I have some mixed feelings when it comes to The Witcher series, mostly because the plot is a little insane, but also because Geralt of Rivia is neither the protagonist nor the driving force of the main plot. In the third game, CD Projeckt Red even admits as much. “This is my story,” Ciri tells an anxious Geralt as she goes off to complete her Savior-of-the-World destiny. Which, of course, brings to mind a whole lot of confusion. Because there is no real reason why The Witcher isn’t a series of games featuring Ciri. Particularly in this last installment, Geralt is rendered completely redundant. Ciri not only has the same skill set as Geralt, but also possesses incredible magic and is a faster and stronger fighter. This is further drummed in by the Ciri’s Story inserts into the main gameplay. Read the rest on Angry Gamer Girl.
Author: Mirce
Unpacking Your Own Bias
In Social Justice circles, we talk a lot about examining your own privilege and understanding your own biases, but we don’t talk about HOW people are supposed to go about these things. We only tell them to do it. We don’t even offer any kind of support system because unpacking your own internalized bias is the sort of process you’re never really done with. There are all sorts of biases that are thrust upon us as children and take a long time to exorcise from our brains and even then, nothing really ever goes away. Read the rest at Issues of Humanity.
A 505 Games Preview in Times Square- ADR1FT and Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
505 Games had the beautiful vision of giving game reviewers the opportunity to play video games on the biggest screens imaginable and I was able to get myself a ticket. Their March NYC Showcase was held in the AMC theater in Times Square, which allowed us to play both Payday 2: Crimewave Edition and ADR1FT on movie screens- though ADR1FT was also available to play on the Oculus Rift. Read the rest at BleedingCool.
The Biggest Problem with the Men’s Rights Movement is the Men’s Rights Movement
The words “Men’s Rights Activist” have become a shorthand for the stereotype of a fedora-wearing misogynist who spends most of his days trolling websites, shouting the word “femi-nazis,” and man-splaining all over the place. Unfortunately for these staunch supporters of Men’s Rights, they’ve gone and completely destroyed whatever credibility the Men’s Rights movement may have had. There are certainly issues that men face which are not given main stream attention, however, most of these stem from our patriarchal society’s insistence on strict gender roles. Toxic masculinity is a symptom of the patriarchy, which we feminist have been harping on about for a few generations now.
Read the rest at Issues of Humanity.
Dragon Age: Inquisition- Full of Pointless Features No One Wanted
You start out as a prisoner, which should feel pretty familiar by now. Obviously, you’re an important prisoner, as you will inevitably affect the fate of all of Thedas. This is made perfectly clear from the start. There is a hole in the sky and a whole conclave of people dead, with you the only survivor. You have a mysterious mark on your hand that looks a lot like the glowing green hole in the sky. So your task is to fix it. Read the rest on Angry Gamer Girl.
A Lack of Variety And The Same Old Glitches In How To Survive: Storm Warning
How to Survive: Storm Warning is a new edition of How to Survive which includes the DLC expansion as well as a new feature- the weather conditions can effect the player and the environment in various ways. While this a fantastic feature for a survival game, the adverse weather conditions combined with the Dark Souls-style respawning of previous enemies on a save make the game rather needlessly difficult. Or maybe I’m just worse at games than I’d thought, because my method of getting through How to Survive on both co-op and single player was to strategically die at checkpoints. Which is one strategy of gaming, I guess, but not one I’ve ever particularly enjoyed. Read the rest at BleedingCool.
A First Look at 505 Games’ Newest Titles – Ember and How to Survive: Storm Warning
505 Games held a media showcase to show off their newest titles at New York Comic Con, including the expanded How to Survive: Storm Warning edition and the mobile game Ember. Ember, despite being a mobile OS game, features 20-30 hours of gameplay with a heavy Baldur’s Gate influence. As in the old Baldur’s Gate games, you have an “isometric” view and the battles are turn-based. The dungeons will take about na hour to get through, so this is not a game to casually play for five minutes and then put down, despite the fact that it’s on a mobile platform. Read the rest at BleedingCool.
A First Look at Final Fantasy Type-O and More from Square Enix
I had the ability to demo a few games by Square Enix a few weeks ago, including the newest installment of the Final Fantasy franchise and a few others. The usual Final Fantasy game uses turn-based gameplay, often with a lot of menus. Final Fantasy Type-O HD is, in that way, a rather huge departure from the usual FF dynamic. Fighting is all done in real time, with instant-kills if you time your attacks right, and no real menus in sight. The game’s combat system is essentially a stripped down version of the one found in each Kingdom Hearts game. For gamers who have always avoided Final Fantasy titles because of the ubiquitous menus and turn-based gameplay, Type-O should be a great introduction to the franchise. Read the rest at BleedingCool.
New York Comic Con 2014: BleedingCool
This is a master list of my work with BleedingCool at NYCC2014.
Main page
NYCC: The Marvel Animation Panel
The Un-Feminist First Question of the Women of DC Panel at New York Comic Con
Marvel Reveals New Hawkeye Team, Ant-Man, and Phil Noto Variants – Full Panel Coverage
Live! The Women of Marvel Panel – ‘You Fight Because You Have To And We Need You’ – with Rich Johnston
Event Reports
San Diego Comic-Con 2014: BleedingCool posts
Masterlist of my writing for BleedingCool’s SDCC Liveblog.
Main Page
Fusion of Art and Style (While Channeling Scott Pilgrim and Tank Girl) in Sunset Overdrive
Bioware Shows off A New Hero With A New Ride at SDCC – with Daniel Celko
Providing DRM Free Books: The SDCC ComiXology Panel
Liveblog
Event Reports
Artist as Brand: Rise of the Artist Entrepreneur
Madeline Ricchiuto 