Back in Time - Genji Dawn of The Samurai- Review

 

  Here we are, with SCEA of Japan's Genji: Dawn of the Samurai for the PlayStation 2. I reviewed the sequel to this on the PS3 years ago, and had to see earlier in the series to find how the story began. This game was released in fall of 2005 on the PS5. At that time I was just about to graduation from college, and enter my career. I purchased many games in that period, but was focused on the upcoming handheld titans in the PSP and Nintendo DS which were releasing. I saw this game at a game store back then, with intriguing art, but it was only years later that I purchased the sequel.

  The setting is in feudal Japan, with warring nations utilizing the power of a clan of beings called the Heishi, which are extremely powerful. They harness the power of crystals known as Amahagane, which imbue the owner super power. You play as Yoshitsune, the father to the sequel hero and son of a great general of the war. Now you embark on a mission to stop a warlord from taking all the Amahagane and destroying the entire clan.

  The fighting system is very interesting, with a light attack for he square button, heavy attack for the triangle button, jump with the X button, and evade button with circle. The right trigger blocks and the left trigger engages the hyper state when you build up your Amahagane meter. The combo system is not fully free flowing, and you cannot freely mix up heavy and light attacks, nor are there a large amount. You will actually cause delay and vulnerability if you try to deviate from the few combos. However, I did uncover some really slick combos with each character over time. Benkei is the side kick to Yoshitsune, and is slow and powerful. He also cannot dodge with the circle button in a conventional way. He charges after a startup period, which can feel vulnerable. The menu has items, limited equipment, and amahagane which are used to expand your stats. As you fight and explore,, you will find pieces of amahagane in areas and on enemies. Every 3 pieces you collect upgrade a stat of your choice, strength, health, or defense.

  I found that fairly early in the game, I used Benkei. This game had lots of exploring and was very interesting, but it didn't have a lot of the out of place platforming that the sequel has. There is an experience system that gets you to level up and what I appreciated was that each level up replenishes health. There are no inns in this game, so in the couple of towns you travel to, you only save and stock up. There is a blacksmith to make weapons and armor, but I found I never had the items and money he needs to make anything. I probably made one piece of armor the entire game.

  As the game progresses, there is betrayal by close companions to the heishi generals, and the kidnapping of the priestess who has the ability to merge amahagane and make them stronger. You can revisit the towns on the map that are now ravished with heishi troops to fight, level up and find lost artifacts, weapons and items. The game had very decent challenge, and varied enemies. The boss fights were not that numerous, but the last bosses were irritating. A foe who you defeated earlier gains power and turns on the heishi for his own purposes and is the final boss. I watched videos online of player doing horrible and beating him, while I struggled, actually playing with skill, which really bothered me. But you have to stat build to stand up to his attacks. And you have to heal alot. On  the 10th try, I finally decimated him. The ending was pretty good, and there is more to play, as new modes and difficulties are opened up. I really enjoyed this title, and will play again. Reminiscent 8/10

J-Team Company and University

 Welcome to the educational and artistic space of J-Team. The focus of this company has been to accelerate artistic pursuits and technological education and solutions for over a decade. We are now officially launching educational programs for IT disciplines, and MRI imaging. In addition, this is a showcase of  literary, artistic, and musical ventures and projects. Stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your support.

Industry Woes

 This is an article aimed at pointing out and elevating industry issues at large. Previously, I did a could of podcasts on the healthcare industry issues which are also prevalent in other work as well. But the distinction that really sticks out to me is misappropriation. There's a tremendous lack of reverence for experience and skill. 

 I'm today's workforce shortage crisis, you would think skill would be valued more than ever, but sadly it isn't. I've been involved in healthcare imaging and information technology at a very high level for about 2 decades and have deep dive learning and projects under my belt. Even before the last few legs of my professional journey, back in 2019, I was already, before the pandemic, experienced and skilled enough to run a small imaging department by myself from front desk to imaging to backend. And I had experience doing that at an orthopedic office for a few years. I then went on to expand my leadership skills and branch further into IT and medical technology, going back to school several times and achieving certifications and degree. When I began reaching out for leadership positions, my goals changed and initially I was approached with embrace. But then a pivot happened. As the pandemic took lives and positions, the industry was gutted and there became a mad dash to get warm bodies to work at the ground level. 

  I understand the urgency to a degree, especially coming from management experience, having dealt with budgets, purchases and finances at the mid management level. But in all of this, structure shouldn't be lost. There should still be sensitivity to value. If I have an applicant in front of me and I observed a tremendously diverse skill set along with the ability to lead at the highest level, I would be determined not to waste those skills, not just for gratification purposes of the applicant, but productivity purposes. Why would I sit on all of that additional value. It's like buying a Porsche simply for going to the grocery store and nothing else. That's waste. And unfortunately it is done a great deal in healthcare since the pandemic. In fact leaders are more intimidated when they see skill and determined to "put you in your place" as a grunt rather than use what you offer. It's very bizarre, especially for that to be the initial knee jerk reaction.

  I've always had more of an affinity for project based work, be in some kind of project management or contracts in the technology field. This is because this work relies on the available skillsets and abilities of those involved. There isn't an avoidance of that, with forced role insertion at a bottom level. It's a more flat architecture. In healthcare, I have observed large amounts of skill and experience, pressed down into grunt roles, with lost value. I cannot say how irritating it is to have someone continue to tell me how they read and appreciate my resume and skillset, but see my best position as being an unskilled grunt who they train and keep at a base level. It's very stupid, and insulting not only to me, but the person saying it to me. I'm not saying that positions always need to be created for skills on the fly. What I'm saying is that although there is a need for base level workers, at this point there is an equal need for leaders and multi-talented individuals in many fields, and as a hiring manager, my mind would be on fast tracking talent on that path.

 This is why I have been adamant about creating new paths and opportunities with J-Team University and IT services. I also feel differently about AI than I did years ago. Not only because I have been learning the tech behind it, and using it, but I see where it fills the gap. How many times do you walk into a hardware store or department store, looking for assistance, with workers either scarce or hesitant to help at all. Many times, you'll get the answer to your question from AI engines before a single soul will assist you. How much money could industry save by using bots rather than selfish and lazy people. I think it does have a place and a need, used correctly, and this is what I intend to explore.