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kyndaris · 4 years

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The Cost of Honour

What would you sacrifice to save the lives of the people you love and the home you cherish? How long would you be able to hold onto your morals when faced with an enemy that is impossible to win against? In the last exclusive for the PlayStation 4, Ghost of Tsushima from the developer Sucker Punch, asks these hard hitting questions and many more as it follows the journey of Jin Sakai in his quest to drive out the brutal Mongols from the island of Tsushima.

Considering the pedigree of Sucker Punch and chafing to dive into the world of Feudal Japan, Ghost of Tsushima was an easy buy for me. Immersed in the world of the Yakuza series and delighting occasionally in fresh new anime, it seemed imperative that I see what this game could bring to the fore. After all, the game looked very much like Assassin’s Creed. I liked Assassin’s Creed. And hadn’t the fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise been clamouring for something in a similar vein for a very long time?

Once I booted it up, I was immediately struck by the visual representation. The colours were vibrant (though one could choose to play in black and white mode) and coupled with the particle effects, I could have sworn I had been pulled into a cinematic world. The opening scene used this to great effect and proved to be a masterful attempt of immersing me immediately with the world. As Jin raced down the beach, I thoroughly enjoyed the rush that came with swinging my katana at anyone that was foolish enough to stand in my way. Yet, it is not long before it becomes exceedingly clear that the samurai have lost the battle. Many are slain on the beach and Lord Shimura, Jin Sakai’s uncle and jito (land steward) of Tsushima is captured. Jin, having taken a couple of arrow shots in the back, is left for dead.

Enter Yuna. It isn’t clear why she singled out our protagonist as being alive and pulled him away to nurse him back to health.

As the prologue continued, I wondered if she was questioning her choice of companion as Jin, armed with only his sword and a broken piece of armour went to confront the Khan at Castle Kaneda, in a desperate bid to rescue his uncle. This first attempt is met with failure and Jin is essentially yeeted off the bridge. Yes. I know. I used the word ‘yeeted.’ I’m basically roasting my own hands over hot coals as I type this.

Despite plummeting what looked like several hundred metres down into the water below, Jin manages to survive. The man, it seems, is almost unkillable. You could say...he’s a ghost. Badum tss. I’ll see myself out now.

From a discouraging defeat, Jin, however, vows to avenge his fallen samurai brethren and rescue his uncle from the clutches of the evil Mongol invaders. Here, too, was when my journey to collect everything and complete all the side stories began.

Unfamiliar with the works of Kurosawa Akira, I can not rightly say if the narrative nestled in Ghost of Tsushima’s maze of collectibles plays upon the tropes of those that came before. What I did manage to glean was a story of revenge and hate, the cost of war and the values embodied by the notion of ‘samurai.’ With his back to the wall, Jin Sakai must adapt if he hopes to win. Much like Yuna’s speech at the start of the game, he and Lord Shimura have forgotten what it was like to face someone stronger and smarter than they were. If Tsushima and its people hoped to survive, instead of throwing away their lives, they needed to change their tactics.

In the early stages, Jin is shown to grapple with the idea of going in quietly and silently stabbing people in the back. But after the first mission and the first outpost, he was free of the burdens that were his old code of honour. I suppose in that sense, there is a degree of dissonance between the narrative and the play. Alas, I couldn’t have cared less as I went from camp to camp, observing the leaders and unlocking new technique points.

The end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3, however, is when Jin Sakai’s actions finally catch up to him. Instead of following through with his uncle’s plan of rebuilding the bridge at Castle Shimura after an explosion killed countless soldiers and allies, he poisons the Mongols drink in a bid to save the lives of his comrades. Classic war crime manoeuvre. Learning from this, however, the Mongols use this against the people of Tsushima as well.

It is this devastation that we see after Jin escapes from his uncle’s stronghold, desperate to free the people from the Mongol’s iron grip. Despite the gruesome nature of it all, it helped put Jin’s actions into a different light. By making the enemy aware of a new weapon, could he have possibly doomed his own people?

Subsequently, when the Khan is killed and Jin is about to face his father figure, it makes sense for Shimura to point out many of his misdeeds. Can the people of Tsushima really be saved if Jin’s actions undermine the authority of those in power? What of the stories that paint him as a ten foot demon with eyes that glow in the dark?

So, it came as no surprise when Lord Shimura asked for a warrior’s death. And wishing to be the dutiful son, no matter how painful it would be, I granted it. One last ‘honourable’ act.

The gameplay in Ghost of Tsushima initially proved to be a challenge, although that was mostly due to the fact that I had to readjust my understanding of my controls. Navigating without a minimap in the corner or a HUD showing me the general directions of north, south, east and west also took some time to adjust to. I don’t think I’ve ever just ‘followed the wind’ when it came to video games before. But, because of that, it allowed me to actually keep my eyes focused on the screen in front of me rather than the top right/ left corner. I could actually take in the scenery instead of being solely focused on clearing out the fog of war.

As for the actual combat, the controls were incredibly intuitive. Square for a normal attack, triangle for heavy. L1 to block and circle to dodge. Where it seemed like the developers should have stopped a little when it came to the variety of options available to the player was mapping R2 as the interactions button - but also the stance and quick throw wheel.

Traversal also proved to be fun and because the HUD wasn’t as cluttered as I was used to, it made exploration easy. Equipped with the Traveler’s Outfit as soon as the game had started also made it incredibly easy to start hunting down collectibles and feeding my urge to see every nook and cranny that was on display. What pained me, however, was the fact that it took me a while to realise that I needed to progress the story and obtain the grappling hook before I could complete a few of the shrines in the first area. And to obtain a few choice head gear.

My only other gripe with the game is that my poor Nobu was felled so swiftly at the start of the third act. And the thin brown horse that served as its replacement was not the replacement I had hoped for. Thankfully, Yuna was able to gift me with another horse - which I named Sora - but my heart still goes out to the faithful Nobu.

Why do you have to kill all of my faithful steeds, video games? I was distraught when Red Dead Redemption 2 did it. Appalled when Shimmer was caught in an explosion in The Last of Us Part II and now...this?

The side characters and side stories also proved to be entertaining distractions over the course of the long journey to free Tsushima. While Masako’s revenge plot was a hollow echo of the pain Jin faced, it was Norio’s burning of the Mongol camp that left me frightened of the legacy of the ghost. At least the ending of Sensei Ishikawa’s story felt a little more redemptive and filled wit hope.

And, after IMDBing the cast, I was gladdened by the fact that many of the voice actors chosen for the game were Asian Americans. Jin Sakai was actually voiced by a Japanese man in the English dub! Imagine that!

Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent open-world game that hews quite closely to the more recent Assassin’s Creed formula. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring Feudal Japan, inconsistencies and all! My favourite part of it was collecting Mongol artefacts, records and learning a little about each clan banner. The combat also provided a few surprises, although the duels were a little tedious in the latter half. With the world still unable to quite shake the virus that still threatens many of our loved ones, it’s fun to actually dive into this fantastical and historical inaccurate world that is Ghost of Tsushima.

#ghost of tsushima #video games #platinum trophy

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thisweekingundamwing · 7 years

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June 4th-10th, 2017

It’s Sunday again! Hope everyone has had an amazing week! Below you will find all the great things created this week for our beautiful fandom! (I grabbed stuff from AO3, deviantArt, and FF.net.)

Fanfiction:

@amberlyinviolet Knife in Hand (Ch. 18) This is--well. It's not ONLY gratuitous smut, but it's MOSTLY gratuitous smut. We're getting a nice buffer in now before the shit starts to hit the fan ^_~.

@chemicalcrush “I think I’m in love.” prompt 2X6 Fluff

@chronicwhimsy Spark Some shameless, plotless 2x3 smut. There isn’t anything redeeming about this whatsoever.

@claraxbarton Paloma After the wars, Zechs adjusts to life on Mars.For the Summer of Zechs Tumblr festival. June 4th prompt of “Beach” Retribution For the Tumblr Summer of Zechs Festival. For the June 5th prompts: Childhood and Anger Years after the war, Zechs has a chance to seek retribution. Cypress Zechs finally takes a much needed vacation and has an interesting first night in Key West. For the Summer of Zechs Festival on Tumblr. June 6th prompt: vacation Plans When Zechs received an invitation to his 15-year High School Reunion he and Trowa make plans.

@cosmostar Desire told in Colors One black night, the silver marine Zechs Merquise had a mysterious encounter with a lady whose lipstick was red as blood. She called herself Blue and let him wondering when they could meet again. A 2017 Summer of Zechs submission by yours truly and my first work in English!

DarkBluePhoenix Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy Gundam Invasion A Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Mobile Fighter G Gundam Crossover

@downwarddnaspiral Landing Spiral 2x3xR ficlet. Fluff. Photo prompt.

facetiousfutz Nine Pairings Involving Heero This is my bingo for the fffc mini summer bingo challenge on Dreamwidth. Each chapter is a different story with a different pairing.

