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The Kings of Gondor: Part 10 – The Rise of the Stewards

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Welcome back, fellow hobbits and denizens of Middle-earth! It’s been quite a journey since I last delved into the lore of the Kings of Gondor. After a lengthy hiatus and precious time spent with family, I’m thrilled to return to this series and pick up where we left off. The tales of Gondor’s regal lineage have been patiently waiting, and I’m eager to continue exploring their rich history and significance. So, get ready to embark on this renewed adventure with me as we dive back into the annals of Gondor and unearth the stories that have been on hold for too long. Here’s to resuming our quest and many more stories to come!

Rise of the Stewards

With the tragic disappearance of King Eärnur and the end of the direct line of Anárion, Gondor faced an uncertain future. This momentous transition saw the governance of the realm passed to the Stewards, who would rule in the absence of a king. Their stewardship, marked by dedication and resilience, preserved the kingdom through some of its darkest times. In this installment, we explore the early period of the Stewards, focusing on their significant contributions and challenges.

Mardil Voronwë: The First Ruling Steward

Mardil Voronwë, known as “the Good Steward,” was the first to assume control following the loss of Eärnur. Appointed as the Steward by King Eärnil II, Mardil served loyally and diligently. Upon Eärnur’s mysterious disappearance during his ill-fated challenge to the Witch-king of Angmar, Mardil took up the mantle of leadership. His tenure set a high standard for those who followed, emphasizing duty, wisdom, and unwavering loyalty to Gondor.

Mardil’s administration was characterized by his efforts to maintain stability and order. He fortified the defenses of Minas Tirith, ensuring the city could withstand any threats from Mordor or other adversaries. His prudent governance and effective military strategies laid the groundwork for the Stewards’ rule, demonstrating their capability to lead Gondor through turbulent times.

The Stewardship Continues: Cirion and the Oath of Eorl

One of the most notable Stewards in the early period was Cirion. His reign was marked by a pivotal alliance with the Éothéod, a significant move that would shape the future of Gondor. Facing the imminent threat of the Balchoth, Cirion sought the aid of Eorl the Young, leader of the Éothéod. This alliance was solidified through the Oath of Eorl, a momentous pact forged during the Battle of the Field of Celebrant.

Eorl’s swift response to Cirion’s call for help resulted in a decisive victory over the Balchoth. In gratitude, Cirion granted the lands of Calenardhon to the Éothéod, who established the kingdom of Rohan. This alliance was not just a military necessity but a lasting bond of mutual respect and support that endured for centuries, playing a crucial role in the defense of Middle-earth during the War of the Ring.

Beren and the Replanting of the White Tree

Beren, another significant Steward, ruled during a time of recovery and hope. His tenure saw the replanting of the White Tree of Gondor, a powerful symbol of resilience and continuity. The White Tree descended from Nimloth of Númenor and Telperion of Valinor, represented the enduring spirit of Gondor and its connection to the ancient and noble heritage of the Dúnedain.

Beren’s diplomatic efforts were equally noteworthy. He worked tirelessly to strengthen alliances with neighboring realms, particularly Rohan, ensuring that Gondor remained well-defended and supported. His reign exemplified the Stewards’ role in not just maintaining the kingdom but also nurturing its growth and unity.

Denethor II: The Last Ruling Steward

The stewardship reached its zenith and nadir under Denethor II, whose rule was marked by brilliance and despair. Denethor was a complex figure, driven by a fierce dedication to Gondor but also haunted by the shadow of Mordor. His use of the Palantír, a seeing-stone that allowed him to communicate and spy at great distances, led to his gradual descent into madness, as Sauron’s deceptions took their toll on his mind.

Denethor’s tenure was defined by the War of the Ring, a period of immense strife and heroism. His sons, Boromir and Faramir, played crucial roles in the defense of Gondor. Boromir’s valiant efforts in the Fellowship of the Ring and Faramir’s steadfast leadership in the defense of Osgiliath highlighted the strength and courage of Denethor’s line. Despite his flaws, Denethor’s commitment to Gondor’s defense was undeniable, and his efforts delayed Sauron’s advances until the return of the true king.

