Drabble Geeks

Geeks…Being Total Geeks.

Tag: adventure

Going Ghost Hunting

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This is a bit early for Spoopy Month, but I was just so excited to play this game. Not only has this series been on my want-to-play list for a while, but I also got access to one of the games on the better Nintendo brother. The game is Luigi’s Mansion 3. Now, I will go back to the previous games if I ever get access to them, but for now, let’s discuss the third game.

First, let’s start by discussing how relatable Luigi is. If I found out there was a ghost haunting about, I would nope right out of there. Then, after discovering that I was trapped, I would put on my brave cap and get to work. Maybe that’s from years of watching Supernatural, but it’s my basic stance: leave and get someone clearly more qualified. Unfortunately, you are the most qualified person in the game, although the quick and simple tutorial with a cute ghost puppy wasn’t bad to refresh our anxiety-ridden memories. I will also mention that I am really sensitive to jump scares, so every little bump in the night I was not expecting got my heart racing. This isn’t supposed to be a horror game, I don’t think, but it was a horror game to me, except this time I couldn’t hide my face since I was the one at the controls. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good or had horror film or gameplay, but I will be watching from behind a pillow or between my fingers. Every level being different and having different themes kept everything from getting too samey, so I never felt too comfortable roaming around this “mansion.” I was always inching my way around everywhere.

The one thing that did get annoying was the unskippable boss cutscenes. I know I’m bad at video games, but I don’t need to see every boss’s “monologue” and amp-up four different times, as that was usually the minimum for me to truly get some of the later ones’ three-phase patterns right. There were also some boss “tells” that were hard to see on my tiny switch screen, so it did take a while for me to notice some things. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time playing, but I am aiming for an A rating now. I got a B on my first try, and that clearly is not good enough.

This may take a while.

An Entirely New World Pt 7

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I have officially done it; I have finished a series that I guess I could technically say that I’ve been reading since I was a child. That’s right, I have officially finished the Chronicles of Narnia. I honestly believe that this last book, The Last Battle, is one of the best books of this series and does not hold back with the religious allegory. If you weren’t sure before, well, you’re sure now.

Overall, I think the series is… okay. Some books are definitely more memorable than others, while some I sometimes feel were not worth my time. And because I don’t want you to waste your time, I’ll tell you the ones I think are worth it. You may disagree, but you’re allowed to. My top books of the series are the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, followed by the Magician’s Nephew and the Last Battle. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great introduction to the world and the magic that surrounds it. The Magician’s Nephew is a wonderful prologue that delves deeper into the creation of the. Finally, The Last Battle is a fantastic ending. Yes, if you are only reading those books, you are going to miss some information on some characters, but I think it’s worth it if you just want the main sense of what Narnia is. There are some interesting series of events that occur across the other books, but I think those three are “the books” to read in this series.

While I may not have enjoyed some of the plots, I loved the world development and the thoughtfulness Lewis put into everything. I had to go back through some of my religious knowledge to catch on to everything. Also, because I read the series in publication order, there were some call-backs that would make me gasp as I remembered the stuff from the previous books and put some of the pieces together. Maybe some fans will disagree with the order I have read everything in, but I definitely enjoyed my travels into this new world.

The New Charon

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a game on here, and I think it is time. I have just gotten through what I would consider my absolute favorite game for the sixth time. Spiritfarer has a lot of what I absolutely love in a game: beautiful animation, amazing story, personable characters, and a fishing minigame. (I’m not joking, I love a fishing minigame. In Spiritfarer, you follow Stella and her cat, Daffodil, who are the new spiritfarer after Charon passes through the Everdoor, where souls go to their final resting place. Yes, this game is quite literally and figuratively about death, but it is still one of the most moving and heart-warming games I have ever played.

