Foreword

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☉ Platform: PlayStation 4
₪ Genre: Action, Musou
☑ Release date: February 2017
♬ Soundtrack: The White Hawk and Berserker Armor

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Being fan of both Berserk and Musou Berserk and the Band of the Hawk came rather naturally to me as a game. Former is satisfied because we finally got more of the source material adapted of which there was a big part that was neglected for years up until the last year when new [infamous] anime series came out, and latter is glad to sink his teeth into another Musou game after quite a dry a spell since I played the last one. That's not to say everything's perfect so let's get to it then.

I'm not sure how to go about with the story without spoiling anything so I'll keep it simple. We follow Guts, a badass mercenary making his living in a war-torn land where countries of Chudor and Midland are locked in a Hundred Year War. This scenario has enabled the formation of many mercenary companies that manage to profit in such conditions. Guts is one of the exceptions in a sense he just wanders from job to job and even refuses a lucrative offer for permanent employment. That is until he catches the attention of Griffith from the Band of the Hawk and certain events transpire where he “wins” Guts by beating him in a duel. This is merely the premise of what is a really intertwined and tumultuous relationship not to mention various group dynamics within the Band, specifically between Guts, Griffith and Casca. There's a lot going on as they work for Midland and eventually ascend in the ranks until... well, let's just say first half of the game gets turned on its head in a way you won't really see coming if you're getting into Berserk for the first time on sight unseen.

And if that is the case then I think Berserk and the Band of the Hawk is easily Omega Game's best story mode so far in all aspects cinematic – game draws and employs external assets to great effect. Be they scenes from the Berserk movie trilogy, likewise from the 2016 anime series or game's own cutscenes when the previous two run out, you will definitely get your fill of the story and won't feel lost like you might be in some other Musou games. Important distinction here is that a lot of effort was put into presentation for what could've have been, and was in other games, just a narrator talking over a dialog box. You could even make an argument there's too much story you'll end up skipping if you decide to replay the game, but it makes the entire game feel very... wholesome, I guess? One part that really stuck with me were the short side stories that unlock as you complete missions and expand on characters, setting and current events. That doesn't meant all the story arcs are included though, and more astute will notice some controversial bits are suspiciously absent. Expect violence, gore and shock value regardless.

With that out of the way let's talk a bit about structure, missions and whatnot. Something I noticed immediately is the way story lends itself to the game leads to couple of changes compared to how these games operate. For starter, missions are a lot shorter and generally doable in under ten minutes or so which happens to be a far cry from much longer Musou missions where you have a 40 minute timer for a good reason. This also leads to some stop-and-go momentum until you get used to it as you're taking breaks too often for my taste. Second problem is one I'm not sure how to exactly put into words – there's a steady decline over time in how varied missions are. You go from tightly following the story which leads the Band all over the place in The Golden Age arc to way too many “kill 1000 enemy X” mission objectives in the later arcs. This really doesn't feel like a grind because, well, I find combat tremendously enjoyable but it reeks of obvious filler that didn't need to be there. Probably because some of the latter parts don't exactly fit into this type of game structure so they had to make due. I also noticed a rather amusing appearance of typos and grammatical errors as the game went on as if someone just glossed over that stuff.

You do NOT want to get on Guts' bad side.

Actual cutscenes and animated dialog bits are a refreshing change of pace.

We finally meet, Wyald! Long overdue for an appearance.

I like the flexibility with items you can equip, but they're not game changers.

When movie material runs out you'll be relying on game cutscenes to deliver more story.

But how does the game play, you may ask? It's a Musou game in structure, albeit one where you don't go around capturing bases as you're on rails for the story and going through missions and intermissions accomplishing specific objectives. Major problem here is the low number of characters you have at your disposal. Sure, trade-off is they're pretty varied and have differentiating features like their sub-weapons, but mere handful characters is not enough no matter how you swing at it. That's even taking into account that some have multiple playable “forms”. Good news is that, in my opinion, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk probably has the most satisfying combat out of any Musou game yet. Guts' CLANG attacks with his massive claymore slab of steel masquerading as a weapon have unmistakable weight to them and clear screens when you get into combos and blood starts gushing everywhere. Omega Games has stayed away from gore in their games, with one notable exception, but I almost didn't understand how important it would be to something like Berserk until I played it for myself.