Conclusion

The period of the Stewards was one of perseverance and resilience. They held the kingdom together through wars, invasions, and internal strife. Their governance ensured that Gondor survived until the return of its king, a testament to their unwavering duty and the enduring strength of the realm. As we reflect on the legacy of the Stewards, we honor their role in maintaining the hope and future of Gondor, bridging the past with the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

I trust that you all have been savoring the journey through this series as much as I have enjoyed crafting and weaving it together. Though we approach the final chapters of our tale, there remain many more stories yet to be told. Thus, I entreat you to remain ever vigilant and keep watch upon these pages, for there is much more to unfold. Consider pledging your allegiance to our chronicle, that you might never miss a moment of our shared adventure.

Until next we meet, may your days be bright and your spirits high.

Farewell and well met!

Cheers,

Iogro Merrybelly

Blaugust 2024: Join the Adventure of Blogging

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Greetings, fellow adventurers! After a hiatus since 2019, I’m back and ready to dive into the excitement of Blaugust 2024. For those who are new here, Blaugust is an annual blogging event where participants challenge themselves to post regularly throughout August, fostering creativity and community.

What is Blaugust?

Blaugust, now in its 11th year, is an incredible opportunity for bloggers to come together, share their stories, and support each other. The event was started by Belghast, a veteran blogger and community builder. Over the years, Blaugust has evolved into a cornerstone event for the blogging community, encouraging both new and seasoned bloggers to challenge themselves, connect with others, and share their unique voices.

Huge Milestones in Blaugust History:

  • 2014: The inaugural Blaugust begins, encouraging bloggers to post daily throughout the month.
  • 2015: Introduction of the Blaugust Prep Week, helping participants get ready for the month-long challenge.
  • 2017: Expansion to include various creative mediums, welcoming vloggers, podcasters, and streamers.
  • 2019: The event incorporates mentorship, pairing experienced bloggers with newcomers to foster growth and support.
  • 2023: Blaugust celebrates a decade of community, creativity, and blogging.

My Personal Goals for Blaugust 2024

1. Reconnect with the Community: Blaugust is more than just a blogging challenge; it’s a vibrant community. I aim to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, fostering a sense of camaraderie and support.

2. Share Personal Stories: Over the past few years, I’ve embarked on numerous adventures, both big and small. From exploring new realms in gaming to discovering hidden gems in my own backyard, I have plenty of tales to tell.

3. Experiment with New Content: This year, I’m excited to diversify my content. Expect posts ranging from deep dives into my favorite fantasy books and games to personal reflections and creative writing experiments.

4. Stay Consistent: One of the biggest challenges of Blaugust is maintaining a steady posting schedule. My goal is to post every day, or as close to it as possible, keeping the content fresh and engaging.

What to Expect This Month

Weekly Themes: Each week of Blaugust has a unique theme, designed to inspire and guide our posts. From welcoming new participants to sharing tips on staying motivated, there’s something for everyone.

Collaborations: I’m looking forward to collaborating with other bloggers, sharing the blogging journey together, and maybe even doing a few joint projects. It’s all about building a supportive and inspiring network.

How to Join Blaugust 2024

If you’re interested in joining the adventure, signing up is easy! Visit the Blaugust Sign-Up Page to register and become part of this amazing community. Whether you’re a seasoned blogger or just starting, Blaugust is a fantastic way to challenge yourself, improve your writing, and become part of a wonderful community.

So, grab your quills, dust off your keyboards, and let’s embark on this epic journey together. Here’s to a month of creativity, connection, and fun!

See you in the comments, fellow adventurers!

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – Review

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hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-switch-ps4-graphics-ninja-theory.jpgOver the last few weeks, I’ve been spending some time catching up on my backlog of games and one I finally finished up was Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This game weaves a beautiful story together in a dark visual novel that highlights it’s main characters’ journey into a land called Northmen. You play a Celtic warrior named Senua who is on a mission to the mythological Norse land of the dead called Helheim.  This game is loaded with mythological lore, historical fiction, and non-fiction that helps bring this story to life in a very dark but beautiful way.

