Time for yet another review. So many horror related things too review and so little time in which too do it all.
I've been thinking about what too review. My mind kept going back to "Salem's Lot". Didn't wanna do it mainly because I know I'm going to be bias. It is my favorite book and reviewing an all time favorite book or movie is not as easy as it sounds. You are forced too think of cons along with the pros. Not something one wants too nit pick in a favorite. No matter how hard I tried to review anything else my mind would not let me move away from the Lot. So brain, I give in. Let's review Salem's Lot.
Welcome to Jerusalem's Lot. Where everyone knows everyone and secrets are never hidden for very long. Almost every person in the Lot has a secret in some fashion or another. A mother beats the shit out of her baby for crying. Drinking problems run ramped. Snooping neighbors who have nothing better too do than listen in on other people's phone conversations.
Ben Mears spent a couple of years as a child in this town. Now an adult, he's come back in order too find inspiration for his new novel. He already knows what the book is going to be about. The closest thing this town has to a skeleton in the closet. The Marsten house. It's a house which looms over the town. The back story behind this house is enough to give children nightmares for weeks too come. He is crazy enough to inquire after renting the Marsten house, only too find out it has already been sold. So a room with a view of the house will just have too do for now.
The buyers of this house are an odd sort. Secretive, charming and dangerous. When one child goes missing and another dead, people start too wonder if these outsiders and Ben have something too do with the strange happenings.
Mark Petrie is smart and has a working knowledge of monster lore. When one of the dead children appear outside his window begging too be let in, Mark knows what is happening and what needs too be done. Slowly but surely other people start seeing the problem as well.
More and more towns people either go missing or turn up dead. But no one stays dead in this town for long. A small band of survivors will take on the source of this town's problem or die trying.
There is a lot more too this book, but describing one's favorite book is harder than I thought it would be.
If you haven't already guessed it by the "let me in" bit, this is a vampire novel. Although, it doesn't come across that way until a little more than half way through the book. It actually comes as a surprise when vampires start showing up left and right.
There are a slew of characters here, but you never feel lost. You always know who is who and never really feel lost in the character sea. I mention Ben and Mark because we typically follow these two throughout the story. But there is Ben's love interest, Susan. The school teacher Matt. Father Callahan (Who is also in the Gunslinger series). Like I said, lots of characters and you get a back story on most of them.
The progression in this book is slow, but I don't really consider this too be a drawback too the story. In fact it sets the mood. It's really interesting learning about the towns people. Who does what too whom? What dark thing is happening behind that door? I felt as if I had been too this town and knew almost everyone there. It actually makes it rather sad when the town finally does become a vampire wasteland. You've followed these people and now they've become monsters.
The real start of this story is The Marsten house. I found the back story of this house interesting. The way King describes it makes you think it has a mind of it's own. Like it could take on the town at any moment due to legend alone. Most people want a Salem's Lot 2. Personally I liked how this book ended. I would like too at least see a short story on the house.
That also sadly leads me to a con. I wish I freaking knew more about the house. King makes it out too be almost an entity of it's own. It's just reads like a house that invites weirdness. Sadly we don't get much. We get a vampire base and crazy old people. Not that either of those aren't interesting, they are. The house felt like an unexplored character too me.
All of the characters here are strong and add too the story in their own way. There really isn't any unnecessary characters here. Mark, Ben, Matt and Susan are always interesting too read about. Of course, the vamps are as well.
It's odd that King didn't go in to a whole lot of detail about the house, since detail is ALWAYS his forte. Usually it annoys me, but his attention too detail bodes well for this book. It's a gradual decent into hell for this town and it's people. His attention too detail is key in setting the mood.
There is so much to say about this book, but all of it is gushing praise. So before this becomes far too long, just do yourself a favor and read it now. It's well worth it.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
They Live Review
It's been a while! Looks like I have some catching up to do. I could come up with excuses, but who the hell cares. Let's do a review, or some shit like that.
It's almost that wonderful and magical time of the year! I'm talking about Halloween. All of the horror movies and books on sale just make me so happy. At least I'll be swimming in new things too read and watch for a few weeks.
We're going too start the scary movie reviews a little early. Hell, why not? Retail stores put Halloween shit up in the beginning of September. I'm just following. Although it's damn near the end of September, which just makes my point moot. ANYWAYS.
In all honesty, I went in to "They Live", with extremely low expectations. 1. I'm not real big on John Carpenter movies. 2. It's an 80's horror flick. and 3. It stars Roddy Pipper, and I don't expect amazing acting skills from a WWE wrestler. But, I often hear this movie being called "The greatest movie you have never seen". Also, once I learned Keith David had a role, I knew I needed to watch this movie. I greatly enjoy that man.
I'm actually glad I went in to this expecting a typical cheesefest, 80's horror flick. That means I was pleasantly surprised at how different and wonderful this movie is. I'm actually not really sure if I would classify this as a horror movie. Yes, it has suspenseful moments, but really, it's a big of everything. Drama. Sci-fi. Suspense. Mystery.
Roddy Pipper plays Nada. A homeless construction worker who is just trying to keep his head down and steady work. Easier said that done when you're a homeless, hobo, construction worker. Early on he befriends Frank. (Keith David), who is in nearly the same boat.
After a series of unfortunate events involving a crazy (or at least we think he's crazy. In reality not so much), reverend, and the police ransacking and destroying the homeless camp where Nada resides; Nada finds himself homeless once again. Nada finds a box of typical looking sunglasses in a wall within a church. Much too his disgust, Nada tosses the box in a trash can, but he keeps one pair for himself. This is where shit gets weird.
The every day, typical looking sunglasses allow Nada too see the world as it really is. Subliminal messages everywhere and in everything. No one is exactly who they appear too be. Aliens in human skin are everywhere. They are fucking ugly. Nada actually brings attention too this fact at one point. It lands him in a shit load of trouble too. The Aliens have already overtaken the police force. So who can a buff hobo turn too for help.
I'm not going to give away anymore of the story, since I think this is a movie every horror fan NEEDS to see. It's original as far as 80's movies go. Although, I will say the end was a bit typical and expected. But I'm able to forgive that after since I pretty much knew this was the only way things could end.
The acting isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Not wonderful and defiantly 80's caliber, but not bad.
In all honesty, I really can't say anything negative about this movie. Don't go in expecting mucho amounts of horror and gore. But I really don't see that as a negative.
So go do your self a favor and rent this movie. I bought it right after I watched it because I thought it was worth the $.
I give this a rare 10/10.
It's almost that wonderful and magical time of the year! I'm talking about Halloween. All of the horror movies and books on sale just make me so happy. At least I'll be swimming in new things too read and watch for a few weeks.
We're going too start the scary movie reviews a little early. Hell, why not? Retail stores put Halloween shit up in the beginning of September. I'm just following. Although it's damn near the end of September, which just makes my point moot. ANYWAYS.
In all honesty, I went in to "They Live", with extremely low expectations. 1. I'm not real big on John Carpenter movies. 2. It's an 80's horror flick. and 3. It stars Roddy Pipper, and I don't expect amazing acting skills from a WWE wrestler. But, I often hear this movie being called "The greatest movie you have never seen". Also, once I learned Keith David had a role, I knew I needed to watch this movie. I greatly enjoy that man.
I'm actually glad I went in to this expecting a typical cheesefest, 80's horror flick. That means I was pleasantly surprised at how different and wonderful this movie is. I'm actually not really sure if I would classify this as a horror movie. Yes, it has suspenseful moments, but really, it's a big of everything. Drama. Sci-fi. Suspense. Mystery.
Roddy Pipper plays Nada. A homeless construction worker who is just trying to keep his head down and steady work. Easier said that done when you're a homeless, hobo, construction worker. Early on he befriends Frank. (Keith David), who is in nearly the same boat.
After a series of unfortunate events involving a crazy (or at least we think he's crazy. In reality not so much), reverend, and the police ransacking and destroying the homeless camp where Nada resides; Nada finds himself homeless once again. Nada finds a box of typical looking sunglasses in a wall within a church. Much too his disgust, Nada tosses the box in a trash can, but he keeps one pair for himself. This is where shit gets weird.
The every day, typical looking sunglasses allow Nada too see the world as it really is. Subliminal messages everywhere and in everything. No one is exactly who they appear too be. Aliens in human skin are everywhere. They are fucking ugly. Nada actually brings attention too this fact at one point. It lands him in a shit load of trouble too. The Aliens have already overtaken the police force. So who can a buff hobo turn too for help.
I'm not going to give away anymore of the story, since I think this is a movie every horror fan NEEDS to see. It's original as far as 80's movies go. Although, I will say the end was a bit typical and expected. But I'm able to forgive that after since I pretty much knew this was the only way things could end.
The acting isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Not wonderful and defiantly 80's caliber, but not bad.
In all honesty, I really can't say anything negative about this movie. Don't go in expecting mucho amounts of horror and gore. But I really don't see that as a negative.
So go do your self a favor and rent this movie. I bought it right after I watched it because I thought it was worth the $.
I give this a rare 10/10.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A very late review of the Mass Effect series.
Who has two hands and has been doing WAY too much gaming lately? This chick right here. I kinda came up with this new rule for myself. I MUST finish all of my other games before I get anything new. This rule was made up after the release of Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinate. Soooooo. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
That being said, I figured it was time I played the Mass Effect trilogy. A whole two months of nothing but Mass Effect. I could have used my old save from ME, but I wanted to start fresh and with a Fem-Shep this time. Since I've finished all three games and have formed an opinion. You all guessed it. It's massive review time. Massive it shall be since I'm fitting all three games in to one review. I am going to assume most gamers reading this post by chance, have either already played or heard of Mass Effect. Since this review is already taking a lot of time to write, I'm going to skip over the mythos and an in depth look in to the storyline. As usual each game will have a short recap of the story and of course pros and con's.
Mass Effect
Bioware's first real success since Neverwinter. This is the game that started it all. Rich story, space opera. And who doesn't like a fucking space opera? likable characters, unlikable characters and mixing a shooter and rpg together? Recipe for epic awesomesauce!
Humans aren't the only life forms in the galaxy anymore. We humans have learned to live (but not exactly accept), with a number of other alien races. In order to show the other alien races that humanity has a bigger penis, humans formed the Alliance. This is a military force that serves not only as a human army, but they also explore the galaxy.
You will be playing as Shepard. A human Alliance hero (depending on what back round story you choose for your Shepard), who is human's only hope for survival. But we'll come back to that part in a minute.
Shepard's first mission (and somewhat of a tutorial), will be on Eden Prime. There is a ancient Promethian artifact here that must be found and protected. If this mission were easy, this would obviously been a very short game. The Geth (a race of Synthetics), also want this artifact too. They have nearly killed every single scientist and Alliance soldier on the plant in order to find this artifact. Must be some damn fine piece right?
The Geth are being lead by Saren, A counsel Specter, who isn't really a shinning example of justice anyways. Think of Saren as a bad Specter gone super bad. Shepard and friends are determined to bring Saren and the Geth down before the bring in the real threat to the Galaxy. The Reapers.
There is more to the story, but I really want people to play this game. I am so obsessed with this game that I named my male Leopard Gecko Shepard.
Pros:
The story. OMG. I can't say enough good things about the story. The different races there are in the galaxy, all the way to the backstories of NPC's are just fucking amazing. Shepards ongoing frustration with the Counsel is what pulled me in. I felt my Shepard's frustration with these important and powerful aliens who are more than willing to turn a blind eye on the real threat to the universe.
The choices you make can either screw you or help you. I really enjoy this in games. It makes me feel like I'm apart of the world I've already been sucked in to.
The companions are hit miss. You have the humans. Ashley and Kaiden. I really didn't care for either of them, but I decided to romance Kaiden, who is kind of a whinny douche. I only picked Kaiden because I couldn't fucking romance Garrus!
I LOVE Garrus and used him in all of my missions. He's gruff but lovable. He also doesn't judge you too harshly if you decide to kill someone for no reason....not that I ever would. Paragon all the way here homies! I just wish my character was able to romance him in the first game.
Liara is always handy and I love the dialogue with her between missions.
This isn't a popular consensus, but I really didn't care for Tali or Wrex. These two characters were kinda blah. I'm sure Tali would have been more interesting had I been playing as a male-Shep. Wrex was the typical chip on his shoulder alien. He has every right to be pissed off (You'll have to play the game to understand that one), but it did get a little annoying after hour 7.
Sidequests are plentiful here. Plenty to choose from JUST in case you get bored of playing the main storyline. Sometimes they are a little long, but I tend to like long sidequests. Plus they help with leveling. Also new guns and upgrades are always nice.
While the customization isn't as vast here as it is in Dragon Age, I do like that you get to build your Shepard's backround story and fighting class. I personally enjoy a war hero Vanguard. Whatever back story you choose, there is also a side mission that goes along with whatever backround you choose.
Cons.
Yes. Even in an awesome game such as Mass Effect there are cons.
Elevator rides is the first con that comes to mind. These elevator scenes could have been cut much shorter, or been blacked out and skip me to the next scene. I found myself picking up a book while my character had to use an elevator. It's anywhere from a 50 second to a minute scene. No one wants to watch someone ride in an elevator. Yes. Some of the side missions are found only through riding the elevator, but we come back to the whole NO ONE WANTS TO SEE AN ELEVATOR RIDE!
I loath Mako missions. I hate that fucking car with a passion. It takes a while to get used to the controls involved with moving this vehicle. Eventually it does get a bit easier, but the journey is what sucks.
There was some lag issues with this game on my xbox. It's really not a big deal, but it does get a bit annoying when I'm in the middle of a gun battle and all of a sudden the game needs to buffer itself. It's a year old xbox so I know it isn't the machine. It's the game disc. I've had three copies of this game and all three did the same thing.
I can't review any of the DLC yet, because I haven't exactly played them. I'll have to do that and write another review later.
Now On to Mass Effect 2
This is without a doubt and arguably the masterpiece of this series. I say arguably because some do have problems with this game.
In ME2 you have the choice of importing your Shepard from ME1. Which will transfer all of your choices within the first game. If you romanced anyone it will also transfer in to ME2 as well. No levels or weapons are transferred, but you do get a couple of extra upgrade points for porting your Shepard to this game.
Or you have the choice of starting off with a brand spanking new Shepard of your choice.
This game brings on a new threat, new companions and some new challenges. It takes place shortly after the end of the first game. The Normandy is being attacked by a new enemy. Nearly all the crew escapes (a few crew deaths here and there, but no one major). Oh. Shepard dies. So that's a bunch of sadness within the first 10 minutes of the game. But don't worry. Cerberus wants to bring you back. This is where you are able to either change how your ported character looks and class. Or if you start a new game, you'll build Shep from the ground up.
