BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 "A Can't Miss DLC"

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 is Irrational Games last time pulling the strings on the Bioshock series, and they went out with a bang.  I just have to say this is a can't miss DLC if you are a fan of the Bioshock series.  The DLC connects all the dots for all three Bioshock games and provides the answers to a lot of unsolved answers.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 DLC is the second part of the story-driven downloadable content of BioShock Infinite, and will be available starting March 25th, 2014 for $15.00 USD on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Windows PC, and Mac. It is also part of the BioShock Infinite Season Pass.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 takes two interesting approaches unique to the Bioshock series.  First, you get to play as a female character Elizabeth. Second, you get to use a stealth approach to problem solving and progressing through the game.

The game starts off showing Elizabeth is dead.  As a gift by fate, one Elizabeth dies but an alternate Elizabeth lives on with memories of the other Elizabeths without the power to open doors to other worlds. Elizabeth's final mission is to save the Little Sister Sally and wrap up unsolved answers to the Bioshock series.  I love how Irrational games invested heavily in demonstrating how much of Elizabeth's life and choices were controlled by others.

For instance, the DLC revisited the moment when Elizabeth killed Daisy during the rebellion.  Moments before the event happened, the Lutece twins gave Daisy a speech that can be summed up as "which is more important: the actor in the play or the play itself?"

Daisy was told to force Elizabeth to kill her in order to change Elizabeth into a murderer.  By changing one Elizabeth into a murder that had a butterfly effect on the other Elizabeths in alternate worlds.  Best quote from this part, "What separates a girl from a woman is blood".  I will rest on that part, and I will let you take a minute to comprehend what all that means.  I will not spoil the DLC for you.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 has a lot of allusions to Bioshock 1, 2, and Infinite that you have to remember in order to get what is happening.  For instance,  In Bioshock 1, Dr. Suchong is already dead and you relive his final moments through audio logs, but in BioShock  Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 you have to complete a mission for Dr. Suchong.  The DLC breaks down how Dr.Suchong's ego and greed led to his death.

The biggest revelation of the DLC was glimpses of what cause the Atlas and Ryan war and the downfall of Rapture.  In Bioshock 1, you had empathy for Atlas until the end of the game.  In BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2, we saw Atlas was a sick power hungry thug that used everyone in his sight to climb to the top fast.  Atlas makes a lot of promises that he never keeps, he ends up using Elizabeth to reveal the "Ace in the Hole" which is the mystery behind what connects the little sisters to the Big Daddy.

In BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 you learn the Adam in the Little Sisters is what binds them to the Big Daddies and creates a symbiotic relationship.  They called it the "Lion and the thorn" which is a reference to a story of how a mouse pulled a thorn out a lion's paw resulting in the lion protecting the mouse later.  BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 also showed how Elizabeth did the same for that giant bird.  I'm not sure if that's a connection between Elizabeth and the Little Sister's being the same, but it explained how the Little Sisters and Big Daddies imprinted and bounded.

Overall, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 connects all the Bioshock games together, and it gave you an opportunity to play as Elizabeth with new gadgets and plasmid abilities that give you a different feel from it's predecessor.  I can't spoil anymore of the game because it's as they writers say, "It's like letting Issac Newton die in a fire in order to save his dog".  I really didn't understand BioShock Infinite until the DLC's provided more clarity on the game.  BioShock Infinite is on the level of legends like Zelda Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy 7.  I give BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 a perfect score 10/10.

Sailormoon Official Return Announced

Today the official Sailor Moon twitter linked to an English version of the anime announcement, and confirmed again that the anime will be streaming worldwide on Niconico Douga this July. Check out the English logo!

http://sailormoon-official.com/animation/en/

Dark Souls 2 Review

Be prepared to frustratingly die again in another Dark Souls release. Dark Souls 2 is out and gamers are pumped to learn new lore and take on the challenge of defeating clever enemies.  "If it bleeds, then it can die".

So what makes a souls game?  Demon and Dark Souls games are known for their intense difficulty using a mixture of role playing and action base game mechanics.  The important difference that makes Dark Souls stand out from similar games is the combat does not consist of button mashing combos.  In Dark Souls games, players have to carefully time attacks or even the weakest enemies will own you quickly.  

In souls games, you start by picking a base class which is a starter package of items and statistics.  Dark Souls 2 story revolves around the pilgrimage of an undead character seeking a cure to its curse.  As you journey across ancient realms learning about its Lore and history, you must kill hordes of enemies in order to gain souls that increase your powers and open doors to new realms.  Hollow form vs humanity form play a factor in gaining allies to aid in battles or effectiveness of combat and magic.  

In Dark Souls 2, there are many important new changes that impact your gameplay.  The minor change that developers added were consumable healing items in efforts to reduce the use of the Estus flask. That minor change would not bother most gamers, but there are two big changes that will makes the gaming experience different from the first Dark Souls.   

