Are Telltale Games Still Special?

Telltale has gained a reputation as a premiere story teller in video games. While mainly using other licensed properties, such as The Walking Dead, Fables, and Game of Thrones, Telltale has told mature, complex, and engaging stories that always capture my attention. I feel invested and engaged in the characters that I play throughout each game, making each choice, from picking my friends or saving a life, extremely stressful and important. However, with Telltale making so many games recently, have they lost their special charm?

2012’s The Walking Dead was a major surprise. It managed to tell a heartfelt and extremely emotional story of a man trying to not only survive, but raise a child in the zombie apocalypse. Your actions not only affected yourself, but the life of Clementine. I cared more for her then Lee, the player’s protagonist, so when Lee finally died in the games final moments, I was more concerned that I had set Clementine up to survive in a world that wanted nothing more then to destroy her. It’s no wonder that The Walking Dead was a frontrunner, if not outright winner, of numerous Game of the Year awards.

It was a re-invigoration of the adventure-point-and-click genre, a genre that had remained stagnant for many years. It also brilliant worked on player agency and choice. While it certainly wasn’t completely new having branching stories based on player choice (see Mass Effect), the choices presented were different. Unlike Mass Effect and other choice-based series, the choices presented in The Walking Dead were never simply good or evil. Each decision walked in the shades of grey in-between. Do you rob a family in order to feed yourself? Do you let one of your group die because he constantly endangers to rest? It was never easy and it all felt important.

The relationship between Lee and Clementine was central to The Walking Dead

That’s not to say the game. Most notable of these were with the game’s engine. Frame rate and skipping were not only uncommon, they were expected. I never saw anyone play a Telltale Game without some obvious glitch occurring. It was just, unfortunately, part of the experience. Controls were also clunky. Even the story wasn’t immune. While there was never any bad writing per se, trying to fill out a 5 episode arc sometimes even felt too long. Certainly Walking Dead’s Season 1 Episode 2 was good, but was it really necessary to visit a cannibal family’s farm? What did it add beside building the protagonist’s relationship with Clementine. There is something to be said for narrative streamlining. Take the time for emotional moments but don’t drag things out too long. IT worked well in a bite sized chuck when the game originally came out, but going back to replay the series all at once, it feels like a major sidetrack in the story.

Was the side trip to St. John's Dairy Farm really necessary?

This brings me around to my original purpose. Since the release of Walking Dead Season 1, Telltale has shown no signs of slowing down. They have released The Walking Dead Season 1, The Walking Dead Season 2, Fable’s Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, a Game of Thrones game, and currently has plans for a Marvel game, another season of The Walking Dead, as well as, oddly enough, a Minecraft game. This isn’t even mentioning Telltales announcement of their first original IP. Telltale keeps going with no signs of slowing down. This isn’t to say that the games aren’t good. In fact, many are excellent. I love the writing of Borderlands and Game of Thrones. I adored, absolutely adored The Wolf Among Us. I instantly get excited with each new Telltale announcement.

Yet while each game is good, are they still special? There was something unique about the original season of The Walking Dead. There was a reason that it won game of the year and yet none of it’s predecessors (actual or spiritual) have received such acclaim. It’s because they haven’t given us anything new. Each game plays exactly like the last. While the story and settings may change, I know exactly what to expect as a gamer.

Tales of the Borderlands is extremely well-written, but does it add anything new?

 Let’s lot at other series. What makes each game in a big series great is that each one feels special. Halo 1 is drastically different from Halo 2. Halo 2 is even more different from Halo 3. Same goes for Uncharted 1, 2 and 3. I get excited for each new Halo release because I know there will be something new. It will still be my lovely Halo, but the sense of discovery and exploration is imperative to my enjoyment. Even the annual Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed try to add something new each year. If they don’t gamers are quick to shout back their displeasure (see Modern Warfare 2 and 3 as well as Assassin’s Creed Black Flag to Unity). So why do we allow accept it with Telltale?

Certainly, their writing has gotten worse. If anything, each story is more engaging then the last. But I’m never surprised. And I love being pleasantly surprised. Give me a new gameplay feature. Tell the story in a different way (which, to be fair, Telltale’s use of multiple protagonists in their most recent Borderlands and Game of Thrones games has at least added a spice of innovation) or give me different content.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first in line to buy a new Telltale Game each and every time. But I want that same sense of joy and wonder I got the first time I encountered a zombie with Lee back in 2012. I know that Telltale is talented enough to give me that.

The Top 5 Comics of DC's New 52

I am an unashamed DC Comics nerd. I have seen every single DC Comics animated film ever made, own pretty much every DC video game for the past two console generations (including, embarrassingly, the terrible Young Justice and Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe games),  I regularly watch every episode of their live-action series shows (Arrow, The Flash, Constantine, and even [shudder] Gotham) and spend an unnecessary amount of money each week on just DC comics.

I absolutely adore the universe and, more specifically, the great characters that inhabit it. Oh, I’m not talking about Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash, or any of the other big names that everyone knows. I’m talking about the myriad side characters that make up the DC universe that are truly unique and fleshed out. Something that, at least to me, the Marvel Universe lacks. Sure, Marvel’s main characters are much more present and varied then DC’s. But I have always felt that Marvel’s side characters have lacked a little something.

