The X-Files: Season 10

By: Robert Murphy

There is always an issue with trying to capture lighting in a bottle seeing as it was already impossible the first time it happened, so when people try to reboot a series that has long since gone off the radar, it can be hard to get the same spark. It doesn't hurt however that series creator Chris Carter returned to work on the tenth season of The X-Files rebooted return to television as well as lead actor David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. The series was earmarked for a six episode run of the cult classic that depicted two FBI agents that were assigned cases involving strange phenomenon or suspected elements of the supernatural. But, by the end of the final episode there are for more questions than answers and viewers are left to question if there is more. Just like the show always has.

The shows revival though is a bit of a tricky one to track as it didn't follow the new plot line that it sets forth in the first episode but rather it set out to try and be another season for the show, mixing an overarching story with some other cases thrown in the middle. This would normally be fine since the odd ball cases that Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny) would go on were just as interesting as the overall conspiracy that Mulder has been trying to hunt down his entire life. The first episode as well as the finale capitalize on this conspiracy theory but add in real 20th century paranoia to drive it all home. Guest star Joel McHale plays Tad O'Malley who makes a living off of "revealing" the truth about government's spying on us with micro drones, poising us with chemicals through plane slipstreams and perhaps the most popular being the 9/11 attacks being the start of a global initiative against humanity. What this all did perfectly is bring Mulder's theories up to date and catches viewers up to what has been happening behind the scenes since the show went off the air even though Joel McHale didn't quite feel at home delivering all this news. 

It's a great set up to be sure and while many others out there viewed the first episode as a bumpy start, I saw it as a perfect blend of new cult theory meats the old cult theory. What's more is Anderson and Duchovny still proved to have the one screen chemistry that made The X-Files so watchable back in it's hay day, if it weren't for these two at the forefront I'm not sure the show would have ever made it past it's first season. The real issue for the reboot is perhaps what comes after the first episode as the middle chunks to the story are more or less random cases and does not continue this new overarching story. These episodes are not bad in anyway shape or form, in fact the second episode itself is the creepiest and most attune to the shows former format as a boy with strange telekinetic powers searches for something from his past that Mulder and Scully inevitably get wrapped up in. 

The third episode is perhaps the most bizarre of the bunch when guest star Rhys Darby comes down with an apparent case of reverse monsterism, transforming from weird lizard creature to average middle aged man overnight. It's plucky to say the least but overall it felt like a wash of an episode, don't get me wrong Darby does a fantastic job as he describes the woes of being a pathetic middle aged man. Lying about his sex life, forced to get a job and watching pornography. Mulder too has his own crisis in this episode about whether or not his years at the bureau have all been a waste as he looks over old case files and finds out things like a "rockman" siting was just a mascot selling tires. But, this silliness doesn't come together well throughout the episode and with a six episode run, the show did not have the episode to waste on something like this. 

The fourth episode was perhaps the most gruesome display I have ever seen come from the series as a street art inspired monster called the "garbage man" takes out various people in the community that are threatening homeless people. But, the fifth episode proved to be a favorite of mine when two fresh faced young agents come to Scully and Mulder for advice on a terror cell case they are working. Chris Carter obviously drawing a parallel to young Scully and Mulder here by creating clones of their former selves with Agent Miller (Robbie Amell) and Agent Einstein (Lauren Ambrose). But the episode is far more humorous and enlightening than it is pure ridiculousness. The episode shows just how far Scully and Mulder have come after working with one another, Mulder obviously opening Scully up to the supernatural and making her less of a skeptic while Scully has made Mulder more of a believer in her faith and her judgment as a partner in life/work.

And then just as quickly as it started the final episode was ready to rocket the overall story forward in a record time rushing through just about everything that was laid out in the premiere. The sheer amount of information alone is enough to give viewers whiplash in this last episode as an epidemic breaks out causing panic for Mulder and Scully. The ideas themselves were great, watching along I couldn't help but feel that there is some wonderful elements to the story coming full circle, truths potentially coming to light and our main characters finally coming to blows with the "smoking man." It could have been a magnificent send off but it just doesn't follow through, what's worse is it ends in a cliffhanger with no news as to whether or not there will ever be another season down the road. It feels a little cheap and if the story had maybe followed this overarcing story more then viewers could have had a satisfying ending to what was a surprising series of stories in the supernatural. 

