#what i want in a game is interesting storytelling gorgeous graphics and challenges that make you think

[fullofsunsetwhispers]

what sorta game would xs be? adventure? rpg? beatemup? indie point and click? pokemon-like?

Well, there are two already existing xs games. One of them is a typical beatemup in which you also have to take account of your surroundings because there are a lot of traps. The other is also a beatemup, but with more plot and it's multiplayer. XS VA's have more to say in that one. You can interact with objects and throw them at your opponent. The only difference between the two is that showdowns in the former one look like a series of mini-games. You have dance-offs, boat rides, goo-zombies simulations, and a tic-tac-toe showdown. In the latter - at least for me it looks more chaotic, for the fact a lot of characters tend to run across your screen.

But if I were to design the third game of this franchise, I would opt for a mix of an indie point-and-click with showdowns having mechanics similar to the pokemon game. That way you could either lose or gain a wu (or more wus). However, as a fan of platformer games, I would say it would be interesting to see showdowns that involve chasing in the way it is presented in newer Rayman games!

(Btw Rayman Legends music levels are bangers yo) (and Rayman's ability to shrink? Yo that would be any xs character using the changing chopsticks) So, yeah I'm of opinion that a new xs game should include more exploring either by clicking on objects or by simply finding hidden corridors or caves. Rayman sea levels? Just give Rai, Kimiko, Clay or Omi gills of hamachi and you're set on the water adventure! Jack's fishbots (jackie hun those are dolphins but ok I'll let you be) and later Dyris as bosses to defeat. Nice.

Deadly vines with thorns are chasing you? Welcome to Gigi the heylin seed's level! Have fun exploring the catacombs and attacking the plants. Consider it Plants vs zombies sequel lol

Each playable character would have their own inventory in which there would be 3 wus stored (and maybe some healing items?) Fighting isn't necessarily needed (for a fact we have that in original games) I would be more thrilled to have more chasing sequences and puzzles (for example you have to learn from interacting with game elements how to open the wu vault or maybe in a new wu location there are several ancient traps and you have to deactivate them OR YOU ARE AT JACK'S PLACE and you have to find a way how to deactivate booby traps in order to move forward)

Aaand if you want to cross through guarded doors you have to find a way to make the guards leave their stations. For example, set a little fire one room away. If the guards are chase's cats you can throw a ball of wool so they could be more focused on their play rather than their job (but first you have to find that wool and take it with you!). Or you have to play statues with some of Chase's jungle cats (and Cyclops) because once they spot you - you get a hit. In order to get a pass through them, you have to use a shroud of shadows (however! the catch is, it can last only for a couple of seconds when you move. If you want to recharge the invincibility you have to move still for a while. if you fail to do so and the enemy sees you, welp you have to run away and do the same all over again. (See Ratatouille pixar game for reference - the mini games with a chicken, cats, dogs etc)

For funny parts of the game, it would be neat to interact with NPCs. Remember that time Omi got lost in New York? That alien fanatic dude from My homie Omi episode? Let him sell us something - that would be hilarious lol. As a matter of fact, I think Chucky Choo would be a nice shop owner. Yeah, his stuff is expensive but that would give some power-ups. For the first time, he would scam us, sure, but with the plot progression, he would become an ally. Actually, every location should have a shopkeeper. Vlad could find himself in that role, I think. He would sell babushkas' cream for Dojo's scales problem lol and maybe hot drinks that would give monks' a speed-up!

Ok, I'm just throwing more ideas and it turns out it's more of a babble rather than a coherent post, so let me summarize. That idea of putting xs universe into Rayman games came from my realization that in every Rayman level everything moves, collapses, and changes place. In order not to die you have to jump from one platform to another at a right time. In the XS cartoon, something similar occurs - that's why monks and heylins have to be pretty flexible and mind their surroundings. Those who were more focused on their opponent usually got interrupted by something that crashed into them or the opponent pushed them resulting in their falling down etc. So, you can find that in Rayman games.

That was my rant, thanks for reading.

[swipestream]

SUPERVERSIVE: Why Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Felt Like Fan Fiction

The iconic Sly Cooper logo!

Let me start off with this. I LOVE the Sly Cooper series, which was arguably the single most underappreciated series of games in the PS2 era (which also happened to be the golden age of 3D platforming, what with the Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter games coming out at the same time). The games were platformers starring Sly Cooper, a raccoon, a gentleman thief, and just about the coolest guy around, and his friends Bentley, a turtle and computer geek, and Murray, who started off the first game as their dumb and rather burdensome sidekick but in game 2 onward turned into the team muscle. Sly was the archetypal “good” thief who only stole from other thieves and liked the challenge more than anything else. Along the way Sly is chased by his nemesis and love interest, Inspector Carmelia Fox, a red-headed fox with a fiery temper who always manages to be a half step behind Sly and the gang.

Sly 1 felt like a Playstation 1 game on a PS2 engine, its story more of an excuse to get Sly into cool locations than anything else (though it gets more depth when you reach the final section). It distinguished itself with outstanding platforming mechanics, awesome level designs, terrific boss battles, and cel-shaded graphics that look cool to this day.

Sly 2 was a revelation in how much it improved upon the original. It was a textbook example of how to do a sequel well, in both storytelling and game design. Everything great about the first games was not only kept, but improved. The story became more complex, with actual surprising twists and real pathos. The level designs became more creative, Sly’s “hub worlds” expanded, more gameplay options appeared, the voice acting improved…all of it, fantastic. The only part of the game that suffered in comparison to the originals were the rather underwhelming boss battles, but the rest of the game was so brilliantly done that it hardly mattered.

Sly 3 wasn’t as much of an improvement over Sly 2 as Sly 2 was over the original. The story was excellent, but the gameplay, while varied, felt more like a collection of minigames interspersed with platforming sections rather than the other way around. What really saved the game was that the minigames as a rule were excellent and the final level was fantastic. The ending wrapped up the major storylines and gave all of the main characters proper closure. It was a perfect stopping point.

And then…eight years later…Sly 4 arrived, titled “Thieves in Time”. I was thrilled! While it could have ended at Sly 3 if they wanted to there was no question that room for a sequel was available.

So how was Sly 4?

It was good. I liked it. I’ve played it more than once.

It wasn’t great.

Something was just…off.

First off was the gameplay. 99% of it was exactly the same, which is in no way a criticism. I was looking for exactly that!

