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Video Games

Horizon Zero Dawn – Video Game Review

March 13, 2022 by hpholo 1 Comment

This month in my gaming life was an achievement, as I finally – years behind everyone else – finished Horizon Zero Dawn. I’m not nearly as fast a gamer as Jacob is; if I like a game, I tend to draw out the experience as long as I can, which is easy to do with a game as exploration and side-quest heavy as Horizon Zero Dawn. Thus why I have been playing it for … *checks PS4* … 3 years. 😁

Horizon Zero Dawn Image

Long review short, Horizon Zero Dawn is one of my favorite games. I picked it up largely because of all its accolades and the non-traditional female main character it had in Aloy (at least as typical female designs in video games go), and I was not disappointed by any of it.

(Jacob, meanwhile, didn’t make it very far in. He found the game’s massive to-do lists unengaging and the combat uninteresting. It probably didn’t help matters that the very first side quest he worked on featured annoying repetitive dialogue. He also found the core design direction of primitive humans taking down robots to be too much of a stretch for someone who knows how powerful and dangerous even a modern six-axis industrial robot can be.)

For those who are unfamiliar with the game: In the far future, after some sort of technological apocalypse, the people of earth have descended into tribal existences, sharing the earth with biomechanical monsters that process organic material, including humans, for fuel. Among these humans is Aloy. She’s been cast out from her matriarchal tribe for being mysteriously motherless – but unbeknownst to all of them, she’s also the key to unlocking the secrets about their post-apocalyptic world … and what led to it.

The thing that stood out most to me, at first, was the grand, epic scale not only of the story, but of the world itself. The lands you explore as Aloy are so vivid and well-rendered that every nook and cranny looks meaningful, like they all hide something of value, and I wanted to explore them all. Thus, why it took me so long to finish. 😄

Well, that and hunting all the random biomechanical monsters just for the fun of it. 😁 A combat system can make or break a game for me – I don’t have the patience to wade through games with bad combat systems – and Horizon Zero Dawn hits that sweet spot of being simple to learn but complex enough that you can get really crazy with your strategies if you want to. There’s also more to hunting than just killing monsters; some will drop pieces of armor and other materials as you fight them, which can change the course of a hunt if knocked off at the right time. (I admit another of the reasons it took me so long to finish was because I spent a stupid amount of time figuring out how best to hunt the creatures, Monster Hunter-style.)

Finally, I don’t play most video games for story so much as I do gameplay and role-playing/character interactions, and admittedly, despite its epic, high-stakes premise, there’s no real sense of urgency in Horizon Zero Dawn’s story. (This isn’t because of the story itself, but rather because the player can opt to fill the space between main story beats with as many side quests as their little completionist heart desires. Which I did. 😁)

Viewed as a whole, though, the story is a spectacular one, and in my opinion, stands on its own as a piece of hard sci-fi, video game or not. Even once The Big Reveal about the setting’s mysterious history is made, the player finds that there are dramas within dramas that spiraled behind the scenes in the setting’s past, to contribute to what became the setting’s present, and though we only meet the contributing characters through audio logs and hologram recordings, they’re easily as interesting and well-realized as the more interesting NPCs. I could nitpick some aspects of the plot – namely that the most pivotal, destructive part of the history comes down to one guy being an idiot. But honestly, given the past few years, I’ve learned to never discount the incredible power of One Guy Being an Idiot, so now, in 2022, it doesn’t seem so unrealistic to me.

Overall, though, it still remains one of the best games I’ve played in years, and I look forward to playing it again, even after I’ve played the sequel, Horizon: Forbidden West.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Action RPG, Aloy, Favorite Video Games, Game Review, Horizon Zero Dawn, HZD, RPG, Sci-Fi, Sci-fi RPG, Video Game Review, Video Game Reviews, Video Games

Tales of Arise – Video Game Review

February 13, 2022 by holojacob Leave a Comment

When I’m not writing, I’m usually playing video games, and my main game of the month has been Tales of Arise.

Tales of Arise Art

This is actually my second play-through (and my first experience with the Tales franchise in general). Initially, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Tales‘ combat system, but the good news is each character has a distinct playstyle, so by switching from the melee-focused protagonist (Alphen) to range-focused characters (Shionne and Rinwell), I was able to enjoy the game a whole lot more.

