Comanche Moon
Greetings, Comanche Moon is a Larry McMurtry novel and is the second story in the Lonesome Dove series but was the last one written. After the events of Dead man’s walk, Woodrow Call and Augusts McCrea are still serving the Texas the rangers but this time under the command of the adventurous Inish Scull. Like the prequel I thought it was well written, especially when characters such as the native tracker Famous Shoes used broken English as he was speaking or when other individuals use sloppy English to give the atmosphere of a relaxed western setting. On a side note, the lazy dialogue gives the characters a bit more personality.
There are several plot lines as it is a large book with around 800 pages to read. It begins with the two main characters Woodrow and Gus on an expedition along with several others including Inish Scull as well as Famous Shoes following the trail of native horse thief Kicking Wolf to the north of the country. After a while, Inish Scull’s horse is stolen by Kicking Wolf who plans to ride it to Mexico and trade it to trade it to a Mayan bandit known for his cruelty to those that come near his territory. Inish Scull sends his company back home, giving Call and Gus the honour of being captains and tasked with leading the men back to Austin. Meanwhile Inish and Famous Shoes travel by foot to catch up to Kicking Wolf.
Buffalo Hump a once a great and feared Comanche leader decides to launch a great raid against the settlers as he knows his growing old ad that the whites will eventually win. Without the Texas rangers to fend off the attack, the settlements are vulnerable. Buffalo Hump also attempts to deal with his rebellious son, Blue Duck, who he suspects would try to overthrow him now that his strength was fading. There are several other storylines but these are the two are the most prominent as well as mentions of the oncoming Civil War.
I really enjoyed the experience and it has raised high expectations for the original Lonesome Dove novel. Comanche moon establishes the story for the sequel by introducing the bandit Blue Duck and that he is a wanted man for the Texas rangers, Woodrow and Augusts. If you are into Westerns I would recommend it as well as Dead man’s walk.
Plot=7/10
Characters=9/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the day
Shiny! Let's be bad guys
Jayne Cobb
Serenity
Alpha Protocol
Greetings, Alpha Protocol is a spy RPG by Obsidian Entertainment and follows the customizable protagonist Michael Thorton. Despite a rough start for a few reasons including the save system and the timed conversations, I did eventually grow to like it. The player can often choose if they plan to get passed the level with stealth or combat. There are plenty of NPCs to interact with but most have small roles in the game or little in the way of personality. However, there are some characters that are memorable including Stephen Heck, Albatross, Brayko and several others.
The story is relatively simple with a few twists and turns to keep the atmosphere fresh. It begins in the training grounds of Alpha Protocol, a secret intelligence agency which does not officially exist. After completing a series of tests for three separate specialists named Mina, Parker and Sean Darcy, Michael is then assigned his mission. Thornton is assigned to kill terrorist leader, Shaheed who was accused of destroying a plane full of civilians. However once he reaches his target, the terrorist claims that he had bought the missiles from the US military corporation Halbech.
Michael is warned by a fellow member of Alpha Protocol, Mina, that Halbech is in control of the agency and that a missile strike is bound for his location. Shaheed and the field agent survive the attack, but Thorton is believed to have been killed in the incident. After this, Michael begins on his mission as a rouge spy by building up alliances with various factions and people to prevent Halbech president Leland from creating another Cold War and accidently igniting a real one. The plot is mainly set in four different locations including Moscow, Rome, Taipei and in Saudi Arabia.
The problems I had with the timed conversations include that there isn’t a long enough period to make a decision and think about the consequences it will have on the plot or your allies. A different concern I had is when Thorton acts in a certain way to receive trust and approval from the range of people. This means that Michael doesn’t have a consistent character but is suave with one NPC and by the book with the next. All in all despite its problems I did enjoy it and would encourage you to give it a go if you haven’t already.
Plot=7/10
Characters=8/10
Graphics=7/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
Firstly, any worker that so much murmurs another complaint will be shot. Secondly, Any worker who takes more than a three second break, Will be shot. Lastly, any worker who breaks any other rules I have yet to formulate, Yes you guessed it. Will be shot.
Reaver
Fable 3
