Favorite Video Game Storyline

When video games first became huge, they were pretty basic, storyline-wise. A giant reptile kidnapped the princess; go save her. You're part of a pie-chart; avoid the ghosts and eat the fruit. A giant primate kidnapped the princess; go save her. You're a paperboy; deliver the paper. Play soccer. Play bowling. Play football. Play tennis. Stack the blocks and make lines of them disappear.

But with better technology came the ability to show more... everything. Actual dialogue can take place. Bigger, more detailed settings are possible. More complex over-arching storylines are actually doable.

Enough of my proselytizing... let's see which video game storylines are our favorites!

Despite having spent nearly 3 solid weeks of my life logged into WoW (seriously, the /played says 20 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes, and 2 seconds... but I'm writing this two weeks in advance) I can't choose WoW, because it has so much storyline. Several novels' worth, actually. And then some. A lot of some.

I haven't played Portal myself. I've watched my husband play it (and Portal 2) and no matter how hard he tried, I was exposed to spoilers, so I know the story, and I love it. I will not pass the spoilers on to you, but here's the jist:

Chell (the character you play) wakes up from stasis and is guided through tests by GLaDOS, a computer AI system. As Chell progresses, GLaDOS gets pretty sarcastic and sounds more... sinister. I can't really tell you much more than that, unfortunately. I can't even tell you to listen to the excellent songs from the credits of each game (but I'll link for those who don't care or already know: Still Alive and Want You Gone).

Call me predictable or a fan girl or whatever, but Final Fantasy X is my jam.  Now, you should know up front, video games aren't really my thing.  Don't get me wrong: I enjoy playing them, I like them, and I own more than a few, but at the end of the day, I get bored pretty easily (I think the last one I played all the way through was Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.)

But FFX was the first video game I ever bought with my own money.  It was the first game I ever played consistantly and, what's more, it's the first game I ever FINISHED.  Which is saying a lot, because the game isn't short.  It's a LONG freakin' game.  However, it was also a very snowy winter and my school basically shut down for the month of February.  So FFX it was.

Tidus comes from a different world and is dropped into his world in the future.  He doesn't know what's going on or where he is or why anything works the way that it does, but he meets great friends like Waaka and Yuna (the love interest), and LuLu, the girl who can kick your butt with fire.

I won't give any spoilers (if, for some reason, 12 years later you don't actually KNOW the spoiler), but it's sweet and complex and heartbreaking and pretty much just a wonderful story.

From Page To Screen

So, at work, we constantly have these tables called "from page to screen" and on it we pile all of the books that have been turned into movies (or are about to be.)  Since we're talking so much about books that result from video games this week, I thought it only appropriate to give you a list of books that have movie companions.

I've listed this book on here more than a few times, and of course, we reviewed it awhile back, but I think it bears being repeated.  The book is amazing and, I can tell you, that the second book holds up to the first one.  I might even like it better than I did the first one.  This is definitely something you should read before the movie comes out in September.

This book is probably on my top 10 favorite of all time.  It's sweet and it's moving and it's so incredibly and beautifully written, it's impossible not to fall in love with it each time that you read it.  Narrated by Death, it's the perfect third person view.  It does have a movie already out on DVD, which I can really tell you if it's good or bad, seeing as I've never seen it, but definitely get your hands on the book first.

This is a great alien superpower book (and another that fell onto our review radar).  It's interesting and fun and really well done, but not so over the top that you can't take it seriously.  Apparently, it's also a movie, that came out in 2011.  Who knew?  So after you read the book (which you will love), take a look at the movie (which looks like it might not be terrible.)

This is one of the VERY few books that I actually enjoyed the movie better (though, how could you not with Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman.)  However, the book is well written and tells a wonderful story of two women, making their own way while the Civil War is going on. (and you can read our review here!!)

There are SO many books to movies.  So, tell me what movies you preferred over the books?

Author Bio: Christie Golden

Christie Golden has written over 40 novels, mostly in fantasy and sci-fi, many of which are based on video games. She has written books set in the worlds of Starcraft, Star Trek, Star Wars, and World of Warcraft (one of the latter will be this week's review book: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War). She very recently (two months ago) released another Warcraft book, Crimes of War.

Review Me Twice: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol 1

You know how, if you haven't read/watched/personally experienced a certain pop culture phenomenon after it has risen to enormous popularity and perhaps has been around for a while, you've picked up little bits and pieces here and there? Like, your friends talk about it, Redditors post about it, SNL makes fun of it, whatever, and you can't help but learn little things here and there. Well, that happened to me with Sailor Moon. I had never watched and episode or read a page, but I knew the names and looks of all the Sailor Scouts, I knew about the little cat Luna, and I knew Tuxedo Mask was this major romantic interest of some kind.

And that's basically all I learned from reading this book. So maybe Volume 2 would be more informative.

As you may have learned on Wednesday, I don't read manga. I know how (protip: backwards) but I just... don't. So that was a little off-putting to have to get used to that.

Finally, as a 27-year-old who doesn't know any 12-year-old girls and didn't like them even when I was one, I hate having to listen to this brat. Usagi (Sailor Moon) is so annoying. She doesn't like school. Her only real interests are sleeping and playing games (which she repeats a few times). There is literally an exchange between her and Luna (yeah, the cat) where Luna tells her it's time to fight the bad guy and Usagi actually whines about it. You're a Guardian, princess whiny-pants! GUARD!!!

