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THE WALKING DEAD Season 2 Review Triggerfinger

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

In Sunday Night’s episode of The Walking Dead entitled ‘TriggerFinger’, both the living and the dead begin to showcase a problem for Rick, Herschel and Glen, whilst Lori struggles with surviving after her car accident and those on the farm begin to choose sides between Shane and Rick.By all accounts, The Walking Dead is a show that is full of suspense, action and drama, and by episodes end, like always, one is excited for the next episode. But after mulling over what you’ve watched after a few minutes, it’s quick to see there are still flaws in the series as a whole. An episode like ‘Triggerfinger’ exposes what is both great and lacking in the series.

And it’s really more execution than anything, as The Walking Dead on the surface is a fantastic show; despite our initial instincts as viewers is to see more action and zombies and less character development, the show does the latter anyway, in an attempt to give us something or more importantly someone to care about.Therein lies the rub though; besides a select few of characters, who do we really care about on the show?A lot of goodwill for the character of Daryl (and even Carol) felt mostly squandered tonight after a nice build-up over most of Season 2. While the general trope of lashing out ‘in the only way they knows how’ is okay, it feels, along with Carol’s treatment of Daryl, a bit out of place. While it creates tension between the characters, it feels false and unjustified upon further scrutiny, especially in their exchange in ‘Triggerfinger’.The most of ‘Triggerfinger’ despite it’s gun-toting action in town, really came down to the overall arc between Nature vs. Nurture, or more succinctly Shane vs. Rick as the one true leader the group in this post-apocalyptic-hell. In retrospect, Shane’s ideas are correct, but when it comes down to it, you, and myself, as a viewer, are on the side of Rick. The problem is ultimately is that Rick lives in a world where he tries to maintain a sense of balance, a sense of rules that the modern world (that no longer exists) used to hold as the standard. Another problem with the series, which relates to the Rick vs. Shane situation, is that Shane is more bark than he is bite as a villain on the show.

There was a nice “You are there” feel to all of this mayhem, especially as the shootout — which ultimately was added to by the presence of plenty of zombies — progressed at that bar – the guy Hershel shot moaning in pain for so long after he was shot (until he got zombie-swarmed) felt very real, as did Hershel and Glenn not exactly being badasses in this scenario and either regretfully doing what needed to be done (Hershel) or simply freezing up (Glenn). All of that, plus we had the scenario with Randall, the guy left behind by these other folks, with his leg impaled. Rick continued to show his “calm under pressure” style and I loved both him pulling out his knife and asking Hershel, “Will this cut through the bone?” and then how he simply yanked Randall’s leg off that post when there was no other option.
There was one truly maddening piece of writing here: Glenn and Maggie and their big conflict late in the episode. Glenn lashing out at Maggie and blaming her for him freezing up earlier (which, again, I was fine with, until this explanation) was just stupid. “It’s because of what you said,” he exclaimed, actually guilt-tripping her for saying she loved him. Really, Glenn?! “You said you loved me and now I’m worried how you’d react to me getting killed so I didn’t help my friends, which is why I’m mad at you” was his basic argument. His very idiotic argument. Come on!

The show does more than make up for these little snafus in little moments. The idea that Lori in a very Shakespearean way is leading Rick further to a confrontation with Shane, and the duality between people who for the sake of love cower and those who run towards danger (like the differences between Rick and Glenn) were all well done. The Walking Dead succeeds on many levels and as a show does make me beg the question as next Sunday rolls around…. What is going to happen next?

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars – “The Box” Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

This episode’s set up had me initially thinking it would be something akin to a Star Wars style Hunger Games, with Dooku and Eval having a group of Bounty Hunters compete in a kill or be killed type contest to find the strongest. Instead, it was a bit different, with Eval putting them through his own version of Arcade’s Murderworld, where it was all about survival, not homicide.

Regardless, it was certainly a macabre scenario. And the ruthlessness of the rooms the group – including the disguised Obi-Wan – went through was pretty notable. The first room, where rising platforms could save you from poison gas but then also smash you to the ceiling, was particularly twisted. It was all very video game like, in a fun way, involving figuring out patterns and moving platforms and surroundings. While it was all freaky and certainly deadly, as several bounty hunters perished along the way — the visual of one poor guy’s corpse being pushed forward by a moving column was particularly notable — it actually wasn’t quite as intense as it could have been. This was mostly due to the presence of Obi-Wan, who kept rather quickly figuring out how to get through each room. This was noted in the story, true, with Dooku telling Eval, “Your Box doesn’t seem to be as much of a challenge as I thought.” But, like the first episode in this storyline, I almost wished we could see this scenario play out without Obi-Wan, where it would have been trickier and others would have had to step up sooner to figure out the puzzles and patterns to survive. Cad Bane (until the very end) and the returning Embo didn’t even really get to show their skills at all in this episode, since Obi-Wan was so leading the charge. Still, it was a cool scenario to see play out. And the end was also notable, as Cad Bane clearly had grown to respect Obi-Wan (or “Rako Hardeen”, as he still believes him to be). Seeing Bane first save Obi-Wan, and then tell Eval, “If you’re gonna kill him, do it like a man,” was a nice switch up – what can I say, I do enjoy seeing the deadly bad guy with his own sense of honor thing play out. This was a man we’d seen (rather hysterically) kill someone because he wanted his hat early in the episode – but Bane would argue he killed him like a man, damn it! We now have our team assembled.

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Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

Ghost Protocol is a terrific thriller with action sequences that function as a kind of action poetry. The best one has Tom Cruise hanging more than 100 storeys up on the glass windows of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. He has been equipped with gloves that cling when slammed against a surface and release when they are curled back. Tricky enough in concept alone. But it has been claimed that Cruise “insisted on doing his stunts himself”. Say what? The character Ethan Hunt is seen like a human fly clinging to glass, thousands of feet in the air, and you’re telling me we aren’t looking at computer-generated imagery? If that’s really Tom Cruise, he seems like a suitable case for treatment. If it is or isn’t, the sequence is one of the most spellbinding stretches of film I’ve seen. In the way it’s set up, photographed and edited, it provided me and my vertigo with scary fascination. The movie has other accomplished set pieces as well. It opens with Ethan Hunt’s breakout from a Russian prison. There is a staggering fight scene inside a space-age parking garage where moving steel platforms raise and lower cars, and the fighters jump from one level to another. There’s a clever scene in the vaults of the Kremlin Archives in which a virtual reality illusion is used to fool a guard. And a scene at a fancy Mumbai party in which Anil Kapoor thinks he’s seducing MI team member Jane in an elaborately choreographed diversionary technique.

The story, regrettably, is a routine affair that never departs from formula. Yet another madman is intent on bringing about a world war. He’s called Kurt Hendricks, and is played uninterestingly by Michael Nykvist.Apparently, this nutter’s belief is that only when the world has succumbed to nuclear annihilation will there be lasting peace. It’s a miracle this guy can get anyone to be his homicidal henchmen. Hendricks blows up the Kremlin and pins the blame on America – more specifically agent Ethan Hunt and his team .After the death by explosion of their boss, Hunt and co know they are on their own as rogue agents though, as usual in this series, they never seem to suffer from any shortage of money or hi-tech gadgetry. The shape of the screenplay and cheesy attempts at flippant wisecracks are familiar from too many Bond films, and it’s curious to see a modern film still peddling a view of Russian-American relations that dates from the Cold War. It really is an awesome movie but the story lacks meaning.

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Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Review (PC)

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

When it comes to offline single-player games, no recent title will draw players in for hundreds of hours as readily as Skyrim. Plenty of games promise to let you unleash your inner all-conquering hero (or antihero), endowed with the power to shape both your own epic destiny and the fate of the world. Almost none deliver on that promise as thoroughly as Skyrim.

In Skyrim, developed by Bethesda Game Studios for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, you are set loose on a vast fantasy continent populated by thousands of monsters and characters. There are teeming towns filled with merchants, beggars, guards, thieves, craftsmen and kings. There are tundra and forests, plains and swamps. There are steep peaks and river gorges, hidden shrines and bandit keeps. There are assassination plots to uncover (or perpetrate) and deep, dank crypts hiding ancient treasure. There are giants and ogres and goblins and demons and spirits and, not least, plenty of dragons.

