Uncategorized – Page 8 – Savior Gaming

Mafia 2

Vito Scarletta and his best friend Joe are out to make a name for themselves in 1940’s Empire City. Both grew up poor, witnessing the destitution of the Great Depression and the riches of the made men in there midsts. After Vito returns from WW2, he finds himself getting involved with a local mob head only to be sent to prison. After a shortened sentence him and Joe are back at with a new family, new opportunities and a bright future. But at what cost?

I have a weird relationship with this series that I mostly love. 2 is actually the final game of the trilogy I played, the 3rd and least loved game being my first foray into the series, then the 1st, and now 2, which many have told me is the series’s peak. In many ways, I can see why.

The game, like the other two, is great at making you feel like you’re in the time period from the clothes, to the cars, to the guns. I will warn you, there are some raunchy scenes and a fair bit of racism involved, understandable given the time period. I loved Vito’s story and I was invested in the other characters. The driving feels solid and I do appreciate being able to tune up and customize your cars as well as save them in your garages. The gunplay is solid and challenging at points, sometimes too challenging. Sometimes I’ve died out of nowhere and the checkpoints can be unmerciful as the later, more intense missions come out. The fighting damn right annoyed the hell out of me and I tried avoiding it whenever possible. The police can be a major pain in the ass, either forgetting you exist instantly or clinging to you like herpes over the dumbest crap- I had to outrun them once for 15 minutes straight just because I checked my guns on the sidewalk. In the end, Mafia 2 is a damn good game despite some annoyances and some harmless bugs but well worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Black Panther: The Client

King Tchalla is well known as the wise, noble, ingenious king of Wakanda as well as it’s protector, they mysterious and legendary Black Panther. King Tchalla and his enigmatic entourage have come to New York after a little girl was found murdered after receiving aid from a publicized Wakandan charity. Hotshot State Dept. Everett Ross is tasked with accompanying the group, unaware the King is on a revenge quest that will sweep through not only Brooklyn but bring Ross and the Black Panther face to face with Mephisto himself…

I was curious how Marvel Knights would treat Panther. I mostly wasn’t disappointed. After the bright, CGI-filled movies of the MCU, it was refreshing to see an angry, badass Black Panther beating his way through thugs. I found this book’s take on Ross to be sleazy and just hilarious how unprepared for this kind of shit the guy is- Ross in his boxers hanging out at the apartment with Mephisto was straight-up comedy gold. The villain of the book creeped me the hell out. One of my complaints I have is the pacing is off. I wish there was more detective story and stayed more street level. Leading up to Mephisto’s involvement was really cool but I felt like the story rushed it’s way there. By the end I felt lost and had to reread chunks, swearing I missed something somewhere. The art is solid but not particularly memorable. The dialogue and writing feels dated, which does add to the comedy but I’m sure if it was intentional or not. In the end, it’s a solid book but I wouldn’t recommend as a newcomer’s first Panther read. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Daredevil: Underboss

Even the greatest of enemies have lies they do not dare to cross. Daredevil and Kingpin have been arch-enemies for years, taking everything from each other. Murdock will not kill. Stricken blind, Wilson Fisk will not anyone kill his greatest adversary, although he knows the devil of Hell’s Kitchen is none other than a blind lawyer by day. When a mutant named Nitro tries killing Matt Murdock directly in broad daylight, he’s led down a twisting path as he believes Kingpin put the hit on him. But Fisk is just as surprised as Daredevil…then Fisk is seemingly murdered by a betrayer in cold blood as an underboss yearns to bring the criminal element to the good old days before one man ruled it all and there weren’t supers running around. Can Daredevil survive the onslaught and solve the mystery of who wants him dead and more importantly, who knows his secret identity?

Honestly, I love Daredevil even as far back as his arc on spiderman animated series but I’ve never read a comic until recently. Damn was I missing out. This is a Marvel Knights story much like Inhumans and Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones so it’s gritty and adult-rated, which fits the Man without Fear perfectly. Bendis told a really good story that kept me gripped as much as the gorgeous artwork. The book is paced really well and doesn’t require much pre-knowledge to dive in which I appreciate. The story wraps up pretty nicely and I was genuinely interested in where it was going. In the end, I highly recommend looking up this underrated gem if you wanted to get into Daredevil like I did but didn’t know where. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Alan Wake remastered

Fear is an interesting thing. As subjective as fear can be, some fears are instilled in everyone as part of our make-up, none other than the fear of the dark…

Alan Wake is a bestselling crime author in a rut with the dreaded writer’s block. Alan and his wife go to the sleepy woodland town of Bright Falls for a vacation at the picturesque lakeside cabin. Everything seems fine until Alice disappears and Alan is thrust into the dark woods where the very shadows themselves have taken over the townsfolk and turned them murderous. Alan’s only weapon is the safe haven of light. Day by day as Alan’s reality crumbles and the Dark Presence grows stronger, its up to Alan and a few found friends to battle the darkness and save Alice.

