Where Do You Go After Hamilton?

OK, so let's say that you have really enjoyed Hamilton, the big musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  But that was several years ago, and now you're ready to try another recent musical.  You're in luck.  The 21st century has been very good for the Broadway musical so far.  Here are a few recent shows that are worth trying:

The Last Five Years (2002):  Jason Robert Brown wrote this show, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2002 and has developed a cult following ever since.  The Last Five Years tells the story of a marriage that failed.  It features only two characters:  Jamie and Cathy, who take turns singing songs from their perspective on the relationship.  The show opens with Cathy singing about the end of the relationship, and then Jamie comes on to give us his perspective on the beginning of the relationship.  From then on, Cathy's songs go backward in time, while Jamie's move forward.  In the last number, Cathy is singing about the beginning the relationship, while Jamie is singing about the end.  In the middle the two actors come together for a duet -- the only time they sing together.  The movie with Anna Kendrick is pretty good, but nothing matches the original off-Broadway cast recording with Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott.

Next to Normal (2008):  Written by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, this show won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making it only the eighth musical in history to do so.  (In 2016, Hamilton became the ninth.)  Next to Normal tells the story of a suburban American family where the mother is struggling with bipolar disorder, and the effects of her disease on the rest of the family.  This is not something you want to listen to just for fun -- it's entertaining, but the story is very intense, and this show deserved every award that it got.  The original cast recording allows you to follow the whole story from beginning to end, and it's really worth paying attention.

Murder Ballad (2012):  Written by Juliana Nash and Julia Jordan, this is another Off-Broadway show with a cult following.  The title comes from the old ballads about murder and revenge that were so popular in 19th century America, and the story is about a love triangle gone wrong.  You have to be in the mood for this sort of thing, but if you are this show is very entertaining.

Come from Away (2017):  Not all modern musicals are depressing.  Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come from Away tells the true story of how 38 plane, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were diverted to an airport in Newfoundland due to the events of 9/11.  Come from Away has many qualities of those old shows from the 1970's where a mixed collection of characters are thrown together for an adventure, with some folks falling in love and others learning life lessons.  Small-town life doesn't always get friendly treatment on Broadway, but the presentation of life on Newfoundland is very moving.

Hadestown (off-Broadway in 2016, on Broadway in 2019):  Anais Mitchell originally wrote Hadestown as a concept album that retold the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in a world that looks like America in the 1930's.  The album developed a following, and over time Mitchell kept polishing the songs and the arrangements until it eventually became a massive hit on Broadway, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical.  I cannot praise this show too highly -- it is a masterpiece about the relationship between humans and tragedy.  I like the Broadway version of the soundtrack, but my kids prefer the off-Broadway version.

U.S. Open -- Day Two

The Internet is amazing™.

Previous reports:

-- Tournament preview
-- Day One commentary and wrap

U.S. Open -- Day One Wrap-Up

In the run-up to the U.S. Open, there was a lot of nervousness about how Merion Golf Club would hold up to modern equipment, and how the weather would affect play.  Against that background, the first day could hardly have gone better.  Yes, there were some weather issues, and the first round still has three or four hours to go.  But all of the guys who teed off in the morning were able to finish, and the big names in the afternoon played at least eight holes.  As for Merion, today it looked like the Fenway Park of golf -- it's old, it's small, and it's odd, but for today it was an ideal venue for its sport.  If you like the traditional East Coast American golf course, you will not find a much prettier course than Merion's East Course.  And while many U.S. Open courses tend to encourage players to play for one par after another, Merion has a mix of easy and difficult holes that lead to dramatic runs of birdies and bogeys.

The result of all this was one of the most impressive recent leaderboards we've seen at a major tournament.  The top four players on the board are all in the top 12 of the FedEx standings.  And other big names like Lee Westwood (1 under thru 13), Rory McIlroy (even through 11), and Ernie Els (even through 8) are lurking.  Tiger hasn't played well so far (2 over through 11), but even he's not yet out of it.

So there could be a lot of drama ahead.  But if the last day comes down to a battle between Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Webb Simpson, golf fans should be ecstatic.

Here is the top of the leaderboard after Day One:

1.  L. Donald (ENG):  -4 (13 holes)

T2.  P. Mickelson:  -3 (18)
T2.  A. Scott (AUS):  -3 (11)

T4.  W. Simpson:  -2 (8)
T4.  M. Goggin (AUS):  -2 (6)
T4.  A. Presnell (AUS):  -2 (6)

Number One Son, Number Two Son, and I are all in Philly, and we will be out at the tournament tomorrow, so I won't be posting updates during the day.  I'll try to report in tomorrow night.

Number3Son and the Power Outage

One of the more surprising aspects of life in Northern Virginia is how often the power goes out. As far as I can tell, our power company operates on the premise that they will have just enough workers to keep the lights on under normal conditions -- but any major crisis throws the whole system into an uproar. Since Northern Virginia has some of the worst weather in the civilized world, we experience a couple of major crises per year.

So when a storm knocked out the power on Friday night we knew we were in for it. Sure enough, down the street from us a giant tree had fallen into the power lines, pulling down the lines, snapping a telephone pole, and blocking the street.

Sunday morning we still had no power, but we could hear chain saws coming from the downed tree. Number1Son, SmartMom, Number3Son and I walked down the street to see what was up. There was a crew there chopping up the tree. But they were not from the power company; they were worried about clearing the road. Still, it was good to see some progress.

But not for Number3Son, who has inherited his father's pessimism. He spent the next hour or so gloomily predicting that we wouldn't get power for another two months -- or maybe two years. Finally, in response to his siblings' claims that power would be restored sooner than that, he began to insist that we would "never" have power again.

Frazzled from the heat and with no reason to stay at home, we left our neighborhood and headed downtown, where we spent a pleasant day in various air-conditioned places. Even Number3Son started feeling better after he got some cheesecake. Finally, around 10 o'clock at night, we headed home. As we drove through Northern Virginia, we could tell that progress had been made -- there was significantly more power than there had been the night before. The mood in the van improved -- until we came to our street, which was still shrouded in darkness. We drove down to the fallen tree, where we saw that it had been mostly chopped up and cleared away, although the telephone pole and the power lines were still down.

Number1Son was extremely discouraged by these facts, as he realized that the power would likely be out for longer than he had expected. In fact, a general air of gloom settled over the van as we headed to our darkened house. But in the darkness, I could hear the cheerful voice of Number3Son calling out from his seat in the back: "You know, they've made a lot more progress than I expected."

Number3Son Breaks Down the Nats/Yankees Series

So I pointed out to Number3Son this morning that our beloved Washington Nationals have won six games in a row and are in first place in the treacherous National League East. I also pointed out that the Yankees have won six in a row and are in first place in the AL East. And this weekend the Yankees are coming to town for a rare three-game series against the Nationals.

Number3Son knows all about the Yankees, because his brother (Number1Son) is a Yankees fan who loves to point out that the Yankees have won the World Series 27 times. (Washington has won the World Series one time, in 1924.) After thinking about all of this for awhile, Number3Son came up to me and said:

"Daddy, I think you could rate the difficulty of baseball teams like the difficulty of opponents in Civilization Five." (Note: This is a computer game that gets a lot of attention at our house.)

"Really, Number3Son. What sort of rating would you give to a feeble team, using the Civilization Five scale?"

"Oh, they would be a one or a two."

"What would the Yankees be?"

"They would be an eight."

"An eight! They must be really good."

"Oh, yes, they are very good. The Nationals would be a three or a four."

"Why would the Nats be a three or a four?"

"Well, last year they weren't very good. So they would have been a two last year."

"That makes sense."

"And now they're up to a three or a four. But if they beat the Yankees, they would move up three levels, and the Yankees would move down three levels."

So keep an eye on the Nats/Yankees series this weekend, because Number3Son believes it will tell us a lot about the Nats' prospects this year.

The Daytona 500, Take Three

I came home to find that Number1Son, Number2Son, and Number3Son are all awake, and all wired over the track explosion. It was a stunning event, which you can see here (at least for now).

But remarkably, the NASCAR people have almost finished their repairs, and they expect to re-start the race tonight. So NASCAR will join baseball in having its major event conclude after midnight on the East Coast.

Everyone is very excited, except for Dave Blaney, who has been leading the Daytona 500 during this red flag because he had not yet taken advantage of the caution to go into the pits.

All credit should go to the emergency crews at Daytona, who did a remarkable job of putting out the fire and repairing the track. And maybe there's a silver lining here. If my sons are representative, nothing promotes NASCAR like giant explosions where no one is hurt.

