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Entertainment

Street Dance Club wins talent show for the third year in a row

October 29, 2019 by Xiao Liang Leave a Comment

Street Dance Club dancing on stage as the last performance of the talent show.
FITV // Brett Twery

Florida Tech’s Street Dance Club was spotted not once, but twice on this year’s homecoming talent show podium stage.

Taking home gold in overall performance was the Street Dance Club’s individual performance, but they also came in second place for lip-sync through their partnership with Lambda Chi.

Beating SDC and Lambda Chi in the lip sync competition was Campus Activity Board and Phi Sigma with their satirical piece to songs from Moana, Aladdin and Lizzy McGuire.

They highlighted changes that have occurred since the founding of the university, such as the rebranding.

They also poked fun at landmarks such as the atomic toilet and the Crawford Tower.

On Oct. 24, 11 groups of students and organizations put on a show for their peers, showcasing their talents, performing lip-sync or both.

“I don’t usually come to events like this, but I very much enjoyed it,” said Samir Kazi, a senior. “Everybody is just having fun, and it really brings the homecoming spirit out of us.”

A wide variety of talents were seen throughout the show, such as the exotic performance by the Belly Dance Club, acapella take on The Pina Colada Song from the Players in Harmony and jazzy swing dance brought by the Swing Dance Club.

Alpha Omega Tau and the cheerleading team perform on stage. FITV // Brett Twery

“It’s really interesting to see people you know performing on stage,” said George Rodney, a senior. “You really don’t know what tricks they have hidden up their sleeves when in school, and I’m glad that they can have opportunities like this to express themselves and have fun at the same time.”

Other group performances also stood out as many greek life organizations paired with other clubs or athletic teams to best address the theme of “Bringin’ It Home.”

Some pieces featured “International Love” by Pitbull performed by the women’s swim team and Chi Phi, as well as “Promiscuous Girl” performed by Pi Kappa Alpha and women’s volleyball.

Furthermore, Alpha Tau Omega and the cheerleading team had a mixed musical, ballet and cheerleading along with their lip-syncing performance to hype up the crowd.

Anthony Roberts, a sophomore, said, “I wish that the show was a little longer and more people would participate. It’s really entertaining to watch and I almost can’t get enough of it.”

While the talent show was the sixth event of homecoming week, it allowed students to come out and support each other as well as provide comic relief for some and showcase the talent of others.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music Tagged With: 2019, alumni, bringin it home, florida, florida tech, florida tech homecoming, home, homecoming, talent show

Nerd News: Why “Joker” is the must-see movie of 2019

October 18, 2019 by David Thompson 1 Comment

Official movie poster // Warner Bros Pictures.

“Joker” by Todd Phillips is a work of art and deserves tremendous respect and praise.

With that being said, film is subjective and this film, in particular, has been under fire for its representation of mental illness and violence.

Today, I want to discuss this wave of controversy, share my thoughts on the matter and why I believe “Joker” does a lot more good than bad.

Brief History Lesson

In 2012, during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora Colorado, James Holmes set off tear gas grenades and fired his gun at the audience. Twelve people died and 70 were injured.

The Joker wasn’t featured in that film, but it was coming off the heels of 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” where Heath Ledger plays the Joker.

Ledger died due to a drug overdose before “The Dark Knight” was released in theaters.

His performance was so impactful that he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2009.

It is still devastating to think that Ledger never got to see how loved and adored his portrayal of Batman’s most famous antagonist was and still is to this day.

Fast forward to 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” where Jared Leto took his turn as The Clown Prince of Crime.

I personally didn’t hate his performance as much as many people and even found myself wishing he was in the movie more.

With that being said, Leto’s Joker isn’t even near the same league as Ledger’s and now Phoenix’s.

The Real Dark Phoenix

Arthur putting on makeup for his clown persona. Picture // Warner Bros. Pictures

Now before I open that can of worms, no, I am not going to debate whether Ledger or Phoenix had the better Joker (maybe another time).

But the fact that Phoenix has a real case for having a better performance than Ledger’s now-iconic portrayal is significant in its own right.

There were moments while watching “Joker” where I thought to myself, “This is the best acting I’ve ever seen” by the great Joaquin Phoenix.

