To be fair, calling this a review is false advertising at best. Like creators Ed Burns and David Simon’s previous venture The Wire, trying to get a sense of where Generation Kill is going or what it is all about after a mere episode is pointless at best. The meandering dialogue, the aimlessness, the complex interweaving of plot points suggest something adventurous and powerful, like the tip of an iceberg poking out menacingly from the water.
For some, sticking with this show will be something of a faith exercise. Everyone who stuck with The Wire after its first few episodes were rewarded with the strongest, most powerful drama on television, but many viewers abandoned it quickly. Similarly, if I had to judge Generation Kill based solely on the merits of its debut episode, it would be challenging. You want to like it, but quantifying exactly what you have just seen is difficult.
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Okay, this technically isn’t about a TV show, but video games show up on my TV screen and since we’re not launching VideoGameSuperNerd Verdict anytime soon, allow me the opportunity to burn some bandwidth with my impressions from my most anticipated game of this console cycle.
Ninja Gaiden Black for the original Xbox is one of my all-time favorite games, so it was with a mix of jubilation and, well, it was just straight up jubilation, when I heard about the sequel hitting the 360 in June.
So I picked it up yesterday and after two chapters, I can safely say it’s everything I hoped for. The reviews haven’t been otherworldly, and I’ll readily admit this type of hyper-paced action isn’t for everyone (read: if you consider yourself a fan of Carnival Games for the Wii), but for those of you–like me–that find video game bliss in single-player hard-core action/adventure, then Ninja Gaiden II is the cat’s pajamas.
The combat is exhilarating and a definite upgrade from the predecessor, the graphics are eye-candy, the blood and severed limbs are copious, the music is perfectly suited to get your heart pumping and the story–well, that still doesn’t make a molecule of sense, but who cares. If violently balletic hacking and slashing is your thing, I suspect Ninja Gaiden II will be for you what has been for me this far–gaming Nirvana.
