Let's Play NEPTUNIA VII - Didn't expect this!

I was not familiar with the Neptunia series before picking up Megadimension Neptunia VII so I really didn't know what to expect. The game came out in February in the US (in 2015 in Japan) and I thought I would give it a try. As everybody knows, I love a good RPG and I am a sucker for female protagonists so when I saw that this game was basically a female fest, I went for it whole heartedly. I am usually not a fan of Japanese games but it did look good in the trailer so I had to try it. (I have been a long time fan of Final Fantasy though, until Final Fantasy XIII).

The whole thing is pretty straightforward and simple. This is a turn base combat RPG with some degree of crafting, customization and strategy. The levels are very linear and there is close to no cinematic or animation. The whole thing is told through drawings. Mind you, they are very pretty and appealing drawings. I actually loved the concept art A LOT.

The style is very anime and recognizable but they did it really well, with popping colors and distinctive designs for each characters. The latter are very cool. Some of them are whiny and slightly annoying but that is part of the tone of the game. They were never Final Fantasy XIII Vanille annoying though. Their voices were just super high pitched and they talked like they were Valley girls (however, I very much appreciated the dubbing quality). Apart from that, they had great personalities, cute outfits and very neat combat animations. There are two things that really surprised me in Neptunia VII. 1) The story is amazing. Granted, it has a Power Rangers feel to it with mega monsters destroying cities and the girls morphing into "superheroes" but the meta aspect of this game is refreshing. I am not sure if the series always broke through the 4th wall but I thoroughly enjoyed that. The world is called "Gameindustri" and the girls are "CPUs". They also often talk about the fact that they cannot die because they are the protagonists and the fact that they need to talk to the writers about things they don't like. I really enjoyed that. 2) I got some hints of cheekiness in the first lines of dialogue but I just thought it was my filthy mind. Well, it was not. It was all real. This game is definitely cheeky. The dialogue totally uses double meanings and the girls sometimes shower together, because, tits. The drawings for that part were still amazing, if unnecessary. I just thought it was very funny and unexpected. I am looking forward to more girls showers and pillow fights!

Below is my playthrough of the 1st hour and 1st mission. Unfortunately, the shower scene only came later!! Did you play it? If so, what did you think? I personally give it a 5/5, partly because I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game and I really didn't expect it to be that entertaining. Some people who played the previous games in the series might have a different opinion, but having a fresh look at this title, I really didn't want anything more out of it. I had fun, I was intrigued and sucked in Gameindustri, loved the characters and the gameplay. I am off to play some more.

Power Rangers Reveal!!!

I had to discuss the below:

First of all, let me start by stating the obvious: I am beyond excited for this 2017 reboot of the Power Rangers. I have loved them throughout my childhood and I was a huge fan of the 1993 movie. I dragged my dad to the theater to see it dubbed in French. I am telling you, it doesn't make it any better.

Now we get to have a look at the Rangers themselves. And what do I think? I think they're bloody amazing. They look so tough!! DAMN! The first thing they talked about when releasing the photo was diversity. I don't think they had to mention it, Yay, you did a good job, do you want a parade? To me this group just looks like an obvious representation of today's youth. Not just because they are diverse but because they seem to be from different backgrounds, culture and seem to have very different and distinct personalities. Also, they look like they can kick ass with style and that is really what matters most. The girls look like strong heroines that could potentially be awesome role models and the guys are freaking hot so this works on every level for a woman like me! I can't wait to watch this. Also, Elizabeth Banks is in this movie and it totally satisfies the more mature side of me.

What did you guys think of the reveal? Are you excited??

Dragon Age Keep: "Print your Tapestry option" reaction

Was there something missing from my grown ass woman's house walls? You bet there was: a Dragon Age Tapestry!

Bioware just came out with this new #amazing feature for the Dragon Age Keep: printing your own tapestry. I realize, as I am typing this sentence, that it is not OK for a 28 year old to write this. It wouldn't make any sort of sense to any normal person out there. However, it does to us Bioware crazies and addicts and super fans.

I have already voiced my love for Dragon Age's distinct aesthetic and beautiful recognizable drawings and they have made these available in the past through their store. Today though, they make it possible for fans to print their very own story and very own art. I mean #mindblown.
To me, Bioware already signified  engagement, individual and personal stories and visceral attachment to my customized world, but today, they took it to the next level. Most people will not see the appeal or the significance I do in this small feature. But to me, this is Bioware staying Bioware, and it means a lot in the wake of Mass Effect Andromeda's release later this year. Dragon Age Inquisition has come and gone but they keep bringing these little tokens to us, immersing us consistently in the universe and bringing the universe into our real (sucky compared to DA) life. This is constant, sweet and welcomed fan servicing at its best. I could go on and on about this but all there is to say is thank you Bioware for being the most awesome game developer of our time and keep being you forever and ever.

Fallout 4 - How easy is it to create a sexy character?

How many times can I say the word "prominent" in a video? Well you can find out by watching my "how to make a sexy Fallout 4 character" video, it should be a drinking game.

