Review of Heir to the Jedi

Before I start this review it would be a good idea to show just what has changed in the Star Wars canon. Going forward these are the only stories considered official canon.

Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne is the third book published in this new canon era. The story centers on Luke, post Battle of Yavin, trying to find his place in the Rebel Alliance as well as attempting to expand his knowledge of the Force, taking on an assignment to recruit an Imperial defector with the help of a skilled pilot/sniper. What follows is a series of smaller adventures that eventually lead to a somewhat rushed conclusion. Hearne makes a surprising move by writing the novel in the first-person perspective, this hasn't been done since the 1997 book I, Jedi. Doing so allows for elements not available in traditional Star Wars novels.This new perspective helps to explore Luke and how he feels. While in older books the reader would know what all the characters are thinking and where their allegiances lie, Luke doesn't have that ability and it adds an air of uncertainty as to who he can trust. It's insightful to hear from Luke himself what he thinks happened to him during his run of the Death Star's trench, wondering if Ben's voice was a hallucination or a glimpse into something greater, and this extends to his thoughts on the Force. Having only been told briefly about the Dark Side and what a Jedi is, it's no wonder Luke has no idea what he should do, and that is one of this book's biggest strengths. I couldn't help but smile every time Luke made progress with self-taught Force Powers, from trying to Mind Trick a guard only to learn it's not all in the hand motion, to something more mundane like moving a fork, Hearne nails it in exploring Luke's progress towards becoming a Jedi.
 Where Heir to the Jedi falters is in it's story. It feels like this book would have been served better as a series rather than a one-shot. So many times the smaller stories seemed to be setting up some larger events only to be thrown away in favor of continuing towards Luke's goal. I really wanted to explore the swamp world with a hidden Jedi tomb and the uncharted planet of invisible brain eating spiders, but both of these, and others, are simply stepping stones quickly forgotten as the plot advances. This is only worsened by a somewhat rushed conclusion that leaves a few unresolved issues. The new supporting characters are more than replacements for other more established ones, but few really left much of an impression. Most only serve as providers of exposition or to direct back to the main plot. Luke is given a new romantic interest that could have been developed further had this been serialized, as it is the connection feels a little forced (pun intended) and limits the impact it has on him. On a more positive note, Heir does give readers some new elements to consider when watching Empire Strikes Back. For me, it's hard not to picture Luke's memories of this book's events popping up in his head at certain points, and almost adds to his reaction in certain situations. What could have been a fantastic ongoing series about Luke exploring the Force and having fantastic adventures along the way is unfortunately watered down to an all to brief glimpse into the life of a farm boy turned hero. I hope Hearne is given more opportunities to explore this time in Luke's life, but if not this wasn't an entirely wasted trip.

Final Score 4/5 stars

Opinion: DLC Gamer Rage

Ok, I typically don't do this but I feel like it has to be said.

 WTF is up with DLC?

Allow me to explain. Earlier today Game Informer posted this article

 http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/04/28/batman-arkham-knight-season-pass-to-include-more-story-villains-challenges-skins.aspx

To Sum up, if you want all the dlc for Arkham Knight it'll cost you $39.99. That is almost as much as the game itself costs. At what point did game companies decide it's better to release a game and charge for the rest of it later over making a complete game. Back in the day dlc actually meant something. After a game was released developers that wanted to make something more could offer just that, more. More story, more gear, more everything. Most of these were complete expansions upon the main game that really added value to them. Nowadays most dlc is on the disk at launch and needs you to pay to unlock them. It's like we're getting charged twice for what should be available right from the start.

I'm sure devs and publishers have their reasons for some dlc (not enough time before release, etc) but at what point do we stop and say enough is enough? What's worse is most don't even provide enough content to match the price. A lot of dlc in season passes usually involves character skins or extra maps that don't actually affect the gameplay or the story at all. It just feels like gamers as a whole have just come to expect we don't pay for the game, we pay for the first part of the game and then pay more if we want more.

 The other part which bothers me almost as much is when they release a "Game of the Year" edition, people who wait long enough can get the whole package without paying an extra cent. At what point did it become logical to punish those who support a game at launch by charging them almost double what late adapters get for nothing?

I'm sure it's a business model that won't change anytime soon, but boy do I wish it would.

Building Your Own Lightsaber on a Budget.

With Episode VII on the way this holiday I really wanted to get into the spirit of things with a new lightsaber, unfortunately I am broke and have no knowledge in regards to electronics. As such i went to various cosplay sites and eventually tracked down the potential for Lowe's to be the birthplace of a weapon for a more civilized age.

