Keri Honea - 43/183 - Strategy Guide Reviews

Comic Review: Halo: Escalation #19

July 21, 2015 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

When reading virtually any of the Halo books, the Covenant constantly points out that humans cannot be trusted because they have no honor, they always lie, and they’ll say and do anything for selfish reasons. Even though the Spartan-IIs and a few other humans always proved this notion wrong, it always bothered me every time I read it. Not all humans are so despicable; how can they get that idea when all the Covenant does is kill every human on sight and take no prisoners? And then I would turn the page and read about the horrid plans ONI is hatching to “ensure” human survival above the costs of everyone else; alliances with other races be damned. However, ONI has always painted it that they do the awful for the greater good, which in a sense is like the honor and culture of the Sangheili and the Sangheili pride.

All of that is gone by the second page of Halo: Escalation #19. Maybe not all humans are awful (I need this thought some days, give me a break), but virtually everyone at ONI is. I’m not sure how they can say what they do is good and honorable, when they say, and I quote:

The species’ [Sangheili] rigid code of honor, combined with their culture of overt and direct aggression, makes them naturally poor candidates for ONI’s line of work. Our search has been for the deviant. The abnormal social profile that shows an instinct for self-preservation and deception. Basically, we looked for the most human Sangheili we could find…

I want to choke them and say, “No, you’ve found the most ONI Sangheili you could find,” but I suppose at that point we would be splitting hairs.

Why are they looking for a human Sangheili? I admit it’s for a noble cause—a way for ONI to infiltrate Jul ‘Mdama’s new Covenant and put a stop to his and Halsey’s insurrection against humanity. Yet, I can’t help but think that they wouldn’t BE in this situation at all if they hadn’t proven Jul ‘Mdama right in his assessment of humans in the first place.

That could be a dissertation for another time. But back to this particular issue.

Issue #19 indeed jumps back into the plotline post Spartan Ops, one that will surely lead into the main storyline of Halo 5: Guardians. All of the big league players from the last several comics and Spartan Ops are here to shine: Dr. Glassman, Halsey, Jul ‘Mdama Commander Laskey, Spartan Thorne, Spartan Palmer, and another Spartan who I don’t want to name here. I’d hate to kill any sort of surprise. For a comic that kicks off a new story arc, it jam-packed in plenty, removing the typical chessboard set-up most first issues/episodes/etc. have. And yet, it was able to do so without feeling rushed or even jam-packed. Virtually everyone has already been introduced in past arcs and media, which allowed the comic team to skip over most character development and jump right into ONI’s insidious plot.

Are you counting down the months until Halo 5: Guardians‘ release? You should be, because according to my watch, we have only 4 MORE ISSUES until the game releases. If you haven’t been reading Halo: Escalation, now is the time to get on board and catch up, catch up, catch up. I can’t emphasize enough how great this comic series is, and Issue #19 kicks it into amazingly high gear.

Digital review copy received from publisher.

Monday Gaming Diary: Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi Memories

July 20, 2015 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

I watched A LOT of EVO 2015 this weekend. I streamed the Ultra Street Fighter IV and Super Smash Bros. Melee pools most of my work day on Friday and then watched Mortal Kombat X pools Saturday as well as the MKX semifinals that night. Right after church on Sunday, I got prepped for the MKX finals, and I was blown away watching someone from the losers bracket come back and win it all in the grand finals. Watching these guys master juggling opponents is a beautiful sight to behold, and I saw more Brutalities than I know I’ll ever see in my own gameplay days.

Granted, these guys practice and train with their preferred characters about as many hours as I work during the day, so yes, they have worked hard to get where they are. Watching them, though, reminded me of how many hours I put in back in the day when I was hardcore into Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi, the original one on the PS2.

Even if there were professional gaming tournaments for DBZBT back then, I wasn’t good enough to get very far in any competition. However, I did put in the hours in that game to master two characters (Vegeta and Trunks) and learn all of their secret moves–a/k/a the ones that weren’t in the instruction manual–and no one would play that game against me. I would even offer to play as a character I normally didn’t fight with, but still no one would play against me. I don’t know if this game supported online play, but the PS2 wasn’t that great for online anything back then. Some games utilized it, but not many, and it wasn’t great enough to warrant even bothering running CATV to the PS2.

I loved DBZBT so much that I purchased the sequel, and even though I loved the cel-shaded visuals ten times more than the 3D graphics of the original, I never put in half the hours into DBZBT2 as I did the first one. By the time the third game came out, I was over DBZ as an anime and had gotten into the world of RPGs. My fighting game days were pretty much over.

If I could put in that many hours into MKX again, meaning that I play nothing else but MKX and what I’m reviewing for work (which also means no more Platinum Trophy hunts or replaying RPGs or even starting Final Fantasy XIV), then perhaps I could have a brave enough face to show up at an open tournament. Although, I have a feeling that I’m past my prime with fighting game tournaments anyway, just with age and hand-eye coordination falling as sub-par compared to a 20-year-old.

Even if I was 20, though, I still wouldn’t focus that much on one game. I like playing so many different games, and I like my stupid Platinum Trophies. But I really like watching these guys, and I really like how they motivate me to play the game more to try out different combos, attempt Brutalities, and try to master a character as much as I personally can. It makes me wanna go DBZBT all over again.

Book Review: Halo: New Blood

July 16, 2015 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

As Halo 5: Guardians looms closer, I realize I have plenty of Halo books to catch up on, and I don’t mean just older books, of which I have three. Two Kindle books have released as well as one other “proper” print book since Halo: Broken Circle. The first e-book, Halo: New Blood by Matt Forbeck, was probably one of the fastest reads I’ve had in a long time. However, simply because it was a fast read does not mean that it was badly written or had a bad story. In fact, fans of a certain ODST named Buck will greatly enjoy New Blood.

