TV.com

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

One of the best quotes in a show ever:
"Cyborgs use food products. If you think about, they're VICTIMS too. They were called to serve a Non-Nuclear World War IV, the so called Second Vietnam War. Campaign regulations provided them with high-performance cyberbrains and partial prosthetic bodies. It's often said that, 'war is a trade fair for multi-national corporations. A proving ground where cyberisation and prosthetic technology advances by leaps and bounds'. That's what the last war was REALLY about. Without realising that they were guinea pigs, they lost their human bodies, their families, even their homelands. Now they cling out to the skimpy benefits and jobs that are doled out to them. At the first glance, they seem happy, but tehy don't have a clue that it's a fake pleasure. Created by a virtual personality. Composed of a cyberbrain and a prosthetic body."

Gino, a soldier from the Second Vietnam War suffers from all the pain caused during the battle and can't keep it inside. An incredibly smart individual, you'll sympathise with his search for the truth against mass media and the military. This is pure noir, right here, you internalise yourself with the character and see his motivations and struggles. He comments on the prosthetic culture, the process of a human made to machine, and why prosthetic people need to eat, their eagerness to feel their old human self as much as possible. With the tendency to fall into daydreams much like the Six Feet Under series, Gino can't help but wish these came real. He wants to give it to the conglomerates, the corrupt corporate so bad, that he's set a single date on the calendar. 25 of the month. I can't spell everything out for you, because this is one of those genuine episodes that you fall in love with and never forget, even after two years when I first saw it. The immense blend of jazz, drums, orchestra, and techno music is the hallmark of this show, and it shows incredible depth in this episode. They're a real tearjerker, especially about half-way in the episode where he wants the helicopter to crash down into doom. Set perfectly to the scene, it internalises you even more into Gino. There are some shocking moments, especially one involving him trying to pay for a brothel. He can't fulfill the job because of his prosthetic organ, and is thrown out into the trash. The pimp lingers a gun to his head, with his money in the other hand, and makes Gino beg for his life. The music in this scene is PHENOMENAL, and just needs to be recognised. Did that happen in fantasy or reality? But sadly, this happened for real, and you don't know whether he's hypocritical for paying off a hooker, or just a sexually frustrated simple man who's got nothing in life. Batou explains this, that he didn't lose his private organs during the war, but by catching a STD.

There's a very sweet moment when the Major cameos with Gino in the helicopter, and then you see him drop straight into fantasy where he's dripping in blood everywhere. "He's just one of the countless number of pinnacle souls who harbour fake dreams of greatness and is frustrated by reality. He'll never carry out his plan. He's a member of the Proletariat, who's just out of touch with reality."

And that's just the thing, this provokes your mind with the excellent writing and the possiblity of such a thing happening. It's a disturbing episode, the psychology and gruesome violence is not for everyone. In many ways, this show is not for everyone. There is immense humanism here, and it takes more than just Shinji whining from NGS to appreciate how heart-felt and insightful this show really is. Is this the real motive to a terrorist? Is it just some guy who's misunderstood in the world, and wants to prove that he can do something worthwhile by sticking it to the man? We might never know, but we can say this is one of the best episodes in the entire Ghost in the Shell series. A prime example of what this cyber-philosophical show has to offer to the naive person watching this behind a computer.

Beyond Good and Evil is...AMAZING! (56k warning)

Oh man, I am LOVING this game! After Gears 2, this is a very welcome change of pace.

I'm taking pics of EVERYTHING, also the boss character! I didn't realise to take a picture of Pey'j, too! Now, time for me to put my Dazzle capture device to work.

Up to now, the game's hell varied and surprising at every turn. Puzzles, combat, photography, exploration, environments, etc. First, was defend against the attack on Lighthouse. Awesome combat. The more you mash attack, the cooler the combo looks. Take pics of everyone in your lighthouse. Then the hovercraft is awesome! Excellent controls, good enough for me to win the races in the City.

Defeat the DomZ worm attack in the water, segment by segment. Cool. You go to a Mammago garage to get it fixed up, by Jamaican Rhinos!

Mammago Jamaican rhinoceros, LOL!

The Black Isle mission was just great. Can't wait to hear 1up FM talk on it. And when Pey'j gets the "plier", he's all like:

His "Super-Action" boots!

Use those boots to make these bombs pop out, and hit them in SLOW-MO. Sea anemones, that spew out bubbles?! WTFLOL.

Oh crap, I forgot to take picture of these guys! Now, I don't know what species they are!!! And then you find out that the male and female PETROLIMAX,

are actually antlers of a huge MONSTER!!!! PETROLIMAX GIGANTEA!

When you go into City, and see all these other hovercrafts, it's like you're in a sci-fi future but with weird animal species and DomZ propaganda posters. The music is AMAZING, especially at night. It's like the piano music in Final Fantasy. I need to get the soundtrack, pronto, as awesome as Psychonauts. I love this dystopian sci-fi angle, but with twist of homo sapiens + animal species, like goats and Pey'j, and flies.

The day/night system was amazing, just the transition alone is insane. At night, take camera and look up at sky, and you can see CONSTELLATIONS. Monkey, pig, cow constellations! LOL But when sun comes, SOLARIS, you can't see constellations anymore. Wow! You then go to "Akunda Bar":

That's the bartender!

Play Three Coconut Monty with this "Peepers" guy to get a Pearl. Play air hockey with Francis, and get pearl. This mini-game is awesome! Then you join the IRIS network, and the bunch of rebels. You go through a bookcase, to get to this Iris Den: Not being a furry, but Mei's kinda hot! XD And this is so unexpected, Mr. De Castellac/Hahn: It's not a limo, it's a... A TAXI CAB?! LOLWTF! Hope you appreciate the photos!