Life is Strange: Episode 2 - Out of Time

By: Robert Murphy

The series continues to live up to it's title as I entered into the second episode "Out of Time." Max returns to her life at Blackwell Academy and begins to feel a wave of care free nature in the wake of her new abilities. Things will not be as light and breezy as the opening to the episode would suggests though and I start to feel the first real signs of tension and drama that I was missing out on in the first episode. 

Almost immediately this chapter starts off with an overwhelming level of peace to it that drastically changes in an instant. Max starts her day and relishes in her new found power and how she really can go about her day with ease because of it. This was the issue I pointed out with episode one as your rewind powers seem to almost be too over powered to generate any real problems. This issue would soon become irrelevant as Max begins to learn of the torment that her fellow classmate is going through. Bullying, sexual abuse and drug use all begin to weave their way into the story and Max will end up being mixed into all of it due to her inherently good nature. Max remains a character that deserves the gift she is given, she may joke about using her power for little things like not being late to class but she mainly ends up reversing time for a greater good. 

That greater good though is quite hard to find in this episode. The decisions you are faced with are extremely difficult ones in this episode and I felt like I was right back in Telltale's Game of Thrones adaptation where no choice I could possibly make is the right one. This is due to the fact that your relationships with the ones around you get more involved. The main out cry for this episode came from a character that I barely paid any attention to the first time around but quickly became invested in once I learned what was happening to her and that was Kate Marsh. She it seems got into some trouble and you will need to decide whether or not you have what it takes to help her but depending on the decisions you've made up until this point her fate and yours may be intertwined and you could help one another out. This brings me to the fact that many of the decisions you made in the first episode begin to start showing some meaning. Here and there I found information and issues arising from the choices I made, whether it was receiving texts from an unknown number or stopping a certain security guard from picking on my friend, the effects began to show. This was interesting because often times I don't feel any sort of effect in these decision making games from the choices I've made and here I've found myself confronted with issues that would have gone differently had I gone another route.

From here players will see that your relationship with Chloe which also begins to get stronger too as last episode you revealed to her your gift and you two begin to bond like the good old days again. Chloe does became one of this episodes problems however as she felt the need to put your powers to the test for herself just to make sure you aren't crazy and who can really blame her. This leads to a mind numbing rewind and retry sequence in the first few scenes of the game. You have to correctly guess the items in her pocket at one point and notice the most insignificant details about the items it would seem. Then you must predict the future to Chloe and call out the actions of what happens in the diner you are in. Following this you have to play a find the bottle game at Chloe's secret hideout. It was all nitty gritty objectives that I was glad were done within the first portion of the episode and not spread throughout. However, the pace does pick up considerably once you get all of this out of the way and your relationship with Chloe will lead you to two of the most tense moments of the episode as her past comes back to haunt her and you must decide what you must do to help Chloe out. Constantly exposing your powers to this strain of everything that you two do will also have a big effect on the finale for the game too which took my breath away.

The only thing that did not show signs of improvement and probably will not change any time in the future for Life is Strange would be the dialogue. I'm not exactly sure what teen drama or crummy TV show that the developers got their teen slang from but it is certainly a dated and annoying one. Max and her friends walk around spouting out typical teenage jargon but at the same time they also use lines that feel completely out of character and out of place in every day conversation. At one point Max asks to "rap" about what happened the other day to Chloe and I cringed. People do not talk like this in the real world and it makes me shutter every time one of these cliche line comes pouring out of someones mouth which is quite often. 

That being said, "Out of Time" takes some very positive steps forward from it's first episode. The overarching story starts to take shape as the decisions I've made in the previous episode start to carry some weight and make it seem that far bigger problems may lie in store for Max because of it. Players will also see a big ramp up in the tension in the story and I finally begin to feel real concern for the characters in the game and also more invested in interacting with everyone I see. I certainly hope the tension can continue forward as more and more is revealed about Max and her abilities, along with the mysterious goings on at Blackwell Academy. 

Good:

- The ramifications of my decisions in episode one already start to show

- Exceedingly hard to make choice

- Characters start to gain more appeal especially the one with Chloe

- An ending you won't forget

Bad:

- Horrible and cliche dialogue that doesn't appear to be going away any time soon

- The mind numbing sequences with Chloe testing your powers

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10

  

Bleach 628: New World Orders

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/628

The entire palace has been altered into the shape of a Quincy cross, and the buildings have all been redone in the style of the Quincy. As both teams emerge within the palace, they are stunned by what they see, and realize they were fortunate to not have been present when it was reshaped, or it may have killed them in the process. However, Yoruichi quickly senses her brother, who tries to leap towards her, only to realize he can't manipulate reishi in the palace like in the seretei. This leads everyone to conclude that Juha Bach has altered the concentration of spirit energy in the palace to suit Quincies, while making it difficult for soul reapers. 