At any rate, the DCU is one of my favorite fictional universes. With the recent news that the DC’s relaunch line of the The New 52  is coming to an official end after the two month long Convergence event series, I thought it was time to take a short look back at what I feel are my favorite series of DC’s New 52.

HM: Injustice: Gods Among Us

I wanted to start this list off quickly with one cheat. Technically, Injustice: Gods Among Us is not a part of the New 52 world. Instead, it stands on it’s own in it's own universe. But, despite being a video game tie-in, this book has consistently BLOWN my mind. If you haven’t read this series, pick it up now. It’s a wonderful exploration of all the DC characters and what they are truly capable of when the absolute worst happens. The answers may surprise you. But what makes this series work is the true despair, grief, and sadness that comes from the characters that both feels incredibly strong and yet insanely believable, given all that we know about these characters after decades and decades of development. Many long-time characters die in this series and every single one breaks your heart in new ways because, due to this series stand-alone nature, we know that it’s actually permanent in this world. So it hurts. Read this series. Do it now. Why are you still here?

#5: Batman/Superman

While I have never been a huge fan of Superman as a standalone character, I have always found him to be at his most effective as a foil to other DC characters. And there is probably no greater opposite to Superman then Batman. What makes this title so great (besides Jae Lee’s always ridiculously gorgeous artwork) is how it juxtaposes Batman and Superman so clearly; from their methods, their beliefs, even their personalities. Outside of one truly atrocious storyline (the terrible Game Over storyline that also dropped Jae Lee’s art) this series compares and contrasts Bruce and Clark in constantly interesting ways while still exploring the true and powerful friendship that these two characters have for each other. A must read for any fan of this nerd-tastic bromance.

One quick sidenote: It’s this comic that has me optimistic for the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. While Man of Steel was FAR from a perfect movie, I find Synder’s decision to have (SPOILER) Superman murder Zod to be extremely interesting. I really hope they explore this gap between the two superheroes. On the one hand you have Batman, a dark and brooding hero who also vows to never kill anyone. On the other, you have Superman, a hero usually seen as a bright and shinning beacon of pure, unwavering goodness who has also committed the act of murder. If used correctly, these two characters can become BRILLIANT foils for each other as total contradictory characters in every way who still find a way to work together. Anyways, thanks for allowing this digression.

#4: Swamp Thing

There is so much to say about this series. From the excellent exploration of existential ideas to the brilliant storylines and artwork, Swamp Thing has never failed to amaze. While the series started with a great storyline, Rotworld, by the masterful Scott Synder (who, spoiler, will be appearing again on this list) that explored how Alec Holland dealt with the responsibility of becoming the Swamp Thing, the series really took off when the reins were handed to Charles Soule.

While I was originally extremely worried and skeptical with Synder’s departure, Soule took the series to new heights. Freed from the almost 2 year long Rotworld storyline, Soule began to explore smaller, yet no less impactful, stories that explored Holland’s drive, belief systems, and despair while attending to the duties of the Swamp Thing. It’s an absolute shame that this series will not be surviving the relaunch post-Convergence as it truly was a shining gem of the DC Universe. Though knowing comics, the Swamp Thing won’t stay down long.

#3: Harley Quinn

One of the big disappointments of the New 52 has been it’s treatment of many of it’s female characters (look no further then Starfire). However, one female character (along with Wonder Woman and Batwoman) who finally got a chance to really grow was Harley Quinn. While Harley Quinn has always been one of my favorites. It wasn’t really until recently that she really struck out on her own. Usually playing second fiddle to the ever popular Joker, Harley finally broke away from that abusive relationship and grew on her own. After finding independence in the pages of Suicide Squad, Harley finally got her own series, which has quickly become one of DC’s top sellers. As one would expect, Harley’s comic is zany and insane, yet completely adorable and endearing. Harley has quickly become the DCU’s version of Deadpool, breaking the fourth wall with ease and going on wacky adventures just for the hell of it. But what makes this series work is how believable Harley somehow remains, despite the zaniness of her adventures. Harley feels genuine sadness and happiness that constantly rings true. Harley’s bisexuality is also constantly explored in a believable way, with a non-committed but loving relationship with Poison Ivy. It fills me with joy that after Convergence, Harley Quinn will not only continue but also be getting a spinoff team-up comic with Power Girl. I am so down.

#2: Animal Man

Another New 52 series that ended too soon, Animal Man is an absolutely brilliant series.  Like Swamp Thing, the bulk of this series initial run dealt with the Rotworld storyline. It was a great storyline that wonderfully crossed over with Swamp Thing (and, for a short while, the F.R.A.N.K.E.N.S.T.I.E.N. series) that allowed writer Jeff Lemire to explore Buddy Baker’s motivations. Yet what made this series so unique as compared to the rest of the DCU was it’s incredible focus on family. With a wife and two children, Buddy has more to think about when he dons his costume then most heroes. Buddy’s sometimes opposing senses of duty and family are woven deeply into the series. Also like Swamp Thing, this series really took hold after the end of Rotworld.

