Friday, January 29, 2016

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Sega Genesis, 1994) (Sonic and Knuckles Half)

 Here we go, second half of a double-header. This title screen is actually from the standalone version of the game, but I'm continuing to play it as the full Sonic 3 and Knuckles combination.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Sega Genesis, 1994) (Sonic 3 Half)

 Today I'm playing a game that I've never played before, even though it was beloved by a lot of my classmates in the mid-90's. I was a Nintendo guy across the board until around 1997 when the Playstation got Final Fantasy VII.

This is an interesting game. Sega wasn't able to get Sonic 3 done by the intended release date, so they ended up splitting it into two different games. One was Sonic 3, while the other was released later in the same year as Sonic and Knuckles. Via plugging the carts into each other, players could play the full combined game that was originally intended to be Sonic 3. That's a good thing, because individually the two halves aren't all that impressive as full games. I liked Sonic 2 more, and a lot of that is probably due to it feeling more like a finished product.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Ruminations on the Fourth Dimension

The book The Island of Dr. Moreau is a chilling look at what can happen when one man plays God in a world of his own design. As a mad scientist who specializes in genetic alterations, the titular character engineers horrors that would be at home in the LV-223 world of Prometheus. As humans tend to do, he utilizes his creations to control and dominate in a military-like fashion; either you are with him – or you are with the terrorists, as it were.

While Moreau – we think – is fully conscious of the world outside of his island, his engineered minions are not; so much so that it's likely he could tell them that the island IS the world and be believed without a second thought. He could go so far as to say that the ocean surrounding the island is a mere pond surrounded by their island, and those without critical thinking skills wouldn't bat an eye. This is the community that Moreau fosters: An unquestioningly loyal tribe.

This tribe sees only itself and its island as the world; much like ancient people who believed that the sun and the universe revolved around the Earth, Moreau's minions have no concept of “the outside”. This is much like the residents of Flatland (from Edwin Abbott's book Flatland), an entire civilization of beings who unquestioningly believe themselves to be the be-all and end-all in the universe. The difference being that the denizens of Moreau's island believe this because they're told to, while Flatland's residents believe this because they simply can't see anything else.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

The Top 16 Scariest Monsters to Ever Grace Movies, Television, and Video Games

 
Right now I'm going to do something a bit different: a list of the scariest monsters I've ever seen in movies or TV. The only rule is: No people. Only inhuman monsters will be found here. No Joker (The Dark Knight) or Kurgan (Highlander). Though one could make an argument about either of those characters being inhuman monsters in and of themselves.

Why 16? Because it's 2016!

I'm also unfamiliar with the likes of Freddy Krueger, Mike Myers, and Jason. For now. So they won't be showing up. Darth Vader is debatable, but I think he's still human enough to not be included. Feel free to comment with your own monster nominations.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Witcher III (Playstation 4, 2015)

Covering something a bit more recent here for the new year. This game is excellent, and deserves a gigantic mega-post for the ages. Spoilers will abound, but only for the first couple hours of the game.