Check it out here! 

https://youtu.be/cOohIMVf9jU

I've brought the stories to life!

Okay, I have now reached max level in Anthem. I can speak to the game one final time here before I do a video review.

No story spoilers will be in this message.

Rating: 10%
​
The game has problems. Lots of them. More than lots. Too many. Like...it's broken. Let me start with what works well:

I liked the original anime of Alita. It wasn't like...a favorite, but I enjoyed it. We went to see Alita in the theater today and I have to say that ultimately, at the end of the credits, I felt it was simply...unnecessary. I felt nothing throughout the movie, which is kind of a sin considering the original anime was one that wrung tears from the most hardened fans of the genre. As much as Alita was a pretty experience, I think it was an artistic waste of time.

Rather than rehash the same story and bank on franchise recognition, they could've made a brand new story, conjured a fresh vision. Hollywood fears that more than anything apparently, so we got this. This is probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as I could've and why I pretty much found it kind of...boring. 

Fallout 76 has some seriously terrible press out there. Metacritic doesn’t have professional reviews yet but their user score is 2.9. This is based on over 1400 reviews with 148 positive, 33 mixed and 307 negative. When you search for Fallout 76 on Youtube, the videos I found were the following:
 

1. The WORST Fallout?
2. WATCH this BEFORE You Buy?
3. Fallout 76 is Complete GARBAGE – Hear me out
4. Fallout 76’s Rough Start
5. Fallout 76 is a Shameful Abomination

​I’ve watched a few of the people’s big complaints about the game. What they really boil down to is inappropriate expectations. I personally saw the game and thought it looked like Conan Exiles with a Fallout skin. I thought it would be about rushing out, finding an area to build on and the endless rush to get the supplies needed to make that crap.

I became an instant fan of Mission Impossible when the first one came out, likely because I never really saw the TV show. The original actors all hated how it was handled. Brian De Palma even told the guy who directed the most episodes 'don't bother to hang around, this movie isn't going to be anything like the show'. Considering the vast majority of the IMF team is murdered in the first few minutes, it's no surprise that the original crew thought that was bogus.

After all, they were about getting in and out without ever being there. IMF in the movies is just a hyper version of a spy agency, doing Fast and the Furious style stunts with an ounce more credibility (actual training that didn't involve 'the Street'). Still, even with that, Mission Impossible truly is just another super hero movie series that didn't come from the pages of DC or Marvel and while that part is neat, there are some problems that have have come along with it.

First, I want to talk about the fun stuff.

I watched Solo and Deadpool 2, both of which I loved. Solo felt like the kind of Star Wars movie I've wanted for a long time, since Rogue One at least. It was a great experience and I adored everything about it. Deadpool 2 was about as expected, harsh and crazy. They were simply fun experiences and I'm so glad I saw them in the theater. My wife and I both agreed, which was good because we had some poor experiences in the theater lately.

Now, the heavier stuff. I've had a huge life change and I'm going to write about it here. If you're interested, read on!

The first two episodes of my radio drama for Glamour & Shadows are live!

You can see a trailer here: https://www.societycasefiles.com/radio-drama.html

​The episodes are on Band Camp (link is with the trailer above). Thanks!

The below is spoiler ridden and explains why I personally hated The Last Jedi. I'm writing this down so anyone who would like to understand my position may do so. If you loved the movie A LOT, don't bother to read this. I'm not going to argue any of the points below. Your enjoyment has no bearing on my hatred and in fact, I'd rather you have had a great time than try to convince me I'm wrong. 

Also, only read this post if you're not insanely passionate about the new Star Wars outings. This will just make you angry and why bother? Speaking of that, I'm writing this down because people have thought my opinion was totally unfounded or not well thought out. Believe me, I paid attention to the movie and there was plenty about it that I found to be lacking for a huge blockbuster movie.

​MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

So Destiny 1 came out in September of 2014. They made some serious mistakes. There was some super over powered weapon that unbalanced PvP and a DRAMATIC lack of content at launch. The game didn't really feel 'complete' until they released the Taken King. THEN it was a pretty engaging experience and it took them an entire year (Taken King came out September 2015).

Now, they've released Destiny 2 and somehow, it's like they just bleached their brains of what they did before. In less than a month, the people I play with have experienced all the content. We've done the raid a few times, though admittedly we didn't finish it yet and we've played through the story mode of the expansion while also nearly maxing out (and the expansion came out on Tuesday). 

Ultimately, Bungie learned NOTHING from Destiny 1. Destiny 2 is easy mode to the extreme. PvP lacks play modes from the first game. It is not a step back, it's a total start from the beginning. And as a result, I can't imagine how it will survive. Did we get another game which should've been released in 2018 instead with all the parts ready to go? What are they doing? And charging for 3 hours of more content? In this environment?

It's like Bungie is secretly working for EA and wants this game to fail to make Anthem seem all the more awesome.

​I didn’t start out watching the Marvel shows right away. In fact, I didn’t give Daredevil a shot until I noticed who played Matt. When I realized he was in Stardust, we got through the season in a week. Season 2 promised Elektra and The Punisher and both of them proved to be pretty amazing. All around, a great introduction for a season all on his own.
 
I admit I got deeply into The Punisher when the show came out. We watched the first several episodes in one sitting and ultimately got through it all in 3 days over the course of 1 week. There was a lot to like but for me, there were plenty of problems which culminated in an ending I did not appreciate, enough so that I ended up not liking the show. I would not likely watch it again.