That said, the screen can become very chaotic at times, and one of Rinwell’s mechanics doesn’t help here. Since she can steal and then cast enemy spells, I often lost track of which spell animation was safe for my characters and which was a damage-dealing death zone. That and the charging enemies led to a lot of frustration. The window to utilize Kisara’s boost ability (to end charges and reduce future charge damage) is significantly smaller than those of other characters, leading to a lot of times where a charge would begin off screen and end with the enemy barreling through my characters for big damage.

In terms of story-telling and worldbuilding, I found the game a bit . . . hit or miss, but the main cast of characters is fun and likable, and some of the big reveals are very memorable. I guess the worldbuilding just didn’t click with me from the start for some reason. Maybe it’s because the locations and villains all felt very one-note to me. Also, the music is epic. So epic it began to wear on me. I think you could use the music in the tutorial area for “final dungeon” music in a different game. (From H.P. – This music is bomb and I will listen to it forever.) 

But these are all minor gripes for what is – at its core – an excellent and meaty gaming experience. In many ways, Tales of Arise felt similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, except I enjoyed Tales significantly more.

From H.P. – I haven’t played Tales of Arise yet, but I’m going to solely because there’s a series of subquests in which you collect a bunch of owls, and I’ve been hearing their distinctly-voiced hoots enough that I need to collect them for myself. Forget the rest of the story.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Review, Tales, Tales of Arise, Video Game, Video Game Review, Video Game Reviews, Video Games

It’s Isekai Skies’ Launch Week!

November 14, 2021 by hpholo 1 Comment

Monster Punk Horizon has been out in the wild a little over a month, which means that it’s almost time for Monster Punk Horizon #2: Isekai Skies to make its debut! 😀

Like last time, H.P. has planned a fun week of readings and chats to lead up to its release on Thursday, November 18th. Check out the schedule below to see what she has in store this time around, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch to receive notifications when her videos go live!

And of course, don’t forget that you can preorder Isekai Skies now on Amazon – or read it starting Thursday on Kindle Unlimited! 😄

Isekai Skies Launch Week Events

  • Sunday, November 14th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Talks Isekai Skies
  • Monday, November 15th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Isekai Skies: Chapter 1
  • Tuesday, November 16th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Isekai Skies: Chapter 2
  • Wednesday, November 17th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Isekai Skies: Chapter 3
  • Wednesday, November 17th @ 8:20pm EST – H.P. Reads Isekai Skies: Chapter 4
  • Thursday, November 18th @ 8pm EST – Isekai Skies Virtual Launch Party ✨ LIVE WITH PRIZES! ✨

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: action adventure, action comedy, action fantasy, adventure, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, Game Lit, GameLit, GamerLit, isekai, isekai anime, isekai skies, LitRPG, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunters, Monster Punk Horizon, Video Games

It’s Monster Punk Horizon’s Launch Week!

October 12, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

It’s almost time for Monster Punk Horizon to be unleashed upon the world, and H.P. has lots of fun stuff planned this week to lead up to and beyond the release day (Thursday, October 14th, BTW)! 😀

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch to keep up with all she has planned! Each weeknight for the next two weeks, she’ll host an online video chat exploring a different corner of the Monster Punk Horizon world, taking reader questions – and sometimes giving out signed prizes! 😮 Check out the schedule below to see what’s in store. (Links below go to YouTube and will be updated as available.)

And of course, don’t forget that you can preorder Monster Punk Horizon now on Amazon – or read it starting Thursday on Kindle Unlimited!

Monster Punk Horizon Launch Week+ Events

  • Tuesday, October 12th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Talks Monster Punk Horizon
  • Wednesday, October 13th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 1
  • Thursday, October 14th @ 8pm EST – Monster Punk Horizon Virtual Launch Party ✨ WITH PRIZES! ✨
  • Friday, October 15th @ 8pm EST – The World of Monster Punk Horizon
  • Tuesday, October 19th @ 8pm EST – H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 2, H.P. Reads Monster Punk Horizon: Chapter 3
  • Wednesday, October 20th @ 8pm EST – The Monsters of Monster Punk Horizon
  • Thursday, October 21st @ 8pm EST – The Characters of Monster Punk Horizon

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: action adventure, action comedy, action fantasy, adventure, Fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy comedy, Game Lit, GameLit, GamerLit, LitRPG, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunters, Monster Punk Horizon, Video Games

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3) – Cover Reveal!

