Review: Lego Batman

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

What can you really say about Legos? Couple things actually:

1. Good chance you had them growing up and had a lot of them.
2. Choking hazard and bane to all bare feet.
3. There are actually video games about it.

Naturally, that last one catches my mind a bit, since there have been a lot of Lego video games that have been coming out for years now, ranging from 'Lego Island', 'Lego Chess', 'Lego Racers', 'Lego Creator', and much more. Normally, these games have been made by the company 'The Lego Group', which has made a good chuck of the Lego video games. However, there are some that use other series, like Harry Potter or Star Wars, and makes action/platformer games as well. In this case: Lego Batman!

(With more Batman villains than you can shake a stick at)

Published by Warner Bros Interactive and developed by Traveler's Tales, 'Lego Batman' is another in a series of Lego-themed games revolving around action, platforming, and taking characters and settings from other series. Here, the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin take on various villains who want to take over Gotham in their own way.

Gameplay-wise, if you ever played 'Lego Star Wars' or 'Lego Indiana Jones', the principles are still the same. You can run, jump, attack, and certain characters have special abilities. You are also capable of designing your own character through the main hub area, as well as plenty of Easter Eggs to search through the different levels.

The story for this game is interesting, as you get to play the heroes and the villains depending on the missions. For the purposes of this review, I'll be looking at a compilation of both the villains and heroes sides of the story and trying to piece both of them together in some way.

The story begins when several supervillains break out of Arkham Asylum and split off into different groups. First, the Riddler groups up with Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface (A rather interesting set-up, at least in terms of intelligence and firepower). Next, the Penguin gets Catwoman, Man-Bat, Killer Croc, and Bane (technically, Catwoman and Bane shouldn't be in Arkham since they aren't actually insane, though it might be different in this universe. Also, Bane combo-broke Penguin's group for not being an animal). Finally, we have the Joker with Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Killer Moth, and Mad Hatter (a nutty team for a nutty villain). They all run amuck when Batman and Robin finally get onto the scene and with that, our first series of missions beings, with the Riddler's group being up to bat (lol) first.

We learn that the Riddler is planning a big heist at the Gotham Gold Reserves, requiring several different items in order to pull it off. He has his partners in crime slip up in order to tackle each item: Mr. Freeze gets the massively mobile freeze ray ('natch), Poison Ivy gets the plant that can grow several stories high (also 'natch), Two-Face gets the high-powered laser (...'kay), and Clayface gets the giant golden key. Good idea to send one of the strongest villains to get something as simple as a key (then again, this Clayface ain't all there in the head). When they do get the key, the big lug gets distracted by the large amount of gold that was with the key (it was locked in a cell of all things). When Batman and Robin show up, they beat down Clayface, but the Riddler gets away with the giant key. However, since he can't help himself, he leaves a clue for Batman and Robin to have them try and figure out what his next plan is.

With the giant key in hand, the Riddler moves on to acquire the giant freeze ray, with the assistance of Mr. Freeze (naturally). They arrive at the building where it is stored, blasting their way through and acquiring it. When Batman and Robin arrive on the scene, Mr. Freeze does his best to hold them off, but ultimately fails. The Riddler escapes with the freeze ray, as well as leaving another Riddler clue, and meets up with Two-Face. The Dymanic Duo manages to give them a good chase that ends with the freeze ray heading back to the Riddler's lair, Two-Face's truck getting dismantled, and the Riddler escaping thanks to Poison Ivy and leaving another Riddler clue (much to Poison Ivy's confusion).

Anyway, Riddler and Poison Ivy head to the place storing those plants that the Riddler needs. Poison Ivy gets caught up with all the plantlife, until Batman and Robin arrive to fight her. They win, Riddler escapes after the battle and leaves behind another clue. While the Dynamic Duo try to figure out what the Riddler is planning, the villain teams up with Two-Face once more and manages to steal the ray gun without interference from Batman and Robin. With all the items in place, the pair of villains break into the Gotham Gold Reserves, but naturally, the Dynamic Duo appear and arrest the villains once and for all.

...and we're only a third of the way done with this game, folks.

Now onto the Penguin and his master plan. Inside one of the Penguin's subs, Bane, Killer Croc, Catwoman, and Manbat are waiting on the Penguin (good nod to Bane and Killer Croc arm-wrestling, hinting at their violent history in the comic books between one another). Anyway, Penguin arrives and shows his master plan: an army of remote controlled penguin robots (ingenuis!). The villains spread them all across Gotham in boxes, with Penguin taking Bane to acquire a satellite dish to transmit his commands to the penguins over a longer distance. They succeed, but Penguin ditches Bane to the authorities with the dish in hand. Bane throws a hissy fit and manages to knock himself out. Shame they left out Bane's intelligence (and maybe some of Penguin's) but then again, Catwoman acts more like a cat in this one, so its all even?

Anyway, back in the sub, Penguin goes with Catwoman to recover a gem needed to power the machine to control the penguins (apparently). Catwoman succeeds, but gets caught by Batman and Robin. She tries to flirt her way out of it, but fails and gets handed over to the police while the Dynamic Duo go after Penguin and Killer Croc. However, the gem gets taken by a cat amid the chase, with Batman and Robin unable to catch either of the villains.

