Natsu and the group have found Master Makarov and learned of Zeref being Emperor Spriggan. At Makarov's request they all start to go home when Ajeel shows up ready to fight. A quick retreat has been ordered, though that doesn't seem to be any good as Ajeel has caught up quite quickly. Makarov fearing the worst for his children he demands they do not fight him. Grey and Lucy disobey with the greatest intentions in their heart. We finally see Greys' powers in full force as he releases his demon slayer form. Ajeel decides that he has had enough chasing of the fairies and uses his version of a gate to hell. He then declares that Ishgal is a land abandoned by gods. Thinking it is all over and he has finished the fairy tail wizards, but as all seems lost they break free and Natsu in his infamous glory punches Ajeel, the punch that starts the war against Spriggan. Well, the war has started and I am both eager and hesitant about this upcoming arc. I think that this may be the final arc of the fairy tail story. Zeref has been the antagonist since very early on and I am not sure the story will continue if the war is won by Fairy Tail. Now with that said, I CAN NOT WAIT FOR NATSU to punch Zeref straight in the face. We will have many battles to look forward to though because all the wizards of Fairy Tail are extremely strong and they may are bringing Gildarts back for the war. Lets also not forget that Spriggans' shields and all 12 seem extremely strong. AHH I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER YOU GUYS!!!!!!!
It’s always a bit of a daunting task to create a good
mystery style show especially in anime as often times the main character is
usually a world renowned detective who is the smartest person in the room. Un-Go has this about half right as
Shinjurrou Yuuki works on many cases throughout a war torn Japan but sadly
his nickname as the “Defeated Detective” has him seen in low regards. This does
not deter him in the slightest however as it is not fame he is looking for but
rather the truth behind every situation he comes across. This in turn ends up
revealing some of the secrets that have no come from this nation under attack
and even though the fighting is over there is still unrest throughout the land.
The first couple of episodes for Un-Go had me completely flabbergasted if I’m being honest, the core
idea for the serious was obviously a mystery anime but it featured an odd
supernatural element. The first few mysteries that Yuuki had to solve were
nothing extraordinary but they were intriguing enough to a point that made me
want to find more out about the series. This is because by the end of the first
episode it is obvious that this “Defeated Detective” is obviously much more
capable than people think he is but because of the way the world works, he is
snubbed. What I mean by this is the post war society we find ourselves in has
gone a little backwards and is now acting more in a restrict and confined way.
Things such as social media, lewd behavior and other acts are looked on with strict
scrutiny and there are even centers for dangerous thinkers and people who have
behaved poorly in some way. And so much of what Yuuki ends up doing reveals
this sort of nature of the world so rather than being right, which he often is,
you get sucked up into the actual world around you.
The style in which the episodes are presented always
revolves around some new mystery that Yuuki is either invited to join in on the
case or people come to him for help because they know he is actually far more
skilled than most people think. I do wish that this weren’t the case though as
every episode didn’t need a brand new case to be solved every single time. The
second half of the series sort of drops this mechanic to the story but that’s
only because the cases need two or more episodes to be solved in the first
place. That being said, this is where the show really starts to shine as the
cases have more time to breathe and do not feel entirely rushed through to make
the 22 minute run time. Although these last episodes delve further into the
supernatural elements to the story they are nonetheless very interesting pieces
to the overall world. Yuuki is able to solve the mysteries but he does stumble
and make mistakes, which is what makes his character easier to watch than most
genius type characters you come across.
Sometimes this factor is not even the show lengths part but
rather the fault lies with Yuuki’s young/older sidekick, Inga. Inga has the
appearance of a young boy most of the time but can transform into an older
woman with the power and yearning to ask one question of the suspect that Yuuki
chooses and they have no choice to answer it truthfully. So basically a
detectives dream but the urge for her to devour the souls of the person Yuuki
chooses often comes at inconvenient times and it makes certain episodes feel
rather rushed. While other time her powers to create some intrigue I felt that
Inga was just a bit of a detraction for a series that was already doing
moderately well with out this supernatural lie detector.
I’m a bit torn once again, Un-Go presented an intrigue war torn style Japan,
buildings were knocked over, government sanctions were enacted and a few other
curious aspects to the overall world that had me wrapped up in it all as Yuuki
unveiled more and more of it. On the other hand there is the supernatural
aspects to the story that are never fully explained, the ending to the series
is where Yuuki tells all about where he and Inga met and why they travel
together but it still leaves too much unsaid. Perhaps if the series had a
longer run time and things had more time to be explained then everything would
have gone better but as it stands Un-Go is
a show that lacks a certain something to be considered good.
