At least I think that was the subtitle for that particular quote. Ugh. :P

Spoilers galore. Well, not really. Sprinkled about, maybe.

Silent Hill: Homecoming follows the very-American Alex Shepherd, who has returned to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen after being discharged from a military hospital. Shepherd's Glen sucks, by the way, but it serves our purposes well enough.

The first thing to note is that the game plays differently than previous SH titles. Environments are fully 3-D rendered, and the player has complete control of Alex, who perpetually faces frontward. Like with RE4.

Alex has the ability to open up doors, slam through them with a double-tap, hop over hurdles, and back-flip up when knocked down. Like with RE4.

I tried combining a Serum and Health Drink to boost Elle's (his companion had two points) health, but then I realized I wasn't playing RE4. >_>

Grah.

Anyway, Alex comes home to find that Shepherd's Glen decaying, beset by monsters and missing citizens. The monsters, speaking of which, have been revamped, as has the combat system, so the fights reach a degree of epic that the previous games lacked, since you just stood in a corner and fired away. :D

Like DMC2.

Grah.

Alex begins the search for his brother Joshua, who is missing. What Alex fails to realize is that there are forces at work beyond his comprehension... The plot is a mesh of SH2 and SH3, like SH1. Some sound effects from SH4 are used late in the game. I think. It sounds like them.

At one point, a nurse grabbed Alex by the neck and started throttling him. I pounded the 'X' button and with a testosterone-filled "HUAHH!" he obliterated its head with a powerful kick. Then I realized I wasn't playing RE4.

The above statement is a lie, bar the final sentence.

"What did you do?! Where's Joshua!"

"You gotta be shitting me!"

It has been a while, but I bring about a new gaming experience, albeit an incomplete one--Silent Hill: Origins! Ah, excuse me; 0rigins.

By the by, I managed to play the first three minutes of FF3... before my friend's PS2 suffered an untimely stroke. And then again. :P

In any case, I'm so far pleasantly surprised by Origins. Despite the game being a port from the PSP, the graphics seemed to have enhanced, at least as far as details go. The environments look splendid, both normal and Other World, but the character models pale in comparison to those of SH3 and SH4:TR, but that's understandable. Insofar as quality of voice acting, I will say that Dahlia and Travis are very good.

The game plays much like the original games. Puzzles take advantage of the ability to traverse freely between the two dimensions using mirrors, so an area that may be inaccessible in normal Silent Hill may not be in the Other World, and vice versa.

All that aside, the melee weapons are now all breakable. As tense as this may seen, all it does it add to the frustration of the combat--not only are you constantly hounded by enemies, but a melee weapon will break after barely subduing one or two adversaries. There are an abundance of them, but it doesn't help much, although Travis can actually use his fists if need be. There are some firearms to take advantage of, but ammo can be scarce and then suddenly abundant. It is possible to switch weapons in real-time, which is refreshing and perhaps inspired by SH4:TR.

My only qualms with the combat go hand-in-hand with each other--there are too few healing items and too may enemies. You can expect to be hounded frequently, and the enemies are now much more aggressive, meaning Travis can be manhandled pretty badly if caught in a narrow corridor with several. There are some interactive button sequences, though, which, depending on successful inputs, will determine whether or not Travis is injured or breaks free. I believe they're "grapples". >_>

This is most frustrating when on the streets of Silent Hill, where faster enemies make surviving very tedious. Nonetheless, the game's atmosphere is sufficient and enjoyable. I imagine it'd be downplayed on the smaller screen.

All in all, the game is solid. There isn't much plot to describe so far, and I assume I'm about three quarters of the way through, but it's limited due to being a prequel.

Anyway,

Travis is cool, but I guess that can apply to all truckers.

~@_@~

"Mayu!"

Improvements? Sure. Better graphics, better voice acting, better gameplay. Better story? I didn't think so, but that's not to say it was bad, either.

"Mayu!"

The game brings up an interesting notion, though--that there are multiple Hell Gates scattered throughout the world. This would ring true with the common idea that there many doorways to Hell. Hmm... How many times will these rituals fail? >_>

"Mayu!!"

Well, anyway, Fatal Frame II is beaten. Without cheat codes. :D Not to say I got better or anything (I think I did) or that I'm just pro at it, but the game seemed a bit easier than the first had seemed to be. Maybe I ran around more. Dunno. Granted, this game throws multiple ghosts at you like it's commonplace, while in the first game encountering multiple ghosts was like finding one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. Of which there is only one instead of five.

