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| A still from Halo 4 (2012), directed by Josh Holmes |
I recently finished reading issue #89 of NGC magazine from January of 2004. The only reason why I downloaded this issue from https://archive.org/ is because it features a review of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (2003). It's the first Fire Emblem game that I managed to complete, and this happened in the summer of 2020. I played this game on my Wii U console. It's one of several dozen Game Boy Advance games that I downloaded before Nintendo shut down the Nintendo eShop for the Wii U. Fortunately, there's a quick save button for GBA games on the Wii U, and this helped a lot when I was playing The Blazing Blade because it's not an easy game, though I like strategy games. Looking back, I think that I should have played The Blazing Blade on a handheld console, but playing it on my Wii U still turned out to be a very good experience. This issue of NGC features a review of what Nintendo was up to in 2003. There are short articles about which video games the editors of the magazine were looking forward to in 2004. Among these games is Resident Evil 4. There's a long review of 1080° Avalanche, which got a rating of 90/100 from the magazine. Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death got a rating of 84/100. The screenshots in the review actually made me really interested in this game. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga got a rating of 94/100 from the magazine. Superstar Saga isn't a game that I enjoyed playing much. This RPG was clearly made for children, and some people seem to like many aspects of this game, but not much appealed to me here, though I understand why some people really like this game because it's overall solid and fun. Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade got a rating of 92/100 from the magazine. I'd say that The Blazing Blade is one of the most memorable and enjoyable games that I've played. NGC rated it highly and considered it to be superior to Final Fantasy Tactics (1997). I don't agree that it's better than Final Fantasy Tactics, but it's still a fantastic game. Pokemon Colosseum got a rating of 84/100 from the magazine and a lengthy review. Other than a few reviews, there's little that interested me in this issue of NGC. I haven't played many GameCube games so far, and, although I have no love for Nintendo, I don't think of the GameCube as a bad console because dozens of good games got released for it. There's no doubt that enough innovation was still taking place in the video game industry during the sixth-generation. Many of the video games that got released in the 2000s are the games that got me interested in gaming. I mean, Resident Evil 4 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker are still perhaps the most memorable and most enjoyable games that I've played, and, strangely enough, both of them got made for the GameCube. Some people are now complaining about the fact that the ninth-generation is pretty much a wasteland when it comes to new games. What they mean is that few new games got released for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. I don't have much to say about this because I don't own a ninth-generation video game console, but I can say that none of the games that got released on the PS5 so far interest me. The only PS5 game that I kind of want to play is God of War Ragnarok, and that's only because it's a sequel to God of War (2018), which is one of the most enjoyable games that I've played in the last few years. But God of War Ragnarok is available on the PS4 too, though its $80 price tag has so far prevented me from purchasing it. The ninth-generation is certainly short on console exclusives, especially on good console exclusives. I'd say that it's also short on variety and new original games. Many new big budget video game releases nowadays are either remakes or sequels. I especially don't think fondly of the remakes and remasters that got made in the last decade and a half. But is this a problem for me? Of course not. Even if I had a PS5 or a Series X, the shortage of console exclusives and of different genres of games wouldn't have bothered me much because I don't play video games every day. But what has caused this "stagnation" in the industry? Well, perhaps one of the most important factors that has brought the industry to this point is the fact that the industry is now dominated by monopolies or near monopolies, which are more concerned about making games that have big budget cutscenes than about making a variety of good original games. Interestingly enough, even with all of their resources, these giants of the industry end up making few games and certainly few, if any, great games. Instead of making something new and original, they make poorly thought out remakes and remasters such as Demon's Souls (2020) or Persona 3 Reload (2024). So, obviously, I haven't played Persona 3 Reload, but I have played Persona 3 for the PS2, which turned out to be one of the best video games that I've played. Persona 4 is even better than Persona 3, in my opinion. I don't like the "enhanced version" that's called Persona 4 Golden for the PlayStation Vita, but Persona 4 for the PS2 is one of my favorite games. The latest Persona game that I've completed is Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (2009) for the PSP. This game is not on my favorite list of the best video games ever, which is the one