Now upon further reflection and seeing the movie again, I can confidently say Phoenix should be nominated for Best Lead Actor at the Academy Awards.

I don’t want to say he should win without seeing the other performances that will be nominated, but I honestly doubt anyone will be as good this year.

Phoenix put his mind, soul and body into this performance and it’s so apparent on screen.

Firstly and most obviously, he lost 52 pounds for the role and in a recent interview on The Jimmy Kimmel show Phoenix said, “It is difficult at times, but then there is something very empowering about it as well.”

This, in a sense, perfectly describes his acting in this film.

Phoenix is able to get into the bruised and battered head of his character Arthur Fleck with what feels like such ease.

Alright, enough beating around the bush—full “Joker” spoilers time.

Leave now and come back after you’ve seen the film or stay and enjoy the sweat.

The Laugh

Arthur laughing on the bus in the movie. Picture // Warner Bros. Pictures

Phoenix reportedly studied people who suffered from pseudobulbar affect, or PBA.

PBA causes those that suffer from it to have sudden outbursts of uncontrollable laughing, crying or both.

While doing research for this article, I watched a few videos of real-life people who suffer from PBA and it is stunning how well Phoenix was able to mimic this condition.

Whereas when someone normally laughs it comes from a place of joy, this is the exact opposite; it is normally triggered by an uncomfortable situation and can lead to embarrassment, social isolation, distress and depression.

Those are all emotions and conditions Arthur is depicted as suffering from in “Joker.”

It is never explicitly said what exact conditions Arthur has in the movie, but we do learn that he uses seven different medications and suffered significant head trauma as a child.

Arthur even has a card he carries with him that says, “It’s a medical condition causing sudden, frequent, uncontrollable laughter that doesn’t match how you feel. It can happen in people with a brain injury or certain neurological conditions.”

Abuse, isolation, neglect and early loss of a parent are all linked to real-world cases of mental illness and Arthur suffers through all of these in this film.

Phillips does a great job of using laughter as a tool, not just a character flaw.

We see Arthur painfully laugh at the worst moments; a few scenes particularly stuck out for me.

In one of these scenes, Arthur is trying to make a young boy laugh by making funny faces and playing peekaboo.

The boy’s mother tells Arthur to stop bothering her kid, and after the rude interruption of Arthur’s innocent act, he breaks into laughter.

A loud, pained, uncontrollable laugh leads to our first look at his aforementioned card that explains his condition.

This is our first time as the audience seeing the laugh in public at full strength, and it is terribly uncomfortable but makes us feel great sympathy for Arthur.

The next pivotal laughing scene is the turning point of the movie.

After being fired from his job, Arthur is on the subway heading home and three seemingly drunk men are bothering a woman on the subway.

Arthur takes notice of this and between the mixture of his despair from his job and the awkwardness of the situation, he busts out in his troubled laugh.

The three guys now direct their attention to Arthur, get uncomfortably close and then begin to fight.

Arthur is overpowered and is repeatedly kicked while laying on the ground (a callback to one of the first scenes in the movie).

This time Arthur fights back, pulls out his gun and proceeds to shoot and kill all three men that night.

We see Arthur’s first real Joker moment, a sudden lethal outburst that he embraces.

Nearing the end of the film, Arthur gives the chilling line, “I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it’s a comedy.”

From that point on you see him embrace the laugh and finally have a little bit of control over it for the first time.

You even see Arthur become more comfortable in his own skin as he falls further into darkness.

The most comfortable you ever see Arthur is when he’s on the Murray Franklin Show with full Joker makeup on and in a very familiar purple suit.

Laughing is no longer his enemy.

Is Joker a Hero?

Arthur, now Joker, dancing down the stairs. Picture // Warner Bros. Pictures

The murder of three Wayne Enterprise employees by “a guy in a clown mask” is what triggers the street dwellers of Gotham to fight the wealthy and also raises an interesting question I wanted to discuss.

On one of the newspapers that wrote about the shooting, they question if the masked killer was a vigilante.

As a nerd, this was a cool Easter egg as Batman is often times marked a vigilante by the police and media.

In one of Arthur’s fake memories (more on these later) of a date with Sophie (Zazie Beetz), she says that she thinks the person who killed those guys is a hero.

