Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Posted by Natasha Bennett


 
Significant spoilers for Call of Duty: Black Ops
Minor Spoilers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Whenever the term ‘Black Ops’ is mentioned most people think of stealth, a covert team, or shady deals behind closed doors. Whenever I think Call of Duty, I think realistic warfare. In neither cases do I think of futuristic laser fights followed by rock concerts. But apparently we got those in this game.

At any rate, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 begins with Alex Mason, the main character from the first game. And he’s also dead. Wow, I always love seeing that in a sequel. Strangely, one of the other main characters from the first game, Woods, who is presumed dead in the first game also shows up in the sequel as a more central character. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the writer threw up his hands up in the air and thought to himself, ‘You know, I really didn’t like Mason in the first game. Let’s bring back a character who was thrown out of a building attached to another guy who was wearing a string of dynamite. That’ll work.’ Again, this is realistic warfare so I would assume one would survive such a thing.
 
 

Not that Mason wasn’t an interesting character-in fact he was one of the far more memorable characters from the Call of Duty franchise. He (spoiler warning) was a US agent being mind-controlled by the Russians who used a certain set of numbers. Eventually he broke his programming and, if the player revealed all the secrets in the first game, it turns out that the US government sent a covert group to try to assassinate him at the end. A plot point which is conveniently ignored in the second game. Mason’s mind-controlled issues are touched upon very briefly, but it feels like it doesn’t conclude in a satisfying way. Especially since the main villain in the first game shows up for a cameo, and leaves without any explanation. I would have loved to see some dialogue in that scene, especially since the antagonist was also considered dead in Call of Duty One.

Most of the story is focused on his son, David Mason. I gotta say that I really feel the love in this family. For example, in the only scene we see David and Alex together, Alex is yelling at his seven-year-old son for being too cowardly to climb a tree. David somehow suppresses the horrors of his childhood to grow up to be...Alec Baldwin? Am I the only one who sees this?



Eh, whatever. Much of the strength of the game revolves around the villain, Menendez, who lost his sister in a tragic accident which our heroes (mostly Woods) caused. Unfortunately, even that becomes somewhat irrelevant, especially when all the characters decide to have a rock concert after the credits (I wish I was kidding). Modern Warfare, ladies and gentleman.

The gameplay is...well, it’s Call of Duty so what do you expect? Things shoot at you from left and right-most of the time when you do die you won’t have any idea what hit you. Every game the Call of Duty Franchise tries to outshock the last one by showing graphic scenes. To be fair to the game I do like some of the more futuristic ideas such as cloaking technologies and a gun which can see through walls, but overall this feels like an uneven mess.

FINAL GRADE: 2 out of 5. Let me put it this way-it is possible to make a realistic war game on the playstation-if you want a fantastic one, check out Spec Ops the Line which will likely be in an upcoming review. For this one, however, somehow rock concerts and zombies do not mix well with a realistic war game. If you’re looking for just a decent game to pass the time-some of the levels are fun, but fans of the series might feel unsatisfied. For instance, Menendez goes out of his way not to kill David at one point...a scene which really isn’t explained or paid off in the end.

Next week....Resident Evil 6.

Friday, November 16, 2012
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Game Review: Resident Evil Five

Posted by Natasha Bennett


 
I give Leon a lot of grief for his hair, but you know what? I know Resident Evil can do decent character models. I’m sure this won’t be an issue next game and we’ll have a protagonist who won’t look silly in the-
 

 
-oh dear god no. This is Chris Refield, the man who looks like a tank and is physically impossible. I especially like the scenes with him using a gadget, because it looks like he’s going to break them with just a touch. In the Resident Evil series, both Chris and Leon survived the initial outbreak and moved onto other things. While Leon made a career assisting the president, Chris joined the BSAA, a tactical force that deals with potential bioterrorism in other parts of the world. In Resident Evil 5, Chris goes to Africa, so cue the racism subtext!

They try to downplay this as much as possible by having an African partner named Sheva, but let me ask you this, creators of Resident Evil-if you wanted to base your game in Africa, why not have a main character from Africa? Chris is not the type of character to propel the game along with epic dialogue or plot ideas. In fact, his only characteristic is that he’s still grieving for his dead partner, Jill. And see if you can spot this plot twist from a mile away-not long after he’s in Africa, a mysterious cloaked female working for Umbrella is around to stop him DUH DUH DUH.
 
