GUNSMITH CATS GN Volumes 1-2

Gunsmith Cats follows the adventures of Rally Vincent, and Minnie May, two teenage bounty hunters working the streets of Chicago. While the subject matter is fast paced and shallow, Kenichi Sonoda is definitely a top class artist, and an expert on action. The battles, of the two young bounty hunters, practically jump off the page, filled with car chases, shoot-outs and hand to hand brawls. The characters are also often larger than life, from Rally and May, to the nefarious criminals they end up facing on a regular basis.  While it does not attempt to be intellectually challenging,  or push the envelope of manga, if you like action manga in any form, you will definitely enjoy Gunsmith Cats. 8/10 Bullets

Mirror’s Edge

Mirror’s Edge is a game that attempts to break free from the conventions of the first person shooter genre, but ultimately ends up constrained by them. The two tenets of the game’s design philosophy, as I see them, are perspective and movement.

Most “first person” games end up being nothing of the sort, normally all the player sees of their character is the hand that holds whatever firearm they are shooting. Mirror’s edge attempts to actually put the player in a first person perspective, Including any limbs that might be in your view. Other touches add on to the illusion, when looking at close objects, items not in your field of view appear blurry and out of focus. Run out of a building and you will be temporarily blinded by the sunlight. The experience is often more disorienting than most first person shooters, and that is the point. The game also lacks any form of on screen display, which would ruin the immersion they are trying to create.

The second focus of the game is movement. Whereas in the majority of FPS, the challenge comes from the enemies you face, in Mirror’s edge it is from the environment itself. This can be exhilarating at times, dodging bullets, sliding down zip lines, wall jumping up scaffolding, at other times it can be frustrating or even boring. Enemies often attempt to hinder you in your acrobatic antics, however this is where the game’s greatest weakness is shown. The combat system is incredibly weak. Which wouldn’t be a problem, except the player often has to fight enemies to procede.

It has been shown that a first person game can be a resounding sucsess without any form of combat system. Portal for one, focused on puzzles and movement rather than fighting. Mirror’s edge does the same, while at the same time, throwing in a half ass combat system. Further weaknesses include a weak storyline, repetitive level design, and unimpressive, if stylish, visuals.

Mirror’s Edge couldn’t decide what kind of game it wanted to be, and thus is straddled between two worlds. ON THE MIRRORS EDGE WOAH.

6/10 wall jumps

Casio CA-53W Calculator Watch

I have owned a number of watches the years, none though, has caused as much of a stir as my CA-53W. Everywhere I go, it gets the same response,

“IS THAT A CALCULATOR WATCH”

“THEY STILL SELL THOSE”

“HOW OLD IS THAT”

Well rest assured they do still sell them, and they are at a price which can be afforded by the tightest of budgets. Although it is certainly an eyecatcher, the watch has many strongpoints which endear it to me, regardless of other’s views. First and perhaps most importantly is it’s price, less than 20$ in almost all circumstances, and depending on the situation, significantly cheaper prices can be found. While the watch has all the standard features of a time piece (stopwatch, alarm), It also has a few advantages over the mass of cheap digital watches. First, and perhaps most obviously, is the ubiquitous  calculator, which is much more useful than you may think. Other plusses include the ability to keep track of multiple date/times, as well as the ability to quickly type in new times using the keypad. Physically the watch has a extremely tough construction, my own has gone through US Army basic training and numerous field excersises without suffering anything but minor superficial blemishes. The only complaint I can bring against the watch is it’s lack of backlight, which has hampered me several times. However that aside, for anyone who wants a functional watch, with a great deal of personality and distinctiveness, I urge you to try the CA-53W.   9/10 Watches

Aravind Adiga’s “The White Tiger”

This is a very good book, and you should read it. It’s diffilcult to explain why I find it such a powerful novel. At it’s core it is the story of one man’s journey from the darkness of rural india, to the shining skyscrapers of bangalore. However it is no simple Horatio Algers tale, along with hard work, Balrum Halwai’s climbs the economic ladder with lies, subterfuge, and violence. Yet somehow he is not a villian, the book challenges the reader to redefine their notions of slavery, and the means one must take to escape it. Anyway It won the Booker Prize, which is kind of a big deal I guess, so apparently I’m not the only one who likes it.  9/10 Arbitrary Points