Sports Tribute: Kobe Bryant

Yesterday I was very shocked and saddened at the tragic news that Kobe Bryant had died along with his daughter and several others in a helicopter trash. He was only 41 years old. To lose such an iconic sports figure who still wanted to do so much in his lifetime is only a testament of how unpredictable this life can be. His sudden death has impacted so many across the sports world and beyond, which truly demonstrates his iconic status. He was a basketball legend, among the greatest of all time, and although his basketball career was over, he was still very young and healthy which makes this all the more saddening.

Kobe began his professional career right out of high school in 1996, skipping college and going straight to the NBA, which was unprecedented at the time. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers where he remained for his incredible 20 year career. By the late 1990s it seemed he was the heir apparent to Michael Jordan as the new MVP of the league. From 1999 to 2002, he achieved superstar status when he and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships. The historic Lakers, now coached by the great, Phil Jackson (6x champion head coach of the Chicago Bulls), had re-emerged as the dynasty of the NBA. Kobe Bryant was the superstar of the team and had become the face of the NBA.

I remember watching him as a teenager in my high school days and enjoyed his game-play and especially his style. By this point he had become a celebrity with endorsements, commercials, and even an appearance in a Destiny's Child music video. He no doubt had a cocky swagger about him, especially in his early years with his mini afro and goatee (a look that I somewhat copied my sophomore year in high school). However he always remained focused on the basketball court, and his competitive demeanor was always on display.

The Lakers underwent a bit of a change by 2004 when head coach Phil Jackson took a year off and Shaquelle O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Kobe changed his number from 8 to 24, however he continued to lead his team to prominence making it to the playoffs multiple times and breaking many scoring records in the process. In 2008 and 2012 at the Summer Olympics he led team USA to two gold medals. In 2009 and 2010 he added two more NBA championships to his already impressive resume, making for a grand total of 5 in his career. He was an 18 time All Star, only missing out on the first two years of his career. After twenty years with the Lakers he retired in 2016 as the third all time leading scorer (which was shockingly just surpassed by Lebron James a couple days ago).

However even after his retirement Kobe remained very active in the NBA and the management of the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2018 he won an Academy Award for his short film, Dear Basketball, which was a homage to the sport that he loved. He had created an ideology known as the Mamba Mentality, which he hoped to instill on the game of basketball, on sports, and life in general. He had many business ventures, four daughters which he loved dearly, and it was clear that he still had so much he wanted to contribute to society.

His loss is such a devastating crush due to his monumental impact on the game of basketball. I feel due to his greatness and this tragic end, his number 24 should forever be retired across the league. Furthermore I support the idea of changing the NBA logo from Jerry West to Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a positive figure, a true champion on and off the court, and he will greatly be missed. His legendary status will live on forever. 

Game Review: Assassin's Creed Origins

Hard to believe the last time I fully emerged myself into a video game was back in 2012 (see Assassin's Creed). Sure I play FIFA on a regular basis, but that is a competitive sports game rather than an adventure/story based game. So I made the decision, rather on an impulse, while shopping with Gabriel on Black Friday to purchase two Assassin's Creed games, Origins and Odyssey. I loved playing the original game back in 2012 and figured these new ones would be quite similar style. What I love most about this series is the free-roaming-map game play yet more so because of it's historical context.

The Story

The game Origins is set during the period of Ancient Egypt, more so during the Ptolemaic Era of Greek Influence, approx 50-40 BC. The story revolves around the main hero Bayek, a medjay who is out for vengeance for his son's murder. His quest takes him across the map of Egypt solving mysteries and assassinating those that have wronged him. He also works with his girlfriend and mother of his child, Aya who is also an assassin. Aya is also the protector of Queen Cleopatra who is in the midst of securing her role as pharaoh of Egypt.

Bayek's quest takes him thru the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza, Alexandria, and Cyrene to name a few with incredible monumental detail. Each of his main targets lead him to another target. Later in the game he takes on Roman soldiers as Julius Caesar begins to infiltrate the region and begin a relationship with Cleopatra. Bayek is finally able to unravel the conspiracy behind his son's death which involves a Roman lieutenant Flavius who seeks to control all of Egypt. After Bayek assassinates Flavius, Aya infiltrates Rome and assassinates Caesar disguised as a senate member. Aya and Bayek then split apart to begin establishing an Assassin Brotherhood throughout Egypt and Rome.

The Gameplay

I got off to a great start on the game enjoying the exotic setting of Ancient Egypt. It instantly sent me into a new found appreciation for Egyptian history, mythology, and culture. I enjoyed traveling thru the ancient cities and being able to explore and interact with locals. I enjoyed being able to travel on foot, climb, swim, ride on horseback, or navigate via boats. I especially enjoyed climbing and exploring the monuments such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Exploring tombs with a torch felt like something right out of the Indiana Jones series.

The fighting was also quite intense and I enjoyed the arsenal of weaponry Bayek possessed. I quickly discovered that it was important to collect weapons, upgrade them, and use the ones with best damage rate. Bayek possessed a collection of swords, clubs, spears, and sickles, as well as a variety of shields and arrows. The best weaponry I found was the golden version ones bought at the bazaars in town. It was also important to hunt for animals and collect hides to improve Bayek's clothing and armor.

I also discovered that the key to achieving most missions was thru stealth. It seemed the majority of quests, outside those that involved assassinations, was sneaking into a fortification and stealing something or freeing a prisoner. I also hit quite a wall in the game when I was getting killed very easily by the enemies. I later discovered it was because my level was too low and in order to easily fight off enemies I needed to be at the same or at a higher level then them. So it was important not to rush thru the game yet to do as many side quests as possible to build Bayek's level. Once I figured this out I continued to enjoy the game.

The game had many unique quests such as horse-racing, exploring tombs, fighting in gladiator arenas, hunting animals such as birds and lions, sea battles, and many more. The map is massive and while I am proud to say that I beat the game, I probably only unlocked half of the game's map and quests. I still was very satisfied with the game and look forward to starting up on Odyssey next and other games in the series later on (such as AC II, AC: Brotherhood, AC III, AC IV: Black Flag, AC: Rogue, AC: Unity, AC: Syndicate)