformer. If you're looking for something casual, pretty, and expensive, Shantae: Risky's Revenge will suit you well. If you're a die hard platformer or a gaming veteran like me, steer clear and get Cave Story instead. It has a much more interesting plot, deeper gameplay, and is also available on the DSi Shop.

Metadata

Platform: DSiWare
US Release Date: 2010-10-04
Genres: Action, Adventure, Platformer, Sidescrolling
Developer: WayForward Technologies
ESRB Rating: E-10+ (Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence, Suggestive Themes)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

2011-12-06T12:11:35-08:00

The Legend of Zelda series is known for its high quality games. From the beginning, Zelda has set the bar for the action-adventure genre. Other games in the same genre (and some in other genres) tend to emulate their success, but never seem to reach it. Among games, the Zelda series is at the pinnacle of quality and creativity. Skyward Sword is no different. Remember E3 2005? Nintendo promised us a Revolution. They said the new console would change the way we perceived and played games. Today, we can see the effect the Wii has had on the market, but motion controls still felt a little like an add-on instead of a full-blown innovation. We knew the potential that MotionPlus had, but nobody was using it for anything serious. Until November 2011, anyway. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the experience that Nintendo promised us at E3 in 2005.

To put it shortly, if you own a Wii you cannot miss this game. Skyward Sword is the reason the Wii was made. It's the full realization of every gameplay feature the Wii has to offer. It utilizes the Sensor Bar, the accelerometers in the Wiimote and Nunchuk, and is the best application of the MotionPlus. To ignore this game is to miss out on what the Wii is all about. I don't care who you are: you need to own (or play) this game.

Graphics

It's 2011. The Xbox360 and Playstation 3 have had years to slowly eke out the power of their hardware, and it's clear that they can produce higher resolution and higher detailed graphics than the Wii. However, graphics are not about just detail. Style matters far more, and Skyward Sword has it in spades. The game world is rendered in a smooth, painted style. If I had to compare it to past Zeldas, it would be somewhere between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. It marries interesting detail with evocative personality. The Wii's not the most powerful system around, so Nintendo used a distance-based filter to make objects take on a painted look. So as you run further away from something, details blur out but retain the form of the object. It feels like the game world is an interactive painting.

From the beautifully styled Faron Woods to the distant Lanayru Desert and up to airy Skyloft, Skyward Sword shows that it's not power that matters, but style. Characters and enemies are just as well rendered, with fluid, life-like animation and a charm the series hasn't seen since The Wind Waker. Needless to say, Skyward Sword is a gorgeous game.

Music

Nintendo went all-out on this game's music. Much of the music in Skyward Sword is orchestrated, and takes the sound in Zelda to a whole new level. You'll find yourself immersed in the game, due in part to the music. The overworld feels vast and wondrous, while Faron Woods feels dense and peppy. Dungeons take on appropriate moods, but aren't particularly memorable. It seems apparent that the sound team focused more on mood for dungeon music than catchiness, as the music for dungeons fits them very well.

Boss music is exciting and gets your blood pumping, to keep you on your toes. With each strike of your sword, the music becomes more intense. Even normal encounters feel like they were infused with a bit of energy.

Sound effects are hardly noticeable, and that's precisely what they are supposed to be. Link's feet make appropriate noises on various forms of terrain, sword clangs sound great, and each item makes distinct sounds. Enemy and environmental sounds are no different. Bombs sound just like they did in The Wind Waker, steam vents are windy, and even bugs make appropriate noises.

Difficulty

Zelda difficulty must be judged on two levels: combat and puzzles.

Combat is easily the deepest part of this game. Link can attack in many more ways than before, and enemies are privy to his methods. This turns each enemy into a miniature game of wits. Things like Keese and Chu Chus are rather harmless, but Lizalfos, Moblins, and Stalfos will make you work for your victory. On this front, difficulty is satisfying. Some enemies are tough, but it feels much better when you defeat them.

Puzzles in Skyward Sword are not the most difficult. To long-time fans of the series, a little creative thinking and observation will get you ahead. To those new to the series, it may take a little longer to solve the puzzles. There is a distinct lack of blocks and locked doors in this game, which makes the puzzles feel a little fresher. Later on in the game, a special type of stone is found, which adds a layer of depth to Zelda puzzles we haven't seen before. The difficulty of puzzles in Skyward Sword is a little above average. The best part of the puzzles is that each item you acquire throughout the game never stops being useful. You'll be using the Slingshot, for example, up until the end of the game. I can't say the same for Twilight Princess, which had items that were mostly useless after their specific dungeon.

