It’s the Same Ol’ with Luigi’s Mansion 3 & Shinier Too!

12 Nov

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a ghostbusters style video game where the protagonist is definitely afraid of ghosts! When he and his friends—Mario, Peach and Toad—are given an invitation to a lavish hotel, little does he know it’s a trap. Everyone is captured (frozen into a painting) and it’s up to Mario’s brother to save the day.

This sequel to the original GameCube program and Dark Moon (part two) picks up some days, if not weeks after his last Scooby-Doo adventure. After more than a week of casual play, I’m still not done. I’m enjoying exploring every nook and cranny. On a big screen, this game is very richly detailed. On Nintendo’s latest handheld (I tried it on the lite and first edition), I was squinting to admire some of the details. I’ve (pardoning the pun) switched over to the latest handheld just because of this game. Continue reading →

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With Team Rocket Leaders, Pokémon GO is Worth Returning To

10 Nov

pokemon-go-logoBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Anyone waffling on whether returning to play Niantic Lab’s Pokémon GO will find the latest add-ons worthwhile. The latest updates finally give players a sense of dealing with threats as Ash did in the anime. Unlike the comedy antics of Jessie and James of Team Rocket, the brutes in the augmented reality game are not easy to defeat. If there’s ever a time to create a motivation to keep on playing, it’s to find and grind those weaker pocket monsters into candies to power up the better ones.

The previous add-on’s were window-dressing. They offered no substance. The player vs player option was very lacklustre because all that mattered was who had the fastest finger (and virtual creature with the best move set) to defeat opponents. The higher level raids simply depended on being on a local Discord group to coordinate just for the sake of candies and bragging. Even finding more of your favourite critter with the current radar can be tedious. I’m still waiting for an improved version to filter results than to see if rare Pokémon are nearby.
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The Days of Future Past with Terminator: Dark Fate

8 Nov

Image result for terminator dark fate posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The meaning behind Terminator: Dark Fate may well on how destiny can’t be changed. Sarah Connor tried to keep her young son John safe and in the future, the elder version reprogrammed a T-800 to prevent his death. When Skynet can mess with the past by sending a bunch of robot assassins to various moments in time, the inevitable has to happen and the question has to be asked, do they go Back to the Future?

A lot of questions are raised in light of the grander picture. Time travel stories are always going to be a head scratcher because of the effects of Schrödinger’s cat in the timeline. Robert Zemeckis’ film (and Legends of Tomorrow) explains that alternate time-lines can be shut down so long the heroes act fast enough before the effects become permanent. That way, only one continuity exists. James Cameron (who’s taking far too long to make sequels to Avatar) returned to his seminal creation to say everything we saw that he wasn’t involved in is all alternate universe material.

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On Why Not Everyone Will See Todd Phillips’ Joker

6 Nov

Image result for joker movie posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Just a little more than a month since the release of Joker, I simply don’t have the interest to see Todd Phillips’ box office smash hit. Enough has been spoiled online, where just going will simply be a waste of time. In the DC Comics universe, many writers ranging from original creator Jerry Robinson to Alan Moore (The Killing Joke), have done their character study and to add another take feels like overkill.

From animation to video games, not all of these clown prince(s) of crime are going to behave the same. Some will take on the chilling appeal ala Charles Manson and others are just troubled individuals. The Joker, for me, is an embodiment of chaos. His mania developed to a point where he can’t pull off a caper without getting Batman getting involved. This version never commits anything low-key.

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