But, see…one of the promises was that the hub worlds were bigger. And sure enough, they were. But this lead to a problem: The guards were too spread out.

It looks gorgeous, though

You see, in the original series, you needed to be very careful when you walked around, or you’d alert the guards. And if you alerted the guards you’d get at least two, possibly three or more, major guards going after you and even more minor guards. It wasn’t exactly an insurmountable threat, but it made sneaking around useful and practical. In Sly 4, the worlds were so big that escaping was basically child’s play. If you simply ran in the opposite direction the odds were that the other guards were so far away it wouldn’t really be a problem…and you could wander around for minutes without even seeing a guard. It took some of the fun out of wandering around the level. This was a minor flaw, but it was a flaw.

More noticeable was the story. The story wasn’t exactly the best part of Sly Cooper, but it was a draw. The comic booky style and fun use of classic tropes, as well as some plot twists that were actually clever and real moments of pathos, meant that you really were invested in following along. It wasn’t just “there”, it was a part of the game. And in Sly 4 the story was fun, but just…off.

Let’s pivot a little bit here. Carmelita Fox is a cop, and she’s chasing Sly, but she doesn’t hold the power in that relationship. Sly does. He is always the master of the situation, cocky, cool as a cucumber, always read to banter and trade barbs. He respects Carmelita and even has a thing for her, but he’s always the one in control.

This is important. It’s no fun if Carmelita is in control. If Sly is always losing, why would she have a thing for him? He would, literally, be a loser. And if Carmelita keeps kicking Sly’s butt, why would he have a thing for her? She’d be nothing but a thorn in his side instead of a fun challenge with a touch of sex appeal thrown in. That adversarial relationship charged with sexual tension made the whole dynamic exciting; think Han Solo and Princess Leia. Leia might have the power politically and legally, but Han is always the master of the situation every time they banter, and constantly plays the hero. If the dynamic was any other way the romance just doesn’t work.

I think the best example of their relationship comes from the best scene at the end of the original Sly Cooper, and one of the best scenes in the series (incidentally, as you may be able to tell from the art style, the cut scenes in Sly Cooper are awesome in and of themselves). Skip to about 50 seconds in to get to the fun:

I can’t find the exact scene I wanted to show to contrast, but I’ll summarize the general issue.

Sly 4 starts off with Sly and Carmelita together, as game 3 ended.

Then Sly goes back to his thieving ways, and Carmelita gets pissed at him.

Sly spends the rest of the game trying to make it up to her. We get scenes like Sly going up to her trying to explain “How sorry he was” while Carmelita storms off. He stands in the background, giving her puppy dog eyes and looking bashful and ashamed.

That’s not Sly Cooper! Sly would never try to “win over” Carmelita. The problem that Sanzaru had is that Sly and Carmelita’s relationship had simply reached its natural endpoint. If you really want to move forward with the game the proper way to go is to have Bentley and Murray call in Sly for an important mission outside of the law that Sly knows Carmelita won’t approve of. So Sly sneaks off and leaves a note telling Carmelita that he’s going to be gone for awhile. Carmelita gets angry and chases after him, and Sly can keep that cocky, “You-know-you-like-me” attitude without completely losing the moral high ground, even if he is a little guilty about what he has to do. THAT would have worked. A wounded puppy Sly? That doesn’t work. Sly needs to be the master of the situation, no matter what.

I’m being hard on “Thieves in Time” here. I liked it a lot! Seriously! I even had fun with the twisty, comic-booky time travel story! Sly 4 did several things really, really well that did much to make up for its small flaws. The boss battles – with the exception of the awful final level, which was a huge disappointment – were a massive improvement over Sly 2 and 3, creating a style that felt like a hybrid between the boss battles of the original and its sequels, and were some of the game’s best levels.

Sly gets to wear different “costumes” that give him new abilities, and you get to play as Sly’s “ancestors”, who play similar to Sly but with unique abilities of their own. Those were fantastic (and the ancestors were to a man hugely entertaining, especially “Tennessee ‘Kid’ Cooper”, whose “rail slide” levels were probably the very best parts of the game).The level design generally was terrific. The gameplay was varied. The updated cel-shaded animation was absolutely gorgeous. The new cut scene animation was…fine. I’m not sure why they decided to update it, actually, but whatever, it looked good.

It was a very good game with minor gameplay issues and a story that felt off…and an underwhelming ending.

Considering all of that, and considering that the game ended on a MASSIVE cliffhanger, I’m still holding out hope for a Sly 5. Since a TV show is supposedly in the works with luck it may bring back enough interest to make a game 5 viable.

Time will tell I suppose! Here’s hoping.

Sly and Carmelita before things go all pear-shaped

SUPERVERSIVE: Why Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time Felt Like Fan Fiction published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi

[thegamefulguru]

Gameful Guru Review: Final Fantasy XV (PS4, XBONE, Square Enix)

Genre: Action RPG

Difficulty: Moderate (Story) Moderate to High (Sidequests)

Plays Like: Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii), Kingdom Hearts (various)

Gameful Skills Built: Independent Decision Making, Curiosity

“A Final Fantasy for Fans and First-Timers.”

These words spread across the screen in front of me as I prepare, after ten years of waiting, to embark upon my latest adventure in the Final Fantasy series. I am a fan, to be sure. Despite not playing many of them to completion, I’ve explored many a Fantasy in my time as a gamer, and have often been enamored with their characters, their holistic design, their worlds. When I was not quite a teenager, I fell in love with Final Fantasy X’s Spira, its tale of hope, despair and sacrifice, and the way its creators brought that world, and that story to life. Final Fantasy 9, though I have yet to completely finish it, captured my heart and compelled me thoroughly with its humor, pathos and sense of wonder. Final Fantasy XIII, for all its flaws, gripped me with its beauty and its willingness to approach hard emotional territory. My love for RPGs has never wavered, though my devotion to Final Fantasy has waned over the years.

Final Fantasy XV will cause me to fall in love again. I just don’t know it yet.

~

Despite being conceived more than ten years ago, Final Fantasy XV feels very much on the cutting edge of what Japanese RPGs are and are becoming. In the decade since the story of Prince Noctis was first teased, under the title Final Fantasy Versus XIII, RPGs from both sides of the pond strayed from their roots in intriguing ways. Being a JRPG fan, I have paid more attention to the way that Japanese developers have looked to the games being produced by western companies for inspiration, and have created fresh, fabulous games accordingly. We saw Japanese developers embrace open world gameplay with Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii), to great critical acclaim. We have also seen companies like Mistwalker, headed up by ex-Final Fantasy director Hironobu Sakaguchi, create linear but ambitiously designed games like The Last Story and Lost Odyssey, to similar reception.