This chapter really felt like a continuation of much of what we already understood from the previous chapter, and that's not a good thing. The pacing of this story arc has been painfully slow, and this chapter really showcases why. In terms of actual progress, the teams combined took a total of 3 or 4 steps in this chapter, just making idle dialogue and redundantly explaining all of the same material we've seen in previous chapters. I think this series would benefit from dropping all the excess baggage and driving the main story forward. Some of these detours have been interesting, but mostly just hold us back from making any real headway.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage 5 - The Future

By: Robert Murphy

Credit to TheSaigo at Deviantart.com

Chapter 5

We all knew things would be pretty strained between the father and daughter once they finally ended up meeting. Not only has Sasuke been gone since Sarada was very young but he also barely recognized her when she stands before him with partly awakened Sharingan. Needless to say things remain stressful with the beginning of this chapter but the reason as to why Sasuke has been gone all this time starts to be revealed. I for one didn't think he was just endlessly adventuring and leaving his family all alone for no reason, Sasuke is bad with emotions but not that bad. Sasuke has little time to play father though as our new enemy makes their move against our small group however, who they are and what their grand plans are remain to be seen. One thing is for certain though, a feared group looks to be trying to rise once again. The Akatsuki!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 2)

By: Robert Murphy

Most shows take a little time to snap back into things when they leave their first season and the way things were left at the end of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's first season you would expect the same. However, Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) wastes no time in returning to his old ways and his old precinct after leaving to go on an undercover assignment at the conclusion of the last season. New cases and perps come crawling out of the woodwork but not only that the relationships within the precinct get much more complicated.  

One of the things that I loved most about the first season for Brooklyn Nine-Nine was how well that all the characters fit into their roles and the on screen chemistry that each of them had with one another. Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and Joe Lo Truglio of course are veterans of on screen work whether it is movies or TV so it is hard not to see good things from them but the rest of the cast were virtually unknown to me but all became fast favorites. The relationships they all share only prove to be strengthened further in this season as well. Jake Peralta may be the shows center but things do not focus entirely around him and that is a good thing, plenty of the stories for this season delved into the lesser known actors and actresses stories as I mentioned. I was particularly fond of Rosa Diaz's (Stephanie Beatriz) storyline this time around, her character was already the tough bad girl with quite the serious edge to her but things get more complicated when she begins to date Captain Holt's (Andre Braugher) nephew. It lends to a more lighter side to her character and some interesting episodes as Captain Holt and Rosa are the most stoic characters in the show and now they must interact on a personal level. 

There are also some shake ups in the dynamic for some of the characters. Jake and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) have always been the precincts bromance and no matter what Charles backs Jake up with his most idiotic decisions and problems. The "Stakeout" episode proves to shake this relationship to it's core as the two decide that they can pull off a two week long stakeout together without a single problem. This time together would prove a little too much as even Boyle begins to see fault with his best buddy Jake. 

The same classic comedy also makes it's return this season. Jake is perhaps one of the most hilarious aspects to a show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and of course he should be since he is the main character. But, what makes much of what he does so hilarious is because he is playing a role that I think the real life Andy Samberg would actually take part in. Jake acts like a kid in a candy store most of the time and has a very romanticized idea of what it is like to be a cop. In the show he is an excellent detective but at the same time he relishes the car chases, the idea of possibly dressing up and staking out mob guys at the local docks and other Hollywood cop movie gimmicks. What is even more wonderful is the show gives Jake the opportunities to live out many of these fantasies, the first episode of this new season, "Undercover", Jake was disguised in full track suit style clothing as he worked undercover to try and take down a mob network. We then have the episode where he got to run along the rooftops of cars to try and chase down a suspect and the episode simply entitled "The Chopper" where Jake, Boyle and Captain Holt lived out Jake's dream of riding in a helicopter to catch an escaped bad guy. 

