Hack 'n' Slash Games #4

The Legendary Axe (1988)
By: Victor Musical Industries Genre: Platform/Fighting Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Featured Version: NEC PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 First Day Score: ???,???
Also Available For: Nothing

Many of the PC Engine's first run of games press the nostalgia button firmly for old oafs like me as, at the end of the 80s, they were featured heavily in the import sections of magazines such as C&VG, making us all covet them accordingly. One example that I remember well and also wanted to play quite badly was The Legendary Axe. This might be because its name reminded me of Golden Axe, of which I was a fan, but unlike that game it's actually more of a platformer. Since you use an axe, however, and indeed the game is named after it, I thought I would include it in my somewhat neglected 'hack 'n' slash' feature instead. It wasn't until long after I played Sega's classic that I finally got to give it a go either, and even then I never really bothered to learn the character's aim or motivation. Not that it often mattered too much with most games in those days I guess, but it does have a backstory. It takes place in a 'faraway land', and presumably also long ago, where an evil half-man half-beast named Jagu holds sway over the weak and pathetic population. Oh dear.

TV Shows #26

The Sinner (2017-21)
Developed By: Derek Simonds
Starring: Bill Pullman, Jessica Hecht, Jessica Biel, Elisha Henig, Carrie Coon, Matt Bomer, Alice Kremelberg, Christopher Abbott, Natalie Paul, Frances Fisher, Michael Mosley, Hannah Gross, Dohn Norwood, Joe Cobden, Chris Messina, Abby Miller, David Huynh, Eddie Martinez

Certificate: 15 Running Time: 40-54 Minutes per Episode

Tagline: "Some sins don't stay buried."

Crikey, I think the last time I saw Bill Pullman was in Independence Day Resurgence, and the time before that was probably all the way back in Independence Day. No, wait - he did make an appearance in Battle of the Sexes as well, but he hardly seems the most prolific actor, certainly in recent years. And yet, here was his face, looking moodily sideways as though in a Scandinavian drama, on Netflix. Or was it Prime? One of those anyway, and the premise sounded interesting enough, so I figured it was worth a shot. As I soon discovered, the premise only applies to the first season as The Sinner was only meant to be a miniseries originally, but it proved sufficiently popular for more seasons to be made. In all of them, Pullman stars as Harry Ambrose, a police detective who becomes obsessively committed to resolving mysterious deaths.