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whumptasticwednesday · 5 years

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Insult to Injury ft. Dadneto (Peter Maximoff - X-Men)

Author’s Note: Hey, ya’ll. I’ve been burning the midnight oil to get this fic out on time, AKA 2 consecutive nights of staying up till’ 3 am. I’ve had the idea for a Peter-centric Dadneto whump fic for a decent amount of time, and after receiving a lovely anonymous prompt, I decided to incorporate both my idea and theirs. Here we’ve got Peter after the events of Apocalypse, debilitated, and accidentally giving himself a nasty case of salmonella, before Erik comes to help. I’m pretty proud of this one, so I hope you enjoy it! This fic is unedited, sorry, so please let me know if there’s any glaring issues. For my next fic, I’m shifting away from X-Men for a hot sec so I can write a nice Detroit: Become Human whump fic with our favorite android son, Connor. I’ve been super excited about my plot concept, so I’m ecstatic to start writing it. Anyways, I hope you like this one, I worked very hard on it, and I hope you’re all excited for the DBH fic coming soon!

-Ash

Word Count: 6299

Warning: Emeto and decently graphic descriptions of physical illness

Setting: Post-Apocalypse/Pre-Dark Phoenix

If there's anything Peter Maximoff knew in this moment, it was that not being able to do the one thing your body was genetically enhanced to do, sucked. A lot.

It had been only a few days since the X-Mansion had been rebuilt and things all fell back into this synonymous routine as if the entire building hadn't exploded a short while ago. In Peter's opinion, it was all kind of creepy how easy it seemed for these kids to all just go back to learning when their home and school just got eviscerated in a hellfire, but he didn't think much of it.

All he could think about in this moment, was how immensely bored he was. Peter always had something going on with him; he was either thinking about his impending dad-related issues, plotting a prank, or deciding to go off and steal an entire Walmart's worth of Twinkies in the blink of an eye, there was always something.

Yet now, the rest of the X-Men were off with Charles helping cover up heat from the international press by cleaning up all the damage and destruction in Cairo and showing what Charles had dubbed: "diplomacy", which was too huge of a word for Peter to ever use in an everyday sentence; too many letters, and Peter was left back at the mansion since he really couldn't use his powers effectively at the moment, so it would be pretty useless for him to be tagging along.

Peter normally wouldn't have given a damn, maybe even excited at the prospect of being able to rig his friends' rooms with elaborate traps with Jello and staplers or something of the sorts while they weren't around, yet now, when faced with inescapable boredom that followed him wherever his broken leg did (everywhere), he was dying to have anything to do. As the team was suiting up to get on the jet to go back to Cairo, Peter had pathetically hobbled down to the X-Men bunker on his crutches, begging to be taken with. But they'd simply gassed up the plane and flew off, leaving Peter alone, and oh so very bored.

Which brings us to Peter now, attempting to create an omelette with 6 different cheeses, 8 different and poorly-diced peppers, a heaping assortment of minced tomatoes, and a sprinkling of those off-brand fruit snacks that are always better than the on-brand ones for some reason. It wouldn't be a Peter breakfast without some form of sweet, and in his eyes, it stuck to the healthy-ish theme. It had fruit in the name for a reason, didn't it?

The kid always had a massive appetite, and everyone that knew Peter knew this as well. You'd be hard pressed to find him without some snack or form of sustenance in his hand, scarfing it down like there was no tomorrow. It was all a byproduct of his enhanced metabolism. All that energy to run had to come from somewhere, didn't it? Little did he know, this super stomach of his would come to kick him in the ass in a few short hours. But for now, the silver-haired man child of a mutant was limping around the mansion's kitchen making a very... exotic breakfast for dinner meal.

Peter plopped the strange looking (decently gooey) excuse for an omelette into a large plate with some Twinkies and orange juice on the side. As he devoured his dinner, Peter thought anxiously about Erik. It had taken him 10 years to connect the dots, work up the courage, and even think of confronting the man to tell him of his true parentage, yet wimped out at the last minute, leaving the ambiguous: "I'm here for my family too." Peter groaned audibly to himself as his mind once again replayed the events he'd already replayed a million times before. It was embarrassing as all hell. Luckily, nobody that did know told Erik anything, which Peter was very grateful for.

Imagine learning about a woman you left 2 and a half decades ago actually birthing a son you had no idea existed and just now learned of... but not from him, despite several encounters beforehand where he had ample opportunities to do so. It'd make Peter feel like even more of a loser than a 27 year old who still lived in his mother's basement. But, to be fair, Peter was no longer a grown man living with his mom, he was a grown man living in a school where he was many years past the oldest enrolled student, while not teaching a single class; it was a step up from the basement, trust me.

Once finished with his omelette, Peter quickly washed his dishes and made his trek up the small flight of stairs to reach his room on the second floor. Over the past few days, Peter had learned just how high a set of stairs could be, especially when you end up falling down them on several attempts to slide down the handrail (and failing miserably while being laughed at by dozens of impressionable pre-teen children.) What a loser.

After reaching his room, particularly winded from this dinner excursion, Peter was grateful to see that he hadn't unplugged his television from the wall after his embarrassing fall in an attempt to get to the bathroom by himself, without his crutches, or the lights on. A simple recipe for disaster in nearly all circumstances, yet for some reason, the universe held pity for Peter and his debilitated state, and decided to not make his day any worse than it already was.

Peter ultimately decided to entertain himself with a good night-long play session of Pac-Man on his Atari 2600, also still miraculously undamaged from last night's fall. He booted up the inferior version of the game (seriously though, he'd have to get Kurt to help him teleport his arcade cabinet from his basement to the school, playing this one was getting a bit tiring on the eyes.) It sufficed, he thought as the TV harshly flashed on.

Now normally, Peter would have been up all night with his video games and rock music blaring in the background, yet tonight, something (besides his immobile leg) felt really off. Each distinct 'WOMP' from the console as the yellow circle man consumed the dashes and dots felt like a sledgehammer into Peter's eardrums, leaving a resonating ache at the base of his skull. He didn't think much of it and brushed it off, simply turning down his music a notch and backing away from the TV a few inches.

The next confusing sign that something wasn't quite right was the disconcerting shivers wracking his body. A chilly breeze seemed to sweep the room as if the AC was on full blast with the windows open on a November midnight, yet it was July and all the windows were closed and when he went to check if his AC unit was acting up, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That's whack, Peter thought to himself as he plopped onto his bed, Atari abandoned on the rugged floor.

He didn't know how long he spent staring at the unmoving chandelier hanging lamely from the ceiling, but it felt as if seconds later, the room was not only freezing, but spinning, and suffocating. Everything felt way too close. Peter could feel every fiber of his shirt rubbing against his jacket, the itchy inside of his cast pressing up against the entirety of his right leg, and the presence of his goggles resting on his neck, now seeming like a noose closing in on his throat. He hastily tore off the eyewear and tossed them on his nightstand before deciding to shed his jacket and weakly throwing it across the room. Another move he regretted.

Without the jacket to keep his arms warm, the newfound seemingly frosty atmosphere felt like a icy flurry against his skin. In spite of his mind's confused wishes, Peter ripped the heavy blanket off the end of the bed and closed it around himself like a caterpillar ready to emerge as a butterfly the next time it saw the daylight. Peter sure as hell didn't feel like a caterpillar, but if the feeling of metamorphosis was a growing sense of intense nausea and cramping in the stomach, then hell yeah, he was crushing this butterfly business.

Fuck, what's wrong with me?! He thought to himself as he rolled onto his side. Peter rubbed at his eyes, hoping to clear the dizziness, yet only further irritating them. God damnit, he sighed internally as his face scrunched up in discomfort, releasing one of his hand's hold on the blanket to cradle his aching stomach.

"Is this karma for all that shit I stole when I was younger? That's just mean, man," Peter rasped to nobody in particular. He thought about it more though and responded to his own question, "Then again, I think that's pretty fair. Haha...Shit, man. Never thought I'd say this, but I think... I think I need help."

The sledgehammer-like headache was pounding with every bass drum beat lightly emanating from the sound system Peter hadn't turned off, another move he regretted. He couldn't decide if the pros outweighed the cons: hobbling through the dark to possibly remedy a source of his suffering, but relinquishing his hold on the only thing keeping him from feeling like freezing. Peter played it safe, much to his cranium's dismay.

Peter stared off towards the wall at nothing in particular as he tried oh so hard to draw his mind's focus from how terrible he felt to literally anything else. It wasn't working out so well. And so, Peter laid there, blanket tossed over himself, single leg drawn up to his chest, shivering like a leaf in a rainstorm, as nauseous as a toddler who just rode their first roller coaster, feeling like he was about to cry, and alone. What a miserable way to spend the night.

------

If there's anything Erik Lehnsherr knew in this moment, it was that he was beyond irritated that Charles wasn't at the mansion to run his own school. Despite leaving the school once he'd helped rebuild it to try and seek solitude to wrap his mind around his place in the world and everything that'd happened to him, Erik was back at the mansion once again. He was ready to lay down the foundations for his new mutant hideaway, Genosha, and needed Charles's connections to the government to help smooth over his charges and get clearance to have his isolated society where he might truly find happiness and solace. The universe had spoken, and he obviously wasn't cut out to be a nuclear family kind of guy.

Unbeknownst to him, Erik had once again meandered into a setting with his unrealized son. Also unbeknownst to him, that son was currently cooped up alone in his room, feeling like death.

Erik uncomfortably paced around the mansion, checking Charles's office, the X-Men bunker, and all the other places he might have been, yet the telepath was nowhere to be found. Erik sighed, he knew coming this late was a bargain, one, it turns out, he'd come to lose. The school itself was eerily quiet. It was if the entire mansion was empty or something. Peaceful, yet unsettling for a man who knew nothing but chaos.

Erik was about to borrow a book someone had abandoned in the foyer when he heard the muffled melodies of American rock music echoing from the upstairs floor. It must be that problematic Peter child, Erik thought to himself. From what he told himself was a civil duty to the rest of the sleeping kids in the school (but was actually his own way to cope with his curiosity) Erik decided to check up on the snarky young man to ask if he'd turn down the tunes.

As he approached the door, Erik was bracing himself for something extremely untamed. Perhaps a messy, greasy slophole of a living area, or maybe a drunk and uncontrollably obnoxious man dancing to his music in the nude. You never really knew with Peter, and Erik had come to expect the strangest out of the boy from the few genuine interactions they've had.

Erik gently tapped his knuckles against the door, waiting patiently for a 'come in', or something along the lines of those words, yet it never came. Raising a questioning yet not too surprised eyebrow, Erik knocked again, using slightly harder bangs, not wishing to make a ruckus and wake anyone else in the hallway up. Again, nothing. Although it could have simply boiled down to Peter not hearing him from his loud and abhorrent music, Erik was growing slightly irritated with the lack of a response. So with his last reserves of patience, he knocked one final time, once again listening for a signal or cue to enter. He was met with nothing yet again.

Wondering for the worst and fully expecting to meet a blackout drunk Peter when he opened the door, Erik tentatively jiggled the doorknob, which just so happened to be unlocked, and stepped inside. Thankfully, he was not met with a naked dancing or woefully drunk mutant speedster, but most would probably argue that what he was met with was quite worse. And that being a rancid stench of sick and sour nastiness lingering in the air, a poorly plopped pile of blankets draped over the culprit of the odor, and the culprit himself lying pale and flushed on the floor beside his bed, covered in his own vomit.

Erik's nose crinkled up from being met by the strongly nauseating smell of the room, reaching for the light switch on the wall to aid the sad little table lamp and glow of the TV in illuminating the room. Now he truly saw the pity-worthy situation for what it was. Peter laid in a heap on the ground next to his bed; he'd clearly trying to make it to the en suite bathroom just a few feet away. However, with his dizzy mind and immobile leg, he didn't make it very far and ended up expelling his dinner in a much less... dignified location (if you could consider a toilet bowl a very dignified location), that undignified location being all over his lap and onto his faded Pink Floyd t-shirt.

Not knowing how to really handle the situation, Erik called out a soft, "Peter?" hoping to elicit a response. Yet, just like at the door, he was met with nothing. As he approached the boy, thoughts of anxiety and panic circled through his mind. What would he say to him when he woke up? Would he be uncomfortable with Erik of all people coming to help? Would he be confused? Would he not care? He felt undeniably and inexplicably awkward. Erik shook the thoughts from his conscious as he knelt down to try and meet Peter's face.

"Peter?" he asked again. Erik tentatively reached over to tap the boy's face, which was contorted in a pinched expression of discomfort, marred further by the vomit drying in a trail down his chin.

Once Erik's hand made contact with Peter's cheek, he wanted to retract it. From the split second interaction, Erik had felt the clammy, sweaty, and scorching hot skin and was growing concerned. The slight physical prodding finally made Peter respond.

"Mom?" he asked groggily, voice cracking, "I'll put my dishes in the sink in a minute... I'm tired..."

Erik let out a harsh sigh, bending his neck in an attempt to make eye contact with the boy.

"Peter, I'm not you-" Erik was cut off.

"Yeah yeah... I'm not your maid. I know, Ma. Just... give me five."

"Peter." Erik stated bluntly yet with a hint of unease, unsure if Peter was delirious or just messing with him, "look at me, please."

Peter cracked open his eyes and blearily met Erik's stoic and collected face. He blinked a few times, slowly and deliberately, calculating who was kneeling in front of him, before letting out a weak and wheezy chuckle, "hey there, refrigerator ornament. Wassup?"

Erik rolled his eyes, responding with, "I came to ask you to turn down your atrocious music so you won't wake any of the other children who are trying to sleep. When I came in here, you were passed out on the floor. Would you like to explain to me what happened?"

"Nah... it isn't all too interesting"

"Peter, can you please act like an adult for 2 minutes? Please?"

"Oh man, the Nazi-hunting, president-killing, horseman of the Apocalypse is bustin' out the PLEASES. Look out, world, Lord of the Vacation Souvenirs has a new tactic... MANNERS!"

Peter burst out laughing at his own adolescent joke, ending in a wheezy struggle to catch his own breath. Erik couldn't tell if he was just screwing with him or genuinely needed help. This behavior seemed pretty normal for the immature mutant.

"Look, Peter, I really just need to know if you're okay. Can you answer that simple question, please?"

"Man, your tactics are workin' like a charm. I guess I'll tel-" Peter was cut off by a repulsing gag, hunching over and expelling his stomach's contents... again, this time, however, onto Erik's shirt, quickly travelling in a sad trail down onto his freshly-ironed pants. Peter's bloodshot eyes went side with embarrassment as he quickly transitioned his gaze to the floor.

Erik's face was caught frozen still as his mind caught up with what had just happened. As repulsed as he was, it wasn't like he hadn't seen worse. But that still didn't make the fact that he was just puked on any less disgusting. After audibly exhaling through his nose, Erik once again focused on the miserable man child in front of him, who was now anxiously tapping his fingernails on the hard plaster of his cast, deliberately trying to avoid eye contact.

God damnit, Peter, He thought to himself as he continued tapping, it's bad enough leaving him with a painfully ambiguous response during a battle to save all of humanity, ultimately ruining a perfectly good chance to fess up, but now look what you've done. You fucking threw up on him. Peter felt himself growing smaller as his subconscious shamed him for his uncontrollable bout of illness. It was stupid and ultimately all in his head, but it didn't make him feel any less shit about his situation.

After taking the few quiet seconds, Erik stood up, and whether it was out of pity or some subconscious moral quest, grabbed Peter by the armpits and dragged him to the bathroom.