Fair warning however. This series will break your heart. There are several moments that nearly destroyed me and the final issue of this series was the first comic that ever made me truly weep. The final images of this run are impactful and poignant, giving this book the wonderful finale it deserved, even if it came too soon.

#1: Batman

Did you really think it could be anyone else? As much as I wanted to give the top spot to a lesser known series, I couldn’t justify it. From day one, the amazing team of writer Scott Synder and artist Greg Capullo have knocked every single issue out of the park. From the truly creepy and mind-blowing Court of Owls storyline to the brilliant retelling of Batman’s growing pains in Zero Year to the great exploration of the Joker/Batman relationship (as well as the relationship between Bruce and the entire Bat-family) in Death of the Family and Endgame, this series has never let go. A sad tendency of many writers when it comes to Batman is to forget to make Batman human. Batman can be really easy to make larger-then-life. Everyone forgets that the whole point of Batman is that he is just human. Unlike Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and many other DC superheroes, Bruce Wayne is vulnerable. He can make mistakes, which is something that many writers and comic fans alike forget that Batman can even do. Yet Scott Synder gives us a Batman who is fallible and still can have the strong presence that the character of Batman embodies.

This series run is all about the relationships that Bruce has. From Batman’s relationship with his rouge’s gallery to Alfred to Gordon and to the Bat-Family, Batman is given more of a heart in Synder’s run then ever before. The series is also helped by Capullo’s ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK. Also, let’s not forget the amazing coloring this series employs, especially during the Zero Year arc. Never before have a I seen such a harmonious fusion of art and content in a DC or Marvel mainstream comic. Despite everything, Batman is still number one.

Cause HE’S BATMAN!!!!!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments. I always love to hear feedback, good or bad. Thanks for reading.

Magic the Gathering and LGBT Representation

I was a huge Magic the Gathering player. I own hundreds of cards, made multiple decks, and continue to play, although less frequently, with my friends. When I lived in London, I would stop by Forbidden Planet everyday on the way home from work to pick up a new booster pack. Looking back, it’s sad and scary how much money I spent on these cards, especially given my current post-college grad money position. Magic the Gathering allowed me to enter a world filled with badass warriors, dragons, magic, dimension hoping, and innumerable different creatures. Not only that, it gave me, though the card game itself, an agency and role to play in this well-crafted (if not always well-written) world. Yet over the past few years, I've grown away from Magic the Gathering, mostly due to lack of time and money. Yet Magic the Gathering, along with the fantasy it created and the community it fostered for me in the real world, will always hold a place in my heart.

Sooooooooo many Magic cards.....

 So when I logged online one day a few months ago to find that Magic the Gathering become a talking point, I was surprised and interested. I was even more surprised to learn that the issue was one that was near and dear to my heart. Magic the Gathering had introduced a their first transgendered character in the form of “Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.”

As a transwoman myself, I was extremely interested in this new character. I’m always down for more LGBT representation, especially when I myself consider myself a part of the B and the T. The fact that she was in an epic fantasy world, a genre that has historically ignored women, was even more interesting. While Magic The Gathering has always had strong female characters and women have appeared as strong characters in mainstream epic fantasy, such as Lord of the Rings’ Eowyn, Dragonlance’s Bloodmoon or Kitiara, and Aria or Daenerys in Game of Thrones, they typically are side characters who compliment or are even completely separate from their male counterparts’ separate, and usually more important, quest (See Tolkein’s totally male Fellowship of the Ring or completely male filled The Hobbit). So I decided to take a look at Alesha and see how they would tackle trans issues in an epic fantasy world. What I found surprised me.

What I found most important and most surprising is that Alesha’s transgendered background is almost completely a non-issue. Here is a passage from her story and the revealing of her transgendered origins at the age of 16:

She had been so different – only sixteen, a boy in everyone’s eyes but her own, about to choose and declare her name before the khan and all the Mardu.

The khan had walked among the warriors, hearing the tales of their glorious deeds. One by one, they declared their new war names, and each time, the khan shouted the names for all to hear. Each time, the horde shouted the name as one, shaking the earth.

Then the khan came to Alesha. She stood before him, snakes coiling in the pit of her stomach, and told how she had slain her first dragon. The khan nodded and asked her name.

“Alesha,” she said, as loudly as she could. Just Alesha, her grandmother’s name.

“Alesha!” the khan shouted, without a moment’s pause.

And the whole gathered horde shouted “Alesha!” in reply. The warriors of the Mardu shouted her name.

In that moment, if anyone had told her that in three years’ time she would be khan, she just might have dared to believe it.

After this section, Alesha’s transgendered nature becomes a non-issue. She is female and that is that. The understated way in which she is introduced is refreshing. Many times with characters who represent LGBT, the characters become simply that; representations. Nothing more or less. A gay character becomes singularly characterized by their one trait-they are gay. They sometimes have less personality outside of that single fact or, at the very least, much of their character development stems from their sexuality or gender identity.

