Wheel of Time Reread Part 8

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Original cover of The Path of Daggers

Original cover of The Path of Daggers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Path of Daggers

While I didn’t note this in my reread of Crown of Swords, I do intend to finish all of these rereads before A Memory of Light comes out. It will be tough, I kind of messed around and didn’t get it done this summer, but I’ve just finished reading Winter’s Heart and I’ve moved on to Crossroads of Twilight. I’ll be pushing it, but I can get it done. I kind of lost steam when I hit this rough patch in the series, and thought I had more time to pace myself getting it finished.

Path of Daggers is among my least favorite entries in the Wheel of Time series. Part of that is due to unavoidable story reasons, like Rand going full asshole, which is just a natural consequence of his character arc. The bigger part is that it is a short book that focuses on some of my least favorite storylines and ends with an anticlimactic whimper. In rereading it, I didn’t really like Path of Daggers any better. I did come to a greater appreciation of its structure, though. Of any of the books past The Dragon Reborn, Path of Daggers is in some ways to most complete in itself.

This volume is all about the Bowl of the Winds, and the effects of its use. It starts with Elayne, Nynaeve and Aviendha around Ebou Dar, herding the various groups of channeling women out of the city to a place where they can use the bowl. This whole sequence reads as chaotically as the scene is supposed to be. Theirs is Avi’s problems with the gateway, Elayne’s fiddling with the massive number of ter’angreal they just found and Nynaeve’s chasing after Lan rather than leading the party. There are the Windfinders refusing to take orders, the Aes Sedai doing their own thing and the many women of the Kin trying to figure out where they belong with their world seemingly crashing in around them. The authority that Nynaeve and Elayne gained in the last book is slowly eroded here, as their inexperience and preoccupation leading everyone to try and take matters into their own hands. It is easy to forget how young Elayne and Aviendha are, but these early chapters really show it. Especially with the attempted interrogation of the Black sister Ispan. Eventually all the cats are herded to the top of a hill, and the bowl is used. AS far as big magical scenes in WoT, the use of the Bowl of the Winds is kind of disappointing. Usually, Jordan does a wonderful job with these, like the scene in Rhuidean. While this is of great importance, it breaks the Dark One’s eternal world burning summer and fixes the weather; it doesn’t quite match up to other similar scenes. Still, the vast importance can’t be missed.

As soon as they are done they sense channeling in Ebou Dar. To her credit, Nynaeve immediately wants to go back for Mat. Their relationship continues to be the best. But Elayne recognizes a raken and immediately orders that everyone who can channel is traveling with them right then. A wise move, even if it does leave Mat to fend for himself. The women of the Kin’s farm are rounded up and they travel just as the Seanchan reach there. While it is a convenient bit of writing that Aviendha just happened to unravel a weave earlier, something not mentioned before, and now Elayne needs to do the same to keep the Seanchan from following them. This is one of the very good action scenes in the series, with Avi and Birgitte fending off Seanchan while Elayne tries to untie the gateway. It has a sort of mythic bravery to it, more apparent when attempting to summarize the scene than when actually reading it, like Rand pulling the sword from the stone in TDR. When the weave eventually collapses, the Aes Sedai are finally proved right about something, since it blows up like an atom bomb. This scene is the highlight of the book. Really, this whole first section, while meandering at times, is pretty solid. Most important, though, is that the Bowl has been used.

The book then switches to Perrin, who is collecting the west central area for Rand. I had forgotten how much the plot actually moves here. In a few short chapters, Perrin connects with Morgase, though he doesn’t know it, gains an ally in Alliandre, Queen of Ghealdon, and strikes the first blow in his eventual battle with the Prophet. While all of this is happening, the ever infuriating love triangle between Perrin, Faile and Berelain continues. I do like Elyas showing up and much like teaching Perrin about the Wolves he also teaches him a bit about Saldea. Also, the weather is starting to change here. There are more threads in play here than I remembered. Between the Seanchan, the Whitecloaks, the Dragonsworn and the Aiel, there are tons of parties active in the area. And Perrin is trying to navigate through all of them. I had placed this mission at the bottom of what was necessary, but now I think it was more important that I realized, even if the good guys don’t gain anything out of the Prophet’s men.

The weather continues to change through a villain checkup, with the introduction of Cyndane, who is Lanfear reborn. I’m not sure what her role will be down the stretch, but she is back. And Cadsuane continues to be infuriating and maybe awesome, but more infuriating. Finally, we come to Rand. Rand is a complete, unlikeable jerk in this book. The fall that started with the end of Lord of Chaos and was only briefly turned in Crown of Swords is back. He is arrogant, and unable to trust anybody. Rand has his first contact with the Black Tower in a while, and it is obvious that bad things are going on. But Rand has supposedly more important things on his mind. Like the return of the Seanchan.

