The Lost Boys Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for some vampires. You already know that means the film is starting off at a disadvantage but maybe it can pull through and win anyway? Wellllll…unfortunately that is not the case so I still do have to give this one a thumbs down. The characters tend to be annoying and the film can drag on at some points. The main romance with the teens also doesn’t work so well.

The film starts with Michael, his younger brother Sam, and his mom Lucy moving from a nice place over to the murder capital of the world. They’re staying with Lucy’s father and at this point the goal is really to try and make the best of it. Sam is one of those guys who is very personable and he acclimates to the new place quickly even if it is odd how two kids keep telling him to watch out for vampires. Michael sees an attractive lady who is already taken but since when has that stopped him? He flirts with her which causes the leader of the vampire group, David to show up and mess with him. Michael succumbs to peer pressure immediately and gets turned into a vampire. Can he control his urges and stay on the path of justice?

There’s a lot to unpack here and unfortunately most of it is not good. As the lead character Michael makes too many mistakes. It’s not really good form to go after someone who is already in a relationship. Yeah it’s not the same as someone being married or engaged but at the same time it makes you look desperate. It was clear that Star was leading him on from the jump so the only right answer there is to just dodge the situation entirely. She manipulates him so easily that you’re just shaking your head. Their romance really was bad.

Meanwhile Michael was falling for the illusions each time and then not suspecting that something was wrong about the vampires was a real miss for him as well. He does control the urges well at least and I can tell you right now that I have no issues with taking out any of the villains. As far as I’m concerned that is full self defense and everyone was trying to murder the vampires in order to save the town so there’s no functional difference here. Something to keep in mind since the end of the film is trying to throw a message in and it doesn’t really work.

I liked Sam a lot more than Michael. He’s a likable kid who has a positive outlook. Again, if not for the vampires he was going to get used to the new town real fast. He had a good sense of humor and is also responsible. This is the kind of kid you can count on to make your life easier. He gets a big role along with the two vampire hunters but technically it’s not like he can fight all that much so I wouldn’t expect him to do a lot of damage. The villains are just too powerful.

As for Lucy, she’s definitely a sympathetic character. She’s also been through a lot with the divorce and all. It may be a little fast to get back into the dating game but at least it’s treated like an actual dynamic among adults. It starts off with a basic dinner and nothing crazy. Usually I’d say the romance subplot had no point being in the film but this time I suppose it justified its own existence. It’s still a bit on the weak side but as a character Lucy was solid.

Then you have Max whose role is pretty fun. He is the character you will be thinking about a lot here and some scenes you can see in a different light. So he makes for a fairly solid character, certainly better than the vampire gang led by David who mostly just look like creeps the whole time. They’re not intimidating in a fun way and if anything they’re so overconfident and sloppy that this is what leads to them getting cooked all the time. As long as they remembered basic fighting techniques then they would have been okay here. The problem is they don’t have much of a goal except for spreading chaos.

I would have liked to have seen perspectives from more of the outside world. Not someone about to die but maybe a few locals talking about how people are always getting kidnapped and being murdered which seems weird. The film does establish this place as the biggest murder area in the world but doesn’t follow that up with anything. I’m sure the mayor and the cops would have something to say about that right? Adding them in with a big role would have been really fun.

Just something to give us more time away from the vampires. You already know that nobody can put up a fight against them so the nameless characters are doomed. The film doesn’t keep your attention the way that it should. It throws in quite a few jump scares involving the dogs. It’s a dangerous game since that could have easily tanked the whole movie but fortunately it avoids getting hit with the solid 0-1. The dogs end up looking fairly tough the whole time and Sam’s dog really saves the day more than once. So I appreciate that. Having a dog on screen always speeds up my heart rate a little bit but when you have a happy ending like this then that definitely helps out a whole lot.

Overall, The Lost Boys is a film that had some potential but it doesn’t live up to this in the execution. The comedic elements could have helped to raise everything up but at the end of the day it still focuses more on the vampire stuff than anything else. The characters created too many issues on their own and so in the end what you have here is a film that doesn’t give you much of an incentive to watch it. At least I did like the grandfather. His role was small but the confidence was nice. If the film had doubled down on more of the humor this could have really been a different ballgame.

