I’ve been told the first Hellblade game was really amazing and since I just purchased the first game, I wanted to look at the trailer for 2. I love the atmosphere and I love the badass music in the trailer. It got me excited to play the first. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
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Resident Evil 2 ( classic)
One of the best games we got in 2019 was the Resident Evil 2 Remake which I have to say, is one of the best done horror games of this console generation. As a kid, my friends and I used to plug away at the classic RE2 on the original PlayStation and pray we didn’t die because we didn’t have a memory card. The question is, how does the old Resident Evil 2 hold up over 2 decades later?
Months after the destruction of the mansion in the Arklay Mountains, a massive outbreak of zombies has befallen Raccoon City. It’s here that we’re introduced to series legends, Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. Claire is looking for her brother Chris after he went M.I.A after investing the mansion in the original; Leon is a rookie cop on his first day on the RCPD who meets Claire as she’s about to be zombie food. They try finding refuge in the police station, only to get split up and set to face the secrets of station and the influence of the relentless Umbrella Corporation and the horrors they’ve unleashed, as well as the creator of the new G virus, the monstrous William Birkin…
So while regardless of it’s age, the game is a horror classic that definitely surpasses the original. The atmosphere and music are still eerie and the monsters still hold up, especially during some impressive cut-scenes for the time. I still remember wanting to crap myself when they introduce the Licker and Birkin’s massacre post transformation. While I admit, I don’t have much experience with Leon, I do appreciate the differences between the campaigns more than there was with Chris and Jill in the first game. What seriously kills the game are the damn tank controls which are clunky as hell and make some puzzles that aren’t hard on there own way more of a bitch than they need to be ( the best example is the library bookcase puzzle). There is a good amount of content including Hunk and Tofu’s campaigns. The graphics are muddy for most of the main game and the writing and voices haven’t held up that great unfortunately. In the end, the game is well worth a play for vintage gamers, but if you can’t stand the controls and gameplay style, move onto the remake. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Naughty Bear
Dude, when I first heard about this game in Fangoria magazine (man that seriously brings me back) my brain truly had no idea how to comprehend this game. Essentially what we have is a Grindhouse- exploitation revenge tale in a kid’s program. Naughty Bear is a outcast on a island of happy, friendly Teddy Bears. One day, he snaps when one of the most popular bears doesn’t invite him to a birthday party and the madness ensues. Naughty goes on a violent stuffing filled rampage, facing off against the police, military and even freaking ninjas as he gets his revenge.
The opening level, in a rare feat, actually shocked me. Naughty has a huge range of possibilities to kill the other bears, whether you are going to traditionally melee or blast your enemies away or take more creative, sadistic measures like drowning them in a toilet, burning them alive in a campfire, or bashing there heads in off a DJ mix table. The aesthetic and music pretty legitimately feel like a children’s TV show, including a really creepy, sinister narrator that sounds way too cheery to be telling the story of a teddy bear who went postal. Despite the insane premise and horrific possibilities, the gameplay sadly rather sucks. Everything feels clunky and the levels feel repetitive and small. The base game is really short, so I seriously recommend if you try it, to get your hands on the special edition with the bonus levels to extend the length but even then it’s a short ass game. I recommend checking it out if you play a truly batshit game, but I don’t think it’ll make any top 10 lists. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Superman: Red Son
I have to admit, my timing couldn’t have been better, getting this book the day before Superman: Red Son trailer dropped. Red Son is one of DC’s most famous multiverse stories. We all know the tale of the last son of Krypton landing in the backyard of the Kents in Smallville who would grow up to be the legendary Man of Steel, Superman. But what if he didn’t land in Smallville?
Red Son follows the life of “The Superman” who became Joseph Stalin’s right hand and nuclear deterrent during the Cold War. Born to a small, poor, Ukrainian family, this Superman fights to protect his people and country and uphold the ideals of communism. The US asks genius mind Lex Luthor to trump the seemingly invincible Superman but he can never seem to stop him, whether its the villainous creations, allying himself with the Russian anarchist known as “The Batman”, or creating a corp of fighters wielding alien Green Lantern tech. Stalin is assassinated, leaving Superman as the President of the growing USSR, a omnipresent godlike figure of security and fear but can he keep being the hero he desires to be when everyone wants to see him get brought down?
Red Son is perhaps my favorite Superman story I’ve read. I love the depth and complexity of Red Son Superman as well as that world’s versions of Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Batman, and the Green Lanterns. The artwork is great, and I love the era Communist era Superman posters that do feel pretty realistic. I do like the twist villain at the end but the very end didn’t work for me. Nevertheless it’s an amazing book I’d highly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Kirk Cameron Saving Christmas
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Savior and I this season. We’ve covered many of the usual holiday staples on the blog these past few years, but this year I wanted to try something different. First, I have to get this out of the way, I’m not going to shred this movie for the religious views but the insane way they are presented. I mean there are some pretty crazy ass rants here as Cameron discusses the nativity, Christmas trees, and Santa while trying to teach to a dude named Christian about the meaning of Christmas.
