Search
Search results
Mothergamer (1536 KP) rated the PC version of Dead Island in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I really wanted to love Dead Island. After seeing many fantastic pictures and reading up about the game months before it came out, I was excited. Friends and family know I am very much a zombie fan. Ever since that Halloween night when I was 12, and watched Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, I have genuinely enjoyed all forms of zombie multimedia. Some of it has been great, some of it filled with schlock, and some of it just plain fun. So I was excited about Dead Island and had high hopes for it. Some of my expectations were met, but others not so much. This included the discovery that the game is in the first person view (I have issues with vertigo and first person view games), but I found that I could play the game for short periods of time because the camera did not bounce around the way it does for so many other first person games I've experienced. There are good things about this game, but there are bad things as well.
Welcome To Paradise!
You start the game with the setting of what appears to be a tropical island paradise, Banoi. However, if you look closer, you'll notice the blood on the walls, in the sand, and in the swimming pools. Look even closer, and you'll see the zombies munching on corpses. Dead Island while appearing to be a first person shooter, is more than that. Sure there is shooting in it, but there are also a myriad of other weapons such as oars, cars, and molotov cocktails. Dead Island is more of a schlock filled action role playing game that plays heavily on grisly melee combat. The resort is not the only place you explore. You can go even further inland into city and jungle settings, while doing favors for survivors on the island. The maps are excellent and there is even a handy shortcut function, where you can click on the map and go back to a previous location without having to run through a zombie horde. There are also plenty of weapons that you can improvise, making them quite deadly to the zombie menace. The four player online co-op is pretty good and gives you a chance to survive a zombie horde fight for the more difficult quests.
Just a girl and her axe, waiting for some zombies.
The majority of your time on Banoi is spent exploring and foraging for items for weapons and supplies. In co-op mode, this can work very well with a couple of people fighting off the zombies, while the others get things like fuel for the vehicles. You can also have fun with the leveling grind, running zombies over with various automobiles and watch the points tally up. You can easily put twenty hours into this game with all the questing, exploring, and zombie slaying and it is fun trying all the different melee choices out. My personal favorite was driving a big truck and running zombies over.
Hungry Tourists.
Now we get to the bad. While there are only a few minor flaws with the game, it definitely made a difference in the game play and the story. Now I'm not saying for a fun schlock zombie game I need a gripping emotional story, but the story must be good. Dead Island gives you a very threadbare story and the characters backgrounds are rather weakly written. This is a reflection on the writers. They could have written the characters better and fleshed out the story more, but they chose to do it this way although I am not sure why. The voice acting is also not great, with monotone emotionless voices. Do the characters even care that they could get eaten by zombies? I get the impression that they don't with that flat tone in their voice acting. Clunky controls and awkward combat can make you frustrated. It can be off putting when you're fighting off a wave of zombies and trying to make the camera turn the way you want it to so you can at least see what you're fighting. The game would also benefit from a better block and dodge option during combat. The quality of the visuals isn't even. The environmental graphics on the resort are great and the jungle environments as well, but the character and npc animation is poor and as you progress towards the end of the game it comes across as the bare minimum at best.
The last issue I have with Dead Island is the lack of regard for the solo player. There isn't an offline co-op option so you can play with friends you have over. It's as if they didn't even consider the possibility that people would want to play offline with friends and only have the online option. While I appreciate their reliable system for online play, I still would have liked the option to play offline with others if I chose.
Overall, Dead Island is a good game, but not a perfect one. It had a lot of potential, but the execution of those ideas was severely lacking. You're better off just waiting for it to go on sale really cheap or just rent it.
Welcome To Paradise!
