The Wonderful 101

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Adam Randall

When I first heard about The Wonderful 101 I was quite excited because it seemed very unique. It was developed by Platinum Games and published by Nintendo (a winning combination) and based on a very interesting premise too; you lead a group of 100 people around and have them go into different formations to fight off robots and alien invaders. I was imagining a more urban version of Pikmin (a game I quite like.)

I eventually was able to get the game for free, as part of a deal when I bought Mario Kart 8 (which was pretty cool.) There were a few things I was quite impressed by when I started playing: the graphics created a nice world in which all of the characters looked like shiny plastic toys, I liked this because it made me nostalgic for these little robot toys that I used to collect. There was also a lot of over the top action which was entertaining to watch and fun to be a part of. The storyline also seemed well fleshed out and I enjoyed watching the interactions between its quirky characters. The story ended up having much more emotional depth than I could have expected and some characters who initially seemed fairly two-dimensional later got some good development. Also, not something I knew right away, but Bayonetta, Jeanne, and Rodin (from Bayonetta) are secret unlockable characters, too. I was pleased with all of these things.

However (and I’m afraid that this is a big “however”) I didn’t really enjoy the game because I felt like it had bad gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, you lead a large group of people as you fight back against alien invaders. You do this by drawing different shapes on the Wii U gamepad, which then transform those people into different things, such as a sword, a gun and a fist. The problem was that it seemed like it could barely ever correctly identify what I was drawing – you may say that I’m bad at drawing, but other games with similar mechanics didn’t give me the same problem.

The lack of functionality when it comes to the drawing was especially frustrating in the middle of fast-paced fights, but what was even more annoying was the terrible camera. You never seemed to be able to see properly (and it had that annoying problem where the game’s characters should logically be able to see things, but you, the player, cannot.) This gets even more annoying when you enter buildings and have to use gyroscopic controls in order to move the camera. They just didn’t work well at all.

Add to this the fact that the game is really hard and doesn’t give you much time to learn it’s complicated combat methods and, overall, you’re left with a recipe for a highly unenjoyable game. After I changed the difficulty from “Normal” to “Easy” I did find it a little more more enjoyable though, so I advise playing on that same game mode on your first playthrough (if you do decide to buy this game.) I also found that I started to enjoy it more towards the end, due to an increased variety of gameplay, which meant that I spent less time doing things that were annoying and more time trying new and exciting things. There were definitely bits throughout the game (and especially near the end) which were fun, but there simply weren’t enough of these.

It’s a shame because I feel like the game had the potential to be really good, but sadly, it wasn’t really good at all. I know some people love it, but it’s not something that I think will have a very broad appeal and now that I have completed it, I don’t imagine I will ever play it again.

Rating: 4.5/10

Buy it here.

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)

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Meeting Morris

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Adam Randall

Over the years, I’ve created lots of fictional characters who I then like to write lots of stories about. One example of these is a man named Morris. Morris is a middle-aged man with simple (but specific) pleasures. He’s a very pleasant and innocent man and I’ve written stories which have him getting involved in all sorts of outlandish situations (for example, meeting Salome Boann, the female lead in Anthony Nanson’s Deep Time.) Of all the characters I’ve created, he’s one of my favourite, so it was quite a pleasant surprise to meet him the other day.

Now I know what you’re thinking (namely, that this blog post is the conclusion of my slow descent into insanity which has been documented over the last six years) but, of course, I know that I didn’t actually meet the character – I just met someone who looked and behaved exactly as I’d always imaged Morris would do, were he real.

It happened the other day when I was walking into town to buy some dinner. I was proudly wearing the “Reading is Cool” t-shirt which I designed for myself.

“I like that logo on your t-shirt,” said a balding, slightly overweight man with a small smile. His voice was slow and gentle.

“Thank you,” I said, flattered. “I designed it myself, actually.”

“I take it you like reading then? I think more people should read.”

“Indeed, I do!” I said. “And I agree with you.”

“What’s your favourite book, then?”

