Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

Greetings, Star Wars the Force Unleashed 2 follows on from its predecessor and the individual believed to be a clone of the leading character in the original, Starkiller. The clone of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice begins to recall memories of his dark past and the betrayal of the Empire near the beginning of the game. Starkiller then escapes the facility known as Kamino which was responsible for developing him and creating other imperfect versions of him. He attempts to seek help from those that he had allied with in his previous adventure and escape the Sith Lord Vader.

This, like the original is a very short game, with little added in terms of expanding to the Star Wars lore. Also I would have liked to have seen the classic characters from the series such as Yoda and Boba Fett to have a larger role in it. Another feature which could be improved is the endings, the player can choose between the good and evil paths but this game seemed to have ignored the sith conclusion of the last one. This means that the story fails to have a smooth connection to between both of them.

There are some positives to it though, the enemy AI have become more diverse and the methods in which the player decides to kill them by ranges vastly. The game play has been developed as there are a few more force powers available, for instance mind control which was not in the Force Unleashed. The soundtrack gives it some of the atmosphere that was present in the film, sometimes even incorporating notes into it and is in synch with the levels or cut scenes. Overall it is a decent, enjoyable game that will keep the player entertained for its duration. The thirteenth chapter of  Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

You hear that, Sev? Someone thinks I'm excellent.

Scorch

Star Wars: Republic Commando

War Horse

Greetings, War Horse is a 2011 film directed by Steven Speilberg and based on a novel of the same name. It is set before, during and slightly after the First World War from mainly a British perspective. The plot revolves around a horse called Joey, who was picked by the son of a poor farmer who goes by the name Albert Narracott to plough their fields. During Joey’s training they two become emotionally attached to each other, then war is declared between the British Empire, it’s allies and the German forces. As this happens Albert and Joey are separated as Narracott is too young but the horse is required for service in battle. The young has to wait a few years to join the war and hopes to be reunited with Joey.

As the story moves on, other characters encounter Joey and their background is told. While this helps set the view from a lot of factions in the war such as the British soldiers and both sides of the conflict, I felt that not enough time was focused on some of the latter individuals. Hence they were not properly developed in my opinion. A factor I believe that the film excelled in was the huge battle field scenes, especially the fight across no man’s land.

Overall, I quite liked this film and felt connected to most of the characters. I would encourage people to watch it if they wanted to see a movie with a simple plot, decent acting but enjoyable despite the lack of storyline. The twelfth chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special effects=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them.

Darth Vader

Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi

Mass Effect: Revelation

Greetings, Mass Effect: Revelation is a novel written by the lead writer Drew Karpyshyn of BioWare’s gaming series Mass Effect. It takes place before the first game focusing on several characters, some of whom were in the series such as Anderson or Saren and others who were introduced in this book, for example Kahlee Sanders. Even if the reader hasn’t played the game, the plot and lore surrounding it isn’t that difficult to understand, nor will it prevent them from enjoying the novel.

The plot begins with the destruction of a human military base by a group of mercenaries called the Blue suns. The facility was working on a secret project which was headed by a scientist by the name Dr Qian, who seemed to lose his sanity as the experiments went further along. All the employees of the facility were killed during the massacre or so it was believed. The Alliance, the human military, send in Lieutenant David Anderson to uncover who was behind the attack. It doesn’t take him long to discover that one of the personnel, Kahlee Sanders was absent without leave and he attempts to track her down.

The storyline is made more complex as the humans are new to the galactic government which is ruled by alien species, one of which, the turians wish to see the human race removed from the council. This is because of their first contact in which the turians and humans fought each other in a short war before other council races could intervene. It resulted in the deaths of many on both sides of the conflict, hence there are hostilities towards each species. A ruthless and efficient turian, with strong hatred towards the humans, called Saren becomes involved in the case and forms an alliance with Anderson for the sake of convenience.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, the words flow on from each other making it an entertaining novel. I believe that it is also interesting to get a deeper insight into the storyline and explore the backgrounds of characters from the videogames. The eleventh chapter of Team X Paranormal Division is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording=9/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

Don't dance! You know what happens when you dance.

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows