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 +

Jessica Jones

Look, I still don't understand why we will never get a Black Widow movie. I still maintain they had the perfect opportunity for it too after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Think about it. We know Natalia has history with Bucky (or at least, it's implied in the film). She's also part of Cap's team working to locate him after the events of the film. Plus, she's portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, who is one of the world's biggest actresses and had already started in an action film that topped the box office. Access to an actress with known box office draw, plus a story perfectly built in with the means to both explore Black Widow's history and actual character while bringing Bucky back into the fold more fully? You literally can't get a better opportunity than that for your first big female-protagonist work.

Jessica Jones is the first relevant female-lead effort from Marvel Studios, really. (Sorry, Agent Carter isn't really relevant to the current MCU.)  She's the first superheroine to get her own thing, and she takes place in the current Marvel universe. Though she doesn't really connect much to the other events, it's still a big deal that she's in this world.

More importantly, while it might be the second show to follow a female character specifically, it's the first of any Marvel Studios work to be helmed by an actual, living, functioning woman. Yes, the talented Maurissa Tancharoen was involved in Agents of SHIELD, but she shares creator credit with Joss and Jed Whedon. Jessica Jones is run and largely written by Melissa Rosenberg.

It's this embracing of a female perspective that makes the show stand out among the rest. Marvel's Netflix stuff is clearly designed for more mature audiences. It's a means to tell more serious stories and get away from the more fun-oriented and easy-going nature of their films and basic cable shows. Tonally, Jessica Jones shares much with its predecessor, Daredevil. They utilize a similar visual style, although Daredevil is visually darker and more noir-like. And there's a level of brutality in both that can be hard to watch.

But Jessica Jones is a show written and directed by a woman, focused on a woman, and dealing with issues largely pertaining specifically to women. At its core, it's still a really solid crime noir story. The mystery unravels at a fluid pace, though it maybe takes a little longer to really pick up than Daredevil. What stands out on this work though is that while the Man Without Fear was utilized to basically just be a cool comic book adaptation (although it's arguably warning against the nasty nature of gentrification - sort of), Jessica Jones tackles larger issues.

Rape, domestic violence, and abusive relationships are the central themes of the story. Everything functions to serve this core. In pushing those elements, choosing Kilgrave as the primary villain is the perfect choice. Better known in comics as the Purple Man, Kilgrave has the ability to command people to do his bidding. If he tells you to do something, you have no choice. He can basically mind-control you. Inherently, you can see a connection between that power and, say, drugging women.

So much of Jessica's struggle is breaking away from Kilgrave's control - an obvious parallel to abusive relationships. In the real world, people often shrug it off by just saying, "If he's bad to her, why doesn't she just leave him?" Well, it's not usually mind-control, but a lot of times, it's a lot more complicated than that. Even Jessica's best friend/sort of sister Trish deals with this a bit with her quasi-boyfriend Simpson. Both women, at some point, just want to get away from this guy who's "bad to her," but they can't.

Even more is the idea that Jessica can't really go to anyone for help. She basically starts off wondering what she's supposed to do. When she finds out Kilgrave is alive and after her again, her initial instinct is to flee. Others suggest she go to the police for help, but she's stuck wondering what that's supposed to do. What, she's supposed to tell them she was raped and abused by a guy using mind-control? Obviously, no one will believe her, not unlike many real life rape victims who often risk being mercilessly scrutinized themselves should they report a rape. There are a bunch of reasons why many women don't step forward to report it. This is manifested in the show through powers.

Given that both Trish and Jessica deal with sleazy, abusive, obsessive men, it would be easy to think of "men" as the villain, but that's not true. (Although I'm sure meninist morons are boycotting it anyway.) Jessica in particular is largely able to grow and overcome with the support of people around her, and that includes the aid of Luke Cage and Malcolm. The show might feature these men who don't understand that no means no as their primary villains, but it also presents other male characters as part of the solution. By all means, the show itself highlights what absolutely never actually needs to be said: "not all men." (The reason that's always annoying is that we already know that! No one has ever accused "all men" of being a problem or of being rapists or abusive or whatever. You don't need to say it. Jessica Jones similarly doesn't go out of its way to depict caring, forgiving, and helpful men. It just does it organically because obviously not all men are the wrost. Duh!)