Sometime later, Catwoman is freed from prison by Killer Croc and Penguin, revealing that she got the gem back thanks to a visit from the cat. Penguin reveals more of his plan, with the machine hiding in the Gotham Zoo. When the police arrive, Killer Croc holds them off while Catwoman and Penguin escape into the sewers. However, Killer Croc gets beaten by Batman and Robin, where they discover where Penguin and Catwoman left to.

Over at the zoo, Penguin, Catwoman and Man-Bat start to infiltrate the complex, which is now guarded by police. When Batman and Robin arrive, Man-Bat does his best to slow them down, but gets captured in the end. However, he manages to stall long enough for Catwoman and Penguin to activate the machine and send the penguins on a rampage. Batman and Robin corner the two and manage to destroy the machine, effectively taking out the penguin army and saving Gotham once more.

That just leaves the Joker and his mad associates: Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, and Killer Moth. Joker, naturally, wants to destroy the city via Joker gas and explosives (like you do), but has run out of materials for both and needs to steal them. Batman and Robin hear about the break-in at a chemical factory, where they find Mad Hatter. While that villain is stopped, Joker gets away with his supplies and leaves the Dynamic Duo in the dust.

Joker, in a bit of foresight, manages to trick Commissioner Gordon and capture him, prompting Batman and Robin to rescue him from Harley Quinn. They succeed, Harley Quinn is captured by the police, but Joker escapes via his helicopter thanks to Scarecrow and his plane. Both engage in an airbattle with Batman and Robin, destroying the aircraft and forcing the villains on foot. Scarecrow gets captured by the police during the run, but Joker escapes once more and joins up with Killer Moth.

The two manage to find Harley Quinn being held under Commissioner Gordon's care, but it doesn't last long. Joker escapes with Harley Quinn while Killer Moth deals with the police force. The Dynamic Duo arrive on the scene and take down Killer Moth. The two find the villains at an old cathedral, where Joker plans to detonate his explosives and drown Gotham City in his toxic Joker gas. The two fight Harley Quinn and the Joker, taking out the devices and capturing the pair, saving the day once more.

...and that's it for both the Hero and Villain story modes. Its not too complicated and some of the characters are pretty much exaggerations of their comic book counterparts (i.e. Catwoman) but its still a nice and easy story to follow. Course, the gameplay is the main focus here so it shouldn't be too looked down on. Simply put, if you're interested in a lego game with Batman, consider this a buy.

Until next time...

Lego Batman is owned by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment.

Review: ModNation Racers

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

This review actually came up through nostalgia, mainly when the Xbox360 and PS3 first came out. Some of the first games on those platforms blew us away in the beginning, but now we don't really view them most of the time as a hurdle for improving gaming graphics, design and whatnot. That kinda leads me into this game: ModNation Racers!

(The 'LittleBig Planet' of Racing...not counting 'LittleBig Planet Karting')

Tons of customization options ranging from characters, cars and tracks, 'ModNation Racers' is one of the deepest games when it comes to customization. Aside form that, it does play similar to most racing games, with a few exceptions. Players can purposely hit their opponents with sideswipes, items you pick up on the track to use can be upgraded if picked up repeatedly (to a certain point), and performing tricks like air spins and drifting can rack up points to use to defend oneself or speed down a track.

Naturally, you're expecting me to talk about the story which this game does have. As little as it may be, it does have a good story for the game. Lets drive into it, shall we?

The game opens with the MRC, or Modnation Racing Championship, title screen, with characters Biff Tradwell and Gary Reasons as co-hosts for the event taking place. They serve as the storytellers or sorts, going over the details of reach race and the racers themselves. For pair dynamics, we have Biff constantly mocking and insulting Gary throughout the story (though its more funny than how I'm writing it. Besides, Gary gets his revenge in the end).

The story begins with the character Tag (or whichever character you made that takes his place during cutscenes) joining the MRC with the support of his Mom, who runs a car paintshop, and Crew Chief, a former racer who suffered an accident that has kept him from racing for years. It works out well, though a guy named Uncle Richard from Conservative Motors (who have very bland, boring cars) tries to sign Tag onto his group, but to no avail. We also get introduced to the champion of the MRC, an offensive Italian driver named Expresso. After several races, Tag's car gets pretty banged up form the hits its taken, but Mom manages to get her car shop up and running with new business to pay for a new car.

During the Mayhem Tour, where Tag races against some of the best MRC drivers, Uncle Richard tries to make Tag sign up with CM once more, but to no avail. Everything is going well until the Range Tour, where Crew Chief finds out that Tag's BoomBox (which supports the kart itself as well as serve as a weapons system) is near the verge of destruction. Its too expensive just to afford another one, even though they were supposed to be made indestructible. Mom suggests using the BoomBox from Crew Chief's car, but he states that it got wrecked in the...wreck. Once Tag finishes the Range Tour, someone sabotages his kart and puts Crew Chief in a coma. With no kart and down one crew chief, Tag is forced to sign with Conservative Motors despite his Mom's idea to just sell the shop for another BoomBox.

Tag is basically used for his image more than is racing, losing lots of fans after just a few races. Thankfully, Crew Chief wakes up from his coma (apparently, its not his first one) and offers Tag his BoomBox instead. Mom states how he said his was wrecked, but Crew Chief lied about it, saying he was too scared to race after what happened to him and is giving Tag another chance to be himself once more. With his old look back, Tag completes the Grim Tour racetracks to qualify for the Grand Tour, where the last race would be against the reigning champion Expresso.