A civil war and the return of those massive fire-breathing creatures spearhead the actual story. Only a fool, however, will rush to the game’s conclusion — after all, there’s an open-ended universe infused with the richness of Middle Earth and the bravado of “Braveheart” staring him in the horned helmet.I’ll admit that the patience required for this genre of game often eludes me, and my reticence usually starts in the decision-making process required just to get my avatar off into the gorgeously designed realms.Here, roughly five minutes after watching a fellow prisoner beheaded in the game, an Imperial Captain sternly grumbles, “Who are you?” That loaded query leads to an avatar customization process that, in other games, can last hours, depending on the indecisiveness of the player.

Besides talking to a wide variety of nonplayable characters (the voice acting never annoys) and mixing weapons- and magic-based combat, a player buys, builds, scavenges and steals a limited amount of items (around 300 pounds worth before losing the ability to run) that includes weapons, apparel, potions, food, ingredients, keys and miscellaneous junk. While exploring more than 300 spaces featuring terrain often requiring me to scale enormous mountain landscapes, delve into intricate dungeon catacombs, and fight occasional snowstorms, the depth of actions never disappointed. The player might entertain getting married (don’t forget to talk to Maramal the priest in Riften), unlock a chamber (via a golden claw and matching icons in a circular chamber seal) to retrieve the Dragonstone of Bleak Falls Barrow or become a member of the Companions guild and kill vampires in the Broken Fang Cave.

Much as we appreciate the simple innovation of Skyrim’s not being painful to look at, the complex interlocking nature of the game’s numerous quests is easily its finest feature. Developer Bethesda refers to it as the “Radiant Story” system, promising a dynamic story packed with quests that adapt to player’s actions and customize the world to their experience. That’s probably reaching a bit into the realm of hyperbole, but Skyrim actually does manage to modify quest goals and dialogue on the fly in reaction to your accomplishments.This is, after all, a game where players are given full freedom to do as they like, and that means sometimes you’ll go somewhere and complete a task before the game tells you to. Rather than locking players out with invisible walls or other arbitrary barriers, it simply lets you do as you wish and then rolls with it. Clear out a dungeon before someone tells you to, or collect an ancient relic before it comes into play in the story? No problem; you simply get a new dialogue option that says, “Yeah, I already did that,” and your quest giver praises you for being so on-the-ball. Many missions can be initiated in multiple ways, too; I managed to initiate one particular long-term quest by sweet-talking the first relevant person I met. Thierry, on the other hand, managed to offend that guy enough to earn a brushoff, but eventually he figured out an alternate means to get things rolling as well. Any gamer that’s ever dreamt of traversing a magical land armed with spell and steel to an unforgettable role-playing experience. A must buy.

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Star Wars The Clone Wars “Slaves of the Republic” Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex going undercover as Slavers, with Ahsoka as their slave, led to many tense and compelling situations for our characters – as they were in the belly of the beast, as it were. There was plenty of dark material here, including that one slave who killed herself right in front of Anakin. And this was definitely a storyline where things aren’t easy for our heroes – just as Obi-Wan looked to be making an escape (on a rather fascinating dragon meets manta-ray type creature), he’s knocked off and taken captive… where he was repeatedly whipped! Man, Master Kenobi is taking a lot of abuse in this story arc, huh?

It was really interesting to see Anakin try to seduce the Zygerrian Queen. Ahsoka’s apparent disgust at this tactic added a healthy bit of tension between the heroes that may come in to play down the road. Perhaps this “charm” that Anakin seems to posses all of a sudden had some involvement in the quick advancement of his relationship with a certain senator. What was really fun to watch though, was seeing the tables turn, and the Queen taking control of the Jedi, foreshadowing future events with Palpatine. For once even Dark Side interrogation couldn’t save the “Chosen One”, and he his attachments are being used as a leash and prod.The Zygerrians themselves were very interesting, resembling an ancient slave trading society ruled by a monarch. The Queen makes for a strong female foil to Anakin, similar to Satine’s relationship with Obi-Wan. Both leaders neither side with the Republic or the CIS and don’t seem eager to be drawn into the war, but for entirely different reasons, since the welfare of their respective peoples rely on different philosophies. I’m actually surprised that Anakin has been able to keep his hatred for the Zygerrians relatively under control.

