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The Bleikovat Event
10.0
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Among the close-kin clans of western farms and gelf ranches of Malfesian Murians times are good....
Every Witch Way But Wicked
7.7
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Take twelve paranormal authors. Toss them together in one anthology. Add a dash of romance, a pinch...
Witches
Tiny Epic Defenders
6.5
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Tabletop Game
After the Great War (Tiny Epic Kingdoms), many of the factions, shattered and defeated, looked for...
Amish Celebrations: 4 Novels
8.0
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The Gift of Sisters Hannah and Elizabeth are fraternal twins approaching their sixteenth...
Debbiereadsbook (1303 KP) rated For the Murder (The Murder #1) in Books
Mar 2, 2022
different but very good!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
Diana needs a murder; a lone crow is a dead one. But to be accepted back into the murder that banished her, she needs to steal a very powerful blade. But others want it too, and Diana isn't too sure what's going on with her magic. Sasha isn't sure what these feelings are he has for Diana, but he also needs that blade to free himself from the demon who bound him. One of them will not be happy with the outcome.
This is different, and I do like me some different!
Diana is a crow shifter, with 3 legs (who knew?) but she isn't in a murder because her father is a bit of a con man (a LOT, really, by the time we get all the gory details!) and Diana, her mother and father were banished from the murder, but not her younger sister whose magic had been accepted by the murder. Dad wants Diana to steal this blade to get them back into the murder's good graces.
But, seriously, things are NOT as they seem. And Sasha wants that blade to free him from the demon who bound him to a lifetime of servitude. Something though, goes ping in both Diana and Sasha and instead Nobu, a cat shifter who really isn't, and they end up fighting together, rather than against each other.
I liked this, a lot. Like I said different. Humans with angel blood who are bound to demons. Shifters of all manner of being. There was a LOT going on, and at times I did struggle to keep up.
And I think this is the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars, cos I did feel a little bit overwhelmed at points. Oh don't get me wrong, its a bloody good book, it really was, especially as this appears to be only the third book written by this author, and it is not short book, some 350 pages.
It's violent, some graphic scenes but I think they really are needed. Not explicit in any way, but there is romance, of a fashion, between Diana and Sasha, as their magic combines.
I really hope there are more books about the people in this book, a follow up for Diana and Sasha would be great!
4 good solid stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Diana needs a murder; a lone crow is a dead one. But to be accepted back into the murder that banished her, she needs to steal a very powerful blade. But others want it too, and Diana isn't too sure what's going on with her magic. Sasha isn't sure what these feelings are he has for Diana, but he also needs that blade to free himself from the demon who bound him. One of them will not be happy with the outcome.
This is different, and I do like me some different!
Diana is a crow shifter, with 3 legs (who knew?) but she isn't in a murder because her father is a bit of a con man (a LOT, really, by the time we get all the gory details!) and Diana, her mother and father were banished from the murder, but not her younger sister whose magic had been accepted by the murder. Dad wants Diana to steal this blade to get them back into the murder's good graces.
But, seriously, things are NOT as they seem. And Sasha wants that blade to free him from the demon who bound him to a lifetime of servitude. Something though, goes ping in both Diana and Sasha and instead Nobu, a cat shifter who really isn't, and they end up fighting together, rather than against each other.
I liked this, a lot. Like I said different. Humans with angel blood who are bound to demons. Shifters of all manner of being. There was a LOT going on, and at times I did struggle to keep up.
And I think this is the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars, cos I did feel a little bit overwhelmed at points. Oh don't get me wrong, its a bloody good book, it really was, especially as this appears to be only the third book written by this author, and it is not short book, some 350 pages.
It's violent, some graphic scenes but I think they really are needed. Not explicit in any way, but there is romance, of a fashion, between Diana and Sasha, as their magic combines.
I really hope there are more books about the people in this book, a follow up for Diana and Sasha would be great!
4 good solid stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Merissa (12346 KP) rated Shadow Seer (Blood Shadows #2) in Books
Nov 21, 2022
SHADOW SEER is the second book in the Blood Shadows trilogy and although it is sort of standalone - in that it is Zach and Emma's story - it is better to read in sequence so you get the big picture. As for Zach and Emma, they were childhood friends who were separated by sad circumstances. Zach sets out to find her, not knowing what he will find. Is Emma innocent or is she involved with her father's wrongdoings?
