ISWT review: Undertale

First of all let me state this. I will not spoil anything massive but I will get into spoilers about one character in particular. I wanted to get this out of the way first because this is one of the biggest things about this game and why during my top ten games I more or less told the fan base to shut up. Spoilers kill the effect this game has and can also scare off potential fans by being so loud and overbearing that no one wants to be a part of that fanbase.

 

 So fans I know how much you want to get into discussions about the game. Hell I'm going to later on but I have the ability to give a warning and enough space so that it's not the first thing you see when you load up the page. But If you spoil the story especially late game stuff that literally makes the game worse for any newer players seeing as they don't get the same feeling when they get to a part if it was spoiled for them. So if you love the game. Don't spoil it. Plus who would've thought this was a resident evil sequel.

 

 

That's not true.

 

 

I'll say all I can for the plot. You play as a supposed non gender character (They look like a girl but I think it is supposed to be non gender) who fell into a chasm on the side of a mountain and somehow lived. The story is just you trying to find a way back. That's all I'm saying. Yeah I want to be that vague. but I will say that it does introduce a lot of questions in the plot and while you are given enough clues to figure it out it's still quite a surprise I'd say when you get to really any of the final bosses. I'll get to that. The story really is about the characters and what you run into on your way back not so much the combat or lack there of.


One main thing about the game is how combat is handled. The main aspect is avoiding attacks through a kind of bullet hell mini game and while it's nothing really enormous and after fighting the same enemy a few times it can start to feel a bit dragged on they are generally pretty damn fun and with certain fights can throw a few very interesting twists at you and combined with the idea of either fighting the monster or trying to talk them down and have mercy on them creates a varied and very interesting play through.


As I mentioned off hand earlier you can fight enemies or talk them down. The game nudges you towards talking them down and while not at first punishes you for killing enemies off especially if you're doing nothing but. Again I'll get to it later. What's interesting though is that it often pushes you to kill. Almost tempting you to with situations that seem like you have no choice and I'll say one thing about this. There is one situation in which you have no choice but to fight someone down if you're going full on peaceful or talking every enemy down. I won't say when or where but you will have to fight someone.


The graphics are very simple but also very effective it works for what it is and it does it's job just fine. The music on the other hand is simply spectacular. It's fairly simple at first but the farther in you get the more instruments get added to the point of a saxophone solo in a certain boss fight which is freaking amazing and that's not just cause I have a thing for jazz music. lemme put it this way. You can buy the soundtrack with the game and it's more then worth it. My mp3 player was nothing but the Undertale soundtrack at one point and that is unheard of for me.

But I mean I'm being awfully vague here. I'm not really going into details just because of something like spoilers. Well I'm going to talk about one character in great detail saying to hell with spoilers and going into full spoilers to give you a better idea for those that either don't care about spoilers or who have played the game and are just curious I suppose. I will once again state you should play the game first. This game is meant to be played unspoiled to get the full effect so this is your last warning.

I love that this picture is borderline memetic.


Ladies and gentlemen. For those still here let me tell you a tale of my favourite character in the game and as well one of my favourite female characters in gaming or anything for that matter.

Undyne is a character you meet in the third area. A knight tasked with hunting down humans and while after the second area you may think that most people with that task are hilarious goof up characters Undyne is a bit different. Every time you run into her she's silent or very noble in speech about her mission until you run into her for the last time and she breaks her cool demeanor and loses her mind. Dropping the demeanor and throwing off her helmet revealing her to be a half fish creature and her theme turns from a creepy black knight theme that's incredibly threatening to a noble yet extremely overbearing and excited theme to match her personality and to great effect. She almost says word for word

" SCREW IT! I'm done with the flowery crap. Your ass is grass and I'm a lawnmower!" And then dragoon jumps off a mountain spear first to initiate battle. The change is done beautifully switching her from an intimidating knight to a full blown berserker to the point where your only real option is to run. She only really backs off after you show her mercy when she becomes exhausted after chasing you into the volcanic area which well...... fish don't do well in fire. She does eventually become an ally after she kind of realizes she has no choice. Again I won't go into details where I don't have to but that's what happens if you face her killing none or few enemies. What happens if you face her when you're murdering everything in your path?

She tracks you down all the same but only faces you when you threaten the life of a monster child that looks up to Undyne. She takes the blow for the child and sends them off revealing it to be a mortal wound. She declares she's sorry and begins to dissolve. But the like the name of the track that plays during this scene "But the world refused to die". She reforms partially and says she feels something in her that won't let her die. She knows that if you get past her you'll (the player character I should say) destroy not only the monsters but the humans and really everything. She pulls herself together and takes a new form.

Declaring you'll have to try harder then that she initiates the second hardest fight in the game and just generally one of the harder fight I've played in a bit. The music goes from her usual theme the excitable "Spear of justice" to the epic and threatening "Battle with a true hero" It's odd how she goes from dark and threatening to this hyperactive and excitable girl to once again a noble and unnerving boss fight. I know at this point I'm just gushing about a character I love but Undyne is a microcosm about this game. A character that's fun, hilarious, and just a blast to watch and on the other side Dark, and unnerving, and yet another side noble and out to serve the lives of her people. For how simple the graphics are it can really get an emotional effect out of you. That song I mentioned earlier " But the earth refused to die" I can't help but tear up every time I hear it. The gameplay is great but my god the story and characters really are what you're playing this for. Which again is why I started this like I did.


This game is something that needs to be seen unspoiled. If you never played or saw anything in it and read this anyway then anything involving undyne won't have the same effect. This is why the creator toby fox is very adamant about it as well. Like I said if you're a fan you don't need to keep spreading the word. If you wanna gush find like minded people online or that you know personally. Don't go spreading pictures of the final bosses around like it's nothing it very well may ruin someone's play through if they know what's coming. This isn't just for Undertale it's for a lot of things but in this case it's extra important because of how much of the stories enjoyment comes from experiencing it first hand. And again it can scare people off if you're just throwing images and in jokes in their face. It took me two months of the game being out for that exact reason. So fans like I've said before. This game is fantastic. It's unreal how enjoyable it is but just know as a fan of undertale or anything else. Know when to calm down and not just gush constantly about it. It can very well have the exact opposite effect you want to. It can scare people off of something you love. Subtlety is the key in fandoms. Don't scream to the skies no matter how much you want to because not everyone wants to hear you screaming.

Shit this got serious.....just play the game and stay off the internet while you're doing as such. It's great.....Um....Think I'm done now. Yeah....back with whatever I pull out of my arse. Laters.

ISWT Review: Wolfenstein The Old Blood

SPOILERS!!

