Video Game Review — Resident Evil 6

Title:  Resident Evil 6
By:  Capcom
Rating:  Mature
Release Date:  October 2, 2012
ASIN:   B0050SY4DG

Rating:

"The story is told from the perspectives of Chris Redfield, a former member and founder of the BSAA traumatized by a failed operation, Leon S. Kennedy, a Raccoon City survivor and agent for the U.S. government, Jake Muller, illegitimate son of Albert Wesker and associate of Sherry Birkin, and Ada Wong, a freelance agent framed for the bio-terrorist attacks by Neo-Umbrella. They must all confront the force behind a massive bio-terrorist attack with the newly developed C-virus in cities across the world."

~ Wikipedia

 I've always loved the Resident Evil games/movies.  Plus, after downloaded the demo and seeing Leon was returning, I couldn't keep myself from playing it!  However, being pretty crappy at third person shooters, a friend of mine played it with me.  Luckily, he had already won the game, kicks ass at shooters, and was game to play it again! 

Ha-ha, even after playing it, I'm not sure I could tell you exactly what it's about.  In addition, even if I could, it would ruin the whole story.  Let's just say this, at some point or the other, all of the stories tie together, and it appears as though they are battling a new strain of the virus.

I've seen my fair share of bad reviews concerning this game.  However, I really, really enjoyed it.  Granted, my only real experience with the Resident Evil games revolves around number 4, which I tried at a gaming store.  That being said, loving the franchise, I know a lot about the story behind the games.  And, for me, this was a perfect fit!  Plus, it was the return of Leon, who was my first video game crush back in 1998 ;)

The fact that the game is split into four different campaigns was interesting.  I liked seeing the story from the different view points, and it was nice to be able to take a break between campaigns.  It didn't need the consistent play that some of the previous ones did.  Also, it let fans play their favorite characters without feeling as though they were cheating on others. 

The non-stop action in Chris' campaign got a little annoying and overkill; however, considering his position in the BSAA, it was completely understandable.  Further, the ending for his campaign had be in tears!  It was interesting to see him after the events of Resident Evil 5 and how he was surviving after that.  And I am still convinced that Wesker is going to come back! 

Like Chris', Jake's campaign is another non-stop action; however, it was not nearly as intense as Chris'.  That being said, I think the OTE in his campaign might be enough to give you severe thumb/hand cramps.  Also, in the typical style of Japanese games, we really don't get to see the mushy ending between Jake and Sherry.  Yes, yes, I was waiting for it!

Leon's campaign was a lot more introspective than the others.  Because of his relationship to the President and working with Helena, it changed the whole dynamic of game play.  That does not mean that the story lacked.  For me, in a lot of ways, I felt the story was pushed even further because of the introspective nature of his campaign.  Plus, Leon just rocks :)

The last campaign is only unlockable after you beat a few of the others.  I will not give away the secret, because it's a nice surprise.  That being said, the crossbow is probably my favorite weapon!

The QTE got to be overkill!  I hated playing the little games while in the middle of battle.  Further, the healing got on my nerves.  It was hard to try and mix your herbs while being attacked on all fronts.  The changing camera perspectives during running/QTE scenes really, really pissed me off.  Many times I ended up dying because my camera angle was forced into a change. 

That being said, I LOVED it!  I love the ability to play agent hunt after beating the first campaign.  And, even though the serpent symbols are a bitch to find, the collections are awesome!  If you're planning on playing this, it is time consuming!  But it's worth it :)

Late Night Book Review — Submission

Late Night Book Review — Gabriel's Rapture

When it Rains . . . It Pours

Well, it seems as though Sinnful Books is finally back up and running!  Even after renewing my domain, it took all weekend+ for it to finally come back.  *sigh*  I'm sorry things have been down and reviews haven't gone up. 

Speaking of reviews, I have been suffering with a cold all weekend, so nothing has been written.  Also, I just got an assignment from work, so tomorrow isn't looking so promising!  I promise that the reviews will be written up and posted over the weekend.

Thanks for hanging with me, guys!  And, no, I did not disappear ;)

PROMO: Whispered Truth

 

Title:  Whispered Truth
Genre:  Historical Mystery 
Published:March 31, 2013

"In 1911, England hovers on the cusp of change. A new king waits to be crowned. Women and the poor are fighting for their rights. Political turmoil rages throughout Europe. And a promising young artist lies dead in the heart of London.