Once you have been rebuilt, you are thrown in to a tutorial. The facility is under attack by synthetics. You need to fight your way out. Along the way you gain some help, which makes escape from the Cerberus facility easy enough.
The new mission is to take down the Collectors. They are kidnapping entire human colonies. A huge downer right? Turns out these fucktards are also working with the Reapers. Dudes need to go. As per usual, the galaxy depends on Shepard to save the day. Heaven forbid any other race step up to the plate to help.
This time you wont be with the Alliance, because you are working with Cerberus. The Alliance is rather anti-Cerberus. Just remember, you are with them for the greater good, Shepard and a few familiar faces decides it would be wise to use the vast resources Cerberus has to offer. Plus they rebuilt Shepard from the ground up.
Pros:
Again with the answer story telling. ME2 is more of a character driven story. There are companion loyalty missions that can be done. I cannot stress enough how important loyalty missions are. They will save your ass come the last mission. Like side missions, loyalty missions also help with the exp build up.
I was a giddy little fan girl here. Garrus is back and witty! This was soon followed by disappointment when I decided at the beginning of the game that I would be faithful to Kaiden. Damn my faithfulness! I finally have the chance to romance my favorite alien and I don't even do it! The characters in this game are pretty solid.
I greatly enjoyed Maranda. She's strong, sarcastic at times, knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. She's a believer in the cause and sticks to her guns. Gotta respect that in a chick. She is also a romance option for male-Sheps
Jacob is a great addition to the cast of characters. He has a very touching backstory. He is also a romance option for fem-Sheps.
Legion isn't a popular character by any means. But I liked it. Legion is a original Geth who is programed to interact with organic life forms. Legion's mission is to restore order to the Geth, take down the Collectors and ultimately take down the Reapers.
Thane is a freaking assassin. How could one not like him.
Jack is a pistol. Raw and full of bad assary.
There really isn't a character here I don't like. Even Tali grew on me after a while.
Loyalty missions are not only helpful in understanding the backrounds of your squad members, they are actually fun to do. Some of them are heart wrenching as well as warming.
While most people didn't like the change to the combat system, the loot whore in me did like this change. Unlike ME1, Shepard does not get a infinite amount of ammo. Thermal clips are usually dropped by enemies and not that hard to find. Although, it does get rather frustrating when one runs out of Thermal clips when being swarmed by Husks (The single most annoying enemy in ANY ME game), as well as boss fights. It's still fun to keep a watchful eye out for shinny little clips lying on the floor.
The end. I wont go in to detail or spoilers about the end of this game, but it is tense and satisfying. This is where loyalty missions come in to play and are vastly important.
Aria isn't a companion in the least, but I still liked her. Bitch to her very core and power driven. Usually I don't like these chicks, but something about Aria made me like her. I really can't put my finger on it, so I've stopped trying to determine why and just roll with it.
The upgrade system is satisfying. At least it was for me. Yet there is a draw back to upgrades. I'll get to that in the cons.
I know I usually save DLC reviews for last, but let's talk about Lair of the Shadow Broker for a minute. This mission Set's a new bar for DLC in general. It's not only important to the story, but if you have romanced Liara there is also a bit of a bonus here for you. This DLC is tense. The Shadow Broker does not make taking him down easy. Rightfully so I suppose.
I wont ruin this wonderful DLC for anyone, but I will say the Shadow Broker is one tough son of a bitch. If anything play this for the story.
The Arrival was TENSE. I can not stress that word enough. Shepard is solo in this mission, which is never wrecking enough as it is. Half way through the mission you are faced with waves upon waves of enemies. You wont die, but it's not a wonderful feeling when you do get shot down. Once you reach the half way point in this mission, it will be timed. Who doesn't love timed missions? This chick right here doesn't. But the clock gives you plenty of time, but it's still tense.
All the other DLC is kinda blah, but not completely unplayable.
Cons:
Mining is tedious to say the least. This needs to be done in order to upgrade your weapons, armor and ship. All of which you will NEED to do to survive the end battle. You'll find it's a decent distraction when you're tired of doing the main story line, side quests and N7 quests. Other than that, it just not very fun. Plus I found my thumb becoming very sore by the time I got done scanning a planet. Although, there is one plus side to this mining business. Go scan Uranus. Edi (the Normandy AI), is a little disappointed at your scanning choice here. It's really kind of funny.
As I mentioned before, running out of ammo during a mass battle is kind of a bitch. More than that, the weapons themselves are kinda blah. I found myself using the handgun and shotgun more often than anything else in my inventory. Oh and powers. Use your own and squad powers.
I don't really have too many cons about this game. I'll add more if I can think of any, but atm I can't. So let's move on to 3
Mass Effect 3. This is where it all comes to a head. Again, you can transfer your character from both 1 and 2, or start a new game.
The Reapers are taking over. Now they have brought the fight to every organic life planet in the galaxy. Had the Alliance and Council listened to Shepard's warnings, the Reaper attacks would not have come as such a big surprise.
We find Shepard has been under "house arrest" since the events of ME2. This quickly comes to an end once the Reapers hit earth. Shepard and company leave Earth in order to unite the races before the Reapers destroy all organic beings.
Before I start with the pros and cons, lets briefly hit on the original ending controversy. Many fans were outraged with the lack luster ending. I was one of these fans. When a developer makes the promises of "Multiple endings that bring closure to Shepards story" and "Your choices throughout the series will greatly impact the conclusion", I tend to take these at face value. This ending gave us none of these promises. In fact, the ending made our decisions utterly and completely pointless. Good, bad, blah ending. It was all the same, just done in a different color shade.
I'm not going to go in to the whole controversy here, mainly because Bioware did listen to the fans. The released a free DLC which extended the ending. These new endings are overall satisfying and answer many questions the original did not. For this I thank you Bioware. Thank you to all who put in the time and money to give us all the ending we all wanted.
Ha. I say this as if anyone from Bioware is going to stumble across my blog.
Pros
Again with the storytelling. Just like ME 1 and 2, the story here is top notch. There are some deaths in this game that are heart wrenching.
The new skill tree is a welcomed change. It gives an rpg element to a gave that feels like a straight out shooter.
Not much has changed game play wise from ME2 which is a good thing.
You are given the option of finishing off the romance you may have started in either ME1 and ME2. Or you have the opinion to start a brand spanking new romance. There are a lot more choices this time around. There is a little something for everyone romance wise.
The new characters are awesome. The familiar faces are always a pleasure as well.
Cons:
This is actually a mix of pro and con. The changes to the mining is rather.....different. No more watching your bar of useful materials. Scan a planet, you are told if there is anything useful and your done. This is good and bad. Good because my thumbs can take a stress rest. Bad because now I actually have to do side missions in order to keep busy. Oh. Also, the more you scan the more likely Reapers will find your ship. Not sure if I like this or not. I'm going to go with not so much here.
Still dislike Tali. Not to the extreme I used to, but she still annoys me.
I haven't downloaded many DLC for the third game yet. I did download From the Ashes. It gives you a Prothean team mate. Of course you have to acquire him from the clutches of Cerberus first. Which is no easy task.
I've already downloaded and played through the extended cut ending
I just downloaded Citadel. Which is the last DLC for ME3. I have yet to play it, so I'll make an update to this review once I have. But I keep hearing it's really good, so I'm excited to play it.
Don't have any other DLC. I'm not big in to multi player. Mainly because I don't want other people I don't even know to have a ring side seat and actually see how much I suck at shooters. Maybe I'll get there someday, but for now we're going to go with a no on that front.
As far as the other DLC, it more has to do with a lack of hours in the day and a lack of mirosoft points. I'll be getting them eventually for sure.
This series isn't perfect, but it damn close to it. As a whole I give the Mass Effect series a 9/10. The weaving of the story is masterfully done. I went through these games feeling something or another for each character. I'm so sad to see Shepard's story end. Thank goodness there is a new Mass Effect game in development. I'm excited to see where they take the series, and who our new hero is going to be.
All three games have some massive replay value. At present I'm starting a new game as a renegade Adept. Cause that's how I roll.
The series is worth the money dropped for it. Wait for Bioware to put out a game of the year edition for all three. This way it saves you as a consumer from spending butt loads for DLC. If I were a smart gamer that is what I would have done. Of course there is the chance there will be no game of the year edition, in which case wait for a PSN or XBL sale. f
That being said, I figured it was time I played the Mass Effect trilogy. A whole two months of nothing but Mass Effect. I could have used my old save from ME, but I wanted to start fresh and with a Fem-Shep this time. Since I've finished all three games and have formed an opinion. You all guessed it. It's massive review time. Massive it shall be since I'm fitting all three games in to one review. I am going to assume most gamers reading this post by chance, have either already played or heard of Mass Effect. Since this review is already taking a lot of time to write, I'm going to skip over the mythos and an in depth look in to the storyline. As usual each game will have a short recap of the story and of course pros and con's.
Mass Effect
Bioware's first real success since Neverwinter. This is the game that started it all. Rich story, space opera. And who doesn't like a fucking space opera? likable characters, unlikable characters and mixing a shooter and rpg together? Recipe for epic awesomesauce!
Humans aren't the only life forms in the galaxy anymore. We humans have learned to live (but not exactly accept), with a number of other alien races. In order to show the other alien races that humanity has a bigger penis, humans formed the Alliance. This is a military force that serves not only as a human army, but they also explore the galaxy.
You will be playing as Shepard. A human Alliance hero (depending on what back round story you choose for your Shepard), who is human's only hope for survival. But we'll come back to that part in a minute.
Shepard's first mission (and somewhat of a tutorial), will be on Eden Prime. There is a ancient Promethian artifact here that must be found and protected. If this mission were easy, this would obviously been a very short game. The Geth (a race of Synthetics), also want this artifact too. They have nearly killed every single scientist and Alliance soldier on the plant in order to find this artifact. Must be some damn fine piece right?
The Geth are being lead by Saren, A counsel Specter, who isn't really a shinning example of justice anyways. Think of Saren as a bad Specter gone super bad. Shepard and friends are determined to bring Saren and the Geth down before the bring in the real threat to the Galaxy. The Reapers.
There is more to the story, but I really want people to play this game. I am so obsessed with this game that I named my male Leopard Gecko Shepard.
Pros:
The story. OMG. I can't say enough good things about the story. The different races there are in the galaxy, all the way to the backstories of NPC's are just fucking amazing. Shepards ongoing frustration with the Counsel is what pulled me in. I felt my Shepard's frustration with these important and powerful aliens who are more than willing to turn a blind eye on the real threat to the universe.
The choices you make can either screw you or help you. I really enjoy this in games. It makes me feel like I'm apart of the world I've already been sucked in to.
The companions are hit miss. You have the humans. Ashley and Kaiden. I really didn't care for either of them, but I decided to romance Kaiden, who is kind of a whinny douche. I only picked Kaiden because I couldn't fucking romance Garrus!
I LOVE Garrus and used him in all of my missions. He's gruff but lovable. He also doesn't judge you too harshly if you decide to kill someone for no reason....not that I ever would. Paragon all the way here homies! I just wish my character was able to romance him in the first game.
Liara is always handy and I love the dialogue with her between missions.
This isn't a popular consensus, but I really didn't care for Tali or Wrex. These two characters were kinda blah. I'm sure Tali would have been more interesting had I been playing as a male-Shep. Wrex was the typical chip on his shoulder alien. He has every right to be pissed off (You'll have to play the game to understand that one), but it did get a little annoying after hour 7.
Sidequests are plentiful here. Plenty to choose from JUST in case you get bored of playing the main storyline. Sometimes they are a little long, but I tend to like long sidequests. Plus they help with leveling. Also new guns and upgrades are always nice.
While the customization isn't as vast here as it is in Dragon Age, I do like that you get to build your Shepard's backround story and fighting class. I personally enjoy a war hero Vanguard. Whatever back story you choose, there is also a side mission that goes along with whatever backround you choose.
Cons.
Yes. Even in an awesome game such as Mass Effect there are cons.
Elevator rides is the first con that comes to mind. These elevator scenes could have been cut much shorter, or been blacked out and skip me to the next scene. I found myself picking up a book while my character had to use an elevator. It's anywhere from a 50 second to a minute scene. No one wants to watch someone ride in an elevator. Yes. Some of the side missions are found only through riding the elevator, but we come back to the whole NO ONE WANTS TO SEE AN ELEVATOR RIDE!
I loath Mako missions. I hate that fucking car with a passion. It takes a while to get used to the controls involved with moving this vehicle. Eventually it does get a bit easier, but the journey is what sucks.
There was some lag issues with this game on my xbox. It's really not a big deal, but it does get a bit annoying when I'm in the middle of a gun battle and all of a sudden the game needs to buffer itself. It's a year old xbox so I know it isn't the machine. It's the game disc. I've had three copies of this game and all three did the same thing.
I can't review any of the DLC yet, because I haven't exactly played them. I'll have to do that and write another review later.
Now On to Mass Effect 2
This is without a doubt and arguably the masterpiece of this series. I say arguably because some do have problems with this game.
In ME2 you have the choice of importing your Shepard from ME1. Which will transfer all of your choices within the first game. If you romanced anyone it will also transfer in to ME2 as well. No levels or weapons are transferred, but you do get a couple of extra upgrade points for porting your Shepard to this game.
Or you have the choice of starting off with a brand spanking new Shepard of your choice.
This game brings on a new threat, new companions and some new challenges. It takes place shortly after the end of the first game. The Normandy is being attacked by a new enemy. Nearly all the crew escapes (a few crew deaths here and there, but no one major). Oh. Shepard dies. So that's a bunch of sadness within the first 10 minutes of the game. But don't worry. Cerberus wants to bring you back. This is where you are able to either change how your ported character looks and class. Or if you start a new game, you'll build Shep from the ground up.
Once you have been rebuilt, you are thrown in to a tutorial. The facility is under attack by synthetics. You need to fight your way out. Along the way you gain some help, which makes escape from the Cerberus facility easy enough.
The new mission is to take down the Collectors. They are kidnapping entire human colonies. A huge downer right? Turns out these fucktards are also working with the Reapers. Dudes need to go. As per usual, the galaxy depends on Shepard to save the day. Heaven forbid any other race step up to the plate to help.
This time you wont be with the Alliance, because you are working with Cerberus. The Alliance is rather anti-Cerberus. Just remember, you are with them for the greater good, Shepard and a few familiar faces decides it would be wise to use the vast resources Cerberus has to offer. Plus they rebuilt Shepard from the ground up.
Pros:
Again with the answer story telling. ME2 is more of a character driven story. There are companion loyalty missions that can be done. I cannot stress enough how important loyalty missions are. They will save your ass come the last mission. Like side missions, loyalty missions also help with the exp build up.