 

 

 

One of my favourite games of last year was Wolfenstein The new order. It was the first game I played on the PS4 and between the very classic yet still with a few quirks gameplay and the fantastic writing both comedic and dramatic made this an absolutely incredible experience. Now I only heard about this Stand alone DLC for it when it came out and I was resistant at first because for some reason I was convinced that it was A completely different genre all together. I admittedly have no idea why I thought that but I did decide after hearing it was similar to the original to get it. Was it more of the same or something of a whole new kettle of fish?

 

To start off for those who don't know Wolfenstein back in the day was one of the first FPS (first person shooter) games to exist alongside games like doom.

 

 

The franchise took place in an alternate WW2 where the Nazi's used less conventional weapons like the occult or robots. And yes the boss of one of the first games is Mecha Hitler.

Suffice to say these games are glorious.

But the past games are not what I'm here to talk about. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is A prequel to New Order set in the mission immediately before the mission that started off New Order as we once again take control of B.J.Blascowicz (And yes that name is glorious) This time trying to find Information from a Nazi Commander who specializes in the occult. Now while They never advertise this there is one big thing in this game that alters how everything goes about 2/3 of the way into it. Before this one moment it's generally the same as the previous game if maybe a bit less interesting with the lack of the timeline idea and a solid villain. But Remember how I said this Nazi Commander specialized in Occult?

Now Before people start to sigh at the idea of Nazi zombies if there was one franchise that had a pass it's wolfenstein. Now that we have that out of the way yes this introduces zombie enemies into the game and they do behave a lot differently then any other enemy in the game. This does move the game in a different way then New Order. Before this again it was just more of New Order. Not that there is anything wrong with that or even close for that matter but this does make things interesting.

For example sometimes when you kill and enemy they'll turn immediately and since zombies will attack other Nazi's it does make things interesting. As well how you handle zombies is very different to normal soldiers. Suffice to say they do swarm as opposed to try and cover and shoot. It's a cool dynamic but is there enough with it to justify the price if you already have New order?

Old Blood costs $25.00 right now and for how long it is I'm honestly on the fence compared to New order. It's not nearly as fleshed out or as varied compared to New order but then again It's half the price and does feature some new ideas and the same great gameplay. I guess in the end it breaks even but because In the end Price doesn't matter as much if you already own them, To me New order is the better use of money but if you have the money go for Old blood.

Long story short the new wolfenstein games kick metric tonnes of ass and I really hope Bethesda announces a new one this year at E3.

My Top 10 Games of 2014

Here we are again. Another year gone by more of my ranting on doctor who (and American horror story this year) gaming and so on. As per last year I am doing a top ten games this year. This Of course is all my opinion and much like last year there are games I have played that I have not beaten like last years Super mario 3d world and assassin's creed 4 which in hindsight I would have put on the last but for all I knew at the time They may have ended REALLY badly so While I have played Dragon age Inquisition and I do enjoy it I can't put it on the list.

I would say there is a rule of 1 game per slot but uh......Well we'll see later. On to number 10!


10 Infamous Second Son

I'll get to the main problem with this game right off the bat. It's too damn short. If this one thing was changed it would be much higher on the list but much like metal gear rising before it despite it's length it's an absolute thrill to play. While I've beaten the first and played some of the second Never really clicked as fast to an infamous game. Honestly I think a lot of it comes down to the main character. Cole was okay but Deslin is a much more interesting character. More charismatic and his VA is troy baker does a fantastic job of adding to his charisma. The gameplay is also a lot of fun nothing incredibly different from the past games sans the multiple powers which are very cool but it's still a damn good game. Just a shame about the length though.

9 Hyrule Warriors

It;s a Zelda game crossed with a Dynasty warriors game. In every sense this is the best review you'll ever see of it because if you've played both franchises you know what this is. This game is damn fun I honestly have to say but yes it is kind of something you have to know what you're getting into to decide whether you'd like it or not. For me it's enjoyable but the replay value is not high enough with adventure mode being kind of meh to me. Still I enjoyed it.

8 South Park The Stick of Truth

This much like Hyrule warriors is something that if you know what you're getting into is a blast. If you are a fan of south park this game is outstanding. You basically control an episode and it looks identical as such. The graphics are genius for what it is. The music is a lot of stuff from past episodes with some original stuff and it works beautifully. The only thing is while the gameplay is good is beyond easy and kind of short but not as out of nowhere as second son. Again myself being enough of a south park fan I did enjoy this. If you are not avoid this.

7 The Wolf among us

While I always enjoyed the concept of the walking dead games from telltale I am not and will barring a miracle probably not become one in the future. To be honest I'm just sick to death of zombies. THIS however takes that idea and refines it while having a very intriguing and cool story. The characters are enjoyable and the story is fun to progress through and the choices while don't make an enormous difference they make enough of one. to give you an idea the first walking dead episode features a choice where you can try to save one of two characters. No matter who you choose the same people live or die except for maybe two scenes one character will give you a stink eye. In the first episode of wolf among us you can tear a characters arm off. regardless of text differences THAT is a change and it made a big difference to which of these games I enjoy and while Walking dead is NOT a bad game Wolf among us just left an amazing impact with me.


6 The Binding of Isaac Rebirth

Fun fact I was going to do a review for the first game but Honestly I wasn't sure what to say really. I'm honestly in the same boat here but I will say that with controller support and being on the vita and ps4 considering my computer is absolute shit for most pc games (sans a few) It made me really get into it. Especially the Vita version since I played the HELL out of the Vita version. The portability combined with how much like gaming candy it is works beautifully. The game itself is hit or miss. Some people love how different each run is while others think it's entirely based on luck and getting a good item. My thoughts? A little of both. Skill can save a run but that only goes so far. Regardless I played this game and yes it has it's issues but man it's damn fun when used as it is. Gaming Candy.

5 Wolfenstein The New Order

Talk about a come out of nowhere game that blew me away. I'll start by say the negative of For me at least the gameplay wasn't anything special it was just a really good example of what it is; A FPS. Which is a genre I'm kinda of cool on really sans the odd TimeSplitters. That being said is the only real reason it's this low on the list. This game is a goddamn masterpiece and for anyone who does love first person shooters for a challenge and not just for multiplayer this game is beautiful. Hilarious at times and beautiful at others it's something I just can't ignore. Part of me wants to put it higher but the main reason It's not is just that the games ahead of it I played way more. Speaking of....

4 Dark souls 2

Between The Dark and very subtle story. The Sadomasochistic gameplay which while easier the the first game isn't saying a lot (And if you find it easy there are artificial and unique ways to increase it and get better rewards for it.) and while not amazing graphics the game still looks damn nice. All I really have to add to this is when the ps4 edition comes out If you see Raijin1026 has invaded come up....Expect Poison....LOTS.

3 Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (and Omega Ruby)

Last Year I said X and Y were great games and they are but they did quickly fade off my radar. These games on the other hand only really need a better variety in pokemon found in the wild and this would easily be my favorite games in the franchise. I've always liked the 3rd gen so I was one of the people who was pumped when this came out. And in honesty I really do think that this is exactly what I was expecting. An enjoyable and very fun game that brought me back to my childhood and hell what they brought to the franchise in the form of things like actually flying around on a pokemon was well done and pretty damn cool too. What's left to say but.....I swear I'm working on the Retrospective for this gen I just need the time T.T

2 Dangan Ronpa 1/2

Okay so i'm cheating twice here if you want to get technical. Yes these games are older then 2014 but they came out here in 2014 but obviously there are two games in one spot. Well Both games came out close enough and are similar enough that they do seem to want to share a spot. Also there is a combined version of the two in japan so shush. Anyways this is basically the vita's answer to phoenix wright in a more adult form. The game is everything that phoenix wright is but to the extreme. More Bizarre, More Energetic, More Psychotic, And it also features one of the Best Villains I have ever seen in Monokuma. The Plot is fascinating if maybe a bit anime cliche at times. The Soundtrack KICKS ASS! The Characters are awesome or at least really fun to hate (byakuya I'm looking at you. Though look at his sprite in the second game for kick ass karma) And hell even one of the better good characters in.....Well spoilers and Debatable about the "good" part. If you can get past the very Anime style of it this is incredible.

1 Five nights at Freddy's 2

First of all Consider the first game a Tie I just haven't beaten it mostly because well....my first run consisted of 5 minutes of me being a little bitch and hammering escape. For a horror game that is pretty high praise because I've wanted to stop playing some horror games before but not Actually doing it let alone Hammering the get me the fuck out of here button. Bravo there.

The second game is arguably less scary then the first but again that is not saying much cause this game is pretty nerve wrecking. The story is just as good as the first if not better when it comes to the details of the very hidden and dark story much like dark souls but even more hidden believe it or not. Seriously if you told me this year we'd all be freaked out by an animatronic bear singing teadora march.....I would say why hasn't this happened earlier that sounds fucking horrifying. This game....These games are amazing for anyone who enjoys horror and hell sans the occasional "this is just a jumpscare fest" Guy the fanbase is pretty damn good so if you enjoy horror go buy this game....and for gods sake show me up on my performance in the first game. Seriously five minutes.Fuck you bonnie....Just fuck you.

ISWT Review: Bayonetta 2

Oh boy. Last time I Reviewed Bayonetta I said I thought it was mediocre. Good combat and shit story. I'm going to be frank the second game is exactly that but I'll go into more detail and why I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about this game.

Also I'm going all in on SPOILERS so you have been warned.

Let me clear one thing up though I do think I was a touch too hard on the first game. While I still do think the story for the most part made no sense namely that stupid time travel child version of herself but to be fair she was one of the few characters I liked in that game with Bayonetta herself being the only other one I really liked. But in honesty It's a great game it's fun and it's ridiculous and that's what they wanted to achieve so I should have given it more of a positive slide to it. Still the combat was nothing THAT special and yeah the story sucked hard so I mostly stand by what I said.

Now I'm going to say this now. That sticker in the top right corner that says "comes with bayonetta one" Helps a lot for this game. Cause even though it's just a port, Effort is still effort and less then 35 dollars for bayonetta 1 or 2 IS a good deal as well. 

Now let's actually get down to business here. How is the story and the character? Well the exact same really. Bayonetta and now her father balder are the only two character who are really decent. with the new character Loki and Enzo being Godawful and his part in the plot being so predictable it still hurts me from how far away you see it coming, and Luka and Jeanne breaking even and being decent. The plot itself involves bayonetta rescuing Jeanne's soul from hell after one of her summons goes awol. I will admit the beginning is pretty good sans enzo being absolutely unbearable. 

She goes to the mountain Fimbulventr (It's Norse I'm sure) meets a kid with mysterious powers over memory and cards named Loki. He tries to be Luka but fails miserably kind of like Luka trying to be cool but most of the time fails (though still not terrible just not very interesting and does have a few moments) He is intolerably annoying and I'm going to be frank when you meet a child with mysterious powers and then learn of a god named Aesir who disappeared; What do you think is going to happen? If you said the kid is actually Aesir NO FUCKING SHIT! Hell I knew even before since I know the word Aesir is from Norse Mythology as is Loki. Now granted they do introduce a second half of Aesir named Loptr who ends up being the one who killed bayonetta's mother and the one who possessed Balder in the first game. I will say that Balder being possessed here and sent back in time is kind of neat and makes the two games form a kind of loop in time which is honestly one of the neater aspects of the game that it's both a sequel and a prequel at the same time.

Now while the gameplay is one of the better aspects being basically the same as the first game with a few minor changes as well as some powers available from the start one problem I have is the bosses. The bosses in the first game hunt your ass down for a few chapters before you ever fight them which is something I like in this game they really don't and because of that they are very unmemorable in comparison. Hell even the refights of the bosses from the first game are less memorable since they're part of a clusterfuck part of the game and because of how angels are designed it's hard at first to tell that they even are the first games bosses.

Not only that but There are two fights in this game that you fight repeatedly. The Lumen sage who is so obviously Balder I have no idea why they tried to hide it and make it seem like it's a twist who you fight three times and they are the EXACT. SAME. FIGHT! I mean one or two minor changes but I really never noticed anything huge in difference between them. Then there is the fights with Loptr or as I call him....

Metapod jesus Crossed with the Bald guy from The Dungeons and Dragons movie.

You fight this guy or a version of this guy which is more or less the same fight 4 times! INCLUDING the final boss!! and worse yet both fights; The lumen sage and metapod jesus have the same strategy. Dodge then attack. Seven boss fights in this game are uncomfortably similar.

I'm going to be honest that's not the only thing that's eerily similar. There was a boss in the first game named Golem a neat idea of an orb that controls metal pieces and transforms during the fight. When you beat it bayonetta summons a pair of hands and plays volleyball with it in comical fashion. The boss fight not only happens in the second game but the defeat animation happens in both games the EXACT SAME WAY!! That drove me berserk but even worse they recycle the final boss gets shot into the sun bit where you dodge planets except in 2 it's dodging rocks and moving the boss into an open dragon mouth which is both kind of uncreative and a massive anti climax.

