In just over 10 days the decade comes to an end.

As far as the stuff I write about here, 2019 did a pretty decent job of closing that decade out. It wasn’t quite a year of all-time classics, but the duds were few and far between. Despite the fact we are now under a year away from the next videogame console generation, 2019 still hit hard and often with giant releases, surprisingly good games, and quite a few instances of both at once. K-Pop finally started to give proper attention to the potential of solo performers, and Disney had its biggest year ever, releasing enough movies to fill an entire Top 10 list all on its own. But don’t worry – I won’t be doing that. Even though I seriously considered it. But no. Anyway, there was plenty to enjoy and plenty to discuss with friends. Which is what it’s all about, really.

Aside from one necessary movement of a point and a renewed attempt at semicolon usage, the 2019 lists are going to feel pretty familiar. The line-up is unchanged for the first time in years and I feeling pretty settled about it for now. However little you read this year, thank you for indulging me in one of the things that gives me life.

On that note, disappointments list up tomorrow.

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VR BEST OF 2019 DISCLAIMER

These lists represent my opinion only. I am not asserting any kind of superiority or self-importance by presenting them as I have. My opinion is not fact. To agree with me 100% is rarer than an EA game without microtransactions. Respectful disagreement is most welcome.

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It’s mid April once more, and that can only mean one thing! Vagrant Rant’s third annual

GUEST

GUEST

GUEST

WRITER

WRITER

WRITER

WEEK!

WEEK!

WEEK!

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Normally this would be my chance to take a break from blogging, but I’ve just been so busy lately that this will be the most posting activity I’ve had on my blog all year. I am super grateful to the seven writers you are about to read over the next week. This is absolutely one of my favourite times of the year.

Please enjoy.
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The struggle.

There are many opinions floating around on and off the internet about the merits (or lack thereof) of Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website designed to help people get their creative ideas off the ground and into the hands of those who wish to benefit from said ideas, by relying on donations from fans. Plenty of projects have failed (some before they get funded, others afterwards – see the OUYA Android game console) while others, like the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and the recently released Veronica Mars movie, have reached their desired funding goals and then some, really taking off in a big way.

As of now I have only ever donated to two Kickstarter campaigns. One is the multi-platform WayForward videogame Shantae: Half Genie Hero, which looks rad. The other is Zach Braff’s long-awaited (by some) Wish I Was Here, the spiritual successor to his directorial debut film Garden State from 2005. The first teaser trailer for the film just dropped, and it hasn’t yet been sent to any major news outlets, so here it is:

Garden State is one of my all-time favourite movies, as it did a great job of capturing the emotional highs and lows experienced by the average Western twenty-something. Braff promises that Wish I Was Here will do something similar with the thirties, and by the looks of things, he’ll be telling his story in a similarly quirky way this time around. The soundtrack of Garden State won a Grammy award, so I see no reason why Braff’s music choices won’t markedly enhance the onscreen action here as well. It appears, at least, that he still adores The Shins.

Man, I hope this movie is good.

This isn’t a news blog – Vagrant Rant exists primarily as an outlet for my own opinions on entertainment media, as well as my compulsive need to order things into top ten lists. But today, I’m making an exception, because something pretty cool happened on the iOS App Store today and not nearly enough people will be aware of it.

Former Nintendo DS game Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, known to its fans as simply 999, was released on the App Store today in “novel” form (a.k.a. with all the puzzles taken out), carrying the Australian price tag of $5.49. The critically acclaimed original version of the game was never released in Australia and only ever printed in limited numbers in the US, but has amassed a pretty vocal following worldwide since its 2010 release. It’s the prequel to Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward, a deviously clever 3DS/PS Vita game that I reviewed on this blog in the middle of last year (I’ve gone back and upgraded that review to reflect this new release).

Without any of its former puzzles the experience takes on a kind of choose-your own-adventure novel structure, with the added bonus of slightly animated visuals (now in HD!), comic book style dialogue and a brand new “flowchart” feature that allows you to rewind the story at a moment’s notice to retry any of the game’s major choices. Being a Japanese game that wasn’t expected to make a big splash in the West, things do get weird throughout the narrative, which can best be described as a thriller/sci-fi mash-up with some heavy themes and a few lashings of oddball comedy. I won’t say anything more about the story, but suffice to say it’s a twisty tale that sticks with you and I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, there is no Android version of the novel at the moment, which makes me sad. Hopefully there will be one soon.

So by all means, get out your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and happy reading!