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Dishonored

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Somewhere, some when said “hey guys, you ever wonder what it’d be like if Assassin’s Creed and Bioshock had a steampunk baby?” Bethesda named this baby Dishonored. set in the steampunk land of Dunwall, we play as Corvo, the royal bodyguard to Empress Caldwell and her daughter Emily. After returning from a journey to find the cure to a hideous rat plaque, the Queen is murdered before Corvo’s eyes by men with mysterious powers, Emily taken, and Corvo framed by a corrupt Lord regent. Imprisoned for years, Corvo is broken free by a group of loyalists led by Haddlock and the fight to save Emily and the Empire begins, all while being haunted by a otherworldly figure called the Outsider that grants Corvo dark powers, but at what price?

The plot is pretty straight forward with a pretty predictable twist at the end. The world we find ourselves in was my favorite part; I enjoyed the fancy ornate mansions of fine dressed sophisticates and the dingy sewers full of plagued weepers. The gameplay is fun and full of opportunity, you have full reign to mix and match weapons and powers as well as gameplay approach. The games does reward you far more for going the full stealth, no kill approach which screw that noise. If you have the patience for that, all the power to you friend. If you feel like being a kill happy nutbag, there are consequences as you will find the end of the game will get ridiculously harder than if you try to be a fine nonlethal soul. Overall the game is fun with multiple playthroughs but a stale plot and as always may the gaming gods bring you glory.

H.R. Giger : master of nightmares

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Since I was a little kid, age 2 if not mistaken, I’ve been haunted by a special monster. A monster both beautiful and terrifying in it’s design and symbolism, “A perfect organism.” Hans Reudi (Rudolf) Giger was a famous Swiss painter born February 5th, 1940 and passed away March 2014; on a personal note I wept when I woke up to the text he passed away. His designs are a thing of legend, the most famous and well known being those for the horror classic Alien. His art mainly revolves around the sexual and bio-mechanical often fused as is the Xenomorph design. Influences of his work can be seen in classic video games like Contra and Metroid

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he created a radical design for Batman: Forever’s Batmobile that was toned down for the film but still feels like his work.

He designed the creature for the 1995 film Species as well as was commissioned by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis to create a custom microphone that is very Alien-esque. Before starting my Alien reviews I just wanted to give a huge shout out to a artist many of us know but never really gave credit to and changed the way I saw art, monsters, and the human body. You are missed, Giger.

Wolfenstein: The new Order

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Over the past few years Bethesda has become my favorite gaming company with juggernauts like Fallout and Elder Scrolls to more modern hits like Dishonored and Evil Within. Last Year my favorite title was the Doom remake, so when I found Wolfenstein: The New Order for $20 at a PSN sale, I jumped at it enthusiastically. In many ways I wasn’t disappointed. Wolfenstein takes place in a alternate history where Nazi Germany won WW2 and took over the world and we play as J. D. Blazkowicz as he works with a underground rebellion to overthrow them. First I have to say I loved how the game’s upgrading system and trophies were linked to fun and pretty easy mini challenges that gave you perks once unlocked, I actually had every stealth perk which is highly usually considering I’m almost the run-and-gun type. Like Dishonored and Evil Within, there are multiple ways to approach a situation with it’s own set of pros and cons. Another huge pro I give the game is the intensity of it. Much of the story is surprisingly suspenseful and many times I felt I was our protagonist. A small issue I have is how much the game increasingly relies on a laser cutter that doubles as a laser rifle, I upgraded it all the way and the damn thing keeps dying out and charging stations are either few and far between or the charge time can kill you. I warn you now, you will die a lot and will be replaying a lot of the game again and again to pass a tricky ass part. Other small grips are sometimes you get lost; boss battles can be a pain in the ass, and the enemies can be frustrating but in the end it’s a pretty awesome game that will keep you occupied and interested if you want a FPS that ain’t your humdrum C.O.D or Battlefield. Overall, give new order a try because I bet New Colossus will be a hell of a ride.