Screenshot_04.0.jpgThis Norse based story is extremely impressive but the story isn’t the only thing that immerses you into this dark world as the designers brought together an impressive sensory mechanics system for the game as well.  During the start of the game, you are given a prompt to play with headphones so you get the full effect of the simulated three dimensional sound environment.  Once you throw those headphones on you will be immersed into a mass sound of voices that haunt Senua who constantly talk to her and brings a very creepy aspect to the game.

hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-listing-thumb-01-ps4-us-21jun17These voices Senua hears are a crucial part of the story, and also gameplay throughout as they can help with advice, and also such things as arguing with her, tear her down, and pick her up at just the right time.  This mix of voices, paired with the soundtrack and visual story brings an experience that is worth every minute put into the game.  Hellblade is also a visually gorgeous game full of darkness, strange lights, and mixed muted colors that fill the world. All aspects of what the creators did tell a beautiful story that truly brings a chill to the bones while playing.  One way the developers immersed you further into the story was the mix of audio and visual distortion that brings a frightening effect of psychosis and hallucination that Senua is dealing with throughout the story.

Most of Hellblade seems to revolve around Senua’s senses in the environments and landscapes she is searching through. You as the player will have to search throughout the different areas and figure out multiple different puzzles in the game. These puzzles all have meaning within the game which takes on new layers of depth and opens up the world around you.  A lot of these puzzle moments once figured out can be very rewarding as they open up things like hidden paths and because they are all reinforced by the overall story.

hellblade2-1000x600Combat was also a way that brought a lot of interaction with the world and things Senua was a part of.  Hellblades combat was a great experience as well giving you multiple ways to interact with the world around you that paired beautifully with the story and progression system.  I only encountered a few fights where I felt overwhelmed and unable to handle the battle but that was near the end of the story where enemy numbers and difficulty seemed to spike.

This game was beautifully done and the attention to detail that was placed within the atmosphere, storytelling, and mechanics made for a great experience.  Playing as Senua and living out the insanity that was filled in her mind was a different take on a game of this style.  All in all the six or so hour playthrough it took was well worth the time spent seeing what the developers created.  Even though this game came out a couple years ago it’s still well worth a play if you have never experienced it yet.

Netflix’s Marianne – Review

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Marianne-netflix-e1568751912455.jpgNetflix has recently released one of the most terrifying horror originals to date with an eight-episode French horror series called Marianne.

This film kicks things off into high gear right off the bat with very environment rich scary vibes.  Things start off with creaking, old radio sounds, and even a caged crow that sets the tone for how things are going to turn out in this series.  Set in an old fashioned French house things get dark quick but I won’t ruin the first few minutes, so you will have to watch and experience that for yourself.

Our main character of this story Emma Larsimon who is a successful horror novelist is the center of attention in this epic horror that will keep you on the edge.   The horror series that has made her so successful and rich to boot is also probably haunting her and driving her insane.

marianne-bEmma’s books about a demon’s wife are based on her real life nightmares from her teenage years.  Emma now grown up and long moved out of her childhood home goes back to the broken-down coastal town of Elden to check up on her parents.  This checkup quickly turns gruesome for Emma as her past quickly catches up to her and the nightmares she had are now haunting her once again.

As with all horror movies, shows, and stories the delivery is key to bringing a good scare to the audience.  Director Samuel Bodin is a fan boy of the old school eighties horror films so his understanding of how to scare an audience is superb. The eerie coastal setting, mixed with the author of successful horror stories as the main protagonist is genius and extremely well executed in this series.

marianne-review-netflix-676x359This series also had excellent camera footage and great use of drones that were used to grab some amazing shots of the rocky coast line, and dead winter trees that really added a level of suspense to the show.

One of the best parts of the show to me was the main character Emma as she was extremely complex, tough, demanding, and very self-centered.  She has spent most of her life dealing with these nightmares and has used it to become a horror author rock-star per say.  If you are looking for a show with a strong cast, great story and loaded with suspenseful terrifying moments, then you definitely need to check this show out.

Growing Through Blogging

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vintage-typewriterOne of the most daunting tasks in blogging is making a schedule for writing and sticking to it!  Personally, for me, I am a night owl and most of my writing is done late night after the family has found their pillows.  I’ve been blogging a lot over the last few months, as well as spending a lot of time on my fantasy novel which takes most of my brainpower and writing focus.

