Search

Search only in certain items:

Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
2018 | Action/Adventure
VR integration (2 more)
Gameplay
Collectibles
Wonderful use of VR
I kept reading online that "Astro Bot Rescue Mission" was one of the best games available for PSVR. But at a $40 price tag, I couldn't take the leap.

Then a few weeks ago it went on sale for $19.99, so I finally decided to give it a try. And I was completely impressed!

This game really makes you feel like you are a giant robot in a world full of small robots. You control one of the little bots through levels filled with platforming challenges, but VR changes how things work. For example, you might want to make your character run back behind you. In a normal game, you'd have to mess with camera controls, but with this one, you just turn your head to follow him.

If he needs to go up platforms to a bridge far above you, you look up and guide him across using his shadow. If you look down and see a hole in the ground with a collectible item, you can guide him down into the hole to collect it.

Basically, it's like playing a 3D Mario game in a whole new way. I was blown away and played all the way through it, then went back to find the collectibles I had missed.

I would recommend this to anyone new to VR. And I get motion sick easily, but this game never made me sick. A+
  
Neofeud
Neofeud
Puzzle & Cards
Some of the most popular games to be released in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s were the point and click adventure games. Sierra Online ruled the 80’s with games such as Kings Quest and Leisure Suit Larry, while the 90’s was dominated by Lucasarts with their release of titles such as Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle. These games were puzzle driven stories, where the main character interacted with their environment by clicking on items, pressing a button, and occasional mini games to complete the level. Sadly, except for very few remastered greats, there has been little to be excited about in this once popular and well-loved genre. This is where Neofued hopes to fill the gap with its mix of Blade Runner and District 9 storyline.

Neofeud is set in the not too distant future, a dystopian society where 1% of the wealthy Pureblood human megacorporation’s live in floating cities, and the other 99%, a mix of humans (Pure or otherwise), cyborgs and androids are barely able scrape by. Purebloods (those completely human) hold down low wage jobs, where those from the mechanical genepool (robots, androids, etc.) are treated as lower class citizens, living in Section 8 housing and off government food stamps.

You are Karl Carbon, a dishonorably discharged cop who now makes a living as social worker for Sentient Services. Karl is tasked by his boss (who for better or worse looks and sounds a lot like Emilio Estevez) to travel to a local ghetto to checkup on Johnny, an at-risk youth (artificial person). This will catapult Karl into an adventure, with a gangsta robot named Proto-J and Princess Cybil, a wealthy aristocrat who believes in equality for all sentient beings. Karl also travels to “The Arcade”, where robot gangsters and drug dealers hang out, and will even do a little time-traveling, but not more than 24 hours.

The game play is standard fare for this type of genre. The cursor can be changed from an eye icon to look at an item or object, hand icon to use an item, you get the idea. You collect various items that you then use on something in the environment to advance the story. Find a door knob on the ground? There will certainly be a door missing a knob to use it on. For any who have played point and click games in the past, the controls will be second nature to you.

The visuals are good, they aren’t great, but they are vibrant and gritty. There is a mix of 2D and 3D objects in the environment to tell the story. You will see lots of nods to the 80’s if you look close enough…”You made a time machine out of a DeLorean?”, Yes Marty, he did. I feel that someone familiar enough with classic 80’s movies will get more out of these little quips than those less familiar. That isn’t to say you can’t appreciate the game without this knowledge, you’ll just be missing a lot of the inside jokes that abound.

The voice acting is a mixed bag here. Some of the characters nail the dialog and help with character development. Unfortunately, the main character Karl tends to deliver an inconsistent performance which can seriously distract you during key moments in the game. That being said though, all the characters are voiced (no reading endless dialog boxes as you did in the 80’s) which is an achievement for any game. So while the voice acting isn’t always amazing, it’s still preferred to reading line after line of text when the characters speak.

The game clocks in around 15 hours, which is a pretty astonishing feat when you realize that the story, gameplay and art work was all done by one guy.

