Syntactic Structures

 

Noam Chomsky is the world renowned linguist while also being highly present in political activism. He has written so many books on linguistics and politics that it really is too early for me to judge his work or personality.

I am intrigued though after I recently started watching videos of Noam's thoughts of current political events happening. So let's start with humble beginnings by first exploring his most famous linguistic book, which is Syntactic Structures.

To summarize, it's about analyzing and using several construced models used to identify how sentences, or syntactics are formed, either through nonsensical or through grammatical means.
Syntax is the study of principles and processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages.

You will find terms such as phonemes, morphemes, gramma, phrases, nouns, verbs and consonants to be common in this early work. Argueing finite state grammar and phrase structure grammar as inadequate models, he then proposes his own theory syntax called "transformational generative grammar".

While doing so, he also goes through the morphology and semantics of linguistics, trying to determine how these are formed out of the words and their forms. A famous sentence seen in here as a both a grammatical and nonsensical example is "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously".

Syntactic Structures is my first taste of exploring linguistics, or the scientific study of language, where as form, meaning and context are the general factors when studying this. It's actually a pretty important field of knowledge for the sake of communication, and I was also impressed with how Chomsky wrote this content with "less is more" terms for that is how I felt upon completing it.

And with another book ending the year, I wish you all once more a happy new year, full of virtue, health and wonder!

Rating: **

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

Is this truly Hideo Kojima’s swan song towards his most beloved franchise? Just before departing from Konami, their inner circle was already having internal affairs so to speak about deadlines, budgets and such.

Unfortunately, The Phantom Pain feels incomplete. Make no mistake, it is by far the largest entry available yet, but as far as the storyline goes, despite some conclusions and some retcons being reached, something was missing. Perhaps the plot wasn’t as crazy as we are used to.

Metal Gear Solid V is an open world tactical espionage operations video game where you play as Big Boss, now named Punished Venom Snake, and he is on a revenge spree together with Kazuhira Miller and Revolver Ocelot in order to retaliate against Cipher, who destroyed Mother Base in Ground Zeroes.

As they are rebuilding a new Mother Base, their new affiliation is called Diamond Dogs, and it’s a pun on several things, including carrying their fallen brothers in arms into battle, as well as etymologically having a theme playing around revenge.

Language is another major theme, as vocal cord parasites are introduced in order to ethnic cleanse the minority languages and only leave English intact, which is Skull Face’s objective in 1984. On the other hand, the parasites can also cause epidemics.

Narration is also largely told by radio activity from Kaz and Ocelot, explaining the current mission or event as the game takes place in two large areas; Afghanistan and the Angola-Zaire border. The cassette tapes have also returned, but the codec calls continue to be a better experience.

Still, there are plenty of plot details in the tapes, and you can listen to them almost any time, during missions, at Mother Base or in your personal commanding helicopter, operated by Pequod, arguably your best and fifth buddy.

 The Man Who Sold The World

That’s right, Metal Gear Solid V offers a new buddy system where you can bring along partners during the many missions being available. These include a newly found puppy dog, a dedicated horse, a robotic enhanced walker and Quiet, the woman striped of her words.

Controls and gameplay are by far the most qualified of the whole series, and while Peace Walker introduced the Mother Base and Fulton concepts, The Phantom Pain expanded upon them with more detail and quantity of variety.

The graphics are absolutely gorgeous because of the fluid and smooth Fox Engine, but the assets of the actual destinations can be considered pale, repetitive and barren at times. Another disappointment is that the boss lineup is poor with the exception of the obligatory Metal Gear fight.

While the other Metal Gear games will also still be considered classics, Metar Gear Solid V really feels tight in overall. As said, there are a lot of missions and things to do, and it’s one of those games where time really can go fast because of the entertainment, and yet, it also unfortunately has some repetitive missions.

Speculations go about that Chapter 2 was rushed and felt incomplete. To add in on that, a 51th mission adding more development for Eli was not added alongside the final release. The talks also imply that this happened because of Kojima’s resignation and Konami’s internal affairs.