I was a giddy little fan girl here. Garrus is back and witty! This was soon followed by disappointment when I decided at the beginning of the game that I would be faithful to Kaiden. Damn my faithfulness! I finally have the chance to romance my favorite alien and I don't even do it! The characters in this game are pretty solid.
I greatly enjoyed Maranda. She's strong, sarcastic at times, knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. She's a believer in the cause and sticks to her guns. Gotta respect that in a chick. She is also a romance option for male-Sheps
Jacob is a great addition to the cast of characters. He has a very touching backstory. He is also a romance option for fem-Sheps.
Legion isn't a popular character by any means. But I liked it. Legion is a original Geth who is programed to interact with organic life forms. Legion's mission is to restore order to the Geth, take down the Collectors and ultimately take down the Reapers.
Thane is a freaking assassin. How could one not like him.
Jack is a pistol. Raw and full of bad assary.
There really isn't a character here I don't like. Even Tali grew on me after a while.
Loyalty missions are not only helpful in understanding the backrounds of your squad members, they are actually fun to do. Some of them are heart wrenching as well as warming.
While most people didn't like the change to the combat system, the loot whore in me did like this change. Unlike ME1, Shepard does not get a infinite amount of ammo. Thermal clips are usually dropped by enemies and not that hard to find. Although, it does get rather frustrating when one runs out of Thermal clips when being swarmed by Husks (The single most annoying enemy in ANY ME game), as well as boss fights. It's still fun to keep a watchful eye out for shinny little clips lying on the floor.
The end. I wont go in to detail or spoilers about the end of this game, but it is tense and satisfying. This is where loyalty missions come in to play and are vastly important.
Aria isn't a companion in the least, but I still liked her. Bitch to her very core and power driven. Usually I don't like these chicks, but something about Aria made me like her. I really can't put my finger on it, so I've stopped trying to determine why and just roll with it.
The upgrade system is satisfying. At least it was for me. Yet there is a draw back to upgrades. I'll get to that in the cons.
I know I usually save DLC reviews for last, but let's talk about Lair of the Shadow Broker for a minute. This mission Set's a new bar for DLC in general. It's not only important to the story, but if you have romanced Liara there is also a bit of a bonus here for you. This DLC is tense. The Shadow Broker does not make taking him down easy. Rightfully so I suppose.
I wont ruin this wonderful DLC for anyone, but I will say the Shadow Broker is one tough son of a bitch. If anything play this for the story.
The Arrival was TENSE. I can not stress that word enough. Shepard is solo in this mission, which is never wrecking enough as it is. Half way through the mission you are faced with waves upon waves of enemies. You wont die, but it's not a wonderful feeling when you do get shot down. Once you reach the half way point in this mission, it will be timed. Who doesn't love timed missions? This chick right here doesn't. But the clock gives you plenty of time, but it's still tense.
All the other DLC is kinda blah, but not completely unplayable.
Cons:
Mining is tedious to say the least. This needs to be done in order to upgrade your weapons, armor and ship. All of which you will NEED to do to survive the end battle. You'll find it's a decent distraction when you're tired of doing the main story line, side quests and N7 quests. Other than that, it just not very fun. Plus I found my thumb becoming very sore by the time I got done scanning a planet. Although, there is one plus side to this mining business. Go scan Uranus. Edi (the Normandy AI), is a little disappointed at your scanning choice here. It's really kind of funny.
As I mentioned before, running out of ammo during a mass battle is kind of a bitch. More than that, the weapons themselves are kinda blah. I found myself using the handgun and shotgun more often than anything else in my inventory. Oh and powers. Use your own and squad powers.
I don't really have too many cons about this game. I'll add more if I can think of any, but atm I can't. So let's move on to 3
Mass Effect 3. This is where it all comes to a head. Again, you can transfer your character from both 1 and 2, or start a new game.
The Reapers are taking over. Now they have brought the fight to every organic life planet in the galaxy. Had the Alliance and Council listened to Shepard's warnings, the Reaper attacks would not have come as such a big surprise.
We find Shepard has been under "house arrest" since the events of ME2. This quickly comes to an end once the Reapers hit earth. Shepard and company leave Earth in order to unite the races before the Reapers destroy all organic beings.
Before I start with the pros and cons, lets briefly hit on the original ending controversy. Many fans were outraged with the lack luster ending. I was one of these fans. When a developer makes the promises of "Multiple endings that bring closure to Shepards story" and "Your choices throughout the series will greatly impact the conclusion", I tend to take these at face value. This ending gave us none of these promises. In fact, the ending made our decisions utterly and completely pointless. Good, bad, blah ending. It was all the same, just done in a different color shade.
I'm not going to go in to the whole controversy here, mainly because Bioware did listen to the fans. The released a free DLC which extended the ending. These new endings are overall satisfying and answer many questions the original did not. For this I thank you Bioware. Thank you to all who put in the time and money to give us all the ending we all wanted.
Ha. I say this as if anyone from Bioware is going to stumble across my blog.
Pros
Again with the storytelling. Just like ME 1 and 2, the story here is top notch. There are some deaths in this game that are heart wrenching.
The new skill tree is a welcomed change. It gives an rpg element to a gave that feels like a straight out shooter.
Not much has changed game play wise from ME2 which is a good thing.
You are given the option of finishing off the romance you may have started in either ME1 and ME2. Or you have the opinion to start a brand spanking new romance. There are a lot more choices this time around. There is a little something for everyone romance wise.
The new characters are awesome. The familiar faces are always a pleasure as well.
Cons:
This is actually a mix of pro and con. The changes to the mining is rather.....different. No more watching your bar of useful materials. Scan a planet, you are told if there is anything useful and your done. This is good and bad. Good because my thumbs can take a stress rest. Bad because now I actually have to do side missions in order to keep busy. Oh. Also, the more you scan the more likely Reapers will find your ship. Not sure if I like this or not. I'm going to go with not so much here.
Still dislike Tali. Not to the extreme I used to, but she still annoys me.
I haven't downloaded many DLC for the third game yet. I did download From the Ashes. It gives you a Prothean team mate. Of course you have to acquire him from the clutches of Cerberus first. Which is no easy task.
I've already downloaded and played through the extended cut ending
I just downloaded Citadel. Which is the last DLC for ME3. I have yet to play it, so I'll make an update to this review once I have. But I keep hearing it's really good, so I'm excited to play it.
Don't have any other DLC. I'm not big in to multi player. Mainly because I don't want other people I don't even know to have a ring side seat and actually see how much I suck at shooters. Maybe I'll get there someday, but for now we're going to go with a no on that front.
As far as the other DLC, it more has to do with a lack of hours in the day and a lack of mirosoft points. I'll be getting them eventually for sure.
This series isn't perfect, but it damn close to it. As a whole I give the Mass Effect series a 9/10. The weaving of the story is masterfully done. I went through these games feeling something or another for each character. I'm so sad to see Shepard's story end. Thank goodness there is a new Mass Effect game in development. I'm excited to see where they take the series, and who our new hero is going to be.
All three games have some massive replay value. At present I'm starting a new game as a renegade Adept. Cause that's how I roll.
The series is worth the money dropped for it. Wait for Bioware to put out a game of the year edition for all three. This way it saves you as a consumer from spending butt loads for DLC. If I were a smart gamer that is what I would have done. Of course there is the chance there will be no game of the year edition, in which case wait for a PSN or XBL sale. f
Friday, March 15, 2013
Review for DMC (Revised)
Review time. Actually, this time it's going to be a revised review. When I originally reviewed DMC, I allowed my inner fan girl of the original series cloud my view of this reboot. With the release of the new DLC Vergil's Downfall, I decided to give the game another chance before jumping in to Vergil's story. I'm actually really glad I did.
So. Let's give this review another go. This first part is filled with spoilers. You have been warned.
You are the new and younger anti-heroish Dante. He doesn't give much of a rats ass about anything but drinking, sex and the occasional slaying of demons. Dante is being hunted by Mundus. A demon king who rules most of humanity and the world through debt.
Dante and Vergil (Although Vergil somehow remains off of Mundus's supernatural radar), are the product of a union between Mundus right hand demon man, Sparta and an Angel Eva, this makes the twin brothers both a bit angelic and a bit demonic. Mundus views Dante's Nephilim status as a "loose end" and a threat. He would be right on both counts.
Dante's trouble begins when he is sucked in to Limbo by a Hunter demon. Here we meet Kat. A psychic/witch who is able to astral project herself in to limbo in order to help Dante. After his lovely vacation in Limbo, Kat introduces him to "The Order", a hand full of freedom fighters wanting to take back the human race from Mundus.
Dante reluctantly agrees to help the cause. As Dante learns more of Mundus and his methods for controlling humanity, he finds himself caring about the cause. He also has a bit of a thing for Kat, which helps this need to help the humans.
I would cover more of the story here, but really every Devil May Cry game has the same story. Hack and slash through hoards of demons, all while saving the world from some super bad guy. I will admit, the story in Devil May Cry 3 is a little different from the others given who you have to fight at the end. But for all those fan boys and girls of the series bitching about the storyline here. Shut the fuck up. The story isn't great, but it's believable. Take the game for what it is people. It's a reboot with updated graphics. The lack of story doesn't make the game any less fun.
And need I remind fans of the shit bomb that was Devil may cry 2? Now there was a truly awful DMC game. Although Dante did get extremely better looking in this game. Still doesn't make it any less of a pile of shit though.
Alright. let's get to the likes of this game. This time around the list is a bit longer.
If you find easy, normal and hard modes far too easy. Well Ninja Theory has given you four extra challenging modes that will kick your ass. There is Son of Sparta mode. Dante must Die. Heaven and Hell. Hell and hell. Maybe I'm just not hardcore enough, but I don't even want to try anything past Son of Sparta mode. I'm afraid my tv and controller wouldn't survive my wrath anything beyond SoS. I do like all the difficulty choices we are given.
The combat is fluid, fast paced and fun. The different weapons you receive throughout the game adds to the replace value. Each weapon has it's own special talent. Each weapon allows you to go back through missions and collect items you may have missed or could not previously retrieve. Using skill points gives your weapons new attacks. If you are going for an SSS rating in each mission, these new attacks will help with pulling off fancy combos. Word to those of you who plan on playing this game. Focus skill points on Abilities, Rebellion, Aquila and Arbiter. Guns are pretty pointless in this game, but we'll get to that later.
This game does have replay value. In a second play through, Dante will retain all of the weapons and abilities previously collected. By a second play through you should know what you are doing, so not having to recollect all these damn things is a relief. Plus it makes fighting earlier enemies a bit easier. It's also easier to pull off combos earlier in the game (not that it's difficult to begin with).
Actual big boss battles are really fun and rather original. I find myself playing through boss battle missions more often than not. My personal favorites are the Bob Barbas and The Last Dance fights. Boss battles take some degree of planning and strategy. These battles totally make the game worth playing.
There is always some item to search for in this game. Keys, Lost souls and doors. You can always go back through missions to find everything you missed. As much as I loath gold doors, I do enjoy actually being able to unlock them. Plus, you don't have to play them right away. As long as you've opened the door, you can always go through the main menu and play it later. Since I'm kind of an achievement whore, I'll end up trying to get through all doors, as well as collect everything. This also takes some strategy as well. Not every Lost soul you come across is easy to access. So there is a lot of trial and error here, not to mention frustrating at times. Nevertheless, it's an easy way to get sidetracked from the original story line.
Some of the dialogue is okay. One particular conversation made me laugh like an idiot.
Dante: I'm a better fighter
Vergil: I'm smarter
Dante: I'm better looking
a short side conversation about the mission here.
Vergil: I have a bigger dick.
I don't know why that made me laugh so hard, but it did.
Dante starts out a foul mouthed douche, but I do like his growth as a character near the end. He ends up actually caring about the cause, and wants to save humanity. I dig growth in a character.
I really don't care one way or another about Dante's new look. I wasn't particularly attached to his old look, so this change doesn't bother me as much as it does other die hard fans. As a reboot I expected some changes. Going in knowing this is a younger Dante I assumed he might not look as he did when he's older. Yes, us DMC fans are used to white haired, red coat Dante. But I really could care less.
The things I didn't like haven't changed much.
While I don't really care that Ninja Theory changed Dante's look, I really didn't care for his lack of wit. Ninja Theory tries, they really do, but in the older games Dante's wit was cheesy. It brought on a giggle. Here it was lucky if it brought on a smirk.
As I said before, in the beginning Dante is a douche. This really doesn't take away from the game, but it does become a little annoying after a while.
Kat is as interesting as a rock. I'm not really sure what Dante's draw to her is. Maybe it's because of her adorable puppy dog eyes. Maybe it's her innocence. Or maybe he just really likes bland chicks. If the last reason were true, then we wouldn't have had Trish in the first game. She had a tude, knew how to throw a punch and had wit. Kat just draws Limbo circles and asks Dante if he's okay after a fight. Not really love interest material there if you ask me.
This game is rather short. But it is on par with the other DMC games. Which run anywhere from 7-9 hours long. Still. I wish we had more content here.
I did like some of the dialogue, but as a whole the script could have used some work. Or at least work with the voice actors to at least make them sound as if there weren't actually reading from the script in front of them. No one sounds very natural in this game. Plus, some of the dialogue is just corny. I dig corny, but some of these lines just had me rolling my eyes.
The trophy glitches are rather annoying. As an achievement whore, it's rather annoying.
While I do love my Vergil in all of his awesome badness, I really don't understand why he's decided to go all power starved here. His reason for being big and bad in DMC 3 made sense. He craved power because he wasn't able to save his mother from dying. In this game he's just a douche who wants to rule his human "subjects" for the hell of it. Humans are beneath his kind and shouldn't be trusted to rule themselves. This was just really bad reasoning from any way I look at the situation. He wants to take down Mundus because he feels that Mundus rules the humans too harshly, but Vergil turns around and wants to do the exact same thing? WTF? I could understand wanting to be stronger to protect family more than wanting to rule the world with a iron fist.
This isn't a bad game, but it could have used some tweaks before being released to the masses. I wouldn't suggest spending the 60 dollars it is now. Wait till it comes down to at least 30 dollars. Better yet, rent it to be sure it's for you. Those of you who have heard of the DMC series. but have never bothered to play any of the other games, this is a good starting point for you. Die hard fans already are very vocal about this game. Change=bad. This die hard fan disagrees with the masses.
I give this game a 7/10. It's a good game, but I suggest renting it first before buying. But of course, I say this about almost every game.
Now on to Vergil's Downfall.
If you played DMC3 before even playing this game, you knew where Vergil was heading. In DMC he just hides his need for power behind a noble cause. As the game progresses you start to see the real man behind his facade.
Vergil's Downfall takes place right after the end event of DMC. Vergil is in Limbo and walking a fine line between sanity and insanity. Over the course of 8 missions, Vergil's descends in to a power driven madness of which there is no return.