Oh, man. She's only gone and done it again! Jennie Lynn Roberts is an outstanding author, in my humble opinion. I haven't read a bad book of hers yet and doubt I ever will. Although not fantasy per se, this is an amazing story. It changes the way you look at shadows, that's for sure. They sound so beautiful, I wish I could see them for myself!
There is so much intrigue here. So many machinations, people being played like puppets, and others fighting the good fight. It is intricate, leading you along through a maze of words as you try to work out what the final objective is.
Zach and Emma are just as perfect together as Kay and Ethan are. Zach acts like a first-class jerk at one point though, and I was glad Emma was so strong. She stood by her convictions, even though she wanted Zach at her side, and he had faltered. With the others by her side, I think Emma is going to grow into a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see her develop in James' story. (Or, at least, I hope!)
And speaking of James, he's gone from a character I didn't much like, to one who is breaking my heart as he tries to the do right thing. Read these two books and you'll see what I mean.
No mid-trilogy slump for this series, oh no. Instead, it's a nail-biting, gripping story that will keep you turning the pages and definitely leave you wanting more. HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Oh, man. She's only gone and done it again! Jennie Lynn Roberts is an outstanding author, in my humble opinion. I haven't read a bad book of hers yet and doubt I ever will. Although not fantasy per se, this is an amazing story. It changes the way you look at shadows, that's for sure. They sound so beautiful, I wish I could see them for myself!
There is so much intrigue here. So many machinations, people being played like puppets, and others fighting the good fight. It is intricate, leading you along through a maze of words as you try to work out what the final objective is.
Zach and Emma are just as perfect together as Kay and Ethan are. Zach acts like a first-class jerk at one point though, and I was glad Emma was so strong. She stood by her convictions, even though she wanted Zach at her side, and he had faltered. With the others by her side, I think Emma is going to grow into a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see her develop in James' story. (Or, at least, I hope!)
And speaking of James, he's gone from a character I didn't much like, to one who is breaking my heart as he tries to the do right thing. Read these two books and you'll see what I mean.
No mid-trilogy slump for this series, oh no. Instead, it's a nail-biting, gripping story that will keep you turning the pages and definitely leave you wanting more. HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Illumination in Tabletop Games
Oct 5, 2021
Ancient Medieval books. We all love ’em, right? Full of bright beautiful pictures of angels fighting demons, knights fighting dragons, dogs fighting squirrels(?), and monks fighting armed bunnies?? Hey, what’s going on here? Okay, I have played enough Alf Seegert games to know that everything comes with a hint of quirk, but now I need to pore through my non-existent collection of old tomes to find instances of monks warding off sword-brandishing rabbits. Ohhhhh, maybe this is about children’s books! Man, times were weird back in the day.
Illumination is a game about two monks who are tasked with illuminating the pages of manuscripts with drawings in the hopes of becoming the next head of the Scriptorium: The Scriptmaster, one might say. However, one of the monks gets a little itch and begins to draw irreverent subjects, like demons, dragons, and such. Which monk will earn the made-up-by-me title of Scriptmaster? Guess you will have to play to find out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
As with many games that are well endowed with components, setup can be a bit of a task. The game will be focused around a few main areas. First, the three manuscript pages are placed on the table in any orientation, with the purple wild Drollery tiles placed on one text box on each page. The Monastery mat is placed nearby as well, with the Abbot pawn randomly placed on a blank station. This pawn will be moved around the map during play to determine which rituals may be performed at any one time. Each player will have their own player mat, upon which will be placed their starting gold (1 for the Reverent player and 5 for the Irreverent player), as well as their starting nine Illumination tiles. The rules mention separating all the Illumination tiles into stacks of three, choosing three of these stacks to flip over and place on the play mat without altering the order. This is very important to keep the tiles in their randomized order. The remainder of the tiles are to be placed nearby in stacks of three. Each player is dealt one starting Scriptorium card and a random Crusade card that will offer bonuses at the end of the game. Once all setup, the game may begin with the Reverent player’s turn.
On a turn, the active player will choose from their mat one row or column of three tiles to be played. They take the three tiles and place them upon one of the three book pages on the table, in the margins. From there the player can choose any tile from the margin to place onto the page in any order they wish, upon any quill icon they choose (except for coin tiles – those simply grant two coins immediately). If the tile is placed on a quill of a matching color to that of the tile, the player will immediately collect one coin and place it on the player mat. If the tile is placed on a quill and orthogonally touches a tile of the matching color, the player then collects a Ritual token of the same color. These Ritual tokens are used in sets of three, four, or five in order to earn VP for end of game scoring. Each purple Drollery tile is wild for the purpose of placement and Ritual token collection. Each tile placed will collect its earnings immediately, and any coins earned may be spent immediately as well.