Good:
- Yuuki and his role of “Defeated Detective”
- The cases were all intriguing even the supernatural ones
- The post war Japan
environment
Bad:
- Inga and other supernatural beings aren’t explained well
- The supernatural angle itself detracts from the story
- Almost every episode had a new case which was sometimes
rushed through
Back in 2012, Hotline Miami was a no holds bar shooter
where players completed various stages filled with white blazer wearing goons
and enemies, spraying blood all over the place, cutting people in half and
collapsing in skulls. It was a brutal series of events with a mysterious story.
Now, the game returns with it’s sequel Hotline
Miami 2: Wrong Number and looks to do much of the same things it’s
predecessor did before it but on a much larger scale and with more story pact
into it as well. The story jumps ahead to the 90’s but still has the same
grungy styling it once had before and even flashes back to the mid-80’s era
that the last game was based around. New characters, guns, drug use and even a
war are all involved and I plunged right on into it.
Within the first
few moments of playing Hotline 2, you’re
already causing a bloody mess of things and that’s really what you want and
would expect if you’ve played the first game. Levels are filled with goons and
bad guys; one scene even takes place in a police station full of cops. You move
around the now more massive levels taking down everything in your path, picking
up enemy weapons and using them to your advantage. Stealth and tactics do come
more into play now though do to the largeness of some of your new levels. Where
before you could see most of your enemies and you were moving through a small
room or hallway, you’re now moving through huge factories, garages and beach side piers. I found myself getting killed by an off screen enemy quite a
few times because just because I couldn’t see them, they could most certainly
see me and shoot my brains out.
Players will need
to be craftier this time around as things like moving by windows or moving to
quickly will plant you right back where you started all over again. It can be a
little rage inducing but to balance things out the game features a new lock on
system that allows you to track nearby enemies. It may be a little cheap but it
does even the score a little bit and even if you don’t use it, you can still
use the other control option to look around to nearby rooms and areas to see
what lies in waiting to put a bullet in you or something just as ruthless. Some
of these levels are a bit daunting though, I was playing the game for more than
a few hours in one sitting and some stages were truly lengthy. Levels now
encompass more than one-two levels/floors to it and have multiple areas to go
through, add to the fact that levels often can take a good amount of tries to
get through and you have quite a challenge on your hands so be prepared.
I also never
usually take too much notice or point out a games music selection but for Hotline, it’s a must. The up-tempo beats
and sounds immerse you into the action taking forth in front of you. It may
sound a little dark but the game really knows how to put good tunes to your
slaughtering pleasure. See, that just doesn’t sound right but the beats are a
trademark for the games and they’re once again back with even more tracks to
choose from as you progress through the different levels.
Where things get
interesting is the story, this time around you have a number of storylines to
follow and character to play as. There is a run down and renegade cop, a
hardworking reporter trying to write a book on the string of murders going on
through town, a soldier who takes down enemy camps of Russians, a new group of
masked vigilantes who are murdering the scum of the city to justify their
bloodlust and a deranged actor. You will play through stories for each of these
characters, giving you less freedom to choose your character like in the
previous games but also opening you up to that characters specific play styles.
Players will really notice this with the new renegade group in the game, each
one having their own unique skills and play style. The tiger mask character
only uses his fists and cannot pick up weapons, the bear mask character dual wields
SMG’s and can move his arms to spray a large area with bullets. The swan
brother/sister duo is perhaps my favorite, one wielding a fast paced pistol and
later picks up any gun around with ammo and the other wielding a chainsaw that
deals gruesome damage.
This brings me to
my biggest problem with the game and that is the flashback soldier missions.
The story aspect is quite interesting but the play styles for the missions are
different from the fast paced action of the normal missions you’re use to. You
start each mission at base camp and pick out a weapon, from here you move
through the enemy encampments and dispatch everyone in the camp like usual.
This is until you realize your clip is empty and you have to scour the map to
find the ammo box that only gives you a few bullets. It’s a new challenge and I
get what the developers were trying but it slows the action way down and
doesn’t feel as fluid. Whereas the other new idea the game takes actually
spices things up a bit, our reporter character doesn’t kill people in his
stages. He moves through each stage disarming enemies, if you pick up a gun it
activates a sequence where he empties out the bullets and magazine so nobody
can use it, not even him. It plays into the games more stealthy and tactful
nature and was something that I thoroughly enjoyed doing.