If it sounds like I hate this game...I do. I really do. The graphics are beautiful but it’s ruined whenever I see Chris’s tank-like body lumbers across the screen, which is most of the time. The dialogue is sometimes atrocious, and the plot is boring. So what does that leave? The gameplay? That’s the worst part of the game!
 
 

Resident Evil was never much for tutorials, but I really wish they threw one in here for this game, especially since the controls are radically different from Resident Evil 4. The only good point is that Resident Evil 5 is far more challenging than Resident Evil 4, but that’s partly because you’ll die a lot more. The worst part of the controls is that when you open your very limited inventory, this will not pause the game. Fair enough, but when 90% of the game is zombies running towards you, that makes getting a gun a tad more difficult. And before people start thinking I’m complaining too much, the inventory screen is just plain evil. Say I wanted to use a healing spray. You would think the first option of the screen would be for more to use it. But nope, the first option is for me to equip it. In case I wanted to...heal the zombies? So you have to unequip the healing spray and start all over again, but at this point you’re probably a a nice snack for the zombies.

I certainly wouldn’t want to heal my partner Sheva, whom I’m starting to suspect is secretly working for Umbrella. Why? Because the partner AI is bad. Very bad. Some of the time she will just freeze up and not shoot the zombies until Chris actually gets bitten. And in the sections where Chris and Sheva have to be separated...yeah, either try to clear out her area yourself first or say a quick prayer, because most of the time the game is going to prematurely end because of her.

Interestingly enough, some of the scenes from the game are actually in the movie. Remember that stupid scene where Albert Wesker throws his glasses at Chris? Yep, that was from Resident Evil 5. So um...thanks?

FINAL GRADE: 1 out of 5. One of the few games I didn’t bother to finish. I will say most of these problems are fixed in Resident Evil 6, and Leon is back. Yay!

Saturday, November 10, 2012
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Game Review: Resident Evil Four

Posted by Natasha Bennett



It was not a good time to be Mikami during the start of Resident Evil 4. After releasing a lackluster demo of the gameplay, Capcom told him to produce something better, or they would cancel the entire Resident Evil series. The development team also had strong reservations about changing the series from horror to action. Fortunately for everyone involved, Resident Evil 4 is considered by some to be one of the best games in the series.

The plot is this: Ladies and gentleman, the president’s daughter has been kidnapped! (insert lighting strike here). Leon, survivor of Racoon City and overall macho guy, is sent in to rescue her. In the process, he discovers that an entire village has been taken over by an evil cult. We’re not calling anything zombies in this one, but considering what they turn into, we might as well.



I would say that Leon has the dorkiest haircut in the series, but I’ve started to play Resident Evil 5. That being said, every time I see Leon’s face on the screen I just want to grab a pair of scissors and trim off those bangs. Seriously Leon, cut your hair!
What sets Resident Evil 4 apart from the other games is two things: first of all, the level design is simply fantastic and you will almost always see something brand new as the levels progress: from muddy village to a lake to fighting in a lava-filled Mordor (for some reason) to eventually a lab. 
Secondly, very early in the game Leon and Ashley are injected with a mind-controlling parasite, so it’s a race against time to find a cure before they both succumb to the evil cultist’s will. This helps keeps things in suspense, although in retrospect this is probably one of the slowest parasites to ever work in the bloodstream. Oh sure, Leon is given some pills to help slow it down, but that was after he conquered three villages and a castle. And had a nap for six hours.



Since it’s not really connected to the overall confusing Umbrella plot, Resident Evil 4 is a great game for first-time players to jump into the storyline. So what are the negatives? Well I hate to say it, but one of them is Ashley with her shrill cries of ‘Leon, save me!’ Ashley cannot carry any weapon (must be an underage thing) but more often than not you will shoot her by accident. The game also ends if Ashley is carried away. Except, you know, when the plot requires her to be kidnapped again, which is every five minutes. Seriously, the girl gets kidnapped more times than Princess Peach. You will only play Ashley once in the game, and seeing how it was a very short time and not really relevant to the plot I wonder why they even bothered.
Gameplay-wise, the controls are pretty responsive, however puzzles are also relatively easy in the game. Overall it is a recommended game and I really couldn’t stop playing from start to finish.