Mississippi St. 64 - 73 Kentucky (No. 2,079)

Rick Stansbury was born in Battletown, Kentucky, played basketball for Meade County High School, and played college ball at Campbellsville College, but somewhere along the line he developed a different understanding of the game than most Kentuckians. People from Kentucky are generally taught to respect the game. Play hard. Make your free throws. Get back on defense. All the bromides that are yelled almost every night at a high school somewhere in the Commonwealth during basketball season. That's the Kentucky creed, handed down from Coach Rupp himself. The ultimate expression of the creed, perhaps, was the Unforgettables -- UK's 1991-92 team that lost to Duke in the Elite Eight. That team had four guys (three from Kentucky and one from Indiana) who were supposed to spend their college careers sitting on the bench, but John Pelphrey (from Paintsville), Deron Feldhaus (from Maysville), Richie Farmer (from Manchester), and Sean Woods (from Indianapolis, Indiana) came this close to making the Final Four -- because they were in great shape and they played the game the way it's supposed to be played. That's why their names are in the rafters at Rupp Arena.

But Stansbury is a heretic. His teams at Mississippi State are the Oakland Raiders of basketball. Their whole demeanor and approach to the game is about as far from the Unforgettables as you can imagine. Stansbury has evidently decided that the way to succeed at Mississippi State is to recruit really talented kids with questionable attitudes -- and then hope that they'll show up for the big games. Almost every year, it seems like Mississippi State fields the same basic team: a bunch of head cases with worlds of talent who regularly blow games to teams like Auburn and Georgia. And then, when Kentucky turns up on the schedule, they circle the wagons and play out of their minds.

Because of this mix of talent and desperate effort, MSU has become one of the most dangerous opponents on UK's schedule. Look at the results since 2002 (home team listed first):

01/05/2002: Mississippi St. 74 - 69 Kentucky (OT)

02/23/2003: Kentucky 70 - 62 Mississippi St.

03/16/2003: Kentucky 64 - 57 Mississippi St. (SEC Championship Game, New Orleans)

01/13/2004: Mississippi St. 66 - 67 Kentucky

02/19/2005: Kentucky 94 - 78 Mississippi St.

02/01/2006: Mississippi St. 66 - 81 Kentucky

01/13/2007: Kentucky 64 - 60 Mississippi St.

03/09/2007: Mississippi St. 84 - 82 Kentucky (OT) (SEC Semi-Finals, Atlanta)

01/15/2008: Mississippi St. 69 - 64 Kentucky

02/03/2009: Kentucky 57 - 66 Mississippi St.

02/16/2010: Mississippi St. 75 - 81 Kentucky (OT)

03/14/2010: Kentucky 75 - 74 Mississippi St. (OT) (SEC Championship Game, Nashville)

02/15/2011: Kentucky 85 - 79 Mississippi St.

With the exception of the 2005 and 2006 games, every one of those games was very difficult -- four of them went to overtime.

So I have been dreading this return to Starkville all season. My only hope was that MSU was due to have a low-scoring game -- in their three games against Calipari-coached teams, they made 10, 10, and 12 three-pointers respectively.

But that hope seemed to go out the window quickly, as MSU (which had just lost three straight games to fairly mediocre teams) came out on fire. In the first half, they went 6-12 from three-point range and 7-7 from the line. Meanwhile, they were showing an unaccustomed intensity on defense. They are normally one of the worse defensive teams in the SEC, but they were all over the place in the first half, holding UK to 38.7 percent shooting. Plus, they hammered Kyle Wiltjer, sending him to the sidelines with an undisclosed injury after only four minutes. He did not return, and the Cats trailed 41-28 at the half -- their biggest deficit of the year.

Cal said after the game that MSU should have been up 20 at the break, but they were worried about getting to halftime with a big lead. In the locker room, Cal told his team they were only down six baskets, and he made a key defensive change. In the first half, Dee Bost (the long-time MSU point guard) had torched the Cats for 16 points. Cal had not put Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (the UK defensive stopper) on Bost because he wanted to press MSU, and MKG's role in the press meant that he couldn't guard Bost. Now Cal assigned MKG to Bost, called off the press, and awaited results.

Meanwhile, back in Northern Virginia, Number3Son and I were very nervous. Before the game I had warned Number3Son of how dangerous MSU could be. Now, looking anxiously at the blackboard where we keep score and the other blackboard that contains the SEC Standings, Number3Son said he was afraid we would be falling to 12-1. But he stayed anyway, in the hopes that his hero, Doron Lamb, would finally get hot. Meanwhile, Number1Son and SmartGirl each made rare appearances in the rec room during a UK game -- they could presumably sense the unusual tension in the air.

The next 45 minutes or so were quite frantic. Number3Son and I, who have been able to watch most of the games this year in peace and comfort, were hollering after almost every play, and I kept pointing out key moments to Number1Son and SmartGirl (who were very patient with their father). Kentucky was playing much, much better -- they cut MSU's lead to 43-39 in only four minutes. But now Teague had gotten into a funk, making silly turnovers and fouls and not getting back on defense. And Darius Miller, who had been cold, was so hesitant to shoot that Cal pulled him from the game. Meanwhile, strange stuff was happening on the court. Davis made a spectacular steal and dunk to make the score 45-41 -- but he was called for a silly technical foul for hanging on the rim, and the two FT's made it 47-41. Then UK benefited from some make-up calls, and cut the lead to 50-47. A few minutes later, Teague was called for his fourth foul, and MSU's free throws made the score 55-48 with 8:06 left. Teague's foul trouble gave Miller another chance (Calipari later said Miller would not have returned otherwise), and Miller's three-pointer made it 55-51. But a few possessions later, with MSU leading 57-53, Lamb missed a three-pointer and Dee Bost buried his own three-point shot to make the score 60-53 with only 6:28 left. Kentucky called time.

During the timeout, I told Number3Son that we pretty much had to shut out MSU the rest of the way, and he said that any UK player who gave up a basket at this point should be "punished." But I still hadn't given up, because I was convinced that the MSU players -- who were not used to putting out this sort of effort, having not done so all year -- were starting to tire. (Maybe the press was more effective than I thought.)

And down the stretch, their tiredness -- and a revived Darius Miller -- made all the difference. Coming out of the timeout, Miller drew a foul on a three-point shot (the MSU fans were furious, but I thought it was a good call) and made all three free throws. 60-56. Then Miller stole a lazy pass, and MKG hit a runner in the lane. 60-58. MSU responded with its own jump shot to make the score 62-58, but the Bulldogs were no longer capable of playing the physical man-to-man defense they had played in the first half. Instead, they were trying to hang on with a sagging zone. But down the stretch, MSU's lack of energy killed them:

4:44 left: Miller nails a three-pointer. 62-61, MSU

4:16 left: Dee Bost misses a layup, Davis gets the rebound and feeds to MKG, who misses a layup, gets his own rebound over two or three tired Bulldogs, and scores. 63-62, UK (MKG was fouled, but missed the free throw).

3:52 left: After another MSU miss, Davis is fouled while battling for the rebound. But MSU insists that MKG was fouled, and so he ends up having to take the FT's. Karma punishes MSU, as MKG makes them both. 65-62, UK.

3:40 left: Renardo Sidney, MSU's overweight center (who could be great if he were in shape), is fouled but misses two huge free throws. Lamb draws a foul at the other end and makes a free throw to put UK up 66-62.

2:10 left: After another MSU miss, UK holds the ball for almost the entire shot clock -- and then Davis drives all the way threw the exhausted Bulldogs for an easy lay-up. 68-62.

1:27 left: After MSU finally makes a jump shot to cut UK's lead to 68-64, the Bulldogs go back into their 2-3 zone. The Cats patiently pass the ball around and around -- and finally hit Miller, who nails another three-pointer to make the score 71-64 and effectively put the game away.

And that's why you have to respect the game. Down the stretch, UK had no bench (Teague had four fouls, Wiltjer and Vargas were in no position to play), and Cal had to rely on five guys (Jones, MKG, Miller, Lamb, and Davis) who had each played more then 30 minutes. Plus the Cats were on the road. Plus they had spent much of the last hour trying to overcome a double-digit deficit on the road. But our guys were grabbing rebounds and making plays, while the Bulldogs were spent.

Finally, with UK up 73-64 and less than 30 seconds to go, Number3Son said he thought UK was going to win after all. We ran up to tell SmartMom what had happened. High fives all around. And I hope we don't have to go back to Starkville for at least two years.