Gameplay

This is the meat-and-potatoes of most games, but especially Zelda games. Skyward Sword is the first in the series to introduce item crafting, which allows you to upgrade potions, shields, and even items, assuming you have the necessary treasure or bugs. It's nothing in-depth and farm-necessary like your typical JRPG, but it's a welcome addition and doesn't feel tedious. It also provides a use for all the rupees you acquire throughout the game, which was a big problem in Twilight Princess. In this respect, it follows the design of The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.

Speaking of that, Beedle makes a return and still sells things for astronomical prices. Among them though, are Adventure Pouch upgrades. The Adventure Pouch is a new feature to Zelda that allows Link to carry up to 8 pouch items such as shields, potions, and medals. Medals grant special traits to Link, such as making more hearts, rupees, or treasures drop, or even increasing his life! This is another interesting addition to the series and keeps the main inventory from becoming too cluttered.

Collecting bugs in this game is a bit different compared to Twilight Princess. You actually have to use a net, and sometimes sneak up on the bug in order to catch it. It takes the place of fishing in past Zeldas as the slow-paced, relaxing past-time. These bugs are necessary to upgrade potions in the bazaar, so it's important to catch them.

The minigames in Skyward Sword are a little different. One is a minesweeper clone, one has you go on an insect hunt, and another has you doing precision skydiving. There are plenty of minigames to do to pass time if you ever get bored.

The most apparent gameplay aspect (besides the new swordplay mechanics) is the world design. While there's still a line drawn between overworld and dungeon, it's become blurred. Environments in Skyward Sword are filled with obstacles and hazards, so it feels like you're traversing a dungeon sometimes. This aspect is wonderful, because it keeps the game feeling fresh, even if you've traversed a specific section a few times. Later on, you'll find traveling become a little faster thanks to the new items in your arsenal. It feels almost like I'm playing Metroid sometimes. This is an aspect of the game that I hope makes its way to future games in the series. May we never see another empty Hyrule Field!

Story

According to Nintendo, Skyward Sword takes place before Ocarina of Time. Some timeline theories place The Minish Cap at the beginning of the storyline, so it's unknown if Skyward Sword is before it, but there's a good chance that it is. Skyward Sword tells the story of a goddess who lifts an island into the sky to keep the Triforce out of evil hands and a young man who becomes a hero. Without spoiling it, all I can say is that it lays the groundwork for the entire storyline and answers a few questions that were left unanswered by past games. Like most Zeldas, Skyward Sword's storyline is mostly self-contained, so no prior knowledge of Zelda is necessary in order to enjoy this game's plot. There are themes and references that are best enjoyed by veterans, but ignorance of them doesn't detract from the experience.

Final Verdict

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the best example of Wii technology to date. With it's creative puzzles, charming character design, and superior swordplay mechanics, I don't see myself playing 3-D Zelda any differently from now on. Nintendo has delivered on their promise of a revolution with Skyward Sword. It is a prime example of motion controls being used for something that is deep and engaging without being exhausting or awkward. As a Zelda game, it fills in some of the gaps in the story and clarifies how things came to be. I can't express how important it is that Wii owners and any serious gamer play this game. It represents the goal that the Wii set out to achieve and sets the bar for a new level of interactive entertainment. Skyward Sword will be relevant and remembered for many years to come, much like Ocarina of Time was.

Metadata

Platform: Wii
Release Date (US): 2011-11-20
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

The Tao of Success Review

2011-03-13T23:23:04-07:00

Derek Lin — author of The Tao of Daily Life and his own translation of the Tao Te Ching — once again brings his practical approach to the masses. This time, the focus is on using the lessons of Taoism to their intended effect and bring success — both material and spiritual — to one's life. It's evident from the quality and clarity of Lin's writing that he has proven this method with his own experience, and has spoken with many others about the concepts contained in the book. As a Tao cultivator, I can attest to the validity of the lessons and their effect they have on a mindful reader who's looking to bring more success and harmony to his or her life.

The book's format is composed of five central steps that are common to applying Taoist thought. This number is important, both in Chinese culture and in the book. Within each of the five steps lie five concepts to keep in mind. The result is a 25-step manual of sorts to applying the life-changing lessons of the Tao.

After each core step is outlined, Lin shares some short stories (dharmas) that have been passed down through the generations, a time-honored custom in all cultures. Each story has a superficial lesson on the surface, but is much deeper in meaning as Lin unravels the underlying tapestry of lessons. In his unraveling, Lin brings each story to life and paints a vivid picture with the reader.