I just wanted to take some time to talk about the now old Fallout 4 character creator. The latter exercise in imagination and wishful thinking is one of my favorite part of any RPG and I always find myself spending hours and hours creating and re creating my characters. Granted, most of us do, but this is how Dragon Age: Origins hooked me back into the world of gaming so it has a very special place in my heart.

I do like Bethesda's ability at making a great character creation tool and we've seen them do it time and time again with Elder Scrolls so it is no surprise the Fallout 4 version is as good. In my video I mention that I really liked the recent Final Fantasy XIV one and I stand by this. I thought it was one of the greatest. I suppose that the fact that FF XIV aesthetic is much more rooted in fantasy and anime makes for a more entertaining experience. It gives you so much more freedom and options with your character that it's pretty difficult to beat. I was able to choose some awesome outfits, ears, tales, races and I could go on for a long time. Even though Elder Scrolls had different races to choose from, the realism was still too important to really let your imagination loose. But this is the type of game we are dealing with here: realistic representation of a fantasy world, so your character needs to be somewhat relatable.

I will compare Fallout 4 character creator with DAI's. Even though, as an overall game I much prefer DAI, the character creator was fairly lacking. You didn't have much option when it came to hair, unless you wanted to choose between 3mm or 5mm on your head. The different features were also limited to a few choices and unless you went with the Elf, you couldn't really add much to a human's face. I understand the constraint of realism and I am aware that there are lady gamers out there that want for their female hero to be as realistic as possible but I am not in that camp. For sure. I know people who want their female warrior to exclusively have short hair because that would be the practical choice in that situation. They also do not want their warrior or soldier to use skimpy outfits and show some skin because, should you be in the situation of fighting off a horde of Reapers or creepy monsters of the Wasteland, you certainly would cover yourself with as much armor as possible. Well, I say fuck feminism and equality. I want my characters to be both bad ass AND fashionable! Nothing made me happier than seeing Shepard fight her way through the Citadel defenses in her little black dress (Citadel DLC). I want super long hair that get tangled in branches while fighting dragons and skirts that don't stop bullets.

I have to say that Fallout 4 gave me some of the tools to make that happen but still, no hair below the shoulders my dear friends!! I still tried to make a sexy Fallout 4 hero and I think I succeeded, because who said that short hair wasn't super attractive? What do you think of my character? Have you managed to make a sexier, better female in Fallout 4? What's your favorite character creator? 

I give Fallout 4 three cats out of 5 for their tool...

Jessica Jones Season 1 - Anything to say?

I waited a while to watch Jessica Jones but I decided to start about 3 weeks ago with a pace of about 1 episode a day (with a break in the middle as I was moving houses).
I did watch Daredevil and didn't like it at all so I was fairly reluctant to watch this new Marvel/Netflix collaboration. Again, old age, prejudices, habits, all that. It thought it was going to be Daredevil with a girl.

However, we had to find something to watch during dinner as we finished the 6 seasons of Lost and none of the current shows were back on TV yet. Don't go thinking that we don't have anything to say to each other and that's the reason why we watch TV during dinner, it's just that we both love TV Shows but also want to keep the rest of the night to play video games. We talk about our day while it is happening through gmail so we pretty much have said everything we needed comes dinner! No judging!!

Anywho. We decided to give Jessica Jones a go. If that failed, we would have settled on rewatching X-Files from the beginning. Well, it turns out that this new Marvel "superhero" is pretty damn cool. The first episode totally hooked me. I find it to be extremely rare nowadays to find a TV show that has the ability to grab my attention and interest from its first episode. I feel like I have to watch at least 3 episodes to be really committed. With Jessica Jones, I wanted to watch the second episode right away and only had positive things to say about its pilot. And that is a feat in itself.
A colleague of mine said that he watched the whole season and hated it. First, why would you watch 13 episodes of something if you have a shit time with it? His argument was that the story was far fetched and unfocused. He also argued that the main character, Jessica Jones, wasn't a hero at all and that she wasn't the type of character he wanted to follow for a season. I have a problem with everything he said!

First, I found the story and plot arc to be perfectly steady and exponential throughout the season. Even though the core of the season's plot is not introduced right away, there's enough meat to the story and the characters to set up an interesting premise. Throughout the season, the main plot is always part of the episode in some way and there's no "baddie of the week", which I loved. Everything is tied together very neatly and if you actually look back at the first few episodes, random plot points or dialogue actually make a lot of sense and tie in with the overall season arc. The side plots were also thrilling. I never once minded knowing more about supporting characters. It is fairly tricky to make side plots work. There's always some that you will just not care about. That didn't happen for me in Jessica Jones. Also, every story that you thought was a side note actually links back to the main plot and the main villain. By the way, the latter was absolutely amazing.

As a European who live 5 years in England, David Tennant will always be Dr Who, no matter what he does. However, he was a very believable and appealing villain. He made this psychotic murderous mind controller compelling and likable. Of course, he is a crazy killer and he's totally evil, but he has a way about him that makes you love him and empathize whenever he's sad or angry. To me, that is the mark of a complex and worthwhile villain. This is the type of villain that makes you reconsider your allegiance to the "hero". It's all the more true when the hero is very flawed and the lines blur between good and evil. I am going to end on the hero, Jessica Jones. She's the hero because she's obviously the title character and she is the focus of the story. However, just like my colleague mentioned, she's not your typical heroin. She drinks all the time, she's very selfish and narrow minded and she is emotionally wounded and weak. However, I don't think this makes her less of a hero. To me, she's more of a hero because of these traits. She's on a journey and she is trying. The latter is what makes a hero. Also, she's totally badass and overcomes her fears and reminds me of Buffy so I love her! Period.

