The United Federation of Charles

    This is the funniest thing I've read in ages.

    Seriously.

    I may be biased since I'm a World of Warcraft fan but this is hilarious. Most of the jokes are understandable to someone who hasn't played but those who have, man, they're (no pun intended) golden.

    The book contains references to: auction houses, dungeon raids, re-spawning, fantasy's somewhat questionable female attire, questgivers, and God knows how much else. I've read the story three or four terms and I'm still finding new in-jokes. This is a labor of love and I appreciate that.

    The premise of the John Golden series is fairies have invaded the internet. It's much easier for them to manifest in computer networks than in our world. This interferes with the performance of the systems and, occasionally, the fae steal the souls of their computer's users. As a result, a special class of fairy-hunters exist called Debuggers.

    Debuggers can physically enter the networks and kill the wayward fae inside. This doesn't actually harm the fae since "death" is only temporary for them, but it repairs the network. John Golden is the world's best debugger, in part due to the aid of his disembodied sister Sarah.

    Sarah lost her body in a fairy poker game (don't ask) and has been living in John's laptop ever since. Possessing all the powers of an A.I., Sarah provides John with badly-needed backup in the internet-influenced world of the fae.

    Here, John Golden has found a stereotypical fantasy Dark Lord living in a finance company's servers. John finds out this fae is a refugee from the obscenely popular Heroes of Mazaoth game. Unable to defeat the powerful internet daemon, John needs to figure out a way to get it to return to a life getting killed repeatedly by level-grinding gamers.

    Again, it's hilarious.

    I can't say much more about the story without spoiling it. After all, the book is only sixty-nine pages long. However, it gets funnier by the page. Buy this novella if you own an e-reader, love urban fantasy, and have the slightest familiarity with WOW.

10/10

    28 Days Later is one of the two movies which tell the definitive British zombie apocalypse story. The other is Shaun of the Dead. The first gets referenced a couple of times in Great Bitten but, oddly, not the latter.

    I don't think Great Bitten is going to get many accolades as either film but it does manage to capture an essential British zeitgeist. Which is, of course, "What would it be like in the United Kingdom during the zombie apocalypse?"

    The lens through which this apocalypse is viewed is Warren Fielding. Warren is sort of an ur-British hero as twenty and thirty-something Brits see themselves (or forty-and-fifty-somethings looking back).

    Just the way brown-haired hard men making hard choices represent the way American males like to see themselves, Warren is an anti-establishment working-class background kind of guy who is angry at the world but good-humored about his distaste for everything.

    He's quintessentially British. At least to anyone born during the 1980s to early 90s.

    I know this, oddly, because every single one of my England-born players made the same basic character for our online Tabletop games. Just about every one could be described the same way, too. Warren reminded me a lot of these old friends so I'm inclined to be kind to this book, fair warning.

    Much of the book is about how the author sees the United Kingdom fairing during the zombie apocalypse. Some of the differences are stark and give a different sort of spin on the event than American fiction's usual, "everything falls to crap at once."

    Utilities last a long time in Great Bitten, as does things like the internet. Survivors are Twittering and Youtubing the apocalypse well after you'd think they'd be boarding up their homes. Guns exist but they're rare and something the protagonists wish they had more of. The government rabbits to the United States, doing their best to make it appear things are normal while planning for the worst.

    There isn't much of a plot for the first two-thirds of the book. It's just Warren trying to get himself, his sister, brother-in-law, and their child to safety. Warren's flawed character is studied by the author as a part of him wants to make this his hour.

    Warren doesn't know anything more about the zombie apocalypse than anyone else but tries to become the leader anyway. Some of his suggestions, like not drinking (still functioning) tap water, are ridiculous but show what sort of person he is. Warren wants to be useful and Z-Day is his chance.

    Or is it?

    The plot which exists at the end of the book and sets up the sequel is my least favorite part of Outbreak. It resurrects the tired old trope of, "a bunch of men start enslaving women when the apocalypse happens." The fact it was used in 28 Days Later even gets lampshaded in the text. Given I want this trope to die in a fire, I'm happy about its inclusion.

    Thankfully, this overused plot doesn't take up much of the book and I hope it doesn't play a big role in the sequel. I was a big fan of the characters in this book and would like to see Lana, in particular, return. Lana is a well-designed lesbian character who's self-confidence plays off against Warren's insecure masculinity.

    They're very entertaining together and would have been a good couple if not for their incompatible orientations. The two were developing a fast friendship in the book and I hope neither dies anytime soon.

    I'll probably read future volumes in the series but I wish the book had ended on a more definitive note. Outbreak is entertaining, well-structured, and has a different feel from most zombie-apocalypse stories. It's not perfect but, then again, what is?

8/10

    Happy Halloween, folks!

    Today as a special treat, I'm going to be reviewing a horror movie which tried to re-bottle lightning. It's not one of my favorites but tries so very hard. I think it deserves to have its efforts recognized even if the results were underwhelming.

    I speak of the Friday the Thirteenth reboot.

    Jason Voorhees is one of my favorite movie monsters of all time. He's up there with Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman in my opinion. The thing is, I recognize Jason is kind of an accidental success. He's a transparent rip-off of Michael Myers who came back as a zombie because they "almost" killed him four times.

    The producers are surprisingly candid about all this.

    I like the Friday movies more than I like the Halloween movies on a per movie average. Halloween and H20 are classics of horror cinema but the Friday movies are consistently schlocky fun the whole way through. That and the other Halloween movies are really-really bad. There's no "classic"Friday the Thirteenth but they're all entertaining.

This is why you should always take Dean with you, Sam.

    The reason for this is because Jason Voorhees is, if you're honest with yourself, a cartoon. He's the Wolverine of horror monsters. Jason's appeal is that he looks cool, can take any amount of punishment, and kills people in interesting ways. Jason's character, per se, doesn't actually matter all that much.

    Except when it does.

    Really, the greatest addition to Jason's character the movies made was making it so he never talked. You can project all manner of tragic motivations (or not) onto him without being contradicted. The most sympathetic reading of Jason's actions is the poor kid just wants to be left alone, doesn't understand death, and has a real hang-up about people coming to his turf to have sex.

    He's like the Hulk, that way, except with a machete.

    New Jason is not like the Hulk.

We get an explanation for why pot-heads keep coming to Crystal Lake, at least. Apparently, they have really good weed there.

    The 2009 reboot makes the mistake of attempting to take the F13 movies seriously. It takes the plots from the first three movies, distills them into one, and attempts to explain who Jason Voorhees is. If you need to explain who the monster is, you're doing a bad job of storytelling. We, the audience, are sometimes unobservant cretins but we don't need it spelled out Jason has mommy issues.

    New Jason is a wild man who lives in the woods, killing people who come to visit his home because he witnessed his mother getting murdered. He kidnaps women who remind him of his mother and holds them prisoner until they die. He's not a funny character and while you may question whether or not a slasher should be funny, Old Jason certainly was.

Amanda Righetti is lovely. Too bad she doesn't ever get a chance to act.

    Jason's choice of victim is also a bit different. They're still all a bunch of horny young people but, unfortunately, they're now likable horny young people. The majority of Jason's victims were ciphers and quite a few of them were [censored]. There were exceptions, Part II and IV were well-regarded for the fact you didn't want anyone to die, but everyone here is awesome except the designated rich a******.

    And, of course, he lasts to almost the very end.

