Spaztic Reviews - February 2018

It's the 25th day of the month. You know what that means!

Welcome to another Spaztic Reviews blog post. As a reminder, I'll give you my top three games and anime that I've been playing and watching this month. The top title for each category will get a more in-depth review, which are always spoiler free. The full lists are in the talking points section at the bottom of the post. As another quick reminder, the content featured on my lists isn't restricted to titles that released in this specific month. They could have released in 1998, but I might just be catching up to the awesomeness now, so it can by all means make the list.

Be sure to check back monthly, as I'm working to post more content as time goes by. My last article was about politics, because let's face it--who isn't talking about guns right now? But nearly all of my posts moving forward will remain on the topic of geek culture: mainly video games and Japanese animation.

So with that, let's get to it. My top games and anime for February 2018!

Top Game of February 2018 - Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World skyrocketed to the top of the charts across both consoles following it's February release. As someone who attempted to play previous Monster Hunter titles with little luck, this title breathed fresh air into the franchise. The old games were fun without a doubt, but you almost needed a group of people to play with, and features were limited. With time and effort comes refinement, and that is extremely apparent in Monster Hunter's newest installment.

The Story

There's not a ton to talk about with the story without getting a bit spoilery. The game starts you off (much like a couple of the old titles, if I remember correctly) where you are part of a hunting group moving to a "new world" to hunt monsters. Just outside of the new world, a giant mountain of a monster rises out of the ocean. Your journey virtually begins here; You now need to investigate this monster and the monsters of the new world. There's probably deeper meaning and purpose to the entire story line, but that's what I got out of it having just completed the main quests myself.

It was a captivating story with challenging gameplay at times, but it was never frustrating. It was always fun, and extremely hard to put down. One huge perk to the game's story the content that comes after. The game leaves you with that feeling that, even though the main quest line ended, the real game is just beginning. There are endless quests and monster to be slain or captured. There's also an arena mode where the player can enter solo or with a group of friends to see who can take down certain monsters with the quickest times possible.

Combat and Other Mechanics

The controls leave nothing to be desired. The sprint button is bound to either L3 or R1. Clicking one of the sticks is usually the time-tested method of sprinting, but holding R1 was surprisingly intuitive.

The combat is similar to what I remember from previous Monster Hunter titles, and one major perk to these games is the immense number of play styles. Each weapon (there are upwards of 10 options) has it's own completely unique play style and move set including special combos.

Similar to the bard class in other games such as Final Fantasy XIV, this game boasts a bagpipe on which you can play tunes to buff your teammates as well as yourself. As you level it up, it can become other instruments, but come on...How cool is it that there's a doodlesack in the game?!

Tracking and hunting monsters is the meat of the game. I ran into an issue with at least two of the monsters, with a couple others I was able to defeat while only fainting once or twice. The major boss events throughout the game were more fun than challenging--I was able to beat each level on the first try. It was the monster hunts leading up to the final quest that gave me trouble. That said, I believe with the proper amount of farming for better gear components, the game could be easily solo'ed if multiplayer isn't your thing.

The World

The "New World" in Monster Hunter World is just that. A new locale separate from past titles, and it's gorgeous. It's a bit small, and it's divided into several sectors, but the scenery is gorgeous. Each sector of the world map is fairly big, but it's absolutely dwarfed by the map size of games like The Witcher, Breath of the Wild, and Fallout 4.

There is a nice variety of locations from thick forest to desert wastelands, and two of the later locations are particularly awesome from an aesthetic standpoint. Being spoiler free, I'll leave those locations for you to discover if you haven't played the game yet, but they're both quite stunning.

The player hub called Astera, where you ready yourself for your quests, is bustling with activity. I wish you could see other online hunters in this area, but it's a feature they didn't include (it wasn't a feature in the older games either if I remember correctly). Even though it's unlike the player hub in Destiny or Dragon Ball FighterZ, it still feels like the world is truly alive. Any time a game can do that without inserting actual PCs, it's a sign the developers have done a great job crafting the world around you.