Overall 3/10

The Great Mouse Detective Review

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It’s time for a fun little Sherlock Holmes homage. This is definitely a film that I was unaware of before actually seeing it but it is rather fun. The animation itself is sharp and the pacing is good. Even more so than the plot, I enjoyed this film because the animation and characters are pleasant. It feels like a very old school animated film with a charismatic villain and a solid hero. It’s not really trying to subvert your expectations or make for a lot of grand plot twists. Instead it’s really all about just delivering a fun experience.

The movie starts off with Olivia’s father getting attacked by something right out of a Gremlins film. He is soundly defeated although he does put up a fight. My main problem with this is that we see more of Fidget later on and the guy isn’t all that tough. He should not be putting up this level of a fight. How did the father lose here? It’s a really bad look for the guy, I’ve gotta be honest about that. Losing to the comic relief sidekick in a fist fight is the quickest way to lose absolutely all of your hype. There is no way back from such a moment. Still, Olivia finds Dawson and they convince the world famous detective Basil to help out. The 3 of them are now ready to dish out the pain but do they have what it takes?

Even though Basil is the genius detective here, I would argue that Ratigan tends to look like the most intelligent character in the film. He is always a few steps ahead of everyone else and his plan was actually really good. If not for Basil pulling off a plot armor infused miracle comeback, Ratigan really had this in the bag. His genius inventions are really impossible to match and then you have to factor in that the guy can fight as well. He was crushing Basil while they were fighting in the climax. This is the kind of villain who leaves a very strong impression in the film. He really made the most out of all his scenes.

His sidekick Fidget wasn’t bad either. His best scene was definitely in the opening though as he never quite looks as fierce as that again. The design is on point and he can fight so those are the two biggest steps needed to being a cool villain. Ultimately his lack of intelligence is what hurts him here since he can’t even see an obvious betrayal approaching him at warp speeds. I don’t think he could have won in a fight anyway but at least he may have had a chance right?

As for the heroes, well Basil is solid as you would expect. I wouldn’t call him ultra heroic as he nearly didn’t help Olivia out until it really concerned him as well. Once he is on the case though, Basil is a fairly loyal ally to have around. He gives up a little too quickly at one point but otherwise didn’t really make any mistakes. His sidekick Dawson was good too. He filled in the Watson role rather well. He always has a lot of enthusiasm even if he can’t quite match up to Basil in the brains department. They don’t need two super sleuths anyway, just one will be enough. Dawson helps to keep Basil grounded and is also a moral compass I would say.

Meanwhile Olivia is mostly here to push the plot along but she’s not bad. If not for her being brave enough to seek out some help then Ratigan would have definitely won. So she gets some props there. A character who does not get any props is the Queen because she didn’t really do anything here. She was allowing her country to be mowed over without putting up any kind of a fight. Definitely not a very smart move at all. I get that she was surprised by the robot but that’s not much of an excuse.

Like I mentioned earlier, the animation is really solid here. Everything is super smooth and fast paced. There is always a lot of action going on here. You can tell that a good amount of budget was put into the film. I can’t recall any tunes in particular so I suppose I can’t say the same about the soundtrack. It’s not bad I suppose but yeah it’s not what you’re going to be talking about. At the end of the day the focus will be more about the story and the film is able to hold that part up well enough.

Although while this may sound more like a back handed complement, it’s not the story in particular that really makes the film work so much as the fun atmosphere and quick animation. It’s a film that feels nostalgic even when it is the first time you are watching it. That’s where the film does well here. I feel like you will probably forget many details of the film very quickly but you won’t forget the adventure as a whole. In part I’d say it’s because there’s not a whole lot of mystery to the film. Yes, they have to track down Ratigan and figure out what he is plotting but at the same time we already know the villain and as the viewer we see what he’s doing so it’s not a super big surprise.

Overall, The Great Mouse Detective is a pleasant film. I had a good time with it. It may not go down in history as being one of the all time greats but it was good enough for me. It’s got a good blend of humor and excitement and you should be entertained all the way through. If you haven’t even heard of this film like me, then you should check it out because it’s a bit like a hidden gem. I could safely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun film to check out. It’s very short so it’s not like it’s a bit time commitment either. There’s no reason not to check it out!

