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Mothergamer (1610 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed Unity in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I waited to buy Assassin's Creed Unity because of all the glitches and problems the game had upon its release that I kept hearing about. I'm glad I waited because it seems they addressed and fixed many of those glitches. There's a ton to see and do in Unity besides the main story such as side quests, puzzle quests, murder mystery quests, and co-op missions that you can play with friends or privately. I liked the character of Arno Dorian (much more than I liked Shay in Rogue) and it was interesting to see a lot of his interactions with his friends and a variety of historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte and Marquis de Sade.
Introducing Arno Dorian
The viewpoints in 16th century Paris are stunning, showing off a beautiful thriving city with a lot of people. The scenes with the Revolution were also interesting to see and interact with because of the people and I found I would stop and just listen. This also had me remembering all the French I learned as I listened to various conversations. At times having a lot of people could be frustrating when having to chase a target for a mission or spy on someone because they would get in the way causing a mission to fail if you didn't get to where you needed to be in time. There were also times where the controls would be a little wonky and Arno would grab a wall when I wanted him to just run or jump. It didn't happen often though so I didn't mind too much. I also didn't see the point of the game having four different types of currency. I'm not kidding. You had the livres, (what francs were first called) sync points, creed points, and helix credits. I felt this all could have done with just one currency. Instead you have money to buy stuff, the sync points and creed points are used to upgrade gear and skills, while the helix credits you use real money to buy things via UPlay. All of it is completely useless. UPlay is not only pointless, it just screams of greed. The game really only needed one currency and nothing else.
A spectacular view of 16th Century Paris
I do understand that Arno's tale of revenge with the Assassins vs. Templars has been done before, but I found I did like the story for what it was; an entertaining adventure with some pivotal history and interesting characters in it. Yes, they did take a few liberties with some of the historical aspects, but it flowed really well and was done in a subtle way that made all the events mesh well together. I liked the character of Elise also, and I wish there had been a few more main missions with her because she offered a different point of view and also showed that not all the Templars were power hungry insane people. There's also the factor that she and Arno together were intriguing and they made a great team.
Elise and Arno
There are several different ways to do many of the missions which I found to be fun. You could either sneak in a window or disguise yourself as one of the soldiers and just walk right in the front door. The AI for the enemies is more aggressive here so I found myself relying heavily on smoke bombs often. At some points it got a little frustrating especially with the final memory sequence because I had to be a certain distance from the target to finish the mission. There were a couple of glitch issues such as a location on the map for a quest not showing up and an odd one where Arno got stuck in a wall and it looked like he was swimming on the wall. Those were the only technical problems I ran into which isn't too bad. Overall the game itself is fun to play with lots to see and do. There's even a mission with a hot air balloon that's very cool.
Hot air balloon over Paris is awesome
Once I had finished up the main story of Unity, I started the Dead Kings DLC. This happens a week after the events of the main story and in Franciade (now Saint Denis) and Arno runs into the Marquis de Sade once again who wishes for Arno to help him find the manuscript of Nicoleas de Condorcet which is rumored to be in the tomb of Louis IX. Arno agrees to help him in exchange for a ship to take Arno to Egypt. After that you get to explore Franciade and while not as big as Paris it's just as beautiful and there's lots to explore above and below.
A bird's eye view of some of Franciade
Arno runs into some tomb raiders who happen to be working for Napoleon Bonaparte and we see him once again throughout the area. Napoleon is looking for something in a Precursor Temple. While we all know what that could mean Arno does not, but he knows that whatever it is can't be good. He also befriends a young boy named Leon and they work together to figure out exactly what it is Napoleon is after. There are a lot of side missions here too along with some murder mystery quests and a few more co-op missions as well. There are even a few take over the enemy fort missions that are fun to do as well.
Some of the missions could be a bit frustrating because a lot of them were in the catacombs and it could be very hard to see with how dark some of the areas are. I had to use Eagle Vision a lot just to be able to see where I needed to go. Luckily there were only a couple of places that were difficult to see in. You also get some new equipment that is pretty awesome like the guillotine gun basically an axe and a grenade launcher melded together. While not the stealthiest of weapons, it's a ton of fun to unleash all that firepower on your enemies. The lantern on the other hand, annoyed me. Yes, the catacombs are dark and yes you need a lantern, but it seemed a lot of the puzzles relied heavily on the lantern and it was a bit clunky and tedious. I mean having to use a lantern just so I could scare away roaches to jump on a ledge was a bit much.