"W-what the?" Peter asked, confused by the harsh white light of the bathroom and the sudden shift in scenery.

"Well I'm not going to let you sit in your own disgusting clothes. I have standards, you know. Can you undress yourself? I'll get us both some clean clothes."

Peter grunted in response. It meant: yeah, I think I can take off my own clothes, bro... once the room stops spinning. Erik, however, had already up and left, stripping off his own soiled shirt and rifling through Peter's dresser drawers, and taking the opportunity to flick off the television and silence the music that had been awkwardly filling the room's background space up until now.

Peter didn't have much variety in his clothing, dark jeans and band logo t-shirts were most of his dresser's arsenal. Not wishing to be clad in a Metallica shirt for the rest of the night, he dug a bit further into the seemingly endless assortment of shirts till he found a plain white short sleeve, sighing in relief. He grabbed a random shirt from the top of the assortment which just so happened to have the Journey logo on it, and set off to find new pants for the boy.

Back in the bathroom, Peter was still laying slumped against the bathtub, shivering. Everything around him had seemingly slowed to a halt, not unlike when he was running past the speed of sound, but this time deceleration just felt... wrong.

The crashing rhythm of the rock music had come to a halt, yet it didn't cease the incessant throbbing ache in his head, as if the bass riffs and the harsh taps of the snare were on a permanent loop with earbuds permanently glued to his ears. He was trying his best to prevent himself from groaning or whining as to not sound like even more of a child in front of Erik, but honestly, he didn't want his nonexistent father right now, he wanted his mom.

Peter was snapped from his self loathing by Erik's footfalls growing progressively louder as he approached him. Erik had thrown on a pair of track pants and a random white shirt. He was holding a pair of sweatpants and another shirt for Peter so he could be free of his sweat-slick and vomit-covered clothes.

"Hey, you don't get to keep those. I like those pants," Peter stated sarcastically, still trying to put up a front, although he was unsure why. He'd needed help, it was painfully obvious, so why was he still pushing his father away? Resentment? Anger? Pride? No... fear.

"Arms up," Erik instructed, preparing to take Peter's shirt off for him.

"Yo, you know I'm not a toddler, right? I can take off my own god damn shirt."

"You sure don't act like you're a day older than one, and I don't wanna risk you accidentally suffocating getting stuck in your own clothing so... arms up."

Peter sighed and did as he was told. Erik swiftly peeled the top off the boy and felt around his back, finding it clammy and warm. As if he'd just went from the tropics to Antarctica, the shirt leaving his skin exposed his skin to a whole new level of cold. The sensation ripped through his spine as his teeth started chattering. Hoping Erik had a brain underneath that skull, Peter was (im)patiently waiting for the man to save him from the frosty winds of his newly installed Arctic bathroom and slip the new shirt over him already. However, much to Peter's dismay, Erik turned on the tub's faucet, soaking a hand towel in cold water before leaning over and placing it on Peter's exposed back.

The second the frigid cloth made contact with his skin, Peter recoiled, back arching backwards, arms frantically bending to try and remove it. Erik sighed, slightly out of pity, and continued holding it down.

"Is this some cruel punishment? What did I do?" Peter pleaded, hoping to distract himself from crying by use of humor.

"You're scorching and sticky and it's just disgusting. I'm cooling you down, so relax," Erik explained. "It'll be a few more seconds, I just needed to get all the sweat off of you."

And as quickly as it had begun, the endeavor was over and Erik was threading Peter's strikingly pale and flimsy arms through the shirt holes. Peter audibly sighed, feeling like he'd just spent an hour in an industrial freezer and was now back into a normal temperature.

Erik's eyes drifted to Peter's legs, immediately noticing a flaw in his plan. How was he going to change Peter's pants with that full leg cast?

"Peter, how do you typically change your pants considering your current... situation?" Erik asked.

"It's pretty simple. I don't," Peter replied bluntly.

"W-what?"

"Well, after I got my leg set a few days ago, I changed into jeans, not wanting to be in flight suit pants for the next week of my life, and I haven't swapped since. It's like, physically impossible."

"So... you've been wearing the same (disgustingly dirty) pants all week?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Hank says I should be grateful that it'll heal in a couple days, most people you'd find passed out on their floor covered in vomit with a full leg cast would have been wearing their nasty pants for weeks."

Erik sighed, tossing Peter's soiled shirt and the sweatpants back into the bedroom before meeting his gaze.

"Alright, Peter, I'm going to set you up in bed now."

"Sounds grea-" Peter was once again, clamping his hand over his mouth, pathetically dragging himself over to the toilet to prevent throwing up all over himself again.

Erik saw his distress and lifted the toilet lid and seat, prompting Peter to start heaving into the sad and dreary porcelain bowl. Each dry or productive heave sent another pulsing wave of pain and violent nausea from his stomach to seemingly every conceivable inch of his body in a viscous cycle of suffering. Erik could do nothing but watch as the silver-haired boy wretched in agony, each heave causing his breath to hitch, caught in his throat, as another bout of sick rushed up past his lips, crashing into the toilet bowl.

Erik wanted to reach over and rub Peter's back or offer a semblance of physical comfort for the anguish he must have been feeling. He'd often do this for his daughter, Nina, whenever she had a stomach bug. Erik reached out his hand, only to quickly retract it, shaking haunting thoughts from his mind. This boy was not his child, and in no way would he ever come close to being Nina. What was he thinking?

Guilt quickly overtook the memories as Peter finished his session of sickness. He sagged limply against the side of the toilet, face still partially hidden by the rim of the bowl. When he looked up at Erik, he looked awful. Beyond awful.

Red-rimmed eyes, clearly there as Peter attempted to stop the obvious tears from spilling over, met cool yet collected ones, the former's being full of pain, not just from this embarrassment or the physical turmoil he'd just endured, but something else. Erik knew those eyes. He knew them because for so long, they were the ones he'd stared at in the mirror, day after day, for years, until he'd found Charles, only to come face to face again with those demonized eyes in the form of an immature mutant puking his guts out on his bathroom floor. They were the eyes of a young man who was lost, feeling alone, hiding a part of themselves they wanted to let go, to set free, so they could truly be happy, yet he couldn't possibly decipher what could be internally destroying the boy.

"I-I'm sorry you had to watch that..." Peter said softly as his head lolled over.

"It's fine," Erik replied with a tone to match that of Peter's.

"I'm pretty sure... that I'm done. For now?" It came out as more of a question, but at this point, Peter wasn't trusting any signal his body was sending him. Every impulse had been smudged and cloudy in his mind, and paired with the seemingly endless headache and the relentless chills racking his body from the fever, Peter was sure that if his mind were a computer hard drive, it would have self destructed out of a deadly virus slowly hacking into the hardware.

But alas, Peter was no computer, and so he was stuck with this mystery illness, cooped up in his room, unable to run, with Erik mother-hecking Lehnsherr. His fever-addled mind was barely functioning at this point, so he didn't register anything but dizzying blurred images swirling around his head and slightly-grumbled voice swimming in his ears as Erik scooped the kid up like a newlywed bride and carried him off to bed.

Peter had never been more grateful to grace the comfort of his duvet, ready to sleep. He halfheartedly grabbed at it in an attempt to cover himself and finally warm up. Erik sighed with pity, grabbing it for him and draping it over his shoulders before moving over to stand by the nightstand and awkwardly watching Peter try and get comfortable.

Despite the obvious fact that his body wanted him to sleep, Peter's mind was racing everywhere except the realm of unconsciousness. Every thought was emphasized ten-fold as it bounced around his head until the only things remaining were his want, heck, his need, to tell Erik the truth, and the hesitant and unsure anxiety lingering in the background of his subconscious that was stopping him from doing just that.

Fevers, though, as Peter was quickly learning, tended to do weird shit to what your brain was really trying to accomplish, often scrambling any message you tried to expel to the point where it may or may not have even been your true intentions. And hell, it was an even bigger gamble if you'd remember any of the dumb shit you'd done or said. It was as if the heat had boiled all the potentially embarrassing memories away, which was at least kinda nice.

With everything happening, Peter thought it best for Erik to just pack up and scoot from the premises, as not to accidentally say or do something stupid that might come back to bite him in the ass later, but Peter wasn't about to pull an asshole move on the man who'd just helped him despite not being obligated to at all.

So, instead of verbally asking, Peter did the next most "mature" thing he could have in his debilitated and helpless situation. He pretended to be asleep in a pathetic hope that Erik would leave on his own. He didn't. Peter ended up looking like he was trying way too hard to be asleep than any real asleep person, and after a few minutes, Erik caught on.

"Peter, I know you're not actually sleeping," Erik said, not putting on any sort of specific emotion.

Peter cracked one red and tired eye open, meeting Erik's gaze yet again. Peter sighed and turned over onto his side, back to the other man, bleary eyes trying to focus on anything that wasn't Erik. Sleep, a seemingly effortless task for most, eluded Peter as he let out an a low whine. This was miserable.

"Hey, Erik?"

"Yes?"

"I umm... never mind..."

"What were you going to say?"

"It's nothing... I just feel stupid since I can't even do the easiest thing on the planet."

"Is there anything I can do?"

The question struck Peter like a cold dagger to the heart, it sounded so much like something his mom would say, who was practically the only person he wanted in that moment. Peter didn't like to be weak or expose any of his fears. He preferred to be distant and reserved, to hide all that insecurity with stupid dry humor and sarcasm. His mom and his sisters were really the only ones who he'd truly been open with, and when faced with these new circumstances, finally able to reconnect with the father he never had, he was frozen in place, and after pushing people away and closing himself off for so long, not knowing what to do to reach out and truly face what he needed to.

Completely internally and externally overwhelmed, Peter let his dam of pride burst, letting his emotional flood pour out of his eyes in the form of earnest, choked sobs. He bit his lip and weakly rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to hide his distress.

Erik was taken aback, taking a step towards him, before backpedaling as fast as the initial paternal instinct had seized him. He didn't know what to do. Erik was conflicted, scared of overstepping boundaries, but wholeheartedly wanting to comfort the clearly suffering boy lying in bed in front of him.

And in a flash of instinct, an unspoken, deep-rooted, yet unknown draw towards the silver-haired boy, Erik sat down on the mattress, back meeting Peter's, and leaning over his shoulder to rub his back

Erik's hand was shaky, unsure if it should truly be there. He felt the heat radiating off Peter's skin through his t-shirt. Erik glanced down further to Peter's face, and despite the hands trying (and failing) to cover his eyes, saw it covered in a new sheen of sweat quickly mixing with his tears, pale and pasty with angry crimson patches sitting pretty as pictures on his cheeks and forehead. Everything in that moment accentuated both how awfully awkward Erik and truly terrible Peter felt.

Erik didn't even know if Peter was lucid anymore. He was breaking down into tears, shivering and being comforted by someone who was practically a stranger. Eventually, the sobs dwindled into whimpers and Erik's nerves were starting to taper off himself. The room fell into a weirdly calm silence as the two decided to not say anything. Until Peter's shaky voice cut through the room.

"Y-you know... when I was a dumb little kid, I thought I-I could outrun germs. Look at me now. I can't even cook a f-freakin' omelette without making myself sick... I never needed to cook for myself, it was always my mom, or Hostess cakes."

"..." Erik wanted to say something, anything, but he was unsure what, or if Peter would understand.

"I can't do anything right... life tosses me chances and I just fuck em' all up."

Erik soon realized Peter was no longer talking about his omelette, but something deeper.

"I just wish... you could've d-done this for me when I was still that dumb little kid. I wish for so much to be different. I'd always wanted a d-dad, and when I finally figured out who he was, I learn he'd gone off to kill the president! I-I don't know..."

"W-what?"

"I m-might not be able to outrun germs, but my entire l-life, I've outrun everything. The law, my responsibilities, adulthood... But now, the one time when I finally can't run from anything, out of all of my problems, I gotta face you of all things. N-not the way I thought this would happen..." Peter's words died out as he fell silent.

Erik wasn't sure he'd heard Peter properly. Until something in his mind clicked. Everything he's done up until now: "my mom once knew a guy who could do that..." and "I'm here for my family too..." Oh my god, he thought, I'm... I-I'm Peter's... father? Who else had he been with before his wife... Magda. Oh god.

Erik pulled his hand away from Peter's back. This caused Peter to moan and flip onto his back, staring directly at Erik, eyes cutting straight to his heart like knives.

"W-why'd you stop? It was nice..." Peter admitted shyly.

"I-I need a second, Peter. I'm sorry," Erik sighed as he pushed himself off the mattress.

Peter said nothing as his eyes drifted back to his bedspread. Disappointment lurking behind his bloodshot irises.

Erik walked off to the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He stared up at himself in the mirror, hands gripped tightly around the basin. This couldn't be happening. Not after Nina, not again. Erik was just... terrified. Terrified of the idea of getting close again. Anyone who's ever been a part of Erik's family... had died. His parents, his wife, his daughter; he didn't want Peter to join the list of people the universe was just deemed to kill. He knew that Peter was far from dying, it was a simple fact that the kid couldn't cook and he'd fed himself something underdone. Yet, it was all happening, it was all too fast, and everything felt so damn scary.

He knew, deep down, that this was the truth. It only made sense that the Magda didn't wanna tell her son that his dad was an internationally targeted terrorist that's murdered dozens of people, and this kid had no reasons to lie about it. God... Erik didn't know how to feel, what he should do, but he did know that had a need to comfort Peter, who'd just confessed a secret he'd been hiding for who knows how long, and was now laying alone, probably feeling abandoned again, after pouring his heart out knowing full well it might be shot down.

Whether it was all intentional was yet to be seen. Again, fevers did weird shit.

Erik let out a low sigh and opened the door, finding Peter curled up on himself as best he could, softly whining, mumbling incoherently to himself. Erik stepped over and sat down on the bed again, the entire mattress dipping from his weight.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I am very happy you told me..." Erik was searching for the right words, "the truth."

" 'r welc'm" Peter mumbled as his puffy eyelids slid over his tired brown eyes.

"Is there anything you need me to do for you right now?"

"J'st... stay please. I-It's embarassin', I know, but I just... my mom used to do it..."

"Alright, Peter. I'm not gonna leave, so just try to sleep, okay?"

Peter didn't need to be told twice as his mind and body worked in harmony, finally allowing Peter to be lulled off to the realm of unconsciousness. And although he knew it wasn't necessary, Erik wished to add to the intimacy of this quiet moment, a type of moment so rare and inconstant in both of their lives, so he pushed himself up against the headboard, laying out flat on the bed, and carded his fingers into Peter's silky silver locks. And out of habit, maybe a sort of tendency he'd developed from doing it with Nina, or an obligation to share what he felt Peter deserved, he began to hum his family lullaby, ever so slowly and softly, drowning out any other thing the world wanted to toss at them. Because in that moment... Erik and Peter had found something they'd both been missing for so long, peacefulness and contentment. And for that short night, it was all they needed.

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glorywaited · 4 years

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GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER.

can be used for RP && non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen !

1. FIRST NAME : miyeon

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF : i have ridiculously long hair tbh u can just call me asian rapunzel !!

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON : eyes, face shape, legs ( im weak i just rly love thighs okay but also t-tiddy....n chest.... )

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF : kimbap n dak galbi with cheese !! n i’ll never get tired of rice in any form tbh but i looove spicy spicy food i’ll never tired of spicy !!

5. A FOOD YOU HATE : raw onions

6. GUILTY PLEASURE : oh on here it’s...eugene/cass ships lmao

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN : i have usually cute pyjama sets n soft short shorts but i often lose my shirt especially when it’s too hot but i also have very cute comfy fluffy blankets i like to curl up in completely !!

