Have you ever been in your car at a complete stop but thought you were moving, freaking out and smashing the break just to realize you really weren’t moving at all…? Well, that’s how this episode played out for me cause I thought we had some momentum built up and the story was really moving, and building to quite a climactic story plot…..then BAM you realize this episode is almost at a standstill in the story, or at least a creeping crawl in first gear.
Amid the Ruins, like many of this games episodes focuses on a very stripped down and quiet side of surviving the zombie apocalypse. This episode leaves Clementine to make some very difficult decisions that ultimately leave her alone, and responsible for the safety of those she cares about. We begin to see the large number of characters you have come to know and enjoy throughout the game begin to dwindle, ultimately leaving you with some tough choices to make of who to trust, and who to follow.
This episode of the game is anything but graceful about it’s approach to the people in Clementine’s life as they seem to exist solely so their departure can hurt her. The loss of people has been a large focus of season 2 and this episode is no different other than how Clementine begins to process those big hits. She as a young girl really is put through some awful and terrifying situations, but those moments seem to define her from the decisions she “You” get to make for her.
Amid the Ruins has some very gut wrenching moments because of those heavy decisions you have to make. Telltale has become quite famous for these gut punches as they write some beautiful, dramatic stories that suck you into the characters life. Much of Amid the Ruins, however, felt like loss with little meaning, as though characters are being cut because the cast is too big, or they don’t fit where the finale is going.
Characters vanish in this episode so rapidly and unexpectedly that it steals some spotlight away from the emotional connection this game brings with it’s characters. Some of the characters exits are cheap and unfulfilling, while others are unjustified, forced and forgotten very quickly. Worse, some of those departed characters are replaced by new villains who come out of nowhere with no introduction.
Overall I’ve enjoyed playing this episode as you get to discover more about the people we’ve spent little time with. Jane is one of those characters, one which helped Clem and her friends back in Episode 3. You’ll also see a ton of new conflicts arise between old friends and new. This is where the game get’s really intense as the resolution to these conflicts are crazy but satisfying as always.
Season 2 has been a large building block for the story and seems to be something much larger for Clementine, but it fizzles here by the end of Episode 4. Large stories by this time like the political battle between feuding sides seems to vanish, and Clementine begins to feel much smaller in the grand scheme of things, despite the grand large she is having to overcome. Meanwhile, although The Walking Dead: Season 2 has been building to something bigger for Clementine, it fizzles here by the end of Episode 4, the complex political drama that’s been brewing between feuding sides all but evaporates. Bickering elders don’t seem to weigh on Clementine as much as the grim things she has to do on her own. She’s starting to feel small, despite the big things she’s doing. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing yet.
Maybe that’s the point. Perhaps the desperation and hopelessness of The Walking Dead’s bleak world is starting to overwhelm Clementine’s story? Maybe our little girl heroine is finally at a breaking point, ready to give in, and give up on what she has? Who really knows where Telltale is going with the story, but what I do know is it’s looking bleak at best for our Clementine and the people she currently trusts.
Until next time gamers!
Battleborn is one of the most chaotic shooters I’ve played, which also managed to frustrate and amaze me at the same time. The single-player and co-op campaign was thin and hit and miss at best, plagued with bad jokes from NPC’s and really uninviting once you get into the game a bit. The multiplayer action tries to mix genres like the mechanics from popular MOBA’s but overall was a huge miss, as they tried to do to much.
Battleborn has a seven-hour campaign which are mostly repetitive with the exception of only a handful of good story moments. Each mission is made up of continuous waves of almost the same enemy with different boss battles or base defense settings. Using currency (called shards) you collect on each map, you also have to purchase turrets and bots to aid in your attack against giant mechs or base defense, which adds an interesting layer of resource management. With all that you have to manage during the battling, sadly the story the game tries to tell becomes white-noise and easily forgettable. This is a Gearbox game, so the makers of Borderlands had to add loot but this game gives you new gear in between battles. While Battleborn’s loot carries over from match to match, the bonuses you get out of it aren’t as good the in-match leveling system. Overall I think they did a good job with loot and adding a challenge to the levels of combat.
While the campaign feels empty and pointless to me, the PvP modes you get are a completely different story. You get three different modes to choose from each with their own unique challenges. Capture is a domination-style mode good for fast action and lots of frustration at times. Incursion is a condensed version of the campaign that avoids the insanely long battles, but you do get to take down some enemy mechs with some cool toys if you’ve purchased any. Lastly you have, Meltdown, which is a mix of MOBA and arena style FPS. Ultimately this could have been a great idea, but the first person perspective brings the action way too close and the map overlay is way too small to keep track of anyone. It would have been nice to have a free-for-all, or a team death-match but you won’t find it in this game.
First of all I have to start with WOW, as Ubisoft has achieved an art style with this game like none other I’ve ever seen! This game has some of the most intriguing and charming characters a game could ask for, but what makes this game stand out most is it’s earthy colors and use of a hand painted art style. This RPG gives a lot of love back to it’s predecessors as it pulls game mechanics such as exploration, crazy puzzles, and a fantastic combat system that’s become my favorite in the genre. If you enjoy the RPG games, then this one will quickly become a gem as it’s rewarding, fun, and quickly pulls you into it’s world of mystery, magic, and elegance!
The fairytale like plot holds your attention quite well, and the story, though at times is distracting was superb! There’s a traveling jester who can’t figure out how rhyming works, a love-sick mouse archer, and most importantly, the main character that you get to play, a young girl named Aurora who’s trying to save her father. Aurora’s transformation from a frightened child to the hero of her own story is a journey worthy of the beautiful art work it’s accompanied by. Some modern RPGs suffer by either abandoning too much of the choice and depth that first made the genre interesting, or by piling on needless systems that don’t add anything to the experience. Child of Light makes neither of these mistakes, giving it a very balanced play style across the board.
This games biggest win is the combat system though, as it mixes a classic turn based system with some very beautiful real time elements, like icons that move a long the bottom of the screen indicating when you or your opponents turn is. Battling in the game is more then just mindless button pressing, or repetitive skill spamming, as hitting an enemy in the middle of an attack will interrupt them. This element created a constant feeling of strategy and timing that had to be played, but also gave you a sense of great accomplishment which made it quite enjoyable!
A Hobbits Journey 