I'm really excited about this interview with Emma Vieceli and i really wanted to make it more fun for everyone. Okay wait...you do know who Emma is right? No?! Tsk...She is the artist behind the Vampire Academy Graphic Novels of course! Or if you know her recently released Graphic Novel "The Avalon Chronicles". Either way, an interview is coming up with her soooo go ahead and submit your questions! I will pick around 20 for her to answer :)
The winter is upon us. The Survivors are in chaos. The war is coming.
One year ago, Sadie Matthau was living among humans, existing as one of them. But now she wakes each morning in a house in the Survivors’ City, listening to the invocations and insults of her family members as they cope with their new future. A war. Rogue abandoners turned monsters. Sadie and the icy Winters living in their midst, bringing the outside world in.
The Survivors: Point of Origin is Sadie’s quest to save her family. But can she find what she is looking for when she can barely stomach the Winters’ wintry demeanor and finds herself distracted by Cole Hardwick’s warm heart? Will she be able to uncover her family’s history even as the elders’ grip tightens around her throat? In an action packed ride full of magic and misery, terror and triumph, Sadie Matthau seeks the Survivors’ beginning just in time to face her end.
REVIEW: Finally! The Survivors was one of my favorite books of 2011 so i couldn't wait for this one to come out and read it! And i finally did! Yay!
Now we all know what's happening, more or less, with the Survivors and Sadie, Amanda Havard goes one step farther into the story. We follow Sadie trying to find a way to kill the Survivors that left, so we are going adventuring..in a way...it's quite of a high class adventure instead of the Indiana Jones thing.
The book this time is more concentrated on the Point of Origin and the characters. We get to know all the characters in an entirely different level and understand them later. Some secrets and betrayals were revealed too, which totally made me go "no way! you bitch". Sadie, is not suicidal anymore but she really misses her human life which turn her into a little emo at times. Which makes sense, but she is a little annoying. Still, when she has a job to do, nothing matter. Done and done!
As for the search of Point of Origin, there is an amazing visit at Salem, clues, mysteries, magic. Are all part of the hunt, with a little danger of course with the difference you fly first class :P At the end, when they find the Point of Origin and our evil guy, there are more new things that you get to know about the upcoming war. And here we are in a point i want to discuss.
The evil bad guy. You see i loved the book. But when the bad guy is WAY too strong, it's a little dangerous for the story, because you need to have a really good and believable explanation on how to win him (if you win him) and not turning it to something fake and go boom like Paolini's Inheritance. I just really hope everything goes well because i worry. And while i liked the whole ancient history part, the whole Trojan War thing didn't convince me and it seemed out of place, which totally makes me be more afraid of the ending of the story. Of course at the end, everyone might die so no problem there.
Still survivors was a really good read and i totally enjoyed it. Again was one of my favorite reads of the year despite its flaws. And after the first chapter of the 3rd book that was inside, i'm a little like "pleeeeeeaaaaseee faaaaasteeeeeeeeeeeerrrr". I mean you can't just delete the name of a person who dies and leave it like that! That's unfair!
The Legend of Korra takes place 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender and follows the adventures of the Avatar after Aang – a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenaged girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Korra. With three of the four elements under her belt (Earth, Water, and Fire), Korra seeks to master the final element, Air. Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern "Avatar" world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology. It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart. Under the tutelage of Aang's son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.
Avatar: The Legend of Korra Released: 2012 Runtime: 11 episodes/23 mins Rating: 3/5 stars Buy: Not Available Yet
REVIEW:
How long have we been waiting for this after the announcement? 2 years? I mean after the disaster of the movie we really needed to forget what we saw.
There are like BIG differences between Korra and the original avatar series. Firstly, what's up with the 11 episodes only? I was a little disappointed with that!
And on the most important parts now...the whole world is entirely different than before. The old characters (Except Katara) appear only in flashbacks and instead we watch their kids. Korra is a badass avatar, who already knows and loves that she is the avatar with the only bending problem she has is with air. She is an amazing fighter and a really strong character.
The story has a lot of action, either against the evil guys either at the bending tournaments, and a lot of romance. The took the whole thing into an entire different level, with some amazing fight scenes and even a triangle for the girlies who watch the show.
As for the actually story, it was really good with mystery and all but it was fast. It ends by the end of the season, while Last Airbender took 3 full seasons for a story. Needless to say there is no character development and you mostly watch for the fun of it. The last 3 episodes were a little messed up. From the way the battles ended, and what happened in general. Even the voice of General Iroh is all wrong. He is too old to sound like that! And not only that, but when they could have give us a cliffhanger and not give Korra her powers back, last minute everything is back to perfect. So at the end you have no evil guy, and really an end to the story. I'm only wondering why they did that?