By the time the book reaches Egwene, winter is in full swing. She even has her big meeting on a frozen pond. Egwene, after a book and a half of playing the lapdog Amyrlin Seat, makes her power play and succeeds. The whole sequence is pretty awesome, a plan coming together flawlessly. Given what we now know about Black ajah members, sections of Egwene’s story read quite differently. There isn’t a whole to say about Egwene’s story here; she and Siuan are awesome and this is a cool sequence. That is all.

Now little Rand goes to war, with one of the most brilliant hare-brained schemes ever. Instead of taking his trusted followers, he takes all the people he is sure are would like nothing more than to see him dead. Because he’d rather risk the lives of people he doesn’t like rather than ones he does. In all he seems off-balance. The whole war with the Seanchan is ugly. It is not enjoyable to read, Rand is a jerk, and the weather is bad. It is war. Rand’s initial plans are successful, and despite misgivings on all sides and strangeness in the power caused by the Bowl, he pushes on to try and push the Seanchan out of Ebou Dar. So he pulls Callandor, and on top of being a jerk goes full crazy, killing as many of his own men as enemies. It all comes together terrible perfection. The Bowl that helped save the world also helped add to the confusion of a grisly battle. Were it not for the strangeness, maybe Rand would have pushed them into the see. Or maybe they would have beaten him soundly. In the end, both sides feel that they lost. It should have been the end of the book. It is the end of the immediate effects of the Bowl, and it would have made a fitting conclusion to a downer of a volume, but it goes on.

So Rand returns to the Palace, where some of the obviously evil Asha’man, upset with how the battle turned out, try to kill him. It is short, confusing and anticlimactic. It is the end of him forcing people he doesn’t trust to fight for him, but other than them blowing up a big chunk of the Palace in Cairhien, nothing really happens. The beg event at the end is Fedwin Morr losing his mind. That scene is why this should have been the start of Winter’s Heart rather than the end here. Once Rand sees firsthand what awaits all make channelers, he knows he must fix it, and that is what Winter’s Heart is about. The other big ending is the kidnapping of Faile, plus Morgase and Alliandre. That whole storyline is too drug out and unsatisfying for the most part, but it barely starts here.

I still don’t like Path of Daggers. I think it would work better if most of it was the second half of Crown of Swords and the rest was the first half of Winter’s Heart. But the whole thread of the effects of the Bowl of the Wind that runs through this book is effective. It gives it a nice hook that could have been better emphasized or even alluded to in the title. Like all of this weakest part of the series, books 7-10, the events are vital even if the books itself doesn’t feel so.

The Wii’s Last Story

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Of the two prominent Wii RPGs released this year, Xenoblade Chronicles has gotten the bulk of the attention. Whether this is due to it epic scope, its fluid yet strategic battle system or simple because it came out first, I don’t know. What I do know, now that I’ve played both equally and beaten The Last Story, is that The Last Story deserves at least as much love a Xenoblade. The Last Story is a classic JRPG filtered through an action game and the result is amazing despite its flaws.

While the action RPG is in no way new, The Last Story is different than the usual in that hybrid genre. It doesn’t just give the player direct control of the fighting, it is paced and structured like an action game. While there is plenty of very RPG-like gadding about town, the mission play out like action game levels. Players are pulled from fight to fight, set piece to set piece at a breathless pace. There is excitement and immediacy that games like the more meandering Secret of Mana or the Kingdom Hearts series can’t match. It is actually more like something from God of War. The game is helped by solid, though not perfect, fighting mechanics. Waling away at opponents is a valid strategy, but the game rewards attacking at a measured pace, alternating attacks with allies to get damage bonuses from chains. Magic attacks leave elemental circles that the player can dispel for status effects. The balance of keeping beneficial elements and hitting status effects give some nice strategy to fights that can break down into chaos. Aside from just firing their one element of magic about even if the enemies are resistant to it, the AI controlled allies work just fine. It is a frenetic, chaotic battle system with just enough strategy to keep being interesting.

The RPG parts are good as well. The Last Story takes cues from numerous classic RPGs and rolls them into a not wholly unoriginal adventure. Its penchant for limiting party members for different tactical challenges is right out of FFIV. I don’t mean to spoil the surprisingly good story, but the plot takes plenty of elements from numerous FFs and Chrono Trigger. There are also some spots that are very reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda. It plays like a greatest hits of all your favorite RPGs

Fortunately, there is more to it than that. In sharp contrast to the expansive, epic scope of Xenoblade, The Last Story is a rather intimate game. There aren’t that many characters and the majority of the story takes place in one city. Though it can’t seem to help itself from escalating events to world shattering proportions, the story is primarily of one man’s attempts to better himself and the world. It all works together very well, especially since Lazulis City has enough personality to remain interesting for as whole game.