@helmistress Zechs’ Teeth A small sword fight between Zechs and WuFei. Written for @rhysgalentalcernunnos and their sentence prompt of ‘You sink your teeth into the ones you depend on.’ Also for @our-summer-of-zechs for June 5th’s Anger. Excerpt from Noin’s Stationary 1 For the Summer of Zechs' June 6th Silver. A small poem by Noin. Alliance Carwash For the prompt “Stay with me forever.” from @Rhysgalentalcernunnos and the Summer of Zechs prompt of Summer Job. 6XH, Zechs Merquise, Hilde Schbeiker, Fluffy! Photo Prompt! Okay, so this may become something larger eventually… but, my Zechs OTP is totally him and Noin…so, yeah, have some fluff? Road Trip? 6X2, eventual shenanigans and criminal catching.

@kangofu-cb Mission Redacted (Ch. 6) Duo joins the team, but the past isn’t quite done haunting him yet.Warnings: canon-level violencePairings: Background 3x4, future pairings TBD Prompt Drabble Collection Random prompt responses here. Pay attention to individual drabble warnings, found at the top of each chapter. Multiple pairings. No set timeline. No set background. These have undergone some editing since they were posted on Tumblr, so expect minor changes if you read them there first.Warnings: Smut, NSFWPairings: Multiple, check individual chapters.

Kuroi Uma Kaeru (Ch. 2) Who is a soldier out of war? Who is a gundam pilot without a gundam? Heero thought he knew, but in the aftermath of the Mariemaia inccident, with Wing Zero in shambles, he's no longer sure. So he sets out in search of his origins and while the road leads him back to Japan, he meets people who will make him rethink his life and help him find his place in the world.

@la-femme-noelle Party Favors For SoftNocturne. Okay, so this is pretty much Softnocturne's fault for wanting 2x4x5 with Duo and Wufei ogling Quatre's badunkadunk and my fault I guess for being dirty-minded enough to want to write it. Lulz.No real warnings, but a head's up for rimming and double penetration, so if that squicks you, best back-button now. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this, especially you Softy! Love you, darlin'. *air kisses*

@lifeaftermeteor Snippet Saturday (AC 206) Having survived the Eve War, the Gundam pilots are left to their own devices to chart the paths their lives will take in a world that none of them expected to live long enough to see. Peace is disorienting and growing up is hard to do. 1x2, 5xR, Sx11, past 3x4

luvsanime02 Standby Heero goes in front of the Board of Professional Review, and now she has an important decision to make. This is the fifth story in Navigation, a fem!Heero series.

@miss-m-muses Bat-Dude vs Spandex Boy After the colonial wars, Duo takes a job dressing up as a superhero to promote a club. It was an easy job... until a rival superhero arrives.

@mfinlay802 Wine Red 6x1 for Summer of Zechs! Odd Company A Preventers AU 6x1 drabble that- if people like- could be extended to include a part 2 (>o<)

@morbidbirdy, @the-notorious-bhg End of Line (Ch. 8) Slash, AU, Angst, 1x3x1, 3x4 - Freeform, Post-Tron: Legacy, Action/Adventure

Myviewing Mobile Suit Gundam WING: ECLIPSE (Ch. 15) After Colony 225. The promises made by generations past have been broken. There is no path towards peace but only unimaginable destruction. The past 11 years of conflict have brought this war to its unparalleled climax. The revival of Gundam. (Rated T for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence, and language, major use of OCs and some use of ICs)

nan Overlay Duo and Heero, alone in the woods. Fluff, Mission Fic, Awkward Conversations

@rhysgalentalcernunnos June 4th Summer of Zechs Snippet Zechs and Male Mystery Mate have a picnic at the beach. Example by Rhys Some 2X6 cuteness! Road trip, Summer of Zechs

@simulacraryn Right Where It Belongs Drabble Collection for Summer of Zechs 2017 - Fourteen visions in time, some AU, others canon. See each chapter for brief summaries.

taichara Cybertriptych Trowa has work to do, and needs to goad himself into doing it; not because of disinterest, but just to keep himself on track at all. Some encounters left unseen scars. Games Heero knows a challenge when he sees one. +TLvop Value Judgements Quatre needs to rebuild many things. Oh yes.

The Manwell A Safe Good Place (Ch. 5) 2X3

@the-notorious-bhg Balboa One-Shot fic, part of Gundam Wing CAPCOM, NASA AU story arc. The guys answer questions about life on the ISS from elementary school kids.

Fanart:

@avaantares Summer of Zechs: Shades of Gray

@claraxbarton Zechs art

@downwarddnaspiral Zechs Sketch

LaRozeta Heero and Duo Jr.

