Traditionally, I haven’t been a fan of strategy games, but with age, I find myself coming around. I have never played a Fire Emblem title before, and when I saw the ads for Engage, I thought this would be a great time to start. I loved the art style, and the animation looked very cool. I was not disappointed by this title, and Engage quickly became one of my obsessions. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a new game to play, even if you don’t like the genre.

Fire Emblem Engage is a strategy JRPG for the Nintendo Switch where you play as Alear and her allies as they fight against the evil ancient dragon Sombron and try to stop him from taking over the world. With the help of the spirits of great warriors, you and your allies fight against formidable foes in decisive battles that can change everything. Can you collect all the emblems and defeat Sombron before it is too late?

I found the story for this title a bit generic and predictable. It leans heavily on anime tropes, and I found some of the character development a bit lacking. That said, the story is good enough for the casual experience this became for me. It isn’t a bad story, but I have a feeling that there are better stories in the series that I will be exploring in the future.

The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag. There are elements of the gameplay like the combat that I loved, but there are other elements that felt like they bogged the game down, like the training mini-games. What sets Engage apart from other strategy games I’ve played is its social mechanics You are encouraged to make friends with your allies through a series of activities you complete in-between battles. You can eat, train, and talk with allies to unlock additional backstory and small buffs. This was an interesting concept that quickly became a chore as the stories I sat through stopped being as interesting, and the minigames stopped being fun. I just wanted to beat the next chapter, but I also wanted to make sure I collected all the available buffs. If you like the characters you interact with, this might not feel as much of a chore.

I loved the combat in this game. I played this game on normal difficulty and on casual because I couldn’t handle the permanence of death. There is a mode in this game where death is permanent. Units that die in combat die in the story, and you no longer have access to them. This is a very cool mechanic, but one that I wasn’t ready for at the start of my adventure. I found the normal difficulty challenging enough for my abilities, but the options are available from the start for those of you who need the extra challenge. One thing to note about the normal difficulty is that it is very easy to over-level. I can’t speak for harder difficulties, but you don’t really need to grind much on normal to beat the story. 

So is this game worth it? Yes. Although it has its flaws, it serves as a fantastic introduction to the series. As someone who has never played another Fire Emblem game, I am left wanting more. I went into this title blind without knowing anything about the series, and never felt lost with the lore. The mechanics were easy to pick up, the story is good enough, and the animation is very cool. There are settings in this game to speed up combat by turning off animations, but I left them on because I loved watching the combat. If you are looking for a fun strategy game that isn’t a huge commitment, check out Fire Emblem Engage. 

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: You People (2023)

January 30, 2023 josechurape 1 Comment

I wasn’t a fan of You People because it is a lazy movie at its core. It has good actors who give fantastic performances, but this is a movie that sacrifices narrative in order to make its pretentious points about racism. If you are interested in watching this movie, you won’t hate it, but keep in mind that it isn’t the quirky rom-com that you think it is.

The story is about an interatrial couple and the struggles they face as their cultures clash. There is also a subplot about a podcast, but there really isn’t much more to this movie.

The acting is fine, but the leads share no chemistry. It feels as if the only reason the two are together is to create the uncomfortable situations the movie is brimming with. The white family will constantly make tone-deaf statements as they desperately attempt to not appear racist. The African-American family seems to be equally one note as they become the foils to the Jewish family. This back-and-forth gets old almost instantly, but I can’t deny that the performances were excellent.

This movie seems to be shamelessly made to make white people uncomfortable. While I appreciate some of the commentary it makes, the tone is directed toward a particular audience. I find it problematic to exclude a group of people from a conversation about racism. This movie also boils down such a complex issue into something too simple for cheap laughs. I felt like this movie doesn’t do anything other than try to make its audience uncomfortable. 

These uncomfortable moments and discussions are tied together by its poorly and barely existent plot. This relationship exists outside of various clashes and unintended racism which would be fine if this wasn’t a rom-com. If you take away these moments, you get a couple of montages and a crappy podcast. I was not a fan of the fact that I had to sit through a fake podcast full of bad takes because there wasn’t enough plot for a movie. I am very upset that this movie forgot it was a rom-com, but remembered the main character’s rise to a successful podcaster.