A player may use coins for several purposes throughout the game: move a tile from the margin of one book to the margin of a different book, move the Abbot one space along the track for Ritual purposes, or to draw a Scriptorium card. The other resources are Ritual tokens, and may be spent during the turn as well. In order to spend these, the Abbot must be on the matching location on the Monastery board, and the player may spend three, four, or five matching tokens to perform the Ritual. They discard the tokens, place one of their cubes upon the appropriate icon on the Monastery mat for VP at game end.
At any time during the turn Scriptorium cards may be played. These are very special cards that allow the player to complete certain actions that break the normal rules. This could be a free movement of the Abbot, or switching places of two tiles on the player mat, or even banishing one of the opponent’s tiles to another book entirely.
Why mention the battles in the intro if they are not part of the game? They are. Once opposing foes are placed orthogonally from each other, and all involved tiles are completely enclosed by other tiles or board obstacles, a Bounded Battle will begin. Battles are simple to resolve as it requires players to count the number of combatants on both sides and whichever side has more forces wins the battle. The winner places their cube on the appropriate battle card near the Monastery mat, and the loser gains coins equal to the number of their tiles lost to battle. Tiles that are lost are simply flipped to its opposite side.
Play continues in this fashion of players choosing and placing tiles, drawing and using Scriptorium cards, performing Rituals, and resolving Bounded Battles until both players pass their turn. The game is then over and VP counted in all their places around the play area. The player with the most points becomes the next Scriptmaster Flex and is able to enhance or defile as many manuscripts as they like!
Components. This game has a lot of components, but they are mostly cardboard tiles, cardstock cards and mats, and wooden cubes. The quality is all very fine, as to be expected with Eagle-Gryphon games. The art, for me, is the biggest drawback of the game. I UNDERSTAND why it looks the way it does – in trying to stick with a Medieval manuscript theme some decision were made on the style. It just doesn’t vibe with me. I took a look at the new edition of The Road to Canterbury, by the same designer and publisher, and loved the look of it. I REALIZE that the tiles are supposed to be not only reminiscent of the art style of that time period, but also imaginations of monks and their doodles, but it’s just not for me. I do like the looks of everything else except the art on the tiles, and when that’s the majority of the components I am looking at, I sigh a little. I am absolutely no artist, and I can acknowledge that the art presented is very good and in line with the theme. Oh well.
The game play is very solid, and I do like it quite a bit. Everything makes a lot of sense as to why you are doing the actions, and the most difficult thing to comprehend the first time through is the Bounded Battles. You see, battles don’t immediately happen when you pit one foe against another. In fact, all tiles engaged need to be surrounded by other tiles or battleground obstacles before battle can begin. This allows both sides to add more tiles to help sway the balance of power, and can get a little confusing for some players. Not ME, of course, but SOME players (ok it was totally me the first time through). I am thankful that resolving the battles are pretty simple, and winning battles gives the victor a cool five points.
Other aspects I really enjoy are the Scriptorium cards and the Rituals. Again, the Scriptorium cards can be drawn for two coins during the game and can provide excellent rule-breaking choices to the players. Any time a game has cards that bend the rules, I generally am a fan. The Rituals are merely tokens that are collected and then turned in for points. This doesn’t necessarily sound that interesting until I reveal that a player board only has space for seven items: Ritual tokens AND coins included. So a player may be stacking up coins, and not have space for Ritual tokens or vice versa. Hard choices need to be made sometimes, but to help with that Ritual tokens can also be used like a coin, but not the other way around. So there is no buying Ritual tokens. Having that restriction of seven items on hand is a really nice touch, and makes each turn important.
So all in all I enjoyed my plays of Illumination. I have yet to try the solo version that is included, but I will soon. I feel that of the two Medieval series games I have played I prefer The Road to Canterbury, but I do like the different feel of Illumination. Having a solo mode is also very attractive to me because my wife and I do not always have matching schedules where we can game together. I like Illumination for the actual gameplay, but the art is a turn-off for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an irreverent 4 / 6. If you are looking for something a little different that features some interesting game play, tons of choices, yet is restrictive as well, take a look at Illumination. Try not to complete too many wine and candle rituals though. Those two things don’t mix very well in my experience.