The Precursor Temple was interesting to explore with a few lighting puzzles and brazier puzzles. The scenes with Arno and Leon chatting together were nice because it showed Leon gradually getting Arno to see that there is always hope and even caused Arno to change his mind about a few things. With the main story and side missions Dead Kings is only a couple of hours, but it's a couple of hours worth playing.
Arno in the Precursor Temple
Overall Assassin's Creed Unity (which includes the Dead Kings DLC for free) is a solid game and it is fun to play. There's a lot to see and do on your own and plenty to do with your friends via co-op missions. It's worth checking out because of the fun of the missions and because of the fact that the main character is actually pretty likable.
Introducing Arno Dorian
The viewpoints in 16th century Paris are stunning, showing off a beautiful thriving city with a lot of people. The scenes with the Revolution were also interesting to see and interact with because of the people and I found I would stop and just listen. This also had me remembering all the French I learned as I listened to various conversations. At times having a lot of people could be frustrating when having to chase a target for a mission or spy on someone because they would get in the way causing a mission to fail if you didn't get to where you needed to be in time. There were also times where the controls would be a little wonky and Arno would grab a wall when I wanted him to just run or jump. It didn't happen often though so I didn't mind too much. I also didn't see the point of the game having four different types of currency. I'm not kidding. You had the livres, (what francs were first called) sync points, creed points, and helix credits. I felt this all could have done with just one currency. Instead you have money to buy stuff, the sync points and creed points are used to upgrade gear and skills, while the helix credits you use real money to buy things via UPlay. All of it is completely useless. UPlay is not only pointless, it just screams of greed. The game really only needed one currency and nothing else.
A spectacular view of 16th Century Paris
I do understand that Arno's tale of revenge with the Assassins vs. Templars has been done before, but I found I did like the story for what it was; an entertaining adventure with some pivotal history and interesting characters in it. Yes, they did take a few liberties with some of the historical aspects, but it flowed really well and was done in a subtle way that made all the events mesh well together. I liked the character of Elise also, and I wish there had been a few more main missions with her because she offered a different point of view and also showed that not all the Templars were power hungry insane people. There's also the factor that she and Arno together were intriguing and they made a great team.
Elise and Arno
There are several different ways to do many of the missions which I found to be fun. You could either sneak in a window or disguise yourself as one of the soldiers and just walk right in the front door. The AI for the enemies is more aggressive here so I found myself relying heavily on smoke bombs often. At some points it got a little frustrating especially with the final memory sequence because I had to be a certain distance from the target to finish the mission. There were a couple of glitch issues such as a location on the map for a quest not showing up and an odd one where Arno got stuck in a wall and it looked like he was swimming on the wall. Those were the only technical problems I ran into which isn't too bad. Overall the game itself is fun to play with lots to see and do. There's even a mission with a hot air balloon that's very cool.
Hot air balloon over Paris is awesome
Once I had finished up the main story of Unity, I started the Dead Kings DLC. This happens a week after the events of the main story and in Franciade (now Saint Denis) and Arno runs into the Marquis de Sade once again who wishes for Arno to help him find the manuscript of Nicoleas de Condorcet which is rumored to be in the tomb of Louis IX. Arno agrees to help him in exchange for a ship to take Arno to Egypt. After that you get to explore Franciade and while not as big as Paris it's just as beautiful and there's lots to explore above and below.
A bird's eye view of some of Franciade
Arno runs into some tomb raiders who happen to be working for Napoleon Bonaparte and we see him once again throughout the area. Napoleon is looking for something in a Precursor Temple. While we all know what that could mean Arno does not, but he knows that whatever it is can't be good. He also befriends a young boy named Leon and they work together to figure out exactly what it is Napoleon is after. There are a lot of side missions here too along with some murder mystery quests and a few more co-op missions as well. There are even a few take over the enemy fort missions that are fun to do as well.
Some of the missions could be a bit frustrating because a lot of them were in the catacombs and it could be very hard to see with how dark some of the areas are. I had to use Eagle Vision a lot just to be able to see where I needed to go. Luckily there were only a couple of places that were difficult to see in. You also get some new equipment that is pretty awesome like the guillotine gun basically an axe and a grenade launcher melded together. While not the stealthiest of weapons, it's a ton of fun to unleash all that firepower on your enemies. The lantern on the other hand, annoyed me. Yes, the catacombs are dark and yes you need a lantern, but it seemed a lot of the puzzles relied heavily on the lantern and it was a bit clunky and tedious. I mean having to use a lantern just so I could scare away roaches to jump on a ledge was a bit much.