While there is plenty of plot details to be found and even several conclusions towards some mysterious topics, it still is not the end for Big Boss’s saga, as after the plot twist and true ending have happened, we could either potentially get another main entry, or we could see Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake getting remade.

It is subtly hinted that Big Boss is not only a person, but an idea, a concept and/or a cult of personality too, and that all of the major characters carry their own phantom pains in order to bring out the revenge they desire.

 Kids in America

In the mean time, we will be able to sink in this majestic entry’s features alongside a new edition of Metal Gear Online, where it is likable and winnable to stealth your way through instead of firing your guns around in usual third person shooters.

Potential DLC makes this even more interesting, but honestly, for what we have gotten out of The Phantom Pain by Kojima Productions, it truly is as far as gameplay and presentation goes, the best entry in the franchise, and I would be both satisfied and saddened if this would become the last entry.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a truly remarkable game, a must for diehard fans, but newcomers will not be able to grasp all of the plot details.

 
Rating: 8.7

Cold Locations

As there has been no snow falling or ice emerging in this entire month, which is the first time in definitely over a century and is no doubt a consequence of global warming the planet, I wanted to talk briefly about cold locations I would love to visit in the future.

After discovering Iceland 2 years ago, I am craving for more locations and countries like it, and here is what I have come up with so far:

Nepal

Depicted is the way to Mount Everest Base Camp, or the south path towards it. The north path is available through Tibet, which I also would like to visit. Nepal's capital Kathmandu was unfortunately hit by a terrible earthquake recently, and I hope to explore it in due time.

 Antarctica

Home to no nations, militaries or mining towns, Antarctica is strictly used as a large region for scientists to conduct experiments, while the ecozone is getting protected. It's also a spectacular cold desert and surrounding the continent it has ridiculous large amounts of ice blocks floating around.

 Greenland

Officially part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but technically has been independent for some time now, Greenland  is the largest island to be found, and most of it's central regions are unable for humans to settle in. One of the coldest locations and also has Norsemen and Inuit history, Greenland could be very fascinating for me.

 Siberia

Siberia is massive in size but it's also one of the sparsely populated area's in the world. Out of these 4, Siberia interests me the most for these facts alone, as there is no doubt lots of beautiful landscapes to be found, Lake Baikal is a highlight and it would be amazing to travel through this if only for a small part of it.

And with these paragraphs said on this second day of Christmas, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy upcoming New Year!

Efteling

De Efteling is historically one of the oldest theme parks in the world and also the largest one to be found in The Netherlands. Combining the powers of a filmmaker, artist and illustrator, It sprouted into business in the year of 1952.

As a kid, I have been here several times, looking in awe at attractions such as Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana and the Fairy Tale Forest, which consists of a compilation of well known fairy tales such as Snow White, The Six Servants, Hansel and Gretel and Rapunzel.

It's main theme really is about fairy tales, but myths, legends, fables and folklores are also present. One attraction I always found interesting is called Villa Volta, a madhouse where the visitors get the illusion that either the building, the visitors themselves or both are turned upside down.

The theme park is both suitable for children and adults, as romantic and nostalgic themes are also in attendance during your visit. Iconic features include Hollow Bulging Gijs or Holle Bolle Gijs, in which paper can be thrown in, or the park's overall appearance.

Another famous attraction is Carnival Festival, a dark ride where a host will guide you through 9 different cultural regions full of figures. I was once told by someone that these animatronic figures were made of chocolate and are/were edible.

For 2015, me and longtime friends also revisited the theme park during the winter period. And although the day was of course very much enjoyable, in a twist of turns, I overcame my fear of experiencing rollercoasters, especially scary ones.

With the perfect timing of introducing an intimidating new divecoaster called Baron 1898 for this year, I went into all rides, basically told myself "Fuck It" and my fear dissappeared. Of course, that doesn't mean that feeling nauseous would go away, which did happen at one point.

I'm looking forward towards using this same approach when I will find love in my own life, hah! Baron, Joris & the Dragon, Python, all rollercoasters were very much enjoyable and of course the thrills were still felt, but afterwards it's great to share your experience with your friends and family.