It's important that I use the word "with". Lin encourages the reader to think deeply about each lesson and how they can apply it to their own life, and in a very inclusive tone. He frequently uses "we" in the place of "you", emphasizing the point that everyone can take part in the Tao tradition, regardless of creed or religion.

The strongest points of the book — for me anyway — are the short reminders that the reader can make for themselves to recall important lessons, like the image of an ancient Chinese coin. Such coins have a square hole inside them, which represents self-discipline and seeing your own faults to improve, while the outside of the coin is soft and round, representing the compassion and understanding we should give to others. The complete lesson amounts to "Do not be harsh to others, but do not be afraid to find — and fix — the faults you see in yourself." Such simple but powerful images can serve as a reminder and motivator for the reader to improve his or her life, one lesson at a time.

In summary, I believe Derek Lin has brought yet another great Taoist book to the West. A book that will resonate well with the success-oriented culture we have here in the West. Whether you're looking to get out of a series of failures or just want to take your Tao cultivation to the next step, The Tao of Success is a book that will reveal to you powerful, simple lessons that you can begin employing on Day One. No membership required!

Featured Author

Derek Lin is the award-winning author of Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained and The Tao of Daily Life. He manages Taoism.net, its related social media, and hosts a weekly Tao study group. Together, they form one of the largest English-speaking Taoist communities on the Internet.

Pokémon SoulSilver Review

2010-05-19T20:24:04-07:00

The 2nd generation of Pokémon games (Gold, Silver, and Crystal) is widely regarded as the best; it brought gamers two new types, a brand new set of varied moves, breeding, and is the only Pokémon generation to date to sport two regions, totalling 16 badges to earn. In many ways, the 2nd generation brought innovations well before its time, and Game Freak hadn't trumped or matched that success... until HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Make no mistake; HeartGold and SoulSilver are the pinnacle of Pokémon games. Even with the 5th generation Black and White versions on the horizon, I am convinced that Game Freak will not surpass what they have achieved with HeartGold and SoulSilver. If you played the original Gold, Silver, or Crystal, then you owe it to yourself to get HeartGold or SoulSilver. If you preferred the 3rd or 4th generation... you may not enjoy the heavy Japanese influence and classic-but-new feel. Above all, this game will devour your gaming time like a Snorlax goes through food.

Warning: Mild spoilers ahead, for those who haven't played the originals.

Graphics

The first thing veterans of the 2nd generation will notice is that the graphics are greatly enhanced. No longer is the game system limited to 2 layers of 8-bit graphics. Instead, we're treated to a half-3D, half-2D game that brings out the charm that Gold and Silver were known for. As someone who prefers 2-D over 3-D, I still enjoy the graphics of HeartGold and SoulSilver.

The biggest graphical improvement compared to the originals is in-battle. Pokémon look much better than they did back in 2nd generation, sporting sprites with upwards of 16 colors instead of a paltry four (though to be specific, one color is always used for transparency). Backgrounds in-battle reflect the lighting conditions and time of day, and moves are flashier than ever. Every 2-D graphic is well made and smooth looking, from the item and battle menus to the overworld sprites and touch screen buttons.

Needless to say, the graphics are a large leap above what we had back in the GameBoy Color days.

Music

The original Gold and Silver sported many memorable tunes and fun remixes for Kanto. HeartGold and SoulSilver are no different, bringing us a wide variety of remixed music. The Japanese influence is evident in Professor Elm's Lab, Ecruteak City, and the Bell Tower, while most other tracks are the same peppy, light-hearted music we've come to expect from the Pokémon series. Other tracks that stand out are the gym leader battle themes, the wild Pokémon battle themes, and the music that accompanies Lugia and Ho-oh in-battle.

Moreso than any other Pokémon game, the music is pleasant and doesn't annoy at any point. As an added bonus, you can unlock the original sounds after you get all 16 badges. While not being 100% identical to the original music, it's close enough to feel classic, and that's the point.

I put the music up there with the graphics in terms of quality. I've never once wanted to turn my DS's volume down because of the music.

Difficulty

I have one word for you: Gyarados. I don't know what they did to him, but he became MEAN. Hyperbole aside, many monsters have been improved as a result of being in the 4th generation battle system. Monsters such as Yanma, Beedrill, and Sneasel who used to be limited by their lack of good moves or bad typing are now formidable monsters that can hold their own. My Beedrill was able to take down Sabrina's Alakazam after eating a Psychic attack and downed him with Twineedle, for instance. There's no way Beedrill could've eaten a Psychic back in 2nd generation.