I can't wait for a second season and I hope they'll make many more after that. Have you guys made it past the first episodes? What did you think of the season? Let me know! I personally give it 5/5 cats.

The Witch - Salem's prequel

Good witch stories are hard to come by, as we saw with the Magicians! I quite liked the TV Show SALEM so this movie was right up my alley. I had heard quite a bit about The Witch before watching it. It was praised at several film festivals for a while now and I am glad I got to see it.

The first half of this movie, while being very creepy and dark focused mostly on this family who got banished from their New England village. You could believe that the time period chosen is cliche for a movie dealing with magic but I will always love seeing a historical background to a more supernatural premise. I feel like it anchors it in reality and makes it very believable. Having a huge passion for history and supernatural, this movie really pulled the right strings for me. It did help that the production design and costumes were absolutely stunning, I enjoyed the fact that they spent some time reflecting on the wilderness that America was when settlers from England arrived. You really understand the struggle and the anguish people must have felt when moving to this new and untamed part of the world. This is one of the reason, apart from religious fanaticism, that made people turn against each other. In any case, the viewer is graced with beautiful landscapes and scenery, really planting the decor for this story.

The characters in the Witch totally drew me in from the get go. Everybody's performance was outstanding, especially the children's. I found myself hating some characters within minutes and rooting for others in the same amount of time. I really cared about everybody's fate, whether I wanted them to die in agony or prevail. The fact that most of this movie is about a family's dynamic in this harsh environment is very interesting and makes the whole story so much more enticing. The casting was so good that the characters totally worked on every level. Catherine, the mom, was so creepy it was really easy to hate her. The dad was just cutting wood all the time, Once he looked like a half naked Jesus cutting wood. I felt like it was the way to relieve stress back in the day. There was no gym so I guess cutting wood was the next best thing! The twins were also the most annoying characters I have seen. I just wanted them to get slaughtered quickly. In this stressful, tensed and quiet environment, they were only a source of disturbance and cacophony. They also scarred and tortured that poor little goat and I hated that. Urgh those kids. Speaking of animals, there is a sweet little dog living with this crazy family and I tried to find whether the dog dies online and couldn't find any information. So I had to keep watching. Well, the dog dies, and I wish I'd known because I would have stopped watching. I fast forwarded through it though. I hate movies where animals are killed or in pain or anything similar to that. If you are like me, just don't watch The Witch. Thankfully, the body count was pretty high on the human side too so I was happy with the balance.

The music and sounds in this film are what really stood out for me. A good "horror" movie always needs to play with sound and silence smartly. I felt like they totally achieved that beautifully. There's not a lot of dialogue in the first part of the film and often there is no noise at all, which makes for a very eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere. I imagine this to be much like it was in that time period though. For me, it not only added to the creepy supernatural nature of the film, it added to the realism of the situation. If there was one tiny fault I was forced to find with this movie it would be the fact that the first 20 minutes were slightly confusing and left the viewer asking many questions. However, it totally hooked me so I am not sure it was a bad thing.
There are some very disturbing scenes in the Witch. One of which involved a nipple and a crow and boy, I had a hard time watching that! Everybody in this family basically went mad and I love how the magic is, as it is in most Salem related stories, a metaphor for settlers insecurities and paranoia induced by religious fanaticism and need for survival. Religion is bloody crazy, this is what I will take away from this film, The Witch is very much a focused use case for the Salem trials within the family nucleus. It left me wanting more and stay within the world and follow the rest of the main character's story. That's a job well done!

5/5 CATS!

The Magicians - SyFy is so magic you guys!

It's been a very long time since I started a new TV show and even longer since I reviewed one! I decided to get back in it with a bloody great one...The Magicians!
If you haven't heard of it or seen it, it's a new SyFy fantasy that I only knew about because of the billboard I see everyday when I go to work. The poster looked pretty damn cool and I love fantasy so why the hell not give it a try.

Going into it I knew it wouldn't have the highest production value, it is SyFy after all. However, it's not the production value that jumped at me for being below par. The effects and cinematography were actually pretty decent. I found the color grading slightly too much as they wanted to achieve that undersaturated look of brooding teen fantasy. But I can totally live with that. I was very much intrigued when the lead was introduced to us. He's charismatic and different from the usual male characters you get in fantasy fiction. The first few scenes involving him and his girl friend weren't half as bad, they even were compelling. However, the acting and the bloody sanity of it all took a huge turn once the magic really kicked in.

