Casino Royale, the book

Greetings, Casino Royale is the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, himself. It should be noted that the book is quite old and therefore some of its views, as well as technology are now considered outdated.  One aspect I couldn’t help but notice was the lack of action. I didn’t really expect that from a Bond adventure however, I imagine that Fleming wanted to focus more so on the centre character, James and his development through his experiences rather than create a fast paced thrill.  As far as I remember the agent only disarms an assassin and does not actually kill anyone during the plot.

The story line itself is much less complicated than the film and is reasonably short. The villain, LeChiffre was a member of a soviet organisation called SMERSH, which was established to kill Western spies and continue the spread of communism. LeChiffre lost a large amount of SMERSH’s money before the events of the novel, as such the institute branded him a traitor and hence he would receive the death penalty. A frightened LeChiffre begins gambling to pay off his debts, in Casino Royale which is situated in France.

Therefore M, head of MI6 has sent 007 to beat LeChiffre at the card game Baccarat to remove his winnings and gain more money for the West. It would also mean the villain would be hunted by his former employers. James is helped in his mission by Mathis of the Deuxieme, Vesper Lynd and Felix of the CIA. The story is also heavily embedded with the game Baccarat which is explained in detail and featured heavily in some chapters. Despite attempts to instruct the reader of how it is played, I didn’t understand and was left reading through several chapters having to guess what was going on.  That isn’t too important as the winner is clearly announced.

Casino Royale is a reasonable novel, which seems to have shaped Bond into the 007 known in the cinema but I can’t confirm that until I read the next book. It is certainly more entertaining than the film which seemed to have added scenes and distort the plot to the point of confusing the viewers. The fourth chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up at Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Wording=7/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Replicants are like any other machine. They're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem.

Decker

Blade Runner

Red Faction: Guerrilla

Greetings, Red Faction: Guerrilla is the third instalment of the Red Faction series.  It should be noted I have never played the originals, so was therefore new to the plot and some of the mentioned characters.  The previous games aren’t really needed to understand the rather thin plot and I believe the current individuals where only introduced in Guerrilla. I felt that the entire point of its existence wasn’t actually based on these factors but on the destructible environment, which is quite fun. It is also difficult, especially during the later missions.

The story line was rather simple in that Mars has been colonised by humanity but is also occupied by the Earth Defence Force, EDF for short. The organisation is corrupt, killing anyone suspected of being in league with the guerrilla terrorist group, Red Faction, whose purpose is to liberate Mar’s six sectors from the EDF.  Alec Mason is the lead character who joins the Red Faction when his brother, Dan, is killed for actually being a member.  There is more plot than this but not much more, having only several important characters.

The better parts of the game come from the actual game play action, which is normally over the top, having to take out large numbers of enemies. To liberate a Sector Alec must increase ally morale and destroy the EDF structures to decline their strangle hold. The vehicles are also an important section as they are needed to transport the player to different locations, unless an upgrade is bought, and often using weapons to take out EDF soldiers as well as supplies. To receive upgrades, the player must obtain salvage which can be found in destroying the environment or playing through some very repetitive side missions.

If you are looking for a game that is mainly involved around massive destruction and want some fun, then this would keep you entertained. The third chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is in Warehouse 17.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Sergeant Butterman, the little hand says it's time to rock and roll.

Nicholas Angel

Hot Fuzz

Unforgotten Rivalry ch 2

Greetings, the second chapter of Lutionn’s latest, Unforgotten Rivalry is up. I hope you are and continue to enjoy it. In other news, the Yogscast is entertainment from the internet and is mainly known for its let’s play of Minecraft. It is run by two individuals known as Simon and Lewis who take on the roles of Xephos and Honeydew during their show called the Shadow of Israphel. The first series mainly focused on how to survive in Minecraft but in latter episodes plot began to emerge as other characters where introduced. It is quite funny and you might like it once you get into the story. They do other let’s plays in different games alongside another member Hannah, as well as voicing their opinions on video game adverts.  The second chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Quote of the day

It's not about what I want, it's about what's fair! You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time! You were wrong! The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair. His son's got the same chance she had - fifty-fifty.

