Arkham Knight

Well, it TAKES place on Halloween after all.

Marvelous and rich finale towards the Arkham Batman games, Arkham Knight is the first next generation entry and for the first time, you will be able to control the Batmobile and perform neat tricks with it.

After Arkham City's conclusion and Joker's death, Scarecrow has returned to let Gotham be imprisoned by fear and he is determined to suffer Batman and end his legend. Working together with the mysterious Arkham Knight, a militarized villain, they plot together with the other notorious rogues including Two-Face, The Penguin and The Riddler in order to finally put down the Bat.

With a huge city to explore comprised of 3 main islands, the adventure has never been bigger. The excellent gameplay variety includes stealth, combat, detective work and now also road action. The majority of Batman's gadgets return alongside newer ones, and the cast is rich, huge and it contains the perfect excuse to bring Joker back, deepening his relationship with the Bat even further.

I very much enjoyed Alfred's company, Riddler's usual ridiculous amount of obsessive riddles to be solved, doing the Most Wanted side quests and seeing the plot twist unfold as well as seeing the complete ending in this long night.

The Batmobile felt extreme and polarizing at first compared to Batman's golden rule of not killing, but it actually is a necessity against the drone threats and at best it serves as collatoral damage as designed such by Lucius Fox.

As the largest entry, there is of course a lot of stuff to do. Some of the new Most Wanted intrigued me more than others. Man-Bat's intro spooked the shit out of me as I traveled on a random rooftop. And several of Joker's hallucinations as well actually!

Professor Pyg's debut is also in here, and he's the most interesting and modern rogue villain as a psychopath if you ask me, with an obsession of about beauty and he is also leader of the Circus of Strange.

Joker's unique role and perfect excuse for returning instead of being actually alive made him even better and more complete than before, and it's great that Mark Hamill also returned for this!  The way the clown and bat confront each other at the climax is also twisted.

Arkham Knight is a great closure for the series, but considering that Batman is more popular than ever arguably, I am sure that he will return when speaking of video games, it's just that the story ought to be approached differently then.

Happy Halloween!

Rating: 9.2

Cold Fish

 

A strong and chilling Japanese thriller where extreme gore, pure black comedy, suspense and a compelling story come together in order to create a worthwhile shocking movie to consider.

In the likes of The Untold Story(1993), Cold Fish parallels Mr.Shamoto's quiet yet dramatic life, until he and his family in a twist of faith encounter a middle aged business rival; Mr.Murata. They are both tropical fish sellers, but it becomes clear that Murata has a better shop.

Not only that, the energic salesman happens to be quite enthusiastic about their sudden meeting at a supermarket, and he decides to keep in touch. And by keeping in touch, he eventually succeeds in letting Shamoto's daughter work for him and letting his wife discuss the future of Mikuto, the daughter at Amazon Gold.

Instead, he enters the dilemma of the family and proceeds by raping Shamoto's wife, and who knows what Murata does with all of his workers under him. After attempting to make Shamoto his new business partner, the quiet protagonist gets the shock of his life when he becomes an accomplice during a business meeting, where he is ordered to take the numb body to a hidden shack.

There, Mr.Murata and his vicious and maniac wife slaughter the whole body of a former business partner into flesh and bare bones, and proceed to eliminate both, thus making the person "invisible". And this is all happening at a fast pace in just around 40 minutes in while the whole movie is about 150 minutes.

Murata keeps making the life of Shamoto especially a living hell, by blackmailing and abusing him. We never get to know much about Shamoto, but is is clear that he is a coward and is clueless about solving difficult issues.

After the latest "invisible" events, Murata provokes and judges Shamoto's whole life so much that the latter finally goes into a rage and during a twisted fuck between Murata's wife and Shamoto, he heavily wounds both of them by the use of a pen, and has taken matters into his own hands.

I must say that he performance of Murata is deliciously enjoyable to watch and like the villain in I Saw the Devil or Anthony Wong in his CAT III movies, he is a worthy and memorable man you will love to hate.

Anyway once Murata is dead, Shamoto becomes the new Murata and brutally controls his wife and daughter while Murata's wife is his as well. In the end he became a worthy successor after all, but decides to suicide in order to end the pain. This is Shion Sono's best yet.