The final added
treats include an unlockable hard mode; this adds levels with the same sort of
stage layout, more bad guys and stops the new lock on system for even more
difficulty. I personally already have enough of a challenge with the normal
game so I don’t know how much hard mode I will be playing. There’s also a new
level generator, the layout is very simple to use and adds some fun for your
friends. Creating your own gruesome level to have people fight through is
always a big plus, especially with a game like Hotline.
Overall, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a top
notch game. Sequels often try to do too much of their own thing or ruin what
made the original so great but Hotline 2 kept
many of the great shoot’em up aspects of the original with some solid new ideas.
Bigger levels, a new story and specific player skills all add to what the
series already has to offer and made you act tactfully while still going into
levels, guns blazing or knives slicing or chainsaws revved, you get my point.
Good:
- Same fast paced
killing action that you had in the first Hotline
game
- A new and
interesting story to follow with multiple characters
- New specific
character abilities change up the play style for levels
- Those solid and
memorable tunes
Bad:
- Lengthy levels
- The soldier
campaign was a step in the wrong direction
Well what were the odds of this sort of thing coming up is all I have to say about this week's chapter of Naruto. Things were finally starting to come to an end with Kaguya and Black Zetsu finally being put to bed and all the past reincarnated ninja that Kabuto had brought back were returning to the other side once more. Naruto said his final farewell to his father and managed to squeeze a whole lifetime of information to share with his dad before he goes and all of this came to a close on the day of his birth. It is sad in this chapter to see the certain people that we happen to lose, one in particular tugged at my heartstrings a little when I saw that he didn't survive but there are many favorite characters that we've lost in this war I'm sure. Things won't be wrapping up quite as nicely as I'd hoped and it would appear that one more challenge is laying in wake and the prophecy for Naruto, being the child of destiny, is about to begin.
Hey everyone, after a one day delay we've finally been given the latest chapter of Naruto for all to enjoy. It is hard to believe that things may finally be coming to a close in this long conflict, the 4th great shinobi war took some of my favorite characters away, introduced new ones and brought a lot of unanswered questions to light that I have been waiting to find out since I first started reading Naruto. Naruto, Sasuke and even Kakashi and Sakura all came together in the end and hopefully it was enough to stop Kaguya permanently along with Black Zetsu so this never repeats itself again like it did before. You will have to come see for yourselves just how things are wrapping up in this week's chapter of Naruto and I will see you all next week for more because if we all know Masashi Kishimoto, things aren't quite ready to be done with yet.
(Note)
The first paragraph contains most of the detailed spoilers, but there will
obviously be a few around in the reviews, so be warned.
*Season
1 spoilers*
With the rise of the new Lannister dynasty following the
death of Robert Baratheon, and the revelation that king Jeoffrey is no true
heir to the throne, there is now a civil war erupting over the Iron
Throne. Following the news of Jeoffrey’s
lineage, Robert’s brothers, Stannis and Renley, each fight for the crown. In the North, Robb Stark seeks to avenge his
father’s murder and false accusation of treason against the crown, and to free
the North from the Iron Throne, and become the first King of Winter in over 3
centuries.
*End
Spoilers*
And remember, it does.
This season picks right up with introducing us to the
contenders for the War of Five Kings, with an introduction to Stannis
Baratheon, which we never had last season, as well as his “Red Priestess,”
Melisandre. Stannis’ “Hand,” Davos
Seaworth, is concerned over the influence this woman holds over Stannis, and
that leads to many interesting scenes in this season, as Melisandre constantly
makes the audience wonder whether her intentions are truly in Stannis’ best
interest, or if her unnerving magic is leading him astray. Most of the other main characters are simply
the ones we met last season, with a couple new additions of note appearing
within the season.
Lord Stannis, King Robert's brother, and Melisandre, the mysterious "Red Woman"
The War provides a truly compelling element that we lacked
in most of season one, actively pitting these characters against each other. While season one contained a lot of politics
and plotting, with a fight here or there, the war adds a military element to
the game that keeps everyone on their toes.
While the Lannisters clearly have the other houses beat in terms of schemes
and wealth, even their massive army isn’t invincible when contenders like Robb
Stark and Stannis Baratheon prove to be very capable strategists. Even at the end of the first season, we saw
Robb prove himself a capable leader on the field.
Davos is another addition, and a very relate-able and honorable man, despite his past.
Across the Narrow Sea, Dany is still struggling to recover
from the end of last season, and her dragons (that’s right, she has DRAGONS
now) are still too young to do her any good.
Still, Ser Jorah is at her side, guiding her and trying to help her back
to power, but life is difficult without armies, wealth, or friends, so she has
to strike out anew with her small band of followers to try to start over, which
offers her a new perspective on the world and the importance of power and how
it’s wielded.
