Abandon the Old In Tokyo - Yoshihiro Tatsumi (1970)

Abandon the old in Tokyo is a collection of short Manga stories by artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi which were first serialised in various magazines in early 1970. Tatsumi's work is widely regarded as the first ‘Gekiga’ which is the Japanese term more akin to the term ‘graphic novel’ in the West, Tatsumi coined the term originally in 1957 when he did not want his art to be considered to be something aimed at children. This collection was actually Tatsumis second batch after his first release in 1969 of The push man and other stories but  his earliest work was Black Blizzard which began the 'Gekiga' genre off back in 1956.

Abandon the old In Tokyo is perhaps the most popular of his works in the West and was first published in English in 2006, from there is gained a few awards such as Best U.S Edition of Foreign Material and paved the way for future releases of his work in the West.

The great thing about this title is you can easily pick it up in English to own if you go on Amazon as it is pretty cheap new or even used, but If you really don't want to pay for it you can find it on sites like Manga Reader quite easily which is what I did originally. However I now want to own it and will be picking up the other two short story collections along the way and I really would suggest you do too if you're curious enough as the covers look fantastic.

The stories presented in this Manga are not related in terms of characters but they all take place in the same city and follow the plights of a persons daily life, their struggles and their responsibilities, each story is really not very long and gets right to the point. I shan't go spoiling anything because I think each story is well worth reading fresh and could honestly be spoiled in a single sentence I would rather speak about the themes and how they made me feel as a reader.

First though I would like to speak about the art style, which is very simplistic in terms of character designs, it reminds me of something more like Astro Boy in that respect but I think where it really shines is the art of the world itself, it really shows how congested and busy the world is. Especially in the story relating to noise pollution and how when reading it by seeing the bombardment of sound the character has to deal with on his commute.

One major gripe I have with the art  is that pretty much all the characters look the same, I generally thought it was the same character in about 4 of the stories which is not the case, It did take me out of some of the stories to some degree and I know a lot of artists get accused of 'same face' syndrome but this was literally a complete copy of a character used about 4 or 5 times, I can forgive this as the stories were really good but I would have preferred a bit more variation where possible.

I like that the Manga does not really shy away from the more ‘disgusting’ aspects of human life like disfigurement, old age and their effects. It creates a much more human story where not everything is perfect and anything in life can hit you when you least expect it, it also shows that we as humans have a lot of things that perhaps make us ashamed of ourselves or the race in general but that they are all aspects of life that are biological, particularly sex. There is one story in which I male remembers when he walked in on seeing his friends Parents having sex and was embarrassed and disgusted by seeing parents who are seen as these authoritative figures in life reverting to what he believed were animals.

In a lot of cases the tales focus on one person taking care of someone or something else, the man and his elderly mother, the father and his daughter a man and his monkey and even a man and his failing business. Each of these stories have the same theme in that each character has tried their best to take care of someone or something because that is the responsibility that has fallen upon them, although brief the author does well to portray each characters internal struggle with themselves and how their responsibility has changed their life. It shows also how these characters carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and in most cases cannot cope, with disastrous effects.

Another Theme of the stories revolves around fear and social anxiety, specifically in one story where a man no longer wishes to work for his company and hands in his resignation only to lose an arm in an accident, due to losing his arm he can no longer find work and everything goes wrong for him, the story ends with him being in a large crowd of people and running in fear. The anxiety aspect is quite well done throughout and doesn’t always make it the main point of the story, in many cases it just shows how crowded and busy the streets of Tokyo are on the commutes to work and to me just seeing that imagery and imagining being in those situations on a commute get me all anxious, I hate rush hour and certain times of the working day as it is and just thinking about having to deal with those situations makes me shudder.

I think we need to remember this was written in the 70s when the male was the breadwinner primarily and in Japan there was a great sense of honour in being the patriarch of a family. In most of these stories the male is put in fear by his own failings and how this has effected the female members of his family, be this being unable to afford to look after his elderly mother, being able to commit to his fiancé or being able to live with the shame of his daughter having an affair with the company president but taking care of the product (a child) of that affair.

This may be more relaxed nowadays in most places but there seems to be this immense pressure of day to day life forced upon most of the male characters of these stories some of which are out of their control and some of which are their own fault. These events and pressures only shows their downward spiral which in every occasion ends up negatively for them but also shows their yearning for a simpler life that would possibly make them a happier individual. I think a lot of us have wanted to sometimes jack in their job or commitments and just escape some time, I don’t even live in a city myself but sometimes I just want to move away and live in the middle of nowhere and relax, but that’s just a temporary feeling and I feel the characters in these stories have had this feeling for a long time.

The message to me in these tale generally revolve around the monotony of life, especially as an adult and how you can become a negative person if you get stuck in such monotony. I think this speaks to me because I’m in a full time job where I work long hours and I think with anyone in full time employment they can get stuck in a rut and really dread the first shift of the week. I think this Manga reminds me to make use of my free time well and always try and do something that I can enjoy otherwise I’ll focus too much on my professional life and let that take over entirely.

Overall I enjoyed reading this for the brief time that I did as it was certainly different from any kind of Manga I have read before, it is definitely not something I could compare in anyway to the likes of Jump Manga and I appreciate that. I’m happy I picked this at random as it really opened my eyes to the different genres that exist in the Manga world and I hope to find more like it quite soon as I am about to order some of Tatsumi's other works now on Amazon. If you’re looking for something different that is not too time consuming then seriously consider giving this a read.

The Wii U is over but I still love it

With the NX being announced I was thinking about the Wii U and it’s legacy, I know a lot of people will deem it a failure of a console and in many ways it was advertising wise. However I noticed online so many news outlets, forums and even people I know are just so against Nintendo as of late. I feel this is generally due to the Wii U and its poor reception. I never wanted this console to be my main source of gaming entertainment and to be honest I picked it up on a whim when it was super cheap at a store that was going into administration but this console has honestly become one of the most fun consoles I’ve ever owned and has only ever presented positive experiences to me. 

