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Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey
2017 | Platform
This game does a lot of the same things that Breath of the Wild does right: lots of places to explore, lots of things to do. It just does it all on a smaller scale: smaller, more packed worlds, a shorter story, less mechanical variety. I didn't play this game nearly as long but I loved all of it.
  
Seal Team Flix
Seal Team Flix
2019 | Fighting
'This is a design of silent moments and held breath giving way to furious high fives and sore bronchial passages. It’s novel and quite addictive. It’s even extremely difficult propelling repeated play and focused intensity. Take all that and cram it inside that massive box of cardboard goodness and you have one of 2018’s most definitive releases.'

Charlie Theel, Geek & Sundry
https://geekandsundry.com/seal-team-flix-is-a-wild-blend-of-first-person-shooter-and-flicking-discs/
  
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The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) Mar 21, 2019

I'm not usually a fan of dexterity games, but sometimes one breaks thru... Need to try this maybe.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
2018 | Platform
Added Stormy Assent (1 more)
Added the ability to play as Coco in the first two games
Added Time Trials to the first game (super specific timing needed (0 more)
A Tribute to the original trilogy
With new content, graphics and voices this trilogy is a blast from the past. Its from a time when games were made to be hard to beat, and the additon of Stormy Assent just helped it live up to the mantle. So when diving into the trilogy take a deep breath and prepare to die... A lot
  
Fog of Love
Fog of Love
2017 | Bluff, Card Game, Deduction
Unique (1 more)
Fun
Low replayability (0 more)
This is unlike any other game we play, it involves a bit of roleplay and gives you the chance to create some ridiculous characters, so we have had a lot of fun with it. I really like the tutorial element to this game as it allows you to play through it immediately - as someone who usually loses the will to live halfway though being told the rules, it is a breath of fresh air just being able to get on with things. The same scenario cards do start popping up after a couple of replays, which is to be expected, but if you're imaginative and getting into different characters each time then it might not be too much of a problem.
Some reviewers advise against playing this with a spouse, but happily our marriage has (so far) been able to withstand playing Fog of Love.
  
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
2018 | Fantasy, Horror
Sabrina got DARK
Sabrina the Teenage Witch was a favourite of mine when I was a tween. I would spend hours on the couch giggling to myself, mostly at the awful anamatronic black cat named Salem.
So when it was announced there would be a reboot my childhood self came marching back, but what I watched wasn't at all the image of the fun,light-hearted, Melissa Joan Hart series I had come to love, NO, it was much, much darker.
Based on the exact same characters but with a much darker sinister plot. However it was enjoyable, with myself being a horror fanatic I felt it was a breath of fresh air, a more older teen/adult version.
Series 1 did seem to play out and I found it difficult to get into it, but with perseverance I made it to the end.

Definately a watch for us 80's/90's babies, but beware, its not quite the walk down memory lane.
  
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
1994 | Drama
Great movie with one annoying flaw
Contains spoilers, click to show
I saw this movie for the first time only recently after hearing my friends preach about it for years. I knew it was a short story by Steven King that was adapted into an extremely long movie, but I had no idea what the movie was about until I hit that play button.

The question of whether or not Andy actually killed his wife and her lover is never answered. I’d held my breath hoping we’d get some form of true closure, but with the events that transpire, any chances of finding out what truly happened is shut down.

The biggest reason that I would prefer to give this film an 8.5 however is the boring stereotypical ending involving Andy escaping, the evil Warden dying, the mean enforcer being enforced, and Red simply joining Andy in dream land working together forever more to live happily ever after. It feels like they just got bored after writing such a long script that they wrote a placeholder then walked away, forgetting to come back later and finish. Disappointing.
  
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Sallyanne Golding (0 KP) Mar 20, 2018

You do find out about andys wife. He didnt kill her, this other man did and he bragged about it to the young new in mate who arrived at shawshank. He told andy and andy went to the warden and got thrown in the whole for a month.

I thought the ending was perfect because andy was innocent and deserved to be free and he brought the whole prison down in the process and as red got released for finally serving his time and living out the remainder of his days with his best friend was brilliant.

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Dakota Morrill (17 KP) Jul 11, 2018

The idea was that the guy claimed to know who did it, but evidence was never brought forth and they never got a confession due to the warden not wanting to take the chance of losing Andy and so its ultimately up to the viewer to interpret and while you could claim what you have, there is no definite answer.

Othello
Othello
10
6.8 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm not going to lie - the main reason I like Othello so much is circumstantial.

See, when I was seventeen, my brothers and I had to move to a completely different state. I was going into my senior year, and my new school didn't offer a real Honors English class for seniors - the only option available to me would have been to go into AP English which, in that particular school, would have ONLY prepared me to take the AP exam. It wasn't actually an English class.

I wasn't very enthusiastic about that fact, so I was put into a tiny 11th grade Honors English class instead. (There were ten of us - eight girls, and two boys.)

Things went fairly well, considering, until we came to the Shakespeare semester. The play the teacher chose was [b:Hamlet|1420|Hamlet|William Shakespeare|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351051208s/1420.jpg|1885548].

I'd spent a semester and a half on Hamlet when I was in 11th grade, so I was already weary when the choice was made. After the first few days of reading the play aloud in class resulted in an entire five lines of Hamlet being covered, I was desperate. For the first time ever, I was ready to bash my head into my desk in an English class in order to relieve the boredom.

