E-Book Release: The Last Dragon Key

A world in ruin. A strange boy with no memory of his past. A young hunter who must protect him.

In a desolate future ten thousand years from now, in a world scorched by the fires of ancient wars, Zorah, a young hunter of the desert Frontier, rescues a mysterious boy named Nene from the wreckage of a crashed airship. Nene is being hunted by the tyrannical empire of the Legion and by the rebel forces who oppose the Legion’s rule. Both sides believe he is the key to a powerful weapon of the past – a weapon that could turn the tide of the war once and for all.

Zorah believes such a weapon should never be unleashed, and she vows to protect Nene from those who desire to control him. While great aerial warships battle in the skies, Zorah and Nene journey across a world of mysterious ruins, fantastical machines and bio-mechanical monsters, as they search for the truth about Nene’s origins. But Zorah soon learns that Nene is no ordinary boy. He is a living relic of the Forgotten Age. A link to the ultimate weapon of the past. Nene is the last Dragon Key.

Now Playing: Blade & Sorcery (VR)

Blade & Sorcery is a VR medieval fantasy combat sandbox. It’s not, admittedly, much of a ‘game’ at the time of writing, but it’s still one of the most popular VR games on Steam. And honestly, I don’t expect B&S to ever be much more than it presently is. I’m not expecting a grand story or quests. If anything, B&S serves as an excellent template for melee combat in future VR games, because anything less would feel like a step back from what B&S has established.

Unlike many VR games, B&S simulates your entire body in VR – arms and legs included. Once you pass the limited character creation tool, you’ll find yourself standing before a mirror in all your virtual glory. Thanks to the controllers tracking the motion of your hands, your virtual arms react and move surprisingly well, but the legs . . . well, it’s best not to worry about those.

There are 4 combat maps – Arena, Ruins, Market and Canyon. Within these maps you can explore (free locomotion, so be sure to get your VR legs ready) and spawn various enemies to fight from a limited selection of modes. I prefer the 1v1 ‘Classic’ mode, because group fights can get a little . . . messy – although these do become easier to manage once you’re more familiar with the combat system. There are also options for team based fights, but unless I’m missing something obvious, it’s hard to tell friend from foe.

Combat in B&S is physics based, with the game simulating the weight of each weapon. Daggers, for example, are fast and light, but a two handed axe is heavy and slow. Because you can’t really simulate ‘weight’ with a VR controller, you have to role play a little depending upon what weapon you have equipped – and there’s a decent selection available from swords, spears, bows, axes and shields.

You can’t just waggle your controllers and expect to connect a strike – you need to take the weight of your weapon into account, so if you’re using a heavier weapon, your movements should reflect that by being more slow and deliberate. Once you wrap your head around this notion, the combat suddenly makes a lot more sense.

In addition to weapons you also have magic – well, 1 magic spell, at the time of writing, at least. It’s an electric burst you can use to stun your opponents. You also have a telekinetic ability that allows you to pick up and collect weapons at a distance – even using them to attack en route. It basically makes you a Jedi – and it’s no surprise that the most popular mod for B&S is a Star Wars mod.

B&S isn’t very difficult once you understand the combat and you’ll be happily chopping your way through multiple enemies with ease. It makes you feel like the ultimate wizard/warrior badass. But with limited modes and maps, and a lack of difficulty, why does it continue to be so popular? What makes you want to keep playing?

I suppose the answer is the same for any physics based sandbox experience – it’s to push the system to see what you can do. It’s to experiment with different weapons or attack combinations. It’s to see just how cool you can look taking down a group of enemies in a variety of creative and brutal ways. Like Pavlov, B&S is another VR game that is enhanced by community mods and content – but I’d say B&S isn’t as reliant upon them as Pavlov currently is.

Before I wrap this up, I need to give a warning about the size of the play area B&S requires. I don’t have a massive VR play space so I had to be very careful when playing B&S. It’s true that you don’t need to physically ‘move’ all that much from one spot if you use the free locomotion/snap turning to get about, but it’s not half as fun if you do. B&S is a game that certainly benefits from having as much space to move and swing your arms about as possible.