"Just another tragic death in a city filled with untimely demises. Or so thinks Hargreaves, the gifted, but troubled, Detective Inspector called in to investigate. Haunted by the tragedy of his own past, he is unprepared for the onslaught of long-buried memories and powerful emotions the case brings. Making his task even more difficult is the troubling presence of Daisy Cartwright, a wealthy widow closely connected to the victim, and a woman he feels inexplicably drawn to.

"Untangling the tightly woven threads connecting the victim and the suspects, Hargreaves soon reaches a conclusion, only to have that theory shattered by the revelation that everything he has been led to believe is a lie. Groping through the silence and secrets, he uncovers a cold-blooded killer, and a connection to his own past that leaves him reeling."

Excerpt

Forty-five minutes later, her head pounding with fatigue, Daisy thanked Olivia for a truly enjoyable evening, nodding and smiling at the rest of the guests as she made her carefully timed exit. She subtly scanned the room for Eugene, hoping for a chance to speak with him before she left, but he was nowhere in sight. Disappointed, she continued into the hallway, followed by Sir John, playing his role as host to perfection, seeing her to the door.

“I’ve instructed Mary to bring your hat and coat,” Wilson, the Sebright’s butler said, opening the vestibule door as she approached.
“Thank you, Wilson,” she replied, as a gust of wind sent a smattering of rain against the stained glass panels beside the front door.
“Do mind the weather, Daisy,” Olivia called, her strong voice carrying into the entrance hall. “I would hate to hear you’ve caught a chill.” She stretched her ample neck, peering over the back of the drawing room sofa.
“Not to worry, Olivia. I’ll be quite all right,” Daisy called back, touched by her concern. She genuinely liked Olivia, taking delight in her numerous eccentricities. She just wished Olivia had chosen a better husband. “So nice to see you again, Sir John,” she said, turning with a charming smile to the man in question. “I was hoping you and Olivia could join me for dinner next week. There’s something I would dearly love your advice on. Perhaps next Wed…”

Her words were interrupted by a scream. Flinching in surprise, she stared wide-eyed down the hallway as another scream, even more ear piercing than the first, quickly followed. “What on earth,” she mumbled, following her first instinct and hurrying down the hall, leaving Sir John rooted to the spot, his mouth hanging open in shock.

Nearing the rear of the hall, Daisy spotted the Sebright’s housemaid, Mary, trembling at the entrance to the coatroom. Her face was ashen, a hand clamped over her mouth in an effort to stifle the further screams gathering in her throat.

“Mary!” Daisy exclaimed, reaching for the young woman’s arm. “What is it?”

Mary’s head shook quickly back and forth, her eyes filled with stark terror.

“What’s happened?” Daisy tried to keep the alarm from her voice as a cold sense of foreboding swept over her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Olivia and several other guests making their way down the hall toward them.

In a voice filled with more curiosity than annoyance, Olivia asked, “What is all the commotion? Ooh, has our young Mary seen a ghost? How thrilling! You know, there were rumors when we moved in here…”

Daisy kept her attention focused on Mary, Olivia’s voice fading away. Mary stepped aside and pointed a trembling hand to the rear of the coatroom. Unsure what Mary was indicating, Daisy took a step into the room and gasped, the color draining from her face. Amidst a jumbled pile of evening wraps and overcoats, a body lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving. Stepping closer, her stomach clenched.

Oh, dear God, no. Please…

It couldn’t be. It was just a strange trick of the light.

A familiar pain swept through her and she choked back a sob. Shaking her head in slow denial she stared at the once handsome face of Eugene Evans, his youthful features now distorted and reddened into a deathly grimace as dull, sightless eyes stared past her.

Author Bio

M M Hall is the author of Whispered Truth, the first novel in the Inspector Hargreaves series. She also writes as Molly M Hall, and is the author of Reckoning, the first installment in the Dark Prophecy series. She currently lives just outside of Denver where she's at work on her next novel.

She pursued a degree in English Literature at Columbia College and worked in the corporate world for several years before turning to writing full time.

When not reading or writing she can be found listening to music, playing piano, exercising, working on her very inadequate French, or looking for inspiring landscapes to photograph.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make Me Pick Up or Buy A Book!