Generally speaking The biggest problem with this game isn't the gameplay or soundtrack or anything it's the rather massive reuse of assets in a game that has been in development for years and the first game came out in japan a little over 5 years ago. Even if not in development for that whole time if you made the game SOMETHING new would have to pop in your head and especially since this game had to be resurrected by nintendo since the first game didn't sell that well. You would think that if you were given a second chance to make a franchise you would go all out not just reuse assets and show why the franchise was on the edge in the first place!

And while I'm ranting what the fuck was up with summoning Jeubelius at the end of the game as one of her summons?! I know she had help from Balder but Jeubelius is dead! When she died did she go to super heaven or just Detroit?

Sorry I know that last one was very nitpicky but I was on a roll.

I will say what it gets right is the more important parts of a hack and slash. The Gameplay which again I don't see as the grand beat all of beat em ups but is certainly good and enjoyable,and the soundtrack which breaks even with the original version having maybe a less impressive and generic boss fight music but the basic fight music got a massive upgrade from the meh original track to the AWESOME "Tomorrow is mine". Graphics have gotten a boost and a pretty good one too this game looks very nice.

(Cough) Very nice looking

I will say I do enjoy the new character designs for Bayonetta and Jeanne. Less traffic cone and princess leia more school teacher and....uh normal woman. Like I stated earlier both 1 and 2 were released in the same package and again the price can't be beat even with the negatives I mentioned....makes me wonder if that's why they put the first game in with it actually. The addition of demonic enemies is mostly for show but it is both a neat change of scenery and enemy variety even if slight.

I will say this. Even though I have mentioned and even raged on some of the issues I still do kinda want to replay it. While I don't think I'd ever buy this over Metal gear rising or Devil may cry 3 I do like this game even with it's faults because it is so Batsqueak insane and like I said the gameplay and presentation has nothing at all wrong with it. Now I will say if you do have the first game for ps3 or 360 and you have a wii U and are thinking about it; Wait until the price drops or a just Bayo 2 version is released for less. If you haven't played the first game then I would recommend it because for the price of one full price game you get 2 pretty good games. Like I said I'm not sure fully how to feel about this game. Some things enrage me and yet I want to keep playing. It's a weird Bit of business.



What you're waiting for me to mention either the Wii U exclusive controversy or the overly sexual stuff? Short answer Don't care and Don't care. The Exclusivity thing is because nintendo funded it so that's fine and The sexuality...well They never hide the fact so you know if it'll effect your opinion. Neither one effected me so....yeah I personally don't care but if you buy this expecting child friendly business, Learn to do your research first and foremost and Look at the M in the corner.

ISWT Review: Beyond: Two Souls

Let me tell you about a company called Quantic Dream. Before this mist known for their games Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain they make very heavily story driven games often plagued by weird controls or hilariously bad voice acting. Just do a Google search for "Press X to Jason" and you'll see what I mean by that. But when this game was announced A lot of people started taking them much more seriously Seeming to fix both the VA problem by hiring some pretty decent actors (namely Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe.) And using much more simplified and yet still very unique controls. When the game came out however it was met with a unified "meh" Due to it's weird way of storytelling and just bizzarre plot in general. What do I think? 

Well first of all let's get one thing out of the way.While I never played Indigo prophecy, Heavy Rain I have a pretty good chunk of experience with. A pretty good plot and Game play for what it was muddied by often oddly funny voice acting (again Press X to Jason) and the fact that the game worked once in a blue moon and only once in said blue moon. The game was a glitched mess. But for what it was worth it was pretty good I'd say.

This game on the other hand was a weird grab bag. I was not expecting much going into it but coming out I was quite surprised and in a pretty good way for the most part anyway. First off the game is a lot more stable then heavy rain which would freeze or bug constantly. While Beyond honestly never had any major problems that I can recall anyway. The Voice acting is also a massive improvement with namely Ellen Page and Willem Defoe playing the main two characters Jodie and Nathan Dawkins.

It's sad but a character I legitimately Love I had to look the name of up because I always just called him Willem Defoe.

 Speaking of the characters how are they? I love the hell out of the characters in this game. Seriously the characters are so likable I honestly felt incredibly bad during more then a few times during this game namely a few incident involving Dawkins. For some reason his character always got me to really feel for him. I think it's just because the first few times you see him he's just a nice and very understanding character and honestly he may be one of my favorite characters in gaming.

No Kanji Tatsumi but still.

Jodie is also a very good character but it's kind of odd seeing her speaking to her invisible friend Aiden. It's very foreign seeing someone talking to thin air or from Aiden's perspective and knowing that something actually is there and that you actually get to play as. And for someone who doesn't know the story that sentence just weirded the hell out them. Speaking of lazy segues the story is kind of the strong point and kind of the weak point. The story is told in completely diced up order jumping from childhood to adulthood randomly which works in some ways but in some you can tell it's just to keep certain things hidden and flow the plot points how they want to. Again that does work okay but it's very bizarre.

But how is the actual story? The story itself is the story of a Jodie who discovers that she has an invisible friend who can actually move things around and interact. Her friend Aiden is a spirit that got attached to her somehow and the story progresses through her life finding out she had powers joining the CIA and evidently going on the run. The plot itself is strong enough but like I said it's really the characters that drive everything not so much the actual situations. It's more how is this going to affect Jodie then how is this going to affect the world or where is this going in the long run. I personally think it does more then it's job but I wouldn't say It's a work of art by any means often being a little ham fisted though only once or twice.

Graphically speaking the game is gorgeous. A few steps below the last of us but still a very good looking game again giving a very spooky feel the first few times you see the faces of Defoe and Page considering they are real people. granted a time here or there it looks off with the odd bush or the like but it's nothing to really call home about.

The game play is remarkably basic just like it's predecessor Heavy rain except with some improvements. The game play does it's job of fading into the background making the lasting memories be of the characters and story less the game play. I was almost ready to mark that as a bad thing but the more I think about it that IS what they're trying to do here so why is underwhelming game play a bad thing here.


From this point on I'm going to spoil the story a bit for the ending so you've been warned past here be spoilers

I'm predictable if anything

Throughout the story we learn of the other side. Rifts into the other side, Devices that can open portals to it and the creatures and spirits of the dead on the other side. Mr Dawkins earlier in loses his family to a car crash in one of the better emotional moments of the game. The thing is he ends up becoming a big wig in the CIA and creates a massive stable portal to the other side to study it. He reveals that he wants to De-stabilize the world in order to bring his family on this side over. This moment....is remarkably stupid and the worst part of the story. Some would say he was blinded by his wanting to bring his family back but that happened at least 20 years before he even got the portal and when he did he gained a way for his family to talk to him via a machine similar to the portals in which they flat out said "Don't merge the worlds and let us go" Since the machine they talked to him with caused them immense pain. He refuses to listen to them despite warning from his family and Jodie and it's easily the one problem I had with Dawkins. A great character who went evil for no good reason. While I do think the end is generally good with the rest of what happens and I won't spoil that part Dawkins going crazy at the end is very out of character considering and it's a big problem with the story.

END OF SPOILERS

So The progression is neat if perhaps a bit confusingly done, The end good if with a very bad twist to it, The story good but nothing that special all things considered, and littered with a cast of characters that are all very likable and enjoyable to watch. This game all in all surprised me but I will say that I don't think it's quite as good as heavy rain even considering. The story and characters are the main points of both games and the story of heavy rain is amazing and the characters are fantastic too. Beyond has amazing characters and just a good plot. I would say though This is worth the money it's up for even if it's not as good as it's predecessor. It's Something that like myself may catch you by surprise

Top 10 games of 2013.

2013 has been a damn great or at least a damn fascinating year for all gamers. The releases of both the ps4 and the xbox one. A new pokemon game. And two games people won't shut the hell up about....uh we'll get into them later. But starting off at number ten we have...!

Number ten: Guacamelee

This was an enjoyable little metroid-vania style game. A stereotypical Mexican theme alongside the pretty satisfying combat makes this game very one of a kind despite being a fairly simple and generic super metroid style game. The comedy is one thing that really kept me going on this one. for example

If you aren't at least intrigued after that screen I don't know what to say.


Number 9: DMC

While my opinion of this game may have lowered a touch during this year I will say that I still think this is the second best game in the franchise with 3 beating it. The combat is still rather enjoyable. The soundtrack fitting and again very enjoyable to me, And yes I do like most of the characters. I'll say that the dialogue can get a bit.....I'll say excessive with the whole gritty thing but I do still find everything enjoyable and I still say it's a worthy devil may cry game. also just want to say the whole Donte thing is so dumb. Think about it written it looks like it's pronounced the same as Dante. Since there is no ' So good call there internet....sorry what was I talking about?....oh yeah. the game Itself is fine and that's about it right there.

Number 8: A link between worlds

This is the second biggest surprise this year with the biggest coming later. I was never a fan of link to the past. Something about it just bored me. This game on the other hand while being in the same world and for a game that could be considered a re imagining of the first I'm stunned with how much I enjoyed this. This game is very old in style but it adds enough to the formula to become very interesting nonetheless. The new if very controversial weapon system of not getting Items in dungeons but having access after the first dungeon adds some odd life into the game. It's weird but still very enjoyable and one of my favorite 2-D style zelda games.


Number 7: The last of us

So I like DMC, I don't like link to the past and the last of us is not my favorite game of the year....I think I'm now trying to piss the internet off. But yeah this only makes number 7 for a reason. While I do think that the combat and general structure of the game is incredibly solid. the story is book ended with meh. The start was boring up to a point. And the end....Well the less I say about the end the better. but in between was quite good and as I said the game deserves a spot on a top ten list. Again not the best game this year to me and nowhere near the best game of all time.


Number 6: Bioshock infinite

When I mentioned earlier the two games people won't shut up about I was of course referring to the last of us and this game. and much like last of us I think this game has a lot of good points but I just don't get How so many people went nuts. The game play was enjoyable but was a step back from the first bioshock by removing hacking and other smaller parts and replacing with a very simple equipment system that doesn't do it for me. But unlike last of us I did get into the story and plot the whole way through and I do enjoy this game a lot. It just feels a step back from the first two games.....and yes I like bioshock 2....I think I AM trying to piss off the internet. I swear this was not intentional.


Number 5: Arkham origins

While a lot of people have encountered issues with this game namely glitches and a lot of the like. I got really lucky and never really had any major problems. I found the game pretty good. While it may have not improved a great deal over arkham city I do find this game very enjoyable. I will say that while the story was maybe easy to predict being a prequel and alfred just isn't going to die no matter what happens but how everything turned out did feel really enjoyable. I was legitimately intrigued in how everything was going to fall into place. While roger craig smith was okay troy baker ran away with his role as the joker and became possibly my favorite version of the joker ever even eclipsing mark hamil. And yes I am serious. I had a lot of fun with this game....Man I'm mentioning games with troy baker a lot here.


Number 4: Ratchet and Clank. Into the nexus.

This one was a surprise. I mean I love the franchise but I did not call this one being as good as it is. It's a shorter game and a cheaper one. being half the size and price of a full price game. The atmosphere and game play is amazing. If the game was longer it would be by a long shot my favorite game in the franchise. and considering how much I love "Up your arsenal" And "A crack in time" That's saying a lot. Insomniac if you make a game this good on PS4 I may actually get one eventually. Not like I'm getting an Xbone anytime soon.



Number 3: Pokemon X and Y

This basically had to be on the list. It's a damn fine entry into the series. My only real issues being the massively craptastic post game and the fact that sans their leader team Flare are a bunch of morons. The graphics are quite good. The new game play mechanics like mega evolutions are mostly quite good though I am a bit confused as to why this happened but whatever. All in all it is a great game I just wish they took a bit more from black and white 2.


Number 2: Saints row 4

This was the world's biggest surprise to me this year. This beast is some of the most fun I've ever had playing a game in my life. This game is fun for the sake of fun and that's just genius to me. It gives you whatever the hell you want just so you can glide around using it to blow shit up and amen to that. This would be number one but it got squeaked out by a second by....

Number 1: Metal gear rising

You know I'm going to correct myself....THIS was the biggest surprise this year. I even so much as played the demo and did not like this game....and then I heard the soundtrack and immediately bought this game and goddamn that was a good call. This game is a blast and it's weird because I know some people massively dislike this game because it's a different ball game from the metal gear solid games.....these people need to widen their horizons because this is the best beat em up I've ever played. Better then any devil may cry, bayonetta, or god of war game I've ever played. This game is beautiful. Nuff said.


Oh man I hope that next year is gonna be this good because seriously these games were genius. if next year is any similar I'm going to have a ball next year.

Doctor who: The end of time Review.

Holy crap I'm actually doing it. Yes ladies and gentlemen I'm reviewing one of the more controversial and talked about episodes of doctor who. The final episode of David Tennant's era of doctor who. This episode has changed in my opinion from when I first saw it. I originally loved this episode as one of my favorites if not my favorite but something changed in the way I think especially about the ending but I'll get to that in a bit.

