Skyrim – The Tell-All Review

(Also, this review is more of a reception. 
And it doesn’t tell “all.” Just some)

      Talk about an adventure through the annals of videogame codology! (Codification is probably the more appropriate term here, but I am but a humble blogger, sire.)

      An enjoyer of a garbled array of single player and online multiplayer fantasy gameplay, I can safely say that it didn’t take me long to find myself immersed into a completely Earth-like yet fantastic universe. Skyrim provides a single player RPG experience with such a complexly-arranged value system that the entire game flows like fresh glacier water (side-stepping the very occasional glitch). Even the minutest advancements are painstakingly logged in order to absolutely guarantee an individual and unique experience for ever user, every play-through. It is flipping remarkable.

      I began the game by playing my own selection of music in the background, opting for Ænima by the band Tool instead of the game’s provided soundtrack. Other than making the load screens a little more epic, I certainly liked doing this because I felt that Tool’s overpowering rhythms highlighted the grand action and settings that make up Skyrim.

      So I thought I would start with music. Like a great deal of the folks that make up my age demographic, I would say that my musical taste, while at times quite specific, is not relegated to any specific style or genre. Ænima is my favourite album by Tool, a progressive metal band that began around the early nineties. It has a brilliant sense of humour, but one that is stuffed into an asphyxiated gothic dungeon while sharing intelligent aphorisms regarding evolution, Christ, or the apocalypse, just for example. Perfect! For me. It offered a thought-provoking and musically galvanizing (though unofficial) soundtrack to the game. And while this discussion has been designated to focus more on the game Skyrim than an album by Tool, I don’t believe the two to be mutually-exclusive entities. In fact, they actually compliment one another rather well!

      Does it feel like I made a bit of a left turn? Surprise. This is what I constantly found happening to me as I played Skyrim. As your character progresses, it becomes fairly difficult to focus on any one task as the environment is utterly enormous and completely peppered with quests that may be approached in any order.  I certainly believe that the joy of Skyrim is in the first-hand observation of so many fantastic details bashing into your cranium all at once, all so seamlessly.

      Surely a great deal of people have exchanged words about Skyrim online since its release last year, so I thought that this unconventional approach would be warranted. How many times can the smaller details of the game be addressed?

      When I did get around to listening to the provided soundtrack, I was not at all disappointed. Just like Skyrim’s complex gaming engine, the soundtrack is constantly morphing in order to enhance mood and realism. At times, it tunes right into the on-screen action, creating intense emotional crescendos for the player.

      The story is dense and thought-provoking as well. The interweaving maze of political drama and intrigue is designed to frequently catch the main character in decisive gaming moments that drastically alter the storyline depending on the route taken.

       I needn’t go on, other than to describe the feeling that strikes me when approaching a distant dragon, a moment that is prone to reoccur in Skyrim. From miles away the beast can be seen flying about, spewing flame and being a general terror to the region. Regardless of the music selected by the player (provided soundtrack or otherwise), this approach to battle is always a strategic and enjoyable challenge. It always feels important. The most amazing thing about Skyrim is its irresistible trait of forcing the game to be pertinent and immersive to the player.

      This marks the end of my report. Godspeed, fellow traveller, whatever path you might find yourself traversing! 

The Search and Journey

The search
from the roots,
through the vast fibrous stalks,
and wood that doesn't budge
unless you would have it

For truth,
is often a dark one.
The luckiest moments
evaporate out of the
skyward tips,

Reaching, ever reaching
for the correct contributive effort,
for the moment that
will inspire the next true poet.

Avoiding the rancid
rot that some
deciduous pillars
frequently fall to.

The journey continues,
Sun ever-beckoning.

21 Jump St. -REVIEW **1/2

I watched 21 Jump St. last night and immediately thought of re-naming it in some punned-out fashion. Ok, let’s go with 21 Chump St. for simplicity’s sake. It would sound appropriate. I’d assume people would agree. Channing Tatum is not very funny (I don’t even think he’s that good looking, though in one upside down shot, I had difficulty distinguishing his visage from that of Johnny Depp). On the other hand I think Jonah Hill is a try-too-hard with mixed results. His character’s most common go-to moves were a bombardment of contrived slap-stick moments, as well as moments of forced awkwardness that were hit/miss to be kind. That’s a bit of an outburst, especially considering that the film itself has done fairly well in the box office as well as received some decent reviews.

