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Dsk (1 KP) rated ARK Survival Evolved in Video Games
Dec 14, 2017
Amazing Concept
Like many of the survival/crafting games of the genre it partially helped popularize, ARK dumps you on the beaches of a massive, foreboding island with just enough clothing to stay modest and your own two fists. From there, the challenge is to stay fed and hydrated while avoiding a huge variety of terrifyingly detailed dinosaurs and other beasts long enough to progress up the tech tree. Early in the life of a character, you might be taking out dilophosaurs with throwing spears and hoping a triceratops doesn’t come and knock your thatch hut over in the middle of the night.
From there, there’s a really nice flow of technological progression that makes advancement feel like more than just an increase in stats. Thirty hours later, you may preside from a sturdy stone castle from atop which you snipe pterasaurs out of the air with a rifle. By the endgame, it’s possible to have a massive steel fortress full of blast furnaces, complete with electric lighting and gas generators, churning out components for building rocket launchers and SCUBA gear.
From there, there’s a really nice flow of technological progression that makes advancement feel like more than just an increase in stats. Thirty hours later, you may preside from a sturdy stone castle from atop which you snipe pterasaurs out of the air with a rifle. By the endgame, it’s possible to have a massive steel fortress full of blast furnaces, complete with electric lighting and gas generators, churning out components for building rocket launchers and SCUBA gear.
Dean Connelly (17 KP) rated Batman: Return to Arkham in Video Games
Jan 10, 2018
You get to be Batman (3 more)
Voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill
Both storylines are worthy of any comic book or movie
Just everything about it
I’ll get committed to this Asylum any day.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I was never a fan of these sort of games but it came out and I love it. You’ve got the best Batman and the best Joker in 2 of the best games I’ve ever played. Asylum you are stuck to Arkham Island and there isnt much you can do, City I feel is the best, more characters, more gadgets, more abilities, bigger environment, bigger bad guys to fight, loads more trophies. There also is side missions ranging from helping Bane to facing off against Deadshot. What I really love is that no character is the same from previous movies or TV series, I mean Poison Ivy is seriously fit, Freeze looks futuristic, Catwoman looks like a prostitute, you can play as Catwoman, challenges on both Games are good, city’s is tougher though. If you love a good game or a fan of the Dark Knight like me, you won’t be disappointed
Midge (525 KP) rated The White Headhunter in Books
Mar 16, 2019
Fascinating & Very Well Presented
Reading “The White Headhunter” was a complete change of genre for me and although I had a few reservations about the choice, I’m really pleased I decided to go with it.
This first book by Nigel Randell is a work of non-fiction. A teenage Scots sailor, Jack Renton was rescued from captivity on the Pacific island of Malaita, home to a fearsome tribe of headhunters. In his memoir, Renton recounted his eight-year adventure: how he jumped ship and drifted two thousand miles in an open whaleboat to the Solomon Islands, came ashore at Malaita and was stripped of his identity. For all it’s detail and authenticity Renton’s chronicle glossed over many key events. This book is a more complete and grislier account of Renton’s experience.
Very well presented and easy to read “The White Headhunter” contains some fascinating history of the late 19th century and the Pacific with some entertaining and enlightening information about the period. This true story was interesting, enjoyable and well worth the read.
[Thank you to #NetGalley, #ThistlePublishing and #NigelRandell, for a free ARC of #TheWhiteHeadhunter in exchange for an honest review.]
This first book by Nigel Randell is a work of non-fiction. A teenage Scots sailor, Jack Renton was rescued from captivity on the Pacific island of Malaita, home to a fearsome tribe of headhunters. In his memoir, Renton recounted his eight-year adventure: how he jumped ship and drifted two thousand miles in an open whaleboat to the Solomon Islands, came ashore at Malaita and was stripped of his identity. For all it’s detail and authenticity Renton’s chronicle glossed over many key events. This book is a more complete and grislier account of Renton’s experience.
Very well presented and easy to read “The White Headhunter” contains some fascinating history of the late 19th century and the Pacific with some entertaining and enlightening information about the period. This true story was interesting, enjoyable and well worth the read.
[Thank you to #NetGalley, #ThistlePublishing and #NigelRandell, for a free ARC of #TheWhiteHeadhunter in exchange for an honest review.]
