A Brief History of Time

Scientifically one of the best sellers from the 80's, and also published the day I was born, A Brief History of Time is a fascinating read into the origins of the universe, mainly according to the thoughts of many 20th century physicists as written by Stephen Hawking.

While doing so, he speaks most of the time of the big three contributors towards science,
which are Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Reviewing their extraordinary theories, he then proceeds by giving us one of his own.

His sublime thoughts about how black holes could possibly work earned him global recognition and awards for creating a brilliant theory just like that and it changed his reputation into being one of the best contributors of the 20th and 21th centuries.

After concluding on one of the largest mysterious topics for mankind, Hawking switches over to the
human and natural concept of time. Other large topics include the big bang, the string theory, special relativity, wormholes and time travelling, but Hawking is most of all famous for his black hole theory.

The theory explains that general black holes could possibly emit radiation, due to quantum effects near the event horizon. The radiation decreases the mass and energy of the black holes, thus letting them evaporate.

What Stephen also writes about is the so called "theory of everything", or attempting to explain all of the fundamental elements of the laws of nature, so that it can apply to any experiment in any principle. But unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics continues to be one of the unsolved problems in physics.

The four fundamental interactions of the universe, which are the weak and strong nuclear force, electromagnetism and gravity, also get mentioned along the chapters. Rounding the book up is when the author occassionally talks about the presence of God, philosophy and how these two can matter with all of these scientific progresses.

The editor deliberately advised Hawking to reduce the number of equations to only one, which happens to be the worldwide known E = mc². This was done so that the large number of normal people including me and most likely you could be able to keep up with the big topics A Brief History of Time offers.

Nevertheless, the book remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders, as quoted by the back of it. And I honestly cannot think of a better way to end this.

Rating: ***(out of 4)

Nintendo Wii U

It's been 23 days since I got my hands on the latest console from Nintendo, and although things have been busy(and still are), I have experienced enough of the Wii U in order for me to write up my first thoughts about it.

Let's start with the interface. It's familiar to Wii owners in the sense that it has big buttons and convenient configurations, but this time, there is a second screen present in the form of the GamePad. At first, I had to get used to concentrating my current view, and I'm sure that this will happen again every time a Wii U game comes up with a new way of navigation.

The GamePad does not feel cheap as many others stated, nor is it heavy at all. It's just another way of holding a controller, but this time, it comes with a touchscreen in the middle and it's horizontally larger than many traditional ones, but nothing ridiculous.

Near Field Communication is also implemented, which will make several physical objects be able to interact with the controller in the future. Other than that, traditional buttons are placed conveniently, along with a microphone, a front-facing camera, a gyrometer, accelerometer and a magnetometer.

But the most important feature is the presence of a second screen. Now, way back in the early 80's, the Game & Watch and more recently the Nintendo DS already had second screens. The Wii U's version however is powered up with the previous functionalities listed, and also, it is by my knowledge the first console variant of this idea. (the Dreamcast's controller was just baby steps)

This means that all of the mandatory information will most likely be on your TV screen, while all of the additional resources will be displayed through the GamePad, when speaking in general. This basically means that you have 2 perspectives available which allow for creative new situations to happen.

One of my favorite "side effects" so to speak of the GamePad is that some Wii U games allow you to play their experience thoroughly on the GamePad by itself, discontinueing on the TV, which grants you the power to play on the toilet or in your warm, fuzzy bed for example.

Returning to the interface, the home page consists of a prettier collection of all the available square formed software installed on the console, but on the other screen, either on the TV or the GamePad, there is this little new social experiment called Miiverse.

Miiverse is a much appreciated difference from other ways of communicating together in that it is meant to be game related with positive comments, that it allows screenshots of games to be uploaded and many people somehow feel more motivated to draw posts thanks to the touch screen.

I somehow feel that discussions will be relatively lessened by the restrictions Nintendo has laid out, but this doesn't have to be negative, it's rather a relief not to see endless discussions that most of the time proceed going into nowhere, or your average internet humor, what with trolls, memes and such these days. Plus, the spoiler policy that is in strict use is a thumbs up for me.

Thus, it was a good decision to implement it in this way, which lets us see that with a more user friendly policy present, minimal moderations and getting the messages more to the point in less time, either written or drawn, Miiverse is different.

While looking further, I opened up the internet browser to test it, and to my surprise after hearing postive comments about it already, it really is the fastest known console browser I have seen yet. On the other hand, the separate YouTube application has crashed upon me, but other than that, works fine. This is obviously an issue for Google to patch up in the future.

