Forge of Empires Review: Not Civilization

Forge of Empires

Forge of Empires is a free-to-play real time strategy game for ios, android, and web browsers. I saw the ad for FoE (as the hipsters call it these days) on television of all places. When I saw that you could play as Abraham Lincoln and conquer the world, I thought, “That looks like Civilization, a game I like!” I was very disappointed. The game also caught my attention because it can be played on a browser, which is the only way my crappy Samsung Chromebook can play.

*Sigh*

My plan for this review is to summarize each category in six words or less before going into more detail.

Gameplay

Bad.

There, I just set a new world record. Yes, the gameplay is very bad. It also performs the exact same way as every other rts of all time EXCEPT for Civilization which is the only franchise that does the genre correctly.

Essentially, players will build a city, suffer through an incredibly long tutorial, and wait. A lot. Why? Because the game has a bloody energy system.

For those of you that don’t know, an energy system is a term I made up that represents when a game prohibits the player from playing because they lack the virtual energy or fuel to continue. In FoE, this fuel is your forge, which you can of course buy more of; how else would the dev’s make money on this game?

All this results in a game that you can only play for a limited time unless you pay to win. Fun.

Plot/Story

There is none.

Seriously, just build, conquer, obtain, and repeat. This style of gameplay is fine if it is a means to an end, but FoE has no end. There are unlimited enemies, tasks, and things to spend money on. “Have fun wasting your life accomplishing nothing” should be the game’s catchphrase.

Granted, many other popular games don’t have a definite story or goal (GTA Online, Minecraft, etc.), but those games are actually fun. FoE is not.

Graphics

They’re pretty.

The game does look good. Cities and the general HUB graphics are very clear. The one thing I will say is that the turn-based battles that occur when you invade a territory look and feel very retro, and do not really fit well with the rest of the game.

Soundtrack

Civilization-y

The game actually has very pretty background music, as well as the standard building and fighting sounds. Overall, the FoE’s soundtrack just reminded me of Civilization’s, a game that is infinitely better than it. So needless to say, it didn't hold up well.

Conclusion

I give Forge of Empires a 4.5/10. That said, if you have absolutely nothing better to do, feel like sitting in a chair and clicking the screen, while also making no progress whatsoever, then FoE is the game for you!

Shadow of the Colossus vs. God of War III - Critically Compared

Shadow of the Colossus vs. God of War III

Welcome to Critically Compared! In this series, I will compare two products with similar qualities based on what they are known for. Today I’m am comparing God of War III and Shadow of the Colossus. Both games are known for their amazing sense of scale, great platforming, and epic boss fights. SOTC was released on the PS2 in 2005, while GOW 3 came out in 2010 on the PS3.

Do you think SOTC can stand up against a game five years older than it?

Round 1 - Platforming

In Shadow of the Colossus platforming is seamlessly integrated into the boss fights. In order to defeat each Colossus, the player must climb up its body in real-time in order to attack the monster’s weak points. The game features a grip gauge, which adds a sense of urgency to climbing. If your gauge runs out, you’ll fall!

GOW III’s platforming segments usually occur when traversing a level or when completing a puzzle. Although platforming is good and can be completely three dimensional, it is way more fun to climb up the backs of giant monsters.

Winner: SOTC

Round 2 - Combat

God of War’s combat is legendary. There is just some primal appeal to literally ripping your enemies apart. Combos can last long periods of time, and the weapon leveling lets you customize your carnage.

SOTC’s combat is very different. While you can swing your sword normally, most combat takes place on top of a giant beast. While stabbing the Colossi is fun and satisfying, the overall combat system lack God of War’s depth.

Winner: GOW

Round 3 - Exploration

God of War III isn’t the most linear game I’ve ever played. Occasionally there are hidden alcoves filled with chests for you to discover, however, this doesn’t really provide a sense of true exploration.

Shadow of the Colossus, on the other hand, takes place in an open world where exploration is necessary in order to track down all the Colossi. You’ll find yourself becoming familiar with the empty landscape as you kill all the innocent creatures that populate it.

Winner: SOTC

Round 4 - Set Pieces/Arenas

In Shadow of the Colossus, each boss battle takes place in a unique and open arena. There are a variety of arena types, including deserts, caves, lakes, and old ruins. In order to accommodate for the Colossi’s massive size, most arenas are very open and allow for a range of play styles/strategies.

GOW III has incredible level and set piece design. That said, boss battles tend to take place in a not so large arena, making it hard to maneuver around larger bosses (like Hades). In my opinion, a gorgeous set piece/level is worthless if it is hard to work with.

Winner: SOTC

Round 5 - Puzzles

SOTC as a whole is essentially one big puzzle. From tracking down the colossi, to finding their weaknesses and exploiting them, players will be constantly challenged throughout the course of the game. However, many of the Colossi perform the same, and since technically the Colossi themselves are considered bosses, I cannot judge them individually as puzzles too.

God of War III’s well known for its puzzles that are well-incorporated into each level. Puzzles are fun, challenging and engaging. They provide a nice break between ruthless acts of violence.