Overall 7/10

Jewel Robbery Review

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It’s time for an old school heist film that really goes by quickly. It’s a film that lands the humor over rather well and will keep you entertained all the way through. The main character may be no good since she is a cheat through and through but the main thief here makes for an interesting villain. He’s definitely not someone that you want to underestimate or it will be all over. The surreal nature of the whole thing really does wonders for the story.

The movie starts by introducing us to Teri who is super bored and one of those characters who figures that the grass is always greener. She wants some excitement in her life and to break away from how monotone things usually are for her. Her husband is rich but he got his money the legal way. So she has various affairs and flirts a lot with her husband’s younger associate. This is already pretty bad but what gets worse is when the shop is hijacked by a bunch of thieves. The main thief wins her heart over rather quickly. He’s not just any thief though, he likes to rob places while being a gentleman the whole time. So he makes sure that nobody is harmed and even makes some jokes along the way.

He invites Teri to go along with him and for a while there she is a bit skeptical of this but then she figures it might be a good idea. It won’t be easy though as the cops are hot on the trail. Will she decide to go with the thief or ultimately stand up for what’s right and help get the stolen merchandise back? Only time will tell, this is definitely not an easy decision for her at least.

So like I said the film is mainly played for laughs so you aren’t to take these things too seriously. That said, it is the best case scenario if you are the one being robbed. The villains aren’t hurting anyone and you are fully insured so it’s not like you won’t get anything back. Your business won’t be the same ever again though. The thief uses laughing cigarettes to knock people out and he has a flair for the dramatic. His backup plans have backup plans so it is hard to get one over on him. You figure this guy is almost definitely going to win in the end because nobody seems to be on his level. He’s just too quick witted.

You can’t feel quite as bad for the victims of the robberies as you could either since they’re not the best characters either way. For the younger associate, he is going after a married woman so that’s a massive no no right out of the gate. Then for the husband, he’s really letting himself be made a fool out of by his wife the whole time. I liked the well meaning police officer though. He was talking tough throughout the film about how smart and capable he was. I definitely appreciated that. It may not have turned out all that well for him but the confidence was still good. It’s always better to be confident and fail than to not have had the confidence in the first place.

These are also humor scenes that just worked really well within the film’s context. I’m not saying that it’ll be laugh out loud funny but the scenes and writing in the film are consistently clever. We even get quite a few fake outs that are written really well. You’re always left guessing as to what is going to happen next. It’s really impressive just how much influence the thief has and apparently he has dozens of identities to fall back on as well. That is the hallmark of a true pro.

The main cast is fairly small but this is the kind of film that doesn’t need a whole lot of characters. You really just need the thief to punk everyone, the heroine to fall for him, and then the peanut gallery wondering what is going to happen next. The rest of the film is just executed really well with the fun writing and really fast pacing. There is always something going on and it certainly never drags. At most you may just wish it could go on a bit longer with the thief messing with everyone but the length works well. Sometimes you don’t need a film to carry on for very long.

By default the weakest part of the film here is the romance. After all it’s not like you can root for the heroine to get together with the main villain right? That would be a really bad idea. The ending is a bit happier than you might think but we’ll see if it all works out. Either way I doubt this will be getting a sequel any time soon. It just doesn’t seem like the type of film that would since it’s really a standalone story all the way through.

Overall, Jewel Robbery is a pretty fun film and I dare say it’s better than I would have expected. The opening robbery scene really set the tone right from the start with how easily the thieves broke in and took control. I always like it when villains have an honor code to fall back on as well. Naturally it doesn’t make him any less of a villain or anything like that but at least it does make it so that you don’t mind when he is dominating. The guy wanted his money and figured out the most efficient way to do it with minimal effort. You have to give this guy some props in creativity for pulling all of this off like that. If this sounds like a fun time to you then I recommend checking it out right away. You don’t want to wait and then forget all about this title after all. You can also see what you think of the burglary attempt in general. Should it have worked? (I’d say yeah. It seemed to be well thought out)

Overall 7/10

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Review

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It’s crazy to think that there has only been one Ratchet & Clank game in the PS5 era. I remember the PS2 and PS3 getting so many games for the series! I forget on the PS4 so I guess it was starting to slow down, but still we definitely need more games with this duo. They were really on fire for a while there! This game is definitely great all around, there are some narrative things I would have done differently but on the whole I was satisfied.

