Finished in 2013

There are 26 items here.

Gone Home

I am so ready for the generation of mature, intelligent, heartfelt games that this heralds. Played through it with my cousin Steve as a revival of our MacVenture days, then again on my own with commentary, then played through it for H.

The Legend of Heroes — Trails in the Sky

Solid, meat-and-potates, earnestly pre-moe JRPG. Focuses on the experience of traveling around a rich fantasy world, which feels like it existed long before you came along, and discovering the complex relationships between its people and institutions. Doesn’t focus on gimmicks, technology, or unlockable swimsuits for your female party members. The promising beginning to what seems to be a truly epickal series.

Xenoblade Chronicles

Given how often I find myself wanting to go back and play this again, maybe it should have gotten five stars. The excitement of a brand-new Xeno title that Shishka and I could play together was huge; he’s the one who got me into Xenogears in the first place, so many years ago. The world and much of the story felt appropriately epickal for the Xeno name. The tedium of the back third of the game cost me so much enthusiasm, though.

The Bible Unearthed — Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts

Art and Fear — Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

The Name of the Rose

An Appetite for Wonder — The Making of a Scientist

Analogue — A Hate Story

Bird by Bird — Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Digital — A Love Story

Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung — A Companion

The Queen's Gambit

American Savage — Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics

ファイブスター物語 6

The Tyrant's Law

ファイブスター物語 5

The Swerve — How the World Became Modern

ファイブスター物語 4

ファイブスター物語 3

ファイブスター物語 2

ファイブスター物語 1

Going Clear — Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief

The Looming Tower — Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

How Music Works

Makers — The New Industrial Revolution

Thinking, Fast and Slow