That said, the difficulty is slightly increased. Thanks to being in the 4th generation battle system, the game has taken on a more offensive approach, with status inflictions being used before sweeping and a stronger focus on specializing. Also, the levels for gym leaders, the Elite 4, and Red have risen, offering veteran trainers more challenge. As if that wasn't enough, the Elite 4 have a round two, where levels max at 75 or so. Now you'll think twice before challenging the Elite 4 a second time.

Overall, the difficulty is on par with that of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Perhaps a little higher. Due to the nature of being an RPG, however, even newbie gamers can overcome the difficulty just by grinding.

Gameplay

Wow... where do I begin? Many, many changes have been made compared to the original games. For starters, the 4th gen battle system means that every type of move has physical and special moves, which adds much more variety to the battle system and makes certain Pokémon more effective.

Gone are the cell phone and item limitations; you can store every trainer's cell number in your PokéGear and can hold as many items as you need to. Also gone are the swarm-specific phone calls; you can listen in on Professor Oak's Pokémon Talk to learn about swarming Pokémon now. The Goldenrod City Department Store now has a daily lottery for special items, and the Goldenrod Radio Tower changes its lottery number every day as well.

Adding to this, there is a complete Battle Frontier just north of Route 40, where the Battle Tower used to be in Crystal. Also present is the Safari Zone, located west of Cianwood City, past two brand new routes. As if that wasn't enough, there's a brand new Pokéathlon Dome just west of the Johto National Park, where you can enter your Pokémon in Pokémon Stadium-like mini-games and earn points to purchase prizes.

You may also get the phone numbers of gym leaders and challenge them again under the right conditions. When you rebattle them, their lineups change and their levels are higher, so they are truly challenging even after you've earned every badge. Another great improvement is the Berry Pots item, which allows you to grow berries on the go without ever needing to revisit a bunch of soil spots.

The sheer number of improvements in HeartGold and SoulSilver is incredible, and veterans of the originals will no-doubt be pleased by all the new content.

I have one complaint, however; as a result of some sort of censorship, the Game Corners no longer sport slot machines. You cannot buy coins anymore, either. Instead, you must play a game called "Voltorb Flip" — a strange mix of minesweeper and picross — to earn coins. That, combined with the insanely priced Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt TMs (10,000 coins) means that the Game Corner is no longer a reliable means to get those moves. You're better off breeding.

Considering all of the great additions in spite of this gripe, however, I cannot say in good-faith that this game has nothing short of awesome gameplay. The variety of things you can do in the game is mind-boggling; if you're bored, it's your own fault.

Story

It's Pokémon.

...Okay, fine. You play as a young person aiming to explore the world with Pokémon and complete a computerized encyclopedia known as a Pokédex. Along the way, you will face up to bullies, bring down a terrorist syndicate, help a sick Pokémon, and learn about the legends surrounding Lugia, Ho-oh, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. After you prove your worth to the Champion, you are granted access to Kanto, where you can prove that Johto produces awesome trainers as well. At the climax of your journey, you will face off against Red -- the kid who brought down Team Rocket the first time -- in an epic battle set atop a large mountain in the middle of a snowstorm. Only there can you prove if you have what it takes to be a Pokémon Master.

Final Verdict

Just in case you couldn't tell, I like this game. I think it's worth every cent I paid for it and worthy of being called a remake. Game Freak outdid themselves for the second time; so much so that I doubt they will produce another game quite this good. If you played through the original Gold and Silver and hate what they did to the franchise in 3rd and 4th generation, buy HeartGold or SoulSilver; they are a prime example of what modern Pokémon should be like, and should be the standard in which all future generations are compared to.

Metadata

Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date (US): 2010-03-14
Genre: RPG
Developer: Game Freak, Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Review

2010-04-18T09:14:29-07:00

Castlevania is a long-running and well-respected franchise from Konami. Throughout its lifetime, it's encountered some difficulties maintaining freshness. When they make a breakthrough, we get games like Symphony of the Night and the Sorrow games. When they're recycling, you get Harmony of Dissonance, better known as "SotN's bastard child on your GBA". Given the success of Symphony of the Night, one would assume Harmony would inherit its strong points. Unfortunately, this is not the case and I would not recommend this game to anyone but the hardcore CV fans.