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS : oh i don’t mind both types !! when i’m serious tho i am very serious but when i’m on my own i like some flings but not incredibly often i usually stick with friends i trust for those thing much more often n daily !!

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE , WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE : many thing but i won’t feel comfortable to share such personal thing

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON : mmmm depends !! culturally it’s weird to hug so much especially people u don’t know but i do become much more affectionate when i trust someone n am close !! i like to be physically close to people i love !! n i like making people happy it makes me very happy too !! but initially i keep distance from people lil bit

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN : into the spider-verse !!

12. FAVORITE BOOK : i can’t think of ones people will kno here but i dont read too often for pleasure rly ?? my most recent favourite book from past year i guess is the lo.st lag.oon tho !! its not rly canon but i liked it a lot n take headcanons from it anyway that i’ve had since i start this blog last year !!

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE : i have always want specifically a snowy owl since i was very little !! they’re so beautiful n elegant n i just have always adored owls, i have owls on my pants rn !! && ive always want !! bunnies !! i have a kitty rn !!

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS ( IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG , YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL ) : for cass in canon !! i rly adore eugene && cass, raps && cass, lance && cass, adira && cass, stalyan && cass, eugene/cass/raps OT3 !! for this blog outside of her canon muses i rly love some ships i have with elsa && cass, anna && cass, honeymaren && cass, hiccup && cass, bh6 fred && cass && OCS && CASS !! i have...a lot of wants for crossover ships too...i can list so many lmao...i cheated on this one bUT !!

15. PIE OR CAKE : pie, i rly love fruits n fruit flavours most !! but i prefer other sweets than cake or pies tho

16. FAVORITE SCENT : sweet peas, rose, lavender && fresh cherry blossoms !!

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH : oh !! chungha... n sunmi !! the entirety of kard...

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO : oh i love paris && want to go to hawaii in america !! so pretty. but i love most singapore n want to go again !! i rly love travelling n have travel several places !!

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT : introvert but i will become more open with people i trust !!

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY : i don’t at all it’s kind of a funny thing with my friends try to scare me but i just stare them back lol !! but i can become startle easier because of ptsd but i wouldn’t count much as...actually scare

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID : iphone

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES : yes always !! i played league a lot when i was younger && now i play a lot of ove.rwa.tch. i like a lot of fps games now rly but i like to play more casual stuff on my spare time too. rn i’m replay the biosh.ock games n i’m on the second one now !!

23. DREAM JOB : professional dancer or film or photography

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS : make better life for me n my friends n make sure i’ll be stable n fine for the future !!

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE : i dont ?? think i hate many if i don’t like things i just kind of...ignore n go about my business but i have had characters ruin for me from bad people

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER : i was in the league rpc n ovw rpcs until recently but i wouldn’t say i rly left them ?? i have verses on here for both too n i have a ovw ashe blog i need to be more active on....n a nee.ko blog.... i’ve just been so depress lately it’s hard to write anywhere hh i miss them sm :’(

tagged by : @stormdive ( thank u so muuuuch ily !! ♡ )

tagging : im not sure who have done this yet so....pls say i tag u n do it so i can see aa !!

#「 🌙 ◜ ooc ◞ u got this owl; make em wait for it...boom 」#[ thank u sm for tag me !! this was rly fun !! <3 ]

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tenscupcake · 5 years

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Kingdom Hearts 3 - An Honest Review

I’d like to preface this review by saying I am an unabashed Kingdom Hearts geek. Like, through and through. I played KH1 when I was just a tween, and have picked up a copy every installment since (in some cases, even bought the entire console just to play that one game). I still have CDs of the game soundtracks, a few discs which have nearly burnt out on replay in my car. Sanctuary After the Battle will forever make me cry, whether or not I’m watching the cutscene that goes along with it. I’ve replayed most of the titles multiple times. Wasted away hours on YouTube watching Story So Far recaps and funny commentaries about the games in preparation for KH3. Like millions of other enthusiasts, I have been eagerly and patiently (all right, sometimes not so patiently) awaiting the arrival of KH3 since the moment I first finished KH2 – 13 very, very long years ago.

At around eight o’clock on premiere night, I took my place in line at my local GameStop wearing my Kingdom Hearts t-shirt and pajama pants, brandishing the miniature Kingdom Key clipped to my lanyard. Finally holding that blue case in my hands was absolutely surreal. One of those natural highs it took me hours to come down from. Tears welled up in my eyes at the first few somber piano keys as the title screen faded into view.

Lots of people asked me, in the weeks and even months leading up to the release (because believe me, at any opportunity, I would not shut up about how excited I was about this game), if I thought it would live up to the hype. Pfft, I thought. People outside the KH fandom never understand. Of course it will. Sure, the series has had its weak links, its hiccups (the battle system in COM and the perpetual re-releases of old games with minor tweaks, to name a couple). But with the compelling cinematic storytelling and uniquely delightful gameplay of the main series’ smash hits - KH1, KH2, and BBS – in their repertoire, I knew the team at Square was capable of pulling this off. To me, it was just a given that it would be epic. That playing it would be worth all the years of waiting. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind this game was going to be lit. As. Hell.

I’m only saying all this so as not to give the impression I went into this game looking to find flaws, to nitpick it. Or with the expectation of being disappointed. In fact, quite the opposite.

I wanted to love this game. To me, loving KH games is one of very few constants in my life. I was supposed to love this game. I needed to love this game.

But the truth is, I didn’t.

That statement has been pretty difficult for me to come to terms with.

In what few early reviews and videos I’ve found of people discussing their thoughts on the game, I’ve found fans to be quite split: with some unreservedly loving, others downright hating the game.

I fall somewhere in the middle of the polarized fandom. I did NOT hate the game. It was actually a good, if not great game. But putting it on a sliding scale of satisfaction and disappointment, I would say it’s tipping toward the latter. And as it’s taken me hours of mulling, reading, and discussing with other players to characterize and articulate precisely why, and because I think I owe it not only to the series and the characters therein, but also my younger self to leave no stone unturned, this review is going to be a long one.

I’m finding it easiest to break it down by category:

Graphics.

This game is beautiful. It was sort of a dream come true to meander around in real time with the gorgeously, smoothly animated versions of Sora and the gang that we’d previously only been able to see in the rare cinematic cutscenes at each game’s beginning and end. Most of the Disney and even Pixar worlds and characters are rendered to nearly the same quality as their film counterparts. I often found myself just standing in place for a while, admiring it all. The vivid green landscapes of Corona, the beaches and sprawling sea in the Caribbean, the towering cityscape of San Fransokyo. And walking on water where the sky meets the sea? Stunning.

Gameplay.

All in all, this game is pretty damn fun to play. It was all I thought about during long days at work: I couldn’t wait to jump back into the action. Pounding on Heartless still brings me back to the good old days. And who doesn’t want to run up the side of buildings as Riku and Roxas demonstrated so epically, so long ago, in the World That Never Was? Soar to sky-high Heartless as easily as you can lock onto them? These new movement aspects brought an almost superhero-esque quality to the game, reminiscent of Spider-man’s wall-crawling or Batman’s grappling hook, that, if a bit unrealistic, I found to be immense fun. And compared to previous games, worlds are no longer cordoned off into many separate areas, and with the sheer scale of them, KH3 experiments with a quasi-open-world style that is rather freeing.

I also really appreciate that the character interactions with your party and with NPCs felt much less clunky. For one thing, they FINALLY did away with the press X-to-progress text-only conversations that were so prevalent in previous games, with all the dialogue left to voice actors. Even minor NPCs that only show up one time were given a voice, making every interaction that much more immersive. Transitions from cutscenes to the action were also much more fluid, and Sora and his current teammates talk to one another as you pow around. Even if it’s just a warning from Goofy you’re going the wrong way, or a heads-up from Donald there’s an ingredient or lucky emblem nearby, it was still a new feature I was glad to have.

Combat-wise, this game has a lot going for it. This installment brings nearly all the combat styles we’ve seen up until this point: magic, combos, form changes, flowmotion, shotlock, companion team-ups, and links. And it even introduces a few new ones on top of all this: the ability to swap between three different keyblades at will, and the new Disney parks-inspired attraction commands, where you can summon roller coasters, tea cups, and spinning carousels to your heart’s content. What this enables is for the player to never get bored during a battle. With so many options to choose from in each new enemy encounter, you never have to stick with the same combat style or get stuck in a rut of just mashing X to hack and slash everything. All things considered, Sora’s got some pretty sick moves this time around. Whipping out Thundaza, watching lightning explode across the screen and zap all the enemies in sight with it? Wicked. Floating above the ground, wreaking ethereal, glowing havoc with the Mirage Staff? Awesome. Surrounded by a sea of Heartless, locking onto 32 different targets at once and unleashing a flurry of lasers to slash through them all? Amazing. Thumbs getting fatigued fighting the third maddening iteration of Xehanort? Give yourself a break from the chaos in a giant, technicolor pirate ship, watching it thwack your adversary on every rock back and forth.

On one hand, the hefty damage most of these combat options deal gives the game an almost Ratchet and Clank-esque ‘blowing shit up’ vibe, which is undeniably fun. But, this array of choices does become a double-edged sword. With grand magic, attraction commands, form changes, and team attacks all fighting for space atop the command deck, they tend to pile up quickly. It’s not at all uncommon to rack up three or four different situation commands after only about 30 seconds of fighting. Sometimes, the constant need to make a choice, especially in a busy battle, can be more of a burden than a blessing. Having to shift between situation command selections on top of attacking, blocking, and accessing your shortcuts can be a bit cumbersome.

Unlike in previous games, there also aren’t many consequences for over-using special attacks. In KH2, your drive gauge ran out and needed to be slowly refilled. You also ran the increasingly high risk of morphing into the near-helpless Anti-Sora by relying too much on drive forms. But here, no matter how many times you’ve used a special attack, your MP will reload in a few seconds, and you can easily just ignore the situation command for Rage Form when it pops up. In BBS, it felt like it took a good while to power up to a form change, whereas in KH3 it seems like you can spend just as much time in a powered-up keyblade form change as in regular combat.

And, because so many of these situation commands are so powerful and frequent, they tend to dominate the entire battle, making the combat in the game much easier than previous games. Bordering on too easy. Where in other entries in the main series, I usually had to die several times on each boss in Proud mode before I devised the right strategy to defeat them, I rarely died at all in this game. On the surface, that isn’t such a bad thing. As I like to say a lot of the time, when I play a game “I’m here for a good time, not a hard time.” But there comes a point when the combat is so easy that it no longer gives you that sense of accomplishment when you progress past a tough batch of heartless or a particularly merciless boss – you know, that punching the air, whooping to yourself sort of pride. I was definitely missing that, at times.

Believe it or not, I think the Disney attraction commands, though powerful, and at first hilarious, were a bit too extra. After only a few hours in they just became annoying, and I was doing my best to ignore them when they popped up, even wishing I could turn them off. Now and then, I’d accidentally trigger the Blaster or the raft ride and just roll my eyes while canceling back out of it. Because it doesn’t really feel like you’re doing any fighting, let alone the real-time keyblade-style fighting uniquely special to this series. And forget trying to effectively aim while you’re in one. After a while the only thing I found them useful for was, as I mentioned earlier, taking a break from a fight when you’re fatigued, as they give your thumbs a break and cause you to take much less damage. While they were cool at first, my final impression of this addition to the combat was all flash, no substance.

I was one of the few who actually liked and took advantage of flowmotion in DDD, and was excited to see it brought back here. But this, too, turned out to be mostly another annoyance. I’m not sure if it’s because the actionable objects are so much more spread out in KH3, or because they actually built in restrictions on combos here, but I was unable to keep a flow going at all. After only one successful strike after leaping off a wall or pole, the blue glow of momentum vanished. It didn’t feel like “flowmotion” at all, just a one-and-done special attack that tended to kill any rhythm I had going moreso than facilitate it. So while conceptually and visually it was promising, I unfortunately no longer found it very useful.

Also, and I realize this is completely subjective, but I found the form changes to be stylistically underwhelming overall. I thought the drive forms in KH2 (especially Master and Final) were visually and stylistically cooler, and seemed to have more finesse.

Worlds.

When I was whisked away from San Fransokyo and landed in the final world of the game, I found myself disappointed by the number of worlds I’d been to, expecting there to be a handful more. Though, when I counted the worlds up, the tally was at nine. So I asked myself why it felt like so little, when nine didn’t seem like a small number. But, tallying up the worlds in previous games, KH1 had 13, KH2 had 15, and BBS had 10. Which does put KH3 on the low end of world count. Also, in all three of these previous games (especially KH2 and BBS), you had to return to these worlds more than once, usually unlocking new content and/or areas each time, leading it to feel like there were more worlds than there actually were. Though KH3 has a comparable length of gameplay to complete the story, it definitely does feel like it comes up short in terms of variety of worlds you get to visit. As a result, some of the worlds where you spend 3 or 4 hours at a time can start to feel like they’re dragging on a little bit. And on the flipside of that, there are certain worlds that you technically do visit in KH3 I did not include in the world count, because you are there for such a fleeting amount of time, or in such a tiny portion of the world – e.g. Land of Departure, the Realm of Darkness. Worlds that would have been awesome to get to actually explore! And perhaps the biggest letdown of all, though you get to visit Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden via cutscenes, there is no play time in either. Serious bummer.

As far as the worlds they did choose to include, the selection admittedly left me ambivalent. I was really glad to see Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Big Hero 6 included, but wasn’t over the moon about any of the others. I was really counting on having a Wreck-It-Ralph world (I mean, how perfect would that be?), and would love to have seen them tackle Zootopia, Wall-E, Meet the Robinsons, or the Incredibles. I’d even settle for a return to Halloween Town (shameless NBC fangirl, what can I say). The Emperor’s New Groove could have been pretty damn funny. Even A Bug’s Life or Finding Nemo could have offered some unique gameplay opportunities. Certainly better content to work with than Frozen, at any rate.

As far as the plot/experience within the worlds, I also found it to be a mixed bag. I did enjoy all of them, even ones I did not expect to enjoy too much (i.e. Frozen and Pirates). Honestly, though, I found myself a bit bored in worlds where they followed the plot of the films too closely, to the point that it felt like an abridged re-hash of the movies. I know they’ve taken this approach before with earlier Kingdom Hearts games, and I may sound like a hypocrite for only critiquing it now. But I think even in stories where they did do this earlier, like Tarzan or Aladdin, they executed the re-tellings more successfully. The plotline was altered just enough to ensure Sora was a part of the action through and through. After playing those games, Sora was indelibly inserted into those films in my head. To where the next time I watched them, I was jokingly asking myself “Where’s Sora?” But that was not the feeling I got here. In worlds like Corona or the Caribbean, Sora was just sort of jammed into the plot where he didn’t really fit. In many of the longer cutscenes, I actually forgot Sora was even there – even forgot I was playing Kingdom Hearts. Sora didn’t really feel needed. I definitely found it more enjoyable to be part of a new adventure with the characters – like what was done with Toy Story and Big Hero 6, where Sora was able to play more of an active role in progressing the subplot. It was nice to feel like I mattered!

Extras.

These were hit-or-miss for me. I actually screeched with excitement when Sora and the gang ran into Remy, and enjoyed the scavenger hunt for ingredients. And while cooking with little chef was a treat I wouldn’t want to see cut from the game, I found most of the cooking mini-games to be simultaneously too short (less than 10 seconds each!) and needlessly hard to master (especially cracking that egg).