First major change in Dark Souls 2 is a restricted re-spawn rate.  Once an enemy dies enough times, the game will stop re-spawning those enemies.  This restriction of enemy re-spawns will cause two results for gamers.  First, the re-spawn restriction prevents farming souls from certain enemies in order to level up or purchase items. Second, the re-spawn restriction reduces the difficulty of getting to the plot related bosses if you have restarted numerous times. 

The second major change in Dark Souls 2 is the non-linear open world  increase.  In the first Dark Souls, there was an obvious path that players must take that had increase enemy difficulty as the game came to a resolve.  This time around, players will feel a less confined and controlled journey. This new non-linear path gives players more choices in exploration but creates an inconsistent difficulty curve.  If you choose the wrong path, then you will have challenges early or late.  Also, you don't have to stay on the same path in order to defeat the game.   If one boss is giving you too much trouble, then you can pick a new path and start a fight with another boss.  The choices are boundless. 

Another change in Dark Souls 2 was the multi-player receiving a needed enhancement with the covenants being a factor to increase your survival rate.  There are nine covenants with all having different abilities.  Also, developers included a new ring that allows you to join a covenant and summon a co-op friend.  Covenant summoning lets you co-op with friends rather random co-op encounters.  Still a friend will not be enough to save you from invasions and powerful enemies.  If you rest on your loins, then you will die often.

Overall, Dark Souls 2 has new additions like healing items, multi-player covenants, and restricted enemy re-spawns.  These additions give Dark Souls 2 its own identity and prevents it from being an expansion to its predecessor.  Dark Souls 2 storyline is not connected to Dark Souls 1, so old and new players will appreciate a refined game experience that makes the challenge worthy of taking.   I give Dark Souls 2 a 9/10.

Infamous Second Son Review

It's been a journey: school, work, graduation.  I haven't had much time to play games, but this week I've been productive.  Infamous Second Son is the new release that I am going to review this weekend.  To be honest, the game is a hit and miss with me. Infamous Second Son is the third main entry in the Infamous series and an open world action adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PS4.

Infamous Second Son takes place in Washington seven years after of the events of New Marais and death of hero conduit Cole McGarth.  The story centers around the new hero/anti-hero is Delsin Rowe and his brother Reggie Rowe.  If you can get past Delsin's obnoxious in-game observations and the paper thin story-line, then you will have a fun game to play through.  

Delsin is a delinquent graffiti artist that gains his conduit powers during a car accident from a conduit named Hank.  Following this event, Delsin follows Hank around in order to gain an understanding of his new life as a conduit.  While tagging along with Hank, Delsin is captured by Brooke Augustine, a conduit with concrete powers and the leader of DUP. While captured and interrogated, depending on the player's karma choice, Delsin either lies to Augustine, or she does not believe his confession that he is a Conduit. Deslin's passes out due to the torture.  When Deslin awakens, he discovers his entire tribe was tortured and infected with Brooke's powers that will kill them.

Deslin feels guilt from being the cause of the torture, so he goes to Seattle in search of a cure.  Deslin is joined by Reggie and two conduits: Fetch, a former junkie with neon powers, and Eugene, a gamer with video powers.  Deslin can either redeem them to the side of good or corrupt them to the side of evil.  I won't spoil anymore of the storyline, but I will say that the evil ending is the best and most comical ending to get thus far of the Infamous series.

As far as gameplay and graphics, the innovative Infamous series never disappoints.  As smoke a user, Deslin's movement abilities allows him to pass thru walls, move as shadow, hover over the city going from rooftop to rooftop.  In combat, Deslin can unleash hell with flame abilities in the beginning and new powers he unlocks by touching other conduits add an interest challenge to the gameplay.  The graphics are what I would expect from a new gen console, and the rain and lights of Seattle are on point with other games.

Infamous Second Son adds a twist to the binary morality system.  The black and white karma choices you make in a handful of story moment choices are adding to the combat system as well.  When you slay enemies you gain a super weapon based on how peaceful or wreckless you are in combat. If you are a hero, then precision is key.  You must only kill the bad guys, and don't hurt the innocent people in the way.  If you are evil, then destroy everything in your path including the environment.   