Overall, B&S may only be a limited sandbox but it’s also some of the most fun you can currently have in VR. It’s not much of a ‘game’ but, as I’ve said, it is the perfect template for other VR games going forward. It’s established how virtual combat can and should be handled and for that it should be commended.

6/10

Now Watching: The Rise of Skywalker

The Rise of Skywalker is a glorious mess and I f**king loved it. I enjoyed every moment from ridiculous beginning to ridiculous end. It doesn’t make a lick of sense but I can’t say I really care. Why? Because nothing in this new Star Wars trilogy really makes a lick of sense and if I could roll with that in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, then it would be hypocritical of me not to roll with it here.

Emperor Palpatine is back! The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t tease this reveal, but announces this major plot revelation in the opening text crawl. And this is where you have to make a choice. The choice is between two very simple questions. The first question is – How? How is Palpatine back? How did he finance and construct a massive fleet in complete secrecy? And How? leads you inevitably onto the endless rabbit hole of Why?

The second question, however, is a far more simple matter – Does it matter? And this is the same dilemma posed by The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. How did The First Order become so strong? Why was ‘The Resistance’ a rag-tag group and not the New Republic Fleet? How did The First Order finance and construct Starkiller Base in complete secrecy? And how did they recover so quickly from the destruction of Starkiller?

If I can roll with The First Order coming out of nowhere to construct a weapon built into the core of a f**king planet, then I can roll with Palpatine coming out of nowhere and building a massive fleet. I really don’t see the difference, and if you say you’re okay with one but not the other then you’re just kidding yourself. Nothing in this new trilogy makes a lick of sense and you’re either okay with that or you’re not.

And if you’re not, that’s totally fine. I’m normally someone who does get hung up on the How? and the Why? I’m normally someone who cares a lot about plot and the Things That Don’t Make Sense. But I’m also someone who, ultimately, cares more about characters than plot, because as I’ve said so many times before, it’s the characters that drive the plot, that invest us in their story, that – particularly in the case of this new trilogy – elevate the rather weak material.

For all their flaws, I enjoyed The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi not for the silly, nonsensical plots, but because I liked Rey, Kylo, Finn and Poe. They were the heart of this new trilogy and whereas The Last Jedi made the mistake of pulling these characters apart, The Rise of Skywalker sensibly brings them back together.

And that’s why I f**king loved this film. I stopped caring about the plot and Star Wars ‘lore’ a long time ago. This trilogy, as I hope I’ve made clear, hasn’t made a lick of sense as far as plot goes from the start. But I’ve stuck with it and continued to enjoy it because I really like these characters. They’re the reason I’m still invested in this new trilogy and The Rise of Skywalker delivers upon that investment.

The opening of the film is a real clusterf**k. All of the key plot points that should have been established in The Last Jedi are instead set up and established in the opening 20-30 minutes of The Rise of Skywalker in a series of scenes moving at breakneck pace. The return of Palpatine is a perfect example of this – it’s something that should have been properly set up and revealed at the end of The Last Jedi, leading to the final confrontation we see here.

It’s almost as if J.J Abrams has crammed as much of the plot of his The Last Jedi into the opening of The Rise of Skywalker as possible. You kind of feel like you’re watching the sequel to a film that didn’t get made, so you have to make do with a breakneck recap to bring you up to speed. None of it really makes sense, but like I said, you’ve just got to roll with it.

And if you’re willing to do that because if, like me, you care more about the characters than the plot, then maybe you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. The Rise of Skywalker is fun, funny in the right places, has some great action, some satisfying character moments and most importantly, a satisfying conclusion to the core Rey/Kylo conflict. It’s also muddled, rushed and doesn’t make a lick of sense, but I think it hits all the key notes, at least for me.

This new Star Wars trilogy really has been a total mess and it’s incredible to see how poorly Disney have handled such a massive financial investment. But despite all its problems, despite all the holes I can pick in each of these films, I still came away feeling positive about them. Yes, The Rise of Skywalker is a f**king mess as far as its plot goes. But it delivered on the things that I was invested in. It resolved them in a way that satisfied me. And that’s why, despite everything else, I really f**king enjoyed it.

