inFamous First Light Review

While inFamous Second Son may not have done anything innovative for the inFamous franchise, I still find it an incredibly fun game.  So much so that 100% completed everything to do in the game.  Now given how the game ended I’m not sure how Sucker Punch could follow up on it, but given how I had similar thoughts at the end of inFamous 2 I’m not going to throw out the idea of a follow up.  In the meantime though Sucker Punch has released a piece of standalone content that builds on the backstory on one of the side characters from Second Son.  inFamous First Light acts as a prequel to Second Son as we follow Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker in the events before she gets captured by the D.U.P.  The game alternates between flashbacks two years prior to Second Son and present day where Fetch is being held by the D.U.P.  Those who have played Second Son already won’t be in store for many surprises as Fetch’s backstory is told in Second Son.  There are a few changes made to her story but it ultimately ends the same way. But for those asking why they should get First Light if the story is already laid out in Second Son I retort that it’s one thing to have a story told to you but completely different to live it out.  First Light uses many of the same assets that Second Son had as the game map is half of the latter game and you’ll be fighting many similar enemies.  There are a few new environments as you can play in Challenge Arenas in between flashbacks and after you beat the game.  The gameplay is similar to Second Son but Fetch’s powers work just different enough not to overlap with Delsin’s powers.  The only thing I feel is really different is the melee attacks.  Fetch doesn’t have a melee weapon and so she mainly relies on her fists and feet.  Rapidly hitting the square buttons unleashes a flurry of attacks and you can choose to finish an enemy off with the triangle button if you so choose.  I really like this as opposed to Second Son because it feels much faster.  Granted Fetch isn’t wielding a chain whip like Delsin but I still find it more fun from a gameplay point of view.  The story is pretty short and you can probably beat it in a day but there are the aforementioned Challenge Arenas as well as a list of various goals to complete in order to upgrade Fetch’s skill set.  Completing all of the goals will earn you a new costume but not much else.  If you own Second Son however you will be able to use Delsin in the challenege arenas in addition to Fetch.  For $15 you could do a lot worse.  For those new to the inFamous franchise this is pretty good way to test the waters and see if you’d like Second Son.  If you already own Second Son, First Light acts an expansion pack a cut above the rest and builds upon the story started in Second Son.  If you have the money I definitely recommend getting First Light.  It may not be long but it certainly makes an impact.      

