Month: March 2012

First Impressions: I Am Alive (XBLA)

Posted on by tavia.

[wpspoiler name=”First Impressions vs. Reviews” ]First Impressions are based on demos while Reviews are based on entire games.[/wpspoiler]

I Am Alive tells the story of a man who spent over a year crossing the ruins of a ravaged country to get back home to his family. He’s practical and cautious, prepared with just enough of the right tools and abilities.

Gameplay is also practical and cautious with just the right amount of badassery.

Ubisoft makes such a wide variety of games from Farcry to Rayman so depending on how you’ve personally interacted with Ubisoft, this gritty, post-apocalyptic, personal journey might be something to add to the deck of awesome or something very unexpected but still very awesome. Continue reading “First Impressions: I Am Alive (XBLA)”

Book Review: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin

Posted on by anninyn

[1.Provided for review by Open Road]

Considered one of the great dystopian novels-alongside Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World-Ira Levin’s frightening glimpse into the future continues to fascinate readers even forty years after publication.

The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called “The Family.” The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. Even the basic facts of nature are subject to the UniComp’s will-men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night.

With a vision as frightening as any in the history of the science fiction genre, This Perfect Day is one of Ira Levin’s most haunting novels.

Grade: DNF

The trouble with classics and parents of a genre is that they often use tropes that are very common to the modern reader, or tropes that are outright nauseating due to values dissonance. Even if these things were acceptable and new when the book was written, a modern audience may struggle.

I struggled with this book. It’s not that I’m a girl with no love for the classics and no ability to look beyond the demands or the era in which a book was written- I’m probably one of the few people who reads classic literature for fun.

online pharmacy buy strattera with best prices today in the USA

I just… really stuggled with this one.

Continue reading “Book Review: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin”

I am your post-apocalyptic benevolent dictator.

Posted on by anninyn

Oh yes, I am. It’s time to be honest with you – I don’t prepare so I can spend the next thrity years of my shortened life span grubbing in the dirt. I prepare so that I can make you do that for me. And you’ll do it, because by then you’ll love me.

Continue reading “I am your post-apocalyptic benevolent dictator.”

Race relations in the post apocalypse

Posted on by char

I know race relations (or the possible lack thereof) isn’t necessarily something people want to think about, let alone talk about. But. Race relations, racial tensions, and all that other fun stuff that happens now will still be happening after the apocalypse. And I think at some point, those tensions may even get worse.

Personally, I think things might go a little like this: In the beginning, immediately after the apocalypse, people will be so desperate and willing to survive that they’ll join a group–any group–to increase their chances of survival. And as we’ve said numerous times, joining a group will increase your chances of survival. (Assuming, of course, that you don’t do anything to annoy your group members and provoke them into leaving you in the hands of rabid dogs or hungry zombies/vampires.)

Continue reading “Race relations in the post apocalypse”

"The Reapers won't stop at Earth." – The Mass Effect Universe

Posted on by tavia.

Mass Effect 3 is the final installment of the much beloved trilogy. Though mainly established through revolutionary action RPG games, the universe spans comics, novels, film, and amime. It’s almost as pervasive as the Reapers themselves.

The story of Commander Shepard and crew is set in the far future where humans and other alien races have a tenuous balance of power and trust. Enter the mysterious Collectors and the wicked Reapers bent on taking over the entire universe.

In anticipation of the ME3 launch on March 6th 2012, let’s look at the major milestones (SPOILERS) in the the franchise in (in-universe) chronological order: Continue reading “"The Reapers won't stop at Earth." – The Mass Effect Universe”

Comic Review: 30 Days of Night #1

Posted on by tavia.

30 Days of Night #1 (of 3)

Part 1 of 3. The story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon.

online pharmacy buy nolvadex with best prices today in the USA

As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town’s husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction

At first I didn’t like the look of 30 days of Night. It was dark and smudgey like it had been drawn in a hurry and someone was trying to hide something.

online pharmacy buy tretiva with best prices today in the USA

Then, like a Monet, I found the ambiguity beautiful. It was a part of the story, the setting, and the feeling imparted by not knowing exactly what that thing might be. Continue reading “Comic Review: 30 Days of Night #1”

You May Now RAGE on a Mac

Posted on by tavia.