The Nintendo eShop that comes with the Wii U is also enjoyable to look around into, having another pleasant song playing, demo's and video's available, a rating system and who knows what else is upcoming? A Virtual Console feature seems likely amongst other promising things like the connection with the 3DS eShop.

Miscellaneous stuff such as Wii U chat, Wii system transfer and Nintendo TVii are untouched by me for now. Because either I haven't needed them yet, or they aren't available yet. But I hope to experience more about the 1st and 3rd items next year. Perhaps another post regarding the Wii U features will indeed be needed.

As for the high definition graphics, truthfully, Nintendo is late to the party with this as they were with internet connectivity before that. But what can I say about them other than their beauty? I am certainly not obsessed with it as it simply isn't as much needed like Nintendo has proved to us countless of times already.

In any case, Nintendo continues to innovate and set itself apart from the others, while making a huge advancement towards internet, social media, graphics and overall connectivity.  The Wii U has impressed me as well as many others so far in regards to the new ways of gaming.

The launch line-up is also nothing to take lightly. Although they will never be as important as they were at the beginning of a console's lifetime, it does remain impressive. In my eyes, there is plenty of quality based third party support available already.

Wii U games will be reviewed individually in the nearby future.

James Bond

To commemorate the franchise's 50th anniversary on the big screen, I will be talking in general about it, as well as reviewing the latest one, Skyfall, while talking about my memories of the N64 GoldenEye game.

I thought it would be fitting to be talking about not necessarily a movie franchise I praise with the highest esteems, but more of a cool, edgy and action series that I happened to have grew up with. So what keeps us coming back to James Bond, the British spy agent with the code number 007? Is it the locations? Is it the cars? Is it the women perhaps?

I think it's the overall structure of each film that has changed slightly over the decades. And maybe it's also because we secretly want to be an undercover agent ourselves. Infiltrate suspicious companies and groups, having a license to kill and along the way making out with random gorgeous women.

Personally, the infiltration scenes of any movie and the memorable henchmen and villains are my reasons for liking James Bond. Of course, gadgets, locations, supportive characters and plots can add up towards that.

Still, it's odd to say this again, but although I can enjoy them no matter how many incarnations there are of the same general plot, they have never been truly remarkable films for me. Well, maybe only 1 time, with On Her Majesty's Secret Service(1969) starring George Lazenby.

It happens to be my favorite James Bond title for a number of reasons. First off, the choreography was the most impressive after the previous 60's Bond films and it even rivals others afterwards. Second, I enjoyed the cold setting of Switzerland and the unfolding plot.

The best thing about the movie are surprisingly the romance and the drama inside of it, two genres that really don't dominate the franchise. Bond falls in love and marries the Bond Girl featured in here, but after he thinks that the danger is over, he loses her, presented in such a way in what can only be deemed as a classic scene.

GoldenEye(1995) is another memorable one for not only introducing Pierce Brosnan as Bond and perhaps the most crowded group of villains yet, it also was adapted into the most popular first person shooter for the Nintendo 64.

Rare, the developer of the game who was once Nintendo's strongest 2nd party, successfully brought the genre towards consoles, giving us not only an identical journey through the singleplayer mode, it's multiplayer mode was immensely popular during the late 90's as well.

It would only take a few years before superior titles would show up, including Perfect Dark, also developed by Rare. But despite that, GoldenEye remains a favorite period of a trip traveling back to the past.

Now I will give you my Skyfall review. If you thought Casino Royale(2006) felt rebootish, wait until you see this one. It’s plot is simple, yet effectively makes a good relation between James Bond and M, his superior. Furthermore, traditional characters such as Q and Moneypenny finally return with some dignity towards the series.

The mission is essentially to reclaim a secret list of NAVO infiltrators from a terrorist, but personal relations soon take over the theme of Skyfall. The action scenes were pretty good and varied, but not so memorable. The humor touch of Bond actually is improved from previous films, which is also good. 

Raoul Silva is a traditional and impressive villain that reminded me most of all of 006 in GoldenEye, also carrying vengeance and isn’t as megalomaniacal as many others. The movie felt familiar, but also re-introduces to us objects and characters from the past.

There are also a few cameo references, such as the “For Your Eyes Only” line, or the classic Aston Martin car with gadgets such as the ejection button. The theme sung by Adele felt as an effective tool for hyping up the film, and it succeeded of course.

The only nitpicking I can think of this movie is that although any movie can have a simple plot and be effective, Skyfall lacked for me a few more interactive and varied scenes that don’t necessarily have to be action related.