The X-Files return to television was something I'm sure many were excited about and it is truly wonderful to see that everyone decided it was worth their time to come back to the show and send it off right. What's more is the charm was all still there as Mulder and Scully feel like they never left one another and had a commanding on screen performance. But, the show itself didn't have the time to pull off what it aimed to achieve as it showed off various ideas for episodes but nothing solid for the overall story. Added on top of that a cliff hanger hanging in the wind and there is just no telling what will come out of this strange effort to revivalist the series. 

Good:

- Mulder and Scully are still perfect together

- Premier episode set forth potentially great ground work

- Episodes rang true to the old school X-Files

Bad:

- Episode three was simply bonkers and felt like a waste for a miniseries

- New story set forth fell flat in the finale

- Cliff hanger ending?

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Party Hard

By: Robert Murphy

It may sound a bit dark but when I watch a crummy horror movie I often think that it's more fun to root for the killer rather than the survivors as the movie is only enjoyable when they are on screen, excluding the gratuitous sex scenes of course. In Party Hard I was now able to take up the role of a psycho killer as he goes on a murder spree across the United States. Okay, psycho might be a little bit of a stretch considering all your main character wanted was to get a pleasant nights sleep but a rowdy party next door was ruining it, so he put on a mask, grabbed a knife and went to kill them all. Never mind, he definitely was a psycho.

As bleak as the game is, Party Hard is one of those games where it's good to be bad. Your character must maneuver himself, or herself as you unlock other characters, through the party and kill all those in attendants. But, this isn't just a simple slasher game where you stab someone and hide their bodies, there are a number of ways you can go about your fun fueled rampage. You can go around silently plotting your kills and wait until the opportune moment to strike and stash the body in a nearby dumpster or you can get creative and use your environment to your advantage. There are a number of hidden gems throughout each level that will aid you in your quest for peace and quiet such a rampaging bull that can charge through a crowd of people, knocking over a tree into a nearby room or even poisoning the kegger so everyone gets sick or in some cases zombified.  

These delightful set pieces ramp up the amount of carnage you can get yourself into, I once sent a Lamborghini into a line of people and watched as the number of people I had to take out dwindle drastically. While these are great fun, they typically don't last long and you have to be clever with how you use each of them. If there aren't people by the punch bowl then the poison will run out, if you explode the dance floor with no one on it then you've wasted a potential killing spree. So despite the catchy and upbeat tempo to Party Hard's soundtrack, you have to take your time and plan out your attack or you will end up busted by the cops. 

This is perhaps the fault that can be had as you play through the brightly colored parties in each state. Early levels of the game feature a variety of different ways to take out your victims and there are admittedly a number of well designed parties to go along with them. But, in an effort to ratchet up the difficulty as you progress the game decides to decrease the number of environmental hazards making it increasingly hard to progress. The boat party level in particular was a drag for me as there was a limited amount of ways to take everyone out and not a lot of places to hide. The challenge was a good idea but ultimately it turned into a grind that decreased my interest. There are a number of moments like this outside the later levels such as moments where you have to take out your last ten party goers, at this point there's no hazards left to use and you basically just wait to silently take them out. 

Small pick up items do help dull this monotony for a short time but just like the environment hazards they are limited. Suitcases and shifty salesman can sometimes be found in the various levels that will give you smoke grenades, bombs, samurai swords and a spare change of clothes to aide in your night of terror. Smoke grenades though can only be used twice, bombs are a one and done use and will also lead to a SWAT team raiding the party, samurai swords which are just a glorified knife and then the spare change of clothes which is also a one and done use but it does help when you want to escape from the cops. None of the items really quicken the down time moments when you're trying to make your way through a particularly tough level but they do add to the games overall charm. 