The action in this episode was pretty slow, but I was totally engaged in the plot and didn’t mind that. Yet the scene with the Jedi and Rex facing off against the slavers in the arena was very fun to watch, especially since the Jedi were actually outmatched for once. Sure a Force-user can take care of one light-whip yielding foe, but an army of them was too much to handle. This whole episode felt like an Original Trilogy story to me. You could easily replace Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and Ahsoka with Luke, Han, Chewie, and Leia. The reduced focus on the politics and battles of the war added to this illusion of timelessness. There was also a clear reference to Return of the Jedi, with the heroes nodding at each other, and then R2 shooting sabers into the air in the slave arena to the tune of an iconic John Williams theme.

This was definitely one of those episodes without a true ending, feeling like the middle point of the story it is, and just sort of cutting off with a lot in flux. But this episode did a very strong job of showing that this is a very dangerous scenario these characters have put themselves in and their attempts to rescue others is now superseded by their need to rescue themselves. I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

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The Walking Dead “Pretty Much Dead Already” Review Spoilers

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

The episode opens with Glen telling the entire camp the barn is full of walkers. The camp is becoming restless when the thought that Sofia might be dead is discussed. Shane seems fixated on the barn full of walkers, while Glen and Maggie are still defining their relationship. Dale and Andrea are also struggling to find common ground and remember a time when the two of them could depend on one another. Their relationship has been strained ever since the CDC. The characters are questioning themselves and their relationships with each other. Additionally, Rick finally confronts Hershel about the barn full of walkers. This results in Hershel telling the entire camp they need to be off his land by the end of the week. Rick begs for compassion from Hershel, but Hershel refuses and sentences the group to a life off of the farm.

The audience has seen Maggie grow as a character since her introduction, Maggie has been exposed to more walkers than Hershel which leads Maggie to also ask Hershel to tell the camp stay on the farm. Not because of her and Glen because Hershel is not remembering the person that he once was. A forgiving and kind person and followed the word of God. Now it seems as though the apocalypse has changed even those not directly touched by the walkers. The audience finds out what Hershel means by “it happened again.” Hershel not only saves zombies but he literally captures them. Hershel thinks the walkers can be saved, that a cure would be discovered. Hershel literally walks the zombies to the barn like a dog on a leash.

The search for Sophia. continues. Fans of The Walking Dead are getting extremely tired of this never ending character story. The search for Sofia never seems to end. Dale has taken the weapons in an attempt to hide them from camp but is cut off by Shane. The characters are slowly starting to realize Sophia may be gone and it might be time to move on.The entire camp sees how Hershel treats zombies and has an extreme reaction. Shane shoots the zombie Hershel is leading back to the barn. Shane snaps completely and opens the barn a bloody massacre ensues. Proving that what is dead is dead in the eyes of our characters. A shock comes when the last zombie out of the barn isn’t related to Hershel at all. Sophia comes out of the barn as a walker. The entire camp is in shock and no one steps up to do what everyone knows must be done. So Rick shoots Sophia and the mid-season finale ends. Previous episodes of little suspense have lead up to this mid-season finale shock. Hershel’s love ones are dead and Sophia is among the bloody zombie massacre that Shane started. The Walking Dead’s midseason finale was completely depressing and ended with an absolutely horrific scenario.

The thing is, being sad is where The Walking Dead really excels. It was what hit me so much about the show’s excellent pilot — that feeling of overpowering loss — and has been at the core of some of the show’s other great moments, such as the death of Amy. So the resolution to Sophia’s disappearance being that she was now a zombie and Rick having to shoot her, well… was sad. Overall great episode. Can’t wait to see the outcome of the barn shooting.