I loved the fact that the latter was actually cool. I always find myself disappointed whenever magic is introduced as a power. For me, magic either means spells that can protect your entire house from Vampires (Buffy) or fireballs and electric cages (all RPGs ever). When I first saw Harry Potter for example, one of the thing I hated was the lack of coolness in this actual awesome power. They just wiggled wands as they recited super long nonsense just to light a bloody candle. We all know that real magic doesn't require a staff or wand!!! (I am going to get hate for this!). Anywho. I liked that the supernatural in this show was a little more super than usual when dealing with magic. However, the reaction to it by our main characters was just unbelievable in its strictest sense. We basically get a one liner on why these two 20 something are predestined to be magicians and, people, it's because they did magic tricks in high school. That's it. Fast forward 3 minutes and here they are, propelled in this hidden enchanted school without questioning 1. What the fuck is going on 2. Why there are there 3. How is magic real 4. What the fuck is going on. Also, the tone of it all is way too serious. In the first 24 minutes, there was 1 joke, that's it. It didn't even land right. When dealing with fantasy and powers, the number 1 and most important rule is to take it lightly or to aim it a children.

The characters in The Magicians were just not self aware enough, especially the two leads, to make this believable and entertaining. And the thing is, they had very decent actors all around to deliver good dialogue, the problem is that none of these talented people got a good line out of their script. One scene, to me, totally defined this pilot and it was the "Flashdance" scene. The lead, Quentin, gets in front of a panel of judges to basically be accepted into this school he never heard of 2 seconds ago. He has to perform a magic trick with a deck of cards and gets yelled at, very terrifyingly, by the Dean. The dude gets in his face and yells at him and scares the shit of Quentin so hard that he does awesome magic. First, I do not think it's legal to bully someone into applying for your school and second, it's not legal either to threaten a kid into performing any sort of entertainment...Whilst we are on the subject of the supporting cast, the two senior students Quentin makes instant friends with are so cliche. Also, why would they be friends with this awkward new kid? And very mean to the pretty blonde talented one? That doesn't make a drop of sense for anybody who actually went to any school.

Suffice it to say that they really rushed through this pilot to try and cram as much information as humanly possible in it. The exposition and character developments could have been fleshed out a lot more to make this an interesting first dive into what could have been a decent attempt at a story about magic and people who can harness it. Perhaps they took more time with the next episodes, I sure hope they did, for their sake, because at this point, I really don't care if this show is renewed or not!

1 cat out of 5 for the good use of magic!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - because I completely forgot to write about it a month ago

Like every curious person on this planet, it was my duty to go see this new Star Wars. Bloody Star Wars. Weeks, or should I say, MONTHS before it came out, I really couldn't bear the hype. I am all for sci-fi in every form and I would have been so excited for this movie if it didn't have the name Star Wars attached to it. Because of this, my whole Facebook feed was an unstoppable stream of Star Wars news and videos and interviews and images. At that point, I think I would have punched R2D2 if he rolled up to me (and I LOVE him).

I guess I wasn't as excited by the prospect of a new Star Wars and all the pre-movie buzz because I was never really a Star Wars fan. I was born way after the first movies and my dad was a lot more into Die Hard type movies than Star Wars to take the time to show me the originals. I think I stumbled upon them on TV at some point but found them so very cheesy. However, I fell in love with the Ewoks and I watched all the Ewoks adventures through their TV movie and their cartoons. Loved that stuff when I was a kid. The movies just were too intricate for me at that age. Then came the sequels when I was a teenager. My taste in movies was not fully fledged and I kinda enjoyed these new stories.

To be fair, at 14, I totally adored Anakin (Hayden's version) so I watched them all several times and imagined myself as Padme, of course. I think I watched them again in my 20s and I noticed how terrible they were and how cliche and cheesy and how the dialogue was meant for 10 year olds. Seriously. So really, I dived in this new iteration with super low expectations and a lot of irritation. The saving grace was JJ. This dude!! Sitting down in the theater and starting to watch this monster of a movie, I found myself laughing about 2 minutes in. And that was it. I knew I was in for a very good ride. It was clever. That's everything I wanted from a film set in this epic universe.

The Star Wars universe always very much intrigued me and I love everything about it. Jedis, chosen ones, epic battles, robots, intergalactic travels, awesome ships, interesting races and mythology. These were always great. However, I always felt like nobody took advantage of it. To me, the best piece of content ever to come out of this world is "The Old Republic" from Bioware. That's what I wanted to experience in this universe. I now feel like the movie side has caught up to this. The visuals were stunning and totally propelled you back in the great adventure that Star Wars is. Thanks to new technology but also brilliant vision, the universe came to life in an effortless way. I really wanted to live and experience that world and be a part of it.

Setting and universe aside, the characters brought life to a very good story. Even though we are just repeating a winning formula, I don't see anything wrong with that. To me, Avatar repeated a winning story but did it so well that it didn't bother me in the slightest. How many romantic comedies that have the exact same plot have been released since 1980? To me that's not even a point to make. The movie is continuing the epic story that was started before, adding some side plots that are very relevant and giving this one movie a villain to defeat. I love that they stayed consistent with the originals and are going to keep Kylo Ren long term. I really do not like the "villain of the day" format that movies serve us most of the time. That's why I really like Hydra in the Marvel universe and do not care for the interchangeable villains they give us in the individual movies. Apart from the evolving villain that we seem to have in this new Star Wars, the heroes and supporting characters were also awesome. And my favorite one was BB8, There is no way BB8 is not everybody's favorite character. I thought R2D2 was cute and awesome but BB8 was designed to overload this movie with cuteness and comic relief. I am not sure how many times the whole movie theater went "awwwwww" when he was rolling around. This thing is genius. Giving life and soul to voiceless characters has always been Star Wars' strength but they climbed to a very different level here. Chewy's conversations with Han were also brilliant. I feel like I am going to gloss over Rey and Finn but to me they were just part of a bigger ensemble that worked really well.