Brienne of Tarth is another new face, and she place an important supporting role in the story.
In the north, the Night’s Watch moves beyond the Wall, to
try to find out what threats lay beyond.
This journey takes most of the season, but we get a lot of added lore
for the Night’s Watch, as well as some of the history and legends in the North. The savage region is home to wildlings, and
worse, as we’ve begun to see. While this
storyline seems to be isolated and not so important to the kingdoms, you
quickly realize that these events are laying the groundwork for important
events to come, and Jon Snow is forced to make some difficult choices.
Renly, Stannis and Robert's brother, has raised his own banners to take over Westeros.
This season is interesting, because the lines have been
drawn, and the banners gathered, but clearly this is anybody’s game right from
the outset, with nobody truly holding all of the cards. Robb Stark and Renly Baratheon are certainly
the most favorable men to lead of the group (both by the majority of the
audience and by the majority of their subjects), but Renly lacks experience and
the will needed to truly rule, while Robb lacks the soldiers and wealth that
the other contenders have. Tywin is
certainly the favorite to win, with the deepest pockets, massive armies, and
extensive experience in the field, but he finds himself with enemies at every
front, and Robb in particular proves to be troubling for him because of his
brilliant mind for both battle tactics and broader strategy.
"Impin' ain't easy."
After the end of season one, I wasn’t sure if I would
continue to enjoy the series, due to how events played out in the story;
however, I found myself still very much hooked, and characters such as Robb,
Tyrion, and Davos, as well as some of the other new additions, actually manage
to fill the void left after season one with much larger and stronger roles in
this season. Tyrion in particular
becomes a standout character of the series, walking in a moral grey area where
he isn’t a hero, but isn’t nearly as bad as his fellow Lannisters. This, as well as Peter Dinklage and his
excellent acting, actually make the show feel even better, somehow.
If there's one thing you need to know about GoT, it's that we HATE Joffrey... He is the Justin Beiber of Westeros, plain and simple.
The first season had a 10 rating from us, and season two,
with its expanded visual effects, which you’ll see later in this season, truly
adds to the sense of scale of this war, and just how dangerous the “game” has
started to become, making the series even greater. All of the storylines manage to progress at a
natural, yet exciting pace, keeping the show well balanced between excitement
and suspense, while not relying on action to keep those feelings going.
Robb is in a tough position, but there's hardly a better man alive for the job than him.
If you have yet to pick up this series, or didn’t want to
continue after season one, I would highly recommend you do so. Despite the reservations even I had at some
of the twists and turns this story took, the show still keeps going strong,
getting even better in many ways, as I’ve already said. As soon I started season two, I was hooked
all over again, and for all the same reasons.
The story is original, suspenseful, exciting, and the twists and turns
keep on coming. While the raw and
unrestrained elements definitely will alienate a sizeable part of potential
viewers, as I’ve said of season one, it manages to entertain those who
appreciate fan-service while adding to the brutal, dog-eat-dog feeling of the
series as a whole. Life in Westeros…
well, everywhere actually… is brutal, and people survive however they can, and
that’s one important element to this series that makes it feel original and
unpredictable, and keeps people like me coming back for more time and time
again.
Good:
-More excellent story
-Standouts like Robb and Tyrion, who have expanded roles
from season one, as well as the extensive list of amazing characters that join
them.
-THERE BE DRAGONS… even if they are still small.
-More twists, turns, and just plain awesome than you can
shake a dozen sticks at.
Bad:
-Still a very RAW series, which doesn’t hurt my rating but
should always be noted for potential viewers.
Well guys
it's been a while since I have done a review for the server, and I think that
it is time to change that with the brand new game made by Sega and Creative
Assembly. Total War: Rome II. So be prepared to lose what social life you have
(if you had on at to begin with) and dive into this game.
Total War:
Rome II was released on September 3rd 2013 and if you are like me have not
turned off your computer or the game since. The game is addicting the many
changes that they have made since Total War: Shogun 2 are amazing, and
graphically I am blown away, you should be too. The world actually works no
more sending troops through thick and impassable forests and NO MOVING OVER A
MOUNTAIN RANGE IN ONE TURN, like you could do in some of the first Total War
games. Now you can set up strategic points to protect what's most important to
you...your populace (ok well maybe the people are not important but they make
you money to fund that HUGE army of yours don't they?). Now I have a great
laptop and play the game on extreme graphics, but if you don't have a great
computer and need to run on low graphics be prepared even the low graphics look
great. Creative Assembly did not cut any corners graphically.