See the finale scene below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL4slORJqcA

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Star Wars The Clone Wars “Kidnapped” Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

“Kidnapped” began a new three-part arc, one which returns to focusing on the central Clone Wars trio of Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. So far, so good, as the this first episode did a nice job of giving all three characters strong moments. The opening description of the Togruta “Artisan colony” had me a bit wary that this would be yet another storyline about how pacifists react when faced with the Clone Wars, as that road’s been pretty well traveled on the show via the Lurmen and the Mandalorians. But it turned out the Togruta themselves were not the focus, as the Separatists quickly captured them and took them to off-cameraville.
The idea of Anakin facing an enemy – the Zygerrians – who were slavers, and the anger that would unleash within him, was a compelling one – as was the fact that Anakin has never opened up to Ahsoka about his own time in slavery. It was a well-done touch when Anakin seemed so close to actually killing the captured D’Nars, and Ahsoka had to finally step in and simply say, “Master…”, getting him to back off. I really liked Obi-Wan’s fight with the evil Darts D’Nar, because of how one-sided it was – in the bad guy’s favor! Our Jedi heroes shouldn’t be great at everything and it was clear that when not using any of his Jedi abilities or his lightsaber, Obi-Wan was not as physically strong or adept at one-on-one fighting as D’Nar… though he did get a couple of nice punches in. But mostly, he got pummeled, and it was pretty brutal, especially when that glass shattered beneath him. Of course, Obi-Wan was using this fight as a stalling tactic and it was oh-so satisfying when he finally was able to use the Force again, crushing those droids.
For Ahsoka, this episode mainly focused on her kicking ass, which she did very well. Two moments involving her leaping off that speeder bike sidecar were great.First, when she hopped onto another speeder bike, deftly decapitating a Commando Droid and then when she leapt onto that tank, throwing a detonator into it and blowing it up from the inside. The fact that the Togruta are Ahsoka’s people only came up at the very end of the episode, but I suspect we might find out a bit more about how that makes Ahsoka feel as this story continues. The action highlight of the episode meanwhile was Anakin and Ahsoka’s battle with that tentacled creator onboard D’Nar’s ship. The fact that the hanger bay doors were open behind them and that they were trying not to fall out, while also fighting this thing, added a nice element of chaos to it all – underscored when Anakin finally killed the creature, but was nearly dragged out with its corpse. I do wish this show would more actively touch upon what’s happened before as we move from one story arc to the next. Sure, the focus wasn’t on the Clones here, but some signs of what they just went through in the Umbara storyline would have been appreciated – whether it be a nod to Rex’s increasingly disillusioned attitude or a mention of Waxer’s death when his old buddy Boil showed up briefly.
Also, the reveal at the end that all of the Togruta had been taken off planet, presumably to be turned into slaves, made me wonder what the point was of Dooku personally coming to the planet at the beginning of the episode. Why bother sweet-talking these people at all, if they were just going to be rounded up and taken away? Yoda observing that the gathering of slaves was something that could be a great tool “for the rise of the Sith” was pretty interesting.

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The Walking Dead: “Secrets” Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

This episode had to overcome some innate frustrations, in that, after last week’s big reveal, I’m guessing I’m not alone in thinking/hoping that things would really go crazy this week. Hershel’s hoarding zombies after all! Instead, the barn o’ zombies is being dealt with in a slow and methodical manner with only one person finding out what was going on from Glenn this week. Fortunately though, there was actually quite a bit of strong character drama, which ultimately made this a satisfying episode.

The opening scenes of the extremely on the nose titled “Secrets,” with Glenn trying to keep his two big secrets, were pretty lame, as Glenn being so ridiculously stammering and goofy felt way too forced. Thankfully, that didn’t last long and I admit, I did chuckle at him exclaiming, “There’s walkers in the barn and Lori’s pregnant!” to Dale. Now, I wish Dale had decided maybe that info should be shared with the group (or at least Rick), but instead, he only spoke to Hershel about it. It seems some of those zombies are Hershel’s family and he’s convinced they can be cured… even though I feel like he would have to be at least a bit uncertain of that. At least Maggie got convinced that decomposing, snarling people who try to eat you aren’t “sick” by the end of the episode, after an encounter with a zombie back in town – and one of the show’s best scares yet, when those hands burst through the shelf Maggie was standing at. And her speech to Glenn about how he was smart and brave, and shouldn’t be used as a guy you send down a well as zombie bait, was very sweet.