You could always ask for more developed individual combos that don't revolve around two button presses, but that's the formula for you and it works when you have entire screen full of enemies that need dispatching. Bosses were actually decent for once because they're presented as bosses and not just random mooks even if they still do fall into pattern recognition. I would suggest not playing on normal because it's way too easy... until the game backhands you at about midway point because stakes get upped and you need to pay more attention to bosses. There's also a distinct and appropriate feeling this is Guts: the Game because he's so frankly overpowered so no matter who else you play with you'll feel like you're not doing as well for a while, but this is more because Guts is so geared towards AoE attacks. Items and equipment you bring along can alter your stats further past what leveling will do naturally, but you don't have to fiddle with those extensively.

Talking about stuff you can do outside of the Story Mode is where we run into problems because you basically have only two options; Free Mode where you can play story missions with any character you like and Endless Eclipse mode where you go through increasingly difficult levels until you get to level 100 and unlock stuff like even more gear, permanent transformations, etc along the way. It's the only thing to keep you occupied after you've finished the game and that's sad. Also happens to be the only aspect in which game completely fell flat for me as it depends entirely on how much you care about the things you unlock.

I'll avoid jabbering about the graphics as screenshots speak for themselves, but game did have some performance problems on PS4 especially in the very last level as things are going down like crazy and final boss was a drag because of it. I liked the fitting soundtrack, but sadly game doesn't feature any of the songs from the movie or any of Susumu Hirasawa's excellent tracks that came to identify the original series. This was a missed opportunity for me that could've been easily remedied.

I can put my stamp of approval on this one, but I'm a fan of both properties so it's a no-brainer. This would probably be a middle of the road recommendation if I wasn't. I would still be weary of suggesting it as Berserk primer and would recommend the old TV show or manga instead, though.

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☉ Platform: PlayStation 4
₪ Genre: Science Fiction, TPS, RPG
☑ Release date: March 2017
♬ Soundtrack: A Trail of Hope and Exiled

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Oh boy. It's Mass Effect Andromeda time and there's no one around to stop me from running my mouth. In all honestly I legitimately cannot remember when was the last time my opinion on a specific game flip-flopped so much during play. I'm not a big fan of the final product, but as usual games are sums of their parts and there's some pretty unusual variance in that section going on here.

Provided you haven't already seen it from the bombardment of videos and previews that preceded the game launch premise of Mass Effect Andromeda is as follows. At one point between Mass Effect 2 and 3 some bad things were going down with the potential for all races to go extinct. Answer people in charge came up with was to develop massive Arks, with each major race getting their own, and to fling them away to another galaxy where they could start anew. Each Ark would be headed by a Pathfinder aka badass all-around leader meant to, well, pathfind, for their people when they reach Helius cluster after a 600-year journey. Your old man Alec Ryder is the human Pathfinder. Of course, we need to have a game with conflict/story so when Ark Hyperion reaches the objective couple of things did not go according to plan – golden world hasn't panned out, there's some weird substance floating around in space and causing damage when approach and after landing on the world you're fired upon by some aliens. I won't go into rather obvious details, but you inherit the position from your father and now it's up to you to save the human race as well as finding other Arks.

The way it usually goes with Bioware games that initial premise is just a hook and story goes places from that point, but not so much here. Sure, things complicate along the way and there are a lot more developments I'll get into yet the opening premise carries on throughout because you really do have to find a new place for humanity, form a new society away from Citadel space... not to mention in another freaking galaxy. This is probably a good time to mention that you do not, in fact, need to have played the old Mass Effect trilogy to get Andromeda but it would certainly help. Just like with Dragon Age: Inquisition I wouldn't wish reading all those entries after entries of dry synopsis/lore upon any newcomers. Being familiar with the franchise will let you slip into this [unrelated] sequel very easily.

Let's not kid ourselves here because the reason most people play Mass Effect games for is the story. Despite all the harping about admittedly sub-par animations and lip-sync, sadly it's the writing overall which is the primary stumbling block for the game and one I cannot put enough of emphasis on just how badly it's been (mis)handled. To be brutally honest – Bioware needs to fire their writers and start anew. It boggles my mind that so few people have noticed the decline over their last couple of games and particularly coming to forefront with Mass Effect Andromeda. Also, keep in mind when I say STORY what I'm really referring to is a melting pot of plot, characters and lore. Worst offender in this category is game's lack of defined tone and mood, swinging wildly from extremes at a drop of a hat depending on what struck the particular writer's whim. It just comes off as inconsistent and never ever stops being an annoyance until the very finale which I'll come back to later on. This extends to characters as well. I forgot where I read it and who put it so nicely, but characters are constantly trying to “out-Marvel” each with quips and jokes. Doubly so in situations where it's unwarranted. Don't get me wrong because there is time for humor and lightheartedness in space operas, but not when they're dispensed at apparently random intervals.