Graphics

Harmony of Dissonance tries to go in a direction similar to Symphony of the Night, after the backlash Konami received about Circle of the Moon's graphics being "too dark". The result is a hodge-podge of bright, but low contrast graphics. They probably look great on the regular GBA, but on anything that produces its own light, it looks awful. Conversely, Circle actually looks better on a front or backlit screen.

The graphic quality itself is so-so. It feels like less effort was put into the readability of the graphics, so oftentimes things seem to blend together. A lot of the enemy graphics are ripped from Symphony and rescaled to fit the GBA's screen. Overall, it seems like the game tries to be Symphony's little brother, right down to the character design. It's hard to deny the resemblance that Juste and Maxim bear to Alucard and Richter. Among the three Castlevania games available on the GBA, this one has the worst graphics.

Music

Castlevania games are normally known for their music; at least 3 songs stand out in practically every game in the series. Harmony let me down in that respect: the only track I enjoyed was the Entrance theme. The rest of the music was rather boring. It seems that the developers had to cut back on audio quality in order to do what they did with the graphics. At any rate, the music isn't awful; just don't expect music on par with the rest of the series.

Difficulty

Don't expect to have trouble with more than 2 bosses. This lack of difficulty is very strange for a Castlevania game. Gamers of all kinds will have no issues playing or even beating this game.

Gameplay

Harmony of Dissonance plays like a strange mix between old school and new school Castlevania. You will be using a whip through the entire game, but you also get to equip various pieces of equipment. Subweapons are scattered throughout the castle, but you also collect spellbooks that you can use to unleash powerful attacks. It's not a bad mix, but the gameplay can get a little repetitive, with very little variation in how you engage enemies. Aside from that, it's standard Castlevania: action coupled with mild platforming. Sad to say, Harmony is the worst of the modern "Metroidvania" style Castlevania games.

Final Verdict

I was able to complete this game start-to-finish 100% with no guide in under 5½ hours. That's inexcusable in my eyes, since there's very little motivation to play through again. There is Maxim mode, which allows you to play through again with a slightly different character... but I would not want to plod through that castle again. Rent or borrow from a friend, but only if you're a die hard Castlevania fan. You'll be torturing yourself otherwise.

Metadata

Platform: Nintendo GameBoy Advance
Release date (US): 2002-09-16
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment, Tokyo
Publisher: Konami
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Review

2010-01-17T05:42:14-08:00

As the fifteenth entry in the Legend of Zelda series, Spirit Tracks has rather large boots to fill. With each iteration, gamers expect a grander, more immersive and innovative experience as they plod across Hyrule or another interesting world. For those of you who played through Phantom Hourglass, you will find that Spirit Tracks feels a lot like it in play control, but is nothing like it in overall feel. Even if you didn't like Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks may have the right combination of elements to please you. Regardless, it's Zelda. And that means it's worth purchasing.

Graphics

The visuals in Spirit Tracks borrow heavily from the style that Phantom Hourglass established. This shouldn't be surprising, as it's running a marginally upgraded version of the same engine. As far as 3-D games on the DS go, Spirit Tracks is quite large. There are some places where the texture work is blocky due to the limitations in the DS's processing ability. Most models on the overworld are simplified to improve the DS's draw distance, and many repetitive objects (such as trees) are sprites that look the same from any angle. In what I like to call "action areas", the graphics look and feel much more like Zelda. It's clear that more effort was put into the action areas, where it belongs. All things considered, it looks pretty good for the DS. Despite that, any DS fan will tell you that the 3-D on the DS is not spectacular, so don't go into Spirit Tracks expecting high quality visuals. They're simplistic and — in some places — crude, but they get the job done with what little 3-D processing the DS has. My only complaint is that the game could have looked better if they had stuck to regular two-tone cel-shading. Instead, they used 3 to 4 layers of shading, and that really cut into the processing budget for the game. Nitpicking aside, the graphics fit the theme of the game, and that's what's most important.

Music

Sound is one of the more important aspects of a video game in my opinion. Spirit Tracks has a simple and memorable soundtrack, with an emphasis on woodwinds, slap drums, guitar, and violin. The result is interesting, and is the first of its kind in the Zelda series. The game has a strong acoustic feel that no other Zelda has, with its lighthearted but bittersweet title theme, adventurous and catchy overworld music, and Byrne's mysterious, string-heavy theme. While not quite as solid a soundtrack as Majora's Mask or The Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks manages to separate itself from other Zeldas and forge its own identity. I think it's a great musical direction and look forward to more music like it from future Zelda games.