The main problem for me was how fast it was. As i said there is no character development, and the story goes before you even know. There are so many thing that could have happened and explain the story with Amon way better and take their time but instead they just put them all in 11 episodes. Where, some of them didn't have anything to do with the story at all (ex. an episode fully for the tournament or an episode fully on Korra's lovelife).
Don't get me wrong. The series were good. They keep in a more modern way the feeling of Last Airbender, it has a great story and the characters are fun to watch. But it just misses something for me. I was expecting more. It was a good comeback, but still needs a lot of work to be as deep and special as Last Airbender.
The Fades is a British supernatural drama television series broadcast on BBC Three and BBC HD.
The programme centres around an English teenager named Paul who is haunted by apocalyptic dreams that nobody can explain and is able to see spirits of the dead, known as the Fades, all around him. The Fades can't be seen, smelt, heard or touched by other humans they are what is left of humans who have died but not been accepted into Heaven. As such, the Fades left on Earth have become embittered and vengeful towards the human race. We are shown in the first episode that the Fades have found a way to become partly human again and regain control of touch within the real world. However, they remain unseen in the world except to those special few like Paul (Angelics) who have the ability to perceive the Fades. Paul finds himself pulled into a conflict between the Angelics and the Fades, trying to prevent the Fades from breaking back into the world and destroying the human race. The Fades school scenes were filmed at Queens School, Bushey.
When I watched the trailer for this series I was getting ready for another low-budget series with nothing to offer except killing time. I was excited to see that I was wrong.
The special effects are as I thought of low quality but they have done a great job blending them in the show and that makes them easily watchable. The environment is also showing the low-budget but at the same time the ingenuity of the producers. The acting is average to good, with the exception of the sidekick, he was just awesome, he was funny, sad, anxious, excited and he could pass to the viewer each one of those feelings, not to mention his constant references to nerdy movies and shows that made the series so familiar and life like to me :D
Finally, I have to comment on the most imaginative, ingenious and innovating afterlife existance. According to the scriptwriter of the series, the dead are becoming ghosts, called fades, that walk the earth amongst us invisible and unable to communicate, they can just watch us. If they touch organic matter they suffer extreme pain so they don't like hugs :P
Now there are some people who can see and hear the fades called the angelics. Most of them have supernatural powers, healing, banish undead and such. They are currently at war with the fades that they think could be dangerous to the humans even though they can't touch them. It would be too spoilery to say why they are at war and how the fades where created but still there is an interesting story behind that.
So the things start getting interesting when the fades start fighting back. Their leader is a fade that can somehow interact with our world while still invisible. That makes him an efficient killer. When he kills he has this hunger to eat human flesh, he is closer to a zombie than a ghost at that point. I hope that isn't much spoiler but I will say it: at the later episodes he becomes visible and regenarates his own body. At that point he still has the hunger for human flesh but now he is more like a vampire without the common weaknesses, garlic, silver, sunlight and such. He is just immortal, inteligent and very hungry. So to sum it up, first a human dies, then he becomes a fade, then he becomes a zombie and then a vampire. That rules. Thank you BBC for another great story.
The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series
Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.
Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher
REVIEW(spoiler free): I'm a spoiler addict. I want spoilers for almost everything, but when there are stories that i really i don't want to know a thing. And that's exactly what Golden Lily is. I didn't even read the summary or anything regarding the book, except title and release date. And my patience was rewarded!
Okay, yes..it's not as action packed as the Vampire Academy series, but we've already known that from book 1, so i'm not commenting more. Once again, we follow Sydney at Palm Strings. The story goes a little slow. Concentrating more on the characters than the plot, and Mead let us understand them better. And for that you can say, at the biggest part of the book nothing is really happening. There are clues now and there but that's all. That doesn't mean it's not good. It was a good change for the VA world..taking its time and be a little calm. It was nice. We also get to see more of Adrian and Eddie so dah!!
I said at the previous book i really liked Sydney as a character because she was closer to what we are. After this book, i think she too close at what we are. I was a little bored with her. She really need to loosen up a little. She is always so..concentrated around the mission. She barely lives. She should take care of herself a little more. Adrian of course was magnificent! He was also my favorite (from VA), and we get to see so many sides of him. And even though, we do not read via his POV, the book is so well written than you can understand and connect with him too. Eddie was as awesome as always. He only has a small scenes but he is definetely a scene stealer. He reminds me of Mason, just a little. I also need to mention how i liked Dimitri's part in the book. Even though, he is one the favorite heroes in YA, Richelle Mead didn't create scenes for him. She didn't do the so called "fan-service". He is not that important and so he is not getting unnecessary scenes! For that and only, i truly respect her as an author.