This same train of thought unavoidably leads us to game's companions which are hit or miss, but came off clinically unmemorable to me. Your two Initiative comrades are just kinda there; one being a rigid and by-the-book biotic who's so super powerful she trained with the elite Asari commando unit... except that never even comes through mechanically, and your other dude is basically just an easy going grunt I could not stand with constant attempts at being humorous because, well, I'm not twelve anymore. Alien companions are on average more interesting, though. From a hunter not-Wrex Krogan, can-I-choke-her-yet Asari “rogue scientist”, very sensible [female] Turian smuggler to addition the new Angara race addition. Yes, there's only six total companions in the game, but honestly Mass Effect Andromeda is not one of those games where you'll be torn which character to take for their mechanics vs story and personality. Because, you see...

You'll be glad to hear our resident vehicle obeys the laws of gravity properly this time around.

Not everything is alien in Andromeda, even with absence of blue and red.

I've wished many a time this was their Pop's adventure. Alas.

Props to armor guys aka only team that actually gave a damn, aside from environmental artists.

Spot the odd element. Goddammit, I'm talking about the changed skill system. I'm no racist.

Classes are out. No, I'm not joking. Franchise staple is gone and replaced by a free-form building system where you get skill points on each new level and distribute them where you see fit. See, I have no problem with this and it could work except game then introduces a new thing called Profiles aka soft classes that give you bonuses to what would effectively your classes do in the olden days. Why? If you're giving me freedom in skills go all the way through with that. Now I have to yet again fiddle with skills and Profiles so they fit well with each other. Or I'd have to if the game wasn't almost insultingly easy on normal difficulty level, but that's on me because I could've bumped it up to hard. I'm just saying game is severely badly tuned on normal.

While we're on the subject of systems let's delve in a bit further.

Why did you have to take my cover button away, Bioware? I thought we were friends. Or at least we weren't giving each other the stink eye. “Take cover behind anything” sounds like a great approach until you realize you're leaving your fate in game's hands and what it quantifies as cover, good positioning, things like that. And it STILL results in chest high walls being everywhere. It's awkward and unnecessarily, which is sad because dedicated cover button was obviously axed in favor of evade aka boost button. Combined with jumping it leads to some fun gameplay as there's a new vertical aspect added now. One that enemies don't really use aside from platforming jumping and your companions will struggle with/miraculously teleport over, but still. You'll also be glad to hear Mako is back. Well, it's Nomad now and it's better in pretty much every way. There's almost too much functionality packed into the damn thing with all the upgrades, resource scanning, yet it has no weapons by default. Odd choice.

Major new addition, and one game really should've been all about if not for classical RPG story, is management of new settlements. Basically, you make planets more habitable by performing actions to domesticate it, so to speak, which leads to higher affinity. This in turn enables a colony to be settled. Doing everything in the game that benefits the colonists in major way nets you Andromeda Viability Points (AVN) that lets you awaken certain blocks of colonists from cryogenic pods. This bestows bonuses to you. All of which, inventory expanders aside, are generally unnecessary because the game is easy enough as it is. There's crafting now, though. With tons of items, both gear and upgrades, that you'll most likely never use because you'll never be pushed for it. Also, gathering crafting materials is a chore but at least you can buy them if you feel so inclined. Hope you like visiting all the planets with uninspired descriptions and factoids because you'll be doing a lot of that. Thankfully, I avoided most of the unskippable travel animations brunt from launch.

You will also quickly take note that old Paragon/Renegade system is gone and has been replaced with basically nothing. One would assume this was to take a step away from a system that encouraged choosing which “alignment” you were going with and sticking to it blindly for he points and unlocked choices, but that's not really how it works. I got a distinct impression there's even less choices now and those that aren't clearly telegraphed to you as important ones are less significant than ever. And current Bioware could not pull off gray morality if their lives depended on it.

If you've been paying attention to couple of last paragraphs you may have noticed a pattern going on. Yes, Mass Effect Andromeda is a completionist's paradise. And I have to break something to you – I finished the game in 22 hours with 46% completion because after 18 hours or so I just stopped caring. This is the exact same problem I had with Dragon Age: Inquisition and that's because the two games are very very similar structurally. There's maybe 15 hours of story to go around, actual integral story you need to finish the game, and everything else is just extra when by all rights that extra should've been the meat of the game. Busywork. That's how I'd surmise ¾ of the offering.