I interpret this as Arthur solidifying to himself that his actions had good ramifications.

This is one of the examples that show the audience how unreliable Arthur is as a narrator.

The other key example is when Arthur imagines himself on the Murray Franklin show while watching with his mother.

Nevertheless, no matter Arthur’s unreliability, he performs terrible acts throughout this film.

So the short answer is no, he’s not a hero, even though we sympathize with him.

Arthur is a tortured character who even says he’s never had a truly happy moment in his life.

Despite repeatedly being thrown in the trash and gut-punched (literally and figuratively) by society, there is no excuse for Arthur’s actions.

We see him kill six people in the movie and Sophie’s fate wasn’t confirmed, so the kill count could be even higher.

Despite his condition and set of circumstances, there is no excuse for his actions and because of this, of course, he’s not a hero.

The Big Controversy

Now the big talk heading into the film’s release date was that it glorifies both mental illness and violence, with the fear being that this movie may inspire violent acts, much like Arthur/Joker does by the end.

In a time where mass shootings have become a regularity, I understand why people may feel like there’s no place for this movie right now.

I personally have a different opinion on its message.

I think if anything, this movie shows us how we need to treat mental illness and how serious it really is.

Any mental illness should not be ignored, laughed at or overlooked. “Joker” shows us an extreme case that leads to mass violence, but I think it is trying to tell us this is a feasible thing that could happen, and maybe already is happening. One of the best parts of this movie is just how real it feels.

We only ever seen Gotham from a street-level view.

Every punch, kick, gunshot, death, laughing attack all feel completely real; no “movie magic” here.

I could understand someone having a different opinion than me on the subject, but I think that’s another part of this movie that’s so great: It is extremely fun to talk about and it’s impossible to not have an opinion after watching it.

Finals Thoughts

This movie is not a horror film—it is a horrific film.

Its intent is not to scare you, it just wants to show what could happen to someone with severe mental illness when society rejects them despite their best efforts.

I can’t imagine anyone in this role instead of Phoenix, and if he’s not at least nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, I will write a 3000- word Nerd News column on how the system is completely corrupt.

While I want to say the same for whether “Joker” is nominated for Best Picture, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is snubbed because of how divisive it is amongst critics and fans.

Despite the mixed reactions, I believe Phillips completely shook off the idea that he can only direct comedy after directing “The Hangover” trilogy.

He creates the most grounded Gotham City in the history of cinema and tells a great character driven story that makes the audience sympathize with one of the most famous comic book villains of all time.

I almost feel guilty about how much I enjoyed this movie. It is two hours of seat shifting, shock, heartbreak and one of the most chilling scores to a movie I have ever heard.

I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to see it a third and fourth time in theaters.

The End

So did you make it all the way through? Be honest, I know you skipped some of my over analysis of his laugh, but c’mon, the laugh is one of the driving forces behind the movie! A freaking laugh!

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: depression, depressions, essay, joker, laugh, laughing, movie, review, sad, society, this is america

A Casual Review – I LOVE YOU COLONEL SANDERS! It’s Finger Licking Good …?

October 11, 2019 by Xiao Liang Leave a Comment

Official game poster by KFC

While Popeyes and Chick-fil-A were busy battling each other over chicken sandwiches, KFC was silently developing a secret weapon that could win the war.

I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator is a visual novel developed by Psypop and published by KFC.

Like most legendary titles, the game asks its players deep, philosophical questions such as: “What is love? What are the 11 spices? Are ads getting smarter? Why would anyone play this?”

In the story, the player assumes the role of a student who recently got accepted into a prestigious culinary school.

During your time at the school, you’ll meet many colorful and interesting characters, such as corgi professor, a classmate who is a pressure cooker, a rival with a shallow personality and most importantly, Colonel Sanders.

Like most visual novels, the player will encounter dialogue options during the story and have to choose how they react to certain situations.

These dialogue options can have an impact on the ending of the game (yes, there are multiple endings).

While the game itself is only about an hour long, I would highly recommend anyone who wanted to try the game to take multiple breaks in between to prevent themselves from being charmed by Colonel Sanders’ charisma.

Ever since I finished the game in one go, I’ve been having dreams about the silky texture of mashed potato and smooth gravy, the irresistible smell of 11 spices fried chicken and Colonel Sanders’ magnificent, silver white goatee.