For a game that’s roughly 15 years old, this game does a damn good job of setting up an intense atmosphere. The game uses darkness, light, and sound to keep you on edge all the way through to the end. The story is very intriguing and has a cool King vibe I really enjoyed. The gameplay is solid but the dodge mechanic is a bit funky at times so definitely keep that in mind. If you like the band Poets of the Fall like I do, you’ll get a treat as they have music in game which is pretty cool. The game gives you just enough ammo and supplies to get through but you do have to conserve and be creative which I appreciate. The game does show its age at times and there’s parts I hated, namely the damn “kidnapper” escort mission but the game keeps you invested. The only other bummer I got is that the ending is anti-climatic from a gameplay perspective but you will want more. I can’t wait to play Control, which overlaps, and play 2. I highly recommend checking it out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League

So first and foremost, the absolute best part of this game to me was the legendary Kevin Conroy reprising his role as Batman unfortunately for one of the last times before his passing. R.I.P to our true Dark Knight Kevin Conroy.

Years after Batman: Arkham Knight, Metropolois is under siege from the tyrannical Brainiac. The Justice League has fallen except for Wonder Woman and Flash, who are left to fight now only a seemingly endless scourge from Brainiac but also her old friends. With no other options, Amanda Waller unleashes Task Force X to save the world, bringing together assassin Deadshot, lowlife rogue Captain Boomerang, villainous Harley Quinn, and King Shark…because why not bring out a talking shark god for the end of the world? Despite impossible odds, can these outcasts come together to destroy Brainiac, save the world, and kill the Justice League?

There’s a lot I should’ve said, but it’s a half-ass description for a half-ass game. This game made me sad, not only because this is one of the last times we’ll hear Conroy as Batman, but because there is so much potential that greed crushed. This game is plagued by every annoying live service trope I’ve come to hate in modern gaming. It’s a looter shooter with crap loot. The gameplay loop is painfully repetitive. The characters don’t have much to differentiate them. There are great voice performances but they are bogged down by cringe writing. There are cool set pieces but honestly, the only character I was really attached to was Batman, because the game doesn’t let you forget this is IN the Arkham verse, but even if you sink a ludicrous amount of hours and get the real ending beyond the pay wall, Batman is still wasted in the very end. In the end, this could’ve been a cool name that was obliterated by bad decisions and greed and unless you got it free as a PS+ game, it’s not worth your time. I replayed Batman: Arkham City for the 20th time to cleanse my palette- I recommend getting the Arkham Trilogy on whatever console instead but stay away from this thing. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

High on Life

So you’re on the verge of adulthood, sitting on your ass gaming while your sister gets baked when the aliens come. Next thing you know you find a talking gun, a crippled alien bounty hunter and before you know it you’re out in the cosmos blasting through an intergalactic cartel of aliens who what to ingest humans, the ultimate high.

Ok, so the timing of release bit this surprisingly fun sci-fi FPS platformer in the ass. It might have been announced during the height of Rick and Morty’s astronomical popularity, being written and voiced by the creators of the hit shit, but by the time it was released, Justin Rowland delivered the deathblow on a dwindling empire. Hell, considering he voices Kenny, your first gun and a main character of the game (exactly as he voiced Morty at that) maybe enough to turn you off. If Rowland’s involvement or Morty’s constant chatter is more you can handle, I get it.

Beside the unpleasantness of Rowland’s involvement and hearing Morty’s voice squawking at you nonstop, you’re going to want to scream at the insufferable humor in the early game. If you’re fan of season 4 of RnM and up, it might not bother you but I found the insistent swearing and crude humor annoying. You can cut weapon chatter in the settings thankfully and as the game goes on, it gets much more tolerable and actually funny and engaging.

The game is actually pretty fun once you get your hands on your second talking gun. Every gun is a living alien that has 2 firing modes that are fun and unique. The graphics are pretty eye-catching and the music has a nice, retro sci-fi kinda feel to it that I really enjoyed. Despite becoming a bounty hunter, the game remains tight without many side missions, instead opting for many collectibles. The boss battles are fun and quirky with good rewards. The game is a fairly quick play at roughly 8-10 hours which suits it just fine. In the end, it’s a pretty solid game once you get past the cringy humor that tries shoving itself down your throat the first hour or two. I think it’s worth a try. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Monster Friday,Chupacabra

Chupacabra, of which there is, despite popular belief, more than one, lives across North and South America. The name literal means goat sucker in Spanish and is called this because of how they hunt and kill animals, which would be predominatly farm animals. They do this the same way as vampires, by attacking and sucking the blood of creatures.

