A friend of mine is totally obsessed with the Twilight Saga, so obsessed that she bought me the first two books and told me to read. If your reading this, I wonder how you feel about being mentioned. hee-hee.
All I can say is: Vampires are HoT! hee-hee. Twilight is hot, in a seductive way, the story seduces you and keeps you reading. Edward is hot. (Yes I am aware I have used the word "hot" multiple times =P ) Alas, I'm not a fan of Bella, she is really retarded. I mean who hits herself and another person when swinging a badminton racket. You have to be pretty retarded to pull it off. *rolls eyes* But Edward more then makes up for it, he is perfect: dark, seductive, and a perfect gentleman. I still haven't finished the first book, but I only started reading two days ago. I'm hoping to finish it by tomorrow.
Strange thing is, Twilight inspired me to continue writing, something I gave up on a long time ago. I decided to pick up my Greek myth story, which I started a few years ago, and which has also had minimal work done to it; I only wrote a small paragraph for it prior to picking it up again. Now I have added in a little teaser before that said paragraph to build up the suspense. I have decided to share it, so I'm just wondering what some of you think (but I doubt I will get a response, since I have yet to receive a comment....)
"This is a story, a very old story, told by an ancient people; they professed that it was from the gods. This is a story, a very old story, one that was never given true light. But now, it begins to unwind as it utters quietly to you in the deep darkness of the night. Close thy eyes and listen to the faint murmurs in the night, as they echo across time:"
The rest is followed by a summarized retelling of the creation myth, well Hesiod's version at least, because it is the most detailed and fits well with what the story eventually builds into. I'm not going to say much about it. But, I do have a clear image of where it is going and the ending, however, the majority of the story is still up in the air. I do know what the first two chapters will cover through. The first is the summarized creation myth and the second is the birth of Ares, god of war. As far as I know, my version is different. I don't think there is even a myth involving the birth of Ares, but I haven't done extensive enough research to claim so.
What I am hoping to convey, beyond the themes, is a poetic flow, that is reminiscent of the Greek poems, but I don't know if I will be able to pull it off ^^;;; Oh and the working title is "Tales of Old". haha. I am open to suggestions though. Remember, it's a revised take on greek myths ;)
p.s: please dear friend, if you read this, don't laugh (but I know you will ^^)
Basic Information: Platform: Nintendo DS Genre: Adventure Difficulty: Fair Developer: Cing Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: Jan. 2007 Rating: T for Teen Retail Price: $ 29.99 US ($ 34.99 CAN)
What it's About: You play as Kyle Hyde, an ex-officer turned salesman, who still seeks closure to the events that happened prior to the beginning of the game involving his old partner Bradley. When Hyde arrives at Hotel Dusk, he meets a young mute girl, who wears the same bracelet as his partner, and it seems that she isn't the only unusual thing or person within the hotel with some strange connection to Bradley. Now it's up to you to guide Hyde as he unravels the mysteries in one long night at the hotel and finally reveals the truth behind Bradley's betrayal.
Gameplay:A mixture of unique and traditional sums up the basic feel of Hotel Dusk's gameplay. Being an adventure game, Hotel Dusk keeps the traditional aspects of the genre in tact, yet it places them in a unique perspective through the use of the DS and it's two screens. You hold your DS like a book, and both screens show you, your current environment, but each screens shows a different perspective. The touch screen gives you a very visually basic view of the layout of the room you are currently inside, while the other screen shows you a nice 3D rendition of the room as Hyde would see it, if he were looking at it. These two perspectives work very well, because the player is able to experience Hotel Dusk as if they were really looking at it, while the second screen allows the player to view the layout of the whole room without having to move around too much (and solves the often problematic issue of camera zoom and rotation on the DS).
Another interesting facet of Hotel Dusk is the story book approach to the gameplay, not only is this appropriate for this genre, but it also distinguishes Hotel Dusk from the other adventure games on the DS. And unlike Cing's other adventure game (also on the DS), Hotel Dusk packs enough play time to satisfy most of us; with more puzzles and characters, the game could take any where from 15 to 30 hours to complete, depending on how fast you are and if you decide to partake in the additional side quest. Sure, it doesn't hit the typical 40ish hour mark for DS games, but for an adventure game, it's pretty long. Hotel Dusk also doesn't try to be cryptic about your next step, or make a puzzle impossible in order to prolong its length. Everything is crystal clear and the majority of the time, you will have a clear idea of what to do next or who to talk to. Even if you are not too sure, you will have enough information to know where to go more or less, and in the rare occasion that you have no idea; the hotel isn't too large and the game marks interactable object very well ( if you can interact with an object, the magnifying glass button will flash), so you won't be tapping aimlessly, hoping to trigger something. The puzzles range from very simple to thoughtful, but are never so difficult that you have to consult a walkthrough. Overall, the game has a very fair difficulty rating, and its gameplay is very intuitive and won't leave you frustrated.