Party Hard does have plenty of this charm to go around too. The style of the game and most of the levels is set in the 80's and perhaps the early 90's so it's to be expected that many characters would bare some resemblance to important people during this era. I saw Michael Jackson, Slash and a blonde haired beauty from Baywatch to name a few. There were also some more anarchistic types thrown here and there as well, such a vehicles supped up with metal spears jutting out, punk rocker chicks thrashing to the sounds of rock metal and big burly bikers threatening to squash you like a bug. There is a huge number of hidden gems and characters strewn throughout the story and they mix together to make an enjoyable concoction to say the least, but by the end of the twelve episode game you're left wanting a little bit more than what you got.  

Despite Party Hard baring many similarities to one of my favorite top down games, Hotline Miami, it doesn't carry the same dark and satirical appeal as it's counter part. The catchy level design and unique methods of killing were all a blast to use and experiment with but once you whittle down the party goers things become a bit of a drag till you get to the end. There were also increasing levels of difficulty that made playing certain levels quite frustrating and for a game such as this you want a more even flowing experience throughout your play time and that was the real killer for Party Hard. 

Good:

- Finding and experimenting with the different killing methods

- Bright and interesting party levels

- Catchy soundtrack

Bad:

- Difficulty on later levels were unnecessary 

- Short supply of hazards for levels and one use items 

- Killing everyone at the party can be an exceedingly lengthy experience at times

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Zach Goodier

It’s been a few years since the Sulaco sent a distress call from LV-426, and now another company of marines, considerable larger, has been sent to investigate the Sulaco, which is now back in orbit over LV-426. You’re awoken from cryo to find that marines have already been sent over, and hostile contact has been confirmed. As you can imagine, there’s some xenomorph activity aboard, but how? And why is the ship back above the planet?

Free (face) hugs? Maybe a little love bite?

The story is a continuation of the classic Aliens movie (that’s the 2^nd movie, for those who haven’t kept track). The whole game tries to capture the feel of the movie, and put you in the roll of a colonial marine named “Winter.” However, there isn’t the same personality in your marines as you get from the movie, with everyone feeling more like a lame copy than an actual original character. There is an attempt to bring in talent from the original film, and that is one of the few things that make this story worth your time at all. Otherwise, most of it falls into a pattern of being sent into infested territory, where the human opponents from Weyland-Yutani feel smarter and tougher than the ultimate predator that we’ve come to fear, undermining the entire franchise.

Even with everyone here scoring hits, and your allies using a smartgun and shotgun pulse rifle attachment, That leaping xeno will take next to no damage, so you'll likely have to step in to finish it.

This is one of the biggest issues in this game: the AI. Xenos should be elusive, and attack from any and every way they can to get you, but the xenos all feel very simple, almost stupid, as they rush you under hails of smartgun and pulse rifle fire. Even more frustrating is the fact that it feels like the marines are firing BB’s all the time, because you can watch your squadmates fire on a xeno for 10 full seconds with a smartgun, scoring direct hits, and never actually kill it. Whether this was intended to give the player a feeling of superiority, or it was just overlooked, it becomes annoying, since it means you have to do nearly all of the work, even when you have 2 or 3 other marines helping you out.

You actually don't see a lot of this, it's far more likely this xeno would be stuck on a wall, or on a crate, or just running in circles.

Graphics are decent, with environments looking halfway decent, but character models feeling slightly dated. Both Wayland and xenos look fairly good, but a little rigid and lifeless in how they move most of the time. Also, the number of glitches I’ve found number fairly high, with aliens getting stuck on walls, fences, and other obstacles, and marines sometimes getting hung up on crates and the like. These are normally small issues that barely warrant mentioning, if they occur in other games, but these sorts of glitches happened far too often.

These guys killed me more than the xenos ever had a chance to.

