Media Consumption Blog - 3/3/18

The SSFF Media Consumption Blog - Ultra Late Edition!

I will get this thing on Saturdays one of these week, I promise. The entire premise of these blogs is that I (Derek) am a slow writer and I need more practice in that area of video production. But surprise, surprise, I’m having trouble! So bear with me! And Grace is helping out with this week’s blog, which I'm thankful for, so I’ll let her go first.

Grace | Part Time UFO 

It’s no secret that I love mobile games. I spend about an hour a day on public transit, and I need to be entertained gotdammit! That’s part of the reason why I’ve been so captivated by HAL Laboratory’s recently localized Part Time UFO. 

While I on principle think that mobile games are unfairly maligned, it’s rare that a mobile game comes around that brings me so much joy. You start Part Time UFO as a lonely UFO in a strange new land, Earth, and in need of a job. This game is a physics based puzzler/action title, where you grab items with your claw and drop them wherever the game asks you to, requiring balance, poise and a bit of luck. It’s never too challenging, but there’s enough there that with about 5 hour played, I still haven’t finished all of the levels. 

The real draw of the game is its fantastic aesthetics and music. Each level is reminiscent of the main theme, but with a twist that fits the level’s area. For example, the farm levels do a banjo inspired take while the fishing levels are more of a sea shanty. You also use your earnings to buy new outfits, like the dog pictured above. These outfits give bonuses helpful for every situation the game throws at you, but honestly, why would you ever wear anything other than this good dog?

While $3.99 might be a price many balk at paying for a mobile title, let me assure you that you are paying for quality and an absence of the mobile genre’s greatest pitfalls (lootboxes). 

Derek | Monster Hunter (PS2)

Monster Hunter World has taken over the world. Finally, the series is no longer a smash hit solely in Japan. But instead of jumping into what is now the best selling game in the Capcom’s history, I thought I’d finally play the Monster Hunter game I already owned, the very first, original PS2 game. I’d heard that in many ways this series hasn’t changed all that much and the PS2 original is not a bad place to start. And I will say, after a few hours, I think I “get” Monster Hunter and I think this is a series I could enjoy. First things first though.

For a late-era PS2 game, it looks and runs pretty well but has aged HORRIBLY in a few key areas: Monster Hunter has some of the worst controls I’ve ever seen! Not controls per-se, just how they’re mapped on the controller. Movement is with the left analog stick, as to be expected, but the rest is just incredible–try and stay with me here. Camera control is relegated to the D-Pad and attack is relegated to the right analog stick. L1 thankfully centers the camera behind you, but when you’re battling multiple enemies you’re basically playing with blinders. Not to mention, the camera gets stuck in walls, completely blinding you. At times it’s unplayable.

This is also a game from the short period when Capcom went all-in for PS2 online. Worse than Resident Evil Outbreak, most of Monster Hunter’s quests are online only. And the entire game is quests. You can’t even leave the town and explore the world until you’ve started a quest. Playing solo-offline is only a tiny fraction of the total game that very quickly gets hard, forcing you to repeatedly grind on older quests.

It’s incredible though, in the time of Devil May Cry and God of War, Monster Hunter (released 2004) was such a radically different game, specifically a radical subversion of progression. In typical 3D action games, monsters and enemies are obstacles between you and the end of your journey. In Monster Hunter, monsters and enemies are the journey. It’s not about “killing all the enemies so you can move on”, it’s just “kill all these specific enemies”. And they don’t give you experience, they give you materials. You don’t need to be higher level to acquire better gear, better gear is the higher level. The areas and levels are laughably small and just lousy with super frequent load times but that’s because, again, it’s not about the levels, it’s all about the monsters. There’s an insane amount of things to buy and craft, it’s looting to the Nth degree! But since the game is all quests (again, literally all quests, you cannot leave the town until you’re on a quest) it’s addicting because “one more quest” not only gives you a reward for a job well done, but gives you an opportunity to grind and collect other items.