Story & Characters: Being an adventure game, the story, and to a certain extent even the characters, are its lifeline. If an adventure game has a boring or uninspired story, and/or annoying and horrible characters, the game won't be enjoyable. Thankfully, Hotel Dusk has a very well written story, and interesting and varied characters. The plot of the game will keep you guessing, and until the final moments of the game, you won't be sure of all the connections between the characters (well at least I wasn't ^^) The characters are also varied and have interesting stories that all connect somehow (even if indirectly) to Bradley and what happened to him. Hotel Dusk did what every good adventure game does, it kept me addicted to the story, so much so, that I wanted to solve all the mysteries that tied the characters together, learn what happened in the past, and discover what lies in store for the main characters. And I wasn't disappointed, the ending was very nice, and even brought a tear to my eye.
As a side note, Hyde is an interesting character, and I liked his hard-boiled cop attitude, cliche through it was. Mila, starts out rather cliche too, but I found myself more sympathetic towards her as the game progressed. And Louie always put a smile on my face. The unique setting, California- 1979, also distinguishes Hotel Dusk from other adventure games.
Art & Graphics Both the art and the graphics fit very well with the story and approach of the game. The character portraits, in particular, fit the story book feel of the game. The character portraits, seen to the left, are monochromatic sketches that come to life within the game; as a character talks, they move and show emotion based on the topic of discussion. It fits very well, and makes Hotel Dusk seem more like a novel then a game.
The 3D rendition of what Hyde sees on the left screen is not the best 3D to date on the DS and it does have a slight fuzziness to it, but it is still done rather nicely and only adds to the game's experience. This is mainly due to the fact that the left screen sole purpose is a cosmetic one, it is rarely involved in the actual gameplay, and hence there are no camera issue, or clarity issues. You don't even have to look at the left screen if you so choose, but I wouldn't recommend it, since the left screen brings the hotel to life, and enriches your game experience.
The right screen is very bare when compared to the left screen during the exploration sessions. It shows the layout of the room Hyde is currently in, and does it at the bare minimum. It basically looks like a rough drawing of the floor plan, and although it pales in comparison to the 3D depictions on the left screen, it is charming in its own way. Although graphically, it isn't spectacular, the right screen is very practical; it makes the gameplay less frustrating and more intuitive, and for these reasons, it's lack of graphical 'umph', are easily forgivable.
There is one thing that I don't like through, the box art, it's pretty ugly, especially when you compare it to the Japanese box art. Mila looks like a ghost and Hyde like the typical emo hero found in a few RPGs. Thankfully the box art is deceptive, and the game is a lot better then the front cover makes it out to be. As the popular expression goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover". But, seriously, why oh why, could they not have used the simpler and better Japanese cover. A mystery that I will never understand!
Music & Sound Hotel Dusk has a varied array of musical tracks, some are mediocre, but most are very nice and memorable. You might even find yourself listening to them on the game's jukebox, or maybe even online. Some that I enjoyed included: Midnight, The Long Night, Violet Sky, Rainy Night, Silent Moon, On the Rocks, and Amber Sunset. The game's music fits the setting very well; the majority of the tunes sound like they are from a 5 cent jukebox, and I mean this as a compliment. Sure the tunes aren't orchestral and majestic, but they fit the setting of the game very well, and that is what most musical scores in games attempt to do (and should do). The sound is also good, although the game doesn't have too many sound effects, but the ones that it does have, are well done. Below is a sample of "Rainy Night", one of my favourite tracks from the game =)
Multiplayer: Hotel Dusk does not support any multiplayer modes, which is not surprising, since it is an adventure game.
