Valiant Hearts: The Great War (2014)

As the name implies, Valiant Hearts: The Great War focuses on four characters during World War I. On the surface, it looks like an all-ages game, and certainly it is to an extent. Part adventure game, it's got a beautiful, cartoon-like art style and features characters mumbling in their respective languages. Part educational game, it also makes sure to provide you with historical facts spread out the story. About to be taken into the Battle of Verdun? Here's a little blurb you can read that's just a few sentences explaining it. It's informative and engaging in a way that makes it both safe for younger players and profound for older or more mature ones.

Despite its art style and lean-back gameplay, it manages to tell one of the most compelling, hopeful, and depressing stories of any war game. There is none of the false bravado found in Battlefield or Call of Duty, nor do you truly see much in the way of specific violence. One of the most interesting things you pick up on in this game is how none of your characters ever seem to hold a gun. In those rare instances you do, it's either stuck to your back or you hit people with the butt of it. You don't kill anyone for the majority of the game. 

It's hard to explain fully how a cartoon-looking, non-lethal puzzle game with a penchant for having the characters get out of rough situations perfectly depict war as gruesome and bleak. Yet Valiant Hearts does. Breaking away from typical war game tropes, you don't start as a soldier. You aren't dropped into the middle of the war as someone who has enlisted. Instead, you are brought into the every day life of a farming family. More poignantly, you start off as someone who has been drafted. It highlights the toll war can have on families, but it's a fundamentally different starting point than most war games to start as someone who doesn't want to go to war.

For the longest time, the game avoids the dark and disgusting nature of the war.  Each character manages to get out of whatever sticky situation they find themselves in. At face value, it appears relatively safe. However, we eventually do see a bunch of characters get mercilessly gunned down as they try to cross the trench, or get blown up by falling mortar shells, of friends die. Death is a very real threat in the game, even if at times it feels like something that just happens to other people.

That is, until the very end. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about the inefficient ways the war was conducted. Military and political leaders looked at soldiers as mere numbers, and often tried to defeat the enemy by throwing more at them. They threw these citizens into the most terrifying and vicious conditions with little aid and expected victory. By the end, it seems likely that soldiers would start to mutiny. And indeed they do.  The final mission places one character in the deadliest battle of the entire war, in which a foolish charge keeps going and going. Plus, you're constantly dodging machine gun fire and mortars.

This level is brilliant, and designed to be metaphor itself. After a few minutes, you start to realize that you've been been charging for a pretty long time. Almost too long. As you see people around you get slaughtered, you start to wonder when this charge will end. It feels like it never will, and that whatever is at the end can't be worth it. Then you realize, that's exactly what the soldiers must think too. What was the point of charging through No Man's Land? To what end where they doing so? Every time they took a few meters of land, the enemy would simply take it back. The only thing keeping you as a player charging forward is the French commander behind you, ready to shoot you should you refuse to obey orders.

After hours and hours of the game appearing to play it safe - careful to show the despair without itself becoming overwhelmingly depressing - they flip the script. First, they show a character saving a family at the last possible second, with an achievement unlocking called "Some Will Survive."  Another character even finally receives another letter from her father. Things seem oddly hopeful, until one character is sentenced to death for disobeying orders and accidentally kill his commanding officer.

As he is marched to the firing squad, he passes his fellow soldiers. All of them salute him, recognizing that he did what all of them wanted to do. In his letter to his daughter, he says, "War makes men mad."  He is describing the men who started the war and tore their families and nations apart. He's describing the men who forced soldiers to perform suicidal charges for little to no gain. And he's describing the situation he is in. War makes men mad. They create these horrible and unreasonable situations, and it's other men that pay the price. 

It's such a profound statement - albeit nothing unusual. It is nonetheless powerful and sad. It's strange that the game spent so much time avoiding tragedy that it ends on such a tragic note, but when it comes to World War I, there was never going to be any other result, really. In many ways, Valiant Hearts plays out like one of those classic poems from the War.

It's an incredible game with interesting and fun puzzles. It also features one of the better uses of a dog ally in any game. The art is beautiful and the music is so sad and heartfelt. So few things recall the events of the first World War. No one seems to give it much thought. It's only fitting that this game reminds us that we are dangerously close to completely forgetting one of the most tragic events in human history, never mind of the last century. 

Fun, educational, poignant, emotional, and beautiful, it's truly a great little game.

Comics for the Non-Comic Reader

This year for Christmas, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. I didn't exactly have a lot of money to spend on gifts, and I'm not gifted artistically or creatively. Making stuff wasn't an option. I needed an idea that was cheap, but also thoughtful. What do I know a good amount about, in which I could sort of "curate" the gift collection? Well, video games, obviously, but that's not a good idea for many reasons. Ah! Comics! I've read a lot of comics over the years, and a lot of different kinds of them too! I'm pretty sure I can find comics that people who don't care about comics might enjoy!

I recognize that the medium isn't for everyone. It can be a little weird trying to read them if you're not used to it. Pausing after dialogue to look at the pictures can feel a bit tedious and unusual. Still, it's something that is easily accessible. It functions just like a book. You don't need a special console or computer to access it. And if people don't like them, then can just donate them to the library or something. These books don't spoil!

So, here are all the comics that I selected for this surprisingly challenging and time consuming idea. (It actually was pretty challenging and required a lot more work than I thought. Some of these I had read, but a good number of them were books I was familiar with but hadn't read yet in their entirety. That meant I had to read a lot of books in a really short period of time. Not necessarily difficult, but when you factor in trying to recognize who might like what, it becomes so. A lot of my original plan changed because some books seemed better suited for other people, and some books I thought would be good turned out to be a lot different than I remembered, and had to be scrubbed.) For the sake of nonsensical titles, here are Comic Books for Non-Comic Readers!

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG - Valiant   (2013)

Fred Van Lente (writer)  &  Clayton Henry (artist) 
For: Someone with a good amount of comic experience

I got this book for my friend who is super easy to shop for because, really, all I have to do is find something that I like. There were a number of book ideas that floated around, but ultimately, it just made sense to recommend Archer & Armstrong. It's just so much fun.

Fred Van Lente had a pretty great run on a few Marvel titles back in the day, and this book is sort of the pinnacle of that fun and humorous style. Here, he has a fat, drunk, invincible, Hercules-type character who was present when a mythical device was being used by his brother. He wanted to stop his brother from using the device, but all sorts of things went wacky and the trio of siblings wound up becoming immortal. Now, a variety of groups are hunting down the pieces to this machine with hopes of controlling and shaping the world to their liking.

The best part though is Archer. Archer grew up one of many, many children in this hyper Christian cult that is hellbent on finding said device. They train several of their most promising children in countless styles of martial arts (some real, some not so real). Archer is the top of the class and is sent on a mission to kill Armstrong, not realizing he is immortal.

End result is basically a funny Odd Couple scenario with a drunk immortal and a hyper Christian martial artist. I don't know that I can really sell that any better than that.  It's just so much fun. One of my personal favorites.

PAGE BY PAIGE - Amulet   (2011)

Laura Lee Gulledge (writer/artist)
For: Someone with presumably none to just a little comic experience

I had heard a bit about this book, but had never managed to get my hands on it until now. From what I had heard of it, it sounded like it might be a good fit for my brother's fiancee, who I know only a little about. She's one of those mystery people whose tastes I don't know and struggled to think of a good book option off the top of my head.

Page By Paige happened to be just a perfect book. It's so sweet and touching and personal. It feels somewhat autobiographical, but if it's not, it's one of the most grounded comic I've read in a while. It hits really close to home. The story follows Paige Turner (her parents are writers) as she tries to get through life when her family up and moves from Virginia to New York City. Paige is an artist, but she's also an introvert. She struggles to meet people and make friends.

The overarching story is about Paige figuring out certain "rules" to live by to improve life. A lot of it focuses on her doing specifically what she's afraid of doing in an attempt to open up to others. She starts off a pretty introverted and insecure person who won't show anyone her sketches, and by the end, she's shown her notebook to everyone, including her mother with whom she has a somewhat cold relationship. The book is broken down into chapters that tackle each of the rules.

The art is great, and varies depending on a number of things. Writer and artist Laura Lee Gulledge does a great job matching the pages to the feeling. When she's happy and upbeat, the art can get whimsical. When she's feeling insecure, it gets darker and crazier to highlight her insecurities. Honestly? I loved this book so much that it was hard not to just get it for everyone on my Christmas list.

I KILLED ADOLF HITLER - Fantagraphics   (2008)

Jason (writer/artist)
For: Someone with a good amount of comic experience

This book is really quirky, and its humor is pretty subtle, but it's funny and sad at the same time. The art can be a little tough to follow given that everyone is drawn the same way. It looks pretty cartoony. But it ultimately isn't that hard, as everyone wears different clothing.

