New Episodes

These are some new episodes of the Jokatech Podcast, and the ongoing series- "The Beast"
Please enjoy

What happened to Nintendo's Identity???

 For years I and many others grew up in an era where Nintendo always brought integrity to the game as a company. Regardless of how kiddy or imbalanced its libraries were at times, we always counted on them, as a company, to provide an old-school approach to games, without the bells and whistles that convoluted everything.

 However, over time, they have slowly acquiesced to the public and the majority. Now, starting this month, the online service has begun, requiring gamers to pay a fee in order to play any of the online content in any of their games. The issue with this, is that today, online and single player are for some ridiculous reason, fused together in most games. For instance, 2K sports decided that the cinematic single player campaign in NBA 2K18 needed to be married to the online server. So you have to connect to the server and the internet, in order to play your character's customized campaign. What the heck does my career have to do with interaction with players around the world. That was totally stupid and unnecessary. So what that means, is that once the pay services dropped. My career is locked, cinematics and all, until I pay for a monthly subscription. And many games are making the majority of their modes online, and the offline modes are scant, and often integrated into some need to access the server.

  It is a stain on their name that Nintendo has bought into this idiotic philosophy. I am sincerely thinking over how much I will continue to support them. I play games, at this point, when I can, and to work on my solo game, going online at my leisure. What the gaming industry is telling gamers like myself, is that we don't belong. Either we get on the grid and force paying subscriptions we hardly use and constant downloads and updates that are often unnoticeable or damaging to the game, or we just don't play games.

New Playlists on SoundCloud

  In the near future, I'm going to be condensing some album material on Soundcloud. This will be extended mixes of the records opposed to individual tracks. This is partially due to space limitation on the site. Hopefully, this won't affect how much content is available on the site. However, the idea is to draw traffic to my Spotify page, where more of my catalog is available. Please stay tuned for updates in the near future. Thank you.

Racial Lineage and the Broken Concept (read or don't ask)

 I've done a lot of work over the last decade, and much of it has been about education. It annoys me to continue to slam into ignorance. One thing that recently disturbed me, is to have my own father call my work- stupid nonsense. I couldn't just excuse that with senility.  There is an undertone of ignorance there that I find disgusting. If you know me, you know I don't suffer ignorance. That is especially so when involving flesh and blood. It's one thing to have natural ignorance and be unaware of something. It is entirely another, to fight to stay ignorant, even violently so. Not only due to the fact that many of my complex pieces were dedicated to him, but just the simple fact that with base intellect, you can see that the work I do is anything but stupid nonsense. This is part of this world's current fight to champion ignorance and eliminate intellectualism.


  For years, even decades, I have put myself out there, like any true artist. I have been transparent all the time. Any topic, just about, that you could want to ask me about, I've elaborated on, at some point, in my work, including race and race relations. Yet, I find that presently, I'm getting questioning left and right about these same topics and my knowledge and stance on them. Bottom line, this is the last time. If you read then, very well. If you choose to ignore this, like you choose to do with every thing I say or do, just be blindsided by me ignoring you if you question me in person. I will not be engaging any questioning going forward that I discuss extensively in my works. I don't mean this, obviously for every single topic. But if I strongly present, or have presented an idea, and you claim to know and listen to me, yet have not heard anything of it, that's on you.

 Long ago, since I was a child, I've always been interested in lineage, genetics, and sociology to an extent. I remember researching a book on black indians in the library randomly in the library in 7th grade. I've always been fascinated by that kind of science. Another thing that always bothered me, is the ignorance of most blacks. Throughout history, that is the most marginalized race on the planet. And I don't mean just in discriminatory acts. What I also mean, is that blacks have been relegated to just a group of people who percolated in the center continent throughout history, completely isolated, and with straight-forward, simple lineage. And almost all blacks accept that. I've noticed that in black families, those who try to tie together answers about their true history, tend to be automatic black sheep, or laughing stocks. This goes right back to the championing of being ignorant of things.

  I've touched on these topics many times in the past in written and spoken form. There are varying degrees of what we as a society blanket as "black." I even wrote an article a while back on how flawed of a concept race itself is. Anyway, I did a DNA test almost 10 years ago, just to get an overview of at least part of my lineage. It started as something very minor in nature. I had always been curious as to the origin of the Mongolian spot birthmarks that myself and others are born with. I also noted how I would often see people who grew up in urban settings or in America in general, who  have features that denote other cultures. It always seemed like it was taboo to even think about looking into your roots as a black. You automatically get labeled as a "Tiger Woods." I never agreed with his criticism or that general ideology. Of course, I already know of many who probably would or did stop reading, to laugh at the sentence with Mongolian in it. I'll attach an article about that in this post. The point is beyond that though as it's more about regions than Mongolia the country. I'll elaborate more on race movement.

   Races started from a common source, in a common region at man's start. Post-flood, many variations began to develop and migrate to different parts of a changing globe. DNA tests, test the weighting of yDNA strands to develop what are called Haplo groups. The necessity then, is to build a base of knowledge and understanding of sociology and history. I was never a master of Global history, but I do have some intrigue towards it. What you have to understand is that when the sociology is taken into consideration, you can understand what people moved where, why, who didn't move much from certain regions, what people chose to mingle, and what people chose to only conquer. In Indonesia, China, and India, amongst many other Asian countries, you find people presenting black features mixed with asian features. This is seen in Europe and other countries as well. In some cases, it was a matter of Africans migrating, and in other cases, it was a matter of the other culture migrating. This occurred with different cultures for thousands of years. Some Indians may even have Chinese features, as well as vice versa, or even Mexican or South Americans. This happens sometimes, by a culture migrating, and then slightly receding, leaving only a trace of the introduced group. This also applies to blacks, primarily Africans. This leads me to something else.

   I was watching a show the other day, where a black american woman comes to tears about having low self-esteem and respect  during her childhood from other blacks, for looking like what they call "Africans."  That's another flawed concept that I will try to calmly address. African "blacks" are in all reality, without bias, the richer and more diverse by far of black cultures. The diversity and intermingling that I just discussed occurred through trade, conquest, or pilgrimage. The American blacks who try to stick their noses up at Africans are laughable. Who do you think was brought over in bondage as their forefathers. They were primarily unlettered field workers and farmers, from a few select regions, with similar roots. Then through slavery, you either were Geechied up and stayed the same in the south, or you had some interactions, mostly undesired with slave owners, leading to variations. If you call that stepping up above Africans, not only are you sad, but you're also extremely ignorant. And all Africans do not look alike or have the same customs. Get educated. The so-called lowly Africans that you left behind for slavery, were of higher and varying social classes, and cultured, having bartered with nations across the globe and innovated technology. In the process, there was a mutual mixing of races and cultures. The saddest case is modern times, where a more Westernized Africa allows wars and exploitation to rip it apart. But its history can be ignored, but never erased. Get that straight.

  Getting back to the topic, races and cultures moved over and over again. And with genetics, a common thing that I hear people say, is that when a trait is spotted in one race from another, that it's just a coincidence. That's also ignorant. Apart from pathological mutations, which are a completely different thing, features are handed down from ancestors, the same way genetic diseases are to offspring. Just because you don't dare to open that box, doesn't mean there's nothing inside. The study that a European man did on Mongolian spots was interesting. But also, his studies on genetics and contribution to the field are impressive. He lived hundreds of years ago, having moved to Japan and married a Japanese woman, and then having kids, noticed on his children as well as some of the other children in that, and surrounding regions bearing the mark. He continued to study it, and noticed patterns. When you look at the findings, it's very informative for more than one thing. It also shows you movement. The percentages and cultures that it spread to, show you a map of where people from that region migrated over time. Just like Native Americans and Indians have some common ancestors at a point in some cases, over time some of those Eastern Asians with the propensity to develop the mutated pigmentation, migrated to other regions, and then receded over time. Their genetic code is still there. In South Africa, there are some regions where the dialect has traces of the Asian cultures that migrated through there, as well as the people having vestiges of the features. You can cover over DNA, but like matter, you can't destroy it. So the Mongolian name my daughter bears is not about a country per say, bore moreso the tail-end of a genetic line, and a region of origin.

