Game Review: Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning

What is this game about?
Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning  is an open world role-playing game created by R. A. Salvatore,  Todd McFarlane, and Ken Rolston and his team at Big Huge Games. The story takes place in the world of Faeland that is engulfed in an epic war called the 'Crystal War'. This war has been on going for over 10 years, taking countless lives until one day a fallen hero awakens in the Well of Souls.

How is the gameplay?
The first few levels will be a tutorial adventure designed to teach you how to play the game. It starts off with a cinematic introduction. Afterwards you are taken to a character creation screen to determine your sex and race. There are four playable races you can select from, they are:

Playable Races

• Ljosalfar are regal, steadfast, uncompromising and proud people, who strive to preserve nature and shape it to their will that revere the principle of justice to defend Amalur against chaos and darkness.
• Varani are human clans not as culturally refined as the Almain, and are often seen as traders. mercenaries and wanderers that brought commerce and a degree of civilization to the wilds of the Faelands.
• Dokkalfar are charismatic, intelligent, seductive and respected as sophisticated students of magic and diplomacy, yet they are the ultimate manipulators, controlling the actions of others from the shadows.
• Almain are noble, honorable and brave humans who embody the ideal of Order in all things and are proud of their long and illustrious military tradition.

Playing as a female or a male does not grant additional bonuses. Selecting a specific race will, granting racial bonuses to compliment your skill set and gameplay style mentioned below:

Racial Bonuses:

• Ljosalfar - Racial Bonuses: Alchemy +1, Sagecraft +1, Dispelling +2
• Varani  - Racial Bonuses: Lockpicking +2, Detect Hidden +1, Mercantile +1
• Dokkalfar - Racial Bonuses: Sagecraft +1, Stealth +2, Persuasion +1
• Almain - Racial Bonuses: Alchemy +1, Blacksmithing +2, Persuasion +1

After you have completed your selection you will need to choose a patron. Patron bonuses will be granted depending on what you select. You are given six patron options to choose from, they are:

Patron Bonuses:
Ethene - Goddess of Wisdom and Art.

• Patron Bonuses: +10% Mana

Aryllia - Goddess of Love and Beauty.

• Patron Bonuses: +5% Health, +1% Chance to Critical Hit

Belen - God of Death.

• Patron Bonuses: +1% Chance to Critical Hit, +8% Critical Hit Damage

Lyria - Goddess of Fate, Magic and Luck.

• Patron Bonuses: +5% Mana, +5% Mana Regen per Sec

Lupoku - God of Mischief, Patron of Brewing.

• Patron Bonuses: +6% Poison Damage, +6% Poison Resistance

Beholden to no god, your self sufficiency yields its own rewards.

• Patron Bonuses: +1% Experience Bonus

Next you will begin customizing the look of your character. The game allows you to change the face, hair, and accessories with a few slide bar options for each setting. Once done. you will enter a short cinematic, then enter the name of your character. You will then enter a final cinematic and begin your tutorial adventure. At this point the tutorial adventure will educate you on how to interact with the world, to equipping your character using your inventory, to using your skills and abilities in combat and looting items. Moving your character is pretty straightforward, just move the left analog stick in the direction you wish to move. On screen you should see a radar map to the top right. an HP and Mana bar to left. Hitting select will open your map. Hitting start will open your Inventory and character info.

Destinies:
At some point in the tutorial adventure you will unlock your 'Destinies'. This is when you define what type of class your character will be. In the beginning you will only be able to select a Tier 0 card, called:

• Fateless card - Newly resurrected, your Fate is blank, formless, and ready to be forged into the shape of your choosing.