Of course, they're great actors, did an awesome job and Rey is now probably many girls' role model. And thank god for that. I am so glad that we now have a strong female Jedi at the center of this universe, this obviously makes it so much more appealing to me.
All in all, I have to say that Star Wars was my favorite movie this year and one of my favorite movie ever. I am quite saddened JJ is not going to come back for the sequel but I have hopes they now have a good idea of what Star Wars needs to be for fans and franchise newbies alike.

I didn't do a cat rating video on this one but if I did, it would get a 5/5 cats.

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.

Jaws of Hakkon Review - Thank God for DAI

When it comes to DLC, Bioware has very rarely disappointed me. Obviously, since the extraordinarily brilliant Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3, I have been pretty biased and have had faith in anything they are releasing. I don't think I have ever played such an emotional, well written, bad ass story. The one liners were witty, the inside jokes were flying and the clone storyline was very cool. However, I like that for DAI, this DLC was taking place after the win, since the Inquisitor had a very happy ending. I was looking forward to Jaws of Hakkon since I have beat DAI 8 times and wanted something new to play with. To be fair, there were a few releases that grabbed my attention (Bloodborne, The Witcher III, ESO) but it's been pretty boring and dry in terms of video game releases. I was sad when they announced Jaws for Xbox One only but I knew it wouldn't be too long until we get it for PS4. I tried to stay away from any sort of spoiler, playthrough videos or reviews so I could go in unbiased. I have been pacing myself and still haven't cleared the whole map just yet. I don't want to run out of DAI goodness too early.

I am impressed by this DLC release. This is my verdict. It is no Citadel DLC as there is unfortunately no big party members reunion or new dialogue with your LI but there is definitely some fun to be had. I am grateful for this new, gigantic map. It is intricate and interesting, completely different from any other map that we encountered in the main game. The landscapes are very pretty with sunsets that are actually breathtaking. The feel of this new land is specific, with indigenous species and sounds. The camps high up in the trees are original and the architecture is, as always, detailed. When you have played through every main game's maps 8 times, it is very refreshing to discover a brand new world, with new enemies and new sights.

That is one of the achievement of this DLC. However, it is fairly easy to release a new map that would be empty of meaning and just stand on its own, not blending with the rest of the main story. This, I found, was not the case in Jaws of Hakkon. I very much liked the quest and its meaning. I thought including scout Harding tied everything together nicely. I was impatient to know the end and discover all the mysteries surrounding the 1st inquisitor, and this is a sign of good storytelling right there. If I had only a few complaints about this DLC, it is that your romance choice doesn't seem to matter so much. There is obviously new banter between your characters, which is welcomed, but not once is the relationship with your LI mentioned. I wish there could have been an additional scene in Skyhold, perhaps another Wicked Grace scene or another love scene thrown in there for good measure. On the other hand, I liked the new available high stats gear and the additional Inquisitor ability which made leveling up much more relevant. All in all, Jaws of Hakkon is a delightful new addition to one of my favorite game and I definitely long for more. DAI is such a vast world, there is material for a fourth game, but in the meantime, I will happily spend more time with Iron Bull, Varric and my kick ass Inquisitor in any DLC story the Bioware team crafts masterfully. Also, thank god for this DLC, I almost killed myself after 10 minutes of The Order...

Game of Thrones is back - and it is the same

Game of Thrones is obviously one of the most popular piece of television today. I do not like it. I tend to have a controversial opinion about many things, but I love The Walking Dead and I am pretty sure millions of other people do too. I am not hating on Game of Thrones just to spark a good debate. I have reasons.

The Fifth season kicked off last night and it seems like some people loved it, others were disappointed. Compared to other episodes of this cluttered show, I found this one pretty bearable. Thinking about it now, I don't even remember where the episode started, strengthening my belief that Game of Thrones is just too overwhelming to be considered quality television. It is appealing, for sure. Who doesn't love fantasy, dragons, political intrigue, sword fights and beautiful kings and queens. It seems like it was written for me. I love this stuff. However, when a puzzle doesn't fit together to make a magnificent picture fast enough, no matter the appeal of the individual pieces, I just lose interest and clear the table Cullen style.

So the first episode of Season 5 started with who knows who and who knows where but there are several things I remember clearly: Daenerys is surprised that after leaving her sweet dragons in chain they're not grateful to see her. Jon Snow is totally going to have fire sex with the weird witch person. Some noble's kid can't fight for shit. Cersei has always been a selfish narcissistic psychopath and she is mad at both Tyrion and Jaime. Speaking of Tyrion, he's on some sort of balcony speaking with the big bold guy I never bothered to learn the name. I mean, some of it was entertaining enough but as always, these 2 minutes story lines just make me dizzy.