Lastly, i will mention some of the "negative" things. One, was that was a little predictable with the whole vampire hunting thing. Before half the book, i already knew what was going to happen. Two, i didn't like the scenes with Sydney's boyfriend at all. I understand why they were there, but i just didn't like them. Three, i really disliked Jill in this book. She is into her own world! She only cares about dating or what? At least she doesn't have that many scenes. Four (and last one), yes okay i was a little bored. It was nice but too slow for my taste. Especially when i knew there are so many things to happen, i just couldn't wait!
Is Golden Lily good? Yes, totally. Maybe not as a good as Bloodlines but still good. The last chapters are the best thing in the book and totally get you hyped for the next one. I mean....i really really want to know more about the Marcus guy! Please February come faster!
Summertime for Blair Reynolds and her friends had always been carefree and fun...until the summer they happened upon something that was not human. As they band together in a fight for their lives, Blair's true love becomes something more than human. Something unnatural. And their entire survival depends upon their ability to keep a secret.
Cicada Publication Date: 2011 Pages: 220 (ebook) Part of Series: Cicada #1 Purchased: For Review for your Rating: 3/5 stars Buy: Amazon (US) || Amazon (UK)
REVIEW: I'm not entirely sure if i'm allowed to review the book. I mean at the start says i have to keep a secret whatever i've read, right?
*sigh*..Fine..i'll risk it..but i won't give much info..i love my life you know...
Cicada is a small, in general, book and fast. There is so many things happening in, so much action and mystery that it keeps you on the edge of your sit until the end. It's written without too many details, but enough to have you guessing and want to know more. The story has to do with alien creatures, which was something i didn't expect. And i remind me a little of E.T. and Super 8. I can also say it scared me a little at times. I didn't know if the creatures in the dark were good or bad, and the whole atmosphere was rather creepy so i might freaked a little..just a little though...
There is a big variety of characters. Geeks, "jock-like", cute-silly girls and that makes it interesting. Especially if you think they are all friends. It's a good story, to see how all have things in common and how well they can work together. Also the fact, that the company know each for years and are BFFs, it's something different than what we are used to. Usually, we just meet new people, etc, etc but here you get to follow a team already well strong bonded. The romance of the story, is really cute too. And i say cute because it's the whole best friend thing. No triangles. No anything hard. Wait...it does have some difficulties but that's because of the supernatural element.
Still, i found some things that confused my reading experience. Like, the fact that some things are happening so fast or change so fast, that you don't get to really understand them or enjoy them at their full potential. Especially the last chapters, are so so fast opposite the rest of the book. I felt like the scenes were done in a hurry and things were missing. Also, i would love to have more of the rest town. The book is focused on the company so much, and loses on the background environment. I wouldn't mind more scenes with the people of the town, the grandpa, the mum and other things like that. Just some random facts, to get to know the world better.
In general is great read. I would totally recommend it and especially if you plan it reading it at night, outdoors. Hehe..
There are 12 giveaways going on the tour, so click the banner and check them out.
The author is giving away an electronic firefly in a jar in honor of the sequel to CICADA called FIREFLY. You can see a video of the jar here. US only.
The award-winning Max Payne franchise put players in the role of Max Payne, a
hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to
avenge the death of his family.
The latest installment delivers more of the
classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while
moving the story of Max in a new direction.
Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad
to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a
city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a
desperate search for the truth and a way out.
Ever since I finished Max Payne 2 I was waiting for the third sequel to this awesome third person shooter franchise. Finally it came out and it was not as awesome as I was expecting but still satisfying enough. Let's see the game in detail.
Gameplay: The gameplay is exactly the same as the other 2 games, thank you developers for that, because it was already perfect so the only thing they could do with it is downgrade it, but luckily they didn't. They added a cooperative multiplayer option to the game that made the game even better but I don't thing it really affected the gameplay. We were already playing the Max Payne 2 game on multiplayer way before it became fashion by trading places with my friends every time one of us died or finished a chapter XD
Also I don't know if it was me or it is true in general but the game seems too hard comparing to the previous Max Payne games. The npcs could make headshots on me even when they were firing blindly from cover. And they could hit me while I was doing the slow motion jump thing. And all of that on normal difficulty :O
Story: The story is a bit confusing in the first chapters, half of the time I was like "who is this guy, where am I, how did I get here, what am I doing here" but it all ties up together at the later chapters so no problem there. All in all the story was like a good detective story, no sense in the beggining but all ties together near the end.