Admittedly a Disney and Disneyland fanatic, I also got a kick out of the lucky emblems (aka hidden mickeys). I thought they were one of the most fun collectibles we’ve seen to date in the franchise.

Which brings me to one of the more controversial extras in the game: the gummiphone! While a lot of people are ragging on the inclusion of this dynamic, I enjoyed it. The Instagram loading screens were a little jarring at first, but they really grew on me. And being able to point the camera at Goofy, Sully, or Hiro and watch them pose for a picture in real-time was nothing short of adorable.

Another thing that surprised me? The game’s occasional self-awareness. I almost included a separate category for this, because I’ve never seen another game do this, and did not see it coming! But the “KINGDOM HEARTS II.9” title screen gave me a good chuckle. It doesn’t make up for all the 1.5, 2.8, 0.2 nonsense we’ve had to put up with, but it’s at least nice to see they can poke fun at their own ridiculousness. And when Sora laments how long it’s been since he’s seen the folks in Twilight Town; then Hayner, confused and even a little creeped out, says “It hasn’t been that long”. Simply acknowledging the vast disconnect between the short time that’s passed in-universe since KH2 and how egregiously long the fans had to wait – well, it had me in stitches. It was morbid laughter, sure, but refreshing nonetheless.

Um, the folk dancing in the square in Corona? Literal funniest thing ever.

One thing that I really missed? Closing keyholes. Finishing worlds wasn’t the same without them.

At this point in the review, I’ve covered basically every aspect I can think of save for one: the story. I’ve purposely saved it for last, because it’s the most important aspect of the series to me, the one that can make or break a Kingdom Hearts game.

From the categories I’ve judged thus far – content, visuals, gameplay, extras – I’d probably give this game a solid 8 or 9/10. I had some issues with the overly cluttered combat, the difficulty level, and the slight disappointment with which worlds were included and the ways they chose to play out the subplots in each. But in the grand scheme of things, all these complaints are minor, and don’t detract from the fact that it’s just plain fun, in a new league with some of the most entertaining and most beautiful titles out there.

But that’s exactly it. Beautiful graphics are the new bare minimum for this generation of console gaming. If a game released for the PS4 or Switch isn’t visually outstanding, it runs a real risk of faltering behind the competition. There is no shortage of beautiful games on the market in 2019.

And if I want a fun game, I can pop back into Mario Odyssey or get a group together to duke it out in Super Smash Ultimate. I can easily download a dozen fun platformers on Steam for less than 50 bucks.

Yes, KH3 is really beautiful, and really fun.

But that’s not why I was so excited to play it.

A legion of kids and teenagers stuck with this series well into their twenties and thirties, never giving up on the release of the next installment. Trudged through handheld games and blocky graphics and clunky battle systems and convoluted plot lines. Why? Well, of course I can’t speak for all KH fans, but for me, and all the ones I know personally, it’s because of the story. It’s always been what, in my mind, sets KH apart from any other video game I’ve ever played. It’s the only game series that’s ever made me cry. The only one I’ve ever owned merchandise for. The only one I’ve ever been so invested in that I can discuss it with friends, even acquaintances, for hours on end. The only one that’s made me care so much about the characters that they feel like my friends. With how much time has passed since I started, maybe even my kids. No pun intended, the series has heart. It contains the same sort of magic that going to Disneyland as a child did. Or, it used to.

Kingdom Hearts 3 didn’t need to just be a great game. It needed to be a Kingdom Hearts game. One that built a wove a compelling story filled with intrigue and emotion from the first hour. One that did justice to all the characters (and by now, there are a lot of them) that we’ve grown to love over the last 17 years. One where a prepubescent kid can yell a speech up at a threatening villain that makes you believe, harder than you’ve ever believed, in the power of friendship. One that instills a childlike optimism that no matter how dark the world gets, as long as someone keeps fighting, good can still triumph over evil. One that tugs on the heartstrings in just the right ways, at just the right moments, to manage to make you cry – repeatedly – over a gang of outspoken, angsty kids with clown feet.

The thing about the story in KH3 is: it’s not inherently a bad story. Sure, it’s a mess, it doesn’t make much sense, it leaves you with more questions than answers, it’s incredibly cheesy, and it retcons a good deal of lore from previous installments. But many of these things could be said of other Kingdom Hearts games. The fact that these descriptors apply to KH3 isn’t what disqualifies it as a worthy entry in the series, in my mind.

For the most part, it’s not the story itself I found disappointing. After all, think about how a summary sounds on paper: reunions with long lost characters, long-awaited battles, conclusions of lengthy character and story arcs.

The biggest problem wasn’t so much the concept of the story, but rather the execution.

First of all, the pacing. The pacing was terrible. Almost nothing happens the first 20-25 hours of the game. I can think of maybe two scenes that got me on the edge of my seat, gripping my controller in the hopes it would advance the plot further: the scene with Mickey and Riku in the realm of darkness where you get to play as Riku for a few minutes (sadly the only time in the game that you do), and running into Vanitas in Monstropolis. Nothing. Else. Happened. Sure you run into Larxene in Arendelle, and goof around chasing Luxord in the Caribbean, but none of this is actually relevant to the plot we care about. Certainly not the plot the story is telling us to care about from the beginning.

And that leads me to the second issue – how vague your objective actually is. The ultimate objective of the game seems clear enough: rescue Aqua from the realm of darkness, maybe worry about the other two Wayfinder trio once we’ve found her, and defeat Xehanort. But this is not Sora’s given objective. Rather, it’s to find the ‘power of waking.’ Which is not explained, either to Sora or the player. Sora, on the other hand, appoints himself to another mission entirely: contemplating the unfairness of Roxas’ disappearance, he seems to mainly be focused on finding him and restoring him to a physical existence. However, this mission is starkly at odds with the canonical explanation of Nobodies in general and Roxas, specifically. The last time we saw Roxas (chronologically speaking) he reunited with Sora, and as far as we know, he’s still part of Sora. So, the mission to “find” Roxas as if he exists as an entity in the real world is perplexing. Second, lacking hearts, Nobodies can’t exist as a whole on their own. So even assuming we can “find” him in Sora, how far we going to bring him back without splintering Sora into a Heartless and a Nobody again? Even according to the series’ own complex lore, it doesn’t make sense. Therefore, the first half or more of the game seems aimless, not really knowing what we’re meant to be doing, or how. It’s hard to be invested in a story with no clear objective. Not something we can easily get on board with like “Find Riku and Kairi” or “Track down the Organization.” Just “Go find the power of waking.” Okay.

And while a lot (and I mean a lot) happens in the last 4-5 hours of the story to tie up loose ends, it’s crammed together in such a jumbled rush that it’s almost impossible to appreciate any of it.

After collecting Aqua and Ventus, long lost characters reappear on screen one right after another assembly-line style, to the point that none of them feels special or poignant anymore.

Not only that, but the characters who are brought back, many of them beloved protagonists from earlier installments in the series, are not given any time to shine.

It was promising when they let Aqua fight Vanitas in the newly restored Land of Departure. Ven is her friend, her responsibility; it was her fight. But with this taste of getting back a playable character from the franchise, I expected that as the plot progressed, it would open up plenty more chances for past protagonists to take the stage. That we’d be able to step back into the oversized shoes of other playable characters we’d missed. That when (or if) others returned in all their glory, they’d get to strut their stuff.

But that is precisely the opposite of what happened.

I mean, Ventus didn’t get to steal the spotlight for the final clash with Vanitas? By definition, his natural foil?

Terra didn’t get to exact his revenge in an epic showdown with Xehanort, the guy who stole his body and enslaved him for more than a decade?

Roxas and Axel, reunited, couldn’t team up to pound on the Organization members that tormented them? Instead, after his surprise entrance, Roxas got hardly any screen presence at all, and Axel’s epic new flaming keyblade got destroyed, making him sit out most of the fighting after all the build up that he was training to fight?

Oh, and you know who else was utterly useless through the final battles, demoted once again to a damsel in distress despite years of hype that she’d wield a keyblade in this installment, and multiple cutscenes indicating she, too, was training to actually fight? Yup. I don’t even need to say the name.

And to only get one small boss fight as Riku, when in the previous installment he had half the screen time?

The heroes we’ve missed for so long and longed to return to the screen are not resurrected with the dignity and respect they deserve. They are relegated to side characters, who are either completely sidelined for the final battles, or else just hacking away mindlessly in the background as you marathon one ridiculously easy “boss” after another Olympus Coliseum-style.

Speaking of resurrecting characters: the manner in which they brought some of them back was so nebulous it was impossible to understand, let alone experience any sort of emotional reaction.

For one: Roxas. For starters, it’s pretty lazy writing to have Sora be the one pursuing his return (however that was supposed to happen), only to have that pursuit peter out completely, and for Roxas to just appear at the final battle with no resolution or explanation of how. (Nor the satisfaction of fleshing out how Sora achieved it.) But more importantly, where did he come from? There was no scene in which he emerged from Sora’s being. So, where was he? Also, I get that they must have used the replica Demyx/Ansem brought Ienzo as a vessel for him, but how does he have his own heart now? There was no evidence to indicate Sora or Ven lost theirs again. This is a pretty glaring plot hole.

Second? Naminé. This one really came out of left field. No one had even spoken about Naminé the entire game, save one throwaway line. Then all of a sudden, near the very end of the game, everyone cares about bringing her back, too? Even Sora, despite his hours-long obsession with bringing back Roxas without a word about Naminé, sees a newly empty vessel and asks “Oh, is that for Naminé?” All I could do at this point was laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Even more confusing? Xion. She was a replica, with no heart, no personality... a walking vial for Sora’s memories. How on Earth did she get brought back? What was there to bring back? And what was the point? Xion always felt far more like a plot device than an actual character.

At this point, so little made sense and so many characters had appeared in a row with no regard for continuity or maintaining canon that my heart was really starting to sink. It all felt like it was meant to be fan service. Bring back everyone’s favorite characters: they’ll love that, right? But the issue is they did it no matter what rules they had to break, or canon they had to ignore. Sure, I wanted a lot of these characters back, I think a lot of people did. But not at the expense of good writing.

Even if one completely excuses the hole-filled poor writing that got us there, it didn’t even feel real that we had these awesome characters back. Because they just sort of existed, as high-def cool anime hair and porcelain skin and not much else. Not only did they not get to show us what they’re made of in epic fight sequences, but there was no meaningful dialogue from any of them. Where was Terra giving his friends any sort of recollection of his time as Ansem’s guardian? Riku and Roxas making amends? Aqua thanking Sora for keeping Ven safe? A brofest about protecting their friends between Riku and Terra? Axel saying anything at all meaningful to his best friend when he finally saw him again? For all the reunions we got, it was shocking how little substance there actually was in any of them.

It was an insanely rushed ending, with stunted, shallow dialogue, and awkward tears that felt forced rather than genuine.

KH3 is to KH1&2 what Moffat Who is to RTD Who. A lot more flash, a lot less substance, and hollowed out characters that no longer provoke deep emotion.

Characters’ emotions were not handled well in this game. Like when Sora, notorious for being a persistent optimist, dissolves to hysterics and claims he’s “nothing” without his friends. But we never get to see this sharp departure from his M.O. (because he has lost his friends over and over throughout the series without reacting this way) really wrestled with. It’s just swept under the rug after a single line from Riku. It’s okay for characters to hit rock bottom: in fact, it’s good for them. But such episodes have to be properly fleshed out, or they won’t have an impact.

Also, just my two cents? Making your characters cry is not a shortcut to get your audience to cry. It’s a lazy way of demonstrating feeling. In the writing world, there’s something called “show, don’t tell.” Making characters cry left and right with hardly any time devoted to the proper dialogue and action is the equivalent of telling, rather than showing. This series is unique to me precisely because it’s the only video game to make me cry (repeatedly). But I didn’t shed a tear in this game. And I think that is so telling. I always think of this behind the scenes video I watched for Doctor Who, in which they filmed different versions of a (very) emotional scene. In one of these versions, the Doctor properly breaks down and cries. David (the actor) upon seeing this version played back to him, said: “I worry if you see him breaking down, it stops you breaking down, as well.” He was onto something there. They didn’t end up using that take in the episode, and I think everyone would agree it was the right call. I’m not saying crying is inherently bad and always to be avoided. In fact, the opposite: it can be very powerful if used sparingly, and at the right moments with the right build-up. But overusing it, with no apparent regard for characterization nuances, basically making it your only method for tell your audience a character is emotional? It’s a little insulting. You also need good dialogue, good acting (or in this case, good animation and voice acting), and proper timing if you want to strike a chord with anyone.

Which, speaking of, I thought both the dialogue and the voice acting in the game as a whole left something to be desired (and seemed almost painfully slow?), and I think a big reason why emotional moments tended to ring hollow.

Onto another aspect of the story: how it ties in to earlier installments in the series. There was a fair amount of speculation going into this game whether or not smaller, handheld-console based installments and extra nuggets from mobile games and re-releases would be relevant in KH3. But regardless of which side of the argument fans fell on, the fact remains that many fans had only played KH1 and KH2, possibly BBS, prior to playing KH3. Many people don’t have the money or the interest in playing on multiple handheld consoles (me being one of them, though I toughed it out in this case) or cell phones, nor the tireless dedication and yes, more money, to purchase games a second time for Final Mix versions and secret endings. This is not a bad thing. It doesn’t mean they are bad fans, or less deserving of playing or enjoying KH3. Someone should not have to be a zealous super-fan to be able to enjoy a video game, or any form of entertainment. If you show up to Avengers: Endgame without having seen some of the previous major installments in the film franchise, you are probably going to be confused. I don’t recommend doing that. But is it necessary to have re-watched them all 20 times, speculated for hours on blogs and message boards, and read decades worth of Avengers comics to be able to understand it? Of course not. Though some insufferable comic book elitists insist they’re better than everyone else because they know more about the Marvel universe, the fact is you don’t have to be a Marvel super-fan to enjoy the films. That’s how it should be. Because it’s okay to be a casual fan of something. Content creators normally recognize this, and respect all of their audience. But here, there was critical information from pretty much every spinoff handheld game that you needed in order to have any idea what was going on. There wasn’t even any recap system like in KH2 (the static memories) to get you up to speed on what had happened in the series up until this point. Not to mention the location of the final boss fight, as well as the very last cutscenes centered around a mobile game/movie that I had never even heard of until I was in the middle of playing KH3. Now I am something of a KH geek as I said, so I’ve sat through Union Cross now and done my best to understand some of the more obscure lore. But, call me crazy, I don’t think it’s fair to expect every single person who plays the game to do that in order to understand it. Games are supposed to be fun, not homework.

Which brings me to my last point: this game was supposed to be the end of the saga as we know it. Whether it’s the end of the series or simply the end of this story arc and subsequent games will follow a villain besides the many iterations of Xehanort is yet to be seen (as of me writing this), but it was established this game would be the end to the main trilogy so far. And, to have that end be the main character swanning off on his own (as some have speculated, possibly to his death)? With everyone else from the series partying on the beach like someone important isn’t missing? As someone who came into this game expecting closure, I felt completely blindsided by this ending. After all he’s been through and all the sacrifices he’s made, Sora deserves better.

Kingdom Hearts 3 was visually and mechanically a blast, and credit should go to the developers, artists, and designers where credit is due. But as a fan who plays this series not for graphics or flashy gameplay, but to immerse myself in the story, I’m left feeling cheated. The way the plot unfolded and the way the characters were handled did a disservice to both long-time fans of the saga and to the characters themselves.

