Knack

Knack is a PS4 launch game rated E-10 (everyone 10 and older), which I picked up with my new PS4. It is a charming game from the same mold as Ratchet & Clank. It is a beautiful game with great visuals that I think shows off the power of the PS4 quite nicely (not as visually stunning as Killzone: Shadow Fall, but still nice).  It is a platformer/brawler game with a cute, child friendly, story about a world where humans use "relics" to power everything, and goblins are messing things up. No scary/horrifying moments so far, and I would say I have managed to play about half way through it as I write this.

Game play focuses more on combat than platforming. Think of the level roaming in Ratchet & Clank plus the combat of Jak and Daxter/Rayman. The game leaves out the collecting from Jak & Daxter, and the guns/gadgets from Ratchet & Clank.

Reviews of video games that aren't dark and depressing.

I have a tremendous aversion to dark and depressing stuff. I think most people as they get older and see real-life death and devastation and come to understand how very different it is when the long-term effects are forced to be felt (unlike how it is presented in modern "entertainment") are no longer able to view that stuff as "entertainment" any more, whether is comes in the form of books, magazines, movies, TV shows, video games, or the internet -- I tend to avoid it.

This blog is going to contain reviews and discussion of video games which avoid heavy drama, depression, human misery and the like to "entertain" (by that I mean: rape, torture, horror, graphic/extreme violence, etc. not PG-13 violence). I don't like that kind of stuff, and I think that kind of stuff is damaging not just to the human mind, but to the society that revels in it. This blog will make the effort to show people the content out there that isn't trying to make human misery into entertainment. I will also link you to that content whenever it is appropriate. Anything I link to, I recommend.

This blog is going to be about games like: Knack, Plants Vs. Zombies, Mass Effect, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Angry Birds, Halo, Where's My Water, Final Fantasy X-2, Asheron's Call, Kingdome Hearts, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, Toejam & Earl, Super Mario Brothers, Jak & Daxter, Sly Fox, Ratchet & Clank, Portal, Rock Band, Star Wars: The Old Republic, DuckTales: Remastered, Mario Party, Super Smash Brothers, SSX, Donkey Kong 64, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds, The Simpsons Game, Baldur's Gate, and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.

Yes, I am well aware of the fact that quite a few games and game series I just named have touched on dark & depressing things, or a section of a game is dark, while the majority isn't. Those works either won't get recommended, or will be recommended with extreme caveats.

This blog is going to be about stuff that I wish I could find easier to help point me to the next thing I would love to play, in the hopes that it will help someone else find something great to help brighten their day. And, of course, if any of you have any suggestions, let me know, and I will check them out.

Let's get started, shall we? :)