I may give plenty of praise to Samberg but one of the funnier characters to blossom even more this season would have to be Captain Holt. Andre Braugher plays the stoic captain that often appears quite robotic but this plays perfectly into his serious brand of comedy for the show. His rivalry with Deputy Chief Wuntch (Keyra Sedgwick) is what particularly makes him so hilarious this season, she has an obvious attraction for him despite knowing he is married and gay, she will take the opportunity to frisk him for wires or even still an intimate kiss. Captain Holt however takes it all in stride and tries to do his best to thwart her with his brand of humor by making jokes such as "Wuntch time is over" as he receives and on stage reward from her and proudly says "no regrets." 

All the cast continue to present their own unique brands of humor to the show. Charles and Gina (Chelsea Peretti) end up spending a lot of on screen time together despite Gina's obvious disgust for Boyle. At the end of the first season we see the two hook up after a heavy night of drinking and Charles ending his relationship with his fiance. The two end up entwined for a few episodes but what gets worse is when their parents get involved together. Joe Lo Truglio is complete ridiculous and has no shame or filter for what comes out of his mouth and states things like "our sex led to this" and other gems that would make normal people uncomfortable. We then have Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) who brings his large buckling humor to the show. The very first episode he put Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) through a training exercise where he acts like a seven year old boy and you can probably guess how good it gets from there.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues to be sharp and funny well into it's second season. I am a little worried where the show may be headed as the final episode set up for an odd cliffhanger. However, as long as the group dynamic continues to work as well as it always has, I can see no reason why I won't enjoy going into a third season. 

Good:

- The second season continues to be smart and funny

- Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher are hilarious in their roles

- Plays into the cop cliches but for humor and not effect

Bad:

- Cautiously entering the third season, no spoilers, but I do wonder what lays in store

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Death Parade

By: Robert Murphy

There is a never ending amount of contradicting thoughts and ideas about what happens when we all reach the end of our lives and where exactly we end up. Do we end up in a cloudy city in front of a giant golden gate or are we plummeted to a dark unforgiving place full of torment? Well in Death Parade you end up in a bar which is definitely my kind of afterlife or at least it seems ideal at first glance. People arrive hear once they have passed on but have no memory of their individual deaths, they stand before Decim who at first glace would appear to be a regular bartender but has a far larger role to play for the people who come here. Decim is an arbiter that judges pairs of souls that are sent to his bar and sends them to Heaven or Hell based on how they perform in a random game that they compete in. Winning the game however isn't the important part, what comes from playing the game is. 

Now I said Heaven or Hell above when it came to determining which place that the human souls that Decim judges will go to because that is an easier way for humans to see it as but the show believes something inherently different. Decim and his fellow arbiters end up judging the pairs of souls that are sent to them and either send them to be reincarnated into another body or sent to the void where the soul experiences nothing but a black emptiness for eternity. How Decim decides this fate is even more interesting as he has to basically trick those who come to see him into playing one of his games that will trigger emotional responses they play. The games usually show some reflection upon the persons life or jar memories of events that happened leading up to their deaths. Decim also effects the game in various ways to make sure the players experience distress and unleash the true darkness of their souls. It is the belief of the arbiters that the truest self of a human is at their basic instinct of fear and despair and that is the point at which they should judge them. It's worked for the longest time and no one has questioned it until Decim meets with an event no arbiter has before. 

A woman in black hair (she remains nameless for a reason) appears at his bar but has perfect memory of what happened to her and that she is dead. Because of this she cannot be tricked into playing any of the games that Decim has and instead her entire memory is wiped and is left to be Decim's assistant until he can judge her. She follows along and helps Decim in one way or another with his judgments but ultimately she ends up changing the way Decim views the way things are done. The black haired woman doesn't like the way judgments are done because humans are more complex than just fearful and angry creatures, they should be judged on more than their worst moments. Decim throughout the series sees what she means as well and often questions his decisions because of her way of thinking, she understands humans because she is one and Decim and his kind could not possibly understand everything about humans because they aren't human. We later find out that Decim is a unique member of his kind though as he is able to feel human emotions and that is why the black haired woman is able to effect him in such a way.

It becomes clear as you watch Death Parade that the black haired woman is not the only one who feels the way arbiters judge is not correct all the time. Their is a hierarchy of managers and upper level arbiters which watch over the other arbiters under their command. The one that watches over Decim, Nona, is often quoted in saying that she enjoys different ways of judging people and that her arbiters should draw upon their own experience to place the souls they are judging in the correct place. Her solution to this problem is Decim who has been given human emotions and would hopefully be able to judge the souls he encounters with a clearer insight into the human nature than the rest of the arbiters would. Whether or not he succeeds in this remains to be seen but his character is definitely a unique one that I enjoyed especially as his relationship with the black haired woman develops throughout the story.

