I’m not going to lie: for some reason, I found this episode to be the hardest to write about. It’s not a bad episode (far from it), but a lot actually happens in it. But hoo boy, is it one hell of an ending.
Fun fact for you all: I had never actually played a Pokemon game. Of course, I’ve known something about the series for a while, mostly through a combination of cultural osmosis and having friends who’ve played them extensively, but it wasn’t really something I’d ever gotten into.
And then Pokemon Go was released on July 6, and needless to say I have become a fan.
Apparently the Internet just can’t go for more than a month with someone getting harassed via social media making the news. The victim this time is comedian, SNL cast member, and star of the new Ghostbusters film Leslie Jones.
As I may have mentioned before, my dad likes to post interesting things about video games he comes across to my Facebook page. Today, he posted this, an article about a miniature NES console. And now I need it in my life.
The NES Mini, as it’s currently being called, comes pre-loaded with thirty classic NES games. According to the above article, the games are as follows:
-Balloon Fight
-Bubble Bobble
-Castlevania & Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
-Donkey Kong & Donkey Kong Jr.
-Double Dragon II: The Revenge
-Dr. Mario, Excitebike
-Final Fantasy
-Galaga
-Ghosts’ N Ghoblins
-Gradius
-Ice Climber.
-Kid Icarus
-Kirby’s Adventure
-Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, & Super Mario Bros. 3
-Mega Man 2
-Metroid
-Ninja Gaiden
-Pac-Man
-Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
-StarTropics
-SUPER C
-Tecmo Bowl
-The Legend of Zelda & Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
I’m especially excited about the original Final Fantasy. I do have the Final Fantasy Origins edition that was released for PS1, but have never really had a chance to play the original version.
The NES Mini is set to release on November 11 for $59.99, which actually isn’t that bad of a price. Before seeing it, I would have expected it to retail for $100 or more.
I am honestly so amused by this. So, a YouTuber named MatPat (who is one of the people behind the Game Theorists channel on YouTube) got the opportunity to go to Rome and (amongst others) talk to Pope Francis about the Internet and how it brings people together. Now, it’s tradition for people who go to see the Pope to bring a gift of some sort.
MatPat gave the Pope a Steam code for Toby Fox’s Undertale.
The above video detailing why is actually quite interesting. He talks about out-group homogeneity bias and how Undertale actively subverts it by giving the group designated “monsters” their own personalities and through its emphasis on non-violence. You can play the game as a standard RPG, where you basically kill every monster you meet, but that nets you the bad ending, whereas playing as a pacifist nets you the best ending in the game.
So, he gave it to the Pope largely because of this focus on solving problems without violence. This makes sense. I wonder if the Pope actually played it? I’m thinking probably not (MatPat himself says that it was mostly a symbolic gesture), but still it’s a pretty amusing image.
And all this makes me want to play Undertale now.
So, this is apparently something that’s happening. Then again, they made a movie based on Battleship, so basing a movie on a board game isn’t that odd. What’s funny is that this is apparently a sequel to Ouija, a 2014 movie that I didn’t even know existed until now.
Ouija: Origin Of Evil follows a family in 1967, the widowed mother of which is a con artist who decides to use an Ouija board to further her séance scam. And then her daughter ends up possessed. You know, as you do.
While there are actually some pretty creepy moments to the trailer, the premise is actually pretty silly if you know how Ouija boards actually work. See, the planchette doesn’t move because of spirits, but rather something known as the ideomotor effect. Basically, the people using the board are expecting some kind of answer from it, so they subconsciously move the planchette around to arrive at an answer. Plus there’s the fact that the trademark for Ouija is currently owned by Hasbro and I could go down to the local Wal-Mart and buy one if I so desired. That also makes it rather difficult for me to take it seriously. Still, horror movies (movies in general, really) do require some suspension of disbelief.
Ouija: Origin of Evil is also set to be rated PG-13, which, along with the fact that Michael Bay is one of the producers, doesn’t really fill me with confidence. Still, at least Bay’s not directing it (that would be Mike Flanagan, who also wrote the movie with Jeff Howard). It’s set for release on October 21, which makes me wonder: if you’re releasing a horror movie in October, why not go for a Halloween release?
Well, it might still be good. As I said before, the trailer does have some pretty disturbing moments.
I saw this and thought it was a joke, but nope. Apparently this is a real thing that people will be able to buy with real money.
That’s…weird. Also, doesn’t it kind of miss the point of Final Fantasy VII? You know, considering that a pretty big number of the bad guys work for a giant power company that owns basically everything, is fucking up the planet, and is one of the root causes behind everything bad that happens in the game.
It’s going to be released sometime next year, it looks like. You can pre-order it at Merchoid, if you want to drop $50 for a board game.
So, when I said in my last Alice post that that episode was the end of part one, it turns out I was wrong. The episode after this one is actually going to be the end of part one. The creators have stated that there will be a part two, but as they are also working on other projects and other jobs, they aren’t sure when it will be. However, you can click here to make a donation to the show if you so desire.
That out of the way, holy fucking shit.
I feel like I should point out that this film doesn’t have anything to do with the 1915 silent movie of the same name. In fact, it’s sort of the opposite of that film.
This The Birth of A Nation (written, directed, produced, and starring Nate Parker), rather than being a love letter to the KKK, is actually about slave and Baptist preacher Nat Turner. In August of 1831, Nat Turner lead a slave rebellion in Virginia after seeing a solar eclipse the previous February that he took as a sign. I’m not going to go too much into the history of the rebellion here, but I’ve linked the Wikipedia article above if you would like to know more about it.
The trailer is simple, but effective. We see clips of the movie that help to illustrate what had happened to lead up to this rebellion. The music (especially the use of Andra Day’s “Rise Up”) also works to its advantage.
I would also like to say that this is a very important story about an important (and horrible) chapter in US history. In the grand scheme of things, the slave trade wasn’t really all that long ago (and in some respects is still happening), and it still affects the lives of African-American citizens to this day.
I also really enjoy that Mr. Parker took the title of one of the most racist films ever made and applied it to the story of a black man.
The Birth of A Nation premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, and will be getting a theatrical release on October 7.
So. Blizzard made a first person shooter. It’s not really a genre that they’re known for (mostly they’re best known for real time strategy games and dominating the MMORPG market), so that kind of piqued my interest. How did they do?
Pretty well, actually.
Katethulu's Cave Of Mysteries 