Tag: Aliens

[Book Tip] Xcom 2: Resurrection by Greg Keyes

Xcom in-universe stories and lore? Yes, please! Xcom 2: Resurrection is a prequel to the fabulous Xcom 2, set between the two games, Xcom: Enemy Unknown and Xcom 2. While it’s an okay story, and expands on the world-building in the compelling existence of a post-alien invasion earth, it has a couple of issues. Now, I don’t expect a mesmerizing writing style in any of these kinds of books, and I would say it’s adequate in this one. However, the plot feels pretty hacked up, as locations shift way too often, with the main characters coming off as pretty one-note.

Continue reading “[Book Tip] Xcom 2: Resurrection by Greg Keyes” →

Star Wars: Starfighter – Aces of Naboo

I have a soft spot for the sequel movies, even if they are not the greatest. Games like Star Wars: Starfighter play into the nostalgia fun just right for me. An often major feature of these games is that, instead of playing as film characters or following the movie plot too strictly, they present the main conflict from a different perspective. I love this, since it expands on the lore, and provides insight (in a gamey way) in how others fared in the war. It’s usually from a grunt-side view, and being a regular Joe caught up in battle is very different from being a noble Jedi slicing heads off uppity droids. Star Wars: Starfighter is no different.

Continue reading “Star Wars: Starfighter – Aces of Naboo” →

Tenebris: Terra Incognita – Early Access Impressions

It’s time to return to the bug infested hellhole of Tenebris. Limbs will be lost, and eyes will be poked out. This is truly a place of horror, and crippled soldiers seeking injury pay. In other words: Tenebris: Terra Incognita will make a man out of you, or well, less of a man. If you suffer from entomophobia, stay away! I played the demo when that was released, which I wrote about here. My impressions from the demo were very favorable, so does the full release live up to the hype? Full release as far as Early Access will take you. Meaning, it’s missing a few crucial parts, like a complete campaign, and a few soldier classes. It’s expected to be in Early Access for one year. Anyway, let’s check it out.

Continue reading “Tenebris: Terra Incognita – Early Access Impressions” →

[Book Tip] Crysis: Escalation by Gavin Smith

Crysis: Escalation is a novel to bridge the games Crysis 2 and Crysis 3, which is a bit more interesting than Crysis: Legion, since it was just a retelling of the events of Crysis 2. I didn’t dislike that book, since it contained additional lore about the world and characters. However, the general plot didn’t excite me much, as I already knew what would happen going in. Crysis: Escalation avoids this baggage completely by telling new captivating stories about the world of Crysis, and boy if it doesn’t supplement the franchise with a lot of cool additional information. It doesn’t follow one story – it’s a collection of events/tales of the land, eventually leading up to the start of Crysis 3.

Continue reading “[Book Tip] Crysis: Escalation by Gavin Smith” →

Star Wars Outlaws – The Friendly Bandit Life

Warm up your speeder, and make sure your blaster is powered up. It’s time to wreak havoc in the criminal underworld of Star Wars to establish yourself as the boss! Well, actually, you won’t be doing that… at all. For a game being set in the underbelly of society, the people here are for most of the time well-spoken, friendly, and forgiving. Sure, there will be the occasional betrayal, and people getting blasted for seemingly petty things. But the situation is not that dire to be honest, and besides, that’s not your objective anyway. Star Wars Outlaws plays it incredibly safe for walking into the territory of murders, corruption, and robberies; boringly so, even.

Continue reading “Star Wars Outlaws – The Friendly Bandit Life” →