Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

By: Robert Murphy

The original Black Ops was a corner stone for the Call of Duty series as it not only took steps to tell it's own mind bending story with tales of espionage and mystery. As for Black Ops 2, the game offered up an enhanced multiplayer experience rich with some of the first in depth customization players could make to their characters. With all this in mind, I made the leap to see if the third iteration to the series would prove to have some memorable ear mark to it's gameplay just as it's predecessors have had before it.

Starting out with the fan favorite, Black Ops 3's multiplayer experience takes off in a few new directions when it comes to making your own unique character. The same solid customization styling is present and it allows you to upgrade your weapons, perks and other gadgets to your preferred play style. Now however, players can select from a variety of super soldier characters that come with their own abilities to help you gain the edge in multiplayer. Through regular leveling you will be able to unlock more of these characters but are granted a few available characters at the start. It's almost like choosing a hero in League of Legends and with some characters having abilities such as explosive arrows or access to intense kinetic power armor it creates a whole new avenue for players to watch out for. The system of choosing which soldier and switching in between them is quick and simple which helps when changing between various game types that might be better suited to someone else's abilities.

This sense of exploration though is fairly limited as the variety of characters are few and far in between. Each of the base soldiers has two options to choose from such as the Battery who has the choice of either a grenade launcher or the kinetic armor ability that I previously mentioned. This is great because the nine base soldiers become eighteen given that they each have two choices to decide upon but that later unlocks come on so slowly that I felt little need to try them out. I personally found myself ignoring my characters ability half the time and was more focused on the good old running and gunning aspects I've come to know so in the end it just felt like dead weight. The same goes for the final score screen that depicted who came in first, second and third and making a grand show of it, I felt like screaming "get me to my next match, please!"

The maps players will be battling it out on are just as unique as the new characters players will be using. Each map feels balanced with multiple layers to it as well as a variety of ways to travel from point A to point B. One map in particular, Hunted, had had an underwater tunnel leading from inside of it's tropical bungalow to the outside and I hadn't even known it was there until I ran after an enemy inside of it. Popping in and out of the water or jumping over a waterfall onto a nearby bridge was the most exhilarating experience I've had with a map in quite some time. The new wall running functionality is also taken advantage of in each map, lunging to a nearby edge and unleashing bullets while running is a first for my Call of Duty experience and while it isn't wholly new it is incorporated well with the maps you have to choose from here.

Of course, traditional multiplayer isn't the only way to play matches with friends or strangers in Call of Duty these recent years and the classic Zombies mode makes it's comeback. Classic may actually be the term for the zombie horde mission this time around as you and three other members will fight your way through the streets of some sort of noire style crime solving venture called Shadows of Evil. The four characters playing through this escapade being voiced by Jeff Goldblum, Ron Perlman, Heather Graham and Neal McDonough all fight through back alley streets dressed and playing their parts to the "T" but things are not as simple as they once were in previous zombies stories.

There has always been an underline hidden story or objective to be accomplished in the zombie game modes of the past and now it is no different but with the added twist of a few new curve balls thrown into the mix. There is a bit of a learning curve when things first out as you start crammed into a small space trying to figure out what this or that does, I spent about five minutes starring at the new bizarre plant that looked like something out of Little Shop of Horrors. There were also new transformations, automatic player perks and item drops that are hidden throughout the map to unlock the gumball function in the Zombie main menu. After a few matches things start to become more clear and while it is initially confusing, it is a worthwhile experience considering the deranged nature of this now revamped game mode. 

As an added bonus to Black Ops 3's story mode, zombies has made it's way into the story by having it's own zombie mode to playthrough. Once players have beaten the game they're treated to an alternate storyline where instead of a global terror threat there has been a zombie outbreak. The story is paced completely different from the original story but made the chore of going through the main campaign worth the few hours of gameplay.

After a brief attempt at customization the main campaign drags it's way through the usual amount of dog fights and mow down sequences of it's past but not before ripping off every single one of your limbs in a gruesome torture scene. Yes, the first few moments of the campaign are fairly bleak and make a point to mark out how dangerous moving forward into a world of massive communication and robotics could one day become, a message I somehow dug up from the mundane experience I had with this story. The characters, including yourself, are all linear from the get go and never strike out as worth while characters to be spending an entire game chasing after. In attempt to use the success built on the success of Advanced Warfare Christopher Meloni lends his voice and appearance to an in game character but never warrants any attention or provides any memorable narrative like Kevin Spacey before him.