I'm a bit peeved, though. I won't bother with spoiler warnings--you should have a general idea that this how I vent on the matter of games. It seems you can only face Sae on the hardest difficulty, otherwise you have to settle with the dreaded Kusabi as the final boss. lol He seemed so much more threatening when you ran from him in the grand hall, simply because you couldn't defeat him, but now that you can... he loses it.

Afterward, I was forced to reload several times to see all of Mio and Mayu's unlocked costumes, to see which one I would use with on my Nightmare playthrough, you know, to fight Sae. Since the first two are simply kimonos, I was forced to go with the new one for the XBox version-- the beach attire.

With the hippie hair band accessory for Mio. :)

Not that it matters, since Mio and Mayu still don't make half of a Miku. >:D

All that remains is for me to track down the third game. Then... Then...

"We promised..."

~@_@~

Current Mood: thoughtful

I return! :D with a new gaming experience to discuss! Fatal Frame!

Anyway, a few years ago, a friend of mine rented the game and we were spooked for the introduction and the next five minutes, up until the point when my friend failed to find the key necessary for progressing. Thus, another episode of horror was left without closure, similar to our experience with Silent Hill 2--regardless, after being returned his modded XBox with new games, lo and behold, the first two Fatal Frame games were present. So he tells me he got slightly farther, and we play from there. Although I'm the one who has the controller forced upon me.

Over the course of the night-and-day I spent at his house, we went through the game, equipping cheat codes soon after beginning. :P Also, what began as pure apathy towards the game's heroine, Miku, slowly turned into a queer type of lust. "She appears rather cartoon-y," became "She's got a nice ass."

But that was only the beginning. I still have the headache from my continuous playing of the game.

Anyway, very atmospheric game, and fantastic plot that ties together three separate, yet very similar plot-lines. And, what's not to love about the tried-and-true female villain with long hair obscuring her face? Nyeh, nyeh?

My only gripe would have to come from the combat in general and the constant backtracking the game demands of you. Having to go to a new room, only to take a photo that forces me to return to the starting room to undo a seal, so that I can return to the other room and continue on is tedious.

The combat irks me because of the cramped spaces you're usually forced to fight in. Granted, I didn't utilize the Camera Obscura's ability to stun the ghosts and force them back, but I had infinite health, and thus wasn't too bothered to try, until the final boss battle. >_> Infinite Type-90 film was a great asset against a ghost who can regenerate health and only take damage from Zero Shots! :E

Loved the game, loved Miku even more, and am deliberating getting the third game, since my friend has the second one, although we didn't touch it. However, no cheat codes for me should I get the third game, but... hey, Zero shooting is fun! >_>

Miku <3

Wait, I'm not done ranting yet. :P

The ghosts were also rather frustrating with their obnoxious teleporting and cheap tactics. Really, I started developing nicknames for some of them.

Broken Neck Bitch
Head Bitch
Ghost-who-can't-turn-corners Bitch(Long arms man)

Yeah, well, just them. -_-' Using new emoticons is exciting!

Miku <3 <3 <3

~@_@~

Current Mood: bouncy

So, several things have occured since Friday. My MP3 died, I completed the main quest of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and I purchased "A Beautiful Lie: Deluxe Edition" by 30 Seconds to Mars.

>_>

Well, anyway, I bought the album for a single song that wasn't present on the original, and I've listened to that song well over twenty times since I got my hands on it. But that's not really important, and I'm just going to rant a little on the ending of LoZ:TP.

*SPOILERSAGAINBECAUSEIKEEPNEGLECTINGTHEHIDEYTHING*


Zant, the primary villain, who had been extremely badass in all his little antics, was reduced to an incompetent, fussy, pawn by the time we face him. I had been expecting a nice, epic battle, but all he could do was mimic the styles of previous bosses, and poorly at that. Whatever. Forget him, we move on to the bigger fish.

LoZ:Oot and LoZ:WW both ended with climactic confrontations with Ganondorf, and this game is no different. There is confrontation, there is Zelda at hostage, there is taunting, and then there is a four-tiered final battle to contend with. Now, understand that I not had spoiled anything about the game, so I had no idea what to expect regarding Ganon. Therefore, I was readily pumped up and enthralled, and passed the first phase of the battle with ease, and then Ganon transformed to his boar form.