These 'Destinies Cards' are classes that grant your character additional bonuses, which are structured from Tier 0 to Tier 6. How you unlock new Destinies are determined by the number of skill points in three different abilities, they are:

Abilities

• Might - Master the brutality of melee combat and heavy arms to crush your enemies and deflect their blows. Spend Ability points here to channel your inner rage, gaining access to earth-shaking spells, defensive bonuses, and unparalleled skill with swords and hammers.
• Finesse - Explore the fine arts of subtlety and precision with Finesse Abilities. Stab, slice, trap, poison, and bleed your foes with blades, bombs, and traps. Slip into the shadows to strike your enemies from afar, or dart among them with acrobatic quickness.
• Sorcery - Devote your studies to Sorcery to fully embrace the magic awakening in Amalur. Smite your foes with devastating elemental spells, heal yourself with restorative spells, and summon other-worldly creatures. Wield sceptres, staves, and deadly chakrams as conduits for your arcane power.

Tip: I highly recommend looking at the 'Desitinies' page by hitting the start button, and selecting 'Desitinies' to review the requirements of some of the classes and bonuses they provide. This will help to plan your character growth for these additional bonuses will greatly help in your adventure and play style.

Once you complete your tutorial adventure you will enter the world of Faeland. At this point you are free to explore the world. Pay attention to the color of  the names of your encounters to determine if you are capable of defeating. Usually when you see an orange colored enemy, they will provide you a great challenge, so be cautious. The game also provides skills that you can invest points into, which you earn one point per level and invest up to 10 points to Master a skill.  Here is a list of skills available in the game:

• Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Detect Hidden, Dispelling, Locking picking, Mercantile, Persuasion, Sagecraft, and Stealth.

Some of these skills influence the skill level of a craft, like Blacksmithing, Sagecraft and Alchemy. These are the primary three crafts in which the player can make items.

Tip: I recommend investing in 'Detect Hidden' for it will reveal hidden treasures and doors early on. A point in 'Mercantile' for extra gold when selling items, and one or two points in 'Lockingpicking' for I found I could still open the hardest locks without higher skills. Just make sure you have plenty of lockpicks. The game provides a ton of loot, so you will not have enough inventory to carry everything. I recommend checking the Inn in the City of Gorhart to buy a backpack upgrade to extend your inventory space. Keep an eye out for more backpack upgrades as you adventure. To obtain a more permanent solution to your inventory problems, make your way to  the City of Canneroc and complete quests there until you earn your own place. This will greatly help your inventory problems early on.

What makes this game different from other games?
One of the best features that separates this game from other games is the freedom to choose what abilities you want. You want to use a rogue ability, then use a spell ability, then attack with a weapon ability, you can, for you won't be restricted. The other special feature is the free form combat movement, for the control scheme (Xbox 360) allows you to quickly initiate attacks. Hold down the right trigger to pull down the spell wheel to hit an enemy with an ice barrage, then hit Y or X to attack with the mapped weapon you selected, then block an incoming attack by hitting left trigger, then rolling out of the way by hitting B all in one battle. This brings a unique combat experience not many games can provide.

Why should I be interested in playing this game?
If you enjoy role playing games that provide free form combat movement, endless ways of mixing and matching skills from different ability sets. Along with a rich lore, lavishing open world environments and interesting monster encounters. Then do not pass up this game for it provides an epic dungeon crawler, hack and slash experience. Check it out!

 

 

I give Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning 5/5 (5 - Truly epic adventure not to miss!)

Real Steel Movie Review

What was the movie about?
Real Steel  is a world where boxers are replaced with prize fighting robots. The story focuses on a former boxer turned promoter named Charlie Kenton played by Hugh Jackman. Charlie is what you call a risk taker and an unlucky gambler. That unlucky streak begins to unfold when Charlie losses his robot, then faces a custody battle for his son in which he freely gambles his custody rights for a set amount of money to purchase a new robot. Things don't turn out and Charlie is back to square one with no prize fighting robot to continue, until his son finds and gets attached to a small sparring robot. Charlie is not convinced that the sparring robot has potential, which leads to tensions with his son and mechanic Bailey Tallet played by Evangeline Lilly (Lost).

Why watch this Movie?
Imagine if Rocky was a controlled robot and forms a bond with the son. That's what this movie is like, Rocky meets Astroy boy, except the focus is around the relationship of the father and the bond the son develops with the under rated robot. It develops into an inspiring movie about love, greed, parenting and sacrifice that ends with quality entertainment.