Overall, Infamous Second Son seems fine tuned as you unleash your pent up juvenile aggression on your conformist enemies. As you strike down oppressive forces while dashing into the fray earning your super weapons, developers encourage you to be careful of your choices and actions because they have an affect on your character development.  Infamous Second Son has pretty graphics and fun gameplay, but the story lacks the the glue to hold all the elements together and make it a classic game.  Therefore, I give Infamous Second Son 8.0/10

Leave Bonnie Bennett Alone

As usual the writers took another shit on Kat Graham's character Bonnie Bennett this week.  Is it just me, but has Bonnie's character taken a real painful and shameful twist since Kat Graham got engaged in real life?  Guess the writer had a crush on Kat, and he's bitter about the engagement.

i’m agitated to the point where i can’t even properly formulate my thoughts into words. i’m tired of the development of this story, i’m sick of the treatment of bonnie bennett and kat graham. 

in five seasons, bonnie bennett had not had many satisfying story lines. she was the witch, the plot device when things got too sticky and there wasn’t any other way out. and she’s still getting written this way. she died to save jeremy, the show brings her back as the anchor and sets it up as though she’s going to have this exciting story line, but truth is, she barely appears in any episodes and when she does have a scene, they are short and sporadic. and still revolve around magic. and i know, i know, bonnie bennett was a witch, magic was her life but —— BONNIE BENNETT IS NOT JUST MAGIC.

she has layers, she has complexes, she has idiosyncrasies. she is selfless and emotional and compassionate. but come on, the show never shows the potential of the effect magic could have ( had ) on her. she was tapping into dark magic, into expression; try and tell me bonnie bennett does not have a side to her that is tainted.  

she is a heart of fire and magic and full of love and self-preservation that she would gladly toss to the side and stomp on if it meant her friends were safe and thriving. the show neglects that facet of her. the facet of this fire in her soul that could potentially destroy her. and most of all bonnie bennett is strong. 

she is a survivor and a warrior and a hero. yet the show insists on relegating her character to two sentences per scene. she’s no longer a witch and yet its all that surrounds her story line this season. no one seems worried enough to remedy the fact that she’s in excruciating pain every time someone crosses over to the other side. and here she is helping liv who so far only seems to have been introduced in order to be the new big bad witch in Mystic Falls. 

we can all agree bonnie bennett does not get the same embellishment and attention as the other female leads. she has had only one serious romance interest and tell me she’s not as beautiful, not as admirable as both caroline and elena ( —who i have nothing against btw, that’s not the point here ) ; and the one boyfriend she does have cheated on her in the past and the problem still hasn’t been addressed. it was just brushed off. and let’s not talk about the one sex scene she got after five seasons which was pretty low down and cheap compared to the other sex scenes on the show. 

i could care less if bonnie has any romance. she’s a woman who does not need a man by her side in order to make an impression. it’s the fact that bonnie bennett/kat graham never gets the recognition she deserves. 

 i can’t even talk anymore bcos my words are a bunch of rubbish and i’m too fed up. just understand —— bonnie bennett is a glorious character who deserves more than what she’s given.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Review

Been a while since I last created a post.  Grad school and work had me busy.  Well, thank you for visiting the site and supporting the dream of college gamer/writer.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is a family friendly multi-player third-person shooter and tower defense video game developed by PopCap games and published by Electronic Arts.

Any gamer knows the EA has been through some financial trouble over the past three years with several games being received poorly by consumers thus causes low revenue.  With that being said Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare is an attempt to tap into a broader audience and give EA a chance to reclaim their competitive edge in the gaming market.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare isn't your typical multi-player online shooter with comical zombie and plant skins.  The game stands alone as a fast-pace action shooter but adds an interesting aspects with each character having funny kill animations and attributes that add difficulty to the gameplay.  Working together utilizing each characters abilities strength adds to the success of each team strategy on the battlefield.  The combat fought across well designed maps with 12 on 12 teams made of class based characters/soldiers to select from.

Each character has it own set of abilities that adds depth and difficulty to the combat of the Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare.  The customization of each character adds another level of depth to the gameplay.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare consist of four modes:

• Garden Ops: A cooperative mode where up to four players take control of each of the plants defending a garden through ten zombie waves, with the fifth and tenth waves being boss waves.
• Team Vanquish: A team death match variant.
• Gardens and Graveyards: A game mode is a parody of conquest and rush mode from Battlefield where players will either capture (as zombies) or defend (as plants) various objectives.
• Mixed Mode: A game mode where both Team Vanquish and Gardens and Graveyards mode is used interchangeably.

Stickers packs and coin system present another time consuming challenge to gamers that enjoy the farming aspects of leveling up. The coins are hard to come by because there are no micro-transactions in the game, so you can't buy the coins. You have to put your pods into the soil and work your butt off to earn the coins in each combat campaign. Once you purchase and open the sticker packs, you can find new characters and customizing abilities.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is a fun time for gamers of all ages with its share of challenges that will keep you interested.  The customization aspects mixed with wide selection of different character classes with keep gamers interested in playing the game just to see the variance in performance and attributes.  Also, there is a leveling up system that unlocks new abilities that will be an allure to gamers that like to spend time farming.  Overall, for the audience intended Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare hits all the points it needs to in order to successful.  It's worth a play even for the older crowd, so I give Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare an 8/10.