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Resident Evil: Extinction

re extinction

So in Resident Evil (movie 2002) the T Virus broke out; in Resident Evil: Apocalypse the T Virus escaped and infected Raccoon City, ending in the Umbrella Corporation nuking the city to stop the infection. And in Extinction the T Virus has gone world wide; the desert took over Vegas and survivors are few. Alice, her powers brought on by the T Virus, is moving through the desert trying to flee Umbrella. Olivera and LJ have joined a caravan of survivors led by Claire Redfield who are running out of supplies. Alice discovers a diary telling of a possible freedom and civilization where allegedly the virus hasn’t spread. Alice joins the caravan as they storm a a Umbrella outpost, where they failed to cure the zombie outbreak, instead only making them smarter. A desperate scientist has also discovered a new formula that has horrid results. Can the survivors make it out of a seemingly dead world?

As far out- there this series became, Extinction is a surprisingly decent sequel. It does have some good, creepy atmosphere and a decent score. The action series range from pretty cool to over the top, but the over the top stuff is more fits better. The story is surprisingly solid and there are some pretty fair performances in it. Giving Alice psychic powers was pretty stupid but it hurt a bit inside seeing a dude who’s a mix of Birkin and the classic Tyrant having psychic powers. The effects are serviceable but not great. As I said previously, if you watch it as a sci-fi movie, it isn’t bad but skip it if you are a purist fan of the series. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Borderlands 2: Commander Lilith and the fight for Sanctuary

borderlands lilith

It’s certainly been a minute since Borderlands 2 debuted and until a few months ago, Borderlands 3 was nothing but a gamer’s wish. To help us get in the mood for 3, Gearbox released a new DLC for 2 that serves as an epilogue as well as a prelude.

Our heroes are in a sad place after losing Roland and Scooter as well as the fate of Sanctuary hanging in the air. No one seems to have the heart to take Roland’s place as the flying city’s head. Suddenly a new foe named Hector invades, spreading a deadly plant based infection throughout Sanctuary, turning it’s citizens as well as a host of raiders into monstrosities. Can the Vault Hunter save a friend and save there home from this new threat?

Like the DLCs that accompany the series, Commander Lilith’s is well worth the play. The story keeps what’s awesome about the series, having a funny but heart felt story and awesome gameplay with new enemies  and humongous bosses. What I enjoy is now there is an option to start a new character at level 30, giving you a new opportunity to experiment with classes and skill trees you would have had to play through over 10 hours of gameplay for. If you love the series, definitely give it a play through. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aliens: Dust to Dust

aliens dust

In Alien 3 we learned the Xenomorph can adapt based on it’s hosts traits, giving us a dog/ ox alien in 3; Dust to Dust gives gives us a surprising take on the Xenomorph’s ability to change from there hosts.

Maxon is a  twelve year old kid living with his mom on a Terra-forming colony. One night he has a terrible nightmare, and wakes up to a dead animal on the floor and his mother is alarmed. He dreamed it was wrapped around her face. His mother isn’t so worried about that because outside the colony is under attack from a massive infestation of aliens. Without guns, just the bare supplies they can grab, they flee for an struggling, nearly full escape shuttle and barely manage to leave the area. When things seem to be going alright, Max’s mother’s chest explodes with an alien. The chest-burster kills one of the passengers but they seemingly kill it by destroying the ship around it. Now trapped in the sands during a violent sandstorm trying to reach an outpost to escape while being haunted by a one armed alien obsessed with Max…

Dust to Dust is a good ole fashioned survival horror story. I like that Max, a kid is the main character which adds some vulnerability. There are plenty of aliens, including a brief encounter with a Queen at the end, but I like Max’s connection to the one armed alien. The art is really good but sometimes the abundance of darkness makes some of the action scenes hard to track. The story is one of the better I’ve read in Aliens comics with some decent characters. If you are a Alien or horror fan, this is a cool comic to pick up. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

 

Harley Quinn SDCC trailer

It’s no real new the DC streaming service ain’t doing so great, after the fast cancellation of Swamp Thing and the only Titans getting green lite for a second season, despite meh ratings at best. I must admit, I dig the bright, colorful, and pretty adult-rated Harley cartoon. I can’t say it looks great but it sure looks promising. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

SDCC Flash season 6 trailer

As with the CW DC universe, I’m pretty out of touch but I did love Flash, season 1 and always meant to catch up (ha ha Flash pun). Away, Flash season 6 has the Scarlet Speedster and crew facing off against Bloodwork who seems to have bone to pick with the crew. The only thing I’m not that thrilled with is how super bright Barry’s costume is to me; I know it’s traditional but I liked the darker red better myself. My the gaming gods bring you glory.

