Trespasser Review - One arm, no job, no lover. WTF.

Dragon Age: Inquisition has come to an end you guys. Why??? I am so sad and so depressed that I have to wait more than one year until the next Bioware adventure. So how did the Inquisition finish its run? With a bloody bang!!!

First, Trespasser was amazing because it allowed you to say "Goodbye" and have a nice reunion with all your companions. I guess they took cues from The Citadel DLC aka the best DLC ever made. This was very welcome when you know that I spent the last DLCs running around Skyhold to see if I could get a few extra words out of my LI or my favorite party members. Some conversations in Trespasser are more elaborate than others but all in all, I felt really satisfied, especially when there was talk of a wedding with Iron Bull. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Cue the last mission ever in DAI history and you have to fight the Qunaris (my favorites!!!sob sob sob) and go through twenty different Eluvians only to find out that the two most interesting characters in this story are, really, definitely, your enemies. When Iron Bull turned against me, I couldn't believe it. I tweeted Freddie Prince Jr, I tweeted Bioware and DAI, I was in distress! I thought it might have been a twist within a twist but no. The Bull had betrayed me and apparently my Inquisitor was the laughing stock of Thedas for being so gullible. Well, Thanks!!! At the end of the day, my Inquisition was disbanded, I had one arm and killed my (awesome) lover. This was clearly not how I wanted to end my run as the mighty Inquisitor. However, was it thrilling, eye widening, surprising and upsetting? You bet it was. I love being that shaken by a video game, it means I cared about the characters and I cared about the story. The fact that the very last scene clearly, like in your face clear, hints at a new Dragon Age taking place somewhere else (excited!!) was very welcome. I got so pumped about this and really can't wait for the next round of Dragon Age awesomeness. Getting to see Solas again and finding out more information about the overarching plot was a great treat, very much setting up the next chapter of this incredibly intricate journey.

I am not going to lie, I did replay Trespasser with my human character who romanced Cullen. The ending was a tiny bit more satisfying on the romance side!!
I have read some reviews that complain about the loot and about the final map but seriously, who cares about the loot at the very end of the game? I don't care. I care much more about getting answers, more lore, closure with my characters. Go play Diablo if you're in this for the loot.

Until Dawn Review - So many twists!

I actually do not want to review this because I feel like anything I will say will be a spoiler for people who have not played it yet. I am going to keep it short and as spoiler free as I can. My message to you: play this game. There is nothing I didn't like about this game, or should I say, experience. This is a totally new and original way of doing storytelling in a video game. Of course, this cinematic, quick time events, choice driven gameplay has been done before. Heavy Rain comes to mind as one of the most relevant comparison here. They also both have a two word name.

Anyway, let's start with the cast. More and more games try to include first class actors in their projects (Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page...) but rarely have I seen that good of an ensemble cast in a video game. The precise motion capture definitely helped carry through little details like gimmicks and facial expressions. Watching Hayden Panettiere act out Sam's character in the gondola was pretty impressive. The voice over was extraordinary with Brett Dalton being totally in his element, as was Rami Malek.

To be fair, the writing was also stunning and helped make the characters believable and relatable. I usually like to play as one character but because of the intricate story and characters' development, I didn't mind switching back and forth. Mike was probably my favorite character as he can make friends with a little wolf, that was clearly my favorite part of the game. Sony has promoted this game as a "butterfly effect", choice driven game and it truly was. I loved the fact that when making a critical decision, it does tell you that what you just did affected the story. The latter is very cool, especially for a supernatural fan like me. There are twists and turns and shockers and I was never disappointed with the outcome of each little chapter. The publisher and developer did a stunning job at hiding what the story is actually about and only showed us what they wanted us to see. I was truly impressed by that. Until Dawn is obviously a horror story though and I was shitting myself playing it. It was really scary and creepy and all that you want from the genre. I spent about 7 hours on it and I can't wait to replay it and hopefully save more people, but most of all, save the wolf!

By the way, working for Redbox, I can tell you that we exclusively have the prop masks from the game and we are giving them away on Instagram at the end of October! They're super cool for anybody who loved the game:
https://instagram.com/redbox/?hl=en

Dear Fat People - and why I loathe America

First off, let me tell you that I am the most pro American person you will ever meet. I love this country and all that it represents. I love the land, the people and the culture. However, after living here for 1 year, I have noticed a couple of things that make me miss my British fellows a lot.

Americans are way too prude and politically correct. Seriously, take a chill pill. I never thought it would be possible to be offended by so many things. Why so serious? The Joker should seriously pay you a visit you guys. This is blatantly obvious when celebrities say something they think and have to apologize ten times. This is also too obvious in the workplace. I hate it. Coming from London and a very inclusive work environment, I hate the fact that I can't joke around with my coworkers and that I can't ask someone I have known for about 6 months if they are gay. To me, these things are just normal and I want to be able to have an open, honest and deep relationship with people I meet, no mater their sexual orientation, religion or what not. I do not care. I just want to be able to talk about it because if you don't, this is exactly when the problems develop and you end up living in this limbo of "should I, shouldn't I" that is way worse. Talking about my gay coworkers' boyfriend shouldn't be offensive, not to my coworker and not to other people who might be around. Having someone on the phone at work saying that "lesbian and gay kids are the problem in our society", yes, that is offensive (the guy who said that was obese by the way, and lazy and mean). Having an inquisitive conversation about someone you like as a person: not offensive.

Then there is comedy. Banter as I call it. That's also not allowed. I personally do not care. I will joke around and pick on you as much as I can. I will poke fun at your age, your religion, your height, your work. I make jokes and I am sarcastic. Are all these based on stereotypes, first impressions and generalization, of course. Something's funny not because it's abstract and a work of fiction, it's funny because there is an element of truth behind it. I am French. Our stereotype: we're lazy, eat a tone of baguettes and are libertines. All true. All not offensive. There obviously are people who are hard working (not many), some that only have 1 sexual partner in their life (unlikely but ok) and some that do not eat baguette (this is impossible). You can make as much fun of me as you want, I will never take offense, you know why? Because I know who I am and I am not threatened by anything one might say.

Now, I am sure everybody has been debating this "Dear Fat People" video from Nicole Arbour. I have to say, this is one of the funniest thing I have ever seen. Everything she says in this video is true and people who are obese, as she clearly says, not just chubby but obese, and eating more than their body weight at every meal need to be made fun of. This is ridiculous. And before everybody comes jumping at me as they did her, don't start about fucking depression and shit. Some people are not depressed, some are just lazy asses who want to eat whatever they want, are greedy, lazy and stupid, that's just a fact. They just don't give a fuck (pretty sure they're the same people who don't recycle and obviously are not vegan). Now, why is everybody so offended by this video? I do not understand. She's right on every single point and I think that's what people cannot stomach. They know it's true but political correctness and bullshit prevent them from being smart. You should be able to make fun of anything and everyone, especially when they deserve it. People who have fun and joke about things are actually the ones that are the less prejudiced and the more open minded of them all. If I joke about gay people it's because I am that comfortable with it (my mom is a lesbian). We should all embrace that, it would make for a much more open, fun and bearable world! Below, the socially relevant, bullshit breaking, incredibly smart and hilarious Nicole Arbour: