007: Blood Stone
Greetings, 007: Blood Stone is the one of the latest James Bond videogame created and was released before Skyfall. Unlike the previous videogame, Quantum of Solace, it has its own storyline that take place a few years after the film and was the last game developed by Bizzare Creations before it was shut down. While the experience was short, I felt it was a lot better than the last 007 game and strengthens my belief that the new direction that has been taken with Bond is paying off. In my opinion the film series had noticeably slumped in quality since Casino Royale. Unfortunately Bloodstone finished with a cliff-hanger and that is unlikely to be resolved due to the collapse of Bizzare Creations.
The plot is straightforward until the twist at the end which leaves some questions. At the beginning of the game 007 stops a terrorist incident from occurring in Greece where it was holding a G-20 summit. After the title sequence, Bond is sent on a new mission that would have dire ramifications on a global scale if the spy could not stop the sinister scheme. One of the United Kingdom’s top scientists, Malcolm Tedworth, disappears and is believed to have been kidnapped by an unknown threat. He has access to dangerous information on Bio-weapons.
007 tracks the scientist’s location to the catacombs in Istanbul. Tedworth, unable to resist the pain any longer, eventually surrenders to the torture conducted by his captors and provides the terrorists with a password before being executed. With the password the mercenaries are equipped witht the knowledge of how to build advanced weapons that could unleash catastrophic damage. Bond pursues the villains along with leads as he travels across the globe trying to unravel who was behind the kidnapping and the motivations behind it.
The conclusion hints that there is a large scheme at hand, which may have been a reference to the upcoming events of Skyfall. The game is a third person shooter and gives the player the opportunity to take out the hostiles AIs with stealth attacks. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench return to their respect roles as James and M. On an additional note, the chase scenes are entertaining with plenty of obstacles to avoid such as oncoming traffic and it is an element that I don’t recall being in the last Bond game. To accompany the main story line there is also a multiplayer section. While the campaign isn’t overly long I did enjoy it and would encourage you to buy it if you are a fan of 007.
Plot=8/10
Characters=8/10
Graphics=7/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the day
There's some men coming to kill us. We're going to kill them first.
James Bond
Skyfall
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
Fable 3
Greetings, Fable 3 like the previous instalment in the series contains a notable cast, which is mainly British, with actors and actresses such as Michael Fassbender, Zoe Wanamaker, John Cleese, Stephen Fry and Simon Peg to name a few. Like Fable 2, the player can chose the gender of the main character and how they will react to different situations, these decisions will change the physical appearance of the hero to either angelic or demonic as the game progresses.
The plot is set fifty years after the events of the second Fable and the death of either the King or Queen, depending on the player’s choice previously. Power is handed down to the eldest son Logan, who abuses his position as monarch in the industrial age of Albion. Logan’s sibling soon realizes that the current king cannot be allowed to continue his tyranny of the citizens and flees the area to gather together forces for a rebellion. The hero begins his journey for revolution with his canine friend, comrades Sir Walter Beck and loyal butler Jasper in search of allies to join his fight.
Most of the decisions have more of an impact on the ending compared to those in Fable 2. The desired conclusion will also depend on how well you can control your finance through different methods such as buying and renting houses or businesses. The game contains whimsical humour most notably from the main characters Stephen Fry’s immoral character Reaver and Simon Pegg’s Ben Finn.
This Fable builds upon the other two by adding new enemies to combat and locations to discover, while reinventing old ones. It also keeps a few characters from previous titles and creating fresh ones. Overall, I really enjoyed this game as much as the second, both of which aren’t supposed to live up to the first one. Therefore I am eager to play the original due to the good reviews I have heard about it.
Plot=8/10
Characters=8/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the day
Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, Precious?
Gollum
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey
Greetings, the Hobbit: An unexpected journey is the first part in the long awaited trilogy that serves as a prequel to Lord of the Rings films. A lot of hype was built around it due to the success of its predecessors and while I believe it isn’t a bad film, I don’t think that it stood up to the same reputation as the others for a few reasons. The most prominent factor is that my expectations were too high due to the quality of LOTR and ultimately I couldn’t stop thinking that it didn’t feel as grand an adventure as what I had already seen previously.
The plot follows the general structure from the Hobbit novel or at least a third of it, as well as containing moments that set up for the events for LOTR’s storyline. Gandalf enlists the originally reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, into an adventure to help reclaim the Dwarf’s lost home which is now under the control of the Dragon, Smaug. Once Bilbo takes his chances on the expedition, the crew set out on a dangerous path with many hostile events lying ahead.
The film was shot in 48 fps but as I have not seen that particular version, I am therefore unable to give my opinion on it. Another criticism would be of the Dwarven characters, while it was staying true to the novel, I still had problems in telling the difference between them. Only a few seemed to stick out of the team with some distinctive personality traits but that may have been because I recognised the actors who played them such as James Nesbitt. Another problem was duration, I felt that some scenes didn’t add to the story but rather were unnecessary and took away from the experience.
The last criticism, is the overuse of CGI which led to some of the fight scenes to appear a little off. The computer generated Goblins aren’t as visually impressive as the Orcs in LOTR who were portrayed by extras. This review comes off more negative than my actual views on the film, while it has faults it has many good features as well. For instance the actors played their parts brilliantly, as well as containing many humorous jokes that kept the film flowing nicely most of the time. I look forward to the two sequels but won’t place as much expectation on them.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special effects=7/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
Shakespeare, in the park? Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?
Tony Stark Iron Man
The Avengers
Little Brother
Greetings, Little Brother is a novel written by Cory Doctorow which was inspired by Orwell’s dystopian 1984 with many similar themes occurring in the two books. It is set after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. In this version of the world, the DHS has become overprotective and paranoid with the possible threat of terrorism, having a presence in everyday life.
The story follows teenager Marcus Yallow, a talented hacker who skips school along with his three friends in order to play a game in the city. While out in San Francisco, a terrorist bomb destroys Bay Bridge with the DHS responding swiftly. Marcus and his companions attempt to find safety as instructed by the DHS, in an underground train station, however it is cramped with other civilians fleeing the scene and so the four try to leave the area. However one of Yallow’s comrades, Darryl is fatally injured as a passerby stabs him. They eventually make it to the streets to find some medical attention by standing in front of a moving van. Those inside the vehicle grab them, blind folding them in the process.
The characters are brought to a secret location along with hundreds of others. Once inside the island, they are psychologically tortured through various techniques in order to break their spirit and confess to being involved in the attack. After a while three of them including Marcus are released, with Darryl’s fate unknown. However their freedom came at a price, they were under surveillance and would be recaptured, never to return if they spoke of their imprisonment. Yallow disregarded the threat and decides to use his hacking abilities to lead a revolution against the DHS.
It is a nicely written book read from Marcus’s viewpoint, which explains the technical aspects of the plot including hacking methods used against the DHS. Overall it is a good novel with likeable characters and admirable goals in a dystopian society ruled by an unscrupulous government. I am under the impression there is a sequel coming out which should prove interesting with the way it was finished.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Writing=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
Do you have any...bulletproof edible underwear?
Sam
Sam and Max: Season 2 Beyond Time and Space