Basically, Monster Hunter is a fascinating relic of a time before developers had figured out camera control and movement in a 3d space, but holy shit they were on to something with a wildly inventive gameplay loop. In a broad sense, it reminds me of Demon’s Souls, the first proper Souls game. It’s rough around the edges, but holds up because FromSoftware, shockingly, got the now-famous “Souls Gameplay” right the first time and really, they’ve just been polishing and bolting on new stuff to it ever since. Or so I’d imagine. I’ll have to player newer Monster Hunter games to be sure but this original game, borderline unplayable though it may be, was enough to whet my appetite. 

Derek | Judd Apatow: The Return & Fred Armisen Standup for Drummers

After destroying the rental market, Netflix smelled blood in the water and has been working very hard to corner every possible streaming market it can. Original movies, tv shows, and lots of anime recently (they’re coming for you, Crunchyroll), but a pleasant surprise has been in stand-up comedy. I’m been a lifelong big fan of stand-up and Netflix has removed the barrier once set up by premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime. However, as with every market they’ve tried to corner, Netflix applied the Hungry-Hungry-Hippos mentality by writing checks and green-lighting new projects at ludicrous speed. This quantity over quality approach probably explains two middling stand-up specials I watched recently, Judd Apatow’s The Return & Fred Armisen’s Standup for Drummers. But there’s no good or bad media, just interesting and uninteresting media, right? I didn’t enjoy either of these specials but I found their shortcomings really interesting.

Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, a million other movies) and Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Documentary Now, SNL) are very funny and very successful comedy institutions. They are not, however, stand-up comedians. If that’s confusing, here’s an analogy: just because you’re not tone deaf, doesn’t mean you can sing, or just because you’ve got a natural sense of rhythm, doesn't mean you can dance. Apatow and Armisen are two huge names in the comedy world, but their Netflix specials are pretty incredible examples of why standup is so difficult. 

Judd Apatow got his start as a stand-up (hence the title) but made his fame behind the camera. The man knows how to write a joke, but The Return suggests maybe not how to deliver one. His material isn’t too bad, the typical raunchy and personal stuff you’d expect if you’ve seen any of his films, but his jokes here seem rushed and his punchlines involve too much shouting. The material is there it’s just sloppy and not delivered very well. 

Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld have talked about their craft in numerous interviews and they both say the real challenge is not writing a joke but getting a laugh in the room. Maybe the punchline works but the set-up is too wordy and confusing, or the delivery is just off. Seinfeld talks about laboring over syllables and word choice for years if he has to, and Rock talks about endlessly testing material in front of small crowds until the entire act is tight (btw, his Netflix special Tamborine is great). Apatow’s special feels rushed and untested. Maybe the material works on the page but it falls flat on stage.

Stand-up for Drummers (note that’s “Drummers” not “Dummies”) is actually an extremely inventive special. Like the special suggests, it involves numerous jokes about being a percussionist and showcases Armisen’s skills behind the sticks. Conceptually, it’s one of the more interesting stand-up specials I’ve seen in a while (also see Todd Glass’ Act Happy). But Armisen’s strength is in impressions and improvisation. For every joke that landed, there were maybe 5 where I reacted “ … oh that was the punchline?”. This is just not the right place for Armisen. To be fair, there were certain joke clearly aimed at drummers, but Armisen almost hides behind that. It’s hacky material but because it’s about being a drummer instead of eating airline food, it gets a pass. It’s a different perspective but not really a funnier one. 

What puts Drummers over The Return is the idea that this really is a stand-up special all about the world of percussionists. Armisen does deserve credit for taking the stand-up special to such a weird place. And I don’t think anyone other than Arm’s Race Netflix would’ve taken this kind of chance. 

Ok that’s it for now! We’ll be back again with another blog and more videos soon! Thanks as always for the support, stay powerful!!