Gamer Corner Reviews

Icewind Dale II (PC)

talraen@fourlight.net — Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:55:52 EST

Icewind Dale II: A Web of Lies

When Icewind Dale II was released, the big news was that it was going to be the first 3rd edition D&D video game. However, that was a filthy lie. IWD2 is based on the Infinity Engine (originally from Baldur's Gate), and the engine really hasn't changed from the previous, 2nd edition games. What has changed are the numbers, and the leveling system, which serves to create the illusion of a new system. Sadly I didn't realize this until I was well into the game. While the lack of an attack of opportunity system is forgivable (just imagining one in the Infinity Engine makes me cringe), the fact that sneak attack actually works like 2nd ed backstab (i.e., once per creature) kind of ruined my whole party concept. That, and I believed the manual when it said the game was balanced for a party of 4-6 characters.

Icewind Dale II is roughly divided into thirds, in terms of gameplay style. In the beginning of the game, you're fighting hordes of weak creatures with the occasional boss, and getting experience at a truly ridiculous rate. This game is very much a dungeon hack - while the plot is well-written, it is incidental at best. IWD2 is the excuse to use the Infinity Engine for combat, and lots of it. I hit level 10 a third of the way into the game, which seems appropriate considering that the level cap is 30. However, IWD2 features a "new game plus" of sorts, and in fact I only ended up at level 18 despite having a four-person party.

Using a smaller party might be what made the middle third of the game so abysmally unfun for me. One rule they did get right from 3rd ed is how experience is awarded, so very low-level creatures can give zero experience. For the latter part of the game, the large majority of creatures did exactly that. And it's not like those creatures that give no reward aren't dangerous - the game is, like its engine predecessors, very stingy with magic armor, so your AC stays at a fairly reasonable level. The middle third of the game, then, is filled with battles against literally dozens of meaty creatures that hit hard and don't go down easy, but offer no tangible reward. If I had a full party, my reduced level may have resulted in a modicum of experience, but in the long run you are relying on quest experience for the entire second half of the game, and then some.

Fortunately, toward the end things start to pick up again. Once you start running into tougher single enemies, especially casters, combat becomes less of a grind and more of a tactical operation. Still, the ridiculous numbers of monsters you'll be attacked by make it hard to tell what's going on most of the time. You'll spend a lot of time buffing and much less time using attack spells, since it's very difficult to effectively use almost anything with an area of effect. (Though taking advantage of a rogue or monk's Evasion ability to spot fireballs is always a good time.)

I remember liking this game back when it was new, but this time around I spent way too much time being frustrated. Some of the issues I had seemed especially alarming - for instance, I was stuck for two hours at a point where you have to use one party member at a time. In theory I should have been overleveled if anything, yet I could not pull off a victory. I cheesed one fight (winning with a disintegrate that got through on a natural 1) and didn't even bother trying another - the tough fights in this game can be quite unfair. Fortunately by the end the balance all came together, and the final chapter is quite enjoyable.

Before I wrap up, I do want to bring up the chapter system, because it's arbitrary and annoying. There are six chapters in the game, but there could easily be double that. Bosses that seem like a good endpoint appear in the middle of chapters, between completely unrelated dungeons. Why not just have more chapters, and make each one shorter? The psychological effect of the chapter setup is that the game, which is already too long, feels even longer. The exception here is the final chapter, a fantastic dungeon with a ton of sidequests that largely serve to help you in the final fight.

Grading Icewind Dale II is difficult. Prior to the last chapter, I wasn't even sure if this game deserved a C-. But that last chapter is really good. And the beginning of the game is pretty fun. It's just the middle which makes me want to claw my eyes out. Still, if I didn't have a reason to finish the game, I would have given up on it halfway through, so I can't really recommend it unless you just love combat in the Infinity Engine. In which case, a.) what's wrong with you? and b.) you'll love this game.

Score: C

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

talraen@fourlight.net — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:22:54 EST

Scott Pilgrim vs. The Graphic Novels

I'll admit up front that this really isn't a review so much as an excuse for me to talk about the translation of Scott Pilgrim from graphic novel to movie. But I do like reviewing stuff, so for starters, here's a review of the movie for those who haven't read the graphic novels.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a movie for a fairly specific audience. This movie is chock full of video game references, but that's not really what restricts its viewership. While you'll miss a few of the jokes if you have no video game background, most of the really important bits are pretty straightforward (such as the Street Fighter-esque "KO!" at the end of fights). No, the reason I wouldn't send my mom to see this movie is because the structure is a bit crazy. Zany is another good word.

The basic premise here is that the titular character starts obsessing over the new girl in town, they start dating, and then he has to defeat her seven evil exes in combat. Yeah, this isn't your standard twenty-something romance flick. They don't bother explaining why Scott can hold his own against the exes and their superhuman abilities, and that's just fine. The fight scenes are highly entertaining, provided you're not expecting real-world logic to apply (that statement really goes for the entire movie).

Scott Pilgrim is especially notable for its casting. Every character really works, even if it's hard to keep track of who some of them are and why they're around. For instance, why does Scott associate with Julie, who's basically a bitch at every turn? This is the sort of character development you lose in the translation from graphic novel to movie. Most of the characters work right from the get-to, though, especially Scott's gay roommate and most of the evil exes.

The only real problem I can see people having with this movie is with the main characters. Scott Pilgrim is played by Michael Cera, who some people can't seem to stand. I can't honestly say that he's playing a much different character here than he always does, though as Scott he's much more of an asshole, which I guess is something. His love interest, Ramona Flowers, is well-played, but there's very little chemistry between the two. This is the biggest flaw in the movie, but the way events play out, it still kind of works.

In the end, Scott Pilgrim is nothing if not highly entertaining. The fights are great, the banter is highly amusing, the characters are colorful, and the zaniness all manages to work. You know, provided you're not put off by random video game references and a complete disregard for any sort of explanation.

[Spoiler: Click Here if You've Read the Graphic Novels]

Score: A-

Knife of Dreams (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 00:22:33 EST

Let's Get This Ending Started

While it was certainly never intended as such, Knife of Dreams now feels almost like a bridge between the Robert Jordan era of the Wheel of Time and the Brandon Sanderson era. There are several reasons for this, but mostly it's because the previous 10 books were building the plot up, and book 11 finally starts to barrel towards an ultimate conclusion. Despite that, this is the last book (I assume) that introduces any major new plotlines, but they're all pretty awesome, so it's OK.

Knife of Dreams is the book long time Wheel of Time fans have been waiting for (or more specifically, the first book we've been waiting for). Several plotlines that have dragged on for a few books are finally resolved, major events happen, and a few long-prophesied events finally come to pass. Plus, there's a whole lot of Mat here, and this is where Egwene started to become my favorite character.

All that said, in some ways the book feels a bit rushed. Jordan didn't start promising us that the next book would be the last until after Knife of Dreams came out, but you can sort of tell it was written to finally start resolving things. Whether the style feels rushed because that's how Jordan writes endings or because he put extra effort into keeping things under control, we'll never know. What I do know, which is really weird, is that this book actually feels a bit like a Brandon Sanderson book, at least in how things get resolved. In some ways I feel like I wouldn't have been able to accept the change in authors without it. Of course, I may be crazy and just seeing things, but that's how I felt.

But don't think the feeling of being rushed is a bad thing. Long-time fans probably won't, but I should be clear here: this book is great. The pace is picked up, and even though some new information is introduced, it's all very much aimed at setting up the end of the series. If you were to draw a diagram of the breadth of the plot of the Wheel of Time, Knife of Dreams is not only the first time it starts to narrow, it does so dramatically.

11 books into a series, there isn't much I can say that isn't a spoiler, but this book does a much better job of pacing than its predecessor's experimental layout. There are four major plotlines interspersed with some other important events, covering pretty much every relevant character. The prologue is especially notable, not because of its length (which, while extreme, in on par with other late WoT books), but because it brings many of the secondary plotlines to a head. They aren't all that interesting on a first read (let's be honest, it's hard to stay interested in Ituralde until we find out why we should care, which is yet to come), but it's not the slow-moving mess it's been in some previous books.

While it is extremely sad that this was Robert Jordan's last book, it's good for all Wheel of Time fans that he got things rolling here. Had Sanderson or another author stepped in after book 10, the transition would have been much more jarring. Knife of Dreams doesn't feature the fantastic writing of its predecessor, but things happen, which at this point is all fans really wanted.

