Category Archives: Reviews
From Dust Review
The hits keep coming in this years Summer of Arcade with From Dust by Ubisoft Montpellier (XBLA 1200 MSP).
Designed by Eric Chahi, From Dust puts you in the role of The Breath, a force called upon by a nomadic tribe that's able to harness the elements to aid them in their search of the ancients.Â
From a first person view, you control a swirling cursor that is able to pick up earth, water and lava to deposit elsewhere. You can then create paths or remove obstacles for your tribe so they may venture to build villages or gather totems that allow protection from natural disasters or to augment your skills.
The main goal is to lead your tribe to the next gateway so they can settle on new islands, each with their own challenges and environmental dangers.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – One Geek Girl’s Review
The Final Harry Potter Film
I’d be remiss in my duties as a geek girl if I didn’t write about my thoughts on the final Harry Potter movie, The Deathly Hallows Part 2. There were many things changed from the book, some that I was okay with and others that I was not happy about but I’ll save the details for the hidden section. I’ll be discussing various plot points and the musical score so if you’ve never read the books, haven’t seen the movie and/or don’t want to see any spoilers I’d recommend skipping this post for now. Then come back once you’ve watched the movie and let me know what you think.
Here there be spoilers!
Rizzoli and Isles – A new crime drama to enjoy
photo via TNT.com
My lack of cable and network television often means that I miss out on cool shows until I visit my mom in OH and she introduces me to them. NCIS, CSI, Bones are just a few of the ones that I’d never heard of till I was hanging with her and she made me watch a few episodes. Well, there’s a new crime drama (and if you hadn’t guessed, I LOVE crime dramas) that she got me hooked on and I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for Netflix to break out the series on DVD.
Weird Al’s new album rocks my geeky world
photo via Amazon
For those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles (like me) the wait is over! Weird Al’s new album, “Alpocalypseâ€, is available for purchase. Needless to say I was already nabbing the mp3 album on Amazon first thing this morning thanks to their $4 deal on it. My morning commute to work was filled with the happy sounds of new and awesome songs and parodies from one of my favorite performers. In case you’re wondering if the album is worth the purchase, let me give you my opinion.
Cheers for “Hobo With a Shotgun”
This weekend I happened to catch new Grindhouse film somewhat unexpectedly. At a gathering to welcome home a friend someone lamented that the new movie “Hobo With a Shotgun†would be at a local theater later that night. After a quick check we discovered that it was available to watch On Demand for $7. I’ve never seen a room of people whip out their wallets that fast but within moments there was a small pile of money on the coffee table and we started watching “Hobo With a Shotgunâ€.
Steven Moffat’s “Jekyll” is a series worth owning
(photo via BBC)
Last night I finally finished a series that I started months ago. (Which is somewhat sad to say as it’s only six episodes long.) I watched the last half of the BBC series “Jekyllâ€, written by Steven Moffat. I started the series on recommendations from friends and the knowledge that if I loved “Sherlock†I would probably like this one. Not to mention I’m a huge fan of the original novella and actually tried for awhile to determine what might have been in the potion that first changed Jekyll to Hyde, or at least, what might have been the impurity in his orginal batch.
500 word review, Monopoly Here and Now iOS
The inspiration for this fantastic version of the game.
I have grown up playing Monopoly every Christmas and it has always annoyed me that I could only play at Christmas because nobody else would play at other times. That is why the iOS version of the game is the perfect fit for people like me.
Monopoly Here and Now for iOS devices is the re-skinned version of the original game for iOS. Like the Here and Now version of the board game it updates the monetary value of everything in order to fit with modern times by multiplying all the amounts by 10,000. One of the changes from the board game version of Here and Now is the fact that this is the worldwide version. Instead of Mayfair and Park Lane you have Montreal and Riga respectively. This makes for a nice change of pace and almost makes this hundred-year-old game feel like new. There is still something that could be said for the nostalgia of the train stations, Bond Street and the waterworks but this version of the game achieves what it sets out to do with just one worldwide version of the game for the worldwide market that is the iOS platform.
This iOS version of Monopoly is one of the best virtual versions of the game that I have played. The mechanics are essentially the same but the rules are customisable and the Retina Display for the iPod touch and iPhone really make up for the somewhat limited technology of the mobile devices. Although the game would not look anywhere near as good on an older iPod or iPhone – I also tested it on a non-retina display iPod touch – the Retina Display functionality means the game surpasses the likes of other mobile versions of the game. I would be inclined to say that the iOS version of the game is on par or at least extremely close to the PS3/PSP mini version in terms of graphics.
For any Monopoly fans out there this game is more than worth the 0.59p ($0.99) entry point. I have been playing it all week and I already feel as though I have got my moneys worth. Even for casual fans of Monopoly this could be worth getting for the simple fact that there are three difficulty levels for the AI in the game, which makes for a quick or long game depending upon yours and the AI’s skill. Although there are other versions of this game on other platforms they aren’t all the same. The Android version is extremely different from the iOS version and costs $6.99. The PS Mini version is somewhat similar but again it costs around $5 and isn’t as portable as the iOS version since most people probably take their iPhone or iPod touch with them everywhere anyway. If however you want to be able to play the game on your television as well then the Playstation Mini version would be hard to pass up since you can play it on both the PSP and PS3.
A fangirl’s review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
(photo via Disney)
Now that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has officially opened I have no problems giving you guys my review. I’ll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum (with warning). I’m also going to ignore the whole 3D aspect as that’s a subject I tend to rant about too often. Instead I’ll stick to the movie itself and the score.Â
“The Stand” as a graphic novel
Creepy, isn't it?
Until Free Comic Book Day I had no idea that Stephen King’s “The Stand†had been put into illustrated form. Yet as I wandered around the comic-filled boxes on the sidewalk tables I saw one particular comic on a table marked “Free†that I couldn’t resist picking up.
It was an issue from the “Soul Survivors†chapter of “The Stand†graphic novel.
Earth’s Children 6: Land of the Painted Caves – A Review
Earth's Children Book 6
We’ve been waiting for years but finally the last book in the Earth’s Children series by Jean Auel is finally in stores! If the series doesn’t sound familiar you might recognize the name of the first book: Clan of the Cave Bear. Yes, it is a somewhat cheesy movie but the book itself is well written and enjoyable. There are now 6 books total in the series and though I read the first four back in 1995 or so, the wait for the last two books was completely worth it.
Now that I’ve finished reading the newest book, “Land of the Painted Cavesâ€, I wanted to share my thoughts on it with you guys and find out what you think about this last book. Beware, spoilers abound after the break!
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