The game starts off with Ratchet and Clank attending a big parade celebrating them once more. Ratchet doesn’t love all the attention but he’s ready to have a good time. Clank has worked out a way to help Ratchet finally see all of the other Lombaxes in another dimension but Ratchet isn’t too eager to do this for some reason. Things are cut short when an alien invasion occurs which disrupts the celebrations. This isn’t anything too new for Ratchet so I liked how he really took this in stride. Still, Clank ends up being kidnapped by a female lombax and they fall into a dimensional portal so Ratchet has to try and find them. Nobody messes with his friends!

So I’ll say right now that my only real problem with the game is how Ratchet and Rivet (The new lombax) barely get to interact at all. I was really looking forward to the banter and seeing what their dynamic is like. She’s basically the Ratchet of her dimension so there’s a lot you could play around with there. Instead, they don’t meet up until you’re deep into the game and unfortunately by that point they know a lot about each other so they already get along. I wanted a quick fight between the two but we never got that. Particularly with the extra tension of Ratchet thinking that Clank was kidnapped, I would have liked to see him cut loose. Maybe even make it a boss battle where you play as Rivet and have to survive against Ratchet for 2 minutes or something.

Facing off against the main character like that is a real blast ya know? Ah well, the story itself is still a lot of fun. We get to see a more serious version of Nefarious and also an alternate version of Captain Qwark who is more like his younger self. It’s a fun way to bring in alternate versions of the characters. Again I would have done a little more with the concept though. In the first world you jump through a bunch of dimensions and I did feel like one was based on the Jak games but you’re only there for around 30 seconds so it’s hard to say. This could have been treated like a crossover game of sorts and some easter eggs would have gone a long way.

The game instead chooses to survive on its own two feet which is fair enough but when a dimensional plot like this you just expect it to go the extra mile a little more. The game feels fairly short but it’s around the same length as the others. I guess I just played through it really fast because it was too hype to put down. As always Ratchet is a great main character. I may not be as big a fan of Clank but he’s always trying to help out. I liked Rivet as the new heroine and I’d be cool with seeing her return in the future. She’s a solid fighter and has definitely earned a spot on the main cast. Her partner Kit is a character I’m not as big a fan of.

Kit has a whole character arc and everything so I would say that the game tries plenty hard with her but I dunno I still need a little more there. With some more confidence she can go up so I wouldn’t be shocked if the sequel if her time to shine. It’s funny seeing Nefarious get wrecked for the whole game. I like that guy in an ironic sense as a comedic villain but the new Nefarious was actually really solid. I would definitely be up for seeing him return in another game as well but this is the kind of series that has a lot of villains to choose from so I’m definitely cool with a new villain again.

The graphics are really good here. It’s definitely got that first party PS5 budget behind it. There are a ton of great special effects in the background and everything looks really sharp. The soundtrack may not stand out a ton but it still looks really good overall. There is a lot of replay value here like in maxing out all of your weapons and getting the platinum. It looks a bit time consuming but not super difficult so I don’t think that you will have a really tough time here. I always liked the level system for the weapons that the series has because it really encourages you to keep switching weapons. I maxed out quite a number of them for this exact reason.

The 3D gameplay is extremely smooth and a ton of fun overall. The quality of life features make this super smooth as well like constant checkpoints and everything. There was one cheesy jump that was an instant death if you moved in time with the dialogue so you’d have to wait 2 seconds before moving on but that might have just been an oddly timed auto save on my end. You also have 2 alternate forms of gameplay. The Clank one is fairly weak so if the next game drops anything, this would be the one. It’s a puzzle as you guide clones to the goal. It’s not too bad, it just drags on a bit.

The other gameplay style is in the digital world as you control an AI named Glitch and that was a lot of fun. You basically blast away at any machine or opponent that gets in your way. That actually works out really well to the point where I’d love to see it come back or even as a spinoff game. It is the right balance of action and strategy. So bravo is what I would say to that! Absolutely the kind of gameplay I would come back to at any time.

