E-Book Release: Daughter Of The Jackal

Sekhet is a kobi – a young woman of mixed heritage; a child of Khaldun and Tihrak. After she is scarred by the jackal, a creature of the Old Kingdom, the people of her village say she is cursed. Locked in a cage, and defenceless against the unrelenting desert heat, Sekhet waits for death. But she is rescued by the Daughters of Neith – warrior priestesses who serve the Pharaoh.

The Daughters offer Sekhet a place amongst them. They will train her, body and mind, and teach her the secrets of their alchemy. They soon become the family Sekhet has never known, and they accept her for who she is. But Sekhet has changed. The jackal will always be a part of her now, struggling to be unleashed. As a daughter of the jackal, Sekhet has the power to become a great hero – or Khaldun’s greatest villain.

When Sekhet becomes an unwitting pawn in a conspiracy against the Pharaoh, she is forced to go on the run. She journeys to Tihrak, seeking an ancient city beneath the sands. There, Sekhet must face a terrible beast and retrieve a mysterious artefact – the one thing that may save Khaldun and the life of the girl she loves. But if she is to succeed, Sekhet must learn to tame the power of the jackal.

Now Playing: Halo: Reach

I played Halo: Reach on its original release in 2010. A prequel to the original Halo, Reach follows the Spartan Noble Team as they attempt to defend the colony of Reach from invading Covenant forces. I played Halo and Halo 2 at release on the original X-Box, and later Halo 3 on 360. Reach was the last Halo game I played, however, as I never played ODST, 4, or 5. I’m not sure why I never gave 4 a shot back in the day, but I’m sure I’ll give it and ODST a spin when they eventually release as part of the Master Chief Collection.

So it’s been a long time since I played a Halo game and it felt really good jumping back into that universe. It also felt really good just playing a pure, story driven, first person shooter campaign again. We don’t seem to get too many of those these days. Despite its age, there was something very refreshing about playing Reach again today.

Before writing this review, I completed the Reach campaign both in solo and co-op – and on Legendary difficulty, each time. Yes, I’m going to brag about that as sad as it might be, but I am ten years older than when I first did it and I know my reactions aren’t quite as fast, but there was no way I wasn’t going to do it again.

That said, Legendary isn’t so much about fast reactions as it is patience. Some sections can be frustratingly tricky, but you just have to persist until you get it right. And once you do, it’s very satisfying. Playing on Legendary also makes the other difficulties feel rather lacklustre in comparison, so aside from revisiting levels on lower difficulties to grab various missing achievements, you’ll probably stick with Legendary on any other repeat play.

The campaign lasts a solid 6-8 hours depending upon your style of play. There’s lots of sections you can skip entirely if you want to rush (or try to beat the ‘par time’ for each mission) but there’s also lots of little secrets and achievement related Easter eggs to discover if you choose to take your time. The campaign also has a great deal of replay value.

 

Although story based and reliant upon various scripted sequences to progress that story, each mission is, more or less, a free form sandbox in which you can approach each objective in your own way. With a great variety of weapons, vehicles and abilities to choose between, you won’t play each mission in quite the same way twice. And that’s another reason why I enjoy the Legendary difficulty – it really does force you to be creative, think on your feet, and use whatever resources you have at hand. 

The campaign, aside from the difficulty settings, also has score and time challenges in addition to the ‘skull’ modifiers. There’s plenty to keep you engaged if you just play the campaign alone. But Reach has more to offer beyond just the campaign. There’s a solo/co-op Firefight Mode with fully customisable settings to put your combat skills to the test. And, of course, there’s a full suite of multiplayer modes too.

I must admit, I never really got into Halo MP. As much as I enjoy the campaigns, I’ve never really connected with the MP side of the series. I’m not quite sure what it is about it that I just . . . I was going to say ‘don’t like’ but it’s not really a case of like or dislike – I just don’t really care about it. It just doesn’t interest me and that’s something that hasn’t really changed, even today.

 

Visually, this PC version looks pretty great. It’s what I’d describe as a modest, respectful overhaul of the original game – and I’m curious to see how they handle the visuals of the older games in the series, Halo 1 & 2 in particular. The music, as you’d expect, is also pretty great, as it always was in the Halo games.