My Thoughts & Recommendations If your curious about the adventure genre, and want to give it a try, Hotel Dusk would be one of the best games to start out with. It has the incredible story-telling that this genre is known for, without some of its less appealing aspects (most notably the clicking-or touching in this case- of everything in sight in an attempt to trigger the story along). Just remember, Hotel Dusk has a lot of dialogue, in fact, the majority of the game involves talking to different guests at the hotel, in order to squeeze some information out of them. If you happen to be someone who abhors lengthy dialogue, then adventure gaming is probably not the genre for you. If you are just not fond of it, then Hotel Dusk might still be worth your time, as long as you can enjoy a good detective story. As for myself, I quite enjoy lengthy dialogue, so Hotel Dusk was one pleasant ride. Other then the genre's quirks, there is nothing in Hotel Dusk that can ruin the experience for you. Both the music and presentation are done well, and the gameplay is simple and easy to grasp. Just a small warning, this game might be a little challenging for young children, so I don't recommend buying it for the little ones (not that you should in the first place, since the game has a T rating ;] ) Not only does the game ask for a higher level of concentration and information retention, it also has a few challenging (but not impossible) puzzles that children will not be able to appreciate. If you happen to have a younger child or sibling, I recommend waiting a while before introducing them to the adventure genre, unless you are willing to hold their hand and help them with the more difficult puzzles and reminding them of all the story details (chapter endings have quizzes that ask questions about the plot and characters, so you need to pay attention). But even then, Hotel Dusk really isn't a story for the younger ones, and I would recommend Cing's other adventure game, Trace Memory, which is a bit easier and a lot shorter, for younger children, if you really wish to introduce them to this genre. It's the better option, because it does not ask for as much from the player as Hotel Dusk does, but that does not mean Trace Memory is easy, it has its fill of challenging puzzles. It is just shorter and doesn't have a large cast, so it does not require the same degree of retention as Hotel Dusk.
With all that said, I wholeheartedly recommend Hotel Dusk: Room 215 to any DS owner, especially since the resurrection of adventure gaming has only been made possible by the DS. As for us females, Dusk isn't particularly aimed at us, but as long as your a girl or woman who doesn't mind lengthy dialogue, and can enjoy a traditional and well written detective story, then I also recommend Hotel Dusk to you. The exclusion of a playable female character is acceptable here, since adventure games are like stories and each story can only have a single protagonist, in this case, it happens to be a man named Kyle Hyde. What is rather irritating through, are the games where a playable female character could have been added, but wasn't.
An enjoyable new series that I got into through the anime. I will try to make the summary as short as possible, since I have an issue with keeping my summaries short. ^^;;
Summary
Gakuen Alice stars the perky and spunky Mikan Sakura, who runs away to Tokyo when her best friend, Hotaru does not keep up with her correspondence. Hotaru, who was always a bit strange, had been scouted by Alice Academy, a school for elite geniuses, but as she leaves, she promises to write and visit Mikan. However, after 6 months and only a single postcard, Mikan believes her best friend has all but forgotten her, that is until she hears a conversation between Hotaru's mother and the principle of her school. It turns out Gakuen Alice (translated as Alice Academy) isn't what it seems, and Hotaru has a difficult time contacting those outside the school. Mikan is now determined to find this school and talk to Hotaru no matter what.
So she leaves a note for her grandfather and boards a train to Tokyo, and eventually makes it to the school, only to be turned away. Unluckily for her, two men see her trying to get in and convince her that their cram school will get her in (this is of course a scam). A very flamboyant passerby comes to her rescue, and introduces himself as Narumi, a teacher at Gakuen Alice. Mikan's unique reaction to his Alice sparks his interest, and he invites the young girl to come to Gakuen Alice. But before they can make their way to the school, the wall beside them explodes and a boy wearing a black cat mask comes forth. Narumi tells Mikan that this is a high level alice genius, Natsume Hyuga, and his alice is fire. After a small skirmish, Narumi takes the unconscious Natsume and leads Mikan into the bizarre school. Once inside, he leaves Mikan with Natsume, in order to report her entrance into the academy. Another teacher comes in later, and Mikan asks him about Narumi and the treatment that Natsume received. The teacher reassures her that Narumi is a good person and he only did that to protect Natsume from an even more severe punishment. As he runs off on an emergency, he tells Mikan to push the big button in case Natsume wakes up. Mikan checks to see if Natsume is awake, but it appears he is asleep, and when she lets her guard down, the boy pulls on her hair and begins to threaten her. Meanwhile, the teacher who left Mikan notices a giant eagle flying in the direction of Natsume, and quickly begins to run back. This eagle carries another boy who comes to Natsume's rescue. When the teachers arrive, he and Natsume head out, but not before Natsume devastates Mikan by showing off her panties and calling her "polka-dot panties". How he managed to pull them off is another mystery....
Narumi calms the crying Mikan by showing her, her new school uniform. However, Mikan has not yet been accepted into the school, she must pass a little test first; that test is to make friends with everyone in her class within a week. Mikan is overjoyed because it sounds easy, but when she sees the class, she realizes just how hard it really will be. And to make matters worse, Hotaru tells Mikan to pretend they don't know each other inside the class room.