All the while, Square Enix remained, undeniably alive but docile, a drowsy Titan of the gaming industry. They released a trilogy of Final Fantasy XIII games, two versions of Final Fantasy XIV, and numerous Kingdom Hearts spin-offs and prequels–and many of these releases were met warmly. But there’s been a creeping fear among diehard fans that Final Fantasy, in the face of a broadening RPG landscape, might be losing its footing, its seat at the JRPG throne.

Final Fantasy XV may not be perfect, but for me, at least, it does a lot to assuage these fears.

There are a lot of things to love about this game, not the least of which is the excellent ensemble cast and the myriad ways that the game, with great success, gets you to care about them. There’s an ongoing debate among RPG fans–and Final Fantasy fans in particular–about which kinds of stories make for the best games. Many people engaged in this debate focus on the tension between a story being “character-centric” or “plot-centric.” Most games are a mix of both, and Final Fantasy XV is no exception, but as we know from the way Final Fantasy XII’s overtly political narrative was received, when a game veers too far toward one end of the spectrum, fans opinions tend to polarize.

The delicate balance of developing characters while progressing the plot forward in interesting ways is not one that Final Fantasy XV always nails, but for the most part, no matter how the plot threads have tangled and frayed, the player has an anchor in the core four protagonists: Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum and his retainers, Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum. We meet this band of brothers pushing their broken down, but still luxurious car down the road of an as-yet unknown countryside, and immediately dynamics reveal themselves. This is not a ragtag bunch of strangers pulled together by fate. The familiarity and the increasingly familial bond these characters show does much to endear the player to them, and consequently, the game’s greater world and plot concerns. As the game progresses, we see them fight, laugh, eat, grow and even cry together. By the end, if you’ve truly taken your time with the game’s adventure, the player is left with a sense of having known, having lived with these characters, even if not many of the game’s supporting players get as much time in the spotlight.

There are many great reasons to take your time with Final Fantasy XV, not the least of which is the fact that its world map is huge and rich with rewarding sidequests and secrets. Apart from the quest line that makes up the game’s main story, there are countless mini-games, optional dungeons, monster hunts and other diversions to keep you busy, and although some of them feel like tedious fetch quests, the game finds ways to curb this sense of tedium.

A lot of these ways involve the skills that each of your party members develop simply by engaging with the world. From Gladio’s Survival skills, which develop the more you explore the world on foot and can net you some pretty sweet free items from battles, to Ignis’ Cooking, which enables you to create stat-boosting meals whenever you camp outside, to Prompto’s Photography, which chronicles your adventure and gives you something to reflect on at the end of each in-game day, there’s ample reason to tromp around on foot and go searching for trouble. I was surprised to find Noctis’ Fishing skill to be particularly rewarding to build, as the fishing mini-game has plenty of depth and can be a relaxing break from monster hunting and loot finding, as well as a source of valuable cooking ingredients for Ignis’ gourmet seafood dishes.

Much of your travel across the sprawling map of Lucis takes place with the help of the Regalia, the group’s trusty steed which just happens to take the form of a sleek luxury vehicle. Without the Regalia, traveling from outpost to outpost and quest to quest would eventually grow to be an unbearable slog. Luckily, the Regalia can serve as a waypoint and a means of fast traveling to and from far off locations (for a nominal fee of gil) once you’ve been there before. If you want to explore new locations, however–and you will–you will spend some time traversing the countryside in real time, either in the Regalia, on foot or, after completing one of the game’s more memorable side missions, on the backs of chocobos. On long car rides you can listen to a selection of songs from various Final Fantasies past, purchased at various outposts across the map, and while riding chocobo-back you are treated to the latest variant of the chocobo theme music that is as ubiquitous in the series as Phoenix Downs and guys named Cid.

On foot, and in battle, however, Final Fantasy XV’s musical score truly shines. Yoko Shimomura, already revered by fans for her work on the Kingdom Hearts series, has truly created a masterwork of modern video game music. Exploration themes evoke feelings of tranquility and adventurous mystique, while battle themes lend gravitas and nervous tension to even the most minor of enemy mobs, especially in dungeons, where enemies often appear out of nowhere. Battling and exploring aren’t the only places where Shimomura’s talents are on display. True to Final Fantasy tradition, and fitting given Final Fantasy XV’s dual engagement with the epic and intimate, some of the most memorable tracks are reserved for key moments in the game’s story. There may not be an iconic answer to Final Fantasy VII’s Aerith’s Theme, but there are several songs that in my playthrough, I wanted to just stop everything and listen to.

Of course, this was not always possible, as the battle system in Final Fantasy XV rewards aggression and quick tactical moves. A departure from turn-based and active-time battle systems of games past, gameplay in Final Fantasy XV feels much more like Kingdom Hearts than Final Fantasy proper. Though it lacks much of the nuance and challenge that has made Kingdom Hearts, over time, grow to be one of the more beloved action RPG series, slaying daemons with Noctis and company is often satisfying and only occasionally frustrating. The game attempts to add depth to the combat through various abilities unlocked and refined through the game’s growth system, but I found myself using many of the same tactics and techniques I used in the game’s early chapters well into the late game.

Final Fantasy is a series known for being a leader in cinematic storytelling in games, with nearly all of them challenging the graphical limitations of the systems they reside on, so no one should be surprised that this game is visually gorgeous. But in a gaming landscape where nearly every major game company has a handle on creating hyper realistic graphics, Final Fantasy XV stands out. The game’s world is well-realized and believable, and though it never reaches the grandiose scale of Skyrim, this is not a bad thing. Even after 45 hours of non-stop exploration and questing, there were still corners of the game’s world I hadn’t seen, and as a gamer who often is intimidated by non-linearity, I was excited to get a little lost in the game’s weeds.

The main trouble with Final Fantasy XV’s story–and the game as a whole–arrives in the latter third of the game’s story chapters, which for me accounted for a very small fraction of my overall playtime. Although you are given opportunities to return to your earlier questing grounds, retaining all current equipment and abilities, you do so risking ruining the narrative tension being built by the game’s final act. As far as final acts go, Noctis’ tale has its flaws, to be sure: large events take place between chapters and are quickly recapped in passing or through newspaper clippings found on train car seats, and the joys of exploration experienced in the first chunk of the game are traded in for drab corridor strolls peppered with light stealth and puzzle sequences. The game’s story builds to a satisfying conclusion, but the path to the end feels much less fleshed out than the earlier chapters, and much of how one experiences the finale of the game relies on how one spent time in its beginnings.