People knew david tennant's era as a doctor was coming to an end. The false regeneration, The first of the specials being called the next doctor and the prophecy which called for the end of his life and this was the answer. On new years eve and day these two were broadcast leading to the regenerations of the tenth and the beginning of the 11th. So is this a grand finale or going out with a wimper....uh...both?


I'll start with the story then.

The stories main focus is around the return of the master and the completion of the prophecy that fortold the doctor's end. The master returns after the obvious hint that it was going to happen at the end of the last of the time lords but he was a bit different and this is the first big thing with the story. The master is less the sarcastic joker-esque loonatic and more a rabid wolverine who can't stop eating. He goes back and forth from psychotic and again very threatening to....uh chewing the scenery among many other things. In the end I do think he did a good job with a few odd moments here and there but back to business. 

After coming back in a rather jarring funny moment after the soul crushing end to waters of mars. (Seriously stop doing that it's mood whiplash) He finds out from the ood that the master is returning and with him the end of time. He returns to find Donna's grandfather wilfred trying to find him. And might I say Bernard Cribbins does an amazing job during this special and I'd even say the best acting in the episode.

However he also finds the master as well who has gained some new powers after his resurrection went wrong but is also draining his life. The two meet and the doctor discovers that the drums in the master's head are in fact a real thing and not just insanity and I am skipping ahead here but this is something I want to talk about. It's found out later that the drum beat is in fact a time lord signal meant to let them break out of the time war. This is kind of iffy. A while back there was a big ruckus over the fact that it was believed the doctor's name would be revealed. Now while that didn't happen I am glad it didn't Because the master's drums being revealed as a signal is a bit of a joy kill to me. it feels very wrong knowing what they are but It does make for a good story if I can give it anything.

Nonetheless the master is taken by a man named Joshua Naismith and made to build a gate to make his daughter immortal. Suffice to say he turns it into a device to turn the whole human race into clones of him cause you know.

He's the master.

The first episode ends with the human race being the now the master race ( see what he did there ) Donna starting to remember the doctor (which as you may recall will cause her to die. I'll talk about that later) And the revalation that the time lords are coming back.

Part two starts off with donna being fine and evantually firing off what I think is regeneration energy to knock out the master's near her. Okay I need to bring this up. when donna first had that happen to her and her mind was wiped the doctor spoke to her then left. So was it safe at first? Now that the energy wave passed is it okay now? Was that the whole thing some weird defence mechanism? Or was it actually like he said and he just can't now? It raises a few too many questions if you ask me.

We also come back to a few helpful cactus people helping the doctor escape....uh don't ask alien race. and going to a spaceship to plan out while the master tries to trace the signal in the drums. It's here I realize that these two episodes don't have all that much going on in them. seriously In maybe 4 paragraphs or so I just described an episode and a half in pretty decent detail but again I digress.

When the doctor realizes that the time lords are coming back and planning to use the ultimate weapon the end of time. I'm not sure what that entails or how they'd do it but I'm being tangential again. They would have during the time war but have decided to use it now instead of going to modern galifrey and rebuilding they decide to so screw everything anyway cause...

 They're the time lords.

The Doctor believes that his only choice is to kill one of them to stop the link and send the time lords and gallifrey which also returned back into the time war. So they wouldn't have to even rebuild the modern Gallifrey they could just use their own and still they wanted to end time. Something gives me the idea Rassilon was the time lord who took his ball and went home when he lost.

Nonetheless of course he shoots the machine causing the link and the master beats the tar out of Rassilon and they both end up in the time war. While the doctor believes he escaped the knock four times prophecy and will live until he hears wilfred knock four times on the glass control box and realizes he's as good as dead. What's funny is that It's both a tragic moment and a bit funny seeing as you can clearly hear Nelson from the simpsons laughing after you hear the knocks. Seriously give it a listen. Anyway this is where the ending kicks in and where some problems and some good things come in.

The doctor immediately begins arguing with himself. He knows that if he rescues Wilfred from the rad chamber he went in while the master and Rassilon were fighting he will die or at least regenerate. I have to say I always loved this part. He knows he could do a lot more for the universe then wilfred ever could and live longer then him. But he can't let him die. It's a very interesting scene to watch all in all but of course he ends up saving him cause..

Well you know.

He starts off finding his old companions and doing favors and whatnot for them as a final gift to them as well as seeing they are okay. To quote him "His reward". Again a bit over dramatized maybe but good. But after he meets with rose the year before she ever went on their adventures it begins as he heads to the Tardis. Here is where we have a good meeting with bad situation. The song playing vale decem is gorgeous and near the end incorporates the tenth doctor theme in it. it is a gorgeous theme. that being said as he takes his last lap around the tardis he places it in orbit around the planet and says four words that became infamous.

" I don't wanna go"

Where do I begin?

Let me get my feelings in total about the tenth here. I like him in general quite a bit sans two things but I'll get to those. He is quite charismatic and a lot of which is due to the actor David Tennant who does a damn good job. See the satan pit in season two for details there. He's likable he's fun to watch and he's full of energy and that's to me what makes a good doctor. The one thing is though he almost seems too human. Too normal. For me at least it doesn't make him as interesting to watch. That's not really a massive problem but to me it's just something that girks me a little.

But the two issues I have Are near the start and near the end. First off near the start. Rose. I don't dislike rose or the tenth but I have to say their relationship feels very weird. I don't mind sexual tension between the doctor and companions but flat out relationships feel very weird and I won't lie it just felt forced to me. Again I don't blame either actors it's just it felt too obvious and yet again forced. Plus after she left Donna and Martha both had to put up with her shadow. When the ponds both left the 11th and died he had one episode being depressed about it and it was never brought up afterwards. That just bothers me and it places this one massive Shadow over the tenth. The other problem is his last words.


While Not as bad I feel this makes him seem really weak in the end and instead of going out with dignity he goes out with a whimper. A desire of regret and unlike the ninth who went out proud of himself and rose a very weak end to a fairly strong character.

But after the regeneration comes matt smith's first scene and it's something. It Shows him as a much more comical and random then the tenth. Cartoony if you will. And I won't lie you got me interested quick. I don't really have much else to say other then not a bad first scene.


 Hoo boy this is an interesting one. On one side The master is excellent as he was before if maybe a bit overacty this time but nothing horrible sans one scene. Rassilon played by Timothy Dalton was incredible and as usual the regulars like Bernard Cribbons and David do an excellent job. But again some issues drag it down the hard headed time lord strategy and david's final words namely. But all in all there is a reason this was my favorite episode for a while. It's rather enjoyable if you turn your mind off a bit during a few parts.

But on the eve(ish) of Matt smith's regeneration the next season is matt's first and I'll get to that.....hopefully before I turn 80.