There are some flaws, like some overly fiddly battles, especially with a limited party, and an upgrade system that can’t be fully utilized without multiple playthroughs, but none of the flaws significantly diminish what is an excellent game. With the Last Story and Xenoblade, the Wii has received a terrific one-two punch of RPGs. One is perfect for quick play sessions and quick run throughs, the other will keep anyone busy for as long as they want. I wouldn’t say one approach is better than the other, but it is nice to have games that fit both. The Last Story is a perfect send off for the Wii.

Wheel of Time Reread: Crown of Swords

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Original cover of A Crown of Swords

Original cover of A Crown of Swords (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Crown of Swords seems to be one of the not very well thought of books in the Wheel of Time series. If this is true and not a misperception on my part, it is a great disservice to one of the better books in the series. It does have a tighter focus than most of the rest of the series, taking place over the course of something like ten days. It is also the start of a few of the seemingly endless plotlines in that bog down the later part of this series. This is added to the fact that the momentum of the central storyline of Rand’s battle, has been completely sundered by the events of the ending of Lord of Chaos. While the future of plotlines introduced here are not among the series best, their start is well done. The failures of later books, specifically Path of Daggers and Crossroads of Twilight, should not reflect poorly on Crown of Swords.

The book starts with some fallout from the last book. Elaida is still imaging her victory in a plan that nearly doomed the world. She is the perfect impediment villain, a person who genuinely believes she is doing the right thing even when she is massively screwing everything up. It also makes her perfectly frustrating to read. Alviarin also plots, though her victory is more genuine since she is playing for the other side. There are also check ins with some of the other losers in the battle at Dumai’s Wells, the Shaido and Gawyn’s Younglings. Both have all that they fought for completely rearranged. The big scene of the prologue is the death of Pedron Niall, Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light. While he was at best just a male equivalent of Elaida, Eamon Valda is just what most Whitecloaks seem like, a zealous thug. His taking over the Children is the worst possible thing. Not that is matters much for what he manages to accomplish, but he is one of the most thoroughly awful non-darkfriends in the series.

The early chapters here are suitably gruesome. Rand’s fragile coalition that won the pyrrhic victory at Dumai’s Wells sit in the unnatural heat of an endless summers while Rand tromps through piles of corpses. It is an ugly sight. None of the various groups quite trust each other, and all fear that Rand has gone crazy. They are not far wrong. The madness that must eventually consume him has begun to do so. Up until this point Rand has been constantly moving forward to his goals. He has had failures and trials, but nothing has long put him off his goals of uniting the world to face the last battle. After Dumai’s Wells, he is in retreat. It doesn’t help that he has sent off most of his trusted allies.

We are also introduced to the interminable plotline for Perrin. He flat out says that the only thing that matters to him is Faile, not Tarmon Gaidon. While this is romantic, it is also terrible. He has to learn the there are things that are more important. There are also his constant attempts to protect her that end up seeming to ignore her contributions while also emphasizing Berelain’s, which enrages Faile even though Perrin is nearly oblivious to their rivalry over him. Perrin’s trials with Faile happen while Rand tries to split the Gordian knot that is the situation with Colavaere, who has proclaimed herself Queen in his absence. He cannot let himself kill her due to his personal hang-ups, but according to the law she must be killed. He finds a way that should be satisfactory, and send the appropriate message to the scheming nobles of Cairhien. Too bad she takes the easy way out.

Then there is Egwene’s struggle to become the Amyrlin Seat they named her in the last book. The Aes Sedai refuse to be anything but incompetent, though later revelations make some of their actions make more sense. Still, Egwene is building strength, while also generally doing things right. Interestingly, none of her allies are traditional Aes Sedai. Siuan and Leane were, then weren’t and now are again while Faolain and Theodrin are not quite. Aes Sedai have a blind spot when it comes to anyone that falls out of the usual Aes Sedai power structure, even when they only barely do so. She is able to use their slight knowledge of her supposed allies various schemes to make them her actual allies, even if she coerce and blackmail them into it.

The last story introduced is also the best, defining plotline of Crown of Swords, that of the dueling search for the Bowl of the Winds. Mat is there to help, but they do their best to ignore him, all while dealing with the numerous dangers of Ebou Dar. The success of this story is largely due to the number of “fun” characters there. Nynaeve and Mat are easily the two most entertaining characters in the series, and Thom is always fun. The rest of the crew there just makes it more fun. I especially like Elayne finding out just why Rand keeps a supposed lout like Mat around. For the first half of the book, it is just the girls failed search attempts and their successful attempts to ignore Mat, while he tries to stay busy/not stabbed.