Originally I really did not care for this console or the 3DS, I was so off put with Nintendo but I remember looking up a number of games for the 3DS and DS that I had missed and instantly buying the 3DS so I could catch up. This got me back in to the Nintendo mood but I was still not about to buy a Wii U. The only thing that made me want to get the console at first was Bayonetta 2 being an exclusive, as the first one was one of my favourite games. Only when a shop in the UK went into administration and they were selling their stock super cheap did I actually pick the console up.

     One of my favourite things about this console is the Virtual Console which allows you to buy older Nintendo games and emulate them on the console, now this is not anything new as it was also something you could do on the previous console as well as the DS and 3DS. The reason I enjoy it on this console is because you can use the game pad as a portable NES/SNES (within reason), I love playing games like Mario World on the toilet (Don't Judge me) or just sitting in bed with the headphones in while I play Kirbys adventure in dream land or some shit. 

  

I     I have to admit I love reading peoples experiences with the games on the Miiverse, mostly because it's dumb young kids who have never played a game before the ps3 era and have no idea what the fuck they are doing at any point so they just ask the most obvious questions, but there are those who generally just wanna share something cool they did, I feel like if it were the same system on any other home console it'd be full of people just being mean for the sake of anonymity.

     That actually leads me to my next point, the Miiverse, which is pretty much a semi social media esq application on the console (and was later added to 3DS) in which you can post screenshots from your game, comment on them, give tips and also see what your friends have been playing or doing in their games. I know it's a Nintendo console but this always seems to be the nicest and least toxic place to discuss games, I've never met a shitty person on there, everyone seems to be so pleasant and just wanting to have a good time, unfortunately I don't really use it much as the update kinda messed with a few things and made it more difficult to see what your friends are up to.

     At first I was not too fond of the idea of the Game pad and generally thought it was some Ipad gimmicky shit, but once I sat down with it it truly made for some unique gameplay opportunities. The second I tried it with the launch title Nintendoland and saw the functionality with it in terms of multiplayer where you as the game pad user could become a ghost and see everything but those on the main screen couldn't see you I knew the game pad was going to be a blast. 

      I mean a lot of games don't really put their focus into the game pad and they don't really need to as it just works well as a minimap or an inventory screen like in Zelda but a lot of games really used it to their advantage, a recent game that did this for me was Starfox Zero, the main screen was your standard Starfox view but the game pad was your cockpit view and if you tilt the game pad in any way it will move the target in that direction. 

      Although there is the option to use the gamepad most games will just allow you to use your Wiimote or even a Pro controller which looks a lot like an Xbox 360 controller, there really is something for anyone with this console. My favourite thing they ever did was allow an adaptor to let you use your old Gamecube controller for Super Smash Bros , my only gripe with this being you couldn't use it for any other games or even for the emulated Wii as I used to play most Wii games on the GC controller, I hope it's not too late to patch something like this in? 

       

     

I    I want to talk a little about why I feel this console failed overall, there are a lot of reasons for it for sure but I think the main reason is because Nintendo got cocky. The Wii was a surprise hit not just with those who played games but more so with those who really didn't care either way, I know older people who still play fucking Wii sports, there are so many games for this console that cater towards those who don't really play games much, I'd say this is true also for the original DS with Brain training and such.

     Now of course if you've got one of the most popular consoles in recent memory you're probably thinking 'well it will be easy to get people on board once we create a new one', I would have thought the same to be honest and I think that's why they chose the name Wii U, because it's like a continuation of that console. However I think this is the main reason the initial lack of attention this console got because  of the demographic for it, being kids or parents of kids who were none the wiser a lot of them thought this console was just an optional add on for the original Wii, who could blame them though honestly?

     It really did not do much to differentiate itself from the Wii and I know a lot of parents bought Wii U games for their kids thinking they would work on the Wii which just caused further problems which they really could not be bothered with at that point.

I     I think Nintendo do get stuck in a rut and maybe they believed 'if it aint broke don't fix it' with their IPs but I feel like lately there has been a large lacking in the creation of new IPs. The only stand out title I can think of in this respect is Splatoon. Now it was great to see Nintendo put their focus in an online multiplayer game for once but personally this game was not for me, I just did not connect to it overall, it was fun but nothing got me back into it after launch, I've only played it a handful of times at most but after writing this I feel I should give it another chance.

Splatoon was a step in the right direction for sure but they really need to focus more on some entirely new games if they want to keep evolving with the times. This almost goes hand in hand with another issue the console faced after its initial launch and that was the lack of third party exclusives and towards the end third party games in general.

At launch we had titles like ZombiU which while not anything amazing they were something just for Wii U owners, however with the decline of the console many developers either cancelled their third party games entirely or put them on indefinite hold. I think the most annoying thing is that ZombiU was the eventual port to other consoles to make a quick buck recently, I find this really shitty as the whole point in this title was the gamepad functionality, to not have that and just make it a generic zombie game really makes me wonder what the point was in the port.

I    I think my overall favourite title on the console has to be Super Mario Maker, this game just hits every note with me, it has the simplistic gameplay of core Mario titles, the Online interactivity of a game from this console generation and above all else allows me to just create and share whatever I want. I've not felt that way since games like Zoo Tycoon and Sim City which I used to play for hours on end on the family computer. To be able to create and share in a game is a wonderful thing and provides so much longevity to a title.

I find it strange that fans really want a new F-zero and other older titles yet Nintendo just doesn't make one because they feel there is not really anywhere for the series to go, I mean that's fine but a lot of their current series are only slightly different from their predecessors. The new Star Fox is almost a total remake of 64 for one thing so at this point remake the original F-zero, it'd make something for new fans at least. I mean I'd quite like a new F-zero at this point with online play and customisation, they should know there are a group of people who want it because of the game that came out recently named Fast Racing Neo, sort it the fuck out Nintendo.