SDCC Arrow season 8 preview

Next year Arrow concludes after 8 seasons and the story of Oliver Queen and Green Arrow is coming to an end. While the show has had it’s fair share of ups and downs, it did launch the CW’s DC universe and that alone grants it a lot of credit. I’m wondering if Oliver will live to see a happy ending or he’ll meet his match at last. Time will tell next year. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Bioshock Infinite

bioshock inf

Sometimes change is a good thing. I loved Bioshock with all my heart so when I heard the third game in the series wasn’t going to be in the underwater city of Rapture, no plasmids, no Big Daddies, and no Splicers I figured the series was dead. Then came the day I got it as a Christmas present ans suddenly my eyes were open wide and to a whole new world of possibilities…

The year is 1912 and Booker Dewitt is a man with some problems. A former soldier and Pinkerton, Booker is a desperate man who needs a his debt wiped away. A mysterious set of twins arrives with a proposition: bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. The girl in question is Elizabeth, a young woman locked away in a tower most of her life in the flying city of Columbia, a city where Americana and religion are one in the same, led by a deranged prophet named Zachary Hale Comstock. Booker’s stay in Columbia isn’t a safe one, a raffle he’s outed as a outsider and Comstock’s  followers rain down on him. Armed with guns, a sky-hook, and the Vigors that grant him different powers, Booker frees Elizabeth, guarded by the bio-mechanical  Songbird. It’s not long before Booker discovers why the people of Columbia worshiped her- she has the ability to open tears into new dimensions and it’s from there Booker learns you can’t hide from the past…

Infinite is a humongous leap forward for the series in pretty much every way. Gameplay feels much more modern with far more options for weapons and the ability to combo your Vigors. Elizabeth is my favorite AI partner of all time, she can’t die, searches the area for useful items for you and can summon some awesome shit from other dimensions. The world is beautifully brought to life with top notch graphics, sound, and voice performances. The story is one of the best of the decade with some huge twists at the end and great characters. It’s hard for me to say which is my favorite between the first or Infinite and while I can’t say, it’s still a contender for best Bioshock and one of my favorite games I can’t recommend enough. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Family Guy

family-guy

I’m pretty sure this show needs no introductions. It’s brought joy and rage to thousands; it’s that show your parents yelled at you for watching but right after went into there rooms and watched, and is arguably one of the most controversial shows on TV.

The show revolves around the Griffin family as they live a ordinary/ less than ordinary life in Quahog, Rhode Island with a colorful cast of friends and side characters. The Griffin’s are Peter the idiotic dad, Lois the housewife trying to keep it together, Chris the fat, dimwitted son, Meg the outcast, Stewie the homicidal baby and there dog Brian the lush and pompous wannabe writer. For the first few seasons, the Griffins almost felt like a modern day Simpsons for the new millennium, with a bit more edge and a style of using cutaways to mini skits to keep the laughs rolling. It was alright then, not really too special but the fan base was dedicated and was able to revive it from cancellation.

Coming back after a few years with season 4, Family Guy sky-rocketed in popularity and came back more insane than ever. From seasons 4 to 9, the show pushed the limits anyway it could and honestly that’s when it was the best in my opinion- I mean hell they even did there own version of the Star Wars trilogy and it was pretty hilarious. In high school it was the one show most kids I knew watched, despite what clique they were in, and most of the people I worked with were the same. If you want to see the best of Family Guy, I recommend seasons 4-9.

Season 10 to the present day is when the magic seemed to die. There’s few episodes that were in some pretty bad taste, meant for a shock laugh, but instead left me feeling kinda dirty. Another thing that was beginning to creep it’s way in was how toxic the Griffin’s really are; where they began feeling like a flawed but decent hearted family at there core, in the present I find all of them to be insufferable assholes in there own way. Like many shows gone on too long, things got stale and I couldn’t even bother getting past season 12. I peaked in around the others and found no sign of hope, just the rotting corpse of what was a good show.

To wrap this piece up, the first 9 seasons are a good time I’d definitely recommend but stop there. What I found beyond there wasn’t worth watching. May the gaming gods bring you glory.