From Astera, you can craft your armor, trade for supplies, cultivate materials, check quests, order stat-buffing food, and even manage your personal room which is also a fun little aspect all on its own. I feel like the rooms might actually be severely underrated; I never hear much about them with all the other hype surrounding the game. It's a fun way to step away from combat and personalize your room however you want with limited (but really amusing) options.

At the end of the day, the mechanics of hunting and capturing monsters is the meat of the game as I said above, but the world is beautifully crafted and truly completes the package.

Bugs and Complaints

It's worth noting that most games, within their first month on store shelves, will encounter their fair share of bugs and glitches. Maybe it's shocking or maybe it's not, but this game has been as stable as a Playstation Vita after all those stability updates. I've never experienced a crash, and there's never been any kind of weird glitch in the game play. One time, while playing with my cousin online, my quests failed to load and I lost connection to the game...but I honestly believe that to be a personal network issue either on my end or my ISP's.

The game works as it should, and there are no other red flags that have popped up. The developers keep adding neat stuff to the game including ongoing login bonuses, 3rd party content (like items/characters from Horizon Zero Dawn and Street Fighter V), and milestone bonuses (for instance, everyone got a reward the game selling so many copies).

Furthermore, the players that I've run into have been very kind. The community that plays this game is very chill and willing to work with new hunters in any way possible. Sending information back and forth is a breeze--Just hit options (on PS4), view the player list, and send your guild card to whoever you want.

I could not be happier with the quality of this game. It pushes it above and beyond all of my expectations.

Final Word

Capcom promised a game that would appease old and new Monster Hunter fans alike. Not unlike Final Fantasy XV, they strongly delivered on that promise and produced a Monster Hunter title that is accessible to all walks of life. Are you a long-time MH franchise fan? You'll love it. Brand new to the franchise? You'll love it. Like to solo everything? Done. Want to party up and have fun with your friends? Also done. There's variety, there are beautiful graphics, there are a lot of customization options for avatars and play styles, there's a decent story and much more content after, and it's all provided with a clean business model. They're not in your face about microtransactions, they keep adding new content, and they made a very stable game to begin with.

I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up this game. Having played some of the previous titles, I was a little unsure of what to expect. It turned out to truly be one of my top games this month, and probably all year.

Top Anime of February 2018 - Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga

The Story

Rin Okumura is back in the continuation of the original hit anime Blue Exorcist. Due to possible spoilers regarding the first season of Blue Exorcist, I won't be going into great detail with the story arc.

The Kyoto Saga picks up where the original series left off, with the students of True Cross Academy shocked regarding the events that ended the original series. These events raise questions about the main character Rin and whether he truly should be considered exorcist material.

The plot takes the class of exorcists to Kyoto, where a terrorist organization threatens to steal artifacts that could lead to the awakening of an immensely powerful demon. The students, as well as official exorcist and investigation organizations, respond to Kyoto to put a stop to the terrorist organization's plans.

Having vastly enjoyed the original series, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this second season played out. Sometimes, second or third seasons have a way of straying from the original storytelling that made the series shine (*Cough Cough* Gurren Lagann), but the second installment of this anime had the same feel as season one. It spun a yarn about how the students of True Cross Academy worked to rebound after the epic events of the first arc, all the while working to thwart a terrorist organization.

It had me on the edge of my seat through the entire season.

Animation, Artwork, and Style

Blue Exorcist: The Kyoto Saga boasts the same high-quality animation that the first one had. Being that it was one of the first series I watched (only after Fullmetal Alchemist and D.Gray-Man), the art style quickly became a standard for what I thought most anime should look like. Many anime series look very similar, with a few ranging from being a little different to vastly different. I really enjoy all the different styles that are out there, but Blue Exorcist is always top-notch. Even the first series holds up to the highest-quality animation that's released today. The original series is only about five years old, so that makes sense, but even anime that's release in 2015 can look dated already depending on the studio.