Illumination is a game about two monks who are tasked with illuminating the pages of manuscripts with drawings in the hopes of becoming the next head of the Scriptorium: The Scriptmaster, one might say. However, one of the monks gets a little itch and begins to draw irreverent subjects, like demons, dragons, and such. Which monk will earn the made-up-by-me title of Scriptmaster? Guess you will have to play to find out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
As with many games that are well endowed with components, setup can be a bit of a task. The game will be focused around a few main areas. First, the three manuscript pages are placed on the table in any orientation, with the purple wild Drollery tiles placed on one text box on each page. The Monastery mat is placed nearby as well, with the Abbot pawn randomly placed on a blank station. This pawn will be moved around the map during play to determine which rituals may be performed at any one time. Each player will have their own player mat, upon which will be placed their starting gold (1 for the Reverent player and 5 for the Irreverent player), as well as their starting nine Illumination tiles. The rules mention separating all the Illumination tiles into stacks of three, choosing three of these stacks to flip over and place on the play mat without altering the order. This is very important to keep the tiles in their randomized order. The remainder of the tiles are to be placed nearby in stacks of three. Each player is dealt one starting Scriptorium card and a random Crusade card that will offer bonuses at the end of the game. Once all setup, the game may begin with the Reverent player’s turn.
On a turn, the active player will choose from their mat one row or column of three tiles to be played. They take the three tiles and place them upon one of the three book pages on the table, in the margins. From there the player can choose any tile from the margin to place onto the page in any order they wish, upon any quill icon they choose (except for coin tiles – those simply grant two coins immediately). If the tile is placed on a quill of a matching color to that of the tile, the player will immediately collect one coin and place it on the player mat. If the tile is placed on a quill and orthogonally touches a tile of the matching color, the player then collects a Ritual token of the same color. These Ritual tokens are used in sets of three, four, or five in order to earn VP for end of game scoring. Each purple Drollery tile is wild for the purpose of placement and Ritual token collection. Each tile placed will collect its earnings immediately, and any coins earned may be spent immediately as well.
A player may use coins for several purposes throughout the game: move a tile from the margin of one book to the margin of a different book, move the Abbot one space along the track for Ritual purposes, or to draw a Scriptorium card. The other resources are Ritual tokens, and may be spent during the turn as well. In order to spend these, the Abbot must be on the matching location on the Monastery board, and the player may spend three, four, or five matching tokens to perform the Ritual. They discard the tokens, place one of their cubes upon the appropriate icon on the Monastery mat for VP at game end.
At any time during the turn Scriptorium cards may be played. These are very special cards that allow the player to complete certain actions that break the normal rules. This could be a free movement of the Abbot, or switching places of two tiles on the player mat, or even banishing one of the opponent’s tiles to another book entirely.
Why mention the battles in the intro if they are not part of the game? They are. Once opposing foes are placed orthogonally from each other, and all involved tiles are completely enclosed by other tiles or board obstacles, a Bounded Battle will begin. Battles are simple to resolve as it requires players to count the number of combatants on both sides and whichever side has more forces wins the battle. The winner places their cube on the appropriate battle card near the Monastery mat, and the loser gains coins equal to the number of their tiles lost to battle. Tiles that are lost are simply flipped to its opposite side.
Play continues in this fashion of players choosing and placing tiles, drawing and using Scriptorium cards, performing Rituals, and resolving Bounded Battles until both players pass their turn. The game is then over and VP counted in all their places around the play area. The player with the most points becomes the next Scriptmaster Flex and is able to enhance or defile as many manuscripts as they like!
Components. This game has a lot of components, but they are mostly cardboard tiles, cardstock cards and mats, and wooden cubes. The quality is all very fine, as to be expected with Eagle-Gryphon games. The art, for me, is the biggest drawback of the game. I UNDERSTAND why it looks the way it does – in trying to stick with a Medieval manuscript theme some decision were made on the style. It just doesn’t vibe with me. I took a look at the new edition of The Road to Canterbury, by the same designer and publisher, and loved the look of it. I REALIZE that the tiles are supposed to be not only reminiscent of the art style of that time period, but also imaginations of monks and their doodles, but it’s just not for me. I do like the looks of everything else except the art on the tiles, and when that’s the majority of the components I am looking at, I sigh a little. I am absolutely no artist, and I can acknowledge that the art presented is very good and in line with the theme. Oh well.