The story takes place in a world where assassination is a totally legit business. In about a three or four page span, the protagonist is walking around and just witnessing assassination after assassination after assassination. It's pretty amusing. One day, he is hired to take a time machine to go back and assassinate Adolf Hitler. Things don't go exactly as planned and he gets stuck in time while Hitler takes the time machine to the present. Now an old man, our assassin has to reconnect with his ex in order to take Hitler out.

A short and easy read, it's easy to like. The traditional panel layouts makes it easy to follow and writer/artist Jason does a pretty good job showing the character's sudden aging. A lot of characters look the same, so sometimes it might take a moment to realize who is who. Otherwise, it's great and really nails this balance between funny and kind of sad.

GHOST WORLD - Fantagraphics   (1997)

Daniel Clowes (writer/artist)
For: Someone with little to no comic experience

What makes Ghost World interesting is the way that it's two main characters, Enid and Rebecca, are simultaneously relatable and unlikeable. I had read it way back when I was in high school, and they seemed so much better then. Maybe it was because I was dating someone who was a bit of a judgmental hipster and had a super judgmental hipster friend too, or maybe it was the way the movie handled them a little better. Either way, there's something interesting about the way these young women come off as total jerks, and yet you can see where they're coming from.

Trying to describe the plot of the comic is a little strange because ultimately, nothing really happens. It's really a comic about these two young women who have been really close friends (even if it's a weird friendship) who are transitioning to a new part in life. Daniel Clowes is pretty good at these sort of sad and melancholic stories. Ghost World is no different. The final chapter rushes a bit too quickly for its own good, but he otherwise does a good job showing them drift apart before it flashes forward.

It can be a slightly tough read because the characters are almost unbearably judgmental and mean to people for no real reason, but that's part of what makes it an interesting book. This one is maybe cheating slightly in that most people, even if they never read it, probably know about it because of the movie. Still, Clowes is a good writer/artist to go to when trying to find a comic for a friend who doesn't really read them.

MS. MARVEL VOL. 1: NO NORMAL  -  Marvel   (2014)

G. Willow Wilson (writer)  &  Adrian Alphona (artist)
For: Someone with little to no comic experience

My one big rule to the list was to avoid superhero books. They're weird and tend to be super dorky, and more importantly, usually require a vague sense of larger-world knowledge to get all the references in the book. Plus, I just think a lot of people get turned off to comics in general because whenever you walk into a shop, it's overwhelmingly dominated by the superhero market.

Writer G. Willow Wilson's run on Ms. Marvel is the one exception. Though there are references to things that happen in the larger Marvel universe, Wilson does a good job making it so you don't need that knowledge. You don't really need to know about the Inhumans or Black Bolt's terragin bomb that he released during this big event to understand that this weird mist that suddenly hits Jersey City is causing Kamala Khan to gain her powers. You also don't really need to know anything about Carol Danvers - formerly Ms. Marvel and currently Captain Marvel - to recognize that she's just another superhero in this world, and the one Kamala looks up to the most.

What we get in the entire run, but especially the first volume, is a really touching and sweet story about a young Muslim girl in Jersey City who is struggling to find her place. She's not as religious as her family, but she also comes from a background in Islam, which puts her in this weird position to be constantly misunderstood by her fellow classmates. The first arc is ultimately about her coming to terms with the fact that she is good enough as she is to be a superhero. When she first jumps into action after gaining her powers, she transforms herself into Carol Danvers-Ms. Marvel: white skin, blond hair, big boobs. She thinks that is who she needs to be in order to be liked and accepted. By the end, she's got her own costume and accepts that she doesn't need to be someone else to be a hero.

The art is great and fits the tone of the book and the character's personality perfectly. It's a great book for new or young readers to pick up, but it also has something for older readers too. Kamala is a nervous, wise-cracking high school superhero struggling to balance her social relationships with family obligations with her new superhero responsibilities. She's basically a modern Peter Parker/Spider-man.

It's a really empowering and touching book. It also feels especially significant in a world where the leading GOP presidential candidate is honestly advocating we throw out the Constitution's first amendment so we can specifically discriminate against Muslims. If there were any superhero title I'd recommend to someone who doesn't really like or care about comic books, it would likely be Ms. Marvel. It's just one of the most touching and meaningful books on the market.

I said about Page by Paige that I wanted to just get that book for everyone. Ms. Marvel: No Normal was another book that it was almost tough to determine which of my sisters to get this for, and whether I should just get them both a copy!

LUMBERJANES VOL. 1: BEWAR THE KITTEN HOLY  -  Boom! Box   (2015)
Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis (writers)  &  Brooke Allen (artist)
For: Someone with a fair amount of comic experience

Lumberjanes is an all-ages book that has won a number of awards in recent years. The book follows a close-knit group of young girls at a camp in the wilderness. They're basically a mixture of boy and girl scouts, but stranger and slightly more badass. Each character has their own individual traits to make up this awesome little group of adventurous, goofy girls.

At the camp, these girls find their way into a really weird and mysterious situation complete with sea monsters, possessed boy scouts, and hipster yetis. That might be another thing where if you're not sold on that yet, I'm not really sure what else to add. The book is sweet and funny, taking elements of Adventure Time and making it less weird and more easily digestible.

It might be a strange book for adults to read, as it is going for the all-ages thing, but if you can see it for what it's doing, it's actually a really great and fun title. The characters are funny and relatable. The story is weird and humorous. The tone is innocent and touching. It's a book that really does have something for everyone. The cartoonish art style only aids to the sweet and weird tone of the book. There's a reason it's won a bunch of awards. 

MAUS: A SURVIVOR'S TALE - MY FATHER BLEEDS HISTORY  -  Pantheon Books   (1986)
Art Spiegelman  (writer & artist)
For: Someone with little to no comic experience

If you want a book that's serious and depressing, but historically relevant, then look no further than Maus: A Survivor's Tale. Art Spiegelman is a cartoonist whose father somehow managed to survive the Holocaust. The first book, My Father Bleeds History, is a recounting of the early days of the Nazi power grab. Spiegelman's father, Vladek, tells his son about each of the more disturbing steps the Nazis took to ousting Jews.

It's really a first-hand account of those incidents. It's tragic, heartbreaking, and all kinds of messed up. But it's also really important. The art is cartoonish, with Jews drawn as mice, Poles drawn as pigs, and Nazis drawn as cats. The art can be a little tough to follow as a result. Still, it's not that hard, and it's really the dialogue that tells the story. It's a powerful tale, with this first book cutting off just before Spiegelman's father tells of his time in Auschwitz. That is what makes it a solid and significant book to recommend.



PERSEPOLIS  -  Pantheon Books   (2000)
Marjane Satrapi  (writer & artist)
For: Someone with little to no comic experience

Surprise, surprise: another meaningful and powerful autobiographical account turned into a comic book from Pantheon Books! Well, fact of the matter is Persepolis - like Maus before it - is a great, poignant, and important book. Satrapi tells her story growing up in Iran as a rebellious young girl in the early days of the Islamic Revolution. Her distinct art style might seem to betray the seriousness of the world around her, but it actually highlights the significance of her innocence as a child in a world uninterested in such things.

More importantly than telling her story, trying to wear the newest Nike sneakers and listening to Michael Jackson records at a time when that is considered a sign of Western decadence, it's also telling the story of her parents. Satrapi's introduction spells out why she made this book: to remember those who didn't just take Iran's oppressive regime change lying down. So many in the West think of the Iranian revolution as something everyone was into. It's been a large symbol of the "us versus them" culture war mentality many seem to hold. Yet Satrapi's parents - among a host of other people in the book (who were real people in real life) - did not. They opposed the regime, and were highly skeptical of their new government.

Sadly, it just got too dangerous for dissenters, and this first book ends with them recognizing that Iran is no longer a safe place for their problem-starting daughter. So, they sent her to Paris, and they never saw each other again. Like Maus, it's a sad and significant tale that sheds light into a country we in the West don't get much accurate exposure too because it's often hyper-politicized.

It was adapted into a feature length animated film in 2007, where it was nominated for an Oscar. The film is great too.



THE FIFTH BEATLE: THE BRIAN EPSTEIN STORY  -  Dark Horse Comics    (2013)
Vivek Tiwary (writer)  &  Andrew Robinson and Kyle Baker (artists)
For: Someone with presumably little comic experience (but unknown)

What I initially thought was going to be just a tacky novelty biographical story about Beatles manager Brian Epstein turned out to be a rather unique and compelling story. Sure, a lot of it is just what's inherently built into such a tale. Not a lot of people know much about Brian Epstein, and he is one of the unheralded cultivators of pop culture in the 20th century. Mix in the fact that he was a gay man at a time when one would go to jail for such behavior in England and you've got a rather layered story here.