The Precursor Temple was interesting to explore with a few lighting puzzles and brazier puzzles. The scenes with Arno and Leon chatting together were nice because it showed Leon gradually getting Arno to see that there is always hope and even caused Arno to change his mind about a few things. With the main story and side missions Dead Kings is only a couple of hours, but it's a couple of hours worth playing.
Arno in the Precursor Temple
Overall Assassin's Creed Unity (which includes the Dead Kings DLC for free) is a solid game and it is fun to play. There's a lot to see and do on your own and plenty to do with your friends via co-op missions. It's worth checking out because of the fun of the missions and because of the fact that the main character is actually pretty likable.
TacoDave (3958 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Feb 5, 2020 (Updated May 6, 2020)
Special Effects (1 more)
Music
The force is weak with this one...
You've either already seen "The Rise of Skywalker" or you probably don't care too much about it. I won't go into major spoilers, except to say this: this movie is swiss cheese. It has so many holes and unexplained plot points that it would be futile to try to list them all. But here are a few:
We are told in the very beginning that the Emperor is still alive. Why? How? The last time we saw him, Darth Vader was throwing him over a railing to a definitive death. But they don't bother to explain it, other than some vague "This isn't the logic you're looking for..." hand-waving.
Apparently there are tons of new Force powers that nobody knew about. Like, for example, how Kylo Ren can not only see what Rey is seeing, but he can actually physically reach into her physical space and grab something. Even though he's not really there...? And if you think "Sure would be nice for a Jedi to be able to heal things. It could have saved so many characters over the years!" then you're in for a treat when Rey learns to heal a giant worm. How? Who knows? Cuz she's a badass chick, that's how! Shut up, misogynist!
There's this knife, see, and it contains a map, just like the doubloon in The Goonies, and the map points to one of only two thingamabobs that somehow lead to the secret hidden Sith planet. Don't ask why someone made the knife. Or why it was hidden where it was. Or how they knew where the thingamabob was. Or why they hid the map to the Sith planet that sounds like "Icicle" when people say it but is actually something like "Exegol."
Han Solo is dead. We know that from The Force Awakens. Except here he is, except not really, but possibly he is. He's at least talking to Kylo Ren. Or is he? Is he in Kylo's head? Is the guy hallucinating? "Don't know, don't care," say the writers. Just be happy you can see Harrison Ford's face again!
Apparently thousands of Sith have been hiding on a planet building hundreds (thousands?) of old-school star destroyers. How did that work? Where did they get the material? How many people does it take to build and run those ships and with that many people, how did they feed themselves? What resources do they have on Icicle to make clothes, weapons, etc.? It looks like a dark, empty, lightning-filled place and I didn't see any grocery stores or McDonald's. But somehow those millions of people are there and they survive ... somehow. Don't question it.
I think that's enough. You get the point. This movie is fun to watch, but it is a mess. You have to turn off your brain to enjoy it.
We are told in the very beginning that the Emperor is still alive. Why? How? The last time we saw him, Darth Vader was throwing him over a railing to a definitive death. But they don't bother to explain it, other than some vague "This isn't the logic you're looking for..." hand-waving.
Apparently there are tons of new Force powers that nobody knew about. Like, for example, how Kylo Ren can not only see what Rey is seeing, but he can actually physically reach into her physical space and grab something. Even though he's not really there...? And if you think "Sure would be nice for a Jedi to be able to heal things. It could have saved so many characters over the years!" then you're in for a treat when Rey learns to heal a giant worm. How? Who knows? Cuz she's a badass chick, that's how! Shut up, misogynist!
There's this knife, see, and it contains a map, just like the doubloon in The Goonies, and the map points to one of only two thingamabobs that somehow lead to the secret hidden Sith planet. Don't ask why someone made the knife. Or why it was hidden where it was. Or how they knew where the thingamabob was. Or why they hid the map to the Sith planet that sounds like "Icicle" when people say it but is actually something like "Exegol."
Han Solo is dead. We know that from The Force Awakens. Except here he is, except not really, but possibly he is. He's at least talking to Kylo Ren. Or is he? Is he in Kylo's head? Is the guy hallucinating? "Don't know, don't care," say the writers. Just be happy you can see Harrison Ford's face again!