Graphics: The graphics are AWESOME. When I saw Max Payne on the title I remembered all the good old glitches of corpses flying around, bullets teleporting, guns passing through walls and other funny stuff. All those things are gone, the only funny thing I saw was a body doing a slightly perverted motion with an advertisement panel XD Also at some point I jumped towards a bad guy while shooting him and then I was totally amazed, I landed right next to his feet, he fell on top of me and to get up Max pushed him aside :O
The only bad thing I could find was the huge amount of disk space this game needs, it is about 30GB ! OMG 30GB !? Are you serious ? I finished the game in 2 days :O
Baldur's gate had a month of playtime and it was under 1GB. And don't even try to tell me it is because of the highly advanced graphics, Crysis 2 had better graphics and still was 6GB so shut it. I know first hand that in our days programmers don't think about resources when they are developing but that is just butchering my hard drive.
Still if I were you I would buy it. The game is just like Max Payne 2 only better in many aspects.
Nick Green is a top agent for the US government - effective, clever and deadly. He’s also got a paper on Crime and Punishment due Tuesday, a biology quiz this afternoon and thirty pages on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to read tonight…because Nick is sixteen years old.
He likes school, but only when it’s over for the day. There are the girls, of course - especially Amanda, a wickedly cool rocker chick who dates Derek, the captain of school’s championship swim team. Nick wants her anyway.
Aim High Season 1 Released: 2011 Runtime: 10 mins/6 episodes Rating: 4/5 stars Buy: Not Available Yet
REVIEW:
I was like really bored today when i woke up and i wanted to watch something. All this waiting before the good summer series start it's killing me (By the way, tomorrow Falling Skies start). So i though what should i do? And here i am, one hour later reviewing Aim High. A small web series with Jackson Rathbone.
I have to say that i didn't expect much. I mean it's a web series right? They barely have budgets these things. Still, i was pleasantly surprised. Not only it's pretty much like any regular TV series in quality, but it also has a good acting, amazing fighting scenes, it's interesting and quite funny too! I mean who knew, right? I'm actually sad that is was so small and ended in about an hour :(
The series are amazing. Not perfect but really good. And seriously, it could be really good as a full TV series too, instead of getting all these book adaptions. Of course, it's necessary to mention that one of the producers has worked in Supernatural, Nikita, OC, Chuck...so you get the point.
The series have already received award for outstanding writing and are filming for a 2nd season (yay!).
Cast: Jackson Rathbone (Twilight), Aimee Teegarden (Prom), Johnny Pemberton (21 Jump Street), Rebecca Wader (Lost), Greg Germann (Bolt)
R to L (Japanese Style).
An indispensable guidebook to the Soul Society, "Color Bleach+: The Bleach Official Bootleg" takes you behind the scenes in the shadowy world of the Soul Reapers. All Thirteen Court Guard Companies are covered in great detail and even popular how-to columns are reprinted inside, making this an essential manual for any Bleach fan. The book includes 72 pages of full-color manga.
REVIEW:
I have two books out of the manga from Bleach but this one is my favorite so far. It's the most funny and most informative of the two i have.
The Bootleg has small colored stories (which have been used as the small clips at the end of Bleach anime's episodes) which are extremely funny. Especially the ones featuring small Yachiru running around at Byakuya's house!
It also has detailed info for all division and theirs captains. From thins they like, to ranking and power stats which is really cool to see where the characters are strong and where not. Of course this is before the whole Arrancar incident at the manga, which means there is a lot of information missing for the Bankai's or things we see later at the manga. Still, you get a pretty good idea who is the strongest and how they think.
And of course at the end there is the Divisions magazine, where captains and vice captains talk about what they expect from you by joining their division, personal comments, a quiz to see how good you know Bleach and at the end a test to see in which Division you should apply. I got Gin's division with the pranksters :P
In general is a good and funny addition for those who love the manga and are interested in the back story and to take a little more of the story with them.
In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman dispatched to kill her
Snow White & The Huntsman Released: 2012 Runtime: 126 mins Rating: 2/5 stars Buy: Not Available Yet
REVIEW:
Hmmmm...disappointed? Yes totally.