Moments where I was enthralled by the campaign came from the full benefits of cybernetic upgrades. With the simple push of a button players will be able to hack into just about anything their hearts desired and being that the game is based on a future where everything is connected, it covers a lot of ground. Depending on your selected cybernetic load out players will be able to hack into enemy robots, hack their cybernetics, turn their turrets against them or blow up small squadron of drones in an instant. The upgrades were a small joy to behold in sea of sub par enemy encounters and challenges that were presented here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 makes multiple strides toward trying new things for a series that has seen so many titles over the years and is one that people often may question picking up title after title each year. It's a symptom that many series are currently suffering from and while not everything panned out smoothly, there are glimmers of potential strewn throughout the game that with a little work could prove to be fantastic new additions to the future of the series.

Good:

- Specialist offer a brief but enjoyable aspect to multiplayer

- Multiplayer maps are balanced and beautiful

- Zombies goes in a bizarre yet compelling new direction

Bad:

- Campaign is a chore

- Multiple new ideas are clearly tried here and there but do not pan out

- Multiplayer has little lasting appeal

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Terrafirmacraft

Sean Dibble

So I hear you like Minecraft, and I also hear that you like mods. Well, why not combine the two? Terrafirmacraft does just that, and does it amazingly well. Where vanilla Minecraft allows you to be as creative as you want with very little disturbance Terrafirmacraft puts a wrench in that idea. This game mod adds gravity, thirst and hunger on top of many other realistic modes that we all begged for inside Minecraft.

Don't support your mine shafts and you'll be eating dirt.

You have to be careful where you dig for at any moment a cave in could happen and kill you. Night-time is even worse, because not only are the old mobs back, but they are much meaner (well except for zombies they are easy). For example, skeletons must be killed by crushing weapons, where spiders are easier killed with slashing. And even though there is no nether realm in this mod Withers still make an appearance as javelin throwing menaces. 

You must also learn how to farm, as for seasons have a big impact on what food will grow and when they are able to be harvested for example most veggies and grains can be planted in early spring, but fruit trees while able to be planted any time have different harvesting seasons. Animals have changed drastically also adding genders, and they actually have more than one baby (if they do in real life) and there is a waiting period to get said baby. For example, cows they have one calf and it takes 9 months for it to enter the world, while pigs can have up to 12 piglets and only take 3 months to enter the world. There are an assortment of tools from the standard axe, pick, and sword, all the way to a scythe, saw, and hammer. On top of those changes you have hundreds of new blocks, trees and two types of water saltwater and freshwater.

All in all, this mod adds a lot to love, but also a lot of frustration. It is a tad complex to download because you need to run forge and can only run in version 1.7.10. No new versions will be implemented so if you like 1.8 this isn't a mod for you, but if you want a harder version of Minecraft then Terrafirmacraft is the mod for you.

Good:

- SO MUCH NEW STUFF!!!

- Harder and less forgiving that vanilla Minecraft

- As realistic as you'll get from Minecraft can get

Bad:

- Hard to install

- Only uses 1.7.10 and older

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Dying Light

By: Robert Murphy

While going into Gamestop one day, I had the clerk stop me before I left with my purchase and ask me if I was going to be getting Dying Light, it was a game I knew little about but one I was going to dismiss because it looked like another generic zombie game. This thought soon changed when about a week after it released I felt the need to own it. Quickly climbing up buildings and smashing the undead's brains in with various melee weapons was an instant joy for me as I jumped rooftop to rooftop across Harran. A virus of unknown origin has broken out in this city and since then communications have been shut down and the city has gone dark. Left to fend for themselves, the few remaining survivors are doing what they can to prevent themselves from being part of a fleshy sandwich but supplies are running low and a cure of some kind needs to be found. Enter your character, Kyle Crane, who is a member of a shady but supposedly good organization that is after a rogue agent and a file that he stole. Almost immediately though you find yourself in hot water and meet up with a group of survivors, helping them in various ways while trying to secretly complete his mission. 

Before I was able to get to the more enjoyable aspects of Dying Light, I had to sit through the brief opening sequence for the game but I didn't realize that the whole thing would set the tempo for the type of missions and story I'd be facing. Our hero, Crane, starts off jumping out of a plane into the blacked out Harran and immediately gets screwed when his shoot hits a lamp post and you get surrounded by unknown thugs, some secret agent you are. This mellow drama continues when you stir up a horde of zombies and are saved by some locals, only to have one of them be killed in the process, he was supposedly the best of the best. It is stuff like this that tried to open up massive amounts of feels for the player that just doesn't happen. The rest of the story mode missions follow this sort of trend, I believe one of your first missions for the game you go after three air drops only to have them already be raided by the same group of goons as before. You are told to move on but I took them out, an option that the game didn't want you to do but oh well. 

Other mission continue the "go fetch this" style of missions, I did so many of them that they frankly just blurred together after awhile. It doesn't help that the characters giving you the missions are none too appealing either and were just there to generate quests. Your character isn't much better either, I was already not impressed when I got taken out so easily in the first few minutes of the game but add on top of that the fact that you're just a gruff "yes man" character, I wasn't impressed. Moments when I spouted out sarcastic remarks are under cut by the otherwise lack of personality my character had.