Also, she's just damn cool

While many lesbian and gay characters are starting to avoid this trope (see Mitchell and Cameron in Modern Family as good example) many Bisexual and Transgendered characters still face this. Take a look at Laverine Cox’s character in Orange is the New Black or Jeffrey Tambor’s award winning turn in Transparent. Much has been made recently of these two transgendered characters in the mainstream, and rightly so. It’s extremely gratifying transgendered issues, specifically transwomen issues, are being showcased in a way that is catching the attention of the mainstream. However, for both of these characters, much of their character arcs revolve around their transgenderism, especially at first.

This also occurs much of the time with bisexual characters, where being bisexual becomes a main focus of their stories. I can only think of a handful of characters such as Prince Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones, Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who, or Bo in Lost Girl who are bisexual and rarely, if ever, had arcs that specifically dealt with the fact that “oh, I’m bisexual.” For these characters, they love who they love. There almost always are important character arcs revolving around their relationships, but rarely does gender matter. That is how an LGBT character should be written.

Bisexual characters like Lost Girl's Bo are extremely important for LGBT representation

 As a bisexual transwoman myself, being transgendered and bisexual is an important part of my identity. There is no getting around that. But it is not all who I am and why I sometimes don’t bother to say that I am transgendered. I am by no means hiding, but I also wish for others to see me as more then just a transgendered person. There is much more to my personality and many more struggles that I face other then being transgendered.

I am not saying to completely disregard transgendered or bisexual issues in mainstream culture. In fact, I think characters found in works like Orange is the New Black and Transparent are incredibly important to begin a national/worldwide understanding of what transgendered people go though.  However, sometimes its nice to see a character who can be transgendered or bisexual but also be so much more then those singular identities, much like complex human beings in real life. Now it’s time for me to go build a Magic the Gathering deck around “Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.” Excuse me, I got money to spend.

(A small sidenote that I wished to bring up in this article but couldn’t find a good place to fit it. There as been little to no transmen representation in mainstream media, which is extremely disappointing. While transmen face very similar issues to transwomen, they also face very different struggles from their female counterparts. Their stories also deserve to be told and deserve a place in the current transgendered discussion. It’s sad and disappointing how often they are overlooked. This deserves an article of it’s own and probably will get one from me, but I wanted to at least mention it here.)

Why I'm Restarting Pixel Splatter

By Jessie Earl

Finally, after two years with nothing new whatsoever, I’m finally restarting Pixel Splatter. Yet, as I sit here, preparing myself to beginning writing again, I feel the need to create a written explanation and commitment to why I want to restart this blog and what I think it’s purpose is going forward.

When Pixel Splatter started, I wanted it to be a place where I could just write out my thoughts on pop culture and video games. A place to just say what I wanted to say. But quickly, I found myself getting excited and adding more and more people to the project in hopes of creating something bigger. Eventually, it became too much and, as with many creative projects, Pixel Splatter was abandoned.

Since then, a lot has changed in my life. I have graduated college. I met new people. I visited more places in the world. I got more experience. Maybe most importantly, to me personally anyways, I finally came out as a transwoman. Since that time over a year ago, I have grown a lot. I’ve become a new person. I’ve become, hopefully, more confident and have cultivated a larger understanding of myself and who I want to be. This transformation was not easy by any means. Mental health is always important. It’s not always easy to fight to make sure you maintain a positive and healthy relationship with your own mind. I shall leave things at that and say no more.

Now, more then a half a year since graduating, I find myself having a hard time pushing myself to do more. I sit bored, wanting desperately to write, to create. I feel it in my bones. Sometimes the desire keeps me up at night, making my blood race and my mind go wild. But, even with all that passion, I keep finding it hard to put pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard to be more accurate. Starting this very article that you are reading was one of the hardest things to do. I stared at the blank page for 30 minutes, knowing what I wanted to say but not knowing how to say it.

So that’s the goal. To push myself to begin writing again. I’m going to continue this blog, just for myself, with the goal of putting something out at least once a week. It may not be good writing, It may not be interesting or worthwhile writing. But it will be writing. It will be me, sitting down and taking the time to try and articulate something. I don’t really care if anyone reads this. I certainly hope you do and I certainly hope you find that I have something worth saying. But in the end, this is for me in the hopes of finding a new way to push and motivate myself now that the structure of academia that I have had my entire life is gone.

Anyways, I know this article was basically just one long ramble. I didn’t really have any set ideas in my mind when I started writing this. I just knew that I wanted to get this stuff out and say it. I think that hopefully what I write from now on will be more concise. I hope you’ll join me and find what I have to say interesting. If not, thanks for reading this and I wish you the best of luck on whatever path you currently find yourself. Thanks for taking a moment to listen to me when our paths crossed.