Putting the jokes aside, this game is the embodiment of ads getting smarter.

It has many keywords about KFC embedded into its jokes and the game is very self aware of its purpose—to promote and sell fried chicken.

Yet, the game is actually very entertaining because of how ridiculous and odd it is.

The writing of the game can be humorous from time to time, filled with hidden references.

I don’t think this game can be recommended, but it is something that anyone can try when they really don’t have anything to do.

It is a funny meme game, and it is only about an hour long and free on Steam.

This story was not sponsored by KFC.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: casual review, Cheese, Chicken, Dating sim, Dating simulator, games, Gravy, Kfc, Mac n cheese, Potatoes, Sponsored, video games

Nerd News: The prodigal spider returns

October 10, 2019 by David Thompson 2 Comments

On Aug. 20 it was announced that Spider-Man would be leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would return to being fully produced by Sony Pictures, this is when the nightmare started.

After a month of despair, on Sept. 28, I woke up from what felt like a bad dream.

The reenactment of the web-slinging war for the franchise.

Variety has reported that Spider-Man will remain in the MCU for at least his next solo film, being released on July 16, 2021, and a future marvel film.

For a brief history lesson, Spider-Man is owned by Sony (another history lesson for another day).

In 2015, Disney and Sony came to an agreement for Spider-Man to join the MCU in a co-producer partnership between the two companies.

Spider-Man would be featured in three team-up MCU movies and two solo films that would be creatively lead by Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige (In Feige We Trust).

Sony would monetarily produce the Spider-Man movies, and Disney would receive a modest five percent of first-dollar gross, as well as all merchandising revenue.

After three spectacular years of Spider-Man swinging around with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America, the initial deal between the two juggernaut companies was over and despite universal optimism, the deal seemed to be over, leaving thousands of MCU and Spider-Man fans alike distraught and heartbroken.

During negotiations for a new deal between Disney and Sony, it was reported initially by the Hollywood Reporter that Disney wanted more compensation for their work done in the solo Spider-Man films.

The initial reports stated that Disney wanted to split the cost and revenue 50/50 with Sony and that’s where talks stalled out.

Now I have a few thoughts on this dispute and what it felt like as a fan. It felt like complete garbage.

It always hurts when you get drastically reminded that money is everything and creativity and pleasing the paying fans is just an afterthought.

Spoiler warning ahead for Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers Endgame.

During this “nightmare” period I kept questioning everything thinking “Why would they set Spider-Man up to be the next Iron Man if they knew there was even a possibility that he could leave after the deal expired?”

It just made no sense that Feige and Marvel Studios would make him such an intricate part of the future of the MCU if there was even the slightest possibility of them losing him in the blink of an eye.

Obviously now that a deal has been made I can out those questions to rest.

I like to think that the incredible backlash from fans and even MCU actors like Jeremy Renner had a part in them finally striking a second deal.

This second deal is fundamentally different in structure and length. The new deal is just for two movies, as I previously mentioned, and this time Disney will receive 25 percent of the revenue, contribute roughly a quarter of the finances and keep their merchandising rights.

So who cracked? From this report, it seems like Disney did to some extent. Going to 50 percent to 25 percent is a difference of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Disney had every right to ask for significantly more compensation and financial stock in the character.

Spider-Man: Far From Home was the highest-grossing film in Sony Pictures history, raking in $1.1 billion worldwide.

This success, one could argue, is in large part because of Spider-Man’s integration into the MCU and making him more relevant than ever.

Disney knew that and wanted more.

Sony knew that and wanted Feige and the MCU. Nerdtastic rant time.

I can’t express how happy I was to hear that Tom Holland and SpiderMan wouldn’t be leaving the MCU.

I no longer have to curse the name of Sony and Disney, pretend like I’m interested in a Venom sequel or a Morbius film, want to cry thinking about how good the MCU could have been if he stayed or act as if the MCU would be fine going forward. All that is put to rest, and just as Tony Stark, I can rest now.

But not actually because this is only a two-movie deal and Feige when talking on the new deal said, “[Spider-Man] also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

Could this new deal take a page of the Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy) comics where her home universe is Earth-65 but she goes to Earth-616 to fight along with the likes of Peter Parker and Miles Morales frequently?