I really can't say anything negative about this DLC. I highly recommend doing some training with Vergil after new abilities are discovered. Or even before you start in on the first mission.
Playing as Vergil is completely different from Dante. These two have completely different fighting styles. Where Dante has a variety of weapons, Vergil only has his Katana and Sword Illusion. The Katina is able to take on both demonic and angelic forms. Sword illusion is similar to Dante's guns, They'll help you break up an enemies attacks, but doesn't do much in the way of damage.
I am a fan of Vergil. Always have been and always will be. I always dig the bad guy and am curious as to how he or she became the way they did. Vergil's need for more power and his growing hatred for his brother are what drive this story. It's compelling and it made me want more Vergil based DLC.
I also like the fact that this DLC sets up nicely for DMC 2. Hopefully Ninja Theory is hard at work on that one, but I sadly have my doubts. Which makes me kind of sad. I really want to see how this whole brotherly drama plays out. Does it play out like it did in DMC 3? Or will Ninja Theory take it in a whole new direction? Damn. I really want the next chapter in this series already. Or another mission based DLC.
There is also the Bloody Palace DLC. It's fairly straight forward. Lots of enemies and don't die. It's fun and eats up a lot of time.
If anyone out there is interested in playing this series, I would start actually start out with this game. Then if you want to get in to the classic DMC, play Devil may cry 3 first. It's hard, but it would be within the event timeline here. Then Devil may cry. I suggest completely skipping over Devil may cry 2. It's utter shit and adds nothing to the series. You can play it if your a completest, but it would only be a waste of time. . Last but not least, Devil may cry 4.
So. Let's give this review another go. This first part is filled with spoilers. You have been warned.
You are the new and younger anti-heroish Dante. He doesn't give much of a rats ass about anything but drinking, sex and the occasional slaying of demons. Dante is being hunted by Mundus. A demon king who rules most of humanity and the world through debt.
Dante and Vergil (Although Vergil somehow remains off of Mundus's supernatural radar), are the product of a union between Mundus right hand demon man, Sparta and an Angel Eva, this makes the twin brothers both a bit angelic and a bit demonic. Mundus views Dante's Nephilim status as a "loose end" and a threat. He would be right on both counts.
Dante's trouble begins when he is sucked in to Limbo by a Hunter demon. Here we meet Kat. A psychic/witch who is able to astral project herself in to limbo in order to help Dante. After his lovely vacation in Limbo, Kat introduces him to "The Order", a hand full of freedom fighters wanting to take back the human race from Mundus.
Dante reluctantly agrees to help the cause. As Dante learns more of Mundus and his methods for controlling humanity, he finds himself caring about the cause. He also has a bit of a thing for Kat, which helps this need to help the humans.
I would cover more of the story here, but really every Devil May Cry game has the same story. Hack and slash through hoards of demons, all while saving the world from some super bad guy. I will admit, the story in Devil May Cry 3 is a little different from the others given who you have to fight at the end. But for all those fan boys and girls of the series bitching about the storyline here. Shut the fuck up. The story isn't great, but it's believable. Take the game for what it is people. It's a reboot with updated graphics. The lack of story doesn't make the game any less fun.
And need I remind fans of the shit bomb that was Devil may cry 2? Now there was a truly awful DMC game. Although Dante did get extremely better looking in this game. Still doesn't make it any less of a pile of shit though.
Alright. let's get to the likes of this game. This time around the list is a bit longer.
If you find easy, normal and hard modes far too easy. Well Ninja Theory has given you four extra challenging modes that will kick your ass. There is Son of Sparta mode. Dante must Die. Heaven and Hell. Hell and hell. Maybe I'm just not hardcore enough, but I don't even want to try anything past Son of Sparta mode. I'm afraid my tv and controller wouldn't survive my wrath anything beyond SoS. I do like all the difficulty choices we are given.
The combat is fluid, fast paced and fun. The different weapons you receive throughout the game adds to the replace value. Each weapon has it's own special talent. Each weapon allows you to go back through missions and collect items you may have missed or could not previously retrieve. Using skill points gives your weapons new attacks. If you are going for an SSS rating in each mission, these new attacks will help with pulling off fancy combos. Word to those of you who plan on playing this game. Focus skill points on Abilities, Rebellion, Aquila and Arbiter. Guns are pretty pointless in this game, but we'll get to that later.
This game does have replay value. In a second play through, Dante will retain all of the weapons and abilities previously collected. By a second play through you should know what you are doing, so not having to recollect all these damn things is a relief. Plus it makes fighting earlier enemies a bit easier. It's also easier to pull off combos earlier in the game (not that it's difficult to begin with).
Actual big boss battles are really fun and rather original. I find myself playing through boss battle missions more often than not. My personal favorites are the Bob Barbas and The Last Dance fights. Boss battles take some degree of planning and strategy. These battles totally make the game worth playing.
There is always some item to search for in this game. Keys, Lost souls and doors. You can always go back through missions to find everything you missed. As much as I loath gold doors, I do enjoy actually being able to unlock them. Plus, you don't have to play them right away. As long as you've opened the door, you can always go through the main menu and play it later. Since I'm kind of an achievement whore, I'll end up trying to get through all doors, as well as collect everything. This also takes some strategy as well. Not every Lost soul you come across is easy to access. So there is a lot of trial and error here, not to mention frustrating at times. Nevertheless, it's an easy way to get sidetracked from the original story line.
Some of the dialogue is okay. One particular conversation made me laugh like an idiot.
Dante: I'm a better fighter
Vergil: I'm smarter
Dante: I'm better looking
a short side conversation about the mission here.
Vergil: I have a bigger dick.
I don't know why that made me laugh so hard, but it did.
Dante starts out a foul mouthed douche, but I do like his growth as a character near the end. He ends up actually caring about the cause, and wants to save humanity. I dig growth in a character.
I really don't care one way or another about Dante's new look. I wasn't particularly attached to his old look, so this change doesn't bother me as much as it does other die hard fans. As a reboot I expected some changes. Going in knowing this is a younger Dante I assumed he might not look as he did when he's older. Yes, us DMC fans are used to white haired, red coat Dante. But I really could care less.
The things I didn't like haven't changed much.
While I don't really care that Ninja Theory changed Dante's look, I really didn't care for his lack of wit. Ninja Theory tries, they really do, but in the older games Dante's wit was cheesy. It brought on a giggle. Here it was lucky if it brought on a smirk.
As I said before, in the beginning Dante is a douche. This really doesn't take away from the game, but it does become a little annoying after a while.
Kat is as interesting as a rock. I'm not really sure what Dante's draw to her is. Maybe it's because of her adorable puppy dog eyes. Maybe it's her innocence. Or maybe he just really likes bland chicks. If the last reason were true, then we wouldn't have had Trish in the first game. She had a tude, knew how to throw a punch and had wit. Kat just draws Limbo circles and asks Dante if he's okay after a fight. Not really love interest material there if you ask me.
This game is rather short. But it is on par with the other DMC games. Which run anywhere from 7-9 hours long. Still. I wish we had more content here.
I did like some of the dialogue, but as a whole the script could have used some work. Or at least work with the voice actors to at least make them sound as if there weren't actually reading from the script in front of them. No one sounds very natural in this game. Plus, some of the dialogue is just corny. I dig corny, but some of these lines just had me rolling my eyes.
The trophy glitches are rather annoying. As an achievement whore, it's rather annoying.
While I do love my Vergil in all of his awesome badness, I really don't understand why he's decided to go all power starved here. His reason for being big and bad in DMC 3 made sense. He craved power because he wasn't able to save his mother from dying. In this game he's just a douche who wants to rule his human "subjects" for the hell of it. Humans are beneath his kind and shouldn't be trusted to rule themselves. This was just really bad reasoning from any way I look at the situation. He wants to take down Mundus because he feels that Mundus rules the humans too harshly, but Vergil turns around and wants to do the exact same thing? WTF? I could understand wanting to be stronger to protect family more than wanting to rule the world with a iron fist.
This isn't a bad game, but it could have used some tweaks before being released to the masses. I wouldn't suggest spending the 60 dollars it is now. Wait till it comes down to at least 30 dollars. Better yet, rent it to be sure it's for you. Those of you who have heard of the DMC series. but have never bothered to play any of the other games, this is a good starting point for you. Die hard fans already are very vocal about this game. Change=bad. This die hard fan disagrees with the masses.
I give this game a 7/10. It's a good game, but I suggest renting it first before buying. But of course, I say this about almost every game.
Now on to Vergil's Downfall.
If you played DMC3 before even playing this game, you knew where Vergil was heading. In DMC he just hides his need for power behind a noble cause. As the game progresses you start to see the real man behind his facade.
Vergil's Downfall takes place right after the end event of DMC. Vergil is in Limbo and walking a fine line between sanity and insanity. Over the course of 8 missions, Vergil's descends in to a power driven madness of which there is no return.
I really can't say anything negative about this DLC. I highly recommend doing some training with Vergil after new abilities are discovered. Or even before you start in on the first mission.
Playing as Vergil is completely different from Dante. These two have completely different fighting styles. Where Dante has a variety of weapons, Vergil only has his Katana and Sword Illusion. The Katina is able to take on both demonic and angelic forms. Sword illusion is similar to Dante's guns, They'll help you break up an enemies attacks, but doesn't do much in the way of damage.
I am a fan of Vergil. Always have been and always will be. I always dig the bad guy and am curious as to how he or she became the way they did. Vergil's need for more power and his growing hatred for his brother are what drive this story. It's compelling and it made me want more Vergil based DLC.
I also like the fact that this DLC sets up nicely for DMC 2. Hopefully Ninja Theory is hard at work on that one, but I sadly have my doubts. Which makes me kind of sad. I really want to see how this whole brotherly drama plays out. Does it play out like it did in DMC 3? Or will Ninja Theory take it in a whole new direction? Damn. I really want the next chapter in this series already. Or another mission based DLC.
There is also the Bloody Palace DLC. It's fairly straight forward. Lots of enemies and don't die. It's fun and eats up a lot of time.
If anyone out there is interested in playing this series, I would start actually start out with this game. Then if you want to get in to the classic DMC, play Devil may cry 3 first. It's hard, but it would be within the event timeline here. Then Devil may cry. I suggest completely skipping over Devil may cry 2. It's utter shit and adds nothing to the series. You can play it if your a completest, but it would only be a waste of time. . Last but not least, Devil may cry 4.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Dragon Age 2 review
Before writing this review for Dragon age 2. I went searched through some more well known gaming review sites. If only to see what score they gave the game. Most of these sites gave DA2 a fairly high score. This could mean one of three things:
1. My expectations for this sequel were WAY to high.
2.These gaming sites are in EA's grubby little pockets
3. They were given a completely different game than us lowly consumers.
If it turns out it was the last of the options, I'm going to be pissed. Why did they get a fantastic game, while the rest of us who aren't paid to play games all day get the shit that we did?
Obviously this isn't going to be a shining review. And it breaks my heart, because I LOVED Dragon age: Origins. The fact that this is the follow up game to something so epic is just....sad.
*Sigh*
Here we go.
Dragon Age 2 is a story with in a story that spans a decade. The story is told by one of your companions, Varric.
Things starts off with Hawke and his/her family, attempting to escape from Lothering and the invading darkspawn. After a string of events and with the help of a familiar face, you and your family will be on a ship heading for Kirkwall.
Act 1 - Hawke and his/her family has been in Kirkwall for a year. You have spent this time making a name for yourself to little avail. In order to reach the heights of notoriety you desire, Hawke will need to earn some money in order to join a....ugh...Deep Roads expedition. This task will be easy with the companions you will acquire along the way. Once you have made enough money, the Deep Roads and the riches it holds is yours for the taking.
Act 2- A few years after Hawke's Deep Roads expedition, he/she has finally found a place in high society. Kirkwall now faces a new threat. The Qunari are in a state of unrest. They are searching for something and cannot leave until they find it. With all of the Chantry zelots in Kirkwall, religious tension is quickly building. Hawke needs to keep the peace, but when that fails, he/she is forced to take on his/her greatest challenge yet. The Qunari themselves.
Act 3- Years after the Qunari uprising, Hawke has been named the Champion of Kirkwall and faces a new set of threats. Tension is rising between the Mages and Templars of Kirkwall. The city looks to Hawke and his/her companions to keep the peace between the two groups. When both sides are bullheaded keeping things civil is easier said than done. Try as Hawke might, war between these two can not be avoided. If you can't beat them, join them. But which side is right and which is just out for power?
Since there are so few great things about this game, lets get that list out of the way.
It's short. Thank the Maker for small favors.
The combat is fluid, smooth and fast paced. Which is a welcomed change from the traditional sluggish RPG combat style of DA:O. The combat here is reminiscent of a hack and slash. It's a change some weren't exactly happy with, but since I love hack and slash games almost as much as RPG's, it made the game almost bearable. Almost.
The new skill tree set up is a very nice change. Now you are able to pick and choose which skills you wish to learn and even upgrade them. I wish the first game would have had this feature. It would have made leveling up fun and exciting. It took me some time to figure out which skill I wanted to learn first since you have so many tree choices. With the help of mods, you can actually have them all. No matter which class you choose in the beginning of the game. Thank you mod community!
While the companion banter isn't as funny in this installment, Varric's sarcasm and his need to constantly give those around him nicknames induces fits of giggling. He is also one of two companions who appreciate sarcastic conversation opinions. Isabella being the other. Isabella does have some good one liners, but Varric's are better.
I highly suggest you play this game choosing sarcastic conversation options when offered. It makes the game a little more bearable, and leads too some pretty interesting conversation results.
The rival/friendship approval rating system is interesting. You can have a rival romance/friendship, (In my opinion this is the far more interesting route), or you can say all the right things and have a friendship relationship.
There are a few faces from DA:0 that show up. It's always nice to see old friends again. No matter how badly the art team screwed them up.
I can't stress the importance of mods for the pc version. Mods make this game worth a couple of play throughs. A huge thank you to all of you who have worked so hard to make fantastic mods. Because of all of you, this game has some massive replay value. That isn't even something Bioware could do for this game. Keep up the good work!
On to the bad.
The story. It didn't flow very well. At least not for my liking. I just didn't understand what one main storyline had to do with the next. One act I'm as poor as a hobo. The next I'm rich as could be and people are still asking me to do shit work for them. The next I'm the champion who is still doing other people's bidding.
If they had stuck us with one "big picture" storyline, that would have made more sense. You do get a feel for the emanate mage/templar implosion early on. But this is due to side quests. Not to mention Anders constant pissing and whining about how oppressed mages. Believe me, you get to hear that. A LOT. Finding a way to stop the tension from building between the mages and templars would have been far more interesting than the jumbled storyline we got.