     With that said though I feel Nintendo still maintain a good relationship with their customers, they know their games never go cheaper so after a few years they re-release them for like £20.00. They start to listen to their customers and allow some more niche titles to make their way over to the West like Shin Megami Tensei IV and Project Zero. They finally made a multiplayer focused shooter with Splatoon and they decided to go forward with DLC and in some cases make things from scratch such as the DLC characters for Super Smash Bros. I think these sort of things are what keeps me happy with the company and the latter is what made the Wii U a much more positive experience overall.

      Not only do they have a good relationship with their customers but I feel like they third party developers that decided to stick around also had a lot of opportunities to release some great games. Platinum Games were probably the best example of this, they were already set to make big waves with Bayonetta 2 which they naturally did, it was the reason I got the console and it did not disappoint in any way. However I feel Hideki Kamiyas Wonderful 101 was simply amazing.
  
     Imagine Viewtiful Joe mixed with Pikmin and you've pretty much got 101, the game is just goofy as hell, tight gameplay and a great Super Sentai inspired setting with giant robots thrown into the mix later on. I seriously hope we get a sequel to it some time but I feel it really relied on the gamepad so if the NX doesn't have that it'd have to be a 3DS game I think.

Their latest games, Star Fox Zero and Star Fox Guard are also pretty good but they are a departure from the Platinum Games style I'm familiar with and as mentioned earlier Zero is pretty much a Remake of 64. But having Nintendo let them handle one of their first party IPs just goes to show the trust between the two and that their relationship will only continue strongly over time.

It kinda bummed me out there was not much in the way of interactivity between the 3DS and the Wii U, I mean the only example I can think of is being able to transfer Miis and then later in both consoles lives having the ability to have a joint account for both consoles. I know that eventually some games had the cross play function so that if you owned it on both consoles you could transfer your saves, but there was no ability to buy a game and having copies for both consoles included.

I feel like this should be mandatory so you can play on the go and shit, I think it would be such a good idea for virtual console games too, it's amazing to me that the 3DS only just got SNES titles, I'd totally buy some if I could use my saves from the Wii U... If the Playstation Vita/3/4 can do this easily it should not be so hard for Nintendo to do the same.

I have a lot of hope for the NX at this point because I feel like Nintendo can learn from their mistakes in a lot of areas and produce something that a wider audience will again enjoy. I feel as though there will no doubt be some kind of gimmick but I think there will still be the ability to at least use a Wii Mote as so many people still have them. Id like to think the Wii U won't be forgotten and the NX will allow the use of the gamepad and backwards compatibility, if not It's not the end of the world as I still use my Wii U as a Wii also anyway.

I feel like they seriously need to consider cross buying and saving as so many people play their 3DS, they need to make a lot more online based games which they've had success with recently in Mario Kart, Splatoon and Smash Bros. More than anything though they need to market this thing well, their strategy of Nintendo Directs are really popular but if they want the sort of audience the Wii had they will need to make sure they do enough to reach those sort of people. Nintendo have always made consoles for 'anyone', the Wii U was no exception it was just poorly thought out.

To me the console did not fail, it was a fun experience that I don’t regret in anyway and I will continue to use the console for years to come for games like Super Smash Bros and also all the virtual console games I have amassed providing they don’t have the option to transfer any of these to the NX.

Overall this console is underrated and really could have had a much fuller life but sadly we're reaching its twilight but this in no way means the console is not worth your time. This console has a large amount of great games and I know I've had a of fun with it, yes it could have been a lot more in a lot of ways but I'm happy with my purchase. As I said before this console would never be my main source of games, I own pretty much all the consoles and I have a lot to play because of that but every time I have gone back to the Wii U I have had a lot of fun.

I have fun with a lot of games but I can honestly say the older I get the harder it is for me to be not only focused or find time for games but  consistently enjoy my time with them, with Nintendo games they have always been a pick up and play thing for me because you can drop in at any time and not have to play many levels before you can put it down and leave it for a few hours or even days. Perhaps that is only true for me but I think it helps in my enjoyment.

I've never found their games too difficult they are just a fun experience with a really charming nature, the majority of my favourite games this console generation have been from the Wii U, they are the ultimate stress tool for me they combat it so well and I'm glad really chill games like that still exist, you don't need something with a complex story or complex gameplay to have fun these days and I think that it something I think a lot of developers need to remember nowadays.

I enjoy more complex games like Dark Souls and the like but you can't forget the simple almost age old ways of Nintendo IPs. I've just gone back to Mario Galaxy and it just makes me feel this sense of wonder I've not felt in a long time, Nintendo just know how to give you a good time where the stakes aint super high and you're just here to have fun and enjoy the time you have, I greatly appreciate the love and care they put in to their titles especially as I get older and sadly have less and less time for my favourite hobby.

I hope you enjoyed this somewhat, if you did let me know at @ScatmanBegins on Twitter. This blog almost got deleted for a phishing scam the other day somehow and i got mad at blogger support, I mean I mostly write for myself but I'm glad other can find some enjoyment in it! Any encouragement would be great!

Jessica Jones (Netflix Original Series: 2015)

It’s no secret that I really enjoy superhero movies and Tv shows and I do agree there is an abundance of them currently but I feel Netflix truly have the best of the bunch currently as well as the best format. Jessica Jones is the second of four Marvel characters to get their own original series which first began with Daredevil in early 2015, this will be followed by Luke Cage later this year and eventually Iron fist which will then bring them all together in their own Avengers style show called The Defenders.

Jessica Jones follows the title character, a sometimes hero sometimes Private Detective after a tragedy struck her early on during her superhero career, Jessica attempts to rebuild her life but is drawn into something much bigger when an old acquaintance shows up in Hells Kitchen New York. The show was put on Netflix in Late 2015 and followed the same release schedule as most of their original series in that all the episodes of the season were put online at the same time.