(Gameplay
on the campaign map)
Graphics
aside there are a few issues with the A.I. minor points if you are like me and
not a great battle general so you'll take the glitches (they help you win :))
but for the hardcore gamers out there who want to be a 5-star general be
prepared the battles are easy on normal and I don't see them getting much
harder when moving up in difficultly. Some of the issues are that in battle
when the AI attacks you they run up and get right about to attack and say
"UHHH yeah gotcha" and run back doing this over and over again,
ruining your well made plans of defending the area from attack and sadly making
you the aggressor during their siege (confusing yes sad yes funny a tad.)
Another glitch I have found is when you are doing defense of a combined attack
(being attacked by land and sea for those of you confused) your troops wont
attack a landing party....if one soldier got stuck on the boat and can't get
out. The only thing that I can see stopping them is the other soldiers are
saying "wait wait Dave's not hear man." With that said those are the
only glitches I myself have found and I am sure they will be fixed with a
future patch, and in my opinion they don't take much away from the game play
itself.
(Providences available to conquer)
Changes
and Things They Brought Back:
Military
Changes- First things first building an
army is a tad bit different in this game than any of the past ones. Instead of
building the army in your city and reinforcing in the field with your generals,
you do it all from the general. One difference is EACH army must have a general
and pending on your factions fame you can only have so many out at a time. This
adds an odd enjoyment to the game, it makes it so you can't get overwhelmed
quickly by someone sending out 10+ maxed out armies on turn 5 and demolishing
you before you even had a chance to play the game. Now the downside is that
means the more territory you own, you have to leave it without a military
presence and well that usually leads to a rebellion. So be careful on how big
you get, quicker isn't always better in this case.
City
Building Changes- Another change has come to the city building itself, in past
Total War games to get a new building slot you needed to upgrade your castle or
fort. This is a thing of the past, now with that said there is a limitation to
when you can expand a city. What they did in this game is you need a population
surplus to expand your cities walls which will then give you a new building
slot to build with. Now unlike in previous games if you get a new building slot
but do not feel like using it any time soon that is no problem nothing bad will
happen, this game leaving a building slot empty has consequences it creates
slums which will lead to a unhappy populace which can lead to a rebellion.
Another change that I do hope they change is not every city can build each type
of building. For example Rome can build training grounds (if its researched)
and Sparta can't (even if it is researched) now why this is I am not sure and
heck they may even be a way around it that I have not found yet, but if not I
hope they fix that soon.
Government
Things They Brought Back- Now I'm not sure if this was in Shogun 2, but I do
know it was in Empire Total War was inciting a civil war within your own populace.
Why would you do this you ask? Simple you do not like the starting type of
government you were handed why else? But if you do incite a civil war be sure
to win or else the game is over for you. Now, if this is truly what you want to
do I will be helpful enough to help you out (because I am just that awesome)
Steps to cause a Civil War (Rome as
example)
·Have
a Government type you do not wish to be
·Raise
taxes to High
·Exempt
your territories from taxes except Rome
·Wait
for rebellion
·Crush
rebellion
·Choose
new Government type
Now I have
not done this myself in game, but if it is indeed the same as it was in Empire
Total war those are the steps you need to take. With that said I do not know if
how many choices of Governmental changes you have when you cause a civil war
but that is something you guys can ether let me know or figure out yourselves
(I cannot tell you everything can I?)
Special
Characters/Battle Changes- So as you know if you played a total war game in the
past you had spies and diplomats but now you can have Champions and in the case
of Sparta you can recruit Leonidas who can do everything a spy/diplomat can do
but can also train any army you put him in. Battles though have not changed a
lot they added a few more details to them, you can now have combined assaults
of both naval and land increasing your odds of winning exponentially, but that's
not it instead of after winning a few battles your general increases in rank
and gets minor traits to give to his men, the men gain experience points during
battle and become better over time. This feature blows my mind and I wish they
had it in past games because now it feels like you are a real life general. An
example of this is your playing as Sparta and want to take over Rome instead of
sending out a bunch of greenhorn troops you can send out that army you have
been working on since turn one and now is unstoppable. Naval battles have
changed a bit also in the past if you are like me you just auto resolved the
naval battles or just did not bother to even create a navy in the first place.
Now on the other hand not only can you shoot at other ships you can ram and or
board other ships to take them out.
Troop
Movement Changes- This is a small change but I think it is worth mentioning YOU
NO LONGER NEED TO WASTE TIME CREATING TRANSPORT SHIPS. Now click the army you
wish to move across the sea and click the sea and bam transport ship. Now
troops need to follow paths on the map they cannot go way off the beaten path
and attack from a side you thought was impassable and you can put your troops
on a path blocking the way to your city too.