In many ways, Final Fantasy XV is more of a response to Final Fantasy XIII’s reception than even that game’s sequels. By beginning the game with giving players agency and freedom to explore (within certain limits) Square Enix bucked the potential critique that they cared more about their story’s transmission than about making a gameplay experience that each player could make their own, and so, too, avoided accusations often cast at Japanese RPGs: that they’re too linear, unchallenging and don’t give players much of a say in how they play out. It doesn’t completely avoid these criticisms–I only had one Game Over in my entire playthrough and it happened largely due to some screwy camera in a timed mission–but this is a Final Fantasy unlike any I’ve played before. The game tries to have its cake and eat it too, by narrowing the focus of its latter chapters, while also giving players the option of removing themselves from the game’s plot for a while to return to the side quest grind. The problem is, the most fun parts of the game have little to do with the plot and much more to do with spending time with the game’s main characters and exploring the game’s world. Even if you are fully invested in the game’s main story progression, it’s an odd feeling to reach the final boss of the game and feel over-prepared.

Fortunately, there is a truly robust amount of content that becomes available to you after you complete the main story, including more challenging bosses, sidequests and a few dungeons that have to be experienced to be believed. Square plans to release DLC and free patches to the game in the coming months, adding story and gameplay content, and this intention is heartening to say the least. After such a long development cycle, one is led to wonder what content was left on the editing room floor, and what of that content we might one day get to have our hands on.

Until that DLC starts rolling in, gamers have access to New Game+, where they can replay the game retaining certain achievements and with the addition of items such as the Nixperience Band, which prevents you from leveling up when you rest, that can offer some much needed challenge to completing the game’s main story. The hope seems to be that Final Fantasy XV will be an entry that will keep gamers playing for months, even years to come. I, for one, am excited to see what Square comes up with to fulfill that hope.

~

The game has reached its close, and I am at a loss for words. Even knowing there is more adventuring to be had, I am in awe of what I have already experienced and more than a little heartbroken that, to a certain extent, the tale that I began tens of hours ago is over. Maybe it happened when I reassured Prompto about his worth to me, or when Gladio challenged me to a footrace in the sand at dawn, or when Ignis invited me to help him prepare breakfast, but I fell in love with this game. I have so many people I want to thank for this experience, and more than that, there are so many emotions I have to process. I take a few days to collect myself, leaving Lucis to explore other worlds. But then I return, determined to carry on loving and living in this virtual world, if only for hours at a time. I am pleased to find I am welcomed with open arms.

There is word of earthquakes taking place near Hammerhead. I begin my journey anew.

[thecinemaelite]

Since I’ve gotten many people telling me to play the new God of War game, I have finally succumbed to the peer pressure. Of course, since I’m a connoisseur of narrative storytelling, I decided to play the previous six games as well since I’ve never played any God of War games in my life. So, here are my retrospective thoughts on the franchise as a whole, and collective reviews for all seven games that currently exist (excluding the side-scrolling phone app game. I’m not that desperate for entertainment).

God of War HD (2005)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 8h 41m

MetaScore: 94 Critic / 89 User

My Rating: 8/10

So, an “80%” is not the first grade that came to mind while playing this game. At the beginning, I loved the gameplay and plot but while the story stayed pretty top-notch, the gameplay suffered severe quality fluctuations. Given that this game is 13 years old, functionality and fluidity are critiqued with bias but I can say this fairly objectively: parts of this game are relentlessly frustrating. There are sections where ultimate surgical precision must be maintained by the player, but not by the game. By that I mean that you’ll have to weave between dangers but the “hit boxes” for these dangers are far from exact: this game and its controls are often clunky but at the same time, you’re asked for perfection which makes many aspects of this game simple lucky coin flips. I also appreciated the camera work at times but at other times, it seemed like the absolute stupidest idea in gaming history. The variety of angles is “cool,” but often troublesome and easily substitutable for a simple third person close follow camera type. Artistic, not practical (which is a good way to describe a lot of the mechanics) which is a trait that breeds annoyance almost consistently. Either way, if you have the patience and interest in going back to play this game, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the overall experience.

2. God of War II (2007)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 8h 44m

MetaScore: 93 Critic / 89 User

My Rating: 8/10

The first game I thought was a fantastic story burdened by clunky mechanics that turned parts of gameplay into outright chores but this game was almost the opposite: a smooth game without as impressive a narrative. I never really wanted to beat the game in order to see what became of my playing, but rather to beat the game in order to move onto the next one. Instead of this rags-to-riches plot that made the first so compelling, this is just a revenge tale that plays pretty much the same. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the game but before I go into my positives, I thought I’d get the negatives out of the way beforehand. So, let’s move on to the good parts: damn this game was fun. The added scale and spectacle truly made this feel epic mostly in the sequences that allowed you to fly Pegasus, climb up Titans, and just prove that you are the God of War and not just a soldier of death. Being able to fight Zeus and feel like you’re able to kick his ass given the work you’ve done to upgrade your attacks and weapons was extremely fulfilling. The puzzles weren’t nearly as puzzling but being able to sprint through them just sort of added to the power I felt at the controls of our anti-hero. It’s a ton of fun, that much I can’t deny. Flying with the wings of Icarus was also an added bonus which brings me to my favorite and least favorite parts of the game: the lore it swims, and sometimes drowns, in. Look, it’s really great to interact with Greek gods, Titans, and other creatures of lore but sometimes I thought that the game would have benefitted from re-writing some of these elements. Mainly, 10-arm 10-boobed Great Uncle Ugly that you have to beat towards the end. That was more offputting and disgusting than threatening and I wanted to get it over with more than I did want to feel accomplished by beating him. It’s still a great experience and I enjoyed it slightly more than the first, the mechanics were the most cherished improvement.