What I like about Jessica is that although her power set is something you’d probably consider to be overpowered at times with super strength and ‘flight’, in this show it’s pretty grounded. She doesn’t really show off her leaping much which is fine and although she is physically strong It is not so much that she can just beat anyone super easy like Superman, she generally struggles when there are quite a few people against her at once. Whether this was done just to create actual threats towards her I don’t know but I felt it worked well, I wouldn’t want her to be overpowered and just wrecking shit all over, at that point put her in the Avengers or something.

Saying that though there were a few examples where she seemed to be utterly incapable against some people which felt odd considering it was one on one at the time, While she has a more grounded power set its not an excuse to make the minimal combat scenes lack in the way they do, I feel the focus of the show was more on her Detective work which was fine and I enjoyed that but if you’re dealing with characters with these kind of powers then don’t treat the audience like idiots.

I felt she was a good example of a female ‘superhero’, yes the focus was on her past issues and ongoing problems but that made her a much more real character with a lot of substance, this goes for Daredevil too actually. There was no reliance on her just being some 10/10 super sexy hero who can ‘do stuff just as good as the boys can’. She’s her own kind of ‘hero’, a lone wolf type who isn’t really sure she even wants to be a hero. She doesn’t like to compare herself to the Avengers or better known heroes, she tries to live a much more normal life.

With that though I do find Jessica Jones feels the most far removed from the MCU, this is not a bad thing in anyway though. It is a very different show from even Daredevil and I did struggle at times to imagine them running into each other, if not for Claire (the Nurse from DD) showing up I would honestly believe there was no connection at all other than a few references here and there. I feel as the shows continue and they do eventually cross over they will alleviate that feeling for me but at times I hope they really keep them away from any of the movies, the Netflix series just always seems so much more ‘grounded’ in reality which is not something everyone wants from a superhero piece of media but I feel it works.

I liked that there was no real origin story for a change, there were super brief scenes of her as a teen first finding her powers and an off hand comment and lead about how she may have originally got them in the first place but other than that there was nothing really, it was oddly refreshing to just be thrown in at the deep end.

Although I said the show was grounded there were some really 'Comic booky' moments like the Cop taking a bunch of pills to gain super strength and shit, like that’s something to me that belongs in Agents of shield or the proper MCU, it just felt really out of place at the time when we’re dealing with all this serious shit this dude just pops a few pills and goes all semi Hulk mode.

Moving on I have to say the casting was really good! David Tennant was perfect for the role he played as I’ll discuss later and Krysten Ritter as Jessica fit really well too! I’m not familiar with the character too much but I felt she is great at coming across as a dry and sarcastic person but also having the range to become super emotional and supportive of her friends throughout the show, you can tell just by the way she portrays the character without her saying so that she is an individual who has been through a lot and continues to punish herself for the mistakes of the past.

The supporting cast were some of the best parts of the show though, Jessica's crazy acquaintances in the apartment were really comical at times, especially the Sister as she just wouldn’t leave Jessica alone and always came out with bizarre statements about Jessica and her own Brother. She began just as a sort of background character but as the show progressed she became a lot more important to the central plot and played that off really well, especially her more emotional scenes when talking about her deceased Brother.

I think my favourite side character was Jessica's friend Malcolm played by Eka Darville. He started off as just some Junkie we would see laying out across the hallways who wasn’t really all there but was always helped by Jessica no matter what. Even when he was like this he was always a friend to her and her to him, but as the plot continues we find out he’s actually been working for Kilgrave to spy on Jessica for him, the worst part being he is doing it due to his addiction and is in no way under the control of Kilgrave at this point. He does eventually go clean as a means to repent and at that point becomes a much better character all around, someone who feels helpless as he has no powers but is able to use his gift of helping others to bring victims together as a means of closure.

I don’t want to say much about Luke Cage as he will have his own show soon but I liked him, he wasn’t overused so there is much to see when he gets his own show but he was certainly a welcome edition, you still don’t know much about him at this point which is great, using this show as his introduction and prologue to a degree was a wise choice especially considering the links between him and Jessica. Mike Colter was a great match and generally looks like the character too!.

Trish was an alright addition I didn’t dislike her or particularly enjoy her too much she was just kind of there but she brought enough to the show to warrant her being such a large part of the plot, she was a good support for Jessica and did not just stand by and let Jessica handle everything she actually helped in a lot of circumstances.

As I said with Fisk in Daredevil the Netflix shows so far have way more compelling villains than anything the movies have ever thrown at us, Kilgrave is no exception, I feel Tennant was the right choice for this character and the changes they made to him compared to the comics worked very well, I really think having him have pure purple skin would be laughable and make the serious subjects dealt with in the show seem almost trivial at times. Netflix seems to know that the audience needs to see why a villain considers themselves to be in the right, we need to see their motives and aspirations rather than just have them as a threat to the world for reason X Y and Z.

Tennant really is the strongest point of the show, although he’s a really horrible human being in it he also comes across as so likeable. He essentially plays a man that always gets his own way thanks to his powers obviously, but when he doesn’t get his way he acts like a petulant child. It’s quite funny to see but shows the extent of Kilgraves powers, mentality and overall grip he wishes to have on others. I think it was good to have a villain with some form of power set this time around, he felt like a true threat to someone with super strength rather than someone who could match her physically.

I did enjoy when he was being used by Jessica in a total role reversal with him using his powers to aid others. Although he enjoyed it and got a true rush from it he only did it to please Jessica and that really did not last long but it made for a number of great scenes. I was surprised how ruthless he could be when he wanted to though, the way he would take out anyone without question if he needed to, being so bold as to just go into a police station and make them all put a gun to their own heads.

This was a truly great villain all the way through, the only disappointment being he kind of died like it was no big deal, it just happened in a second, of course it was building up to it but I just felt perhaps it was too soon to kill off such a great character, perhaps have him in prison and return a few seasons later, but at least he will not be shoehorned in later I suppose.