Retro Rewind: Sonic Adventure 2

By James Earl

Since 1991, one of gaming’s most prolific icons, Sonic the Hedgehog, has been dashing across our screens as one of the earliest examples of modern video games. People were drawn to the sense of speed and simple platforming mixed with complex level designs in Sonic’s early games that made you want to play the same level over and over. When Sonic made the crossover to three dimensions in the short-lived days of the Sega Dreamcast, the games translated surprisingly well with the added dimension. Sadly, the Sonic games of this current generation have been somewhat lacking (cough cough Sonic Unleashed), mostly due to the fact that Sega tried to change up the formula and forgot what made a Sonic game fun; however, recent attempts like the great Sonic Colors, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and Sonic Generations games have started bringing Sonic back to the glory he once held and deserves. With the recent rerelease of older Sonic games on Xbox Live and PSN as well as the current rumblings that the next Sonic game may be Sonic Adventure 3 (a prospect which highly excites this writer), its time to take a look back at probably the best Sonic game of the modern era, Sonic Adventure 2.

And lets just forget this ever happened

After the success of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast (one of the very few success for the doomed console), Sonic Adventure 2 was quickly green-lit and was released in June 2001. Sadly, while receiving both commercial and critical success, Sonic Adventure 2 was not enough to change the fate of the Dreamcast, which was quickly losing its market to the Gamecube, PlayStation 2, and original Xbox. Very soon after, Sega announced that it was giving up on hardware development and abandoned support of the Dreamcast. Luckily, however, Sonic Adventure 2 was given a second chance at life with a released version of the Gamecube title Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The new version featured multiplayer elements as well as improvements to graphics and small changes to gameplay. While slightly less well-received critically then on the Dreamcast, Battle would go on to be the tenth best selling Gamecube game of all time, and deservedly so.

Sonic Adventure 2’s main gameplay splits into two storylines: the Dark and the Light. Both tell the same story, one from the point of view of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles and the other from series villain Eggman (or Dr. Robotnick for purists) and series newcomers Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat. For each story, there were three different types of levels, one for each character. Sonic and Shadow levels were traditional Sonic gameplay: fast movement and platforming trying to get to the end of the level as fast as possible. Tails and Eggman’s missions were slower mech-based missions that relied on cunning targeting of enemies. Finally, Knuckles and Rouge’s missions were fun hide and seek-type missions as the characters searched for three pieces of the Master Emerald per level. Mixed in between some levels were interesting boss fights; while some of the boss fights were repeated over the two campaigns, they were usually done from the perspective of the other character in the fight, adding some variety. If you beat the two campaigns, there was a final ending campaign where all six characters were playable in one gigantic level and two fun boss fights that wrapped up the game’s story.

Unlike some future Sonic games, the new gameplay types outside the Sonic/Shadow levels were actually fun. They didn’t feel clunky or out of place and didn’t really slow down the sense of speed. While Tails and Eggman levels were slower, they still had a sense of speed and forward momentum that were lacking from games like Sonic Unleashed. These levels asked players to try and rack up points by targeting as many enemies as possible with the mech while still trying to get through the level quickly. Knuckles and Rouge levels asked players to walk around until they heard the telltale beeping of a nearby piece of the emerald. While this could have quickly gotten tedious, the developers made them engaging by adding clue monitors that gave tricky hints to where the pieces might be found and forced players to think about where to look. Meanwhile, the Sonic and Shadow levels were some of the best in Sonic history. They were extremely fast and yet very fun, and benefited from some of the best level design in the series.

Each level felt unique and different; there were Halloween, Egyptian, City, and even Outer Space levels that each added different elements and enemies that made them feel unique and special. They even had cool elements and art design, like Sonic snowboarding through the streets of a city, Shadow messing with gravity in outer space or Knuckles having to explore a creepy mountain. Even better, each level had multiple possible paths and secret places to find. This made each level infinitely replayable with each time giving you something new. The game rewarded you with grades from E to A at the end of the level, so you could see that you were slowly but surely getting better with each playthrough. Even years after playing it originally, you can still get a thrill from almost any level in the game. There are very few duds in the bunch, which is saying a lot considering the game boasts two different campaigns. Some levels also had very catchy background music such as “Escape from the City”, “Live and Learn”, and even “A Ghost’s Pumpkin Soup” (a song which is admittedly a guilty pleasure). Even the boss fights were fun and interesting, especially the second to last boss in the secret campaign unlocked by beating both of the first two (no spoilers!).

Just try and not have this get caught in your head

Speaking of replayability, the game had a TON to do, especially with the additions from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The game asked you to obtain 180 emblems; some of these were given easily, like simply beating a level or a boss, while others were very difficult to get. Each level had five different missions, ranging from beating a hard mode to finding a hidden Chao (blue Pokemon-like creatures) to beating the level in a specific time, each with their own grading rank system like the normal levels. While these missions were very difficult if you were trying to go for the A rank, they were all relatively easy to just beat, adding a great difficulty curve for those that wanted the extra challenge. The game also boasted a mediocre kart racing game as well as a Pokemon-type area where power-ups found in the main game could be given to your own Chaos that you raised to compete in Karate or Racing mini-games. While nothing to write home about, these elements of Battle provided a fun distraction that was a different type of multiplayer from the usual run and shoot layouts of other games. Personally, despite having bought the game years ago and playing it all the time, I still have yet to unlock every emblem and still have fun trying to earn each one.