During the Grand Tour, Crew Chief reveals how Expresso was the one who wrecked his car so many years go. With Tag racing so well, Crew Chief finally believes that Expresso will get beaten once and for all. In the final race, Tag manages to win and become the new MRC champion, getting Crew Chief over his personal demons and making his mom proud. However, Uncle Richard (I don't think he's really his uncle) tries to get the glory himself, saying how Tag is still signed with CM and how its a victory for the both of them. However, he gets arrested when the police discover that his prints on the bomb that took out Tag's second kart.

In the final scene, Gary manages to knock out Biff twice with a nerve pinch and Expresso gets his just reward as Crew Chief punches him for trying to steal the championship. Gary closes out the game by wishing us better good luck in next year's race (which really didn't happen, but it does have a nice note to it).

I personally liked the story mode. Its pretty simple and you could probably guess what a few ideas might come up before it happens and yet still manages to throw a curveball or two your way. Characters are basic, yet have enough personality in both mannerisms and looks that make them stand out and enjoyable (well, except for maybe Uncle Richard, but I think that's just me personally.)

Overall, the game is an enjoyable past time when you're looking for something simpler, I suppose. Until next time...

Review: Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

I'm still getting a bit of a 'Lord of the Rings' buzz after watching 'The Hobbit' movie (at least the first of the planned trilogy) and I feel like doing something related to the series. Since plenty of the games were connected to the movie's story, I figured one of them would be a good choice. With that said, its time to look into 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age'!

(What, did you really think you would play heroes from the original trilogy?)

Developed by EA Games, 'Lord of the Rings: The Third Age' is a role-playing, turn-based strategy game similar to those of 'Final Fantasy'. You play as a group of characters (who bear slight resemblances to characters in the original story) as they trail behind the Fellowship of the Ring and try to save the world from Sauron. Its very much like a 'Final Fantasty' game with 'Lord of the Rings' as a new skin, so take that as you will when it comes to gameplay. The story, on the other hand, is an interesting bit that needs to be looked into.

Anyway, you begin with the Gondor soldier, Berethor (Boromir expy) who is out Boromir (weird, eh) when he gets attacked by Ringwraiths (weirder, eh). He gets saved by Idrial (Arwen expy) who joins him in getting Boromir back. Guided by visions from Gandalf (I think, its a bit fuzzy at the moment), the pair head to the Mines of Moria. They pick up two other people, a ranger named Elgost (Aragon expy) and a dwarf named Hadhod (Gimli expy). Apparently, the heroes have been trailing behind the Fellowship just barely, since they encounter the Watcher in the Water (twice!) and come across Balin's Tomb. They just barely miss them, until they come across Gandalf fighting the Balrog. Going against movie continuity, they fight alongside Gandalf against the Balrog, which they win, but Gandalf still needs to go through his revival and such, so he gets dragged by the Balrog in the end.

After leaving the Mines of Moria, the heroes discover that Boromir has died and that their goal has changed into helping the Fellowship of the Ring. They reach Rohan, where they battle Grima Wormtongue with the help of Morwen (Eowyn expy) and later recruit a Rohirrim named Eaoden (Eomer expy) as they venture to Helm's Deep. Fighting alongside Gimli, Legolas, and Aragon, the heroes manage to hold Helm's Deep to route the armies of Saruman and save the day. Eventually, they make their way to Ogsiliath, apparently in search of Frodo now.

When Idrial gets captured and the heroes mount a rescue to get her while in Ogsiliath, its revealed that Berethor was being manipulated by Sauron for sometime now. So, with Faramir's help, the heroes rescue Idrial, defeating several Ringwraiths and the orc commander Gothmag. They make their way to the big Gondor city, Minas Tirith. They participate in the battle alongside Gandalf the White and eventually take the fight from the city and into the open land outside of it. They join the Rohirrim, especially the Shield Maiden Eowyn, in fighting off the orc horde and defeating the Witch King. With all the Nazgul slain, the heroes go fight the Eye of Sauron (no really, this actually happens) and win the day.

...and that's it. You beat the game. Disappointing, ain't it?

Its basically an abridged story of the trilogy with just different characters. While it does have some exciting moments, it drags during the fight scenes and even uses clips from the movies themselves in place of 3d modeling and designing they could've done. Still, the combat is pretty familiar to those who've played Final Fantasy and could be enjoyable. The characters stand out a bit, though a still a bit bland compared to their counterparts. Thing is, if you wanted Final Fantasy to be more, well, fantasy, then you can shell out a bit of money to pick up a used copy. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with it.

Until next time...

Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is owned by EA Games.

Review: Rise of the Argonauts

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Stepping back into my love of mythology, I'll be looking at a game that does a spin on a Greek tale. This is based off of the epic poem, Argonautica, with Jason and the Argonauts going off to fetch the fabled Golden Fleece. This just puts it on a different take and, well, here is 'Rise of the Argonauts'.

(Its like Mass Effect meets Greek Mythology, only suckier)

Developed by Liquid Entertainment, 'Rise of the Argonauts' tells a tale of the hero Jason, with a group of other Greek heroes, going off on an adventure to find the Golden Fleece and resurrect his dead wife. 

