Halo: Spartan Assault

Hearing the word "halo," fills my head with memories of Master Chief, Covenant, Cortana, spartans, arbiter, sticking enemies with plasma grenades, flipping over Scorpion tanks, SWAT playlist, Slayer playlists, battle rifles, Grifball, etc. Halo is probably one of the most well know franchises alongside Call of Duty, Battlefield, and other first-person shooter games. Nowadays it seems that more Halo-related material is being spewed out into the market. For example, the recent release on Xbox One/Xbox 360 Halo: Spartan Assault. Originally this game was released alongside the release of the Microsoft Windows 8 Operating System and was a tablet/Windows 8 phone game. Reviews for it were mixed and as I already mentioned it was released for Xbox One/Xbox 360 as Xbox Live game. I purchased it off the Xbox marketplace and after playing I wish I didn't spend the money.

Gameplay: Again this was first released as a tablet/Windows 8 phone game and it's pretty noticeable if you're playing on any of the Xboxes. What you have is a sky-view third person shooter. You can control the distance to throw grenades and your direction of fire with the right analog stick. It's also a complete various objectives to finish the level. Most of the gameplay mechanics/controls are similar to past Halo games with the difference being it's from a bird's eye view. There's also options to choose your armor abilities, weapons, campaign boosters, etc. Aside from campaign there's a cooperative game play mode that I didn't try out yet. I'm unsure if I'll even give it a try.

Story: The setting is between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4 on the planet Draetheus V and its moon. The Covenant truce from Halo 3 crumbles and humanity is again at war with the Covenant. Spartans Davis and Palmer are stationed on Draetheus V and lead a resistance against the Covenant. In the end Spartan Palmer successfully drives the Covenant away and loses the planet and Spartan Davis.

Critique: I bought this game out of sure curiosity and to satisfy my Halo nerdom. After playing I found the game to be boring and somewhat entertaining if I wanted to briefly pass the time. The missions are super short pending on if you're trying to get the achievements. The objectives are repetitive and get dull after doing them four or five times. The only real story elements are from the movie introductions and mission descriptions. The whole game itself is just repetitive to the point that your mind will go numb. The only positive I can think of is that Halo feeling/elements that many of us are quite familiar with. What really takes the cake is the birds-eye view which to me should be reserved to real-time-strategy games like Age of Empires.

Pros:

• Halo feeling/elements.
• Somewhat entertaining.

Cons:

• Repetitive gameplay
• Birds-eye view camera.

Verdict: I give this game a rating range between 2 to 3 out of 5 stars. Yes the game is bad to almost decent but only because of the repetitive gameplay. I actually wish that this game was made into a console game and had a similar style to Halo 3:ODST. To me that would make more sense and give big-time fans a better experience.

      

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

For quite some time I haven't been able to sit down and play a decent video game. Mainly it's due to school and that I possess several games that I've beaten at least a few times each. Not to mention that the only games I play are the ones related to my interests. This time I've decided to try a new game which I'm familiar with but I never got the full experience. That game is Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag. I heard of this game back in October 2013 but I didn't pay much attention except to the pirate motif to it. It wasn't until I recently saw the Pirates of the Caribbean movies that I decided to give the game a try. I have to say that I was mildly impressed with it, but not all of it.

Gameplay: The gameplay is the same as the previous installments in the Assassin's Creed series. You can climb, blend in with the crowd, assassinate enemies, use various weapons including the pistol, sleep/berserk darts, and wrist blades, and complete side quests aside from the main missions. The world is also enormous so there's many places to explore. What's new is that there's a naval combat system in the game which was introduce in Assassin's Creed 3 but updated for Assassin's Creed 4. In this system you can pirate merchant ships, destroy forts, harpoon oceanic creatures, or just sail the sea to your heart's content while your crew sings away. I personally enjoyed this naval system and I can't stop playing it because it's so much fun, especially when you can pirate merchant ships. Other than that the gameplay is very similar to previous titles.