One thing of note that was very surprising was Sonic Adventure 2’s story. While Sonic games have certainly never been revered for their stories, Sonic Adventure 2’s was actually somewhat deep, especially with the character of Shadow the Hedgehog, a series newcomer who provided to be so popular he earned his own spinoff title “Shadow the Hedgehog” which still holds up as a cult classic. Shadow seems to start off as a simple evil version of Sonic himself. However, as you continue to play the game, you learn of Shadow’s past and the anger and hatred he has for himself and humanity due to the death of his human love Maria at the hands of the military. As the game progresses, Shadow slowly learns that Maria never wanted him to hurt anybody and, in the ending of the secret campaign, Shadow sacrifices himself in order to save the Earth. It’s a touching finale to a game that no one expected to have a deep story. While the rest of the game’s story is the usual “Dr. Eggman wants to destroy the Earth” scenario, Shadow’s character as well as the story of Eggman’s grandfather (who felt the pain of Maria’s death and vowed revenge even after he had died) told in the secret campaign remains probably the most touching and complicated a Sonic game’s story will ever get.

Shadow ends up being more then just an evil mirror of Sonic

 While everything from the story to the gameplay was excellent, the game wasn’t 100 percent perfect. The final boss fight with Super Sonic and Super Shadow was sometimes unnecessarily frustrating and difficult. Also, several of Sonic/Shadow’s abilities were mapped to a single button and, while working most of the time, sometimes would cause the character to do the wrong move at the wrong time, screwing up your timing, which can be extremely annoying in a game which is based on fast movement and precision. Also, even with the new Live and PSN rereleases, the game still has a few bugs here and there which, again, can ruin an almost perfect run-through of a level. None of these issues are major, however, and can easily be forgiven in such an otherwise perfect platformer.

While the numerous badly-done 3D Sonic games have somewhat destroyed the blue blur’s legacy, with games like Sonic Adventure 2 it’s hard not to see why the Hedgehog was once constantly giving Mario a “run” for his money. It’s a shame that today it’s sometimes so easy to forget Sonic’s place in the gaming ethos. Yet with such near-perfect games like Sonic Adventure 2 and the recent Sonic game successes, the future looks bright for the “Fastest Thing Alive”. Let’s hope he keeps on running for a long time to come.

Wheel of Time: The Complexities of Time in Video Games

By James Earl
Spoilers for the games Limbo, Journey, and Braid ahead. You have been warned!

While not all video games have a narrative, or even decide to focus on the narrative, storytelling has become more and more important as the industry has matured. For the most part, video game narratives have been pretty straight-forward.  Go to the castle and save the princess. Stop the evil scientist and rescue animals. Kill the aliens trying to destroy Earth. Stop the city from breaking down into anarchy. While all of these stories have been interesting and are complex, they aren’t really experimenting with what it means to be a storyteller.

As games have continued to progress, however, there has been an even deeper focus on the psychology of the characters; either you or the character you are playing. Games like Halo 4, God of War III, Bioshock, and Far Cry 3 are all games that take a deep look in the minds of the people we choose to have as video game protagonists. Games like The Walking Dead: The Game and Heavy Rain take this one step further and ask yourself to look at your own psychology. However, even in these games, the storytelling telling methods still follow a straightforward narrative path that can be equated with similar Hollywood-movie style narratives.

However, in recent years, a new set of narrative games have cropped up with a new idea of storytelling; the circular, never-ending story. Indie games like Braid, Journey, and Limbo and even a few mainstream games like Shadow of the Colossus (though calling SotC mainstream might be stretching a bit) have started to explore the idea of a circular narrative, where time and “cause-and-effect” are not as linear as we thought. It’s an interesting new territory that is ripe for video games to explore.

Games like Limbo explore new narrative styles for video games

What are circular-narratives? Religions like Buddhism and even music like the famous Carmina Burana speak of time and fate as if it were a wheel. That life and time are not just one long line that constantly move forward with a clearly defined past, present, and future. Instead, time folds back in on itself and certain events repeat themselves over and over again, but each time maybe a little different; maybe a little better or maybe a little worse. In Buddhism, the hope is each time one improves oneself to achieve Nirvana. Yet it is in the realizing that we are in a circle of time/fate that helps us reach this Nirvana, that we are constantly moving through this circle as one organism and that we are all connected together. While this is an oversimplification of the idea, and it certainly isn’t limited or confined to Buddhism, it is important to acknowledge time as cyclical. As the excellent TV series Battlestar Galactica puts it, “All this has happened before, all this will happen again.” Even western philosophies acknowledge this idea to a minor extent with phrases like "history repeats itself."

So a circular narrative is something that looks at and explores the idea of time being fluid and circular. For an excellent example of the idea of a circular narrative in literature, listen to this wonderful short story by Neil Gaiman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-K5p3VrrjQ). The games Limbo and Journey do this most obviously. Both Limbo and Journey put you on a simple quest to achieve a simple goal. In Limbo, you are journeying through Limbo to find your sister while in Journey you are trying to reach the top of a mountain. Both goals set you on a straight path that forces you to constantly walk towards a goal. While Journey may be filled with different ideas, both games end similarly. Once you achieve your goal, both games put you back at the exact same spot you started. From there, you can continue to do the exact same quest again, just constantly stuck in a loop. However, both games put a different spin on the idea. Limbo has a much sadder tone that has this young boy constantly stuck in a cycle looking for his sister, while Journey has a more positive tone in the themes of perseverance and apotheosis. Both games experiment with the idea of a fluid time and space.

