The Jabberer

Hotline Miami is a game that I truthfully hadn't played much, which is pretty strange seeing as I'm a big fan of the second entry. Comparisons aside, Hotline Miami was something of a first in this sub-genre of top-down arcade-like slaughter-a-thons that seemingly sprang to life after this game's release. However, seven years later, it does show age, despite still being on the whole a difficult but fulfilling (and short) power fantasy that in my opinion is still worth playing. Even though it's a gimmick mask, Carl is my favorite. Buzz buzz my white-jacketed friend. The story of Hotline Miami , while somewhat simple, is also somewhat hidden. While there are elements that are clear to the player, you'll have to have an eye for detail and go through some hoops in order to get the whole picture (even if it is still somewhat incomplete). In a nutshell, you are an unnamed guy living in a shitty apartment when you get a voicemail. It's some sort of reminder of

In Bruges is a strange film that mixes a lot of seemingly conflicted elements frequently, swinging frequently between farcical exchanges and high stakes suspense/action. Surprisingly, it pulls this off very well. It's a film that simultaneously depicts events that would only happen in a movie happening alongside things that would happen in anyone's daily life, especially while traveling. I would go so far as to say that it's a very enjoyable travel film in and of itself in addition to being a genuinely good and weird black comedy. I suppose one could say that the vacation has gone a bit off course after a few days... Now as a good chunk of the film's genius is how it reveals its story I won't give many details, but I'll give the general premise. In its most basic form, the story is about two Irish hitmen who are on vacation in Bruges, but they have very different ideas of what constitutes a fun vacation. Both hitmen are very distinct and unique from anot

Every Which Way But Loose , the second Clint Eastwood film I've ever seen, is a film that screams mixed messages. On the one hand, there's essentially nothing that distinguishes it from the rest of the tough guy cinema of the seventies, and it would seem like just a low-effort generic film that would be easily forgotten. That part about being forgotten is for certain true, and it goes to show how forgotten it was by the fact that how I watched it was by going to see a Chicago Film Society showing of it, old film reels and all. What makes the film unique, and arguably worth watching, is the fact that the main supporting character is none other than an orangutan. No joke. However, besides its excellent animal actor performance, Every Which Way But Loose has really nothing to offer modern audiences besides a bit of past-sell-by-date hilarity, much of which is unintentional. Surprisingly for a movie from that day and age (and despite their shallow qualities), the main cast are

The cover is another nice standout point, its texture is different than most books I have (feeling a bit like one of my Penguin Clothbound Classics) with a cover that feels like a throwback to the pulpy science fiction/fantasy of the seventies and eighties. The Infernal City is not a book I have any strong feelings over. I definitely liked it, and really enjoyed that it took place in one of my favorite fantasy settings of all time, Tamriel. However, the work as a whole did stand out with its varied and pretty interesting cast of main characters and look into the chaos that the Umbra Crisis wrought on Tamriel in the Fourth Era. The plot of The Infernal City is pretty interesting, even though by the end it hasn't really gone anywhere. In a large nutshell, this floating city by the name of Umbra appears over the coast of the province of Black Marsh, and seems to somehow drain the life-force and reanimate anyone it passes under, creating an army of undead where it goes. Ou

Though He's a total scumbag, it hurt to see Don Marconi watch as his empire and family die. In the end he used everything, and even then it wasn't enough. Mafia 3 gave me a lot of mixed feelings, and when I say mixed, I mean really mixed. There's a good deal to unpack here, and while the outcome is a game that I'll most likely never play again, there's still a lot of good (even great) stuff that Mafia 3 does. It does a fantastic job at world building, with an unusual amount of depth/humanity given to all parties (in particular the gangsters) in addition to great cinematics and voice acting. However, despite these great things, there's so much bad, nonsensical, and honestly baffling things going on here that makes one wonder if these were caused by budget or time issues. It's a game that definitely could have been great, but what we got is somewhere around mediocre and poor. Despite brutally murdering nearly every foe he meets (and leaving the othe