Legacy
Addition- Now as armies get stronger and better they gain fame, but that does
not mean they cannot get destroyed, but now you have the option to reinstate a
legacy. What does this mean? you ask puzzled and confused. In this case say
your 3rd Legion is destroyed in battle and you loved that Legion, well go to
any city click on the raise force button chose a commander and hit the
reinstate legacy button. Now not only will they gain the emblem from your
beloved 3rd legion but they will also gain all their hard earned traits.
(SPARTANS)
Gameplay is
fun but a tad bit flawed, but this is really nothing new to total war games
sadly and hopefully they fix it soon because I'm starting to get annoyed with
it. The flaw I'm talking about is when playing a campaign it's safe to say your
armies are not going to be attacked unless they are in a city so get your
armies out there your safe. AI only attacks cities and most of the time they do
it with large armies yes...but with weak and inefficient units in them so they
are easily defeated. But none the less I still find myself playing hours and
hours on end because cant and really shouldn't only focus on military and
should manage both economy, military and your pubic order of all your cities
giving this game a ton of replay just with those aspects but add on the amount
of factions you can choose to play as and well say goodbye to your friends and
family this winter because you'll be building many new empires from Britannia
to Persia and yes Rome, but one I find myself playing as most is Sparta. So sit
back, get your generals cap on and get ready to become grand empower of the old
world.
Good:
-Game
play
-The
Changes made by Creative Assembly add more to the game
-
Graphics
Bad:
-
A few bugs and AI issues but that's it
Scully
Rating : 8.9 out of 10
(but with patches fixing the glitches it will be a 9)
It looks like we may be coming up on the end of the story arc soon (and maybe even the series), but there's still a good amount of story left. Kyoraku, the new head captain of the Gotei 13, tells Ichigo's friends that even if he wins his final battle, there's a small chance that he may never be allowed to come home. While the specifics are not discussed, it seems to be related to the powers he is gaining. Kyoraku them proceeds to hand out "Soul Tickets," that will allow Ichigo's friends to come visit him should that eventuality come to pass. However, while this is going on, the Seretei is replaced by buildings that resemble Juha Bach's palace. Juha Bach and Uryuu then discuss the full version of the "Kaiser Gesang:"
"The sealed King of the Quincy,
shall regain his heartbeat again after 900 years,
regain his intellect after 90 years,
and regain his power after 9 years,
and regain the world after 9 days."
This obviously doesn't bode well for the Soul Society, and it seems that it's possible that even if Ichigo is to succeed in his quest to stop this ominous prophecy from coming true, he may still find himself trapped in the Soul Society for eternity. But Ichigo will likely have to make that sacrifice, since he will lose everything he wants to protect if he doesn't gain the power he needs to in order to win. It looks like Bleach may be going on break for a while before getting to the end of the story, but we'll be waiting for the next chapter, and we'll be sure to pass it along to you guys. Remember, stay nerdy my friends.
Hey everybody, just when you thought we’d seen the last of
the “Gears of War” games with the end of the Locust horde being beaten by
Marcus Fenix and his team but it turns out that there is more of the story to
tell in the latest game for “Gears of War”, “Gears of War Judgment”. This
prequel to the “Gears of War” games tells the story of what happened when the
Locust first emerged from underneath our feet. This time around the smart mouth
we all know and love, Baird, is coming out of the second string as a supporting
character and putting on his big boy pants, taking the main stage as the
protagonist of our story and of course his good buddy Cole Train is coming along
too. These familiar faces aside, this latest “Gears of War” has taken some bold
new changes for fans and new comers alike to the franchise and proves to add
some incredible new flavor to what we’ve known in past Gears games.
Young and cocky Baird
Our two brotherly buffoons aren’t the battle hardened heroes
that players know from the old Gears games, Cole and Baird are young and
spirited soldiers with a finger to the authority type attitude about them and
boy are they going to show it. Along for the ride is the rest of Baird and
Cole’s squad, Kilo Squad, one a man by the name of Garron Paduk, who lost
during mankind’s last civil war (that is further explained in the “Gears of
War” books, which I recommend giving a read), aligns with his former enemies to
take down the Locust and a female character named Sofia Hendrick who has just
about as bad of an attitude as Baird but she desperately would like to further
her military success. And unlike the chummy atmosphere of Delta squad in the
previous games, the concept of being all buddy buddy isn’t really felt this
time with the various clashing egos of Kilo squad. But this has worked to the
benefit of the dialogue in the game between all the insults and sarcasm being
tossed around; it makes Kilo squad a highly enjoyable bunch of characters to
have this time around.