Perrin’s story in this volume is cut short, as he is soon sent away to gather the Prophet and Ghealdon for Rand, and just to keep it infuriating, he sends Berelain along as well. Rand also finally consummates his relationship with Min, though he feels guilty about it. Those two things combined put Rand in a funk, that is pretty much his problem. His mind is not right after his capture, and he is both less trusting than he was before and more eager to send his friends away to keep them safe. After hashing things out with Min, he goes far the opposite way, becoming almost giddy. His quick change from one mood to another is not normal. But is it useful, as he gets the important parts of a bargain with the Seafolk done that will be of use to him. He then pushes his luck by going after the rebels in the countryside. This works out well at first, gaining him tenous allies in two of the three leaders, but also out there is Padan Fain and eventually a bubble of evil. Rand is saved only by the timely intervention of Cadsuane and her crew of Aes Sedai.

Cadsuane is an interesting mid-series addition. She is infuriating and almost always pushes the wrong buttons when it comes to Rand, but she is also one of the few Aes Sedai that is actually trying to help his cause and not furthering some other goal. While she does help out some, her help towards Rands goals is grudging and her supposedly helpful attempts rarely seem to do any good. She is Moiraine without the trust Rand had in her.

In Ebou Dar, the girls realize they need Mat’s help, and he is forcibly moved into the Palace. They also find the Kin, the secret group of Tower failures that the Aes Sedai use to catch runaways. Mat has encounters with Queen Tylin that reverse gender dynamics of the usual ruler and consort story. Despite the usual attempts of the Black Ajah and forsaken, they find the Bowl and most escape the city just before the Seanchan come back.

What Crown of Swords most has going for it are big exciting scenes. The stories are small and the focus is tight, but a lot of cool things happen in this book. There is Mat realizing who Birgitte is, Mat fighting the Gholam over the wounded Elayne, Rand swordfighting Toram Riatin, Lan saving Nynaeve just before she drowns, the foggy bubble of evil. This book is just packed with cool scenes. And it ends with Rand fighting Sammael in the ruins of Shadar Logoth.

Also, for a book that covers little time, many big events are covered. Niall is killed. Elaida loses her power. Morgase formally gives up the crown of Andor, and the Shaido are scattered across the West. It is a world changing book, with status quos changing all the time. The world of the first half of the series is gone, and the new reality must be dealt with. Crown of Swords may not be the biggest book or have the most important scenes in the series, but it has a large number of events of medium importance. This books serves as the set up for the next four or so books, for better or worse. The loss of Rand’s leaping forward progress makes many of the later books, starting with this one, seem aimless. That criticism isn’t wrong, but it misses the point. Rand’s quest feels like it has been derailed because it has been. Like the author, Rand is getting bogged down in the nitty gritty. Still, Crown of Swords is a fine entry in the series.

Wii Must Say Farewell

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With the recent release of the WiiU Nintendo has fully fazed out the original Wii. Really, they gave up on it after last year’s Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, releasing only a few dregs like Mario Party and the wholly excellent Kirby Collection since that. Sure, the Wii has been mostly dead all year, with Nintendo just now cutting off life support. While I am not surprised at the almost complete lack of anyone caring that it is gone, I am disappointed. Despite its bafflingly bad reputation, the Wii is one of my favorite gaming systems. It had its problems, like a lack of power and an unfortunate glut of crappy minigame collections, but the Wii also had some of the freshest, most original games since the original NES. I guess it is up to me to highlight some of the best things about the Wii.

The first is Nintendo’s own output for the machine. While there are many who suddenly decided they loved Nintendo’s Gamecube entries in their various series, Nintendo took what it learned from the at very least commercial failure of many of its GC games to good use with the Wii. It launched with a Zelda game. Twilight Princess is a great game, one of the best launch games ever. They followed up with 3 Mario games. No system had three new real Mario games since the NES. The Galaxy games were especially good. Mario Galaxy 2 is easily among my Top 5 favorite games of all time. They had a true Kirby game and an experimental Kirby game. A solid Metroid Prime game, though Other M is better off not mentioned. Then there are the other Nintendo series, a full complement of Mario Sports titles, the solid Super Paper Mario, WarioWare, a Fire Emblem, etc. The idea that the Wii was lacking in traditional games is laughable when Nintendo put out more than two dozen on their own.

Nintendo’s greatest success with the Wii was their new games, the games that got everybody playing. The Wii was a truly inclusive system, inviting everybody to play. Deride it if you will, but Wii Sports sold the system for a reason. While I was only really partial to bowling, there is something to be said for the magic of having your Grandmother play video games with you on Christmas.

The second biggest selling point of the Wii is the virtual console. While downloadable titles are commonplace now, the Virtual Console was what sold me on the idea. Many people seem determined to remember it only for the games it lacks, like the notable absence of Earthbound. However, the sheer wealth of classic games available for only slightly too much should be hard to overlook. While moving it over to my new WiiU, I realized that I have spent more than 200 dollars on VC games, and each one of them was worth the money. A significant chunk of the history of video games is on right there for everyone to experience.