    This is one of those rare Friday: The Thirteenth movies where I didn't want Jason to win and that's against the formula. I wanted one of the many cool victims in this movie to put him down. There's much to like in this film: Supernatural alumni Jared Padalecki more or less plays Sam and Amanda Righetti is stunning. There's plenty of fanservice, too, and it's unashamed of this fact. The kills are lacking their humor value, though, and whereas previous Jason would kill in a variety of fascinating ways--this Jason just stabs people with a machete.

    In conclusion, this is not the Friday the Thirteenth which will ignite the passions of millions. Slasher movies will never die but films like Scream and Cabin in the Woods remember that if you're going to make the victims the stars, they should fun. If the movie is making the monster the star, though, you should make them the one the audience roots for.

6/10

    Revelations continues the adventures of Cade, Ethan, and Brandt as they recover from the events of Ground Zero. The premise of the series is a Marine, a cop, and a Israeli Defense Force sniper are the ones caught up in a zombie apocalypse this time. As a result, the heroes have a lot better chance of surviving it than your usual cast of strangers thrown together.

    So what did I think?

    I think it's an enjoyable ending to the plots raised in Ground Zero and, honestly, feels like an ending to the series. There's books after this volume and I'm interested in where Jessica Meigs takes the books next because I'm not sure what can be done after this. There's a rather dramatic change at the end of the book which should change the entire world.

    Ethan is recovering from his injuries sustained during the finale of the past book. Having been infected, he's capable of surviving thanks to the efforts of the doctors still living in Atlanta. They're desperate to find Brandt since he can potentially "cure" the Michaluk virus.

    Ethan's hosts are desperate to find Brandt and willing to do anything to do so. Meanwhile, the group is devastated by Ethan's "death" and Cade discovers something shocking about herself. Something which will dramatically impact her relationship with Brandt.

    The plot was quickly-paced, fun, and possessed of a great villain. Alicia Day is capable, angry, intelligent, and entertaining to read about. I was glad to have a ruthless female villain as too many zombie apocalypse novels seem to default to some sort of misogynist patriarch figure or racist. The fact Alicia has mild super-powers thanks to her adaptation of the virus made her a threat our heroes weren't capable of dealing with easily.

    Unfortunately, the book suffers from what I call the "reasons plot." Which is that reasons prevent our heroes from acting in a manner which would resolve the plot quickly. There's no reason why the villains can't walk up to Brandt and ask him to help find a cure for the Michaluk virus. This is even brought up in the text and the only defense the author can give is, "Alicia is crazy, man!"

    Which is a shame because I bonded with Alicia and would have liked to have seen her as more nuanced character. I thought she had much better chemistry with Ethan than the latter's love interest of Remy. I've never liked the Ethan/Remy romance and found my enjoyment of the latter increased in direct proportion to how far away she was from the former. Cade and Brandt fans will be happy with their romance as it takes the next step here.

    The action scenes remain great with much attention to detail as well as cinematic scenes. There's some decent horror, too, like when the heroes are forced to encounter a room full of children who have turned into the undead. Jessica Meigs shows no hesitation at killing likable characters but, sadly, makes a choice at the end to opt-out on what I felt was a bold storytelling choice. Revelations would have had a 10/10 if she'd gone through with it.

    In conclusion, I don't quite like Revelations as much as previous volumes in the series but it remains one of my two "go-to" series for literary zombie mayhem. It and the Time of Death series are just plain good.

    7.5/10

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    Combining spy-work, urban fantasy, and noir is something which should have been done much earlier. It's a mostly untapped subgenre with only a few books like The Laundry series. Eyes Deep is a new entry into it and I hope it has many sequels.

   Anywho, Theodor Crane (the name of a man he's impersonating) is a doppleganger. He's a type of fairy (called Aels), which live in a dimension alongside ours'. Unlike your traditional Tolkien-esque fairies, the Aels are every bit as modernized and intrigue-ridden as 21st century humanity.

   Dopplegangers are untrusted individuals in the Ael world because they possess the ability to kill people and assume their shape, gaining all of a subject's skills and knowledge. This process is disgusting to both outsiders and dopplegangers because it involves eating their target's eye.

   Needless to say, there's a reason dopplegangers are distrusted.

   Theodor works for A.I., which is the Ael Intelligence service and it is his job to make sure their kind aren't discovered by humans. His current assignment is worse than most because he has to kill an innocent man in order to infiltrate a company close to building technology which could discover the Aels. This assignment is doubly problematic because it comes with a wife and child he will feel affection for due to the memories he inherits.

   Even Theodor finds it sick.

   Thankfully, the worst is avoided by the fact his target's wife and he aren't sexually active. Given the book opens with us witnessing Theodor murdering a man and eating his eye, I'm not sure the author should have backed away from the assignment calling for him to sleep with his target's wife. I was relieved when Theodor didn't, though, and think cop-out or not, it keeps the protagonist from being irredeemable.

   Eyes Deep follows Theodor as he investigates the theft of the technology and how it relates to a bombing on a United States Senator (who was secretly Aelish). Aiding him in this investigation is his sometimes-lover, Jace, who is duplicitous and not-entirely on his side. We also get a sense that A.I. considers Theodor expendable. No one likes a doppleganger, even amongst the fairy spooks, and they'd love to be rid of him.

   No matter how useful his abilities are.

   Eyes Deep is a bit too short for its premise and doesn't investigate the most interesting elements of the character's situation. Most of the eighty-one-page book is about the technology theft and how it relates to fairy politics. Theodor doesn't make full use of his powers and his new family (inherited by murder) is barely touched upon.

   I was far more interested in the deep-cover element of being a Ael secret in a human executive's world. I'd rather read about Theodor's "wife" Erica than Jace, which is probably not what the author intended. Still, the storytelling is good as is the world-building. Theodor is a tortured soul who wants to do good but is being employed by an agency which uses him for evil in the name of the "greater good." While we only get the barest hint of the racial, ethnic, and socio-political politics of the Ael world, we get just enough to keep the story moving without bogging it down in exposition.

   The action is good and if they removed the doppleganger element, this could probably be a decent techno-thriller. Just replace Ted's eye-eating with plastic surgery and inhuman disguise abilities. The character of Jace is a likable femme fatale even if I was more interested in Theodor's family situation.

   This is a fun novella with much potential to be expanded into a full-blown series. I hope if they do a sequel it will be a novel and much more focused on the oddities of being a doppleganger as well as his unnatural co-habitations. The latter is full of human drama and eerie fascination, which is where the best spy fiction lives. I want to read the next one and that tells you all you need to know.

8/10

Buy at Amazon.com

Warning: This review will go into LONG discussion of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's story.

    I've already done a review of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequelhere, but I thought I would take the time to do a separate review for those interested in the characters as well as plot. This review will contain SPOILERS for the campaign and ending so readers should consider themselves warned.

    So, what did I think?

    Sadly, I think the plot is one of the weaker elements of B:TPS.

For a shooting game, Borderlands has a great story.

    I gave the actual game a 10/10 because it's more Borderlands 2 and filled with massive amounts of fanservice plus quirky humor. I have to grade games on the curve and there's nothing quite like the Borderlands series out there. It's a tremendous combination of quirky humor, oddball characters, shooting, looting, and world-building.