That being sad, you remember me saying that I liked this game, well I do. These grievances were something I wanted out of the way as I talked about what good Dying Light has to offer. Once you're set loose to do what you like in the world, everything becomes your playground to jump, climb and explore. The game has the perfect setting for the parkour mechanic you will be using, close together buildings, homes and nearby cars will all be stepping stones for you to soar across the city on. I have a personal problem with heights so at first I was nervous about just jumping without looking where I was going first but this feeling almost immediately goes away as you begin to trust the fact that there is something to either land or catch yourself on. It's an invigorating feeling to the game and Harran is a perfect setting to have it take place in. 

As for your enemies, the zombies you will be facing do vary just like the ones in a Left 4 Dead game with different special infected to contend with but they aren't too frequent and aren't much more dangerous than a regular infected if you stay up high and keep your head. Except for the ones you'll be facing at night. The first time that I was stuck out after dark I thought nothing of it but I was shitting myself within minutes. Night is actual pitch darkness in Dying Light and terrifyingly powerful infected roam the streets with the regular ones, they will tear you apart in moments if you don't keep up the pace and get to a nearby safe house spread throughout the city. It is a gruesome aspect to the game and adds a difficulty that most games don't tread into but it is a great one to say the least. When you're safe in the daylight though, zombies aren't much of a problem, you can spend your time ignoring them or find just as much joy in bashing their skulls all over the place. It's an unbelievable thrill to smash these lumbering souls around especially when you knock them into a nearby trap set around the city but obviously avoid large groups because they will pose a threat.

The other enemies you'll face are people, I tried attacking regular men with my melee weapon but it proved to be annoying because they're just as smart as you and while you can find a gun, I would avoid it because it attracts zombies. However, they're just men so burning them works great and I chuck a quick molotov and get to the airdropped goods. Even when you're faced with armed goons this method seems to work because they're just men but the system of fighting them does feel off. Avoiding conflict is something you feel when you're in the game especially when you're outgunned but yet you're forced to fight them in the story from time to time. It's a bit of a flop for the style that you have seen work for the game and definitely makes you question whether or not they should have included human enemies to begin with when it doesn't fit what you have been playing this whole time.

Last but not least is the multiplayer which gets unlocked after you activate your first safe house. Players can take part in up to four player co-op and completely the in game missions as a team. Bringing your friends along adds an enjoyable element to Dying Light as you all jump across rooftops and smash zombies brains in together. Players can also create small challenges in-game for them to compete in such as the first to reach the top of an electric tower or the first to make it to a specified zone labeled on the map just like one of the time trial missions you can do in the game. For added enjoyment, another player or friend can invade your game when night falls and play as the zombie. That player plays a special infected with terrifying abilities like night vision, tentacles and spewing liquid that will attract a horde if it gets on a player. The Night Hunter zombie has to kill ten players to win and the humans have to eliminate five nests for the match to end.

What else can I say about Dying Light, it was exhilerating to explore the city of Harran, jumping across rooftops and doing something I would never be able to do in a lifetime which is parkour. Zombies are also insanely fun to bash into, drop kick and dismantle. It's like whacking a pinata over and over till you win a prize. If it weren't for the lack of a good story and the sub par characters then my score would be much higher for the game but when all you're doing is running around fetching this or that, it's hard to even bother progressing in the game to begin with. 

Good:

- Messing up zombies with your preferred melee weapon

- The wonderful setting of Harran

- Parkouring, climbing and exploring the entire city

Bad:

- Fighting the human NPC's just doesn't feel right and it's annoyingly difficult if you don't have your trusty molotov

- Lack luster story

- Dull and uninteresting characters that include your own

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

By: Robert Murphy

It's hard to fight those little voices in your head that tell you to not go out and by the latest game in a franchise, Call of Duty often being the one people struggle with the most I would think. Irregardless I have enjoyed the games for various reasons over the years and I recently picked up the latest addition to the franchise Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. And why wouldn't I want to with all that the game has boasted about it with a new setting and a new futuristic tech to be seen, I was ready to check it all out. 

Your standard three pronged approach returns with AW this time around, there is the main campaign, the online competitive multiplayer and then the co-op play for you and your friends to play. The campaign is something that gets a major uplift this time around and brings cut scenes and story moments to practically cinematic levels in it's visuals. All the characters look amazing on the screen and have great definition put into each and every one of them. Don't ask me what their names are though, sadly I really can't say much for the characters themselves as I wasn't too personally invested in any of them. Your captain or leader of your squad through most of the game did give me some Cpt. Price flash backs to be honest. We also receive a big A-list celebrity, Kevin Spacey, who lends his voice and likeness to perhaps the more memorable character from the campaign, Jonathon Irons, who steals the show like he was meant to.

