Star Wars Imperial Commando 501st

Greetings, Imperial Commando 501st is the last novel in the Republic Commando series that was written by Karen Traviss and was inspired by the video game Star Wars: Republic Commando. I have reviewed the previous four beforehand, with the first adventure, Hard Contact being the original book to have been reviewed on my blog. 501st is the fifth novel which leaves a few untied ends due to the sixth one being cancelled over a possible sequel to the video game.

It has a large cast of interesting characters, most of whom are clones of the infamous bounty hunter, Jango Fett. This plot is set after the Clone Wars and Order 66 which initiated the Great Purge of the Jedi. It follows the story of various clones who deserted from the army and others that are not clones but become family or close friends throughout the events of the novels. The other side shadows two clones soldiers, employed under the Galactic Empire called Niner and Darman who are related to the deserters but decided to stay in the armed forces, partially due to the fact that Niner was severally injured before they could be evacuated to a safe zone.

A large part of the series is dedicated to the idea that the clone’s genes were accelerated to become of the age to be perfect soldiers as quickly as possible. This mean s that they will age faster than a normal individual, hence the clan who deserted, especially their adopted father Kal Skarita who had trained them, hunt down a genetic solution to prevent the rapid ageing.  To make matters worse, some members of the family have become bounties form the Empire, that is situated in the remote planet of Mandalore in which they are hiding in. It is also revealed that the Emperor has a deadly virus which can wipe out all life on a single planet, making survival complex for those fighting against him.

Niner recovers from his incident and is back with Darman hunting down any of the remaining Jedi who escaped Order 66.  These are only some of the main threads that exist throughout the complicated novels with much more factors in it. It plays mainly on survival, the bonds of family and coping with the loss of important people. I certainly enjoyed the series but it would not be suitable for everyone as the reader would already need to know important areas in the Star Wars universe and it could be quite slow at times. All in all, I really enjoyed it and would have liked to have seen how the fate of an individual at the end of the video game, who’s ultimate destiny is unknown, as well as how it was going to finish properly.  The eleventh chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=9/10

Characters=10/10

Wording=9/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the day

God save the Queen!

Sniper

Team Fortress 2

Ben there, Dan that!

Greetings, Ben there, Dan that! is a point and click puzzle adventure by a company that was called Zombie Cow studios at the time. The player takes control of the character Ben in order to use objects to advance through the levels, which can be difficult at times, especially later on. His comrade Ben offers his services of flipping light switches and providing humour, although at the expense of being capable of doing much else. The game is in the style of a cartoon and often acts as such in its humour.

The plot is quite strange to say the least, the start of the proper story starts with Ben and Dan attempting to fix their television with a coat hanger as an antenna. They are teleported to an alien ship when hit by a lightning bolt, hence the two have to find the way home through various dimensions using certain materials to solve problems to progress. While they are stuck in the space ship, aliens come to London and news of their arrival spreads throughout the world. Through certain scenes it is revealed they are behind the transportation of Ben and Dan in order to complete their plan which is revealed near the end.

This game is quite fun and original with many strange areas to explore. The characters are interesting and sometimes their aid or downfall is necessary to accomplish the mission. It has a sequel named Time Gentlemen, Please, which I am looking forward to. I would encourage anyone to buy this if they were looking for a puzzle game. The tenth chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=7/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

My dear Frodo, Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month and yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you.

Gandalf the Grey

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Little Big Man

Greetings, Little Big Man is a film made in 1970 with Dustin Hoffman and earns the reward Super duper fantastic 100% the best. It is set in the Wild West, centring around the main character Jack Crabb, who develops throughout the plot with his many experiences and stages of life.  The movie has many themes running through it including comedic and tragic scenes which together make it a highly enjoyable experience. Dustin Hoffman acts excellently during the film, capturing Jack’s personality completely.

The storyline begins with Jack and his sister at a young age being the only survivors of an Indian attack on their convoy, they are found by a passing tribesman who brings them to his camp. During the night Crabb’s sister manages to escape leaving the main individual by himself but it is soon revealed that tribe members do not intend to hurt the young boy and so Jack spends several years in their presence. At one point he is fighting the Americans as an Indian but is eventually captured and revealed to be white. Hence he is brought back into the civilised world and begins a new life, meeting interesting characters who continue to reappear though the plot.

One of the aspects I like about the film is that not all the Indians are seen as villains like the majority of Western entertainment but are viewed rather positively. On the other hand the Americans are portrayed as sinisterly motivated and without remorse. This is definitely a movie to keep an eye out for. The ninth chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special effects= 10/10

Overall=10/10

Quote of the day

Do you have any...complimentary fresh garlic?