   I'm doing this test and research again, just to be more informed, and yes, to share it with my daughter when she is older. I'll update this page, maybe, when my results are in. This test should yield more than the last one. The last one only showed a map of my Paternal line. If you don't know, it's basically father's, father's, father's, father etc. So it's very limited. It did show a map of how his ancestors moved between Sicily, the Middle East, and Sudan, as well as South Africa. I'm hoping to get more info on my maternal lineage, because my mother presents an interesting foil. She does descent from slaves and has more of a Westernized lineage pattern,  so I'm curious to see the variations there. Anyways, until next time. Here is the article on Mongolian Spots.------------  \/

MultiRacial Lineage

New Jokatech Podcast Episode 21- The Whole Truth

Here is another update episode covering current events in life and sports and an analytic breakdown of matchups.

The Mascot Who Could- Uncharted: A Thief's End- Review

  There is something to be said about establishing a mascot for a console. Mario and Sonic did it effortlessly in the 80's and 90's, and everyone else spent decades chasing their heels. Sony had a large scale, and successful protagonist in Crash Bandicoot that still sees success in sales of remakes. And yet, he was never able to stand quite that tall. In the end, the staying power of the prospective game plays a big part. We all played Crash Bandicoot, and as much as everyone praises the classic nature of the series, we all know good and well that the game didn't offer nearly enough depth and staying power to be considered flagship worthy.

    The game I'm reviewing has really brought together and culminated a series in a way that has eked out its own niche. Uncharted is a series that I was reluctant to get into for years. It first launched in 2007 with Drake's Fortune, and had several titles over the years on Sony's last 2 big consoles. I entered the series with my purchase of Golden Abyss for the PS Vita. I still believe that was a good entry point. My criticism of Uncharted in the past, was what I assumed was a lack or replayability. Yeah, you played a gorgeous looking title, but it seemed to be on rails, and very predictable from what I saw. It gained a huge following over the years, and Golden Abyss opened my eyes a bit. When I played the game, I was floored by how detailed and captivating the game was. While it was a funneled action adventure in some aspects, I immediately could see myself playing the game again, when I saw how involved and detailed each aspect of it was.

    Uncharted is the story of Nathan Drake, who is a very knowledgeable explorer and excavator or sorts. He travels the world with a few friends, such as Sully, who is his navigator of sorts. The uncover secret ruins and artifacts, usually at the risk of their lives from natural perils, or villainous ones. He meets different people on his journey, and his wife, who for some reason has a different last name, accompanies him. Actually, he doesn't really have a name anyway. He was an orphan, and created his name from a book alluding to fortunes that he and his brother discovered before running away. The last game, which is this one- A Thief's End, ties all of that together, which was very good.

    In this last chapter, Nate is living a normal life working for an excavation company, diving into deep waters to recover wrecks and ruins. He lives at home, with his memorabilia tucked away from his previous adventures, reminiscing in his attic at times. His brother, Sam, who he thought died when then were children being chased from a mansion, is actually in prison with a man named Salazar, who breaks him out and demands he find a treasure of Captain Avery's, which is hidden somewhere in Madagascar. There ends up being a sick twist to that whole story. But in the end, a former partner of Sam's and Nathans- Rafe, ends up on the trail for the treasure, and the lives of both of them. He proves to be a troublesome, and sick adversary, who is dangerous until the very end of the game. It is his army, in coalition with a female soldier, who attack and threaten Nate and Sam, as they reunited and seek the treasure together.

    You do a lot of platforming in this game, and puzzle solving at times to get through secret caves and ruins. At random and often times, you encounter combat scenes with shoot outs. One thing about this game, is that they don't really have a sense of balance when it comes to that. In both Uncharted games I played, each gun fight in the later stages of the game, is basically you and perhaps 1 other person against a literal army. You will be floored by the amount of enemies they expect you to beat single handedly. And in A Thief's End, you encounter enemies with armor and advanced explosives. In fact, they often seem to surround you instantly, and possess superhuman awareness. I would be picking off perimeter enemies and retreat to the only corner I could find, to see myself rained down upon from all sides by enemies I couldn't see on often occasion. It felt like the shots were coming from heaven.

   And the realism is one-sided in combat. When you apply accurate shots to enemies trying to conserve ammo, I've had them survive kill shots, or point-blank explosions, right in my face to then surround me. Because the thing about this game's combat scenarios, is that you have to be quick in thinning the numbers. When you have 30 elite soldiers coming at you, and a few of them survive 3 direct grenades, you've lost ground and ammo.

  The game has a wide assortment of handguns, shotguns, AR's, Snipers, and Rocket Launchers, and grenades on deck. Your health replenishes with time, but there are no health items. You use the old cover system from so many other games, to tackle units. You have melee sequences that you can initiate with most enemies, along with a counter system that you battle with, in order to disarm them or defend. It's pretty quick and efficient.

   Graphically, this series is special. It has always utilized state of the art graphics, and provided a controllable cinematic experience to the player. That was the objective. As you explore, you go to different locales and settings indoor and outdoor, and the level of detail is like real life. In the beginning and end of the game, you are in Nate's house, waiting to go to the next events, and I couldn't help go through each of the bedrooms and bathrooms, interacting with items, and taking in how life-like it was, down to the sunlight coming in through the windows. When traveling in vehicles during your travels, it's the same. The outdoor settings of Madagascar, Europe and Asian countries was breathtaking. Standing on the hills in Italy and looking out over the mountains was amazing. And when the game slowed down, you just felt like spending time enjoying the layout of a rich mansion, or the bustling streets of a country's market. And the game does a good job encouraging that. You have a treasure system, where random treasures are scattered throughout nooks of the game, according to region. So you don''t really feel like you are on rails. You can wander off to side roads, and marshes and sections of mountain ranges, and ruins, and abandoned cities. In little corners, you will find these treasures, which serve as unlockables.


    The sound was excellent. The soundtrack was gripping and well done, while not super melodical. I enjoyed the life-like banter and reactions of the characters. The humor was well done, and kept the game light, which saves it from a broken CD at times. The game will go from quite an serene, to loud and dangerous at time, when fights break out. You can also have side conversations at times, with dialogue that expounds on the story. Audio has the proper distortion when diving under water, and really feels isolated. During rainy sequences, the storm audio is realistic and panoramic.


  All in all, the games in this series are long. They tend to be 22 chapters on average, from what I've seen. This one had a prologue and epilogue, which took some of the play time up. It's such a grand experience, that you won't have a problem playing it again. It seemed as if it marked an end to the life of Nate Drake, but that is resolved at the end. He does get to resume a family life, and it was good to see that wind down. I honestly wouldn't have minded the game being twice as long, as I look back now. But the gun fights will have you crying for the finish. Not only did those seem impossible at times, but the final fight with Rafe, was a bit psychotic. He really was a raved out lunatic. I enjoyed putting him down. It was annoying that he was allowed so much quarter in the first place, as dangerous as he is. In the end, he turns on and loses his love interest and partner in the solder girl, and you take out his army, leaving him and you to fight it out. I had no idea he was a master swordsman. It was difficult, memorable, and epic. This is how Nate makes his case for being the mascot. I definitely believe in him now.    My score is a fortuitous:  9/10

Jokatech Album Review: Standing on the Corner: The Unborn Soundscapes

New Album Review
http://thearkofmusic.com/jokatech/

A Pinnacle- Dragon Ball Super Review (spoilers!!!)

Okay, so after sticking it out, I'm going to get into an anime I had mixed feelings about from the start. And I couldn't get a good read on what to really expect, because people that saw this anime aren't super enthusiasts, or very observant. I knew, towards the end of the series, that I was going to write this. This is my review and reflection of the last series in the Dragon Ball saga- Dragon Ball Super.

 At this point, there is a huge video game out now starring much of the cast from the show and series, with perfect timing, as Super really is a grand tour of the entire story. Believe it or not, the word story is the biggest part of why this is being written. I know, the first thing that comes to your mind is the disbelief that story and Dragon Ball mix, but that isn't really correct. The thing about Dragon Ball that always attracted me, was that it is a pure story of not only growth, but martial arts. And it is also centered around principles of friendship. Most so-called fans know nothing about that, because for years, they were caught up in the plot line of the protagonists getting stronger to encounter the next threat.

 Let's break down the blocks from the beginning. In the beginning, Dragon Ball is the Japanese iteration of the Superman story. It is the story of a boy named Son Goku, who is raised by Gohan, after falling to earth in a space pod as a boy. Having a tail, he is unusual, and prone to transform into a large ape, capable of great destruction. His loving guardian raises him like a father, and never alerts him to the state of being an alien. Unfortunately, on a full moon, he transforms into the ape and accidentally kills his father, totally unaware when he awakens. He is taken under the tutelage of a sensei Master Roshi, who trains him in the style of Kamesenin. His tail is also cut to avoid further occurances. He masters the trademark Kamehameha wave, and goes on a journey, meeting friends along the way, who start as adversaries.