As for your new tech, it all comes pouring out into your missions from the moment you join Irons and his private security force that works independently and seemingly more efficiently than any governing body does in the story. Working for a private organization was a nice change of pace for AW and was one of the more redeeming qualities to the story especially when I got my hands on my exo suit, flying assault drones and many more badass toys in my toolbox. The level of intense action I felt for the first few levels of the game were fantastic, dropping out of orbit in a drop pod, boosting forward, left, right, up and over with my exo suit and blasting away swarms of robot drones was quite the adrenaline high. It is a shame that all of this doesn't transfer over to the story and its characters as things lose stream about half way through and you begin to see the ending coming a mile away. But I will leave all of that for you to discover and move on.

Now as you all would expect multiplayer is also back again and in every Call of Duty game it proves to be insanely fun no matter the changes or differences but this time around the big changes are something to admire. Players can still deeply customize and change their characters skills to fit whatever way they choose to play but now that customization goes a step further. Players who take a liking to a particular weapon and use it more often than the rest gain access to a special and unique model for that gun with it's own stats and style to make you stand out from the rest. This also comes coupled with AW's new loot system, now in post game match making players can check supply drop boxes with assorted items inside but sometimes there are Elite versions of weapons that can be found. Just like your unique gun that you can gain from use of a specific weapon over and over, Elite weapon variants come with their own stats and styles to make your character unique. 

Throw this on top of the fact that the game allows you to augment your character with Perks, new Exo abilities and gear such as helmets, boots and more, then you've got a character you can call your own. It's funny how a shooter has almost become a role playing game where you can end up taking great chunks of time to design and make your game character. And of course, all the features and elements of the single player campaign have transferred over as well and changes up the multiplayer strategies of a lot of players. Now you can jump for cover and dash away from danger far easier than you could in the past or on the opposite end, you can dash forward and get more up close and personal now with your weapon. Finally, I could make a shotgun class and not only use it on the smaller maps which have also been well balanced to accommodate the new changes to the gameplay. 

Lastly, AW's response to cooperative play and many may not be excited by what there is to be had, no real Zombies mode and Extinction is history....see what I did there. You and your friends or group will be faced with wave after wave of gun totting enemies that come your way. You can further upgrade yourself throughout the waves of enemies with guns and equipment but really that's about all there is to it. The whole experience ends up being nothing but a big botz fight and it feels like a big waste of time and an opportunity that the game should of jump all over. AW had the perfect set up for a great new co-op feature, I would of settled for more Zombies even but sadly that just wasn't the case.  

In the end, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare shines exactly where you expected it to shine and that's with it's multiplayer and there isn't anything wrong with that in the least. Other new features that the game introduces work amazingly well for the campaign and multiplayer. Above all else, I was extremely impressed with the levels of design that went into the stories cinematic moments and character presentation and I hope to see more like it in the future of gaming. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go grab my hover bike and fly out of here. 

Good:

- The impressive visuals throughout the campaign

- Incredible multiplayer customization and perks

- New in game weapons, features and abilities for the campaign and multiplayer

Bad:

- The campaign falls short at the half way marker 

- The new co-op mode is lack luster and a wasted opportunity

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10 

Bleach 596: Rub-Dolls III

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/596

Kensei and Rose are now under Kurotsuchi's control, turning Giselle's greatest strength around on her/him.  And, despite Byakuya's objections to using "corpses" of fallen Soul Reapers in combat, Kurotsuchi argues that any true Soul Reaper would be proud to protect the Seretei, even after death.  Still, will their combined power overcome Pepe's "love?" 

I highly doubt Giselle is down and out, and while the above panel from the chapter makes it look like Giselle was cut down, this isn't the first fatal wound we have seen.  Furthermore, we still know very little about Giselle, despite the obvious intrigue surrounding this strange character.  While most Sternritter are abnormal, Giselle has crossed a line in abnormality that hints that there is back-story that we have yet to see.

Bleach 595: Rub-Dolls II

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/595

Byakuya is being backed into a corner.  Not only does he have a new Sternritter opponent, but now he also has to face a fellow Soul Reaper, Shuhei, who is twisted by the power of Pepe's "love."  However, things become even more dire when Senbonzakura is possessed by Pepe's power, turning zanpakuto against Soul Reaper.  Just when Byakuya appears finished, Pepe is attacked from out of nowhere... by Rose and Kensei?!?!

This chapter really felt short, and in terms of story, it was.  Basically, other than the brief skirmishes, not much goes on until near the end.  Pepe explains the nature of his power, because all villains in anime must explain their powers to their enemies.  Then, the only real development was when Pepe was attacked by Rose and Kensei.  They appear to have been hijacked somehow, judging by the markings on their faces.  I believe they're still "zombies," but Kurotsuchi likely took over control of their bodies somehow.  While they obviously don't look cured, it would likely be simple for Kurotsuchi to restore them once they went back to his lab.  Right now, this development could likely turn this battle around, and lead to a late upset in terms of how the war turns out within Soul Society, but we still have Juha Bach to contend with.

