I was sent Power Chord as a review code. While I am very grateful for this opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Power Chord is a rogue-like deck builder available now on Steam similar to games like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, but with a metal-inspired aesthetic.
Demons run the city. It is up to you and the band you assemble to defeat them. As you make your way to the top of the demon tower, you will collect cards that you will use to make a deck worthy of killing the four warlords that guard it. Along the way, you will also find gear or trigger random events that can help or hinder your ascent. This game is very RNG-reliant, and this can make your runs fun or miserable.
For the most part, the gameplay is solid. The animation and art style are neat, the attacks and flavor are fun, and it requires enough strategy to keep me engaged through your first run. The story doesn’t really matter because most of the gameplay exists within the grind. My issue with the game is that it is repetitive. I like card games enough that I didn’t mind the repletion so much, but this isn’t a title you will no life to completion.
The RNG can be an issue in this game. When it is fair, and you get excellent pulls, the game is a lot of fun. Other times, you will pull the worst cards, and your run becomes nearly impossible. While the RNG might give the illusion of variety, it makes the grind feel harsher than it is. Unlocking new cards and champions felt slow because I kept running through the same scenarios. They have been adding new playable characters to the roster. This gives the deck building side of the game a bit more diversity, but you still have the issue of facing the same types of battles.
I liked the game, but I love deck builders and metal. Because of how repetitive this game is, the price is an issue. If you are looking for something you can play in small bursts when you just want to chill and listen to some cool music, the game is fine. If you want a challenging and complex story, wait for the sale. If you are a fan of the genre, you might be disappointed by the game’s lack of diversity. I would probably wait for a sale or for the developers to add more content.
This game is available on Steam.
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Movie Review: Elvis (2022)
Elvis is an interesting biopic, but one that has a certain audience in mind. While I do appreciate the film’s unique storytelling, its novelty wears off. Not everything in this movie works. Sometimes you get some interesting narrative about Elvis, but most of the time, this film is sporadic and lacking in focus. While I didn’t outright hate this film, I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it. I definitely won’t be watching it again by choice.
Elvis is the dramatization of Elvis’s career. The movie will jump around various key moments in Elvis’ life. These jumps often happen in the same scene. I can’t speak on the film’s historical accuracy, but parts of this movie feel embellished for narrative purposes and to make Elvis a sympathetic character. I can’t overlook how one-sided this narrative seems to be. I can only wonder about the unfavorable parts of Elvis’ personality that they hide behind the flashing lights and his famous wiggle.
Elvis is fine. The acting and music are great, but the sporadic narrative style leaves a lot to be desired. The constant jumping in time, the overbearing narration, and the editing make this feel like a long trailer for the movie about his life. This whole experience feels like an Elvis Presley speedrun that skips a lot of crucial story beats about his character. When the movie decides to have a long uninterrupted scene, I loved it. I loved watching the performances, but they were often cut too short. As I have mentioned before, the concept is great, but the execution isn’t effective.
If you are an Elvis fan, you will probably have a lot more fun than I do. I loved the music in this movie, I am sure you have a deeper appreciation for it. I also can’t deny that Austin Bulter gives a great performance. That said, this is made with a specific audience in mind, and if you don’t like the style, you won’t like the movie. If you like biopics, this is an interesting one, to say the least; otherwise, I would hold off on watching this till you can find it somewhere for free.
Snitch (2013) Review
Snitch was created as an argument against the strict and unfair drug convictions in the United States, but whether it works or not is up to the viewer.
The film starts off introducing us to the Rock’s son, Jason, talking to his best friend. His friend asks Jason to hold a shipment of MDMA till he is able to pick it up from Jason. Although he Jason doesn’t agree, you know the friend will send it anyways. The film cuts to the Rock, playing John Mathews, doing business. Now the film will go out of its way to let you know that John is a model American man who has made all his money running an honest trucking business. It will also go out of its way to make The Rock look like an ordinary John.
Cut back to the Jason receiving the shipment of drugs and promptly being raided by the DEA. Jason, who was set up by his friend, must now face the harsh sentencing even if he did not intend to sell. It now falls onto the rock to free his son from prison. To do so, he must help in the arrest of a major drug deal and he attempts to do so with the aid of one of his employees, former gang member Daniel. The rest of the movie shows how deeply gets wrapped up trying to win his sons freedom until his goal is to capture a major player in the Mexican cartel.
As an argument against the strict drug convictions, this movie doesn’t work. It is clearly written by someone who clearly doesn’t know how gangs or street life work. To make maters worse, the hero in this movie isn’t likeable. I can see that they were trying to portray John as someone who will do anything for his children, but all he does is put his family and other people in danger for no reason. Well the reason is to gain his son’s freedom, but he does it so selfishly that I couldn’t sympathize with his pursuits. John essentially ruins the life of a man who wants to make a positive change in his life.
Furthermore, the Rock playing John is a total miscasting. The movie tries so hard to make the Rock look like an everyday man by hiding his muscles and it looks awkward. I don’t believe it when he is powerless against the cartel when I’ve seen him beat countless people in other movies with his bare hands. His acting in this is unconvincing. Maybe Dwayne Johnson can play a serious role, but this one wasn’t it. The acting by the other characters wasn’t any better.
The plot doesn’t make sense. This film would have ended the first time he met with a drug dealer because he looks like a cop. But the movie forces you through all the convoluted story points and I for one was furious at the lack of logic this movie has. I understand that there should be some suspension of disbelief when watching films, but not when the movie is trying to change a real issue in society. Especially one that is supposed to take place in Modern America. Everything that happens in this movie happens for the sake of the plot and you can’t force a story if you are trying to examine a real issue. What makes it worse is despite his selfishness, he is ultimately rewarded at the end because the plot demands it and I can’t sit back silently.
I can’t recommend this movie. I could barely finish it because it is just pandering and terrible. If they wanted to make a proper argument, they should have followed Jason into jail and show how it ruined his life. Maybe show everything that was lost because of this one mistake he made. The movie will go and tell you why this war on drugs is bad, but it does little to show it. I give this movie a 0 out of 10 because there is nothing redeeming in it. Skip this one.