Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 8, "My Faxanadu Fantasy"

Ugh. Finals are over. Thank Cthulhu. After finishing up all my papers, I spent last week alternating between sleep, work, and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. It's the best pirate simulator ever. Anyway. I also crammed in some old games. So. Yeah. Here. Read my words. READ THEM. THEY SHALL BE A NEW MANIFESTO FOR AN AGE OF CONTEMPT. THE BLOOD OF ELVES SHALL BE SHED. IT WILL BE A SWORD AGE, A WOLF AGE, AN AGE OF LONG WINTER. 

That's a bit heavy for a blog about video games, isn't it?

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 7, "Double Draggin'"

Well. It's the last week before finals for me. Except I don't have any finals. Just two papers to hand in. (Plan ahead, kids!) I put the finishing touches on my thesis statement for that Dark Souls paper today (it takes a long time, okay?), and that was about the extent of my homework endeavors. I've been playing a lot of The Binding of Isaac: Wrath of the Lamb--which is pretty amazing--but still managed to get some time in with the NES classics and not-so-classics. Don't you wish your schedule was easy like meeee---MINE?

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 6, "On Like Donkey Kong"

Happy Cyber Monday, as our corporate overlords have designated today! I spent Thanksgiving break writing a thesis paragraph for that paper on Dark Souls. Okay, I actually spent Thanksgiving break playing The Binding of Isaac and CS:GO, but that doesn't sound as studious. Anyway, I played some other games as well, for your edification and gratification.

On a related note, was Donkey Kong originally meant as a catch-all for every game that they needed a franchise for but didn't want to invent a new one? Because the overall game mechanics change so drastically between the NES titles... 

Review: THE LIGHT IS THE DARKNESS, Laird Barron

It took me quite a while to formulate my thoughts on Laird Barron’s Lovecraftian-by-way-of-Robert E. Howard novel “The Light is the Darkness.” This was primarily because I try to find good sides of anything I read. (Yes, even Twilight, which had an interesting idea regarding vampirism—if you WANT to be a vampire, you don’t lose control. It’s a mishandled, throwaway line in an awful series, but it IS a bright spot.) Let’s just say it was difficult with Barron.

See, the problem with Barron is that he tries too hard. His writing seems like that of a very excited child who’s been given permission to play with big kid toys. He’s tinkering in Lovecraft’s sandbox (Lovecraft’s antipersonnel-mine-laden sandbox), and he’s so glad to be there that he wants to mention every single Lovecraftian idea Lovecraft, Howard, and every similar writer afterwards has invented. Because I am a singularly boring man, I spent some time picking through the book, finding every Mythos organization or Elder God Barron namedrops.

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 5, "Seizure Time!"

It's been one of those weeks. I just got done with a twenty-hour project reading articles, taking notes, scribbling ideas, and finally writing a research proposal. The topic? Player agency and the Gothic in Dark Souls. I'm pretty excited. But also very tired. Anyway, I played some games this week. And reviewed them for your pleasure. Or boredom. Whatever. I'm too tired to care, honestly. Research is not my strong suit. It burns me out very quickly, and I struggle to narrow things down to a reasonable level. All the same, I enjoy finding out new things and coming up with new interpretations. 

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 4, "A Terrible Night..."

Hey! A solid month of posting these things! That must be some kind of personal record. This week we've got Castlevania, Castlevania, and...more Castlevania. Way to go for the variety there, huh? I've got about as much imagination as Dracula--sorry, Alucard. 

I'm a pretty big fan of the overall vibe of Castlevania. The earlier ones, at least. Not so much the later ones that got kind of anime emo and such. Even though I like anime emo sometimes. Just not in my Castlevania. Muh Castlevania needs to be Gothic and spookay. CASTLEVANIA. GOTHIC. SPOOKAY. 

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 3, "Bubbles and Blobs"

Hey, week three of this backlog...oh, what's the word? Rampage? Slog? Eh, who cares? It doesn't matter anymore... *cue Linda Ronstadt singing* Anyway, I've managed to keep on chugging, which is as shocking to me as it is to you, I'm sure. So without further ado (what IS ado, anyway?), let's go! We've got Blobs and Blaster Masters and Bubble Bobbling dinosaurs to be oogling and ogling! 

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 2, "Bionic Comman-DOH!"

Yeah, I'm back. I know, I know. I'm shocked too. Usually I don't manage to stick with a project for two whole weeks. It's rather freakish, honestly. Worrying. Anyway, I'm back with some more NES games I played for...somebody's amusement. Certainly not mine. One fun game out of three is not a good ratio. Especially given that I've already cherrypicked these games somewhat. Oh well. You can't have everything, I guess. Anyway. I'm running on caffeine and the massive amount of Halloween candy left untouched by trick-or-treaters, so let's get our retro game review on!

Backlog Blitz: NES, Week 1, "The Rainbow's Curse"

In an age long past, I reviewed things in a humorous and unobjective manner which would cause your average GamerGater to have an aneurysm. This is a return to that glorious tradition. These blogs were originally posted on GameInformer Online, a wonderful games site.

There are a lot of games over the years I missed out on due to ignorance or lack of cash or simply being too young to know of them or buy them. I’m going to rectify that. And you get to watch me slowly go insane over the course of around two thousand video games. It should be fun!

Disparate Gazes: Camera Styles in Hamlet

A security camera’s viewfinder frames the empty hallway. Cautiously, a guard trudges down the corridor. The camera pans to track him. After setting the stage in the castle’s night-emptied halls, we are introduced to Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus using an over-the-shoulder shot which operates almost as a fourth person eavesdropping on the trio. As the three men huddle together, their retelling of the previous night’s events is interrupted by an abrupt switch to a first-person handheld shot. This viewpoint stalks slowly towards the murmuring group, who quickly turn in terror, shying away from the unseen arrival. Horatio stammers out a command to speak, but the apparition—Hamlet Senior’s ghost—ignores him and departs. Once again the point of view switches abruptly, back to the security camera. Three men stand together, terrified, in an empty hallway. 

Hamlet and Incest

Oedipal Desires & the Subconscious in the Language of Hamlet

For many people, especially those who have never encountered Shakespeare, or who have only experienced Bowdlerized versions, Shakespeare’s works are a clean and wholesome alternative to what they consider “modern filth.” However, even a basic knowledge of Shakespeare’s writing reveals themes such as those found in Hamlet: Self-harm, murder, incest, and more, all used to reveal deeper truths about humanity. This essay will examine Hamlet’s use of incestuous themes, particularly Ophelia’s song to deceased Polonius and two of Hamlet’s interactions with Gertrude; find that Hamlet and Ophelia indeed possess Oedipal desires; and examine possible reasons for Shakespeare’s inclusion of such longings. 

Ireland Belongs to the Dead

“To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart.”

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

I’ve always been ashamed when Shane McGowan queries, “Have you ever walked the lonesome hills, or heard the curlews cry? Or seen the raven black as night upon the wind-swept sky? To walk the purple heather or heard the west wind sigh, and know that’s where the rebel boys must die?” For years, my answer has always been no. And I’ve been ashamed.  And now my answer is yes, I have done these things, Shane. I wish it weren’t so. In the curlew’s shrill keening there is only loneliness. A black-winged raven wheeling in widening blue-grey gyres brings only sorrow. Ireland belongs to the dead.