The effects that are used in the Kyoto Saga are nearly second to none. From fire and smoke to the exorcist powers that are used throughout the season, there's a lot of eye candy in the form of vfx. Another great aspect of this series is the camera angles that are frequently used. They're a little different sometimes, but it pushes the narrative in subtle ways by emphasizing specific shots and character actions.

Final Word

This series as a whole holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first few that I watched. Add a sequel onto the end of the first series, and you get this season, The Kyoto Arc: A solid continuation of an already great anime. If there are any gripes at all with this series, at this point it's just that season three isn't out yet. There are some cliche and maybe cheesy parts depending on who you ask, but it never detracted from the season or the entire series.

With a strong voice acting cast for the English dub (Including Johnny Yong Bosch and Bryce Papenbrook), the excellent visuals, and the captivating plot, you really can't go wrong with this one.

Talking Points

Top Video Games of 2/2018

1. Monster Hunter World (PS4, Xbox One)
2. Planet Coaster (PC)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360)

Top Anime of 2/2018

1. Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga (Dub: Hulu, Sub: Crunchyroll/Hulu)
2. Fate/Zero (Netflix)
3. Dagashi Kashi (Dub: Funimation, Sub: Crunchyroll)

Guns, The Boogeyman, and You

Hi readers,

I wanted to avoid this topic as much as I possibly could, but it is difficult when the top tweets are all about anti-gun laws. These appeals to emotion are cause for action, but appeals to emotion are also commonly known to be a fallacy. My argument is not to take away from the tragedy in Florida in the recent past. The fact is the children and adults died, and that should always be the header first and foremost in tragedies like this. It just shouldn't ever happen.

The bottom line, and before I type any further, is that the world needs to be a safer, happier place, and it's appalling that we live in a world where the mentally ill has access to the tools and locations to commit a mass shooting anywhere, but schools in particular.

I also want to make it clear that I am not a self-proclaimed republican or democrat. The two-party system is broken, and all it ever does is divide the nation.

Guns are a Proverbial Boogeyman

Bernie Sanders, the president hopeful from 2016, recently tweeted:

I couldn't agree more with his thoughts, except the last point, and it's only by about half. This blog post is going to stray wildly from my typical content (games and animation), and I swore to myself I would let politics go and never tweet or post about them again (because we all know we sometimes just need to take a break since political frustration is everywhere), but here I go. In a final hurrah, this is my last post about politics and political action I will ever post. My blog is new and has very few followers, so I'd be surprised if this got much attention anyway...but please bear with me. I'm not blindly making a case to support firearms. I agree almost wholly with Sanders, and I'll explain myself about the assault weapons later. At the end of the day, this is my opinion. I am open for debate, but be open-minded while reading this. Think critically, and let's keep it peaceful.

The NRA

This is my first point that I need to get out of the way. I am an owner of numerous firearms, even of a semi-auto assault weapon. I enjoy shooting targets even though I haven't for quite some time, and in my general opinion, slinging lead down-range quicker is almost always better; More fun, and a bit more exhilarating. To some, that makes me mentally unstable which is incredibly offensive; that kind of thinking is completely uncalled for. In the right operating environment it's completely safe (a completely secluded field with a 100% safe backstop [large dirt mound, miles of forest] is a must for any shooting range).

With all of that being the case, the NRA is a truly scumbag organization. My grandfather was probably rolling in his grave as I said that as he was a diehard member, but it's true. Nobody can argue with that, and it needs to change if the second amendment or gun owners in general are to retain any form of integrity.

The NRA constantly blocks legislation that would make it more difficult for the ill-minded to obtain firearms. They blindly lobby for more guns, including assault weapons, to be available in a variety of ways. One such way includes gun shows which severely lack any adequate safety net to keep them out of the wrong people's hands.