The game play is very solid, and I do like it quite a bit. Everything makes a lot of sense as to why you are doing the actions, and the most difficult thing to comprehend the first time through is the Bounded Battles. You see, battles don’t immediately happen when you pit one foe against another. In fact, all tiles engaged need to be surrounded by other tiles or battleground obstacles before battle can begin. This allows both sides to add more tiles to help sway the balance of power, and can get a little confusing for some players. Not ME, of course, but SOME players (ok it was totally me the first time through). I am thankful that resolving the battles are pretty simple, and winning battles gives the victor a cool five points.
Other aspects I really enjoy are the Scriptorium cards and the Rituals. Again, the Scriptorium cards can be drawn for two coins during the game and can provide excellent rule-breaking choices to the players. Any time a game has cards that bend the rules, I generally am a fan. The Rituals are merely tokens that are collected and then turned in for points. This doesn’t necessarily sound that interesting until I reveal that a player board only has space for seven items: Ritual tokens AND coins included. So a player may be stacking up coins, and not have space for Ritual tokens or vice versa. Hard choices need to be made sometimes, but to help with that Ritual tokens can also be used like a coin, but not the other way around. So there is no buying Ritual tokens. Having that restriction of seven items on hand is a really nice touch, and makes each turn important.
So all in all I enjoyed my plays of Illumination. I have yet to try the solo version that is included, but I will soon. I feel that of the two Medieval series games I have played I prefer The Road to Canterbury, but I do like the different feel of Illumination. Having a solo mode is also very attractive to me because my wife and I do not always have matching schedules where we can game together. I like Illumination for the actual gameplay, but the art is a turn-off for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an irreverent 4 / 6. If you are looking for something a little different that features some interesting game play, tons of choices, yet is restrictive as well, take a look at Illumination. Try not to complete too many wine and candle rituals though. Those two things don’t mix very well in my experience.
Mothergamer (1549 KP) rated Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I have loved the Dragon Quest games since I was a kid and have played many of them. I was quite thrilled that a new Dragon Quest game was coming out so as soon as I got my hands on Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age, I started playing immediately. Right from the start the game starts off with a fantastic introduction with music played by the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra and beautiful scenes from the game. The story starts with an interesting beginning showing the hero who is known as the Luminary a hero of light who is the only one that can fight the powers of darkness and a villain known as Mordegon.
Once the initial introduction is done, this is where Dragon Quest really gets going. You have a few side quests that give you a tutorial on how the battle system works and there is a small bit of exploration in the hero's home village.
The hero exploring a cave in his village.
Exploration is very much encouraged in Dragon Quest without being overwhelming. Dungeons are fairly linear so there's no confusion about where to go. The battle system has been revamped a bit with the ability to have the AI on your party members set to specific things such as focusing on healing or fighting wisely. The way I had mine set up was that I had control of the hero with the follow orders setting and had the party members set to certain AI controls like having designated healers and melee fighters.
Another part of fighting in these turn based battles is something called pep powers. Basically after party members take a certain amount of damage from enemies they gain the power of pep. Each pep power is different and you unlock more for your hero and party members as you level up. These pep powers allow the hero and his friends to team up during battles to unleash epic attacks or heal everyone depending on what the situation calls for. Pep powers do not last forever however and if you don't use them right away they can wear off. A trick around this is to have the party member who is pepped up swap places with a party member who isn't. This is where the tactics and line up option in the battle menu comes in handy. It allows you to swap members in and out as needed until everyone has their pep powers ready to go.
Use the pep powers to defeat enemies in battle.
There are tons of side quests in Dragon Quest where you help villagers find items, defeat monsters for them, or just wear the right outfit and you get rewarded with not just experience but items for crafting, healing items, or gear for your party members. There are also some mini games like horse racing and a casino where you can exchange tokens for things like costumes and crafting recipes.
Horse racing is just one of the mini games you can play in the game.
Crafting is a big part of Dragon Quest XI. When you are at campfires, you can use the fun sized forge to craft weapons, armor, and accessories for your hero and his friends. I enjoyed this part of the game a lot because there are a variety of items you can make and if you make them well you get some pretty good stats on them. As you level up, you unlock abilities that can enhance your forging skills and increase your chances of successfully crafting items. If you screw up a crafting session you can always go back and rework the item if you have the right number of perfectionist's pearls. Some of the side quests require you to craft specific items so this is where the fun sized forge comes in handy. It's a nice break from level grinding and adventuring and you can save your game progress at the campfire as well.