Story: There are two settings in the Assassin's Creed series, a future setting and the historical setting the game takes place in. As a whole there are two groups of people: the Templars and Assassins. The Templars want to control the world and create a new order and the Assassins are a resistance force against them. I don't want to get too much into the future setting because it spans throughout the series. The future setting in this title though centers around some guy who's working for a Templar run corporation and undercover with the Assassins. The future setting in this game was really pointless and wasted my time when I wanted to go back to finish the historical story. Now that I think about it I don't know why the developers/creative team didn't just stick with the historical story by itself.

Now for the historical setting, you're a sailor/privateer named Edward Kenway who gets tangled in a plot with the Templars and the undercover acts of the Assassins. Along the way he's working with famous pirates Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and a host of other characters while establishing a pirate-run republic and searching for "The Observatory." An artifact that the Templars want to use to control the world and valuble treasure to Kenway. In the end Kenway becomes joins the assassins, establishes a pirate-run area, and prevents the Templars from reaching thier goal of world domination.

Review: I really have nothing to gripe about in the gameplay. It's all the same thing and nothing new for those who've played prievious titles. I still give high praise to the naval combat system. My words cannot fully express how much fun it is. It will get boring in time but for now it's worth it until you get the collectibles/finish side quests. The story on the other hand, wasn't all that great.

The story in Assassin's Creed technically received praise in the past but not for this one. As I said before the future setting was worthless and not good. I didn't see it as necessary nor do I think the future setting is necessary for any of the games. The historical setting was ok, better than the future setting for sure. I honestly think, after reading about the historical settings for the past games, the creative teams are running out of ideas for the story. Although I enjoyed the pirate motif it's still the same formula, become an assassin and fight the Templars. I did enjoy seeing Kenway's character develop the story itself didn't exactly phase me in any way.

Overall:

Pros:

• Amazing Naval Combat system
• A few added elements to the game
• Pirate motif

Cons:

• Story wasn't all that great
• Same mechanics/gameplay style as with previous games.  

I really enjoyed this game but if I had no knowledge of the previous games I probably would have enjoyed it more. I still recommend this game to those around me. Hopefully the next creative team will be able to make improvements for a possible Assassin's Creed 5. I give this game a rating within the range of three to four out of five stars. With all due respect though, ancient pirates were pretty cool and had amazing lives roaming the seven seas. 

Update #1

Hey guys sorry I haven't written or posted anything in a while. I've been busy with school, my position working with my Microbiology teacher, and my regular daily life. I will post my next review soon. I have plenty of things to review after what I've been reading, watching, listening etc. I also want to add that I'm planning on writing different kinds of posts other than reviews. I've decided to write character analyses from books, shows, video games, etc. Again I plan on writing again real soon as soon as I catch a break! Hope you guys enjoy reading my posts because my next post will be a real treat! As a teaser my next post will be a character analysis but from one of my earlier review posts. Hope this is a good enough teaser and happy reading guys! 

Frozen

Disney films have been a major part of my childhood alongside the things mentioned in my previous posts. I have always enjoyed the classic retellings of fairytales such as Snow White, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzal, Cinderella, etc. These stories always started out happy, then became sad, and then reached happily ever after. I loved the songs at various scenes, seeing the story developed, and being left with a good feeling at the end. After seeing the new Disney flick Frozen, it was like watching the classic Disney films all over again.

Plot: Anna and Elsa are loving sisters and use Elsa's power over winter for fun and games. Unfortunately there's an accident which causes the sisters to separate. Years past, Elsa becomes Queen and she accidently reveals her powers in public. Her powers spiral out of control and creates an everlasting winter in the kingdom. Gripped by fear Elsa flees the kingdom. Anna pursues Elsa, hoping that Elsa can reverse the spell.

Characters:

• Elsa: Queen of the kingdom and possess the power to control snow, winter, etc. She's wary of her power and lives in constant fear that her power will act beyond her control.