Despite showing age, Doom 3 can still have some really impressive visuals both in and out of regular gameplay. Now on paper it seems like a no-brainer that Doom 3: BFG Edition is a bargain, and why wouldn't it be? You get Doom , Doom 2 (with a bonus chapter), and Doom 3 with Resurrection of Evil and an exclusive The Lost Mission expansion, offering up a massive amount of potential playtime. So it came as a surprise that I had mixed feelings playing this, most notably the parts pertaining to Doom 3 . I enjoyed Doom and Doom 2 , but make no mistake, most of my time was spent in Doom 3 and its expansions, and it's here where there's definite criticism to be made. Though the surface of Mars is largely safer than being indoors, it still doesn't feel safe in the least. Storywise, Doom 3 and its expansions are essentially the same as the first two Doom titles, with demons from Hell invading the UAC facility on Mars as a consequence of experimentation wi

You better get used to seeing your character's gormless face throughout the story, at least they still seem a peasant regardless of their exploits throughout. For the past few days I've been playing nothing but Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen , and good God is it a ton of fun. From the unintentionally hilarious combat, to the ridiculous story, to your collection of companions, Dragon's Dogma had me bewildered, bemused, and genuinely excited throughout it's main and extra stories. Completing side-quests also can influence future ones. I got this guy a book so he could learn magic and then a few hours later he shows up out of the blue to nuke a gryphon with me like a total boss. I actually lost it when he showed up. Ironically, the story itself is extremely generic and unoriginal (as well as being the very definition of linear 90% of the time), being essentially adventure anime fodder. You're some schmuck living in a picturesque fishing village, minding

As someone who really liked Twin Peaks , Alan Wake was something of a pleasant surprise for me, as it essentially had the same atmosphere and (some) elements of the story present.Though not perfect, it did have several notable successes in my eyes, namely in its atmosphere, unique gameplay, and characters. However, at the same time was held back by some gameplay elements and pretty mediocre visuals which made it an occasionally frustrating and unappealing experience. Barry (right) acts as Wake's (left) voice of reason and the comedic relief, and was my highlight of the story as he moved from snarky New Yorker to badass New Yorker. Taken from an overview, the story itself is incredibly linear and basic: Alan Wake, a writer, has to rescue his wife. That's the basic premise, but there's all sorts of twists and turns throughout. Similarities to Twin Peaks run really deep in this game, though fortunately it takes great pains to subvert these easy tropes. For example, th

To wrap up the films I missed while I was abroad I watched Toy Story 4 , which when I first heard that it was in the works I was not excited in the least for it. However, to my surprise it was actually a really fun and heartfelt film, showing not only a more mature and empathetic story, but also new heights of achievement in animation. Woody and Buzz's friendship is mostly in the background of this film. It's still present and shown, but it's not the focus. Not going to lie, I think the story is a fantastic step in the right direction for more mature and true to life stories to tell to people of all ages (especially children). There are several themes throughout this film, like obsession and dependency, but there's also themes of selflessness, altruism, and identity. In a large nutshell there isn't a villain, not even a twist double agent or whatnot. The closest we come to an antagonist is only so because their goals demand that Woody gives up something of se

I wish they showed the crimson siding in the preview, it looks so macabre without being over the top (and was a pleasant surprise). To tell the truth, I was never really into scary stories as a kid, though to be fair I was an easily frightened kid. However, my interest in Warhammer has added horror to my list of literary interests, so there's that. With that out of the way, I finished Maledictions , a collection of short horror stories written by a few different authors taking place in the Warhammer settings (Age of Sigmar and 40K) a few days ago, and I by and large liked it as my first foray into books like Scary Stories to Read in the Dark . Each of these stories I'd say are at least decently written, but their strongest aspect is in how they set the tone and control the information you know. Now as somebody who knows a good chunk of lore and units from the hobby, I know what a warpspawn is, Nurgle is a nameable entity to me. However, the characters in these stories li

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator , known as TABS , was a ridiculous single-battle micro strategy game announced sometime back in 2017 (I believe), and after a very long beta period released on Steam's Early Access on April 1, 2019. I was very excited for this, and it basically kickstarted this boom period of build-your-army-for single-battles strategy games such as Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator , Formatta , Ancient Warfare 3 , etc. After all the waiting, was it worth it though? Well, yes, and not really. It's definitely the most polished one I've played, and it has a unique style, but I found it to be unexciting and bland quickly. In the midst of the chaos you can occasionally get some nice cinematic shots, were they not so goofy.  The gameplay is essentially everything in this title, and to its credit it is an interesting concept. So in a pre-made scenario (of which there are a multitude and a workshop feature) you see your opponent's army, formation, and comp