Kirkwall. Enjoy your stay, because you will never leave. Yes. You do get to visit the lovely mountains once in a while, but it's never too far away from good old Kirkwall. Traveling from town to town could have made this game far less tedious. I'm sure there are plenty of towns surrounding Kirkwall needed Hawkes help. Hell. A trip to the Free Marches would have been nice. Alas, it was not meant to be. As it is, every single dungeon and enemy A.I is reused. If you choose to play this game, get ready to see the same dungeon at least three times throughout the whole game. Not to mention realizing you've already fought this bunch of fucking mercenaries already. They story was hard to swallow. But reused EVERYTHING made it a chore to play through.
Hawke. I had a hard time feeling any kind of emotional connection with Hawke. Unlike the Warden you built from the ground up in DA:O, Hawke's back round story has already been pre-determined for you. There are no other races here. You are stuck playing a human. The two things you get to decide for your Hawke is a fighting class and sex. The only way to get away from Hawkes cardboard box personality, is choosing sarcastic answers in your conversation wheel.
If I were able to build my Hawke from the ground up. Decide what his/her back round is. What his/her home situation was. Then I would have been able to connect. The Hawke presented is a step back from character customization. There are a lot of DA fans who took issue with this lacking feature. I completely understand why fan boys and girls were so pissed off about it.
Companions. Now for the biggest tragedy of all. Aside from Verric, I could have cared less what happened to any of my companions. Hell. Once in a while I was tempted to run my sword through an eyeball or two.
Anders is the one character that bugged be more than anyone. The way he is portrayed in this game COMPLETELY goes against the epilogue in DA:A. Say good bye to witty Anders. Say hello to a mage who is whinny, broody, self righteous and he ditched his duty as a Grey Warden. The last point is what makes the DA:A epilogue pointless. He's always wanting to help a mage, but really he just wants to help himself. It's down right pitiful.
The other companions were just boring and whinny. I really wasn't interested in helping any of them out. However, for the sake of exp gain, I did it anyways.
The artwork wasn't the best in DA:O, but somehow the artwork in this game was worse. I don't know how Bioware's art team managed to pull that one off. Thanks guys and girls at Bioware for making Elves look ridiculous. Oh and how the messed up Alistair and Zevran. Now, I am painfully aware of aging effects. But no one looks THAT bad in their late 20s and early 30's.
The end. It was a massive let down. We really don't know what happened to anyone. The epilogue was very half assed.
*****Spoiler Alert****
It is mentioned at the end that both hawke and the Warden (your character from DA:O) are missing. It was eluded that they must be found in order to piece together unaccounted events.
Not too long after this game came out, Bioware said that both Hawke and the Warden's stories are done. So come DA3 we will never hear from either one of them again. We wont get that missing link, or any closure to our Warden's story. Which is really what I care about.
The Romance. I really didn't care to romance anyone in this game. It all comes back to the whole not connecting thing. Had Varric been a romance option character, I would have jumped at that opportunity. Sadly, he wasn't. Your choices are a broody elf. Whinny mage. Confused Dalish elf. Religious dude. Last but not least, the pirate whore. Actually Isabella is the lesser of evils here, which is sad cause she's the whore.
****End of Spoiler****
This whole ending made me want to throw my computer against a wall. Oddly enough, the only other game's ending that pissed me off more was Mass Effect 3. With the ending of DA2 the Mass Effect 3 ending really should have shocked me.
Now on to the DLC.
The Exiled Price. This was a launch day DLC that gave you a new companion to add to the mix. It was pointless, and should have already been in the game. I didn't ask for a yet another card board companion. Yet Bioware thought I just really needed one. Thankfully, this came with my pre-order. I just feel sorry for those who paid the 8.99 to buy this worthless content.
The Black Emporium. This DLC was actually kind of nice to have. There are no missions here, but instead you get a rare items store. His shit is expensive, but everything here is easy enough to save up for. Plus you get to modify your character if you should choose to do so.
Legacy. This was actually a really fun mission DLC. We finally get to learn more about Hawke's father. Which was actually pretty interesting.
Hawke is being hunted down by a dwarven cartel. They want to use Hawkes blood in order to bring forth a old Tevinter Magister. I have to admit, I really enjoyed this mission. There were back stories and the Magister himself had an interesting story to tell.
Mark of the Assassin. Why the hell this DLC received so much hype is beyond me. Hawke is approached by elven rogue Tallis. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help her steal an object from an Orleasan noble.
This DLC could have been so good. Sadly, the stealth (which you WILL need here), is poorly done at best. But, it does have several hours of game play. So if you're an Felecia Day fan, then by all means download it. I'm a fan and not even I could get in to this one.
It breaks my heart to give a Dragon Age game this kind of score.
4/10
There are good things about this game. Sadly the bad far outweigh the good.
As I said before, download mods for this game. It makes it more enjoyable.
1. My expectations for this sequel were WAY to high.
2.These gaming sites are in EA's grubby little pockets
3. They were given a completely different game than us lowly consumers.
If it turns out it was the last of the options, I'm going to be pissed. Why did they get a fantastic game, while the rest of us who aren't paid to play games all day get the shit that we did?
Obviously this isn't going to be a shining review. And it breaks my heart, because I LOVED Dragon age: Origins. The fact that this is the follow up game to something so epic is just....sad.
*Sigh*
Here we go.
Dragon Age 2 is a story with in a story that spans a decade. The story is told by one of your companions, Varric.
Things starts off with Hawke and his/her family, attempting to escape from Lothering and the invading darkspawn. After a string of events and with the help of a familiar face, you and your family will be on a ship heading for Kirkwall.
Act 1 - Hawke and his/her family has been in Kirkwall for a year. You have spent this time making a name for yourself to little avail. In order to reach the heights of notoriety you desire, Hawke will need to earn some money in order to join a....ugh...Deep Roads expedition. This task will be easy with the companions you will acquire along the way. Once you have made enough money, the Deep Roads and the riches it holds is yours for the taking.
Act 2- A few years after Hawke's Deep Roads expedition, he/she has finally found a place in high society. Kirkwall now faces a new threat. The Qunari are in a state of unrest. They are searching for something and cannot leave until they find it. With all of the Chantry zelots in Kirkwall, religious tension is quickly building. Hawke needs to keep the peace, but when that fails, he/she is forced to take on his/her greatest challenge yet. The Qunari themselves.
Act 3- Years after the Qunari uprising, Hawke has been named the Champion of Kirkwall and faces a new set of threats. Tension is rising between the Mages and Templars of Kirkwall. The city looks to Hawke and his/her companions to keep the peace between the two groups. When both sides are bullheaded keeping things civil is easier said than done. Try as Hawke might, war between these two can not be avoided. If you can't beat them, join them. But which side is right and which is just out for power?
Since there are so few great things about this game, lets get that list out of the way.
It's short. Thank the Maker for small favors.
The combat is fluid, smooth and fast paced. Which is a welcomed change from the traditional sluggish RPG combat style of DA:O. The combat here is reminiscent of a hack and slash. It's a change some weren't exactly happy with, but since I love hack and slash games almost as much as RPG's, it made the game almost bearable. Almost.
The new skill tree set up is a very nice change. Now you are able to pick and choose which skills you wish to learn and even upgrade them. I wish the first game would have had this feature. It would have made leveling up fun and exciting. It took me some time to figure out which skill I wanted to learn first since you have so many tree choices. With the help of mods, you can actually have them all. No matter which class you choose in the beginning of the game. Thank you mod community!
While the companion banter isn't as funny in this installment, Varric's sarcasm and his need to constantly give those around him nicknames induces fits of giggling. He is also one of two companions who appreciate sarcastic conversation opinions. Isabella being the other. Isabella does have some good one liners, but Varric's are better.
I highly suggest you play this game choosing sarcastic conversation options when offered. It makes the game a little more bearable, and leads too some pretty interesting conversation results.
The rival/friendship approval rating system is interesting. You can have a rival romance/friendship, (In my opinion this is the far more interesting route), or you can say all the right things and have a friendship relationship.
There are a few faces from DA:0 that show up. It's always nice to see old friends again. No matter how badly the art team screwed them up.
I can't stress the importance of mods for the pc version. Mods make this game worth a couple of play throughs. A huge thank you to all of you who have worked so hard to make fantastic mods. Because of all of you, this game has some massive replay value. That isn't even something Bioware could do for this game. Keep up the good work!
On to the bad.
The story. It didn't flow very well. At least not for my liking. I just didn't understand what one main storyline had to do with the next. One act I'm as poor as a hobo. The next I'm rich as could be and people are still asking me to do shit work for them. The next I'm the champion who is still doing other people's bidding.
If they had stuck us with one "big picture" storyline, that would have made more sense. You do get a feel for the emanate mage/templar implosion early on. But this is due to side quests. Not to mention Anders constant pissing and whining about how oppressed mages. Believe me, you get to hear that. A LOT. Finding a way to stop the tension from building between the mages and templars would have been far more interesting than the jumbled storyline we got.
Kirkwall. Enjoy your stay, because you will never leave. Yes. You do get to visit the lovely mountains once in a while, but it's never too far away from good old Kirkwall. Traveling from town to town could have made this game far less tedious. I'm sure there are plenty of towns surrounding Kirkwall needed Hawkes help. Hell. A trip to the Free Marches would have been nice. Alas, it was not meant to be. As it is, every single dungeon and enemy A.I is reused. If you choose to play this game, get ready to see the same dungeon at least three times throughout the whole game. Not to mention realizing you've already fought this bunch of fucking mercenaries already. They story was hard to swallow. But reused EVERYTHING made it a chore to play through.
Hawke. I had a hard time feeling any kind of emotional connection with Hawke. Unlike the Warden you built from the ground up in DA:O, Hawke's back round story has already been pre-determined for you. There are no other races here. You are stuck playing a human. The two things you get to decide for your Hawke is a fighting class and sex. The only way to get away from Hawkes cardboard box personality, is choosing sarcastic answers in your conversation wheel.
If I were able to build my Hawke from the ground up. Decide what his/her back round is. What his/her home situation was. Then I would have been able to connect. The Hawke presented is a step back from character customization. There are a lot of DA fans who took issue with this lacking feature. I completely understand why fan boys and girls were so pissed off about it.
Companions. Now for the biggest tragedy of all. Aside from Verric, I could have cared less what happened to any of my companions. Hell. Once in a while I was tempted to run my sword through an eyeball or two.
Anders is the one character that bugged be more than anyone. The way he is portrayed in this game COMPLETELY goes against the epilogue in DA:A. Say good bye to witty Anders. Say hello to a mage who is whinny, broody, self righteous and he ditched his duty as a Grey Warden. The last point is what makes the DA:A epilogue pointless. He's always wanting to help a mage, but really he just wants to help himself. It's down right pitiful.
The other companions were just boring and whinny. I really wasn't interested in helping any of them out. However, for the sake of exp gain, I did it anyways.
The artwork wasn't the best in DA:O, but somehow the artwork in this game was worse. I don't know how Bioware's art team managed to pull that one off. Thanks guys and girls at Bioware for making Elves look ridiculous. Oh and how the messed up Alistair and Zevran. Now, I am painfully aware of aging effects. But no one looks THAT bad in their late 20s and early 30's.
The end. It was a massive let down. We really don't know what happened to anyone. The epilogue was very half assed.
*****Spoiler Alert****
It is mentioned at the end that both hawke and the Warden (your character from DA:O) are missing. It was eluded that they must be found in order to piece together unaccounted events.
Not too long after this game came out, Bioware said that both Hawke and the Warden's stories are done. So come DA3 we will never hear from either one of them again. We wont get that missing link, or any closure to our Warden's story. Which is really what I care about.
The Romance. I really didn't care to romance anyone in this game. It all comes back to the whole not connecting thing. Had Varric been a romance option character, I would have jumped at that opportunity. Sadly, he wasn't. Your choices are a broody elf. Whinny mage. Confused Dalish elf. Religious dude. Last but not least, the pirate whore. Actually Isabella is the lesser of evils here, which is sad cause she's the whore.
****End of Spoiler****
This whole ending made me want to throw my computer against a wall. Oddly enough, the only other game's ending that pissed me off more was Mass Effect 3. With the ending of DA2 the Mass Effect 3 ending really should have shocked me.
Now on to the DLC.
The Exiled Price. This was a launch day DLC that gave you a new companion to add to the mix. It was pointless, and should have already been in the game. I didn't ask for a yet another card board companion. Yet Bioware thought I just really needed one. Thankfully, this came with my pre-order. I just feel sorry for those who paid the 8.99 to buy this worthless content.
The Black Emporium. This DLC was actually kind of nice to have. There are no missions here, but instead you get a rare items store. His shit is expensive, but everything here is easy enough to save up for. Plus you get to modify your character if you should choose to do so.
Legacy. This was actually a really fun mission DLC. We finally get to learn more about Hawke's father. Which was actually pretty interesting.
Hawke is being hunted down by a dwarven cartel. They want to use Hawkes blood in order to bring forth a old Tevinter Magister. I have to admit, I really enjoyed this mission. There were back stories and the Magister himself had an interesting story to tell.
Mark of the Assassin. Why the hell this DLC received so much hype is beyond me. Hawke is approached by elven rogue Tallis. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help her steal an object from an Orleasan noble.
This DLC could have been so good. Sadly, the stealth (which you WILL need here), is poorly done at best. But, it does have several hours of game play. So if you're an Felecia Day fan, then by all means download it. I'm a fan and not even I could get in to this one.
It breaks my heart to give a Dragon Age game this kind of score.
4/10
There are good things about this game. Sadly the bad far outweigh the good.
As I said before, download mods for this game. It makes it more enjoyable.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Dragon Age: Origins review
I am completely aware of how behind the times I am with this review. But, I think Dragon Age: Origins deserves some review love. What the hell. I might as well cover Dragon Age 2 while I'm at it.
I wont bother hiding the fact that DA:O is one of my favorite games of all time. However, I will try this review fair and balanced. No matter how hard it may be.
The game begins like so many RGP games do.
Welcome to Ferelden folks. It's country on the brink of war. Monsters call the Darkspawn are making life difficult for all. You know, Killing and shit like that. And, of course, different factions trying to put a stop to invading monsters.
Meet the Grey Wardens. This group of warriors are only the best of the best. The Grey Wardens soul purpose is to defeat the Darkspawn and the Darkspawn leader, the Archdemon. Throughout the game you will learn what makes the Grey Wardens so different from other warriors, Which is actually fairly interesting.
The first Grey Warden that we meet is Ferelden's Warden Commander, Duncan. Due to a dwindling Grey Warden population in Ferelden, Duncan has taken it upon himself to recruit talented and intelligent warriors. Since the Grey Warden's only recruit the best of the best, you can only imagine how daunting this task must be. Yet the impending war waits for no man.