Unfortunately, i had too high expectations from the movie and everything went wrong. It was another Eragon. A movie with an amazing idea, a great cast that went wrong and was full of mistakes while it could have been great!
The re-telling of the story is really clever. Dark, and full of action and entertaining. But, it was boring. The movie was too long and it reminded me a lot of LOTR, Narnia and Princess Mononoke. It was like they were trying to hard. There was a big absent of dialogue which while it was good at times and totally fit the feeling of the movie, there were other times that just made you sleepy. The romance was a bit messed up as well with no conclusion at all, but maybe that's because they are planning a 2nd movie? (ew!)
Snow obviously is not prettier than the queen. She was also doing some really stupid things. She barely talked more than 10 mins in a 2 hours movie. She went in a whole kick ass style in a big fight with no training at all. Also, can't the girl smile? She was good at the sad scenes but she totally messed up the more happy ones :S
The queen was okay. I was never fan of Charlize Theron but i liked her craziness here.
Chris had his moments. His story was a little confusing, after some point i came to dislike his character because he didn't seem to mean what he was saying. Like i'm about to sacrifice my life and another girl's life to get back my wife, but 2 days later i'm in love with another woman? Errr...what?
Also this stupid line in all those summaries of the movie "training in the art of war with a huntsman dispatched to kill her". Yeah right...he only showed her one move. ONE FREAKING MOVE! Pffff...and she obviously she killed with that move the queen! What a surprise right? *rolls eyes*
I can actually mention you, every single thing that annoyed me but then i will have a huge post. I believe you get my point.
Don't watch it at the cinemas. Try a DVD if you are bored or something. 1 star for the special effects, and 1 for trying and that is all.
Guild Wars 2 claims to be unique in the genre[4] by featuring a storyline that is responsive to player actions,[5] something which is common in single player role-playing games but rarely (if ever) seen in multiplayer ones. A dynamic event system replaces traditional questing,[6] utilising theripple effect to allow players to approach quests in different ways as part of a persistent world. Also of note is the combat system, which aims to be more dynamic than its predecessor by promoting synergy between professions and using the environment as a weapon,[7][8] as well as reducing the complexity of the Magic-style skill system of the original game. As a sequel to Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 will feature the same lack ofsubscription fees that distinguished its predecessor from other commercially developed online games of the time, though a purchase is still required to install the game.
Guild Wars 2 Released: TBA Console: PC Buy: Available for prepurchase/preorder
REVIEW:
Any of you that follow us around for some time know that I am passionate when it comes to 2 games, Guild Wars and Heroes Of Might And Magic. So as is fully understandable when I knew I was going to enter the beta test for this weekend...well.."being excited" is an understatement.
Well the first words that come to mind to describe my experience are "OH MY FUCKING GOD!" but I understand you would require more insight on that matter. So lets go shall we?
The game is absolutelly amazing. Period. There are so many things that sets this game apart from every single mmo I have ever played that I cant simply mention them all. Lets start from the basics
The game features a highly artistic environment, replacing the usual CGI cinematics for instead cinematics that are more like moving pictures than pieces of film. Strange you say? I agree, but in Arenanet's words, CGI grows outdated but art is forever. And they are completelly right. Not only did the cinematics are beautifull and fluid pieces of art, they are able to transfer the senses of emotion those scenes are supposed to show you. Why? simply because with the exceptionally good blend of voice over, sound effects, music and moving pictures you get EXACTLY what they want to show you. For example, when I created my Charr, Markus, and was viewing the Blood Legion cinematic, I actually felt a growing need to grab an axe and butcher everything in my way. It makes you feel like you ARE a Blood Legion member, that you ARE a born and raised soldier. In a few words, that you ARE a Charr.
Second of all we have the amazing gameplay Guild Wars 2 offers. Many of you have heard that Guild Wars 2 is the revolution of the mmo genre, and I have heard many throw suspicious comments like "well i dont think it is a revolution" etc. Well, STAND DOWN sceptics and mmo creators, there is a NEW sherif in town and they ARE here to recreate mmo's. Not even WoW had a gameplay so realistic and fluid as this, and the gameplay was pretty much all WoW had that you could not find in other mmos.
Every single skill, every single action your character does, is executed in front of him or where he is. There is no "target" spell. Even the first skill, the default attacking ones, can be executed without having any target whatsoever. Hell I can fight an enemy without even targeting him (trust me, i did that). At one point I remember, I was targeting a flame legion charr, but since I was not facing him I realized that I was killing another Charr entirelly. Which was both funny and amazing!. Arrows and spells no longer follow the enemy (thank god for that), And they are not locked on a single target. What do I mean by that? When I had the rifle and was shooting at an enemy I actually found myself in trouble because another enemy got in front and took the shot, and I pulled more than one enemy towards me. Yes...its that awesome. What does that translate into?