• Anna: Sister to Elsa and princess of the kingdom. Anna dreams of rekindling her relationship with her sister and being able to end the isolation caused by Elsa's fears/anxiety.

• Kristoff: Mountain man who makes a living selling ice and has a pet reindeer named Sven.

• Olaf: A snowman brought to life by Elsa who dreams of experiencing summer.

Critique: Watching this film will give you that great Disney feeling all over again. I enjoyed the songs and how they tied into the story's progression. There were also some recurring elements that stuck out to me. Anna's curiosity of the world outside her home reminded me of Rapunzal's story, Plato's cave, and the idea of how isolationism doesn't always work. Another aspect was Elsa's fear of her power, others, and herself. This really stood out to me in seeing how fear leads to destruction. Fear destroys relationships, great opportunities, and yourself. I also enjoyed seeing the protrayal of true love and that it's real meaning. The meaning of acting towards others in a way that leaves yourself out of the equation. Finally the character development was excellent and they all lived happily ever after.

Of course there was a little dry humor but it didn't affect me as much. Some of the humor was meant for children and some for adults. Also the story did some rushed and some scenes required thinking. These specific points shouldn't exactly intrude on the enjoyment though.

Pros:

• Get into that classic Disney feeling
• Great songs, story, characters and themes

Cons:

• Some confusing moments
• Humor can be dry or meant for a certain audience

In the end I give this film a rating of 4.5 to 5.0 stars out of 5 stars. For those who enjoy Disney and are looking for that Disney feeling should give this one a try before the winter comes!

Attack on Titan

The last anime cartoon I'm quite familiar with is the Pokemon series. That show was a huge part of my childhood which always left me enamored. Now that feeling has risen again after watching and reviewing the show RWBY. After watching RWBY I've been getting into checking out other animes. I've recently watched an anime called Attack on Titan after hearing good things about it. I got to say I enjoyed it but there were a few things that did hinder my enjoyment.

Plot: Humanity is living behind giant walls that were built for protection against giant humanoids called Titans. One day the Titans manage to break through the walls and humanity declares war on the invaders. The Titans are winning but humanity begins to slowly gain a foothold eradicating them.

Characters:

• Eren Jaeger: Main protagonist and has a desire to fight against the Titans. He has a special gift that is questioned by others but his determination to save humanity negates those doubts.

• Mikasa Ackerman: Adopted sister of Eren and always is nurturing towards him. On the battlefield she's adaptable and possesses skills that surpass her teammates. 

• Armin Arlet: Best friend of Eren and Mikasa. He has a talent with words other than actions.   

Again there are several other characters but for now these are the most important.

Critique: I felt the same way I felt after watching RWBY, I enjoyed this series and I'm left begging for more. The theme of the story is facing your own problems and using every alternative to fight it. The question of fighting back is the story's main drive and can be seen constantly throughout the episodes. Another aspect is that there unexpected twists and turns that leave you hanging in your seat. There was so much I had to take in because the story had a fast pace. I did enjoy the action and visual scenes involving the Titans. The Titans were probably the best part because they never stopped killing soldiers until they were destroyed. Visually the animation is pretty graphic and I'd recommend this series for mature audiences only.

On the downside the series tends to drag on towards the end. Half of the time I was waiting for something to happen and it took like one or two episodes just to get to it. Also there were excess filler episodes that slightly deviated from present focus in the story. This made the story a little confusing but after rewatching the confusing episodes I gained a better understanding. Also there's one plot hole left after watching the series. Eren has a task to fufill but I'm sure it's going to be covered in the next season. Technically this series is based on a manga so I will need to check that out as well.

Pro:

• Several action sequences
• Storytelling is smooth and theme presentation is clear.
• Twists and turns around each corner

Cons:

• Filler episodes that interrupt story
• Plot hole for now
• Based on Manga so need to read those first

As the whole I give this series a rating of at least 4 stars out of 5. I recommend this to fans and newcomers of anime.