  It isn't until later, as an adult with a son who he named after his deceased father, that he encounters lost members of his alien race, who alert him to his origins. One threat after another happens, and Goku continues to grow, and become a protector of his friends, and against his admission, the earth. He's a simple character, who's pure of heart, but when pushed to his limits and in real danger, his passion for self-improvement, and the protection of justice come out, making him a very magnetic person. I feel like that is very important to balance in an anime. But also, like Superman, while certain villains are memorable, the series never had a truly deep antagonist. Along the story, you have an android named Cell, who proves formidable and takes over to a degree before being beaten by Gohan, and you also have Frieza, who continues to be a formidable villain who pushes Goku to his limits. But you never had a truly compelling enemy, who you could sympathize with to a degree.

  In all honestly, the Cell and Frieza sagas were amazing, but the anime, while iconic, especially from a martial artist perspective, never lived up to being the great story that it could be. When I heard about the new series, at first I thought it was a retelling of events, or a spin-off. But when I heard it was a continuation, I was intrigued. I wanted to see if the producers would take it to the next level, and they did. But, as I'll explain, it wasn't without sabotage.

  As the new series starts, a god of destruction named Beerus, is awakening from a long sleep, looking for a planet to destroy. His power is on a completely different realm than the mortal beings that have been in the series. He isn't completely sinister, but he does eventually set his eyes on earth. He and Goku meet at some point, and they do battle over the fate of the planet. Goku's protective side comes out in that fight, as his is pushed beyond his limits and eventually to his knees, pleading with his last strength for Beerus to spare the planet. Goku normally has an innocent arrogance to him, as much like Superman, he rises above all of his enemies throughout the series, and for the most part, expects to from the outset. I've never been fond of that in anime, but the exceptional ones have a way of bringing that full circle. Beerus pretends to fight Goku to a standstill in the end, and spares them due to a hidden fondness for Goku's nature.

  Eventually a whole world of dieties unveils, with heirarchies etc. I wasn't fond of that in the first place, with the trivial nature of it all, but especially with certain things. After a while a tournament takes place with a parallel universe of earth's. Beerus' brother is the god of destruction in that universe, and they put their best warriors against each other. Goku makes a rival/friend in a character named Hit, who defeats him in the tournament. They eventually find out that a total of 12 universes exist, and are controlled by a supreme creator- Zen O Sama. Zen O Sama is depicted as an ignorant, and aloof child, who has no sense and does everything at a whim, totally unaware of anything, and needing to be constantly taught and told what's going on. That stupid depiction was annoying, and the producers' way of going as far as they could to undermine the creator. That was totally stupid and unnecessary. He was also such an annoying character that I almost stopped watching due to him.

  Goku requests an ultimate tournament when he hears there are other universes, and Zen O Sama agrees, with the surprise conditions that all the universes that lose will be erased. Goku is hated among the universes and called evil when they discover what he has caused. Among the universes, Earth is considered one of the weakest, but I was eager to see how the tournament would play out.

  The ultimate villain is what had me intrigued. His name was Jiren. From the moment they introduced him, I announced him the savior of the anime. He shows so much unbridled power, and mysteriousness, that I wanted to see his story unfold. The tournament was given a time limit, and flight was prohibited. I like that, because it was the series' way of going back to the pure Dragon Ball martial arts roots, which I didn't expect. The tournament itself went on until the end of the series, which was 131 episodes total. The tournament starts around episode 70. It was cool to see different sides to Android 17, who was a reformed villain working as a wildlife conservationist, and Krillin, who was a family man and police officer, who secretly missed being able to keep up with Goku. There was a lot of emotion and maturity in this series which I expected and appreciated. It was like watched fun-loving and promising kids grow into adulthood with all of their potential realized.

  The selected 10 people to represent each universe, and Frieza was brought back, to everyone's dismay. Sadly, you never get to see a more passionate side of Frieza. As the tournament went on, Universe 11 became clearly the universe that would be there in the end. Jiren and his comrades were a justice force on their planet, and each had touching stories of justice in their past. His right hand man- Toppa, was the leader of sorts, and extremely powerful. When the tournament reached the end, it was only Toppa and Jiren left to represent Universe 11 against Universe 7's Goku, Vegeta, Frieze, and Android 17. You hear a bit of Jiren's story of seeing injustice as a child, and experiencing great loss that he vowed to erase with achieving strength. But the control and untouchable nature of his character was truly admirable and captivating. I love when villains like that are done well. In the end, even though Goku taps into cosmic power, unlike previous villains in the series, Jiren doesn't crumble. You also don't see Vegeta take the usual backseat to Goku like in every other series. He is there each time when Goku ascends. And he takes on Jiren in impressive fashion during the fight, even outdoing Goku in certain rounds, which was refreshing to see. I loved seeing them break away from the format, and aim to be memorable. However, the disappointment came in the last couple of episodes.


 Jiren was amazing, and he seemed to have a huge amount of layers to him. This was Funimation's chance to cap off a series with an elevating explosion that would have easily put Dragon Ball Super in the top 3 animes of all time, when quality is considered. Everyone lauds it for the household name it achieved over a few decades, but no anime buffs consider Dragon Ball a serious and riveting series, which I always felt is a travesty considering its subject matter. But with the amazing boost in animation quality, and the emotional explosion of this series, I felt like they were poised to change all of that. Jiren was that chance. I thought he was going to truly unveil a different side to a villain this time,  and be more of an anti-hero who revealed his motives at the end and refused to lose. Instead, at the very end, they reduce him to a whining and impulsive snob, who wildly kneels before an ascended Goku, who masters a technique called Ultra Instinct. In the end, Jiren is pushed to his limits, after fighting all 4 of them at one, by Goku alone. I wouldn't have minded if they fought to a stand still, but to see him so quickly crumble and quiver before Goku just like every other villain, was the height of disappointment. My heart really sank at that point. Such a deep character never goes beyond just an angry kid who watched his loved ones killed and vows to get strong, shunning friendship. Goku's argument was that friendship is needed, and got him to the point he reached. You even get to see that side from Vegeta which was touching. But I expected more from Jiren.


  I really was expecting the universes to be saved with a wish by the tournament's winner, but I expected it to come down to a draw between Goku and Jiren in the end. Oddly, after subduing Jiren, Goku's body goes into convulsions and he falls, with Frieza rising. After Goku recovers a bit, they team up on Jiren and drag him off the stage, leaving Android 17 standing alone as the winner. If that was the intention, why emasculate Jiren the way they did earlier, after building such an awesome and inspiring character? Two of my favorite anime are Rourouni Kenshin and Baki the Grappler. Both of those anime hold so much symbolism and depth in the stories. In each of them, you have an enigma of an antagonist, who you grow to understand. And moreso, they stand for something. When that happens, you have to be careful how you resolve the plot. In Black Panther, the villain wasn't beaten into submission and dismissed. He refused to yield, and clearly defined and discussed why, making his point before his exit. In Rouroni Kenshin, the villain wants a utopia, and was once a noble sodier, who sought to rip the government from corrupt hands and mold an ideal society. He never yields. In fact, he is only defeated by his own health condition. In Baki the Grappler, the villain teaches the importance of strength and awareness of danger in the world. He is never defeated. In fact, the hero manages to fight him to a draw at the very end of the entire manga, before he disappears into the distance. All of these scenarios aren't just mindless. There is a point to their ends. It establishes the ideals that they campaigned during the respective series. In Jiren's case, he represented self-reliance, and determination to gain strength to avert future loss and pain. That could have been expounded upon, and for someone so deep, to be unraveled so quickly and so simply, just felt sloppy. It ruins the point of the argument. After the universes are brought back, he is just one of the many faces of determined rivals who resume their chase of ultimate power.

  Dragon Ball Super had a chance, and was within a few strokes of capping off a truly transcendent masterpiece. For some reason unknown to me, at the home stretch, they decided that they wanted to end they way they always have. I can't say whether that's overall bad or good, but it was definitely short of what it could have been.

