Psycho-Pass 3 (2019)

Psycho-Pass 3 is a direct sequel to Psycho-Pass 2 but featuring a new cast to focus upon. That isn’t to say that familiar faces from the previous systems won’t show up. It is eight episodes long but each one is around 46 minutes. It takes place in the future where the Sibyl System in Japan helps keep peace and the country stable. It is noted that this is the only reason that Japan is still so well off in this age. The Sibyl System is somewhat controversial since it predetermines whether a person is going to commit a crime before they do. They base this off several factors and then distill it into a single number called a Crime Coefficient, or Psycho-Pass.

The anime opens up with the crash of a transport drone which resulted in the death of a civilian. While it was originally thought of as an accident, the Enforcers who are sent to investigate uncover that it is at the very least, suspicious. Enforcers are part of the police force whose Psycho-Pass is over the limit, and instead of being sent off their only choice is limited freedom doing this type of work. They have weapons that will scan someone’s Psycho-Pass and decide to unlock the non-lethal or lethal ammunition only if it is higher than the threshold.

Several familiar faces will show up as supporting characters. The characters from the previous seasons are out of focus. They might turn up for a short scene or two but then will disappear again. Out of the group of new characters, Shindo is the one that leaves the most impact. This is because he has the Mental Trace ability, which allows him to mentally become the person and know what had happened. This proves to be an extremely useful ability.

As expected, there are multiple cases that are linked as the group of detectives and enforcers continue to investigate. There is a shadowy group in the background who seemed to be controlling things and looking like they are betting on the outcome. During fight scenes, there is good use of music, especially the familiar tracks. Fistfights are common, as are chase scenes. Usage of the Dominator’s (the transforming handheld gun) lethal mode, which results in the target exploding, complete with flesh and blood, still feels way out of proportion considering that while they are criminals, they are still people.

The anime focuses on heavy themes such as immigration and corporate manipulation. It doesn’t hesitate to dive in and provide explanation of concepts. This does mean that it can be too heavy at times with too much dialogue for exposition. It can lead to sluggish pacing and it seems to lack a clear objective, giving it a total different feel to the first two seasons. Getting used to the new characters is probably the hardest part, and until you get to know them, their personality and their histories, it can be easy to feel detached.

Despite all the various cases in each episode all being related with each other, it does feel like the anime is messy. Perhaps it is just due to its themes and content but it doesn’t feel that there are any standout scenes. Perhaps the biggest flaw is that even with eight double length episodes, it still couldn’t end properly. Everything is left open and there is absolutely no resolution, which is disappointing. When the credits roll in the final episode, you wonder if there was a missing episode because it was so abrupt and left in the middle of a scene. It’s not so much a cliffhanger as unfinished. Granted, it’s continued in the movie but this shouldn’t be the case, and the season should have been able to be a standalone.

Overall, Psycho-Pass 3 is average. The characters take a long time to warm up to, and even then, they’re not going to be any of your favorite characters anytime soon. The focus on the one organization for the whole season would have given the season a singular and consistent objective but it meanders way too much. Given that the major plot points are not even resolved by the end, and you’re left with something that had potential but squanders it like it had just fallen over itself face down onto the ground.

------------------------------------------

For other anime reviews, have a look at this page.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (PS4)

After the disaster that was Unity for the debut of the series onto new hardware, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate helps redeem that tarnished reputation. It is the ninth mainline installment to the long running series and is set in Victorian London. It retains the familiar stealth gameplay with its biggest draw being the free-running. The free-running builds upon from Unity and pressing the right trigger button will cause either Jacob or Evie to start running. If you want to climb up then you combine it with a press of the X button and if you want to climb down, then it’ll be a combination with the circle button. While it takes a short amount of time in the beginning to adjust, it becomes quite intuitive and works well. It’s easy to overlook the always present instances where you will end up climbing something or jumping somewhere you didn’t want to.  The controls are at their worst when you’re in confined spaces and the characters absolutely refuses to do what you want, it’s really frustrating.

The game adds in a rope launcher, which allows you to create a zip-line between buildings. This allows you to quickly travel between rooftops, or stay on the zipline and assassinate from above, allowing a bit of variety (and making it easier) to dispatch your foes. Furthermore, you can use the rope launcher to rappel up buildings, making it much faster than if you had climbed it manually.

Victorian London is one of the most modern settings that have been featured in Assassin’s Creed. Factories spewing smoke and machinery are commonplace, and it gives the game a unique feel. The world is expectedly large, and in addition to fast travel points, there are carriages that you can drive around. The music surprisingly captures your attention (mainly due to the violin). This is an Ubisoft open world game so there are definitely a lot of familiar elements. There are the numerous collectibles scattered all over the place, as well as high structures to climb in order to survey and defog the map of the surroundings.