A lot of it is told in a rather intriguing and poetic fashion. During Epstein's meeting with Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Parker is presented as something of a demon contrasted against Epstein's angelic behavior. The two managers couldn't be more different, with Parker ruthlessly looking after his own financial interests while Epstein made many personal sacrifices so the Beatles might succeed and reap the benefits themselves. There are also some slightly confusing dream sequences and other moments that give insight into Epstein's psyche of the time.

This makes for what could have been a rather by-the-books type of biography, one that wouldn't seem necessary for the comic book format. Instead, the flowery and poetic nature of the narrative maximized the artist's handiwork, making it clear that this story is best told through the medium. It's weird enough to not be the most easily digestible comic, even for the die hard Beatles fan, but it's good enough to be checked out.



AYA: LIFE IN YOP CITY    -   Drawn and Quarterly  (2005)
Marguerite Abouet (writer)  &  Clement Oubrerie (artist)
For: Someone with some comic experience

This book isn't for everyone, largely because it's plot isn't exactly one that goes somewhere. For as big a book as it is, it's mostly just capturing life in the Cote d'Ivoire during the 1970s. It can be hard for Western audiences to really follow, as it doesn't have any one central protagonist. Aya is a more "modern" and Western-like woman, so she's the one most readers will be able to relate to and identify with, but all in all, it'd be a bit of a stretch to call her the protagonist. Instead, it follows several people and the drama in their lives, largely in relation to life in the city in general.

It's an interesting perspective on a uniquely African location and culture. The author even mentions in the foreword that part of the reason for the book was to give people a more realistic look in on some African culture and lifestyle that many people have not been presented with. It is an interesting insight. It can maybe be a bit boring, and it is a bit long, but it's not a difficult read. Pages go by quickly with it's uniformed layout, and the cartoon-like artwork keeps things on the lighter side. It's worth checking out for a different presentation of Africa than the one we Westerners may be accustomed to.


FUN HOME  -  Mariner Books  (2007)
Alison Bechdel (writer & artist)
For:  Someone with little to no comic experience

Alison Bechdel (yes, of the often misunderstood Bechdel Test fame) tells the story of her relationship with her father in this graphic novel memoir. She refers to it as a "tragicomic," and certainly, there are many tragic elements to it, but it never really gets too depressing. What we get in Fun Home is a really intriguing, complex, and sad tale about a weird family. A lot of it seems to be some way for her to deal with the loss of her father, who often came off as cold and closeted, but we can see the influence he had on her anyway.

It's a really well-crafted memoir that is both sad and touching. It also informs the reader a lot about who Alison Bechdel is herself.  Certainly if you wanted a funner or more uplifting book, this isn't it, but it is a good and insightful book worth checking out.



TOMBOY   -   Zest Books (2014)
Liz Prince  (writer & artist)
For: Someone with little to no comic experience

Liz Prince has more of a cartoonish art style, but it works for her writing. Another graphic memoir, Prince tells the story of her life as a Tomboy. She talks a lot about how difficult it was since boys and girls both made fun of her for not dressing like a typical girl. It starts off when she's pretty young, but continues on past that. The age range makes for a more compelling tale, as it highlights just how weird it can be for people who don't feel comfortable adhering to traditional gender expectations.

Prince's story is rather sad and insightful, like most memoirs, but she's also really funny. She's careful to include a good sense of humor. Seeing her get bullied doesn't bum you out any less, but you do feel a bit better knowing that she came out of this whole experience relatively ok. She isn't having a laugh at the bullying either, which is a critical component.

It can be a little weird at times. She sometimes draws her present self into the panels so she can narrate more efficiently, breaking the fourth wall. A cartoon version of Prince is literally looking out of the comic at you as she talks to you. It's kind of interesting and you don't really see that very often in comics. (Matt Fraction does this a bit in Sex Criminals, which is awesome and you should pick up too, as an unrelated aside.)

It's a neat breakdown of the typical gender norms and where we seek validation from. It isn't saying that the typical ideas of femininity are bad or wrong, it isn't saying that women shouldn't be "girly" even if they want to be. It's really just looking at how limiting such defined and strict boxes can be. There are more ways to be a woman, and they're all ok, is basically the point.





I can't necessarily say I think all of these books are "great," but I think they all provided something really interesting. I've enjoyed them all, and thought they were really well put together. Pretty diverse list too. Sure, the majority focus on women (eight out of the twelve, to be exact), but it covers a fairly wide range of characters and styles of comics. You've got a few graphic memoirs, some superhero stuff, some just quirky and weird stuff, some more realistic drawings, some more cartoonish, some more artsy. 


I don't know if the people I got these books for will enjoy them. It's hard to know if people who have never read comics will really be able to take it in. (It is a bit different than just reading a normal book.) And to be clear, these aren't books that I felt "reminded me of so-and-so." These are just books that I think so-and-so might like. But, if you're into comics, or even if you're not and you want to know what might be a good place to start, this is a pretty solid list, if I say so myself.

The Last of Us: The Outskirts Part 1: I Love that Dirty Water...and More Tutorials

We've learned to fight. We've learned to take people out quietly. We've learned to sneak. We've learned a lot of the total mechanics of the game, but there's still some more things, and we've also got a few more things to learn. Plus, we haven't really been given the ability to practice these on infected.  Getting into Boston gives us our first true encounters with the infected, but it's also a means to show us the true state of the world.

Outside the Boston quarantine zone doesn't see any gangs or thugs, but we get to see the state of the world. The city is overrun with vegetation. Buildings are decrepit and falling apart. The two largest skyscrapers are in a precarious situation in which one is leaning against the other. Ellie spends much of the time asking questions about what happened. Tess isn't a giant grouch like Joel, so she answers. At this point in the game, Ellie functions not only as the mission objective; she's also a narrative device. Since she's never been outside the QZ, this is all new territory for her. She is the portal in which characters can feed the player backstory into this world and build it up. This isn't an uncommon device, but it's well executed. It's clearly her primary function at this stage of the game, but it's never distracting.

Consider what I consider a bad example of this: Final Fantasy X. That game features the main protagonist from a "different world" for the same reason. The difference is, FFX doesn't stop hand-feeding you "background" until about twenty to thirty hours in. It gets tedious and tiresome, and feels a little condescending at times. The Last of Us uses this device from time to time, but doesn't keep it up for long periods. Additionally, Ellie is a fourteen year old girl. She's basically still a child. We've already established she's inquisitive, and this is a trait she carries through most of the game. Again, though clearly a means for the writers to communicate information and do some world-building, they work this device into Ellie's character itself, so it never feels out of place.

We also get more of the pacing flow here. After just escaping the military's clutches, we get a lull in action. Wandering through a part of the city and through some of the building, it takes a little bit before we finally encounter infected enemies. Not only does this give us a moment to catch our breath and observe our surroundings; it also builds suspense. Some of the best moments in the game are ones in which nothing actually happens, but it feels like something is about to. Cutting through the tilted skyscraper is the first time we experience this. Of course, it ultimately does culminate in some enemies, but it's not as bad as they build it up for. In essence, it's a big "psych!"

There's also an interesting thing here where finding notes also fills in backstory. More than that, the characters will react to them. This isn't the first time it happens. When you find a note about Robert at the docks, Joel will mention that Robert seems to be pissing everybody off. The notes here serve to solidify a narrative reason to look for them.  The notes found here add to the environment around you, and the situation you find yourself in.

Ellie doesn't just ask questions to fill us in on the world and character backgrounds though. Her curiosity also helps the players understand some of the enemies they may encounter. One of the slightly more confusing explanations is regarding clickers. These are enemies that have been infected for so long that the fungus has  rendered their hosts blind. After asking about them, Tess tells Ellie (and us, if you're focusing on them to overhear it) that clickers use echo location, like bats. The clicking sounds they make function as sonar. They're able to "see" using sound. Tess also states some strategy: "when you hear one, you have to hide."

It's a little confusing since that idea is virtually no different than any other enemy. Instead, they should mention that clickers are deadlier than your average infected. Without shivs, a clicker will insta-kill you if it grabs you. That doesn't get established in this dialogue exchange - they simply tell you to stay out of its sight, which is weird because they just told you that they can't see. This rule about seeing via echo location also gets ignored several times throughout the game during scenes. It's one of the more inconsistent "rules" of the game, and gets ignored whenever convenient for dramatic action moments.

Though we're now into the game more fully, there are still a few tutorial elements in the building. There are pills that teach us about improving our character stats. Tess hands us a recipe for med kits, which also teaches us about crafting. Both of these will be important and don't need too much hand-holding. Odds are, you may have already figured the crafting part out already just on your own.  The first clicker you run into in the open field is designed so that you use distractions to sneak around it, teaching you the value of avoiding conflict. There's a lot of cover and a bunch of bricks and bottles to toss.