on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_considered_the_best), but this didn't deter me from playing this "PlayStation classic". Unless you're a pro at playing the PS1 Persona games, this first Persona game won't be easy to finish. I had to spend hours on earning more experience for my team of characters and their personas in order to defeat the last boss of the game. But was this game worth playing? Well, it was worth it for me. Just like Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (2007) and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (2010), this port looks lovely on the screen of a PlayStation Portable. The port's cutscenes are quality works that I was glad to watch. In short, playing this game is like playing a SNES RPG. There are plenty of random battles in dull, labyrinthine dungeons. But there's no denying that the game's setting, locations, characters, and personas are well-designed. The game's good soundtrack certainly makes it easier to play. I got enjoyment from playing this game from time to time simply because it's a PSP game, but this may not be an attraction for everyone. When it comes to Halo 4 (2012), which is another game that I managed to complete recently, I think that I won't beat around the bush. I'll just say that I love Halo 4. I still remember playing the first three Halo games a few years back very well. These games turned me into somewhat of a fan of the Halo franchise. The shooter genre in video games is far from my favorite genre, and, therefore, the things that drew me in were the stories and the graphics of the Halo games. Halo 4 is up to the standards of the first three games. The story and the graphics are just as appealing, though I would say that they're better in Halo 4 because they're more polished. The title screen of this video game, with its music, instantly became a favorite of mine. Halo 4 cost a lot of money to make, but the cost was well worth it because, for example, the game's cutscenes are well-designed, detailed, and even awe-inspiring. I played Halo 4 by using my Xbox 360, but this game is also available on Steam for PC. When it comes to the topic of whether or not video games can be considered art, I personally don't think that video games are art. But I don't need for something to be a piece of art in order for me to respect it and like it. The problem here is that video games are interactive. They are, like other types of games, something that you have to play and interact with. You don't just look at video games in order to get enjoyment from them. But, if you're someone who thinks that almost anything that's attractive is art, you can certainly think of video games as art. For example, you can think of a good-looking car as art. Or you can think of a piece of furniture as art. Or you can think of a building as art. People certainly love and admire buildings. Or you can think of a board game like Monopoly as art, if it's beautifully designed. It's the same with video games, in my opinion. The thing is that people usually try to make whatever it is that they're creating look beautiful. But parts of video games (in-game cinematics, music, levels, etc.) can certainly be thought of as art. One thing that I can say about video games is that they are usually more immersive than any art form, such as film, music, or paintings. In just a few decades, the video game industry has grown to become larger than all of film, music, and television combined. People certainly love their video games. Most people grow up playing video games now. This isn't the case with me because I wasn't allowed to play video games when I was growing up, but I'm still very fond of video games. If I could, I'd spend most of my time on playing video games, but there's also the fact that I like reading or watching films and television in my free time too. But who am I to talk about this? If anyone should be asked about the topic of video games as art, it should be the preeminent modern philosopher Sir Rich Evans, who's the greatest mind of our time. Just don't ask for the opinion of two unoriginal and uninventive old dudes called Mike and Jay.
I can say that I listened to 'Pericles and Athens' (1966) by Andrew Burn for the second time recently. Listening to the audiobook again was a breeze for me not only because the book isn't thick but also because it's well-written. It was a pleasure to listen to the audiobook of 'Pericles and Athens' on Audible. I even bought a copy of the book in paperback form recently on eBay because of the useful information that it contains and because it's one of the most memorable books that I've read (listened to). The following is what Burn had to say about the government of Athens in the book. "This brings us to a second, a modern misconception, which arises from equating Pericles' position with that of a modern prime minister or American president. The difference lies between the "direct democracy" of the Athenian city-state and representative democracy, which an Athenian would not have considered a democracy at all. Athens did not elect a parliament or president or a government of any kind. It elected or chose by lot sundry committees and officials, some of them very important; but in addition to calling them to account at the end of their year, the Sovereign People itself directed them on all major issues, at meetings of the Assembly held at least four times in every five weeks, in addition to special meetings as required. The whole body of citizens, or such as chose to attend - great and small landed proprietors, merchants, shopkeepers, employers of labour, and an increasing majority of plain manual workers - formed at once the Athenian legislature and the supreme deliberative and policy-making body. The Athenian people did not choose but was its own government." Another audiobook that I enjoyed listening to recently is 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) by Lewis Carroll. It's narrated by Scarlett Johansson. I was able to get it for free on Audible, and, when I began listening to it, I got through it quite quickly because of the good narration. 