Obviously, I was ready to kick his ass all over the place, but just as the battle begins, my electricity goes out. I need not describe to you the frustation I experienced.

I returned a couple of hours later, and finished off all four phases of the final battle. The ending was alright, but I just felt it didn't live up to the game as a whole. There is resolution, but I was left desiring just a smidge more. Nevertheless, to abate my hunger for a climactic upshot, I replayed the final battle of LoZ:WW and came to the conflusion that LoZ:WW is the best of the 3D Zelda games, with LoZ:MM coming at a close second. There. I've said what I said.

~@_@~

Current Mood: apathetic

Alright, so last night I got a MySpace to smite everyone that has one. That is, nearly anyone who has access to a comupter and the Internet.

Don't tell me to get a life, or why I'm even doing this. I don't know. Boredom must be attributing to it, though.

In other news, I bought Insomnia by Stephen King, and have ordered The Stand. Anyway, while I was at the bookstore, I saw it. Nearly the entire last story arc of Rurouni Kenshin... something never animated. NERDGASM!

I couldn't get any, considering there were at least seven volumes at eight dollars apiece, but when I go to pick up The Stand...

...

NERDGASM! *Squirts on your monitor*

~@_@~

Current Mood: blank

I was watching my local news right now, and W...T...F...? Some local thing sponsored this "Silent Hill" event, based off of the movie. Some weird haunted house. With Pyramid Head. XD

So, yeah, that was totally random.

~@_@~

Midterms are coming up this week, like, OMFG. I'm SO worried. Actually, I'm just a tad concerned over the PSAT, but I have no idea why. It's not like it'll effect me at all. I suppose I'll just faint if I fail it, or someting similar.

I was at Best Buy yesterday and I found We Love Katamari for thirty. Since I've been subconsciously searching for that game I got it, and it seemes to be better than the original. I need to hear more of the soundtrack. I also finished my second FFX run, without codes. I have to say, it was fun, and I appreciate the game more than I did before. But a little part of me wanted to pop in FFX-2 and beat the final boss just to see the Good Ending.

I've been thinking of a new book to start reading since finishing The Dark Tower. I'm considering Eragon, since, according to my friend, "It's awesome." Right, okay. The Bartimaeus Trilogy probably pwns it over and over again, although that's an incredibly biased statement and I'm not bothered in the least by it. It should be somewhat cheap, I would think, and the movie is coming out soon, anyway.

Pertaining to fanfiction, uh, lol. I'm working on the SH4 parody, and once that's done with I'll move on with some of the others. Although, I've been pondering ideas regarding TECDAH, but it would look really embarassing if I took off the 'Complete' status, added the bonus chapters, and then stuck it back on.

The first, um, "oneshot" idea is that the Townshend posse--excluding Nicole Sunderland--is "lock-downed" in their gym class and forced to do a variety of activities, culminating in a badmitten showdown with the regular Gothic character. Be quiet, I'm aware of when my inner geek reveals itself.

The second idea is that Joshua Townshend somehow falls through a hole between dimensions and ends up in an alternate reality where Henry is not married to Eileen, instead married to Cynthia, and Joshua has a new group of friends who are reflections of the Sacraments. An alternate thought is that Joshua falls into the new dimension and meets the son of Cynthia and Jasper and his group of friends. Don't ask me the circumstances surrounding all of this.

...And, okay. I wonder if including those latter parts of the post were all that necessary. o_O

~@_@~

Current Mood: complacent

After brushing up at GameFAQs, I think I have a better understanding of the plot of the game, although I wish the game would have given a clearer picture of it.

*SPOILERS AGAIN AHA YOU JUST GOT PWNED BY HENRY'S STOMP!*

The children are already dead by the time the game begins, and I'd already pretty much presumed this. According to all the wild theories out there, Jennifer is reliving her time at the orphanage and with the Red Crayons, albeit in a much more twisted fashion. Of course, it just refuels my point that the airship was all imagined up by the children. The Mermaid boss, Clara, really turns out to be a doll, and so does most of everything else.

Basically, the events of the story occurred, just back in 1930, when Jennifer was a little girl. She was the sole survivor of the airship crash, and after that she was taken in by Gregory Wilson, who saw her as his son Joshua and dressed her up as him. He kept her locked up in a room in his home, and she exchanged letters with Wendy. Later on, Wendy convinces Jennifer to come with her and they escape to the orphanage, where Jennifer discovers Brown and strains her relationship with Wendy.