There are also a lot of fun, experimental games. Games like the Trauma Center series, which turned playing doctor into an arcade-like experience or the pseudo-RTS Little King Story. Adventure games were already on their way back, but the Wii helped get them there fully, with games like the utterly charming Zack and Wiki. The motion controls of the Wii were not quite as revolutionary as some people hoped, but there is no arguing that they didn’t help widen the kinds of games available on home consoles.

In all, the Wii lived up to its original name of Revolution, though this Revolution turned out to be a short lived one. It was new and exciting, but Nintendo was unable to hook all their new gamers on buying things other than Wii Sports to play. The rise of tablets and gaming capable cell phones probably didn’t help either. Still there is enough to recommend about the Wii that it will receive an honored retirement at my home, sitting in a box alongside my decrepit PS2 and battered SNES, ready to be taken from the closet and hooked up at any time.

So what were the 10 best Wii games? Here’s my list

  1. Super Mario Galaxy 2: Just the best.
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Looks amazing and plays even better
  3. Super Mario Galaxy: Almost as good as its sequel
  4. Donkey Kong Country Returns: On any other system this might have been the best platformer
  5. Super Smash Brothers Brawl: It is hard to imagine any game topping this for a Nintendo love fest.
  6. No More Heroes 2: Brutal and hilarious. Old school in the best way.
  7. New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 2D Mario is back and I love it
  8. Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess: It is this low because it is better on the GC
  9. The Last Story: A great RPG with a nice tactical crunch
  10. Xenoblade Chronicles: An epic of epics, the closest thing we’re likely to get as a follow up to FFXII.

With two exceptions the best Wii games were published by Nintendo, and one of those two was developed by them and published by others. There were plenty of great games not made by the venerable king of video games. Here are the 10 best overlooked Wii games, though in no particular order.

  1. Little King Story. It doesn’t quite work as it should, but it is still fun
  2. Trauma Team. The culmination of the great doctor “sim.”
  3. Zack and Wiki. Some frustrating bits, but on the whole great fun.
  4. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles The Crystal Bearers. The title might be longer than the game, but it is a great RPG sandbox.
  5. Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. Shooter heaven.
  6. Fragile Dreams. Haunting, though rough.
  7. Klonoa. Even better than on PS1, but still just as ignored
  8. Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Beautiful, great fun.
  9. A Boy and His Blob. An awesome reimagining of a crusty classic
  10. MadWorld. Dark, violent, funny and tragically overlooked.

Honestly, I look at these two lists and can only think of the games that aren’t being mentioned, like Punch-Out, Kirby’s Epic Yarn or Boom Blox. I’ve also ignored Wiiware entirely. For the last five years I have done the vast majority of my home gaming on the Wii and have never felt like I was missing anything. That is not to say the PS3 and 360 aren’t great, just that we are living in a gaming golden age, where all three consoles have unique, vital games. The Wii deserves to be remembered as the great success it was. The games are different, often weird or ungainly, but they are also innovative and interesting and often fun. Thank you Nintendo, for you little white box.

Go See Lincoln!

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Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is a powerful movie. It is a riveting account of the final months of his life, of one of our greatest President’s struggles with Civil War, family tragedy and permanently ending the evil of slavery in America. While the dialogue is sometimes stilted, though I understand much of the dialogue to be taken from what we know was actually said, the emotion and import is real and vastly entertaining.

The greatest triumph of the movie is without doubt Daniel Day Lewis’ portrayal of Lincoln. Though I am far from an expert, it is one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen. If I didn’t already know who was playing him I do not think I could have guessed it. His Lincoln is as interesting a person as he is a historical figure. He is funny and irreverent, though weighed down by hard choices and numerous tragedies. You can almost see his shoulder’s sag under the great burdens he bears. But though there are no easy choices, you see the strength and care with which Lincoln makes them. It is truly an amazing performance.

The rest of the cast is also good. Tommy Lee Jones actually makes you forget he is Tommy Lee Jones playing an abolitionist congressman. Sally Field is great as Mrs. Lincoln, a woman at the end of her rope and who we know is soon to face another great tragedy. There are many more familiar, talented faces, like Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Robert Lincoln and James Spader as a vote buyer. Like all movies attempt to do, Lincoln really takes the viewer there and that is largely on the shoulders of the great cast.

The focus of the movie is on Lincoln’s attempts to get the 13th Amendment passed in the House of Representatives before the Civil War ends and the return of the Southern states make it impossible. Lincoln must weigh some less than upstanding methods needed to secure the two thirds majority needed with his desire to officially end the evil of slavery as well as attempts to broker a peace with the South. Should he meet with Southern leaders to end the war and stop the loss of life, or let is wind to its inevitable end while he eliminates the central cause of that war. There are no perfect options. It is both entertaining and illuminating.