Elizabeth (1521 KP) rated Next Year in Havana in Books
Apr 24, 2019
I completely relate to Marisol's romanticized idea of Cuba and the desire to see it first hand, being that I too have immediate family that emigrated from Cuba. Unlike Marisol, I don't have stories that my family told of their time there to paint a picture in my mind. For me, it is a desire to trace my roots, to learn my history.
I don't know how much of the present day portion of the story is based on fact. It makes me sad to think that the country is in such disrepair. I always thought that since tourism with other countries was still allowed, that the country was still in good shape and it was just the relations with the US that was in shambles. It just goes to show how little I really know since I've only just begun to learn more about the island where my family came from in the last few years.
The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because I reserve that honor to books that change me after having read them. I connect very deeply to this book, but it did not change me.
I don't know how much of the present day portion of the story is based on fact. It makes me sad to think that the country is in such disrepair. I always thought that since tourism with other countries was still allowed, that the country was still in good shape and it was just the relations with the US that was in shambles. It just goes to show how little I really know since I've only just begun to learn more about the island where my family came from in the last few years.
The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because I reserve that honor to books that change me after having read them. I connect very deeply to this book, but it did not change me.
Mayhawke (97 KP) rated 12 Monkeys (1995) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018
I'll have a Monkey on the rocks, with a twist...
The time is the future; The world has been ravaged by a bio-engineered plague,and the powers-that-be have decided it's time to do something about it.
Their decision? Put the half-nelson on a poor, unhappy convict (Willis) and tell him he's going back in time to hunt down the source, and kill the lunatic that released the bug before he can do it, thus changing history. Armed with just the knowledge that he's looking for a group called 'The 12 Monkeys', he is dispatched, only to find himself in an unforseen conflict with the local law and a Section 8.
Great performance from Willis, but it was while watching this film that I realised that Brad Pitt is actually more than a pretty face.
One of the best twists in the end of a tale I have ever seen.
This is definitley one of my desert island films, so I'm not really good at objectivity when discussing it but if you like slighty off-the-wall film entertainment I'd say this is a must.
Their decision? Put the half-nelson on a poor, unhappy convict (Willis) and tell him he's going back in time to hunt down the source, and kill the lunatic that released the bug before he can do it, thus changing history. Armed with just the knowledge that he's looking for a group called 'The 12 Monkeys', he is dispatched, only to find himself in an unforseen conflict with the local law and a Section 8.
Great performance from Willis, but it was while watching this film that I realised that Brad Pitt is actually more than a pretty face.
One of the best twists in the end of a tale I have ever seen.
This is definitley one of my desert island films, so I'm not really good at objectivity when discussing it but if you like slighty off-the-wall film entertainment I'd say this is a must.
An atmosphere that draws you in (2 more)
Beautiful prose
Interconnected short stories
Fairy tales for grown ups
This collection of short stories is set on the island of Neverness. All of the stories are interconnected and characters reoccur as adults after they were in a story as children. We see how an experience in one story then becomes a cautionary tale or a fairytale in another. I loved the atmosphere in this book: menacing, dreamlike, happy, sad - like a fairytale really.
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!
The language used was really very poetic. If you're attracted to this as a Fantasy reader, the language is weighted more on the 'Literary Fiction' side. I like both, and this didn't even occur to me until I read another review on Goodreads! There are plenty of Fantasy writers out there whose prose can be lyrical!
I also liked how the beginning and the end of the book were connected. Very clever, original writing, this is a short story collection that didn't feel to me as though they were short stories. Well worth a read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this gorgeous book!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2492 KP) rated Star Island (Skink, #6) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Teen pop sensation Cherry Pye is about to release a comeback CD – her second. Her entire future is riding on its success, however her partying is getting in the way of preparing for the tour. In fact, her family has hired Ann DeLusia, a look alike, to fool the paparazzi. Unfortunately, for Ann, she’s about to be kidnapped. With everything spinning out of control, what will happen?
