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.

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.

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.

I try the Planetside 2 Beta

 Coming soon for the PS4! I decided to try this since it's run by the same company that runs Everquest. Unfortunately, the company that runs Everquest these days is a bit shady, which is ironic considering their name is Daybreak. Still, I'm going to spend a little while with this game and give it a quick spin.

Top 10 Creepiest Battle Themes

Today I'm taking a quick look at some of the creepier battle themes in video gaming. Your mileage may vary, and it's worth noting that I haven't played too much in the survival/horror realm. I'm sure a lot of very creepy tunes are missing in action here, but this is my personal list based on the things I have played.

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Playstation 4, 2015)

 

 Just finished this game and it was pretty fantastic. Not going to get too in-depth on it, but I took some shots.

Assassin's Creed: Unity (Playstation 4, 2014)

Today I'm looking at a modern game that has pleasantly surprised me. Assassin's Creed: Unity was released around six months ago and was poorly-received as a glitchy mess. After numerous patches and some free DLC, the game is a lot better off now than it was at release. This game takes place in scenic Paris, and it has never looked better in a video game.

Originally Posted March 18th 2015

Metroid Fusion Finale - A Multitude of Idols

In this installment I take on all of the final battles. There are quite a few.

Metroid Fusion #2 - Space Madness

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for Samus arching her back while wearing a micro-outfit.

...What? I'm a dude.

Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance, 2002)

Metroid Fusion is chronologically the final part of the Metroid series. It's also effectively the end of the Metroid series as a 2D entity. It's a pretty huge game story-wise, with a lot of ground to cover, so I'll be breaking it into multiple parts rather than doing one Super-style megapost.

Castlevania: Dracula X (Super NES, 1995)

Here's a game that I've never covered before. It got somewhat of a bad rep over the years, and a lot of that is probably because Super Castlevania IV was a much better game. This despite Super Castlevania IV being years earlier in the Super NES's lifespan. In short, this was a fairly unnecessary addition to the Castlevania-verse, but it's a decent game regardless.

Castlevania Bloodlines (Sega Genesis, 1994)

Originally posted in 2010, now remastered for 2015.

With this one, the series arrives on the Sega Genesis with a bang. I found this game to be more fun than the NES installments, even though it still has a brutal final battle. In keeping with Sega's early 90's tradition of acting younger and hipper than Nintendo, this game stars the hip young descendants of Simon Belmont. Come on in and follow along.

Super Castlevania IV (Super NES, 1991)

This was one of the Super NES's earliest games, and helped kickstart Nintendo's bid to regain any ground they lost to the Sega Genesis - which got an earlier release - in the 16-bit wars. It's a great game, and my personal favorite in this series.

It isn't a sequel to the earlier games, nor is it a prequel like the third. This is nothing less than a remake of the original Castlevania starring Simon Belmont. That's right, we've gone from the original, to a sequel, to a prequel, to an original remake. It's pretty weird, but at least it's less confusing than Zelda.

Because this game is SO GOOD, I decided to do something special with this one rather than my usual spastic commentary and juvenile references. Thus, it will be narrated entirely by the protagonist, Simon Belmont.

Take it away, Simon.

Castlevania III: Akumajou Densetsu (Famicom, 1989)

(Originally posted in 2010, now heavily remastered for 2015. This is probably the most-remastered of anything I've remastered. Without further ado, let's start this.)

Time for another classic game. It's worth noting that what I'm playing here isn't Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse as we know it here in the States. It's the Famicom version of that game, translated as Legend of Demon Castle. (Note: Pay no attention to the title screen spelling it "Akumajyou", as the Y is evidently a typo in the version I got ahold of).

Why play the Japanese version over the U.S. version, you ask? Well, this version has vastly better music and a more down-to-Earth challenge level. That's right, this is one instance of an NES game that was actually made more difficult for the North American version. A more manageable challenge level is very welcome here; the U.S. version is so difficult that it might as well have been a game about birthing a meteor. The music is also notably improved in this version, due to it having a special sound chip that the North American version lacked. Now that we've established all of that, time to play the most well-balanced version of the third game in the series.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES, 1988)

The second game in the series is...well, how to say this. It is not like the others. It emphasizes exploration and collection of powers. It's a "proto" version of some of the later titles, rather than a straight-up action game like the original. It seems like companies were into trying entirely new things for their second game rather than sticking to what worked at the time, if this and Zelda 2 are any indication. Both are, to an extent, the black sheep of their series. Regardless, this is the first of many "Metroidvania" games. I originally wrote about this in 2010, but here's an entirely remastered post. The original post was legitimately not good and in dire need of editing.

While we're on the subject... what's up with the word "Metroidvania"? Shouldn't games of that style simply be referred to as "Metroid-esque" since Metroid did all this stuff first? "Metroidvania" is like referring to "Reaganesque" politicians as "Reagan/Perry-esque".

...well, maybe not quite that bad.

Castlevania (NES, 1987)

Time to take a look at the original Castlevania. Originally posted this in 2010, but I'm presenting a remastered version here.

For anyone unfamiliar with Castlevania, it's a series where you play as various vampire hunters (such as Richter, and Simon) and battle Dracula and his minions. This series has garnered a hell of a lot of acclaim over the years, and the original - this one right heeah - is where it all began. This is Simon's quest (heh) to conquer Dracula, the terror of the night. It's an NES game from 1987, so it will be an arduous battle. Let's do this.

Gargoyle's Quest II (NES, 1992)

Gargoyle's Quest II is the NES debut of Firebrand. This game got an even more limited release than Demon's Crest, and as a result it's a rarity that almost no one got to play. Follow along as I reference tons and tons of other games that this one reminds me of.

There was a Gargoyle's Quest II for the Game Boy before this, but only in Japan. So this NES version is actually... a port of a Game Boy game? Don't things usually go the other way around? Given that it came out in 1992 - after the NES had started winding down - it's surprising that they didn't take it directly to the SNES.

Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy, 1990)

Also Known As Red Arremer: Makai-Mura Gaiden, Gargoyle's Quest is a side-story to the legendary Ghouls n' Ghosts series from the late 80's and early 90's. That series was best known for having nightmarish difficulty, even at a time when high difficulty was the norm. In any case, there was one particularly nasty foe, a red gargoyle, which I talked about in the last post quite a bit. This recurring foe, named Firebrand, ended up getting his own series. Gargoyle's Quest is where it all begins. No word on if Arthur shows up in this game to make Firebrand's life miserable, but it'd certainly be karma.

Final Fantasy Type-0 Finale - Verdict

As the battle to end all battles looms, will I flip any more tables? Well, that depends on whether or not The Crystal wants it to happen.

Final Fantasy Type-0 #5 - Battle on the Big Bridge

And we're back, as the rad-looking crystalline zone continues. Today's episode contains...Gilgamesh.