If nothing else, Knife of Dreams reassured me that the ending will be worth the wait. In the grand scheme of things, this is more the intro to the ending than its actual beginning, serving to end a number of penultimate plotlines, but the payoffs are worth it. They may not be worth 11 whole books, but that's what the last three are for. We hope.

Score: A

Madden NFL 11 (360)

talraen@fourlight.net — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:50:46 EST

The Madden Game I've Been Waiting For

For the past three years, I've purchased the new Madden game, played it a bit, lost horribly to my brother, and given up on it. I considered not buying this year's version, but I felt like I finally "get" football enough to enjoy the game, so I took the plunge - and I'm glad I did. I've long said that there should be a tutorial mode of some kind that teaches you how to play football, and more importantly why you call certain plays at certain times, and while this game doesn't quite do that, it comes pretty close and does so seamlessly.

I could go on reviewing this game for quite a while, but it seems best to stick to the really important stuff. To me, the biggest improvement in Madden 11 is the coordinator speech option. Basically, when you get to the line after each play call, your offensive or defensive coordinator will give you some advice about running the play. On offense this advice is mostly about gameplay (warning you to avoid double-coverage, advice to stay behind blocks on a run, etc.), but on defense - the part of the game most casual fans don't really get - the advice works as an effective learning tool. Generally your coordinator will let you know what the weaknesses are in the defense you called, which in turn gives you some idea which defenses work against which types of plays. Sometimes the advice is more direct (for instance, I learned here how safeties are useful against the run). I still have no idea what really makes you prefer zone versus man coverage, but at least I can read a play and adjust to it.

And that brings me to the second change, the strategy pad. I'm not nearly familiar enough with prior Maddens' audible system to know why longtime fans hate the strategy pad, but they do. Personally, I love it, because it organizes audibles logically and makes them easy to learn. There's a lot more you can do on defense, but I found generalized audibles more useful, especially since the computer doesn't give you a lot of time. On offense you're mostly limited to adjusting receiver routes, but doing so is key to exploiting defenses, so that's fine.

The audible system in general has been much improved as well. While the strategy pad lets you make specific adjustments, you can also (as always) switch to entirely different plays. The key improvement this year is that you have a number of audibles, both on offense and defense, which adjust the play but not the formation. This is especially helpful on defense, since the original play call determines how many linemen and linebackers you have on the field, but these audibles take all that into account, while a normal play audible may put players out of position. On offense, it's easy to switch from run to pass if you see exploitable coverage, and the strategy pad lets you make further fine adjustments. And you have all of the basic options you'd want available: man, zone, or blitz on defense, and run, play action, or quick and deep passes on offense.

The presentation of the game is downright amazing. I don't know if previous games did all the cool franchise stuff, such as a recap show with actual NFL network hosts and whatnot, but the in-game presentation is much improved. Gus Johnson takes over as the play-by-play guy, and his excitement is a huge improvement over the robotic calls of previous games. In-game chants and touchdown celebrations really make you feel like you're actually playing in a given stadium. Unfortunately, this all works better on an individual game basis - you'll find the same quarterback comparison speech given for almost every season game, and I didn't hear any announcing about playoff implications or anything else outside the current game except for season statistical totals.

Of course, the gameplay is as solid as its ever been, and I really enjoyed it because I'm finally getting good at it. The removal of the sprint button has a lot to do with that, and is as welcome here as it was in the NHL series. I do find the computer can break tackles far more proficiently than I can, but my rushing game doesn't really seem to suffer for it, so that's OK. There do seem to be too many breakaway plays from scrimmage, and too few on punt and kick returns (I never had a kick return go beyond the 35, or a punt return of more than 20 yards). And Lawrence Tynes seems to have no range as a field goal kicker, but that's a much more specific complaint.

All in all, Madden 11 is a great football game, especially for those who (like me) like football but are intimidated by playcalling, especially on the defensive side. Madden 11 even has an automatic playcalling feature that speeds up the game dramatically and avoids that feeling that you'd be doing better if you knew what you were doing. (Though I'd still advise asking Madden on defense, if only because you have so little time to make adjustments that you really don't want to have to study the play you called before making them.)

Score: A

Ultima IX: Ascension (PC)

talraen@fourlight.net — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:43:41 EST

Not a Terrible Game, Just a Terrible Ultima

Ultima IX caused a bit of an existential crisis for me. Most of the fun parts of the game were the parts that ignored the depth of previous Ultimas, such as the magic system. In fact, aside from the plot, most of U9's issues revolve around the creators being too obsessed with making a world that felt real. (Of course, it doesn't help that they fell woefully short, either.) If the game wasn't so buggy, and the plot not so asinine, this may have actually been a pretty good game.

Of course, those are two pretty big "ifs." Let me address the major problem with Ultima IX first: the plot is horrendous. Even detached from the Ultima series, it's pretty stupid. But in context, it's almost criminal. The game was written like a bad Ultima fanfic - there are a huge number of references to previous games in the overall plot structure, and not in a good way. We've seen corrupted virtues before, we've had to do a series of eight sets of the same quest before, we've cleansed the shrines before. The thing is, repetitive quests like those of the middle Ultima games only manage to not be obnoxious because the game is completely non-linear. Ultima IX is quite the opposite.

And it's not just the bad structure that gets me. This is a game that makes many references to previous games that are flat-out wrong. Characters discuss factual things from previous games, even recent ones like U8 that don't need to be ret-conned, and completely make up new facts. It's bizarre - it's not like a different company made the game or anything.

The plot is bad, but let's be honest, you can ignore that sort of thing if the gameplay is good. What is much harder to ignore is constant crashing. The game was so buggy that Origin actually shipped out new install discs with the "final" patch to everyone who bought the game. Which was a very nice gesture, except the final version is still buggy. It doesn't help that the primary graphics engine is 3dfx's now-defunct Glide system. No modern computer is using that without some crazy tweaking, and the Direct 3D support is pretty spotty. There are a ton of fan patches to correct these and other bugs, as well as fix gameplay balance issues, but I'm reviewing the official game, not fan patches.

So what about the gameplay? Due to the repetitive nature of the quests, there are basically three aspects of the gameplay: exploration, NPC interaction, and dungeon delving. I'll cover the NPC interaction first, because it's pretty bad. Conversation trees are much shorter than they used to be, and options inexplicably disappear so you have to talk to NPCs repeatedly to have a full conversation. This is all, of course, due to the game's full voice acting, which is a cool feature. Of course, the voice acting is really bad, and the game is a lot less grating if you turn it off. Because everything is voiced, they've done away with the traditional faux-Old English "thees" and "thous," but you don't miss them. The fact that there is full voice acting is especially impressive when you remember this game came out in 1999.

Exploration, on the other hand, is pretty fun. Britannia has been decreasing in size since Ultima VI, and here it's downright tiny. They seem to have decreased the Avatar's walking speed specifically to counter this issue. Tiny it may be, but they've packed a ridiculous number of secrets into the landscape. (It's also very easy to cheat the system and go places you're not supposed to, but that's another story.) The only real annoyance with exploring is that overworld enemies respawn, which is dangerous in the beginning of the game, and silly by the end since their drops never disappear. In particular, there are a pair of staff-wielding thieves outside Minoc, and by the time I finished the game there were staffs piled everywhere in the area.

I want to take a moment to mention the combat system, because it's actually pretty good. The game is fully 3D, but lacks traditional controls. Rather than WASD for movement, you right click and move in the direction the camera is pointing, using Ctrl and Alt to strafe. It's a weird system, but it kind of works. The game needs to be mouse-driven because you drag-and-drop items in 3D, a cool idea which ultimately doesn't really work (which is why no one does it anymore). Combat is similar to Ultima VIII, with a lot of frantic clicking, but with five weapon types and potentially four moves usable by each one, it's actually pretty fun. Better than that is the spell system, which took some of the better ideas from Ultima VIII. You still use reagents, but only to put spells in your spellbook - afterward, you need only mana to actually cast spells, and there is an item that drastically reduces mana costs, making spells more usable than they've ever been in the series. And there are a lot of fun ones, too.