The one aspect to the story that I didn't understand was the addition of another arbiter by the name of Ginti. He is the polar opposite of Decim and does not understand his obsession with humans, he views them are idiotic species and the fact that he must pass judgement on them bares no meaning to him. Ginti doesn't understand why Decim cannot judge the black haired woman and it causes him untold anger towards him. This is until he ends up in a similar situation as Decim as he is shackled with a teenage girl he did not judge but no matter what he cannot see what it is about them that Decim does. It is a nice correlation for the story but one that I feel doesn't work out because it isn't properly expressed as to what Ginti is doing with the girl and why she is around still, whether it is to try and understand Decim or just that he cannot judge her remains unknown. It becomes exceedingly anticlimactic when his judgement for the girl does arrive as well. 

Overall, Death Parade takes an interesting look into human nature and death. As you watch the show you begin to question who is really "right" in the situation and whether or not arbiters are truly judging human souls properly. The overarching storyline created with the addition of the black haired woman also makes your decisions even harder to determine things for yourself just as it does for Decim. The wonderfully unique world of Quindecim bar (Decim's domain) is beautifully designed along with the rest of the world and the philosophical issues made the show a great watch all the way through. 

Good:

- The in depth look into human nature 

- Decim and the black haired woman's relationship all the way through

- Beautifully designed worlds

Bad:

- The Ginti storyline gave an interesting comparison to Decim but doesn't follow through with his own judgement issues

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Bleach 627: The Creation

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/627

Ichigo's party prepares to assault the Quincy, but Yukio says that he has no interest in helping any further in the fight, and that he would stay behind. Ganju gets frustrated, saying that if they fail, the world would be destroyed, to which Yukio questions whether they plan on losing. Ichigo intervenes to state that if Yukio wants to stay, it's his choice, and that Riruka should stay too, to "guard their escape." Riruka is initially mad that Ichigo intends to leave her behind, but Ichigo thanks her for coming to help, noting that despite her love of the "cute," she came to such an ugly place to assist them. Riruka then, reluctantly, agrees to stay behind with Yukio.

Meanwhile, The invasion party in the Seretei prepares to open the gateway, but as they do, the Seretei begins to break apart around them, with buildings being drawn into the sky and destroyed. And then, as both groups open their portals into the palace, they immediately see that the landscape has been populated with Quincy buildings, and realize that Juha Bach has willed the palace to be remade to his own liking in the short time since their last fight.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage 4 - A Chance Meeting Part 2

By: Robert Murphy

Chapter 4

It would appear that Naruto has not lost a single step since the conclusion of the 4th Great Shinobi War and even though he spends most of his time sitting behind a desk, he can still take on the best of them with ease. It would appear that the unknown Uchiha that are now causing trouble are after one thing and that is Sarada. They won't be getting their hands on her though with the Seventh Hokage around even though Shin, our young boy assailant, has some impressive skills of his own. His Sharingan even have unlocked to the level of Mangekyo and he even displace the ability to distort time like Obito could. The question continue to pile up more and more this week. Where did these eyes come from, why are they so similar to the Sharingan powers we've seen before and what do they want with Sarada? Well, that remains to be seen but as Sarada, Chocho and the Seventh move closer to Sasuke's location there is certainly more waiting to be revealed.  

Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis

By: Robert Murphy

What do you get when you turn a CW teen drama into a video game? You would probably end up with something similar to Life is Strange. The story follows seemingly average teen Max Caulfield who has just returned to her home state of Oregon and is now attending a prestigious private school. She is a gifted photographer but lacks a certain confidence to strut her stuff and show what she's made of but hey, it is high school and kids are going through all sorts of problems and emotions but Max may have the rest of the kids her age beat. After a horrible nightmare in the middle of her photography class and stumbling upon a scene where a young girl gets shot, Max discovers that she has the power to reverse time. This takes her oddly poetic life in an entirely new direction as she struggles to make the right decisions to all that is going around her but being able to rewind your life in mere seconds to a point where you choose helps out quite a bit. This is a power any teenager would dream of it would seem but never the less it is one that Max is in dire need of for the future to come or yet to be made. 