August 16, 2021 by hpholo Leave a Comment

If you’ve been following us these past two weeks, you’ve seen the first two books in my new series, Monster Punk Horizon, and now Jacob and I are delighted to bring you the cover reveal for Book 3! 😀

Art by Jackson Tjota

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3)
by Jacob & H.P. Holo


🌟 GameLit 🌟 Crafting 🌟 Adventure 🌟 Comedy 🌟


✨ Coming December 23rd, 2021 ✨

Audio Release Date TBD


🐉🐉🐉

Loot Like Your Life Depends On It!

Losing a trusty weapon is like losing a close friend, and Pix’s beloved capacitor blade is on its last legs.

Fortunately, she has a plan to craft a new, even better weapon. Unfortunately, her plan involves hunting down a vicious migrating monster that has more teeth than some hunters have brain cells. Even worse, this new creature has riled up the apex monster of Skull Harbor, and both of them are spoiling for a fight.

But Pix has one thing they don’t: a party foolhardy enough to take them both on.

She’ll need all the help she can get, because it’ll take all their combined luck, skill, and oversized weapons to put down these two monsters. But her friends have her back. After all, there’s awesome loot to be had!

If they manage to survive…

Preorder Here!
Or Read a Sample of Book One Here!

Excess is unique from the previous two Monster Punk Horizon books in that it’s a collaboration between me and Jacob!

While I was writing Book 1, Jacob became so fascinated with the world he watched me create that he wanted to write a story in it – and since he was between books in the Gordian Division series at the time, he took the lore I’d already established in Book 1, created a new monster, and churned out the rough draft of Book 3 before I’d even started Book 2! 😄 I then went over it after I’d finished Book 2 and  H.P.-ified the parts Jacob had marked “write whatever here.”

Excess is slightly different in style, too, in that it follows Pix more than Jaz – which is to say, it follows Jacob’s Monster Hunter character instead of my Monster Hunter character. 😉

As you may have guessed from the vibe of the covers, one of Monster Punk Horizon‘s original inspirations came from our nights playing Monster Hunter World together. It’s not quite fanfiction; in fact, my first step when designing the series was to create a world whose basic mechanics and essential history were independent of the various fictions that inspired it, but that still allowed me to pay homage to those fictions and to insert Easter Eggs for fans. 

Even so, our gameplay experience in Monster Hunter World is very much in the DNA of the Monster Punk Horizon series, and particularly in how Pix and Jaz came to be in the first place. Jacob and I have wildly different play styles, his very strategic and mine very … not.  😆 Plus, when I play video games, I have a tendency to invent headcanons totally separate from the lore of whatever game I’m playing – especially in games with stories as simple as Monster Hunter World‘s.

Because of that, Pix and Jaz had personalities and backstories before I even knew I was going to write Monster Punk Horizon, solely because I needed a way to entertain myself during loading screens, and making up stuff about our player characters was a fun way to do it. It’s no coincidence, then, that Jaz is the Leeroy Jenkins of the pair (me), while Pix is the methodical gamer who likes to go in with a plan (Jacob). Stories told from Jaz‘s perspective – that is, Books 1 and 2 – are thus rather more chaotic than stories told from Pix‘s perspective, which I think brings a nice balance to the series as a whole.  After all, even worlds as crazy as this one need a break from the craziness every now and then. 😊

Excess (Monster Punk Horizon #3) is set to release on Kindle Unlimited this December, and is already available for preorder.

And again, if you’d like to be one of the lucky people to read it early, be sure to join the Pug Scouts – our VIP Street Team! 😀 I’ll be sending out eARCs soon, and all you have to do in exchange for your free book is post a review once the book is live!

Join Our Street Team Here!

***

Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Holo Books Tagged With: Action, action adventure, adventure, Collaborating, Collaboration, Comedy, coming soon, Excess, Fantasy, fantasy comedy, GameLit, gamer, gaming, Kindle Unlimited, Leeroy Jenkins, LitRPG, Loot, Monster Hunt, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter games, Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunting, Video Games

Dead Space: Scary Space

September 20, 2014 by holojacob Leave a Comment

steamhookups_com_dead-space-cover

SPOILER WARNING! 

This article contains SPOILERS for the Dead Space trilogy. 

You have been warned!

