Search
Search results
p3anut (62 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Dauntless in Video Games
Jun 1, 2019
Customization (2 more)
Hack and slash fun
Voice acting
Beta (1 more)
Tutorial
Dauntless+dash of monster Hunter+ rpg mmo=
I want to start out by saying if it wasn't for Xbox game share I never would have discovered dauntless. I saw my buddy had downloaded it so I decided to give it a go.
At first glance I was a little put off since it was made by epic, had fortnite looking character models and I didn't know anything about the game. And right now I'm a little burnt out on the fortnite craze.
After about 10mins of playtime, I found myself really enjoying the hunting aspect of the game. The monsters are huge and sometimes they have little ones around them that you have to kill before attacking the bigger ones. The battles range from 5min to 30min so far which is pretty nice depending on your time constraints.
The world hub that you visit in between hunts is fairly decent sized and full of human characters. They have this cool little icon feature where you can see if the player is on pc or Xbox. The hub is full of what you would expect from an RPG games as a service title. It has your typical weapon master, grenade master, potions master, and armor master. And of course looped into all of those are micro transactions for skins and dye packs etc.
Which if you're like me you don't really care about customizing the color of your hat etc. Enough to spend actual money on.
I've only played about 4 hrs of dauntless and so far I'm pretty into it. I do feel like eventually the grind will get repetitive but I will update once I have at least 10hrs put into it. As I mentioned in my tags it is in a beta stage so don't be surprised from some lag from time to time or quests not showing on the screen as completed because even tho it doesn't show, it does complete them
At first glance I was a little put off since it was made by epic, had fortnite looking character models and I didn't know anything about the game. And right now I'm a little burnt out on the fortnite craze.
After about 10mins of playtime, I found myself really enjoying the hunting aspect of the game. The monsters are huge and sometimes they have little ones around them that you have to kill before attacking the bigger ones. The battles range from 5min to 30min so far which is pretty nice depending on your time constraints.
The world hub that you visit in between hunts is fairly decent sized and full of human characters. They have this cool little icon feature where you can see if the player is on pc or Xbox. The hub is full of what you would expect from an RPG games as a service title. It has your typical weapon master, grenade master, potions master, and armor master. And of course looped into all of those are micro transactions for skins and dye packs etc.
Which if you're like me you don't really care about customizing the color of your hat etc. Enough to spend actual money on.
I've only played about 4 hrs of dauntless and so far I'm pretty into it. I do feel like eventually the grind will get repetitive but I will update once I have at least 10hrs put into it. As I mentioned in my tags it is in a beta stage so don't be surprised from some lag from time to time or quests not showing on the screen as completed because even tho it doesn't show, it does complete them
Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated The Key to Death's Door in Books
Jun 6, 2019
The Key To Death’s Door by Mark Tilbury is a tense, mystery, thriller novel interwoven with supernatural and horror aspects, which reminded me of Stephen King style reads.
When Teenager Lee Hunter and his best friend Charlie Finch go on a fishing trip, Lee drowns only to discover that when he awakes he has travelled back in time about 30 years and is now living the life of another lad called Paul Collins. To his horror, he, his family and his best friend are at the mercy of the evil and sadistic Daryl Finch, Charlie Finch’s father and they are all about to be killed.
After being successfully resuscitated by Charlie, Lee comes back as himself – to the current time period – knowing the horrific truth about Charlie’s father, Daryl, and what he is capable of. With his newfound knowledge Lee sets out to avenge the death’s of the Collins’ family. But where to start? Who is going to believe Lee knows what happened all those years ago, when he wasn’t even born then?
The Key to Death’s Door is a clever story, and raises serious issues of child abuse, wife beating, animal cruelty and murder in such vivid detail, I totally wanted justice for what had happened, and for Daryl Finch to get his comeuppance for his past and present atrocities. There’s no way he could be allowed to get away with what he’s done, surely?
I loved the relationship of best friends Lee and Charlie, they were portrayed realistically for their ages, and their characters were fun to read. They might not always have been able to say what they really meant to each other, but they had each other’s back, and at times their conversations were even quite funny and endearing. Contrast this with the scenes in the Collins’ house, which were utterly brutal and horrifying and you’re in for a thrilling ride with a supernatural twist. I certainly enjoyed The Key to Death’s Door and will look for more of Mark Tilbury’s work from now on.
When Teenager Lee Hunter and his best friend Charlie Finch go on a fishing trip, Lee drowns only to discover that when he awakes he has travelled back in time about 30 years and is now living the life of another lad called Paul Collins. To his horror, he, his family and his best friend are at the mercy of the evil and sadistic Daryl Finch, Charlie Finch’s father and they are all about to be killed.
After being successfully resuscitated by Charlie, Lee comes back as himself – to the current time period – knowing the horrific truth about Charlie’s father, Daryl, and what he is capable of. With his newfound knowledge Lee sets out to avenge the death’s of the Collins’ family. But where to start? Who is going to believe Lee knows what happened all those years ago, when he wasn’t even born then?
The Key to Death’s Door is a clever story, and raises serious issues of child abuse, wife beating, animal cruelty and murder in such vivid detail, I totally wanted justice for what had happened, and for Daryl Finch to get his comeuppance for his past and present atrocities. There’s no way he could be allowed to get away with what he’s done, surely?
I loved the relationship of best friends Lee and Charlie, they were portrayed realistically for their ages, and their characters were fun to read. They might not always have been able to say what they really meant to each other, but they had each other’s back, and at times their conversations were even quite funny and endearing. Contrast this with the scenes in the Collins’ house, which were utterly brutal and horrifying and you’re in for a thrilling ride with a supernatural twist. I certainly enjoyed The Key to Death’s Door and will look for more of Mark Tilbury’s work from now on.
Kyera (8 KP) rated Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
My reaction at the end of the book: I just can't.
I didn't think that it was possible to end the second book with a bigger reveal/cliffhanger than Delirium - but Lauren Oliver shocked me. She slipped a little comment in that immediately made you wonder, "could it be?" I spent the next few pages fearfully reading, unsure if I wanted to know. Which ending would I prefer? All I could do was repeat no, no, no, over and over. This book is the definition of a book hangover. I immediately had to begin reading the third novel in the series.
The world building is just as immersive and well-done as the first. The author vividly describes the landscape and the new hierarchy in which Lena finds herself. This book no longer takes place in Portland, Maine but switches perspectives between the Wilds and New York City. We are also introduced to a new set of characters that help transition Lena into her new Wilds life.
Raven is the leader, young but formed under pressure like a diamond by the Wilds. Tack is her right-hand man, reliable but a bit unfriendly. She is surrounded by Hunter and Bram, tiny Blue, Grandma, Lucky, and many others. There are so many "invalids" in the Wilds that they are not all well-developed and unique characters. Those that are more important to the story are given the attention that they deserve. (Raven is also given a novella, which is a wonderful insight and in my opinion the best of the four novellas that accompany the series.) Lena must find her place and pull her weight - collecting water, tending the fire and checking for messages in the trees.
The style of switching perspectives from now to then continuously was a little off-putting at first. Before long, you get used to the style and are fully immersed in the story. Just as engaging as the first and highly recommended. Just a warning that there are more curse words in the novel than in the first.
I didn't think that it was possible to end the second book with a bigger reveal/cliffhanger than Delirium - but Lauren Oliver shocked me. She slipped a little comment in that immediately made you wonder, "could it be?" I spent the next few pages fearfully reading, unsure if I wanted to know. Which ending would I prefer? All I could do was repeat no, no, no, over and over. This book is the definition of a book hangover. I immediately had to begin reading the third novel in the series.
The world building is just as immersive and well-done as the first. The author vividly describes the landscape and the new hierarchy in which Lena finds herself. This book no longer takes place in Portland, Maine but switches perspectives between the Wilds and New York City. We are also introduced to a new set of characters that help transition Lena into her new Wilds life.
Raven is the leader, young but formed under pressure like a diamond by the Wilds. Tack is her right-hand man, reliable but a bit unfriendly. She is surrounded by Hunter and Bram, tiny Blue, Grandma, Lucky, and many others. There are so many "invalids" in the Wilds that they are not all well-developed and unique characters. Those that are more important to the story are given the attention that they deserve. (Raven is also given a novella, which is a wonderful insight and in my opinion the best of the four novellas that accompany the series.) Lena must find her place and pull her weight - collecting water, tending the fire and checking for messages in the trees.
The style of switching perspectives from now to then continuously was a little off-putting at first. Before long, you get used to the style and are fully immersed in the story. Just as engaging as the first and highly recommended. Just a warning that there are more curse words in the novel than in the first.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld #12) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
[b:Waking the Witch|6725785|Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld, #11)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265310260s/6725785.jpg|6921947] and [b:Spell Bound|7797032|Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1292864599s/7797032.jpg|10767072] should truly be read back to back. In fact, they should be read with [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276] on hand, almost as a trilogy within the series.
At the end of <i>Waking the Witch</i>, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There's a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her cooperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn't keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276]. I'm having fits because I don't have it on hand, and I just can't wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
At the end of <i>Waking the Witch</i>, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There's a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her cooperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn't keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276]. I'm having fits because I don't have it on hand, and I just can't wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Friday the 13th (2009) in Movies
Feb 10, 2020
This "remake" of the cult classic 80s slasher is actually one of those modern horror soft reboots, that could be considered a sequel, in this case, following on directly from the original, but ignoring any of the original follow ups.
It's probably not accurately, a re-tread of the first four films, all rolled into a slick looking update.
That's precisely what the main positive is. Friday the 13th looks great. It has good production values, largely practical effects when it comes to the nasty stuff, and even boasts a few striking images here and there.
The main man himself, Jason Voorhees, is portrayed here as a kind of hunter, merely protecting his territory, and this time around, he's an absolute beast, he's brutal, he runs, and he is genuinely quote terrifying at times. The film cycles through both his original potato sack look, and his more well know hockey mask look, and actor Derek Mears successfully plays him off as an imposing threat.