I am not very familiar with the original 21 Jump St. series, and I will admit that I still feel the same way, my internet browser cautiously teetering on the edge of imdb in order to round out my opinion a little. The new movie, despite picking up on the old “undercover cops in high school” theme of the original, is different in that it is completely insane! The pervasive drug imagery in the film is interesting (the main culprit drug in the film is referred to as H.F.S. and it comes in little zip-loc bags with a logo of dog poo that is sporting a halo). Thought-provoking, I think? The film mainly operates from expanding on a wide array of known stereotypes (all sorts of ‘em), so that they become EVEN MORE stereotypical and then from there ironically funny I suppose? But I am no undercover detective. That is but a guess.

So all of this said, 21 Jump St. did keep my interest. I watched it with some pals, and the theatre was packed and laughing frequently. The laugh-camps were oftentimes split, with some people laughing more at the gross-out or vulgar stuff. I found myself laughing mostly at the reckless ineptitude of the two protagonists (which I admit, they pulled off quite well at times). Some things were gross and not especially laugh-worthy. Like a guy getting his dick shot off provided me with more squeamishness than laughter. I know it’s a comedy but that kind of humour just isn’t my bag of breakfast sausages. Ice Cube's appearance is welcome, but I don't think he made as many waves as P. Diddy in Get Him To The Greek. Out of 4 stars- Heck.. 2 and ½ maybe. (Watchable with friends.)

Just a Thought; On Video Games, Mind You

Running on the spot- I thought we all agreed

that MC Hammer had perfected the art.

Hey blog. Pleasant tidings, etcetera. As your annals have thus proven, the sounds of my lens palace and green beetnik moniker of this page has played host to various ramblings of its sculptor (and I am using that term loosely, as I am not a sculptor of clays and molds and the like but rather of blistering syntax and scorching cadence not to mention an occasional bout of wordiness).

So, with that, here's an additional thought, just to tack on to the other thought-provoking mayhem I have strewn about willy-nilly. A while ago I got an Xbox. This post relates to that.

I've noticed that, for now at least, most of the Kinect games for Xbox are based on rather mundane situtations. As you may know, Kinect is the Microsoft version of motion-based gaming - console games in which the user's bodily movements are detected and one must wiggle around in a range of ways to play. It's difficult to describe the current selection of Kinect games without dozing off - i.e. go ahead and try this exciting running simulator, provided that you must run on the spot to play (*yawn*).

So, until that later date that may never happen, that is, when a series of partially better or at least more immersive games are made for the Kinect, I will simply get the most out of Assassin's Creed: Revelations by playing that action-packed and highly immersive game while standing. And sometimes I do lunges when assassinating NPCs. Take that Kinect!

*Note - I am currently waiting to see how Fable Kinect turns out (ETA Dec 2012)- I do have high hopes. Just nothing awe-inspiring yet - for me. And I like fiction/fantasy sorts of games. Not jogging on the spot, if I'm being honest.

Actors

We, the depictors,

of scenes read and writ,

with faces of angels,

we oft read and then sit,

Repertoire a-quiver,

an arrow to draw,

a target to pierce,

the audience heart,

Which soaks then in pathos,

O nectarous brine,

to doth insight bravos,

N the empathetic sigh,

But the pain of these I's,

is just that they are bound,

to live repetitions,

to regurgitate sound,

So oh what a shame,

for this once private few,

that garner attention,

just so we might know "who"

(..is richer than us presumably?)

An Old One, Influenced by a Song

So the people set up rooms,

that they set apart with walls,

and they organized their tombs,

in case they witnessed falls,

of the brothers and the sisters,

down the olden stone age stairs,

that were kept below the separate rooms,

and some thought it was fair.

The people who made the rooms and walls,

liked the shade of their own skin,

which they considered shadeless,

and they let few others in,

into the stain-glass hallways,

the dark unholy vaults,

to make outrageous far-fetched cries,

and point at others' faults.

The Envious Tirade

When I realized to myself

That textual reason

Could reflect textual treason

I was a tad thrown off,

And dispersed behind

My eyelids floated

Wriggling moths

That told me nothing

Except to persevere.