Sam

Sam and Max: Season one

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven

Greetings, Mafia: The city of Lost Heaven is a third person shooter game which begins in 1933, about the syndicates who illegal controlled parts of society through different methods.  The storyline begins with a taxi driver who is down on his luck called Tommy Angelo being unfortunately caught up in the middle of a fight between to two families. The player will experience the game through the taxi drivers’ point of view. Two members who are later revealed to be named Sam and Paulie force Tommy at gunpoint to drive them away from the fight, therefore lose their attackers.

Once the rivals are left behind, the two mobsters in their gratitude tell Angelo to receive a reward at Salieri’s bar the next day. He agrees to meet the Don the following day, due to his performance in the getaway and he is offered a position within the family. With the thought of riches beyond his dreams he accepts and becomes a member of the organisation. One of the most interesting aspects about the game is Tommy’s struggle against the life of the mobsters, his emotions become increasingly emphasised throughout the game. This makes him one of the most human characters in the story line because he makes mistakes and realises that the lifestyle is wrong.  

The controls are a little difficult to handle at the start but it becomes more fluid and easy going eventually, it is a reasonably long game so there is plenty of time to get used to it. It is heavily based around transporting from one place to another and has some old music to add to the atmosphere while driving. Graphics are dated now but were probably a high standard in their day. Overall this is definitely a game to buy, with an interesting setting as well as, a group of entertaining characters.  The eighth chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Graphics=7/10

Overall=9/10

Quote of the day

It's an ambigram. It's the same image forward and backward. Now, that's common for a symbol like Yin and Yang or the swastika, but that's a word. That Illuminati ambigramatic symbol has been considered a myth for 400 years. Supposedly, in the 16th Century, some artist created it as a tribute to Galileo's love of symmetry. It was only going to be revealed when the Illuminati had amassed enough power to resurface and carry out their final goal.

Robert Langdon

Angels and Demons

Dark Tower: The Waste Lands

Greetings, the Waste Lands is the third book in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. The first two novels, the Gunslinger and the Drawing of the three, where reviewed earlier on in the blog. It still follows the same odd storyline about Roland the Gunslinger and the new characters introduced in the previous plot in search of the Dark Tower.  It still has not been revealed why they are in search of the Tower only that all of the worlds are falling apart and all will be lost if they do not reach it in time.

This one is the weirdest I have read so far but it should be kept in mind I haven’t looked at other Stephen King novels, most of which involve a supernatural twist. The beginning of the Waste Lands is set up to find another adventurer, a boy called Jake who was in the original book. Roland and the other travellers, Eddie and Susannah must race against time to find a portal to our world. This is in order recruit the latest member of the team. The ending of the novel implies to me that the series will eventually become mad beyond understanding but gripping none the less.

As with the previous books, King builds up the story for most of the novel with few fights spread across it and has a great action scene at the end. This isn’t a criticism, in fact it works quite well when he focuses and writes in great detail about events that may not seem exciting but are important to the story, as well as characters. The words seemed to fit together nicely, creating a good atmosphere and it isn’t difficult to understand. I am eager to read the following novels and hope that answers will come in due course. The seventh chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording= 8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Residents of Joker Asylum are all required to follow one simple rule. Failure to follow this rule will be punished by death, no 'ifs', 'ands', or 'buts'. And do you know the best part about the rule? It's a secret!

The Joker

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Super 8

Greetings, Super 8 is a recent film by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams which revolves mainly around a group of young teenagers. The actors portrayed their roles to an impressive standard despite the fact that it was probably most of the casts first major movie. The special effects are also favourable, especially scenes with conflict and the ending.

The plot in the whole is rather simple but I feel the young teenagers’ developments, particularly the main character Joe, are more important and satisfying than the larger storyline. It is set in the 1970’s beginning with the accidental death of Joe Lamb’s mother in a processing plant, Lamb struggling with the loss of his mother is one of the main themes occurring throughout. After some time has passed it is revealed that he is part of a team of youthful individuals trying to win an amateur film championship. Filming a scene of a zombie horror movie at a train station, a car pulls out on purpose in front of an incoming military train causing a crash.

All of the team survive, finding out that it was a teacher at their school who had caused the collision, he is apparently still alive warning the children to run before the army catches them and therefore executing them. It isn’t long until the military realise that something in the cargo is missing when they arrive at the scene of the crash and discover there were others at the track during the time of the attack on the train.

The story is quite entertaining but the effect doesn’t last the whole way the film. I have doubts over the ending, believing it similar to E.T which was a problem as the monster is harder to defend due to the fact it killed many individuals. All in all it is an enjoyable experience and probably one of the better movies of the year. The sixth chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

That's good, just keep rubbing your head. That'll turn back time

Joey

Friends