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Yakuza Kiwami SteelBook Edition
Yakuza Kiwami SteelBook Edition
2017 | Action/Adventure
I had never played any of the Yakuza games, but I had always been curious about them so when Yakuza Kiwami was one of the free games offered up with my Playstation Plus I picked it up. The introduction at the beginning of the story is interesting and I really liked Kazuma Kiryu because of his sense of honor and doing his best to protect his friends. I was glad to see that there are a range of difficulty settings in the game options and went with easy so I could get a feel for the game and just enjoy the story.

The story begins with Kiryu taking the fall for a friend and emerging from prison ten years later. This opens up a small tutorial for how the game controls work. Exploration and level grinding are a big part of Yakuza Kiwami as you progress in the main story and there are side quests as well. The night life of Tokyo is vibrant and colorful in the game adding to the atmosphere. I found myself stopping often just to look around at all the different things.

This wouldn't be Yakuza without the brawls of course and there are many. Often gangs roaming the streets will pick fights with Kiryu and this is where the game really shines. The fights are fun and being able to switch between Kiryu's four fighting styles; brawler, rush, and beast give you a feel for the fighting mechanics while feeling that raw criminal underworld vibe. However, there are times where the game fails to give you an idea about which fighting style works best and how they differ from each other. I did a lot of trial and error with many fights because of this. That didn't make the game any less fun for me though and successfully winning a fight felt great.

There is one thing that really bugged me about the game and that is all the fights with the character Majima. While I understood that Kiryu being forced to fight Majima was a way to get him back to his original top tier fighting shape after his long stint in prison, I felt incredibly annoyed at how often Majima turned up demanding a brawl especially when I was trying to get somewhere in the story. I did not want to have a constant detour of fighting him and yet he kept popping up everywhere. Majimi is an interesting character don't get me wrong, but I found these fights tedious. Of course the reward for all these fights is it unlocks Kiryu's dragon fighting form which is great, but the irritation of Majima fights sucked a bit of fun out of the game for me.

I enjoyed the story for Yakuza Kiwami a lot because I liked Kiryu and was invested in his journey. There are a lot of flashbacks explaining what happened to certain characters and shines a light on how they came to be where they are in the present. Sometimes the story feels a little slow in places, but it is well thought out and well done. Where it really stands out is with the intrigue and drama with plot reveals that give amazing cinematic cutscenes that feel like you're watching a movie. Overall the game is great and while it's not necessarily a long game, there is plenty to do with the side quests, mini games, and exploration of the city. Once you finish the game, you can also try new game plus which carries over all your learned abilities, mini games, and side quest stories. Yakuza Kiwami was a lot of fun for me to play and I'm glad I checked it out. Thanks for reading, see you at the next adventure!
  
Warcross
Warcross
Marie Lu | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.3 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Full review can be found on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com

A fantasy of a virtual world, and a game that brings people together. A story of a girl that struggles to pay her rent, and her ability to hack the most important game of the year - Warcross. And when the creator of Warcross hires her, needing her help - she begins her adventure.

From the first moment that I read the synopsis of Warcross, I knew I wanted to have this book on my shelf and read it immediately. A couple of reasons stand behind this story:

* A girl is a main character, and a fierce one. As boring it might seem, I love a book with brave characters, especially if it’s a teen girl. I think when girls are featured as brave and fearless in books, it gives encouragement to a lot of girls reading the book, that are struggling through their teenage years.

* I am a vivid video games player. I play a lot of games, and this is something you might not have known about me. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments. I love the gaming community, and I believe that if it weren’t for the video games, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

* If you haven’t read it, you have all probably heard about Ready Player One. I absolutely loved it, and watched the movie, and I am still in love with it. And when book reviewers started comparing Warcross to Ready Player One, I had to see if this was true. I just had to check for myself.

And then, I got this book as a birthday gift from my boyfriend. So here we are, a few reasons after, me having read this book and telling you all what I thought.

Firstly, I feel like I need to say this - Warcross is nothing like Ready Player One.

Yes, we have a virtual world, and (surprise) virtual characters in the world. And yes, there is a game and the creator of the game is involved. But the whole plot and story are so much different in so many ways.

The descriptions of the virtual world, the story lines, the dialogues, the way the story flows, the romance - it is all unique and original.

And for you out there that compare this to Ready Player One - it is as if you are comparing Romeo and Juliet and Tristan and Isolde, only because they both have a plot of romance and forbidden love. It is ridiculous, let me tell you.

Even though the Warcross game as its own was brilliantly explained and described, I felt like we didn’t see much of the rest of the virtual world. I loved the way Marie Lu would talk about the world - so much passion in each chapter.

The discussion opens on virtual reality and the worlds that could be created. It is not a matter of whether it will happen, but when? I keep thinking I might be alive when we will live in a world of ''virtuality''. Would we be happier? Would we be smarter? Or would this just be another tool for people to get richer, by using its users? Is the future scary? Should it be?

Emika is a character I think many girls will relate to. Brave and fierce, even though she is afraid inside. A strong, young woman, that stands for what she believes in, even when this might mean losing the people she loves the most.

The story flows so quickly, and each end of the chapter begs you to start another one, and before you know it, it’s 4am and you keep reading, unable to stop. This book has some strange power right there!

The twists were interesting, even though some of them were predictable. Even with the knowledge of this, I would always miss something amazing, and even knowing what will happen, the experience was always pleasant.

I am so glad I got to read this book, and I am so excited to read Wildcard soon as well. I am definitely recommending this to all of you - I am sure you will enjoy it.

If you have read it, let me know what you think in the comments - I would love to discuss it!