And that, finally, brings us to dungeons. I'm torn on how I feel about the dungeons - in many ways, this game is trying very hard to be Ocarina of Time. Some of the 3D puzzles are actually pretty good, although there are plenty of puzzles where there's no way to guess which button you're supposed to press first and such. You won't be moving blocks like in Zelda, but there are plenty of switches, pressure plates, and keys to worry about. But these dungeons are massive and involved, and unlike the rest of the series, you have to fully explore all of them. They are also well-themed, and this is at least one area where they got Ultima tradition right: Wrong is a prison, Destard has dragons and lots of gems, etc. The towns are actually more themed along Zelda lines, and not necessarily in a good way. Yew has always been in the woods, but now looks like the Ewok village, and Minoc has had gypsies a few times, and now consists of nothing but gypsies. I guess having per-town populations under a dozen limits the variety.

I could nitpick U9 all day, and I could find nice things to say just as easily, but what it comes down to is that this game is a mess. It's buggy, the UI is wonky, the plot is terrible, but the game usually remains pretty fun. There are frustrating bits (especially with early-game inventory management), but in the end it kind of works. Presuming you save every few minutes, at least. It wouldn't even take that much work to make this game good: restructuring it to give the player more freedom to explore other towns earlier, for instance, would go a very long way. But it is what it is: a sort of fun game that hardcore Ultima fans can pass on, and no one else has any reason to play. It's hard to recommend even to those fans, since the ending is not only nothing to write home about, it's really pretty stupid. You may be better off thinking up your own.

Score: C

Ultima VIII: Pagan

talraen@fourlight.net — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 00:05:24 EST

Good Idea, Terrible Execution

It's very hard to say nice things about Ultima VIII. There are actually a number of good ideas at work here, but without exception they are brought down by other aspects of the game. The story is interesting, but undermines the whole idea of the Avatar. The gameplay mechanics are well-intentioned, but barely work. The multiple magic systems are very cool, but a dated UI makes them frustrating to use.

The thing about Ultima VIII is, it should be really fun. You are stranded on a strange world, and given a mission to master its varied magic arts. Each of the four magic systems you learn operates differently, and by the end of the game you have a huge variety of spells (on par with previous Ultimas). Though the system differences aren't actually that major, they really work conceptually. It's nice to have healing and utility spells that don't require reagents, attack spells that are pre-prepared, and so on.

Of course, calling the way you actually use these spells "annoying" would be a massive understatement. Ultima VIII has a lot of problems, and they almost all come down to UI. Not only is the UI fundamentally flawed, it's flawed in two different ways. Spells (and consumable items, such as flaming oil) fail because of the terrible inventory management system. It's like they took Ultima VII's inventory system and removed anything good about it. And let me tell you, there wasn't much good about cluttering the screen with windows full of crap. U8 doesn't pause the game when you have inventory open, which in theory lets you react quickly with items or spells, but in practice just clutters the screen. Having to search for tiny icons to double click in the heat of battle is a terrible idea. Plus, buff-type spells you really want available to recast usually close all windows when they're cast, thus defeating most of the advantages of the system.

To add insult to injury, the windows aren't even well conceived. They tend to waste too much space trying to look good, and you close them by double-clicking on an empty spot instead of clicking a check mark as in U7. This sounds like a good idea until you realize that it means if you mis-click a tiny icon, you close the whole damn window. And closing one container's window closes any containers inside it, so if you want to organize your backpack with bags (a virtual must), you still need to keep the backpack open at all times. WTF?

Unfortunately, the controls aren't any better. There's a lot of jumping and such in U8, but provided you didn't manage to find a pre-patch version, the jumping puzzles are the least of your worries. The most annoying thing in the game to do is try to climb on things. Sometimes it works, and sometimes you just can't, and you have no idea why. Perhaps it's because the isometric view gives no indication of height, or maybe the game just hates you. And god forbid you try to navigate an edge. Things are even worse in combat, which works like an early version of Diablo where they hadn't yet figured out how to make the click-fest remotely fun. Monsters tend to stun-lock you, and the two best strategies when fighting anything beyond a ghoul are "use an invincibility item or spell" and "run away."

And the grandaddy of all my complaints is the dreaded combination of UI and inventory: in-world item interaction. No longer can you pick things up or open doors from across the screen. While this adds something to the realism, it adds a lot more to the frustration. There's no 3D camera to rotate, so it's impossible to pick up things hidden behind your character. And since the distance required to move things is incredibly small, this can be a serious problem. But the worst design decision in the entire game is to have items on the ground act as terrain. Not only do bodies block your way to an obnoxious degree, if you get too close to any small item you tend to climb on top of it, and thus you can't move it or pick it up. This problem isn't too bad for most of the game, but once you start performing Sorcery, which involves laying out up to 14 items in a small area, you will want to kill Richard Garriott.

Honestly I feel like Ultima VIII is really a "B" game - it certainly doesn't rise to the heights of the U7 games, story-wise, but it's a cool concept and when things work, they're very cool. Climbing around buildings in town is pointless but very fun, and the magic systems are great. The lack of a party makes discovering magic arms and armor more exciting. But dear god the flaws! I thought Ocarina of Time's controls didn't age well, but they have nothing on Ultima VIII. It wouldn't be that hard to fix U8 - a shortcut bar a la U9 would go quite a ways. But as it is, this is a game that has to be wrestled with rather than played, and that's not a good thing.

Score: C

The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson)

talraen@fourlight.net — Wed, 4 Aug 2010 15:50:19 EST

A Solid Beginning With a Lot of Potential

The first entry in Brandon Sanderson's previous multi-volume work read well as a standalone novel, and to a degree I was expecting The Way of Kings to follow suit. As the first book in The Stormlight Archive, a series planned at 10 books long, part of me was dreading being sucked into another neverending series by this book. Well, the bad news is that this is very much a Book One. That said, I'm very much looking forward to reading more.

Stylistically, this is clearly a Sanderson work. Like Elantris and Warbreaker, the story is split into three distinct threads, and you will spend most of the book speculating on how they will all come together in a big climactic finale. Oddly, that doesn't quite happen. Oh, the three storylines intertwine and relate, as do several substories presented as "interludes" between sections of the book, but we'll have to wait until later in the series for the grand plan to come together.

The lack of complete resolution is my only serious criticism of the book. It's not that I expect the first book of a long series to fully resolve things, but based on previous experience (specifically Mistborn), as well as some of Sanderson's blog comments, I was holding out some hope. In many ways his novels are mysteries, but for the reader rather than the characters - what will happen next? How will it all end? And while The Way of Kings offers a fair share of resolution, including a fantastic climactic scene, it doesn't come together as much as I had hoped.

What the book does accomplish is establishing solid characters in a very interesting world. Sanderson is as fond of his magic systems as ever, but with a long series to explore them, The Way of Kings acts more as an introduction to the world of Roshar and its quirks than a full exploration of it. There are many supernatural forces at work in the world, and here we see ancient items of power, old abilities reappearing, and the development of magical technology. Sanderson has said that this book is intended to be somewhat analogous to a beginning to the Wheel of Time's Age of Legends, and that shows.

The world itself is an interesting character, despite being the type of world I'm disinclined to like. I prefer more Earth-like worlds than the ones wracked by some disaster that changes the very ecology (a la Mistborn's). Roshar is constantly scoured by massive storms that leave the land barren, replacing common animals with odd crustaceans and the like. My usual complaint with such worlds, that the differences in the lives of such a world's inhabitants are unknowable and any comparison seems forced, still applies. But despite that, it all works. Partially this is due to the primary setting of the Shattered Plains, an interesting array of plateaus and chasms that makes me want to see a Stormlight Archive RTS made. More than that, though, are the sketches of world elements throughout the books, which are made even more interesting by the fact that they generally come from the text of the novel itself. (This is an especially impressive feat considering the advance copy I read is lacking around half of the illustrations.) I also completely fell in love with the spren, which are basically formless spirits that are attracted to various phenomena (e.g., fearspren appear among soldiers before a battle, flamespren appear dancing near fire, etc.)

