First Impressions Review Diary 2-Oct-2021

__Welcome to my next compilation of Twitter-length reviews of what I've been watching/playing over the past month. And in this case, it's been quite a busy month for me!🙂

__As well as continuing with my list of unplayed games (I'm currently going through titles from the year 2001), I've once again started watching movies more frequently. I saw two movies at the cinema in September, and I've started another marathon at home consisting of a pair of movies per day. They're mostly other movies from 2021, but I kicked it off with two miscellaneous pairs: the two Inbetweeners movies because I'd just recently watched the show, and a rewatch of the first two Conjuring movies in preparation for the third one. (For the time being, I'm still avoiding the spin-off movies like Annabelle and The Nun.)

__Also, after I started said batch of movies, I decided to start watching a few other game walkthroughs in between. As I've been going through my list, there've been quite a few games that I've skipped over and left unrated. There are a couple of new additions that I've just recently decided to download, but most of the others are fighting games and Square RPGs. With the fighting games, watching longplays is my only option because I just flat-out suck at them; every time I try to play them, I just get clobbered! And as for the Square RPGs, I've said before that I think it'd be best to watch blind Let's Plays of them first, because they're so long and rambling that I quickly lose interest when I try to play them myself, and longplays without commentary don't help much.

__So, with all that said, let's get started.

First Impressions Review Diary 4-Sep-2021

__Hello, and welcome to another list of my thoughts on the games I've been playing over the past month. In other years, my mini reviews on Twitter have focused on movies (and it'll soon be time for me to catch up on some movies from this year), but it's mostly been video games that have occupied my time lately. There are a lot of titles in my collection that I haven't played and therefore rated yet, so I'm going through them all in a list arranged by year. I never claimed to be a good player, so, with some exceptions, I'll usually give the game a try and then, if it becomes clear that I can't progress quickly and easily, continue via watching a longplay on YouTube.

__This time, I have fewer games to talk about than in other months, partly because they're starting to get longer (particularly Majora's Mask). But, to compensate, I got so passionate about one of them that it inspired me to write a full review – a rarity these days – which I'll save until the end. The game in question is Conker's Bad Fur Day. I'll probably get a lot of flak for this, but it is by far the worst game I've played yet! Bear in mind, I have no intention of playing infamously bad ones like Superman 64, Sonic '06 or Ride to Hell: Retribution.

__But before I explain why it had such an adverse effect on me, let's run through my brief thoughts on the others, some of which were pretty damn good.🙂 As I mentioned last time, they're covering the years 2000 and 2001, so here we go: the first few games from the new millennium.🙂

First Impressions Review Diary 7-Aug-2021

__Hello, and welcome to the next compilation of Twitter-length reviews of what I've been watching and playing over the past month.

__This one actually begins with a movie I saw at the cinema, something that hasn't happened for almost a year! I never considered watching Black Widow on Disney+, because I only subscribe occasionally for one month at a time to watch a number of movies, and I didn't think it was worth it for just one movie. (Once I get around to some TV shows on Disney+, my subscription will be more long-term.) Plus, I suspected Black Widow might be locked behind the premium paywall on top of that (and according to Wikipedia, it looks like I was right), so I decided the cinema would be easier, and probably cheaper as well. So what did I think?

Black Widow (2021)

The core idea is a solid one: Nat receiving closure by confronting her past, both her brutal training and her family. However, it's marred by excessive action scenes with little to no context. Not bad, but far from one of Marvel's best.

My rating: 65%.

First Impressions Review Diary 3-Jul-2021

__Hello again. And if you're in the USA, happy Independence Day weekend.🙂

__I'm also happy to report that I got my second shot yesterday.😀 I posted my last entry on this blog the day after I got the first one, so see that one for the story of how unexpected it was.🙂 Now I just need to self-isolate for another week, and I should be fine. Obviously, that doesn't mean I should stop being cautious, though.

__Now, for the last few months, I've been spending my days playing video games and my evenings watching TV shows, most recently Half-Life and Dexter respectively. However, because I finished both at almost exactly the same time, I decided to take a break and start on another set of movies, so that's what I'll be commenting on this time.

__But, because I played Half-Life before starting the batch of movies, it seems appropriate to throw in its mini review first. I said in my last post that it would be the first game I commented on this month; I didn't think it would turn out to be the only one.😀

Half-Life (PC)

I'm usually not a fan of first-person shooters, but this is one major exception.🙂 The fun gameplay is backed up by its creative setting and alien enemies, and a wide array of memorable scenarios. It's easy to see why it was so influential.

My rating: 95%.

First Impressions Review Diary 5-Jun-2021

__Before we jump into the batch of mini reviews from the past month, I'd like to mention that I got my first jab just yesterday.😀 It was very impromptu; my sister told me she was at our local health centre, and that I could also get mine if I came immediately. Fortunately, it was just around the corner, about five minutes away on foot. They must have had a surplus, because neither of us were expecting to be vaccinated for a while yet: it's those in their early forties that are currently the focus in Ireland. But here we are.🙂 A remarkable stroke of luck!

__Now, to business.😀

__First of all, two of the most recent Angry Video Game Nerd episodes concerned movies that I hadn't seen yet, so I decided to watch the movies themselves first to make sure I was in on all possible jokes.

First Impressions Review Diary 1-May-2021

__Hello.🙂 If this is your first time on my blog, I always post these compilations of mini reviews (which are copied and pasted from my Twitter) on the first Saturday of the month, and it's not often that that happens to be the first day of the month.😀 Today's post will mostly be a long string of video games, since that's what I've been focusing on for the past month. Before we get into that, though, let me start with my brief comments on four movies that I watched during a quick detour.

The Reckoning (2020)

The plot completely stagnates once Grace is accused of witchcraft, because the rest is nothing but their efforts to force her to confess. It's more mean-spirited than anything, as her resolve just seems like an excuse to extend the torture.

My rating: 40%.

Stowaway (2021)

It hinges on a hefty decision, but it's dulled because neither the narrative nor the characters are all that spectacular, so even the climax feels rather lacking. It does nail the atmosphere of space, though, like when they first lose gravity.

My rating: 60%.

Chaos Walking (2021)

It makes some clever use of all thoughts being out loud, but it gets pretty annoying hearing "I am Todd Hewitt" about a hundred times as he tries not to think of anything. The story itself is pretty bland; the books sound much better.

My rating: 50%.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

It's better than King of the Monsters, but not by much. The main problem is the pacing: it's almost two hours, yet it still feels rushed. Some of the characters are pretty annoying, too. Still, the climax makes it all worthwhile.

My rating: 55%.

First Impressions Review Diary 3-Apr-2021

__Happy Easter weekend, everyone.🙂 It's the first Saturday of April, so it's time for another compilation of the mini reviews I've posted on Twitter over the past month.

__First, let's talk about movies. In contrast to last month, I've actually seen quite a few this time, starting with Top Gun to prepare for the sequel due for release this year (here's hoping things are much safer by that point), then a couple of movie spin-offs from the TV shows I'd been watching in the evenings. Then there was a small set of movies from the end of 2020 and the start of 2021, including a few of the Oscar nominees that had just been announced, which I decided to watch as soon as possible. There are still a couple that I haven't been able to see, though, like Minari and Another Round.