The campaign of Reach is engaging both in terms of story and gameplay, in solo or in co-op. It’s kind of hard to compare it to the other Halo games I’ve played because it’s been so long since I played them, but I can say I thoroughly enjoyed playing through Reach again today. And as a package, the MCC is pretty great value – 6 games for only 29.99, or 6.99 for each as they release.

And 6.99 for Reach is excellent value given its extensive solo & co-op content, range of customisable modes and MP for those who like that sort of thing. If you’re a veteran of the series, then Reach is still great fun to play today, and if you’re new to the series, then Reach is an excellent place to start.

8/10

Gallery: Red Dead Redemption 2

Now Playing: Space Pirate Trainer (VR)

Space Pirate Trainer is a VR arcade style score attack game. The goal is to shoot your way through multiple levels, each one more challenging than the last. The numbers, variety and rank of each enemy will increase as you progress. There are a few different game modes, but the core formula remains the same – shoot your way to victory and try not to get hit.

Visually, SPT, as one of the ‘early’ VR games, is looking a little rough compared to more recent titles. There’s a noticeable lack of detail and definition to your environment and the enemies you’ll face. These enemies are all of a robot ‘drone’ style, but there’s a decent variety to destroy as you go. You’ll be standing on a platform before an open expanse of space, but whilst your immediate playing area may be limited, you do have room to duck, dive and step from side to side as various lasers and rockets are fired in your direction.

You have two main tools at your disposal – a gun and a ‘laser bat’. You’ll have a gun in each hand, and each gun has a selection of different fire modes that you can switch between as and when you need to. These modes range from a rapid laser shot, to a slow to fire but more powerful railgun blast.

The ‘bat’ on the other hand can be used for either attack or defence – you can use it to drag enemies towards you before slashing them apart, or switch to an alternative ‘shield’ mode that can protect you from and deflect incoming laser fire. You can switch between the gun or the bat in either hand by simply reaching over your shoulder. It’s a smooth and easy system that lets you mix up your play on the fly for whatever you feel the situation requires.

Also mixing up your strategy are a few static defensive options sharing the same platform as you – a tesla coil and a couple of laser turrets – but these must be ‘charged’ with the bat before they can fire, and it’s not always easy to maintain that charge whilst you’re under attack.

As enemies are destroyed they’ll randomly drop various upgrades that you can shoot to enable. These include a friendly drone ship, a deployable bubble shield or even a mini black-hole to suck enemies together for easy kills.

I don’t really have much more to say about SPT, because . . . there’s really nothing more to say about it. It is what it is – a fun, but limited, score attack shooter. The visuals may be a little dated, but the game is still enjoyable to play in short bursts. It’s the kind of thing you’ll jump into for 15-20 minutes here and there to see if you can beat your High Score.

I guess the question is – do I recommend it? I’d say that on sale, it might be worth a go, but honestly, I think you could probably just play the score attack shooter in The Lab (which is free) and you’ll have a better experience. Not that SPT is bad, it’s just a little dated and limited by what it is.

5/10

Now Watching: Joker

Joker was a welcome change of pace compared to other DC films or just comic book films in general. It’s a standalone (or should be) character study of the Joker, or rather, the man who would become the Joker. Set in 1981 it stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, an aspiring stand-up comedian living in Gotham City.

Joker, compared to so many other comic book movies, is relatively low budget – there’s no CGI monsters, epic space battles, or superhuman stunts. Despite the comic book origins, Joker is a film grounded firmly in reality. Touching upon themes of mental health, child abuse and cultural decay, Joker isn’t like most modern comic book films.

That said, I certainly don’t think it’s perfect and I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as I know many people did. My main criticism is the length – too many scenes linger or drag in ways that feel wholly self-indulgent. Joker needed a firmer hand in the editing suite in order to trim and tidy the narrative into a more compelling and appropriately paced experience.

It also needed to end sooner than it did – Joker is one of those films that just doesn’t seem to want to end. It reaches a moment that feels like a perfect conclusion . . . but then it just keeps going. And then it hits what feels like another perfect place to stop . . . but goes on for yet another scene. Like I said, it can feel self-indulgent. Less is sometimes more, and I think Joker would have benefited by a heavier edit and a shorter running time.

