Retro Game Friday: Prototype

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering another Open-World game. It’s Prototype!

Plot Synopsis: The game follows Alexander J. Mercer who wakes up in a morgue in the basement of Gentek, a genetic engineering company based in Manhattan, sending a pair of scientists that were just about to perform an autopsy running. Alex escapes, and witnesses the scientists being gunned down by military operatives. Alex is discovered and attacked. He survives bullets being fired into his chest, and leaps over a wall to safety. He soon discovers he now possesses powerful shapeshifting abilities, superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, senses, endurance, weaponry and the ability to “consume” people to gain their memories, skills and appearance. With no memory of his previous life, Alex decides to find and consume those related to the conspiracy in order to uncover the truth.

Plot: The plot is really messed up, but given that this was a rated M game I wasn’t too surprised. The plot wasn’t super amazing, but it wasn’t terrible either.

Characters: The characters in this game are also really messed up, but I won’t go into that as it’d be spoilerific. That being said Alex was a decent lead character, but nothing amazing either.

Gameplay: This was a pretty fun game, allowing you to pretty much go around Manhattan as you pleased and do whatever you want, whether that’s going on a murderous rampage taking out any and everyone, or following the story. There was lots of violence, but the gameplay was pretty solid. That being said it was quite a bit like InFamous which came out at a similar time.

Art: The art is okay, but it’s 3D so it’s aged poorly. They did remake it for the latest generation of consoles however, so there is that.

Music: The music was okay, but I don’t much of it.

Overall: A solid game, if a bit repetitive. If you’ve never played it, try out the remastered version that comes with the sequel.

For those who like: Action, Open-World, Violence, Decent Plots, Good Gameplay, Okay Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Kento Ankokuden Cestvs by Wazarai Shizuya

This week for Manga Monday I’m back with another Quick Review. It’s Kento Ankokuden Cestvs by Wazarai Shizuya!

Plot Synopsis: 54 AD. Cestvs, a young boy and member of the lowest social class, is placed into a training school for slave-boxers. It is here that he begins his journey to defy fate and survive.

Plot: This first chapter is pretty brutal, but considering the subject matter is Roman Gladiators I’m not too surprised. I actually enjoyed this, and I’ll probably continue reading this sometime in the future. At least I will once I’ve cleared out all the other ones I’ve have already in my backlog.

Characters: We get introduced to Cestvs and Rocco in this first chapter and I have to say I found them pretty interesting characters. Cestvs seems way too nice to be a gladiator, but I’m going to guess he’ll grow over the course of the series.

Art: The art really reminds me of Berserk, a series that is also notoriously bloody and violent. At least Cestvs held my attention more than Berserk did.

Overall: If you want a look at what Roman Gladiators dealt with Cestvs should prove to be a great read, probably.

For those who like: Historical Fiction, Drama, Action, Martial Arts, Violence, Interesting Plot, Great Lead Character, Fitting Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Sensate Saturday: Inuyashiki by Hiroya Oku

This week for Sensate Saturday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Inuyashiki by Hiroya Oku!

Plot Synopsis: Inuyashiki has a family, a wife and two kids, none of which care about him. When he learns that he has only three months to live he realizes that the only one who will miss him is his dog…

Plot: This series is really depressing, and if it weren’t for the fact that I had already prepared for doing this Quick Review in advance prior to the US Presidential Election, I wouldn’t be covering this series. This first chapter is really depressing and frankly if anyone has any mental health issues, especially after this last week, don’t read this series right now. Wait until next summer, before trying this series out. I know I plan to do just that. As this is a series written by the creator of Gantz, I’m expecting a lot of tragedy and heartbreak, though if he kills the dog I will stop reading this series faster than a sinking piece of lead. I’ll probably never read another of his works either, I’m a dog lover so sue me.

Characters: Inuyashiki is a really sad guy, and I feel for him deeply, although I have a family who cares about me, I understand feeling lonely except for your dog. Ironically enough both Inuyashiki and my family have the same breed of dog, the Shiba Inu. They really are smarter than some humans I’ve met, and frankly my favorite character is the dog, Hanako, thus far. The rest of the cast is okay, but really depressing.

Art: The art is amazing, which is to be expected by the guy who made Gantz.

Overall: This looks to be a great series, but I’m going to be holding off until the summer to read this due to it being so depressing as well.

For those who like: Dogs, Older Male Leads, Being Depressed, Amazing Artwork, Great Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters (really though the dog is awesome.)

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but especially the Depressed part.

Manga Monday: Yogen no Nayuta by Fujimoto Tatsuki

This week for Manga Monday I’m covering another One-Shot! It’s Yogen no Nayuta by Fujimoto Tatsuki!

Plot Synopsis: A tale about a prophecy involving a girl with horns who is said to bring destruction upon the world, and her brother.

Plot: The plot is pretty tense, and I really didn’t expect this to run in a Shounen publication, but it did. That being said it was a One-Shot so maybe it was able to get away with more than a full serialization would. The plot is also really screwed up, so if you have any squeamishness you probably don’t want to read this.

Characters: Kenji is our main PoV character for this One-Shot and his sister Nayuta is our titular female lead. She’s definitely not normal, and is pretty disturbing. The rest of the characters we meet are never named, so I can’t really comment on anyone else.

Art: The art matches this screwed up One-Shot very well, but given the author’s other work which is even more seriously screwed up I found Nayuta to be much more tolerable.

Overall: If you can handle the gore, this One-Shot might be worth a read. Otherwise move on with your life, you really don’t want to read this.

For those who like: Drama, Action, Violence, Gore, Tense Plot.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, especially the Gore.

Anime Sunday: Drifters Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m starting in on the latest season of Anime’s newcomers! It’s my Drifters Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: Shimazu Toyohisa, while involved at the Battle of Sekigahara, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa, but is critically wounded in the process. As he walks from the field wounded and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor of doors, where a bespectacled man at a desk waits for him…

Plot: The plot is bloody, violent, and everything I might have expected from the creator of Hellsing.  I won’t go too much into the plot as it’d be spoiling all the fun for you. That being said I’m very intrigued and will be watching this series intensely as it should prove to be lots of fun.

Characters: Toyohisa seems to be our lead character and while I admire his bravery I do hope he gets past being headstrong as that seems to be his normal state of mind.  The rest of the cast we got to meet thus far is just as interesting. I won’t spoil anything beyond saying that I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the cast.

Art: Wonderfully done with intense linework and lots of fluid animation. I won’t say it’s at ufotable level quality work, but it’s really close.

Music: The music is great as well, and fits the series perfectly.

Overall: For Actions fans, Drifters is looking to become a must watch series.

For those who like: Action, Drama, Violence, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Amazing Artwork, Great Musical Score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.