Volcano

The film captures your interests pretty much right from the start and doesn't let go.  I'm glad that the writers didn't go towards the whole father-daughter relationship here.  For some reason, the train scene in which a person dies after selflessly and heroically saving the driver sticks into my mind, whenever I think of a volcano movie, I think of that scene.  I thought that was pretty good.  Ignoring any scientific inaccuracies and the questionable tactics used throughout the film, the story was okay and does it's job.  They focused on too many characters though, sure, it focused mostly on Tommy Lee Jones' character, but the other ones such as the doctor and the guy in charge of the subway were weak and brushed over.  The special effects were good (although sometimes the lava looked very fake), and it features a lot of explosions, keeping the screen and your eyes busy (in a good way I guess).  The end in which the main character, his daughter and the little boy surviving a whole building falling down upon them was a bit improbable, as was the fact that they collapsed twenty stories' worth of concrete with the little amount of dust/damage.

Book Review: The Summer Gang

Review:  #370
Title:  The Summer Gang
Series:  Charlie, Hannah, Izzie and Xa - 1st book
Author:  Cornelia Funke
Read Before:  no
My Comments:  A bit boring from the start but it eventually warms up to you.  The ending is quite nice and heartwarming.  The back and forth revenge can get tiring and you feel like as if there’s no end to it (there is).  You wonder how it is going to be resolved.  It’s a simple story and no fantasy elements.  The plot focuses on how the gang of girls start to form a solid bond and grow together which is actually fairly interesting.

Rating:  6/10

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Widely considered as one of the best games on the PS3 and part of a widely popular series, you can call it a crime that I haven't played any of the Uncharted games before.  I ended up starting with Uncharted 2, since it's supposedly the best out of the the first three games, to see if I would like the type of gameplay and the story.  The first thing you'd notice is how amazing the graphics are (especially since this was released in the earlier part of the PS3's life in 2009), from the effects of the snow on Nathan's shoes to the detailed and lush environments.  That said, sometimes the environments are too detailed such that it can be hard to distinguish some things.  The environments are also quite varied, from the jungle to cities to mountains, I really like the change of scenery as it kept the game visually appealing as it progressed along.  The platforming elements of the game remind me a lot of Assassin's Creed (although it's done better in Assassin's Creed, especially in the latter games since they had time to refine it).  Sometimes I wish that Nathan had an ability (maybe something that you can turn on and off) that might indicate what could be climbed and what can't.  This is because as mentioned, some of the environments are very busy and it's hard to see where to go next.  However, the platforming sections near the end of the game are extremely fun and satisfying.

Sometimes you can't tell the difference between when something is part of the decoration or if it actually has collision detection and climbable.  The ability for Nathan Drake to run faster by holding down a button instead of just having the set run speed which isn't that fast would also be nice.  There were various sections of the game where the gameplay is annoying.  I really hated the levels where the chopper makes an appearance.  It's so much more resilient and powerful than you, and it just hovers there, annoying you with the constant machine gunfire.  Maybe I'm just too impatient and feel like running away from it.  Same with the train sections with the overhead warning signs that kill you, it feels like a cliche movie and wasn't very original.  I felt that the controls could be better, by that, I mean that it could be smoother and more responsive.  It feels like it wasn't smooth enough when there are waves of enemies coming towards you and you want to break cover and respond quickly.  Instead, Nathan kept accidentally doing stuff you didn't want him to (and resulting in more than a few accidental deaths), like Nathan dropping down and hanging off an edge, jumping somewhere else or he would just run into another cover place when all I wanted to do was run away.  A couple of the gunfights feel cheap with heaps of enemies in full body armor coming towards you with shotguns, or constantly firing missiles at you.