FINAL GRADE: 4 out of 5. A fun roller-coaster only occasionally hampered by plot holes. For example, how did all those merchants set up camp in an evil cultist zombie society? And why can’t they sell ammo? And why is Ada in a red dress again?
The worst part? Supposedly the Resident Evil series only goes downhill from here.

Monday, October 29, 2012
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Author Interview: Nerine Dorman

Posted by Natasha Bennett




NB: Welcome back to Blue Haven Reviews! The last time we chatted, you had recently finished writing Khepera Redeemed. What have you been working on since that time?
 
ND: Dear Dog! Has it been that long already? A lot’s happened since Khepera Redeemed, I almost don’t know where to begin. Most notably, I’ve written two romance novels under the pen name TherĂ©se von Willegen (Tainted Love and Hell’s Music). But I’ve released two urban fantasy novellas (The Namaqualand Book of the Dead and What Sweet Music They Make) which should appeal to vampire fans. In addition, I’ve collaborated with Crooked Fang author Carrie Clevenger on two short works (Just my Blood Type and Blood and Fire)—which should yet again appeal to vampire fangrrrls. But perhaps my best so far, is my latest release, Inkarna, which is a totally new departure in the realm of urban fantasy novels, involving my own creation of supernatural beings—the Inkarna—which are, essentially beings who are members of an ancient Egyptian reincarnation cult (that’s the short version). This novel has been very well received (I’m both awed and humbled by some of the readers’ responses so far) and I’m working on its sequel. Then I’ve got a secondary world fantasy novel on sub. I’m currently on tenterhooks with it, so let’s hold thumbs for good news. 
 
NB: You had mentioned you were doing some work with the SA Horrorfest. Can you tell me a little about that?

ND: I’ve been coordinating the SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment event and short story competition for the past three years. It’s been absolutely fabulous to be part of the SA HorrorFest in this way, by offering a literary component to the cinema-dominated fest. The Bloody Parchment event takes place each year at one of the top independent bookstores in Cape Town—the Book Lounge. Each year we dress up and have authors over to do readings. This year we’re offering drabbles. The short story competition itself is really taking off, and the finalists are included in an anthology. This year we gained support from eKhaya, the digital arm of Random House Struik, one of the biggest publishers in South Africa. Now finalists can add a serious writing cred to their names, and we’ve even managed to print a limited run of physical books to supplement the ebook release.




NB: You also offer an editing service. What are you specifically looking for?

ND: I’m specifically looking for authors who’re serious about improving their writing. They needn’t be perfect, but they must at least show that they have that mystical “X-factor” as I like to call it. But perhaps the biggest characteristic I’m looking for is the “sponge factor” of authors wanting to learn to improve, and absorbing the advice I offer, so that we don’t waste time by fixing the same mistakes over and over again. My rates are super low ($4/1000 words broken over two editing rounds). In addition to editing, I offer frank evaluations of the state of the writing. I’m not going to be nice for the sake of being nice. I’m serious about helping author improve their writing. I’m in it for the long run, to build relationships with my authors rather than make a quick buck. 
NB: And now some ‘for fun’ questions! What are your plans for Halloween this year?

ND: Surviving the Bloody Parchment event. Seriously. Organising authors for this event is like herding cats. At least I’ve already dyed my hair so no one can see the grey. But I plan to attend the screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show that is part of the general SA HorrorFest proceedings, and also to set up a stall at the night market and sell my books (which at time of writing are still sitting in customs—long story, don’t ask).
 
 
NB: As someone who is well-versed in horror, can you tell me what your all-time worst fear is?

ND: Finger violence. Seriously. Finger violence... Having digits lopped off. I’m also a musician, so any films or books where characters lose bits of their anatomy reaaaaally squick me out. For that very reason I don’t watch any of the Saw films, or appreciate torture porn in the submissions I read.
 
NB: Finally, how can people reach you?


