Prepare your rods, master your bait, and get ready to have a reel good time. This is Umihara Bazooka, the arcade-ish spin-off to the Umihara Kawase series. Not gonna lie, the title lures me into this game and what mysteries it beholds. So let's dive in and fish for answers. (Click on "Read More" to read the full review.)
Look at this image above you. This image was taken on September 8th of 2020. The culmination of a Tuesday night, dedicating my evening to a final gauntlet of exercise after a long day of work. The grind of retail wage-slavery still wore at me to the point where I had to have eaten immediately after getting home, and yet I was determined. I was going to beat this beast back and claim my victory. It was late into the night, just shy of midnight, but I had to beat it. And in proper JRPG Fashion, after two phases of boss battle in a grueling battle of endurance, I had done it. Awash in exhaustion and post-exercise afterglow, I sat down on my bed and watched the credits roll.
I had beaten Ring Fit Adventure. Now, let me tell you about the journey of getting there.
My initial plan for this review was to have it released two weeks ago, on the 13th of November. My reasoning was largely symbolic, as the 11th is the anniversary of the Armistice which ended the first half of the greatest and most impactful war in human history thus far. However there ended up being other reviews and delays which had to be taken which ended up messing with my schedule and plans; but at least I was able to give a somewhat symbolic gesture with releasing this review the day after Thanksgiving.
This year is coming to a close, and it has truly been a trying year. Next week will begin my December break and this is to be my last review of the year. To that end, I can think of no more proper send-off for this year than to speak on a film that I not only enjoy but deeply respect for what it sought to accomplish.
Released on the anniversary of the 100th year following Armistice, They Shall Not Grow Old brought Peter Jackson's filmmaking talents to bear against the memories of the First World War. Utilizing revolutionary digital effects and restoration techniques, Jackson and his team sought to bring the lives and tribulations of soldiers from both sides of the trenches into vivid detail. What WingNut Films shows is both stunning in its humanity and in its horror and as we give thanks for all that we have, perhaps we can use this occasion to also give thanks to those souls who are with us no longer.
You know how some gamers swear that a game is good because they spent a ton of money on it? (*Cough* The people that bought the Double Dragon 4 Collector's Edition *Cough*) Well, today's game is a very expensive one to find and it's a tokusatsu game. So, going by that logic that means that this game should be a twenty out of ten game that only the game collecting gods should experience. This is Kamen Rider for the Super Famicom and I have huge doubts that this game will be worth spending a king's ransom on. Let's see shall we? (Click on "Read More" to read the full review.)
You probably saw the title and went, "ooh a shooter game!" Well, while it has guns in the game and yo can technical shoot them, it is more of a puzzle game. While the title tells you about how you will disassemble them, It doesn't tell you that you have to put it back together. This is where it being a puzzle comes in as every little screw has to go back in its right hole.
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to give you all a little heads up regarding the lack of article this week and the plans for Film Reviews going forward into the new year.
My review of Clear and Present Danger was originally going to be released yesterday, but sudden delays and unexpected prior commitments made that date impossible. In addition, I've been thinking long and hard about changing up the structure of my film reviews and this latest review was the straw that broke my back as it were.
And it largely has to do with the points system I have been using. For those of you who have been following my reviews for the past couple of years, you would know that I split the reviews into four specific categories for consideration: Visuals, Soundtrack, Characters, and Story. And when it comes to actually score the film, these points work out fantastic and with little issue. I have no desire to remove the point system on its own.
But where I have been growing dissatisfied with articles is in my splitting up of my review to talk about each category specifically and independent of each other. I just don't personally think of films in that divided and isolated way and it has begun to seriously impact my emotional conveyance of the quality of films.
As a writer and critic, I feel motivated to give you guys the best possible portrait of my opinions on any subject I discuss, and in my editorials and more free-form articles, I feel like you all get a better grasp of my humor and thought-process on any particular subject. So I want to adopt a similar approach to reviews going forward with the hopes that my emotions and enthusiasm will be better conveyed.
I already employ a similar style with my Literary Recommendations, this will simply extend, with modification, the format to Film and TV reviews. But in order to do these things, I will need to switch up my expected schedule for the rest of the year.
So my review of Clear and Present Danger will be pushed to the 8th of January, 2020, being the first film review of the new year. Next week will be my experimentation with the new format with a review of the 2019 documentary They Shall Not Grow Old before I join the rest of the Emerald Rangers in taking December off, with a special Christmas editorial being the last article of the year.
I want to thank all of my readers for sticking with me through this absolute pisser of a year and hope that my new style will help to better entertain and inform.
Here is a short lived Improv Comedy show I have found memories of, only lasting 12 episodes + the pilot. Airing from fall 2004-2005 on WB and Comedy Central, this show was created by Drew Carey after Whose Line is it Anyway had finished its run and the show easily felt like a continuation as it featured several of the same games and cast. So, click "read more" and let us take a look back at this failed experiment.
