Welcome to the NHK (2006)

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Warning! This post contains major spoilers, including end spoilers. I suggest you watch the series first, and then read this review.

hikikomori ni youkoso

Welcome to the NHK!

What is this series about? Basically, it's about a hikikomori (the Japanese term for a modern trend in social reclusion among young adults), and his trials and tribulations as he attempts to overcome his condition with the help of a mysterious girl. I have to say this series was just great. For once it's a character that I can really, truly, honestly identify with - however unfortunate that is...

The main character is a guy named Satou, who is somewhere around the age of 24, a college dropout, and going into his fourth year as a hikikomori. He lives (exclusively) in a small apartment in Tokyo, living off an allowance his parents supply him with. The first episode was a perfect introduction to his character, and the circumstances of his lifestyle. When a solicitor comes to his door, he takes a chance on opening it and ends up meeting a beautiful young girl. Satou doesn't know it yet, but it turns out that the girl, Misaki, has been watching Satou for a while, from the vantage point of her aunt and uncle's mansion on top of the hill, and has her own reasons for wanting to help Satou. She meets up with him in the park at night, and eventually gets him to sign a hand-written contract outlining the rules of her "project", which is to cure Satou of his hikikomori ways.

Naturally, Satou is suspicious, and suspects a conspiracy as usual - this side of him was obviously influenced by one of the two important figures from his high school life - Hitomi, the female upper-classman who convinced him to join the literature club, which just ended up consisting of the two of them playing cards to pass the time. Hitomi appears to be a clinically depressed individual with obsessive paranoid delusions about conspiracies. There's obviously some chemistry between Hitomi and Satou, but it never seems to get the justice it deserves. Well, that's life.

The other important character from Satou's high school days is an under-classman whom he attempted to save from some bullies once (mostly to impress Hitomi). Satou ended up getting beaten up as well, but the under-classman, Yamazaki, appreciated the gesture all the same. So by cosmic coincidence, it turns out that Yamazaki is living right next door to Satou in the apartment complex in Tokyo, attending classes to become a game creator. Though, Satou doesn't figure this out until he finally gathers the courage to bang on his neighbor's door and tell him to turn his music down for once. A potentially traumatizing confrontation unexpectedly turns into a friendly reunion.

Turns out Yamazaki is a major otaku and figure collector, his walls lined with anime, manga, and game-related items. In what begins as a huge ploy to deceive Misaki into thinking he's not a hikikomori (not realizing that she already knows better), Satou and Yamazaki decide to design their own computer game. Of course, the only realistic option for them, considering time and resources, is to create a galge (a less obvious term for eroge - basically an erotic dating sim). And so the fun begins. For inspiration, Yamazaki first gets Satou addicted to all of his favorite eroge, then introduces him to the wonder, the splendor, the beauty of Akihabara with all of its otaku stores and maid cafés. And for even more inspiration, Yamazaki unlocks the world of internet porn, and Satou apparently develops a loli fetish. While we're on the topic of uncouth hobbies, Satou later gets seriously addicted to an MMORPG, but this time, Yamazaki plays the savior by teaching him the hard way that people in those games are not who they seem.

All the time, Satou and Misaki are meeting nightly in the park for "hikikomori recovery tutoring", but their "relationship" develops rather slowly. One thing I didn't really agree on about Satou's behavior was how much he seemed to ignore Misaki. Suspicions and conspiracies and insecurities be damned, if I had a savior like Misaki (if only), you can bet I'd pay more attention to her. Then again, these kinds of things can be confusing. I guess it doesn't help that she keeps calling him things like "trash", "failure of a human", and "lower than a stray dog". But it turns out she has her own psychological problems to deal with. Don't we all.

There was a rather somber arc (heh, even for this series) midway through the series where Satou and Hitomi go to an "offline meeting" where depressed individuals meet to die together. I didn't really want to see these characters die, but I was a little disappointed in the resolution to the arc. I just don't see Hitomi being happy with that jerk Jougasaki. "I love you", "I need you"...if you care about her so much, pal, then why is your work more important? At least he acted like an upstanding guy when he found out what Hitomi was planning to do. Still, "I want to marry you", "those were the words I was waiting to hear", just doesn't convince me. Furthermore, after the recovered would-be suicidees were brought in, the guy that came in lecturing them about the trouble they would have caused had they jumped, and the families all worried about them...it felt so phony to me. But I guess I don't know much when it comes to suicide. I'm glad they didn't shy away from the topic in this series, though.

As much as I hate to spoil - though I've already spoiled the midway climax - this review wouldn't be complete without discussing the series' outcome. Does Satou ever recover from being a hikikomori? Well, yes, it would appear so. Obviously, there are some deep-rooted psychological issues to be concerned with, but he does eventually get a job. Of course, that's not until Yamazaki moves away (forced to drop his dreams of being a game creator and go home to take over the family farm), Hitomi goes off to start a family, his allowance gets canceled due to his father's forced retirement, and he even forsakes Misaki and her help. Oh, and the game he and Yamazaki were working on gets finished, but flops, and Satou realizes he doesn't cut it as a "creator". So, with no money, and nobody to fall back on, he eventually takes that step out into the world and ends up with a job conducting traffic. Unfortunately, that's the straw that breaks Misaki. Turns out she's just about as miserable as Satou, and her only purpose in life was being needed by Satou, the one person she found who was more pathetic than she. So with Satou doing okay on his own for once, Misaki's life no longer has any purpose.