Outside these surprisingly mature themes, the show is refreshing in its lack of "origin story" elements. To be sure, we do get some origin to the character. Through a series of interestingly composed flashbacks, we do learn a bit more about Jessica's history. Plus, one of the big plot points left hanging by the end of the season is the one involving how she obtained her powers. We even get backstory on her past relationship with Kilgrave.

Yet it's not an origin story. It just starts. Kilgrave has already gone through a period of time controlling Jessica. Jessica has already broken free from his grasp and assumed he was dead, making an effort to rebuild her life after. She already knows who Luke Cage is. She already has powers and uses them occasionally. This is an "origin story" in the sense that it's about her learning to step up as a hero-esque character, but she's already fully in control of her powers.

Jessica herself is one of the more compelling characters in the Marvel cinematic universe. Where most characters are simply pure good, Jessica is a bit more realistic. When she finds out Kilgrave is back, she doesn't immediately strap up to go out hunting him. No, her first reaction is to pack up her stuff and get the hell out of dodge. Sure, she ultimately decides to stay and track him down, but that's not her first reaction. Regularly, she describes this trait of "caring too much" to be a weakness. She's not like all these other heroes like Daredevil or Captain America who just inherently want to do good. She's not like Spider-man in that she inherently believes her powers mean she has responsibilities.

The show also doesn't seem to be full of references to other things. Sure, there are connections or references to the Avengers or other Marvel events, but they don't spend too much time cramming them in there. They also don't waste time stuffing scenes full of Easter Eggs. Yes, you get the lawyer Hogarth - gender swapped for the show (to further the female-centric perspective), but who in the comics, worked for the Rand Corporation. And sure, one of the main secondary characters is Simpson, who - despite the first name being changed - is clearly a D-list villain from the comics.

By and large though, Jessica Jones takes minimal elements of the comic it's based off of. It mimics one of the (few) strengths of The Walking Dead. I've admittedly never understood this about something like Game of Thrones. If you are already familiar with the book, why would you just want to see them copy and paste that story on screen? And if you're not, surely you know the books are out there and you can access them. Why would you want your episodic television shows to literally just do exactly what the book does with minimal changes? Though a pretty terrible show overall, The Walking Dead wisely recognized that the big appeal of the book was in its shocking and unpredictable nature (well, that is, before it got 150 issues in and started creating its own tropes you've come to expect). So, they use some key moments as tent poles, but largely avoid simply doing whatever happened in the book. Jessica Jones does that same thing.

It's probably a good idea to talk about how great the cast is. Krysten Ritter might not physically resemble the character of the comic, but she definitely nails the character. She's that distant, hard drinking, no nonsense woman from the book. Carrie-Anne Moss does a solid job as the cold and scheming lawyer Jeri Hogarth. Eka Darville is plays a compelling Malcolm, who goes from drug addict informant for Kilgrave to brave social worker trying to help the people who have also been controlled by Kilgrave. Wil Traval is fine as Will Simpson, but I keep thinking they should have just gotten Troy Baker.

But of course, you have to talk about David Tennant as Kilgrave, and Kilgrave as a villain overall. Funny thing is that Tennant sounds like one of the sweetest, nicest guys in the business. There's a reason he's been honored with a lot of awards in British television. He's great. Here, he plays a slimy, manipulative, heartless bastard that you just hate. It's natural to compare his villain to that of Wilson Fisk from Daredevil. It's a little unfair because they're different shows with different agendas, but it's hard to argue that Kilgrave isn't near the top of best Marvel villains so far (granted, not a tough feat to accomplish, really).

The thing I found most interesting about Kilgrave is that he isn't just a guy who knows he's powerful and doesn't care to abuse it. Sure, he doesn't care that he abuses it, but he's manipulative in other ways too. He's clearly an intelligent guy. It was always neat seeing that he doesn't always have to use his power to control you. He controls Malcolm by turning him into a drug addict and then promising drugs in return for snapshots of Jessica. And he twists his tongue and words a lot to avoid responsibility and culpability. For example, when Jessica calls him out for making her murder someone, he casually points out that he just told her to, "Take care of her." He notes that he never said anything about killing anyone.

He does this a lot. To the end, he denies having ever murdered anyone, even though he's told people to do things like jump off a building or kill themselves. He didn't kill them, he insists. They did. Even when you get his backstory and start to feel weirdly bad for him, it turns out later that most of what he said was a lie, or rather, an incomplete version of the story. Kilgrave is able to manipulate the audience just as badly as he can twist others. Kingpin was interesting in the way that he wasn't a pure bad guy and that, even though he did horrible things, you could at least see what he is trying to do, and what he's going for ultimately isn't "evil." Kilgrave is interesting in the way that he plays with words and how he often comes off as something of an immature child - which makes sense given he never really had a normal childhood, so he kind of is stuck in this juvenile mental state.