Overall, this game felt like a lot of wasted potential. Voice acting was mediocre, graphics were mediocre, and still prone to all sorts of glitches, and the entire game feels like it belongs alongside 10 year old titles. The story has the potential to go places in sequels, but I don’t see that ever happening, at least not as a video game. The only part of this game that really works is as a concept, and as a small add-on to the Aliens story. Otherwise, this game is a technical failure on nearly all levels, and a game that might put a hurt on any chances of future Alien titles for a while. This wasn’t the worst game I ever played, but it certainly wasn’t any sort of success in my eyes. You can enjoy this game, somewhat, as long as you think of it more like a rail shooter in terms of enemy AI and useless allies.

Good:

-Story was somewhat interesting, with potential for future sequels that could be better than this game.

-Return of one of the original Aliens actors. While he doesn't get a huge role in this game, it's a welcome addition.

Bad:

-Animation and modeling felt mediocre.

-Horrible AI.

-Allies guns are “nerfed” to the point of feeling useless.

-The ultimate predators feel less threatening than a bunch of Weyland mercs with guns.

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10

Battleship

By: Zach Goodier

Now, I went into this one asking myself, "How do you make a movie based on the board game with no story or characters whatsoever?" The answer is: you don't, at least, not well. What follows is a review of one of the biggest, most pointless, poorly done messes that I have ever seen. So why should you stay clear away from this steaming pile? Well, I'm happy you asked. Time to start my rant.

Oh boy.

Our terrible story starts with Alex Hopper, a grown man who still seems to enjoy sleeping on his brother Stone's couch and surfing bars, getting into fights to impress girls. Ok, not the worst start I've ever seen, but we're not done yet. In an ultimatum, Stone gives Alex an ultimatum to join the navy to get his act together. Fast forward, and the grown boy now is given a command position on-board a destroyer. In a joint exercise with the Japanese navy, Alex continues to cause nothing but trouble as he gets into scraps with one of the Japanese captains: Yugi Nagata. However, in the midst of the juvenile behavior, a mysterious series of objects crashes out of the sky, and soon Hopper finds himself placed in command of the entire ship after the senior officers are killed in the first assault. And much like the men under him, I was consumed with dread as you realize that this horrible, horrible person is now in command of a ship full of people.




The story is pretty half-assed, with the aliens apparently coming in response to a message we sent out to the cosmos. And obviously none of it has to do with the original game. Worse yet, they actually managed to get a decent actor to join the cast: Liam Neeson. However, he is barely included in the story, aside from being the father of Sam, the girl that Alex is involved with, so the entire purpose is just to create more cliche drama in an already boring movie.

The characters are all very limited, with the most "complex" being Alex, who really doesn't have anything more than a crush and the urge to be a delinquent. None of them have any depth at all, which means there's nothing in that department to watch either. So if there's no value to the story or characters, is this movie beyond any form of redeeming value?

Hopper decides to pick a fight with some aliens.

The action is where the movie starts to actually think about doing something right, with CGI ships looking decent, but these scenes are brief oases in a desert of bad acting, bad writing, and a terrible idea that should have never been allowed to become a movie.

Thankfully this movie provided a suitable face to use when describing it.

I really don't have much else to say about this film. It failed to create a semi-workable story, the characters were all terrible, with the possible exception of Nagata, who can be argued up to simply boring. The action is what this is all about, and the inclusion of Liam Neeson felt like a total waste of time and the casting budget. I didn't expect much from this movie, but it somehow managed to make my expectations feel absurdly high. In short, don't watch this if you value your time. This has managed to make a generally boring board game seem suddenly interesting, and if only for that alone, this movie has done the impossible.

Good:

-Did you even look at the review? Nothing. Zilch. Nadda.

Bad:

-Characters are all shallow, poorly written, and just terrible to watch, aside from one character, who just barely manages to be bearable.

-Story is a lame setup for aliens and battleships occasionally shooting at each other between boring dialogue and unnecessary side story.

-Manages to make a boring board game look thrilling.