The simple goal of Journey helps to underscore its constant cycle

Games like Braid experiment with this idea in a slightly different way. In Braid, your protagonist is able to manipulate time. As you continue, you learn that your character, Tim, is searching for his love that was attacked by an evil monster. One of the books that tells this narrative stays that “He [Tim] felt on his trip that every place stirs up an emotion, and every emotion invokes a memory: a time and a location. So couldn’t he find the Princess now, tonight, just by wandering from place to place and noticing how he feels? A trail of feelings, of awe and inspiration, should lead him to that castle: in the future: her arms enclosing him, her scent fills him with excitement, creates a moment so strong he can remember it in the past.” In the end, the game forces you to rewind time and discover that it was your protagonist who was the monster taking away the Princess from Tim. Here, the manipulation of time is more complicated. Time is malleable and reverberates through all moments. Each moment doesn’t stand in isolation but is touched and influenced by the next. Yet, in the end, it is this very malleability that forces us to never have the thing we want, and we are forced to repeat a cycle which we never knew was happening.

"Time keeps on slippin'...slippin'...slippin'"

The manipulation of time is not a novel concept to games. One need only look at games like Prince of Persia to know that. However, through games like Journey, Braid, and Limbo, video games have started to go deeper then just straightforward narratives and instead begin to explore a much more complicated, more fluid movement through time. The point of these games, in terms of the theme of time, isn’t to have a grand message or overarching theme. Instead, its about realizing that the way we view the world, especially in western philosophies, is open to interpretation and that even the basic notion of time may not be as simple as we think. And it is through video games that we are able to explore these ideas in new and more engaging ways.

Listless: Best 5 Films by Quentin Tarantino

This past Sunday we finally saw the winners of the 2013 Oscars. While most of the Oscars were predictable, one of the biggest surprises was Christoph Waltz’s win for Best Supporting Actor in Django Unchained. While no one doubted Waltz’s acting ability and prowess, the fact that Waltz had won an Oscar only a few years earlier with the same director seemed to upend the usual Oscar trend of not giving awards to actors consecutively.

This win, along with Django’s win for Best Writing, is a credit to the skill and power of Quentin Tarantino, probably one of the last few artists left from the era of filming that also holds the works of Steven Speilberg, Martin Scorsese, and Stanley Kubrick. Tarantino considers each one of his films to be an important piece of work; he recently went on record stating that he believes every bad film is equivalent to three good ones in terms of how much people remember. So when one looks back at Tarantino’s filmography, it’s no surprise that almost every single one is a great piece of cinema.

Today, Pixel Splatter takes a look at the best of the best of Quentin Tarantino, the top 5 of his films.

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#5: Django Unchained

The D is silent

While this may be Tarantino’s most recent film, it certainly will have a lasting legacy. While Tarantino’s films have always been controversial, to say that Django was abnormally so even for Tarantino might be an understatement. Everyone from Spike Lee to The New Yorker criticized the movie for its portrayal of African-Americans to its use of violence.

To say that Django Unchained is not a brilliantly unique piece of work, however, would also be a mistake. As with all Taratino’s films, the characters, dialogue, and acting all work in conjunction. While Jamie Foxx was nothing to write home about, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson all stole the show. Waltz’s turn as a German bounty hunter managed to show a morally complex character, one who opposed slavery and racism but who was able to kill someone without mercy. More surprising was DiCaprio’s inspired portrayal of the eccentric plantation owner Calvin Candie; he was hilarious, yet incredibly disturbing and dark. It was even more surprising when you realize this was DiCaprio’s first time not being in the lead role and being a villain. Jackson’s portrayal of a slave who liked things the way they were, the Uncle Tom character, seemed one dimensional at first, but became much more complicated and interesting as the film went on.

This is not even mentioning the controversial look at the antebellum South. While Tarantino’s film did have some historical inaccuracies, it certainly provided an interesting look at the darkness, pain, and attitudes of the South. The use of the N-word (a recurring theme in Taratino’s work), while also controversial, seemed to show to the audience that after a while, the word can, and should, lose its power, especially when Django starts using it himself. However great this movie is, its overly long third act sadly drags it down to #5 on this list.

#4: Kill Bill Part 1 and 2

I'd hate to be Bill. Wait, maybe...

Here is a film that is just sheer fun. This was Tarantino’s time to explore two new territories for him: Kung Fu and Western films. As with both genres, a common theme running throughout is revenge, and Tarantino took that theme and ran with it. Spread out through two films, Tarantino explored a very interesting mix of both genres that maintained his normal episodic style.

