So, I Gave in and Rented Ninja Gaiden 3....

I gave in and rented the damn thing (no way am I buying it and supporting TN's 'vision') and so far (beginning of Day 3 on Hard) I have to say that it's.....overall a great game with several significant flaws, one of which being it's a TERRIBLE Ninja Gaiden game. I'll review the game once I am done with it, but for now, here's a bullet point list of a few (negative) things about the game that many/most reviewers seemed to have missed (as usual):

-Recovery frames are far too numerous and sustained
-The usefulness of shuriken cancelling has been decreased (reduction in frames during which it is possible)
-Invincibility frames (i-frames) have been reduced in number
-Enemy tracking is not broken, but problematic
-Wind pathing controls are a bit screwed up
-No guillotine throw :(
-Shuriken cancelling while airborne (or even throwing normal air shurikens) results in OL recovery frames
-Enemy grabs have pretty obvious telegraphs (audio/visual) but this is largely negated by above issues
-ShurikenSlideStrong Attack on a bloody enemy to initiate a SOB moment often glitches and fails
-TN set out to negate UT spam, but in doing do merely replaced it with SOB spam
-Enemy encounters are ridiculously lengthy gauntlets (at least on Hard) resulting in extreme repetition
-Control of Ryu is taken from the player FAR too often, ruining the pacing
-Far too much grab spam in addition to the recovery frame issue=less combat options (at least on Hard)
-Many moments of slowdown on Hard and above (due to the high enemy and projectile count)
-Most of the music heard thus far has been much less memorable than that of the previous games
-Invisible walls
-Wall running and bird flipping opportunities are few and far between
-Too much bow combat. It's just not very engaging

On the positive side of things:

-Some nice new DS combos
-OT's look cool and are prioritized (OT opportunities are always recognized by the engine and prioritized)
-The lack of items, while overall a gigantic step backwards, does add to the tension/difficulty during fights
-SOB chaining, while overall a detriment, is actually kind of fun, surprisingly
-Graphics are (mostly) great
-Regent of the Mask is a good boss. Bit too easy but well designed and fun
-Bow control is much more user friendly than before (not all changes aiming for ease of use are bad)
-Quickest loading of the modern console NG games (restarting after death is pretty fast, which is nice)
-There's still challenge and fun to be had here. A non 'hardcore' Ninja Gaiden fan might LOVE this game

If I don't give up on this game (I have been tempted to a few times) I will review it in full upon completion.

You Have Proof of Your God's Existence? Okay, Let's Hear It.

Believe in a god? Have proof of said god's existence? I'd like to hear it.

Anyone who happens to be reading this and think they have proof of the existence of their god of choice, let me have it. 

However, if I may, before you reveal it, I'd like to set 3 rules.

1) Arguments from incredulity are fallacious and I will not accept them.  For example, saying "Look at the world around you. sIt's too "perfect." It had to be created, therefore, there's obviously a God." This is a logical fallacy. Just because you cannot fathom any other explanation does not mean there isn't one. All you are really saying is "I don't know and I am inserting "god." There are MANY other possible explanations. Some more plausible than others. So please refrain from using this as "proof." I will not accept it.

2) These also are not valid and will not be accepted as "proof:"

-You can't prove there's not a god!

-Without god, people have no reason to be moral.

The first one is just stupid burden shifting (and still not proof anyways) and the scond one is just a bare assertion fallacy (and wrong) (and still not proof).

3) For people who believe in the "one true god....." whatever proof you do have, ask yourself, could that same proof not be utilized by someone else who believes in a different god? If so, how can it be valid for you and not them? Which means......by your logic, their god must exist as well. For example, if you say "God speaks to me" and this is your proof, fine. However, if someone who believes in one of the 3799 other propsed gods says that as well, would that not be proof that their god also exists?

Okay, so if you think you have proof of god's existence and it does not consist of one of the above disqualified lines of reasoning, please do share it! Keep in mind, however, that this is for people who say they actually have proof, not for those who say it's based on faith.

Gay Marriage is No Different Than Heterosexual Marriage (PIC)

Here is all of the evidence you need that gay marriage is no different than straight marriage: A pact between two people who have given up:

Rousimar Palhares: A Tribute

Self Interest

Here are some questions that I sometimes ask myself: Are all actions driven entirely by self interest? Even altruistic ones? What about on a non individual level, like the actions of entire countries with respect to other existing nations, aka foreign policy? Is literally everything we do selfish?

Biblical Contradictions!

Time to examine a fraction of the myriad of biblical contradictions to be found with the slightest of investigation.

Bible contradictions, here we come!

-Jesus born in Bethlehem
-Jesus born in Nazareth

-God is omniscient, YET:
-Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

-Christians assume the Bible god only had one son, Jesus. If this is so, then why does Job 1:6 and 2:1 say "the sons of God"? This contradicts John 3:18 which says Jesus is God's only son. Why does Luke 3:38 say Adam was the son of God?

-Like many other topics, the Bible is ambiguous about dancing. It seems to be ok if done to celebrate "a very great slaughter" of Israel's enemies as is the case in Judges 11:32-34. Many Christian sects consider dancing to be lasciviousness and revelings which are outlawed in Galatians 5:19-21. Reveling is defined as "taking great pleasure". Contrary to Galatians, Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 approves of dancing when it plainly says there is a time "for every purpose under the heaven", including dancing.

-Is Jesus God? Jesus himself seems confused about this. In John 10:30 the Bible says he said "I and my father are one" while John 14:28 has Jesus saying "..my father is greater than I".

-When did Jesus fly up to heaven? Luke 24:1-51 and Mark 16:9-19 both say it was the same day he came back from the dead while John 20:26 says it was 8 days after his resurrection but Acts 1:3-9 says it was 40 days later.

-Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible, YET:
-Judges 1 :19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

-Joseph and Mary return for Roman census
-Joseph and Mary never return for any census

-Genesis 1, animals before man
-Genesis 2, man before animals

-One god? OR
-Multiple gods? (ex's: Gen 1:26, Gen 3:22, Exodus 12:12, Deut 10:17)

And there you have a small list of some bible contradictions.

Ruminating on Destruction (The Demise of Classic Video Game Franchises)

Back in January I wrote a blog post entitled “My Favourite Franchises Are Being Destroyed”

In light of recent events, I have taken it upon myself to produce a follow up to said post. I am not sure what form the following will take (measured, rational assessment of things as I see them, an angry, emotional, irrational rant, or some combination of the two) but I do know that I am compelled to revisit this perhaps tired, but in my mind terribly poignant point: Classic video game franchises are being utterly raped in this seventh video game generation.