The ability to evoke an emotional response is one powerful one, and fear is a very potent emotion.
I remember being intimidated by the original Dead Space’s main menu alone. I didn’t even want to start that first game. So creepy! Naturally, different people will have different reactions. Some of us are desensitized to certain stimuli (for example, H.P. laughs when people get eaten in Attack on Titan), while others aren’t so hardy (that same show gives me nightmares).
This story is about my journey through the Dead Space trilogy. It starts with a truly fantastic and terrifying game: the original Dead Space. For me, it was one of my most memorable gaming experiences of recent memory. The game positively oozed atmosphere and presented a repressive sense of isolation.
Granted, this wasn’t the bowel clearing fear of a game like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it was more than enough for someone like me who dabbles with scary games, but prefers not to be permanently, psychologically scarred by them.
So, yes. Dead Space was the right scary game for me. Yes, it frightened me, but I had guns (or really wicked mining tools, in this case). I could deal with it.
One of the things I really enjoyed was just how alone you feel in the game. True, there is a smattering of supporting characters. And yes, you do get to interact with them before they meet gruesome fates. But, for most of the game, you are alone. Horribly, unbearably alone. It’s just you and your plasma cutter against a haunted ship full of space zombies that want to eat your face.
And it’s not only the necromorphs. Just about everything you come across wants you dead, including the ship, the asteroids around it, and the very vacuum of space. Dead Space places you alone in a truly oppressive environment, and I enjoyed (I’m using the term loosely here) every minute of it.
Then came Dead Space 2, and it too was a blast to play. But something was different, something that took me a while to figure out.
You see, I wasn’t alone anymore. Isaac Clarke, the silent protagonist from Dead Space (well, except for horrible screams of pain) was now an absolute chatterbox.  In Dead Space, I was on my own against everything the Ishimura could throw at me. I was Isaac. In Dead Space 2, I tagged along with Isaac for the ride.
That made a huge difference for me. I found that I was much more at ease turning the next blood-splattered corner now that I had a badass engineer at my side, strange as that may seem. The shift from silent protagonist to a more fleshed out character really made the game a lot less scary. For me, personally, at least.
That’s not to say it didn’t have its share of brilliant moments. The return to the Ishimura? Definitely my favorite part of the second game. That long, drawn out lull in the action kept me on edge as I crept deeper and deeper into the ship’s decommissioned halls to the point where I was begging the game to throw something at me.
When the necromorphs finally arrived, it was awesome.
Dead Space 3 was … well, it just didn’t feel like the same game.
Sure, we still had the space zombies and the disturbing environments, but something was lost on the way from 1 to 2 to 3. The Dead Space games have always been big on jump scares, but Dead Space 3 seemed to take this to a ridiculous extreme. A huge chunk of the game was dominated by mobs of slasher and puker necromorphs jumping out of vents and running at me from all sides.
Sure, jump scares make you jump. That’s what they do. It’s a very human, very understandable response to a surprising stimulus. But after a while, it gets old. I became desensitized. Yeah, I still jumped here and there, but after that initial startled flash came another emotion.
Annoyance.
I tried playing through Dead Space 3 with my faithful plasma cutter, but abandoned it for heavier weaponry about halfway through. I became sick of fast necromorph mobs swarming me, stun-locking me, and having to furiously press the Do-Not-Die button to break their scripted animated holds.
So I retired my plasma cutter for some of the new weapons like shotguns and rocket launchers. I wasn’t even shooting off limbs at this point. Just overwhelming the enemies with sheer damage output, trying to survive a boring spam of cannon fodder. It felt like a different game to me.
To a certain degree, it was. Machine guns? Rocket launchers? Co-op? Many of the additions amped up the action and, as a side effect, lowered the tension. A few necromorphs charging you and your nearly empty plasma cutter is scary. Twenty of them charging your fully loaded rocket launcher? Not so much.
But the strangest addition came in the form of Unitology soldiers. Sure, additional enemy variety sounds good, but here it came at a price. By the time the climax arrived, I had basically wiped out a whole paramilitary army single-handedly (with the occasional necromorph eating a few of them). Those final soldiers blocking my path seemed afraid of me rather than the other way around. For the first time in the series, I really felt like the unstoppable juggernaut rather than the isolated engineer struggling to survive.
I still enjoyed Dead Space 3, but not nearly as much as the previous two games. Again, a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I bought Dead Space 3 because I wanted more of the same intense experiences I had in the first two games.
What I received was a horror game watered down by more guns and more enemies.
Meh. Could have been better.