De Efteling is Holland's proud achievement of a great theme park, and I would love to revisit it again in the future.

The Martian

An astronaut is accidentally left alone on planet Mars while his crew leaves during a natural disaster. He learns to manage on his own as a botanist for hundreds of days, while eventually he is able to communicate back home using older technology from the 90’s.

Sometimes being humorous, sometimes dramatic, The Martian explores the theme of survival on planet almost extinct of useful natural resources, while dealing with loneliness, sanity and the craving for hope. Matt Damon's performance will make you care for what happens to him.

In the last act, his crew performs a stunning rescue operation, and they are able to complete it successfully. The Martian is by all means a scientific survival story set on a foreign planet, is intelligent with dialogue, humor and camera shots, and it has not only motivating tunes, but older disco tunes as well.

Directed by Ridley Scott, a veteran regarding sci-fi’s, The Martian is the Interstellar(2014) or the Gravity(2013) for this year. Unless you are craving for a more fantasy based science fiction, which I will review very soon.

 Rating: 8.0

Downloadable Content: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

Are you ready to delve into the Hunter's Nightmare and beyond, discovering the origin that created this whole mess and the conflicts that spawned out of it? The Old Hunters is the proper way to expand upon length, lore, challenge and gameplay.

Featuring three new area's to venture into, each one only got better the further I got. With plenty of new creative weapons to experiment with, new enemies, new mystery NPC's, lore which made the overall plot even more complicated with or without interpretations and many ways to die, it's another great expansion from From Software.

The highlights are easily the new bosses to fight, as only 1 out of the 5 can be considered easy, and 3 of them are in my opinion some of the most creative and hardest fights in all of of the Souls games. And I am referring to Ludwig, Lady Maria and Orphan of Kos then.

With the exception of a lazy rehash fight reminiscent of Asylum Demon in Dark Souls, The Old Hunters is a must have and essential addition towards Bloodborne, finally making it's game length just as long as the other Souls games.

Super Mario Maker

Indeed, creating Super Mario courses has been available before, but technically only illegally. Through hacking ROM's of Mario's best 2D platformers including Super Mario Bros.3 and Super Mario World, you would be able to customize and modify courses as well as other tweaks.

Lunar Magic was the tool I used several times perhaps about a decade ago, where I would edit the normal courses from the SNES adventure and make my own challenging creations, but I was never dedicated or really passionate about it.

Now, with Super Mario Maker being officially endorsed and licensed by Nintendo, millions around the world are able to create, edit, upload and play courses of their own, or from others, allowing for endless amounts of different content to be available.

I believe that official statistics regarding uploading these courses has already easily and swiftly reached the 1 million mark, meaning that in a way, gamers and fans will never get tired or bored with no new 2D Mario courses being available.

This glorified level editor with inspirations from the influential Mario Paint on the SNES and tons of cameos from other Nintendo franchises in the form of playable skins lets you be able to switch between 4 kinds of Mario styles(and the associating physics and mechanics with each of them).

This means that in the blink of an eye, by pressing a single button, all of your created levels can be switched to for instance Super Mario Bros. or New Super Mario Bros. based courses, making migration and availability in regards to creative input efficient.

However, not every kind of object, mechanic or feature has been transferred over from the 4 Mario styles into Super Mario Maker. Examples such as slopes and certain enemies are still missing in action, but fortunately, DLC and patches have already been done, and important changes such as adding checkpoints means that Nintendo will listen to what the audience demands. Well, for the most part then.

So this Wii U game/level editor basically has 2 functions; you either create your own levels(or edit those from others), or you start playing the courses from others. There are also special Event courses hosted with themes and usually you are able to unlock a certain 8-bit based character then.

Rating a product like this is difficult for the moment because it mostly depends on the input from users plus it also doesn't feel entirely complete yet, similar to Splatoon(which I will talk more about next year). And because I like to play and beat other games throughout, I have not really taken my full attention with this yet.

