It's been so, so long since I've given a shit about the Survivor Series PPV (let alone watched one all the way through), and for the first time in years, I am willing to watch the whole thing. This year is special, too, as the main roster is getting their first pair of WarGames matches. Let's talk about the matches.
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This playthrough is a bit of an interesting one given the backstory behind my discovery of it. BACKGROUND:
To set the stage a little bit, I must first mention that early in 2020, my college friends started a group chat to expand our friends list for the new Animal Crossing game that just came out. We'd been having fun passing the time during lockdown just playing among ourselves, but we had the thought to create this group and include friends of ours outside of college who also owned the game. I added some of my childhood friends from grade school, my old classmates added their former coworkers, and so on. I promise this is going to make sense in a second. Long story short, fun times were had in Animal Crossing, and I met some nice, new people in the process. One of those people happened to be heavily involved in the development of Good Knight. They promoted their game in the chat, and that's how I heard about it. I thought it was a neat take on the classic bullet hell genre at first glance, but I sadly couldn't find an opportunity to pick up the game due to shifting priorities at the time. Better late than never, I suppose. Oh, it is imperative that I point out that me knowing someone in the dev team had no influence in what I have to say in this post. I was not paid to talk about the game, nor did I receive the game for free. You're out of your goddamn mind if you think me running this blog comes with benefits like that. PLOT: Your character is an unnamed knight who descends to the depths of hell to save the soul of their lover. Now, I know what you're thinking: you've heard that story before. For the most part, sure, the story is exactly what you assume it is (hero goes through literal hell for love), but a key reveal early on subverted my expectations. Without giving away too much, this little twist takes heavy inspiration from the Philippine era of Spanish occupation and explores a specific theological wrinkle in the Spaniards' efforts to convert the Filipinos of that era to Christianity. I was pleasantly surprised that these elements were tackled in an otherwise story-light game. It's not everyday I see my people's history serve as a foundation for the story of a video game, let alone a game that explores a less glamorous part of that history. Though there's hardly any dialogue, the specific reason the knight's lover is in hell to begin with was sufficiently compelling to me. Hell itself features figures and creatures from Philippine myth, folklore, literature, and even history, which was equally delightful to see. PRESENTATION: The art style has a cel-shaded look to it, and one thing I found notable is how key visual elements (like your character) have a bold outline, reminding me vaguely of games like Street Fighter IV or Okami. Given the volume of stimuli in this game, this outlining works extremely well in highlighting important gameplay elements. The 3D character models look simple for the most part (no intricate detail or textures), but their designs are more than enough to make them stand out. In particular, I really liked the take on the classic creatures of Philippine folklore, like the kapre and the tikbalang. The default knight looks neat, but you can swap out your player character with a small assortment of other charming characters. Speaking of stimuli, there is a lot of shit going on onscreen at any given moment. It's typically a worry of mine with games like this that you would get quickly overwhelmed as an avalanche of horseshit comes raining down on you. What this game does intelligently in terms of keeping order with its chaotic visuals is using elements like color to indicate what the player's focus should be on. Even with 17 trillion fucking pellets moving around on my screen, I was never really in a position where I went "goddamn it I can't tell what's happening." Granted, my prior experience with shmups may have had a hand in why I can process anything that's going on, but it's nonetheless impressive how the game handles making its seemingly senseless array of infinite bullets make sense visually. Of course, not everyone may have experience with bullet hell games, and thus this game will understandably just seem like an assault on the senses. There are a few accessibility options that help tone a few visual elements down (including a colorblind option), though they'll only go so far in helping you process what's happening. I also liked how surprisingly dynamic the camera is in this game. Typically, shmups/bullet hell games are locked in 2D, and this game takes advantage of the fact that it's in 3D for some cool transition shots or different gameplay angles. I will say it goes overboard when bullets start flying into the foreground. Though this never impeded my progress, I can see this being needlessly distracting for some players. Thankfully, these moments are few and far between, and distractions aside, it's a neat way to immerse the player in the action. The music in this game is phenomenal across the board. The tracks lean heavily towards metal for its sound, which is absolutely perfect for the frenetic chaos of the gameplay. It delighted me to hear both thrash-style shredding and epic power metal melodies reminiscent of DragonForce, and I was impressed by the equally heavy use of symphonic instruments like pianos for that extra flair. GAMEPLAY: Good Knight is, on the surface, a bullet hell game. This is typically known as a subgenre of shoot-'em-ups, and they are characterized by a screen constantly filled with enemy bullets. Typically, the main idea with games of this nature is more to survive than it is to kill the things shooting bullets at you, and that holds mostly true here. However, Good Knight has a couple of key differences that make it stand out from other bullet hells I've seen. Shmups usually give you free movement of your character of your ship in the field. In Good Knight, that is not the case. The knight simply runs in a circle automatically (either around the outside of the inner circle, or the inner edge of the outer circle), and the only action you can take is press one button to change the direction of your rotation. This may sound restrictive given the nature of the game, but it is actually more than enough to get you through the imminent wave of bullshit coming your way. In fact, I think the fact that you can only do so much allows you to focus on the bullets, since you're not stressing out about where exactly in 2D space you should be moving. That works to the game's benefit, as I'll explain shortly. It is not incorrect to assume that quick reflexes will help you succeed in this game. Many of the challenges will have you weaving through projectiles by quickly going back and forth, and those are pretty satisfying to get through. However, this game encourages you to think beyond being reactive and rewards you for actually observing the patterns of the bullets. Now, you may think that this is asking a lot considering, well, it's a fucking bullet hell. But as I said before, this game does a great job of helping you find order within the chaos. Incoming bullets (and their eventual movement pattern) are telegraphed in some way, differently colored bullets tell you where to focus your attention (or even hint at where you should position yourself), and best of all, death is of little consequence. Retries are infinite, and checkpoints are aplenty, so you need not feel bad about getting stuck. The game sells itself as a sort of bullet hell puzzle game, and that's an apt way of describing what this experience is. Survival is predicated on figuring out the bullet pattern and moving accordingly, rather than simply reacting to what's immediately happening and adjusting on the fly (which is usually near-impossible since you can only flip your movement so fast). I wasn't exclaiming "oh god, I survived" whenever I got past a section; I was saying "fuck yeah, I figured out the pattern." That, to me, is really satisfying, since it means I succeeded with my skill instead of scraping by with dumb luck. It felt awesome to see the code Matrix-style and figure out exactly where I should position myself and how I should be moving (or, in a few spectacular moments, realize that I didn't need to be doing anything at all). Some sections spawn a barrier in the middle that you have to use to shield yourself from incoming projectiles, while others get rid of this and have you ducking and weaving for your life. Most bullet hells tend to leave you out in the open, so I liked the different dynamic the barrier provided. The enemies that show up serve more to indicate where bullets will be coming from, and it's absolutely not required to kill them. Killing them is a tricky challenge in itself, as you either have to flip your rotation when you're in front of them (which can send you into a projectile) or hold the button and aim a reticle to shoot projectiles of your own (which requires you to divide your attention between looking at what you're aiming at and at the shit coming at you). Interestingly, holding the button to shoot slows down your movement, which can be used to deal with some bullet patterns. In certain sections, wiping out all the enemies lets you use a time skip, which shaves off a few seconds and lets you move onto the next section. It's not necessary to succeed, but I can see the mechanic being a crucial part of any speedruns of this game. Someone should definitely try and speedrun this game. There is a proper slowdown mechanic that you can take advantage of, tied to a second button. Full disclosure: I did not use this at any point during my playthrough, so I can't speak to how helpful it is. I found that the game is more than manageable at normal speed (although again, that may be due to my experience). You are even awarded for beating levels without using slow motion. The game has multi-phase boss fights, though you don't have to actively fight them as your character shoots them automatically. These aren't any different from most other sections apart from the spectacle, though I found the boss phases where the barrier is present remarkable. You can't shoot the boss from behind the barrier, and I found the challenge of juggling the usual dodging of bullets with staying in range to be an engaging one. As of this writing, there are three difficulty modes, each adjusting projectile quantity and projectile speed. The main ones are Pain Kink and Normal Hell, which are easy and normal respectively (with the third, hilariously called Filipino difficulty, still not available). I played in Normal Hell, which is split into twelve levels: the six main story chapters, and their respective True Hell versions that are slightly remixed and are more difficult. Pain Kink doesn't have True Hell levels and simply takes you through the story chapters. Strangely, you have to beat the True Hell version of a chapter before unlocking the next chapter. That really killed the pacing for me since I had to play through pretty much the same thing twice in a row before moving on. I would have preferred if the True Hell versions were optional in this case for the sake of keeping things fresh; also, I can imagine a few players being confused/annoyed that they have to "repeat" a level to progress. Chapters themselves are split into two "spirals," each with a set number of bullet hell puzzles to navigate. The total number of puzzles in the chapter is indicated on the lower right, and you even have a timer that shows you how long you have until the next puzzle starts. I didn't keep watch over this all that much, but it is really nice to have an indicator of progress always visible for a game that's basically a gauntlet of challenges. The game has a scoring system, with separate scores per chapter. Actions like killing enemies, near-misses with projectiles, and even flipping your rotation to the beat of the music rack up points. Multipliers are the most important aspect of scoring, and the only way to rack that up is by getting to checkpoints unscathed. Dying halves your multiplier, so if you want a higher score, you'll have to be that damn good. And yes, there are leaderboards. Every end of a chapter has various medal rewards for certain achievements (score milestones, low death threshold, not using slow motion, etc.), as well as a letter rating for overall performance. If you're an achievement hunter, there's no shortage of them to earn here. You'll unlock alternate ways to play chapters after beating them once. One is the pacifist mode, which just disallows you from killing enemies. There's also the custom mode, which allows you to modify or randomize various aspects. If that's not enough, the game also has a boss rush mode (where you take on the bosses in random order) and a daily map to try everyday. Though the game is pretty much content-complete, the game's still in Early Access with a few ancillary features missing besides the hardest difficulty I mentioned earlier. There's a gallery that's tied to a cumulative score meter, but you can't view stuff yet. There's also supposed to be an online multiplayer mode, but the only thing currently functional is the local multiplayer. I have not yet tried multiplayer, but it appears to support up to four players, which sounds like utter chaos. The game shows its personality via the myriad of death messages that pop up when you die. These range from memes (both Filipino and English), various Filipino expressions/slang, swearing or lowbrow jokes, pop culture references (including some pro wrestling references, which I appreciate), and straight up non sequiturs. There's even a Toasty-style Easter egg where pictures of who I assume are the devs pop in briefly (which tells me that someone on here is a Mortal Kombat fan). The humor's not going to be for everybody given how random it can be; some references may also go over your head, and the heavy use of Filipino is an obvious language barrier outside the ol' archipelago. That said, it's here I can tell that the team behind this had a lot of fun making the game. VERDICT: Good Knight takes the seemingly ridiculous concept of a one-button bullet hell game and executes it marvelously in my view. The approach to reframe the game's many bullet hell challenges as a pattern to decipher and simplifying movement to be consistent made taking on the games many chapters an utterly satisfying experience. Add a surprisingly inspired story and a fantastic soundtrack into the mix and you have one of the most fun games I've played this year. I'm not too compelled to go leaderboard chasing (one of my friends has an ungodly, astronomical score that I don't want to even try to beat), but I can see myself replaying this on occasion to improve my skill. This might be a daring thing to say, but I think this is a really good introduction to bullet hell games for people unfamiliar to the genre. Granted, it's a departure from the conventions of the genre, but the fact that it teaches players to find the order in the chaos of bullets is a skill that will translate to other bullet hell games. The game's clear visual language also makes parsing the chaos impressively easy, and along with some accessibility options, newcomers have ways to ease themselves into things. I recommend trying this game regardless of your genre inclinations (especially if you feel like this isn't a game for you); you might be shocked to find yourself actually enjoying this. What are you waiting for? Here's the Steam link. Go on: Good Knight on Steam (steampowered.com) Listen to the stellar soundtrack on Spotify here: Spotify – Good Knight: Anthems of the Lost - end - It's been a hot minute since I've read a manga, so let's fix that. BACKGROUND:
Haven't heard of this one, either. SUMMARY: Those Snow White Notes follows the story of Setsu Sawamura, a young shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument) player who loses his passion for playing after the tragic passing of his grandfather Matsugoro (who was a shamisen player himself and served as Setsu's mentor). Setsu's grief causes him to leave his home for Tokyo, where he struggles to adjust with city life. Volume 1 is split into three chapters. The first shows what happens upon Setsu's arrival in Tokyo. He gets into a bit of trouble, but is bailed out by Yuna Tachiki, a gravure model looking to break into show business. Yuna helps Setsu out by letting him crash in her apartment, and the two get to know each other in the process. Yuna is inspired by Setsu's playing of the shamisen, although Setsu himself is still struggling to find that drive to play again. Along the way, Setsu meets Taketo, Yuna's boyfriend and the front man for a band called Pink Punk Gadget. The two come into conflict largely due to Taketo's asshole demeanor, which eventually leads to some trouble when the band is set to play a concert. The situation escalates to the point where Setsu gets caught in the middle of a big fight between Yuna and Taketo, though things end on a bittersweet yet hopeful note. In the second chapter, Setsu is sought out by Umeko, his rich absentee mother. After arguing with Wakana (Setsu's elder brother), Umeko goes to Tokyo and takes Setsu against his will (though an argument can be made that he's underage anyway) to live with her. Umeko persuades Setsu to keep playing the shamisen, as well as to attend high school (to which Setsu objects). This leads in seamlessly into the last chapter of the volume, where we get to see Setsu on his first days at school. Here, he happens to meet Shuri Maeda, who herself is an aspiring shamisen player looking to start a club in school. The more significant element of this volume, however, is Wakana coming to Tokyo to meet up with Setsu. Wakana was understandably worried about Setsu storming off to the city in his grief, and the two get an opportunity to hash things out. I was a little taken aback by how the first chapter felt disconnected from the rest of the book. It seemed like the story was building up the rest of the series to be all about Setsu and Yuna, but Yuna doesn't actually factor into anything past this initial chapter. I suppose it serves its purpose in setting up Setsu's early days in Tokyo, and Yuna's story (which is all about her struggle with getting her big break) concludes itself in a way I found satisfactory. The Taketo stuff felt like it was just there to add a wrinkle to Setsu and Yuna's early relationship, though it does lead into something that seems like would be important later in the story. The rest of the book touches on Umeko's strained relationship with her children, and that friction is largely due to the fact that Umeko is kind of a shithead. We also see the beginnings of Setsu's struggle as the new kid in school, though his meeting with Shuri appears to be setting up what he'll be focusing on in later volumes. We also get to see a bit of Wakana's relationship with Setsu, as he supports his younger brother's journey while still also being worried about him. Setsu's central struggle isn't so much with the grief of losing his grandfather, but with the lessons his grandfather left behind. Matsugoro insisted that Setsu try to find his own way to play instead of emulating someone else's style, and to find his reason to play. Throughout the story, Setsu finds great difficulty in finding that drive to keep playing, and he also struggles with coming to terms with his actual skill in playing the instrument. It's a bit of imposter syndrome mixed with that classic journey of finding one's purpose, and hell if that ain't relatable. While I have heard the shamisen before, I do not know much about the nuances of the instrument. The manga introduces and explains some concepts related to playing styles, as well as gives an overview of the physical attributes of the instrument itself. What we have here is informative, though the book did leave me wanting something more in-depth. That's just my natural inquisitive self, though. The art is more or less solid in my eyes in terms of that mix of detailed drawings and silly character expressions, though the style itself isn't too different from stuff I've seen before. What I did found notable is how bloody massive the eyes are on some of the female characters. VERDICT: I can't say I'm fully invested in Those Snow White Notes quite yet, as this first volume feels like it's still laying the foundations for the rest of the story. That said, I found Setsu's struggles to be unique given it all revolves around his desire to emulate his grandfather's skill with the shamisen, but it's nonetheless relatable in the sense that the struggles are rooted in self-doubt and the need to find oneself. We don't get to spend a ton of time with the supporting cast, but I liked how Yuna's story resolves (even if it feels like an unrelated chapter in the overall story) and am intrigued by how Umeko not being mother of the year will lead to conflict later down the line. I feel like this is one of those stories that takes a while to get the ball rolling. As such, it may be a better idea to read more than one volume in one sitting as opposed to starting with just this one. - end - The co-op crew just finished another one of these games, which means I'm ready to talk about this. BACKGROUND:
One of my friends in my college gaming group played this long before us and put it forward as the next co-op project for everyone. The rest of the group (myself included) thought it was an interesting game, but we resolved to wait for a sale given its current price point. Things got incredibly interesting during Halloween weekend, as the game became free to try for a few days. Thanks to a long weekend brought on by holidays, we took the time to try the game through Halloween. We ended up sinking an ungodly amount of time over just two days, and before we knew it, we were close to clearing all the content currently available in the game. We all agreed to just buy the game (which was thankfully on sale) so we could all keep playing. That alone should speak to how much we enjoyed the experience. PLOT: V Rising takes place in the world of Vardoran, a fantasy realm where vampires lurk in the shadows. Long ago, Dracula and his cohorts ruled the land, but humanity rose above and conquered the evil. Now, you play as one of many vampires who have awakened after a long slumber, and it's time for you to take back what you've lost. Unfortunately, that's as far as the story goes, as once you're thrown into the game, it's all about building yourself up and reestablishing your kingdom. It's a bit of a missed opportunity that little is explored since they give you bits of lore for the named characters, and some of the locales are interesting. That said, the lack of focus on the story didn't affect my enjoyment of the game. PRESENTATION: The 3D art style leans toward realistic for elements like the environment and most objects, but most character models take on a simpler style of their own that makes them stand out. In terms of customization, you have a few options for your character, but you have to really zoom the gameplay in to appreciate your look. Somewhat appropriately, the aesthetic of the structures you can build look rather gothic in style. The music tends to be more on the chill side, but also still has that eerie gothic vibe that complements the setting of the game. I think it sets the mood just fine, but since I played this game with friends and our comms took precedence, it's not an element that crossed my mind all that much. GAMEPLAY: V Rising is equal parts Diablo-style dungeon crawler action and open world survival crafting gameplay. As mentioned, you play as a nameless vampire, and the main idea is to terrorize Vardoran for blood and resources so you can build a castle and conquer the mortal realm. In its current state, the open world is pretty large, with plenty of points of interest and places from which to gather resources. There are a good number of open spots you can begin building your castle, as well as a lot of human settlements you can pillage for resources. You'll have to explore the place the old-fashioned way at first, but you'll eventually unlock fast travel points and even find horses to speed things up. The default setting, however, prohibits the use of fast travel when holding resources, but we turned that off because that's a pain in the ass. You might be a powerful vampire, but that also means you're susceptible to all the traditional weaknesses. Walking around during daytime literally sets you on fire, but as long as you stick to the shadows, you can explore the outside with little issue. Some human settlements are also protected with garlic that will weaken you, picking up silver damages you the more you collect (and you need silver for crafting in the late game), some enemies use fire attacks, and there are locations like cathedrals or monasteries that are protected with some divine power. I thought the implementation of all these weaknesses was clever overall, though I feel like they could have gone a little deeper with some of them (like having more enemy types wielding silver weaponry or using garlic-laced potions). I also found amusement in the reversal on the typical convention in that exploring during the day is dangerous, though our group has joked about how an umbrella or a hoodie would solve 90% of our exploration struggles. Your character can equip a number of armor pieces that raise your HP, as well as a small assortment of weapons with different attack patterns and differing resource-gathering specialties (axes harvest trees better, maces do better damage on rocks, etc.). The weapons become more fun as you gain access to higher rarity versions of them, as you'll eventually unlock secondary and tertiary weapon skills that can help in battle (like the sword's spin attack, or the ability to throw the spear). I felt like the armor sets could have been more interesting than "higher number = better defense," as there are set bonuses for equipping more than one piece from the same set, but there are only a handful of armor sets that actually give out bonuses. The only armor piece you can equip that gives me the variety I was hoping for are the various jewelry/pendants, as they provide a wider variety of bonuses like critical rate boosts, reduced ability cooldowns, and other interesting buffs. Perhaps I'm just spoiled from Monster Hunter having so many armor sets that provide meaningful gameplay changes, but I'd have loved more of this for the main armor pieces. Instead of your character's level being tied to grinding XP by beating the shit out of enemies, level is actually tied to your gear. Each piece of equipment has a specific gear level value, and your actual level is the sum total of all your equipped gear. I can't really tell how exactly this has an impact on enemy encounters (whether enemy stats scale based on the ratio of your level and theirs), but I did find it to be an incredibly reliable metric to show if I was adequately equipped to face an enemy. Base-building has an interesting restriction, as you must first build a Castle Heart (constructed partly from the Blood Essence you acquire from fallen enemies) and have every structure you want connected to it. Your options are limited at first, and the space available to you isn't much, but as you find rarer resources and progress the game, you're able to upgrade the Castle Heart to expand your territory and gain access to more interesting structures. The Castle Heart also must remain empowered with Blood Essence, else your castle will be susceptible to damage. For reasons I will explain later on, this particular mechanic was irrelevant to our co-op playthrough. The most important structures you'll be making (apart from your standard storage containers and, you know, walls and doors) are the many crafting stations and such that let you make important items like potions, armor, tools, and weapons, combine raw materials to create refined resources (e.g. ore to ingots, hide to leather, etc.), and even generate mobs like rats or certain enemy types you can beat up for drops. There's a lot to think about here, though a universal thing seems to be that the further in the game you go, the longer it takes to craft shit. Some crafting stations in the late game also end up fully powercreeping earlier ones, which I found odd. I typically prefer that the stuff we'd made remain useful throughout every stage of the game, though the only headache with the approach they take here is we have to move shit around or dismantle early game shit. You can make crafting stations more efficient by properly enclosing related stations in a room and putting down specific flooring depending on the station (like forge flooring for furnaces and such). I thought this was an interesting way to handle optimizing crafting, and it encouraged having an organized castle layout. We ended up having dedicated rooms for pretty much every class of crafting station, which is typically what ends up happening on our playthroughs anyway, but it's nice to have an added benefit to it. Oh, we also learned that having an enclosed room with flooring is how you form a roof over your castle. Given the danger of the literal sun, we scrambled to figure that one out, though the early game solution of a mist brazier (a structure that covers a small area in light-blocking fog by burning bones as fuel) helped mitigate that. The brazier remains handy in the late game since some structures can only be placed outside. Lastly, you can craft various decorations to adorn the castle with, from stained glass windows, curtains, paintings, and a ton of useless furniture. Wallpapers and flooring also have alternate designs, and you can add carpet that actually slightly boosts your movement speed. We didn't mess around with this aspect that much until the late game since some of the fancier decorations use more expensive materials, but you can make some nice stuff here. Perhaps the main frustration from crafting comes from how many of the recipes are actually obtained. A lot of the crucial ones tied to progress are obtained simply from clearing main objectives, but a lot of the best gear is locked behind an awful lot of RNG where you either spend resources to unlock a random recipe or grind it out hoping the recipe itself drops from an enemy. I did not find this needless random element fun, and I would have greatly preferred the regular way of unlocking recipes by progressing the game. Resource gathering comes in many forms, from simply whacking trees, rocks, and plants for their drops, beating the shit out of enemies for Blood Essence and other drops, raiding human settlements and pillaging their containers, and even stuff like fishing or planting seeds near your base. I really liked the convenient map indicator that shows what drops are available in each named area; not having to guess where shit is made supply runs significantly less of a hassle. Combat isn't mindless, as enemies have patterns you can exploit, and many skills require proper aim. We'll get into the specifics a little later, but some general observations I have include how healing can be a pain (taking significant damage also temporarily lowers your max HP, so you're more likely to die the more damage you take even if you do heal), armor and weapons have durability (though nothing breaks, repair costs scale the more you wear things out), and dying thankfully only drops resources, not equipment (so running back to get your shit isn't perilous). There's a decent assortment of enemy types (like various human combatants, creatures like wolves and spiders, and supernatural beings like undead warriors or witches), each with their own attack patterns and abilities. What makes enemies special is how most of them have a blood type; if you get their HP low enough, you can suck their blood, and you will gain that blood type. The main reason you want to do this is to keep yourself alive; if your blood meter hits zero, you'll lose HP over time very quickly. Different blood types provide different buffs. Creature blood boosts movement speed, stun resistance, and HP regen, Warrior blood boosts attributes related to physical damage, Rogue blood boosts crit rate (among other things), Brute adds life-steal properties to basic attacks, and Scholar blood focuses on spell power. There's also a blood type called Frailed which you can extract from rats and the hearts of enemies, but Frailed blood does not provide buffs and serves as a last resort when you're starved for blood. Blood also has a percentage tied to it, and the higher the percentage, the higher the quality. The quality determines how many buffs you get from the blood type and how potent said buffs are. Finding good blood is unfortunately down to luck, but you can get around that by imprisoning humans with high-quality blood and maintaining their health just so you can harvest their blood. The process of capturing humans is tough since you can't fast travel them across the world, but it's worth the effort to ensure everyone has all the buffs they need to get through tough battles. Also, I'm morbidly amused that this is a mechanic to begin with. Speaking of capturing humans, you can choose to enslave them and have them battle or gather resources for you. You'll need to bind your servants to servant coffins, equip them with some gear so they don't die, and command them with a castle throne if you want to send them someplace. The resource gathering aspect takes painfully long, however, so you can't rely on it for supplies. And again, the cruelty of this is not lost on me. Perhaps the most engaging aspect of the game to me in terms of both exploration and combat involve the V Blood carriers. These are the game's equivalent to bosses, and as of this writing, there are 37 of these bosses scattered all across Vardoran (and finding them is a fun journey in itself). Not only are these fights a worthwhile challenge (though the difficulty usually comes down to their ability to summon mobs or cast insanely wide AoE attacks), defeating them is how you progress in the game (so we always had a sense of what we needed to do next). You'll unlock a lot of the crucial crafting recipes and crafting stations by defeating each boss, but the most fun things you unlock on victory are the spells and the vampire powers. The spells are where the variety of the combat lie. You have a default loadout of spells at the start of the game (two regular spells and one dash spell, as well as an ultimate spell you unlock later on), but as you vanquish V Blood carriers, your options will expand. There are a decent variety of spells, from straight damage projectiles, barriers and counters, summons/illusions, debuffs/status ailments, and even healing. We typically just used whatever spells we wanted, but as the fights got tougher, we found benefit in having dedicated support spellcasters, swapping loadouts to match specific bosses (I once switched to a barrier-focused build on a projectile-spamming boss), and coordinating our casts (I transitioned to healer later in the game and occasionally called out when I'd heal). Playing around with these spells was a lot of fun, and I really hope they add more in future updates. Vampire powers are abilities I liken to field spells (or HMs, if you prefer a Pokémon analogy). You start out with Blood Mend (which spends whatever blood you have on you for healing) and Expose Vein (lets you split blood with an impoverished ally), and you'll get more powers as you defeat V Blood carriers. Most of the powers are animal transformations with some special benefit (wolf lets you travel faster, human lets you walk through settlements undetected, bat lets you fly freely), while others are a special stance (Dominating Presence is how you enslave/imprison weakened humans). They all have their uses (except perhaps for the toad transformation, which was unanimously panned by our group as a disappointment), though you are typically vulnerable when using them. Our group obviously played this game cooperatively, but there is a big PvP aspect to this game that we didn't mess around with. There are mechanics like the ability to summon golems that besiege enemy castles, crafting keys to destroy/seize enemy Castle Hearts, and fighting over limited structures called Soul Shards (which we simply shared in co-op). Thankfully, the game can be enjoyed fully without having to get into PvP, which was a concern going in since we have played a game where the game wasn't balanced around our style of cooperative play. It's important to note that this game is in Early Access, and for what it has right now, I think it has plenty to offer. I suppose my only gripe is that feeling of "now what?" once we cleared all the available content (perhaps because it is at this point that you get into the PvP aspect of things), but we managed to get a ton of playtime before that point. It's my hope that future updates (which I really hope are happening) expand the world, giving us more to explore, more bosses to dogpile on, more spells to play around with, and new things to build. VERDICT: I think the fact that a) our group lost so much sleep on Halloween weekend playing V Rising, and b) we all bought the game so we could keep playing should say everything about how much we enjoyed our time with it. I personally loved the fusion of deceptively thoughtful dungeon crawler combat and the open world survival crafting gameplay my friends and I indulge in, and I thought the whole journey of exploring Vardoran to beat the shit out of every boss (which, in our group, almost always ended in hilarious bouts of swearing) was an incredibly rewarding one. Issues with RNG and wait times aside, playing this with my friends was a blast, and I really hope there are updates on the horizon that give us an excuse to come back. I cannot speak to how this game feels solo or in a PvP setting, but if you're anything like us and enjoy playing co-op survival games with friends, I think V Rising stands out from the crowd with combat that is atypical of what you usually find in the genre and a progression system that gives players a defined goal and encourages you to explore the entire world as well as improve your combat skills. V Rising is available on Steam: V Rising on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - AEW's been in a weird direction for a while, but that's not going to deter me from watching their last PPV of the year. Let's see what we've got this time around:
The Marvel Disney+ series (all of which tie in to the MCU movies) are the new hotness right now, but I think it would be a disservice to forget what came before it. That's why I cooked up this Five Comics entry. THE THEME: Before Marvel Studios began releasing MCU series for Disney+ in 2021, an entity called Marvel Television existed that was responsible for pretty much everything live-action that was produced in the 2010s. This started with Agents of SHIELD, then eventually expanded to all the Netflix series (of which there are five, plus the Defenders limited series), and also included stuff like Agent Carter, Runaways, Cloak and Dagger, Inhumans, and even Hellstrom (which I still haven't seen and heard was not good, which means I have to see it). Marvel also did a bunch of mutant-related stuff on top of all that, with shows such as Legion and The Gifted. To honor all that, I have selected five comics that saw live-action adaptations under Marvel Television, but before I get to that, I got a little story to tell. Bear with me. Although many of these shows I mentioned were marketed to be connected to the greater MCU (Agents of SHIELD most notably had the "it's all connected" slogan), I came to learn that some corporate horseshit led to a schism between Marvel TV and Marvel Studios. Apparently some dickbag exec at the tippy top of Marvel was way overstepping in the movies side of things and insisted on some questionable creative decisions (one choice that irked me in particular was refusing to have Maya Hansen be the villain of Iron Man 3, because women villains "aren't marketable" or some nonsense like that), which Kevin Feige took exception to. Hell, this guy didn't want to pay money to get Robert Downey Jr. in Civil War, so clearly this guy doesn't know shit. In any case, Feige's frustrations led to Marvel Studios branching off to be its own sort of entity within Marvel, allowing it a greater deal of autonomy (which meant not having to deal with dumbass exec's nonsense). The unfortunate side effect of this is that meant Marvel Studios effectively cut itself off from Marvel TV, and that led to less coordination between them in terms of crafting stories. The change is quite evident if you watch Agents of SHIELD (which you should absolutely do if you haven't already, because it's great). Seasons 1 and 2 are pretty well-connected to the MCU (with S2 actually explaining how two plot points in Age of Ultron came to be), but every season after that (and every other show that came after, for that matter) barely had anything connecting it to the MCU apart from a few throwaway lines of dialogue that allude to stuff from the movies. Plus, most of these connecting threads (even before the whole debacle I described) are one-sided, so it's almost exclusively the TV shows being influenced by the movies and never the other way around. It then became a great debate amongst fans whether any of the shows were canon, with one side maintaining everything is still connected, while the other citing specific events in the movies as an argument against canonicity. Things can get real fucking heated within fan circles if you bring this up, since some folks from team non-canon act like the shows have no value because they don't connect to the movies, and people from team canon act like they've been betrayed and denied by Marvel Studios for the past seven years when the reason stuff from TV never made it to the movies was mostly unrelated behind-the-scenes drama and not some spiteful creative decision. Marvel Studios producing for Disney+ did not help things, since now team non-canon gets to be all snarky and go "now this is canon" like that proves anything, while team canon treats the Disney+ series with unwarranted resentment, as if these shows exist purely to spite them. Needless to say, I get very annoyed when loudmouths from either side of this argument speak, because both have a lot of stupid shit to say. One side seeks to invalidate the quality of most of Marvel TV's content; apart from a number of duds, I'd argue that a lot of Marvel TV is worth watching, regardless of canonicity. The other side wants to make play like Marvel TV not being referenced in movies is a grievous case of historical revisionism on par with the denial of war crimes while also refusing to understand the situation that led to things being the way they are. That so much bandwidth on the Internet was wasted on such pointless, ill-conceived hot takes like this (and in the case of team canon, without looking up the full context first) is infuriating to me. So, are these shows canon? At this point, I don't think it matters because of multiverse horseshit, and the lorekeepers at Marvel Studios can probably just pick and choose how much stuff from each show makes it into the Sacred Timeline with that plot device (or through some crafty retcons). If you ask me, at this moment (when there's currently no conclusive evidence to really show that each series is canon or not canon), I would assert that most of the shows are canon, and I have hypotheses that explain to what extent I believe each show is canon. I won't go into that here, because this is not the place for it, and I also don't want to spoil anything about the shows should anyone be interested in revisiting them. Anyway, I've prattled on long enough. You're not here for this diatribe. Or are you? That would be odd. THE COMICS: ![]() DAREDEVIL (1964-1998) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Bill Everett This is the very issue that introduces the Man Without Fear (one of my all-time favorite characters), and it shows his entire origin (from how he got his powers, his time at law school, and all the stuff related to his dad, boxer "Battlin'" Jack Murdock). If you've watched the Netflix (which you should), it's nothing you haven't seen before. Most notable here is Daredevil's original costume; before he donned the iconic all-red suit, he wore this yellow-and-red getup. ![]() RUNAWAYS (2017-2021) #25 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Rainbow Rowell Artist: Andres Genolet Karolina and Nico Minoru are out and about in Los Angeles playing superhero (which is uncharacteristic of Nico, I might add), but it seems their exploits have drawn attention to the Hostel (the base of operations of the Runaways). The pair also meets Doc Justice, who's apparently been protecting LA for a long time, and has been dealing with the Pride way before the kids found out about them. I definitely need to buy physical copies of the this whole series soon so I can read more of it and see more of Karolina and Nico be the power couple I always wanted them to be. ![]() THE PUNISHER (2018-2019) #16 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Matthew Rosenberg Artist: Szymon Kudranski This is a jam-packed issue that sees Punisher enlist Ghost Rider's help in taking down Baron Zemo, who has a new team of Thunderbolts, an army of HYDRA agents, and the backing of Mayor Wilson Fisk. A bunch of other heroes and villains show up, and we also get to see what happens when Punisher takes Ghost Rider's Penance Stare. ![]() LEGION (2018) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Peter Milligan Artist: Wilfredo Torres Though the TV show captured a few key elements of Legion (him being Charles Xavier's son, for one), the show was ultimately pretty different from what I expected. The most defining aspect of Legion that didn't really show up in the show was his incredible powers: he has hundreds of personalities in his mind, each having a different mutant power, and this makes him one of the most powerful mutants in existence. In this comic, David looks to seek help as one of his alters intends to take full control, and he goes to a psychologist named Hannah Jones, who appears to be quite the professional, but seems to have problems of her own. ![]() MARVEL DIGITAL ORIGINALS: CLOAK AND DAGGER (2018-2019) #1 Publisher: Marvel Writer: Dennis Hopeless Artists: David Messina, Elisabetta D'Amico Though they've always operated as a duo, Cloak and Dagger are separated in this one, and they're not exactly on speaking terms, either. Tyrone is moonlighting as a bodyguard for some famous celebrity, while Tandy is working alongside a detective on superhuman cases. Circumstances will force the two back together as a string of murders Tandy discovers seem to point at a figure from Cloak and Dagger's past. Marvel TV brought a lot of characters to live-action, some with decades of legacy, some more recent, a bunch of them not well known to mainstream audiences, and even a few completely reimagined takes. Not everything they put out was perfect, but I still had a great time following all these shows, seeing how they adapted character origins and catching the little comic references they made. I'd recommend giving at least some of the shows a chance, as many feature characters I never imagined would ever be adapted in live-action. PANEL OF THE WEEK: - end -
Oh, yes. It's finally time. After nearly a month of playing as much of this game as I can, I am finally ready to talk about it. BACKGROUND:
As with many Nintendo fans out there, my introduction to the Xenoblade series was via Shulk's addition to Smash 4, though I have heard the name before due to the curious circumstances surrounding the original Wii version's release in North America. It wasn't until three years after the release of Smash 4 that I actually got to play the first Xenoblade Chronicles through my old Wii U. I had bought the digital version as part of my quest to play as many represented games in Smash as I could, and one fateful weekend in October of 2017, I began my playthrough. Over 70 hours of playtime later, I ended up concluding that the first Xenoblade was one of my all-time favorite RPGs. The battle system was quite different from anything I had played up until that point, the scope of the story (set in a truly unique world) was insanely massive while still having personal stakes for the main cast of characters, and the Monado immediately captured my imagination as one of the coolest video game weapons I've ever seen. I think the fact that I spent one Saturday playing the game for what I recall to be twelve hours straight speaks to how much I was drawn into that world and its gameplay. Although I never did end up getting Xenoblade X despite having a Wii U (a decision that may or may not haunt me considering I no longer have the Wii U in my possession), I was quite excited about Xenoblade 2 when it was initially revealed for the then-new Switch. I ended up getting that game a few months after it came out, and while I had my gripes with it (largely from the gachapon mechanics of acquiring new Blades for the combat, as well as a few aspects of the story), I had a lot of fun with the game. I ended up getting the standalone DLC for it (Torna: The Golden Country) several months later, and I enjoyed the remixed combat that featured along with the added context it provides to the main story. The idea of a Xenoblade 3 wasn't really on my mind at any point after I'd had my fill of Xenoblade 2. If anything, the most I was expecting was a port of Xenoblade X on the Switch. So, imagine my surprise earlier this year when Nintendo comes rolling in announcing that Xenoblade 3 is a thing that actually exists, and is releasing within a few months. Now, I was already on board at the mere mention of the name "Xenoblade," but when the trailer for it appeared to show that key elements of the previous games are being merged together in this brand new world, I was immediately intrigued by the possibilities of the setting and the story. For context, the most connection the past Xenoblade games have with each other are minor, like reusing the same regular monsters for the gameplay or having Nopon characters. This falls in line with many RPG series, as the likes of Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy (barring exceptions like DQ 1, 2, 3 & 11, among others) tend to be their own things with stories or settings that don't carry over. The idea that the game will be set in a world that might be a fusion of two previously standalone worlds was unexpected, and my desire to see how they are merged was strong. PLOT: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes place in the world of Aionios. Within Aionios live two nations: Keves and Agnus. These two nations are at eternal war with one another, as their very survival is predicated on them harvesting the life forces of the enemy force to feed the so-called Flame Clock. Both Keves and Agnus are divided into colonies each with their own military force, and each colony must feed their Flame Clock in service of their respective queens. A colony's proficiency in keeping their Flame Clock full of life force determines their rank (among other things), and that determines how much support they receive from their nation's castle (support, in this case, refers to stuff that literally keeps the colony alive, like food and weapons). Off the bat, we've got a real bummer of a world where the only way to live is to kill people who are trying to survive just like you. But that's not the only fucked up thing in Aionios. Both the people of Keves and Agnus are engineered from birthing pods, and from birth, they're trained to fight. What's worse is that every soldier has an artificially limited lifespan of ten years (referred to as terms), and everyone hopes to survive long enough to reach that magic number. These kids age at a different pace as well, reaching what I assume to be equivalent to a normal human's late teens/early 20s in a span of only a couple of years. Everything about this is rather upsetting to think about; you only have ten years of life, all that life will be spent on training to kill or simply killing (assuming you don't get killed first), and you will have no opportunity to live a life outside of that. If a soldier manages to live that long, they take part in a Homecoming ceremony overseen by their nation's queen. The more likely scenario, sadly, is these practical child soldiers just die in battle, and their corpses end up as literal husks. In either case, special soldiers known as "off-seers" send them off in a solemn ritual, with their life force