Time travel was the last thing that I thought of when I first laid eyes on Life is Strange, I thought to myself that it would be another choose your own story style of game set through the life of an American teen that would be ripe with classic high school drama issues. That part was still true at least. Max is definitely an outcast member at her new school, she may have grown up in this town but a lot has changed since she left and her shy nature has made everything a bit harder for her. She wanders the halls with headphones on trying not to be noticed or cause anyone to really notice that she is there, Max just wants to quietly move about her day with as little stress as possible. Her strong nature though is revealed quickly after her photography class ends and she ends up in the girls bathroom, she is hidden at the end of the stalls when a boy enters and a girl soon after him. The two begin to argue and the boy in the end pulls a gun out and shoots the poor girl, this is a crucial point for Max as it is her first big time jump. She rewinds time all the way to her photography class, gets revenge on the mean girl in class and then returns to the restroom to pull the fire alarm and save the girl. It's certainly a powerful first chunk to the story and it only gets more intriguing from there.

Every decision Max makes ultimately has a consequence to them and while for the moment Max only worries about the choices she makes, such as turning in the boy with the gun to the principal, there are sure to be bigger problems later because of it. These choices however can be done or undone rather easily, Max can restart time on a whim and players can decide whether or not the decisions they've made were truly the ones they wanted. I stood there for a few moments debating to rewind time and save a girl from getting whacked in the head with a football or not, seeing if it would somehow help me later. It definitely leads you to feeling more relieved with your choice unlike in any Telltale game where I would love to rewind time and make a different choice if I could. The rewind function is a bit of a cheat in a way but one that I certainly love, time travel can always get so messy in movies and shows and I'm sure it will certainly get messy in Life is Strange but for the moment the time manipulation is pretty darn fun. 

Now, not every choice in the game leads to some huge life altering future as many of the decisions in the game can be as simple as preventing someone from being bullied or staying off the radar of a particularly mean security guard. Max is definitely a person deserving of the gift of time manipulation as she does whatever she can to help those around her and use her gift for the right reasons. She may not know why she has this gift but she knows she can do some good with and starts to blossom into a truly great character. If only all the characters followed suit with her appealing characteristics. Many of the characters in the game are frankly flat, my conversation with the principal of the school was particularly mind numbing one and I felt like I was back in high school myself trying to dodge the conversation with my own principal. What made matters worse was when I decided to tell him about the boy with the gun and his blank expression really left me with a perplexed feeling, a kid had a gun! Do something other than stand there slack jawed starring at me. It certainly created a lack of tension for me as I played, I already felt invincible with my gift but with the characters around me not giving me any sort of concern I felt like the some of the drama was sucked out of this supposedly dramatic tale.  

This isn't to say that all the characters in Life is Strange are bad, no many of the characters introduce look to lead to some potentially interesting stories later on. When I reunite with my long lost best friend Chloe, who is the punky girl in the bathroom that I watched die, I finally found a character with as much appeal as Max. Chloe has gotten into some big issues while Max was away and she has completely changed from the girl she knew, at least on the outside anyway as the two awkwardly stumble back into friendship. Chloe has an interesting story in itself but she also has more going on in the background as she is looking for her missing best friend that sort of replaced Max when she left. We then have her not so friendly step father, you met him earlier, he's our jerk security guard. His character has some screws loose and his massive levels of paranoia certainly made me curious as to what sort of things he will be up to later.

As it goes with most first episodes, Chrysalis does plenty of setup and leaves a lot of intrigue for what is to come in the next chapter of the story and it does it well. Max Caulfield is a sweet and interesting main character who starts off meek but is already changing into a compelling character before the halfway mark of the first episode. The story and world is also a very interesting one and I am certainly ready to see what lies in wake next. What is the lighthouse and what was with Max's bad nightmare in class and how did she get these powers she has? So many questions that I want answered and I can't wait to see what I find. 

Good:

- Max is a wonderful main character

- Enjoyable story and world to explore

- Interesting choice to make

Bad:

- Some characters are flat and lack expression

- Not a lot of tension for a supposedly dramatic story

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Total Recall (2012)

Zach Goodier

This remake of the class movie takes place on earth, where the planet is inhospitable following world war, except for 2 regions, the United Kingdom and Australia. However, since these 2 regions are on opposite ends of the planet, a massive elevator was built to carry people and materials back and forth between the two. The only problem is that while the United Kingdom enjoys prosperity and growth, Australia finds itself exploited. To fight this injustice, a resistance was formed to fight for their freedom. Most of the other story details follow a similar pattern to the original, with plenty of quality CGI work that actually makes this movie feel as futuristic as it is supposed to.