Overall, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a great game. I would say it holds its own with the older titles in the series to be sure. It’s just a lot of fun to be able to see the old gang in a new adventure like this. They really didn’t miss a beat with the humor or level designs. It’s a fun game that you can jump right into even if you haven’t played through the other games but in a lot of ways it does work best as an anniversary title of sorts that you play at the end. One last adventure for the main duo. I would have liked a few more nods to the older games like maybe Ratchet mentioning how the last time they met a lombax it didn’t go so well but I can get why they would try to keep this one a bit more newcomer friendly. Either way I definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 8/10

Animal Well Review

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It’s time to talk about the new game that Dunkey recently released. It’s a Metroidvania which isn’t really my thing but I figured I’d check it out since it’s for free with the PS+. (Which has to suck for Dunkey since that probably takes a huge chunk out of his profits) Well..unfortunately the game doesn’t really work too well for me. It’s missing a lot of the quality of life features that I would really want to see in a game like this. There’s also no real story to speak of which hits hard.

The game starts off with some spooky sound effects and then you start off in a dark room. It’s hard to say exactly why but you have to find a bunch of eggs and then put out the 4 flames. If you can pull this off then perhaps you will escape the animal well. It will take all of your skills to pull this off though so is it really possible or are you just living in a delusion? There is only one way to find out.

The basic gameplay is that of a 2D platformer. You run and jump as you try to get around the obstacles and make it to the end of the room. Each room leads into another room and then you will typically find an egg or a new power up. The new items allow you to reach new rooms that you couldn’t reach before. So keep on doing this and eventually you will beat the game. Of course the one problem is that this means you will probably need to replay the same rooms over and over again. Unless you take very precise notes you will also not remember which room had an exit that you were previously unable to navigate either. So that’s another thing to keep in perspective.

Now, travelling back and forth isn’t a bad thing in itself. Shantae actually does this to extremely good effect where you actually have a lot of fun backtracking. You feel stronger every time and you can typically make it across in record time. The problem with Animal Well is that most of the power ups don’t make you faster or anything like that so it can be a real chore to keep going through the same rooms. Additionally one of the things you have to keep in mind is that a lot of the passageways are super hidden.

So you might check off a room that you feel holds no more secrets and then it turns out that it does. So you can never be sure as you are approaching the game. Sometimes you will be super far into one of the paths and then you die to a one hit KO like a block falling on you. You then warp back to the last phone save point which is super far away. Your quick travel (Which takes a lot of eggs to unlock) only works through the save points too. There just aren’t enough save points and too many rooms. If you die you should be taken back to the room where you died in it. Still use the phones as save points for when you exit the game but while playing you should be able to restart where you are.

That will help a great deal in making the game more fun. The graphics are also very basic although I think this is an intentional move. It’s trying to look really old so I can respect that even if I don’t think that the game looks all that solid. The lack of a soundtrack is a big issue though. It’s way too silent and yes that could be seen as spooky but more importantly that can be seen as rather boring. I need something to listen too and so not having that is really a big deal. I mean you can put on a Youtube video or something but just make some spooky music.

In a way the problem is that the game is trying to be old school in every respect which isn’t a good idea. I’ve said before that the very old era of gaming was more of a hit or miss for me. I generally like just about every modern game but if we’re talking original Atari or something then there are many more that I wouldn’t have liked. It’s important not to throw away the quality of life features that we have at this point just to make the game’s older or something like that. Trust me it’s not the way to do it.

Also there should be some way to fight back. Every time you are shredded by an enemy you feel like you could have won if you had some kind of weapon. Your items just don’t interact with the enemies. At least the Yoyo should be able to hit them or the frisbee should knock one around. The only offensive weapon is the Firecracker and even then it works on most enemies but not all of them. Give me something for self defense or maybe make it so you get collectibles quicker to minimize the backtracking just a little. There are a lot of ways you could have made this game a lot more fun than the way that it is currently.

Overall, Animal Well is a game that has a lot of depth to it. There are secrets around every corner and lots of reasons to keep on playing. The problem is that the game missed something that is absolutely fundamental. It forgot to be fun. That’s the thing here, I just don’t feel like solving every puzzle. There are some games where I can keep on dying over and over while having fun like Super Smash or games where I need to keep backtracking like Has Been Heroes but in both of those cases you don’t feel like it’s a time grind. You’re just doing what you have to do and there is a straight forward reason why you are losing and backtracking. Animal Well doesn’t have that. Even just adding a #complete ticker to the screens would be nice or maybe color a room differently when there are no secrets left. Those would be great quality of life updates that would make the game more fun. Without those, then there’s just not much in the game to keep you addicted and having fun.