Wendy becomes so viciously jealous of Jennifer's affection for Brown that, as Princess of the Red Rose or whatnot, she orders the other girls to kill the dog. And they do so. Jennifer discovers them, slaps the shit out of Wendy, and pwns the others. Wendy becomes distraught, so she masquerades as Joshua and manipulates Gregory to go to the orphanage to force Jennifer to return her love. Wendy loses control and Gregory slaughters all of the children, yet spares Jennifer. Wendy then hands her Gregory's gun to stop him, and Jennifer allows Gregory to commit suicide. And after that...

I guess she went off, and then back in the present, Jennifer realizes how weak she was, and that she will protect the "new" Brown with her life. La la la.

...So yeah. The gothic maid costume kicks ass. Jennifer's hotness increases by ten points!

~@_@~

Current Mood: pleased

That's what I get for not exploring the orphanage fully or the Gregory's house fully! All the little details. I'm reading the Game Script, and I think after Joshua died Gregory took Jennifer in. And that was when she and Wendy exchanged the letters.

Interesting. I'm too lazy to bother to write any more, though... but on my next playthrough I'll try to explore a lot more.

~@_@~

So, I completed my first run through Rule of Rose last night, and, uh, the ending was just ridiculous. Give me resolution, damn it!

*SPOILERS BECAUSE I'M TOO LAZY TO REFER BACK TO THE COMMENT THAT EXPLAINED HOW TO USE THE HIDEY THING AND BECAUSE THIS IS FUNNIER ANYWAY BUT NO ONE GIVES A SHIT BUT IT'S STILL SPOILERS SO DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!*


The plot's condition reminds me of something very vaguely... oh yeah, the Silent Hill movie. >_>

I've come to the conclusion that most of the game(all of the airship) is not real. The whole thing is unrealistic for the most part--a ladder that led to somewhere else before now leads to a grassy, moonlit plain? And the things in there are just rather odd and cruel at times. It's all an imaginary game by the Red Crayons, methinks. Especially when Jennifer exclaims to them late in the game, "...playing your stupid games!", or something along those lines.

The actual conundrum of Jennifer being at the orphanage really confuses me though, just because the timeline is, well, whacked. We're led to believe that Jennifer is lured to the orphanage by Wendy and then subjected to the wrath of the Red Crayons. However, if it's true that the airship is all an imaginary game--Mr. Hoffman is not bound and then ravaged by insanity, the children do NOT have total control of their world--then was she welcomed into the orphanage? Was it abandoned? I'll try and cover this right now, but first...

The factor that makes this incomprehensible is that Jennifer was already an orphan there when she was younger. Was she adopted? It's possible, considering she has seemingly repressed the memory of her time there. But none of the other children express any recognition of her when they meet. Are they even supposed to? Did Jennifer ever even LEAVE the orphanage?

That I cannot say for sure.

There's just too many things clashing, and my head is really out-of-order right now. :\

The last part of the plot that needs to be addressed is "Stray Dog", the author of all the storybooks Jennifer finds. "Stray Dog" is really just Gregory Wilson, a nearby resident of the orphanage. This part of the plot truly baffles me.

Gregory had a son named Joshua, and supposedly his son and Wendy shared a type of romance via letters. Joshua dies, in any case, and Wendy masquerades as him when luring Jennifer to the orphanage. But... did Wendy really love Joshua? Was this after Jennifer "left" the orphanage? Is Joshua even real? All of this is left unexplained, and how can Wendy love Joshua when she is so obsessed with Jennifer? Is Wendy led to believe that Joshua is actually Jennifer? Grah.

I'm going to propose a possible cop-out now: the game's story is really just Gregory's story. He expresses an interest in writing about Jennifer, and he titles it the "Little Princess". And lo and behold, as the game progresses the "Little Princess" writes itself in... but it has no solid ending. I wonder.

Well, I'll have to analyze it a little more later, because my brain is not in thinking mode right now. The game was okay overall; the combat was what really got to me, but Brown finds many Chocolates and White Chocolates near the end, so it's all good. :)

~@_@~

Okey-dokey, let's get right down to it folks. I've decided to try and make a post every Friday or so, just because I have nothing better to do. Obviously, this just means more stuff you'd rather not read.

