Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Tom Clancy's The Division in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019  
Tom Clancy's The Division
Tom Clancy's The Division
Shooter
As if pulled directly from the headlines Tom Clancy’s The Division is a chilling look at New York in the aftermath of a deadly pandemic. Dubbed the Dollar Flu, after tainted money was released during Black Friday, Manhattan is a desolated region populated by scavengers, roaming gangs; people just trying to survive. It is into this scenario that players take on the role of an agent of an elite government division known as “The Division”, their task is to help restore order, investigate the outbreak, and bring facilities and a sense of normality to a devastated area. Playing from a third person perspective and mixing elements of a RPG and shooter, The Division is an extremely ambitious and highly detailed project. Players are tasked with several main missions but also have the option to do side missions which help them gain resources in order to upgrade their base and equipment. Weapons and accessories can be bought, sold, or modified, and various skill options ranging from healing to combat options become available as well.

One of the great things about the game is the ability to join other players to complete your missions. At the start of a mission, players have the option to be matched up with other players but of course the difficulty will ramp up based on the number of players that are currently assigned. The level of difficulty can be extreme but the enjoyment rewards of successfully completing the mission of this magnitude are worth it.

There was a lot of complaining online from gamers about the delays that the game had coming to market and I would say that the time has definitely been well spent. It is a deeply immersive game that is very impressive to look at in terms of the detail that Ubisoft has put into re-creating the city. The enemies are diverse and challenging and the storyline is extremely engaging.
I am not a huge fan of micromanagement in terms of having to sort out my gear and tactful upgrades I’ve always been more in favor of finding and using an item rather than crafting and purchasing because I do not like to have to decide what is worth keeping and what is worth discarding or selling. The great thing is the game gives me the ability to play in my comfort zone but also step outside it and take some new paths to enhance my loadout.

There are unfortunately a few bugs in the game as I remember one early mission in a department store were encountering a flamethrower equipped enemy on a staircase I backed up and dispatched them with a volley from my assault rifle. My triumph was short-lived as I found that I become wedged between an ankle high box and a mannequin and that there was no way for me to get out of that predicament without ending the game and then reloading. I have not encountered any of the exploits that I read about being deployed online but I also avoid The Dark Zone more than other players as this is truly a lawless area were players run amok.

Ubisoft has said they plan to address the issues and they also have upcoming DLC which will expand upon the universe. For now The Division is a very impressive game in that it provides a fantastic an open world scenario filled with numerous challenges and a great level of visual detail. I found myself to of been drawn into the game and it is managed to maintain my interest ever since release and also has me thinking about the game and strategizing even when I’m not playing. Hopefully the necessary updates and features will continue to, so this game can reach its full potential.

http://sknr.net/2016/05/13/tom-clancys-division/
  
Lady in the Water (2006)
Lady in the Water (2006)
2006 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
8
6.6 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
M. Night Shyamalan has crafted a true modern day Fairy Tale with his surprisingly delightful film Lady in the Water.

The film stars Paul Giamatti as Cleveland Heep, a property manager at a Philadelphia apartment complex known as “The Cove”. Cleveland spends his days maintaining the complex as well as interacting with the guests who reside there.

Cleveland is a very unassuming man who has a stutter that often causes him embarrassment when he is trying to hold a conversation. Life is busy but not very social for Cleveland who spends the majority of his free time in his apartment alone, and seems to have no social connections beyond his tenants.
All this changes when he discovers a young woman swimming in the pool after hours Cleveland is concerned what the tenants might think, but takes the young lady into his apartment as he suspects that she may be in trouble.

The lady is names Story (Bryce Dallas Howard), and she seems to possess an almost innocent naivety about her that belies her gentle nature. When Cleveland attempts to take the sleeping Story outside to rest on a lawn chair, he is confronted by a creature whose very nature exudes menace and danger which forces the duo to make a hasty retreat into his apartment.

Cleveland learns in time, that Story is a being from a fable that is here to contact an important figure in order to inspire them. Such inspiration is said to be a catalyst for events that will improve the future for mankind.

Naturally there are evil forces that wish to stop her from doing this and will take any opportunity they can to harm the frail Story and keep her from completing her task and returning home. This is a shock to Story, who thought she has completed her mission, and as such, under rules established by her people and the evil powers, is exempt from attacks and allowed to return home once a task has been completed. When this is not the case, and story is attacked as she prepares for her magical return, Cleveland draws upon the compassion of fellow tenants to protect Story.

