Blog, Blog, Bloq

 With the incoming worldwide release of the original Clock Tower, I thought to load up the PS3 for some Clock Tower 3. (Shoutouts to the base model PS3, a GOATed device for sure.) And having never played it, I was curious as to how the series had progressed from the original to the latest named entry. To be frank, I think that this game is just OK. There are some real novel concepts and ingenuity put forth that gets bogged down in some of the later sections. That's really what makes me not love this game, despite the charm that it exudes.  Like, the cutscene direction is phenomenal. The way that the characters move and emote is easily one of my favorite things in games. They are flamboyant and wacky in their mannerisms, which helps add to some of the uneasiness that Clock Tower 3 offers. It makes me wish for more games to embrace this kind of silliness. Alas, we need to copy movies right now because that is what sells a gazillion units. So, the main point of this mini-rant is that

 Recently, I have been going through my somewhat frequent rewatches of the Friday the 13th franchise. This was not intentional, but it is funny that I happened to do it during an actual Friday the 13th. And my current run has stopped at the death of Jason Voorhees, otherwise known as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. And so I initially wanted to focus on Part III because of how much the formula felt phoned in and lacking. But thinking more on it, there are some aspects that I wanted to discuss in regards to the first four films.  These ideas stem from how the characters feel and just how much this franchise tends to get bashed on because they are not the pinnacle of horror. Like, there is a reason I can rewatch the original Friday the 13th, and why I don't want to rewatch most modern horror films. It has more to do with that human factor. The on-location settings, the creativity behind the deaths of the characters, and especially the deception in the shot choice that throws off t

 As per my last posting, I had finished 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. And what do you know, I have now also finished Virtue's Last Reward. The sequel to an almost perfect game. But that is certainly not how I would describe VLR. The game feels like a downgrade in every direction. The writing is bad in nearly every aspect sans one character, they switched to doing the cutscenes in 3D, and I personally felt that the puzzle design was just not nearly as fluid. There are a myriad of issues to be had with this game, and I really think much of that has to do with the production time.  Like, I checked the release dates for both games, and the gap was almost two years exactly. With 999 releasing in December of 2009 in Japan, and VLR releasing in February of 2012. That window alone is simply not enough to achieve anything other than a rushed game. Their deadline just didn't have the room for them to develop a sequel to a game like 999.  While I did not go into many specific

 After mainlining the first three Gears of War titles, I decided that I needed a genre switch-up. That decision came in the form of 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. A Visual Novel-Puzzle Game hybrid that borrows from many mystery and horror tropes. An inescapable death game with the purpose of pitting others against one another while collaborating, in a sense. While a lot of parallels could be drawn to many forms of media, the one that jumped out to me was Saw.  A franchise that is known for playing games in life or death situations with the intent being on the life aspect. The games are supposed to be winnable, but performed at a high difficulty. The decision making is crucial to getting out of a Saw Trap. While some methods may differ, the games created by John Kramer (Jigsaw) are indeed winnable. The only caveat being that your nerves are working against you. So, while the framework is there in 999, the puzzles are not nearly as stress inducing. They are intended to test y

 Recently, I have been inspired to return to the Horror-esque Shooter series, Gears of War. This inspiration came from watching Ray Narvaez Jr. stream the first two games with Andy Cortez on Twitch. So thanks for that. And to put it bluntly, the experience so far has been phenomenal. These games about the war on Sera and the horrors that have come out of it are truly ones that stand the test of time. With only minor issues in gameplay segments, the Gears of War franchise was able to be this standout franchise during its heyday because of the heart and emotion that exists within. And I think that all starts with the first game in the series.  So, I decided to play Gears of War: Ultimate Edition over the original because I have actually never played the Ultimate Edition, despite having access to it. While some elements may differ, it has also been over ten years since I touched the original. And from what I remember, the stuff that felt familiar was correct, and the changes made for the

 Postponing my Elden Ring post again because the Final Boss is beating my ass. So that means I can talk about one of my favorite events of the year, EVO. The Evolution Championship Series is back in Vegas once again. And I couldn't be more excited. It is easily the most entertaining major in the FGC because of the emotions that come out of it. Many players gear up for the chance to take the crown year after year. And the payoff is always tremendous when someone wins. In all my years of viewership, I have only seen a few instances of of the crowd not being moved by the victor. My journey with this tournament began over ten years ago when I used to watch Tekken Tag 2 sets. So, I was well aware of JDCR and Knee. Yet, I wouldn't really buy into the community until years later. My only points of knowledge were Tekken and Evo Moment #37. Like, I remember showing my friends the clip, and just being flabbergasted by Daigo's insane reaction and execution in the sequence. This type o