Gameplay-wise, lets be honest, you'll be doing a lot more running around than actually fighting. Conversations between characters will be dragged on and boring when you need to repeatedly do them. Combat-wise, the system is pretty different, allowing your character, Jason, to switch between weapons mid-fight to pull off different combos. These weapons have various strengths and weaknesses against certain enemies, which I'm sure you would've found out if you bothered to play the game in the first place.

I don't really see how the story would be able to carry though the gameplay, but lets find out, shall we?

The game starts with Jason's wedding where a group of mercenaries, lead by a Blacktongue (sorcerors who worship the titan Hecate) attack and poison Jason's wife Alceme. Jason, not wanting to let his love pass on, asks help from the Gods to save her. He gets a response from four of them: Ares, Athena, Hermes, and Apollo. They agree that the best course of action is to find the Golden Fleece, giving Jason their blessing to seek it out. Jason, with the aide of his close friend Hercules (pretty much guess who he is), get help from a shipwright named Argos, who allows them to use the newly built shit 'The Argo' for their journey, so long as he helps pilot it due to its rather advance set-up. Jason leaves his island home of Iolcus in the hands of his uncle, Pelias. Before leaving, Jason rescues a Blacktongue deserter named Medea, who agrees to help him stop the Blacktongues from achieving their goal. 

So, Jason and his group reach Delphi, home of the Oracle. He encounters a satyr named Pan, who joins the group near the end of the Delphi run, and gets his will and resolve tested to make sure he'll do what it takes to save the one he loves. Upon meeting the Oracle, Jason is told to find decedents of the gods Ares, Athena, and Hermes (coincidence?) to help open a portal to Tartarus, where the Golden Fleece is stored. So, Jason is given the choice of where to go first: Mycenae (Ares' Island and birthplace of Alceme), Saria (Hermes' Island dominated by wildlife and centaurs), and Kythra (Athena's Island bounded by her strict rules and regulations). The players can choose whichever island to start with, though for this review, I'll start with Mycenae.

At Mycenae, Jason gets thrown in jail for failing to protect Alceme by her father, King Lycomedes In order to win back his freedom, Jason must fight in the gladiator arena. He gets help from the blacksmith, Daedalus, and manages to win his first two fights. His third and final fight is against Achilles, who has never lost a gladiator battle before. Here, the two fight to a draw and Jason is free. However, news of a tournament to replace Lycomedes as king of Mycenae gets Jason's attention, as Achilles wouldn't take part it in it since he prefers fighting over ruling and the rumors of a Blacktongue who is entering. Jason discovers the truth of Docon, the Blacktongue warrior who is entering the tournament, and Patroclus, the head of the arena, are conspiring to take the rule of Mycenae for themselves. So, Jason enters the tournament and, with the of Daedalus once more, reaches the final round against Docon. Achilles makes a surprise reappearance to the fight and, as Lycomedes feeling a bit downer since his daughter's death, invigorates the king. Docon and Patroclus try to seize the thrown, but get killed for their efforts (with Patroclus getting his death at Lycomedes' hands, which is pretty damn awesome). In the end, Achilles, Daedalus, and Lycomedes (who is descended from Ares) joins the Argo to help Jason recover the Golden Fleece. With Mycenae behind them, the heroes venture to Saria.

Saria has a lot of jungle to it, but thankfully a village of centaurs where our heroes can dock. They meet up with the leader of the centaur, Lykas, and get a story about a beast that can disappear from the naked eye. Jason gets assistance from the only human on the island, Atlanta (where later, its explained how her Blacktongue father left the group with a wife and both later died on Saria), who helps lead them to a fruit that should help Jason. It turns out the beast, a manticore, has the ability to disappear from sight by going into a realm of shadows or something of the like. The beast is eventually slain, since it can no longer hide thanks to the fruit, and Atlanta discovers something on its skin: a mark that bears the symbol of a centaur named Nessus. Turns out that he breed the manticore in service to the Blacktongues, who promised him open land and sky if he worked for them. Of course, the corrupt centaur doesn't survive his fight with Jason and his fellow heroes and soon dies after a lengthy battle. In the end, Atlanta decides to join Jason and his group for helping the local centaurs. Its revealed through Hermes that all centaurs bear his blood, with Lykas volunteering to join the Argo as well. With two islands down, its time to head to Kythra.

Apparently, Kythra was once home to the Golden Fleece before it disappeared and when the Argonauts first arrive, just about everyone they see has been turned to stone. As Jason and his friends venture through the island, they discover that it was home to two descendants of Athena, the brother and sister Perseus and Medusa (didn't see that coming, did you?). It turned out that a speaker named Phaedon convinced Medusa to focus more on her beauty and his own goals rather than that of her brother's or Athena's. It resulted in the island turning everyone into stone and Medusa becoming the hideous gorgon monster she was known as in the original mythology. The other inhabitants of the island get returned to normal, and Jason reveals that Phaedon is just another Blacktongue, who promptly gets killed for tricking Medusa. They also encounter Perseus, who asks to help save Medusa by breaking the symbol of her selfish beauty: a golden statue from before her gorgon state. This is about the only time I saw where your choices demonstrated who would come back to the Argo with you. If you decide to destroy the statute, Medusa returns to normal and she joins you willingly. If you decide to kill her instead, the statue remains as what she was before and Perseus joins you in her stead. Regardless, you get your descendant of Athena and make your way back to the Oracle. Unfortunately, a Blacktongue sneaks onboard the Argo and kills Argos, forcing Jason to steer the ship long enough to reach the Oracle's island (at least until Daedalus takes over).