AMAZINGNESS, for one part, realism for another, and countless possibilities. You have a skill that activates when blocking? a friendly mage is about to die? an enemy is unloading his rifle at him? Well simply walk in the way activate your skill and take the hits for your ally all the while activating your skills. Guild wars 2 has done EVERYTHING to put the MM back into the MMO. Its a massivelly multiplayer game. I no longer found myself running AWAY from players, on the contrary, every time I saw battle and other players, I immedietelly rushed into their aid. Why?
Safety in numbers my friends. Guild Wars 2 rewards players for being together in everything from events to simple running around. Why? well, events scale to the number of players, which means more monsters=more action= more xp. It also means you are safer with others because: 1) the enemy will have to focus on them as well, meaning you are given more free space to unleash your full might, 2nd) if you get downed you can be revived by another player, OR a lot more likelly to find a monster in low health to kill and Rally yourself.
All of those sound pretty amazing, but it would be nothing if they did not have the amazing graphics and animation to add them up. Everything felt so natural, every move, spell or action the characters did was in a smooth motion which made it easilly believable that it could be done. "But Johnny do you really think its realistic for a person to jump a 3 meter distance with a broadsword and smash it in a centaurs face? that sounds a bit stretched"
Well....the only classes that actually do that are the warriors and the guardians. So guess what. ITS TOTALLY PLAUSIBLE. Why? you are a god damn heavy frontline fighter. you are TRAINED to do that. You are in your peak physical condition to do so, and the motion of it makes it totally believable. What do I mean by that? You wont see a human lifting the broadsword in the air as if its made of carton, instead you will see him put it to his side, and use a circular motion as he jumps and use the weight of the sword and the jump to slash it in the enemies face. Something that can be done, physics wise.
Things that I would like to see improved? Well the event scales need a bit of tweeks in my opinion. Because at least in the early levels I was at, the only way to lose an event was to either be alone in it, with either a class that cant take a hit (mesmer, elementalist etc), be completelly alone with all npc's dead, or pretty much no one be there when the event kicks in. Also the events scale in numbers and after a certain point I think they stop growing. Which is not exactly challenging. Why? because more players with more aoe's mean that no matter how many more grawl you throw at us, we will just aoe the shit out of them. More xp and loot yes, but not much of a challenge. What I would like to see is the AI scaling along with the number of players. Meaning, more skills for the mobs, more skill usage, hell, even some dodging would be nice. Make it so that the events are actually challenging. Make them turn from simple raids to all out sieges, or skirmishes.
Also add quivers
To sum this all up Guild Wars 2 blew the barrier of my expectations BY FAR. I expected to be let down with a few things, but not only was I not discouraged, I actually want to play the game more than before. Everything was artistically amazing, the world felt alive and breathing, and the story was simply amazing. This post is simply dragging way too long and I have not even scratched the surface.
If you want to see my entire thoughts on GW2 beta feel free to check the full post in Excaliburburs: Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend (with screenshots)
Having already survived six years at Tildor's top military academy, sixteen-year-old R e n e e D e Wi n t e r i s determined to graduate, training day and night to compete with her male classmates. When the boys overpower her parries, she works harder. When a bully sabotages her gear, she fights without it. But when an underground crime group captures her mentor for its illegal gladiatorial games, she must choose between her career and her conscience. Determined to penetrate the group's inner circles, Renee will leap from academia to the crime filled streets, pick up a sword, and weigh law against loyalty.
Season 2 spans several months on a world where the seasons last for years at a time. The Seven Kingdoms are at war, with the King in the North, Robb Stark, fighting to win independence for his people and those of the Riverlands. Robb decides that he must win the allegiance of the fiercely independent ironborn to his cause, and sends his best friend Theon Greyjoy to treat with his father, who is hatching plans of his own. Meanwhile, Joffrey Baratheon holds the Iron Throne with the backing of the powerful House Lannister, but his uncle Renly has also claimed the throne with the support of House Tyrell, whose armies are much larger. As they struggle for the throne, Tyrion Lannister arrives in King's Landing to take matters in hand, only to face opposition from his scheming sister, Cersei, now the Queen Regent.