I don’t know, despite that the runtime is roughly 2 and a half hours, it could had been more interesting with perhaps a background plot happening, or more detailed mission briefings and/or character development.

Other than that, consider Skyfall as one of the best Bond films from any time, certainly Craig’s best yet even though Casino Royale had a lot of style as well. 

Rating: 7.0

Top 10 Wii Games

It's time to bid the Wii farewell and enter the eight generation of console video gaming tommorrow. Before it's successor will arrive, let me put up the top 10 Wii games according to myself. Some runner-ups just missing out are Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Kirby: Return to Dreamland, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Super Paper Mario and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

10.Fatal Frame II

The most haunting experience available for the Wii. Alas, it's a remake, but it remains an impressive horror title with enhanced Wii controls, graphics and new content such as the entertaining multiplayer mode where you are able to scare others manually. Fatal Frame II is not only the most fulfilling scary packed game with varied creepiness, it's also different in how it approaches gameplay.

9.Ōkami

Aesthetical tale from Capcom for all the pessimists out there that do not believe that there is art in video games. An epic nippon journey, Ōkami has very familiar gameplay to the 3D Zelda games, but can easily stand for itself because of its unique attributes to visual detail, great Wii controls and well constructed music. Rejuvenate your surroundings, banish evil demons and bring happiness and peace back as the god of the sun. This long game is packed with originality and satisfying gameplay. The dialogue could had been lessened or sped up though.

8.Punch Out!!

Fantastic re-imagination of the original NES version where Little Mac must once again start at the bottom and eventually reach the top to become the world champion. Only this time, He must also defend that dear title. Featuring pretty much all of the favorite boxing opponents from the original except for the licensed character, Punch-Out!! plays similar, yet feels fresh on the Wii. The opponents get a little bit more personality because they can talk now, and some of the graphic animations are funny. 

Doc, Mac’s trainer offers subtle hints and encouragement during your career and even is able to let you practice upcoming matches with holographic imagery in exhibition mode. The music is although few, pleasant and the gameplay is straightfully true to the original. As for the difficulty, it certainly is challenging, perhaps the hardest one yet because of the title defend matches.

 

7.Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Finale towards a splendid strong trilogy, however it remains my least liked one out of the three. Having said that though, I enjoyed traveling to the several new locations, especially Elysia, and the Command Visor was a nice touch. The involvement of the GF also let that isolement feeling finally disappear, but I can live with that. It's like it's brethren, a first person adventure worth playing. And Metroid's concept just works out great in 3D, even for the third time.

6.Super Mario Galaxy 2

A rare Nintendo sequel towards a Mario game, Galaxy 2 is no doubt more of the same, but with the addition of Yoshi, more new suits, a great soundtrack once again and even more clever level design, this is even better than the first Galaxy. Not to mention a total of 242 different stars await you here, making it one of the largest Mario games out there.

5.Sin & Punishment: Star Successor

This sequel is everything the original was, but so much more, and the Star Fox developers should take note on how to get successful once again by looking at Treasure's Wii treasure. THIS is how you do an arcade style hybrid on rails shooter with excellent bosses, satisfying longevity and brutal difficulty.

4.Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The massive success of the Super Smash Bros. franchise continues with Brawl, which has the biggest content and features yet. Third party characters, online mode, build your own stage, an optimized single player mode, ridiculous amounts of trophies and stickers and a hype train around the world before it's release and after. It's technically the best entry yet, but 64 and Melee have other reasons for remaining must plays for multiplayer matches as well.

3.The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Although Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were pretty good in their own ways, Nintendo really rebounced my thoughts about the future of Zelda with Skyward Sword, which is the first consistent game able to prove that motion control works just fine when speaking of swordplay. It's the longest Zelda game yet, the difficulty had a much needed boost seen in here and it's visually and auditory outstanding. I applaud the dungeon design, some of them were very well crafted.

2.Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Roughly the tenth entry, Radiant Dawn at first feels like just your average Fire Emblem game. However, the game grasped me with it's story the further you proceeded down the chapters, as level design, music, difficulty and emotional conflicts deepened. And here I was thinking that Radiant Dawn would just be another entry...the story really turned interesting in this sequel towards Path of Radiance!

1.Xenoblade

Monolith Soft's greatest achievement yet, and a very strong new IP to take inspiration from. Xenoblade(Chronicles) delivers the faith towards JRPG's so much back, that it is really hard to nitpick about anything during this genuine epic momentum. With it's flowing gameplay, several effective system features, memorable soundtrack and the most beautiful environments on the Wii, it is for me the best game available. It's so good that it can easily compare towards any classic PSX or SNES RPG.