I do not want to spend 45 seconds with Littlefinger and Sensa when the only piece of information I get out of it is boring and irrelevant. To me, Game of Thrones still feels like there is going to be 100 seasons and the writers can take all the time in the world to "develop" 30 different characters boning in 30 different locations and going in totally opposite directions. Show me what matters. Show me who matters. A viewer's time is precious and I still do not understand how people choose to watch this chaotic and ever changing piece of content which doesn't allow for neither character nor story development.

The Vampire Diaries - now we're talking

I am pretty good at saying things are rubbish but I believe I am equally fair when something is good. I was very upset with the last few Vampire Diaries episodes I watched and I have been pretty vocal about it. Now, we have tonight's episode and I need to give credit where credit is due.

Back from a short break, I feel like The Vampire Diaries has (finally) found its footing this season. It might only be for a short while, it might only be for this episode Ian directed, but it was a thrilling 45 minutes. It was fun, it was funny, it was witty. Was it the lack of coven/twin bullshit? The more focused story? Was it the minimal Elena screen time? The lack of teen hero cheesiness? I believe it was all of the above. They re-focused the plot and wrote a brilliant arc for Caroline. To the writers' credit, they have wrote no humanity Caroline perfectly. She's witty and snappy and if Caroline was my favorite character before, she is now ranking up there with the likes of Katherine Pierce and Elijah Mickaelson. Caroline is a character I care about and I am glad we got to see more of her. Also, props to Candice Accola who is extremely believable and on point, making the cutest villain. The end was also excellent and the twist was clever. I am looking forward to seeing where this is going but looking at what they have done in the past, I fear this rocking story won't last for very long. After all, this is a vampire show, it was bloody time they acted like vampires again. Here is hoping.

Dragon Age Inquisition - Multiplayer thoughts

I have obviously bought DAI when it came out but I have only signed up for Playstation Plus yesterday. Any past and subsequent Dragon Age games were and will always be epic single player adventures for me. I have never been a fan of MMOs either, no story, and I have never been a fan of multiplayer add ons. The Mass Effect multiplayer was fun enough but it lost its appeal fast for me as it was too repetitive and didn't feel like a Mass Effect experience. That is why I postponed playing the DAI multiplayer. I kept seeing all these multiplayer events popping up on social media and the DA team referring to players as agents and I was intrigued. How can I possibly enjoy the DAI multiplayer I thought? Oh boy. Do I enjoy it. The first thing that appealed to me was the similarity between the single campaign and the multiplayer menus and design. The crafting, the inventory, everything is streamlined to be more concise but it is the same clear and familiar design which is great. The chests are presented to you by an Inquisition soldier and in it you can find your usual loot items but they are portrayed on cards, as the DA world is now depicted. It's so easy and pretty and consistent it's perfect.

The starting characters are good and what you expect them to be. All the races are there and as you put more hours into it you will be able to unlock the best of them ie: Reaver and Arcane Warrior in my humble opinion. The best part is that you are feeling like the matches you do actually matter and are part of the Inquisition. They have added the voices of Cullen, Leliana and Josephine to make you feel like your are truly on a mission for the Inquisitor which is so welcomed. Also, I had the chance to play with people with mics who were wondering what the dwarf legionnaire was talking about when the line about the Deep Roads came up. What?? You don't know about the Deep Roads? Let me educate you! It was amazing to share my knowledge of Thedas with someone who just got DAI and who hasn't played through the whole series. I can't wait to put hours into this, participate in the weekend events, meet fans like me and just have a fun time playing in the Inquisition world, in Thedas, forever!

Supernatural "About a Boy" - should have been called "back on track"

I thought I wouldn't talk about each episode of a show and just concentrate on season/mid season premieres and finales but I felt like this episode deserved a little something.

The episode started off pretty slow and I thought that there would be too much time spent on the mark of Cain and Dean being all mopey but it turned out they decided to leave this out of the way for a while to grant us a great Supernatural episode. There is a lot they did right in "About a Boy" and most importantly, this is the no-fuss Supernatural that we all love. It didn't take itself seriously, it was funny as hell and it was very entertaining. Do we care a lot about the tie in with the coven and the witches business? not really. It's a nice add-on and it's lovely to see the story go somewhere interesting but I would have enjoyed this episode as much if it was just a sweet stand alone treat. We are used to having funny episode, especially with Dean providing the laughs in Yellow Fever, The Mystery Spot, Changing Channels or The French Mistake. I was very surprised that this episode didn't feature much of Jensen Ackles and yet, the comedic timing was perfect. I find myself remember the episode and actually seeing Jensen on screen, not Dylan Everett. This youngster was fabulous, in my humble opinion. I thought he had the same gestures, mimics, way of talking than Dean. It was great acting all around. Props to him.


Props also to the writers who managed to keep Dean alive through his dialogue lines. You know a character is iconic and has personality when you can put his lines into someone else's mouth and they still sound right. I adored the writing in this episode and all the pop culture references they included, like Bieber, One Direction and Taylor Swift. I loved seeing Sam react to those the way the viewer also did, that was very satisfying.