The buildup to Misaki's attempted suicide was beautifully depressing. The whole scenery of it was amazing, with the snow, and the one song during the scene in the park, when Satou walks out on Misaki, it's like an acoustic guitar strumming some minor chords...I want to learn those chords. I still don't quite understand how things got resolved. Misaki obviously wasn't just trying to get some attention. She was ready to die, even despite Satou's attempts to stop her. And yet, they managed to work it out. Somehow. But I am glad they did. I still think Satou should be more honest about his feelings, though. Unless he really doesn't have them... That would be sad.

"Question: Why would someone want to continue living as a hikikomori?
"Answer: Because his clothing, food, and housing are guaranteed. Since he always finds a way to get by, he can afford to continue living as hikikomori. In hindsight, living as a hikikomori was a luxury in itself. Without clothing, food, and housing, you don't have any other choice but to work unless you're prepared to die."

"What to do from here on out, how to improve my life... I actually know the answer. I've read around two hundred books on self-improvement. I've even thought about writing one myself. I know everything."
"Then...why?"
"I'm scared."
"Scared?"
"I'm scared of changing my way of life. If I do, I feel like something unexpected will occur. ...I know things can't continue like this forever. But... I also want to remain like this. I don't want to log out. Although I know it isn't realistic, I keep thinking that suddenly, one day, a surprise will occur and everything will resolve itself."

Human Pathos

For me, this series works on two levels. It was great fun to watch. And it's also probably one of the most important series I've watched. There's no question I'm a NEET, and even though it's primarily a Japanese phenomenon, I don't feel that it would be a stretch to describe myself as a hikikomori at this point in my life. Maybe I'm not worst-case scenario, but the problem is there. Although, I don't like admitting to problems because doing so instigates a push towards a solution, and the solution is precisely what I'm afraid of. See the quote above. Still, despite one's desire to be unique, it is comforting to associate oneself with a group, because it helps to know that you're not the only one dealing with a specific type of problem. It's kind of like the ancient practice of naming a demon to strip it of its power.

But where does it go from here?

"In dramas, there is an introduction, development, turn, and a conclusion - a burst of emotions and closure. Our lives will always be filled with a vague uncertainty."

Tomb Raider Chronicles

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

"Lara Croft
Once And Future Adventurer"

My issues with this game are: a) it has the same downfalls as The Last Revelation (particularly in forced perspectives and cinematic reveals); b) the level-loading times are patience-testingly long; c) which is compounded by the fact that for some reason when you die, it automatically loads the title screen instead of assuming you want to load a game, so that when you die, you have to go through two painful loading screens instead of just one; and d) the final level has way too many annoying bugs...

If you can get past all of that, it's actually a pretty fun game. Clearly a lot shorter, and not quite so epic as LastRev, since the different episodes are unrelated, but fun. Plus, you get back that location variety as well as alternate outfits that were missing from LastRev. Winter Camo for the Russian levels, Young Lara for the Halloween episode, and a shiny Catsuit for the industrial levels (and, of course, the classic outfit for the Roman levels).

The setup of the plot is actually pretty neat. Lara is missing and presumed dead after the raid of LastRev, and some of her closest friends gather together after the dedication of her memorial in order to tell stories of some of her more secretive past adventures. First you get to run through the streets of Rome, and eventually the Colloseum, searching for the Philosopher's Stone. Then you get to infiltrate a Russian submarine to recover the Spear of Destiny from some undersea wreckage. Then you have a rather unique Halloween episode, where young Lara follows a priest onto a haunted island. Finally, you get to sneak into Von Croy Industries, Mission:Impossible style, to steal the Iris back from some androids (that's right).

Overall, the levels and locations felt sort of like an amalgam of previous tomb raiding memories and experiences, doing justice to the 'Chronicles' title, as well as adding some new features and experiences. New moves include tight-rope walking, parallel bar swinging, and limited hand-to-hand combat techniques. I'll say a few words about the individual locations (this section may contain some spoilers):

Rome (The Streets of Rome/Trajan Markets/The Colloseum)

These levels kind of felt like a dry Venice (TR2), with a little bit of the original greco-roman levels from the first game thrown in. The Colloseum was pretty cool. This time around, you got to fight gladiators as well as lions. You didn't get to explore the Colloseum proper, though, so it's not like you can even compare it to the first game's Coliseum. It was definitely interesting to see Pierre and Larson (from the first game) back, and as funny and stereotypical as ever. Larson being the dumb cowboy, and Pierre being the snooty Frenchman. Nothing too serious, but a generally good time. Pierre's downfall was pretty ruthless, though, but very clever (with a few puns of its own), and true to Lara's original badass image (as opposed to CD's modern 'delicate' Lara). Helmet Head was freaking annoying to kill.

Pierre: You were kicked in the head by a horse, oui? So the brain doesn't work correctly?
Larson: How'd you know about that?

Pierre: Come, let us get off this roof, and I will buy you a milkshake.

Russia (The Base/The Submarine/Deepsea Dive/Sinking Submarine)

Imagine TR2's Offshore Rig set in TR3's Antarctica, with a tiny bit of TR2's Maria Doria levels thrown in on the side, and that's what the Russian levels are like. The Russian Admiral actually turns out to be a pretty sympathizable character. Exploring the submarine was pretty fun. The Deepsea Dive portion was disappointingly short, though. The Sinking Submarine was also fun to explore.