The story features many of Sanderson's usual elements. Religion is present and certainly effects the world, though it's not quite the focus it has been in some of his previous works. There are the obligatory religious debates, but they are kept to a minimum and it is implied that the answers will direclty relate to the long-term plot of the series. The main characters are noble - if you're looking for flawed anti-heroes, you had best look elsewhere. They certainly have demons, and are far from perfect, but when it comes right down to it they all carefully consider the best path and then follow it. There is a fairly positive aspect to most of the inhabitants of the world - even the cruelty and betrayals are at least justified in the minds of those who perpetrate them, making the characters seem more real (but perhaps a bit too idealized).

As I mentioned, the book is divided into sections interspersed with interludes. These interludes tie into the story indirectly or give you information about the world in general, and are short enough that they don't detract from the main plot. The book's structure in general is very nice - everything from the art inside the book to the section title pages makes the book seem somehow more solid. Of most note is the short final section, which picks up on several unresolved threads and manages to build an incredible amount of excitement for upcoming books. You won't know exactly what's going on by the final page, but you'll certainly hunger for more.

All in all, The Way of Kings is an enjoyable read, but I need to read further books in the series before I can be sure how I feel about it. Sanderson's stories are structured in such a way that it's hard to really judge them until you know how (and whether) it all came together, and that simply hasn't happened yet. There is a lot of potential, and he hasn't let me down in the past, but I'm not quite ready to anoint The Stormlight Archive as the Next Big Fantasy Series just yet.

Score: A-

The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

talraen@fourlight.net — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:36:42 EST

More Like the Movie than You Might Think

It is impossible to discuss The Princess Bride (the novel) without discussing its rather bizarre context. As fans of the movie will remember, the premise is of a grandfather reading the book to his grandson. One could be forgiven for assuming this construct was added to the screenplay, but that is not the case. The book itself is also written as a story being told, though by the author's father rather than his grandfather. Further, this construct isn't technically part of the story, but rather relayed in the introduction and interspersed notes. The conceit is that the "story" is an abridged version of an older book, by S. Morgenstern (abridged because the original wasted hundreds of pages on boring satire concerning nobility and such). And the icing on the cake is that the first-person author of the book, despite being presented as the actual author, is himself fictional.

Did you get all that?

If you've seen the movie, and you should have, you pretty much know the full story already. In the book they were sharks rather than shrieking eels, and Westley's torture took place in a much more elaborate cavern called the Zoo of Death, but for the most part this is the same great story, right down to the memorable one-liners. (This isn't too surprising when you realize that the author of the novel also wrote the screenplay.) The book moves quite quickly, as half of the version I read (the 30th anniversary edition) is taken up by introductions and extra content.

Since you've most likely seen the movie, there isn't much point in reviewing that aspect of the story. (If you insist, here's a brief version: it's awesome!) The question to my mind was, is the book worth reading? And the answer is a resounding yes. Novels have the advantage of room for explanation, as well as hearing the characters' thoughts, so a few story elements make a bit more sense. The humor of the author's notes is quite enjoyable, and you can really imagine all of the boring stuff he cut. Even the introductory explanation of how the book came to be is quite amusing (due in no small part to the fictional author's relationship with his fictional wife).

The only criticism I could offer is that the story-within-a-story model, combined with the conceit of it being an older story from a fictional nation, can be a bit confusing. It's hard to tell what information is actually legitimate - all the setup is fiction, but what about the believable asides that start with "this is a true story"? I have no idea whether they are or not. And nothing about the book actually indicates that the introductions are fictional. It's a lot to wrap your head around.

In the end, though, this is the novel form of an extremely popular movie, and it's quite enjoyable. It's not as idyllic as the movie, and doesn't star Andre the Giant, but it's still pretty damn good.

Score: A

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (VC)

talraen@fourlight.net — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:14:14 EST

Great Concept with Frustrating Design

Majora's Mask has me of two minds. On the one hand, it's inarguably a good game, with a lot of unique ideas in play. On the other hand, it suffers from all the same control problems of Ocarina of Time, and actually makes the archaic controls more frustrating. The highs are just as high as Ocarina of Time, but because of the structure of the game, the lows are much harder to overlook.

The basic premise of Majora's Mask is quite original (in video game terms): the game takes place over a three-day span which lasts a little over an hour in real time. You can reset the time back to the beginning, Groundhog Day style, as often as you want. In some respects this makes the world feel incredibly real: you can actually follow each townsperson around all day, as they are on a set schedule. You can even solve some puzzles and get some nice hints this way. Dungeons are reset, but you keep any special items you've gained as well as credit for defeating each boss.

Majora's Mask continued the rapid decrease in dungeon count from Link to the Past to Ocarina of Time, clocking in with only four dungeons. Each one has a lot of extracurricular activity required to open it, so the game feels closer to the eight dungeons of its predecessor than you might expect. Once completed, it's fairly easy to re-enter a dungeon on another day and warp directly to its boss, which allows you to alter the surrounding area in preparation for side quests.

And that brings me to the biggest flaw in Majora's Mask: the side quests. Almost every one of Link's tools is either earned during the main plot of the game, or as a bonus item for collecting 15 stray fairies in each dungeon. Therefore, your side quest rewards are limited to pieces of heart (of which there are a whopping 52), bottles, and optional masks. Collecting 52 pieces of heart gets boring quickly, so the fact that the 20 collectible masks all have unique abilities helps a lot. Of course, many are used exactly once, to earn a heart container piece. But masks like the Stone Mask (which makes enemies ignore you) or the Bunny Hood (which makes you run significantly faster) are some of the coolest items in the series.

Still, once you've collected a few bottles and the half-dozen useful masks, completionists like me will quickly become frustrated at how often they have to reset time and wait for things to happen. For example, I screwed up several minor details of the most involved sidequest in the game, and had to wade through the full 3-day span more than half a dozen times before I completed it. You have some ability to manipulate time, but the game seems to revel in making you wait for times that you have to wait for.

Indeed, much of Majora's Mask seems intentionally sadistic. Many mini-games (of which there are far too many) are explicitly designed to be challenging due to the terrible camera controls. Even games that aren't tend to be much harder than is really necessary, and the consequences of failure often require tedious amounts of backtracking. You will even have problems winning games when you're using your masks to cheat. Dungeon rooms and even bosses are basically designed to be frustrating.

And that is why, despite its good overall Zelda fun, I can't really recommend Majora's Mask. The game is just too frustrating, especially by modern standards. It's like the designers were more interested in making the game challenging than fun, to the point where the challenge isn't fun even if that's what you're looking for. If you have any issues with Ocarina of Time's controls or camera, avoid this game. Either that, or just ignore the sidequests and mini-games.

Score: B-

Crossroads of Twilight (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:07:36 EST

Well-Written But Empty

I have a weird relationship with book 10 of the Wheel of Time. The first time I read it, I loved it, and it made me immediately reread the whole series. But the second time I read it - at the tail end of that very reread - I gave up in disgust halfway through. (This book is the one most responsible for my hatred of Elayne.) Rereading it now, I really liked it again. So giving it a good, solid review is tough.

One thing I can definitely say for the book is that the writing is fantastic. Almost every scene is engaging regardless of what's going on. Unfortunately the problem is that nothing is going on. Almost nothing happens in this book at all, from a great plot perspective. The only event that really advances the plot in anyway is in the final chapter, and until that point there's no indication anything is going to happen.

What it comes down to, then, is how much you enjoy character development. That's something Crossroads of Twilight has in spades. The title is apt, as most of the viewpoint characters reach some character arc peak, in some cases with a rather dark tinge. Mat is giving in to his destiny, Perrin is trying to avoid giving in to his emotions, and the rest of the cast spends their time establishing their power base. This may not have been so jarring early in the series, but after the dramatic ending of book 9, a lull like this is frustrating to say the least. (Let's just say it's much easier to recommend this book now that two of its sequels are out.)

Speaking of book 9, Crossroads of Twilight falls somewhat flat because of its experimental structure. In the later Wheel of Time books, Jordan tends to rapidly switch viewpoints, only holding on to one character for a handful of chapters at a time. Book 10 spends the first 2/3 of the book tracking a variety of viewpoints in solid blocks. While a block of Mat is always a good thing, a block of Elayne followed by Egwene will drive readers who don't like the female cast crazy. Adding to the annoyance is the logic behind this structure - each block takes place at the same time as the events of the end of book 9. While this is a cool concept, in practice it doesn't really add much to the book, and slows the pacing to a crawl.