Even the reveal that he's obsessed with Jessica because he's in love with her is smart. Look, I can't blame anyone for finding that motivation to be cheesy and oversimplified, but it really fits the character and matches the function of the narrative. If Kilgrave is stuck in a rather childish mental state, then it makes sense that he would become obsessive over this woman. Plus, it totally fits in with the greater themes of the show. It would have clashed more if the show had been all about rape and abusive relationships, then have the main villain simply trying to control Jessica because he knows about her powers. Sure, domestic violence and rape is often about exerting power. It's not usually about expanding it. It might not be as complex a motive as Kingpin's was in Daredevil, but it fits perfectly with the themes and tone of Jessica Jones. 

Things aren't perfect, of course. I found that powers are sort of ambiguous. Jessica can hold a speeding car in place by holding it, or punch through brick walls, but she gets knocked out pretty easily. This has been a common point of contention. I agree it's kind of unclear - although that also matches the books - but I don't necessarily find those two points that unusual. If super strength comes from actively flexing your muscle, then it stands to reason that does not inherently translate to super durability. It's kind of like how competitors in the World's Strongest Man competitions can pull tractor trailer trucks with their legs, but they can get knocked out if you slam a plank into their head. You can't exactly flex your head muscles to absorb the impact.

However, I did find Kilgrave's powers a little unclear. They try to explain how it works by saying he emits some sort of virus that gets in your brain when you're nearby, which allows him to dictate what you do on command. But, that's kind of a strange explanation that doesn't really make sense, even with comic book logic. The rules of how it works aren't particularly consistent either. Sometimes, the powers only work when he issues a command. Suggestions and questions and casual statements sometimes don't result in the controlled person doing what he says. So sometimes it's implied that Kilgrave's inflection is the cause of the power. Sometimes it's implied that it's simply the words that hold the power.

The whole virus thing is strange too because they go back and forth on whether he needs to be actually nearby for it to work. He definitely needs to be near you to get the initial order into your brain, but then it seems like the virus is just there and he can go wherever the hell he wants and his powers are still in effect. This is evident when Hope kills her parents, or Simpsons tries to kill Trish. They never specifically state that Kilgrave was actually in those buildings at the time of these attacks, which implies that once the order or virus is in your brain, you can't stop until you do it. Yet the conclusion is to kill Kilgrave, and somehow that breaks the spell on everyone he's controlling. But...why would the virus stop affecting them? If Kilgrave doesn't need to be near people for it to work, why would killing him change anything?

Additionally, Jessica's powers look a little goofy on screen. The action gets better by the end, but it is a lot choppier and less fluid. A lot have compared it to Daredevil's action, but that's unfair. Matt Murdoch had ninja and boxing training. He is a trained martial artist. Jessica Jones is not. She's relied purely on her powers for fighting. She hasn't been trained, so it's only reasonable that her fighting style is almost jarringly undisciplined and unpredictable. The problem comes with when she uses powers though. The way she leaps, or lifts heavy objects, or throws people around looks like low budget television sometimes.

The show concludes with one of the most unpredictable finales. Left feeling like there were no alternatives, Jessica straight up snaps Kilgrave's neck to kill him, a la Man of Steel. The main difference is that A) Jessica Jones wasn't presented as having the power to save everyone and B) she's not flipping Superman and doesn't hold the same strict moral principles! Many have commented on this by saying there was really no other way for it to go. Kilgrave was presented as too powerful, and how else would Jessica have resolved it? I disagree with the idea that there were no alternatives. Surely, the writers could have figured out a way around this and presented other options. Jessica was even pretty close at containing him throughout the show. What I appreciate about this ending is that it really did feel like there were no other options. It felt like Kilgrave was too powerful. Though I disagree with people who've said this, it does suggest that the audience felt similar to Jessica.

Either way, it's a sharp contrast to what we see in the movies, where the good guys don't kill. (Well, they do, actually. Kind of a lot. But it's never presented as obvious killing. Even Tony Stark killing Obadiah Stane in Iron Man doesn't feel like Stark straight up murdered that guy, even though he basically did.)