Black Isle (Gallows Tree/Labyrinth/Old Mill)

This little episode was surprisingly original, and interesting. First of all, it's the first set of full levels with young Lara, unlike the Training levels in LastRev. Second, because Lara is young, you have no weapons, so you have to think of other ways to avoid enemies. Third, the whole thing was like a Halloween theme park, with all kinds of classic baddies haunting around, from werewolves to will o' the wisps to skeletons to deranged forest spirits to a [literally] heartless talking hanged man to an apparition of death to a seahag to a headed horseman/perturbed demon... Really neat levels.

Von Croy Industries (13th Floor/Escape with the Iris/Red Alert!)

Beside the annoying bugs in the final level, these levels are mostly fun. Some stealth stuff, partly reminiscent of TR3's Nevada levels, as well as a setting reminiscent of the City portion of TR3's London levels. Crawling through vents and sneaking around is fun, though this isn't quite Metal Gear Solid, and the stealth tactics aren't quite as reliable. The guy talkin' to Lara on the headset, telling her about the layout of the building and et cetera, is extremely annoying though. He tries to be all hip and cool and everything, and he just comes off as being obnoxiously annoying. And you can even tell in the tone of Lara's voice that she thinks the same way. Eventually, you start wishing he would just shut up and let you figure things out for yourself, for what it's worth.

Conclusion

As for the "tombiness" of Tomb Raider Chronicles - very low. But by this point, you kind of start taking for granted that Lara rarely raids tombs these days, and just accept it for what it is. For that reason, this game could never compare to the original, and it doesn't quite have the legendary levels that two and three boast. Still, for a light-hearted (despite the gloomy nature of the storyline - mourning Lara's death) adventure through some vaguely familiar, and some newer, areas, this game delivers an enjoyable distraction from your own boring life (at least until the bugs get you).

Endgame Stats:

Time Taken - 7:27:43
Distance Travelled - 34646m
Ammo Used - 2683
Health Packs Used - 42
Secrets Found - 28/36
Saves - 330

Tomb Raider - The Last Revelation

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Background:

The fourth installment in the hit series starring Lara Croft. Now this is interesting, because this is where I lost contact with the Tomb Raider series originally. I played the first three games when they came out, but then I sort of got distracted away from the series, and ignored it until just a month or so ago, when they remade the first game (Tomb Raider Anniversary). Since it was a remake of the incredible original, I couldn't pass it up, plus I figured it would be a good way to reintroduce myself to the series with something familiar, while meeting the modern Tomb Raider engine at the same time.

As it was, after playing Anniversary, my interest in the series was rekindled, and I played through the three games I own. Then I bought the next two games, and I'm playing through the fourth one now, for the first time ever. This game was supposed to be a return to the tombs, after the city-like, industrial, and open-jungle levels of the second and third games in the series. Last Revelation was also originally supposed to be the final Tomb Raider game, as Lara Croft supposedly dies at the end. It's also considered the last of the classic titles, as the fifth game was a half-assed cash cow (I hear), and the sixth game took some huge risks and failed miserably (I also hear). Then Core was replaced by Crystal Dynamics, and we get the modern Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider Legend, with an all-new game engine. That's the history of it anyway...

Pros:

Nonlinearity - You can pass freely between levels, and in some cases, you have to in order to collect items and open gates to move on to yet more levels.

Poison Effect - The screen dilates and contracts on the vertical and horizontal axes, really screwing up your perception of direction and distance - impressive and effective.

Laser Sight - You can combine the laser sight to select guns in your inventory (why not all of them?), adding a new element to combat by allowing you to target a specific spot rather than just pointing your guns and shooting.

Shimmy Around Corners - This is a useful addition that seems like it should have been implemented awhile ago. Now, when you're hanging from ledges or climbing on ladders (or ladder-like surfaces), you can actually maneuver around corners without having to be on foot (as there is often not a floor to stand on in those situations).

Torches - Being able to pick up and light torches in this game was a really cool addition. It was also a nice alternative to lighting flares, as the torches lasted pretty much indefinitely (unless you drop it in some water). It would have been nice if you could use them as a weapon, though. It just seems like it would be natural to kill a mummy by lighting it on fire with a torch. But alas, I had no such luck.

Cons:

Loading Times - I can understand the loading screen when you pass between levels, but stepping into a room within a level and having the screen freeze for five seconds before continuing really interrupts the game flow.

Forced Perspective - In some areas of the game, the camera changes from its usual spot behind Lara in order to accentuate a certain aspect of a room or focus on something within the room. This is useful and at times essential to the gameplay, but in the earlier Tomb Raiders, you have the option of hitting the Look button to move the camera back to its default position behind Lara. For some reason, in this game, you can't shake the camera out of its predefined position in these specific areas, leading to some really disorienting and frustrating sections where you can't choose where to look.

Cinematic Reveal - Every time you throw a switch, or sometimes just when you enter a particularly special room, a cinematic follows where it shows you a door opening or it shows off the room or something to that effect. In previous games, when this happens, you're still in control of Lara, and you can hit the Look button or pull out your guns in order to kill the cinematic and force the camera back to Lara. In this game, you just have to sit there and watch the cinematic, even if you've seen it already. Plus, there are a lot more cinematics in the game, reminding me of Elysia's comment on TRA, how every little thing has to be handed to you in a cinematic, instead of allowing you to discover it yourself. Honestly, I thought a lot of the disappointing changes in TRA were the result of CD's handling of the series (CD replaced Core after the sixth game), but now I'm starting to wonder if the disappointment of TRA stems from CD trying to replicate the disappointing aspects of later TR's and apply them to the pure and unfettered original game...