On the upside, we see a ton of Mat here, and everyone's plotline sets them up for dramatic resolution in the last few books (which thankfully do in fact happen). I didn't like the ending the first time I read it, but now that I see where it took the story, my opinion has changed quite drastically - and to a lesser extent that's how I feel about the whole book. Considered as a single, 10,000-page book, Crossroads of Twilight represents the calm before the storm of plot resolution, which would be fine if such a lengthy book was in any way reasonable. But as the tenth book in a series, all the good writing in the world can't save you if you don't give the people what they want to see.

Still, as I said, I very much enjoyed actually reading the book, so who knows? At this point you're either committed to the series or you've stopped reading. At best, Crossroads of Twilight is a character-driven interlude filled with good writing. At worst, it's a penance you pay so you can read the next few books. But I liked it. This time.

Score: B+

Winter's Heart (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 6 Jul 2010 11:38:48 EST

The Beginning of the End

In book 9 of the Wheel of Time, things (finally!) start being resolved. Even aside from the major climactic scene at the end of the book, a lot happens here. And the best part is, most of it happens around Mat, who is awesome.

Winter's Heart is oddly sandwiched between books 8 and 10, focusing on a few characters that were absent from the previous book (such as Mat) or nearly absent from the next (Rand) while glossing over a few others that have major roles in both other books (such as Egwene). It's like two full books were divided into three. And most of the really juicy stuff ended up here, much to book 10's detriment.

There are actually four major plotlines covered here - Perrin's cliffhanger from the previous book starts off the narrative, but this section is more like a prologue than a real part of the book. Elayne's plot starts off strong enough, and leads to some much-delayed resolution between Rand and his various girlfriends. As much as I dislike Elayne as a character, her stuff failed to ruin this book for me. (But don't worry, she redoubles her efforts the next time around.)

However as I said earlier, the real heart of this book is Mat, and some long-standing prophecies concerning his fate. His major role in this book is more than welcome after not being seen in book 8, and he doesn't fail to deliver. His reluctant hero angle isn't exactly original, but it plays out especially well in this book, and you really can't help but like him as a character. And let's face it, his continued romantic interest in this book is pretty damn funny even if you don't necessarily want to see the tables turned on him. New friends, returning enemies, and a lot of dice rolling in his head round out an altogether enjoyable storyline.

The other major plotline, including the biggest climax in the series so far, revolves around Rand. Coming out of the events of book 8, there are two things Rand has to do, and both of them are pretty spectacular. The return of one of his oldest enemies, as well as Cadsuane's growing role in the story, make the first appearance of Far Madding seem vaguely reminiscent of the beginning of the story, before Rand was basically a god.

The final chapter, despite being heavily foreshadowed, arrives rather abruptly, but for all that it is fantastic. If you ever wanted to see a real battle using the One Power, well here you go. Tons of actions, tons of point of view characters, and even a few deaths round out one of the best action scenes since at least book 6.

All in all, I can't complain about Winter's Heart. The only real problem with the book is that the one that follows it doesn't follow through on the promises made here, which can't be held against book 9. If you want action, comedy, or drama, there's a good balance of all three in this book.

Score: A-

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas

cuzzdog@fourlight.net — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:16:12 EST

Musing Pumpkins

My brother pointed out the band Silversun Pickups to me. This is their first full studio album. Music is pretty arbitrary, so it's hard to review. All I say is that their music sounds like Muse is playing the instruments while Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins does the singing. The album grew on me and now I like it quite a bit. If you like Muse or Smashing Pumpkins you should check them out. B+

laziest review ever

Score: B+

Red Seas Under Red Skies (Scott Lynch)

talraen@fourlight.net — Fri, 4 Jun 2010 21:55:25 EST

Naval Terminology Overload Causes Heart Attacks

Red Seas Under Red Skies is the somewhat surprising name of book 2 of the Gentleman Bastard series, the first book of which is The Lies of Locke Lamora. I say it's surprising because, if you've read the first book, you'll know that Locke Lamora doesn't seem to know anything about sailing, which the title implies the book will be about. Indeed, not only is the book about sailing, Locke's complete inexperience on the seas is a major theme.

The story picks up where Lies of Locke Lamora left off, but like the first book this one is for the most part a self-contained story. There are certainly callbacks to the previous book, especially in terms of the enemies Locke made in that book, but you won't be lost if you haven't read it. (That said, both books are really good, so there's no reason not to read the first one first.) Once again we have Locke involved in a grand heist story that quickly spirals out of control, and we spend most of the book wondering how he'll get himself out of this mess this time. And enjoyable, if you are anything like me, the answers are often not at all what you would expect.

While I enjoyed Red Seas Under Red Skies nearly as much as its prequel, a few things didn't sit right with me. The book opens with a teaser scene that has a solid payoff, but not one solid enough (or important enough) to justify starting the book with it. It's kind of random. This book also jumps around chronologically like the first book did, but the hard and fast pattern is abandoned halfway through and it seems a bit chaotic. (That said, the jumps in time do an exquisite job of asking and answering just the right questions to keep the reader at peak interest.) And while I have no idea if the naval terminology was correct or not, there was enough of it to be a bit annoying. It could have been much worse, and I'm glad I had my Kindle to confirm that "larboard" actually is an archaic synonym of "port," but still. I hope this series doesn't grow too focused on piracy.

There are two main plot threads at work here, though it often feels more like three. We have the basic heist, which is somewhat reminiscent of Ocean's 11 in terms of its general feel, if not the size of its team. The big twist in that plotline was so surprising it probably would have felt cheap, had this been the only plot line, but as it was, it was pretty awesome. I love that Lynch can so effortlessly surprise me over and over. The second plot thread is divided into the sailing bits (which I'll get to) and the involuntary alliance bits. The latter is vaguely reminiscent of the Gray King thread in the first book, but not in a bad way.

Though it's less than half of the book, the core of the story here involves Locke on a boat. Aside from the naval terminology making my head spin, these are the best parts of actual story. Lynch seems to know which threads are all about the big reveal, and which are about character growth, and this is very much the latter. It's a story of piracy, fast talking, love, loss, betrayal, and pretty much every other pirate novel cliche, but it works. Unlike the rest of the book, it is a bit predictable, but you can't have everything I suppose.

I want to make one point I believe I passed on making in my review of The Lies of Locke Lamora. I suppose it's a minor spoiler for the beginning of that book, but oh well. Locke is a priest as well as a thief, in fact a priest of the thief god. Had anyone told me this before reading the books, I'm not sure I'd have thought it could really be pulled off, but in many ways it's my favorite part of his character. It's just such a fantastic monkey wrench thrown into the whole thief cliche, and I love it.

The good news is, two books in, the Gentleman Bastard series is still going strong. The fact that these books have been so self-contained so far is very nice since, although there are a few major unresolved issues left at the end of this book, the wait for the next one is not going to make me lose much sleep. It feels more like a serial than an epic, and I'm excited to read more of Locke's adventures whenever they happen to be printed. I'm not a huge fan of the whole "new author immediately starts writing a new series" thing, but Scott Lynch named his lead character after my favorite character in my favorite game series, so I'll give him a pass on that one.

Score: A-

Final Fantasy IV (PS)

talraen@fourlight.net — Thu, 3 Jun 2010 20:27:13 EST

The Odd Duck of the Series

In many ways, especially mechanically, Final Fantasy IV is the black sheep of the Final Fantasy series. Not only does it give you the least party customization, it really gives no customization at all in a series where complicated leveling systems have always been a touchstone. Yet the game indisputably feels like a Final Fantasy game. This may be largely due to the fact that, since we missed FFII and FFIII in the US, FFIV is to some extent the first "real" game in the series. The strict linearity didn't feel weird at the time, only in hindsight. Yet including the second and third chapters, it is actually out of place - it makes me wonder how it is viewed in Japan.

Regardless, FFIV is a good game for reasons I'm not sure I can put into words. This is a review, though, so I'll give it my best shot. I am personally quite partial to the party customization that is so lacking in this game, yet its absence doesn't really bother me. It's worth noting that gear selection does offer some level of control (though this is mitigated by the game's terrible lack of clarity about the bonuses granted by gear), as does the exact timing of when you tackle certain late-game side quests.