It doesn’t take long before you realize this is a propaganda film, hell, there is a good 10 minute prologue telling you about how Christmas is dying. Cameron and the cast beat you over the head with some really one sided religious messages so get ready for a preach fest and I warn you now, don’t watch this if you’re easily offended. I had fun watching the hilariously bad film-making on display but was creeped out but the utter insanity of some of these rants; the swaddling clothe is a good place to start for those who saw this thing. There is a hell of a lot of filler in this and this probably could’ve been an hour but it’s 80 minutes. If you like hilariously bad movies, I recommend this but if you want a decent Christmas special, look elsewhere. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Glass
I’m sure I’m weird to say Glass was one of my most anticipated movies of 2019. Unbreakable is one of my favorite superhero movies and Split was one of my favorite horror movies of the decade so I was really pumped to see how the trilogy would conclude and I wanted to see the reunion between Dunn and Glass.
The Horde is on the loose, kidnapping and killing young women in his pursuit of saving the broken. David Dunn, now deemed the Overseer, has spent the past 19 years as a vigilante using his powers to keep people safe. He’s been hunting the Horde down while evading the police. After confronting him, both are surprised at the others ability, but are apprehended by a mysterious doctor convinced they aren’t superhuman but rather mentally ill. They aren’t the only one she has captive however, seemingly comatose for nearly two decades is Elijah Prince who is reunited with Dunn and introduced to Crumb. Mr Glass has a plan to unite with The Beast and unveil the existence of super humans to the world. Can the Overseer stop the deadly alliance?
First, don’t go into this expecting a conventional super story. There isn’t a lot of pomp and circumstance, and I can’t say this movie is for everyone. I personally believe it’s a damn good end to an amazing trilogy. The three main leads do a great job but Jackson and McAvoy steal the show. The movie is a decent mix of cross over combined with dual sequels for Unbreakable and Split. The pacing slows quite a bit in the second act but McAvoy thankfully carries what could be a painful slog. I couldn’t help but wish we got more time with Dunn as a vigilante. The fights are pretty cool for what they were. I liked the twists and the ending, being the minority and felt uplifted after. Glass isn’t perfect nor the ultimate trilogy ender and while I can see where a lot of the choices made will piss fans off, I will say it’s well worth a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Halloween (2018)
A few days ago, I posted a rant during my review of Texas Chainsaw (3D) about horror’s particularly bad track record of sloppy canons. Like TCM, Halloween thought it was better to wipe out it’s lackluster sequels and far from great remakes and start from a new slate, keeping only the events of the original Halloween in canon. No Thorn cult, no Busta Rhymes, and no edgy gargantuan Michael that roams the countryside. Most importantly, Michael and Laurie are no longer brother and sister. So how does the new canon hold itself up?
Forty years have passed since Michael Myers stalked the streets of Haddonfield on Halloween night. Scarred and silent, he’s stayed in the sanitarium. A pair of bloggers try interviewing him to no avail, reminding him of that night by presenting him with the mask he once wore. Meanwhile we join Laurie who’s life has been ruined by Michael and has dedicated the past four decades to stopping him if and when he would break out, even if it meant the rift in her family life. Her daughter Karen wants nothing to do with her, trying to raise her own teen daughter away from the trauma of there past, while Laurie struggles to stay in there life’s. While being transferred on Halloween, Michael escapes and the bodies begin to pile up, leaving Laurie to face her fears once and for all…
This is the damn Halloween movie I wanted. There is a surprising amount of character drama in this sequel and the characters are done really well but Jaime Lee Curtis steals the show as a broken Laurie hellbent on killing Michael. Old man Michael is terrifying and badass. There is a surprising amount of twists in the story and a surprising amount of humor that weirdly works. The classic score returns but is given new life with new music added that’s really good. I enjoyed the cinematography. Overall, Halloween 2018 is one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in recent years and I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Tenet trailer
It’s been a while since we got a film from Christopher Nolan and as always, it always looks pretty epic. Tenet looks like a good line between intelligent spy trailer and high class Sci-fi movie with a trailer that doesn’t show much thankfully. I’m fairly curious how it will turn out great and I’ll be glad to check out Nolan’s next film. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Monster Energy Supercross
This review is going to be pretty straight forward because of all the games I’ve played this year, this game honestly sucks the worst and I gave up pretty quickly for some pretty huge reasons.
First reason I gave this game the finger was my first impression. It installed and was ready to use so I gave it a try. Immediately I saw the Monster energy drink logos and a start screen that stalled for almost five minutes. After that, without further menus I was taken into a game I had no choice in. I wasn’t given options for character, map, or even game mode; I thought perhaps it was a tutorial until the final disastrous look at the scoreboard at the end of a match I didn’t choose to be in. There was prompts telling me controls and hints, but yet it wasn’t a tutorial because I leveled up, not even knowing I had a level to begin with. The controls are easy enough to learn but the bikes handle like shit. Talking with Savior, he agreed and it wasn’t just me. Trying to make simple turns was harder than hell and most times I just flung myself out of the ring.
Weeks later, I tried again. My second time around, there were menus and customization options but I found it dumb there were no stats on the bikers and the tracks look mostly the same. Strangely there was muddied look to the faces of the drivers too which was weird. The driving is still shit and I still don’t understand why you need a different control ground and air when I can’t do a trick in mid air. After another match that did nothing but raise my blood pressure, I quit and deleted it.
In the end, I hated this damn game and even free, I still say you’re paying too much for this obvious cash grab. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Superman: Red Son trailer
It’s actually good thing the Red Son trailer dropped because I just picked the book up recently. The trailer looks pretty awesome I admit. I’m glad to see this Superman tale come alive. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 