ISWT Review: Saints row 4

When it comes down to it I never really saw the appeal of the early saints row games. They just looked like GTA but not actually being GTA. I heard the second game took itself a bit less seriously and the third much less seriously but I still never really saw the point even when they did change it up. The humor and style never really grabbed me but when I started seeing trailers and news about the fourth game my eyebrow was raised with the declaration of making it a Science fiction GTA game with the story being based on an alien invasion and the main character being the president of the united states because he was just so awesome as the leader of a gang and later high style crime syndicate.

As you can tell this game takes nothing seriously sans a few bits here and there in the story but at that point it's more just giving enough to chew on then having a deep and meaningful story. Though that's not really what they're going for in this game regardless. But let's start off with the story.

As I said you become the president after the single most random opening with one of the funnier moments in the game which I dare not spoil. Quickly you end up in a fight for your life after the planet is invaded by a race known as the Zin. You end up unconscious and wake up in a very strange world in once again one of the funnier moments and find out you're in a simulation and basically you spend the game getting back your friends and messing up the Zin leader Zinyak's simulation by causing chaos....and that's about it. There are some twists and turns but it's again just the game giving you something to chew on less then trying to make an incredible story. Granted the story isn't terrible but it's more because it knows what it is.


The graphics....Are at best presentable. It takes a more exaggerated and almost cartoon like appearance and it fits but it's not exactly aiming for good graphics. Don't get me wrong it looks okay just...

Okay and not much beyond that.

The soundtrack is part of the humor and effect to this game. Anywhere from "Insane in the brain" by Cypress hill to "Lump" by The presidents of the united states. "Night on bald mountain" to "The Touch" by.....it's from the 80's Transformers movie. Most people know it better by that anyway. It's random goodness and it does it's job and then some I'd say. Plus some tracks are used rather well during scenes. "The Touch" for instance is used during the rush towards the final boss. I don't consider that a spoiler since well I think we all thought they would do it by that point in the game.

What about the original tracks? Well they do their job but sans the Zinyak theme ( which is pretty good surprisingly ) Most are rather forgettable.

Alright let's get to the real purpose of this game. The gameplay. Oh mercy me is this game fun. This game gives you whatever you want and says have fun with this. Super speed, Super jump, A number of offensive powers including Telekinesis, and Cryo Blasts. Now you may be wondering what about the gang stuff like calling in back up? Well at first you may think it's useless and there really is no point since again super powers but after a while they start getting a bit tougher and it doesn't hurt to at least have another target for them to shoot at. "But they don't have super powers so if you move they won't catch up forever" You say? Well yes and no. I have seen them teleport if worse comes to worse and not to mention they evantually get loyalty missions and gain super powers of their own so at first they aren't that useful but as things go on they become more useful.

To be fair though cars are still useless when you can go mach 6 on the ground.

The missions range from the story missions being simple introductory to Activity types to rather varied and often awesome genre shifts. There is a streets of rage style side scrolling beat 'em up level. there is a top down tank style mission. It's well done stuff too for what they're making a parody of. Saints of rage was pretty good for a minor segment.

 Admittedly a touch ironic in hindsight.

The side missions are a mix of different activities done one after another. A touch repetitive maybe but not bad all in all. The activities themselves range from simple combat missions to race missions. The basic stuff. And then we have the ragdoll missions. Where you fling yourself at stuff using speed and jumping powers and press a button to go limp and see how much you can hurt yourself. This may be one of the most entertaining side mission in any sand box game I think I've ever played. It's ragdoll physics the mini game. 

So the powers and missions are good. What about the weaponry? Basic guns are simple enough and have a pretty nice array of customization options. From paint to different versions of  the gun which function slightly different. Upgrades are about the same each having a unique upgrade which can come very much in handy. And then they silly weapons. You know what my favorite weapon in this game is? The dub step gun. Yes you read that right. It fires dub step. Between that the Inflato ray, the abduction gun and the like this game has both very simple weapons and very ridiculous weapons. And I think the shooting controls are pretty damn good.

Let's get to the main two things people talk about with this game; The main positive and the main negative. The one thing people always say as a negative to this game is it's identity. Coming off of the first two games (again to my knowledge) Which were much more serious comparatively speaking the third game took a lot of guff from people and this one took a lot too but less because of the sense of humor and more because of the powers and how much it changes things. A lot of people have said it has no identity and certain aspects carried over from previous games are made pointless by the powers. I will say only really cars have become useless. I still think that backup has some uses. But if you were a fan of the first style of saints row then I can't blame you for being upset about the new changes. It's not what you got into. I can speak for someone who wasn't a fan of those and I really enjoy the new style being more of a comical and parody style of games like grand theft auto because If I wanted straight up GTA I'll play GTA. But as I've said if you preferred the old style I can understand your dislike and I can't recommend this.

Seriously though I hear GTA 5 is awesome. Haven't played it myself but that's what I hear anyway.

What works though is the utter devotion to fun. Saints row 4 does everything it can to make this game fun. Every power up or mode of transportation starts off simple and any add ons to them you want pretty well come at some point. I wished you could run instead of jumping up buildings. Done. I wanted to be able to glide. Done. I wanted to be able to do a stomp move mid air to precisely land. Done and almost done twice with the stomp and death from above powers. Hell with enough money for upgrades you can get infinite ammo for any weapon types. And while the difficulty suffers a bit. On normal it can still get a bit crowded with enemies which can be tricky. Unless you have the black hole gun with infinite ammo Then the games enemies become a massive joke.

Long story short (way too late) This game is stupid fun. Some people would say it's just not the same with the massive changes to the franchise but my god it's so damn fun. If you want to give this a chance please do. I fully recommend this game.

 And yes....black hole gun.

First reaction: The world's end

Sorry it took me this long to put this up on my blog I've had a busy week. But What do I think of this the final of the three cornetto movies?

ISWT Review: Soul eater

Oh yeah I review anime too don't I?

Not sure if I mentioned it But I'm a pretty big Otaku. Perhaps not as big as I used to though with things like Doctor who and Gaming taking over a very large chunk of my time. But I do still find time for anime every now and then and it's getting hard to find good anime these days. With so much being either insanely cute shojo or the often brainless Shonen like Naruto or the once pretty good bleach. But on the subject of shonen every now and then something pretty good pops up having a lot of action while still retaining dignity....well for the most part anyway. This I would say is one of them.

Soul eater is An action series for the most part but it does delve into some very odd areas for what it is. Namely involving two characters but I'll get into that when I do. The series takes place in a city called "Death City" Ruled by well death.

And yes that is what death looks like.