Locust Swarms - The piranha in TR3 were annoying, but you could stay out of the water. The scarab swarms in this game are annoying, but at least you can escape them by getting high off the ground. But the locust swarms cannot be evaded. When they come, all you can do is try to outrun them, as they peel away your health, until they run away. All I want is some way to evade them. Like if lighting a flare (glo-stick) would make them stay away, or if you could kill them somehow. I just don't like hearing that locust swarm moving in and knowing there's absolutely nothing I can do but suck it up and prepare a medikit.

Lack of Alternate Outfits - Okay, it's not a fundamental part of the gameplay, and even the fantastic original game stuck with one outfit for the whole journey, but after the exciting alternate outfits in the second and third games, it's a little disappointing not to see some new ones in this game.

Lack of Croft Manor - I can forgive this game because they have a rather original training level, where Lara is 16 years old and being instructed in the ways of tomb raiding by her mentor, but I still can't help feeling nostalgic for the old Croft Manor.

City Levels - A return to the tombs, indeed. The bright, sandy Alexandria areas were interesting and fun to play, but the dark Cairo levels started to bore me. It was interesting that they kind of went for almost a horror vibe, but it just wasn't right for a Tomb Raider game. The alien scares of the Antarctica levels in TR3 were effective, but this was a little...blah. Plus, I've never been hugely fond of vehicles in Tomb Raider, but they've been an integral part since the second game. I'd just rather explore at a slow pace on foot than zoom by a bunch of areas with my foot on the pedal.

Inventory - I really don't understand why they got rid of the three-tiered circular ring-style inventory of the previous games. It was unique and one of Tomb Raider's trademarks. In this game, you just get a regular line of items that you can scroll through left or right. And there's only one tier. It was really nice having weapons/health/flares on one level, special items (keys, etc.) on another level, and system controls (sound, video settings, load game, save game, etc.) on yet another level. In this game, everything is confined to a single level, and when you get a lot of items, it's annoying having to scroll them all back and forth like crazy, mainly to go from using medikits to saving games, to choosing ammo types for weapons, to looking at what special items you carry, etc. It's maddening. And the options and exit game commands weren't even in the inventory. You have to press 'p' (for pause) to get to them. I went halfway through the game before I figured out how to exit to title! And the bloated inventory is particularly annoying because halfway through the game, you pick up 5 special items that you just hang onto for the rest of the game. I just really don't see the justification for getting rid of the ring-style inventory...

Endgame Stats:

Time Taken - 17:32:03
Distance Travelled - 97975m
Ammo Used - 10144
Health Packs Used - 63
Secrets Found - 53/70
Saves - 754

Level Impressions:

(This section contains spoilers!).

Cambodia (Angkor Wat/Race For The Iris)

This was a nice training/beginning to the game. You get to control Lara at age 16 as she is shown the tomb raiding ropes by her mentor Werner Von Croy. The race is a lot of fun because you can try to beat Werner to the Iris, but you have to be good!

Valley of the Kings (Tomb of Seth/Burial Chambers/Valley of the Kings/KV5)

These levels were pretty cool. Kind of half tomb-y, half desert-y. A good introduction to the mood/setting of the game. The sphinx in Tomb of Seth and the rotating room in Burial Chambers were particularly cool. The vehicle section in the last two levels of this group had me feeling so-so, though, since I'm not a huge fan of vehicles in Tomb Raider.

Karnak (Temple of Karnak/Great Hypostle Hall/Sacred Lake/Tomb of Semerkhet/Guardian of Semerkhet)

These levels were fairly good. They were definitely reminiscent of the Egyptian levels in the first Tomb Raider game, particularly the Khamoon levels. Of course, they weren't quite as wonderfully architecturally designed, unfortunately. The game of Senet in the Tomb of Semerkhet was pretty fun (after I remembered to read the tablet stating the rules...). I like how you have to go through a bunch of extra chambers to beat the level if you lose the game. The Guardian of Semerkhet was creepy (until you saw he was just an ornamented live bull), and added a new aspect to the gameplay, as you had to use him to grant access to certain areas.

Desert (Desert Railroad)

This was a really fun level. It takes place on a moving train in the middle of the desert. I saw the cutscene leading into this level, and I was saying to myself, I really hope I get to play on the train! And I did! It definitely reminded me of Indiana Jones, in whichever movie it is where they're fighting on the train. I just wish there had been more to the level.

Alexandria (Alexandria/Coastal Ruins/Catacombs/Temple of Poseidon/Lost Library/Hall of Demetrius/Pharos, Temple of Isis/Cleopatra's Palaces)

This was probably my second favorite location in this game. The earlier sections are very sandy and desert-y, but the later underground levels are very tomb-y and actually somewhat reminiscent of the greco-roman levels from the first Tomb Raider game (a Temple of Poseidon, in Egypt?). The nonlinearity played a huge part in this location, as most of the levels were connected in various ways to each other. The Catacombs were pretty good. Not quite what I was expecting, but effective nonetheless. They were more vertical than horizontal, but that added to the feeling of "going deeper". The Lost Library had some pretty frustrating puzzles, which is probably a good thing. Pharos, Temple of Isis was probably the second biggest 'woah' moment for me in the game. I was a little confused about where to go from the Coastal Ruins. I knew I was missing something in the Catacombs, but I found an underwater passage in Coastal Ruins that led to this huge underwater cavern with the entrance to some giant underwater palace. I was totally impressed. And the hammerhead shark was a nice addition. I was just like, woah! And the best part was that I didn't even think I was supposed to be there, so it felt more like a discovery than just moving onto the next area. You know what I mean? Cleopatra's Palaces returned to that very sandy Egypt feel, but the beautiful plants scattered about also made me think of the gardens of Palace Midas from the first Tomb Raider game. All in all a pleasant level to explore.

