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Josh Burns (166 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Vampyr in Video Games
Jun 21, 2019
Great story (2 more)
Great Atmosphere
Adaptive gameplay
Protect or Prey on the people of London in Vampyr
Vampyr is a mixed bag that may not be for everyone. It really depends on the types of games you like on this one (as with Until Dawn).
The game draws inspiration from a real epedemic called the Spanish Flu, which for whatever reason, gets way less attention than the Black Plague. You play as an esteemed doctor who gets turned into a vampire after returning to London from being in World War 1. The game just drips in atmosphere as you travel the nearly abandoned streets and docks. It channels gothic horror but with a tasteful dose of modern genre updates. It has a very good story that reminds of a bit of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein in the fact that you do not like what you are, or what it has caused you to do.
Now, this game is largely what you make it to be. The people of London all have fleshed out backstories, personalities, and many offer side quests, trade options, or useful info on certain things. You can either bond with then and work to keep them healthy, or you can feed on them and grow stronger. Your choice on how you handle this can dramatically effect the game. You gain a large amount of experience from feeding on them, even more if you gain their trust first. If you take that route it can take the game from challanging to being easy. There is are a lot of options when leveling up, without feeding you will not be able to max everything out. Another thing that depends on play style, is that there is a ton of talking if you choose to help tje people and gain their trust. This isn't a requirement, however. So the game can be very deep and story driven with a lot of dialogue, or it can be more of an action game, depending on what you do.
On that note, as a pure action game, I'm not sure if it would hold up for most. The combat mechanics are quite basic, attack, dodge, and a few specials, and ranged attack with gun. It's fun enough when not taking the feeding route because you still have to be strategic but if you feed a lot and are extremely powerful, I don't see it being very fun.
The game also features light crafting in the form of upgrading weapons, making blood, stanima, and health injections (same as potions in most games) and medicine for the people. It's semi open and semi linear. You have a map that you can go anywhere on, but only in certain buildings and some streets are blocked off. In fact, navigation can be infuriating at times because of dead ends, doors that need to be unlocked from the other side, and objective markers sometimes being in the wrong spot on the map. I spent a half hour trying to get into a mansion before looking it up and finding out the marker was wrong and I was at the wrong building.
So in conclusion: if you like games like the 1st Mass Effect where story, characters and dialogue are the focus of the game with a healthy dose of combat that isn't amazing but gets the job done, then you'll love it. If you want to just run arpund and hack shit up, it might not be for you.
The game draws inspiration from a real epedemic called the Spanish Flu, which for whatever reason, gets way less attention than the Black Plague. You play as an esteemed doctor who gets turned into a vampire after returning to London from being in World War 1. The game just drips in atmosphere as you travel the nearly abandoned streets and docks. It channels gothic horror but with a tasteful dose of modern genre updates. It has a very good story that reminds of a bit of Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein in the fact that you do not like what you are, or what it has caused you to do.
Now, this game is largely what you make it to be. The people of London all have fleshed out backstories, personalities, and many offer side quests, trade options, or useful info on certain things. You can either bond with then and work to keep them healthy, or you can feed on them and grow stronger. Your choice on how you handle this can dramatically effect the game. You gain a large amount of experience from feeding on them, even more if you gain their trust first. If you take that route it can take the game from challanging to being easy. There is are a lot of options when leveling up, without feeding you will not be able to max everything out. Another thing that depends on play style, is that there is a ton of talking if you choose to help tje people and gain their trust. This isn't a requirement, however. So the game can be very deep and story driven with a lot of dialogue, or it can be more of an action game, depending on what you do.
On that note, as a pure action game, I'm not sure if it would hold up for most. The combat mechanics are quite basic, attack, dodge, and a few specials, and ranged attack with gun. It's fun enough when not taking the feeding route because you still have to be strategic but if you feed a lot and are extremely powerful, I don't see it being very fun.
The game also features light crafting in the form of upgrading weapons, making blood, stanima, and health injections (same as potions in most games) and medicine for the people. It's semi open and semi linear. You have a map that you can go anywhere on, but only in certain buildings and some streets are blocked off. In fact, navigation can be infuriating at times because of dead ends, doors that need to be unlocked from the other side, and objective markers sometimes being in the wrong spot on the map. I spent a half hour trying to get into a mansion before looking it up and finding out the marker was wrong and I was at the wrong building.
So in conclusion: if you like games like the 1st Mass Effect where story, characters and dialogue are the focus of the game with a healthy dose of combat that isn't amazing but gets the job done, then you'll love it. If you want to just run arpund and hack shit up, it might not be for you.
Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated Relative Strangers in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I received this book from NetGalley and Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.
Relative Strangers is an amazing coming of age tale that tackles all the feelings that come with trying to figure out who you are, where you fit in, and unrequited love. Garner tackles important topics like alcoholism, addiction, loss of a parent, sexuality, and abandonment issues. It is a big challenge to stuff that many topics and issues into one book and Garner does it with finesse and grace; and most importantly not leaving any loose ends.
The whole story happens within the course of Jules’ senior year of high school. She discovers something about her past that her mother has kept a secret from her for her entire life. Through detective work, support from her friends, and Facebook, she finds the one person that might be can tell her everything that is missing from her history. Jules’ embarks on a quest to find herself, her past, and her way back to reconnecting emotionally with her mother.
Not only does Paula Garner write such a wonderful story but she creates characters that suck you into the intricate weavings of the story. You feel like you’re one of the girls. I felt like Jules, Gab, and Leila were some of my closest friends. I laughed with them, cried with them, and I cheered for them. One thing I often find difficult when you have so many characters is how to make them grow as the book goes on. Garner did this without making it feel forced. Each of the characters grew in their own way as they took on the rights of passage set in their paths.
Relative Strangers is a story that I think all people will be able to relate to in one way or another. I also think that it’s a great book for teens to read that teaches about appreciating and enjoying the relationships you have with the people around you. Garner kept the emotional twists coming, the pages turning, and the tears flowing well into the night. I highly recommend checking out this book if you’re into Contemporary Coming of Age stories.
Relative Strangers is an amazing coming of age tale that tackles all the feelings that come with trying to figure out who you are, where you fit in, and unrequited love. Garner tackles important topics like alcoholism, addiction, loss of a parent, sexuality, and abandonment issues. It is a big challenge to stuff that many topics and issues into one book and Garner does it with finesse and grace; and most importantly not leaving any loose ends.
The whole story happens within the course of Jules’ senior year of high school. She discovers something about her past that her mother has kept a secret from her for her entire life. Through detective work, support from her friends, and Facebook, she finds the one person that might be can tell her everything that is missing from her history. Jules’ embarks on a quest to find herself, her past, and her way back to reconnecting emotionally with her mother.
Not only does Paula Garner write such a wonderful story but she creates characters that suck you into the intricate weavings of the story. You feel like you’re one of the girls. I felt like Jules, Gab, and Leila were some of my closest friends. I laughed with them, cried with them, and I cheered for them. One thing I often find difficult when you have so many characters is how to make them grow as the book goes on. Garner did this without making it feel forced. Each of the characters grew in their own way as they took on the rights of passage set in their paths.
Relative Strangers is a story that I think all people will be able to relate to in one way or another. I also think that it’s a great book for teens to read that teaches about appreciating and enjoying the relationships you have with the people around you. Garner kept the emotional twists coming, the pages turning, and the tears flowing well into the night. I highly recommend checking out this book if you’re into Contemporary Coming of Age stories.
Fridge Pal
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6.0
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Winner of This Old House Top 100: Best New Home Products 2013, Fridge Pal is the easy way to create...
Daniel Rossen recommended track Little Church by Miles Davis in Live Evil by Miles Davis in Music (curated)
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Bumpy Road
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A love story on four wheels! Spring is here and a couple in their autumn years have decided to go...
Amazon Private Label Podcast for FBA Sellers - Sell more on Amazon FBA, e-Commerce Podcast - AmzSecrets
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Sofianosheen (0 KP) rated Deep Blue Sea (1999) in Movies
Apr 22, 2018
Graphics (3 more)
Audio
Acting
Plot
You mess with the sharks, the sharks mess with you.
Contains spoilers, click to show
If you like shark attack movies, you're going to love this one. The graphics are great for its time. The plot is quite engaging, as you understand why they did what they did and agree that you would have done the same thing if you were looking for a cure for degenerative brain disease. L.L. Cool J adds a hot simmer to the character exchanges and the ending is poetic justice for the head scientist, getting eaten by her own creation. My single and only let down from this movie was that I wish there had been more incidences of the sharks using their new intelligence together as a team. Long story short: this movie isn't going to win any emmys/oscars/etc., but it will satisfy your hunger for a bloody shark movie with a legitimate plot.
Christina Haynes (148 KP) rated The Book Jumper in Books
Sep 18, 2018
The Book Jumper
Amy Lennox is a book jumper, only she doesn't know this until she arrives in Scotland with her mother Alexis. There she finds out she comes from a long line of Book Jumpers along with another family. Now a book jumper is exactly what it sounds like. You have the ability to jump into any book you like by sliding it over your face and bamn your inside. Name your favourite book and your there, in the pages of the book. Your not just in the book living the lives of the characters, your in the book able to talk to whoever you like and go wherever you like. Only you can't interfere with the story itself, but your able to go among the pages as you please. The purpose of a Book Jumper is to protect literature and keep things safe, so that the stories don't change.
Amy learns how to be one through lessons with the other students who to can Book Jump. She learns the history of the two families and how a manuscript 100's of years ago was destroyed. She is then given her first book to jump into and protect - The Jungle Book.
Whilst Amy is in the world of books she meets some great allies and experiences some great stories. But whilst she is in one book with a friend of hers, she hears that someone or something has been stealing ideas from the stories. They are stealing the thing that makes that story, the thing that starts that story off...
But who is stealing these ideas, on the island she lives there is only around 6 people. But is the thief from the island or is there more to who is stealing and why?
This book was so good and I loved every moment of it.
☕☕☕☕ 4 – I REALLY LIKED IT
Love,
Christina xx
Amy learns how to be one through lessons with the other students who to can Book Jump. She learns the history of the two families and how a manuscript 100's of years ago was destroyed. She is then given her first book to jump into and protect - The Jungle Book.
Whilst Amy is in the world of books she meets some great allies and experiences some great stories. But whilst she is in one book with a friend of hers, she hears that someone or something has been stealing ideas from the stories. They are stealing the thing that makes that story, the thing that starts that story off...
But who is stealing these ideas, on the island she lives there is only around 6 people. But is the thief from the island or is there more to who is stealing and why?
This book was so good and I loved every moment of it.
☕☕☕☕ 4 – I REALLY LIKED IT
Love,
Christina xx
Beyond Mindfulness: The Direct Approach to Lasting Peace, Happiness, and Love
Book
Written by best-selling author, meditation expert, psychotherapist, and spiritual teacher Stephan...