This game, on top of the amazing story, there is a bit of a resource management game as you race across the map trying to keep your passengers as happy as possible. Do I forget to feed them? Yes, but they’re fine; trust me. Also, along with the subject of death, you eventually don’t get a choice but to let some of your passengers go. It’s a requirement to continue the story. Even though I’ve played this game several times, for some characters, this choice does not come easy. I’ve tried to keep them, but the game forces this choice upon you sometimes, and letting them go is the best choice.

Anyway, please check out this amazing game. Grab some tissues for your journey across the sea. I truly believe that you are going to love it.

Fighting for Death

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I don’t often read shounen manga, but this has been on my list for a while. I was told that it was amazing, and I couldn’t wait. The manga of interest today is Bleach by Tite Kubo. Very simply, you follow a boy named Ichigo, who is able to talk with ghosts. One day, he stumbles across a Soul Reaper, hijinks ensue, and he becomes a Soul Reaper himself. I think that’s all I can really say about this three-arc story without giving too many spoilers.

While the fights were interesting and the transformations were gorgeous, the story was a rollercoaster in terms of plot. The first and last arcs were amazing and kept my attention. The second arc, while each individual volume was good, I couldn’t have cared less about that story. I can’t really get into why I don’t care without spoilers for everything else, but honestly, you can just get away with reading the outer arcs. It also didn’t feel necessary. I had a friend tell me that Kubo may have been forced to write the second arc, and I completely believe it. The story could have ended after the first arc, and I would have been happy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the last arc, and it was beautiful and gripping, but I could have lived without the drag that was the second arc. Overall, it’s a fantastic story, and I’m eager to see what the anime is like. Perhaps the show performed better with the second arc, given that they had more time to develop the story.

An Entirely New World Pt 6

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I’m almost done with the Chronicles of Narnia: a series I technically started when I was a child. I don’t even remember when the first movie came out, but that was how long it has been. This time, because I’m reading in publication order, I read The Magician’s Nephew, and what a wild ride it was.

If you didn’t understand that Aslan is an allegory for Jesus yet, there is so much Christian imagery in this iteration. It was a bit funny how I could guess the next plot point because I grew up in the church. I was in fact internally giggling. No matter how predictable the plot was, I was surprised by how good it was. If you read the last couple of my reviews, you know that I felt like I was dragging my way through the content. Insert random characters I didn’t care about. Insert literally nothing happening as we just listen to people talk. Insert absolutely no imagery, of which I could barely imagine what was going on, even with the included illustrations.

No, this story engaged me, and I practically read it from beginning to end in one sitting. There was just so much happening and so many questions I had as I reading. There was an entire chapter of which a landscape was being described, and I loved every second of it. The imagery was vivid and drew me further into the world of Narnia, something the few previous books had not done. This was a journey to Narnia that was unforgettable and should be read again and again.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 8

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I’m back again to the fairytale land of Oz, and once again am wondering why. Why did I want to read all of the books of this series? Why did I make this a goal in my life? I don’t know, but I’m still going. This time I read Tik-Tok of Oz to read a story that I swear that I read before. A random girl and animal fall into the land of Oz, meets a bunch of random people and creatures, and then tries to defeat a great evil. Yeah, there is nothing new about this book. Except the random animal is a mule and the great evil is the exact same great evil from Book 3. The only thing useful in this book is the slightly more fleshed out nature of Oz, but half the time I feel that it is once again they author trying to make money off of his child audience who would have been obsessed with this series. Luckily for me, all these books are in the public domain, so I’ve paid nothing for them, or I would have gotten them from the library. I forget what book I said that you could have stopped at before, but there is no reason the read this book unless you are a completionist like me. Nothing interesting here.

An Entirely New World pt 5

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So……….

I’m at the fifth book of the series, with two more left to go, I think. It was struggle to get through this book. Something I mentioned in the last review, may have been slightly incorrect, as I need to consider that I’m reading the books in publication order instead of chronological order. Anyway, we do hear from a couple of our familiar characters as The Horse and His Boy takes place during the decades-long hiatus that took place during The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. However, that does not make up for the lack of anything happening.