What FFIV has going for it is the first truly memorable cast of characters in the series. FFI and FIII both had anonymous parties, but FFII was somewhat similar in that it had predefined characters that drove the plot. FFIV, however, has a larger cast, and manages to integrate each characters' abilities into the overall storyline, a big change for a series where every previous party member was a blank slate. But who can forget the summoner Rydia, or Cecil becoming a paladin? Despite betraying the party on more than one occasion, the dragoon Kain has long been a fan favorite (I chalk this up to a combination of Jump being a cool ability and his awesome combat sprite).

While the characters are solid, the actual plot of FFIV is pretty weak. The melodrama of characters sacrificing themselves is overdone, especially considering how rarely those sacrifices end up meaning anything. The big plot revelation was already done in Star Wars (not to mention FFII), and the general silliness of going to the moon is easy to miss if you don't think about it. The game also begins a long and unfortunate series trend of pulling out new villains near the end of the game. Add all this together with the fact that your party generally fails at every task they attempt up until the climactic battle, and the story isn't actually that memorable.

FFIV may lack the game mechanics pedigree of the rest of the series, and the plot is on par with most JRPG drivel, but what FFIV really establishes - and what makes it feel like a Final Fantasy game - is the drama. The plot may not be memorable, but a large number of scenes are. Being rescued from inevitable party death by a character long-since thought lost will always be awesome, and is certainly in the running for most memorable scenes in the entire series. The game does a great job with automated plot battles, the best of which involve Tellah ("You spoony bard!"). And somehow Edge pining for Rydia never gets old.

The riddle of FFIV, though, is how they managed to make the game fun to replay despite it playing almost identically every time through. Here I'm guessing the answer really is just straight-up nostalgia. But maybe something about FFIV makes it like a book or movie you just want to keep reading or watching despite its faults. Certainly the polish on the game has a lot to do with my continued enjoyment of it. The sound track is legendary, and I'm still a big fan of the combat graphics (though the less said about the tile-based non-combat graphics, the better).

The bottom line is, FFIV is a good game even if I can't explain precisely why. Not that you need to rush out and play it if you haven't (and if so, er, sorry about the spoilers but it's been 19 years), but any series fan can still appreciate the game. The fact that it manages to be in the discussion of "best Final Fantasy game ever" at all says quite a lot. (Like that fans are crazy, in my view, but still.)

Score: A-

The Path of Daggers (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Sun, 30 May 2010 15:42:37 EST

Who Says Nothing Happens?

Book 8 of the Wheel of Time really gets a bad rap. Contrary to common wisdom, plenty happens in this book. The problem, I think, is that nothing gets resolved. (Not having any Mat, especially after the cliffhanger at the end of book 7, doesn't help either.) Is it ridiculous for a fantasy series to still be setting things up 8 books in? Especially when that series was supposed to be 6 books long? OK, yeah, it is. But taken by itself, The Path of Daggers isn't a bad story.

Oddly enough, the story begins with an event that could easily have been used instead as a climax in book 7. It makes some sense for this event to happen in this book, however, since it has broad implications affecting every other plotline. The core plotlines of the book follow Rand and Egwene, who I'm beginning to notice are actually paired off quite often despite a lack of specific plot crossover. I guess that Jordan guy knew what he was planning after all.

The biggest issue with book 8 isn't the fact that it doesn't resolve existing plotlines, it's that it doesn't resolve the plotlines introduced during the book. The stage is set for book 9, where things mercifully do begin to resolve, but the sheer number of cliffhangers in this book is staggering. Without going into details, the book ends after setting up a siege, a succession, a betrayal, and a capture. Add in Mat's cliffhanger, and that's six times the usual frustration. Just be glad you don't need to wait for the next book anymore!

All that said, this is an enjoyable and well-written story. We have epic battles, surprise appearances by objects of Power, even some amusing light shed on a few relationships. But the three Aes Sedai-related stories really take the spotlight here (perhaps another reason the book isn't all that popular). Egwene finally begins openly asserting her power, while Elayne sets into motion significant events on both sides of the world. Best of all, seemingly minor Aes Sedai begin an important and long overdue witch hunt that is completely satisfying.

There is one particular theme of this book that really changed the series for me. I didn't like book 8 any more than most people the first time I read it, but I have since come to actually like the much-maligned Aes Sedai, and the reason starts here. So far they've proven arrogant, often incompetent, and rarely live up to their reputation. When Egwene proposes a major change in their philosophy, I think most readers would agree with her. However, it is at this point that you really begin to respect the Aes Sedai compared to the various other groups of channelers. They have been humbled at every turn, but they are the ones who've held the world together for 3,000 years, and that's no coincidence. Not only does their fate begin to change here, it's become increasingly clear that their largest problems aren't actually their fault.

What it comes down to is that book 8 is a lot more palatable now that book 9 (and 10, 11, and 12) are readily available. Reading a book filled with cliffhangers, even if it does have a few "holy shit!" moments, is not something you want to do a year before the next one arrives. In many ways, book 8 breaks the implied promise of the author, that the story will be further along at the end than at the beginning. In truth it is, but it certainly doesn't feel like it without the context of later events. But stick with it, because the series is finally hitting its peak, and things are about to start changing.

Score: B+

Final Fantasy III (Famicom)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:52:58 EST

Good But Not Memorable

Though it is just as obscure as its predecessor, Final Fantasy III seems to get less attention despite being a much better game. FF3 is in many ways the father of the 16-bit Final Fantasy games, despite itself being 8-bit. Systematically the game is almost identical to FF4, and aside from the requisite clunky UI, this game plays much more like a modern RPG.

The big innovation that really sets FF3 apart, however, is the introduction of the Job system. This isn't quite the refined system of FF5 or FF Tactics, as each set of jobs makes most of the previous ones completely obsolete, but many classic Jobs such as Dragoon and Summoner got their start here. Rather than being a system to customize party members, FF3's job system is a puzzle of sorts. At most points in the game, there is a "correct" set of jobs to use, but it's not always that obvious. Things open up later when the less direct jobs like Bard and Evoker show up, but the game remains fun regardless. The biggest flaw of the system is that, in the end, there are two jobs that completely outclass everything else, which takes a lot of the fun out of experimenting.

FF3 played with a lot of interesting ideas. Some, like having multiple world maps to explore, are really awesome. And some, like the dividing monsters that are the bane of every FF3 veteran's existence, are not. This is a very uneven game, and a number of dungeons stand out as being especially frustrating. The aforementioned dividing monster dungeon is one, but the final dungeon is of special note. Unfortunately, save points were not among FF3's innovations, and the final dungeon is incredibly long and includes five nasty bosses after the point where you can't even leave and heal up or save. The final boss is unimaginative and is virtually impossible to defeat if you're underleveled (not that you're likely to be, if you did the various sidequests).

In the grand scheme of things, perhaps FF3 gets less attention than FF2 because there just isn't as much to say about it. It's a solid game, and obviously a huge influence on the games that followed it, but even the introduction of the job system isn't really that interesting. FF3 is a rough draft - the core of a good game is there, but it's not so refined that it's truly great, or even memorable. The plot is a throwaway, the gameplay is notable mainly for its few frustrating bits, and the game just lacks "it." I'm sad that we never got a port of the original version, if only because this is perhaps the most referenced game in the series, and few Americans ever even realized it.

Score: B

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Scott Lynch)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 4 May 2010 00:06:30 EST

Who Doesn't Love a Thief Named Locke?

Having just branched out and read not one but two more or less random books (this and The Name of the Wind), I can't help but want to compare them. I don't feel that would be entirely fair to The Lies of Locke Lamora, but I need to get it out of my system. The two books are actually surprisingly similar in structure: both alternate between past and present, for instance. The difference is, one of was designed to frustrate me, while the other was designed for my enjoyment. And that's this one.

The Lies of Locke Lamora follows the exploits of the title character and his crew of thieves. Locke himself is quite talented in many respects, though he's far from invincible. He's not much of a fighter, and when he fails, he tends to fail spectacularly. He is noble to the point of disbelief, but then, that's how I like my heroes. The rest of his crew is nearly as endearing. The concept has some shades of Mistborn, but this isn't a book about clever magic systems or toppling gods. It's rather mundane, and in a refreshing twist for modern fantasy, real magic is both rare and powerful. And outside the hands of our heroes.