Craft a variety of items with the fun sized forge.
Another fun aspect of the game is the variety of costumes you can get for your hero and party members. Some do offer pretty great defense stats and some are just for fun like Jade's bunny costume. There are a few side quests that offer costumes as rewards and some of the costumes you can craft with the forge. Running around getting all the costumes is a lot of fun and each one looks great and goes well with the party member it's for.
Just one of the many costumes you can get in the game.
Does Dragon Quest XI have flaws? In a word, yes. While I loved running around exploring everywhere, enjoyed the story, and didn't mind the level grinding there are serious issues with many of the boss battles in the game. My biggest one is that the old fashioned way of not being able to see a boss battle's HP bar does not work. There are times where a battle will drag on a little too long and there is no way to tell if you are even doing any damage at all or if the boss is close to being defeated. Fighting and hoping for the best just does not work.
Another factor is just how much level grinding is needed in order to win against certain bosses. I love Dragon Quest and while I don't mind challenging having to run around for long periods of time to level grind just to win a boss fight is incredibly tedious which brings me to the next major issue with the game. Towards the end of the game there is a final boss that is the biggest pain in the ass to fight. To add to the frustration in this final area there is only one save point and it's at the beginning of the dungeon. There is no warning about the final boss coming up, no save point before it, and it just throws you into the fray. I did not win the first time or even the second because the boss fight was in two parts and the second part had an outrageous difficulty spike to the point of being so frustrating that I had to take a break from the game.
I did finish the game eventually, but that part of the game alone and the odd spikes in difficulty in various boss fights shows that Dragon Quest needs to modernize a bit and get with the times. It does not need to do anything drastic, but it at least needs to make some changes that are more friendly to the people playing their game such as showing an enemy's HP gauge and not have such a steep learning curve for important boss battles.
Other than those things, I enjoyed Dragon Quest XI a lot. It has an interesting story, wonderful characters, and is a great adventure overall. There is a lot to see and do, the mini games are fun, and the voice acting in the game is very well done. The artwork in the game is terrific and you definitely notice Akira Toriyama's unique art style. The music for the game is great also. When you finish the game, there are things you can do afterwards such as collecting all the crafting recipes and finishing some level 60 side quests. If you are a fan of the series, it is one that you will enjoy playing because it is a great addition to the Dragon Quest universe.
Once the initial introduction is done, this is where Dragon Quest really gets going. You have a few side quests that give you a tutorial on how the battle system works and there is a small bit of exploration in the hero's home village.
The hero exploring a cave in his village.
Exploration is very much encouraged in Dragon Quest without being overwhelming. Dungeons are fairly linear so there's no confusion about where to go. The battle system has been revamped a bit with the ability to have the AI on your party members set to specific things such as focusing on healing or fighting wisely. The way I had mine set up was that I had control of the hero with the follow orders setting and had the party members set to certain AI controls like having designated healers and melee fighters.
Another part of fighting in these turn based battles is something called pep powers. Basically after party members take a certain amount of damage from enemies they gain the power of pep. Each pep power is different and you unlock more for your hero and party members as you level up. These pep powers allow the hero and his friends to team up during battles to unleash epic attacks or heal everyone depending on what the situation calls for. Pep powers do not last forever however and if you don't use them right away they can wear off. A trick around this is to have the party member who is pepped up swap places with a party member who isn't. This is where the tactics and line up option in the battle menu comes in handy. It allows you to swap members in and out as needed until everyone has their pep powers ready to go.
Use the pep powers to defeat enemies in battle.
There are tons of side quests in Dragon Quest where you help villagers find items, defeat monsters for them, or just wear the right outfit and you get rewarded with not just experience but items for crafting, healing items, or gear for your party members. There are also some mini games like horse racing and a casino where you can exchange tokens for things like costumes and crafting recipes.
Horse racing is just one of the mini games you can play in the game.
Crafting is a big part of Dragon Quest XI. When you are at campfires, you can use the fun sized forge to craft weapons, armor, and accessories for your hero and his friends. I enjoyed this part of the game a lot because there are a variety of items you can make and if you make them well you get some pretty good stats on them. As you level up, you unlock abilities that can enhance your forging skills and increase your chances of successfully crafting items. If you screw up a crafting session you can always go back and rework the item if you have the right number of perfectionist's pearls. Some of the side quests require you to craft specific items so this is where the fun sized forge comes in handy. It's a nice break from level grinding and adventuring and you can save your game progress at the campfire as well.