Doom

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You ever miss the time when shooters weren’t about online multiplayer and didn’t give a rat’s ass about realistic physics or stories that try way too hard to be deep or relevant? Hell you remember when games used to be fun? Well, doom is for you. A epic, jacked up, silent protagonist who isn’t whiny or troubled, he just hates demons and has some severe anger management issues. You play as “Doomguy”, a dude who wakes from cryo sleep on Mars after a portal to hell is opened and demons are running free. This game is epic, disgustingly bloody, and fast paced old fashioned fun. The campaign is the highlight of the experience for a refreshing change in modern gaming while the multiplayer takes a backseat. The controls are simple. I really enjoyed the game’s weapon upgrading system, not only can you choose a secondary fire for your favorite guns but can even level up multiple secondary fires for each if you find the upgrading stations to do so, creating some wickedly pimped out death machines ( how sexy is it to have a shotgun that can unload a full catche of ammo at once or become a grenade launcher?) The soundtrack is retro 90’s metal based for a blast to the past. If you really want to have a negative, it’s in the multiplayer which feels like a Black Ops 3 knockoff with more platforming and random demonic power ups scattered through. I’ve encountered some glitches in it and a few too many shitty spawn points. If you want an amazing single player challenge or just craving a old school FPS experience than I highly recommend the game I lovingly would call best of 2016 in my book, and may the gaming gods be with you.

Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower

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At last Roland reaches the Dark Tower, but will he be the only one? The Crimson King’s forces are pressing down on our divided heroes, there is only one beam left holding the Tower up, Mordred is born and viscous, and Roland’s Tet is running out of luck. They come together to save Susannah as she gives birth to Mordred, at first a lovely baby boy that quickly reveals the other half of his breeding, showing off his spider form. He immediately kills Mia’s living form and soon after brings an end to Walter finally. Susannah wounds Mordred but he escapes, bleeding, vulnerable, and dying. The group reunites, suffering the first casualty of Callahan to get to Susannah. They head towards Blue Heaven, a massive breaker prison working on shattering the last beam. The Tet launches a badass strike on the prison to free the breakers, tragically losing Eddie in the process. The goodbyes are heartfelt and heart-wrenching but sadly won’t be the first. The Crimson King plots to kill Stephen King via the real life crash and this time Jake sacrifices himself to save King. He’s injured but not dead; Jake dies in Roland’s arms. Susannah is heart broken, first losing her husband then losing the boy she felt for like a son; Susannah and Oy start to feel contempt for Roland. They go on through a perilous winter and sinister fiends along the way, being followed by a sad, enraged Mordred all the way. In a last ditch effort, Mordred strikes them while they sleep, but Oy rushes to fight him off. Mordred kills him but Roland finally slays Mordred. Susannah and Roland part ways ; Roland and a young man they rescued are left to battle the Crimson King and step into the Tower.

Dark Tower 7 has to be one of the best finales I’ve ever read. When I first read it, I didn’t appreciate the final ending much but now I’m older I can appreciate the message it’s meant to convey. The quotes from Hurt by Nine Inch Nails and Bad Company fit the story perfectly because it’s a huge tragedy. I’m not going to lie to you, but I did shed a couple tears during some of the main characters deaths; King brilliantly made them all feel like real people so their ends have a true weight to them. Many of the fights are badass and for all it’s worth, I’m glad Roland found the tower because in the end “The Man in Black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed”.

Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah

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At the end of Calla, Susannah disappears into another when and where, taken over by Mia. Mia is the demon who raped her and is pregnant with a diabolical child of Roland, The Crimson King, and Susannah to create the ultimate breaker, Mordred Deschain. Roland, Eddie, Jake, Oy, and Callahan have to push through the “Unfound” door, find Susannah and finish the last tasks before reaching this story’s finale.