That is the aspect of the story that drew me in the most: Locke and his Gentlemen Bastards are generally at a disadvantage, working with less information and less real power than their enemies. They don't lack for material resources, but there's a lot of using cleverness to escape from dire situations, and I eat that shit up.

The book is set in the city of Camorr, which is your basic fantasy city divided into the side for nobles, and the crime-ridden side filled with commoners, thieves, brothels, and so on. Despite its lack of originality, it is a setting filled with interesting little touches. For instance, the city has many structures and such made of an unbreakable material called elderglass. Will this material's unknown origins become a major plot point over the planned seven-book series? Who knows. But they certainly give the city a unique character, along with an alarming obsession with sharks.

Lynch does an excellent job keeping the reader guessing, which I also like. The information isn't always there to guess what will happen, but many plot threads are laid down and take an unexpected, but interesting path. I particularly liked how the two main conflicts eventually interweave, though again, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm a sucker for.

All in all, I don't have much to complain about (and therefore not much to really say beyond "I liked it!"). Though in fairness to my Name of the Wind review, I should point out that this book does include a large, perhaps gratuitous, amount of modern-day swearing. Turns out that doesn't bother me as much when there aren't a host of other things to nitpick. Also, conversations regarding whores are fairly uncommon, so that helps.

If you like your heroes being heroic, despite being on the wrong side of the law, and even in rather dark situations, this is the book for you. It is the first book in a relatively new series (first published in 2006), but it's very much a self-contained story. I wouldn't have even known it was part of a series if no one had told me, in fact. I was not disappointed, and I imagine you won't be either.

Score: A-

The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:27:50 EST

I Should Just Listen to Matt

I sometimes like to leap right into my criticisms with these reviews, so I can end them on a high note, but I feel like it's important to say a few things up front. The Name of the Wind was a good book, a good story that I couldn't put down until it was done. I enjoyed it, and certain parts of it (such as Rothfuss's portrayal of a 15-year-old who's too smart for his own good trying to understand women) ring especially true. However, this book may as well have been designed to frustrate me as a reader. So with that in mind, let me explain.

The basic premise of the book, and indeed the entire planned trilogy, is the telling of the story of a legendary character named Kvothe (pronounced "quothe") who has retired from his adventures and is trying to live a normal life. However, most of the actual story is told by Kvothe himself, in the first person. This construct lets Rothfuss get away with a few narrative tricks that may otherwise have felt a bit cheap. However, framed as they are, they feel like quirks of Kvothe's storytelling and fit in quite nicely. The interruptions in his story, which take us back to the here and now, are so refreshing that I actually found myself more excited to see a chapter marked "interlude" than not.

The first, and most serious, problem with the book is that this is very much the first book in a trilogy. It feels more like the first third of a book. There's no build up to a climax, and the story's ending point seems almost arbitrary. There isn't really any connection between the Kvothe of the internal story and the Kvothe we see in the present, either. After getting a small taste of his abilities early on, it's disappointing to see him learn a completely different set of them in his own tale.

The tone of the book, and to a lesser degree the writing style, also irk me. Early on, I was reminded of Exalted, and looking back it's not just the basic mythology that echoes that game. The language and tenor of the world also feel like they were pulled from a White Wolf sourcebook's backstory. The word "whores" seems to slip into almost every conversation, and having read the Wheel of Time, the use of modern epithets here seems almost lazy. The world isn't full of depravity or anything, it's just a bit dark and vulgar for my tastes.

I also felt like Rothfuss pulled some sleight of hand on the story. We know from the start that Kvothe attended the University where he learned at least some of his skills, but I really didn't expect that he'd still be in the middle, or perhaps even the beginning, of learning there by the end of the book. Parts of the story, particularly three years Kvothe spent in a large city, seem irrelevant to the larger tale, included primarily because Kvothe is being thorough. There are two books left that could prove me wrong, but it felt much like the first hour of The Postman, which wasted 1/3 of the movie setting up one scene at the end (though in the case of The Name of the Wind, the setup isn't even paid off in this book.)

The story is blatantly trying to not be "one of those stories," an idea that was once clever, but I can now only stomach in small doses. The number of times the phrase "that only happens in stories" or its equivalent shows up is embarrassing. Maybe I'm going too far here, but this and other aspects of the writing make me almost feel the author's arrogance. It's like he thinks he's above giving people what they want. Of course, it does work in the book's favor at times. You expect Kvothe to be heroic, and for the most part he is anything but. He's not an antihero, or a terrible person misremembered as heroic, he just fails as much as he succeeds, if not more. Whenever there's an obvious scene of triumph coming up, it gets turned on its head. Which again, is good in small doses, but is overdone here.

All that sounds much worse than it really is. Like I said, it's an enjoyable story, particularly the parts at the University. Kvothe's friends and enemies are interesting, and his "romance" (if it can be called that) is fun to read, if a bit frustrating for 15-year-old Kvothe's thickness. It did seem odd that every major character Kvothe interacts with aside from his teachers and drinking buddies is an attractive woman, especially given the 10:1 male to female ratio at the school. The less said about what I think that says about the author, the better.

If nothing else, The Name of the Wind has some great bits of dialog. One in particular, concerning a dragon, made me laugh out loud, and almost got submitted as a site quote. Don't be put off that this book wasn't exactly my thing - I suspect anyone who loves the world of Exalted and similar mythologies will feel much more at home in this book than I did. Still, I am left wondering if I missed something, based on the recommendations and Amazon ratings that lead me to read the book in the first place. I kind of wished I just waited for the whole trilogy.

And let me just say that putting Kvothe, based only on this book, in the Suvudu cage match seems rather strange. Putting him in and none of Brandon Sanderson's characters is just criminal. But that's neither here nor there.

Score: C+

Red Belt

balerion@fourlight.net — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:42:43 EST

Martial Arts With a Plot

"Red Belt" was billed to me as a martial arts flick, and while there is truth to that it is necessary to create a separation in your mind between it and movies like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Red Belt is an intense character study of Jiu-Jitsu master Mike Terry who's academy is just scraping by financially. Due to several events at the beginning of the movie the academy moves from being marginally successful to being deeply in debt, and the master must choose whether to enter a mixed martial arts tournament in order to earn the prize money; something which is contrary to his ethics.

The film does an excellent job of introducing you to Terry's moral and ethical code, which allows you to see the decisions he's forced to make both from his point of view and from the point of view of the people they affect (his wife and students, for the most part) and when, towards the end of the film, it feels that he has misfortunes heaped upon him as a result of always making the "right" choice, you feel the betrayal as keenly as he does.

While there is plenty of fighting, much of it takes place towards the end of the film, and it would be difficult to classify this as an "action" film in general, as the fights are mostly subsidiary to the emotional decisions being made. The core purpose of Red Belt is to explore the gap between the idealized spiritual martial arts world and the unfortunate (in Terry's eyes) reality of martial arts as a business.

While I would certainly recommend Red Belt to people who enjoy martial arts films in general, I think it would also make an excellent film for anyone who enjoys good drama, as the characters, plot, and acting are all very compelling.

Score: A-

A Crown of Swords (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:49:30 EST

Wait, What's Going On Here?

I'll tell you what's going on: sex, and lots of it. Never directly mentioned, but then, that's not Jordan's style. But the amount of obliquely referenced hanky-panky in book 7 of the Wheel of Time is quite an increase from previous books. It's not really relevant to anything, but it was something I couldn't help but notice.

That said, this isn't some sappy book about relationships or anything. This is a book about getting things done. Assuming all goes well, the end of book 7 marks the halfway point of the series. Oddly it also marks the ending point of most of the obvious plotlines. Sure, there's plenty to do after A Crown of Swords, and it's all well foreshadowed, but there isn't really anything urgent waiting at the end of the book. (Except for the fate of one fan-favorite character who doesn't even appear in book 8. Something tells me that doesn't endear too many fans to that book.)

A Crown of Swords has an oddly disappointing ending. It's a cool scene and a fun read, but the final resolution is somewhat ambiguous, and despite being the culmination of the main plot of two books, it somehow feels anti-climactic. Perhaps this is because Mat (who else?) does his best to steal the show in book 7's big non-Rand storyline. Or maybe we've reached the point where Rand is getting less interesting. To make up for it, the book introduces several characters around Rand that are more dynamic and unpredictable. I love Cadsuane in particular, but she is an understandably divisive character.