Still here? You have only yourself to blame.

Leaving it just at that would this a completely negative review, but that's not to say Mass Effect Andromeda doesn't have its bright moments. True, they're few and far in-between the mediocrity and drivel yet that doesn't meant they don't exist.

New Angaran race is a good addition that could've benefited from a somewhat more creative design, but who still come off as people fighting for their lives and culture against an overwhelming enemy. Speaking of which I think Bioware blew their chance to make Kett a lot more engaging than painting them as nonredeemable bad guys by going for some cheap shots. Even Archon himself and established rivalry with Ryder simply doesn't come across as legitimate, I guess? I wish we could've had the chance to explore more of these two races' initial engagement, but what we get is a decent appetizer. Speaking of the first contact I really liked the angle of making humans and other Milky Way races the mysterious strangers and potential invaders. Game never really makes use of that beyond fluff, though. If you like your in-depth settings with books worth of entries on technology, races, etc you will enjoy perusing through the game's codex. Another pretty big welcome change is the inclusion of a lot more chatter between party members on your ship Tempest. If you frequent the place on normal intervals between missions you'll very rarely if ever hear anyone go on and on about calibrations.

Mechanically game is definitely very playable with faster pace thanks to buzzing and jumping around. It's still bogged down relying all too often on high hit-to-kill ratios, especially for bosses, but it works. Freedom will definitely suit a lot of players when paired with large open zones full of objectives to chase after. There's five big planets and when they say big, they mean BIG. If 100%-ing zones is your jam you'll have a blast. Of course, this comes with mostly bland quests that will fed-ex you from point A to point B, but that seems to have become the norm with open world games and filler content.

So... that's it. How to even put all this into a couple of concise sentences?

Mass Effect Andromeda is a game that exists and that's about it. As someone who liked the Mass Effect trilogy I was disappointed tremendously by this one's writing which is and always has been the primary reason I played RPGs for. Who knows, maybe the characters will grow on me if this continues? One moment that stuck with me was the finale reminiscent of the original game's own climax when you rush aboard Mako against odds and time. Now it's a lot flashier, impossible to die and without a timer. You decide if that's progress.

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☉ Platform: Nintendo 64
₪ Genre: FPS
☑ Release date: August 1997
♬ Soundtrack: Escape from Train and Facility

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How much time is enough to change one's opinion? Or will said passage of time lead you to formulate an entirely different opinion on a game you played 20 years ago? Considering that's just a re-formulated sentence for filler let's see how GoldenEye 007 stood the test of time because the second sentence is, in fact, accurate – I played it all the way back then. Never finished, though.

Well, this is an adaptation of the the eponymous movie featuring the now-famous British spy James Bond, codename 007. There probably isn't much point to summarizing both the movie and game here, but I'll point out the game definitely expects you to have seen the movie beforehand or you're in for some guesswork. Gameplay's time will come, don't you worry, but I'd like to point out story is largely delivered in the form of mission briefings aka dossiers you get before each mission. They're really where most of the personality comes from because you get opinions from multiple people. Stern M and Q, who is frankly just interested in having you test out his latest gadget, are actually useful staples while Moneypenny is just being passive aggressive while she keeps signaling that she's the right one for James.

Nintendo 64's more technical aspects get in the way of things if we're talking about framerate, textures and models... but such were the days with early 3D on consoles. One aspect where the system loses out against the original PlayStation was definitely storage space as cartridges couldn't measure up to CDs. What does this mean in practice? It means you can say goodbye to cinematics and voice acting, both elements that were slowly making their presence known. In actuality this doesn't really translate to the game in any serious negative as the soundtrack, such as it is, sounds rather nice and emulates the movie wherever it can while effects themselves tend to favor the good side. Particularly the silenced weapons and your staple AK-47.

As far as gameplay and mission structure go it's a mixed bag. You can expect to be doing more than just “run and gun”, but such mission variety isn't exactly handled in the best of ways. This is usually due to vague or insufficient mission guidelines. Now, I'm not asking for GPS tracker or anything, but you'll have to turn your noggin' on for some missions such as one in particular where you have to threaten a scientist to disable the security system for you. Or don't. Missions are also exceedingly short and clearly split into chunks for memory's sake. Not to mention they often end up abruptly and with no satisfaction to be had. Adapting existing movie scenes into game levels was clearly a struggle.

Ruskies & redheads = explosive combination.