ND: Stalk me on Twitter @nerinedorman or mail me at nerinedorman@gmail.com

Alternatively find me on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3256274.Nerine_Dorman

Check out my Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/Nerine-Dorman/e/B004QXPOFS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1350851722&sr=8-4
Or like my Facebook author page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374

Monday, October 22, 2012
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Movie Review: Resident Evil: Retribution

Posted by Natasha Bennett





All of the Resident Evil movies have a common theme-after a movie ends on a cliffhanger, the next movie will immediately resolve that cliffhanger and get rid of most of the main characters and setting in the first fifteen minutes. Well, thank god, Resident Evil Retribution has finally learned from its mistakes, and most of the movie resolves around the crew of the USS Aradia-nah, just kidding. It’s gone in the first ten minutes. Shame though. Alice being a pirate would have been an interesting insight into her character.
 
 

Instead Alice is captured and brought to an underground complex of...well, Moscow of all places (quite a stretch, considering that she was in Los Angeles in the last movie) and interrogated by Jill Valentine. However, aided by Albert Wesker, she escapes and has to go through several simulated areas in order to reach the surface.

To be fair to the movie I will give it some good points: Some of the effects are beautifully shot. I especially liked the scene with Alice in simulated Tokyo. However, Resident Evil Retribution has a lot of plot holes, more so than any other movie in the franchise. And if you look beneath the surface you will find...well, more plot holes. I’m not one to normally compile a list, but:

1.       Why was the suburban simulation running prior to Alice entering it for the first time?

2.       Why use real people and zombies in a simulation instead of holograms?

3.       How can a deaf child speak perfect English when she can’t hear herself speak?

4.       Why was Ada wearing a red dress?

5.       How can two little bombs on a pipe destroy an entire facility?

6.       Why does the Umbrella Corporation insist on using the worst medical gowns possible? 

7.       Why is Leon in this movie if he was declared dead in the second?

8.       What was the Red Queen’s plan anyway?

9.       Why? Just...why??????

One of the best scenes of the movie was an Alice-clone defending herself against zombie in a suburban setting (though, if you see my list, that also made no sense). This Alice clone isn’t one of the kick-ass variety, but rather a domesticated one. The scene was her fleeing her house from zombies was probably the most real, terrifying scenes of the film, which is what we really need in this series. Let’s face it, Alice is pretty much all-powerful. She is shot in the side at one point, and treats it like a papercut. Later (spoiler warning) she is given something to make her even more powerful. First of all, it’s not a good sign of a series when you recycle ideas from the third movie, guys. Second, if you make your main character all-powerful, you remove the tension. Sure, some of the other main characters might die, which would cause tension...oh wait, they each have about fifty more clones they can use so everything’s honky-dory.
The bottom line is, don’t expect a suspenseful or emotional movie at all. But the direct has gone on record saying that he doesn’t care about negative reviews, so I’m sure this will have no impact whatsoever. It’s nice to know when someone refuses to listen to constructive criticism and improve his own art style. No wonder all the movies feel the same.  
Final Grade: 1 ½ out of 5. Some good scenes and of course plenty of action. However, not even turning off your brain can avoid the plot holes. Physics and common sense mean nothing to this movie.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012
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October Trailer Hype

Posted by Natasha Bennett


October is without a doubt my favorite time of year. Why? Among other reasons (free, guilt-free candy being one of them), it's the time of year when the most horror movies are coming out. Let's take a look at the upcoming ones. Not for the faint of heart:


THE COLLECTION:




I honestly didn't review the first movie (the Collector) because it was one of those run-of-the-mill horror movies and  the main character Arkin seemed like a bit of a douche-usually hiding in situations when he could have helped innocent people. And yet...something keeps pushing me to watch this one in theatres. Why did the Collector spare Arkin's life? It doesn't hurt that the actor playing Arkin seems to stands out, and the director and writer was also part of the Saw series. Seriously though, this is coming out at the end of November?

Hype rating: 3.5 out of 5.

SILENT HILL: REVELATION

 
 
 
Okay, so everyone knows the first movie was botched up (crazy Christian themes, anyone?) yet the writers seem t have gotten their act together for this one. For starters, there are males in this one (yay!). Hardcore fans will have noted the gameplay music in the movie and a couple of other nice touches which are similar to Silent Hill 3. Let's hope we're not disappointed again.
 
Hype meter: 4 out of 5.
 