Why you’re trying to game on a Mac is beyond me, BUT if you choose to do that, you are now free to play RAGE on your fancy show piece[1. Think someone might not be a Mac person…?].

RAGE is the post-apocalyptic wasteland first person shooter complete with mutants and bandits and dune buggy races, oh my. Bethesda Softworks announced via a press release that the standard RAGE: Campaign Edition will come with features that were previously, on other consoles, only available in the special RAGE: Anarchy Edition:

In RAGE: Campaign Edition you will take on bandit gangs and hordes of mutants with an arsenal of exotic weapons and special items, such as Wingsticks, personal turrets, sentry bots, and remote-controlled bomb cars as you play through the game’s full unaltered single-player campaign. The Mac version will also include bonus equipment formerly exclusive to the RAGE Anarchy Edition, including a Double Barrel Shotgun, the Rat Rod Buggy, Fists of RAGE and Crimson Elite Armor. You’ll also have access to the Wasteland Sewers Missions which feature additional mutant blasting gameplay and looting opportunities.

Luckily for Mac gamers, this isn’t just a port from one system to another. id software worked with Aspyr to ensure that the game was just as good on the Mac as it is on real gaming platforms[2 Why are we encouraging them? They can’t even right-click.].

“Aspyr has been a great partner, bringing id Software’s games to the Mac platform for years,” said Todd Hollenshead, President of id Software.  “We’ve worked closely with them again to offer the amazing graphics and intense combat that RAGE is famous for to Mac gamers.”

It’s a video!

Fiction Review: Wormwood, by D.H. Nevins

Posted on by anninyn

[1. Wormwood was provided for review by Black Wraith Books]

In the post-apocalyptic paranormal thriller, Wormwood by D. H. Nevins, the Earth has been decimated by a legion of half-angels. But while most of these creatures are bent on sending all humans to their final resting place, one, Tiamat, is tormented by the tasks he is called upon to do. When he rescues a woman named Kali, both their lives change forever. Kept alive by the grace of Tiamat, Kali defies him by trying to save as many of the human survivors as she can. The attraction between them is irresistible, but can Kali trust one of the half-angels who has sworn to destroy her world and everyone in it? And can Tiamat justify helping one of the very people he is meant to kill? The more he tries to keep Kali safe, the more his own life is in danger. As Kali struggles to find a way to survive in the Earth’s vast, devastated landscape, she finds herself plagued by the half-angels hell bent on her destruction. Forced to trust Tiamat, the one being who could prove to be her greatest enemy, she walks a thin line between life and death.

 

Grade: B-

Wormwood is a curious book. I enjoyed it a great deal, but a few unignorable flaws stopped it from being an A grade for me.

Continue reading “Fiction Review: Wormwood, by D.H. Nevins”

Happy Hemophilia Awareness Month!

Posted on by tavia.

Hemophilia Awareness Month is a real thing and it starts today, March 1st.

In general, we should make sure we’re aware of all kinds of diseases and disorders –especially those that are partially responsible for spawning supernatural rumors.

Hemophilia is a disorder of your blood-clotting system. Clotting is the process by which your blood changes from a liquid to a solid state.

There are several types of hemophilia. All types can cause prolonged bleeding. If you have hemophilia and you have a cut, you’ll bleed for a longer time than you would if your blood clotted normally. Small cuts usually aren’t much of a problem. The greater health concern, particularly with hemophilia A and B, is deep internal bleeding and bleeding into joints.

Hemophilia is a lifelong disease, but with proper treatment and self-care, most people with hemophilia can maintain an active, productive lifestyle.

SOURCE Continue reading “Happy Hemophilia Awareness Month!”