A number of them have been supposedly found, but they are always later discovered to be a known animal, usually a coyote with mange or something similar.

That being said, it would be wild of some guy on a blog to say it doesn’t exist. I have clearly not traveled the continents doing research or memorized any sort of animal codex and cross-referenced anything. It does happen to be one of the few cryptids that I do believe has been pretty debunked at this point. Either way, it is a rather interesting one. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Near Dark

So Caleb is a good-looking country guy working on his dad’s farm with his little brother, living the typical boring farmhand life. When he and a buddy go into the city looking for chicks, beer, and a good time, Caleb finds it. Mae is hot, quirky, and likes Caleb a lot…so much she nearly bites his throat out getting some hanky panky. Understandably Caleb freaks out and heads back home, bleeding out and feeling his skin burn the closer morning comes. Before he can reach his home, he’s snatched by a gang layered in thick blankets who speed off with Caleb in an RV with all blacked out windows. Odd. Turns out Mae is part of a nomadic gang of anarchist vampires, feeding and raising hell by night while laying low come dawn. Caleb is drawn between his budding love for Mae and the comradery he begins slowly forging with the maniacs but is he willing to destroy his soul for love and immortality?

Ok, this movie is a gem and I’m utterly pissed its a pain in the ass to find. There’s some legal rights dispute bullshit with it so finding it physically is going to cost you a hell of a penny, and streaming is a headache. I found it on Tubi- once- after trying for over a decade to track it down.

If you loved Aliens the gang will look extremely familiar; Henrickson, Goldstein, and Paxton did Near Dark right after Aliens actually. Bill Paxton (RIP) steals the show as a menacing, hilarious, and awesome villain. The acting all around is great. I love that the movie is a terrific balance between a western and a horror movie. I weirdly found many themes from Twilight as far as Caleb’s pathos when he has to fight the cravings to keep his humanity, just obviously much better and effectively done, reminding me much of Kaneke’s arc in Tokyo Ghoul (season 1) . I do like how they came up with a clever means to a happy, albeit badass ending. In the end, I implore you to go find Near Dark and experience this super underrated, near-forgotten gem for yourselves. May the gaming gods bring you glory Mr Pig Knuckle.

Salem’s Lot (2024)

You know, this is one of those damn movies I never thought would see the light of day (hehe lame vampire pun). It was announced, delayed, then disappeared for a few years before getting dumped on HBO Max like a dead carcass at the slaughterhouse. Years ago I reviewed the novel for Salem’s Lot and since then I’ve read it at least twice and I can say it is a damn good book and a pretty solid vampire tale. While I never saw either mini-series, the trailer for 2024 was enough to make Savior and I at least excited for a flaming dumpster fire. Did we get it?

Sadly no. Salem’s Lot 2024 is not a garbage fire. That’s not to say it’s particularly great or even good. The cast gives decent performances given a pretty crammed script. Much of the soul, the suspense, and characters of the book are crushed, compacted, and repackaged into a forgettable vampire romp. It’s the kind you can forget the same day you watch it which honestly is a shame given how good the book was. The vampires are more like zombies. Barlow isn’t a nightmarish ghoul like in the 79 mini-series but a parody of that memorable design. There’s not even as much gore or hilarious jumpscares as I thought there’d be in the trailer. In the end, read the book or seek out another vamp movie because good or bad, you’ll remember it more than this thing that should’ve stayed in the development grave. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Oppenheimer

So I have to say I typically hate biopics. I’ve never been into biographies, and even less into autobiographical pieces. I went to see Oppenheimer in theaters at least expecting a good movie, considering the A-list cast and knowing it was directed by Christopher Nolan.

So the movie tells the story of acclaimed physicist and quantum theorist J. Robert Oppenheimer: the American Prometheus whose work and leadership at Los Alamos through WWII led to the first successful creation and test of the nuclear bomb, the end of WWII, and the arms race with the Soviet Union kicking off the Cold War. Throughout all of this, we get a very human look at a brilliant but very flawed man as well as the political crucifixion he endured in the midst of McCarthyism as well as the psychological fallout from what he unleashed on the world.

I’m not going to mince words, I loved Oppenheimer because I felt like it told such a truly human story. Cillian Murphy is spectacular and is surrounded by an outstanding supporting cast. Nolan brings his S game when it comes to establishing visuals that are both beautiful, awe-inspiring and damn terrifying. The music is beautiful. It is a 3+ hour movie that feels long but the pace runs smoothly. Whether the movie is historically accurate, I can’t really say. I do want to read the book much of the film was based on, which REALLY says something considering the opening statements of this review. What I admire maybe the most is the passion and love put into this movie, making it shine brighter and inspiring me quite a bit as a writer. In the end, I highly recommend it, especially in 4k our Blu-ray at the very least. May the gaming gods bring you glory.