Anyway, well, I don't have any news on whether or not KHII:FM+ and KH:Re:CoM is going to be seeing a NA release, although the content seems to be getting sweeter and sweeter.

There'll be the Roxas fight this time around, and perhaps a fight against a stronger boss than Sephiroth(Similar to Xemnas in the first game; I'd say one of the knights in the secret ending). More story content for Roxas, of course, and I think some of the maps are going to be redone, so it won't be straightforward or whatever. This is pretty cool, anyway. I want this game.

As for Re:CoM, the gameplay is retaining the cards, of course, and be more like KHII. I want this game even more, and it's possible a Zexion fight might sneak itself in there.

Anyway, I finished 'The Dark Tower VII' about a week ago, and, gods, was it sentimental. I've started to reread the first one, too, to find any references(There have been a few). I'm hesitant to just skip forward to *SPOILERS* Roland and Walter's long palaver in the golgotha, though, since that chapter kicked ass.

And, uh, I started to play FFX again, too, WITHOUT cheat codes this time. It's fun, you know? I have to continue Rule of Rose, too, which I will this weekend.

I registered for the PSAT also, and that's on the eigtheenth. Hmm. Should be challening.

Last thing. I made some sketches of two characters I invented a hell of a long time ago. The fic they starred in is still up, although it sucks horribly. Their names are puns, so...

The first one is "Skyy", or "Skky", or "Skye", or just "Sky". I need to remind you that at the time I was still a rookie fanfiction author. This is the son of a certain FF protagonist.

http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scan0001li2.jpg

The second one is another offspring, and this one I created on the whim of an afterthought. He is "Tuna", and believe me, I'm still trying to find a better name. No prizes for guessing the parents.

http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ff2kv0.jpg

And, uh, that's it. Later, taters!

~@_@~

Current Mood: amused

Well... I've read that the CoM remake will be bundled with Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, and that really upsets me. Should S-E not decide to release KHII:FM in North America... say bye-bye, CoM remake... Grr...

AND THIS JUST AFTER I SAW SCREENSHOTS OF MARLUXIA AND AXEL!! WHY? WHY?!

...

*Calms down*

Damn, that ticks me off. Just sell the damn thing here, S-E, please! People would buy it for CoM by itself, I swear! Everyone who doesn't have a GBA, at least! The profit...!!!

~@_@~

Current Mood: depressed

I was lurking on GameFAQS and came across some rather interesting information that has me rethinking my opinion on the release of KHII:FM in North America...

CoM REMAKE. FOR PS2.

*Dies*

This is really hard to believe, but I haven't any evidence to disprove it. And if it's true, then it would be ludicrous for S-E not to release KHII:FM too, especially if they were to come bundled together. SOOOOO...

3-D battles with CoM members with English voices?! GRAHHH!!!

~@_@~

Current Mood: bouncy

Alright... Uh... I beat you two to it, Gaia and Sageo, for I got Rule of Rose today. I was near my GameStop and thought, "What the hell?", but I had to get another Memory Card anyway, and it came out pretty expensive. Anyway, I'll just give my first impressions based on the opening level and the instruction manual.

First of all, the graphics are amazing. I'm sure you've all seen the montage/trailer, so you know what I'm talking about. In-game, the graphics are still pretty good, but some parts were too engulfed in shadow and I couldn't see all that well.

Now, the presentation of this game... damn. No flashy menus for me, folks--this is straight-up awesome. There's little, crudely-drawn images to give you a basic idea of the level, and every now-and-then there's some captions from a narrarator that give the game a very storybook feel, and rightly so--the game starts off with a storybook.

Regarding plot, I've only completed the first level, and there's hardly any plot to really elaborate on so far. But I read the manual like a good little boy, so it seems as though the protagonist--Jennifer--becomes forced into the "Aristocrats of the Red Crayon", or something like that. I'll call them the little "Red Crayons". They've seemingly acquired an airship, a zeppelin, and are living there, rather than the orphanage. Jennifer must fulfill certain tasks for the different members of the "Red Crayons", and, by the way, throughout the first level they wear brown bags over their heads.

What little voice acting I've heard seems good, but Jennifer is just a little too quiet for my tastes--could be because I'm that way myself, but her voice is very low, in any case. The music is fitting, I suppose.

Finally, the enemies listed in the manual are hilarious! I don't want to spoil their appearance for anyone, though.