• My favorite authors - Unless they really, really  screw up (*ahem* Laurel K. Hamilton), I will always buy books by my fav authors ♥
• ZOMBIES - Ever since I watched the original Night of the Living Dead with my dad when I was under ten, zombies have always had me hooked!
• Serial killers - It's a weird, fucked up fascination, but most serial killer fiction is my guilty pleasure.
• Medieval historical fiction - You throw Norse sagas, medieval literature, history, etc. at me, and you will have me eating out of your hand!  Hey, I wanted advanced degrees in medieval lit, specifically Norse sagas ;)
• Awesome covers - You know how you were always told never to judge a book by it's cover?  Well, I do all the time!
• Dystopian/apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic - Not sure why these books appeal to me, but they do. 
• Werewolves - I love wolves!  Need more be said?
• Good, freaky horror/ghost story - Again, this is my dad's fault ;)
• Kick ass graphic novel/superheroes - Sucker for good art, awesome stories, and superheroes kicking ass!
• ZOMBIES - HeeHee

Book Review — Poison Princess

Title:  Poison Princess
Author:  Kresley Cole
Genre:  YA post-apocalypse/romance
Pages:  Hardback, 369
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster, October 2, 12012
ISBN:  978-1-4424-3664-0
Opening Lines:  "She's so lovely, so fragile.  Those haunted eyes.  Those rosebud lips . . . they'll scream so prettily."

Rating

"Sixteen-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene heads a charmed life—until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations are actually visions of the future—and the visions are still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate, Jackson Deveaux.

"With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally trust Jack. But if he ever casts that wicked grin her way, can she possibly resist him?

"As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have received the same call. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side . . ."

~Jacket copy

After reading Sarah's review, I couldn't get this book out of my head!  The whole concept seemed intriguing.  As with most books I want to read, our local library didn't have it.  So, as usual, I had to put in an ILL request.  And, once I was able to start reading it, I couldn't put the damn thing down!

Finally home after a summer-long stint in a juvenile mental institution, Evangeline "Evie" is looking forward to starting school and returning to a normal life.  She is eager to put the nightmares and weird hallucinations behind her, with the help of doctors, therapy, and medication.  However, just even everything seems to be starting to return to normal, her nightmares come back, strange visions haunt her in the middle of class, and the newest student, Jackson Deveaux, has caught her attention.

While still trying to determine what is true and keep her head down, the unthinkable happens: the sun's rays blast the earth, killing most of the population, plant life, and evaporating the water sources.  And that's when Evie realizes that her hallucinations were really premonitions of this horrible apocalyptic event and a coming battle.

In an effort to find the information locked in her brain after being institutionalized, Evie goes on a cross-country trek to find her grandmother.  Along with the help of Jackson and three other people, Evie will encounter some strange things that will shake the bedrock of what she's always known.
  

When I started this book, I wasn't even sure what to expect.  Aside from the apocalypse theme, some of the other elements took me by surprise.  Granted, after reading a the review that brought this book to my attention, I fully expected the tarot element; however, it goes way beyond that.  I felt that Cole did a good job trying to imagine what it would truly be like if the tarot did start coming to life, or was, in fact, already here.  In addition, she did a good job thinking about the impact that type of sun damage would have on the Earth and how people would react without law.

In general, I liked Evie okay.  She seemed to react to her circumstances the way a normal girl would have.  Even though she was fairly pampered, to me, that didn't really get in the way of her functioning.  However, that could be due in part of her mother's role.  That being said, I did find her rather dense and a little too vapid.  Also, it seemed as though Cole was trying to hard to make her an approachable stereotype—popular, pretty, but not overly conceited.

From the moment he rode into the picture, I really liked Jackson.  Yes, he is rather rough around the edges and a Byronic archetype, but he embodies every boy I loved as a teenager.  Even though I am an adult now, it's still hard to escape those nostalgic feelings.  Also, given his past, I felt he had a lot more depth than we are shown in the book.  The Cole's dialect writing for the Cajun kids—Jackson in particular—was wonderful and added a different element to the story.  Plus, I love me some good dialect ;)

It was neat to see Evie struggle with her role in the tarot and the coming battle.  I liked seeing that internal struggle with what she wanted to be and what she had to be.  However, her powers kept reminding me of Poison Ivy.  Nonetheless, it was rather spiffy.

With the things she will have to do later on, the next books will definitely be tense and pose different issues.  It makes me wonder if that's why the other characters weren't as fleshed out.  Also, with how it ended, I really wonder how Evie will handle her changing role.

Normally, I don't like the typical YA romance with vapid heroines: however, this one really caught my attention.  I love the whole aspect of the tarot coming to life, this ancient battle, and the apocalypse.  Yes, there were a lot of things in the book that were extremely predictable, but it kept me on the edge of my seat.  And, yes, I can see how the pre-apocalypse section of the book could be considered boring or useless.  All of that being said, I really, really enjoyed this book!  The imagery was beautiful, and I like the story.  Now I am eagerly waiting to read the next book in the series!  Kresley, please release it sooner than October!

Current Pages: 6748
Current Progress:

23/50 books