Was the movie worth seeing?
The story concept about boxers being replaced with robots was interesting. How a real boxer would cope with this change, to the struggles one would face is what make this enjoyable to watch.

I give Real Steel  3 out of 4 smiles (3 - worth watching!)

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Movie Review

What was the movie about?
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas takes place six years after their Guantanamo Bay adventure. Harold Lee played by John Cho and Kumar Patel played Kal Penn have gone separate directions. Harold is a serious married business man who no longer gets stoned. Kumar is still a big stoner, living a rocky life style that caused his girlfriend to leave him. Turn of events brings Kumar to Harold's home, unintentionally burning down Harold's father-in-law's prize Christmas tree. This turns into a funny, dark and crazy adventure to find an exact Christmas tree replacement that involves the mob, Neil Patrick Harris, and shooting Santa Clause.

Why watch this Movie?
This was a funny and crazy movie about stoners who drift apart, but eventually realise that long time friendships can never be forgotten. It just takes a lot of craziness, sex talk, drugs, gun play, car accidents and Neil Patrick Harris to iron out the details to make it a fun time. The movie was created in 3D, but I was not able to view it in that format, for they had some 3D scenes that may have provided some interesting visual moments.

Was the movie worth seeing?
I like the silly, crazy and over the top humor that Harold and Kumar present. If you haven't watched any of Harold and Kumar movies, you may not enjoy this movie. But if you have and know what to expect, then you may just find entertainment. I sure did, for I found a number humorous moments that made it enjoyable to watch.

I give A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas 3/5 (3 - decent entertainment)

Contagion Movie Review

What was the movie about?
Contagion is a drama/thriller about an unknown infection that begins to manifest. Beth Emhoff played by Gwyneth Paltrow returns home from a Hong Kong business trip, then suddenly dies a few days later, with no sold answers on why she died. Soon after her son dies the same day. Beth's husband Mitch Emhoff played by Matt Damon is seeking answers to the death of his wife, but is eventually detained and found to be immune to the infection. Mitch is then released, but faces
a chaotic road ahead to protect his daughter from being infected. While the infection escalates globally, CDC led by Dr. Ells Cheever played by Laurence Fishburne sends Dr. Erin Mears played by Kate Winslet and a few other doctors to investigate. Things turn up side down as one doctor becomes infected while the other is kidnapped, concluding to another doctor risking their life to find a cure.

Why watch this Movie?
Contagion delivers a solid story of how an epidemic can cause chaos and fear, to revealing what an individual would risk or do to save a life. The cast perform admirably, showcasing emotion, heartbreak, greed and fear to provide an enjoyable story to watch.

Was the movie worth seeing?
They did a decent job of keeping me interested in wanting to know how the infection started. However, I felt the media propaganda could have been left out, for the story with the rogue journalist felt like a separate story arch that wasn't really needed. Otherwise I felt this movie was worth seeing.

I give Contagion 3/5 (3 - decent entertainment)

Game Review 'Dark Souls'

What is this game about?
'Dark Souls' is a spiritual successor to Demon Souls, but doesn't require you to play the first game. Like its predecessor it's about survival and strategy. Its a massive action RPG world designed for adventure and exploration. Offering a number of classes to begin your journey. You set the pace in building your character and adventure. Approach aggressively, strategically or be cautious, but expect to die for this game will challenge your mind, make you pull your hair out, or throw your controller across the room. For the monsters you encounter will provide challenges that will make a reaper quit his job for dying abundantly. Patients, observation, strategy and dying is the key for dying will unveil the map of what areas to avoid or show what is waiting around the corner. Observation will display items that could help your journey, or see patterns to help defeat monsters. Patients will help you spot situations and traps to avoid, and strategy through learning will help you plan your next move allowing you reap great rewards as you explore, defeat monsters and level up.