3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 3h 13m

MetaScore: 91 Critic / 86 User

My Rating: 5/10

I’m not too sure what I expected from this entry, I suppose that the main reason for this game’s existence is to re-introduce this series to players who would like to play more of the same thing they’ve been playing. Instead of at home, though, it’s on the go. Chains is really just rehashing the least epic portions of the first two games. Honestly, how many times am I going to have to level up the same damn blades? It’s like this character has memory loss and I gotta retrain him every few months. I get that this is a prequel but there are many ways to still have made it more unique. This game is just like the first game minus the God battles. And the final boss? We meet the character RIGHT before we have to fight her, it’s the biggest left-field random “surprise” and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes— the final ending just feels tacked on last-minute. There’s not too much else to say, it doesn’t feel fresh but if you like God of War then this will most likely please you. Or, you’re like me who likes the first two games but this one felt like getting a hair in my salad.

4. God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 4h 08m

MetaScore: 86 Critic / 85 User

My Rating: 9/10

Without a doubt, this is my favorite of the four God of War games I’ve played so far. To me, this is a near perfect edition of the God of War style and mechanics, and adding a great story on top of it. Full of epic moments, thrills, chills, action, drama, and deep character relationships, Ghost of Sparta amazed me around every turn…and this was a PSP to PS3 port? That’s even more amazing. The visuals and gameplay were better than the PS2 games for sure and I can’t wait to see what III and Ascension offer after this amazing entry. Really, my only problems have been problems with the other games as well: the chests, the inability to load single chapters, and the confusing bonuses. The chests are absolutely ridiculous even still, especially when you’re fighting and need to open one right next to you but it flashes different colors so you have to wait for the right one, and hope that you don’t get hit in the meantime. It’s not a skill-based mechanic, it’s a cheap tactic that absolutely needs to disappear. The inability to load earlier chapters bugs me as well because to go back to get just one Gorgon Eye that you missed means replaying the ENTIRE campaign over again which, again, is cheap. It definitely ruins any replayability and so far, this would be the one God of War game I’d go back to play for shits and giggles. Lastly, the confusing bonuses… there are some things I grabbed throughout the campaign that told me I’d have to beat the game to use. Upon completion of the game, nothing in the menus at all gave any hint on how to use these items. I started up a new game and was able to choose my outfit but I still couldn’t figure out how to use these relics, so I just turned it off and decided to write this review before moving onto the next game.

5. God of War III Remastered (2010)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 9h 26m

MetaScore: 92 Critic / 88 User

My Rating: 9/10

There are so many aspects of this game that have been greatly improved upon in comparison to the games that came before it. For one, it’s graphically gorgeous. I played the Remastered version so that may have helped a little bit but either way, the epicness of the game was achieved due almost exclusively to the graphics that helped sell it. This was also the first game that I played on Normal difficulty since the first game. The clunky controls of the earlier entries infuriated me and I played on Easy simply to finish the game as fast as possible (the only real reason I’m playing any of these is because I want to go into God of War IV knowing as much of the backstory as possible), and playing this on normal kicked my ass a few times. Because of this, I had to be much more careful with my attacks, timing, and maneuvers which inherently makes you more invested in the game and character. So, this might not be an objective statement due to the difficulty change but I did feel like this game was more of a challenge which made it slightly more fun, and definitely more rewarding. On the other hand, this game was a lot more gruesome… like, a lot. Almost disgustingly so, at times, as blood would literally cover the screen. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily bother me but as this was the first HD-feeling game, the first graphical change that I noticed was the gallons of blood erupting from every enemy. It was slightly offputting but honestly, did a lot to help sell the legendary fantastical nature of a game revolving around the God of War. Probably my favorite aspect of the game was when you could pick up and use artifacts from the gods and demi-gods that you killed. Whenever you take down one of these mythological characters, you assume some of their powers which was a design that made every few chapters feel extremely fresh (something that was desperately needed after binge-playing all of these games in less than 2 weeks). The final boss fight was another element of the game that changed-up the God of War- fighting paradigm by making it extremely reminiscent of Mortal Kombat (see above image). The hack-and-slash followed by rapid button-mash nature of the boss fights have grown a little slate so having a boss fight in this new style was more than welcome. Overall, I don’t think this game has quite the intimate character-driven story of Ghost of Sparta but it makes up for it in its epic finality which offered a lot of fun, fresh, and exciting gameplay elements.

6. God of War: Ascension (2013)

  Played on: PlayStation Now

Time to Beat: 8h 22m

MetaScore: 80 Critic / 76 User

My Rating: 8/10

Ascension is (yet another) game that takes place before a previous game and because of that, the stakes don’t feel as high since we’ve seen the world of the future. However, Ascension manages to take that basic prequelitis disease and make it exciting. Of course, he is not a god (yet) so he doesn’t have the ability to use all of the magic and powers that he has in the other games, but we were still able to experiment with godlike abilities through artifacts and assistance. Since this takes place before he decides to hunt down and kill Ares, he’s still on the good side of every God, using their abilities at times to aid him in battle. However, the most beneficial tools that we were able to use were just basic items, giving us a taste at how good of a warrior Kratos is, when he can’t rely on the powers of the gods. Aside from that, the story was okay; it definitely didn’t do anything to impress me until the very end as it seems to be more of the same yet again (instead of battling the Sisters of Fate, it’s now the sisters of Fury. Another four letter “f” word…darn) and honestly, I didn’t know WHY I was doing a lot of the things that I was doing. Go here, fight them, swing there, fix this, do that, yadda yadda yadda but the upgraded mechanics and gorgeous visuals made the dead-horse ride much less of a chore. Like the other games, this one also called upon you to use the directional pad in order to change weapons but Ascension did things slightly differently by having each directional button give you a different elemental power to use (Zeus’ lightning, Hades’ souls, Poseidon’s ice, and Ares’ fire) in order to make the mechanics familiar but offer something new. There were a few things that infuriated me about the updated combat mechanics, though, and one of them was the Rage Meter. I liked the general idea of it but in practice, it was rarely used and felt nearly useless. Another thing that I despised was how the Quick Time Events worked. When you attack an enemy until they’re ready for a Finishing Move, grappling them will execute one of four things: a button-mash, a QTE, a fighting mini-game, or a death animation. I like all of these in theory, but since you never knew which one you were going to get, sometimes you’d prepare for the wrong one and then die because you didn’t get a warning. For QTEs specifically, the button demand was excruciatingly random. I love little details like QTE demands being mapped to button commands that make sense, such as X for jump. In Ascension, that’s not the case. There’s no skill involved in the QTEs and it took the fun out of playing those sections…especially because it’s the very last thing you do. One of the reasons that Halo 4 was so painfully underwhelming is because the game ended with a QTE boss fight, for the first time in the series. Ascension is full of those (like the other God of War games) but the reason I hate them so much is that the buttons they ask you to press often don’t make sense. That being said, the fighting minigames were stellar and I really hope to see more things like that instead of QTEs in the 2018 game. Other than that, there were a lot of aspects of this game that I loved a lot more than the other games. First, the voice acting. I’ve never been a huge fan of the quality of voice acting of Kratos but it was perfected in this game and I can really tell that the actor’s skills have improved greatly. Second, the puzzles. There were a lot more puzzles in this game that really made you think about what you were doing and what needs doing (and in what order) which felt a little (way) too much like Uncharted but given that this is the sixth game in the series, a little fresh air was more than welcome. On some levels, I’d finish a puzzle and walk past a chest before opening a door (planning to go back to the chest) but instead, the door would close behind me and the chest was lost. That’s an over exaggerated example but there were at least half a dozen times in which events close to that happened, frustrating me to all hell. Twice, I even purposefully killed myself in order to load the last checkpoint but it would instead take me past where I wanted to be. Either way, it didn’t harm the game too much (aside from the fact that I was 2000 red orbs away from a trophy for unlocking all of Kratos’ upgrades) and I still had a lot of fun. I’d say it’s in my top 3 GoW campaigns so far and although it was quite different, it was a lot of fun as well.