Is the game worth $14.99 on Steam? That depends on your nostalgia for a point and click adventure with a lot of references to 80’s films. The story is interesting, albeit a bit convoluted at times, and the characters range from likeable to annoying, but still have you rooting for them until the end.

http://sknr.net/2017/11/16/neofued/
  
I absolutely loved Kerry Daynes’s first book, so when I was given the chance by NetGalley to read and review this book I knew that I was in for a treat.
Kerry Daynes gives us an insight into the world of forensic psychology and the different settings that she has worked in, from hospitals to her own private practice to a mother-and-baby unit. Her job is so varied and she talks about a wide range of characters that she has met throughout her career.
Kerry Daynes doesn’t pretend to be a robot and is the first to admit that sometimes her prejudice or feelings do appear during sessions with some of her patients. She says the most important thing is to realise this and to try to put them to one side at that moment in time. I have always been interested in psychology and it is the career I want to go into in the near future, and this book has ignited that passion even further but also put some of my doubts to bed.
I really did enjoy this book, and while I know that statistics and studies are important to back up facts in the book, I did feel that at some points the references and statistics were a bit too heavy, especially if you are not someone who likes to go away and read up on them afterwards. While they didn’t bother me too much, I did sometimes find I was skimming over them a little, so I wonder what people who don’t have any experience of psychology would think of these parts.
Overall, I really did enjoy the book and I enjoyed reading about the patients that Kerry Daynes included and felt satisfied when we found out what happened to them afterwards.
  
Mega Shark vs Kolossus (2015)
Mega Shark vs Kolossus (2015)
2015 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
5
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Amendment to the shark rules, having "mega" in the title... *chef's kiss*

When the hunt for the power source known as Red Mercury takes a team to an underground bunker they accidentally awaken the giant doomsday machine that's been idle since the Cold War. While the Kolossus runs rampage a new megalodon is terrorising the coast... what will happen when the two inexplicably meet?

I will say that of the Mega-Shark "franchise" the best is Mega Shark Vs. Mecha Shark. It is obviously much more sensible having two things that are designed to be in the same environment battling together, a robot fighting a shark is epic... but a stretch. This duo does mean that it feels very much like two films, but honestly, the ridiculousness of this makes up a bit for that.

It does at last start with a super realistic submarine that's manned by a lot of women in tight pleather that doesn't look like it would offer any kind of protection against water or action. This is why we come for these films... the accuracy.

The acting is exactly what you'd expect from a shark film, probably something you'd rather wasn't on your resume. You've got all the stereotypes with all the cringeable moments and the actors don't do a bad job with what they're given.

There's a little issue right at the beginning of the film. When the team meet up outside the bunker there's an obviously pointless exchange to explain what's going on, two of the actors have subtitles. I don't have an issue with subtitles when they're needed, but while both the actors have accents in the scene they're actually speaking perfectly understandable English. It might have been a glitch on the copy I watched, I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if it wasn't then I don't know what they were thinking.

When it comes to the shark scale this film is good because it has the requisite bag CGI, stupid storyline and classic quotes... the famous last words "No sign of the mega shark" and my personal favourite "...or you can die hiding under your desk searching for your balls." Glorious. Despite the amazing lines and the fact it's got a shark in it, the sheer impossibility of the pairing and the fact it feels like two films forced together makes it fall short of high marks.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/08/mega-shark-vs-kolossus-movie-review.html
  
40x40

Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Overlord (2018) in Movies

Jul 3, 2020 (Updated Oct 29, 2020)  
Overlord (2018)
Overlord (2018)
2018 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Rated-R Horror movie, lots of action, lots of gore, diverse group of characters/cast. (0 more)
the movie wound up too over the top for me, at least towards the very end (0 more)
Over The Top Action Horror Gorefest - 8/10
Overlord is a action/horror movie directed by Julius Avery, and written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith. Produced by J. J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber through Bad Robot Productions, it's R rating, action, and gore carry it past where so many PG-13 horror movies fall short. I really enjoyed this movie despite the familiarity of feeling like a movie version of Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies.