All in all, this was great Supernatural quality, it was funny, witty and thrilling. They added a bit more insight into the overarching plot but they stayed focused on the boys and that was welcomed. You go on for 10 more years like that lovelies, I won't have anything bad to say.

The Vampire Diaries Mid Season Return - Is there anything to salvage?

The Vampire Diaries came back to our screens two days ago with the episode I Woke Up With A Monster. Good old Vampire Diaries. I haven't wrote about this show yet so I have to get this off my chest: Changing the rules and the lore is WRONG. You can't just change things as you please to suit your needs. It's just not right, especially with a fantasy show where the lore is everything. As an adept of good lore and extraordinary worlds, Vampire Diaries fails at every turn. Even though this is a teen vampire show, from which I don't expect much quality, I was completely down for it until it all became too much to swallow. When everybody can just resurrect and come back whenever they like, there is definitely something weird going on. It just all stopped making sense and they added way too many loopholes. Let me tell you Vampire Diaries, I feel betrayed!

At least in the first few seasons, they were consistent and stuck to the lore and had people actually die when they should die. Also, Season 6 had to introduce this weird coven storyline which is extremely dull compared to previous seasons'. Is it me or are the twins very irrelevant and superfluous? I do not find their story interesting in the slightest. Anyway, now to the episode at hand.

Of course, when Elena wanted to talk to Damon, she got abducted, very easily at that. But she gets to hang out with Kai and this guy is the most exciting thing to spawn out of the producers' minds since Klaus and Elijah. He's different, he's a breath of fresh air with a great personality. I adore his sarcasm and his dark humor; the Vampire Diaries needs that type of character to give it a little "humph". The scene at the grill was again a good display of his wit and it was entertaining. But after this compelling dialogue, or dare I say monologue, we are back to that coven nonsense and I am very sorry but I don't care about the fate of any of these people. I am kind of hoping Kai kills the three of them and we'd be done with it. I liked seeing Caroline preppy and happy as we used to see her. I didn't like the whiny and desperate version of her. I thought she spent too long mopping about Stefan in the last episodes. I got back what I like about her character in this episode.

Then Elena had to come back on screen, urgh. Is it me or has her acting ability declined over the years? She is definitely not the most convincing actor when she has to play "hurt" or "suffering". Oh and come on, that glimmer of hope in her eyes when Kai tells her about his brother, like, get a fucking clue! You get from angry-as-hell and telling-him-that-he's-an-evil-bastard and that he-doesn't-care-about-anybody to, "oh maybe there is some good in you" in two seconds. Bullshit. Even Elena isn't that gullible right? But apparently she is or the people who wrote this episode thought she was as, at the end of the episode, she spits out, at the worst possible time, the worst line in the world "I've never felt more alive". No. No. No. I have written about the cheesiness and dullness of The Flash's writing. Holy cow, The Vampire Diaries trumped that with just one little line. Can you be more cliche? Nope. Also, who washes a shirt that has been completely torn apart by A. a stake and B. the hand of someone looking in your guts through your shirt! Give me a break. Everything is done to shove dialogue and scenes down the throat of the viewers, no matter if the surrounding elements make sense or not. And they don't. 

The Order: 1886 new trailer - The Story So Far

We have known for a while that The Order was beautiful and that every man in it would have a mustache. But we haven't heard much about this game so far and it's a little worrying when it is launching in just a month. Remember the YEAR leading to Dragon Age: Inquisition? News after news after news after trailer after demos after Twitch streams. Obviously I am a Bioware fan so I was following those developments very carefully but I am following IGN, Game Insider and every other gaming publication and I have definitely not seen as much as I should have for a game coming out in a month.

But they released a new trailer (below) and that's a good thing. I am not sure what to expect from this game apart from the beautiful graphics and the mustaches. I love those mustaches. It has been said that the devs didn't want to give away too many story spoilers and even though the new trailer was focused on just that, I didn't think it did any disfavor to the story. If anything, it made me more excited for it because I now know there is good meaty content in there. I was worried this game would be a darker rendition of Assassin's Creed but I am pleased there is little more story to chew on in The Order. There also seems to be more interesting characters with their own story to tell. "Why did you choose that mustache and when did you know that it was the right choice for you?". That sort of thing.

The gunplay they showed in that trailer is pretty much what they have already shown and it looks great. I am not sure how hard it will be but, as a sword wielder, hopefully Mass Effect level hard. I am digging the anachronistic weapons too. I mean, in a world where "half breeds" exist, you can take creative licenses and get away with it. Looking at the trailer I was thinking that I would love to craft some of those weapons and some of those cool looking coat armors but it is not a RPG. Damn it. But the focus of this trailer was the story and the story looks intriguing. The game looks a bit overly serious for my liking. Apart from "the pint" comment, there is not much in there that lets me think that I will have as a good time with the characters as I did with Drake, Ellie or Varric. We shall see! Mustaches!