“It might be Spencer’s Mountain. A very good American book. Have you ever heard of it?” I asked.

“I take it that’s a fictional book? I don’t read much fiction,” he confessed.

“Ah,” I said. “Well, I like a lot of non-fiction too, particularly philosophy stuff.”

“I don’t read much non-fiction, either,” he said.

“What do you like to read?” I asked, somewhat confused.

“Local sports almanacs, documenting the cricket matches in Corsham and the other nearby towns and villages.”

“Well, I guess it’s nice to have your own niche,” I said and smiled.

“I have 87 of them,” he said. “But there are 150 overall.”

“I hope one day you’ll be able to complete your collection.”

“Yes, so do I,” he said. “Where do you come from? I take it from your accent that you are not from these shores?”

I explained about my accent and how I live (and have always lived) in Corsham.

“And where were you born?” he asked.

“I was born in Bath,” I told him.

“So was I, but they were expecting me to have a twin and I didn’t.”

“That sounds like an unusual mistake,” I said, having never heard anything like it.

“Well, it was fifty-seven years ago,” he said and it is quite interesting to think of all the medical advancements which have happened within single lifetimes.

“Ah, well, I was only born twenty-four years ago,” I said.

“Were you born in the RUH?” he asked.

“Yes, I was” I said, suddenly starting to feel very hungry, “but I was just on my way to get my dinner, so I am afraid I’ll have to bring our conversation to a close.”

“That’s okay. It was very nice to meet you,” he said and then give me a handshake.

It was a small and unusual interaction, but it’s the kind of thing which I enjoy. The fact that this man looked just like my character Morris, spoke just like Morris and had a strong and passionate interest in something so obscure (just like Morris) and liked talking to strangers (again, just like Morris) made it even more enjoyable. Perhaps Morris will be collecting local sports almanacs in the next story…

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Ten Episode Rule

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Adam Randall

I’m quite open-minded in the media that I consume. I am always happy to try new things which are suggested to me and I really enjoy quite a broad range of things. At the start of the year, I decided to start watching more anime (as it was a medium I was fairly unfamiliar with) and I’ve seen quite a few animes since then. While doing this, there’s a bit of a pattern that I’ve noticed.

With three separate series, it has taken me approximately ten episodes in order to become properly invested/engrossed with a series. These three series were Assassination Classroom, Steins;Gate and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I am very pleased I decided to stick with them long enough to become properly hooked, as I think they are all fantastic.

I think, perhaps, that when trying a new television show, you should watch at least ten episodes before you decide whether or not you want to stick with it. I think a really good show will probably have drawn you in within that space of time. Of course I write that knowing that the first ten episodes of Doctor Who (one of my very favourite TV shows) are not that good and certainly not representative of the series at it’s best, so take this with a grain of salt and play it by ear. All I am saying is that you shouldn’t judge something based only on a single episode (or a very small number of episodes.)

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)

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So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Adam Randall

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book (review of the third) in Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series and is actually my personal favourite. It’s very different to the previous three instalments in that I feel it has a greater level of emotional depth and is definitely much more grounded in reality.  As much as I love the other books,I think this one is just a little better.

The story follows Arthur’s return to Earth, which is strange, because the Earth was destroyed in the first book. He doesn’t quite understand how or why the Earth has returned, but he is overjoyed by the fact. Although, of course, having experienced all of the strange things that happened to him in the other books, it was obviously going to be hard for him to readjust to normal life.

Nobody seems to be at all aware of the Earth’s destruction, which causes Arthur to question his sanity to some degree. He meets a woman named Fenchurch who has also has some reason to question her sanity. Between the two, a romance begins to blossom. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of romance in books (because I feel like it’s often done badly) but I really appreciate the story of Arthur and Fenchurch. It felt quite natural at times and I really felt the emotions. It was lovely.

But if that sounds too different to you, rest assured that there’s a nice sub-plot about Ford Prefect off on some alien world too. Ford is as funny as ever and he also discovers that the Earth has been spontaneously restored.