drifting off... somewhere. These off-seers are musicians who play special flutes, and the role is treated with a level of reverence. Basically, every soldier is chasing for this goal, which is sad. Imagine a world where the only life goal you can really have is simply "I hope I don't get killed before I turn 10." The game starts off following the perspective of Noah, an off-seer from Keves serving in Colony 9 alongside his childhood comrades Lanz and Eunie, as well as their Nopon companion Riku. After a successful battle that saw them vanquish an Agnian colony, Colony 9 is assigned a special mission directly from the castle to intercept a strange ether (the Xenoblade equivalent to energy) signal. Upon reaching the area, Noah and co. encounter Mio (also an off-seer), Sena, and Taion (accompanied by their Nopon ally Manana), who are a squad from Agnus. Knowing only that the other side is the enemy, the two teams fight one another, but the fighting is interrupted by a strange man who appears to be responsible for the disturbance both teams were investigating. The mystery man questions the sad reality the six have been living in, but before anyone can get any answers, a freakish but sentient monster attacks them all. Pressed for time, mystery man activates the source of the ether signal, which turns out to be some sort of device that grants immense power. Noah, Lanz, Eunie, Mio, Sena, and Taion are imbued with these powers, and become Ouroboros, individuals with the ability to interlink and fuse into beings strong enough to take on the monster. The six are then told that as the Ouroboros, they have the power to change the world from one of eternal war to one where everyone can have a life outside of war. Having their entire worlds turned upside down and inside out, our six heroes are forced by circumstance to work together, and they journey across Aionios to a place called Swordmarch in search of answers. I was immediately hooked by the premise here. It bears some similarity to Xenoblade 1 (which featured a war between the people of Bionis and the machines of Mechonis), but key elements distinguish the story in the sense that the war itself is a central point of the game's story and themes. The people of Keves and Agnus being practically manufactured from birth to kill each other in a vicious cycle of trading life force in order to survive feels like such a bleak world; it's the only way to live, and no one seems to know any better. Everyone also only has ten years to live, which isn't a lot, and most of those years are spent focusing on fighting a war that never ends. That the journey of the party starts out questioning that reality, and they eventually develop a resolve to change the world free of the cycle, is compelling to me right out the gate. The truth behind the nature of Aionios is revealed over time, and while there are those contrivances I mentioned, I did like the concept they were going for. There are a few plot twists I enjoyed, not so much because they were shocking but because they were set up or foreshadowed neatly before the reveal. The big villains make themselves known in short order as well, though they tend to be one-note in one sense or another (barring a few, surprisingly nuanced exceptions). The final boss themselves didn't really do anything for me given a key reveal about their true nature. Granted, a group of youngsters traveling across the world in hopes of changing it despite impossible odds is classic RPG formula. However, their journey takes Ouroboros through the many colonies of Aionios who haven't seen the truth, and over the course of the game, the actions they take to help those people (despite past allegiances, despite inevitable conflict, and despite the personal risk of drawing the ire of powerful enemies) end up proliferating the change they hope for. People who have known nothing but war all their lives are now able to envision a life where they can choose what they want to do thanks to the intervention of our heroes. Seeing that shift in colony after colony, one by one, was impactful to me, and it helped make the optional side quests (a topic I'll get into later) mean something. Given the nature of the world, it is not surprising that the overall tone of the game is serious, as they don't pull punches at showing the constant stream of deaths that occur in the endless war. Despite this, the journey of Ouroboros shines through as that spark of hope that the world needs, as their desire to change the future slowly but surely turns heads all across Aionios. Though some points tend to overdo it with the "believe in yourselves" or some other equivalent spiel, that positivity in the face of a harsh world felt meaningful to me. And it's not all gloom and doom, either, as there are moments of levity between the characters (though it doesn't overdo the comedy the way Xenoblade 2 does). The ending was also interesting tone-wise given its extremely bittersweet nature; it felt fitting in a sense, but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad that that's how everything turns out in the end. The main plot itself has its fair share of contrivances and elements left unexplained, though I didn't find those egregious enough to affect my overall enjoyment of the game. The pacing could have used some fine-tuning, however; there are long stretches of the campaign where it's just cutscene after cutscene, and some of the required subquests can slow things down due to you being stuck in one location or you having to do some menial tasks. I could see some players being turned off by some of the filler subquests being required to progress the main story, but I personally don't mind taking some time to explore other facets of the world before moving onto the main quest. Torna: The Golden Country took this approach (which I enjoyed), and for reasons I'll elaborate on further down, the execution of that idea in this game works better for me. There is a smorgasbord of optional quests, many of which serve to flesh out what life is like in Aionios. The standard side quests, though typically inconsequential, help show everyday life in the colonies and give you a look into how the war affects all sorts of people. As you go around changing the world and liberating colonies from the cycle of war, you'll see how such a monumental shift turns everyone's lives upside down, and the quests you receive reflect their changed goals and outlooks. You'll also see that, through the various quests, that despite the single-minded focus on war, people still have distinct personalities and world views. As you change the world around you by completing main quests, the NPCs you encounter will have everything they once knew thrown into disarray. Some embrace the change, while others feel slighted to have learned that their old way of life, however twisted, is gone. Most struggle to find purpose after finding that there's no need to perpetuate the war, as well as find difficulty to adjusting to not seeing the opposite nation as enemies. Seeing all these different perspectives really helped make Aionios feel like a lived-in world and not just one populated by soulless NPCs. Plus, it's awesome to see the impact of the party's actions on the everyday, personal level along with the sweeping changes they bring about on the world as a whole. The main highlight for me in terms of subquests are the Hero Quests. I'll explain the gameplay implications of this later, but in the context of story, these quests take place in every colony you explore (plus a few other random places) and typically introduce new characters for the party to get to know. Not only are majority of these characters as equally interesting as the main six (with their own distinct personalities and backstories), but through their lens, you get a real sense of how different life is for different colonies/settlements throughout Aionios. I thought these quests did an amazing job at building the world and showing more character perspectives (especially as Ouroboros comes in to change their view on the old ways), as well as giving the party more opportunities to grow or change as characters and new folks to interact with. I will say that, for how much I enjoyed the Hero Quests and how worthwhile they made it to explore every single colony in the game, they do tend to follow a formula of an episodic TV show when looked at as a whole. To me, this is largely offset by the different circumstances each hero and colony faces and meeting the heroes themselves, but there is some repetition to be seen. Unlike most other RPGs, you meet the entire party almost immediately, so you spend pretty much the entire game getting to know them all at the same time. Everyone has a pretty strong personality that takes care not to lean too hard into tropes (though you see inklings of their archetypes at times), they all get sufficiently traumatic backstories from their early years as soldiers (though I feel like some of them get the short end of the stick compared to others), and the shift from them seeing each other as literal enemies to becoming friends was really fun to see. The dynamic between each member of the party also varies in fun ways, like the sassy Eunie and the meticulous Taion butting heads, or how Lanz's occasional meathead behavior earns him some light teasing from the rest of the group. A lot of the struggles that the characters (be it the main cast, the heroes, or even a few NPCs) go through really resonated with me. All sorts of feelings are explored through them, like knowing that you have a limited time to be alive, struggling to find purpose, living with guilt and regret, feeling that you aren't enough, and the inevitability of death. You have characters who are extremely guarded with their emotions, some who grow resentful due to terrible situations they go through, people who are earnest despite the grim situation, and more. Even the small talk the party and heroes make based on where you are adds some depth or personality to them. Seeing how these characters learn about how life really should be is an equally interesting contrast. Experiences like aging, having kids, or spending time on hobbies are facts of life that we in the real world all deal with or witness in others often, but for the people of Aionios, none of them have the luxury (let alone the lifespan) to even know what those things are. Seeing the characters reel in existential shock to things we take for granted puts into perspective how fortunate we may be that we are familiar with and experience the life that we do. Now, you don't really need to have played Xenoblade 1 and 2 to appreciate the story, but I felt like having done so helped me fully appreciate this apparent amalgam world even more. Seeing races from both games in one place (like the High Entia from Xenoblade 1, and the Gormotti from Xenoblade 2) was wild, and that there seemed to be tangible connections to the story of the previous games apart from that excited me. There are some big reveals and cool moments in the finale that were incredibly satisfying to see as someone who really got into the Xenoblade series, but of course, I can't go around spoiling that for everybody. PRESENTATION: The art style of the game is largely unchanged from Xenoblade 2, taking on this pretty 3D aesthetic with a bit of cel-shading, some anime character designs, and gorgeous scenery. It's not 100% polished given some frame rate issues, frequent jank (characters blipping in and out of existence, weird clipping, among others), and a few visual hiccups (unnatural animations, for instance), but the visuals do a solid job of bringing to life a breathtaking world (which is a Xenoblade staple). I will also note that the cutscenes look fantastic and are a better showcase of the art style compared to the in-game visuals, with the difference being quite noticeable to me. When it comes to designs and such, the game does not shy away that it's mixing the worlds of Xenoblade 1 and 2 together. The forces of Keves pull their design direction from the first game, with both High Entia and Machina soldiers, and their machines bear a striking resemblance to the Mechons (particularly, the faced Mechons that served as high-level antagonists). The Agnians, on the other hand, feature characters reminiscent of the Blades of Xenoblade 2 (with core crystals and all), and their white-gold color scheme (with glowing green and red accents) are clearly reminiscent of Pyra/Mythra, the main characters of that game. Even elements of the world itself pull from both games, with major landmarks being the fallen sword of the Mechonis (from the first game), and the corpse of the Titan of Uraya from the second game. It's cool to see the mishmash as a fan, but at the same time, it's neat that they all come together to create a completely distinct world. Aionios as a whole has a decently varied collection of biomes that both call back to previous locales and are visually distinct from one another, which made exploration a treat. The character designs of the main cast and key characters are pretty great overall, and each one had some element to them that I really enjoyed (like Alexandria's elegant outfit and stance, or Cammuravi's badass look). Some of the designs call back to the previous games (for example, Noah, the de facto protagonist, donning red like Shulk) while still being largely their own thing (Eunie, who is a High Entia, dresses more casually than the regal Melia). The weapons of each respective character are similar in this regard, as some characters wield weapon types that were present in previous games. That's not even mentioning how design aspects of Noah's sword evidently pull from the Monado's iconic design. There are truly unique weapons as well, most notably Taion's ability to control a swarm of Mondo to attack and defend. Although the monster designs tend to not stick in my memory (largely because I've seen a lot of them before), there are a number of them that I did really like. The designs of the villains weren't as visually distinct this time around besides a few key elements, and they eventually bled together in my brain. Xenoblade is three for three in amazing music, as this game is no exception with beautiful melodies to accompany emotional moments, chill tracks to explore to, and battle themes that get your blood pumping. What I found most notable with the soundtrack is the prominence of the flute in a lot of the tracks, and I thought that was cool given the story significance of the off-seer characters who play the flute. Personally, I feel like Xenoblade 2 still has my favorite overall soundtrack of the trilogy, but this third game has some certified bangers (especially a couple of battle themes and the Chain Attack theme). The voice acting is solid across the board, and in true Xenoblade fashion, there are accents aplenty. Xenoblade 2 was not afraid to get diverse with the voices in terms of accent (a fact that I enjoyed), and the sequel is no different. I'm personally a big fan of Eunie's very British accent (which includes plenty of British slang along with it). I still find it weird that some dialogue isn't voiced, but this did not affect my overall enjoyment of the game. I must note that this game may be a lot for some people who don't like too many flashy visual effects or find constant dialogue grating. As will be explained further on, a lot happens in a battle, and it may end up being an assault on the senses for players. GAMEPLAY: Xenoblade 3, like its predecessors, is an action RPG where you explore an open world and get into battles with your entire party fighting alongside you. In this game, you take control of one of the party members while the rest of the group is handled by AI. Unlike the previous games, this one doubles the party from three active members to six, so you no longer need to manage your party by swapping people out. Battles are quite different from what you would typically expect from an action RPG. You can freely move around when you engage an enemy, and as long as you're in range of the enemy, your character will auto-attack. The bulk of the action, however, comes with your character's Arts. These are skills you can cast during the battle, and they have a wide range of effects (from buffs/debuffs, straight damage, status infliction, healing, and more). Every time you cast an Art, it goes into cooldown, and you have to wait until it recharges. Using these Arts judiciously is the key to succeeding in battles. You can even cancel auto-attacks into Arts, which is a great way to rack up damage quickly (and rewards being attentive to your attack timing). Certain Arts can inflict what's referred to as a combo reaction, a mechanic that's a series staple. These reactions operate in a sequence, and you need to have inflicted the first one in the chain to be able to inflict the next one in the sequence. The first is Break, which interrupts an enemy action. If you or your allies act fast enough, you can inflict Topple, which incapacitates the enemy briefly. Xenoblade 3 is unique in that both combo routes from the previous games are available (Break-Topple-Daze-Burst from 1, Break-Topple-Launch-Smash from 2), and you can choose which ones to go for depending on whether you want to go all in on damage or trigger a specific effect. I was amazed that both were present, and that there was a reason to go for one or the other. Many Arts also require you to mind your position relative to your enemy or your ally. Some Arts do better damage when targeting a specific side of the enemy (front, back, side), while others can only inflict combo reactions or statuses depending on where you're targeting. New to