Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers review

 

I played this game recently and beat it in one sitting (of course I used a guide on some parts when I was stumped) and I can see why this is the best point-and-click games ever made. I was really hooked to the story which I thought was really intriguing, from the phenomenally writing (something that’s rare nowadays, especially in the modern video game industry) to the characters like Gabriel Knight, Grace, and Detective Mosely, especially in regards to the chemistry between these characters. You also can’t go wrong with the gameplay since it’s straightforward and simple. I admit that there were times where I was completely stumped on some of the puzzles and had to resort to looking at a guide, but most of them are pretty forward, while there were one or two that were kind of weird and pretty typical of Sierra games and other point-and-click adventures. Great soundtrack and voice work by Tim Curry, who voiced Gabriel Knight, and Mark Hamill as Detective Mosely, amongst other great voice work from the actors. I’m glad to have gotten around to playing it, and had a great time. I definitely look forward to trying out the rest of the Gabriel Knight games! I highly recommend it, especially if you like point-and-click games.

Myst (Masterpiece Editon) review

 

Myst (Masterpiece Edition) review: The first time I came across this game was on GOG when they were having a sale on some of the old games, including the Myst series. I was curious about what it was about but never gotten interested in the series until I watch a video from Adumplaze and wanted to play it myself. This is a game that requires a LOT of patience. The puzzles are certainly not easy to figure out, but once you’re able to solve it and get the hang of it, it is extremely rewarding. There were a few times where I got stuck in two of the worlds (or Ages as they’re called) and had to resort to looking up what to do from a walkthrough. It’s not the best game ever, especially given its budget compared to the sequels. Even the story and characters are pretty self-contained and small. However, there’s no doubt that a lot of passion when into not only the environments for Age and each puzzle, but also the world of Myst and its characters. I would recommend playing this game as your first entry to the series, although I think any of the later tiles in the series, like Riven or Myst 3, would be a better starting point than the first game since they improve on a lot of things over Myst 1. Also, if you were to play Myst 1, I would probably recommend the realMyst version over the original Myst, although I haven’t played that version yet to compare the two versions of Myst 1. Anyway, realMyst replaces the slideshow screenshots from the original version with a 3D world to explore, and might be a better experience for you despite the recent Masterpiece edition of realMyst that changed the original graphics with more “modern” and “realistic” graphics for the 3D world. I haven’t played the sequels yet, but I definitely look forward to trying them out when I get the chance.

The Tale of the Fox review (slight spoilers)

Another great story, especially one that has been passed down from the Middle Ages (with some alternative versions, of course), that remains relevant, especially in today's social and political climate. First, there's the cunning and conniving fox, named Reynard, who lies, deceives and murders his way to ensure his survival, as well as his family's; a greedy, arrogantly-blind, and controlling king who tries to ensure that peace and prosperity spreads throughout the kingdom despite his constant short-comings and failures in preventing crime, especially those committed by Reynard the fox; last but not least, the people of the king's land who blame the fox, even using him as a scapegoat, for their misfortune and woes, while at the same time depending on the king to solve the problems that can't always be fixed by authoritarians, even authority-figures and governments in general, especially those started by said authoritarians who try to fix the problems they started and only serve to bite them in the ass and cost them their influence to the people in the end. Underneath the story's edgy humor and cartoon slapstick is a political commentary on authoritarian figures such as the monarchy and the church, even a critique on the noble class and the justice system, including many other problems that embroiled the social and political climate of Medieval society. Anyway, what makes this film great is not just that it took 10 years to make or that this film was co-directed by Ladislas Starevich and his daughter Irene, but that the animation is phenomenal. I highly recommend this film, especially if you like stop-motion animation, and a hilarious but very important and relevant story with characters who are anything but noble.

Mallrats review

 

Not as great or funny as "Clerks", but it's still a hilarious film that I don't think deserved the hate that it got when it first came out. I mean, what the hell do you expect from a guy like Kevin Smith (back when he wrote good stories and wasn't a conformist-fanboy and a shill) with a big-budget Hollywood money funded by Universal Studios? Of course Kevin Smith is gonna use a lot of the budget to do some crazy and wacky shit (besides hiring big name actors who did a pretty good job in this movie) that makes "Clerks" look tamed. A simple, engaging story with likable characters and non-PC sense of humor that has since become outlawed by the comedy-police (AKA dumbasses, conformists, and limousine liberals). Jason Lee is also no exception to this; being a great actor who steals the show and has some great and memorable scenes and lines that make you wish you had a friend like him (almost). I highly recommend "Mallrats" if you're looking for a funny film to watch, and it's something that fans of "Clerks", even Kevin Smith's work in general, can enjoy. I'm glad it's gotten a whole-new recognition as a great film recently, and I'm happy to have known about and watched it.

Blade Runner 2049 review

 

Giving this film a half-star rating is way too generous than it ought of be. It has your usual Nolan-esk, try-hard, intellectual-snobbery film-making sins that a LOT of mainstream films of the 2010s (including the 2000s to an extent) and beyond suffer from. It has uninspired cinematography, bland characters, including Ryan Gosling's wooden-acting charm, boring story that doesn't add anything interesting or worth to the world of Blade Runner, let alone Philip K. Dick's work that Ridley Scott adapted from, and dialogue and scenes so unmemorable, the only thing I remember is the ending to this film, mainly because they used a shitty cover of Vangelis' "Tears in Rain" that Hans Zimmer shoe-horned in (wouldn't be his first and last time he shoe-horned in music, especially since his composing skills is down in the toilet), and that's not saying much. I also hate movies like these where the color-grading is drained or depressing, but with no point or sensible directional to it, other then to make it "dark" or "gritty". It only makes it dull, predictable, and not at all mesmerizing or pleasing to the eye and the mind. Even the most dark and depressing films like Tim Burton's Batman has some life and energy to it compared to this horseshit. At the end of the day, was there any point in making a sequel to Blade Runner? No. Like many other franchises, including Highlander (if anyone remembers that), sometimes backed by corporate-cronies or "artiste" filmmakers who like to smell their own farts, this film is nothing more than a desperate cash-grab and should be forgotten and left under a pile of garbage in a graveyard filled with trash like every other overrated film ever made, especially the Dark Knight and the rest of Christopher Nolan's films. Someone should also take the bottle away from Hans Zimmer before he dies of alcohol-poisoning.

Ange Hardy/ Red Phantasm concept art (2)

 

"What Makes A Hero?"