After Mikan sees Natsume and calls him a pervert and molester, the whole class turn against her and she is subjected their bullying. But she doesn't give in and even tells the other children that the only thing alices are superior in, is being stuck up. This really angers the kids, and one of the boys even starts a physical fight with Mikan. She is saved however, by Hotaru, who tells Mikan that she just ruined her chances for the "Best Student Award", an award that would allow her to see her parents. Natsume also proposes a challenge to Mikan: to make it through the Northern Woods, and if she does, he will accept her as an alice. Mikan accepts and he allows her to bring her friends if she wants. Hotaru and Yuu (often called "Prez", since he is the class president) both join Mikan on her trek through the northern woods. Here, Mikan gets her first taste of the many unusual things within Gakuen Alice. First she meets a very violent Teddy Bear, called Mr.Bear, and is only able to pass by him with the help of Hotaru. Next the group comes up against a giant mutant chick, and they realize that to make it through the woods, they will need the help of Luca and his animal pheromone alice. Yuu, or Prez, uses his illusion alice to lure Luca into the northern woods and both Mikan and Hotaru convince him to calm the chick down using his alice. Luca agrees, but only if the other three don't watch him using his alice. At first they are not sure why, but after seeing Luca and the chick frolic about, they realize why he does not want others watching him use his alice. Mikan tells Luca that he shouldn't pretend to be so cold, when he really is a nice person. Luca, on the other hand, can't let himself be the only happy one while Natsume suffers alone.
Meanwhile, Natsume is told by one of his scouts that Mikan's group has taken Luca prisoner. Natsume, furious, makes his way to the northern woods, where he tells Mikan, she has failed and gets very violent. When Mikan tells him that she doesn't know what her alice is, he doesn't believe her and encloses both Hotaru and Prez in a circle of flames. Mikan gets very angry and rams into Natsume producing a bright light that dispels the flames. Narumi-sensei comes running in and uses his pheromone to knock Natsume out. He then proceeds to congratulate Mikan on her wonderful alice and her official enrollment into Gakuen Alice. It seems Mikan has the Negation Alice, which negates any alice that tries to harm her. Since it is immature, it doesn't always work (like when she was being bullied in the classroom by the other children's alices), nor can it protect anyone other then her.
My Thoughts
I first heard about Gakuen Alice last summer, and decided to watch the anime, and lucky for me, Tokyopop decided to bring over the manga to North America not too long ago. I was happy to see that they left the original title in tact, as well as the majority of the Japanese honorifics. The only thing I was mildly irritated by was the use of Prez instead of Iincho, but since Iincho more or less means prez, it isn't too much of an annoyance. It is only strange for me, since I watched the Japanese anime prior to reading the english manga, and I am used to hearing Yuu called Iincho.
Gakuen alice is also one of Tokyopop's better translations, but there still are a few problems. One of the later word bubbles does not make sense (it seems to be Narumi speaking, but the word bubble says "What...Narumi?"). Since it isn't a vital bit of dialogue, I will be nice and forgive Tokyopop. =P Also, for those of you who have watched the subbed anime, and haven't yet read the English manga, be forewarned, Tokyopop translated Ruka as Luca. This is acceptable however, since the R-L sound in Japaneses can be translated as either, an R or an L in English, and the change of the K to a C is a mere cosmetic one, as both letters produce the same sound.
On the topic of manga and anime distinctions, the manga moves at a quicker pace, mostly due to the fact that the anime added in more dialogue and scenes that were never present in the manga. Since these scenes aren't really vital to the plot, they are not missed by me, and actually, I'm quite happy to see them go, since they slowed down the otherwise good pacing of the anime and made me feel like a bunch of filler was placed into the anime. Also, Hotaru is portrayed as more money grubbing and heartless in the anime. In the manga, when Mikan has to go to the northern woods, Hotaru, at first relutant, does indeed tag along. In the anime however, Iincho (aka Prez, or Yuu) has to bribe her. Furthermore, in the anime, Hotaru's alice is a bit overpowered; it seems as if she can invent anything she wants without limit, in the manga however, Iincho/Prez/Yuu explains to Mikan that Hotaru's alice is still unstable (aka immature) and she can only make things that she is interested in, and these are usually things which are intended for mischief or being lazy. Another noticeable difference is in the first scene that Mikan and Natsume interact. In the anime, Mikan's skirt falls off while she runs to Narumi, while in the manga, Natsume pulls off her underwear. Yup, he is a lot meaner to her in the manga; pulling off panties is a no-no! And it looks like Luca/Ruka saw something too *_____*
Gakuen Alice also reminds me of Cardcaptor Sakura a lot, which is a good thing. That's not to say Gakuen is a clone of CCS, rather both stories have a similar premise and similar leads. Both are magical girl stories (but Gakuen is more of a school drama through), and both have innocent and sweet, but also spunky leading girls who are in elementary school. The main male leads are also similar, both are, at first, mean to the leading female character (although, Natsume is a lot meaner then Syaoran ever was), but eventually fall for the heroine. There are even implied romantic feelings between the heroine and her best friend in both stories. But as I've said before, Gakuen is not a CCS clone, both stories go in different directions and both have different issues they deal with. Gakuen focuses on the academy and isn't about finding any magical items. Furthermore, magical powers are more common in Gakuen, where the whole school is filled with people possessing alices, while in CCS, only a select few have special powers. In Gakuen, the less innocent themes focus on the issue of the academy and how it is corrupt, while in CCS, the focus is on unconventional relationships. These two only share a similar premise; both are distinct enough to be enjoyed together, without the reader feeling as if they have already read the other one before.