this game are field Arts, which deploy a ring on the ground that either buffs allies or debuffs enemies standing on it. I liked these field Arts a lot since there's now a different reason to move around apart from doing more optimal damage to the enemy. Our main six characters each have a different class, which determines the selection of Arts they can use in battle, their passive skills, and their stat spread. Each class falls into one of three roles: Attacker (focused on doing damage), Defender (draws the aggro for the team and is equipped to take or evade damage), and Healer (self-explanatory). Each class also has a unique Talent Art, which is like a super powerful art that can turn the tide with either its damage or its effects. Talent Arts are charged when the user performs Role Actions that fall in line with their specific role. For example, Healer Role Actions include healing the team and laying down field Arts. I thought this Role Action mechanic is a really cool way to incentivize playing within your role. In Xenoblade 1, Arts recharge over time (with the actual time depending on the Art). Xenoblade 2 switched this up by having Arts recharge every time you successfully land an auto-attack. Xenoblade 3 combines the best of both worlds and has both. The manner in which your Arts recharge depends on the class your character is, and I was amused by the fact that the Kevesi characters (Noah, Lanz, Eunie) have the first recharge method since their nation is based on Xenoblade 1, and the Agnian characters (Mio, Sena, Taion) have the other. At some point, you're able to swap classes around, allowing each character to wield completely different weapons and use different Arts from their canon preference. Swapping classes is more than just for the amusement of having everyone play differently than they usually would, as using any class levels them up. When a class you're using hits a certain level, you can unlock Master Arts and Master Skills, which allow you to equip Arts or skills from that class whenever you're using a different class entirely. The Master Arts in particular give you a second set of skills to use in battle, and you can even combine them with the Arts of your current class to perform Fusion Arts, combining the effects of the two arts in one move. I absolutely adored this class system. Not only was it fun to try out every class without necessarily having to swap between the character I'm playing as, leveling up each class rewards you with more options to play around with as you figure out your loadouts. It gives you a lot of freedom to experiment with your setups, and it has the added bonus of not being as overwhelming as Xenoblade 2's Blade system (which, for how fun that battle system was, has a rather steep learning curve). Speaking of swapping between characters, this game marks the very first time in the series where you can swap control between party members in the middle of the battle. In the previous two games, I made it a point to always have control of the healer because I couldn't trust the AI to cast healing Arts at the right time. Here, I don't even have to worry about that since I can just swap to whoever I set as the healer without losing my mind that the AI didn't heal me. Hell, the AI in general has become much smarter in this game that I barely used the option at all. Really, the only instance I found this mechanic critical is when reviving incapacitated allies, as reviving is locked to Healer classes, and the AI can falter in getting people up back in time. You start out with the game only having the six classes of your main party, but as you explore Aionios, you'll be able to take on Hero Quests. Not only are these quests worth doing for all the world-building they provide and for introducing a new, fleshed out character, completing them rewards you with a new class to equip based on that character. One of the main six party members starts out inheriting the class (and that is typically determined on how the story of the Hero Quest goes, which I liked), and in order to unlock that class for the rest of the group, you'll have to have the character play as that class for a while and level up the class enough. Doing so will eventually unlock the class for the other party members. There are a whopping 19 Heroes in the game, and that means the total of classes you can try adds up to 25. That is a lot of options, and many of the Hero classes have pretty unique play styles to boot. There's one that's focused on debuffs, one that's all about stacking buffs, one all about boosting Art recharge speed, one that's simply a critical hit machine, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed trying each and one of these Hero classes, and I loved that leveling them up gave me even more Master Arts and Master Skills to try in other setups. My only gripe here is that most of the grind in the game is in the actual unlocking of the classes for the rest of the party, as the game does not inform you that being overleveled severely lowers your class XP gain. Completing the Hero Quests also unlocks the aforementioned Hero as a companion, effectively becoming the seventh member of your party. This gives you additional options with your current party lineup, since you can have them fill role gaps on your team or you can pick specific Heroes for their niche. Having the option to fight alongside these Heroes is a really cool reward for completing the Hero Quest (aside from the new classes, of course), since the rapport they build with the party during the quest translates to gameplay. Chain Attacks are back from the previous games, and once again, they work differently here. Once you've filled the Chain Attack gauge (done by successful Art canceling, getting combo reactions, and other major actions), you can activate the Chain Attack. This freezes time and gives everyone in your party (including the Hero) to cast an Art to do massive damage in one go. Before doing that, however, you select a Chain Order from one of the party members, which grants a significant buff when completed. Completing a Chain Order is based on the characters you cast Arts with, as each party member awards a specific value of Tactical Points (determined by class, among other things) when you cast their Art. The idea is to get a total score of 100+ in order to complete the Chain Order, and once you complete the current Chain Order, you may get a chance to complete more depending on the Chain Attack gauge level. As is tradition, Chain Attacks remain the most satisfying way to wreck absolute shit, and it feels incredibly satisfying to have everyone dogpile a single enemy by casting as many Arts as you can. You can inflict serious damage, set off combo reactions with ease, and even straight up kill a powerful enemy with just one Chain Attack. Plus, each character (including every single Hero) has a unique Chain Order, and each effect turns the tide of the battle in your favor. Noah's Chain Order, for instance, makes every attack in the Chain Attack ignore an enemy's defense, which is huge. Plus, the Chain Attack theme is phenomenal and gets you absolutely pumped to start laying the smackdown on some unsuspecting motherfucker. There's also the satisfaction of seeing the total damage you've caused at the end of the Chain Attack, and boy, does it feel good to hit 7 digits. As Ouroboros, specific pairings of the party (Noah-Mio, Lanz-Sena, Eunie-Taion) can Interlink and take on these badass fusion forms that can cast powerful Arts and do a ton of damage. Interlinking can tip the scales in your favor, but you must mind the heat gauge, as you can't stay in the form forever. I personally didn't rely on the mechanic too much (I let the AI use it more than I did), but they're certainly helpful in a pinch. The most fun part is that, if you plan your Chain Attacks right, you can get a special Chain Order from a specific Interlink form, and the damage they do once completed is ridiculous. The Interlink forms also have a skill tree each where you can spend points to power up their stats, Arts, and skills. Honestly, it was easy to neglect this part of character progression since I didn't rely on the mechanic a lot, but I didn't feel like it was make-or-break to invest in strengthening the Interlink. Plus, it wasn't as tedious to invest in as the Blade progression system of Xenoblade 2, which is much appreciated. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes and wander the world all over, can cast their own set of Arts, have unique behaviors (a small bit of polish I was pleasantly surprised by), and unique drops when defeated. These drops are more than just shit you can sell, as some of them are used for crafting Gems (which you can equip to every character for stat boosts) and cooking meals (which give you buffs for a specific amount of time). The rarity of certain drops is a bit of a pain to deal with, but that's mitigated when you see lucky monsters, who have a higher chance of dropping rarer loot. There are also Elite monsters on occasion, and these guys tend to be tougher than your average bear. Defeating them is worthwhile, as they multiply XP gain. I didn't find too much trouble grinding my actual level (since most quests award XP as well, and the bonus XP mechanic allows you to level up with surplus XP), but these Elites ended up being incredibly helpful for grinding class unlocks for my party. Another returning Xenoblade staple is the presence of Unique monsters. Now, they're not really unique; most of them tend to be just jacked up versions of regular enemies with a funny name (like Immovable Gonzales, the legend himself). These guys are the toughest of the tough, so much so that beating them leaves a grave with their name on it. They've always been a completely optional (but typically satisfying) challenge, but their grave actually serves as a fast travel point, which is a decent incentive to take them out besides the obvious XP gain. In this game, Unique monsters are even more special in this game thanks to a specific Hero class you can unlock later in the story. Without giving too much away, that class makes hunting every single Unique monster in the game absolutely worthwhile (and yes, I did just that). Drops from the environment are also found scattered about the world, and they serve a similar purpose as monster drops. Each region has a unique set of drops, and while I wouldn't go out of my way to pick up every shiny sparkle I see, it's typically worth walking past anything in your immediate path since they also have additional uses (like as sidequest objectives). You can also acquire special drops called Nopon Coins, which you can spend instead of grinding materials for Gems and cooking, as well as use to level up your classes without grinding. These coins are absolutely worth getting since they can cut out needless effort, and I appreciated their presence here. You also earn money in this game, though there's little else to spend it on other than the various shops around the world or in canteens where you can pay for meals. Accessories are probably the only thing I'd say are worth spending some cash on, as these are additional equipment you can give your characters to boost stats or provide buffs. Even then, I got most of my good accessories from killing tough monsters or getting them as quest rewards, so I ended up with more money than I knew what to do with. In addition to the main story and the Hero Quests, you'll encounter a ton of sidequests that you can complete for XP, special rewards, and a bit of world-building (if you fancy that sort of thing). These can be hit or miss, as some of them can be tedious fetch-quests or fun adventures where you beat the shit out of something. I recall a few fetch-quests in particular that I would not be afraid to describe as "horrendous," and the fact that there's no easy way to figure out where you get certain drops in-game did not help. Uncovering these quests can be hit or miss as well, as sometimes it's easy as walking to a question mark on the map, or as tedious as gathering information from nameless NPCs (which you have to check back for periodically) and then triggering the discussion dialogue in a rest spot. The Affinity Chart returns from previous games, and I always thought that this was a neat little graphic that shows the interconnected relationships of every named NPC in the entire game. Completing quests and talking to NPCs updates this chart, and it's fun to see how relationships change as you play the game. It's also here that you see your affinity level with each colony, which goes up every time you help members of that colony with quests. Doing so is actually worthwhile because higher affinity levels grant special bonuses (like greater item collection range, or faster swim speed). Exploration is also rewarded, as discovering landmarks gives out XP as well as unlocking fast travel points to make backtracking easier. You'll also find secret areas, run into out-of-the-way Unique monsters, and find collectibles like chests with great loot. The world is pretty large and the zones are all interconnected, though it's not 100% seamless like Breath of the Wild. There's also the occasional issue of lots of walking through lots of empty space or the pain of swimming slowly across a body of water. These are typical open world issues, but it's worse here since there's no quicker way to move around on land, and there's only one area where you can move across the water quickly (which, when you get to that point, is pretty fun). Perhaps the most morbid "collectibles" in any game are the many soldier husks you'll find scattered around Aionios. Going up to these corpses gives you the option to send them off, at which point Noah or Mio play their flutes to perform the off-seer ritual. The tangible reward is additional affinity points for the colony that soldier belongs to, but really, the real reward to me is that it put my mind at ease. If you have some extra drops to spare (which you absolutely will), you can also check out the Collectopedia Card menu, which allows you to exchange drops with the game's many NPCs for bonuses like accessories, XP, and affinity. It's an easy way to offload your extra loot and get rewarded for it, but apart from rare cases, it's largely not essential to succeed. Now, you may be thinking: I just said so much shit, and that makes this game seem overwhelming to get into. I can confidently say that the battle system is more intuitive than Xenoblade 2 (which had a million things going on at once) without sacrificing depth, and there are plenty of quality-of-life additions (quest markers, quest navigation) to keep you from getting lost. Plus, there's an entire menu full of tips and even a whole list of training drills that ease you into the mechanics of the game. Once you've beaten the game, you can take on New Game Plus, which is like any other New Game Plus you may have seen. And the journey to 100% somehow isn't enough for you, this game's getting DLC that adds new quests and other neat stuff. VERDICT: Despite a few issues I have with certain aspects of the story, some visual oddities, and the structure of some of the quests, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is another RPG I absolutely enjoyed from start to finish. For all the story's faults, I found its premise, themes, characters, and world-building a delight to get into, and the combat is perhaps the system I most enjoyed out of the entire trilogy. I loved the class system and the wide variety of play styles they make available, I thought the Hero Quests were the most rewarding implementation of sidequests I've encountered in a long time (as they're worth pursuing both in gameplay and in story terms), and I felt rewarded as a fan of the series with meaningful callbacks to the previous games. I dug the music, too, and little things like making Unique monsters worth hunting down came as a pleasant surprise to me. There's a reason it took me a month to beat this game: I was actually at the point of no return weeks ago, but I was so engrossed with exploring and battling that I actively avoided finishing the game until I've done everything I wanted to do. I feel like that speaks to how much I enjoyed playing it, faults and all. Hell, I actually feel compelled to get all the DLC for once just so I have an excuse to play some more (you'd be surprised at how rarely I get paid DLC for most games). Like I said before, you can probably enjoy this game just fine without having touched the previous two games, but in this case, I must strongly insist that you check out the first Xenoblade if you haven't already. Not only does that game fit my criteria of an "essential" gaming title (given its previous cult status to eventual "mainstream" popularity), but I also still think it's one of the most epic RPG tales I've ever played set in a world unlike any other. And of course, there's also the reward of knowing stuff from the previous games going into this one. In the case of Xenoblade 2, I feel like that's more of an acquired taste with its more complex combat and its story, but I definitely wouldn't dismiss it as a black sheep of the trilogy. - end - Well, this is it. The final MCU project of Phase Four, and it's perhaps one of the most anticipated sequels in a while. I've gone and see it, and there is much to say. This movie has the unenviable task of following up one of the most culturally significant blockbusters of our time, as well as moving forward with the passing of its iconic lead Chadwick Boseman. Everyone had the same set of questions on their mind: where does the story go without T'Challa? Who takes over the mantle of Black Panther?
