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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PC version of Atomic Heart in Video Games
Mar 5, 2023
I first heard of Atomic Heart several years ago and aside from brief and sporadic updates; the progress of the game seemed to be a slow process until a few months before release.
I was eager to try a game that was described as a mix of Fallout and Bioshock as a fan of the two franchises, the new entry seemed like a game that I would enjoy.
The game is set in a fictional future filled with advanced scientific discoveries and playing as an agent assigned to the rollout of a new facility; players will soon find things have gone very wrong when the robots assigned to serve have begun brutally attacking and killing all they encounter.
Players must travel deep into an underground facility to find weapons and materials which they can craft into more powerful weapons as they take on an increasingly difficult series of enemies and puzzles.
Using a special glove that can heal and move objects, players have to at times do a series of timed jumps to navigate the damaged facility and complete necessary tasks.
While all of this sounds good, the game at times throws too many puzzles at you as having to decipher locks repeatedly tends to take away from the action, and dealing with the over-amorous upgrade machines goes from being amusing to tedious quickly.
Another issue I had was a recent patch broke the game for me as I was unable to start the game from the main screen and had to delete and install the game again to resume my play. There is also the matter of why the agent sounds like he should be in an office in California as his tone and mannerisms do not reflect the character.
Atomic Heart does provide entertainment I found the combat and graphics to be dated and that aspects of the game grew old very quickly. The best strategy for me was to play the game in segments and take a break of a few days between sessions which gave me a fresh perspective versus trying to do things in a series of extended sessions.
In the end, the game is enjoyable for those willing to be patient and accept the game for what it is and hopefully, with a few more updates the full potential of the game will be achieved. The game is available on the Microsoft Game Pass and is worth a look.
3 stars out of 5
I was eager to try a game that was described as a mix of Fallout and Bioshock as a fan of the two franchises, the new entry seemed like a game that I would enjoy.
The game is set in a fictional future filled with advanced scientific discoveries and playing as an agent assigned to the rollout of a new facility; players will soon find things have gone very wrong when the robots assigned to serve have begun brutally attacking and killing all they encounter.
Players must travel deep into an underground facility to find weapons and materials which they can craft into more powerful weapons as they take on an increasingly difficult series of enemies and puzzles.
Using a special glove that can heal and move objects, players have to at times do a series of timed jumps to navigate the damaged facility and complete necessary tasks.
While all of this sounds good, the game at times throws too many puzzles at you as having to decipher locks repeatedly tends to take away from the action, and dealing with the over-amorous upgrade machines goes from being amusing to tedious quickly.
Another issue I had was a recent patch broke the game for me as I was unable to start the game from the main screen and had to delete and install the game again to resume my play. There is also the matter of why the agent sounds like he should be in an office in California as his tone and mannerisms do not reflect the character.
Atomic Heart does provide entertainment I found the combat and graphics to be dated and that aspects of the game grew old very quickly. The best strategy for me was to play the game in segments and take a break of a few days between sessions which gave me a fresh perspective versus trying to do things in a series of extended sessions.
In the end, the game is enjoyable for those willing to be patient and accept the game for what it is and hopefully, with a few more updates the full potential of the game will be achieved. The game is available on the Microsoft Game Pass and is worth a look.
3 stars out of 5
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Rampage (2018) in Movies
Apr 13, 2018
Dwayne Johnson (2 more)
The Action
The Humour
Surprisingly enjoyable video game movie!
I have fond memories of playing the Rampage video game in my early teens. Me and my two brothers, huddled around my feeble ZX Spectrum, each of us taking control of one of three monsters. George the giant King-Kong style gorilla, Lizzie a dinosaur/Godzilla creature and Ralph the big wolf. The idea of the game was simple, but hugely satisfying - smash up city buildings until they collapse, while avoiding damage from the military who are out to stop you. Hitting your fellow monsters also takes out their energy, making it a great game for competitive brothers to be playing! Eating food you find, and even the soldiers trying to kill you, restores your energy. Lots of fun.
Rampage the movie begins out in space, where genetic editing experiments too dangerous/illegal are taking place onboard a space station. Things have gone badly wrong though and canisters containing an experimental genetic pathogen begin hurtling towards North America in what looks like a meteor shower. Back down on Earth we're introduced to Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) - San Diego zoologist, ex-military (so, comfortable with guns, flying helicopters etc, could come in handy later...) and general all-round cool guy. In his care is an albino gorilla called George, who was rescued from poachers as a baby by Davis. They've built up a special bond ever since, communicating in sign language to the level where they are able to joke and generally take the piss out of each other. Overnight, one of the space canisters lands in the zoo and is released into the face of an inquisitive (or Curious?) George. From there he begins to grow bigger, and become increasingly violent.