I always have a hard time with this, but if I had to put a number to it? I’d say maybe 6/10.

It hurt just to type that.

I’m not giving up hope in the franchise. If there’s ever a KH4 (which still seems unclear right now), I’ll probably still play it. I’m trying to give the creators the benefit of the doubt: they were under a lot of pressure to create a great game, and had too much time in development on their hands and too many sprawling ideas and tried to do too much at once. I’m all for second chances. But if they want the trust of fans like me back, they’re going to have to earn it.

Over the last couple months as I’ve put together this review, I’ve found myself in doubt. Even, dare I say it, like a bad fan, though in principle I vehemently reject the notion someone is a bad fan for disliking an installment of any franchise they love. Am I just too old for Kingdom Hearts now? I wondered. Was I romanticizing the series the whole time, and it’s not as good as I’ve built it up to be in my head? After all my time spent waiting, am I being too critical? I tortured myself over it. So, a couple of weeks after finishing KH3, I popped in the 1.5/2.5 HD compilation into the PS4 and restarted KH2. I had to see if it even came close to the hype I’d built in my head in the 8 or 9 years since I played it last. Almost 60 hours of gameplay later, I can say with confidence that I had not romanticized it at all. This game is amazing. I didn’t mind watching 30 minutes of cutscenes at a time because everything is so compelling. So the graphics are dated, but who cares? The combat is FUN without ever being cumbersome. It’s just the right level of difficulty that there are still some battles and bosses that require multiple attempts and the journey continuously instills a sense of pride and accomplishment. It has so much heart. I still teared up in the same places I used to as a teenager.

KH2 is still a perfect 10/10, and playing it again with fresh eyes only made me realize just how disappointing KH3 actually was.

There’s an old adage that it’s the things we love most that hurt us the most. I wouldn’t feel so let down, or compelled to write 6800 words why, if I didn’t love this series with all my heart. I’ve seen a lot of fans insulting and belittling anyone who dares to criticize the game online, and frankly I’m baffled by that. I critique and discuss all forms of entertainment I enjoy: and that includes both the strengths and weaknesses, the successes and flaws. And I guess I tend to associate with people who do the same. It doesn’t make us bad fans, but passionate ones. I’m not sending hate mail to Square telling them the game unequivocally sucks. I don’t have any ill will towards them or think they’re irredeemable writers or developers. I’m simply recording and posting my honest thoughts to help myself process how I’m feeling, and perhaps others if they choose to read them.

I’m genuinely happy for the fans who loved the game and felt it worth the wait – I don’t want to pick any fights with them (so please don’t pick any fights with me, either). I’m sadly - believe me, no one is sadder than me to admit this - just not one of them.

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #kh meta #kh3 #kh #idk if any of my followers play but #there aren't many places i can post such a long review #so my old blog seemed an appropriate place #written by yours truly

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guysbeingdudesbeingbros · 6 years

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Ditched ~ Reece Imagine

Prompt: hey love! can i request a reece imagine where him and reader have been dating for a while and he meets readers older brother when he comes home from uni and the bro invites him to hang out with him and his friends. It then turns into a weekly thing, and eventually he ends up cancelling movie nights and dates with the reader to hang out with bro ! the gf then tells her mum that she feels like she’s losing reece, and she calls his mum and then reece is really upset! that was long 😂 thanks love!!!

You had started dating Reece over the summer, having met him through one of your friends. You guys hit it off immediately, going on many dates and slowly developing deep feelings for each other.

Reece met your whole family after a few weeks of dating, but your oldest brother, Jack, was away at university so Reece wasn’t able to meet him. But luckily for you, Jack was home for the holidays and you were finally able to introduce them.

In the days leading up to meeting your brother, Reece was nervous. Everyone in your family loved Reece, but he was terrified to meet your brother.

“What if he is super protective? Or he doesn’t like that I’m older than you? What if he doesn’t like us together, Y/N?” Reece kept asking you millions of questions, and each time you had to tell him ‘no’ and that your brother would love him.

The day finally arrived that Reece would meet Jack. You were going to hang out at your house, watch some movies and play video games, the three of you. Reece texted you saying he was outside your house, making you get up off of the couch where you were sitting with Jack, waiting.

“Be nice,” you warn dangerously, glaring at Jack a bit who just smiled innocently. You answered the door, giving Reece a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

“Reece, meet Jack. Jack, this is my boyfriend, Reece,” you introduce, watching hesitantly as Reece shakes Jack’s offered hand.

“Nice to finally meet you, mate. All Y/N does is talk about you,” Jack teases, nudging you a bit as you scoff and blush a bit.

“Do not!” You argue, watching Reece relax a bit.

“Hopefully she says good things,” Reece joins in on the joke, slinging his arm around your shoulders. You just elbow him, trying not to laugh when he starts to chuckle.

“Mostly about how good you are at Fifa. Which I will need to see to believe,” Jack says, handing Reece a remote. You both sit down on the couch, you sitting in the middle and all get ready to play.

“How did you even score that? There were so many players in front of you!” Jack shouts in awe. The television plays the replay of Reece’s impressive goal, but you found yourself getting bored. You’ve been playing for hours, you gave up after a few rounds, being not as good as your brother and Reece are at the game. You were currently on your instagram, scrolling through the explore page because you were so bored. Reece and Jack were getting along really great, becoming fast friends. Which made you super happy, but you would like it if they did something that included you. Or if your boyfriend would give you a tiny bit of attention.

“I’m just awesome at Fifa,” Reece jokingly brags, putting down his controller and leaning back so his shoulder was resting against yours.

“Well I gotta go meet some of my friends. You know, you should hang out with us sometime, Reece! I think they would really like you!” Jack says, getting up off of the couch. Reece beams at him, glad that he has made good friends with your brother.

“Yeah? I would like that!” Reece agrees, making you smile. This honestly went way better than you expected. Reece and Jack quickly exchanged phone numbers so they could hang out, and then Jack left.

“So?” You prompt, wanting to find out if Reece really did like Jack or if he was still afraid of your older brother. Reece just smiled brightly, wrapping you up in his arms. You were so happy that he was happy.

A few weeks later and you were no longer as happy.

It started out fine. Reece and Jack became very close, even Blake and George started hanging out with Jack and his friends. Which was fine.

But then Reece started hanging out with them more often, at least once a week. When you asked to make plans, he would always say, “No, I can’t tonight babe. I’m going out with Jack and the lads,”. Which is fine! You are glad that he has friends and you guys weren’t the type of couple that needed to spend every second together.

But then Reece started skipping dates to hang out with them. He would call you up right before you were meant to meet up, saying the boys invited him somewhere, or that the boys were having a footie match in the park and needed him to play, or that he already saw that movie with the boys. It was infuriating. You just wanted them to get along, but you didn’t realize that for that to happen you needed to give up time with your boyfriend.

You were sitting on the stairs, tightly squeezing your phone. Reece just got off of the phone with you to say that he had to cancel your dinner date tonight to have a Fifa tournament with Jack at Blake’s house. It was supposed to be your make-up anniversary dinner, since you missed it due to Reece being on tour. So you were sat there, wearing a pretty dress and makeup on, trying desperately not to cry.

“Y/N? Love, I thought Reece was meant to pick you up fifteen minutes ago?” Your mum asked, coming to stand in front of you on the stairs. You feel your lip quiver, making her seem more concerned.

“He cancelled on me,” you admit softly, trying not to cry. You didn’t want to be upset by this, and you definitely did want to drag your mum into this issue. Reece was not hanging out with you, and was hanging out with your brother instead.

“What? Why?” She asked, shocked Reece would do that. She sat down on the stairs next to you, pulling you in close to comfort you. You rest your head on her shoulder, letting the tears drip slowly down your face.

“He keeps ditching me to hang out with Jack and I-I feel like I’m losing him,” you mumble, before launching into a huge explanation about the past few weeks and how things have changed. The whole time she just listens, comforting you and making you feel a little bit better. Afterwards she sends you off to your room for you to sleep, telling you that everything will be alright in the morning.

The next day you are woken up to your mum knocking on your door.

“Y/N, love you have a guest,” She says with a sweet voice. You groan, rubbing your eyes and wondering who would come to see you so early without you knowing. You sit up in bed, seeing Reece standing there. His face is blotchy, eyes are red and puffy, and he’s nervously fiddling with the rings on his fingers. Before you can ask, your mum pushes him gently into the room and shuts the door behind him.

“Reece, what are you doing he-” you start before Reece steps closer and cuts you off.

“I’m so so sorry! I never wanted you to feel like that! I promise you aren’t losing me, you never could lose me! I’ve been a huge jerk to you recently and I shouldn’t ditch you to hang out with the lads all the time! I’m so sorry, can you ever forgive me?” He begs, eyes getting watery again. You feel confused, not sure how he knew all of that.

“H-how did you know I said that? I told my mum?” You ask, feeling very lost.

“Your mum called my mum, who then told me and yelled at me for being a horrible boyfriend to you,” He explained, coming to sit next to you on the bed and take your hands gently in his.

“Reece, love, I forgive you. Please don’t cry anymore. I was just upset that you kept ditching me. I’m glad you have friends and get along so well with Jack. But, just can we try to spend time together?” You ask him, wiping a tear from his cheek. He nods quickly.

“Yes! I need to make it up to you! I won’t ditch you for them anymore! I love you and I don’t ever want you to hurt or think you’ll lose me again! I’m going to be with you for as long as you want me to be,” Reece promises, leaning his forehead against yours. You let out a breath of relief, squeezing his fingers tightly.

“Good. I love you, too. And I want to be with you forever,” You whisper before connecting your lips passionately.

Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for requesting, much love

#new hope club #new hope club imagines #nhc imagines #imagines #reece bibby imagine #new hope club one shots #one shots #reece bibby #new hope reece #new hope george #new hope blake #Blake Richardson #George Smith #reece imagine #request #prompt

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locatie · 4 years

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2019 Gaming Year in Review

This year I beat 21 games! Last year I beat 38, but this year was a little rough on me in many ways, and I had to go a few months without really committing to anything.

I’m going to go through my list of games and jot down a few thoughts I had about them! Spoilers ahead, naturally.

Rating System:

5⭐: An absolute favorite! A game that’s going to stick with me for a long time. Regardless of any flaws I found, I fell deeply in love with these games. 4⭐: A pretty good game! I really enjoyed my time with these ones. They’re not quite perfect, maybe a few story beats or mechanics I couldn’t jive with, but I did still love these as well. 3⭐: A decent game! I didn’t fall in love with these games and the good and bad felt fairly equal. I don’t regret playing these games, but they had a lot of room for improvement. 2⭐: A bleh game. Most of these games were very ‘miss’ rather than ‘hit’ for me. Good concepts are probably buried in these ones, but I struggled to get through them. 1⭐: A terrible game. There is very little about these games that I find redeeming. I probably played them wishing they’d be done already. That I finished them at all is a miracle.

In order of when I beat them, starting with the beginning of the year:

Gris by Nomada Studio

4⭐

A visually gorgeous game. The mechanics were satisfying and made puzzle solving enjoyable, and I adored ‘unlocking’ the colors of the world to restore it to its former beauty. The game only got more beautiful as time went on, and the level design was very memorable to me. Also the soundtrack is one of the best of all the games I played this year, and I keep it on repeat a lot.

Best Part: The art in general. A treat to look at, and it makes for the best desktop wallpapers. Worst Part: The ambiguity in narrative. It’s not too bad, I just wish there was a little more to it.

Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee by Game Freak

4⭐

Despite this feeling like the millionth time they’ve focused on the Kanto region, and the blatant baiting of nostalgia, I appreciated this game. I’m a sucker for having my Pokemon follow me or being able to ride them. Much more accessible than going back and replaying the original R/B/Y games, which I can’t seem to enjoy anymore due to the QOL features that newer games have, so if I ever have a craving for Kanto, this will satisfy me. Not the best Pokemon game though just because Kanto was a pretty boring region visually and they stayed true to that, haha.

Best Part: Pokemon following the player! Riding Arcanine was a blast. Worst Part: Being in Kanto again. Really wish it was Gold/Silver for the double Johto/Kanto region thing, because Kanto alone just isn’t worth it.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix by Square Enix

3⭐

I liked this game a lot as a kid and was interested to see how I would feel about it as an adult. It’s... something. There’s something always very off when JRPG localized dialogue is voiced -- it’s extremely cheesy to listen to in English, and this game is no exception. Still, I enjoy the sheer absurdity that is mashing up Disney and Final Fantasy characters anyway. The platforming is not remotely fun at all and the story is ridiculous, sometimes not in a good way. Thank god for skippable cutscenes or I wouldn’t have survived the end of this game.

Best Part: The creativity of the worlds. It was such a unique and ambitious concept for its time. Worst Part: The dialogue/story. This might be the only JRPG where the whole ‘friendship makes us stronger’ angle makes me want to strangle a fictional child.

Dear Esther by The Chinese Room

2⭐

I do enjoy walking simulators, but apparently not ones by The Chinese Room. Not as bad as Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, but still...not very enjoyable. I couldn’t seem to process what was going on as it was narrated to me -- I liked how it was written, and I was interested in hearing it, but I dunno. It meant nothing to me. I might replay it and try to grasp it again, really focus on it, but as it was presented to me on the first playthrough, it didn’t grab me. This is what I get for expecting something really good of a game where I wander around aimlessly for a couple hours

Best Part: The writing style is really neat and I enjoyed reading along and being fascinated by the prose. Worst Part: The ambiguity of the narrative. what the fuck is happening. why am i in a cave. who was that i just saw

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey by Ubisoft

4⭐

Not the first AC game I’ve ever played, but the first I liked enough to beat! It’s essentially an action rpg more than ever -- stealth is completely unnecessary if you so choose. I loved Kassandra so, so much, and exploring Greece was extremely fun for me! It was gorgeous and I often found myself wandering around towns and cities, soaking in the sights and feeling pretty dang immersed. I haven’t played the DLC yet but hope to some day. Not a perfect game -- while a lot of side quests are fun, the charm wears off after a while because the gameplay loop of sneaking in and murdering everyone got stale finally after 50 hours. Still, I’d love to go back and replay it some time.

Best Part: Kassandra. Everything about her. I would die for her. Also Greece in its entirety. Worst Part: Every goddamn time Deimos opened his mouth.

Rose of Winter by Pillow Fight

3⭐

A pretty cute but simple visual novel! I liked the protagonist quite a bit and a couple of the romances, but I wished it was longer/more fleshed out. I liked the universe it took place in and the concepts it presented (time travel! Race relations/the variety in cultures!) and would’ve happily played a longer game about these things. The romances leaving me wanting more was a good and bad thing, in the end.

Best Part: The protag! I love this chubby pink-haired knight! She is SO cute and lovely. Worst Part: Lack of depth in the romances. I like drawn-out romances, and these take place over the course of a couple days, and that’s not my bag.

Celeste by Matt Makes Games Inc.

4⭐

My review on this game is a little skewed. I was very bad at it, in the end, and very tired of dying literally hundreds of times in some areas that I had to give myself extra dashes. I had to keep toggling them on and off after giving myself a certain number of tries, because I really wanted to see how this game would play out. The gameplay and design and soundtrack give it the score it has, but the writing it was knocks it down from being a 5 star game. The concept of the story is good! Madeline wanting to reach the top of the mountain for her personal reasons was really lovely but the delivery of it felt very flat. The writing itself didn’t do it justice for me! I only ever see people talk about the gameplay itself and not the story/writing and maybe that’s why.