Outside of the fantasy novel I’m working on, and the increased writing schedule here on the blog all my content has been with my podcast; All Things Geekery that my co-host and I do twice a month.  Podcasting was just the next step for my co-host and I as we had both wanted to get into it for a long time.  I’ve still got a huge passion for writing and always will, but my focus has changed on how that content is published and driven.  Which is all based around the outlets I’ve chosen to create material in like WordPress, Podcasting, Twitch, Writing etc.

My love for writing started when I was a kid and has continued through my adult years and blogging was where this crazy journey really changed things for me.  Blogging is such a great way for writers to grow and connect with an audience or just have that creative outlet for the pure enjoyment of writing. This outlet gives us a way to go in-depth with our topics unlike most social media outlets, aka micro-blogging outlets like Twitter.  I’ve enjoyed blogging for years and it’s given me a place to hang out with others in my little corner of cyber-space.  If you’ve spent any time at all blogging or writing, you know it can be tough and at times brings some stress with it.

So with that being said, here are just a handful of tips I’ve learned over the years which I hope help you all in your writing adventures.

1. WRITE THOSE IDEAS DOWN

You never know when a good blogging idea is going to pop up, so hot those things down!  I personally go old school and use a Moleskine journal for my blogging ideas along with sticky notes, which I use different colors for different topics.  It may sound like madness but it works for me and helps keep me organized for my writing schedules. Especially now that most of my writing is going towards my book.

2. BACKLOG & SCHEDULING

Learn to schedule posts best you can and how they fit into what you want your writing life to look like. If you have time and can do it, schedule posts throughout the week and keep a backlog of posts if you are trying to hit a specific number of posts per week or month that you can quickly choose from.

3. GUEST BLOGGING

Find you some blogging friends that will allow you to do guest blogging, and or co-blogging as that’s a great way to market your content and grow each other’s sites.

4. STOCK UP

You never know when an idea will hit and you’re looking for an image of sorts to show off this lovely idea you want to blog about. Browse through images you want to use for your blog posts and keep a stock in a folder for future posts.  This will help with the last-minute search for an image, though lately, I’ve been making my own depending on the topic.  See what works best for you and your schedule.

5. MAKE A LIST & CHECK IT TWICE

Make yourself a list of items to check before you hit that publish button.

6. BREAK IT UP

Break up your posts into multiple parts if they are running long. This will help keep the reader’s attention and hopefully coming back to check out those next parts.

7. CHAT IT UP

Use those comment sections as it can be a gold mine.  Watch for questions and good topics for conversations and even potential notes for future posts.

8. DON’T SWEAT IT / DON’T STRESS IT

Life happens and if you are like me well then blogging is a hobby, so don’t stress if you don’t make those post counts you wanted.  The best thing to shoot for is consistency but when you can’t don’t sweat it.  I try to post twice a week but that doesn’t always happen.

9. REFURBISH THAT CREATIVITY

Don’t fret about reusing previous posts or topics either.  You don’t want to repost the same exact post you’ve already used, but when you are in a crunch and the creative juices aren’t flowing, then maybe an older post will kickstart things again….rework that thing and use it!

10. LEARN TO HAVE GRACE

Give yourself some grace. This is a journey that should be filled with fun and moments of learning, but also filled with mistakes and curveballs!  When you find that crazy typo or sentence that makes your eye twitch, or just doesn’t make sense at all…..”DON’T WORRY” Learn from those mistakes and let those moments become part of the journey, part of the fun and something that makes you want to become better.

These are my bread and butter items I use whether I’m writing a small blog post, or working on my novel series.  Hopefully, these few items will help you along your writing/blogging journey as much as they have helped me!

Writing A World Of Fantasy

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content-writing-typewriter-paperballs-ss-1920Doing something a little different for today’s post!  I’ve been putting a ton of time into plotting, world-building, and just getting that much needed time into writing on my novel series, so I wanted to share some fun tips I’ve learned along the way about writing in the fantasy genre.

Writing a fantasy novel is great fun – you can literally let your imagination run wild.  It’s a little different when writing a novel set in the real world as unlike books set in a reality where you can use real-life as examples, you’ll have to invent everything in your new fantasy world.  Do you enjoy writing, are you working on a fantasy novel, or have you had the notion to start one?  I hope the next few minutes while reading this helps you no matter what stage you might be in for writing a novel.