The story stars the twins Jacob and Evie Frye. Their personalities are different leading to different approaches, and this reflects in their play-styles. While both plays exactly the same, Jacob favors combat more while Evie favors stealth. Their bantering is pretty good and the clash of their way of approaching things is featured within the story. The story focuses upon the hidden war between the Assassins and Templars again. Jacob and Evie are assassins who are aiming to recover the Pieces of Eden that the Templars have in their control. The Templars are the main enemies, although Jacob and Evie will face off against the police from time to time.

The pair arrives in London in order to find the Piece of Eden that takes on the form of a shroud this time. They track down Crawford Starrick ,a Templar in control of London, and slowly find a way to crumble his power. It’s a simple structure in which you kill off his main associates one by one, but because of this, it works well. Wrapped into all of this is the present day story. Like a lot of the games after Assassin’s Creed III, it is minimal and seemingly goes nowhere. The Assassins are constantly in the losing side although the final scene has a fairly big revelation which makes it interesting again if they can keep it up in the next game.

There are light RPG elements. Nearly everything you do will give you experience points. These points are then used to unlock new moves, abilities and other passive bonuses. Furthermore, you collect money in order to craft and unlock other types of abilities, which can be addictive. You’re able to swap between Jacob and Evie at any time, although missions may force you to use one over the other.

Unfortunately, despite the improvements, the gameplay is definitely feeling stale. The mission structures have been made less restrictive than Unity, with more variety, meaning it is definitely more fun. However, you can’t help but feel that there is nothing new in how it approaches and presents things. Each mission has various ways to complete, so you’re not railroaded into as linear a experience. For example, there are various entry points into the buildings you’re supposed to infiltrate. Ultimately, stealth will always work but you can brute force your way into winning if you wish. You’re not actively discouraged from combat anymore unlike Unity. While it is still encouraged to be avoided, at least you stand a good fighting chance and won’t die from a few hits. The combat is pretty basic since you use a button to punch, can counter, and break your opponent’s guard.

There is no multiplayer mode, the game focuses purely on single player and puts all of its quality into that mode. Thankfully, the single player missions are solid, and outside of that, the huge map provides heaps of things to do. It is easy to get distracted, even during a mission. However, there are still a few duds, such as the tailing missions which are terrible. Furthermore, Assassin’s Creed never really had good final “boss” fights and Syndicate is no exception. The final fight against the villain actually drags out for far too long, with repetitive phases and a bulletspongey boss. It leads to a tedious fight.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is a return to form for the franchise. Yes, it feels like an iteration to the series’ formula rather than massive improvements like a sequel. You can’t shake off the feeling that everything is familiar but once you get into the rhythm of the game, it is a lot of fun.

--------------------------------------------

For other game reviews, have a look at this page.

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Devastator

Review:  #642

Name:  Devastator

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2019-2020

Size Class:  N/A - comprised of 2 Deluxes, 4 Voyagers & 2 Leaders

Mold Status:  new

CONSTRUCTICONS:

Finally, after almost two years, the ambitious Studio Series version of the Constructicons is finally complete.  The team is comprised of:

- Hightower

- Long Haul

- Mixmaster

- Overload

- Rampage

- Scavenger

- Scrapmetal

- Scrapper

One of the neat thing about the ROTF's team is the variety of colors and the different types of vehicles, not to mention that it is a team of eight rather than the traditional six.

They look great as a set but you could also tell that there was quite a bit of compromise in this mode, as several of the figures have exposed robot parts.

Likewise in robot mode, there is a huge variety.  One of the best things about ROTF was the fact that not all the robots were humanoid, and that could not be more clearer than the Constructicons.

To be honest, each of the figures' robot modes ranges from solid to spectacular on their own so even if you are not intending to create Devastator, they are still worthwhile to obtain in their own right.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation is quite complicated as you can expect.  We'll go through each of the Constructicons and first up is Hightower.  He doesn't actually quite much effort since he forms only part of an arm.  The only required steps are to angle the treads, pull out the robot head and then attach the claw.

For Long Haul, who forms the right leg, you effectively pull the robot legs up and then locks everything into place, using the arms / truck bed as the foot.  Long Haul seems to have a loose waist and this makes the leg mode seem more fragile as a result.

For Mixmaster, he can be quite complicated.  In general, you take the cab off to reveal the head and then flip out a few more panels to bulk it up.  The drums split up and despite appearances, do have a few tabs and slots to lock into place but still feels less elegant and messy than the other Constructicons.

Overload is interesting since you know he is the load bearing unit for the whole figure.  Basically you flip the robot mode upside down, with the limbs in vehicle configuration (i.e. pegged in securely).

For Rampage, it might look simple but you end up spending a fair amount of steps to flip the treads upside down.

Scavenger is the most interesting due to the odd robot form and the two giant wheels.  The robot arms form Devastator's shoulders while one of the wheels splits in half at the back and the front wheel has a massive slot to combine with Overload.

Scrapmetal doesn't compromise too much compared to the others as he's basically vehicle mode with the scoop, and he two robot arms forming the fingers.

And lastly is Scrapper, where it is the vehicle mode with the scoop split into three.