6/10

Gallery: Devil May Cry 5

Now Playing: Red Dead Redemption 2

Despite my positive first impressions, Red Dead Redemption 2 was the most disappointing game I played in 2019. The opening chapters were engaging in terms of story, pacing and gameplay. They struck a fine balance between scripted, story based missions and the free form exploration of the extensive open world.

But as RDR2 progressed, that balance began to waver. I’d say the problems began to mount during the third chapter which ended in a way that felt abrupt, unsatisfying and left far too much unresolved. And that would become the ongoing pattern of my RDR2 experience – with each subsequent chapter degrading more than the last.

The story, overall, is still enjoyable and Arthur Morgan is an excellent protagonist. But there are many aspects of the story that left me unsatisfied as they weren’t appropriately explored or resolved. Towards the end of the game, characters who I’d come to like simply disappeared with little word or explanation.

RDR2 isn’t just Arthur’s story, but the story of the gang – the family – he travels with. Interacting with and venturing upon missions with your fellow gang members is a core component of the experience. And that’s why it’s so strange and disappointing that as you approach the conclusion of this story, the majority of these characters become rather irrelevant.

 

The core story of RDR2 is the story of how this family slowly falls apart. The early progression of this story is excellent, but sadly degrades over time resulting in a conclusion that, as I’ve already described, feels abrupt, unsatisfying and leaves far too much unresolved. The final ‘epilogue’ chapters do fix things to a degree, but I still came away feeling deeply unsatisfied by the progression of the narrative.

But as I said, as flawed as I feel the story may be, I did still enjoy this tale and I still think Arthur Morgan is a wonderful protagonist. Unfortunately, my issues with RDR2 aren’t simply limited to the narrative, but to an even more important aspect – the gameplay.

Whilst I prefer games that offer more creative player flexibility in terms of mission design, I’m certainly not opposed to more linear, tightly scripted ‘cinematic’ missions if they’re enjoyable and engaging to play. And whilst there are many missions in RDR2 I thoroughly enjoyed despite their linearity, there are many others I did not.

There are too many missions that feel inconsequential within the core plot. Missions that feel like needless busywork. Missions that . . . well, are just plain boring to play. In one chapter, Arthur and several of his companions take an unexpected detour to a tropical island. Whilst this is a fun diversion and a welcome change of scenery, it’s ultimately a rather pointless diversion that only disrupts the pace of the ongoing core story.

 

There are simply too many missions in RDR2 that I played purely to complete and progress, rather than enjoy. I think you could easily cut a quarter – maybe more – of the missions from the game and you’d have a far more engaging and tightly paced experience. And that’s the weird thing about RDR2 – it has more than enough missions in which to properly tell and explore its story, but it meanders along and squanders far too much time on irrelevant things, resulting in the more important aspects being rushed or resolved in ways that aren’t particularly satisfying.

I was also a little disappointed by the side or ‘stranger’ missions in RDR2, some of which are very good, but many others feel poorly developed. And whilst I enjoyed ‘upgrading’ my camp early in the game, donating various materials or funds, it turned out to be totally pointless by the end and something I regretted wasting so much of my time on.

But if there is one aspect of RDR2 that is truly excellent, it’s the open world you can explore. The attention to detail is staggering and, visually speaking, RDR2 is one of the best looking games you’ll ever play. It’s not just how it looks that’s impressive, however, but how alive the world feels. The landscapes, the weather, the wildlife and the random npc encounters all serve to build what may be the most impressive open world ever constructed.

If I had to sum up my thoughts on the single player side of RDR2 it would be – a bloated, messy, occasionally excellent but frequently dull experience. The good outweighs the bad, but it’s hard not to be disappointed. And that disappointment continues to grow with the multiplayer side of RDR2 – Red Dead Online.