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

Transformers Age of Extinction is honestly one of the most polarizing films I’ve seen this year. On the one hand it’s a massive improvement over the last two films in the series but on the other it still falls into many of the tropes that have made the last films so bad.  The basic plot is that after the events of the last film all Transformers, Autobots and Decepticons alike, are being hunted down by the US Government.  In addition their remains are being sent to a scientist so they can create their own army of manmade Transformers.  I admit it is interesting to see the humans fully turn against the Transformers after it was toyed with in the last two films.  We also have a new human protagonist in the form of Cade Yeager, played by Mark Wahlberg.  There’s also has daughter Tessa and her secret boyfriend Shane.  I feel a lot of unnecessary subplots and attempted “comedy” stems from these characters.  I really don’t want to see topics such as unplanned pregnancy or whether or not Tessa’s relationship with Shane is legal in a Transformers film.  I also find both Cade and Shane to be very sympathetic at times.  With bills that keep piling up and the risk of being evicted from their home the Yeager’s really need money.  Cade doesn’t have a real job per se.  He’s an inventor who goes around town buying pieces of technology and also repairs some of the town’s broken appliances.  When Cade first discovers that he may have found a Transformer, Tessa urges him to turn it into the government for a reward.  Rather than do that he decides to tinker around with it instead and inadvertently awakens Optimus Prime.  I know this needed to happen to advance the plot but there really is no reason for Cade not to turn Optimus in.  In addition Cade is extremely over protective of Tessa.  This is where the two uncomfortable topics that I mentioned earlier stem from. Cade doesn’t want Tessa interacting with any men at her age.  Part of this stems from the fact that Tessa was born from the result of an unplanned pregnancy and while Cade doesn’t regret it he’s still forcing his own will over Tessa.  And when Cade does find out that Tessa is secretly dating Shane behind his back, Cade is furious and explains how their relationship may be against the law.  I had no idea what a Romeo and Juliet law was before this film and I kind of wish I didn’t.  Moving on from that bit of unpleasantness I really didn’t like how Cade and Shane butted heads throughout the film.  It seemed incredibly superficial considering the events that are happening around them.  It says a lot when I find the evil humans to be more interesting characters.  Harold Attinger, played by Kelsey Grammer, is the main antagonist.  He’s a CIA agent who leads the entire operation to exterminate the Autobots and Decepticons.  He doesn’t have any real motivations aside from a strong sense of nationalism perhaps.  Under his command is Savoy who had a sister that was killed during the events of the past film and has an extreme prejudice against the Transformers.  And then we have Joshua Joyce, played by Stanley Tucci, and he might be one of the best parts of the film.  Joyce is the main scientist who is in charge of constructing the manmade Transformers and Tucci’s performance really helps to carry this character forward.  He’s also the only character who comes the closest to having a natural character arc as he comes to term with his own failings.  But we all know why we come to see a Transformers film right?  Well apparently Michael Bay has finally figured that out as the Transformers are much more fleshed out in this film.  Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are the two main returning Transformers with three new Autobots being introduced; Hound, Crosshairs, and Drift.  There’s no Decepticons in this movie per se as we have Galvatron and Stinger who are two manmade Transformers and Lockdown who is an unaligned Bounty Hunter. The Dinobots are in there too but they don’t appear until the ending. So the Dinobots are just here for marquee value and not much else.  There are some lines here and there about them being knights of some sort but that’s all we get character wise from them as the Dinobots are mute aside from beastly roars and whatnot.   Optimus Prime undergoes a lot of development in this film as we see him bitter against the entire human race in the film.  A scene that really stood out to me was when Optimus found out what was being done with the remains of various Transformers.  The normally stoic Optimus is enraged by what he has found out and vows to kill whoever was behind the death of his allies.  Bumblebee doesn’t have much dialogue in this film so it’s difficult to talk about his progression as a character.  He does have a funny scene where he finds Stinger, who was specifically modeled after him, and becomes jealous over him.  Some of the newer Transformers express disdain over Bumblebee’s leadership in Optimus’s absence but it’s not really touched upon.  The new Autobots have very distinct personalities.  Drift is a noble warrior who is loyal to the Autobot cause, which I find kind of ironic considering that in supplemental materials he was said to be an ex-Decepticon.  There’s Crosshairs who can be best described as very stand offish and a bit of a lone wolf.  Hound, my favorite addition to the cast, is essentially Walter Sobchak if he was a robot, helped by the fact that he’s voiced by John Goodman.  I don’t want to divulge any details when it comes to Galvatron as I’d be spoiling a plot point but Transformers fans probably have a good idea of what’s coming.  Lockdown is a new antagonist and while he assists the humans with hunting down Autobots and Decepticons, Lockdown is really only loyal to himself.  His employers are shrouded in mystery and are likely going to be elaborated upon in further sequels.  The bottom line when it comes to Age of Extinction is that if you honestly want to see the film, you probably already have.  If my review has inspired you to see it then by all means see it.  But if you really have no interest in seeing the film then you might as well skip it.  I really don’t know how to rate this movie.  It has a lot going for it but at the same time there’s still a lot of the typical tropes associated with Michael Bay films.  In all honesty the best way I can describe it is: eh. 

Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of E3 2014

And so that time comes again where E3 is once upon us.  Plenty of games are sure to be announced but what about the games we already know about?  I figured I’d way in on the games I’m most excited to see.  My only rule for this list is no unannounced games or speculation.  That means no Project Beast and no The Last Guardian.  With that out of the way let’s begin the countdown:

10. Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor

At a passing glance this seems like a pretty generic action game but what really makes Shadows of Mordor interesting is the Nemesis System.  Each enemy you fight remembers who you are and will react to you in a different way. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out for future games.  The story is also interesting as well but seeing as it’s a prequel to The Lord of the Rings and a sequel to The Hobbit the ending might be able to guess. Then again the game could have multiple endings.