Now I know Andrea has been, um, less than popular with a lot of you guys of late. And while it hasn’t bothered me quite as much, I see your point she’s been portrayed as so moody and sullen, and then last week, she stupidly shot at Daryl after being expressly told to not take a shot. But this was a good episode for her, as we saw that she is indeed one hell of a natural with a gun. The detour she and Shane took into a suburban neighborhood was another very effective scene those corpses in the house were all pretty damn gross and creepy and then when a bunch of zombies showed up, things got very tense, very quickly. And Andrea stopping and using the zombies as real life target practice was a nice way to meld her previously established suicidal tendencies with her newfound gun prowess. Dale questioning what happened to Otis and bringing up the time Shane pointed a gun at Rick managed to feel both completely out of nowhere and yet also work as a nice bit of continuity. I think the initial feeling of randomness was simply that Dale didn’t seem to question anything about Shane’s story after it occurred and hadn’t shown any signs of being suspicious about Shane’s nature this entire season. Now on the other hand, if someone aimed a gun at someone and you saw it, you’d always remember that… so while I wish the writers had touched upon this earlier this season, I’m glad it is at least coming up now.

As for Hershel, I’m curious about what Dale will do. I can’t imagine he won’t tell Rick eventually, but when and where is all up in the air. It’s the responsible thing to let the gang know what is going on. Lori wants to stay there because she’s pregnant and going to have this baby, but staying at the camp is not a safe idea at all. Especially with a newborn baby that’s going to cry a lot.Speaking of Lori and Rick, let’s talk about their son Carl for a moment. It was a question about whether or not to let him learn to shoot a gun. For our final note, we’ll talk about the final scene of Rick and Lori in the field. She tells him he should know about “Shane and I.” And Rick says he knows. I am not sure if I believe him. But … it seems like he was being truthful. My only issue is, if he knew that was going on, why make Shane and Lori feel guilty and walk on eggshells? He should have said “hey, I know it happened and I know why.”Well here a preview for next week episode.

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Star Wars The Clone Wars Carnage of Krell Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

At last we have clone troopers questioning the validity of fighting this war. At last we have Jedi who are shown to be less than heroic. At last we had a Separatist leader employing the kind of Dooku-worthy mindgames fans grew to know and love in John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s spectacular Clone Wars comics. And who’s the Seppie in question? None other than one General Pong Krell.

I know, I know. At first, I was thinking he did seem a remarkably effective leader for the Republic. Apparently, he had even won a host of victories for Palpatine & Co. So part of me wishes that when he was describing the “New Order” he could foresee for the galaxy he still was fighting for the Republic  just totally aware of Palpatine’s villainy, okay with it, and working to bring about the Empire from within. But, really, he was just hoping to meet up with Count Dooku, and to sweeten the deal of his defection to the Seppies, he’d deliver up a sensational Republic defeat on Umbara. That meant that when the clones conjured up victories out of Umbara’s thin air stealing starfighters to destroy the air base’s defenses, flying a mission to take out the supply ship over the capital Krell’s true agenda was pretty well thwarted. So he decided not to remand Fives and Jesse for court martial like he’d decided last week, but rather just have them executed on the spot.

Rex had to prepare the firing squad that would dispatch Fives and Jesse to the cloning vat in the sky. The clones came marching in, repeating blasters raised over their heads, with Dogma leading the detail. Fives shared a last minute plea celebrating initiative and the right to oppose faulty orders and…the squad was convinced. They fired, but every one of their shots missed. Dogma was aghast at this insubordination. But even Rex, that true-bluest of true-blue Republic soldiers, felt that disobeying Krell’s orders was the right thing to do. Krell was going to see clone on clone violence no matter what, though. So he ordered Rex’s men to attack Umbarans who had supposedly clothed themselves in clone armor. But in the midst of battle, Rex pulled off the helmets of one of his enemies and, gasp, it was a clone! He should know something was amiss, considering that all of the “Umbarans” were exactly the same height. If Princess Leia had asked, “Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?” Rex would have realized the answer was…“No.”