Off the bat, the elephant in the room is addressed. In the MCU, T'Challa has passed, and Wakanda is reeling from the loss. The way his passing is handled here is perhaps the best way they could have gone about it. They didn't cook up all this plot to explain it; it just happens, it's not some convoluted shit, and everyone's just gotta live with it. Obviously, it was a concern going in about how a tragic passing in real life would be handled in-universe, but overall, I think it's handled well here. T'Challa's passing isn't just something that is established and is then pushed aside so the rest of the movie can happen. No, the characters here live with that loss. We see so many facets of grief, and we feel the void left by the loss without it teetering into "man, this would be so much better if he were still here" territory. Most importantly, both T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman were honored as the legends they were all throughout the movie. From the very beginning to the very end of the movie, there were powerful moments where you could really tell that the people involved wanted a full-on tribute to the actor who brought the icon to life, and in the story, that desire translated to touching ways the characters honor T'Challa. One of the ways this movie respects T'Challa (and Chadwick's) legacy is by not rushing to deal with the Black Panther-shaped void in Wakanda. They spend a huge portion of the movie simply showing how life is now for everybody, and it's not looking great. It seems that the world at large sees that Wakanda is in a vulnerable state without its protector, and everyone from criminals to politicians are coming to collect on that sweet, sweet vibranium. Despite the mounting threats, Wakanda (currently under the leadership of Queen Mother Ramonda) stands its ground and asserts that no one's taking vibranium under her watch. Wakanda Forever takes the opportunity of T'Challa's void to elevate the supporting cast from the previous movie. Okoye's arc was particularly tragic given her status as the Dora Milaje's general, Nakia is shown to be in a very interesting spot when we meet back with her, and M'Baku has managed to grow into an astute leader whose insights are quite meaningful. Even Everett Ross gets to be involved in a minor way, as his feeling of debt towards the Wakandans is illustrated in his actions. One thing I will say that, for how long this movie ended up being, I still felt like some characters didn't get as much time to grow as I'd hope. Nakia, in particular, was strange given it takes her a while to factor into the story. At the center of the whole movie is Shuri, and good lord, this character was done so well. The movie obviously tackles grief throughout the story, and I was amazed at how many facets of it were explored through her. I was all too familiar with that pain of loss she goes through, that self-loathing that comes from survivors' guilt, that rage at everything around her, that constant need to repress the pain and retreat into distractions, and even the eventual resolve to find a way to move forward. This was a stark contrast from her earlier appearances, and I felt like her transition from playful genius to someone burdened and jaded by her loss was portrayed perfectly. Her struggle at the end also fittingly mirrored her brother's, which I thought was a beautiful parallel. Ramonda is an absolute standout as well, portraying the bereaved but still resolute leader during a time of weakness for Wakanda. You could feel the pain of her loss, too, but in contrast to Shuri, she soldiers on and finds the strength to be the leader her people need right now. Despite the obvious lack of a Black Panther to defend their nation, she remains unshaken by all the threats and attempts to seize their vibranium, but she also shows her loving, maternal side by doing everything she can to comfort Shuri (who, in another relatable act of grief, is pushing people away). Her speeches had so much gravitas to them and perfectly showed her strength in the face of loss, and she even gets a moment where that strength falters. This movie also introduces Riri Williams, the young heroine who becomes Ironheart in the comics. I initially dismissed her addition as some cheap attempt to set up her upcoming Disney+ show, but to my surprise, she's actually part of the main conflict of the movie. That said, she's mostly a plot device (and even the reason she gets involved is barely explored), but for what it's worth, she gets to show some personality (particularly with her bond with Shuri) and gets to do some cool stuff. The most exciting addition in this movie for a comic fan like me is that of Namor, who is the leader of Atlantis in the comics. They've completely reworked his backstory here, instead having him be the leader of the undersea nation of Talokan, whose entire culture is heavily inspired by real-life Mesoamerican civilizations. Talokan is an obvious parallel to Wakanda given to their similar nature (an entire nation hidden from the rest of the world, maintaining secrecy due to covetous assholes), but a key element to the realm's origin extends that parallel further. Said key element also perfectly explains how their secrecy is put into jeopardy, and I think it seamlessly explains how Wakanda factors into the situation that leads to the two nations crossing paths. It's a hell of a reinvention, but I think it works perfectly with the story they're trying to tell. Plus, the heavy Mesoamerican inspiration led to some fantastic costumes, and Talokan itself looked beautiful. Namor himself strikes a good balance between his iconic comic portrayal and being a completely new take on the character, in my opinion. His disdain for the surface world is very much present here, and his reasoning in this movie (which fits in with real-life history) explains the hate well. He's still primarily motivated with the protection of his realm, but his belligerence serves as a dark mirror to Wakanda, whose leaders don't wage war unless absolutely necessary. Despite this, he doesn't immediately escalate things to get what he wants, but you can tell that he leans more towards swift retribution when it comes to dealing with conflict. I think they nailed the antihero persona of the Sub-Mariner I'm all too familiar with (though decidedly less of a douchebag), and as a physical threat, they made him look like an absolute beast, showcasing his strength and making his powers of flight feel different from other takes on the ability. And they made his ankle wings not look stupid, which I'm sure was a challenge. I expected this movie to be mostly standalone, and for the most part, it is. There's no exploration of the fallout of Wakanda's involvement in the last Avengers movies, and while that's a missed opportunity, it makes total sense to not focus on that given the story and the circumstances. That said, there were a couple of surprising references to other MCU stuff, one that sets up an interesting MCU future, and one particularly meaningful callback to the past. Interestingly, they don't go out of their way to tease what's next for Riri Williams, and I'm fine with that since she has every opportunity to grow as a character on her own show. Throughout the movie, there's also that setup for how Wakanda's policies may inevitably lead them into conflict with world powers. It's not the focus of the story (in fact, some would say that the subplot that deals with it distracts from the rest of the movie), but I thought that this would be an interesting story to explore in a future installment. There's some pretty cool action throughout the movie, with the highlights being the Dora Milaje kicking ass as a group, the people of Talokan posing a formidable threat both in close combat and their dominion over water, Namor wrecking absolute shit by himself, and some really neat gadgets from both Wakanda, Riri Williams, and even Talokan. There is some spectacle and high-tech shenanigans, but there's also a fair share of straight fisticuffs, and I felt that those scenes were hard-hitting, visceral, and even suspenseful at times. I can't say I was feeling the final action set piece, though (apart from the main showdown, which was the kind of fisticuffs I was describing). Talokan may be a fully MCU creation, and there's few setups for future things, but that doesn't mean this movie doesn't reference the comics. There are a lot of cool elements and references they introduced from different eras of Black Panther comics, and even the Talokan side had a few references to old school Atlantis stuff. It would be an injustice if I didn't take the time to highlight the movie's phenomenal score. The soundtrack adds so much when it comes to giving both Wakanda and Talokan a strong musical identity, which, apart from the occasional character-specific motifs, is sadly uncommon in the MCU. The unique instruments and vocals used in the tracks are largely responsible for that distinct identity I'm describing, so much so that if that was all I heard in a future movie or show, I would immediately know that shit is about to go down. The movie has only one post-credits scene, but it's not the typical teaser for the next MCU thing. Instead, it's a poignant ending that serves to bookend the exploration of grief throughout the movie and served to cement T'Challa's indelible legacy within the MCU. The actual ending itself was already pretty emotional, but this stinger helps enhance that ending by balancing out the bittersweet with the hopeful. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had a lot to live up to, and overall, I think it managed to do a solid job of both honoring the passing of an icon and finding a way to move forward. The tributes to T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman were touching, we had standout characters in Shuri, Ramonda, and more, the introduction of Namor and Talokan felt organic and not just a tacked-on conflict, and there's even neat stuff like Ironheart's debut. I really enjoyed this movie, and I felt like the few issues I had with it didn't significantly affect my enjoyment. - end - Looks like we've got more indie game news from Nintendo, which means more games for me to keep an eye on. Let's see what we got this time around.
Sizzle reel time:
I wasn't expecting any blockbuster announcements this time around, so I can't say I was disappointed in any way about this presentation. In fact, I would say I really enjoyed this one given the wide variety of games that were shown (both in terms of art style, gameplay, and story focus), and the fact that I had largely no idea about them prior to this presentation. Seeing such games outside my radar, to me, is the real value of these presentations.
- end - Well, here we are at the end of the line. By the time this blog entry goes up, Wakanda Forever will have premiered where I live, and I've probably already seen it. But first, I wrap up the weekly Black Panther comic binge today with the final stretch of the Christopher Priest run. BACKGROUND:
Apart from the massive shakeup to the Black Panther saga that I know happens in this series, I know little else. I'm definitely interested in actually reading about the monumental change from start to finish. SUMMARY: The first couple of issues in this last batch go in a surprising direction, as it shows an alternate future where T'Challa, now 25 years older, has reverted Wakanda to its old isolationist ways. His hand is forced when a slew of his past villains (most of whom are from the Jack Kirby run I read months ago, which was surprising) resurface and his two children are caught in the crossfire. I thought this was an interesting story that shows how T'Challa might be as a father, and how he appears to have changed (or not changed) with age. We go back to the main timeline after this little detour. Nightshade (a villain who, earlier in the series, T'Challa had a hand in getting arrested) wants some revenge, and she uses her genetic know-how to resurrect a particularly powerful villain. This villain happens to be one of Iron Fist's sworn enemies, and the hero teams up with the Panther to deal with the situation. It's not a particularly groundbreaking arc, but it's cool to see the realms of Wakanda and K'un-L'un intersect with this one. The next big arc has T'Challa once again investigate XCon (the clandestine organization responsible for the takoever of Wakanda in the early issues of this series), key members of whom are somehow getting assassinated despite their immense influence. T'Challa's actions put him into conflict with Iron Man, who's gotten a tad sick of the king's scheming. This arc is a fantastic showcase of T'Challa's galaxy brain-level strategic planning, as he thinks circles around practically everybody on his quest to uncover a worldwide conspiracy. There are some fun special guests here, as well as more White Wolf scheming, which is always fun. It's also in this arc where the cliffhanger from the M'Baku arc I read last week is resolved. Here is where things get fucking weird. Turns out that an alternate version of T'Challa has found himself in the main continuity, and his personality is a complete 180 from our brooding hero. He's literally the Jack Kirby version of the character turned up to 11 (in more ways than one), and he's looking for adventure. I was not expecting this at all, and the two T'Challas interacting and working together is surreal. Just when I thought the callbacks to the Jack Kirby series (which I assumed at the time of reading were never referenced ever again in modern comics), we get the return of characters from that series like Princess Zanda and Mr. Little. And because things weren't bizarre enough, the King Solomon's Frogs (the strange time-bending artifacts that were the focus of that old series) are back, and unsurprisingly, their mere presence leads to chaos. That leads into the next arc, which is where shit goes completely off the rails. King Solomon's Frogs transport T'Challa and the gang to another time; specifically, they're taken to the Old West for a rootin'-tootin' time. And because shit wasn't weird enough, apparently there are past versions of Thor and Loki in this time period, because why the fuck not? It's the exact kind of wacky nonsense I've come to expect when the frogs are involved, and I was all in for the wild ride. And since they're in the Wild West, I expected some cameos from Marvel's Western heroes (Rawhide Kid, Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt.... lots of kids, now that I think about it). I was not disappointed on that front. Once everyone has made it back to the main timeline, shit quickly pivots back to serious, as it's revealed that T'Challa (both the main one and the time-displaced one) have a brain aneurysm. The main T'Challa's attempts to come to terms with his condition is interrupted when M'Baku takes extreme action that drives T'Challa to complete rage. The tragic series of events that take place cause T'Challa to lose himself completely, and the arc ends with him completely disappearing.... The final stretch of the series (starting from issue #50) is where the shift I've been hinting at begins. At this point, we're actually not following T'Challa anymore. Instead, the Black Panther we're reading about here is Kevin "Kasper" Cole, a cop from NYC who stole one of T'Challa's spare suits, wearing it as a disguise to investigate dirty cops in his precinct. He's adamant that his superior put out a hit on his team, and he intends to get to the bottom of things. It becomes apparent early on that Cole is in way over his head, as he's obviously not as skilled as T'Challa at the whole vigilante thing, and it's quickly revealed that the dirty cops he's investigating are only part of a massive crime network. His tactics immediately draw suspicion as people are generally aware that T'Challa is highly skilled, and worse, his use of the suit has drawn the attention of the White Wolf, who sees Cole's appropriation of it as an insult to Wakanda. Hunter makes himself known to Cole and attempts to manipulate him to his own ends, but Cole thinks better of it. And if that isn't enough, Cole is struggling to make ends meet for his pregnant girlfriend (whom he doesn't seem to want to be with) and his mother. Also, he's still dealing with the burden of living up to his dad, who was once a respected cop, but is now in prison. The man's got way too much on his plate, and he seems to think his escapades as the Panther are his ticket to turn things around from himself. Eventually, T'Challa (who has been in hiding ever since, and has been mostly out of it) makes contact with Cole, who strongly advises that he stop with this nonsense. Throughout Cole's brief stint as the Panther, his lack of experience leads to some terrible consequences, but he's determined to set things right and take on the gang he's been investigating. In a powerful gesture to prove to T'Challa that he has what it takes to wear the suit, he demands to undergo the Wakandan ascension rite. T'Challa relents and creates a neat remix of the original rite he himself underwent that takes place in Brooklyn. Cole proves his mettle despite the odds, and he grows to appreciate the meaning and heritage behind the suit he stole. Somewhere along the way, T'Challa finds the strength to return as his old self, too. Also, Killmonger (who has been a dangling thread after his arc concluded) makes his return here, and his role is an interesting one. Also, in between the Kasper Cole stuff, there's a short arc that's basically a flashback to a classic T'Challa and Ross adventure where they keep watch over the king of Dakenia, who's fled to the US amid political turmoil. I found it weird that it's squeezed in between the new stuff, but the story itself is a fun little mystery. There's a lot to unpack here considering all the issues I read for this one. We get to see so many facets of T'Challa in this latter part of the series, from his peak as a master strategist, his low point as someone who's succumbed to his affliction, a carefree alternate version of himself, and even as a reluctant mentor. He's certainly gone through a hell of a journey throughout this series, and it's cool to see different aspects of his character. Kasper Cole is a solid character right off the bat, with a straightforward but noble goal and a rough personal life that I could sympathize with. I liked his transformation from using the stolen suit as a means to an end to eventually respecting what it represents, and his growth from rookie vigilante to someone who earns T'Challa's respect is great to witness. Everett Ross's role winds down by this part of the series, though he still narrates as he does and gets into weird, perilous situations just by being associated with T'Challa. His tendency to narrate shit out of order aside, I've really enjoyed his character, and his unlikely friendship with the king of Wakanda is one-of-a-kind. Monica Lynne is only in a handful of issues by this point, but