You start the game with the setting of what appears to be a tropical island paradise, Banoi. However, if you look closer, you'll notice the blood on the walls, in the sand, and in the swimming pools. Look even closer, and you'll see the zombies munching on corpses. Dead Island while appearing to be a first person shooter, is more than that. Sure there is shooting in it, but there are also a myriad of other weapons such as oars, cars, and molotov cocktails. Dead Island is more of a schlock filled action role playing game that plays heavily on grisly melee combat. The resort is not the only place you explore. You can go even further inland into city and jungle settings, while doing favors for survivors on the island. The maps are excellent and there is even a handy shortcut function, where you can click on the map and go back to a previous location without having to run through a zombie horde. There are also plenty of weapons that you can improvise, making them quite deadly to the zombie menace. The four player online co-op is pretty good and gives you a chance to survive a zombie horde fight for the more difficult quests.
Just a girl and her axe, waiting for some zombies.
The majority of your time on Banoi is spent exploring and foraging for items for weapons and supplies. In co-op mode, this can work very well with a couple of people fighting off the zombies, while the others get things like fuel for the vehicles. You can also have fun with the leveling grind, running zombies over with various automobiles and watch the points tally up. You can easily put twenty hours into this game with all the questing, exploring, and zombie slaying and it is fun trying all the different melee choices out. My personal favorite was driving a big truck and running zombies over.
Hungry Tourists.
Now we get to the bad. While there are only a few minor flaws with the game, it definitely made a difference in the game play and the story. Now I'm not saying for a fun schlock zombie game I need a gripping emotional story, but the story must be good. Dead Island gives you a very threadbare story and the characters backgrounds are rather weakly written. This is a reflection on the writers. They could have written the characters better and fleshed out the story more, but they chose to do it this way although I am not sure why. The voice acting is also not great, with monotone emotionless voices. Do the characters even care that they could get eaten by zombies? I get the impression that they don't with that flat tone in their voice acting. Clunky controls and awkward combat can make you frustrated. It can be off putting when you're fighting off a wave of zombies and trying to make the camera turn the way you want it to so you can at least see what you're fighting. The game would also benefit from a better block and dodge option during combat. The quality of the visuals isn't even. The environmental graphics on the resort are great and the jungle environments as well, but the character and npc animation is poor and as you progress towards the end of the game it comes across as the bare minimum at best.
The last issue I have with Dead Island is the lack of regard for the solo player. There isn't an offline co-op option so you can play with friends you have over. It's as if they didn't even consider the possibility that people would want to play offline with friends and only have the online option. While I appreciate their reliable system for online play, I still would have liked the option to play offline with others if I chose.
Overall, Dead Island is a good game, but not a perfect one. It had a lot of potential, but the execution of those ideas was severely lacking. You're better off just waiting for it to go on sale really cheap or just rent it.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Army of the Dead (2021) in Movies
Aug 22, 2021
I can't say that the name Zack Snyder held any pull to watching Army of the Dead. I'm still mad that I watched 8 hours of Justice League. But, I was sold on zombies and the poster, so I gave it a go.
Zombies have taken Las Vegas and the only option to end the danger is to raise the city to the ground. As the countdown to the cities destruction begins, a group of mercenaries are recruited to enter the quarantined zone for a wealthy businessman. Their retrieval mission will end with them getting out of the city safely, or the zombies getting them... whichever comes first.
A heist film with zombies and plenty of action? Three of my favourite things in one. The heist part is solid, it had time constraints to add tension, and the added peril of flesh eating monsters brought a bit of the unknown to each scene in the quarantine zone.
However... the idea doesn't pan out so well in production.
I enjoy Dave Bautista's acting career. Drax is a legend, and his dramatic yet comedic role in My Spy is great. Army of the Dead is a whole new ball game. Scott has the potential to be a really good lead, there's backstory, moments of action that Bautista is made for... but there's that script. There are so many points that diverge from what's happening that he ends up with something that hovers around average.
The humour between Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) and Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) was fun. It wasn't quite a double act but it did cut through some of the more serious (and clunky) sections. My other call out is Tig Notaro. I loved the attitude she brings to her role, that's the level of sass I aspire to. It wasn't until after my viewing that I realised she had been CGId into the film as a last minute replacement. For the majority of the time I didn't notice, it's just one group shot as they enter Vegas that sticks out like a sore thumb. And with it being so early in proceedings, I was worried that it would be foreshadowing for what was to come.