So to summarize... I'm not a fan. But I'm not a manga fan or a Sailor Moon fan. So that isn't too surprising, I suppose.

I admit that I look at Sailor Moon with tainted eyes.  Also, I look at it with the knowledge of what happens later in the series.  Is Usagi whiny?  Yes.  Is she annoying?  Yes.  Does she eat a lot and do terribly in school and just want to spend her time in an arcade?  All true things.

And, if you don't know what she's like, the first book can be very off-putting.  But I DO know.  I know that the character becomes incredibly loyal and protective of her friends.  I know that Usagi eventually gets better at school.  I know that she stops whining about fighting and takes up the call like a champ and a proper leader.  So it makes me hate her maybe not quite the way that Alex does.

Plus, I grew up with her, so I admit, I definitely have the nostalgia thing going for me.  The books (and anime) are crazy and ridiculous and so sappy I can't even handle it sometimes... but I still can't help but hold a special place in my heart for it.

What Is Cosplay?

When I think of Sailor Moon, I think of a lot of things, but one of them is cosplay. Cosplay is a compound word created from "costume" and "play" (as in role-play). It's when someone dresses up as a specific character from a movie, book (particularly comic books, graphic novels, and manga), video game, or TV show. I've heard it referred to as Halloween but more intense, because you're supposed to get your costume as accurate as possible and stay in character as best you can. Cosplay is huge at places like Renaissance Fairs and conventions like San Diego and New York Comic Con. (Fun fact: I'm totally cosplaying at NYCC this year!)

Sailor Moon cosplay (from here)

There's sort of a sense of pride that comes with great cosplay, because the best costumes are handmade. So now that I've explained what it is, I'm just going to share some of my favorite examples of cosplay.

Green Army man! (source unknown)

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl (MTV's list)

...and Red Mist (same list)

These terrifying bastards from Silent Hill (from deviantart but I don't know who)

General Grievous (found on Reddit)

I particularly love this one...
Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim (imgur)
because that's who I'll be for Halloween this year

And finally, proof that cosplay doesn't have to be intricate/difficult:
Leela from Futurama (found on Reddit)

Do you cosplay or wish you did? As whom and from what?

Favorite Manga

I was a manga whore when I was a teenager.  I probably read more manga/watched more anime than was entirely healthy for a kid, but that just means I am adequately prepared to tell you my favorite manga today!

Yuu Watase wrote Alice 19th, though she is more widely known for her series Fushugi Yugi.  I liked Alice 19th better, 1. because it was only 6 books long as opposed to 18, and I just liked the story line better than Fushugi Yugi.

Alice ends up having what are called "Lotus Powers," which basically means she can see into the hearts of people and heal them.  She inadvertently makes her sister disappear, and spends the rest of the series trying to save her.  Kyo is the boy she falls for, but inevitably can't be with because... well, reasons.  Mainly because it's Manga and there's always a reason your two main characters can't be together until the Last Possible Moment.

Overall, it's a good series, as Ms. Watase is prone to have.

I... don't read manga. I know, I'm a huge fan of graphic novels and comics and all sorts of other visual reading material... but I just don't read manga. I had a bunch of friends in high school who were really into the Japanese thing (anime, manga, Lolita, the whole deal) but I guess my inner hipster didn't want me getting into the same thing as everyone else. So if you need guidance on which manga you might enjoy, Cassy's your gal, not me. Sorry, guys!

The Difference between Manga and Graphic Novels

We've read a lot of graphic novels on this blog.  And Alex did briefly discuss the differences between the two.  But why do we distinguish between the two?  Why are they considered two separate categories?  I mean, Barnes & Noble even shelves them in separate places (though, to be fair, one is shelved across the aisle from the other, but they're never mixed.)

They're from different countries.

Ok, so maybe this is the most obvious, but that doesn't make it less true.  Graphic Novels are (usually) American made.  They are read left to right, top to bottom because that's how the target audiences read.

Manga is Japanese, exclusively.  And it's read in the opposite direction.  You read the text right to left and, in fact, the books even open "back wards", or at least what Americans would consider backwards.  (This, actually, was not always the case.  About 10 or so years ago, the used to read like regular books, but it was decided that too much was compromised when they had to mirror it, so Manga started being printed in its original format.)

Style

The artistic style of Manga vs. Graphic Novels is incredibly different.  Graphic Novels tend to depict real life, or at least in the sense that they look like people (big busted women aside.)

However, Manga is a bit more characterized.  The eyes are larger, the mouth smaller, the hair is usually not acting in the most normal of ways.  Their legs also tend to be longer and skinnier.  Just look at the differences between Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon.

Themes

Graphic Novels, while then can be, and have been, pretty dark in their storylines, they're still relatively family friendly.  All ages enjoy them in American, and a lot of them are directed at the youth.  That means things like sex, gratuitous violence, and excessive amount of bloodshed, are not found in American comics.

Manga doesn't have that same barrier that graphic novels do.  Part of that is cultural.  Americans are notorious for their prudishness, but part of that is that it's just a different type of media.  Manga frequently is explicit about violence and sex and, in fact, there is an entire subsection of manga called Hentai, that is manga pornography.