Elsewhere, two other canisters have landed out in the wild. One right by a pack of wolves and another hitting a lake. The brother and sister team heading up Energyne, the company responsible for the space station and the genetic work (Malin Åkerman and Jake Lacy), dispatch a bunch of clean up guys with big guns to try and apprehend the wolf, which ends up going badly. Meanwhile, an ex employee of Energyne, Dr Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), who is also responsible for creating the pathogen, heads to the zoo. She wants to make amends for everything and bring down the company that fired her. Government agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) also shows up at the zoo with a bunch of men of his own, looking to take George away by plane - something else which you just know is going to end badly. Morgan plays Harvey Russell as basically just a slightly toned down version of his Walking Dead character, Negan. Grinning cockily throughout the whole movie and when he first squares up to Davis, you fully expect him to start swaggering around, monologuing about swinging dicks or something. He tells Davis that "when science shits the bed, I'm the guy they call to change the sheets"!
The three monsters begin making their way to Chicago to start smashing stuff up, attracted by a beacon emitting a sound only they can hear. Something "the tech guys rustled up overnight" at Energyne. Davis and Dr Caldwell also head to Chicago to try and help George and end the destruction, eventually aided by Harvey Russell.
Rampage has the potential to be a trainwreck, another casualty in the long line of awful video game movies, especially when there are so many CGI-heavy monster-city-smash movies out there these days. It all works surprisingly well though. When the monsters begin trashing things, it's not an over the top assault on the senses where you can't even make out any sign of human life and the affect that all of this is having on them. The action is well done and enjoyable, and peppered with plenty of trademark Dwayne Johnson humour too. Outside of the action, it's also Johnson that holds the rest of the movie together and prevents it from dipping below average. Dr Caldwell is a very underused and forgettable character, serving only as sidekick to The Rock. Everyone else, aside from Harvey Russell, is also pretty forgettable too. But then at the end of the day, this is all about George and his monster buddies, and overall I found this to be a very enjoyable movie.
Rampage the movie begins out in space, where genetic editing experiments too dangerous/illegal are taking place onboard a space station. Things have gone badly wrong though and canisters containing an experimental genetic pathogen begin hurtling towards North America in what looks like a meteor shower. Back down on Earth we're introduced to Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) - San Diego zoologist, ex-military (so, comfortable with guns, flying helicopters etc, could come in handy later...) and general all-round cool guy. In his care is an albino gorilla called George, who was rescued from poachers as a baby by Davis. They've built up a special bond ever since, communicating in sign language to the level where they are able to joke and generally take the piss out of each other. Overnight, one of the space canisters lands in the zoo and is released into the face of an inquisitive (or Curious?) George. From there he begins to grow bigger, and become increasingly violent.
Elsewhere, two other canisters have landed out in the wild. One right by a pack of wolves and another hitting a lake. The brother and sister team heading up Energyne, the company responsible for the space station and the genetic work (Malin Åkerman and Jake Lacy), dispatch a bunch of clean up guys with big guns to try and apprehend the wolf, which ends up going badly. Meanwhile, an ex employee of Energyne, Dr Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), who is also responsible for creating the pathogen, heads to the zoo. She wants to make amends for everything and bring down the company that fired her. Government agent Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) also shows up at the zoo with a bunch of men of his own, looking to take George away by plane - something else which you just know is going to end badly. Morgan plays Harvey Russell as basically just a slightly toned down version of his Walking Dead character, Negan. Grinning cockily throughout the whole movie and when he first squares up to Davis, you fully expect him to start swaggering around, monologuing about swinging dicks or something. He tells Davis that "when science shits the bed, I'm the guy they call to change the sheets"!
The three monsters begin making their way to Chicago to start smashing stuff up, attracted by a beacon emitting a sound only they can hear. Something "the tech guys rustled up overnight" at Energyne. Davis and Dr Caldwell also head to Chicago to try and help George and end the destruction, eventually aided by Harvey Russell.
Rampage has the potential to be a trainwreck, another casualty in the long line of awful video game movies, especially when there are so many CGI-heavy monster-city-smash movies out there these days. It all works surprisingly well though. When the monsters begin trashing things, it's not an over the top assault on the senses where you can't even make out any sign of human life and the affect that all of this is having on them. The action is well done and enjoyable, and peppered with plenty of trademark Dwayne Johnson humour too. Outside of the action, it's also Johnson that holds the rest of the movie together and prevents it from dipping below average. Dr Caldwell is a very underused and forgettable character, serving only as sidekick to The Rock. Everyone else, aside from Harvey Russell, is also pretty forgettable too. But then at the end of the day, this is all about George and his monster buddies, and overall I found this to be a very enjoyable movie.
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Reign of the Fallen in Books
Mar 22, 2018
Reign of the Fallen has a pretty interesting premise - there are a few different school of magic in this world, and our main character is a necromancer. (One of the side characters is a Beast Master, and another is a Healer. We also see Weather Mages.) Necromancers, far from being the mysterious evil mages we see in most fantasy, are revered and noble in this world; they bring souls back from the Deadlands, when they can, so they can continue "living" in the real world. "Living" is a loose term - they must make sure they are completely covered at all times - if a living person sees any of their flesh, they turn - immediately - into terrifying monsters that hunt and kill both the living and the Dead. And the more they kill, the more powerful they become. Thankfully, people are very, very careful, and so Shades are very rare! .....or they were. Now that someone has started to purposefully make them, shit's hitting the fan.