Difficulty

One of the problems plaguing most games today is a lack of difficulty. Unlike its predecessor, Spirit Tracks manages to keep a steady difficulty, occasionally upping the ante when it comes time to push the veterans, such as the Defeat-Them-All Challenge in Hyrule Castle Town, which is like a boss rush mode. I still haven't managed to beat it without using potions. The puzzles in this game were crafted by the programmers instead of the level designers, so they often force players to think in ways that they normally wouldn't, which I think is the point of solving puzzles. I won't give anything away, but when I solved some of the harder puzzles, I felt quite dumb. It's puzzles like those that are the most rewarding and help your creative thinking. Nintendo should let the programmers design puzzles from now on, to keep challenging gamers to think in unconventional ways. Overall, the difficulty is pretty good for the veteran, and somewhat difficult for the newcomer. The game places plenty of hints about for puzzles, but also leaves certain puzzles completely unlabeled, so both levels of gamer should be able to get something out of the game.

Gameplay

What can I say? The game plays in a very straightforward way. While on the overworld, you get speed and direction controls, and the camera is manipulated by touching the screen and moving the stylus in your desired direction, just like in Phantom Hourglass. Tapping an object will fire a bomb at it (provided you have the cannon). Most of the controls in Spirit Tracks are just like Phantom Hourglass. A few things were changed for the better: firstly, rolling is performed simply by double-tapping in the desired direction. I think that was a good fix, since moving the stylus in a small circle to roll in Phantom Hourglass was somewhat tiresome and didn't always work. Double-tapping makes more sense and is easier to execute. Another fix I noticed is performing a spin attack. It's rather responsive this time around, so if you find yourself in a pinch don't hesitate to draw a large or even a small circle around Link. Aside from these fixes, it's standard Zelda fare; you explore towns and areas in the wilderness, open up a temple, defeat the boss, and restore some of the Spirit Tracks so you can access more of the world. Due to the changes in difficulty and setting, Spirit Tracks offers more interesting gameplay than Phantom Hourglass.

There's plenty to do while you're out exploring caves and dungeons, too. When you're riding across Hyrule in your train, you'll come across rabbits hanging out on top of boulders. Once you get to a certain point in the game, you'll be able to capture these little guys and bring them to a sort of bunny ranch, where the owner will reward your efforts at catching them. Also present are stamp stations hidden throughout Hyrule, challenging cavalier explorers to get them all. As if this wasn't enough, you can also carry passengers and cargo on your train once you get the passenger and freight cars. When you're on these quests, you have to be careful and pay attention to what's going on. If you don't drive your train properly by following the signs, your passenger will get angry, and if you let enemies hit your train you'll lose some of your cargo. It's a refreshing challenge compared to the so-so sailing that was present in Phantom Hourglass. The train is a bit slower in the long run, but much more interesting.

Items are another part of Zelda that form the backbone. Without interesting and innovative items, Zelda tends to fall flat. Thankfully, Spirit Tracks brings a few new items to the table. The first is the Whirlwind, which acts similarly to the Gust Jar from Minish Cap. It creates a gust of wind that can move enemies and items a short distance. Another is the Snake Whip, which can snatch certain items and allows Link to swing across chasms. There's one other interesting item, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.

The final piece of innovation in Spirit Tracks is the introduction of Zelda as Link's helper character. It's amazing how it took 24 years for Nintendo to bring us the duo working together to save the world instead of Link always saving her. Giving Zelda a more proactive role better establishes her character and attitude, being Tetra's descendant. Games could do with more sass in their female characters instead of the typical damsel in distress or barely-dressed harlot. Bravo, Nintendo, for better representing the fairer sex. I look forward to seeing more of Zelda and Link working together.

Final Verdict

Spirit Tracks is probably one of the last good games that will hit the DS before a successor comes along. The DS has had somewhat of a drought of good games in the past 6 months; the only other noteworthy games in recent memory being Bowser's Inside Story, Phantasy Star Zero, and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. This is one of the games that any adventure game lover should have. If you enjoyed Phantom Hourglass, you'll love this game. If you thought Phantom Hourglass was so-so and a bit tedious, borrow it from a friend and see if you like the changes. I'm confident you'll find something to like about the game, even if you're not a big fan.

