Having played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I was excited that there was a second one coming. The first game's storyline had a very subtle romance and lots of action. Especially the action! You had to go against machines, rancors, and some pretty decent bosses. I knew there was a novelization but, long story short, I had to return it to the library before I was finished. I knew there would be a novelization of the second game and eagerly picked it up at a library.
Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Based On a Story by Haden Blackman
Author: Sean Williams
Released: 2010
Rating: 3.5/5
Basic Plot: Starkiller (a clone?) escapes from the cloning facility at Kamino and goes on a search for Juno Eclipse.
Genre: Romance
This book is a complete romance. I don't mind a little romance in my books/movies/ect. but the romance in this book becomes out of control. I think what made this romance so unbearable is that I wasn't playing a game so I didn't have the joy of actually fighting the enemies in this book. Don't like romance? Don't get this book. Oh, so you're a Star Wars fan? You're sort of doomed to read this book and play the game.
Characters
Starkiller
Throughout the book it is not made clear if this Starkiller is a clone or not. My personal opinion? I think he is. But, by the end, it doesn't really matter one way or the other if he is or is not the "real" Starkiller. His main drive in this book is to find Juno Eclipse (romantic interest in the first game) and is really the only reason for he does anything. Romantic junkies will love that part. Not saying I couldn't see this coming when I heard about a second The Force Unleashed game.
Juno Eclipse
The love interest of Starkiller and is now a member of the Rebel Alliance. Luckily she doesn't know that Starkiller is alive so we don't have her main drive being to search for Starkiller. Unfortunately she is still not over his death a year later so she still thinks about him.
Useless Subplots
PROXY Messing Up
PROXY (Starkiller's robot from the first game) has his holoprojectors keep messing up. What does this mean? Basically he takes on the forms of different people. There is a small subplot where the reader/player is made to wonder why this is happening. At the end of the book it's revealed that he is "becoming" people that stand for something greater than themselves. Really? The book wasted all of my time for that?
Love Triangle
What would a good romance be without someone getting in the way? Let's just call him Pointless Distraction (PD). Anyways, PD is only there for a few scenes before going away. They didn't even use PD to his full potential in a romance. Which is probably a good thing.
Final Thoughts
This is a great book if you're looking for a romance. However, it does not measure up to the plot given by the first game. The romance in the first game was cliche but it was not all in your face. This plot just wails away at you with romance. Does it make me want to buy the game? Some of the action sequences seem fun to actually play. I can only rate this as a book, though, so the fun of playing it does not go into account.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (novelization)
Spoilers in Reviews
When I do reviews I do tend to put spoilers in them. Why? Don't I want to allow my readers/viewers to experience what I'm reviewing on their own? Don't I want to not spoil the good stuff?
Personally, when I want to be surprised by a movie/book/comic/ect. I'll tend to stay away from all reviews. Why? Because I don't want the thing I'm reading/watching to be spoiled for me. Some people are good enough to state that there will be spoilers and some places warn you if the review has a spoiler.
Another reason I put spoilers in my reviews is the fact that I want the ability to speak about everything in what I'm reviewing. I remember one of the few semi-reviews I have warned about spoilers is Sam Worthington 3 (COD: Black Ops) and I only did that because the twist was the whole reason to play the game (though I watched a Let's Play and didn't actually play the game).
I believe there should be spoilers that shouldn't be considered spoilers because they've been around so long. Such as the ending to Psycho. The twist is really good but people shouldn't be afraid to state such a well known spoiler. Though I was mad when someone spoiled the ending to War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells (check the book out).
Spoiler to Psycho:
Norman Bates has a split personality, believes he is his mother, and he is the killer.
Spoiler to War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells:
Bacteria kills the aliens. What the heck?
Personally, when I want to be surprised by a movie/book/comic/ect. I'll tend to stay away from all reviews. Why? Because I don't want the thing I'm reading/watching to be spoiled for me. Some people are good enough to state that there will be spoilers and some places warn you if the review has a spoiler.
Another reason I put spoilers in my reviews is the fact that I want the ability to speak about everything in what I'm reviewing. I remember one of the few semi-reviews I have warned about spoilers is Sam Worthington 3 (COD: Black Ops) and I only did that because the twist was the whole reason to play the game (though I watched a Let's Play and didn't actually play the game).
I believe there should be spoilers that shouldn't be considered spoilers because they've been around so long. Such as the ending to Psycho. The twist is really good but people shouldn't be afraid to state such a well known spoiler. Though I was mad when someone spoiled the ending to War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells (check the book out).
Spoiler to Psycho:
Norman Bates has a split personality, believes he is his mother, and he is the killer.
Spoiler to War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells:
Bacteria kills the aliens. What the heck?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Cancer 1
If that does not work try this version:
Stay Pointless
A submission to FSoundStudios. Visit his YouTube Channel!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series
Now I felt that this was a movie/series that needed to be looked at but I don't have time, as of now, to do a video review of it (already lined up is Dreamcatcher review (three parts), two parts of The Host rant, a video of me singing, AND a Top 5 Things I Dislike About College video). At the same time the brief reviews I usually have on my fanpage don't provide enough space.