The night before D-day a squad of paratroopers are tasked with destroying a German radio tower in an occupied French village. Before they can reach their target their plane is shot down and they are left with a ragtag group of survivors: Private First Class Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo), and Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell) among others. Also starring John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, and Dominic Applewhite. While traveling they find a French woman, Chloe (Matthilde Ollivier) who leads them to her home in the village where she lives with her little brother. Boyce is ordered to look for survivors at a rendezvous point and while avoiding detection, has no choice but to infiltrate the base to hide from soldiers. While using the base as a means of escape and avoid capture he learns the Nazis are submitting p.o.w.s and villagers to horrendous experiments involving a mysterious liquid.


While no character came off as exclusively entertaining to me, I felt the film did well in conveying the difficulty of a diverse group being forced to work with each other for their survival. I also felt the casting was successful, although the lead didn't fall into the usual "soldier" archetype, the others did, but rounded off the group in a good way. The casts' chemistry was good, their roles were believable plus the special effects and gore were awesome. Like I said 8/10, almost a 9, but I felt it suspended disbelief too much at the end and was a little "too" over the top.


  
40x40

LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Child's Play (2019) in Movies

Jun 25, 2019 (Updated Jun 27, 2019)  
Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
This one's for 2Pac
Contains spoilers, click to show
Child's Play is really a film of two halves - the first being the better half and here's why:

The film starts off introducing us to Buddi (this remakes version of the originals Good Guys), and briefly explains that what will eventually end up as Chucky, is a defective product - a robot that connect to any device to your home, with all his safety protocols switched off.
This is the first thing that I imagine will piss off Chucky purists but it's a change that I thought was fine.
When the plot gets going and 13-year old Andy is acquainted with his new toy, is where the movie really shines. Chucky learns from Andy and just wants to make his new best friend happy, to the point that it paints Chucky as sympathetic. It's actually quite upsetting when he begs not to be shut in a dark closet, after not understanding why his violent tendencies have upset his friend.

The design of the doll itself, I thought was pretty good. He looks creepy as hell, and the way his eyes change colour just add to the whole set up... Plus Mark Hamill is clearly having a ball voicing Chucky - inspired casting right there.
The main problem I have with the cast was Aubrey Plaza, who's great in Parks and Rec, Scott Pilgrim, Legion etc, but here usual wide eye, psycho, sarcastic act doesn't really fit in with her role as mother to Andy.

Then there's the second half of the film, which to me felt very rushed, where Chucky goes full blown crazy, and starts controlling other Buddi dolls - an idea which is absolutely fine (and probably what will happen in the sequel), but the movie skirts by it pretty quickly. After building up for over an hour, a lot of explanations are left out, to make way for a violent show down finale between Chucky and Andy, that almost feels a bit unearned.

Overall though, Child's Play is a pretty fun horror trip, that sets itself apart from the original pretty nicely. I sincerely hope it's not just a one off, and we get more in the future.
  
Ron's Gone Wrong (2021)
Ron's Gone Wrong (2021)
2021 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
6
7.1 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cute animation with funny characters, this seemed like a nice diversion from the usual, mainly heavy, festival lineup.

Barney has an eccentric family. Dad is trying to make ends meet and Gran’s solution is food and a song. But for Barney, who just wants to fit in with his classmates, scraping by means not having the latest “Best friend in a box” robot to hang out with like everyone in his class.

As well as looking for something light hearted to watch, I was a little bit excited to see a children’s film in an adult only screening. I’m easily pleased, it’s the dream screening really.

When kids films from bigger studios don’t appear on my radar well in advance of their release I’m always a little sceptical. But the idea behind Ron’s Gone Wrong sounded like it was going to be a bit of a win, after all, it's either friendship or all out war, there's generally no in between.

