Last updated on March 4, 2013
Given my current writing schedule, I’ve got to mix this up a bit. It’s almost been a month, wow. Some news, first:
1. Since the 4th of July is on Wednesday, when I normally post The List articles, there will not be one of those this week. Not only due to the fact that no Americans will read it, but I won’t have time during this week to write it, you’ll just have to wait until next week. Still, there will be a Wednesday entry, so please make sure to visit!
2. For those wondering, there is a method to my madness. Here’s the actual schedule of stuff, updated for today’s update:
Monday: Monday Update (described below)
Tuesday: Essay on video games/theology.
Wednesday: The List – twenty games that represent the best of games and their theological implications (up until I get all twenty out the door; then we’ll see)
Thursday: The List (Part 2 will be on this day from now on; they’ll be cut in half, to retain my sanity)
Friday: Essay on video games/theology, like Tuesday
Saturday: Game Music Saturdays – game music, or music tangentially related to video games or video game culture, from a theological perspective.
Sunday: After Church – a day of pure theological grandstanding that, coincidentally, gets posted after most church services on the east coast end.
I’ll stick to this as long as possible; we’ll see where I go from there. Any suggestions on topics or ideas can be sent to the submissions page; leave a comment, or send an email!
3. Today’s the first of a new series I’ve been thinking of doing. The entry lies below:
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Welcome to Monday Update. Even a theologian needs a break every once and a while. As the first month of Theology Gaming begins to wind down, showing myself as a person rather than a essay-creating or pontificating machine seemed like a good idea to me! So, Monday Update will obviously update on Mondays, and show you stuff I’ve been doing, thinking about, and random thoughts which may, or may not, be related to theology. That doesn’t mean they won’t be interesting, but I’m trying some new formats to keep it fresh. Off to the races, then.
Genma Onimusha: I’ve been playing this recently. As I stated in my Backlog essay, I’ve got the whole series waiting for me to play it, and here’s my opportunity. Even ten years after this slightly upgraded port was released, the game still seems like a lot of fun from my hour long session. Combat gives you a variety of tools; though not as flashy as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, the more subtle and refined swordplay works within the setting of 16th century Japan. Akechi Samanosuke, your protagonist, has a variety of attacks, quick dodges, and magic that all work together in different situations. Health, magic, and weapon upgrades are gathered using “souls”, which you absorb with a gauntlet. You also have the element of the green soul – if you don’t absorb it and win a button-mashing tug of war with the foe who wants it. turns enemies into whirling dervishes of death. However, they stun themselves while doing this which opens them to attack, so there’s a lot of strategy in this system.
Blocking, contrary to my early impression, isn’t all powerful; some enemies break right through, and as you can’t take a lot of damage, different enemies (in different combinations) require precise strategies. Should I impale the opponent on the ground – it’ll kill the thing, but I’ll be vulnerable. Guaranteed, though, you’ll die a lot, and not always because of your failure to be good at the game. The game, which was based off an early build of the Resident Evil sequel, shows it roots, and not for the better. Yes, prerendered backgrounds are awesome, but not when the camera angle shifts after you dodge an attack. Forward is always forward, and backward is always backward, and there’s no analog support – it’s blitheringly unintuitive in 2012, and sometimes gets you killed. Thankfully, those moments are few and far between the rest. The puzzle solving, also, seems entirely unnecessary and remains a remnant of the survival horror style.
Granted, Onimusha frightens the player with a sense of foreboding from the music and the intensely gory set-pieces (dead bodies everywhere) rather than from jump scares. This gives the game a constant sense of tension, as enemies may spawn in at any moment and take you off guard. If you don’t play well, you die. If you die, prepare to lose 20 minutes of progress from a save point. Did I mention there’s no checkpoints? I like this, though – it forces you to make it through the challenge on your own terms, and you get better each time you die. Still, I have to complete it before I give it a good, old-fashioned review.
Super 8: I don’t like J.J. Abrams much. Anything where he’s the producer, director, writer, or involved in any way, usually has science fiction elements, but refuses to establish rules behind those conventions. He then passes off these wishes to answer “questions” with supernatural magic, deus ex machina, or simply by preying on the emotional connection his characters make with the audience. Lo and behold, Super 8 isn’t like this all, probably because Steven Spielberg was the producer. Basically, it’s the new E.T. for the modern generation – plucky kids see crazy event, government comes for mysterious reasons, plucky kids investigate, save day. People have personal failings, people have to forgive each other, even alien has to forgive other species for transgressions (SPOILERS, maybe?). Frankly, if you know the premise, you know what’ll happen, but that doesn’t make it bad – just derivative. Still, it’s the best thing with Abrams name attached to it since…I can’t think of anything (Lost is the worst).
Diablo III: My computer’s graphics card died from too much Raid Finder, apparently. Even though I could fix it, my mom needs a new computer, so I’m gonna get her a graphics card, wipe the hard drive, and give her a clean machine (hers was top tech in 2005 – not so great now, has eight fans and sounds like a jet plane). So I bought a new one that can run Diablo III, finally. First impressions are good – haven’t played (even though I own) other entries in this weird subset of RPGs, but I can see myself playing this more.
WarCraft Novels: Having read way too much theology, I needed a break. So fantasy novels really fit the bill! I like WarCraft already, so the lore is fascinating and augments the story (as they are canon) in the game. I’ve read seven of them so far, and all of them were worth the time. Not sure whether I’d like to review these things; seems like it’d be a niche idea, and I’m no literary master, but comment and I’ll see what I can do (there are techniques and story devices that annoy me; that could be interesting).
BASE Jumping Breakdancing – Nah, just kidding about that one. Still, sounds like it would be cool if it existed.
