True Detective: Night Country... Reviewed!

Before I get started, shout out to the WB for supplying a copy of this show for our review. My opinions are my own.

 Story: True Detective: Night Country is an interesting blink and you'll miss the action type of show that follows a blunt detective by the name of Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and the kinda sorta religious Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis). Set in Alaska, this psychological horror like show... is set around the disappearance of eight scientists and the investigative process. During the investigation, you will see the various ups and downs that take place in the lives of the detectives, including both of them experiencing other worldly things. When I saw a hand touch Liz, and then it was gone when she looked, I was like... "Oh hell no". The show would've been called 'Goodbye Alaska' if it were me, with a spin off called... 'Hello Florida!'.

Things start to rev up as the detectives uncover more information about the incident at the Arctic Research Station. It has a certain charm that I feel most would appreciate (especially those curious about Alaska), just keep an eye on the action or you'll miss certain key moments for sure. I mention this because when the action isn't high, some viewers may tune out, but the backstory of the characters also plays a part in the story. Speaking of which, one thing I didn't like about Liz is how selfish she can be, literally crapping on Officer Prior's relationship. She tried to be understanding, but no one wants to hear it when they're trying to keep their relationship intact while also following orders of the chief to keep their job. It wasn't the standard shift, it was her calling him and pulling him away from his family. I get it to a small degree, but not when it was completely avoidable because she couldn't put the bottle down (like... WTH?!).

You'll see how her blunt ways affect her relationships in general, and Jodie Foster did a great job. Seeing how rugged she would act at times in this role would make me chuckle... because I've seen people just annoyed with everything at times and so they want to make every word sting (but the way she would do it was funny at times). One situation I understood completely was a certain relationship she opposed, but she needs to work on those soft skills in general (even though I understand to an extent why she doesn't care about much anymore, but... it's the wrong job to be in on that note). Eventually Liz and Evangeline hit a certain point where their beliefs bump heads too and another dot will be connected before the trail gets hot again.

This gives me 'The Outsider' vibes to an extent, but... its different. I think they try to mix one too many things in for the sake of making it well rounded, but it runs the risk of losing some viewers in the sauce. Overall it's showcasing the hectic and complicated lives of two detectives taking on one of the craziest cases they've ever experienced, and it ends on a note that a number of people will appreciate. I won't get into the details of why some may have wanted an entirely different ending, but... you'll see what I mean when you grab your copy of True Detective: Night Country on Blu-Ray.

Before I wrap this section up, I will say that i'm glad they left a certain situation regarding a particular woman... unfinished because it leaves the door open for more.

 Visuals: Visually, the show serves up a cold and unforgiving atmosphere to represent the Alaskan setting. I thought "Night Country" meant that Alaska had multiple days of darkness, but you'll see what it means when you watch the show. It's fitting though, because most of the scenes were at night, and the overall show is on the dark & spooky side. You get some laughs here and there, but that cold rigid and dark theme are maintained. You get plenty of mids, some dolly shots tucked in, over-the-shoulder shots, POV, close-up's and more.

This is an undeniably nice angle.

 Audio: When it comes to the audio, it's served up in DTS-HD MA & Dolby Digital 5.1. I wrestled with this one. Good audio elements were there (i.e. most of the chilling screams), but... audio didn't draw me in as much as it could have. One thing I noticed with the scenes is they were a bit hard to hear, where as others were loud or had certain elements that sounded as if they peaked out. Luckily the peak didn't occur alot, but... they could've tightened things up a bit more. I found myself increasing and decreasing the volume, especially during the intro... which was a bit annoying.

 Price: True Detective: Night Country... is $29.98 on Blu-Ray and $24.98 on DVD. If you can get the Blu-Ray... the extra $5 for the visual boost is worth it. I think the sweet spot for the SRP would've been $5 less for both options, but... no worries, we have the hook up!

In addition to the standard show, you also get extras:

• Meet the True Detectives - Cast Q&A
• New Chapter
• Exploring Indigenous Themes
• Max Inkblots
• Setting Featurette
• Atmospheric Teases

Story 5

Visuals 5

Audio 3

Price 5

4.5 out of 5 Cool Points

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The Cushion Designed for Gaming!