However, there is another faction entering the picture. Stannis Baratheon, Robert's younger brother and Renly's older, has also claimed the Iron Throne. A proven battle commander and veteran of severalwars, Stannis is known to be utterly without mercy to his enemies and will do what is right even if it destroys him. Advising him is Melisandre, an enigmatic priestess from the east, who believes Stannis is meant for a greater destiny, and Ser Davos Seaworth, an honest and honorable man uneasy with the shifts in power at Stannis' court.
Far to the east, Daenerys Targaryen has hatched the only three dragons in the world. Eventually they will grow into terrifying monsters capable of destroying cities at her command, but for now they are still hatchlings and vulnerable. With her khalasar gone, Daenerys and her small band of followers must find a way across a forbidding wasteland and find new allies to support her claim to the Iron Throne.
In the distant north, the Night's Watch has mounted an expedition beyond the Wall, searching for missing rangers and investigating rumours of wildlings gathering in the mountains. For Jon Snow this will be a rite of passage as he is asked to make difficult choices, for the realm and for himself.(from wikipedia)
Game of Thrones (Season 2) Released: 2012 Runtime: 10episodes/45mins Rating: 3.5/5 stars Buy: Not Available Yet
REVIEW:
It feels like yesterday when i was sitting down writing the review of GOT Sn.1. And here i am with another season finished. If you have read my review for the previous season, you will now by now i had a lot of "negative" things to do. Now, it seems like the producers listened to me and fixed some of those.
For starters, there are barely any sex scenes in contrast of the previous season. Thank god! I feel so good about it. It was too much before but now it's actually okay. They concentrated more on the story than unnecessary scenes for the audience.
But even though, they gave more to the story, poor Daenerys and John Snow has two really boring storylines. I was really really bored at the their scenes and especially Snow's. Also, is it my idea or he is turning into a Bella with the same expression on his face all the time!?
Still who cares really? We get way more scenes at King's Landing, which yes it means more Joffrey and Sansa who i don't like, but also means more Tyrion! He is so freaking awesome! Easily the best character at the series : ) Next, comes Arya with the 2nd most interesting storyline for me and many scenes with the Lannister papa! Talk about cast connection!
The other characters are okay. They have some interesting things to do and there are many new characters too with my favorite Brianne, if i remember her name right.
The whole storyline is way better in general, with more backstabbing and faster which keeps you at the edge of your sit.
Important to mention here is, the fact that there was actually a battle in this season. Unfortunately, i really didn't like it. If you payed attention on what's was happening at the previous episodes, what will happen was pretty obvious. The whole thing did not excite me at all and it was a bit boring and opposite the rest of the series not well made and confusing. Still, it was something different and Tyrion was awesome once again so okay....
Now they just have to kill Theon and Joffrey and i will be happy :)
Veronica at Mostly Reviews posted her summer reading list. Of course, as far as i understood she barely sticks with her lists but she likes making them (same as me!). So i did make one too! Those are the books that i really want to read this summer. If everything goes as planned i will actually read more than those so yay! :D
A woman travels to a town where fairy tales are real. Lost's Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz wrote the pilot and will executive-produce. Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin will play Snow White, while Lana Parrilla will play the Evil Queen. Robert Carlyle will also star.
Once Upon A Time Season 1 Released: 2012 Runtime: 40 mins/episode (22 episodes in total) Rating: 5/5 stars Buy: Not Available Yet
REVIEW:
Can you really describe the awesomeness of this show? Who expected that? It's easily in top 5 shows for me this year!
Take the fairytale characters and put them in our world. Then put a curse so they don't remember and only one way to break it. Tadah!
I really don't know where to start. Okay the series have a lot of special effects and sometimes they are not as great as other bigger or older series but they are good enough (i know i fall in love with the dragon at the last episode!). Still the story is so fascinating and beautiful, so who cares?
At each episode we get scenes from what's happening now, and pre-curse scenes. Each episode features the story of a fairy tale character, connected to the main plot. Surprisingly, the constant change between the timeline wasn't confusing at all AND it was totally exciting and kept you interested.
As for the cast...could it really be better? It's like the perfect casting in any way possible. All of them are not just talented but fit their roles and characters perfectly. It's like it's real. You connect so much with everything happening and you are so full of feelings (damn you evil queen!! how freaking evil is she?!) every time.
The stories are also mostly re-telling which mean while they keep the main theme of every fairy tale, in the end they change things. But they change them so nicely, that is kind of awesome. Plus, it's funny and cute how they put in some things from the Disney movies we all grew up with. Like the dress of Cinderella or Belle, the little broken cup from Beauty and the Beast and many other connections to things like that.