As for the cover, I think Tokyopop could have been a little more creative. Sure, it is better then the Japanese cover, but that doesn't mean Tokyopop should be lazy and settle for a plan cover. Ok, ok, I am nit picking here, the cover really is fine, it's just not one of the better covers out there. Gakuen also has chapter covers, all of them were lovely. I especially liked one and two. hee hee.
In closing, I am really looking forward to the second volume of Gakuen Alice. If the anime is anything to go by, this manga will definitely become a favourite of mine.
Added Yet Another Game to my Extensive DS Collection I caved in; I bought another game recently, but it's not FFIV. Instead I got Apollo Justice, an adventure game that I've been meaning to pick up. I was a little worried that I wouldn't enjoy the game as much as the Phoenix Wright trilogy, but the game has so many mysteries surrounding Phoenix that it's compelling me to play just as much as its predecessors did before it.
Phoenix is also a prominent character in this game, as far as I have played (I'm on the second case). Although he isn't a attorney anymore, the biggest mysteries of the game surrounds him, and he acts as a mentor to the younger Apollo. I also like Phoenix's more relaxed and cryptic personality in this game. For anyone who liked the younger Phoenix, not to worry, Apollo is an almost identical version of a younger Phoenix, while Trucy is a lot like Maya. So the duo is back, just not as you expected!
The actual gameplay has remained pretty much the same, but instead of using Maya's magatama to reveal a character's secrets during the detective section of the game, Apollo comes with his own ability to perceive the nervous habits of witnesses during the court section of the game. As far as I have played, I have only used it once; it is also a pretty interesting addition. The game itself is also a lot longer, the first case, which is a tutorial, took as much time to finish as a regular case (expect without the detective section). The second case also had you playing detective even before you've met your client, while the previous games automatically set the next 'murder' case up.
There was one thing that I was disappointed in, the censorship! The first case involved a certain bottle, which was the murder weapon, and this bottle was clearly, no matter how you looked at it, a wine bottle, but Capcom stubbornly calls it grape juice!! Come on Capcom! AP deals with murder and it already has a T rating, so I doubt calling the bottle a wine bottle would effect the rating of this game *sigh*
Other then the censorship, AP is an enjoyable game so far. I am so very curious as to what happened to Phoenix and the relationships between the different characters. Just call me addicted =) Still Progressing Through FFTA2 I've made more progress through FFTA2, and my total for completed missions is now up to 150. I also had a run in with Montblanc from FFTA, which resembled very much the way Montblanc met Marche. Sadly, I haven't been given the option of recruiting him yet! But it's nice that the developers included little extras like these for fans who have played the other game(s). I wonder when I will meet up with Montblanc again.....The next story mission also involves Van and Penelo from FFXII (I can tell by the title), so I'm left wondering if I will be able to recruit them after this mission (let's hope so!!). September & the Rest of 2008 are Busy Months for RPG lovers like Me
So many games, so little time (and money T___T). Although august is a little dry for RPG (and strategy) fanatics like me, september is definitely picking up the slack with the release of Dragon Quest IV, Disgaea DS, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Black Sigil and Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise. But that doesn't mean the other months will be bare, the rest of 2008 is just as jam packed with the release of A Witch's Tale, Luminous Arc 2, Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood, Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero, Master of the Monster Lair, and Chrono Trigger DS. Now the question is where I'm going to get the money for all these awesome games.....
Edit: Time Hollow, an adventure game, has been moved down from August to September, so that's one more title for September that I have to pick up ^^;;. I also forgot to mention Away: Shuffle Dungeon, an Action RPG, coming out around October-November-ish. And Rune Factory 2, part farming simulation, part action RPG, shipping out sometime in October. There is also Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, but that would be stretching things, since it's more of a platformer with RPG elements, then an RPG. The end of 2008 just got a lot busier!!