Anyway, Jason and his argonauts manage to breech Tartarus and retrieve the Golden Fleece after battling several Blacktongues, including some enemies they recently killed like Docon and Phaedon. Once retrieved, the heroes head back to Iolcus, where they discover that Jason's uncle has started slaughtering his people. The heroes push through the hordes of Blacktongues and Jaosn himself manages to reach Alceme's resting chamber. In one final clash, he kills his uncle and resurrects his wife with the power of the Golden Fleece. Finally, the two can be married.

...and that's the game. I don't think it should really be called a game. It felt more like a movie: a very long, overly talkative movie. Pacing tends to slow to a crawl in several of the conversations taking place and there is far more of that than combat. When combat does happen, its pretty interesting to say the least, but nothing really worthwhile. The story seems to drag when going to each island and ends with a conclusion that is pretty lukewarm. Overall, if you ever see this at a bargain bin, save your money.

Until next time...

Rise of the Argonauts was developed by Liquid Entertainment.

Review: Lollipop Chainsaw

Welcome to another post of 'Stories of Entertainment'!

Oh, Japan, somehow, you manage to create some strange and wonderful things. From your ground-breaking anime to that tentacle hentai, its hard sometimes to figure out what fits in the 'awesome' category to 'just plain strange'. This is because some things tend to overlap one another, like 'Lollipop Chainsaw'.

(...wha?)

Yes, 'Lollipop Chainsaw' is an action hack and slash game with you playing as a monster hunter with an overly cutesy chainsaw killing zombies left and right. With the colorful cheerleader going around slicing up zombies in such candy coated fashion, it'll probably make you want to puke rainbows...or just plain puke. Seriously, with a lot of disgusting zombie stuff that will happen over the course of the game, I have no hard feelings if you just want to take some time to vomit before continuing.

Anyway, the game starts in the bedroom of our protagonist Juliet Starling (awkward), a cheerleader for San Romero High School, and it happens to be her 18th birthday (less awkward). She talks about her family, the fact that they're all monster hunters like herself and how she is late at meeting her boyfriend, Nick Caryle, at the start of the school day. It gets worse when the zombies come around and Nick ends up getting bitten. To save him, Juliet enacts a ritual by cutting off his head and reviving him. I know, weird.

The pair manage to meet up with Juliet's sensei, Morikawa. He explains how someone has breached a hole to a dimension called Rotten World, home to demons and zombies, with explosives and dark magic. They manage to track down the source, who is apparently a gothic emo guy named Swan. The guy decides that he's had enough of his sucky life and decides to destroy the world by summoning a group of powerful zombie demons known as the Dark Purveyors. Morikawa tries to stop them, but gets his ass kicked. Juliet steps in to take on the first Dark Purveyor, a foul-mouthed punk rocker named Zed. Despite his power, Zed gets cut down and killed, though uttering a weird incantation during his death. Morikawa appears, though id dying from the injuries he has sustained. He warns Juliet about the other Dark Purveyors and how they must all by stopped before passing on.

With Morikawa put to rest, Juliet and Nick continue their fight against the zombies, finding a giant flying Viking ship steered by another Dark Purveyor: the black metal zombie known as Vikke. They managed to get a bit of help from Juliet's older sister, Cordelia, a very talented sniper. Once having boarded the giant flying vessel, Juliet fights against Vikke and tears the zombie apart with her chainsaw. Weirdly enough, he utters the same incantation Zed had said when he was dying.

As Vikke's boat falls after his death, Juliet and Nick run into Juliet's younger sister, Rosalind, who is very dangerous when driving a vehicle. Hitching a ride, the trio try to find the location of the next Dark Purveyor. To Juliet's surprise, she finds Rosalind being possessed by said Dark Purveyor the whole time, launching the trio into an alternate dimension. This Dark Purveyor is a hippie named Marishka, who has taken Rosalind hostage. Juliet manages to fight off Marishka, decapitating her and landing back into the real world. Marishka chants her incantation as well upon death, while Juliet gets a phone call from an autotune guy (the next Dark Purveyor) who explains that he's holding Rosalind hostage now. While trying to figure out how to rescue her sister, Juliet gets a surprise visit from her father, an Elvis look-alike named Gideon.

They both come up with a plan to rescue Rosalind: while Juliet distracts the Dark Purveyor (a funk-loving zombie named Josey) and fight them, Gideon would rescue his youngest daughter in all of the chaos. For awhile, Juliet is successful in taking on Josey, but the funk zombie tries to double back on their deal and warns Juliet about killing her sister if she tries to kill him. Fortunately, Gideon manages to rescue Rosalind in time, leaving Juliet free to kill Josey once and for all. And, like all the other Dark Purveyors before him, he chants some weird chant as he dies. I'm pretty sure Chekov had a hand in writing this.