Apparently thousands of Sith have been hiding on a planet building hundreds (thousands?) of old-school star destroyers. How did that work? Where did they get the material? How many people does it take to build and run those ships and with that many people, how did they feed themselves? What resources do they have on Icicle to make clothes, weapons, etc.? It looks like a dark, empty, lightning-filled place and I didn't see any grocery stores or McDonald's. But somehow those millions of people are there and they survive ... somehow. Don't question it.
I think that's enough. You get the point. This movie is fun to watch, but it is a mess. You have to turn off your brain to enjoy it.
Chronicles of Drunagor: Age of Darkness
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Daren has always been a land mired in conflict – from the moment the Mortal Races met in its...
Deep Sleep and Relaxation Hypnosis- Cure Insomnia
Medical and Lifestyle
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Does it work? 3.5 million people have used Mindifi's Deep Sleep and Relaxation hypnosis, a #1...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers [Audiobook] in Books
Apr 16, 2023
![Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/300/2ffa3ab2-a7f9-4edd-8d81-161ea4223300.jpg?m=1681658635)
After initially thinking "oh dear, I'm not going to like this", the more I listened the more I grew to love Vera Wong.
Vera lives on her own after the death of her husband, her son being successful and not in her life quite as much as she would like. Once a thriving tea shop, Vera Wang's World Famous Tea House is now on it's last legs having only one regular customer so when she discovers a dead body in the middle of her shop one morning, she decides it has to be murder and begins to investigate and find out who killed Marshall.
Using her own logic, Vera decides that those who turn up at her shop to ask questions about the body immediately become suspects and she begins to ingratiate herself into their lives using her forthright nature, a little bit of manipulation, fantastic cooking and, if course, tea.
As the story develops, we get to know each of the characters and suspects more so by the end, you don't want any of them to be guilty of murder but one of them must be surely?
This is definitely within the 'cosy mystery' genre and whilst there is little action, I was caught up in the story hook, line and sinker and desperate to know what the ultimate outcome was going to be and I definitely wasn't disappointed.
The narrator was excellent and she totally drew me into the story and into Vera's life. This, for me, was definitely a book to listen to rather than to read myself and I am hopeful that Vera will do more investigating in the future.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.
Vera lives on her own after the death of her husband, her son being successful and not in her life quite as much as she would like. Once a thriving tea shop, Vera Wang's World Famous Tea House is now on it's last legs having only one regular customer so when she discovers a dead body in the middle of her shop one morning, she decides it has to be murder and begins to investigate and find out who killed Marshall.
Using her own logic, Vera decides that those who turn up at her shop to ask questions about the body immediately become suspects and she begins to ingratiate herself into their lives using her forthright nature, a little bit of manipulation, fantastic cooking and, if course, tea.
As the story develops, we get to know each of the characters and suspects more so by the end, you don't want any of them to be guilty of murder but one of them must be surely?
This is definitely within the 'cosy mystery' genre and whilst there is little action, I was caught up in the story hook, line and sinker and desperate to know what the ultimate outcome was going to be and I definitely wasn't disappointed.
The narrator was excellent and she totally drew me into the story and into Vera's life. This, for me, was definitely a book to listen to rather than to read myself and I am hopeful that Vera will do more investigating in the future.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.
Shelle Perry (66 KP) rated Abide With Me : A Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mystery in Books
Dec 16, 2020
A young journalist is visiting Gwenafwy Abby, presumably writing a story on the new directions the church is taking. When she is found dead, Sister Agatha does not believe the theory of an accidental death. She starts a new notebook and dives into the case chasing down clues. Does the young woman’s death have something to do with scathing articles she has written in the past? Or, could it be an ex-boyfriend who just happens to show up in town, and just who was it seen entering the woman’s cottage after her death?Sister Agatha is a bit of a handful. She doesn’t do anything by half measures. One simply has to adore a nun who writes detective romance stories, has a murder club to help her with amateur sleuthing, and looks to famous literary detectives for advice. What would Miss Marple do??? Agatha’s weakness for cake lends itself to wonderful descriptions of mouthwatering traditional Welsh food. In this story, nearly everyone close to the Abby is a suspect. As much as Agatha and the reader want the killer to be found out and caught, it is likely that it will be heartbreaking for the nuns. Agatha keeps her moxie to the thrilling end of the investigation though.These are characters I would love to sit and visit with. From the put upon police department and store clerks to the individual sisters at the Abby. Maybe spend a few days learning to make cheese, especially since Gouda is my family’s fave.I loved the social commentary on modern technology and how it fits into a cloistered setting. Mostly I just giggled over the names of the shops in town, I won’t spoil them all, but, my favorites are The Fatted Calf farm to table market and Lettuce Eat Vegan.So why should you read this book? Because it is quirky, brilliant, softboiled Cozy at its best. The cast of characters and their personal stories will have you scrambling to read the first two books, or waiting impatiently for the next one.