Rating: 7.5

Until Dawn

 

 

A phenomenal new horror game that is clearly a love letter towards the whole genre, Until Dawn is a surprise hit with interesting features. Designed by Supermassive Games to be replayed several times in order to grasp the full picture, this long night will surely suck you in.

A group of 8 friends (and more or less 4 couples) decide to hold a somewhat awkward reunion in a lodge at Blackwood Pines in order to commemorate/pay respects towards two twin sisters who died of unknown reasons a year earlier.

Playing from a third person perspective, you are able to control all 8 characters during the various chapters coming along. They were all likable to me except for Emily, who really seemed to be narcissistic and ego-centered to me.

The scenery is snow oriented, and to me, the developers did a really good job with realistic graphics for the environments and the locations did not only include the lodge and the snowy hills, but also dark mines and a sanatorium, alongside a few smaller buildings.

The same cannot entirely be said for the animations of the characters themselves. For the most part, they look just fine, but at some points, I couldn't help but notice that their facial expressions were quite weird despite this being a horror game.

It's still quite cool how all of them are based of real actors, such as Rami Malek playing Josh, the host of the reunion. And I wouldn't be surprised if more developers would pursue this concept and use more actors for upcoming games, especially if they are AAA.

When eight friends become trapped on a remote mountain getaway gone wrong, things quickly turn sinister and they start to suspect they aren’t alone. Every choice the player makes while playing as each of the eight friends – even the seemingly trivial ones – will carve out a unique story. The player's actions alone determine who survives until dawn.

The Butterfly Effect is intact, meaning that the slightest impact of the moral and survival choices being made could determine a total different ending. There are HUNDREDS of endings possible, from everyone surviving, towards no one surviving at all.

Scares in here range from psycho pranks and jump scares, towards hallucinations, gory deaths and the gruesome Wendigo's, who were normal humans once who worked into the dark mines with dangerous obstacles. It also turns out that Hannah, one of Josh's twin sisters, has turned into one of them, and depending on the outcome of your progression, she/it could be responsible for the deaths of the cast.

The Dr.Hill "sessions" are very reminiscent of Silent Hill Shattered Memories, only that this time, they deteriorate and get worse as it becomes clear that the doctor isn't entirely friendly and could very well be a fake persona instead.

Fixed camera angles with occasional "swooping" as characters traverse into other area's was designed with the utmost effect and care, as they heightened the suspension and eventual scares, just like Resident Evil and Silent Hill used to do as well.

Until Dawn is not a contender for one of the scariest video games ever, but it easily attempted something different what with the Butterfly Effect being intact, the possibility of seeing futuristic outcomes through the Totem System, and having a ton of possible endings, meaning that there most likely is no official ending, until Supermassive Games decides to make a direct sequel. 

Sometimes the scary elements went a bit overboard, but in overall, there are definitely some effective ones to be found. And now that I have beaten it once, I cannot wait to replay Until Dawn and collect the other clues in order to know more about what happened or could happen!

Rating: 8.3

The Mummy! Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century

 

No, this is not a mummy novel based on the Universal Studios films. This is more based on what Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel inspired it to be, which is science fiction with horror. Written by Jane C. Loudon, this is not a recommendable book.

But since I was curious to discover this to be one of the earliest examples of a "Mummy's curse", I gave it a try. What I found out upon completing the story is that there is a lack of imagination, horror or admirable writing to be found in my opinion.

There were too many characters involved for this type of literature to co-exist, and since it was happening so far into the future, why did monarchies still exist? Why was there so much political talk about sovereign topics? Or am I simply unable to grasp the author's vision here anno 1827?

The mummy resurrected in question, called Cheops, merely manipulates and makes slaves of others while not really acting like a mummy itself, but more of a diabolical presence who inspired vice actions from the others.

Believe me, the way I attempt to summarize this is more exciting to read than the novel itself, it's not like it's a true classic compared to the other two novels I reviewed this month. But since I am always inclined to go as far back as possible in regards to experiencing all kinds of mediums through their origins, I did the same here.

And The Mummy! did not deliver.

Rating: *(out of 4)

Ghosts 'N Goblins

Capcom's Ghosts 'N Goblins is an old school title from the Arcade, Commodore 64 and the NES where you play as Sir Arthur who is determined to rescue his princess. As a platformer, the NES version of which I will review now is in particular truly difficult.