Ah, the asymmetry of technology.

Makes you wonder if they're hiding their own heads-up displays in those boxes.

It's a good thing the gameplay is so satisfying. I don't think there's a single other console FPS from the fifth generation that plays as smoothly as GoldenEye 007. Not-so-subtle auto aiming contributes significantly to this I'd imagine, but the way James Bond and enemies move around feels appropriately tight and works akin to a foundation stone upon which the entire skeleton for the game is built. Letting you aim with greater accuracy using the alien analog stick is sometimes a bit floaty and fortunately isn't required that often. There are some shenanigans like carefully aiming with, for example, your laser watch to get out of a dangerous TIMED situation, though.

One element of the game I wish I had the chance to try anew is the multiplayer which used to be a blast back in the day. I'm not sure if basing my opinions on experiences from 20 years ago would be fair so I'll abstain.

Final verdict: good or bad? Bit of both. I liked the basic cycle of playing the game, but it usually just boiled to mowing down everything that moves except for your escort objective, navigating sometimes annoyingly laid out levels like the St. Petersburg park until you get to know the lay of the land, and praying to god you understood the objectives correctčy. I'm not denying the possibility I'm spoiled by modern games even if I doubt that's the case in this particular case.

I'd love to hear what a newcomer looking at the game with a fresh pair of eyes would see.

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₪ Genre: Fantasy
☑ Release date: November 2016
⇲ Running time: 133 minutes

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In a sense Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a bad fan service movie, and make no mistake because that is its primary function, but that's a two-way street because while you might leave the unfamiliar mainstream audience wondering what the hell they just finished watching you have to tick all those boxes for the established fans who crave more of their favorite property. I think this movie does that, but in a way that excludes the non-fans and in other ways that might leave established Harry Potter fans wondering whether it was necessary at all for this to even exist as its own separate work.

Set during the US prohibition era, specifically year 1926, we see one New Scamander as he disembarks in New York City having traveled across the world. He's also lugging a rather common and worn down suitcase around with him. Thing is, this suitcase is rather strange as we quickly see that Scamander himself is a wizard, wand and all. He's packing something alive in there and shenanigans ensue as it breaks out in the middle of a bank, during which Newt also implicates a non-magical person supposed to be ignorant of the whole magic thing, etc and gets an official from their magical society called Tina Goldstein on his tail. It's not long after that he has to explain himself in front of Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), but there's also a lot more sinister plot in the background our protagonist will inevitably get himself involved with. Thing is story isn't even that important in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them because it basically boils down to “animals escape, gotta catch 'em all before they wreck the city”. Real underlying subject at hand that I didn't really think would be such a major is the modern witch hunting element. Or should I say, a group that keeps preaching about it... and that ends up being important in the grand scheme of things because the plot demands it to be.

Characters left me more conflicted than the straightforward story. On one hand we have Newt Scamander himself who is genuinely awkward and not necessarily in that lovable goof you've come to expect to see in movies. He really comes off like he doesn't belong seeing as he just might be magical equivalent of, well, one-man PETA operation, but he grows on you despite that. Everyone else, with the exception of head Auror played by Collin Farrell and Madame President who was just... there, is honestly a much better realized character. From demoted Auror Tina and her struggle to get back into good graces while doing what's right, her incredibly charming sister for whom I admit I have a soft spot for and totally out of his element Muggle Lou, they all have more personality and energy. Not to mention they surprisingly also get to do things without just being a backdrop. I wish I could say the same for New Salem preachers as, while they tie into Tina's backstory, they don't get to do much short of a massive spoiler I won't go into which sends entire NYC into bedlam in the finale.

Like I mentioned briefly in the opening this is a movie really aimed at Harry Potter fans and it shows through and through. From awkwardly name dropping Dumbledore himself, the time story is set in with the whole crisis concerning dark wizard Grindelwald, etc. I would argue real draw of the movie is seeing how magic is done over the pond which is somehow fans have speculated about for a long time seeing as the books are UK-centric. It's certainly a peculiar take on this magic society as we see it organized differently from familiar Ministry of Magic. What I found the most interesting is how US wizards seem more intent on keeping the pure-blooded nature which makes the sudden reveal and twist kinda surprising as you'd expect they might hold a different stance in regards to subject matter. Food for a sequel?

I can assure you he's not summoning Meteor.

Answer is yes. No matter what she asks.

You can do it, honey. It's just a bug.

Madam President in 1926.

Such weird mating rituals you have in New York.