I was going to research more about the NRA to see their dirty tricks, but everything that popped up was a far left article. It's not that I don't care for liberals and democrats, I just hate extremist media. Far left or far right is a no go for me, so I won't be supplying links or sources for this portion of the article. I just know that the NRA makes gun safety a very difficult thing to accomplish, and they are a major hurdle in getting America safer. Everything with the NRA needs to change, and sooner rather than later.

Gun shows

I've been to many gun shows in my time. They're fun, and can be an interesting place especially if you enjoy history. I've never had a lot of money, so buying anything was never an option, but you can buy firearms dirt cheap. The issue here is that gun shows are not the only "unofficial" way to buy weapons. There are other weapons floating around the country that are traded, bought, and sold outside of the government's watch. I can't give proper evidence to support this, but just as illegal drugs are moved, you can bet illegal weapons are moved as well. The underground cartels and gangs love unregistered firearms, and there was even a story on the local news sharing details on how anyone with an internet connection can order unregistered carbine parts to build their own semi-auto AR-15 like the one recently used in Florida.

So, yes, blocking sales at gun shows is a must. If you ask me, it should be just like a car show where registered owners take their guns, and can show them off, but sales should be banned at gun shows altogether. If people want to sell military clothing, airsoft guns, non-firing replica guns, or something else for war enthusiasts, that's fine...but it's no place to be selling real firearms.

The Mental Health Issue

This is a largely overlooked contributing factor when thinking about gun control. There is one thing in common with nearly all mass shootings: Mental illness. The Aurora, CO shooting suspect was detained and tried, only to be found that he was mentally ill. He is going to rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life, which doesn't really offer all that much closure. He gets to sit in a cell getting a few decent meals a day at our expense? The best defense to this sort of absurdity is (no, not the death sentence, you neanderthal) accessibility to affordable and regular mental health screenings.

The healthcare system in this country is absurd for the US being a "first world" country. The only thing that's ever first within US borders is money. Not the citizens, not their health, not their happiness, but the wealth of the leaders who run this establishment. I don't understand how the citizens aren't more up in arms about the healthcare system...Oh wait, they're too angry at inanimate objects and far too angry at their opposing political party to think rationally about a true solution to the ever-growing issue.

Affordable healthcare (including mental health coverage) would raise quality-of-life standards in the nation. People might not be so stressed and angry if they didn't have to worry what they'd do should they need to see a doctor in a life-or-death situation. This is perhaps the only first-world country where you have to choose whether or not to get life-saving surgery because it will bankrupt you.

Apologies for going on more of a rant here as opposed to level-headed discussion, but it's a major issue, and no politician ever wants to talk about it. If they ever do talk about it, they either "forget", are bribed, or go back on their word; they are often blocked by the frustrating government system and big pharmacy in this country; or they just never get a chance to even try (Oh I'm feeling the bern, alright).

Obama had a decent idea that involved "affordable" health care, but the major problem here is that it wasn't necessarily affordable for all, and it was forced upon the nation. Not in the way that they voted on it, and it passed, and there was nothing we could do. No, I mean, if you didn't buy health coverage, you were fined more than if you didn't have it. So it was either be poor and pay for something you couldn't afford, or be stuck paying even more, and actually have zero dollars left. That's NOT what this country needed.

The country needs affordable (free, universal, accessible) healthcare. If we had that, maybe we could avoid some of the mental issues that plague the nation and cause these tragedies in the first place.

Monitoring

Some time before the Florida shooting incident, the suspect posted to their social media that they had an AR-15 and that they were going to kill people. How is this overlooked?

The last thing I want is the government snooping more into our daily lives, be it social media, automated home assistants, our personal computers, internet traffic, location services, etc.

I thought there was a bill in place that was supposed to monitor and "tick" when someone was showing signs of mental illness or a possible terrorist threat. Where was that system when the would-be home-grown terrorist started saying these things?