I guess some people might be disappointed by the change of pace for this book, but to me it felt like a breath of fresh air. It was a shame that Zaphod and Trillian didn’t appear, but I liked the fact that Arthur was given more development and Fenchurch was a great new character as well, so it balances out. Plus, it can still be just as weird and just as clever and funny as the previous books – it just has an Earth-based setting, rather than an outer space setting.

So that’s the fourth Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy book and my personal favourite. Having such a unique tone helps to give it a strong identity and stops it from just feeling like a part of a series. Plus, I feel like this different approach helps to add more integrity and variety to the world which has been built up throughout the series.

It’s a really great addition to the series and an overall favourite book of mine.

Rating: 9.6/10

Buy it here.

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)

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Tomatoes

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Adam Randall

Here are two things that I don’t like very much – eating tomatoes and wasting food.  As you can imagine, these two interests sometimes clash. This usually happens when I am eating a burger and a tomato has been put inside the bun. In order for it not to taint the rest of the food and in order not to waste it, I usually remove it and eat it as the first part of the meal.

Somehow or another, I ended up talking about this very subject with a friend of mine. She said that the look of distress on my face while eating a tomato was something which was very sad to see, which then made me feel quite guilty. I had never considered that it might be unpleasant for other people to witness, so I agreed not to do it in front of them anymore. I had taken a small step towards learning a lesson.

That very same day, I mentioned all of that to another friend of mine. She then crafted an elaborate story about tomato people (or, perhaps that should be, Tomato People.) She told me that all through their lives, they aim to make humans feel happy – their vines wriggle around in anticipation of making people happy. If they ever know that they’ve caused someone discomfort, it causes them enormous shame which can never be rectified. I know it was just a random story, but, oh my, that was not something I’d be able to forget. I had taken another small step towards learning a lesson.

The next day I was having dinner with the friend who had told me about the Tomato People (or Toms, as they like to be called.) By coincidence, she happened to have some food which she wasn’t too fond of me. Perhaps you can see where this is going.

“What are you doing?” I asked, she picked up a piece of the food.

“Oh, well, I’d hate to waste it,” she said and then took a bite which she clearly did not like.

“No,” I said, “Don’t eat it. No need to cause yourself unhappiness.”

“But how is it different to you eating tomatoes?” she asked.

“It’s a completely different situation,” I said, knowing that it was an identical situation.

And she ate and she ate as I argued that she should stop and every argument that I raised, really, was an argument I should raise with myself when I have a tomato. Eventually, she had finished eating and I had no more small steps to take towards learning a lesson, because the lesson had been learned.

So here’s a picture of me with my new friend who I won’t be eating.

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Let’s Imagine for a Second, That Being Trans isn’t a Scientific Possibility

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Adam Randall

While you’ll find some people who claim otherwise, what I have read suggests that being trans is a scientific fact. Some men are born with vaginas, some women born with penises. Anyway, I’m not going to get into that – what I’d like to talk about in today’s blog post is whether or not a basis in scientific fact actually really matters that much.

So let’s imagine, for a second, that being trans is not a scientific possibility. If that were the case, we’d still have people who like to present themselves as a gender which is different to their biological sex. Why would we not just accept them anyway? What harm are they doing?

Logically, there’d be no fair reason to attack or discriminate them, because using the pronouns that they want to use and treating them with respect are small things to ask. So, that’s the main argument against being trans and even if you personally believe it to be true (which, it almost certainly is not) there’s still no real argument against treating them fairly.

People’s difficulty in accepting anything other than cis men and women is something I can understand – our society teaches us that gender is black and white, so it makes sense that people struggle to understand things which are not black and white. However, it surprises and disappoints me that so many people not only struggle to accept these things, but outright refuse to try based on some principle they hold, when it’s really hard to reasonably argue for this standpoint.

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Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Adam Randall

Earlier this year, I wrote a review of Super Mario Maker and this review of the 3DS version will kind of be written as a comparative, so you might like to read the original review before drawing any conclusions.