The Cats are now 13-0 in the SEC and 27-1 overall. They have clinched at least a tie for the SEC regular-season crown. They had five players in double-figures (Jones had 11 points and 6 rebounds, MKG had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Davis had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Lamb had 11 points, and Miller had 12 points, all in the last nine minutes). They overcame an MSU team that went 9-20 from three-point land and 11-15 from the line -- but which made only 32 percent of its shots in the second half.

Shooting Note: The Cats went 6-16 from three-point range (37.5 percent) and 17-21 from the line (81.0 percent). Davis, Lamb, MKG, and Miller all hit big free throws down the stretch, while Miller's three three-pointers were absolutely critical to their victory. We will hope this type of shooting continues.

Final note for Eric: After the game, the UK radio guys interviewed Davis, but he gave all the credit for the victory to Miller. He said that Miller is the team leader, and that playing with him is like having Coach Cal on the floor.

Oh, Kentucky

Meanwhile, the Georgetown men (14-2 this season, pictured in the 1967 Belle of the Blue) are up to No. 5 in this week's NAIA Div. I men's basketball rankings. Lindsey Wilson (11-4) is No. 14; Campbellsville (11-5), No. 22.

"An event to officially welcome Coca-Cola back to the WKU campus is being planned for a date soon to be determined."

Sad biz news out of London.

A brighter report from Greenville.

Good jobs news from Elizabethtown and Mount Sterling. Also, good jobs (but not news): "In 2011, 71 motor vehicle-related companies announced a new location or expansion in Kentucky. Those projects represent more than 5,000 new jobs and nearly $1.1 billion in new investment across the Commonwealth."

Mystery ... um, ... solved?

The Kentucky desk regrets failing to note in advance Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park's Rook weekend--but is relieved to learn that the Rook action rolls on at Rough River Dam State Resort Park on Jan. 20.

Number 1 Son Reviews Batman: Arkham City

Here are Number 1 Son's thoughts on the new Batman game:

When I first saw The Dark Knight, I was amazed. It managed to accomplish the most difficult task of a sequel: surpassing the original. The movie managed to be so much better than Batman Begins in just about every single way that it was able to overcome the expectations that the audience already had. I had a similar experience this weekend with Batman: Arkham City.

A while ago I reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum and said that it was a truly amazing game, and one of my all time favorites. Well, Arkham City is better in almost every single way. The story, the characters, the environment, and the gameplay (for the most part) are all vastly improved over its predecessor, and managed to blow me away even after I heard about the fantastic critical reception it received.

I'll start with the gameplay. It's very similar to the gameplay in the first game, with an emphasis on stealth and a free flow combat system, both complemented by a large array of gadgets. Batman still has the option to go into Detective Mode, which highlights anything important, although in this game it blurs almost everything else, making it harder to use it to just run around looking for secrets (and there are a ton, more on that later). Detective Mode is most useful during the Predator parts of the game, where you are in a room (or occasionally outside) in an area with a large number of armed enemies and must take them out without being seen (because guns drain your health faster than just about anything else). These parts were in the first game, though they are more fleshed out. For one thing, the enemies are smarter in this one, and several times noticed the perches in the room that I was using and destroying a few of them to make things harder. There are also a few times where a particular enemy that is messing up your Detective Vision. In a few of the last ones there are guys who lay mines around the room, although a certain gadget can help that.

Speaking of gadgets, this game has a lot of the ones from the first game, plus a few more. One of the new gadgets is a smoke bomb, which allows Batman to escape from gun-wielding enemies ninja style. Another option, though, is to use this confusion to simply beat up the goons using the excellent (though difficult to master) combat system. This, like the Predator missions, has also been fleshed out more, with new enemies that appear (with riot shields, for instance) more frequently than special enemies did in the first game.

There are some changes I don't like. In the first game several gadgets had a key that would just automatically target and launch them. This is true in Arkham City but this time quick firing is done by pressing the key used to equip the gadget twice, which takes longer and can be hard to do correctly under pressure, which is when you most want to use the feature. Also, Batman chooses targets for his grapnel gun automatically. This was true in the first game, but in this game you are in a city, which means that there are a lot more potential targets, and often when I was in a hurry I grappled to something I didn't want to.

Well, that done, let's talk about the story. It's one of the best Batman stories I've ever seen, but I'll need to start with some set up. The game takes place a year and a half after the events of the first game, and Quincy Sharpe (the warden of Arkham from the first game) has now become mayor. In an attempt to rid Gotham of crime, Sharpe has enacted a controversial (and by that I mean highly illegal and unconstitutional) project: the titular Arkham City. Sharpe has bought out a large waterfront portion of Gotham, walled it off, and dumped every inmate of Blackgate (the normal prison near Gotham) and Arkham inside, along with everyone with any sort of criminal record, whether or not they have served their sentence. The prisoners are basically allowed to do whatever they want so long as they don't try to leave, so Joker, Two Face, and Penguin have all formed gangs and are in a bloody gang war. They are kept in by a private security group known as TYGER, whose loyalties are in question, especially as the game goes on.

So, the game begins as Bruce Wayne (voiced by Kevin Conroy, who voiced the Dark Knight in Batman the Animated Series) surprises Gotham with a sudden interest in politics when he holds a press conference to announce that he is beginning a campaign to shut down Arkham City, on the grounds that it is unsafe for the people of Gotham. During the conference, however, TYGER members show up and arrest Wayne, bringing him to Arkham City, where he meets the Warden: Hugo Strange, who reveals that he knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and has big plans to eliminate both Batman, and the need for Batman. After he is released into Arkham proper Bruce Wayne is dragged off by the Penguin, who has some sort of vendetta against the Waynes, but Bruce breaks free, beats up Penguin's guards, and climbs a nearby building, where his gear is airlifted in. From there he goes to an old courthouse, where Two Face has captured Catwoman and plans to execute her. After Two Face is dealt with, Catwoman tells Batman what she knows, and says that Joker may have some sort of deal with Strange. Since this can't be good, Batman goes after the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill, also as in the animated series) but is captured.

When he comes to he sees Joker for the first time since the events of the first game, and he doesn't look good. It turns out that during the first game Joker's blood was poisoned, and he's about a day away from dying. Batman doesn't really have a problem with this, but Joker reveals that he has transfused some of his blood into Batman as well as sending samples of his blood to emergency rooms all over Gotham, meaning that Batman has just as much of an interest in finding a cure as Joker. Joker says that Mr. Freeze had been working on a cure, but he lost contact, so Batman goes off to find him.

From there the plot turns into a giant race for the cure, as Batman's physical exertion is causing the poison to work faster in him, and Joker (and the rest of Gotham) doesn't have much more time. Along the way, Batman struggles with Mr. Freeze, Penguin, R'as al Ghul and his daughter Talia, and some other villains who make up the side quests in this game. Over all of it looms Hugo Strange, who looks over Arkham City from a tower in the center (think Eiffel Tower combined with Space Needle) and his ominous plans for the mysterious "Protocol 10," which gradually comes closer to initiation.

In short, the plot is amazing. Every time I thought that the game was being really epic, it managed to raise the bar even more, right up until the end. There are surprising turns all the time, and you can never be quite sure what is going to happen. The game as a whole is awesome, one of the best games ever made, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I just hope my bar for Batman stuff hasn't been raised too high for the Nolans' film next summer.

This Will Make Number 1 Son Happy

The Old Guard continued to protect the Tomb of the Unknown Solider even during Hurricane Irene.

Book Review: The Moonstone, by Willkie Collins (1868)

Given that literature is taught in such a confusing way these days, it is remarkably easy for even a highly-educated person to get through their school years without understanding a very important distinction between "classic" novels written before World War I and "classic" novels written after World War I. These days, most of the attention goes to the great novels of the early and middle part of the 20th Century: the works of men like Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Steinbeck. For most college-educated Americans, books like The Sound and the Fury or The Great Gatsby are what we think of as "literature" -- they are generally depressing books with some sort of tragic message about the difficulty of life. Even when teachers seek out novels from earlier periods, they tend to look for novels featuring moral dilemmas -- like The Scarlet Letter or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As Number 1 Son has told me, his English classes have taught him that all literature is about "the Death of Innocence" and "Man's Inhumanity to Man."