Craft a variety of items with the fun sized forge.
Another fun aspect of the game is the variety of costumes you can get for your hero and party members. Some do offer pretty great defense stats and some are just for fun like Jade's bunny costume. There are a few side quests that offer costumes as rewards and some of the costumes you can craft with the forge. Running around getting all the costumes is a lot of fun and each one looks great and goes well with the party member it's for.
Just one of the many costumes you can get in the game.
Does Dragon Quest XI have flaws? In a word, yes. While I loved running around exploring everywhere, enjoyed the story, and didn't mind the level grinding there are serious issues with many of the boss battles in the game. My biggest one is that the old fashioned way of not being able to see a boss battle's HP bar does not work. There are times where a battle will drag on a little too long and there is no way to tell if you are even doing any damage at all or if the boss is close to being defeated. Fighting and hoping for the best just does not work.
Another factor is just how much level grinding is needed in order to win against certain bosses. I love Dragon Quest and while I don't mind challenging having to run around for long periods of time to level grind just to win a boss fight is incredibly tedious which brings me to the next major issue with the game. Towards the end of the game there is a final boss that is the biggest pain in the ass to fight. To add to the frustration in this final area there is only one save point and it's at the beginning of the dungeon. There is no warning about the final boss coming up, no save point before it, and it just throws you into the fray. I did not win the first time or even the second because the boss fight was in two parts and the second part had an outrageous difficulty spike to the point of being so frustrating that I had to take a break from the game.
I did finish the game eventually, but that part of the game alone and the odd spikes in difficulty in various boss fights shows that Dragon Quest needs to modernize a bit and get with the times. It does not need to do anything drastic, but it at least needs to make some changes that are more friendly to the people playing their game such as showing an enemy's HP gauge and not have such a steep learning curve for important boss battles.
Other than those things, I enjoyed Dragon Quest XI a lot. It has an interesting story, wonderful characters, and is a great adventure overall. There is a lot to see and do, the mini games are fun, and the voice acting in the game is very well done. The artwork in the game is terrific and you definitely notice Akira Toriyama's unique art style. The music for the game is great also. When you finish the game, there are things you can do afterwards such as collecting all the crafting recipes and finishing some level 60 side quests. If you are a fan of the series, it is one that you will enjoy playing because it is a great addition to the Dragon Quest universe.
Merissa (12346 KP) rated Last Chance (Royal-Kagan Shifter World #7) in Books
Oct 5, 2017
Last Chance (Royal-Kagan Shifter World #7) by Nancy Corrigan
Last Chance is Gwen's story, with Xander and Vlad/Vader. We met her at the same time we met Molly, but then she disappeared. Xander left his pack in the care of Xane, his twin brother, and put all his time and energy into finding her. Vlad was also doing the same, with Shifter Affairs as his back up. Both of these males have a history with Gwen, but none that she is aware of. Their history comes from previous incarnations that Gwen can't yet remember, and they always have a sad ending. Because triads aren't common, neither Vlad nor Xander were aware of the implications in Gwen's past lives. However, with the triad that has now happened, the way is open for them to finally make their soul-bond... if Gwen can forgive them for their errors.
Yes, Gwen is a virgin and she's human, but she is NOT weak. She has weak moments, when events overwhelm her, but come on, be honest. If you had undergone all that she has, you'd feel overwhelmed at times too. And don't forget, once you've stopped fighting for your life, the adrenaline drops, and it is then that you feel overwhelmed. I loved Gwen, and her sassy, feisty attitude, that will not just accept what her mates are telling her. Xander and Vlad are both exceptional males, but that didn't stop me from wanting to whomp them upside the head when they started - either at each other, or their misguided attempts of 'protecting' Gwen. There is so much in this story, more than enough to get your teeth into. Molly, the Ulgran clan, Lena, past incarnations, current situations, prickly males and sassy females. Not only do you get Gwen's story, but you get an update on Lena and Molly, with it being an integral part to both this story and moving forwards.
With no editing or grammatical errors, the pacing was smooth, leading to a gripping story with natural peaks and troughs. It flowed smoothly, from one scene to the next, leading up to the ending. I was completely enthralled with this story, and it has definitely left me a) wanting to read them all again, and b) waiting oh so patiently for the next one!
