So that was unexpected. Ouch.

Note – if you’re wondering how Ezra died (yes, he’s dead) by hitting a railing, he hit the back of his neck against the pole HARD, hitting his brain stem, knocking him unconscious and killing him. (Source.) This sort of injury is why your parents always told you to wear a helmet when riding your bike. It can kill in minutes, and is how people who get thrown through a car windshield often die. That said, you can survive – but you’ll have impaired mental ability and motor skills the rest of your life, along with (sometimes complete) paralysis.

Note: In the center panel you might notice a blur. This is what happens to me whenever I start to panic (I get tunnel vision), so I imagined it might happen to Violet.

Now onto a somewhat less dark and depressing note: I’ve typed up that game feature for you guys. (I know I call it a review but it’s more of me reccomending one I like).

Let me set the scene for you. You’re walking through a stone tunnel waist – deep in muddy water, the sound of your breath in your ears as you change the filter on your gas mask. Suddenly, you emerge into a wave of cold, with a bright light blinding your eyes. There is snow on the ground, and you only have a few seconds of peace before a shadow passes over your body, and you hear a blood – curdling shriek. You quickly dive into a nearby crevice, doing your best impression of a rock as a giant batlike creature walks above you. It eventually flies away, and you emerge, covered in mud, only to continue going through this snowy urban wasteland.

If this sounds interesting, check out Metro 2033. There’s two versions of it the original and the redux – but they’re both effectively the same game. Nuclear war has destroyed humanity, and the last remnants of our race hunker in the Moscow metro, with an uncertain future.  You set off on a mission to relay a message to get aid for your station, but you have to go through mutated wildlife, supernatural phenomena, and your fellow humans, all of which can (and easily will) kill you. It’s not an easy game, but the atmosphere is spot – on, and even though the graphics may not be the best, it’s a lot of fun. It has a special importance to me because it plays everything realistically – from having realistically designed scavenged weapons (such a pneumatic arrow launcher, or a shotgun made from old bicycle parts), having realistic combat (rifles work best against armored targets, while shotguns work better on nonarmored wildlife), and having a storyline that moves fast enough to keep you interested, but slow enough so you can admire the world. If you are going to buy it, I highly recommend the original (non – redux) version, as redux patches certain items, weapons, achievements and quotes out of the game. (It does have better graphics, but the original is still pretty good.) Also, a tip for people who play: What you give to the world, you get back. This isn’t the sort of game that rewards meeting every challenge with violence.

See you next week.