Final Fantasy XV: Royal Pain

This year proved to be sort of the final straw for me and Final Fantasy. The series has been in decline for some time, but I figured that if Final Fantasy XIII didn't make me actively mad, then I could probably continue to tolerate the mainline games no matter how bad they got. I was … Continue reading Final Fantasy XV: Royal Pain →

Final Fantasy XIII: The Problem’s Not Linearity

A few times recently I've seen someone pose the question: "Why do people hate Final Fantasy XIII for being linear? I understand it's unusually linear for a Final Fantasy, but plenty of these same people seem to like Final Fantasy X which is almost as bad!" It's true that FF-XIII seems to draw particular ire … Continue reading Final Fantasy XIII: The Problem’s Not Linearity →

Fallout: The Master’s Race

Last time we left off, we were finishing off the ostensible main quest of Fallout. Now, it's time for the real main quest of Fallout. It turns out that the hunt for the Water Chip was roughly the first half of the game. The purpose of this quest was to introduce the player to the … Continue reading Fallout: The Master’s Race →

Start to Quit: Skyrim

I have a lot more games than time. As a result, I've developed a habit of passing judgement on games pretty quickly. Recently I realized that I could turn this tendency into short posts about games I've played and why I bailed out of them early on. This isn't really a review so much as … Continue reading Start to Quit: Skyrim →

Final Fantasy XV: The Malboro

I just finished an impressively terrible game. I’m a longtime Final Fantasy player, which is to say that I played the oldest ones when they came out and eventually wandered off but continued to halfway pay attention to what they’re doing. This particular game has convinced me that it’s no longer even worth halfway paying … Continue reading Final Fantasy XV: The Malboro →

Fallout: The End of the Beginning

Before we begin: I would like to make my first and last spoiler warning of this series. I know this seems like weird timing, but I'm mentioning it now because here is where the game's likely paths start to diverge. Until now, I've been examining what I consider the default playthrough of the game, and … Continue reading Fallout: The End of the Beginning →

Fallout: Nuts and Bolts

Last time we looked at what I consider the "intro" of the game. This time we'll be looking at what I consider the end of the "linear" part of Fallout. Last time we hung out in Shady Sands, maybe did some small side quests, and found out about two even bigger settlements: Junktown and The … Continue reading Fallout: Nuts and Bolts →

Fallout: How to Open a World

Fallout starts with a simple cinematic. The format is by now familiar to fans of the series: A 1940's pop song plays, setting a dissonant backdrop for a series of clips showing off a world war and its resulting devastation. They have no dialogue and no visible facial expressions, but the animation and body language … Continue reading Fallout: How to Open a World →

Fallout Retrospective – Summary and Mission Statment

I recently started this blog because I noticed I was writing way too much for forums, other people’s blogs, and reddit. Given that I usually just dash off a few hundred words whenever the mood strikes me, it would stand to reason that the smart thing to do would be to start with short posts … Continue reading Fallout Retrospective – Summary and Mission Statment →

Why I Blog

Here's the tweet in its entirety: "Fuck you and everyone who thinks like you." That's what Twitter thought I wanted to read after coming back after three days. Shamus Young on engagement algorithms and quitting Twitter I've all but quit social media. I haven't so much as looked at Facebook in years, and only look … Continue reading Why I Blog →