Spielberg has brought countless classics to the big screen. (Countless = 10) Lincoln definitely belongs among his best. It is on the same level as Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. I expected to like Lincoln, but it might be the best movie I’ve seen this year. The word that constantly comes to mind is powerful. Do not miss it.

Professor Layton and the Great Disappointment

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For the last five years or so, the Professor Layton series has been one of the best things in gaming. It combined charming story and characters with terrific, brain breaking puzzles for some of the best handheld games ever made. Each of the first four games were great. The previous success us why my expectations were so high for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, and why I was so crushed when it failed to get even near those expectations.

While the core gameplay remains what is always was, a myriad of small problems almost render this latest Layton game unplayable. First are the new 3D graphics. The charming characters do not make the jump from two to three dimensions very well. Some, like Emmy, look just fine. More, like the now creepily beady-eyed Layton, look horrifying. While there are some advantages to the great range of animations available, but they lose all of their charm in the translation. This is a small problem, and one that is easy to get past, but it does lessen my enjoyment a little bit.

Then there is the new looking around mechanics. Instead of using the stylus to poke around the bottom screen, the player uses the styles on the bottom screen to poke around to top screen. This causes an unforgivable disconnect. While it does highlight the places where there is something interesting to see and let the environments be in 3D, it is imprecise enough be annoying.

Last, and worst, is that the balance between puzzles and story has tipped to the story. And that is bad. Over the first 4 hours of this game I got to less than 40 puzzles. It was too much talking and not enough puzzle solving. There are as many, or more, puzzles in this game as there have been in previous games, but they are spread out over nearly half again as much game. Most of the Layton games take about 10-12 hours to beat. Miracle Mask took me nearly 20. By the end I was really ready to be done with Layton. The game was slightly less fun to play but it lasted much longer. It became tiresome. The story here is actually not bad, but there seems to be less happening in it than in previous games. There really isn’t enough story to last the extra 5 hours this game does.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is still a solid game. It isn’t as good as the previous Layton games, but the basics of the gameplay are still here and are still entertaining. It just hurts that this series has been so much better in the past. I hope the next, and reportedly last, Layton game gets things back on track.

The Sky is not falling

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Daniel Craig’s turn as James Bond has been widely praised, even though reactions to Quantum of Solace as a movie have been mixed. I had no opinion, because despite me being a Bond fan, until a couple of days ago I had not seen any of the recent Bond movies. There are several reasons why. The first is that the Brosnan era ended on the sourest of notes. I loved Brosnan as Bond. Sure Goldeneye was the only true classic in his run, though I will defend The World is Not Enough, but Brosnan was the best Bond since Connery; less jokey than Moore but not humorless like Dalton. Die Another Day was such a turd that it kind of killed my interest in the series. Then there was the long wait between movies, which kind of let me forget that I once liked this series. Most damning, though, was my perception of Casino Royale as a gritty reboot. I reject utterly the idea that realism is inherently better than the fantastic. Casino Royale seemed to be being sold on the fact that it was better because it was more realistic than previous Bonds. That rankled me. After watching it recently, I saw that Casino Royale was better because it was better written, acted and just flat better made than most Bond movies. After seeing Casino Royale, I felt that I needed to see Skyfall.

Casino Royale excised the detritus that had built up over 40 years of Bond. Elements that were there because they had always been there, things like Q and Moneypenny and gadgets, were gone. All that was left was Bond himself. Now that who Bond is has been reestablished, Skyfall starts to add that stuff back in ways that fit with the new tone. As a result, Skyfall feels more like a Bond movie, but it is still exceptionally made. Familiar elements return because there is now a place for them, a reason for them to exist.

Skyfall starts with a rousing action scene, with a motorcycle chase and a fight on top of a train. It is well shot and everything one could want in an opener. While it does set up the rest of the move the end though, goes for a shock that really isn’t followed up on. That is the one problem with Skyfall. There are a lot of great looking scenes and a plot that is simple enough, but the various acts don’t really flow together that well. It just short of jumps to the spot it wants to be at, and the logic getting there is sometimes spurious. Still, that doesn’t greatly harm the experience.

After a surprisingly great credit theme, in the past I really haven’t enjoyed them, Skyfall moves to Bond hunting down the person who stole the information on undercover agents while M deals with governmental questioning the usefulness of her organization in wake of losing said information. Bond goes to Shanghai for a some very entertaining spying and we meet our villain Silva, played by Javier Bardem. Silva is the best Bond villain since Sean Bean played Trevelyan in Goldeneye. Like that villain, Silva is a dark reflection of Bond, a cautionary tale of what happens when a spy goes bad. After Silva interacts with M and Bond, we get to the last part of the film. The third act, instead of more espionage, it is just a complex home invasion and shootout. It works, but it feels somewhat out of place for the climax of a Bond movie.

