Game Review: Concrete Genie

Hello Enthusiasts,

As much as I love nonsensical violence in my video games, I can appreciate quieter, more atmospheric titles as well. Today's topic is one such game, a PS4 exclusive, Concrete Genie. As always, you can expect some Mild Spoilers Below. 

You play as Ash, a young artist that enjoys hanging out in a desolate town called Denska. The place has been abandoned for a while now because of a dark mold that has overrun many parts of the city. Ash's mother warns Ash not to go there, but he seems to draw inspiration from the place. However, within the game's first cutscene, bullies harass Ash and destroy his notebook for drawings before sending him up to a creepy old lighthouse where a ghost supposedly lives. Ash meets this spirit in the lighthouse, which takes the form of one of his drawings. The "ghost," called Luna, guides Ash to find a magic paintbrush that can bring his art to life. With the brush, Ash can paint living portraits on buildings and walls that bring life back to the town. He's also able to create "genies," playful little monsters that live in the walls as Ash's art and interact with the environment in various ways. Ash decides to use this power to clear out the dark mold, bring life and people back to the town, find his pages of art that the bullies scattered around town. Along the way, maybe he'll even help those bullies overcome some of their own trauma. 

The story is ultimately a heartwarming, feel-good tale about forgiveness and kindness winning the day. It's not groundbreaking in its message, but it's still something you'll feel good about as you go through it and finally finish it. 

The gameplay does take a little getting used to. The game was designed to be used with the Dualshock 4 or with PS VR, so there is heavy emphasis on motion controls. Still, after a while, it does start to feel natural. In fact, using the motion controls made the process of painting these giant pieces of art feel more natural, and I ended up happily swinging and tilting my controller around. The art is beautiful, almost giving the appearance of being stop-motion, though it is just a little off from that. As you go through the game, you gain access to different art that you can paint with the brush (it's all based on your notebook pages that you find). If you're like me, you end up having some favorite pieces that you throw onto every mural you paint. Interacting with the genies is fun, whether you're playing a game of peek-a-boo or creating a scene for them in the walls.

For all of the beautiful things about this game, there is one major drawback for me. This game is incredibly easy. It was beyond easy; I didn't lose or get caught by the bullies at all throughout my entire game. I know it's not meant to be an intense experience, but the puzzles are all laughably simple. The most challenging part of the game was getting used to the motion controls, and even with that, I ended up beating the game after maybe five or six hours of playing it, which included time just drawing randomly on the walls (because, again, that is satisfying). The game also doesn't have a whole lot of replay value. It has a great story, but not one I feel like I need to experience more than once. 

At the end of the day, this was a fun game. I absolutely enjoyed lighting up the streets of that town with my beautiful neon graffiti and playing around with my artistic creations. It won't be for everyone because, again, it's not too intense or action-packed. Still, for anyone who wants a pleasant gameplay experience (or anyone with a kid that loves games), this is a definite recommendation. 

I give Concrete Genie an 8 out of 10. 

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast

Best City-Building Games

 

Hello Enthusiasts, 

I don't know how anyone could actually dislike city building games. Granted, they may not be as action-packed as a FPS and you don't really connect with individual characters like you do in other games, but there's so much to them. Taking charge of a whole population, managing resources, planning out and building; these games have always felt so engaging to me. 

So, naturally, I decided to hunt around for some of the best ones. Not only that, I wanted to find a variety, some with RTS elements, some that take place in outer space, and even some that could be played on a phone. After all of my research, I came up with this list of the best 15 city building games that are available to play right now. 

So go ahead and take charge. Build what you want, and tear down what you don't want. It's your city, country, or world to shape as you see fit. 

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast 

Best Comics for 10-Year-Olds

 

Hello Enthusiasts, 

Do you remember being ten years old? Maybe not ten exactly, but at that age where you were done with "kid stuff" and wanted to do and watch and play things that were meant for grownups? 

God, weren't we dumb. 

But nonetheless, it's something that pretty much everyone goes through. You want to grow up, you don't want people to think you're a kid anymore. At the same time, though, you didn't know all the gross and graphic stuff like you do as an adult, and it's probably better that nobody gave you anything too adult when you were that age, right?

Find things that are appropriate, but not too childish, can be a difficult line to walk, and I have done what I can to do so. I have put together the best comics I could find for 10-year-olds, which you can find here. Read it, I hope you enjoy it, and remember to be in bed by 9:00 sharp!

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast

Best DC Comics for Beginners

 

Hello Enthusiasts, 

I've been reading comics since I was just a small child (maybe I was looking at the pictures more than reading, but you get the idea), and because of this, I tend to take certain bits of knowledge for granted. I know Superman gets his powers from the sun, I know that the green lantern corps are the space police, I know that the Flash somehow gets his powers from the Speed Force and somehow created that same Speed Force with his powers, etc. 