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Vanishing Deep in Books
Mar 6, 2020
The Great Wave destroyed the planet five hundred years ago and since then, the surface has been covered in water. Tempest was born into a world of water. Tempest’s sister Elysea drowned holding the secret to their parents’ death and Tempest wants answers. A research facility on the island of Palindromena can revive the dead for 24 hours and Tempest saved every Note she possibly could for two years to do so.
The reunion isn’t what Tempest thought it would be and instead, Elysea insists she’s innocent and convinces her sister to break her out of the facility so they together can find the answers about their parents. But it won’t be an easy journey, especially since they have the Warren, the person in charge of Elysea’s revival, on their trail to return her back before the 24 hours are up.
The Vanishing Deep’s cover is what drew me in to begin with as well as the world the author created. Astrid Scholte does an amazing job at creating this world of water and the floating islands that people live in. A part of me wishes we were able to see more of the day to day life instead of small glimpses here and there simply because the world sounds so interesting.
Scholte has a unique ability to create multi-dimensional, realistic characters that you can’t help but care for. My heart ached for Tempest and Lor throughout the whole book and I kept reading to find out if they get their happy endings or not. Having the chapters be in both Lor’s and Tempest’s points of view gives the reader a more in depth knowledge as to what’s happening, especially since during some parts, a character might be viewing things slightly differently due to grief or past experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists, turns, and thrills this book had. There were so many surprises that it made it hard for me to put down once I got to reading it. This novel is full of plot twists, both big and small that will have you turning pages upon pages until there is no more left. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover out there. I am absolutely going to check out more of Astrid Scholte’s other novels.
*Thank you BookishFirst and Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
The reunion isn’t what Tempest thought it would be and instead, Elysea insists she’s innocent and convinces her sister to break her out of the facility so they together can find the answers about their parents. But it won’t be an easy journey, especially since they have the Warren, the person in charge of Elysea’s revival, on their trail to return her back before the 24 hours are up.
The Vanishing Deep’s cover is what drew me in to begin with as well as the world the author created. Astrid Scholte does an amazing job at creating this world of water and the floating islands that people live in. A part of me wishes we were able to see more of the day to day life instead of small glimpses here and there simply because the world sounds so interesting.
Scholte has a unique ability to create multi-dimensional, realistic characters that you can’t help but care for. My heart ached for Tempest and Lor throughout the whole book and I kept reading to find out if they get their happy endings or not. Having the chapters be in both Lor’s and Tempest’s points of view gives the reader a more in depth knowledge as to what’s happening, especially since during some parts, a character might be viewing things slightly differently due to grief or past experiences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists, turns, and thrills this book had. There were so many surprises that it made it hard for me to put down once I got to reading it. This novel is full of plot twists, both big and small that will have you turning pages upon pages until there is no more left. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover out there. I am absolutely going to check out more of Astrid Scholte’s other novels.
*Thank you BookishFirst and Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
She's alive!
I am trying to remember the last film I saw where the title character doesn't appear until the last 10 minutes? I don't think I can. In Superman, you don't see Christopher Reeve for the first hour, in Aliens you don't see any full grown Aliens until an hour in. Can you think of any others?
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Dogma (1999) in Movies
Jul 28, 2018
Funny and Deep
Talk about off the beaten path. Dogma is at weird as it comes. Offensive to some, hilarious to others, if you can take it for what it is and not get overly deep about it, you'll find yourself watching a quality comedy. The plot? A little complicated to explain without using more words than I would like. I will say that it involves two fallen angels who are looking for a way back into heaven.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 8
Characters: 10
You want characters? This film has them by the boatload. Outside of the fallen angels, you will meet the likes of a woman who is the savior of humanity, a messenger from heaven, and an apostle holding a grudge just to name a few. Dogma is a melting pot of personalities and temperament which is a huge part of what makes the film such a good one. You are going to love Jay the Prophet. He is just plain hilarious. And Alan Rickman's dry sarcasm always makes for a good laugh.