And honestly, there’s nothing really that special about Joker as far as the narrative goes. What makes Joker worth watching is Joaquin Phoenix. His performance is what drives everything and keeps you engaged. That said, I really don’t need to see a sequel to Joker and I hope that, despite its success, DC don’t make the mistake of attempting to construct a new ‘cinematic universe’ based upon this film and the character of Arthur Fleck. Just leave it alone, DC. It’s fine. Let it be.

6/10

Now Playing: Mandate of Heaven (DLC)

Mandate of Heaven is the second main DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms. Like the previous DLC (Eight Princes), Mandate of Heaven is set within a new time period but, unlike Eight Princes, which was set nearly 100 years following the original 190 start date, Mandate is set in 182 – a prequel of sorts that leads into the core campaign.

And I think that’s why I picked up this DLC, and not Eight Princes. Whereas Eight Princes felt very disconnected from the original campaign, Mandate of Heaven integrates very cleverly with that setting and its characters. It’s kind of like a ‘mini-campaign’ that leads you into the 190 campaign, but the outcome of which will build a unique starting situation in 190 for many familiar factions and characters – some of which will be very different from their default 190 starting positions.

Characters that you were familiar with in the 190 campaign may already be defeated, or may have been incorporated into other factions. And some characters and factions that emerge in 190 will find a very different map of faction borders awaiting them. I think this aspect of Mandate of Heaven is the thing I like most about it. Once you hit 190, you are essentially playing the ‘core’ campaign again, but it’s a very different campaign sandbox to the one you’ve become familiar with.

 

Back when I reviewed Three Kingdoms, I spoke about how the core campaign needed more fleshing out – more characters, more units, more items and more unique mechanics. I also believed the southern half of the map needed to be better utilised by the AI. And I’m pleased to say that Mandate of Heaven addresses these concerns – it does add more new characters, units, items and faction mechanics. It also sees (at least in the campaigns that I’ve played) the southern half of the map being colonised more rapidly and by different competing factions.

Although you can play as several familiar factions in Mandate of Heaven (others are locked to the 190 start) the focus of this DLC is the conflict between the Han empire and the Yellow Turban rebellion – a rebellion that ultimately leads to the all out war of the 190 period. Although you can still play as the Yellow Turbans in the 190 campaign, those in Mandate of Heaven play a little differently, with their own unique reform trees, units and faction mechanics.

 

Regardless of if you play as the Han aligned factions or the Yellow Turbans, you’ll find yourself locked within a great alliance war – the empire versus the rebels. If you just want to focus on wiping out the Yellow Turbans or defeating the empire, it’s possible to wrap up the campaign as either side fairly quickly, but it’s fun to continue on beyond 190 in this new sandbox that you’ve helped to shape. I also like the fact that you can play as the Han Emperor himself and try to change history and keep the empire together. It’s a little like the Three Kingdoms version of the Western Roman Empire campaign from Total War: Attila.

Included with this DLC was a patch that also adds some welcome (free) additions to the game – siege towers and a range of deployable battlefield defences – towers, wooden stakes and ignitable oil. These, along with the the new units, add some needed variety to the battle side of the game. I can’t really factor these additions into this review, however, because they are part of the free update, not the DLC, but it’s good to see that, like the Warhammer games, each 3K DLC release will also include not only bug fixes and balance improvements, but new free content.

 

Overall, Mandate of Heaven is certainly worth picking up if you’re a fan of the core game and the original campaign. It doesn’t offer a massively new or unique experience, just a tweaked variation of what you already enjoy. I still think 3K needs more love and attention – there’s a ranged cursor bug I reported at release that’s still not been fixed – and I certainly wouldn’t say no to yet more unique character artwork, items and events to further flesh out the campaign.

It’s also going to be interesting to see what DLC they do next. I imagine the next step is to look forward, beyond 190, perhaps to the start of the historical Three Kingdoms period as it existed in reality. If you already own 3K then I’d recommend picking up Mandate of Heaven, although new players should probably begin with the 190 campaign.

7/10