7. God of War (2018)

  Played on: PlayStation 4

Time to Beat: 31h 53m

MetaScore: 94 Critic / 92 User

My Score: 10/10

God of War IV is nothing short of absolute perfection, and an immense improvement on the previous games in the series. This Norse God of War game breathes new life into the franchise, taking not only an entire mythological history and swapping it for another but also switching up the gameplay, style, aesthetic, and changing the very nature of the old hack-and-slash platformers that these games are known for being. Of course, pieces of the game are still reminiscent of the old style but for all intents and purposes, this is a new type of GoW game altogether… and it’s beautiful. My biggest gripes with the other games are now not in the series at all anymore: the helpful health, magic, and rage chests alternating between what they offer: gone. The tedious button-mashing to defeat bosses, open doors, and any other interactable objects: gone. In exchange, God of War IV dilutes those elements or replaces them completely. Sure, there are small stones that may change color depending on what they offer but by no means are they the only source of that object and really, are almost entirely missable. Button-mashing is only in the game less than a dozen times and it’s also mostly avoidable, or completely necessary to put you in Kratos’ shoes (as far as effort goes). While not open world, the map is large and explorable, spanning out from the center like a spider’s web. In this way, it would be most accurate to draw comparisons to Rise of the Tomb Raider or Bioshock where there are not “levels” to progress through the story, but chapters that take place in different areas that can be accessed at any time. In aesthetic, though, comparisons between this game and Skyrim, Middle-Earth, The Witcher or Dragon Age can be drawn as they revolve around a slightly more medieval-fantasy genre. Really, calling this game “Rise of the Tomb Raider meets Skyrim” would be a great way to look at this game as a whole. The other GoW games took you from point A to B to C, and so on. This game, on the other hand, lays out A-Z all at the same time and you get to decide which letter you approach first. From there, A2, A3, A4, and other sections of each letter can be unlocked, if that analogy makes sense. It’s not quite a “play your way” sort of story but the kind of variations and customizations that are offered astounded me, and I still can’t stop playing. The map is very large but I do have a few problems with it. For one, some sections of it are quite maze-like. Since it’s a spider-web shape, you have to follow trails to get between certain sections which means if you want to travel to a different area, you’d have to trek through the trails and are unable to find shortcuts. For example, I wanted to beat the Valkyrie in The Mountains but the Yggdrasil door closest to it took me to a spot 1400m away: above where I wanted to be. The map has no apparent depth when looking at it from above and not being able to rotate it or change perspective became troublesome at times. That is probably the biggest thing I would change as it slowed down my gameplay quite a bit. That being said, my problems with the map stop after Midgard and since there are 5 other realms to explore (all smaller) the problems are mostly limited to that realm. Niflheim, Muspeilheim, Helheim, and Alfheim are all explorable and each offers their own unique perks, challenges, and areas to devote your time to. The best part: you could play the game without even venturing once into two of those places which end up serving as a complete bonus for players who wanted to experience more of the worlds Santa Monica built for us. Speaking of the developers: this game has, by far, the best story of any game I’ve played in a very long time. The action and emotion are both astronomically impacting and both aspects make the experience as a whole entirely unmatched. The voice acting as well has been vastly improved; Kratos is no longer a sort of eye-rolling dialoguist but now is a rusted poet full of heart and buried emotion. It truly was a heartbreaking, heartwarming, and mesmerizing experience following Kratos and Atreus on this journey. The characters were also one of the strongest points by far. Kratos and Atreus, Brok and Sindri, Mimir, Freya, Baldur, and everybody else were just so well written and portrayed; there wasn’t a single flat character in the game. The heroes, as well as villains, were extremely deep and emotional, all containing arcs and stories that are impossible not to be invested in. Brok and Sindri are the best comic relief I’ve ever encountered in a video game, Baldur is one of the most brilliantly conflicted villains, Kratos is helplessly badass and magnetic, and Atreus should have his own game series as well. Honestly, there’s nothing not to like about this masterpiece. I could go on for hours but I think I’ve sold this game enough and just hope that just one single person out there who hasn’t played this game is reading this review is now convinced to give it a try, I’ve succeeded. Borrow it from a friend, rent it, buy it, however you can. Scrape pennies out of the couch and call in your favors: God of War IV is the must-play game of the year.

Series Retrospective & Overall Thoughts

As of writing this sentence, I’ve put 88 hours and 12 minutes into the God of War franchise, with nearly 46 of those being from the most recent entry…which is more than half of my total time playing them. What started as a simple assignment (beat the campaigns, write the reviews) became an emotional investment. I’ve grown to love this series even though many of the titles were quite repetitive as they started asking you to do the same things over and over again. The first six games had their ups and downs, wavering in quality of story and visuals whilst requiring ungodly amounts of button mashing but then came 2018’s God of War which blew everything out of the water. How this game reinvented the franchise astounds me for a few reasons, one of which I have been saving for this section of the post: I played six God of War games in two weeks and the final game was the most satisfying. Yes, they started to feel stale to me after the second game but the new God of War is something so fresh and so new that it felt like something completely different (in the best ways).