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Dead Space, Horror, Science Fiction, Video Games

Thief’s Covenant – Book Review

July 31, 2014 by hpholo Leave a Comment

Once she was Adrienne Satti, an orphan with a rags-to-riches story. Now she is Widdershins, a thief with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and help from a secret god living in her head. But now something horrid, something dark, is reaching out for her, a past that refuses to let her go…
So declares the back of Thief’s Covenant by Ari Marmell.
I first encountered this title when researching books that read like video games, and after reading it, am surprised that it took me the effort of research to actually find out about it. It’s a title that has appeal for a wide variety of audiences. Fans of historical adventure, low fantasy, kick-butt heroines, good old-fashioned sneakery, and playing stealth games solely to climb on things will all find something to like in this novel.
thiefscovenantcoverThe most perfect audience for Thief’s Covenant is the teen who just wants to play Assassin’s Creed but has a book report due tomorrow that hasn’t even been started yet. It’s quick, it’s witty, and its combination of stealth tactics, action, and political intrigue basically render it Assassin’s Creed with a girl.
Widdershins herself deserves to rank among fan-favorite heroines like Graceling’s Katsa and pretty much every Tamora Pierce heroine. She’s quick-witted, adaptable, determined, and in no way is she going to let the powers that be step all over her. When both the Davillon City Guard and Finders’ Guild (that is—ha—thieves’ guild) start harassing her for (mostly) unfounded reasons, she decides to show them both by stealing an item from a visiting dignitary—not because she actually wants the item, just to show that she won’t be so easily contained. Her very nickname suggests opposition, “widdershins” meaning “counterclockwise.” Of course, as exemplified by the aforementioned adventure, her determination sometimes (read: often) translates into headstrong recklessness. Widdershins frequently gets into trouble without the aid of any force but herself. For readers, this isn’t a bad thing. It’s fun to watch her fall into exponentially worsening trouble because it means she’ll have to do something equivalently clever to get out of it, which she frequently does.
She’s also too busy running from the City Guard, Finders’ Guild thugs, other people who generally want her dead, and oh, demons, to have time for a romance, which is a refreshing change from other heroines whose goals are complicated by the two hot guys vying for their attentions.
Her relationship with the god in her head, Olgun, is fascinating, too, as is the entire concept of religion in this setting. Davillon’s is a faith centered around a Pact of 147 acknowledged gods, from which families and organizations choose to take as household deities and official patrons. The gods are active in the city, visible through tangible boons granted to worshippers; Widdershins’ in particular helps her thievery in subtle ways. These gods also regulate the behavior of the city; organizations with patron gods of the Pact can’t openly attack one another without violating the Pact, which is why the City Guard can’t take on the Finder’s Guild without resorting to sneaky methods (or otherwise starting a war). The resulting tension, combined with a plot involving the history of Widdershins’ personal god, makes this religion one of the most interesting pieces of world-building in the book.
The writing itself is another strength of the novel. The prose is peppered with amusing, ironic wit, and the style balances the derring-do and drama quite well, never becoming too over-the-top or too melodramatic. Also, despite being the first book in a series, the story functions as a standalone, and thus is a welcome departure from the cliffhanger endings favored by other YA series starters.
For squeamish readers, it’s worth noting that the novel opens in the midst of carnage involving a ton of murdered bodies that have been hacked into such fine pieces that the characters can’t figure out which body parts belong to which victim. However, that is by far the worst of the violence in the book, and most that occurs is pretty standard for a book of this type.
Overall, Thief’s Covenant is a solid start to a promising series. I look forward to reading more!
***
Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, Fantasy, Novel, Review, Video Games, Young Adult

Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC – Game Review

March 5, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC – Review
IN SHORT: Experience one last hurrah with the characters of Mass Effect 3 as you explore new areas within the Citadel and take down a surprising new foe.
WHAT IT IS: A massive amount of new character-based content! Every surviving character in my save file was represented with new scenes and dialogue, some with multiple scenes that clearly have branching content based on past decisions. The player can even throw a party at the end and chose which characters can participate. Oh, and Wrex can be a part of the team! At least for a short time.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Combat heavy. While there are a few hours of new combat to fight through, as well as a very well done boss battle, combat is not the focus of this DLC. The DLC is also not small. On Xbox Live, this is a 4 gigabyte download! Wow!
WHAT I THOUGHT: I’m a big fan of the Mass Effect series. Now, don’t get me wrong. The games are not without their faults, the series not without its missteps. But taken as a whole, it has been one hell of a ride. Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC feels like a love letter from Bioware to the fans, directed at those who wanted more of their favorite characters.
The overall tone of the DLC is light and fun, with various characters competing with each other during combat and enjoying the party afterwards. It contrasts nicely with the grim feel of the main Mass Effect 3 experience. Wrex, in particular, revels in the chance to join a good scrap. The new enemies are similar to fighting Cerberus, but have enough variety in their abilities to keep things interesting. One mission bears some resemblance to Kasumi’s heist DLC from Mass Effect 2, but it’s different enough that it still felt fresh to me.
The focus, however, is definitely on Mass Effect 3’s large cast of characters. With the sheer number of permutations to work through (who lived, who died, what events ended which way), I can only imagine what a nightmare the party scene was to script and program. It’s definitely something I want to replay, just to see what changes a different Shepard character can bring.
I suspect a portion of the new content is going to be hit or miss for some players, depending on how much they like a given character. Fortunately, the scenes are entirely optional, and the player even has control over who is invited to the big party in Shepard’s new apartment. There’s plenty of new story, but it’s not forced on the player if they don’t want it.
On a technical side, I did notice a little weirdness. The sound went a bit funny on me a few times, particularly when a lot of enemies were on screen and biotic explosions were going off. This is something I also heard in the Omega DLC, but not the main game. A few areas had some minor slowdown, but nothing that really detracted from the experience. Overall, the presentation was solid.
So, was it worth $15?
The Mass Effect experience is enlivened by its rich cast of characters, and this DLC gave me exactly what I wanted, more of those great characters. The combat was fun, if brief, but the party afterwards was where it’s at. To me, this is the true ending of Mass Effect series, and it is one I thoroughly enjoyed.
VERDICT: Strongly Recommended.

Filed Under: Games, Reviews Tagged With: Citadel DLC, Mass Effect 3, Review, Science Fiction, Strongly Recommended, Video Games

Final Fantasy XIII: Please Give This Plot a Pulse!

March 2, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Final Fantasy XIII: Please Give This Plot a Pulse!
SPOILER WARNING!
This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for Final Fantasy XIII.
You have been warned!
Final Fantasy XIII is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, it has a fast-paced and innovative combat system that keeps me coming back for more. Coupled with its tough difficulty curve, the game provides a generous challenge to even veteran players. And have I mentioned it is a drop-dead gorgeous game?
Oh, yes it is.
On the other hand, there’s the plot and the characters and, well, just about everything else. Now, for as much as I may complain about this game, I’ve played through it repeatedly, so it’s not all bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. But, the weak characterizations, cringe-inducing dialogue, and general limpness of the plot drag it down from what could have been a truly stellar entry into this august series.
And honestly, it didn’t have to be this way. The background Square Enix weaves is full of rich opportunities for epic conflicts and powerful storytelling. The tale of Cocoon and Pulse is interesting and engaging as the layers of lies are slowly lifted, one by one. But at no point does the writing really capitalize on this.
Allow me to illustrate with an example.
Throughout the story, the player keeps hearing about the terrors that reside on the world Pulse, which Cocoon hovers over. It’s a Bad, Bad Place that you don’t want to go to and its armies may invade at any moment. It’s the Cocoon equivalent of the boogey man.
And it’s ALL A LIE!
When the player finally reaches Pulse, he or she finds majestic plains teeming with overgrown life, the very opposite of Cocoon’s overt mechanization. It’s a serene place in some ways, but it’s also unnerving. All along, I expected to find cities and armies or at least something in the way of civilization on Pulse, but in the end, there’s NOTHING!
The world of Pulse is totally, utterly devoid of human life.
It is a chilling moment, given even more punch by the fact two ladies from Pulse are traveling with the player’s merry band, Fang and Vanille. The entire world they once called home is gone. The terrifying boogey man of Cocoon is nothing but empty plains and desolate ruins.
“So, uhh, ladies? Got anything to say about this?”
Fang and Vanille have no reaction.
No, serious. They don’t react at all. The game even takes the player straight through their hometown! It’s a decrepit rust bucket filled with crystalline zombies that might have been people Fang and Vanille knew!
And they have nothing to say about this?
Wow. Simply wow.
This is what I mean by missed opportunities. For once in the 60 hour slog that is this game, I was starting to feel connected. But instead of seizing on this emotion, the game subjected me to more angst from Hope.
Sigh.
But, for all my complaining about Final Fantasy XIII, its plot could have been much worse.
It could have been as bad as XIII-2.

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII, Plot Analysis, Video Games

Fallout 3: President Eden is a Big Jerk!