A lot of these scenes are top-notch with the mix of CGI and practical effects working together to make things look real and impressive.

The story was very well handled. It assumes you’ve watched the original movie, and like any quality remake, it pays subtle nods to the original in a variety of clever and enjoyable ways. For example, in one scene, Quaid has to get beyond a security checkpoint, much like the original movie when he arrives on Mars. In the scene, you see a woman walk through the scanner that was the same woman that Quaid disguised himself as in the original. However, the twist is that she isn’t really Quaid, his disguise in this version is an Asian man behind her in line. Things like this are relatively subtle, but show that the creators took the time to throw in these little easter eggs for fans of the original film.

I've seen Underworld, those heels won't
slow her down at all.

Beyond that, there are lots of other clever twists and turns to make both new and old fans of the movie excited. Between the quality acting of Colin Farrel, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and Bryan Cranston as Cohaagan, there’s a great cast and everyone does a great job.

An alternate title could be "Mindf*#@"

The only faults I found with this film were that I was hoping to see a modern rendition of a mars colony, and while there is no shortage of visuals, I found this major change in the plot to be a conspicuous absence as a fan of the original. Plus, the elevator still felt somewhat far-fetched in the story, given the intense heat within the planet.

This was a cornerstone to the original movie's plot, so it makes sense that they had to include a triple-breasted lady here.

Overall, this is still a quality action movie, and does a lot of things faithfully for fans of the original, except for one of the most important parts: the setting. Also, there are a few points in the movie where you question how deep things were thought out. Still, this is a fun movie, and the actors all do an amazing job in their roles, it just falls a little short on the concept, but that does little to take away from an excellent movie otherwise.

Good:

-Mostly faithful to the original, with enough twists and turns to keep things fresh and interesting.

-Excellent CGI work.

-Great cast

Bad:

-Changes one major detail of the original by keeping things on earth.

-A few questionable elements to the plot that never get explained.

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage 3 - A Chance Meeting

By: Robert Murphy

Chapter 3

It would appear that our new enemies are wasting no time with whatever it is they're attempting to do, as we move into this new chapter we see our shadowy players start to move forward with their plans. The Sharingan is alive and well and not only is there the pair with the young boy who attacked Sasuke but two more have revealed themselves. Where are they coming from or more likely, where did these unknown enemies get them? Naruto takes his leave from the village to try and sort things out with Sasuke but it would seem he is not alone as Sarada has her own plans and follows along to find out where her father is and have him answer her questions. What comes next remains uncertain but with these powerful players in the mix I am certainly getting excited. 

Bleach 626: Holy Newborn

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/626

As the group prepares to ambush the Quincy, the Soul King has been fully absorbed by Juha Bach. He claims that now the world's existence depends on his, since he has taken over the Soul King's body and powers. However, it seems that Juha Bach isn't able to fully control his own powers, and the building around him suddenly breaks apart, forcing the Sternlichter to make a hasty recovery as they are nearly sent tumbling from the palace. Is this a sign that this power is unstable, or maybe it will still take time for Juha Bach to fully control it?

The Big Bang Theory (Season 8)

By: Robert Murphy

Over the years I have watched The Big Bang Theory and their character grow drastically from the nerdy and shy characters that they once were when they first started out. Episodes use to feature science experiments and nerdy events such as going to renaissance fairs in traditional garb or competitive kite flying. Things like this don't occur much anymore but that's okay as Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and even Sheldon (Jim Parsons) have changed into new people over the years. As I stated in my last season review, it was a season of changes and these changes continue forward here for this season as well as the new tradition of massive cliffhangers.

Last season ended with Penny and Leonard finally throwing away all pretenses and deciding to tie the knot and Sheldon getting on a train to God knows where because he cannot handle the changes that are happening around him. Obviously the show can't go on without him and he quickly returns at the beginning of this season, pants missing and in police custody for public lewdness, that's our Sheldon. After this point though things go back to the relative norm for the gang except for some minor changes such as Raj (Kunal Nayyar) now having his own girlfriend, don't worry he doesn't need to drink to talk to her or any woman anymore. Amy and Sheldon also see more and more growth as they begin to even make out without Sheldon making it into a big fuss. The show really has become all about the relationships that the groups have going for them and less and less about the science angle for the show. In fact, one of the episodes even points out that the show is going in this direction when Sheldon states how the guys haven't made an actually scientific invention in the longest time due to their girlfriends and while they set out to prove they still got it, they end up watching nerdy movies all night. But, this fact isn't a negative one as the show has proved to evolve into something new, changing as the characters have all this time. 