The general consensus on this game seems to be that it is a weaker, watered down copy of the original. While I do agree that it is weaker in some aspects, I also feels that it has some unique strengths of its own and that it can offer some experiences which the original cannot. A lot of people have dismissed this game outright, but I don’t think that’s fair at all.

One of my favourite things about Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is that it has quite a large number of pre-made levels.  You play through these levels in order to unlock the different customisation items for your own levels. These levels are some of the best 2D Mario courses that I’ve ever played – they’re really fun and original and the game is worth buying for the opportunity to play them alone.

Another thing which I quite enjoyed, was the fact that there are a few nice little interactions between Mary O. and Yamamura (the pigeon) the game’s two instructors. The two of them basically give little tutorials for each of the different things you can use to make your levels. They’re in the original too, but there’s more of them this time and I appreciate it. They’re quite funny together.

Having said that, sometimes the tutorials felt a little unnecessary. It was also somewhat frustrating that you had to complete these levels (some of which were pretty hard) in order to unlock all of the different customisation options – some of you will just want to start building right away. That was what I wanted to do, at least.

Plus, there are a lot of features which have been removed. There are no longer any Mystery Mushrooms, which removes the ability to play as various other characters from the Super Mario series and beyond. You also can’t send things directly to your friends online, only in person, which is a bit frustrating. The reason for this is that you can’t even upload the levels you create onto the internet and being unable to share your work is a little disappointing. You can, at least, still play endless levels online… although you can’t search for specific levels. These are the things which most people take issue with.

However, while the game has flaws (at least in comparison to the console counterpart) I think it’s pretty good overall and something which you’ll still enjoy, especially if you are a Super Mario fan. I think the general consensus is a little too negative.

Rating: 8.8/10

Buy it here.

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)

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Site Valuation

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Adam Randall

I’ve been filled with a renewed sense of vigor about this blog recently. Today I use a site which gives a free valuation of websites and it turns out that my blog is now about ten times more valuable than it was a few years ago (when I last did one of these.) I guess a big part of this stems from the fact that I now have a domain and, including the non-domain years, I have been updating with new posts since 2011. A long time!

Once I found out the value of my site, I decided to investigate how much all of the content I’ve written on here is worth. As a freelancer, I like to charge 2.5p per word for my writing. Had I been paid my regular rate for all of my work on this blog, how much would I have been paid? Well, a rough estimate based on how many blog posts I’ve written and how long they usually are,  I’ve probably written 450,000 words on here – the equivalent of a very long novel! I’d have been paid well over £100,000 for that if I were on my usual rate.

Seeing that my site has increased in value has helped to inspire me. I am now even more dedicated to keeping it going and to providing the best blog posts I can do. I guess it just goes to show the value of blogging. It’s been something which has been essential to the progression of my career and now, it seems, it has become something which carries a good level of value all on its own.

It’s funny though, because as I said to a friend of mine, I only ever talk about how much I like reading, how much I like playing games or how much I like my friends. I don’t really say much else.

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It Gets Better

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Adam Randall

I recently read an argument from someone who claimed that it was offensive to say “it gets better” to someone who has depression, because it displays an ignorance about the nature of depression and highlights that the person who said it has never had any real negative experiences in their life. While on the one hand, I don’t think that it’s a particularly comforting thing to say to someone (a bit generalist) and I’d never say it to someone who had expressed that it was something which made them frustrated, I don’t think that it is an inherently bad thing to say, nor do I think that it necessarily reflects a level of ignorance.

A few years ago, I was very, very deeply unhappy. I don’t want to go into too many depressing details, but I had no money at all and as I live in a fairly isolated town, this meant that I pretty much had no way of seeing my friends at all. There was essentially nothing to feel happy about. One day I even took off my smiley face badge and tried to give it to a friend, as I did not want to wear it anymore (they didn’t accept.)