Overall 4/10

Asura’s Wrath Review

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It’s time to check out the classic known as Asura’s Wrath. I remember that this game always looked super hype when I would see the cover around or even any bits of the gameplay. The feats and characters were all very over the top which worked really well. Ultimately the game may not have done as well as it should have but I would definitely say that for me it did live up to the hype.

The game starts off by introducing us to the various gods who fight corrupted monsters that plague humanity. It appears to be a just cause and Asura does his best to make the world a safer place. Unfortunately he is framed for murdering the emperor one day and his wife is murdered while his daughter is kidnapped. The gods intend to use Asura’s daughter to power their army for eternity until the monsters have been vanquished and this is not an acceptable proposition for Asura. So he decides to take matters into his own hands and destroy all of them. Does he have the power to pull this off though?

While Asura is super powerful, the same is true for the rest of the fighters. In fact, Asura is put at a real disadvantage here because he is destroyed and doesn’t return for 12,000 years. So his skills have not improved while everyone else has ascended to a higher level. The game definitely has bigger time skips than you would expect for any title so it really uses their immortality to the story’s advantage. The gods also appear to be robotic in nature which you could make a lot of fun theories about to be sure. This doesn’t stop them from gaining new power through the energy system known as mantra though. The reason they need Asura’s daughter is that her prayers allow them to focus their powers. She basically improves their abilities on a continuous basis although obviously this isn’t a great setup for her which is why Asura wants to step in.

Some of these fighters try to at least act noble like they’re doing this for a good cause while other members just embrace that they’re being evil and do their best to be massive jerks. You are absolutely rooting for Asura the whole time because all of the other characters just seem crazy. They’re taking the concept of murdering a few to save many to a very huge extreme. For example we learn that they ended up murdering trillions to absorb their life forces to create a robot that can destroy the evil monsters once and for all. The idea is that if they do this then they can create a perfect utopia for eternity.

Fast forward long enough and even trillions of deaths will seem like a small number. Of course you can see how this is still rather insane and a few of the enemies show their true colors when they laugh about how humans exist to serve them anyway so this isn’t a big deal. Yeah Asura really needed to wipe the system clean. In a way he feels like the Hulk or Doomsday here. He is constantly unlocking new abilities and getting stronger as he gets angrier. When he is defeated he just regroups and comes on back. His anger is so high that even death cannot hold him for very long. It’s a really cool premise.

The game goes all in on the aesthetic here too which is what makes the whole game possible. You’re seeing the characters shatter ships the size of planets and moving at incredible speeds. The feats are all crazy here and the characters act like this is completely normal. That’s because it is normal in this context which is what’s so impressive. Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is really good. I liked just about all of the themes here. They’re all really epic and definitely get you hyped for the fights that come up.

It should come as no surprise that the graphics are also really good. The character models are really on point and the energy effects are all really good. This is a game that you can seamlessly play on the PS5 and admire just how solid it looks. Everything about the game was very carefully crafted with no issues at all. Now that’s not to say that the game is literally perfect. It is true that the game could definitely stand to be longer. There are 18 chapters in the game and each one is fairly short. More than a few only have around 5-7 minutes of gameplay while the rest are cutscenes. So you breeze through the game very quickly.

I enjoyed the gameplay a lot so it would have been fun to have gotten to play some more. I was really enjoying how the fights let you play around with the counter attack/quick time action features and of course there was a lot of fun to be had in just bashing the enemies with your standard attacks. The battles ending when you unlocked your rage mode was also a pretty cool approach. The game had a fun gimmick there that was original without being annoying or anything like that.

In the end a lot of the hype around this game is also thanks to the story being so good. It’s a really compelling story that just drags you in and you’re always at the edge of your seat. It’s a shame that some of the chapters are hidden behind DLC since that would help with the length issue but the ending is really intense. Definitely one of those cliffhangers that you are unlikely to forget. Having to replay the whole last level to see the extra cutscene you unlock is a bit much but like I said, the levels are short so it wasn’t all that bad.

Overall, Asura’s Wrath is an elite game to be sure. The gameplay is really out of this world and the quick time events are so much fun. They definitely take up most of the game so it ends up being like an interactive movie at times but when the story is this good you don’t need anything else. I highly recommend checking this game out. It really is a very unique experience and you aren’t likely to forget it anytime soon. Hopefully one day it is old enough to be nostalgic and we get a full blown sequel.