I can't really recall any off-kilter effects in the movie, honestly. Although that comes at the expense of it simplifying a lot of the magic “science” you've come to expect from Harry Potter movies and generally avoiding difficult shots like uncovering a person hiding his identity or more elaborate spells. It was great to see all those mystical creatures like Niffler and Demiguise which oozed personality all the way through, not to mention actually seeing things like Extension charm in use for some creative effect. A lot of this may seem like “eh, neat effect” and nothing else to you unless you're familiar with what it is, though.

This is a difficult recommendation because it's such a selective one. Were you a fan of Harry Potter at any point? I would say yes, doubly so if you really got into the setting and went beyond just books into more expanded universe stuff like Pottermore. Not that I did or anything. I didn't watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on my own and that had a sobering effect on me or otherwise I would've taken a lot for granted.

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₪ Genre: Historical, Action, Drama
☑ Original run: January 2017 – April 2017
⇲ Episodes: 13

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Visit to the realm of anime once more with what was essentially an accidental discovery followed up by a simple intriguing summary has been long overdue. I did not wish to inform myself too much about Onihei beyond just the setting and premise, and in the end I'm glad to have been surprised. I mean this in the context of how formulaic modern anime seems to have become.

We take a step into the late 18th century Japan, period more commonly as Tenmei era, and more specifically Edo itself. Getting straight to the point we see how Arson Theft Control division goes about their business. What do they do? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory from the title, but they're police/firemen organizers/counter-intelligence working in then Tokyo seeing couple of centuries ago it was all somewhat less organized. After a failed robbery and getting apprehended by the division our poor Kumehachi is subject to to torture to get him to confess about others involved yet at large. Over a period of months and sporadic interactions between the two he develops rapport with current leader of the Arson Theft Control division – Heizou Hasegawa. Even certain respect for the man as he realizes they have more in common the Kumehachi originally suspected. I won't say anymore because it would reveal more than I want, but this is where the show pulls a fast one on you and reveals Heizou is, in fact, the main character and why he's known as Onihei aka Heizou the Demon.

With that meaty premise out of the way we can talk somewhat more freely. Onihei is an almost episodic anthology, but that's not entirely accurate as it does enjoy consistency and coherency over its thirteen episodes even if some jump all over the time line. There are episodes that entirely comprised of flashbacks, but ones done right that inform us more of past events and characters without coming off as unwanted filler. There is a drawback to the very structure of the show, though. By that I mean that it doesn't really attempt any overall arcs or longer stories being perfectly content to work on episodic basis for great effect. Flashbacks are also used cleverly to give you another angle to specific events and people instead of a cheap recap method or anything like that.

What is the show even about? Well, you could say it's about resolving couple of mysteries, some thieves running amok and even family drama, but I think that would miss the point. Onihei is about change and how people cope with it. This subject touches on many parties involved; from a hinted sunset of various thieving organization that stick to their three “don't rape, kill or steal from the poor” rules and how they're being replaced by more brutal thugs who don't care about who dies as collateral damage, how much simple decisions and failure to act cane come back to haunt you no matter who you are, almost playful interplay between thieves and ATC division because both sides realize not everything is black and white, as well as many other ideas I won't go into. Onihei is generally a rather gloomy show with poignant messages interwoven into actions of characters. That's not to say everything is grim and dark as there is a mid-point when show lightens up a bit as we go beyond Edo, but it's still very serious stuff that should be taken as such. There's this weird relationship this anti-crime organization has with crime itself, but that's perfectly understandable considering this is a period when criminals have signature calling cards and widely known names making for a very everyone-knows-everyone kind of affair.

You came to the wrong neighborhood, criminals!

CSI: Tenmei period.

I mean, what's a guard supposed to do?

Spies come in all forms and sizes.

Man cannot escape his reputation. He might as well live up to it.

Show's aforementioned structure also lets side characters shine a lot more than you'd expect. Maybe that's because aside from Heizou himself and couple of notable aides most of the cast is the background. Protagonist himself is rather well fleshed out by, in my opinion at least, not really being a stereotype as much as he feels like a real person. He's a dedicated government official, but also a family man who's not so stern he forgets how to laugh with his lovely wife and daughter not to mention his somewhat posturing teenage son who wants to emulate his old man. It's the gradually (re)introduced informants that are some of the most memorable personalities around, though. Especially someone like old Hikojuu who's incredibly spry for his age AND cunning. All the characters are treated as organic parts of the story and events without some asspulls for the sake of drama. Except for one later episode involving the wife which is redeemed on an entirely different level.