Thankfully though, the effects were pretty good apart from that (and that tiger). The creatures were impressive and I was pleased to see that they still had the consistency of who the zombie population would be while they were inside the walls. Some of the action sequences may have been a little over the top, but it is a zombie action film so you've got to give it leeway.
I enjoyed Army of the Dead while I was watching it. But it's one of those films that changes when you think about it deeper. The main issue for me is that... this film doesn't need to happen... and a close second is that they attempt to give it a twist that comes to nothing, and because of that, ultimately felt bizarre. I don't think I'd mind watching it again, but I'm not feeling the urge to rush to Netflix.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/army-of-dead-movie-review.html
Zombies have taken Las Vegas and the only option to end the danger is to raise the city to the ground. As the countdown to the cities destruction begins, a group of mercenaries are recruited to enter the quarantined zone for a wealthy businessman. Their retrieval mission will end with them getting out of the city safely, or the zombies getting them... whichever comes first.
A heist film with zombies and plenty of action? Three of my favourite things in one. The heist part is solid, it had time constraints to add tension, and the added peril of flesh eating monsters brought a bit of the unknown to each scene in the quarantine zone.
However... the idea doesn't pan out so well in production.
I enjoy Dave Bautista's acting career. Drax is a legend, and his dramatic yet comedic role in My Spy is great. Army of the Dead is a whole new ball game. Scott has the potential to be a really good lead, there's backstory, moments of action that Bautista is made for... but there's that script. There are so many points that diverge from what's happening that he ends up with something that hovers around average.
The humour between Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) and Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) was fun. It wasn't quite a double act but it did cut through some of the more serious (and clunky) sections. My other call out is Tig Notaro. I loved the attitude she brings to her role, that's the level of sass I aspire to. It wasn't until after my viewing that I realised she had been CGId into the film as a last minute replacement. For the majority of the time I didn't notice, it's just one group shot as they enter Vegas that sticks out like a sore thumb. And with it being so early in proceedings, I was worried that it would be foreshadowing for what was to come.
Thankfully though, the effects were pretty good apart from that (and that tiger). The creatures were impressive and I was pleased to see that they still had the consistency of who the zombie population would be while they were inside the walls. Some of the action sequences may have been a little over the top, but it is a zombie action film so you've got to give it leeway.
I enjoyed Army of the Dead while I was watching it. But it's one of those films that changes when you think about it deeper. The main issue for me is that... this film doesn't need to happen... and a close second is that they attempt to give it a twist that comes to nothing, and because of that, ultimately felt bizarre. I don't think I'd mind watching it again, but I'm not feeling the urge to rush to Netflix.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/08/army-of-dead-movie-review.html
Kyera (8 KP) rated World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars in Books
Feb 1, 2018
This novel is the oral history of the zombie war - as told by soldiers, civilians, doctors, and those who had a hand in decision-making. Some were people who created containment or attack plans, while others were in the government coordinating the military, corralling the people, and planning for the future of their countries.
You learn about the experiences of everyday people just prior to the outbreak. This is a time when no one knows what is happening. People are dying, becoming infected, and turning into violent cannibals. Is it some strange new disease that modern medicine has yet to find a cure to, or something worse?
Then, the stories become more dire, strained, broken; as the population begins to figure out the absolute devastation that this event will wreak. Suddenly, the stories are just people trying to survive or those attempting to combat the enemy. No one knows how to halt the impending storm. The absolute destruction such an enemy poses.
Unlike humans and their armies, the undead need no respite. The undead don't feel pain, hunger, anguish, or lose moral. And as the military's forces dwindle in battles, the zombies swell in ranks. Each loss to you is a welcome addition to their force. An enemy that is unknown cannot easily be beaten.