The Signifier... Reviewed!

Before I jump into this review... shout out to Raw Fury for supplying a copy of the game!

The Signifier is... hmmm, creepy, scary, and... cool at the same time.

Story: The Signifier is a first-person tech-noir game where you step into the shoes of Frederick Russel, an AI + psychology expert. Fredrick is also a pioneer as far as deep brain scans go, and he dives into those scans via his Dreamwalker technology. He utilizes the tech to make sense of the person and a situation they may have been involved in to determine what happened.

It's very interesting. The tech records the senses + unconscious realms of the mind... so you know it's not going to be a dive into a standard world once you connect.

What you're utilizing is this controversial tech for this time around is to assist in making sense of a recent death. Specifically, you have to find out the truth behind the death of a VP from the biggest tech company in the world. You will see certain things with your bare eyes, but what else is there? That's when the badassness starts to rev up because you aren't just visiting a crime scene... you're a detective and you feel like one... in your pursuit of the truth.

As far as the replay value goes, don't worry about this game being a one time play through... because you have multiple endings in this game (based on your decisions).

Visuals: Visuals... visuals, they can be nice and realistic when you're in the games "real world", but when you're using the Dreamwalker... it looks artsy in an abstract way (or... just creepy as hell). Take a bunch of paper and piece together an image and that's what you (kinda sorta) get in the Dreamwalker based on segments gathered by the scans.

Real-world (Frederick's Lab)

Generated world (using Dreamwalker)

The developer does a good job of changing the atmosphere to give you the chills as you progress in the story. You could go from one spot and see a change in the environment and even the audio. Freaky.

Gameplay: As far as the gameplay goes... there isn't much to the controls as far as complexity goes, but the simple controls don't take away from the action or the challenge. The game can be linear, but the developers took advantage of it by adding other elements in there like... deciphering raw data to figure out where in the space it's meant to go. You can also unlock different areas by approaching an area differently (hint hint).

You get bits and pieces of the recreated world based on what was scanned from the brain... and you have to search through that world in order to uncover more areas of the person's mind. You have to solve puzzles, gather clues, and switch between objective and subjective states in order to put things together. The more you fill in the blanks, the clearer the picture is as far as the recreations go... and you end up going deeper which gives you more access to clues that you will put to use in the outside world in order to help progress the case. I'm telling you... it's interesting + eerie.

One con I can give the game... is its stiffness, the animation could be a bit more smooth... but it doesn't affect the experience.

Price: The Signifier comes in at... $19.99 with the Deluxe Edition coming in at only $21.99 ($2 bucks more = just grab the better edition if you want the soundtrack). Solid price for a really interesting experience.

Story 5

Visuals 5

Gameplay 5

Price 5

5 out of 5 Cool Points

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Spousal support demands for Dr. Dre + don't rush into relationships!

The Sinking City... Reviewed!

The Sinking City is... odd in an interesting way.

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you... things are moving in the image.

The Sinking City is an action adventure... horror game, placing you firmly into the drenched shoes of a detective by the name of... Charles Reed. In a (BioShock'sh + Silent Hill-like) world full of all types of crazy looking monsters, it doesn't hurt to have a character with special abilities and a Sherlock Holmes "Mind Palace" way of collecting evidence.

While interesting enough in terms of doing detective work, The Sinking City has moments of frustration (for me) that seem to drag on and on at times. I can't lie... I was bored and annoyed, but part of the challenge is to seek out and gather evidence (which should be more interesting to those with a major interest in detective related games, shows, and this H.P. Lovecraft story).

The detective work isn't always intriguing, until you start to build up the clues. When you start to gather those clues (look out)... that's when the game really starts to come to life and puts you hot on the trail of completing an objective.

The visuals in this game are fantastic, including the crazy looking monsters. This game also reminds me that Audio should be added in to the Visual category (Audio+Visuals) because it did a good job of delivering both (visuals more so)... and I love the way it sounds when you're onto something getting ready to solve it. You know something's getting ready to go down based on the build up. The sounds of the guns sound the best, followed by the voice overs.

