Quick Impressions 

Well its that time of year again, no not that loving Christmas cheer time, but instead the sweet sweet relief of no school no job and plenty of free time to catch up on things I missed throughout the last 6 months or so. As is always the case around this time of year, I reach back and play games I missed or watch movies and television shows I neglected to see. Now I have already accrued a massive pile of games, movies and shows so I wont have time to review each let alone complete most, but I can write up a quick impression of each to at least jot down my thoughts and give anyone reading this some sort of barometer on the quality of said entertainment. This article will be updated, so scroll down often as I'm sure this will go on for awhile, like I said lots to catch up on.

A 2-D side-scrolling stealth game, a shame I didn't check this game out sooner as it would have easily made it into my Top 10 Games of the Year. Either way I'm enjoying the hell out of it now. Stealth games are traditionally frustrating as they can be hard to decipher, not knowing what the AI's line of sight is like and generally what the boundaries of the stealth mechanics are. Mark of the Ninja is a hugely empowering stealth game, one where the systems are front and center providing every bit of information you could ever need at any given situation. The game also provides you with tons of possibilities with upgradable abilities and multiple paths through a level. The game also looks great which should be no surprise as the game was made by Klei Entertainment the developers behind the badass Shank. Overall Mark of the Ninja is a fun stealth game with a lot of depth. Consensus: Highly Recommended.

Yeah I know what your thinking, "DLC a year after the games release and tepid response?". Sure shocked me, but with a $5 price tag it was a low barrier for entry and a decent reason to dust off an old game. I actually completed this but didn't feel it warranted a full review. At around two hours The Scorchers as this DLC is titled is a lot more of the same linear corridors with tons of enemies with great AI to fight. The DLC adds one new weapon which is pretty all purpose alternating from shooting fast, through walls, and pinning enemies to walls. But the content while good looking offers nothing exciting for even interesting. Unless you were a huge fan of Rage, which I can't imagine too many people were, then continue ignoring this games existence. Consensus: Ehh.

Did anyone think their needed to be a sequel to Taken, I mean sure the first film was a surprisingly good time and Liam Neeson proved he could carry an action film and look badass doing it, but really another one. This is another in a depressingly long list of movies that prove Hollywood is tapped out of new ideas. This film is mind numbingly boring and terribly directed. The action is so poorly cut together its disorienting and needlessly over choreographed. The plot is simple and predictable and really this write-up has already gone on longer than this movie deserves. Consensus: Late Night Cable Viewing ONLY

A Mass Effect anime may not be the first medium that springs to mind when expanding the fiction, but BioWare has sanctioned a side-story focusing on nobody's favorite character from Mass Effect 3, James Vega. Lets get this over with quickly so I can talk about quality things instead, the animation is terrible, the voice acting is sub-par and the ties to Mass Effect are poor. Mass Effect is a high-concept sci-fi rpg, not an over the top anime and any references to the games come off as bewildering and grasping for fan service. Consensus: Stay Clear

Another XBLA game I missed when it was initially released. Mixed review and a stiff price point made it hard to take the plunge but thanks to recent sales I got to try my hand at this throwback side-scroller. Deadlight is set in 1980's zombie apocalypse, and pays homage to classics like Flashback and Fade to Black. Gorgeous visuals, brooding atmosphere, and a measured pace make this an eerie but beautiful world to navigate. Which is really what the game is all about, combat even once you acquire a gun is a last resort and is more about avoidance than taking on a hoard of undead. Navigating the environment taking in the scenery and ambiance is where this game truly shines, great animation and a shadowy look to the world make it a pleasure to take in, unfortunately great visuals don't make for the most interesting game as the story is pretty flat and there isn't much to the game play. But if you could enjoy sitting back and soaking in some great aesthetics and mood this is a game bursting with atmosphere it just doesn't offer much else. Consensus: Good, Maybe for you

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

The Hobbit takes place 60 years before the events in Lord of the Rings and so Middle-Earth is a very different place. Tonally very different from the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit exudes slap-stick and whimsy in place of doom and gloom and it makes for a fun adventure even if the first half of the film is padded out too long. The Hobbit film was initially conceived as two films but Peter Jackson wanted to flesh out the world while simultaneously bridging it with the Lord of the Rings, thus turning what is a relatively slight novel into its own trilogy. It's impossible to tell how that decision will influence the trilogy as a whole but this entry suffers from serious pacing issues. The most noteworthy thing about these new films is that they are being crafted by the same exact team that brought us the now classic Lord of the Rings trilogy and having all those same creative minds working on a series of films set in the same world is promising.

The Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins as he is recruited by Gandalf to join a company of 13 dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield on their quest to take back their home, Erebor which was taken by the dragon Smaug. The first major problem the film runs into is in how long it takes for the aforementioned adventure to begin in earnest. These early scenes feel overly long and awkwardly stretched which is confounding as the films run-time sits at 2 hrs. and 46 mins. which could have been reduced by removing some completely unnecessary and non-plot related scenes. Though don't let that hefty time investment turn you away, because once the film gets going you'll be wanting the eventual 9 hour trilogy to continue non-interrupted. My last criticism lies in this films overuse of CGI something that distracted and annoyed me throughout the film. The main antagonist is 100% CGI and thus 100% nonthreatening and uninteresting, which is made even more confusing since there is nothing about him that could not have been done with great costumes and prosthetics a feat the original trilogy was hailed for.

But in the end there is no question if you loved The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is a fantastic trip back to Middle-Earth filled with all your favorite characters. There appearances in this film may feel contrived but you'll find it hard not to sit up in your chair when Gollum appears on screen. The film is visually breathtaking even with its overuse of CGI and performances of Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf keep the film grounded among the fantasy elements. The Hobbit is only the first part of a planned trilogy but it stumbles too often to reach the heights of greatness established by its older more groundbreaking older brother.

(4 out of 5)

Far Cry 3 Review

Far Cry 3 effortlessly perfects what the previous installment in the franchise only experimented with. A fully realized gorgeous living world. One in which the systems in place only ever serve to entertain and rarely frustrate which given the scope and ambition of the game is an impressive feat. Far Cry 3 begins obnoxiously with a bunch of posh pop-collared assholes sipping sambuca and generally acting like complete douche-bags  bragging about their rich fathers. But it seems the island and its inhabitants have had enough of your character and his shitty friends as the game cuts to a wonderfully despicable villain named Vaas giving a fantastic monologue about how he intends to ransom you and then sell you off into the slave trade. From then on out Far Cry 3's story bounces from forgettable to intriguing but overall falls flat after the promising intro. Instead the fun is in exploring the island and combating its predators, both two legged or four.

One of the things Far Cry 3 does so well is implement many different systems and then let them run wild. Say you are given a mission to track down the local pirate leader. Along the way you trek through a jungle bustling with life and beauty, birds fly above the trees as light shines through the canopy, wild dogs bark in the distance. You come across a river, your target is in his camp on the other side, you pull out your camera a device which lets you tag enemies, you locate the leader but he is in the middle of the camp surrounded by attack dogs and thugs with guns. You distract some of them with a rock and snipe some of the unsuspecting enemies, the leader strays from the group you follow him hiding in the bushes but never crossing the river and for good reason as you notice the rather large crocodile lurking on the river bank. You lure the unsuspecting pirate leader towards the river with rocks, he notices the croc to late. The ferocious creature has its victim and your target by the waist and proceeds to drag the poor pirate to the bottom of the river thrashing violently until the water runs red. Mission Accomplished. Far Cry 3 is masterful in its ability to leave so much up to the living world and player choice and yet always maintain a level of enjoyment and polish that's rare among even the best games.

Far Cry 3 is a master stroke of open world design. It succeeds in making elements that are notoriously bad in all video games, under water sequences and first person platforming, highly enjoyable. There are some negatives as the AI of any one of the living things in the world can sometimes appear lost before realizing what it should be doing in a particular situation. Hunting which is a large part of the game as it nets you upgrades through a very rudimentary but highly addictive crafting system can be frustrating when after you have downed an animal it disappears or you simply cant find it. There is online multiplayer and co-op reminiscent of Left 4 Dead but neither are as well thought out and executed as the single-player campaign. Far Cry 3 offers a stunning world that is an absolute joy to inhabit, it is impeccably designed and polished with great thought given to every bit of the game and contains some of the best digital performances in a video game  Far Cry 3 bestows pure elation and is an experience not to be missed.

(5 out of 5)