Game Reviews

Murdoch Mysteries Background: In 1997, Maureen Jennings began writing a series of books about a detective. In 2004, three films were produced to loosely replicate the first three novels. The films lasted 90 minutes and were a bit darker is scope. After a total of seven novels were written, the television series premiered in 2008 with new cast members (Yannick Bisson was now set as Murdoch). While the characters and setting are similar, a lot of aspects have been modified from Murdoch's love interest to the removal of some major characters. The series continues today in its 19th season. Although Maureen Jennings spent time writing a number of different novels in the meantime, she did continue the series in 2017 at some time in the future with the detective's son. Setting: Murdoch Mysteries takes place in Toronto, Canada (close to New York) in 1895. He is a detective that regularly introduces futuristic technology in nearly every episode that would have been found unusual durin...

  Comparisons Continuation:  A little more than two years ago, the first season of the live-action version for  One Piece  premiered on Netflix. It was then I decided to take upon myself to write  a comparison article . The details were rather in-depth and probably a bit confusing to take in unless you were familiar with the material. Netflix just released the second season, and things do divert away from both the animated and manga versions. What surprised me was how extensive the episodes in the animation strayed from the original source material from the get-go.  The  Loguetown Arc  is the sixth arc and last story of the East Blue Saga. Only the first live-action episode takes place here, with anime from Episodes 45 - 53 and the manga Chapters #96 - 100.  The anime extends the manga with full-fledged filler episodes with barely anything from the source material. Episodes 46 and 47 follows the manga covers as Buggy's crew mourn his dea...

Game Title:  Ogu and the Secret Forest Released:  July 29, 2024 Game Length:  25 Hours Grade:  A- Gameplay Story:  You are the chosen one that stumbles across a broken world to defeat the Evil God. You need to retrieve six sigils from six different biomes. As the narrative unfolds, you learn that everything was fragmented when one of the four divine beasts underwent a risky endeavor to aid the critters below. That is when trash became sentient and started to overtake the land. There were trials setup to challenge the chosen one in the way of puzzles and obstacles. Mechanics:  The controls are rather simplistic with your own attack coming from a swing from your butterfly net. Eventually, you earn the ability to shield yourself for a second as you headbutt forward to knock out enemy shields. The monkeys will teach you how to dance to heal yourself up to half your health. Full health can be obtained from food, hot springs, hats, and safe zones. This ability is...

Game Title: Roadwarden Released:  September 12, 2022 Game Length:  20 Hours Grade:  A- Goal Quest:  Your primary quest is to explore the peninsula to the north and gain the support of the locals for Hovlavan . You can choose to play a casual game with no time limit, standard game with 40 days, or restrictive game with 30 days. For someone who doesn't know how all the mechanics work or what events will happen, 40 days will not be enough to do everything. An event will happen after 20 days that will allow you to end your adventure sooner. The game also allows you to decide whether you want to report back or to indefinitely stay in the new lands. Your decision will play out in the epilogue. Reputation:  Depending on your appearance, your choices in conversation, and little things like whether you display the Winged Hourglass around your neck can make or break the respect of each faction. If you outright tell someone you aren't going to help them, you can lose a li...