I approached my English teacher, and explained that I'd already done Hamlet, and the slow pace the class was taking wasn't really working for me. I offered to read another Shakespeare play in place of Hamlet, and said that I'd even still take the Hamlet test at the end of the semester to prove that I was serious. Because he was an awesome English teacher, he agreed, and told me to just get back to him to let him know which play I was going to read on my own.

Guess which one I picked?

Compared to retreading Hamlet for the seventh time, Othello was a breath of fresh air. Othello saved my brain that semester.

In light of that, I absolutely adored Othello.

*shrugs*

Like I said, completely circumstantial. I'll have to reread it at some point, to see how it holds up when it isn't the only thing standing between me and three months of mind-numbing boredom.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan in Video Games

May 29, 2020  
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
2019 | Horror
A thrilling play
Games like this dont appeal to everyone. It's not full of action, beating people up or a massive open world full of free play. It also doesnt drag on for 40+ hours. However for people like me who struggle with those type of games, Man of Medan is a breath of fresh air.

I'd previously played and rather enjoyed Until Dawn, and I'm pleased to say this follows much in the same vein although it's probably a much shorter story. Graphically this is very impressive looking and like Until Dawn, they've thrown in yet another recognisable face (this time it's Shawn Ashmore aka Bobby from X-Men). The characters look amazing and the setting too. The story too is a good and interesting one, although it does feel a little similar to other stories (like Ghost Ship) and may be a tad predictable. We worked out what was going on well before the third act. That said, I still found it to be absolutely terrifying. Playing a game like this is a lot scarier than watching any horror film!

The gameplay works really well. The fact that you can play this with friends, either online or couch co-op, adds another fun dimension to it all. The decision making also means that there are so many different endings and outcomes (I believe there's over 60 possible ways for the characters to die) that the replayability is surprisingly better than you'd expect. Admittedly it would probably get a bit tedious trying to uncover absolutely everything and all possible outcomes, but playing a few times over is still enjoyable.

The only downsides are the lag and load issues. Most likely due to the decision making process and actions, there is a noticeable lag in some of the cut scenes and movements which is bearable but can noticeably affect the smooth running of the game. There's also the characters themselves. They look great, but they're very cliched and have very little personality or interest too them. And the script is a little cheesy at times which only further impacts with a slight dislike of the characters. Part of me actually wanted to kill them all off...

Overall a great story and an interesting game to play, if you're looking for something a little different.
  
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KalJ95 (25 KP) rated the Nintendo Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in Video Games

Dec 28, 2019  
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2017 | Action/Adventure
Exploration is epic (2 more)
Incredible open-world.
Mechanics and gameplay is Nintendo's greatest achievement.
Narrative is limited. (0 more)
Breath of fresh gaming.
On December 25th 2018, I finally got a Nintendo Switch, after years of hinting to my other half. There was only ever going to be one game to start with; Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Within the space of a week, I accounted 85 hours of gameplay and exploration around Hyrule. And I was disappointed with what I had experienced. The experience felt hollow, empty even. The story was bare boned, set amongst cut scenes of Link's memories from 100 years ago. I immediately sold the game and bought Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

I was a fool.

Zelda: BotW is a mesmerising behemoth of a game, full of so much to discover and encounter through the breathtaking world of Hyrule. My stubbornness through my first playthrough was largely down to wanting a more linear, story based experience, like past Zelda games. What Nintendo crafted is something else entirely. Rather than focus of Link defeating Ganon, and saving Princess Zelda, your focus is to explore this vast open world and traverse its landscapes through whatever means you desire. And that is why this game is so special. The serene music and light melodies that play as you circumnavigate from land to land could often be quite dull and boring with other open world games, but in BotW its absolutely the right move. It gives you time to breath absolutely everything in, and stare in awe of the beautiful world you've inhabited.

The emphasis on going your own way and exploring is simply remarkable. The world is quite literally in your hands. Then comes the 120 separate challenges called Shrines, put in place so you can gain extra Health and Stamina bars as you progress. The puzzle solving is another great addition to a game already jam packed with content. I could mention and write all day long about its weather system, various amounts of enemies which require different approaches to combat, the side missions and extra content in regards to weapons and clothing, the list could quite literally go on, but I will finish this here with a few final observations:

BotW is a stunning achievement, and I am sticking to my gripe that the game is lacking quite significantly with its narrative, but it's a game that was never built around a long linear story. The simplicity that you are Link, and the world is yours just happens to be everything Nintendo needed to create a damn near Masterpiece of gaming.
  
Just Let Go (Harbor Pointe #2)
Just Let Go (Harbor Pointe #2)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh my goodness, that cover! So gorgeous! And the story inside? It's most definitely one that you don't want to miss. Mrs. Walsh creates fabulous characters that come to life in her stories. The story line is captivating and instantly hooks the reader from the first page.

Quinn and Grady are magnificent characters! I loved them both so much! They both stole a piece of my heart instantly and I felt them come to life through the story. I felt like I was truly a part of the lives, watching the scenes play out like a movie. I felt their emotions, their needs, all of it as if they were truly a part of me. That was a phenomenal feeling! 

This story of second chances, romance, and letting go of the pain of the past is absolutely breath taking. You'll be swept away to Harbor Pointe and taken on a whirlwind roller coaster ride. The messages woven into the story line bring the reader not only closer to the characters, but to our Heavenly Father. This is definitely a 5 star worthy novel and one  that I will keep on my shelf to read over and over again. Bravo, Mrs. Walsh! Can't wait for more! 

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under not obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*