Despite it having some bigger names in the cast, I really couldn’t put my finger on any of them as I watched. Performances were a little forgettable if I’m honest, out of everything, it’s the antics that are memorable, not the voices. The dialogue felt a little anaemic and it really just didn’t hit the spot for me.

Then there’s the animation, again, a bit of a shrug. It’s lovely but familiar. The little robots are a fun creation though and the way they interact with their humans and the online world is nicely done. As I watched it though I had flashes of other films. I tried to remember the name of the bots as I wrote the synopsis, but all I could think was PAL… but that’s Mitchell’s vs the Machines, and if you’ve seen that then you’ll more than likely draw some comparisons. That’s not the only film either.

Ron's Gone Wrong has some nice messages about friendship and it tries to shoehorn some ethics in there for the adults, but all in all, despite being a nice film, it doesn’t hold much of a punch to stand out from the crowd.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/10/rons-gone-wrong-movie-review.html
  
The Space Between Us (2017)
The Space Between Us (2017)
2017 | Action, Sci-Fi
Story (2 more)
Characters
Making you feel connected to the Movie
Zero Consequences (1 more)
Timing of events
Fun and Exciting From Start to Finish
From the start of the movie it really grabs with how the world is perceived today. The earth is becoming a place that is environmentally unfit to live. Although it seems that the time doesn't really show that there is an urgent need to move off the planet.

The story starts with a group of astronauts leaving for Mars to test the living capabilities and seeing if we can survive. What we end up getting is a story about a boy born on Mars and not being able to leave the planet because he would be able to survive earth's atmosphere. You really feel for Gardener through out the movie because of how trapped his life feels. He only has one friend that is a robot and other that lives on earth and can only chat through computer. I know you have to give this kid a love interest, but he is supposed to be a secret. I don't know how he found his way in to a chat site that would give him access to earth, but they should have tried a lot harder. He knew he was a secret but he really could have told her everything.


Once he got to earth he found her really easily. For someone who has never been to Earth I find it hard to believe he could find his way around with no help.


Once he did find her it was nothing but stealing cars and running from the cops till they found his dad. Which no one got in trouble for.


With all the unrealistic plot points and timeline that really didn't fit. The story behind it all was very well told and was very enjoyable. The chemistry between all the actors and actresses was fantastic. The movie really did grab you and pull you in and allow you to feel for these characters. I like any movie that keeps in and focused.


I recommend that everyone see this movie if you like a little tug at the heart strings.
  
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion
1995 | Action, Animation, Drama
7
7.8 (4 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
A Must See Classic Of The Time
Contains spoilers, click to show
Re-watching this anime kind of threw me for a loop. I guess I had never really seen the actual anime series and just seen parts or some of the movies. I liked how the series expanded the story of the movies and how it showed more character development and interaction between the characters than I remember. It was also kind of weird and awkward how I don't remember so much of it having to do with Shinji being at the age where he's going through puberty and interest in girls and there being a lot of context that went over my head when I was younger. That being said a lot of that held up quite well for this anime being dated. The thing I didn't like was it didn't really answer the questions I had about the Angels, where they were coming from, what were they, and what was there purpose for attacking. I remember them saying something about them having human DNA or something but that's all I remember. The giant mecha fights were just as good as I remember but with one difference, I didn't remember that they had to have a cord to be plugged in for power. That did give it a different dynamic from most other robot anime I've seen where they can operate forever or don't run out of gas/fuel. I also didn't remember Rei's character being so dull, to me she didn't really have much personality or character development. And totally didn't remember about the boys that he made friends with every came out again let alone one was chosen to pilot an Evangelion. All in all it has it's pros and cons but is definitely a must see for fans of anime and mecha, especially if they've never seen it before. So once again I give it a 7/10.
  