Audio visual department is no slouch either. It's entertaining that sparingly used action scenes A) save money and B) have much greater impact on the show as a whole. Each episode is usually punctuated with an action-packed finale, but that combat is also almost always presented as a foregone conclusion of everything that has transpired up to that point so it feels earned and cathartic. As you can see soft color pallet is present throughout and Onihei loves the period-appropriate character designs. Soundtrack, while pretty damn nice, could have honestly used more songs, but you work with what you have and it's not that noticeable as you're engrossed in episodes themselves. More than any other I fancied the opening and ending songs, though.

I guess this part is sort of redundant if you read everything so far, but I would certainly give Onihei my recommendation. Keep in mind this is not an action show, though. It's more about exploring the period's society and is essentially a crime drama with some mystery here and there. What I'm trying to say is, it might not be suited to everyone.

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₪ Genre: Horror, Mystery, Adventure
☑ Publication date: September 2003
⇲ Pages: 592

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Before I proceed any further I have to point out The Fall of Atlanta is the first volume of a quartet and it puts together releases that were [already] anthology novels that I sadly never read when they were originally published. To make things even more complicated, publisher decided to re-arrange stories from said novels in chronological order AND add new pieces of prologue material.

Right off the bat it has to be said that you don't really need to be familiar with World of Darkness at large to really understand or enjoy this one, but it certainly helps if you want to get some deeper meaning because all the works therein, and lots of important characters, are set during the canonical events of the setting. Pretty big events, mind you. I won't go into a primer for the material, but let's just say there are vampires out there, they're divided in different clans and they like to politic all the time for power and influence. Two major sects vampires divided themselves into are Camarilla and Sabbat – former learning from the past and deciding to enact the Masquerade aka law that enforces vampires have to stay hidden lest, despite their singular superiority, they be wiped out by humanity at large, and latter which wants vampires to claim their monstrous heritage and not kowtow before ignorant and inferior humans which are basically walking Happy Meals to them. Needles to say these two sides don't exactly see eye-to-eye.

With the basic premise out of the way, which the book itself does inform the reader about in the early pages albeit in a very flavorful tone, it doesn't take long to really spot the major problem of The Fall of Atlanta and that's the fact the entire collection is a fragmented mess and takes about a quarter or so for story proper to kick in. Prior to that you get what appear to be completely unrelated stories about characters you never again see or are unrelated to anything that follows... until you actually realize some of the players in Modern Nights, and by that I mean year 1999 book is set in and where things go down, played a part in all that prologue material. I suppose those were the added parts? Any other day I would welcome those, but the problem is you can really tell based on the pace that there are distinctly standout parts.

Before I forget and start another rambling paragraph I should, you know, actually tell you what the story is ABOUT. Already mentioned two factions are in a sort of cold war in North America more than anywhere else and all the buildup you get results in all that tension finally erupting into concrete conflict between Camarilla and Sabbat. If you looked at the title of the book you can tell where that is going. I do like how we get various POVs for the characters on both sides and even independents with their own take on things. There is also a certain mysterious artifact involved with its own mysterious story hook and I really liked how that was intervowen.

Speaking of characters and such there's a vast number of of them even if not necessarily all are directly involved or last to make a sufficient impact on the story. I liked how authors managed to throw couple of curve balls and do away with characters you'd expect to stick around for much longer or how they go from “this is my show” to just being seemingly a side character in other stories. I would point to pay attention to dates and time because when action heats up, and considering vampires can operate only at night, it can lead to some confusion reading how character X was doing something two pages ago and now you're reading about his head decapitated head being presented to a Tzimisce war leader, for example. It's a bit jarring and once again portrays they put together works from three different novels. If nothing else they really got a varied cast; various Toreador artists, surprisingly sane Malkavian General, adventurer archaeologist Setite whom we get to see in his younger days, even a Ravnos couple. So many characters in fact I'll forgive them way too much artistry faffing about due to Toreador (over)representation, but that's a pet peeve of mine.

With all that said I have yet to comment on the writing itself and that's because it never stood out for my in any significant way. Like I mentioned above it can get a bit overbearing, like the entire Elysium part when get lectured on certain art pieces for good half dozen pages, but this is usually balanced by brusque and concise style in general. Vampires tend to overindulge in their flowery eloquence, but considering it's all part of political backstabbing and judging the other guy it's made engaging. One oddity that stuck with me was the highly regular chapter length and some, like Anatole's mad/visionary/whatever ramblings which dragged on and on in what must have been a dare of some sort for the writer, I couldn't wait to get over with. It also works the other way when, for example, we get insight into a Tremere chantry and how such a place would work in modern day. These could be reversed for you, though.