Better yet, why did none of his friends or family speak up? The parents had to know something was wrong. Why are parents not monitoring their children's use of social media? The young man was nineteen years old, so technically he wasn't a child anymore, but what kind of parent are you if you're not keeping in touch with your child? Maybe they were like me and never go on Facebook, but still, millions of people use Facebook every day, and I'm sure he had to have friends who saw the post.

From one perspective, you can't just take everything you read on the internet seriously, but in today's day in age, you have to be wary of that kind of thing; Especially so if the person has a history of posting about violence, weapons in a malicious context, etc.

A friend wants to show off a new rifle he just bought? He posts a picture. That's not a problem.

A friend posts a picture of him holding a pistol, saying some crazy nonsense or something offensive? Might want to speak up.

Two more large contributing factors that involve monitoring are parental guidance and bullying.

Parents need to be doing their job from day one. The moment that child is born, the parent has an obligation to shower it with love, affection, and guidance until the day that child turns 18. Anything less, and the parent has failed. It's not easy, and "love and affection" are relative (your idea of caring for a child may differ from mine, but you have to teach the child right from wrong. Don't leave it up to the school system or anything else). That's the cost of being a parent.

Bullying is another can of worms, but it can lead to distraught children (and adults). The school systems need to offer a better way to fight bullying, and this also reverts back to parental guidance. Parents need to teach their children right from wrong. Bullying is wrong. What's so hard about that?

Background Checks

If people want to own an object that could make mass-killing easier, they need to be getting a more rigorous background check than what's currently in place.

Instead of just checking criminal records, why not check their gun ownership history? They've never owned a gun before, but all of a sudden are taking an interest? Red flag. This shouldn't make it impossible to buy a firearm because anyone who's never owned a gun could ever buy one again, but put them on a list for say ten years, and monitor their social media for that duration. Any upticks in malevolent posts, and they get a visit from law enforcement or mental health agents.

How about more mental health screenings and tests. You can't become a police officer without taking rigorous mental tests that challenge the aptitude required to safely operate a firearm. In the military, it takes weeks of training before you're granted permission to serve with your firearm, why should civilians be treated any differently? If people want semi-auto assault weapons, put them through the same qualification trials. They'll either prove their mentally fit, or they'll not want to go through all of it and pass on buying altogether.


So, those are my main talking points regarding what Bernie Sanders said in his tweet, but now I would like to try to share with you my opinion on some of the fallacies--not in Sander's tweet--but of most anti-gun advocates.

Inanimate Objects

A gun is just that. It doesn't matter if it's sitting in a closet somewhere, sitting out in the middle of a room, a gun locker, whatever - It's never going to be any more than a hunk of steel, machined in such a way that it can sling lead really far and really fast.

Yes, it makes the act of killing effortless, but in order for it to do that, you need to insert a human aspect. It's the mental issues of mankind that bring a firearm to kill. It's not the gun itself. People may not be fit to have access to these sorts of tools, but it's most certainly not the gun's fault.

Where I live, 95% of the population own firearms, and I'd be willing to bet upwards of 40% of that number own some sort of semi-auto assault weapon. Take a miniscule number like 10% and I'd say that's how many have licenses to own legal full-auto weapons and attachments like suppressors. Take another 5-10% from that same forty and that's probably how many rig their legally owned semi-autos to shoot full-auto through after market parts or personal tinkering with the gun internals.

Okay, that was a lot of technicality that I have no evidence to back up, but that's just a personal estimate, and I truly believe that to be accurate for most rural areas in the country. That being the case, that's hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of firearms in the hands of Americans. In my area alone, a largely rural county in which 358,000 people call home, that's a lot of firearms. Based on those numbers, if guns were to blame, we'd be seeing mass shootings twice a day. That's not the case. There are millions of law-abiding citizens maintaining their firearms on a daily basis. It just takes a single bad apple, once a month (who needs mental help) to ruin it for the millions who are lawful and safe.