So when middle-aged people head to the bookstore looking for something to read, they tend to avoid the great novels of the 19th Century -- with the lone exception of Jane Austen, who everyone knows from TV. And this is a real shame. Because the emotional and spiritual background of the 19th-Century English-speaking world was very different from the post-World War I environment that so dominates our conception of what constitutes "literature." Faulkner, Hemingway and the like wrote their moral parables for a particular class of highly-educated people who were disgusted with the world around them. But in the 19th Century, this same class tended to be much more optimistic about how mankind was doing. And even to the extent they were disappointed in their fellow man, they were much more likely to express that disappointment in other forms. The true progenitors of the modern problem novel are not novels at all; they are books of essays like Walden or the works of Emerson, or the poems of Emily Dickenson and Walt Whitman, or even the critical essays of men like Thomas Carlyle and Matthew Arnold.

Serious 19th-Century writers didn't usually put their deepest concerns in the form of novels, for much the same reason that serious writers today wouldn't usually put their darkest work in the form of a network TV show. Before radio and the movies, novels were primarily a form of entertainment. Victorian novels, in particular, have a lot more in common with our modern television shows than with the works of J.D. Salinger. When you see a Victorian novel on the shelf of a modern bookstore, you are probably looking at the 19th-Century equivalent of something like Dallas or The Sopranos, or even Raiders of the Lost Ark. They're not all like that, of course; the Victorians did produce works like The Red Badge of Courage or Silas Marner. But, of course, we've produced our share of depressing movies and TV shows. The point is, that great Victorian novels are usually designed to entertain in a way very different from their modern brethren.

One of the most entertaining novels of that remarkably productive era is The Moonstone, written in 1868 by Willkie Collins, who was trying to score a follow up to his monster hit of the early 1860's: The Woman in White. He succeeded by effectively inventing the first modern detective novel. Chesterton said it was "probably the best detective tale in the world," and praise from the creator of Father Brown should be taken seriously on this point. Like all successful works of great originality, it has been imitated so many times that almost everything about it now seems familiar even to those reading it for the first time. It is the story of a mysterious Indian diamond -- the legendary Moonstone -- which may or may not be cursed, and which is left to a beautiful young Englishwoman who lives on a big estate in the country. On the night after a dinner party to celebrate the Englishwoman's birthday party, the Diamond disappears. Who is the thief? Why is the young Englishwoman acting so suspicious? Why does one of the servants keep disappearing at odd times? And what is the role of three mysterious Indians who have been seen in the neighborhood?

To answer these questions, Collins tells his story through a series of different narrators, most of whom are only somewhat reliable. This approach, which Collins had also used in The Woman in White, works very well -- particularly as Collins uses the narrators (who are, for the most part, only minor players in the tale) to add humor to a story that would otherwise grow too melodramatic. It is quite long -- around 450 pages or so -- but that's because it's really more like a TV series than a modern novel, and its complicated plot simply takes time to work out. It also features the remarkable Sergeant Cuff, a brilliant detective who prefers studying roses to catching criminals.

The Moonstone was a big hit the 1860s and has remained popular ever since. It can be found at any good bookstore, or downloaded for almost nothing on your Kindle. It has everything one normally seeks in beach reading -- romance, suspense, comedy, and clear indications that nothing too tragic is going to happen during the course of the story. If your experience with literature has taught you that any novel published by the Modern Library must end horribly, this would be an excellent corrective.

Essential reading for anyone who likes detective stories; highly recommended for anyone who just wants to curl up with a good book.

Number 1 Son: Deadliest Video Game Character

I was just watching a show called Deadliest Warrior. It's a pretty interesting idea, basically some people decide that it would be awesome if ninjas fought Spartans, and proceed to consult experts to determine who would win such a matchup. While I felt that some of the matchups (like the aforementioned ninjas vs Spartans) were not so good, the idea intrigues me, and so I have decided to do a similar thing for video games. This is the Deadliest Video Game Character.

The first thing to do is to establish how this comparison will be taking place. I'm gonna talk about how the characters stack up in 4 categories, and I will assume that the one who wins the most categories would win were a fight to break out between the two. These categories are: 1) Allies (let's face it, very few characters avoid get helped in some way or another at some point, good or bad), 2) Offensive Capabilities (how well they can damage the other one), 3) Defensive Capabilities (how well they can take those hits), 4) Mental Capabilities (cleverness, wisdom, strategic ability, and general intelligence). Should this result in a tie, the tie will be broken by comparing some common factor of the two characters that could conceivably help in a fight. Now, I want to note that I will not ever compare characters who fought canonically, since we know who wins. Also note that if there is a fighting game with the two characters, very little of that game will be taken into account, since the characters are placed at around the same capabilities to level the playing field. With that said, let's move onto the matchup: the two greatest villains in gaming: Bowser, the villain of the Mario series, and Ganondorf, the villain of the Zelda series.

This should be good so let's get started.

1. Allies

Both characters have extensive resources to call on for help, since they both have vast armies at their disposal. Bowser's army is made up of Koopas, Goombas, Boos, and assorted other enemies. Ganondorf's army is made up of Moblins, Redeads, and even more assorted enemies. These two armies, of course, do not appear that impressive in the video games, but that is because they're fighting the heroes, who are very powerful. So let's look at these armies in detail. In terms of defensive abilities, I think Ganondorf''s army has to win because many of its ordinary members can take hits from the most powerful weapons in Hyrule. On the other hand, only a few of them are of any great threat to Link, who can mostly shrug off their blows. Bowser's minions, however, though they may die in one hit, can often do the same to Mario. In addition, Bowser's army is vastly super in numbers and mobility, as they often have dozens of troops in every corner of the Mushroom Kingdom. However, their tactics don't seem to be very good, as they mostly walk straight ahead, while Zelda enemies tend to fortify themselves and take defensive positions. But, Bowser's minions have been shown to be fiercely loyal to Bowser, and are willing to do just about anything for him, while Ganondorf's minions do not show nearly the same loyalty and in some cases actually leave his army for whatever reason. In all, I'm gonna have to call this category a tie, since they just about trade off everything I compare them in.

Bowser-0 Ganondorf-0

2. Offensive Capabilities

So, presumably their armies would just destroy each other, leaving their leaders in the wreckage to duke it out for supremacy. Who can hit harder? Well, Bowser has a number of weapons at his disposal. He's shown skill with throwing hammers, breathing fire, punching, and attacking with his shell in some way. He has incredible strength, and has been shown capable of stopping a train Superman-style. Plus, it has to be noted that Bowser is much larger than Ganondorf, being at least 12 feet tall (by my estimation). Ganondorf, however, has vast magical powers granted to him by the Triforce of Power, and can throw magical projectiles at will (though these have an unfortunate habit of being deflected back at him with ease). He is also skilled with a sword (or in some cases two) so he won't go down easily. But, Ganondorf has another trick up his sleeve. Using his piece of the Triforce, Ganondorf can transform into a gigantic boar known as Ganon, which is far more powerful. But, I'm gonna give this one to Bowser. I think in a fair fight he would simply pulverize Ganondorf, and even if he turned into Ganon, Bowser has shown over the years that he has a variety of ways to grow even larger himself, and oftentimes when he grows larger, it's to the size of an entire castle. Also, Bowser rarely initiates his attempts to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom before acquiring some sort of magical aid of his own.

Bowser-1 Ganondorf-0

3. Defensive Capabilities

Well, Bowser is more capable of dealing out the punishment, but maybe Ganondorf can take it long enough to get in enough hits on Bowser. Well, the Triforce of Power grants him immunity to normal harm. Usually he can only be harmed by certain enchanted weapons, and even those can usually do little more than stun him. Now, just for the sake of argument, I'm gonna say that Bowser is capable of the same power that these weapons are. Even so, Ganondorf will be able to take hits for a while. So what about Bowser? Well, he too is very resistant, likely because of his spiky shell, and Mario, who is capable of destroying castles with his bare hands (or by jumping on them), is rarely able to directly damage Bowser, instead resorting to dropping him into pits or throwing him into bombs (which, it should be noted, only harm him, but do not kill him). He has also defended himself from energy attacks by simply punching them. It's a close one, but I'm gonna give this one to Bowser. He's put up with a LOT of abuse over the years but it doesn't usually take too long for him to come back. Ganondorf, however, has actually been killed on a number of occasions (he keeps finding ways to cheat death) and when he does come back it takes hundreds of years.

