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Review - Ravens of Avalon... A True Unkindness

Image credit: Penguin Publishing Group Celts, Pagan magick, warriors defending their homeland. What's not to like? At first glance, Ravens of Avalon sounds like something that would be right up my alley. I have always had a fascination with the history behind Boudica. Hell, I've even thought of writing my own historical novel surrounding the warrior queen. Ancient Britons defending their land from the Roman Empire is always going to be something that sparks my fire. Call me an underdog kind of guy. I just love when people punch above their weight. Ravens of Avalon tells the tale of Boudica from the very beginning of her life as a young adolescent through her death. For those who don't know their history too well, I will preface here by saying that there is not very much known about Boudica in general. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until some cultural renaissances hundreds upon hundreds of years after her death that she suddenly became a topic of interest. Bo...

Review - Section 13... Actions Redacted.

Image Credit: Ocean Drive Studio, Inc. Action. Check. Horror. Check. Scifi. Check. Fantasy. Well... sort of. Hell, might as well check that too. Section 13 is a different breed of game from Ocean Drive Studio. They have definitely left a mark on me with Lost Eidolons and Veil of the Witch , and due to that I was more than willing to give this twinstick shooter a try. This roguelite is a lot different from anything else Ocean Drive has done because of its setting and combat style, but that doesn't mean that Section 13 is anything to skip over. The company has shown their chops with medieval swordplay and tactical strategy, but you can tell that they had a lot of fun with this revamp of the Blackout Protocol title. By incorporating roguelite elements into the story, Section 13 forces its employees to discover just how far they can push themselves when having to delve deeper and farther into the bowels of a science facility to find out exactly what...

Review - Darkwar... As Strength Goes.

Image Credit: Night Shade Books As strength goes. That's something that we hear a lot in Cook's Darkwar trilogy. From Doomstalker to Warlock, and Warlock to Ceremony, Marika's lesson from the Ponath sticks through. And it shows. Marika is the main character and centerpiece of Cook's science-fantasy series. She is from a feline race called the Meth, and grows up in a sector of the planet that has been restricted technologically. If it sounds a bit like The Hunger Games , it is. In that respect only. The comparison stops there. Being raised by a band of hunters who are averse to anything they don't understand, like mental powers in the form of a spirit-guided telepathy, Marika finds herself in a bit of a conundrum. Exploring these talents has the potential to save those she loves from her village, but also could result in further examination by those who are already concerned that she could be the "Doomstalker." This Doomstalker, or Jiana...

Review - Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II... The Emperor Neglects.

Image Credit: Saber Interactive Space Marine II was an absolute first for me in one regard. I have literally never played a game where the very first gear and appearance your character has is absolutely badass, and virtually anything that comes after that makes him look like a goon. Congratulations, Saber. You played yourself. Titus starts off the game in the Death Watch, rounding out a century of service to the emperor for coming close to heresy without actually crossing the line. As such, he is a commander and is dressed to the nines with a skull helmet, red cloak, dark grey armor, and is an absolute monster on the battlefield. So much so, in fact, that upon his death he is essentially reanimated with additional parts in order to continue serving the Imperium. No retirement plan? What a sucker. After his reanimation, Titus is reinstated into the Ultramarines as a lieutenant. Definitely a downgrade from his former ran...

Review - Tails Noir... Striper No Striping.

Image Credit: Egg Nut In order to do this game justice with my review, I'm going to keep it short and sweet. That is exactly what the developers did, anyway. In Tails Noir you play a private investigator named Howard. Howard's typical clientele are people looking for cheating spouses or those who have misplaced a valuable bauble or two. Nothing big time. And he knows it. He also is well aware of how lame his life feels as a result. The latest case that drops in his lap seems just like all the others. A pregnant mother is looking for her deadbeat husband. She just knows he's two-timing, but she doesn't want to fully boot him out without proof. Howard is on the case! When investigating this particular dirtbag, however, Howard discovers a lot more than he bargained for. For one, the guy is dead. And secondly, his corpse is being chopped up and packaged off as if it's going to market. Could there really be people in elite society feasting on the flesh of t...

Review - The High Republic: Convergence/Cataclysm... A Star Wars Catastophe.

Images Credit: Disney & Yihyoung Li Woo. It's been a minute since I've read a Star Wars novel, and even longer since it's been one that has actually been considered canon. Most of the stuff that's been churned out over the decades has just been shuffled to Star Wars's "Legends" section, a sort of catch-all that looks at things more like a reimagining than anything. That is not the case with the books of The High Republic . The High Republic effort by Disney includes books, audio dramas, comics, graphic novels, video games, a children's show, and a more adult-centric show that completely flopped. Whether or not that show flopped due to its content or due to the heavy review bombing that happened is perhaps up for debate, but I'm not going to discuss that in this particular post. I'll focus instead on the first two stories set in this era. In an even longer time ago in that same galaxy we've come to know and love... Convergence s...