To start with, in order to see the true ending, you will have to beat the whole game twice. It's sort of similar towards The Legend of Zelda having 2 different quests as well, as well as several other NES games.

The intense difficulty comes from several factors. First of all, after getting hit two times, you are dead, which actually is similar towards Super Mario Bros. when I think about it, but there are more handicaps other than health points.

Second, the jumping manoeuvre for this as well as latter Ghosts 'N Goblins feels stiff, and I never really liked it, unlike other platformers from the same era, like Castlevania. There's a limited amount of freedom involved letting you only jump forward, upward or backward, but never more than that.

Third, there is one enemy in particular that will annoy the shit out of everyone attempting to beat this. They are the Red Gargoyles who fly around quite randomly and unexpected. Ironically, these enemies spawned a spin-off series called Gargoyle's Quest.

Other than the brutal difficulty, Ghosts 'N Goblins is a short and average session for me, but i do like the horror mood and graphics and sounds it provides, making it a memorable title even though it is by far not one of my favorites on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Rating: 6.4

SOMA

Frictional Games has been known for Amnesia and the Penumbra series previously. Now they have created SOMA, which is ultimately more of the same kind of gameplay, which makes it tedious, but it has without a doubt the best setting, writing and plot themes.

You awaken on the underwater research facility known as PATHOS-2, where scientists and engineers have worked together on marine based technology and sustainability, as well as a project called ARK, meant to safe humanity.

SOMA is a science fiction survival horror game with control mechanics very similar to Amnesia such as having no combat, being able to hide and being advised not to look at the enemies, which are by the way quite dissapointing.

Simon and Catherine are the main characters, but they aren't humans anymore. As the plot develops, you will learn more about what went horribly wrong on the surface, at PATHOS-2 and at of course themselves. Let's just say that terms such as transhumanism, cancer and evolution are all relative and part of the premise.

Despite their lack of humanity(depending on your perspective and opinion), the relationship between Simon and Catherine was still very human like. And the goal of reaching the ARK while going through various facilities reminded me kind of the route the space marine took with Doom 3.

As far as interactivity and puzzles go, SOMA did a fine job with those, as there was diversity to be found, and there was almost no hand-holding to be found. The pacing was once again content but I wouldn't want to replay this anytime soon.

Again, the various terminals reminded me of Doom 3's GUI as well. The Omnitool is simply a plot device with upgradable chips which allow you to get further in the game. How SOMA ends is depressing as well as hopeful, making it a highlight.

However, on a whole, I feel that Frictional Games needs to step up their innovation in regards to gameplay and mechanics if you ask me. SOMA is good for a run, but I feel that if their next project will be similar, then their reputation will start to plunder.

Rating: 7.3

The Evil Within

Shinji Mikami's apparent swan song is flawed, but in the end the good outweighs the bad. The Evil Within is a survival horror set from a third person perspective, where you plas as a dull detective named Sebastian, and together with the forgettable Kidman and Joseph, they must uncover the mystery behind Ruvik's supernatural doings.

Or is it perhaps all inside an evil mind? Taking you to illogical nightmarish places full of traps and horrific monsters, the pacing can be felt with plenty of tension, and the games does a good job with atmosphere and jump scares, for the most part.

I noticed way too many technical issues and some poor design decisions which reminded me of The Evil Within's familiar but tiresome gameplay. Obvious nods towards his great games Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 are present, mostly in the form of the mechanics and specific locations with their objects, and resources are for the most part scarce, or at least way lower than for instance Resident Evil 5 and 6.

I thought that the burning aspect with the matches was noticable, but maybe they should had done some more with it. Upgrading your gear is done in the form of a mysterious hospice scene that keeps coming back in the plot itself as well, and you must collect jars with green ooze and hidden keys in order to prepare yourself towards the evil dangers.

Another thing that bothered me is the game's many one hit kill attacks from several enemies, mostly the bosses, but on the other hand, you are equipped with ranged weaponry, and the AI isn't so smart. So the plot and writing were bad, but some of the special effects so to speak were well done.

I was hoping to see a bit more variety in regards to monster design, because I was led to believe that The Evil Within would be some kind of all-stars monsters based title judging from the trailers.

Rating: 7.7