The show ends as it begins: with a shocking scene in context of Marvel products. When Jessica Jones: Alias kicked off Marvel's Max imprint, the first panel featured Jessica screaming, "Fuck!" in giant, bold letters. Uncensored. This was huge! Marvel was producing a book that had uncensored F-bombs! We had never seen anything like this before! This established right away that this was not an all ages book. This was going to be different.

Jessica Jones begins similarly, only instead of the F-bomb, we get a sex scene. Quick: count on your fingers how many sex scenes you've seen in a Marvel movie? Trick question. There are none. There's actually a fair amount of sex scenes in the show. Again, this is how it opens, letting everyone know right away that this isn't your Captain America or Iron Man movie. The show ends similarly, with Jessica straight up killing Kilgrave, further cementing that this isn't like your typical Marvel movie.


Overall, while not perfect, Jessica Jones stands out from the rest of the pack, including Daredevil. I think I might have liked Daredevil a tad more, Jessica Jones seemed substantially more ambitious thematically, and that is what I appreciated the most. It took a little while for me to be fully "hooked" to the point of marathoning the rest, but it might be more consistent overall. It features a better conclusion that its predecessor, at least.

I'm really excited to see more from Marvel's Netflix stuff, and it will be awesome to see Jessica and Luke continue to grow their relationship.

The Last of Us: The Quarantine Zone Part 1: Robert and the Real Tutorial

Given that there's a twenty year gap between the events of the prologue and the main story, there's a lot of stuff that happens. Rather than spending too much time really delving into it through many exposition dumps and drawn out cutsenes, much of the pertinent information is thrown in during the opening credits. Through a series of news reports, we find out the basics of the world we're about to inhabit. A fungal infection has spread at a rapid rate, turning its hosts into mindless zombies, essentially. We also get some political history, with the news also reporting on government and military responses, as well as the emergence of the Fireflies, a group of people who feel the government has been brutal in the name of "safety."

That's it. That's all we get. We don't find out much more in detail because it doesn't really matter. All we need to know is the world we find ourselves in. There will be nuggets of backstory throughout the game, but a big chunk of what makes Joel and the world so intriguing is that it retains some sense of mystery. We don't know what Joel has been through, but we can form some idea. It's a perfect example of how sometimes, less is more in fiction.

Now controlling Joel, whose introduction here is not too different than Sarah's (wakes up, gets out of bed, and stumbles around for a moment), we're given our introductory mission. Long story short, we have to track down this guy Robert. Again, the level eases us into things, giving us a low-stakes means to get a grasp on the movement and camera controls. Walking and looking around the Boston quarantine zone gives us more of an idea as to what has been happening in the past twenty years. This itself informs the player that taking the time to explore these environments will yield narrative results. This section also introduces us to optional conversations. 

There are conversations you overhear just exploring, but this section also introduces us to our first optional interactive one, also reminding us that the triangle button is our key to interacting with the world around us.

This section in the quarantine zone is a more full tutorial section, introducing more complex gameplay elements, including combat, stealth, listening, and using items. As such, it makes sense that the player is not "in charge" from a narrative perspective. Just like the prologue, Joel is following. This time, he's following his (probably) girlfriend Tess, who is quickly established as a tough chick who can hold her own. She's the leader here. You're just following her. This allows for a tutorial that might be a tad clunky to blend in with the narrative side of things. While the text prompts are a bit disruptive to the gameplay, at least the tutorial bits don't clash jarringly with the story, maximizing the immersion.

When you go through the tunnels, preparing to go outside the QZ, the game also establishes another reality: supplies will be limited. As Joel picks up his backpack and checks his firearm, he makes a comment about how there is not a lot of ammo left, which causes Tess to suggest he make his shots count. Though just a passing, slightly humorous line, it informs the player what time of game this is going to be. Not a straight up survival horror, it does lift elements from it. Limiting supplies, especially ammunition, goes a long way to increasing tension and suspense in the player as they progress through levels. 

Right after that, they introduce another reality: cooperation. To advance, Joel must give Tess a boost, then wait for Tess to help him up too. It's a cooperative game from start to finish, but your partner is going to be an AI. The player has no say here, which has its pros and cons. Really, this moment just establishes that you are always going to be working in tandem with another character.