The support group aspect was great, to see all these people come together because they were used by Kilgrave and showing the mental effect that actually had on people was cool, you never really see people deal with the aftermath of attacks or incidents with super villains or even super heroes, exploring that was a nice touch I thought. More so because it showed just how serious or trivial some of these victims were to Kilgrave but how it still effected them none the less. Jessica shunning away from this group overall was good too, it showed her focus on trying to bring him to justice rather than dwell on the past and stay a victim.

I had never heard of Jessica Jones until this series, I was vaguely familiar with Luke Cage and I have no idea who Iron Fist really is but I’m really happy this focus on lesser known characters is happening, I hope after these initial series we will see the adaptation of more, especially if Netflix is in charge. It may even be worth Netflix doing a series on Black Widow or Hawkeye, they are both characters I have little interest in but I feel these shows could make them as compelling as Matt Murdock and Jessica easily.

I  feel that a lot of people did not give this show a chance, it’s not as good as Daredevil by any means but it is still worth a watch for sure, I did feel that it had a poor start as it just did not seem to really go anywhere almost like we were dawdling before Kilgrave shows up, I think this is a point that a lot of people chose not to go to because the start was so poor, which is a shame… I’d say if this was you please continue at least until Kilgraves in it more and then decide if you want to continue on.

I feel like the show ended just as it really got going, it really did start slow and turned into a really captivating story once Tennant was featured more heavily, I loved the direction it went in towards the end and hope it can be replicated in season 2 and when Jones joins the Defenders but I worry it will not. Truthfully I still do not know much about the character and her story or villains save for a few things I've read online about pre-existing characters so hopefully a second season will have the same sort of tone and talent as this one.

Overall I’d say Jessica Jones is worth a watch if you enjoyed what Netflix did with Daredevil, you have to remember this is a different show with a different theme and feel it will not be just like Daredevil it is it’s own thing. It does have a poor start but if you can get past it you are in for a real treat, especially with Tenants performance. I feel this was a decent season overall and a second has been confirmed,  I do wonder where they will go with it but I’m excited to see that, I hope they have a few more crossovers before the defenders comes around even if they are brief, having Claire from Daredevil become a character that is appearing all over is a great start to this.

Broforce (2015)

Broforce, is a game originally released in October 2015 for Windows, OS X  and Linux which began its life in early April 2012 as a Game Jam entry which gained a lot of attention online. It was developed by Free Lives who are relatively new to the scene and published by Devolver Digital, it has since been brought over to the Playstation 4 as a part of PS+ as one of the free games of March 2016.

This game is a 2d pixelated side scrolling action game, where you play as exaggerated versions of 80’s, 90’s and more recent action heroes but with ‘bro’ in their name, for example ‘Bromando’ or ‘Bronan the Barbarian’ as the Arnold Schwazenegger characters from the films Commando and Conan the Barbarian. This game focuses on its exaggerations of these movies and characters and puts a comedic spin on the whole 'bro culture' idea.

The aim of the game is to get through the levels in a certain number of lives and kill enemies along the way while reaching the goal and getting an extraction, as you progress the levels become a lot more challenging but to make it easier you can find a number of prisoners hidden (in plain sight) throughout the level who after a set amount of rescues become unlocks as other characters.

This game is very simple and a lot of fun, it’s not something I could play for hours on end but I have never disliked the time I have played it, It’s definitely one of those ‘pick up and play’ sort of games that are enjoyed best in short bursts. Although I don’t think I would come back to this game now that I have completed it (unless they added DLC).

I think with the harder difficulties I would potentially go back to it if it were put on the Vita, I know I'm a huge fan of the Vita but I do honestly feel the game is suited to this console, the only short fall being that the main issue I have with the game is the frame rate.

This game can have a lot going on screen at once, especially with the amount of explosives and the destructible environments and at times this causes a huge slow down, it does last long but it really doesn’t make the experience as enjoyable as it perhaps could be, I have also found at random times if I'm just walking my character will stop for no reason almost as if he can only walk for a set amount of steps, this has caused me to die on multiple occasions and can become quite frustrating at times.

 

Honestly while I enjoy this game a lot  I feel this is mostly an inferior version of Super Time Force, Super Time Force has a lot more variety to it, and as the name suggests time based mechanics which allow you stop and rewind time as well as having multiple lives to continue from where you were and potentially have a huge amount characters on screen at one time acting out what you did on the previous life.

Broforce does feature a wide array of characters and they generally play differently but most are gun based as you would imagine, there are those who use knives, bombs or in some cases just their fists, I think the most unique that I unlocked was the Rocketeer character as you could just jet pack everywhere and rocket punch the shit out of enemies.

You also come across small mechs at times which you can hijack, I found them to be really fun because they are not too over powered, they feel super janky and make it difficult to land which I feel makes the risk vs reward aspect of getting in one worth it. I've totally jumped on unsteady land in one a few times only to have the whole floor break apart which took me with it.

There are boss battles in the game which are usually elaborate mechs which at times can span the entirety of a level, at first I didn’t actually notice these were boss units as they were pretty simple but they became a lot larger and I found them to become really quite challenging towards the end of the game, you can totally cheese some depending on what character you got though.

Unfortunately that stands even with some of the later bosses, like at one point I got to one of the last bosses and just threw all three of my special moves at it to have it down to 1/8 of its health already, but I guess that's the luck of the draw with the character you get. At first I didn’t like that you couldn’t select your character and they were just randomly given to you but I think because some make boss battles really easy it’s generally a good idea otherwise you’d just blaze through the parts of the game that are meant to be a challenge.

There is an online mode which allows up to four players, I have unfortunately not been able to find a game and with the slow down I feel I would probably prefer to be playing alone anyway, but I think if you've got a few friends who also own the game the mayhem that'd occur because of the amount of shit going on screen at once could be quite fun.