Scully Rating: 1.0 out of 10

Alien: Isolation

Zach Goodier

After Colonial Marines, most of us Alien fans had a bad taste in our mouths, and feared that the long awaited train wreck would mark the end of the Alien franchise in video games.  When news came down that Isolation was being produced, the mix of anticipation and dread was palpable.  So does this title live up to our expectations, and is it truly the game that Alien fans have long awaited?

In short, the answer is a resounding yes.

Servastapol: the place where nightmares go to die at the hands of even worse things.

We begin with Amanda Ripley, Ellen’s daughter, who has been working in the region where the Nostromo went missing in an effort to find some sort of closure for her missing mother.  Opportunity comes along when a representative of Weyland-Yutani corporation comes along saying that the Nostromo’s flight recorder has been found, and that a ship has been hired to take a small group to Servastapol Station to recover it.  Since Servastapol is owned by a rival company, Seegson, the company is anxious to recover the recorder ASAP. 

Scenes like this really sell this as a faithful emulation of the original work(s)

Upon arrival, attempts to hail the station are met with static, unrecognizable responses, leading the crew to assume the transmitter is down and dispatch Amanda with Samuels and Taylor, a legal representative for Weyland, to board the station via airlock.  After being separated, Amanda quickly finds the station, which is in the process of being decommissioned, has gone eerily dark, with few signs of life aboard.   It doesn’t take very long for Amanda to discover why: a Xenomorph is loose on the station, and the few survivors that are left have gone underground to avoid drawing its attention.  What ensues is a quest to survive the Xenomorph’s relentless hunt, and find a way to get off the station.

This scene is eerie, but at the same time really fits the role of Servastapol as a former hub of commerce.

Story wise, this game does a great job of mixing up the elements that made both the first and second movies great.  The Xenomorph is a hunter, akin to the first movie, while mixing the elements of mistrust and conspiracy that worked in the background of both movies so well.  As you go through the game, survivors, androids, and even some of your friends turn on you, keeping you on your toes, and always having to be ready with an exit plan. 

"Working Joe's" are cheap androids manufactured by Seegson... They rate fairly high on the "creepy" scale, but their static nature tends to make them far less of a threat than the xenomorph.

Now, the major draw to this game has been the Alien itself, using sophisticated “AI” to track down the player and offer unique and stressful challenges each and every time you play, even the 3^rd or 4^th time through.  Now, there really is no such thing as a true “AI” in video games, but this Alien is as close as anyone has really gotten in a video game.

If this is what you see, then you're already dead.  Just accept it.

The Alien seems to randomly select directions, as well as when to double back down a hallway.  Since you have no direct way of killing the Alien, your only viable option is stealth.  But that is difficult when the Alien is running on a random path that prevents you from being able to learn patterns or anticipate where it will go.  This makes for some very stressful moments throughout the game, as the Alien challenges both your instincts on when and where to go and hide, as well as your intellect in finding ways to move it out of the way, or towards a group of hostiles to clear the way to an objective.  You always feel like the Alien has intelligence, and it’s movements look and feel very natural, adding a very creepy vibe to match the tense music that accompanies the Alien being in close proximity.  You can outsmart it for a time, giving you the feeling of brilliance, but it always adapts to your tactics, learning your methods and adapting its' searches to limit your options, making the game feel harder as you expend your options, making your best option the one where the alien never even suspects you were there.

The motion tracker is here, and with it comes waves of tensity with each and every ping.

Between the atmosphere, which is taken directly from the first movie, even working in a few set recreate meticulously from the original film, as well as mixing in some elements from the second movie, like the motion tracker.  Items like the flamethrower and improvised devices like flashbangs and smoke bombs can be crafted with materials you find throughout the station, and give you the feeling that Amanda is truly a Ripley, with engineering prowess to match the good survival instincts.

These are always a welcome sight, but they don't keep the Alien away, be careful of your surroundings before saving.