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4:
 
 

I've watched the Paranormal Activity series since the beginning, so I want this to succeed. I want this to become bigger and better than the last one. So why does this seem so repetitive? Here's a thought-maybe have the cops catch Katie, put her in a jail, and then have the deamon attack the prison. That would lead the show in a new direction. Not having another random person in a random house not knowing what's going on. Four times is pushing it. Still, the series is usually guaranteed to scare us.

Hype meter: 3 out of 5.

And that's all I can think of! Any other horror movies I should keep an eye out for?

Friday, October 5, 2012
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Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker

Posted by Natasha Bennett

Minor spoilers for the book

Like a good number of people, I read this book not because of its merits, but because of the controversy surrounding it. Unless you’ve been living in a cave (you lucky, lucky people) you would have no doubt heard the concept of this book was written as Twilight fanfiction, published on the author's own website, and then suddenly Random House published it and sold a million copies. You hear that popping sound? That was the sound of my head exploding. So with an admittedly biased opinion, I went into this book expecting one of two things-either this was the best piece of literature ever created next to William Shakespeare, or I have lost my remaining faith in humanity.
So how does this book actually measure up? In a word, it’s...um, eh?

The premise is this: Anastasia is a woman who is sent to interview entrepreneur Christian Grey when her roommate Kate falls ill. This is for a school newspaper mind you. The question springs to mind as to why someone else working for the newspaper didn’t interview this guy, but mercifully this plot point is brought up and not ignored. At any rate, they find a mutual attraction that is hampered because Christian Grey harbors a dark and terrible secret...he’s a mummy!
 


Nah, just kidding. Is this book actually like Twilight? Well, yes and no. I can recognize where one could compare some roles and scenes. However, for the record I do like Anastasia better than Bella as she has a tendency to make better choices. She doesn’t get away scot-free, however, as she can also make some epicly dumb decisions like Bella, but overall she seems more sure of herself than her counterpart.

But to be brutally honest, this book only really caught my attention for the first half, and the reason is this-Anastasia and Christian just have no chemistry in a lot of the scenes they’re in. Christian has several different personalities (Oh ho, that’s why it’s called Fifty Shades of Grey!) and Anastasia ranges from falling madly in love with Christian to being ticked off, most of the time for dumb reasons. Which would be fine, except this book is also exploring elements of dominance and submission. Anastasia is supposed to be submissive, and she just...isn’t? So does this mean Fifty Shades of Grey is trying to say that this type of relationship is evil? It’s all too head-scratching for me.

To give the book credit, however, I did enjoy the sequel, Fifty Shades Darker, a great deal more. The relationship is explored in more detail and, while the status quo doesn’t exactly change, the characters are easier to understand. Plus it feels like more things are happening in the sequel, while the first book is just repetitive.

Final Grade:

Fifty Shades of Grey  2.5/5

Fifty Shades Darker: 3.5/5
 
Fifty Shades Freed: Have not read. Maybe someday I'll come back to it.
Overall this series borders between pretty interesting to repetitive. With that in mind, here’s the Fifty Shades of Grey drinking game-take a shot every time Christian tells Annastasia to either eat something or not bite her lower lip.  You'll be blind before you can make it to the second book.

Thursday, October 4, 2012
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Webseries Review: To Boldly Flee

Posted by Natasha Bennett



 

In order to properly review To Boldly Flee, I feel like I have to talk about That Guy with the Glasses in general, which is the name of the website of this series. TGWTG started about four or five years ago, and it was about a group of people reviewing movies, comic books and games, usually in a comedic way. Over time, these people developed characters and personalities, and every year they would come together to create an anniversary video. And every year I honestly think they produce something amazing. To Boldly Flee is no exception.
Following on the heels of Suburban Knights (3rd anniversary) a character named Ma-Ti is dead. However, the Nostalgic Critic (Doug Walker) suspects he may still be alive. There is also a strange spacial anomaly orbiting Jupiter they need to figure out. And what better way to do this than using your own house as a spaceship? However, trouble comes when the Emperor, Terl and General Zod want to use the power of the anomaly for their own.