Then you find a revolver. More powerful than the pistol, it holds fewer rounds and takes more time to reload. This segment can be really tricky for new players, in part because it's designed for failure. Though the last few sections were teaching you about stealth, this section is teaching you that not everything can just be avoided.  It is possible to get through it without disturbing the other infected, but it's challenging and it doesn't take much to screw up. That's the big lesson from this part.

The segment features the three most common forms of infected enemies: clickers, runners, and normal infected. To the right is one motionless infected you can easily take out. Back turned and standing still, that's the easy first step. Right near him is usually a melee weapon to pick up, which you'll want to do because to the left are three "runners" and a clicker. Runners, as the name might imply, are infected who move around a lot. This makes it really difficult to sneak up on them to take them out quietly. It doesn't help that the three runners move in a triangular pattern in sync. It's quite tricky to take one out with stealth without drawing the attention of the others. The usually do keep each other within their line of sight. The clicker stands still in the center, which makes things even more tense. If you can take the runners out, the clicker isn't a problem. You can sneak up on it and take it out, no problem. But if you mess up or draw the other runners' attention, the clicker becomes active, making it more difficult to take it out.

It is possible to get through this without alerting the others, but at this point in the game - especially for new players - it's not very likely.

The final section of the skyscraper takes you down below into the subway before dumping you back out on the street. There are about four clickers and three normal infected in this area, but there are also a few side rooms to explore and your first safe to discover. The placement of the enemies makes exploration tricky, but it's worth it to do so. If you just try to truck through to get away, you'll miss out on some resources. Everything can be done with stealth pretty easily, but it's a good way to put everything together. You can sneak, or use distractions, or - with the introduction of Molotov cocktails - you can go in guns blazing. (Well, no, not enough ammo for four clickers, but the Molotovs make it easier to take some of them out.)

We learn our final piece of non-item specific tutorial: upgrading weapons. All those gears and whatnot you find lying around can be used to upgrade your weapons. Each weapon has a different set of traits that can be improved. For example, the rifle can have its accuracy and range increased while the shotgun can have its spread improved. Most weapons also allow for increased clip capacity and reload speed. Upgrading your firearms can be critical in surviving. It's a good thing to do at this point too, given what is to come at the end of the museum.

The museum is one of the cooler levels. It's creepy as heck, plus you get separated from Ellie and Tess. Clickers show up, prompting Tess to shout, "Run!" That might be the first minor example that can cause some to wonder if they've forgotten how things work. (Why would you shout anything when you hear clickers, for example, if they "see you" through sound? We just had a few levels designed to teach us to stay quiet when they're around!)

Again, the level is set up so that you can approach it a number of ways. There are enough bottles and bricks and enough cover to sneak around if you want. Similarly, you probably should have enough resources at this point to take each clicker out too, if you want. Additionally, the clickers are spaced out just far enough that you can work some mixture. If you do manage to sneak by all of the clickers in the first leg of the level, it does make you realize how nice it would be to do little things like, I don't know, close the doors you just opened. I've personally found that a slight problem in this section when going all out stealth is that once you get by and open the door, those clickers can follow you into the next section for a little bit. It can cause a bit of a problem if you lose track of where they are, and means you have to really be careful to watch your six.

We finally run into Tess as she's being attacked by an infected. It looks like she can take care of herself, as she grabs a plank and smashes it in the head. The next section is the first one in which you are required to actively fight infected. We've been in shootouts already, with the first two of Robert's men, and there's a good chance you got swarmed by infected in the skyscraper at one point. Still, if you managed to get through without drawing attention, this is the first time you have no choice. The game occasionally removes the option, which has it's pros and cons. I'm not personally a big fan of those moments when you have no choice as to how to play a section, but this moment here is helpful as it is perhaps your first real chance to experience hand-to-hand combat against a horde of enemies. Getting that kind of experience this early in the game might actually be helpful for later in the game, even if you're like me and try to always sneak by everyone. What's nice about this section too is that there's a lot of stuff to pick up. If you're low on ammo and your melee weapon breaks, you can pick up bottles and bricks and smash the infected with them. Plus, there are enough corners and structures in the small map to use.

The highlight of this section is just after getting out of the museum. First, you can check up on Tess, who does a good job staying focused. Then, you can talk to Ellie. The back-and-forth is a nice moment that lays the groundwork for their relationship. Joel asks if she is ok, to which she retorts, "Define ok." He answers that she's ok if she's still breathing. Ellie, ever the wise-cracker, then asks, "Do small, panicked breaths count?" There is a very quiet, brief chuckle from Joel. It's not super obvious, but it's there.

The big moment though is just after that. You put a plank across a couple of buildings to advance, prompting the first touching moment between Ellie and Joel. Perhaps bitter and sarcastic, Joel asks her if this is everything she hoped for as they can see the rest of the city, especially the Capital Building, which is their destination. Ellie responds that the jury is still out, but, "...you can't deny the view."

In that moment as she walks away, Joel can be seen looking at his watch. This is the watch Sarah got him for his birthday before the outbreak. It's a very subtle moment, but you can really tell that this is the first time Ellie has reminded him - in a positive way - of his daughter. There's another great and subtle moment with the watch to parallel this, but that doesn't happen until the end of the game, so we'll save that for another time.

After this moment, Tess gets kind of stern with Joel. She suddenly seems strangely on edge. Of course, we'll find out way in a little bit.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Unless you've spent most of the last couple years trapped in the Old West because of a mishap with your time machine, you know there was a new Star Wars movie released this past weekend. Odds are, you've already seen it too. After the debacle with the prequels, there was a sort of nervous optimism going into this film. The hype was strong with this one. Indeed, it broke records and probably will continue to do so. But is it any good?

Full disclosure: I have a rather unpopular opinion of it. I've often been accused of simply being "contrarian," but that's not really the case. (I avoided any and all talk of this film before going into it, so I had no idea what other people thought of it until after I watched it and formed an opinion.) Still, I will admit that I'm going to be a minority here, and that anything critical or negative I have to say about it is something few people I've spoken to shared.

Let me structure this as a compliment sandwich, starting and ending with things I really liked, and stuffing it in between with some of criticisms or things I wasn't crazy about.

As an aside - these are all pretty overarching praises and criticisms. You won't find spoilers. Indeed, none of the specifics I touch upon briefly are things you won't find in the trailers or even on the poster.

The first thing to discuss is the characters. Yes, as was noted in the trailers, some of the original cast are back. If you really felt the desire for old Han Solo, here ya go! To his credit, Harrison Ford is a professional and doesn't phone it in at all! Personally, I was never really interested in seeing anyone other than old Luke Skywalker, but Ford was a delight to watch.

However, the strength of the movie isn't on the returning cast members. Instead, it's on the new characters, to whom the torch is being passed. The primary group here would be Rey (Daisy Ridley), who is something of a Han Solo/Luke Skywalker hybrid, Finn (John Boyega), who is something of a Han Solo/Luke Skywalker hybrid, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who is something of a Han Solo/Luke Skywalker hybrid, the much publicized BB-8, who is the new R2-D2, and finally, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is the primary villain.

These characters make up the core of the film, and on the most part, they're every bit as strong as the original crew of characters. Yes, I jokingly mentioned that pretty much all of the heroes are like a Han Solo/Luke Skywalker hybrid, but that actually isn't a bad thing. It makes them feel like more ranged characters, instead of fulfilling a singular function in the narrative, like the archetypal characters of the originals. It's a good way to go, really. Each character can fulfill several narrative functions, and you can see why any one of them might be someone's favorite (versus earlier movies where everyone wanted to be Han Solo and never anyone else.)

Admittedly, the more I reflect on Kylo Ren, the more I like him as a villain too. His story still has much to be revealed, so we don't really know him too well, but he's already ten times more interesting a character than Darth Vader was. Note: I'm not saying he's as good of a villain! It's too early to call. And certainly, he isn't as iconic right off the bat. (Actually, he looks like he came off the set of G.I. Joe in his design.) However, there are already so many more layers and much more complexity to him than Darth Vader ever had.

To be sure, the strength of Star Wars is in its characters. The stories are always kind of dumb or filled with plot holes or elements that just don't make sense. That extends to The Force Awakens as well, of course. I don't think the characters are strong enough yet to make the film "good," but they are certainly good enough that, for any and all criticisms I have, I'm interested in the rest of their story.