I’d been curious to try one of Carl Hiaasen’s books for a long time, and when I needed an audio book, I decided this was the best chance. Sadly, I didn’t care for it. Outside of Ann, there weren’t any sympathetic characters. Oh, I get that we are supposed to find them crazy, especially with how whacky some of them are, but I did. Especially since several of them were self-destructing before our eyes. The plot was interesting enough to pull me in, but the characters got on my nerves. I won’t be revisiting this author.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-review-star-island-by-carl-hiaasen.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I’d been curious to try one of Carl Hiaasen’s books for a long time, and when I needed an audio book, I decided this was the best chance. Sadly, I didn’t care for it. Outside of Ann, there weren’t any sympathetic characters. Oh, I get that we are supposed to find them crazy, especially with how whacky some of them are, but I did. Especially since several of them were self-destructing before our eyes. The plot was interesting enough to pull me in, but the characters got on my nerves. I won’t be revisiting this author.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/08/book-review-star-island-by-carl-hiaasen.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Isolation (Faye Longchamp, #9) in Books
Feb 21, 2018
***NOTE: I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***
Faye Longchamp lives on a small island with her family. Going to the mainland for breakfast one morning, her husband and recently-released-from-jail father-in-law find a local woman dead in the water off her restaurants pier. Fearing that her father-in-law might make an easy scapegoat, Faye starts looking into the murder
This book started out slow, and I wasnt sure I was going to like it. In the beginning of the story, we learn that Faye has recently suffered a miscarriage, and shes having trouble coming to terms with the loss. Faye muddles around in a haze for several chapters, but as she starts to come back to herself, the book picks up pace as well. Once it gets going and you look back on the slow beginning, you can see that it is fitting considering Fayes state of mind. Im glad I didnt give up during the slow part, because it finished up as a quick-moving, cant-stop-until-I-know-who-did-it mystery.
Faye Longchamp lives on a small island with her family. Going to the mainland for breakfast one morning, her husband and recently-released-from-jail father-in-law find a local woman dead in the water off her restaurants pier. Fearing that her father-in-law might make an easy scapegoat, Faye starts looking into the murder
This book started out slow, and I wasnt sure I was going to like it. In the beginning of the story, we learn that Faye has recently suffered a miscarriage, and shes having trouble coming to terms with the loss. Faye muddles around in a haze for several chapters, but as she starts to come back to herself, the book picks up pace as well. Once it gets going and you look back on the slow beginning, you can see that it is fitting considering Fayes state of mind. Im glad I didnt give up during the slow part, because it finished up as a quick-moving, cant-stop-until-I-know-who-did-it mystery.
Sean J (5 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Jul 5, 2018 (Updated Jul 8, 2018)
Enjoyable that sets up what should be an epic final film
The Fallen Kingdom takes place some time after the first Jurassic World film. The volcano on the island of Isla Nubla is becoming active and there are the questionable morals of whether the dinosaurs should be saved or not and so begins the adventure. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return along with a cameo from Jeff Goldblum reprising their roles of Owen, Claire and Ian Malcolm respectively. The film follows the same routine as the previous 4 teasing the story in the initial 5-10 minutes, followed by the usual character based introductions that lead into the story. It's a tried and tested method and though familiar still works for these films. Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom has a darker tone than the original and builds to its conclusion feeling a little rushed. The pace of Jurassic World kind of felt right however this just seems off. The acting is very good, special effects are great. A solid film that sets up the third Jurassic World film very nicely for something epic, if done right.
The beginning of Hook
Contains spoilers, click to show
I really enjoyed this dark take on Captain Hook’s beginning. Henry’s version of Hook’s origin story fit very well with what we know about Peter. I can now see, even from the Disney version, how he might not have been what we thought he was, a boy who never wanted to grow up, only to stay small and play forever.
Hook was once a regular boy, by the name of Jamie, who became the focus of Peter Pans attention. He was the first Lost Boy, the first child Peter convinced to run off to a magic island to live and never grow up. Jamie loved Peter and wanted to be his best friend forever. He believed he was Peter’s favorite, his confidant.
But, what happens when Jamie starts to see the friend he adores, and thought loved him, isn’t what he believed he was? What happens if Peter turns out to be cruel and heartless, and tries to rip everything Jamie cares about away from him in order to keep Jamie’s attention only on him?
Well, Jamie becomes the villain in Peter’s story.
Hook was once a regular boy, by the name of Jamie, who became the focus of Peter Pans attention. He was the first Lost Boy, the first child Peter convinced to run off to a magic island to live and never grow up. Jamie loved Peter and wanted to be his best friend forever. He believed he was Peter’s favorite, his confidant.
But, what happens when Jamie starts to see the friend he adores, and thought loved him, isn’t what he believed he was? What happens if Peter turns out to be cruel and heartless, and tries to rip everything Jamie cares about away from him in order to keep Jamie’s attention only on him?
Well, Jamie becomes the villain in Peter’s story.