In this case, the MCU could be Spider-Man’s version of Earth-65 and a Sony “Spidey-verse” featuring Venom would be like Earth-616.

Are you seriously still reading this sweating piece of nerd juice?

Anyway, this is a time to celebrate, Spidey is back where he belongs (for now) and all is right with the world.

Filed Under: Arts, Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: cries, debate, disney, fanatic, films, marvel, marvel studios, MCU, movies, sony, spider, spider-man, spiderman, tears, war

Ad Astra review: The space movie that could not

October 4, 2019 by David Thompson 6 Comments

Official movie poster by Disney.

Coming in with the hopes of another futuristic space epic similar to 2014’s “Interstellar,” “Ad Astra” did little to advance the genre.

This movie focuses too strongly on all the glitz and glam while missing the soul of any well-regarded movie.

This is a slow, treacherous and beautiful film that was at times a spectacle you rarely see in the theater but mostly had me wanting more from the plot.

I’d argue this is an all-time carry by Brad Pitt, similar to LeBron James in the 2018 NBA Finals.

Like James, Pitt was putting on one of his best performances but ultimately lost in the end.

“Ad Astra” sees Roy McBride (Pitt) being sent on a top-secret mission to look for his famous astronaut father, H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones).

I honestly can’t remember a scene that Pitt isn’t in, keeping consistent with the movies handsome over heart strategy.

I did however really enjoy Pitt in this film.

He did a great job of playing a cool, calm and collected space-veteran who has a deep-rooted conflict that he chooses to bury.

Outside of Pitt, no one else’s performances really stuck out to me, but I don’t think it is the actors’ faults. Jones and Liv Tyler’s character, Eve, were inexplicably underused when it seemed like their relationships with Roy were going to be the heart of the movie.

The director, James Gray, and his team were lazy when it came to the plot of the movie and put too much effort into the special effects and fantastical moments.

It felt as though they thought just haphazardly throwing in some classic relationship problem tropes would be good enough to keep our interest.

However, spoiler warning, it wasn’t. If you’re expecting a movie similar to “Interstellar” or 2015’s “The Martian,” you’re going to have to keep looking.

While the visual effects and artistry are top notch and may be worth the price of admission for some people, this movie lacks the creative story lines and emotion that made the two previously mentioned films successful space adventures.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: ad astra, movie reviews, movies, opinion, reviews, space

Florida Tech hosts first esports tournament

October 4, 2019 by Xiao Liang Leave a Comment

Students standing about in Clemente for the tournament. Crimson // Xiao Liang

Gamers huddled around screens in the darkness of Clemente on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the first ever Florida Tech esport tournament, Super Smash Bros.

“A lot of students have asked about having esports on campus, and our job is to give the students what they want,” said Aaliyah Thomas, the Office of Student Life’s coordinator.

According to Thomas, over 200 students came to the tournament.

Among them were 80 players who signed up to compete against each other in Super Smash Bros Ultimate on Nintendo Switches.

“We decided to do a Smash tournament because it is a very widely known game and a very easy game to get into competitively,” said Erik Olsen, the tournament organizer. “It is also one of the few competitive games that actually encourages people to get together and have fun.”

Although there were only four gaming setups for all the players to use, the tournament went relatively smoothly with few interruptions.

“The flow of the tournament went really well despite the limitations,” Olsen said. “I think that the entire experience would be better and more efficient if we have more people who had experience with being in or running a tournament.”

After nearly three hours of heated but entertaining one-on-one battles, Bryan Portieles, a senior, was able to emerge among the crowd and claim the title of winner, as well as a brand new Nintendo Switch as the prize.

“I had a great time,” Portieles said. “Being able to sit down with anybody and just play with them was a lot of fun, and everybody had a very positive energy going. People were friendly and respectful to each other even if they lost.”

After the tournament ended, a number of students stayed and provided feedback to the tournament staff.

Students playing Super Smash Bros as part of the tournament.

Many stated that they would come back for more, according to Olsen.

“I think introducing the Florida Tech students to this big community is a step in the right direction,” Olsen said.

