Starfish-People

The title of this rant has nothing to do with anything that will be written here-in. This week we examin the fine world of online first person shooters, my favorite being Day of Defeat. Ok, so it's running on an engine that's at least half a decade old, but it continues to entertain. Far better than Counter-strike, in my oppinion. To clarify, The Right Hand is not evil, he's just aggressive. That's what he is, aggression. And applied correctly, aggression is a good thing. It makes us competitive, it helps us win, it helps us push ourselves to be better than our current level. There are, of course, negative applications of aggression, most of which are the result of too much aggression. I'll talk more on this and other subjects later, but right now it's almost 3am and I need sleep.

::stretch:: Now that that's taken care of, back to the ranting.

So, I like FPS games. They are, by far, my favorite genera. Everything from the classic Wolfenstien 3D to the glory of Half-Life 2, I've shot many 'a bot, and online I've traded more than a few rounds. Day of Defeat is really the only online game I play, and I continue to fine enjoyment in it. Everyone has a style of play, a strategy, and I am no different. Mine is quite simple, actually: I run at things and I shoot them until they stop moving. While this may seem obvious and simple, it is highly effective. Granted, I do wind up dying a lot, but my straight-forward, aggressive style does have it's advantages. For starters, I capture tons of flags, because I'm not worried about rushing through a hail of bullets. This tends to keep the enemy on their toes. But the interesting bit is that my style of play lends itself to close-quarters combat. I do best when fighting in confined areas and against multiple targets. I once managed rounded a corner, and took out five of the six players standing behind it. I chalk that one up to a lot of luck, but you get the idea. The "where the hell did he come from?" has a lot of advantages over the slow and sneaky methods. If you hit the nail hard enough... However, there are plenty of moments when said blunt aggressive tactics blow up in my face. Sometimes litterally. This gets frustrating, but that's just part of the game.

In other news I saw Sin City on Friday. I have never seen a movie of such technical excellence and unashamed style. I have to give it credit on that account. It was Noir in all aspects. The tone (or rather lack of them) were perfect, the narration was glorious (I happen to really like narration in movies, even the stuff in Bladerunner). I could see the word balloons hanging in the air, it was truly a masterpiece of style. Unfortunately, that's where the glory of this film ended for me. I only got about half-way through the film before I couldn't stomach the content any more. I had gotten everything I felt I was going to get out of the style, and the subject matter was already brewing fresh nightmares for me, so I decided I had had enough. In hind-site, the on-camera violence wasn't so bad. There have certainly been films with far gorrier scenes. But it was the off-camera stuff that tore at my mind and soul. I can stand violence, death, destruction, whatever. But I have this thing about taking parts of people. That scene in The Mummy where Burns has his eyes and tongue taken from him by the mummy. Yeah, it still freaks me out. Similarly, I can't watch the amputation scene in Master and Commander which is probably the most tasteful and subdued take on the subject I've seen yet. And to top it all off, I have a particular sensitivity to hands. My hands hurt when otherpeople pop their fingers. If you've seen the film, then I think you understand how this movie made my mind scream out in agony and torment. If you haven't seen it ... well, you had probably better have a very strong stomach if you're going to enjoy it. And that saddens me greatly, because aside from the things that I wish I could forget, I really enjoyed the movie. I liked the "heros," the acting was good, the effects were breathtaking, and it was just good. But I still hear the screams....

In lighter news, it seems that Octopi have agreed that two legs are, in fact, the superior number for running. Thus, adding evidence to the belief that humans are the superior species. (if you're not laughing at that last line, you should be)

Welcome to the Comedity. Don't step on the Penguin.
Garth (Monday - April 04, 2005) -02:51:12