Good Products and Fun Times

This is a new Bonus Video showcasing my tumultuous time playing through Online matches and Survival Mode of SFV- Arcade Edition. There is also a music track here that I did playing around with my new Yamaha RX15. I'm getting used to it, and it definitely holds a place in history, with sounds that cannot be reproduced completely, which makes it special.

As a side note, please be aware that the ads you see in my posts are no spam. You know that I hate that stuff. As an artist, I am affiliated with Amazon, which is a great place to shop. Therefore, I post products that I personally buy, use and swear by. Please don't hesitate to check them out. The links are for direct reference from my page as promotion from my site, so if you see a reference, which is usually topic specific, that you like, click here.

ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A PRODUCT THAT I USE EXTENSIVELY. THE DRUMS ON MY LAST FEW ALBUMS ARE FACILITATED BY THIS EXCELLENT MACHINE, WHICH IS ALSO GOOD FOR LEARNING MECHANICS ON THE GO!

Jokatech Podcast: Episode 20- Be Complete

This is the latest podcast episode on sports and art. There is a link below to the video, as well as some good equipment to keep you ahead of the game. If you want reflexes like your boy Jokatech or P4P champ Vasyl Lomachenko, you need a reflex ball in your corner. You already know it's on deck.

Street Fighter 5- My Beatings Continue.

 Okay, so I'm still oddly in a love hate relationship with Street Fighter 5. With the latest updates, we now have a character named Falke to contend with. I did an episode recently chronicling my runs through survival mode on hard, which I have suggested to many youtubers to do on their channels. No one has dared to take the challenge yet. The thing about SFV Survival Mode, is that it actually does improve your skills in the game. Those skills just don't translate to that mode. I showcased this lovely controller here-----> in my playthrough. It is a game changer. I really did see an improvement in control, and execution. And oddly enough, it's one of the more low end pads. This is a great pad to use for any fighter out there. You need to cop this as a go to weapon.

Here is the video of my beatings. And a video of online beatings I've administered. Check out the pad below.

 These are 2 new art pieces, which may be concept art for the upcoming album, "The Unborn."

A Sidestep for Clarity- An Essay

 I've been working on a lot of things lately, and have much to reveal in the future, but there is something that has been nagging at my mind recently that I have to cover here. I just find it very odd to observe the way people interact with facts, truth, and their own mind and shortcomings. Every last person on this planet is imperfect.

 What's interesting to me is that, the new mentality of society today, which is supposed to be "progressive", is to question all that is. Which is fine. Perfectly fine and appropriate, if that were the actual case. But the funny thing about that, is that all of those who claim, and think themselves to be doing that, really aren't. I've had the opportunity to share scriptural thoughts and topics with a few associates in the recent past, and have gotten different responses and reactions. A few have been curious to look into truth itself. One or two others have reacted extremely volatile. Sometimes the volatility is indirect, where they will have disdain for me and comment about such feelings to friends. In the end, lets analyze what I did.

 Let's paint a scenario. You have 3 friends who live in a neighborhood. They hang out, get into trouble together, etc. There's a market that's in the center of town, that they all shop at for years. One day, one of the friends finds out that as good as the products seemed coming out of the market, they are actually laced with poisons. Another friend also finds out the same thing. The third, hasn't heard about it yet at all. The first friend just continues to take the third one to the market when he goes. The second friend, when he sees the third tells him about what he learned, and agrees that it sucks, but it's the truth. Which friend is a friend, and which is not? The sad thing, is that today, that is actually not only up for debate, but turned completely inside out. "Are you religious?" That's such a funny phrase that has become like a metal detector device in today's world. And with it's connotation and colloquial meaning, when analyzing me you would have to say no. You see, today, it has come to mean fanatical in a negative way. That isn't the behavior a believer would exhibit, despite what you've heard, and it isn't the way prophets of old behaved.

  Notice in the scenario I just used, the malicious friend is actually the one that learned the situation first, and that he and the second friend both knew it. This is to make it abundantly clear that this is not to be misconstrued as a pushing of conjecture, or baseless facts.

  Some of the people I shared information with, attribute their change in attitude towards me as "discovering how I think." I laugh at that. If you know me in the slightest, I'm far from a zealot, and I'm very transparent. People think that for you to be a truth seeker, and someone who adheres to the truth in the scriptures, you can't be a straight talker, or approachable and realistic. Try reading about the apostle Paul. Truth is truth. It doesn't exist only in the bible. It's also the bible's legal representation. It's a fact of life. If the bible says you're going to grow old an die, how am I a zealot who crazily clings to that as my little truth, when you're dying right now, even  not believing that? In the example that I mentioned earlier, does it make sense that the third friend hate the second, and accuse him of pushing his ideals on him? What does the second friend have to do with a store maliciously choosing to sell bad products? The problem, is that people are caught up in inaccurate word association, and negative experiences with people who claim to be religious.

  In the beginning of this blog, I mentioned those, meaning most people today, who think they question all things established. But I'm going to give you a mirror check right now. And this includes myself, and everyone I've spoken to. What is your routine? What do you practice? Those 2 questions can go very deep, and in reality we all have layers to work on. But the point is about recognition. A lot of times, people get defensive when you bring something to their attention. But who does that hurt. In my example, who does the third friend hurt, by shunning the second one for his warning, and going with the first one? If I bring out a scriptural truth about world conditions, and prophecies that foretold it, some give me a weird look, like I'm delusional, even if and when, they allow me to show them a correlation. I wasn't born knowing what I know. And if you know me at all, I've never been a simple "tell me" guy. So it's stupid to attribute that to facts that I share. I'm one of, if not the biggest cynic at times. And that's facts. Yet, each month and year, when do you ever question why you observe the celebrations that you do? Why do you say "bless you" after someone sneezes, or tatoo and deck yourself out in various symbols? Where do theses symbols actually come from? What does the bible say? What is truth? These are questions that most won't dare ask, yet they consider themselves inquisitive. If you truly are, question all of those things, and engage facts as they are presented. Otherwise, you can't call yourself intellectual. You amount to someone who is truly controlled, and scared of having your conditioned delusions rattled.

  One thing about me you must know, is I'm not dogmatic. I'm a person of honesty and direct information. I'm not going to share anything with you as a voice-piece or a drone. If you can look at my career and life story and even think drone, there are more mental problems at hand that need to be tackled first. What many people don't know, is that many of your precious iconic "worldly" thinkers, like Einstein and Darwin, knelt to the factual truths in the bible, including those about creation, agreeing with them on the record. Because as realists, and factualists (new word), they had to. What separates them from people today, is that today, you have an abundance of non-intellectuals, who are more concerned about staying with the flow and the pack, regardless of where it's going. I've been a person who questions every single thing at every turn in life. What gravitates me in general, is when I see consistent facts proven and stability of concept. Part of maturity, is learning to focus on that, and push aside agendas and butt-hurt feelings about one person or another. If my faith in truth itself, was controlled by mortal people that surrounded me, or specific ones that I've come in contact with, I'd be in a whole other, horrible place. That doesn't define me.

  It's very upsetting that people who have conversed with me at length, could be capable of painting me as some kind of wide-eyed zealot, who is narrow minded and dogmatic, simply because they feel pressured by information that they feel I know. I don't own truth. If I was an oncologist, who understood some of the early signs of cancer, and we happened to be friends, why the heck would you grow to despise me and question my motives, when I list some early signs in a casual conversation, and you go home and examine yourself and realize you exhibit some. That is the most backwards way of thinking. I wouldn't even know if you had or hadn't. I really hope some of those who I have in mind, do somehow get around to reading this in some form, because I mean it with love. I have no animosity, but I also understand that pride is something that can tend to be a noose for people. It can take a long time, and ripping through countless layers, before we sit in our room one day years later, looking at the wall, and say, "You know what; that was a true."

  No one is reinvented overnight. I am far from perfect. When ever someone levels with you like I'm doing right here, the first natural reflex is to thing they are an arrogant, delusional perfectionist. But go back and read this again, and try to find where I was out of line, or off, and please let me know. Sharing information is how people grow. I had a discussion about teachers with a few friends a while ago, and I remember mentioning that a teacher's foundation is facts. Traditionally, you don't become a teacher of anything, until you have removed doubt about what you know. And why is that? Because you aren't doing anyone's kids or any student any good, by guessing along a curriculum to pass on knowledge to them. If they fail, you would be painted as malicious. Just like, if I called myself your friend, but didn't tell you that someone is looking for you to harm you right now, you would not consider me an actual friend. Even though we all say, "Of course," to these examples I listed, you'd be surprised how people contradict them on a constant basis.