A good chunk of this early section highlights one of the more interesting and compelling elements of the game. While the action and stealth moments are typically the "fun" part, and the most traditional game moments, they are careful to always provide some lulls. This is critical in keeping dynamic pacing, as well as allowing the players to breath. The designers clearly recognize the value in being able to stop and smell the roses, and that's exactly what they do throughout. 

The first house you enter after finding the later throws in a few resources and artifacts to collect. The maps are expertly crafted, always careful to be open enough that it encourages looking around, but small enough that you won't get lost or distracted from your destination. This isn't an open world game, and it's focus is on the characters and story, so it needs to be careful and find that balance. Including a few side rooms in the first house is an example of that. Nothing too crazy; just a couple of rooms. Yet it encourages the player to take a look rather than just moving straight to the next waypoint.

Worth noting the rapport between Joel and Tess. Given how cold he comes off to strangers, it seems a bit unusual to see him joking around with Tess. This sets up that Joel is cautious, but if you can get close to him, he's just a normal person. He'll defend you and joke with you and even do what you tell him to do. He's cooperative and friendly, but it's primarily because the two clearly have a relationship.

Being this section is also the real tutorial, they make it a point to present scenarios that force you to use other controls. For example, you have to move a couple of objects (reminding you that you can interact with some things), you'll have to crouch, then shimmy to advance. Once they put the finishing touches on the slightly more complex movements, they introduce combat. 

Your first encounter with infected in terms of gameplay teaches you how to hone your listening (which helps keep track of them when you can't see them), then teaches you how to sneak up. This section is specifically telling the player about the value of stealth and caution. The first infected is set up so that he is easy to take down quietly. The other two infected are there to offer a fight should you get careless and create a lot of noise. The map is also a bit disorienting, and if you're not careful, you can draw their attention and find yourself in a fistfight with infected.  After that, you're once again treated to a lull, giving you a chance to breathe.

We also get our introduction to planks. Every once in a while, The Last of Us tries to pull off some puzzles, but largely they just require moving a plank. The puzzles in the game are not terribly exciting. In fact, they often come off as a waste of time. This is one of the elements that can sometimes break immersion by standing out as more "gamey" elements. 

It can't be understated the value in dialogue that occurs in gameplay. Tess and Joel talk to each other, and to others around them, but the game doesn't get interrupted to do so. They walk and talk, allowing you to continue to look around and actually play the game while the game fills in some character and story elements at the same time. Cutsenes are used to hammer home emotional moments or for to enhance subtlety of character or story beats. The designers recognize they have to walk a fine line between keeping control in the player's hands while also being able to deliver critical story moments. By and large, they're successful at finding this balance.

The next bit of action runs opposite to the infected. Now, you're fighting Robert's men, where the game forces you into a shootout. Where the first bit was supposed to emphasis the value of stealth, this first encounter with Robert's men emphasizes shootouts and fighting. Though many sections of the game allow for one style or the other, leaving it up to the player, there will be moments throughout where you have to take up one style. There will be shootouts and action-oriented moments, just as there will be sections where you're vastly outnumbered and staying hidden is key. This brief introduction is a little sloppy though. For starters, Tess tells you to try and flank them using cover, but it's not uncommon for the AI to follow you. If Tess follows you, it defeats the point of the flanking maneuver. Instead of having Tess keep their focus while you wrap around, it sometimes winds up simply drawing their attention somewhere else.  As a result, it can cause skepticism in the dependability of your AI team mate. 

After though, the game throws you in full. You've learned the value of sneaking. You've learned how to handle yourself in a firefight. Now, they present you with player's choice. Dealing with more of Robert's crew, they provide you with a large map and a variety of ways to approach it. In my view, it more encourages stealth, especially the first bit where they teach you about throwing bottles and bricks as distractions. It's worth taking that analysis with a grain of salt because I prefer stealth-based games in the first place. Any time I'm given an option of stealth, I try to take it, so as a player, I'm more naturally inclined to go that route either way.

One of my favorite moments here involves hiding behind a crate with Tess as two thugs pass. One of them is talking about how you guys are on your way, warning the rest of the men to be careful. He makes a comment about Tess took out two men. If you're paying attention, you can see Tess look at Joel and give a little shrug. It's great! It's that kind of subtlety that gets accomplished in those brief moments where they take away player control. (You can't move at that point, though you can look around with the camera, so be careful not to miss it!)