Kilo Squad
Digging into the story, we begin the game at the end with
Kilo squad facing a military tribunal and being arrested for a crime that
players don’t know as of yet, the game plays all the action leading up till
this point. Like in previous games, the characters of Kilo squad will make
snide remarks at one another and comment on what’s happening around them and as
I mentioned earlier much of what hasn’t been said in the games but has been
revealed in the books is finally being revealed in the games. “Gears of War”
despite being branded as just a bloody third person shooter does have a rich
background to it and a great story which is finally shining through along with
the gore and guts. There is also a new element to the story this time around
with the new Declassified system which players can turn on before various
challenges, these will add a challenge for Kilo squad whether it be stronger
enemies or having you use a specific weapon type. This new variant also affects
the new scoring system in the game where killing Locust in various different
ways leads players towards getting a higher star ranking (activating a
Declassified mission also increases this as well).
Survival Mode
Now going outside what the campaign has to offer, “Gears of
War: Judgment” as with all Gears games comes with multiplayer fun for you and
your friends. Survival mode is a new element to the party where you and your
friends are set to the task of guarding and E-hole’s and generators from waves
of Locust who try to destroy it. Now don’t worry you aren’t defending them all
at once, players start out defending one E-hole and work backwards to another
E-hole and then a generator if the Locust horde attacking you manages to
destroy them that is. Each player also must choose a character that has an
important role: engineers repair busted defenses and deploy sentries; medics
revive fallen teammates; snipers climb into high-up perches. Players will have
to make sure they work together in this mode because if somebody isn’t either
healing, fixing or supplying ammo, you and your team will quickly be overrun by
those grub bastards. Alongside Survival mode is Overrun mode which features
many of the same elements as Survival except your friends can play as Locust
and will try to attack and destroy your team’s defenses and try to open a new
spawn point while you try and stop them. If the Locust succeed, the COG fall
back and try again until the timer runs out or their third and final base is
destroyed.
If a few things could be said against “Gears of War:
Judgment” it would be the fact that players know what they are leading up to by
the end of the game, that is the way it is though when you have a prequel to a
game though. The game is solid all the way through but in the end you know what
is coming your way, it’s especially relevant when you once again see General
Karn from the first “Gears of War” come out as the terrifying leader of the
Locust. He’s definitely not as feared or as hated as he was in the original
game and players who have played the game know that he will lead to an
anti-climactic end to the game and it’s felt after you spent hours of enjoyment
playing the game only leading to this disappointing end.
In conclusion, “Gears of War: Judgment” is more than a
worthy addition the Gears games we all have played these past few years, the
game features all the same feel of its predecessors with a sleeker and more
defined package. Players move much faster and play more evenly than ever but
are placed in the same Gears environment that we have come to know but is even
more detailed and enjoyable to see and be a part of. And as I mentioned before,
for those of you haven’t read the “Gears of War” books, the game sheds light on
a part of the Gears story that players haven’t seen before and it is great to
finally see.
Good:
-Baird and Cole are still funny as hell and it’s nice to see
them step into the lime light
-Shedding light on a great part of the Gears story line
-Overrun and Survival mode are great fun for you and your
friends
Bad:
-The game suffers from prequel faults meaning you know what
you are leading up to long before the end
In this day
and age zombies are everywhere, and I don’t mean this by hide your wife and
kids and prepare for the undead horde, but in the sense that we see zombies in
everything ranging from video games to film, T.V and literature. So when the modern day gamer sees and hears a
new zombie game is out they no longer run straight to their local gaming store
to pick it up. Zombie games are almost
reaching the Call of duty stature where you can expect the same kind of game
play from a new title in the genre.
Except in a zombie styled game you usually run, gun and slay the undead
horde all while attempting to avoid being eaten. However this is where War Z changes the gameplay,
much like Dead Island did. War Z, though
under scrutiny for stealing ideas, is a different game than what the normal
zombie slayer is used to. It combines
both survival and zombie slaying into one and offers a unique motivation to
find the best gear and weaponry to bring to the apocalyptic world of War
Z.
Once you
begin, your character starts off in a random location and only starts with the
basic gear, a small back pack and flashlight.
On the side of the HUD on the screen you have your characters health and
the player’s food levels and water levels.