Going back to touch upon the number of guns in the country, I did find a statistic from pewresearch.org that shows that there are 270 to 310 million firearms in the country today. Even though only a small number of Americans (37%) own a firearm or know someone who does, that's a lot of guns compared to the handful that are misused.

My point is not to justify the acts of these monsters. Obviously. Guns need to be restricted from their use, and they need mental help more than anything else in the world, but I am only trying to point out that the guns are not to blame. For all the firearms that are in this country, there should be way more mass killings if the guns are indeed to blame.

Why Assault Weapons?

This is a big question that's not that hard to answer. It's a perfectly sane hobby.

The basic answer is: No they are not needed. Coming from a sportsman's standpoint, it's the same as saying why does a vehicle enthusiast need to upgrade his engine so he can go faster and save on efficiency. Why does a gamer need to put a few thousands of dollars into a gaming PC when around $800 can buy you the bare minimum to enjoy today's games? It comes down to hobby.

The biggest rebuttal to this is that sports cars and video games are not capable of mass murder. Yes, this is a perfectly valid, good point, but thousands of people lawfully enjoy shooting targets. There's an Olympic competition that revolves around shooting targets. Just because war is evil, and firearms are the basic method to eliminate the other forces, it doesn't mean guns have to be associated with malevolence.

Skeet and stationary target shooting is a valid test of strength and dexterity; hand-eye coordination. It can be a fun, relaxing competition. So why are assault weapons needed? The best answer I can give you is efficiency. Like the person who upgraded their car to get from point A to B faster and more efficiently, an assault weapon with a slightly larger magazine and the elimination of cranking the bolt after every shot, allows the shooter to concentrate more on sending lead down range. The force of the gun kicking back is also amusing to some. Guns are powerful objects and should be taken seriously with no exceptions. They are dangerous, but with the proper training and handling, they are nothing more than an inanimate object, assault weapons included.

Just as the car collector likes to own numerous vehicles, a video game enthusiast may collect games or even consoles, a gun hobbyist might want to collect several firearms. As much as you want to believe it, that is not a mental issue. Using them to kill others is.

2nd Amendment

This isn't going away.

By me saying that, I'm not trying to toot gun owners' horns. I'm not trying to be obnoxious or facetious. I'm honestly just saying that the government has been explicit in that they don't want to take away single action firearms from the people. Which is good. Most representatives, Sanders included, just want to make assault weapons illegal.

That said, I want to make it clear why the 2nd amendment was created in the first place. The amendment was enacted to ensure the nation had a means to fight back a tyrannical power. This Live Science article about the second amendment says, "Having just used guns and other arms to ward off the English, the amendment was originally created to give citizens the opportunity to fight back against a tyrannical federal government."

Would we ever need to fight a tyrannical government entity? I don't think so, but for as hard as our forefathers fought to make the country what it is, I personally believe the amendment should be untouched, which includes assault weapons.

Why? Regarding the point to make a stand against a tyrannical government, any modern government would easily outgun bolt action rifles, pump shotguns, and revolvers. Some may say that the world doesn't work like it did back then; tyrannical governments don't exist. I beg to differ. Whether or not we live in one is irrelevant. It can happen, and in the odd situation that it would occur in this nation, I would feel better knowing the people had a chance to stand up against oppressors.

Yes, it's a lot closer to fantasy than fact at this point of Earth's timeline, but that's the basic purpose of the amendment, and I'd rather it be kept intact.

Final Word

This article has honestly gone on long enough. There are other points to be made, I'm sure, on both sides of the argument. For instance, all the points I made supporting gun ownership, even in a severely monitored and restrictive state, may not be enough to thwart terrorists. As long as guns exist, I expect there will be shady ways to get them either on home soil or abroad. Like illegal substances like hard narcotics, they're illegal and banned in the states, yet it's an epidemic.