@maevemauvaise Long Meilan as Wonder Woman Relena in a state function dress

@outofworkshinigami Beach time

Seraphiczero Taurus Isaac Winters

thunder1928 Relena Peacecraft - 2

Calendar Events:

@our-summer-of-zechs Summer of Zechs It’s been a great Zechsy week and there’s still one more to go! June 11th through the 17th are all that’s left!

#This week in Gundam Wing #Summer of Zechs #weekly recap #Gundam Wing #June 4th-10th 2017

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spoiler2010 · 5 years

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Bullet Points?

Secretary of Transportation Elaine L Chao arrives at her position at a most opportune time, though facing a critical point in American history. With a steadily growing American population, the need for transportation is greater than ever. As of this writing, socialists are trying to hijack the Green Party for political purposes. There is a clarion call for pollution control, and radical changes will call for new emission regulations affecting billions of vehicles. We are also witnessing a major crisis in many areas where highways and bridges are in immediate need of overhaul or replacement. We have also come to a juncture where smuggling is creating emergency situations across the country. Another problem is the issue of growing demographics with their own transportation issues. All these things will cross Chao's desk, and history will document how these challenges are met.

For the record, Chao is ethnic Chinese whose parents migrated from Taipei. Her father was the founder of a successful shipping corporation, the Foremost Group. She complemented her knowledge of the industry with a business degree and went on to build her resume with financial institutions. She served in the Department of Transportation under the Reagan and Bush administrations before being hired as Secretary of Labor under Bush. It was a breakthrough achievement for Chao as an Asian-American.

Her first and foremost challenge comes from environmentalists demanding a departure by the industry from the use of fossil fuel. Since the Seventies, leftists have been rallying behind an international coalition known as the Green Party. Their most significant accomplishment impacting the transportation industry has been the mandatory use of catalytic converters. These have been installed on all American automobiles for emission control. Although initially applauded, the drastic increase of vehicle ownership in the USA has nullified the rate of reduction of carbon monoxide fumes in the atmosphere. Lobbyists are forcing the industry to adapt, and Chao will have to contribute to the system of checks and balances.

One major problem is the manufacture of ethanol fuel. Although it is a cleaner form of gasoline, the toll it has taken on the American food supply has been significant. Farmers growing and selling corn experienced a windfall profit in selling their crops to oil producers. At first it was a gradual process as consumers were not entirely sold on the new product. It was sold at cheaper prices as a result, and soon price-conscious drivers became ethanol buyers. Soon demand began exceeding supply, and now ethanol is a more expensive product though the clear choice for the environmentally conscious.

Again we see how concerns within the Cabinet can overlap, and the moral issues are apparent though not of prime importance. With millions of people around the planet enduring starvation and a significant number of Americans being underfed, filling gas tanks instead of stomachs seems blasphemous. This is obviously a Department of Agriculture issue, but Chao would be able to effectively weigh in on the discussion. There are also debates as to the future of diesel fuel. Researchers hold discourses as to the benefits of its availability and whether it should be replaced or rendered obsolete.

We are also standing at the threshold of an age of electric engines. As of this writing, there are hundreds of thousands of hybrid cars using electricity to complement their gas energy output. The existing challenge is the enormous amount of electricity required to recharge batteries, which are forced to exert tremendous amounts of power. The burden is on mechanical engineers who are trying to develop systems that can replace the gasoline-powered engine entirely.

Once again we see the interplay between Departments as the economic situation will evolve. An American economy, increasingly independent of foreign oil or fossil fuel, will create a glut that oil-based economies such as Russia will be able to ill-afford. It will also cause an initial instability as oil conglomerates in the USA will struggle to convert their resources to clean energy. Dropping prices will force Latin American nations to do likewise. Yet, in the long run, it will result in an environmental upswing that is long overdue.

Beyond policing American vehicles for changing emission control standards, Chao will be required to enforce US standards on interstate commerce. A recent phenomenon has been seen on American highways as to the increasing number of closed weigh stations. It is well known that the standard way to regulate shipping has been to monitor the weight of trucks from place of origin to destination. If controls prove lax, it is tempting for blackmarketers to try their luck in bribing or coercing truckers to move their illicit wares.

If and when the Trump Wall is constructed, it will allow Border Patrol agents to take a greater hand in deterring such activity. They can also hold socialists' feet to the fire in demanding the supply of electronic surveillance devices that can improve their techniques. Monitors can be installed on trucks and standardized by Chao. It would allow hardware systems to determine the weight of a vehicle and make the information available to monitoring agents. This could make it nearly impossible for large transports to avoid detection if their cargo weight should change from station to station.