We spend the entire time moving around Narnia as our two protagonists travel the desert and we are supposed to be convinced that they actually like each other. That, and maybe their two horses, who are want to go back to the land of which they are from since they are the only talking horses in the journey’s starting point. Honestly, I was bored the entire time, and there was no reason for this book to exist, in my current opinion, unless something happens in the next couple of books that requires what happened in this one. We can only wait and see.

Jolly Good Show

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Since I’ve been on my PhD journey, I’ve gotten really into random shows that I thought I was too “old” to watch when I was younger. When your brain needs to decompress it will decompress. Now adays, I’ve gotten into some older kids cartoons that I didn’t give myself permission to watch. Well, now that I don’t care, I’ve just finished watching Regular Show. I wanted a cute little show that I didn’t necessarily have to keep track of each and every little thing and just enjoy.

Overall, I thought it was a really cute show. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny to me, but it kept my attention the entire time and was very amusing. My favorite story line, because it makes absolutely no sense without the context, was about the format wars. I did in fact find this absolutely hilarious, but that is a conversation for people who have watched it. Another thing that amused me is that I think you’re supposed to believe that every one is technically a person. Our main protagonists include a blue jay, racoon, a gumball machine, and a lollypop, I think, just to name a few.

Either way, the show is very episodic and there is no really through line, until the last season, which I thought that was very well done. I highly enjoyed the series, and would definitely watch again at some point.

Come On, Grab Your Friends

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Recently, I’ve been having a blast watching cartoons from a couple of years ago that I didn’t get to watch. I was probably too busy watching something else, but I have finally gotten back to them. They are a great way to decompress after spending hours in the lab running experiments. This week’s addition to that list is Adventure Time.

I remember not really watching this show because it was advertised as very much episodic with no throughline. I don’t know who told me this, but if I find out, I’m going to tell them they’re a big fat liar. Moving on, this was a very enjoyable show. It was nice to wrap myself in a blanket with a cup of tea and binge-watch a season… or two. My favorite duo is definitely Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, the Vampire Queen. Their ever-evolving friendship was just enjoyable to watch. There were also some very deep episodes and plot lines, which are always surprising to watch in a children’s show. If you look past the surface for this supposedly silly show, there is a lot going on, and I think anyone would enjoy this. I just enjoyed every minute of watching it.

How Does It Hold Up: The Lost World: Jurassic Park II

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I’m back after watching another part of a series movie that was a core memory of some people’s childhood. I did watch movies with dinosaurs in them, they just never included humans. I may have just been busy watching cop shows. (Let’s be honest, it was definitely the cop shows.) Either way, I have made my way through the second Jurassic Park movie soon after watching the first, and I have some notes. While I did somewhat enjoy this movie, I didn’t love it as much as I enjoyed the first; it did have a low-key feel to it. Before going into the specifics of the movie, I do love when sequels are able to get the kid actors again, even if it’s just for a short cameo.

Firstly, there was a logical reason for having another movie, which I immediately questioned at the end of the first. With science fiction movies, for me at least, there needs to be a very good reason for having a sequel. There was probably some help since this movie was based on a book to help with the grounding, but I won’t know that until I read it. (Hint, hint.) I also enjoyed that there was some growth within the characters. One, not willingly letting children around dinosaurs? Check. Two, not necessarily profiting off of animals for the sole purpose of entertainment? Check. It was good. I’m now scared about how and why there are more movies. Why? It was a perfect ending. It is very much a “what now, humanity” as it included the very real conversation of how can we preserve animals and leave them in a somewhat natural habitat. Perfect ending in my opinion. The only thing that would have made it better is a way to actually see most of the movie. One or two more flashlights here and there would have helped.

Now, there is one more movie to finish the series. I did watch Jurassic World, and I was meh before, but I’m definitely not a fan of the new movies. I now get some of the easter eggs, but I really don’t care. I’m really hoping the third movie doesn’t disappoint me. I’m crossing my fingers.