What is unfortunate for The Big Bang Theory is the lack of follow through with some of it's stories and by this I mean the fact that Leonard and Penny are engaged. The fact that they're going to be married is great but no wedding plans or information about the twos plans ever comes out to till the very last episode which leaves viewers with a huge cliffhanger for the two and Sheldon as well. This didn't seem so bad until Sheldon points out that through the 24 episode season, a year has gone by with not so much as a peep. So, in the last episode they rush to quick decisions on how they want to get married and it takes up five minutes of the episode. I felt this was extremely poor on the part of the writers and the direction that the show ends up going for it's finale left me with a soar taste in my mouth. 

What was a real interest for me this season was Penny. Penny has been a stagnant character for the past couple of season as her career as an actress continued to go nowhere fast and the one movie she decides to do is sub par. She now is seen in a whole new light when she decides to take Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) up on her offer to work with her at her company as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Once this happens all the things that have defined Penny's character finally changes, she is no longer financially dependent on Leonard, she's no longer the drunk joke that gets made every episode and really changes herself for the better. This does prove to make Leonard feel inadequate and cause some funny interactions for the two as their dynamic changes in a way. My favorite moment is when it's revealed that Penny is actually making more money than him despite the fact that he is a well regarded physicist and went to school for years. 

The other character I was glad to finally see receive some respect and changing up to their story was Raj. He not only breaks away from the lonely, creepy angle but he also finally gets a girlfriend and not one that was just gimmick for the show. It has been a long time coming for his character and frankly the level to which they started to degrade his character was getting a little too much. But, it would appear that he has found someone with her own issues as it's revealed that Emily (Laura Spencer) is into some dark things, mostly zombie movies, massive blood spurting scenes and a couple of other eyebrow raising things. She makes a nice fit for Raj though and I enjoyed their on screen relationship and the humor she brought to the show. This is true especially when it's revealed that she may have had a past with one of the other members of the group. 

The rest of the cast remain much in the same place they always have been before especially Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette. The two mainly squabble with one another like old times and don't really change much during this season. The touching story behind the death of Howard's mother, voiced by Carol Ann Susi, did prove that his character isn't a one trick pony either. It is a tough time for all the characters for the show but Howard receives some real in depth moments that make him shine. Some of the best moments for his character have sadly been during tragic times but actor Simon Helberg proves to really bring powerful emotion to his role here. As for characters like Amy (Mayim Bialik), she remains in a fixed state for the most part and continues her never ending efforts to get Sheldon to a normal level boyfriend that doesn't need to be harassed into doing things with her. It was fun at first to have her frustratingly try and break through Sheldon's outer shell and it still is but it doesn't leave much for her character anymore. This is what makes me watch less of the episodes with her and Howard as the focus just because their character really don't do much anymore. 

What I really find myself thinking when it comes to The Big Bang Theory as it leaves it's eighth season is that things in terms of the story really haven't changed that much but despite this the characters keep me coming back for more. All the actors are fantastic and yes, there are still some different stories told and laughs to be had here but the show doesn't deviate too much from it's new course and that is a show all about these guys and their girlfriends. It would seem "the big bang theory" was actually an event leading to the guys finding their significant others and that's alright because what is here now continues to entertain and will continue to entertain going into the future. 

Good:

- Penny and Raj finally get some changes to their roles

- Still a show with plenty of laughs and heart

Bad:

- Most of the stories stay fixed on the relationships and less about science at this point

- Ideas like Penny and Leonard getting engage come up but then nothing is done with it till the last episode

Scully Rating: 6.7 out of 10

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

By: Robert Murphy

Nothing excites me more than when a title for a great new game gets another add on or story thrown into the mix and that was most assuredly true when I saw that the new Wolfenstein game was receiving a pre-quel story add on to it. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood takes place before the events of The New Order and part of the game even takes place at Castle Wolfenstein which is the lair of Helga Von Schabbs, head of the occult research division for the Reich. You once again play as William "B.J." Blazkowicz and you and your partner are put to the task of sneaking into the castle to recover a secret document that has the location of Colonel Deathshead. A location that you find yourself already on your way towards in the first game but a place that remains unknown at this point and a place that the Allies desperately need to find if they have any hope of winning the war. This is no problem for old Blazhowicz though as you travel through the two act story in the hopes of saving the world from being under the boot of the Nazies.