Filed Under: Entertainment, News Tagged With: e-sports, esports, florida tech, smash, smash bros, sports athletics, tournament

Alt-rock goes Gothic with The Pixies’ “Beneath the Eyrie” Album

September 26, 2019 by Sonja Michaels Leave a Comment

Alternative rock veterans the Pixies took to a converted church to record their seventh album, “Beneath the Eyrie.”

The influence of gothic styles and indie tones supplement the albums alt-rock core, bringing unique accents to the Pixies’ signature sound.

The Pixies turn to their expert use of dynamics throughout the album, showcasing a balanced interaction of quiet and loud.

The few tracks that do not stand on their own are still part of the album’s excellent production, maintaining a cohesive sound all the way through.

“In the Arms of Mrs. Mark of Cain” opens the album with a perfectly blended mix of crystal clear percussion, grungy guitars and rich, crackling vocals.

It sets a vibe that brings words like “creepy” and “sinister” to mind.

The lead single “On Graveyard Hill” continues the gothic sound and theme the group intended for the album, according to lead vocalist Charles Thompson IV, widely known by his stage name Black Francis.

The sound is much more ‘90s than 2010s.

Pez Lenchantin’s work on the bass is outstanding here, and provides a backbone that encourages the listener to groove along with the “In the witching hour/In the witching hour” hook.

Official album art by BMG

The gothic feeling is lifted, if only temporarily, with “Catfish Kate,” a bright, indie tune paired with a vivid music video to match.

The next track, “This Is My Fate,” pulls things right back into the dark style.

The precise mixture of bass and piano provides a deep, bouncing sound in the background, reminiscent of an upright bass.

“Silver Bullet” is excellently produced and creative, a shift from the measured, predictable “Ready for Love.”

One of the most outstanding features of “Silver Bullet” is its powerful guitar riff.

While the rest of the song has a generally calm demeanor, with soft guitars and relaxed percussion from David Lovering, this fueled-up riff brings power and substance.

In that sense, it is a classic Pixies track; the group has dynamics down to science, shifting from quiet to loud at just the right time.

The converted church setting the Pixies recorded in seems fitting when listening to a track like “Los Surfers Muertos,” and when looking back at the Pixies’ previous work.

As primary songwriter, Francis has long gravitated towards biblical imagery, dark aesthetics and unusual topics.

Unusual is a fitting term for “Bird of Prey” when compared to the album as a whole; behind the dark timbres of Francis’ vocals and Joey Santiago’s lead guitar, an almost country-like rhythm guitar fills out the sound space.

It is especially noticeable in the chorus and refrain, as the phrase “little birdie” is repeated softly.

The second-to-last track, “Daniel Boone,” maintains the dark aesthetic of the album, but ventures into brighter tones and timbres.

It is a relaxing track well-suited for a long drive, or even to sleep; while the song is not boring, its swelling, atmospheric instrumentals could definitely lull the listener to an indie-induced sleep.

Things are sealed off with the gothic-indie tune “Death Horizon.”

Bright vocal harmonies contradict the song title, and the instrumental is simple and well-blended. It is a short and sweet ending to the album.

Throughout this album, unexpected sounds and instruments come into play, while other instruments are measured and perfected.

While one or two tracks act more as atmospheric fillers than stand alone tracks, these are contrasted by strong tracks like “Silver Bullet” and “This Is My Fate.”

The album as a whole features creative choices and masterful songwriting.

“Beneath the Eyrie” sounds like the work of mature, experienced alt-rockers.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music, Opinion Tagged With: album, alternative rock, beneath the eyrie, music, music review, pixies, review

A Casual Review – GREEDFALL: Exploration, Diplomacy and High Neck Collars

September 25, 2019 by Xiao Liang 2 Comments

Official game poster by SpiderGames.

Greedfall is a game that ARPG fans will adore, and it might remind some players of memorable titles such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Developed by Spiders, Greedfall is an action role-playing game set in a 17th century styled world where a new island was discovered for colonization.

In the game, the player plays as De Sardet, a member of the ruling prince’s family who recently got designated as the Legate of the newly established settlement on the island.

They are dealing with the diplomatic relations between different factions on the island.

On the technical level, Greedfall is not very impressive when it comes to graphics; in fact, a lot of copy and pasting of assets and props can be spotted throughout the game.

However, this does not really have a huge impact on the overall atmosphere of the game.