March 1, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Fallout 3: President Eden is a Big Jerk!
SPOILER WARNING!
This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for Fallout 3 and its expansion Broken Steel.
You have been warned!
The world of Fallout 3 is huge, rich, and entertaining. It’s not a game that guides the player through one action set piece after another. In a sense, the player makes his or her own set pieces with a diverse set of options on how they wish to tackle the challenges and in what order.
Also, have I mentioned it’s got a pretty good plot too? Elements like the evil machinations of the Enclave, the desperate struggle against the supermutant hordes, the tale of a son/daughter and his/her dad’s dream, and the valiant efforts of the Brotherhood of Steel come together to form a coherent and entertaining story …
Which ends with your DEATH!
Until you buy Fallout 3: Broken Steel, that is. Then it’s like “Chill dude. You just passed out. We’ve got more content right here. Have you seen the new Tesla Cannon?”
Now don’t get me wrong. I love Fallout 3 (currently #4 on my top ten games of all time list), and I love the expansions. Well, except for Mothership Zeta. That one is kind of meh for me. But Broken Steel has a special place on the list because it is a true expansion of the main story. It lets us pick up where we left off and continue the epic battle between the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave.
Except, well, the Enclave from Broken Steel just isn’t the same. Let me explain.
In the main game, the player first learns about the Enclave through the radio broadcasts of President John Henry Eden, a fantastic character voiced by Malcolm McDowell. Fans of the first games already knew about the Enclave. However, I played Fallout 3 first and found out the truth the hard way when Enclave troops gunned down my fictional dad.
Darth Vader NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
From there, the Enclave soldiers become the primary antagonists in the game, popping up all over the place and engaging the player on sight. These guys are nasty customers, sporting some of the best armor and weapons in the game. More importantly, the colorful personality of President Eden gives these otherwise nameless, faceless lackeys some much needed character.
President Eden presence cannot be understated. He (or, rather, it) helps make the Enclave soldiers much more interesting and entertaining villains. It makes them an army with a leader, a plan, and the guns to see that plan through. It makes them menacing in a way that random supermutant 136 just can’t be. And it makes the gameplay that much more rewarding when the player beats them back and wins the day.
So, Fallout 3 has President Eden. Broken Steel has … err, no one?
No, seriously. There is no villain in Broken Steel. The Enclave just reverts to this leaderless, amorphous blob that acts as the player’s private bullet sponge. The supermutants have more personality at this point. It’s a little sad, really. After a great villain like Eden exits the stage, we don’t even get a warm body to take his place.
Or a warm circuit board, in this case? Warm transistor? Whatever.
In a way, this might have been the right choice. After all, President Eden is a tough act to follow. But I wish Bethesda had tried, all the same. The expansion missions just didn’t have the same impact for me. Imagine Broken Steel, but with a new and vibrant Enclave personality broadcasting his or her message over the airwaves. Not a bad change, huh?
Oh well. It just wasn’t meant to be.
Still Broken Steel is an awesome expansion, and well worth the time and money for any fan of Fallout 3. But dude, poor Liberty Prime. We’ll miss you, buddy!

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Fallout 3, Plot Analysis, Science Fiction, Video Games

Halo Series: I Prophet of Regret Nothing!