    Borderlands 2, specifically, is a hard act to follow because it's R-rated Star Wars. A plucky resistance of freedom-fighters have joined together to overthrow an oppressive evil empire. It's just this time the resistance is composed entirely of Han Solo-types and the Emperor trolls you over the radio.

    When Handsome Jack is either shot by the Vault Hunters or killed by Lilith in revenge for Roland's murder, it is a triumphant moment equal to any I can remember in gaming. A great evil is extinguished and you want to give yourself (or Claptrap) a high five for your victory. It's a hard-won victory after an emotional roller-coaster of tragedies, twists, and turns.

    Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel couldn't hope to compete with such an epic storyline and is smart enough not to try. Instead, it is more a supplement to the events of Borderlands 2. We follow Handsome Jack's rise to power from head of Hyperion R&D and Governor of Helios Station to ruler of Pandora.

    Also, sanity to insanity.

Handsome Jack Pre-Evil. Or is it?

    While the Vault Hunters have never been the nicest of people around, Brick being the closest to an actual bandit, the Pre-Sequel has two out of its four initial player character choices as actively evil. Wilhelm, initially, looks like a professional with a mild dark side at best but gradually reveals himself to have a sadistic streak which revels in Jack's murders. Nisha, by contrast, is never portrayed as anything but a complete psychopath.

    The other two aren't much better.

    Claptrap is portrayed as outright insane through this volume, tragically enslaved by the future Handsome Jack but unaware of it. Returning character Athena is the only one of the group with any moral compass and she's still working for Pandora's future despot. Ironically, it is Athena out of these three who seems to irritate Lilith the most. At least, to the context of sending people to hunt her down. We'll get more into that, later.

    The majority of the game follows Jack and the Vault Hunters as they attempt to take back Helios Station from Colonel Zarpedon and her Lost Legion. The latter have seized it from Jack and while this is bad, it becomes terrible when Zarpedon's forces start firing a Death Star-esque laser from the station onto the moon of Elpis. It's a race against time to gather the military forces necessary to retake the station before the moon breaks apart and millions die.

Explosions, guns, and shooting--PLUS STORY!

    The pacing on this story is all over the place as there's a dozen or so side-quests on Helios Station you're supposed to do in order to be sufficiently leveled to fight Zarpedon. This, despite the fact the majority of these stories are silly and over-the-top. Players striving for immersion will have theirs broken by Athena or Wilhelm stopping to help a cleaning robot in her war on germs. Placing the majority of these side-quests after the station is retaken would have helped pacing tremendously.

    Unfortunately, the game also loses much of its forward momentum once Colonel Zarpedon is killed and Helios' death ray is destroyed. Jack is well on his way to becoming Handsome Jack at this point and he has a vested reason in hunting down the heroes of the original Borderlands.

    While the subsequent levels are lovely to look at, I felt the emotional core of the game had been gutted. The final boss is something I had no investment in killing, being little more than an emotionless statue-monster with no context or backstory.

    Colonel Zarpedon, by contrast, seems underdeveloped. Through ECHO recordings, we get a general sense of who she is. They paint a picture of a caring, moral, and respectable military commander who is driven to extremes by the dangers of Vault technology. Unfortunately, we never really get a sense of why she feels the way she does. The Warrior, while impressive, isn't enough to justify murdering millions to protect the universe. You need something like Halo's, well, halos to justify why blowing up an inhabited planetoid is a rationale response to a situation.

Saddest boss fight either.

    I also felt Colonel Zarpedon was denied an emotional response to the situation. Too much of the game was her being the stoic military commander who treated Jack and the Vault Hunters as worthy opponents.

    Given how she was stated to treat her men like her children, even going so far as to arrange birthday parties with chocolate cake, I would have liked to have seen Zarpedon come to truly HATE the Vault Hunters. No matter how much she understands the mission comes first, our heroes will have murdered hundreds of people she knows personally by the end. I can't imagine any military commander I know not wanting to END the Vault Hunters for what they've done.

    Defenders of the storyline will note the antagonist of the story becomes either Jack or Moxxi, Lilith, and Roland after Zarpedon's death. I'm not so sure about this as you're still working for Jack until the very end while I can't muster much ire for the latter.

    Not only do I have epic amounts of good will toward them because of Borderlands 2 but I don't see their betrayal as especially heinous. After all, what sane mercenary would let a man point a Death Star at your home planet? Not even Lilith's decision to execute Athena phased me. Athena's story shows her killing innocents (Felicity), helping Jack out of a desire for revenge against the Moxxi's group despite his obvious irrationality, and being willing to hand over godlike Eridian technology to a multiple murderer.

    I've shot people in Borderlands for far less.

Poor Athena. Always getting a bum deal.

    I think the story would have been improved a great deal by having Colonel Zarpedon's Eridian friend rescue her and return her to the Elpis Vault. She could have been dramatically powered up by the technology there and served as a better final boss than the one we got. As is, the last level of the game feels anticlimactic.

    There's much to like in the Pre-Sequel. The game's Australian cultural jokes will feel fresh to American audiences, even if some are opaque. There's also some truly hilarious moments which rank near-the-top of the series' all time funniest moments like a zero-g basketball side-quest and encountering Claptrap SHODAN.

    Characters like Janey Springs and Pickle are likable enough but feel kind of bland in comparison to the lovable grotesques of Borderlands 2. I recommend this game to everyone but think people should keep their expectations reasonable.

7/10

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    I'm a big fan of The Becoming series. It is a series about three survivors of a zombie outbreak: Ethan, Cade, and Brandt who are unusually badass. One is a cop, one is an Israeli Defense Force sniper, and the third is a Marine. The second book introduced the character of Remy who, if not as well trained, made up for it in sheer enthusiasm for killing zombies.

    In Revelations, our heroes managed to escape from renegade government agent Alicia Day and discovered a community of survivors. More importantly, they successfully synthesized a cure for the Michaluk Virus. This seemed like an excellent stopping point for the series but Jessica Meigs manages to pick it up with new problems. The cure has side-effects and they're unwilling to test it at random on "living" zombies.

    I like the divide the author makes between zombies who are physically alive and thus curable as well as those who are walking corpses. Not much progress is made toward curing the living zombies and the characters don't even discuss the prospect but it's something I haven't seen before. I hope we'll see more "cured" zombies in the future and how people react to these figures.

    Ethan has been recovering from his condition for almost six months, which has destroyed his relationship with Remy. I like this development as too few authors are willing to risk breaking up a popular pairing. There's no chance for reconciliation and I like the prospective new love-interests for both. IMHO, Remy was always held down by her relationship with Ethan. I think her new found freedom will give Remy the opportunity to develop into a protagonist on par with the other three.

    Cade is eight months pregnant with Brandt's baby and chomping at the bit to get back into action. While I hate to see any action girl in fiction sidelined, watching her struggle with Brandt going off into danger where she can't join him is great writing. Cade is overcompensating for this by becoming a controlling and aggressive leader, which is a nice extrapolation of where her character might go.

    We don't get much time in their new home before the tiny town faces a threat from a herd of six hundred zombies. Honestly, I think this is a little on the low side. There's seven billion human beings on the planet with more appearing every day. Surely, there's a lot more than six hundred zombies shambling about in just your typical "herd."

    Michaluk zombies are smarter than normal shamblers, however, being capable of reasoning and strategizing to some extent. So, a smaller number being more dangerous is probably realistic. It was good to get back to the zombies being a very dangerous enemy and not able to be slaughtered at will. The book also sets up a branch of the US government as an enemy, hinting at its continued existence. Why they're interested in Brandt is, as yet, unclear but I look forward to finding out the answer.

