'Attack on Titan' Ep. 20: A Fit of Rage Unlike Any Other...

     Never in my entire life have I felt such varied and simultaneous emotions as I did at the end of episode twenty of Attack on Titan. As I've said before, those "To be continued..." screens are absolute killers. I was literally on the edge of my seat, hands over my mouth, waiting as the "camera" panned around the mysterious hooded figure, when...

BAM! DENIED!

     I threw off my headphones (an $80+ piece of equipment, mind you) in a fit of rage as I slapped my hands over my face and groaned loudly. I slammed my fists on the armrests of my chair, stood up and jumped up and down, and ran to the bathroom and screamed inaudibly (you know, tried to go super saiyan without all the yelling). Then something amazing happened: I threw my hands over my mouth again and began giggling like an adolescent school girl. I thought to myself, "THIS SHOW IS SO AWESOME I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT RIGHT NOW!" Happiness washed over me. I literally lost it. I couldn't even use the bathroom. And you know what? I ain't even mad... (Spoilers: Up to Ep. 20!)

Violence in Video Games: I Just... I'm Done...

     So apparently this happened:

Read the Kotaku article here...

     And there is but one thing I can say for it: *giant resounding sigh*

SONY: Advertising Done Right

     Most of the time, watching a video game commercial is groan inducing. They're often uninteresting, vulgar for no reason, or make me angry about the state of gaming. Some companies just don't know how to advertise, whether it be for a game or a console. Sony is not one of those companies. I'm not talking about specific game commercials, I'm talking about their incredible PS3 ads, like this one:



     And this one:



     Then there's this gem:


     Although that last one doesn't really matter anymore, it was one of the funniest things I had ever seen. To see a major company come out with a tasteful and official "smack" to their competition is amazing. With the first two, I felt something I hadn't really felt with other video game commercial: pride. I was proud to be a gamer. It made me feel excited. It made me want to play video games. The point is, Sony knows how to make a commercial.

'Attack on Titan' Ep. 17-18 Speculation: Who's Blondie?

WAIT A MINUTE!

     The greatest part of speculative discussion is that someone might point out something that I missed, allowing me to either improve or altogether abandon my own theories. However, these Attack on Titan posts have been edited and updated numerous times. They were in desperate need of abridgment, so I've summarized the theories here (WARNING: SPOILERS!):

"What we can share so far..."

     That said, feel free to read the following post. However, most of these theories have been disputed, so be sure to read the summary post!

     So, episode 17 of Attack on Titan aired last Saturday, and I've just found the time to watch it. After several episodes of character and backstory building, I was beginning to wonder when the action was going to return. And return it did... in force. (Warning: Spoilers up to episode 18) (UPDATED!)

Anime First Look: "Silver Spoon"

     At first glance, this looked to be one of those anime that I normally skip over. I mean, an anime about farming and agriculture? I watch a lot of different types of anime, but I might have to abstain in this case. However, I soon found out that it was based off the manga written by Hiromu Arakawa, the brilliant mind behind my favorite manga/anime of all time, Fullmetal Alchemist. Because of how much I loved Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and because of how much I respect and enjoy the work of the artist, I decided I should give it a go.

Attack on My Wallet: The Steam Summer Sale

     Well, the Steam Summer Sale is in full swing... and I have no money. As of yet, I haven't bought anything even though there were a few games I really wanted. Perhaps this is a good thing, considering I dropped over $75 on games during the sale last year. However, because I've spent so much money on the Steam sales in the past, I understand the financial depression afterwards, which means I understand all these feels:

     Laugh. Out. Loud.

The Dangers of MMORPGs: Presently and in the Future

     A friend from work recently let me borrow a game called .hack//G.U. Vol. 1 ("Dot Hack G.U."), and also told me about the several anime adaptations, spin-offs, and side-stories all set in the same world from various points of view. Each takes place in "The World", a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), in which problems have arisen because of glitches and/or viruses. It's very similar to Sword Art Online, which I am a huge fan of as well. But I'll stop my explanation of the story there. This is not about the game or the anime, it's about the technology the characters utilize to play the game presented in the show... and why it's potentially dangerous when coupled with the issues we face today.

Lemme just don my 'helmet of death'...

Anime Done Right: "Little Witch Academia"

     If you're a fan of Harry Potter and have been looking for that one anime out there that suits you, you should give this a go:

"There's Beauty in the Bits": The Elegance of Retro Graphics

     I have recently been playing through Chrono Trigger, for the first time in my life, over the past few weeks. While playing, I've reaffirmed a belief that I've held for a long time: The games of the 16-bit era were beautiful works of art. I don't care what Roger Ebert says. Chrono Trigger was released almost twenty years ago (1995), yet it's still one of the best looking games I've played, not to mention one of the best, and only, JRPGs (Japanese RPGs) that I have been able to tolerate. I'll go into further detail on that once I beat the game and do a retro review of it, but for now I want to focus on the beauty of the 16-bit era games.

Great scott! Look at all that detail! (Source)

What is this... Difference Between Geeks and Nerds?

     Someone comes up and asks me, "So you're a nerd, right?", to which I respond, "No, I'm a geek.", to which they respond, "What's the difference?" That... is a good question. Over the past few years, I've struggled with answering this question, and found myself unable to do so in an easily understandable manner. Whilst doing a little research, I found the answer: "The distinction is that geeks are fans of their subjects, and nerds are practitioners of them."

I can't believe I never saw it like that...