Metadata

Platform(s): Nintendo DS
Release date (US): 2009-12-07
Genre: Action, Adventure
Developer(s): Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Review

2009-11-16T02:26:49-08:00

Mario and Luigi are iconic Nintendo mascots who have been through many adventures, both together and separately. Thankfully, the adventures they go on together end up being a lot funnier. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is the third game in the Mario & Luigi series, which started on the GameBoy Advance with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Like the two games before it, Bowser's Inside Story has a self-contained plot, a ridiculous and hilarious story, and an engaging battle system that tests your observation skills.

Graphics

Bowser's Inside Story features some of the smoothest animation I've seen in sprites. Everything in the game is colorful and light-hearted, even when you're in the depths of caves, the ocean, even Bowser's Castle itself. Those who "stop to smell the flowers", so to speak, are in for a lot of fun little details. The graphics are largely simplistic, but you can't help but smile when watching Luigi's silly animations or recoil at the gross things that go on in Bowser's belly. Overall, the game practically oozes polish and attitude, just how we like our Mario games!

Music

Most of the music in the game is quite nice, and suits each area well. The music in Bowser's Castle can get a little annoying if you've been stuck for a while (like I was), but aside from that the music is great. The battle music in particular is good, and that's a plus because you're going to be fighting a lot; a given in RPGs. My favorite track would probably be Blubble Lake or Cavi Cape. At any rate, the music won't let you down.

The sound is simply awesome! Mario and Luigi still have their Italian-sounding gibberish, and Peach retains her typical high-pitched, damsel-in-distress voice. New to the scene is Bowser, who sounds a little more "fearsome" than you'd expect. It's still awesome, though. The sound effect for dizziness is very amusing; probably my favorite.

Difficulty

Veterans to Mario & Luigi will find that the timing for actions is a little tighter than in Superstar Saga and Partners in Time. That's good news for us. Those who lack good hand-eye coordination will find it a little difficult to get used to at first, but hopefully will be pulling off Excellent hits like second nature before the end. One of the features I enjoyed, even as a veteran, is the "Demo" arena where you can practice using Special Moves at no expense. Completionists take heed: You will need to master every special move!

Newcomers to gaming in general will be met with a rather large challenge. Enemies start out rather easy to kill, but later on you're going to need the precise timing and complex coordination if you hope to make it against the game's toughest enemies and bosses. Everyone's got to start somewhere though, and this game is a great one to start with. My sister (a newbie to gaming) was able to get through most of the game without help. If she can make it, I'm sure many others can as well.

A handy feature in the game is an item called the Retry Clock, which allows you to restart a battle if you get defeated. This saves players the trouble of having to reload from their last save. Thankfully these items are expensive and rare, so you will still have to earn your keep. :) Ultimately, the difficulty is just right for veterans and, though challenging to newcomers, the developers threw in plenty of helpful features to make the game less frustrating.

Gameplay

The main event! If I had to put it in one word, it would be "satisfying". As a veteran gamer who was pining for something really solid and fun, I greatly enjoyed this game for the 20 hours or so it took me to beat it. Playing as Bowser for the first time since 1995 or so is very fun, and makes you think differently about how you would fight a foe. It was a refreshing take on the same system. The game's also full of little minigames that you use to help Bowser out from the inside, or solve puzzles and complete quests. At the very least, they offer a change of pace. In addition to the established overhead view, Mario and Luigi can travel through the side-scrolling areas inside Bowser, and Bowser has a handful of giant boss battles that are handled exclusively with the stylus and microphone. Those fights were truly awesome and are a great example of what the DS was designed for. The game is truly innovative, and a blast to play. I would play through it again in a heartbeat.

Final Verdict

In an industry that continues to be pumped full of shallow, cheaply made games, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story stands out as an example of what other developers should aspire to create: enjoyable and challenging games that leave a lasting impression. If you own a DS or DSi, what are you waiting for? Buy this!

Metadata

Platform(s): Nintendo DS
Release date (US): 2009-09-14
Genre: Action, Platformer, Turn-based RPG
Developer(s): AlphaDream
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Why Review Scores are A Bad Idea™

2009-08-24T11:31:42-07:00

I suspect some people may take notice of this some time, so I decided to answer the question pre-emptively:

Why don't any of your reviews contain scores?

Short Answer

Scores defeat the point of writing a review. My thoughts are not easily shoved into a numeric mold.

Long Answer

When you read a review for something, what matters? If you answered "score," you're wrong. Someone could post a negative review with a top score, or a positive review with an abysmal score. There are two primary questions that should be answered in every good review:

Would you recommend this product to someone else?
What reasons do you have to support your opinion?