    Newcomers Dominic and Kimberly are not yet as developed as the main three but I liked them well enough to not want them to become zombie chow. Jessica Meigs tends to develop characters slowly so I'm curious as to what they were like before the apocalypse.

    Right now, they're not much more than prospective love-interests but I think that will change soon. The sources of tension in their relationships due to Remy once shooting Dominic and Kimberly's sister dying because of Ethan's bad calls are good sources of drama too.

    Under Siege is probably The best of The Becoming books so far. The characters have a depth, interaction, and development which they haven't been able to display until now. I always thought of this series as one of my favorites but this is a more than solid entry. It is a great entry and I believe fans of the series are in for a real treat.

10/10

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Hey folks,

As a game review website, I've been asked numerous times what I think of this whole Gamergate controversy and I've kept my opinions to myself. I considered the initial controversy to be unworthy of commentary because who and what happened regarding a game developer w/ a reviewer is a silly thing to be worried about. Then the whole thing took over massive amounts of space on forums, the internet, and several other places I frequent.

For those unaware of what Gamergate stands for it, it is a controversy between individuals who claim to be representing those concerned about "ethics in game journalism" versus those who believe the former holds a staggering number of misogynists.

It's the latest round in the battle of the culture war taking place on the internet. Much of the conflict is driven by anger over the death threats and intimidation tactics used against female personalities in the gaming industry.

The United Federation of Charles would like to establish its policy regarding the subject. It condemns any and all threats made against women (or men for that matter). The UFOC believes there's a massive need for change in the representation of women in video games.

It also believes video game journalism is bull**** with the vast majority of reviews out there being by shills for the game companies. The UFOC doesn't believe the latter is what Gamergate is about nor does it think 'ethics in game journalism' a big deal. We DO think the treatment of women in gaming is. In short, we are against Gamergate and hope the movement goes away.

Criticism is a fundamental part of being taken seriously as a medium. Whether that is over gender roles, representation, or even people insulting you in a review for liking something--adults have to grow up and bear it.

Thank you for your time.

While it's a bit late to be reviewing the Headhunter Packs for Borderlands 2, better late than never in my humble opinion. The Headhunter Packs are, basically, new maps for Borderlands 2 where the player characters get a series of adventures related to a holiday theme. How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day is the one related to Christmas (if you couldn't guess).

And it is awesome.

The peaceful town of Gingerton. Filled with snowmen, toy-robots, and singing Psychos!

    Okay, maybe awesome is a bit much but it's pretty damned good. It's so delightfully surreal. Even by Borderlands standards. The premise is Marcus, morally ambiguous gun runner for Pandora, sends you to the frozen-over village of Gingerton in the mountains.

    The town has been taken over by evil snowmen who are out to steal their guns and ruin Mercenary Day! Mercenary Day is the corporate holiday when all mercenary operations are free! It's the most important holiday on Pandora!

    ...

    It's hard not to give the game a ten out of ten for the above alone.

Yes, you get a Critical for shooting his hat.

    I mean, you're shooting evil ****ing snowmen.

    EVIL SNOWMEN.

    Armed with candy canes!

    At one point, you fight a giant version of Frosty and the only way to defeat him is by stealing his magic hat! There's a bunch of toy-sized Power Loaders, delivered by the Hyperion Corporation, which try to kill the citizens of Gingerton.

    A bunch of Yeti are attacking the town. You must follow a trail of coal to determine what has caused the town to freeze over, only to be ambushed by Frosty's hit men! You must teach Marcus the spirit of Mercenary Day is killing, not stealing!

    Fun fun!

Stay frosty, Merc!

    This adventure would not be half as entertaining if not for how utterly insane it is. The thing is, evil snowmen with magic hats aside, it fits pretty well into the universe. Mercenary Day is exactly the sort of bizarre holiday they'd create on Pandora. We even get a little insight into Marcus' character and he regrets how his marriage to Moxxi disintegrated. The premise is played so straight, it's gut-bustingly funny.

    A lot of time and effort went into making this holiday bonus. Gingerton is beautifully designed, the writing is moving when it wants to be yet humorous when otherwise, and the monsters memorable. Even the music, something I don't usually notice in Borderlands, was excellent. It's Christmas-themed without being ripped off from existing songs. The Singing Psycho was great, too.

    In gameplay terms, the map adds about an hour and a half to Borderlands 2. There's exceptionally good-quality loot in Gingerton and fans will note there's a decent possibility for top-quality gear. The fact the final boss is repeatable along with the loot means this is the gift which keeps on giving. This is a great purchase and a steal at three dollars.

    10/10

    The Guardian Interviews is an interesting premise for a series. Framed like World War Z, they are a series of interviews with the members of the Regulators. The Regulators are a group of monster hunters who were formed in the aftermath of the El Paso zombie outbreak.

    Their leader, Jaxon, is a Guardian.

    Guardians are a form of anti-zombie created by nature as a means of combating supernatural threats. I'm not sure evolution works that way but it I'm willing to let it slide. Guardians can heal rapidly when surrounded by rain or plant-life and are immune to the bites of the walking dead.

    The majority of the book deals with the El Paso incident. We follow Jaxon and his friends as they find themselves in the middle of the creatures' first appearance, organizing the survivors, dealing with the government's quarantine, and trying to evacuate when it's clear continued residence is suicide. We know Jaxon survives this as he earns his nickname, "The General" for his heroic leadership during this event.

    Because this is a localized zombie apocalypse, limited to a single American city, there's plenty of twists on the formula. The internet still works so people outside the city are getting feedback from within the entire time. I'm not sure the government would let that happen but, again, my suspension of disbelief is high. Jaxon becomes a folk hero early on, the survivors latching onto anyone who offers them hope as the population is rapidly exterminated by the rising dead.

    Much of the story is action being recounted to the journalists and I enjoyed the varying perspectives on events. We know our hero is going to get out of danger but getting the participants thoughts on events is never boring.

    Oftentimes, the participants will admit to actions being stupid or wrongheaded with the benefit of hindsight. I also like the media coverage of the heroes and how glory-hounds attempted to spin events to their advantage. There's some really good stuff here.

    There is, however, one glaring flaw with the book which needs to be addressed. The author doesn't seem to feel confident Jaxon's actions can speak for themselves. He feels the need to have characters continually express admiration, respect, pride, or envy of Jaxon. Sprinkled throughout the book are statements talking about how Jaxon's a fearless, kind, dependable, and all-round awesome dude. The lowest point is when a lesbian interviewee mentions he's the only man she'd have sex with.

    Really?

    I don't mind the folk hero element of Jaxon. People have lionized people who haven't taken on a zombie-army and lived to tell the tale. The fact is, though, all of his group would have been nationally famous. Not just Jaxon. Furthermore, having the protagonist acquiesce to the fame but not bring up the sacrifices of his colleagues made me think less of him. Jaxon earns his hero title by the end of the book but I resented having everyone speak so gushingly about him. Even the reporter gets in on the action and that made me think less of her.

    Despite this, the book has much going for it. It's a nice bit of brain candy with a superhuman amateur soldier out to kick ass and take names. It's kind of an 80s action movie in he new tens. I'll read the rest of the books in the series but I do hope they tone down on the Jaxon love. I get it. He's great. You don't need to throw him a parade. Let me do it when he blows up a building full of hungry undead.