The book picks up during (and in fact a bit before) the dramatic climax of Lord of Chaos, and touches on a wide variety of storylines, perhaps too many. We see a bit of Perrin, a bit of Egwene, and some of the Forsaken, but most of the secondary storylines involve the many groups of female channelers. Hell there's one group that contains not two but three independent factions of Aes Sedai within it. I hope you have a good head for names!

But despite those issues, I really love this book. The Mat plotline is great, and not just because of Mat. The combination of characters and events, especially two involving Warders, makes for a great read, and as I mentioned the climax is spectacular. (I don't want to name specific characters so as to completely avoid any appearance of spoiling anything, but suffice it to say, even characters I don't like are compelling here.) And even if you're a Mat supporter, and who isn't, it is hilarious to see him get a bit of comeuppance here.

The other main plotline, involving Rand, is a bit less of a clear-cut favorite. The combination of pretty much every possible organization of channelers, of both genders, makes for some good tension, if that's your thing. The frustrating bit is that little of what's dealt with resolves anything in the grand scheme of things, and the climax comes a bit out of nowhere. It is, in short, a better plotline in the context of the series than within a single book.

Perhaps I've overcompensated for not really liking this book (largely due to hating most of the Aes Sedai) the first time I read the series, but I found little not to enjoy here. Sure, I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, but it takes a special Wheel of Time book for me to want to finish it within 48 hours. There's no awesome plot payoff like you saw early in the series, though there are a few memorable scenes, but the plot cruises along and kept me reading. What else can I really ask for?

Score: A-

Lord of Chaos (Robert Jordan)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:08:08 EST

More, More, More!

Supposedly, Robert Jordan once thought he could finish the Wheel of Time in six books. That number has since more than doubled, and book 6 may have felt late in the series at the time, but the idea is a bit laughable now. Of course, in much the same way books 4 and 5 feel like a single book split in half, book 6 is the first half of the story culminating in the next book. (Which kind of makes it the first half of book 5. Does that make book 12 the fifth sixth of book "6" then, according to RJ's prediction?)

What book 6 does feel like is a solid middle of the series. The plotlines that began to appear in book 5 solidify here. Perrin re-appears, both Mat and the weather subplot are moved toward their ends, and the Aes Sedai plotline truly comes into focus. Rand of course has his own story, which really steals the show in this book. His climax always felt like a large part of the book in my mind, despite being only two (albeit long) chapters. This book is jam-packed with events and foreshadowing, and even Elayne doesn't manage to really make me angry. Well, maybe a bit.

My noble quest to review each book without any real spoilers may soon be at an end, since it's difficult to talk about much of anything that way, but I'll try for at least one more book. Despite the extra plotlines, Lord of Chaos condenses most of its narrative to following two main storylines: Rand, and the Aes Sedai. Each has plot occurring in two different places, but it is nonetheless relatively easy to keep track of. There aren't too many obscure side characters in this book, though most of them are divided between three distinct groups of Aes Sedai, so good luck remembering who's who before the book reminds you.

One reason Lord of Chaos manages to keep moving is that Rand's enemies, especially the Forsaken, have a significant amount of on-screen time. Several new players for the Dark One appear and begin to work against the forces of Light, including the first gholam. If there's one aspect of book 6's story that has always frustrated me, it's that the bad guys win or at least gain in many of the (figurative) skirmishes fought in the book. But hey, that keeps up the tension, right?

In the end, though, we get to see our favorite characters kick a ton of ass (often at the expense of lesser characters we don't really like), Rand is shoved much further down his own dark path, and everyone's favorite female character, Min, has a lot of screen time. And most significantly of all, Lord of Chaos marks the first appearance of the Asha'man, one of the final major groups to be introduced. This is a book where everything, including the tone, changes. It may not have helped subsequent books, based on their relative popularity, but it certainly makes Lord of Chaos a good read.

Score: A

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)

talraen@fourlight.net — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:03:22 EST

Too Much of a Good Thing

The general consensus on FFXIII is that it "gets good" around 20 hours in, after the extremely linear tutorial sequences end and you finally have full access to your characters and abilities. Surprisingly, I found myself feeling exactly the opposite about the game. The opening sequences are all about the characters, and the all six main characters' arcs are among the best in the series. The storytelling and drama are, as always, top notch. After that magic 20-hour mark, though, two things happen. First, the plot gets introduced, and while it's not terrible, it is a pretty standard ridiculous Final Fantasy plot. And second, the game gets hard. Really hard.

Common wisdom says that the game has such an extended "tutorial" to make it friendly to new players. Well if that's the case, they really should have toned down the difficulty, or offered multiple difficulty levels. Some of the early fights (particularly against Eidolons) are brutal, but the entire game becomes difficult to the point of frustration during the second half. And I'm not exactly an inexperienced JRPG player. The endgame felt like playing Mass Effect on Insanity - which is fun, but more importantly, is optional.

The saving grace of FFXIII is that the combat is awesome, among the best combat systems I've ever played. Instead of selecting each character's individual actions, you choose their combat roles. These roles are very focused, so for instance a medic can heal but has no means of attack. The result is that you are rapidly switching between paradigms, sets of roles for the whole party. You can customize these, but you only get six combinations, so there's a lot of tactical thinking involved both before and during combat. Almost any fight can result in a party wipe, even relatively easy ones (until you learn how to fight a particular enemy), but that's fine because there's really no penalty for death: you simply reappear as you were immediately before the fight. It may sound cheap, but it's quite refreshing because it let the designers really make some interesting fights. A bit too interesting by the end, but what can you do?

Each fight is epic in this game, but what the game does not feature, at all, is long-term resource management. You can't even use items outside of combat, since you enter every fight at full health. There's no reason not to go buck wild in every fight, and often reckless aggression is your best course toward victory. Taking a few hits to get that win isn't a problem when you don't need to heal up after, and if the risk fails, you haven't lost much. The result is a very fun system. Unfortunately, it's only fun for so long, and many of the game's maps are way longer than they should be. The battles do an excellent job of teaching you the ropes, but once taught, you'll often get annoyed at still having to fight. It's not even that you're fighting the same enemies over and over (there are no random encounters), combat just gets tiring. I was enjoying the story too much, especially early on, to want to slog through all those fights.

The advancement system is very nice as well. It's basically the same as FFX's Sphere Grid, except there's a separate path for each of the six roles, and choosing which role(s) to focus on is an important part of the game. Like the Sphere Grid, there are optional branches, but in this game there's no penalty for skipping them and coming back later, allowing you at least a modicum of actual customization. Your advancement is capped at each chapter, and early on you'll usually get enough experience to max everything out before the chapter is done (assuming you're diligent about fighting enemies). The other side of the advancement system is weapon and accessory upgrades. These are cool in theory, as you spend drops to level weapons (in a way, it's like buying upgrades with the money the enemies aren't actually dropping). In practice, though, you don't get nearly enough drops to keep up with a wide variety of upgrades, and a lot of the system's tricks are rather arcane. The system feels a bit underthought as a result.

For my part, I thought the highs of FFXIII were amazing, and while there weren't really "lows" per se, I found the frustrating parts particularly annoying because the rest of the game is so good. As I said, I loved the character development, and I love most of the mechanics - even summons are (finally!) well-balanced and useful. I didn't play much with the optional side stuff that opens up late in the game, but if you like to hunt down nasty monsters and powerlevel like crazy, FFXIII certainly offers that option. One nice touch is that the furthest reaches of advancement don't even open until you defeat the last boss, negating the common series problem of the last boss being totally trivial because you did all the sidequests. (Let me assure you, the final encounters are far from trivial. Even a bit cheap at times.)

What it comes down to is that if you don't mind FFX's linearity and enjoyed FFX-2's frantic combat system, you will almost certainly like FFXIII. It's not my favorite game in the series, but it may be the most impressive in terms of its overall design. I loved FFXII, and FFXIII couldn't be much more different (though the combat system is somewhat akin to the gambit system), but there's certainly room for both. It's easy to criticize FFXIII for eschewing standard RPG conventions (and many reviewers have), but in my view this game is everything good about Final Fantasy distilled into a pure form. Besides, if you go back and play previous games, you'll find they all start slowly and generally in an extremely linear fashion. Go in with an open mind, and you'll come out satisfied.

Score: B+