Cairo (City of the Dead/Chambers of Tulun/Citadel Gate/Trenches/Street Bazaar/Citadel)

These were without a doubt my least favorite levels of the game. Dark, city levels. Kind of like the London levels of TR3 in atmosphere, but nowhere near as intricate or interesting to explore. Plus, they were all part-vehicle levels. The turret guns were annoying. Somebody could have told me that shooting them in just the right spot causes them to explode. The locust swarms were annoying. The giant dragon was pretty creepy, but kind of unexplained? I just really lost my patience with these levels, and was really anxious to get them behind me.

Giza (Sphinx Complex/Underneath the Sphinx/Menkaure's Pyramid/Inside Menkaure's Pyramid/The Mastabas/Great Pyramid/Khufu's Queens Pyramids/Inside the Great Pyramid/Temple of Horus)

I'd have to say this was probably my favorite location in this game. Which is good, because you want the game to end on a good note, right? The sphinx was cool, but it was the pyramids that really grabbed my attention. I had so much fun climbing up the side of Menkaure's Pyramid, and then when I saw the many-times-larger Great Pyramid, I was awe-struck! That was my biggest 'woah' moment from the game. Less of a wow!, and more of a wo-o-o-ow. Inside the pyramids was pretty good, though I feel like the tunnels and chambers could have been better if they were a little more claustrophobic. The lightning/thunder effects on the outside were cool. The giant scorpions were awesome, and creepy. Temple of Horus, being the final level, was slightly disappointing. Basically a single puzzle repeated a few times, then the boss chamber, which wasn't the most impressive boss chamber in a Tomb Raider game. There were some traps on the way out, but considering that this is The Great Pyramid, it still doesn't hold a candle to The Great Pyramid of the first Tomb Raider. And then the ending is, well, depressingly arbitrary. I can't believe that after all that happened, Werner is suddenly a good guy again, and I can't believe that after coming all that way, Lara can't make the last few steps out of the pyramid before it collapses. ::shrugs::

Overall Impressions:

This was overall an enjoyable game. There were some new additions that added to the Tomb Raider legacy, but I feel like there were many more new additions that pushed Tomb Raider away from the classic feel and more towards the modern feel. I still haven't played the other later TR games, but I really get the impression that CD used some of the less enjoyable ideas from this game when making Tomb Raider Anniversary, instead of sticking to what made the first game what it was. The levels themselves were pretty good, but already give off a slight feeling of in-intricacy. The nonlinear fashion of some of the level sets was really cool, but it felt like they used that as an excuse to make each level itself less intricate. Some of the levels were actually pretty small, serving as just a few traps or puzzles connecting this area and the next.

Final verdict: I just can't rate this game as highly as the first three in the series. It definitely had its moments, which will not soon be forgotten, but a pervading sense of deterioration is already palpable, and knowing the extent to which modern Tomb Raider has gone, I can't help but let that put a little poison into the experience. Still, it was mostly a fun game to play.

Shuffle! (2005-2006)

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Warning! This review may contain some vague spoilers.

I was shuffling through some elf pics one day, and I came across a character I was able to identify as Kareha from Shuffle!, an anime series based on an eroge. Naturally, I decided to check out the series. Turns out Kareha is actually a god, not an elf, but the difference is negligible. Unfortunately, she's also a secondary character. But, being a sexy senpai with beautiful green eyes, who likes frilly underwear and works at a costume café, what's not to like?

As for the series, I'd say it's something of a cross between To Heart and Evangelion. Heh. It starts out like your basic shounen-series-based-on-a-dating-sim, except it takes place in a world that has connections to both the Realm of the Gods and the Realm of the Demons.

We have your main character, Tsuchimi Rin, a basic all-around nice guy; the required female childhood friend, Kaede, who lives with and cares for Rin (there was an ugly accident in the past that killed off both of Rin's parents as well as Kaede's mother); and the genki dama senpai (Shigure Asa) who harbors a long-standing and repressed crush on Rin. As if those two weren't enough for Rin to choose between, both the daughters of the Lord of the Gods and of the Lord of the Demons - Sia and Nerine (the latter is conveniently nicknamed Rin...) - transfer into Rin's class, and it turns out they both want to be Rin's wife. Oh, and there's also a mysterious lolita donning the Ruri-hairstyle (Primula, nicknamed Rim...) who ends up moving in with Rin and Kaede.

The characters are all cute and lovable, and the first half of the series is pretty light and happy. The second half takes a dark turn, though, starting with the revelation of Primula's true nature. The series begins to delve into the psychological states of the main characters, including Nerine's relationship with her clone, and Sia's relationship with her unborn twin. And then there's the truth behind Rin and Kaede's history together. Truly awesome. I really loved how these girls' worlds started falling apart when Rin finally chose one of them. You just know, with this many girls in love with one guy, that when he finally picks one, there's gonna be a mess. That having been said, I was kind of disappointed that the final ending was rather happy, with each of the girls coming to terms with her position in the eyes of her beloved.