The game really isn't a long game, you could beat it in a few hours if you played non-stop but you can tell a lot of time and effort went in to it. I will say that although the game felt short overall I would like a save function when you're already part way through a level, the levels are broken down into stages and I've found I need to head out while on the last stage of a level and because of that I had to return back to it and start again. The last level of the game is where I had the most issues with this as it has about triple the amount of stages in it, most of which are filled with a number of bosses.

It was great for that level to have that form of challenge and really helped the game come to a close, but I think the reason I found it to be such a challenge was again due to the slow down, I'm talking like 1 frame per second and some points just because there was so much going on at one time, this really made it difficult to know where you were landing or how to dodge certain projectiles.

I find I really enjoy Devolver Digital games, in fact most of my PS4/VITA library is full of them, I’m really fond of the art-style that most of them go for as it’s pixelated and reminds me of playing consoles like the SEGA, I think I got in to them at first with the first Hotline Miami and when looking at their line up for the next few years I think I’ll be supporting them for a lot longer if they (and the developers) continue to keep up the good work.

Overall I’m glad I picked this game up on PS+, I did want to play it for a long time when I first  heard about it during the Game Jam but I’m not really in to playing on PC and have not touched Steam in years. I wouldn’t say this is the best game I’ve ever played on PS+ because quite frankly it isn’t, It’s a mediocre title but its great in short bursts. However if you’re looking for something that’s similar and overall a lot better I would recommend you give Super Time force a try, specifically on the PS4 as it has the most amount of content.

I would like to see a sequel if they ever made one with a few improvements here and there, but I'm generally interested in what these developers will come up with next, whatever it is I'm sure if they learn from this game they will make a great title.

Three Fourths Home (2015)

Just a short one from me this week as I saw a game on PSN for about £2.50 so I thought I'd give it a go, I went into this game totally blind because 'It looked indie', I feel like PSN is pretty on the ball with most 'indie' shit and I'm really happy with that as I feel a lot of them are underrated gems in a lot of cases, so this week I decided to buy Three Fourths Home for the PS4 and Vita, but just because it was cheap does that mean it was worth the money?

This game was made by Bracket Games and released in early 2015. The story of this game follows a young girl named Kelly as she drives home during a major storm while talking to various members of her family on the phone and the many conversations that arise from that, as it goes on you begin to see the deeper issues surrounding this family but also, at least in my case begin to appreciate the family and your own family for what they are.

This is a very short game and the main story can be beaten in approximately 30-45 minutes with around 20 mins added if you play the epilogue so it's prefect if you just want something to 'play' between other games or when you've gotta head out . It's really easy to 100% and get all the trophies for if you're into that sort of thing (which I am), the game only consists of the main story, the epilogue and the extras menu which include the radio, short stories and some photos taken by the main character.

The design of this game is super simple and doest really have a lot going on, It only really uses White,grey and Black and is entirely 2D. However While the game has very basic design I feel it worked well, this game really didn't need to be flashy in any way, the only negative comment I could say about the design is the use of the rain effect going over the text, It may just be me but I found it really difficult to read at times and it made my eyes strain a little. Thankfully the epilogue doesn't do this at all. 

As a game there is nothing more to do than hold R2 to move the car and select different answers so if anything this fits the visual novel style more I suppose. I could never imagine myself playing that style of game but recently I've really got into them, I think they work better as puzzle or mystery games such as Danganronpa and generally most half decent Vita games. The epilogue is even more of a visual novel as you can walk either left or right and just select what you want to say next.

I found I enjoyed the Epilogue a lot more, it was more intimate as it only focused on you and your mother and the phone call you have while waiting for a bus, I think this one was a lot 'deeper' because it went into the player characters problems rather than those of the family, the tone suddenly shifts to the mother almost having a go at you in order for your character to finally open up.

I like that there is no voice acting in this game and that it relies heavily on the background noise and the radio stations (If you choose to listen to them) as a source for setting the tone of the game, I feel both absolutely convey the tone of each situation you come across when talking to the parents in the game, the sound of the tornado warning sirens seem to arrive just as you hit a quite meaningful and tense moment in the story of your family.

One thing I really did not care for in the game was the brothers story, like I get maybe he had some stuff going on and was very much still a child but I did not care for his actually story he decided to tell you save for it changing up the scenery of the game from time to time like when the lighting strikes and a bird turned into the beat from his story for a split second.

Although you could choose your answers during the main story it would not change the ending which almost makes you wonder why there is even an option at times, this is slightly different during the epilogue however as you can outright choose to not do something and the game ends, I much prefer the epilogue in general due to the choice system as it at least made me feel like I wasn't just reading a story and I had some element of control.

The game clearly deals with depression and I don't think that makes the game inherently negative, I've dealt with quite crippling depression in my life before when I was a teenager due to X Y and Z and this game reminded me of being in that place again as the character sort of breaks down during the end of the game, they realise in a lot of ways they are the problem and bottling things in is not the answer.

Perhaps the morale of the game is that family are more dependable than you think and they'll always be there even if they're having problems too, I think that's a good message and not one people really think about as much as they should. Like we all get a bit annoyed at family at times and maybe we find them embarrassing or you feel like you're quite different from them but I think you gotta remember that they give a shit about you regardless.

I played this on PS4 but due to its length and simplicity I feel it would have worked better on the Vita and I'll probably play it on the Vita if I ever feel the desire to replay it. It is probably the perfect kind of game for the Vita in fact, I feel the console really is under appreciated however its strong points are indie, RPGS and visual novels and they are certainly the reasons I still play it as much as I do.

Overall would I say this game is worth your very short amount of time? Yeah. If you're unsure if you want to play visual novel style games this short game would be a decent starting point however I feel as though the price I paid is the only price id be happy to pay for it as it really was just that short and really does not have any amount of replayability unless you're adamant you want all the trophies.