9. Borderlands: The Pre Sequel! And Evolve

I’ve paired these two games off together because I honestly couldn’t decide which one I was more excited for and seeing as they’re both being published by 2K Games it seems fair to pair them off.  While I’m not usually fond of multiplayer games Evolve looks like it’s going to put a nice spin on it.  Turtle Rock Studios, the developers of Evolve, have had plenty experience with cooperative multiplayer games with Left 4 Dead.  What makes Evolve unique though is that in addition to four players working together another player plays as a giant monster who hunts down the other players.  I wouldn’t call it groundbreaking but it looks like it’s going to be fun as hell.  While I’m weary of Borderlands The Pre Sequel as a new developer is taking care of it after seeing it in action at PAX East most of my fears have been dampened.  The gameplay looks fun and chaotic as ever and I’m hoping we learn more about each of the playable characters at E3.

8. Batman Arkham Knight

It’s bittersweet putting this on the list.  On the one hand this is going to be the last Batman game developed by Rocksteady Studios (Warner Bros. will most likely continue to milk the franchise) but on the other it looks like they’re going out with a bang.  Just like Arkham City, Rocksteady is taking everything great about the last game and improving on it significantly.  In addition we finally get to drive the Batmobile.  It may be the end of Batman for Rocksteady but I’m ready to don the cape and cowl one last time.

7. Super Smash Bros.

I have extremely fond memories of hanging out with my friend and playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl with him.  It’s just a great fighter all around whether you play it competitively or casually.  I don’t have too much to say about this one other than it looks incredibly fun and I hope we see some new fighters revealed. 

6. Destiny

I think I have to say that this is one of the most ambitious games in recent history.  After developing the Halo series for over a decade many people were wondering what Bungie would do next.  Everything we’ve seen of Destiny so far seems impressive.  The gameplay looks fun, the story looks interesting and it’ll be fun working together with other players.  As we approach ever so closer to the games release it’s time to see if Desinty can live up to the expectations many gamers have. 

5. Assassin’s Creed Unity

In all honesty I’m starting to feel a little fatigued when it comes to the Assassin’s Creed series.  Sure Black Flag was good but I feel we really haven’t had a huge leap forward in the franchise since II.  A brief glimpse at Unity though looks promising.  Taking place during the French Revolution I hope that we see a return of the tall architecture from games like II.  Also if the game looks anything like the trailer does this is going to some of the best graphics the Assassin’s Creed series has ever had.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

While Ground Zeroes may have offered a glimpse at what’s to come in The Phantom Pain I still want more information about The Phantom Pain.  I’d really like to see how much customization you’ll have when it comes to your home base and it’ll be interesting to see other locals and how the story will play out in the wake of Ground Zeroes.

3. The Order 1886

We haven’t seen much of this game since last E3 but the few gameplay snippets we have seen are very impressive.  Some previews have noted that the game has been a little glitch and with it being delayed into 2015 I hope The Order will be fine-tuned.

2. Star Wars Battlefront

One of my favorite PlayStation 2 games was Star Wars Battlefront 2.  It took everything about the original Star Wars Battlefront and made it better.  I was really hoping that there would be a follow up but with Disney buying LucasFilm and shutting down LucasArts my hopes for a Battlefront sequel were dwindled.  But when a trailer was shown at last year those hopes were reignited with a passion. Not much is confirmed but there is one thing I am hoping for: seamless ground to space combat.

And my most aniticpated game of E3 is……

Uncharted

This game has been shrouded in mystery since it was announced last autumn.  We don’t even know if this is going to follow Nathan Drake or introduce us to a new protagonist.  With so many departures lately at Naughty Dog who knows what the game will be like. And that’s why I’m so excited about it.  We know next to nothing about it.  E3 will be the first time the game is shown off.  Naughty Dog usually has a good track record but with all the departures and lack of information I’m curious how this will turn out.