despite her exasperation with T'Challa, the two manage to reconcile when T'Challa finally reveals why he called off their engagement in the first place. I never really connected with their relationship (though I probably blame that on growing up knowing T'Challa and Storm are an item), but I liked how things ended for them given how messy things got. Queen Divine Justice gets a big moment when she gets involved in the debacle with M'Baku, but other than that, she's kind of just there when she's needed, and is completely absent for the rest of the series. The big reveal surrounding her backstory isn't explored as much as I would have liked, and I felt like not doing so is a missed opportunity. For what it's worth, I did enjoy what little she did get in terms of character development, even if she only gets that one big moment. There are also a few loose ends that aren't resolved in the series, like a shocking twist involving the gang that Cole is investigating. There are also some weird things that go unexplained, like why the hell Princess Zanda is where she is when she's introduced, or why Venomm (who seemingly reformed in the comic series he was introduced) cameos as a throwaway villain in the background. We still get a few special guests in these last issues. Aside from those previously mentioned, some other Kirby-era villains make an appearance (like Baron Macabre, Madame Slay, and Kiber the Cruel), heroes major and minor come in to help (Falcon, Colleen Wing, Wolverine, and even the entire team of Alpha Flight), and even supporting characters for other heroes like Pepper Potts show up. Again, it's always fun to see all manner of Marvel characters cross over into solo books like this. There's more of that Velluto art whose level of detail I've been enjoying throughout the series, and my favorite twist on it is how the time-displaced T'Challa is actually drawn like the Jack Kirby style to differentiate him from the main one. Different artists take over by the end, so the style changes in the Old West arc (which has a distinct rough texture to it) and by the time Kasper Cole is introduced (which feels simpler when evaluating the level of detail). VERDICT: This final stretch of Christopher Priest's run with Black Panther had a lot to offer, from silly Silver Age adventures with an alternate T'Challa, some spy thriller shit from T'Challa as he outsmarts even Tony Stark, surprising callbacks to a comic series that came 20 years prior, and even a brand new Black Panther with Kasper Cole's gritty crime drama. The series has its ups and downs, but overall, there were a lot of memorable story arcs in this run, and it introduced some worthwhile additions to the ever-expanding Marvel Universe while also building on some old stuff. There's a whole lot going on in this series that may prove to be a barrier of entry for some readers, but I would argue there's merit in reading most of the story arcs should they pique your interest. I also would recommend checking out Kasper Cole's arcs, since many are bound to be unfamiliar with this completely different version of the Black Panther. POSTSCRIPT: If my math is right, it's been close to four months since I started this whole business of reading Black Panther comics every week until the movie came out. It's been a lot of fun to go through different takes on the character spanning over 55 years of comics, and it's cool to see or revisit where exactly iconic aspects of T'Challa's lore are established. I also learned a great deal considering a good number of these comics are comics I haven't read yet (or whose summaries I've only figured out by reading other comics or via adaptations), and exploring obscure stuff like the Jack Kirby series and the obscure bits of Panther's Rage was a delight. I've talked about how I thought Black Panther was cool as shit as a kid, and I've probably mentioned ad nauseam how him (along with a million other characters at this point) being adapted to live action was a dream come true for little comic fan me. It always makes me happy when I see people who've never read a single comic become attached and invested in these characters I grew up loving, moreso when those characters aren't as well-known as the likes of Spider-Man or Superman. Black Panther is no exception, and he is a particularly special case because his solo movie ended up being culturally significant given the level of representation it brought to the table. The hype I've seen for the sequel speaks to how his character and what Wakanda represents resonated with so many people, and I'm elated to see so many people are as, if not more, excited about exploring this special corner of the Marvel Universe as I am. - end - With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever upon us, I thought I'd check out this particular event given what the movie seems to be going for with its story. ![]() Publisher: Marvel | Writers: Brian Michael Bendis, Jeph Loeb, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman | Artists: Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Frank Cho, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, Adam Kubert, John Dell | Contains: Marvel Point One #1, Avengers vs. X-Men #0-12 BACKGROUND:
Given the magnitude of this crossover, I was naturally pretty aware of the series when it came out. I have a good idea of what happens simply by following discussions of the comic and by reading comics that came since, though I've only read parts of it myself. It took me a while, but I'm finally reading this in full. SUMMARY: The Phoenix Force is returning to Earth, and if the whole thing with Jean Grey is anything to go by, that means shit is about to go down. The Avengers are naturally aware of the threat this poses, and they're taking the initiative to try and get ahead of things this time around. Unfortunately, that puts them at odds with Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men. For context, the mutant race is still endangered during this point due to Scarlet Witch's iconic declaration of "no more mutants." Cyclops, who has since become the leader of the mutant city of Utopia, sees the return of the Phoenix as an opportunity to restore mutantkind. Both the Avengers and the X-Men figure out that the most likely host for the Phoenix Force this time would be Hope Summers, who is so named as she's seen as a messianic figure for mutantkind. Cyclops looks to prepare Hope to accept the Phoenix Force to help with his vision of restoring mutants, but the Avengers want to get to Hope before the Phoenix Force can get a chance to drive Hope to madness. And thus, our conflict is born. As the two sides fight one another (with Hope frustrated at being the center of the whole conflict), Tony Stark's unsuccessful attempt to intercept the Phoenix Force results in the Phoenix splitting its power. This results in five mutants (Cyclops, Namor, Emma Frost, Colossus, and Magik) becoming hosts instead of one. At first, the Phoenix Five use their immensely godly powers for good, providing resources to people around the world and ending conflicts where they could. The Avengers are concerned with such power being left unchecked despite the good that has come with it, and they make a play to extract Hope from Utopia (believing her to be the countermeasure against the Phoenix Force). Unsurprisingly, fisticuffs ensue. Shit escalates further from there, as the Phoenix Five prove to be nigh unstoppable and the Avengers take loss after loss. Some surprises happen along the way, like the return of Scarlet Witch (who is still vilified by most mutants for her actions), and the intervention of Lei Kung the Thunderer (Iron Fist's master from K'un-L'un). These two characters apparently hold some sort of key to fighting against the Phoenix Force, as Wanda's chaos magic appears to be the only thing that can harm the Phoenix Five, and Lei Kung knows of an old prophecy connected to the Phoenix. I found both these plot threads interesting, especially the Iron Fist lore of all things being connected to a traditionally mutant-focused storyline. As the greatest minds in the Avengers struggle to figure out a way to counter the Phoenix, Hope is taken to K'un-L'un to train, but as that goes on, the Avengers continue to take an ass-beating from the X-Men. At this point, the hosts of the Phoenix are starting to be corrupted by absolute power. The first to go rogue is Namor, who completely decimates Wakanda with a massive flood (the very event that immediately crossed my mind when Namor was revealed to be in the new movie). The Avengers do manage to take Namor down, but it took literally all of them to do so. What's worse, defeating Namor caused his fragment of the Phoenix Force to be split between the remaining for hosts, empowering them further. The fight only gets harder from there, as Magik and Colossus are incapacitated as well, making Cyclops and Emma Frost (who have become tyrants over the course of the story) practically unbeatable. Just when it seems like the world is damned to burn at the hands of the remaining Phoenix hosts, the Avengers (with some special help from an unlikely source) take down Cyclops with the combined powers of Hope and Scarlet Witch. Our two powerhouses also use their powers to try and extinguish the Phoenix Force, but the end result is surprising (not in a bad way, but in a cool way that brings a plot thread from the beginning full circle). Cyclops is imprisoned for all the horrible shit he did, and the Avengers try to mend their relationship with the X-Men with a brand new roster. Truthfully, a lot of the comic is pure spectacle, as there are so many characters that fight one another that don't actually get to do anything other than be part of a few action-packed panels. But that doesn't mean that there aren't interesting characters or story to get into. Cyclops' rationale in preparing Hope to become the Phoenix is sympathetic in a sense; mutantkind's been through so much shit, and I can get taking a chance on a dangerous power to restore it. I feel like he takes his actions to the extreme way quicker than I would expect, though I suppose I can chalk that up to a sense of desperation to make things right. Still, it's weird to see the so-called boy scout of the X-Men rival even Magneto in his ruthless pursuit of the "good" of mutantkind. The Avengers (particularly Captain America) are mostly the foil to Cyclops that you'd expect them to be, seeing the Phoenix primarily as a threat to be contained (and with good reason). They do some questionable things in service to that goal, and Cyclops' criticism of them not doing as much for mutantkind makes total sense, so I wouldn't say their hands are squeaky clean. The conflict is made more interesting when you consider Wolverine is on the Avengers' side, and his willingness to fight against the Phoenix causes some of the X-Men to label him as a traitor (despite both sides being acutely aware of what happened the last time the Phoenix showed up). Caught in the middle of it all is Hope Summers, who is saddled with the burden of being the hope (get it?) of the mutant race because she was the first mutant born after Scarlet Witch said her magic words. She thinks herself ready to take on the burden of the Phoenix Force, but also yearns the freedom to help people that Cyclops doesn't permit her to do. She's obviously one of the most powerful mutants ever, but it's clear that she's got a lot to learn. The most interesting conflict she goes through in the comic is how she sees herself as personally responsible for the feud between the Avengers and the X-Men, and for however brief that is explored, I enjoyed looking at her perspective on the whole thing. Most of the other characters are kind of just there in one way or another, though some do get interesting or cool moments. There's the aforementioned Wolverine, plus Spider-Man gets an awesome moment showing his heart. Scarlet Witch still dealing with her guilt was interesting to see, while Magik gets to be a complete badass by channeling the power of the Limbo dimension to fuck shit up. T'Challa and Storm's relationship going through a really rough patch is explored as well, and Lei Kung actually gets involved in one of the battles in what I'd describe as one of the coolest action moments in the entire comic. Unfortunately, some characters weirdly take a back seat (like Magneto, and even Hope herself at times), don't get a whole lot to do character-wise (the Rasputin siblings, apart from their last big moment, feel like random fillers for the Phoenix Five roster), and a few are just there to get torched. Multiple artists handle the art throughout the series, so there's a bit of variation in the visual style. Overall, I'd say each style boasts a decent amount of detail, and they all have their fair share of awesome-looking action scenes or splash pages. It's always fun to see dozens of superheroes beating the shit out of each other, though such instances do look pretty busy the way they're drawn. VERDICT: As expected, Avengers vs. X-Men is high-octane superhero brawls from start to finish, and I liked that the conflict between them is something within the realm of reason (even if how things play out can be predictable). I feel like some characters are underserved (largely to both sides having a fuckton of characters), I thought more time was spent with fisticuffs than exploring the divide between the two sides, and I still feel weird about complete asshole Cyclops. Still, there's cool action all throughout, the occasional nuanced character moment, and the Phoenix Force gets to be a big part of the Marvel Universe again in a different way. Given this is one of the biggest comic crossover events of the past decade, one could probably argue that it's essential reading. I think it's worth checking out if you simply want to see two of the biggest superhero teams ever go toe to toe, but in terms of story, I feel like it's standard fare for the most part. It's also not the greatest in terms of building characters, as only a handful get substantial moments. If you intend to read this looking to get strong character moments, I feel like you'll only get a little bit of what you're looking for. - end - It has been zero days since I've played a new card game. BACKGROUND:
I saw a bit of this game on a stream and was intrigued by the fact that it had a story. Oh, and I wanted to see its twist on solitaire. PLOT: The spy agency known as Protego has fallen, and it falls to you, the Spymaster, to restore it to its former glory. You are recruited by your handler Jim Ratio on a quest to restore Protego, and you'll have to deploy different spy crews on missions to do so. How? With playing cards.... I guess? I found the absurd notion of coordinating spy missions by playing a variation of solitaire amusing on paper, but so much of the game's story is telling and not showing. All you get before each round is a bit of text talking about the current mission, and that's it. The game doesn't give you any visuals or even voice acting to sell the idea that your laying down of cards corresponds to you handling the logistics of a covert ops mission. The gameplay and the story feel disconnected because of this, and I really wish more effort had been made to have the two feel more intertwined. I wanted to like the scenarios the missions were describing (because some of them sound like really cool spy action), but all I'm doing is reading the text and imagining things in my head. The game I'm playing has largely nothing to do with what I've read, and it feels weird afterward when I read that the mission was a success. The most connection there is between the game and the story is how each "suit" of cards corresponds to a spy crew that you're working with. For example, the purple suit corresponds to the Mantis Group, a team specializing in demolitions and more physical operations. There are various crews represented as cards with interesting backgrounds, which is why I feel like it was such a missed opportunity that none of the events you're orchestrating are illustrated in any way. Plus, you get a brief overview of each crew member, and it's an equally missed opportunity to have them interact with the player character or even just narrate how the mission is going. The overarching story has you take on missions with the goal of taking down Solitaire (yes, that's actually his name, and yes, I agree), a criminal mastermind who Ratio says is responsible for Protego's current woes. Ratio urges you to keep taking on mission after mission, as apparently Protego has an XP system where missions are worth experience. If you reach a certain level, you'll be able to restore the agency... somehow? The whole thing is quite contrived to me, and it's a rather ineffective attempt at contextualizing an aspect of the gameplay as an element of the story. Moreover, the game tries to tell you that all the seemingly disconnected missions all serve the greater goal of weakening Solitaire's power, but since you don't get any sort of illustration for the story, it doesn't really feel like these missions are amounting to anything. I found it difficult to get into Jim Ratio's character, largely because he is played by Greg Miller (formerly of IGN, now of Kinda Funny Games), and the man has such a specific onscreen personality that my mind can't think of Ratio as anyone but Greg Miller doing a bit. For what it's worth, I think he does the best he can with the role (I don't think he's phoning it in, at the least). Other characters show up, but only briefly, so you don't get to really know them. Once I got to the probably obvious plot twist, the game completely lost me. The twist has a lot to do with the contrived XP nonsense I just described, and the game tries to set up a conflict for your character that's supposed to be some sort of moral quandary. It doesn't work because a) you don't really spend enough time with everybody to properly learn their motivations (so their arguments don't get much substance), b) the crews you're supposedly deploying don't get involved at all, and c) you don't even get to decide where your allegiances lie at the end. PRESENTATION: As far as solitaire games go, this one has aesthetic aplenty. The visuals take on a neon, almost cyberpunk look, and the music is intense and suspenseful (which is hilarious next to the otherwise calm act of playing solitaire). You definitely get the stylish espionage vibe in this regard, but that's as far as it goes. The face cards of each suit feature some cool character art for the key members of the crew the cards represent, and the fact that they look cool really makes me wish the story of this game was handled better. In terms of readability, they should have made the suit symbols more prominent, as while each suit has a distinct color scheme, some of the suits can still blend together because they're the same hue. I personally didn't have trouble with this, but this can easily be an accessibility issue if, for example, you're colorblind. Most of