An Ordinary Man

 

Paul Rusesabagina, a familiar name to those who’ve seen Hotel Rwanda, protected 1,268 Tutsi and Hutu refugees during the Rwandan Genocide. Rusesabagina made a defiant stand against the atrocities executed by several Rwandans. The genocide started early April 1994 and ended mid-July 1994. Scenes of death were present throughout the country with the death toll rising to almost one million lives.  Paul took part in developing the movie Hotel Rwanda in 2004 and he also worked with author Tom Zoellner in writing an autobiography entitled An Ordinary Man. I’ve just finished reading the book and this is what I have to say.

The main focus of the book is about Paul Rusesabagina himself and how he came to be in history. He talks about his childhood, how he became the hotel manager of the Mills Collines, and what happened during/after the genocide. His writing goes in chronological order with some breaks that may deter from the story. Those breaks are used to explain a certain situation that occurred in the story or some necessary side information. For example, when he talked about his childhood he mentioned a drink known to him as “banana beer.” He then writes another paragraph or two explaining what it is and the cultural meaning to it. He does the same thing whenever he mentions a specific person such as Georges Rutaganda or General Augustin Bizimugu.

Another focus of the story is about the Rwandan Genocide and how it came to be. He does make clear of how it came to be by the players and ideals contributing to the execution of the genocide. He talks about the efficiency of the propaganda spread by the RTLM radio station and the organization of extremist militias including the Interhamwe. Another example is he brings about the history of how Rwanda came to be, how the ethnic division was formed, and how oppositions between both sides were born. Of course careful and extra research is needed to confirm Rusesabagina’s statements. In my research and studies I believe most of the statements presented but he does present opinions on certain situations. Those opinions can be taken either way but the most obvious argument presented is that what was happening during the genocide was horrible and could have been prevented.

There were a couple themes presented in this novel that seem to coincide with my ideals. The most prevalent theme was individualism and taking a solo stand instead of the following the crowd. When Paul talked of those participating in the genocide he couldn’t believe that these people would just follow the crowd even if they were wrong. He truly thought that people were crazy to not oppose those who thought otherwise. Another theme was the power of words and how they can affect the outcome. He mentions that they are simple but can be very powerful that can bring peace or harm to others. He believed that the words of the ethnic division created the forefront of the genocide. Those words were then used through propaganda to prepare for starting the slaughters. Also most of his success was from the use of the right words and how he presented them to his opponents/allies. Using social skills, integrity, humility, and understanding he managed to get what was needed to shelter the refugees.

As a whole the book was a great read. I found it very clear, concise, and heartbreaking at the same time. Remember though that this is an AUTOBIOGRAPHY not an account of the genocide as a whole. Although the precursors to genocide are mentioned most of the writing is centered on him and his efforts during that time. Also take into account that there are breaks but they’re meant for explanatory purposes and not to drive away from the story. I did get lost at one point but after rereading those passages I got back on track and understood the point of that break. For those interested in the genocide only I recommend doing research on Rwanda itself and finding different written accounts aside from Paul Rusesabagina.

 

I give this book a rating of 4.0 to 4.5 out of 5 stars. I’m sure fans of world history, humanitarian acts, and foreign policy would love this. I also hope that maybe this could be a start for those interested to take a stand and do something similar to others. By this I mean trying to take a stand on the right side and use it in defiance of those who don’t think so.    

RWBY

I’ll admit I’ve been a fan of Red VS. Blue and some of Roosterteeth’s work for a few years. During the release of Season 10 of Red VS. Blue, I noticed a trailer on the Roosterteeth website called RWBY. I watched the trailer and I saw a girl with a red hood killing wolves with a scythe/gun combo weapon. My first impression was, “a girl fighting wolves? What is this?!?!” I thought it was weird but then later there were more trailers being released, the white, black, and yellow trailers. My impression was more favorable toward RWBY after seeing the yellow trailer but I still didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t until July 18^th, 2013 that I watched the pilot episode and was speechless. I continued watching the show until the end of volume 1 and I have this to say.