Anyway, Juliet, her sisters, father, and boyfriend go tackle Swan and the final Dark Purveyor: a rock and roll zombie with a guitar/gatling gun named Lewis Legend. With his death, Swan explains how he tricked Juliet into killing them to summon the lord of the zombies, Killabilly. Swan kills himself to complete the summoning and brining forth a massive, blubbering zombie who resembles a dead Elvis impersonator. With a sacrifice blow to Killabilly by Gideon (he gets better), Juliet manages to stop the monster at the cost of her boyfriend. However, with Morikawa's spirit, he returns alive and in a new body...which happened to by Morikawa's. Still, the world is saved and such...

...also, depending on how many people were saved during the game (forgot to mention that earlier, sry), u get a scene of either the Starling mother being alive or a zombie in a cutscene. Awesome.

And with that, so ends Lollipop Chainsaw. God, what a crazy-ass game.

Until next time, watch out for zombies and cheerleaders with chainsaws.

Lollipop Chainsaw was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture.

Review: Brutal Legend

Welcome back to 'Stories of Entertainment'!

I have always had a spot in my heart for music and many of its genres: classical, rock, alternative, jazz, rap (sometimes) and even metal. Lot of game companies try to work off of this by making games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band that allow people to play some of their favorite songs with color-coded button mashing. There haven't been too many that have dedicated a game towards a genre until this came out. Welcome to the world of 'Brutal Legend'!

(The Age of Metal lives on!)

Channeling the spirit of everything that is 'metal', 'Brutal Legend' pays tribute to the music genre of heavy metal and its various subgenres. The game plays out like a hybrid between action, adventure, and real-time strategy games, with the factions of Ironheade, the Drowning Doom, and the Tainted Coil battling it out for the control of the ancient world of Metal. The only one who could change the course of history (at this point) is a simply roadie named Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black)

In the beginning, Eddie is considered one of the best roadies in the business, capable of building any set, tune any instrument he finds and capable of organizing one hell of a show. The only downside is that he somehow got roped into helping a band that is basically a mix between Linkin Park, Justin Bieber, and the worst aspects of pop rock music. They end up accidentally killing him when they were goofing around with the set, getting some of his blood to drip down to his belt buckle and summoning a metallic beast. The beast ends up sparing Eddie and killing off the band (much to our enjoyment).

Eddie wakes up, alive and well, in the ancient land of metal. He ends up killing off several cultists of the Tainted Coil (demons who have bondage tendencies) with an axe he found and a guitar that manages to summon powerful magic. He also gets help from a girl named Ophelia and builds a hot rod car he called the Druid Plow that helps them escape the Tainted Coil at this point. However, the Big Bad of the Tainted Coil, Emperor Doviculus, learns of that Succoria, a powerful demoness, as returned when he examined one of Ophelia's dropped blades.

Meanwhile, Ophelia manages to lead Eddie to the resistance group, mostly comprised of herself and the brother-sister team of Lars and Lita Halford. Apparently, Lars is an excellent motivational leader, but can't handle the logistics of war planning and the like. Eddie decides to help them out, seeing as they need a roadie to help with the planning to take on the Tainted Coil. They manage to recruit several human factions to the resistance, including a healer named Killmaster (voiced by bass player of Motorhead Lemmy Kilmeister) and the Guardian of Metal (voiced by Ozzy Osborne). They form the army of Ironheade (which pays tribute to the early history of Heavy Metal, mostly the 70s and 80s) and take on General Lionwhyte, a human whose hair allows him to fly, his voice that can shatter rock, and leads an army of human subjects in Doviculus's name (which are basically Ironheade units if they were paying homage to Hair Metal). 

Partway through the war, Eddie somehow sprouts wings and develops more demonic features (albeit temporarily), with Ophelia believing that the Tainted Coil must've poisoned Eddie somehow. Course, this just pops up every now and again as Ironheade recruits more soldiers and takes the fight straight to Lionwhyte's fortress, taking out his army and having the General killed off (though that last bit was his own fault. Apparently, shattering glass with his voice was his own undoing). They celebrate their victory a bit, but know that the Tainted Coil is next to fight.

Speak of the devil, Doviculus comes in to survey the destruction  with Ironheade hiding and watching to see what the demon is up to. Mostly, he monologues about Succoria's reappearance and the destruction of Lionwhyte (though really, he doesn't give a crap about him), saying how she was supposed to infiltrate the humans and take them out. Eventually, Lars has had enough and takes the fight to Doviculus with another speech. The Emperor, in a show of being Genre Savvy, mortally wounds Lars on the spot and summons monsters to take down the rest of Lionwhyte's castle. Ironheade manages to escape, but Lars dies of his injuries. Lita takes her anger out on Ophelia, believing her to be Succoria. Lita believes that the power of the Black Water may've manipulated her into helping Doviculus. Eddie is surprised at this (mostly because he was starting to fall in love with Ophelia) and doesn't like how Ophelia was hiding secrets from them. So, the group abandons Ophelia and heads north to avoid the Tainted Coil until they can replenish their strength.