The docks encourage stealth, but make it open enough that it's actually pretty challenging to take everyone out quietly. Odds are, you'll have to learn to adjust your strategy on the fly and recover from costly mistakes. This segment is great at presenting the fact that it's ultimately your choice on how you want to play through most levels. Certainly, it's one of the strengths of the game, and this section also demonstrates how carefully and intelligently created the maps are. Big and open with enough cover, all of this provides the player with options. 

This section concludes when you find Robert, to which Tess ruthlessly kills him. Turns out, he's taken the guns he owes you and sold them to the Fireflies. Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, presents a deal. Run a mission for her, and you get your guns. It's a classic tit for tat device found in almost every single video game ever. This is where the game truly begins. 

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

You ever rent a movie that you've never heard of before and it looks kind of odd, then within the first ten minutes you're online buying it?  There have been a few of those for me, but none more immediate than The Good, The Bad, The Weird. It's a Korean western that takes place in 1940s Manchuria in the middle of the Japanese occupation. It's filled with awesome action scenes, but it's also an incredibly well acted movie with three very memorable characters.

First of all, I can't speak highly enough of Kang-ho Song. Here, he plays "the Weird," Yoon Tae-goo, a train robber who is more bumbling and less smooth in action sequences than his counterparts. The guy is comedy gold, and not with over the top comedy bits. It's a unique, subtle kind of action comedy. It's almost shades of Jackie Chan - only more with gunplay instead of martial arts. But, Tae-goo has a bit of a dark history. Turns out, he's not as simple and likable as we originally thought (it's not necessarily a huge plot changing reveal, but I won't spoil it either way).

Then, there's Woo-Sung Jung's role of "the Good." Park Do-won is a bounty hunter chasing down the notorious Finger Chopper. Do-won isn't so much "good" as much as he is "not bad." He spends most of the movie paired up with Tae-goo. The way that he deals with Tae-goo is really amusing, and again, it's a more subtle style. When a tied up Tae-goo manages to escape Do-won's shack only to stumble onto Do-won and his family, he lies to say that the hook he was tied to just came out. Do-won, obviously knowing what really happened, casually just responds with, "Ok." It's subtle, but amusing. That's how he plays the character throughout the entire movie. Of course, he's also cool for the most awesome (and least efficient) way to reload a rifle.

Though Tae-goo is my favorite character, the real gem of this flick is in Byung-hung Lee's villain, Park Chang-yi. This guy is an awesome villain. Chang-yi is kind of an evil rock star. He looks like he comes straight from a K-Pop boy band with the hair swept over one eye, but he's got scars on his face and kills for the smallest of reasons. He is a trained assassin and is highly skilled. In one of the most over the top (but totally awesome) sequences, he wakes up to find a centipede crawling up the far wall. He throws his knife to kill it, impaling the bug. Then, just to prove a point, he pulls out his pistol and fires three shots at the knife to hammer it in deeper. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about him.

The movie begins with an incredible train robbing sequence. After the initial sequence, which is such a high point, it's easy to imagine that there's nowhere to go from here but down. Well, you'd be wrong in this case! Director Jee-woon Kim is careful to include breathing points: you don't want to tire out the audience too much. Yet he also makes sure there's plenty of action. The train robbing scene is great, but let's not forget the incredible battle in that town - which, man, what an awesome set. And, of course, it features the largest, craziest, most awesome chase sequence at the end ever (that is, until Mad Max: Fury Road came out)!

It all comes down to a Mexican stand off among Tae-goo, Do-won, and Chang-yi. It's another kind of over the top sequence, but it kind of feels like a loving nod to the Western genre (which a lot of the movie is, but with the unique Korean flare). I won't spoil it, but it's definitely a cool scene.

In the end, the treasure gold or diamonds. It wound up being a hot spot for oil. After the Mexican standoff, the geyser erupts to show us all the oil that was there. Suddenly, we realize why that map was so valuable. The Bank (who hired Chang-yi to steal it) wanted it because they knew how valuable oil was from a long term financial perspective. The Japanese Army wanted it because they knew how valuable oil was for their war effort. The Ghost Market Gang just wanted it because they could sell it for a lot of money and quick. Everyone except our main characters know why the map is valuable.  Really, it's not about the map for any of them. Tae-goo wanted the treasure initially, but Chang-yi was chasing him for revenge while Do-won was chasing them for their bounties. In that way, it is another rather subtle source of comedy that our three main characters have the smallest stake in the map.