Something that I did during that period, was an unpaid work placement at a nearby Job Centre. I hate the Job Centre (for good reason) and so every day I was in an environment which was very negative for me. I remember one morning, I got up into the cold post-sorting room and started going through their mail by myself (that was one of my responsibilities.)

I looked back at the past. Going to Nando’s, sleeping over with people, going out on night walks, going to Christmas markets and actually getting to see and spend time with my friends. I wondered how my life had gone from that, to never seeing anyone and not having anything to be happy about. I thought, sadly, that that was just what my life would be like from then on and I’d have to get used to it. If somebody had told me that “it gets better” I’d probably have wearily shaken my head and said that I thought they were being too optimistic. I allowed myself to feel unhappy, not just about my current circumstances, but at the thought that they’d last forever.

But what do you think I would tell myself, if I had the ability to communicate with the me of that time? I’d say “it gets better.” Once again, I have a nice, large circle of friends to spend time with, I have money because I have a job and I’m always going to places and having exciting new experiences. In fact, my life is better than it was before it’s temporary lull, because I’ve made new friends since then and the relationships with the friends I had before have only grown deeper.

I appreciate that I have been lucky and that things could have gone very differently, but things improved for me and they can improve for others. When people say “it gets better” they mean that you mustn’t fall into the trap of believing that things can’t get better (which is a symptom of depression.) I don’t mean to be an idealist, because some situations are so dire and they won’t get better, but for a lot of people, that won’t be the case and believing that it is, is not a healthy or productive mindset – I should know!

So if you are very unhappy, please don’t forget that things can get better and I hope very much that you’ll find yourself in a happier situation soon.

(Don’t miss the latest Finger Puppet Show!)

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Adam Randall

This book is (to use a cliched term) the explosive finale to the Harry Potter series of books. Don’t read this review unless you’re familiar with everything that happens up until this book, as there may be spoilers. If you’re interested, here’s my review of the previous book in the series.

The whole structure of Deathly Hallows is different to what you’ll have come to expect from the earlier instalments. Usually they start with Harry having a dreary time at the Dursley house without much tension. But not this time. While Harry is there at the start, he knows that the magical protection around their home will expire soon, so he and the Order of the Phoenix are planning his escape. What happens is very intense.  The fact that there’s so much tension right at the start really helps to set the tone for the novel.

The other books all have Harry going through his school year and getting involved in some mystery or adventure along the way, but this time it is too dangerous to return to Hogwarts. Outside of the school, he is making preparations (along with Hermione and Ron) so that he can face Voldemort. There are some scenes which have people from the Wizarding World out on the streets with regular people, it’s unusual, but intriguing. I like that we get this contrast and it makes the world feel more strongly grounded in reality.

Let me talk, very briefly about the ending of the last novel. Remember when Dumbledore was murdered by Snape? Remember how utterly horrifying that was? And how you felt numb and couldn’t quite believe what had happened? And how his death really did feel like an enormous loss? Well, I feel like that that happening was a good way of setting the tone for the Deathly Hallows. There are a lot of shocks and a lot of deaths (though none, I felt, were so shocking as Dumbledore’s – to me, at least.)

It’s actually quite hard to talk about this book without spoiling the big events which take place in it. What I will say, though, is that we’re given a lot of new information which helps us to see previous events in a different light. It actually teaches a good lesson about not judging people (for better or for worse) unless you know everything about them. I really liked the extent to which several characters were really fleshed out.

Lots of characters had particularly exciting scenes, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Snape, Dumbledore (via flashbacks) and it’s pretty satisfying that they’re all used so well. One thing which was somewhat disappointing, however, was that we were given no closure for Winky the House Elf. Considering that we get closure for pretty much everyone else, this did seem quite the oversight.

To summarise, this was a fantastic end to a fantastic series. I was pretty sad when it was over, not necessarily because the ending was sad (I won’t spoil that) but because I knew that I wouldn’t have the pleasure of reading another Harry Potter book. If you’ve never read it, I strongly recommend that you give it a try. Some of my absolute favourite books.

Rating: 9.5/10

Buy it here.

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