Bleach 593: March Out the Zombies 4

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/593/2500/1?t=2&f=0&e=0

The zombiefied Hitsuguya attacks Kurotsuchi... and after a short skirmish, Toshiro deals a fatal strike on Kurotsuchi... yet, somehow, he blinks and he finds himself facing Kurotsuchi, hearing the same words he heard before they started fighting.  After experiencing this several times, Toshiro finally stops to wonder what is going on.  Kurotsuchi's sinister smile says everything he needs to know.  Kurotsuchi's new drug allows Toshiro to be programmed to "reset" after a specific event, in this case, killing Kurotsuchi.  He allows himself to be "killed" in order to test the drug, which somehow causes time to go back a few minutes, starting the fight all over.  Trapped in this "Groundhog Day" inspired hell, how can Toshiro even win, if winning simply restarts the fight.

Bleach 592: Marching out the ZOMBIES 3

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/592/2488/1?t=2&f=0&e=0

Toshiro stand before Kurotsuchi, not as a friend, but as an enemy.  Toshiro attacks Ikkaku and deals him a heavy blow (whether he died or not is still conveniently up the air).  Giselle reveals that by turning the living with blood, they become able to retain the skills they possessed before turning, and require less conscious effort to manipulate.  As a side note, if you haven't noticed, I've been trying to avoid the use of pronouns when it comes to Giselle, since that whole "he/she" thing has rather made me want to avoid pronouns entirely.  Back to the point, the revived arrancar attack, but quickly realize they aren't up to the task of taking on an enemy as strong as Toshiro.  Kurotsuchi decides to step up personally, but can he handle it, and can he somehow manage to save Toshiro from his twisted fate?  

Truth is, this chapter was a lot of downtime.  Other than the arrancar getting tossed aside and the partial explanation of Giselle's power, nothing really happened of note.  One thing that bugged me was that "Zombieguya's" attacks look and apparently are more powerful than they ever were now that he's a zombie.  Toshiro was struggling before just to be able to manage an ice wall to stop Bazz-B's attacks, but now just a flick of his wrist and seemingly half the city is covered in ice.  This type of inconsistency, just to make the situation seem more helpless, can be a pet-peeve of mine.  However, that doesn't make the action itself bad, and it does set up for an epic battle between "Zombieguya" and Kurotsuchi, and it's very possible that through this fight, Kurotsuchi will gather more data on Giselle's power, giving him a bigger edge later on.

Bleach 591: Marching out the Zombies 2

Zach Goodier

http://readms.com/r/bleach/591/2477/1

Giselle's zombie army clashes with Kurotsuchi's arrancar zombie squad, but even as the battle begins in earnest, Giselle still has his/her zombified Bambietta to support her already massive number of zombies.  However, Kurotsuchi's arrancar are fully aware, and capable of quickly dispatching the zombie horde.  Just as it seems that victory might be easily attained (if you actually thought that, thought, you must be new here), Giselle unveils her secret weapon.... Captain Hitsuguya!?!?!?

I'm pretty certain the effects of Giselle's zombification must be reversible, or else this is a very bold move on Kubo's part.  Toshiro is a fan-favorite, and killing him off, especially without some final swan song, just doesn't make any sense unless this is somehow reversible.  Considering Captain Kurotsuchi is on the scene, I have almost no doubt that he will be able to devise some method of reversing or blocking Giselle's power, at least to save Hitsuguya.  But even then, we've seen that Giselle is dangerous, not because of any mass of power, but the fact that even fatal wounds are ineffective, and only serve to spread blood to new potential zombies.  How will Kurotsuchi and his arrancar minions be able to put an end to this conflict? ...Well, you know the drill by now, come back next week and we'll hopefully find out.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

By: Robert Murphy

Well it looks like The Walking Dead’s success has decided to pour over from the TV screen and into the hands of the gamers with “The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct,” but we won’t be following the story people have seen from the series like “The Walking Dead: The Game” but we will be seeing a few familiar faces in the game. “Survival Instinct” is a prequel to the story people have been watching along with and lets fans and casual gamers alike take control of and be a part of the zombie killing experience that comes from “The Walking Dead” at a point nobody has experienced so far.