the big story stuff is presented via FMV cutscenes featuring Greg Miller (and other actors) speaking in front of a camera. I think they were going for a Metal Gear Solid-style Codec vibe here, which is fine, but the fact that the most visuals we get is a stylized video chat just isn't that interesting to me visually. Also, it's straight up just Greg Miller talking, and my brain finds it physically impossible to think of him as the character he's playing. That's on me, though. GAMEPLAY: The Solitaire Conspiracy has the basics of what most people recognize from regular solitaire games: there's a random arrangement of cards, you can move cards in certain ways to clear up space, and the goal is to clear the table of cards per suit in sequential order (from A to K). Some key differences here include the lack of a deck you can draw from (every card is on the playing field here), all the cards are face up, and the game can be played with a minimum of two suits (the max is four, like regular solitaire). Moving cards around is more lenient here as well since there are no strict suit or sequence restrictions (i.e. you don't have to alternate suit colors or move a card to the next highest value in the sequence). As long as the card you're moving is lower in value than the card you intend to place it on, it's a valid move. Where things get interesting is the face cards of each suit. Once you lay down the ace for a specific suit, the special abilities of the face cards will be available for play. The ability of a face card depends on its suit (i.e. the spy crew it represents), and you activate this by moving a card to a stack (in this case, a powered-up card can be placed anywhere). You can only use a face card's ability once, so between the jack, queen, and the king, you only have three chances to make the most out of these skills. There are a small assortment of suits representing a different spy crew, and their face cards each have a unique ability. For example, the purple Mantis Group cards can scatter all the cards on the stack across all the other stacks, while the red Drive Team Six cards conveniently clear the next number in the sequence for the suit you play it on. These abilities have varying degrees of usefulness (some of them actually tend to be more unhelpful and you have to go out of your way not to use them), and I liked the strategic twist they add to the game, even if the chance to use them doesn't come up as often as I expected. As it turns out, playing solitaire the regular way works just fine, almost to the detriment of the game's gimmick. The main campaign has you play out a sequence of story missions which have a set selection of suits (i.e. only specific crews and their respective abilities are available). All you have to do is play enough of these missions (each of which worth some XP) to get to Level 15 to get to the end of the story. There are also a couple of side stories you can tackle alongside or after the main story. There are also other modes once you beat the campaign (which is quite short). There's Skirmish, which is essentially free play, and you can choose the crews you want to play in this mode. There are also daily missions where the crew selection is random every time. Lastly, there's Countdown, which is a time attack mode where you try to survive as long as you can by clearing cards to extend the timer. This mode is the most fun, I think, since it offsets the relative simplicity of the regular game by adding time pressure. VERDICT: I really wanted to get sucked into this world of espionage The Solitaire Conspiracy is trying to set up, but it just doesn't come together for me. Its twist on solitaire isn't as radical as I would have hoped, but I still quite enjoyed the gimmick of the face cards having abilities that manipulated the table. I see it as a serviceable (and somewhat addictive) time-killer with a nice coat of paint, but that's about it. The disconnect between the game and its story has me hesitant to give it a full recommendation, so I'll just say to get this one on a sale if you're really that interested in it. I'd lower your expectations when it comes to the depth of the story, though I think the gameplay itself would provide a good bit of strategic fun, if only for a while. Obligatory Steam store link: The Solitaire Conspiracy on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - I continue reading the Christopher Priest run of Black Panther on this penultimate week to the movie's worldwide premiere. BACKGROUND:
I definitely am not familiar with the rest of this comic series past the first five issues, and based on what I've read last week, I'm excited to see what manner of special guests show up in these comics. SUMMARY: Last I left off, T'Challa and Killmonger were gearing up for another collision, and in the first few issues, that arc culminates in yet another showdown at Warrior Falls. This comes after T'Challa purposely tanks Wakanda's economy, thwarting Killmonger's interesting albeit contrived plan to do the very same. An unfortunate situation involving Everett Ross (who was entrusted with a major role in Wakanda in an earlier issue) causes T'Challa to lose ritual combat, which allows Killmonger to become the Black Panther. Killmonger as Black Panther is weird in a fun way, as he goes off to join the Avengers (and is met with a healthy amount of skepticism from its current roster). His other adventures aren't documented in the series, but a key one sees him accompany the Avengers back to Wakanda on a personal mission. This mission turns out to be a trap set up by Achebe (the villain from this run's second arc), who hires none other than Deadpool to attempt to eliminate Killmonger. Why? Apparently, Achebe wants to come into conflict with T'Challa again. It's a bit weird, but hey, Deadpool was a fun guest. As this is going on, T'Challa is in a coma, and Brother Voodoo enlists the help of Moon Knight to help restore T'Challa's link to the panther goddess Bast. This leads to an adventure in the dream realm where they face off against the powerful villain Nightmare, who is once again trying to draw power from dreams and human souls. Much like the first arc, it was awesome to see T'Challa fight an extremely powerful supernatural villain, and it's cool to see the connection between the Egyptian pantheon and the gods of Wakanda be established via Moon Knight and Khonshu's involvement. T'Challa manages to wake up (though not without incident, as there was an attempted murder on Brother Voodoo), and immediately concerns himself with the search of Malice, the mysterious figure who tried to kill Brother Voodoo. He leaves Killmonger to his own devices, who is just.... removed completely from the equation due to some weirdness when he tries to become king. It's certainly an abrupt way to resolve the conflict, to the point that T'Challa himself is shocked at what happened. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Malice is revealed to be none other than Nakia, T'Challa's former Dora Milaje who was blinded by her infatuation towards the king. That infatuation turned into murderous obsession as she kills/attempts to kill in an effort to get a measure of revenge for T'Challa's rejection. This sets up the next arc nicely (which I'll get into later), but T'Challa's conflict with Malice is preceded by a couple of other storylines. She's a pretty interesting villain, though the entire situation highlights how uncomfortable this early incarnation of the Dora Milaje is to read about. Long story short, the Dora Milaje in this series aren't just warriors or the equivalent of a royal guard; they're also meant to be where the current king is meant to select his wife from, and some of them are frighteningly young. The next arc ties into the Maximum Security crossover event, which sees a bunch of alien civilizations designate Earth as a penal colony (the real-life analogy here is how Australia was to the British Empire). This leads all those aliens to dump all their prisoners on Earth, and that obviously leads to chaos. Some of those aliens end up in Wakanda, and in the fracas, the true nature of the Resurrection Altar is revealed (it's weird). This situation resolves itself in short order anyhow, and my takeaway is that I now have to read Maximum Security. Next up on T'Challa's plate is straight up global conflict, as a Deviant refugee (yes, the same Deviants who fight the Eternals) draws the ire of the Lemurian priest Ghaur, who declares war on Wakanda. T'Challa stands his ground, but that leads to Namor (whose kingdom is in the vicinity of Lemuria) to strongly advise against starting a war on his turf. Tensions escalate as the US government takes notice, and Magneto (currently leader of mutant nation Genosha) as well as Doctor Doom affirm their alliance with Atlantis by demanding that T'Challa stand down. It's pretty intense, and it's cool to see how far back the tensions between Namor and T'Challa (important to note for the upcoming movie) as well as Doom and T'Challa (eventually leading into Doomwar) go. Unfortunately for T'Challa, Klaw has resurfaced thanks to the machinations of the White Wolf (who has been weirdly appearing and disappearing throughout this stretch of the series) and the return of Vibraxas (a superpowered young man from Wakanda affiliated with the Fantastic Four). Klaw begins his quest for vengeance by kickstarting the war T'Challa is trying to prevent. Shit starts popping off, and while T'Challa ultimately defeats Klaw and the war is averted (thanks to Everett Ross), his actions lead to his arrest. The issue that follows sees T'Challa in a court hearing, where various characters (including Captain America) vouch for his character. It's also in this issue where it's revealed that Cap met T'Chaka in WWII (though this has since been retconned, as now it's established that Azzuri was the Black Panther who befriended Cap). After all that chaos (which, plus a bunch of other incidents), anti-Wakanda sentiment has grown to a fever pitch in America, as people have begun protesting against T'Challa's recent actions. He's much too busy to be worrying about that, however, as he now must begin his quest to capture Malice. It turns out Malice is now using some sort of drug to seduce men into doing her bidding, and she's now exploiting this to target T'Challa's loved ones. Our hero gets ahead of the mess eventually, but as this is happening, certain events in Wakanda are brewing to set up the next arc. In the last few issues I read for this post, T'Challa and M'Baku renew their rivalry as the truth behind Queen Divine Justice (the Dora Milaje who was recruited as Nakia's replacement) and her heritage is revealed. T'Challa's obfuscation of this truth becomes a main focus as he makes his way to the Jabari-lands to mount a rescue. At the point where I stopped, this arc hasn't quite resolved itself, as there's a pretty shocking reveal at the end of issue #35. I covered a lot of ground in this reading session, and while I did enjoy all these many short arcs for various reasons, the pacing can be a bit off (I felt like the Killmonger conflict just ends, for example). Some issues can also be overly dependent on tie-ins for full context; an issue of Deadpool is invoked a lot, and there's the aforementioned Maximum Security event. Some characters also disappear/resurface in weird ways (White Wolf is the most notorious example), and Everett Ross's scatterbrained narration continues to not help when it comes to understanding the timeline of events. That said, it's cool as a hardcore fan to see all these connections to other corners of the Marvel Universe; I wasn't expecting the Deviants of Lemuria to go to war with Wakanda, for example, and that's a pleasant surprise. While it seems like T'Challa is on top of every situation he finds himself in, the chaos that ensues in his wake seems to indicate the contrary. It's interesting to see how foreign powers are starting to see Wakanda in a negative light after a string of extremely public incidents, though the Wakanda side of things isn't explored substantially. T'Challa himself still feels like he's five steps ahead of everyone, but some of his gambits seem to not be worth it in terms of consequence, and his seemingly fearless demeanor is showing its cracks in some instances. Everett Ross is still a big part of the series, as he continues to narrate majority of the issues. It's cool to see him be more than comic relief as the seismic shift in his life since taking on T'Challa as a client finally takes its toll on him. He deals with significant loss and begins to question T'Challa's friendship, but he does find a way to keep on going. Something super weird happens to him by the end, though, and I'm curious to see how that ends. There are a ton of guest characters involved in a majority of the issues, which was a lot of fun to see. Apart from the ones I previously mentioned (Moon Knight, Deadpool, Nightmare, Captain America, etc.), we get a special appearance by Storm (whose early romance with T'Challa is rekindled, setting us up nicely for what happens years later), the involvement of some deep cut characters (like Triathlon, Henry Gyrich, and Dakota North), and even brief appearances from the likes of Silver Surfer, Mephisto, the Thing, and Doctor Strange. It's a delight to see all manner of Marvel characters show up throughout this series, even if things get messy in terms of the comics they reference. The whole romance with Monica Lynne is pretty much dead in the water at this point, as Monica has become absolutely sick of being caught in the crossfire of T'Challa's conflicts. There's also the matter of her seeing him be vulnerable with Storm, something he never did around her. Like White Wolf, she kind of pops in and out of the series and sort of random points, which I found weird. Speaking of White Wolf, his loyalty to Wakanda is still apparent, though his methods of showing it (and his insistence in fighting T'Challa instead of helping him) remain highly questionable. I wish he were more of a focus than he was in this stretch of issues, but he does get to do some stuff. Queen Divine Justice continues to be a fun character, as her not being born and raised in Wakanda leads to funny interactions in her homeland. The truth behind her heritage is interesting (though I wonder what how that reveal will change her), and her romance with Vibraxas was surprising. The art is once again quite varied in terms of style, although the Velluto art with super jacked dudes and intense shading is the most common in this subset of issues. There are issues where other artists took the reins, and those differ from the usual style in a number of respects (from shading, level of detail/texture, body proportions, and even color palette). VERDICT: Part 2 of my journey to read Priest's Black Panther had a ton to offer in terms of conflicts for T'Challa (ranging from personal grudge matches to full-scale global crises), a variety of villains (from the return of Klaw to the full debut of Malice), a smorgasbord of guests and connections to the Marvel Universe, and some growth for the supporting cast. Elements like pacing, the handling of certain characters, and the need for prerequisite reading did get in the way of my enjoyment at times, but overall, I still had a great time with this middle bit of the series. Next week, my weekly Black Panther binge will conclude as the movie comes out, and I'll finish up this series along with it. I'm obviously excited for the movie, but I'm also excited to read the last third of this series, because I have a good idea of the major status quo change that happens. - end - Halloween may be over, but I still have one spooky read up my sleeve. BACKGROUND:
I've never heard of this series before, so this is as fresh as fresh can get. SUMMARY: Burden Hill looks like your typical suburban paradise with white picket fences and all, but the town hides some horrific supernatural secrets within. Defending Burden Hill from these threats are none other than the neighborhood dogs and cats, who can talk and are guided by the Wise Dogs (who possess knowledge of the paranormal). Each of the four issues sees the group investigate and deal with mysterious cases in Burden Hill, and things almost always get ugly. Little explanation is given as to how some of the characters know about magic spells, concoctions, and supernatural creatures. The fact that they just seem to know, and that the humans have zero clue as to what's going on is amusing to me. Something about a bunch of everyday pets being the only real line of defense an entire town has against the horrors of the unknown just makes for a fun premise to me. Some of the dogs even have to think about going home as to not alert their owners, which I think is funny. Each case is different per issue, and none of them pull any punches despite our heroes being lovely animals whom you don't want to see get hurt. The first case has them check out a mysterious rain of frogs (and the result is catastrophic for some characters), the second has them investigate a missing dogs' case (which leads to a dark revelation), the third has the main cat of the team investigate a sewer full of cultist rats to rescue a witch cat, and the fourth involves a grotesque resurrection that hints at a more sinister force on the rise in Burden Hill. They all have their fair share of freaky goings-on, and there's always that very real threat that the main cast may be in way over their heads. While I enjoyed the case-of-the-week format just fine, I am certainly intrigued by the setup of an overarching story by the end. I'm not sure which of the later comics pick up this plot thread, but the idea of these gang of dogs (and one cat) facing off against some major demonic threat is highly entertaining to me. The painterly art style stood out to me immediately. The colors look rich and varied, and the level of detail is pretty impressive. As such, Burden Hill during the day looks beautiful and picturesque, you get a real sense of texture when looking at the animals' fur, and the book's occasional gory moments (yes, this comic starring adorable pet heroes gets bloody) really stand out. VERDICT: I thought Beasts of Burden had an entertaining (and adorable) spin on the whole paranormal investigator premise with its lead characters and small-scale adventures. I was pleasantly surprised at how bloody and dark things got in some of the stories, and I also loved looking at the art. I would definitely read more of this. Does a story about a group of talking dogs and cats investigating ghouls and ghosts sound interesting to you? If so, this comic may be up your alley. It's got its fair share of humor but it's also not afraid to lean into the darker aspects of its horror-fantasy setting. Plus, the art style is bound to be a treat to look at, particularly if you're into paintings. - end - |
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June 2024
Derryck
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