But I can definitely recommend this as a no-brainer for anyone who is a Super Mario fan, who grew up with these legendary platformer games, who like to play and judge the creations from others and/or who want to attempt to be creative and inspiring with level design in general.

It's definitely a very user-friendly Nintendo product.

Rating: 7.6

Undertale

 

After the reviews skyrocketed for this indie RPG developed by 1 guy using Game Maker, I was unable to ignore it.

Beating and seeing the Neutral ending, one of three possible outcomes, I can easily say that the hype surrounding it was exaggerated, and that I prefer Lisa the Painful, another recent and admired indie RPG.

Undertale lets you play as a child of ambiguous ethnicity and gender in a world or underworld of monsters who are locked away by humanity because of a barrier. With a recognizable and likable OST, and a simple mood resembling Earthbound, it was easy to get drawn into it.

There are two notable features to mention. First is the way how you are able to avoid enemy attacks. This is done in a Touhou like kind of way, and if you don't know what Touhou is, it's basically a brand at this point which are so called bullet hell shooters where you are required to dodge many bullets in order to survive.

The same can be said is happening over here in Undertale as well, except that it is now implemented inside an RPG system. The other notable feature is the ability to play through the whole game by being a pacifist, instead of using violence or killing enemies.

By using the mercy button, you are able to spare enemies and let them flee. This was featured most of all because the developer felt that all RPG's which feature soul less attacking and the defeat of monsters made it feel tedious and void. While I certainly do not agree entirely on his point by generalizing, I can appreciate what he did here as an alternative.

Aside from these 2 features, the graphics are especially noteworthy, when you see how enemies are portrayed, and the NPC's all have their own unique appearance as well, sometimes in the forms of animals, sometimes in plain quirky ways.

For most of the game, it's a standard RPG adventure, and it's not until the very end with the final boss that Undertale really starts to do some 4th wall breaking, by ending the application itself and upon restarting it, even attempting to erase your save file at one point. Other than the final boss battle and the 2 notable features, there's not much else which really impressed me.

I am aware that the Genocidal and Pacifist runs feature different boss battles and more story dialogue, but for now, I can conclude that I cannot explain the large hype surrounding Undertale, and yet I was satisfied with what I found.

Coined as the "Holy Trinity of Indie RPG's" of recent years, it is alongside Lisa the Painful and OFF, a French indie RPG, part of that statement, and should definitely be checked out by those craving a twist on traditional role playing.

Rating: 7.4

The Witcher Trilogy

Polish video game based on famous Polish novels, The Witcher is an RPG with dialogue options which were the highlights of it back in 2007, but having started on this series anno 2015, I’m really trying to keep holding attention. 

The combat is repetitive and simplistic, the inventory and loot system are clunky and time consuming, there are many loading scenes (also when you gather items each time) I really disliked the day/night system in order to trigger certain events, the order of doing the quests was convoluted and I lost interest in the middle of chapter III. 

Perhaps the first Witcher really feels too outdated for me. And I played the Enhanced Version.

Rating: 5.5

Now this is much more appealing. Also having played the Enhanced Version, The Witcher 2 is an improvement in pretty much everything, with a warm and moody atmosphere such as the royal forest, better dialogue, combat, story, music, sex and more.

It just so happens to be apparently the shortest in game length out of the three. Assassins of Kings delivers good, looks rich in the environments and establishes a memorable cast of characters while have a much better polished presentation.

I also liked the new mini games.

Rating: 7.5

Without a doubt the strongest of the trilogy, Wild Hunt concludes Geralt of Rivia’s story, as he searches for his adopted daughter Ciri, with help from longtime friends such as Triss, Yennefer and Vesemir.

The Witcher 3 is a large open world medieval RPG made by Polish hands, with breathtaking scenery, music and impressive dialogue. There’s a ridiculous amount of quests to do, the combat, controls and interfaces are more polished than ever and I applaud CD Projekt Red for developing this ambitious project.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a very good RPG, not really Western or Japanese, but rather Eastern European. For many people, this will be one of the contenders for the Game of the Year title. I myself am still deciding between two other games, and a third one coming out soon might change everything.

Rating: 8.4