Genre is such a weird thing. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get why we need it: sometimes things need to be classified so we have an idea of what we’re getting into, and it helps. Knowing that Halo is a first-person shooter lets you know you’re not playing a role-playing game and calling Portal… Continue reading Genre Is Dead, Long Live Genre
Contradictions
There was a delightful irony to the world of Bionicle that drew me in when the toy line started back in 2001. Here was a tropical, tribal-looking island that drew a lot on Polynesian imagery populated with robots who could wield magical elemental powers. Well, technically biomechanical robots, but there was still this really cool… Continue reading Contradictions
Vacationing
I’m out of town this weekend, visiting a friend, so no real blog post this week. I probably could have written something earlier, but I’ve been busy with life stuff (which had also been interfering with Burning Shores time), so there’s that. Plus I’ve been trying to make a point of traveling without my laptop… Continue reading Vacationing
Not Quite Like Riding A Bike
A year after Horizon Forbidden West came out, the game’s finally gotten its DLC. A new chunk of story and adventures, called Burning Shores, was released this week. Owing to general business and the responsibilities of being an adult (with boring things like a job) I haven’t really had the chance to dive into it… Continue reading Not Quite Like Riding A Bike
Star Wars Sandbox
The sixth episode of The Mandalorian’s third season is classic sci-fi nonsense. The titular gunslinger finds himself on a planet where, through the judicious use of repurposed battle droids, the citizens are able to leave a life of luxury, directly participate in democracy, and live lives of recreation and ease. But all is not well;… Continue reading Star Wars Sandbox
Three Things
Having a weekend with people visiting and am making the effort to spend more time Doing The Thing and less time on the internet or in front of my computer. Call it the same rationale behind the whole messing with a film camera thing, call it trying to be in the moment. Whatever. In any… Continue reading Three Things
Verified Truth
Somehow, even after we all sounded the alarm bells, Twitter continues to truck on. It’s certainly diminished, with many people having left and somehow the advertising getting worse. Today had the potential to be another death knell: the website was going to do away with its verification system. The only way to get a blue… Continue reading Verified Truth
Cool
It’s no secret that I love the John Wick movies. I’m a huge action-movie fan and consider these movies to be the best ones in modern, western, cinema. I’m going to low-key say that this is because it, like The Matrix before it, draws heavily on Asian action cinema like the classic Police Story and… Continue reading Cool
The Empathy of Us
With the last episode of The Last Of Us having aired last week, it’s been fun to see major media outlets like the New York Times join in on a discussion that’s been happening in the video game world for nearly ten years. We’re going to ignore, for the moment, the Times’ insipid approach to… Continue reading The Empathy of Us
An Extra Life
I finished the Destiny 2: Lightfall campaign today, having more or less taken my time. It was a bit of a narrative mess, and the gameplay itself wavered between incredibly fun and annoyingly frustrating (though weighed much more on the fun side). All the same, I enjoyed it, maybe because it’s more or less what… Continue reading An Extra Life
Essays, Not Rants! 