Why I love the TV show Bones

As I sit in TV purgatory, anxiously awaiting March 12th, I find the only way to make this transient state tolerable is to re-watch Bones....all three seasons (and study for school of course! ^_^) In re-watching the show, I realize just how much I really do like it. There are many reasons. You should watch. Thursdays. 7:00. Be there.

First, I love how smart the show is. I read somewhere that the science (anthropologically speaking) is dead on. The show even won some kind of award for scientific accuracy in TV. This is the kind of show where you have to listen to what's being said and watch what it correlates with. It's not just the dialogue and science though.

The characters are so amazing. I hate to sound ultra feminist, but I love the fact that Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is such a strong character. So many times, you see the female characters portrayed as silly, vapid, weak, useless...need I go on or can we all call to mind some good examples? Brennan is a genius level forensic anthropologist who helps Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) solve crimes for the F.B.I. Even being a genius though, she has a disconnect with real life situations, often saying things that are somewhat inappropriate for the moment. Booth is the perfect foil for her. He has a practical, down to earth way of approaching problems, and isn't afraid to tell Brennan that something she has said might be seen as inappropriate. I have to admit, I'm somewhat in love with Booth myself.....*sigh*

The stories in the episodes are always compelling and touching. The show never forgets that it's about people, and while it does have glitzy science and thrilling action, it always comes back to the people. It's got top-class acting, wonderful stories and great writing. One of my favorite quotes from the show is by Dr. Brennan. Booth calls her a smart-ass for something she had said and meant seriously, and she replies, "Objectively, I'd say I'm very smart but it has nothing to do with my ass."

For all these reasons I love this show. I could go on for hours about specific episodes, moments that made me cry etc. etc. I definitely recommend it. Period.

Fire Emblem frustration

As I hold my DS in sweaty hands at 12:47 in the morning, trying the same battle for the 7th time in a row, I realize I like being this frustrated with a game. The problem comes from trying to talk to an enemy character (who will only talk to ONE specific character in your group). The trouble is, the enemy character is an archer, and the character who needs to talk to him is a winged unit. In the Fire Emblem world, that's TROUBLE! My Pegasus Knight can't get close enough to him in one turn to be able to talk to him, and every time I try and move her sort of close and cross my fingers he won't target her....he targets her. Aaaaaand she dies. Reset!

But that's the appeal of Fire Emblem to me. It's NOT easy and you have to actively think about where your characters will be and if they'll be in range of an enemy they are weak against! You can get a real sense of accomplishment when you finish a battle in this game. This is why I hope Nintendo continues to make Fire Emblem the way it has always been...challenging to the point of crying. If they sell out and make an easy Fire Emblem game, well, Nintendo just might lose most of their hardcore fans. Think about it Nintendo! All of those moms and grandmothers and kids that you're catering to right now? They're fickle! Marketing to them may get you alot of money right now, but you aren't doing yourself any favors by ignoring your hardcore fan base. But that's another issue for another day.

Yay for Fire Emblem!

So hopefully today I'm going to pick up Fire Emblem. It's going to be amazing.

A great day....

It's a great day for video gamers folks! This week, we have the classic arcade game Street Fighter returning to the 360 and the PS3 in its fourth installment. For those RPG folks with a DS, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is releasing...TUESDAY!!!!! Get them both. Seriously.

New RPGs for the Wii

Since the release of the Nintendo Wii, the smattering of RPG entrees has turned into an after-the-wedding selection of hors d'oeuvres. This year, however, Nintendo may just redeem itself. At least two new RPGs (that I was able to read published reviews about) are set to release sometime this year. Arc Rise Fantasia, developed by relatively unknown-in-America Image Epoch. The other is Muramasa:The Demon Blade, developed by Vanillaware.

Arc Rise Fantasia has the standard save the world rpg plot, but adds enough of its own details to make it unique. Monsters invade the land, causing turmoil and strife throughout the land. The player must journey throughout their world and set things right again. The game won't incorporate the Wii's motion controls that I know of, utilizing the classic controller instead. I predict that the game will allow you to play with the GameCube controller if you choose as well. The battle system is traditional turn-based, but with a twist. Instead of each player having their own mp, ap, or other points to draw from, using an ability takes point from a community point pool. Because of this, strategy and planning will be important. Depending on strategy, the player could either have everyone attack, or have one player do a super attack. But what happens if the enemy attacks and there are no points to heal the characters? .........game over? Maybe. Not enough details have been released about the game to know for sure. Curious about Arc Rise Fantasia? Check out IGN for screen shots and other reviews. The game has a rather nebulous release date of summer in the states, so keep your fingers crossed Wii RPG fans!