February 26, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Halo: I Prophet of Regret Nothing!
SPOILER WARNING!
The following article contains PLOT SPOILERS for the Halo series.
You have been warned!
Halo was the reason I bought an Xbox, and I played that game to death. It was the first time I really enjoyed a shooter on a console. Every aspect of the game felt polished to me, from the sleek combination of guns, melee, and grenades to the recharging shields and diverse enemies. Halo is a game I have fond memories of, and I am clearly not alone.
There are only two games I have purchased at midnight on release day: Halo 2 and Halo 3, and these are the games I wish to talk about today. Or, more specifically, their villains. The plots of the Halo games are a fascinating story of unstoppable parasitic organisms, genocidal alien races, and galaxy-spanning super weapons. That’s an awesome tapestry to place some amazing villains in, right? Right?
Well …
Take the Prophet of Truth as an example. This guy is Evil with a capital E. We know this because when his buddy, the Prophet of Mercy, is attacked by the Flood, Truth just LEAVES HIM TO DIE! I mean, Tartarus is right there ready to save Mercy, but Truth is like “Nah, leave him. It’s cool.” That kind of Evil deserves the capital letter.
On top of this, he tries to kill off half his military (the Elites) with the other half (the Brutes), when both are fanatically loyal. That’s some serious backstabbing! Not only does he leave his partner to die, but he screws over an entire race of loyal subjects while trying to commit genocide on all humanity.
Dude! That is some hardcore Evil right there. He must have a really good reason for doing this, right? Right?
Well …
After Halo 2, I analyzed the plot, trying to figure out where the next chapter would take us. Several facts refused to fit together, centering around Truth’s motivations.
Why try to wipe out humanity?
Why start a civil war inside the Covenant?
Why let Mercy die?
As much as I tried, I couldn’t get all three to mesh seamlessly. My chaotic brain started chugging out plot lines, each more ridiculous than the last. A lot of what Truth did seemed so counterproductive (i.e. wiping out humanity versus weakening his own military). Maybe the Prophets were just using the rest of the Covenant as part of some as-yet-unrevealed plan? Whatever it was, I was certain it’d be awesome.
When Halo 3 released, I was pumped. Ready to “Finish the Fight” as it were.
And … Truth turned out to be a religious nutjob with no depth.
Sad face.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed Halo 3, not as much as the original, but it was still a fun game (except for that darn Cortana level, grrrr). I just had really wanted an awesome villain.
For all the buildup that Truth has (remember his speech about humans cowering in the dirt), he goes out like a wet noodle. Maybe it was my own fault for getting my hopes up, but I really wanted the villains in Halo to shine the same way the back story did. The galaxy-spanning world Bungie created is fertile soil for amazing adventures, as the Halo series has demonstrated with aplomb over the years.
It’s just a shame the villains weren’t up to the same standard of excellence.
Okay, Didact. You’re up next. You’ve done well so far. Let’s see what you’ve got in Halo 5.

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Halo 3, Plot Analysis, Science Fiction, Video Games

Bioshock: Would You Kindly Make Sense!

February 25, 2013 by holojacob Leave a Comment

Bioshock: Would You Kindly Make Sense!
SPOILER WARNING!
This article contains PLOT SPOILERS for the first Bioshock game.
You have been warned!
Bioshock is one of my top ten favorite game of all time (it’s #6). It’s fast, fun, atmospheric, and very well designed. As with any game, some elements click better than others (that darn research camera, grrr). But I’m not here to talk about game play elements. I’m here to talk about the plot. Or rather, the plot hole that has bugged me since I first played the game.
So, would you kindly sit back and enjoy the rest of this article.
Ah, if only it were that easy.
The command phrase “would you kindly” used in Bioshock is a brilliant piece of storytelling. It catches the player off guard, but fits in so well with all his or her past experiences. I didn’t notice how often Atlas used the phrase until the words were pasted right in front of me in bold red. The revelation that comes from the confrontation with Andrew Ryan is one of those gems of video game cinema.
Well, except for that whole episode with Atlas’s family.
So let’s think about this. The Atlas/Fontaine character has full control over the player with the “would you kindly” command phrase. As Andrew Ryan demonstrates, this phrase provides remarkable command power to the point where he marches the player around his office like a trained animal.
Remember the mission to save Patrick and Moira? The player tries to reach their bathysphere only to have it explode at the last second, presumably with Atlas’ wife and child onboard.
So, why did Atlas/Fontaine cook up an elaborate plan for his fake family to be killed by Ryan’s minions? Observant players will note he got the idea from a Sander Cohen production at Fleet Hall. Later in the game, Atlas/Fontaine says he fabricated the sob story to make the player sympathetic.
But why was that needed at all? Sympathy or no, Atlas/Fontaine held the player’s puppet strings. He could have said “Hey dude? Would you kindly find Andrew Ryan and kill him?” as soon as the player reaches Rapture. Why kill his fake family in front of the player?
The reason this is present in an otherwise remarkable game is probably one of the follow.
A) The developers knew about the plot hole and deliberately left it in. After all, having the family die helps connect the player to the story and gives Atlas’ later betrayal more punch. It makes cinematic sense, just not logical sense.
B) The developers caught the plot hole too late in the development cycle. Cutting it would have meant scrapping assets and levels near completion, wasting precious time and money.
C) The developers missed the plot hole completely. Well, no one’s perfect.
Regardless, Bioshock is a stellar game. It’s one of those games I can crank up to max difficulty and still have a blast playing. Setting splicers on fire, watching them run to water, then shocking them to death never gets old. And besides, anyone who played the fantastic System Shock 2 knew a twist was coming. I suspected Atlas was rotten from the start.
The Polito-form is dead, insect!
Now please excuse me while I wait by the mail slot for Bioshock Infinite.

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: Bioshock, Plot Analysis, Science Fiction, Video Games

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