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Earthfall
Earthfall
Action
Left 4 Dead and its sequel Left 4 Dead 2 became must play games for fans who loved the four player co-op gameplay as players worked with one another to accomplish tasks and survive legions of undead and supernatural enemies.

The sequel came soon after the original and despite rumors and the best hopes of the gaming community; a new chapter in the series has yet to appear.

Thankfully Holospark have stepped up to offer gamers an enjoyable and intense gaming experience for fans who have grown weary of waiting for a new installment of Left 4 Dead. Set in the Pacific Northwest, Earthfall deals with the aftermath of an Alien invasion where four characters must work with one another to accomplish tasks, defeat wave after wave of enemies and survive.

Players can play with one another or play with A.I. controlled Bots whose ability level can be adjusted by players at the start of the level.

Weapons ranging from shotguns, pistols, bladed weapons, machine guns, and heavy weapons can be found along the way or printed at 3D Printers to help the odds of survival. There are also health kits, stations, ammo boxes, and Stimulant shots which will all have their place as the gameplay unfolds.

Teamwork is the key as the enemies are abundant and fast. While they may not have the best A.I. out there and rush straight at you; the fact that they are so abundant and attack from multiple directions at once really increases the challenge.

There are several types of enemies as well as boss Aliens who show up at various points of a level to throw a wrench into your strategy. Once a player is down, they can be revived by other players which often puts players in the difficult task of trying to stay alive or rushing into danger to try to save other players.

There are also devices such as auto and manned gun emplacements which can shred enemies, but overheat if continuous fire is used.

The game does offer various levels of difficulty so players can find one that best meets their gameplay style. Some may find the gameplay a bit dated but when you factor in the game was made by an Indie developer and has a list price for $30.00; it has some great things going for it. I have played the game well-over a year in early access phase and I have really enjoyed seeing the improvements to the game as it made its way to full release. The new maps are really good and there are more coming for gamers to enjoy as well. What is also really enjoyable to see is that Holospark seems very open to suggestions of the community and will continue to tweak the game going forward.

While some will likely say the graphics are a bit out of date and the dialogue is a bit standard, it is important to note that this is a game designed for fans of Left 4 Dead and is done by an smaller developer and not one of the mega-publishers, as such, I found the quality of the graphics and gameplay more than good enough for modern systems and at no time did I ever find it as a distraction to the gameplay as I was immersed from the get go.

If you are a fan of Left 4 Dead and want an affordably priced game that incorporates several of the best elements of the prior game, then you will not want to miss Earthfall.

http://sknr.net/2018/07/16/earthfall/
  
The Music Man: Other Dimensions
The Music Man: Other Dimensions
Moonyani Write | 2019 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
2
2.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I enjoyed how the students from our dimension and those from the other dimension interacted with each other. (0 more)
The amount of repetition is this book was a major issue for me and made it extremely hard to read. To be honest I got bored with it quickly. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Before you read this review I just want to mention that I do like the idea behind this book and do not want to discourage anyone from reading it. This was just my personal opinion as all my reviews are.

 The Music Man: Other Dimensions by Moonyani Write picks up directly where the previous one left off. It has the same writing style as the previous one for those who enjoyed that. However, at the time of my writing this the book could still use some work (although keep in mind I am just a reader and not an editor).

 This second book welcomes back The Music Man (Cornelius), Jimmy, and his friends at a boarding school for the musically gifted. At first, Jimmy believes all the previous events are just a dream but he soon pins down Cornelius, who just happens to be a teacher at his school and learns the truth. The bad news is Hornsbury and the witches have returned in the other dimension and are trying to steal the other Jimmy’s talents and take over the world.

 Before Jimmy and his friends can stop Hornsbury and save everyone they must complete a few other tasks. The first of these tasks is to save Chris from his possession and return the book he stole to its rightful owner, Priala. Priala is a powerful witch and on the side of good who has agreed to help stop Hornsbury so long as she gets her spellbook back first. They also want to help Phillip regain his human form and free all those already possessed by Hornsbury. Sadly all seems lost when both Jimmy’s and Cornelius’s girlfriend are captured by Honsbury. It then becomes a race against the clock to stop him before it is too late.

 I enjoyed how the students from our dimension and those from the other dimension interacted with each other. It was interesting to see how the friendships formed almost instantly between many of them. Of course, the surprise at the end was nice, although it mirrored the ending of the first book. The amount of repetition is this book was a major issue for me and made it extremely hard to read. To be honest I got bored with it quickly. The story is slow to make progress and it seems like there are character descriptions thrown in at random which interrupts the flow of the story. It could be the format that I received this book in but yet again there were few paragraphs and almost every sentence started a completely new line.

 This book is ideal for children as I found nothing inappropriate in it. It might be a bit on the long side for some younger readers but making one chapter at a time a reading goal should help with that issue. I rate this book 1 out of 4. Unfortunately, I found this book to be way too repetitive and slow to be enjoyable. In contrast, the big battle at the end that everything was leading up to was over so quickly that it didn’t create any tension or excitement. I do not like doing this but in this book’s current condition I can not recommend it.

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Since You've Been Gone
Since You've Been Gone
Morgan Matson | 2014 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
9
8.4 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Relatable Teen Story (3 more)
Fun 'Dare' Concept
Quick, Light Read
Beautiful Descriptions.
Would've Preferred More Closure (0 more)
Her best friend disappeared and with her all their summer plans.. now what will Emily do?
Since You've Been Gone is a story about best friends. Sloane vanishes right as the summer was about to begin, leaving nothing but a list of daring tasks to be completed. Emily, a natural introvert, begins to retreat to that introverted place without Sloane around. Emily becomes desperate to find out what happened to her best friend, and begins the list Sloane left her. As she sets out to complete the list she runs into unexpected individuals who help push her to complete the list and in the process find herself.

I loved this book. The entire time I was reading I couldn't help but thing of the adventures my childhood/high school best friend and I had. This quick, light read is highly relatable with a wonderful reminiscing quality. Additionally, the descriptions were absolutely stunning. One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "...kissing with the urgency of the rain that was pounding down all around us and onto the hood of the car." Morgan Matson finds beautiful ways to say simple things that help the reader see the passion and strong feelings teenagers go through and feel.

Being a stand alone book, it had a good finality to it however, I found it ended abruptly and could've used an epilogue to explain some of the lose ends. Some of that desire is most likely because I loved the book so much and simply wanted more!