It's really that simple. That's why a lot of sites have gone to "Yay" or "Nay" systems; they're simple and they allow for greater expression instead of mulling over which specific number to assign to it.

My reviews follow this principle. I urge readers to follow this elegant simplicity and do the same for their reviews.

Mega Man 9 Review

2009-08-24T07:00:07-07:00

"Mega Man." When one hears it, they think "The Blue Bomber" if they're a gamer of any caliber or culture. Spanning across most consoles and at least 5 different series, Mega Man is one of the few franchises that can rival Mario in history and number of games. Its gameplay is timeless — a mark of the gaming of yore. Unlike 7 and 8, Mega Man 9 was made to appeal to classic gamers, who yearned for the days of 8-bit graphics and chiptunes. Mega Man 9 was released to PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Nintendo WiiWare in the fall of 2008. Since then, it has been purchased and downloaded by hundreds of thousands of people. Needless to say, the game hit the ground running.

If you're after a summary, take it from someone who didn't care for the classic series much: Buy this game!

Graphics

Let's start with the most apparent aspect of the game. From the instant you boot this game up, you know you're in for an old school, 8-bit game. Gone are polygons, anti-aliasing, bump-mapping, and other 3-D technologies. When you start this game, you're looking at low-frame, low-color raster art, known to enthusiasts and artists as "pixel art".

Despite some reuse of old tiles and sprites, the game still feels pretty fresh. I'd like to add that the game doesn't actually adhere to all of the NES's limitations, but comes damn close. There's an option in the main menu to turn on flicker to emulate the NES's 8 sprites per scanline limitation, which was a very neat plus if you ask me. Overall, the graphics make you remember the days where you didn't have to go to work and pay bills. And it's wonderful.

Music

I'm a fanboy of this game's music. There isn't a single track on this game's soundtrack I don't like. If you like chiptunes from the NES era, you'll like Mega Man 9's music. It's even better when remixed! From the jazzy Jewel Man to Splash Woman's tide-like music, and Wily Castle's epic riffs, Mega Man 9's music will please any classic gamer. Unless you have no taste, of course. :3

Difficulty

I've heard kids — yes, kids; people who started gaming in the late 90s and early 2000s — complain about the difficulty of games like this. What they don't understand is that those of us who are in their mid 20s or older were beating games like this when we were kids. It was not uncommon for the average NES game to be rather short, but tougher than nails. Back in those days, a game relied on its gameplay and difficulty for its longevity; not graphics. This game is a homage to that era. Personally, I hope more developers follow the trend and start releasing harder games.

Old school gamer elitism aside, the game is tough. And that's just how I like it. You're not going to beat this game for the first time without continuing. Period. Don't expect to waltz right through the game. It's going to push back, and hard! Be prepared to grit your teeth in frustration! The best part is that you'll have nobody to blame but yourself.

Gameplay

It's classic Mega Man! You run, jump, and shoot your way through 8 levels and confront Dr. Wily in his castle across 4 more levels. It's the standard formula that's endured over 20 years. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is the modus operandi here. Mega Man 9 takes a lot of its level design ideas from Mega Man 2. You could call it Mega Man 2: The Sequel, since it doesn't include the powerups he got in Mega Man 3 through 6, like the slide and charging Mega Buster. That's fine, though; there's DLC for Proto Man mode, which does include those.

Speaking of DLC, there's a Boss Rush mode, Time Attack mode, and Endless Mode, which test your skills in speed and endurance. As a final icing on the cake, Mega Man 9 features built-in Challenges that will demand the utmost from even the most hardened gamer, such as beating the game without getting hit, or beating the game without missing with the Mega Buster. The game has plenty of things for you to test your skills with. There's even a leaderboard for each mode, so you can compete against the likes of other gamers around the world.

Final Verdict

If you're iffy about it, you can check out the demo if you have an X360 or PS3. Wii owners don't get that luxury, but it's not like you'll need it. If you have any appreciation for NES-era gaming and the experiences they offer gamers, buy this game. You don't need to know what happened in Mega Man 1 through 8; the story is self-containing and follows the traditional Mega Man formula. If you include the DLC, the game shouldn't run you more than $20-25 USD. That's a lot, considering the price! So stop wasting your time; go get Mega Man 9 now!

Metadata

Platform(s): WiiWare, Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade
Release date (US): 2008-09-22 (Wii), 2008-09-25 (PS3), 2008-10-01 (X360)
Genre: Action, Shooting, Platformer
Developer(s): Inti Creates, Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
ESRB Rating: E