They didn’t know why, but by having clone fire on clone, General Krell was clearly committing some sort of treason. There was only one choice. They would have to arrest him, which meant taking on a four-armed Jedi with two double-bladed lightsabers. Who didn’t get chills when the clones surrounded Krell in his command tower and declared him to be under arrest? It strongly echoed the 501st’s future purge of the Jedi Temple in Operation: Knightfall. The General said he wouldn’t comply. And he followed that up with, “It’s treason, then,” which we know is exactly what Chancellor Palpatine said in Revenge of the Sith when Mace Windu came to arrest him! My mind was reeling. What does this mean? We know Palpatine was aware of this mission and how it probably wouldn’t end well, hence he had Anakin recalled to Coruscant. Since Krell was parroting his future words, did Palpatine actually have the General under some form of mind control? Was Krell aware of the Supreme Chancellor’s alter ego as Darth Sidious? Was he in league with him or even a secret apprentice?

The clones chased him into the woods, where he used the Force to call out and taunt his adversaries from afar, Voldemort-style. Finally that carnivorous plant that had ensnared Hard Case a couple eps back knocked Krell out: call it deus ex sarlacc.

Now in custody at the Republic base, Krell could finally do what all villains inexplicably do: monologue about his evil plans. He declared he had rejected his Jedi training and the democratic principals of the Republic and was planning to become Count Dooku’s apprentice after serving up the Separatists a colossal Republic defeat on Umbara. With Dooku he would help pave the way for a New Order, under which the galaxy would be governed by eminent leadership. The Jedi just weren’t willing to impose the iron-fist tactics that would bring order to the chaos of the galaxy. Of course, what he was imagining was the Empire. And yet, despite mimicking Palpatine’s “It’s treason, then” line, it seems like he’s come to this idea independently. Like he hasn’t actually been corrupted by any Sith Lord, but just turned to the Dark Side on his own and when you turn to the Dark Side you wish for nothing more than for an Emperor to rule over the galaxy. However, we did get a bit of that moral murkiness when Rex decided that Krell was too dangerous to keep alive. So, like the General was going to do for Fives and Jesse, Rex prepared their own little Order 66 for Krell. Before he even had a chance, Dogma picked up a blaster and fired one azure bolt into his snake-like skull. In the end, did the clones prove themselves to be just as ruthless as Krell himself? Well, they are one day going to serve the Empire that Krell hoped to be a part of.

 

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Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Review

Posted by Revan449 in Reviews

You’ve done it all before. Chasing the Covenant around the Halo. Throwing sticky plasma grenades. Bouncing over sand dunes in the Warthog. You’ve done this before. This exact thing. You rushed to escape the Pillar of Autumn. Infiltrated the Truth and Reconciliation. Escaped from Truth and Reconciliation (twice) and the re-infiltrated Pillar of Autmn. You traversed acres of identical corridors, unlocked Halo’s secrets and then recoiled in horror as the game switched from “action” to “survival horror” at mid-point. You’ve been here and you’ve done this. Right down to the frenetic vehicle escape at the very end. So why does it all feel brand new?