The rest of the cast is where Friday the 13th really suffers. With the exception of Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, and Arlen Escarpeta, none of the human characters are remotely likable. I get that the writers were probably going for the whole rooting-for-them-to-die-horribly schtick, but honestly, these characters are so exhausting, non-funny, and irritating that it genuinely makes the bulk of the movie unenjoyable.
There's zero character development, and an unnecessary opening narrative (that lasts 25 minutes) about a separate group of equally unlikable douche bags makes the plot an absolute drag.
I did like the opening scene, that re-tells the climax of the original film in a stylish black and white sequence with the odd flash if colour, and a lot of the Jason action and kills are ridiculous and exciting, and that makes Friday the 13th just about watchable as a dumb-but-entertaining popcorn horror.
Here's hoping the whole rights issue gets sorted soon so someone can try again!
It's probably not accurately, a re-tread of the first four films, all rolled into a slick looking update.
That's precisely what the main positive is. Friday the 13th looks great. It has good production values, largely practical effects when it comes to the nasty stuff, and even boasts a few striking images here and there.
The main man himself, Jason Voorhees, is portrayed here as a kind of hunter, merely protecting his territory, and this time around, he's an absolute beast, he's brutal, he runs, and he is genuinely quote terrifying at times. The film cycles through both his original potato sack look, and his more well know hockey mask look, and actor Derek Mears successfully plays him off as an imposing threat.
The rest of the cast is where Friday the 13th really suffers. With the exception of Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, and Arlen Escarpeta, none of the human characters are remotely likable. I get that the writers were probably going for the whole rooting-for-them-to-die-horribly schtick, but honestly, these characters are so exhausting, non-funny, and irritating that it genuinely makes the bulk of the movie unenjoyable.
There's zero character development, and an unnecessary opening narrative (that lasts 25 minutes) about a separate group of equally unlikable douche bags makes the plot an absolute drag.
I did like the opening scene, that re-tells the climax of the original film in a stylish black and white sequence with the odd flash if colour, and a lot of the Jason action and kills are ridiculous and exciting, and that makes Friday the 13th just about watchable as a dumb-but-entertaining popcorn horror.
Here's hoping the whole rights issue gets sorted soon so someone can try again!
JT (287 KP) rated The Hunter (2012) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
There’s something about Willem Dafoe that unnerves me a little and I’ve never been able to quite understand the reason why? Putting my bizarre fears aside for a second The Hunter is a subtle thriller set against the backdrop of the Tasmanian wilderness.
Taking that wilderness as first point of call in the film its beautifully shot, long sweeping takes across desolate bush to the panoramic visuals of mountain ranges, it’s a harsh world to which Martin (Dafoe) finds himself in.
Tasked with locating the revered Tasmanian Tiger who most believe still exists even to this day, Martin goes in search of it with an almost no questions asked mentality. Of course during his stay it’s clear that he is ruffling a few local feathers as the logging population of the town see him as just another tree hugger.
He sets up camp in the home of a local family and although not wanting to at first bonds with the two children, Sass and Bike, who instantly take a liking to him, most likely as their father has gone missing mysteriously in the region that Martin explores weeks at a time.
The film lacks a certain amount of bite to it, and there isn’t really a lot in the way of thrills for the first hour at least. We follow Martin into the wild terrain watching him set traps and record data, it may sound a bit dull but Nettheim does enough to keep us intrigued.
It’s clear that Martin is not the only one after this urban legend, and when a few more sinister occurrences arise Martin starts to fear not just for his own life but for those he has grown close to.
The film has a satisfying conclusion and one that is probably expected, for all the build up has lead to it. The acting might not live up to much but the scenery certainly gives the film an absorbing contrast.
Taking that wilderness as first point of call in the film its beautifully shot, long sweeping takes across desolate bush to the panoramic visuals of mountain ranges, it’s a harsh world to which Martin (Dafoe) finds himself in.
Tasked with locating the revered Tasmanian Tiger who most believe still exists even to this day, Martin goes in search of it with an almost no questions asked mentality. Of course during his stay it’s clear that he is ruffling a few local feathers as the logging population of the town see him as just another tree hugger.
He sets up camp in the home of a local family and although not wanting to at first bonds with the two children, Sass and Bike, who instantly take a liking to him, most likely as their father has gone missing mysteriously in the region that Martin explores weeks at a time.
The film lacks a certain amount of bite to it, and there isn’t really a lot in the way of thrills for the first hour at least. We follow Martin into the wild terrain watching him set traps and record data, it may sound a bit dull but Nettheim does enough to keep us intrigued.
It’s clear that Martin is not the only one after this urban legend, and when a few more sinister occurrences arise Martin starts to fear not just for his own life but for those he has grown close to.
The film has a satisfying conclusion and one that is probably expected, for all the build up has lead to it. The acting might not live up to much but the scenery certainly gives the film an absorbing contrast.
Yalghaar: FPS Gun Shooter Game
Games and Entertainment
App
The fate of future generations depends on this top military commando operation. Get a chance to...
The Secret of Our Success: How Culture is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter
Book
Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often...
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
8.5
Rate It
Book
On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of...
The Essential Guide to Beachcombing and the Strandline
Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher
Book
From time immemorial people have been drawn to the beach to collect practical resources as well as...