After a brief opening cut scene, you will be able to create the character of your choosing.
After choosing your race, sex, class and back round, you will be able to customize your character. While not as deep as some customization, it is fairly extensive. This is where the pc version of this game comes out on top. Thanks to the amount of appearance mods, the customization options are nearly endless. Want a character with neon green hair? There is a mod for that.
The beginning of your story depends on what race and backround you choose. After you learn about your character's beginning, the game itself essentially plays out the same. However, depending on what race you pick, the people of the world will react to your character differently. Elves are seen as slaves. Humans are seen as superior. Dwarfs for the most part are dirt people. Mages are somewhat feared. Who you choose will also effect the ending as well. Which gives the game replay value.
Once your character has been recruited in to the Grey Wardens, things quickly go downhill from there. After a failed battle, you and a fellow companion are the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden. It's up to you to gather an army in order to take down the Archdemon, and stop the blight on Ferelden before it actually begins. To make matters worse, an important army general has placed a bounty on your head. I will let you play the game in order to find out why this man has it out for your group. But I will say our little general is slightly bat shit crazy. When it rains, it pours.
While the story isn't exactly super original, it is enough to keep most true RPG fans interested. You are able to form bonds and even romance your companions. Which adds a layer of depth to the story. I can't speak for all people who have played this game, but I really did care about my companions. I found myself wanting to make most of them happy. This is something you can do through conversations and gift giving. Certain conversation paths lead to "Hardening" a particular character. Or you can leave your wimpy character as is.
There is A LOT of story here. With side quests and all, I finished the game in 75 hours or so. So if you are all about a bit of bang for your buck, this is the game for you. I'm sure with all the DLC for the game it turns out to be a 80 or 90 hour game. So there is a lot of content here to get through.
I've played this game on all the consoles and the pc. In my personal opinion, this is a pc game. Not just because of all the mods that are out there. But it handles like a pc game no matter which system you play it on. Controls for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are a bit confusing at first. With a little time, it becomes easier to figure out where everything is and how it works. The pc version is slightly less complicated. I for inventory. M for map. So on and so forth. All versions have a quick bar. The quick bar is going to save your ass, so keep it fully stocked with abilities and potions.
The game play itself is a throw back to Baldur's Gate. Which isn't a bad thing since I love BG. Which means if you are someone who like a fast and furious battles, sad to say that this game is not for you. This game requires strategy and most of all patience. Planning out a fight plan is the key to success. Unless you have an overpowered weapon mod, then fuck strategy. Hack away.
Relationships with your companions is important. I cannot stress enough how important this is. There are several companions who will turn on you if you don't butter them up. You don't aways have you please everyone, but it's a good idea to try.
Romance is kind of hit or miss. There are some I simply romanced because it would give me one more achievement. Then there are the characters I enjoyed wooing. I will let you discover who you prefer to warm your lonely sleeping bags at night. There is something here for everyone. There are two characters in this game who are bisexual and two who aren't. I'll let you play and figure out who.
There are sex scenes. Which are deeply unsatisfying. Who has sex with clothes on? The cut scenes are just strange and not very fun to watch. Not saying I want porno quality scenes here, but one spends a lot of time wooing a fellow companion. I'd like a little more than dry humping in a tent.
The Fade and the Deep Roads. I have no met a single person who enjoys playing through these levels. In fact, there is a mod out to skip the Fade. Believe me, it's downloaded and well worth it. I understand why both of these levels are in the game. They are just take way too fucking long to get through.
You are sent to The Fade by a Demon because....well I assume it's just to waste time and annoy the player. When inside the Fade there are five levels to get through. There are two objectives here: Pick up a new form in each level. And find your lost companions. All of this leads up to a pointless fade boss battle. If you have the right equipment, this boss is easy. Aside from earning exp and attribute points, I really don't see the point of this level. It's too fucking long!
The Deep roads actually is an important part of the story. However, it takes HOURS to get through. It's easy to get lost, frustrating as hell and just all around not much fun.
If it weren't to build an army against the darkspawn, I would have said fuck help from the dwarves and mages. Since that isn't an option we'll all just have to suffer through it.
The end is satisfying. There are several different endings to choose from. All of your decisions throughout the game lead up to the end decision. I wont go in to detail, but it is epic.
Let's talk about Dragon Age: Awakening and DLC for a moment. WHAT THE FUCK BIOWARE??! DA:A is a "full length" expansion for the original game. This game AT MOST, has 10-15 hours of game play. If you took your time, maybe you could get 15 and a half hours. The point is, the fucking thing is short. At the time it was also a full priced game. 50 dollars for this? 60 dollars for the console versions. Why this wasn't just released as a DLC is beyond me, but it is what it is.
DA:A gives us a new setting, new party members and new objectives. You have one of two options. Bringing over your Warden from DA:O, or playing as an Orleasan Warden. To be honest I've never played as the Orleasan Warden, since it seemed rather pointless. You don't know anything about this new Warden, nor do you get the time to learn of any back round. Might as well transfer your own Warden and build up those levels.
The new companions fell short for me. Each and every one of them felt like a counterpart to a character from DA:O. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the dialogue with the witty, cat loving Anders. But even he felt like a certain Grey Warden love interest from DA:O. Given the expansion's shortness, you are given very little time to know your companions. There is the gift giving option, but honestly I don't see the point. Conversations are short, don't give you much information, and seem tacked on.
It annoyed me that NONE of my special armor or weapons from DA:O carried over. Showing up in my underwear, or bra and panties was a bit of a surprise. Not a good kind of surprise.
The ending. Well. The End of DA:A just kinda.....ends. It's unsatisfying to say the least. We learn a little of what has happened to the companions and our Warden commander through epilogue stills, but there could have been so much more. It could have been epic. Instead, Bioware phones in a half assed ending that leaves one confused. At least I was a little confused.
Not to say DA:A is all bad. Some of the missions are fun. Also some of the dialogue between the npc's is really kind of funny. I also love the idea of talking darkspawn.
But as a whole it's an expansion pack that falls vastly short of good. Passable and worth a play through. If only to level yourself up for the DLC to follow.
On to the DLC.
The Stone Prisoner gave us a new mission, along with a new companion. It's worth getting just for Shale alone. Some of the items looted along the way is pretty nifty too.
Return to Ostagar gave us a chance to get our revenge on the darkspawn. While this isn't the best dlc on the list, it was pretty fun. The loot was well worth playing through this. The kings armor and Duncan's weapons were nice to have in the old inventory box.
Leliana's Story was not wonderful, but it was nice to get a back round story on at least one companion. Even though she was the least interesting of the characters. This also adds a weapon to your game inventory. It's hardly worth the time spent.
Darkspawn Chronicles. While some hate this dlc, personally I really liked playing as the darkspawn. I was finally able to kill some of the most annoying characters in the game! I found it thrilling and therapeutic. If you take it for the filler dlc that it is, you can have some fun.
Witch Hunt. This was, by far, the most disappointing dlc of the bunch. We were promised an answers. Sadly, we got none with this sub par episode. We find ourselves in the Deep Roads. Again. This was already enough to keep me from downloading this dlc. Sadly, it came with the ultimate edition of the game. So I gave it a whirl. We need to find Morrigan because she has an important book. There are two rather boring new companions. The dlc raises more questions than it answers. Thus leaving fans utterly disappointed.
The Golems of Amgarrak. Again with this Deep Roads bullshit. However, this was a very challenging dlc. Again we are searching for something. A new companion is on the hunt for something or another. Since I found myself back in the Deep Roads, I really didn't give a rats ass what he was looking for. The puzzles were challenging, as was the end boss. I appreciated the challenge. The story itself was utter shit. Pass.
Armor dlc, Festerday pranks/gifts were let downs. The blood armor was cool looking, but did little else. The pranks/gifts are to help get your party approval up or down. Either way they were utterly stupid and pointless.
It's worth getting the ultimate edition. If you can find it. Just know the expansion is short, and the dlc is hit or miss.
I give the game itself a 9/10
The extra content gets a 5/10
If I were to add my review of DA2, it would indeed be far too long. So next up. My review of the unfortunate Dragon Age 2.
I wont bother hiding the fact that DA:O is one of my favorite games of all time. However, I will try this review fair and balanced. No matter how hard it may be.
The game begins like so many RGP games do.
Welcome to Ferelden folks. It's country on the brink of war. Monsters call the Darkspawn are making life difficult for all. You know, Killing and shit like that. And, of course, different factions trying to put a stop to invading monsters.
Meet the Grey Wardens. This group of warriors are only the best of the best. The Grey Wardens soul purpose is to defeat the Darkspawn and the Darkspawn leader, the Archdemon. Throughout the game you will learn what makes the Grey Wardens so different from other warriors, Which is actually fairly interesting.
The first Grey Warden that we meet is Ferelden's Warden Commander, Duncan. Due to a dwindling Grey Warden population in Ferelden, Duncan has taken it upon himself to recruit talented and intelligent warriors. Since the Grey Warden's only recruit the best of the best, you can only imagine how daunting this task must be. Yet the impending war waits for no man.
After a brief opening cut scene, you will be able to create the character of your choosing.
After choosing your race, sex, class and back round, you will be able to customize your character. While not as deep as some customization, it is fairly extensive. This is where the pc version of this game comes out on top. Thanks to the amount of appearance mods, the customization options are nearly endless. Want a character with neon green hair? There is a mod for that.
The beginning of your story depends on what race and backround you choose. After you learn about your character's beginning, the game itself essentially plays out the same. However, depending on what race you pick, the people of the world will react to your character differently. Elves are seen as slaves. Humans are seen as superior. Dwarfs for the most part are dirt people. Mages are somewhat feared. Who you choose will also effect the ending as well. Which gives the game replay value.
Once your character has been recruited in to the Grey Wardens, things quickly go downhill from there. After a failed battle, you and a fellow companion are the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden. It's up to you to gather an army in order to take down the Archdemon, and stop the blight on Ferelden before it actually begins. To make matters worse, an important army general has placed a bounty on your head. I will let you play the game in order to find out why this man has it out for your group. But I will say our little general is slightly bat shit crazy. When it rains, it pours.
While the story isn't exactly super original, it is enough to keep most true RPG fans interested. You are able to form bonds and even romance your companions. Which adds a layer of depth to the story. I can't speak for all people who have played this game, but I really did care about my companions. I found myself wanting to make most of them happy. This is something you can do through conversations and gift giving. Certain conversation paths lead to "Hardening" a particular character. Or you can leave your wimpy character as is.
There is A LOT of story here. With side quests and all, I finished the game in 75 hours or so. So if you are all about a bit of bang for your buck, this is the game for you. I'm sure with all the DLC for the game it turns out to be a 80 or 90 hour game. So there is a lot of content here to get through.
I've played this game on all the consoles and the pc. In my personal opinion, this is a pc game. Not just because of all the mods that are out there. But it handles like a pc game no matter which system you play it on. Controls for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are a bit confusing at first. With a little time, it becomes easier to figure out where everything is and how it works. The pc version is slightly less complicated. I for inventory. M for map. So on and so forth. All versions have a quick bar. The quick bar is going to save your ass, so keep it fully stocked with abilities and potions.
The game play itself is a throw back to Baldur's Gate. Which isn't a bad thing since I love BG. Which means if you are someone who like a fast and furious battles, sad to say that this game is not for you. This game requires strategy and most of all patience. Planning out a fight plan is the key to success. Unless you have an overpowered weapon mod, then fuck strategy. Hack away.
Relationships with your companions is important. I cannot stress enough how important this is. There are several companions who will turn on you if you don't butter them up. You don't aways have you please everyone, but it's a good idea to try.
Romance is kind of hit or miss. There are some I simply romanced because it would give me one more achievement. Then there are the characters I enjoyed wooing. I will let you discover who you prefer to warm your lonely sleeping bags at night. There is something here for everyone. There are two characters in this game who are bisexual and two who aren't. I'll let you play and figure out who.
There are sex scenes. Which are deeply unsatisfying. Who has sex with clothes on? The cut scenes are just strange and not very fun to watch. Not saying I want porno quality scenes here, but one spends a lot of time wooing a fellow companion. I'd like a little more than dry humping in a tent.
The Fade and the Deep Roads. I have no met a single person who enjoys playing through these levels. In fact, there is a mod out to skip the Fade. Believe me, it's downloaded and well worth it. I understand why both of these levels are in the game. They are just take way too fucking long to get through.
You are sent to The Fade by a Demon because....well I assume it's just to waste time and annoy the player. When inside the Fade there are five levels to get through. There are two objectives here: Pick up a new form in each level. And find your lost companions. All of this leads up to a pointless fade boss battle. If you have the right equipment, this boss is easy. Aside from earning exp and attribute points, I really don't see the point of this level. It's too fucking long!
The Deep roads actually is an important part of the story. However, it takes HOURS to get through. It's easy to get lost, frustrating as hell and just all around not much fun.
If it weren't to build an army against the darkspawn, I would have said fuck help from the dwarves and mages. Since that isn't an option we'll all just have to suffer through it.
The end is satisfying. There are several different endings to choose from. All of your decisions throughout the game lead up to the end decision. I wont go in to detail, but it is epic.
Let's talk about Dragon Age: Awakening and DLC for a moment. WHAT THE FUCK BIOWARE??! DA:A is a "full length" expansion for the original game. This game AT MOST, has 10-15 hours of game play. If you took your time, maybe you could get 15 and a half hours. The point is, the fucking thing is short. At the time it was also a full priced game. 50 dollars for this? 60 dollars for the console versions. Why this wasn't just released as a DLC is beyond me, but it is what it is.
DA:A gives us a new setting, new party members and new objectives. You have one of two options. Bringing over your Warden from DA:O, or playing as an Orleasan Warden. To be honest I've never played as the Orleasan Warden, since it seemed rather pointless. You don't know anything about this new Warden, nor do you get the time to learn of any back round. Might as well transfer your own Warden and build up those levels.
The new companions fell short for me. Each and every one of them felt like a counterpart to a character from DA:O. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the dialogue with the witty, cat loving Anders. But even he felt like a certain Grey Warden love interest from DA:O. Given the expansion's shortness, you are given very little time to know your companions. There is the gift giving option, but honestly I don't see the point. Conversations are short, don't give you much information, and seem tacked on.
It annoyed me that NONE of my special armor or weapons from DA:O carried over. Showing up in my underwear, or bra and panties was a bit of a surprise. Not a good kind of surprise.
The ending. Well. The End of DA:A just kinda.....ends. It's unsatisfying to say the least. We learn a little of what has happened to the companions and our Warden commander through epilogue stills, but there could have been so much more. It could have been epic. Instead, Bioware phones in a half assed ending that leaves one confused. At least I was a little confused.