Title: Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series
Released: 2009
My Rating: 4/5
Basic Premise:
Blair Williams is sent to find and destroy a "ghost" (a machine that causes disruption in communication). When she finds out the "ghost" is a human, things start to get a little more complicated.
Graphics:
As can be told by the title, this direct to DVD Terminator movie (though IMDB says it was a tv series) uses computer graphics. I didn't mind that at all. For those of you who don't like computer graphics, you probably won't like this movie. My only real complaint is that the lip-syncing (aka how the lips/mouth looks when a character speaks) was just downright annoying. I had to look away from their mouths it got so bad. Everything else, though, was pretty enjoyable.
Characters:
John Connor
Pros: He's shown to be a person that others trust and very knowledgeable.
Cons: He doesn't appear (not even his voice). So for those of you that were disappointed about how little he was in Terminator Salvation, you probably won't like this movie. Myself? I didn't mind how little he appeared in Terminator Salvation and I don't mind how little he appeared in this movie.
Blair Williams
Pros: Moon Bloodgood again reprises her role (though it is only her voice). Her character is expanded upon and goes through some changes because of her encounter with Laz Howard. You get to see some cleavage.
Cons: They're only computer graphics (though that probably doesn't matter to most of the men out there). If you didn't like Blair Williams in Terminator Salvation you probably don't want to watch a movie where she's the main character.
Laz Howard
Pros: He's a complex character. On one hand he doesn't like Skynet because they are waging a war on humanity and yet he doesn't like the Resistance because he feels they are too much like the machines. With his encounter with Blair Williams he changes.
Cons: This is a new character and if you want a Terminator movie with the classic Terminator characters, this is not the movie for you.
Character Note:
Blair Williams and Laz Howard do not become a couple. Just good friends. The encounter is not sexual.
In Closing:
This is a good movie if you like the Terminator series and adore action flicks. This is not a movie that will make you become a Terminator fan. If you don't like the premise of the Terminator series you will hate this movie. However, if you like action flicks then you will probably enjoy this movie. There is hardly a dull moment and the majority of the movie is made up of cliches and action sequences. Yes, there is character development but only the bare minimum. Plus the plot is very paper thin. Another good thing about this movie is it again expands on the different viewpoints that humans living during the war with Skynet have.
Note:
This movie does not even have Arnold in it. Arnold is not the be all and end all of the Terminator franchise. His character is kickass but just because a Terminator movie does not have him in it does not mean the movie sucks.
Title: Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series
Released: 2009
My Rating: 4/5
Basic Premise:
Blair Williams is sent to find and destroy a "ghost" (a machine that causes disruption in communication). When she finds out the "ghost" is a human, things start to get a little more complicated.
Graphics:
As can be told by the title, this direct to DVD Terminator movie (though IMDB says it was a tv series) uses computer graphics. I didn't mind that at all. For those of you who don't like computer graphics, you probably won't like this movie. My only real complaint is that the lip-syncing (aka how the lips/mouth looks when a character speaks) was just downright annoying. I had to look away from their mouths it got so bad. Everything else, though, was pretty enjoyable.
Characters:
John Connor
Pros: He's shown to be a person that others trust and very knowledgeable.
Cons: He doesn't appear (not even his voice). So for those of you that were disappointed about how little he was in Terminator Salvation, you probably won't like this movie. Myself? I didn't mind how little he appeared in Terminator Salvation and I don't mind how little he appeared in this movie.
Blair Williams
Pros: Moon Bloodgood again reprises her role (though it is only her voice). Her character is expanded upon and goes through some changes because of her encounter with Laz Howard. You get to see some cleavage.
Cons: They're only computer graphics (though that probably doesn't matter to most of the men out there). If you didn't like Blair Williams in Terminator Salvation you probably don't want to watch a movie where she's the main character.
Laz Howard
Pros: He's a complex character. On one hand he doesn't like Skynet because they are waging a war on humanity and yet he doesn't like the Resistance because he feels they are too much like the machines. With his encounter with Blair Williams he changes.
Cons: This is a new character and if you want a Terminator movie with the classic Terminator characters, this is not the movie for you.
Character Note:
Blair Williams and Laz Howard do not become a couple. Just good friends. The encounter is not sexual.
In Closing:
This is a good movie if you like the Terminator series and adore action flicks. This is not a movie that will make you become a Terminator fan. If you don't like the premise of the Terminator series you will hate this movie. However, if you like action flicks then you will probably enjoy this movie. There is hardly a dull moment and the majority of the movie is made up of cliches and action sequences. Yes, there is character development but only the bare minimum. Plus the plot is very paper thin. Another good thing about this movie is it again expands on the different viewpoints that humans living during the war with Skynet have.
Note:
This movie does not even have Arnold in it. Arnold is not the be all and end all of the Terminator franchise. His character is kickass but just because a Terminator movie does not have him in it does not mean the movie sucks.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Moved Over
Welcome everyone from my LiveJournal (LJ) account (acrazyraven). Just to be alerting you that I will now post new blog posts/videos here. Older blog posts will not be moved over here due to the fact that there is a ton. Besides, some of the older blog posts are here (I just didn't post here regularly).
If you're a friend from my LJ account I will continue to check in with that account every now and again.
Happy New Year everyone!
If you're a friend from my LJ account I will continue to check in with that account every now and again.
Happy New Year everyone!
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