Cleveland learns from a Korean tenant and her daughter about a legend that seems to underscore Story and her mission, and becomes eager to know more about the legend all the while keeping Story a secret as well as out of harms way.

In time it is learned what her true mission is and that a series of people are required in order to fully protect Story from the evil and allow her to accomplish what she is there to do, which in turn allows Story to connect with them and help many of them address the fears and concerns that they have thus inspiring and healing them with her magical abilities.

With a deadline rapidly approaching, Cleveland and the tenants must band together in order to help story complete her mission, and to determine which role each of them is supposed to play in order to keep her from harm and return her to her people.

While the film does have some scary moments, it is at its very core a fantasy film. The performances of Howard and Giamatti are strong and underscore that both are talents on the rise with bright futures ahead of them.

Shyamalan keeps the film moving at a nice pace that results in a tight film that does not drag on unnecessarily. Shyamalan is also plays a key part in the film and does solid work in front of the camera as well as behind it.

While the film may have a few plot holes and at times requires leaps of faith from the audience, it is a very warm film that blends humor and drama to create a very effective and enjoyable film.
  
40x40

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the PlayStation version of Resident Evil in Video Games

Jun 27, 2020 (Updated Jun 27, 2020)  
Resident Evil
Resident Evil
1996 | Action/Adventure, Horror
The Atmosphere (2 more)
The Horror
The depending on what you need or think that's important.
That Damn Camera Angle (0 more)
The Infested Mansion
Resident Evil- like Silent Hill, the atmosphere of a the horror genre is excellent. Resident Evil ask you the question, if you and your team got stranded and the only place to go is a old creepy manison and survive it, can you do it?. The answer for me, no! But for Chris and Jill their have to, no other choice. Thats what i love about Resident Evil, is the atmosphere of the manison, the creepest, the mystery, the suspense, the thrills and the creatures that live inside of it.

The plot: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, are members of an elite task force known as S.T.A.R.S., as they investigate the outskirts of Raccoon City following the disappearance of their team members. They soon become trapped in a mansion infested with zombies and other monsters. The player, having selected to play as Chris or Jill at the start of the game, must explore the mansion to uncover its secrets.

Gameplay: The player's character is a member of a special law enforcement task force who is trapped in a mansion populated by dangerous mutated creatures. The objective of the game is to uncover the mystery of the mansion and ultimately escape alive.

To fulfill the game's objective, the player uncovers various documents that provide exposition about the game's narrative, as well as clues that help them solve various puzzles within the mansion. Key items are also available that give the player access to other items or new areas. The player can arm their character with weapons to defend themselves from enemies, although the ammunition available for each firearm is limited and the player must learn to conserve the ammunition they have for situations where they will really need it

The carrying capacity of the player is limited depending on the character and items that the player does not wish to carry at the moment can be stored into an item box to be retrieved for later use. To save their progress, the player must pick up an ink ribbon and use it on any of the typewriters scattered through key locations in the game. However, the supply of ink ribbons the player can acquire is limited much like the player's ammo and healing supplies. Players will encounter and fight various infected creatures as flesh-eating zombies, undead dogs, giant spiders, and other monsters.

Resident Evil was very well received critically and commercially, and is often credited for defining the survival horror genre. Beyond video games, Resident Evil has been credited with re-popularising zombies in mainstream popular culture from the late 1990s onwards (along with The House of the Dead), leading to a renewed interest in zombie films during the 2000s. Resident Evil has since been hailed as one of the most influential and greatest video games of all time. Its success has spawned a multimedia franchise including video games, films, comics, novels, and other merchandise. The game has received dedicated ports to the Sega Saturn, Windows, and Nintendo DS. In 2002, a remake of the same name was released for the GameCube featuring updated graphics, sound, and changes to the gameplay and story. A high-definition remaster of the GameCube game was released in 2015 for modern platforms.

Resident Evil- is one of my favorite survivor horror games of all time and one of my favorite games of all times. Its intense, thrilling, suspenseful and overall scary. Resident Evil is a must to play, if you haven't already. Will you survivie the manison or not!
  
    Yoga International

    Yoga International

    Health & Fitness and Magazines & Newspapers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Yoga classes & much more. Yoga International is your ultimate destination for yoga classes,...