Sword Art Online

I used to love anime when I was youngling, from pokemon to evangelion and everything in between. The shows were completely different from the usual cartoons I would watch. Was the main reason I became curious about japanese culture. As I grew older I found that anime was just the same stereotypical characters placed in another different setting. My interest in the medium dried up, except for Miyazaki films. My recent trip to japan and the advent of site that stream anime has seen my enjoyment of the medium return.One thing I learnt is that there is a massive amount of anime. Was a rather daunting task, trying to pick one to start watching.

The premise of Sword Art Online is instead of being stuck in the matrix your were instead trapped in World of Warcraft.  Our story follows Kirito, one of the 10,000 lucky people to log into Sword Art Online, a new, highly anticipated virtual reality MMORPG. Eventually  the players discover that they cannot log out when the creator of the game, Akihiko Kayaba issues them an ultimatum: if they die in the game, so will their bodies in the real world. The only way out is to pass all one-hundred floors—each a self-contained world in and of itself—and defeat the game's final boss.

The idea a might not have been very original but I thought there was a lot they might be able to do with the series. The first few episode are a bit flat, as the character and the world are only just started to be fleshed out. The series shined from around episodes 4-13 and I wish they would have kept with that pace. I was totally loving the show in those episode, watching Kirito go from noob to badass was great. 

 Seeing how others character adjusted to their new lives inside the game drew me in. The psychological implications of being in a virtual reality for so long that you start to wonder if the real world even exists. And if it does exist, should everyone still be trying to get back to it instead of giving up and starting to make new lives for themselves inside the game world. That was so smart and played out in the background of the shows main story. Allowed the creator time to play with different story ideas. Sometime  it's a mystery; sometimes it's a love story; sometimes criminal suspense; sometimes supernatural horror; and sometimes it's a straight-up fantasy adventure.

It was such a disappointment that halfway through the series they resolve the main arch of getting out of the game. Which would have been fine, if they decided to focus their attention on the players adjusting back into the real word. It was so frustrating to watch the show just repeat itselfs. I wanted to know how Kirito would handle being powered down to normal human after being a super saiyan ninja warrior. Do we get that explanation ? Nope. He just wakes up and moves on to finding his girlfriend. It was such a missed opportunity. The show just feels like it became a wish-fulfillment drug for male teenagers and adults who are addicted to online gaming and can't deal with real-life challenges.

Really annoys me that they went in the same direction. Would have been great for the show to talk to its audience about an issue that relevant to todays society. As gaming addiction is real, I myself have had a good friend lose themselves to it. More important to show these issue and how they affect people. If handled well it could have been a better story then the fantasy one. Highly suggest watching the first 14 episode, they’re highly enjoyable. After that just take sometime to think about the message the shows is talking about.

3 out of 5 virtual reality super saiyan ninja warriors.

Video Game Review: Pokemon X and Pokemon Y (Nintendo 3DS)

 
After 15 years of capturing crazy critters, Pokemon X and Y finally shows some minor evolutions in gameplay, visuals and story. Nintendo and Game Freak seem to have acquired a new weapon, possibly a stick lying around their offices, to beat an old horse with. Nintendo might have also possibly painted this horse up as a Rapidash. So on that note, we move onto what we thought about the latest iteration of this classic gaming franchise.

Gameplay:





The core gameplay of Pokemon remains the same in that you still capture (or trade) monsters called Pokemon to then battle other trainers and wild Pokemon. The difference between this game and the previous games is that their felt like there was a big focus on keeping the pace and progress up. The game definitely does not feel as challenging as it predecessors, but things like being able to use TM’s (to teach Pokemon new moves) as much as you want and poison not affecting you outside of battle did feel like welcome changes, however.

The menu system suffers from unnecessary navigation. Even the simplest tasks feel cumbersome as you have to choose from one or two sub-menus. It’s like Windows Vista, asking you unnecessary steps and commands of “are you sure” in order to do anything.

Pokemon X and Y also feels like it misses allot of opportunities. Sky Battles are just like normal battles but with flying types only, and why can’t you ever chose to have double Pokémon battles in the single player campaign. The online features are excellent. Trading and battling online has a fair few options for those who feel inclined to go online and give it a go.

Visuals


The 3D effects felt very underused. Navigating around the world maps was mostly done in 2D, while the battle animations and cut-scenes were done in 3D. It was nice to see the battles play out in 3D, especially seeing as the Pokemon are animated as opposed to the sprites they used to be. The battles are more consistent with Pokemon Colosseum for the Nintendo 64 and we finally get to see the ass-end of all our favourite Pokemon in glorious 3D. Battles still look like two lifeless hessian sacks with eyes drawn on standing around and throwing party streamers at each other until one of them falls over.

The towns felt like they lacked variety. All the towns felt, for the most part, interchangeable. All the towns had the same-looking Pokemon Centre, Cafe and Boutique shop. The exception is the large, Paris-esque type city in the middle. Here, as in several other areas, the viewpoint switches to a third-person view. These sections were very confusing to navigate and I try to avoid the main city whenever I can.

The new Pokemon are, like previous generations, a mixed bag. Some of them look cool, some of them look lame, and some of them look like they asked a toddler to draw a squiggle and then chose a random word to make a new Pokemon. After they turned a keychain into a Pokemon, I felt that they should’ve upgraded from the Toddler to Mr Squiggle.

Story:

Our hero is still a mute who issues commands via his psychic-love attachment to his indentured Pokemon slaves. With this set of unique skills he goes about saving the world from an evil environmental pyramid scheme run by some otherwise nice Canadians. Your absentee mother and father are not too concerned with you playing with these Canadians and you even manage to drag your generic friends (the fat one, the nerdy one, the love interest and the rival) along for the ride.

There is a distinct lack of variety in what you can do with your Pokemon. There aren’t any more beauty contests, not really any side missions and the map and areas to explore feel much smaller and more streamlined than previous Pokemon games. The story is only there to make sure you see the world in all of its non-3D detail.

We found that the story is allot better when you are discussing of the subtext that happens in the story, while drinking expensive rum with your friends. We understand that Pokemon has a specific demographic appeal. Maybe next time instead they can make a kids and adult Pokemon adventure, complete with a date of birth verification.

Overall:

Pokemon is a game that has finally decided to experiment with using crayons to write. It feels like it is too grown up for pencils, but Nintendo has not trusted it with using pens yet. If you liked the previous Pokemon games, this is allot more of the same. It is disappointing that things like character customisation, mega-evolutions, horde and sky battles felt like they weren’t fully thought out. Although there are new Pokemon (including the starters looking half-decent for the first time in a while) and the battle system is still solid fun, it would have been good if the world and story felt a bit fresher and larger.

3.5 mega-evolved waffles out of 5.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR POTENTIAL POKEMON X & Y TRAINERS

1. Always beat little kids and steal their lunch money (especially kindergardeners).

2. Make sure your team is balanced like a Special K breakfast.

3. The story is more enjoyable drunk. Or if you set it to a language you do not speak.

4. Moon Blast is cheap. Using a gun during a Pokemon battle is also cheap.

5. You can’t die. Only feint. But Nurse Joy has ways of making you better.

6. Some Pokemon seem to delight in looking hyper-sexualised. I’m winking at you, Jynx.

7. Choose a television show or game to name your Pokemon after. Or just call all of them Doug.

8. I wonder what would happen if you fell off the hopping rocks. They seem awfully dangerous.

9. Level 2 PIdgey’s have no fear. They will attack you even if you have the legendary Pokemon who created the world.

10. It is important that your relationship with your parents is very disfuntional. Otherwise they might send you to school or care about your future.