Like they were plucked right from the show

As you all may have guessed by just looking at the cover of the game, players will be taking control of none other than the motorcycling redneck Daryl Dixon as the outbreak spreads and he must do what he has to survive. But that’s not the only thing that will have a smile on your face, Norman Reedus who plays Daryl in the actual show has partnered with the game developers of “Survival Instinct” giving them his voice and likeness to the game, making things that much more realistic. Also along for the ride in the game is Daryl’s brother, who is played by Michael Rooker, has also leant his voice and likeness to the game to add to fans delight as they play the game. The goal of the game itself is pretty much what the title describes, you must survive anyway you can against the zombies such as searching for guns, ammo and other supplies you may need, helping you move ever closer to being rescued. You may have also gleamed from the title is that this is not a run and gun / shoot’em up style game, you are meant to be stealthy and sneak your way around zombies and avoid confrontation to survive or at least that’s what you were expected to do. It quickly becomes a moot point though as you can easily run through most of the levels and ignore a good portion of the un-dead that would like to make you into a snack and for the ones that do, you can make quick work of with a weapon like your handy crossbow.

Good man, right here!

As you progress from area to area however you a choice as to which way you would like to travel, you can either take a back road or you can head along the high way. These two both come with their own inherent risks and it is basically a gambit on which one you want to choose, choosing back roads is beneficial for scavenging things you could really need but it burns a lot of your gas and high ways are quick and easy, good for not using gas but the chances of your car breaking down is higher. This in itself wouldn’t be a problem you would think but if your car breaks down you don’t go outside your car an leg it to the next area or have to look around for a part to fix your car, no you are placed into an outside area and told exactly where to go for your car part using your compass. Almost the same scenario applies for if you run out of gas, when you run out of gas you are placed into a pit stop area and you are left to search high and low for gas cans to refill your tank and let you be on your merry way. This in effect makes searching a previous area for supplies utterly pointless as well seeing as you can continue on after you break down or run out of gas no matter what, leaving you with a lack of the whole “survival” aspect the game goes for.

Lindsey Lohan really let herself go

Now of course along the way you are bound to find other survivors like yourself, looking to be rescued and hoping to just to survive this nightmare in one piece and you can help them do this by having them join you. Each survivor you find comes with a sort of side mission to be completed and in the hopes of them joining you; you can complete these missions and have them help you survive. Once they are a part of your group you have the ability to give them weapons and send them out during missions to collect supplies like gas cans, ammo and whatever they can find. This in itself is a great aspect to the game and would serve to strengthen “Survival Instinct” if these characters were to at all matter in the grand scheme of things. If these nameless characters die, you are not punished or affected by it in any way except for a feeling of anger you get if you leant them a useful weapon that is now lost to you unless you want to brave a zombie mash pit. Also once again it comes up that the supplies these characters collect are useless since if you run out of gas, you end up at the pit stop area where you can find more. Sure it seems heartless to not care for these NPC’s but hey its survival instinct man, get used to it.

Look out, its Justine Beiber fans!!!

What can I say, my hopes are dashed with this one folks, we had the promise of playing from a point of view that was still in “The Walking Dead” universe but yet complete apart from the main story and featured something we hadn’t seen before. Plus it’s Daryl, come on! This enjoyable character is sadly the only main draw to the game, that and being able to wield his legendary crossbow but this can only take a game so far and in this instance, it didn’t go very far at all. “Survival Instinct” had a lot of great concepts and ideas but they all fell very short of expectations and on what the game should have been like but it just didn’t do anything with all the ideas it brought to the table.

Good:

Daryl and his brother both share their voices and likeness to the game, which was very awesome

Bad:

No real story

Scavenging for items is useless outside of finding weapons

Saving survivors is meaningless and they offer nothing to an already absent narrative

Scully Rating: 3.0 out of 10 

Sankarea

Zach Goodier

Sankarea is a 12 episode (and 2 OVA) anime that follows Chihiro Furuya, who finds a journal that shows him how to raise the dead.  He has an obsession with zombies, which is one of the reasons he is so fascinated by the journal.  However, he does nothing with it for some time, until his cat is hit and killed by a car.  However, as he attempts to make the potion that will bring his beloved pet back to life, he has one major obstacle: one of the critical ingredients is missing.  One of the pages in the journal was smeared, so that main ingredient needed to complete the potion is unknown.  It is while trying to find this last piece of the puzzle that Furuya meets Rea Sanka, a daughter of a wealthy, eccentric father who has an abnormal fixation with his own daughter.  Rea and Chihiro quickly become friends, as she helps him search for his missing ingredient.  However, the tables turn when Rea tries some of the potion, and dies soon after.  However, the potion actually worked, and Rea is brought back from the dead.  What happens after? Well, most of that is for you to find out.

Mmmmm... Looks delicious. Who wants to taste test?