From newly established settlements to uncharted wilds, the art style of the game is quite realistic, while adding hints of fantasy elements to make it look beautiful and interesting.

The game’s sound, music and voice acting are also well done: The clashing of weapons and firing of guns feels impactful but clean, and most characters feel unique and lively during dialogues, providing the players an impressive experience.

What makes Greedfall stand out from most RPG titles released in recent years is probably its quest design.

A good number of modern RPG games had the problem of making cliché stories for in-game quests; they are usually black and white so that the player knows for sure who is good and who is bad, and they are usually one-sided.

In Greedfall, things usually don’t work that way.

The player might think they are going after the bad guy, but the real villain might be on the side, watching from a distance.

There isn’t a clearly defined line for who is good and who is evil; things might be two-sided or even four-sided.

Aside from the way that a quest is designed, the player’s character background also makes the interactions different from other games.

While combat is a major part of the game, the player is supposed to be a diplomat representing a country instead of a mercenary or some random explorer, so forcing your way through is not always the answer.

Personality traits such as charisma and intuition allow the player to have more options during dialogues and help avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

However, that doesn’t mean fighting isn’t fun.

The combat in Greedfall is basic and standard compared to most ARPG titles, and it is not extremely hard to master the game’s combat system.

Like all RPGs, the player gets to invest skill points into the skill tree they prefer, and there are a variety of weapons and abilities for the player to choose from.

The game also has a crafting mechanic, which allows the player to install upgrades on their gear and change the appearance of the equipment.

Aside from that, the player can also craft potions, traps and items that can help them during combat and quests.

Overall, Greedfall is an enjoyable ARPG game with exploration and political management.

While some elements of the game are lacking, Greedfall never gets boring or tedious to play.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: a casual review, games, Greedfall, reviews, video games

It Chapter Two: What’s better than friendship and horror?

September 20, 2019 by Emily Walker Leave a Comment

Official movie poster by Warner Bros.

While in many ways “It Chapter Two” is less scary than the first movie, the larger cast, added humor and emotional ending made up for that.

At times the plot felt a bit scattered, with the movie taking nearly three hours to reach its conclusion.

However, it was never boring, keeping things interesting through flashbacks and present-day moments.

For the final hour of the movie, the action and emotion picked up, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

“It Chapter Two” used humor much more than the previous film. Bill Hader, who played adult Richie Tozier, pulled off most of the jokes.

He broke the tension in many scenes, adding levity in the moment.

His performance especially stood out because he balanced Richie’s humor with emotion and depth.

His humor was multifaceted and was often used as a coping mechanism, and there were many moments when Hader brought more somber emotions and depth to the character.

Another stand out actor was James McAvoy, who played adult Bill Denbrough.

McAvoy executed his character’s stutter from the first movie perfectly and brought maturity to the character while maintaining the rauma from his past.

As an adult, Bill is still dealing with the horror of losing his brother, Georgie, from the first movie.

McAvoy carries those feelings from his character’s childhood while adding a more adult perspective.

From his first moment on screen, James Ransone portrayed adult Eddie Kaspbrak perfectly, capturing his neurotic personality and tendency toward bickering with Richie.

While Ransone was given fewer outright jokes than Hader, his back-and-forth dialogue with the other characters and one-liners in tense situations added lightness to the movie.

Meanwhile, Jay Ryan played a more mature and confident adult Ben Hanscom that felt genuine and accurate to his character.

In “It Chapter Two,” Ben still deals with some of his insecurities from the first movie; however, Ryan shows how Ben has grown, ultimately bringing creating a multifaceted performance.

Isaiah Mustafa brought more life to Mike Hanlon’s character as an adult than the character had in the previous film, although he still felt like he was in the background, as much of the movie focused on the other Losers’ fears and relationships.

Andy Bean portrayed Stanley Uris’ quiet, hesitant personality spot-on.

What he lacked in screen time he made up for in his understated yet honest performance. While Jessica Chastain was an adequate adult Beverly Marsh, she lacked the spunk Sophia Lillis brought to her younger counterpart. She was placed in certain situations where it felt like she should have had a stronger reaction than she did.

However, in quieter moments, she captured much of Beverly’s spirit in her relationship with the other Losers, which made up for what she lacked.