Will the human race even survive long enough to worry about rebuilding, destroying every trace of the plague, or even what brought it to the world to begin with?
The novel was a unique take on the zombie/war genre and interestingly written. I did find my attention wandering at times and would have to reread sections. Although I prefer reading physical books, this novel has an incredible voice cast for its audio-counterpart. Their talents brought this book to an entirely new level, giving each character a unique voice and story (and I'm not just saying that because there was a different person voicing each one.) I've never read a book before (or listened to one) that had such a diverse cast to bring the book to life.
If you like historical fiction or zombie novels, than you're likely going to enjoy this. If zombies and historical/realistic fiction (regardless of the fact that zombies are involved) are not your style, than you may not enjoy this.
How would you react if the dead began to rise, attack, and devour your neighbors, overrunning your town - could you survive?
You learn about the experiences of everyday people just prior to the outbreak. This is a time when no one knows what is happening. People are dying, becoming infected, and turning into violent cannibals. Is it some strange new disease that modern medicine has yet to find a cure to, or something worse?
Then, the stories become more dire, strained, broken; as the population begins to figure out the absolute devastation that this event will wreak. Suddenly, the stories are just people trying to survive or those attempting to combat the enemy. No one knows how to halt the impending storm. The absolute destruction such an enemy poses.
Unlike humans and their armies, the undead need no respite. The undead don't feel pain, hunger, anguish, or lose moral. And as the military's forces dwindle in battles, the zombies swell in ranks. Each loss to you is a welcome addition to their force. An enemy that is unknown cannot easily be beaten.
Will the human race even survive long enough to worry about rebuilding, destroying every trace of the plague, or even what brought it to the world to begin with?
The novel was a unique take on the zombie/war genre and interestingly written. I did find my attention wandering at times and would have to reread sections. Although I prefer reading physical books, this novel has an incredible voice cast for its audio-counterpart. Their talents brought this book to an entirely new level, giving each character a unique voice and story (and I'm not just saying that because there was a different person voicing each one.) I've never read a book before (or listened to one) that had such a diverse cast to bring the book to life.
If you like historical fiction or zombie novels, than you're likely going to enjoy this. If zombies and historical/realistic fiction (regardless of the fact that zombies are involved) are not your style, than you may not enjoy this.
How would you react if the dead began to rise, attack, and devour your neighbors, overrunning your town - could you survive?
Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies
Jan 6, 2018
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Enclave in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book is less dystopia and more post-apocalypse, with zombies thrown in - though they are never given that name. Though the plot focused solely on Deuce's life inside and outside the enclave, I was much more curious about the details of the world that Deuce lived in. The answers to these questions were sadly few and far between. It quickly became apparent that it was not in Deuce's nature to be inquisitive, and I was often distracted from Deuce's single-mindedness to be a Huntress. Deuce's two closest friends come from the other two groups, but little is told about these groups or the members that populated them. I was especially curious about Deuce's Breeder friend, who fathered a baby boy, but he is unfortunately removed from the plot before much development could occur.
Many loose threads are pushed aside to make way for the character of Fade, and Deuce's relationship with him. I saw much potential in Fade's character because of the potential of his backstory, but the possibilities of what he could accomplish in the enclave are wasted. In the end, despite the title of the book, the plot seems to be more about what happens Topside than saving or reforming the enclave. Plus, I know little more about the Freaks (zombies) than I did when I started the book. While the book brimmed with potential, much of the characters' potential was unrealized, and the book ended with too many loose ends and unanswered questions. While I typically love YA literature, I think this book was too juvenile for me.
Many loose threads are pushed aside to make way for the character of Fade, and Deuce's relationship with him. I saw much potential in Fade's character because of the potential of his backstory, but the possibilities of what he could accomplish in the enclave are wasted. In the end, despite the title of the book, the plot seems to be more about what happens Topside than saving or reforming the enclave. Plus, I know little more about the Freaks (zombies) than I did when I started the book. While the book brimmed with potential, much of the characters' potential was unrealized, and the book ended with too many loose ends and unanswered questions. While I typically love YA literature, I think this book was too juvenile for me.