   And to take it even deeper, I don't have to be your friend. I could mean you harm, and guess what, facts remain where they are. I was training in my profession years ago, and my instructor was a very arrogant person who didn't want to train me or anyone. He was immensely knowledgeable. I went to my administrators seeking to leave training to rid myself of the poor evaluations I was receiving and the atmosphere. My administrator pulled me aside, and told me words I'll never forget, "Don't forget. No one can take knowledge from you. So get it while you can, and forget everything else." He made it clear that regardless of how my instructor was towards me, he was giving me a great gift. If I'm telling you something that you weren't aware of, and you come to see it's of benefit to you, but unfamiliar to you personally, don't even bother reassessing how much of a friend I am based on how you like the information. Just analyze and look into whatever benefit it can server towards you.

  Truth is one thing. People tell themselves that it's a matter of perspective. The only thing you can manipulate is how much you benefit or not from truth. Many say, "I don't want to listen to what this person of that person says. I'm my own person." That's correct. Truth has nothing to do with what a person says. It has to do with what is actual fact. Do you think it cares about how much you do or don't approve of where you discovered it from? It all comes down to how we analyze ourselves in the mirror. Yeah, I look in the mirror, and I want to tell myself I'm not jaded and gullible and I make my own decision. But how much am I blindly allowing myself to follow and be decided for me, completely contrary to my assumed nature, simply because I like and feel familiar with others who are doing that. If you tell me something today that sounds completely new to me, but I can't find anything inaccurate about it, yet it makes me uncomfortable; you know what- I'm going to find out about it, and verify it. I'm a fitness person. I've been doing it for almost 20 years now, at a high level. When someone comes along with a workout or nutritional tip that I haven't used or heard of, I may naturally tense up, not wanting to change or be "taught" by someone. But in the end, if it is new and beneficial information, I'd be childish and ignorant to not bother confirming it and growing from it, stuck in an offended state because of how uncomfortable it made me.

PLEASE READ THIS AND GROW

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition- Unnecessary Balrog Nerf

  I've been watching a lot of videos on youtube and hearing about the buffs and nerfs in the new Arcade Edition, and after playing a considerable amount of time of the release, I can confirm some of my worst fears. For some unknown reason, my main character Balrog has been nerfed so badly, that any player from mediocre to expert, can easily frame trap and toy with him at will.

 I've included a video of a runthrough in Survival mode. I am far better as a player, than I was when I set my current record in Survival with Balrog, which is 39 wins. I now find that in the mid 30's of that mode, the frame traps become exploited. In online matches, if the player is aware of these traps, they can literally interrupt my every attack and rush me down in the corner.

 What I don't understand at all, is the celebration that is going on, in light of these nerfs. Online, I keep hearing frame data about Balrog from players and foes alike, that swear that his damage output makes up for his shortcomings. Balrog's damage is all tied to his V-Trigger combos, and Ex Combos off of counters or risky jump-ins. Every character in the game besides Balrog, has several quick or target combos that the can modify into Ex for big damage, confirming them off of a high or low jab. Balrog has not a single one. And I don't want to hear the crap about his one target combo, which does no damage at all, because the range and startup on it eliminates any use as a damaging tool. I often confirm into it by using his Rekka to overhead as a meaty, and even that is not guaranteed.

  And these are all issues that existed with Balrog before Arcade Edition. Now, with the buffs on characters like Nash and Bison, his problems have been exasperated. I am beginning to despise the game. I'm being bullied off of my character. Everyone cries about how unfair and overpowered Balrog is, with all of these freaking disadvantages, and it looks like trolling. What I don't get, is who the heck are you all trying to stick it to. I've played only 3 Balrogs in 1000 online matches. 3 Freaking Balrogs!!! Smug and PR Balrog are the only well known Pro-Players who use him. Check the leaderboards! Count how many Balrogs you see in the top 100. And I'm also a better Balrog than every Balrog I've faced, so high level users of him are few and far inbetween. And the reason you see so few Balrogs, is specifically due to the disadvantages I've listed. He has horrible range and startup with his jab and almost all of his normals besides his crouching medium. When getting rushed down, his only option is to try to insert a crouching jab to light dash straight. His block stun is nonexistent on offense, so you can't pressure someone unless they freaking let you. I don't get any of these advantages that people see. I've used him for a while, and the reason I like him is the fluidity of his mixup game. But none of that is enough to be comfortable with, dealing with his frame issues.

  Balrog has a new V Trigger as his only addition. It's called B3, and it's range is horrible. The only redemption is that it is cheap and only has 2 bars of V meter. And this brings me to another issue that I've had all along. When they make balance changes to a game, you are prisoner to them. If they break a game, you have no choice but to have the update installed. In fact, most of them install automatically when loading the software. When will this become an issue for the average consumer? Just imagine if you bought a game for its story mode, and the company decided to get rid of it in an update. You just lost the value of your purchase, and there is nothing you can do, because you either accept the changes, or forfeit the use of the software. That issue has to be petitioned.


   If I meet someone in person who talks that Balrog crap, I will probably uppercut them from this point on. I feel like people just wanted to troll and screw Balrog players, just from watching the 1 or 2 pros who use them do well in tournaments. Here's the video. Notice 2 things. If you have a pixel of health, you can withstand 2 or more combos from Balrog, and have opportunities for a comeback. And also, he builds up stun meter at a ridiculously slow rate. He can wail into a fool for a long time before they get stunned.

What a Huge Universe- Mass Effect: Andromeda- Review

  It really is an honor to finally have completed what is my favorite game series of all time. My top three favorite gaming series of all time are Fire Emblem, Shenmue, and Mass Effect. Mass Effect has stood as my number one for quite some time, because of the theme of it. I've always been enamored by space travel across the universe/galaxy, ie Star Wars, Star Trek, and other series. I love the concept of a fleshed out universe that is completely original, with wild life, different races, and ecosystems to learn about.

  I've played the series since the very beginning on Xbox 360. I recall immediately being thrown back by the combat system. It controlled similar to Halo, which was a game I was still playing heavily at the time. From the description of the game, I was at first a bit disappointed in that, because I wanted more RPG elements. As I got used to it, I grew to like it. There is a weapon wheel that you can bring up to switch weapons in the game. It pauses the action in combat. Your characters have powers known as biotics, which are genetic mutations that allow them to manipulate mass effect fields. They can use this to levitate, throw enemies, create barriers, and launch projectiles. You can enhance all of these abilities as your character's level increases, allowing you to also modify the abilities. With weapons, you have assault rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns and handguns. I find that in Andromeda, there was more viability across the board. I actually used my handgun at times, although it was still borderline useless. As you gain control and command with the alliance, you gain the ability to release people from Cryo stasis. Your twin sister is released, but remained in a stable coma for much of the game. I really liked how you continued to visit and try to communicate with her. Eventually, she has her turn to awaken and take action. You can also deploy unfrozen members on research, commerce and military assignments, utilizing a point system that you build with discovery across the galaxy. Every piece of equipment, weaponry, and wildlife and ores that you discover in each nook of the enormous galaxy means something, as they can all be utilized to research and develop not only alliance equipment, but equipment based on Kett and Remnant technology. And the weapons can be customized and modded through creation, and named. It felt really cool to develop a Krogan Hammer, or Kett Shotgun with my own specs and name it after all of my hard work in research and development. And there are storylines behind even cryo pods. There was one key scientist that was awaiting release from cryo, with a huge story. I found myself going to Podromos on Eos, just to look for her and follow up.

  I'll get back to the control system, but first I wanted to lay the groundwork of the overall story. From the beginning of Mass Effect, there was an Alliance of many of the Milky Way races that was controlled from a Citadel. There they have a counsel made up of all representatives of the races. Commander Shepard is put in charge of the Alliance's interests, but from the beginning of the game series, faces very divisive decisions. There is a man known as The Illusive Man, who controls a faction known as Cerberus. This organization moves in the dark, and while not completely sinister, they claim to have humanity's interest as priority, and will choose to defy the Counsel at times. I've noticed that Cerberus is a name used for organizations like that in every game and movie; it seems, like some underlying meaning. In the first Mass Effect games, your decisions literally divided the galaxy, and you met alien races known as Reapers and also Geth. The technology that the
geth founded, were being used by the Reaper. A Reaper known as Sovereign is left behind, and while it overwhelms Shepard at first, he begins to be able to interface with it. Wars ensue, and after literally dying, Shepard is brought back cybornetically, after the initial battle to continue working from the shadows for Cerberus in the second game. Along the way, you make many allies, and even face decisions to end relationships.

 I was playing Halo 2 at the time that I played Mass Effect 1. The first Mass Effect game took me only 17 hours. That was somewhat disappointing, because it felt like an action game, packaged as an RPG. And I really did look for additional content. It was just such a limited, yet ambitious game. Mass Effect, as a series, has always been about several objectives, and exploring a galaxy. However, in the first game, if I recall correctly, you only landed on a few planets, and when you did, it was directly into a mission within a very small facility, or map. You had a vehicle that you could use to navigate on land known as the M35 Mako. I really liked traveling around in that vehicle, but you didn't do it extensively. In the second game, they removed travel in the Mako. Your team was just conveniently transported to any important locations upon mission activation. The trade off, was that you explored more planets. Many of these planets could just be mined from outer space, and researched. I appreciated the wider area however. One thing that is consistent, is how detailed the history and specs are for each planet that you travel to. I enjoyed spending hours, just flying around clusters and systems within the galaxy, looking at history and information on gravity, vegetation, and orbital cycles of the various planets, as well as mining them for potential ores. This is something that is perfected in the final game Andromeda, which I will get into.

  All 3 of the initial Mass Effect games complete the war against the Reapers, and has a satisfying ending. I clock all of them to total about 60 hours. I often remarked that you have to play them together to get a fully satisfying experience, as they seem to compliment each other's faults. In my opinion, the biggets issue with that is the length. Games like that should all be over 60 hours individually. Yet, I was still in love with what the game was.

  The final game takes place 600 years after the events of the first games. After using Reaper technology to access a Mass Effect Relay to the Andromeda Galaxy, all alliance races undergo cryo-stasis, and embark on a trip. When they arrive there, they have about 7 worlds known as golden worlds, initially mapped for habitation. Things are thrown for a loop when they encounter a negative and destructive energy that has enveloped several clusters just prior to their arrival. This has ruined many planets, including the golden world to a degree. You find much later on, that there was a purpose behind this energy, which is known as the Scourge. The initial attack of the Scourge wipes out several of the traveling ships, killing many, including the leader of the Andromeda initial- Commander Garrison. She never gets to learn about her own venture. Your ship survives, and few of the other ships that arrived before you, are shrouded in mystery. The initial settlement, you find was also destroyed by the Scourge. Your father is known as Pathfinder. These are leaders of Initiative outpost exploration and settlement for the different races of the Alliance. Before you and your team even arrive, there was a huge uprising at the Alliance base, where the race known as Krogans left, due to disrespect from the Alliance, and settled on another world. Several humans also defected to numerous planets.

  The alliance races are Turians, Salarians, Asari, Krogan, and Humans. Krogans fought to reestablish order in the wake of the uprising, and thought they should be given more say in Alliance affairs. When they weren't, they abandoned the Alliance. A bigger issue in the galaxy, are the Kett. These are a sinister race of aliens, who capture and assimilate other races to add to their ranks, and try to uncover the technology of an indigenous race of computer like creatures know as Remnant. I know, that sounds very similar to the initial case in the beginning games. They seek to find a powerful relic known as Meridian. The location, and tangibility of this is relatively unknown for much of the game, as well as exactly what it does, but the leader of Kett, known as the Archon, uses the protagonist Commander Ryder, to find more info, but following you to the Remnant sites. Your father, Alec Ryder was a spearheader of VI technology known as SAM. VI unlike AI, have the ability to adapt and learn. You find later that he was backed by a mysterious benefactor, but the Alliance rejected that project, so he had to continue in secrecy. Your mother was dying of cancer, that you find much later on, was due to the exposure to mass relays in her Alliance work. Using SAM, which connects via an implant to the hosts consciousness, he was able to extend her life for a while.

  When you and your team land on the first golden world in Andromeda, you find the Scourge has taken over, as the world's atmosphere is collapsing during exploration, your father has to replace your cracked helmet with his during extraction, after a battle with Kett commanders on a Remnant site. You rescue a few humans who are scattered during the crash, but he doesn't make it. You watch him wield same during the fighting, and it is amazing, how same can modify and amplify your abilities. In death, he transfers control of SAM over to you, and you become his replacement, leaving so many questions.  You embark on a race across the galaxy, to defeat the Kett, and bring peace to different civilizations, including the Angara, who are native to the galaxy. This helps you to win some of their trust.

   That is the overall gist of a very deep plot. Along the way, you find many rebellious fighters, or just settlers who were discontent with Alliance conditions, with so many storylines across the galaxy. There was one mission, where a woman with a serious and contagious illness, was released from Cryo, and escaped via pod into space, pursuing a relative. You had to track her down, to contain any spread of disease, while not alarming the Alliance citizens on the Hyperion, and throughout the galaxy. You find several worlds that were golden worlds, were actually being made hostile through the Remnant technology due to Kett involvement. Since you have the SAM implant, unique to all others, you have an ability to interact with the Remnant sites, and reverse the effects on the atmosphere, making several of these worlds, golden once again. It is a long fight, against the Kett in many initial cases, and also the protective Remnant, who you grow to understand more during the game.

  I really was blown away by the gorgeous graphics, textures, lighting, and scenery. This was not a typical dark game, where it is always night. However, I would have appreciated daytime changes. You never get night to day or vice versa, and that felt a bit out of place. You do experience different setting however, and this is truly an ambitious title. From what I was told, upon release, the game was loaded with bugs and issues that made it unplayable, resulting in bad reviews. I believe this is due to the scope. Mass Effect Andromeda embodies everything that the game was meant to be. It is truly massive, and takes advantage of current gen technology. Your ability to explore and find things blows away the first 3 games. I literally spent dozens of hours, just combing through the galaxy, finding quests and going across worlds. Similar to the first games, you can now travel on land in a vehicle, the Nova, and now you can upgrade it's ability to move and its shields. The maps are huge. Each world that you land on, is a literal world. You can get lost on these worlds and there are endless inhabitants, settlements, ruins, and bases that you will find, each with ores, undiscovered information, clues about lost or slain colonists, and datapads with information and messages that lost colonist have left. There are too many underlying stories in this game to go over here, and that in itself is amazing. It is literally like traveling around a galaxy. And when I thought you would be limited to a few golden worlds and that's it, I was again shocked. There are a few worlds that are not part of the overall story arch, that have other plot material, and can be fully explored.

 Much like Monster Hunter, this game does an excellent job of making additional content weave into the overall story and feel very important in its own way. You don't feel like you are just filling time doing those quests. In fact, I abandoned my main mission often times, in pursuit of answers to other important and involved quests, including loyalty quests for you comrades' back stories. You have a whole crew, including an asari rogue, Peebee that you find on Eos, the first golden world, who joins you, as a potential love interest, and your second in command, Cora, who should have succeeded your father, who also becomes interested in you, as well as a Krogan, Angaran, female Turian and other crew mates, One thing that the game thew at me that was annoying, were the "alternative" love interests. I know, that the millenial way of thinking is that it's now preferred, but I'm old fashioned. The male crew members felt like characters that were designed as gay, and get awkward if you don't choose that option. I understand that the game supports both a male and female lead character, but it was overly obvious and pushed that as a male, 2 of the characters were interested in you. And when you didn't go that route, they both were somewhat involved with a girl, but in an almost hesitant way. During some of the dialogue, trying to bond with some of the male crew members, will make you automatically choose gay options, which was weird to me. It was a deterrent from me bonding with them in the game, because it's as if they were saying that male bonding has to be homosexual contact. Other than that, it was a well fleshed out how the character development was done.

   The soundtrack was well done, and consistent with the series. Sound effects for combat sounds felt very appropriate and heavy. Your biotic powers were substantial, which made combat balanced. However, healing items were oddly placed and sparce. In heavy fights, you had to search high and low for healing stations, which are tiny boxes hidden in the field. In my opinion, if you get so few of them, they should be visible. I feel like there should have been some kind of healing mechanic or item besides boxes. Your character will heal up to half of their health when resting between engagements.  This was hardly enough. Then, when you're a long way from fighting, you'll get a swarm of health boxes. And the glitches reared their head. There were a few times that I dash warped through the ground and/or into enemy fire. Also, sometimes, my character would seem to move at -100 mph when backing up from enemy fire, even when dashing, as if an imaginary wall had suddenly appeared behind me. I heard that many issues were patched, but from the glitches I experienced, I shudder to think of what it was. There were some glitches that entailed zero damage equating for blatant head shots to enemies, or enemies shooting around corners and hitting me for massive damage. I also found it odd that enemies that used machine guns were more dangerous at range than snipers. Snipers could be handled, but as a sniper myself, I found that a wild AR wielding foe could kill me quickly and accurately, just letting off wild shots at sniper distance, even if I evaded and changed vantage points. This made sniping stupidly difficult in this game. Nakmor Drack, my Krogan ally, was my ace- boon- koon. I went everywhere with him, from the moment we met him. He became by clean up, because he actually took enemies down. As you would guess, enemies have that damage scaling nonsense in this game- meaning that the last pixel of life would last several hits, keeping them a viable threat on the field.

    Each major Kett military unit was headed by a powerful biotic Kett that had huge shield around them that had to be constantly disabled to attack them, while they hurled instant kill attacks at you. I feel like few of those fights were so heavily glitched and screwed up, I had to actually lower the difficulty to normal, as I play on hard in this game. Later in the game, Peebee hacks Remnant tech, and builds you a VI drone. That was my main weapon, because as you power it up, it becomes an extremely powerful Remnant companion.

  Glitches aside, I saw greatness in this game. I spent probably around 80 hours in it, and still had missions left undone, that can be completed after the main objective is achieved. The dialogue in the game was done very well and extensively. I must tell you, you will be on the floor laughing in this game. The wit of the main character, if that's your personality, is so on point, I was laughing out loud often. But one thing I notice in games and movies in America, is the fact that they feel like in order to convey dignity or respectability, a British accent is needed. I'm half British, and I laugh at that perception. Almost every character in the game has a British accent, including the SAM VI, and only 1 of them is an actual Brit- one of your crew members. What are the rest doing with the accent? And the lewdness and vulgar language at times threw me off and annoyed me. These are alien races you are involved with. Developers and people in general treat debased and vulgar behavior like it's anatomical, and part of being a normal and advanced human, when that's nonsense. It's more degenerate than anything. Language were created to convey important information. Vulgarities and other lewd language are glitches in civilizations if anything, that don't deserved coining in dictionaries as part of an intelligent language, so there is no need to stupidly assume that they would be just as important to alien races. That bothered me a bit, because it took me out of the immersion. I'm not escaping into space exploration to feel like I'm surrounded by millenial thinking idiots. I love the depth of it all and amount of NPC interaction that you can have, some uncovering completely random mini-missions of their own, or just idle conversation. And these NPC's have to number in the high 100's to 1000's.

   Many people complained about the ending, and that makes absolutely no sense at all. You get plenty of closure to the story, and there is so much that you can discover about secrets that your father kept. Then the galaxy is free to be explored afterward. It was the perfect end to what has been a memorable series. I'm proud to be a fan. The universe is a huge place. Beyond a game, that's what makes this near perfect- 9/10

Critical Lens Essay- Othello vs. Get Out - "Cut Your Puppet Strings."

  I'm one of the few people left that you will meet that still writes essays in their traditional form, that isn't obligated by scholastics. This particular one came to me today after finishing the reading of Othello. Many people refer to this play by Shakespeare in many different ways, and usually sum it up as a tragedy of love. I couldn't help but notice some similarities between Othello, and the movie "Get Out." I know that is a funny statement, as "Get Out" is a funny movie, but I wanted to break down the common thread of jealousy that ties them together. I write this because I love literature and art, and these two works are reasons why. They have deep nuances, and lessons within them. Ultimately, they really showcase how important indiscriminant love is. They show you the dangers of the divides that humans cling to so desperately.

  First, I must discuss their differences. While "Othello" is a tragedy of completely unbegotten jealousy, "Get Out," is a tale of retaliation in the midst of jealousy, that is warranted. They both house the racially tense tale of "black" men, who gain the love of white woman. Sadly, even today, that is still an uneasy concept generally, when there has always been only one human race. Both lead characters are driven to extremes to what they feel is their defense, but only the main character in "Get Out"- Chris, is without blame in his assumptions. However, with that said, they are both victimized.

  In Othello, the title character is a general in the Venetian army. He appoints a young Cassio into a high position over a jealous and more experienced Iago. That motive, I've noticed, is constantly pushed as the fulcrum of the plot that Iago hatches to pay back Othello, but I resent that. Throughout the majority of the play, Othello's "blackness," is denoted as the reason for his not deserving his beautiful wife, Desdemona, or his position of leadership. In the opening acts, he is even accused of using witchcraft for wooing Desdemona, who would otherwise in her right mind, never consider his black ugliness. People seem to try to cover that over in their synopsis.


   The movie "Get Out," stars Daniel Kaluuya, as Chris. He is a talented black photographer, who is madly in love with a caucasian girl. They are well into their relationship, and seemingly overdue for him to be introduced to her family. She assures him, despite his fears, that her family is inviting. His friend jokingly warns him early in the film about odd things that he notices. When he meets her family, they get along well, however, with a tense congeniality, as the father pokes tasteless jokes and compliments at Chris to break the ice. Chris notices that all of the workers on her parents' property are black, and he is assured that it isn't what it seems. In the end, he finds out that the workers are all, not only entranced, but actually vessels for the conversion of ill caucasian test subjects, who have their consciousnesses transferred to the host's body using a highly scientific hypnosis method, that receeds the host's consciousness.


    While the reason is said to be innocent, it is odd. They concede what they call superior traits that they find in blacks, that they seek to utilize in order to better their quality of life. During his stay at the house, however, there is always an atmosphere of fear from the community that gathers there.


  Othello and "Get Out" both have underlying themes of fear of the unknown. What that means is that, you see the exasperation of racial divides. It shows extremes that happen in exaggerated form, from what are accepted as minor issues and disdain. The maid of Othello's wife was humorous and witty, but she had some of the deep lines of the play. She defined jealousy like a black hole that produces and consumes itself from nothing, and needing nothing. Those are my words, but that is the general idea. Even though there were clear prejudices against Othello which he failed to take note of, he actually took note of suspicions that were unfounded, due to, not self-doubt, but an overly naive nature. When the maid cursed him out, he deserved it. You felt sorry for him however, because you saw him slowly consumed, and go from intelligent to idiotic, killing his love. And your heart went out to Desdemona, because she was surrounded in seedy characters that Othello thought defined her, and justified his suspicions, yet she couldn't have been more of the opposite. She was refreshingly, and entrancingly pure. She had the kind of rare purity that makes you want to cage someone from the world. And while reading the play, the reader will no doubt believe for some time, that she houses some of the bigotry and feelings of the others, but she doesn't. It truly felt like a tragedy, even when Othello, in regret, took his own life.

   Chris also took a similar course in the movie "Get Out." Where things turned, were the fact that his girlfriend truly looked to play the part of Desdemona, with a completely isolated innocence, that made you feel for her as Chris' doubts mounted. However, in an odd twist, she was just as corrupt as those she was surrounded by. In fact, she was a predator all along. Even he doubts it, to the very end, and while watching, I doubted it as well. The jealousy there wasn't as shared as in Othello, but rather was directed at the main character and the like. He and others of his race were truly a feared experiment to the jaded scientists. While Othello served a lesson, "Get Out" served more as a slightly cynical warning. While those jealousies exist, it makes the viewer overly cautious of them.


  This isn't a review necessarily. I just really enjoyed both works. I'm always drawn to things I can take something away from. And the moral of it all is to avoid jealousy, even in its most minute form. Failing to do that, can render you no more than a puppet to those who actually do mean you harm.

Shenmue 3- Retrospectives and Ambitions

   I have been a huge fan of the Shenmue series from day 1. Back in 1999, I was one of the 5 people that salivated over the teaser commercial showing the story of a martial artist teenager out to unravel the mystery of his father's murder. At the time, I didn't even have a Dreamcast system yet. All I remember was one or two of my friends talking about getting the game. I didn't take that long, however, as I tend to customarily. I got a Dreamcast system in my Junior year of high school, after some time of playing arcade fighters on it at friends' houses. I recall Marvel vs. Capcom being a huge hit during that time.