The Kill Bill films have some of the best-choreographed fight scenes that are a feast for the eyes. While the storyline is relatively simple for most of the film, it’s really about one woman trying to take back her dignity and get back at the man she once truly loved. As the film goes on, Uma Thurman’s character, The Bride, transforms from a simple outline of a person trying to get revenge into a woman who was betrayed and hurt by the man she loved most. When the Bride finally meets up with Bill, it’s a deep and emotional moment that Tarantino lets us revel in. Kill Bill stands as one of his most engaging and evolving movies and able to be a hybrid of two different genres.

# 3: Pulp Fiction

Watching Uma Thurman is like a stab to the heart (See what I did there?)

The placement of this film at number 3 on this list might be surprising. That isn’t to say that Pulp Fiction isn’t a great work. What makes Pulp Fiction work seems to be the opposite of what a great movie should have; chaos instead of order. From its non-chronological structure to its seemingly random plot developments (such as Bruce Willis finding himself in a sex dungeon), this is a piece that really tries to mirror real life. In real life, storytelling can’t work; things happen that don’t fit the narrative, people don’t always follow a single path. Like real life, Pulp Fiction is chaotic and doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle or end. It has no set plot and it makes no real sense. It’s a way to show us that trying to impose a story on real life can’t and won’t work.

Tarantino also blurs the line of whom you are supposed to like and whom you are supposed to hate. Initially Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta’s characters are supposed to be hated, yet Tarantino forces you to start identifying with them. They are mob hit men, but they talk about cheeseburgers, read magazines, and even go to the bathroom. All the characters in the film, from the mob boss to Bruce Willis’s boxer all seem to initially fit in the mold of hero or villain, but by the end are shown to be much more complex then what the normal movie character mold would have us believe. Pulp Fiction might be the most accurate depiction of real life and real people that movies are likely to give us. 

#2: Reservoir Dogs

This movie confused me about tipping

Tarantino’s first film might also be his strangest. Reservoir Dogs is a true character study. The film follows a group of robbers after they fail to rob a diamond store. We are never given their real names, but are only given names like Mr. White or Mr. Green. Yet, despite not knowing their names, we know who they really are. The movie’s first extended scene at the family restaurant where events like Steve Bucemmi’s character talking about his disagreement with the idea of tipping a waitress show us that these characters are real people. Like all of us, they have strong opinions even about the most minor of details. This idea continues throughout the film. Put in an extremely stressful situation, some of these robbers are shown to be torturers, cowards, or brave men. Tarantino found a way to push these characters to show us who they really are.

Also, like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs tries to say something about real life. When Mr. Blonde deicides to torture and cut off the ear of another robber, he dances to the song “Stuck in the Middle With You.” It’s a completely ludicrous juxtaposition: a horrible act committed to one of the most jumpy, upbeat songs of the age. Real life is rarely poetic and contradictions can exist together. Reservoir Dogs has easily the most complex, contradictory, and compelling characters of any movie.

#1: Inglorious Basterds 

The movie that taught a generation how to spell swear words

What can’t you say about Inglorious Basterds? There is so much to love about this film; from the plot to the acting and the dialogue, everything about this film is clever and unique. While this film initially seems to be a straight up historical fiction, you quickly learn that that is not the case. While using WWII as a backdrop, this film totally makes history its own and never apologizes. It revels in its own world, from “killin’ Natzis” to the “Bear Jew.” Taratino literally rewrote WWII to give it the ending that everyone wanted, and to give back the ultimate revenge to Hitler for his terrible atrocities.

Yet there is much more going on here then sheer fun and historical revisionism. First, the acting is fantastic. We are wowed by Michael Fassbender’s first major acting role where he owns the scenes. Brad Pitt’s wonderfully simple Lieutenant Aldo Raine, with his brilliance and stupidity, surprises us. Like Django Unchained, Christoph Waltz makes this movie work. Who would have thought that someone could write a Nazi character that we would both love and hate at the same time? Hans Landa is so amazingly compelling, every scene he is in feels electrifying, and Tarantino knows it. Instead of zipping from scene to scene or set piece to set piece, Tarantino lets us sit in every single scene. Each scene is long, so very long, yet it never overstays its welcome. The acting and dialogue becomes so compelling that you never want it to end.

Even the film’s themes are complicated. While the film shows Tarantino’s trademark ultra-violence, there is something more interesting at play. The climax of the film takes place in a crowded theatre, with dozens of people including Hitler sitting to watch a movie that is essentially historical revisionism showing the Nazi’s doing better than they were. A fire breaks out and we get to see Hitler’s face blown off. Yet it seems oddly creepy because at the same time this happens, you yourself are sitting in a (hopefully) crowded theatre, sitting with dozens of people to watch a movie that is essentially historical revisionism. The people in the movie are doing the same thing that you are, yet we are supposed to be horrified by their enjoyment of the violence they watch. How are you to think that when you yourself are enjoying Tarantino’s own violence? It’s hard to come to terms with once you start to look at the complicated way Tarantino sets out to provoke his audiences.

While I know that many will agree with the films that ARE on this list, they may disagree with my placements on the list. Do you agree or disagree with this list? What are your favorite Tarantino films? Discuss below!