Think those names sound familiar? To Boldly Flee parodies a lot of science fiction-Star wars, Star Trek, Dune, Battlefield Earth, Cowboy Beebop, and Judge Dredd to name a few. Which is, unfortunately, what holds the series back a little. Even though I am pretty well-versed in science fiction, one or two references went over my head. Tragically, when they are parodying a couple of the scenes, the actors spend a little too much time repeating some of the lines of the movie. This happens more so in the first episode than any other episode in order to establish the set-up.
Still, there is plenty of original material in this movie-yes, I am calling it a movie because this is clocks in at about 190 minutes. The best scenes in my opinion are usually between General Zod (Doug Walker, playing double roles) and Terl (Noah Antwhiler) who demonstrate why it’s a bad idea to have only one guy who knows how to fire the photon torpedos.
 

Final Grade: 4 out of 5. There is a lot of great writing, acting, production value behind this, and it is definitely worth checking out. I would recommend watching Suburban Knights first to understand the set-up a little better. Both are available for free on That Guy with the Glasses, or you can buy the DVD's.

 
 

Sunday, September 16, 2012
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Video Game Reviews

Posted by Natasha Bennett




Bioshock
Bioshock 2
Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Condemned
Dead Space
Fallout New Vegas Part 1
Fallout New Vegas Part 2
F.E.A.R
F.E.A.R 2
The Force Unleashed and the Force Unleashed 2
Heavy Rain
ObScure
ObScure 2
Prototype
Scratches
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 4 : The Room
Silent Hill Shattered Memories
The 7th Guest
Tomb Raider Underworld

Sunday, September 9, 2012
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Movie Reviews

Posted by Natasha Bennett

 


Just building up my web pages guys. You can disregard this post. :)
 

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Webseries Review: Sweet Fever

Posted by Natasha Bennett



Minor spoilers for this webseries.

Just a note to my readers: comedy and romance are not the two genres I usually review, therefore I do not consider myself an expert. But what the hell, I’ll try anything once. Plus I always admire a group of people who put together a web series. Especially Canadians, because as we all know, Canadians rule.
Sweet Fever is about a woman who enters a pillow-fighting federation in order to win enough money to preserve her candy shop. She’s aided by her best friend Sam and her...um, other  friend with a benefit Chet. But before she can enter the competition, she must first do a couple of errands for Crunchy Luke, the commissioner of the PFF. 



As per my usual tradition I will start with the positive. The woman who plays Sweet Fever, Imogen Grace, stands out as a talented actress and she is given the most emotional range. The rest are more than good enough for their roles as well.  If you like to see random humor (I myself am a sucker for it!) than this web series will appeal to you. For example, episode three is a take on Scooby-Doo and a haunted house. I also have to mention that the group comes up with a pretty clever way of dealing with the problems in that episode.
Sadly, there were a couple of scenes that took me out of the focus of the series. Some of it was in the camera work, but there were also a few scenes in the plot as well, particularly in the early episodes. For example, in the formentioned Scooby-Doo episode, Sam plunges her hand into the sink and is electrocuted. Sweet Fever comes to her aid by grabbing Sam and pulling her backwards. Can someone actually do that without being killed themselves or horribly injured? This bugged me so much that I paused the video to research it further.

That being said, however, I am very interested in seeing where this series goes. I would like to see whether or not Sweet Fever wins the competition and preserves her shop so that little boys and girls everywhere can get their candy. Most of all, I would like to see where these characters go next.

Final grade: 3 stars out of 5.
Five episodes are available here for viewing. http://www.sweetfever.tv/. As of this review’s release the producers are looking for donations to make a sixth episode. If you would be interested in donating the link is here: http://www.sweetfever.tv/donate/

These photos were posted with permission from the producers.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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Movie Review: The Traveller

Posted by Natasha Bennett



Moderate spoilers for the movie.

Ah, Val Kilmer. When did it all change?

There was a time when Val Kilmer was a serious contender as an action star. In my opinion, Ghost of the Darkness was an underrated classic. He was part of Top Gun, heck, even Batman. But over the years, his career shifted. Instead of being the action hero, he became the villain in the background, often starring in direct-to-DVD movies or obsolete horror movies. Despite it all, you can tell he tries to put in a solid acting performance in his work. Even if it sometimes does not pan out.

And so we come to the Traveller. Val Kilmer plays, well, a traveller, who goes to a police station in the middle of the night to confess a murder. Who does he murder? Why, the six cops who are currently in the police station that night, of course. The basic premise is these same cops murdered a homeless man years ago, who they wrongfully suspected of murdering the daughter of the main detective. The homeless man died, and now the ghost is back for revenge. Or is he? Things gets a muddled. Unfortunately, this movie has a few problems. 