Your experiences with Video Games: Josh Brown

This week I'm back with another interview, this time from my friend Josh. I've known Josh for around 4 or 5 years now but we only really became friends in our second year of university, I can't even remember how really but I know we used to talk about video games a lot with Liam and a few other people, much to the frustration of our friend Jess.

Although we were always talking about Videogames we've never actually played online with each other, other than our go to games Smash Bros and Mario Kart. We all get super competitive around it and find Josh's admiration for Rosalina to be sickening...

Myself and Liam never really kept in contact with anyone from university, more so because it was in our home town and the people we sometimes spoke to have since moved back to their own home towns etc, but I think the reason we keep in contact with Josh almost daily in our group chats and meet up often because he's like the only one from Uni who got our sense of humour and had the same interests as us.

I've been looking forward to interviewing him because, like Liam he is one of my closest friends and he got me in to a lot of series like Samurai Warriors, I'm really interested to see his answers and hear about his experiences as I hope you are too!

What were your first experiences with video games?

Hard to say, as I believe I started playing games when I was 3 years old. My first memory, which was more spurred on by the fact that I saw a photo of it when I was in my teenage years, was me in my older brother's room playing Super Mario 64 and wearing a jumper with Mario on it. Some other ancient memories include playing Cannon Fodder with my Dad and also Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?

I'd say when I got a bit more independent and was liking things for myself more than what my brother would play, so around 6 maybe? Although I'd always still want what my brother had...

What are some of your favourite games and why?

So many to choose from!

·         One of them would have to be World of Warcraft - In my opinion this is one of the best games ever to be made, whether that is pure fanboyism or truth, or the fact that Blizzard managed to turn a niche thing into something that began to spread everywhere, it's hard to say. All I can say is that I've spent countless, so many hours (and so much money, which was worth it, and actually cheap compared to constantly buying new releases) on this game that it has to be one of my favourites. I've played it on my own, with friends and family, I've played it a year at a time, to sometimes only one day in a year. On and off for over a decade this game has provided me with entertainment, and really that is the whole point of a video game, so I think it's safe to say its done a good job. Also, it strikes the nostalgia chord within me and a lot of others hard.

·         The big 3D Mario Games (Super Mario 64, Sunshine and Galaxy 1 and 2) - I find these games to be almost perfect in every way. Gameplay, length, music/sound, narrative, art/graphics and replayability. Anyone can play and enjoy these. Another nostalgia factor too.

·         Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus - This game is purely fantastic. Has one of the most unique gaming experiences and worlds I've ever seen. The soundtrack is fantastic, aswell as the atmosphere. I can always replay this game, it will never get old.

·         Dark Souls/Dark Souls II, Bloodborne and probably soon to be Dark Souls III - These games will still have to stand the test of time unlike the others just mentioned. They are very different and often challenging games, which is the main appeal for me. The atmosphere is almost always top notch, which really helps to separate these games from others. Whether they will start to fade away and become mediocre its hard to say, but the fact that Dark Souls itself is starting to almost become a genre (as cringey as some journalists can be about it) shows that it has had an impact on the gaming community.

I could go on and on but I'm just going to name some titles now that have had a massive impact on me and I would consider favourites:

·         Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

·         Dawn of War (Plus expansions)

·         Diablo II

·         Command and Conquer Series (Mostly up to and including Generals - Thanks, EA)

·         Stronghold

·         Advance Wars Series (And more recently the Fire Emblem Series)

·         Half-Life 2 (and Episode Two)

And so many more...

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game?

This blurs with my favourite games, but World of Warcraft. Its a fully orchestrated soundtrack that can instantly bring pictures in your mind of whatever area you were in when it plays, and that is a powerful thing.

Music is very important to a game, it can make mediocre games memorable as it gives you a sensory memory effectively. Video games are mostly visual, hence video, but when you get a perfect audio response, it makes the game so much more worthwhile. Immersion is a big thing that music helps with.

Most vivid video game memory?

Again, World of Warcraft.

I used to play Runescape, and one day my brother (who was at University at the time) messages me on AIM (I know, right?) telling me, 'Just wait until you see what game I've been playing' and sends me a screenshot of his Night Elf Rogue in a dusty, barren area in the game aptly called 'Desolace'

Upon his return from University, he gets me started with the free trial, and thus the memory commences. Playing my Dwarven Hunter in the Dwarf starting area, the snow-capped mountains of 'Dun Morogh.' The sense of wonder and awe is too great and I wish I could experience it again.

What are you playing currently?

XCOM 2 - This game is kicking my ass, making me feel like the worst Commander in existence as I watch my friends that I created in-game die and die again due to my stupid mistakes and the wrath of RNGesus. Aside from some performance issues, the game is pretty good.

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own?

Probably Shogo: Mobile Armor Division for PC. I can't even find the disc but I know I have it. Younger me would have never known how heavily influenced by Japanese mecha this game was, but I just liked guns and these mechs had guns. I never finished it and probably never will.

What about video game memorabilia?

I've tended to mostly stay away from collecting video game memorabilia, mainly because I just played the games and shyed away from being seen as a 'nerd' too much (silly I know). Only recently have I started to collect some things, but they're quite tame, such as Nintendo's Amiibo or the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain collector's edition arm, and it kind of makes me want to get more. This newfound, yet small, love for this probably stems from Lewis, so thanks, I guess.

Are you as in to video games as you once were?

Yes, possibly even more, but the passion is directed towards being part of the community of gaming and keeping involved with everything rather than younger me just playing games and doing nothing else. I do put less hours into most games now, but that is just due to adulthood.

As you switch between consoles and PC often is there one you prefer of the two?

I go through phases. For a recent example, late 2014-late 2015 I was pretty much PS4 only, yet now I've just built a brand new gaming PC and my focus is there. I've only ever been adamantly on one side, and that was on PC back around 2006-ish. I don't care now as each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Most of my gaming has been on PC and Nintendo platforms though.