Not to say DA:A is all bad. Some of the missions are fun. Also some of the dialogue between the npc's is really kind of funny. I also love the idea of talking darkspawn.
But as a whole it's an expansion pack that falls vastly short of good. Passable and worth a play through. If only to level yourself up for the DLC to follow.
On to the DLC.
The Stone Prisoner gave us a new mission, along with a new companion. It's worth getting just for Shale alone. Some of the items looted along the way is pretty nifty too.
Return to Ostagar gave us a chance to get our revenge on the darkspawn. While this isn't the best dlc on the list, it was pretty fun. The loot was well worth playing through this. The kings armor and Duncan's weapons were nice to have in the old inventory box.
Leliana's Story was not wonderful, but it was nice to get a back round story on at least one companion. Even though she was the least interesting of the characters. This also adds a weapon to your game inventory. It's hardly worth the time spent.
Darkspawn Chronicles. While some hate this dlc, personally I really liked playing as the darkspawn. I was finally able to kill some of the most annoying characters in the game! I found it thrilling and therapeutic. If you take it for the filler dlc that it is, you can have some fun.
Witch Hunt. This was, by far, the most disappointing dlc of the bunch. We were promised an answers. Sadly, we got none with this sub par episode. We find ourselves in the Deep Roads. Again. This was already enough to keep me from downloading this dlc. Sadly, it came with the ultimate edition of the game. So I gave it a whirl. We need to find Morrigan because she has an important book. There are two rather boring new companions. The dlc raises more questions than it answers. Thus leaving fans utterly disappointed.
The Golems of Amgarrak. Again with this Deep Roads bullshit. However, this was a very challenging dlc. Again we are searching for something. A new companion is on the hunt for something or another. Since I found myself back in the Deep Roads, I really didn't give a rats ass what he was looking for. The puzzles were challenging, as was the end boss. I appreciated the challenge. The story itself was utter shit. Pass.
Armor dlc, Festerday pranks/gifts were let downs. The blood armor was cool looking, but did little else. The pranks/gifts are to help get your party approval up or down. Either way they were utterly stupid and pointless.
It's worth getting the ultimate edition. If you can find it. Just know the expansion is short, and the dlc is hit or miss.
I give the game itself a 9/10
The extra content gets a 5/10
If I were to add my review of DA2, it would indeed be far too long. So next up. My review of the unfortunate Dragon Age 2.
Friday, January 25, 2013
DMC: Devil May Cry review
I'm going to take a break from book reviews here for a minute. Today's review is going to show how absolutely nerdtastic I really am. I don't hide the fact that not only am I a complete book worm, but also a video game junkie. My video game collection is actually far more vast than my book piles.
I have been a HUGE fan of the Devil May Cry series since it was originally released in 2001. It was my main reason for owning a Playstation 2. All three of the original PS2 games are fantastic. Yes, story telling could have been better, but for what the lack in story is more than made up for in combat and characters.
Dante. Who doesn't love our white haired half demon, half human. He's witty and just an all around bad ass. Put him together with Trish and it's pure gold. The loss of Trish almost made me throw my controller in to the tv, but I eventually got over it and played the 3rd game. Random chick didn't fill the void the Trish left, but at least Dante was there. Plus the showdown with this twin brother Vergil was epic.
The fourth game took some time to get in to. I wanted to love Nero and eventually I learned. But a Dante look alike just wasn't the same. Although fighting against Dante was pretty neat in the beginning.
Now, in 2013 we come to DMC: Devil May Cry. This game is a reboot, which should have told me to stay the hell away. But I'm a diehard fan. I ignored the fandom voice in my brain and bought it.
First I list off the things I really did like about this game.
The combat in this game was much more fluid and responsive. Combos were easy to pull off. And for a combo moron such as myself it was actually kind of nice.
The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Characters and even scenery look very realistic.
I really did enjoy seeing how the tension between Dante and Vergil all started. You do go in knowing some of the history between these two, but it's nice to get the full story.
I am one of the few who actually likes Dante's new look.
The level's of difficulty in this game are insane. With each play through you earn a new difficulty level. If you can make it through the "Dante must die" difficulty left then my hat is off to you. There is also "Heaven and Hell" as well as "Hell and Hell" which I can't believe people have already beat. Enemies are insanly hard and can kill Dante with one hit. I dig all the difficulty level choices.
Now for what I didn't like about the game.
While I do like Dante's new and younger look. Good god his attitude. He looks like an emo, I half expected him to act like it. Hell, I would have preferred it. The "I don't give a shit" attitude is becoming a norm among video game protagonists lately. I feel this must end. And where the hell did Dante's sense of humor go? Yes there are SOME lines that produced a bit of a chuckle, but not very many. I missed his wit and charm. Oh and the pizza eating. Where did his pizza obsession go? I could have made this a much shorter paragraph had I just said Ninja Theory did a great job of bastardizing Dante's character.
The voice acting is just bad and laughable. Actually, this made me laugh more than the so called jokes.
DMC has never been a storyline kind of franchise. I can accept this. While I do GREATLY enjoy the shots a Fox News in this game, it gets tired very quickly. Big bad demon (who killed Dante and Vergil's parents), is trying to enslave humanity....blah, blah and blah. There comes a point in the game where you just want to say screw it, demons can win for all I care.
I said earlier that I enjoy combat. What I don't enjoy switching between weapons to kill certain enemies. Midway through the game you get more weapons. As cool as these weapons are, the further you get into the game the less useful these special weapons become. It all becomes very confusing as to which weapon you need to kill what enemy. Yes, red means demonic and white means angelic. But when you start forgetting which button controls which weapon, it starts to become very frustrating and frankly not very much fun anymore.
The combo system is way to easy on players. In the original games you lost combo points for breaking from a combination of swings. It's so freaking easy to get points that it hardly seems worth doing combos at all. You loose points whenever you're hit or interrupted by an enemy, but with a dodge button getting hit is hardly a problem at all.
Kat. Oh Kat. The most boring woman to ever enter into the DMC universe. Far more boring than Random chick in the 3rd game. She turns out to be a somewhat love interest for Dante, which just shows you how absolutely freaking boring Dante has become. She has no redeeming qualities that I can think of. Woot! She helped me in a couple of missions. Really, aside from the hunter mission and the portals to limbo, she could have been left out of this game completely.
Earlier missions are far more fun to play through. Here we come back to memorizing which button controls which weapon. The weapons early on are relevant and easy to remember. Plus these levels are just plain fun to play through.
The ending. Well. What do say about the ending. It was very.....unfulfilled. But Ninja Theory left it open for a second game. yay. I guess.
It's not by any means a horrible game. It's actually pretty fun to play for a short period of time. But if you are a die hard DMC fan you will find many faults. If you are just coming in to this series and haven't played any of the original games, then this reboot is for you. I don't seem myself coming back to play it unless they put out some kick ass DLC.
On the typical gamer rating scale I give this game a 5(maybe a 5 and a half)/10
I have been a HUGE fan of the Devil May Cry series since it was originally released in 2001. It was my main reason for owning a Playstation 2. All three of the original PS2 games are fantastic. Yes, story telling could have been better, but for what the lack in story is more than made up for in combat and characters.
Dante. Who doesn't love our white haired half demon, half human. He's witty and just an all around bad ass. Put him together with Trish and it's pure gold. The loss of Trish almost made me throw my controller in to the tv, but I eventually got over it and played the 3rd game. Random chick didn't fill the void the Trish left, but at least Dante was there. Plus the showdown with this twin brother Vergil was epic.
The fourth game took some time to get in to. I wanted to love Nero and eventually I learned. But a Dante look alike just wasn't the same. Although fighting against Dante was pretty neat in the beginning.
Now, in 2013 we come to DMC: Devil May Cry. This game is a reboot, which should have told me to stay the hell away. But I'm a diehard fan. I ignored the fandom voice in my brain and bought it.
First I list off the things I really did like about this game.
The combat in this game was much more fluid and responsive. Combos were easy to pull off. And for a combo moron such as myself it was actually kind of nice.
The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Characters and even scenery look very realistic.
I really did enjoy seeing how the tension between Dante and Vergil all started. You do go in knowing some of the history between these two, but it's nice to get the full story.
I am one of the few who actually likes Dante's new look.
The level's of difficulty in this game are insane. With each play through you earn a new difficulty level. If you can make it through the "Dante must die" difficulty left then my hat is off to you. There is also "Heaven and Hell" as well as "Hell and Hell" which I can't believe people have already beat. Enemies are insanly hard and can kill Dante with one hit. I dig all the difficulty level choices.
Now for what I didn't like about the game.
While I do like Dante's new and younger look. Good god his attitude. He looks like an emo, I half expected him to act like it. Hell, I would have preferred it. The "I don't give a shit" attitude is becoming a norm among video game protagonists lately. I feel this must end. And where the hell did Dante's sense of humor go? Yes there are SOME lines that produced a bit of a chuckle, but not very many. I missed his wit and charm. Oh and the pizza eating. Where did his pizza obsession go? I could have made this a much shorter paragraph had I just said Ninja Theory did a great job of bastardizing Dante's character.
The voice acting is just bad and laughable. Actually, this made me laugh more than the so called jokes.
DMC has never been a storyline kind of franchise. I can accept this. While I do GREATLY enjoy the shots a Fox News in this game, it gets tired very quickly. Big bad demon (who killed Dante and Vergil's parents), is trying to enslave humanity....blah, blah and blah. There comes a point in the game where you just want to say screw it, demons can win for all I care.
I said earlier that I enjoy combat. What I don't enjoy switching between weapons to kill certain enemies. Midway through the game you get more weapons. As cool as these weapons are, the further you get into the game the less useful these special weapons become. It all becomes very confusing as to which weapon you need to kill what enemy. Yes, red means demonic and white means angelic. But when you start forgetting which button controls which weapon, it starts to become very frustrating and frankly not very much fun anymore.
The combo system is way to easy on players. In the original games you lost combo points for breaking from a combination of swings. It's so freaking easy to get points that it hardly seems worth doing combos at all. You loose points whenever you're hit or interrupted by an enemy, but with a dodge button getting hit is hardly a problem at all.
Kat. Oh Kat. The most boring woman to ever enter into the DMC universe. Far more boring than Random chick in the 3rd game. She turns out to be a somewhat love interest for Dante, which just shows you how absolutely freaking boring Dante has become. She has no redeeming qualities that I can think of. Woot! She helped me in a couple of missions. Really, aside from the hunter mission and the portals to limbo, she could have been left out of this game completely.
Earlier missions are far more fun to play through. Here we come back to memorizing which button controls which weapon. The weapons early on are relevant and easy to remember. Plus these levels are just plain fun to play through.
The ending. Well. What do say about the ending. It was very.....unfulfilled. But Ninja Theory left it open for a second game. yay. I guess.
It's not by any means a horrible game. It's actually pretty fun to play for a short period of time. But if you are a die hard DMC fan you will find many faults. If you are just coming in to this series and haven't played any of the original games, then this reboot is for you. I don't seem myself coming back to play it unless they put out some kick ass DLC.
On the typical gamer rating scale I give this game a 5(maybe a 5 and a half)/10
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
Far too many book reviews, but such things happen when a book nerd like me has too much time on her hands. Our next book took me by complete and utter surprise. I'm usually not one for teen romance (unless it has some kind of supernatural element added.), but The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen was actually really good for a non-supernatural romance story.
Callie and Kayden have known of each other since they were kids, yet neither have bothered to speak to the other since both move in different social circles. In high school, insanely handsome Kayden was the star quarterback, the most popular guy in school and dated cheerleaders.
Callie on the other hand was a social pariah. Callie had no interest in having any friends. Her classmates call her the anorexic, devil worshiping Callie due to her over usage of black eyeliner, being extremely thin and wearing all black clothing that are at least three sizes too big.
Our story starts out with Callie being forced by her mother to retrieve her brother from a graduation party. She is extremely apprehensive since everyone who ever made fun of her in high school would be there. After much brow beating by her mother she ends up going in and searching for her kid brother.
During her search Callie happens to glance out in the back yard and is witness a fight. She recognizes Kayden and his father right away. She does what most people wouldn't and runs out to stop his father from killing Kayden.
Instead of asking Kayden why his father was beating on him, Callie helps him clean and bandage his wounds. Kayden makes Callie promise she will never tell anyone what she has seen that night. Since Callie isn't a gossip she swears to keep it under wraps.
Kayden is flabbergasted by her actions. He doesn't understand how someone he's never taken the time to speak with would want to help him. It's a action he will never forget.
Skip ahead a four months later. Callie is now in college, far away from anyone who might have known her in high school (Or so she thinks). Thanks to the help of her new best friend, Seth, Callie has somewhat come out of her shell. Together the come up with the "Things you must do" list. This is made to help Callie with her confidence issues. She still wears over sized clothes, but at least they are something other than black. She has also given up on black eyeliner.
Much to her surprise she spot's Kayden and does everything she can to avoid contact with him. This is to no avail.
Ever since the night of his party, Kayden has wanted to see Callie again and thank her for helping him. The Callie he spot's on campus is much different form the Callie he knew in high school. What is most shocking is she actually smiles. He is determined to speak with her, but she hardly makes it easy. It's through the effort of Seth that Callie actually speaks with Kayden.
The two soon begin hanging out and slowly realize they have feelings for one another. Kayden is surprised at Callie's reaction every time they are about to make love. She has a massive panic attack every time they try. He doesn't want to push her, but at the same time he wants to know why she wont have sex with him. She knows he comes from an abusive family, why does she not trust him enough with her secret?
Almost the moment you get in to Callie's mind you know some bad shit went down with her. She has a hard time trusting people. The fact that she hides behind baggy clothes is a dead give away that she wishes she was invisible. Both Seth and Kayden are great guys. They work together to bring Callie out of her shell and get her to realize she is indeed a good person.
Callie returns the favor by showing Kayden that he doesn't need to live up to his father's expectations. He is his own man and doesn't have to live in fear of what his father will do next. If you're a chick reading this book you will fall in love with Kayden. Fight it all you want, but it will happen.
I love the fact that we get this story from both Callie and Kayden's point of view. It allows you to connect with both characters and feel for both situations. We don't get a glimpse in to Seth's head, I love him anyways. He's witty and pushes Callie to come out of her shell, but at her own pace.
While I'm not going to give away the end I will say it is bittersweet. Which I think is the reason I loved this book as much as I did. I hope Sorensen decides to writes a novella, because my curiosity is getting the better of me. I want to know what happens damn it!
I don't have any complaints about this story. Other than I want to know what the hell happens after it ended.
