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I think the best word to describe my feelings towards Lord of the Rings etc. etc. is appreciation. There are many legendary artistic works that I respect: I understand what they do and how they do it, I acknowledge their place in modern cultural canon, and yet I do not particularly enjoy them. That doesn’t prevent me from understanding what their creators accomplished and why others speak of them so highly. On the flip side are works that I admire and adore, my favourite franchises, those I personally believe mark the heights of their media and genre. Somewhere in between are those that I appreciate. When it comes to these, I generally acknowledge that I like them without loving them. They might not speak to me on the deepest level, but I find more value in them than simply respecting their place in the canon. On the occasional weekend, I might be possessed by a sudden obsession for them, for the feelings that surround them, but after a few days this intensity recedes and they fall fr...

 Naughty Dog are the oft-disputed masters of the modern action-adventure video game, and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy might just be the best in the franchise. In an era when progression bars and upgrade systems have a seemingly-absolute grip over singleplayer experiences, it’s refreshing that a prolific franchise from one of the most celebrated developers has so far declined to incorporate them. This absence of long term gameplay systems allows players to better engage in the treasure-hunting thrill ride, unburdened by decisions that last beyond one or two combat encounters. There aren’t too many gunfights in Lost Legacy’s relative short campaign, and each feels relatively unique, fitting into the overall pace well. Early combat sections begin in stealth, with reasonably open spaces offering plenty of cover and grass to stay hidden in. One optional combat area saw me accidentally bring myself close to a machine gun emplacement before being discovered, at which point I was able to t...

An omnibus is ‘a volume containing several books previously published separately’. Technically, most comics sold as books fall into this category, with trade paperbacks (TPBs) being omnibuses collecting floppies, larger TPBs being omnibuses of smaller TPBs, and the traditional comics omnibuses collecting these into an even larger volume, in both length and page size. In the world of comics, omnibus largely refers to these editions, oversized hardcovers with massive page counts – many over a thousand, although many smaller ones have been printed. Comic omnibuses are pretty damn cool, and it borders on tragedy that they’re largely the domain of capeshit. Luckily, both Marvel and DC have published a range of omnibuses collecting stories outside their main universes, including both popular IP like Star Wars or Conan, and stories that began in the medium like Sandman, Lucifer, and Preacher. By cool, I mean cool. On some level, the only thing that differentiates an omnibus from a typical ove...

Loading screens in video games are pretty boring. Sure, you can fluff them up with a little animation or music, but they’re still there for the player to wait while the console does its thing. The good stuff is on the other side, no matter what’s added to enrich the experience or distract from the boredom. Loading screens, especially longer ones, are a good opportunity to leave, to grab a glass of water or a snack, to check on something in the house, to stand up and stretch. The problem then, is that players might have left the room entirely by the time the game loads and dumps them into the action. In the worst cases this will force a restart, and with it another stretch of loading. I recently encountered this in the Resident Evil 3 remake, where the loading bar hung around 10% for most of the time, before quickly jumping to 90% and then throwing Jill in front of a hungry zombie. One way to negate this issue is a confirmation prompt replacing the progress bar when it reaches 100%, req...

  On the 19 th of February, 2021, the struggling Toronto Raptors barely overcame the even more struggling Minnesota Timberwolves in an 86-81 road win (seriously, the Raptors shot less than 35% from the field). Rookie Anthony Edwards had a rough game, judging by the box score, shooting 3-14 overall and missing all 7 of his three point attempts, while splitting a pair of free throws. He also grabbed 3 rebounds, dished 4 assists, stole the ball twice and blocked 1 shot, while turning it over once. He committed one turnover, and the Timberwolves were outscored by 13 points during his 34 minutes. After the game, seemed to be most focussed on his subpar shooting performance . I didn’t watch the game, but the box score stats make for a disappointing night for a struggling young player, still early in a tough season for everyone.   HE ALSO KILLED A MAN LIVE ON AN INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST.   Apparently acknowledging that a career highlight happened in an otherwise dismal p...

There’s a common cry in comics discourse about the prevalence of variants in the contemporary industry. Recently, I saw news about an issue with over 70 variant covers , coming only shortly after what was a previously beyond ridiculous high-30s . As far as I can tell, the economics of variants seems to be a little fucked, with companies looking to squeeze as much as they can out of both consumers ( especially whales ) and shops. Various schemes, such as attaching variants that are likely to be more sought after to either bulk purchasing or purchasing entirely different issues, force retailers to choose between spending unnecessarily on surplus copies or disappointing customers. The general consensus online, as much as consensus can be found in disparate YouTube bickering, is that the modern state of variants is a constant source of disappointment resulting from frustrating excess. It’s certainly reasonable to take a look at the sheer number of redundant covers and wonder why that money...

 The starkest stylistic differentiation of the art history courses that I took was the clear linearity throughout each of them. Many history courses are built around wide-ranging scopes. Stage 1 courses generally had the largest. One, a Pacific history course “focussed” on the last 1,000 years of the Pacific region, but began with a quick overview of prehistoric developments, such as Sunda and Sahul. Another, even more general course, consisted of a rapid cruise through numerous touchstones of the last 500 years from around the globe, starting  with European arrival in the Americas through a number of revolutions and wars and other generally unconnected happenings. Stage 2 and 3 courses generally had a little more restraint, with some courses focussing on events in one country (such as Japan or Ireland) with a period of less than 300 years. For both, the course was structured by political developments (the Tokugawa shogunate and the ongoing relationship with England) during th...

  This post is based on around a week of playing several modes of NBA 2K20 . When they jump into QuickPlay and other similar modes, NBA 2K20 players are greeted with a selection of three sets of teams: current NBA rosters, notable historic teams, and all-time rosters for each franchise (there are also WNBA teams, but no opportunity for a battle of the sexes). The latter is a welcome addition since the last time I played, although a little more flexibility here would be nice. Using base rosters, there doesn’t seem to be an option to choose past players that fit the criteria, or even add the best of today the ranks of past greats for those who the developers have not yet deemed worthy of a spot. Tyson Chandler’s two seasons with the Mavericks would still qualify him as a fan-favourite among some recent NBA viewers, even if he doesn’t belong in Nowitzki/Finley/Nash territory for that franchise. There’s also a split between the repeatedly great franchises, with almost too many players...