The problem with this film is a bit two-fold. First, it's construction is fundamentally different. See, so much of why things work in the original Star Wars is in the entire conceit of the film. It was designed to conjoin elements from tons of other works; smashing them together into one kind of cheesy, overly simplistic serial story using rather archetypal characters. If you can't buy that concept, there's a good chance you won't like the movie at all. It will come off as too dumb or nonsensical and the characters too generic.

Here, the film isn't trying to do anything like that. Instead, The Force Awakens spends much of its time trying to hit the same exact beats as the original trilogy. J.J. Abrams has basically made a "Greatest Hits" Star Wars movie, just with more interesting characters. More or less, he just spends too much time reminding everyone of the original trilogy. It practically hits every major plot point of the originals. The final action sequence is the end of Return of the Jedi, with some Empire Strikes Back sprinkled in for good measure.

That's probably my biggest gripe with the film overall. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I wanted it to be a little bit more original and different. The cast is great, but everything else is just more of the same. The First Order is the Empire, without actually being the Empire. The Resistance is the Rebel Alliance without actually being the Rebel Alliance. BB-8 is R2-D2. The Starkiller base is the Death Star. They've got their Yoda stand in. They've got their Boba Fett stand in. They've got their Mos Eisley rip off. They've got their young protagonist destined for something greater stranded on a desert planet. They've got their trench run. They've got their Emperor. They've got their Tarkin. They've got their Leia senses something bad moment. They've got their hero runs off to take care of himself, but returns because he really is a good guy moment. There was a moment I even thought for sure they were about to give us a Porkins stand in too!

The beauty of the original Star Wars is how it was derivative of a ton of other things, creating a unique amalgamation in and of itself. The trouble with The Force Awakens is that it's just hyper-derivative of its own franchise. Which might be pleasing to many fans, of course, but isn't exactly what I was hoping for myself as a fan. Because of this super repetitive structure, I found it utterly predictable - including the big "reveal" as well as the "moment" that everyone is sure to be talking about. For me, hitting all the familiar Star Wars notes just made it drag and feel a bit boring.

The other main problem I have with it is a bit of a larger-scope problem with how Hollywood goes about making movies lately. It felt like so many key plot and character elements were specifically left out to leave people hanging for the next film. I'm all for some open ended elements. It's not like the original trilogy avoided those things itself. But typically, those were presented in a way that suggests, "What's going to happen next?" and less like a "What is actually going on in this movie you're watching right now?"

Basically, I'm not a fan of making blockbusters in the same way they make television shows. Needing to get to the next episode to understand the one you just watched works for television because you get the next episode in a week. In the case of season finales, you get the next piece in the span of a few months. We're literally going to be waiting a couple of years before we can really even tell what is happening in The Force Awakens.

It might be a little unfair to pin that on Abrams, but given this is the guy who made his name in episodic, keep-'em-confused television shows, I'm going to...

I will conclude the compliment sandwich by discussing the lightsaber battle. They nailed it, in my opinion. I totally get why some feel the overly choreographed fight sequences were way cooler. They're faster, and have more of that "cool" factor to them. In context, it even makes sense why the fights would be more skilled in the prequels, since those were all very well trained Jedi or Sith. They're highly trained with lightsabers, and with the Force. Come the time of the original trilogy, no one really has that. Vader is older and mostly machine. Luke is young and doesn't really have anyone he can spar with for practice. Even here, it's not like anyone really has all that much training with a lightsaber.

There aren't any twirls or jumps or flips or anything like that. Instead, we get these exhausted and heavy swings. There is a sort of weight to the lightsabers again. It really did feel like people fighting for their lives! Even though the finale is just a complete rehashing of Return of the Jedi, it does increase the sense of urgency with the heroes, who are fighting to survive.

To be completely honest, I also really enjoyed the fights with the space ships, even though they don't often occur in space, nor do they get the focus they deserve, really.

All in all, the structure of the film, and just how much time it spent trying to remind us of the original trilogy just bogs it down a bit. Some nods are welcome, and some references are needed given the nature of the story, but it really felt like they didn't need to just copy and paste the trilogy into one film. I found it a bit dull and dragging as a result. Similarly, I don't exactly appreciate how the film basically answers no questions, instead functioning more as a step ladder to the next film. Again, some of that is fine, but I'm not into the whole "sacrifice this movie now so you go see the next one later" thing.

But, as far as I can tell, I'm on a pretty deserted island on this one. Some have said they can see where I'm coming from, even if they don't agree, but the end result is that everyone disagrees with my take. Contrary to popular belief, I am not just simply a "contrarian." And by no means am I a "hater." (That doesn't even make sense! Why would I be a "hater" towards Star Wars just for the sake of it? I love Star Wars!)  However, it does seem that no one else has a problem with some of the things I found problematic.

Basic point being: you'll probably totally love it, where I just found it ok. Didn't love it, but it didn't turn me off to the franchise either, which is something only Attack of the Clones did. (I never saw Revenge of the Sith in theaters because I thought Clones was so bad, I stopped caring about that movie series.)

Bioshock Infinite (2013)

The moment I started playing BioShock, I was hooked. Everything about it was engaging, with a world so visually intriguing, music to hammer home the atmosphere, and a narrative built largely around exploring this submarine environment. With Rapture, BioShock thrilled, intrigued, and terrified in a way few games ever have. Needless to say, it's spiritual successor BioShock Infinite had quite a lot to live up to.

And it delivers.

Infinite succeeds by simultaneously sticking to and deviating from the formula that made the first game such a critically acclaimed hit. Many key elements of the game are similar to the predecessor: from audio logs filling in more of the story to the inclusion of powers to the opening light tower to the extremely well-crafted environment you find yourself exploring. Yet the game also puts you in a place that's the complete opposite of its predecessor. Instead of the dark, grimy, and claustrophobic Rapture which causes heart-stopping moments of sudden action, they bring you to the brighter, more vibrant open city in the clouds of Columbia, where they throw more enemies at you at once, creating more of a "battle" feel. 

Though fundamentally different environments and styles of action, the basic game play is still pretty similar. A shooter in the first person perspective, you run around picking up weapons and shooting enemies. You also find Vigors - elixirs that give you powers (basically Plasmids from the first game). Overall, the controls are tightened up a bit from the original. Switching from weapon to power is smoother and makes it a little bit easier to handle all the enemies thrown at you. One down side though is the limitations enforced. Unlike the first game in which you can carry a bunch of weapons and just swap to them when you want, Infinite restricts that to just two. Of course, they give you a steady supply of enemies and an increased variety of weapons to be dropped that it doesn't ultimately impact the game play that much; it is a bit of a downside.

The other negative change is the quick-change of powers. This is most likely just a case of personal preferences, or getting used to it, but I found combat to go a bit more smoothly in the first game where you have a certain number of power slots and hitting a particular button quickly shuffles through your powers, instead of always having to bring up your power wheel. Infinite allows for only two quick-change slots, so whatever the last two powers you've used are, those are the powers you can quickly shuffle through with on the click of a button. If you want to use another power though, you must bring up the power wheel.

Game play is pretty similar to the original game, but it is both smoother to transition while a bit clunkier to swap powers.

With bigger and more open spaces for combat - mixed with a greater number of enemies attacking at once - Infinite has you running and gunning a lot more than previous games, which often had you more creeping and scheming. The action is grander and more chaotic, giving it more of a traditional shooter feel with powers to mix it up. This fact is highlighted by the inclusion of the Skyline. A form of quick traveling through areas of the city, you fly around battles at break-neck speeds. That's not the only way they add flavor to the format though. Eventually you learn that Elizabeth has the power to open tears in space-time (read: alternative universes).  During battles, she will summon objects through these tears that can help. It's pretty restricted to turrets, cover, gun depots, medic boxes, and freight hooks, with the occasional gunship. It's an interesting dynamic that definitely adds to the gameplay. At times, however, it feels a bit limited given the nature of the tears.

Additionally, Elizabeth will run around and scrounge up loose ammo, money, and other things that are helpful during battle. It's one of the areas - like the the tears - where the execution still adds something, but feels like it suffers from being overly ambitious. Consider that tears are an infinite number of alternate realities, yet the only thing Elizabeth can pull through them are freight hooks, sniper rifles, and rocket turrets. It's hard to imagine a game in which each tear brings out something entirely different, but that's what it seems like they perhaps wanted.

It's been argued by many that Vigors feel a little out of place, and there is definitely merit to that argument. The Vigors are fun and playing around with different combinations are key to success in battle, but it's true that thematically, they feel out of place and as if they were only included to remind you it is BioShock. In the first game, the entire plot and environment was built around Plasmids. Andrew Ryan and his society was all about improving humanity. The Plasmids were key to becoming something more. The people became addicted and they had their side effects. The world of Rapture fell into ruins as a result. You don't get the narrative of BioShock without the inclusion of Plasmids.