     This has the unintentional effect of making me enjoy the scenes with Jaxon's only detractor more than was probably intended. Calvin, one of the interviewees, is a hate-sink of cowardice and faux-pacifism. He's an attention-junkie who has made a career Post-El Paso badmouthing Jaxon. The reader is meant to hate him but I found his parts laugh out-loud hilarious.

    This is the start of a good series of ass-kicking action in a world where zombie-apocalypses are localized events being dealt with by civilian contractors employed by the government. This explains how this unlikely, but interesting, event comes to pass. I liked all of the supporting cast and was deeply amused by Calvin's fate (even if I expect it would turn the public against Jaxon in real life).

    In conclusion, The Guardian is not a bad book and I hope it will be the start of a successful series. With a bit of smoothing over, the author could have something great.

    7.5/10

    I just wanted to let everyone know that today is my wedding anniversary. Four years ago, today, Kat Wiley agreed to become Kat Wiley Phipps and I have been grateful every day since. My marriage has been a tremendous influence on my writing, blogging, and thinking.

    I've become a better person for our relationship and I like to think I'll continue to do so. My wife has tolerated my geeky hobbies, embraced others, and supported me through rough times. It is my hope my readers can find their own partner (or have done so) so they can know the same level of happiness.

    So, Kat Phipps, thank you for being you.

And yes, I'm using Assassin's Creed to say I love you.

Which is our marriage in a nutshell.

    I actually watched this movie awhile ago but found myself at a loss for words. I just couldn't think of an entire review's worth of words to talk about the film. Good or bad.

    Which is damning in itself.

    Amazing Spiderman 2 is a spectacular achievement in design by committee. It's not a bad movie, barring a spectacularly poor decision at the end, but the film is all spectacle. Poor Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone manage to show enough talent throughout that, with better material, they might have created a really memorable Spiderman series.

    As such, this movie feels like a paint-by-the-numbers effort with a hint of desperation. There's plenty to like here but it was all thrown together out of what I suspect was an attempt for existing properties to stay relevant with the Disney Marvel productions.

The leads are so damned adorable together. Even when the movie breaks them up for no damn good reason.

    If I were to describe Amazing Spiderman 2, it seems built from a strategy of combing numerous classic Spiderman issues for their plots and taking as many superficial elements as possible. 1. Spiderman creates his own villain. 2. Spiderman's relationship with the Osbourne family. 3. The Osbourne family's dysfunctional neuroses. 4. Spiderman's relationship with his girlfriend failing due to his superheroic identity. 5. Mad science gone array. 6. Evil corporations doing evil things.

    Much of this feels like a retread of the previous Sam Raimi Spiderman movies. The thing is, they had three movies to build most of the tension for the final movie's climax and Spiderman 3 was widely panned for stuffing the film with too much "stuff." This movie? This movie makes Spiderman 3 feel subdued.

    There's so much going on, there's not enough time to get upset about anything but, by the end of the film, only two or three scenes stand out in the entire film. One, the aforementioned poor decision, is likely to make you feel angry rather than moved. A smarter movie would have realized a plot from 1973 isn't one to replicate in the modern era unchanged.

Electro's concept (crazy Spiderman stalker) is problematic. On the other hand, he's the only character who's actor seems to be having fun with his role.

    Anyway, let me try and explain this movie.

    *pause*

    *Indigo Montoya voice* No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Warning: Spoilers. I'd avoid them but the beginning of the plot seems to be happening from the beginning of the movie until the end.

    Richard Parker, discovered the secret of giving people superhuman abilities. He and his wife were killed by Norman Osbourne's thugs in order to prevent that information from falling into said individual's hands. This is revealed in the movie's first five minutes and occupies an action-sequence wholly unnecessary to the rest of the movie. We switch to Spiderman who has broken up with Gwen Stacy because of his enemies, which don't exist yet, and his attempts to make New York City a better place. Spiderman is really upset about this but gets a pick-me-up from previously unmentioned friend, Harry Osbourne. Harry Osbourne is dying, so he wants Spiderman's blood. Spiderman saves nerdy introvert Max Dillon, who becomes obsessed with him as a result but who turns against him once he gains superpowers. Spiderman discovers his father's research and how it is being misused by Oscorp. Oscorp turns against Harry Osbourne and proceeds to start experimenting on the newly-created Electro. The Rhino becomes involved for an extra-fight scene. Harry becomes evil because Spiderman doesn't seem to understand what "dying" means. Everyone starts punching each other at the climax. Tragedy ensues.

    *breathes out* Whew.

I liked Peter and Harry's friendship. I would have liked three movies of it.

    The weird thing is? None of this is bad. Andrew Garfield is quite entertaining as Spiderman and Peter Parker both. He's endearingly awkward and his lame attempts at humor during combat are the best part of his Spiderman performance. Emma Stone manages to transcend the bit role she's been given to give a memorable and likable performance.

    I even liked Harry Osbourne, even if Dane DeHaan's version is less charming and more skeevy. Jaime Foxx's Electro is exceptionally well-acted with Foxx bringing his A-game but I just didn't care about the character. Spiderman's creepy stalker isn't a character I'm particularly interested in following.

    In conclusion, this movie is a high-production value sugar cookie. It throws a bunch of stuff at the audience in hopes they'll like something. I managed to like plenty but it was all overshadowed by the fact this could have been seven very good movies. There's not an ounce of real human drama in this movie save a one-off about Spiderman's laundry. Everything about Peter and Gwen's relationship to Harry's fear about dying is too artificial to care about.

    Which is a shame.

6/10

The United Federation of Charles was recently boycotted by the Gamergate movement (see Gamergate Wiki) for its comments made here. I take this as something of a source of pride as it means someone actually thought my site was worth boycotting. A former associate of mine, who I disagree strongly with over the issue, offered to see if he could get the boycott removed.

I declined.

My opinion on the Gamergate issue remains unchanged. I don't think the spiel of ethics in journalism is worth an ounce of the time and effort they are putting into it while many horrible people are using it as code to attack female game developers.

The movement has come to symbolize the darker undercurrents of our hobby with individuals, particularly women, threatened by many members. I believe the vast majority of its adherents have never used anything other than harsh language. However, something about this movement has attracted the worst sort of people and if Gamergate wanted to make this hobby better, they'd focus on kicking these guys out.

That is all.

    I am a fan of the Guardian Interviews series by Michael Clary. I reviewed the first book, The Guardian, here with a positive appraisal but awareness the book had some rough edges. Many of these have been smoothed off by the sequel and the result is an overall improved narrative.

    The Regulators follows the titular team returning to El Paso after having successfully escaped its miniature zombie apocalypse last book. Having joined the government as a supernaturally-empowered team of badasses, they are hoping to rescue any and all remaining survivors in the city.

    This proves to be a more daunting prospect than expected as the city turns out to have been invested by a new breed of monster in the meantime. Can the Regulators deal with a smarter, stronger, and more dangerous breed of undead?

    Of course they can.

    The Guardian Interviews' biggest appeal is its interview format. Like World War Z, everything is told after-the-fact by the survivors. This means there's some lost tension due to knowing who will live and who will die but this is made up for by giving each event a unique perspective.