For starters, the plot of Sankarea is a little screwy.  Rea and Chihiro struggle to understand the full extent of what the potion has done to Rea, who longs to just be a normal girl.  Somehow, srhe believes that being a zombie helps her accomplish this, but I have no idea how being a zombie makes you “normal.”  Oh, if you were wondering why I’m analyzing the character of a zombie, she is still fully sentient, and doesn’t need to eat flesh or anything.  So yeah, “zombie” might not be the best term, but it’s the one used in the show.  “Undead” is probably a better term, since it doesn’t always default to mindless, flesh-eating monster.  However, the two main struggles in the series surround Rea trying to break free from her overbearing father, and Chihiro struggling to preserve Rea’s body, since it quickly becomes apparent that being a “zombie” doesn’t make you immortal, since your body is technically dead and prone to decomposition.  These concerns aren’t really all that constant, though, as other characters come along to provide comic relief, trials for the characters, and even the cliché love-triangle.

I'm not sure whether it's the red eyes, void gaze, or the blood running from her mouth, but I find myself questioning the wisdom in this based on the experience of many a zombie flick in the past.  So why does Chihiro think this will work out well, again?

The characters really aren’t all that special, for the most part.  Chihiro is the typical teenage protagonist, aside from his fixation with zombies.  His mother died when he was young, but he lives in a temple with his father and younger sister.  There really isn’t much more to say since he really is your basic protagonist.  Rea is a bit more interesting, since the conflict between her and her father provides much of the backdrop and conflict for the story.  Her step-mother is bitter, and you do find out why later on in the story, but for the most part she is just a bitter witch towards Rea.  Ranka Saoji is the other love interest for Chihiro; a childhood friend/relative that quickly sees Rea as a threat, but she never really does all that much about it, even supporting Rea at certain points, which simply showcases how good-natured Ranka really is, even if she likes to rough-house Chihiro quite a bit.

Turns out even zombies can get embarrassed, even if they don't turn red anymore.

The animation is fairly standard, as well.  It’s not bad, but not all that special. Part of the reason is that most of the show doesn’t do much with action or anything flashy, it just has a lot of character interaction and hardly any action to speak of.  However, knowing that, the animation remains fairly good throughout, and the characters look decent, but not all that impressive next to some of the bigger titles out there.

Ranko provides a lot of the humor, fan-service, and helps make our cliche love-triangle.  She's also the lively one to offset Rea's mostly lifeless demeanor (pun intended).

Overall, Sankarea is trapped in a pit of mediocrity.  The story is so-so, but the show offers no conclusion to most of the conflicts that take place, and there doesn’t seem to be a continuation of the show on the horizon.  There are a lot of compelling questions that are raised in the show, and a lot of interesting plot elements and themes to be explored, but the show never had the chance to pursue anything to fulfillment. So, anyone interested in how things might start to wrap up have to go hit the manga, but apparently the release is slow, and it’s still ongoing.  None of the characters really stand out that much, which is a shame.  That isn’t to say they were poorly-conceived, they just didn’t seem to set themselves apart all that much from the standard characters you’re likely to find in stories like this.  The concept was interesting, but the mediocre execution, lack of any sort of significant conclusion (aside from one conflict, and that isn’t even finalized), and the general slow-paced feel of the series made it somewhat disappointed.  However, there is still some content to be enjoyed, and the low number of episodes makes it easily gone through in a free weekend.

Good:

-Interesting concept.

-Lot of interesting questions raised through the themes and story.

-Smaller number of characters and episodes makes this show easy to follow and get through with ease.

Bad:

-Characters aren’t very original for the most part.

-Lack of any sort of major conclusion, and no season 2 on the horizon means it probably won’t have one outside of the source material.

Scully Rating: 6.5 out of 10

In the News: Dead Rising 3 gameplay

Zach here, and I'm bringing a Dead Rising 3 preview at ya.  This game is going to be on the Xbox One exclusively, which makes me wonder whether or not I'll be playing it right away.  However, the gameplay looks great, and the open world setting should make surviving the zombie horde that much more exciting as you navigate the treacherous hordes in your path.  I enjoy the feel that this zombie game is "right."  It doesn't try to make the zombies mutated, special, or otherwise deviate from the old school zombie look and feel.  The ability to improvise weapons also makes this game look extremely deep and engaging, as you try to maximize your resources in order to survive.

Lollipop Chainsaw

By: Robert Murphy

Ha-ha well I never thought in a million years that I would be sitting here writing a review for this game but I guess I was wrong so here it is my review for the ridiculous, booby bouncing, curse word spewing and rainbow spouting action game known as Lollipop Chainsaw. Now when the game was first coming out I will admit that I’d heard the games name before for two main reasons, one because the cosplayer for the games main character is one of my favorites (a girl by the name of Jessica Nigri) and second is it was that it was a zombie slaying video game with a busty blonde for a main character. So already you can tell that my male generated brain liked the game for all the male reasons and it was for that reason that I wasn’t going to purchase the game, I resisted, but my girlfriend being the girl she is saw it and purchased it and so here we are.