Again, in War Z, you are not focusing on just killing zombies and
getting from point A to point B but your ultimate goal here is to find food,
water and gear. The downfall with War Z
is you have no certain goal or story here, but like some MMO’s, your story is
what you make. You can travel to any of
the numerous locations on the games map and find gear because ultimately your
goal in the game is to survive and find the best gear you can find. However, like any zombie game you have to
best the undead horde and avoid them or kill them to find a possible rifle or
melee weapon to better kill them with. A
big change that War Z brings to the table is that War Z isn’t a game where you
can play with one or two other people to slay the horde but a big open world
were up to 100 people can be on one map, this brings raiding towns and cities a
fun experience when playing a another person or a whole gang but this can also
backfire and make you come to completely despise the game as a whole.
As you
go about playing War Z, you will notice the detail of the world that Origin created.It
does give a slight feel of a world that has been ravaged by a zombie
apocalypse.The graphics on the highest
setting are very good, not anything that hasn’t been seen yet, but for a online
P.C game is still very good.As for the
world you play on, the map is set in Colorado.You will have small shacks to massive cities and abandoned military
bases, all ripe to be raided.What you
find will be different every time, you can kill hundreds of zombies in a town
run into a police station expecting to find a firearm and be disappointed to
only find a baseball bat.This is the
motivation that drives the player to keep searching the giant map of War Z in
search of that ultimate weapon or protective gear.However finding gear and items all needed to
survive is a fun experience but another exciting factor that I found fun to
find was just trying to find a new backpack or large military ruck to carry
more gear.The bigger pack you have the
more gear you can carry on your person.Now the biggest thing that Origin was trying in order to get people into
this game was having many people working together to raid cities and kill
zombies.The zombies in the game do
react well to players and the AI isn’t bad.The zombies lie down on the ground and sometimes I find myself
surrounded by several zombies that literally rise out of nowhere.You can run into a town and hear their moans
from around the corner and that would help me to know that I wasn’t alone.However there was much more to make them
scarier or different kinds of zombies, like the sprinting zombies we saw from
the Dawn of the Dead or zombie types that were made popular by Resident Evil
and Left for Dead.Overall, the zombies,
though not the scariest or must unique in gaming, were ok and difficult at
times when your first starting off.
Going back to other players in
War Z, you come to learn that the zombies really are not your primary concern. When you enter a town, your first concern is
not the dozens of zombies blocking your way to the buildings that may hold an
awesome amount of loot, but the possible other players lying in wait to ambush
you and steal your gear.After playing
almost twenty something hours into this game I can’t begin to tell how many
times me and another player would work together to sneak past hordes of the
undead to get a amazing piece of loot to be beat in the back of the head by a
player holding nothing but a flashlight. (Check out the link below to see such
Tom Foolery) This was a massive nuisance but when really looking at it and
thinking about it, this was an awesome concept.The zombies that could easily overrun you in a heartbeat if you rush
into a town aren’t the only enemy in the game, but the dozens of other players
that could turn on one another and take you out for your gear.When all else fails and you lose your gear,
the game has a marketplace to allow for you to buy in game stuff like weapons,
packs, food, water, meds and ammo.So if
you don’t feel like finding gear again just quickly purchase something from the
in game market and go on your way slaying and looting.
War Z when
it first came out was bashed for stealing ideas from Day Z: an off game mod of
ARMA II. Another problem was that War Z
was released while still in development.
The main map was not yet finished and players who initially bought the
game could not even access the rest of the map that was still in
development. Since its initial release
the game has undergone several major updates to include the clans, in game chat
(which is still being worked on) and additional map details such as more cars
on a highway and small details. Overall,
War Z, when first played, can be an annoyance when you have barely any
gear. After acquiring more gear and
slaying the zombie horde with better weapons and fighting off gangs of other
players, you come to enjoy War Z for its simple game play. The game had many early issues that have been slowly been resolved
and the game allows for many players to play on one server to loot gear from
ravaged towns and cities, or go and kill the zombie infection, or even simply
kill one another as well. For $13
dollars, this game is a simple, easy to play game with many cool ideas for the
zombie genre in gaming (all debate aside).
Maybe with this game in mind game designers can use it as a template for
future zombie multiplayer games.
Good:
-
Interesting take on the possible post-zombie apocalypse world
- Need
for food and water, as well as survival gear, leads players to look under every
rock and twig to find good gear.
-Get a
lot of bang for the $13 price tag.
Bad:
- Still
a lot of bugs and issues to work out, but they are being worked on.
- No
missions or real objectives given, you just fend for yourself with no real
direction to go in.
-
Losing that shiny new item to some jerk that was camping outside with a rifle
can be a turn-off for the less serious players out there.
- At
times felt like a normal PVP game…with zombies
