It certainly has been a while, hasn’t it? Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about this. Life simply has a nasty habit of getting in the way (as does family drama). But enough about that- I want to speak to you all about something tragic that has come to my attention.

I was sitting there on MSN one day, when I see a link about a girl committing suicide in Massachusetts. I normally don’t pay attention to advertisements flashed in MSN, but this struck a cord with me- apparently, this girl was bullied to death. If you guys haven’t heard about this, then let me bring this to your attention. The death of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant, has sparked international outlines; it has also sparked an untold amount of outrage.
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Posted by Veyrael (News Headlines)

Warning: The following post contains spoilers. Read with caution… or, if you don’t care about spoilers, read on.

Before I begin, I’d like to take a second and profusely apologize. I just noticed that I had a plugin or something causing individual pages and posts not to appear. I’ve since squashed said plugins, and now you should be able to view posts on the index (as well as individual) pages just fine, irregardless of what browser you are using. The problem we were experience was browser independent, though. If you guys experience any issues reaching pages, please email me and let me know what the problem is so I can take a look at it.

Recently, I completed the original BioShock. I can certainly tell you what an amazing experience that game truly was. You know you have a truly great game when you’re able to completely immerse yourself within the game’s narrative. It’s too bad that the ending was a bit of a let down; I’ll just say that the final boss in the game, Frank Fontaine himself, could have been much harder. Now that I look back on it, that’s another unfortunate comparison that can be made with Batman: Arkham Asylum, though in this case, Fontaine as a boss really didn’t have enough variety in his attacks. With Arkham, it’s more an issue with Titan Joker not actually attacking you, but sending more of his run-of-the-mill henchmen after you. Sure, the actual combat mechanics in the game were great, but you’d think that Rocksteady would’ve tried a little harder there. We can certainly hope they touch upon that in the sequel, whenever it comes out.

This isn’t about bashing the game or the mechanics that tie it down. Both possess a certain charm in the fact that both have a resounding message. Like the comic books from which the dark knight himself sprang, Arkham Asylum tells a tale of fear. Where ever you go, there are people getting killed left and right. At times, no matter what you do, the Joker seems to have the upper hand. He’s played you for a fool, using you to hitch himself a ride to the famed institution for the criminally insane where he’s hatched a devious plan to take over the nuthouse. For his henchmen, it almost seems like a leap for freedom… that is, unless you fail him. The Joker makes it very clear that he has no tolerance for failure, and that the punishment for failure is death… or something far worse. (more…)

Posted by Veyrael (Gaming, Musings)

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my new blog.  As you can see, we’re still doing some tidying up in regards to things. We should be finished with that, soon.

If anyone is wondering, I certainly have been a busy lady lately. One major project of mine that I will be showcasing in the future is Vehemence. What is Vehemence, you ask? It’s a new character shrine I’m building, dedicated to DC’s very own Dark Knight. So far, the site’s gone through two layout changes, but don’t worry, it’s chugging along nicely. Once that is finished, expect to see a major overhaul on Purity (yes, I mentioned that months ago, but hey, real life gets in the way of a lot of things).

Between working on this new shrine site, I’ve also been spending time in Rapture… which is to say that I finally went out and picked up a copy of the original BioShock. I’m fully aware that the sequel has been released this week, but that doesn’t mean much to me at the moment. As I’ve wandered through various locales in Rapture (such as Arcadia and Fort Frolic), I’ve truly begun to see why a lot of people say Batman: Arkham Asylum and BioShock are very similar games in terms of atmosphere. Now, call me nostalgic, but I grew up with Batman: The Animated Series. That show also used the Art Deco style, which is the same art style BioShock and Batman: Arkham Asylum uses (granted, the cartoon was more dark and gothic like the game is, but that’s beside the point).

The atmosphere in both games is dark and scary. When I’m wandering around Fort Frolic and I see all of the splicers there covered in plaster, I find myself getting quite paranoid. I’m not normally a person who gets paranoid or scared while playing a game; in fact, I remember a time where I was at a friend’s house playing Fatal Frame. My guy friends ended up getting to scared to really sit down and play it… yet I somehow managed to get through the game just fine. I never made it past Demon Tag, though, but that had less to do with me being scared and more to do with being unable to attack the ghost attacking me without dying.

In retrospect, though, my paranoia at the frozen plaster splicers probably had more to do with me being so tired that night. Hopefully I’ll be able to play some more tonight.

Posted by Veyrael (Gaming, Musings)