How is the gameplay?
The gameplay is simple, you move the controller in the direction you wish to move. You have an inventory system to manage your loot. You can equip and change your characters weapons and armor. Only specific NPCs are available to buy items from, but require souls as currency, which can be obtained by defeating bosses, certain monsters, and finding them from corpses of past adventures. Upon death your character will experience penalties and respawn back to the last lighted bonfire. Bonfires replenish health, magic, and special items like Estus flask, which are a limited number of vials used to return health. You can increase Estus flasks by finding upgrades during your journey. Later on bonfires can be used as a place to upgrade items. The story unfolds when your character fights through various locations. Only by defeating the area boss will your character be able to advance the story. There is also online mode that is active if connected to the Internet. This feature provides limited co-op and player versus player interaction.

What makes this game different from other games?
Dark Souls isn't a linear game where you follow a set path. This is a game about open exploration where you move or confront monsters at your own risk. Monsters are scaled to provide a challenge, and you can be assured you will die. Don't even think you can make it through the game without dying, for your first encounter will be death. Dying is what makes this game unique for death is actually encouraged. You gain a lot of insight upon your death for this is a game that will require you to think and plan your next move.

Why should I be interested in playing this game?
If you enjoy a challenge that requires a bit of planning, patients and strategy with an open world designed for exploring unique dangers, then you may enjoy this game. I would not recommend if you don't enjoy repeating things over, or don't have patients, or require a guide on what to do next for this is an open world game that does not babysit the player.

I give Dark Souls 4/5 (4 - worth experiencing)

Straw Dogs Movie Review

What was the movie about?
'Straw Dogs' is a remake of 1971 Straw Dogs. The story is about writer 'David Sumner' played by James Mardsen (X-Men) and his wife 'Amy Sumner' played by Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) who relocates to Amy's hometown so David can work on his story. However, Amy has a history with the town, especially with 'Charlie' played by Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood). There, tensions start to arise with the couples relationship, that leads to a horrible occurrence. More problems arise when the local handicap 'Jeremy Niles' played by Dominic Purcell (Prison Break) does an unexpected act that has the former coach 'Tom Heddon' played by James Woods hunting him. Amy and David accidentally encounters Jeremy on the road and ends up protecting him. This brews conflict with the locals and the former coach that leads to a path of bloodshed.

Why watch this Movie?
For a thriller it delivers a good story point of how one would try to cope with protecting someone from an unjust situation. They don't hold back when things get bloody and provides a good support cast to deliver that gritty and unpredictable environment worth watching.

Was the movie worth seeing?
The movie had some scenes that was questionable and could have been left out or integrated into the story more effectilvey to impact the situation. Otherwise, I found it to be a decent entertainment.

I give 'Straw Dogs (2011)' 3/5 (3 - decent entertainment)

Punished Movie Review

What was the movie about?
'Punished' is a foreign crime/thriller movie about a business tycoon named Wong Ho-chiu played by Anthony Wong, who faces parental issues raising a daughter using drugs. His daughter ends up being kidnapped, but Wong questions if this was a plot by his daughter to obtain more money. Things turn for the worst when Wong and his bodyguard Chor played by Richie Ren find his daughter's body. Wong struggles with his daughter's death, which leads to Wong asking Chor for help to investigate who was behind this, and to punish them all.

Why watch this Movie?
This is a story about what a father would do to obtain justice for what he has lost. Anthony Wong delivers a decent performance of portraying a struggling father, who takes matters into his own hands without actually getting his hands dirty. The movie is slow paced, displaying a few action moments. If you watch this movie with less expectations of being an action movie then you may find it to be enjoyable.

Was the movie worth seeing?
Since I am a fan of Anthony Wong, I am used to watching him perform more emotional acting roles, than seeing him in action. So I didn't expect this to be an action packed movie, but it did provide a satisfying entertainment. One thing to note, this is a subtitled movie, so if you are not into reading text while watching a movie then I wouldn't recommend.

I give 'Punished' 3/5 (3 - decent entertainment)