Best Part: The fact that the developers added accessibility options to people who aren’t very skilled at games, like me, can enjoy a game like this, even if we’re not playing “as intended.” Worst Part: Madeline’s reflection. As a narrative device she’s good, but the dialogue between the two characters was kinda mehhh to me.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by CD Projekt

5⭐

There’s nothing I can say about this game that a million other people haven’t already said. I loved dad!Geralt. I loved Geralt in general. I did enjoy the first two games but who he was as a character in this game was my favorite. Yennefer was also great, as was Ciri, and the family dynamics were The Best. Also probably the best side quests in any rpg I’ve ever played! None of that radiant quest bullshit or fetch quest nonsense that pad a lot of other WRPGs I’ve been into :/ I still need to finish Blood and Wine, but so far it’s incredible, as was Hearts of Stone. Ugh I have so much to say about how much I loved the music, and Skellige, and Novigrad (Novigrad is one of the best video game cities as a worldbuilding device, imo), but I’ll keep this all brief. Don’t like Gwent at all though!!

Best Part: The entire portion of the game where you have to be a Good Dad or else you get a bad ending. Worst Part: The fact that Iorveth and the entire Scoia’tael subplot was cut entirely yet Roche got to stick around. I hate Roche. Iorveth was way better. Bring back my boy.

Persona 5 by Atlus

5⭐

holy shit. I haven’t beaten a JRPG this good in so long. This game changed what I want out of a JRPG. The soundtrack is phenomenal, the design of everything is impossibly stylish and I never got sick of any of it in the 96 hours it took me to beat the game. I adore Joker, Yusuke, Haru, and Ryuji as characters!! I don’t really care for Akechi and Shido as villains, but the proper final battle was very tense for me and the cutscene that followed felt so good. BIG GUN. Sometimes the palaces were a little tedious, and it took me a really long time to actually finish the game from when I started, because I needed big breaks after chunks of the game, but once I got into the swing of it after Makoto’s introduction as a Phantom Thief and that palace, I was pretty sucked in.

I will never forget my desperate struggle to max my stats by aggressively eating giant burgers until the endgame.

Best Part: The entire ‘student daily life sim’ portion. Managing my time and my relationships was very fun and I loved getting closer to my friends and choosing where to go, how to spend my time. Worst Part: The occasional sexism and homophobia that I had to sit through. Giving Ann agency after the first palace, but then trying to convince her to get naked really sucked, and then those two predatory gay men. Ugh. Oh and Ryuji looking at Ann’s boobs all the time. Seriously? are you for real??

Nier: Automata by PlatinumGames

4⭐

I waffled between giving this 4 or 5 stars, but I think 4 is right. I adored this game to bits, but admittedly didn’t do everything in it that I wanted to. I loved the world, the music, most of the characters, the combat, and that fucking ending. I didn’t like Adam and Eve (their dialogue...was so dumb...), and I was a little eh on route B, since it’s a lot of the same as route A, just from 9S’s perspective. At first I thought it was asking a lot to make me essentially do all the same shit over again, but when everything started changing in the third route, that’s when I was getting really invested. I mean I was already loving it during the first route, I was just slightly skeptical about having to replay a lot of the same things.

Ending E fucked me up though. Hearing Weight of the World didn’t hurt me until that ending, after all I’d been through, and then accepting help and hearing the chorus of voices. Ugh. No ending has ever been like that in a game for me.

Best Part: Sacrificing my data to help some stranger out there, because people do want to help. Humanity can be good. The message that there is worth in having feelings and being alive and real and loving. Worst Part: we really out here sexualizing 2B and looking at her panties a lot, huh.

Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (Reignited Trilogy) by Toys For Bob

4⭐

This is the Spyro game I played the most of as a kid, and this remaster is incredible. All of the Reignited Trilogy makes the Spyro games look the way that I felt they did when I was a child. Seriously, it’s gorgeous and I can’t believe how true to the originals it is. I had a blast playing this one; it doesn’t get 5 stars, though, because I wouldn’t say this is like a ‘favorite’ game or anything. It’s wonderful, but not mindblowing.

Best Part: Getting to run around the hub worlds and drinking them in -- they’re where I spent hours as a child, and that nostalgic really got to me. Worst Part: the fucking TIMED FLYING PORTIONS

Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (Reignited Trilogy) by Toys For Bob

4⭐

I was really excited to play this one because I didn’t get to beat it as a kid, and it was impossible to emulate because every rom of it didn’t work. Not as good as Ripto’s Rage to me, personally, because I didn’t love the levels where I was the penguin or the monkey. There were a lot of gimmicks, so to speak, in this game that I could do without. Skateboarding didn’t add anything to the experience either, ehh. Still, 4 stars because what Toys For Bob did with the trilogy is amazing and it made me wish games there had been more Spyro games that were like this.

Best Part: I finally got to beat this game after so long and it felt like a childhood wish of mine came true. Worst Part: I never want to be that stupid monkey ever again. Most of these side characters do not feel like they belong in a Spyro game, even though I know they were just trying to innovate the formula.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo

5⭐

Ohhh my god. I was nervous about another mainline Fire Emblem game, ever since Fates burned me pretty badly with how much I hated that game. Three Houses gave me nearly everything I wanted out of a Fire Emblem game, thankfully. No stupid explanation for offspring, no wasted dialogue between characters that didn’t need to have supports! I fell in love with so many of the NPCs and while the story isn’t perfect, it was a blast to go through and see the multiple sides to the conflict.

I went Golden Deer first and watched most of Amy’s playthrough of Blue Lions. I was in the middle of a Black Eagles run when I got a little burnt out and put it down, but I’m super excited to eventually see what Edelgard’s side of the story is, seeing as I don’t like her in the other routes but I’m shrimpterested in what her possible justification for anything is. Can’t wait for more story DLC whenever it happens!

Best Part: The support dialogues between characters. Also Claude von Riegan, destroyer of racism. Worst Part: the fact that there’s barely any time between Dimitri finally being nice to Byleth and the end of the Blue Lions route. he’s such a growly ass for so long.

Genital Jousting by Free Lives

2⭐

Obviously this game is a self-aware joke and isn’t meant to be much. The reason it got 2 stars instead of 1 is because I played it at a time that I really needed a laugh. I streamed it for my friend and for a while I was happily distracted by the story mode, even if it mostly involves hopelessly sticking my dick head into butts. The narration gave me Stanley Parable vibes, which was amusing, but yeah. Obviously this wasn’t gonna be some game of the year shit

Best Part: Playing with friends and yelling “GET OUT OF MY BUTT” at the top of your lungs. Worst Part: You can only enjoy sticking your dick in butts for so long before you don’t wanna do it anymore

I Love You, Colonel Sanders! by Psyop

1⭐

Yes, I am ranking this game as worse than a game about wiggly dicks. I didn’t have any hopes or expectations for this game, as it was always obviously meant to be a giant advertisement for KFC food, but that’s not even the part that bothered me. I didn’t care or mind the blatant product placement, the millions of mentions of all their herbs and spices and their gross bowls of corn, potato, and whatever.

I was so damn disappointed because it just wasn’t a good visual novel. I spent the whole time comparing it to Hatoful Boyfriend, which is an actually good parody of the entire genre. ILYCS felt more like “ha ha see how fucking weird dating sims are?? See how stupid and absurd the things that happen in them are?” rather than any kind of remotely interesting subversion on the genre. I don’t know why I expected that ILYCS would bother to do that, but I figured if a pigeon dating sim could surprise me, maybe this would too. Bleh.

Best Part: I did succeed in making Colonel Sanders love me, at least. Worst Part: Literally everything else.

The Outer Worlds by Obsidian Entertainment

4⭐

I’m giving this 4 stars, but this game gives me conflicted feelings. I love the companions in this game a lot, but some of them do have slightly disappointing arcs -- Ellie comes to mind for that one. The writing for the dialogue is great, but some of the main quests are just OK. The flaw system is really cool in theory, but I definitely didn’t think of them were worth the perk points, though they’re great if you’re serious about roleplaying.

I did have a lot of fun, but the ending felt very abrupt to me. I got to Phineas and we spoke for a minute, and then the credits rolled. And capitalism sure was bad! That was very heavy-handed. I enjoyed my time with it a lot but I am not itching to replay it. If there’s a sequel, though, I will definitely be on board with it.

Best Part: The dialogue options. They’re so fucking funny. Obsidian is the champion of snarky/witty dialogue. Worst Part: The ending made me the leader when I didn’t really feel prepared for that, I didn’t feel like that was the narrative I built for my character. The ending came at me so fast, it felt wrong.

Tyranny by Obsidian Entertainment

4⭐

If nothing else, Outer Worlds made me crave more of Obsidian’s writing flavor. This is the first CRPG I’ve ever committed to and beaten, and I do not regret that choice. I had tried to play it before but stopped very early on because it’s a lot of reading -- the entire opening has you do so much reading to make choices to kind of build your character’s backstory.

I loved playing a bad guy and accumulating power. My character was so loyal to Tunon and I loved the active development I got to have as someone who was so devoted to being a cog in the machine to someone who realized that they are special, they can be a conqueror, they can shape the world however they want. I know it’s possible to undermine all the bad guys and use your power for good, but eh, this is a game about being bad! It’s wonderful! And it was just long/short enough that it was great for someone just getting into CRPGs.

But. Like Outer Worlds, the ending felt rushed in Tyranny, though in an even more egregious way. Just as the story starts truly kicking off -- you have all this power, I had succeeded in making my superiors bow to me -- the game ends. It seems as though they ran out of time or money to have you actually face off against Kyros, the obvious next step in your plan for domination of whatever flavor. Maybe it was always the plan that taking down the Overlord was sequel material, but the way they built it up, it doesn’t feel right. And the game didn’t do well enough, or so I’ve read, so there will never be a face-off against her. I had such a good time with this game, but the ending left a real sour taste in my mouth.

Best Part: Really feeling like I had earned the power I got by endgame, by ‘playing’ the system. Defeating Tunon by manipulating him into bowing to me had me on edge and I was terrified until I walked out of his room. Worst Part: Knowing I will probably never get a resolution for the fight against Kyros. Really felt like all the cool stuff I did meant nothing.

Pokemon Shield by Game Freak

3⭐

Biiig mixed feelings about this one. I know Pokemon games are not known for their storytelling prowess, but even this one felt insultingly stupid to me. I know they can be good and interesting and posit cool concepts based on the worlds they’ve built. I didn’t like the gameplay of Black/White but I guess since that one tackled the ethics of Pokemon, Game Freak doesn’t want to try making any more challenging storylines.

The world also felt so empty. I never really noticed it in older Pokemon games, but SwSh has all these houses and no one has anything interesting to say. The NPCs aren’t worth talking to except when they give you items. Problems like that are common in Pokemon but I really hoped that bringing it to a home console meant that the game could be bigger and more full of content. The post game is almost nonexistent. For the first time ever, I don’t feel compelled to play long enough to complete my dex.

Best Part: The Wild Area, and doing raid battles with Amy. Playing alongside her and battling together was fun, and it was nice to cut down on the time it would’ve normally taken us to grind. Worst Part: Hop, Leon, and Bede. Worst characters in any Pokemon game, hands down.

Pillars of Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment

5⭐

I had initially tried this game out last year or so, but couldn’t get into it. Beating Tyranny finally made me feel able to tackle this one, and I’m so glad I gave it another chance. For most of the game I was meticulous and did almost all of the side quests, and I felt extremely rewarded by the narrative for doing so. Most of the companions were a joy to be around, and the lore of the world really drew me in.

Thanks to PoE, I think a whole new world and genre of games has opened up to me! But I’ll always feel like this is the first one I really loved.

Best Part: Eder!!! Ok also the themes of the game, especially in White March. Almost a month later I’m still thinking about the meaning to some parts of the game. Worst Part: That part in White March part 2 with the debate I couldn’t win. I understand why it was like that, I didn’t hate it or anything. Just the prerequisites to get the good outcome are bananas and there’s NO way I could possibly get the “good” ending of that dlc without following a guide WAY ahead of time. Oh well!

Katamari Damacy Reroll by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment

2⭐

I didn’t play the first game when it came out. Instead I played the sequel, and that’s the game I have fond memories of, so unfortunately I spent this remake wishing they’d remade that one instead. The controls are more frustrating than I remember, and the level design is kind of meh. I do like that the town gets bigger with (almost) every level, until you’re rolling up adjacent towns and cities, but it wasn’t as fun as the paper crane level or the flower level or the zoo level of We Love Katamari :/ I absolutely pushed myself through this one as fast as possible, no replaying levels for the fun of it.

Best Part: The creativity and absurdity of Katamari as a whole. Rolling around a little Japanese town and finding very Japanese items is fun. Worst Part: The controls. Trying to climb up things is a nightmare and I ran out of time during some levels purely because it was so difficult to climb sometimes.

A Plague Tale: Innocence by Asobo Studio

3⭐

I didn’t know a whole lot about this game going in. I didn’t think the narrative was as incredible and resonating as reviews led me to believe, but it was alright. The first half of the game was very interesting to me -- the perspective of children running away from the Inquisition during the plague was exciting and I feared for these children as they never seemed to be able to get a moment of rest. I did like that Amicia and Hugo needed to build their bond from scratch, and it was full of missteps that I could understand children would make.

However as soon as things got supernatural wrt Hugo’s blood, then I felt like it lost a little bit of the charm for me. I liked the ‘found family in an unforgiving world’ aspects, but then suddenly blood powers happened and the vibe of the narrative changed. Oh well.

Best Part: The progression of power in the game. At first I felt very nervous when sneaking was the only option I had, as I am bad at stealth, but then gradually being able to kill people with my sling and solve puzzles with fire and light and being nearly unstoppable was really cool. I felt like I had earned Amicia’s strength. Worst Part: Hugo’s RAT POWERS and that final boss. just. what.

Untitled Goose Game by House House

2⭐

I wanted to close out the year with something fun and short, but I didn’t expect just how short this game would be. Although, ngl, if it were any longer I think I might’ve gotten rather tired of it anyway. The memes and whatnot that Goose Game gave the internet were worth more to me than the game itself. $20 for roughly an hour of gameplay just feels... bleh. I don’t even normally believe in that whole “$1 per hour of gameplay” stuff that many gamers like to throw around, but this felt like a rip-off. Still, it’s kinda fun to be a wretched little goose.

Best Part: Being a naughty little goose is cute and amusing, and bullying that Griffin McElroy looking boy into the phone booth is the highlight of my experience. Worst Part: It’s a hilarious concept but I don’t feel like I got to harass people half as much as I expected I would. The objectives to find a series of items and dump them somewhere else is just boring.