Mass shootings are often twisted into a red herring, meant to make us feel scared and helpless against these inanimate objects. Maybe it's to take our minds off of the president and the government as a whole? Maybe it's meant to misdirect our attention off of a failing democracy and healthcare system? Maybe it's something bigger and deeper altogether.

Yes, assault weapons are dangerous, but in the right hands, they're no more dangerous than a butter knife. A box truck was used in London to kill nearly the same amount of people, so the logical conclusion is to ban box trucks, right? That was a religious statement, and in my opinion, religious extremism (following any faith) is also a mental illness. The motives are still unclear for the Florida massacre, but it's no more than a mental health problem.

With all that said, there comes a point where I even say "try it.", but I truly doubt it will make a big difference. If it does seem to stop the killings, I will be vaguely suspicious--happy that the mass killings have stopped--but suspicious and eager to see what happens to our quality of life after that.

Talking Points:

Technology

Why can't gun manufacturers make technological attachments to firearms to biometrically lock them? The game Metal Gear Solid 4 comes to mind - every weapon was locked behind nano-machines that were detected by the gun lock. When the owner was holding the weapon, it would function normally. In anyone else's hands, it was locked.

This kind of technology isn't science fiction. At the very least, the firearms could be locked with a fingerprint and pressure sensors similar to those seen on the back of a 1911 (see picture). A firearm could be initially unlocked with a thumbprint, and then could remain unlocked so long as that pressure plate was held down. As soon as the plate is released, the gun would lock again. It's not a hard concept to grasp, and I think that alone would curb deaths by firearms in the country.

Image courtesy of Cheaper Than Dirt

Alternatives to Shooting

As I mentioned before, I am an owner and advocate of firearms. I enjoy collecting and shooting, though I don't get to the range hardly at all anymore. I haven't discharged a real firearm in over three years, and I'm no worse for wear. Guns are as superficial as owning a fancy sportscar, or having the nicest house on the block, you really don't need them unless your home is being burgled, you're being attacked by a wild animal, or something of the like. I do think they're a great deterrent for burglars, but outside of that, they're just fun to use at a gun range. One reason they're fun, you can test your dexterity and coordination by shooting targets at various distances. Believe it or not, yes, that can be fun. The second reason is feeling the power of the weapon. It's a bit unnerving how much power is held in one of those small rounds, but that's part of the allure for many.

Both of these attractions can be otherwise delivered...again by technology. Virtual reality is making a huge leap forward with ongoing support for Vive, PSVR, and Oculus Rift among others. Even haptic feedback is getting a boost in development with a company formerly known as AxonVR creating a force-feedback haptic glove for virtual reality.

If you combine a hyper realistic VR game (give the industry a few years to develop further) with haptic gloves and a shoulder pad, anyone who wants to shoot targets will be free to do so in VR with NO limitations. Want to shoot ten thirty-round magazines through an AK-47 to see what it feels like? Boom. Done...kick and all. Want to take your mile-long shot with a Berrett .50 caliber long rifle? Also easy peasy in a virtual world, and you never have to worry about harming others. I think this is the best option to kind of appease everyone. Shooters still get access to guns, just in a different format, assault weapons can be banned, yet enthusiasts can still shoot targets. It's a win-win, unless a tyrannical government comes into power. Then we're screwed.



So, there you have it: My extremely long-winded rant/article about gun control, assault weapon bans, and possible solutions. I am 100% open to debate, and I'm not a blind gun advocate. I realize there are major issues at play here, and assault weapons are one of them. They're dangerous. People die, and it's a tragedy that NEEDS to stop. I do, however, think that blind anything is a bad idea, including opposition to firearms and even assault weapons. Thoughts and prayers aren't meaningless, but they certainly won't put an end to anything. The time to act is now, but whatever steps are taken need to be carefully examined.

First thing I'd suggest? Let's replace the head of the NRA so that they make rational decisions, and let's also change legislation changing the ease of gun sales, and most importantly get health care reform moving. It needs to be universal health care, anything short of that would be criminal on the government's behalf.