Cue to several months going by, with Ironheade trying to plan out what to do next. They soon find themselves ambushed by the Drowning Doom, a faction who is inspired by Gothic Metal (not Emo, as many would believe). Ironheade manages to beat them, but discovers that the army was sent by Opheilia, since they bear her mark. When trying to pass over a bridge, Ophelia greets them, though now completely under the control of the Sea of Black Tears. She destroys the bridge, forcing Eddie to retrieve supplies from Bladehenge to build another one. Once they do, Eddie finds some animals to try and recruit to Ironheade, but gets captured by a group of Amazons known as the Zaulia. They try to execute Eddie, but he manages to use his guitar to reveal an ancient relic. From here, he learns that his father, known as Riggnarok, came from the past to the future (modern time) to stop the Emperor. He reveals that the belt buckle belonged to him and how he found it after his father passed away. Seeing this, the Zaulia join up with Ironheade as they continue their journey. 

They end up crossing paths with Ophelia again, this time revealing how she went back to the Sea of Black Tears after feeling so depressed about the group abandoning her. She still launches an attack against Ironheade, which manages to get repelled with some effort. Their next stop: the Sea of Black Tears itself. The army attacks, with Eddie threatening to kill Ophellia to get the Emperor. Ophellia laughs it off, fleeing before Eddie could attempt a finishing blow.

Eddie tries to confront Ophellia again, but Emperor Doviculus enters. Here, its explained that Succoria was the previous Emperor before Doviculus, fleeing to the future and apparently having a kid with Riggnarok, making her Eddie's mother. Just to twist the knife, Doviculus pulls out Ophellia's heart and stores it within his body. Ophellia dissolves (weird) and Eddie heads back to the Ironheade army when Doviculus starts summoning a massive monster from the Sea of Black Tears. Still, Ironheade manages to fight it off, as well as Tainted Coil forces while Eddie takes the fight straight to Doviculus (who happens to be inside of said beasty). In the clash, Doviculus is decapitated and Eddie tries to retrieve Ophellia's heart, but it ends up dissolving as well. The beast collapses and Eddie falls into the Sea of Black Tears, finding the real Ophellia (the other one was just a copy of sorts). He manages to pull her out and they are reunited.

In the end, the Tainted Coil is defeated, Lars gets a statue while Lita gets praise for helping to lead Ironheade, while Eddie just sticks to the shadows as a roadie (something he doesn't mind doing). He decides to stay in this world, with Ophellia as his girlfriend and everyone basically lives happily ever after.

...and that would be Brutal Legend, a video game tribute to the age of Heavy Metal. From what else I learned, the game was supposed to be focused on the multiplayer, with story mode basically being one big tutorial level. Still, I found the whole pretty fun and different in a good way. 

Until next time...

Brutal Legend was developed by Double Fine and published by Electronic Arts.

Review: Ghostbusters the Game

Welcome to another review on 'Stories of Entertainment'.

Even though its been a few weeks since Halloween, I've still got a bit of the spirit in me. As such, I'd like to talk about a game that has plently of spirits...as well as ghosts, ghouls, and various apparitions. That's right; Its 'Ghostbusters' the Game!

(I ain't afraid of no ghosts!)

Possible one of the only movie tie-in games that was good, 'Ghostbusters' the Game manages to capture the spirit of the franchise while also making it something of its own character. With controls that allow you to sling your proton pack like a pro (or at least like the rookie you should be), you'll be able to take on the ghosts with the original Ghostbusters at your side. It helps that they are voiced by the original cast of the movies, even if it has been years since their last movie together. Still, this does put in the possibility of a third movie (though if I'm reading reports right, we might see Peter Venkman return as a ghost. That'll be interesting to see.)

So, does the story of the 'Ghostbusters' game manage to live up to the franchise or is it another failure like so many other movie tie-in games, like 'Iron Man' or 'Transformers'? Lets find out.

Taking place in 1991, about 2 years after 'Ghostbusters 2', the Ghostbusters hire a new recruit (your silent protagonist known just as the 'Rookie' as the newest member to test out new equipment. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler are happy to have a new recruit on the team, but Peter Venkman has his reservations, if only because the 'Rookie' might get an unfortunate accident or scared out of their wits to quit the job completely. Winston Zeddmore is on his night off at the moment, so he hasn't met the new guy as of yet. Soon, a massive PKE (Psycho Kinetic Energy) shockwave blasts through New York, with the ghosts starting to act more wilder than usually. They take a trip to the Sedgewick Hotel (location from the first movie) and encounter many more ghosts than before, including a return of the green glutton Slimer. They manage to capture several ghosts, including Slimer and a nasty Fisherman ghost. A call comes in from Winston, saying that an old friend is making a return. That's right: its the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man!

Now its out of the hotel and into the streets to tackle the return of the god Gozer (as the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man), though it appears that he's on the hunt for something or someone. The Ghostbusters do their best to keep up, but get attacked by animated gargoyles, ghostly opera singers, and creatures made out of burnt marshmellow from Gozer himself. Not your average Ghostbuster's day. They manage to find Gozer attacking a building, where they get an encounter with Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, the curator for the Museum of Natural History. They climb to the top of the building, attracting Gozer and blasting him with the proton packs to send the god falling back down and exploding in a white sticky mess. They managed to convince Dr. Selwyn to come with them just in case (with some playful flirting from Venkman to her).

They take her back to their base (or firehouse, whatever) and try to run some diagnostics on her. She explains that she has been working on a Gozer exhibit for the Museum of Natural History, with the Ghostbusters noticing that they didn't get an invite. Apparently, Peck (snobby 'dickless' guy whose gotten on the Ghostbusters' nerves several times and almost doomed the world in the first movie) did so, still thinking that they're all show and no substance. The Mayor, on the other hand, is pleased that Selwyn is safe, the Gozerian Exhibit is in working order and got publicity from Gozer's appearance in of itself. He also explains that Peck was hired to keep an eye on the Ghostbusters through the Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission (or P-COC) Its just to keep the city council pleased and helping them keep an eye on the Ghostbusters' activities.