In Columbia, the Vigors don't really add anything to the plot or the narrative. They're mostly just shoehorned in there simply for the sake of giving you powers like the first game. Zachary Comstock's Columbia isn't about improving, but rather about how superior the white race of Americans already are. There would be no reason for people to buy Vigors when they already feel superior to everyone else. If anything, they're all about preserving their purity - as evident by the copious amounts of institutionalized racism in this world. While the Vigors are certainly fun, they don't quite fit in thematically the way that Plasmids did.

Rapture was a city practically inspired by Ayn Rand. Here though, Columbia is built off of American exceptionalism wherein the founding fathers are treated like deities. Indeed, you do wind up fighting robotic Abraham Lincolns and George Washingtons armed with gatling guns.

The real strength of BioShock Infinite is in its narrative. Like many other elements of the game, it at times feels overly ambitious, but it's still great. You play as Booker DeWitt, a mysterious man showing up to a mysterious sci-fi city. He's tasked with rescuing a young woman named Elizabeth. We don't know who recruited him, and we don't know why, but it seems irrelevant. Of course, as you spend more time with her trying to escape the city, the mystery continues to grow, culminating in one of the more mind-blowing endings.  It's easy to pass off the basic plot as being one heavily reliant on twists, and it's true that the other thematic plot elements are less substantial than the ones of the first BioShock, but it does do quite a bit with some of those elements. The dangers of a segregated society and of national superiority complexes are all clear and present, as well as a critique of that neoconservative brand of American exceptionalism. Still, the primary purpose of the narrative is simultaneously grander and smaller in scope than the original game.

The big twist ultimately involves who both Booker and Elizabeth really are, and what their true relationship is. In the end, it's all about what lengths one will go to in order to make up for their mistakes, and what kinds of mistakes they'll make in the process.  Several times, you jump to alternate realities of Columbia where things are drastically different based on your actions of the previous reality. This, of course, is their take on the multiverse theory: the idea that every time you make a choice, another universe splits off in which you made the other choice, et cetera - an infinite number of universes with an infinite possibilities.

At the conclusion of the game, things get very meta. Elizabeth explains the idea behind an infinite number of universes filled with infinite possibilities, but there are constants and variables in each one. She explains that for Booker DeWitt, there are a few constants. In every universe built around him, there is always a lighthouse, there is always a man, and there is always a city. Like in BioShock before it, Infinite is getting all meta about the nature of video games. Andrew Ryan's whole gist about a man chooses while a slave obeys forced players to examine whether - even in a game with "choices" and "morality" as mechanics - do we actually have any real choice? Similarly, here they drive home the idea that there are some things that never change, and some things that always change - not unlike the way we experience video games.

This is displayed in amusing and subtle way when the Luteces flip a coin and ask you to pick heads or tails. As a player, you get to pick, but the coin always comes up heads. One of the Luteces wears a chalk board on his front and back. The other puts a dash in the heads column and when they walk away, you see that the only marks are in the heads column. The Luteces have experienced this coin flip countless times, yet it has come down heads every single time. This is really a more direct way to explain the idea of constants and variables. In all the multiple universes, the coin comes down heads (a constant), yet what you can change whether you pick heads or tails (a variable). In the end, what you pick doesn't matter. The scripted scene continues.

"There is always a lighthouse. There is always a man. There is always a city," Elizabeth tells us. Of course this refers to the previous BioShock as well, in which you start off as Jack, a man sent to Rapture for mysterious reasons. And, of course, you get to Rapture via a lighthouse. Those are the constants of the BioShock universe. Everything else is just a variable.

In defense of yourself, Booker responds that he is his own man. He doesn't listen to anyone and doesn't do anything or go anywhere someone tells him to. Elizabeth's response is poignant: "You already have." And it's true. At this point, we've reached the end of the game. Each of us might have played the game differently, but here we are, at the same point at the end of the game, watching the same scripted sequence play out.

All in all, BioShock Infinite is far from a perfect game, and there are plenty of legitimate criticisms of the game. Certainly, at times it feels a bit over ambitious. It's a bit of a shame that so early on in the game, the citizens you encounter merely vanish. Instead of this lively, functional city we saw at the beginning, we wind up getting a fairly similar thing to what we saw in Rapture. And even Booker DeWitt's arc feels a little under cooked.

Still, it's an incredible game. All of the BioShock games have really done a great job at challenging the gamer, not necessarily in terms of the fights (although you do die a lot), but in terms of really making you think and examine what the game is trying to say, both through the narrative and the game mechanics.

The Last of Us: The Quarantine Zone Part 2: Fireflies Shipping Out To Boston

After being introduced to Marlene, we're out of the more traditional tutorial section of the game and moving into the "real" beginning. Not only are you pretty much equipped with the basic skills you need to get through the levels, you're also at the true start of the story. The Robert subplot is just an introduction, and while it is meaningful to some extent, it's primary function in the narrative is simply to introduce Joel and Tess to the leader of the Fireflies and give them a reason to undertake this mission.

Before we can really get the story underway proper, we follow Marlene through a series of alleyways and buildings, avoiding military detection and encountering more heavily armed opponents. At this point, we've been introduced to the three basic kinds of enemies that we will regularly face. First, there's the normal infected. On the most part, slow and easy to sneak up on. Second, Robert's crew introduces us to thug enemies, mostly armed with melee weapons. Some of them are armed with guns, but on the most part, it's close range combat, should you be unable to get the drop on them. Third, we've got the military. While not prominently featured, it puts us in a situation where we're dealing with more enemies with ranged weapons, increasing the difficulty of sneaking, and your ability to recover if discovered.

It's also interesting to note that the military are not the "good guys" here. They're not necessarily the "bad guys" either. To be sure, the game doesn't present them in same light as your typical thugs throughout the game. Still, there's no secret that the people's opinion of the military and government in general are jaded, and rightfully so. Keep in mind that, especially from Joel's perspective, the military has been pretty controlling. They shoot infected on the spot. The opening news reports mentioned them hanging people suspected of being Fireflies. And, of course, Joel's own daughter wasn't killed by infected, or by thugs, or by desperate people. No, Sarah was shot by a soldier operating under orders. So while the soldiers in the game aren't presented as particularly "evil" in the same way that, say, the Pittsburgh pirates were (heh heh), it's also clear that they are threatening to Joel and Tess and people around them too.

This could be an easy excuse to justify the violence, of course. If everyone is a dangerous prick, then it makes killing or beating them more reasonable an action. We don't think much about it. It's a very "gamey" thing to do. It's why we see a lot of video games where the enemies are Nazis or aliens or zombies. If the enemies are inherently dehumanized, killing them doesn't make us feel uncomfortable. The Last of Us is guilty of that, especially later in the game. Still, I would just note that I personally always made it a point to either just knock out or sneak by military guards, while I certainly never had many reservations about killing the thugs.

We also get access to another important gameplay element: crafting. In the first open area after dealing with Marlene, you find a bunch of supplies. These supplies can be used to craft specific items, such as shivs, med kits, and Molotov cocktails. Again, they give you this introduction in a low-stakes environment. Though the story involves being hunted by military, you can't actually get caught. There are no other enemies around, so you're free to take your time shifting through items and thinking about supplies. Odds are, you'll be doing a good amount of this, especially in combat, so it's nice to get the opportunity to play around with it, without the added pressure of possibly getting killed. Seems like a small thing, but this is good tutorial design. The argument in favor of The Last of Us is that it does a lot of these little things really well.

Though this isn't truly the tutorial section, it's still an easy part, designed to let you ease into everything. Even on the hardest difficulties, these segments aren't really that difficult. That's not the point. They've given you the information. Now they're presenting a simple scenario in which to use it.

It also reaffirms a few things in terms of the pacing and world building. First, it reminds us that this is a pretty dark world. After all, we're accustomed to the military or police or security forces to be the unequivocal "good guys." Here, it's a little different. There aren't really any "heroes." Second, it gives us a reason to dislike the designated safety zones. Joel and Tess may be safe, but we can see why Marlene and others would form the Fireflies to resist. Most of the time spent walking back to Marlene's safe house, we can hear the PA system dictating orders to civilians, and basically threatening those who don't abide. Third, it continues to build the ebb and flow of the pacing. After a somewhat tense moment of trying to sneak by guards, we're right back to walking. This game is every bit as much about the in-between moments as it is the action. (I'd argue that my favorite moments, and the parts I like the best, are the parts where you're not fighting, but walking around the maps.)

