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Rage 2
Rage 2
2019 | Action
In 2010 Bethesda released RAGE. The game was the next step in the Id Shooters as it combined the combat the company was known for with a story, outdoor locales, customization, and vehicle combat and racing. As if that was not enough; the game featured a large Post-Apocalypse world, tons of enemies, and several side missions.

The game was so large that it took several discs to contain the game and I remember our review unit arriving extra early so we had time to load the large game so we could be ready to play when it went online.

Nine years later we finally get the sequel as RAGE 2 has arrived from Avalanche Studios. The game picks up 20 years after the first game as players take on the character of Walker; a first generation offspring from the original Ark survivors.

After a deadly attack by the evil General Cross and his army of Mutants; Walker takes on the role as the last of the Rangers and travels the Wastelands to find new Ranger tech, make allies, gather loot, and fight Bandits, Mutants, and other enemies that arise.

Walker has a nice arsenal of pistols, Shotguns, Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Grenades, and his deadly Wingstick as well as a series of Nanotech powered abilities which can be improved and gained over time.

There are various towns for players to advance the main mission as well as gain side missions, trade, buy, and increase their vehicle and weapon abilities.

Players will need all this and more as the enemies are numerous and deadly. Just driving between two points on a mission can lead to roving bands and convoys attacking you; not to mention Road Blocks and other Bandit Dens that arise.

The game deftly combines first person combat and vehicle combat and offers some very fine graphics which really lead to the immersion. One issue I had is that some missions seem more like a back and forth between two points versus some of the more cohesive moments on other missions.

The NPC characters do not do as much as some may like as you will pretty much be a Lone Wolf but you will be able to chat with characters to advance the story and get side missions.

The game does require players to win a race in order to advance the story and it took many tries including some frustrating second place finishes before I was able to cross the Finish Line first ahead of the pack.

The game provides plenty of gameplay as I put in over 20 hours on it and there are still some areas I can wander to clean up but with DLC and new content coming; I am looking forward to seeing what is to come. I also look forward to fully loading out my vehicles and weapons as the three main weapons I have are amazing and I would love to see what the full loadout can do.

I was a bit disappointed over the lack of Multiplayer as it was included in the first game and I had hoped we would be able to get both vehicle and FPS combat this time out or at the least a Co-Op mode.

The music and sound effects are good although they can drop or fade now and then but this has become better with a recent patch.

RAGE 2 provided plenty of immersive entertainment and was a very entertaining and engaging game despite some frustrations along the way. The game clearly indicates more is coming to the story and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

http://sknr.net/2019/06/07/rage-2/
  
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
2011 | Action, Sci-Fi
War movies depicting a group of soldiers against overwhelming odds are nothing new. For generations, moviegoers have been treated to cinematic recreations as well as new scenarios of fighting units in combat. Usually these films follow a typical formula that includes the tough and gritty commanding officer, the naïve new soldier, the one with a woman and children waiting at home, and one who has difficulties with combat. In the new movie Battle: Los Angeles a new twist is given to the formulaic troops-in-combat picture which produces a mixed bag of results.

Aaron Eckhart stars as Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz; a 20 year Marine who, after losing men on a recent mission, has decided that it is time for him to leave and has filed his retirement paperwork from the corps. While completing a training exercise, Nantz and a squadron of Marines at Camp Pendleton are activated for what they are told is an evacuation mission in order to clear Santa Monica and other area residents from a swarm of meteors which are scheduled to hit just off the coast.

Nantz is assigned to a new commanding officer who, like the men in his unit, is wary of Nantz as many believe that he got his men killed in his last assignment. Despite the misgivings of the new lieutenant, he agrees that Nantz offers a wealth of experience and should be just fine for a simple evacuation assignment.