Here you will see all the parts collected, a pop up sink drain, some brass pipe, various washers and gaskets, and a sink hole cover.

 

 Starting here i put washers on the pipe to create my grip and affixed some parts of the drain kit to make the emitter.

 

Getting them put together was really easy and required no tools, i simply covered the part of the drain in the pipe with smaller washers and electrical tape to create a firm hold.

 

The power button was the trickiest thing. I spent almost an hour in various local craft stores looking for something when i found a bag of spare Chinese checkers and discovered they fit perfectly.

 

The blade is a wooden dowel covered in duct tape to create the blade color, I went with yellow as its the color of Jedi Sentinels in KOTOR and to me that's still canon!

 The finished product

 

Of course I had to make a Sith blade to go along with it.

Been a while.

Sorry to have not posted in a long time, broken computers can cause that. will hopefully be more active very soon.

Holy Crap!

So yeah, I'm speechless. For those who don't know, I posted a review of Bioshock on this blog as part of an application to become a reviewer for the Xbox 360 version of Witcher 2. I've been waiting since monday for an answer, then I found this doozy of an email in my inbox. 

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have this opportunity. Once the game gets here and I have some time to play I will be posting a review of it here.

Bioshock Review for Xbox 360

Imagine you find yourself in the middle of the ocean surrounded by the remains of a plane, in the distance an unmarked lighthouse seems your only possible choice. As you enter the bathysphere housed within, you are shown a video of Andrew Ryan’s vision of a perfect world. However, as you enter the underwater city of Rapture, you come to realize things have gone very wrong. The citizens have been driven mad by genetic splicing, this is the world you find yourself in. Welcome to Bioshock. 

This game, which was 2K’s 2007 game of the year for Xbox 360 is great for many reasons. The first point that needs to be talked about is the story. The story of Bioshock is a rollercoaster of suspense and surprise. No other game has had such a compelling world created around a single idea, but in Bioshock the world around you has a story of its own. Throughout the city of Rapture you can find audio logs which provide a rich and detailed backstory to the enviroment around which the game is played.

Bioshock is a First Person Shooter first and foremost, but while you can use guns, you are encouraged to use “plasmids” Bioshock’s form of genetic modification. Plasmids give you abilities that can drastically change the way you play the game. You can use Electro-bolt to shock your opponents to death, or use Incinerate to burn them to a crisp. Others are even more entertaining to watch, use Swarm to call a hive of bees from your arm and watch as the Splicers of Rapture run in fear. Plasmids are found in the game or you can buy them with ADAM, a drug used as currency for plasmid stations.

The game uses a great mix of FPS and RPG elements to create a unique and accessible control. While you can customize and perfect your weapons, you can also level up your abilities and make them stronger too. This also opens up Bioshock’s use of choice. Do you want to be a gunfighter or a plasmid powerhouse? The choice is yours. Another thing to keep in mind are the Little Sisters. These little girls are the moral dilemma of Bioshock, you can be a hero and save them for a minor reward of ADAM, or you can take a darker path and harvest the poor girls for the maximum ADAM possible. This choice not only effects the story, but also how you can play the game, less ADAM means less plasmids, but whatever the case the choice is yours, and that is what Bioshock is meant for.

In the end not many games can hold up to what Bioshock does in both story and performance. The graphics are superb and the controls couldn’t be any easier. The world of Rapture is terrifying and chaotic, but it is an adrenaline fueled ride you will never forget. It’s games like this that make it worth being a gamer.

New York Comic Con 2012 COSPLAY!!!!!!!!!

I finally got my taxes taken care of, and with my return I'm planning on making a trip to NYC for Comic Con 2012. Last year me and Katie (My Fiance`) went as Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers.

 



 This year I really wanted to up the ante, so with the release of Mass Effect 3 this year I figured there was no better time than now to honor it by making my own N7 armor.

Unfortunatley with my schedule and budget I will not be able to get anything like the premium replica kind, so instead I'm going to mock up my own. I'll be starting with a Star Wars Clone trooper foam armor costume (the armor's form and outline match the N7 armor) and I will be painting it.

What I'd like to have 

What I'm Starting With

What I hope to finish with (photoshopped)

I will be posting all future articles relating to this as "NYCC 2012 N7" 

so if you want to follow my progress, or have any helpful tips or suggestions, keep your eyes here.