Plot: The story centers on four girls that attend a prestigious academy where they learn to become warriors against the forces of darkness. These warriors are called hunters and huntresses and they defend the world of Remnant from monsters and evil doers. So far the girls have met each other at the academy, became members of the team RWBY, and began their studies. Aside from these girls there are several side characters that interact with the girls throughout the show. The series just goes on watching these characters develop and get ready for thier future. 

Characters:

·       Ruby Rose: Main hero and leader of Team RWBY. She’s kind of naïve, energetic, and a little ditzy.

·       Weiss Schnee: An heiress to a multibillion dollar corporation and a self-promoter. She looks down on others and thinks she’s better than most people.

·       Blake Belladonna: A quiet, aloof, and mysterious girl. Although she interacts with those around her she tries to avoid contact.  

·       Yang Xiao Long: Ruby’s older sister and kind of a party girl. She also gets a little hot headed sometimes but she does act rational sometimes.

·       Professor Ozpin: The head master of the school the girls are enrolled at. He’s very wise and seems to know what role each person has to play at the school.

·       Jaune Arc: The leader of Team JNPR. He’s klutzy but has big dreams for success. Also sees himself as quite the ladies’ man.

·       Roman Torchwick: One of the main villains in the story. His plans tend to go well until our heroes intervene causing him to fail.

There are several more characters aside from this list but for now these are the important ones.

Critique: One of my favorite things about stories is character development. There is plenty of it throughout the show and it can make a small impact on the simple things in life. Monty's theme for the entire story centers around growing up. Everyone is going to grow up and become something he or she desires to be. This whole series is basically watching these characters grow up and contribute to the story. There are other themes such as dealing with one's personal self and discrimination amongst a people. For spoiler purposes I won't get into the details but I urge you to take a look yourself. I also enjoyed the fight scenes which were full of action and there was great music that enhanced the feeling of those scenes. Speaking of the music, the theme song alone was mind blowing in my opinion. After watching this show I’m begging to see more of the story and what these characters are going to do. Another aspect is the references to video games, other animes, Roosterteeth's past works, etc. I find it funny to see how RWBY uses those references as a part of the show. 

Now there were a few things that did bug me just a little. The show is off to a good start but it does require some work. The show starts off on a high note but then seems to tone down as it gets towards the middle of the show. There were some different arcs in the story which hopefully will be cleaned up. My guess is that the setting/introduction is just being thrown in and light will be shed in the next volume. I also didn’t approve of the different lengths of each episode; it’s too similar to that of Red VS. Blue episode lengths. There are also certain scenes that can be a little cheesy or just feel plain weird. I guess it doesn't affect me because I've dealt with that before in video games, movies, etc. What really took the cake was that there was extra focus on the side characters such as Jaune instead of the main girls. Don’t get me wrong I did enjoy seeing his character development but I felt like more focus should have been on the girls. Regardless though it’s there and I now think that the development of the side characters may play an important role in the future. Below is a summary of my critique:

Pros:  

1.         Epic fight scenes between characters and monsters.

2.         Characters develop throughout the show.

3.         Amazing soundtrack that fits certain scenes of action, despair, and tension.

4.         Each episode leaves you wanting more.

5.         References to other animes, video games, etc., that add to the fun.

Cons:

1.         Episodes tend to be long or short. Some are over ten minutes and some are almost six minutes. On average episode length is seven minutes. (Unless you watch this on the dvd, the average length is almost eleven minutes per episode.)

2.         Too many side characters and less focus on the main characters for some episodes.

3.         Moments of cheesiness and poor dialogue.

4.         Seems to have different story arcs which may deter from the main story.

Overall Verdict: I give this show a positive review with a rating of about 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5. It’s a good show and has potential, but it does need a little more work. Hopefully we'll see those changes in Volume 2 this upcoming July. Kudos to Monty Oum, Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, Kara Eberle, Arryn Zech, Barbara Dunkleman, and the rest of the Roosterteeth Staff!   

Trailer for Volume 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsy7VJheMBI