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Video Game Review: Puzzle Quest 2


The original Puzzle Quest was an interesting title, which took the concept of the match-three puzzle game and translated it to something of a larger epic fantasy context – one which lead to numerous clones in other genres, some of which I previously did a review on. However, the original Puzzle Quest also had a more epic scope to it, with you having to fight an epic big-bad in order to save the world. The sequel, on the other hand, has a more grounded scope, feeling like it is taking the Puzzle Quest formula with Diablo. Continue reading → Video Game Review: Puzzle Quest 2

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Film Review: Stop Making Sense


Live music is theater. Yes, live music is often seen in a theater, but they the act of performing music publically is, in some manner or another, theatrical. It’s a performance that seeks to tell a story or convey an emotion through music. Some genres of music try to lean away from this, like folk or punk (though arguably punk leans so far away from theatricality that it ends up accidentally leaning into theatricality). Others, like metal, prog, and some parts of pop lean into it, either through telling a deliberate story or through the presentation. Stop Making Sense definitely fits into the latter category. Continue reading → Film Review: Stop Making Sense

Pillars of Eternity Screen Shot
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Video Game Review: Pillars of Eternity


I’m a fan of the RPGs from companies like Bioware and Obsidian. I haven’t beaten a lot of them, but I do enjoy playing them a great deal. Between getting on sites like Completionator, and recently (as of this writing) finding myself in between jobs, I’ve found myself with a bunch more time to play video games (when I’m not going through the process of looking for work). That, combined with a recent hiatus in my regular D&D group, gave me the time to finally beat Pillars of Eternity – not long after the sequel came out.

This review will contain some spoilers. Continue reading → Video Game Review: Pillars of Eternity

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Anime Review: Darling in the FranXX


So one of the things I did not know until recently is that A-1 Pictures is one of the anime studios that has benefited from the exodus from former Anime industry titan GAINAX (in addition to other studios like Trigger and Khara popping up in the wake of this as well). Consequently, a lot of discussions I encountered on the lead up to the anime series Darling in the FranXX started out as a discussion of the series as a Trigger joint, before moving on to talking about it as a sort of GAINAX reunion. I’d consider that analogy not that far off. The series feels something like the Anime equivalent of the Led Zeppelin reunion concert – the band getting back together to revisit their old hits (in this analogy, the newer staffers from A-1 Pictures and Trigger would represent Jason Bonham). Continue reading → Anime Review: Darling in the FranXX

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Thoughts on Cassandra Nova in X-Men Red


I’ve been reading X-Men Red since it started. I appreciate having a team lead by Jean Grey The Elder (particularly since, as of this writing, they’ve killed off Jean the Younger in X-Men Blue), along with having a team with Wolverine II/Laura Kenny (soon to be X-23 again) and Honey Badger/Gabby. However, I do have a problem with the opening villain, Cassandra Nova. Continue reading → Thoughts on Cassandra Nova in X-Men Red