No thumbs up for this one because it doesn't exactly read well due to fragmented nature, but also no thumbs down because I rather liked the final product. It provides a good night-to-night insight into World of Darkness from a vampire's perspective more so than it tackles some grand story. Worth a read, recommended if you're familiar with the game and want some fiction to go along with that.

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₪ Genre: Science Fiction, Action
☑ Release date: September 2012
⇲ Running time: 95 minutes

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Time for more Dredd and not a moment too soon considering I never really expected to see another adaptation in my lifetime. Compared to Judge Dredd movie from 1995, that one with Stallone making funny faces, this take makes quite a few concessions but not really in the creative department as we'll find out enough.

I'll avoid getting into overall story of 2000 AD as a setting because Judge Dredd is just one part of it so let's focus on the movie. In distant future, in the US ravaged by wars that left good chunk of the content as irradiated Cursed Earth populated by outcasts, mutants and god knows what else our story takes it to East Coast where Mega-City One is situated. Think of it as multiple metropolis cities merged into one giant city where 800 million people live. This of course leads to a ton of crime and what's the answer? Well, we all know how bureaucracy works aka it doesn't, so Justice department made a call and formed Judges who can act as judge, jury and executioner all in one. Dredd is one such Judge off somewhat infamous reputation for being a hardcore True Neutral stickler for rules. Enter Cops: Mega-City Edition.

All joking aside you may be surprised to find out that while Dredd himself is definitely the main draw here, stoic badass figures tend to be, it's the Judge trainee Anderson that brings humanity to the movie as we see her make use of telepathy and generally adjusting her attitude to operate as a Judge while being evaluated by Dredd on their average work day. Well, it turns out to be anything but as a simple cause of homicide turns into something much grander and more involved concerning a new drug that's been circulating around, ever-growing new criminal organization and daily lives in slum tower block where people struggle to exist. You may have already pieced things together as to where this story is going so I'll leave it there, but let's just say that story isn't exactly this movie's strong suite.

It also doesn't really need it, though. Storytelling and pace of the movie will work wonders even if you don't have some deep or involved story, and such is the case this time. I hate to sound like a back of the box cliché, but this really is a no holds barred action movie that makes full use of that adult rating. Use of Slow-Mo drug to exaggerate violence is common fare so you better get used to blood spurting everywhere and slow motion kinetic damage. We also see Judges rip and tear through gang members with their methodical approach it almost feels procedural. Hell, movie IS basically a bust gone wrong that left police officers stranded and having to fend for themselves. I really liked the direction, even gratuitous slow motion was used sparringly to great effect.

Sometimes... you just gotta clean house.

That moment when you contemplate if this is really your career of choice.

Brought to you through the power of Slo-Mo! Order yours today!

Everyone botches their Intimidation role here and there, Dredd.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!!!

There is a valid point that this is a lot more grounded and down to earth movie compared to source material and even the earlier movie, but there's a good reason for it – budget. It's fairly obvious they opted for the look and style because it was within their financial limit, but movie doesn't suffer for it one bit and owns up to it. Sure, you could [justifiably] say it shows 2000 AD as a mundane near future setting when it's anything but and how there aren't some of the more crazy things like proper mutants, telepathy is said to be one of “tolerated mutations”, or even supernatural elements like Death Judges, but this is a good introduction for you to branch out. I would still say the 1995 movie was a better primer all-around even if you take into account some other questionable decisions like the characters that one employed and more importantly their performances.

Speaking of which all I can say is Karl Urban steals it as Dredd. It's been talked about a lot over the years, but his commitment to keep the helmet on for the entire movie is commendable. He's a badass, what more can I say? Already mentioned trainee Anderson is portrayed by Olivia Thirlby and she did a solid job. Definitely ups the idealism and belief in people, both things Dredd either abandoned or never had having seen enough on the job. On the flipside we have Lena Headey as Ma-Ma who really comes off as sadistic and ruthless villain, more so than you usually expect from usually cunning and sister female antagonists. She's a gang leader and behaves like one to the extreme.

Would I recommend Dredd? Absolutely. Expect a low-key, straight to the point action movie with some really good firefight choreography and subdued rendition of the source material that's much much more insane. Just remember: you're not the Law – Dredd is.