Shooting makes a huge portion of the game and you can expect to constantly get into gunfights, which can get a bit monotone when you have to get out your gun and shoot someone for the umpteenth time (for no reason other than to extend game time).  Puzzles are simple (and feel like a waste of time) while the platforming sections are fun.  The last ten to fifteen chapters (once you warp back to the mountains) were amazing though.  It got better and better, the gunfights where they bothered to make it a little bit different (whether it was 'monsters' chasing you or you had to use the environment to your advantage) were fun and exciting.  The story would also start picking up.  Nathan's exploration of the ice caves were interesting and one of the best parts of the game, especially with the appearance of certain bipedal monsters/animals.  The brings out to the other major draw of the game, the story.  It sucks you in right from the start, and as Nathan gets betrayed, you empathize with him, wanting him to win and get some payback.  To tell the story though, there were a lot of cutscenes, is this good or bad?  It's hard to say as the cutscenes allow you to invest into the story but it cuts down on gameplay time.  Another one of the more well-known elements is the large amount and the huge scale of stunts that Nathan Drake takes part in.  There are massive set pieces (more than your average action movie...) and it makes you wonder how Nathan manages to survive all that hammering (frequently you'd wonder whether it's even possible he survives all that, and 'lucky' just doesn't cut it).

It actually feels like the game tries too hard to get all these 'wow' factors in with huge explosions, since it loses credibility.  You notice that while the game starts off being quite realistic, it starts to move towards the fantasy side of things during the middle, which was an interesting shift.  While playing, I loved the interaction between the characters, the chatter with the side characters feels natural and adds a lot of character.  The bantering adds some humor which is welcomed.  The story slows down around the middle of the game before picking up again and then slows down at the ending.  The last few chapters were incredibly long (especially compared to the chapters before it).  Therefore, the last sections feel like a drag and the writers could have shortened this part (i.e. once Nathan gets to Shambala, cut the stuff that happens there since by that stage, you know the ending is coming up, so just get on with it).  The final boss was so so, the battle felt plain and there were no surprises.  The ending was okay (not spectacular or anything), although I did like how Nathan showed his feelings to the one that he likes.  The final revelation of the thing that was driving all these characters was great, it made the whole game worthwhile.  Uncharted 2 is a solid game that was fun to play and the story was good, it's not the amazing 10/10 game I was looking for (my personal preference is not a game with shooting being such a large portion) but it was still a blast moving through the story.

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Other game reviews can be found on this page.

Book Review: Cage of Eden Volume 3

Review:  #369
Title:  Cage of Eden Volume 3
Series:  Cage of Eden - 3rd volume
Author:  Yoshinobu Yamada
Read Before:  no
My Comments:  The story gets more intriguing and the art gets better and better.  There were still some scary moments, particularly the disease that had taken everyone (that was freaky).  The author has a way of just throwing these freaky moments at you when you least expect it.  It kinda sucks that the team is split up again by the end of the volume.  There were some random moments but a good volume.

Rating:  6/10

Elektra

If Daredevil was successful enough to create this spinoff, they should have created a sequel instead.  Elektra is a movie that will bore you to tears, there's really nothing going for it to make it worthwhile to watch.  The plot is intensely bland and flat, nowhere in the film does any excitement happen, even the fight scenes (of which there is very little) were below average.  Once again, the moves are fairly stylized and filled with special effects and a lot of a twisting, turning and jumping around.  However, they're not done that well so it's hard to enjoy it and it looks completely fabricated (you will not expect anyone to fight like that in real life).  The performances were stale, it's hard to discern any emotion from the characters.  The flashbacks of Elektra, supposedly trying to provide some backstory to the character, and create some sort of emotional journey/transition, fails completely.  There are too many flashbacks of the same thing, and it breaks up the pace a lot.  The character is so different from the one in Daredevil that you can't find any of the similarities.  The explanation given in how she came to this predicament is weak.  While I wouldn't say that the movie is a complete disaster, it IS boring, a chore to watch and not recommended.

Book Review: Agent 21

Review:  #368
Title:  Agent 21
Series:  Agent 21 - 1st book
Author:  Chris Ryan
Read Before:  no
My Comments:  Not as addictive as some of the author’s other stories, this series seems to take on a more fictional approach (but there is still a lot of realism and survival tips scattered throughout).  The first half covers how Zak gets developed into the titular Agent 21 and the second half is understandably, his first mission.  What the book lacks is some sort of more concrete plan, the things that happen to Zak, it didn’t feel like it was a lot, actually.  The whole ploy to get close to the drug lord’s son, it never really worked since Zak and Cruz (the son) never really got into “best friends” area.