#tekst

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maddisonluncefor-blog · 7 years

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Good Xbox Racing Games

Free Car Games Kids

There is a variety of car games on offer. In a bid to keep up with the action and war games, companies within the gaming industry are constantly coming out with new and improved gaming techniques to entice purchasers. Given below is a catalog of different types of car games that are greatly enjoyed by gaming enthusiasts. Car racing games- An old school game, it remains the most popular car racing game for all age groups. Car racing pc games are a big hit with those just entering the gaming arena since they are quite easy to follow. Furthermore, you dont require great skills to operate some of these car racing games. As a result, racing games are an appropriate choice for kids that fall in the age group of 5 to 7 years old. At the same time, the racing game domain has developed considerably to suit sophisticated tastes. These days, free games come with numerous, interesting features. These functions enable the user to customize the race track, car, region and most excitingly, the degree of difficulty. You can also enjoy refined games that offer a more realistic approach to playing with simulative controls like a steering wheel, accelerator, clutch and brake pedals. Car parking games- As indicated in the name, car parking calls for the player to fit his car into a particular space. It may not seem very exciting but you will have a great time with these games. Finding a perfect parking spot can be a tricky job and the same is the case in the virtual world. These games require more dexterity than one might imagine. To master this game, you need to get a hang of the complex controls which isnt always the case with a car racing or chasing game. Car chasing games- Just like car racing games, there are a number of car chasing games to choose from. They range from straightforward chases that most users can master to intricate game-play that calls for a skilled practitioner. A common theme in car chasing games is cops or robbers. These games are aimed at kids that fall in the age bracket of 7 to 15 years old. While the player can choose his own avatar when playing these games, there is a limited selection on offer with this genre. Car theft games- Of the various categories, car theft games are the most absorbing and thus, they are highly sought- after by game freaks. These games include a number of levels and come with complicated plot points and numerous characters.

Free Car Games Kids

The gaming industry is well a lot more $51 Big business and can be growing larger every day. With companies spending many millions over for programmers to generate these games they are searching for ways to outsource the testing aspect on the game creation process. Service station . I in order to are surprised to hear how to get paid to play online games, but it can actually pay anywhere from $20.00 every hour to over what $50.00 on an hourly basis depending for the company an individual might be working for, or how good of an applicant they think you are for their testing. Online games entail playing various games on your computer when an individual might be connected online. You are not necessary to buy any expensive kits in this activity. Correct your machine connected to the net and investigate free games that catch your wish to have. Once you get the practice of things really can feel easier.

youtube

Speaking of early indications, many of individuals have without doubt seen their early release teaser clip called "Secrets" on the Cars 2 video game that recently been floating around the web. Kind of makes you want more right? Well, sadly underestimation . that is all we will have until the making date. Rev your own engine and wait for that green light, then go full -out, your reputation as a racer is on the cloths line after every bit! But don't crash and burn at the finish line with the quickest run ever if you want to hold on top of the 'bragging rights' as best racer in Platform Racing 2, in other car racing games. Nintendo DSi has internal memory, very much like Wii. After storing info there, you choose to activate this data by the menu projector screen. The DSi Camera and the DSi Sound will be included in this particular internal memory of each DSi. Board Game: Yeah, it might seem boring, but pick something a little competitive. Your current products think your woman is smart, scrabble. Competitive, Monopoly, Dumb as a board? Sorry(the game, not the apology). This sort of date could be quite adventagous, as however see how she would react under various connected with duress. Does she get frustrated when she doesn't have any any vowels in scrabble? She's easily annoyed, tread lightly. If she dominates you in Monoply, permit her to run your bank account. As cheap whenever are, she's better. Beats you in Sorry? Perfectly.uh. Sorry? RC Pro Am is extremely fun with a associated with replay selling price. I'm not really sure just how many total tracks there are because I've never beaten the game before, it gets very hard once setting up to find the levels inside of the 20s. Bit more . you can gain more trophies than I have then I commend you, you make a racing game master.

Free Car Games Kids

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hottytoddynews · 7 years

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Ole Miss students and the Oxford/Lafayette community embraced the C Spire Tech Experience (CTX) held at the Pavilion at Ole Miss today.

The event, which was designed to inspire ideas and interest around STEM programs and technology around the state, featured an immersive tech experience throughout the day where participants were able to engage in Virtual Reality among many other tech demonstrations.

Later in the afternoon, three featured speakers took the Pavilion stage. AI expert Brian Uzzi led the CTX talks with his topic, “Man + Machine is Greater than Man or Machine.”

Uzzi is a globally recognized scientist, teacher, consultant and speaker on leadership, social networks and new media. With an extensive knowledge of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In his “Man + Machine” presentation, Uzzi discussed the relationship between humans and machines in a future that is becoming more reliant on technology.

Uzzi spoke of the advancements AI can provide in diagnosing medical data, statistics to improve crime rates and how to grow businesses through machine learning.

“What we need to see is… you don’t want to think you’re in competition with the machine. The real insight is really you in collaboration with the machine. If you do that, I think you’ll see it’ll be able to build you up and get you the things you want and potentially raise the whole human race,” Uzzi said.

Uzzi mentioned how machines learn just as a human would but drew a comparison to how much quicker the machine can pick things up and process them. IBM’s AI system “Watson” was brought up with a comparison between it and the human brain. Watson was developed in four years and was able to defeat the best Jeopardy contestant of all time. Since then, it has advanced even further while shrinking from the size of 10 refrigerators down to the size of three stacked pizza boxes. In such a short amount of time, Watson has been able to accomplish things the human brain hasn’t in millions of years of evolution according to Uzzi.

Uzzi said that the partnership between the things that humans do well and the things machines do well could change the world. With machines catching things humans miss, and humans capitalizing on this increased amount of data and information, it could lead to a new way of thinking and creating new innovations.

Bill Uzzi speaks at CTX, photo by Steven Gagliano

Next to take the stage was CEO of Zuckerberg Media and former Facebook CMO, Randi Zuckerberg with “Social Media is Free, Like a Puppy is Free.”

Zuckerberg is an entrepreneur, investor, author and media personality. As an early employee at Facebook, she led major marketing initiatives in the company’s formative years, helped launch the live streaming video industry, and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2011 for her innovative coverage of the midterm elections, combining television and social media. She helped create Facebook Live, which is now used by more than a billion people around the globe. After leaving Facebook, she launched Zuckerberg Media with the mission of creating media content that puts intelligent, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial women and girls at the forefront.

Zuckerberg graduated from Harvard and then moved to New York. At the age of 23, her brother, Mark Zuckerberg, asked her to help with a new company he was trying to get off the ground.

“I was 23 living in New York, and I thought I’m not going to work for my brother’s little company,” Zuckerberg said.

However, her brother offered her a plane ticket and off to California she went. She told her brother she would only be there for six months. But, 10 years later she still resides in California with her two children.

Zuckerberg talked about the early days of Facebook and what made this business launch exclusive. The team received letters of fans begging them to bring Facebook to their schools. What also set Facebook apart was verifying and forcing people to use their real names, whereas before there was no accountability online and people could hide behind the screen.

Zuckerberg later spoke about Facebook’s Hack-A-Thon events, in which employees were given 12 hours to work on something totally different, a passion project that they’d never had time to work on before. The challenge created an atmosphere of ideas, where there was no “stupid or too crazy of an idea.” Surprisingly, the staff found that the people who came up with some of the best ideas weren’t high up in the company, but rather interns or lower-level employees.

Zuckerberg herself participated in the Hack-A-Thon, and believe it or not, her idea was Facebook live. She said she never saw herself as an entrepreneur, but “when you put yourself in the right environment, you can do anything.”

While she loved Silicon Valley, she didn’t like that she was the only woman. When she would go to staff meetings, she would ask where the women’s bathroom was, but no one could tell her because they had never had a woman in the office. Her mission then became to encourage more women to engage in technology.

To end her talk, Zuckerberg left the crowd with a song, boasting her broadway talent, something Harvard once rejected.

NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle closed out the series of CTX’ Talks with “Technology Drives Change.”

McKenna-Doyle is Senior Vice President and CIO of the National Football League. She is responsible for the NFL’s technology strategy, shared service delivery and management of the league’s corporate technology activities. She has been at the league since 2012. She is executive sponsor of the league’s WIN – Women’s Network, and was recently awarded a Game Changer Award by Sports Business Journal. In 2013 Forty Over Forty – Women to Watch named her as one of the top 40 women in business.

McKenna-Doyle opened her talk with an inspiring video of this past NFL season before explaining the impact the league has played on its fans.

“With a game this meaningful, you’re never alone,” she said. “Football not only lives at the center of real families, it creates them wherever it goes.”

Mckenna-Doyle spent nearly 15 years in the finance division of the Walt Disney Company before joining the NFL. She began her work with Walt Disney in 1999 at a time the internet really began to take off.

But she wanted something more, something meaningful. She told her friend that she wanted to change the world.

“I wanted energy, healthcare, education,” she said.

And so she moved to Baltimore and launched a constellation competitive energy business, Exelon. But even then, she was bored.

“I have always been a football fan,” she said. “I thought I would never really have a shot in the NFL. You have to sell yourself.”

McKenna-Doyle then indulged in discussion surrounding the NFL and technology advancements within the business.

“The game is changed massively, not just because the core and heart but is much more connected now,” she said. “In the last few years, we have centralized instant replay.”

She went on to say that NFL players now have chips in their pads which measures data, and that the league offers a $60 million grant to institutions who provide ideas to make the game safer. She also provided demographics of NFL viewers, noting that Hispanics and women are becoming more interested in the NFL.

McKenna-Doyle said the NFL always strives to become more mobile, and next year, games can be streamed live on Amazon.

CTX wraps up the series of events tonight with a concert at the Lyric featuring Passion Pit, The Weeks and The Lonely Biscuits. Tune in with HottyToddy.com tomorrow morning for the full wrap of tonight’s concert.

For questions or comments, email [email protected].

Follow HottyToddy.com on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @hottytoddynews. Like its Facebook page: If You Love Oxford and Ole Miss…

The post CTX’ Tech And Talk Captivates Students, Community At Ole Miss Pavilion appeared first on HottyToddy.com.

#hottytoddy #olemiss #oxfordms #oxford ms #mississippi #university of mississippi #the grove

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junker-town · 7 years

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Rob Manfred and MLB are freaking out about rule changes, which doesn’t make sense

The urgency is there. But it’s one-sided urgency, and it’s curiously timed.

Rob Manfred held the annual State of the MLB press conference in Arizona on Tuesday, and he touched on a variety of topics. They were all important in their own ways, all topics to expand on, all worthy of much longer conversations.

Robot umpires? The technology isn’t there, and neither is the desire.

The Diamondbacks’ stadium situation? Untenable. That ballpark is almost as old as Julio Urias, and something has to change.

Expansion? Sure, and Vegas is a possibility, even though there’s legalized gambling there, it’s a metropolitan market smaller than Orlando, San Antonio, Charlotte, Portland, and Sacramento, and it’s filled with transplants unlikely to switch team allegiances. There would be plenty of tourists, of course, but counting on them seems optimistic. There are ... other activities in that particular hamlet.

The meat of the press conference had to do with rule changes, though. Manfred and MLB want them, and they want them now. They’re already going to get a two-minute limit on replay, and they murdered the intentional walk. More changes are coming, and baseball wanted several of them this year.

The MLBPA wasn’t comfortable with agreeing to every adjustment, however. This stalemate upset the commissioner, and he’s willing to force unilateral changes before the 2018 season

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Sweet, embeddable frustration. There were supposed to be years of labor peace after the owner-friendly CBA, and suddenly there’s a whiff of apocalypse in the air. From Ken Rosenthal:

Labor peace is assured through 2021, but baseball essentially threatened a lockout to get the CBA done. The widespread perception that the deal is one-sided in favor of the owners probably did not help the union’s disposition. And now tensions are rising over issues on which there should at least be a semblance of common ground.

Confused? I know I am. Consider these two simple truths, and how they fail to explain Manfred’s aggressiveness.

There are probably several ways to get better baseball

No one is disputing this. Baseball has a lot of charms, and exactly none of them involve two umpires with headphones standing around for nine minutes. That’s going away, which is super. You’ll love it until it’s your team that doesn’t get an obvious call overturned in the postseason because it took too long to get to the right angle, but you can’t make an omelette without shoving a couple eggs up your nose.

No one likes mound visits. They are the stoplights of baseball, and you would run through every one if you safely could. My favorite is when the pitching coach lumbers out, says, “I’m just here to let the reliever get a few more warm-up pitches in,” and lumbers back to the dugout, only to be followed immediately by a lumbering manager.

No one likes batters stepping out for a half-minute between pitches. Baseball has already addressed this, and there is not a nascent movement to bring the diddling and dawdling back. There are ways to get even better. Reports from the minor leagues that have been using a pitch clock are almost uniformly positive.

There are trickier concessions to make, though. Baseball wants quicker games, but one of the changes the MLBPA nixed had to do with a smaller, higher strike zone that would have led to more offense. More runs almost certainly would lead to longer games. That specific change was courting chaos and unintended consequences, and the players were right to be spooked.

Highly specialized relievers have created longer games (because of the pitching changes) and duller games (because of the strikeouts and lack of late lead changes). The spigot of weaponized 100-mph goofs is just opening up, too. But what can baseball reasonably do? It’s not like baseball will ever going back to the era of 170 pitches and complete games for everyone. That’s a problem that will take some massaging.

The good news is that baseball isn’t hemorrhaging fans. It’s undoubtedly a smart thing for Manfred to be concerned about shifting demographics and the shortening attention spans of new fans in a post-meme world. Concern is warranted, even if the crisis is far away. This would seem to be the perfect time, then, for baby steps, tweaks and nudges, experiments and theories.

Look at the fire in Manfred’s eyes in that video, though. Read that Rosenthal column about the implications of MLB unilaterally imposing vast, sweeping changes. It’s as if the commissioner has read a secret file about the future of baseball that would blow our minds and make us scurry for canned goods.

And I just don’t understand it. Especially when you consider the second simple truth.

There is no change that could be implemented right now that would immediately suck in new fans

There is no lever, no magic dust. Baseball is getting rid of the four-pitch intentional walk, and I regret to inform you that there will not be an avalanche of new fans screaming, “FINALLY. NOW I CAN WATCH BASEBALL.” This was a trade, and both sides gave something up. Baseball will move a little quicker, sure, but there’s something lost, too.

Baseball is fascinated with the idea of the hyper-rare, the 1-in-1,000, the 1-in-10,000, the 1-in-a-million. It's why the purists insist that you watch every awful at-bat from every pitcher, just to feel rewarded when one of them gets a hit. It's why there are still people who know the name Bill Wambsganss. It's why we remember the squirrels on the field, the mitts thrown to first with baseballs in them, and the hitters who swing at a pitchout to protect a hit-and-run.

Miss u, terrified reliever:

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Miss u, iconic highlight:

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Please don’t minimize that last one. Eleven years later, it’s possible to talk about a Marlins/Orioles game from 2006 with a big smile on our faces. Baseball is not just the sum of action-packed bursts of excitement in every game. It’s the accumulation of dumb moments like those, kept in a dumb locket that we wear close to our dumb hearts.

There were fewer intentional walks last year (932) than there have been in any season since the strike in 1981, but, sure, getting rid of the walk will make every other game go quicker, on average. It still won’t going to suck in a new generation of fans.

It’s a small step in a complex process. And it’s fair to wait around to see what the unintended consequences are. Instant replay is a perfect example of what dramatic changes hath wrought. Lots of folks were excited by the prospect of fewer blown calls, of fewer games decided by impossibly difficult calls. No one really anticipated the 10-minute spectacle of umpires in headphones. No one really anticipated all the blown calls that would still squeak through.

This, just like the idea behind messing with the strike zone, brings up the analogy of cane toads again.

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Australia’s cane fields were being ravaged by beetles. They brought in cane toads to eat the beetles. You’ll Never Believe What Happened Next. The solution was as bad as the problem, if not worse.

And none of these changes will immediately suck in the 12-year-old kid who is six years away from getting an Overwatch tattoo.

If baseball puts in a pitch clock, raises the strike zone, eliminates extensive mound visits, limits pitching changes, institutes a mercy rule, starts extra innings with a runner on second base, limits the number of pickoff throws, requires pitchers to face a minimum number of batters, limits defensive shifts, and institutes all sorts of other changes to speed the game up and improve quality of play, there might be improvements.