Nah, just kidding. The main problem with this movie isn’t Val Kilmer. The main problem is two-fold: First of all, the basic concept of a supernatural prison has been done before, and a lot better (Storm of the Century). Secondly..well, you really don’t root for any of the main characters. You don’t care about the traveller, who’s busy killing off the main characters. You won’t care about the main characters, who murdered an innocent man. This might have changed if any of them had redeemable qualities, but no. Just sheep to the slaughter. Unfortunately, this includes Alexander Black, the detective who lost his daughter and a character who comes up with one of the dumbest plans in the final act.

Before he kills the main characters, the traveller communicates his ‘confession’ first. So what does Alexandaer do? He shatters his own eardrums with a pen, of course. Gross painful scene aside, that doesn’t actually stop the traveller from trying to kill him. And now he can’t hear anything. Dumbass.

FINAL GRADE: 1 ½ out of 5. Val Kilmer has some good scenes, especially at the start, but the rest of the characters are so disappointing.

Still, better than Steven Seagal, who needs a stunt double just to walk across the room.  

Thursday, August 23, 2012
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Contest time!

Posted by Natasha Bennett


Hi everyone,
War of the Soulites 3 : Extinction will be released July 9th, 2012. To celebrate I am holding a contest for a free copy! All you have to do is leave a comment between now and Monday night, and you will be entered into the draw. If you haven’t read the first book in the series, send me an e-mail!


http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_23&products_id=509

The Vigilant is destroyed, and the crew is dead...or are they?
Ajalan, a Bocca Captain, suspects something sinister when he discovers the wreckage, but no bodies. He tracks an energy signal which leads him to a Soulite ship. On the ship, he finds only one humanoid-Mary Osirus, wife of Renolds Osirus, who also searches for the crew of the Vigilant. She brings him terrifying news-there are only fifteen hundred survivors left on Earth, and the Soulites are mobilizing a final assault to destroy the remainder of the human race.

Meanwhile, Renolds Osirus wakes up marooned on an arctic world, alone and thousands of miles from the nearest shelter. Without a ship or any weapon against the Soulites, it seems impossible that he can do anything to change Earth’s fate. But then, most people underestimate him....

Friday, July 6, 2012
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Game Review: Alan Wake

Posted by Natasha Bennett


Alan Wake is an author suffering writer’s block and his wife, Alice, wants them to go on vacation at Cauldron Lake. Shortly after having a fight, Alice is kidnapped by an old woman, who wants Alan to use his writing ability to create a world of darkness. Because, um, he can do that in Cauldron Lake apparently.

That is probably the most coherent summery you will get with this game, because there are a lot of details which the player will need to take at face value or else they will lose the plot very quickly. Including the expansion packs, Alan also deals with insanity, a clone of himself, and time travel (seriously).




Despite the fact that I should hate this game...it has a unique charm to it. Alan Wake idolizes Stephen King, and if he didn’t have any input in this game, then the creative team genuinely tries to copy his style. There is a lot of mystery, a suspenseful atmosphere, and at least two really amazing songs designed exclusively for this game. There is also a sense of progression, especially with Alan’s character. Alan is pretty much an asshole from the beginning, treating both his fans and his wife with no respect. Not to spoil a great deal, but Alan does eventually spend several years in a dark dimension, gaining knowledge and insight on how to deal with insanity there. In the expansion, Alan Wake American Nightmare, he is actively seeking to hunt down these creatures. I especially love the expansion, mostly because he loses that annoying blazer jacket, but also because he has new weapons to deal with.


Where Alan Wake fails, unfortunately, is the gameplay. A baddie runs at Alan, he aims a flashlight until the baddie is vulnerable, then shoots him. Rinse and repeat about seven million times. At the end of each level is usually a very contrived reason for Alan losing his weapon. My only advice is to run through the forested areas as much as possible, as the enemies will respawn.

Final Grade: 3 out of 5. Not bad, but the gameplay could have been improved to mix things up.

So if Alan was born in New York, and the original game took place in Washington, why is the expansion called Alan Wake’s ‘American’ Nightmare?’



Wednesday, July 4, 2012
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