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 8
There are never any real lulls where the film gets boring. There is a lot of dialogue but the progression of the conflict keeps the film moving at a solid speed. I did dock a couple of point for a brief dead spot about an hour in, but there is pretty solid action and comedy throughout for the most part.
Genre: 7
There is a special scene where the characters are discussing a John Hughes movie. The dialogue builds and, before you know it, you're cracking up at every word they're saying. It's scenes like these that contribute to making the film a pretty solid comedy. If the strip club scene doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will!
Memorability: 10
The originality of the plot and the messaging help the film stand out in my mind among a sea of other movies I've seen. I appreciated the interesting introspection of faith and life. The Belief Vs. Ideas convo was another solid moment. Dogma is funny, but it gives you some things to digest as well.
Pace: 8
Plot: 5
While the plot is certainly intriguing, it was also a bit of a hindrance for me as it got confusing as all get out in certain spots. The struggle to find a short plot description above was real. Not sure what they could have done differently here, but there were certain spots where my experience was dampened by all the crazy stuff happening.
Resolution: 8
Overall: 82
With a solid cast (Ben Afleck and Matt Damon always work well together) and a number of memorable moments, Dogma is definitely worth a watch. Glad I can check this one off the list and add it to my favorites.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 8
Characters: 10
You want characters? This film has them by the boatload. Outside of the fallen angels, you will meet the likes of a woman who is the savior of humanity, a messenger from heaven, and an apostle holding a grudge just to name a few. Dogma is a melting pot of personalities and temperament which is a huge part of what makes the film such a good one. You are going to love Jay the Prophet. He is just plain hilarious. And Alan Rickman's dry sarcasm always makes for a good laugh.
Cinematography/Visuals: 8
Conflict: 8
There are never any real lulls where the film gets boring. There is a lot of dialogue but the progression of the conflict keeps the film moving at a solid speed. I did dock a couple of point for a brief dead spot about an hour in, but there is pretty solid action and comedy throughout for the most part.
Genre: 7
There is a special scene where the characters are discussing a John Hughes movie. The dialogue builds and, before you know it, you're cracking up at every word they're saying. It's scenes like these that contribute to making the film a pretty solid comedy. If the strip club scene doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will!
Memorability: 10
The originality of the plot and the messaging help the film stand out in my mind among a sea of other movies I've seen. I appreciated the interesting introspection of faith and life. The Belief Vs. Ideas convo was another solid moment. Dogma is funny, but it gives you some things to digest as well.
Pace: 8
Plot: 5
While the plot is certainly intriguing, it was also a bit of a hindrance for me as it got confusing as all get out in certain spots. The struggle to find a short plot description above was real. Not sure what they could have done differently here, but there were certain spots where my experience was dampened by all the crazy stuff happening.
Resolution: 8
Overall: 82
With a solid cast (Ben Afleck and Matt Damon always work well together) and a number of memorable moments, Dogma is definitely worth a watch. Glad I can check this one off the list and add it to my favorites.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Xuan Yuan Sword 7 in Video Games
Oct 4, 2021
Beautiful looking world and nice graphics (2 more)
Pretty enjoyable story and gameplay
Interesting mix of fantasy and history
Lacks the polish that could have made it great (2 more)
Too linear and doesn’t open up enough
Combat could have been further refined
Interesting and Ambitious but Ultimately Average
So to start this review I got to say that I'm pretty mixed on how I feel about this game. For one it definitely has a lot of potential and enough going for it that it could have been a really good. But on the other hand it had a lot of things that I feel could have been done better and falls far from being a great game to just around average for me. The story itself isn't terrible but it suffers from bad writing and performance of the voice actors. The world itself seems like it could have been a lot more interesting but it just wasn't engaging enough half the time.
It seemed like it was going to be an open world game but wound up being very linear in nature although it had aspects of an open world game like side quests, fast travel, and even treasure chests scattered throughout the game world as well. There's a climbing mechanic that seemed kind of pointless because it was pretty much just a cut scene of in game graphics of you climbing a little cliff or sometimes it would turn into an interactive part where you had to move the analog stick to move the character. Still it was better than these weird times that the game gave you control of the character for a scene in which your only movement was preset like a ride on a rail that couldn't veer off a road.