I can’t recommend this movie because there really isn’t much to it. While there are some great performances and some valid humor, it doesn’t do enough to earn a recommendation. There are older rom-coms that deal with the same subject but do it better, I recommend you watch those instead. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie, nor do intend on rewatching it, but you can stream it on Netflix if you have nothing better to do. 

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: Shotgun Wedding (2022)

January 27, 2023 josechurape 8 Comments

If I had to only use one word to describe the comedic cinematic genius that is Shotgun Wedding, it would be cheap. This film is a collection of cheap action sequences, cheap CGI, and cheap jokes bundled in a cheap script to fill up a digital catalog. This movie required more suspense of disbelief and patience than I am capable of. With how hard Amazon is advertising this movie, I expected something that didn’t feel like a bargain bin direct-to-vhs action movie. If you are desperate to watch a JLO comedy, The Wedding Planner is a better movie.

A generic couple plans a destination wedding in the Philippines. Conflict between the couple has slowly been boiling over until they get into a huge fight on the day of the wedding. Luckily for them, pirates have crashed their wedding and taken their guests as hostages. JLO and her husband are now forced to work through their relationship while they attempt to save the day. Can they do so before the pirates start killing hostages? Yes because this is a poorly written movie. 

The acting in this movie is lazy, and most actors seem to be there for the paycheck. To be fair to the actors, there is only so much that can be done with this script. The plot is dumb, and there clearly wasn’t enough of an idea for a movie. If you cut out all the filler and the ending karaoke scene no one asked for, there are 30 minutes of “plot” left for your enjoyment. Less than half of that is enjoyable. I would be lying if I said this movie didn’t make me laugh. This movie had its moments, but most of them are in the trailer, so there really isn’t a need to watch it for an additional joke or two.

I am tired of the JLO character at this point. She plays the same character in all her movies, whether she plays a stripper or is playing herself. I understand that a lot of this has to do with the fact that she doesn’t have the range to play any other character. Here it’s problematic when the lead needs to be more charismatic than JLO is capable of being. She didn’t has no chemistry with the husband, her comedic timing is inconsistent, and she was too goofy for the action bits. Maybe one day they will find a role where this character works, but not today.

I can’t recommend this movie because I don’t really count it as a movie. It doesn’t take advantage of its cast, there is no plot, and it’s barely funny. It may not be the worst comedy I have seen, but your time is better spent elsewhere. For those curious, you can check it out on Amazon.

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Series Reviews

Series Review: Hunters Season 2

January 25, 2023 josechurape 2 Comments

I want to give a shoutout to Cathrine for her kind words and the coffee! I appreciate your support. You don’t know how much your kind words meant to me. Thank you so much! I’m here wishing you the best. 

I enjoyed the first season of Hunters but was disappointed by how it ended. I was so disappointed by its conclusion that I was considering not returning for the second season. This season was fine, but I didn’t think it was worth the effort. It feels too drawn out and without any real direction. It may not be a terrible show, but it does leave a lot to be desired. If you are curious about this series or need a proper conclusion, I suggest you throw it in the background so you can skip all the boring bits.

Hunters is a series about a group of people who come together to hunt down Nazis who went into hiding. The justice is too slow so the Hunters are taking justice into their own hands.

I found this season more convoluted than the last with less action. The action it did have isn’t exciting. This season felt like it lacked direction as it struggled to pad its run time with a boring backstory and intrapersonal conflict. There are a lot of stories added to this season that felt out of place even within the narrative. Some characters were devastatingly underutilized, while others overstayed their welcome. Nothing stood out this time, and I found myself struggling not to fast forward.

My issue with this season is that it doesn’t have a proper villain. The first season with its faults had a proper force fighting against the hunters. Here, the heroes only seem to fight themselves, and it gets tiresome. I get that the point was to have an incompetent villain, but when they are this incompetent, what is the point? This season turns an interesting concept into another generic action thriller, but one that isn’t very fun.

I wasn’t a fan of this series and have already forgotten what happens in it. It may not be the worst, but with so much better content out there, it is better to hold off until you have absolutely nothing to watch. If you do end up watching this series, I suggest you keep the remote handy to skip over all the boring bits. For those interested, check it out on Amazon.

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Gaming News and Review

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