The only faults this game has is that most of its big twists and turns are also inspired by the original 2 movies.  This makes them rather predictable, which takes away from the impact.  There are still a couple of surprises, even for Alien fans, but if you’re a true fan of the original movies, then you will probably feel ahead of the story for much of the game. Also, the difficulty can make the Alien feel almost deaf/blind on easy, and exceedingly sensitive on hard, so normal is recommended, but it can still be tough at times, as this game requires as much patience as it does nerves of steel.   It has been said that this game is too slow due to the death rate and slow pace, but I argue that this is meant to feel more like the classic movies, with more attention to atmosphere and set pieces, which really works in this game.  This isn’t a modern shooter, and you will be punished for even thinking that as you play.  You can’t just walk out and kill the xenomorph, don’t even try.  So for those who like to let their guns and explosives do the talking, just don’t bother picking up this game, the Xenomorph is too adaptable and naturally resistant to simply drop it with a couple of shots from the civilian-grade weapons you have on-hand.

With access to weapons like the flamethrower later on, you have effective defenses against the alien.  However, they are only deterrents, and won't keep it away for long, especially with how it eats up fuel.

Overall, this is one of my favorite games this year.  While the story is a little too derivative at times, it really does a good job of introducing a strong female character that feels at least in the same league as Ellen Ripley.  The Alien is the major draw, though, with natural, yet erratic behavior that makes for a constant tension that gives this game replay value.  I’m hoping this is the start of a new era in Alien games, with better attention paid to getting the xenomorph(s) right, leaning towards experiences that make you truly feel like the prey, rather than turning the most dangerous life-form in the cosmos into a target in a shooting gallery.  This game could be a turning point for the franchise in gaming, lending more focus to the quality of the alien and the levels, rather than making it feel like just a generic shooter with  Alien texture packs.

Good:

-Amanda is a worthy successor to her mother, Ellen Ripley.

-Servastapol has its’ own stories and lore to explore, which adds a lot to the Alien universe.

-The Xenomorph is one of the best in-game enemies I have ever seen, hands down.

-Crafting system makes survival feel like something you can better prepare for, which makes the game more exciting.

Bad:

-Story can be derivative of the original 2 films, making most of the twists rather obvious.

-Difficulty can be a bit of a drag, with the Alien sometimes seeming too easy on easy mode, failing to notice me in a relatively open situation, so mid-to-high difficulty is recommended for a true “Alien” experience, but you will likely die quite a bit. 

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition

By: Robert Murphy

While looking through the recent additions to the Xbox One game selection, I saw this game and it spoke to me and made me think of an old style of gaming, not so far back as the first Mario but more of my first computer game styling. Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is a side scrolling platforming game that first debut back in 1991 and has now received an HD touch up to hit gamers of this generation. The cinematic nature of the game was hailed as quite a popular idea as the game tells it's story of a scientist named Lester who ends up in a whole new dimension after an experiment goes wrong. 

 Not a whole lot is spoken from characters in the game and that's the main challenge to Another World. There are no tutorials, no instructions, you figure out the controls as you go and figure out how to survive as you go as well. Just about everything can cause you harm or causes your death on this alien world, including the aliens who immediately imprison you once you meet them. It's a game that is very unforgiving and you know what, I kind of liked that about it. Figuring out your way through the different levels of the game is no easy task and I've never wanted to rage quite something more but I was still spurned on to keep playing. In a lot of ways you have to work things out for yourself, solving the puzzles of each area and figuring out what is significant around you to progress further, which its usually everything. 

What's also great about the Another World is how much of a story it tells with so little dialogue going on, most of the characters you meet will gesture to something or sometimes aliens will shout at you in their language which won't help you any.  Right from the get go you can tell that this game is a major storyteller as we start out simply enough in a hidden laboratory and running experiments when a lightning strike effects what looks like a supercollider and transports us to this new world. What breaks up the gameplay are short cut scenes that play somewhat like a brief film or gif that will give you some more insight into what you're doing but not much. Graphically the game has improved from what it use to be but former players can relive the past by switching from old graphics to new with the push of the Y button. The new graphics introduced though are nothing to really be wowed at but at the same time fit the style and the animation well for all the character in the game.