So far it looks good, but I haven't seen enough to give a solid critique. I will say it appears to be a stoner's game, like Katamari Damacy, so I guess I'll have to pop out the 'ol bongo or whatnot... >_>

~@_@~

Current Mood: calm

Alright, well, I'll be addressing several things regarding Kingdom Hearts.

The first point I'll bring up, and this makes me furious, is the fact that Square-Enix will be making a Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. If you're not aware of what this is, allow me to explain.

The original game had a Final Mix created solely for the Japanese because the American and PAL versions had the extra, optional bosses, i.e. Sephiroth. Now, not only were they included in FM, but so was an EXTRA optional boss, three more "Ansem Reports", a couple of more Keyblades, and a few more scenes for plot, mostly centering around Riku and one featuring a duel between FF characters, Cloud and Sephiroth. Last but not least, there was the extended secret ending, "Deep Dive", which had some segments of it recreated within the context of KHII. The Final Mix version was also completely in English, with Japanese subtitles.

You're probably thinking that's a lot of added content, and it is--what riles me up about it is that the secret boss was a hooded Xemnas, a central character in KHII, and that battle and the "Ansem Reports" alluded to the plot of KHII.

I'll rant about KH:COM in awhile, just becausing we're on the subject of KH.

Now, North America and Europe didn't get FM, unfortunately. All that bonus stuff and we're reduced to sites like YouTube or importing.

Fast-forward to the present, if you will. KHII comes out after a four-year wait(COM kept some of us with a GBA tided over in Winter 2004) and we go out and get KHII and play it and beat it. Jolly good, mates. Everyone's happy. And then there's this news of a Final Mix version. Here's the thing--as far as I know, there was no bonus content in the American and PAL versions. None whatsoever. So, the question is, will North America and Europe be getting this Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix? Frankly, I doubt it. So say allelujia, friends, say amen.

From what I've discovered about KHII:FM, there'll most likely be an extended secret ending. I've seen the original version, and it was interesting if you give a damn about the next installment in the series. I've also seen a screenshot detailing what appears to be a 3D-rendered COM battle against Cloud. Could this be a teaser for possible Organization 3D battles? Who knows.

I'm not saying that KHII:FM won't be coming to North America and Europe, don't hold me to that--it's very plausible that it could. But so far, all "International" versions of games from SE have only been sold in Japan, so don't get your hopes up.

This is just another slap by KH, and as we're on the subject, like I mentioned earlier, I might as well get it off my chest entirely concerning COM. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is probably the best of the three, with an entertaining and challenging battle system, and a great story with very mature themes that took it a step over the first game. We were also introduced to the Organization, and the plot revolved around certain members of the group instead of Sora. The characters of Axel, Namine, and DiZ played large roles in the story, and I was extremely content with the game; it did KH justice.

This, of course, got me excited for KHII. After seeing screenshots of said characters and the Organization, I had thought that the plot of the actual game would be a maelstrom of, well, badassness. We'd have the rest of the Organization, Roxas, and with Sora having lost his memory of what occured at Castle Oblivion and the events of COM, Riku, King Mickey, DiZ, Namine, and Axel all knew, so I was expecting an amazing conclusion to the story that really tied up all loose ends and planted us firmly back on the sands of Destiny Islands.

We got there, sure, but not without some roads humps along the way.

The game's proglogue--Roxas' stay in the simulated Twilight Town--was done perfectly. Axel, Namine, and DiZ come and slap us in the face, and then Sora comes out of his pod... and everything goes to hell. Suddenly we're back on the old quest again to find Riku and King Mickey, except now it's Pete causing trouble instead of Maleficent. Filler, filler, oh lookie-there-folks, filler! After pointless encounters with Pete, the Organization is absent for the entire first half of the game, save for some momentary instances of Demyx and Xaldin. Then the midpoint comes and the main plot--at last--progresses. And then it stops again. Instead of Pete, though, we get some of the Organization members here and there. Whoop-de-doo. Here comes the end, no one mentions COM at all, and then Riku and Mickey start blabbering about stuff. Namine and DiZ appear for two scenes, whoa!

What pisses me off about it was that COM happened. None of the Org. members mention the deceased members at all; what the hell? Not even Axel says anything, and he was a major player in COM. Namine doesn't say anything, and she was the one I expected to reveal it all to Sora, and allow for this all to come full-circle. Guess I was wrong. Instead, you have to rely on the Ansem Reports, and let's face it--that isn't a good way to be relaying plot to your audience. I mean, shit, I didn't even read them my first time through.