Overall 9/10

Untitled Goose Game Review

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This game was really making the rounds for a while there. I remember seeing the game be talked about a whole ton as the next big thing. A GOTY candidate and everything like that. Well, I finally got to play it and I can safely say that…the game’s okay. I mean it’s just not all that entertaining in long batches but I can see the novelty value here. With more of a story I would have really been on board.

The game starts off real quick as the goose you play as decides to have a walk around town. You go here and there, all the while activating objects and seeing things happen to everyone. You are given a tasks book where you have to try and do everything on the checklist. At times this can be easy and at times it can be hard. The tasks themselves can be like puzzles as you have to find out how to achieve them. The controls are deceptively simple so you would expect the puzzles themselves to also be simple but that is not the case. Some of these puzzles will really take you for a spin. If you’re not careful then you will be completely lost and not doing anything for a while there.

The main problem as I see it is that there isn’t a whole lot of motivation to go forward and accomplish. Why bother completing the checklist? You can do it for completionism’s sake and to unlock more terrain to run across but the lack of a plot really huts here. I guarantee you that if you added a cinematic plot it would be a lot more engaging. I would be racing to accomplish everything as quickly as possible to see what is going on. That’s the kind of incentive that you have to give me.

There’s nothing wrong with a free roam adventure that doesn’t have much of a story but I would argue you need something more than the goose to pull that off. The novelty factor alone just isn’t worth it here. You have to pull out all of the stops and everything. As a bird you can grab things and walk around. That’s basically it. I would want to see some combat and other gameplay additions to really get ahead here.

Lets also improve the graphics while we’re at it. They’re not bad or anything but they are going for a very simple look that doesn’t quite work on the PS5. I need more details and everything. There isn’t really a soundtrack either which is too bad. Some good tunes could really help out with this to be sure. I definitely recommend putting on some background music while you play through the game to add in some fun vibe to the game. Otherwise you might find yourself falling asleep. Okay that sounds like a big shot to the game but my main problem is that it can get a little boring at times. I really need more of a focus to keep my attention going. Otherwise I jut feel like I should have been doing something else. For sure I wouldn’t spend money on the game.

This feels more like a sandbox title that I would play on the mobile. It should be free to play. Now I don’t doubt that a lot of effort went into the game in order to get all of the right sounds and everything but me personally, I do think they could have gone a little harder with the content. You know, really gave us something to think about. It does feel like a true simulator so it does succeed in that way.

Overall, Untitled Goose Game is an interesting gimmick but it just wasn’t for me. It could have used some combat or some action to take it to the next stage. You know, something to really help it stand out and get my attention. Because as it stands, the game just did not have what it takes in that field. I could play it for a long time if I was trolling everyone or had a captive audience but on its own it just wouldn’t be fun enough. It needs more variety.

Overall 4/10

The Last Blade 2 Review

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This is a fighting game that I had definitely never heard of before but it sure is fun. You feel like they put some extra effort into this title relative to the average fighting game. For starters there are some fun illustrations here for the story aspect. There is a real ending when you beat the arcade mode. Not just a quick picture or something but a true story. The opening is good as well and I really liked the vibes here. The characters all have great designs and movesets.

I never played the original Last Blade but the fact that this one continues after the first title is a good thing. You can feel the continuity here all the way through. The lines and twists would hit harder if you had any kind of context for them but I’m still glad to see them around. The game has vs mode aside from arcade of course but there isn’t a ton of content here. So the story that we do get really goes a long way to making the game be more memorable. The genre has a lot of competition and even back in those days there were always a ton of games being churned out left and right. So what that means is that you needed to try hard in order to stay ahead of the curve and that’s not easy.

I’m surprised you don’t see this game series around more nowadays since I feel like the game would do well. It had that anime feel to it and the actual gameplay is fairly fast paced. It’s your classic 2D fighter all the way through and the characters deal a whole lot of damage. So if you take the wrong combo you will be knocked out almost instantly. Of course by the same token that means you just need to land a good hit and you will be the one claiming victory. So definitely don’t give up, if you strike hard and fast then you will always have the ticket for victory. The game is really about proper spacing so you definitely need to be careful when you throw a strike.