As mentioned in the individual reviews, the games started to get stale (especially Chains of Olympus which offered neither a fresh story or gameplay experience). Ghost of Sparta gave us an amazing tale, III offered the most epic visuals, and Ascension gave us the best gameplay. III stood out to me for it’s Mortal Kombat boss fight, Ascension for it’s Uncharted-style, and God of War IV felt like Tomb Raider meets Skyrim. The strength of this franchise has become its variation. As we’ve seen with the LEGO games, the Guitar Hero games, and most recently, the Call of Duty games, audiences will turn on a franchise if it stops reinventing itself. God of War has managed to avoid that because it’s not afraid to change up its pace. I can’t thank creative director Cory Barlog enough for his decision to do just that.

The longest franchise I’ve played in the past is Halo (Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, Reach, and 4) but I never played them consecutively as I did these games. So, it makes sense how this series when played religiously back-to-back may get old but to then have the last game be the most time consuming yet inventive and beautiful was such a treat. If I ever go back and play the God of War games again, I’ll likely simply stick with this new one. If anything, maybe play Ghost of Sparta since it was one of my favorites, or III and Ascension since they were visually appealing, but I’d be robbing myself by playing a God of War game and not have it be this most recent one.

Games Ranked

Ranking titles is one of the most challenging tasks for myself as I constantly remember aspects of one while forgetting aspects of another and then juggling which parts mean more to me but as far as overall experience goes, I think this order satisfies my tastes fairly well.

God of War (2018)

God of War III

Ghost of Sparta

Ascension

God of War II

God of War

Chains of Olympus

All of these games were really enjoyable (aside from Chains which I thought was a pretty boring experience) and even though ranking them may seem like the games down the list are of low quality but don’t let that fool you: all are worth playing.

What Order to Play In

If you’re like I was, and are interested in getting into the God of War games, I’ve thought of the best way to play them in. Since they were released out of chronology but certain stories reference others, playing in either release order or chronological order can be problematic. So, here is the order that I recommend:

God of War

Chains of Olympus (if you want)

Ghost of Sparta

God of War II

God of War III

Ascension

God of War (2018)

The reasoning for this is that Ascension takes place first but references III and has better graphics than all of the other games, and while the PSP games were released between II and III instead of I and II, playing them out of order allows you to play II and III back-to-back which is what I wish I would have done as they lead into the next game seamlessly.

Future Hopes

Without a doubt, I want Santa Monica to continue what they’ve done with this newest title. The tone, story, scale, open-world flavor, side quests, characters, and general aesthetic of this Norse-themed reinvention needs to continue. I’d love to go to the other realms that weren’t explored in GoW4, I’d love to see what happens with a few characters whose future roles were teased, and I absolutely need to see the rest of Kratos’ days as the Greek God of War.

The text in the following paragraph is full of spoilers, I recommend skipping past that paragraph if you don’t want to or already know these things.

I want to see Freya take up her previous role as the Valkyrie Queen for Odin, and set out on a path of vengeance against Kratos and Atreus. Maybe Loki has a brief or extended stint on Asgard’s side and Kratos has to battle Freya and the Asgardians alone during Ragnarok. There are so many options for what could happen in a sequel, and one of the largest plots I can think of is Kratos vs. Thor since Atreus’ reveal as Loki has a history of interacting with Thor and Odin. Although, more father-son drama may start to feel repetitive.

Cory Balrog and the rest of the Santa Monica team said that since this game took 5 years to build from the ground up, the next games wouldn’t take nearly as long and they have quite a few more stories up their sleeves. Time couldn’t move fast enough in order for me to play these games as soon as I’d like to.

Anyways, I think that’ll do it for my God of War Series Review! I hope you enjoyed yourself and as always, thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!

God of War: Series Review Since I've gotten many people telling me to play the new God of War game, I have finally succumbed to the peer pressure.

[thebookrat]

As I mentioned yesterday, First Second books — glorious loves of my life that they are &mdsah; sent me a big ol' box of awesome graphic novels for me to binge on, in preparation for their Girl Power Graphic Novels blog tour. And because I was heart-eyes emojis all over the place, I decided to embrace the theme and turn my one-day blog tour stop into an entire week devoted to highlighting some of my favorite titles and characters on said theme. ✊ So today, I'm taking a deeper look at what exactly came in that Box of Awesomeness, and sharing my thoughts on each! But make sure to stop back by all week, because we're just getting started. The City on the Other Side by Mairghread Scott (Author), Robin Robinson (Illustrator)

When a wealthy and sheltered young girl stumbles into a pitched war between two fairy kingdoms, the fate of San Francisco itself hangs in the balance! The first decade of the twentieth century is coming to a close, and San Francisco is still recovering from the great earthquake of 1906. Isabel watched the destruction safely from her window, sheltered within her high-society world. Isabel isn't the kind of girl who goes on adventures. But that all changes when she stumbles through the invisible barrier that separates the human world from the fairy world. She quickly finds herself caught up in an age-old war and fighting on the side of the Seelie—the good fairies.

As you could probably tell from my unboxing, I was pretty excited for this one. WHIMSICAL CREATURES, YOU GUYS. I didn't plan on being let down, and I wasn't. Of all of the books featured today, City perhaps gives the most consistent and most numerous examples of strong female characters. All of the books do so, but City features many female characters who are different from each other, and strong in different ways, with an overall feeling of competence among them that I really enjoyed.  But the real strength of this story owes a lot to Robin Robinson's art and character creation, because these creatures (the variety, the distinction, the execution) is top-notch. It's the kind of art you want to just lose yourself in for a bit, and anywhere the story may fall short, the art more than makes up for it. And the color palettes! That's a theme with these 5 books/series, but oh, the color palettes on this one especially! *swoon* The City on the Other Side hits stores today! Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter by Marcus Sedgwick (Author), Thomas Taylor (Illustrator)

Scarlett Hart, orphaned daughter of two legendary monster hunters, is determined to carry on in her parents’ footsteps—even if the Royal Academy for the Pursuit and Eradication of Zoological Eccentricities says she’s too young to fight perilous horrors. But whether it's creepy mummies or a horrid hound, Scarlett won’t back down, and with the help of her loyal butler and a lot of monster-mashing gadgets, she’s on the case. With her parent’s archrival, Count Stankovic, ratting her out to T.R.A.P.E.Z.E. and taking all the monster-catching rewards for himself, it’s getting hard for Scarlett to do what she was born to do. And when more monsters start mysteriously manifesting than ever before, Scarlett knows she has to get to the bottom of it and save the city... whatever the danger! In his first adventure for middle-grade readers, acclaimed YA author Marcus Sedgwick teams up with Thomas Taylor (illustrator of the original edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) to create a rip-roaring romp full of hairy horrors, villainous villains, and introducing the world’s toughest monster hunter—Scarlett Hart!

