Bleach 580: THE LIGHT

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/580

Kenpachi isn't done yet, as he's quickly attacked by several of the Sternritter.  But after his last fight, Kenpachi clearly isn't in good shape to take on 4 fresh opponents.  We finally see the abilities of the these ladies, and they aren't to be taken lightly.  In his wounded and worn state, they know even the mighty Kenpachi Zaraki is vulnerable, and they move against him and his squad quickly to defeat them.  However, even as it appears that they may finish him off, a huge explosion erupts high in the sky above them.  What caused this light, and could it mean the long-awaited arrival of Ichigo?

I'm hoping we can really move this series towards its final fight in the next chapters.  I don't expect Ichigo to just show up and immediately start his final fight, but if this truly means Ichigo has arrived, it would finally be some clear sign of progress, considering we've had Quincy coming out of the woodwork constantly since this arc began with no clear signs of any sort of ending in sight.  As it stands, this arc has grinded quite a bit with little feeling of progress on the part of the overall story.  The action and character progression has been great, but the overall story has been fairly slow.  Hopefully, even if this doesn't mean Ichigo has arrived, it would be nice to see some fresh allies, such as the Fullbring, to add some fresh characters to the mix, since most of our Soul Reapers we've already seen fight on numerous occasions in previous arcs.

Bleach 578: The Undead 5

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/578

Another short chapter this week, but we finally see some resolution to our fight between Kenpachi and Gremmy.  However, we still don't see that much of Nozarashi's abilities, aside from Kenpachi saying that there is nothing it can't cut through.  While that isn't an ability to belittle, it seems a little underwhelming for how long it's taken to reveal.  I'm hoping we'll explore his abilities more down the road, but for now it appears the fight is over.  I liked how Gremmy's final fate was tied to the weakness of his own seemingly unstoppable power.  Revealing the weakness of an ability to manifest any thought into reality really worked in this fight, and helped show how surprisingly feeble Gremmy could be when he faced a stronger opponent.  I still have reservations about his power, but it was a fairly satisfying conclusion.  We'll have to see who's going to be fighting next, so tune back in next week for the new chapter of Bleach. 

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

By: Robert Murphy

Well it’s an 80’s film come to life folks in “Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon,” a game that was once thought to be a clever April Fool’s joke was quickly revealed to be in fact a game that brings you back to a game somewhat like “Far Cry 3.” This neon lit world is straight out of a bad movie that you’d think couldn’t possibly be real but brings with it the terrible puns and outrageous action that made you somehow love the horrible effects of the era it’s from. Now we won’t be seeing much of the same old same old from “Far Cry 3” formula, even though it has the name on the cover the game it takes a step away from the somewhat realistic realm of “Far Cry” and ramps it up with sex montages, in your face action and is pretty much everything we wanted from “Duke Nukem Forever” but didn’t get.

Meet Rex Power Colt

This time around we aren’t put in control of a novice at the whole violence game or a reincarnation of our former protagonist Jason Brody, no this time we are put in control of cyborg commando Rex Power Colt, who is the epitome of the ultimate 80’s badass movie character/action hero. Rex is basically a walking cheat code; he doesn’t get tired from running for extended periods of time, doesn’t die from falling of ledges and has the strength to rip the heart out of your rotting corpse. All the while he shoots of cheesy one liners and spurts out general profanity that use to be socially acceptable for a movie and even have a PG-13 rating at the same time, which would be shot down in an instant in today’s world, but I doubt anyone would want to see this movie anyways. As you progress through the story- and yes there is a story here- you are greeted with more and more cheesiness as each mission objective that references classic movies like “Die Hard.” However, as it does with these old one liners and jokes, it does get old and not as fresh as Rex re-use catch phrases and jokes over and over, but hey they all can’t be winners.

 Gatling laser machine gun, I’ll take it!

Our super powered cyborg also comes packed with a new arsenal of weapons as well as new sets of skills to help him take down his enemies. Rex comes pretty well stocked right from the beginning as you run around feeling untouchable, it makes progressing through your skill trees feel a little redundant but ultimately is still enjoyable to unlock new moves that take down the soldiers you’re up against. Even more pleasure comes from the guns you are sporting along the way, running the gambit from things like a quad barreled shotgun, laser machine guns, cyber katana and yes even the classic bow makes a super powered comeback to the game. These come definitely come in handy as well when you take a look at the creatures the games named for, blood dragons roam the island glowing in the dark and shooting lazers from their eyes, these giant reptiles prove to be quite a challenge early on so thank God for all the weapons and tools you’re sporting.

 Sweet Jesus, run!!!

So what else is there to say, oh right umm this game is hilarious, between the action, the eye rolling humor and the out of this world cyborg hero you’ve got control of, there is a lot to be enjoyed from what “Blood Dragon” has to offer. While you may get a little tired of the one liners and over drawn cut scenes in the game, you can quickly take a side step over it while you’re blowing up bad guys with outrageous explosions and weaponry. My inner child screamed out while playing this game and truly ad me laughing the whole time I was playing and while it doesn’t have some of the same aspects of “Far Cry 3,” it was just as much fun to play.

Good:

-Hilarious humor and quotes that made me flash back to some of my favorite films

-Fantastic gunplay/upgrading abilities for your weapons

-Blood Dragons are completely ridiculous but the whole game is so let’s role with it

Bad:

-Upgrading can feel a little pointless since you start out so powerful already

-Not as much freedom to move around as “Far Cry 3”

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10