The movie is incredibly fun and entertaining. If you like action movies (especially with a Western flare), you should definitely check this movie out. As I said, I fell in love with this movie within the first ten minutes of my first viewing. I've watched it dozens of times since and it never gets old. (This is also one of the movies that makes me feel lucky to work at a movie theater and have access to the screens after hours. I can watch this on the big screen any time!)

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013)

There doesn't seem to be a particularly large pool of comedy-driven games, but Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - published as a stand-alone expansion to Far Cry 3 - stands out as one of the best. Apart from it's retro, hyper stylized look and it's great comedy, it also is an extremely fun game to play. Largely it just takes the formula perfected by Far Cry 3, adds a bit of '80s futuristic style to it, and makes a lot of jokes. That's all it needs though.

Players control the cybernetic hero Rex "Power" Colt as he tries to save the world from further destruction after nuclear strikes laid waste just before 2007.  You are assisted by Dr. Darling as you hunt down the former war hero, Colonel Sloan. He's gone crazy and is trying to use the blood of blood dragons to infect human kind with an ailment that turns them into zombie-like creatures referred to as "the running dead." The story unfolds primarily over radio broadcasts with Dr. Darling. When particularly heavy in exposition though, they rely on retro "cutscenes." These videos are made up of SNES-like still images, giving it that old timey feel.

The world is heavily influenced by niche '80s sci-fi action films. Backgrounds are dark and subdued while things in the foreground are often comprised of neon. Everyone wears suits that have glowing bits. Actually, this might be one of the few cases wherein looking at the cover art tells you exactly what you need to know about the game.

All of this is enhanced by its synth-driven score from Powerglove. (Seriously, it's great. Download it!) Meanwhile, the game functions as a bit of a comedy, often mocking many elements commonly found in video games. For example, the tutorial is painstakingly slow and features such dumb and unnecessary directions as, "To look around, look around." If it weren't clear enough the game is making fun of unnecessary tutorials in gaming, Rex Colt spends the entire time complaining about it. He groans, just wanting to get to the game already. There are also collectibles in the game (VHS tapes too), a common trait in open world games especially. Whenever you pick it up, Rex wonders what the hell he's doing, or comments, "At least I'm not collecting flags," a reference to Assassin's Creed and its much maligned flag collecting mission.

The gameplay is fun and very much in the style of your typical Far Cry game or first person shooter in general. You'll still be liberating outposts, only leveling is a lot simpler and more streamlined - one of the other ways it feels retro. Instead of earning skill points that you assign, you just level up and acquire whatever trait is associated with that numerical level. Simple, but straight forward. It's a system typical of older, less complex games.

A nice addition to the Far Cry franchise is the idea of baiting wildlife. While this is a feature of Far Cry 4, it is not a part of Far Cry 3. Indeed, the concept makes its first appearance here, albeit in a smaller fashion. You can't just bait any wildlife to help you, but you can bait blood dragons. These creatures are huge, fast, and deadly beasts that can tear you to shreds with their jaws, or light you up with some kind of laser attack. When they're nearby, it pays to be slow and quiet. However, if there are Omega Force troops around, you can throw a Cybernetic Heart - which you rip out of dead enemies - and draw the blood dragons to them. Though you can only do this when there's a blood dragon around, it's still a lot of fun and adds a nice little element to combat. It was a great little addition, and they improve that a little bit in the following Far Cry game.

Overall, you can pretty much tell right from looking at it if it's something you'd like. Hyper stylized, retro futuristic, and funny, it's just a great, entertaining little game. It's short - the result of being a standalone DLC package rather than its own full length game - but that might be for the best. If it went too long, it may have overstayed its welcome or the joke might have worn off. As it is, that thankfully doesn't happen. But you'll probably know right off the bat if you like it with lines like:

"It's Sloan's bed time, and I'm gonna tuck him in.....under six feet of dirt."

"I'm no hero, Doc. I'm just a regular US Army Mark 4 Cyber Commando."

"Paintings of crying clowns and dogs playing poker: those are incredible. What I did? That's just the job."

"You and me are the same, Rex. We even have the same blue blood!"
"Wrong. My blood is red, white, and blue."

"I swore an oath to a special lady."
"Your...wife?"
"No. Lady Liberty. She taught me that winners...don't do drugs."

"Tell my wife that I died fighting for my country."
"You can tell her that yourself!"

And, of course, when you kill people with a shuriken:
"Sure he can't? Shuriken!"


So, yeah. Pretty fun game! Even the launch trailer was awesome!