Winner: GOW

Round 6 - Soundtrack

I am well aware that this category is kind of lame, but both of these games are recognized for their amazing musical scores. SOTC has both a beautiful and thrilling score, that changes based on the level of danger the player is facing.

GOW also has an invigorating soundtrack, full of intense orchestral sounds that fit the tone of the game well. This round was a tough pick, but overall I found SOTC’s soundtrack more memorable. I may even by the entire thing online.

Winner: SOTC

Final Round - Boss Battles

I thought that “Boss Battles” was a fitting category to conclude this article with. There is no doubt that both games offer and are famous for their large scale boss fights.

GOW’s boss fights have the normal archetype for a hack and slash game. But the sense of scale is amazing!! Although many events during boss fights are scripted, tearing your opponents into shreds after each increasingly difficult fight is very satisfying.

SOTC’s boss fights are the definition of epic. Take for example the final fight against the 16th Colossus. Rain, wind, and lightning deteriorate the player’s hope, as he/she makes his/her way up the body of a massive Colossus. Jumping from limb to limb, the player will eventually make it up to the creature’s head, where some well places stabs will bring it to its knees.

I thought this round was going to be a difficult decision, but in the end, the answer was clear.

Winner: SOTC

Results

Shadow of the Colossus - 5 points

God of War 3  - 2

And the Champion is: Shadow of the Colossus!

Note: If you think my results are slightly biased, then you may be right. After all, SOTC is one of my favorite games of all time. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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The Giver (2014) Review

The Giver

The Giver is based on the famous 1993 novel written by Lois Lowry. The Giver takes place in a utopian/dystopian future where the memories of the past have been erased from history and every citizen’s feelings are suppressed. I read the book a couple years ago, but I never got into it like some other hardcore fans. You know, like the people that build shrines praising the book and who sacrifice goats and other domesticated animals in its name because it’s the best book of all time?

That isn’t me.

Actually, I’m really getting tired of the whole dystopian future theme that has been smothering the movie industry recently. There are so many movies out there that aren’t “based” on books, but steal multiple aspects from several books in order to create a genuinely interesting and somewhat original film.

The best example of this I can think of is the movie Equilibrium. Starring Christian Bale (a.k.a. Batman), Equilibrium is like a cross between Fahrenheit 451, The Matrix, and, of course, The Giver. The film didn’t receive good ratings because it “stole” ideas, but I find that it takes the best qualities from each source, and has become one of my favorite movies of all time.

*Sigh* But I digress. Let’s get back to the review.

Plot

Main character Jonas “Last Name Here” is a young boy who has always know that there is “something more” and when he assigned to be the new “receiver of memories” of his community. He then becomes the padawan for the current owner of memories/ the giver: Jeff Bridges. After discovering how unfair and oppressive the government is being, Jonas steals a baby, and trek through some of the harshest climates in the surrounding area in order to somehow return all the memories to the citizens of the community.

The movie actually follows the book pretty well, with the exception of something called a Boundary of Memory, which, if passed by a receiver of memory, will return all the memories to common populace. This mechanic’s sole purpose is to give Jonas a goal as he travels across the wilderness with a baby. That he stole!

The biggest problem I had with the film was the definitive ending. In the novel, the reader is left with a Inception sort of ending, left to decide for themselves what really happened. This movie absolutely destroys that notion by basically saying, “This is definitely how it happened and there is no other interpretation.” By prohibiting each viewer from having a different experience, The Giver goes against its own theme of individuality, along with ruining what made the book so special.

Acting/Dialogue

The Giver introduces some new talent in the form of young actors. Besides Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and a few other big names, the film mostly features unknown youth. I’m sure some of these young and talented will go on to do great things, because they all demonstrate their skill in this film.

I thought the dialogue was a bit rushed. There are some great lines delivered by Bridges, but overall the movie was very to the point.

SFX/Action

The community and scenery of the movie look great. The movie starts in black and white, but as Jonas unlocks the ability to see color, the world brightens up and becomes quite beautiful.

A couple of the CGI aircrafts look kind of crappy, and the film lacks any action or fight scenes whatsoever. Actually, there is one scene where some guards storm Jeff Bridges’ house, but he doesn’t put up much of a fight and ends up flopping on the ground after being tased.

Award Time!

Best Performance: Jeff Bridges for his role as The Giver.

Best Character: The Giver

Best Baby: Saige Fernandes for his/her performance as Gabriel at 6 months.

Conclusion

As a novel, there is no doubt that the The Giver has influenced the sci-fi genre today. But as a film, The Giver just doesn’t live up to expectations. I ironically give The Giver a 7.5/10. It was good, but not great.

Legend of Korra Book 3: Change Review

Legend of Korra Book 3: Change

The Legend of Korra is the sequel series to Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Book 3 of the series took a turn for the better, allowing all the main characters to travel and explore places from The Last Airbender.

Story

After the events of Book 2, the spirit world portals have been left open. Spirits now populate the physical world, and humans are having trouble adjusting. Korra is tasked with maintaining peace between the humans and the spirits. You know, classic Avatar stuff.