    My favorites this book were the "Chainsaw Priest" and Snake Charmer. The Chainsaw Priest is rather self-explanatory, being a Catholic Priest who uses one against zombies, but it's the latter who really intrigued me. Snake Charmer is the codename of a black ops military officer and consummate professional who is forced to work with the Regulators despite their frat boy antics.

    His opinion is not kind.

    Part of what I disliked about the previous book was the worship of its protagonist Jaxon. I liked the character but everyone bent over backwards trying to make sure we knew he was a hero. This book illustrates more of Jaxon's flaws. He's not only proud of his abilities but stupid about them.

    The fact Jaxon's done no training with them nor sought out any training gets lampshaded by the text and we also see how ineffective that makes him. He could do a lot more damage if he bothered to learn how to use a gun properly for example. We also find out Jaxon's a horrible judge of character who misses the feelings of his group constantly.

    Why? Jaxon never bothers to ask what they think, he just assumes they'll go along with him.

    Sadly, Jaxon doesn't seem to learn any lessons from his failures and that's his most damning character flaw of all. I like Michael Clary taking the time to show just how outmatched he is against the majority of threats out there. He barely survives dealing with monsters just one-step above zombies and is probably going to get his clock cleaned by the next creature. I think this would be a good thing as our hero does need to be humbled.

    The action in the book is good and so is the humor. The use of vampires as black-drooled creatures which are terrifying as well as vicious was welcome. There's nothing romantic about The Guardian Interviews vampires and this is how it should be in a monster-hunter series. I am eager to get into the third book.

9/10

Buy at Amazon.com

   Over on RPG.net, a fan created this image to satirize the Gamergate mascot, Vivian James. Vivian James is a character designed for the purposes of rebutting the feminist criticism of video-games by fans. Essentially, the idea behind her is a "Female gamer who doesn't care about that stuff. She only wants to play games."

    The idea behind the rebuttal is, of course, that she is meant to represent the silent majority. A majority which isn't interested in criticism or subtext to games. It is an appeal to intellectual laziness in much the same way dumb action movies are insulted for being, well, dumb. Roger Ebert said there was a difference between "good" dumb action movies (The Mummy) and bad ones (many-many other ones).

    Whether or not Vivian represents the majority irritates me because I founded the United Federation of Charles to discuss video games and geek media in a serious context. I only semi-succeeded, creating a blog which mostly just reviews stuff I like with the occasional essay, but I stand firm: criticism is an important part of getting games taken seriously as a medium. If a medium isn't being criticized and picked apart, it isn't worth a damn. I say that as both an academic as well as a blogger, author, and gamer.

    In any case, I like this image because it's a good visual rebuttal. The Vivian James character is uniformly depicted as miserable, perhaps because she's meant to be aloof and cool, but the context nicely puts her as just surrounded by talking points. Depicting her as happy while holding a variety of female-friendly games is smart satire.

    I applaud the creator.

    Double-points for the rainbow jacket. I don't need to point out the subtext there, I think. The choice of the games Mirror's Edge, Revolution 65, and Gone Home are also nice picks. All of them being both criticized and applauded for their feminist subtext in different ways. Mirror's Edge is the only one I've played but symbolizes something which really should have gotten more support because it was plain fun.

    It's art which tells a story and speaks the language of gamers. This is good satire and in, a very real way, one of our first political cartoons. In other words, we're one step closer to video games being a serious medium worthy of discussion.

    I am going to be playing Assassin's Creed until Christmas time, so I've decided I would catch up on some of my reviews of its games, media and so on. As such, while it's a bit late to declare it Assassin's Creed month on The United Federation of Charles, we'll be doing a month of Assassin's Creed.

    Assassin's Creed is the game which started it all but, sadly, is the worst game in the series. This isn't to say it's bad but there's a lot of parts which are. All of the game's enjoyable parts would be refined and perfected for its sequel while the worst would be discarded.

    In short, most gamers I know suggest newcomers skip Assassin's Creed and go directly to Assassin's Creed 2. Those interested in the story of Altair would be best served by picking up the novel, The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden. There's a lot of potential in this game but it's largely unrealized.

The Holy Land is an interesting setting, foreshadowing the great locations of future games.

    The premise is you are Desmond Miles (Nolan North), a New York City resident raised by a weird cult who has since escaped to become a bartender. Captured by a mysterious corporation called Abstergo, he is forced into a machine called the Animus. The Animus allows Desmond to relive the memories of his 11th century ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, who is involved in a plot between two ancient conspiracies.

    The central conceit of the game is you are playing a video game within a video game. As such, things like death and re-spawning are glitches within Desmond's story as well as your own. It's a surprisingly immersive device and one of the series' great innovations. The majority of the game is attempting to maneuver past the guards present in the Holy Land to eliminate a series of targets belonging to the Knights Templar.

    The stealth elements are emphasized over the action ones, which can result in some levels of frustration. Later games in the series offer a wider variety of choices for assassinations, including more or less just killing your way there. Many times, Altair must modulate his speed so not to draw attention to his activity. This prevents high speed chases when those would be very welcome to spice up gameplay.

    Unfortunately, after each target, you have to return to Alamut (the Assassin's Headquarters) in order to get your new assignment and this is a tedious journey each time.

The horse-riding is fun in the game, more so than in later ones.

    The biggest problem is, in my opinion, Altair himself. Our introduction to the character has him murder an innocent man for the thrill along with other horrific behavior. The game is meant to be about his learning a lesson in humility but given he's a arrogant murderer belonging to a secret society, it's hard to care.

    Altair is learning about how to become a better murderer, not reforming. It's doubly problematic when many of his victims prove to be more sympathetic than Altair himself. I'm not sure our protagonist "winning" is a good thing. It doesn't help many of the Templars have sympathetic backstories and motivations with only a few really 'deserving' to die. The fact, at one point, Altair lets King Richard of England live despite the man's many well-known historical atrocities is difficult to swallow.

    Despite this, Assassin's Creed has a lot going for it and you can see where the game would go on to form an amazingly popular franchise. The Animus works wonderfully as an explanation for most "video game-isms" of the series because your character, in a very real way, is playing one. The Modern Day segments, while widely criticized are one of my favorite parts. I love conspiracy fiction and this is an excellent example of it.

The Animus is a great concept. Even if, yes, genetic memories are incredibly stupid.

    Nolan North and Kristen Bell (playing Lucy Stillman) both do a bang-up job with their performances. North manages to sell the naive every guy in a situation beyond a regular person's comprehension while Bell makes her character more than a generic love interest. I'm less fond of Philip Shahbaz's Altair because the character just sounds bored and angry all the time, which may be the character's personality but it's not terribly enjoyable.

    In conclusion, Assassin's Creed isn't as good as other entries in the series. Everything good about it is taken to future entries in the series with the bad elements left behind. Altair is an unlikable hero and the travel times kill the enjoyment factor.

    The game is slow when it needs to be fast paced and seems to punish you when you really want to go wild. It is, however, the game which began one of my favorite series. The foundations are there for something great and I would recommend giving it a try used, even if I'd keep the receipt.

7/10

    Assassin's Creed: Rogue has the misfortune of being born the Tyrion Lannister of the franchise in that it was released as a last-generation console game on the same day as its current-generation console brother, Assassin's Creed: Unity. Many people, myself included, thought Rogue would end up being nothing more than a shameless cash-grab before everyone started trading in their Xbox 360s.

    We were wrong.

    Or, if we were right, that doesn't prevent Rogue from being a damn fine game.