 

I was a big fan of the multiplayer in the original RDR. I sunk countless hours into it. It was the only reason I continued to pay my subscription to X-Box Live for as long as I did. And yet, after only a few short hours in Red Dead Online, I was already bored of it. I stopped playing it and had no incentive to return.

I think there are a few key reasons for this. The first is the lack of an engaging story. Whilst many missions in the core game may be a little dull to play, they’re supported by some good narrative and some excellent characters. But Red Dead Online has very little story or characters to explore. The missions are just . . . missions. Dull missions with no plot or character aspects to elevate them into something a little more engaging.

The map in Red Dead Online is also . . . too big. It seems a strange complaint, but when playing RDO I very rarely saw another player – we were all so spread out across such vast distances that our paths never crossed. And this made the missions even more dull, because whilst it is possible for rival players to join various open world missions to help you – or try to stop you – it’s not something I ever saw or experienced because everyone was so far apart.

The map in the original RDR may have been smaller, but it meant that you were never too far from where the action was. In RDO, travelling so far to try to link up with other players or join an in progress mission to help or hinder is just too much time and trouble to bother – particularly when the rewards are so damn measly.

 

The original also didn’t feel like so much of a grind. Everything in RDO is level locked – weapons, clothes, camp upgrades . . . even ammo types. I understand the intention to give players a long term goal, but I just don’t care. I just want to play for . . . fun? And I just don’t find RDO fun to play, not when I wanted to purchase a new hat for my character and realised I’d have to wait until I was level 30 to do so. A f**king hat.

And don’t even get me started on the completely unnecessary fees to change your appearance, or the ‘virtual stable’ fee or the – and I can’t believe I’m writing this – virtual ‘Horse Insurance’. I guess you could argue that none of these things really matter and they’re not a Big Deal, but just as I found the ‘car insurance’ in GTA Online to be totally ridiculous, I find ‘insuring’ virtual items just as ridiculous here.

Okay, it’s time to wrap this up. Red Dead Redemption 2 was a frustrating and very disappointing experience. Some aspects of it are excellent, but there are far too many negative aspects dragging the overall experience down. I think the worst thing about RDR2 is how I have zero desire to replay it in the future.

Whereas I’ve played the original RDR multiple times, I simply don’t think I have the patience to grind my way through the dull missions and meandering plot of RDR2 in order to experience those few excellent moments. By the end of RDR2 I had to force myself to sit down and finish it and once I had, I had no desire to return. No desire to finish any outstanding bounties, stranger missions or challenges. No desire to replay any missions. No desire to return to Red Dead Online. I was done with the game – glad to be done with the game. Glad I played it, but more glad I’d finally finished it. What a shame.

6/10

Steam Winter Sale: Damage Report

I had a lot on my Steam wishlist going into this sale but, with my time somewhat limited, I wanted to put together a small selection of games that offered a varied range of experiences and would keep me amused until March / April and the release of Half-life: Alyx and Cyberpunk 2077 – provided neither gets delayed.

I began with two more VR games – Blade & Sorcery and Space Pirate Trainer. And I still have I Expect You To Die to play, which I picked up last year.

I’ve wanted to pick up Shadow of the Tomb Raider for some time and with the release of the Definitive Edition and a generous sale discount, I figured now was the time to finally complete this new Tomb Raider trilogy.

Another game I’ve wanted to play for a while is Yakuza Kiwami 2. I’m not expecting it to be as good as Zero, but I hope it can impress me more than Kiwami.

I don’t know anything about GRIS which was something of an impulse purchase based purely upon its visuals. I hope it plays as good as it looks. I also picked up (not pictured here) the upcoming Total War: Three Kingdoms DLC – Mandate of Heaven. I’ve been wanting to get back to 3K for some time, so a new DLC and major game update is just what I – and the game – needs.

And finally we have Halo: Reach, part of the Master Chief Collection. I played Halo 1, 2, 3 and Reach when they originally released, but that was a long time ago now. I recall enjoying Reach on 360 – I even beat it on Legendary if that’s anything to brag about – but I don’t know how I’ll feel about it today.