Let's just say the series are perfect. At least for me. Fairy tales, action, magic, kick ass characters. What more do you want?
After her mother and grandparents die in a raging house fire, eleven-year-old Sarah Redbird ends up in the custody of her aunt and uncle. Six years later, Sarah discovers the fire may not have been an accident at all, but a deliberate act of revenge.
Sarah’s family has kept the truth of their Native American heritage secret her entire life, refusing to acknowledge where they came from. But when a family that has direct ties to their past moves to town, Sarah’s true identity is revealed.
What Sarah soon learns is that some secrets are better left unspoken.
REVIEW:
I got this one for review after Emlyn Chand shared about it at Facebook. I haven't read many books with spirits so the title immediately caught my attention and after reading the summary i was sure i wanted to try it.
The Spirit Keeper is enjoyable and funny. It has an interesting story mixing, spirits, elements, magic, native american ideas and teenage life. The author gives more pages to the romance and the relationship between the characters in general, than the plot. Still it doesn't miss a bit. It gets you interested from the first chapter and keeps in you in until the last page. The writing is at the same time simple but bring life into the scenes. Especially the scenes with outdoor scenery, around Sarah's house, become really alive in your head.
Sarah is also a strong female lead. I loved how she has a clear image of what she is doing, and what will happen if she does something and how she doesn't moan for every single thing. She even tries to do everything her guardians say because she trust them. I loved how even though she had a thing for Adrian, she didn't let him do whatever he wants. When she had a problem with him, she talked. She didn't accept his action when they seemed fake just because she liked him. Which yes it's common sense, but in many books the girls are just standing in the corner and cry or something.
The rest characters are also really well created. Even when they had small scenes, you could see their characters and justify what they were doing. They are presented in a way, that you feel like you know them the same as Sarah even though you are not in their mind.
Easily one of the good books i've read this year. At the same time i was reading City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, and the difference on how much i liked the Spirit Keeper instead of CoLS made me stop CoLS completely since i understood what a waste of time for me was. One book(Spirit Keeper) filled me with excitement while the other(CoLS) made me sleepy.
When her best-laid plans for a summer full of fun go comically awry, an imaginative young girl creates her own vacation adventures in Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer. Based on the beloved, bestselling book series by Megan McDonald, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer is an irresistible and delightfully funny treat for adventure-loving kids and adults. This summer, third grader Judy Moody is planning the most super-duper, double-rare summer vacation ever with best friends Rocky and Amy. Except that it turns out Rocky is going to circus camp to learn to tame lions, and Amy is headed off to Borneo with her mom to save a lost tribe while Judy stays home with her pesky little brother Stink and second-best friend Frank Pearl. Just when she thinks things are as rotten as they can be, her parents announce that they will be going to California and Judy will have to stay behind with her Aunt Opal, who she's never even met! It looks like Judy's best summer ever has just become her way worst summer ever. But feisty, fearless and ever-funny Judy Moody never gives up! With help from some unexpected sources, she's headed for a summer full of surprises in this charming and spirited family film. Get ready, get set, get MOODY!
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer Released: 2011 Runtime: 91 mins Rating: 2.5/5 stars Buy:Amazon (UK)
REVIEW: Classic kids movie with lots of laugh and adventure for the kids. I can describe the movie simple by how colorful is it. You see the poster? There is a mess of colors in the movie too, and it's giving it such a happy feeling! Plus the adventures Moody has at her summer, which are simple old adventures of kids spending their summers out and not at videogames and stuff, might be good inspiration of the kids of our days. A movie definitely fun for the smaller kiddohs, and if you are child enough inside you, you will probably enjoy it too ^.^
Jack Sadelstein is a successful advertising executive in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife and kids, who dreads one event each year: the Thanksgiving visit of his identical twin sister Jill. Jill's neediness and passive-aggressiveness is maddening to Jack, turning his normally tranquil life upside down.
Jack and Jill Released: 2011 Runtime: 91 mins Rating: 2.5/5 stars Buy:Amazon (UK)
REVIEW:
Even though the movie is not that good, i must have seen it over 2 times. I mean it's not one of Sandler's best, but it has some good jokes from time to time. Of course it's a little too much, but Sandler is really funny as a woman. Though, i can totally relate with him being annoyed by her, i also loved how much he cared about her and tried to make her happy (sometimes!). Not the best comedy out there, but quite entertaining for a night with friends. Mention: I really disliked Al Pacino in the movie. I don't even understand why he accepted to be part of this.
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