2017 has been a year. And it ends in a couple days, so that means it’s time for me to phone it in and post about posts! Five Most Popular/Viewed Posts #5: Hanging Out You know that thing where you talk about fictional characters as if they were your actual real life friends? This post… Continue reading 2017 In Review
Month: December 2017
Let The Past Die
Part of why I like The Force Awakens is that its characters are, in many ways, Star Wars fans themselves. Rey and Kylo Ren both grew up on stories about the Rebellion and the Empire (though with different takeaways) and so want to live out their version of the stories. Kylo fashions himself into an… Continue reading Let The Past Die
Long Live The Resistance
It's really easy to see the original Star Wars as an anti-establishment film. Han, Luke, and Leia are a trio of rebels vying to undermine and overthrow the Man. And given that the movie is a product of the 70s, it just might be intentional. Empire has the Man crackdown on our plucky heroes, and… Continue reading Long Live The Resistance
The Ephemeral and The Sublime
Over the years, Hideo Kojima has, because of his Metal Gear Solid games, become one of my favorite video game designers. He's also certifiably bonkers, mixing in discussions of American militarism-as-neo-colonialism in a game where you fight giant mechs alongside a mostly naked sniper who can't speak because of a parasite that uses language to… Continue reading The Ephemeral and The Sublime
Crossing Animals
Fetch quests occupy a strange space in video games. They aren't strictly great quests; you talk to an NPC, and then they have you get something for them, or bring something somewhere else. They're usually uninspired and are a transparent effort to pad out the game’s length. Mass Effect: Andromeda mines hours upon hours of… Continue reading Crossing Animals