There might be unintended consequences. Doing it all at the same time is a recipe for cane toads. You just might kick your beetle problem, baseball, but I have some bad news for you ...

And none of these changes will bring back the person who sorta grew up with baseball, but never totally got into it, and generally finds it boring.

The compromise is simple. Baseball is not on fire yet. It’s not close to being on fire. Attendance is still high. Local TV ratings are generally superb. For all the noise made about the sport’s older demographics, it’s worth noting that Major League Baseball Advanced Media is a huge money maker, and that the younger demographics are using the MLB At Bat app in larger numbers than the apps from other sports leagues. This is a good time for tinkering. This is a great time for tinkering.

That tinkering would involve a deliberate process the MLBPA is okay with. It would be a process Commissioner Manfred clearly isn’t okay with. The MLBPA’s sense of urgency, or lack thereof, makes sense. Baseball’s panic is curious, at best, especially when it comes at a possible cost of unnecessary labor unrest.

Baseball is changing. It has always changed. It will always change. The game will evolve, and the evolution will be necessary in ways we can’t comprehend, what with us all dumb and in the past. It doesn’t need to change all at once, though. And the desperate urgency of the commissioner just doesn’t make any sense from here.

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goldlink44 · 7 years

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Top 10 Games of 2016

Wow, what a great year for games (and not much else…). Seriously, though, 2016 produced some of the most fun gaming experiences that I’ve ever had. There was emotional wrenching, arcadey shooters, and games that put a smile on my face throughout their duration. I didn’t think that I was going to compile a list of my top ten games, as I wasn’t sure that there were 10 games that I could expound upon. But upon reflection, I found quite a few that I remember very fondly.

That said, there were also a bunch of games that won’t make the list for various reasons. Her Story and Until Dawn came out last year, but are both very very good for what they seek to accomplish.

I don’t own Hyper Light Drifter or Thumper, but they both look amazing and I can’t wait to play them in 2017.

I bought Inside, Oxenfree, Dishonored 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, but haven’t put much time into any of them for me to have any strong feelings that I could back up.

Rimworld is still in early access, but shows some of the most promise I’ve seen in an indie game in years.

Orwell narrowly missed the list, but it is amazing in its own right. It’s a lot like one of my other favourite games from recent years, Papers, Please! but uses social media as its interface, and makes it fun to investigate potential law breakers. You can see my full review of it here.

And so, without further adieu, here’s my Top Ten Games of 2016!

10. Battlefield 1

I learned all about the atrocities that occurred from 1914-1918 when I travelled with my family to The Netherlands and Belgium on a cycling trip that literally took us through the Western Front. It was humbling to see how, 100 years later, the land and the people never forget the seemingly pointless orders sending millions of men to their graves. I gained an appreciation, not only for the soldiers and support personnel that occupied that area of Europe during WWI, but also for the beauty of the land that was torn asunder from the battles.

Returning home weeks before BF1’s release, I was anticipating reviews, knowing that DICE can render fantastic environments and realistic war scenery. Most people were positive on the game pre-release, so I picked up a copy, and was not disappointed. The game is gorgeous, nailing the scenery of what I had seen first-hand, and depicting other fronts of the war in stunning detail. The campaign is incredibly well handled, showcasing the human stories behind the war, never glorifying or over exaggerating the heroics of the soldiers, but insisting that there was a great loss of humanity in The Great War. It’s emotionally on-point, and much better than I ever expected.

In any other year, I most likely would have passed over Battlefield 1, but given my trip to Europe, and the care with which DICE handles the story telling, it definitely makes my list of recommended games this year.

9. Overcooked!

While I may not have played hours upon hours of this co-op cooking game, the time I have spent with it has been incredibly entertaining. Anyone who has played Space Team in the past knows the mayhem that happens while trying to coordinate yourself and three other friends into executing on multiple goals at the same time. Throw this framework into a “too many cooks in the kitchen” premise, and it becomes a fun, delicious adventure that never gets stale.

Made by the team behind the Worms games, Overcooked! has a delightful art style and charming sense of humour that reduces the chance of getting bored with it. That, and each level has different mechanics that keep players on their toes, never letting them rest on their laurels and keep learning and moving to progress.

If I had 3 other friends always at the ready, I would definitely play Overcooked! every chance I got. Alas, I have enjoyed my extended bursts with the game, and can’t wait to get back in their and make some delicious soups.

8. Stardew Valley

While some people may spend their down time trying to relax by reading a book or watching a TV show, I found myself diving into Stardew Valley to destress. In its simplest terms, Stardew is a farming simulator that lets players crawl through dungeons and interact with fellow villagers, to almost simulate a second life (not in that creepy way though…). While this may not sound like everyone’s version of fun, Stardew Valley has such a delicate craft to it that everything feels good and rewarding to do. The kicker: it was made entirely by one person.

The premise revolves around you, the player character (customized any way you want, of course), inheriting your grandfather’s farm in Stardew Valley when you’ve grown tired of the hustle and bustle of working in the city. You hop on a bus and learn the basics of farming and slowly get acquainted with everyone in town.

From there, there’s not too much else to say, as there are so many different options available that it’s nearly impossible for two players to have the same experience. It’s surprisingly relaxing to plant and harvest, fight monsters, and woo potential dates. Checking off tasks feels great, and the music provides a soothing tone to everything. While it may not be for everyone, and I haven’t spent the hundreds of hours playing it that others have, I can’t wait to dive back in on chill weekends and vicariously put my digital life in order to help me deal with my IRL problems.

7. Hitman

Another game that I wish I had spent more time playing this year was IO interactive’s episodic Hitman. I watched a LOT of people playing Hitman, most notably Giant Bomb’s various escapdes with it, but only recently purchased it myself. From what I have played, I really, really like it. So far, I’ve only gotten to two of the available six missions, but I’ve replayed them both several times, trying to master each assassination mission.

The set up isn’t very complex: you are an expert hitman, contracted out to assassinate dangerous targets. The gameplay itself though has a ridiculous comedy to it, that allows players to do nearly anything imaginable to accomplish their tasks. Beat them over the head with a golf club? Sure. Two-hand toss a fire extinguisher into their head? You got it. Sneak up behind, choke them out, and toss them off a bridge? Child’s play.

It may sound like incredibly poor taste to casually mention such gruesome methods of killing, but given the vast amount of murder simulators that inhabit the video game space, Hitman holds a special place for its use of comedy. While many games try to evoke a serious tone, or real repercussions for killing, Hitman knows exactly what it is, and accounts for the uncanny valley aspects inherent in video games. It leans into the silly ways of killing, and rewards players for their creativity. Again, it’s hard to get a handle on why this game works just by reading words, or even by watching it. The magic is only truly woven over those who play it themselves, and even as I type, I’m trying to allocate my upcoming Hitman time. If none of this has convinced you, perhaps this might.

6. SUPERHOT

When I first heard about this game several years ago, it pretty much consisted of one mechanic: time moves when you move. I watched the demo, chuckled to myself, and hoped that the developers didn’t take their neat trick too seriously. Cut to this year, when SUPERHOT was finally released. I had almost forgotten about it, but the distinctive glass-like art style brought back memories of the cool mechanic, and again, I hoped that the game was able to improve on this simple-but-brilliant idea.

They did not disappoint.

I only played through all of SUPERHOT near the very end of 2016, but it was well worth the wait. The level design and player controls all lent to the feeling of playing like some sort of god. The narrative wrapper is also perfectly messed-up and suits this god-like feeling quite well. To fully immerse yourself in the game is to intuit where and when to shoot, throw your weapons, and move so that all of your split-second planning pays off. In total, the game took me about 3 hours, with an insanely difficult final level that outs all of your skills to the test, and succeeds on the initial promise in a way that I never imagined possible. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and rewards those who stay with it all the way. I loved it. It’s the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years.

5. The Witness

How do I sum up my thoughts on The Witness? For starters, I haven’t finished it yet, and feel like if I were to go back to it, I’d have to start all over again. That said, my time with it felt like school, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Playing Jonathan Blow’s previous game, Braid, hurt my head, but had a touching story that kept me going. With The Witness, there’s not much of a “story” but what fuelled my need to play it was the satisfaction of playing the game. Which is ridiculous when the game is basically just made up of hundreds or thousands of line puzzles. The puzzles start out simple enough, asking players to snake their way through mazes, creating lines in certain patterns that can’t cross over each other. Progressively, the game adds more and more elements to the puzzles, slowly training the player to think in different ways. It never prompts or looks down on you, but instead has an attitude of, “You can do it, just keep going.” There is no praise other than progression, but let me tell you, solving some of the more challenging puzzles makes you feel like the smartest motherfucker on the planet.

I should also mention that I played this with my girlfriend, Rosalie, passing the controller back and forth when we conquered a section, or got stumped by a puzzle. This definitely reduced the frustration, as getting a fresh pair of eyes didn’t let us bash our heads against a wall for too long. It’s hard to describe The Witness as “fun”, but it is beautiful and engaging, and never makes it too easy. The puzzles all build off of each other in such intricate ways, that there are too many “Eureka!” moments to count, all of which feel better than the last. There was definitely a lot of frustration with it too, but when I think back on it, all I can remember is the feeling of solving a puzzle, and feeling like I could conquer the whole damn island. It’s a different kind of pleasure than I normally experience in games, and in some ways, more potent than any other I’ve felt. Overall, it’s great.

4. Destiny: Rise of Iron

This is the third year that I’ve been playing Destiny, and I must admit, I think I’m a lifer. After being disappointed with its original release in 2014 (as seen in my Top Ten of 2014 list), The Taken King expansion from 2015 changed a lot of what I didn’t like about the game, and made it incredibly addictive. Combine that with a group of friends that I can consistently play with, and Destiny was the game I would usually fire up in 2016. To date, I’ve played 444 hours of Destiny since its release. It’s a fantastic game, made better with teammates.

2016’s expansion Rise of Iron was conceived as a way to tide fans over while Destiny 2 got delayed, and unfortunately, it shows. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a lot about getting more content for Destiny, but I feel like I went through it fairly quickly, and didn’t feel the need to keep going the way I did with The Taken King.

That all said, I still loved my time with it. The raid, Wrath of the Machine, is excellent, and the new crucible mode, supremacy, is a ton of fun for my main class and weapon load out - Shotgun Titan. The story was a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed it. While this particular expansion wasn’t my favourite, Destiny solidified itself in my heart as a game that I will always return to. The shooting feels incredible, and the thrill of raiding is unlike any other experience I’ve had in games. I can’t wait for more content, and to see what else I can do with an already solid base. Here’s hoping Destiny 2 is 2017’s GOTY!

3. Overwatch

I was very late to the party on this game, and never played the betas. I’ve never been great at online multiplayer shooters. I even thought that I had my all-time-shooter in Destiny, but when I finally got my hands on Overwatch during a free weekend in October, I pulled the trigger (nice) and have loved every second that I’ve spent with it so far. Like Destiny, Overwatch is better with friends, as you casually shoot the shit while you shoot the shit (read: opposing team). Each character is unique, and I can play a variety of different ways that I never thought I would enjoy.

There’s been a lot said and hyperbolized about Overwatch, but I honestly think it deserves it. Like a lot of Blizzard’s past games, it perfects a formula, and adds a level of polish that makes everything feel accessible. I could go on and on about specific things to love, but it won’t make sense until you get your own hands on it. It’s fun, fast, and rewarding in the best ways - literally. It only shows positive accomplishments at the end of every match. The K/D ratio isn’t displayed, as killing n00bs isn’t the point. It’s about working together and having fun. To prove my point, I usually play as Reinhardt and don’t get many kills in each game, but I always feel valuable.

For changing my perception of competitive shooters, and for providing so many ways to play, Overwatch has earned a spot in my top 3, despite only playing it for 2 months of the year.

2. Firewatch

When I first heard about Firewatch, I knew that some of the guys behind the Idle Thumbs Podcast and The Walking Dead Season 1 were working on it. As I had been working my way through the Giant Bombcast, Idle Thumbs seemed like the obvious next choice for gaming podcasts. I resolved myself to try and listen to as much of it as I could before Firewatch’s release, so that I could better understand its creators (I guess). I was also a big fan of Olly Moss’s art for movie and game posters, and after listening to hours and hours of Idle Thumbs, I was brimming with anticipation for the release of the game.

When it finally came out on February 9th, 2016, I got home from my closing shift at Starbucks around 11pm. I waited for my girlfriend to fall asleep, and dove in around midnight. From there, i played through the whole thing in one sitting, finishing around 4:30am. My drive to do this was fueled by many things: 1) I loved the atmosphere and the music 2) I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly anticipating what would come next and 3) I was afraid that if I waited to finish it, I would miss something, or the tension would be lost.

My experience with Firewatch is very personal and unique, and I understand people’s resistance to its ending, or some of the tension that is built up throughout the game. For me, it is a fantastic story, full of relatable themes and story beats that pulls on my heart strings in so many ways. By the end, I was an emotional wreck, and I couldn’t have asked for more from such a tight, beautiful experience. I’m grateful to have learned about Idle Thumbs in the process, and will always recommend this game to people who enjoy a good story.

I also ended up playing through this with my friend Alex as part of my 24 hour live stream benefitting pancreas cancer research in November. You can watch it here: Part 1 Part 2

1. DOOM

Video games are supposed to be fun, right? If I had to picture myself as a third party, observing Chris Townley playing video games in 2016, I would have to definitively say that he had the most fun playing DOOM this year. Why? Because the majority of my time with it was spent with a big dumb grin on my face, giggling to myself as I bounced around and plowed through monsters. From the opening 5 minutes of DOOM, I knew that it was going to be an experience that I would treasure forever.

Growing up, we always had Apple computers with very few games on them. It was always a treat when my dad would bring home his laptop with a copy of Doom on it that I could mess around with. I might not have spent a large part of my childhood gaming time with Doom, but it is seared into my heart as a treasured memory. For example, my ringtone for the past 3 years has been the theme for 1-1.

Hearing that a new Doom game was coming out, I dove into nostalgia, and eagerly anticipated playing it, even if I thought it would be bad. Prodded by this interest, I picked up a copy of Masters of Doom by Dave Kushner, a book about the early days of id Software. It’s an incredible book, and one that I think most gamers should read. It also pumped me up for a new Doom. Just to swim around in familiar demonic territory would be good enough for me.

When it was announced that no review outlets had gotten a copy of it before release, I was skeptical but still hopeful. I didn’t play the multiplayer beta, because I knew that wasn’t where I was going to spend my time with it. When the reviews finally started flooding in, everyone raved about the single player. Shortly after, I spent the full price of $80 CAD to play it. I don’t regret it one bit, even though the game has had dozens of sale offerings since then.

Why do I like it so much? It’s dumb and it’s fun and it knows what it is. The original premise for Doom was along the lines of, you shoot demons, and you’re badass. DOOM (2016) keeps this theme alive, along with the speed and ridiculous humour that made the first game so fun. This is especially amazing considering only one person from the original team worked on the new one. It looks gorgeous, the music is perfect, and the mechanics urge you forward, punching and shooting through demons in sprays of blood and guts.

I could go on and on about how much there is to love about DOOM, but perhaps I will sum it up this way: after 11 hours of gameplay, and nearing the final mission, my save was corrupted and I lost everything. I’m not even mad, because I know I get to play through it all over again. Maybe this hyperbole will colour your version of DOOM, but for me, it was the best game I played in 2016.

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