The story of what happened when humanity first encountered a halo is still an interesting one, even if you’ve heard it before. It starts with a crash landing, followed by a race to discover what this strange place is all about. The emergence of the Flood and the revelation of the halo’s true purpose build the momentum that culminates in the desperate deeds you must perform to avert galactic disaster. New terminals in each level trigger cutscenes that offer new perspectives on characters in the game and hints about Halo lore we might see in future games. These add some welcome depth to the narrative landscape, though they only show up when you play with the updated presentation. The campaign is an exciting ride that is enhanced by the development of Master Chief and Cortana’s relationship, as well as the entertaining ally and enemy chatter that helped build Master Chief into one of the most enduring video game icons.The fundamental mechanics of the game have also endured well. Jumping is a bit floaty, but the movement and combat controls respond with alacrity. Those who have played more recent Halo games are likely to be impressed with the range of the assault rifle and excited by the chance to wield the iconic pistol once more. Battling against the Covenant is engaging and satisfying, thanks to the enemy AI. Elites are still fierce and agile, jackals still use shields with vexing effectiveness, and even grunts can still get the best of you if you aren’t careful. Covenant enemies look more ferocious and diverse with the remastered visuals, which borrow designs from more recent Halo games. The Flood are similarly updated with the grisly, antennae-rich look of recent years, but the simplicity of the classic look feels more sinister and alien. These monsters aren’t nearly as fiendish in combat as the Covenant, but their swarms can be relentless and deadly if you don’t maneuver smartly.Dealing with these dual threats makes for varied and engaging combat, which helps ensure that you’ll have a blast fighting your way to the thrilling final sequence. On your way there, you might be tempted to leave some enemies standing in favor of speedier progress. It can be empowering to leave your enemies in the dust, but be aware that this tactic can exacerbate issues with Anniversary’s somewhat spotty checkpoint system. Nearby enemies or just speedy progress can prevent checkpoints from registering, which makes your untimely death more of a setback than expected. Slowing down in checkpoint areas can help, as can playing the campaign cooperatively. You and a friend can play local split-screen, though there is no drop-in/drop-out option. Or you can link up with a buddy online to tackle the entire adventure, though there is no matchmaking. But don’t let the excellent remastered presentation stop you from playing in classic mode from time to time. Many of the areas, especially the indoor spaces, hold up impressively well, thanks to the great artistic design. It’s fun to find the visual flourishes that have remained virtually unchanged, though it’s definitely worth seeking out some of the new elements, including a control panel that indicates John-117 wasn’t always the only Spartan on The Pillar of Autumn. Unfortunately, you can’t make the switch during cutscenes, but it’s delightful to be able to do so at any other time during the campaign

For its 10th anniversary, the seminal modern shooter has been treated to a massive graphical and effects overhaul and been given a few back-end tweaks – and that’s it. The original physics engine remains intact. The models and levels remain the same. Nothing added, nothing taken away and suddenly Halo CE stands toe-to-toe with any game released this year or any year. Give this game to someone who’s never heard of Halo (if you can find one) and he’d never know it was 10 years old. That, in itself, is an impressive feat. What you will also discover when you play Halo CE Anniversary (whether it’s your first or tenth time) is that every sequel, for all of their strengths, has suffered from the absence of the Halo CE’s main character: the Halo itself. This game wasn’t called “Master Chief,” it was called “Halo” and with good reason. It’s not about Master Chief John Spartan 117, or the rambunctious AI Cortana or the heroic Captain Keyes. It’s about the fabulous and mysterious ring structure and the secrets locked within. The game begins with the discovery of the structure and ends with its destruction. The story is, like the ring itself, a perfect circle and although the final scripted words are “We’re just getting started,” you could leave off with this one entry and not feel as if you’d missed a thing. Fitting, then, that the previous entry in the series, Halo Reach, was in fact the prequel to this game, as if all roads lead back to Halo CE.

Multiplayer is its own treat. While riding on the backend of Reach’s multiplayer component, Anniversary packs a few of its own surprises into the mix such as a handful of the original game’s maps  as well as the iconic “Magnum” pistol that proved to be the bane of so many gamers’ online careers. The action is as frenetic as always and quintessentially Halo, while the matchmaking, in the few brief hours I played on it, proved robust.

 

All of that said, it’s hard to know where to draw the line between remaining faithful to the original experience and not offering gamers anything new. The graphical and musical overhauls are phenomenal, but for true-blue Halo fans, they may not be enough to justify the expense, even at the “bargain” price of $40. It will be interesting to see if the same nostalgia that has driven four sequels to the top of the sales charts can also drive an updated edition of the original.If you played and enjoyed Halo Combat Evolved or one of its sequels, then you will find plenty to enjoy with this edition. If you haven’t played Halo CE, there’s no better time. Few other games with as many miles under their belts look and feel this good. A fresh coat of paint is all this game needed to remind the world how Bungie brought shooters out of the stone age. A must-have for Halo fans, in spite of the lack of any significantly new content. Knowing how it ends, after all, hasn’t ruined a Halo game yet. Newcomers will be in for a rare treat: discovering the game that changed everything for the first time, without having to forgive dated graphics. Buy it.

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