And then there's Ellie's intro. Man, if these characters aren't just incredibly well-written. So much of what the writer's do in this game is give a good amount of insight without simply dumping in-your-face exposition about it. Tess's introduction is a good example. When we meet her, she's coming back from a deal wherein she got jumped. We know Joel didn't go with her, and Tess just seems to be acting in charge. We find out she killed the men who attacked her, and she is setting out to find the man who sent them. Without spelling it out in annoyingly specific detail, this interaction tells us that if anyone is in charge here, it's Tess. It informs us that she is smart, tough, and capable. We don't need a moment where she specifically states that she is in charge. She does say to Joel that she can take care of herself, which maybe spells it out a little too much, but the way she delivers it is telling. When she says that, Tess seems annoyed. She's more irritated in that moment that Joel is condescending to her, acting like she can't defend herself. And she moves on to the next piece of information, because that's all that matters.

What does Ellie's introduction tell us about her? Well, literally the first thing we see her do is attack Joel with her switchblade. That action alone tells us that she is a fighter. She is a firecracker, and she won't ever just take things lying down - a trait that we see a ton of throughout the game. Tess steps in and grabs Ellie's arm to stop her attack, and Ellie's first line of dialogue is, "Get the fuck off me!" Again, this establishes her resistant nature. Plus, she doesn't shy away from the F-bomb. She cusses quite a lot, and quite consistently. While not a major aspect of her character in general, it is a marker that we can use to highlight consistent writing of her character.

Marlene tells Ellie that she won't be able to accompany her to wherever they're going, to which Ellie states that she's staying then. Again, in just one simple line of dialogue, we can already see that she's also fiercely loyal - another trait we see regularly. She has a history with Marlene and won't abandon her. There's then that great moment where Marlene comes up with a plan that involves Ellie going with Joel somewhere, and both characters freak out. Joel with his, "whoa whoa whoa, I ain't doin' that" kind of old school Texan attitude, and Ellie with her, "This is bullshit!" modern youth flair.

What makes the cutscenes so great is the attention to detail. They play out just like the best movies do. You can tell that this stuff is motion captured, with the actors on sets. You can see it in the way Ellie gets defensive, or the way that Joel holds his arm just before rubbing his forehead. The voice acting is so perfect because it's done with real world acting as well. This, of course, heightens the realism of the game which, in effect, heightens the emotion.

And then we set out with Ellie. We'll be working with her for the remainder of the game, pretty much. Again, they make it clear that a lot of the character relationship will unfold through conversation that happens during the game. You don't get interrupted from moving forward through the level for the sake of dialogue. Instead, you hear banter as you progress.

In this case, we can tell right away how annoyed Joel is. Ellie is inquisitive and interested in knowing a little about Joel and the world around her. She'll ask questions, and Joel is super grumpy about it all. He doesn't even make any effort to hide it. At that first dumpster you have to move, you move Joel to jump up to the stairwell. Ellie won't really advance up there until you progress a little farther up the stairs. This highlights how cold this relationship is right now.

It is kind of funny that the player, controlling Joel, is sort of in this weird position where you're not leading, but you're also not totally following. Whenever Tess is in the picture, she's in charge. At the same time, you as Joel are still responsible for taking care of Ellie. The stipulation for Joel taking on Ellie as a partner is that she stay close and do what he says. He orders her around, even. Yet Tess is the ultimate boss here, as she orders Joel around.

The big reveal at the end of this section, just before getting into Boston proper, is that Ellie is infected. After you're caught by guards, Tess and Joel take care of them, killing them. It might be the first time Ellie is involved in killing, and she's freaked. "Oh fuck!" she exclaims. "I thought we were just going to hold them up or something." Ellie is a force of innocence. She's fourteen years old and doesn't really understand how brutal the world is, especially outside the QZ.

This scene also finally establishes the real story here. Ellie is infected and claims to be immune. It's easy to disbelieve her. The conversation even includes some more subtle world building. Tess rejects her claim by stating that everyone turns within two days of infection. This is one of those little moments that functions perfectly fine within the discussion. She's stating why she doesn't believe that Ellie has been infected for three weeks. At the same time, that one tiny line of dialogue fills the player in on a little of the infection itself. We already know that it can spread via spores, and the wound on Ellie's arm is clearly a bite mark, so it can spread that way. Now, we also know that the infection spreads quickly. If you get bit or inhale the spores, you're basically screwed.

The next part can be a little tricky. Where the earlier sections with enemies might offer a range of options for how to handle it, they largely force you to deal with them somehow. You can kill them in a straight up fist or firefight, or you can sneakily take them out one by one. Here, you're presented with a situation where you can't actually take them out. There is just not enough ammunition to shoot them all, plus you don't have enough health to stand much of a chance. Plus, there are some soldiers that are in positions that you cannot reach. No, your only option is to go around them. For new players, this will likely be the most challenging part of the game so far. I think this section is primarily trying to teach you the value in tossing bricks and bottles as distractions, but the game itself doesn't make it particularly clear.

Unrelated, I was thinking about those doors you have to lift, and how it seems kind of pointless. The first couple of garage doors, you just hold triangle. You don't get to do anything else, so it seems like just a brief little scene to get you through to the next section. This is accomplished by "taking away control" of the player. After all, you can't really do anything. Yet you are interacting with the door. It doesn't happen unless you're holding the button. So it's a bit of both player agency and lack of control simultaneously, which is kind of interesting.

We'll end this section having just gotten away from the soldiers and just about to enter Boston. We've already established that Tess is more optimistic than Joel. Here further proves it. While Joel is agitated at this whole thing, feeling like this is all just more nonsense from the Fireflies (again, they don't spill what exactly has happened in the past twenty years, they give us some idea), Tess is beginning to transition from this being just a job to being more of a moral mission. "What if it's true?" she asks. Suddenly, she's starting to think that this isn't about them anymore.

Joel is still reluctant, even though it's clear that Tess already has her mind made up to go on. It concludes with Tess looking back at Ellie, then simply saying, "I get it." This makes it pretty clear that she knows about Sarah, indicating that they have a pretty meaningful relationship. (Joel will not offer that information easily to Ellie.) It's the first hint we get that twenty years later, Joel is still thinking about everything that happened with his daughter.

And that reluctant sigh is a perfect way to conclude that.

Review: My Sister's Wedding

One of my sisters got married this past weekend, so let's break it down. How good of a wedding was it?

THE CEREMONY:

I'm not religious, but I come from a Roman Catholic upbringing. My sister met her fiance at Assumption College, so they chose to get married at the church there. The church itself it beautiful, as churches go. Like most, it carried the sound pretty well. The priest was a little hard to understand at times with his thick accent, but he was great, especially when talking to the families at the rehearsal and after the ceremony. I'm sure it was nice for the happy couple to be married at school too. I know the groom was pretty stoked to hold some trophy that he and his friends won, which he got to do while waiting to be married.

It was a good size. A good number of people were able to fit in there, but didn't fill it. It was good! I had to walk my mom down the aisle, then circle back and walk a bridesmaid down too, so that was slightly strange. It's certainly awkward to walk down an aisle, everyone staring at you and snapping photos. You don't know where exactly to look. Plus, you're sort of like that teaser preview to the main attraction. "Oh! A guy in a tux! Oh! A lady in a dress! OH! HERE COMES THE BRIDE!" You know.

But, I suppose it is nice to parade everyone down. Everyone looked so nice! I was happy to be the one to walk my mother down, but I also kind of wish I could have seen her come down too. She looked beautiful and I was really happy for her. (She's been waiting for over thirty years to see one of her four children to get married!)

Of all the aspects of a wedding, the ceremony is the one I probably care the least about in a general sense, but this was nice. Except I did learn that I can no longer "fake" being Catholic. Seriously! When did they change the response to, "May the Lord be with you"??? I feel like the whole thing was just changed to trap folks like me! And I was right in the front row, facing down three priests! Ah well. As the old saying suggests, no one was looking at me (thankfully).

What I really appreciated was that being a groomsman meant I lined up opposite the bride and her bridesmaids. That meant that when Matt was saying his vows and slipping the ring on, I could see both Katie (the bride) and Emily's (the maid of honor) faces. It was kind of amusing seeing who would crack first and start crying. It was pretty close! But I'm pretty sure Emily started first. (Kate revealed later her plan was to imagine Matt saying, "My wife" in a Borat accent.) 

Score: A

THE FOOD:

Being a groomsman meant I didn't get to enjoy the cocktail hour, so I can't really comment on that. I was too busy sipping champagne and downing gross nips of Fireball whiskey (ugh) in the back of a limo. Also learned the value of holding onto open bottles in a moving vehicle! That stuff will spill!

Still, I can comment on the dinner at least. It was a buffet with...ok, so maybe it's not totally fair for me to even try to comment on the food because I'm not a big food person. I don't actually know what it was I ate. It wasn't the best food I've ever eaten in my entire life (it's not a pasta with my dad's sauce, so...) but as far as catered food goes, it was good! I don't know if other people have the same experience, but I tend to lower my expectations when it comes to catered food, but whatever the pasta dish was (which is what I got), it was actually pretty solid! I went to go get more even, but it looked like other tables hadn't been able to go up yet, so I didn't.