Still, it was a good series. I thought they could have taken more advantage of the gods/demons angle, since the way it turns out, the only real difference between humans, gods, and demons is the shape of their ears, and some magic power that's used only sparingly throughout the series. Also, I thought the whole idol club/groupie thing was pretty awkward/silly. But, the bottom line for a series like this is whether you can fall for the characters, and Shuffle's characters are not only lovely, but psychologically intriguing as well. I recommend it.

"You're always concerned about people who are suffering. Maybe I should suffer more?"

That Which Anniversary Lacks

Note: This discussion of the game Tomb Raider Anniversary was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Briefing: I posted this on the tombraiderforums, and I thought it was a particularly well written explication of exactly what Tomb Raider Anniversary is missing in terms of the original Tomb Raiding experience. So I'm reproducing it here.

(Begin post)

Having played through Tomb Raider Anniversary, including unlocking all the rewards, I can say that it was a very enjoyable gaming experience. As with any game, there are complaints and there are praises to be awarded. I thought the gameplay additions such as the grapple tool and the adrenaline dodge really added something to the Tomb Raiding experience. Many people have complained about the camera view, but for me, it wasn't a problem, as I used my PS2 controller on the PC. Being able to simultaneously control Lara's movements and the camera view with the two analog sticks felt perfectly natural to me.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed playing Anniversary, since it is a remake (okay, re-imagining), you can't help comparing it to the original, and in that respect, there were two things that were a major disappointment for me. Again, they didn't ruin the gaming experience, but they did disappoint me, because in these respects Anniversary does not live up to the original.

The first thing is the music. The background music in the original Tomb Raider was so memorable for me. The echo-y sounds in the Caves, and the dripping water and distant animal cries in the Cistern, these really added to the tomb raiding experience, and stuck in my mind over the years. In comparison, the ambient sounds in Anniversary are lacking. And the orchestral scores that accompany certain sequences, like every time an enemy comes up...they just felt out of place. I like the idea of having a different score for each type of enemy (though the mischievous playful quality of the rats' theme pissed me off because those little nippers were anything but :p), but in the end, it just doesn't make sense hearing orchestral music deep inside a long forgotten tomb, you know what I mean?

The other thing that majorly disappointed me about Anniversary was the level design. Missing areas aside, as there were plenty of nostalgia-invoking sections, even the parts that were there didn't feel as exciting to explore as they were in the original. And I think I know why.

After playing through Anniversary, I was taken by the desire to replay the original. So I dusted it off and, after some frustration, got it running reasonably well on my XP machine. I was fully anticipating my expectations of the original levels to be shattered by playing through them again, realizing that all my fond memories were more nostalgia than substance. But what happened was, I was once again amazed at the levels and how much fun they were to explore. And then it hit me, why the levels in Anniversary weren't as exciting. And reading through this thread, I'm excited to find that Kasperg is the first person I've come across that has been able to put into words this feeling I have. Elysia has also described it as "honeycombing" in her excellent diary.

(QUOTE by Kasperg)

The TR1 levels had a different flow in terms of architecture, sometimes having areas bigger than what was really needed. That made if feel less linear.

Anniversary seems to retain most of the key areas from the levels (central rooms, puzzle rooms) but in some cases it might seem like the transition from one to another pales in comparison to TR1. Where you used to have one room overlooking another one, you might find that the connection is now a rather boring L-shaped hallway with some occasional trap.
It's true that the original puzzles are now bigger and better (specially after seeing the St Francis' Folly media), but that "something" that linked and intertwined the areas in a level to one another seems to be absent. Concept art shows that some of the areas have been rethought as symmetrical, which is kind of a step back in terms of architectural interest. Gathering what I've seen, there's no complain on textures, models or ambience. It's just the layouts might be inferior to those of the original. Could this be related to the 3D engine's limitations?
I'm an architecture student and do level design as a hobby, so I might be worried about nothing. I don't know.

(End QUOTE)

The Palace Midas and the City/Temple of Khamoon levels especially stood out for me as good examples of the difference in level design between Anniversary and the original. In the original, Palace Midas truly took my breath away. That one tunnel that twists and climbs up through rock passages, opening out onto the roof of a structure that you stood at the foot of earlier in the level, really excited me. And the Aqueduct! Oh, the Aqueduct is soo cool, but it's nowhere to be found in the Anniversary version of Midas' Palace. (Wait a minute, you're telling me that structure in the main statue room is the aqueduct? Talk about disappointing...).

As for the City/Temple of Khamoon. Most of the areas were preserved in Anniversary, but they were unnecessarily separated. I almost suspect that that's the reason they renamed the level "Temple" of Khamoon and not "City" of Khamoon, because in the original, it really felt like a city, in that you could see practically the entire level from the main chamber with the Sphinx and the Obelisk. Going through some tunnels and then walking back out onto the main chamber, but standing higher up in a chained-off area that you couldn't reach before, really makes you feel like you're getting somewhere, and that these rooms are part of something, and not just distant, separated cells connected by long, identical passages... Realism? Realism be damned.