Odessa and her friends - three other Necromancers, a Healer, a Beast Master, and a Princess - set out to solve this mystery and take out the shades wreaking havoc on the kingdom. Entwined in that plot is the near-breaking of Odessa's spirit when one of her friends dies, and the recovery from that, as well as romances with people of both genders. Yay for bisexual representation! (One of her Necromancer friends is also in a homosexual relationship with the Healer, and it's all perfectly normal. I love seeing so many fantasy YA books these days not treating that as something special or other. Yay for culture changing! Maybe someday it won't even be so out-of-the-ordinary that I'll feel the need to point it out!)
The book had a few technical problems - a few scenes where I was confused how a character had gotten someplace when I thought they were somewhere else, some confusion in how a scene was described - but those could be overlooked with how wonderful the rest of the book was.
The plot was wrapped up very nicely by the end of the book, so I don't know if there will be a sequel or not, but I really enjoyed the world and would definitely read one if she writes it!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Odessa and her friends - three other Necromancers, a Healer, a Beast Master, and a Princess - set out to solve this mystery and take out the shades wreaking havoc on the kingdom. Entwined in that plot is the near-breaking of Odessa's spirit when one of her friends dies, and the recovery from that, as well as romances with people of both genders. Yay for bisexual representation! (One of her Necromancer friends is also in a homosexual relationship with the Healer, and it's all perfectly normal. I love seeing so many fantasy YA books these days not treating that as something special or other. Yay for culture changing! Maybe someday it won't even be so out-of-the-ordinary that I'll feel the need to point it out!)
The book had a few technical problems - a few scenes where I was confused how a character had gotten someplace when I thought they were somewhere else, some confusion in how a scene was described - but those could be overlooked with how wonderful the rest of the book was.
The plot was wrapped up very nicely by the end of the book, so I don't know if there will be a sequel or not, but I really enjoyed the world and would definitely read one if she writes it!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
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James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Thorn in Books
Mar 29, 2020
A Phenomenon
There are some young adults books, Harry Potter, Letter for the King, His Dark Materials that can be translated through the languages of the world and for decades or more, be held up as classics of young literature, deserved to be read and bring joy for all ages. Thorn deserves to be held up in equal company as these. I won't beat about the bush, this is an exceptional, beautiful entertaining tale deserving to be a global best-seller for many many years. If you read my reviews I don't thrust such extreme praise on everything I read, but Thorn is the type of book you end up taking a days holiday off work just to carry on engaging with this wonderful story.
Intisar Khanani is a very special writer, like Neil Gaiman, she takes the world and weaves an understated thread of magic and fantasy into the story that provides an undercurrent which bubbles to the surface. The fact it is understated brings you a acceptance without question of the world you are reading, so magic spells and talking horses are as accepted as characters eating a meal. Intisar Khanani's writing flows effortlessly. When you are reading a true master of the art, they write in a way where you forget you are reading at all and are simply viewing a world from the pages. This is such a book.
Thorn contains very human characters who you will feel a deep tenderness for. It contains morality and dilemma asking you to question whether you put your happiness first or the duty of bettering the world? What is justice and rule? Do you seek justice through revenge or lessons as just a few. Yet these moralities are not there to beat you round the head, they are part of the grain of the story where you raise the questions alongside that of the adorable lead character whose gentle female strength is ferocious, again in a beautifully subtle way.
I don't want to give away any of the plot, I want you t pick up the book and let it unravel before your eyes like I did. Be wicked away into a rich multicultural world full of what i hope are many stories yet to be told.
Thorn may not just be the best young adult book of the decade, it could well be one of the best fantasy novels as well, that will be read and then re-read for the next few decades and beyond. Intisar Khanani is about to be a global superstar and deserves every particle of light the spotlight is made up of shining on her.
Intisar Khanani is a very special writer, like Neil Gaiman, she takes the world and weaves an understated thread of magic and fantasy into the story that provides an undercurrent which bubbles to the surface. The fact it is understated brings you a acceptance without question of the world you are reading, so magic spells and talking horses are as accepted as characters eating a meal. Intisar Khanani's writing flows effortlessly. When you are reading a true master of the art, they write in a way where you forget you are reading at all and are simply viewing a world from the pages. This is such a book.
Thorn contains very human characters who you will feel a deep tenderness for. It contains morality and dilemma asking you to question whether you put your happiness first or the duty of bettering the world? What is justice and rule? Do you seek justice through revenge or lessons as just a few. Yet these moralities are not there to beat you round the head, they are part of the grain of the story where you raise the questions alongside that of the adorable lead character whose gentle female strength is ferocious, again in a beautifully subtle way.
I don't want to give away any of the plot, I want you t pick up the book and let it unravel before your eyes like I did. Be wicked away into a rich multicultural world full of what i hope are many stories yet to be told.
Thorn may not just be the best young adult book of the decade, it could well be one of the best fantasy novels as well, that will be read and then re-read for the next few decades and beyond. Intisar Khanani is about to be a global superstar and deserves every particle of light the spotlight is made up of shining on her.