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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated The Shimmer in Books

Mar 16, 2023 (Updated Mar 16, 2023)  
The Shimmer
The Shimmer
Ridley Pearson | 2023 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Danger Shimmering into Disney Parks
In the near future, Eli Whitman is living in EPCOT, which has been designed to fulfill Walt Disney’s original vision for a community. His thirteenth birthday coincides with a solar eclipse, but it’s what happens at his party that is really strange. The video game he and his friends are playing comes to life, and someone jumps out from it, kidnapping him. Can his friends find him? Where is he?

When Ridley Pearson announced he was going to write about the kids of the Kingdom Keepers, I knew I had to find out what he was going to do next. I loved the advances in technology we get with the future setting. There’s plenty of action to keep us turning pages, and I’m curious to see where this saga is going to go next. I did have a little trouble keeping all the characters straight early on, but the important ones quickly emerge as the action starts. And yes, the original Kingdom Keepers we know and love are here, and they have a slightly larger roll than I was expecting, which was wonderful. I’m already anxious to see where the characters are going to find themselves next.
  
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Jamie Towell Cook (13 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Hearts III in Video Games

Apr 6, 2020  
Kingdom Hearts III
Kingdom Hearts III
2018 | Action, Role-Playing
Contains spoilers, click to show
Kingdom Hearts 3 is the long anticipated third part officially in the series. It started back in 2002 and now in 2019 we finally have the 3rd (and allegedly) final part of what is Sora and his friends story. In this time we have travelled to many beloved Disney classics from Mount Olympus to Neverland and for some bizarre reason we even went to Tarzan's world. During all of this Sora is learning how to be the Keyblade wielder and defend all the worlds from the threat of the darkness. On his journey he meets many familiar faces ranging from final fantasy characters such as Cloud, Tidus and Vivi to famous disney heroes such as Ariel, Beast, Jack Skellington.

Unfortunalty since it began in 2002 Kingdom Hearts became a jumbled mess jumping on different consoles along the way. It may have begun as a PlayStation game but soon after there was a spin off for the game boy advance and another for the psp and another for the nintendo ds. Releasing titles that actually continue the plot from the original game on various different consoles and expecting fans to just role with that and keep up, well thats not exactly the best of ideas! Luckily the story so far has been released and rereleased and rererereleased so that fans can figure out just what the hell is actually going on in this either brilliantly masterminded tale or a way for the game producers to milk the franchise for all its worth. I'll let you decide that one.

So any ways, with a whopping 14 years between KH2 and KH3 a lot has changed within the Disney world and with their new corporate purchases a lot of people had questions about what would we see in a new Kingdom Hearts. Would the new game feature any worlds from Marvel? Would we see something from the Muppet Show? Maybe Star Wars? The answer to this was a big fat no. They were going to keep it old school Disney......although by old school Disney that didn't have the same meaning as what I thought it would. Instead of the familiar faces we have grown accustomed to there is no Halloween Town, no Neverland, no Atlantica (Thank god, good call on that one) instead we visit new realms, draining whatever is left from the Frozen franchise and travelling to worlds such as Arendale, San Frantokyo and some other Disney Pixar worlds. Now i'm not saying there is anything wrong with these worlds because they are beautiful and stunning and fun to play through. Couldn't they have at least tried to feature some golden oldies as well. Something else that i noticed that as well that made me feel disappointed in this release was the lack of final fantasy characters, minus a very brief glimpse of 2 characters as statues thats pretty much it.

The story itself is appealing as it continues the tales of Sora, Ventus and Roxas and ultimately brings the trios story to a (almost) conclusion. The voice acting for the kingdom hearts series will never win any awards and in some areas is just hands down terrible but, as it plays out you notice it a lot less and just want to see where its all headed.

The gameplay is as it has always been, if its not broke don't fix it. There are a few additions though. Kingdom Hearts 1 had abilities, in kingdom hearts 2 we seen this become built upon by fusion. This was a way of fusing Sora's abilities with either Donald or Goofy and eventually both. Leading to Wisdom mode, which was magic based. Valour mode, which was strength and defence based. Master, which, yes you guessed it, is a mix of all the above. Limit mode, which brings Sora's abilities to the spotlight. Then you had Final form which was basically a combination of Limit and Master and finally there was anti form, this turned Sora into a heartless version of himself with attacks and abilities to match. These were all scrapped in Kingdom Hearts 3 to make way for attractions, which is an attack based on Disneyworld theme park attractions. There are also attacks based on whose in your team as well. As fun as these are in the beginning, they get old and repetitive fast. The summons have never really played a main part in the Kingdom Hearts series since its first release and KH3 makes that very apparent again, with what i thought was a very lackluster 5 summons in the form of Ariel, Ralph, Stitch, Simba and a dream eater from Kingdom Hearts own series. I mean come on, wheres Mushu? Genie? Bambi? Dumbo? Tinkerbell? Why aren't there any new ones? They could have played up new Pixar entries such as Bolt or Up, even The Incredibles.
The other feature that is new and unique to KH3 is the ability to transform the Keyblade. Now picking up a new keyblade isn't just about the stat boosts, they each feature something different and unique. Without giving too much away, all i can really say about this is the additions to turn your weapon in to such things as shields, blasters and other random creations based on the worlds they are related to is actually a brilliant concept and makes up for the drive form that was taken from KH2 and not featured again.

I really hope that Square Enix are planning on releasing some decent DLC for KH3. Hopefully in the form of some old Disney worlds, a coliseum and some extra story with old familiar faces. Because it is definitely needed.

The Gummi ship does manage to make a come back (yet again). I would like to say something positive about this because it does seem like a lot of work went into making this feel like a more relevant part of the game but, the controls take a bit of figuring out and there is no real need for it other than it being a mini game really.

If Square Enix does add some DLC that adds worlds, characters, keyblades and modes. Then i honestly believe they could boost the game from being a good game to an amazing game. Just listen to the fans, hear what they want and deliver.

I wish i had better news for Kingdom Hearts fans. Especially those who have waited those 14 years but i am judging this game harshly because of my love for the series and the length of time it has been under development.
  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated 300 (2007) in Movies

Nov 5, 2017  
300 (2007)
300 (2007)
2007 | Action, Drama
Visually impressive film
A great entertaining film, with plenty of action and a very impressive visual style similar to Sin City. Although the fights are great and very violent the use of CGI blood effects gave it quite a comic book feel and help tone the gore side down a bit. The story is very simple and to the point, not a deep film it is all about the battles and the visuals. Great if you liked Troy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven but some viewers might want a bit more story to break up all the action. However it's definitely worth experiencing!
  
Girls of Paper and Fire
Girls of Paper and Fire
Natasha Ngan | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me start off by saying the world building in this is just phenomenal. The moon, steel, and paper castes are so well thought out that. you can picture the different demons throughout and find yourself immursed in a new kingdom.
The romance was wonderful and not at all what you are expecting. It made you want to squeal and fight for love. Fight for what you want.
This was in no way what I was expecting but I really enjoyed the story. It dragged you into the middle and kept you on the edge of your seat.
  
This three box set series is exciting, thrilling, and one epic fantasy.
The series follows Dana a reluctant princess and Will a man who can see more in Dana than just the facade on the outside. Together they must save the empire and maybe each other along the way.

This is an epic fantasy that brings you in and makes you want to read all three books in a row. It is wonderful to have a box set that let's you do that. If you enjoy epic romance and an adventure to save a kingdom you will enjoy this.