He now looks like the cross between an anime mascot, A skeleton, and a pair of foam fingers you'd fine at a baseball game because he wanted to open a school to train kids to fight off things like witches and Kishin or Demon gods and well his old form scared the hell out of kids so he changed into this one. The school named Shibusen or the DWMA depending on whichever version your watching ( I'll get into the translation issues later ) is home to our main characters Maka Albarn, and Soul Eater Evans ( Obviously not his real name but a rather silly decision nonetheless ) Training to be a death scythe be collecting 99 evil souls and a witch's soul.


The two face off against kishin, witches and the like by having soul turn into a scythe which maka then proceeds to beat the ever loving snot out of with. Yes the thing about soul eater is that it's based heavily on teamwork with one character being a weapon user or meister with the other having the power to turn into a weapon of any real variety. There is however another shtick to this show and after the first episode it presents itself. There are sort of three main characters or is it seven? Basically the first three episodes introduce three meisters and their weapons. The aforementioned maka and soul, Black star and tsubaki, and Death the kid and his weapons Liz and patty.

I'll get into characters first to get it out of the way. Maka albarn is a very nerdy girl but also very friendly while being able to throw the book quite literally at soul or black star if they're being an idiot. She's brave, intelligent, and basically the default main character with everything considered. If it sounds like she's nothing out of the ordinary then it sounds about right but....for some reason she's my favorite character. Maybe it's because she's a pretty decent female main, or because she's a relatively nerdy character but for some reason I just find her very likable. Maybe that's just me though. as for Soul eater Evans he's a punk kid. as you'll notice the meisters and their weapons are kind of polar opposites as is the case with soul. He's a punk with a good heart and probably my second least favorite of the main characters. Not bad just kind there.

Then we come to Black Star and Tsubaki. Black star SHOULD by all right be my least favorite character being a very obvious comparison to Naruto with his loudness and well let's be honest immense stupidity but for some reason he comes off as both a parody and the character done right. I know that sounds contradictory but he just seems more likable because it's a lot more blunt while still giving some decent development to him. He's not as likable as maka but better then the third meister. His weapon tsubaki is a polite and just all around nice person. Once or twice she got mad at black star but past that she's very easy going. I like her she's likable but when she's in combat she gets serious and it all works. Nothing special but very good nonetheless. Then we have Death the kid and the Thompson twins. Liz is a very cowardly but common sense and voice of reason character while her sister patty....is out of her goddamn mind.

I'm going to just let this picture speak leagues about Patricia Thompson.


And then there's death the kid or kid as I'll call him. He's the poster boy for Obsessive compulsive disorder (or OCD) and that's really about it. He's way too one note for me since he really doesn't have a personality past that that's worth mentioning. With the twins he's entertaining though not as much as patty.. for a meister He's fun enough to watch fight especially with his bizarre way of holding guns upside down but his personality just does nothing for me and the symmetry thing gets old. I will say the fact it kicks in during serious moments as well is nice for actually having continuity but it makes it get old even faster. He's meant to be the generic cool guy and that's the best way to put it. He's a bit better in the manga later in having more to do which I'll give credit for. Oh also he's death's son....Go figure.


I'd go more into the plot but really it's fairly simple but satisfying all things considered so I won't spoil anything. But really it comes down to the villains VS the heroes. I've gone over the main heroes and while there are some side good guys they're all generally good all in all so I'll skip them. The villains on the other hand are also kind of hard to pin down.


I'll start off with who I think is the main villain; Medusa gorgon. A witch and a very crafty and sneaky one at that. Medusa is very good at what she does. She's intimidating and pulls of some faces that are rather impressively creepy and I gotta say she comes off very demented rare times but most of the time is very calm and cunning. And then there is crona their....uh offspring. Crona is arguable in which side their on....in more then one sense. Crona starts off evil but becomes good and is a very tragic character once you get into their character....notice I'm not using gender specifics well that's because well....

That says is all right there. A great character nonetheless.


Then we have Arachne. She has an awesome intro and then proceeds to do nothing except be killed by the last main villain. She does way more in the manga and I'll keep it at that.

Then there is the main villain asura. He does even less then arachne and reminds me of itachi uchiha so this character can bite my ass! Seriously I do not like this guy but if I have to give him something like arachne he has one of the best intros in anime in history and like arachne does alot more in the manga. Still reminds me of itachi though.

Actually come to think of it the term "better in the manga" is a good way to describe this series as a whole. While the anime is excellent and the fight scenes are kick ass due to very good and fluid animation the manga has such better character development for both the villains but the side heroes like Kilik,ox and Kim. Which in the anime barely exist and have massive development and even with Kim have part of an arc dedicated to them basically. Compared to let's say Naruto which.....well has Tenten done anything yet?

The only thing with the manga is it can be rather crude. meaning there is some forms of nudity.....though not a terrible amount nor do I think what is in is usually used for fanservice. Though this will take me to my next point. The fan service. It's there though I will say past the first three episodes is few and far between. that being said if you see this character....

 And you don't like Fan service. Run...run fast.

But that being said it's nothing that ruins the anime by any means but it's something to be noted.

So I've gone over the characters,I've said the story is something I won't go over though for the record is pretty good all in all but again better in the manga, the animation is excellent so what's left? The music.


My god the music fits the style and tone of soul eater so very well and I gotta tell ya it's pretty damn good all in all. In terms of character themes a lot of rap and hip hop or alternative with hip hop added in. I'm not a terribly huge fan of the genre but it works quite well for what it's meant to do. also I am a sucker for how it's done. look up either of death the kid's themes on Youtube and you'll see what I mean It's very catchy and thematic and it works. Also I have to mention this; The artist who does the hip hop style tracks in the soundtrack is the same artist who did the rap from Persona 3 and anything else persona related. Lotus juice who may I add is pretty kick ass musically speaking.



In the same way that full metal alchemist split it's anime and manga soul eater has some massive changes between the two as well. For the most part the manga is much better if a bit more crude in the fan service nudity department but has much more for the side characters with Kilik, Kim, Ox, Arachne, and Justin to name a few of the people who actually have a purpose compared to their anime counterpart to the point of counting them in the anime more as just a special guest from the manga. Also it goes much further into the story then the anime with certain things and in total the story is a lot longer.

 So let's gather the score here. Great animation, Between very enjoyable and well made characters and a few annoying and just kind of meh characters. A story that does it's job well in the anime and better in the manga. And finally a pretty fitting and kick ass soundtrack at times. Soul eater is a pretty good anime series, a better manga and all in all a pretty good ride. Though to be fair when other shonen series include shitheads like Sasuke Uchiha it's not a hard war to win.