There is an economic paradigm that must be considered. Once resources are in less demand in one area, they can be allocated elsewhere to improve yet another service. Once law enforcement costs have stabilized, Chao could use an increased budget to expand the use of roadside services. Tow trucks that cruise the highways providing assistance to motorists could also monitor suspicious activity. If they were to come across large groups emerging from private vehicles at rest areas or vehicles moving cargo from one to another, a message to local authorities could prevent a crime in progress. Granted, there would be a backlash from leftists citing racial profiling or the violation of rights. Yet the deterrent effect on traffickers resulting in lower crime rates would justify the initiative.

The condition of our infrastructure was a campaign issue for the President, and an energetic response by Chao could prove historic. The biggest obstacle is the increasing number of vehicles on American roadway. San Antonio in Texas is just one of countless cities where highway repair cause brutal delays on a daily basis. Yet once one project is completed, another is underway which takes the obstacles to different locations. In New York City, officials have delayed long-needed upgrades to the subway system due to the horrific inconveniences they would create. In Kansas City in Missouri, we recall President Bush having visited the city and making a joke about an immediate need for fixing all the potholes. If we multiply these scenarios by a thousand, we can appreciate what Chao is facing.

One possible remedy would be for Chao to meet with chemical engineers in developing a new material for road construction and road repair. Obviously the traditional use of asphalt is outdated and ineffective. Yet the use of metal is out of the question due to the peril of skidding. Plastic compounds that would provide a sleek surface would be equally hazardous. Science would be challenged to come up with a new formula that allows tires to retain traction, being porous yet resilient enough to endure the abuse of snow plows, tractor treads, or other vehicles that make roadways appear as battlefield after the first blizzard.

Once again this would allow America to become an industry leader on the global market. Despite the piteous shape of our roadways, foreigners driving in the USA often marvel as if they are navigating the Yellow Brick Road. If we were to develop a high-tech paving material, the nations of the world would be flocking to place orders. The billions saved along the passage of time would allow us to reinvest repair funds into the rebuilding of bridges and railways, making America a far safer place.

Another area where Chao could make her mark on world history in the bullet train issue. Japan remains the only country that relies heavily on bullet trains. This is most likely due to the overpopulation in many areas that creates congestion in local job markets. Being able to transport workers from different regions on timely schedules benefits both employers and employees. We are now seeing how this will prove a tremendous asset to American workers. Though many estimates appear exorbitant at this stage, Chao would be visionary in organizing a conference for investors and entrepreneurs to pioneer such a project.

Should such a system develop, the earned income would be immediate. In Missouri, for example, a bullet train from Kansas City to St. Louis would ensure that skilled labor would find markets in both cities. There would rarely be gluts in either employment markets. Furthermore, regional cross-training would allow workers to adapt to relocation with low opportunity cost. Were the system to be extended to Chicago, there would be equal benefits to each city. This could also apply to a bullet train network from San Antonio to Houston, or any other cities where workers could avail themselves of regional opportunities.

This could eventually interact with the Department of Housing as the demand for homes in Chicago would be lessened. Many middle-class families would gladly relocate to areas where the cost of living were more affordable. For Millenials, the psychological impact of moving to different environments would be lessened if their old neighborhoods were just a train ride away. Once the markets between cities achieved equilibrium, the economic levels would also reach parity. The benefit to a major city like Chicago where their resources are chronically overburdened would be tremendous.

The profit margin would be further extended by the benefits provided to the tourist trade. Travelers throughout the Midwest would be able to visit KC, St. Louis and Chicago within hours without having to book flights or drive for days. It may well develop local markets for merchants who would benefit from the increased commerce. There are many citizens, such as women, children and the elderly, who do not travel due to costs or logistical difficulties. Being able to take a train to a different city would allow them to invest disposable income in broadening their horizons. And local businesses would be the better for it.

As the network develops, private investors could tap into the market for equal benefit. Obviously we would not want to see heavy freight catapulted across the country over two hundred miles per hour. However, small items such as computer accessories would cause no more stress that trainloads of commuters. This would guarantee speedy deliveries for interstate suppliers that may well open up a new market. Eventually we would see innovators seeking to develop sturdier systems to deliver heavier transports. And Chao's system would grow exponentially.

It is evident that the heart and soul of American capitalism is its industry. And our infrastructure is the circulatory system that makes it work. The President has entrusted its care and maintenance to Elaine Chao. Let us hope that her uniqueness as an Asian-American will be the least of her accolades. She is in a commanding position to bring our economy along a new horizon in this new American century.

#elainechao #department of commerce

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