Tag Archives: 2015

Uncategorized, video game reviews

Is Mortal Rite Worth Playing? Honest Review

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Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of Mortal Rite to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

Shameless Self-Promotions

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What is Mortal Rite?

Mortal Rite is a class-based Souls-like available on Steam Early Access.

You have been granted the ability to take over different champions and use them to defeat the evil that plagues the land. Make your way through a monster infested land, master your powers, and defeat the bosses. Will you be the hero this world needs, or will you fall to the darkness like so many before you?

Gameplay

Players will fight their way through a dungeon, learning to harness their powers. This journey can be made alone, but the game supports up to five player co-op. The first hero a player selects is free, but players will need to buy additional characters with farmable resources. Each character has its unique playstyle can can be further customized through the game’s attribute system.

Combat is straight forward and follows the traditional Souls-like formula. Players get access to a heavy/light attack, a doge, block, and a few character specific abilities to change things up. Dying resets players to checkpoints, and killing the bosses progresses the story. Aside from the class system, the game doesn’t do much too different.

Review

Mortal Rite shows its players that it is still an Early Access game. Booting up the game, players will immediately notice that the game isn’t finished. The biggest issue I have with the game is the performance. Frames drop, FPS isn’t great, and worst of all, combat isn’t smooth. I get that bugs can be part of the charm, but not when combat feels as clunky as it does in Mortal Rite. Swimming feels slow and looks bad, and the lack of fluid motion will get players killed. A lot of the time I felt like I was fighting the controls and the game more than I was fighting my enemies.

I could forgive a janky unfinished combat system if the lore were good, but it isn’t. The story feels a little generic, and it did little to keep my attention. At least the characters seem thematic, but I wouldn’t play this game just for the characters.

Even if you like backing Early Access games, I would wait for a couple more updates. Even then, I would wait for a full release because you simply have better options at this price point. Go play Void Sols instead. It’s cheaper, better, and it has a demo.

You can pick up Mortal Rite on Steam for $24.99.

Movie Reviews, movies

Movie Review: Kept Woman (2015)

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Kept Woman is a horror movie where the monster is toxic masculinity. The film is about a strong, intelligent, independent Jessica who is kidnapped and forced to live the rest of her life as a 1950’s American housewife in her neighbor’s basement. It is a story about the struggle between modern womanhood and the pressure of an always creeping outdated ideal. Kept Woman attempts to create horror in the mundane, almost like in Stepford Wives or Get Out. The monster isn’t scary, but rather the need for idyllic perfection. As a result, there are some beautiful set designs, but faulty execution.

The movie spends the first half of the movie establishing Jessica as the here. She is a quirky and intelligent amateur sleuth. The movie wastes so much time on her development, that the horror is limited to the last 30 minutes of the film. It is dull and disappointing. I believe the intent was to build up to a powerful moment when she escapes, but it doesn’t pan out as such. It feels rushed and forced. Some cool moments in this movie suggest that a bigger budget and better writing might have saved this movie, but as is, this movie is a waste of time. 

If you want a movie with the same plot done better, watch 10 Cloverfield Lane. It has the same plot done better, even with the whole alien subplot. But if you don’t believe me, you can watch it on Amazon Video with a Prime subscription. 

Movie Reviews, Uncategorized

The Intern (2015) Review

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The intern is the buddy comedy starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway that no one asked for. The plot is simple enough. You start out the movie with De Niro narrating how his life has become boring routine since his Retirement. We learn that this narration is part of his interview for a job as an intern at a successful online retail company. This is immediately contrasted against Anne Hathaway’s character who is a fast-paced business woman in charge of an extremely successful business. The movie wants you to know that they are opposites and will be the focus of the movie. Naturally De Niro gets the job and is paired up with Hathaway’s character because she must be the example for the company. As the movie progresses, we get to see their relationship grow as Hathaway learns to slow down and soften up thanks to the persistence and good nature of Robert De Niro. It’s a basic plot so there isn’t too much to say on it.

The film starts off quirky. The character interactions, the music, the scenes. Unfortunately, it loses this quirk 20 minutes in after all the introductions are settled. It gets dull. A lot of the plot is contrived and forced just for the sake of having plot points. De Niro’s love interests, his friendships, the whole reason that he end’s up at the company in the first place is a reach. After you get past the quirky intro, it turns into a generic story that you will forget instantly. Granted, I might not be the target audience so that might contribute why this story wasn’t compelling, but it’s just too simple for my taste.

The acting in this movie is good. The chemistry between the two characters, and even the rest of the cast was great. I believed De Niro and Hathaway’s relationship. I thought it was cute, but the acting and the chemistry can’t save the boring narrative you have to sit through. I don’t have too much to say about this movie because it was just generic. I don’t see this movie lasting too long because it will be dated soon. A lot of the quirks get old fast and they will repeat the same joke too many times. I lost interest early on because it becomes a gimmick almost. It is jokes about De Niro adjusting to the tech world and jokes about Hathaway learning to slow down and enjoy her life. It is too easy.

It’s not a terrible film, it has good moments. The acting is great. The production is good. It just wasn’t made for me. It is story no one asked for and we really don’t need but it was done well enough. I rate a 4 out of 10, while I didn’t like the film personally, it’s not a harmful flick and it isn’t a terrible time. For the right audience, it’ll be a great sit.