Callie and Kayden have known of each other since they were kids, yet neither have bothered to speak to the other since both move in different social circles. In high school, insanely handsome Kayden was the star quarterback, the most popular guy in school and dated cheerleaders.
Callie on the other hand was a social pariah. Callie had no interest in having any friends. Her classmates call her the anorexic, devil worshiping Callie due to her over usage of black eyeliner, being extremely thin and wearing all black clothing that are at least three sizes too big.
Our story starts out with Callie being forced by her mother to retrieve her brother from a graduation party. She is extremely apprehensive since everyone who ever made fun of her in high school would be there. After much brow beating by her mother she ends up going in and searching for her kid brother.
During her search Callie happens to glance out in the back yard and is witness a fight. She recognizes Kayden and his father right away. She does what most people wouldn't and runs out to stop his father from killing Kayden.
Instead of asking Kayden why his father was beating on him, Callie helps him clean and bandage his wounds. Kayden makes Callie promise she will never tell anyone what she has seen that night. Since Callie isn't a gossip she swears to keep it under wraps.
Kayden is flabbergasted by her actions. He doesn't understand how someone he's never taken the time to speak with would want to help him. It's a action he will never forget.
Skip ahead a four months later. Callie is now in college, far away from anyone who might have known her in high school (Or so she thinks). Thanks to the help of her new best friend, Seth, Callie has somewhat come out of her shell. Together the come up with the "Things you must do" list. This is made to help Callie with her confidence issues. She still wears over sized clothes, but at least they are something other than black. She has also given up on black eyeliner.
Much to her surprise she spot's Kayden and does everything she can to avoid contact with him. This is to no avail.
Ever since the night of his party, Kayden has wanted to see Callie again and thank her for helping him. The Callie he spot's on campus is much different form the Callie he knew in high school. What is most shocking is she actually smiles. He is determined to speak with her, but she hardly makes it easy. It's through the effort of Seth that Callie actually speaks with Kayden.
The two soon begin hanging out and slowly realize they have feelings for one another. Kayden is surprised at Callie's reaction every time they are about to make love. She has a massive panic attack every time they try. He doesn't want to push her, but at the same time he wants to know why she wont have sex with him. She knows he comes from an abusive family, why does she not trust him enough with her secret?
Almost the moment you get in to Callie's mind you know some bad shit went down with her. She has a hard time trusting people. The fact that she hides behind baggy clothes is a dead give away that she wishes she was invisible. Both Seth and Kayden are great guys. They work together to bring Callie out of her shell and get her to realize she is indeed a good person.
Callie returns the favor by showing Kayden that he doesn't need to live up to his father's expectations. He is his own man and doesn't have to live in fear of what his father will do next. If you're a chick reading this book you will fall in love with Kayden. Fight it all you want, but it will happen.
I love the fact that we get this story from both Callie and Kayden's point of view. It allows you to connect with both characters and feel for both situations. We don't get a glimpse in to Seth's head, I love him anyways. He's witty and pushes Callie to come out of her shell, but at her own pace.
While I'm not going to give away the end I will say it is bittersweet. Which I think is the reason I loved this book as much as I did. I hope Sorensen decides to writes a novella, because my curiosity is getting the better of me. I want to know what happens damn it!
I don't have any complaints about this story. Other than I want to know what the hell happens after it ended.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Review of The Devil Next Door
The next book has also been on my kindle for a LONG time. I needed a little bit of gore, horror and all around insanity. So I decided to go with The Devil Next Door by Tim Curran.
Louis is your average guy. Happily married, great job, dream house in a dream neighborhood. Then one day it all changes. It all starts when Louis spots two guys beating the ever living shit out of another guy and leave him for dead. Louis, being the stand up guy that he is, attempts to help the guy who's been beaten. Only to have the half dead guy attempting to kill him. Louis manages to fend the guy and ends up killing him. This whole situation becomes even more bazaar for Louis when two cops show up and don't even care about the now dead dude. In fact the cops are kicking and prodding the dead guy. Disturbed, Louis run's home as fast as he can.
Society goes down hill pretty quick from here. We find out very quickly that society is reverting to cavemen and women behavior. Killing, raping and forming "tribes".
Louis meet's up with his neighbor girl, Maddy. Who had somehow come back from these violent urges everyone else in town seems to be afflicted with. But she's scared she could go all cave woman again at any moment. Together they try to get to the bottom of why humanity has decided to de-evolve.
While I loved the shocking gore and violence in this book, it does end up getting old about half way through. I found myself skipping through scenes of gore near the end. But i must say it started with a bang.
The reason we are given as to why everyone is all cavemen like is a really big let down. I nearly threw my kindle across the room, but instead I settled for a rolling of the eyes.
Louis is a likable guy and you really do feel for him. He's lost his wife and desperately wants to find her, yet save everyone else at the same time. You want him to succeed, but really don't see how he can since this turns out to be a world wide epidemic. When he finally gives in to the caveman urges, it's heartbreaking but rather expected.
Maddy is a good kid who comes from a crummy family. Her mom is the town whore and she has no dad. Yet Maddy pushes herself to be a good person. Her transformation from a smart, down to earth teenager, to a sex craved, violent caveteen is rather interesting. Maddy finally find's her place as a "huntress" and finally grow's a backbone. I say good for her.
This story actually reminds me a lot of Haters by David Moody. But with far more brutal violence and rape. It's worth a read, but I'll only be reading it once. There are better society crumbing around itself stories out there.
Louis is your average guy. Happily married, great job, dream house in a dream neighborhood. Then one day it all changes. It all starts when Louis spots two guys beating the ever living shit out of another guy and leave him for dead. Louis, being the stand up guy that he is, attempts to help the guy who's been beaten. Only to have the half dead guy attempting to kill him. Louis manages to fend the guy and ends up killing him. This whole situation becomes even more bazaar for Louis when two cops show up and don't even care about the now dead dude. In fact the cops are kicking and prodding the dead guy. Disturbed, Louis run's home as fast as he can.
Society goes down hill pretty quick from here. We find out very quickly that society is reverting to cavemen and women behavior. Killing, raping and forming "tribes".
Louis meet's up with his neighbor girl, Maddy. Who had somehow come back from these violent urges everyone else in town seems to be afflicted with. But she's scared she could go all cave woman again at any moment. Together they try to get to the bottom of why humanity has decided to de-evolve.
While I loved the shocking gore and violence in this book, it does end up getting old about half way through. I found myself skipping through scenes of gore near the end. But i must say it started with a bang.
The reason we are given as to why everyone is all cavemen like is a really big let down. I nearly threw my kindle across the room, but instead I settled for a rolling of the eyes.
Louis is a likable guy and you really do feel for him. He's lost his wife and desperately wants to find her, yet save everyone else at the same time. You want him to succeed, but really don't see how he can since this turns out to be a world wide epidemic. When he finally gives in to the caveman urges, it's heartbreaking but rather expected.
Maddy is a good kid who comes from a crummy family. Her mom is the town whore and she has no dad. Yet Maddy pushes herself to be a good person. Her transformation from a smart, down to earth teenager, to a sex craved, violent caveteen is rather interesting. Maddy finally find's her place as a "huntress" and finally grow's a backbone. I say good for her.
This story actually reminds me a lot of Haters by David Moody. But with far more brutal violence and rape. It's worth a read, but I'll only be reading it once. There are better society crumbing around itself stories out there.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Pretty when she dies review
Hello all! I've been in away in the land that is known as Minnesota. I had no Internet (besides what's on my phone), and this made me a sad panda. But I'm back now with Internet and a book/author review(s). I know I said I'd put up a part two of Dark Shadows. and I will....at some point.
While I was in Minnesota I had A LOT of time to read. I mean A LOT. I was there for three weeks and damn near went through 4 books a day. Such things happen when one wakes at the buttcrack of dawn. There were several books I read which stuck in my mind.
I've had Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater on my kindle for years. By years I mean 4 or 5. I kept telling myself I'd get around to it, but I never did until a couple of weeks ago. BAD MEGGLES!
Amaliya wakes up to find herself buried in a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere, alone and VERY hungry. The last thing she remembers is being killed by her hot college professor. Who turns out to be the most feared vampire/necromancer in history.
Somehow Amaliya finds her way back to her college dorm room. There is makes the decision to skip down and find other's of her kind. But before she can do any of that, she must satisfy her hunger, and regular food isn't cutting it. It just so happens there is a frat party in a nearby building. With her hunger in full force (and having never fed before), she kills everyone at the party, but she manages to cover her tracks so nothing is lead back to her. Now she knows she really needs to skip town.
After a series of unfortunate events, Amaliya makes it to Austin Texas. Where, not only will she find her own kind, but also the master of Austin.
Enter Cian. Vampire master of Austin. It also turns out he was made by the same vampire who made Amaliya, only Cian's death was centuries ago. Cian is more than willing to deny his vampire side. He is about to marry Samantha, his human girlfriend. He loves her because Sam makes him actually feel human and not like a monster. Sam is aware of Cian's vampirisim, and is determined to show him that he can be a good man.
Cian runs in to Amalyia at a bar, saving her from a wannabe vampire. After leading Amaliya outside, Cian knocks her out and drags her back to his underground hideout. By now Amaliya has been reported as missing (by the school.), and word of the frat orgy massacre has already reached every media outlet. Cian knows of Amalyia's involvement in the killings, but is determined to help her rather than kill her like he knows should be done.
She reminds him that he actually is a vampire, which is better all around. Because he does have a city to manage and protect.
The two take on the ancient vampire/necromancer several times and fail. But during these failed attempts Amalyia learns she has the abilities of a necromancer as well.
I'm not going to give away the ending since it is rather epic. There is some hot sex in this book. Also some massive amounts of violence. To which I say:THANK GOD! In a world where we now have loving and sparkly vampires it's refreshing to read about ACTUAL vampires.
The story itself is very well done and has a bit of everything. Sex, love, violence, drama and yes ZOMBIES! Who could ask for more in a vampire novel.
Frater has a gift for words. She can describe people and surroundings enough to allow your brain to paint a picture, but not so much that you're bored stiff. She makes characters believable and you find yourself connecting to a lot of the characters. I loved Amalyia's grandmother. She is a spitfire who actually ends up saving the day. Amalyia's cousin and grandmother are actually the only two family members of hers that don't judge Amalyia 5 ways to sunday, and do everything they can to build up her confidence.
Amalyia has depth, which I tend to enjoy in a female character. She's trying so hard to be a tough as nails kind of chick. But on the inside she's conflicted, scared and wants to please people. This stems from her broken family and her need of her father's approval. Something she will never get.
I almost forgot to mention Roberto. This is Cian's right hand man. He's a bit of an ass, but he only wants to protect Cian from harm. Roberto doesn't approve of Sam, and the banter between the two is pretty funny. Once Amalyia comes in to the picture, Roberto and Sam find a common ground and do everything the can to get Amalyia away from Cian.
I really didn't dislike much about this book. Sometimes descriptions went on a bit longer than necessary, but otherwise I thought it was damn near a perfect vampire book.
I was excited she continued Amalyia's story in Pretty when she kills. I haven't read the second book yet, but as soon as I do it will be posted here.
As soon as this is posted I'll be working on my second review. Laters and happy reading!
While I was in Minnesota I had A LOT of time to read. I mean A LOT. I was there for three weeks and damn near went through 4 books a day. Such things happen when one wakes at the buttcrack of dawn. There were several books I read which stuck in my mind.
I've had Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater on my kindle for years. By years I mean 4 or 5. I kept telling myself I'd get around to it, but I never did until a couple of weeks ago. BAD MEGGLES!
Amaliya wakes up to find herself buried in a shallow grave in the middle of nowhere, alone and VERY hungry. The last thing she remembers is being killed by her hot college professor. Who turns out to be the most feared vampire/necromancer in history.
Somehow Amaliya finds her way back to her college dorm room. There is makes the decision to skip down and find other's of her kind. But before she can do any of that, she must satisfy her hunger, and regular food isn't cutting it. It just so happens there is a frat party in a nearby building. With her hunger in full force (and having never fed before), she kills everyone at the party, but she manages to cover her tracks so nothing is lead back to her. Now she knows she really needs to skip town.
After a series of unfortunate events, Amaliya makes it to Austin Texas. Where, not only will she find her own kind, but also the master of Austin.
Enter Cian. Vampire master of Austin. It also turns out he was made by the same vampire who made Amaliya, only Cian's death was centuries ago. Cian is more than willing to deny his vampire side. He is about to marry Samantha, his human girlfriend. He loves her because Sam makes him actually feel human and not like a monster. Sam is aware of Cian's vampirisim, and is determined to show him that he can be a good man.
Cian runs in to Amalyia at a bar, saving her from a wannabe vampire. After leading Amaliya outside, Cian knocks her out and drags her back to his underground hideout. By now Amaliya has been reported as missing (by the school.), and word of the frat orgy massacre has already reached every media outlet. Cian knows of Amalyia's involvement in the killings, but is determined to help her rather than kill her like he knows should be done.
She reminds him that he actually is a vampire, which is better all around. Because he does have a city to manage and protect.
The two take on the ancient vampire/necromancer several times and fail. But during these failed attempts Amalyia learns she has the abilities of a necromancer as well.
I'm not going to give away the ending since it is rather epic. There is some hot sex in this book. Also some massive amounts of violence. To which I say:THANK GOD! In a world where we now have loving and sparkly vampires it's refreshing to read about ACTUAL vampires.
The story itself is very well done and has a bit of everything. Sex, love, violence, drama and yes ZOMBIES! Who could ask for more in a vampire novel.
Frater has a gift for words. She can describe people and surroundings enough to allow your brain to paint a picture, but not so much that you're bored stiff. She makes characters believable and you find yourself connecting to a lot of the characters. I loved Amalyia's grandmother. She is a spitfire who actually ends up saving the day. Amalyia's cousin and grandmother are actually the only two family members of hers that don't judge Amalyia 5 ways to sunday, and do everything they can to build up her confidence.
Amalyia has depth, which I tend to enjoy in a female character. She's trying so hard to be a tough as nails kind of chick. But on the inside she's conflicted, scared and wants to please people. This stems from her broken family and her need of her father's approval. Something she will never get.
I almost forgot to mention Roberto. This is Cian's right hand man. He's a bit of an ass, but he only wants to protect Cian from harm. Roberto doesn't approve of Sam, and the banter between the two is pretty funny. Once Amalyia comes in to the picture, Roberto and Sam find a common ground and do everything the can to get Amalyia away from Cian.
I really didn't dislike much about this book. Sometimes descriptions went on a bit longer than necessary, but otherwise I thought it was damn near a perfect vampire book.
I was excited she continued Amalyia's story in Pretty when she kills. I haven't read the second book yet, but as soon as I do it will be posted here.
As soon as this is posted I'll be working on my second review. Laters and happy reading!
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