I liked that it was an action-RPG meaning instead of turn based combat like most RPG's it had an active combat system where you could move at your own leisure and consisted of hack and slash combat with some martial art skills, blocking, dodging, and some riposte (parrying). There are four basic martial art skills which can be learned as you progress through the game, Bull, Wolf, Bear, and Tiger. They become stronger and increase the length or hits of their combo the more you use them. A big draw back is that you could only equip or use two at one time although they can be changed at anytime through the talent menu. Then there are three special martial art skills which are Taowu, Tundou and ?
The combat was one of the things that had me really conflicted. A cool thing I liked about the combat was that there was a meter that would go up when you would attack an enemy and if it filled all the way you could perform an execution on them. Otherwise it was very unresponsive most of the time making dodging and parrying really hard and kind of useless. I found the blocking especially useless because of how much damage you still incurred. There is a skill tree for new martial arts and you can create and upgrade structures in Elysium that can enhance various things, such as weapon, armor, accessories and more. You can also use the fusion to capture the souls of enemies in combat and fuse them together in Elysium to equip them for bonus stats and effects.
Your able to carry items in your inventory which are mainly objects like items that don't do anything except advance the story or quest and some like healing weapons. There is an equipment screen for weapons and accessories but you only stay with one weapon the whole game. It does change and become stronger and its appearance changes too. You can even change outfits. I'm not sure if you get any in the game as the version I played came with a couple of additional weapons/costumes. You do wind up getting some party members which is customary of some RPG's and they help out by attacking enemies on their own. You can control them by activating some abilities or special attacks that have cooldown times for when you can use them again. There's a minigame called Zhuolu chess and it can be pretty fun and a nice change of pace but not what you were looking for when you bought the game.
You can save your game and recover health at random campfires throughout the game world as well as listen to some party dialogue when you choose to rest. The dialogue tends to repeat often and doesn't really advance the story much or fit where you are at in the story that often. These game mechanics are similar to Dark Souls as resting respawns enemies when you save at a bonfire and get healed too. As I mentioned earlier the game employs a fast travel system consisting of waypoints called guard stones that you can activate when found. There is an element of puzzle solving in the game but they don't seem to be that hard to figure out and some can even be skipped if you don't want to bother with it.
The graphics were pretty solid and the game surely looks good for the most part. The textures are sometimes rough in the environment and sometimes there's very noticeable instances of "pop-ins" but overall aesthetic and style is beautiful. You really never get to play games where you get to see ancient Chinese castles, cities, or kingdoms so that was nice. The leaves in the trees are even ruffled by the wind, which is a nice touch. The main characters like Zhao and his sister Xiang look great and so do most of the secondary characters like Chu-Hong and Mo Huang. It just makes it that more disappointing when you see sub-par detail in the NPC's and stiff cutscenes because you know they could have done better on those too. Maybe they didn't have enough time, man power or budget.
The music was probably one of the best additions to the game as a whole. Containing traditional Chinese sounds and instruments befitting the setting the music was great. There are some instances where there is no music and the void is filled with nothing but awkward silence or the sound of footsteps. Only the subpar voice acting fills the dead air and background music would have added more depth to certain parts and scenes of the game. There's no English dubbing for the voice acting in the game it's only in Mandarin/Chinese which isn't bad in itself except the performances are kind of hit and miss and not very balanced.
Verdict: [5/10]
The game seemed very rough around the edges, it lacked that "polished" feel that it would have gotten if it had been a "AAA" game instead of a "AA" game. It's linear aspects left little to no deviation for exploring the world other than the main quest making it feel like going through a tunnel from location to the next. The distances between the towns and villages also made the world feel really small which it probably was. The story and gameplay were enjoyable enough but writing and especially acting/voice acting in key cutscenes needed work. The combat was was so uninspired I felt like I was doing the same sword attacks the whole game and they never really changed. And last thing, even if it doesn't help or is in any way useful, I like to be able to make my character jump and this game didn't let you do that either. So in conclusion I have to give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 a 5/10. It's an average or ok game, which has it's moments but nothing to write home about. However if they make a Xuan Yuan Sword 8, I'd be looking forward to see what kind of improvements they would make in the next installment.
It seemed like it was going to be an open world game but wound up being very linear in nature although it had aspects of an open world game like side quests, fast travel, and even treasure chests scattered throughout the game world as well. There's a climbing mechanic that seemed kind of pointless because it was pretty much just a cut scene of in game graphics of you climbing a little cliff or sometimes it would turn into an interactive part where you had to move the analog stick to move the character. Still it was better than these weird times that the game gave you control of the character for a scene in which your only movement was preset like a ride on a rail that couldn't veer off a road.