Supernatural mid season return thoughts - Evil Dean FTW

Who is not a fan of Supernatural? I believe this show has the most prominent fan base ever and you can see memes of Dean just about everywhere on the internet. But how did the Season 10 mid season come back fared last night? I dare say pretty well. Who doesn't like an evil Dean? Everybody loves an evil Dean. I think over the years, the most satisfying story lines we got where when one of the boys turned evil. I mean, Sam drinking demon blood has to be my favorite moment of the show. Now Dean is going full on psychopath because of the mark of Cain
and I love it. He's just more badass than usual, what's wrong with that? They obviously need to get rid of that mark however, so the sweet kitten Dean can make a come back and not go on a rampage every time someone cuts in line in front of him. And that's where Metatron enters the playing field. This little piece of shit. This guy's face is just unbearable it's ridiculous. Great casting if you ask me and as usual, the dude is unhelpful and vicious.

The most interesting part of this episode however, was happening below ground for me: in hell. Everybody has come to adore Crowley who is your typical anti-hero. He's so adorable and funny, even if he kills people - which we haven't seen him do in a while - you can't help but root for the guy. He's part of the boys club now - Not moose, Moose, Cas and the demon on the brothers' shoulders. We all love him. There is an interesting intrigue going on in Hell with Crowley's witchy Scottish mother. First, what an accent. I just wish I could hear her talk forever. Second, she's pretty good at whatever scheme she has put together. We're still not sure what exactly she wants, but if the clues from last night gave us anything is that she wants to be Queen of hell in place of her baby boy. That would suck! You wish that Crowley would see through her and just kick her huge head out but he doesn't. Yet. It is somewhat understandable when you have seen Crowley be a pretty shady King so far and it would be more than natural if he had a few rebellious subject in his ranks. He always had doubts about the stability of his reign and the loyalty of his subject. His mom is just playing on that and it is working.

We all hope Crowley gets the better of her, with her Scottish accent, her tiny body and her big head. Anyway, this is a good side story that also involves the first blade so we're all in. Obviously, this is the first episode of the second half of the season so I expected it to be plot heavy. I doubt they will continue like this in the next episodes. As we know and have come to expect, Supernatural focuses on the main plot from episode 1 to 2, 10 to 12 and 21 to 23. The previous "monster of the week" episodes have been pretty great so far this season so I am not bothered about that at all. We all saw that Supernatural had been renewed for an eleventh season too. It has surprised me to hear this since the end of Season 6 to be honest but I love the creative licences they took these past seasons and I hope they keep doing that in the next ones. We love a Supernatural that doesn't take itself too seriously and I have faith it will stay that way. However, I am wondering where the plot is going to go after this Demon Dean/Mark of Cain business. Is it going to be Sam's turn to be evil again? Is one of them going to die at the end of this season as usual? There are two sure things, Metatron is up to something and Hell will be in peril if Crowley gets the boot. Whatever happens, I will be watching, because it's Supernatural and Dean approves.

Dragon Age Keep - Why this was a bright idea

There is usually not much to do while waiting for your favorite video game franchise to spawn a new title. This is obviously without counting on the brilliant minds at Bioware to create something like Dragon Age Keep. This thing is genius.

For people who have played through the previous games and all the DLCs, it's handy to have one place where you can record all your choices and remind yourself of the story you have been creating over the years. Obviously, with the change to next gen consoles, Dragon Age Keep has all your games information no matter what changes come in the future. I think it's great. I also loved the fact that Varric was the one telling the Dragon Age story in the video, he is, after all, our story teller and hearing his voice again before DAI was a sweet treat. I am also very fond of the layout and the design they have come up with. It's very much scalable and if other games or DLCs needed to be added to the Tapestry, that wouldn't be a problem at all as you are going through the timeline very seamlessly.

I liked that the emphasis was on artwork as well, it's very pretty and in line with the Dragon Age feel and aesthetic. It's very appealing and eye pleasing if you ask me. I was pleased to see that the tiles changed with every different possible choice. Also, it doesn't discriminate in term of choices you can record or not. Like in-game principles, every choice you have made matters. You are not just recording whether you sided with the Templars or the Mages in Kirkwall, you are also recording who you romanced and if you chose to kill a minor character or not. I think that's awesome and it does justice to the story you have chosen for yourself in the past games. I am very much looking forward to adding my DAI choices in there, as well as my next DLC and (hopefully) games to the Tapestry. I was also impressed by the fact that you can save different world states and you are not stuck with one. The Last Court was also a lovely addition to the Keep while waiting for DAI to come out. Again, this is one of Dragon Age's great strength to actually add to the gamer's experience (see books etc.) while staying in the world they love, with characters they know. Not everybody will be excited by this type of mini game but it was a welcome side note you could delve into for a while.

I also think Dragon Age Keep is a great tool for gamers who haven't played through the previous Dragon Age installments and are band new to the world of Thedas and the franchise. I always feel sad for these people who don't know the lore and the inside jokes. But at least Dragon Age Keep give them a place where they can review the world and be as up to date as possible on the events and the characters involved in that great story. I hope it helped them enjoy the game as it should be enjoyed: an exciting part of a bigger and grander intrigue. I also hope they will use the Keep to record their DAI experience once the feature is available so that they can start to be part of this great world that is Dragon Age.