One of the best things you could do to kickstart things is to read as many classics as you can find!  No matter the type of book you begin writing this will give you a good idea about what works and what doesn’t.  Remember though that reading other people’s works is something to help with idea spawning and relax your mind.  You must take note not to simply copy the ideas you’ve read from any of the good old classics or other pieces of work you find.  If you find yourself dealing with elves, halflings, and orcs whilst being a reluctant hero on a quest to destroy a powerful item, it’s probably best to scrap it and start again. It is true that all stories are a combination of those the reader has encountered over the years. But, you should always try to find an original angle and it certainly should not be obvious what the source material was. Reading the classics will also allow you to discover how well-crafted characters interact with each other as the story progresses.

Tip 1: Use established myths and legends as the basis for your fantasy world. Think about what your fantasy world might be like.  Do your studying and find out what your world and culture are mostly like….Is it Celtic, Roman, a medieval world or a blend of multiple cultures with your own twist on it? Once you’ve chosen, go and read about the myths and legends that relate to those cultures. The mythological creatures and characters and their stories will give you a great basis for your new world.

Tip 2: Get to know your imaginary world – you need to be able to describe it in detail if you are going to convince your readers, for the duration of the book at least, that it exists. Be thorough and detail everything you can possibly imagine about the world you are creating.

  • Physical – what does your fantasy world look like? Think about and make a note of:
    • the color of the sky
    • what other planets can be seen from the surface
    • whether the air is breathable
    • what the plants look like
    • what creatures live there
    • whether there are seas
    • what the landscape looks like
    • futuristic world or something older
  • Residents – decide who lives in your newly formed fantasy world. You should spend time thinking about how they look, what they eat, how they move, whether they need sleep, how they speak to one another etc…
  • Society – what kind of society exists? Do they need money to buy things? Is there a complex system of politics they follow? Do they have a police force, a king or president? Is there a religion?
  • Special powers/magic – Do the residents have any special powers or use magic? If so, what are they and why do they exist? Does everyone have the use of them or only certain people?

Tip 3: Make your characters believable. This is one of the most essential parts of the book if you want to hook and keep readers interested in the story. A great way to achieve this is to apply logic to every character in every fantasy world you create. This means creating a set of rules that apply to the world and the character. The rules can be based on either real life or they can be simply invented by you.  Remember if you are creating the rules of the world, don’t let a BOX hold you back from being creative.  Sometimes creating our own ways is just the push we need to make that next step in our creative writing.

Tip 4: Make sure you keep careful notes of all the details you invent for your new fantasy world. This will help you maintain continuity throughout the novel. There are many ways of doing this, some writers like to have a set of cards with the details on, others set up spreadsheets; so play around with different systems to find one that suits you the best.  I personally use a book mapping chart I created in excel that helps me track all major parts of the book I need.  I hope these few steps help you get started, or give an idea of what steps to take next in writing your new fantasy novel!

Remember, have fun!! That is the first and foremost thing I can say when writing… Have Fun and lots of it!

Lost in Space Season 2 – Announcement & Official Trailer

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We won’t have to wait much longer for Netflix’s Lost in Space Season 2 as it was just announced at New York’s Comic-Con it’s coming to the streaming service on December 24th, 2019.  Netflix also released the first trailer for season 2 shown below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdwBMPKUV3E

It feels like ages have passed since I finished watching that last episode of Season 1 thinking I can’t wait for Season 2 but that wait is coming to a close very fast.  Season 2 is going to take place seven months after the events of Season 1 wrapping up, and this season is going to have some major plots to work through.  Everyone is a bit older, hopefully wiser, and somewhat battle-scarred from the previous tasks they went through.  So I’m sure we are going to see some of the coming of age drama and the kids taking on a bit more of a grown-up roll.