Of all the series, I have the hardest time remembering book six the most. For the most part, I found it as a good bridge linking to the final chapter, much like Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in that regard. There is a heavy sense of dread once the second to last beam holding the tower up falls in the opening, making this book and next feel rushed because time is ticking. Book six starts to feel frighteningly real. Eddie and Roland meet a young Stephen King, which holy crap that’s meta. The heaviest part to me was Callahan and Jake hiding Black 13 under the Twin Towers. If you followed the series, pick it up, but in my opinion it’s definitely not the most memorable of the series but has some memorable moments in it. May the gaming gods be with you, and tune in for the Dark Tower’s epic finale.

Green Lantern: Brightest Day

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So we reached my final Green Lantern entry to my JLA countdown. To my misfortune, I only have one book of this event, but still an epic book at that. After the events of Blackest Night, things may finally be getting back to normal except the White Lantern left behind. Jordan and Carol Ferris are back on speaking terms, even deciding to take a spin for old time’s sake until Sinestro comes to visit. Sinestro tells Jordan and Ferris he needs them to make a connection with the lantern; unbeknownst to them Krona, an ancient Guardian is hatching a plan to control the white light for himself. Jordan, Ferris, and Sinestro must team up again with Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, and Indigo-1 to recapture all of there Corps entities, leading into a epic ass kicking finale by Krona.

It’s a blast to have these characters reunite for another adventure. Personally I like Krona more as a villain than I did Nekron in Blackest Night; he has more of a eerily subdued presence and something about his wide freaky grin and violent mood swings make him dangerous. The fact he is nearly immune to all of the lights and can control all of the entities is mind blowing and bad ass. I like that our heroes totally lose at the end of the book, there wasn’t a deus ex machina to save them at the very end. Also, as a bonus, the book includes a origin story of one of my favorite DC characters Dexx-Starr the Red Lantern (and fuzzy kitty). Definitely pick this up in conjunction with the book Brightest Day. This concludes my Green Lantern reviews for now. If anyone has read any epic lantern stuff or any badass comics in general, let me know in the comments below. You guys are awesome and may the gaming gods be with you.

Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla

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First I’m gonna say sorry this review as well as the final two installments of the Dark Tower saga are coming out later than the first four but so did the books too. Afraid he may never finish his magnum opus after being hit by by a car years before, Stephen King released 5, 6, and 7 back to back.

We pick up with the Ka-tet right after they left Topeka and weathered the starkblast (the event of Wind through the keyhole). Eddie has an eerily vivid dream about his New York; Susannah has dreams of a dark castle and strange appetites. She is pregnant but not by her husband Eddie, but by the demon that raped her when they drew Jake over. While her friends sleep she crawls off and while imagining a exquisite banquet in actuality she’s eating small animals. Roland has caught her strange new ritual. Meanwhile, they are being followed by people of a town bordering Thunderclap, called Calla Bryn Sturgess with a desperate need of there help. The Calla is ripe with twins, but every one of the pair becomes Roont by the Wolves that descend from Thunderclap once every twenty some years or so. The Wolves take a twin, and only a twin, and take them to the dark land and months later the child returns slow and malformed, forced to live out the rest of its days drooling in agony. Finally the Calla has had enough and yearns to fight back. Roland accepts the request because something tells him there’s more to there journey in the Calla. He quickly discovers the Calla’s priest Father Callahan has much in common with his own traveling companions, and he has the darkest piece of the Wizard’s Rainbow in his possession. He hears Callahan’s tale of the horrors that befell Salem’s Lot and the strange events that brought him to the Calla. But that is not all, there is a final door that no one can open. And so the countdown begins as mysteries of the Calla unfold and the Wolves descend upon them.