'Dune' (1965) by Frank Herbert is another audiobook that I listened to for the second time a while ago. 'Dune' isn't one of my favorite novels. It's not even one of my favorite science-fiction novels, but the audiobook is a pleasure to listen to and I wanted to listen to it again because when I listened to it for the first time I didn't listen to it attentively. When I listen to an audiobook, I don't do anything else because I don't want to get distracted. The other science-fiction novels that I enjoyed listening to so far because of their narrations on Audible are '2001: A Space Odyssey' by Arthur C. Clarke, 'Alien: Out of the Shadows' by Tim Lebbon, 'Alien: Sea of Sorrows' by James A. Moore, 'Alien: River of Pain' by Christopher Golden, 'Alien III' by William Gibson, and 'Jurassic Park' by Michael Crichton. 'Carnival Row: Tangle in the Dark' (2019) by Stephanie K. Smith is an audiobook that I had no interest in before I began listening to it. I got it for free on Audible because of my account benefits, but the narration by Karla Crome is superb. This is easily one of the best audiobooks that I've listened to. Another favorite of mine on Audible is 'Cosmos: A Personal Voyage' (1980) by Carl Sagan. I already mentioned in an earlier post that I bought a hardcover copy of 'Cosmos' at a used book store after listening to the audiobook because it contains many excellent photographs. Now I'm slowly watching the 1980 Cosmos television series for the second time, having seen it for the first time several years ago. Cosmos is a memorable and well-made show, and it was the most widely watched series in the history of American public television until The Civil War (1990). One of the most interesting books that I'm reading now is 'The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil' (1900) by Paul Carus. It's a tantalizing trove of facts and lore on the philosophy and practice of evil down through the ages and around the world. I haven't yet finished reading the book, but I will include just one of the many quotes from the book that I've highlighted. "We know that the Babylonians possessed several legends which have been received into the Old Testament, the most striking ones being the legend of the deluge, of the tower of Babel, of the destruction of corrupt cities by a rain of fire (reminding us of Sodom and Gomorrah), of the babyhood adventures of King Sargon I. (reminding us of Moses), and of the creation of the world. In the legend of the destruction of the cities there occur several names which indicate an Accadian source. The legend of the deluge agrees in all important details with the analogous story in Genesis. It is the eleventh part of a larger epic celebrating Izdubar, a sun-hero and an Assyrian Hercules, who goes through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, the eleventh being Aquarius, corresponding to the eleventh month of the Accadians called "the rainy." About Sargon I., king of Agade, who, according to a tablet of King Nabonidus, lived 3754 B.C. and built a temple to Sanias, Mr. E. A. Wallis Budge says in his Babylonian Life and History, p. 40: "A curious legend is extant respecting this king, to the effect that he was born in a city on the banks of the Euphrates, that his mother conceived him in secret and brought him forth in a humble place; that she placed him in an ark of rushes and closed it with pitch; that she cast him upon the river in the water-tight ark; that the river carried him along; that he was rescued by a man called Akki, who brought him up to his own trade; and that from this position the goddess Istar made him king." The derivation of the biblical account of Creation from Assyrian sources can as little be doubted as that of other legends, not only because of its agreement in several important features, and in many unimportant ones, but also because sometimes the very words used in Genesis are the same as in the Assyrian inscriptions. We find in both records such coincidences as the creation of woman from the rib of man and the sending out of birds from the ark to ascertain whether the waters had subsided. First the birds returned at once, then they returned, according to the cuneiform tablet-inscriptions of the Assyrians, with their feet covered with mud; at last they returned no more. Our excavations have not as yet found a report of the fall of man and of the serpent that seduced Adam and Eve to taste the fruit of the tree of life. There is, however, a great probability that some similar legend existed, as we are in possession of pictures which represent two persons seated under a tree and a serpent near by. The tree of life is an idea which must have been very popular among the Assyrians and Babylonians, for their artists do not tire of depicting it in every form. It may date back to that remote period when the fruits of trees constituted an important part of the food by which human life was sustained."
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