I liked that it was an action-RPG meaning instead of turn based combat like most RPG's it had an active combat system where you could move at your own leisure and consisted of hack and slash combat with some martial art skills, blocking, dodging, and some riposte (parrying). There are four basic martial art skills which can be learned as you progress through the game, Bull, Wolf, Bear, and Tiger. They become stronger and increase the length or hits of their combo the more you use them. A big draw back is that you could only equip or use two at one time although they can be changed at anytime through the talent menu. Then there are three special martial art skills which are Taowu, Tundou and ?
The combat was one of the things that had me really conflicted. A cool thing I liked about the combat was that there was a meter that would go up when you would attack an enemy and if it filled all the way you could perform an execution on them. Otherwise it was very unresponsive most of the time making dodging and parrying really hard and kind of useless. I found the blocking especially useless because of how much damage you still incurred. There is a skill tree for new martial arts and you can create and upgrade structures in Elysium that can enhance various things, such as weapon, armor, accessories and more. You can also use the fusion to capture the souls of enemies in combat and fuse them together in Elysium to equip them for bonus stats and effects.
Your able to carry items in your inventory which are mainly objects like items that don't do anything except advance the story or quest and some like healing weapons. There is an equipment screen for weapons and accessories but you only stay with one weapon the whole game. It does change and become stronger and its appearance changes too. You can even change outfits. I'm not sure if you get any in the game as the version I played came with a couple of additional weapons/costumes. You do wind up getting some party members which is customary of some RPG's and they help out by attacking enemies on their own. You can control them by activating some abilities or special attacks that have cooldown times for when you can use them again. There's a minigame called Zhuolu chess and it can be pretty fun and a nice change of pace but not what you were looking for when you bought the game.
You can save your game and recover health at random campfires throughout the game world as well as listen to some party dialogue when you choose to rest. The dialogue tends to repeat often and doesn't really advance the story much or fit where you are at in the story that often. These game mechanics are similar to Dark Souls as resting respawns enemies when you save at a bonfire and get healed too. As I mentioned earlier the game employs a fast travel system consisting of waypoints called guard stones that you can activate when found. There is an element of puzzle solving in the game but they don't seem to be that hard to figure out and some can even be skipped if you don't want to bother with it.
The graphics were pretty solid and the game surely looks good for the most part. The textures are sometimes rough in the environment and sometimes there's very noticeable instances of "pop-ins" but overall aesthetic and style is beautiful. You really never get to play games where you get to see ancient Chinese castles, cities, or kingdoms so that was nice. The leaves in the trees are even ruffled by the wind, which is a nice touch. The main characters like Zhao and his sister Xiang look great and so do most of the secondary characters like Chu-Hong and Mo Huang. It just makes it that more disappointing when you see sub-par detail in the NPC's and stiff cutscenes because you know they could have done better on those too. Maybe they didn't have enough time, man power or budget.
The music was probably one of the best additions to the game as a whole. Containing traditional Chinese sounds and instruments befitting the setting the music was great. There are some instances where there is no music and the void is filled with nothing but awkward silence or the sound of footsteps. Only the subpar voice acting fills the dead air and background music would have added more depth to certain parts and scenes of the game. There's no English dubbing for the voice acting in the game it's only in Mandarin/Chinese which isn't bad in itself except the performances are kind of hit and miss and not very balanced.
Verdict: [5/10]
The game seemed very rough around the edges, it lacked that "polished" feel that it would have gotten if it had been a "AAA" game instead of a "AA" game. It's linear aspects left little to no deviation for exploring the world other than the main quest making it feel like going through a tunnel from location to the next. The distances between the towns and villages also made the world feel really small which it probably was. The story and gameplay were enjoyable enough but writing and especially acting/voice acting in key cutscenes needed work. The combat was was so uninspired I felt like I was doing the same sword attacks the whole game and they never really changed. And last thing, even if it doesn't help or is in any way useful, I like to be able to make my character jump and this game didn't let you do that either. So in conclusion I have to give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 a 5/10. It's an average or ok game, which has it's moments but nothing to write home about. However if they make a Xuan Yuan Sword 8, I'd be looking forward to see what kind of improvements they would make in the next installment.