Rating:  6/10

To Love-Ru Darkness Vol. 8

VOL. 8

29 – Manservant

This turned out to be quite a funny chapter.  The jokes used were better than normal and wasn’t as contrived (well, there were still those moments but they weren’t as frequent).  Nemesis comes to play with Rito and makes Momo jealous.  I thought the whole situation was contrived.  The explanation about the ‘darkness’ ability in Yami was lame although I think that was done on purpose to make it more funny (and it did work).  If they didn’t have that bath scene at the end, it would have been so much better.

The plots have started to diverge and the chapters are more vague and aimless now.  Even though the author tried to tie it back, it felt weak.  You get the suspicion that Nemesis has already started falling for Rito (even though he did nothing...).  Rito’s also too naive; it’s starting to get ridiculous.  You would have thought that he’d have built some resilience to what was happening around him but nup.  Still, it’s a good time passer.

30 – Resistance

It feels like more of the same (once again), with a whole chapter dedicated to how Yami and Mea’s way of thinking has changed for the better.  We see how they ‘puzzle’ over their feelings and find out their true self, blah blah blah.  Of course, Rito must have his hand in things and get into weird and awkward ecchi situations.  It was really obvious in this chapter how naive most of the characters are, and also how forced some of the dialogue and jokes are.

It feels as if the characters are spouting the same stuff over and over again (they are) with nothing new added in to make it interesting or different.  Oshizu makes an appearance which was nice (although as you’d come to expect, she gets afraid in the presence of a dog and goes psycho).

31 – Cleaning

This chapter wasn’t too perverted, which was surprising (I guess they come in spurts).  As per usual, the plot feels contrived at times and it will somehow involve Rito getting into awkward situations.  Some of the humour was good; they’ll give you a solid chuckle.  There are also a few side characters that make a lengthy appearance like Zastin and Rin.  This lets this chapter feel different and give more variety compared to previous chapters.  Then again, Momo’s plan is starting to get too large and unwieldy with the amount of potential candidates.

If you thought that the first few pages where Zastin was telling the story of a cursed blade to be some trivial mention, it turns out that it wasn’t.  The mentioned blade makes an appearance at the end of the chapter (apparently a plan created by Master) leading to a cliffhanger (something we haven’t seen for quite a while now).  The maid costumes worn were fairly typical and feel overused by now.  Momo’s display of perversion is starting to become disturbing too.

32 – Danger

A continual of the previous chapter’s plot (which is paper-thin anyway), which now involves Rin getting possessed by a cursed sword.  If that isn’t repetitive enough for you, then get ready for a whole slew of reused gags, ecchi moments and action.  It’s slightly disappointing, but there is one or two redeeming humour in there which I thought was quite funny (the passing comment by Yami explaining how Rito is able to dodge all those quick sword slashes despite being a human is the best one in the chapter).

Most of the chapter is comprised of fighting, but it isn’t terrible exciting due to the focus on extreme focus on ecchi (although it isn’t that bad in this chapter).  The cursed sword feels like another useless plot device and doesn’t push the plot forward much.  That and the continual of the cheesy saves and selflessness of Rito make this chapter a bit monotonous.

Extra – Adhesion

This is just another typical extra.  It’s starring Yami this time as she gets into one of those typical exposing poses (thanks to Rito).  Hmmm, if I think about it, this chapter is really pointless since I don’t know if what happened is interesting enough to be even drawn.  Anyway, the chapter is flat-lined until the final two pages, in which is actually picks up!  It was funny at the end (which was unexpected) but it was also an abrupt end (it skips to another scene which at first I thought was a daydream, then something happens and that’s the final page!).

Extra – Mobile Phone

Lala actually makes a bigger appearance in this extra, which is surprising.  However, as can be expected, she unintentionally stuffs some things up, in this case, she fixes Rito’s (outdated...) phone causing some disastrous consequences.  It’s just another excuse though and the ecchi goes a bit further than some of the previous chapters, with some very obvious innuendoes.  Is it funny?  Not really.  Is it boring?  You can’t really say that.  Is it original?  Nup.  It’s what you expect though.  The plot of the chapter does seem shallow and pointless.

Overall

The volume is basically more of the same, and you can’t help but think that it’s starting to get stale.  There’s barely anything here that pushes the plot forward, rather, it’s just a whole collection of fan service.  It feels as if the author has run out of ideas for this series (maybe they should just let it die or at least go on a hiatus and start another series).  As per normal, the art is very nice.