However, I am a big dessert guy! I can count the number of weddings I've been to in which I actively loved the dessert options on one hand. I really hate wedding cake. It's always too sweet and doesn't taste that great to begin with. At the wedding of a family friend, they opted to skip wedding cake for cupcakes. Great idea, if you ask me. My sister did the same thing, but used Brave New Cupcakes.

Best. Decision. Ever. Look, full disclosure, I was sort of the original lobbyist for those cupcakes. I know the baker, and there are few desserty things I've enjoyed more. (Don't ask me to pick among her cupcakes, my sister's mud pies, or my mom's chocolate cakes though...)  Basic point here: I'm probably pretty biased. While they didn't select the exact cupcakes I was suggesting for the wedding (just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting cupcakes based solely on what I like - I was trying to be helpful to them!), it was a good array. The peanut butter cupcakes were gone pretty quickly, but we had chocolate truffle, chocolate and vanilla twist, and raspberry lemonade left over. Just so happens, that last one is one of my favorites.

The dinner I'd probably put around a B+, but the desserts knock the overall food score up!

Score: A++

THE DRINKS:

One of the big perks of being a groomsman? The open bar. I kind of lost track of how much I had to drink, but I wasn't super drunk or anything. (I wonder how my Tipsy Level compared to my other sister's - the maid of honor.) Let's see... the other groomsmen and I did a shot with the groom before heading over to the church. Then we all downed one of those gross Fireball whiskey nips (ugh again) in the limo. We all had at least a glass of champagne too. There were comments about which one was the good one, but frankly, I doubt I would have been able to tell the difference. I like champagne, but it kind of all tastes the same to me.

At the Country Club (where the reception was), the catering crew kept doing this weird thing where if I put my drink down, they'd basically take it away. Or at least, they kept doing that with the Tom Collins drinks I had. It happened on two separate occasions. At some point, I had three Tom Collins, but I think I only actually finished one. Not because I gave up on them! The first time, I put it down because the bridesmaids and groomsmen were being introduced (probably the part I was least interested in). When I went back to retrieve it, they had taken it away. Another time, I got halfway through a Tom Collins, put it down to go dance to something. When I came back, again they had bused it!

My sister Emily, the maid of honor, had gotten me into amaretto sours, so I had a couple of those. All in all, I guess I didn't really have that much to drink. Just enough to be buzzed. It's hard to say how much that impacted my outgoing behavior. Maybe I was just...wait...hold on...I can't...I can't tell though. Was I just tipsy enough to be outgoing? Or was I maybe just like, legitimately happy for my sister and that caused me to be more outgoing than usual?

Actually, I should credit this wedding for showing me an effective way to get drunk! Not that I got drunk that night, but I'm traditionally a beer drinking. I love beer! In my old age though, I've developed some health issues that make drinking more than a couple beers difficult. This also means that it's tricky to get drunk! Mixed drinks is definitely the way to go, I learned. Downside is that there's not really a cheap way to do it - if you're going out. But if I ever do want to go out and get drunk, that's the game plan.

Oh! I forgot to mention that the bartender was this sort of cranky old guy. I don't want to talk crap about him, especially because that kind of crankiness made him weirdly endearing. He was kind of like...well, he was basically like the old guy from Up if the old guy from Up decided to make cocktails instead of stuffing his house full of balloons.

Score: A

THE MUSIC:

This is where my sister Kate and her now husband Matt killed it. First off, they hired this guy called DJ Don. He was this ridiculously upbeat and pleasant dude who made it seem like the only wedding he was ever interested in DJing was this one. From my understanding, Kate and Matt gave him a list of songs. It wasn't a playlist per se, nor was it a set list in a particular order. This made it a little tricky when a few of us kept trying to get him to play "Ghostbusters," but we eventually got him to do so.

The playlist itself was incredibly well balanced. Dinner saw lots of Beatles and other "oldies." The dancing segment broke off into this really weird ebb and flow though. Our family lives mostly on Long Island, so it's something of a tradition to play "New York, New York." That was immediately followed by "Dirty Water," to represent Boston. That's pretty much how the night went, musically. There were some older hits, typically found in our family weddings - like "Shout" or "The Twist." But then there were segments of slightly more recent stuff like "Uptown Funk" and "Downtown." It seemed like they gave shout outs to people with their song selections too. (I mean, I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure Shania Twain's "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" was kind of there for me... Also, people think I love that song ironically, but I really, really don't. I just love it, period. It's such a fun song!)

Though perhaps a little incoherent at times (as an overall playlist, that is), this was one of the best wedding playlists I think I've experienced. Who cares about the order, right? The slow jams were great. The party anthems were hoppin'. We had some classic family stuff like "Shout" and "The Electric Slide." It was really impressive the way that they managed to work in newer tunes everyone is currently obsessed with, with oldies for our aunts and uncles, with classic songs that make traditional appearances in our family weddings. It was great!

Just wish I had been there for "Love Shack." I was busy socializing at the bar, but the B-52s are my jam!

Score: A+

THE PEOPLE:

It's always funny when you think about your far-too-large extended family. It can easily get overwhelming. There are a lot of them. And they're all total weirdos. But ya know what? It was really nice to have everyone together. I didn't see so many people from my mom's side - then again, they're a bit more subdued than the family on my dad's side. We had uncles and aunts and cousins from California fly in for the wedding, which is nice because we don't get to see them a lot.

And I have to say, if you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, Matt and Kate keep great company. It was kind of strange at first being a groomsman because I wasn't really there on the groom's side. The groom was marrying my sister! (This made lining up for pictures confusing!) But the other groomsmen were great! They were really welcoming and easy to get along with. All of their friends are.

I'm continually impressed with Katie and what she's done in her life. From studying in India to doing AmeriCorps programs in Kentucky to continuing education goals to marrying a great guy. But most of all, I'm impressed with the company she keeps. All of her friends are super easy to get along with. I'm not the most social or outgoing guy, but I never worried around her friends. I had only just met a couple of the groomsmen for the first time the day before! But I'm pretty sure one of them and I were jokingly grinding on the dance floor at one point, so... That should tell you something.

I think that being a groomsmen also put my mind in "job" mode. Typically at weddings, I'm too nervous and just sit at the table. Here though, I did kind of feel like I was a groomsman! It's part of my responsibilities to be out there and socializing! I actively tried to engage with all these people, and avoid staying put at the table for too long. You have to credit their friends and family for that.

In regards to extended family: it was a great time! It was just a lot of fun. Of course, it helps that we got them in little doses all day rather than just an entire day crammed in one house or something. Still, going out to breakfast with a bunch of my uncles and aunts as they grilled the server as to why Worcester is pronounced the way it is was both really awkward and hilarious.

Katie is great at making people feel welcome and loved. She was beautiful and radiant and wonderful. I also have to give a shout out to Emily though. She delivered one of the sweetest, most touching, and funniest speeches. It was really heartfelt. Structurally, it hit a lot of emotions, making sure to balance the overly sentimental with the comedic relief. She even killed it with some off-the-cuff remarks. It was tough to keep it together, especially when she kept pausing to collect herself.

It was just really sweet. I know it was a day for Katie, and she was great! But Emily killed it too. I could go on about how impressed I am with her too, but maybe I should save that for when she gets married.

Score: A+++

(I added a plus because I realized how weird it would be to put the people on the same level as the cupcakes... But those cupcakes were really good.)

OVERALL:

Honestly? I normally hate weddings and big to-dos, but this was just a ton of fun. It was probably the most fun I've had in a long, long time. (Not saying I've not had any fun. Just that this was the most.) It was a little weird walking away from it imagining how much more fun it might be if I were getting married and my friends were a part of it too. I kind of want my friends to experience my family, and the beautiful weirdness that is a family wedding. Seriously, it's kind of hard to explain the appeal of our uncle dressing up as Elvis for no real reason.

Anyway, this was the best wedding ever. I'm sure I was an annoying little shit in the lead up to it (I generally live my life in a way that avoids having people ask me to do stuff). But it was great. I'm happy for my sister, for both of them really (I think Emily could be a professional Maid of Honor!). And I'm happy for my parents.

My favorite moment was the last song. "All You Need is Love," by the Beatles. Everyone gathered around - without direction - and linked arms around Matt and Katie as they danced. Every time the chorus came up and the Fab Four sang the title of the track, everyone rushed in to essentially form a giant group hug type deal. It was really sweet, and it just sort of happened. It was a great way to end the reception.

Overall Score:

BEST WEDDING EVER +