What I did not find endearing to endearing about Another World though started when an area became increasingly harder to traverse. Alien creatures that were basically mini sarlaccs were hanging on the top and the bottom of the screen on which I was suppose to get through. This shouldn't be any big thing, if they weren't there there wouldn't be any challenge to the game but what became the issue were the controls. All the controls are very simple to master once you lock them down but your character will often snatched by a creature or slip down a nearby hole when you clearly weren't even close to it. This brings me to what I feel will be the overall downfall for Another World's attempt to find some new customers, people who never played the game before like myself will most likely find the game to be an exercise in futility. The game is short but harsh and in many ways repetitive as you will undoubtedly preform the same sequence over and over until you get it right and the reward doesn't really give you the satisfaction you might be looking for once you're done. I myself enjoyed the game but in many ways I can see it hitting home with too many others who never knew about this game before.

In conclusion, Another World told me a pretty great story for a game with virtually no dialogue and being a game that had already been released a few odd years ago. The ability to switch between HD and the old look is definitely a plus for new and old players of the game as the new stuff makes it just as inviting as the classic feel will for those who played before. Another World is though one of those unforgiving games that will make you want to pull your hair out and even with the short playthrough, it may not hit the way it did back when it was first released. 

Good:

- The ability for the game to tell a great story with no dialogue was fantastic

- No tutorial and no prompts made this game difficult but that was part of the fun

- Colorful worlds with great animations and the ability to switch back to the classic style of the game

Bad:

- Easy to get lost, angry and annoyed with the game

- A lot of repetition that will set off your controller throwing emotions

- Controls could have done with an upgrade as well 

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10  

Saint's Row IV

By: Robert Murphy

Well it finally happened, I finally stopped laughing enough to write the review for my play through of Saints Row 4 and I’ve had an absolute blast with the game as you’ll soon find out. Now through the years the Saints Row games have specialized in the ridiculousness and downright laughable but at the same time providing a story and enjoyable gameplay for players and the latest entry into the series doesn’t disappoint either. You have come a long way since being the leader of the Saints, now you’re the leader of the free world as President of the USA and you’re doing a crack up job of it, at least in my opinion because I’ve always said that the White House could do with a lot more stripper poles. After passing a few bills and punching out a few non supporters of your regime, out of nowhere an alien attack occurs and take captive almost all of your favorite Saints. And after a frankly badass attempt to save everybody and take out the aliens, you yourself are captured and put into a virtual containment area, don’t worry though you don’t have to wear skin tight leather in this world. This free roam area is a copy of good old Steelport and from here we dig into the meat of most of your gameplay for Saints Row 4.

From here we are introduced to a whole new kind of Saints Row and that is one with super natural type powers right out of your favorite comic books. Almost immediately into the game players are introduce to our new super powers that bend the rules of this virtual world and allow you to jump to sky scraper heights, glide across the skies and sprint through the streets so fast that you leave mayhem in your wake. And these are just the first basic powers that you are given in the game, as you progress you gain new abilities to be upgraded and used to tear down this phony world and take down the alien scum from the inside. Unfortunately, we don’t receive super human healing abilities but hey if everything was super charged then the game would be very boring. Enemies in the game and if you adjust the settings even pedestrians drop health for you in the form of little blue health signs which seems a bit childish and ridiculous…..and I loved it. Enemies however do come in large groups most of the time so if you aren’t being tactful in the beginning of the game (especially on higher difficulties) you will find yourself full of holes. If you’re smart however and buy a few health upgrades, things become much easier on you, even more so when you take a look at the impressive store of weaponry that comes with any Saints Row game. There are of course the standard human weapons like SMG’s and pistols but the real fun comes from the alien weaponry like the Disintegrator or the Black-hole gun that make for a devastating amount of fun. But if you like using the classics, I’ve got good news for you, your standard weapons come with a great amount of upgrades and skins to make them just as fun and powerful and at the same time goofy and awesome.