However, as superhero moves and media continue to dominate markets, it's dawned on me that this knowledge isn't exactly common. I spoke with a friend about how there should be a Nightwing movie, and they weren't sure who Nightwing was (blew their mind that he's an adult Robin, by the way). So, for people that want to get into this world post-childhood, where could you even start. 

It's a difficult question with a lot of answers, but in an attempt to try and help, I've put together a short list of the best DC comics for beginners. You can find it here. 

Good reading, and don't worry if that picture at the top seems overwhelming, some things in DC will never really make sense. 

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast

Best Comics for Improving English

 

Hello Enthusiasts, 

As I earned my master's degree in writing, there was one lesson that stood above all of the rest, one thing that stuck out so far that I had no choice but to learn it; English is hard. 

Yeah, I know, not exactly a revelation, but it's true. I'm not just talking about grammar, either. I'm talking about spelling, storytelling, pronunciation, everything. There are a lot of hard and fast rules, as well as suggestions. Sometimes breaking those rules makes you an idiot, while other times it makes you a genius. 

Well, for anyone else out there who may need some assistance with the English language, comics have you covered. I did some research and found the ten best comics to improve your english skills, which I've posted here. 

Read, enjoy, and write good. 

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast

The Best Comics for Kids

 

Hello Enthusiasts,

It's probably obvious, but I have an affinity for comic books. I enjoy them immensely, but I recognize that they aren't always the most appropriate things for kids. With comic books out there like Sex Criminals, East of West, and Crossed, it can be difficult to find something that I, or probably most people, would find okay for kids. 

However,  with that being said, there are a ton of great comic books and graphic novels for kids. In an effort to help facilitate the search, I've put together a short list of the best titles for kids here. 

Enjoy. 

Sincerely, 

The Bored Enthusiast

Book Review: The Ables

Hello Enthusiasts,

Between comics, movies, television, and books, pop culture is full of super-hero stories right now. I'm not complaining, I love super-hero stories, but we do have a saturated market. The potential issue with these various narratives is that a good number of them are pretty similar, especially in origin stories. Person discovers they have a power, they figure out how to use it, they save the day, tease for the next one. Because of this, I welcome anything that can really shake up the formula, which was one of the reasons that I fell in love with Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes series. Today though, I'll be looking at another book that adds some variety to the tried and true formula, a book by author Jeremy Scott, The Ables. Be advised that, as always, there will be some Mild Spoilers Below. 

The book follows a young man named Phillip who is told by his father that their family has powers. They moved to a new town because it's secretly a town for superheroes to live in, and for the powered youth to gain a hold on their new abilities. Phillip learns that he has the same power as his father, telekinesis, but there's a wrinkle. This ability requires the user to have some idea of the size and weight of what they're moving, and Phillip is blind. When he goes to the new hero school, he's thrown into a class for the powered youth with disabilities, and they're not held in high regard by the rest of the students at the school. That would be tough enough for any kid, but the stakes get raised, of course, by a villain who plans to find a hero with all of the powers to help him take over the world.

Essentially, it's a coming-of-age superhero story with the twist of having the main characters work through their disabilities.

The story is great; it's a familiar feeling plot with more than enough original content to keep a reader engaged. The characters and villains all feel well developed, and the rules of the world are consistent and logical. The powers for the main characters are fairly traditional, but are used in new and interesting ways. For example, one of the main characters, Henry, is psychic. Using his abilities, he's able to give Phillip something akin to "sight" by mentally sending him images from Henry's perspective. It's ideas like this that showcase the amount of thought and care that must have gone into the creation of this story. There are also a few very emotional moments in the book that are done very well, though I won't give those away here.

While the story is fun and interesting, there are a few things that hold it back. The book could have done with a stronger editor, as there are a few mistakes in the book (Phillip "looking" back at an audience before Henry helps him with visuals, one of the chapters still including a note to start the new chapter, etc). I don't really blame Scott for this, as every author is going to leave stuff like this in, but it's the job of a good editor to find these mistakes. There is also a noteworthy lack of female characters in the main group. There were a few moments where it looked like one of the female students would be involved with everything that the main group was doing, but they were put aside before too long. On one hand, I get this, as high schools students can sometimes form their groups that are all within one gender without any malice involved. However, on the other hand, there seemed to be a few missed opportunities to include a female character in the group to add a different perspective to what they were doing.

Overall though, I really liked this book. It was fun, compelling, and moved fast enough to keep me engaged. I do have some small issues with it,  but I am also excited to see a potential sequel to this story and know where the characters will go from here. It was honestly one of the best books I've read in several months, and I love being able to say that I've read something as good as this. Jeremy Scott's work here goes a long way to show that he has so much more to offer an audience than just being "The voice of Cinemasins". If you like superhero stories and don't mind them being set in a more young-adult setting, I think this is a solid read.

I give The Ables an 8.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast