A Pre-College Post

Well it's been a long summer, busy with work and figuring out what I'll be doing at University. I haven't kept up with the blog because of a lack of... attention to what I wanted to type. So to start off, I started a new story. For those who do not know, I'm sort of an amateur writer. Nothing published yet, but I want to submit to the University's student collection of art and stories, called to Xavier Anthenaeum. This is a collection of student-submitted photos, art and stories. I don't know what kind of story I would submit, but the story I am working on would be too long to be an official submission.

I've been playing a lot of video games, mainly Battlefield 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I played through BioShock: Infinite as well, but I wasn't all too impressed by it. I mean, it was an awesome game, with great gameplay, story, and visual graphics. It follows the story of Booker DeWitt, a Pinkerton detective who has seen better days in early 1900's America. In order to pay off a certain debt, he is sent to the fictional floating city of Columbia to find and return a girl. The city's population is lead by a religious leader, Arthur Comstock. Comstock, AKA The Prophet, had prophesied that a "False Prophet" would come and lead the city's Lamb astray

Heavy biblical influences, right? A few twists and turns later, Booker  is saving the girl, Elizabeth, from a tower Comstock put her in. Trying to escape Columbia from thugs and soldiers, Elizabeth and Booker travel through inter-dimensional portals, or tears, that Elizabeth can open and close. Each leads to a different Columbia, where different events that Booker made had affected what had happened. I'm not going to spoil the ending, but just remember that there is what I deem an "illusion of choice". Whatever decisions the player makes, it leads to the same... Well, I'll let you experience it yourself if you're willing to play through the whole story. As I said, I had fun playing the game, but I wasn't impressed after I was finished. What is the problem? There is no real reason to replay once one is done with the main story. Sure, you can try to get all of the little secret items and such, but there isn't any reason to replay any parts of the campaign. There isn't a multiplayer element either. So you're stuck with the adventures of Booker and Elizabeth. To rate the game, I would give it 9/10, just because once I was finished I had no desire to return to the stunning world.

Of course, I have been doing other things, such as watching some movies at home and in theaters. Okay maybe I only saw one movie since my last post, The Wolverine. Staring Hugh Jackman as the comic superhero Wolverine, the movie follows after the events of X-Men:The Last Stand. Wolverine is alone, questioning his immortality, which happens to be one of his superpowers. He is summoned to Japan by a man he saved in Nagasaki during World War II, who is dying, and offers to make Wolverine mortal. Wolverine somewhat gives up his powers, and realizes that he needs them in order to save the girl.

Okay, it's a lot more in depth than that, but I hate trying to give a review without revealing the plot lines, or you great readers would be sitting and reading all day. The Wolverine was, in my own opinion, a solid comic book movie. There was a good plot, thoroughly explained between the characters. The action scenes were well-executed as well, with what seemed to be minimal CGI. Overall all, I would give The Wolverine a 7/10. If I'm in the mood for a superhero movie, I wouldn't pass it up.  But it is defiantly not at the top of my list.

So the movies I have seen at home. Both were old '90s action films, Ronin and Payback. Ronin follows gun-for-hire Sam, portrayed by Robert DeNiro, as he attempts to recover a case for a shady employer. With unknown reasons behind his endeavor,  one is left to watch Sam dive into the world of espionage and treachery.

Payback differs from Ronin. Set as a film noir, Mel Gibson acts as the film's main character and narrator. After getting stabbed in the back after the perfect hit and run, he sets out to get the only thing he deserves: his original cut of the profits. Unfortunately, his path sets him into the deepest underground of gangsters and mafia bosses. Another action-packed thrill ride, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very climax.

So to rate these two? I would put Ronin at a 9/10. A classic spy thriller, which emphasizes the realism of the shadowy world in comparison to James Bond and others, and a decent plot that isn't fully revealed until the very end, puts this one very high on a list of must watch films. Payback was almost as good, but had a looser plot with many minor characters presenting roadblocks on the narrator's personal mission. I would still give it an 8/10 because of its very individual style and pace in storytelling.

Now then, what else....? To wrap up my summer vacation, I went to the Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago. It was my third year attending, and after throwing on my Han Solo "Damn right I shot first" T-shirt, I set off. To warn first timers of comic con events, let me just say that what one sees at a con is so individual to other events. People dress up in any type of costume, be it television, movie, comic, video game, and more. Vendors sell all types of memorabilia and comics. Legos and action figures are prime targets, and classic copies of old sci fi shows are displayed on tables and small flat screens. Whether one dresses up or not does not matter. My personal vice is gazing at all the costumes. Some are made from cardboard and duct tape, while some are as intricate as one imagines. The best part is seeing the different characters interact. My first year I saw a Klingon fighting a Star Wars clone trooper. Little kids and adults mingle in fight poses and photo ops. If one has the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. It is an experience like no other. And every year is a new experience. You will never see the same match up of characters.

I feel I need to give you, my readers, a great blog to start off another year at college. I feel great about this year. I'm ready to explore everything the world has to offer. My classes are all interesting, with organic chemistry, physics, sociology, and the theory of knowledge. Both of my science classes have labs, making me take six classes all together.  Just to appease my friends, I am not including Pep Band, which plays at the school basketball games. It's more of a club than class, but I receive a credit for the class, so I'm killing two birds with one stone in a way. I'm also on the club soccer team, which should keep me off the couch or desk. I'm excited to see my friends again, and hopefully make new ones.

I wish the best of luck to all my friends and readers who are in college this year.  May you all discover your passion and follow it.  And a huge shout out to my sister, who is embarking on her own journey.  I wish you the best on pursuing your dreams.

Until next time.