After the success and joy I had playing The New Order, I felt that a game like The Old Blood could do no wrong and already had plenty of good ground to stand on and for the most part I was right. The gameplay is much the same as it was for the new titles release last year as you sneak or charge head first into Nazi filled areas guns blazing and half naked some of the time. There is a perfect blend of stealth and chaos with these two games, I can easily sneak through an area with my suppressed pistol and knives in my hands, taking out bad guys before they even know what hit them. On the opposite end though I could just as easily go two handed with my shotguns and blow body parts right off my enemies and get through an area that way. It really is a well balanced system and one that you probably wouldn't expect from the way the game is marketed, a straight forward shooter with explosions and giant robot killing machines. It is that to be sure but it also has a gentler touch to it if you choose to go that route.

Players will also see the return of the in game progression system and other goodies/secrets that the first game had. The progression system is a fairly straight forward one where you get perks and upgrades for the skills you use most, if you're stealthy that means you get better take downs from repeated knife attacks or hidden gold will be revealed on your map if you silent pistol commander Nazies. You also have easy to get perks such as increase health from over eating the in game health pacts or the ability to over charge your armor by putting on so many pieces of it as you go through the story. There is also the hidden gold to find throughout each level along with the hidden letters and character skins, I do wish that the gold finding was a little more creative than just three gold bars hidden in the levels, where in The New Order they were actual items like gold plates and trophies. You then have the continuation of the "nightmare" levels from the previous game, this was a hidden Easter Egg in the first game where you played an old school Wolfenstein level from the pixelated days. Now though if you want to crack the one thousand gamer score for the game you have to find all the beds in each level and complete the levels for achievements, an addition I felt was ridiculous and ruined the fun it brought from the first game, it really felt like they just needed more achievements for you to get and furthers my claim that the developers could have worked a little harder on the in game extras. 

Where The Old Blood really takes it's hit is with the actual story you play through. There are two overlaying arcs to the games story where the first half you go to Castle Wolfenstein and take part in an act called "Rudi Jager and the Den of Wolves" and the second half you go to a quiet little town in the mountains in an act called "The Dark Secrets of Helga von Schabbs". The first arc is much of the same shoot'em up action like I said earlier, there is brief character introduction of your partner and your main enemy Rudi Jager but that's about it. I never felt invested enough about my partner to care about rescuing him but yet that's what I spend the whole time trying to do and in the end when he dies I really didn't feel that angry or vengeful. The New Order had very rich character development and I felt sad when one of them died or at the very beginning when I had to choose which character gets to live, it wad grueling. Things here were so fast paced that I never felt invested in what I was doing and even when I killed Rudi in the end it wasn't that satisfying.

The second arc however did prove to change my opinions but at the same time introduced aspects that made things no better for The Old Blood. Your main enemy Helga is someone you instantly hate, she bares similar personality traits to Irene Engel from the first game but is more twisted in her own way. Think Ms. Trenchbull from the movie Matilda. She is deep in the occult and sniffs you out immediately when you try and make a quick get away with the secret documents and this is when all hell breaks lose, literally. The dead are rising up and Nazies you kill come back to life if you don't finish them off quickly, it appears Helga's occult research has taken her to some dark places. But this, admittedly funny and interesting direction for the game didn't seem to pain out as I found stealth became useless to bother with, headshots wouldn't kill enemies, it would turn them into zombies shambling about that I'd have to kill all over again. The interesting final boss fight was a nice touch but ultimately the Nazi zombie angle is best left off in the past, not even a sawed-off shotgun will change my opinion on that.

In the end, most of what made the core gameplay of Wolfenstein: The New Order was brought forth in this expansion but not much of the character was brought along with it. Gun play is still compelling as you deal untold damage to enemy Nazi that stands in your way whether its with a lead pipe takedown weapon or a handheld pistol grenade launcher. But much of the story gets lost in the first arc of the game and while it does get picked up in the second, Nazi zombies just were a real pain to deal with and weren't something I felt was needed here.

Good:

- The core combat and weapon mechanics are still solid

- Hidden items, perks and abilities still present

- Helga von Schabbs and what she brings to the second arc of the story

Bad:

- The first arc of the story leaves you with little to invest your time with

- Nazi zombies were an interesting choice but not a good one

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10