In conclusion, I want to reiterate that I really enjoyed playing through Anniversary. The unlockables were exciting for me (the level commentaries and the comparison galleries were particularly interesting), and I'm still playing through it periodically in order to take advantage of the beautiful custom outfits the modders on this forum and others are creating. I don't know if my complaints here will be perfectly helpful for the continuation of the Tomb Raider series, as basically they are only areas where Anniversary pales in comparison to the original, and since most Tomb Raider games aren't remakes of existing titles, I suspect the game developers are more interested in moving ahead rather than trying to recapture past achievements (and I understand this). However, I was really happy to find somebody else that could articulate the feeling I had about why the levels in Anniversary didn't stand up to the originals, and maybe somebody else will read this and discover that they too had the same feeling.

(End post)

And now, for those that missed the comment in my other TRA thread, here's a link to a graphics comparison between the two games: http://zharth.tenjou.net/tracomp/

Tomb Raider Anniversary

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

Tomb Raider Anniversary is a "re-imagining" of the original Tomb Raider game, with modern graphics and gameplay, in celebration of Lara Croft's 10th Anniversary. Having beaten the game and unlocked most of the secrets (still working on the last few) in the last four days, I can say this was an enjoyable gaming experience. Not surprising, considering the quality of the original, but I can't say that Anniversary could replace the original.

First, the pros. The graphics are light years ahead of the original, and Lara's lookin' better than ever. Some of the additions to the gameplay are quite fun, like the grappling hook and the adrenaline dodge technique (infinitely frustrating before I got the hang of it, but infinitely exciting afterwards) - which revolutionizes the action/combat factor of Tomb Raider, at least compared to the original. The unlockables are quite exciting, too. In addition to art galleries and character profiles and the like, you have unlockable cheats which includes things as useful as infinite breath (for those long underwater passages), as pointless yet cool as equipping Lara with stylish sunglasses, and as bizarrely interesting as textureless mode. Plus, being able to unlock alternate outfits for Lara is brilliant.

Now, for the cons. Most (all?) of the negative aspects of the game exist only in comparison to the original, but considering that it's a remake, such comparisons are par for the course. Anniversary simultaneously feels like a modern Tomb Raider game, while harboring endless nostalgia for the classic environments. Ultimately, though, I feel as though the environments in Anniversary are somehow lacking. They look fantastic, and are far more detailed than in the original game, but the feel, the personality, the atmosphere of the environments isn't the same. Anniversary is brighter, and less claustrophobic, and yet the really big spaces don't feel quite as big.

And the sense of adventure is somewhat compromised - I like the way another reviewer described it. In Anniversary, it's like there's one set path through the levels, with all the ledges and swinging poles and grapple loops marked out, so that you can walk into a room, take a look around, and know exactly how to progress to the next chamber. Ledges that aren't part of that path are largely inaccessible (unless they lead to a secret, in which case they're usually fairly well-hidden).

In the original Tomb Raider, it was more of an effort to figure out how to move from point A to point B, and the various ledges and areas you could access - some that led to secrets, others that led to dead-ends - heightened the feeling of adventure and discovery - the feeling of entering a tomb that hasn't been populated for hundreds, even thousands of years. Though I would recognize a particular area in Anniversary, it wouldn't be as exciting as discovering that area in the original game. Maybe it's partly nostalgia - having explored these areas already has eliminated the excitement - but I still feel like something of the atmosphere of the various chambers is lacking in Anniversary, and it leaves me desiring to go back and play through the original again.

(Read this post for a more in-depth study of what's lacking from the Anniversary version of Tomb Raider).

(I would love it if there was, like, a source port of Tomb Raider, like there is with Doom, or something like that - completely faithful to the look and feel of the original game, with minimal modification. But then, it's not much of a multiplayer game, and I haven't heard of anyone designing custom tombs.)

A note on controls: When I first downloaded the TRA demo (which led me to buy the game), I initially had difficulty with the keyboard/mouse controls. Other people might not have the difficulty I had, but I like to think of myself as primarily a console gamer, and I'm used to using a controller. Keyboard is fine for simple games that don't have a lot of commands, but for a game like TRA, there's just way too many keys to keep track of, and hitting them fast when you're in a jam seems like a crap shoot.

So I plugged my PS2 controller into my computer, and mapped all the most important keys to where they felt right. Having the dual analog sticks was especially helpful for simultaneous manipulation of Lara's movement and the camera view. Jump, Crouch/Roll/Drop, Shoot, and Grapple were on the Circle, Square, X, and Triangle buttons, respectively; I put Aim Lock and Manual Combat Mode on the shoulder buttons, along with the Prev/Next Weapon selection. The only mildly awkward thing was constantly pressing start to Interact with the environment (picking things up, pushing switches, opening doors, making Lara move faster on ledges, etc.), but it just took a little getting used to. Everything else I left on the keyboard; I think Esc for Pause, Tab for Inventory, and the shortcut keys for quick medpack were pretty much the only of those I even used.

If there was anything else, I didn't miss it. Oh, the Walk and Sneak keys. As essential as Walk was in the original Tomb Raider, I hardly even used it in Anniversary, and if I needed to, it was already accounted for by how much I moved the analog sticks ('barely' for Sneak, 'softly' for Walk, full-on for Run). Another thing, I originally had the Prev/Next Weapon selections set to the analog buttons (when you actually press the stick like a button), but I found that in heated battle situations, I ended up unintentionally hitting those buttons while moving around (inconveniently scrolling through weapons while trying to fend off a charging enemy), so I disabled them and put those functions elsewhere.