Since Buck will also star in Halo 5: Guardians, I wouldn’t be surprised if New Blood is “required” reading for the game. The story is told by Buck, from his first-person perspective, and it opens up a lot of perspective upon his role in Halo 3: ODST as well as his relationships with that team. Several questions were answered that I personally had, and for all those who want to know about the others from the team, such as the Rookie, Dutch, and Romeo, and what they have done since that game, all of that is detailed as well.

Buck tells his tale in a bit of a pulp fiction format, in that he starts off explaining why a certain mission went awry, but then he breaks off on tangents to delve even more into the backstory. The flow of it is handled flawlessly, and it comes across brilliantly as someone who is telling a rather long story. When was the last time you told a long story without breaking off into tangents to further explain something? If you’re able to do so, you deserve a cookie. I, for one, am not.

The book is rather short, but that’s not entirely what makes it a fast read. Buck’s tale is bloody fascinating. Like most stories orally told, his is nonstop action with very little exposition and downtime. I only stopped reading because my eyelids grew heavy at night when the clock reached midnight. Because the story was such a page turner (or screen swiper, as it was in this case), it only took me about two days to get through. No part of Buck’s tale could be described as boring, unless you’re a stoneheart who doesn’t enjoy tinges of romance. These don’t happen very often in the Halo-verse, and I am rather pleased that Forbeck elaborated upon Buck and Dare’s relationship that was only hinted upon in Halo 3: ODST.

I do have to add, even though you’ve probably already gathered this much, that no one should read this without playing Halo 3: ODST (or the wiki, you dirty, lazy cheater) beforehand. None of the characters are “introduced;” it is quite assumed that the reader is very familiar with all of the characters within.

If it wasn’t an e-book, I’d say it’s a great beach read, but it’s hard to justify taking a Kindle or iPad or Surface to the beach where it could get ruined. It’s a great vacation book; how is that? Oh, and yes, Halo: New Blood is a must-read for everyone who has played Halo 3: ODST, regardless if it truly becomes required reading for Halo 5: Guardians.

Piggyback Reveals Metal Gear Solid V Strategy Guide Cover

July 15, 2015 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

Why yes, there will be a strategy guide for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Piggyback will be responsible for publishing and distributing the guide in North America, South America, and Europe.

“We have worked closely with Piggyback on the guides to all Metal Gear Solid game releases over the past 15 years and it is a real pleasure to continue that collaboration with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,“ Sandra Arcan, Senior Manager, Licensing and Merchandise – EMEA at Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. said in a press release.

The two have continued their ongoing collaboration with MGSV, and both have promised that the strategy guide will contain a “single, comprehensive source to 100% game completion.”

Piggyback has both a paperback and a hardcover collector’s edition in the works for the MGSV strategy guide. The CE will include an art gallery as well as an exclusive lithograph by Yoji Shinkawa. The cover art for this limited CE has been revealed as above. I’m not a fan of the Metal Gear Solid series, but even I have to drool a little bit at that artwork.

Piggyback will release the Metal Gear Solid V strategy guide on September 1, 2015, the same day the game will release.

Monday Gaming Diary: SDCC Style

July 13, 2015 By Keri Honea Leave a Comment

I attended the madness known as San Diego Comic Con last week, and despite having a rough start on Thursday, I ended up having a great show.

I did haul my PS4 all the way to California for nothing, as I was too tired every night when I crawled back to the hotel room to even crack open my GAEMS case. I did, however, download and play a lot of LEGO Jurassic World for the Vita so I could use the strategy guide for that as well. The guide covers both versions of the game, and well, I felt the need to be able to review the strategy guide completely. That and I wanted to see if the handheld versions of the LEGO games were as awful as they have been lately. I am happy to say that they have reverted back to their original formula for the handheld LEGO games. There aren’t any game over states due to death, so none of the chases or crazy dodging puzzles are overly complicated and stressful anymore. TT has still kept the weird challenges as a way to earn gold bricks, red bricks, and minikits, but they aren’t the beating they have been in the past. The game reminds me a lot of LEGO Batman 2 for the handheld, which is a very, very good thing.

At the show itself, I got my hands on only a couple of games, as SDCC didn’t have much that I did not already see at E3. I did play more of Transformers Devastation after interviewing voice acting legend Gregg Berger, however. I can’t get enough of that game. This time, Activision had a timed demo on it, so no one had to kick me off the booth.

But my big surprises were Street Fighter V and The Division. I went in to both expecting to be rather meh about them all, and I really enjoyed what I played. I haven’t touched a Street Fighter game in years, so I was expecting a rather steep learning curve with the fighting system, similar to the one in Mortal Kombat X. But at least with MKX, I had some frame of reference for the fighting techniques, whereas with SFV, I have nothing. I played on a friend’s NES or SNES back in the early 90s. That’s my only experience. However, Capcom has reworked their entire combat system, so newcomers to the series can step in and learn along with the pros. The fighting system is fun, and the game is absolutely gorgeous to boot. I can’t believe I’m seriously entertaining picking up yet another fighting game.

We all know I’m a newbie when it comes to MMORPGs. I have FFXIV, but have I found time to play? Oh hell no. I have a serious problem when it comes to this stuff. So I got my hands on The Division fully expecting me to suck at it and have an awful time. I wasn’t great at the game, but I wasn’t terrible either. I had a ton of fun, and I’m considering picking it up if I can find two others who will be willing to do the same. You play in teams of three, and I really don’t want to find new friends online. That has never appealed to me, despite the fact I have met a lot of my good friends online via Twitter. Don’t ask why I’m so weird.

Moral of story? Don’t hate anything until you play it first. I encourage educated hate, people. Be educated about what you dislike.

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