One thing i'm not crazy about is how things begin to look when using retrocognition is used for too long. The detective feels like he's on one tripped out adventure with those illusions, psychosis and psychological episodes... and with the way it looks at times... i'm not that far behind).

The Sinking City takes place in the 1920s, and looks the part. Venturing into Oakmont... you can definitely tell that the sea is encroaching onto the island. You have dead sea life laying in the street... and it looks really cool in a grim way.

The monsters in this game want you as dead as the sea life (or is it sea dead?) that you come across... so beware and use your weapons wisely, bullets are currency too.

That shows how real things are, but... what doesn't help the mood are a lot of NPCs. There are people just walking around casually in this crazy place with friggin monsters running around (monsters!)... and few seem concerned that they could become a meal while going for a stroll. This takes away from the tension, which can be cool at times if you need a break from it... but i'd rather the NPCs make a mad dash for shelter or something. Even the NPCs ran in Crazy Taxi from almost two decades ago.

Replay value definitely arises with the various side quests, because it could have merely delivered the main story and left the game feeling super linear. So i'm glad they did their game justice in that regard... and did the Lovecraft fan base justice by giving more missions to serve up additional lore.

You get around 18 to 22 hours of main story, and about 35 to 40 hours of full game play if you complete all the side quests.

Another thing that adds to the replay value, are the types of... skills.

You get three different categories, which are... combat proficiency, vigor, and... mind.

Combat Proficiency... helps you improve the effectiveness of your traps, firebombs, grenades, (good old) accuracy, damage, and... guns' capacity.

Vigor skills deliver... the ability to hold more ammo, first aid, grenades, and more in your inventory. You also get reduced damage, increased melee damage, and increased health.

Mind skills deliver... increase the XP earning, increased sanity, double the rewards, and efficiency in crafting.

Tip: Start with Unnatural Recovery!

The Sinking City comes in at full retail price... which is an ambition price, but... it feels better at $49.99 to compete with some of the more polished titles.

Fun Factor 3.5

Replay Value 5

Visuals 5

Price 5

4.6 out of 5 Cool Points

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

The Invisible Hours

The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery playable with or without a VR headset. Players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion.

A group of strangers receive a curious invitation from the enigmatic inventor, Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered.

Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem.

The player is invisible, with freedom to follow and observe anyone in the story – or to explore the mansion for hidden clues.

The Invisible Hours... is available now.

游戏开始！

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

Call of Cthulhu

DESCRIPTION

Call of Cthulhu, the official videogame inspired by Chaosium's classic pen and paper RPG, brings you deep into a world of creeping madness and shrouded Old Gods within Lovecraft's iconic universe. 

1924. Private Investigator Pierce is sent to look into the tragic death of the Hawkins family on the isolated Darkwater Island. Soon enough, Pierce is pulled into a terrifying world of conspiracies, cultists, and cosmic horrors. Nothing is as it seems. Sanity is an irregular bedfellow, all too often replaced by whisperings in the dark. Strange creatures, weird science, and sinister cults dominate the Cthulhu Mythos, intent on realizing their mad schemes to bring about the end of everything.

Your mind will suffer - between sanity and psychosis, your senses will be disrupted until you question the reality of everything around you. Trust no one. Slinking shadows hide lurking figures… and all the while, the Great Dreamer prepares for his awakening.

游戏开始！

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!

Unavowed

DESCRIPTION

A demon possessed you one year ago. Since that day, you unwillingly tore a trail of bloodshed through New York City. Your salvation comes in the form of the Unavowed – an ancient society dedicated to stopping evil.

You are free, but your world is in tatters. You have no home, no friends, and are wanted by the police. Your old life is gone, but perhaps you can start a new one. Join the ranks of the Unavowed, and fight against the oncoming darkness.

Features:

• Choose a male or female protagonist
• Three playable origin stories
• Branching story-line
• A total of four companion characters to choose from, each with their own talents and abilities.
• Twice the resolution of a typical Wadjet Eye Game!
• All the usual guff – voice acting, commentary, original music, etc

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