In A World We Must Defend...

Not much has happened since last I wrote, so I hope you'll permit me to ramble a bit. I'll have plenty to talk about tomorrow, as we have to finish our graphic design project by Wednesday this week. I'll actually need to call on you guys to help me out at some point before then as 'market research'. That'll probably happen tomorrow but for now, I just need to get it done.

Yesterday I got to the victory road section of Pokemon: White 2. You know, from what I can see so far, I actually feel like the story is really much weaker than the original White. It really was basically "Plot point at the beginning. Occasional appearances by mysterious figures throughout. Throw EVERYTHING at the end." I wouldn't really mind except the aforementioned end where everything story-related actually happens only takes maybe an hour, and that's if you have a lower-level team at that point. If it was like a whole separate quest that'd be one thing, but the whole dang thing is just shoehorned in and it makes me feel a bit cheated, to be honest. This was meant to be the first real direct sequel to a Pokemon game since Gold and Silver, But it treats the player as if this was the first one hey got. As I said, it's a lot worse than the first one (I thought White's story was the best since, again, Gold and Silver) and I'd almost argue it's worse than my least favourite pokemon game, Diamond. At least in Diamond there was a constant threat by Team Galactic and you had to fight them at regular intervals. Here it's almost like there isn't a team at all!

HOWEVER, I must stress that it is only in the story that White 2 severely underwhelmed me. Everything else was stellar. Awesome to see trainers animated, tons of endgame content, the movies are a blast (and surprisingly strategic), and YOU GET TO FIGHT RED. Also. the auto-repel system was a godsend. So I liked the game in every aspect except story. Some other time I'll go into the new pokemon designs, and for those curious, my current team is Absol, Lucario, Samurott, Electivire, Scolipede and Excadrill. Aura Sphere is awesome.

Movie of the day: Russian Ark. Just to show I don't automatically love ALL movies, behold one of the dullest films I've ever seen! It's a shame as this is an incredibly unique concept: A 90 minute movie done entirely in one take. Now to make that work, you need one heck of a narrative, right? Well, yes that is right. Too bad the filmmakers decided not to include one! It is a 90 minute guided tour of the admittedly stunningly beautiful Hermitage museum in Russia, with some Lynch-esque dialogue thrown in for good measure. This is an interesting concept, but if you want to capture the beauty of a place for posterity, there are better ways to do it than with a steadicam with the iso turned up too high. Just ask Tarsem! Really can't recommend this.

Song of the day: Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine (SEVEN LIONS REMIX). Annoyed by Florence's ugly collaboration with Some Dance Guy, which seems to be the hip new thing for female vocalists with actual talent to do? I know I am, but I counter it by listening to this awesomely powerful remix done by Seven Lions. It might be a bit blare-y for some, but if you can stomach it, this is dubstep at it's prettiest.