It's good to see Adewale live to a ripe old age.

    I'm stunned by so many competing reviews giving the game scores of sevens or eights due to re-used assets, which is like like complaining about speeding at the Indy 500. Assassin's Creed is a franchise built on re-used assets. That's why the games come out like clockwork every year and we keep buying them because they're awesome re-used assets.

    I haven't played Unity yet, so I can't compare the games but I can say it was a mistake not to release this as both a current generation and last generation game. Assassin's Creed: Rogue is good, extremely good, and I hope it'll be ported soon.

    The game continues the Modern Age story of Abstergo Entertainment's beta-tester from Black Flag, allows you to play a Templar for the first (technically second) time, introduces numerous interesting characters, resolves the fates of returning ones from previous games, has an amazing lead, is excellently plotted, and has a staggering amount of stuff to do. Indeed, the latter part is one of the game's few flaws.

Lots of side-quests to retake towns, supply crates, forts, and gang headquarters. These are great.

    The premise is Shay Cormac is an Assassin who becomes disillusioned with the Assassin way of doing things after a series of events. Eventually, he becomes a Templar agent charged with hunting down and destroying his former associates. This isn't a spoiler as it's all revealed in the video game's trailer. Shay is an immensely likable lead and reminds me of, if you'll forgive the constant Game of Thrones references, the Starks.

    Shay isn't motivated by personal revenge but the greater good, which isn't always that easy to identify. Many fans will disagree with his reasoning for leaving the Assassins and joining the Templars but I understood his logic. Shay doesn't believe Nothing is true, Everything is permitted. He believes there are lines people shouldn't cross and there are simple truths to the world. He wants to fight for the Little GuyTM and, ironically, ends up serving the ultimate representatives of the Man.

    Is he right?

    Wrong?

    The fact you can make an argument either way is a sign of good writing.

The Morrigan is a beautiful ship. My favorite in the series.

    The game starts out playing identically to Black Flag. You're a privateer with the French Navy, secretly working for the Assassins. You can use your piratical skills to build up your ship, The Morrigan, and build a fleet to make yourself rich . The game doesn't stop at cribbing from Black Flag, though, as you eventually become a landlord like in Brotherhood.

    Shay can use his immense wealth to build almshouses, soup-kitchens, grain mills, and so on in order to make life easier for the poor. The fact a Templar is doing this rather than an Assassin goes to show something is seriously wrong with the situation in the Americas. This is in addition to a return of hunting and treetop parkour from Assassin's Creed 3. In a very real way, this game comes across a "greatest hits" of the series.

    The best new feature in the game is the addition of 'Stalkers.' These are, of course, the Assassins Shay is forced to hunt. Once he breaks ties with the Brotherhood, his former associates work tirelessly to try and kill him. They hide in haystacks, crowds, and on rooftops in hopes of ambushing Shay the same way you do your enemies. The Stalkers are far, far, tougher than guards and killed me many times. There's also a fun reversal of Assassination Contracts where you have missions to rescue your fellow Templars from Assassin ambushes.

    I approve.

Hope is a character who needed a bigger role in the game.

    So does the game have flaws? Yes, but they're small ones. One thing is the game is way-way too packed with sidequests. In order to get the Templar armor, for example, you have to find 24 relics using maps to traverse the entire map. What the hell happened to eight relics? There's also a staggering number of other relics you can pick up which, again, involve scouring the massive maps. It felt overwhelming rather than fun.

    The main quest is also truncated in a way it shouldn't be. There's only Six Sequences and the game speeds you along to the conclusion. There could easily have been two more Sequences and a host of other Assassination targets before the game reaches its climax. Like Assassin's Creed 2, the game could use a Bonfire of the Vanities or Siege on Battle of Forli-style set of DLC set during the main campaign.

    In conclusion, Rogue is a great game. If it's got any flaws, it's that there's both too much and too little of it. I love Shay and wouldn't mind seeing a sequel starring him. I'm torn between giving this game a nine and a ten given how annoying side-questing could be but if the other reviews can be unfair, so can I.

    For the spoiler review of the game's storyline, go here.

10/10

Buy at Amazon.com

     I've already reviewed the game here but it's one of those which benefits from having its story analyzed in detail. Assassin's Creed: Rogue is, in my opinion, one of the three best video games in the franchise. It, Assassins Creed 2 and Black Flag, are my "holy trinity" of stabbing dudes. I say this as a massive fan of Assassins Creed 3 and Brotherhood.

    Why?

    The story.

    Rogue follows Shay Cormac as he goes from being a French-aligned privateer in the service of the Assassins to an English-aligned privateer in the service of the Templars. Shay Cormac is the ultimate enemy of the Assassins and the Templar's version of Darth Vader, showing the game's traditional enemy has teeth. This is already a good premise as seeing things from the Templar side of things has long been a request of fans.

    How this comes about is why the story is awesome.

The ever-present cold symbolizes Shay's emotional devastation. There is no peace of traitors, even when treason is the moral good.

    It would have been easy for the game to give us a group of evil Assassins and good Templars, less muddying the waters than showing they were groups of individuals. Instead, the game takes a more daring route by portraying the Assassins as they've always been depicted in the games.

    Heroes.

    Sort of.

    The game deconstructs video game morality by taking apart the blind self-righteousness of the Assassins. They are good, the Templars are evil. The Assassins never question this fundamental truth and tirelessly pursue their eternal war with the Templars regardless of how many people die in the process. This is not a new idea as, in Brotherhood, Lucrezia Borgia points out Lorenzo de Medici was a monster. The novels mention Caterina Sforza, one of Ezio's love interests, was a murderer of children.

    Shay is a rough and tumble guy, having spent most of his life on the streets. He, more than most Assassins, is the kind of guy who is aware of the ambiguities which define life. It's ironic that for a group which has its motto, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted" they are blind to the nuances of morality.

Achilles lecturing Shay is a tragedy because he never imagines he has not the power nor the wisdom to handle the beast he's about to unleash.

    When we meet the Colonial Assassins, they are a likable bunch of rogues and outcasts. Two black men, a Native American, a woman, and a couple of Irishmen are about the most representative of people squashed by the Man as you can get in the 17th century. There's also a French nobleman but no one likes him. The game predisposes you to respect them by using Achilles and Adewale, both individuals we've come to like and respect from previous games.

    Then it pulls the rug out from under you.

    Some reviewers have called the event which separates Shay from the Brotherhood as cheap. The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake is an event caused by the Assassins playing with the Pieces of Eden but isn't something they could have foreseen.

    I think this is missing the point as it's not the Lisbon Earthquake which causes Shay to leave the Assassins but their reaction to it. Achilles blames Shay for doing something wrong then says they have a responsibility to continue pursuing the Pieces of Eden no matter what. In other words, he cannot accept the possibility the Assassins were behind the deaths of innocents. They're the good guys, after all. When Achilles orders Shay to be killed, no one questions the Mentor.

    Not even the entire town.

    At a word, Shay is to die.

The Assassins call Shay a monster for turning against them. But, really, they're just mad because he won't die like other Templars.

    They are, in simple terms, fanatics.

    Lovable fanatics, but fanatics.

    Even so, why join the Templars? Why turn against your former friends and allies before hunting them down like a dog? The Templars, after all, are after many of the things the Assassins are, including the Pieces of Eden. Here, I think its ambiguous as Shay doesn't so much join the Templars as slip into them.