Such a strange book but damn if it ain’t cool in it’s weird ass way like the rest of the series. Our main characters are once again amazingly well done and honestly they keep you driven through the series. Andy the robot is a creepy secret villain, like finding out Alpha 5 from Power Rangers was secretly hoping the rangers would bite the big one so he could harvest there organs for money, like that kind of robot badguy. Callahan was a cool addition and I enjoyed his story of all the crazy shit that went on after Salem’s Lot. The story at times is a little hard to follow if you paying attention to the minute details, which I can’t stress that enough. Also I found the final battle a little anticlimactic but it definitely ain’t a twilight finale. Overall pick it up if you read the other four, like old school westerns, or a fan of Stephen King. May the Gaming Gods be with you all. You guys rock.

Blackest Night

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It all starts with a question, ” why can some of us defy death while others can’t escape it’s grasp?” The heroes of the DC Universe are no strangers to the deaths of each other as well of cherished loved ones. Everything has been building up the Blackest Night, when death’s darkness would destroy life’s light throughout the universe and secrets would be unearthed. Many have died: Batman, Aqauaman, Martian Manhunter; others came back: Hal Jordan, The Flash, Superman, Green Arrow…but how, but why? Hal and Flash discuss this very thing at Bruce Wayne’s grave when suddenly they are attacked from an old friend, the rotting blackened corpse of Martian Manhunter. Across the DC Universe Black power rings are bringing the dead back to life, imbuing them near invincibility and restoring there meta abilities, filling them the desire to kill and destroy the light; and in some cases taking back the stubborn ones who beat death. These Black Lanterns are being led by The Black Hand (formerly William Hand) a disturbed villain obsessed with death and there entity Nekron. The Guardians are taken down by one of there own, infected by Nekron’s madness. Ganthet manages to activate the emergency protocol in all of the rings to copy themselves and find temporary deputies which gives us some interesting picks like Red Lantern Mera, Blue Lantern Flash, Violet Lantern Atom, Pink Lantern Wonder Woman, Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, and and Sinestro Corps Scarecrow. Jon Stewart has to band an army of lanterns to defend earth with Flash and the duputies while the Green Lantern Corp fights to keep Oa in one piece from the Black Lantern Battery, The Anti-Monitor. All of this while Jordan, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, and Indigo-1 must put an end to the war of the corps and band them all together for the final attack and try to summon the white light of Life before Nekron murders the universe…

Holy shit this saga was amazing. It’s seven books, which I will list for you at the end, but my recommendation is definitely read the first three to get the massive scope of it all. This series introduced me to Green Lantern and it’s a great take on zombies while also a great character study of many of our lesser known DC heroes and baddies. Also, just gotta say, Parallax and the Spectre- one of the most epic comic battles ever. The writers are at the top of there game. Definitely check these books out if you love DC or zombies. May the gaming gods be with you and beware Green Lantern’s light…

Blackest Night book list (in order): Blackest night, Blackest Night: Green Lantern, Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps, Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps vol1 and vol2, Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns, and Blackest Night: Tales of the corps.

Books of Blood (vol 1)

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I’m a huge fan of macabre horror writer Clive Barker; the books of blood are a good place to start for any new writer who wants to jump into the genre. Books of blood are collections of very strange and gruesome short stories, most commonly found in volumes 1-3 and 4-6. I have to say I have personally only read through volume 1 so far but I can tell you wow. The stories in volume 1 include The Book of Blood, The Midnight Meat Train, The Yattering and Jack, Pig Blood Blues, Sex, Death and Starshine, and In the Hills, The Cities. Of these stories, I think Pig Blood Blues was my favorite: a haunting story of a home for wayward boys and the farm of evil pigs that is causing them to disappear. Barker is a master of disturbing imagery, whether it’s a subway train of skinned, upside down bodies or giants made of tied up people that come together in the hills and fight each to the death. The only story I’m not to fond of is the titular story Book of blood, in my opinion it felt a little too descriptive and bloated somehow but not obscenely so. The final moments are creepy. If you have a strong stomach and a dark imagination i highly recommend The Books of Blood; the best compliment I can give is the imagery I get from these stories manages to stick with me for months, even years after in the case of his famous Cenobites or the giants from In the Hills, The Cities, and that is the sign of a true master.