However during the mission briefing, the Marines are informed that the meteors that are hitting off the coast of major cities around the world contain metallic centers and that this is very likely an invasion from an unknown force. While the Marines are deploying an otherworldly fighting unit emerges destroying everything in their path as they moved inland from the coast line. Unsure what they are dealing with, the military decides to carpet bomb the city in order to contain the alien threat and give Nantz and his unit three hours to enter the combat zone and evacuate civilians from a police station.

While the movie is for the most part the standard soldiers-at-war film which substitute’s aliens for the usual enemy forces, the strength of the cast and the solid action and special effects help the movie overcome many of its shortcomings. There is little character development in the film and scenarios that were introduced in some of the characters’ backstories early in the film were given little to no chance to develop once the shooting started.

I also had an issue with some of the tactics in the film. While it may seem nitpicking there were a few scenes where the soldiers didn’t follow logical courses of engagement until later in the film. I have had only the most basic of combat instruction from my brief time in the Air Force, yet I can think of at least four scenarios in the film where the unit failed to use the most logical options available in their combat situation. Of course any film dealing with an alien invasion is sure to have plot holes and yes I can quibble about the Air Force waiting three hours to bomb a heavily overrun area when containment would have been priority one in not allowing a hostile force that much time to entrench itself.

That being said it was an interesting and entertaining film. The enemy was sufficiently mysterious and dangerous enough to hold my interest and had me rooting desperately for the troops to rise up and strike back at the enemy. Michelle Rodriguez does fine supporting work in the role of an Air Force Tech Sgt. who may have the key to turning the tide of the battle. Eckhart is solid as the gruff but caring staff sergeant is equally strong and his unit of young corporals, including R&B singer Ne-Yo, are believable.

Director Jonathan Liebesman knows the core intention of this film is and in doing so provides enough action to keep the audience entertained throughout. despite some issues with pacing and plot. While it doesn’t have the epic feel of Independence Day, Battle: Los Angeles is a film that provides enough entertainment to make it one of the better alien invasion films ever made and one that I certainly would not mind seeing revisited in a future sequel.

3.5 stars out of 5
  
Agents of Mayhem Day One Edition
Agents of Mayhem Day One Edition
2017 | Action/Adventure
Characters are amazing (1 more)
Individual character stories are well written
Sandbox elements are lacking (0 more)
This game was a surprise. I thought it would terrible by the looks and first five minutes. It wasn't actually bad. It provided some sandbox elements, though they were lacking to be honest.

I loved the characters and their individual stories while the overall story was a little bland.


Combat was simple and intuitive, though a few tutorials would have helped a bit. I felt like I was figureing things out and then several bits later they would provided a tutorial. In the tutorial they showed me the easy way to do what I had already done.


Overall, it was good. One of kind really.
  
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Kira (36 KP) rated Miitopia in Video Games

Sep 1, 2017  
Miitopia
Miitopia
2017 | Role-Playing
Customization (1 more)
Dynamic
Battles can begin to feel repetitive (1 more)
Only control one character in battle
I love that Nintendo have made it so the player is able to completely create the cast of the story. You pick the way they look, their personality and job, which leads to you feeling more attached to the characters than you might normally. I for one was pretty annoyed when the Dark Lord came along and messed with all my hard work!

Unfortunately the battles can start to feel a little stale, but there is an auto-battle function that helps with this. It also sucks a little that you can't control the entire party when in combat.
  
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Dean (6926 KP) rated Geostorm (2017) in Movies

Aug 16, 2019  
Geostorm (2017)
Geostorm (2017)
2017 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Most of the Sfx (0 more)
Poor plot (1 more)
Some dodgy CGI
A large helping of cheese
Well I finally gave this a whirl not expecting much. It seems like a CGI led disaster film in The day after tomorrow mould. To combat climate change the world has come together to build a network of satellites to control the weather. It predictably starts to go wrong, cue scenes of mass distruction around the globe and needs to be fixed.
The cast was quite impressive and the SFX overall were good. It suffers badly from the weak plot and characters though. Ok for a watch but not a patch on The day after tomorrow, Deep impact and many others.