As for the city itself, you don’t really spend much time appreciating it rather you spend most of your time zooming through it or soaring over top of it with your super natural powers which makes all the work and funny things that were put into the city seem a little irrelevant. The thing that brings you down to Earth is all the various side quests sprinkled throughout the area and the collectibles that are quite literally inches from each other. These side quests include various things such as fighting through waves of enemies to completing races using your super sprint and other tasks meant to thwart the evil aliens that are holding your crew and humanity hostage. As for the collectibles  they are anything but hidden, in one super jump you’ll gaze at about 15 of the 1,400 collectible glowing blue nods that are used to upgrade your super powers to more destructive levels. These things were so easy to collect though and at first it was fun and entertaining but it quickly became mind numbing and a bit of a letdown to easily get all these nods and rapidly upgrade my abilities so early in the game. Other collectibles are a bit more scattered and harder to find like the alien statues and audio logs from your crew but these didn't really pull me out of soaring through the skies either but it’s just so much fun.

Of course, what would a Saints Row game be without a bit of co-op fun for you and your mates to enjoy along the way, you can either choose to play through missions or free roam with your friends across virtual Steelport. All the while enjoying the ridiculous outfits you two may have on, which in previous games and in Saints Row 4 is truly a fun and enjoyable experience to behold. You can literally be just about any type of character you want to be, the number of customizations in the game is endless, ludicrous and an absolute riot to behold, not just in co-op but in single play as well. I myself am dressed as a super saiyan badass with a British accent that is auto tuned to a higher pitch and it makes me laugh every time my character opens his mouth.

Overall, I love this game, it is everything that I was looking forward to in Saints Row 4, things are even more over the top and the good old fashioned Saints Row humor is back and better than ever providing me with hours of amusement. With the added ability of super natural powers, the game becomes an even bigger riot and way to make mayhem, it’s like using cheat codes without using cheat codes and I find that pretty cool. It is upsetting though that you are able to upgrade your abilities so quickly in the game which leads you to ignoring a great deal of virtual Steelport and makes the ability to drive cars pretty pointless, why drive when you can sprint there or glide. But with all the guns, laughs and massively customizable character pallet, Saints Row 4 makes for an awesome experience for fans and new comers to the game.

Good:

-Great and ridiculous humor

-A destructive weapon and ability selection for massive chaos

-Super powers are fun and make you feel like a little kid with all that power

-Solid story and follows in the footsteps of previous games

Bad:

-You’ll find yourself ignoring Steelport city aside from getting collectables and doing missions, you end up sprinting by it all with super speed or soaring over it jumping from rooftop to rooftop

-Upgrading your abilities comes far too early and is way too easy to do

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

“Defiance” Episode One

Well guys, it's Dibby here, and I just gotta say I LOVE DEFIANCE. There, I said it, I watched the first episode and instantly fell in love. I even recorded it so I could watch it again tomorrow. Defiance has instantly become one of my favorite science fiction shows I have ever seen. Now this doesn’t replace Firefly as my favorite, I mean only one episode has aired but I will be bringing my friends over to my house to watch this show. The plot is amazing, the cast is perfect getting Julie Benz to play a mayor of the town with the title as its name is awesome, the aliens OHHHH the aliens I promise you will love the look and feel that the creator gave them. One thing this show has going for it is the link between the show and game. Now the game takes place in the San Francisco area and the show in St. Louis but and without giving away anything from ether there are small little plot twists in the show that if you played the game you would be the only ones who understand them. For instance in the very beginning of the episode you see Nolan and Irsis use this cool little gadget to get this odd but cool looking sphere. If you didn’t play the game (mission is no longer available in game ether) you have no idea the pain these two went through getting that cool little gadget. Now I am hoping that there will be more links between the game and show but if they are only small and subtle like this one I will be ok with it, because I know whats going on and you don’t hahaha :P. Now I won't be doing a weekly thing about this show only because well I REFUSE TO GIVE AWAY ANY OF IT. But all I have to say no all I need to say is that if you want a good show to watch on Monday nights check out Defiance.