This movie was more violent than the first “It” movie, though it wasn’t as scary.

For the most part, the jump scares were predictable, and most of the monsters looked more ridiculous than terrifying.

The few times the film was truly creepy usually involved Pennywise, played by Bill Skarsgård.

Skarsgård plays a truly creepy villain because he gets characters–and sometimes viewers–to sympathize with him.

He knows what many of them are insecure about and uses it to lure them to him.

As with the previous movie, the scenes with him manifesting as the various fears of the Losers grab viewers’ attention.

These scenes were typically more emotional and intense than outright scary, which felt more fitting for the grown-up Losers.

The movie focused more on the darkness of mankind rather than typical horror tropes, using hate crimes and domestic violence to show real-life evil.

These scenes were disturbingly real and brutal; while they helped drive the story forward and showed exactly how dark the world is, they felt unnecessarily graphic at times.

The visuals were never particularly realistic, although this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Many times, the monsters were so bizarre that despite the good CGI, they still looked more laughable than frightful.

They could have done a better job with the animation of people; there were a couple times where people were animated to look like monsters and again ended up looking more ridiculous than horrifying.

However, the unusual visuals didn’t destroy the experience.

In addition to the more traditional effects, they used CGI and an effect on the child actors’ voices to make them seem slightly younger so as to appear the age they had been in the previous film.

This was done seamlessly; the kids looked and sounded remarkably similar to how they did in the first film.

The score, composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, helped set up for creepy moments and built emotion in the quieter, more reflective scenes.

It tied the movie together well and helped make this somewhat messy sequel three-dimensional and enjoyable.

Overall, “It Chapter Two” lacks the finesse of the first film in terms of the plot and the use of typical horror tropes.

However, the characters drive the story. “It Chapter Two” takes a much deeper dive into what makes each Loser tick than the previous film, and ultimately the characters are what make this an enjoyable film.

With its lovable characters, humor and exploration of deeper themes, “It Chapter Two” makes for a fun night out.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: clown, florida tech, it, it chapter 2, movie, movie review, pennywise, review, warner bros

A Casual Review – REMNANT: FROM THE ASHES: Souls-like with a unique twist of flavor

September 11, 2019 by Xiao Liang Leave a Comment

Official game poster by Gunfire Games.

“Remnant: From the Ashes” is a game that focuses on being fun and engaging instead of making everything complicated and irrelevant.

Developed by Gunfire Games, the studio that is best known for its Darksider franchise, “Remnant” is a third-person shooter action game which takes place in the post-apocalyptic Earth.

It is also categorized as a “Souls-like” game by many players and reviewers, meaning it features similar mechanics to FromSoftware’s Souls series, notably the Dark Souls trilogy.

These games are known for their limited check points, dark settings, hidden stories and challenging difficulty.

While “Remnant” certainly took inspiration from the Souls series, it is still very different from most games that fall within the same category.

The player begins on ruined Earth, progressing to three other worlds as they navigate the game.

Each world has its own unique environment and enemies, which makes it very interesting to explore.

Gameplay wise, “Remnant” feels like most third-person shooter games, and the player also gets to use a melee weapon if they prefer.

However, most parts of the game play revolve around shooting.

The world of “Remnant” is procedurally generated when the player starts a new game, so each player’s world can be a little different from one another.

This also means that the players may face different bosses and get different rewards every run.

The difficulty of the game is not too challenging, but hard enough to make it feel exciting and action packed.

There are roughly 120 different enemy types in the game; each have their own strengths and weaknesses, making it important for the player to learn and remember the enemies’ patterns.

Another element that made “Remnant” a thrilling game is its three player co-op.

While it may be entertaining to play a game alone, it gets even better when there are two friends around.

Not only do the players get to progress faster with rewards and loot, but the rewards and loot are also shared among the players and are carried forward to each player’s own game.

In addition, the game adjusts the difficulty level by the number of players in the game, so it will never feel too hard or too easy during a co-op session.

While the game is not that impressive on a technical level, it has a lot of character building customization choices and replay value.

The multiplayer element of the game also works well, which reinforced its replayability.

Filed Under: Arts, Entertainment, Opinion Tagged With: a casual review, dark souls, remnant, reviews, video games

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