    Shay starts waging war against their agents because they're behind the gangs menacing the people of New York, which is a Devil's bargain that makes them no better than the Borgia, before they start hunting him. The Templars win Shay over with their urban renewal project and the fact the Assassins hunt him first. Shay can't take five steps in New York without someone jumping out of the bushes to try and gut him.

    In that respect, the Assassins bit off more than they could chew. In the end, the destruction of the Colonial Assassins is a tragedy but it's an escalating one. To protect his new friends, men who'd stand by him, Shay turned against the Assassins. It's no coincidence the Assassination contracts are defensive ones. Shay doesn't hunt the Assassins for much of the game, he protects Templars against them. By the end of the game, he IS hunting Assassins and seeking Pieces of Eden. So has he fallen from grace or does he feel now, this is the only way?

    Both?

    The answer is left to the player.

    The depiction of the Templars in Rogue is fascinating because, like the Assassins, we don't see them changed from their usual way. The Templars are still arrogant, power hungry, manipulative, and privileged. The thing is, we also get a good dose of how those qualities make them qualified leaders. With the exception of the Borgia, Vidic, and WW2 Templars; one thing has always united the Templars and that's their belief they are working for the greater good. They claim to use their power to benefit others.

    The thing is, Rogue shows they actually do. It's possible Colonel Monro and Shay are the exceptions rather than he rule but there's no reason to assume so. When compared to so many corrupt and ruthless monsters throughout history, the fact the Templars bother to make sure the masses are fed puts them above most.

Heroes or villains?

    Yet, the Assassins tirelessly persecute the anti-slavery pro-economic prosperity Templars over other ruthless tyrants simply because they're Templars. At the start of the game, the Assassins have Shay murder two helpless old men simply because of their allegiance (one who was already dying).

    Food for thought.

    I think all fans of the series will love the game these issues. It's a very human story with a lot going on for it. What's the best summary for it? I believe The Dark Knight says it best: You either die a hero or live long to become the villain. The question is whether it's Shay or the Assassins who became such.

10/10

Buy at Amazon.com

    Broken is the third volume in the Guardian Interviews series. These books follow a group of monster-hunters called the Regulators who possess the supernatural abilities due to their association with a man named Jaxon. Jaxon is the Guardian, a superhuman warrior capable of regenerating injuries when exposed to nature. Like the Slayer, a new Guardian is called whenever the old one dies (or abandons his duty).

    Broken is about Jaxon abandoning said duty.

    Not willingly but undeniably.

    For the past two books, Michael Clary has been setting up the character flaws of Jaxon: his arrogance, his refusal to solve any problem save through the most direct means possible, and his blind trust in his allies. The flaws are exploited to devastating affect in Broken and we see the character pay a horrific price for them.

    The premise is the Regulators find themselves honored for their role in fighting against the zombie outbreak in El Paso, Texas. Unfortunately, no sooner do they receive their owners than they find themselves framed for crimes against the state. Another series would have the Regulators begin a complicated A-team-esque plot to clear their names and take revenge on their enemies.

    Instead, this book is about how the event breaks them.

    The Regulators are a great bunch of guys, heroes all, but they have never been prepared for defeat. They can't deal with failure and whereas other heroes are capable of rolling with the punches, the Regulators aren't. I found this to be a surprising development and really enjoyed seeing them at their lowest.

    This isn't because I disliked the characters but because it was a side we hadn't seen of them before. Heroism is very easy to portray when it's easy. Heroism is much harder when we see the protagonists actually struggle with it--and sometimes fail.

    The resolution for this plot was really well-done as it happens in a way which is unlike any other similar plots in the franchise. The Regulators aren't the kind of people who can deal with a subtle threat against them. Like so many people who are very-very good at what they do, failure is a difficult concept for them to deal with. Growing up, I was something of a genius, which meant I was pathetic when my best wasn't good enough. The Regulators are the same way, except more so, and Jaxon is the worst of the lot.

    Seeing him fail and in such a way as he does, is heartbreaking.

    The book isn't perfect. There's an sequence where lesbian team-member Ivana has to deal with an extensive amount of sexual amount of sexual harassment from a co-worker the author plays for laughs but I didn't find in the least bit funny. Thankfully, Ivana deals with it in a far more mature manner than I would have in her place. There's also a seen involving the death of a beloved family pet which ends in a manner which is best described as "hokey."

    Still, I liked this book's plot and the way the characters developed. Unexpectedly, the book has a section which can serve as a good bit of social satire against extraordinary rendition. When one of the characters finds themselves captured, we get a horrific look at what sort of abuses can happen when there is no one guaranteeing their protection. It's easy to justify torture and isolation when it happens to bad people, what happens when it happens to a good man?

    We find out.

    Broken is a great book and I'm glad Michael Clary took a chance by shaking up the formula. I hope he continues to change around things in order to keep the series fresh.

9/10

Buy at Amazon.com

    I didn't know what to expect from Undertow when I picked it up. I'd heard it was a well-regarded urban fantasy novel but knew nothing about the premise, characters, or setting. Much to my surprise, it turned out to be one of the better ones I've read this year. It's easily up there with Damoren and some of the mid-level Dresden Files books. I think this is a series I'll follow and review as I do so.

    The premise is Ethan Banning is a private investigator who, through some fault of his own, has gotten himself possessed by a demon. This is not a suave or charming tempter but a disgusting beast which constantly encourages Ethan to torture and murder. Ethan, being a working class stiff, usually manages to tune him out the same way I do the offensive background noise of my life.

    Which ticks the demon off something fierce.

    Despite the fact he's a got a handle on keeping it from killing people randomly, Ethan still wants it out of his head. To that end, he seeks out a university professor who is an expert on the occult. The professor wants Ethan to do him a favor first, however, and that ticks the whole ball rolling for our plot. A plot which will involve ancient sea gods, lovable teenage necromancers, and virgin sacrifice.

    Ethan is a likable enough lead as we see how his condition is a curse rather than a blessing in disguise. He suffers diarrhea of the mouth and must keep a constant check on his emotions lest he Hulk-out with uncontrollable rage. The demon is one-dimensional but, occasionally, shows signs of having been something more once. I like that hint as it offers a chance for the creature to grow.

    Undertow has strong H.P. Lovecraft influences which get lampshaded later in the story. There's a small New England town with a dark secret, an ancient slumbering sea god, and a cult out to bring him back to the world of the living. It isn't directly set in the Cthulhu Mythos, primarily due to the Christian influences of Ethan's possession, but incorporates something similar with ease. I hope we'll see more use of these ancient evils as the fact they terrify Ethan's demon is excellent build-up.

    The supporting cast is excellent with a collection of oddballs and weirdos who are all entertaining to read about. I liked everyone and wanted to see more books about their interaction with Ethan. I was especially fond of his pseudo-Goth sidekick and hoped they'd become permanent partners at the end. Ethan, himself, is a cheerfully unlikable lead with a lot of hangups which get him in trouble with the locals (even without a demon egging him on).

    If I have one complaint about Undertow, it's the ending. The book is funny, entertaining, and light-hearted before suddenly swerving into territory similar to Hellblazer. The ending body-count is huge and removes a lot of characters from play I'd grown attached to. Some may find this to be a good thing but I found it to be jarring.

    Pick this up if you like the Dresden Files or Mercedes Thompson.

9/10

Buy at Amazon.com

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