Two-Face

The Dark Knight

Unforgotten Rivalry

Greetings, Lutionn returns in the fifth novel, Unforgotten Rivalry. The plot of this story was mostly explored through the forth book, the Invisible Agents and the majority of characters where introduced in the previous novels as well. It expands on certain individual’s backgrounds that have been only mentioned slightly. It is mainly situated in one specific location due to the emergence of the villains beforehand, why it is like this will be explained in the book. I hope you enjoy it. The first chapter of Unforgotten Rivalry is up in Warehouse 17.

Quote of the day

Sometimes I pick up too much fabric and it ends up all puckered and the entire garment hangs wrong afterward. And you're... you know, grandmotherly. Grandmothers do that sort of thing, don't they? Darning socks and whatnot. You don't want me to have to fight darkspawn in a shirt with a hole, do you? It might get bigger. I might catch cold.

Alistair

Dragon Age: Origins

FRA and Akinator

Greetings, the adventures of Fletch and Roman series three ends with this update. I have enjoyed writing the mad plot so far over all the episodes. The ridiculous duo, as well as other characters will be back for another insane series. I hope you have enjoyed it too. 

I would also like to talk about Akinator, the existence of which I have known about for quite a while but have recently started playing it again. I’m sure you have already heard about him. Akinator will ask you questions about a character or person in fiction and non-fiction, who the player will have thought of. Through the answers provided it will guess who this individual is, most of the time it will uncover who the player was thinking of but it has missed several of my characters. If you haven’t tried it I would encourage you to give it a go. The tenth episode of the adventures of Fletch and Roman series three are up in Warehouse 17.

Quote of the day

All the world’s a stage, I seemed to have missed the rehearsal. 

Philosoraptor

Philosoraptor

Dragon Age Origins

Greetings, Dragon Age: Origins is the start of another epic game series of Bioware. Other Bioware games I have reviewed include Jade Empire and all Mass Effect stories, which all deserved the reward of Super duper fantastic 100% the best reward, as does Dragon Age. They just bring their games to perfection with gripping storylines, difficult decisions, stunning graphics and creating interesting characters that the player cares for. This was evident in my first Bioware game, Jade Empire and has continued to exist in each game of theirs I have played since. The music also creates the atmosphere and weld it with the storyline brilliantly.

Dragon Age: Origin’s plot will differ slightly from each class and species the player chooses. I had chosen a Dalish elf warrior and named him Falc. My story began with Falc and his comrade Tamlen exploring an ancient cave, eventually discovering a tainted mirror. The mirror was touched by Tamlen and the interaction with it caused my character to fall unconscious as it released energy, he had woken up in camp having been rescued by a Grey Warden named Duncan. The mirror left Falc wounded with Darkspawn taint and Tamlen was missing so my character had lead a search to find him but returned with nothing. In order to survive the taint, Falc left with Duncan to try to become a Grey Warden.

 The Grey Wardens exist to prevent the Darkspawn from carrying out their instincts, they are twisted creatures who seek to find old Dragons and raise them to begin a Blight. A Blight is when the Darkspawn attack civilisations together as armies, therefore threatening every species existence. A dragon named the Archdemon was found and plans to conquer Ferelden , where the story is set. Falc manages to pass the trial to become a Grey Warden, who are limited in number. However attempts to wipe out large numbers of Darkspawn results in the battle of Ostagar, in which Duncan is killed as well as the current King due to the betrayal of an old hero called Loghain, who seeks Ferelden’s throne for himself.

Falc and another Grey Warden named Alistar begin to destroy the oncoming Blight , recruiting interesting company during the process. It is a brilliant game and is helped by the fact that the player can shape their character with the decisions they made, this is the same with my character Andrew in Jade Empire and Commander andy Shepard in Mass Effect. I look forward to the other games coming out in this series. The ninth episode of the adventures of Fletch and Roman are up in Warehouse 17.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Graphics=10/10

Overall=10/10

I think we just broke about 50 Combine regulations! No eye contact with Combine soldiers; don't damage Combine property; don't kill the Combine representatives; have your papers out and available; no loud noises after 6 o'clock;...

Alyx Vance

Half life two episode one