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!