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Walking Dead - Season 9 in TV
Apr 3, 2019
A slight improvement over season 8
The revelation of the Whisperers to me was an outstanding moment. The split second when a tense but fairly standard fight against a herd of zombies suddenly flipped on its head was fantastic. I have re-watched that scene a number of times. The remainder of the series was a slight step up from the previous one, but with still some issues around pacing (do we really care about crop rotation?!). I think the writers had learned their lesson over the build up of the next enemy - we were quickly introduced to the whisperers, when the introduction to the saviours dragged on and on.
The TV series is rapidly catching up on the comics though, which is a slight worry.
The TV series is rapidly catching up on the comics though, which is a slight worry.
Nickg24 (492 KP) rated Train to Busan (2016) in Movies
May 19, 2019
All on board for a train full of Zombies
Wow! What a film!.A zombie film that actually delivers thrilling action scenes..characters you can care about and doesn't rely on CGI special effects.
The story is simple with an outbreak of a virus that infects people and turns them into raging zombies.The main character is on the aforementioned train taking his daughter to her mother for her birthday when all hell starts breaking loose.
I dare anyone not to get a lump in their throat when it comes to the ending.
An awesome movie that deserves to be seen by all before the inevitable piss poor american remake comes along.
The story is simple with an outbreak of a virus that infects people and turns them into raging zombies.The main character is on the aforementioned train taking his daughter to her mother for her birthday when all hell starts breaking loose.
I dare anyone not to get a lump in their throat when it comes to the ending.
An awesome movie that deserves to be seen by all before the inevitable piss poor american remake comes along.
Dean (6925 KP) rated the Sega Genesis 32X version of Doom in Video Games
Jun 13, 2019
So addictive gameplay (1 more)
Good Graphics and sound effects
A classic
I can remember hearing a lot of hype about this game. This along with Wolfstein created the first person shooter games. So when it came to the Megadrive 32X it was a must have game. The graphics were pretty good for time if the environments were a little plain and chunky. The game moved fast though, and the sound effects of blasting some zombies or demons with your shotgun were great. It was a simple game of getting through a level to the exit while blasting baddies along the way with alsorts of weapons. Yet it was just so much fun, you could play for hours. A cult classic game!
Danny (182 KP) rated The Walking Dead: Our World in Apps
Jul 17, 2018
Zombies (2 more)
Walking Dead cast
Various missions
Repetitive grinding (1 more)
Every player thinks they need an armoury
Brilliant AR Game
So... an AR game, featuring your favourite characters from The Walking Dead tv & comics. Powered by GoogleMaps so even the street names show up! Headed up to the main high street & took out walkers in AR mode between the drunks on the street with Daryl at my side... 3 of my PoGo friends instantly downloaded this & have been glued.
Save survivors, take out outposts of hostile humans, take out waves of walkers in infestion missions.
Downside is out of the 4 building types everyone builds armoury to upgrade weapons & forgets everything else needs upgrading too.
This causes lots of grinding to upgrade instead
Save survivors, take out outposts of hostile humans, take out waves of walkers in infestion missions.
Downside is out of the 4 building types everyone builds armoury to upgrade weapons & forgets everything else needs upgrading too.
This causes lots of grinding to upgrade instead
Kristina Rodriguez (1 KP) rated Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1) in Books
Jun 29, 2018
Good begining
Kresley Cole has created an incredibly complex and surprising story line in this book. With romance, danger, relatability and a new take on Armageddon this book is the starter of the Arcana Chronicles. The book as a whole incorporates just enough romance to be relatively intriguing while not overpoweringly sappy. The series focuses on the growth and development of a 16 year old who is thrown into a world she literally dreamed of, and not in a good way. With zombies and superpowered teenagers based on tarot cards things are bound to get a little crazy. I recommend this book (and the series) to fantasy and fiction lovers.