The group decides to split up for their next job, with Venkman protecting Selwyn himself. Egon, Ray, Winston and the Rookie try to head to the museum themselves, but get pulled aside when a call comes in about a disturbance at the Public Library. Ray notes how it was their first assignment, involving the spectre of the 'Grey Lady'. Once at the museum, they do some investigating and discover the 'Grey Lady's origins. Apparently, she was Elanor Twitty, the chief librarian who fell in love with a collector named Edmund Hoover. Apparently, Hoover wanted a book from Twitty known as the Gozerian Codex. She said no and ended up getting murdered for it. He killed others, but vowed to return as Azetlor the Collector before he died. The group manages to find an underground section containing several rare books, among them being the Gozerian Codex. When they try to take it, they get into a fight with the 'Grey Lady', but manage to trap her. However, they also end up in the Ghost World, a dimension that can cross into ours and partially merge with it. They travel through the world, trying to get out and even fight through the spiritual form of the Collector. When they return to the real world, they notice a strange symbol, featuring 4 glowing circles. One of the circles lights off, with the group noting that something important has happened and head to the museum.

Upon arrival, several new ghosts appear and start causing havoc, including ones that can possess other people. One of the ghosts captures Selwyn in the process, with the rest of the Ghostbusters giving chase. After fighting through several exhibits, including Civil War and ancient Mesopotamian, the group learns about how the ghost their chasing is the former Chairman of New York, who was once part of a Gozerian Cult along with the architect known as Ivo Shandor, They know its the same Shandor who built the apartment 55 Central Part West from the first movie. The Ghostbusters manage to capture the Chairman and rescue Selwyn, but Peck chews them out for the damage and being drenches in slime (as he was possessed at the time and slime was needed to free him). He vows to make the Ghostbusters pay, which the group decides to take into consideration just in case things go sour. They meet back in the fire house, studying the image they found at the library, as well as the museum. Winston manages to discover that it fits with a few of the buildings in New York, specifically the museum and the library. They call it a Mandala, with the nodes that transfer the ghostly energy being the museum and the library. They also learn the location of two other nodes: the Sedgewick hotel and something smack dab in the middle of the Hudson river.

The Rookie, along with Winston, Egon and Ray, head back to the Sedgewick Hotel, now under renovations since their last trip. That hasn't stopped the ghosts from visiting and giving the Ghostbusters their money's worth. This includes an appearance from a killer chef who poisoned not only himself, but several others. However, the biggest challenge is a ghost known as the Spider Witch, a professional 'black widow' who worked during the 1920s and it is suggested that she had supernatural powers back then. The group tries to find the ghostly 13th floor, with Egon and the Rookie being the 'lucky' ones. This was honestly the scariest mission for me (could be due to partial arachnophobia) but the atmosphere and set up to the Spider Witch boss fight was very terrifying compared to past boss fights. Thankfully, the Ghostbusters manage to bust the Spider Witch and close the node in the Sedgewick Hotel.

The final node places them smack dab in the middle of the Hudson River. When they arrive at the coordinates by boat, dubbed 'Ecto-8', a massive island rises up from the sea. They soon realize that it was Shandor's personal island. Exploring the places has revealed how far ahead of time Shandor was, having massive tanks filled with black slime and what looked like a perpetual timer for some big event. The group gets split up, but the Rookie manages to bring everyone together. They figure out that the perpetual timer is the node itself, managing to shut it down. Unfortunately, this leads into a big fight with animated black slime. A few careful hits at its weakspot and the slime goes down, along with the rest of the island. The group heads back to the Ecto-8 just in time, thinking that all is well now.

When they make it back to the firehouse, they find the place trashed. They learn that Selwyn has been kidnapped and their containment unit shut down, releasing all their captured ghosts. They also learn of a massive mausoleum that popped up in Central Park, making it clear that Peck would be there to summon another powerful entity. The Ghostbusters manage to traverse Central Park, now looking more like a graveyard than a park, but end up leaving the Ecto-1 behind when it becomes in operable. They enter the mausoleum and find a tied up Selwyn AND Peck. It turns out the actual perpetrator was the Mayor possessed by the spirit of Ivo Shandor. Apparently, Shandor wasn't too pleased that Gozer was as much of a pushover as he was, losing to the Ghostbusters twice. He opts to become a god himself, calling himself Shandor the Architect. Thankfully, the team doesn't want any of that happening and, by crossing the streams, manage to blast Shandor and stop him from conquering the world. All is well now: the Mayor is back to normal, Venkman gets with Selwyn, and even Peck is rescued (reluctantly).

And that brings about an end to 'Ghostbusters the Game.' Pretty short, but still very enjoyable. Its not often you can get the actors who played the characters voice them in a video game. Personality and story is nailed and shout-outs to past Ghostbuster exploits are laid out in different parts of the game. Be on the lookout for that portrait of Vigo when you can.

Until next time...

Ghostbusters the game was produced by Atari and developed by Terminal Velocity.