I have . . . numerous stories by Marcus Sedgwick on my shelves. He's one of those authors that I've always intended to read, and had a feeling I would really jell with, but have yet to pick up any of them. So I was very excited to see he was releasing a graphic novel — middle grade, at that — and a flip through to see the art had me even more eager. And this one is certainly enjoyable, though perhaps not the best introduction I could have had to Sedgwick as an author. Scarlett Hart is a fun and boisterous story, with a slightly zany approach to the conflicts and monster battles. In some ways, it seemed to have a Scooby Doo vibe, though it's not really a mystery; just that, in its presentation, it has some of that silly, corny approach to storytelling that is the hallmark of Scooby Doo. The dialogue — and the characters, to an extent — didn't feel like products of their Victorian setting, but that will likely help win over its target audience of younger readers, to be fair. All told, I enjoyed it (and the slightly unsettling art), but wanted a bit more from it. Cucumber Quest: The Doughnut Kingdom by Gigi D.G.

What happens when an evil queen gets her hands on an ancient force of destruction? World domination, obviously. The seven kingdoms of Dreamside need a legendary hero. Instead, they'll have to settle for Cucumber, a nerdy magician who just wants to go to school. As destiny would have it, he and his way more heroic sister, Almond, must now seek the Dream Sword, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Queen Cordelia’s Nightmare Knight. Can these bunny siblings really save the world in its darkest hour? Sure, why not?

The Cucumber Quest series (three books so far, with a fourth coming this fall) is vibrant, silly, super-cute and deceptively simple. This is the type of book that very young readers will fall into and beg to have read to them over and over again; the kind that, when read aloud to a group of children, will have them screaming and yelling and laughing in pure silly joy. It's a very fun and light-hearted story, likely to be a hit with fans of Adventure Time, though possibly too cutesy for some. Again, the colors on this are just fantastic; one of its biggest strengths, actually, is its coloring, which stands out from a lot of the comparatively-duller comics, and lends it even more of a whimsical air. The books may be too simple, silly and/or cloying for older readers, but for many, it'll be a likely hit adventure story that refreshingly flips the expected gender norms on their heads. Monsters Beware! (Chronicles of Claudette #3) by Jorge Aguirre, Rafael Rosado

Claudette is back AGAIN, and she’s ready to kick major monster butt! She’s fought giants, clobbered dragons, and now Claudette faces her biggest challenge yet… herself! Well, that and a gang of vile monsters. It all begins when Claudette’s town hosts the annual Warrior Games. After some sneaky maneuvering, Claudette manages to gets herself, Marie, and Gaston chosen as her town's representatives. But none of Claudette’s past battles has prepared her for this. And to make matters worse, they must stop the vicious Sea Queen and her evil children from using the Warrior Games to free the dark Wizard Grombach and conquer the world! In Monsters Beware!, the third and final book of the Claudette graphic novel series, Claudette is put to the ultimate test. With her honor on the line will she learn that there's more to a fight than just winning?

I've talked about the Chronicles of Claudette stories before (I still don't know what happened to my review of Giants... *frowny face* ), so you may already be familiar with my thoughts and see where I'm likely to go with this, but these stories. . . damn, they are cute. The style is super cartoony (owing to Rosado's and Aguirre's experience in the animation and children's television industries), well-suited to the spunky, silly characters that populate the series. Claudette is plucky and adorably ferocious, likely to win over both young girls and boys (which, according to prevailing wisdom is sadly no easy feat...), and the stories have a playful, humorous approach to all things that will please even the adults being forced to read the same book over and over to their kid, who still inexplicably finds everything as hilarious the 85th time as they did the first. . . Highly recommended for young readers. Also, though this may be the 3rd book I'm talking about today, you can easily start at any book in the series The League of Lasers (Star Scouts #2) by Mike Lawrence

Avani has found the one place in the universe where she fits in: Star Scouts. The League of Lasers is the second volume of this action-packed graphic novel series by Mike Lawrence. During a troop meeting, a robot messenger delivers Avani some exciting news: she has been invited to join a secret society of elite scouts known as the League of Lasers. She is eager to join their ranks, but first she has to survive her initiation challenge. Stranded on an uncharted planet, Avani must contend with the methane atmosphere, hostile frog-like inhabitants, and her dwindling supplies of food and water. But even worse: her arch nemesis, Pam, is stranded there, too.

I've saved what may be my favorite for last. I mean, it's a difficult conclusion to come to, because this stack of comics is a strong one. But there is just something about League that just won me over quickly and thoroughly. I was unfamiliar with the series, not having read book one, and I was unsure if that was going to have a negative impact on my ability to understand or enjoy this sequel. But you can easily pick this one up and dive into the story; it stands on its own, while giving you enough of a breadcrumb trail to what happened in book one (I assume) that you can pretty much garner all of the backstory without being bogged down in it. Again, the coloring is gorgeous, an absolutely beautiful, consistent palette of vibrant pinks, purples and teals throughout. And the characters are interesting, fun, and charming. There's a good weaving of plot threads, and all in all, I was completely taken by it. My one drawback was that the transitions between scenes could be very abrupt (or non-existent), which sometimes made the story feel confusing or disjointed, like maybe I'd accidentally skipped a page or panel. I think some of this may have been intentional (especially in Avani's discovery of the new world), but intentional or not, some readers will find it to be a drawback. That said, it won't stop me from looking into book one, or any future installments of the series. And there you have it! Those are my thoughts on that big ol' box of glorious books that was sent my way. All 5+ books make for great girls-in-comics reads, without being heavy-handedly so, or alienating finicky/stubborn boy readers. You can see peeks of the art for each of these books in my unboxing, if you want to get a feel for the style! Make sure to stop back by the rest of this week as I highlight more titles I love, in conjunction with this blog tour! And if you want more right not, you can find the full list of participating blogs here, so make sure to stop by and check out everyone's thoughts on these, and other, awesome girl power comics! via The Book Rat