Skyfall is a really good action movie. It has its flaws, but they are far outnumbered by its strengths. The biggest of which is the acting. I still like Brosnan more than Craig, but Craig is a more thoughtful Bond. Judi Dench is still great as M and Javier Bardem makes Silva simultaneously pathetic and scary. Plus, there are some really great action scenes here. Skyfall is a lot of fun, like a Bond movie should be, but without losing the seriousness that has been there recently. Basically, it is all fans could ask for in a Bond movie.

Wreck is Ralph is Excellent

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Going in to Wreck it Ralph, I was expecting it to be nothing but Toy Story, but with video games. I would have been perfectly satisfied with that; Toy Story is great and even a crude facsimile would likely be worth watching. For the first fifteen or so minutes, my supposition seemed like it was correct. On top of a healthy dose of video game allusions, it set up a world for arcade games that was not unlike Toy Story’s world of for toys. After that, though, Wreck it Ralph surprised me by being its own thing and by being pretty darn excellent to boot.

First, the loads of video game references made it easy for this movie to endear itself to me. I love video games, especially old video games. By filling it with imagery from those games it drew me in. The Donkey Kong like Fix it Felix Jr looks like a really fun arcade game. The jerky, simple animation of the characters from that game was really neat. I just loved the setting of the film. However, had they been just empty video game references, I would probably not have enjoyed it as much. Fortunately, the references serve the story instead of the story serving as a vehicle for the references. That is why most of them went away after the first few minutes. The movie needed to set up the world in the arcade, and the best way to do that was with recognizable characters. It is a short hand to help viewers identify with Ralph and Felix. Ralph is like Bowser, Zangief and the Ghosts in that he is a villain, but that is the role he plays, not who he is. After we have been eased into the world of Wreck it Ralph, the familiar characters are no longer needed, so they go away. They are used just enough to make old arcade lovers happy and to set up the story, but then disappear instead of overstaying their welcome.

While the story of Wreck it Ralph is a pretty standard hero’s journey, the characters are great. Ralph and Felix are a great Mario Donkey Kong stand in pair, with believable lives and problems. Calhoun’s overwrought similes are a riot, and she is suitably out of place in all the places that aren’t her game. King Candy is (spoilers) one of the best Disney villains in a long time, both hilarious and menacing. And Vanellope is perfectly grating. She is annoying, but just the amount she is supposed to be. She annoys Ralph, and the audience so they can feel Ralph’s annoyance, but usually characters like that go overboard into unlikable little goblins. Vanellope, though, is sympathetic even before the bullying scene. The movie really soars on how strong a character Ralph is. His goal is simple but nearly universal, especially with youngsters. He wants to belong. He wants to be invited to the party, to be recognized for his talents. He isn’t really a gentle giant, because he is prone to outbursts of anger and Hulk-like smashing, but he tries to be better. Unfortunately, he is Wreck it Ralph, he wrecks things.

Wreck it Ralph is one of the best animated movies I’ve seen in years. Easily the best one since Toy Story 3. I didn’t even go into how great the candy jokes from Sugar Rush were. This movie hits like the great Pixar movies, in that it is fun for both kids and adults. It doesn’t talk down to kids or over their heads, but it still retains plenty for older viewers to enjoy. I hoped it would be good, but I didn’t really expect it to be great. Wreck it Ralph was great.

One of these days I really will catch ‘em all

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The Pokémon series has a cycle it has run through since it began that Black/White 2 breaks, and I hope this becomes the new standard for the series. The cycle goes a pair of games with a few cosmetic and roster differences, Red/Blue or Diamond/Pearl. Those games are followed up by an improved third version of those games, Yellow or Emerald. Black/White 2 is something different. It is not the enhanced “Gray” edition to Black/White, it is a true sequel. There is a lot to the game for those who bought Black or White but who are not buying every Pokémon game because Pokémon. While it does push the boundaries with the incremental improvements, it does push against some problems that the series has mostly avoided until now, and for the first time gives me some concern for the direction this series is taking. Still, the massive amount of content lets me comfortably say that this is the best Pokémon game yet.

One of B/W’s biggest selling points was its regional Pokédex. B/W2’s is also a highlight, but for a different reason. Much of B/W’s charm was in how the Pokémon available in the main game were limited to just the ones new to this entry in the series. As a result it was the freshest Pokémon experience is some time, and it gave players a chance to get to know the new ‘mons that hasn’t existed since Red/Blue. B/W2 could not repeat that without a regions worth of new Pokémon, so Game Freak went the opposite way with it. B/W2’s regional Pokedex has around 300 critters in it. Each area has tons of Pokémon. While many of the routes are the same as they were in the last game, the new monsters make them a different experience. One of the best parts is that I’ve discovered that the Gen. 5 Pokémon are probably my favorite since the original 150.