 Jessica Nigri cosplaying Juliet

For starters, I will say that Lollipop Chainsaw is unlike any other game I have played before and it’s ideas come straight out of something you’d see in a Grindhouse film like Planet Terror except that it isn’t as grainy but definitely as cheesy and obscene. The game follows the exploits of a bosomy blonde cheerleader named Juliet who is like any other popular girl in school; she is a skinny girl who thinks she’s fat and is dating a pretty boy on the football team named Nick. This all seems fairly normal until you realize that Juliet’s family is a group of zombie killers and now Juliet’s school is being overrun by the undead…oh and Nick is turning into a zombie so she cuts of his head before he can turn. This is all completely normal and rational; at least to Juliet as she must now fight to stop the undead from taking over her hometown with Nick’s decapitated head at her waist side. So at this point you can all tell that this game is pretty ridiculous and it is a game that knows this as well, in fact it relies on this and makes jokes about itself the entire you’re playing it. Alongside this there is a level of profanity, lewd behavior and sexual innuendo as well all come along for the ride and its pretty funny until it isn’t anymore. Sure I will not lie, I got a laugh out of the humor and lewdness for a bit but it got old very quickly as every five seconds a boss was shouting out that Juliet is a whore and how they’ll jizz in her rib cage when she is dead.

I like this for all the wrong reasons ha-ha

Now you’d think that you could get passed the annoying vulgarity and just enjoy the chainsaw wielding and bouncing cheerleader action, well sorry to say that doesn’t go very far either my friends. I have to say that from the start I had an incredibly hard time getting a combo to go together, Juliet does start off with basic moves but for better combos you need to purchase them throughout the game and from there the game gets easier to play. Sure the combos and hacking and slashing are repetitive, I knew it would be and I didn’t mind it but what really bugged me was how Juliet moves and her absolutely crummy locking on controls. Getting Juliet to move towards an enemy and lock on to said enemy was an extreme pain for me, for example in the first boss fight I would try to move away from the boss but still look at him to see if he was attacking and it was a disaster, I had to constantly keep moving the joystick back and forth and I almost threw the controller at one point. One thing that can be said for the combat and the story is that there are some exceptional tunes, at one point in the campaign I had the joy of listening to some Five Finger Death Punch and some other metal based tunes that kept me sane and content. As for Juliet, she isn’t all that bad and I think she would be more annoying of a character if not for Nick attached to her side; he is what makes the two work. Nick is constantly in fear of his situation that he’s in unlike Juliet who finds this whole thing completely normal, Nick though has plenty of witty one liners and sarcastic back chatter with Juliet and it makes for a great laugh.

The picture says it all

As for the enemies you’ll be chopping apart and generally dismembering throughout Lollipop Chainsaw’s campaign, there really isn’t a hell of a lot to tell you other than they’re zombies. Many of the enemies are fairly generic, some may look different for different sections you enter but other than that there really isn’t much that changes. There are some zombies with abilities such as breathing fire or some zombies have charge attacks that can knock you over but for the most part you get the same zombie slashing effect no matter what enemy you come across. There are other things like hidden collectables and mini games through the campaign that are meant to break up the monotony but these won’t really do it for you either. When you think hidden collectibles you think that they would be you know….HIDDEN, no not in this game in fact the collectibles in the game were often right out in the open and those that weren’t were not hard to find if you took a minute to look. As for mini games and other miscellaneous adventures we get short and pain in the ass events that usually will cause frustration rather than enjoyment. Take for example a mini game involving you shooting zombies while Nick rounds the bases in a baseball field 3 times to win the game for the “human” team, this seemed easy at first until you get zombies all over the field chipping away Nick’s health so fast you can’t even kill them all in time. So what starts out as something simple and probably meant to be fun, turns into another venture where I felt the urge to throw the controller again, oh and it doesn’t help that every time Juliet gets a triple kill on a zombie she enters a rainbow covered cut scene that makes you miss killing a zombie…every…frickin……TIME!

 Kill them with SPIRIT!

Not much else to say about Lollipop Chainsaw I’m afraid and I said before it didn’t have much hope to start with except for the fact that it appeals to the male mind set in its basic way by giving us a bouncy blonde to play as. This however, like most things with Lollipop Chainsaw got tiresome very quickly,  the overall theme of sex appeal, gore and general lewdness was fun for the few missions and then it got tiresome and I found myself skipping every cut scene because it was the same stuff all over again each time. What did keep me sane throughout the game was the surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack that the game had which feature some toe taping tunes and this coupled with the funny crap that came out of Nick’s mouth kept me going till I finished the game.

Good:

-Enjoyable tunes

-Nick’s sarcastic and quick witted one liners and conversations with Juliet

Bad:

-The horrible lock on made fighting unbearable at times

-The annoying and vulgar tone gets old very quickly

-Combat is what it is and that is simply hack and slash through waves of zombies

-Enemies aren’t very diverse

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10