Xcom 2: Resurrection by Greg Keyes [Book Review]

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.

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Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter – Extermination Geonosis

Strap in and secure your hold-out blaster pistol. It’s time to once again set out to defend against the Trade Federation droids. Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter is a continuation of Star Wars: Starfighter, but bigger and better, with a more focused story that plays into the Star Wars movie prequel a bit more. Notable Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and specifically: the battle of Geonosis. Another difference in this game, compared to the original, is that the spot for the main character is now shared with a Jedi, who comes with unique devastating force abilities.

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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.

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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.

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Crysis: Escalation by Gavin Smith [Book Review]

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.