40x40

Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Steam Park in Tabletop Games

Aug 15, 2019 (Updated Aug 19, 2021)  
Steam Park
Steam Park
2013 | City Building, Dice Game, Real-time, Science Fiction
Who couldn’t go for a nice week or weekend at a fancy theme park these days? I think even our Alexas and Googles would like to catch some rays in their robot bodies, if they had them. Welcome to Steam Park, where all your robots can enjoy themselves on roller coasters, visit vendor stands, and also create metric tons of dirt. You ready?


Steam Park is a real-time dice rolling, theme park building, negative VP mitigating game for two to four players. In it players are theme park owners who are attempting to build the greatest park in the land hoping to attract many robots and keep their parks squeaky clean. The game spans six rounds of four phases and the player with the most VP at the game end will be the winner!
To setup, separate all the different components by type and color and shuffle the cards into a face-down deck. Deal each player six dice, one large starting tile to build upon, six cards from which they will choose to keep three, and one pig board. The game may now begin!

The four phases of each round are Roll, Dirt, Actions, and Income. During the Roll phase players will simultaneously be rolling their dice until they get a result they like. The first player to finish will quickly grab the First Player token in the middle of the table. Each other player may continue rolling as much as they like, but the turn order tokens will be taken one by one until they are all gone. Bonuses exist for the First and Second Player tokens and a negative bonus for the last player (more Dirt).

The Dirt phase causes each player to add Dirt tokens to their park according to the number of Dirt symbols rolled on their dice as well as the number of visitors currently in their park. The player who nabbed the First Player token can now discard four Dirt tokens from the bonus while the last player will add two more Dirt tokens to their park.

Actions that can be taken during the next phase include: Building Rides, Building Vendor Stands, Attracting Visitors, Cleaning Dirt, Playing Bonus Cards, and Expanding the Park. Each of these actions cost symbols rolled on the dice. To build a ride of capacity three, then three Build symbols would need to be spent from those rolled, et al. The only Action that requires no specific symbol is the Expand the Park. Use any symbol to add on a small square tile to the existing park layout.

Players will collect $3 (not USD, just the game money) for every visitor enjoying their park amenities during this Income phase. If a player has less than three Bonus Cards they may draw two from the deck and choose one to take in hand.


The game continues in this fashion over the course of six rounds total and once the final Income phase has been completed players will consult the Final Dirt Track to see how much will need to be paid in Dirt fees. Whomever ends the game with the most money wins!
Components. This game has a LOT of cardboard components. Nearly everything in the box is medium-quality cardboard and generally fine. The art is quirky, whimsical, and endearing. The insert leaves much to be desired so I made my own out of foam board. I have no complaints about the components except that I wish I could visit some of the rides, and I am still not super sure why the dice locking area is a metal pig token.

I originally played Josh’s copy he brought over to my house. I fell in love with it right away, and I still very much enjoy it. It will never make my Top 10 Games of All Time, but I will cherish my copy. I have yet to add in the Play Dirty expansion for it, as I like the base game so well, but I plan to sometime soon.

What I like most about it is the real-time rolling of the dice coupled with the grabbing of the turn order tokens when satisfied. This means that I could just go with what I roll after one roll, or I can take my time and just accept the Dirt coming my way. Sometimes being last and taking that extra Dirt is worth having all the dice read what you really want.

I also like having a lot of vendor stands in my park. Finding room for them is a different story, but I end up usually having just a few rides and mostly stands. They each provide some different benefit or way to change up the game a little that I just love to take advantage of them.

I adore games with real-time dice rolling, so I was predisposed to being attracted to Steam Park. Coupled with the great overall theme, this is an easy win for me, and a prized entry in my collection. In fact, I’m not the only one of us who thinks this as Purple Phoenix Games gives Steam Park a monotone-robot-thrill-seeker-scream 14 / 18. If you are tiring of Escape: The Curse of the Temple (which is possible), then pick up a copy of Steam Park. It will spark your joy of frantic dice rolling once more!