I approached the title with my usual button mashing style which I have to admit worked rather well here. Most opponents are just unable to stop my combos but some matches did take me a while. I will always stand by the fact that games were simply way more difficult back in the day than they are now. Games in the present could mostly be blasted through at any point but for the older ones you really had to work at it. Easy mode itself could be a little difficult at times.

The graphics are pretty good like I mentioned earlier with the illustrations. The soundtrack isn’t very memorable but you win some and you lose some. The writing is also where the game really stands out, there are a lot of great lines here. The characters really have no chill and will deliver some of the biggest verbal smackdowns that you have ever seen. Seriously I was impressed but also a bit nervous at just how hard these guy went. It’s the kind of dialogue you won’t see as often nowadays because it can tow the line but I think it works out since these guys are villains. It also gives you an incentive not to lose. If you lose then you’re just going to have to put up with that.

Overall, The Last Blade 2 is a pretty fun game. It’s always cool to find a hidden gem inside the PSN+ like this. It may not be a title that changes everything that I ever knew or anything like that but it’s fun which is the important part. I always enjoy fighting games quite a lot so this is another one that I can then add to the list. If there was to be a new game for the series on PS5 or something I would definitely check it out. This setting with full blown cutscenes and everything would be absolutely intense! I know that’s probably a longshot though but either way I would recommend checking this game out at least. It’s a real blast.

Overall 7/10

2XTreme Review

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It’s time for a title that lets you play different sports. So that part’s pretty fun since you get to really switch things up all the time. That said, none of the games will really wow you and there isn’t a ton of variety to be found here. For the most parts the games are just standard so you will have a good time but you won’t be sticking around for very long. Before you know it you will be gone and this game will vanish from your memories.

I decided to play a few levels in each gameplay style to really get the hang of it. My favorite mode was bike riding. I felt like the controls worked best for this setup. It is really hard to win though so I feel like I’m still doing something wrong. No matter how much I would accelerate, I would never catch up to my opponent. Simply put, he was just way too fast. Nobody was lapping me or anything like that but I would usually be sticking to last place. At least I still got some trophies by driving quickly and staying inside of the gates but I would have liked some more wins along with that.

The other gameplay modes like skating and blading were also pretty fun. It could be a little harder to turn in those modes but still nothing crazy. Your main objective in each mode is to go ahead and win the race. Along the way you can pull off some advanced tricks like going through each gate or keeping up a top speed. If you do that then you can earn some trophies. There isn’t much of a tournament mode here though or at least it isn’t unlocked yet. The way you select the match isn’t great though so the menus could use some work.

You have to one by one go down each setting to set them up for the match and then you can start. The problem with this? That means you can’t just jump into a match with ease. It’s probably something where you won’t even notice it once you are used to the setup for a while but it definitely could have been a lot better. Just let me have my settings straight and I can keep on switching levels with ease. This is the definition of a minor problem though and not something that actually hurts anything all that much.

As far as the graphics are concerned, the game looks good. It is definitely on the older side and of course you can tell that but it’s not sloppy or low budget. It holds up as well as I would expect. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I can’t recall any of the themes at all which is definitely a problem. So the technicals are okay but nothing to write home about which fits in with the rest of the game as well. This is a game that lets you play some sports and that’s exactly what you get. Nothing more and nothing less. So you will be satisfied if that is why you have selected this title.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about the game otherwise since it is very direct. There are no real gimmicks or items here either. It all comes down to your individual skills. How do you handle the turns and unexpected obstacles? You have to always react quickly or else that is it for you. You will be surpassed by all of the other racers and then it’s game over. Although I thought I reacted quickly and I still lost every time so it is what it is.

Overall, 2XTreme is a reasonable game. I wouldn’t call it all that good but it’s certainly not bad. There’s just not a whole lot of bang for your buck here. So you will play it a bit and get accustomed to what’s going on but that’s about it. Before long you will be ready for the next title. So if you have PS+ then you should definitely check this one out but otherwise you’re not missing much if you decide to just skip it outright. You just can’t really go wrong with the game being free.

Overall 5/10

Boruto: Naruto the Movie Update

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I now own the movie on Blu Ray! It definitely holds up really well with all of the hype action. We get to see the start to Boruto’s journey as the #1 ninja as well. Definitely a must watch for any Naruto fan or even anyone who just likes a good action story. You can’t miss out on this!