Highly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Yes, Gwen is a virgin and she's human, but she is NOT weak. She has weak moments, when events overwhelm her, but come on, be honest. If you had undergone all that she has, you'd feel overwhelmed at times too. And don't forget, once you've stopped fighting for your life, the adrenaline drops, and it is then that you feel overwhelmed. I loved Gwen, and her sassy, feisty attitude, that will not just accept what her mates are telling her. Xander and Vlad are both exceptional males, but that didn't stop me from wanting to whomp them upside the head when they started - either at each other, or their misguided attempts of 'protecting' Gwen. There is so much in this story, more than enough to get your teeth into. Molly, the Ulgran clan, Lena, past incarnations, current situations, prickly males and sassy females. Not only do you get Gwen's story, but you get an update on Lena and Molly, with it being an integral part to both this story and moving forwards.
With no editing or grammatical errors, the pacing was smooth, leading to a gripping story with natural peaks and troughs. It flowed smoothly, from one scene to the next, leading up to the ending. I was completely enthralled with this story, and it has definitely left me a) wanting to read them all again, and b) waiting oh so patiently for the next one!
Highly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Assassin's Creed: Forsaken in Books
May 15, 2017
The story of a Templar rather than the Assassin (3 more)
Set out like a journal, makes it intriguing
Good descriptive action
An insight to the history of the character
Some chapters are slow (1 more)
The journal format limits the experience to the view of only one character
Insight to a character we barely see
- MINOR SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ASSASSINS CREED 3 -
The 5th book in the Oliver Bowden collection of Assassin's Creed novels, follows the life of Haytham Kenway, son of Pirate / Assassin, Edward Kenway and father of the Native American Assassin Connor Kenway, who you play as in the video game Assassin's Creed 3.
Haytham is a British Templar who is sent to America during the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars, to learn more about, and find an ancient cave that would help the Templar Order discover more about the first civilization, also known as 'Those who came before'. After centuries of the two factions, Assassins and Templar, fighting a never ending war in secret, over advanced technology known as the Pieces of Eden, created by the first civilization.
Though it is interesting to learn more about Haytham, since we only get to play a small part of his story in the video game, my only issue, though minor it may be, with the book is that the journal format limits our experience of the story to the view point of one man, and there are so many interesting characters within the plot that are sure to have their own interesting stories to be told, but sadly we are limited to one man's thoughts and opinions, and learn very little about other characters, besides their outspoken interactions with Haytham.
However this book is exciting and really does open up a whole new story within the franchise that we do not get to see. The descriptive writing ensures that the world that is described to us, is enough to clearly imagine, as the writer imagines it, in our minds, but enough for us to also have our own image of the areas, the surroundings and the sights, sounds and smells of such a place that our protagonist visits.
If you're a fan of the franchise then I highly recommend any of these novels to you, because they open up so much more to the characters and the stories that we do not get within the games. This is what makes the books such an exciting read, because we get to delve deep inside the minds of the characters, from start to finish.
The 5th book in the Oliver Bowden collection of Assassin's Creed novels, follows the life of Haytham Kenway, son of Pirate / Assassin, Edward Kenway and father of the Native American Assassin Connor Kenway, who you play as in the video game Assassin's Creed 3.
Haytham is a British Templar who is sent to America during the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars, to learn more about, and find an ancient cave that would help the Templar Order discover more about the first civilization, also known as 'Those who came before'. After centuries of the two factions, Assassins and Templar, fighting a never ending war in secret, over advanced technology known as the Pieces of Eden, created by the first civilization.
Though it is interesting to learn more about Haytham, since we only get to play a small part of his story in the video game, my only issue, though minor it may be, with the book is that the journal format limits our experience of the story to the view point of one man, and there are so many interesting characters within the plot that are sure to have their own interesting stories to be told, but sadly we are limited to one man's thoughts and opinions, and learn very little about other characters, besides their outspoken interactions with Haytham.
However this book is exciting and really does open up a whole new story within the franchise that we do not get to see. The descriptive writing ensures that the world that is described to us, is enough to clearly imagine, as the writer imagines it, in our minds, but enough for us to also have our own image of the areas, the surroundings and the sights, sounds and smells of such a place that our protagonist visits.
If you're a fan of the franchise then I highly recommend any of these novels to you, because they open up so much more to the characters and the stories that we do not get within the games. This is what makes the books such an exciting read, because we get to delve deep inside the minds of the characters, from start to finish.