While there are few improvements to the system, there are plenty of new frills. Pokestar studio makes the usual pageant-esque mini-game fun. Each movie is like a puzzle battle that must be solved. There is an achievement system in the way of medals. The new areas are mostly well designed, with straightforward main paths and plenty of side trails. There is really just a lot to this game beyond the usual collect the badges quest. I do need to make sure to note that the player character designs are just awful

B/W2’s biggest deviation from the formula is in its story. It is a sequel, and a sequel to a game that already focused more on story than any Pokémon game before it. The structure is still the same, with badges to collect and an Elite 4 to battle, but there is a lot more going on around it. Team Plasma has split into two factions, with one attempting to atone for their crimes in the previous game and the other dropping the “free the Pokémon” rhetoric and just flat out focusing on conquering the world. The problem is that with the increased focus on story, the player characters remain nonentities. To keep the one of the series biggest draws, the player characters must remain nonentities. So the game has to balance the big role the player must play in the story, with the fact that they can’t really be an active participant. It is the old problem of the silent protagonist. I have no problem with a silent protagonist, not when the game calls for it. When the main character is supposed to be the player, like Pokemon, then it only makes sense not to give them a set personality. Even giving options isn’t perfect, unless someone thinks Sheppard from Mass Effect accurately spoke for them. The Pokémon series has long succeeded in making it feel like the players Pokémon adventure, that is a big part of more personal attachment to the players own caught and chosen Pokémon. In Black/White2, the rival trainer gets to be the hero; he is the one with grudge against Team Plasma and is trying to stop them. The player just shows up and helps. The trouble also shows up with the returning characters. Cheren and Bianca are both around, Cheren now being a Gym leader and Bianca helping out the Professor, but the player character is nowhere to be found. I don’t have much of a problem with where the storytelling in Pokemon is right now. It is strange that the story is becoming more important, but the player is at best a side character. I just hope that the series doesn’t continue down this road. That would force them either abandoning the conceit that the player is the main character or making the main character take an even lesser role in his own story.

I thoroughly enjoyed White 2, and I can see myself returning before too long to catch all those legendaries available in the post-game. This is Pokemon, even with the slight changes everyone should know what they are getting into. Pokemon White 2 is the perfect way to cap off the DS’s life.

What I Read in September 2012

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The number of books I have read fell this month, down from my average of four to just two. I guess I did read several terrible eBooks that I will not be writing about, but as far as real, worth thinking about books go, I only managed two. Anyone who has been following my monthly posts won’t be surprised by what book they are, since both are from authors I have been reading a lot this year. One was another Maisie Dobbs books, Messenger of Truth and the other was a Japser Fforde book, The Big Over Easy, the first of his Nursery Crimes series. Next month is not going to be much better, as it was more crap with again only a few real worthwhile titles in the mix. Still, I think I will easily make my goal of fifty for the year.

Messenger of Truth

Jacqueline Winspear

The fourth Maisie Dobbs book has her investigating the apparently accidental death of an artist. While I am still enjoying the setting of this series, I am starting to care less for the characters. It feels like there is desire for forward movement with the characters, but that gets in the way of the mystery and not enough time is devoted to them for there to be any progress, but too much is spent of them for me to feel satisfied with how little there is. I still like the mysteries, though. Also, I am willing to concede that some of my frustration my come from reading the first books at such a rapid pace. Maybe they are better with a little time in between.

The mystery in this one is about art and family, and it all of the eventual dead ends feel like possible solutions instead of space fillers until it is time for the mystery to be solved. Despite my complaints about the unsatisfactory state of the character development, there are several big things that happen to Maisie and Billy in this volume. Billy especially get his family more fleshed out. This series continues to be good enough that I intend to keep reading it, but I am still not going to be shouting many praises

The Big Over Easy

Jasper Fforde

This is the first of the Nursery Crimes series, where the denizens of nursery rhymes populate the world of crime noir. It is an interesting set up, and Fforde infuses it with the same wit that is the hallmark of his Thursday Next series. Still, I found myself not enjoying this one as much. I think it comes down to the fact that I have more affection for the classic literature that makes up the in jokes of Thursday Next than I do for nursery rhymes. That being said, I expect this book is more accessible for others since the nursery rhymes are better known.

The Big Over Easy follows Detective Jack Spratt as he investigates the death of Humpty Dumpty. Once he is put back together again, it is apparent that he did not die from the fall, but was shot. So Jack must unravel a plot that involves nearly the entire town and most of your favorite nursery rhymes. I found it slow to get going, but it really picked up steam in near the end as the pieces start falling into place. I do love how Fforde has woven the simple rhymes together to make a somewhat believable world for them to occupy. This book does not rate quite as high as the Thursday Next series, but it has done nothing to diminish my faith in Fforde as a writer.