There are three small parts left over, Scrapmetal's shield, Rampage's stand, and a piece that came with Overload.  The shield and stand have places to be pegged, and the piece that came with Overload pegs onto Mixmaster as part of Devastator's head.

It is really a feat of engineering marvel at how all these figures peg together.  The weakest / most confusing connection is Mixmaster due to how messy Mixmaster's head mode is.  Otherwise, Scavenger pegs very securely onto Overload, and the limbs uses nice and tight connections.

COMBINED MODE:

Once all is said and done, Devastator is an impressive beast.  Interestingly, despite the apparent variety of colors, there does seem to be a tad bit too much red, mainly due to Rampage.

Considering this is an odd eight robot combiner, it is amazing that there are limited amounts of kibble.  Everything pegs in and holds together fairly solidly, so Devastator does not feel flimsy.

The headsculpt is very messy and detailed, so it can be hard to make out the features at first glance.  The mouth can open and close but that's basically it.

As you can expect, Devastator is a massive figure.  Above is a comparison against a Deluxe and a Leader figure and Devastator just towers over them with plenty to spare.  Also, you may not expect it, but Devastator is heavy, to the point that it's awkward holding him up.

While not in the instructions, it seems it is common to attach Scrapmetal's shield onto the left knee.  Some also leave Rampage's stand as part of his foot mode but you can also peg it behind Devastator out of sight.

Theoretically, Devastator has articulation in the arms and hips, so he isn't exactly the most nimble.

The biggest obstruction to his poseability is the weight.  There's just so much to the figure that it is difficult to add in extra articulation without compromising the stability.  As it is, there must be a lot of strain placed upon Overload and both Long Haul and Rampage, so it is pretty impressive already that they can hold it so steadily already.

Devastator is designed to stand upright, although if you try, you can force him onto all fours but it will look unnatural.

Despite the limited articulation, this is an impressive combined mode and is definitely worth the price of admission.

OVERALL:

Getting all the figures to form Devastator is not cheap, but now that all his components are released, it is safe to say that he is worth it.  Each of the individual Constructions were already solid figures in their own right, but the combined mode is amazing considering its limitations (budget, size etc).  He is a beast of a figure, being very hefty.  He definitely has an impressive shelf presence and is a fantastic and the best attempt at Devastator yet (and probably will be for quite a while).

-----------------------------------------------

For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days (2012)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3:  Dog Days is the third film based on the popular book series.  It is also the last one with the original cast (as after this, they were too old to play their roles anymore).  It's subtle, but in a departure from the previous films (and also the books), it relies less on cringe and toilet humor.  It has a loose plot but focuses more on chronicling Greg Heffley's daily life.  This time, it is summer vacation and Greg puts in effort to try and get close to Holly.  At the same time, his dad is pushing him to be more active and not just stay at home playing video games all day.  As a result, he ends up following Rowley into the country club, hanging out, playing tennis and swimming.  Unfortunately, as is the Greg way, his lies upon lies start to collate, to the point of being uncontrollable.  You are just waiting for it to all tumble down upon Greg.  Thankfully, after the focus put on Greg's brother in the second film, he is a lot more palatable this time around.  Despite Greg's continual mistakes, there is a moral that the characters learn, and it has a nice heartwarming ending.  Dog Days may not be amazing, but there is enough going for it to be an enjoyable film that doesn't bore you.

Toy Review: Transformers BotBots Poo-Shoo (Series 5)

Review:  #641

Name:  Poo-Shoo

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  N/A

Line:  BotBots

Year of Release:  2020

Size Class:  BotBot (Series 5)

Mold Status:  redeco of The In-Sole

ALTERNATE MODE:

Poo-Shoo transforms into... a poo covered shoe.  It's imaginative and unexpected, that's for sure.

This is a good mold, although you can see the mouth from certain angles, and there is a gap at the back.

The sole of the shoe has proper sculpting of the grips too, including an Autobot insignia, which is really rare for a BotBot to have an allegiance symbol.

In terms of size, Poo-Shoo is very small, above is a comparison against Legion Barricade.

A strong alternate mode, even if the concept is a little bit... off-putting.

TRANSFORMATION:

The legs flip down from the back, while the arms flip out from the sides.  The area where the laces usually are is a panel that flips up, fully revealing the mouth.

ROBOT MODE:

Poo-Shoo's robot mode works as well as his alternate mode.  Even though he is literally a shoe standing up, it still feels remarkably different.

He's a lot more gappy from the back given that all his limbs fold out from the underside.

The mouth is painted on, while the visor is painted blue, giving Poo-Shoo a modern hip look.

In terms of size, since Poo-Shoo is a BotBot, he is much smaller than even a Legions figure.

For articulation, only his arms swing on their balljoints, otherwise, he's fairly static.

OVERALL:

Poo-Shoo is a neat little figure.  The concept is definitely unique but is not for everyone.  The transformation is simple yet fun and the resulting robot mode is pretty cool too.

-------------------------------------------------

For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.