Muramasa: The Demon Blade has my slavish devotion and it's not even released yet. Vanillaware was responsible for Odin Sphere, a game on the PS2 that garnered major approval points across the board, and Muramasa looks set to do the same. The 2-D visuals are gorgeous and colorful. The action will likely be simple, perhaps a little like Valkryie Profile on the original playstation. However, I did read a review in GameInformer that said weapons could break against certain bosses, so that could add a difficult twist.
The basic story is the current shogun of Japan in the Genroku era wants to use objects called the Demon Blades for his own power. By doing so, he unleashes evil into the land. Demons and dragons run amok, wrecking bath houses and the like....sorry, that's my imagination running rampant. You can choose to play as a male or female character, each with their own special abilities and attacks probably. The different levels and areas of the game each have their individual look, so gameplay wouldn't get boring. Again, IGN has a great outline of the game, so check them out for more details!

Fan boys at work....

So I was at work last night and had so many of my thoughts about Final Fantasy VII fanboys confirmed. I don't understand how you can say that a certain game is your "ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! OMG!!!" when you have played less than a quarter of the games in the series. Really, play a few more and form your own opinion instead of saying what you think makes you look cool. Then come talk to me about what you think is the best Final Fantasy ever!!! And stop asking me if I really play video games!! Honestly, just because I'm female. 

A New Type of Game

I read about this game on IGN, and thought it sounded pretty cool in concept. Whether the general populace thinks so remains to be seen, but I would give it a try. The game is called Flower, and seems to be an open-ended exploration type game. Check it out.

Stayed up waaay too late playing this

I started playing Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core in my break at school lately. I'd started playing it when I got it, and put it down when Genesis completely destroyed me. Demoralized I guess. Anyway, I did the necessary level grinding to get past that point of the game, and WOW! I'd forgotten how amazingly cool the story was to it! For those who don't know, Crisis Core is the prequel to Final Fantasy VII. Which is the Final Fantasy that EVERYBODY and their MOTHER says they love. Whether they all do or not, I don't know. I think they just say that so they'll look cool. Anyway. So much is explained in it, and so many more questions raised. Hopefully, once I beat the game, I'll have my questions answered. Right now though, I'm going to stay up indecently late and keep playing.

On reality shows...

I find it interesting how the American public has taken overwhelmingly to reality TV shows. I'm not judging. I used to watch Survivor, and still watch The Biggest Loser. I think that we all like to hear other people's stories, to see their journeys for ourselves. Watching their struggles and accomplishments, we think to ourselves, "I can do that!" We can learn so much about ourselves by seeing what we identify with when we hear other people's stories.

"I could have had carpets THIS thick!"

I bought Prince of Persia before I even bought a system I could play it on. Needless to say, I was psyched about being able to play it soon. Everything I had seen and heard about the game was good and early reviews were strong. The visual look to the game was gorgeous, and the action part sounded awesome.

The games graphics are beautiful. In an age of gaming where realism is the new sliced bread, Prince of Persia's visual style is a refreshing change of pace. The easiest description is that the visual style is a variation of realistic cel shading. (Think Legend of Zelda: Windwaker). From the opening scenes, you can't help but think about how pretty it looks. More importantly for me though, was the introduction of the characters.

The Prince and Elika are the characters whose journey you follow. The dark god Ahriman has caused the world to be corrupted, and the Prince and Elika must cleanse the lands and defeat Ahriman. Traditional, epic story right? Sort of. Except the Prince is cocky and complains about sand in his boots (and other places) and Elika is sarcastic and rather cold at first.

As you play the game, the Prince and Elika change. Although I have my issues with the game play and can admit there are certain aspects of the game I really don't like, I have to keep going. I have to find out what happens. The storyline is what keeps me playing.

Want a more official review of Prince of Persia? Game Informer online usually does a really good job, so check them out for more information.

Last week's Supernatural

Last week's episode of Supernatural, "After School Special," was what is generally called a "Monster of the Week" episode. Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate what seemed to be a case of murder by demonic possession. It turns out, the high school where the murder occurred is a place of fond, and not so fond, recollection for the boys.

Why did I absolutely love this episode?

Character development and insight. So many shows today are character driven, but rarely spend enough time developing them to the point where viewers care about what happens to them. Not so with Supernatural. We finally got to see the boys when they were younger and in high school, and maybe understand some deeper things about their natures. Sam had always wanted to be normal, and never had the drive for hunting that Dean and their Dad did. Sam's English teacher told him in this episode that nobody can make you do what you don't what to do, and that you control your own destiny. Something got started in Sam's brain when he heard that, leading to his eventual decision to attend law school at Stanford.

Poor Dean. All he ever knew was hunting. Nobody was there to tell him that there was more he could do with his life. As it's been pointed out in so many episodes, Dean doesn't value himself at all, and the only way he feels he is anything is to save people. "I'm a hero!! I save lives!" Dean shouts this in the halls at school, but somehow, I just can't believe he's convinced of it himself.

I see Sam and Dean as real people, people that could exist. They are SO convincing in their roles and emotions. You feel what they feel. You hurt when they hurt. And all of this comes about because of the story being told. It pulls you in and makes you care.