After Harmonic Convergence in last seasons’ finale, the world has been more in balance than ever before. Because of this, certain people have miraculously started to Airbend. Korra and the rest of Team Avatar then tour the world recruiting Airbenders in order to rebuild the Air Nation like Aang always dreamed of.

Cue the villain. One of the people fortunate enough to receive the gift of Airbending was a prisoner named Zaheer. Using his new found skill, Zaheer escaped from his own private prison. Zaheer is a member of the Red Lotus, a group of terrorists that want to overthrow the world’s leaders. Zaheer goes on to free three of his comrades, master benders who were each locked away in their own maximum security prisons.

Team Avatar proceeds to travel the world (mostly the Earth Kingdom) while also avoiding Zaheer and his team, who want to capture and kill Korra. During the finale, the Red Lotus captures Korra and some truly amazing fight scenes ensue.

I thought the plot of this season had a perfect balance. It wasn’t the incredibly complex and lore changing Book 2, but it also wasn’t a straightforward tromp. There were twists and turns, and when the finale came, I was so excited that I got chills.

Voice Acting

Every voice actor is unique to their respective character. All the actors are talented and have a variety of skills. There are actually some great dialogue and monologues in this show, and some of the lines I will remember for a long time.

Art Style/Action

This entire show is absolutely beautiful. The elements especially pop, and the different bending styles are very distinct.

I really love how each bender fights different depending on how they were trained. Mako and Bolin are a great double team, and still fright with their Pro Bending style. On the other hand, Zuko and Tenzin have a more traditional bending style.

Speaking of fighting styles, the fight scenes in this show are incredible. Every major fight scene has a grand scale, and they are all really fun to watch. Seriously, the final fight in Book 3’s finale rivaled that of the one in Avatar’s Sozin’s Comet.

Award Time!

Best Character: Bolin

Best Callback: Zuko

Best Episode: Season Finale; Venom of the Red Lotus

Best Voice Actor: Dante Basco for his performance as General/Admiral Iroh (this award    is incredibly biased because Dante Basco played Zuko in the old series.

Conclusion

Although Book 3 isn’t as good as Book 1, it is far better than Book 2 convoluted mess. I give Book 3 of the Legend of Korra a 9.5/10. It looks like LoK will keep up the pattern of skipping forward a period of time between seasons. After all, Korra is wounded and need time to heal.

Anyway, I enjoyed this season and JESUS CHRIST! Is Korra gonna be okay?!? Hurry up with Book 4. Please!

BoJack Horseman Review

Bojack Horseman

Lately, the streaming service Netflix has been put out several popular original television shows. Netflix’s latest original series is BoJack Horseman, a comedic adult cartoon chronicling the life of a horse-man of the same name. Unlike many other adult cartoons, BoJack Horseman has a very complex and clever plot that spans across an entire season. Oh, and it’s really good.

Plot

The main character of the series is a horse-man named, well, Bojack Horseman. Obviously.

Bojack is a washed up actor who starred in a popular 90’s sitcom called “Horsin’ Around.” Taking place in Hollywood twenty years after Horsin’ Around’s cancellation, the series depicts Bojack as both depressed and an alcoholic. The first season revolves around BoJack trying to publish a memoir.

Bojack is not the only animal-man in the show. The world is populated by pretty much every type of animal in existence. Except they can all walk and talk. The series contains a fair amount of bestiality. There are many human and animal couples in the show. However, Bojack Horseman uses the cross species relationships in interestingly funny ways. Now that I think about it, that’s how I would describe the entire show: interestingly funny.

BoJack Horseman isn’t a show for stupid people. That is to say, many of the best jokes are nonchalantly delivered and can be hard to pick up on. Don’t get me wrong, there are a fair share of blatantly stupid “jokes” is the show, just like in any adult cartoon. Still, I found myself constantly rewinding to make sure I picked up on every joke.

There are a couple of plot devices that I think BoJack Horseman uses very well, such as:

• The show makes references to real life actors, people, businesses, and cities. Everything that exists in our world exists in their world. Except for the movie Secretariat.
• All the directors from real life have been turned into animals. Ex: Quentin Tarantualtino.
• Instead of each episode being its own individual story, every event carries over into future episode, even some incredibly minor details are included in later episodes. Thus, the show is filled with many “running jokes.”
• Sometimes items in the background will randomly change.

There are lots of other things that make BoJack Horseman’s plot so great, but all you need to know is that the show’s story has one of the most detailed plot that I’ve ever seen in an adult cartoon.

Voice Acting

Although I am not a voice artist expert, I think that every actor connects well with their character. Most voices reflect on the animal’s personality. Overall, the voices are good and each voice fits their respective character perfectly.

Art Style

The art style of this cartoon is very similar to Bob’s Burgers. Most of the time it doesn’t look very pretty, but I think the style is the most effective style considering the show’s tone and theme.

Award Time!

Best Overall Character: BoJack Horseman

Best Side Character: Tod

Conclusion

BoJack Horsman has something for everyone, whether you’re looking for cheap laughs or a funny show that makes you think. Netflix has once again created an award winning series. I give BoJack Horseman a 9/10. I look forward to season two.