 Of the friends I knew who had gotten into the game, none of them seemed to have saw it out. There was 1 or maybe 2 that were avidly into it, but they talked about the pacing of the game sort of lulling them into some stagnation. Other releases at the time took the little attention that Shenmue had, away from it. When I got my Dreamcast, after Blue Stinger, I got a copy of Shenmue rather cheap at a flea market. Popularity has always played a big roll in game prices. And quality is not directly proportional, which I am grateful for. It was 2001 if I recall correctly. When I put in the additional disc, I was treated to not just empty extra content, but detailed discussion from the games characters about martial arts and the game's backstory. It was displayed in a 3D room, with completely rendered character models, set up like AI's. Soul Calibur would do something similar with its extra content as well.

   Shenmue was, and still is one of those games that is for a select few inquisitive minds. I fell in love with the game right away. It got labeled by most people as some cheesy mystery game, where you go around just asking questions. But that is a superficial, and layman take on the game and series, which disgusts me. The story is a purist's dream. If you watched old school martial arts films growing up, and not just for gimmicks or laughs, but as a student of the arts, this game immediately intrigues you with the attention paid to techniques and martial arts history, woven around the story of Ryo's father's murder. He's a character 18 years of age, who is finishing high school when a mysterious Chinese man with gangsters enters his family's dojo, demanding a mirror, killing his father in the process. He is caught off guard, and nearly killed himself in the process. The story feels so real and involving, with the power of the mirrors being a mystery that goes back to ancient chinese lore. What I love is the genuine way that you and the character are learning everything together. It really has you salivating to learn more about the story at each step, because of how simply it all begins, and I think that is so key to story development. The game's creator, Yu Suzuki, originally wrote 12 chapters to the story, and the first game covers the first one, while the sequel covered chapters 2-4.

   In the game, you have such a practical, and realistic life, as you work your way to hunt down, your father's killer, who's name you eventually learn to be Lan Di, and then another birth name that I won't spoil here. You find out that he has taken the mirror, and gone back home to Hong Kong. He is heavily involved with the gangs that run the shipping dock. In fact, they gave him passage into the harbor. You become involved with them, in order to get closer to him, and get a job working at the docks. There is danger at every corner, and you can be killed if not careful. You actually go through the process of working each day, to make money for your trip. Along the way, you learn a tad more about your father, and make friends at the docks, who are also enemies of your enemy, making them your friend- LOL.

   As the game goes along, you fall in love with learning martial arts moves from masters you encounter, who trained with your father, or are just local to the area. One of the most memorable characters was a drunken bum who you meet at the harbor during the night. He teaches you a real martial arts technique and also the ancient history behind it's development. That, and even his motivation for teaching you, and his entire character is the kind of heaviness that stays with you years after playing the game. The cool, and realistic thing about the game is the fact that you can actually play the game, and never meet him. That's how real it all is. I loved walking the streets and going to vending machines, and soba noodles shops. Everything is so natural and real. And it isn't over the top in doing so, like games of today. Everyone looks to GTA as the sovereign of sandbox games. Shenmue has a raw and passionate nature that no GTA game can touch. And the thing is, that that's a big part of the series' appeal. A purist like myself loves the premise of a game where, while you have seedy characters and a very real villain, the dialogue and plot don't rest on vulgarity and lewdness. There is a sense of innocence that is championed in the Shenmue games. Ryo is a tall, muscular, and mature youth, who was raised in a very disciplined manner by a very principled, though guarded and secretive father. He wears fitted jeans, and leather jacket, and carries himself with manners. And he's portrayed as character that the player is meant to admire. That is unheard of today.

 In the game, there is some back story, and characters that know him prior to the game's start, similar to the Baki The Grappler series. In fact, I believe there was some minor game that was made on PC, that covered earlier events, a few years prior to the release of the first Shenmue. When the game takes you to Hong Kong, for the second game, the pace picks up quite a bit. In fact, I was slightly put off by how much the second game initially gets away from the quite, contemplative nature of the first game. But as the story progresses, and you travel from Hong Kong, where you do battle with a gangster, to Kowloon, where you run across absolutely beautiful landscapes at the end of the game, it gets back to the deep nature of the game appropriately. In fact, it really fleshes out a lot of the story that intrigues you.

  We petitioned for over a decade and a half for the release of the rest of the series, and Yu Suzuki initially swore that our voices weren't loud enough to satisfy his pockets. I actually began to despise him personally after a while. Then, when we got the announcement that I thought would never come, at last year's E3, of his sudden passion to finish the series, I felt like it was too late. I want the game badly, but I feel like morally, a game like Shenmue just doesn't have a place in today's world, just like passion for the avante garde and jazz. There are, like I've said so many times, discussions about art, music, and intellect in general, that I literally can't have anymore, because the people who would engage in those discussions, just about don't exist anyomore. There are so few people at this point, including a large portion of those who support Shenmue, that are actually FOR the game.


  I watch Youtube channels, and I was even an active and front-running member of several Shenmue 3 campaigns. I tried, even at a point, to collaborate with a few other campaigners, in a project to spin off the series, if the rights would allow. All of those plans fell flat. Many of the so-called Shenmue fans, have changed personally over the years, into simple-minded, and block-headed, immoral degenerates, who I can't even conversate with anymore. So then, I began to wonder about what the game would be if it did come out. That bothered me. I saw the trailer, and I saw the stiff, and cheesy combat animations and mystical lore that the game is uncovering. It really just looks like a game that can end up being another millenial title- shallow, debauched, and unfulfilling. And I know that all of these so-called fans would be ecstatic with that.

   But then, I get hope when I think of the possibilities. Suzuki is still heavily in development. Very little of the game is finished. I am playing Mass Effect Andromeda now on the PS4. That game, is vilified by the gaming community. A pattern has been established at this point, that games that are actually good, are hated by idiot gamers. Luckily, Shenmue is a story that was written long ago, and at this point, he will release it as is, regardless. I just would like for him to consider some things that I will discuss here.

  Mass Effect Andromeda is a game series that I love as much as Shenmue. I absolutely love the series, and I look forward to reviewing the final game soon. So far, it is exactly what I wished for. The first game in the series allowed you to travel to several planets in the Milky Way galaxy, and engage in missions. As the series progress through Mass Effect 2 and 3, more exploration and depth was introduced into the game. The first 3 games were excellent, but I criticized the fact that, overall, the content of all 3 together, equalled up to one 50 hour RPG. That felt disproportionate. In this final game, all of that has been fixed. Not only can you travel more than ever, but the amount of landscape and content on that single disc is staggering. That is a showcase of what current gen systems do have to offer, and a game like Shenmue, is the best way to take advantage of that. When I look back, at how detailed Shenmue was, on hardware from 3 generations ago, just imagine how sick it could be on PS4. Just think- in Shenmue 2, you lived in an apartment in Aberdeen, which was completely recreated for the game, and worked several jobs across a bustling city, eventually traveling to other districts. When you look at the several humongous planets that you go to in Mass Effect, with villages, outposts, relic sites and caves, all filled with random NPC's, imagine if they condensed that detail into the Hong Kong, Japan, etc districts of Shenmue. Even with Zelda and Xenoblade on the Switch, we got a taste of current gen world overloads, which are becoming the norm now.

  It is amazing to think of the real life things Ryo can do, and the content they could put into the game. One thing for sure is that he needs to finish the last 8 chapters with this game. Also, make it 1 disc. Just like Mass Effect Andromeda, one disc allows you to make it a seamless adventure with an entire universe open to you to explore at your whim, rather than a lengthy adventure that moves like a timeline. Also, remove time limits. In Shenmue, you can live your life and linger, but after a certain amount of weeks/months pass in the game's real-time system, it auto-ends. Do away with that, and with the amount of technology available to them, they should take advantage of the weather system that Suzuki worked so hard at developing in the first games. It should occur over the course of seasons and years even. I'm not sure how much the story would allow that, but I would really like a game that is like Mass Effect Andromeda, where you move at your pace. Andromeda did it really well, and I hope Yu has looked at that game. In Mass Effect, you have a very heavy goal and mission, but you have so many side missions that are also important, that you can get lost in the game, traveling around and managing them for hundreds of hours. That's what I want in Shenmue. Make it worth the wait. Let it be epic, and a game that you won't just play through, but cherish and always want to put in your system.

  Monster Hunter, still stands, in my book, as the greatest game ever made, because it accomplishes being challenging, involved, and having a flow of gameplay that allows you to put in 1000 hours, and still feel comfortable picking it up and playing for hours on a whim. That is something I'd be interested in seeing Shemue accomplish. Here's hoping.