Recommendations: Obviously recommended to Tomb Raider/Lara Croft fans. I don't know how Anniversary compares to the other recent TR games on the market, but being a dedicated fan of the first three games, this new yet familiar gaming experience felt like a good introduction to modern TR. I can't say that it's a must-play for any and all fans of the original Tomb Raider game, but if you're even a little interested in how TR has changed over the years, or else if you just feel nostalgic for your favorite old tombs and want to rediscover them, give this game a chance. Just don't give up on those boss battles before you've made an effort to learn the adrenaline dodge - it's like riding a bike, and you'll love it after you learn it.

The Bottom Line: Tomb Raider Anniversary is a really fun game, and a heartfelt tribute to the original that started it all, but should not be taken as a substitute for the original.

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Note: This review was originally posted on Myspace. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. It has been backdated to the date of its original posting.

"When days turn to weeks..."

"'28 Weeks Later' is that rare sequel that doesn't embarrass the original."
- Sun News (May 10, 2007)

Ultimately, whatever I say here will be pointless if you haven't seen the movie. Just go out and see it, because it's just that incredible. Obviously, your reaction may be vastly different than mine was, but if you're anything like me, then you will be floored by this movie. Maybe even more than you were by 28 Days Later.

A little background: 28 Days Later was released in 2002. It was instantly recognized to be of a caliber much higher than the horror films of its time. In fact, it wasn't strictly a horror movie, as it could also be categorized as an apocalyptic drama or perhaps a sci-fi action flick. Interestingly, it's widely recognized as a zombie movie, without any *technical* zombies, since the monsters are not undead, they are infected living humans. And quite fast, contrary to your traditional shamblers.

5 years later, much to my surprise, the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, shows up almost out of no where (for me, at least). Being such a huge fan of 'Days', I was guaranteed to like 'Weeks', but the movie turned out even better than I hoped it would be. It was incredible. The movie is faithful to 'Days', and the music once again includes top notch post-rock-ish soundscapes, which really adds to the atmosphere.

The major appeal of 'Days', for me, was the post-apocalyptic setting. The scene where Jim wakes up in a hospital and seemingly finds that he's the last person alive on Earth will forever be one of the greatest movie moments of all time. And the rest of the film plays on the characters' [and viewers'] fears of a devastated planet, where the dangerous and mindless 'Infected' vastly outnumber the survivors. Ultimately, by the end of the film, it is discovered that only the island of Britain was devastated, and was quarantined from the rest of the world to prevent the spread of infection of the 'Rage Virus'.

In 'Weeks', despite a heavy dose of post-apocalyptic scenery, there is no illusion that the entire world has been devastated. This is after the infection has been [seemingly] eliminated, all the Infected having starved to death weeks ago. Survivors are gradually being admitted into Britain in an army-protected safe zone as the first steps toward recovery from the devastation the pandemic caused.

What struck me as interesting was how 'Weeks' managed to sort of be a prequel as well as a sequel to 'Days', simultaneously, while still taking place after the events of 'Days'. Granted, it's no prequel in any official sense, but where 'Days' dealt with the period after the virus had caused most of the damage it was to cause, 'Weeks' simultaneously deals with the period of recovery after the infection has been eradicated, *and* the period directly after initial infection, when the outbreak spreads through the community. How can this possibly be accomplished? Well, it's quite simple - the virus, having thought to have been eradicated, is transmitted via a carrier showing no symptoms, and a brand new outbreak occurs. True, the second outbreak wreaks havoc over a much smaller population than the first, but in 'Weeks' you get to see the kind of carnage that's only described in 'Days' - like when Mark (Selena's original partner) describes how the virus spread through a crowd of people - you get to see it happen in 'Weeks'.

So if the strength of 'Days' was the passive desperation of a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, what then is the strength of 'Weeks'? Well, the strength of 'Weeks' is the utterly intense active desperation and sheer terror of a community gone to hell, with the Infected suddenly cropping up all around you. What do you do when all your friends and neighbors begin to attack you in an incurable and mindless rage? What do you do when the military that was supposed to protect you suddenly decides that it's safer to simply eradicate you, rather than take the risk of checking to see if you're Infected first?

But this movie has even more. It's a very personal story, about a father who abandons his wife to save his own life (to be fair, they both would have died, if he hadn't), to later be reunited with his son and daughter. It's also a tale of import to the entire world, about a possible immunity to the virus that exists in the genes of one or more survivors who are infected, but do not show symptoms. Should these people be saved, so that they can be studied, and a cure developed, or is it better to kill them right away, since they can still infect others?

As far as the pacing of the story is concerned, the movie opens with an incredibly intense sequence involving a group of people holed up in a house, hiding from the Infected, much like what you might see in 'Days'. The majority of the movie takes place 28 weeks after the initial outbreak, and time is taken to introduce the important characters and the general setting of the survivors' colony in Britain. Once the new outbreak occurs, though, all hell breaks loose, and the rest of the movie tracks a handful of survivors just trying to reach safety, while avoiding the Infected and the equally indiscriminate military. I tell you, it's one hell of an intense journey. And I loved every minute of it.

As far as the ending goes, I won't spoil it, but the door is wide open for a third installment in the series, which I understand has already been planned (with the expected title of 28 Months Later). I sincerely hope that the time is taken to make 'Months' just as good as 'Weeks' and 'Days' were. If it is, then the 28 Trilogy could very well be one of the greatest horror trilogies ever created, perhaps surpassed only by the outstanding and unequalled Alien Trilogy. And even if not, 'Days' and 'Weeks' will still stand as two of the most incredible zombie films ever made. They have already made their mark in my life, that's for sure.