Netflix also revealed a new cast member is joining the crew for Season 2 which is JJ Field playing the character of Ben Adler, the “Chief of Advanced Systems and Artificial Intelligence”.  This new character seems to have a big tie into the overall larger plot of the story unfolding as a clip shown during the panel had Alder telling the Robinsons of another AI, called Scarecrow which will tie the story together from the mysteries the Robinsons uncovered in Season 1.

lost-in-space-season-2-will-mom.jpgNetflix wasn’t shy about showing new things coming to the show as they also previewed a clip of the Robinsons turning the Jupiter into a “Space Sailboat” to cross a sea on one of the planets they’ve landed on.  It looks like Season 2 will see the Robinsons exploring multiple planets in the five-planet system they discovered at the end of Season 1, and also find out more details about the origins of the mysterious Robot and where it truly came from.   I’m sure throughout the 10 episodes of Season 2 we will see more surprises and mysteries that the Robinsons will have to uncover and of course get themselves out of those tricky situations they are oh so good at.

 

The Beauty & Challenge of Writing Fantasy

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1_gR4JdoxLh-qGgRTWtXLphwSince I’ve been back to a more frequent schedule of writing both on my novel and here on the blog I wanted to take a look at some of the challenges of writing fantasy, scheduling time for it and doing what you love.

First of all, I just want to say how much I love epic fantasy, both as a reader and as a writer. To me, this genre is unmatched in the way you can make anything possible, with no boundaries on your creativity or imagination.  This type of freedom in writing opens up so many possibilities but also brings in a lot of challenges as well.

I think everyone who has put a pen to paper or their fingers on a keyboard has run into the issues of staring at a blank page and thinking about all the things you could put down on the said page. It’s hard because once you start writing, you can and will be constrained at times by what you write on that page.  When that light bulb moment kicks in and the initial idea becomes a reality for you it’s like a thrill ride honestly.  Not really knowing where it’s going to take you, or what is coming up around the corner can be exciting and frighting all in the same moment.

For me, one of the biggest challenges and joys of writing comes with the creative freedom you have over the story and how it’s being told.  Ultimate possibilities are within the power of your fingertips and absolutely no one can tell you what should or shouldn’t be done when writing.  There really isn’t a rule book when it comes to this stuff, as you as the author can invent entire worlds filled with culture, history, and whatever you want it to have.  The challenge though comes in once you start writing those ideas, as it must be consistent across the story just as things would be in real life, but you have a different set of rules you can play by per-say.

Another challenge you will probably encounter is around world-building and unfolding the history and creation in the story itself. I tend to immerse myself in the process, inventing names, cultures, beliefs, trying to envision them all in my head. This is extremely challenging and time-consuming, but once you have that idea solidified like you want it is very rewarding and freeing.

Building characters is also another challenging place when writing. It’s hard to stick to one point of view when writing an epic fantasy novel, so finding a balance between points of view to that character’s personality and connecting them with the audience can be tough.  I’m working on my first novel right now and it’s been a long enjoyable, tiresome, exciting time but the challenges have been overwhelming at times.

Overall I wrestle with myself a lot and the world I’m creating as I will spend hours trying to make things perfect before they ever hit the page.  Unfortunately this has caused a lot of unwritten things that probably could have been written badly and fixed while editing.  I began book plotting which helped with this madness and over the last few years has kept my mind somewhat straight on where the story needed to go…..and allows me to visually see the overall plot, sub-plots, and timeline.  When I began seeing things tie together, I simply could not believe what I was reading honestly.  I was kinda shocked that things were making sense and that what I was reading was working.  Ultimately, seeing this epic story, set in a made-up world come together is my reward.  Having that sense of freedom and joy while writing is hard to explain but for everyone out there who has experienced it and managed to push through the challenges knows how rewarding writing can be.

Keep pushing through those challenges, have fun with your writing, and pursue those dreams as the process of learning and seeing your world come together is so worth it.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Review

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king-of-the-monsters-625x352.pngGodzilla: King of the Monsters quickly sets the tone that it won’t be the same thing we’ve seen in the past. 2014’s Godzilla rebooted the classic king of monsters for modern audiences, but the latest portrayal of the iconic monster gives us huge monsters everywhere within the first few minutes of the film.  If you came to see monsters, then you came to the right spot as this film is loaded with a more classic outlook on Godzilla and other monsters from the past.

This film was well written and directed in my opinion from co-writer and director Michael Dougherty who you might know from an interesting horror film released on Christmas a few years ago called Krampus.  Dougherty has an eye for suspense and building a story, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters wasn’t short on drama, action, or suspense by any means.

Godzilla-KoM-Banner.jpgMonsters everywhere in this film! Besides Godzilla, we get to see classics like Mothra, Rodan, and the Hydra King Ghidorah but this time with a little more classic thrown in that takes you back to their origins.  As for Godzilla, as we saw at the end of the 2014 film, he is clearly set on the side of hero and ready to do battle to help protect humanity. If you came to see an award-winning film loaded with Academy Awards and the best acting you’ve ever seen then this isn’t the film for you.  This is purely an action-packed monster film loaded with HUGE monsters destroying everything they touch.  The human interaction between the monsters is well done in most scenes, between the moments of fear to the occasional understanding that Godzilla is here to help.  All in all the actors pulled off a fun and exciting movie that was a blast to watch and fun to see what the director had around each corner.

TITANS_GODZILLA_KING-OF-THE-MONSTERS_.jpgWe came to see Godzilla kick some monster butt, and this film delivered on that more so than any other to date including a massive monster battle including an exciting, final battle between all the monsters.  King of the Monsters keeps you engaged with its story, monsters, explosions, and more…..and if you are a Godzilla fan then this movie is everything you could have possibly hoped for.  The film looks absolutely amazing with its impressive beasts, to technology it brings.  One major thing King of the Monsters did was to give the audiences MONSTERS and a lot of them as the 2014 Godzilla film was a bit lacking, but I’m excited about the next installment…..that is if they pursue the little hook they left at the end of the film.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Review

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twdreview-header-1553558145028I’ve waited a long time to write this review on a game series that has become one of my all-time favorite stories…ever!

The Walking Dead: The Final Season makes a farewell to Clementine in a very spectacular way honestly.  For the last seven years, Clementine has been protecting her little companion A.J. just like Lee had done for her in the first season of the game.  What Lee did for her in the first season created a survival instinct within Clementine that is unrivaled by almost no one.  This survival instinct is what has kept her and A.J. alive all these years.

The Final Season is one of the most focused arc’s if not the most in the series since its debut back in 2012.  The adopted mother/son dynamic between Clementine and A.J. create one of the best story dynamics the series has seen to date.  This story also offers us something new with a different perspective about the walkers, which is weird to think about but after so many years of this game, the story attempts to show us that the walkers were once human before the outbreak.  To me, the game is really trying to point at something new that we haven’t seen yet and that is one of breaking a cycle, one of possibly breaking old habits and living in this world differently.

images (3).jpgOn an episode by episode basis, I think the Final Season brings a good close to a great series and the studio that started it all.  We get to see a mix of moments between dull and dragging, to cringe-worthy and exciting but the final destination of this game is well worth the time put in to get there.  Each episode has at least two or three pivotal moments that made me feel like reloading my save and making the other choice, only to realize that either way would leave me with mixed emotions.  When a story-based game can create hard decisions personally for you as the player then the developers have done an amazing job in my opinion! After knowing these characters in-game for so long it’s hard to make different choices aka break those cycles like we talked about earlier, but change is necessary for this game and the characters have a chance to change their ways and so do you as the player.

There were some big mechanical changes from previous seasons mainly around camera control which was an interesting feature.  Basically, the camera now allows you some third-person views and giving you full control of the camera during combat.  This feature definitely brings a new level of dynamic fighting and hectic moments. Even though this system does allow full camera control, and brings some new action to the game when encountering the Walkers, it is not without its flaws!  For one the playable area for each scene is confined which makes running into those invisible walls a very frustrating common thing in the game, and another is the noticeable framerate drops when encountering big herds of Walkers. Overall, the third-person action sequences work well, but more often than not the free-roaming camera sequence has a negative effect on the game experience.

the-walking-dead-the-final-season.jpgWith all this said I think The Walking Dead: The Final Season does a fantastic job bringing you on a journey and discovering more about the relationship between Clementine and A.J. – Which honestly produced some of the craziest situations, and hardest decisions/choices ever in the game series to date. At times, the story gets clogged up with this new free-roaming gameplay feature, and the onslaught of new characters introduced that never get fully developed.  Each episode though did have a very satisfying conclusion and wrap up that set up an amazing end to the final game.  We ended the game on a bittersweet note especially since this was the last game TellTale worked on before shutting down, which really hit home in how they did the ending for Clem and this amazing story that’s unfolded over the last seven years.