Magpie Gamer

Ark: The Animated Series is a 2024 animated series based on the video game, Ark: Survival Evolved. The story is taken directly from collectable pages that could be found scattered throughout the video game. These pages recount the same story from the perspective of multiple characters, each writing in their native language. Hand drawn animation was chosen for the series because it "ages better" than 3D and is not easily mistaken for a video game cut-scene. Snail Games (publisher) chose the American based studio, Lex + Otis, to animate the series and paid for a massive, star-studded ensemble to voice the characters. The series was announced in 2020 but went without a confirmed release date or streaming platform until 2024, when the first six episodes were released unexpectedly in a surprise drop. For unexplained reasons, 'part two' was delayed to sometime in 2026. Given the developer/publisher's history of abandoning projects and announcing vaporware, I hav...

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composer: Chikayo Fukuda Singer: Tomoyo Mitani North American Release Date: February 21, 2012 Asura is one of eight Guardian Generals who derive their power from human worship, which they use in an eternal war against hostile beings called Gohma. Seeking greater power and true immortality, the other seven Guardian Generals abduct Asura's daughter, murder his wife, and frame Asura for the death of their emperor. After 12,000 years have past, Asura is reborn into the living world to seek vengeance on the Seven Deities. The ...

Story: The world is stuck in a perpetual loop of war, death, and suffering where colonies of child soldiers are ruled over by a Moebius monster with fealty to a "Queen". Sounds dark, right? Well... its not. The 'power of friendship' is emphasized heavily and everyone is obsessed with smiling. A certain villain ( Shania ) who commits genocide - twice - is forgiven because they have mommy issues. The story keeps telling you how bad things are but it doesn't look or feel that way. Characters talk in circles constantly, explaining and reexplaining the very obvious themes of the game like you're a 5 year old. Noah (the protagonist) is the most generic "good guy" and the Moebius villains are literal immortal children playing with their 'toys'. They all have the same wacky mannerisms and will throw a tantrum whenever things don't go their way, so they never come off as a serious threat. Most of the story beats are broadcast too early and...

Story: In a medieval fantasy setting there is a group of magic users called "deities" by some and "witches" by others. Eirudy, a witch living in the secluded Misty Forest, has narrowly escaped the witch hunts. One day she meets a young nobleman named Adrian, whose mother is sick. After saving his life, the two become friends. The only problem is Adrian's father Regal, who heavily taxes the common man, can control dragons and hates witches. There are three or four dialogue options that can change the story for a "light", "dark", or "true" ending. Gameplay: At her atelier, Eirudy can craft weapons or items, which moves time forward. Every few days she can train various stats that will make combat and crafting easier. As a "Marionette Witch" Eirudy can bring dolls to life using 'soul juice' extracted from people and animals defeated in combat. These dolls can then be ridden around and used in battle. T...

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composers: P. T. Adamczyk, Marcin Przybyłowicz, and Paul Leonard-Morgan Singers: Aligns & Rubicones, REL & Artemis Delta,  Jason Charles Miller, Alexei Brayko, Release Date: February 15, 2022 A freelance mercenary known as "V" (Vincent / Valerie) operates within the independent megacity and city-state known as "Night City". They are reluctantly imbued with a cybernetic "bio-chip" during a job that contains a digital version of the legendary rockstar and terrorist, Johnny Silverhand. The t...

Story: Three Hopes is a re-telling of the story from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It diverges from the main timeline by introducing a new player character, Shez, as a student at the academy and having Jeritza fill in as a professor instead of the previous protagonist, Byleth. Solon is outed early and Monica is saved from Kronya. There are three routes depending on which house you side with after the prologue: A rivalry between Byleth and Shez is set up but awkwardly incorporated and has very little impact on the story. Blue Lions (Kingdom): In this timeline Dimitri never goes insane because the Remire Village Massacre, Flame Emperor, and his exile never occur. With Dimitri cognizant, he assumes more of a leadership role and the responsibilities that go along with it. Most of this route's focus is on protecting the Church and the Kingdom lands from the Empire's incursion, which requires a bit of backtracking across the same areas multiple times. This version felt t...