Bowser-2 Ganondorf-0

4. Mental Capabilities

Well, it's kind of pointless to do this since Bowser has clinched the win, but why not. Neither Bowser nor Ganondorf are particularly known for their mental facilities (in fact, Ganondorf was specifically rejected by the Triforce of Wisdom). Both of their plans will eventually boil down to "kidnap the princess, kill the hero, take over the world." Not exactly chess master-like strategy. Now admittedly these plans do get more complicated and strategic on occasion. However, Bowser doesn't really tend to think things through, usually deciding to just smash anything that gets near him and hope for the best. Ganondorf, however does usually do some planning and strategy, for instance waiting around for Princess Zelda to reveal herself after disappearing for 7 years in Ocarina of Time or by manipulating Zant to take over the Twilight Realm and then Hyrule in Twilight Princess. So, even though it doesn't do him any good, Ganondorf wins this round.

Bowser-2 Ganondorf-1

So, were the two to get into a fight (which would probably happen if they actually met) Bowser would win. Their armies are too evenly matched to really make a difference, and I think Bowser could both take and dish out punishment enough to win the day (although Ganondorf might outsmart Bowser to even things up for a little while or at least escape). Anyway, that was my first comparison of two video game characters. I hope you guys liked it, despite my admittedly simple methodology. I might also have some reviews coming up soon. See ya.

Number 1 Son Reports on the Electronic Entertainment Expo

Well, this week brought some very big news for hardcore Nintendo fans (like myself). Just to give some background, every year around the first or second week of June, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3 to gamers) is held in Los Angeles. Basically, it's a large video game convention where major video game makers and press (well, mostly nerdy press, websites like IGN and other gaming websites) come together and the game makers reveal new games, systems, and generally discuss their plans for the rest of the year and into the next. Nintendo has a big press conference every year, and does a very good job of keeping everything secret until the news is said onstage. Last year's conference brought news of the Nintendo 3DS and Legend of Zelda: the Skyward Sword, a title for the Wii. And, believe it or not, this year was actually better. A LOT better. I obviously didn't go to E3, so most of my information is gained from other sources (i.e., articles written by people who actually went), but I'll report as best as I can the announcements that were biggest for me.

First up: the Wii U.
Well, this was by far the biggest revelation of the conference, probably the biggest in all of E3. The Wii U is Nintendo's successor to the Wii. We actually did know this was coming, as Nintendo told us ahead of time, but few people were actually prepared. The controller strongly resembles a cross between a Game Boy and an iPad. From what I've read, the screen is very good (one site said it was on par with the iPad2). Apparently this will allow games to be played on the controller, although not at a long distance and it's still preferable to play on the TV. There are few specifics known about the system, but here is what is known. It is in fact a new system, not just an upgrade to the Wii. The graphics and other hardware are definitely different (the one clip I saw of the graphics it was capable of producing was incredible; this system will definitely produce the graphics that many criticize the Wii for not having). The small screen on the controller will interact with the console and TV in a manner similar to the Wii remote, but also in many new ways (one example I saw was to aim a gun, somewhat like a scope). No games were announced (a couple of third-party games were mentioned in one video but I can't find them anywhere else so I'm assuming that they were hinted at) except for a new Super Smash Bros for both this system and the 3DS, with the potential to interact. This is news that will have Nintendo fans geeked out for months to come. No release date was given, although most sources indicate that the system is planned for sometime next year. Here's hoping.

Next up: a bunch of games announced for the 3DS. This was welcome news to me. The 3DS was released back in March, but I haven't gotten one yet since there were no good games out for it. Fortunately, Nintendo plans to remedy that. Here's a list of some of the big games announced for the handheld. (I'm assuming that all of these titles are tentative, but who knows):

Super Mario 3D
Yep, a Mario game for the 3DS. With graphics at least on par with the Gamecube, this game will certainly look good. It also features the Tanooki suit: the iconic racoon-esque outfit from Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES. Definitely looking forward to this one, which is apparently slated for release this year.

Mario Kart 3D
This great racing series will apparently get its introduction onto the 3DS sometime this year. Apparently this game will feature the ability to drive underwater, and put a hang glider on your car.

Luigi's Mansion 2
For those of you unfamiliar with the original game, it was a launch title for the Gamecube. It was sort of a cross between Mario and Ghost Busters. Luigi wandered around a haunted mansion fighting ghosts with a vacuum cleaner. It's been a while, but apparently the game will get a sequel sometime next year. Don't know much about it, but one article I read mentioned mansions (as in plural).

Other games mentioned were Kid Icarus a reboot of an NES series, and Star Fox 64 3D a remake of a really popular Nintendo 64 game (for anyone who has heard of the phrase "Do a barrel roll" in the context of video games, the original is where it came from). But these aren't games I'm particularly interested it.

There was also some news involving the Wii. Apparently we have a Kirby game to look forward to on the system this fall, which will be a bit more like a traditional Kirby games (unlike Kirby's Epic Yarn, which had an unconventional control and appearance). Also, the aforementioned Skyward Sword was confirmed for a Holiday release as a nod to nervous fans who were worried the game would not be released anytime soon.

Well, that's all of the news from E3 regarding Nintendo. Pretty big news for longtime fans, and I'm very very excited. They definitely topped last year's presentation, and I am eagerly looking forward to what was announced.

Number3Son's Top 10 Villains: Part II

(Number3Son, my eight-year-old, continues his list of villains.)

Hello, folks, I'm back. Sorry the list isn't done, but it's about to continue.

Enjoy. And with that said, let's continue.

7. Flusifer
The villain of Rocket Slime, this villain is trying to destroy Boingburg, the capital of Slimeia. He has been trying to eliminate a heroic slime as he proportions attacks and not only a group of monsters called the Plob is attacking Boingburg. But he {Flusifer} doesn't die.

6. Jafar and Iago
Jafar is Agrabah's true friend. Since he doesn't die in the first Aladdin, he does in the second. He clutches two scarab beetle parts, which causes the magical Cave of Wonders to rise, and one of Jafar's servants goes in. But the cave says only a "diamond in the rough" can enter. (Aladdin is my brother Number1Son's favorite Disney hero. He also likes "Beauty and the Beast," but enough with Number1Son.) It's time to talk about Jafar. If you want to learn about him, WATCH THE ALADDIN MOVIES!

5. Gaston
Gaston is the villain of "Beauty and the Beast." The dream of his life is that he marries Belle, but it will never come true. Later in the movie, this proves he's evil: he decides to kill the Beast! Number1 and 2 sons think he's a jerk, but he is not! He uses a tree to break down the castle gates and succeeds, but after that, few of his Frenchmen survive! In the door, he waits to fire. What I like is the real fight because it takes place in the rain. He dies.

4. Green Goblin
One of Spider-Man's villains, the Green Goblin is a good villain. He's probably better in the books than the movies because in the movies he's just Willem Defoe in a mecha-goblin suit (though Number1 son thinks he's beter in the movies!) He also has such a thing as stun-bombs, but what can stop ol' Spidey twice? Nothing! However, he uses other deadly tricks, even his flying broomstick! But, he is not one of the Sinister Six who appear in a Spider-Man comic book I read, needless to say.

Video Game Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

From Number1Son:

While I was on spring break, I spent a couple of days playing a game called Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. It . . . was a strange experience. I enjoyed playing the game immensely, but for the wrong reasons.

I'll be frank, this is a very bad game. It's got basically nothing going for it. Its unoriginal (being very loosely based on the events of the movies), and what is original is horribly done, but I'll get to that later. The gameplay is actually very good, and its battle system is one of the best role-playing game ("RPG") systems I have ever played. However, I read on Wikipedia that this gameplay is virtually identical to a much more popular RPG, which came out a couple years earlier, so . . . more points off for unoriginality! As for the animation . . . its one of the worst jobs of animation I have ever seen in my life. Seriously, I saw a YouTube video of a cartoon which used the uncolored rough sketches on the storyboards in place of actual animation from time to time, and it was still better than this game. I seem to remember fighting with Grima Wormtongue, whose face was so badly animated I began screaming in horror, and then laughing. Furthermore, during the fight there was a little icon of his face which looked like a badly drawn Emperor Palpatine. Basically, the only good thing about this game is that it is Lord of the Rings, which means that you get the awesome music out of the movie, and that Gandalf and Aragorn will show up at some point (they do, and manage to be better in both combat and in sheer awesomeness than all of the game's other characters combined).

The story is laughably bad. In addition to being unoriginal, it is badly done. You follow a group of characters which are some of the most two-dimensional characters I have ever seen form an adventuring party. Only three of the characters have any sort of development (and it's awkwardly done), and the remaining characters are mostly there to give you more diversity in combat. So, the main character is a Gondorian soldier named Berethor, who apparently deserted Osgiliath and began just wandering everywhere. He spends the entire game as a mental battlefield for more important characters like Gandalf and Saruman, who as far as I can tell are both trying to mind control him. As a result, he has absolutely no idea what is going on, (along with the player) and never gets an explanation. Then there is Idrial, an elf who has some plan, or orders, or something, but never tells anybody anything. This becomes especially annoying as she knows just about everything, but only tells me trivia (which I already know, but to be fair I am a LOTR geek) in cutscenes that randomly pop up while I am walking around. Her attitude is really random, and she spontaneously develops a romantic attraction to Berethor after about three or four hours of absolutely no indication that this was the case. Then there are other characters, Elegost, a ranger (who, like all video game rangers, is awesome), Hadhod, a dwarf, and Eaoden, a Rohan cavalry man who fights on foot (?). There is also Morwen, a Rohan/Gondor woman who I think was Berethor's fiancee before he deserted, and is just about the most useless party member when it comes to combat (her only potentially useful use is to steal items, which are not very good and are replaced by better items within about 30 seconds). The importance which I gave to the characters just now is just about the same importance the game gives to them, so use that as a guide.

The story itself is completely unoriginal. It would be one thing if you wandered around and only came across the Fellowship every now and then, but you basically follow the Fellowship (in fact, at one point that is what you are supposed to be doing), and deal with their leftovers. Sometimes you actually fight with the Fellowship. The first time is against the Balrog (hmm, I don't remember that from either the books or movies), and also at the Battle of Helm's Deep (where I attacked people by throwing a gigantic water horse at them, something I also don't remember from the books or movies). And for any fans who don't think that that is that bad, the final boss is the Eye of Sauron (which can apparently be defeated by hitting it with swords, something which I remember both the books and movies explicitly stating would not work).

The story is also horribly done. Part of this is that the story has no sense of timing or transition. You literally go from fighting the Balrog in Moria to the plains of Rohan with no cutscene or even a text box explaining how you got there. Things also come at you out of nowhere. I already mentioned Idrial's romance with Berethor, but there are other examples. I remember one point where I was walking along in Rohan when Gandalf randomly teleported (can he do that?) in front of me to tell me that I was about to get a random encounter (and didn't even stick around to chat afterwards). You are hit with romances, plot twists, cutscenes, and other random stuff like Charlie Brown by a line drive. You know how I mentioned that Berethor is getting mind controlled? This major plot twist is hinted at in a cutscene, then you fight some Uruk-hai and trolls, then there is another cutscene which sort of (not really) explains what happened, and then Gandalf telepathically tells you that Saruman is no longer mind controlling you. This major plot twist is introduced, resolved, and forgotten within about 15 minutes. Actually, the only things that don't hit you like a line drive are random encounters (a meter tells you when you will probably have one), the one thing you expect to come out of nowhere in an RPG.

I'm not going to talk too much about the gameplay, just some oddities. Unlike most RPGs, there is no "trick" to combat in this game. In most RPG's once you get all of your character's decently leveled there is a trick you can do to basically ensure that only bosses will ever do any damage to your people (for instance, in one game I gave one person an item that meant that she always went first, she boosted everyone's strength, and I ended the combat before anyone could do anything). In this game, however, while you can effectively disable all of the enemies, it takes a couple of turns, and doesn't always work. Damage is not all that threatening, however, because anytime you save or level up, you fully heal, so no one goes more than half an hour without fully healing at least once. So, the game is not too hard. That is, as long as you have Idrial. See, you can only use three party members at once, and Idrial will always be one of those three, since she is your only healer (while we are on the topic, Berethor will also be one of those three since he can make your party more powerful and then do more damage than the other two combined). There is a part in the game, however, where Idrial is taken away from you. She has to fight a couple of orcs, who pose no threat to her offensive magic. The rest of your party has to fight a Ringwraith. And about 30 seconds after you get through that fight, you have to fight another one.

So, the question still remains, why do I enjoy this game? I mean, this game is truly horrible. By all rights, this post should have been an angry rant about how much I hate this game. However, this game is one of those rare instances of something that is so bad that it's good. The game is horrible, but it is so completely and laughably horrible that I can't help but laugh at it.

If only Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II had been like that . . .

Video Game Review: Goldeneye

I've never been much of a fan of the games known as "first person shooters" like Call of Duty or Halo. I don't know, not only are most of these games rated M, but they seem so mindless to me. It just seems like you run around trying to find a good vantage point or hiding spot, and then just pull the trigger until everyone is dead. I still don't know if this is a valid generalization, nor do I have any intention of finding out any time soon, but it is certainly not true for a James Bond game I just finished called GoldenEye 007 on the Wii.

In my first review I mentioned that movie-based video games are famously mediocre. In 1997, a game was released based on the movie GoldenEye, and this game is regarded as one of the greatest games ever released on the Nintendo 64. This game is a modernization of that one, and it is amazing. As I never played the original, this will not be a comparison, and this is probably the last time that the original will ever be mentioned in this review.

Okay, getting to the actual review. Part of the reason that I think that this game is so good is that it is basically an interactive James Bond movie. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, who play Bond and M in the latest movies, play these roles in the game (Bond even looks like Craig). The game even has the MGM logo at the beginning. Like any good Bond movie, there is some action at the beginning before a song. Even the only American in the game, a CIA agent who appears at the beginning of one level, is exactly like the Americans in Bond movies: he has a Texan accent, thinks he has everything under control, and in fact doesn't (he gets shot about 30 seconds after you meet him).

Another major reason that this game is so great is that its gameplay is nearly flawless. Strangely, I'm reminded of Batman: Arkham Asylum due to its emphasis on stealth, but also because there are a number of interesting differences (for instance, enemies with guns will do far less damage than someone punching you, which brings you almost to death). Far from being mindless, this game is actually very strategic. You never want to charge into a room firing an AK-47 since if you do that the three guys in there will call about 20 other guys, some of whom will throw grenades, and good luck getting out of that one alive. What you want to do is sneak around the room taking out security cameras and guards, while never allowing the other people or cameras in the room to know you are there. This is not an easy task (in the first couple of levels I proved that I do not put the "secret" in "secret agent" and more often then not found myself in a firefight with half the Russian Army), and in some rooms takes some really good thinking. In one room I remember, it is virtually impossible to take someone out without any one noticing. The best way to proceed is to climb into an air duct and use your smart phone (yeah, like in the new movies, Bond makes extensive use of his phone) to hack into a turret and use that to kill everyone in the room. There are some things though, that I'm not sure why they count as stealth kills. In one room I killed two people by shooting an explosive barrel, and no reinforcements came (there wasn't anyone else in the room, but still, no one else in the area heard?)

You don't sneak around everywhere, however, since sometimes the bad guys already know that you're there. These levels are a bit more mindless, but you always have to pay attention because more people will show up, or a helicopter will show up, or someone will throw grenades at you, or something. In all though, the gameplay is fast and strategic, and very enjoyable.

To accomplish your missions, you are always provided with a handgun. This gun is probably the weapon you will use the most for a number of reasons. For one thing, this is the only weapon you can silence (even if you have other handguns) meaning that it is the only way to stealthily take out a guy with a gun (the only other way is to sneak up on them and punch them). You can find other silenced weapons (I even found a silenced machine gun once) but they are very rare. You also start with about 200 shots on the handgun, which is only fair because you will never find a reload. There is another flaw, however, which is power. It takes about three shots to kill someone unless you take time to carefully aim, which is not always possible. When you need more, you turn to other weapons. In addition to your handgun you can carry two other guns, which you can pick up from enemies or in boxes. You can find shotguns, which basically kill in one shot, but are ineffective at long range and carry very little ammo. There are also machine guns, which are more powerful than your handgun and carry more ammo, but you use about ten shots every time you pull the trigger. There are also sniper rifles, which carry very few shots but almost always kill, but these are basically provided to you when they will be most useful. The two gun limit means that you will have to make tactical decision, deciding whether you want two machine guns, or a machine gun or a shotgun, or whether or not the sniper rifle will be useful anywhere else.

The story is pretty good as well. It begins as James Bond and 006 investigate a Russian military base. The mission doesn't go well and 006 is shot. From then on, Bond is forced to deal with a rouge Russian general and his partner the Janus Group, an organization that sells weapons to terrorist groups and has mysterious plans regarding EMP weapons. A couple of plot twists later, Bond stops the Janus Group and saves London.

In all the game is very very good, and was well worth my time. It was well made, fun to play, and kept me interested all the way through, to the point that I quickly started replaying it.

Now, if only we could get another good Bond movie . . .

Number 1 Son's Video Game Review: Game Boy Advanced Tribute

Well, I'm back, and ready to do something that I intended to do two weeks ago, but due to insanity the past two weekends (and a fair amount of forgetfulness) I am just getting around to it. "It" is a tribute to the Game Boy Advanced. You see, on March 27, Nintendo released its newest hand held system, the Nintendo 3DS. Unlike its predecessor, the 3DS is not reverse compatible with Game Boy Advanced games, meaning that at long last, the Game Boy line of systems, a great line of systems that ushered in the age of hand held gaming (making long car trips far more tolerable), is dead, and has gone the way of the NES, now only to live on in the hands of collectors (and those of us who still have access to Game Boy-compatible systems).

The Game Boy Advanced was one of the greatest systems ever, and is largely responsible for getting me back into serious gaming, as well as introducing me to a number of new series and rekindling my interest in other series. So, in this tribute, I am going to talk about the games that made the Game Boy Advanced special for me. I will not be ranking them, or talking about how horrible certain games were. This is for the games that were good, and all of them are amazing. Now, this is by no means a complete list of games, and some might think that there were better games on the system, but this is really a personal list, about what the system meant for me. So, let's get talking about some games!

Super Mario Advanced
This series of games was my first introduction to the Game Boy Advanced. They were nothing new, simply ports of old Mario SNES games, largely the ones I grew up with and enjoyed playing. These included Super Mario World, by far my favorite 2D platformer (only rivaled by New Super Mario Bros Wii; I never have been able to decide which I like better, so I'm calling them both my favorite), Yoshi's Island, a game I played endlessly on the SNES (the only game I have spent more hours on is Super Mario 64, the greatest game of all time), and Super Mario Bros 3, considered by many one of the greatest games ever, and one that I never got to really play until this series. There were few changes from the original games (mostly they added the much-needed option to save). They were not perfect, of course, but they allowed me to play some classic and truly great games, and really started me back into gaming during a time when I didn't play as much.

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Versions
While Super Mario Advanced started me back into games, these games really dragged me fully back into the realm of gaming. The only series of Pokemon games that I played all versions of, these games were the center of the Third Generation of Pokemon. They introduced a number of new Pokemon (some of which are among my favorites), and got me interested in Pokemon again after I lost interest in Gold/Silver. These games gave me hours of enjoyment (although I still think that the Safari Zone should be named after me for how much money I gave them over three months; not one of my finest hours, or several hours). These games also improved on the story. Now, instead of simply stopping a criminal organization, you fought a desperate battle to prevent an organization (or two in the case of Emerald) dedicated to awakening an ancient Pokemon to dominate the world. Naturally things got out of hand, and you are forced to save the world from destruction (you might remember this moment from my Pokemon countdown). Overall, great games, and I don't regret the time I spent playing them (although I could have lived with spending less time in the Safari Zone).

Kirby Nightmare in Dream Land/Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
The second of these games was my first experience with the Kirby series of games, a series that has since given me much pleasure (the latest game Kirby's Epic Yarn was very good, if easy). Nightmare in Dream Land gave me an experience with a more normal Kirby game, and cemented my love for the series. Admittedly, the series is a bit on the easy side (Nightmare in Dream Land was both so easy and so short that I beat the entire game three times in one day, and still had time for homework), but it's Kirby, and the music, gameplay, and charming art are enough to keep bringing me back (and without these games I never would have played Kirby Superstar Ultra for the DS).

Pokemon Fire Red
Another game out of Generation III, Fire Red was a remake of the original Pokemon game, Red Version. It was a very good remake, with a number of welcome advances (such as the ability to run), and a great design. Overall, this game was amazing, and especially welcome to me, since I never really played the original game seriously (I had a copy, but I was only 5 or 6 years old and not willing to put in the time necessary), and this game gave me the opportunity to play through a truly great game, and have some truly great battles (even though Misty proved to be the bane of my existence).

Fire Emblem
There aren't many people who know about the Fire Emblem series (and most who do know of it only because of Super Smash Bros), but it is a recent addition to my repertoire. Actually, my first game was for the DS, and the next one I beat was on the Wii, but this game (commonly known as FE7) is definitely the best in the series. Fire Emblem is a cross between an RPG (role-playing game) with an RTS (real-time strategy), with you conducting large scale battles using a handful of unique characters in turn-based combat (truly one of the strangest concepts in video games, "I will crush you with my overwhelming army of dragons, as soon as it is my turn!"). This game has near-perfect gameplay, with certain aspects, such as Support Conversations (which are unlocked when certain characters spend enough time near each other), which not only can provide combat bonuses but give insight into the characters. Speaking of which, these characters are great, and you really care about them, as well as the story they take part in. It is an epic game, and definitely one of my top 10.

Well, that's all of the games I could think of, although there were certainly many, many more (according to Wikipedia, there were 949), but I wanted to focus on the ones that I enjoyed the most. As I said before, the 3DS cannot play GBA games, and with no Nintendo system in production that is capable of playing these games, the system is once and for all dead.

May it rest in peace.

Video Game Reviews: Number 1 Son's Pokemon Dream Team

From Number 1 son:

493. As of Generation IV of Pokemon, there are 493 Pokemon (we've come a long way from the original 151, haven't we?). Of these, you must choose six. Six Pokemon with which you will battle the Elite Four and the Champion.

Now, you almost never have all 493 available, and typically you can only catch somewhere between 150-200 before you fight the Elite Four (afterwards you are able to get many more Pokemon). Even with this reduced number of prospects, it is not an easy choice. These Pokemon must have good stats, and the team as a whole must have a balanced combination of types, so that one type cannot wipe all of them out.

Even once you choose the six, however, there are more choices to make. Each Pokemon can use a total of four moves, out of hundreds, if not thousands. With these you have to balance power, accuracy, PP (stands for "power points"; indicates how often you can use the move), and type. Finally, there are a huge number of items that Pokemon can hold for benefits, but each Pokemon can only hold one.

Even with all of the planning, however, you have to then go out and catch and raise the Pokemon to good levels so that they can do well against your foes (theoretically, you could trade all of the Pokemon in fully trained from one of your friends, but that is just lame).

Now, as I mentioned before, most of the time you do not have access to all of the Pokemon. In fact, some of the Pokemon that are available can become unavailable (you get to choose one starter, the other two will become unavailable without trading). But, what if you had access to all Pokemon? All 493. Which would you choose to fight against any and all foes? It is a question I am sure that many Pokemon fans have turned over at least once. As my excitement and anticipation are not likely to subside until I have my hands on one of the new games coming out tomorrow, I have decided to share my choices, my Dream Team, if you will.

Here are some notes before I begin. For one thing, none of these Pokemon are legendary, because legendary Pokemon are obscenely powerful and I don't use them. Also, I feel like you should know a little bit about my playing style. I tend to play very fast, and so my Pokemon tend to emphasize speed and power, working on the theory that they will not have to take very much damage if I can prevent the other side's Pokemon from ever getting a turn. With regard to the information I will provide, I will tell you the number (I will give them in numerical order), their type, moves, held item, any other important information, and finally an explanation as to why they are on my team and ways that I am considering making changes. Also note that while I do know about many of the Generation V Pokemon and have started making plans, I know little about how they play compared to the other Pokemon (since the games have not come out yet), so this list has only Pokemon from Generations I-IV. (One final note, all images are from Bulbapedia, this is the link) So, with that said, let's get on with the show.

6. Charizard (Fire/Flying)

Moves: Heat Wave (Fire)

Air Slash (Flying)

Solarbeam (Grass)

Blast Burn (Fire)

Held Item: Charcoal (increases the power of fire moves by 1.5 times)

Any fan of the TV show knows Charizard, because next to Pikachu it was Ash's best Pokemon (both in terms of ability and in terms of awesomeness). It is just as good in the games (although the TV show's version's signature move, Seismic Toss, is not nearly as powerful in the games). Charizard is the fully evolved version of the very first Fire-type starter, Charmander. Charizard has very high Speed and Special Attack (the stat which governs the power of ranged attacks), making him perfect for burning the opponent off of the field before they can do anything. With Charcoal powering up his fire moves, Blast Burn (the most powerful Fire move, which is exclusive to Fire-type starters) becomes ridiculously strong, and can even do significant damage to Water types (unadvised unless you are desperate, it leaves Charizard vulnerable). Solarbeam is in there to cover Charizard's weaknesses. It is super-effective against both Water and Rock types, Charizard's two major downfalls (especially Rock, which does four-times damage). Unfortunately, it has to charge up for a turn, leaving Charizard open to attack. I would change this if I could, but Charizard can learn no other Grass moves.