The thing is, all mentioning of COM is deliberately avoided for those who didn't play it, but it happened, and it got me angry. In the end, the people who did play it get screwed over. So durr.

...Whew, at least I've gotten most of this out of my head. Hope you had fun reading. :)

~@_@~

Current Mood: aggravated

Hmm, so at last I saw the motion picture adaption of Silent Hill, and I really don't know whether I like it or not. Since I have a lot of mixed thoughts about it, I'll just break the movie down.

*SINCE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THE LITTLE HIDEY-THING I'LL JUST SCROLL IT DOWN SO THERE WILL BE SPOILERS I WARNED YOU BUT WHOEVER'S READING THIS PROBABLY ALREADY SAW IT OKAY I'M WASTING TIME*

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...Alright, first of all, the plot. I think sticking to the game's a bit more would have benefited it overall. For example, just because Alessa had no father she was considered a witch by the cult? What about the psychic powers she possesses in the game? I mean, that would also have better explained the "darkness"--the Otherworld. What the hell was the entity that allied itself with Alessa?

As for the ending, well, first off I was watching it with my mom, and she believed that the "Reaper"--I'll refer to it as this since it uses the title as a metaphor to itself regarding the cult--had become part of Sharon, and thus was not allowing Rose and Sharon to leave the alternate reality of Silent Hill by using its powers from within her. I just figured that by using Silent Hill's(game) bad ending Rose, Cybil, and Sharon all died in their respective vehicle crashes, and so were forever stuck in that reality. I can't say this is actually canon, since I'm not sure about the cult.

Despite the somewhat confusing segments of the plot, I have to say, the visuals of the movie were amazing. Never have I seen such beautifully rendered environments in a movie, and if I have you can be sure it was only in a select few. From the cliff where Sharon is standing on in the beginning, the Otherworld transitions, and the ash-breathing-foggy-alternate Silent Hill, the whole movie was just beautiful to look at. And, dear God, Pyramid Head... the scene with him coming down with the leeches in the Midwich Elementary courtyard... it was just so... KAWAII...

The soundtrack I can't really comment on, though. I believe all of the music was from the games themselves, with the "Hometown" opening in the beginning and "You're Not Here" blaring at the end. I'll comment on the sound effects used when Alessa is crying the bathroom stall at Midwich Elementary. Did anyone else notice that was the EXACT same sound effect used in the hallways at the church when Heather discovers the hidden doorways?

So, I can't really say that I love or the movie or hate it. It wasn't blasphemous at all though--if you're going to dislike the movie for how it deviates from the games, don't. It was made that way for casual moviegoers to be more accessible to it. Though there are some things that, by playing the games, you can appreciate a lot more.

~@_@~

Current Mood: calm

James came out Asian and so did his hair, so I may or may not try to fix that later. Here's the picture:

http://img64.imageshack.us/my.php?image=srequiemjamesandmaryqi5.jpg

I modeled it after the cover of 'Requiem of a Dream', hence the title. It was originally going to be in color, but before I knew what I was doing I was shading the walls in. I took some liberties with the final stage, too, and uh, I guess sort-of-SPOILERS.

~@_@~

This was taken from gaiafaye's LJ after I wrote her a letter from Roxas, a character from 'Kingdom Hearts II'. Mind you, I hate chain letters, but this isn't really one and it doesn't really tell you your family will die if you don't pass it on. So.

Leave a list of fictional characters in your journal that you would love to get a message from. It is your friend-list's mission, should they choose to accept it, to write you an in-character "letter" from a character on that list. Then they post their own list in their journal and the process continues!

Bu-blah. Here:

1.)Walter Sullivan-Silent Hill 4: The Room
2.)Kratos-Tales of Symphonia
3.)Smith-Matrix Trilogy
4.)Vincent-Silent Hill 3
5.)Bill-Kill Bill
6.)Marluxia-Kingdom Hearts
7.)Voldemort-Harry Potter

There are some others, too, but I think the list maxes out at seven. Regardless, I'll be interested in reading the letters, should there be any.

~@_@~

Err... I drew another picture... except this time I really went overboard.

A young Jimmy Stone. The one from my Crappy Plotline saga. You know it.

http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jimmystoneah6.jpg

It was inspired by a certain movie poster for Star Wars. Erm.

~@_@~

Current Mood: calm