If I absolutely had to pick one over the others, and that choice would lock me out of all the rest, I would choose PC. The longevity and flexibility of PC is something that can't be ignored, it has the most games and often blurs into the other platforms (i.e - cross-platform games and emulation) It would break my heart though as then I would never have Nintendo games again.

And that's why I will play on every platform if I have the opportunity/desire. :)

Favourite game you never beat?

Quite a recent one - Divinity: Original Sin.

The game is fantastic, a really solid combat system with a wacky world. I played about 40-50 hours of it and then just stopped. With the Enhanced Edition out, I have no excuse. I will go back and play through it again, it deserves it.

Physical or digital?

Depends on the platform:

·         Home consoles (PS4, XB1, Wii U) - Mostly physical, and some digital.

·         Mobile consoles (3DS, Vita) - Mostly digital, and some physical.

·         PC - Digital.

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?

Hard to pinpoint and exact genre/series, but I would say more Japanese games, the ones that are less mainstream. Since getting a bit more into some anime/manga (as in literally one or two) I've become more relaxed around the more niche games that Japan provides.

What was the best co-op or online experience you had?

Online - World of Warcraft - no doubt about that.

Co-op - Probably the Gears of War trilogy - played them all through with my brother, which really highlighted the 'Brothers-in-arms' feelings the game gave

If you were to have kids would you want them to be in to video games and what would you have them start with?

Try and look past how sappy this is, but I'd be happy and encourage them in whatever hobby they liked.

If I would have them start with anything though, it would be Mario.

Do you feel you'll always be playing games in some form?

Probably, whatever you do when you were young stays with you in some way or form. Video games will easily, as they are technology, which will always being changing and evolving.

What's a game series you feel is under appreciated?

The Warriors/Musou games (Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors and the like).

Although Koei Tecmo literally poops them out like Activison does with Call of Duty, and Ubisoft with Assassin's Creed, and the DLC they have is ridiculous, they have done it for so long that there is a base standard of quality they always maintain. They are great to just play and play, they are full of content, and there are so many areas of culture that they can encompass - Dynasty/Samurai for historical periods, Hyrule/One Piece for other game series' and anime/manga series - so you may just find one that resonates with you.

For me it is Samurai Warriors. Less known than the juggernaut of its sister, Dynasty Warriors, it is a game I really enjoy. The soundtrack is very good, and the period of history is intriguing. Since the first title, it has become more wacky and anime-ish, but is just fun for me. Maybe others won't understand, but I've sunk over 250 hours into Samurai Warriors 4/4-II  and got the platinum trophy for both.

What is the best Anime related video game you've played?

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3/Tenkaichi 3 - without a doubt in my mind these two games are probably the most fun games to ever be made for the Dragon Ball Universe.

Is there an anime series you feel would work as a game that hasnt already been made?

I haven't watched much anime, but one that I have, and an idea that gets thrown around sometimes by people in the community is a Kill la Kill video game. It would be perfect as a hack-and-slash game, akin to Platinum Games and their titles.

Has there ever been a spin off of a series you've enjoyed more than the original series?

Samurai Warriors - I've always preferred it to Dynasty Warriors. Although nowadays it's less of a spin-off. (And I can't think of any other examples at the moment!)

What series are you connected with the most?

The Warcraft Universe. Love the lore and its been with me half of my life.

I'll probably go check out the film too, doesn't look half bad.

What series have you always had an interest in but not had a chance to get in to?

Final Fantasy - I've only really played a bit of Final Fantasy X, and some of Final Fantasy XIV.

With XV coming out and the renewed interest in VII I should get to it!

Are there any areas or stories you wish were explored more in games?

·         Areas:
Space - More Space is always good.
The Mind - Psychonauts did this to a certain extent, was very interesting.

·         Stories:
Tragedy - I really like stories that are just despair and hopelessness. If you've got a story that really shows there are no heroes and potentially no happy endings, it can really make you think about the characters.

What game are you most excited for in 2016?

I'll be cheeky and name the top three:

1.       Fire Emblem: Fates - I'll be buying the special edition (hopefully) with all three sections as I've recently started to love the Fire Emblem franchise.

2.       Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - Deus Ex: Human Revolution was fantastic, and the cyberpunk genre is fantastic.

3.       Dark Souls III - Just read above really.

How do you feel about video games currently?

I'd say at the moment we're having a mini video game renaissance. There are tonnes of new games every quarter, old titles that people thought were dead are getting sequels, games are getting ports so they can be played by more people, companies are starting to listen to feedback (Square Enix, to name one) and the console war has all but evaporated, with companies focussing on their own things.

There are a few negatives that must be addressed though. There are two main things that spring to mind instantly:

1.       Broken games - Games not working on PC, terrible console performance, etc. These aren't just normal bugs and glitches but a reoccurring problem of companies taking the 'Let's see if we can just get them to buy from the hype and not notice the issues. If they do, we'll just patch it later!' approach.

2.     Over-sensitivity to certain content in games - I'm mainly talking about certain groups of people and journalists that want to thrust their opinion onto the world that a game is 'too sexualised,' or, 'too white.' Stop trying to censor and change everything you don't like, there is a reason people have different tastes. You wouldn't go into a book store and start yelling about raunchy romance novels and how they are damaging society, would you?

Apart from that, it's going fairly well. Let's just see what happens.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future?

I feel they'll mostly stay the same as they are now, accepted by society but not massively popular aside from the standard big titles that the mass public are used to.

VR will try to make its way onto the scene, and I really hope it does, as I am very intrigued to see what can come of it, but it may just fail.

All in all, I'll keep playing games until I decide they aren't worth my time anymore, but that doesn't look like that will happen for a while.

Thats it for this week, I think this was super interesting and I discovered a few things about Josh I actually didn't know before, Josh doesnt have twitter or anything but if you wanna find him I'm sure he's starting another Rosalina thread on 4chan....