25. Pikachu (Electric)

Moves: Thunderbolt (Electric)

Thunder (Electric)

Iron Tail (Steel)

Grass Knot (Grass)

Held Item: Light Ball (doubles Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack stats)

Even if you didn't know about Charizard, you should definitely know about Pikachu. By far the most famous Pokemon and the mascot of the franchise, Pikachu is somewhat unique in my team. For one thing, it is the only member that is not fully evolved (yes, fans of the TV show, I have followed Ash's example, and refuse to evolve Pikachu into its final form). For this reason, Pikachu's stats (apart from Speed) are not very good, although its offensive stats are decent. However, you can remedy this problem in a number of ways. One is to use a Light Ball, like I do. I highly recommend this, as you will be struggling to use Pikachu without one. As you can see, it doubles Pikachu's offensive stats, which often gives him the highest offensive stats on my team (Gyarados, beware, your doom is at hand). It can be hard to acquire a Light Ball, since wild Pikachu are the only source, and they only have a 5% chance of having one (the first time I went after one it took three months and untold amounts of money, to the point that I still think the Safari Zone in Pokemon Emerald should have been named after me; to compound my frustration, my brother Number2Son tried for about two hours and found TWO!). The other option is to use all of your vitamins (items which raise both a stat and the rate at which that stat increases) on Pikachu (hey, I may not want to use legends, but I have no problem with putting my Pokemon on steroids). The reason I have two similar moves (Thunderbolt and Thunder) is that Thunder, while powerful, hates me and is prone to missing (I could remedy this by teaching Pikachu Rain Dance, which makes Thunder always hit, but in my experience, Pikachu will not last long enough to waste a turn setting up an attack). As an Electric type, Pikachu is only weak to Ground types, on whom his Electric attacks have no effect. So, I added Grass Knot and Iron Tail. Grass Knot does damage based on how heavy the target Pokemon is, and Ground types tend to be very heavy. As for Iron Tail, Ground types also tend to be only part Ground, while also being another type, especially Rock, which Iron Tail is good against. This is subject to change, however, and oftentimes I consider replacing Iron Tail with the less powerful but more accurate Brick Break, which is Fighting type and would therefore have an advantage over other types.

131. Lapras (Water/Ice)

Moves: Ice Beam (Ice)

Psychic (Psychic)

Surf (Water)

Hyper Beam (Normal)

Held Item: Mystic Water (increases the power of Water moves by 1.5 times)

Lapras is the last of my Pokemon from the first generation of Pokemon, and somewhat different. Lapras is much more defensive than most of the other Pokemon on my team, with decent attack stats and is probably the slowest Pokemon on my team. However, it is a Special tank, able to withstand tons of punishment from ranged attacks, due to its high HP and Special Defense. As for its moves, Surf is the only one on my Dream Team that comes from an HM (a move that you can use outside of battle for special effects, such as crossing water; I made my Dream Team based on the assumption that HMs were unnecessary), because it is my favorite Water type move. Ditto (not the Pokemon) for Ice Beam, except with Ice. Psychic is on my list because it is powerful against Fighting types, who gain an advantage through Lapras's Ice type. As for Hyper Beam, which is a Normal type version of Blast Burn (or technically, the other way around, since Hyper Beam came first) it is just to give Lapras some added punch when needed. Strangely, however, Lapras is actually weak to Rock, a type whose primary weakness is Water (again due to the Ice type). Since Lapras is slower, there is a chance that a Rock move could get in and cause serious damage (and you would not believe how often that happens; why are there so many Rock-type Pokemon?). For this reason, I occasionally actually consider taking Lapras off of my team in favor of a different Water Pokemon, such as Blastoise or Swampert. However, these are nothing more than thoughts for now, as Lapras is still a very good Pokemon, and has saved my rear end countless times, mostly in those situations where I find it impossible to blitz the other guy.

254. Sceptile (Grass)

Moves: Leaf Blade (Grass)

Frenzy Plant (Grass)

Dragon Pulse (Dragon)

Rock Slide (Rock)

Held Item: Miracle Seed (increases the power of Grass types moves by 1.5 times)

Sceptile is the fully evolved form of the Generation III Grass type starter. It is one of my favorite Pokemon, probably due to its similarities to Charizard. Its main problem, however, stems from its moveset. You see, the Grass type, while one of the most useful, is very hard to get, becuase most of the Grass Pokemon are really bad, and those that aren't have bad moves. Take Sceptile: of the moves I list, only Leaf Blade is a move that Sceptile learns naturally. Two of the others are obtained by TMs (items that teach moves to a Pokemon that it could not ordinarily learn). Frenzy Plant is the fourth move and like Blast Burn (they are statistically identical except for type), can only be taught to a Grass starter by special NPCs. The other main problem with Sceptile is that most of its moves are physical, while its Special Attack is better. However, its Attack stat (which governs the power of physical attacks) is pretty good, and the two moves that use it (Leaf Blade and Rock Slide) make up for it (Leaf Blade has a good chance of doing double damage, and Rock Slide has a good chance of preventing the other Pokemon from moving). Rock Slide is used to counter all of Sceptile's weaknesses (Fire, Bug, Flying, Ice) with one fell swoop. Dragon Pulse is there to give Sceptile some variety. It uses special attack and makes Sceptile a good choice for a Dragon type killer (yeah, the Dragon type is so powerful that it had to be weak against itself).

376. Metagross (Steel/Psychic)

Moves: Meteor Mash (Steel)

Zen Headbutt (Psychic)

Earthquake (Ground)

Giga Impact (Normal)

Held Item: Metal Coat (increases the power of Steel moves by 1.5)

Yeah, it looks that awesome. Metagross is sort of the best of both worlds: both extremely powerful, physically (its Attack stat is through the roof), and a tank (its Defense is also great). Its other stats are also very good. So, with Metagross you have a slower Pokemon, which will get hit, but won't take that much damage, and will make the opponent wish that it was somewhere else. Meteor Mash is a powerful Steel type move, and Zen Headbutt is a physical Psychic move (yeah, try to make sense of that). Giga Impact is a a physical version of Hyper Beam, and is there so that Metagross can launch the opponent into next year (although it can only be learned with one of the most annoying TMs to try and get). Earthquake is there to eliminate the Fire types, one of Metagross's only weaknesses. Earthquake is one of the strongest moves in all of Pokemon, with great power, great accuracy, and no downsides whatsoever. Not really anything to change here, since Metagross is one of the most powerful Pokemon ever.

448. Lucario (Fighting/Steel)

Moves: Aura Sphere (Fighting)

Flash Cannon (Steel)

Water Pulse (Water)

Dark Pulse (Dark)

Held Item: Black Belt (increases the power of Fighting moves by 1.5 times)

The only member of my team from Generation IV, Lucario was the first Generation IV Pokemon we knew about, and I can see why they used it as the face of the new Generation. Lucario is awesome, and unique for a fighting type, because its Special Attack is slightly better than its Attack. Its moveset is also very good, and these are only a few of the possibilities, although many of its other moves would work. Aura Sphere is a ranged Fighting move, and one of my personal favorites, due to the fact that it never misses (ever) and is very powerful. Also, from what I read, Aura Sphere is an attack that consists of Lucario throwing its own life force at you (with no apparent ill effects). Flash Cannon is also decently powerful, and rounds Lucario out a bit. Water Pulse is very good because it takes out Ground and Fire, Lucario's main weaknesses. Dark Pulse is there to counter Ghost and Psychic types, since no one else on my team really gets an advantage over them. As I said earlier, any of these moves could easily be replaced (although I wouldn't replace Aura Sphere). One possibility is Return, a move that increases in power the more a Pokemon likes you (it can get REALLY powerful). This is good because Lucario can only be obtained by evolving a Pokemon that only evolves when you make it like you enough.

So, that's the six Pokemon I would choose to fight against any one and everyone. You may be asking, how good can these Pokemon be? Well, I would point out that only two of my Pokemon (Pikachu and Sceptile), are never used by a Pokemon League Champion (although Pikachu is used by Red, the greatest Pokemon trainer ever; by the way, he uses a Light Ball). Now, naturally, this team has its flaws, but Pokemon evolve, and so do teams of Pokemon. As Generation V increases the number of Pokemon to 649, we'll have all new choices, and will continue to get new choices as the franchise continues.

Who knows? Perhaps one day I'll do a post with some of those Pokemon on them.